Part 1
Once we teleported back to the Hero Faction's HQ, Magari, Kumowatari and Retsuza were taken to another room, presumably to be prepared for whatever Cao Cao will do to them
"Ah, you two came back! I'm so glad you are all unharmed!"
And speaking of the devil, Cao Cao himself appeared before us
He comes around and pats me on the shoulder
"Liu told me what you two did back there, splendid job! Taking them all on your own avoided any casualties on our side, I knew it was the right decision calling you two!"
I look at him confused
"Thanks, but... you do know that the Nurarihyon got away, right...?"
He seems way too excited for a mission where the main target escaped
Cao Cao laughs
"So I heard, but by what I was told I don't think he will be getting far"
My eyes go wide
"W-what? What do you mean?"
He turns to us, tapping the spear on his shoulder
"Oh, yeah, technically, the Nurarihyon wasn't necessary for our plan, just the Kyuubi was enough. We requested your aid to take down Sun Wukong and the Jade Dragon because they are a big pain on our back and the Nurarihyon was a favour to our benefactor at the Esper Community"
"What?! You didn't warn us of that!"
Ayumu exclaims, I nod, agreeing with her
"Yes, why did you hid it from us?"
The leader of the Hero Faction turns to us, a confused expression on his face
"I'm... sorry? I didn't thought it was necessary, we also wanted to take down the East Faction after all, so what I said wasn't a lie"
I place a hand against my forehead and look at Ayumu, who's also completely surprised
"So, this means your benefactor has... captured the Nurarihyon?"
I ask, afraid of what I'm gonna hear
"That I do not know, they haven't communicated with me in a while, but honestly, I doubt that even the Nurarihyon would be able to evade them..."
He answered, causing a sense of relieve and aprehension at the same time
That means he is not sure
"And you aren't going to say who they are, will you?"
Cao Cao shook his head with a troubled expression
"We were forbidden, if we did that they would seriously punish us, hahahaha!"
He laughs, but his voice still has a distinct nervousness in it
This tells me that whoever it is, they are powerful...
Whether someone with a lot of influence or a high ranker.
Or in the worst scenario, both.
"But... with the way things are going, you'll probably end up meeting them soon enough"
I narrow my eyes
"Is that so?"
Cao Cao nodded, this time a small smile started to form in his face
"Soon our plan will be put in motion, if they are happy with it, then soon you will be meeting our benefactors"
I gulp down and look at Ayumu
She looks back with the same worried expression at me
"And what is that next step?" - I ask
Cao Cao smiles and says
"Let's discuss it all together, your parents have already returned"
He taps the spear on his shoulder and opens a door for us
"Shall we?"
Me and Ayumu walk past the door and return to the same room in which we had met
True to his word, mom and dad are already here
"I can't believe you let the monkey escape!"
And she's yelling at dad...
Monkey? Is she talking about Sun Wukong?
"B-but dear, that youkai was a Budha and there was a Dragon King with-"
"I don't care! You managed to defeat him, but he pulled a substitution jutsu on you?"
"Y-yeah..."
Dad looks really depressed, the other members of the Hero Faction have troubled expressions as if they don't know if they should intruded in the quarrel.
"F-father? What happened?"
I ask, confused at the confrontation
Dad turns to me surprised, I guess he didn't noticed me as mom was chewing him up.
"A-ah, hi son, it's just... as I was fighting Sun Wukong and the Jade Dragon he-"
"Your father let that monkey escape right when he had him in the ropes!"
Mom interrupts dad, who screeches at her exclamation
"But honey, I told you that-"
"No excuses! When we're back I'm putting you to train from the basics!"
"E-eh?"
Father slouches over the table and sighs, defeated
"Yes, dear..."
Watching the scene, Ayumu approaches me and whispers
(Lady Tatsumaki really is ruthless...)
I nod
(I'm already afraid of how she's going to react when she hears about the Nurarihyon...)
Right when I said this, mom turned to me and said
"By the way, I heard about what happened to the Nurarihyon"
My expression drops immediately upon hearing it
"W-what?!"
Mom looks at me
"Don't go thinking you'll be let out of the hook for this, both of you"
"Ehh? Me too?"
Ayumu points to herself
"But mom, it was-"
Mom slaps the table
"No excuses!"
She retorts at us
""Ehhhh...?""
We both exclaim
Should have seem that one coming...
"Honestly, am I the only taking my work seriously?"
She complains, before a carefree laughter suddenly errupts in the room
"Ahahahahaha!"
The sudden outburst draws everyone's attention towards it
"Honestly, seeing you two argue just reminds me of the strength gap between us"
Cao Cao says while he taps the spear on his shoulder
"Even with my Sacred Gear being called the "Ultimate weapon of God", I wouldn't have any chance of taking down Arjuna, much less the Victorious Figthing Budha and Jade Dragon alone"
I look at mom, so she did had to fight a god class?
"You fought with an hindu deity?"
She nods and glares at dad
"Yes and I managed to defeat him AND capture the Kyuubi, like I was supposed to"
Mom then looks back at the Hero Faction's leader
"I still don't know why you decided to leave him there"
Cao Cao laughs and scratches his head
"We are already picking a fight with lots of enemies, if we took Indra's son we probably would end up having the forces of Mt. Meru coming to rescue him."
Mom gestures with her hand
"Then we'd just have to kill them all"
She states nonchalantly, as if speaking something obvious
"Pfft, hahahahaha!"
Cao Cao began laughing, the other members of the Hero Faction laughed along
"Hahaha, yeah, of course we-"
He then began looking around and saw that me, Ayumu and dad were staring at the ground while mom looked at Cao Cao confused.
"What is so funny?"
Gradually, the laughs began dying out as they all looked at mom, concerned
"You are... not joking? Are you?"
Me and dad shook our heads
"Joking about what?" - Mom asked
Cao Cao's eyes widened as his face went pale and he gulped
"A-ah, I see... w-well I don't think it would be a good idea"
He answered nervous
If it's mom, she would definitely pick a war with Mt. Meru...
And Olympus...
And Asgard...
In fact I wouldn't put it past mom to try and kill every single god in existence just because she felt like it.
"If possible I'd like to avoid angering Sakra and Shiva, I mean, you guys could probably survive them, but I think the rest of us would likely end up dying"
Heracles, Jeanne and Georg nod, all of them nervous and wide eyed
"Y-yeah, please, we should avoid that..." - Georg says, cleaning his glasses with shaking hands
Mom nods with her eyes closed
"Uhmm, you might be right, the Indian Esper Community would definitely be alerted by that and then we'd be in trouble for breaking the code"
I put a hand to my forehead
She's more worried about the reaction of the Esper Community than to getting in a fight with the entire hindu pantheon...
"We're sorry..."
Dad apologizes, to mom's confusion
"Sorry? About what?"
"Don't worry, this enthusiasm is quite good... I think"
Cao Cao answers troubled, ignoring mom's confusion and trying to proceed with the meeting
"A-anyway... now that we have the Kyuubi and the Jade Dragon won't be standing in our way, at last we can move on with the plan, Georg"
The magician nods and creates a circle that shows a large traditional building
"This is the Nijo Castle, one of Kyoto's power spots, where we'll make our experiment once all preparations are done"
We look confused at the image being projected
"Experiment?"
Mom asks and Georg explains
"Yes, we'll use Kyoto's leylines and the Kyuubi's power in order to summon Great Red in there."
I raise an eyebrow at his remark
"You're gonna summon that huge monster in the Nijo castle? How the hell is that gonna work? Do you wanna destroy Kyoto?"
Cao Cao shook his head
"Don't worry, preparations are being made, Georg will use his Dimension Lost in order to not allow Kyoto to be destroyed, of course that with Great Red's power he could easily escape it, but we are confident that with the Dragon Eater's ability we can stop him before he can do that"
Again with this Dragon Eater, what is this thing that is so powerful they trust on it so much to defeat Great Red?
"Is that so? When will this preparation be complete, then?"
I ask, trying to squeeze as much info as possible
"The day after tomorrow, at night most likely. Under the beautiful moon of Kyoto, Great Red will meet his demise, poetic isn't it?"
Mom just rolls hers eyes at him
"The day after tomorrow? You mean we're gonna have to wait two whole days before we go into action again? What a pain..."
She says, annoyed
Cao Cao gives a troubled smile
"It can't be helped it's the time it will take to prepare the incantations and also, we still need to brainwash the Kyuubi, the Jade Dragon and the other youkais, it's not like they will just cooperate with us"
We nod, makes sense, it's better than forcing them to do things by violence
"Can I see them before you do that?"
Everyone in the room turns to me, confused
"Well, we won't stop you, but... why?"
Cao Cao asks
I look at Ayumu and answer, a bit troubled
"Well, I thought that in the meantime I wanted to talk to them, while they still have some free will you know?"
"Talk to them? About what?" - Father asks
I turn to him
"About the Kanto youkais, but specially with the Kyuubi, I want to get a chance to talk to her about their relation with the devils. Ayumu, do you remember those things we saw in Kyoto? The building we are staying at?"
Ayumu nods her head
"Yes, that's right, there's that thing... I was curious about it as well"
Cao Cao makes a troubled expression
"Ah, I see... the Sirzechs hotel..."
When he says this, mom's expression twists
"What?! You two are staying at a devil owned hotel?!"
I nod
"Yeah, the families of the devils I've been spying on own two hotels in Kyoto, one of them is where we are staying."
Cao Cao agrees with me
"Indeed, ever since the Alliance the underworld has been expanding their business in other territories"
Mom supports her head with a hand, annoyed
"Inhumans building business in our world, I don't like that... I also don't like you living around them"
Dad nods
"Can't say I'm fond of that idea either..."
They give me and Ayumu a long glance
I shake my head
"I think it's good, a lot of things we learned from them was because of our proximity, also, their relatives..."
Mom answers
"Yeah, the Maous, right?"
A smile appears on her face
"After fighting a god, I wonder how a Maou would be"
Mom's expression sends a shiver down my spine
"Hahaha, I'm sure if it's Lady Tatsumaki and Kageyama-san even the Maous wouldn't be a challenge. But if Tatseyo and Ayumu are confident, then I believe it's good that we have they infiltrated."
I speak up
"That's why I wanna talk to them before they are brainwashed. Maybe some of them are willing to cooperate or maybe they'll let slip information that we didn't even thought of asking. If nothing comes out of it, we can just brainwash them and interrogate again later"
Ayumu nods, agreeing with me
"I'd rather do that before they are brainwashed too, personally, that look on the eyes of hypnotized people always gives me the creeps"
Cao Cao nods, the rest of the Hero Faction and my parents not objecting as well
"I see, it's a good idea. I'll have someone scort you to the prisons"
Me and Ayumu thank him
Before we leave the room, mom looks at me
"You know, you've been playing a lot smarter lately. Infiltration, clandestine operations and now interrogation too? Where did you learn to do this?"
She asks, a bit sarcastically, but I can see that dad looks more suspicious
"W-well, guess I can be that way when things get personal"
I scratch my head and answer awkwardly
"Uhmm, can't say I dislike it"
She says with a hand under her chin
"You did lied to us and may have let the Nurarihyon escape, but you two are doing a good job. I have high hopes for you... for both of you"
That last part was delivered with a wink towards us
"M-mom!"
I exclamate as Ayumu averts her gaze, blushing deep red
The members of the Hero Faction laugh as father turns to me and calmly says
"You can't push them together, dear"
Mom nods
"I know, but I can't be the only one who thinks they are good together"
"Oh my Lord..."
I utter, completely embarassed
Part 2
"I'm so sorry about my mom"
As we are walking to the hallway towards the room where the youkais and the Jade Dragon are being kept
"She's just worried that I've never had a girlfriend and-"
Ayumu shakes her head
"No, no, it's fine, really"
Looking at Ayumu, I see that she's been avoiding looking at me for a while
"I really hope you're not uncomfortable..."
I say, embarassed
She shakes her head again
"N-no, I'm not uncomfortable, actually..."
Ayumu mumbles something under her breath
"What?"
I ask, but before she can answer, the guard accompanying us opened a door and bowed
"They are inside, please go in"
I take a long look at Ayumu before entering, she nods at me and I back to her before taking a deep breath and walking inside before her
"Holy shit..."
I say under my breath as I realize what this room is.
There's nothing here but several cells, each one with different types of creatures inside
"So that's where they keep their... pets?"
Ayumu asks unsure, but I'm too busy looking around to answer
That's when I remember the words of the wolf devil that Liliana and everyone killed
The one that had kidnapped Aya along with other youkais to serve as cannon fodder for the Khaos Brigade
Me and Ayumu begin to walk through the corridor, looking inside the cells
Every single youkai, monster and creature inside them has this vacant look in thei eyes and don't seem to react at all to our presence
"Brainwashed..."
It's clear that they already had their minds reprogramed by whatever magic Georg uses
I gulp down and grip my hand tight in anger
"Tachan, are you alright?" - Ayumu asks, concerned
I nod and answer her
"Aya-chan was supposed to be among these creatures"
Ayumu's eyes widened for a moment
"Oh... yeah, you're right..."
She looks around, a sad expression on her face
"That girl was a captured youkai wasn't she?"
"Yes..."
I reply, trying not to look directly at the vacant eyes of the creatures behind the cells
"They are going to use them as meatshields, grunts..."
Listening to my angered words, Ayumu turns to me
"It's sad, but we can't say anything about it can we?"
I frown at her remark
"You mean the research facilities?"
She nods
"We can't say much about those guys using inhumans as soldiers when we use them for our own research, can we? It's not like we make distinction of age either..."
The last part came with a hint of sadness from Ayumu
I sigh
"Right... I guess we can't..."
Even if the Esper Community doesn't use them like the Khaos Brigade does, we have the prisons and research facilities where captured non-humans are interrogated and subjected to experiments in order to further boost our understanding about them and the ways to fight them.
Because non-humans have absolutely zero rights once they become a target, the researchers have a blank check to do almost anything they wish to do. As such, tests are said to range from mostly harmless stuff to absolutely horrifying experiments that may even result in death.
Sometimes there were rogue espers who even tried such experiments on humans... Things didn't end well.
I hang my head and answer
"Even so, I still feel bad for them. I want to free them too"
"Free them too?"
Ayumu asks, I raise an eyebrown
"Of course, that's why we are here after all."
My red haired friend raises a hand, confused
"How? We can't just bust them out, your parents are outside, we don't even know where we are in the first place"
I smile and give her a thumbs up
"Don't worry, I already thought about it"
She seems confused, but shrugs as we start to approach the end of the room
"They really are far in the back..."
Ayumu says
I nod
"Guess they didn't had enough room to keep them at the front"
And at the end of it...
"Tachan, they are there!"
Ayumu says, glancing to the other end of the room
"Wow..." - I say, in shock
A row of cells with strange letters carved on the bars stood there, with the ones we should interrogate behind them
These cells are much larger than the ones before, likely custom made for the ones who would inhabit them.
Before I can say anything, a voice calls out
"Hey! You fuckers from the Hero Faction! Why don't you let me out of this cage so I can one-two that stupid face of yours?"
Behind one of the cells, a huge green dragon shouted at us while spewing fire from his mouth
"You're gonna just stand there, assholes?! Come over here so I can burn your mugs!"
The dragon does not stop shouting at us for even a moment.
I point towards it's cell
"I'm gonna take a wild shot here, but I guess that must be Yu-Long"
I say looking at a confused Ayumu
"So that is the legendary Jade Dragon?"
She says, arching an eyebrow
"Gotta say, that's not what I expected"
I nod
"Yeah, after a while you get used to these legendary beings not usually being how you expected them to be..."
Ayumu gives a quiet giggle and we approach the row of cells
"Let me out of here!" - The dragon shouts once we get close to it's prison
"Oh, shut up Yu-Long! I swear being placed across from your cell is worse than any torture Cao Cao could- Tatseyo?"
Recognizing me, the youkai on the cell across from the dragon calls my name
"Retsuza! Good to see you are still in one piece"
I greet the ferret-like humanoid, looking at me behind the bars
"Tatseyo?! Is he there?" - I hear another voice
I go the other two cells and see Kumowatari standing in the cage across from Magari
"Yes, right here"
I say, greeting them with Ayumu walking next to me
The lightning beast is the first one to speak
"Damn, we haven't been away from you guys from more than an hour but it already feels like an eternity, when will you guys get us out of here?"
"Out of here?"
I hear the dragon calling out
"What do you mean? I wanna get out of here too! Who the hell are you two?"
I answer while turning to the foul mouthed dragon
"My name is Tatseyo, this is Ayumu. I take it you are Yu-Long, the legendary Jade Dragon?"
The dragon's eyes seemed to light up when he heard the word 'legendary'
"Caham, yes! It is me! The Yu-Long, former guardian of rivers and Dragon King that accompained Tripitaka to deliver the Sutras of Budha himself to the West!"
All this pose... it really doesn't seem like the Yu-Long from Journey to the West at all
"You really don't seem like it"
Ayumu voices her opinion outloud, causing the dragon to glare towards her
"A-Ayumu!"
I exclamate, ready to scold her for disrespecting the Jade Dragon right after he described himself so fired up
"I-I... I knoooooooow!"
But to my surprise, the dragon begins to... whine?
"That legend is full of inconsistencies for the sake of story, but I was so cool on it, wasn't I?"
"Y-yes, you definitely were"
Even though in the story he's little more than a sidekick for Sun Wukong...
"Wasn't he... Ayumu?"
I nudge my red haired friend with my elbow
"A-ah! Y-yes, you were totally cool on it"
She goes along, massaging the dragon's ego
"Hahahaha! I was, wasn't I?"
He seems happy, so we just nod
I turn to look at Retzusa, standing at the cage across from him
The ferret gives me a thumbs up
I reply with a thumbs up of my own
Looks like winning the Jade Dragon's trust was easier than I thought it would
"Who is there? What is going on?"
A soft female voice calls out from another cell
Immediately, someone comes to my head
"Is that the...?"
Magari nods
"It's the Kyuubi" - She answers
"She was crying when she got here, I thought she had fallen asleep" - Retsuza says in a hushed tone
I turn to look at Ayumu
"We should talk to her"
My friend nods, hesitantly
We walk to the cell where the female voice came from
"H-hello?"
I greet
"Oh... who would you happen to be?"
Inside the cell, a woman stands and suddenly...
"I-I... we..."
I find myself tongue tied
Absolutely beautiful
The image that Georg showed us with his magic couldn't prepare me for this
The woman that stood up to greet us is an absolute beauty with silky blonde hair, golden eyes and a kimono that flatters a lot her curves, specially her-
"Ouch!"
I'm pulled out of my trance by a hot pain on the side of my body
"Why did you do that?!"
I ask Ayumu, who had just striked me with her fiery hands
"How can you be staring in a situation like this?!"
"I wasn't staring!"
I lied, I was staring...
"Hmpf, of course you weren't"
Ayumu groams and looks away from me
"Hmm, I'm sorry, but who are you two?"
The youkai woman asks again and I turn to her
"Ah, sorry... I am Tatseyo and this is Ayumu, you must be the Kyuubi, correct?"
Her fox ears and the nine tails sprouting from her back make it obvious, but I still ask out of politeness
"Indeed, I am Yasaka, the leader of the Kyoto youkais"
She looks at us with some aprehension, but speaks up after some hesitation
"I am sorry but... I thought I heard something about escaping?"
The Kyuubi cleans the corners of her eyes, it's obvious she has been crying, but this does little to diminish how beautiful she is.
"Yes, we actually have a plan to help you all out of here"
A confused expression appears on her face
"W-why would you?" - She asks
Ayumu turns to her, puzzled.
"You weren't listening to us?"
Yasaka's fox ears go down a little and her voice hesitates
"I was pondering over the things that happened, thinking about my people and... how my daughter must be feeling"
A weight goes down to my gut when I hear her say these words
"You have a daughter?"
I ask, shocked
"Cao Cao didn't said anything about this..."
Ayumu says, a bit troubled
The Kyuubi nods with a bitter expression on her face
"She's just a child, I'm very worried about her"
Ayumu looks back at me, I reply with a troubled look of my own
No wonder she wasn't listening to us
"I thought you two were just two members of the Hero Faction sent here to torment us, who are you two?"
She asks, me and Ayumu explain to her the same as we did to the Nurarihyon and the others
After clearing things out to her, the expression on the Kyuubi's face took a complete 180
"We are here to help"
Her eyes were glimering and she looked positively radiant
"I-is it true? You are allies of the Maou and Azazel?"
We nod
"Exactly, we'll get you out of here"
"Yes, I guess you could say we are" - Ayumu says
Tears start to gather in her eyes
"W-woah, what's wrong?"
She shakes her head
"Nothing, I'm just so happy"
"Ah, I see..."
Unsure of what to say, I turn to look at Ayumu, but she also looks taken back
This woman, she must have been under such a huge distress...
Thinking I should say something, I speak up
"H-hey, don't worry, we'll get you out of here. You'll get back to your people, to your daughter, everyone will be okay, alright?"
The golden haired woman wipes away her tears and apologizes
"I'm sorry, thank you. Thank you two so very much"
She gives us a beaming smile as she thanks us, throwing me off for a moment
"Ouch!"
Untill I'm hit at the side of my body once again
"Could you stop that?!"
"Tsk"
Ayumu clicks her tongue turning her head away from me, causing the Kyuubi to laugh a little
"I hate to interrupt this tender moment, but how are you going to get us outta here exactly?"
Before we can say anything else, Magari asks
I walk up to her cell
"That's simple, I'll explain... but first I think I have to deliver the bad news for you."
Magari seems confused at my remark
"Nyah? What do you mean, something happened?"
I nod bitterly and look at Ayumu
"I'm afraid... they are still after the Nurarihyon"
The cat youkai's expression turns sour at my remark
"What do you mean?"
Confusion seems to have ignited in her eyes
"What do you mean by that?!"
Kumowatari and Retzusa ask loudly, making me glad their cells are so far back into the room
"Cao Cao said to me that they have an inside source in the Esper Community, one of our own working with them. It seems that this person was the one after the Nurarihyon, not Cao Cao"
"W-what?" - They say
"So the leader of the East faction managed to escape?"
Yasaka asks and I nod troubled
"We were able to help him escape, but apparently, whoever Cao Cao's contact in the Community may be, they are after the Nurarihyon and that person has him on such a grip that he won't reveal anything about this esper to us"
Ayumu speaks up
"But the good news is that we don't know for sure if the Nurarihyon has been captured or not, there's still a chance he may have escaped" - She states
"Ayumu is right, with the information we currently have it's unknown if he has been captured or not, but either way, the solution we have right now is the same"
The youkais seem confused at my remark
"What do you mean by the same?" - Magari asks
"Even if the Nurarihyon has been captured, what do you expect to do? Escaping here isn't an option, me and Ayumu don't even know where we are and how to get out without Georg's assistance, there's also the problem with my mom and dad, with them outside we wouldn't be able to get out anyway"
"Woah, woah, woah, hold it in there"
Yu-Long interjects in my explanation
"That black haired dude is your father?!"
He asks
"O-oh... right, yeah, he is"
The Jade Dragon looks at me, confused
"And you said your mother is there too? Is she like him?"
Me and Ayumu look at each other
"She's worse..."
"So much worse..."
"She is... a curious person"
The Kyuubi also answers the dragon's question with a troubled expression
The Jade Dragon gets a pensative look on his face for a while
"Uhm..."
"What is it, Yu-Long?"
Kumowatari asks
"We won't manage to escape" - The dragon immediately replies
"Don't give up so easily!"
Retzusa reprimands him
"You don't know how scary they are! I ended up with a bump in my head because of that guy!"
"You're a Dragon King! Act like one!"
Kumowatari lashes out
"I'd rather be a living lizard than a dead dragon king!"
While Yu-Long is arguing with the other two youkais, Magari and Yasaka are looking at us with a serious look
"Is there really no other way?" - Magari asks
I nod
"Unfortunately, but there's still good news"
She raises an eyebrow
"Which I deduce is your plan to escape?"
"Precisely"
I answer and then look at the dragon and other two youkais
"How did you even managed to join Sun Wukong?"
"Yeah, you are too different from the legend!"
"It changed a lot of things but I'm still cool!"
They're still complaining...
But before I can say anything, a shout echoes
"You three! Pay attention!"
Magari yells at them and the three creatures turn to her
"A-ah, sorry, Magari"
"We got caught up"
"S-sorry."
Even Yu-Long apologized to the cat youkai
"Tatseyo is going to tell us his plan, listen up because it seems this will be our best chance to escape"
I look back at the cat youkai impressed, it seems her words still carry weight even without the Nurarihyon around
"R-right, well, Cao Cao told us he plans to make his big experiment on Nijou Castle the day after tomorrow, it will take that long to make the preparations he needs to do, which include brainwashing all of you"
"W-what?"
"That bastard..."
I hear Retsuza and Kumowatari complain
"Tsk, I should know they would try something like that"
"That is terrible"
Magari and Yasaka complain
I raise my finger and point to the blonde youkai
"Specially you, Yasaka-san"
She nods at my remark
"So I heard, they are planning to use me to manipulate Kyoto's laylines, aren't they?"
"Exactly, somehow they believe with your power over Kyoto they can summon Great Red and kill it"
Suddenly, the expression on her face changes
"Kill Great Red?!"
She exclaims
"H-how would they even do such a thing?"
I shake my head
"No idea, we still haven't figured it out, but whatever it is, they are confident"
Yasaka has a serious expression on her face
"To use Kyoto for such a horrible thing, it's unforgivable..."
She says
Magari smirks
"Finally the West and East factions agree on something"
Yasaka gives a giggle
"Indeed, I hope by the end of this we can mend the relations between the two factions"
The cat youkai nods
"Let's focus on getting out of here first, so, what is your plan?"
She asks
"Of course, well... to begin with I have to say you will not like the first step"
They seem confused at my statement
"What do you mean?"
Magari asks, urging me to go on
"Because for this plan to work, you're all gonna have to be brainwashed"
"""What?!"""
Kumowatari, Retsuza and Yu-Long exclaim at the same time
"Why do we have to do this?!"
The lightning beast complains
"Calm down, I believe that Tatseyo must have an explanation for this"
Magari tries to settle the others and asks me to continue
"It is necessary, as we already said, leaving this place in the current situation is impossible and the only way they will let you guys out of here is if you are under their control"
"But if we are under their control, then how are we supposed to escape?"
Retsuza asks
"That's where the good part begins'
I reply with a smile
"Good part?"
Ayumu questions me
I lift a finger
"Remember what Cao Cao said about Nijo castle?"
Ayumu placed a hand under her chin
"He said they will use the Kyuubi to do some kind of experiment"
She says and I agree
"Exactly, they will brainwash the Kyuubi and the others, probably to use them in the experiment as well, so all we have to do is to be at the experiment and undo the hypnosis right there"
Ayumu's eyes light up when I said that
"I see! That might work!"
She says this, but Magari looks at me, suspicious
"Are you sure this will work? Would they really take all of us to this experiment of theirs?"
I nod
"It seems like he will do it, this experiment seems like some grand, long planned scheme of his, I believe he'll use all firepower available to make it a success. But in case he doesn't, we'll manage to convice him. Once they start whatever ritual they plan, we will break the brainwashing and then..."
I smirk
"We're gonna give them a really good scare"
The youkais around us begin to smile as well
"Wohooo! That's what I'm talking about! Let's kick their asses to kingdom come!"
Yu-Long shouted energetically, causing laughter to erupt amongst the youkais
"The Jade Dragon is right, alright Tatseyo, Ayumu, if that's what it takes then I'll let those fuckers brainwash me. What about you, Magari, Retsuza, Lady Kyuubi?"
Kumowatari asks them
"You can count on me!" - Retsuza answers fired up
Magari smiles with her large cat teeth
"We'll be counting on you two"
Last of all we turn to the queen of Kyoto, Yasaka-san
Her expression is much better now, the overwhelming sadness darkening her features moments earlier was no longer there
She gave us a calm smile
"I understand, if that is the best option we currently have then I agree with it"
I smile and celebrate on the inside
"Tachan, are you sure we'll be able to break the brainwash when it comes the time?"
Ayumu interjects, I shrug
"I think we can, depending on the method they use it might be a bit difficult since it's magic we are talking about and espers can't do it, but if we have any doubts I think Rossweisse can help us or better yet, we could just ask Georg, if he thinks we are on his side he might just outright explain his method to us"
My redhead friend takes a hand to her chin and nods
"You're right, well, I don't think it'd be much difficult to begin with. If we can break the Nurarihyon's hypnosis, we can break through whatever tricks that magician uses."
After having her doubt answered, everyone in the room seemed satisfied
"Well, we passed enough time here, they might get suspicious if we take too long"
Me and Ayumu turn to leave, but I stop to say something before we do
"I'll also try to gather any information I can on the Nurarihyon, don't worry, if there's anything we can do to help, we'll do it"
Magari nods
"Thank you, we'll be counting on you"
"No problem, well, see you all in two days"
I say goodbye, but a voice stops us
"Wait, you two"
The Kyuubi calls out to us
"What is it, Yasaka-san?"
I ask, the fox youkai closes her eyes for a moment.
"You two are with the Maou and Azazel, right? In that case... could you pass a message?"
We look at eachother, I look back at Yasaka and nod
"Sure, what is it about?"
"It's... for my daughter"
I'm taken back for a moment
"Ah... of course, w-what is it about?"
I hesitate, the light of her golden eyes for a moment reminded me of Liliana...
She looks at us with a sad expression
"Tell her to be strong, tell her that everything is going to be fine. Even if me and her father aren't around, she must have the strength to give hope to our people while I'm not there and that soon we will be together again."
She finishes the sentence and pauses for a moment before asking, the other youkais and even Yu-Long look back at ther with a serious expression
I have no idea of who her daughter is, but I can only imagine the suffering of a child who doesn't know what has happened to her mother
"Could you say that to her?"
I nod
"O-of course, I don't know if we'll be able to meet your daughter, but I'll be sure to give this message to Azazel"
The Kyuubi nods with a satisfied expression
"Thank you, with this I'll be able to rest a little easier"
I hesitate for a moment, something she said struck a chord in my brain, but I don't know if it's something appropriate to ask in a situation like this
"Tachan? Is something the matter?"
I shake my head
"N-no, it's nothing..."
The two youkai women look at each other and smile
"You know, you're not half bad, queen Kyuubi, after we're outta of here I'm gonna take you on a tour around Kanto so we can drink away!"
The Kyuubi gives a gracious giggle
"My, my, we should get out of here as soon as possible then"
Everyone else laughs, except me and Ayumu
I give a nervous laugh to disguise my nervousness while my friend is looking at me with a concerned expression
I know what she wants to say, but also that she won't say it here
"We'll be going then,after Georg brainwashes you, next time you wake up, be ready to kick their asses"
A last encouraging phrase before we finally part away from the room.
Right after the door closes, Ayumu whispers to me
"Tachan... that fox's husband-"
I place a hand against my forehead
"I know, Ayumu... I know"
I stop her midsentence
"Let's just... not discuss it now"
Ayumu looks at me, worried, but nods
"A-alright"
I turn to her and say
"I'm sorry... it's just, I have too much in my head right now and both of us have a lot to do. Let's go to the meeting room before they come looking for us"
I suggest and we walk back to the talk to mom, dad and the members of the Hero Faction
Part 3
"In the end they didn't give us anything"
Cao Cao sighs
"I saw that coming, in the end brainwashing is the only way"
We reluctantly agree
"You're going to be using all of them in your experiment?"
I ask, trying to see if my plan will require any convincing, but Cao Cao nods
"Indeed, we'll use all the help we can, specially considering the visits we are going to get, kukukuku"
He gives a laughter filled with malice, but instead of any fear, I felt more confused
"V-visitors?"
Cao Cao nods with a smile
"Of course, after all, who better to witness the fall of Great Red than our old devil friends?"
"W-what?!"
I asked upon hearing Cao Cao's crazy statement
"You want to have the devils and Azazel in there?"
Ayumu asked, surprised
The leader of the hero faction happily agreed
"Correct, we plan on taking them all down on Nijo castle as well"
We both look at Cao Cao
"That's crazy, it's going to expose all of us!"
I say angrily, I was really not expecting this lunatic to try something so bold
This time, it's mom that speaks up
"Not if they are all dead"
Mom's statement causes Cao Cao to smile and my eyes to widen
"Exactly" - He taps the spear on his shoulder
It's then that I realize me and Ayumu were not the only ones talking behind the scenes
While we were discussing with the youkais and Yu-Long, Cao Cao and the Hero Faction were plotting something much more sinister with my parents
"We are going to destroy all the supernatural forces in Kyoto along with Great Red"
I furrow my eyebrows, confused and nervous at what he could have meant
Cao Cao nods to Georg, who then creates another projection, this time it's a map of Kyoto, with a red circle on it
"This is Nijo castle" - Cao Cao says, poiting to the red spot
"The moment we set the first preparations in there, the whole place will start bursting with energy."
The red dot starts emiting a wave pattern like it's a wi-fi router.
"And then the forces of the Alliance will definitely try to come after us"
I raise my eyebrows, finally starting to understand his logic
"You are preparing to receive a strike team from the Alliance at Nijo Castle"
Cao Cao nods at my affirmation, but raises a finger
"Correct, but not all, you see, in a normal situation, the Alliance would not be able to march in Kyoto, due to it not being a part of them and all that, so we would only need to concern ourselves with that strike team. However, considering that we have captured their most important leader, it is safe to assume that the remaning top members of the Kyoto faction will likely let the alliance do anything in order to recover her and that's why we're going to be inviting the Gremory group to fight against us"
I take a hand to my chin, Ayumu seems confused, but she's nodding her head doing her best to keep up
"I see... so you're planning on luring the Gremory group to the Nijo castle?"
She asks
"What about the rest of the forces?"
I speak up
Cao Cao happily nods and points to the map, this time another point shows up along with red arrows beneath and above the map
"The Gremory group will likely be sent to deal with us due to their proximity to the leaders of the factions and the fact that they have the Sekiryuutei in their group, I wouldn't doubt the host of Vritra also being there. But to make sure no one else will try to wreck our little party, we're going to make a few operations to guarantee their forces will be divided"
Georg clicks his fingers and another map appears to us, it's a map of Japan with several cities highlighted
"We have made a deal with the Old Maou faction and their remaining groups will cause riots in devil-controled towns both in the human world and underworld, that should keep the underworld forces busy..."
Mother clicks her tongue at his remark
"Are we really going to rely on devils and fallen angels for this?"
If it's mother, she definitely doesn't want to be involved with creature from the underworld, even remotely.
Cao Cao has a troubled expression
"W-well, we're gonna need them if we want the plan to work, besides it's not like you'll be meeting any of them and also, they will all be fighting devils and other non-humans. So think of it as a monster vs monster situation, no matter who wins, it's our profit, right?"
At his reasoning, mother gives a half-hearted nod
"Uhm...yeah, I guess"
This seems to be enough for Cao Cao, who asks Georg to return to the map of Kyoto and this time points to the arrows at the upper and lower part of the map
"Meanwhile, our own forces will raid Kyoto from the north and south, aiming to destroy as many inhumans as we can"
I narrow my eyes, so this is his objective... to divide the alliance's forces so they can't all focus on him. This guy is good.
While looking at the map, it finally dawns onto me
The second red dot, I know where that is
"That place... it's Sirzechs hotel?"
I ask, trying to mask the shaking in my voice
Ayumu, who is by my side, sounds surprised
"W-what? Is it?" - She also questions
Cao Cao seems surprised, but nods
"Oh, so you noticed? Yes, that is Sirzechs hotel, knowing it's value as a strategic target it's likely there will be forces of the Alliance defending it. So the forces of the Southern front will aim for Urakyoto while the Northern Front will be sent to attack th hotel"
I raise my fist in protest
"Are you insane?! There are people in there! Civilians, teachers and students for God's sake!"
A bit more rage than I intended to show escaped in my voice, causing the other members to look at me, surprised
Cao Cao regains his composure quickly, however and explains
"I know you would worry about that, but have a little more faith on us Tatseyo."
He says with a cocky smile
"We won't let the civilians get hurt, hell, we won't let them even see us. The inhumans themselves wouldn't allow that to happen, so you don't have to worry about that"
He taps again that spear on his shoulder and the next words to leave his mouth cause my blood to boil
"After all, we are heroes, we would never let people get hurt"
!
At that moment, I feel something snap inside of me
This asshole
Even though he's doing experiments on people and not caring if they die
Even though he's brainwashing people and putting curses that kill them if they fail him
He's still acting like he's the fucking hero, with this obnoxious smile and stupid cocky attitude
I bite my lip, hard, to the point where I think it's going to bleed at any moment and clench my fists so hard the nails dig into my hand
But it's the only way I can hold back from shouting at this bastard, the only way I can hold back from punching his fucking face right here
"A-are you alright?"
I hear he ask, but I do not answer, I cannot answer
If I say anything, I know I'll regret it
"Son? Is everything, okay?"
I hear mom and dad asking me, but I still hold my words back, not daring to speak
Then I feel a hand on my shoulder, taking me by surprise and causing me to lose my self-punishing grip
"Tachan? Are you okay?"
Ayumu looks up at me and her eyes filled with concern brings me back to my senses
I can't let myself lose my cool now, if I do anything reckless this whole operation down the drain
"N-nothing, sorry Ayumu, everyone"
I squeeze back Ayumu's hand as she takes it away from my shoulder, still worried
"I think the lack of sleep is starting to get to me, maybe we should go back to the hotel"
Despite the confused looks from my parents and everyone else, Cao Cao nods
"I-I see, well, we are at the end of this meeting anyway."
My mother waves her hand
"So you have three fronts, one in Nijo castle, one in north aiming for the Hotel and one in the South?"
Cao Cao nods
"Indeed, me and all my executives currently present will be at Nijo Castle, which means we're going to split you all... once again"
Mom and dad seem to agree
"I see..."
For a moment, I feel nervous
Is he going to say we're gonna have to fight in the North or South front? That would be really bad
But then I take a moment to think about it and then it dawns on me
"Me and Ayumu will be on the Nijo Castle group, correct?"
When I say this, Cao Cao nods with a surprised but happy expression
"Correct, very well, so you noticed it, huh?"
Ayumu seems a bit confused
"Noticed? What did you noticed?"
She asks me
"Cao Cao said he doesn't intend on ruining our disguises, which means that he probably intends on us to keep pretending we are on the side of the Alliance untill the very moment of battle."
The leader of the Hero Faction nods, impressed
"Indeed! Very correct, you two raised quite an inteligent kid"
He says, looking at mom and dad
Ayumu thinks for a moment, untill it seems she understood
"I see... we are the strongest members they have in Kyoto right now, so if they will definitely send us to deal with the situation"
"You got it, well, even if they don't ask I would insist anyway"
I answer with a shrug, causing Cao Cao to laugh
"You likely won't need to insist, with the way things are we have already deviced the strategy for how we are going to deal with them"
Father nods
"So me and my wife are going to have to fight again? Ahh, already?"
Mom slaps the table
"Stop whining!"
She scolds him before turning to Cao Cao
"So, how is it going to be?"
Another annoying smile appears on his face
"Well, since me and my generals will all be busy we likely won't be able to communicate. So meanwhile, Lady Tatsumaki and Kageyama-san, I'll leave in the care of two of my most trusted lieutenants."
He turns around and from the corners of the room, two figures emerge from the shadows
"It was about time"
"I was itching for our chance to take the spotlight, boss"
The figures who appeared from the darkness couldn't be more different
One was a handsome young man with curly blonde hair appearing to be in his early twenties, despite his short stature he had a strong built body that could be noticed even from the bronze armour he was wearing, his skin was slightly less tanned than Ayumu and his intense glare was highlighted his different colored eyes, one blue and the other brown. A confident, strong and almost radiant aura was coming out of him.
The other one didn't looked much older than me or Ayumu, his figure was lanky and his skin was pale, he was just a few inches taller than his friend, still shorter than Ayumu. His sharp blueish-grey eyes seemed to be analyzing everyone in the room. He wore a blue military uniform that appeared to be from the 1800's. His aura was as strong as his friend, but much colder, it made the short young man look much more intimidating than he should.
Cao Cao extended a hand and introduced us to his lieutenants.
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting, meet Lady Tatsumaki, Kageyama-san, Tatseyo and Ayumu Yatsushiro, they will be our allies with the experiment we are about to make"
My jaw almost hits the floor when I hear their names
"Lady Tatsumaki, Kageyama-san, please say hello to Alexander and Napoleon, they will be leading the units who will be attacking the North and Southern fronts"
"Alexander? Napoleon?"
I ask in disbelieve
By now, I shouldn't be surprised with all this people inheriting the souls of legendary heroes, but these names are enough to catch anyone off guard
This causes the members of the Hero Faction to laugh a little
"Indeed, the ones who have the souls of Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte, these two are our best strategists and they will be guiding the two of you in battle"
Mom seems confused and gives an annoyed answer
"Guiding us? Really? We just defeated god class opponents what can these two help us with anyway?"
Dad sighs and answers
"Honey, please, they are just trying to help us..."
"I know, but do we really need all that help?"
Despite mother's rude remark, the two men who just presented themselves laughed
"We are very aware of your accomplishments and your power, Lady Tatsumaki. However, please allow us to explain the situation"
Alexander spoke up before approaching Georg
"If you don't mind Georg, could you show us the prediction of how we intend to split the forces?"
Georg nods and the projection changes, the arrows simply indicating the North and Southern fronts were now divided into several different groups, with red, blue and black flags
"Unlike your fights with the Kyuubi and Sun Wukong, this is going to be a full scale battle, we're gonna have to fight in multiple places at once, which means that even if one of you is in the South and the other in the North, you won't be able to aid all the platoons at once"
His reasoning seems about right, from what we can see there will be multiple squads from the Hero Faction all over North and South Kyoto, even if its mom and dad, they won't be able to cover all this ground at once.
But mom still doesn't seem convinced
"W-well, couldn't we just find a way to gather then all in a single place for us to take down?"
"That wouldn't be wise"
This time, it was Napoleon that answered
"Uh? Why not?"
Mom asks confused, the young boy nods
"We are all impressed with your power Lady Tatsumaki, with all of you actually"
He states while raising a finger
"You have defeated the great hero Arjuna and by what I heard, drove him to the brink of death, Kageyama-san has done a legendary feat defeating Sun Wukong and Yu-Long together while Tatseyo and Ayumu have captured basically all of the top branch of the East youkai faction by themselves, all of this leaves to us with no doubt regarding how powerful and capable you all are. However, that's also true for our enemies"
He emphazises the last part, causing both my mom and dad's expressions to change
These guys really are thinking ahead
"Sun Wukong has escaped, we couldn't capture Arjuna to avoid Sakra's wrath and the Nurarihyon escaped as far as we know. This means that as we speak all the factions are probably aware of your power as well and will definitely prepare something to try and catch you off guard"
Napoleon continues
"At first, we had the element of surprise, but in two days there is no way to accurately tell what the Alliance will have in store for all of you"
The short young man graciously speaks to my mother
"It is precisely because of how powerful you are, that we know the factions will spare no effort or expense in trying to stop you, that's why please allow us to be of some help to you in this glorious mission"
When he finishes speaking, mom has a troubled expression while dad looks seriously at her
"He's right dear..."
He addresses mom, worried
She now has a serious expression and gives a reluctant nod
"M-mou! Alright, I got it! I can be stubborn but I'm not dumb, so far no esper has ever fought against a Maou, so I won't be taking chances, but you all better prove useful!"
Alexander and Napoleon nod with a satisfied smile
"You can count on us"
"We'll definitely prove to you the strength of heroes!"
They say as Cao Cao looks at them with a proud smile
I look at Ayumu and she has the same troubled look I have at my face, these two aren't good news
It's good that mom and dad won't be there when we break Yu-Long and the other youkais free of their brainwashing, but this also means we won't be there to try to convince mom and dad to stop.
"All that's left is for us to decide where we'll go"
Napoleon says, Alexander looks at the map and replies
"By what we have gathered, Azazel is living on the hotel with the Gremory and Sitri groups, which means he'll likely go on the fight against the northen front and the Maou Leviathan will likely head to the south."
"So... Lady Tatsumaki and Kageyama-san, where would you like to fight"
Mom suddenly smiled and replied decisively
"The Maou is mine, so far no esper can claim they have fought one of the Maous. I've always wanted to see how one fares on a fight"
Dad sighs and slouches over the table
"Guess I'll take the Fallen Angel governor then, hope he is less of a pain than the monkey..."
He says demotivated, Cao Cao then claps his hands
"Then it's decided, Lady Tatsumaki and Napoleon will lead the invasion to the south while Alexander and Kageyama-san will aim for the hotel in the north. Meanwhile, Tatseyo and Ayumu will be with us ready to take down the strike force the Alliance will send to Nijo castle"
Everyone seems to agree with the decision, a sickening smile appears on Cao Cao's face
"I can't wait to see the expression on their faces when they realize you've been working for us all along"
The other members laugh, Ayumu gives a nervous laughter but I can only give a forced smile
"Well, you probably should return by now"
Cao Cao tells to me and Ayumu
"Enjoy the trip and rest before we go to battle"
The two of us look at eachother
"So that will be everything?"
I ask
"Yes, I think that is everything. Just wait for our invitation"
He then smiles
"We'll be sure to make an impression strong enough that the Gremory and Sitri group will come after us"
This causes the rest of the Hero Faction to laugh and a sickening feeling to reach my stomach
Me and Ayumu step in the teleportation circle, ready to return to the hotel before the sun rises
"We'll be staying here untill the day comes, see you soon, son"
Mom tells me and father nods
"You two stay safe in there"
I nod back
"Thanks mom, father"
Ayumu says
"Since you two will be in Kyoto and the two of us in Nijo castle guess that's the last time we'll be seeing each other before the battle is over, huh?"
Cao Cao places a hand on his chin
"Well, we can still use magic for communication if you wanna talk before though..."
He says, but I understand what Ayumu actually meant by it
If mom and dad won't leave the side of the Hero Faction untill the end of the invasion, then we won't have a chance to convince them to come to our side
At least without their interference...
"Then Lady Tatsumaki, Kageyama-san, see you all later"
Ayumu waves at them
"You can call me Tatsumaki"
Mom says, causing Ayumu's eyes to go wide
"W-w-what?"
"Mom?"
Both of us asked, absolutely stunned, even father looked surprised at mother
She just shrugged
"You have been friends with my son for a decade, it feels weird for you to keep using honorifics"
Despite the nonchalant response, father smiled
"My dear is right, you can call me Shigeo too, alright?"
I look at Ayumu, her face totally red
"Y-yes! Thank you very much!"
Ayumu bowed and I smiled, even with all the bad stuff, at least this helped to bring my parents and Ayumu closer
But before Georg teleports us back, mom gives a thumbs up
"So take good care of my son, will you?"
Ayumu's face blushes incredibly red
"M-mom!"
I exclamate
"You too kid, Ayumu's a good girl, tke care of her too, alright?"
"D-dad?! You too?"
I ask, feeeling my own face get hotter
"""""B-bahahahahahaha!""""
This caused the members of the Hero Faction to burst in laughter, as if I wasn't embarassed enough this makes me want to shove my head in a hole
"See you kids in the other side"
"Till then, Tatseyo, Ayumu"
Mom and dad say their goodbyes
"Bye mom, bye dad"
"Bye T-Tatsumaki, Shigeo"
Ayumu says her farewell with a smile, before we are enveloped by the light of the spell
Moments later, we find ourselves back in my room, as if we hadn't left
The moon was still in the sky, but in the watch it was much later than when we left
I took a deep breath
"That was... intense"
I say to Ayumu, who's still looking at the floor, blushing with a silly smile on her face
This causes me to smile myself, she seems very happy at what mom and dad said
"Yeah... very intense, but I'm happy"
She raises her head and tries to look seriously at me
"But what do we do now?"
I think for a second and look at the clock
"They are probably gonna get pissed at us for this, but we gonna have to wake everyone up. Even if it's late, I think what just happened justifies it"
Ayumu nods and I pick my phone up
"Who you're gonna call?"
I sigh as I type the number on the screen
"Before Azazel, I think she's the one we need to warn about it first"
The phone rings a few times before someone answers
"Tatseyo?"
I expected a drowsy, sleepy voice to answer on the other side, but the girl that answered seemed fully awake.
"Hello, Liliana, are you up?"
"Y-yes, but what happened? Why are you calling so late?"
I take a deep sigh, preparing myself for the long explanation I'm about to give
"You're not gonna believe what you're about to hear..."
Afterword: Thanks for reading! Sorry for taking so long to post this one, but this chapter was hard to writte, seriously, I really need to get better at writting exposition heavy chapters, there were scenes in here that I had to rewrite multiple times, but thankfully it's over. BTW did you knew that Alexander the Great was about 152 cm while Napoleon was 168? Turns out the Corsican midget was taller than the Great conqueror, also, Alexander had heterochromia. I discovered this while researching for this story, the more you know.
Now to the reader's comments:
I'm glad the reaction to Kuriko and the Caretaker was positive, if someone has not noticed, they will be the main villains for most of the story and I'm putting a lot or work on them, a hero is only as good as the enemies they face after all. And yes, this story is supposd to have a philosophy, I obviously can't reveal it now because it would spoil everything, but I do want to give some "lesson" or "insight" by the end.
About Harry Dresden, I had no idea this series even existed, but you are right, his Infriga spell is very similar to what Tatseyo did and his Forzare spell is basically telekinesis. I read the wikia page and it made me interested in reading the books