123Hello, everyone. Welcome to Chapter 19, just one chapter away from 20, and I have to say it's a hell of a feeling. That said, this chapter is going to be something of a climax point; it's not the climax of the Yokohama Arc, but it does mark the end of what I'd say is the first third of it. With that in mind, expect an explosion of action and drama as I've tried to buildup over the last few chapters. I hope you all enjoy it!
I do not own anything.
Lesson 19-Lessons in the Arena Pt.4
Ririko hadn't known what a pre-battle strategy meeting was like until she came to Yōkai Academy. Becoming a teacher there didn't just mean educating, it meant being a part of the Headmaster's move to integrate human and monster kind-a daunting task that would require more than just being good in a classroom. The entire academy wasn't just a place of education, it was practically an entire organization dedicated to the goal of coexistence. She'd become not simply a member of said organization, but a soldier-Mikogami's soldier. It was a part of the job that wasn't officially written down, but on interview, it became apparent. Understandably, learning that tended to turn some would-be applicants away. Ririko knew she could have been one of those people, but she'd chosen to take the job.
To her, it wasn't about being a potential soldier, it was about teaching. It was her passion, human or monster, it didn't matter to her. She agreed with the goal of bringing peace to the two sides, something else that was a deal-breaker for would-be teachers.
Teachers looked after their students, a duty she didn't have the best track record on. Still, she was trying. That said, this wasn't entirely about her being a teacher. This was about how she personally felt about Tsukune, not just as a student but as a person.
Not that anyone would know that, at least no one in the twelve-story building she entered. Such a truth would remain with her, so long as she was able to keep her emotions in check. Normally that was a simple venture, but someone she loved had never been in danger like this. Ironically, it was a feeling she was sure several people she was about to meet had felt at some point in their lives. Monster hunting and peace making tended to be dangerous businesses, ones that created enemies.
Libra, when most people heard the name, they typically thought of the constellation. The scales, representing balance, and perhaps even justice. To take on such a name usually implied one had those things in mind. That'd been the mindset of the founders of the organization that had both impeded monster kind, and at times saved them from the brink of destruction. Such deeds meant the organization lived up to its namesake, although others would disagree. Adamantly.
"Whatever you do, don't cross Libra. They're a group of pompous asses, but damn if they haven't proven themselves." Elementary school had been the first time she'd heard of the organization. Talk amongst her peers over the actions taken by a classmates' relative-an attempted murder of a human, a city mayor. Not only had the plot failed, the fool had paid for it when he was arrested. It was unlikely he'd ever see the light of day again, at least that's what she heard, and believed. Libra had a number of prisons where that could be done.
Ririko recognized he was put away because he'd done something wrong. To avoid that fate, to heed the advice she'd been given, she simply resolved not to do something so wrong (or stupid) herself. It seemed an easy enough mantra to follow, and Ririko believed she'd followed it. After all, she'd never gotten on Libra's radar.
Her first encounter with them involved her allying with them for a rescue mission. She certainly hadn't seen that one coming all those years ago. Then again, she hadn't predicted falling for a boy ten years younger than her either. Life really was full of surprises like that.
It was an ordinary building with an ordinary front desk, which Ririko walked straight toward. Her heels clacked against the hard floor as she made her way across with purpose. The aura remained as the receptionist looked up to her, her blue eyes scanning her over. It was a gaze that went beyond the physical appearance. "Hello, I'm here for the City Schools Conference." She'd reached into her purse and pulled out the badge she'd been given. Without missing a bit, the receptionist took it and rank it through her computer. Her rapid-fire typing was indictive of her skill at this. A panel slid open in front of her revealing a thumbprint scanner. Withing needing to be told, Ririko pressed her thump against it, the surface being a momentary sensation.
"Aaaand…" She dragged out the word while continuing her typing. There was a buzz from the devices hooked up to her computer. "Done. Alright, keep this with you to get around the building. The meeting is being held on the eighth floor. Take the elevator on up, then once you exit go to your right and follow the signs, they'll point you to exactly where you need to go. Please, enjoy the conference, Ms. Kagome."
"Thank you." It surprised Ririko she was even able to reply to the statement with gratitude. Not even mock gratitude or enthusiasm. In a way, she supposed she was actually enthused about this-this strategy meeting. It felt different than the sort that were held at Yōkai Academy. Getting into the elevator helped hammer that home as the school only had a few, and they weren't anywhere near as upscale as this one. Theirs didn't play such pleasant music. Ririko found it somewhat soothing as she rode it eight floors up, stopping to pick up more passengers. Everyone was silent as the ride continued until it reached her destination. She wasn't alone in getting off.
Drawn by curiosity, she looked to the brawly man beside her. Full head taller than her with a full beard and head of pitch-black hair, he too had a look of unwavering focus about him. She'd guessed they were heading toward the same place, for exactly the same purpose. They were joined by others, dressed professionally like him, and to a lesser extent, her. The same went for those that joined them. They silently came together in an orderly line before the guards standing before the meeting room. Ririko presented her pass to them and walked right on in.
It was a meeting room sizable enough to hold half a dozen people, and that's exactly how many were filing in. Five rows of six seats, all before a podium with a giant smart board that'd already been booted up. The teal-colored scales that served as Libra's insignia was front and center; she was certain that the red-headed man on standby was a member, perhaps a high-ranking one. Ririko didn't recognize him, although she only knew a handful of faces in the organization; it wasn't like she was in a big hurry to familiarize herself with them. Hopefully that wouldn't change after this, but then again, she never imagined she'd be sitting in on such a meeting.
Beside the redhead stood a woman in police uniform. Older, perhaps in her late forties to fifties, definitely a position of authority given her uniform and demeanor. There wasn't a strand of gray in her ebony black hair, but the wrinkles around her eyes spoke to that. Speaking of her eyes, the dark brown eyes stared at everyone in the room with a level of focus befitting that of a leader. She also seemed to be trying to signal out who might have been a spy or lacking the heart for this mission. When her gaze fell on her, Ririko gave the short-haired woman a response-that was not her. Not today. It seemed to cause her to focus on her for a moment longer than the others. Then again, maybe it was just her imagination.
Once all the seats were filled out, Ririko knew the meeting was about to begin. So did everyone else, the quiet chattering slowly ceasing. What fell over the room was a heavy tension that only grew when the redhead stepped up to the podium to speak.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Shingo Tatehori, the Libra official in charge of the Kanagawa Prefecture. I'm sure some of you have heard of me, those of you that haven't, don't worry about it." His sky-blue eyes shifted to the woman beside him, whose gaze remained on the audience. "This is Commissioner Kanako Seta of Kanagawa Prefectural Police; this is going to be a joint operation between Libra and the police, namely it's paranormal division."
Ririko did a quick look around. Kanako Seta wasn't the only one in uniform, so too were a handful of others, likely also members of the prefecture's paranormal division. Every major city had one, at least in Japan. Major cities around the world such as London, York, and New York City had one as well-a necessity since they all had substantial paranormal populations. Hiding in plain sight, yet when that population and the human one collided, the results could be violent, too violent to go unchecked.
"We are all here for one reason-shutting down Asahi Hirayama's operations in Yokohama." He hit a button on a remote, causing the projection behind him to change. The aforenamed oni's face, name, and background appeared. Although Ririko could see it well enough, she had a personal hand-held document with the same information appear in front of her, as did everyone else. She immediately recognized it to be magic, whose magic didn't matter. Along with several others, she took hold of it and ran down the information as Tatehori read it aloud. "Asahi Hirayama, current head of the Hirayama Syndicate. Oni. Yakuza. They've been the dominant power in Yokohama, and most of southern Japan, for the last five-hundred years; as of the last twenty, their operations have expanded. One such expansion has draw attention-the production and usage of the mystic drug known as Stix." A new slide emerged, as did a new report in the hands of the audience. Ririko internally wrestled with rather or not to look at it. She'd already seen enough of Stix, yet Libra might have information even she wasn't privy to.
The image of Tsukune's black-veined body flashed in her mind. With it came pain that briefly materialized on her face. She bit it back, even as her eyes honed in the massive slide showing the inky black substance. It was Stix in its purest form, likely directly when it was extracted from the River Styx.
"Stix, a magical drug derived directly from the River Styx in the Underworld-the Greek Underworld. Yes, as in the same from the Iliad, with almost all the same properties. Invulnerability to pretty much every mortal weapon on top of a heightened resistance to magical attacks. It also comes with all-around physical as well as mystical enhancement. It's been noted a Stix user's power increased in proportion to their anger, something to be aware of on this mission." Grim looks all around, both from Tatehori's brief explanation and likely what was read in the reports. Those went into more detail, oh, and they included pictures. Some of those pictures flashed on the screen-individuals whose veins were black as night along with their eyes, an aura of darkness flaring up around them. "For the past year and a half, the Hirayama have been harvesting Stix from the River Styx itself; that means they have a Hell Gate in their possession, or likely several. They have refined it into a drug that is ingestible in various forms, and promptly shipped it to various buyers all over the world. Human, monster, magical, and mundane, they've done business with all of them." He paused letting that sink in, or perhaps letting attendees connect the dots. Tatehori recognized the expressions on their faces as his next words were clarifications. "Stix is the reason the balance of power in certain corners of the world have shifted."
There was a murmur about how "shifted" didn't even scratch the surface. Ririko heard talk of how there'd been some outright uprisings. Including against vampires. Her mind flashed to the academy's sole vampire, whom she recalled Tsukune hadn't been able to contact. She now had a good theory as to why that'd been the case.
"A center point of Asahi's Stix production is here in Yokohama, production, testing, and selling." The next slide came, and it caused the strongest churning in Ririko's stomach. She somberly watched the videos of the arena fights that Asahi had organized at Wakamoto Stadium. There were some gasps amongst the assembly as they witnessed the brutality that'd been going on there, as well as the level of power expressed by the combatants. "What you're seeing is live footage recorded by our scouts who were there. Make no mistake, people, Asahi is creating destroyers, and pitting them against each other for spectacle and profit. These are future mercenaries, living WMDs, in the making. In addition to that, the matches are illegal gambling of the highest order. Fortunes are being made and lost with each of these matches, so make no mistake, people are going to fight to hold onto this operation."
I wonder if some of this insider information is coming from people who've lost a fortune, as well. They were modern day gladiator matches, but with modernized gambling where money could be transferred electrically. All it took was a few blinking numbers and the rich could find themselves dirt poor, and the rich could get richer. That was undoubtedly what some of the high rollers were going for-others were there for the "living WMDs" as Tatehori had described them. There were hundreds, if not thousands of individuals who'd be willing to give up millions in exchange for a powerful, nigh-invulnerable fighter under their control. Control, that must be the other thing that they're testing out. How exactly are they being controlled into fighting, because there's no doubt some of them have gone berserk from the Stix infusion.
The slide became one of the layout of the arena. It wasn't a singular building, nor even a top floor and a bottom floor, but a multi-layered basement. Ririko was quietly surprised to see there were some eight floors beneath the stadium, some triple it in size. All below Yokohama, with its own subway system; speaking of which, Ririko spotted a few private trainlines that ran out of the facility and into the rest of the city. It was mentioned that police would be moderating each of these stations-it was obvious that once the raid occurred, people would make a beeline for them. Holding them down was going to be a colossal task, but Ririko was sure that enough manpower had been assembled to do just that.
As immoral as it would have sounded, Ririko didn't care about that. She didn't care if some would-be dictators or rich idiots who indulged in sadism for fun got away. Her eyes honed in on the fourth floor beneath the arena-the prisoner section. The fighters, the "guinea pigs," Tsukune, were being held there in cages with their powers neutralized. From what little she remembered of Roman history, that was akin to how gladiators were held when they weren't fighting. That's where Tsukune was being held, where he was led back after he'd finished his fights in the arena. He and the other prisoners would be there until they were called up to fight, or taken down to one of the labs for more experimentation. Those labs made up the next two floors, and they were humungous in size. If they couldn't be seized, they were going to be destroyed, along with the Hell Gate that rested at the bottom of the arena.
Tatehori's face grew dark as shadows. Fitting as the current slide showed a black and red portal of fire and darkness, snarling and roaring as if it were a living creature-a rather angry creature. Beyond the darkness lay shapes, multiple and varied, with several moving. Ririko felt her body tense, a sensation she knew she wasn't alone in feeling. Hushed breaths washed over the assembly, again. "Hell Gates, some of you have heard of them, and I'm sure you thought they were just legends. I'm here to tell you they're not. As I said, Stix was harvested from the waters of the River Styx, directly in the Underworld. Somehow, the Hirayama have one beneath Wakamoto Stadium. We're going to shut it down, by any means necessary. It cannot remain open, rather it's in the Hirayama's control or not." Another pause to let his words sink in, and maybe give everyone a second to catch their breath. "We will have a dedicated squad to do that, the best sorcerers we've been able to assemble. When they complete their mission, you'll likely feel it in an energy wave that'll reach throughout the entire stadium. Just because you feel that doesn't mean this mission is over with. It's not over until all levels of this place are shut down and the ringleaders either dead or arrested." His word choice led him to looking over to Commissioner Seta, who stood stone-faced throughout his entire explanation. Now seeing it was her turn she replaced him at the podium.
The commanding aura she'd radiated off to the side was elevated now that she was the center of attention. Not a word was spoken giving her complete control of the room. She commanded it with her first words. "This is a raid, this is a police operation, and it will be a life-or-death battle. The men and women you will be encountering will be harden killers, rather you're police, military, Libra or not, it won't matter. Hesitate and you will die, that is pure and simple." She sounded less like a police commissioner and more like a military commander, but given the situation, the latter was more appropriate. "As painful as it is, even those we're trying to rescue will pose a threat. It's entirely possible that to thwart us, Asahi will order his Stix fighters to be unleashed. They will tear you apart even if you tell them you're there to rescue them." Her gaze swept across the room, practically meeting the eyes of each and every person.
Ririko wished they'd missed hers, but they did. Her heart leaped in her chest recalling just how violent Tsukune had been during his matches. He looked like he'd tear apart anyone who stood before him, and that probably included her.
"Although we have the means to subdue Stix fighters, that is not a reason to trad lightly. Far from it. Even if any of the restraining spells we have work, they may take a second or two to take effect; that is a second in which any of you could lose your lives, remember that. If not for your own sake, remember it for the sake of the people beside you, as well as your families." Commissioner Seta's voice was stern, yet there was an undercurrent of compassion in it. Even if losses were to be expected, she wanted them to be as few as possible. That meant people had to know what they were in for. "Restraint first, but if that fails, lethal force is authorized. That includes confrontations with scientific personnel. One way or another, their research must cease, before it costs more lives, and that can include your own or those close to you."
Her hands tightened in her lap at those words. They were harder for her to grasp despite how much she agreed with them.
She went over precisely what sort of anti-Stix measures were being taken. They had access to holy weapons, and holy magic. Guns were being loaded with the assorted rounds, although so too were holy steel restraints and the like being readied as well. Their power would neutralize that of the Styx flowing through the veins of the fighters, allowing them to be safely extracted. On top of that, there would be holy magic, the only type of magic that would be able to harm beings blessed by the River Styx. It'd take divine power to neutralize divine power.
It was a paradox, how something so dark could still count as holy, but that was the case. The Styx River was presided over by a goddess, from whom it derived its name from. Dark and dreadful she may have been Styx was still a god, and the river she commanded carried her heavenly power. In that undoubtedly lay some appeal to those looking to harness the river's power for their own ends. Ordinary monsters couldn't hope to scratch the invulnerability granted by the river, nor could even monsters of the lauded S-Class, vampires included.
Ririko thought of the knife she'd taken with her, Tsukune's knife. Beforehand, she had every intention of taking it with her, but as the meeting wore on, she found her resolved strengthened. Not simply for protection, but just maybe seeing it would bring Tsukune back to his senses if she needed something to jolt awake his mind.
She prayed seeing it would be all that was needed. If not…once again, her hands tightened. Not since her disastrous attempt to tutor Tsukune had she ever raised a hand against him. The thought of doing so now thoroughly sickened her. More so remembering that the silver knife was the same he used to fend off Saizo and his thugs when they were seconds away from gangraping her. What sort of twisted irony was this?
It doesn't matter what it is. All that matters is that you find him and get him out. Even if you have to get…a little violent. If it came to that, she hoped Tsukune would forgive her. Ririko didn't want to push her luck in regards to his forgiveness. That said… He'd want me to stop him before he hurt anyone. That's…the kind of person he is.
After several more speeches and slides, it was back to Asahi. He was the highest priority target for the raid, although something told her that neither Tatehori nor Seta were betting on capturing him. He was the leader of one of Japan's strongest oni clans, a title he'd taken and held onto for the last eleven years through brutality and cunning. Ririko had the unquenchable feeling that he wasn't going to go down easy. She'd love it if he did, but that probably wasn't in the cards. More so given the entourage he'd likely have on him.
According to reports, Asahi was an S-Class monster himself, but that didn't stop him from traveling with protection. Despite such power, he also seemed to be something of an equal opportunity employer. Few monsters would employ a human being as a right-hand man, such a thing was laughable at best, but Ririko couldn't deny what she was seeing and hearing.
Kaishi Akamine, a name she'd never heard of, and if things had been different, she probably never would have heard of it in her entire life. Nor would she have ever placed the face, either. He had the face and demeanor of a man born five-hundred years too late; she'd have accused him of being some type of monster if she wasn't staring at the hard-confirmed information in her hand. He was human, and yet he possessed superhuman strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, durability, and finally the ability to wield a Muramasa sword. She reread that part again, twice, and then she removed her glasses and reread it again. Ririko wasn't the only one as a few hands went up, asking for confirmation about what they were all reading. Was this stone-faced man really wielding a Muramasa sword? And was he really human, having wielded it for two decades without having gone violently insane or turned into a demon? Of course such a person had to be involved in this mess.
His face was like a chiseled piece of stone, worn yet possessing an undeniable hardness that dared anyone to try their hand at him. They'd be smashed to pieces. The way his green eyes glared ahead gave the impression he'd stoically walk over the remains without a second thought. Undoubtedly, he'd done so numerous times in his work as Asahi's enforcer. He likely oversaw the Stix operations, and if he wielded a Muramasa blade, he might have been responsible for handling any "experiments" that got out of line. Looking at what was known of the male brunette, he'd faced his fair share of monsters and came out victorious. There was a temptation to write it off as due solely to his weapon, but that would have been disingenuous. There was a four-page summary detailing how he'd defeated an entire pack of werewolf hitmen using nothing but his martial arts ability. Skimming through the file, Ririko got the sense this Kaishi Akamine was one of those humans who lived to fight; he really had been born during the wrong century. Or maybe not considering what the world was coming to.
Speaking of werewolves, surprise, Asahi had one of those working for him as well. Masuya Takano, a brute of a man with thick yet combed black hair and fierce coppery-yellow eyes. A discerning scar ran down his left eye, a mark of his unflinching loyalty to his boss when he was captured. Breaking free on his own, he made it back to Asahi and continued to serve under him, becoming one of his most valued enforcers. His captors had been added to a body count that was according to the report, in the triple digits, maybe quadruple. Oh, and according to what she was reading, he seemed to enjoy collecting souvenirs from defeated opponents. A far-cry from the perverted but ultimately mostly decent werewolf she knew in the newspaper club's president. This Masuya Takano sounded like the darker end goal of several of the werewolves she'd seen at Yōkai Academy.
Kumagoro Haramoto, another longtime enforcer to Asahi Hirayama. An onikuma, a demon bear. Like Masuya Takano, he too was physically scarred, but more extensively so. A horizontal scar across the bridge of his nose with a vertical one going down his right cheek as well as a diagonal one above his left eyebrow. There were surely numerous more across his body, which he'd honed into a deadly weapon in the service of the Hirayama. He'd survived numerous attempts to end that service, including once being nearly cut in half. Such a record was enough to earn the moniker "tough bastard" several times from across those seated. There were likely a few others who warranted such a reaction.
For an "evil bastard," Ririko would say there was none more deserving than Yasushiki Konishi, Asahi's head scientist. A stereotypical mad scientist come to life. It wasn't his sable-black hair, which was rather neatly combed to left side with not a hair out of place. It was his eyes, there was something in those chocolate-brown eyes that just screamed something was wrong with this man. The smile, too. His lax smile as he stared into the camera just spoke of something…off with this man. All that was before she even started reading his profile. Graduated from the Tokyo University of Science majoring in all manner of biological studies, including medical research. Pretty much everything he needed to become some nationally acclaimed and beloved doctor who saved lives. Human and monster lives, apparently, as he studied mystical medicine as well. Ririko wondered if that'd led him to discover some of the herbs and substances used during the ancient world by shamans and mystics. That would have explained how he managed to take the waters of the River Styx and…refine them so.
Several minutes passed with her and the rest of the assembly looking over the profiles. Absolutely no one seemed to be thrilled about who, and what, they were going to be running into. While everyone knew the threat of death was a very real possibility, it seemed to be sinking in even harder now that they knew who could potentially be causing it. And maybe that death might come as a sweet mercy, given the things this Dr. Konishi would inflict upon them if he decided they were more useful as test subjects.
Had he…had he been the one to infuse Tsukune with Stix? What had he done to him? The anger was short-lived thanks to her rapid suppression. Ririko couldn't let her emotions keep getting the best of her. She'd just read through several files dedicating why that would be an absolutely horrible idea. Ugh, this is what love does to a person, to me. It was worthy of a laugh. Amidst her cooling down, she refocused on something else, what her ultimate goal was. As much as she wanted to squeeze the life out of these bastards, Tsukune's safety was paramount. It, he, was the reason she'd came here, and was the reason she wasn't leaving Yokohama.
Commissioner Seta began speaking again, talking about the teams that were going to be assigned to storm specific portions of the facility. As before, she listened with keen interest, absorbing every detail. All of it would bring her one step closer to rescuing the young man she'd loved. Even if the plan went awry somewhere, she wasn't going to stop. Not even if she came face-to-face with the Hirayama oyabun himself.
An internal hush washed over her once more realizing what she'd come to this city as, not as a teacher, just…as a woman trying to rescue the man she loved.
Who'd have thought that'd ever be her?
"Are you going to ask me why I prefer whisps?"
"I just figured it was your…preference."
"Have you…heard about me and my…quirks?"
Sazama's lips curved into a slight smile. Befitting a man who rarely smiled, when he did, they were pleasant to see. "I've heard a thing or two. Everyone has their kinks, including educators."
Ririko laughed, something she hadn't done since her talk with Shizuka. She'd had something to say about her…kinks, herself. Practically everyone did. It was definitely not something one would have imagined; it was hard not to notice how out of place it seemed.
Speaking of out of place, her current whip was one. Ririko had a thing for whips, they being her weapon of choice, as well as one of her…kinks. She had an array of whips for a few occasions, but this situation required something else, something new. Ordinarily, Ririko never would have sought that something out, but desperate times called for desperate measures. There came a time when even monsters prayed, and sometimes, those prayers were answered.
She'd been given a choice between a steel whip and a leather one. Between the two, the former had more powerful, but she'd gone for the latter. Even then, the blessed leather possessed enough power that even a glancing blow could flaw the skin off a vampire and incinerate the flesh beneath. A full-on blow would leave them crippled on the ground waiting for the death blow. Ririko ran her hand over the golden leather that glistened like starlight. That's what it felt like, starlight in physical form, and hers to wield as well. Every attack she made left trails of light in its wake. Contact burned the shadow-tinted practice dummies that came at her. The darkness burned away on contact, leaving only a brief trail of smoke before dissipating. Twirling it above her head creating a swirl of light that resembled a galaxy; a galaxy right above her head, what an amazing thing. Even more incredible, Ririko didn't feel a thing.
No burn from the holy power that flowed through the whip-a power that was the antithesis to her kind. A power that'd been used to ward her kind off for millennia.
With Sazama still watching her, she went back to her training, lashing at the new wave of enemies that came at her. Besides their purple eyes, they had no other discernable features. Given the foul dark energy that rolled off them, they didn't' need much else to be intimidating.
They froze the second her whip made contact with them, screaming in pain before they crumbled to the ground with the darkness dissipating from them. If, or maybe when, she encountered the Stix-infused fighters in Wakamoto Stadium, she believed it'd play out the same. Minus them potentially dying.
Feeling curious, Ririko whipped the ground around her, igniting bursts of light that that shot dozens of feet upward. The heat of the light, the raw power, Ririko felt it on her skin like a scorching summer sun, the likes of which had been quite common for the past few days. If she hadn't been bound to the whip then Ririko knew she'd feel it burning her skin. That's what it'd do to her enemies. Their moment of blindness would be the opportunity she needed.
"If you don't mind me asking, when did you find your affinity for whips?" Sazama called from his place on the sidelines. He was standing well out of range of her attacks, by a good fifteen feet. That said, Ririko had a hunch the whip's length could be expanded if she willed it to. That was the next thing she was going to test out. Ririko knew the extended length wouldn't come in as much handy as it could have in a tight space. If she got out into the open though, it'd be a different story.
Her holy whip crackled against another training dummy, sending it tumbling backward. She kept her focus on the second shaded dummy coming her way. "Some part of me always had a thing for…authority. A way to get people under control and let them know I wouldn't tolerate anymore chaos. No weapon says that like a whip." Even if she kept her focus on the dummies, she still felt Sazama's gray eyes on her. Not quite the answer he was looking for. "Maybe a part of me liked the fact that whips could be used for both combat and…recreational purposes."
"Interesting definition of recreational." He mused.
Ririko chuckled. "Yes, well, I did a bit of digging. Guess you could say it was part of my sexual awakening. S can have its implications in battle. Few other weapons have that application."
It was Sazama's turn to laugh. "You're not wrong about that. Whips always carry that motif. Granted, if you head to certain parts of the world, it hits differently."
"Yes, Sazama, I know. Believe me, I do." Dominance was an interesting thing. Everyone liked having it, although that was precisely why everyone hated losing it. Ririko had learned that lesson quite well over the years. Some people lived off the dominance they could hold over others, being unable to live without it. There was a toxic exhilaration that came with stripping others of their power and freedom. The more brutally down, the better. Those dominants were the worst, and Ririko was sure that the people they'd be running into once they hit Wakamoto Stadium's lower levels. "No one ever likes being at a loss for control."
"…You think the kid's going to be…no, that's rude of me. He's definitely going to come out of this with damage." She stopped her whipping and looked back to Sazama. His stoic exterior had fallen. There was a sadness on his face that Ririko sympathized with, that she knew of. While she knew little about the male brunette, she had a feeling he'd seen his share of horrible things, the arena fights…she had no idea where they ranked, but his disapproval of them had been subtly shown. "Once his memory starts coming back, there's going to be a lot of things he's going to blame himself for."
"I know." Her voice was bitter, although more self-directed than anything. "I…I should have done more to protect him. If I'd gone with him then-"
"From what I hear, he gave himself up to protect the bus driver taking him back. He'd have done the same to save you." Although his words were meant to soothing, Ririko responded to them with a glare. Sazama didn't recoil from it. The sympathy in his gray eyes remained undeterred, and it was enough to finally sooth her still simmering anger. It sunk to the bottom, but it would rise again, just not now. "Ms. Kagome, I'm not going to sugarcoat it, you remember what we saw the other day. Restraining him, getting him to calm down isn't going to be easy…but for his sake-"
"I'm going to do it. Whatever it takes."
"Yeah…I figured that, and it's something the kid's going to have going for him." Sazama remarked with a thin smile. There was a hint of amusement not just in it, but in his voice as well.
The training room ahd gone quiet, giving Ririko time to more fully contemplate the slow-forming relationship between her and the Libra operative. He wasn't devoid of humor, or compassion for that matter, which was a plus. She was lucky he was somewhat understanding of her emotional state whereas others could have been sterner with her. Perhaps that's what Ririko needed, but she wasn't complaining about who her contact had ended up being.
"Sazama," Frankly, she wanted to point the finger at Shizuka. It just had to be her that opened the door that she couldn't close. Ririko doubted she'd be able to close it until she and Tsukune were face-to-face again. "How much did you…how much did you…know about…have you wondered about how protective I am of Tsukune?"
"You mean beyond what a teacher would feel for a student?" Ririko averted her gaze, which was practically an admission in itself. Though she wasn't looking, she could hear-she heard his footsteps, then something opening. Ririko looked back and saw him opening an icebox. She caught the water bottle he tossed with a casual indifference. Ririko caught it, but she didn't open it, not even when she joined him on the bench. Only after he'd uncapped his and let the contents flow down his throat did she join him. The sound of their swallowing filled the gymnasium, as did its echo. Ririko felt it like the tolling of a bell. "I was just told that this mission, this Tsukune Aono, was someone incredibly special to you, no more than that." Sazama's voice gave no hint of disgust or dismay, it remained awash in neutrality; Ririko appreciated it. "I've seen people react to loved ones being in danger, and that's how you reacted. It wasn't the maternal kind of love; I've seen that before."
She clenched the water bottle. "I wish that's all it were. Really, I do, it's just…"
"You don't have to tell me, Ms. Kagome. It's not my place to know, or judge you."
"Is it? I'm a teacher and Tsukune my student! This is…this is-"
"I'm no stranger to forbidden relationships, ya' know." He held up his hand lighting a flame in it. She'd never seen the calm, nostalgic look on his face before; it was proof he was being open about something very personal. "My grandmother was a yōkai while my father was a human. It was a union her family and village weren't fans of, but she didn't let that stop her. She left home with my grandfather and never looked back."
"Sounds like she was a brave woman." She genuinely offered. It was a common story, be it human or monster. Whichever it was, families could not exactly be receptive to a member choosing someone from the other side. Having a demon for a grandmother explains his proficiency with magic. "So…what happened?"
"Years passed, my grandparents had my parents, and then they had me. All the while, her village never forgot. In particular, this one guy who had eyes on my grandma never got over her choosing a human being over him." The flame grew hotter, and with it Sazama's expression colder. She could already see where the story was going. "He hunted my grandmother down and tried to kill her and my grandfather. He ended up getting my dad instead, their son." She felt the heat from the smoldering flame in his voice.
"I'm…sorry, Sazama. I really am."
His gaze remained focused on the flame, and his voice tight. "He'd have killed me if my mother hadn't stopped him, though he'd just turned his ire toward her. Luckily, help arrived, and then…we grieved. The two of us, my grandparents, all of us just grieved. After that, at least for me came…anger. Anger that my dad, one of the most important people in the world to me, had to die, and partially because some guy wasn't able to accept my grandma chose a human over a fellow demon like him. I'm sure you've heard this story before. Ms. Kagome."
"I…have. A good number of people have."
"And what about Yōkai Academy? I'm sure you've seen a lot of broken heart squabbles."
"More than you can imagine." Her response came with a humorful laugh that belayed just violent those squabbles had been. There was nothing quite like drama mixed with bloodlust. It wasn't Ririko's favorite aspect of Yōkai Academy, but it was something she'd learned to live with working there. "Even I can admit a broken heart can do things to a person."
"…Are you ready to potentially suffer one yourself?"
It was like a stab of ice (how fitting) to her heart. Ririko felt her blood grow cold as it continued to flow through her veins. As terrifying as it was, it was momentary, just as she hoped potentially heartbreak would be. "I'm…bracing myself. I've read enough to know that's the possibility that comes with falling in love. In my case, I'd be a fool not to. I'm…I'm not what a high school boy like Tsukune would look twice at, or should be going after. Besides, he's already got four admirers, one of whom he's clearly shown a mutual interest in." It was important to remember that, that she wasn't the first to fall for Tsukune, just the latest in a line. And by far the strangest addition. Without a doubt, she was also the least likely to happen, well…maybe right before Yukari. As far as she could tell, that one might as well have been listed as "never." She was certain of that. Mostly.
While she readdressed her status in the multi-sided love triangle, Sazama mulled over her words. He was continuing to take everything pretty well. "I asked my grandmother if she…regretted marrying my grandfather about a year after the attack. She looked me in the eye and said hell no." The laugh he gave was the most jubilant she'd ever seen, as well as probably the most she'd seen-in-person in weeks. It shocked Ririko to her core. "Actually, what she said was hell fucking no, she didn't regret it! Marrying my granddad made her the happiest woman in the world, and raising my dad…gaining a daughter-in-law in my mom…having me…she didn't regret any of it. Sure, she was heartbroken over what happened, but there were no regrets in any of the choices she'd made. She shot her shoot, and she hit home." Once his laughter ceased, he looked straight at her, a light smile in contrast to her blushing cheeks and slight agape mouth. "That's something that mattered a lot to her. Putting herself out there, true form, true heritage, and all, before my granddad. Yeah, it was a gamble…but that's what love is. At least, that's what I learned from her, and my mom. She didn't regret marrying a half-demon like my dad at all, even though it put her life in danger."
"Shoot…her shot. Shoot your shot." Ririko remembered how she'd heard that before, both in school and at work. A child or adult, love could find anyone, and Ririko had learned that first hand.
"I know this may not be the most…moral advice, but after seeing my father die over race, a teacher-student relationship just doesn't hit quite as hard. Especially in this crazy world we live in. Heh, not to mention some of the assignments I've had."
"How long have you worked for Libra?" Ririko questioned.
"Since I was eighteen…which was also when I avenged my father. So, that's about twenty-one years." Sazama answered.
Yep, I'm with a veteran operative. Really the best type of help I could have been given, or perhaps the best handler I could have been given. Taking that information, she formulated and asked her next question. "In all that time, have you ever had a mission like this one?"
Sazama seemed to realize his answer would influence her confidence, even if only a small way. That said, she wanted the truth. "This mission isn't the most dangerous…but it's no cakewalk, either. In fact, the presence of Stix and the Hell Gate are catapulted this one to the upper echelon in terms of danger. I'm under no delusion that potentially a quarter to half the people in that assembly will be dead by the time this is over with. I'm also predicting we're going to be making the six o'clock news, but I'm hoping it'll be for no more than a freak earthquake or a building disaster. Not hellspawn bursting from the earth and flooding Yokohama."
While she'd focused on her own private mission, that was a reminder that there were greater things at play. A portal to the underworld was open somewhere beneath the stadium, and if they didn't shut it down…the world would know a darkness it hadn't seen in millennia. That couldn't happen. As a member of Yōkai Academy, she couldn't let it happen.
Standing up, she strode back out onto the court. She grabbed the whip and stretched it out, the golden glow illuminating her determined face.
Sazama took it to mean one thing, yet he still asked the obvious question. "So, ready to get back at it?"
"I've got the rest of the afternoon to get used to this, and make myself as ready as possible. I'm not going to waste the opportunity." She declared. "Sazama,"
He sat up as well, stretching his hands out. Magic circles manifested at the tip of his fingers. "Alright. Since you asked for it, we're going to be turning it up a notch. Brace yourself."
8:43 PM…
The calm before the storm, always the most nerve-wrecking part of any big event, or operation. Kinmaru had learned of it from an early age, and he'd continued to feel it growing up. At only sixteen-years-old, he knew he wasn't going to be free of the feeling any time soon. Only death would do that, and given what he'd gotten involved in, even that wasn't a certainty.
Kaku had the right idea suggesting broiled yellowtail. There was something relaxing about it, which he needed for the night. Of course, the question of dessert was on everyone's mind, too. Kinmaru broke from the others in going for something beside caramel pudding, although it was a tasty choice. No, what he'd gone for was a bowl full of dorayaki. Perfect treat when you wanted to look out over the cityscape and contemplate your future, amongst other things. No need to worry about anything melting.
Yokohama was a pretty nice place, in fact, Kinmaru would say he might have preferred it to Tokyo or even Kyoto. Without a doubt, it was more bustling than the latter. Still, maybe what he also wanted right about now was the serene quiet that came with the ancient capital. If everything went south, he could try running away to either city, albeit Tokyo more so than Kyoto. As much as he enjoyed the place, it was a bit too…hot for a monster like himself. Especially one looking to upset the balance of power.
That was one of the similarities he and Asahi had, one of the few they would both admit to. Young upstarts they were, but they weren't giving up on their dreams. It was that same determination that'd help lead them to conflict with each other.
He wondered if Asahi was looking out over the skyline like him. He had every reason to do so with joyful confidence, more so if he knew what was coming. Kinmaru could only hope he didn't. If he did know, tomorrow's raid on Wakamoto Stadium was going to go belly up, and yet…even if he knew, Kinmaru wanted to believe they'd be able to triumph. Lose the element of surprise, but fight on-there was too much at stake to just walk away. At least, that's how Kinmaru felt. Given what information had been passed onto Libra, they likely knew the same thing. Leaving a Hell Gate open beneath a populated center was not a good idea if you wanted to preserve the current world order. Frankly, Kinmaru didn't relish the idea of demons and chthonic creatures running wild. Keyword being "wild."
"This could pose a problem." Jūtarō remarked.
Mitsugu snorted in expected disgust. "No shit, Jūta. As much as I'd love to say I want to fight some hellspawn, fighting them while they're amped up and pissed is a little more than what I'd want. At least at my current level."
Kenki chimed in as well, a scowl on his face. "It's not like the rest of us would fare any better, save for maybe Kinmaru or Hitori."
His half-brother's own stern glare remained unchanging as he stared at the pictures. Although Kinmaru had a feeling he wanted to test his mettle too, he wasn't blind to the potential dangers of hell beasts running wild. Particularly the more dangerous ones, which were well beyond their capability to fight.
If worse came to worse, Kinmaru had a strong feeling Asahi would unleash his hell beasts. After all, turning them loose on some raiders attempting to shut down his operation would be a great marketing move. More so when they successfully tore the invaders to shreds.
Instead of chomping down on his latest dorayaki, he transformed his arm. The olive skin turned rugged and brown; its crude was something he always took joy in, right alongside his more refined golden hide. He'd deflected a great many blows with his stone skin, including attacks that would have brought middle B-Class demons to their knees. Sure, he'd been put close to death, but he'd made sure his enemies had breathed their last before him. As proud as he was of that track record, Kinmaru knew that didn't mean he was ready to face the powerful beasts that prowled the underworld. Their fangs and teeth would tear through his stone skin, and even his gold skin, although he wanted to believe his attacks would be able to make them feel pain in return.
If defeating your enemy wasn't an option, making them hurt was a decent enough consolation prize. That's was one of the tenets of the Hirayama, passed down through the generations. A few had learned to temper that with knowing when to fall back and cut one's losses. Kinmaru had to prepare himself to do that in case tomorrow's raid went badly.
All that said, he was betting that it'd be more success than failure. Libra was sending their best in, as were apparently the police; he'd given them all the insider help he could in addition to their own moles within Asahi's operation. Finally, there was Tsukune.
"…What?"
Hitori stopped Jūtarō from speaking, probably because he wanted to be the one to get it out as clearly as possible so Kinmaru didn't ask for a repeat. That's what he usually did. "Kin, Asahi's kidnapped Tsukune."
He'd been two days into his summer vacation, and that turned out to be the only two days of summer vacation he'd been able to enjoy. Once he absorbed the news, which came with a bellow roar that shook the building to is foundations, he found it in himself to be calm again, mostly. "Where is he?"
"We're trying to figure that out. Mitsugu is scrying for him as we speak. I put the word out to the others to do the same." Hitori answered again keeping a cool demeanor, as was expected of him.
"I'm going to make some calls. Keep me updated." It'd been tempting to slam the laptop down hard enough to break it, but Kinmaru held that still simmering anger within. He'd held it in long enough to get in contact with his best trackers and tell them to find Tsukune Aono. Preferably within the next twenty-four hours. Afterward, he smashed his fist into the nearest wall, damn near bringing it down atop of him. If the servants didn't know he was pissed before, they certainly knew then. Still, he refrained from taking it out on them-Kinmaru had tried to move past that, although he did slip up every now and then.
Having his golden egg stolen from him was certainly enough to get him dangerously close to doing so.
Storming back to his office, Kinmaru plopped back down in his seat. The first thing that popped into his mind was how Asahi knew about Tsukune; there was only one answer-he had someone at Yōkai Academy. Either a student or faculty member, maybe one of each. Recruiting directly from the academy was something everyone did. The Headmaster could only do so much to steer students down the path of co-existence or at least neutrality. It couldn't be said he was unsuccessful, in fact, Mikogami had quite a few success stories to his name. However, his school was still a breeding ground for chaos and intrigue.
Like Shigeki, Asahi must have been on the lookout for anyone who was able to achieve a high synch rate with Stix. It might have surprised him such a person turned out to be a human, but Tsukune had the strength of will, and suppressed anger, to take Stix and make it his own power.
Plus, and most tantalizingly, Asahi wouldn't dare pass up an opportunity to steal something so valuable-so golden-right from underneath Kinmaru's nose.
It'd taken two days to find Tsukune in Yokohama. When Kinmaru saw him fighting in Wakamoto Stadium, he was many things, but most predominantly, he was impressed. Awestruck. Dazzled. Tsukune wasn't a survivor anymore, he was a fighter, a powerful one-the type of fighter Kinmaru believed he would become. Asahi had decided to fast track the transformation, and the results were glorious. Terrifyingly glorious.
There was no way in hell Kinmaru was going to let his brother have him. He'd scouted Tsukune first and set his sights on him.
As much as he was willing to, as much as he was, fighting for Tsukune, he also fully expected the (former) human to fight himself. If he gave him an opening, Kinmaru wanted to believe Tsukune would take it. Surely the fighting spirit he'd sensed in him hadn't been stamped or suppressed just yet.
Finally, he devoured the pastry pancake he'd been leisurely toying with in his hands. Surprisingly, he hadn't dropped it, not that it'd be a big loss-he had a dozen more.
"Don't you dare give up, Tsukune. Don't let that gold shine of yours get scorched black." Kinmaru whispered to the quiet solitude if his office. There was no way Tsukune could hear him, yet he hoped his inner strength was still holding. He knew Tsukune had undoubtedly been through a lot in the past week, but he wanted to believe it wasn't enough to break him. "Stay strong, Tsukune, just stay strong…"
Wakamoto Stadium Prison Leve, 7:45 AM…
There was no way to tell when it was morning or not on their own. Given what the day promised, it hardly mattered. Sleeping in seemed appealing, and indeed, the only productive thing one could do. At least in dreams one could escape the captivity; the lucky ones could, anyone, as Tsukune had found out.
He'd gone to sleep in darkness, dreamed of darkness, and awoke to darkness. The only light that could be found came the hallways, and later that of the arena. Didn't exactly make it something to look forward to, which probably contributed to his growing acceptance of the darkness. Tsukune supposed it was well and truly a part of him now, and that wasn't changing anytime soon.
The lights and the cheering crowd, they'd become an almost inseparable combination. If it wasn't the arena then it was the operating room. Honestly, Tsukune would take the arena over the latter.
Rummaging over his memories, he took slim comfort in that hopefully he wouldn't be paying a visit to the labs and Dr. Konishi. The less he saw of the mad doctor, the better.
"Hey, Tsukune, you awake?"
Smiling, he responded, "Yeah, though I was hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep."
"Heh, far be it from me to stop you." Miyumi responded with a chirper tone. "You do have a big match today. You're going to need all the rest you can get."
"Trying to do that, although…maybe a small part of me is just a little eager." Tsukune answered back.
"For the fight to be over…or for the fight itself?"
He closed his eyes and calmly mulled over the question. At times he wished he could see Miyumi's face, although there were also times he was glad he couldn't. It felt like he was hiding himself, which he arguably was. "…I'd like to say a bit of both, but…maybe the latter. This Kurokaze, what's he like? How strong is he?"
"Are you wondering if you can beat him?" Miyumi called.
"Yeah."
"And only that?"
"Yes." He answered feeling a bit confused by her line of questioning.
"…Then you're focusing on winning and surviving, instead of going into the fight hoping to get yourself killed." There was a hint of approval in her voice.
Suddenly, it all came together. Tsukune let out a laugh. "I told you, until I get to Asahi, I've got no intention of dying." A hearty laugh from the other end. Who knew he'd have such a jolly time discussing fighting and potentially killing someone. Tsukune knew it spoke volumes about how far he'd come, or perhaps how far he'd fallen. "Would it be wrong to look at it like this, if I can beat this Kurokaze, I'll be a step closer to facing down Asahi?"
"Sure, that's one way to look at it, and a probably a good way." Miyumi offered. "Every strong opponent you defeat does bring you one step closer to the oni at the top of the mountain. That said, what about you personally, Tsukune?"
"…A part of me really does want to fight this guy." Sitting up, he glanced at his hand, remembering all the fights he'd been in where he'd claimed victory. Sometimes by the skin of his teeth. His fists had hurt from time to time, yet he pushed them, and the rest of his body onward to the next fight.
"That's you developing a fighting spirit, don't be ashamed of it, Tsukune. I know you didn't come in here a fighter, but…you're not chomping at the bit for every fight coming your way. You also haven't gone crazy. Yet."
How long before that happens, though? Tsukune didn't want to think about that question. It felt like it was only a matter of time until something inside of him permanently broke in this place. Rather it was before or after his body physically did was a grim question that was also in the air. Still, if I…do start enjoying fights, then what happens to me going-
It was as sudden as lightning, and like lightning, darkness was left in the aftermath, complete darkness. The lights in the hallway suddenly flickered out, no, snapped off. Tsukune immediately turned to them, curiosity replacing contemplation. A murmur of the same broke out amongst the other captives, including his next-door neighbor.
"Tsukune?" Miyumi called.
"Seeing it." No one had said anything about a blackout, although it was possible one was scheduled and no one had told them. "Miyumi, try to listen with me." Voices were rightly asking what the hell was going on, but Tsukune knew to get answers, he had to listen. Going dead still, he focused on his hearing as much as he could. There was a rising cacophony, but he pushed his senses to search past that.
"What the hell? No one told me about this."
"It wasn't scheduled. Quick, get on the line to the generator room. Backup power should have kicked on."
"Keep the prisoners under control, and don't act surprised! We can't have them getting riled up."
"I think it's a little late for that."
Yeah, damn right it's a little late for that. Glancing at his cuffs, he noticed they were still powered on. That meant the guards at least had a way to control them. That enforced control came with a shout for order as the lights remained turned off.
"Tsukune," Miyumi called from the next cell over.
"Yep, this apparently wasn't part of the morning plan." He responded.
"I don't think we're going to be getting breakfast."
"Listen up, the lot of you, quiet down! It's just a minor power outage! Start getting jumpy and it's going to cost you, dearly!" Yelled one of the guards as the prisoner chatter reached new heights. That must have been enough for some to decide to turn on the shock feature of the cuffs. Cries of pain echoed through the darkness, quieting the shouting just a hair. That lasted for only a few seconds, then the volume began to rise.
"Gaaaaarrrggggghh!" It'd been a while since he felt the supernatural shocks of his handcuffs. Tsukune would have been more than happy to go without it. So too would Miyumi, and the rest of their cellmates. As one, they all screamed in pain, their bodies writhing in the dark. Somewhere amidst the pain, Tsukune wondered exactly what kind of power was fueling these cuffs. The electricity wasn't normal, he knew that as nothing normal or "mundane" could hurt him or the other Stix-infused subjects. His pondering ended as soon as the shock did, leaving him groaning as he sat back against the wall. "D-Dammit,"
Miyumi was cruder in her response. "Fucking…assholes."
"Now then, since we're all on the same page, quiet down!" Yelled the guard. "Nobody causes a ruckus and you won't get shocked again!"
Tsukune didn't think the threat would hold if the lights stayed off. They hadn't even flickered back on. He huffed in the darkness along with the other prisoners. As the pain faded, he focused on his senses, his hearing and sight. The latter gave him nothing but groans and cursing, while the former he saw nothing beyond his cell bars. There had to be something else he could do. Every instinct in his gut told him that something was going on, something was happening and it had the Hirayama spooked.
Is it…could someone have…come to rescue us? The voice was timid, filled with uncertainty that only grew as the seconds passed. Rescue had been a dream that'd died within minutes of his captivity. Even if the academy knew he'd been kidnapped, Tsukune simply couldn't bring himself to hold out for them finding him and freeing him. That was probably owed to the soul-crushing despair that came with his realization of his capture, imprisonment, and newfound monstrous nature. Even after those things gained sullen acceptance, the idea of a rescue still seemed impossible. Now, ironically, in the darkness of his cell block, he found the idea gaining steam.
The quiet acknowledgement that his hope could be for naught crossed his mind, and Tsukune had to admit, that one was a distressingly high possibility.
"Tsukune, you still with me?" Miyumi called.
"Yeah, don't worry. I'm still here."
"Thinking you might not be here much longer?" It seemed he wasn't the only one thinking about a faint hope. "Miyumi, do you think…" he trailed off as if he were too scared to fully voice the possibility. If he did, it'd dissipate into thin air, no doubt as it'd done numerous times before.
Seconds before she could respond, something shook the entire cellblock. In the absolute darkness, it was seemed to hit all the harder.
Miyumi shouted over the continued rumbling. "Yep, I'm thinking it is! The place has never shook like this before! At least not while I've been here!"
Tsukune looked at his cuffs, his heartbeat suddenly roaring in his ears. Something was going on, a potential raid on the facility. If this was indeed a rescue attempt, then…then…maybe they weren't out of luck yet.
Even as he grappled with that growing light, Tsukune found himself not wanting to remain idle. What if the rescue failed? What if it wasn't a rescue at all, but simply a rival trying to steal them all away? So many new possibilities swam through his head as his cell continued to shake. All accumulated into one crystal-clear realization: he didn't want to remain idle. An opportunity to escape had presented itself, and instead of waiting for a potential rescue, Tsukune wanted to act.
You wanna break out? Think you're strong enough? Beckoned his inner voice.
Sitting up, Tsukune glared at his cuffs. "Only one way to find out." Shutting his eyes, he focused, harder than he ever had from within his ceil. He recalled his battles in the arena and the testing battles he did for Dr. Konishi. They'd forced him to draw forth humungous quantities of inner strength, much of which he never knew he possessed. It'd translated into power, but that'd been without these power-inhibiting cuffs. The damn things roared to life, like a series of spikes being driven directly into his nerves. It was trying to stop him, bottlenecking the surge of power he felt within him.
Tsukune gnashed his teeth and growled, the sound evolving into a booming roar. It intermixed with the continued earthquake, and potentially drowned it out. No, it drowned out everything. The cuffs were giving it everything they had to stop him, sending volts of agony-inducing lightning coursing through him, but he didn't stop. There was too much on the line for him to stop.
"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!"
In his mind's eyes appeared something, a squirming mass that grew as numerous hands came down upon it. They squeezed and pulled, yet the mass refused to submit. Tsukune didn't want it to submit, he wanted it to fight until it was able to free itself. As it thrashed, it kicked up waves that spread out far and wide. The more the beast thrashed, the more definite its shape became-long and serpentine, lined with glistening black scales that contrasted the rough hands that attempted to hold it down. How dare they? What right did they have to hold back such a mighty creature? With its fierce roar, Tsukune realized something else-the creature was closer than he thought.
He was the beast. He was the dragon.
Break out. Break out. Break out! Break out! BREAK OUT!
"RAAAAAAAWWWRRRR!"
Something snapped, external and internal. For the former, it was the sound of metal breaking, and something cracking. As for the latter, it almost felt like…something inside of him had been released. A sense of anxiety and bitterness finally leaving him.
Tsukune saw himself floating above the water, his head bent back in a mighty roar that continued to generate waves. It felt good, it felt right. He roared and roared, letting the endless abyss know he was free, finally free to do as he pleased. Those who sought to hold him down needed to know that, and they needed to know the consequences of trying to restrain him.
His first steps were brimming with that purpose, his footsteps sinking into the ground as he rumbled forward.
Suddenly, he stopped, a flicker of clarity returning to his mind. W-W-Wait, wait! The power continued to surge through him, but it was wobbly, chaotic.
"Tsukune! Tsukune! Calm down! Calm your mind and focus! Get the stream under control before it runs wild!" Came a voice to his left side, a familiar voice he'd grown to find comfort in.
Before turning to it, he followed the voice's advice. His power was brimming, but it was uncontrolled; he needed to do something about that. Closing his eyes, he took deep breaths, each one bringing him closer to his goal. He couldn't tell how many it took, but what mattered was he eventually achieved it.
His heart continued to thunder, yet he was able to focus enough to take stock of his surroundings. There was still darkness around him, but he could see through it so clearly. Tsukune saw the bars and the people behind them, scared and shocked, staring at him like he was some abnormality. Self-consciousness gnawing at him, he looked down at his hand. There were…scales on his palm. Was that normal?
"Tsukune? Are you still with us?"
"H-Hey, g-g-get us out of here, already! Do it before the guards noticed you busted out!" Someone shouted.
It all came rushing back to him. The question of how much power he'd expanded to bust out of his cell fell to the wayside. He still had it he could feel it. "J-Just give me a sec'!" Tsukune yelled. Turning back to his left, he looked through the cell, making out the outline of the voice that'd brought him back, the voice that helped him adjust to his imprisonment. "Miyumi!" he called.
"Yeah, that's me! Look, Tsukune-"
He was on the bars of her cell in a heartbeat, ripping at them with the supernatural strength coursing through him. They came undone in seconds. With her freed, he rapidly moved to another set, tearing at them with the same strength, and producing the same result. In seconds, his body fell into a rhythm of tearing bars away and moving onto the next one. People were shouting to head for the exits while others were screaming about the cuffs-they were still on. Tsukune was reminded of that when the bulk of the prisoners fell to the ground, screaming as bolts of electricity wracked their bodies. Thanks to the voltage, there was finally light in the hallway; the sight of a bunch of clenched over bodies wasn't the sort of thing Tsukune wanted to see.
Shit! What do I do! What do I do!
Freeze it! Freeze everything!
How the hell do I do that?!
Just follow me. The inner voice took control, something that surprised Tsukune. He didn't have long to be shaken as he felt the dark power coursing through him fan out, but not as water but as mist. What is Stygian can be countered by Stygian. It felt like a set of hands guiding his and a voice whispering instructions into his ear. Tsukune instinctively knew to trust it.
CRA-ACK!
There was rolling wave of gasps as the cold wave materialized as ice, which covered the power-restraining cuffs worn by the prisoners. Tsukune watched them stare in awe at the transformation before it sunk in what'd happened. Several broke free by their own strength while others banged them against the walls, shattering them like glass. Now freed, they started to run toward the exit, a mad stampede with him at the back yet caught up in it. As bodies pushed against him, he quietly noted how he should have expected this. Oddly enough, it felt familiar.
From the classroom to prison, talk about a hell of a transformation. Somehow, he heard his own laughter through the mayhem of voices and footsteps. Eventually, the stampede thinned out, though the voices calling for his help continued. Pulling himself up, he looked down the hallway. His job wasn't done yet.
"Hang on, I'm coming!" He yelled moving toward the cells.
BOOM!
Only for something to knock him off his feet. The strongest, heatwave he'd ever felt washed over him, making him feel like he was burning up in his thin prison clothes. Hell, even the floor felt like a hot plate, making it somewhat difficult for him as he pushed himself upright. The heatwave continued, biting at him from behind like a pack of angry rats. There was murderous intent mixed in, which he felt like he was the center of. He made himself the center when he stood up and looked back.
Someone was blocking the entrance, a being alight with bright fire tinged black. His eyes were fireballs looking for a target, and they found one in him. The second-long ocular exchange was all that was needed for them to develop an immediate dislike of one another, or borderline hatred in the guard's case.
"Back in your cage, kid." The man barked.
Tsukune felt a resurgence of that chaotic power within him. It manifested as swirling streams of water, something he knew would counter the man's supernatural fire. "Like hell." He snarled back, knowing the man could hear him from across the dozens of meters between them.
Their attacks covered the distance in seconds, fire and water clashing in the hallway, filling it with superheated steam while shaking the walls with the sheer force of their attacks, and their ever-growing monstrous auras.
There were similarities and differences between this raid and the one they'd conducted on campus against Shigeki's drug lab. Ririko saw it as a natural escalation-it wasn't one she willing wanted, but she accepted it and endured it. Throwing a fit about it wouldn't do her any good, and she wasn't going to back out. This battle over Stix had become her fight, little by little by little until she couldn't tear herself away from it.
She moved forward, with the flashing holy whip Libra had granted her. She was surrounded by Libra operatives as they charged deeper into the depths, having tunneled their way through. That was one of similarities between the anti-Stix raids. Except instead of a gnome, it was a team of earth mages whose shared abilities put her gnome colleague to shame, albeit he'd be proud of them as fellow geomancers. Afterward, they burst through the walls like bombs, rushing down any guards and moving like a boar on the charge. That was the case for every time, even if their destinations were different. One team went for the generator room to shut down the power.
Her glasses had been modified into combat wear, and amongst their features were night vision. There were others on the team who didn't need any special equipment, possessing natural night vision. Either way, it all came in handy as they got the drop on the guards.
Ririko honestly didn't care if they were dead or just unconscious. They were down, out of her way, and that's all that mattered.
As easy as it'd been so far, Ririko didn't let the tension leave her. It probably wasn't going to until she and Tsukune felt the sun on their faces. They were on the third floor beneath the surface, and heading down to the fourth floor, the one where Tsukune was being held-along with the other prisoners. By now, they'd probably noticed something was wrong with the power being cut off. It was likely only a matter of time before the battle with the security force caused their cells to start rumbling. Fortunately, they'd planned for potential anarchy, but now that they were out in the field, there was room for anything to go off track.
Ririko kept that in mind as her unit continued to barrel forth, toward one of the many elevators stretched further down. Although they'd cut the power, they had ways of turning back on sections of it, for their use. Besides, by now, the guards were likely covering the stairs having rolled the elevators out. It'd further their element of surprise, hopefully.
Her heart pounded as she loaded into the elevator with the first wave of her unit, eight in total, all dressed in combat gear like her. It was the second time in roughly a month that she'd had to do so. The change in clothing didn't bother her, even if it was far from her usual attire. Plus, it would help protect her against the attacks she knew was coming.
As if reading her mind, her unit chief, Takeshita, spoke to them while using his powers to power the elevator. "Brace yourselves. The second the door opens, expect opposition." The beetle demon's voice sunk deeply into her, and the others, even though they already had a feeling they were working into danger. Ririko's heartbeat accelerated as the elevator dinged, and the doors opened.
To the naked eye, it was darkness filled with the faint shouting of confusion. No one was in sight, meaning they were right to use the elevator. Granted, the element of surprise probably wouldn't last them long. Their collective boots were pounding against the floor in seconds. Yep, anyone with a shred of good, supernatural hearing was going to hear them.
"Intruders!"
And there it was.
Two members of their group lunged forward, meeting the first wave of guards head-on. Their clash shook the hallway giving the rest of them reason to pause and hang back, temporarily. Punches were exchanged and bodies were knocked aside. Ririko kept her eyes open as she knew more were coming. Hell, she was fully expecting someone to phase through the wall like a ghost. Not for the first time she wondered what happened to the souls of the dead. Were they able to pass on normally? Were they condemned to the River Styx as she'd read about? Were they still haunting this place? Had they been weaponized, somehow?
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
"Let's keep it moving, people!" Apparently, they wouldn't have to worry about that just yet. The guards lay to the side, bleeding and unconscious. No one paid them a second glance as they hurried on their way.
Almost there. Almost there. Almost there, Tsukune! Somehow, her heartbeat accelerated. Sprinting down the hallway was certainly helping it. She didn't want to think about how bad a shape Tsukune might be in when they found him. He might not be able to walk on his own, or maybe he could, or maybe he'd be-
Haroooooo! Haroooo!
"Everyone, stop!" Takeshita ordered. Everyone followed suit, having heard the howl and sensed the beings they belonged to. Dangerous was the word, and perhaps bloodthirsty. Yes, they all felt it, raw bloodlust that slammed into them like a gale in an open field. Sweat rolled down their brows as they realized they were prey to oncoming predators.
Those predators emerged from the dark with flaming red eyes, and flaming teeth fangs.
"Hellhounds! Shields up!" The order came just in time as the beasts leaped at them, revealing themselves with their hellish glow. Ririko had only ever seen descriptions in books and videos, neither of which were enough to prepare her for the real thing. Just the two alone that slammed into the magic barrier were the size of motorcycles each; their fangs were enflamed sabers as were their claws, both used to tear at the barrier. It was already beginning to crack.
A crazy thought crossed her mind, leading her to push forward before she could even run the odds of it succeeding. "Drop the shield, I'll blind them!" Ririko was already reaching for her whip, triggering its powers as evident by its growing glow. When the shield came down, she lashed out, and the glow reached its zenith, erupting in a blinding light. The two hellhounds howled in confusion; Ririko went for the one to her right, willing the whip to wrap around it. "I got the one on the right!" She yelled.
The others scrambled to subdue the other one. Ririko didn't linger on how they did, it took all her focus to keep the hellhound on the right restrained. Even with the divine power of her whip, it was taking considerable effort to keep the beast from breaking free and promptly killing them all. One hand was on the handle while the other was on the whip, a moment later and a second hand joined hers. She spared a quick glance to one of her teammates, helping her hold down the hellhound.
"Tranq 'em!" Someone yelled. "Do it now!" Someone yelled.
The tranquilizers they'd brought were for the prisoners, a precaution in case they were in a berserker rage-a strong possibility given the way something had been shown fighting when agitated. Hopefully, they'd worked on these truly natural hellspawn beasts.
For Ririko, that was code to give it her all. The whip transmuted her demonic power into holy power, causing an aura of gold to envelope the struggling hellhound, and cause it a great deal of pain. Mercifully, that pain ended with the insertion of the sleep darts into their thick, shaggy black fur. The resistance crumbled almost immediately as the divine-based tranquilizer took effect on the beast, its entire body going slack before slumping against the wall. Flicking her gaze to the left, she saw the other hellhound had been subdued, albeit with far more effort.
Returning her whip, she grimaced at the slight pain in her right shoulder. "You okay?" Asked one of her squad mates having noticed it.
"I'll be fine." She answered. Not the worst pain she'd felt, just a minor irritation if she were being truthful. "Can we keep moving?"
"Hell yeah, we can, tie these things up! They're going to be out for a while, hopefully long enough to-! Contact, center front!"
Once again, magical shields went up, but they weren't enough to shield them from the black fire explosives that went off. Ririko felt herself thrown back along with the others, the good news being she was further away from the blast; the same couldn't be said for those at the front, whose bodies burned by the supernatural flames. Their screams run in Ririko's ears.
Get up! Get up, people need you! You don't have time to be lying down on the floor! The voice's volume surprised her, and she was more startled when she got back to her feet. Indeed, bodies were burning in front of her, being eaten away by black flames whose heat she felt even from several feet away.
It was half impulse and half experience. While using a whip to douse a flame wasn't easy, it was doable, Ririko had done it several times at the academy. Using a holy whip to suffocate demonic flames? This was a first, but she found herself trying. With what little space she had, she twirled her whip, turning it into a vacuum for all that lay in front of her-a burning hallway. To her surprise, and relief, the black flames began to lessen, the demonic power that fueled them being purified by her whip, now a golden vortex.
"Cover fire! Get those three out of there, now!"
The battle resumed after her little stunt, although the scales were arguably tipped in their favor. Blasts of energy and semi-common bullets broke out all around her while bodies laid low so they could drag the ones in front of them. Those three who'd been burnt, it was faint, but Ririko heard them moaning, proof they were still alive. Relief flooded Ririko, but it was neutered by the conflict she was now back in, she looked through her darkness-seeing glasses to find guards ahead of them, shocked that their hellfire attack had been repulsed and they were now on the defensive. She growled low in her throat, wanting to push past them.
Calm down and focus! Don't go charging in and get yourself killed! Her inner voice rang out before she could take so much as a single step forward in rash action.
A few minutes later, her patience was rewarded. Silence fell over the hallway as the exchange of fire ceased. Regardless, her heart continued to thunder in her chest as it became filled with the smell of smoke, blood, and even ozone.
Three of their number had been wounded, critically so. There was no way they could continue, but the rest of their unit, an assemble of eight, could. Two were going to stay behind to watch over them, including provide as much first aid treatment as they could. The rest of them would move on, the promise of hooking up with another force in the wings, provided nothing went wrong.
So, they moved on, weary of the walls around them and the ceiling above them. Tremors shook them all, including the floor beneath their feet. There were several more teams below running into more opposition. That's what the tremors were, proof that it was now open war between the Hirayama Clan and the Libra-police alliance. It was hard to tell who was winning in the broadest sense.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Oh, now it seems like shit's really starting to hit the fan!" Someone yelled. It was hard to deny they were right. Ririko felt like she was on a ship caught in a storm.
Something was breaking through the walls, something powerful. Ririko almost shuddered to think about what it could be. For better or worse, something told her she'd be finding out, eventually.
"GAAAAAAWAAAAAAR!"
What followed was the biggest quake of them all-it felt like the entire complex was going to come down. Simultaneously to that, Ririko felt her entire body on the verge of simply breaking down from the sheer volume of the roar. She'd never heard anything like it in her life!
KRRRRRRKK!
Just as quickly as she went from holding her hands over her ears, she was wrapping them around herself in a futile attempt to keep warm. Although the sudden cold wave was temporary, Ririko still felt its lingering effect as if she were already frozen.
"Fuck! Who the hell did that! What did that?!" Someone yelled.
It was a lingering chill that stuck with them, yet something about it struck Ririko. This chill…the level of power in it…wait! Amazingly, she went from cold to hot, the sudden accelerating of her heart creating a furnace-like blaze that swept through her. "Tsukune," she whispered. Her cautious joy was swiftly tampered. It was…so dark and cold, but I'm sure I can feel it. Please, let me feel it. Despite the barrier up around the arena, Tsukune's demonic aura had been felt by her up in the stands. She'd never forget it, and now, she was hoping it'd be what would lead her back to him.
Ririko saw darkness in her mind's eye, but it gave way to a thread that stretched into the blackness. As best she could, she caught it and felt it in her hands. Cold and powerful, but familiar. It was just a sliver, but it was all she needed.
"Commander Takeshita, I'm going to investigate!" At least she wasn't immediately taking off to do so.
"What? Kagome, you don't even know who or what created that tremor!" He expectedly responded.
"I…I have a hunch it may be some of the prisoners trying to escape." Okay, so it wasn't a whole lie. If her hunch turned out to be correct, then-
"Team Eight, come in, Team Eight, do you read me?" Sounded off their ear pieces.
Takeshita shifted his focus to the female operator. "Yes, this is Team Eight, we're here! Report! We just felt a massive tremor followed by a mammoth chill, what the hell was it?"
"It was…well…believe it or not, a giant iceberg just burst through the sub-levels, through the arena, and breached the rooftop."
A pin could have been dropped despite the distant echo of chaos around them. Ririko certainly felt like she could hear it despite the earpiece in her right ear. I knew it!
"We're getting reports of prisoners streaming out. Believe it or not, the ice's half-shaped itself into a giant stairway."
"What? Seriously?"
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
Tsukune! Amidst the darkness, she looked straight at Takeshita. He felt her gaze on him and returned it. She was wise enough not to say anything, but she knew that the scales had been tipped in her favor. There was now cause to investigate from the top.
A grunted sounded off. "Fine, but everyone stay together! We've got to do some walking before we can round the corner on this thing!"
Now that made Ririko take off, even though she didn't quite know where she was going without a map. Luckily, Takeshita was back to taking point, with a holographic map on hand. He didn't say a word to her, he only ran and led, a trait that she had to admit she respected him for. She was grateful to him for not grilling her right in front of everyone so to speak.
Geez, look at you. Ririko, you've got to calm down before this gets out of hand to the point someone says something. Her rational voice chided, and not for the first time. Although Ririko acknowledged it was right, it was always easier said than done.
"By any chance, your eagerness wouldn't happen to be tied to a certain prisoner, would it?" Swiped a male voice to her left.
Ririko didn't break her stride, but she did feel like the air had been yanked out of her lungs. Glancing to her left, she saw one of her teammates giving her an aside stare before directing his focus back on what lay ahead.
Her cheeks turned pink, although thanks to her face covering and the blackout, that wasn't physically obvious. That was the only comfort she had. "…Yes." Ririko confessed.
"…Just keep it together until the mission's over. Or keep it together so you're not a mess when you meet up."
Was that a joke? Now of all times?
Oddly enough, Ririko appreciated it. While far from the best, it did help bring down the tension if only a fraction. It gave her something to think about in the next few minutes it took them to run the halls and round the corners. In doing so, she-they-felt the chill roll off the iceberg. If it was as massive as command had claimed, then it was only natural. Thanks to her reptilian nature, Ririko felt it perhaps more acutely than her squad mates. She could have sworn the chill was reaching into the depths of her bones, yet that didn't stop her. It had the opposite effect. How ironic.
The closer they got the more they could hear voices, shouting and footsteps. The latter were furious pounding against ice, a mad dash to make it to the top. Ririko wondered if her unit would be joining them.
"Coming up on the epicenter in three…two…one!" Takeshita yelled as they rounded another corner, this one lined with frost that rolled off the walls and floor. There should have been some caution, but feelings were riding too high for that.
She let her feet carry her all the way there. A name, a shout, was rising in her throat. As the cold bit at her, Ririko found she could no longer contain it. "TSUKUNE!"
There was light at the end of the tunnel and she ran straight into it. She didn't bother to look straight up at the massive iceberg that indeed stretched all the way up to the surface and into the sky. Ririko didn't focus on it but instead the mass of bodies at the base. Her cry alerted them to her presence. She looked through their faces but didn't find the person she was looking for. It made her heart grow faint until she heard a responding shout.
"Ms…RIRI-"
Ka-BOOM!
The ice shattered, and down came something big, something massive. Blazing red like a fireball, yet roaring with all the fury of a wild beast. It crashed into the ground, and from the impact came a shock wave that through Ririko back. Her mind cried out in protest, but her physical voice couldn't do the same. What her body could do was reach out, just barely, before she too lost her control on it. Afterward, the world went dark.
Five Minutes Earlier…
Whoever this man was, he was powerful. Tsukune gnashed his teeth as he tried to beat back the man's fire blast. If he lost, he knew he was either going to be a charred corpse or a half-dead charred corpse soon to be returned to his cell. There was no telling what sort of horrors they'd inflict upon him for trying to escape, as well as helping others do the same. That said, he wouldn't have any regrets on trying to do so.
Hey, what the hell is wrong with you? Don't think about that! Think about how nice sweet air will feel once you're able to taste it again!
As…cool…as that sounds, other…things to do at the moment!
Practically the entire hallway was awash in steam from their attacks. The temperature wildly fluctuated between hot and cold. Tsukune felt the former trying to gnaw at him, trying to wear him down just as the fire blast was attempting to do.
"Give it up, kid! Just go back in your cell and be quiet!" Yelled the guard.
His fingers curled as his waterblast lost ground, but only temporary. In that moment, he thought of his time in his cell. From the moment he'd woken up and remained conscious to the second the lights went out. It'd been a quiet hell sitting in the dark with only a cot to sleep on and nothing else to do.
"I'm Asahi Hirayama."
It hadn't been Kinmaru who'd kidnapped him and thrown him in that cell, it'd been his older brother. It'd been Asahi who'd robbed him of his humanity.
Asahi who'd had that twisted doctor experiment on him. Asahi who brutalized him and told him he was essentially his slave.
"Let's get this out of the way, Tsukune. You don't work for Mikogami, you don't work for my brother, you work for me."
He'd literally driven that point home, burning his fist into his stomach so hard that it'd left a scar. Tsukune had spent what felt like hours feeling around it, painfully absorbing every detail. It wasn't just a scar-it was a marking. A branding.
Fire. Fire had done this to him. It was fire in front of him. Fire just like Asahi's.
That's right. Chimed the inner voice. Tsukune could see the shadow behind him, chuckling despite the situation at hand. You can feel it, right? That same heat. That feeling like you're in a furnace bent on burning you to cinders. Right down to your soul, quite a feeling, huh? You haven't forgotten, have you? You haven't forgotten what you promised, right, Tsukune!
It surged inside of him again. The power, the anger-were they one in the same? If so, Tsukune didn't care. What mattered was he felt it inside of him. He funneled it into his water blast, and it grew. His voice roared alongside his newly empowered torrent, pushing against the blast of hellfire. The yelling of his opponent was lost to him, just as everything else around him was. He just cared about dousing this fire, he only cared about utterly drowning it.
"Raaaaawwwarrr!"
The flames vanished leaving behind only the thick columns of steam around him. Something smashed into the wall, then something cracked. A lot of cracks, actually. How Tsukune heard it over the roar of his water blast and his own rage was a mystery, but something about it felt good.
CRACK!
He stopped at some point. His hands fell to his side, slightly stinging, but that feeling was already fading. Equally fading was the steam around him. Tsukune looked around, finding it quickly dissipating as the source of it was long gone. Staring straight ahead, he saw all signs of fire had been erased, including his opponent. There was a patch of the ground completely scrapped away going in a straight line, the result of his blast. It reached all the way to the opposite end of the hallway, formerly where the fire-empowered guard used to be. There was a massive hole there. Moisture hung in the air, so thick like the aftermath of a rainstorm.
It was strangely comforting.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
"Huh? What the…?" It wasn't just all around him, it was him-his hands. Water fell from his palms onto the hard floor. It was ice-cold, yet he felt little discomfort from it.
"Tsukune! Tsukune, are you alright?"
He immediately recognized the voice. "M-M-Miyumi!"
Footsteps, several sets of footsteps, all growing closer toward him. With it came light. Several balls of light, manifest energy made into makeshift lanterns. They allowed him to see the faces of those approaching him. They were a collection of awe and concern, one amongst the group possessing much of the latter.
Miyumi had done her best to keep her hair short. In fights, long hair meant someone had something to grab onto, and that could mean the difference between life and death. That ended up making Miyumi's supposedly shoulder hair short, as in boyish short. Its natural dark cyan color was even darker; the closer she got, the more he could have sworn there were strands of full-on gray in her hair. Given everything they'd been through, it wasn't surprising. Several prisoners had commented on how their hair had changed colors, either from the chthonic power they'd been infused with or the trauma they'd undergone. He'd wondered the same about his own hair.
"Miyumi! Everyone! W-What are you all doing here! Run! Get out of here!"
Miyumi surged forward, her green eyes honed in on him. The next thing he knew, her arms were on his shoulders, feeling him up as she looked him over in the low light. "Not without you, Tsukune."
"Kid, you freed the lot of us, and just saved our asses. Least we can do is make sure you get out too." He was a scar-chested fighter who'd been in the arena longer than Tsukune had. Ogata, as he recalled. One of the fiercest fighters there was, yet he looked at Tsukune with a firm sense of respect and compassion. The latter wasn't something he showed too much of, but his dark brown eyes were heavy with it as he stood at the head of a group of similarly-eyed warriors. "Still got enough strength to break out?"
The words were out of his mouth faster than a lightning bolt. "Yes. Absolutely. Hell yes."
Ogata grinned, but it was short-lived. The entire floor shook followed by a series of vicious shouts for them to surrender and return to their cells. A response came immediately, punches, kicks, energy, darkness, and blasts of ice flying.
"Take a sec' to catch your breath, but we're going to need you back in the fight, Tsukune." Ogata advised before turning his back to them. Tsukune saw black veins racing through his body as his aura flared up.
We…we can't fight our way up. Not while all this is going on. In the time it takes to make it up, Asahi will probably have called for reinforcements! There's got to be a quicker way to bust out! Dammit, think, Tsukune, Tsukune! Something fell on his shoulder causing him to look up at the dark ceiling. It seemed to shake every few minutes, either from the fighting happening on the current floor or above it. W-Wait…above us…up…we can… His jaw fell open as the idea fully formed, and with it a new spark of hope. A shadow of uncertainty fell over it a second later, W-Wait, seriously?! Y-You think you can do that? What about the people above us?
Hey, if you break the surface, all they'll have to do is climb the iceberg and they'll be free. Of course, it depends on if you can MAKE something that big.
The challenging tone of his inner voice made a bead of sweat run down Tsukune's neck. According to one of the few slivers of information he had, they were more than a two-hundred meters underground. Amazingly, he ran the numbers in his head-he'd need to create an "average-sized" iceberg to at least get them to ground level. Could he do that?
Can you do it, or you won't? Came that challenging voice. In listening to it, Tsukune could have sworn the world around him went totally still, frozen, even. It's not rather you can or can't, rather you will…or you won't.
"…Miyumi, Ogata, give me some space, and tell the others to hold the line!" He spoke. "I'm making us a way out."
Miyumi looked to him skeptically. "Tsukune? What the hell are you going to do?"
His hands were tight in concentration as he called forth the power within. It was like uncapping a lid and allowing the water to burst forth. The lid was easier to get off than he thought, although that was probably because he'd gotten quite used to it by now. The hard part was getting the water to bend to his command. Tsukune couldn't deny there was a part of him that just wanted to let it rise, splash about as it wished.
No…all this power…I…I have to control it! Control! Control!
It was like the turning of a facet, full-blast allowing the water to burst forth at full volume. Rather than down, it burst upward. Tsukune felt the power rushing above him, starting from within him and surging up toward the ceiling, crashing through it easily. Roaring, he thrust his hands up, intensifying the shower. More cracks sounded, so many that it practically sounded like a building collapsing. Then, came the chill, an icy feeling that he'd long associated with Mizore. He'd gotten used to her chilly yet mostly welcome presence. Still, this felt…different. He wasn't a recipient of the chill-he was the chill.
KKKKKKKKRRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKK!
Tsukune continued to scream, his voice rising alongside his iceberg So many things gave way around him, but he didn't stop. Through darken eyes, he watched the black ice stretch further up, smashing through everything in its way until finally it breached the surface. It didn't stop then, he didn't stop. A voice chanted, more, more, touch the sky! Tsukune heeded it, calling forth more of the power within him. He thought of the sky and what it meant-freedom.
Light shined down on him, shocking him enough to stop, or almost. He still kept going until something stopped him, a clap that ceased the water spout within him. Gasping, he looked to his right, finding Miyumi's light green eyes peering at him. She was whispering to him, telling him to calm down; he did so.
In the calm that followed, he looked straight up at the now, massive slab of ice jetting straight toward the surface, no, to sky. Tsukune saw parts of sunlight reflected through the black mass, which sharply contrasted the wreckage around it.
"Alright, I'm a little raw at this, but here goes! Ogata, tell everyone to get ready to climb!" Miyumi grabbed at the iceberg from the base, her body flaring up with azure energy. "S-Shit, it's a little harder to manipulate than I thought!"
"W-What do you need me to do?" Tsukune immediately jumped.
"Stairs! Think of stairs! Footholds! People gotta climb, so make something they can use to scale this thing!"
His hands shot to the ice closest to him. Creating this massive iceberg had been far easier than shaping it into anything. Even sculpting clay in art class had been easier than this, sculpting water would have been easier. The thought of just creating a giant inverse water slide popped into his mind and seemed mighty appealing…until he realized he had little idea as to how to go about that without seriously hurting anyone. The last time he'd created a blast of fast-moving water, it'd punched someone through several walls.
Krrrrk! Krrrk! KKKKKRRRRRK!
Looking up, he saw the ice taking shape into stairs from multiple sides. Footholds for people to grab onto; they went all the way to the surface, perhaps hundreds of feet. It was unfolding right before his eyes.
"Tsukune, hold it here! Everyone, we've got a way out!"
"H-H-Hey, Miyumi, wait!" It was too late to stop her. She ran off into the fight, her aura still flaring up, yet Tsukune knew rather than building she was going to use it for battle. He realized what she was doing, and knew he had to do his part. Sucking in air, he screamed as loud as he could, hoping he'd be heard over the chaos. "EVERYONE, CLIMB UP! NOW!"
He didn't do so himself, even as the others heeded his words. If someone or something went wrong, he'd reform the ice. It was a choice he didn't even realize he'd made until people were rushing past him and climbing right in front of him. The gigantic ice mass he'd formed was now littered with dozens of bodies shimming up it like a swarm of ants. Tsukune could make out the details of their bodies, ragged clothes and bloodied bodies-just like him. While there was pushing and shoving, there were also those helping the others that couldn't climb.
Some people were downright flying.
Pieces of the stadium roof were blasted away as they flew higher, fully escaping into what he now saw to be the daytime sky. A helicopter flew overhead.
Man…what happens if this ends up on the news?
Look on the bright side, you're so far down that hopefully, no cameras will be able to find you. I mean, it's not like you're looking like you're ready for primetime.
Gee, thanks, I really couldn't tell.
The other prisoners on their floor must have been freed because they were all rushing past him, albeit they seemed mindful enough to know he was keeping their bridge to freedom open. It was actually remarkably easy maintaining it. Helping was the sight of so many climbing up it to escape.
Tsk, look at you. Still putting other people first. Guess some things don't change, huh?
…Maybe they don't, but…is that such a-
"TSUKUNE!"
Breaking free of his trance, he looked to his left. While he recognized the voice, he'd only ever heard it in his dreams; he longed to hear it, more so than any of the others, more so than even the vampiric girl who'd bedazzled him during his first months at the academy. Tsukune had long stopped wondering what that meant. He'd stopped wondering what that meant, only focusing on an earnest desire to see her again. To see her face and truly hear her voice.
Finally, he'd heard it, he'd heard her, and it set his heart ablaze.
"Ms…RIRI-"
Ka-BOOM!
He looked back up at the iceberg-something was destroying it. A truck-sized, red and black mass was spinning down it, destroying it all the while. It was like a cross between a boulder and a giant buzzsaw, tearing through anything-anyone-in its path, and it was heading for Tsukune. In what seemed like a flash, it was upon him.
Tsukune screamed as he was crushed and shredded, falling through the floor and then the floor beneath it. That's when it got worse-the giant wrecking ball grinded into him, tearing away at his shirt and flesh. He screamed in agony, the echo of his voice filling his ears even when the agony stopped. Temporarily, of course.
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
"Thought you were hot shit, didn't you, kid? Don't! Get! So! Fucking! COCKY!"
WHAM!
The pain reverberated through his body starting from his stomach on out. His mind flashed back to the arena where he'd taken such hits. How long had it been since his last fight? How long since he'd taken a blow like this?
THUMP!
"Ah, I see, still got some fight left in you, huh?"
None of that mattered. The pain was fading, either naturally or by his will. He'd seen the attack coming and responded accordingly, stopping it with his right arm. Another came from his left side and he stopped it cold. Finally, his vision focused allowing him to analyze his opponent. An onikuma, a demon bear. Far bigger and more terrifying than the ones he'd met at school-teenagers, juveniles; they had nothing on the eight-foot mass of hulking, red-tinged, muscle and fur in front of him.
Regardless, he wasn't intimidated; Tsukune had faced worse. "Get out of my way." He snarled in response to the animalistic face glaring down at him.
"No, you're disobeying your boss, kid!" The bear barked.
Rage shot through him, filling his veins and pumping into his heart. With it came power, dark, raw power that allowed him to push the beast back. "That…bastard is not my boss!"
Mere moments before he made the push, he knew he could, the onikuma roared. It was a sound that reached his ears in less than a second, and that's all it took to rattle his brain and turn it to mush. It was like having the world's largest bell inside his skull, and he absolutely hated it. Instinctively, he broke his grip on the beast's arms to cover his ears in a futile attempt to block the noise out, but it was no good. Plus, that left him open to a sweeping uppercut that lifted him into the air. A second punch sent him crashing through concrete and steel, stopping as he became embedded in it.
WHAM!
He traveled further open, tasting more blood in his mouth as he burst through the floor above him. Popping his eyes open, he saw the onikuma heading for him, claws rising in what was clearly a path for his jugular.
Not this time, asshole!
His arm shot out, a blast of concentrated black water shooting forth and hitting the man in the face. He was forced down and had to stay down, more so when Tsukune added another hand to his water blast. Keeping him pinned actually lifted him up, all the way to a cracked ceiling. The moment Tsukune touched it, an idea struck him.
Cra-ack!
His foothold shattered as he kicked off it, launching himself like a bullet toward the downed onikuma. For a split second, his eyes widened in alarm at Tsukune barreling toward him, but alas, he was still fast enough to dodge the attack. Tsukune smashed into the ground, creating a massive crater that threatened to cause the entire floor to collapse. It didn't stop the onikuma, though. He barreled toward Tsukune as a rolled-up mass of destruction, but this time, Tsukune was able to stop him in his tracks. Their respected auras exploded and grinded against one another. The toll was exacted on the space around them, cracks forming in the walls and ceiling, each multiplying by the second.
BOOM!
Tsukune stumbled backward, or he would have if there was any floor beneath his feet. That was gone, as were the walls. His opponent was temporarily disoriented himself-the exact opening he needed. Again, he lunged forward, driving his fist directly into the older demon's stomach. One punch became two, and then three. As much as he'd liked to say he kept going from there, his brawly opponent deflected his fourth punch; he responded with a claw swipe that left five bloody gashes across his chest. It stung, but Tsukune still threw his punch, only for his opponent to catch it.
Bloodlust flared in his eyes as he raised his right arm-he could see the hellish energy solidifying into the claws. They'd cut through his Stix-enhanced skin more thoroughly than they had before. Acting quickly, Tsukune used his left to grab his arm before he could attack. They fell while deadlocked, glaring murderous dangers at each other.
It occurred a split second before actually happening-the build up that signaled the bear's next attack. In sensing it, seeing it, something within Tsukune took root. Within his mind, he saw a shape rising, rearing its head back and then roaring.
"NOT THIS TIME!" At the end of the declaration came a roar-his roar. It smashed into the onikuma's, the empowered soundwaves manifested in black and red sparks around them. They exploded outward, igniting the air in a thunderous explosion that filled Tsukune's world with a booming light and shook his ears to the point it felt like they were going to fall off.
CRASH!
Finally, something solid beneath him. He stretched out his hands, feeling cracked and even slightly scorched concrete beneath him. All it took was a second to contemplate it before he pushed himself up. With the blinding light gone, he opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. "W-Woah…" To call it a mess would have been an understatement. He'd fallen another floor down, but he could see the other floors on up thanks to the massive, gaping hole in them. Above him was sheer pandemonium with all the sounds of combat and chaos. The surface seemed so far away, and yet Tsukune found himself somewhat in awe of it. He'd fallen that far? He'd caused that much destruction and survived?
'GRAAAAAAAAR!"
"Spoke too soon." He whispered just as his opponent literally appeared before him. While black veins coursed through his body, the energy they produced was red and black, a contrast to his own. That energy swirled around his claws, which came down on him just as he dodged to the left. Another flash of reddish-black and he felt pain. Peering to the side, he saw the onikuma's other hand raised. Both hands were eventually raised, energy swirling around them. Brace! Ice spread across his body, becoming a hardened shell as he readied himself for the attack.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
"DON' YOU DARE TOUCH HIM, YOU BASTARD!"
His heart leaped in his chest at the voice. Looking up, he saw her descending, assailed by the golden light of her whip. It seemed like he could see her more clearly thanks to its glow, or maybe it was his superhuman senses. The second he heard her voice and looked up, he zeroed in on her, drinking in the sight of her.
Tsukune had seen Ririko dressed "for combat" once before, but that had nothing on her now. Gray combat pats with corresponding boots and padding. Said padding extended to her arms as well, and climaxed in a gray vest that did a decent job of keeping her breasts compressed. Her hair was tied up in a bun as well, no doubt for the same reason as most female fighters had chosen. Tsukune peered past her glasses, which somehow stayed on and remained relatively uncracked, to look into her eyes. Those yellow eyes that once more shined with protective fury.
She lashed out with her whip one more time, igniting a luminous explosion with the onikuma at the center. He screamed in pain, even sinking to his knees. With that done, Ririko began twirling the whip beneath her, using it to slow her fall. Upon touching down, she turned her attention to him, allowing him to fully take in the sight of her. And she was able to take in the sight of him.
He looked far worse than her, which was a good thing. Tsukune didn't know how he'd feel if she looked like him-beaten and battered, plowed through multiple layers of concrete and slashed at.
No, that wasn't right. He'd feel angry, vengeful, downright murderously angry.
"T-Tsukune…Tsukune," she whispered as tears accumulated in her eyes.
"R-R-Ririko…" he called back. "Y-Y-You're…y-you're really…you're-!" His danger sense went off before he could finish. With her in front of him, it blared louder than before. In response, he rushed her, sweeping her up in his arms. "Run!" The ground where she'd been standing exploded in a plum of hellfire and energy. More such blasts followed.
"There he is! Get 'em!"
"The doc wants him alive!"
Konishi! Of course, he still had an interest in him. Feeling the heat of more attacks coming, he spun while sweeping his arm out. A wave of supernatural water erupted in front of him, then shot forward at his mental command. Through the mental link, he felt it plow through several enemies, their blood seeping into the water. Quickly looking over his shoulder, he saw the guards, the oni, had been impaled, albeit several were still moving. His fingers curled, the water expanded into blades, splitting them in half at the point of contact.
"AONO!"
"Stay here!" Dropping her, he sprinted to meet the onikuma in battle once more, their fists (or claws) colliding in a series of repeated exchanged. His arms and body ached as they took blow after ablow, but Tsukune made sure to return the favor in kind. When their fists met, Tsukune pushed, driving back his opponent. Even as he felt the claws dragging across his flesh, he didn't stop.
BAM!
"G-Gaaagggh! You little bastard, don't think you're going to-gaarkkk!" Something gold was wrapped around his throat, choking him. Following it, Tsukune saw Ririko standing off to the side, holding him back with all his might.
"Tsukune, now!"
Not bothering to ask, he acted. Energy amassed within his right fist-swirling and roaring like a vengeful storm. It was contained in his hand then unleashed as he launched it forward. All of it was released at the point of impact, sending the eight-foot demon bear sailing, no, shooting backward, crashing through the walls into he disappeared into the darkness. His scream of pain trailed him, but that too inevitably faded, or rather, was buried by the walls shattering from his high-speed journey. The ground shook from the attack, and then from the impact.
He huffed, feeling exhaustion nipping at him. While he still felt like he had plenty of energy to burn, he appreciated having a moment to breath, literally. Honestly, he probably needed it-from the moment he'd broken out of his cell it'd been-
"Tsukune!"
Before he was able to fully turn, he was knocked onto his backside, and brought into probably the tightest bearhug he'd ever felt. And considering how many he'd been on the receiving end of, that was saying something. The sensation brought back memories of another time in his life. Amidst that time, he met the woman hugging him, crying into him, whispering how much she missed him.
"R-Ri…Ririko," he called. "Y-You're…y-you're really…
She sat up, tears streaming down her eyes as she smiled at him. His heart thundered as she was so close, and very much real. Even if her face was covered in dirt and blood, she looked…beautiful to him. He'd have reached out to touch her cheeks if his hands weren't resting on her waist. She was lying on top of him, sandwiching him between her body and the ground. Normally, such a situation would have caused a certain…reaction in him, but he focused solely on her face, on the teary smile she was giving him as she caressed his face.
"I'm here, Tsukune. I'm here for you. I'm…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't there. I-I-I let you out of m-m-m-my sight. I-I-If I-I hadn't t-t-then-"
"It's okay. Hey, hey, look at me, it's okay." He countered. Seeing her like this was wrong, so very wrong. It couldn't stand, he couldn't allow it to stand. "What happened to me wasn't your fault, okay? It was…it was…it was just bad luck, okay? R-R…Ririko," Was calling her by her first name supposed to be so natural? "I'm…I'm glad you came for me. I…"
Her laugh was mixed with a sob, amusing and hurting him. "Oh, Tsukune, of course I came for you. I…you're my…you're my…"
"Hmm, I believe I can answer that one. Love? Oh, what a beautiful thing!"
Everything flipped on a dime hearing that voice. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough.
One second Ririko was on top of him, hugging him, and then the next she was pulled away. Immediately, he reached for her, rising up only to feel his body suddenly stop. Every muscle ceased its function, no matter how hard he struggled. It felt like there was something holding him down, clapping down on the very supernatural power that coursed through his veins. All he could was stare straight ahead. He could only watch as that bastard doctor appeared right in front of him…with a trio of goons. They grabbed at Ririko and began beating on her, their fists rising and falling; his eyes burned with anger that he commanded his body to move with.
Dr. Konishi held up his hand, some kind of rune appearing in the palm of his bloodied hand. It glowed black, flashing bright like some warning light. In turn, Tsukune felt the restrictions on his body tighten.
"Enough!" His words were aimed not at him but toward the oni behind him. Konishi's own horns were out, pale red at the tips and sharply contrasting the crimson red that marred his arm and body. His lab coat was in tithers as was his shirt and pants, blood also poured down his lips and forehead. Coupled with the cold frown he was giving, Tsukune had to say the man looked…somewhat scary. "Don't touch her, none of you. She apparently belongs to our Aoiyajū."
"W-What? Like hell! Look at her, there's no way that-"
"I said…enough." Rather typically, Dr. Konishi didn't raise his voice at all, he didn't need to. The quiet tone was brimming with hostility, matched by the aura of pure, malice that he aimed at the henchman without even looking back. Tsukune saw the man quaking in fear, albeit he wasn't alone. The other two were quivering as well. Slowly, they all backed away, but kept their grip on Ririko. Hoisting her up, he saw her right cheek was slightly swollen with blood falling from her lips and nose. The sight enraged him, something Dr. Konishi was all too aware of. "Now then, this is quite an interesting development, isn't it, Tsukune?" His voice had slipped back to that damned cheery tone; Tsukune would have preferred it if he kept on speaking to him the same way he had his three goons. "You managed to knock out Kumagoro! That's no easy feat, let me tell you! It means you really are something special, and someone special like you deserves a reward! That woman over there, I'm assuming you have feelings for her and she you, right? Well, don't worry, I'll make sure no one lays a finger on you! She'll be all yours!"
"W-What?" he stuttered.
"Since you're a member of the clan, we'll make sure she's looked after. No one will touch her, trust me, we've gotten quite good at enforcing that rule." His laugh gave Tsukune the impression he'd had some first-hand experience with that. It didn't make him feel better. "We'll move her with us, but you'll have to be a good boy if you want to see her again. In the meantime, you have my word she'll be well taken-"
"SHUT UP! DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING HER, YOU SICK BASTARD! NONE OF YOU TOUCH HER!" Anger anew surged through him. The invisible hold on him tightened, but like before, he struggled against it. Slight as it was, he felt his fingers twitching. "I AM NOT A MEMBER OF THIS CLAN! I'M GOING TO TEAR IT DOWN! I'M GOING TO KILL THAT BASTARD! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, KONISHI!"
Although he sighed, the smile never left the male brunette's face. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out, an syringe, the likes of which Tsukune had seen many times before. "I don't think so, Tsukune."
"STOP IT! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!" Ririko shouted. She was barefoot of her whip and attempting to transform, but they'd stuck more of those power-dampening cuffs around her wrists. On top of that, they had a firm hold, perhaps strengthened by the fear of what the seemingly lanky doctor would do to them if they disobeyed or failed him.
"Gah!" He'd learned the needles they used to inject them were…unique. They had to be in order to piece the enchanted skin of those enhanced by Stix. It figured that Dr. Konishi would have a few on him. "W-What…"
"Just a little something to keep you docile while we evacuate. We don't have much time. Someone, get him restrained so we can move."
Tranquilizers. Those too were specially made so they could affect him and his fellow lab rats. Tsukune felt the effects near immediately, drowsy darkness clawing at him, whispering for him to just go to sleep. He refused, more so as he looked straight at Ririko, still struggling. The tears had dried on her face, and instead it was fear clouding her eyes. Fear for him, yet he held nothing but fear for her. What assurance did he have that Dr. Konishi would keep his word?
Am I…am I back here again? Powerless to do anything? Forced to do nothing but watch? Keep watching?
His entire time at Yōkai Academy ran through his head like a movie in fast forward, yet he was able to make out every detail. Once he reached the end, it repeated, over and over again. Meeting Moka and the girls. The wonder…and the terror, and the despair. From the despair came anger.
Was he still just a weakling after everything?
Even after everything he'd been through, was he still destined to be powerless?
No. No. No.
The goddess stood before him across the black water, glaring at him with challenging eyes.
No. No.
The water swirled around him, calm waters turning stormy as the familiar black, cold, and choking feeling swelled inside of him.
No! NO! NO!
He threw back his head and roared, and with it, the sea erupted, manifesting his anger, his wrath, and most importantly, his will. The drowsiness was literally washed away, along with Dr. Konishi's face. For a fraction of a second, he saw fear on his face. Finally, something that broke his calm-finally, a recognition of what he was dealing with.
For only a split second, he looked past Dr. Konishi and saw her. Through her glasses, she saw him still looked to him with awe. That was the last thing Tsukune saw before the black tide overtook him, and then all he knew was the roar of the storm.
She'd gotten careless. All the warnings others had given her, including the ones she'd given herself, they all went out the window the moment she saw him and they had sometime to themselves. Maybe it was inevitably given how she'd been longing to see him; when she called his name and he was on the cusp of responding is probably when it happened. Not even the sudden arrival of Kumagoro Haramoto was enough to stop her, although it definitely postponed their reunion. After she woke up, she completely threw caution, and the chain of command, to the wind.
It was somewhat easy to follow Tsukune and Haramoto, but getting close to them provided another matter; somehow, even then, a bit of caution remained in her. She saw how the fight was evenly split, meaning she had to pick her moment on when to intervene. That hadn't been easy watching them exchange blows, but she'd held on until what she felt was her moment. It ultimately turned out to be true, one punch containing all the power of a tsunami and the yakuza enforcer was sent crashing through the walls like an artillery shell. It was rather incredible, but her focus shifted to the man who'd delivered it-the man she came here to rescue.
At some point, he'd lost his shirt, and his pants were a mess. He was barefoot as well. Tsukune almost looked as he did when he'd been fighting, but this was more…savage, proof that he'd been fighting his way to freedom rather than in an arena. The ugly scar on his stomach remained, but it was joined by several other wounds, including a vicious claw swipe on his chest. Ririko paid only minor attention to that, his face was what her eyes fell on, his bloody and exhausted face, yet it lit up once their eyes met.
That was the moment she let her emotions get the best of her. She completely dropped the holy whip and rushed him, tackling him to the ground and completely breaking down. At least they'd had a short moment to themselves before that psycho doctor ruined it.
Her heart stopped when he stuck that syringe into Tsukune's neck after she'd been cuffed and bound. Ririko didn't care what these thugs did to her, only that Tsukune was right in front of her about to be dragged away to slavery and there wasn't anything she could do about it. However, that wasn't in the cards either.
Ririko felt the build up like a calm before the storm, then the storm came. Tsukune's eyes went near completely black, as did the rest of his body. Regardless, she saw it with her own eyes-scales racing up his arms and chest, draconic scales that radiated power. Said power manifested as an explosive torrent of water and darkness that quickly expanded outward. The next thing Ririko knew, she was breathing it in, and struggling to move. In the blink of an eye, the entire floor was flooded, then turned into a giant whirlpool with Tsukune at the epicenter. She hated how her hands were bound as it made it near impossible for her to swim, not that it would have been easy thanks to the raging waters. The good news was the goons who'd been holding her were swept away. Ririko saw them flailing in the water, futilely flailing before vanishing in the murky water.
Battered by the current, she spotted its epicenter, Tsukune. From him rose a water spout that reached up through the hole and through the surface. It was awe-inducing and terrifying, especially as she felt pure dark power radiating from it. Every cell in her body told her to get as far away from it as possible, or even to simply let the water drown her. Or maybe freeze her. That was something else about the water, it was deathly cold! Colder than the residual chill she'd felt in the hallway! Ririko felt it seeping into her bones, her veins, and even into her heart. Perhaps that would get to her before the water filled her lungs, which somehow hadn't happened yet.
Spontaneously, light erupted from somewhere close by, directly on her person. The murderous cold was driven back, as was the water. Searching herself, she saw where it was coming from-the silver dagger, Tsukune's dagger. Its holy energies were going into overdrive at the dark water around her. Feeling the darkness being driven back, Ririko realized she still had one last card to play.
You are bound to me, and by my command…return! Return to me! RETURN TO ME NOW!
From the swirling rapids the whip came, a golden light snaking its way toward her. She'd have smiled if she still couldn't feel herself fighting off the dark water around her, or her lungs still filling up. She was running out of time.
Grabbing the whip, she manipulated it to grab the knife and willed it to cut into her cuffs. Once her arms were free, she took the latter into her left hand and began twirling the former in her right. Golden light spread around her, driving away the water, and with it, the darkness. It formed a sphere around her, a cocoon in the midst of a subterranean storm. With it came a brief bout of fresh air.
"G-Gaaahh! Aaaaaah!" She looked around her, seeing the dark storm still in the process of tearing up the underground. Now she knew what it felt like to be a fish in a storm-not a fun feeling. I-I've got to get out! Up! I've got to reach the surface! Directing her whip skyward, she commanded it to ascend, at least as best it could. Surprisingly, that turned out to be pretty well, another result of the magic whip undoubtedly being of the finest quality. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Ririko wondered if she could keep it.
After both a short and long time, she burst from the water, grabbing onto a slab of concrete that remained above the tide. She spit out what felt like gallons of water, which also felt like buckets of ice water as well. Although she shivered, her focus was wrenched to the sky. Barefoot of her glasses, she struggled to see far enough, but she could make out the towering water cyclone, now reaching toward a darken sky.
"T-Tsu-Tsukune, y-you've…y-your power…" Droplets of water were hitting her, either rain from the storm clouds or residue from the still raging water twister. She knew he was at the center of it, she knew it in her heart. Standing up, she listened as a draconic roar erupted from the twister, rattling her to her bones. "Oh…Tsukune…what…what have they turned you into?" A sob clawed at her chest, but she suppressed it. I've…I've got to stop him! I've got to stop him before he hurts himself or anyone else! The resolve was almost as sudden as the storm he'd conjured. That said, Ririko didn't question it.
Crossing the whip and knife together, she concentrated trying to find the faintest whiff of Tsukune's demonic power. That actually wasn't too hard, it was as evident as the absolutely colossal black and blue mass in front of her. It was into that mass that she lashed out with her whip, the golden leather extending hundreds of feet at her command. Ririko had been told the whip's limit was in the ballpark of one-hundred meters, if she could command it so. Now more than ever, Ririko willing it to achieve a height resembling that.
THUMP!
"Yes!" Her joy was short-lived as something tugged at the line. Realizing what she might have to do, Ririko held onto the handle, and then allowed herself to be reeled in. Water and whip whipped at her face with the fury of tiny sheers, but she held on. Through half-lidden eyes, she watched the water cyclone grow ever closer until it was within range. She struck at it with the silver knife, cutting open a hole in it larger enough for her. A brief shower of warmth fell over her, a momentary comfort. Her golden whip continued to guide her through the water straight on up.
It'd latched onto Tsukune's leg, and he'd taken notice of it. He looked down, eyes completely blue and glowing with primal power. This was not the boy, the young man, she knew, not entirely. He was lost in the power that'd been forced on him, a dark power that was warping him into a monster.
And yet, Ririko felt like she couldn't do it. She couldn't plunge the knife into him-his knife, the same knife he'd used to save her life multiple times. The battle with Kotsubo flashed in her mind, the bitter irony gnawing at her. No! I…I won't let it end that way! He's not Kotsubo! He's…he's Tsukune…he's my Tsukune!
The knife flashed bright silver and white, dispelling the cyclone around them while also blinding Tsukune. Ririko heard him gasping as the flashbang trick he'd become so fond of was turned around him. It cracked her hear to do so, but she had to do it. Likewise, she shouldered the pain to follow through on the next part of her plan.
Her lower half transformed, the mystical pants folding into a simple belt of cloth around her waist, the rest became serpentine. "FORGIVE ME, TSUKUNE!" Ririko yelled as she lunged her open-tipped tail at him. Rather than his head, she impacted his chest, which was still close enough. Holding tight, she sucked out what she normally did to sooth unruly students-the very monstrous power that coursed through their veins. "Ag-AAAAAAGGGGGHHH!" It was like drinking ice water mixed with motor oil crossed with toxic sludge. Ririko wanted to vomit, but she held firm, literally. DON'T GIVE UP! IT'S FOR HIM! YOU'VE GOT TO DRAIN THE STIX OUT OF HIM! DRAIN AS MUCH OF IT AS YOU CAN! YOU HAVE TO, FOR HIS SAKE!
He resisted her, pulling at her tail and even clawing at it. The draconic transformation extended to his hands (of course, but Ririko was adamant. Even as she felt his nails digging into her skin, she didn't let go, she only sucked harder. She felt it, the dark power that was flowing through him like rapids, but instead of continuously circulating through his system she was taking it into herself, and hopefully the rage it carried with it. The transfer was definitely something she felt, a black bile filling up her stomach, yet Ririko didn't stop. She wouldn't stop until it was gone. Her efforts bore fruit as she felt Tsukune's grip loosening. Looking through the haze of wind and water, she saw his face faltering, the glow of his eyes dimming.
But they flashed blue and black. With a roar, he pulled at her tail, this time, almost wrenching it off him. Undeterred, Ririko held on tight; to bolster her hold, she wrapped her lower half around Tsukune's body. Arms bound, he struggled, and with seemingly greater force.
She wondered if he was subconsciously remembering the last time she had him wrapped up like this. It certainly hadn't been a pleasant experience for him, even if she enjoyed it. Was this how things went? Going full circle?
"Tsukune! Tsukune!" Ririko yelled over the maelstrom around them. Reaching forward, she grabbed his cheeks forcing him to face her. Hoping against hope it would work, praying that it would work, even if it cost Ririko her life, she leaned forward and connected their lips. Simultaneously, she pulled on the darkness inside of him, and in exchange tried to insert a smidge of her own life force, into him. Both efforts were a drain on her, but she clung to the last vestiges of her strength.
Please, stop, stop all this. Come back to me, Tsukune. Come back to me.
…Ri…Ri…
Only faintly was she aware of the winds dying down. The rain followed suit. Exhaustion and pain replaced them, the latter coming from deep inside of her. Ririko felt like there was a bomb about to go off inside of her, yet she fought through it to maintain the kiss and her hold on the young man in her arms.
He held her back, returning her kiss as the shadowy mess within her suddenly lessened, moments after it was born. That left only the exhaustion, the pain and fatigue of fighting her way through and attempting to sooth him. She didn't know how successful she was until she tasted air. Looking straight ahead, she saw black and blue eyes, silted pupils, and yet the anger that'd shrouded them was gone.
"Ririko,"
The way he called her name, so tender and gentle, it was just how she remembered it, and how she secretly longed for it to be. That was enough for her to know Tsukune, her Tsukune had returned. Content with that, she allowed her hazy eyes to shut, darkness gently falling over her.
Hell of a long chapter, huh? Hell of a climax, hopefully.
I had plans to do this chapter at the end of summer, but I got swamped for time and what I hoped would be a "summer finale" was pushed back; I ended up hoping it'd be a Halloween special, but that didn't pan out either. So, here we are on Veteran's Day Weekend (at least if you live in the U.S.). Not too bad. Perhaps the lull after all those events had passed helped me write this chapter, even if I dragged my feat a little thanks to how long this week was.
First order of business, I introduced Libra this chapter. While no "control" or "coexistence" organization formally existed in the series, I decided to make one up for the sake of this story, namely in growing the world and showing how humans and monsters interact in less violent ways. Not to mention show that the coexistence stance has a lot more supporters than most people would think. They're also the ones that deal with certain messes like what the Stix drug operation is turning into. They're also not adverse to working with regular law enforcement. Something else I mentioned this chapter during the briefing was most major human cities have some branch of its police department that deals with the supernatural, a result of just how ubiquitous they are in metropolitan areas.
Although the chapter turned out pretty long, I'm glad I got the briefing and the raid itself completed. While not a "arc finale" this was a pretty big chapter. The raid went back and forth between Tsukune and Ririko's point of view before converging at the finale, but their reunion wouldn't be under the best circumstances. Her having to calm him down amidst a berserker rage was always in the cards, but I went from the cause being Dr. Konishi killing Tsukune's fellow prisoners to him and Ririko being restrained and on the verge of being taken captive, again. It did allow me to show what will be a sneak peek at what's to come for Tsukune's character arc in the future; additionally, going with that angle gave me a better idea on how to end the chapter. Ririko braves the storm and snaps our hero back to his senses, and a fade to black ending.
Apocalypsis Aquarius from Final Fantasy XV and Cascade from Final Fantasy XVI helped me write out the last portion of the chapter, fittingly as both were the boss battle themes for Leviathan in each game; such scenes were my inspiration for Tsukune going berserk and tapping into his more destructive powers. On the front of games, in preparation for Halloween, I went on a bit of Castlevania binge, including playing the Dominus Collection on the switch, and thus Ririko's divine whip. Much like Tsukune's holy dagger, expect it to be making a few more appearances.
Finally, as of this update, this story is officially four years old. I'd like to thank you all who gave this story a look and have enjoyed it. I hope you continue to do so as this story moves forward, next chapter being another milestone. Until then!