Author's Note: Sorry for the wait guys. All of you know this is a hugely busy time of year for me and trust me, this year is definitely not the exception. I've been swamped between stories (including the ones y'all don't see), cosplay (someone shoot me, please?), the family (husband, especially, and my nutso in-laws), and my insatiable need to prepare for summer time. I'm updating more than once, so I hope all of you can forgive me? I won't say it's not going to take another month to update, but at least you get more than one? -huggles readers-
DoppleGengar: And then there was one... It looks like, considering how long I take to update, that you are my final reviewer, darling. Not a worry! We can party together alone! -hands noise-maker- =3
Song for Chapter:
Dead But Rising - Volbeat, Outlaw Gentleman & Shady Ladies
Chapter Seventeen: Gifts
"I've lost the damned breezy puff, I 'ave!" Jin repeatedly banged his head against a tree, mindful of the horn protruding the top.
Another week, yes a week, had passed for poor Touya, who had avidly been hunting the Windmaster's little sister for what felt like years now. They had traveled all over this region of Ningenkai, often backtracking, and soon enough they had ended at a cliff overlooking the wide sea. Apparently, the wind fused with Kotone's youki had ceased and they were at a dead end. Unfortunately, it would take death to stop the redhead beside him.
"Jin, if you kill yourself now I won't go deliver that trinket to Kotone," Touya grumbled, rubbing his forehead. The wind apparition had been driving him insane with all the circling they had done.
The Windmaster pulled himself from the tree and pointed out across the vast ocean, "It disappears 'ere, yup! Poof! No more Ko! She's gone an' drowned! Tou, what if she did, eh?!"
Touya delivered a well-placed fist to the much taller demon's head, having to leap to do so. His agitation was getting the best of him, not to mention he was starting to grow hungry again. Even a demon needed to sleep and eat every once in a while, even one as old as him. A damn week without sleep or food was making him more volatile, dangerous.
"Just calm down. We'll find her." The mantra had been repeated in his head for the last seven days.
"But- but-"
A thought clicked in the Ice Master's head, one that seemed to be the solution and answer they were looking for. He narrowed his eyes on the rolling waves before glancing back at his friend.
"Jin, do you know what is just a few dozen miles out?"
"Eh, what are ya talkin' 'bout-"
"Think, idiot."
Jin screwed his face up, stroking his chin. When it finally registered, he snapped his fingers with a single fang hanging over the side of his mouth. "That isle we wanted, yup! The pesky humans tried to bribe us 'long in the tourney!"
"Hanging Neck Island, property of those dead humans and completely deserted," he explained easier. "Wouldn't that be the perfect place to go if you didn't want to be found?"
Jin grinned and snatched up the Ice Master without another thought. "Caught me second wind, I did! Hold on, lad!"
"Damn it Jin!"
~:.:{I Have Been To The Ends Of The Earth, I've Been Over Mountains And Riding The Storms}:.:~
"You've done a fine job," Kotone remarked as she adjusted the new set of clothes, ones that were not shredded and filthy like the set she wore for nearly a month straight, if not longer. Not to mention the stench... "I've never felt such light material!"
"Let me explain, would you?" Suzuka, exhausted and worked near death, sat on one of the fallen trees near his makeshift work station. "You control the wind, so I fashioned you a set of clothes that are virtually weightless. It's all I could really do for you, save the Youki Cuffs on your wrists."
"And you did a fine job!" She smacked him on the back adoringly. "The others seem content."
The camp had moved from the middle of the island to be closer to Suzuka now that his job was finished. At least, finished for their group... He still had a workload the size of a mountain, but priority took precedence.
Regardless, all six of her undead companions seemed to be in higher spirits, if only because they had been given new toys. And clothing, for that matter, but their gifts were more important.
Raizen had been given a headband that put a huge strain on his youki, yellow in color, and a set of pants that were weighted heavily with restraints even demons of his caliber found hard to carry. It would help him in the long run. Yuji was given a sword, considering his old one was long gone- for the best. It made it easier to withdraw lightning to his beckoning, but not only had he been given that. His vest was weighted as Raizen's pants were, and also put a strain on his youki. Genkai wore weighted clothes as well, but cuffs were around her wrists and ankles. The Spirit Cuffs were much more profound than Yusuke's was from the Dark Tournament, as Suzuka explained. Toguro had been given the exact same gifts as the female psychic. Kuronue, much to his displeasure, had been forced to wear a strange contraption over his wings that would make flying much harder, but when taken off in the next few months, he would be able to fly like no other. The weights would make him swifter and they helped to suppress his youki, having to keep it at maximum power to even move, like everyone else. His scythe was revamped and now much deadlier than before.
Karasu, being one of the hardest to work for, had his old black attire on, but it was the mask and gloves he wore that were special. The mask was the same as he had used in the Dark Tournament, though with a Suzuka flare. No, it was not glittering and bedazzled- the crow had threatened death by bombs- but looked identical to his old one. It contained his power, much like Spirit Cuffs, and honed it until he could finally unleash it as an onslaught in later times. It would make him stronger in the process. The gloves were where he was having issues though, and he refused to put them on.
"Damn it Karasu," Kotone growled when she noticed they had been discarded. "These will target your bombs and make them more volatile. You could create better ones when you get to take them off later! Just put the things on!"
"I do not need help with my bombs," he grumbled, the same passive expression on his features. "They are just as powerful as those gloves could make them, without their assistance."
The wind demoness stomped over and snatched up the gloves before rounding on the crow. She had little time for a stubborn undead brat trying to throw a tantrum to get his way, no matter how subtle his fit. "Look, we've come to terms with the fact you're on our side, and whether I like you or not holds little precedence in this matter. Hold out your hands."
"No."
Aggressively, she snatched up his wrist and glared at him. The two had a stand-off for a moment, neither wavering in their stances, and all around watched the turmoil unravel. Of course, a fight was expected to follow. The way Kotone's blue eyes glittered meant that she had assumed as much as well and was simply waiting for Karasu to make the first move, which would then turn into her beating him near second-death.
Minutes passed in suspenseful silence before Karasu glanced away, his wrist going limp in her hand. She grinned triumphantly, if not surprised, and gently pulled the glove over his fingers. Her hand was held palm up for the next and he consented without another word. Once the restraining gloves were in place, she patted the crow on the chest.
"See, we might get along after all. Thank you." The smile she offered was genuine.
He nodded his head, the violet eyes catching her blue ones in a profound stare. She was not unnerved, as she usually was, but accepted it in lieu of his obedience a few moments prior. She had to take these demons in stride, after all, and they were far from the most conventional group.
"Did that just happen?" Kuronue mumbled inaudibly to Yuji. The two, despite their differences, had made a sort of pact amongst themselves. They were not exactly friends, but they were allies that worked together far better than any had expected.
"I believe it did," Yuji agreed, even his eyes wide. "Perhaps Karasu will help us after all."
The quiet conversations did not cease until Genkai felt a chill run up her spine. She glanced around and a twinkle in the distance, far up in the clouds, caught her eye. Something was coming.
"Yo, brat, something's coming," she called to Kotone, breaking the kaze dai youkai from her stare-down with the currently docile crow.
"Eh?" She turned her attention up towards the clouds and felt the barrier of wind stir angrily when the intruder began to break through it with ease. "What the...?!"
In a gusty blur of speed she had not expected, a loud yell came careening straight towards her. The demoness made a move to dodge, but slender, clawed digits snatched her out of the way before she had the chance. Karasu, having been the only close enough to her, did not move his eyes from the spot the figure crashed down, though his fingers clenched on her shoulders.
"Thanks, I think." Kotone readied herself for an attack before the unexpected. She heard their voices.
"You idiot! I told you not to go so fast! This is the second time in the last month you've crash landed me! STOP MAKING ME FLY!"
"I TOLD YA TO HANG ON OR YER GONNA GET A BELLY FULL O' DIRT! OI! LEMMEGO!"
"You have got to be kidding me," the redhead sighed and smacked her forehead. "Karasu, let me go." When the crow obliged, she stomped into the cloud of dirt and debris.
"I guess the dumbasses found her," Genkai said to Yuji, the only one who would realize who the newcomers were.
"Yes, but I just wonder if it is for the best," he remarked calmly, though even he stifled a laugh.
"TOU! I SAID LEMMEGO!"
"I DON'T HAVE YOU, IDIOT!"
"Then who... AHHHHH! SOMETHIN' BIT ME!"
"YOU IDIOT, DUMBASS, SON OF A BITCH, CRAZY LITTLE BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU SCARE THE HELL OUT OF ME! I THOUGHT YOU WERE AN ENEMY!"
The dust began to clear and the group could now see a short Ice Master standing off to the side and trying to brush his clothing free of rocks and dirt. Though, it was not this that caused some of the party to laugh.
Two redheads, one male and one female, were tangled up in playful brawl. Kotone's teeth had sunk into his shoulder, arms and legs around the man with one hand tugging painfully at his hair, while he tried in vain to yank her legs free.
"Wait, Ko?" He could finally see her well enough to figure out his new attacker. "MY KO!"
Thus, the hugging ensued and her eyes nearly bulged from her head at how tight his grip was. "J-Jin...!"
"Been lookin' e'erywhere for ya, I have! Makai, Ningenkai, just short of Reikai, and 'ere ya are! All spiffy an' strengthy, yup!"
"JIN!"
"Aww, I'm happy ta see ya too, love!" he cooed, rubbing his face against hers.
"Her mate?" Kuronue asked, having forgotten the name she told him before.
"Not at all," Yuji snickered.
"Hmm, family." Raizen could tell how similar their scents were, in a way, and from the mop of erratic red hair on top of their heads it was pretty obvious. "I will say, brother and sister?"
"Bingo," the female psychic added.
"JIN! LET. ME. GO!" Kotone nearly ripped out part of his hair, her face red at the blood that rushed to it from being cut off at the middle of her body. "NOW!"
"Eh?" Jin finally realized how he was slowly killing his sister by the color of her neck and cheeks. "Oopsies! Didn't mean ta strangle ya, lovey!"
She was steadied upon the ground, though her head swam fuzzily from the interaction. For once, she was thankful training had been cut off for the day to try out Suzuka's new creations, otherwise she would be unconscious with Jin's silly behavior.
"Why in the hell are you here when there's a damn war going on?!" She smacked him upside his head the moment she thought herself capable without falling over. "My children, your niece and nephew, are even out doing their part, but you're looking for me?! You- you-"
"I said the same thing," Touya mumbled, though he was unheard. It was then his eyes traveled to the group of people standing behind Kotone, some of which were just as confused as he had been. "Uh, Jin..."
The Ice Master had been right... She had brought back the dead. He had witnessed Yuji, Karasu, Toguro, and Genkai's passing, but the other two were new to him.
Wait... the undead?!
"Jin!" Touya shook his friend, now in an argument with his sister. "Look!"
"Idiots." Suzuka had remained unknown until then, having long-since properly acclimated to the unbelievable phenomenon of the dead walking.
"WHAT?!" Jin rounded on the ice apparition before being swiveled to face the group of bored onlookers. His mouth dropped after a few long minutes and he squealed. "ZOMBIES! THE UNDEAD O' NINGENS! BUT DEMONLY!"
"My day just keeps getting worse," Kotone sighed, rubbing her eyes to try and collect herself properly. "Jin, Touya, it is my pleasure to introduce my new companions to you. Genkai and Yuji are already known to you, and I'm sure you recognize Karasu and a human Toguro-" she emphasized his disposition, "-but that is the former king of Tourin, Raizen, also known as Yusuke's ancestral father. The bat is Kuronue, the ex-dead partner of Youko."
"That's impossible!" Touya never turned his gaze from the spectators, too enraptured. "We have been following your winds for some time now, but when we found the holes at gravesites we did not really imagine our speculations would be true. This... this is... magnificent."
Kotone's chest swelled with pride at his unusual compliment. "Well, thank you. Now, please tell me why you're invading our training time?" An eyebrow quirked when Jin did not snap out of it. "Jin?"
"You... YOU!" He shot forward faster than she believed he could. When he was able to be seen again, Yuji was on the ground with the Windmaster's fingers on his throat. His other fist was raised, a tornado of wind surrounding it, and he was moving for the kill. "YOU KILLED ME SIS, YA DID! OR DID YA FORGET 'BOUT ME WRATH, EH?!"
"I assure you," began the sage-like voice of Yuji Takanari, "that I mean you no harm now. I no longer have the sword and I have sworn allegiance with all of you."
"MATTERS NOT!" The fist descended on the lightning apparition, but contact was not made. A moment later, Jin was sailing through the air, having been thrown by none other than his agitated sister.
"JIN!" she hissed, standing protectively in front of her old teammate. "Stay back, and I mean it!"
"HE KILLED YA, HE DID!" And the Windmaster was up again, narrowly avoiding Kotone's hand and instead colliding with the standing lightning youkai. "I'LL RIP OUT 'IS HEART!"
With a feral snarl that reverberated off the landscape, Kotone tackled her brother far from Yuji and the two rolled erratically through the dirt. His eyes were wild and he made to strike her, caught up in a fit of rage uncharacteristic for him. She snatched his fist and sent her own into his chest, causing the demon to twist and fly another hundred feet. She was up before he could retaliate, shooting towards him with determination in her eyes.
She needed these six undead allies to win this war and Jin would not get in her way.
She would simply have to beat him up until he came to terms with that.
"KO! LEMME AT 'IM!" Jin was still trying, in vain, to dodge around his sister, but soon the fight was engaged. He knew his only way of getting to that bastard was by defeating his sister. When she was unconscious, he would take his own vengeance on Yuji.
She dodged his blow by throwing herself into the air, using her element to levitate her just about the trees nearby. Jin, being a professional when it came to flight, leapt up after her and the ensuing battle was nothing short of epic. The siblings twisted, turned, dodged, feigned, and struck one another with a ferocity the six had not seen during Kotone's training with them.
"Should we stop this?" Toguro had been the first to speak, breaking the awed silence. "They might kill one another and that would hardly work in our favor."
"Considering she'd be dead? Yeah, we would too," Kuronue grumbled, making a move to fly after them. A hand on his shoulder stopped him, allowing his vision to follow the arm to none other than the man being fought over.
"They won't kill one another. Jin loves Kotone just as much as she does him, which is more than she cares for just about any other person. Well, save her other family I'm sure." Yuji smiled serenely at the bat, "They just simply need to beat each other to a pulp for him to calm down."
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Genkai crossed her arms and glanced at Touya, "Why are the two of you here instead of fighting?"
If Touya had not stopped it, he would have blushed with just how foolish their mission was. He answered, "Jin went off to find Kotone's birthday present after she told him not to. Apparently she's priority over the war for now and he would not let it go until we found the gift and then found her."
The psychic's eyebrow twitched, but it was Raizen who laughed and interrupted, "You mean you aren't fighting for a trivial birthday present? You should know that demons live through plenty of them to miss one!"
"That's what I told him," the Ice Master mumbled, "but he is the type that won't miss any holiday-time with Kotone."
Just then, after demolished dozens of trees, Kotone reappeared. She was dragging the lump of her brother behind her, allowing the demon to leave a rut in the ground with his rear. She had innumerous scratches, but her new clothing held up better than ever.
When she was close enough, Kotone threw Jin at Touya's feet and huffed. The Windmaster was out cold, littered with twice as many bruises and cuts on him than his sister. "Touya, take care of him until he wakes up. I just hope I knocked some sense into him."
"You've gotten stronger," he remarked, a twinge of a smirk at the corner of his lips. "It used to take much longer for you to beat him up."
"And I'm wearing all sorts of ki suppressers." When Kotone laughed, the mood of the group lightened considerably. It was not one the fake, half-forced chuckles she usually gave, but instead something light and breezy, just like her element. It was as if the troubles of the world had been fully lifted from her shoulders for just those few moments.
And it was all thanks to her brother, Jin Kaze Tsukai.
"What are all of you staring at?" She rounded on them when she finished her moment, glaring, "Training! Training! Training! Genkai, you're in charge."
"Yeah, yeah, dumbass." The psychic shoved the other demons along with a burst of her reiki for incentive, grinning to herself. The lovely little woman took off after them, leaving Kotone alone with Suzuka, Touya, and an unconscious Jin.
"Tell me, has anything changed?" she whispered when she was sure all were out of earshot.
Touya shook his head, "Yomi is still pushing back Yusuke and Mukuro's army from what I've heard. Hiei has been close to her side ever since you left."
She smiled at that, "Good. What of the children and the temple?"
"It seems that Ava, Yuji, Shoichi, and Izume have left, but we only have ideas as to where. The funny thing is that, when we got back to the temple the second time where you resurrected Genkai, the entirety of the Wind Clan was camping there. Do you know anything about this?"
The smile twisted into a maniac grin, "No, not at all! Why would I?"
The Ice Master knew better. In fact, he did not doubt that she instigated the whole thing. "Well, the Wind Clan leader told us that Yuji had mentioned they were going to the Fire Clan next."
Kotone froze in place, her brows furrowing together frightfully. "That's not a place they need to be. The kasai dai youkais are ruthless creatures. Hiei is a prime example."
"Yes, but we can't stop them. I'm sure they're there by now," Suzuka murmured, understanding Kotone's worries. "They are strong, you know."
"I hope you mean the kids," she added softly, the emotion of dread still in her eyes. "If they hurt my offspring or Shoichi and Izume, I'll kill every last one of them, and that I mean."
"And I'll help. I'm sure Jin would be more than happy to join," Touya motioned to the unconscious body at his feet. "Otherwise, we haven't heard anything else. Suzuka, what have you learned?"
"Chu, Rinku, Shishi, and I had been slowly taking out the medical divisions and any sleeping troops before I was called from duty." Suzuka ran his hands through his hair dramatically, "But the Beautiful Suzuka was needed elsewhere, and for important circumstances."
They ignored the flamboyant demon easily, considering they'd had more than enough time to acquaint themselves with his lunacy. Kotone heatedly whispered, "I have to get these guys trained and soon. If Yomi succeeds in breaking our defenses, all hell will break loose."
"What can we do?" Touya needed to find a way to help after spending so much time searching for this very demoness.
"I need to know something on my kids," she begged, though her words were barely heard by the Ice Master. "Touya, every day I worry more over their safety, and even more now that I've learned they're searching for the Fire Clan. I'm so scared for them."
Touya or Suzuka had never seen this side of Kotone Kaze Tsukai, the fierce kaze dai youkai with an affinity for death and carnage. They knew she loved her offspring and her mate, along with her friends- them included-, very dearly, but to see her so... fragile... was unnerving at best. She was a pillar of strength, something Hajime had once told them in private, and even the two had realized they relied on her infinite courage and readiness for battles soon to come.
This was not something they ever wanted to see...
"If there's one thing I know, Ko," he began gently, his hand placed on her shoulder. He felt a shake to them, but no tears collected in her eyes. She would not let something unknown bother her to that degree. Not outwardly, at least, "it's that the four of them are strong and intelligent. They won't die before this war is over."
"And Yuji seems to keep them in proper check," added Suzuka, grinning lopsidedly at her. "Stop worrying. I believe you have a much more dangerous task in dealing with this rogue group of misfits you've summoned up, personally."
"Agreed," the Ice Master nodded. "Jin and I will stay to help you train the group. I know he does not want to be separated from you now that he's here. I know he's been extremely worried over your safety, but he won't talk about it."
Kotone visibly calmed, but the worries stayed in her heart. Something did not feel right and she knew it, but she could not place what that something was.
"Yes, I would appreciate it. We could use all the help we can get."
She smiled and the subject was dropped.
Next in 'Revelation, Defamation':
But what Kotone didn't know was that the very children she had faith in, hope, had been captured, tortured, beaten, and broken. They were not well; they were dying and there was nothing that could be done. Well... unless something so horrible, so unforgettable happened, one of them would rise from the ashes in their grief to rescue those that survived Hell.