Chapter Text

The Rift

Unknown location: Mato

“Are you sure this is a good idea Shikoku” Naruhime asked with crossed arms “For all you’ve told us about these Kure “devils” you two are trying to summon, we’ve not actually seen much of them, the one “Image” we saw was a blur of some purple skinned brute”

“Oh calm down Naruhime” Shikoku chimed “It's not like we’re summoning anything Human, a devil is a devil, Jaku’un’s premonition saw into their world, they’re said to possess demons inside mortal shells” Shikoku continued as she assisted Jaku’un prepare the ritual, A complex series of circles drawn in black ichor, really it was just ink mixed with wine, but Shikoku had deigned not not say that as to maintain some mystique

“Fret not” Jaku’un says with what might be a laugh under that helmet of his “While seeing into other worlds is a murky affair, I can at the very least confirm that they are devils, why certain names bubbled through the gap of worlds. They’re currently lead by one they call “The Wailing Demon”, And all the epithetes I could dig up on them follow such a trend” while his face is obscured under the helmet he wears, Jaku’un is clearly smirking “Why they’ll be perfect to join our cause, they’ll have a new playground for them to run rampant in.

Before Naruhime can voice any further concerns the voice of Taikyoku cuts through the room, accompanied by the click of her heels
“While we cannot be certain the nature of these “Kure”s abilities, Mother has voiced no objection to bringing in aid given that three gods have fallen already. Until we can retrieve our fallen brethren from inside Wakura Yuuki, It’s wise to bolster our forces without making too many devotees”

Taikyoku’s commanding tone shuts Naruhime up, earning a slight grin from Shikoku
“Well, we shouldn’t dally, summoning these Kure will allow us to stay here and guard mother while we allow these demons to run loose” Shikoku says with a clap of her hands “Jouryuu, could you get me a Shuuki Femur” She asks without even looking back, too focused on ritual preparation

“How will you ensure they don’t turn on us?” Jouryuu asks suddenly, standing off to the side with her arms crossed she had been content to remain silent until now, but if these Kure turned out to be uncontrollable, then it wouldn’t be worth bringing them over

Shikuku pauses a moment, clearly deep in a half second of thought before she snaps her fingers in a lightbulb moment “We’ll bring over some enemies of theirs!” She declares boldly “the enemy of my enemy is my friend, we’ll have a common goal”

Taikyoku bristles at the idea of making more problems for themselves, but as an insurance measure, it wasn’t a half bad idea

“Make sure it doesn’t become a bigger issue for us later” Taikyoku commands sternly before falling quiet, letting Shikoku and Jaku’un continue the ritual

Kure Clan Tokyo Mansion:

Fusui and Karura looked at eachother, utterly dumbfounded, they were just given the orders from Hollis that using radios was on the table since Gaoh Ryuki and Koga Narushima had just “Graduated” to that phase of training, but now the line is dead
“They couldn’t have” Fusui chuckles in bewilderment “There’s no way the could have known, let alone found a way to block the frequency” Fusui mulls over, her eyes locking with the other Kure woman, seeking agreement, or maybe just an answer that makes sense

“Relax Fusui” Karura sighs “It's probably a coincidence, these boys spent the last few days thinking the answer was to try fight us all head on, there’s no way in hell that they figured all of that out” Karura re-assures “Whatever is causing the disturbance, we’ve no room to complain, part of this training is about how unpredictable combat is right? That goes as much for those two as it does for us” with that, Karura spun the blunted hand axe around in her grasp “but if this is their doing, they’ll be getting extra points from me!” Karura whoops as she begins stalking through the mansion, hunting for the two young men

Fusui couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong, but given that there was naught else to do, she followed Karura down the hall, crossbow at the ready as she moved to hunt for the two boys, coming to a full halt as she came to a window

“K-Karura, come look out the window.” Fusui starts, a slight bewildered stammer in her voice as she speaks. Fusui opens the window to ensure what she’s looking at is real, it's not a covering, she’s looking outside to an alien environment, a wasteland with a twilight sky and rocky crag ground, the mansion isn’t in Tokyo anymore for sure

“This makes no sense” Karura states bluntly, clearly something wasn’t right, the two kure women had seen some absurd stuff, they themself could at a whim release their body’s limiters, but there's only so much bullshit the mind can shrug off, and this passed the limit

HQ of the Anti-demon corps:

Ren sat in her office, looking out the window looking over Mato, the election loss stung less than she thought it would, Bell had scolded her for skulking, and that took much of the edge off, she held no hard feelings for Kyouka, the supreme commander-elect, and Ren had been offered the position of Minister of defence, alongside her remaining as a chief, of course that came at the cost of having it be revealed that the previous Vice minister of defence was a devotee of the eight thunder gods, a spy feeding the gods information, leading to the minister to step down for letting that slide

“Goodness” Ren let out a sigh to herself, the only other sound in the room was the ticking of a clock “Kyouka, you’ve been elected at a tumultuous time” Ren mused, her reverie was rather short lived though as Ginna Bizen ran in

“Supreme commander Ren, we’ve an urgent report from Mato” Ginna called out with a salute
“A mansion has appeared in the north east of Mato, long range scouting has confirmed its populated with humans”

Ren took a moment to comprehend this, a mansion, appearing in Mato, with a human population

“Are you pulling my leg Ginna?” Ren asks bluntly with a sickly sweet smile on her face

“N-no, Never supreme commander” Gina affirms, pulling out a tablet and giving it over to Ren, sure as the sun rises there is a mansion in Mato, long range thermal imaging shows around 17 figures inside, and one outside, all human, at least from what can be seen

“I see” Ren hums, putting her hand to her chin as she takes a moment to digest this, it’d be easy to go herself, but she has her hands full with the incoming change of power, and her own position as the Minister of Defence

“Thanks for bringing this to my attention Gina” Ren nods “I’ll see it investigated”
With that Ren picks up the phone and dials the closest unit to the location of the mansion

“Fubuki, I’ve an urgent job for the 9th unit.”

Chapter Text

Kure Clan Manor: Mato

After the news got around that the entire manor had been transported, all the kure present, plus Gaoh and Koga had gathered in a central room to discuss their options, Hollis sat at the front, using what they had on hand to re-sharpen his blade, many kure doing the same, with some having found weapons that fit their style that hadn’t been blunted down for training.
“First and foremost, we need to get a feel for the surroundings of the manor.” Hollis starts, his dark eyes glance around the room, already trying to put together a small team in his head of who he’d bring with him, accounting for skills, numbers, strengths etc.
“Gaoh, Koga, you two stay here and get treated, it should go without saying but for now your training is on hold till we can figure out what's going on, and how to get the manor back to where it should be.”

Having finished sharpening his blade, Hollis stood and made his choice. “Fusui, if your sniper rifle is still in the building I want you on the roof covering us while I lead a team to assess the surroundings, if Raian is still in the area we’ll link with him and get him back to the manor.”

“Understood.” Fusui nods, standing up already moving to get her rifle and take position.

“Good, now, Yakusha, Karura, Reiichi, you’re all with me, we’re heading out.” Hollis commands with a nod, the three stand up and prepare to move out. Koga looks like he might speak up, to protest and voice his desire to assist and come with the scouting party, but a hard look from Hollis shuts him up, the message is clear even without words “Get treated before thinking about going out”.

Outside the Kure Manor

Hollis took point, leading the group, this landscape was alien, the sky locked in eternal twilight, the ground below them craggy and yet despite the stillness held an eerie vibe to it, the Kure weren't one for superstitions, but there was an unspoken agreement within the scouting party, this place isn’t right. Fusui was back at the manor upon the roof, having her scope trained around her family, ready to fire a warning shot to alert them to danger, it’s rather wasteful to use a bullet for that, especially since they’re not sure about where they’ll source more bullets, but with the radios not working this is the best way to alert them quickly. For a while all was quiet, the scouting party moved unimpeded through the alien landscape. Only a few minutes later however, as Fusui was looking through her scope she saw something approaching, a jeep, two passengers and a driver, approaching from over the brow of a hill, the scouting party would be unable to see it yet, as such Fusui shoots the ground in the direction of the jeep to alert the scouting party.

“Incoming!” Hollis calls out, readying his blade, the other kure do the same, on the roof Fusui readies another round, while a jeep is a sign of civilisation, there is no guarantee that the occupants are friendly, and since the scouting party can’t see it yet, Fusui decided it’d be best to alert them so they can be prepared for anything.
As the jeep crests the hill, Hollis holds his stance, his eyes narrowing as he takes in the driver and her two passengers, Karura, Yakusha and Reiichi do the same, preparing for a fight.

“You stand before Fubuki Azuma, current head of the Azuma clan.” Fubuki’s voice is commanding, she looks down on the group noting that Hollis seems to be the leader of the group.

“And you, who are you, what’s your Mansion doing here in Mato?” Fubuki asks sternly, her gaze narrows as she looks down upon the group
“And those eyes of yours, are you even human?”

“Mato?” Hollis parrots back, clear unfamiliar with the term. “I am Hollis Kure, Interim Patriarch of the Kure Clan” He introduces himself, his blade still at the ready should this conversation devolve into conflict, though he would prefer to avoid fighting somebody who knows what this place is.

“Now now.” Yakusha speaks up, stepping forward with her halberd slung over her shoulder
“Miss Azuma, I assure you, whatever enemy you expected to face here, we aren’t affiliated, and I can also assure you, we are very much human.” Yakusha placates, her gaze flickers to Maia and Homare, given their resemblance to Fubuki, and the difference in age, Yakusha assumes that those two are Fubuki’s daughters, of a sort at least.

“You’ve brought your daughters with you? Karura here” Yakusha gestures to Karura who is still standing ready, though there is a hint of an excitement on the younger Kure’s face “Is my daughter, perhaps we could speak, mother to mother, I am Yakusha Kure” Yakusha introduces with a slight courteous bow.

Fubuki pauses as she looks down on the Kure squad, a family out in mato? They’re certainly not normal, had the Kure clan been something prominent no doubt Fubuki would know of them, and yet, here they stood, with the manor behind them standing almost as a status symbol of their lineage.

“Call off your sniper.” Fubuki commands, not willing to take chances, if these people truly meant no harm, they’d be more than happy to “If you do that for us, then I’ll be open to hearing you out.”

Hollis raised an eyebrow “So you noticed?” He asks, almost as if conforming it with himself, but the opportunity for an ally in this alien place is worth too much to pass up the chance, he turns around to the manor, waving Fusui away, gesturing her to stand down, for now at least.

Elsewhere in Mato

Raian walked aimlessly, one moment he was outside the manor,the next he was in this alien landscape, locked in twilight
“Where the fuck am I?” Raian thinks to himself as he walks around with his hands in his pockets, not a single care in the world, he may be lost, but that's no reason to get uppity. He can’t tell if he’s walking north, south, east, or west, and the uneven terrain that's making him change direction often isn’t helping, but for now he wants to sait his curiosity, watching Gaoh and Koga train had gotten boring. They had only just understood their training as he was leaving, and by then he was already out the door, Raian thoughts are interrupted by a gutteral growl, several of them infact as the ground rumbles.

“Oh” Raian hums with a smirk coming over his face, his eyes dart around, looking for what might be his next source of entertainment, the source of the growl made itself known as several beasts crest the hill, they’re bigger than Raian, and walk on all fours looking at him with what might be curiosity as their heads tilt side to side, assessing the Kure descendant. This “curiosity” is short lived however, as the beasts lunge at Raian, their humanoid hands reach out as if to grab him.

It's the work of an instant, the first beast is sent flying, its head cracks open as it collides with a rockface, then the next beast finds itself grabbed by Raian in response and is pounded into the floor.

“Awww come on” Raian taunts “This isn’t much of a welcoming party, put some more effort into entertaining me!” Raian raises his voice as he crushes the skull of the beast, turning around to rush at the group that remains.

Kure Clan Tradition: Lion Bite

In a single motion Raian dashes through the group of Shuuki and almost effortlessly snaps their necks, all at once.

“Tch…I thought they could take a bit more than that.” Raian mutters, almost disappointed as he realises the extent of the damage his blows had done.

“Not up to much then.” He groans as he turns to leave, and then he hears what can only be described as a bubbling, the corpses of the monsters dissolve into a liquid, and with their remaining strength merge into something more than the sum of its parts, it's a hulking brute at over three meters tall with what looks like armour plating over its body, spikes jut from the armour and muscles bulge, the beast lets out a deafening roar as it rushes forward .

“Oh thats more like it.” Raian smirks as he meets the beast in the middle, ducking under its wildly thrown fist to deliver a blow to the groin area of the beast, it certainly feels the blow, but the reaction indicates no weak spot down there, not expecting the lack of overt reaction from the beast, it it able to kick Raian away, the kure landing with a thud and kick up of dust.

“How Amusing.” Raian shackles as he jumps to his feet. “I didn’t expect to get such a good fight out of some mindless beast.” He continues, trying to taunt some sort of emotional reaction from the monster that has so kindly decided to accost him, but the beast just grumbles.

“Tch, no fun on that front.” Raian clicks his tongue, no matter he’s never fought such a large opponent before, this would be a treat.

Raian and the beast were still as if measuring up the threat of eachother, the area falls silent,enough to hear a pin drop, but this calm is quickly broken as the beast gets onto all fours and breaks into a sprint, running at Raian. Raian responds in kind, breaking into a sprint to meet the beast head on and the first to strike is the beast, it swings a large hand at Raian who puts up his guard to attempt to block the strike, it takes away the worst of the impact, but his whole body is sent skidding.

“Thats good,” Raian laughs “Theres some real power in that frame of yours, can you keep up with me still?!” Raian asks as he rushes forward, faster than before, ducking under a strike he leaps up and brings his hands together only to pound them down on the head of the beast, it staggers back only for a moment before reaching out to Grab Raian. Raian slips past the hand of the beast and wraps his arms around the pointer finger

“And pop!” Raian taunts as he snaps the finger back, earring a pained howl from the beast, it tries to pull away but Raian’s hold on the finger is absolute

“Aww come on now, don’t back out on me now.” Raian says as he lets the finger go and begins raining down blows on the arm of the beast, however the damage is minimal, the armour plating clearly protecting from Raians blows, looking at it, the blow to the head earlier seems to have done minimal damage.

“You’ve got thick skin eh?” Raian asks, the beast seems hesitant to engage after it had its finger broken, but clearly not rationally inclined enough to run away out right

“Fine then, lets see how long you last” Raians face breaks into a smirk, he crouches down just a bit and begins changing, his skin turns purple as muscles bulge and veins pop up all across his body

Kure Clan, Secret technique: Removal

With a roar Raian stands back at full height, his skin changed to a deep purple, that manic grin still on his face

“I’ve had fun, you’re allowed to die now” Raian states simply, in a second he’s upon the beast who reacts much too late, the armour plating on both legs seems to explode as Raian pummels both legs, eventually the beast falls, it swings wildly at Raian but the Kure is too fast, eventually the beast finds itself on the ground, It struggles up only for Raian to appear in front of its face.

“Night Night!”
With that, Raian begins punching, digging through the flesh of the beasts head with his blows until nothing remains, the beast drops dead and ignites into blue flames.

Shuuki Subjugated

“I hope all of your kind are entertaining, more so than you” Raian says as he deactivates his removal, slipping his hands into his pockets, he walks off to find something else to catch his fancy.

Chapter Text

Outside the Kure Manor

“So Kure.” Fubuki started, now content that the sniper was not aiming down scope at the group anymore. “First I’d ask you tell us where it is you came from, and how your residence ended up here in Mato.” Fubuki says evenly, her gaze boring into each of the four Kure individually “And then I’d like you to lead me to the head of your household if she’s around.”

Hollis opens his mouth to answer, but Yakusha raises a hand to stop him “Let me handle this Hollis-dear, I said I’d speak to her mother to mother.” Yakusha has a gentle smile on her face, but there’s a subtle intensity about her that seals the deal, Hollis shuts up, and Yakusha steps forward.

“We Kure are from a place aptly named “The Kure village”” Yakusha starts, its some 500 miles southwest of Tokyo, however this Manor behind us is our Tokyo residence, and as for how it got here” Yakusha trails of and slightly sighs “I’m afraid we’re honestly as clueless as you, one minute we were running a training exercise for some promising young men, the next our radios cut out and we found the entire building had moved.” Yakusha takes a moment to gather her thoughts “ As for the head of our household, that’d be Hollis here.” Yakusha says as she gestures to Hollis with one hand. “You said this place is called Mato, could you tell us about it? Perhaps we could invite you inside and we can discuss this over some tea?”

Fubuki considered the offer,surprised that a man is the head of this household. She turned to the two younger women, Maia her daughter and Homare, her daughter-in-law, a calculating gleam in her eye before she turned back to the Kure. “Let me discuss this with my unit for a moment, I trust there is no issue with that, Yakusha?” Fubuki asks, making a point to use Yakusha’s first name just as the other woman had done with her.

“Of course,” Yakusha replies. “Take all the time you need.”

Fubuki nods and turns fully to her fellow Azuma, trusting the other two women to have her back, should the Kure launch a surprise attack.

“That woman, Yakusha” Fubuki starts “I’m finding it hard to read her intentions, she’s smiling gently, yet I cannot ignore her intensity.” Fubuki states, hoping that the other two might’ve figured something out about this group while Fubuki was preoccupied with the conversation .

Homare clicks her tongue in clear discontent “That's putting it mildly.” She says as she glances down at Yakusha. “She’s not hiding her fighting spirit in the slightest, it's kind of pissing me off” She grumbles.

Fubuki nods in agreement “I had noticed that too, but I think it may be her way of showing her honesty.”

“Or a way to taunt us.” Homare butts in, slightly raising her voice

Maia, who had remained quiet till now speaks up “If she wants to invite us for tea then she may want to seclude us from backup.” She assesses “They’d have a much greater number advantage inside if the scouting report is anything to go by.”

Fubuki considers the council given by the two other women, while she would like to believe this family is just a victim of a Mato mishap that so happened to also take their entire residence, the strange appearance of their eyes, the intensity in their presence, and their seemingly irreverent attitude to the appearance of the Anti-Demon Corps sets off alarm bells in her mind.
“You’re right,” Fubuki nods. “It's far too risky to follow them deeper into their own territory.” With that, Fubuki turns to face the Kure again. “Apologies Kure clan” Fubuki sighs “But we cannot risk putting ourselves in a position where you could bolster your numbers against us, it's not personal, it's just precaution.”

Yakusha hums in understanding “I see” She says evenly “In which case would you be open to at least telling us where we find ourselves?” Yakusha asks “This isn’t Kansas anymore, not for us at least.” Yakusha comments with her smile never faltering, not at all offended at all at the Azumas not accepting the invitation

Fubuki’s eyes widen a bit, everybody at least knew of Mato, even those who never had the displeasure of entering

Homare lets out a sound of disbelief “HUH!?” She calls out “Quit messing with us! You can’t expect us to believe you’ve never heard of Mato, You’ve gotta be working with the-

“Calm down Homare” Fubuki orders “This woman isn’t lying, I can tell she and her companions are truly ignorant to Mato, very well, I’ll tell you where we are” Fubuki takes a deep breath as she prepares to give the lecture

“This,” Fubuki gestures around the area “Is Mato, it opened up decades ago and wrought havoc by means of the Shuuki that roam this place, inhuman beasts who do nothing but destroy and kill” Fubuki says gravely “Here in Mato, a special peach grows that bestows women power to fight back against the shuuki. The anti-demon corps was founded to protect humanity using that power”

“And the men?” Yakusha asks with a slight tilt of her head.

“Out of the fight.” Fubuki answers bluntly. ”Well, barring one.” She adds with a slight mumble, saying nothing of the societal dynamics of the world outside Mato.

“Seems like a waste.” Yakusha mumbles but does not dwell on that thought, she’d have to see a Shuuki for herself to determine if it was so imperative that these peach powers were used. “Well I thank you for filling us in, We’d be wandering around aimlessly had you not been so quick to respond.” Yakusha says with a slight bow “So now i think it's fair we share a bit about ourselves, Hollis, May I?”

Hollis nods “Its only fair.” The kure patriarch says evenly “But keep it brief, if beasts wander this place as she claims, then I’d rather not be outside for too long to find out first hand how strong they are without some more info on them first.”

Yakusha nods “Understood.” Before turning back to Fubuki. “We are the Kure clan as we’ve already said, for over 1000 years we have participated in selective breeding to create a family bred for battle, and we know of no such peaches or mato from where we come from.” Yakusha explains briefly, “In truth, we’re a clan of assassins.” Yakusha states bluntly, gauging the reactions of the Azuma Trio, Maia’s eyes widen a bit, Homare grimaces, and Fubuki remains calm.

“Yet if you’re claiming you’re from another world entirely, your clientele will be unable to reach you, and your reputation as assassins is unknown to this world, as such, you’ll have no reason to turn your blades against us, correct?” Fubuki asks calmly, not seeing any reason to fret over the admission.

“Precisely,” Yakusha smiles “We mean you no harm, we’d really rather just find a way home, I’m sure you understand where I’m coming from”

“I can certainly appreciate that, yes” Fubuki nods.

A silence settles over the area, both sides waiting for the other to speak up first, the conversation had reached an impasse, both sides had traded information, and the invitation inside had already been turned down, thankfully, to break the tension Reiichi who had been silent up until this point speaks up.

“So of the entire Anti-demon corps, who is the strongest?” He asks abruptly, though not harshly, he’s genuinely curious”

“The former supreme commander, Ren Yamashiro” Fubuki answers easily “She is called humanity's answer for a reason” Fubuki says bluntly, a slight smirk on her face showing her confidence in Ren’s strength.

“Thats right chumps!” Homare calls out “None of you stand a chance against the might of the Anti-demon corps” She boasts, clearly looking down on the Kure

Maia lets out a sigh hearing Homare’s boasts “Settle down Homare, we’ve not even seen them fight yet.” Maia takes a short pause “But I am curious, among the Kure, who is the strongest

“Easily Raian” Hollis replies quickly “Even among us Kure, he’s an anomaly somebody we can’t control, though before Raian” Hollis pauses, a slight hint of what might be mourning comes to his face “It would have been Erioh were he still alive” Hollis says evenly, quickly centering himself.
“Heyhey!” Karura interjects “Doesn’t Ohma count? He might not be part of the clan officially yet but he lived with us for two years, he’s basically a Kure!” Karura protests, seeming impassioned that Ohma at least be considered. Afterall, she intends to wed the man, he’ll be a Kure eventually in Karura’s eyes

Hollis sighs slightly “She asked about current members of the Kure clan, not prospect members” he corrects, not wanting to even bring up how he’s fairly certain Ohma does not have any intention of marrying Karura.

“Ohma?” Fubuki questions “so there's strong people out with your clan’s birthright then?” She continues, not expecting the warrior tribe to admit the strength of another outside their bloodline. “To have gained recognition of a clan like yourself, just what kind of man is Ohma?” Fubuki questions

A street somewhere in Tokyo

Yamashita Kazuo walked alongside Ohma, a bag of groceries in hand “You should really let me know when you’re coming back Ohma, I can prepare more for your arrival” The older man says with a slight chuckle, truly he didn’t mind Ohma dropping in unannounced, it was a nice surprise, especially since as of late Ohma had been training almost non stop for his fight with the connector.

“It's not like it matters” Ohma says casually, he’s not being callous or unkind, he just simply doesn’t see the need for a big preparation for his arrival “I don’t need any fancy welcoming party, I’ll be heading back out soon” Ohma continues as he turns a corner in the street before stopping

“Stay behind me, Yamashita Kazuo.” Ohma says suddenly, holding his hand out to stop the older man from advancing anymore.

“What?” Kazuo asks, confused as to why Ohma is so on edge, he steps around to see what Ohma’s seen, and instantly alarm bells ring in his head, the Yamashita trading co office, once a seemingly quaint building is gone, replaced with a much larger building that seems a mix of tradition and modern japanese in a way that is distinctly occult “I-I’m sure we just took a wrong turn, no need to be so tense” Kazuo placates, there was no rational way the whole office could have been replaced so quickly, they had only been out for the better part of twenty minutes, but Ohma just shook his head

“No way” he says as he steps forward “This is where the office should be, we took the exact same route.” Ohma states, remembering the route exactly “Somethings wrong, I’m going in” and with that Ohma begins walking forward, hands out of his pockets at the ready, stepping inside

“Ohma! Wait a second, don't just charge in blindly!” Kazuo calls out, but Ohma is resolute, he walks through the front door, with a sigh, Kazuo can only follow.

Anti-demon corps building

“Stop right there” A woman in an Anti-demon corps uniform calls out as she see’s Ohma step inside, behind her is a swirling purple circle, a portal into Mato. A man has no right to pass through it. “Who are you? What are you doing here!” She asks in a confident commanding tone, soon seeing another man (Kazuo) follow behind Ohma.

“What’s this building doing here?” Ohma asks casually, not paying the commanding tone any heed. “This was an office just twenty minutes ago, where did it go?” Ohma’s questions come out in an even tone, though mildly annoyed that the office had been so callously swept away by this building.

“Twenty minutes ago?” The anti-demon corps member parrots, looking over to her partner. “This building has stood for years, it is the entrance to the seventh unit dorm of the anti-demon corps” The woman says with a bewildered expression. “Are you lost?” she asks, perhaps thinking this man was just confused, though as she gazes at him, she doesn’t get the impression he’s somebody who would work in an office, the man behind him for sure, but this man? Not a chance.

“Anti-demon corps?” Ohma mulls the term over “Not a group I’ve heard of” He looks to Kazuo who just shakes his head, having not heard of the group either. “You’re not making any sense.” Ohma says with a slightly annoyed sigh “if this is a prank the joke isn’t landing, just set the office back to normal.

“I don’t know what you think you’re playing at” The second Corps member speaks up “But if you’re not here to inquire about a family member missing in Mato, We’ll have to ask you to leave.” The woman's voice makes it clear, this is anything but a request, it's an order.

“Now now miss, maybe we can slow down a moment.” Kazuo interjects “We’re just as confused as you, could you maybe tell us what “Mato” is?”

Kazuo’s request is quickly balked at “How do you not know what Mato is?” The first woman asks, clearly not amused by the apparent ignorance of these two men “Just because you men can’t have the power of the peaches doesn't mean you get a free pass to be ignorant to the dangers of mato!” She raises her voice, a little annoyed

“Once again, if you’ve no business here, then leave. Final warning” The second guard speaks, keeping a slightly more level head, but still completely bewildered as to how these two can be ignorant to the ways of the world.

“We’re not leaving without some answers” Ohma replies, not willing to let this go, it was Kazuo Yamashita’s office, Kazuo had put a lot into making that office his own, Ohma isn’t about to let that be disrespected over what he thinks is at best a prank, and at worst, a direct attack on the kengan association.

“You’ve had enough chances.” The first woman grunts as she takes a stance “You’re now trespassing on anti-demon corps property, you’re under arrest.” with that the woman’s form flickers and she breaks into a sprint, she’s going faster than should be humanly possible, and yet Ohma responds calmly. Ohma raises his hands and with just the lightest touch on the form of the speeding woman he redirects her, sending her to the side with a subtle motion, the Niko style redirection Kata: Weeping Willow.

“W-what the hell?” The speedster stammers, just stopping herself in time before she collides with the wall. “How did you do that? You’re not supposed to be able to…” She cuts herself off as she looks at the man, he seems calm, yet confused. “Akane! Raise the alarm, this man isn’t normal.” with that, the second gate guard nods and turns around, hitting a concealed button

Inside the 7th unit dorm

“There's two signatures of humans out 2 kilometers to the east” Nei says briefly as she opens her eyes “there are no shuuki around them, but we should rescue them quick before they become targets”

“You’re right, good job Nei” Kyouka nods with a smile, patting the younger girl on the head “Yuuki, Shushu, Himari, we’re heading out”

“Right!” The three call out in unison to the command, but as the four head to mobilise the Gate alarm blares

“An Intruder?” Himari half gasps half curses “What horrid timing…”

Kyouka grimaces as she considers the situation, but knowing she has to make a quick call she decides on her course of action. “Himari, Shushu, you both head out to deal with the mato-mishap, Nei, Haruno, you both stay here and hold down the dorm, Me and Yuuki will respond to the intruder outside the gate” Kyouka’s orders get another “Right” in unison, Shushu and Himari both head to the garage for a jeep, while Kyouka heads to the exit gate with Yuuki. “I don’t need you in your slave form yet Yuuki, I want to see what we’re up against first.” Kyouka orders as she checks her gear “ready?” She confirms

“Yes Ma’am” Yuuki nods, his gaze fixed on the gate “This is the first time this alarm has had to be raised…is it common?” He asks, a hint of concern in his features

“No, i’ve only ever heard it once before myself” Kyouka recalls “We’ve no time to waste, lets go” With that, the pair step through the gate.

Anti-demon corps building

The two guards lay in a pile, Ohma had continued to parry the speedsters' attacks with redirection Kata, and had ended up sending her into her comrade, the other hadn’t done much, seemingly just there to act as support, but unable to do so in her current state.

“Ohma, you really shouldn’t have been so rough.” Kazuo sighs.

“They seem tough.” Ohma assesses “They can handle it, I only turned her own strength on her anyway, she’ll be able to handle that”

Just then, the portal, what Ohma thought was just a swirling circle makes a sound one might expect out of science fiction, an odd reverberating hum, out of it steps Yuuki Wakura, and Kyouka Uzen, Ohma can instantly tell that the woman is on a different level to the simple guards, she carries herself in a much more assured manner, and her fighting spirit is much greater, Ohma takes a stance more suited for fighting back and asks but one question.

“Do you wanna fight too?”

Chapter Text

Anti-Demon Corps Building

Kyouka was slightly taken aback by the man’s question “Do you want to fight too?” is what he asked, she had assumed he was some disgruntled trouble maker here to cause chaos, but the man’s face was surprisingly honest even though he looked ready to punch her.

“Yuuki” Kyouka calls out, extending her hand.

“Right” Yuuki nods as he takes the knee, panting a kiss to the back of Kyouka’s knuckle.

Ohma raises an eyebrow at the odd display, however his confuses changes to intrigue as he sees Yuuki’s form change, the young man takes on a bestial shape with Kyouka riding atop his back, holding the chain that is shackled around Yuuki’s neck, a faint smirk comes to Ohma’s lips “Its been a while since I thought a beast.” He says as he begins to step around rapidly while keeping his eyes on the Kyouka Yuuki pair, his form seems to flicker like a dancing flame

Niko Style: Flame Kata- Flash Fire

Kazuo stands slack jawed at the scene before him, nothing here could be explained by logic, the speedster, the portal, that young man turning into a beast, all of it was supernatural “O-Ohma we shouldn’t stay and fight, clearly-” Kazuo is cut off by Ohma trying to calm the older man’s nerves

“It's fine, Yamashita Kazuo, I doubt they’d let us free anyway, and what better way is there to understand something than to face it head on.” Ohma smirks as he waits for Kyouka and Yuuki to make the first move

“You two, head inside the dorm to get treated for your wounds.” Kyouka commands the two gate guards, assessing that their wounds don’t seem that serious, bruising if anything. “Yuuki, get ready” She continues, staring down Ohma with her blade drawn, finding it hard to follow his movements “Can you follow his movements?” Kyouka asks

“No…sorry” Yuuki shakes his head “He’s producing after images, I can’t focus in on him.” Yuuki says as he narrows his eyes, the form of Ohma shifting and flickering

Kyouka clicks her tongue in annoyance, given the circumstances she figures this man won't be talked down from a fight, and while he’s fast, He cannot be blessed by the peaches, there's no way he’s got the strength to back his speed. “Lets go Yuuki.”

“Right!” Yuuki replies as he runs into face Ohma head on, Yuuki goes for a right hook, while Kyouka brings her blade down on Ohma, The kengan fighters response is almost instant. Ohma raises both of his arms and takes the blows from both Yuuki’s fist and Kyouka’s blade on his own terms, applying just the barest pressure to the side of both they are redirected harmlessly away from Ohma.

Niko Style: Redirection Kata- Flowing Edge

“That's some power you got you beast!” Ohma calls out with a smile “How’s your endurance?!” Ohma reels back his fist all the muscles tensing till they’re hard as Iron.

“Kyouka!” Yuuki yells as he takes a defensive stance, intending on taking the full brunt of the blow and ensuring Kyouka remains unharmed. By the time Yuuki took his stance, Ohma’s fist was already let loose.

Niko style: Adamantine Kata- Iron Breaker

Yuuki is sent skidding back over the floor, the tiles being torn up as he tries to stop his momentum before he crashes into the wall beind him.

“Yuuki! Are you alright?” Kyouka ask, undeniable concern in her voice

“I’m fine” Yuuki responds, his arm still shaking from the force of the blow “But he’s strong, he must be a devotee” he assesses, seeing no other avenue for strength from this man.

“You may be right..but.” Kyouka hesitates, this man spared her subordinates, and is now perfectly content to let her and Yuuki talk, he doesn’t seem to be trying to listen in on their talk and he’s already shown to not need to be a coward. “He doesn’t seem hateful, if anything I’d wager he’s enjoying himself.” Kyouka pauses after that, taking a look at the older man, he looks like he might faint, clearly he has no idea what's going on, and would the gods employ such a scrawny figure without giving him power?

“Who do you serve?!” Kyouka calls across the room

Ohma is taken aback by the sudden question, but he responds with honesty, pointing his thumb over at Kazuo. “If anybody you could call Kazuo Yamashita my boss” Ohma replies bluntly, though he is clearly a bit confused by the wording of her question “Serve”, such an outdated term.

“And you’re not lying? Kazuo Yamashita! This man isn’t forcing you into following him is he?” Kyouka asks, determined to get to the bottom of this

“N-no miss, Ohma’s telling the truth, He’s an employee of mine” Kazuo replies, he’s hesitant to speak up given the fierce fight that preluded this sudden conversation

“And what about you? Who do you serve?” Kyouka continues pressing

“M-me?” Kazuo stutters, shrinking under the intense scrutiny “Mister Nogi Hideki I suppose, He’s the…” Kazuo hesitates for a moment, he shouldn’t reveal the existence of the kegnan association, but given what he’s seen, that rule can probably be sent out the window. “He’s the chairman of the kengan association” Kazuo declares, Ohma turns back to face Kazuo with a slightly surprised expression, but nods, respecting the call he made

“Kengan association?” Kyouka parrots “I’ve never heard of such an organization, much less run by a man” She lays out “You, fighter, what's your name?”

“”A bit rude to ask my name without giving your own is it not?” Ohma quips back.

“I’d say it goes beyond rude to intrude my unit and injure two of my subordinates.“ Kyouka replies quickly, not willing to give her name first

Kyouka’s response draws a sigh from Ohma but he relents, she is right, if this truly is her building, and not the office of Yamashita Trading Co, then he is trespassing. “Tokita Ohma” He replies evenly

“Kyouka Uzen” Kyouka replies before gesturing down to Yuuki “and this is Yuuki Wakura my…” Kyouka pauses to find the right word to describe Yuuki “Partner” She decides on

“Alright, Kyouka Uzen” Ohma starts “Mind telling me what this building is?” He asks. “Last I checked it was Kazuo’s Yamashita’s office building.” Ohma declares

“Office?” Kyouka parrots in apparent confusion. “This has been the entrance to the 7th unit of the anti-demon corps dorm for decades now” Kyouka explains “are you sure you’re not lost?” She wonders, but even if he was lost that would leave alot unexplained, and the look of confusion and annoyance on Ohma’s face tells Kyouka he doesn’t know what she’s talking about

“I had the same thing with your subordinates, I don’t know what that is” Ohma says evenly, calming himself “And now I see you turning that man into a beast, so if you’d like to explain what's going on, I’d much appreciate it”

Kyouka’s eyes widen, he truly doesn’t know of the corps

“I suppose I should explain, several deca-” Kyouka’s explanation is cut off as Nei runs through the portal leading into mato “Big emergency!” the younger girl calls out “A large horde of Shuuki have appeared surrounding the dorm! Shushu and Himari are already engaged in combat at the site of the Mato mishap! Haruno is preparing to fight but there’s too many!” She reports, shouting as loud as she can

“You put a kid in unifo-” Ohma’s comment is cut off as Kyouka speaks over him

“You, Tokita Ohma, you said you thought this was that old man's office right? I assume you fought to reclaim his territory and not out of malice?” Kyouka asks “I suspect you’re not in your own world anymore, come with me and help me defend the dorm, and I’ll be willing to overlook your discretion” Kyouka lays out plainly, and while she won't say it due to how obvious it is, if he fights alongside her, he’ll see first hand the type of world he’s in.

“Shuuki? The hell are those?” Ohma asks as he cracks his knuckles “You telling me there's beasts here other than your partner?” He asks, and while he’s clearly unsure what's going on, he’s already walking towards the portal, reluctantly, Kazuo follows him

“Chief, who is that?” Nei asks hesitantly

“An ally, for now” Kyouka says quietly “Lets go Yuuki” Kyoka commands as she and Yuuki also head through the portal

Mato: Directly outside the dorm of the 7th unit

Kyouka stood ready, the horde of shuuki encroaching, she counts around 30 “Those are shuuki, the beasts of mato that the women of the anti-demon corps use the peach blessing to fight off” She explains to Ohma looking down on him from atop Yuuki’s back.

“Right” Ohma nods, absorbing the information, he can tell at a glance these beasts see no reason, they’re out to kill, he’s calm as he takes his stance

“You seem to take this all in stride quite well, Tokita Ohma” Kyouka comments as she draws her blade and grips the chain on Yuuki tighter.

Ohma doesn’t respond to that, he’s focused waiting on the shuuki horde to get closer, when the horde is nearly upon the dorm Ohma dashes forward

“Don’t just rush in!” Kyouka calls out, clearly seeing this as a fools move to charge in blindly, but when she sees the skull of the first shuuki Ohma strikes crush, the shuuki collapse dead she decides that its not worth trying to command him as she would a subordinate, she’ll get to the bottom of his strength later.

Back behind the barrier Kazuo watches with a clear look of worry on his face “Those beasts, he’s strong but can he really take so many at once” He mumbles to himself, only to be re-assured by Haruno

“If the chief has vouched for him I’m sure he’ll be fine, but truly I'm surprised you two came from a different world, is it really true?” She asks with a mix of fascination and concern.

“It would seem so,” Kazuo sighs “back home the building outside just so happens to be in the same place as my office, that's why Ohma barged in so confidently.
Haruno chuckles lightly as she hears that “He must have a good heart, is he your son?” She asks, pausing to look between Kazuo and Ohma, who is currently attempting to choke out a shuuki, seemingly just to see if it works.

“No, not quite.” Kazuo replies, shaking his head “Ohma’s a close friend of mine, how we met is a long story but had we not met each other my life would be much more boring than it is now…he’s like a brother to me” Kazuo says with a fond smile, just as he finishes his brief reminicance Kyouka, Yuuki, and Ohma begin returning to the dorm

“I never considered choking out a shuuki, i didn’t know they needed air” Kyouka sighs to Ohma as the trio walk back

“Have you never tried it? Seemed to work just fine” Ohma responds casually, walking back with his hands in his pockets. The trio seem to be alot more casual now that they’ve fought alongside eachother.

“Ohma!” Kazuo calls out “Thank goodness you’re safe” He says with relief, the worry he had melting away

Before much more greetings can be shared Kyouka speaks up “Haruno, Could you give these two a fuller explanation of the world as we know it, I’ve some things to attend to with Yuuki.” As if on que Yuuki returns to his human form, Kyouka grabs him by the hand and begins walking upstairs hurriedly “come on” She says with a sheepish nod

“Right, let's go,” Yuuki replies evenly.

“Eh?” Ohma hums “what's up with them?” He asks, clearly confused about Kyouka’s sudden change in attitude.

“Oh don’t mind the chief” Haruno placates “When she uses her slave ability on Yuuki, she has to reward him at the end of it” Haruno stops there, trusting that the two men can pick up on what she’s putting down

“Right…” Ohma nods, watching as the pair retreat into a room he goes silent for a moment

“Please have a seat” Haruno quickly changes subject with her offer. “I’ll get you up to speed with what the world is like.

Ohma nods, with no reason to refuse he sits down and prepares to listen “Alright, I’m all ears” he says evenly, prepared for what will probably be a long winded explanation

Mato: ??????

“Ta-da!” Shikouku chirps as several muscular figures emerge from the magic circle, around fifty in total

“The Kure clan in all their glory” She turns from her fellow gods to the “Kure Clan”. “Welcome Welcome my fellow demons, we are the eig-” Shikoku is cut off as the foremost “Kure” grabs her by the face and lifts her up

“Who are you, why have you summoned us, and why have you got us confused with the Kure Clan?” The man asks bluntly, quickly, and with clear annoyance in his tone, the horde behind him take battle ready stances, some brandishing weapons

“We are the Wu, the kure are just our defective relatives” The man boasts

Jouryuu readies herself and is about to lunge at the man for his disrespect, but Shikoku raises a hand to stop her
“Now now, I see there's been a slight mis-understanidng? You’re Wu, not Kure?” She asks, she’s sure she summoned the Kure and their enemies, perhaps the ritual didn’t care for the differentiation of names. “If you loathe the Kure so, then worry not, they’re here too” Shikoku buts in before the Wu man attacks her. “And they just so happen to be unaffiliated with us, we’ll have no issue helping you deal with them if you help us deal with a little thorn in our side, as fellow demons of course”

The man considers what Shikoku says before dropping her “Tell me your name girl” He commands “You’ve drawn us here, have the courtesy to introduce yourself.

“I am Shikoku, one of the eight thunder gods, and you? kind sir?” Shikoku asks with a mock courtesy

“Gilbert Wu.” The man answers “How do we know you’ll be able to assist us with the Kure? you don’t look like much, his line of questioning continues, seeimgly not one for much small talk

Naruhime bristles at the disrespect, opening her mouth to berate Gilbert “How dare you speak to a god like that! For that matter how do we know YOU LOT will be any help with the anti-demon corps” She barks at gilbert, not willing to take such disrespect laying down

Jouryuu steps forward, with a much more measured approach “She’s right, the summoning will have been pointless if you’re weak, Shikoku already got the wrong family from what she promised” She shoots Shikoku a sharp glance, clearly displeased with the fuck up. “It’d reflect very poorly on you if they’re weak too”

Gilbert doesn’t give Shikoku a chance to respond to Jouryuu “If you want to test my strength then fine, it’ll let me measure your worth too” He says as he takes his fighting stance

“Fine by me” Jouryuu responds, taking her own stance

The sound of heels clicking comes between Gilbert and Jouryuu “Very well” Taikyoku starts “If you intend on making this a strength measuring contest then so be it, but do not go beyond the examination.” She states bluntly, willing to entertain this contest, if only to secure the allies and ensure this wasn’t a complete waste of time, she raises a hand, and looks between the two. “I will stop this match when i'm satisfied, is that clear, Jouryuu, Gilbert.

The two fighters nod, not looking away from each other

“Begin!” with that, Taikyoku brings her arm down to start the match

Chapter Text

The Mato wastes, sometime before Ohma and Kyouka’s temporary alliance

Himari pressed the accelerator down harder as she took the jeep up a steep hill within Mato, the signal for the two humans in Mato came from just over the brow of this hill, its been a few minutes since the signal came through so it stands to reason the pair might have moved, but they can’t have gone that far, given the routine nature of this rescue so far, Himari isn’t worried in the slightest

After a few moments, Shushu breaks the silence “I wonder what happened on the human world side of the dorm, I hope Kyouka has it handled…” Shushu mumbles, she knows Kyouka is strong, but the world is rather unpredictable right now.

“She’ll be fine,” Himari re-assures. “She probably just wanted to make sure the guards outside were alright, that's why she went herself instead of sending one of us.” Himari adds, this logic seems to settle Shushu’s nerves.

The jeep reaches the top of the hill and not too far in the distance two figures are made apparent, both of them walking quite casually, to the rear of the travelers was the body of a shuuki, burning away in death

“Oh, they dealt with one themselves!” Shushu points out happily “A simple pick up, back to the dorm, and out of mato, not very exciting, but it’ll allow the pair to get back to the dorm quickly enough to help Kyouka should she need it in dealing with the commotion. The jeep comes down the hill quickly, Himari hoping to reach the pair before more shuuki arrive

Pulling up next to the two civilians its apparent they’re both men, the sclera of their eyes are pitch black, The sight slightly un-nerves the two women, A silent understanding passes between Shushu and Himari to be prepared in case these two are devotees of the thunder gods, but to remain professional and not let the two men know that the pair are wary of them

“Vice Chief of the 7th Unit of the Anti-demon corps, Himari Azuma” Himari introduces, stepping out of the jeep to greet the two men. “We detected civilians in Mato, that’d be you two, we’re here to get you back home” She gestures towards the jeep “Was anybody else with you? If not we can get going” She adds brusquely, hoping to get back quick

The two men exchange a glance and a nod, the first one, a man with short dark hair and a scar under his lip speaks up “The 7th unit?” He asks with a slight grin “Which would make the blonde one…” He trails off before reaching down to his waist to grab a knife, rushing at Shushu, while the other, A balding older man, aims to throw a punch at Himari, looking on catching the two off guard

“Tch, I figured as much” Himari tuts as she activates her ability Lending, copying “Bang Bang Bang” she turns her arm into a blade to parry the strike from the second assailant quite easily,Slightly cutting the man’s arm For her part, Shushu has evaded the stab and grappled him to the floor, attempting to wrestle the knife from him.
“Give it up!” Himari commands, pointing her blade arm at the man who attacked her “You’re clearly outmatched, Come quietly and we wont have to cause anymore bloodshed!” She continues, she knows devotees die if they fail, but she’s hoping she can talk these two down since they don’t look the brightest

“Now Now little lady, do we look like the type to come quietly? The bald man chuckles, cracking his knuckles. “We’re just getting started, Tengai! Stop fooling around!” The man barks to the darked haired man, apparently called Tengai.

“Oh shut up….old man” Tengai groans as he begins to stand up, Shushu struggling to keep her hold on him tight, she is forced to let go, but not before slipping the knife from his grasp and throwing it behind her, Shushu hops a few steps back and takes her stance again.

“So you serve the thunder gods? To what en-” Himari’s question is cut off by her communicator buzzing, she is about to ignore it when the Bald man speaks up

“Take the call if you so wish, It’d be awfully rude of me to stop you, you may even call backup if you so wish your chief perhaps?” The bald man suggests “I Markus Wu solemnly vow I shall not interrupt your call”

Himari’s eyes narrow, what purpose does this man have for allowing her to call backup, is he so confident in his skills that he thinks he can take on the chief? Or is there something more at play? While keeping her gaze locked onto Markus Wu, Himari answers the call “Himari speaking, what's the situation?”

Haruno’s voice crackles through the communicator “We’ve got a situation here Himari, a Shuuki horde is closing in on the dorm, Can you be back asap?” Haruno asks urgently, causing Himari’s expression to tighten

“We’ll be as quick as we can, But we’re fighting a pair of devotees, this Mato Mishap was a trap, hold out as long as you can” Himari commands over the communicator, its not the ideal situation, but that's the nature of battle, the communicator line shuts off after a hesitant “Understood” from Haruno

“Your face tells me that back up isn’t coming” Markus says as he rubs his chin “Well thats quite a shame, no hard feelings but I’m simply doing my job, though out of respect for you, and your comrade, we’ll show you the depth of what we are capable of, and I do so hope you’ll extend the same courtesy” Markus claps his hands twice “Tengai, you can fight seriously now”

“Fucking finally!” Tengai roars as he pounds his fists together, Both of the Wu men begin to tense their muscles, slight exacerbated grunts emanating from them as their skin turns violet, in an instant both men bulk up more so than before
“This, Himari Azuma, Is Guihun, commit it to memory, for it’ll be the last thing you see”

Markus Wu: Guihun 100%

Tengai Wu: Guihun 72%

Himari and Shushu are both slightly taken aback by the mens transformation, they had seen Devotees turn into Shuuki before, and they had seen Devotees retain their Humanity before, but this seemed different, something that they couldn’t quite place, This was a distinctly human ability, and yet to even begin to comprehend its source eluded the two women for now

The first to act after that is Shushu raising her fist skyward and calling out her ability name “Paradigm Shift!” in less than a second Shushu has grown to over 20 meters tall, a towering giant of a woman now, acting quickly she brings her hand down, looking to grab Tengai for a swift incapacitation, however the strength granted by Tengai’s removal allows him to stand his ground, he’s swift enough to evade and land some quick punches to Shushu’s giant wrist, causing her to wince slightly, but she stays her course, changing from a grab to a swipe to knock Tengai away and weaken him for apprehension.

Himari glances back at Shushu before focusing on Markus “I don’t care much for whatever that transformation is called, there’s no need for pleasantries” With that she taps into Learnings full power, a golden light shines around her and the back of her hair floats up slightly

“Ohh, that is rather impressive Miss Azu-” Markus’s “Praise” is cut off as Himari creates a clone of herself, one Himari dashes left the other right, both converge on Markus to pincer manuver him with Blades

All Killing X Bang Bang Bang: Pincer Stab

Markus narrows his gaze as he steps back to avoid the brunt of the blade, though one is still able to nick him, cutting his chest, its not a particularly deep wound, but for this young woman to be able to wound him while he’s released his Guihun, its simply unacceptable. He strikes out with his elbow, catching the Himari that nicked him in the jaw, the clone disperses. “So the real one is…!” The Wu man roars as he turns around and lets loose a punch aimed at Himari’s head

Himari is quicker of it, ducking under the punch and striking her bladed arm clean through Markus’ arm, earning a cry of pain from the Wu “You little!” He grunts, beginning to lose his polite composure from before, as Himari attempts to remove her blade from His arm she finds herself stuck, Markus has tensed the muscles in his arm to trap her there.

“I’ve got you now!” Markus roars as he kicks out at Himari’s abdomen, she’s able to excise her arm from the Wu’s flesh just enough to safely deactivate Bang Bang Bang, freeing herself, but not quick enough to avoid the powerful kick that sends her skidding back. As Himari picks herself up she focuses her gaze on Markus, his right arm hangs limp at his side,clear pain and frustration marrs his face. This is Himari’s advantage, the pain in her abdomen was fierce after that kick, but it's nothing she can’t handle, certainly nothing worth spending the stamina for golden hour over

“You’ve got some sharp instincts girl” Markus says with a note of rage in his usually composed tone “But none if it matters when you’re six feet under, we’ve got a job to do and we’ll see it done” With that Markus moves into close range, sending a flurry of jabs from his good arm mixed in with a few kicks to continue to test Himari’s reflexes, his movements have shifted from large committal movements to smaller, more controlled strikes, easy to back out of should he need to evade

Himari parries the strikes with her blade arm, ideally she wants to reset the distance and continue to maintain control, but the man before her is surprisingly fast to her, every step back she takes he takes another forward, she has been able to reactivate Bang Bang Bang to turn her arm back into a blade, but even as she parries his blows she finds that the blade cannot cut into his skin with just glancing parries “Dammit” She grunts under her breath as she gets caught by a kick to her shin, its nothing to worry about on its own, but if those blows pile up she could lose her advantage.

Markus continues to test Himari’s reactions, inwardly he smirks “Good, fall into a rhythm, think me predictable” Markus thinks to himself in his own head, he spares a glance at Tengai, he’s holding off the strength of Shushu, but its just that, holding off, he won't be able to resist forever, So Markus decides to end this fight and do it quickly, he reels his leg back, the image of a strong roundhouse kick coming across clear as day

“Not a chance” Himari huffs as she prepares for her counter attack, intending to stab the man through the leg, using his own momentum against him. Markus’ roundhouse kick never comes

Wu Clan Ultimate Technique: Thirteen-Fold Kill

Markus’s roundhouse kick was a feint, her steps down from the motion and with a burst of inhuman speed granted to him by Guihun brings his good arm down in a whiplike motion, the blow smashes into Himari, who brings her arm up just in time to avoid a deadly blow to the head, but she can feel bones snap under the force of the blow, her radius and clavicle are both fractured completely.

“I’ll end this now!” Markus roar as he raises his hand up to smash them down on Himari in a sledgehammer blow.

“Golden Hour!” Himari yells, using her remaining good arm to pose dramatically, time rewinds five seconds “I wont fall for that again” Himari thinks to herself, now awaiting the fake kick. The moment Himari sees the motion of the roundhouse kick from before she changes tactic, knowing the feint is coming she has an extra second to act, and the ability she choses for her counter is Konomi’s beast power.

Markus reels his leg back and in that motion Himari spins on her heel to build momentum, by the time Markus realises he’s been seen through Himari’s kick is flying towards his face

Beast Power - Horse

Himari’s kick lands on Markus’ jaw, sending him flying back, he loses consciousness and rolls over the ground.

Tengai seeing Markus’ defeat can’t help but look over “STOP FUCKING AROUND OLD MA-” the distraction costs him, he falters in his resistance against shushu’s strength and finds himself grabbed, fully restrained in Shushu’s giant grip.

“I’ve got you now!” Shushu whoops, squeezing the struggling wu in her grip before tossing him into the ground, knocking him out with the impact. After confirming his incapacitation, Shushu shrinks down to normal size to cuff the man, they had been given some heavy duty cuffs to restrain devotees, even though when a devotee fails their life is ended by the gods, it does take a few seconds, and that time can be valuable, Himari is also cuffing the man she fought

“Good work Himari!” Shushu yells over with a thumbs up, earring a smile and a thumbs up from the Vice chief.

Shushu looks down at the defeated Wu, he fought in a way the devotee’s had never fought before, and the “Guihun” ability he displayed seemed to be a natural adaptation of his body, her thoughts are cut short however, by a faint, quiet hissing., behind Shushu a Pruple-Black portal opens up, and from it slithers a single snake biting Shushu’s arm and injecting a paralytic venom, causing her body to go limp

“Shushu!” HImari cries out, unable to use golden hour again so soon she switches to Bang Bang Bang, turning her arm into a gatling gun and running forward to protect Shushu

“You two did well, Markus and Tengai, even if you did waste all the shuuki I so generously gave you.” The voice of Shikoku crones out from beyond the portal as more snakes slither out and wrap around Shushu, finally, Shikoku herself pops her head out, blocking the inevitable gatling shots with a wall of snakes. “We didn’t get out main target, but this is such a nice consolation prize, I’ll have fun with thi-” Shikoku’s gloating is cut short as a tanned fist rockets into the side of the gods face, the blow is like a gunshot, the sound of fist on face reverberates through the air and the force of the impact forces Shioku to the side and fully rips her out of the portal she had been planning on retreating through with her prey, sending her rolling and skidding over the ground, only when she crashes into a rock does she stop, stop she looks on in bewilderment, holding her slack jaw and bloodied nose “Wh-who dares!?” Shikoku asks in a slurred voice, finding it hard to speak clearly after that punch

The puncher gives no words, simply stepping in between Shikoku and Shushu, allowing Himari to see to her. “Shushu! Shushu are you with us?” Himari asks as she checks the other woman's vitals, alive, but the snake bite has paralysed her.

“See to it that you ally is made safe, We don’t know how long that effect will last” The man says, his back to Himari, so all she can see of him is his back and the ponytail that makes its way down to his mid back, and he’s not alone, with him, a fair few steps behind is another, slimmer, perhaps even feminine man.

“You put on quite a show for us my dear” The man says with a confident smile “We are Rama XIII, and that man” He Gestures to the man who punched Shikoku “Is our sword, Gaolang Wongswot, we’ve been a touch lost, but saw how efficiently you ended that fight, we are most impressed” Rama hums. “Allow Gaolang to handle that one, its simply not fair to make you fight in your current state

Himari looks on, stunned, she can’t allow him to continue fighting Shikoku, he got a lucky shot off sure but it was just that, luck. Without a peach blessing, the man should stand no chance against one of the eight thunder gods. “I can’t allow you to face her alone” Himari protests as she tries to stand beside Gaolang, but is stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder from Rama “You needn’t worry” Rama placates “We’ve seen you two use mysterious abilities, and while Gaolang does not possess anything inherently supernatural, We feel as though he’ll be able to hand it quite well."

Himari looks back at Gaolang and sees the stance he’s in, its a common hitman boxer stance, and yet the quiet strength coming off of him gives her pause…could he really be strong enough to fight one of the gods

“Gaolang” Rama calls out “To arms!”

“Of course your majesty” Gaolang confirms in an even tone “for the glory of Thailand, and his majesty Rama” he chants as he begins moving in, stepping in slowly.

“Insolent Human” Shikoku grunts as she picks herself up “You’ll not have an easy death, I’ll give you time to regret this!” With that Shikoku rushes in, snakes ready to gnash at Gaolang

Rama’s smirk never falters as Gaolang rushes in “It’d be unwise to underestimate Our Sword”