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Outside the Former Home of Sawako and Gennosuke
Nagoya
Xander's POV
This is definitely going to be a story I won't be telling the others when I get back, he thought, getting to his feet and placing his right hand close to the hilt of his katana. They'd either never believe me or never let me live it down.
He'd been surprised when, out of nowhere, Hiko had grabbed him and leapt far away from where they'd been but, when he'd been able to look back, his surprise turned to thanks. Contrary to what some might think, icicles could kill people under the right circumstances, especially if they were sharpened as much as possible. He'd been a bit surprised and embarrassed when he set eyes on the person who'd tried to kill him because, outside of his private fantasies about the slumber parties the Cordettes might have had, he'd never seen someone with so little on. It might've been due to this that he'd spoken without thinking to Hiko but, now that they were being approached with hostility from both sides, it was clear where both their focus belonged.
"I believe there has been some misunderstanding here, ladies," Hiko said, his voice calm and without any provocative emotion. "Neither I or my idiot apprentice mean the Amakawa clan or its allies any harm. If I could speak with Sawako-dono or Gennosuke-dono, or even Himari-san, I believe this can all be cleared up."
"Well then I guess it's too bad for you then, isn't it?" Miss Fantastic said nastily, a malicious smile on her face. "Both Sawako-dono and Gennosuke-dono are dead. As for the cat girl, she's not receiving any guests tonight."
"So… Gen-kun and Sawa-chan have passed on," Hiko said, his voice tinged with the sadness of loss for a moment. "Then what of their son Daisuke, or their grandson? Surely one member of the Amakawa clan yet lives who can verify that I am a friend."
"You do not understand, do you, nano?" the two steps from nudist girl asked from the rooftop. "You are not welcome here, nano. Neither can we allow you to leave here, nano. There is but one thing to be done, nano."
The ladies intended to kill both him and Hiko.
He personally thought that murder was a little extreme in this situation but then he didn't know the particulars of their situation. To them it probably looked completely rational and, since neither of them were giving off any psycho killer bloodlust vibes, he could only presume that they had good reasons for eliminating him and Hiko. That being said, though, he couldn't really say he was okay with them killing him so, justified reasons or not, he was going to fight for his right to live.
With that in mind he made his choice and drew his katana Kusanagi, bringing it into what he hoped was a good defensive position.
"I don't know why you want us dead you two but I won't be that easy to kill," he declared, trying to put as much confidence and strength into his words as he could.
"Nice try, boy, but I've heard better lies coming from Sasa!" Miss Fantastic said maliciously. "Still, I'm curious to see just how good you are with that katana so… LETS PLAY!"
Before he could do much more than tense, the armed arms stretched across the distance between him and the demon woman coiling about in such a way that made it hard for him to guess where to put his blade. Deciding to go with the closer of the two, he angled his katana to the right, successfully deflecting the blade in the demon's left hand before he quickly moved it to stop the other one. This one was less of a parry and more of an actual block where their respective strength caused the blades to scrape hard against one another. He was a little surprised that he was managing to hold his own since, in past experience, every demon seemed to have some sort of strength advantage over ordinary humans. The fact that he was managing to hold his blade in place meant that the brunette must've been the runt of her family, but he was in no way complaining.
Getting an opponent that he could actually stand a chance at surviving could only be called a good thing.
That being said, it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was never going to be able to finish the fight if he stayed where he was. Swatting the swords away, he sprinted through the opening provided and he did his best to cross the distance before the elongated arms sent the blades back his way. He almost got close enough to justify a swing but, when his danger sense pinged, he aborted his charge, diving off to the side before raising his defense once more. Seeing the two blades cutting through the air towards him guided by the snake-like arms, he tried to tell which one would hit first in order to prioritize it… but he couldn't! He had no way of knowing which one would reach him first thanks to the seemingly random and roundabout routes they were taking to reach him.
When you have no clue, pull a Buffy: use brute force and hope for the best! He firmed up his grip on his katana's hilt, raised it above his head and then brought it down with his practiced to death vertical slash.
What he'd been hoping for was that the brunette she-demon would try to bring the blades parallel just before hitting him and then he could strike both with his overhead slash. It'd either buy him another chance to get in close and finish the fight or keep him alive long enough to come up with a better plan.
That didn't happen.
Instead, from the moment he began his downward swing, the air CHANGED and, with the passing of steel, a crescent column of air was sent barreling towards the blades as well as the arms that held them. Unfortunately for the brunette, though, this was no gentle breeze but rather air that crashed and smashed whatever it came into contact with. Under the force behind it the arms along with the weapons that held them were sent flying in the opposite direction, with it being clear that the she-demon didn't have the power to free them just yet.
Now! I'm never going to get a better chance than this! He sprinted for his opponent as fast as he possibly could.
Even if he couldn't kill her in one shot, he could at least wound her badly enough that she'd withdraw for her own survival.
"Stay away from Ageha-chin!" bellowed another female voice before something big, heavy and durable slammed into the ground next to him.
Veering off once more, he barely had time to recognize a wooden pillar the size of a telephone booth sticking out of the ground before an anomalous shadow had him changing direction once more. One after another they came with little warning, forcing his reflexes to the max in order to keep from getting squashed beneath the masses of wood. By the time the barrage came to an end he was fifty yards or so away from the brunette Miss Fantastic demon lady, who had since freed and retracted her arms back to normal human size.
Keeping an eye on the brunette, he looked about for whoever had thrown all the wooden pillars at him, figuring it had to be some butch bodybuilder type woman. After all, even taking into account the fact that supernatural strength didn't necessarily require that demons be super bulked up, to toss wooden columns like that was not normal. To the right, to the left and then up to the treetops he looked but, when he finally spotted someone, he hadn't seen before but the person he found did NOT match what he'd been imagining. Instead of the female version of Terminator Arnold, what he got was someone whose appearance could confuse with being a guy or a girl. The only reason he'd labeled her a girl was because of her voice and now with visual evidence, the wearing of a dress and hair that was done in a distinctly feminine style.
Great! Three against two! he thought as he tried to figure out how he could even things up more.
Looking to his teacher, he hoped that Hiko would break out some of his super moves to even things up quicker but those hopes were dashed when he saw the old man being lazy. He was only defending and even then not putting any more effort into protecting himself than he needed to. If he had to compare it to anything, it'd be like seeing Buffy keeping a vamp at bay with only one arm while reading her favorite teen magazine with the other.
"Um, Hiko?" he said, trying to get his teacher's attention. "I think you can take the kid gloves off now. I think these ladies are serious about killing us."
"Are they?" Hiko asked rhetorically even as he casually blocked two more icicle barrages. "The Mizuchi controls water and I suspect that includes what resides within plants. If she wanted to, I'm willing to bet she could hit us from all sides. Yet she hasn't. The same could be said for the other two ladies. They might be able to fool your eyes but not mine. These are scare tactics."
"Are you so sure, jiji?" Miss Fantastic asked definitely, sounding bloodthirsty. "Are you willing to bet both of your lives on it?"
"As a matter of fact I am," Seijuro replied with a smirk on his face. "Besides, my idiot student here could use some light sparring to get use to the real world applications for his training."
"And if they really do kill me?" he asked, pointing out a very real possibility in his mind.
"Then you never stood a chance at completing the training in the first place, so it'll save me from wasting my time any further," Hiko replied, sounding like losing an apprentice would agree with him.
Asshole!
Seijuro Hiko's POV
Like I would let these three kill him, he thought as he continued to read the flow of ki from the Mizuchi to counter her attacks. If there's one thing I hate more than wasting more time, it's finding out that the time I've already spent was a waste of time.
Besides, Janus had sent both the boy and the dragon to him for a reason and, while the old god might like to play with his prey a little, he never let his true goal out of his sight. If Alexander was needed to fight the evil that had displaced the Earth, then he could not permit the boy to perish before then.
That being said, he was confident in his analysis of the energy belonging to each individual youkai that they were holding back at least half their true strength. Once he'd ascertained that it'd been easy to deduce that they were merely attempt to give the appearance of being scary and strong so that when he along with his student were allowed to escape, they'd spread the word. The more people these youkai managed to convince that this area was a death sentence, the more secure it would be from those looking to claim it as their territory. Of course appearing strong, appearing scary, might actually have the opposite effect since those who desired to prove their own strength often sought out such places.
If the youkai did not possess strength to at least partially match the image they were projecting, their plan would backfire on them, leading to their deaths.
Better to see if they can back up their boasts and be reassured that they can protect themselves than to assume they can only to return to find three more graves, he thought, deciding that first phase of their appraisal had come to an end. Time to see if they can defend as well as attack.
Keeping his sword sheathed, he decided to test the defenses of the Mizuchi first since she was the apparent leader of the group and therefore would be struck first by the leader of any opposition.
First he executed a barrage of swings that would be a challenge for your average member of the sword bearing police from the early days of the Meiji era. It was difficult for one of his skill level to lower his performance level to such a degree but it was a good starting point before raising the difficulty level.
Movements as fluid as I expected given her chosen element, he thought as the young lady evaded his blows even as she tried to make her own. Against an opponent of this level it couldn't even be called a match. Time to work a little harder to defeat her.
Mentally increasing his effort and skill, it reached a level consistent with Shinamori Aoshi, one time leader of Edo Castle's Oniwaban Group, whom he considered to be the second greatest opponent his stupid apprentice Himura Kenshin had ever faced.
Just as a master of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū could use their eye of insight to deduce the particulars of the techniques used by their opponents, with a bit of practice they could perform them as well. As a result it wasn't too hard to execute Ryūsui no Ugoki, allowing him to flow around the Mizuchi like water, alternating the speed at which he moved. The intent of this technique was to confuse one's opponent, making accurately anticipating attacks difficult since reading body language made up half of a swordsman's perception in a fight.
Waiting until he made his third pass before lashing out, he watched as the water youkai's manipulation ability barely managed to bring forth enough quantity to stay his blow. It spoke well of her skills to be able to perceive when and where he would attack in the midst of a technique meant to instill confusion. However his attack had been fairly direct even mixed in with his random changes in speed, so with a barely perceivable change in how he moved he began to mix in feints with his attacks. THIS proved to be too much for the Mizuchi as two out of the three strikes he executed succeeded in hitting flesh rather than water.
So she is skilled enough to handle conventional forces but not an officer, he thought as he watched the green haired Mizuchi flee the roof for a safer location. If not one of them can handle an officer on their own then their only chance will be to eliminate the basic infantry swiftly so that they can focus on the real threat.
To see if they could do so he would have to change from a test of skill to one of pure speed in order to mimic an assault by multiple opponents at once.
Leaping from the rooftop himself he advanced on the Mizuchi as soon as solid ground touched his lead foot, putting some of his own style's speed into his movements. Once he was close enough he began to randomize his attack vectors, using bursts of speed to move from one to another in order to see how swiftly she could both sense where he was and react to it.
Wisely the young woman ceased trying to defeat him with precision moves and instead adopted area of effect movements with her ability to manipulate water. While this tactic was proving to be effective in providing defense, he had yet to see her attack in the same manner. Was it because she had yet to devise an effective means of doing so or was it that she simply couldn't attack at all? If the truth was the former then he would give her another minute before coming to any conclusions but, if it was the latter, then he would move onto the other youkai women.
Not letting up in the least in his pace, he continued to come at the Mizuchi from all sides but, when two minutes passed without a counterattack with merit, he knew he had his answer. If a small gang of hostile enemies attacked this location and there was only one commanding officer among them, then there was a chance that the Mizuchi could dispatch the minions swiftly enough. However if a larger force more consistent with a platoon or a division attacked, the green haired girl would be overwhelmed.
Thus, with a small increase in his speed, he dealt a blow rendering his first opponent unconscious, causing her to drop to the ground.
Once he was sure he had not overdone it he turned to the hinoenma, who looked to be somewhat surprised that the Mizuchi had lost to him. However she needed to learn that even if your ally fell in battle you could not allow that to produce cracks in your defense or inspire hesitation. In battle death could strike with as little as a single second of hesitation or distraction. Only if you outclassed the enemy completely could you afford to allow such slips and even then there was the chance for a lucky shot by one's opponent.
With a burst of speed he was soon just outside of striking distance of the hinoenma and, as soon as she perceived his presence, she lashed out reflexively with her blades. However since the counterattack was instinctive rather than consciously done it was direct and therefore easily evaded. Slowing down just a bit so that she could collect herself, he unleashed his multi-vector assault to see how she would use her ability to stretch her limbs to deal with the challenge.
Hmmmm… her limbs do afford her an impressive range of motion, he thought as her arms managed to twist and stretch to block blows even in her blind spots. However it seems as though she doesn't have the experience to move her elongated limbs rapidly in shared space.
Indeed, even as she moved to counter his attacks, there was a moment's hesitation as she made sure not to cut herself or get her arms tangled up together. When added to the conscious choice to retract a limb before stretching it out again and she wasted valuable time that could and likely would be exploited by an enemy. True, it looked as though it would take an impractical amount of foes to truly exploit these flaws but it could still be done.
With the ability to perceive the path her arms took, he thrust the point of his katana sheath forward into the gap that had presented itself, striking her in the chest. With the power he'd put behind the blow it was unsurprising to see he fly backwards and slam into a tree trunk hard enough to knock all the air from her lungs. Seeing her falling to the ground, he felt it was safe to say that it would take her a minute or three to recover enough to be a threat.
More than enough time to deal with the log dropper.
Turning to face the purple haired girl, he decided that after two straight victories he would give his third potential opponent a chance to end things peacefully.
"I've had my fill of exercise for the night," he said, keeping his voice calm. "My apprentice and I came here hoping to conduct some business with the Amakawa clan but obviously we came at a bad time. We'll be leaving now and I do not recommend trying to stop us."
It was regrettable that he would not be able to acquire the means of protecting his home from hostile youkai but, if both of the clan members he knew were dead and the third grave was for their son, there was nothing that could be done about it. He knew from the last letter he received that their son had married and had a son but that had only been seventeen years ago. Assuming that the boy began his training at age six, which was traditional, then he would only have eleven years of knowledge and even less than that of real life experience.
That's not even taking into account the possibility that my friends or their son might have perished before they could complete the child's training, he thought as he tucked his sheathed katana beneath his belt. It's looking as though I will have to teach the children at least some of the basic methods of defending themselves from the more common youkai breeds.
While he would not be able to teach them swordsmanship the same perceptive ability that allowed him to use the technique of Shinamori Aoshi had allowed him to witness several anti-youkai techniques. While some required that the user possess the aptitude for sorcery, others could be done by anyone willing to learn the specifics. He would likely need to meditate in order to bring the memories back to the surface of his mind but that would not take long.
"Man, am I glad that's over with," Alexander said as he sheathed the Kusanagi. "You know you could've KOed them sooner."
"Then you wouldn't have learned anything," he said as though the reason why he'd waited had been obvious to anyone with a brain.
"And what was I supposed to learn? How to fight desperately for my life?" Alexander asked with a bit of snark.
"No. You were supposed to learn how to apply the sword swings and positions I've taught you to real life situations," he replied with a headshake of disappointment. "You were also supposed to realize just how far you are from being able to win a real sword fight. Obviously we'll have to work on your observational skills when we get back."
"I'd say… y-yours could do with some… improvement… old man!" came an angry voice belonging to the hinoenma.
Turning to where he'd seen her fall, he watched as she finished raising herself into a shaky standing position, weapons still in her hands through willpower alone.
"I think not. Do yourself a favor and sit down before I am forced to knock you down. Again," he said, finding her stubbornness mildly commendable but mostly foolish.
Being able to properly measure the gap between yourself and your foe was common sense for any warrior discipline and those that failed to do so often paid with their lives.
"Sounds like fun!" the hinoenma said with murderous intent that had not been there before.
Pride.
That was the only possibility that made sense, even if it was foolish to let pride lead you to your death. While he could simply render her unconscious, youkai were known to hold grudges for a very long time. Couple that with their superior senses and it was not outside the realm of possibility that the hinoenma could track both him as well as Xander all the way to Kyoto. Depending on how ruthless the blade-wielding youkai turned out to be, it was possible that harm could befall Hitori and the others.
Somehow he had to cut through the pride that was causing the female youkai to think she even stood a chance against him and for that he feared he would need to be a bit more heavy handed than before. Unsheathing his katana for the first time since the fight began, he took up a basic ready stance aimed directly at the hinoenma.
The woman apparently took that as a 'ready when you are' move because a moment later her arms shot out at was likely their top speed of extension. He wasn't worried and, with an almost casual motion, he executed what he felt would be least likely to harm while also providing the best example of why further fighting would be pointless.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū: Doryūsen!" he declared before executing a vertical downward slash that struck the ground in front of him.
Even at just under the level of strength, both physical as well as in terms of ki, usually used to perform the technique, he watched as a perceivable fissure shot across the gap at twice the speed of the arms. Once the fissure was close enough he sent a spike of ki along the path created, causing the ground to explode upwards, sending both dirt as well as stone at the hinoenma. Due to the multiple impacts, the woman's own attempt at attacking him fell apart as the focus needed fell to pieces along with the instinct to retract her arms in order to protect herself. By the time the last of the earth debris lost momentum, the youkai woman was once more on the ground but, amazingly enough, still appeared to be conscious. With waning strength that was only just proving capable of aiding in sitting up, the hinoenma's eyes soon met his and he could see that her determination to fight remained.
This is proving to be bothersome, he thought as he wondered just how far he would need to go to end this potential threat.
"Stop!" cried the purple haired youkai as she ran to place herself between him and the hinoenma. "You can go! Just stop hurting Aggie-chan!"
"Sasa… get out of the way!" the hinoenma called 'Aggie' growled with stubbornness. "This isn't over!"
"Yes, it is!" Sasa declared before waving her hand at Aggie, causing visible distortion in the air.
Distortion before her suddenly, the hinoenma was slammed to the ground by an invisible force that left an impression in the ground below the shape of a rough circle. THIS proved to be enough to finally cause the youkai to lose consciousness and end the fight. In response he sheathed his katana, allowing the red and white cloak to fall into place, concealing him from the neck to the ground showing he would not continue hostilities.
He was about to turn away and lead Xander back down the path they'd used to approach the house when he sensed movement from the building. Worried that another youkai might try to pick a fight, he turned to face the house but stopped as he recognized the kimonoed woman: Noihara Himari. However the woman standing in front of him did not match the one he remembered from his last visit. The last time he'd seen her, she'd been a cocky and playful yet also possessed a warrior's spirit that made him think that she could fulfill her obligations to the Amakawa clan.
The Himari he saw now, she looked like something was slowly draining the life from her and, unless something changed, she would someday welcome death no matter how it happened.
"Hiko-dono? Why are you here?" Himari-san asked with a voice that matched her fading health.
"I came here in search of aid but it seems I was too late," he replied as a few possible histories came up for consideration. "What has happened?"
The flicker of pain, grief, sorrow and helplessness that manifested in her eyes told him that what he would hear would not make this night any more pleasant.
Nevertheless he would not leave someone Sawako and Gennosuke felt responsible for to waste away from sorrow.
Xander's POV
"Sawako and Gennosuke perished of old age but you could also say they died from sadness," Himari said with a voice devoid of connection. "Their son, Shisui, had chosen to turn his back from the path of demon slaying, taking his son and wife with him. They only had time to place upon him a protective charm that would conceal his bloodline from being detected by anyone or anything.
"With no one to pass on their clan's teachings to they chose to live their remaining years as they'd lived: defending the innocent whether they be human or youkai. Unfortunately time and old age took their toll, leading to their final mission," the cat youkai said as they continued down the hallway to a room that looked to be intended to keep someone in. "With their deaths, only the possibility of their grandson becoming a demon slayer remained. However, in order to ensure that his existence was not given away, I kept my distance. Only when the protective charm dissolved did I seek him out, knowing that others would sense his power and some would seek to do him harm.
"Over the past year I defended him from many threats while watching as he proved that he had inherited his grandparents' beliefs when it came to youkai. I saw him grow and then he finally seemed to come into his own using his clan's power, Light Ferry, at will to defeat two powerful youkai. It was a false alarm, though," Himari said as they reached the sealed door. "After the battle he could not use it however he wished. Had fate been kinder he would've been given time to master this power and become a proud demon slayer."
With that the woman began undoing the locks and other implements meant to keep the door closed.
"Then… then hell came to this world. A foul jyaki swept over the land without warning overwhelming the senses and infiltrating the body. I-I do not remember clearly what happened after that," Himari said as she undid the last lock. "I wish I had never awoken to see the new world. Shizuku, Ageha and Sasa found themselves stronger than they had been before. The Mizuchi actually got a body upgrade, heh.
"And what of the Amakawa heir?" Hiko asked as the door was slid aside to reveal the interior.
"He is here," Himari replied as she entered the room before allowing them to do the same.
Walking into the room he expected to see a kid his own age perhaps laying injured in a bed but what he saw shocked him so deeply that words became impossible for him to form in his mind or speak. On the futon in the center of the room was something that perhaps at some point might have been human but it sure as hell wasn't any longer. The only way he could describe it was if the teenager in front of him had gotten infected with the biological weapon that had already killed so many but possessed a degree of immunity to it. This, however, was not a good thing by a long shot because, from what he could tell, while the man-made weapon had warped roughly half of the guy's body while at the same time poisoning it. New joints had been slapped into the altered limbs, primitive spikes at random places, human bones looking like they'd been warped as easily as putty and lastly muscles alternated between hard or goop.
With all that it was almost impossible to believe that the Amakawa heir was still alive… but he was if the breathing motions of his chest were anything to go by.
"It wasn't so bad in the beginning. Skin discoloration in places, some pain when moving around, but nothing to worry about. His friend Rinko and his so-called fiancé, Jingūji Kuesu, were also affected to differing degrees but using the supplies here we began treating them as best we could," Himari explained as she walked over to what appeared to be the spot she usually sat at. "It was only after the first four months that matters took a turn for the worse. Without warning all three of them were assaulted by an explosion of pain that, while strong enough to make it impossible for them to stand, was not strong enough to grant them the mercy of unconsciousness."
My God… he thought in horror of what that day must've been like.
"It took three days before the pain seemed to lessen to the point where they no longer screamed endlessly and could aid in the efforts to heal them. We even attempted to reach out to outside sources to learn more about what had happened but our cell phones couldn't find a signal. Even the landlines were useless for getting through to anyone," Himari said even as the young man she obviously cared for suffered in front of her. "Rinko was the first to perish. For all their power, for all that was contained in this house, their talents were more focused on killing youkai than healing themselves. The records contained here have written on them ways to counter the toxins, poisons, curses and spells of various youkai. We tried everything that looked like it might prove even the least bit effective but all of them failed."
His mind, unbidden, imagined what that would've been like had it happened to the Scoobies. It was a sad truth that, while both Willow and Giles were big brains, the latter didn't receive half the backing he felt the Council should provide THE Wathcer to THE Slayer. On one of the off days he'd helped G-Man organize their stock of supplies, from their books to their weapons to their spell ingredients, he'd found much to his surprise that it didn't really amount to very much. Indeed, it'd only been a few steps above what he would've called an emergency bag or something you'd hide away in case your main HQ was at risk of being blown to bits. When he'd asked his stuffy Brit of a surrogate father about it the man had conceded that he too was not entirely pleased with what he had to work with. However the reason he was given by the leading members of the Council was that a Watcher and his Slayer needed to operate covertly at their assigned location. That meant only supplies that could be concealed at their places of residence or the place chosen to be their headquarters could be sent to them. If an attempt was made to provide them with every weapon, every tool, every ingredient and every book they MIGHT need, then it would require five or more warehouses to hold it all.
Not the most effective way to remain low profile in demon central.
"Her body… her body melted before our eyes," Himari said as she reached for a cloth in a bowl of water. "We buried what was left outside before redoubling our efforts to save Yuto and Keusu. However all we were able to learn was that the magic in their bodies was slowing the progress of the sickness and that its rate of spreading would only increase the less magic they had to pit against it."
That made sense.
"Unfortunately for Keusu, much of her arcane energy comes from the external sources rather than from within her own body. It was one of the reasons why she'd sought out more Western sources of magic in order to improve her clan's standing among the other Twelve demon slaying clans," Himari said as she placed the cold wet cloth on Yuto's forehead. "It was due to this fact that she was the next to fall."
"Poor luck indeed," Hiko said, closing his eyes likely to say a silent prayer.
"Why's that?" he asked, not being as knowledgeable in magic matters.
"Mages that gain strength from outside sources need to expend a portion of their own magic in order to establish a connection with the book or artifact. The more power they wish to draw out of the source, the more of their own energy they need to use," Hiko explained, his eyes never leaving the last surviving member of the Amakawa clan. "In short Keusu could only tap into her own magic to fight for her life since trying to get additional arcane energy from anything else would've only undermined her defense."
"Keusu deduced this fairly early on herself. I might not have liked her since she was Yuto's fiancé but she gave it her all right to the very end," Himari said, confirming Hiko's appraisal.
So it was Keusu who was in the second grave outside.
"Judging from the look of him, Amakawa Yuko does not have much time left," Hiko said looking at the misshapen and sickly teenager on the futon. "Three months, maybe four, by the feel of his ki."
This naturally caused Himari to whirl at his kenjutsu teacher, anger and an almost desperate determination to her eyes.
"Tact, sensei. I know you know what it means and why people use it," he said to reprimand his teacher.
"Helping a person to avoid the truth does more harm than good in the long run," Hiko said, not sounding remorseful in the least. "Remember your own tale of Buffy and the vampire Angelus? Instead of supporting their relationship your friend Willow should have sided with you in discouraging it. It would've prevented the breaking of the soul curse and all the deaths that followed. It might even have prevented the dark ki from sweeping over the planet."
"Yeah, but this and that are two completely different situations," he pointed out even if he did agree with the whole Angel mess.
"Not really. The longer Himari refuses to accept the truth, the more pain she will suffer through in the next few months and at the end. The sooner she comes to terms with the truth and accepts his inevitable fate, the easier it will be to move on afterwards," Hiko said, undeterred in his position. "The past is full of examples of benevolent youkai turning dark because they could not get past the feelings of loss they felt after a human friend perished. It is in many ways the reason why many elders, both human and youkai, try their best to discourage relationships of any kind between the two sides. Youkai live for centuries while humans are lucky to see the end of even one."
"I know but… even if they don't last very long, that doesn't make them any less precious," he said, running out of fact based arguments to curb his sensei's statements. "I might've hated how close Buffy and Deadboy were but that doesn't mean I didn't see how much they cared about one another. If I'd been in Buffy's position, I would've told people to butt out and mind their own business too."
"I do not mean to belittle what Himari and Yuuto feel towards each other. That two people from races who more often than not embrace violence when they meet instead becoming so close… it gives me hope that one day peace can exist between youkai and humans," Hiko said with a wisp of tenderness that seemed out of character for the old man. "I only mean to spare her from the suffering she would subject herself to by clinging to hope that does not exist."
At these words he found he couldn't quite be so mad at the old man and, glancing at Himari, he could tell that she could understand where Hiko was coming from. Still, looking at Himari, he found it hard to decide what would be the better choice to make: force a clean break or let her ease out of it in her own time.
Both had their perils.
Both had their costs.
Looking at Himari, though, and how much she was already suffering, imagining how it'd be for her to go through three or more months more of it, he could not bring himself to let it continue even out of kindness.
"Himari… what you and Yuuto obviously have is the kind of love every teenager dreams of being able to find. It's the real deal not the lusty feelings most people think is love," he said as gently yet as honestly as possible. "But the question you have to ask yourself now is, do you spare Yuuto further suffering by ending his life now or do you force him to endure another three months of suffering? I know it's a hard question to answer, ridiculously hard even, but it needs to be answered before the love you two have decays into endless misery."
Turning from the tragic scene, he walked out of the room, intent on leaving the building and waiting for Hiko by the road. A part of him wanted to spare her the pain of ending the life of her loved one by doing it himself, but at the same time a part of him felt that no one but Himari had the right to release Yuuto's soul. In the end it turned out to be too big a question for him to resolve so he'd left, deciding that if anyone was going to get stuck with that job, it'd be the old man.
He, at least, was strong enough to keep homicidal grief stricken cat lady youkai from tearing him to shreds.
Hiko's POV
"It's done?" Alexander asked once he heard the sounds of approach.
"It is," he replied, unable to sound anything but grim after performing the task that he had minutes ago. "However I fear it came at a cost I had not anticipated."
Looking down at the white cat in his arms, he recalled all that had occurred.
After his cowardly apprentice had left the dilemma in his lap, he had chosen to simply wait a short while to see if Himari had come to a conclusion before taking the choice out of her hands. While poorly put, his stupid apprentice had laid the broad strokes of the situation for Himari. Assuming that Amakawa Yuuto was even coherent, mentally speaking, then he had no doubt that the boy was suffering greatly as what was natural warred with that which was not. To have lasted even as long as he had spoke much of how richly he'd inherited the power of the Amakawa clan but he was not mistaken in that it would not last much longer. Had the boy been fully trained by his old friends in its use and had experience fighting off forces that sought to attack his body, he would have fared better.
To subject anyone to such agony for even one more week, never mind three months, was unacceptable to him.
Fortunately Himari reluctantly came to the same conclusion and had said her farewells to the one she loved before looking at him, clearly asking him to do what she could not.
With enough swiftness and skill that there wouldn't be even a zero point zero zero one percent chance of the lad feeling any additional pain, he severed the soul's connection to the body. Watching as the life left the boy's tortured body, he had expected the youkai girl to be overcome with her pain either going feral and attack him or start crying like one of those tragic princesses of legend. However instead of following either route, a strange look came over Himari's face, then, like a candle, her human form melted away until all that was left was a decent sized white cat standing on all fours. He had expected that the cat would still share the same intelligence he'd seen in Himari in past visits but instead the youkai behaved like a normal pet.
He'd made four attempts to illicit an intelligent, sentient, response from the cat but each time all he got for his efforts was normal feline behavior.
"What happened?" Alexander asked even as Himari in her cat form nestled even deeper into his arms with a meow.
"I suspect that the trauma of Amakawa Yuuto's death cause Himari's sentient mind to retreat inward, causing her to transform into a cat both in mind as well as in body," he replied, gently petting the feline in question.
"Damn. We tried to make things better and wound up making them go right down the tubes," Alexander said, looking at Himari with pity and remorse.
"Oh, don't over dramatize the situation," he reprimanded his student. "Just because it wasn't some fairy tale happy ending doesn't mean we did the wrong thing. Given enough time to overcome the trauma in a supportive environment, I am sure her true self will return from her subconscious."
"I just hope that Ruby doesn't wind up getting jealous and deciding Himari's a snack," Alexander said with a bit of worry. "We are taking her back with us, right? I mean, I know she's called this place home for a long while but I'm thinking the bad memories are a lot fresher than the good ones right now. Some time away might do her some good at least until she's strong enough to come back here and face her metaphorical demons."
"Such a big word and you're still in high school," he said with some mocking before coming to a decision.
Walking up to his idiot apprentice he gently placed the feline Himari into the teenager's arms, forcing the action when the fool didn't catch on quickly enough.
"Consider her recovery another of your chores once we get home," he said before walking past the gaping teenager to go down the path that led to the highway beyond. "Given the bond you have with Ruby, it's only logical that you be the one to keep the dragon from feasting on feline anytime soon."
"You're asking me to get between a dragon and its meal?!" Alexander asked with a little incredulity. "Wouldn't that be a risk to the bond between me and Ruby?"
"If all it took to threaten such a bond was you spending more time with someone else then clearly you haven't been putting as much effort as I thought you were," he replied without looking back. "I'll have to cut the number of breaks you have in half and assign you to spend more time with Ruby in order to make the bond as strong as Mount Fuji."
Honestly he didn't think that Ruby would treat Himari as food when they got back.
While not displaying any of the human level intellect commonly attributed to dragons, he had noticed a distinct deference to Xander when it came to making certain decisions. Ruby was capable of making independent decisions even with Xander around but it was clear she saw the young man as a guide. As such so long as his idiot student didn't forget to feed her or make clear that Himari was not food, then there should be no problem.
"What about the other youkai ladies?" Alexander asked, following behind. "They probably care about Himari and Yuuto, too. Shouldn't we stick around and tell them what happened?"
"Given that I just mercifully killed someone they obviously cared deeply about, I doubt that they'll be overly rational," he replied, thinking about what'd likely happen in the next few hours. "I did, however, leave them a note explaining what happened and clues as to how to find us should they wish to discuss the matter further. Hopefully by the time they decipher all of them they'll be less inclined to do anything foolish."
"Foolish as in 'come screaming at you looking for revenge'?" Alexander asked, sounding like he didn't want to be anywhere near an event like that.
"Precisely," he replied without too much concern. "Not that it would amount to much. A mind consumed by emotion is much easier to predict that an orderly one capable of devising strategy and tactics."
"On the other hand, people with mad ons generally don't care what happens to them as long as they get their pound of flesh," Alexander pointed out, still sounding concerned. "People not caring if they live or die don't act like normal people do and that makes'em unpredictable."
Thinking on the matter, he had to nod somewhat since he'd seen a few people who'd strayed from what he'd anticipated they'd do while under the influence of vengeance.
"Perhaps. Nevertheless, I'm confident I can deal with them if they can't be reasoned with," he said, already thinking up ways to neutralize both the Mizuchi and the hinoenma.
"Of course you can. I'm pretty sure that unless Satan himself shows up challenging you to a fight there's no one Japan who could give you trouble," Alexander said, no doubt rolling his eyes. "I'm a little more worried about them coming after me. I mean, sure, I didn't die in the first couple of minutes but like you said they were just using scare tactics then. When they come after us this time I'm thinking the kid gloves are going to be off and the 'you are going to BEG for death' gloves are going to be put on."
"You worry too much, apprentice," he chided, letting a confident grin manifest. "I would never let anything happen to my favorite wood cutter."
"Gee, thanks!" Alexander said with a bit of snark. "It's so good to know that my woodcutting skills are what's going to keep me from being turned into Swiss cheese!"
While he didn't approve of the disrespect he was receiving, at least thinking up these snipes distracted his apprentice from his fear of what the youkai ladies might do to him.
Then again, if what the book said about dragons is true, then the boy might actually thank me by the end of the year, he thought with an amused grin as he remembered the words written on the page.
He looked forward to seeing another year go by.
The Home of Seijuro Hiko
Weeks Later
Xander's POV
"Again!" Hiko ordered from his chair off to the side.
With a sigh barely held inside he returned to the starting point before bringing the Kusanagi into a proper ready position, once more going through the kata as his sensei had demonstrated almost two hours ago. While he hadn't known the official name beforehand, he knew that a kata was a detailed choreographed patterns of movements made up of all the swings and blocks he'd learned so far. According to the old man, the purpose was to get him used to using the swings and blocks together rather than just one at a time as well as using them in different combinations. The more he practiced the moves, either individually or as part of a kata, the less hesitation there'd be when he got into a real fight where his life was on the line. They'd been at if for a little over a month so far and he had to admit that the swings and blocks were getting smoother and more natural than they had before.
When he went through the katas, he could almost see his invisible opponent striking or blocking with every movement and that, according to Hiko, was a good thing.
Of course then the grumpy old man threw in a curveball by suddenly calling out a different swing or block for him to do and, more often then not, the alteration derailed everything. The first time it'd happened he'd asked 'what the hell was that for' and the old man had stated that it was dangerous to get stuck expecting a specific series of attacks or blocks. If he was going to be fighting robots with all the imagination of a pet rock, then sure, going through the same blocks and attacks would be fine, but against someone with intelligence an unexpected move was only logical. Ever since then, at least five times a day, though at random, Seijuro would call out a random technique or position and he'd have to get into it perfectly or be stuck doing the kata for another hour.
The old fart had even made it so that he would have to train through lunch and dinner until he got it right! All that good food that either Hitori or Minmei made tormenting his sense of smell and him unable to eat it until the tyrant teacher gave him permission!
Still, the one good thing that he could be happy about was that none of the youkai women from the Amakawa home had popped up yet. Honestly, he'd expected to be ambushed on the way home that night or sometime early the next day, but nothing had happened. He'd kept an eye on Hiko for some of the trip home to see if he could pick up on any subtle sign that his sensei had detected something he could not but nothing. So either his ability to read his teacher sucked or the dangerous women really hadn't chosen to come after them.
Once they'd gotten home Hiko had explained the basics of the situation to Kirito, Hitori and Minmei, including Himari's delicate mental state. The others had been a little dubious about the idea of the white cat being anything other than a white cat but just the same they'd done their best not to upset the feline. After the first few days the girls had actually started showering the cat youkai with love and affection, making it clear that a cat's charms could be ignored by no one for very long. Even Hiko petted Himari the few times the youkai had hopped into his lap and curled up into a ball. He, of course, wasn't excluded from the love and attention routine because for some reason Himari seemed to think his chest made for a very good bed at night. Now of course there'd been a few times where he'd rolled over in his sleep but Himari had always been quick to wake him up…with her CLAWS…whenever he came close to rolling on top of her.
That had triggered a few laughs from the others even if it was painful for him.
As for Ruby, the dragon had been curious enough when they'd first returned but after a session of mutual sniffing and looking into each other's eyes, the two reached a sort of understanding. That didn't mean there wasn't the occasional flare up, especially if he failed to balance out the attention he was giving Himari with the affection he showed Ruby, but he felt he had the hang of it now.
The fish thrown the dragon's way when he went down to the lake to catch dinner probably helped.
The two of them occasionally joined him whenever he went off on his morning runs, with Himari running alongside him even as Ruby snaked her way through the air between the trees. A few times he'd challenged himself to be the one that wore the two of them out first by going further or running faster then them but that didn't happen often. Mostly because, while he'd certainly come a long way from the shape he'd been in when he'd arrived, a flying dragon and a cat youkai still had the edge on him.
One day he had the hope that he'd be able to go faster than either of them, leaving them to struggle to keep up.
It'll be a bit hard if Ruby grows any faster he thought as he continued through the kata.
When the crimson dragon had been born he hadn't had a clue as to just how fast she would grow or how big she would get but since the time of her hatching, his 'partner' had doubled in size. Thankfully, though, her daily food requirement had not also doubled or else half his time was going to be spent fishing or hunting. Still, she'd progressed with her flying ability and could now soar above the treetops at any speed she liked, though he didn't think she'd ever come close to matching the speed of a fighter jet. Hopefully such acceleration would not be necessary or, if it did become necessary, that Ruby would be of such a size that her skin would be the equivalent of tank armor.
If I could just figure out how I did that air blast move with the Kusanagi, I could provide some backup, he thought as he finished the final swing of the kata.
Maybe not much backup but at least some.
"Better but not perfect," Hiko said from his chair. "Too bad for you that in a fight, victory or defeat can occur with only the slightest of differences. To perform the techniques at a level less than perfectly is to give your opponent an opening to exploit."
Typical.
Seijuro couldn't even give a compliment without adding something to cancel it out.
"I think he did awesome," Hitori said from where she and the others were watching the training. "Like a real live samurai!"
While it hadn't happened all at once, as the weeks had gotten by and the survivors of Kyoto had formed bonds with their new home, each of them at one time or another had taken to watching his training sessions with Hiko. Kirito remained mostly silent during them, only asking the odd question while Minmei acted like the expert of cool, giving him tips on how to be more awesome. As for Hitori, she was his biggest fan, cheering him on and telling him how he could meet whatever goal Hiko set. She'd started out quiet the first few weeks but, seeing a little Willow in how timid she behaved, he'd done what he could to help her through the rough hand life had dealt her. Sometimes it was by giving her an extra helping of sweets, other times it was making jokes at his own expense and sometimes just by being there when she needed to vent. As a result of his efforts he felt that she had almost completely moved past the horrors she'd witnessed in Kyoto as well as the deaths of those she cared for.
She still cried from time to time when something reminded her of those that were no longer alive but her moments of sorrow were no longer as intense as they'd been in the beginning.
He knew that he would never replace her family and friends but, if he could at the very least, he could do what he could to make her future something to look forward to.
"Please! At best he might be considered promising enough to be accepted for formal training by one of their instructors," Hiko said, dismissing Hitori's compliment with closed eyes as well as a raised nose. "Still, I'm an excellent instructor, so I'm sure I can make something passable out of him… eventually."
He couldn't help but roll his eyes, wondering if he'd ever manage to get through a single lesson with the old man without receiving a single put down or bit of condescension.
Maybe once he became an official master of Hiko's sword style, the old man might actually give him a heartfelt congratulations, but until then it would be nothing but dismissiveness and ridicule.