Part 1
Me and Ayumu were enveloped in the light of a teleportation spell used by Georg and moments later the scenario around us had changed completely.
We were teleported to an awfully foggy region, due to how many trees there are around us I assume this must be in the outskirts, but it's still hard to tell with all this fog.
"Are we in..." - Ayumu asks and I nod in response
"Kanto, the HQ city controlled by the East youkai faction."
She points a bit far ahead
"And I believe that's where we're supposed to head to?"
Despite the fog and the trees in our way, we can still make out the shape of a huge house, more like a mansion actually, standing in a clear patch of land surrounded by trees.
"Yeah, I guess it is, although there's something else bothering me right now... can you feel it?"
I ask Ayumu, who narrows her eyes
"Are you talking about the energy coming from that mansion... or the trees?"
Suspicious, I narrow my eyes as well, despite the low visibility, we can still feel clear energies coming from the top of the trees, however, they are not youkai nor demonic in nature
"The trees, do you think it's the guys from the Hero Faction?"
"Likely, what do you wanna do?"
But before I can answer her, a shadow comes down from the trees and a man wearing traditional chinese armor quietly approaches us
"Hello, I believe you must be the reinforcements Cao Cao-sama told us to wait for?"
He asked us in a hushed voice, by the looks of it, all the members of the Hero Faction currently hiding in this forest were just waiting in the trees for us in order to raid the mansion that reeks of youkai presence.
Me and Ayumu exchange stares and look back at the man, nodding
"Yeah, I'm Tatseyo, she is Ayumu, what you guys got for us?"
I ask to confirm if my guess was true
The man points towards the mansion
"That is a base of the East faction youkais, from what we've heard there's currently a meeting taking place. The Nurarihyon, his bodyguard and other important youkais of his faction are inside, if there's a time to strike, it's now!"
He says enthusiastically, letting his voice go a bit louder with excitement
I place a hand under my chin.
The West youkais on their way to make a deal with the Alliance and this meeting taking place at the same time? It can't be a coincidence.
"What an awfully good timing..."
I say with suspicion
The man nods with a firm expression
"Indeed and ironically, we own this to the Alliance, the Kanto youkais have a pretty large number of members against becoming part of it"
I narrow my eyes at his statement
"Are you talking about the Alliance created by the three powers?"
He nods
"Yes, unlike the West youkais, there has been bad blood between the East youkai faction and the members of the Five Great Families of Japan and Sacred Gear users, so there is a strong opposition against becoming part of the Alliance. With the news that the West faction has been approached by the Maous, we believe the East youkais have summoned this meeting to talk about their next steps"
My eyes wide, so they still have a beef with the five clans of supernatural families?
Ayumu speaks up
"The five great families have been fighting against the youkais too? I thought they had a deal or something..."
This was a surprise for me as well, the Five Great Familes are part of a deal that the Esper Community made not too long ago to not attack other humans even if they dab in occult or magical practices, this includes magicians, wizards, witches and whatnot. However, we believed that the five great families had made at least a cease fire with the youkais, neither Akeno-senpai nor Tsubaki-senpai told me anything about fights resurging... this could be because they are outcasts from their clans though.
The man smiles at Ayumu's question
"We thought it as well, but it seems some of the members have been breaking that truce, this is causing some real bad blood between humans and the East faction"
I nod quietly, if the Five Great Families have rekindled their rivalry against supernatural beings, this could be good for the Esper Community... wait!
I quickly shake my head, what am I even thinking?! I'm trying to help them now!
"Huh, is everything alright?"
As I go back to reality, I see the man and Ayumu looking at me with confused expressions
"Y-yeah, sorry, anyway... that's why we are here then?"
He happily agrees
"This is a rare chance to take down the most important members of the East youkai faction together."
So there is more than just the Nurarihyon and the cat youkai leader...
"Cao Cao didn't say anything about the others, does he want us to capture everyone as well?"
I ask them, mostly as a means of diversion, I have no intention of actually capturing anyone but I need to know exactly what they want from me and Ayumu to know what to expect
The man shakes his head
"Not a problem, Cao Cao-sama has sent enough people to surround the mansion and for the invasion, we'll deal with everyone else, you just focus on the Nurarihyon and his bodyguard."
My eyes go wide when he says this
"You guys are going in as well?"
This is really bad, if they are with us we won't be able to let the youkais escape without blowing our cover!
The man looks back at me confused
"Y-yes? We are here to support you two after all"
I glance at Ayumu, who's also looking at me worried, whatever we do, we can't let these people walk in with us!
"No, you won't."
I immediately shake my head, answering him firmly, which caused the soldier of the hero faction to look even more confused
"I-I'm sorry?"
Ayumu's expression twists into confusion as well, but she doesn't say a word, likely understanding that I have a plan
Taking a deep breath and placing a hand against my forehead, I try the best I can to look disappointed
"Look, I don't wanna seem like a snob, but... you guys are not that strong and we can't keep babysitting how many of you there are while inside"
He steps back in surprise, a look of realization flashes across Ayumu's face
"Cao Cao-sama told us to-"
I interrupt him
"I believe Cao Cao sent you here to make sure the mission would succeed most and foremost, right?"
He nods half heartedly
"W-well, I guess so..."
I raise my hand
"Not a guess, that's a fact, as it's also a fact that the Nurarihyon and the nekomata's chief are very powerful beings, that being the case, there's a chance we may have to go all out, if that happens we won't be able to guarantee your safety."
Picking up on my bluff, Ayumu's expression seem to light up and she nods
"It's true... if we have to go all out there's a chance you guys could get in our way..."
The confused look on the man's face begins to turn into nervousness
"Sure you are not suggesting you two go in alone?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying, you can hold the fort here outside, but it's better if me and Ayumu go inside by ourselves"
The man looks around, still in a dazzed state
"B-but I am responsible for you if-"
I give a quick laugh
"Look, sir, if a fight actually breaks out with Magari and the Nurarihyon..."
I glare at him
"We'd end up being the ones responsible for you. And I doubt Cao Cao would be happy if the youkais escaped because we were too busy saving your asses... or are you suggesting you'd be fine with dying in there?"
His eyes go wide and he gulps down
"I-I understand... I'll have to warn the others"
Yes! It worked!
I congratulate myself mentally as the man reluctantly steps away from us and activates a communication circle in order to coordinate with his allies.
"Good bluff" - Ayumu says with an impressed expression while we walk towards the mansion
I nod awkwardly
"Guess I'm... just getting better at it?"
Ayumu raises an eyebrow
"Better at lying and threatning?" - She gives a sarcastical smirk
I answer with an awkward laugh
"True, though in this situation... maybe it's for the better?"
Her expression turns somber and she looks down, seeing a bit sad
"The situation we are in..." - She sighs
"Still worried?"
I ask, she smiles a little
"No use worrying over that now"
I nod, trying to muster a smile of my own.
We finally reach the doorstep of the eatern style mansion, it's honestly way bigger than it looked with the distance and the fog obscuring our view.
Ayumu whistles.
"Woah, these youkais are living the good life, aren't they?"
I nod
"You can say that twice, what's with these obsession with mansions anyway?"
First was Rias building a huge one in her neighborhood and now these youkais with a mansion in the middle of a forest. Does it even have eletricity?
"Look who's talking, have you forgot I already went to your family's house?"
She pokes fun at me
"Oh yeah... guess I can't say anything, huh? But... how do we get in?"
The moment I said this, the doors of the mansion opened, letting us get a full view of the inside
I cock an eyebrown and exchange stares with Ayumu
"Do they really..."
Ayumu nods with an even more confused expression on her face
"I think they are..."
We look at ach other for a while...
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" - And begin to laugh
There is just no way we are taking this entrance!
Ayumu tries to speak whislt in the middle of her laughter
"Oh lord, they really think this will work?"
"Seems like these youkais have been reading too much manga!"
Once we both stop laughing I point upwards
"Hahahaha, so... the roof?"
Ayumu nods, a jet of flames forming in her hands
"Like always, the boss has to be at the top"
Ignoring the open door, we quickly fly upwards towards the roof of the mansion
When we land, there's surprisingly no guards waiting for us
"It seems they really weren't expecting us to skip the front entrance"
Ayumu nods, still not believing the naivety of these youkais
"I can clearly feel a strong presence right bellow us, more than one actually. Do we burst in? Or do you want something more quiet?"
I shrug
"We want them to notice our presence anyway, I don't see any reasons to try being subtle"
"Roger! Here I go!"
I barely finish my phrase and Ayumu says this, releasing a ball of fire from her hands
"Wait, Ayu-"
BOOOOOM!
Immediately, the roof bellow our feet is vaporized and we descend to the top floor
*COUGH COUGH*
I wave my hand in front of my face to get rid of all the smoke Ayumu rose in her fire festival
"Phew! Feels good to let it out! I haven't been using my powers like this in a while!"
She says with a 'job well done' expression
"Why the hell did you do that for?!"
I yell
"W-what? You said we didn't had to be subtle!"
"Not being subtle doesn't equal burning away the entire roof!"
"Eeeehhhh?"
"Don't 'eehhh' me! Why the hell did you thought this was the best approach?!"
While scolding Ayumu, I completely forgot of our mission untill a voice calls out
"Oh my, oh my, to think the Khaos Brigade would send such energetic younglings after old me, kakakakaka"
The voice of an old man ressonates through the room, after the smoke from Ayumu's flames dies down we can clearly see where we are in
It's a japanese style room, with a long table at the center and several chairs surrounding it, at one of the edges of the table, an old man with an abnormous head is sitting while nonchalantly sipping a cup of tea
"The Nurarihyon..." - I say, to which the man nods
"That would be me, honestly, we really did not expect you to break through the roof, though I must admit that the view of this beautiful night sky is quite splendid, so maybe I should thank you? Kakakakakaka!"
He says so casually that it doesn't seem like he feels threatned at all by our presence
"What do we do now?" - Ayumu asks me, just as confused by the old man's calm reaction
"I guess we... talk?" - I wonder, kinda new to just talking things out
"Boss!" - Another voice shouts, this time from the hallway
Dashing quickly inside the room, a big fluffy cat with seven tails jumped in front of the Nurarihyon.
"You! Why the hell did you broke through the roof when we opened the door?!"
The cat hisses at us
Really? How are they are actually confused by this?!
"Why would we walk through the door when the leader is always in the top floor?!" - I exclaim
"That's not how you do things! There's an order!"
Order my foot in your ass!
"What the hell?! That's not a movie, you know!"
""She is right!""
More voices, this time a pair of them, a dog youkai with clouds that emit lightning covering it's body as well as a ferret-like humanoid appear, also rushing from the hallway
"Tachan, that's a Kamaitachi and Lightning Beast!"
Ayumu exclaims, so those are the other leaders of this organization? They are youkais know for their power over their respective elements, but I don't think they'd give a lot of trouble to us
"Why did you skip the mansion?! We had a whole set of challenges ready for you!"
This again?!
"That's exactly why we did it! Are you guys stupid?!"
They really seem offended that we skipped their challenges and headed straight for the boss!
"Kakakakakaka! Really, today's youth has a very pratical mindset, can't say I hate it."
The old youkai laughs while putting his teacup down
"Are you okay, boss?"
Asked the ferret youkai
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Anyway, shortcuts aside, we are all gathered here now. I take it that there are other members surrounding the place?"
I nod, the old youkai laughs
"I see, so the only way out is through you, right?"
When the Nurarihyon says this, the other youkais ready a battle stance, the cat pulling her claws out, the ferret creating blades of wind on his arms and the dog covering it's body on eletricity
"Hey, Tachan, these guys don't seem very interested in dialogue"
Ayumu's flames begin to cover her body, but I motion for her to stop
"Sorry to disappoint you, but we are not here to fight, not at all"
My words make all of the youkais confused, even the Nurarihyon's confident face dropped as he made an inquiring expression.
"Uh? And what are you here for then?"
"Don't let them fool you boss, they are just trying to get the jump on us!"
The dog youkai shouts, but the old man, as if listening to reason, raises his hand for him to stop and takes a step forward
"Calm down, Kumowatari, let's hear what these younglings have to say"
The youkais stand back at his words
"Thank you, we really don't wish to fight, the problem is... all the others outside do."
His wrinkled face turns even more twisted with confusion
"What do you mean by that, are you not from the Hero Faction of the Khaos Brigade?"
I tilt my head
"Well... we are and at the same time we are not"
This time it's the youkais working for the Nurarihyon who exchange confused stares between each other
"We are actually working for the Alliance, infiltrated in the Hero Faction, trying to get information to sabotage their plans"
Ayumu says and I nod
"Exactly, it's a long, very long story, but for now all you need to know is that Cao Cao has sent agents like us after the Kyuubi and Sun Wukong as well, but unlike us, those guys are not with the Alliance, they will manage to capture them, but we can still help you guys escape if you trust us."
The expression of all the youkais in the room turns from confusion to outright shock at what I just revealed to them
"The Kyuubi?! From the West Faction?"
"Sun Wukong too?"
"That's impossible! Sun Wukong is just too-"
The Nurarihyon raises a finger and the others go quiet
His calm demeanor disappears completely and a serious expression takes place on his face
"Young ones, I believe we need you to explain to us what's happening"
I sigh and take a glance at Ayumu, who shrugs
Guess we have no choice...
I try to sum it up as best as I can
That we are espers working for the Alliance behind the Community's back and are infiltrated in the Hero Faction in order to ruin their plans.
But Cao Cao revealed he had the help of my parents and that messed things up... a lot
"Are they really that strong? I mean it is Sun Wukong and the Kyuubi"
The Nurarihyon asks, I merely sigh and nod
"My parents are even stronger than me, whether it's a Great Youkai or even a Budha, I have no doubts they have the capacity to defeat them"
A somber silence takes place for a moment
"To think they would do something so bold..."
The ferret like youkai said, tightnening his fists
"Indeed... I always thought the Khaos Brigade was dangerous, but to recruit outsiders and pull a crazy plan like this... using the Kyoto leylines to attack Great Red, what do they have in their heads?"
I nod
"Even though it seems crazy, I doubt they would try something so dangerous if they didn't had enough confidence they could pull it off"
It's clear how tense they have all become, to kill Great Red would mean a huge power shift in the scale of the world. Whatever Cao Cao's ace might be, it's gotta be something tremendous.
"Does the Alliance know about this?"
The cat asks
"No, that's part of the problem, we don't have communication magic to talk with them and our phones don't work inside an artificial dimension"
I pul out my phone and check... no signal
"Means we have no way to talk to them..." - Ayumu states
We could use the devices given to us by the Esper Community, but that would be very unwise considering the Operators have access to all the conversations held through it, so getting in contact with anyone from the Alliance is not a good idea.
"So, the Kyuubi has been kidnapped and the Alliance does not know you are here?"
Despite mine and Ayumu's remark, the Nurarihyon's face twists in... a smile?
"Y-yes, but we still plan to let you escape"
The Nurarihyon smirks a little and cackles
"Haha, thank you, it's a very generous offer, but... let me show my counter offer"
"Counter... offer?"
I ask, turning to Ayumu, who's frowning upon his answer
"Yes, yes, let me tell you this: You two seem strong, you also have inside information about the Alliance and the Khaos Brigade, so why don't you join my faction and help me take advantage of the situation?"
I'm taken back by the sudden question
"W-what?" - I ask, dumbfounded
"We are not even youkais"
Ayumu says, the Nurarihyon just laughs
"Ah, details, details. It doesn't matter your species, so how about we do an Alliance of our own? We can take down the Khaos Brigade and then you younglings can help the East faction take over the youkai world, it's a win-win scenario"
Suddenly, the words coming from this old man's mouth sound more... soothing?
I start to get a feeling of light head
"Hehehe, that's just like our boss" - I hear the dog youkai say
What is he-
"Uhm, Tachan..."
"What is it Ayu-Woah!"
Ayumu leans her now shaking body against mine, her cheeks are flushed red as she stutters her words
"M-my body feels weird, I-I don't know what's happening..."
She holds me tight and presses herself even harder against me
"What the hell?!"
I push her away, being as careful as I can to not harm her.
"What did you do to Ayumu?!"
I immediately turn to them, there is no way Ayumu is doing this on her own, she might have acted weird during the trip, but in a situation like this? There's no way."
The old youkai throws me a curious expression
"Oh? So you are capable of resisting my power? You are indeed quite strong, but your friend..."
He snaps his fingers and Ayumu breaks through my grip and holds me again
"Tachan... please..."
Please? Please what?!
"What do you say? If you help me I can give you as many women as you want, also any treasures you might ever desire, I know how to treat my people. How about it?"
Ignoring the old youkai, I look deep into Ayumu's eyes
It's definitely hypnosis...
This bastard is...
He's manipulating Ayumu's mind to do this...
"What is going on with him?" - One of the youkais asks
I turn to the Nurarihyon
"I come to you offering help and that's how you want to act?"
He shrugs with a confident expression
"Just looking after my people, it's not like we own anything to the Alliance, also, you could gain something from joining me, maybe your parents too"
I shake my head disappointed and look to the floor, still incredulous
These guys, even after all the trouble we went through... they still do something like this...
"So that's how it's going to be, huh? Okay, if that's how you want... so be it"
Lifting a finger, I call out my friend's name
"Ayumu, snap out of this"
Her face turns into confusion for a moment, before she takes a hand to her forehead, the light returning to her eyes
"T-Tachan? W-what just happened? My head started feeling weird and then... I don't remember anymore"
The Nurarihyon's expression immediately turns into a panic as he sees Ayumu return to normal
"Y-you just broke my suggestion that easily?!"
He now seems legitemaly cornered
I shrug and answer, more than a little irritated
"What did you expect? When humans are fighting supernatural beings, breaking and dispelling hypnosis and illusions are one of the first things we gotta learn, you idiot."
In a world where most high-class creatures have some sort of hypnotic ability, learning this is crucial.
"Though, I must admit... it's impressive you managed to use it on Ayumu, as a high-level she should be naturally resistant to this, but I guess this should be expected from the Nurarihyon"
Ayumu's face goes red when she hears it
"W-what?! Hypnosis? That asshole hypnotized me?!"
She screams pointing at him
"Oh... Oh my god, what did I do?"
I feel my own face get red when she asks it
"N-nothing, it was nothing much"
"Liar! Your face's getting red! What did I just do?!"
"L-look! It's no time for it, okay?"
I panic and try to dismiss the subject before turning to the Nurarihyon
"As for you..."
I walk in the Nurarihyon's direction
"Boss! Watch out!"
The other youkais try to stand in front of me, but I raise my hand and sending them flying to the other end of the room.
"W-what are you going to do?" - The old youkai asks, his face covered in nervous sweat
"Don't you ever..."
DOOOOOOOOM
Covering my fist in aura, I raise it and swiftly throw a punch in the Nurarihyon's gut
"GUAH!"
He screams, blood gushing from his mouth
"EVER!"
Another punch, this time at the side of his face
"BOSS!"
"Nurarihyon-sama!"
The youkais pinned to the wall shout as their boss falls to his knees, grasping his stomach and rubbing the side of his head where I punched, now red and swollen.
"TRY ANYTHING LIKE THIS AGAIN!"
I shout while grabbing him by the head and lifting him up to look into my eyes
"Do you understand?"
"Y-yeah, I... I got it"
He answers with a trembling voice
I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down and helping him get up while releasing his underlings
"What the hell do you think you are doing?!"
The cat youkai screams at me, her fur standing up as it seems she's going to attack me
Having enough of trying to play nice with them, I raise my aura and point at them
"Look, I'm here to help you, there's a fucking squad of Hero Faction soldiers out there who are expecting me to come out with you! I want to help, but if you all keep acting like this I'll have no problem in handing your asses on a platter to Cao Cao to keep our cover!"
Ayumu takes place right by my side, fire covering her body
"I make his words my own, you guys play nice or I'm going to pay you back right now for what you did to me"
Clear hate is burning along with Ayumu's flames. She's pissed, that much is obvious, how could she not be after all?
I want to solve things peacefully, but if they keep insisting on us joining them or if they threat to blow our cover, then we'll have no choice but to fight.
The Nurarihyon raises his hand once again, ordering his followers to stop
"Okay... I understand"
He says, the other youkais look at him confused
"Boss? What do you mean?! You are just going to take this human's offer?" - The dog youkai lashes out.
His boss turns to them, a serious look on his face
"Now is not the time for this!"
He stomps on the floor and the room trembles, making his subordinates go stiff, despite his frail and old appearance, he's still a Great Youkai after all.
The Nurarihyon clears his throat and speaks to us
"It's clear that we are outnumbered and outpowered, even if we tried to push our way out of this situation, I don't belive you'd be willing to blow your cover for us."
We nod, I look at Ayumu, who still seems like she's ready to fight, I think that if I went ahead, she'd be burning one of these youkais to a crisp in no time.
I drop my stance and look at her, nodding my head to tell her to stand down
Ayumu looks hesitant for a while, if she didn't liked the idea of helping youkais before, these guys sure aren't helping with what they did, but soon enough, she lowers her guard and I talk to the Nurarihyon once again.
"You're correct, that's something we cannot do."
He nods, troubled
"Then, how do you suggest for us to leave this place?"
I tilt my head, confused
"Well... I kinda thought you could use a teleportation spell, can't you all use youjutsu?"
The cat youkai, Magari, shakes her head
"The barrier placed around this forest that stops the signal from your cellphones also blocks us from escaping with magic"
Ah, crap, so it works against teleporation spells as well?
Ayumu speaks up
"Couldn't you just, ya know... walk out?"
I turn to her confused
"Walk... out?"
She shrugs
"Doesn't he invade people's houses and use his hypnosis to mix with the family and leech off them?"
When she says this it finally clicks on my head
That's right! The Nurarihyon is know for doing that!
"Damn, Ayumu! You're right, how did I forgot this?"
I quickly turn to the youkais in front of us
"So, can you do it?"
I ask, but the Nurarihyon scratches his bald head and gives a laugh
"Kakakaka, hearing someone call me a leech makes me feel kinda bad..."
That's what you are though...
"But no, there's a chance it wouldn't work"
He takes a disappointed sigh
"Why not?" - I ponder
"Well, first of all, my power doesn't exactly wipe their memories completely, even if we managed to just slip by all the soldiers, they would still remember someone passed by. Doing that with all four of us is just not feasible, also..."
He points at us
"It would totally destroy your cover if all of us escaped, Cao Cao is a smart man, he wouldn't just believe that all four of us just escaped"
I place a hand under my chin, he's right, there's just no way this would work
"Then what do you suggest?"
Ayumu asks
"Sorry to interrupt boss, but I think the solution is obvious"
The cat youkai walks up to him
"Oh, and what would it be?"
She sighs
"If you go alone, boss, then you can evade the soldiers, we know that"
The Nurarihyon looks back at his bodyguard with a serious expression
"What are you suggesting, Magari?"
She looks back at the other two youkais who follow the Nurarihyon and lowers her head
"In order to let the boss escape, we'll have to surrender ourselves"
!
Me and Ayumu wide our eyes, the other youkais also have the same surprised expression
"What are you talking about, Magari?!"
"Are you saying we should just surrender ourselves to the Khaos Brigade?!"
The other two yell at her
"We have no choice! Or would you rather they capture the boss as well?"
She answers, her voice firm and resolute
Their leader however, replies calmly
"Magari, are you sure of this?"
The cat nods
"Yes boss, for the benefit of our faction, I'm willing to surrender myself"
Me and Ayumu just look in awe at each other
"M-Magari, you can't be serious..."
"Surrendering to these humans..."
She looked back at them
"You two, I know that you have problems with the Alliance and the humans because of the problems we have with the Five Principal Clans, but don't let this rivalry take your heads out of the bigger picture"
The dog youkai growls
"And what would this picture be?"
Magari coldly answers them
"That the Nurarihyon is the leader we sworn loyalty to."
The icely response from the cat youkai sends makes both youkais go silent and she continues
"As long as Nurarihyon-sama is free there is still hope for the youkais of the East, you two know very well that I am the leader of the nekomatas and I do worry for what may happen to them, but my personal feelings shouldn't stand between me and my duty to the East Faction."
She glances at them, a stare that sends shivers even at my own spine
"... And neither should the two of you."
Both seem conflicted, despite Magari's speech, they still seem to be struggling with their own grudges regarding humans.
Eventually, the ferret youkai clicks his tongue
"Tsk, whatever!"
He walks up and stands next to Magari
"R-Retsuza?!"
The dog youkai shouts at his friend
"Quit it, Kumowatari, what other choice do we have?"
"We can fight! Why do we have to surrender to the humans?"
The ferret shakes his head, with a complicated expression he answers the dog
"We are not surrendering!"
His shout makes the others jump back
"Sorry... it's just... don't see it as surrendering"
He apologizes
"We need to preserve the faction, we need to help the boss, Magari is right, what we feel right now doesn't matter. C'mon, my friend, let's do this"
The dog youkai hesitates for a moment, before groaning and walking to their side
"Fine, let's just do this"
My eyes wide as all three youkai lieutenants of the Nurarihyon bend the knee in front of him.
"Ohoho, I have such great subordinates, honestly, you guys are gonna make me cry."
He tries to keep a lighthearted tone, but this time his voice is different, I can hear some sort of "choke" in his voice, he's clearly upset.
"You, kids"
The Nurarihyon turns and points to us with his wrinkled, skinny finger
"I will leave my followers with you, consider this an apology for what I did earlier as well as a vow of trust. Please make sure those bastards of the Khaos Brigade won't harm them"
I'm still in shock from their surrender, but nod and try to answer as firmly as I can
"You can leave it to us, no harm will be done to them. By the way, after you get out, you should probably try to speak with Azazel from the Fallen Angel's, he's one of the Alliance's leaders and the only one I really got to know. If there's someone that will be willing to help you, it's him"
The Nurarihyon nods before jumping through the now destroyed roof
"I see, thank you for your kindness children, I hope we'll see each other soon, hopefully in better conditions"
He laughs before waving goodbye and jumping out of the roof and towards the forest
We turn back to look at the youkais kneeling in front of us
"So... you guys, Georg gave us these cuffs, he said we have to chain you up to restrict you, is that okay?"
A moment of silence takes place before Magari breaks it
"You need to beat us"
My eyes go wide at hearing this
"W-we need to what?"
I ask, not believing what I heard.
"She's right, we gotta rough them up at least a little"
"You too, Ayumu?!"
The other two youkais also nod
"There's no other way"
"Yeah, they will never believe we surrendered so easily without a fight"
I look back at them, surprised
It's true, if there's no signs of struggle this will be very suspicious, specially if we're going to use the excuse that the Nurarihyon escaped during a fight.
"So the... what should we do?"
At that moment, the ferret youkai stands up, forming blades of wind in his arms
"I believe it's clear what comes next"
Magari and the dog youkai also stand up, covering their bodies in touki and lightning
"I'm going to enjoy this"
Ayumu says, even though we're only going to pretend to fight, it seems she'll make the most out of it.
But it seems like the feeling is mutual, as the youkais cannot hide their battle aura, specially the ferret and dog.
I raise my hand, creating a ball of aura on it
"I'm really not liking this..."
I say, hesitant
"Don't worry, we understand that there's no other option, just do us a favour"
"What is it?"
The ferret youkai smirks
"Don't hit the face so much, okay? It's one of my good points"
Me and Ayumu laugh a little
"I won't promise anything"
She says and we rush towards the youkais, tossing any feelings aside, this fight has to look real.
Part 2
We finally walk out of the torn down mansion with Magari, Kumowatari and Retsuza bound by the magical chains Georg gave us
"T-they're out!"
One of the soldiers of the Hero Faction shouts as he sees us
Quickly, a whole squad surrounds us, their eyes wide as they look at the captured youkais
"Look, it's the leader of all Nekomatas, Magari!"
"They say she's one of the oldest living youkais! It's my first time seein her in person!"
"That's the Lightning Beast and the Kamaitachi too!"
"B-but where is the Nurarihyon?"
I hear several of them say
After a few moments, the same man wearing chinese armour from before approaches us, a look of concern on his face
"Oh crap, are you two okay?"
He asks, noticing the obvious bruises and cuts we got from the pretend fight we had
After this I can use my power to mend any wounds, so it's not a problem. We only left them for show.
"Don't worry, that was nothing, these guys put up quite a fight, but in the end they got the worst of it."
I say pointing towards them
"...Unfortunately, the Nurarihyon escaped"
The man's eyes go wide in surprise
"E-escaped?! How? There are soldiers surrounding the whole forest, how did he... ?"
He asks confused, Ayumu shrugs
"It's the Nurarihyon, that's his specialty, we didn't even notice he had escaped untill the end."
I nod with a bitter expression
"We should have been more careful..."
The man looks surprised, but quickly nods his head
"N-no, that's still amazing! You were able to capture the lieutenants and the right hand of the Nurarihyon, Cao Cao-sama will definitely be happy!"
The other members start nodding and swarming me and Ayumu
"That was incredible!"
"The Eastern youkais are as good as defeated!"
The members rejoice, some throwing their weapons up, some hugging each other and a few even risking their own dance moves
I look at the youkais and they are all looking down, angered and somber
Despite that...
"Hahaha, thank you, thank you, it was nothing, really!"
Ayumu seems to be basking in the cheers
I want to believe it's just keeping appearances, but she still seems way into it...She turns to me and whispers, in order to not let the youkais hear
(That's a celebration Tachan, a human celebration for defeating monsters, been a while, huh?)
Taking a look around, a memory flashes in front of me
(Yeah... it does)
Indeed, even though it's been just a few months, it feels like it was years ago that I was standing in a forest a lot like this one, receiving compliments for destroying a group of supernatural creatures.
But now, I can only think about how victory has never tasted so bitter...
Part 3
As the cheers of the Hero Faction echoed through the forest, a figure hidden atop of the trees looked down, a sad expression on it's wrinkled face
The Nurarihyon stood up at the branch where he was sitting and sighed
"Those kids..."
He was still emotional at the sacrifice his subordinates made to let him escape, but he knew staying there to watch them was a risk
Jumping down, he proceeded to run through the trees, his speed was enough that if he kept his pace for just a few more minutes he would be able to escape from the field that was surrounding the forest and finally teleport out of there.
He was thinking about what he should do once he was out, his first thought was to gather the members of his faction and explain to them what was happening, maybe he should follow Tatseyo's advice and contact Azazel to try a deal with the Alliance?
The youkais from Kumowatari and Retsuza's groups wouldn't be happy, but with both of them and Magari captured, there was little option left if they wanted to put a resistance, as tempting as the possibility of taking over the West Faction now that the Kyuubi was captured sounded.
As he pondered over these ideas, the Nurarihyon was caught off guard as a melodic sound started to echo through the forest
He swiftly hid himself behind a tree, trying to find the source of the sound
Quickly the sound became more and more clear, it was definitely music
A beautiful melody started to play, several instruments could be heard, almost as if an orchestra was playing nearby.
However, there was something weird about the music that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but that absolutely made it all the more eerie.
The Nurarihyon focused on his surroundings, his sharp senses would definitely be able to tell where the sound was coming from.
This quickly proved to be useless, as the youkai finally realized what was wrong with the music he heard.
The melody wasn't coming from a particular direction
It was coming from everywhere.
His eyes quickly went wide, an ice cold shiver running down his spine
The Nurarihyon kicked the tree behind him, propelling himself in the air, trying to build as much speed as his body could muster.
He no longer cared about being seem, all he cared about was getting as far away from the music as possible, as if every ounce of his youkai instincts were warning him that whatever was behind the music was dangerous... very dangerous
However, no matter how much he ran, the music didn't seem to get any further away from him, on the contrary
Despite changing directions, kicking trees to build speed and focusing so much senjutsu on his legs that he was barely more than a blur dashing through the forest, the music only grew
It was clear to him that either whatever was producing the sound was too fast for him to escape or worse: It had already catched him.
"Ahh, ahh"
Eventually his breathing had started to become ragged, it was only then that the Nurarihyon realized he had been running for several minutes, yet he had not reached the end of the forest.
Fighting against every fiber of his being that told him to keep running, he managed to force himself to stop under a tree and look around, certain that he would find at least a hint of where he was.
The music never stopped, now it seemed like he was right next to it, but there was no one around.
It was then that the Nurarihyon felt his body freeze as he catched a glimpse of something that made his heart sink to his stomach.
His footprint.
It was his footprint on a tree that he had kicked, but he clearly didn't remembered having kicked that tree at that moment.
And as if a lightning had striked him, the Nurarihyon quickly realized he had been running in circles all this time.
"W-what the hell?"
With nervous sweat covering his face, the Nurarihyon jumped to the top of the tree, trying to see where the hell the forest ended.
However, nothing could have prepared him for what was about to happen.
As he reached the top of the tree and looked to the horizon, nothing but forest and the nightsky could be seen
The Nurarihyon's eyes went wide as he saw this, but the worst part was not that there was no end to the maze he was in, but the scenary that greeted him.
As if to punish him for trying to poke his head out to see the end of the labyrinth, everything had suddenly become a painting
"W-what the hell is going on?!"
The nighsky, with it's beautifull full moon and glistening stars now seemed completely painted with oil on a canvas, carefully crafted with long, calm strokes, while the trees and leafs looked like they were painted in another style, rushed with quick, strong strokes of a brush.
Desperate, the Nurarihyon jumped down, but it was too late, the entire scenery had already turned into something out of a weird dream.
He ran his fingers through the grass, expecting that, despite the appearance, it would still feel normal to the touch.
To his surprise, the grass seemed sticky and elastic, grasping his fingers and demanding that he yanked his hand out to get free.
Confused and scared, the old youkai ran and ran trying to escape or at least find the source of whatever was doing this to him, untill his feet failed him.
The Nurarihyon tripped and fell face first into the grass, the strange sensation of whatever that new grass was suddenly sticking to his body.
He cursed himself and tried to stand up, only to realize that not only his legs had failed him, his entire body was no longer answering to his commands.
Much more frightening than being paralyzed, he could still move, but not as he desired
He tried to move his legs, causing his fingers to twist, he tried to place his palms on the floor, but only to bend one knee.
As a video game character suddenly having it's commands switched, he could no longer coordinate anything from his body as he wanted to.
Had the terror not having taken him over, he surely would have felt the urge to laugh at the irony of it all...
His mind was now being attacked
Someone had hijacked his brain, the tricks he had used against so many people, the mental games he took so much proud of were now being used on him and in a much more frightening scale.
The Nurarihyon used the last resort that his body still allowed him and screamed.
"Who are you?! Why are you doing this?! At least show your damn face!"
However, he quickly regreted this decision as the melody of the invisible orchestra gained a new member.
A singer.
The Nurarihyon's head was suddenly assaulted by a beautiful and melodic voice that sung perfectly, matching impeccably the band's rhythm.
"It's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me"
Despite the harmless words, every single cell in the Nurarihyon's body was desperate for him to escape
"It is only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me"
The Nurarihyon tried to use the last capacity not stolen from him to yell, to tell whatever was coming towards him to stay away, to ask for help or perhaps even beg for mercy.
But now, not even that was left.
All the words coming from his mouth were incomprehensible, either senseless jumbles of random nonsense in his home language or phrases in a language alien from any idiom know to man or monster.
The Nurarihyon yelled, but his words didn't made sense, whether it was his ears that were broken or his capacity to speak coherently that was stolen, the Nurarihyon could not understand a thing that he himself was saying.
All he could do was shudder in dread as the voice of the singer drew closer and closer
When the shape of a human finally appeared in front of the Nurarihyon, all his expectations were broken
A face that distorted itself like a caleydoscope, water flowing down like a waterfall where the hair should be, legs like trees that ending in root like feet and arms that seemed to twist and increase in size constantly, an inconprehensible surrealist being.
The Nurarihyon saw the irony again
Now it was him that would not remember the face of the one who attacked him.
It was all he had the time to think before the aggressor raised what the Nurarihyon believed to be a finger and the world around him twisted even more before the old youkai colapsed.
With the Nurarihyon knocked out of conscious, the young man with blue hair that stood before him smiled.
"It's all going according to my muse's plans."
The Caretaker said, lifting the Nurarihyon from the ground and disappearing into the darkness, his melody echoing through the trees.
"Without your love
It's a honky-tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played on a penny arcade"
Afterword: I'm glad to see you enjoyed the last chapter, it was really hard work to write a fight with Sun Wukong. Sorry for the delay with this chapter, now I'm on vacation for a few weeks and will try to post more frequently for a while.