Zakuro's head throbbed, not just from the hangover. An angry bump pulsated on the top of the back of her neck. Her mouth was gagged and her hands were bound. The blindfolds chaffed her eyes. She could feel people lying next to her, struggling.

Zakuro started wriggling too, trying to get free. But she still felt drowsy from the blow to her head.

"Don't lose hope!" She heard a girl's voice mutter a little further away. "Don't give up."

Zakuro succumbed to her drowsiness again.

-X-X-

"ZAKURO!" Suzahara shouted as he ran through the forest. "ZAKURO!"

Suzahara circled back to Chichiri and Nuriko. Chichiri was sitting on the ground, rubbing his head.

"She isn't here Suzahara." Chichiri said, trying to keep his tone even.

Suzahara glared at him.

"You." Suzahara said angrily. "She was with you!"

Suzahara marched to Chichiri and caught his collar.

"Suzahara!" Nuriko exclaimed.

Chichiri stared at Suzahara coldly.

"Are you done with your theatrics?" Chichiri said, his tone icy. "Can we now concentrate on rescuing the damsel in distress?"

Suzahara pushed him away.

"I don't need help from the likes of you." Suzahara said, his voice like acid.

"Zakuro is in trouble." Nuriko said, close to crying. "We need all the help we can get."

Suzahara sighed and placed his palm on his forehead. He took a few calming breathes.

"Did you see what took her away?" Suzahara asked, after a few moments, his tone even.

"Demon." Chichiri said, nodding.

"Tengu." Chichiri continued, before Suzahara could punch Chichiri for stating the obvious.

"Let's get to the headman." Suzahara said, proceed back into town.

Chichiri and Nuriko followed.

You'd better not die on me, Zakuro. Suzahara thought, before clearing his mind.

-X-X-

They had stopped moving. Zakuro's arms felt free. She slowly opened her eyes, struggling to do so. Her head throbbed in pain.

She saw the flickering torch light cast shadows around the cell. She tried to talk but her voice came out in moans.

Immediately, she felt hands on her forehead.

"Oi!" She heard a girl's voice call out to her. "Are you OK? Get a hold of yourself!"

"Suzahara..." Zakuro murmured before falling back into the darkness.

-X-X-

Suzahara banged the headman's door. The town seemed deserted with everybody locked in their houses after the demon sighting. The headman slowly opened the door. Suzahara and the others barged in.

Suzahara could feel the grips of fear again. He took a few calming breathes before speaking.

"Those demons took our friend." He started. "Do you know where they nest?"

The headman shook his head.

"This is the first time we have seen them." The headman said, his voice shivering. "The attacks are growing more vicious and terrifying. Suzahara-sama, you must save us."

"Suzahara Onii-san?" Suzahara heard a small girl's voice call out to him.

From the adjoining room, a pair of dark eyes peeked in.

"Ling?" Chichiri murmured.

"Suzahara Onii-san!" Ling cried as she ran towards Suzahara, hugging his knees.

She didn't seem to have recognized Chichiri. Suzahara gently stroked Ling's head. He then got to his knees and smiled at Ling.

"It's OK, Ling." He said in a soothing voice. "Suzahara Onii-san will protect you."

Ling stifled her sobs and nodded.

Chichiri extended his hands to stroke the child's head, but he caught himself last minute. He was the first to turn heel and leave the headman's house. Suzahara and Nuriko followed.

"Their nest isn't around here." Chichiri said, as he walked out of the headman's house.

Suzahara looked at Chichiri hopefully.

"You know where their nest is?" Suzahara asked.

Chichiri shook his head.

"They are migratory." Chichiri said, as he started walking into the forest. "They don't nest in one place. But that's not what worries me."

"What do you mean?" Suzahara asked, following him.

"The tengu that took Zakuro." Chichiri said, as he hastened his pace. "It was humanoid."

He expected Suzahara and Nuriko to gasp. He frowned at their non-reaction.

"Demons, like all sentient beings, are classified intellectually." Chichiri frowned and started running. "The demons that you faced earlier resembled animals. But as the demon gets stronger, it starts resembling humans. Human souls are a prized prey. So it makes sense for them to resemble their prey making them more effective. In hell, they get the prime damned souls. But because of their strength, they are in deeper recesses of hell. They shouldn't have been able to surface."

Chichiri stopped when he reached the leveled house that once was a home for him and the orphaned children. He started shifting the wreckage, looking for something.

"Good, it's still here." Chichiri murmured, pulling out a golden rod from the rubble.

"We need to get back into town." Chichiri said, dusting the rod.

"What is it?" Nuriko asked, looking at the rod long enough to reach Chichiri's neck.

"This is the snath of my scythe." Chichiri said.

"Suzahara." Chichiri said, addressing Suzahara. "You've to assume that Zakuro is in terrible danger. Normally, I wouldn't even suggest this. But it is the fastest route."

Suzahara nodded slowly.

"Get Zakuro's coat." Chichiri instructed Nuriko. "Meet us at the village square under the mulan tree."

Nuriko nodded and went towards the inn. Chichiri sighed before speaking.

"Reapers are connected to all souls." Chichiri said and started walking.

The villagers were huddled in their locked houses, still shivering from the demon attack.

"I may not be a reaper anymore." Chichiri said, frowning. "But I seem to be able to sense death. I may be able to pull additional energy from the snath."

Chichiri stopped when he reached the tree.

"This is where the dangerous part comes." Chichiri said. "In order for me to find Zakuro, we will have to perform a spell on her. A spell that pushes her to the edge of death. Only then will I be able to sense her soul."

Suzahara looked at him shocked.

"NO!" Nuriko shouted.

Suzahara and Chichiri turned to face her. She was panting slightly, holding Zakuro's coat.

Suzahara appraised Chichiri.

"You've done this before?" Suzahara asked, balling his fists.

"Only when I'm under direct orders from Unme-sama." Chichiri clarified. "Even then, there is a possibility that I may not be able to figure out the exact location of where Zakuro is held. We'll need the help of another reaper who can actually go to that place and tell us where she is. A lot of this is based on pure chance. So, if you guys have any better ideas, I want you to speak up now."

"We could ask the villagers." Nuriko immediately responded. "Ask them if they saw which way the demons went."

Chichiri rubbed his temples again. He didn't want to do this. He owed Zakuro a debt, which he had sworn to repay. Endangering her life seemed to be a funny way to do that.

"That'll take too long." Suzahara said, grudgingly. "If these demons are dangerous enough to get Chichiri this worried, I don't think we have the luxury of time."

Suzahara raised his sword to Chichiri's neck.

"If we fail, I'll kill you." Suzahara said, without a hint of hesitance in his voice.

Chichiri looked at the enchanted sword that could kill him. He slowly nodded.

Suzahara sheathed his sword.

"Do what needs to be done." Suzahara said, against his better judgment.

"Oi!" Chichiri looked up and called out. "Shouge! Get your traitorous ass down here!"

Suzahara and Nuriko looked at each other confused.

"NOW!" Chichiri commanded.

"Old friend!" Shouge said, jumping down from the tree. "I'm glad to see you're well."

"Sure, you are." Chichiri said, his eyes blazing. "Then why are your knees shaking?"

Shouge gulped and forced a smile on his face.

"You know how hard work can be!" Shouge said, patting his hair.

"Or is it because even the higher ups are wondering why I'm alive?" Chichiri said, snapping his fingers.

Shouge fell to his knees.

"And also maybe because you guys don't have a rat's shit idea about why I can still do that." Chichiri said, snapping his fingers to bring Shouge upright again.

"We're friends." Shouge exclaimed. "Why would I be afraid of you?"

"You tried to kill me, assole!" Chichiri said, moving towards Shouge. "You enchanted a fucking mortal blade to kill me!"

Shouge stood his ground.

"Y-y-y-you were going to slaughter innocent souls." Shouge protested. "I had to stop you!"

Chichiri smiled.

"And that's why you still stand." Chichiri said, stopping a few steps from Shouge. "You enchanted a mortal blade."

Shouge looked at Chichiri confused and then looked at Chichiri in shock.

"I had no other option." Shouge said defensively.

"Yeah, you did." Chichiri said, casually placing his hand on Shouge shoulder.

Chichiri smiled when he was able to touch Shouge.

"You could have done it yourself." Chichiri said, tightening his grip. "I know you've been eavesdropping on what I was saying. Your help for my silence."

Shouge's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I'm protected by a divine power." Chichiri said, now grinning. "The higher ups aren't gonna do shit to me. But to a reaper who meddled in mortal affairs... Now, I wonder what that entails."

Shouge wiped his forehead.

"You promise your silence." Shouge repeated.

Chichiri nodded.

"But I can't do the spell." Shouge said, sceptically.

"You don't have to." Chichiri said, tapping the end of the shant to the ground.

Chichiri raised his fingers to the air.

This better work. Chichiri thought, before closing his eyes in concentration.

"Shenghuo Siwang Fenmian Lingun." Chichiri chanted, marking characters in the air. "Bend to my will."

Chichiri connected to all the souls in the plane.

"The coat." Chichiri murmured.

Nuriko gave the coat to Chichiri. Chichiri clutched the coat and concentrated. He couldn't let anything distract him. He traveled through the plane, glancing at souls. He watched Suzahara blaming himself filled in guilt, he watched a distant woodcutter smiling at birds, and he watched Nuriko burn in...

He found Zakuro lying unconscious on the floor of a dingy cell. There were young girls around her, some lying and some crying. One of the brighter souls encouraged the rest to not give up.

Chichiri knelt next to Zakuro's unconscious body. He sighed, glad that she wasn't badly hurt.

Shouge. He called out in his mind.

I'm ready. He heard Shouge reply.

He gently stroked Zakuro's face, unable to touch her.

"I'm sorry." He murmured.

He reached for Zakuro's chest, praying to whatever saved him to keep Zakuro alive too. He reached though her chest, straight to her heart. Her heart beat valiantly, unaware of the pain it was about to endure. He marked the character of death on her heart.

At that instant, Chichiri opened his eyes in Kai Lo. Shouge rose into the air and started moving towards Zakuro. Chichiri ran behind him and Suzahara and Nuriko ran behind Chichiri.

-X-X-

Zakuro's eyes snapped open. She clutched her left arm, struggling to breath. She gasped for air struggling to her knees.

"What's the matter?" Zakuro heard a voice call to her.

Zakuro recognized the symptoms from health class.

A heart attack? Zakuro's frazzled brain tried to ascertain.

Her body shifted to auto-pilot. She coughed and tried to get to her feet. She fell to her knees again, grabbing her throat. She banged her chest, her brain panicking.

-X-X-

"Faster!" Shouge egged.

Chichiri clicked his tongue.

"Feng Tu Huo Shui." Chichiri chanted, marking characters in the air. "Bend to my command."

He knew he didn't have an unlimited supply of chi anymore. He wasn't even sure how long his chi would last him. But they had to move faster.

Suzahara, Nuriko and Chichiri rose to the air and shot forward, close on Shouge's heel. They arrived outside a cavern, on the outer edges of a vast forest.

"Here!" Shouge said, urgently.

"Jieshu." Chichiri murmured, marking a single horizontal line in the air.

-X-X-

Zakuro fell to all fours, panting and coughing. She could feel somebody thumping her back. Zakuro gasped for air.

Somebody handed her some water in a jagged ceramic cup. She graciously accepted and drank large sips.

What the hell was that?! Zakuro thought to herself, as she started calming down.

Slowly she got to her knees. She rubbed her sore neck.

"Are you alright?" An unfamiliar girl's voice asked her.

Zakuro looked at the girl, smiling.

The girl was dressed in simple peasant clothes. Her pale skin had freckles all over them and her dark brown hair matched her eyes. She was short and slender. But her eyes were her most redeeming feature. They shone with confidence and strength. This girl was charismatic.

Zakuro noticed the other girls sticking close to her. It was around then Zakuro realized she was in a cell block with a dozen other girls her age. She looked to her left and right, slowly beginning to panic. She remembered Chichiri being clobbered on the head, before it went dark.

"Oi!" Zakuro called out. "Chichiri! Where are you?"

"It's just us here." The girl replied. "What's your name? I'm Li Na."

"Zakuro." Zakuro replied. "Where are we?"

"I can't be sure." Li Na said, frowning. "They got me from my village in Hokkan. They traveled all across before coming here."

"I was in Kai Lo." Zakuro murmured.

"Kai Lo?" Another girl replied. "That's close to my village. They went from my village to Hokkan and then back to Konan? What do they want from us? Where are we?"

The girl began to cry profusely. Li Na placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

"We'll definitely find a way out of here." Li Na said, confidently.

Few of the girls nodded, wiping away their tears.

-X-X-

Suzahara rose to charge in to the cavern. Chichiri held his hand and pulled him down again into the shrubbery.

"Do you have a death wish?" Chichiri chided. "We can't just barge into a tengu nest!"

"We don't have time!" Suzahara retorted pushing Chichiri away.

"Enough!" Nuriko said, in a commanding voice. "Suzahara, you're in no position to lead. To save Zakuro, we have to listen to Chichiri."

Suzahara started to protest. But Nuriko caught him by the collar.

"We follow Chichiri." Nuriko said, threateningly.

Suzahara frowned and nodded. They huddled around Chichiri, waiting for him to speak.

"Well..." Shouge murmured a while later. "It looks like my job is done? I should leave."

Chichiri ignored him, his mind working furiously. Shouge clicked his tongue and left.

Suzahara got to his feet.

"Perimeter check." He mumbled.

Nuriko looked at him suspiciously.

"I'm fine." Suzahara said, his expression grim. "You were right. I can't be sentimental. We need a plan. Chichiri got us this far."

Suzahara shrugged before leaving. But Chichiri was coming up blank. There was no way to ascertain the number of enemies in the cavern. The tengu that took Zakuro was immensely powerful. Chichiri could tell because the darkness in him reacted to the tengu.

But the aura from the demons inside the cave was faint. They weren't nearly as strong as Zakuro's captor. Chichiri couldn't figure out why Zakuro was still alive. There were too many variables for Chichiri to make a choice.

At that moment, a lone tengu flew out of the cavern, its large black wings gliding in the air. Chichiri made a split second decision of capturing the tengu. But Suzahara was far ahead of him.

As Chichiri chased the tengu, leaving a confused Nuriko behind, he watched Suzahara adeptly jumped through trees, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Stupid Hamaru!" The tengu mumbled. "Making me get him an infant! This is not what I escaped hell for! I..."

Before the tengu could finish the thought, Suzahara leapt on its back. He gagged the tengu, preventing him from making any noise. He then put his sword near its neck. Chichiri could feel the cold murderous intent from Suzahara.

"Get to the ground." Suzahara growled in a low voice.

The tengu looked at Suzahara scared and descended. Suzahara tied the tengu's wings and limbs.

Chichiri looked as the beady eyes of the tengu flitted from Suzahara to him. His hands were halfway between talons and hands. His hair matched his black feathers and was neatly parted in the centre. The only thing avian-like about him was his beaky nose. But it was unnerving how human he looked if he folded his wings.

Nuriko arrived at the scene and gasped.

"One wrong move and I get to see the inside of a tengu." Suzahara said, his tone icy.

The tengu gulped and nodded. Suzahara slowly undid his gag. The tengu coughed.

"How many of you are there inside?" Suzahara asked.

"A dozen." The tengu answered, all too quickly.

"He lies." Chichiri mumbled.

Suzahara pointed his sword at the demon's neck.

"How many in a dozen?" Suzahara asked.

The tengu frowned at Chichiri.

"Around fifty." He answered.

Chichiri slowly nodded.

"Where have you held the prisoners?" Suzahara continued interrogating.

-X-X-

"Alright, you worthless scum." A demon said as he walked into the cell.

He threw bowls at the girls. Zakuro frowned at the dirty wooden bowl that landed near her legs. The guards outside lazily stretched and watched.

"Get it while it's hot." The demon said, roughly pulling a girl to her feet.

The girl squealed and started sobbing.

"Urgh." One of the guards said, sticking out his tongue. "They taste the worst when they're snot filled. Hamaru, could you stop making them cry?"

Hamaru grunted in response.

"Why are we feeding them anyway?" Hamaru grumbled. "Back in the day, we would tear them limb to limb. The master is too soft, if you ask me."

"Don't let the general hear you." The guard said, chuckling. "The master likes his food young and virgin."

Zakuro looked around at the girls. She couldn't help but think of being cattle, ready for slaughter. Her hands shook in anger.

Back in her world, Zakuro had once seen PETA activists protesting outside a slaughterhouse. But only at that moment did she understand the true cruelty of being prepared to be consumed.

Hamaru roughly put some food in her bowl. Zakuro knew she was going to throw it away.

A few moments later, Zakuro heard Hamaru squeal. Zakuro turned and watched Hamaru dripping in the hot mess he called a stew. Li An looked angrily at him, an empty bowl in her hands. She raised her hand and struck Hamaru's head with the bowl.

"Oi!" The guards shouted, entering the cell.

Few of the girls backed up to the walls. Zakuro stuck out her leg and tripped one the guards. She then raised her bowl high towards the ceiling and struck him hard.

Looking at Li An and Zakuro, the rest of the girls pounced on the second guard, hitting him with bowls and pouring hot stew on him. Li An took charge. She took the dagger from the guard's hip and threw the staff the other guard was carrying to Zakuro.

"We've to be extremely quiet." Li An mumbled and tip-toed out of the cell.

The girls moved swiftly with cat-like motion. Zakuro tied and gagged the guards using the clothes they were wearing and formed the rear flank. Most of the girls were unarmed. Zakuro mirrored Li An, creeping around corners and hiding in shadows when the demons passed by.

It's been four months and I still can't get used to demons. Zakuro thought, as she studied her surroundings.

After around twenty minutes of walking, few of the girls started to get scared.

"Li An." Zakuro heard one of them ask. "Do you know which way is out?"

Li An frowned and pushed on.

After a while, few of the girls started sobbing. They seemed to be going in circles.

"If the demons find us..." One of the girls mumbled.

"They won't." Zakuro responded immediately and with confidence.

One thing she knew for sure was that they couldn't fall to despair. Li An stopped at a turning, signalling the others to stop.

"We've been walking around for ages!" Zakuro heard a boy's voice complain. "Where the hell are rest of the tengu? I wanna fight!"

"Our objective is not to defeat the tengu." Another replied, in a calm tone. "We only need to retrieve the girls."

Hearing this, one of the girls scrambled forward.

"Here." She panted. "We're here."

She screamed and fell back, scared. Li An and the others ran went to her aid. But Zakuro hid, watching quietly.

The voices they heard were of two human boys. One had piercing blue eyes with long black hair. He held two swords in his hand and smiled at the girl. The other had a bow-and-arrow strapped to his back. His strong jaw line made him look like a caveman. But behind the men, stood a dozen demons, following them as though waiting for orders.

Li An tried to bodily move the girl.

"We need to run." Li An said, urgency in her voice.

The tengu moved forward but the caveman raised his hand, stopping them.

"We're after one specific girl." He said calmly. "Dressed like a foreigner."

Zakuro clutched her staff. These people were in cahoots with the demons. They had to get away. She watched as the girls shivered under the caveman's icy smile.

"She is from Hokkan." A girl said, pointing at Li An.

The caveman frowned.

"Let's say she isn't dressed like anybody from this world." The caveman said, his voice growing an edge.

Zakuro's heart started pounding. These people were looking for her. She took a step back. She knew what was coming. She didn't want to see the vacant stares in their eyes.

"We've seen no such girl." Li An said, bravely. "You should be ashamed to call yourself human."

Li An made no motion towards Zakuro.

"That's right." Another girl piped in, spitting on the ground. "You sold your soul to these hell beings. You're disgusting!"

Zakuro was wracked in guilt. These girls could have easily given her up. But they stood, bravely facing imminent death.

Zakuro held the staff tighter and took a step forward. If they were going to die, they were going to take a few of the demons down with them.

But from the walls, strong hands emerged and clasped Zakuro's mouth.

It pulled Zakuro back towards the shadows as Zakuro watched Li An and the other girls get slaughtered, her screams stuck in her throat.

AN:

Translations:

Tengu- A crow demon.

Shenghuo Siwang Fenmian Lingun- Life Death Birth Soul

Jieshu- End

-X-X-

LunaLupus16- Words cannot begin to express how much I appreciate your review. I literally jumped reading your thoughts! Thank you so very much!

-X-X-

Hopefully you guys like this chapter!

As always, keep reading!