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Chapter 6 - Beyond Light and Shadow (Tumblr Backup)

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Morning sunlight only started to grace the earth when Goku Kyubi had brought the muscular Oni back to the Youkai World.

Shutendouji couldn't count on getting away this time. That wicked kitsune, she had dragged him into a chamber where the demon queen awaited him, alongside that child with way too much summoning power. Not for execution, but for some sort of alternative that she had been cryptically hinting at.

The two Goku leveled youkai chartered for a bit, explaining her plan as Shuten was restrained, only his thoughts aiding him in preparation for whatever the hell this was going to be.

“Foolish Oni,” Goku Hyakki-hime spoke up in her lifeless voice. “If you were any weaker, I would have killed you myself. However, you have strength similar to an extinction level threat that’s too hard to ignore, so allow me to awaken that sealed potential within you.”

Goku Hyakki-hime raised her hand, a bewitching dark aura coming off of her fingertips like black smoke. A delicate hand brushed a wicked finger on the restrained oni’s chest, more of that inky aura becoming more and more intense.

“Seal the emotions that confine you, hold you back from your full potential,” Goku Hyakki-hime began to recite, her eyes glowing a more intense ruby red all the while, voice not raising a single emotion. Not even as Shuten screamed in bloodcurdling pain. “Let only the primordial instinct to fight and kill be the only things beating in your heart.”

The screams subsided, silence filling the room for a moment. Soon, it was replaced with guttural growls and hisses, a shadowy aura leaking off of Shutendouji now. He had transformed into something that was recognizable, but somehow deeply horrific. Fire that didn’t radiate, but rather darkened was eternally burning on his body.

“The process was a success,” Goku Hyakki-hime commented in her usual cold tone.

The reactions of the others differed. Chiharu’s being more close to his master’s, cold and calculating, fearing that any emotion would show weakness. Deep down, he was absolutely horrified at the oni turned feral creature in the oni’s skin.

Karna also tried to play it more emotionless, though he had trouble concealing it. Like Chiharu, he was pretty mortified that this could even occur, but tried to keep his composure like a part time employee in their last hour, desperately counting down the minutes.

Goku Kyubi showed delight, evilly grinning ear to ear at the monster. What a beautiful creature he was! Perfect, better than the original! Only issue is that he may try to steal her thunder, and she would have to fight if that were to come to fruition.

But, Chiharu’s expression would morph from dullness to being far more alarmed.

Almost immediately after being given enhancements, Shutendouji made an instinctive, almost feral dash right at Chiharu. The boy didn’t have time to think about calling forth help from a Genma.

His eyes looked into the ones belonging to the corrupted, feral Oni, blue and soulless with a faint glow. Yet, full of anger and detestment.

Within a blink, Chiharu felt like he had been cut open across his left shoulder and chest, with blades that felt like they were on fire, bringing a painful burning and stinging pain across his body. Splatters of bright crimson filled his view, pouring from his chest and onto the floor. Was this guy always capable of this?

He remembered when he was asked to hunt down this Oni, and how he held nothing back. Chiharu had delighted in beating up Shutendouji, his mind influencing the powerful Genma and Kenbumajin at his fingertips, until he was so battered he had no choice but to obey if he wanted to even dream about living.

Fresh blood dripped from Shutendouji’s much larger claws. He gave a primal snarl, ready to do it again, and again, and again. All until the kid was reduced to nothing.

Before the oni could get to shredding him, a few sunlit arrows struck Shutendouji, hissing in response.

“Chiharu, I’ll take care of this! For now, run like hell and go through the nearby Ungykiako,” Karna instructed, Chiharu looking worried before silently nodding.

Fear beat through his heart as he hesitated to start sprinting, blood feeling like it was spilling out faster and faster as each pulse in his chest increased in speed. Why was he feeling this? He was the queen’s perfect knight! He shouldn’t be feeling this way!

Yet, the words of the one shouting at him to run for it was someone he knew he valued more than a tool. A lesson the Kenbumajin had to teach him, that they were friends.

Chiharu went through one of the Ungykiakos and never looked back. Even if a part of him was screaming over if his friend was going to be alright.

Though, while he made it safe, he wished it wasn’t right in front of some girl who responded by screaming bloody murder. Of all places he had to end up in a neighborhood…

“Oh my god, oh my god…are you alright? What happened!?” The panicked voice asked, belonging to Saki. She had merely been walking to school, only for a kid her age, dressed in vintage emo subculture clothing and bleeding out, to appear right in her way. “I can get you to someone, my mom is a surgeon, she can help you!”

Chiharu was silent for a moment, taking off his scarf to try to soak up the blood. But as he did, it was clear he was struggling, his legs feeling shaky, the world starting to spin.

“No…” The boy managed to speak, his voice not wanting to admit such humiliating defeat. It wasn’t long before he passed right out on the ground, Saki screaming slowly fading out.

————————————————————————————————

To Chiharu’s shock, he wasn’t dead, but being laid down in a cold, white room made him feel like he was in hell. Gods no, anything but back there…

Thankfully, as the scenery became all the more clearer, it seems to have just been a guest’s room with more basic, lightly colored walls and bed that upon inspection, made it clear he wasn’t stuck in a hospital again. A sigh of relief was heard in the quiet room. Afternoon sunlight peered through the windows, Chiharu only now noticing the older woman in the room having looked over him.

“Hey, you, you’re finally awake,” The older woman greeted, her aged eyes still having a spark in them behind those round rim glasses. The boy groaned as he began to wake up, hissing a bit in pain as whatever painkillers he was on had worn off, and the stitches around the wound.

“Unnghh, what the hell happened, and who are you?” Chiharu asked, the girl from earlier walking in.

“Oh, she’s my mom! I told you she was a surgeon, Dr. Inaho Misora,” Saki answered, the older woman looking proud of herself.

“You wouldn’t expect lil’ ol’ me to have a PhD, but I do!” Inaho grinned, before going back into a more professional look. “Right, back to you kid,”

“...Chiharu Shimamura. My name is Chiharu,” Chiharu answered rather coldly, but earnestly.

“Right, Chiharu, do you know what happened to even cause these sorts of gashes?” Inaho continued to inquire, Chiharu looking distant.

“A uhh…ermm…a wild bear?” Chiharu answered, figuring the older woman wasn’t in tune with anything supernatural.

Silence filled the room, Inaho taking a moment before delivering her analysis of the situation to the troubled child.

“Well, had that bear hit you half an inch to your right, one of your most important arteries could have been hit beyond any help. In other words, you would have died. Consider yourself lucky that you survived.”

Deafening silence seeped into the room, the hair on Chiharu’s back standing up. Once he had tried to claim power and had a near encounter with death, and now it’s happened again. Why was he so weak? Why was his brushing up so close to death twice in recent memory?

Seeing the look on Chiharu’s face, Saki felt it was best to try to comfort him. “Hey now, I know what mom said was horrifying, but you’re alive and well, which is a good thing.”

“...Is there anything else to life other than prolonging the inevitable embrace of death?” Chiharu questioned, seriously shaken by the whole encounter. So badly, he wanted to explain the horrors he witnessed, the pure wrath of that oni, but simply was unable to find the words. If he were to try to give a supernatural exclamation, they’d think he’s crazy, out of his mind.

“I’m sorry that experience must have been a lot, but I assure you there’s a lot of nice things in life! Like video games! And the summer breeze!” Inaho tried to cheer up, but offered a comforting arm to the frightened child. “Do you know where your parents are? Got their number?”

Chiharu thought for a moment, his thoughts racing all at once. Parents? He didn’t live with anyone as far as he could remember…even then his memories were hazy at best. When he tried to remember it was things like recording studios, television sets, hospital rooms…Not a person he could call mother or father in sight of them.

But, there was at least one person he knew.

“...I have a friend I live with. He…He’s like me, an innocent soul whose birth mother and father threw him out to the river.” Chiharu finally had the courage to admit. “I don’t know where I put my cell phone last, do you know where a payphone is by chance? They seem to be hard to find.”

“A what?” Saki asked.

“Whatnow?” Inaho added in.

“...Nevermind, I’ll figure something out. Is it alright if I stay here for the night?” Chiharu perked up.

“Sure thing! You don’t seem like you got anywhere to go, huh?” Inaho asked.

Chiharu, in response, simply just nodded. Sure, he technically belonged somewhere, even was indebted to them. But now, he was starting to question if he belonged in such a hazardous place.

——————————————

Later in the evening, after school, a few familiar friends gathered in their usual meeting spot to discuss and discover any new cases. Of course there were the core three members, but Shirogane considered himself an official unofficial member now. Sure he was college bound, had a few odd jobs, and was one of the sacred king’s armory kenbumajin on top of all of that, but he could manage listening in on any possible cases.

“Did anything weird happen today?” Akinori asked, the two other teens shaking their heads.

“No not really, aside from Akira doing daily fortunes, but that’s more of a him thing,” Touma answered.

“Ehhh, most exciting thing is the school wide camping trip, but that’s not until two weeks from now. Still gotta ask my mom if it’s okay for me to go,” Natsume answered.

“Typical adult stuff for me,” Shirogane muttered.

“Even if there’s nothing new, we still got a lot to sort through,” Akinori began, unveiling a massive, rambling pinboard that took up at least most of the wall.

“W-What on earth is that?!” Touma asked, Akinori responded by slamming his hand into the board covered with pins and various colored strings.

“With the bombshells Natsume gave us after her mom talked with her, I’ve started to piece a lot of stuff together!” Akinori exclaimed, looking enthused about the whole board. “So far what we know is the following: Something caused The King of a Hundred Demons to start the reawakening process, first his sister woke up and started recruiting members. That Chiharu kid and his motormouth Kenbumajin being one of them, as well as various youkai who have been corrupted…Dark Youkai and Dark Arcs were the terms your mom used yeah?”

“Yeah,” Natsume answered, Akinori looking to be in a deep think as he thought on those terms for a bit.

“This is just me but I feel Dark Arcs and Dark Youkai are a bit corny without much punch, why not something with a better ring. Like I ‘unno, Maverick Arcs and Maverick Youkai or something? New age, we may as well update the terms, yeah?”

The other three simply remained silent, not even some of the youkai who hung around offered not a peep in retaliation or a better answer.

“I’ll take that silence as a resounding yes. Maverick Youkai it is.”

“Right, and I believe mom said Goku Hyakki-hime, the Queen of a Hundred Demon’s goal was to spread as much violence as possible to ressurect her brother now that a perfectly cloned human is somewhere…” Natsume kept going, Akinori looking somewhat puzzled.

“Natsume, are you sure your mom is okay? Cloning to that level only happens in movies…right?” Akinori questioned, a little worried at the possibilities. Touma decided it was best to chime in.

“There have been some advancements towards that kind of research, but a lot of major medical researchers refuse to delve into it further,” Touma brought up, trying to think about some of the ramblings he could hear his mother and father have in the brief times that they were home. “Cloning physical structure but also memories, that’s…that’s unbelievably dangerous to have in the open…”

“Debating ethics and if we’re in a sci-fi movie or not, what matters is that The Hundred Demon Queen Dushala is back and someone ended up getting cloned to be the key in bringing back her messed up brother!” Natsume tried to reason, the older man among the detectives looking shocked, and not in a way of delight.

“Wait, you said her name was Dushala? That can’t be her, it just can’t,” Stammering through his words, Shirogane looked distraught, his face painted with horror. “I knew her, she would never dream of such a horrible thing…”

“She made a vow after the sheer amount of casualties in The Great Throne Wars, appearing before my brothers and I. Truly, she absolutely despised all of us, especially one of my older brothers most of all, but she vowed to end the cycle of violence that left both of our families nearly extinct.” Shirogane recounted, remembering being coordinated as one of the first kings of the new era of youkai history.

He remembered her face, how tired, distraught, angry, and then finally at peaceful resolve when she made that vow at the coordination. After that, neither he nor his brothers ever saw her again, to live her remaining days in peace.

Since then, the Youkai World has been peaceful, for the most part at least. Incidents only seemed to spur up after hiking in those mountains to retire…But thankfully, nothing as horrifying as The Great Throne Wars had happened since.” Shirogane exposited, filling in blind spots about the Great Throne Wars era. He closed his eyes for a bit, sighing.

“As for the incident involving Ms. Amano’s mother and father, I wouldn’t have a clue since we weren’t reawakened at that time.” Shirogane sighed, opening his silvery eyes after being closed for a while. “I don’t want to think she would bow out on such an important vow. Until I see her face to face, it’s best to assume this is merely someone using her name dirty like that.”

The usually bustling room with activity and theorizing was quiet. Things sunk in in a way they hadn’t before.

“This may be a lot more dangerous than we thought…” Akinori admitted. “Sure, we faced Rasen and Soranaki, but this feels…bad. Like if someone who was rooted in pacifism broke their oath, and now her brother who’s best known to us for smacking down three legendary Watchers like it was nothing…man…”

“I don’t think it’s hopeless, there’s still your brothers, right? Wasn’t one of them famous for breaking demons in half?” Natsume tried to cheer things up.

“Rakshasa is the term used where I was from, but one of my older brothers is known for that. All of their exact locations, I don’t know myself. I know the majority of us were likely reincarnated as humans, whereas my eldest brother is hidden deep in the Youkai World. Both are like finding needles in a haystack…” Shirogane answered, looking defeated and even…wistful. “I just…”

The younger teens tilted their head a bit, a silent way of asking him to go on.

“It’s just…I just…it’s lonely when you don’t have any of your family, you know?” Shirogane admitted, Touma most of all seemed to understand his predicament most of all.

“I understand…” Touma answered, the two motioning before wrapping into a platonic hug.

“Yeah, we’ll help you find your brothers, stop the demon army, and bring peace once more,” Natsume answered, bringing light to the dire situation. “...Speaking of which, Akinori, did you see if there’s any new cases?”

“Oh right, yeah, about that, the only things on Usuranura are about bear attacks, and it doesn’t seem like a supernaturally charged sitation,” Akinori answered. “I had a youkai named Kiborikkuma come by and confirm they aren’t behind it, nor are any bears they know.”

“Perhaps it might be something other than a bear?” Touma suggested.

“Maybe, I’ll keep everyone updated on the group chat if something pops up, even if it’s 3 am or something.”

——————————————

Across the seas and land, it was still late morning in France, about to shift over to noon. A week had passed since accidentally ending up back in Japan, and with the watch inherited from Fumika, it was time to find somewhere that might help Ayame get a much needed upgrade. So that perhaps, when she would find a way back, she could be of use.

She had heard a few things about a watch shop on a particular street, right across from a clock tower in the uptown area of the nearby town where she attended school.

The clock shop looked to be as expected, antiques and clocks of all shapes and sizes stacked high and low. Occasional dusty books were squeezed between a shelf of porcelain, slightly strange looking figures of everything from animals to angels.

A small ding from a little bell on the door verberated through the quirky shop, the sound of footsteps running down some squeaky wooden stairs being heard.

Usually an older person was expected to run this sort of joint, middle aged at the youngest. So it was a surprise when a girl with spiky platinum blonde hair and icy gray eyes ran down the creaky steps, wearing a hoodie so large it was almost like a wizard’s robe, complete with a few faded patches that looked like stars.

“Hiya! I’m Britain’s greatest Watcher, Monique Perry, this is the historic Mister Milligan’s Ticking Antiquites!” The girl, Monique answered with a bright grin, holding a handmade staff with a strange orb-like object on it. “And who you might be?”

“I-I’m Ayame Himeno, I’m not sure if I’m in the making to being one of France’s Watchers or not…didn’t know there were ones outside of Japan,” Ayame answered, Monique pointing an index finger upwards as she got closer to inspect things.

“I’m actually from Wales myself, but I moved first to England and Scotland for a wee bit, then I was in Ireland briefly, until finally to France because of my gramp’s work. Been around the British Isles quite a bit before settling in the land of The Franks.” Monique explained, pointing to the odd golden orb on her staff With a press of a button, its lid was flipped open, and had a watch face of its own. “Though my watch here is a replica from 16th century Germany. I reckon it works maybe somewhat like yours.”

“Yeah, a little bit,” Ayame answered, a press of the watch’s button flipping open the frilly pink exterior, a light coming on as the radar started to hum. With a simple motion, it was closed again, and put onto the counter. “I’m looking to get it upgraded to be able to use arcs.

“Ah, this watch…this watch right here,” Monique observed, holding the cutesy pink watch. “This is either a replica of or dare I say, the very original watch used by one of Japan’s legendary Watchers! Are you sure you want me to tamper with this?”

“Right, inserting internals to accept arcs shouldn’t be much of an issue, you want to keep the original color scheme or not? The pinks seem to really suit you well, miss Himeno.” Monique observed, shocked she was even holding such an artifact.

“Of course, it would be wrong to try to change what isn’t broken,” Ayame laughed a bit.

“Right, before I begin, there will be a bit of a catch. Watch upgrades in different regions are strange since everyone switched back to Arcs following the disastrous collapse of Yopple Inc. The grooves on Yokai Arcs from Japan and Faerie Keys from Europe are going to be different. In layman's terms, the only Arcs you’ll be able to use are Faerie Keys from here, but I’ll keep the medal functionality if you can find a youkai, faerie, deva, asura, mogwai, or what have you still using them.”

Ayame thought, thinking this through. She hadn’t heard or seen faeries before ever since she moved here to study abroad. Then again, she only very recently got a watch of her own, so perhaps they might be more drawn to her if she does have a watch.

“Hmmm…” Ayame hummed, Monique giving a smirk.

“Fret not, I’m way nicer than most other watch places and will thrown in a Faerie Key for no extra charge,” Monique answered with a glimmer in her voice. “Though I’d have to find one suitable for you and your skill level, as well as your general vibe.”

A pause, before finally an answer. “Sure thing, I’m interested, I want to see what I’ve been missing out here!”

“Alright, I’ll get you started!” Monique gleefully said, taking the watch to a workbench to start working on it.

The sound of different magical bits and bobs coming together filled the quiet, almost deserted antique shop, Ayame taking a seat on a nearby chair as she waited for the upgrades to be complete.

Like magic, and a lot of hard work, the platinum haired girl returned with a grin on her face

“Apologies for taking a while, it should be all done and ready to go! But before you go, please take this as promised,” Monique finished, presenting not only the upgraded Watch but also a pretty elaborate arc, a deep blue color with silver accents, the base part where a drawing of the youkai would go being sculpted to resemble a stylized Pegasus. The reverse side depicted some sort of knight with a sword. In terms of length, it was a lot shorter compared to Youseiken by a mile, being more of an arc that someone went to town like a decoden phone case.

“Oh is this the arc, err, key you were talking about?” Ayame asked, Monique giving a hearty nod.

“Yep! This is a Faerie Key I feel should belong to whoever is this town’s Watcher. In your case, that would be you,” The clock shop clerk answered, sounding a bit more serious. “It’s a yokai whose duty is to protect you. Besides, what’s a Watcher without a butler, eh?”

“Oh I would prefer a cute, fluffy, reddish feline myself,” A voice from a cat spoke up, being a reddish mix between a tabby and a mainecoon. He looked normal, aside from…the little booties on him? Who gives their cats boots?

“W-What the!?” Ayame gasped, the shock through her being so strong, it nearly undid the ribbons holding her twintails together.

“...Don’t mind him, he’s my familiar.” Monique answered, giving a shushing motion towards the cat. “Best be on your way, find and befriend those fairies, yeah? Though, they may not be as friendly or as plentiful as those across the pond, just a warning.”

Ayame never forgot the strange cat in custom tailored shoes, nor the absolute wizard of a girl her age who upgraded her watch.

But the thought that Fairies were lurking, and potentially more dangerous. Such things made the girl be ever so more vigilant, and wonder what secrets were kept right under her nose.

—-----------------------------

Finally, the dead of night had arrived. Hours when only the most devoted of night owls or crafty youths who had gotten into contact with a helpful Baku were awake. Only a few places dared to keep their doors open, convenience shops and bars mostly, and the dwellers were night owls or extra early birds.

One of these places was a bar, not the fanciest but not run down either, great place for drinks or a simple karaoke machine to sing “this is no good, no good, no good at all” to get one’s woes out.

A frequent patron of such a place, simply known as Regulus, was a certain older woman with violet hair, round glasses, and a PhD. She remembered when she first started coming here, was it a year ago or two? She wasn’t quite sure anymore, she knew the Regulus bar had three key things.

Firstly, drinks. Plenty of great liquors and bourbons on offer, both of the more common and rarer varieties if she was feeling fancy. Of course a few appetizers like chips were given as well to help sober up.

Second was Karaoke. Inaho was never good at it, never claimed to be, but something about at least trying was alluring. Corny 80’s bubblegum pop songs about being a princess? Sure! Soulful ballads about how everything has gone down the drain? Oh yeah! Hard, harsh metal duets about picking yourself back up from the absolute worst of rock bottom? Now that’s the stuff! It was all fun to try at least once. Or twice. Thrice, even.

Last but certainly not least by a longshot was the bartender that would pretty much always be at her aid. He was the finest combination of what the domestic pop scene and Bollywood had to offer, dazzling, sunkissed coppery skin framed by long messy black hair, and the right amount of facial hair to be a somewhat grizzled bad boy.

And of course his name, the one and only Akihiko Hisakawa.

“Hey there Ms. Misora, how things been going for you and your kid?” Akihiko asked, Inaho noticing some pretty gnarly bandages covering parts of his arm, the older woman looking concerned.

“Yeah we’re good, but I’m more concerned about you, should you even be working?” Inaho gave concern, the bartender laughing it off.

“Oh please, it was just a small scuffle with a bear, and you know I’m built strong physically and mentally,” Akihiko reassured, going through the bar to get out a glass. “The usual?”

“Yeah you know it,” Inaho instinctively answered, before thinking for a moment.

As drinks were poured, Akihiko broke the silence a bit. “So, does Misao still sting?”

She hadn’t had a drink, but something about Inaho’s voice changed, becoming more harsh, jaded. Something about that name set her off a bit. “Pssh, nah, he left me heartbroken at first, serves him right to get hit by a truck. That ain’t even the worst heartbreak in my heart. The worst one made me despise the starry sky.”

“A bit cold, but I can see your heart is in the right place,” Akihiko answered, serving up the drink. He had remembered when Inaho first started coming here, her husband, Misao, had rather violently decided to split things off without even going to get it sorted out officially, according to the surgeon at the very least. He had a lot of anger problems, and would get angry if his wife left but a crumb, it made one wonder why they were even together in the first place.

A sobbing mess had greeted Regulus that night, Akihiko on shift. He heard her woes, and helped ease it with some stiff drinks. The balance between making a good paycheck and not leaving her absolutely plastered was a tricky tightrope walk, but he managed.

But perhaps getting plastered twice every week probably wasn’t the best idea.

“Have you…umm, been open to dating again?” Akihiko inquired, Inaho nearly spitting out her bourbon.

It had been three years since, well, that had happened…and she was open and single again. But did any guy or girl want to date her? Sure she was a surgeon, that was attractive enough for some people, but while she greatly prioritized rent, food, and anything Saki needed, any free money she had went to…well, things a 41 year old woman like her shouldn’t be indulging in. Cute plushies, model kits, action figures, the looks she’d get browsing the local toy and hobby shops.

“I don’t know man,” Inaho spoke up, only about one sip into her drink in.

The next response would result in Akihiko having some nice bourbon be splashed across his face like a frenzied hose.

“Would you like to go on a date with me sometime?” Akihiko asked, sealing his fate.

He WHAT?! Akihiko!? He didn’t have a partner after all!? He was a free bird!? But…but he was too handsome, too good looking, too nice for someone like her! She was pathetic, a loser, a failure! Not even being a surgeon could mask the fact she barely left the house outside of work or going to Regulus. What had gotten into this man…

“Uhhmm…uhhmmm…yeah?” Inaho answered a bit flabbergasted. “I have another kid staying with me at the moment, doesn’t have a home and was attacked by a bear. Do you know what in the tar of nation a ‘payphone’ is?”

“A kid asking about something they shouldn’t know about, interesting,” Akihiko commented, getting out a pad of paper. “How about somewhere outside of the bar, but maybe not too adventurous?”

Inaho thought for a moment, before looking at him. “How about you see my place? I don’t think I’ve had Saki meet you before, and you seem like a nice enough guy.”

Akihiko smirked. “Sounds like fun. Plus I get to see all those Sailor Piers figures you have and keep talking about. Heard those 35th Anniversary Dolls are something worth the high price tags.”

“They are!” Inaho answered, seeming to be in a much better mood, or it was the booze kicking in. “I can’t promise any homemade gourmet stuff, maybe just some takeout and chill. Anything you got in mind?”

“As long as it doesn’t have any beef I’m good to go,” Akihiko answered, the two chattering some more as they figured out a good day and time to try at this whole dating thing.

#yo kai watch shadowside #yokai watch shadowside #shadowside

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geminmyeyes · 1 year ago

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Chapter 5 - Beyond Light and Shadow (Tumblr Backup)

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Silence hung for a moment upon the shock and harshness of the Kenbumajin’s words, beckoning the other to come out and fight already.

Whether any of them liked it or not, there was going to be a brawl between the two, and it had to be between only them. No interfering, no support, nada. Even if it was awfully tempting when things would get dire.

“O’ great king from the sun, come forth, Kenbumajin, Karna!” Chiharu began to initiate, the full summoning call being heard loud and clear, without any interference. “Make them fear our power!”

For a mere moment, the swirl of solar flare lit up the cemetery like it was bathed by the might of a summer afternoon’s sun once more. But once the flames died down, the familiar gold plated Kenbumajin made himself present once more, those matching gold eyes tensing up as he looked down.

Usually, Karna wouldn’t hesitate to mark his presence with a rude string of words, but he held back. Perhaps waiting for the right moment, a rare bit in politeness. That or crafting something extra potent to throw the way of his younger and (in his words) snobby brat of a brother.

It was best to not waste a moment longer. Any time spent twiddling thumbs would result in everything being burnt to a crisp.

“Silvery son of the storm, please lend me your strength!” The words effortlessly flowed into Touma’s mind as he shouted, the voltaic cyan key being inserted into the Ogre Watch with a sense of power. “Possession, Kenbumajin, Arjuna!!”

Summoned forth for the first time in ages, in a precise strike of electrifying energy, the blue haired Kenbumajin appeared. Despite the tensions, he remained poised and calm, even if there was a slight twitch in his hands.

With the first movements coming from Karna, the two quickly clashed together like thunder and lightning.

Silver bolts of lightning, golden arrows of flame, like yin and yang, night and day. A storm of two different kinds of light, the harsh rays of the summer sun, the cool, volting cracks of lightning during a spring thunderstorm, fighting over who would be the brightest of them all.

Voltaic arrows managed to hit the opposing Kenbumajin, just like as legend told, the archer that never missed.

Though, the child of the sun was no slouch either, his own infinite supply of arrows landing a few fiery strikes on the other. Each strike resulted in an unparalleled shiteating grin.

“The first time I’ve been in this form in ages, and it’s against you,” Arjuna sighed, seeming to be annoyed with the whole fight. “Can we just get this over with? I’m only doing this so you don’t hurt those children.”

“Oh, am I just a bore to you now? Mister best archer in the whole wide world sick of having to prove his worth to his own, much cooler brother?” A higher pitched, condescending string began, the solar flare Kenbumajin’s once jovial face turning into something more grim and serious.

“If you wanna end this so badly, then just shoot me clean through the neck like you did back in the Throne Wars, smartass,” Karna beckoned in an uncharacteristically cold manner.

Keeping his composure, Arjuna stood firm, still gripping to his bow. But Touma could tell that without a doubt, the legendary Kenbumajin was nervous out of his wits end. How he managed to stay so composed, he had no idea…

“Silence!” Arjuna finally spoke out. “I can’t ever relive that moment again, not now, not ever…”

“I guess I’ll just have to end you myself then!”

But then, there was a wrench thrown into the fated duel. It got the hot headed Kenbumajin to stop with a puzzled look on his face.

Or rather, a bit of sparkly pink Yojitsu was casted, glimmers of bright pink striking the boisterous Kenbumajin.

That could only mean…

“Ayame!?” Akinori yelled, everyone looking to face the girl. Goodness, the young gumshoes hadn’t seen her in person since last year. “You probably shouldn’t interfere, this is a pretty bad fight and you could get hurt—“

“You stop hurting my friend right this instant, mister!” Ayame demanded with a shout frightening enough to make everyone go quiet for a moment. Karna turned to face the girl.

“Huh, never seen you before, didn’t know you brats networked so easily,” Karna commented. This was followed by a slight snort. “What are you gonna do next, ask me if I want to go to a tea party?”

The frilly girl took a stronger stance. “Apologies for my rudeness earlier, sir. Please stop hurting my friend right this instant, mister!”

A much larger heart was casted by Ayame, and radiated enough power that it needed to be punched rather than flicked off. It caused a greater impact as well, if it was followed by an attack name and a change of background, it would have been enough to annihilate the average monster of the week.

While the yojistsu wasn’t enough to defeat such a powerful Kenbumajin, it was enough to make him get disoriented.

“Now’s your chance!” Ayame gestured in encouragement. “I’ll get to explaining in a bit!”

Following the encouragement, Arjuna took his stance, readying the legendary bow. An arrow pointed right at Karna, not with the intent to kill, but to get him to just admit defeat and retreat.

“Behold! Typhoon Bolt Oversurge!” Arjuna yelled, wind ramping up behind him as he fired off an arrow that was an entire thunderstorm condensed into a single arrow. Bolts of lightning, the hard hitting downpour, hitting Karna right in the arm.

The fiery Kenbumajin seethed as the arrow hit his arm. He had to retreat, even if he hated that very idea. But not before getting the last word seething all the while.

“You might have won this time, but don’t think I’m going to lose next time, asshole. When we duel, the sun will be shining, and you’re gonna be so sorry,” Karna seethed, retreating back where he came from.

With the threat gone, there was no need for the lightning Kenbumajin to be summoned, and thus, Touma was returned. Shirogane appeared as well, looking slightly inconvenienced but accepting it with a bit of a shrug.

“First thing’s first, Ayame and Dorothea, was it? How did you two end up here?” Natsume asked. Dorothea gave a nod as Ayame, who was able to speak the same language as her friends, was able to clear things up.

“It was after school and me and Dorothea were going to retrieve a paper one of her teachers discarded rudely,” Ayame began, trying to recall the events. “Then some sort of bird-like shadow started to attack us, Dorothea ended up stumbling into this weird circular mirror with a purple frame. I followed after her, and we ended up here.”

“A mirror that sent you here…I think I remember my grandma talking about something like that,” Akinori pondered.

“But that bird, that must have been a youkai for sure,” Natsume thought, giving a bit of a yawn. “What time is it?”

“00:17,” Touma answered, looking at his phone. “Or 12:17 am I believe in the 12 hour system.”

Everyone stared in shocked silence. Gods, they were out extremely late, weren’t they? Any group discussions on the mirror and the bird could be done on phones with group chats and the like. Natsume quickly suggested that Ayame and Dodrthea crash at her place for the moment until they can get all of this sorted out. At least they had tomorrow off.

Unlocking the front door, the three girls had hoped everyone was fast asleep so they could all pile in without anyone noticing.

The feeling of the door not opening quite right due to someone already trying to open the door was enough to turn Natsume’s blood ice cold. The least worst would be Keisuke who’s already used to all these supernatural shenanigans, and knew to stay quiet.

Panic began to beat through the girl’s heart to see her mother opening the door, still haven’t gone to bed yet but looked ready to.

“Natsume…why were you out so late?” Natsume’s mother inquired, looking even more shocked to see Ayame was there. “And aren’t you supposed to be in France? Is that one of your friends from France, how did you get here?”

“There was a purple mirror and—“ Ayame tried to explain, Natsume quickly shushed her with a look of ‘she has no idea about any of this youkai stuff and will think we’re crazy if we tell it straight’ in her eyes.

“Oh she’s just here for a brief visit with her roommate! J-Jetlag sure is disorienting isn’t it Ayame and Dorothea?” Natsume hastily tried to say, quickly leading the girls to her room to crash for the night, knowing that she would have a lot of explaining to do in the morning.

Unbeknownst to the girls, the older woman just stood in silence after closing and locking the front door after the girls crashed in. She always saw Natsume (or in some rare cases, Keisuke) with that white wristwatch. How very nostalgic.

Purple mirror, and traveling long distances so easily. She knew what that meant, it was unbelievably convenient when she was a girl, especially with the ones in St. Peanutsburg.

But those days were long gone, even giving her watch to a certain friend of hers. She was curious if repairs could be done, but it was more of she didn’t want to think about the horrors that made her no longer want to see such specters.

And yet, she’s haunted by it. Gods, even her own child is hanging around her old friends, she has to pretend to not see them.

However, today was the day to finally face some old demons. Eyes glazed with hesitation, a nervous finger hovering over a contact that had barely been used.

The quiet rings of the phone were deafening, reminding the older woman that she was going to have to face the inevitable, and face it right now.

“H-Hey, Inaho, sorry for calling so late, it’s a bit of an emergency,”

“You know me, midnight is when I’m the widest awake. You haven’t called in ages, Fumika. What’s the matter?”

“I’m going to need my watch back if you’ve finished those repairs, one of Natsume’s friends, she got transported here all the way from France by what I presume to be an Ungaikyo.”

“Gotcha, youkai activity has been ramping up a lot lately. I think the King of A Hundred Demons is making a comeback,”

Meanwhile, Natsume, while trying to get some sleep, could hear her mother conversing over the phone. Whatever she was talking about on the other end, she could not hear a word from where she was in the house.

But her mother’s voice sounded grave.

“What?! …I can’t believe the seal and curse forged by you, me, and Keita’s medals and summoning capabilities from our watches would break so soon…I thought it would be well past our lifetimes when it would finally break!”

“I know, we lost against the King of the Hundred Demons…But he had one hell of an army…those Four Calamity Generals that impersonated generals from the three kingdoms era…their god king that was unbelievably powerful from all the strife and conflict from the past millennia…the dragon that could cause droughts by just existing in an area…plus the guy himself and his sister were no pushovers!”

“We had nearly a decade of befriending and mastering youkai and everything…and we still couldn’t completely defeat that hundred demon king! If only…what’s her name, Hebihime, hadn’t plotted to summon him…”

“Yeah…Yeah I’m hoping those rumors are all false in the end. Maybe it’s just an impersonator to get us all worried…”

Natsume eavesdropped with quite the surprised look on her face. All along, her parents had been involved with youkai?! Not to mention whatever their final battle was, it went horribly wrong, and it may be up to the detectives to pick up the pieces?

Could they really do it? Sure, the Sacred King’s Armory are incredibly strong youkai without a doubt! But are they strong enough to face a demon king with who knows how many horrific and powerful calamities?

Trying to sleep it off would be the best bet. It was probably nothing, but it was still bugging Natsume.

She could see visions of a king so immensely powerful, one that all the top one hundred of the most vile demons flocked to. He was their king, their master, and all of them would bend to his cruel will.

As for Ayame and Dorothea, being warped back to Japan wasn’t exactly what they had in the cards for their day off. Surely with all the youkai Ayame had dealt with, they could probably hitch a quick emergency ride on Suzaku if things got dire.

Though before trying to knock out for the night, a quick post on Usuranura

about what had happened wouldn’t hurt. However, when loading the page there was a large notice on the submit a sighting page.

Hello, we have temporarily closed the submission box for the next 12 hours due to constant spamming by a user seeming to evade any and all IP bans I impose on this anonymous user.

If you see a 21 month old girl named Moriko please send it to this email address, so I can hopefully contact her worried parents. Who, again, keep spamming (I know you’re worried, trust me I know what it’s like, but I want to make sure sightings don’t get buried!)

Indeed, there had been a spam of messages that were deleted upon refresh, showing rather jumbled writing pleading for help in finding Moriko. Small, wears pink, has fluffy, frizzy latte foam colored hair. The text of the messages seemed to be pretty scrambled, either due to panic, lack of finesse with touch screens due to long nails or inexperience, or both.

Either way, even with the panic someone had in their heart, sleep needed to come first after this long, strange, and eventful day. Even if it was only for a mere wink of sleep, everyone needed it.

Yet, despite hunkering for a peaceful slumber, the girls had a feeling another bird was looming by.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn’s sunlight only barely started to crack through the horizon when Ayame was woken up by Natsume’s mother knocking on the door gently, asking for her name in particular.

“Ms. Amano, what do you need? It’s really early…” Ayame asked, rubbing her eyes.

In the older woman’s hand was a watch, a lot like the ones everyone in the detective agency had. However, instead of going around the wrist, it was tied by an azure chord, contrasting nicely with the pearlescent whites and rosy pinks that made up the watch’s casing.

“I’ve heard about how you ended up back here, and, well…” She tried to explain, Natsume joining in with her friend.

“Mom…I heard you last night talking with Saki’s Mom…What on earth happened and have you been able to see youkai this entire time?”

Knowing that it was going to be a long, difficult conversation ahead, the three got ready for the day and moved into the living room to discuss things.

“The short answer is…Yes, I’ve been able to see youkai since I was at least 11, during the most eventful and strange summer of my life,” Natsume’s mother began to weave her yarn. “Not only myself, but your father and Saki’s mother as well. We were Watchers that were able to stop just about any threat without much issue!”

“However, there was one threat that nearly wiped us…The King of One Hundred Demons. He was the leader of a faction during the Great Throne Wars long ago, with the intent of annihilating the human race. An…incident when your father and I were in our last year of high school occurred when a youkai girl with the title of Hebihime

“We were experienced and would not let him attempt to reach that goal again, but it took literally everything. Our medals, summoning capabilities of our watches, all of it just to seal him, and in order to ensure he’d never return again, your father gave up his memories of youkai to enact a powerful curse.”

“It seems that curse, one that would not let him reawaken until humanity was able to play god by one to one clone a deceased human to perfection, has been broken…” Finally, the woman concluded. “That demon king is no joke. Some of the strongest youkai we came face to face with were merely his underlings.”

“I never knew any of that, I’m sorry you had to go through all that, mom. I’d understand why you never brought it up until now…” Natsume answered gently, allowing her mother to hug her gently.

“I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, but I hope the rumors of the resurrection of that demon king are a hoax,” The girl’s mother responded back, trying to hold back tears. “I cannot let him hurt you or anyone ever again.”

Natsume was quiet for a moment, breaking away from the embrace to put her hands on her mother’s shoulders. “I know what we may face may be horrifying, but if we can beat Soranaki, we can beat this King of A Hundred Demons guy no problem. Just…trust in us, alright?”

“Yeah!” Ayame added in. “We’ll make him very sorry that he messed with us!”. Dorothea nodded, not really understanding due to the language barrier, but tried to piece things together from body language and tone in the voices.

“Thank you all, it’s painful to remember that time…but I remember a possible weak point,” Natsume’s mother began. “A possible weakness of The King of a Hundred demons, or better known as—“

Any overview of the demon king was cut short by a deafeningly loud screech.

“What was that?!” Fumika commented, Natsume and Ayame scrambling for their watches to try and figure out the source of the sound, though the latter looked a bit confused.

“Mrs. Amano, how do I use this thing?” Ayame asked, fumbling with the watch until pressing a button that not only flipped open the watch’s main lid, but shined a fairly bright light and made a few radar-like bleeps.

With both watches’ lights shining, the youkai had made itself clear to be some sort of monstrous owl, aglow with blue spectral flame. It let out another horrifying sound, making the damned screams of a barn owl sound like a gentle serenade of a songbird. In terms of size, it was pretty small compared to other youkai, a bit larger than a Great Grey Owl, but was much smaller than, say, Suzaku.

“Tatarimokke!” The youkai wasted no time getting to introductions, letting the house know right away who it was and what they meant.

Even if it was pretty small, it knew exactly what Natsume was doing when she instinctively grabbed for the arc of the (mostly) reliable red feline. The feathered fiend jumped onto Natsume, trying to claw at her with its sharp talons. It was enough to make her drop the arc, but before Tatarimokke could even get a scratch in, it was met with a hearty whack of a rolled up magazine.

“Get off my daughter you overgrown turkey!” Fumika cursed, trying to keep a level head but treating the monstrous youkai like it was a small bird that had flown in by accident. “Girls, focus on getting this thing outside! I just got new tiling installed in the kitchen yesterday, I can’t afford to see you or my hard work get hurt!”

As instructed, the girls chased Tatarimokke out of the house and right into the front yard. The further away they could get away from the neighborhood, the better given how there would be more space to do battle against this beast.

Without much or any hesitation, Dorothea grabbed a nearby fallen branch, and started smacking Tatarimokke with it.

“Dorothea! That’s not a normal owl! You could get hurt!” Ayame spoke, knowing she was the only one between her and Natsume that could speak fluent French. Dorothea kept standing her ground.

“I know, but I heard a stick is effective on fending off crows, so it must work on owls?” Dorothea admitted, Ayame being the only one who understood her French. There had to be a youkai capable of breaking these weird language barriers… “But I think with a bit of this, you guys should be able to get in after it without being swooped in!”

One hard bonk and the owl was down, it’s screechy breath wheezy and angry. It knew once it got back up, it would try to tear these girls into shreds.

Right as Tatarimokke was about to get back up to slash apart the girls, it heard a voice. A voice it recognized.

“Don’t hurt her! Moriko, it’s me!” A voice cried out, a voice with the strain of a father who’s voice had gotten exhausted and hoarse trying to find his child.

“Oh…you must be the one who was spamming Usuranura last night…” Ayame commented, looking at the panicked and running figure calling the child’s name. He shambled to try to intervene, clearly exhausted from tirelessly looking for the individual named Moriko.

Though to one person, it rang a bell.

“F-Fukuro!? H-how are you even alive!?” Natsume gasped, absolutely flabbergasted that such a youkai had managed to survive.

But it was true, Fukurou was there, alive and mostly well. He still wore the same attire he did two years ago, though a bit more tattered and with a few stains of blood from trying to take control of Fudo-Muyoou. The tips of his feathers were permanently a dark teal, the same for his red tipped, talon-like hands. Or rather, hand, as quite visibly he lacked a right hand and part of his right forearm.

The owl rested its face in the humanoid’s arms, tears forming in it’s vacant, soul piercing eyes. Finally, it cried out something that wasn’t a shrill screech.

“Papa…Papa I’m sorry…” The youkai cried, the ominous energy fading away as all what was left was something that was the polar opposite of the monstrous and destructive owl. It was a small child, only about the age of a toddler. She was dressed in a kimono and hifu, forged from the finest silks dyed in adorable pastels, and adorned with a few flower-like accessories. Even a few bits of teal to pop out from the pastel pinks, to match alongside her father.

“There there Moriko…” Fukurou spoke with such a gentle softness. “I know it wasn’t your fault…I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Girls, are you alright?” Fumika stepped out, wondering what all the commotion was. Just as things seemed to end well, there was a curveball thrown in for good measure.

Appearing was a certain someone who carried the title of Snake King proudly, his blue, slit-like eyes staring down with intimidation. He was pursuing Fukurou it seems, given the older owl’s reaction to the very presence of the Han’yo. Even Fumika seemed to blink for a moment. Something about him rung a bell.

“L-Lord K-Kaira! I-I can explain! I-It wasn’t my faul–” Fukurou tried to answer, only for his daughter to stand up between the two adults.

“Don’t hurt papa!” A shrill from Moriko boldly opposed the snake king, without the knowledge that he held the title of Great King for over a year in Enma’s stead. Had Fukurou not held her back, her tiny fists would have absolutely tried to punch the half snake right in the shins. “Papa’s nice! Papa made me not angry! Dushala made me a meanie for no reason!”

Kaira and Fumika in particular looked shocked at what the owlet girl had confessed.

“…I see, so she’s the one behind this…all those rumors are true after all…damn the gods…” Kaira cursed, giving a sigh. His face became a little lighter as he looked at the younger youkai. A quite awkward but clearly earnest smile graced his face. “I am not going to hurt you or your father. Though with what happened to you, I got worried.”

“Don’t worry, mister snakey man,” Moriko answered swiftly. “Papa keeps me safe, new friends keep me safe.”

With a bit of non-verbal gestures, she was allowed to wiggle out of her father’s grasp to toddle over to Natsume. Her teeny tiny clawed hands holding an arc that she was just barely able to grip. The braided girl gave a smile, taking the arc and saying “Thank you, Moriko” while ruffling the fluff of hair.

“Right, about the whole dying and coming back thing,” Kaira began to explain. “I was in charge of being the final word in a lot of punishments towards youkai that had caused trouble around when the Soranaki incident was happening. I don’t know what had gotten over me at that moment…but I somehow could feel that causing youkai to go berserk wasn’t something Fukurou was doing willingly or freely.

“I decided that I would allow him a second chance in raising Tatarimokke, a youkai born from a deceased human infant due to any number of reasons, both natural and manmade. If the child perished or was harmed by his own hand, I would immediately take his soul to Infinite Hell myself.”

“But, you’ve been doing a good job, Fukurou. Spoiling her, dare I say, those silks aren’t cheap and you haven’t gotten anything new in a while…”

“Well, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” Fukurou concluded, absolutely relieved he wasn’t going to be dragged back. “But, it perhaps may be a bit dangerous now.”

“I hope you never have to know her name,” Kaira concluded. “It is best you try to hide yourselves as Enma and I fear something horrifying could take place in this town once more.”

Just about Kaira was about to make his leave, a voice called for him.

“Wait! Lord Kaira, is it? We ended up here by accident due to a mirror kept by one of Dorothea’s teachers, is it possible you can take us back to France? Pretty please?” Ayame explained, Kaira pausing for a bit.

“Your teacher has an Ungiyako? I thought there was a Faerie that would serve the same purpose. I can take you back no problem, though I encourage you to try to see if there’s a way to fend yourself. Youkai are everywhere, after all.”

———————————-----------------------------------------------------

Of course the moment Goku Kyubi asks about Shutendouji leading the way, he takes her to a deserted mountain where there’s no sign of life, and even the spiritual energies are pretty low. The kitsune’s mismatched eyes looked at the oni, a displeased look in her eyes.

“So…Where’s that big fat papa you said you would lead me to?” Goku Kyubi inquired. Shutendouji shot a bit of a stone cold look back at her.

“Yeah so, about that,” Shuten answered, azure, flame-like energy starting to form around his arm. “All the stuff about Ibuki Douji, all his backstories, that was a load of crap I just made up. I’d figure such a wise goddess like yourself would pick up on all the inconsistencies, but guess not.”

If she was merely just calmly angry before, Goku Kyubi was absolutely seething and she made it clear with her high pitched rant of a voice.

“You STUPID brute!” She shouted, a force of energy knocking her back before she could rant some more, but she still tried to stand firm. “How dare you insult AND hurt a goddess like myself, and the queen of a hundred demons herself for that matter!?”

“I may be stupid but I’m not an idiot,” Shutendouji bluntly gave a shockingly levelheaded response to the festering angry fox. “Not so much of an idiot to let you over to all that I have left.”

“Then what is it you have left, sacreligious idiot!?” Goku Kyubi kept her ranting game going and going strong. She managed to jump up and grabs her humanoid hands around Shutendouji’s neck, her expression becoming much more enraged. “You better tell me the truth or else you’ll never wish you messed with the Great Divine Almighty Goddess Goku Kyubi!”

Shutendouji merely sat silent, Goku Kyubi gritting her teeth as brightly colored red and blue energy casted from her hands, and with a simple chant, put the oni in his place, unable to move.

“Come on, speak up!” Goku Kyubi commanded, her tone becoming impatient by the second. She kept casting sparks of ember in hopes to get him to finally speak up. “Unless you were birthed from the void and nothingness, you have to have a parent!”

“Mo…Momiji…She’s my mother, and you’ll be sorry if you try messing with me…” Shutendouji managed to mutter after a bit of prodding, the kitsune roaring into laugher

“Bah! What a joke!” Goku Kyubi laughed. “You, the son of the legendary Momiji?! Don’t joke with me, just because you’re an Oni doesn’t mean you two are related! Come on, she was a scholar, leader, and warrior who wielded a youseiken, you’re merely a low ranking frat boy compared to her!”

Just then, a thought came into the Kitsune’s mind, a sinister grin appearing on her face. “Tell you what, regardless of if you’re related to her or not, I have the perfect use for you after all,”

Using her magic to make massive claws out of red and blue flame, she grasped Shutendouji to make sure this time he could not run away or lead her astray.

“W-Wait, what?! What are you gonna do!?” Shutendouji demanded, Goku Kyubi fumbling out a little portable mirror to head back to the palace lair.

“You’ll see, and perhaps if you really are related to her, I will be sorry. But I’ll outsmart her and make you actually useful for once!”

#yokai watch shadowside #yo kai watch shadowside #shadowside

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