SupernalGodzilla: I don't know, did they? Find out for yourself below. XP Glad you liked it, hope you like this episode/chapter even more.
jm12121212: Thank you. I'll take that into consideration, I appreciate your feedback. Yeah, I had intended that to be one of the big laugh scenes, happy to see it worked out so well. As for the Witching Fields, keep reading my friend, you shall find the answers you seek. Yeah, I feel bad for Inner as well. As for the Tsukune and Mizore scene, I'm quite glad you enjoyed both of their heartfelt speeches. Well, here's the next chapter, so come on back pal.
Guest: Yeah, I can understand why you would be so worried about such a thing. However, have no fear. As I have previously stated, the only way I would ever permanently abandon a story is if I died and, well let's just leave it at that. Commando huh? Not going to lie, I haven't seen that one. I know what it's about and everything, just haven't personally watched it.
I see. I don't know, maybe I'll use the desert theme, then again maybe I won't. I am undecided on the matter. Yep, it was. Had to be.
Thanks for understanding. Honestly, I mostly thought it was you because it was the guest review right after yours and said, and I quote, 'One more thing, the comedy that this show has isnt showing much in the story, think you could bring it back? Also, will you include Lemon scenes in future chapters? Again, lay on the romance, would love to see more of it. K, now I'm done, Good Luck and Hope you update soon.' The wording is what originally led me to believe it was from you. Nevertheless, I was wrong, obviously. Thanks for letting me know it wasn't you.
Oh I know you're dreading the wait. And I know just how painful it is, I really do. I understand that feeling all too well. Example, One Piece. I love the anime. I only watch the English dub, as I do for all animes, and am currently waiting until they get to post time-skip. I fucking hate the ridiculously long wait I've been going through since getting into the series four, four and a half years ago for that to happen. Yeah, I understand all too well.
Liked it? I loved your idea for Mizore's awakening. I had been planning for her to learn some new abilities and become stronger, but with your idea in hand, with a little tweaking of course, it will allow me to do much more than what I originally had in mind.
Kurumu's awakening. Arch Succubus huh? Sounds good to me. All of the details of it sound pretty good, though a few I'm unsure of how to work with, but one in particular stands out to me. Entering people's dreams. I heard she was able to do something dream related with her tail in the manga, don't quote me on this as it's just hearsay at this point, and had thought it interesting. At the time though I didn't bother with it, as I had more pressing issues to deal with story-wise. Now though? I'd like to capitalize on it and make it my own. Your awakening idea will allow me to do that. I will, as I said before, be tweaking things to my liking of course though. So if not everything in your awakening idea for her, or anyone else for that matter, makes it in, I apologize. I'm sure you understand though.
Yukari's and Ruby's awakenings. Sorceresses huh? Now you've got me thinking of Triss Merrigold from the Witcher series. Side note, I fucking love that game, two and three anyway, since those are the ones I played. I did watch a playthrough of the first one on Youtube, so as to know what happened first, so give me a bit of credit fellow Witcher fans. Now then, back on topic. Don't have much to say about this, except that it's awesome. One point in particular though, being able to cast magic without their wands. I had been wanting to do something like that for them in the future, once again your idea will allow me to do so and then some. The creating new spells thing, which they've already been dabbling in, will also allow me more opportunities to flesh out their combat capabilities.
Moka's and Kokoa's awakenings. Blood vampires...hmm, well actually, I already have some stuff in mind for vampiric awakenings. I was digging into shinso vampires, as well as thinking on my own idea, and I was also working and reworking forms of higher vampires from other media. Your blood vampire idea is really cool though, so I'll take it into consideration. In fact...hmm, I just got an incredible idea. What is it you might ask? That's for me to know and for everyone else to find out. Sorry. XP That said, I do like that you included Kokoa's power surge from when Tsukune 'died' in her arms in you idea. Thank you for that. :)
Tsukune's awakening. Now this, I'm not touching this one. Why? Because I've known for the longest time what I had planned to do with Tsukune. So all the ideas I have for his higher form I came up with long ago, with the exception of a few I got from other media concerning vampires. So, while your idea isn't bad at all, it's pretty good actually, I'll have to decline this one. I will tell you something though. You and I think alike, at least somewhat. Why would I say that? Because that thing about Tsukune using Mizore's ice powers...you know what, not even going to say anymore on the subject. That's a lie, as I will say this. There's a reason the tips of his hair turned a frosty white rather than silver when he was drinking Mizore's blood. There, that's all I'm saying and you're not getting anymore out of me than that. :P
It was great, absolutely fantastic in fact. Great job my friend. Did you make them overpowered? Eh, I guess you could say that. But, they'll need to be, as future antagonists will be the definition of overpowered. As for the immortality thing, I love it, as I don't like the idea of them growing old and dying. I don't like it for any of the characters I love in the fandoms I love, but I keep my mouth shut about it since it's such a natural occurrence in life and it's so universally accepted. As for the century sleep, well, no comment. Family stuff will come later...much later. So I'll worry about it then.
Oh believe me, you don't need to tell me that. The pain of loss and the fury that accompanies it, that is something that the main character in every story I'll ever write will have to deal with, just in different ways. That is and, in my opinion, always has and will be the best way to make a character stronger. Not to disregard the rigorous training concept, as I think that's important as well, just not as important. That said, not everyone of them will awaken like that, at least not fully, as it would get too predictable and stale if I did that. It will be needed though, at least partially, rest assured.
Good to know you're so willing to let me dissect you ideas and do with them what I will. I really appreciate your courtesy as well as your kindness, thank you very much. And know that I will give you the credit you deserve for when these awakenings take place, I promise you that.
Yeah, I loved that. Writing it was fun. As for other parents walking on them...who knows?
Yes, I agree completely. The rest of the girls definitely need some alone time with Tsukune, there's no doubt about that. As you can see, I'm already working on that. I mean this is Yukari's and Ruby's personal chapter after all. Kurumu had one, Mizore had one, now it's their turn. Moka and Kokoa come next of course.
Glad to know I have your support regardless, so once more I thank you.
I'll do my best, and I hope this makes your day as the previous ones did. :)
Second Guest: Huh? Thank you for your input. I will take all you have to say into consideration, but I will tell you that I already have most of what I have planned for awakenings cemented by now, thanks to my own thought process as well as the help I've received from a friend of mine with awakening ideas, the guest I replied to above you in fact. One more thing, shinso vampires, I have something planned regarding them, rest assured. Once more thank you for your input, it is very much appreciated. :)
chris: Thank you! I'm glad to know you like the way I leave things, especially since I had been wondering if my cliffhangers had been falling flat. So you don't mind which route I take when it comes to chapter/episode design? Considered your opinion noted. And once again, thank you.
Alright before we get into this, I got some splaining to do. I know I said this episode would be divided into three parts, but two reasons in particular have made me come to the decision to break it into an equal four. What are these reasons you might ask, well I'll tell you. First of all, since I'm performing this experiment, I want to do it right. I want to see which style is preferred by my readers, but I also want to see how much more suspense I can derive from the way all these parts of the episode end. Why? As a test for the upcoming seasons. Second, I feel like it'll work better as four parts, since I'm doing parts in the first place, as this one was kind of dragging on into my old really large chapters where I put everything into one.
That said, one last thing. I had intended to put up the next part of this episode on the eighth of this month, which would mark the four year anniversary of Tsukune's Awakening. However, since I came to the decision to break it up even further, I decided it would be unfair to you guys to not upload this today, seeing as it's already complete and all. So...yeah, here you go. Hope you enjoy it.
Episode/Chapter nine part two of season four, coming at ya. Please read, review and enjoy.
The first thing Tsukune was aware of was the feeling of someone lying atop his body, and that he held someone's forearm tightly within his left hand. The second thing he was aware of was the light pestering his closed eyelids, said light not particularly bright but still enough so as to bug him. And the third? The fact that someone was standing over him, his eyes managing to pry themselves open so he could see this.
This person was male, stood roughly five ten, had a slim but athletic build, short and wily dark blue hair, no facial hair to speak of, fair to somewhat pale skin, cyan colored eyes and appeared to be in his mid-twenties. As for the clothing he wore, a pair of black skinny jeans, some black and green running shoes, a dark green short sleeve shirt with flame-esque designs and a large baggy black and green coat over that, worn open.
Whoever this man was, he was staring specifically down at Tsukune, Yukari, who was lying on top of him, and Ruby, who was next to the ghoul with her forearm locked in his hand.
"You alright guy?" The man questioned the more than human teen, who was squinting because of the setting sun's light getting in his eyes. The seventeen year old failed to respond, sitting up and proceeding to look around, failing to notice that he was bleeding heavily from the back of his head as he did.
Moka, Kokoa, Gin, Vladimir, Mizore, Kurumu, Deshiko and Fang Fang all seemed to be coming around as well, either already having sat up a moment ago, or just now sitting up as they regained consciousness. Kyouko, who didn't appear to be too injured, failed to rouse from her state, rightly so seeing as she wasn't as durable as the others. And Ling Ling and Nurari appeared as if they had never been knocked out in the first place, the former standing watch vigilantly over her brother and the latter tinkering with the turned over bus which was dented all about and had every window cracked and chipped, seemingly beginning repairs on it.
Looking down at Yukari, who now lie in his lap, and to Ruby, both of whom were just as out of it as Kyouko, he calmed his erratically beating heart, as he could clearly see everyone was okay. That didn't mean there hadn't been any injuries sustained though... "Is everyone alright?" Tsukune queried, just to make sure, ignoring the newcomer altogether as he did.
A chorus of groans rang from his friends and lovers, letting him know they were all fine, but weren't very ecstatic about having been thrown about so violently like that.
"Wher-where are we?" The ghoul finally inquired then, taking in his surroundings for the first time since opening his eyes as he did.
They sat in a humongous field, devoid of anything, no trees, rocks or even flowers within sight in any direction. Despite that the place would have probably been beautiful, if not for the fact that all the grass that covered the field was dead and grey.
"How did we get here?" He questioned further. "We were driving when suddenly...well I don't know what, but something caused us to crash."
"Hell if I know." Was Gin's answer, as he checked Kyouko over, double checking for any blood or broken bones.
"Whoever or whatever it was...I swear I'll kill them, if they're still alive anyway." Kokoa commented, rubbing her throbbing head as she stood.
"Not if I freeze them solid first." Mizore stated as she too stood up.
"Ow, damn it that hurt." Kurumu said to herself, rubbing her sore body parts as she got to her feet.
"I haven't been on a crazy ride like that since the nineties." Vladimir remarked to himself. He received blank stares from several of the others as a result. "What? I'm not allowed to party just because I'm old?"
"No comment." Moka said as she dusted her clothes off, having been the first to stand. Deshiko and Ling Ling echoed that, not wanting to know about it at all.
Yukari and Ruby began to stir then, their eyes fluttering open as they lifted their heads. "You girls alright?" Their shared lover asked them, his concern clear.
"Tsukune? What happened?"
"Master? Where are we?"
"Something caused the bus to veer off and crash. As for where we are, I don't know. The important thing is that everyone seems to be okay." Even as he said this, he checked Yukari over for any wounds or injuries. Finding none, he pulled Ruby closer to him, the older girl now sitting up at this point, beginning to roam her body with his eyes as well. As he did so, he couldn't help but let his eyes flicker to Yukari some more, worried she might have been hurt and he just couldn't see how.
"I'm fine Tsukune, you protected me from most of the impact." She told him, smiling at him as she did. "Thank you for that."
"I am uninjured as well Master, do not worry." Ruby assured him. "But please, do not put yourself in harms way for your to-" She didn't even get to finish that sentence, as the look Tsukune gave her told her to shut it. It wasn't that he was mad at her, he just did not want her saying that. Ever. He would always protect them. 'Or try to at least..." He though to himself bitterly, flashes of the countless times he had failed them running through his mind as he did.
"That's sweet." The blue haired man commented, getting the two witches attention as he did, nearly causing them to jump as they finally took notice of him.
"Who is this guy?" The older of the two queried.
"And how long has he been here?" The younger of the two queried further.
"No idea." Tsukune answered with a shrug. "Guy was here when I woke up."
"Ah, so you did notice me. I was afraid my presence was so unremarkable that you didn't even know I was here. Nice to meet you three. My name is Elefica, but most people just call me El." He introduced himself, smiling pleasantly as he did.
"Tsukune."
"Ruby."
"Yukari."
The three introduced themselves in turn.
"Well then Yukari, might this belong to you?" El questioned, brandishing her witch hat as he did before placing it on her head, clearly having an idea that it did.
"Thank you! I thought I might have lost it." She admitted, adjusting her hat as she did. When she had woken up to find it missing, she was far too concerned with her lover's well being as well as the well being of her friends to worry about it.
"No problem Miss. Happy to help." He stated, his smile widening as he did.
"You wouldn't happen to know where our wands are by any chance would you?" Ruby inquired then, having been unable to locate either her or her fellow witch's wand upon waking.
The blunette's smile fell somewhat at that. "I'm afraid not."
"Our wands? I don't see them either." Yukari thought aloud to herself, her eyes wandering about as she did.
"Don't worry about it you two, I got'em right here." Deshiko spoke, getting their attention as she did.
Their relief was clear upon seeing the items with which they channeled their magic energy through. Without them they would be unable to help in the coming battle.
As they got to their feet and went over to reclaim their property, Tsukune stood as well, moving over to the others so he could personally check on them. Thankfully everyone was fine, just as they had assured him.
Some blood had been drawn and bruises had formed, but no broken or fractured bones had been created. In fact, no one had even sustained a sprain. The person to come out with the worst of it was actually Tsukune, and as the girls noticed this, the blood trailing down his scalp and neck, beginning to dribble down his back, they mobbed him to make sure he was truly alright.
"What caused that crash anyway?" Fang Fang questioned then, looking toward the bus driver as he did.
"Crash? I have no idea what you kids are talking about. We never crashed." Nurari replied.
"Then what the hell would you call what we just went though? A pleasant evening drive?" Gin inquired rhetorically, having finished making sure Kyouko was most definitely okay. Thankfully he had taken the brunt of the damage for her, so she was merely knocked out.
"Most certainly not." He answered. "But it certainly wasn't a crash either." He informed them. "That boys and girls was a phenomenon called tempus-locus discidium, otherwise known as a space-time rift. There are several spread about the world and all of them lead here, to the Witching Fields. Only by locating and using one of these rifts is one able to enter this place. How else would witches and warlocks from all around the world be able to gather together in one place in just two days?"
"Wait, are you telling me that was supposed to happen? We were supposed to be thrown about like lifeless rag-dolls in that big metal bitch you call a vehicle? And you didn't think to, oh I don't know, warn us about that!?" Kokoa growled at the bus driver, her fangs bared.
"Nope, didn't cross my mind at all." The much older man replied nonchalantly.
"Why you sunuva-" Kokoa started to curse, moving to charge Nurari, only to be stopped by Moka as she did. "That's enough of that."
"Now you kids be on your way, do whatever it is you feel you have to do. I'll have the bus repaired and ready to go by the time you get back." Nurari waved them off, doing so in what was almost certainly a mocking tone.
"Would you stop addressing me as if I'm some punk teenager? I'm over seven hundred years old for fucks sake." Vladimir piped up then, speaking to his colleague as he did, only to be brushed off as silence ensued. So shaking his head in annoyance, he grumbled to himself and dropped the subject, lest he deal with more of the bus driver's shit.
"This is the Witching Fields?" Ruby wondered aloud, her eyes scanning the surrounding area. "It's...certainly not what I expected."
"Yeah, didn't you say this place was supposed to be a safe haven for warlocks and witches? Doesn't really look like it to me." Kurumu remarked.
"Everything's dead..." Yukari added, a little solemn at seeing all this death, even if it was just grass. It was just so much.
"Everything? The only thing you can see in any direction is grass, grass and more grass." Kurumu further remarked.
Silence reigned for several moments then, no one countering the succubus's words, as everyone got their wits about them and Kyouko began to wake. Shortly after she was up and was caught up on what they knew so far, and someone finally explained why they were here to Tsukune, he was not happy with the reason, Ling Ling proceeded to ask the question several of them had been wondering. "Okay, why are you just standing there, hanging around us like some kind of shadow? What do you want?" This was, of course, directed at the newcomer who had popped up out of nowhere.
El put his hands up defensively, trying to show he meant no harm. "I just figured you guys could use a guide. I mean, you did come here for the gathering didn't you?"
"So what if we did?" Mizore grilled the man, her voice level but a pinch of a warning discernible in her tone.
"Well, it's just that the Witching Fields are so very vast. You could wander around for weeks and not reach your destination. I on the other hand have significant experience with navigating these plains and can get you to your destination, before the meeting time of midnight even."
"That can't be too hard can it? We still have two days to get to wherever this thing is being held after all." Deshiko pointed out.
"Oh my, you seem to be under the impression that only a few hours have passed. However, I'm afraid those two days have already come and gone, leaving you only six or so hours before the gathering gets under way." He explained kindly.
"What? No way were we out that long." Gin rebutted, clearly not believing this guy.
"Oh you weren't. You see the space-time rift alters, well this should be self explanatory but, space and time. By passing through it you accelerated your passage of time until you came back out again. Time flows normally on this side of the rift as well as the other side, within the rift itself though, that's a whole different ball game. That's why you always want someone experienced in traversing it going through with you, because if you don't know what you're doing you could come out months, years, even decades in the future." He elucidated.
Vladimir whistled in awe that, now truly understanding the gravity of the situation. "Guess we owe that sneaky bastard a thank you. Cause with you lot we would have easily been stuck in there for a century, at least."
"HEY!" The entirety of Tsukune's group, minus Fang Fang, Ling Ling, Deshiko and Kyouko shouted in protest. Moka failed to shout as well, simply scoffing at the bald vampire's words.
Nurari, who was only ten feet from them since they hadn't moved out yet, simply waved them off once more.
Twenty minutes and a lot of bickering later...
Tsukune, his girls, Gin, Deshiko, Fang, Fang, Ling Ling, Kyouko and Vladimir followed after El as he led the way to where the gathering was supposed to take place. As they did they talked amongst themselves, but thankfully all bickering had come to a stop.
At one point, when there was a lull in conversation, Ruby inquired about the Witching Fields. "What are they? What were they originally for? And...what happened to them?"
El was compliant and explained to them everything he knew about the location. "The Witching Fields were created thousands of years ago by a group of the most powerful witches and warlocks to ever exist. They were said to rival even the dark lords in power, though admittedly there were only three of them against close to a dozen magic wielders, but it was still impressive nevertheless. They created this place in hopes of providing sanctuary to their brethren, witches and warlocks alike. A place where they could live in peace and harmony, far away from the hate and prejudice of human kind. And with the size of it, it could definitely accommodate all the magical beings around the world. No one feared for their lives, as the only way to reach this place was through one of the time-space rifts they created, so as to allow passage after sealing it off from the rest of the world. No fears, no worries, bountiful nature as far as the eye could see...this place was truly once paradise."
He stopped momentarily, looking back at the group that followed him as he did, though his gaze was only momentary, as he returned to facing forward, continuing to lead them as he spoke further. "Or at least it was, until roughly a thousand years ago, during the great monster rebellion, humans found their way here. No one knows how, but they managed it. And they came prepared, millions of men armed with blades, crossbows, and anti-magic charms to weaken us. Worst of all it was a sneak attack, so no one was prepared. By the time they were able to fight back, more than half of them had already been wiped out. They, of course, showed no mercy. They set huts and trees ablaze as well as any and all crops, flowers, weeds, even just the grass, they torched everything. They didn't even bother to spare the children..." He sounded particularly bitter as he spoke that last sentence.
After letting that statement hang there for several moments, he continued on. "When the massacre was over...well, let's just say that they had good reason to believe they had wiped us off the face of the Earth. Which was why they didn't bother with us again until the witch hunts of Salem." Vladimir cringed at that, knowing he had been responsible for such an atrocity by letting those two villagers get away.
"Anyway...after that no one dared step foot here. The entire place had become dead and barren. No flowers, no crops, not even weeds would sprout. Any foliage left is beyond dead, as you can see by all this withered and grey grass. Same goes for the trees. Any left standing are twisted, gnarled and dead as a door nail. This place is...some would say cursed I suppose, but it's more like that it's seen so much death that that's all it knows now. And...well that's it, not much else to tell." He finished with a shrug, his tone betraying his calm demeanor.
Yukari fought back tears at all this, unsuccessfully, while Ruby was unable to keep the frown from her face or the sorrow from showing in her eyes, her orbs gleaming with unshed tears as well. Kurumu too was unable to hide the sadness she felt at this, her head lowered slightly as she, unlike her small rival, successfully kept any tears from emerging from her eyes. Kokoa's anger showed through more than anything else, a scowl all but dominating her face at this point. Moka and Mizore were the odd ones out, as their faces remained passive, not so much as a twitch from them showing any emotion on the matter. Even still, everyone knew the two sympathized despite their seemingly cold indifference.
Vladimir and Ling Ling fell in line with Moka and Mizore, both remaining stone-faced at the history behind the Witching Fields. Gin and Deshiko let their anger show through as Kokoa did, scowling at the information. Fang Fang lowered his head, seemingly mourning for all the lives lost here, completely quiet as he did. Kyouko had tears in her eyes and a look of shock and horror plastered on her face, her disbelief plain for all to see. However she did not try and deny such a horrid thing occurred, she simply accepted it, as she had seen how this world could be...there was no doubt this tale was true.
Gin noticed Kyouko's state and began trying to soothe her a moment later, subtly, much to her relief.
Tsukune's fists were clenched, his teeth grit, the thought of all those innocent lives lost filling him to the brim with anger. And as the stray, morbid and unbidden thought of what if Yukari and Ruby had been present for the massacre, that anger morphed into rage and was quickly festering into fury. If he didn't wish to fly off the handle and have his monster energy begin flaring, he needed to calm down, now. So he shoved that ugly thought down, forcing it to hide away, as he picked up his pace and took the spot between Yukari and Ruby, taking both girls by their hands as he did.
Using his thumbs, he traced circles across the backs of their hands, offering them comfort and providing some for himself as well. 'They're right here, they're okay. No one is going to hurt them. I won't let them.' He repeated to himself, almost like a mantra.
Both girls looked toward their shared lover immediately upon his grabbing of their hands, their surprise clear for a moment. But that melted away as smiles crossed their faces, contrasting with the tears that had began rolling down their faces. It was heartwarming for Tsukune to see them both smile at him like that, with gratefulness, love and, despite what they had just heard, happiness, genuine happiness. "It's okay." He whispered to them comfortingly, giving each of them a reassuring squeeze as he did. The witches nodded at that, not trusting their voices at the moment, simply squeezing his hands in return.
All the while, El watched the three, his eyes a mix of emotions. Once they had settled down, that was when he turned his attention back to where he was leading them. 'They look like a family...' The blue haired man thought to himself
No one spoke after that, not for a long time. The fourteen of them simply walked in silence, until, finally, one of them made an inquiry about why they were here, more specifically, the ghoul of the group. "This gathering...why is it being held here? Why now? What is this all about?"
El failed to answer right away, seemingly debating over whether he should do so or not. Eventually he gave in, as he replied, "The direct descendant of the all-powerful Baba Yaga, the greatest witch the world has ever known, is going to make an appearance. Some even say he was the one to call the meeting..." He trailed off then, letting his words sink in before finishing. "The hope is that with the return of the Yaga bloodline that witch and warlock kind will be peaceful and prosperous once more. A few even dare to hope that he can bring our dead paradise back to life."
"Baba Yaga?" Several of Tsukune's group repeated, some with curiosity, some with confusion.
"She's been dead for a nearly ten centuries." Vladimir remarked.
"Indeed. But we know that she had a son, we also know that her son had a son, and that her son's son had a son and so on and so forth. Just the chance that he could show here is enough to get all magical beings scrambling to get here, threat to their life or no." He was referencing the message that came with the summon.
"What about you El? What do you think?" Yukari queried, wiping away her tears with the back of her wand wielding hand.
"Me? I don't know. I mean, I know he's here, he's gotta be. But as for the rest of it...well...suppose he might be powerful enough, but what do I know? More importantly, why would I care? I may be a warlock, but I have no real interest in the affairs of our kind." He admitted.
"Then, why are you here?" Ruby asked the obvious question, no intent behind it, just wanting to sate her curiosity as she too wiped away her tears.
"I simply go where my Mistress bids, I live to serve her after all." He answered, devotion clear in his voice for whoever this woman was.
At that Ruby lowered her head, images flashing in her mind unbidden, running several of her memories of her old Mistress by her mind's eye. She missed her, she truly did.
Tsukune gave her another reassuring squeeze as he saw her lower her head, getting her attention back on him in doing so. As their eyes met, the warmth, understanding and sympathy in his eyes smothered her melancholy, allowing joy to rise back to the surface. "Thank you." She whispered to him, giving him an appreciative smile right afterward.
"So...since no one else seems like they're going to ask this, I will. Who the hell is Baba Yaga?" The only succubus in the group was the one to ask this.
"You don't know who Baba Yaga is? Do you even pay attention during class?" Yukari questioned exasperatedly.
Ruby proceeded to explain who she was, shifting into teacher mode as she was sometimes prone to do. "Baba Yaga is known as the mother of all witches and warlocks. And while she was far from the first ever magical being to be born, she was easily the most powerful, as well as the most influential. All magical beings came to revere her and regard her and treat her as a mother, even though she only ever had one true blood child, Yuzuru Yaga. That reverence didn't end with witches and warlocks either, the entire monster world respected her for her power and wisdom, which regularly earned her audiences with the dark lords and the king of monsters himself. Even today she is still held in high esteem, so much so that the dark lords of today pay respects to her grave on the anniversary of her death every year." The nineteen year old concluded her lecture at that, as she wouldn't go into detail since now really wasn't the time to do so.
"Only a complete moron wouldn't know who she is." Mizore cut in then, remarking on the subject. "Oh wait..." She added, glancing to her arch rival with a somewhat accusatory look as she did.
"Like you're one to talk about being stupid! You never pay attention in class and can barely pass tests!" The large breasted teen argued.
"At least I do pass." Was her rival's retort.
"Don't you start with me ice queen, or I swear I will-"
"You'll what? Kill me with your stupidity?" The snow woman prodded.
"Oh, you are so getting on my last nerve you frigid snow cunt!" Kurumu bit at the lavender haired teen.
"I dare you to call me that again you airheaded bimbo." Mizore shot back.
The two moved toward one and other then, so as to duke it out, but before the squabble could be exacerbated by coming to blows, someone intervened, steeping between them to do so. "That's enough out of you two." Moka chided, having come back to stop the two since they had fallen to the wayside when they stopped to bicker with one and other.
Even with her between them, keeping them from tearing into one and other, the two fought to get to the other, not caring what Moka said. It being clear that they had no intention of halting with their behavior, Tsukune let go of Ruby's and Yukari's hands, as he turned around and moved to step in. Before he could however, Moka put a stop to it, real quick. "I said that's enough!" The vampire scolded.
Her voice elevating like that did it's job, as did the inflection in her tone, as the two finally stopped trying to maul one and other. That didn't stop them from glaring at one and other though. "You ladies finally done with your pissing contest?" The second youngest Shuzen daughter inquired, her aggravation clear.
Receiving no answer, but taking their lack of further aggression as one, the seventeen year old removed her hands from their persons. "Good. Now let's keep moving." She moved to catch up with the other then, the succubus and snow woman begrudgingly following along as she did.
Tsukune mouthed the words thank you to Moka, the formerly silver haired vampire smirking in return, before the ghoul jogged back over to the others and took back his spot between the witch duo.
Roughly an hour and a half later...
A large forest made up of black, dead and gnarled trees were within sight at this point of their trek, the field leading into it far down to the left and to the right, and of course, dead ahead as well. "Not much farther now. twenty minutes at most and we'll be there." El informed them.
The others accepted that with silence, continuing to follow along, star light and moon light illuminating the way now that the sun had fully set.
They soon came to a stop though, just before entering the lifeless forest. As they did, the question on the tip of all their tongues was, obviously, why they had stopped. However, it was answered before they even asked it. "I'm afraid that this is where we must part ways. You see, only witches and warlocks are allowed beyond this point."
"What? Then why the hell even lead us here then?" Kokoa inquired angrily, getting straight to the point as she was prone to do.
"Well, there are two witches among you. I figured you would want them to attend, seeing as the penalty for failing to do so is death." The twenty something warlock stated with a frown.
Tsukune had to fight to keep a scowl from crossing his face at that. That was exactly the reason he hadn't insisted they leave, as he had no desire once so ever to assassinate this warlock that could enchant bullets to harm other monsters, even in spite of the fact that he had sent Raiden after them, but whoever had called this meeting or gathering or whatever you wanted to call it had threatened the witch duo's lives. And no one was going to harm one of the girls. 'My girls.' The teen corrected himself.
He had no plan on harming or even threatening whoever had issued this passive death threat, mostly because he had no way of knowing who it was but that was beside the point, and just intended to go with the two witches to the gathering and then leave once it was over. Simple.
Things had just become more complicated though.
"I don't understand. Why are our friends allowed to enter the Witching Fields, but aren't allowed to attend the gathering with us?" Ruby probed, trying to attain at least some information on the matter.
"You see...I'm not at liberty to say exactly why. What I can tell you though is that the gathering is being held on the most sacred ground in the Witching Fields and that no one, no matter their race, is allowed to step foot on it with the exception of our fellow witches and warlocks." He smiled sheepishly then, as he apologized for the inconvenience. "I'm sorry."
"That's stupid." Yukari asserted childishly, puffing out her cheeks in vexation as she did, crossing her arms across her chest to further display her displeasure. It wasn't that she didn't understand, she just didn't approve. More importantly, it meant that Tsukune had to stay behind and she wanted nothing more than to spend time with him. And most importantly, make sure he really was okay. She was worried about him, and for good reason seeing as he had undergone another transformation and had yet to receive a real reprieve, at least longer than an hour or two, from all the chaos that had been going on since Fairy Tale showed up on their doorstep.
El's sheepish grin widened into one of great mirth at this, apparently finding the young girl's actions amusing. "You are too cute."
Such a remark, with the way it was said, would have usually had her responding with indignation, as his tone had made it clear he thought he was talking to a child. 'I'm not a little kid dammit.' She thought to herself. That's all she did however, simply turning away from the older man with a hmph.
"Alright, alright. I can't deny a little cutie like you." From his tone it was hard to tell whether he was patronizing her or being truly genuine. "I'll go and see about getting permission for one of your friends to come along."
"Look pal, we came all the way here. We're all going in." Ling Ling stated, her patience wearing thin.
"I'm afraid that's just not gonna happen. I am, after all, charged with keeping any non-magic user from entering this dead forest, in turn keeping them off of sacred ground." He informed them.
"And if we were to force our way past you?" Mizore proposed, her neutral expression and tone preventing the man from discerning whether or not she was serious about such a thing or not.
"If you did that then...well, you'd have tens of thousands of witches and warlocks after your blood. And you wouldn't want that, would you?" The blunette questioned rhetorically.
Several scowls formed in response to that, from Moka, Kokoa, Mizore, Kurumu, Gin and Ling Ling specifically. The others, well thy simply frowned. So, clearly, no one was content with the circumstances.
"Look, it's not as big a deal as you're all making it out to be. Three of you come with me, the rest of you wait here and in a few short hours it'll be over and you can all be on your way. Nothing difficult, nothing complicated. Simple as simple can be." Even as he put it like that, no one eased up. So with a sigh, he spoke further, trying to assure them it was okay. "It's not like it's going to be dangerous. Just a meeting of magical beings. In fact, if you know any of your fellow witches and warlocks, they're bound to be here. After all, very few would ignore such a summons."
That got Yukari to shift her stance, turning to look at the warlock as she did. She didn't say anything, but she was clearly going to be cooperative from this point on, her cheeks no longer puffed out and her demeanor subdued compared to before. The fact that Tsukune could come with, as who else would she and Ruby want to come with them if they only got one pick, and that her parents were almost certainly going to be there being good enough for her.
Ruby didn't much like it either, as while it would technically give her time to be alone with her master, she'd have to share said time with Yukari but that was easier to do than with five other girls, it wasn't truly alone time seeing as there would be so many magical beings in one location. Still, she was beyond curious as to what this was all really about, as she was sure her fellow witch was, and didn't intend to put her friends in any danger by refusing to attend, since someone would come looking for her to kill her later.
Both girls nodded their heads in agreement, but several of their friends opened their mouths to protest, though no words got out before Vladimir spoke up, cutting them off before they even began. "Arguing like this will get us nowhere. So, seeing as there isn't much we can do about the situation, let's all try and get comfortable, as we're gonna be here for awhile." His tone didn't leave much room for objections.
With that said, he turned to the witch duo and his ghoul protege, speaking once more as he did. "Tsukune, Yukari, Ruby, we'll leave the rest to you. Do what you need to do and come back, no more, no less. And above all else, keep each other safe." He knew he didn't need to tell them that, he still did it regardless.
The three nodded at that.
"Alright, now that that's settled, I'll be going to secure permission for you two to bring a guest. Please wait for me here, I will return shortly." El told them, before turning around and entering the dead forest.
Just as El had said, he returned a short time later with permission for a single guest to attend, and Tsukune, Yukari and Ruby were to follow him to the gathering point. Seeing as there was no point in arguing any further on the subject, no one voiced any protests as they prepared to enter the forest.
Before they left though, Tsukune came around to the rest of his girls and gave them each a hug, a kiss and reassurance that everything would be fine and that he and the witch duo would return as soon as possible. After that, he followed El with Ruby and Yukari in tow.
Shortly after their departure, Moka approached her little sister, said red head having wandered several feet away from the others. "You can't hide that from him forever you know." The formerly silver haired vampire apprised her, coming to a stop a few paces from her sibling as she did.
Kokoa turned to her sister, purposely not removing the hand that covered the part of her neck that her lover had bitten her at as she did, having been covering it since Tsukune had come to her, concealing it to the best of her ability even as he held her and kissed her. She wore no scowl or frown, but the look of solemn acceptance on her face spoke louder of her feelings on the matter than such expressions ever could. "I know that. I Just don't want to tell him right now...not when he's got so much to deal with already. I'll wait until things are calm again, when no one's in danger and there's no enemy to fight."
"With our luck? That could be quite awhile." The older of the two cautioned.
The elder vampire received no response to that, a silence falling between the two for several moments. "It'd be best to tell him sooner rather than later." Moka advised, breaking the silence as she did. "It would give you both more time to cope before...father finds out."
"I don't need time to cope." Kokoa remonstrated, her tone level but completely forceful. She did not like the insinuation that she had a problem with this, because she didn't. "I'm not upset about this, I knew what would happen when I let him feed from me. I was ready for this." She insisted, and by the intensity in her green orbs anyone could see she was telling the truth.
Not a moment later though and her entire demeanor changed. The force in her voice vanished, the intensity in her eyes faded and her body language was no longer that of a sure, confident person, and now resembled that of a meek child. "I...I'm just afraid that he isn't. What if...what if he changes his mind? What if he doesn't want me anymore?" Her eyes began to sheen with unshed tears as she continued speaking. "Because of this...if he ever decides he doesn't want to be with me anymore then...then..." Unable to finish her sentence, she lowered her head and fought back the tears that were trying to tear their way to the surface.
Moka shook her head at that, disbelieving of how much her sister doubted herself. Nevertheless, she took a step forward and embraced her sibling, pulling her close as she began to comfort her. "You're being ridiculous. You know he would never just abandon you, with or without that on your neck." She reassured her.
Kokoa failed to reply, simply allowing herself to cry into her sister, her long time feelings of inadequacy rising to the surface. So distraught she was, that she didn't bother to stop Moka from removing the hand that covered that part of her neck, allowing the older of the two to see the black mark that now resided there. "It hasn't finished forming yet." She informed the red head, though she didn't seem to care.
As the two sisters hugged it out, the rest of the group had noticed, now looking on at them. While they had failed to hear anything they had said to one and other, the sight of the two in such a position, especially with the younger of the two crying, well, it was a rare, almost non-existent sight to them. Despite how much said sight intrigued them however, they averted their eyes as Moka glared at them.
The group of four consisting of a ghoul, two witches and a single warlock were silent during their short trip through the dead forest, coming out the other side of the mess of expired nature roughly twenty minutes after entering. And as they did, the three of them who had never been here before were awestruck at the sight that greeted them.
They had entered a large clearing easily thousands of yards in length and width, easily able to hold all the buildings from Yokai Academy and leave enough space for the tens of thousands of people who stood in this area currently, all of whom were apparently witches and warlocks. And located in the center of this clearing was a massive tree that dwarfed all the other trees they had seen up until this point, said trees having been fifteen to twenty feet tall. This one was easily over a hundred feet in height and wide enough to house a car. Another thing that stuck out about this tree? The fact that it still had leaves, unlike the others, even if they were dead and grey. Finally, the fact that the bark was a sickly grey, even more so than the limp and lifeless leaves, rather than the depressing dark black of the others was an interest peaker.
All in all, it was an impressive, if disheartening, sight. Once they had taken it all in, they let their eyes wander the other people present, noting how wildly different each person was dressed. Colors ranging from black and purple to white and pink, shorts to pants, to skirts, to some kilts even, as well as shirts, jackets, blazers, tunics, robes and so many other clothing choices. If they had doubted that witches and warlocks from around the world would gather here, they certainly didn't now.
"Whoa." Was the in unison reaction from the three Yokai students.
"Majestic isn't?" El spoke then, getting their attention. "Could you imagine how breathtakingly beautiful it must have been back when it was vibrant and full of life?"
No response was given to his, most likely because they couldn't. Even still, the warlock didn't press them, simply letting them soak it all in
Still, they couldn't stand here forever. "As far as I know, everyone who's going to attend is already here. So go ahead, meet and greet, talk, make friends. You still have a little over three hours before midnight, which is when the descendant of Baba Yaga is said to supposedly make his appearance, so you'll probably want something to do until then." With their attention back on him because of his words, he gestured to the crowds of his fellow magical beings. "And there really isn't much to do besides mingle."
"So, since you guys have made it safe and sound, I need to be moving on to the duties I've been assigned by my Mistress." He informed them, preparing to leave them as he did. "I wish you three a pleasant evening, and perhaps, if I can finish my work in a timely manner, you wouldn't mind me joining you three for the remained of the gathering?"
"Sounds good to me." Tsukune agreed.
"I don't see a problem with that." Ruby let him know.
"Sure." Yukari chirped with a smile.
"Thank you, you are too kind." He said, bowing slightly to show his appreciation, a wide smile on his face as he did.
With that Yukari and Ruby moved forward to talk to some of their fellow witches and warlocks, Tsukune lagging behind for a moment, smiling at the way their faces lit up when they were met with positive reception from their fellow magic users. As he stood there though, he noticed El staring at him out the corner of his eye, the look on his face one a mix of emotions.
"Yeah, what is it?" He questioned, turning toward him as he did.
A somewhat mocking, but mostly mirthful, smirk crossed the warlock's face at that. "You've got the devil's luck you know that? What am I talking about, you have six astonishingly beautiful women all over you, of course you know."
The ghoul couldn't help but chuckle at that, both in self consciousness and joy, as he did know how lucky he was. "Yeah, I guess I can't argue with you there." A smirk was present on his face at that point, as he was quite happy with his life, even in spite of all the pitfalls that accompanied it.
"I especially like the little one."
"Excuse me?" Tsukune queried, doing a double take as he did.
"Oh don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about." El chided, his smile turning into a frown. "Just look at her." His eyes motioned toward Yukari, who was talking animatedly with Ruby and a few witches they had seemed to come to favor in their minute or so of conversation. "Her small body and tiny frame, her sweet innocent and childish demeanor...she can't be more than thirteen years old. Oh yeah, I get it." His smile returned then, wider than it was before, and it had taken on a more predatory nature.
"I get it more than anyone else does. After all, there just isn't anything like little girls is there? Tighter than a vice and so small you can fill them to the brim and fuck the deepest part of them while barely trying." Lust oozed from his tone and filled his eyes as he spoke. "To take something so perfect and innocent and to defile it, to ruin it. It fills you with the most divine ecstasy this world can offer, does it not?" He questioned rhetorically, looking back at the ghoul as he did.
Tsukune's face was scrunched up in a look of complete disgust and rage at this man's words. "You sick fuck." He cursed.
"Come now, don't act like that. You know the feeling I'm talking about. To be buried inside the umatchable tightness of her little pussy and ravage and devastate it with every thrust, ooh it just feels like heaven doesn't it?" He inquired darkly, shuddering slightly in pleasure at his own words, his eyes glinting with malevolent intent.
Fists clenched so tight he was drawing blood at this point, Tsukune's body was trembling with barely contained fury. His disgust had transferred into his eyes, as his face took on his more aggressive emotion of rage, while at the same time his holy lock began to glow. "You have ten seconds to get out of my sight." He warned the older man, his voice thick with anger.
"Or what?" He asked cheekily, his expression from before not fading.
"Or I'll kill you." The ghoul informed him, his eyes taking on a blood red color as he did.
"Madara was right about you, you are the world's biggest hypocrite." He stated with a chuckle. "You have the gall to judge me? Aren't you the same as I am? After all, you fuck little girls too. The only difference is that you choose to do so with one, and I do so with multiple."
"Get lost!" Tsukune commanded in a harsh whisper, his fury showing through as his monster energy pulsed and his voice changed momentarily. "And don't come back, because if I ever see you again, I will rip your fucking head off!" He added threateningly.
El scowled at that, knowing he had no choice at this point, the teen's monster energy letting him know how outmatched he was. "Fine, have it your way." With that, he backed up into the forest and proceeded to disappear with a snap of his fingers.
Tsukune inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled through his mouth over and over again, in an attempt to calm himself. No matter how many times he repeated this though, his ire never stopped burning. That man...no, that bastard, had done something very few had managed to do before. He had created a strong desire to kill someone within the young ghoul, and he had done so with only a few handful of words. And so consuming was that desire, and the dark rage that came with it, that he momentarily forgot where he was.
Since that was the case, it was only a matter of time before his anger got the better of him and his monster energy came rushing out in waves. Especially so considering all he wanted to do was get his hands on that warlock bastard and whoever had even called him, as well as them here. This would surely have occurred too, if not for the two solicitous voices that spoke up, snapping him out of it.
"Tsukune?"
"Master?"
And just like that, Tsukune realized where he was, his ire fading as he turned to the two girls, his holy lock ceasing it's glowing and his eyes returning to normal.
They stood before him, away from the witches they had been talking with just a minute ago, their eyes filled with concern. "What's wrong?" They both inquired, their worry clear in their voices.
'They didn't see what happened...they don't know what he said...good, they don't need to.' The ghoul thought to himself.
"Tsukune, what's the ma-" Yukari began, reaching out to touch her older lover as she did. The moment their skin made contact however, her hand grazing his, the older teen jerked away.
This reaction perplexed the little genius to say the least. "Tsukune? What is-" Once more, as she tried to take his hand, he recoiled at her touch, as if it burned him. "Don't...don't touch me." He told her, his voice much raspier than usual, thick with unexpressed emotions.
"What? What do you mean don't touch you? Tsukune I-" Her voice faded as she looked down at her hand and saw that her, completely uninjured palm, was now somewhat bloody. "Tsukune, you're bleeding!" Her voice came back in a harsh whisper, her eyes widening in fear for her lover as it did, Ruby having a similar reaction at this as well. "Why are you hurt? What happened!?" They both asked him, as the smaller of the two reached for his hand once more.
"Please, please, ju-just don't touch me." He begged her as he flinched away from her once more.
"Tsukune?" The young witch breathed his name like a question, the hurt clear in her voice as she looked up at him, their eyes meeting. "Why are you mad at me? What did I do wrong?" She inquired, her eyes shimmering with tears as they pricked the edges of her eyes, moments away from coming out. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry." She apologized sincerely, despite not knowing why she had to do so in the first place, just wanting him to forgive her for whatever she did.
"No, please don't cry." He told her weakly, as her tears began to run down her face. "You have nothing to be sorry for." He assured her, crouching so as to be eye level with her, but taking care not to touch her as he did. "It's my fault, not yours. I'm the one to blame." He tried to explain to her, fighting back his own tears as he did.
That only bewildered the young girl even more, that was clear by the look of pure confusion on her crying face.
"Master, what happened? What did El say to you that got you so upset?" Ruby queried, her concern for her lover only having grown. "Is he the one who hurt you?" She queried further, referencing his bloody hands as she did.
He hesitated at that. "I...he..." Looking up at Ruby from his crouching position, then back to Yukari, who had yet to stop crying, he felt his heart clench. He was upsetting them. And in public too. While they were being mostly quiet, it was only a matter of time before a stray glance was cast at them. 'Now isn't the time for this.' He told himself.
Holding his arms out for an embrace, he simply said, "Come here", to Yukari. And just like that, with a strong sob, she threw herself into his arms and began crying into his chest. "Look you two, I'm sorry. He just...reminded me of something really...really horrible I did. And now...I can't stop thinking about it." He wasn't lying either. The night he and Yukari had been intimate kept running through his head. However, only the moments where she was in pain, or the parts where he was experiencing overwhelming pleasure wanted to make themselves known, while all of the many instances where she was visibly enjoying it, they were all blocked out.
"Horrible? Master, you've never done anything even remotely horrible in your entire life." Ruby stated without a doubt, her tone soothing with the conviction behind her words.
"That's right! You could never do something bad Tsukune! You're too nice and compassionate, too good!" Yukari exclaimed, her words understandable despite being muffled by the fabric of her lover's shirt and jacket.
Despite himself, a tiny smile crossed the ghoul's face at that. "I wish that were true." He said under his breath,
"It is true!" Yukari insisted, beating her fellow witch to the punch, pulling her face away from her lover's chest so she could look up at him as she continued to speak. Her tears had yet to dry and sobs still came from her, but she still spoke on, her eyes fierce as she did. "And I'm gonna kick that jerk's ass for telling you otherwise!"
Tsukune was somewhat taken back by this, looking toward Ruby, as he was unsure what to do at this point. She simply smiled at him, letting him know that she agreed with her younger counterpart.
"You shouldn't listen to idiots like him! They don't know what they're talking about! They don't know anything about you!" Yukari continued, apparently quite angry at this point, though her tears had yet to stop either.
"Okay, okay, I get it. I can't say I agree, but I get it. Just calm down. We can talk about this later. For now, we should pull ourselves together before someone sees." The seventeen year old told her, glancing at the older witch as he did, before looking back at the younger one.
"Okay." Yukari agreed with a nod of her head.
"Okay" Tsukune repeated the word again, beginning to wipe away her tears as he did, careful not to transfer any of his blood onto her face while ignoring how sick it made him as he continued to touch her. 'I'm a sick fuck.' He thought bitterly to himself, as because of the exchange he had with El, he had been unable to stop thinking about when he had been with Yukari, every time their skin made contact reminding him of just how much pleasure he had experienced and how much he had truly enjoyed being inside her. 'I'm a sick fuck.' He repeated to himself in thought form.
"Now, why don't you girls introduce me to those new friends you made?" He asked them with a smile, after having finished wiping away his youngest lover's tears.
"Sure." Both witches answered in unison, more than willing to change the mood from it's somber form.
"Um...so, I have a question." Outer Moka piped up inside Inner Moka's head.
"Yes?" The formerly silver haired vampire responded, encouraging her counterpart to go on. Mostly because there wasn't a reason not to, seeing as they were a decent bit a ways away from the rest of the group, so they would be unable to hear her speaking to her other self.
"Is it...is it always like this? I mean, is this what you always experience? You know, when you're sealed by the rosary?" The sweeter of the two inquired.
"Depends on what you mean. Are you referring to the pitch blackness that surrounds you on all sides and the chains that bind your limbs and leave you suspended and dangling in the air perhaps?" The harsher of the two questioned rhetorically and somewhat snarkily.
"Uh-huh." The other Moka eeped abashedly.
"Then yes, that's what it's like for me to be sealed by the rosary."
"Oh." Was her simple, dejected response.
Silence fell between the two then, lasting for several moments, until Outer spoke once more. "I'm sorry." She apologized sincerely.
"Don't be." Inner told her with a shake of her head.
No further words were spoken between them after that.
When Elefica reappeared he was surrounded by darkness, only able to see thanks to the touch of light offered by the torches that adorned the walls, though they did so sparsely.
"Just who do you think you are?" A deep baritone voice inquired, catching the blue haired warlock's attention.
"Excuse me?" The cyan eyed man queried, turning to face the man the voice belonged to, who was shrouded in the shadows that littered the chamber they stood in.
"You heard me. Just who do you think you are? Snapping your fingers and expecting me to whisk you away at your leisure? My powers are mine alone, you do not command them. You'd best remember that." The voice warned him.
"Sheesh, sorry." El replied, clearly not sorry in the slightest judging by his sardonic tone. "If you're gonna be like that then I just won't ask to be teleported anymore." He remarked further.
"You sure are lippy for a measly subdivision leader, aren't you?" The deep voice individual questioned rhetorically with a flat tone.
"Yeah yeah, whatever." Was Elefica's response, waving the man off as he did. "Unless you've forgotten, I'm the leader of the third subdivision, which puts me directly under my mistress's command. You on the other hand lead the fourth division, and therefor have no authority over me." The warlock pointed out.
"Oh I don't? Is that why you're here, because I have no authority over you? And here I was under the impression that that was exactly why you're here." The voice rebutted.
"I am here because my mistress wills it, nothing more." He bit back at the man.
"Is that why you've been given explicit orders to follow my every command? Because you're mistress wills it? She must not think highly of you, placing you with me, someone lower in rank then her." You needn't see the man to tell he was smirking smugly at this point, it all too audible in his voice.
"Fuck you Madara." El spat bitterly.
The man known as simply Madara chuckled at this.
To be continued...