Unknown Location

He drifted.

In a world tinged blue, free of pain, free of happiness, free of care, he drifted, his mind empty of the woes of Man or Beast or Spirit. Only the peace of non-existence followed him, and aimlessly he drifted, drifted, drifted, heedless of what had come before, what was happening now, or what yet may occur. There was no time here, no thought, no existence, and no want. And he was fine with that.

He drifted.

A figure appeared before him, humanoid in shape, with long, slicked back golden locks. His hands folded behind his back, the newcomer stared down at him, eyes of two distinct colors watching him with a coy smile. "I see. This is indeed what it's come to, has it not?" He asked, and titled his head to one side, as if expecting a response.

There was none.

The Stranger smiled thinly. "Alas, I made a promise. And if nothing else, your struggle shall prove entertaining to watch." A black flash, and the Stranger hovered over him. Shadows, their features formless, shapeless, empty of expression or care, gripped him, holding him down as the Stranger peered down at him with his red and blue eyes. He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew something which wriggled like an irate worm. "This will make you a demon." He murmured.

The shadows holding him down tightened, and unaware of what was happening or why, he stared at the stranger in open, blind trust. "Try not to struggle." He held the strange insect aloft, then let it fall towards him. "It will hurt only for an instant; a necessary pain to survive in the world which awaits you."

The creature fell from fingers like porcelain, too pristine and perfect to be called 'Human', and he watched as the creature grew closer, it size growing larger until it filled his vision entirely. He saw serrated jaws, a wicked, pointed tail, and and black, flailing tendrils. It struck him, tearing into the very fabric of his being. Red pain, searing and all-encompassing, overwhelmed him, yet even as he flailed, the shadowy hands held him down, preventing his own intervention.

He could feel the creature sawing into his soul-for he no longer had a body-could feel it eating away at once was Human, leaving in its wake a hole, a home, a hovel im which to dwell in. He tried to scream, to shriek, to cry his distress to the blue-black Otherworld he now found himself prisoner too, and found he had no mouth with which to scream. There came no release, no salvation, nothing but the pain of his center of being-his very essence-being carved up and repurposed for a creature not native to his world.

Overwhelmed, a dying, lingering soul transformed into an atrocity, it was only in his final moments that he finally found release as the pain overwhelmed him, his consciousness shielding him with what little it could and allowing him to fall dormant as the creature wrecked its path of devistating change across his spirit.

His final image was of the Stranger, smiling that coy smile of his as he looked down at him with cruel eyes, and finally even that was gone, replaced with white once more.

Vortex World,

Naha City Highschool Medical Bay

Kagatsuchi Half-Waning

"Magatama is the essence of demonic power." The voice of the Stranger rose in his ear, rousing Tenchi from his sleep. "With it, you have joined the ranks of demons." He squeezed his eyes shut as the voice lingered in his ears, so close as if to be speaking right next to him, and yet sensing that the voice he heard no longer existed on the plane he currently resided on.

He opened his eyes and found himself staring down at a body he didn't fully recognize. The youth jumped, almost falling off of the medical bed he'd been placed on, and brought his hands to his face, staring at the strange bands of black which raced across the skin. He touched them, and found them warm-hot almost-against his skin; as if the blue light which the bands produced created a heat separate from his own body temperature.

"Do keep me entertained. I'd hate to see Ryoko-sama's familiar die so swiftly after taking the time to ensure your continued survival." The voice finally faded, and was gone.

Frowning, Tenchi Masaki pushed himself off the gurney, and walked over the large mirror set off to the corner of the medical room near a small curtain. He looked into the mirror. Golden eyes stared back.

"What…happened to me?" He whispered.

He'd been branded.

Thick, deep bands of black rand across his face, from the top of his forehead, down in horizontal stripes across his eyes, were two separate, smaller brands branched out towards his ears, and below his chin and down his neck. The trails continued, branching across his shoulders, down his chest and neck, and down onto his elbows and across his fingers. He twisted, and spied more of the brands across his back, emanating the primitive imagery of wings, as more brands traveled down his spine and out of sight.

He was still wearing his high school uniform pants and shoes, but the shirt was absent. Now, he slipped off his shoes and unbuckled his pants, part of him fearful of what he might find but pressing him on regardless.

Everything was branded.

Everything.

From his hips to his legs and straight down to his toes, and everything in between. The brands covered him like a strange body tattoo, the outer perimeters all glowing with the same ethereal blue glow.

The teen zipped up his pants, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and feeling it collide with something hard. "My rattail?" Tenchi muttered, and turned to look at himself from the side. "The fuck…is that a fucking horn?" Something large, black, and pointed had emerged from the base of his neck, the tiny rattail he habitually maintained dangling over the top of it haphazardly. He wrapped his hand carefully around it, finding it warm to the touch-like the brands-and felt a strange buzzing in his mind that made him wince. He released it, and felt the odd static fade. "What is all this?" He whispered.

He already knew the answer.

Time would decide on his acceptance of it.

Taking a breath, the youth put his socks and shoes back on, ignoring the small voice in his head telling him he didn't need them anymore. "Maybe I want them." He said aloud. "It's unhygienic to walk around in bare feet."

He took a look around the rest of the room, finding little of interest. He found a few energy bars and less hydration packets, found a small sports bag which another student must have left behind during a quick trip to the Nurse, and dumped them inside. Tossing the bag over his shoulder, he took one final look at the room before turning and sliding the door open.

The hallway was deserted. "Okay, what's the plan, Tenchi?" He whispered to himself, disliking the eerie silence which prevailed the hallway. "Get your stuff and get out? And go where?

Home. The word came to him immediately. You need to see if Dad's okay.

"…Yeah. Seems about as good a plan as any." Tenchi murmured, and crept into the hallway. "I should check some of the floors along the way though…see if I can find anyone else who might have-might have….survived." He swallowed, and took a moment to look out the hallway window. What had once displayed a green courtyard now depicted a rough landscape of sandy dunes; a wasteland of what once was.

The youth swallowed. "Maybe…Maybe Ryoko placed me in the Nurse's office. Maybe I can-can find her again. Or Raidou. I'd even take him over this…this Silence."

With a deep breath, the teen set off, checking the rooms he passed on his way to the stairwell. Many of them he found were decimated, the doors refusing to open despite his best efforts. Others he found inhabited-not by men or even demons, but blue, wafting spirits who watched him warily and who panicked at his approach.

"Listen, I don't want any trouble!" One of the spirits held the outline of the school nurse. "I'll heal you if you leave me alone, okay? Just don't hurt me!" He'd been awash with a soothing, blue glow before Tenchi could even attempt to explain that he had no intentions of harming anyone, and the spirit had fled before he could even offer his thanks. The youth stared at the now empty room, awash with a sense of forlorn emptiness. "Is this the way its gonna be now?" He asked aloud, and with a sigh, turned and exited the classroom.

He had marginally better luck in the other rooms. One contained a strange, hovering cube. Against his better judgment, Tenchi touched it, and was rewarded for his foolhardiness when a strange item came out of it. Chakra Drop. Some small piece of him-that tiny voice which had commented on his shoes-whispered to him. He thought it might have come from the horn. "Hey, are you like…that Magatama or something?" He asked out loud.

Predictably, he received no response.

"Fine, whatever." Tenchi threw his hands up in frustration, tossed the chakra drop into his sports bag, and left.

There was a kodama in one of the rooms, drifting aimlessly about near one of the other cubes. "Hey….you see that thing?" Tenchi had never heard a kodama speak before. It was unsurprisingly innocent and childlike. "I heard a shiisaa call it a cache cube. What's a 'cache'?"

"Usually something that is hidden somewhere or is hiding something specific away." Tenchi replied, watching the small being in curiosity.

"Like inside the cube? Wouldn't it be better to call it a 'gatcha' cube, then?" The Kodama laughed, though Tenchi didn't return it. "Will you open it for me? I wanna see what's inside."

"Uh…sure." The teen approached the hovering cube and touched it, watching its sides fall open to reveal what was inside. It appeared to be a can of some sort.

The Kodama floated over to him. "Oh…it's just a muscle drink." The youth offered it to the floating creature, not sure what else to do with it, and the small entity's head spiraled in slow consideration. "…You're giving it to me?"

"You wanted it, didn't you?" Tenchi replied.

The Kodama giggled. "Wow, you're a lot nicer than some of the demons around here. The Pixies would have just taken it for themselves, and the Preta would have just killed me and taken the drink. Can I come with you?"

Tenchi scratched the back of his head. "I mean, sure, I guess." He mumbled. "Are you saying there are other spirits around here?"

"Oh yeah, Mister! Lots of spirits, but even more demons! And there's a big one who's moved in and taken over, and he's a big bully, too! You gotta watch out for him, or he'll mess you up real bad."

"Who's that?" It didn't sound like Ryoko.

"A guy named Forneus. If you go down to the lower levels you'll be able to see him. Me and the other Kodama ran to the upper floors to hide from him 'cause he's guarding all the exits. I heard he got real mad after a human snuck by him earlier."

Tenchi stiffened, then looked at the Kodama with fresh interest. "A human? What did they look like?"

The Kodama drifted away from him as if in a panic. "Hey, I don't know Mister! Only that everyone-demon or spirit-heard Forneus scream really loud when the human got by. Now he's holding everyone hostage, and some of the other demons are starting to turn on each other!"

"What do you mean?"

"It's like that book, Lord Beezelbub! You know, with the kids on the island! Everyone's forming gangs and fending for themselves! You're lucky you got so far without encountering any of them, I heard they can be pretty mean, and no offense Mister, but you don't look that strong."

"…Thanks." Tenchi said flatly, staring at the drink he'd offered to the Kodama before popping open the lid and handing it back the youkai. "So do you want to travel with me so that you don't get attacked?"

"Ha!" The Kodama took the drink, and brought it to its head, pouring the drink over itself. For a moment it seemed to glow a gentle green, as if absorbing the essence, and then handed the can back to Tenchi. "Well, I wouldn't say that. I'm pretty strong myself, y'know!"

Tenchi doubted that.

"But you're just so weak and nice that I'd feel bad if someone took advantage of you and, y'know, tore you limb from limb. Demon's who walk alone are one of two things: Super-duper strong, or dead."

"Guess we should follow your advice and travel together than so we don't end up dead."

"Yep!" The Kodama giggled. "I'm Kodama of the Jirae Clan! Be nice to me, okay?"

"I'm Tenchi of the Masaki Clan." Tenchi replied in amusement.

The Kodama giggled. "No you're not!"

"I'm not?"

"Nope." The Kodama drifted up to his face. "You must be a newborn if you don't even know your Clan. You're a Hitorshura!"

The smile fell from Tenchi's face, and the youth stared at the small spirit solemnly. "Hitoshura…a demi…fiend?"

"Yeah! How could you not know!?" The kodama chirped.

The teen frowned, staring down at his hands in reflex. "I guess…you said it best yourself. I'm a newborn…demon."

Voices, harsh and ragged, rose from outside the classroom. The kodama shuddered, then drew close to Tenchi. "Those are Pretas." It whispered. "A lot of them, too. We should hide." Scratching rose from the closed door, and through the vents at its bottom Tenchi spied long dark, spindly fingers weaving their way inside. They were small, whatever they were, but Tenchi had learned from the koppa tengu that size did not alway equate to strength.

As quietly as he could, he slipped over to the teacher's desk, the kodama close on his heels, pushing the chair on quiet wheels away from the leg rest space and crawling inside of it. The kodoma tucked itself inside with him and rested on his knees, as silent and still as a piece of paper.

A shuffle, and the door slowly cracked open.

Tenchi heard voices, harsh and guttural. Sound like…four, no, five of them. The voices spread throughout the room, three making their way inside and towards the back end of the classroom, one staying near the entrance, and one approaching the teacher's desk.

Tenchi jumped as a heavy, metallic rumble shook the classroom. One of them is trying to get into the lockers in the back. He heard grumbles, some of which almost sounded like words, then flinched as something hopped onto the teacher's desk above them.

Cackling from above them.

The kodama didn't move.

Tenchi didn't dare breath.

Have they found us? Tenchi looked down at himself and for the first time realized that in the darkness beneath the desk, his body glowed. His heart skipped a beat. Can they see this?

Purple distended fingers-like a corpse, Tenchi thought-curled around the edges of the desk, and he could hear the creatures tittering to each other, giggling and screaming as they shuffled towards the desk. Tenchi sucked in a slow, deep breath, his heart pounding loud enough in his chest that it almost overpowered the Preta's As soon as I see its eyes. He thought, and curled his right fist over his chest. As soon as I see its eyes. Square in the head, make a run as soon as its down. His left hand moved gently but firmly over the small kodama, holding it in place. For its part, the kodama remained motionless, so dormant that a pierce of Tenchi worried something might have happened to the little youkai.

"Oh gross!" A new voice, high-pitched and feminine. "Girls, look at all the Preta! It's like, an infestation!"

The creatures, hidden from sight as they were from Tenchi, seemed to freeze at the newcomers.

"Well like, let's not waste any time. The only good use for a Preta is corpse disposal. Let's get rid of them before they breed." A series of girlish giggles rose from the hallway, and Tenchi grimaced. Of course. He thought. What better way to start your new life than getting caught between a demonic throw down? Part of him wanted to laugh at the absurd situation. The larger piece of him just wanted to make it out alive and relatively unharmed.

The pretas shrieked, and the youth flinched down beneath the desk as the wood rattled.

"Zap 'em Girls!" Someone screamed, and four voices, all female, rose as one: "Zio!"

The pretas screamed, and bright blue archs of electricity danced back towards Tenchi's hiding place. He felt his hair rise in the static, then heard one of the girls scream as a preta snarled. Another girl's voice rang out, "Dia!" followed by more electricity as another called on "zio" again. A death grunt and then feminine laughter. "That's one down! They aren't worth the bodies they eat! Let's finish them off!"

Tenchi flinched and clutched the kodama a little closer, curling away from the opening in their hiding places as enough electricity emerged to brighten the room to a blinding white. He heard the bolts of electricity as they struck the demons, and part of him felt an inkling of pity for the creatures as even their death screams were hidden beneath the static hiss of lightning.

There were spots in Tenchi's eyes by the time the spells faded, and the grumbles of preta had faded entirely.

"What do you think they were doing in here?"

"They're preta-do you really one to know?"

"I think they had something cornered."

"What do you mean?"

"They were surrounding that big ol' desk over there, and I can see something glowing inside of it."

"Maybe its a cache cube."

"Oh! Dibs!" A voice raced over to the desk, and Tenchi tensed, terrified of being discovered and, more importantly, being zapped into whatever oblivion had ended the pretas.

What he was not ready for was the tiny humanoid fairy, wearing a summer yukata and with translucent butterfly wings, to appear in front of him.

She was maybe the size of the kodama, if not smaller.

The little fae blinked, looking up at Tenchi as he looked down at her.

She smiled.

Tenchi's eyes widened in fear. Oh gods, please let me have the strength to just squash her like a bug. He shifted to her, tilting the kodama against his chest.

"Oh Oberon! Girls, come see this, it's adorable!" The Pixie squealed, and suddenly three more voices rushed to join.

Tenchi froze.

Two additional Fae, wearing similar yukatas of different colors and designs, one with a dragonfly's wings, another with iridescent moth wings, peered around the corner of the desk at him. Twin smiles lit up their face.

"Oh Titania! Was he protecting the little kodama?"

"He doesn't even look strong enough to face one preta, let alone five!"

"Aww, look at how he's holding it! Is that your little buddy?"

They're talking to me like I'm a dog. Tenchi thought.

"Uh…hello."

If anything, this only caused more excitement amongst the pixies. "By Queen Mab's gown, he talks! I thought Hitorshura were Dark Races!" Dragonfly exclaimed.

"Psh, obviously not." Moth retorted, and the two glared at each other.

Butterfly was still smiling. "Were you hiding from the preta?"

Tenchi nodded.

"It's okay, we finished them off for you. You two were lucky such a nice gang of gals like us decided to come along." She winked at the two of them, then looked at her 'gang', "Hey, come one, lets give them some space to get out from under that desk! It looks really cramped!"

Moth clicked her teeth. "Sounds like a 'him' problem, can't relate."

"All of you, get away from the desk." Another pixie growled, and the three girls winced, bowing out of sight around the wooden corners as a new face entered the scene. It was another fae, however she was twice, almost three times the size of the others, easily coming up to Tenchi's hips if he'd been standing. "You two are the troublemakers?" The fairy had short, spiky, blue hair that reminded Tenchi vaguely of Ryoko, a pair of damselfly wings on her back as she folded her arms across and outfit layered in plate armor. "Go on, get out. Let's have a look at you."

"Hi P, Be nice, I don't think they mean us any harm…" Butterfly protested as first the kodama, then Tenchi carefully slipped out from beneath the desk. "Look at him!" She pointed to Tenchi. "He's like an inugami puppy! How could anything with a face like that be dangerous?"

Hi P, as she had been identified, narrowed lilac eyes. "He's Hitoshura." She said. "That inugami will one day evolve into a Makami and eat you. Hitoshura are no different."

"Uh, Ma'am?"

Tenchi flinched as the Fae turned the full wrath of her glare on him. "And you. You want to die like the Preta?" She pointed behind her towards where a smoldering pile of corpses lay.

"N-No Ma'am." Tenchi raised his hands up. "I uh, wanted to thank you?"

"Thank me?" Hi P raised a light blue eyebrow. "Than show me with what's in your pockets, not with pretty words."

"What?"

The fairy sighed. "You really are a know-nothing newborn, aren't you?"

"…Yes." Tenchi agreed. "Sorry, I'm trying to pick up as fast as I can but…this is all a little overwhelming-"

"Than you'll die."

Tenchi fell silent, and Hi P stared at him solemnly. "I don't say that as a threat, Newborn. It doesn't matter if your a seasoned demon or brand new. If you can't adapt to the changes around you, you will die, understand? You want to be overwhelmed, do it in a corner after the threat is gone. You want to cry? Do it when you know you're safe. You want to survive?" The fairy's eyes were sharp and cutting, empty of the same curiosity and innocence of her smaller kin. "Than you adapt. Demons can do nothing with thanks. Show us your appreciation with macca or items. Don't have that? Than give us some of your energy so we can recover what was used to assist you. What'll it be?"

The teen grimaced, shying away from the glower on the fairy's face. I didn't realize this was extortion. He thought, pulling the gym bag off his shoulder and rifling around through the contents. He came up with the small hydration packets. "Will these do?"

"What are they?"

"Hydration packets. They're usually flavored."

Moth gasped. "Hi P, that's human food!"

Fresh interest surrounded him as he held the items out for examination, and Hi P approached, snatching one up and examining it with critical eyes. She frowned. "I can't read this scrawl. What's it say?"

"It's katakana." Tenchi replied, "It translates to 'strawberry'.

A flicker of interest flashed across Hi P's face, and she examined the packaging with fresh scrutiny.

"Want me to open it for you?" Tenchi offered.

Hi P looked up at him, then down at the foil casing.

"C'mon Hi P, let him open it…" Dragonfly urged.

"We want to try it too!" Moth cried.

With a huff, Hi P tossed it back to him, throwing it with as much force as her small arms could offer. As it turned out, that was not much; it seemed the Fae's strengths were in their magic, not physical prowess. Tenchi caught it with one hand, then tore of the foil tip near where a small slice had been intentionally made in the packaging. He offered it once more to the fairy. "Hold it up like this and squeeze slowly from the base, or you'll get it all over the floor."

Following his instructions, Hi P watched as a small bit of pink jelly rose from the tip, then swiped a handful of it. She sniffed it hesitantly, then bit into it, and Tenchi smiled as the Fairy's eyes lit up. "It tastes like strawberries girls!" She squeezed a tiny bit more out, then held it out to each of the smaller fairies, allowing them to have their fill before returning for seconds. "This is amazing! We haven't had anything like this since the Vortex World came into existence! These other packets, are they all the same?"

Tenchi looked at them. "Strawberry, peach, and a blueberry." He said. "Would you like them?"

"You don't even know the value of what you're offering us, do you?" Hi P replied, but passed the open packet to Moth and grabbed the three additional packets regardless. "Tell you what-you really are too innocent for this world-that much is beyond obvious, so to help even out what you've just given us, I'll share some information with you. Fae hate being in-debt to another, after all. Three questions for three packets, and one packet in exchange for saving your lives. Sound fair?"

No, but I doubt you'd renegotiate anyways. Tenchi thought, and nodded.

"Alright, what are your questions?"

"How long has the world been like…this?"

"You mean a Vortex World?"

Tenchi nodded.

Hi P shrugged. "Not long. Time ended with the Old World, so its hard to judge properly, but I'd say…around twenty complete cycles of Kagatsuchi."

"What's a Vortex World?"

Hi P scoffed, taking the opportunity to snag another handful of jelly greedily. "Its the world that comes after the Old World falls to entropy. What remains is a land full of demons, gods, and spirits-us-who are left to make due with what we have. Some of us remake it into our home, others choose to destroy it, and I've heard rumors that there are some-some with a strong Will-to decide the Reason for the next world that will come at the cusp of this world's end.

"So this is a…'transient world'?"

"I guess that's one good way of putting it." Hi P nodded. "When one's Reason rules over all, this world will end and the one that follows will be based off that Reason. There are even rumors that select groups are already gathering around people who harbor the Will to put that Reason into action." Hi P shrugged haphazardly. "You ask me, its all the same. No matter who wins, someone else looses. Best to stay out of their way if you want to live." She sent him a sly glance. "Technically that was three, but I'll give you one more, since I'm so generous."

Tenchi fell silent, reflecting on the new information he'd learned and what his final question should be. You need to make it count. He thought. This may be the last time you get information so freely.

But what? 'Were there other humans around?' 'Who was Forneus?' 'Were there any ways to escape the school unnoticed?'

No. Most of those you'll need to figure out on your own. He thought. I can't expect a good answer from such a narrow-minded question. Besides, I've just woken up in another world. I need to figure out what is going on first. The youth's eyes brightened, and he looked at Hi P with sudden interest. "You seem to know a lot about Hitoshura. Can you tell me about them?"

Hi P looked genuinely uncomfortable. Yet to her credit she still nodded. "The Fairy Clan has a bit of…experience with Hitoshura." She stated. "There are stories which claim a Pixie first allied with a Hitoshura that became a True Demon, and that when he did that, she was reborn with power so great that not even the Fae Courts could hold a candle's flame to her. The Fae became frightened by the power she wielded, for her loyalty was not to the Seelie or even Unseelie Courts, but to the Hitoshura, who had become renown as The Insurrectionist andone of the top generals to Lord of the Underworld." Hi P visibly shuddered, and the Fae around her had grown quiet as well. "Its rumored that the two of them remain inseparable, and that they travel through different vortex worlds spreading the Underworld Lord's Chaos and challenging the Champions of other vortex worlds."

She stared at Tenchi with accusing lilac eyes. "All Hitoshura are capable of that same chaos." She stated. "And both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts remain strict: No Pixie is to travel with a Hitoshura on fear of exile, death, or worse. You are dangerous, even if you remain unaware of your own nature."

Tenchi flinched, wounded by the chill in the fairy's voice. "Hey, I never had a choice in this!" He retorted. "I just woke up like this!"

"Doesn't matter. You are one who shares a human's soul in a demon's body. That is a dangerous combination, we have learned, and should be avoided at all cost. One day, you may rise to overpower the Courts, and then no one will be able to oppose your will."

"Then wouldn't that be just like this 'Reason' you were talking about?" Tenchi retorted.

Hi P shook her head with a frown. "Hitoshura are exempt from the game of Reason." She replied. "You were allowed to become what you are now precisely because you lack a strong Will to create your own Reason. That makes you impressionable. Easily swayed to the Reasons of others."

Tenchi twitched, insulted. "That's a lie."

"Time will tell." Hi P replied. "But I have a responsibility to my girls," She waved back to the trio behind her, "And I cannot allow myself to be swayed and risk another such reality coming to pass." She stared at him with a deep frown. "You have the potential to either make or break this world-you just lack the Will in the moment to do either. That will change as you uncover the true depths of your power, and then the Vortex World will tremble by your actions.

Tenchi held his silence.

Hi P nodded. "Thank you for your gifts. We really do appreciate it, however once we leave this room, we can no longer be civil. Please respect that."

"I see." Tenchi bowed his head with a frown. "You really think though…"

"I know." Hi P said firmly. "I've seen it first hand. These girl were too young, but I was there for it, and have no doubt…I watched a demi-fiend go from freeing the Court from a spell to slaying demon lords and gods without discretion. And I will watch you follow that same path. Have no doubt." She looked to the three fairies. "Let's go Girls. I've instructed the others to head to the rooftop. It may be our only way out of here with that Goetia on the ground floor."

The trio headed for the door, and it wasn't until all three of them were out in the hallway that Hi P turned to regard Tenchi one final time. "A final word of parting: Beware demons when Kagatsuchi's light burns brightest. Most demons become overwhelmed by its song and cannot be reasoned with. Instead, seek allies amidst those demons who are weaker than you when its light is dim. You will need all the allies you can get if you don't wish to meet a premature end." She pointed to the kodama, who shrank behind Tenchi. "That's a good start, but you'll want more, especially if you travel to the bottom floors. The demons are becoming habitually stronger in the lower floors in reflection of the Goetia that has taken over the ground floor, and you'll want to have mastered at least some sort of technique before venturing off this floor."

"I see…Thank you for all of your knowledge." Tenchi bowed low to the fairy, catching Hi P off guard. "Um…I don't have any more hydration packets to give you, so why…?"

"You're eyes."

Tenchi looked up.

"You've never killed before. I can see it in your eyes." Hi P smiled sadly at him, her expression pitiful. "Its like our girls when they're first born. I can't help but be reminded of them when I look at you. You truly are a newborn in this world." She shook her head. "It will change, I know, but…I cannot help but feel a level of responsibility for one so new to this place-even if we are not allowed to co-mingle." She shook her head with a sigh. "Another time, another place, another World…maybe I would have been the Pixie to your Demi-fiend. But not in this one. Good luck, Hitoshura. May our paths never cross again."

With that she left him, and Tenchi watched the small group of Fae depart further down the hallway and out of sight, leaving little in their wake other than the smoldering corpses of the Preta which had almost been his end.

Behind him, the kodama peeked its head over his shoulder. "Pixies are scary." It whispered.

"No, that's just girls in general." Tenchi whispered back, and released a long, shuddering sigh, wiping his hands on his pants leg and shouldering the bag once more.

"Girls are scary." The kodama rephrased its early statement.

"Agreed." Said Tenchi. "Let's get out of here before they come back."

They slipped out of the room and moved the opposite direction of the Fae.

There was a spirit in the hallway towards the stairwell. The stairwell going up was blocked off by debris from where the ceiling had collapsed, but the path to the lower floor seemed stable yet. With some small hesitation, Tenchi approached the spirit. "Uh, excuse me-"

The spirit turned to him, and Tenchi saw not the image of a person silhouetted in blue, but a malevolent face glaring with hate up at him.

"Watch out, its a Will O' Wisp!" Kodama exclaimed, and the demon bellowed at the youth in rage.

Tenchi retreated from it in a rush, and the kodama floated forward, its tiny hands raised high. "Zan!" It screamed, and a gust of wind slammed into it, throwing it against the stairwell wall. It rose slowly, and Tenchi paused, raising his hands up in defense. The Foul's mouth yawned wide open, and the kodama cried out as a red substance was drawn out of it and into the entity.

"Help me!" The kodama cried, then lunged forward, smashing its tiny body into the spirit with such force it went through the creature.

"mEe eAT...MaGaTSUhi!" The spirit screamed, and this time Tenchi was exposed to the strange attack. He felt his energy drain from him like water on a tap, and fell to one knee as a similar red substance left him, absorbed by the malevolent creature.

"Get up!" The kodama cried. "If you don't, it'll kill you! Zan!" Another burst of wind pushed it away from Tenchi, and trembling, Tenchi rose to his feet, his head spinning as he regained his bearings.

The teen grimaced, clutching his head with his left hand as his right hand moved to his pocket. "The sword…" He mumbled, and felt the tenchi-ken's hilt, wooden and solid, dig into his palm. I forgot about it. He withdrew it, mindless of the warning sparks flickering about the handle, and held it in front of him. "I got this. C'mon Tenchi-" He held it in front of him and concentrated, yet rather than a beam of light, bright archs of electricity lashed from the sword and across his body.

The newly formed demon howled in pain, releasing the tenchi-ken as he recoiled, falling to his knees and clutching now-smoking hands close to his chest. The sword hilt clattered to the floor, dormant once more, and panting, Tenchi stared at his hands. Burns coated the flesh of his palms, and watched as the blue glow of the brands faded into an irritated and warning red.

"Hey, Hitoshura, what are you doing!?"The kodama cried out. "Are you trying to kill yourself!? Help me ou-"

"MaGaTsuHI!" The Foul screamed, and with a death keen, Tenchi watched in dazed, mute horror as the last bit of life was stolen from the tiny kodama, and its body fluttered featherlike to the ground.

"AaaaAM…sTRonGer tHan…yOu!" The spirit bellowed, "GiVe…mE mAgATsuHi!"

The spirit's mouth yawned open—

"Found you!"

—and was blasted into nothingness as Ryoko appeared between the two combatants.

She looked down at him, wearing a green dress with a pink top, a simple sash around her waist and matching simple leather moccasins. "You're a hard man to find, Tenchi Masaki, you know that?"

"Ryoko…" Tenchi stared at her in a daze. "Is that…is that really you?"

"In the flesh." The woman smiled, and it was soft. Gentle even. "Hold still. Let me have a look at you." She murmured, and knelt down beside him.

He could smell her. Spice and sake and the cool earth. But more now. Kitsune and tengu and a smell he did not yet recognize as her own unique, unearthly scent. Not 'Demon' as he would become intimately familiar with, but something else entirely. A smell like ozone. A smell like dying stars. A smell like atoms colliding.

A smell like the Universe itself.

She touched his arms, and he could feel the warmth in her hands. "You really are here." He breathed. "I was sca…worried something happened to you."

"I'm tougher than I look." Ryoko replied, her hands running lightly up and down his arms before moving to cup his chin. "Look up at me."

Tenchi did as instructed, meeting her golden eyes, he felt the fingers move firmly but gently along his jaw and chin and around his back. They touched the new horn at the base of his neck, and Tenchi winced even as Ryoko paused, eyes widening in surprise. "What's this?"

A hand moved to his back, and Ryoko pulled the teen forward. He fell into her chest, and stunned, Tenchi laid motionless against the woman as Ryoko observed the strange protrusion. "Not only tattoos, but implants too?" There was a note of concern beneath the teasing. "My, you never struck me as the Wild Boy type, Tenchi."

"Woke up like this." Tenchi sighed, relaxing into the woman's hold.

There was a pause. "…I know." Ryoko whispered. "How badly are you hurt?"

"Bad." Tenchi said. "Ryoko, the-the tenchi-ken…it-it shocked me."

Ryoko was silent, puling away to gently grip his shoulders. She looked down at him with a strange, forlorn expression. "What is it?" Tenchi asked.

Yet Ryoko merely shook her head. "I'm going to pick you up and move you further down the stairwell." She said. "We're exposed in the hallway."

"But the sword…"

"We aren't going far and no one else is going to pick it up. Leave it there for now." She scooped the youth up in her arms as though he was a child, then glided gently down the stairwell to the far corner. There she set him down against the corner, bracing him on two sides, and dug into a pocket. "Swallow this." She opened her hand to reveal a pill of some description, but of what, Tenchi could not identify.

"What is it?" Tenchi asked warily.

"Medicine." Ryoko replied. "You lost a lot of energy. This will help recover some of it.

The youth narrowed his eyes. "What kind of medicine?"

Ryoko shrugged. "Demon medicine?" She replied. "I have a couple of them. Some from these cache cube things I found on the upper floors, others obtained through exchanges with demons. A High Pixie told me what they are and that they're safe for consumption after she asked for one not long prior to me finding you." She looked over her shoulder, and seeing nothing, made herself comfortable beside him. "Now eat up before I force it down your throat."

"Yes Mom." Tenchi muttered, and Ryoko had the grace to let him swallow the tiny pill before smacking his shoulder. The medicine did help though; in the span of seconds, he felt his energy return to him, the throbbing across his body from where he'd been electrocuted by tenchi-ken fading to a dull echo of an ache, and Tenchi blinked as he watched the strange red hue of the brands brighten to blue once more. The youth flexed his hands, surprised to find they weren't shaking or slow from the damage he'd so recently sustained.

He looked at Ryoko, who stared at him with a small smirk. "Feel better?"

Wordlessly he threw his arms around her, and fought against tears as he felt the Demon Lord embrace him with equal ferocity.

In fierce silence they clung to each other, two survivors of the World's End.

There was much to be said. Apologies. Explanations. Discussions.

Yet for that moment, there was nothing which needed to be said. Nothing which could not be communed in the tight grip of fear, desperation, and relief felt in the arms of the other.

Ryoko pulled away first, and when Tenchi saw her crying openly, he lost what little baring he had left and began to sob as well. "Fuck, I-!"

The woman hushed him, pressing her forehead against his. "I-I couldn't stop it. Gouto-Douji and Raidou warned me, I thought I could help but…it didn't matter. It didn't matter! He-Hikawa-he just…and then I wake up here and there are all these demons and-"

The youth's shoulders trembled. "What do I do, Ryoko?" He pulled away to look at her. "What can I do?"

Ryoko pursed her lips, looking down at him with a grim expression. "Survive." She stated. "Adapt. Adjust. And figure out what to do from there."

"How?"

"Any way you can." The woman replied. "Starting with staying close to me. I won't lie to you Tenchi-this place you woke up in-where we woke up in-is hostile. The demons are driven by their natures, and I haven't really seen anything resembling a society here yet, but…I also haven't been outside this school." She took a long breath. "We take it slow, we keep cautious, and we stick together. We learn, we adapt, we survive. By any means necessary." The woman's eyes were hard. "Do you understand?"

Tenchi dropped his gaze. "That spirit was going to kill me." He mumbled.

"It was."

"It had already killed a kodama who had helped me out." He continued. "I-I didn't even do anything to help. I grabbed the tenchi-ken thinking, you know, I could cut the spirit down but…"

Ryoko was silent.

"There were other demons too. Fairies-a bunch of pixies, I think it might have been led by the same one who told you about the medicine. They were reasonable at least, but their four killed at least five other demons who would have killed me and the kodama in a classroom." The youth grimaced, looking down at his hands. "How am I supposed to fight if I can't use the tenchi-ken?"

"With the body you were gifted instead." Ryoko said. "That body isn't human. Not…any longer." Her eyes drifted up the stairwell towards where the tenchi-ken still rested. "With that comes new…limitations. But also new potential. It's an exchange. If one no longer works for you, than learn the new one and adapt."

Tenchi looked away with a scowl. "Easy for you to say." He grumbled.

"Perhaps it is." Ryoko looked at him from the corner of one eye. "My physical body was only locked away for seven hundred years, after all. It only took me close to a century to learn how to astral project, and that only with the help of some crows. It only took twice that to learn how to sense the spiritual energy of the planet and manipulate it in a way similar to the innate abilities contained to my physical body with the help of a fox."

She turned to look at him critically, and Tenchi cringed. "Perhaps what I'm asking from you is too much-to learn to use the new body you were granted as a tool to keep you alive-but Tenchi, you don't have seven hundred years of solitude to figure this out. You have now, because this world can guarantee you only one thing: a quick death if you choose to disregard it, and I promise you, it will be a quick but painful one. I will guide you and protect you as much as I can, but there is no certainty that I'll always be there for you, and we both need to recognize that now before the worst comes to pass which leaves us separated or alone."

Tenchi winced. "I'm sorry."

Ryoko shook her head. "No. No apologies. You're stressed, I'm stressed, we're both stressed. We fix it by learning what you can do now. Understand?"

Tenchi nodded slowly, and a light smile flitted over the woman's face. "Good. Now stand up. We're going hunting."

"Hunting?"

"Yes. For two things. Demons for you to test yourself against, and a pair of rubber gloves."

"Chemistry lab on the first floor." Tenchi said immediately, "…Why do we need rubber gloves?"

"How else are you planning and picking up that damn sword?" Ryoko asked. "You want to take it with you and I want it with you too. It still has my gems in them." She smirked. "And even if neither of us can touch that blasted piece of wood now, that doesn't mean we won't find a work around somehow. I refuse to let a piece of Jurain wood beat me by holding my power hostage."

Tenchi shared an uncertain smile with her. "If you say so." He said, and slowly crawled to his feet.

Ryoko joined him. "You ready to experience a real fight?" She asked.

"No." Tenchi replied, and took a deep breath. "But I will anyways." He looked at her with a steely gaze.

The woman patted him on the shoulder. "We start with the upper floors. The demons are weaker the higher up we are-they're all fleeing a stronger demon on the lower floors from what I've gathered. We get you accustomed to fighting, build up your confidence, see what you can handle, and then start working our way down. We got this."

"We got this." Tenchi nodded.

"Now lets's get going."

Comments of a Madwoman: Be like the racing river. Flow with what approaches. Be like the sapling, pliable, bendable, and flexible. The hard and ridged shall crumble beneath the gentle might of the soft and adaptable.