Vortex World,
Okinawa Prefecture, Naha City, Miebashi Station
Kagatsuchi 6/8 Waning
Miebashi Station Number 8 sat nestled right off of the main road Route 54. It sat a little ways off of Kokusai Street, a vendor street popular with locals and tourists alike. In the times prior to Conception, it had once held a broad range of cafes and izakayas, and had once been situated right next to Okinawa's largest bookstore, Junkudo. When the ocean still existed, a ten minute walk from Mibashi Station landed a visitor near both Tomarin Terminal for Naha Port and, close by, the Kokuba River which fed into it.
That was what Tenchi's memories of the station told him.
Now the river they passed was gone. What replaced it was something Tenchi could not recognize nor even consider a substance close to water. What flowed was translucent, a thick green-blue color that seemed to cling to the sand, dragging it away with a strange current until only base rock remained. As they neared it, Tenchi thought he saw eyes peering up at them, red and vibrant, and for a second he was certain a tendril of the substance-long and gelatinous—moved from the old riverbed to reach for them.
Ryoko hadn't noticed, her gaze too busy looking forward, yet before Tenchi could think to say anything the woman and touched his shoulder and teleported them to the other side of the river, close to fifty meter away from where the tendril had groped for them.
Tenchi held his peace.
Ryoko had been unusually quiet since leaving the house, and her expression even now remained troubled as they walked towards the monorail station. Beyond the river they passed the crumpled remains of fragile storefronts, half-buried in the sand and littered with golden dunes, their merchandise: sun-aged colorful textiles, once-delicate fans, street food whose cooking ware were crusted with time, tourist brochures, small plush animals, and other knick knacks lay strewn about them as overhead, the rusted metal spine of the monorail laid empty, shredded, and in ruins.
They passed under the skeletal remains of the monorail, and when Tenchi looked up, he saw large, terrible bat-men staring down at him with hungry red eyes. His heart lept into his throat at the sight of them. Vampires?
Yet the entities merely watched them pass, showing little interest in either of them beyond bored curiosity.
They weren't Human, after all.
Miebashi Station itself-at least the outer plaza-was littered with similar docile creatures. One in particular caught Tenchi's eye, if for no other reason than its uniqueness. It appeared to be a giant starfish. Five limbs, its top a rich and vibrant red compared to the dark black of its bottom. A lone, large eye rested in the center of its body, and it looked around with the dark blue orb in irritation, as though searching for something.
As they passed, Tenchi even heard its voice, and found himself surprised it could even speak; there didn't seem to be any visible mouth on the beast. "Where is he…" The starfish demon muttered. "Swear to the heavens, if Forneus isn't here soon…" It trailed off as the creature caught the Demi-Fiend staring. "Oy, you seen an overgrown fishman your way?"
Tenchi chuckled nervously.
Ryoko looked at him, then over to the starfish. "What?"
"I'm looking for a Goetia!" The starfish called. "Giant ray, gray and black. Goes by Forneus. Have you seen him?"
Ryoko paused, looking at the entity in consideration. She pursed her lips, then shook her head. "Sorry, can't say we have." She said.
"Damn." The starfish demon muttered. "Well…thanks anyway." Grumbling under its breath, the demon dismissed them, returning to its search as Ryoko nudged Tenchi onwards.
A friendly kodama was drifting outside the Station's entrance. "Hey, hey!" It called excitedly. "Did you hear? There's a human inside the building!" It paused, and as an after thought asked them, "…What's a human?"
"A monster." Tenchi said. Ryoko looked at him with a raised eyebrow but said nothing.
"Wow, really?" The spirit asked.
Tenchi nodded. "You want to avoid them at all costs. Normally they won't hurt you, but they can be really mean when they get angry."
"Geeze Mister…I had no idea. Thanks for the warning." The kodama shuddered. "You should be careful if you go inside though. On top of the human, I heard a Lilim is making a nest inside in a place called a…Night…Club? She just came here one day out of the blue-no one saw how she got here or nothing. One of the others said she showed up from this big red terminal-thing that's on the top floor."
"Thanks for the heads up." Tenchi smiled at the little entity, and the two slipped inside.
"What was all that about?" Ryoko asked.
"What was what?" Tenchi replied.
"All that stuff about humans being monsters?"
"Oh." Tenchi lapsed into silence as the two of them looked around. The demons in the region were different from the ones in the school. Larger. Stronger even. "I figured…maybe if some of the spirits around here think humans are dangerous, they won't mess with them." He revealed. "They seem to be a lot more cautious around you, for example, than they are me, so…" He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling the horn at the base. He heard a small, static hiss within his mind as his fingers glossed across it. A reminder of what was lost. A reminder of what was gained. "I've changed." The youth admitted. "I'm not human anymore-not my body at least-but that doesn't mean I want to see the rest of Humanity go extinct. If there really are others out there-like at the school or the human that's supposed to be here-that I feel responsible for doing what little I can to protect them."
The teen shook his head. "It's like you told me back at the school-I won't always be around to protect any survivors, hell, I'm not even around now, but if I can help guarantee their survival in any way…"
"I see." Ryoko murmured. "You're serious about this."
Tenchi nodded. "I am." He said, and his voice was solemn. "I couldn't stop the end of the world, Ryoko. I was there-I saw the ones responsible. Me and Raidou both. And we didn't do anything." His hands curled into fists, and the teen grit his teeth, his eyes blazing with a cocktail of rage and hate and creating a slurry of loathing. "I'm not going to sit by idly and watch those who survived be wiped out by demons.
Ryoko regarded him in silence for a moment, then crossed her arms. "Okay, two things." She said, and held out two fingers in front of her. "First, you need to realize that the humans who remain may not exactly see you as 'one of them' anymore. You're soul is human, but your body is demonic now-in my experience, people regardless of species tend not to take well towards beings who are different from them."
Tenchi heaved a sigh. "I know." He muttered. "And I-I get that. I'm not so optimistic as to believe other humans are going to see me and think 'oh golly gosh, look at this other human with the horn sticking out of his neck! Let's band together!'" The teen rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I just want…I just want to do what I can to help them out, even if its just a little something here and there to make their lives easier. They don't-they aren't-" Tenchi clicked his teeth. "They're…human. Like I was. And-and they likely won't be able to fend for themselves well in a world like this. Not without…weapons. Supplies. Food. Shelter even." The young man pursed his lips, looking down. "Especially during Full Kagatsuchi."
Ryoko shuddered.
"Good." The woman said. "Good…so long as you understand. I don't want you to go in with high expectations with this human only to come away from it torn apart if they scream and run away from us."
"I won't." Tenchi said.
The space pirate eyed him. "Saying and doing are two very different things, Tenchi."
"I know." Tenchi said quietly. "And I'll…deal with that when it comes up. What's the second thing?"
"Second, you aren't responsible for the end of the world."
Tenchi blinked. "But-"
Ryoko held a hand up, and Tenchi reluctantly fell silent. "You are not responsible." She repeated. "You were dragged into something beyond your understanding and control. The world ended, and you survived, as did I and a handful of other people. That was chance, Tenchi."
"But…I saw that guy." Tenchi said softly. "That…that thing that helped set you free. He came and he did…this to me." The young man spread his hands, looking down at them in silence.
"So he did." Ryoko said. "That doesn't change anything. He set me free, he didn't end the world."
"But he knew!" The demi-fiend exclaimed, and around them the placid demons stopped their ventures, directing their attention to the duo with eyes which were not human. "He fucking knew and he was getting ready for it and-"
"Tenchi." Ryoko's voice was firm. "Stop."
The Hitoshura fell quiet once more, trembling with anger.
"Listen to me." The space pirate said. "And listen well. You. Are. Not. At. Fault. That demon who came to set me free-the Zealot? Yes he knew, but I don't think he was involved. He's an outlier. One who know what was coming yet chose not to intervene, a spirit who had no involvement with the people trying to bring about the end of the world. His business was with me Tenchi. No one else. He wanted me for something and I agreed on the terms that he save you from whatever event he had been predicting at the time."
Tenchi's eyes widened, and he stared at the Demon Lord, dumbstruck by the confession.
"Now I don't know if I made the right decision-if you wanted to be saved of if you'd have rather joined the rest of your race or even if you'd have survived regardless as a human rather than the demi-fiend you've become, but that still excludes you from the responsibility of the end of the world. What you're feeling is survivor's guilt Tenchi, and I'm not going to just sit here and let you bemoan shit you couldn't have controlled because you lived to see what happened afterwards." The woman lapsed into silence, eyes glittering with fervor as two pairs of golden eyes met each other.
Tension gathered around them, and the demons near them began to retreat, sensing the tension and fearful of the possibilities between the Demi-Fiend and the Demon Lord drawing them into combat. They slipped down hallways and into storefronts, darted into hiding holes and raced out the front door. In mere moments the area was vacant of all but Tenchi and Ryoko, and the world fell quiet.
"…You…what?" Tenchi breathed, and took a long, shuddering breath. "Explain. Please." The word was scared. Desperate even.
"The Zealot approached me for something."
"What 'something'." Tenchi demanded.
"That's my business." Ryoko snapped, and Tenchi flinched. His reaction made the ex-pirate wince, and she closed her eyes, taking several long breaths in an effort to regain her bearing. "I…apologize." She said, and began again. "The Zealot approached me sixty-five years ago-before yourself or even your mother was born-and asked for my help in exchange for my freedom. When he came back-when he found you-he came again. We had discussed in our first meeting how only Yosho's bloodline could free me, and he had come to collect on the promise he'd made sixty-five years ago."
The woman shook her head. "Things change in six decades though. Achika had not met me. You had not met me back then. Yet in the present…"
"He wanted to know what my relationship with you was." Tenchi murmured. "I remember—and you two discussing it. He mentioned something about Samsara and…"
The Demon Lord nodded. "And he claimed he could guarantee your survival—for a price."
"So you made the decision on my behalf."
"I did."
The two fell silent, and Ryoko stared at him, watching him from the corner of one eye with open trepidation.
And Tenchi…
What was he supposed to feel? 'Shock' was the most prominent one. Hurt, betrayal…but there was also something else. Relief. Others which he couldn't put a name too. His stomach cramped at the knot of emotions, and the teen ran his hands through his hair, his mind at war with itself over this new and sudden revelation.
She took away my decision.
What decision? Flip of a coin you would have still died. Is that what you want? A life or death left to chance? A coin flip? Some dark-humored piece of him laughed. You know the odds are stacked against you. 'Only those with a strong will shall live', remember? Those humans with 'Reason' to live. And That blonde-haired man-Ryoko's 'Zealot', told you himself you were without a Reason. That coin would have landed heads down and you'd have lost that flip, Masaki. You'd be dead and you know it. Isn't it better to at least be alive as a demon?
I want to be human.
Is that really what you want? Your life or your humanity-which matters more to you?
She could have done nothing. She could have left you to your fate. You have a new life now.
It wasn't her decision to make.
You wouldn't have had a decision in the first place.
The teen squeezed his eyes shut, grunting as the voices of his mind warred. "I…I need to think about this." He muttered, dropping his hands to his side with a sigh as he looked at Ryoko once more. "This is a lot to take in."
Ryoko nodded. "I can't change what's been done." She said quietly. "And I don't expect your forgiveness. I did what I thought was right at the time given the options presented to me. I don't regret my decision."
"I'm alive and get to see what Reason will shape the next world." Tenchi said absently, and forgot that strange line in the next moment as he shook his head. "Let's…put a pause on this topic for now." He said. "I need time to think on the whole thing and we still need to find that person who's supposed to be here."
Ryoko nodded, yet looked unconvinced. "Lead the way." She said.
The conversation was dropped, and as the two continued about their way, the spirits watching them gradually returned to their business around them.
More of the tiny orange not-fairies flew around, chattering in irritable birdsong to Shikigami, what looked like a small, sentient snowman, and even lonesome High Pixies dressed similarly to Hi P.
A voice-Hi P's specifically-rose in his mind. "Don't summon me here, if you will." She requested. "I cannot have my sisters recognize me. If the upper floors are empty of Fae, call on me, but I fear what retribution may be brought on my head should I be seen in your company."
The demi-fiend looked over at Ryoko. "Guess Hi P needs some time away from her family." He said.
The space pirate nodded. "Give her space. The demons here don't seem too cagey right now. Just keep your guard up."
There were shops inside the building, to Tenchi's surprise. Not human shops-or at least, not any more-but actual demonic vendors who'd set up shop in the older rooms. An old soba booth had been replaced and reorganized. A broken window still held displays of the original meal items for sale, but the logo and kanji had been painted over, replaced with a simple image of a yellow sigil that reminded the youth of the Yen or American Dollar.
There were other ones as well. One had been cleaned up and painted over entirely, and as they approached the door, a large, dark violet diamond flared up on the door. Tenchi jumped. Ryoko stared at it coolly. The woman reached for the door.
"Hey!" The two turned, staring at the blue skinned woman behind them. "You'd do well to stay away from such a perverse place." She warned. "Unless you choose to…become One." Her gaze grew sly.
"What do you mean?" Tenchi asked.
"You know not of the Cathedral of Shadows?" The spirit inquired.
"We're new in the area." Ryoko said. "Still learning the ropes."
"A likely excuse." The entity sniffed. "No matter…the Cathedral of Shadows has no cares for whom enters its chambers, only that the demons fused result in successful Rebirth. If you are so keen to throw your lives away, know that your Child will hold only a fraction of your power as you are now."
"Thanks for the advice." Ryoko said dryly. "We'll keep it in mind."
"I would have no doubt." The spirit replied in a matching tone. "Say not you were not warned." The woman floated off.
Tenchi looked back at the door with pursed lips. "…Maybe we should come back another time." He mumbled. "At least…once we have more information on this place."
Ryoko's attention still rested with the retreating demon. "Bitch." She muttered, then looked away when she heard Tenchi speak. "Hm? Oh, yeah. Let's go check out some of the other places."
There was an items merchant in the old Soba restaurant. Another of the small snowman-it called itself Jack Frost-sat behind a counter piled high with containers of wares. "Hee-llo there, Ho!" It exclaimed, looking at Ryoko with a large smile and vacant, black eyes.
For solid ten seconds, the room went dead silent as two pairs of golden eyes widened. One in shock, the other in rage.
"What'd you call me you little-" Ryoko lunged at him with a snarl.
"Ryoko!" Tenchi called out in dismay, and lept at her, grabbing the woman before she could leap over the counter after the small demon. The space pirate growled, and it took all of Tenchi's might to restrain her as she pulled against him.
The little snow man screamed in terror, vanishing beneath the mounds of wares around it with a terrified shriek of "Hee-ho!"
The boxes of wares and items toppled over with a crash, and Ryoko slammed herself back into Tenchi, jostling the youth enough for her to tear herself free. "Damn it." Tenchi grunted as he lost his grip on the woman. "Ryoko, stop! I don't think it meant-"
"Say it again you little shit!" Ryoko snarled, putting the metaphorical 'bull in a china shop' into literal play as more items were sent flying.
"Ple-heese don't hurt me ho!" The spirit cried in dispair. "I don't even hee kn-ho-w you!"
"Oh, but you have the gall to call me a 'ho' the minute I walk through the fucking door!?"
"Ryoko, for fuck's sake! What is wrong with you!?" Tenchi cried.
"Looks like Kagatsuchi pushed her a bit too far…" Hi P whispered. "That's a Jack Frost. He's of the Seelie Courts like myself; he and his cousin, Pyro Jack, both have a…you could call it a bit of a speech impediment, in case you couldn't tell…They can't help it; the two words are part of their magical incantation and they've just…evolved their speech around it."
"What do you mean by Kagatsuchi?" Tenchi demanded, leaping on Ryoko's back, wrapping an arm around her neck, and sending them both crashing to the ground.
Hold her down. Kagatsuchi may be closing, but right now his eyes are not yet half-lidded. Demons are more easily provoked during this time, and are equally likely to fall to violence-especially if something has already agitated them since it was Full." There was an accusing note in Hi P's voice, and Tenchi deliberately ignored it.
"Fine. I'm calling you out to help explain things." Tenchi grunted, ignoring the struggling woman beneath him as Hi P appeared before them both, a look of surprised dismay on the Fae's face as she looked around.
"Bless you and your children." The Fae swore. "May they feast at the Unseelie Court's table."
"Yeah, that's nice and all, now could you ever so nicely explain to Ryoko what you just told me?" Tenchi snapped, listening with half an ear for the tiny jingle of the Frost's blue cap. He could no longer hear it, and figured the being was hiding.
Hi P sighed. "Demon Lord, please have sympathy for my cold cousin of the north." She said, fluttering towards Ryoko's head and and landing where she was in full view of the space pirate. "He cannot help how he speaks; it was not his intention to speak an insult to you."
"He has tourrets!" Tenchi exclaimed. "Let the little guy be! He was trying to apologize to you!"
"You both are making this shit up to placate me." Ryoko growled from under Tenchi. "I ought to kick both of your asses on top of his." She snarled, and Hi P flinched away as the demon bore her teeth at her, revealing elongated canines.
Tenchi grunted as the woman began to squirm beneath him. "Yeah-but if you do that-you won't get any alcohol!" He exclaimed. So much for a surprise….
In an instant, Ryoko froze, a look of surprise sweeping across her face as she turned to look over her shoulder at Tenchi. "…What did you just say?"
Tenchi smiled nervously, made anxious by the look in the pirate's eye. "I said…you won't get any alcohol." He said, emboldened when the cyan haired woman made no more effort to move. "You throw me off, you break the bottle in my backpack. You hurt the little Frost guy, and I won't give you anything." The smile grew into a smirk. "I'll dump it, instead."
Ryoko didn't move, studying his face. Tenchi wondered if she'd call his bluff.
Regardless, the fight seemed to die in her, and the woman sighed, letting her head thump listlessly against the tile floor. "Fine." She groaned, then paused, as if remembering herself. "…Why the hell was I so upset in the first place?" She muttered.
Tenchi sighed in relief. "Thank you." He breathed, and yelped as he felt Ryoko move beneath him. With a grunt, the woman rose to her hands and knees, Tenchi still atop her and her own backpack, then moved to stand, allowing the youth to slide harmlessly off her person. He landed on his rear with a grunt, and stared up at Ryoko in bafflement.
Ryoko stared down at him. "What?"
"…Nothing." Tenchi said. She was letting me restrain her. He thought. She could have escaped my grip at any point. Why? For myself? Or something else?
The teen climbed back onto his feet, looking at Hi P and still finding the small pixie glowering at him. She huffed, then called out, "Jack, it's alright, these two aren't going to kill you."
A small jingle, and a white face peered out from around the corner of a large wooden table. "Hee-ho?" It exclaimed, and upon seeing the fairy slowly crept out. "Is th-hee danger gone, ho?"
"Yes." Hi P said, sending a glare to Ryoko. "Apologies. There was a misunderstanding. It won't happen again. Will it?" She scowled at Ryoko, who stared at the tiny woman with a raised eyebrow.
Ryoko shrugged indifferently.
Tenchi bowed low. "I apologize on my friend's behalf." He said. "We weren't trying to cause a panic. Can you forgive us?"
"Wat-hee-r under the bridge." The fairy spirit said. "D-ho-es that mean you want to make a purchase?"
Tenchi nodded. 'If you'll allow us to see your wares."
"Absolut-hee-ly! Jack Frost proclaimed.
Hi P approached the Fairy. "You didn't see me here." She told him. "Or she," The pixie pointed to Ryoko, who cast a glare in the Fae's direction, "will come after you."
Jack Frost laughed nervously.
The pixie turned back to Tenchi. "Send me back." She said, "before someone else walks through those damn doors."
Tenchi smiled at her weakly. "Thanks for your help, Hi P." He said. The Fae vanished in a flash of violet energy, and the little Jack Frost jogged lightly over to the the table it had set up as it's merchant's booth, climbing a small stool and standing atop it to look over the counter at them. "Hee-re's what I currently have in stock." It grabbed one of the boxes that had been knocked over the counter and opened it, spilling the contents haphazardly onto the surface for the duo to observe.
Medicinal pills, cans labeled 'muscle drink', opalescent chakra drop, and a variety of pretty stones which seemed to glow with an internal light lay scattered before them. Tenchi eyed the pills, remembering the almost magical effect they had on him, and paused when something else caught his eyes near by. "Hey, is that…" He pointed, and the Jack Frost turned to follow his finger. "Is that a magatama?" Two of the tiny creatures rested atop a shelf behind Jack Frost, curled up like dead centipedes.
"Hooo boy." The Jack Frost said. "Th-ho-es are my most expensive wears. Can you afford it, hee?"
Tenchi frowned, then dug into his pockets, withdrawing the small bag of macca he had taken with him from his house. "Would this be enough?" Knowing it was probably a bad idea to hand over his entire purse to the tiny merchant and finding himself not caring regardless, The teen untied the drawstring and opened it up.
The Jack Frost looked at it, then carefully upended the bag, counting through the coins with fiscal scrutiny before raising looking back at Tenchi and shaking its head. "Sor-hee. You're short three-thousand."
"Would it be enough for one?" Tenchi asked, and part of him wondered why he was drawn to the things. There was the one inside him, he knew, and the one he'd collected from Forneus' body, but it wasn't as if he knew how to use the damn things or anything. "Magatama is the essence of demonic power." The Zealot's voice whispered in his ears. That's right. Tenchi thought. A magatama is what turned me into a demon. A magatama was what remained of Forneus after his defeat. If I want to survive—if I want to help others survive—I'll need magatama. Magatama for my own strength. I can't expect the Tenchi-ken or Ryoko to save me when things go wrong; I need to get strong on my own so that I can pull my own weight.
The Jack Frost retrieved the two magatama and brought them to the counter for Tenchi to examine. They looked almost identical to each other outside of one being a shade or two lighter than the other. "Which is the cheaper one?" Tenchi asked.
The spirit pushed the lighter of the two forward. "Iyomante is two thousand macca." It said. "You can learn s-ho-me pretty good support-hee-ing spells from it."
"Supporting spells?" Ryoko leaned forward. "What do you mean?"
"De-hee-mons will always be stronger and faster than eac-ho-ther." The entity said. "S-ho sometimes th-hee only way to beat them is to be-hee-come faster and stronger than them." The Jack Frost revealed.
"Fight smarter, not harder." Tenchi murmured, and thought of Forneus, and how effortlessly it seemed they were able to bring the demon down. Forneus had a weakness to electricity, and the tenchi-ken had done its job of absolutely devastating the demon. Even with Ryoko's own weakness to ice, some quick warnings had saved her from falling victim to its attacks, and with Shikigami and Hi P's own electric-based magic, they'd been able to bring the Goetia down before it could use its magic against them again.
And we had been lucky. He reminded himself. We had forewarning about his strengths and weaknesses from that old woman spirit, and we were fortunate enough that Forneus had such a weakness to electricity. It may not always be that way. The teen pursed his lips, then nodded. "I'll take it." He said. "And some of the medicines too." He paused a moment, and then as an afterthought added, "Do you…know I how I use them?"
"You hee-eat them!" The Jack Frost exclaimed.
"Oh." Tenchi said, and felt his initial enthusiasm die. "Great." He stared down at the magatama. "Thanks." It looks like a big fucking bug.
Vortex World,
Okinawa Prefecture, Naha City, Miebashi Station
Kagatsuchi 5/8 Waning
They left the station in silence, Tenchi holding and staring down at his purchase.
Ryoko eyed him. "Are you going to do it?" She asked him, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Do what?"
"Eat it."
Tenchi looked at her shrewdly, and Ryoko held up her hands in defense. "Hey, I'm not the one who bought it." She said. "And I'd appreciate it if you don't waste our money on things you don't plan on using."
"You want me to eat it?"
"Well, if that's how you get the thing to do…whatever magatama do, than yes." Ryoko replied.
Tenchi looked down at the magatama in open repulsion. "It…looks like a bug." He said.
"What's your point?" Ryoko asked.
"I'm not-I don't eat bugs, Ryoko."
"Do you eat shrimp?"
"I'm allergic to shellfish."
Ryoko shrugged. "Bet you aren't anymore." She said. "You came out as a Demi-fiend fine enough."
"I don't remember…ingesting…the magatama that's in me now." Tenchi said quietly. The teen glared up at her. "Besides," he said, "You aren't the one who has to eat it. Have you ever eaten a bug?"
Ryoko shrugged, closing her eyes as she thought for a moment. "Well…yes. Some races consider them a normal part of their diet, and others view them as a delicacy. I've probably eaten loads of them without realizing it." She said, and stared at Tenchi's look of disgust in confusion. "What? It's all about how you prepare the dish. I'm not eating them alive with legs squirming or anything." She paused and though. "I don't think I have, anyways…"
"Gross." Tenchi said.
Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, is it not you who goes out and regularly eats a fish with enough poison in its meat to kill a man in minutes?"
"That's a delicacy!" Tenchi exclaimed. "And I've never eaten it!"
"But you see my point." Ryoko countered.
"It's still a bug." Tenchi muttered rebelliously. "I don't..I can't stomach it." He looked a little green, Ryoko noticed, discounting the blue glow of his brands.
The space pirate shrugged, putting her arms behind her head. "Well, nothing says you need to eat it now." She said. "But you'll want to eventually, I think. The demons in this area have a greater level of power than the demons back at your school, and if we continue, there's a possibility we'll run into even stronger ones. You may not have a choice then if you want to hold any kind of comparable power to them." The woman shrugged. "For all we know, we may even run into a demon who's resistant to electricity, or worse yet, can use it as its own type of strength. The sword would become pretty useless then, and while I'll admit you've got some power in your punches, that may not be enough to keep large swarms of demons off your back."
"I know." Tenchi sighed. "And I know I'll need to go back for that other magatama too. I just…"
"You need time to come around to the idea." Ryoko guessed.
"Yes." Tenchi nodded and removed his bag, storing the magatama in the same pouch as the other one-Wadatsumi, he thought its name was-not questioning how he knew its name as he hefted the bag back onto his shoulders.
"We'll need more macca if we want to purchase it." Ryoko said, "And your latest purchase was a pretty hefty drain on our funds."
"I know." Tenchi muttered. "We're down to three twenty-five macca; enough for maybe another medicine or a muscle drink, but not much else. We need more money."
Ryoko smiled. "Well…you leave that to me." She said, her eyes catching sight of the blue woman from earlier. It's been a while since I had some real fun. She thought, and felt small sparks of electricity dance across her fingers.
Tenchi looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
The space pirate smiled down at him in affection. "What I mean, Tenchi," She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "Is that we are getting money the ol' fashioned way."
The demi-fiend raised an eyebrow. "Through hard work and manual labor?"
Ryoko laughed and raised a hand, pointing it towards the blue-skinned woman. "Nope."
Tenchi eyed the open palm with nervous gold eyes. "Uh…through begging?" He asked. His voice was tense."
"Nah." Ryoko said, and energy began to form in her palm. "I don't grovel."
"…Through violence?" Tenchi asked with evident dread.
"Violence and pirating." Ryoko nodded, and fired the beam of energy at the unfortunate demon. "We take what we want and leave no survivors."
"I'm not sure I'm willing to-" The beam struck the spirit, and the woman shrieked.
"Fuck." Tenchi uttered, and a truer statement had never before been said.
Around them the demons, once peacefully going about their business, turned to regard the duo who had openly attacked the blue spirit, the Apsaras, in a mixture of surprise, confusion, and then anger.
"Thy transgressions shalt not be left to idle!" Someone screamed-not the apsaras, but something which looked like a white winged human-was it an angel?-screamed at them.
The being rushed them, and with a vicious smile Ryoko called on her reserves, forming a sword in one hand. "Bring it." She growled. "Tenchi, you focus on Wings, I'm going for Blue Bitch." Without waiting to see if the Hitoshura would listen, the woman vanished, reappearing behind the woman and swinging her sword down. The strike hit true, and the woman screamed, falling forward as a wave of red seared across the back of her dress.
She turned as she fell, a snarl on her face, and the apsaras screamed a spell out, "Makajam!"
A strange, ethereal blue-black energy surrounded the space pirate, and the woman braced herself, only to watch in confusion as her sword vanished. "What?" She tried to summon the energy back to herself, and found the power unresponsive, as though a wall had been erected around her power. Its like when Yosho first stole my gems. She thought, and looked back at her opponent, who was once more climbing to her feet. "Shit."
The woman sneered at her. "Mazio!" Lightning struck her, and farther off she heard Tenchi yelp as well, as though he too had been struck.
Ryoko shook it off. "You'll need something a lot stronger than static electricity if you want to hurt me. She growled, and smirked as the woman's eyes widened in horror. "I don't need my powers to beat the shit out of you either." She cracked her knuckles. "This is more cathartic anyways." The Demon Lord lunged at the apsara, where a fist connected solidly with the woman's gut. The spirit fell over with a wheeze, and Ryoko brought two fists down on the woman's head, the smile on her face growing frenzied as as the demon fell, her neck bending at an unnatural angle from the force behind the strike.
The spirit hit the ground, and did not move further.
Ryoko stood over the body, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Well, that was anti-climatic-" A yell, and Ryoko looked up in time to recognize Tenchi's body racing towards her at a fast and dangerous speed. "Shit." She braced herself and caught the lad, yet the force behind the throw was enough to knock her off her feet. The two tumbled to the ground, and Tenchi groaned on top of her. "This was a really stupid idea." He grumbled. "I want you to know that."
"Call it stupid when we're rolling in dough." Ryoko grunted, and shoved the teen off her, the two rising to their feet to face the angel, who had been joined by a pair of shikigami. "Get the others out." The woman said, "I'm not about to get ganged up on and I can't call my powers for some reason. That bitch did something to me."
"Right." Tenchi gestured to his right, and Paperball and Hi P appeared.
Hi P groaned. "What did I just say?!" She demanded.
"Can it." Ryoko snapped, ignoring the way the pixie bristled. "Magic on the origami. Tenchi, get the sword out."
"Way ahead of you." Tenchi muttered, withdrawing the sword from where it rested in one of the larger front pockets of his backpack and unwinding it from where he'd wrapped the rope around it. It sparked to life almost immediately in his hands, as if sensing his intent, and unshouldering the backpack to free his arms, the teen began to spin the weapon around.
"Which one are you focusing on?" Ryoko asked. "I don't want to be struck on accident."
"The angel-looking demon." Tenchi replied. "Keep those other shikigami off me."
The space pirate nodded, joining Hi P and Paperball as they faced off against the pair of demons.
One of the shikigami lunged at her, and the pirate instinctively tried to teleport, forgetting in that instant that the ability had been locked away. Instead, the creature collided into her with enough force to knock the wind from her lungs, and she was sent crashing backwards, staring in a daze at the broken florescent lights on the ceiling above her. Groaning, the woman crawled back to her feet, watching Paperball collide with the same being which had knocked her over as Hi P sent a bolt of electricity towards it.
The magic charred its paper body, leaving black singe marks across its surface, and Ryoko raced back towards it, throwing herself into the fray as she tackled the same being. The other drew near, looking ready to attack, and the space pirate grabbed it, looking over at Hi P. "Use me as a lightning rod!" She ordered.
"Are you serious?!" Hi P demanded.
"Just do it!" Ryoko snarled.
"On it!" Paperball cried, perhaps a little too exuberantly. "Zio!"
The space pirate was engulfed in electricity, and the lightning danced across her, using it as a conduit to travel to the other two demons. Twin screams met Ryoko's ears, followed by a similar scream of 'zio' from Hi P.
The static of electricity increased, and the space pirate winced as the two demons around her thrashed wildly, then fell still as the two spells faded.
Ryoko dropped the two new corpses, and for the first time witnessed the red magatsuhi which departed their bodies flow into her own. Some seemed to be absorbed by Hi P and Paperball as well. The woman flexed her hands, trying to grab a small bit of the energy and watching as it instead was simply absorbed at her touch. I don't feel anything though. The woman thought. At least…not like-not like before.
Not like whatever had been fed to her corporeal body in the Cave.
Probably just as well. She thought, and turned her attention back to Tenchi, just in time to witness the teen pull back the tenchi-ken on the downed entity and lunge forward with a snarl. There was a note of savagery on his face the likes of which the space pirate had never before seen, and for a moment, a memory came to her. "One's magatsuhi is comprised of the spiritual and emotional essence of the beings it draws into itself." The Zealot said, regarding two kitsune at the farthest reaches of her body's awareness. "And just as your master, I am one who rages."
The teen brought a boot down on his opponent's throat in a savage stomp, and the being spasmed once before falling limp. The Demi-fiend stared down at the body as if daring it to move again, and though he seemed unaware of it, Ryoko watched the angel's red magatsuhi flow up into the teen's legs, where it was absorbed inside the glowing brands.
Sensing her gaze, Tenchi looked up, his expression grave.
Then he smiled. "I did it!" He said."
Ryoko flashed him a smile she didn't feel. "Good job, Tenchi. Wasn't expecting you to take a new demon down all on your own. Looks like you're getting stronger too."
What is this 'magatsuhi' doing to us?
"Guess so." Tenchi said, moving away from a body which was beginning to disintegrate behind him.
Is this really affecting us? How have neither of us realized it? "How about we go and find your human now and make sure they're okay? Should we even be fighting these other demons? What other effects might they have on us? That look…was that from what he absorbed from Forneus? She'd lost her appetite for combat.
"Oh thank you." Tenchi visibly relaxed, and a look of immediate relief swept across his face. "I don't like…I don't like instigating fights like this, Ryoko." He said, and looked up at her with sincere golden eyes. "Let's…not do this again, okay?"
And despite herself, Ryoko found herself in agreement with the young man. "Agreed." She said.
Comments of a Madwoman: In which the authoress curses her need for accuracy with the Atlus mascot and questions her sanity.
Cathedral of Shadows:
Apsaras: Water spirits in Hindu lore. Beautiful young women who dance for the gods. They also guide heroes who fall in battle to paradise.
Jack Frost: A spirit originating from England. He is a snow elf who brings in cold weather during the winter and is thought to be responsible for the frost that forms on the windows of homes and buildings. Megami Tensei's and Atlus's mascot.
Angel: Ninth of the nine orders of angels. The 'watchers' who never sleep. Among these are the guardian angels who are assigned to every human at birth.