Rejected Child, Broken Child

Next morning, in a cafe called La Brise de Valle...

'Use the cards I'm about to hand you in conjunction with your Master Card.' Maria told them as before each Dominator, is a pack of cards. 'These should now be powerful weapons to you.' she said. 'The total number of cards you can hold at once is seven. You can create various combos based on what you hold.'

'Hey, you didn't tell us that!' Ban complained.

'Combinations with the Divine Design are according to the user's imagination so not even I can teach you combos as you know yourselves better than I do.' Maria giggled. 'Adapt to whatever situation you are in.'

'Is Kazuki OK I wonder...' Juubei fretted worriedly.

'He's alright...because he doesn't like his friends fighting.' Tsunade reassured him. 'If you and blondie fight, he'll bash his way to freedom and stop the both of you himself. That fight will be the key. Unknown to them, he's fighting from the inside and mastered Divine Design as well. He's just biding his time fully-aware Lucifer is the better magician.'

'Alright. But that won't stop me bashing his face.' Juubei grunted.

'Maa maa, don't hurt Toshiki too much Juubei. He probably has a reason why he's changed.' Ginji told Juubei. 'Poor communication kills, ya know?'

"For someone so stupid he could say wise things which is shocking..." Dino sweatdropped.

'...'

'Well I can't blame blondie...Kazuki's too gorgeous he puts most girls to shame.' Tsunade sighed wistfully. 'He can easily wear fake boobs and get a job as a model and nobody the wiser.'

'Kazuki won't do that...' Juubei choked, fully-aware of what effects Kazuki's appearance has on those who have no idea he's a man. He's often mistaken for a beautiful woman 'albeit flatchested'. 'Sure he wears feminine things but he would never wear fake body parts.'

'Wanna see my treasure?'

'Treasure?'

'Yup! Don't tell Kazuki I let you see or he'll kill me.' Tsunade giggled impishly.

NOW that got them curious.

'Fufu, that can wait another time.' Maria chuckled, wondering what exactly Tsunade has that will get Kazuki upset with her. 'The enemy has already started the game. You guys will become one with your cards and go out into the city. The kids will appear before you as opponents and the battle will commence.' she said. 'There is only one way to release them from Lucifer's hold and that's to destroy his Divine Design deck.' after taking their cards, they all moved out through the windows.

'So shall we have our revenge guys?' Ban spoke as he pushed up his shades.

'Yeah!' Ginji, Hevn and Himiko grunted.

'...is it me or are they a little TOO happy about that?' Juubei mused.

'They got trashed by the twerps while Dino and I came to rope you on a rescue job so we weren't trashed.'

'Ah...'

'But at any rate...we should bring in insurance but all my men are at home.' Dino frowned. 'I'm the only one here today powered up by my cards so for once in my life I'm not clumsy and I'm enjoying it.' he said as Tsunade nearly tripped in amusement. 'But Maria will be in danger for being our backer. She can defend against magic but what about guns and other assassins?'

'...let's find a phone booth.' said Juubei. 'I'm recruiting Emishi.'

'Ohhh! Been a while since I last saw him!' Dino perked up before quickly deflating. 'Er, he can whip away bullets right? He's got no card and bullet holes are no joke...'

'He can do it or he won't live long in Mugenjou.'

'After that phone call we split up. The twerps won't approach if we're in a pair.' Tsunade pointed out. 'Being a kid I know kid mentality well in that regard.'

'Riiiight...'

xxx

Dino looked at his cards.

He has the fewest cards as being Odin's Steed, his speed and agility were incomparable, he's got the strength of two tons, superhuman durability, stamina and the fact he was a shamanic spiritual guide. His fighting ability is top-notch and he can get by with mythical-granted psychic abilities he really doesn't need anything else and with this card, he's stronger than even Akabane as long as he has it, but he really REALLY does NOT want to gain the guy's interests any time soon. Tsunade gave him enough warnings about him and he was no 'Mido-Class Fighter' without the cards.

His other cards got nothin' to do with his Master Card. The cards were meant to keep him alive to obviously avoid international incident if an Italian National died in Japan and a high-profile one like him. His cards were Phoenix's Blessing, a card that can bring him back to life immediately if he dies, Beiwe's Embrace that enables him to heal and protect from spiritual corruption as well as protecting him from all forms of control and possession and possibly cure Kazuki if he was his enemy, and Panacea, a card that automatically heals any injury and poison, a universal cure.

He could tell that much just by looking at them and understood the description even without his little friend's help as he returned his safe travel cards to Maria.

Having them as tattoos was weird and tacky, however grateful he was for their powers and his men FINALLY believed Witchcraft existed when they saw how the cards became tattoos as they were fused with his body and the fact he used the power for their prosperity and his powers with the cards are tested in every way imaginable.

Romario once said he wanted to try recruiting Maria but Dino put his foot down, saying, 'For all her appearance, she's a centenarian! She won't last long here and Witchcraft is spiritually taxing which is why I hardly use it myself! If I can barely use it longer than an hour for paperwork and increasing our famiglia's strength, what more for a granny who's on her last legs?'

When being an apprentice is suggested, he looked at Sleipnir for advice as he materialized his horse before his men... 'Bad idea. Shamans will hunt me down and possibly curse my bloodline if I truly became a Witch. No way. Divine Design grants temporary witchhood so I'm safe from their radars and without it, I'm a normal man again so I'm beneath their notice and I like it that way.'

Tsunade also has the fewest cards as being a Sky combined with her cards, nothing can deceive her and get in her way. If any, her cards are fewer than his because she was a better fighter than he was. Proof that they were powerful...if they used the cards right and believed in it.

They split up after recruiting Emishi for the cause and he wondered who's brave...or dumb enough...to face him.

For all his being a nice guy to those he likes, he can be a downright asshole to the deserving.

He's a Mafia Boss after all.

He wants to be able to do his part of this job himself. And maybe find a way to fix himself for good without undoing his seal...

xxx

For Tsunade...

She went to Ura-Shinjuku for her battlefield, a terrifying place for kids who don't know nasty places such as this existed.

She waited here, dressed in white clothes with gold designs and trim, and golden jewelry she stole as well as gladiator sandals to give her the appearance of a priestess of flames just for fun. Besides, Japanese are into cosplay these days, right? And she felt beautiful in these clothes she felt playful.

Her inner kid came out because she gets to live and reenact fantasies.

'You chose a filthy place like this? Pretty shocking for one with a Guardian Card that belongs in Heaven.' a coolly-spoken voice of a boy spoke behind her.

He was taller than she is, around mid-teens she guessed, with choppy hair and into yellow-ball jewelry with crosses on them. He's kind of cute, but with a cold gaze in his eyes.

'Heehee...naturally I'll choose this place.' Tsunade went all cutesy on him. 'I grew up here my entire childhood after all. What's it like growing up in a proper house?'

'Hmph, what's that?' the boy scoffed, as they took out their cards. 'I'm the Archangel Sariel. The strongest of the Archangels.'

'Your opponent was supposed to be Mido-san but you chose me instead.' Tsunade giggled. This HAS to be his biggest mistake...

'Hmph, why waste my time on someone who can't even stack eggs?' came the scoff. 'You on the other hand...'

'Don't kids normally gun for who's weaker? Kids always pick on those weaker than them just to look good.' said Tsunade with a rather pained smile.

'You'd know that best do you?'

'Yes...I was hired because I could relate to you guys better. My home life was no good...' Sariel materialized her past with his powers in a bid to psyche her but as he saw her past, she wasn't one bit unnerved. He saw her past with her parents, her school and what she came to believe. He even saw her tear apart family photos and crying while writing a letter using a crayon and broke it afterward...and her life as a thief in Mugenjou. 'But then...the one I could truly love as family saved me and gave me the love o family I always wanted without any form of catch. My big brother(oniichan).'

Tsunade now controlled the dimension, showing Sariel how she met Shido and their life together as siblings. 'I became his sister. He genuinely cared for me for me, not because I'm special or with natural fire powers. Family doesn't end in blood. Sometimes blood is poisoned as you yourself would know...true family is born as strong bonds forged in fire. Didn't you have friends when Lucifer picked you up, your fellow Archangels? Just what did Lucifer promise you?'

'A neverland where we don't have to suffer anymore...a world where nobody would hurt us anymore...that's a world promised to us and you won't take it from us that easily.'

'Neverland...Peter Pan's world where kids never grow up...so you view adults as crappy yet Lucifer is an adult.' Tsunade pointed out the hypocrisy there.

'He was the first adult to actually give a damn about us!'

'Ya think? Then what's that...fancy tattoo under your clothes?' Tsunade burned his top in the upper world with her card power with a snap of her fingers that startled him. 'You look like a birdie scratched you real good.' she said, frowning at the black scar-like mark on his chest down to his navel.

'Those who betray Lucifer-sama gets their heart ripped out of course.' Sariel grunted. 'But we will never leave!'

'That's not good you know...if an adult truly cared, they will care for their kids without a catch. Love must be given unconditionally.' Tsunade frowned. 'For you to have a terrible catch despite your loyalty...I don't think I like him at all, Sariel.' needless to say, she burned him and being engulfed in fire TERRIFIED him.

'AAAAHHHHH!'

'I will not hurt you...as the Sacred Flames of Heaven, I can burn away evil with a mere flick of my wrist. Flames both destroy and purify depending on how it's done.' Tsunade told him kindly, yet with a smile on her face. 'And now...show me your pain as you saw mine.' and she dove into his heart. 'I need to understand you for you to have salvation.'

She dove in his mind by using his own power against him with her card, Athena's Shield that can reflect back eye-based curses based on the story of Perseus and Medusa which by itself can only reflect back curses but considering how Divine Design works...she can do the impossible.

Had this been real life mythology powers, what she did would be impossible.

She saw his past.

A little boy in a small apartment room who gazed at his mother's dead body dripping in her own urine as she hung on a rope tied to the ceiling. Dead by hanging herself.

At the time, a little child would not understand what death meant nor why was his mother hanging there with a look of emptiness on her face. When neighbors got concerned how their neighbor got TOO quiet, they checked in and called the police after seeing a little boy try to pull down his mother by her ankle.

'Mama won't come down...why?'

'...she's too far gone now kid.' said a male neighbor with a grimace. 'She...left you all alone. That's really horrible of her.'

When the police came he was in custody of the law for a week until his relatives came. His relatives who he once called uncle and auntie, are now his new parents who gave him a big brother.

His world changed.

Warm food, warm house, warm conversation. He was able to smile again until one day, he was old enough to understand his world and what his neighbor meant by his mother left him. As far as he knew, he has no father. Just his mother.

But one day in Junior High, just as he was about to board a train, he got a phone call from his uncle, saying his brother got into a hit-and-run by a truck and is critical.

But when he got there, his mother was sobbing.

His big brother Osamu was dead.

'Mom...' he tried to console his mother who, in a fit of anguish, burst out,

'Why? Why did he have to be the one to die?'

Those words led to a nasty conclusion that got his father furious as he cried, 'How can you say that?!'

He felt that why did her real son have to die and why not him instead?

He left the hospital room despite his father's frantic calls. He had by then, become deaf as he was deeply affected by those words. He felt that everytime he thought of his mother...bad things happen.

Funeral came and went and it was back to old routine where he found himself smiling more to hide that pain. But there were times he wondered what was death like...and started having rather morbid fantasies about death.

His mother hanging herself for who-knows-why. His brother dying in an accident...and his stepmother's hurtful words.

But when he was about to graduate Junior High...he got into a career talk with Lucifer. He hoped to become a doctor like his stepfather...and he got his first-hand and rather morbid experience with Divine Design...

Ironically, by tasting death, he felt Lucifer gave him what he truly wanted. He wanted to DIE.

'...so your ideal neverland is death.' Tsunade mused softly as Sariel collapsed into her arms, free of the curse but severely exhausted as they were back to the Real World and Sariel has his shirt back as his shirt burning only happened in Upper Reality. 'Really, what a troublesome boy...if you chose death so young, you'd miss out on the good stuff in life that will eventually come to you. Good and bad things come and go and yet leave a mark on our lives. Bad things drop by and be annoying to the point of hurtful enough to be hateful...but good things will stay and never leave.' she told him kindly.

'Don't give up on the world and people yet, Kakeru-san. I say this as a fellow kid who was also abandoned by her own mother, yet saved by a good person. Let me save you and accept the fact that you got a second shot at life. You are not a witch or an angel. You're a normal kid just like me if these cards are gone.'

'Says the one who's a pyro.' Sariel...no, Kakeru scoffed weakly.

'Ahahaha...I can never be normal. I grew up in Mugenjou but you still have the luck to be normal. Do you have any idea what I'd give to be you most days? You have a loving stepfather while my father's feelings for me was fake. It took my near death to regain what I lost you know...and you're similar to me in that regard. You regained your lost freedom and your normal life. Purified of Divine Design. My card can help players retreat safely. That's what nobody told you.'

'...'

'Saa, I'll take you to a place with a kind adult. I like Maria-san, Lucifer's rival. Her help never came with a nasty catch.' and using Upper Reality to travel, she flew away to where Maria was.

Though WHY is she in a playground with Emishi?

'Whoa! You appeared outta the blue!' Emishi exclaimed as Tsunade appeared out of thin air with her quarry, startling him.

'Well, I can count on Maria-san to protect him.' said Tsunade. 'I helped free him from the game and a nasty curse but as long as Lucifer has his Guardian Card, he might get roped in again.'

'That's true...' said Maria. 'Ginji-kun and Himiko-chan got back Gabriel and Remiel but they can't free from the Cursed Claw Mark and we only got until sunset...and its four in the afternoon now.' she said. 'They're in Honky-Tonk.'

xxx

The Chapel...

On the table, the replica of Archangel Sariel turned to dust.

'Sariel was defeated...the Flames is that strong?' bandana boy choked in horror.

'He was supposed to fight the Evil Eye but he's just an idiot so we chose her as his enemy. Apparently that's the biggest blunder we have done...' said cap boy in vexation. 'We have to make up for this mistake Uriel. We already lost three of us.'

'No kidding, how could we lose to newbies when we've been doing this for weeks? I don't get it...we should be stronger, Raguel!' Uriel, the bandana boy fumed.

'We'll do foul play if we have to. We can't blunder any more. They better come back...' Raguel shook. 'They have to...or...they're gonna die.'

Those who betray die.

That was their contract.

They all have that Black Claw Mark on themselves.

It was why they can't leave even if someday, they want to. They got that kinda insurance.

They don't know that Sariel was very safe though.

xxx

Fuyuki Residence...

'Jeez, why do I have to wait on you to change clothes?' Kakeru grumbled as Tsunade flew home just to change out of her get-up. She now wore a new outfit. A maroon jacket and a yellow-orange tube top and brown miniskirt with leather shoes.

'Hey, had we been in a fairy tale world, my cosplay would go well but we're in modern society you know?' Tsunade pouted. 'Cosplay is only normal in Harajuku and Akihabara, not anywhere else in Japan unless there's Cosplay Conventions...'

'...'

'Let's go, we're flying to a reliable location next. I do need to cure Gabriel and Remiel off the Black Claw and maybe when there...you three decide what to do with your lives together.' Tsunade advised. 'However short it was...you are still friends who gained bonds through pain and magic. You can only understand each other and help each other. Well, there's always Maria if you really don't wanna go home.'

'Why her? Isn't she an old biddy who's got a few years left?'

'Yes but magic kept her going. She'll stick around as long as she knows she's needed. But without magic if she finally lets go...nature will take its course...and this world will lose one of the few, rare, kind mothers it can have.' Tsunade told him softly.

'...'

'You need a parent, I don't. I can fend for myself. Can't say the same for you since money makes the world go round. Criminals and shady guys hire me so I get paid. They could care less as long as I can get the job done. Heck, Lady Poison is 15 this year, same age as you but went through hell and back to survive. We who are thrown away had to do all means to live and accept the filthy world for money. We don't like it but hey, we want to live. This house we got? Food we eat? Comforts? We got it from filthy money from a filthy world but we don't have a choice. Can you do what we had to do? Can you imagine living my life?' Tsunade asked him seriously.

Kakeru knew.

She had to become a thief and a killer to live together with her foster brother. And due to trauma of dying from hunger, she worked hard to become a good cook. She's capable of kindness but also cruelty. She can burn people to death in an instant, into a pile of ashes to any who raises a hand against her and her comrades who looked at her as their equal despite being several years older than her and even a feared individual took interest in her, willing to wait years before he battles her. No mercy because its kill or be killed.

'Go home. Your stepparents still love you and that instant of tactless insensitivity of your mom in that hospital room is a thing of the past...she personally came to hire the Getbackers to bring you back to her.' Tsunade egged him on. 'She must have known how much her words hurt you that she came personally.' she said. 'Mido said that a bunch of mothers came, yours included.'

'...I'm hungry.' he said. 'What do you got in your fridge?'

Tsunade got blindsided.

What's with that random request all of a sudden?

xxx

In the venue of the Final Battle...

Dino arrived, riding his Guardian Card.

'Yo! You guys looked like you went through the ringer.' Dino greeted.

'And you look damn normal.' Ban griped in annoyance as Dino clearly is unscathed.

'Nobody came to fight with me at all!' Dino pouted. 'The most I did was that little kid and removing their curses when Maria sent me to Honky Tonk and then made me go here. Somebody has to fix you guys...' he said as he took out his cards. 'I got healing cards and a bring-back-to-life one. I hope it works on that guy.' he said, worried at the dead Toshiki in Kazuki's arms.

'You got a what?!' they all yelped, wide-eyed.

Dino went to the dead man who's only dead in Upper Reality.

He took out Panacea to restore the body, then Phoenix's Blessing to bring the guy to life.

First one worked, second one didn't.

'Didn't work...' Kazuki choked, crestfallen.

'Cuz' he's cursed and I don't have an anti-curse card on me. How should we know the curse is still there post-mortem?' Dino swore as he materialized Sleipnir. 'Go get me Tsunade!' he ordered his horse. 'I can't use my Phoenix Card while he's still cursed.'

'Of course!' Ban gasped, 'Her Master Card can burn the curse!'

You can't use the Flames of Heaven. the horse made words appear in their heads. The Curse of the Black Claw has already taken effect and his heart ripped out by Divine Design and is currently lost in Upper Reality. The only way to bring him back is a complete, formal revival ritual aided by powerful witches and pure blood of a witch. Using the flames is only possible if it has not yet taken effect. And she is looking after a child she cannot leave.

'Darn...I guess winning against Lucifer is the only solution now...' Juubei swore as Sleipnir disappeared.

'Well, I'll heal you guys now. The most I can do is watch the body after I fix you and see the final fight to the end.' said Dino, taking out his Panacea card. 'Honestly, I guess after Tsunade stomped their strongest guy nobody dared come after me.'

'Someone's lucky.' Ban snorted as Dino fixed them all. Even clothes.

'Ah, I wish I knew magic but Sleipnir told me its a bad idea...ah well, be happy with what you have they say.' the blonde italian sighed but his words got Ban and Himiko who are witches wary of what he'd say next.

'Why would it be a bad idea?' Kazuki asked him cluelessly.

'My days will be numbered if I became a witch and I wanna live past 21, thanks.' Dino stated flatly. 'Sleipnir ain't a shamanic guide for shits and giggles and I know wise godly advice when I heard one.'

Well, Ban thought, there have been Witch Hunts for centuries past that even he had to live on the run and in hiding and even he had to kill his own stalkers...