Gaia guardians chapter 4

((For the rest of the Chapters and more,here))
Gaia guardians

Rating: T

Genre: Action/Adventure, romance, drama (later chapters)

Prologue delta- Rize of the Kontrolled
(Supa dupa Battel: Vengeful greedy psychopomp vs. mystery killah man version)

Two weeks and three nights ago, preceding Kikyo’s sudden “coma” attack, in Hanamomi-cho

The small speck grew closer in his sight of vision as the bird neared closer to its target; the outstretched arm of the perched man on the high roof of the skyscraper. The crow sped down with a swoop and clawed itself down on the faded bandaged wrist before it, digging its claws inside the hidden mass of flesh. As a small breeze passed by, the sandy cloak of the figure swayed slightly in the wind, brushing along wine red strands of hair across dark brown skin and piercing crimson eyes. The crow and its companion locked eyes for a few minutes, though as one would not alter their view from the other it would seem like they would be staring forever at one another. In truth, they were using no verbal words of communication but rather exchanging visions through thoughts. The crow, which had scouted the town a few minutes prior, was now recollecting what it had seen on its road and transferring its data it to the figure before him.

Well, as you can see, Negimatsu has already taken hostage that young maiden we’ve been watching about for some time now…it wouldn’t be appropriate to target her for the moment. However, since he has released his seeds and is looking for potential candidates, it should be better if they’re gotten rid of first; after all they are of a potential danger. Might never know. Once they’re targeted and transformed, they can be no turning them back to their human selves. The more better for your task, anyway. You just have to kill them once and that’s it. No second thoughts or such useless things like that, right?

The figure nodded attentively, not looking elsewhere but the crow before him. He closed his eyes before reopening them once again and finally giving his reply after minutes of silence. “…Though this won’t be as easy as you think. This isn’t just one target like I’m usually doing; it’s an outbreak of targets. They might not be so easy to handle all at once, even if I use my powers in this town. Damage will already be done, and well, we can’t really rely on Hikari no Hime-sama right now; as you know her situation. She might be awakening soon, but until then her “family” powers as regarded as useless to my cause.”

The crow nodded again and deciding to find itself a better place to perch itself upon, moved away from the man’s outstretched wrist and perched itself on the handlebar in front of it. Suddenly the crow glowed and changing shape, the light soon grew wider in lower legs, longer in arms and altered in face shape. When the transformation completed, two arms and ten slender and trimmed fingers were now holding onto the metal bar. In front of the stranger, a chin was arched upward as the figure looked up to the night sky. Below the waist of the female’s kimono, a large black hakama skirt was hiding the figure’s crossed legs. As another breeze passed, Asuka Shiratori arched her upper body downward while her fingers still held tightly onto the handlebar. She posed like that for minutes until arching back in place to meet the cloaked man before her, a welcoming and mischievous smile on her face. Not blinking in surprise, the man looked at the maiden with indifference, seeming unchanged at her appearance.

She sighed and ran a hand through her dark long locks of hair. “…Long time no see, stranger.” She mused playfully before running a hand through her hair. “Am I that obvious to pinpoint? Does your Asuka still be caught even in a crow’s form?” The cloaked man shrugged and closed his eyes.“Yeah, you were pretty obvious. Your true power level was radiating out like a beacon really. Speaking of beacons,” He opened his eyes as he paused in his sentence. Others who were in the same state of dress as Asuka were now surrounding the cloaked man, with their swords and other weapons drawn and aiming for him. With his blank, indifferent frown on his face, the dark-skinned man eyed his new adversaries. Feeling his hands trapped behind his back, his expression shifted in slight surprise. He had to admit he had gotten caught after all. So even they can use kidoh, the shadow arts. Not bad for low-seated officers. Smirking smugly, the man then turned his red eyes upward at the so-called beacon in front of him, the still-smirking Asuka who was now standing on her feet and crossed her arms.

To think that one of my one-night stands would go out on me like this… the bound man thought randomly, still seeming unchanged by his latest predicament. Nothing else could seem to surprise him now.

“…It seems my notable and powerful reputation precedes me. Even low-seated Shinigami squads have heard about me… not bad, I’ll give you that. Spreading out your chi on purpose, then these guys would track down your energy and instantly find me with you. Hmph. Your squad of amateurs is even capable of tying me down with kidoh jutsu and using my radiating chi against me to do so. Not bad at all, Shiratori. Trying to get that pretty high price on my head…you couldn’t be any greedier than a petty yoma. You still mad that I left ya so quickly?”Asuka rolled her eyes. She wasn’t fooled by his taunts this time. Bending downward to inch up as they reached face to face, she smugly chuckled. “You know that you’ll be handed over to the “proper authorities” soon. So have ya got any last words this time around?”

A moment of silence before a faint jeer and finally a reply from the prisoner. “Hmm…I now regret sleeping with a psychopomp? I can get out of this by the way. Just watch. I can do this even with my hands behind my back as I am right now. Infact, I’ll free my hands just for you. You, Shiratori, you’ll be my last of the night…again.”

As he said the last words, his fists suddenly crackled with pulsing dark red energy as he slowly rose to his feet. The man closed his eyes and instantly the attackers were suddenly repelled away from him and were flung away into the air. In that same instant, their innards were suddenly ripped out from their bodies, as if the air itself was cutting through them. As the cloaked man then started to mouth words to what seemed to be a silent chant, the air-bound Shinigami started to glow and then were burned from sight, their bodies disappearing in the blaze and leaving only burnt crisps of shredded and fading paper. As the gory aftermath fell in a rain of charred flesh and flying remains, a panicking Asuka quickly leapt away from the scene and fled off.

Damn it, damn it, damn it!! I had no idea he was that strong!!! His reputation precedes him indeed; along with his battle skill. I mean…he didn’t even flinch or blink an eye while he killed those guys!!! What kind of monster is he??? Maybe I underestimated-

Gack!!!

The female Shinigami had no time to finish her next thought sentence; now flinching and blinking incessantly, she choked and spattered blood into his face, gripping onto his wrist as the cloaked man had plunged his palm through Asuka’s chest. As the man wretched his hand from her body, he took one last look at her pleading, lifeless face, then threw away Asuka’s body as it spiraled downwards into the abyss of the night. Cracking his bloody fingers, the man scoffed. “I told you that you’d be the last one of the night, Shiratori. But you went through all that trouble for nothing.” He then clenched his fist and prepared to leave the scene when…

Ping!!!

Suddenly the man’s concentration broke as crimson eyes quickly shifted downward as he saw the flash. Failing to escape from harm’s way, he was scorched by the incoming blast. A loud shriek came from below as Asuka returned in her larger crow form, soaring towards the night sky as she prepared to launch another attack. Her bleeding center was now pierced with the large hole that had been left by the man in her human form. Reopening her mouth to release another power flash, the powerful vibrations resonated and instead of hitting the cloaked man, they destroyed the surrounding buildings below them. Grunting, the wounded man quickly jolted away from the incoming creature as she raised her mouth and preparing to strike him again.

As the chase dragged on, neither side was truly getting advantage on one another. Asuka wasn’t any close to hitting her target, resorting to blasting blindly and carelessly in nearby places. The cloaked man wasn’t getting any father away from the yoma as she released her attack and blasted surrounding buildings, limiting his choice of hiding places. As another blast prepared to surge from Asuka’s mouth, the cloaked man quickly dived away again and then abruptly landed behind the recesses of a building rooftop, skidding himself to a stop whilst in the incoming bright light. Now watching the large crow creature searching for his whereabouts again, the man took this opportunity to try at dissolving his own chi and further dimming her chances of finding him. He raised his bloody hand away from his chest and looked at the damage done that Asuka had left through him.

Looks like Shiratori’s after my a** now too…though It’s more probable that he probably must’ve baited and killed the woman and her squad sometime ago, and using his yoma, brainwashed her to work for him, further breeding and adding more to a little more of your “fateful” minions again, right…Negimatsu? You better get ready to bleed then. Since this will just be one more candidate that “defected”. After all Shiratori, you can’t return to normal anymore, as we all know; I’m in no choice but to kill you. Just like the others. He narrowed his eyes at the large creature hovering above him, however not actually directing his attention to the giant crow but to the being residing inside it. From the crow’s forehead then bulged a third red eye. The large red eye came to life as the eyeball sprung forth from its eyelid and slithered upward into the night sky. Then hands, arms, a face and finally a full-breasted chest and torso emerged from the large eyeball’s center cornea. The now slumping, pale-skinned Asuka opened her red eyes, which were blank and glowing. Just like the creature she was merged with, her forehead also contained a third red eye (see chapter 3). As her third eye opened, Negimatsu, now the one secretly in full control of the yoma, smiled in greeting.

“Come out, come out wherever you are…I still haven’t killed you yet!!!” She taunted with her eerie voice, sounding as if two people were indeed talking in the same body. Scanning at the remaining buildings below, searching for traces of the man’s wayward energy, she then smiled as he felt the faint glow of his chi in the nearby distance and ordered her bird half below to attack. The crow obeyed its orders and raising its beak towards the desired building again, it fired. Now taking action, the cloaked man leapt out from behind his hiding place and raised his sword’s hilt as the blast came flying towards him. As the area was incinerated in the blast, Asuka smirked and cackling in triumphant glee, she squirmed and twisted her body back and forth as she laughed, thinking that he had perished within the sheer power of her flames.

Yes!!! Perfect! He is extinguished…he has finally been destroyed!!

Her eyes widened however at the incoming sight of the katana blade plunging through her central eye and slicing through her body as Asuka’s face twisted into a shocked grimace. A bright light then surged from her empty center; meaning she was to automatically self-destruct. It seemed like in the end despite all her attacks, despite having been supplied of her powers from Negimatsu, she still wasn’t able to do it. She still was unable to defeat this monster. Or whatever he claimed himself to be.

Either way, she couldn’t bring him down.

Her lower half screeching painfully as she was slowly being destroyed into specks of nothingness, Asuka’s mouth violently regurgitated the small dark crystal from her body. The cloaked man quickly leapt down towards it and landed near a lower building as he caught the crystal and fled off into the night.

As her eyes slightly regained life in her last brief moments, she took one last look at the leaving figure, his large sandy cloak blocking her last view of him. Tentatively raising a remaining hand towards him, Asuka’s fingers soon disintegrated as well and her tearful eyes widening once again, her whole body soon followed suit as the blast engulfed her hybrid being as she exploded.

O…O-Onizuma…I’m…

The faint echoed whisper of his former lover’s voice having reached the fleeing man’s ears, he kept no attention to it, having no urge to look over his shoulder for the mere sound of his name.

Chapter 4- Rize of the Kontrolled
(Supa dupa Invasione Imminente, united division diversion and arrival of tha' mister Priester man..."save the day an' bless us!" version)

Two hours following Kikyo’s “coma” attack, in Tsusushi temple, Tokyo

The white ball of fluff leaped down from the open window and slowly crept towards the large chair that was blocking its path from reaching its objective. Meowing slightly to attain attention from the other occupant of the room, its sunny yellow eyes searched the premises of his headquarters. And it seemed that the feline’s mistress, whose back was turned to the unknown extra presence in the room, was quite intently engrossed in a conversation and thus was too busy trying to get the cat’s noted attention. So instead, the four-legged feline opted for a better destination as it then jumped up towards the adjoining table in front of the chair, which was facing sideways of its line of vision. Across from the table and the white cat, Lady Kimiko Sakibara was holding the phone receiver with her frail yet strong hands. Fluffy pink ears perked back and forth as the small cat then curled out on the wooden table, trying to hone in on what exactly had been keeping its mistress so intent on a mere phone conversation instead of having time to play with it after a year-long absence from the mortal plane.

“…Well, Obaa-sama, it seems that the process has finally begun…because she is now fully unconscious to the naked eye,” said the person on the other end of the line. Judging by the huffs heard in the female’s voice, it looked like she was rather being hurried. A slight pause before the elderly woman finally gave the reply,

“…Is that so, Midori? Did her aura decreased to but a speck of life? Or is she still breathing? How long had the process started already?” The cat’s eyes then darted close again it then listened to the young Midori girl’s hurried reply once again.

“ Last I had seen of her she was still breathing, yes…but for now I ask of you, what do you advise me to do? Has my duty been fulfilled already? Because…in my opinion, even if she is the vessel of “the key”, the one who is to purge our world, she still has much to learn if she is accomplish anything of worthwhile. I still fear the awakening might not be easy for her to handle. I mean, the trials that she will be put through, the things that she will see...she isn't ready to face all of that, much less try to awaken to her true self, Obaa-sama!” The girl had said (rather yelled) the last lines with a touch of anxiety, exasperation and slight hesitation. After all, she had been assigned with watching over the young girl, so she had seen her skills develop from her earliest stages.

She still thought that Kikyo wasn't ready for whatever was to come. If she could've reversed the process however, she would've done so without a second thought.

“…I see what you are saying, Midori." came the calm answer from Lady Kimiko, "But now is not the time to worry. It is now up to her to survive the trials that will be coming to her in the process of awakening. But in the end, your faith and mine should get her through to prevail. And of course, one of her first protectors, the Shinsui priest from the mountain will soon arrive here as well…”As the cat silently eavesdropped on the ensuing dialogue between Midori and Lady Sakibara, its memories drifted back to the days when it had remembered often seeing the brown-haired girl in these parts.

Hmm…wasn’t she the original heir to the Spiritual robes and powers of the Sakibara family? Yes, that was her…Midori…her name was originally Sakibara. However when that Kikyo girl was born, she had been suddenly transferred into the Honda branch. But how has her role been reduced to being a mere guardian for this "Kikyo" girl? Or perhaps she houses more power then I suspect...

The cat narrowed yellow eyes questioningly then suddenly shrugged the subject off and waved a lazy paw in the air. These sorts of things that were from beyond its lines of comprehension were probably not something that should be of a concern for it, so whom was it to involve himself in such matters? Long ago, it had done his required business as a Shikigami; only that and thoughts of when the next meal should be from were in its mind right now. Shikigami (unlike Shinigami, who were spiritual guides and protectors of konpaku, or souls) were spiritual familiars that were mostly used when humans couldn’t interfere in missions that were deemed too risky for this world or the next. Of their many given abilities, Shikigami were mostly employed when they could take on various life forms and on occasion, weapons as well. The most common uses for them were as human doppelgangers (infiltration and reconnaissance), domestic pets (for fun and occasional company), or in retrieving missions.

“…Alright, Midori. Thank you very much for informing me.” Came the reply before Lady Sakibara released a deep breath and replaced the receiver back in place. Poor girl. Her feelings for Kikyo are getting in the way of her protecting the young key of Salvation. Though I shouldn't think of it that way; no, rather I should address the matter in a positive issue. After all, shouldn't that same love fuel Midori to better her "cousin" as she would face these incoming trials of the gods? She frowned and shook her head before finally taking notice of the other occupant in the room. As the cat once again meowed its hello, the elderly woman smiled and rose from her throne chair. The cat purred its happiness as it was picked and then caressed by its soft, milky white ears. ”Ah …Jiro. Have you been eavesdropping on me again? I could feel your aura nearby as we had conversed. You know it isn’t polite for a cat, living or not, to do so. Then again, I do believe that no one should ever interrupt one's train of thoughts while on important things.” The white cat meowed again and then curled in the old woman’s embrace.

“Well, can you blame me?" it finally said, frowning with another soft meow, " I felt neglected. I needed to know why “Lady Kimiko Sakibara” as you are addressed to in this plane, was not paying attention to one of her most trusted Shikigami familiars, in fact her favorite at that! The situation was seeming so serious that you held me no greeting as I entered, paying only attention to that love-struck Sakibara girl’s attendant on the phone!” The old lady nodded her head and chuckled.

"Yes, I suppose I did ignore you there for a little bit back there, didn't I? I do apologize then, Jiro. Very deeply. It wasn't my intention to do so." The female senior then quickly clasped her walking cane as the white cat was released from her embrace and then walked away, heading towards the large golden doors of the room. Lady Kimiko, with her snail's pace, followed the spirit feline as best as she could.

As they walked across the outer hallways of the shrine, they came to a pair of black metal doors inscribed with golden kanji, or one of many Japanese characters. After pressing a few buttons on the wall, the large doors opened and a flock of steps suddenly appeared beneath them as the ground slowly shook to widen the incoming space. As a small beacon of light shone beneath them, Lady Sakibara watched the cat from behind as Jiro strolled down towards the staircase. After few minutes of looking over her shoulder however, the elderly lady was snapped out of her thoughts by the voice of her companion ringing in her ears.

“Well, "Lady Sakibara"? Are you coming or not? I do believe that the Shinto gods are not to be waited upon for their leader to make her reappearance in Tenkai after her long absence in that wrinkled and sluggish avatar of yours. After all, this has become a case of most emergence, hasn’t it?”

“Hmm? Yes, yes it has indeed…”

As the large black doors silently closed behind them, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, the two were actually making their descent into the staircase that would lead them back into the gates of Heaven.

***

Meanwhile, in Mizunami shrine, Seiryuu sector of Tokyo

The boy’s eyes widened as he saw the flickering red dots on the monitor screen below him. Swallowing the lump in his throat, new beads of sweat poured down from his forehead and slippery hands stretched on all sides of his control keyboard, the blonde inhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves down. …Think and take a good look at what exactly is happening. After all, if nothing had been reported as of yet or if the alarm doesn’t sound then this is not of a large problem, is it not? The red dots were only meaning that yoma, malicious sprites from the other world, had appeared on this surface of the mortal plane. And the dots are constantly flickering on and off, meaning that our agents are on the scene, keeping the situation under control…Not to mention, this seems to be all centered in one particular region, so this makes the situation much easier too... As the young boy came upon this logical conclusion, he smiled weakly and finally released all his pent-up frustrations with a large exhale. Sighing, he wiped a sweaty forehead with the back of his hand and plopped back on his seat. Yeah, nothing to worry about, he thought, It’s not as if there’s going to be-

His calm train of thoughts then came crashing to a halt as the man saw the growing flicker of red dots suddenly reappearing on his screen. His eyes widened considerably again as it dawned on him that his fears were far from over. Once more swallowing the lump in his throat, his eyes bulged as his earphones resonated with the sound of a constant “Beep!” “Beep!” signaling the worst of cases. Now eyeing each region on the map screen, the man punched his fingers on the controls frantically as he then tried to calculate which way the invasion would be heading to next. Suddenly, the man’s figure vibrated a little and his eyes widened. Soon, a little quake started as large, booming footsteps were coming from the hallway, followed by the faint soft click of another pair behind. Hushed murmurs of “Oh no! He’s coming!”, “Great, we’re probably in for something really bad now,” or even “…I hope I’m not the one who’s going to get thrown to the wall today…” started floating around the computer room.

When the small quake stopped, the whole room was immersed in deadly silence as the attendants in the room all looked at the new arrival. The majority who weren’t hiding away under their chairs or desks anyway. All of the brave eyes were glued on the hulky, giant of a man who had just entered, with his much nicer-looking, much human-sized female assistant standing next to him. His boar-like face, accentuated by his snout nose and puffed cheeks, only helped to further place the surveillance crew under even more fear. His equally thick black, W-shaped moustache was proudly protruding on both ends of his cheeks, followed by the short line of goat tee hair traveling down his chin. As the giant looked over his fearful crew of underlings, he frowned even more, even going as far and twitching a chubby lower lip and throbbing a vein through his fist, showing the veins clearly. This tall, powerful, chubby and intimidating man, who did not seem to be very happy at all, was known as Ichimara Genmaeda Sakureichi Kakenenemaru. Well, he was known as such to close friends and family who had the courage to ask him if they would ignore his size and constant scowl. He was replacing the current head of the technical surveillance division who had suddenly decided to "go on vacation" and leave him in charge. Despite his rather very long name, the surrogate superior had convinced his attendants to call him Ichimara-sama.

"...OIIII, MAGGOTS!!!" Ichimara then howled like always, making the room shake even under the mere vocals of his voice. Suddenly the earthquake started again as he then walked forward again, the vibrations that he caused getting bigger as he approached one particular person, one quivering young man hunched over his controls.

"... YAMADAAA!!!" he yelled to the boy, crashing his large hand on the boy's shoulder. Bending slightly to look at the screen below him, Ichimara pressed his puffier cheek against Yamada's, nearly crushing him. "What’s the situation?" Yamada winced as his shoulder was given more pressure by the intruding hand. Any more pressure and he would explode. Or more preferably die on the spot.

“…W-well, I-Ichimara-sama, sir,” the boy started, swallowing as he looked back at his screen. He typed a few digits on his keyboard and the screen was zoomed in on of one the main red dots and their coordinates. “S-sector Alpha-83, Nichima Prefecture, has just been targeted, along with,” he then typed again on the controls and the screen then zoomed in towards another region with a red dot, “...Not too long ago, Alpha-85, in the Arisawa prefecture had also been hit by the sudden yoma swarm, Ichimara-sama, sir. Troops in the nearby sectors have been alerted and are already heading there to try and keep the target cities intact and install more kekkai between the city borders for the armies to avoid joining one another.” His shoulder being squeezed painfully once again by his tall and bulky superior standing behind him, Yamada winced and whimpered.

“What else can you report, maggot?” came the rough voice again as the surveillance attendant was being addressed. “S-sir?” Yamada gulped, hesitantly raising a muted earphone. He had heard his question but had been pretending to avoid it because he hadn’t finished his report on all targeted sections when Ichimara had interrupted.

“Tell me what else you can report, Dammit!” the man, now visibly irritated, repeated and slapped the attendant upside the head before finally releasing his death grip on Yamada’s shoulder and taking his leave of the room, his much shorter and human-sized secretary following on the giant’s heels. As he was leaving the premises, Ichimara stopped in his rumbling tracks and turned around to face his group of young technicians and lookouts. He then opened his wide mouth and started to speak, his mere breath resonating enough for the entire world to hear him.

“...Alright, listen up you goddamned, sniveling, little piss-pants an’ crybaby maggots! I want a full-detailed report on all the areas in the remaining sectors that haven’t been covered as of yet by twelve hundred hours sharp! No exceptions or tardy slips or else you get the death penalty, no charge! And by Death penalty I mean I get to do it!!!" Gasps and gulps went around as Ichimara continued, his tone growing in pitch, " 'Cause it looks like that little b*****d Negimatsu’s planning a full-on invasion of all four corners, and he's probably aiming for surrounding Tokyo for the big finish. What that really means is you've gotta get up of your lazy asses and start to work REAL hard 'cause playtime's over! The world's gonna through hell for the next little while and we're ALL being dragged for the ride!”

And with that followed the routine quaking of the metal ground as Ichimara-sama made his leave known as the giant’s steps, even at the end of the hallway, made its small impact as the ground shook back in the main surveillance room. Following Ichimara of course, were the small clicking sounds of his secretary’s footsteps being faintly heard behind afterwards.

As the small quake finally came to a halt and their superior had officially left, Yamada groaned and slammed his head on the computer screen, his heart rate long having sped through the roof. It was a god-given miracle he had even managed to speak while having been at the hands of Ichimara-sama, let along breathe under the giant’s hand crushing his shoulder! A nearby attendant next to the dead boy shook his shoulder to rouse him. “Yamada-kun?” came the quirky, nasal voice. “Yamada-kun?” he shook the boy again.

“Uh oh,” the other attendant said before snorting and looking towards his teammates,” I think he needs to go to the recovery ward again, guys. He’s gagging from the mouth."

***

Meanwhile, in the late afternoon, following Kikyo's "coma"

The younger of the two girls watched with eyes wide behind trim square glasses as her friend gobbled part of her quarter-pounder hamburger into her mouth. Blinking as in she’d been out of a trance, she finally swallowed before shrugging and sipping a drink of her medium coke in her right hand. As her taller friend on the other side heartily consumed her lunch, Tsutsumi Hsieh attempted to raise a hand towards her friend’s tray to capture a packet of ketchup, and was surprised when a dark-skinned hand hadn’t crept up on her and slapped her stiff. Then again, she never did eat ketchup again after that incident...or cheetos for that matter. Slowly drawing the condiment away, the bespectacled girl then slowly ripped the packet apart, grinning as the red tomato substance was splattered all over her group of awaiting fries. As the two friends proceeded to eat their respectable foods, an obvious but comfortable silence was shared between the two; after all, as much as they wanted to blabber about anything and anyone right now, it was still deemed impolite (and incomprehensible even to the most experienced of "food-talkers") to talk with your mouth full.

When enough food had been digested into their stomachs to consider themselves full (for the moment), in-between the fries and drinks did the two females finally decide to engage in friendly conversation. Swallowing a lump, molten, salty French fry, Yuzumi cleared her throat and then looked at Tsutsumi, who still had her large share of fries and ketchup stuffed in her mouth. Pushing up her own glasses back up her nose, the dark-skinned girl grimaced as the other girl watched her back with surprise.

"Hmphf!" the other girl had managed to mutter with a half-full mouth, "Whmat's mwrong? Ishth jthere smomething on myeth moutheth?" Yuzumi shook her head then raised a napkin to her friend's cheek to wipe off the smudge of ketchup dripping downward.

"That answer your question?"

Another silence as she swallowed before she closed her eyes." Thanks for the small and loving gesture, Onna." Tsutsumi added coyly, rolling her eyes and nodding afterwards. "No problem, Tsutsu-chan, no problem." The dark-skinned girl said neutrally, her facial expression however revealing mischief in the act. She actually would've wanted to place her tongue instead of the napkin but then she knew that it would irk her friend to the point of Yuzumi receiving the silent treatment. So, she took the simple way instead. Tsutsumi drew away at the girl's stare and rolled her eyes.

As the afternoon rolled on, their dialogue increased in various subjects, along with their choice of beverages and snacking appetizers. As they were leaving the burger premises and were passing under the televisions above the front doors, Yuzumi suddenly raised a hand and tugged on her friend's coat as Tsutsumi was suddenly whirled back to the taller girl's side with a bump.

"...I-it happened again." Yazumi said first, her dark eyes under glass glued on the screens above her as she watched the news article that was unfolding. "Huh? What are you talking about, Onna? You mean another of those 'monster attacks' that keep occurring every out of the blue lately in random prefectures?" The taller girl nodded and swallowed. The shorter of the two sighed and shook her head before returning the favor and successfully pulling her friend out of the Japanese Macdonald's with an equally powerful drag out of the restaurant.

***

"Hm..."Tsutsumi hummed loudly as they walked near the shinkansen train station, she leading in the front while the still-distraught Yuzumi was walking behind, however not losing sight of her friend in the crowds. Taking another glance at her distraught friend, Tsutsumi then sighed. Yazumi still seemed to have been lost in her own world following what she had seen on TV, so her friend had been polite and hadn't wanted to break her out of her thoughts with pointless conversation. That having been said, it had been more than 30 minutes ago since the latter had ended their last conversation and Tsutsumi felt like she had to try and break the tension-filled silence with something...So after another five minutes of silence on her part, the kendo assistant-captain finally tried to resume their earlier conversation with,"...you know, the news had also said that trains are still functioning though. Besides, there's nothing to worry about! After all, we're heading for Yuzukarin station. The news were being reported at the Hinamori station site, five stations away after our destination; that said destination being in the Arisawa prefecture. It's not too much of a problem, since we'd still be in Hanamomi. Besides, what chance that the attacks, being random, are gonna happen around here?" The girl then said matter-of-factly as she turned over her shoulder to look at her friend to see her reaction. Yuzumi, still in her thoughts but consciously aware, narrowed her eyes at her friend's opinion and shrugged. She still looked troubled however, and Tsutsumi could still see that. But just as she was about to talk again however, without warning...

“Huh?” voices soon started,

“Do you see that? In the sky!! I-It seems to be a comet!” murmured more as people soon grew worried.

“I-it seems to be coming straight for us!” the growing mass soon figured, fear washing over them.

Gasps and screams suddenly erupted from behind as the crowds suddenly started to rush and run forward, frantic yelling and chaos gradually running amuck as the two girls were suddenly caught in the wild hustle and bustle of the frenetic passersby around them.

"H-huh? Hey! Watch it!" Tsutsumi blinked and yelled, grimacing as she had tried to move in the sudden crossfire and at the same time, try to locate her friend who was nowhere to be found. And her short stature wasn't exactly helping matters either. “Onna!” she yelled, confused. “Y-Yuzumi? Hey, where are y-“ Just as quickly as she had talked, an unseen Yuzumi had flung herself against the shorter girl and they both flew across the pavement as a large crash was suddenly heard from where Tsutsumi had formerly been.

"Mitaiiii! Onnaaaa, why'd you freakin' do that, dammit? Scare me up and lose you, why don't cha?" came the loud and hurting whine, " My back freakin' hurts now..."Tsutsumi added as she winced. The panting Yuzumi on top of her grunted before hauling herself up to her knees. Noticing their rather awkward position, Tsutsumi quickly disposed of the situation and pushed her friend off of her and the taller girl flew to the side following an "Oof!" and a thud. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, a lone figure had long emerged from the crater it had erected, and was now rising to its feet. Crackling its slender, sharp claws, it hissed and opened its crimson-colored eyes.

"...Kami-sama, look at the size of that crater!" Tsutsumi exclaimed, flabbergasted as the two girls (and a growing crowd) were now examining what had just crashed in front of them and had nearly destroyed a road. "Ara, ara...d'you see something down there or is that just me?" Yuzumi asked next, having bent over to try and look into the depths of the large dust, wind and earth that were blocking her view. Having the sudden urge to have a laugh at the temptation to push her friend over the crater, Tsutsumi's eyes suddenly widened as without much warning but possibly a "Hold on, we need to get outta here!" and with the usual, scared screams growing around her as everybody tried to escape, Yuzumi once again had held the shocked girl against her and feeling a sudden strength in her legs, jumped away from the crater again as something rose from the depths of the ever fracturing Earth.

And then suddenly came a bright flash of red that came with whatever had formed the crater and then, everything that had came in contact with the light had disappeared from view within the blink of an eye. In the midst of the engulfing light however, the screaming pair of Yuzumi and Tsutsumi (rather the latter being carried by the former) were still trying to run away from the quake and the surrounding tremors.

“Aw, come onnn, Onna!” Berated Tsutsumi, despite her being the one of burden on her friend’s shoulders, “ Hurry up! Let’s move it!!”

Unfortunately, even Yuzumi's super speed (which cannot be explained at the moment due to author's suspense) couldn't be quick enough for within a split instant of their attempted escape, it suddenly landed before the terrified duo. Both girls, no longer at a considerable distance away from the shadowed creature like before, looked in fear yet wonder at the new arrival before them, clawed hands stretched menacingly above them."...Onna?" first asked Tsutsumi, "T-tell me they're shooting a really good action movie nearby...'Cause that thing in front of us kinda looks pretty real to me. And why's everything so red all of a sudden? And why are we the only ones here?" The nervous girl rambled, noting that they were indeed the only human beings left in this plane. As for the creature's horrid appearance, it was as if the shadows themselves were forming this creature's body. Human-shaped hues of darkness that only highlighted its red eyes and ivory fanged grin while being encased in golden and red armor around the chest plate, wrists and legs.

Yuzumi, quite scared and fearing herself, could only gulp and try to reply as smugly as she could. So, in the midst of it, she had managed to stifle a wry smile and had just found a suitable reply to Tsutsumi's light-hearted bit of sarcasm. "...Aye. I could tell you that, but then I wouldn't gone to all the trouble of getting us away from the thing, huh?" Another strained laugh was heard as Tsutsumi vaguely retorted back, "Right...you had tried to get us away from the said thing. Which is now standing right above us and looks ready to utterly slice and decapitate us."

"Heh heh heh. Yep, got me again, girl. Got me again." Came the equally dry reply. Just as the creature was about to attack the two shivering girls below however...

“W-what the heck?” stammered the shaken pair of girls on the ground as they opened their eyes and were welcomed with the sight of a stranger lodged in-between them and the creature, a barrier separating the two of them and ultimately saving them from oblivion.

The creature raised hairless brows as it suddenly found itself having been blocked by an unseen force. The panting youth looked back at the still-shocked pair behind him, annoyance and confusion evident in his features. “ What are you two still doing here?” he scolded. “Shouldn’t you be taking cover far away from here by now?” Taking that as their cue, the two confused girls winced and nodded at the order and lost no time taking their escape from the dark monster, leaving it to confront whoever had repelled it. It still seemed unaware of the person that had blocked its attack as the irritated daemon hissed and again rose out its hand to hack at the invisible wall but this time was met with the retaliation of a golden staff blocking its claws. Sparks slightly dancing between them, the yoma hissed and then jumped away as the sparks dissipated and minutes later, the glowing figure of a holy robed youth (see chapter 2 prologue) fully materialized into view, his shakujo staff lodged in his hands in defense. It had also been used as a barrier countering the yoma's aura and had it clash with his own. The conflicting energies had nulled out and the negative energy had been repelled, thus resulting in the sparks.

As for the young priest, though his robes were slightly torn and tattered and his face looked even worse for wear, with fresh scars and faded bandages, hadn't seem to notice his tired state and nonetheless held himself on his feet. At the sight of the Priest, the yoma smirked and grew back his sword-like claws into the open as he returned to a fighting stance.

"The so-called “holy star of the gods” finally makes his return and catches up with me." It simply said, then bursting into a cackling fit. "It seemed that you still harbor wounds from our last encounter and some new ones as well. I’m guessing that you had encountered some of my fellow yoma while coming here? That defense attack back there however was but a minor setback. However those two had managed to survive through my extermination blast is none of my knowledge but your life however, is quickly coming to an end, boy.” The confident yoma had spewed the last lines with obvious sarcasm.

To that, the holy youth just swallowed and placed himself into a fighting stance at well. “I do believe that I was unprepared last time, yoma of the darkness. This time however, I shall stop you. As always, I shall stake my life on it to better protect this Earth from your clutches.”

However, unbeknownst to you yoma…the priest thought, confidence secretly brimming in his eyes, your attempted attack shall end here for as we speak, the Key of Salvation shall reveal herself… and only then will Light shall triumph over the incoming darkness…

***

“Heh heh heh. Destroy, demolish, kill them all, my little warriors. Kill all those amusing humans. Slay all those so-called “priests” so use their papers and their sutras. Slaughter those innocent Inugami and those Nekomata. Yes. Yes. Kill. Them. All…!!!” came the mischievous sing-song voice followed by a ‘pop!’ sound as he retracted the chocolate sucker from his mouth. “ As for you,” he said, not looking away from the screen as he noticed the hypnotized nurse next to him, “You’re…what do you humans say again…? When you’re no longer useful on the job?” he then paused and replaced the sucker into his mouth. Jabbing two forefingers to her forehead, he sent a wild wave of shock through her body before the nurse suddenly started to scream in pain. She started to bulge and throb violently, her body shape suddenly expanding in obese, exaggerated mass. Bursting blood from her mouth as the large blob-like form started to choke, the boy then looked to the ceiling and raised brows as he then found the answer to his earlier sentence. Chuckling to himself as he then looked at the large, overweight thing, he grinned and pressed his two fingers deeper into her forehead. “Okay, okay, I got it, I got it!” he proclaimed, feigning to notice the former nurse’s lack of breathing and imminent implosion, “ You…are…”

“You’re…fired.”

“…Nnn...grp!!” Came the muffled scream as the woman then exploded into a blast of blood and guts, her molten bits of flesh and whatever remains was left of her splattering throughout the room. Smirking as his latest grand kill, Negimatsu again retreated the sucker from his mouth and licked his lips.

A deviant, almost devilish smile then crept upon his face as a pair of three red eyes peered down at the screen before him, watching as the incoming armies were making their descent from the higher plane downward towards Earth. Of course there had been precautions that had thought to be taken against such happenings but so far, they seemed to have been for naught. Jerking his head back as he watched the spectacle, Negimatsu (still under the guise of Maori Kusunagi’s body) cackled again as he watched the screen alter from one scene to another as the factions from the local temples and shrines were resorting to trying to divide the yoma and dwindle their numbers. Though of course, that was actually impossible as they won’t be stop their little invasion for a long while. The boy snickered as he watched with enthusiastic glee, the one bulging eye on his vessel’s forehead pulsating as crimson orbs widened and Negimatsu gasped as the screen sudden shifted to one particular scene of interest.

“Hmm?” The pale boy purred, chuckling once again. “ Well, while it seems that Areolas has finally broken through the kekkai for the Hanamomi district, what’s more extravagant is that the ‘esteemed child’ has finally made his appearance…”He chuckled as he then slipped the sucker into his open mouth again,

“Yes…The Key of Salvation, Galatea. One who was prophesized to prevail against our master Kronos. Her six protectors, descended from the greatest deities of Gaea itself. They were all reborn in mortal form to protect the Key when she would confront her father. And at last, we finally meet one of them, one of the legendary “Gaia guardians”…A young priest named Genzo Higato he may be on the outside, but inside lies one of the six holy stars of the gods himself, Prometheus himself…”

“Let the battle of Earth’s Salvation begin.”