Vortex World,
Naha City Highschool Fourth Floor
Kagatsuchi 3/8 Waning
"I hear voices." Ryoko paused, staring at a door to one of the adjacent classrooms. The hallways had been relatively empty of demons thus far, and rather than move too quickly to the upper or lower floors, the space pirate had decided to follow the youth's request to search the floor's rooms for left over supplies.
Tenchi paused with her. "What do you hear?"
Ryoko scowled, her ears straining as she tried to make sense of the voices. "I…don't know." She stated. "I can't…really…understand them." She looked at Tenchi and shrugged as the youth arched a dark eyebrow.
The pirate smirked. "Still though…if there are voices, there are either demons or spirits. Both may have something we can use."
"What do you mean?" Tenchi asked.
Rather than answer, Ryoko raised a foot and kicked the door. Tenchi yelped as the door flew off its hinges and into the far wall, colliding with something that shrieked as it was crushed between the two surfaces. Further inside, two squat, humanoid demons sat, their flesh waxy, corpse-like, and hanging from a skeletal frame with a distended belly. They were naked outside of earrings, watching them from long faces and eyes which glowed with hollow, ethereal light. One stood on a desk. Another rested near the door.
"These must be preta." Tenchi mumbled.
Ryoko looked at him in surprise. "You know what they are?" Tenchi looked at her with a start, and the woman smiled, clapping a hand on his bare shoulder and almost yanking it off when she felt the excess heat emanating from the glowing brands. It'll be a while before I get used to the markings. She thought. "Good. Then here's your first lesson. Surprise your enemy whenever possible. Always strike first." She shoved him into the classroom towards the one on the floor, and with her left hand took aim at the one on the desk. The creature seemed to sense her intent and lept at her, and without though she blasted it, drawing on the ki around her to supply what was normally so infinitely available from the gems.
The blast incinerated the small creature, leaving in its wake only the creature's left arm and left leg-the only bits of it left exposed in the initial blast. That High Pixie wasn't joking. The demons on this floor are little more than malevolent spirits. Anyone with an ounce of spiritual power can defeat them. She glanced at Tenchi, and saw his hesitation. And the will to fight them off…Sighing the woman planted a hand on her hip. "You don't have a sword, so use what's left to you. Punch it, Tenchi."
Tenchi narrowly avoided the creature lunging at him, a wide grimace on his face. "But-"
"You're psyching yourself out too much." The woman replied. "Keep focused on your opponent. Weren't you training with that Devil Summoner? Didn't you learn how to throw a punch?"
"I-" The preta didn't give him time to respond, leaping atop him and sending them both crashing into the wall. Ryoko moved out of the way, ready to intervene if necessary but holding off. Come on Tenchi, what are you doing? What's with this reluctance? Is it your new body? Or did witnessing the world's end break you?
"It's going to do more than kiss you at this rate if you don't get that thing off you." Ryoko teased, folding her arms behind her head as she leaned back, hovering in the air at an angle that allowed her to keep an eye on the outside hallway and Tenchi all at once.
"Not-funny!" Tenchi snapped, and threw the evil spirit off his shoulders, leaving in their wake long, thin gouges which bled a bright red. A snarl on his face-Was it the pain that set him off?-Tenchi lunged after the creature, tackling it and stabbing a sharp elbow into its distended belly. The creature shrieked in desperation, clawing at the newborn demon's arms, and Tenchi pinned it to the ground. For all the superficial damage it did, the creature was surprisingly weak, and was unable to do little other than squirm and scream.
It snapped at him with long jaws, and Tenchi flinched back, giving it just enough ground to wiggle out of the teen's grasp. It snarled at him, lashing out with a hand lined with sharp, long nails, and Tenchi leaned back, rolling on to the balls of his feet and rising with the fluidity of a cat. With a roar, the youth kicked the creature, and he felt his shoe bury itself in the creature's gut, then tear through it and into the soft innards within.
What was flung against the wall was a husk of what remained, a gaping hole in its stomach by which its innards dangled from in long ropes. It gave an agonized groan, reaching for Tenchi, then fell still.
Tenchi stared at the corpse in horror, feeling the fast-cooling moisture of its life blood soaking into his right shoe.
"Damn, good job Tenchi." Ryoko moved to hover beside him, and glanced at the youth with a large, approving smile. The smile dropped when she caught a better look at her younger companion. The boy looked ashen, pale, and nauseous. "…Come on. Let's leave this room and get you cleaned up." She said.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Tenchi whispered.
"…Maybe we'll move you to a wall instead." Floating around him, Ryoko rested gentle hands on the teen's shoulders and guided him away from the corpse and towards a far wall, being careful to keep the youth's back to the corpse. "Don't lock your knees. Lean against the wall if you need need to. Deep breaths." She came to land beside him, rubbing Tenchi's back slowly as she listened to the teen suck in one long, ragged breath after another. The woman fell silent, watching the boy with critical if worried eyes, while keeping her ears trained to the door's entrance behind them.
After a solid ten minutes of harsh breaths, Tenchi finally straightened, sighing as he looked back at Ryoko. He looked embarrassed. Worse, he looked ashamed. "Sorry." He muttered, and let his eyes fall to the ground.
Ryoko stared at him, baffled. "For what?" She asked. "Feeling sick after killing something for the first time?"
Tenchi winced but nodded.
The ex-pirate sighed, then swung an arm around the boy's shoulders in a one-armed hug. Gently, she turned them both, keeping herself between Tenchi and the corpse, and guided him out of the classroom. "You've never needed to kill until today." The Demon Lord said. "And when it was called upon for you to act, you did well. You defeated another demon that would have killed you if you hadn't killed it first, and when you're blood cooled, you kept your stomach. What are you apologizing for?"
The teen glanced at her, opened his mouth, then closed it and looked away. They continued down the hallway in silence, and Ryoko almost missed the soft, mumbled "Thanks." as they neared the bathrooms.
It was here Tenchi paused. "…Can we stop for a second?" He asked. "I…want to clean off…" He trailed off, gesturing to his right leg.
"You don't need to ask. Just say you want to stop." Ryoko replied with a nod. Tenchi gave her a small, fleeting half-smile, the slipped into the men's bathroom. "Use cold water!" She called after him.
"Thanks!" She heard echoed inside, and took stock of their surroundings as she heard the water faucet turn on inside.
It allowed her time to reflect. Something Ryoko hated to do, but found it necessary in that specific moment. The truth of the matter was, despite the brave face she put up for Tenchi, Ryoko was spooked.
She'd gone to Naha City on a whim after her body had healed enough for her to move without too much pain. At first, it had been an unreasonable drive which had pushed her towards the city; not so much a desire to see Tenchi and ensure he was okay, but an underlying feeling of dread that grew stronger the longer she stayed in the mountains.
There had been the dreams too.
The White Haired Demon's words on finding Tenchi. Of the Amala Network and Vortex Worlds, which she now found herself in.
The Blond Foreigner's words bothered her as well. He was right. So was the White Haired Demon. And now I've been told to seek one out and survive in this world. Both want something from me, maybe from Tenchi too.
Tenchi scared her too.
No, that wasn't right. She was scared for Tenchi.
He doesn't realize what's fully happened to him. Why he can't touch the sword. His body is so inhuman now that even the Jurian Tech doesn't recognize his blood. Yet he just showed me he could tear a hole in another demon's stomach without trying. There's a lot of power that's been granted to him, and neither of us know its limit yet.
However thus far, it was only Tenchi's body which had changed; his mind remained his own, and at his heart he was still the same young Tenchi Masaki who had grown up around her cave.
This world will change him. A piece of her whispered. Like Kagato changed you.
She physically flinched, as if struck, and looked around, suddenly cold despite the warmth of the hallway. Drawing in a long, quiet breath, she steeled herself. Not if I have anything to say about it.
And how long do you propose you'll be with him? The voice continued. Can you withstand what this world has to offer for the both of you? Why do you even care so much about a waif of a boy such as him?
"I don't know." She whispered. "I don't know the answer to any of those questions. But I can't just leave him all alone in a place like this! He's not-He's not family like Ryo-oh-ki is family, or even Kokonotsu, Nanatsu and Hiji. But he's still family in his own special way, and I'll stick with him until I know he can stand on his own."
Are you sure it isn't that you're merely afraid to be alone? The voice inquired, and Ryoko snarled before banishing it from her mind.
"Did you say something?" Tenchi emerged from the bathroom. His right pants leg looked damp, and his right shoe now made an unfortunate squelsh sound whenever he shifted his weight onto his right foot. Some of the color had returned to his face, and the teen seemed to be in a healthier state of mind than prior to entering the bathroom.
Achika was like that too. Quick to bounce back from anything. Glad to see Tenchi inherited that from her. Ryoko smirked at him. "Just thinking aloud. Worried about Kokonotsu and the others."
Tenchi frowned in consideration. "Do you think the Shrine…?"
The pirate shook her head. "I don't know what to think." She said. "And I'm trying to talk myself out of dwelling on it. I had really been gunning on getting my gems back after being set free and waking up Ryo-oh-ki."
Tenchi fell silent for a long moment. "Hey, Ryoko? What…happened to you? Y'know, after the…after waking up."
Ryoko sent him a measured look. "I don't know." She said honestly. "The devil you brought with you-the one who woke me up…he fed me something. I think…" She stopped herself and shook her head. "I was mad with pain. From my body recovering. I…had my conscious mind shut down and I was running on instinct. Somehow I got where Yosho and that demon was and," She shrugged. "As my body was rebuilding itself, I gradually…'woke up', I guess you could say. But, well…when you wake up to others attacking you, it…doesn't really paint a good picture of what's happening. So I did what I'm guessing my unconscious mind had me doing originally-fighting off whoever I thought was an enemy."
"Then I showed up." Tenchi muttered.
Ryoko nodded. "So you did. I…vaguely remember that. Someone did something that pissed me off regarding you-I can't remember what specifically, but I remember seeing red. And Yosho. I remember him more than anything else." She turned and spat, and under her breath muttered, "Fucker."
Tenchi winced.
"Bastard hit me with something that hurt like…like…" The woman shuddered, feeling herself break into a coldsweat as her mind vaguely brought a recollection of the pain. "Kagato's disciplinary measures hurt less than that." She whispered off-handedly, and Ryoko shuddered, running a hand through cyan locks. "I don't remember what happened after that. I was told Hiji and the others rescued me, that I'd been sick and feverish, and that the wound was slow to heal." A hand moved reflexively to her side, touching the area lightly. The demon lord's voice dropped and grew cold. "If I ever see him again…"
Tenchi stopped. "Ryoko."
The space pirate paused to look at him, eyes cold, angry, and merciless.
"He's my grandpa, Ryoko."
"And if we meet again, only one of us will walk away." Ryoko replied. "That is a fact. I will not back down from him, Tenchi. I've been hurt too deeply by him twice now; I refuse to let him get the better of me a third time." She shook her head, and the anger on her face was deep; a laceration which had healed into a deep silver scar of bad experience under constant threat of re-opening. "Don't get me wrong Tenchi. I may have overlooked our first battle. But what happened after I woke up?" She shook her head. "No. Absolutely not."
Tenchi looked up at her with dismay. "You'd…force me to choose between you?"
The woman stiffened, then closed her eyes. "If I had any say, there'd be no decision." She stated. "Yosho and I would either never meet again or we would take care of our business away from you where you wouldn't have to decide."
"You'd just leave me with the ramifications of whoever won." Tenchi decided.
At length, Ryoko nodded. "We would." She said. "But I certainly don't plan on seeing his face again-who knows who else survived the end of the world?"
"At least one other person." Tenchi whispered. "Likely more. People with strong wills."
"Do you think your grandfather has a strong will?" Ryoko looked at him with a sudden cold interest, and in her gaze was a challenge.
To her surprise Tenchi met her gaze with his own steely now-gold eyes. Gold like mine, but no slit pupils. His eyes are still human, at least. Ryoko thought.
"I think Yosho has one of the strongest wills around." Tenchi stated defiantly. "He chased you from another planet despite the fact that you personally had destroyed planets with Ryo-oh-ki. He fought you down to a draw and managed to imprison you, and kept watch over you for seven hundred years. When you did finally escape, he still rose to meet you despite time's toll on him. And when it looked like you might yet beat him, he showed a willingness to risk everything to bring you to heel." The youth pursed his lips, but to his credit, he never dropped his gaze, despite the growing anger rising in Ryoko's face. "If anyone has the will to survive past the world's end, it's him."
"Then all the more reason you best hope we never meet." Ryoko growled, "For all of our sakes, not just Yosho's."
It was Tenchi who finally looked away, not yet holding the nerve to challenge her.
Not as a demon.
Not yet.
He's a ballsy motherfucker when its someone he cares about. Ryoko noted, and took a breath, trying to let her own anger fizzle out and die, like the Elder Tengu had taught her. She wasn't having much luck. He doesn't show it often, but if its for someone he gives a damn about, he'd even fight me over it.
Now if only there was a way to direct that towards the general demons in this area…
"Are we done on this floor?" The woman asked.
Tenchi hesitated, then nodded. "There's…nothing else here." He said.
"Let's move down to the next floor. I don't want to linger in this building any longer than necessary."
The moved back towards the stairwell in tense silence, and Tenchi's eyes fell back onto the tenchi-ken. Ryoko could guess the boy's thoughts even before he made his way to the sword hilt, and as he moved, she called out to him in warning. "Don't do it."
Tenchi deliberately ignored her, squatting down in front of the sword as he glowered at the blade.
"Tenchi, I'm telling you, don't try it."
The teen looked around, then stood, grabbed a piece of rebar from the collapsed stairwell, and yanked it out of the rubble with the ease of a child breaking a branch off a dead tree. He returned to the sword hilt and poked it experimentally with the piece of steel. It did not react to the prodding, and pursing his lips, Tenchi took a step closer to it.
Ryoko hid her face in one hand. "Idiot."
With no small amount of hesitation, Tenchi reached a hand out towards the tenchi-ken. Warning sparks nipped at his fingers as they drew near, and the boy yanked his hand back, clutching his hand and examining it with a small frown. "Damn it." He muttered.
The space pirate heaved a sigh, floating over to the youth. "Hate to break it to you, but your body isn't human any more. It looks like the sword can no longer identify the Jurain blood in you that would have normally allowed you to touch it."
"What's that mean?" Tenchi sent a side-long glance up at the woman, a dejected scowl on his face.
"It means not even the sword sees you as Human anymore, Tenchi."
"Fucking hell."
"Yep."
He rose with a sigh, leaning on the long piece of rebar as he glared down at the sword with accusing gold eyes. "This is bullshit." He muttered.
"Try being on the other end-I need someone who can touch the sword to give me my gems back. Without them, I'm essentially crippled."
"I know." Tenchi replied. "I just thought…maybe if I focused real hard on, like..human thoughts? I might be able to touch it. Or like…I don't know, thought real hard about being Juraian?"
Ryoko looked at him flatly. "You don't know the first thing about being Juraian, Tenchi."
"Yeah, but the sword still let me use it prior to that!"
"That's not how it works!" Ryoko ran a hand through her hair in aggravation. "Look, the sword is registered to a very specific bio-code. Whatever biological life form that touches it undergoes an internal scan by the sword for Juraian DNA. If its a match, the sword's internal defense system doesn't activate. If not, than whoever is touching it or holding it gets a real nasty shock, in case you couldn't tell."
Tenchi scowled, then sighed. "I get it." He said. "I just…stupid hope, I guess."
"Come on. Let's make our way to the bottom floor and get those gloves. We'll find a work around somehow, even if it means finding a way to just…make you totally resistant to electricity."
The teen cracked a smile. "What, are you gonna wrap me up in electric tape and throw me at demons? 'Tenchi, the Electric Wrecking Ball'?"
Ryoko released a bark of laughter. "Don't give me ideas."
"Yeah, yeah…" The youth drawled, hefting the rebar onto one shoulder. "Though you gotta admit, it'd be kind of fun-oh shit!"
The youth lept back as the preta lunged at him, followed closely by the will o' wisp which had slunk up the stairwell. Reflexively, Tenchi swung at the preta with the rebar, and the creature's skull was caved in as the steel impacted with its body.
"Tenchi, on your right!" Ryoko fired on the will o' wisp, but not before another preta crawled out from beneath the rubble, its eyes glaring holes at Tenchi as it snarled at him.
"Fuck off!" Tenchi screamed, and without thought swept the hunk of rebar down at the tenchi-ken, the sword hilt momentarily transforming into the oddest golfball the Vortex World had ever seen as it was sent sailing towards the preta.
The hilt struck true, hitting the creature in the stomach, and the preta shrieked as its body was engulfed in vibrant bands of blue-white electricity. It's body seized, paralyzed, then fell still as the electricity began to fade.
Tenchi stared at the fallen corpse with wide eyes.
Ryoko rushed to his side. "Tenchi, are you okay?"
"…Rope."
Ryoko blinked. "What?"
Tenchi turned his gaze to Ryoko, and the space pirate leaned back, startled, confused, and slightly concerned by the somewhat manic look on the boy's face. "Rope." He repeated. "I-I have an idea."
Ryoko stared at him. "Where the hell are we going to find rope?"
"Janitor's closet. Third floor." Tenchi smiled. "I have an idea."
The space pirate stared at him with dismay. "Tenchi…" She began, "…this is neither the time nor place to be exploring your kinks."
Tenchi stared at her. "What?"
Ryoko stared back. "What?"
Vortex World,
Okinawa Prefecture Municipal Government Hall, Naha City
Kagatsuchi 2/8 Waning
In the bowls of a government building, within a room forgotten by Man, a large terminal sat dark, dead, and dormant. The room was dark, the Sanskrit which covered the terminal's surface black. All was quiet and still, save for a lone body which rested collapsed not far from where the terminal rested.
A moan, and slowly, the figure began to stir, awakening to a world of darkness and a darker hole in his memory. Gingerly, the being climbed to his hands and knees before clutching his head, feeling a large, crusty, wet area on the top of his head and more such stickiness trailing down his face and scalp. His right ear throbbed mercilessly, and he could hear and feel his pulse in that ear, pounding and throbbing to the same beat as the pain which rattled his body.
"I can't be dead if I hurt this much." Yosho hissed, and heard the youth of his natural voice over the deeper tone of Katsuhito. With a grimace, the man shifted to sit with a long hiss, and began a careful examination of his body, taking stock in what hurt and more importantly, what didn't. The man took his time, carefully checking for first superficial wounds, than any broken bones, and was relieved and amazed to find his worst injury being whatever had struck him in the side of the head.
But what?
"I can't 'member." The man touched his temple. Okay, think. What do you remember?
"I came to Naha City." He began. "I was…meeting with a member of the Tourism Board in the Municipal Government Hall. They wanted to…" He grimaced, and felt a worrisome spike of pain race through his skull and down into his temples. I hope I'm not concussed. The man took a deep, meditative breath and gently willed the pain away. Though it was slow, the pain gradually abated, and Yosho once more examined his memories. "I was…in the Municipal building. Walking through the first floor…I saw…" He grimaced. "I saw…"
A cat.
My cat.
"Old Ko'Neko." He said. "I saw…Old Ko'Neko watching me. He was…sitting on a break room table. I passed it and saw him watching me. But…"
He had two tails. The sword was with him. Not tenchi-ken, but the other one. The Goetia's sword. And I…I…what did I do?
Another spike of pain. Yosho moaned. "My head…" He clutched it with both hands, and felt the heat radiating off the wound. "I need to take care of this." He mumbled. "Otherwise memory loss will be the least of my worries."
Can I even stand though? He wondered, and crawled over to the terminal, feeling the world shift as vertigo overtook him. Groaning, the man leaned against the large cylinder as his vision swam and the ground spun around him. The warrior-priest closed his eyes, taking in one long, shuddering breath after another, his fingers curling into tight fists as he fought through the dizziness.
The spell passed, more slowly than the last, and the man sat leaning against the terminal, panting heavily as sweat beaded his brow. I'm in worse condition than I thought. What happened to me?
Snippets of visions-memories-slipped across Yosho's vision, causing the man to wince. An earthquake…the bakeneko from the shrine…Ko'Neko…lightning…Another burst of pain whipped through his skull, and Yosho bit back a scream. By Tsunami, he just wanted to curl up and die! "Why?" He croaked, and his voice was almost unrecognizable to him. The man shuddered, then rested his head against the terminal, too grateful for the coolness it brought to his inflamed skull to worry about anything else.
He sighed, and closed his eyes.
Perhaps he even dozed.
Yet as all things were wont to do, the minuet peace came to an end.
The script on the terminal began to illuminate, glowing a faint red as the Amala Drum grew alive. Yosho grimaced, then opened bleary burgundy eyes once more, only to be pushed forward as the terminal began to rotate. The warrior-priest fell to the ground with a hard grunt, his reactions slowed, and for a moment stared in incomprehension as the terminal began to spin. Slowly at first, and the light of the script drawn across its surface began to glow bright and angry as the speed increased. It was only when a stray bolt of electricity ignited next to him that Yosho was pulled from the fog of pain and found himself moving once more, stumbling to his feet out of necessity rather than health and swaying drunkenly to a nearby wall.
The stray bolts of electricity increased with the intensity of the terminal's red glow, and Yosho felt his pulse jump into his throat, certain the cylindrical object was a bomb he's somehow accidentally set to explode.
Yet rather than explode, a figure appeared from the terminal-a being of light, at first made of blue-white bolts of electricity before condensing and taking shape.
Yosho felt his heart skip a beat.
A demon.
A massive hound, like but unlike the two-faced beast which had been summoned by Duke Aym, it stood a solid five feet from shoulder to paw, its coloring an unnatural blue with a white undercoat. It surveyed the world with a massive, wedge-shaped head, and as its gaze fell on Yosho, a chill raced down his spine. Two green, unworldly eyes stared at him, yet in the center of the beast's forehead rested a third green eye-one which, as it focused on him, seemed to stare through him with an intensity he could feel. A strange, stone-like armor covered its legs and spine, and as the demon stared at him, its lips peeled back in a mockery of a hound's smile, revealing a long row of fangs larger than the width of his forearm.
A long bushy tail-like an akita's, Yosho thought-began to sway, and the man was not blind to the stony, dragon-like armor which traveled from the beast's spine and down to the tail's tip. It bowed its head, nose twitching, and approached, nails that were long and pointed-like a raptor's-clicking like stone against the hard tile. Yosho pushed himself against the wall, made wildly aware that he was not only injured, but unarmed and defenseless. I survive the world's end just to be killed by the first demon I come across. Yosho thought inanely, and turned his face away from the beast, resigning himself to his fate. May my death at least be fast. If only to end the pain in my skull.
He could feel the monster lower its muzzle near his face, could feel hot, humid breath blow across his skin, and felt his stomach somersault as he smelled the creature's wretched breath. He heard a low, deep, ominous growl, and pressed himself further against the wall as if willing himself to pass through it.
What he did not expect was a long, warm, soft tongue to lick the bloodied right side of his face, and for a voice, loud but oddly friendly, to echo through the chamber. "MAN-FRIEND."
Yosho opened his eyes and stared into nothing. "….What."
Another long, wet, lick assaulted his face, and Yosho cringed reflexively. His eyes darted to the creature in front of him, and found the beast tilting its head to one side, looking at him in mild concern. It licked its nose, titled its head to the other side, and leaned in, licking the man once more before Yosho could think to stop it. Its tail beat the air gaily, and the Jurian Prince was left too flabbergasted to respond.
"MAN-FRIEND!" The beast said again, this time with fresh enthusiasm.
Yosho unfortunately did not feel the same excitement.
"MAN-FRIEND HURT. MOM HELP." The beast continued.
"Mom?" Yosho wheezed, and an image of an even larger monstrosity rose in his mind; a dragon-hound, thrice the size of the beast before him and even more aggressive. He shuddered, and pulled away from the beast, only for the creature to whine and nudge him with its large nose. "You…you have a-a mother?"
"MOM COME SOON. MOM SAY 'HEEL'. PASCAL NO HEEL." The demon whined, then sat, ears folding against its head. "PASCAL NO HAVE TREAT NOW."
As if inspired by the creature's words, the terminal activated once more, beginning its slow speed as it gradually gained momentum. The demon looked over its shoulder at the Amala drum, unconcerned in the least by the wild bolts of electricity the large cylinder generated, and Yosho shielded his eyes as a new figure formed in the generated electricity.
"Pascal!" A voice, feminine, young, and stern, rose into the air.
Pascal whined.
"Get over here you bonehead! What did I tell you about leaving my side?"
Yosho dropped his hand just in time to watch Pascal rise and turn, trotting over to a newcomer who, by all accounts, looked incredibly human by demon standards. A woman, young, in her late twenties, tapped a foot impatiently, her hands planted on her hips as she watched the massive creature trudge towards her with a whine. She wore her teal hair long and free, with only an orange headband to keep it out of her eyes. She wore a surprisingly human outfit too, if for some…adjustments. A long, white turtleneck, a pair of black cargo pants, sneakers…and over the turtleneck, what appeared to be a bulletproof vest and a gun holster. The woman raised her arm, running it through the massive monstrosity's fur, and Yosho spied something else-a strange computer terminal that was strapped securely to her left forearm. "Idiot, I was worried I'd lost you! Don't do that again, okay? Or I'll need to secure you in the COMP."
"FOUND MAN-FRIEND. MAN-FRIEND HURT." Pascal leaned into the woman's hand, jaw dropping in a canine's smile, only for it to fall with a whine as the woman ceased her affections.
"Man-friend?" The woman's tone took on an immediate shift, and her right hand reached for the holster on her chest, drawing it with a fluid, practiced motion as she scanned the surrounding area.
Her eyes landed on Yosho, and the warrior-priest raised his hands in wary surrender. "I'm defenseless." He wheezed. "If you're going to kill me, please make it fast."
The woman blinked, than lowered her weapon, clicking it back to safety before stowing it back in its holster. "Oh shit, another human!" She rushed fearlessly past the large demon, racing with an urgency Yosho wouldn't have expected, and came to kneel beside him. "Hang on, let me take a look at you." The woman dug into one of her cargo pockets and came out with a small flashlight. She shined it on him, and then hissed in sympathy. "Fuck, no offense, but you look bad, Mister Priest. Can you turn your head to the left?"
Yosho did so, well aware of the way the woman recoiled. "Fuck, that's not good." She mumbled. "Can you look back at me?" Yosho complied, though the action was slow and delayed, and the woman continued. "Look straight ahead for me?" The stranger shined the flashlight across first one, than the other eye, and he winced, shielding his vision against the brightness. The light left an afterimage of the woman and the demon, and his head began to throb with fresh vigor from the intruding light. From his peripheral vision he saw the woman's frown deepen. She held a finger out. "With your left hand, touch your nose with your finger, than my finger." Though his movements were slow and sluggish, Yosho did as the woman asked, and his hand seemed to drift as it struggled to meet the newcomer's finger. "Your right hand-touch your nose, then my finger." His right hand was even worse, and the man struggled to even bring his finger to his nose, let alone attempt to touch the stranger's finger.
"How bad am I, Doc?" He asked, trying to keep his tone light if for no one's sake but his.
"It's Kiyone Makibi, and, well…do you want the good news or the bad news?"
"Yosho Jurai Masaki." Yosho mumbled, and felt as if there was a delay between him speaking and the sound of his voice. "Bad news."
"You're right ear's been torn in half and you look like you have a pretty bad concussion." Kiyone revealed. " Your right pupil isn't dilating, and you movements and voice are both pretty sluggish. You've got some pretty big light sensitivity too, and, well…you're coated in blood. If I were to guess, a piece of the ceiling fell on you when those earthquakes wracked the city."
"Good news?"
Kiyone shrugged, looking nervous. "You survived the end of the world, so I think that might be a plus?"
Yosho stared at her.
"Okay, yeah, maybe not the best way of dropping a truth bomb on a person. Hang on, I think I have something that can help you…"
The woman dug through her pockets, and behind her, Pascal came, nudging her insistently. "MOM FRIEND?"
"Yes Pascal, He's a friend." The woman paused and looked back at Yosho. "You said your name was…Jurai?"
"Jurai-Masaki." Yosho slurred, his head pounding too much to notice the emphasis on the name.
The woman paused, one hand still in her pocket as she looked at him, and for the first time Yosho noticed the woman's eyes. Eyes match her hair…not a Terrain color…good hair stylist…
"…Okay." Kiyone said, and withdrew a can from one of her pockets. "It's uh…nice to meet you…Jurai-Masaki-kun."
"…Like your dog." Yosho mumbled.
"I like him too." Kiyone looked back at the behemoth creature with a smile of open affection. "He ah, wasn't always this-this big." She popped the can and brought the can to Yosho's lips. "You're getting worse by the minute and I don't think you can hold this on your own. Drink."
Unable to argue with the pounding in his skull, Yosho did as ordered and drank slowly from the can. It tasted strange; salty and peppery and vaguely like an energy drink without any sugar. It was almost more like a caffinated soup than any kind of juice or soda he had expected. When Kiyone pulled the can away, the man grimaced. "That's…not a drink." He rasped.
Kiyone shrugged. "It's a…soma?" She said. "I got it off a demon Pascal ate. A zombie told me it can heal all wounds.
Yosho blinked. "A zombie?"
The woman shrugged uncomfortably. "He had his senses still. He passed me the information in exchange for his life-unlife?-and kind of…shuffled off towards the ocean. Or at least…where the ocean once was."
The man stared at her, feeling the pounding in his skull alleviate by the moment. "You met a zombie." He stated. "You met…" He squinted at her, wondering if by chance he was hallucinating and the woman and dog both were just an illusion brought forth by his concussed mind.
"Don't stare at me like that and finish your soma." Kiyone scowled at him and thrust the can back into his face. This time he took it, and with a grimace brought it back to his lips, upping the can and finishing the contents in three large gulps. He gasped, gagged, saw his vision spot for a moment, yet as it cleared so too did the pounding and the head fog. His right ear still throbbed as if Ryoko had beaten him with a rock, but it was a physical pain, not the agony of migraine, headache, or possible concussion. The man flexed his fingers, and was relieved to see the disconcerting 'delay' had faded between his thoughts and his actions. He waved a hand in front of his face, and found that he could track the fingers with ease. The room had stopped spinning.
The man closed his eyes and took in a long breath. "Saved by soup." He mumbled. "What a soup-er soup."
Kiyone stared at him with a solemn expression. "This is why the world ended." She stated, and rose abruptly.
Yosho watched her go. No sense of humor with this one. He rose as well, and found no pain, dizziness, or nausea assaulted him as he stood. "Thank you for the medicine." He said, and gingerly touched his right ear. It throbbed and felt…mangled. The man cringed, his mind dredging up images of cauliflower ear or worse, an ear ripped to shreds. He pushed them to the side, watching as Kiyone pocketed the small flashlight and dug through her cargo pockets once more, this time removing a larger storm flashlight. She clicked it on and began to survey the room, her attention gone as Pascal once more approached.
"MAN-FRIEND HEALED." Pascal said, and thrust his large head into Yosho's chest in a silent demand for attention.
With no small amount of hesitation, Yosho pet the monstrosity, feeling a coarse overcoat protecting an shorter, downy undercoat. "How did you come across your, ah…dog?" He asked.
"I've had him since he was a puppy." Kiyone replied. "I'm a uh, dog trainer by trade. I…came from the-the States as part of a, uh, transfer with the Japanese police force. They wanted to start up a police dog training center. I was assigned to set it up."
Yosho looked at the woman in surprise. "You're law enforcement?"
"Retired law enforcement." Kiyone replied, "And I'd like to leave that bit of my life there, please."
That explain's the lack of humor. Yosho thought. "Than Pascal is a working dog?"
"Failed working dog." Kiyone replied. "He was part of an experimental program on seeing if akitas could take on police work. Y'know, bear hunting dogs and all that. Turns out they don't have the right temperament for it. So I kept Pascal while focusing on German Shepherd, Belgium Malinoise, and the occasional drug sniffer like beagles and bloodhounds."
"And so he just ah…grew a third eye and some armor?" Yosho asked.
"Nope." Kiyone glanced back at him uncomfortably. "It's…a long story. He…was injured in a fight. I had only a few options available to save him." She looked back at Yosho with a soft, forlorn frown, "and when I acted he came back…changed."
Pascal licked his nose and moved towards Kiyone, who wrapped an arm around the creature's massive neck and scratched behind one of the beast's ears. "But he's still my bestest boy, aren't you Pascal!" The woman cooed, and leaned into the beast as the creature beat its tail gaily. "You take good care of your mommy, even if you don't always listen to her!"
To Yosho she said, "It happened on the eve of…all of this." She gestured around wildly. "I had been contacted by email by a stranger who I can only identify as 'Stephen' a week prior. The email detailed something about demons running amok. The next day I received a package with this strange device in it." She raised her left hand, holding up the odd computer-like gauntlet for him to see. "It came with instructions from Stephen again on how to download a weird software into the gauntlet Something called a 'Demon Summoning Program'."
Yosho raised an eyebrow, moving to walk beside the woman. "And you didn't think this wasn't a…virus, or a scam?"
"At first, yes." Kiyone replied. "I wouldn't do anything with it. But then I heard rumors from the officers in my precinct that there were cult members summoning monsters. Didn't think anything of it. No offense but Japanese officers aren't as…seasoned as Gal-American officers." She rubbed the back of her head uncomfortably. "So I dismissed it. But then more rumors started popping up over town-in my local neighborhood. Rumors of people being assaulted. Rumors of youkai being spotted. And then murder scenes-like someone had been eaten alive-happening a few doors down from my apartment.
"And all this time, I kept getting these emails from Stephen. Each one was more desperate than the last. So I started investigating, and brought Pascal with me for protection. Akitas are known for their loyalty and savagery against threats, after all...and I saw…" Kiyone fell silent, and Yosho watched an intermingled expression of terror, revulsion, and defeat dance across her face. "I saw something. Something that made me-made me believe the rumors. That same night I went back home and downloaded the Demon Summoning Program into this-this COMP. It…said there was one demon in storage. So…I dug through the program files and…I summoned it."
Yosho stared at the woman in disbelief. "You…summoned a demon." He stated. Like Kuzunoha? But with a computer instead of Kuzunoha's own spiritual aptitude?
Kiyone nodded, looking more uncomfortable. "It…said its name was cerberus. It didn't eat me right away, like I thought it might, but…well, who can say in this new day and age?" She smiled wanly. "Shortly afterwards I got an email from Stephen. He was asking for help. He'd been…kidnapped by someone. Something."
"And so you decided to step in and help."
Kiyone nodded. "Long story short…it sent me on a…journey. I took Pascal with me and ran into one of Cybers Tech's Okinawa branch headquarters building and found it overrun with demons. I fought my way through, found that I could use the COMP to communicate, recruit, and summon demons, discovered that the Vice CEO in charge of Cybers Okinawa was a demon named Douman, and even found Stephen, who tweaked my COMP for a bit of on-the-spot upgrades. Pascal was gravely injured in the battle against Douman, but Stephen told me of a way to save him-by fusing him with another demon. I was able to save Pascal, who…grew, for lack of a better term. Stephen found me shortly after and warned me about the World ending. He told me to head to a Terminal, like the one in here. He said it would protect me. Would transport me somewhere where I could survive and…well," She shrugged and looked away. "…here I am."
"And here you are." Yosho agreed, sensing there was more to the story than she was letting on but letting it drop. No woman was without her secrets, and they'd only just met.
"So what's your story?" Kiyone asked, "And more importantly…can you fight?"
"I can fight." Yosho started. "Preferably with a sword. I'm not accurate with a gun, and if there are more demons as you are insinuating, I would much rather be armed with a weapon rather than with my bare hands."
"You might be in luck." Kiyone waved him over, shining the light down on something near a pile of rubble. "Think you can use this?"
The man approached with a frown, one that deepened as his eyes fell on the object illuminated by the flashlight. "That's…" He trailed off, "May I use your flashlight for a moment?"
Kiyone handed it over, and Yosho knelt down, spreading the beam across the length of a long, European broadsword. His heart skipped a beat. That's Duke Aym's sword. How is it that its followed me even here? Was it not with…the beam fell across a small, furry body, and Yosho almost dropped the flashlight. "No…" He whispered, and stooped down in front of the tiny feline body. "Oh Ko'Neko…" Setting the light down, he gently rested a hand on the tiny body.
It was warm.
Burgundy eyes widened, and the man froze, feeling a small, rapid heartbeat and, in the silence of the room, growing aware of the fast, rasping breaths of the tiny creature before him. "Makibi-san."
"What is it?" Kiyone asked warily.
"Do you…do you have another soma?"
"No."
Yosho grimaced. "Do you have anything similar? Anything at all?"
"For a cat?" Kiyone asked.
"NEKOMATA." Pascal intervened."IS DEMON."
"I don't care what he is." Yosho replied, though his gaze was drawn to the split, y-shaped tail which emerged from the base of the creature's spine. "He's someone very dear to me and I want to save him." He looked at Kiyone accusingly. "Did you not just tell me that you went through great lengths to save your dog?"
Kiyone stared at him silently, then sighed. "Hang on, let me see what I've got." She mumbled.
Yosho turned back to the tiny cat. He grabbed the flashlight with one hand to examine the feline, and carefully searched along its head and spine for any signs of a break. He could see none, though Ko'Neko's muzzle was red. Carefully, he picked the creature up and cradled it against his chest, feeling the rapid heartbeat and watching the cat's side rise and fall in quick succession. He gently stroked the creature's head, for a brief instant saw the glint of gold eyes, and then felt his heart constrict as the old cat began to purr against him.
Kiyone knelt next to him and popped open a can. "Here. Pour this over it. It's a muscle drink-it should heal at least some of its more grievous injuries."
"Pour it over him, don't drink it?" Yosho inquired, and Kiyone shrugged.
"It's how the other demons seem to employ it." She replied. "And if your cat's a nekomata…" She trailed off.
Yosho nodded and took the can, carefully pouring it over the creature. "He was…I think he was trying to help me."
"How so?"
"That sword-it belonged to a demon who attacked my shrine. I was able to defeat it with the help of a Devil Summoner-somewhat similar to you, however he could summon demons and spirits with his own spiritual power rather than through a piece of technology. I had been forced to duel the demon prior to the Devil Summoner's aide. He challenged me and gave me his sword-said he wanted to 'even the playing field'. When he was finally slain, the sword remained." The man emptied the can and set it off to one side, gently massaging the fluid into the feline's now wet body and feeling the quick breaths ease into slower, deeper ones. "The Devil Summoner was investigating rumors of a cult trying to bring about the end of the world. We parted at summer's end-my understanding was that he had a lead in Naha City-and I continued about my life. I had been summoned here to the Municipal Building to discuss a personal matter and…"
Ko'Neko began to twitch, and opening his eyes the cat picked up its head, shaking it wildly for a moment. Yosho smiled in relief. "Hey Old Man, how are you feeling?" He murmured.
The cat stared at him with bleary gold eyes, than headbutted Yosho's chest, the purr rising in intensity. The man sighed with relief, cuddling the creature gently and scratching beneath one cheek. "You scared me for a moment there Buddy. What are you doing here?"
"Trying…to help…you." Old Ko'Neko replied, and Yosho almost dropped his pet cat.
"Holy shit you talk." Yosho stared at the creature with wide eyes.
"Guess that confirms it. You're pet cat's a demon." Kiyone said.
"Like your pet dog?" Yosho retorted without thought, still staring down at his old cat.
"Shut up, Masaki." Kiyone replied. "But really…your pet was a demon, and you didn't even know?"
"How would I?" Yosho asked. "Like you, I've had Old Ko'Neko since he was a kitten-I found him when he was only a couple of days old and he's been with me ever since. I don't even know when he would have turned into a demon, let alone how."
"Nekomata are born…of old age…" Old Ko'Neko stirred, shifting in Yosho's arm's. "This…was natural…for me."
Kiyone raised a teal eyebrow in question. "How do you define old age?"
The cat looked up at Kiyone, then back at Yosho.
Yosho began to sweat. Son of a bitch. His gaze darted between the feline and the woman.
As if sensing his agitation, the cat sighed, then began to squirm in a silent request to be put down. The warrior-priest set the feline on the ground, and the nekomata began to groom himself. "I was trying…to protect my human." He said instead. "He is…too stubborn and stupid…to recognize the danger of a Goetia. I could not trust him to go…unarmed into the end of the world. I brought the sword and attempted to warn him, yet when the earthquakes started I could only guide him to what I assumed would be a safe place." The cat sneezed. "It was not as safe as I thought, but safer than anywhere else, I presume."
"So you did bring me this sword." Yosho said.
"Of course. You are...a fair bit...useless without it."
"…I think you were nicer before I knew you could speak." Yosho muttered, and shifted to grab the hilt of the sword.
"Its a cat. Demon cat or no, a cat is gonna cat." Kiyone replied, then sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Still, you've got a sword, I've got a gun, we both have pet demons."
"I am...no pet." Old Ko'Neko huffed. "I am...my own master...and Yosho is my...my family." Its grooming finished, the youkai approached Yosho and lept up onto his shoulder, making itself comfortable as it draped itself across his shoulders. "I will not...allow anyone...even another human...to say otherwise." A warm nose stuck itself in Yosho's left ear, and despite himself the man smirked, rising with the sword in hand.
Kiyone rose with him, shaking her head. "This is why I'm a dog person. Nothing that is five pounds is going to tell me what to do when it doesn't even pay me rent money."
The nekomata's twin tails lashed furiously against Yosho's face. The man ignored it. "To each their own, I suppose. What shall we do now?"
The woman looked at him with a wane smile, stooping down to pick up the flashlight and clicking it off to conserve battery life. "What else?" She asked. "Get out of here and get you outfitted in something that might actually protect you. No offense 'Sir Yosho', but those robes of yours are going to get torn to shreds if we don't find you some kind of body armor."
"…Good point." The man mumbled with a wince. "And then what?"
Kiyone shrugged. "Search for survivors? FInd out why the world ended? Get some grub-or whatever constitutes as food that's left in this world? I don't know yet."
"Fair enough." Yosho sighed, and a hand rose to rub beneath the nekomata's chin. It was comforting, feeling the weight of the old cat on his shoulders. "Let's get going than. I…am curious to see what the outside world looks like now. I have family in Naha City. I can only hope they survived."
Kiyone sent him a sidelong glance with an expression Yosho couldn't read. Then she shook her head. "Yeah." She said softly. "Let's see what we can find."
Together, the group of humans and demons approached the door to the room, and exited it, leaving in their wake nothing but a dormant Terminal.
Comments of a Madwoman: Players three and four have entered the game. Come what may, Demons dance beneath a Comp and sword.