Okami Rising Chapter 7: Grudge Match

"HINATSURU!"

It was a grim prospect, Tengen having an enemy separate his three wives and put him in a position where he had to choose who to save and who to let die. Watching the blood bullet rocket towards the house Hinatsuru was trapped in, he had lost all hope.

"Secret Yokai Art: Lightning Slash!"

Tengen, Dakuto, Suma, Hinatsuru, and Makio all heard the voice, Tengen couldn't believe it, he had wounded the voice's owner and had watched him get shot by a close-range blood bullet and had been told to go save his wives.

The blood bullet, as it was about to hit the house, was cut in half, a green nichirin katana glowing with lightning being the thing that cause the two halves to shoot away from the house and hit on either side of it. Okami's eyes were closed, then they opened. Tengen froze, Okami's left eye was still blind but his right eye, while still green, had a slit pupil. Even Dakuto backed up a bit, however, Okami surged forward, Tengen once again barely able to keep up with Okami's speed as he and Dakuto engaged in their duel, while that was going on Tengen gently sat Suma and Makio down and went to get Hinatsuru out of the building, as he got to the ruins of the house and moved the rubble off her she was pale and looking at him but not seeing him. He picked her up and moved her to the others.

"Hinatsuru!" Suma shouted hugging the woman's body to her. Even Makio's eyes widened for a minute before closing again as her headache returned. Hinatsuru refocused on them after a moment and hugged her two fellow wives. Tengen turned to look at where the fight was.

Okami and Dakuto were both moving so fast that they were a blur. Okami however, was tired of this fight and decided he wanted to end it, his attacks breaking any defense that Dakuto could muster, Okami's lightning-emitting nichirin katana cut through anything Dakuto tried to use as cover, whether it was houses, trees, or even the supports of the buildings, and stones. Nothing was stopping Okami's katana, the only thing keeping him from killing Dakuto was that Dakuto kept doing everything in his power to dodge. Dakuto was afraid, this was intense, more intense than what he believed he could experience. This form was… was… supernatural. But no one had known about it! How could they?! From Dakuto's understanding, the demon that had attacked him prior before it died allowed their lord to know that Okami survived some very terrible wounds.

Dakuto barely had the time to throw himself to the side, Okami's slash firing a crescent of lightning cutting through anything in its path for 100 yards. Dakuto looked at it in fear.

"What's the matter? Don't wanna fight me anymore?" Okami asked before laughing.

"What… who… how…?" Dakuto stumbled over what he should even ask. "Okami…"

"It's hard to explain to an idiot like you so I'll use an example. I am Okami, what you fought was Okami. We're two sides of the same coin but I'm the one who kept his body going for those centuries he spent comatose. I'm the Yokai in him." Okami stated with a grin. Dakuto felt his blood running cold. "You see, we're the same spirit. The same person, but I'm like an emergency plan. I can take control of him forcibly. He's resting now, so I'm in control. I took control because unlike that first demon, you piss me the fuck off so I'm going to kill you, not just kill you, I'm going to enjoy it!" Okami roared as he threw himself at Dakuto, cutting down anything that got in his way. The pressure coming off the slashes hit Dakuto in the chest almost like a kanabo, Okami kept up his aggressive control of the fight, and suddenly, he used the hilt to hit Dakuto in the eye, then slashed his left leg off, as Dakuto fell to his knee, Okami kicked him into a wall, before punching him with his right hand, putting Dakuto through the building they had been fighting around.

Tengen could hear the fight and winced, he didn't know what to do about this new form of Okami. He knew the man had wolf ears and was believed by Oyakata-sama to be divine, but Tengen hadn't believed in Kami or Buddha ever since his father had made him kill all 6 of his brothers as a young man.

"Are you sure he isn't a demon?" Makio asked Tengen.

"He survives sunlight, wisteria, hell maybe even beheading with nichirin. He survived an explosion too. Plus, one of those blood arts from the demon he's fighting. I've never seen something like this." Tengen tells his wife, trying to work out what it could be.

"I don't care what he is!" Suma shouted hugging Hinatsuru to her with tears in her eyes. "He saved Hinatsuru!"

"That's true, are you ok Hina?" Tengen asked his wife who had been in danger.

"I'm ok, I just can't believe that… I can't believe I'm here." Hinatsuru said.

"Nor can I." A grumpy, low voice said causing the four to look up. Obanai Iguro stood above them, his snake curled around his neck, his nichirin in its saya. "Sound Hashira, who are these 3 women?" He asked his fellow hashira.

"They're my wives. Serpent Hashira." Tengen said something about Iguro seemed off. "Why are you here?"

"I saw lightning shooting upwards into the sky. That's either a demon or… the Yokai." Iguro finally said with disgust in his voice. "What a fool Oyakata is to trust him. We can't kill him but if he wanted to, he could kill us all. We should've let Sanemi behead him."

"You don't know him!" Suma shouted at him which her a glare to the point she shuffled herself behind Makio and Tengen.

"Respectfully, I think you're letting bias cloud your judgment. He's a supernatural creature yes but he's not bad. He's saved Giyu and now my wife Hinatsuru." Tengen said nonchalantly, trying to keep the peace.

"I've heard about said Water Hashira from Sanemi. He sounds like an ass." Iguro said then shrugged. "Perhaps if we lost him, we could get a better one. Who knows, we lost the mist one, perhaps Water is next."

Back to the fight, Dakuto was trying to get out of the fight, his kimono and hakama were shredded, Okami was content to beat on him, Dakuto tried to slash at Okami who simply let Dakuto strike the wall breaking the blade of his katana, before Dakuto could recover, Okami had wrapped his arms around Dakuto, ran to the other side of the wall and slammed him as hard as he could into the wall, a piece of shrapnel that had impaled the wall earlier went through Dakuto's chest, Okami seeing his chance focused lightning into his hands and began a barrage of punches, sending Dakuto through the wall and rolling across the ground, as Dakuto stumbled up, he realized his left eye was crushed inwards, before he could do anything he was hit by an uppercut, then his shoulders were grabbed, a knee driven into his stomach, three punches in between his eyes, Okami claws at Dakuto's face as his eye starts to recover, cutting both of his eyes, as Dakuto raises his hands to protect his neck, Okami shifts behind him, stomping out his left leg tendons, as Dakuto tries to kick Okami with his right leg, Okami drives a lightning fist through the rear of Dakuto's knee burning it off, as Dakuto tried to defend himself, he felt Okami wrap his arms around Dakuto's neck, as his eyes healed in time to see watch Okami snap his neck backwards. Dakuto's body had taken so much punishment he wasn't sure what was next, his fight was extinguished, then Okami took the remaining two revolvers that Dakuto had taken from the police officers and fired all 12 rounds into Dakuto, blowing off appendages and body parts. As Dakuto collapsed against a building, blood painting all over it, Okami put the pistols into his hakama, finally drew his katana, put it to Dakuto's neck, and dragged it across beheading him. After he did that, he did a chiburi and sheathed his katana, before smacking Dakuto's head away.

"Okamiiiii…." Dakuto's head whines as it disintegrated.

"Fuck you. Rot in Yomi." Okami said, turning around and walking away before his hand goes to his chest, he stumbles towards where he left Tengen and his wives at, his chest was pounding, he was gasping, the adrenaline had left him, the blood leaking from his stomach, he collapsed into a heap as he struggled, slowly everything went dark as he closed his eyes.

Time skip

Okami woke up with a start, he felt like he was moving, his face buried into someone's back, the black of the outside confirming that it was Tengen's, who was hopping from tree to tree.

"He's awake, what a joy." The snake guy, Iguro said beside them.

"Hey there Okami, you feel any better?" Tengen asks Okami. Tengen secretly protested when they found his unconscious body. He hadn't wanted to carry him until they patched him up.

"Where… are… we…?" Okami wheezes out.

"We're on our way to HQ," Hintsuru answered, she, Makio, and Suma were with them.

"We're all wanted for a debriefing on what happened on this mission," Tengen told him.

"I didn't do anything on this mission, yet they want us all," Iguro says with a sigh.

"You're… welcome…" Okami tells him, which earns him a glare from the Serpent Hashira and a laugh from Tengen. Okami gives a small smirk at that and lays his head against Tengen's back.

"Hey, you know that's our husband, right?" Makio teases him as he does so.

"Mhm… comfy…" Okami says shutting his eyes again getting an eye roll from Tengen.

"Relax, he did save Hinatsuru after all," Suma says before giving Hinatsuru a big smile.

"He did save me, and I thank him for it," Hinatsuru says. "Besides… I've never seen something like that, even in a demon."

"You haven't fought many demons then," Iguro said, keeping pace. "That's a primal response. Admittedly, seeing it done on a demon is an interesting sight. I almost thought that he was going to rip his throat out with his teeth."

"You know he has a name and can hear you right?" Tengen questioned. "At the very least respect the fact he took out that 5th suisei or whatever it called itself."

"Did you see kanji on it's eyes?" Iguro questioned, not quite sure what they were talking about.

"Yea, 5th suisei." Tengen replied, neither he nor Iguro hearing of 12 suisei, at most the only upper ranks anyone had ever heard of were the 12 Kizuki, though they figured that there were others, perhaps these suisei were like kizuki but underneath them. "Maybe Oyakata-sama will know. We have the formal hashira meeting tomorrow, though we have our reports to give today when he wakes up."

"Gonna have to wait a bit, he's unconscious again," Makio informs her husband. Makio had to admit, the morning was a shock, but seeing someone like Okami having powers and fighting with them, was a relief.

The conversation would end as they arrived at Oyakta-sama's mansion, the kukashi quickly showed them to temporary rooms, while Okami was quickly taken to a makeshift medical room, his injuries being cleaned and stitched up.

Time skip to 10:00 AM

Oyakata-sama had been woken as soon as he could, as quickly without straining himself, his two daughters assisting him as he sits in front of Obanai Iguro and Tengen Uzui who were kneeling respectfully waiting for him to speak. "Last night we received a crow from Okami Shinigami consisting of a question, asking about Suisei, one was sent here and then it carried on the same message to the Butterfly mansion. We began a search of records for Suisei but could find nothing. You two and Okami encountered the demon. However, as he is still unconscious from wounds, I need your input. Raise my children and tell me what you saw."

Tengen and Obanai both rose and before Tengen could start, Obanai spoke. "I only arrived just after the fight had gone out of where I found Tengen, so I don't have much I can tell you Oyakata-sama." Obanai finished and turned it over to Tengen, annoyed he even had to be here.

"I responded to a crow requesting help from a Riju Nakanada. My wives and I immediately set out because we were so close by. By the time we arrived, the other three Mizunoto were dead and Okami was fighting alone, the demon used a katana and knew his name, plus it kept shouting at him to fight like it was… infatuated with fighting Okami. My best guess? The demon knew him." Tengen shrugged before continuing. "Okami, when we got there, he said couldn't get the demon's head. As the fight continued my wives and I tried assisting him but as the fight continued and I aided him it was clear this wasn't a normal one. He had mastery over his sword, he strategized, and he did have Kanji saying 5th Suisei in his eyes."

Oyakata-sama nodded and thought for a moment, "The demon, how did it die?" He asked a suisei was new, and he had a bad feeling in his stomach, however by the reactions of both, neither knew.

"I'm sorry… I don't exactly know what was done. Okami… turned feral for a moment and took the fight to the other side of the village." Tengen said.

"Feral?" Oyakata questioned.

"Er… I forgot a part. Oyakata-sama…. Okami can control lightning." Tengen told his master, as the master raised an eyebrow in confusion, Tengen continued. "He… emitted an aura of lightning, made it cover his katana, and even shot it from his katana. But yes, he does have a feral mode. His eyes became slits, he claimed he was the more… Yokai part instead of the human part. I don't know. Respectfully, I don't believe in that stuff, not since my dad made me kill my brothers." Tengen finished his retelling.

Oyakata sama nodded, respecting Tengen's choice. "It is a mystery. Thank you for telling me."

Meanwhile, Giyu Tomioka and Kojaro were returning to the Oyakata mansion for tomorrow's Hashira meeting.

"Why'd you have me join you?" Giyu asked Kojaro as they walked along the path.

"Because you've been spending too much time with the damn mutt," Kojaro told him grumbling. "You know we could have to kill him at any moment, right? He could turn out to be some super demon!"

Giyu said nothing, not providing any reaction, he didn't particularly care for the idea of killing Okami, but he thought that the accusation of being a… super demon was a bit ridiculous.

"You're already friends with the mutt. You're hopeless." Kojaro turned the topic to Giyu himself. "Ever since he saved you."

"He could've left me to die or eaten me himself. You guys let him off the leash." Giyu said in his classic monotone voice.

"Hey! That was Oyakata-sama!" Kojaro shouted at him accusingly.

"Then stop complaining," Giyu said curtly, continuing their walk in silence. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to take Kojaro's side, which was unfounded and paranoia based, or argue and give Kojaro the classic complaint he had of Giyu showing him no respect that was common ever since Giyu had become a Hashira. Giyu had been the youngest Hashira in the bunch when he became one 4 years ago at 14. He was unnaturally fast to it, Giyu himself attributed it to burying himself in slaying every demon he could get his hands on in return for Sabito's death. In hindsight, he was embarrassed by his actions. Giyu was drawn out by Kojaro's ranting, something he was used to.

"-And furthermore, Oyakata-sama will be gone in a few years and his son must be warned of the dangers of trusting a Yokai." Kojaro finished, unaware Giyu had ignored him.

"Kojaro… do you ever get tired of your own voice?" Giyu asked him, normally he'd let Kojaro continue but today he found himself bored.

"Damn brat…" Kojaro mumbled at Giyu's back, he figured Giyu wouldn't respond but was surprised when Giyu stopped.

"Shut the fuck up." Giyu simply said and let the words sink in as Kojaro's eyes widened. "I didn't ask to be a hashira, in fact, had I known how all of you were, I would've said no. The only pleasant one of my predecessors was Kanae. You're a damn disappointment as a Hashira." Giyu finished. He didn't know what came over him but, had hanging out with Okami changed him? Judging by Kojaro's face, yes, he had changed.