Chapter 1: Issue #1-Nature Trail To Diyu
Chapter Text
Five rising peaks that challenges the heavens with its hubris, the Western Mountain of Mount Hua was scaled via a large incline path by thirteen individuals. A redhaired faux-celestial being awaited them at the summit, having elected to fly instead of uselessly hike with them even for solidarity reasons. Quanxi, Tsugihagi, Cosmo and an exhausted Pingtsi led the pack while the others followed their trail, Denji sticking next to Long up front.
"So this place has five peaks?" Denji questioned as he walked alongside her, bag over his shoulder.
"That's right...we thought it had three but we found two more." Long explained.
"Wow...thought mountains would be colder." Denji noted as they kept hiking up.
"Well, we'll only be here for a day...we're leaving later tonight." Long replied. "You're lucky we got the assignment after July. It would have been raining this whole time."
"So we'll be in a temple all day?" Denji asked as they neared the summit.
"Shrine of the Western Peak...been there for over 2000 years." Long confirmed. "People believe the Hell Devil used to live here but no...this was the place where the Life Devil banged some chick."
"Oh..." Denji pondered on the past screwing as two women walked behind, one towering over the other as she does to so many others.
"You don't want to walk up there with Denji?" Tendo prodded Reze, the latter holding a bag on each shoulder.
"Hm? Oh no, I spent enough time with him on his birthday...and if we just stuck together all the time, we'd just get bored." Reze smiled as she looked up at her. "Friends need their space too, you know."
"I guess...but if you weren't walking with him, I figured you be with Asa." Tendo sighed. "I saw you double back for her luggage...should have thought of that with Kobeni. Would have walked with her too but she wanted to stick with Himeno along with Hayakawa."
"You know our Arsenal, she's the stubborn type you gotta strike when she's weak." Reze smirked. "It's why she's my ultimate goal."
Behind those two were a sullen Asa, a sunny Yuko and a neutral Yoshida, the former glaring a hole through the back of Reze's head.
"What are they even talking about...I've never seen them talk about anything before." Asa grouched as Yuko looked over.
"I dunno...probably about life or something? Maybe the mission?" Yuko suggested, flopping down her hoodie's top with her neck.
"Sounds a little improbable for them both..." Yoshida snarked gently. "Asa, I'm sure Reze would be honored to have you ask her directly instead of assuming several feet behind her."
"I could do that...or...Yuko, go up to them and find out what they're talking about." Asa ordered.
"Okay!" Yuko trotted ahead to join the two up front as Asa and Yoshida watched.
"She seems to have recovered quickly.: He pointed out. "I thought she would want to sit this mission out because of how red her eyes looked yesterday."
"She couldn't even sleep in her own room last night...but she likes to look on the bright side of things so I think the worst is over." Asa put a hand on her shoulder to crack it. "I'm not looking forward to supporting her through the rest of the grieving process...I didn't even like Power and I'm supposed to be upset that she's gone? Even in death, she finds a way to bug me..."
"A rather...candid way of venting, Miss Mitaka." Yoshida seemed to suppress an ill-timed chuckle. "I'm surprised you chose me to open up to."
"Well, you're far enough outside of the circle that I have plausible deniability in case you try to tattle to anyone else about how I really feel..." Asa exhaled while stretching out her back. "And I know that you didn't care about her either."
"How Macheviavellian...you know, I always regretted not spending more time with you in Japan. We actually share a lot of similar views now that I think about it."
"...Are you coming on to me? Is this really the time or the place to experiment with your orientation?" Asa sneered.
"Experiment? And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Come on...we all know." She answered, evoking a sly smile from the boy next to her.
Reaching the summit, the group made a semi-circle around Quanxi and her women, standing before the temple.
"Keep an eye on your bags and don't leave any trash...I don't need the digs at my reputation." Quanxi commanded. "Tsugihagi, Pingtsi and I will check out the inside for recon. You guys stay on the stairs until we come out."
"And don't break anything out here...I'm not going in but I have soft spot for places of worship." Angel added before walking to sit back on the steps.
"Aye aye!" Denji saluted as the five entered, joining the rest as they headed to the stairs to begin their early morning pre-packaged brunches. As Kobeni and Aki looked on, Himeno looked over the cliff, attracting their attention.
"How far do you think a loogie would last from this height? Ah, I shouldn't do this outside a temple but the Call of the Void, you know...is that what it means?" Himeno rubbed the back of her head before turning to beam at her two former students. Aki and Kobeni shared a knowing gaze before the latter walked ahead, embracing Himeno tightly to the latter's initial confusion. "What...Kobeni, is this the best place to come onto me? I think Angel will get mad about us desecrating a sacred spot with our juices..."
Kobeni didn't answer, simply clinging onto Himeno even tighter.
"...God, do you know how fucking pathetic this is? To be pitied by your own student?" Himeno scolded quietly before beginning to tremble, wrapping her arms back around Kobeni as Aki approached them both. "I should be used to it...losing family. My sister's bloodline should be completely wiped out by now, I seen everybody carrying my DNA die up to Kishibe...I barely spent any time with Power so I don't have a right to cry over her! Kishibe loved her more than anything...and I think losing her might be the thing that kills him. I'm going to...be alone again...and there'll be no one left to mourn me when I leave. Isn't that horrible? That I'm afraid of that than losing them forever?"
She buried her face in Kobeni's shoulder, sobbing as Aki stood close by. After a minute, Himeno kept her face in Kobeni's neck while the slightly smaller woman petted her hair.
"You two...are more than I can ever ask for." Himeno said, muffled in a blushing Kobeni's shoulder...as she squeezed both hers and Aki's rears.
"Okay." Aki shoved her hands away as they turned back to the group pretending not to watch. A merciful few seconds later, the five exited the temple with a tall, lanky man with short hair, faint eyebrows, bags under his eyes, a beginning of stubble and a mole on his forehead.
"Welcome to my family's temple." He tiredly greeted everyone. "My name is Tamaoki Shan...I'll be the guide for the day."
Chapter 2: Issue #2-Feel Around With Your Hands
Summary:
Everybody gets clued in...and gets lost.
Notes:
Things hit the thick and the plot gets underway. Also, Tamaoki! There he is!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"This place is huge...but it doesn't look big enough to contain several generations." Quanxi noted as she and the others were led through the sprawling, empty-seeming interior of the ancient temple. Marble floors, small windows, no iconography...it seemed more like a warehouse than a place of worship.
"It's bigger than it looks on the outside...we make it that way, I guess." Tamaoki lethargically explained as the group carefully stepped through the dimmed area, heading towards the back area. Looking around, Kobeni spotted a smiling little girl with short bobbed hair wearing a purple kimono standing against the wall...but, upon blinking, she was gone. "The rest are down this way...we're not all that good with strangers so I'm the only one sent out to deal with them."
"Hm...you go on ahead and tell them we're here. When you're ready, circle back and pick me up." Quanxi instructed.
"Right..." Tamaoki lurched on through the open doorway into the seeming abyss, the others watching on with varying levels of rapt attention.
"With how small this place looks, it's like you didn't even need us here...waste of a break, actually." Aki broke the silence, speaking up while scratching his neck. "Honestly, we got too many people here for a simple assassination mission."
"Dunno...depends on how many people there are in here. Report says ten but there could be more." Quanxi looked back at them, her face as stolid as ever. "Aside from the children, every member of the Shan family has been marked for death. The rest will be delivered to the Taiwanese government for detainment."
***
"A genocide...we agreed to participate in a genocide." Aki spoke in disbelief, the others minus Quanxi and her women left to inspect the temple's front interior aimlessly. "Are we going to just let her do this? It's monstrous...it's borderline the exact same thing the Immortal Brothers did to me!"
"I'm sorry, when you planned this field trip, did you think we were going on a hiking trip for enlightenment?" Himeno scolded testily, Aki darting his eyes in the vague direction of her voice. "Or are you suddenly squeamish about doing what's been your job for years?"
"This...wasn't my job..." Aki hesitantly defended, a hand being placed on his shoulder.
"I'm being a bitch...listen, these guys...they're surviving descendants of a bloodline Quanxi fought in the past: the Darkness Devil." Himeno explained, clutching him. "It's dirty business even if they were scum but people like this...there's too much risk in keeping them alive. You fought the Falling Devil descendant directly...you know how bad they can get. The kids will be looked after...I'll be up Quanxi's ass to keep an eye on them, make sure they don't turn out like...you know, her."
"So these people...are slated for death just for being born?" Aki replied, unable to talk without using his teeth as a filter.
"That's the way it's always been, doggy...you know that." Himeno tried to comfort, feeling his fists beginning to clench without seeing it...before Quanxi was heard walking out, her women and Tamaoki following her out.
"I got this place memorized...you guys can head back out. I don't want you getting lost in here...I'll beep you in when there's an emergency." She informed before Angel stared down at the floor, squinting his eyes. "...You know, now would be a good time for everyone to leave."
"Halloween!" Cosmo warned as the floor began to swallow the occupants feet in inky blackness. Angel flew up, looking towards the door to the front...before looking back at Aki, already waist-deep in the floor. He swooped down to grab him up by his sleeved arms, only to allow himself to pulled down under with the others.
"Ah hell...I thought this would happen." Tamaoki sighed out as everyone was swallowed by the floor, leaving nothing in their wake.
Notes:
...Oh boy.
Chapter 3: Issue #3-Manhunt
Summary:
Kobeni takes a stand.
Notes:
Let's start with Kobeni. Nothing important should happen here, right?
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Kobeni...Kobeni...hey, Kobeni?"
"Hm?" Kobeni looked over to Tendo on the plane seat, the latter giving her a concerned look as they flew to their destination with the others scattered in other seats. Denji could be heard snoring and Angel kept his wings uncomfortably folded to himself...but the lack of obnoxious commands to the flight attendants was uncomfortably apparent. "I'm sorry, I'm just...tired. Did you need something?"
"I was just asking if you needed something. You've barely said anything since yesterday which...isn't really like you." Tendo pointed out. "If you need to talk about anything..."
"Do you think...we've ever managed to protect a single person?" Kobeni muttered out, barely audible.
"What?"
"I just...want to rest for a while." Kobeni leaned against the window, closing her eyes as she forced down the image of Taiyo's corpse from years ago.
***
Kobeni, lying on her stomach, awoke to the sound of shrill beeping coming from her pants pocket. Kneeling up slowly, she reached in and took out her pager, pressing down the button to respond.
"Michiko...?" She replied, trying to search around the faintly lit room, several candles on the wall to show her the wooden floor with stone walls on each side of her. "Are you alright?"
"Forget about me...where are you?!" She demanded. "I'm with Quanxi and Pingtsi...we don't know where the others are! We don't even know where the others are!"
"Michiko...about what we're here to do..." Kobeni swallowed almost painfully before continuing. "I think...I think we should stop---"
Suddenly, a ball hit the beeper right out of her hand, dropping it to the ground where its screen shattered on impact. Kobeni dropped her jaw as she watched the ball bounce away before looking back to her now ruined pager...only to hear a child's giggle in the room she could only find herself occupying.
"H-hello?" Kobeni said out loud, looking around the large if narrow room. No one there...she couldn't even find the door. She began to walk in one direction, trying to find an exit before she heard the ball bouncing again. She turned around, finding no one there. Her ears twitched as she tried to listen out, trying in vain to prevent an ambush...only to instinctively catch a rubber red ball thrown at her with both hands. She heard another giggle before seeing a small girl with bobbed hair in a kimono stepped out of the wall, moving from a darkened area as if it was a hole. Kobeni blinked before kneeling on one knee, getting on eye level with the child as the latter covered her own mouth. "This is yours...<you...play?>"
The child nodded, still holding her mouth as her eyes shone with amusement.
Kobeni sighed in vexed relief. No matter where she goes, at least kids don't change. She was about to say something...only to sense someone adjacent to them both. She dropped the ball, suddenly holding the little girl and turning around to block the incoming attack, the child watching in horror as her back was carved into by an unseen force.
As she began to lose consciousness, she had one selfish thought as she felt her grip loosen on the little girl: Thank God...thank God it didn't happen again...
Notes:
...Oof.
Chapter 4: Issue #4-Active Denial System
Summary:
Denji and Reze deal with a different problem.
Notes:
Time for the meat of the story. Those tags? Yeah, here's why they're here...
Should change the rating too.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"So, be honest...is this how you pictured your eighteenth birthday? Be honest."
"With a hot girl? I'd think I was asking for too much."
Reze giggled as she and Denji walked along the coast, the sea air wafting up their noses as they stuck to the often-trodded path by the sparse other walkers. "Not remotely what I meant...I was asking if you really thought you would celebrate becoming an adult with a walk."
"Am I an adult? I thought that didn't happen until I was twenty." Denji bared his lower teeth, groaning in thought. "I mean, I think that's how it works? Could be different now..."
"Well, where I'm from, you're an adult in the eyes of the law when you're eighteen." Reze smiled as they continued their trek. "Of course, I barely exist as a person over there...I wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of my citizenship."
"Wait...did we celebrate your birthday? It was a week before Asa's, right?"
"Yeah. I got my head nicked off the morning after." Reze made the appropriate motion with her hand across her neck. "Asa used my present to do it...I really put her through too much."
"Okay...so, so since you didn't get to do your birthday because...stuff happened...how about you celebrate it on mine?" Denji suggested.
"Huh? You're giving up your birthday time for me? Denji, you only get one eighteenth." Reze chastised. "I didn't even get one...don't waste yours."
"I can't waste it if we're hanging out!" Denji countered. "Look, Power's busy with Kishibe, Aki's busy, I don't want to bother Asa and I don't want to go to Quanxi because she'll think I'm wasting my day off from training...so if I want to enjoy today, there's only one person left who can make it special."
"Denji...am I special because I'm the last one left?" Reze quietly questioned.
"What? No! I meant---" Denji panicked before getting punched in the arm by a snickering Reze.
"God, lighten up! Denji, I'm honored to be your reserves." Reze joked as Denji rubbed his shoulder. "We can do what I want...but only if you like it too. Deal?"
"Deal!" Denji grinned as they sauntered down the GeoPark.
At Chaojing Park, the two ran around and took pictures near the water as the locals stared. They ate thick crab soup, tempura fried fish paste and chicken rolls at the Miaoku Night Market. They snuck onboard a boat in the Maritime Plaza and swam away when an irate captain found them. At the Renai Market, Denji brought unsalted butter, onion, cabbage, carrots, celery, bay leaves, vegetable stock, potatoes, tomatoes, sour cream and dills for a recipe Long taught him while Reze brought orange juice, grapefruit juice, apple juice and maraschino cherries. At Lovers Lake's Park, Reze jimmined opened a Toyota Corolla Cross parked away from the lake and escorted Denji in, pushing their bags in the back.
"Isn't this stealing or something?" Denji asked as he got in on the passenger's side.
"We're not driving it, are we?" Reze argued as she sat back against the driver's seat, closing her eyes. "It's been pretty quiet...has no one even called you yet?"
"...Nope." Denji checked his phone with a disinterested expression. "Guess everyone was pretty busy."
"That doesn't bother you? Everyone forgetting?" Reze opened her eyes to turn her head over to the boy next to her.
"Eh...birthday wasn't a big deal since I was a kid. My old man got me cake that I split with Beam and Pochita...but he was a busy guy so I usually didn't see him much. Gassan said I was lucky to be acknowledged at all because I was from the gutters...I'm used to just being with a few people, if that. And if no one was there, I had Pochita. But now...he's sort of gone and Beam...is also not here." Denji looked out the windshield, snorting through one nostril. "I should be happy that I have more people now. I didn't have any real friends in high school...the guys in the Yakuza barely talked to me...but now? I just want the people I grew up with back...guess that makes me selfish."
"...What did you want to do when you grew up?"
"Squeeze a pair of tits...and I did that with Asa so---" Denji stopped, feeling he said something he wasn't supposed to. "Um...it was complicated. I fell."
"Denji...why don't I give you my present?" Reze offered, reaching her shorts' pocket to take out a small wrapped object.
"Wasn't the date the present..." Denji pointed out only to watch in stunned awe as Reze stripped out of her sleeveless shirt, slipped off her shorts and put her panties on the dashboard before moving on top of him, holding a condom between her fingers.
"Gotta use the proper equipment..." Reze enticed as she reached down to unzip a frozen Denji's jeans. "...Before I make you a man."
***
"Ugh...yo, is anyone there?" Denji held his head as he stood up in a darkened room, feeling a stone floor beneath him as his eyes adjusted to the barren circular area. "Asa...Long...Reze?"
"Present." Reze tapped Denji's shoulder with a small knife, him turning to find her already up and without her choker. "Door's in the back...I think we're in the basement."
"Why are we here? Did the guy who we're here for do this?" Denji scratched his head, finding a wet spot where he landed.
"You mean guys...we're here to plug the whole bloodline, remember?" Reze reminded, flipping the knife in the air before catching it. "It could be any of them who are still in the temple."
"About that...isn't it messed up? Killing an entire family for...being alive?" Denji questioned, inspecting the blood on his finger.
"That's the way it is...not like it's any of our business." Reze shrugged. "Their number came up...all we can do is stay out of Quanxi's way and let her collect her paycheck."
"The kids...they're just going to be taken in by the government back in the city?" Denji continued. "Or a different city, probably...is that fine?"
"I turned out all right, didn't I? Most of them should make it...they're Primal Fear descendants, after all." Reze looked around the room, as if inspecting...before looking back at Denji. "What's going on? You've been weird since we got here..."
"Really? Sorry, I guess I've been foggy lately..." Denji cricked his neck. "A lot has been on my mine recently..."
"Wait...I'm being stupid. You're sad about Power, right?" Reze stepped closer, a few feet away from him. "It's dumb that I didn't notice sooner...of course you're upset."
"Huh? Oh yeah, it's that...it's kind of that but..." Denji cleared his throat, feeling even more lost in an enclosed space. "About what happened in the car..."
"What? Oh, you mean the sex?" Reze answered. "Was it bad? Is your thing still bruised?"
"No! It was good and...that cleared up." Denji assured. "Doing something like that, I think it was...we...what if Asa finds out?"
"How is she going to find out? There's no way for her to know unless we tell her." Reze tilted her head. "Do you want to tell her we fucked in a van?"
"I...I don't think we should keep things like that from her. People always find out stuff like that in movies and...we want her to trust you, right?" Denji countered.
"She'll never trust me if she finds out what we did. It's not about what's right, it's about how people work." Reze spoke in a lower octave. "Do you want her to hate you too?"
"No..."
"Then keep that muzzle fastened, keep your head down and stay---hold on." Reze hooked her finger through her pin, ready to yank it...only for a sudden force to slice hers and Denji's arms clean off, leaving them bleeding onto the floor.
"The hell?!" Denji shouted as Reze rotated to suddenly launch her leg into the waist of a dashing figure, knocking them away as she stood in front of the boy behind her.
"Tougher than most...but it won't be long now..." A raspy voice croaked out, slinking back into the shadows. "It won't be long now..."
"Denji, that guy is going to hit again. He'll be going for our heads next." Reze cautioned, still looking at the pitch blackness. "Get on your knees...you need to drink my blood."
"What...what about you? What if he tries to get us again?" Denji ignored the pain to ask."Wouldn't a bomb work better than a chainsaw?"
"Don't argue with me! Just do what I say if you want to get out of here!" Reze snapped back. "You want to see Asa again? Just stop thinking and start---"
"I DIDN'T---" Denji yelled back before catching his tone. "I didn't think when Gassan let me get iced by that Bat guy...I didn't think when he told me get Asa...I didn't think when that thing told me everybody else on the squad was dead...you want to be friends? Listen to me...and drink my blood!"
He half-expected to walk away, leaving him there to bleed out by himself...the other half expected them both to lose their heads in the next second. Instead, he heard, "I'm ready." and a faint noise indicated something had touched the stone. Hold out his stump, he let his blood drain over the ground, not hearing the drops hit the floor...and felt himself get colder before he saw something rise and move.
"Boom."
An explosion illuminated the room, startling Denji and the shrouded figure approaching them with the fallen knife as Reze's head reformed before them.
"A Hybrid?!" He spoke in disbelief as the darkness reformed. "I shouldn't have taken my tim---"
He was cut off by his upper half being detonated, leaving a bloody smear on the stone. She turned to Denji again, tearing off two fingers from her left hand and before sticking them in his mouth.
"Dumbass...how are you supposed to keep Asa safe if you're so stupid?" Reze sighed out as she felt him suckle. "Honestly...not the gold standard for boyfriend material."
Notes:
The universe is trying to turn Denji Catholic, I swear...
Chapter 5: Issue #5-Nothing There In The Dark
Summary:
Asa finds out Yuko's secret.
Chapter Text
"Makima, your walk-in closet is so huge!" Asa exclaimed, exiting Makima's room with the latter leading her out. "I didn't know you liked fashion so much..."
"Well, respectable attire has always been very important to me....there's no better way to make a great first impression than presentation." Makima smiled back. "Like I tell you, it's important to remain vigilant of how others see you, not just to control their perceptions but to master your own view of yourself."
"Makima...you say you like fashion but you keep saying what matters is how other people see you." Asa noted, reaching besides her to pet Poundcake's head. "Is that what fashion is about?"
"You're a very observant girl, Asa...just like your mother." Makima wistfully pointed out. "As you should be able to infer without me going into detail, influencing cognition is a major interest of mine and couture is the simplest way of doing that. It's a hobby of mine...but I admit, it in of itself doesn't really make me happy. I'm afraid that I'm a woman of rather modest pleasures but if you want to help people, you need to put some things above your own desires...like your image."
"Modest pleasures?" Asa asked.
"That's right. Like a good movie, spending time by myself..." Makima's smile grew broader. "...or with someone who understands me."
Asa blushed at the mere implication, even if internally cursing herself for being so soft.
***
Asa groaned as she sat up in the darkness, rubbing her throbbing head. Why was she remembering something so embarrassing now? And where the hell is she anyway?! She was feeling around for a wall before she felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to chop out with her hand as she turned around...only for it to be blocked by another limb.
"Ow!" Yuko yelped as she lowered her wrist, rubbing it with her other hand. "That really hurt! Jeez, I think you broke something..."
"Yuko? Is that you?" Asa's eyes refocused to find a vague figure in Yuko's shape, albeit missing an important detail. "What happened to your glasses? Also, I'm sorry."
"I think they broke in the fall...either way, I can't find them." Yuko smiled as she explained. "It's a good thing that it's so dark down here...I'm pretty much blind without them!"
"Of course...hold on, my pager." Asa took out her beeper and pressed a button, speaking into it. "Reze, this is Asa...pick up now."
"Asa? You're alright?" Reze immediately answered.
"I'm fine. Where are you and the others?"
"I'm with Denji and we're looking for the others right now...where are you? Do you have anybody with you?"
"I'm with Yuko. You guys try to make it outside and we'll join you there. Don't engage with anyone until we meet up with Quanxi."
"Roger...hey, I...I actually want to talk to you about...you know, stuff..."
"Later." A flustered Asa took her finger off the pager, sighing out. "I don't have time for this...we need to find the exit."
"Asa...can I ask you something?" Yuko spoke in a rare solemn tone.
"If it's about her, it can wait until...well, for another few years, I guess..." Asa snarked back.
"It's not that...what would you do if you wanted to do the right thing but your heart wouldn't tell you which is the right option?" Yuko questioned.
"...Just do what everyone says is best then. If you can't listen to yourself, use peer review." Asa replied eventually. "What is this about anything?"
"...MOVE!" Yuko shouted as she pushed Asa away, the latter's eyes widening at a darkened spike erupting from the floor from between where she and the blonde were standing. Their shock was tempered by an exhausted yawn echoing through the room.
"I thought I could get you both with one move...you're more spry than most." A young woman with long stringy black hair covering her face scratched her cheek as she leaned against a wall. "Guess I'll have to be slow about it then...which means more pain for you. Sorry."
"Damn it...if I could just find out where she is...!" Asa tried to pay attention to the direction the voice came from only several blades to erupt from a nearby wall, cutting into her right arm.
"Asa!" Yuko yelled before glowering at nothing, figuring that it was time to take a risk. "You don't hurt my friend...and you don't get me angry."
"Hey...am I supposed to be scared?" The woman mocked before she watched Yuko enlongate into a gaunt being with a towering exposed brain, tentacles instead of legs and tendrils where her arms should be. "What the hell..."
"What's going on?! Yuko, stay back while I---" Asa tried to command only for Yuko to zoom ahead, the woman trying to dash away before her ankle was grabbed and she was slammed into the ceiling, the floor and the nearby wall. Dripping with blood, she was dropped on the floor before Yuko turned back to a baffled Asa, who watched her shift back to a more bipedal form. She strained, her thin tendril retract back into her face completely while her tentacles slowly turned back into arms and reformed her legs.
"That...I didn't think it would be so exhausting doing that...guess that's my real form now." Yuko couldn't summon her enthusiasm, standing nude before Asa while holding her arm self-consciously. "Are you...okay?"
"Yuko...how long have you been able to do that?" Asa stepped forward, removing her coat to hand it over. "Does Kishibe know?"
Yuko stared ahead before taking the coat, putting it on. "I met with a Horsemen during their first time in Keelung...Fami...she put something in me that makes me stronger. Now I can take on the form of my ancestor when I need an edge in combat...I don't even need to see, I can just find people now. And I'm so much stronger than before..."
"Put something in you...did you two have sex?" Asa cringed.
"What?! No!" Yuko shook her head. "She just...did something! No touching was involved!"
"...And what did she want?" Asa demanded.
"She didn't tell me...she just said she'll need a favor later." Yuko admitted. "And she always knows where I am..."
"Yuko, you made a deal with a Horseman behind our back?!" Asa slammed her hand to her own face as she groaned. "What were you thinking?! Are you trying to be Yoshida?! Is that the deal with all the tentacles?!"
"I'm sorry! I just...she knew that...Asa, when I was younger, I had a mom and a dad...who were still alive." Yuko's voice hitched before she continued. "My dad's name was Jack Droit...he had the blood of the Justice Devil active in him."
"I heard about him. Makima---you're his daughter?" Asa hesitantly asked.
"He used to be so nice, teaching me about bugs and helping out in the garden...he wasn't a bad person, Asa." Yuko's eyes welled with tears. "But one day...he could always read minds but he couldn't turn it off. He stopped talking to me and Mom and...he disappeared. Then we saw the reports on what he did...we had to move in with Grandma, change our names, she cut my hair...she made me promise to never turn out like him. Then she was gone...and I was left with Grandma."
Asa simply looked on as Yuko struggled to keep herself together, shaking as she forced herself to keep going.
"Asa...I need to be better. I have to be a hero...not just because of what the kids called me, not for others' sake...but my dad...I'll never be able to make it up to the people he killed if I don't save as many lives as possible!" Yuko sobbed out, unable to keep from raising her voice. "I know I'm not doing the right thing...but I don't know what's right anymore! Maybe I never did...!"
Yuko was suddenly, if awkwardly, embraced by Asa around the shoulders, the latter holding her tight as she whispered in her ear.
"Don't tell anyone what you told me. It stays between us." Asa quietly ordered, holding her tighter. "We can use this against Fami...she thinks she still has a surprise advantage but now we know she has an ace. We won't be caught off guard...you're a good person, Yuko. I won't let anything happen to you."
"Asa..." Yuko whimpered as she buried her face in her neck, clinging onto her desperately. Asa simply looked ahead into the seemingly endless darkness.
That's right, only she can protect her now. Yuko is her happiness...and whoever threatens her happiness needs to go away.
Notes:
You see, Asa thinks she's doing the right thing which makes her completely different from Makima.
Chapter 6: Issue #6-Weed Dragon
Summary:
Yoshida, Long, Tsugihagi and Cosmo work their problems out.
Notes:
The tone gets a bit lighter with Twitter's favorite (and Reddit's most hated) characters. Let's watch them defeat evil with style.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Is my little guy all packed for his field trip?" Himeno taunted as Yoshida put his first-aid kit into a small black backpack. "Does he have his juice, his books and his toy? Don't make me remind you bring along a second pair of underwear..."
"You gonna break my jaw again if I forget?" Yoshida darkly snarked back as he zipped his bag, silencing Himeno quickly.
"Didn't take you for one to hold a grudge, Golden Child...you got anything you wanna unleash on me before we head out?" Himeno peered behind his back as Yoshida turned to loom over her properly.
"What else is there to talk about? We're going to be late." He stoically replied.
"Yoshida...I don't mind if you got something to say. Or a lot to say." Himeno said, stepping in front of him. "Kishibe, Makima, me...we got a lot to answer for. We really put you through it. So if you got anything to say, say it."
"I don't see how anything I say will make anything better. All I want is for the Horsemen to be stopped." He said before stepping past her.
"...And what would Minami want?" Himeno questioned, freezing him in his tracks before he reached the knob. She got her bag and headed out first, leaving him behind. "See you at the taxi outside. Try not to keep us up."
***
"Guys...guys, are we blind?! Tell me where we are but are we blind first?!"
"..."
"Halloween!"
"Hold on." Yoshida was the first to stand up, taking out his phone to slide up and use his flashlight to shine around the room. He illuminated a baffled Long, a blank-faced Tsugihagi and a unfocused Cosmo as he inspected the enclosed space. Two doors...one on the side and another at the end along with a dresser near the wall and hangers on a wooden pole hanging horizontally. "...Is this a closet?"
"You have your phone?! Quanxi said no phones!" Long protested loudly.
"She said don't bother bringing them if we want to make any calls. Smartphones are usually used for a variety of other things besides communication...you know that, right?" Yoshida raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Have you three attempted to contact the others using your pagers yet?"
"Huh...I think mine broke in the fall." Long took out two pieces of her beeper, trying to reconnect them to no avail. "Can we remove the buzzer from this?"
Tsugihagi held her own in front of Long's face, the latter squinting her eyes at the message as Cosmo opened the top drawer of the dresser.
"Okay...this is from Pingtsi because it's using that weird pinyin...it says she and Quanxi and Tendo aren't even in the temple? The hell?" Long revealed as Cosmo looked over, Yoshida crossing his arms.
"Not in the temple...where they could be on this mountain?" He questioned, furrowing his brow in thought. "This entire assignment is too suspicious...it amazes me Quanxi would take it without any further investigation. How much is she being paid for this?"
"The usual going rate of 99,255,000...and she'll get us a free ride to National Taiwan University!" Long exclaimed. "I can get my degree in advanced technology."
"Why would they be so generous out of nowhere? Did the government want these people dead so bad?" Yoshida tilted his head, his arms still locked.
"Well, they're Primal descendants...you know how pissy the governments get about them. The incident with Falling probably had them shitting themselves." Long shrugged. "When they got the tip, they jumped on it like a drunk girl on her friend with a bottle of Kaoliang."
"The tip..." Yoshida pondered on that detail before something knocked his phone out of his grasp, leaving it on the floor. "Looks like the host has arrived..."
"Huh?! From where?!" Long began to search around before Tsugihagi took out her bowie knife and parried a blow from a Katana, a short haired woman in long black pants and a sleeveless white shirt clicking her tongue in annoyance before disappearing before Cosmo could touch her. "Who was that?!"
"One of Quanxi's targets, apparently...and it looks like she has grievances with her family being marked for cleaning." Yoshida leaned his foot across for his phone...only for the blade to impale it. "Well, that's an issue."
"God, this suck! How are we going to fight her if we can't see her?!" Long griped as she searched around in vain.
"Long, your people have an old proverb..."Instead of damning the darkness, light a torch." Yoshida tried to point out.
"Can't we do both? This is bullshit!" Long whined as Tsugihagi put her back to hers, peering through the darkness. "I get trying to kill us but isn't getting everyone involved a bit much?"
"Complaining isn't going to get us anywhere. We should focus on getting out of---" Yoshida spoke before a sudden slash across the eyes caused him to stumble backwards. "...Oh."
"Yoshida!" Long shouted. "Are you okay?!"
"I'll be fine...this will be healed in a few minutes." He assured. "Though I'm not sure how long I have given how fast our attacker is..."
"How are we supposed to beat her? She destroyed our flashlight!" Long bemoaned, Yoshida getting an inkling of a plan as blood ran down his cheeks.
"Long...come here. Follow the sound of my voice." Yoshida said, Long stepping closer reluctantly before he picked her up and held her under his arms like a bizarre launcher, pointing her ahead as he listened out for the enemy. "Tsugihagi, do me a favor and remove all ambient noises...except for the sound of the floor."
The room fell deathly quiet, Yoshida listening out without speaking for a full minute...then he heard a creak. He turned around, aiming Long right at the attacker.
"Long, fire." He commanded, Long shooting a torrent of flame out of her mouth as the woman spun her blade to fan away the flames.
"<You idiots think I don't know how to deal with light?! Jackasses...>" The woman mocked in Mandarin as the fire ceased.
"<Our apologies for offending you...but that wasn't meant to hurt you.>" Yoshida replied in Mandarin. "<Just keep you occupied.>"
"<...What?>" She asked before a hand clutched her head from behind. "<Hallo...halloween...halloween!>"
"Thank you for sparing her, Cosmo...I know that took a good degree of self-control on your part." Yoshida put Long on her feet as the other two grouped around him, watching the woman convulse on the dim floor.
"Halloween!" Cosmo proudly exclaimed.
"Cosmo gave her the peyote special...she'll be back to normal in a few hours." Long sighed out some smoke before looking up at Yoshida. "How are your eyes?"
"I'll manage...let's focus on finding the others before we think about ourselves." Yoshida brushed off only for Tsugihagi to wipe his eyes with her sleeve. "Tsugihagi, you can stop---"
"Don't be a baby and let us help." Long chastised as Tsugihagi wiped the blood from his face. "If you got upset more often, more people will like you."
"...People like me." He quietly grouched as Cosmo slowly paced around the room, bowlegged, as the woman writhed on the floor.
Notes:
Three girlfriends and their screw-up son.
Chapter 7: Issue #7-Unreal
Summary:
Quanxi, Tendo and Pingtsi fight the patriarch.
Notes:
I want to give a shout-out to Safinus for giving me an idea of where to go with this scene and one to Orb for inspiring me about how a trainer should act around his students. It's fun to write.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Hey, you're him, right...the Mad Dog Kishibe?" A young boy, barely of legal age, asked the suited man in front of him by the bridge. Towering like a Court Building, graying short hair and a haggard face to support the scar on his cheek...Kishibe was a wraith of what he was, an eerie reminder of the fate of surviving too long in the business. Kurose and Tendo looked at him with contrasting levels of interest, ignoring the stench of strong alcohol wafting up their nostrils.
"In the collar." He deadpanned, reaching for the top of his suit for a concealed substance. "The Scourge Brothers...oh, it's the Scourge Twins now, right?"
"Why are you in Kyoto?" Tendo firmly asked, self-consciously covering one of her polished fingernails with her other hands. "Aren't you stationed in Tokyo?"
"I'm on vacation...supposed to be anyway." Kishibe took out a tin flask to undo the cap of. "My kid wanted to show her new kitten Arashiyama so I'm here for the week. Hopefully she hasn't drowned that thing yet..."
"We're honored, really...having a legend teach us is more than we deserve." Kurose readily toadied only for Tendo to scowl lightly.
"Hey, if either of you have a problem with a few quick lessons, speak now or forever hold your peace." Kishibe took a swig from his flask as they looked on.
"I'm sorry for being so flippant about this...but we've been fighting Devil Breeds for years at this point." Tendo pointed out. "It's not like they're going to send you back but...what do you have to teach us that we don't already know? And what are we going to learn in a week?"
"Hm...what do you guys know about fighting Devil Breeds?" Kishibe questioned, bringing the flask down from his chapped lips.
Tendo and Kurose shared a look before bringing their eyes back to him.
"Hit them hard and fast before they know what's happening." Kurose answered.
"Keep going until they're not a threat." Tendo replied.
"Great answers. But you're missing a vital component of beating enemies stronger than you." Kishibe half-lidded his own eyes as peered at them. "Do you guys know what people are actually afraid of? It's not someone who is stronger, who is evil, who doesn't care...it's someone with a few screws loose and no screwdriver. Someone who cannot respond to fear...when you're not afraid, everyone loses their leverage over you and they get anxious. Fear is a major component of our society, used to control everyone within. When someone's not getting with the program, when you can't make them fear pain, loss, death...that's when you have a monster on your hands. And the only thing that beat monsters...are more monsters. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"There's no such thing as a person without fear." Tendo furrowed her brow deeper. "I'm not giving up logic for an impossible ideal."
"Good girl. You'll make a fine wife some day." Kishibe stoically congratulated as Tendo made a disgusted face. "I can't make you fearless...but I can make you forget you're afraid. I'm going to turn you two into the biggest badasses in the city in one week."
***
"Lady Quanxi...is he still out there?"
"Would he have a reason to leave, Pingtsi?"
In a small cramped lumpy rock-like formation in an expanding abyss, three women huddled for shelter in the middle of a dank shelter as the darkness seeped in from outside. Tendo blankly kept trying to type out a message on her pager as Pingtsi clung to Quanxi around the waist, the three shoulder to shoulder with the small amount of room they had to work with.
"How are we supposed to get him...it's like he can see everything!" Pingtsi held Quanxi tighter.
"It's a game to him...this entire area he created is his space. He could have killed us by now if he wanted to." Quanxi looked out, ignoring the bleeding stumps where her legs were. "I need a good shot at him...but he's fast. We need a distraction."
"Tendo! Lady Quanxi needs blood to heal so that she can save us!" Pingtsi ordered Tendo, the latter still looking at her beeper. "Feed her yourself so that we can escape!"
"...She's dead. Kobeni's gone." Tendo quietly muttered, Quanxi and Pingtsi staring at her in silence. "If we didn't come, we wouldn't have...this entire thing was a mistake. All of it."
Tendo dropped her pager, holding her knees to her face as she looked out at the darkness. The other two women watched all the light evaporate from her eyes, her hope crumbling on the spot.
"<Ladies...I believe I've given you enough time to calm down.>" A low baritone rung out from outside the "cave", a man sitting on a barely-visible thrown emanating wispy black smoke as he faced their hiding spot of his own creation. Wearing ornate robes with bizarre petals emblazoned on it in the vague shape of skulls, the man's shaved head accentuated his gravelly expression, seeming to be barely out of his forties even if his eyes were much older. "<Guāngxī...to think I would have the honor of meeting you again after so long. The living plague upon my entire bloodline...I finally have an opportunity to clear it with my bare hands.>"
"<Release these two and I'll let you kill me as slow as you want.>" Quanxi quickly offered, to Pingtsi's horror.
"<No...there's something I must offer you.>" He softly rejected before continuing, "<You have been a bane on my family for hundreds of years. Even my own father spoke of you in tones of terror...I believe you are not even a Devil Breed or a Hybrid so much as you are an errant remnant of what humanity once was: beasts devouring each other for nothing more than the sake of substance. The fact that you have come here to eliminate my entire family, what little is left of it after our battles with the authorities...it's not enough. I need more evidence to confirm if what I am killing has any true humanity. So...I have a proposition for you: if you offer me those two women with you as a sacrifice, I will release you without further incident. We will only battle if we happen to meet at a later date. But...give yourself up and I will rip your heart from your chest and eat it. Those two...will be released without harm. What do you say?>"
"<I'll be right out.>" Quanxi spoke without hesitation, trying to move to crawl out...only for Pingtsi to put a hand on her chest, her eyes teary. "<Move.>"
Pingtsi shook her head, her hand trembling but staying where it was. "<Lady Quanxi...let me go out. He can target me and...and you can take him out before he's able to strike again.>"
"<Idiot.>" Quanxi struggled to keep her voice level, not wanting the man outside to hear this farce of a plan. "<I'll save you...just let me go out and--->"
"<I know...I know that out of the others, I'm the weakest link.>" Pingtsi confessed, her voice cracking. "I can barely fight, my blood only lets me scan for stupid facts, I have no outstanding skills...I'm the most powerful member of my family born in generations. My line's legacy...amounted to a disappointment. So...if it saves you and helps the others, please...let me do this one thing."
Quanxi felt something shift inside of her, clenching her fist in a rare moment of impotency...before Tendo turned her head toward them both.
"Quanxi, Pingtsi...I think I can get us out of here." She spoke up, her eyes flickering. "This guy thinks he's in control...we can use that against him. But...I have conditions."
"Let's hear it." Quanxi spoke up before an offended Pingtsi could.
"First, and this non-negotiable...if you continue to carry out your attack on the Shan family past this point, I'll kill you myself." Tendo stated solemnly. "I should have never gone with this excuse of a mission...and I shouldn't have let the others come here either. I didn't say anything because I'm a coward...because I didn't want to rock the boat right after one of our own had just died. But turning my back on my own convictions means I'm turning my back on God himself...I won't forget that I didn't even try to stop this but that's no excuse to keep letting it happen."
"How...dare you?! Thinking you can threaten Lady Quanxi in such a manner!" Pingtsi shouted in fury at an unresponsive. "I have half a mind to reach up your---"
"What's your other condition?" Quanxi interrupted her lover's rant.
"Pay close attention." Tendo instructed.
The man slumped slightly in his chair, waiting for his answer...only to glower in bafflement as all three women exited the "cave", Tendo rolling down her sleeve while Quanxi stretched out her bare regenerated legs.
"<All of you? What is the meaning of this?>" He leaned forward, squinting his eyes.
"<We have all chosen to die together...on one condition.>" Quanxi spoke up, not even bothering to look for him. "<We want to play one game with you of our own choosing.>"
"<This is a clear deception...do you think so little of me?>" He lowered his voice to a growl. "<Why would I agree to such a ridiculous demand when I can kill all of you right now?>"
"<The woman to my left is capable of killing me permanently...but only if we submit to her contract. All four of us.>" Quanxi justified. "<Agree...and you will have avenged every family member I've killed in the past.>"
"<There is no Devil Breed on this planet capable of forging a contract by themselves. You should have stuck to killing...you are so much better at it than lying.>" He nearly snarled as he held out his palm, slowly clenching it as a sphere began to form around the three. Pingtsi immediately clung to Quanxi's waist again as the other two stood still.
"<Punishment Devil.>" Tendo said in Mandarin before the sphere closed completely...causing it to fade away.
"<What does she mean?>" He demanded.
"<She is a direct descendant of the Punishment Devil...the same one who still breathes upon our Earth, unlike the Darkness Devil you descended from.>" Quanxi explained. "<If you still think we are lying, you can kill us after she demonstrates. But before that...will you agree to the conditions?>"
He stared long and hard into Quanxi's eye, even if she wasn't able to meet his gaze.
"<...I accept.>" He uttered, a shadowy figure seemingly composed of writhing, moaning human bodies looming over all four of them. Forming an eldritch ribcage, each held a different weapon ranging from a mace, to a scythe, to a morning star as Tendo stepped forward. A chain sprouted from nowhere in the middle of their "form", launching into the chests of the four of them before yanking out their hearts, encasing it in a dark bubble.
"<The game we will play is...Pokemon Alpha Sapphire.>" Quanxi announced, two onyx Game Boy Advances hovering up from the ground in front of the three and the stunned patriarch.
"<What even...how the hell am I even supposed to know how to play this?!>" He shouted. "<I have never held a device like this in my life...I don't even know what this is!>"
"<The contract is active...your concerns are no longer our problem.>" Quanxi brushed off.
"<Hey, this game gives you a choice of any Pokemon in this version! We have an equal chance!>" Pingtsi took the Gameboy and began scrolling. "<I'm picking my mains.>"
"<WHAT THE HELL IS A POKEMON?!>" He screamed as the game began.
***
"Dude lost to a team of Eelektrik, Eelektross and Barboach...what a wimp." Pingtsi mocked as the trio stretched in the main hall.
"Wait...are we back where we were? Where are the others...where's Kobeni?" Tendo looked around, gritting her teeth. "Damn it, I still can't see shit!"
"Let's head to the back. The shrine back there should at least have Tamaoki...maybe the rest of the family is hiding there." Quanxi began to walk off with Pingtsi following behind.
"Hey! I meant what I said back there!" Tendo yelled, Quanxi and Pingtsi looking back...the latter with a sneer. "You're not killing anyone else...not as long as I'm here."
"...Fine then. I'll talk it over with the girls when I find them...but we won't be doing this mission." Quanxi looked ahead, walking forward. "We'll collect everybody and head out. We won't be killing anyone else today."
"Ugh...but what about the free ride?" Pingtsi whined as Tendo followed after.
"I'll take another mission. Maybe someone's dumb enough to go after the Fire Devil?" Quanxi half-joked.
Notes:
Sometimes you gotta threaten a woman to get her to fall in love with you. It's a poet's tactic.
Chapter 8: Issue 8-Heaven Knows, Earth Knows
Summary:
Aki finds out a real embarrassing secret about Tamaoki.
Notes:
Shorter than the other chapters but hopefully, the twist makes it worth it.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Learn how to melt butter properly, mutt! And where's the schnapps for the Mother's Milk?!"
"Aki says no alcohol and don't bitch at me about melting when you can't chop a single onion right!"
"When do I stir? I got the cinnamon, the bay leaves...the pod..."
"Beam! Stop eating all turmeric! Hand it over to Power!"
"The hell are you guys doing at three a.m?!" Aki walked into the kitchen with a fierce glower. "There's smoke all over the damn place!"
"It's Kobeni's birthday today and we're making a feast!" Power announced, Denji and Beam fanning away the flames over the stove. "She will be getting a meal of Smoked Haddock Kedegree!"
"Why the hell are you cooking so damn early?!" Aki demanded. "It's a workday!"
"No duh! We got no time during the day so we got to do it before work hours!" Denji defended. "This was the only hour we're free."
"Do you experience no sympathy for your fellow worker? When did Hayakawa become so cold-hearted and child-devouring?!" Power pointed her knife at Aki's exhausted glare.
"Guys..." Aki tried to cut in.
"Come on, don't let duty get in the way of knowing what's right!" Denji declared. "How long have you and Kobeni known each other for?"
"Guys..."
"Bad guy." Beam kept chewing on leaves.
"GUYS...Kobeni's not even going to be in Tokyo. Tendo's taking her to the Monkey Park in Arashiyama."
"...That ungrateful wrench! After all the trouble we went through of making her a present!" Power loudly griped.
"This whole place smells like fish now...it's like that time Beam dragged a whole net inside the headquarters back at the building Dad worked at!" Denji complained.
"Rice..." Beam began to shovel the dry food in his mouth, chewing loudly as Power smacked his head.
"Don't eat that while it's not cooked, chum brain!" She yelled as Denji tried to hold her back, Aki watching it all unfold from a few feet away.
Against his will, there was a bemused smile forming on his face.
***
"Ugh...okay, not as bad as a hangover but..." Himeno cleared her throat as she stood to her feet, squinting her eyes in the darkened room...before coming face to face with a seeming pterodactyl skull. "GAH!"
"This is the shrine...the bedrooms are behind the other doors." Tamaoki said as Himeno flinched onto Angel who pushed her onto Aki. "I didn't think they knew you were coming...one of them must have been keep an eye on me. I was too careless..."
"An eye on you, huh...this all makes too much sense now." Aki sighed out, staring up at the ceiling. "What was I thinking, telling everyone to come here...this is as much my fault as it is anyone else's."
"What are you talking about? How is any of this your fault?" Angel questioned.
"Who brings others out to watch an assassination...it's so fucked, I don't know why I suggested it." Aki admitted, closing his eyes. "Beam, Arai, now Power...I needed to do anything else, no matter what it was. But now...I've finally figured out how pathetic I really am."
"Aki...come on. This isn't cute." Himeno comforted, patting his cheek. "So we're being a bit complicit in a...whatever crime. It's not like any of us could have seen this coming."
"Yeah, you guys didn't know one of my family members would freak out and start trying to kill everybody." Tamaoki tried to assure...only for Aki to look in the direction of his voice.
"Some warning would have been appreciated...considering the shit you tried to pull on us." Aki darkly deadpanned.
"Huh? Is something wrong?" Tamaoki scratched his chin.
"I guess nothing I can understand..." Aki replied, groaning. "I can't get inside the head of a guy who would put out a hit on his own family."
Notes:
Damn...real Ministry of Darkness moment there.
Chapter 9: Issue #9-You Know And I Know
Summary:
We wrap up with no trauma whatsoever.
Notes:
The part of so many damn chapter fics...spoiler, this is isn't going to be the last one. Anyway, let's see how this ends on the trauma scale.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"This place is still so damn dark...sucks." Denji grunted as he walked towards the door with Reze walking besides him.
"Guess the Darkness Clan don't believe in electricity." Reze snarked as stopped at the door to the back...only to turn around and find three more figures behind them. "And where have you guys been?"
"Dealing with an issue someplace else." Quanxi responded, Pingtsi trying to scan the room as Tendo looked ahead. "I think I need to have a few words with our guide..."
"She's not here...where's Kobeni?" Tendo asked the two.
"And the other girls? Where are they?" Pingtsi demanded.
"They're not with you? I guess we all got split up." Reze shrugged as Denji faced the door.
"...Something's happening on the other side." He walked forward, swinging the two handles inward as he let them through the entrance...and found a bloodied Himeno restraining a scruffed-up Tamaoki as Aki lied bleeding on the floor with Angel kneeling on one knee by him, holding their dislocated arm. "The fuck is this?!"
"Oh hey...you guys don't need to worry, we're just having a discussion." Tamaoki assured before breaking free of Himeno's many invisible hands, dashing for her with an outstretched hand...before a transformed Quanxi kicked him into a statue, smashing both of them into a wall.
"He set this up?" Quanxi questioned, leveling her arm at his spot while getting ready to fire.
"Tamaoki was the informant who tipped off the Taiwanese government to his family's location...he's the reason the bounty was set." Aki sat up to explain, Angel hesitantly putting a hand on his covered shoulder. "We've been had."
"Huh...how about that?" Reze pulled down her choker as Denji pulled on his ripcord, both ready to morph in the darkened room as Tamaoki yawned...only for him to hold his other hand up to halt them while he covered his mouth.
"Hold on...can I explain myself first?" He implored as two figures pushed themselves through a door on the right, knocking the statue out of the way.
"Asa, look! Everybody's fine!" Yuko pointed out, trying in vain to see through the darkness. "...I think..."
"What's going on...are we fighting?" Asa inquired while searching around. "Are we battling the entire family?"
"Just one." Quanxi informed, shooting a volley of high-speed arrows at Tamaoki that grazed his cheek and arm...as he broke the rest with impossibly fast punches. "We already dealt with the father...looks like the son was the mastermind."
"Oh, you took out Xia? That's impressive...he would have been too strong for me." Tamaoki scratched his stubbled cheek as the door to the left opened, Yoshida leading Long, Tsugihagi and Cosmo through.
"...I see we missed something. Did Tamaoki turn on us already?" Yoshida questioned as Pingtsi ran ahead, nearly tripping over Aki before embracing Long, the other two hugging around them.
"You knew?" Aki struggled to his feet as Yoshida unbuttoned his shirt, several tendrils squirming underneath his skin.
"Figured it out after dealing with his sibling...am rather curious about his motivation for such an act though." A tentacle shot out, wrapping around Tamaoki's waist.
"Isn't it obvious? You all haven't figured it out?" Tamaoki didn't struggled as the tentacle tightened around him. "My family are the spawn of a Primal Fear...we can't exist in a modern world. To truly make this planet a safer place, we can't go on living. As soon as I was able to make sure nobody would leave here, I did what I had to do...for the sake of humanity."
"You're wiping out your own family...because you think none of them deserve to live for existing?" Asa spoke in a disgusted tone. "You're sick...that decision isn't up to you."
"I understand if you're upset but honestly...I don't care what you think in the end." Tamaoki began to move his arms, Yoshida struggling to keep a grip. "I'm doing what I think is right...and my heart gets the final say."
"You don't get to say that!" Denji charged in with a transformed Reze, the latter throwing an explosion at one of Tamaoki's arms while the other was thrusting out to grab Denji's ripcord, hurling him into Yoshida. Yuko's own arms began to enlongate as she began to morph again...only for Asa to grab her shoulder.
"If you're going to use that...don't get involved." Asa softly commanded, clutching her sleeve.
"But...what if they---" Yuko tried to protest.
"If they need our help to escape, I'll do something...but right now? This isn't our concern." Asa silenced her. "Tamaoki has a point, some people are too dangerous to keep alive, regardless of what they've done...but I'm not supporting him. So I'll focus on keeping the others alive. If he's successful or not...we'll have to leave that to the others."
"I..." Yuko began to speak only for a firm glare from Asa to shut her up, causing her to nod uneasily.
"Dude's hella strong! Why didn't he just kill his family by himself?!" Denji shouted as he swung at Tamaoki, the latter leaping out of the way of a constructed saber from Angel who narrowly missed Denji.
"Every member of the Shan clan with active blood get stronger in the dark...it's why this place is kept pitch black." Quanxi pointed above as Tamaoki had jump from a small explosion from Reze's hand. "Himeno, hold him."
"On it!" Himeno wrapped multiple invisible hands around Tamaoki in mid-air, stunning him long enough for Quanxi to launch a barrage of arrows towards him, pincushioning him as he lurched back.
"We got him! We...got him, right?" Pingtsi asked, unsure.
"...Not yet." Quanxi turned her head to the side, finding a slightly-trembling stringy black-haired older woman holding an unconscious Kobeni up in front of her as a clumsy shield.
"KOBENI!" Tendo stepped forward only to stop as soon as the woman sprouted a sharp, crystalline dagger from her finger and held it to Kobeni's throat.
"<STAY BACK!>" She ordered, Tendo pausing as the others turned their attention to her. "<This woman...has lost a lot of blood. She doesn't have long if you want to get her treatment...but you will not leave with her if you keep attacking! We will not be slaughtered by you!>"
"<You're not in a position to negotiate right now...but we will be generous in a show of good will.>" Quanxi intoned even deeper than usual. "<Hand her over...and we'll depart without further incident. We will not report you or the children to our superiors and you can rebuild your bloodline elsewhere. Your other family members are dead...but this isn't the end. Do the smart thing and give up.>"
The woman flinched away, holding Kobeni closer in fright...only for Himeno to cough up blood as Tamaoki burst free again, landing and heading for a pillar on the side of the room.
"Stop! What are you doing?!" Pingtsi yelled as he smashed through one with his fist.
"The right thing." He answered, sprinting to the other pillar before smashing through it too.
"Fucking hell..." Reze looked up at the temple's roof, watching it cave in on top of them.
"GET CLOSER!" Cosmo screamed, placing her hands to the ground. Without thinking, the group sans Tamaoki and the woman began to gather closer...save for Tendo who violently palmed the woman's face to grab Kobeni and bring her over, shutting her eyes as the debris showered down on them...
***
"<I'm already late...note to self, don't start an affair with someone who lives over five miles away.>"
A man on a bicycle grumbled to himself as he rode by a park...only to be knocked off his feet by a sudden invisible force launching him into a car. Twelve people dug themselves out of the dirt, one carrying a prone body, coughing and sputtering as they emerged from the earth.
"What the hell...where are we?!" Denji rasped out as he searched around. "Are we still on the mountain?!"
"We should be in Huayin...it's north of Mount Hua." Quanxi carried Pingtsi and Long out the rest of the way, dusting grass off of Tsugihagi's hair next. "Where's Cosmo?"
"She looks sick..." Aki commented, seeing the pink-haired woman all on fours fighting off hyperventilation. "I didn't even know she could do that."
"It's a Horseman technique...and she used on it on too many people." Quanxi went over to help Cosmo up...only for the latter vomit onto her bare chest. "...We need a hospital."
"There should be one nearby! Someone flag down a car!" Tendo yelled as Asa moved over to feel Kobeni's forehead.
"My phone is still broken." Yoshida commented before Yuko darted her way into the middle of street, throwing herself onto an oncoming car's windshield.
"<What the fuck?!>" A woman got out in a panic to inspect...before screeching in terror as Yuko immediately got up, worse for the wear.
"<We need phone!>" Yuko shouted as the woman tried to back away.
Aki looked on as Himeno dug in her ear while sitting next to him, Reze picking pebbles out of Denji's hair away from them.
"Looks like we got away...that's something, right?" Himeno tried to comfort only for Aki to keep staring ahead.
"None of this...is right. We fucked up." Aki stated blankly. "And...we can't let more kids die for us...not again."
Notes:
Monkey Woman down.