The present day
Much had changed across the world over the past thousand years or so. Nowhere was this more evident than in the town of what was now called Sakurashin. Having previously been an area made up of forest, a river and a few scattered villages, it had grown considerably outside of Tokyo which was just no more than an hour or so drive away to the east. Unlike its larger neighbour, however, the town had managed to retain much of the natural beauty rather than level everything to make space for its inhabitants. Large groups of trees were dotted around the town and the forest of Aokigahara bordered the town to the west, this being just north of Mt Fuji that stood proud and tall over the landscape like a god watching over its people. What was more, the river near the town continued to flow, often becoming a place of joy and swimming and relaxation in the summer for the town's people. Some had described it as a heaven on earth, despite the seven enormous cylindrical trees that formed a ring around the town. These we shall move onto later.
What made the town very attractive though were the evenings and mornings. When the days began and end, the surrounding natural landscape around the town looked ever more graceful and amazing than ever. Mt Fuji was particularly attractive as it seemed to glow in the morning sun, and the evenings were better as when the sun set behind the mountain, it became a silhouette against a colourful sky and radiated such beauty, such peace, such relaxation that one person described it as being "Fantastical!"
To those who lived in Sakurashin, it was indeed a true statement.
However, despite there being a full moon over the town in a cloudless, star-filled sky, a sight that would normally boggle the mind as to how anything so beautiful could exist, tonight was different. For four people in particular, tonight was changing their lives at this very moment.
"Ao, who is that?"
The cat-eared girl could not bring herself to reply, out of shock from both the sudden revelation before them and the grief and sadness as to the identity of the one standing before them that threatened to break her heart.
With a dim street light overhead, which only partially illuminated his body as if the darkness around them emphasised whose side he stood on, the person in question let loose a light, but evil chuckle. He was a tall man, about 6ft 2 with thick silver/grey hair, a pair of round glasses across his fiery gold coloured eyes. He had a thick winter coat on with a pair of black trousers and a pair boots that looked like they were from the army were placed on his feet. What really stood out about him, though, were the pair of cat-like ears that protruded from within the thickness of his hair on the sides of his head.
To Hime, Kotoha, and Kyosuke, this person was someone new, yet incredibly dangerous. To Ao, however, he was someone she was all-too familiar with.
"Gin."
Hime turned snapped her head round to look at her feline eared friend. "What!" she exclaimed vehemently in shock, a look of disbelief on her face.
"No need to feel disbelieved!" came the voice of their adversary, standing a good thirty feet in front of them, his voice being soft, yet dripping with malice and a desire to commit devious deeds. "She's right. I am Gin, or really the one who possesses him." He gave a twirl on one foot as if he were a model showing off his coat. "How do I look?" he asked mockingly, shooting them a toothy grin.
Hime glared at him venomously. "I don't care who you are or who you think you are, but you are not going to threaten this town and its people anymore!" she declared, taking out her jade green staff and going into a battle pose. "Not while I am in charge!" she added, determination seeping through her veins.
The man rolled his eyes and gave a yawn; no doubt another sign intended to mock her. "Where hasn't that been said before," he said nonchalantly. "You should really change your lines; they're literally repetitive of what others have said before."
Hime's ruby red eyes narrowed dangerously at him when these words reached her ears. Oh, he was going to get it! She was so pissed off, she could feel the anger coursing through her and it made her free hand ball into a fist and the other grasp her staff even tighter than before. How dare he say such things to mock her! More importantly, how dare he come here and threaten the town that she and her ancestors, as well as her friends and people, had worked so hard to build! He was nothing more than a despicable creature, and they were going to stop him.
The man [Gin's] gaze turned to Ao, meeting her melancholic expression with a bright smile. "Aww, cheer up, dear sister!" he said happily. "You're big bro is back! Aren't you happy to see me?!"
Ao's lip quivered and she struggled to hold back the tears. Kotoha put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, whispering a few calm words into her ears. As much as she did not want to believe it, she had to accept that her brother was standing before her; the one who she loved and looked up to within her own family. He had been … he had become this … this demon, this thing! Oh, it was unbearable to take in.
How could it have happened? How could her sweet and caring older brother have become this monster? This horrible monster who was set on creating chaos?! How could it have happened! She thought he had just gone away for a while and would return. Ao had been looking forward to the day he would return and she would jump into his arms and give him the biggest hug imaginable.
Now, like a horrific nightmare, all of that had been taken away from her.
Hime and Kyosuke both took a step forward; the energy of the latter's power swirling around him like a vortex. Though they were nervous in having to face Gin, they were ready to do whatever it took if it meant saving the town. This was their home, after all, and they were going to defend it.
Gin just glanced at Hime to Kyosuke and then back again. Then he sighed heavily as if fed up with their display of defiance.
"Oh please, don't bother," he said to them with a slightly irritated voice. "I'm not going to waste my time trying to fight you. I have much a much bigger fish to fry and you all will be flies, nothing but a nuisance."
"Just try and stop us, Gin!" Kyosuke snarled at him, baring his teeth and concentrating his power for a strike. "It's four against one. You can't stop us."
Gin burst out laughing. It was not a laugh that sounded evil, but more gleeful as if he was being entertained at the circus and what he was witnessing was hilarious. "Oh, please," he said, giving a slight shake of his head. "An ogre demon who can't control his power if he has a tantrum, a mayor who can't seem to protect her people even though she swore to do so, a spiritual language user whose only noticeable aspect is her chest and my dear sister who's crying like a baby!" He stopped and laughed again, ignoring the angry looks Hime, Kyosuke and Kotoha were giving him, the two former especially looking like they wanted to rip him limb-from-limb. "This is more of a bad joke than an actual fighting team." He added.
With a cry, Hime charged forward and leapt into the air, raising her staff above her for a downward strike. She was set on one thing and one thing only: defeat Gin. If necessary, kill him!
Suddenly, she was hit by a blast of energy. The next thing she knew, she flew back through the air, landing with a painful thud on her back, her green staff falling to the ground beside her. Pain flared up and down her back, making her feel as if they had been broken in the fall. She tried to move her body. Yes, she could but only a little. Thankfully, she was still able to move. She sat up and looked ahead, seeing Gin standing with his feet slightly apart and one hand stretched out in front of her with an open palm. Whatever he had done, it had hurt, really bad.
"Hime!" Kyosuke rushed in front of her, readying himself to deflect another strike of energy that would surely come their way. "Kotoha, Ao, get her out of here!" he ordered, keeping his eyes focused on Gin.
"No!" With a grunt of pain but a surge of determination, she got up, grabbed her staff and stood next to Kyosuke. "We'll take him together!" she said.
"You'll get yourself killed!" the oni spirit tried to deter her but she was having none of it.
"No, Kyosuke! I'm the mayor and it's my responsibility to defend this town." She readied her staff, meeting the nasty smile Gin gave them with a deathly glare, her eyes glowing like molten lava. "You go in from the left, I'll attack from the right. We'll try and cut him off; take him down at once. Kotoha!" she glanced over her shoulder at the other two about ten feet behind them. "Get Ao out of here!" she ordered.
From across the street, Gin could only 'humph' at the sight of this. Two opponents, one oni and a mayor, fighting together to stop him. Interesting, no doubt, but still quite pointless. They were only going to get hurt. Besides, as he said, he a bigger fish to fry, and he knew just how to do it.
Still he mentally said to himself as he took off his coat, letting it fall to the ground to reveal a black tank top over a normal framed body; one that held so much power and danger to his enemies. If it's a whoopin' they're wantin'!
Teeth clenched, weapons and power at the ready and a will to fight surging through their veins like the flow of blood, Hime and Kyosuke prepared to launch themselves at Gin. Behind them, Ao and Kotoha could only watch. They wanted to help, but Kotoha had been told to get Ao out of here, much to her dismay. And Ao was clearly not going to want to fight her older brother for fear of hurting him. No, she could not bring herself to do it. Good or bad, she still cared about him and loved him just as she did with her friends. She would have to le-
The loud whir of a revving engine almost scared them out of their skin. Something shot past them and Hime and Kyosuke quickly darted out of the way, just missing a vehicle, now confirmed to be a motorcycle, skid to a halt where they had been standing. Three people dismounted, facing Gin. The first, the driver, was a young man of about 18-22 years old with short black hair, brown eyes and a handsome face. He was wearing a black jacket with a blue top underneath, a pair of jeans and white shoes.
His passengers were a young woman who was pretty and wore the attire of a nun. Clasped to a belt around her waist were two sheathed katana blades. The second passenger was a young boy of about ten years old dressed very casually in a pair of short, a top and a hoodie and pair of sneakers with a hat covering his brown hair.
"Oh, lookie here! Come to join the party, have we?!" Gin proclaimed loudly with a mock air of surprise.
"Well, seeing as you've made your presence clear to the town, we're up for some fun." The nun replied, taking out one of her katana blades.
"Just be careful, Yae," the man warned her. "We never know what he'll throw at us."
"It's no biggie, all you have to do is tune him and we're done." The boy piped up in a relaxed manner as he took a cigarette out of his pocket and, using his power, lit it and took a long drag, blowing out the snow into the air. With the way he was acting, anyone would think that he was just relaxing somewhere without a care in the world.
The man went to reply but Hime walked up to him with a tight lip. Her face held an expression that clearly showed she was about to berate him for something.
"Next time, try not to run us over, Akina!" she said sternly as she took up position between him and the young boy; Kyosuke moving next to Yae.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly but his attention was quickly drawn to Gin, who cackled loudly in a near insane manner. He was bet forward slightly with a hand resting on his chest.
"Oh, this is just pure gold!" he said, taking a deep breath to control himself and looking at all of them. "It's like a bad rip off of the A-Team. A nun, a god taking the form of a young kid, a Yokai for a mayor and a human. But I will thank you for making me laugh, it has been a pleasure."
Akina glared at Gin furiously. How dare he act like this, as if it was a game! How could anyone act this way?! He was nothing but a terror, and he had to be stopped, here and now!
"Hime, what do we do?" he asked, but received no reply from the mayor and turned to look at her. "Hime, are you okay?"
Her face held a blank expression, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape as if she had seen something shocking and could not register it from her brain. Gin's words had struck her hard as if she had collided with a brick wall. A Yokai for a mayor? But that would mean … that would mean that I … I'm …
"I can't be," she breathed in shock, feeling her body going stiff, overwhelmed by this 'revelation'. It can't be true, can it?
Gin rolled his eyes. "Obviously, he-" he pointed at Akina. "-hasn't told you, Mayor," he emphasised this word with a sarcastic tone. "You are a Yokai. Don't believe me, just look under your scarf. I would show you myself, but I gotta run. I have some gardening to do."
"You're not going anywhere!" Akina growled menacingly at Gin. "It's time to send you back to Otherworld."
Gin sighed heavily, closing his eyes and shaking his head as if to say: Wow. I was hoping that they got the message. Obviously not.
"Clearly," he spoke after a moment's silence, looking back up at the group, meeting each and every one of their gazes. "We have to do this the hard way." He shrugged. "Oh well."
A flash of light as bright of the sun filled the air, followed by a piercing cry and something falling to the ground. Yae, Kyosuke and the young boy dived for cover, shielding their eyes but Hime stayed where she was, her arm raised in front of her to try and protect herself in some way. After about three seconds, the light instantly faded and the group looked up to see Gin was gone, his form having quite literally disappeared into the night like he was never even there to begin with.
It was what, or who lay on the ground that seemed to be the only evidence of his presence. "Akina!" Hime cried.
The young man lay on the ground on his side, head facing up towards the sky and eyes closed. A large mark was scorched across his top and a few drops of blood began to fall from the back of his head to the ground. He did not move, which made the mayor panic even more.
"Akina!" she cried again as she knelt down beside him, placing a hand on his head. The others rushed over, all of them wearing concerned looks on their faces. "Ao, is he okay?" Hime asked her cat eared friend.
She closed her eyes for a moment as if she was trying to meditate. Then she opened them. "He's fine, just asleep. But we should get him to the hospital, just in case. Juri will want to check him over anyway."
The others nodded in agreement but even as they left, Kyosuke carrying Akina over his shoulder, none of them said a word. Privately, they were all beginning to wonder how what happened tonight could change them, how it would affect their bond. Hime even glanced anxiously at Ao as they left, seeing her friend with her arms wrapped around herself and looking down at the ground, not saying a word to anyone.
We're going to have a lot to talk about in the days ahead. She mentally said to herself.