"Naomi Senpai, we have crossed check with all details already. It would be a great show for sure!"The whole Creative Team is so proud of the outcome and can't wait to show the audience some color already!
"Great! Keep it up! Let the show begins!!"The beautiful and intellectual lady has prepared to make an all-out effort with her beloved team mate.
But things won't just always work out as you think, especially when it relates to DARK MATTERS FROM ANOTHER SIDE OF OUR WORLD.
Her destined friend needs her now.
Damn! Couldn't he just wait til I finished my task here?
"Are you ok, Ito san?"
There is always a window opened for me to breathe, my dearest Hideo Sama🫶🏻
"Well I ...may relay on you again, Kobayashi san. It s so embarrassing."
"Never mind. We work as a team."The handsome and reliable gentleman seems well prepared for a decade and will take over control of the situation upon this catastrophe, as expected.
"Go, please. Don't worry. We will finish it with flying color, for you Ito san! " "Don't worry about us, senpai! We are capable now!"
You are always too sweet to be true, my MARVELOUS SUPER BIG BANG KAWAI CREATIVE TEAM! You guys are the best venue organizer in the world.
Of course Naomi only says it to herself becoz she cannot waste a second for farewell. She rushes to the basement of the building, where the Fashion Show is being held at, and gets on her Fiat 500. She is still wearing the dress sponsored by the Brand.
Lady be gone with the wind, and once again without a goodbye.
Naomi doesn't drive too long. She stops at one spot just next to the venue, where hardly has many passer-by. She gets off her Fiat, makes sure she s alone. Then, she spreads her arm and a golden starry dust sparks in the air. A huge SCYTHE is she holding -a weapon so gigantic that it looks so incongruous with her little body.
"KAMAITACHI!"
Naomi swings her Scythe in a big circle and literally a circle of light just appears in the air. The big ring burns in strong light and while a black hole grows in the middle like a "doorway" slowly opening up in front of her.
An animal figure slowly crawls out of the "Magic door".
"You are late! Again!."A big mouse in a cloak made of yellowish flowers, covering half of its face with a pair of big glasses, challenges her summoner impatiently and arrogantly.
The demon's name is KAMAITACHI, the master of Wind and Healing Magic
"Complaining never makes anything better! Take us there and let's finish it fast!"Naomi fights back while wearing her mask.
"IKZ!" The Wind Magician just creates another teleporter.
They stomp in with clenching teeth and fists.
The cantankerous pair step out from the exit of the teleporting tunnel, linking directly to the crime site. Here, policemen are heaving heavy sighs of relief while witnessing the arrival of their saviors.
"Oh! God saves us. You must be one of the HOUNDS!? The THING has just broken into the building which apparently is housing A CHARITY FASHION SHOW BY SOME FAMOUS CORPS."
WAIT !? The pair are more than surprised when they find themselves just stepping onto the street, right next to the ORIGINAL POINT OF DEPARTURE! And the building the policeman just referred to is so familiar to our lady heroine....
Hideo Sama and my whole team is in danger!
"Listed corps include Sacai, Visvim, Wata..."
"Thank you Mr. Officer. May I ask if any casualties reported so far?"
"None has been reported so far."
Relief feels Naomi while Kamaitachi despises her "more than polite" manner and keeps playing with his blades from the elbows. The demon still can't get used to be "Robin beside of Bruce Wayne" so he tries hard to grab others attention by all means.
"Shall we just sneak in from the back or-"
"We teleport directly into the building!"
"Noway! Too risky. The teleport is never precise. And we can hardly identify the situation inside as well."
"But if we do, we may kick some asses with a surprise attack! And I consider it the safest way to avoid any pre-alert from our foe too!"
The wise demon pauses for a few seconds and concludes,
"I just found your idea interesting and crazy as well, and I love it. Give me your hand then."
Naomi is more than happy with an easy agreement this time.
"~Take my hand~I m a stranger in paradise~"
"Okie, enough."
By holding the girl's hand, Kamaitachi can "read" a map inside her mind, recreated by fragments of memories inside her sub-consciousness.
"Now seek the little press room next to the grand ballroom and lead us there."
"N.P.! But before I do that, may I ask-"
"Yes he s there."
"Oh my my my! Interesting! Looking really promising this time!"
"Please shut up. Can't you see I am nervous now!"
"Yeah~you should be~ let's go then! Papa comes to save the world!"
Teleport burns its way in the middle of air.
The summoner and the demon step inside the room, making every single parts in their body ready for the battle. Only when Naomi is about to exit the room a sudden chill just ran through her whole body, like ice spikes piercing every veins of her, and paralyze her in fear.
"It is HIM!"The pair shout out at the same time:
To Naomi, it is a nightmare that has been lingering in her mind and torturing her since she inherits the CURSE, a threat that only matters to HER CLAN ONLY!
To Kamaitachi, it is a duel that is destined to be fought but is also doomed to lose. His NEMESIS that once slaughtered him and has sworn to slaughter him again and again, til his eternal death!
There is a chance that the pair can escape through another teleport. And indeed they both have this idea flashing in their mind.
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But they refuse at the end.
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One for her beloved friends, and the other for his pride and ego, they choose to fight back.
The pair hold each other hands. The door is opened by a force from behind and a figure is standing at the middle of the hall.
A fearsome 2.5 meter tall demonic samurai holding a Tachi in one hand, with big feather wings on its back, a red DEVILISH mask with TREMENDOUS LONG NOSE!
"I am Ootengu! (大天狗),
the ultimate Gate Keeper of the Underworld (冥界黃泉)! My duty is to turf every demon souls out of the Man's world ."
"Good....then. Seems there is no conflict of interest in between us. And our common goal is to protect humans here." Naomi tries to negotiate in order to resolve the dispute and save the hostages first though she knows chance is small. Because She can easily feel the killing instinct of the monster.
"You are wasting your time..." "I know. I just wonder if...."
"I SEE. But I am not responsible to any mankind here. I just use them to attract my prey, the demon and his summoner, those who are forbidden in Destiny of Mankind!(人間道)!"
"He doesn't seem to remember you..." "yes. I find that suspicious too. I wonder if he is the same Ootengu I fought before."
"So. Who should I ambush first? The bronde, the mouse...or the YAKUZU hiding there?"
Just as Naomi and Kamaitachi are both shocked by the existence of a third party, a doughty female figure jumped down from backdrop decoration board on the stage.
Her body is slim but powerful and stiff, covered by a tight-fit-high vents cheongsam. But nothing compares to the tattoo covering her entire body- a fierce dragon which wraps around her limbs, body and up to the neck.
The YAKUZU girl slowly draws her sword- the blade shines with a wicked scarlet glow, and says a few words,
"Co-op? Or go suicide yourself."
"No objection!" The wise ratman accepts the offer with no hesitation.
"I am Naomi, thank you for your assistance-" "Words don't make it easier. Focus just on your foe. I don't want to cover you."
The Ootengu draws her Tachi and walks towards his opponents. "I see. The Yakuzu is a HOUND. Good. My wait pays off and I will finish it now."
"Before that, there is one thing I want to clarify with you." Kamaitachi cannot suppress his curiosity."This is the first time we meet, isn't it?" " I don't think I have met you before -and no one has ever survived from me before."
"Good———Naomi, HE IS NOT THE ONE! DON'T BE AFRAID OF HIM! He is just an ordinary one which looks a bit different from what we usually subdued before."
"Thank you~~!" Naomi feels a warmth in her trembling heart. She feels less stunned now!
"Kami of Wind! Protect us!" A tornado arises from the ground, forming a shield covering the three.
"CUT (いあいぎり)!"Ootengu swings his Tachi, cutting through the shield with ease, but misses. The 3 targets dashes in 3 different directions, attacking with their own weapons.
The giant scythe is trying to chop his thighs; the scarlet blade is thrusting into the opponent's heart; the double blades is going to scissor the head.
"I SEE." Ootengu has assessed the strength and weakness of the 3 opponents from the three blows and comes out strategies accordingly:
He blocks the scarlet blade becoz she is the fastest and most powerful;
while jumping in the air he dodge the scythe and by heavily stomping on the deadly blade, he freezes Naomi;
with another bare hand stretching he casts a thunder ball to bombard Kamaitachi, forcing him to abandon his attack and returns to guarding pose!
"CUT!"Naomi just feels a pain extending from her forehead towards her face. It is the first time she feels herself so close to DEATH!
So, this is the end. No more sleepless nights. No more quarrel with this stinky bad-tempered partner. No more worries of the beloved being sucked up to death by my scythe. And no more making up of stories to fool Hideo Sama and myself...
I WILL BE GONE WITH THE WIND. SO LONG, FAREWELL MY DEAR FRIENDS.
"HOLD FIRM, your Scythe!"
Little Naomi was too afraid to ignore her master's instruction, especially from a creepy Rat-man-like creature.
"No one can save you, except yourself, when you face a deadly foe like HIM!"
"But you won't leave me alone? Master! Won't you?"Little Naomi wept and begged for a time-out time.
"I WILL! What makes you think a demon will die for the human?"
The poor little girl cried and broke down, even though her mother, sitting not far from them, was supposed to comfort the little girl with tender words.
Naomi knew so well: she is alone in the world! No friends, no relatives, no love. She wanted to run away! From this cruelest world! From the curse!
"You can't ran away, you know it, girl."
The cruel master seemed feeling pity for the girl, at least for a moment.
"The Scythe is both the CURSE and the AMULET. It is your only protection and it offers the only way out. So, get used to it. Learn to master it. Trust it and be friend with it. And DON'T EVER LET GO OF IT!"
Little Naomi yawned while she was listening. She was exhausted after every tremendous long training..... and she felt asleep on ground no matter how her master scolded.
"LET GO!NAOMI-"Kamaitachi shoots a gale towards his apprentice at the same time, hoping to send her away from her opponent.
Naomi lets go her hold like a reflex action- she hasn't heard about this commanding voice for decade, ever since she "completed her training".But yet she used to follow them like her basic instinct.
And it saves her life. The gale successfully casts her away. The Tachi can just hit straight onto the ground, so hard that it goes through the concrete floor, anchored itself.
"EAT THESE!"
The Yakuzu girl observes like a hungry leopard, seizing the wonderful chance to slash his enemy in an inescapable angle of incidence.
CLINK!
"WHAT?" Before she figures out what block her attack, the giant WINGS of the Demon unfold and bounce off her blade. Numerous feather shoot off like "Shuriken". The Yakuzu girl manages to block most of them even when she has been bounced to the midair. Still two of them stab onto her thighs. Blood spills off like flowers blossoming.
She lands, pulls out the shurikens and tears a piece of cloth from her cheongsam to bandage the wounds.
"I SEE." The winged demon pulls his Tachi out from the ground while his other palm is gathering AURA. "Your swordsmanship is good. Who teaches you?"
"Seek your answer in Hell."The Yakuzu girl has returned to her guarding pose already. She knows that something DEADLY IS COMING!
"Kami of Flora! Protect her!" With a teleport opens up at Kamaitachi's back, thousands and thousands of yellowish flowers flood out, covering Naomi in layers and layers.
At the same time, Ootengu, who remains stomping on Naomi's Scythe, shoots out countless lighting rays, spreading out like a giant spider web, striving to CONSUME HIS PREYS WITH NO MERCY!
Inside, Naomi is distraught with blaze she can hardly glimpse through the shield.
BE FRIEND WITH YOUR SCYTHE!
"COME TO ME! BAB!!"
The cracks on the surface of the Scythe blade glow in a creepy purplish glare. It shoots up, getting rid of Oodengu's suppression, cycling and vaccum-cutting in a cacophonous pitch!
This is not just good enough to distract Ootengu, making him to cease his attack and take off from ground to neutralize the sneak attack,
But at the same time manages to cut a deep wound on the demon's legs.
Following Kamaitachi's faint, the flora shield vanishes.
"Kamae!!(this is how Naomi calls her master)"The girl dashes towards her master. He is weak, injured as he has exhausted his power to defend his apprentice, exposing his body to the lighting.
".....(cough)...good job! You just saved us!"
"No! Kamae, you save me. Keep it up, Master. We can beat him together, you and me."Naomi holds his body in arms. Tears are about to run out from her eyes.
"....why cry? I will not cry if you die...hahaha.."
"Shut up! You won't die so easily."
"Of course he won't. But a demon cannot fight is useless. Leave him and focus on your foe."The Yakuzu girl interrupts. Surprising she has managed to block the blow without much injuries.
"HE IS NOT JUST A DEMON! HE IS MY MASTER, MY PARTNER!"
The Yakuzu girl remains silent. Uncanny sarrow emerges in the warrior's eyes on the sly for a short while.
"I SEE. You have BLOOD-OATHED with your Evoker."
Naomi doesn't answer. Instead she holds her Evoker firm, getting herself ready for possibly her last battle.
Ootengu stares at the eyes of the girl. In his memory, he finds someone carrying the same eyes, those Eyes of Determination,
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I was wrong! I have met YOU BOTH before. AND HAVE KILLED YOU ONCE BEFORE!
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Ootengu lets his memory flashed back to that moment, when there was a time he was obsessed by the hunt of demons, especially those bonded with human -SUMMONERS.
That day, 180 years ago(late Edo period), the Ootengu butchered the whole village somewhere in Nippon, in which a Summoner dwelled with her clan. And she was the last standing man.
"I SEE. You still don't understand. You cannot win and neither can you escape from death." Ootengu then turned to the demon, with serious injuries, fainting on the ground,"and you demon should be ERASED eternally, that is the punishment you deserve for engaging with humans!"
"....you are demon as well! Why cannot you just get back to Netherworld and stay away from our business here? You HYPOCRITE!"
".....I MADE MY MISTAKE. AND ITS TIME TO CORRECT IT MYSELF!"The Ootengu moved forward and was about to finish his <job>. Then, he was stunned!
Her eyes were full of fear, anger, sadness, regret and DETERMINATION to avenge!
These SIGHTS of DETERMINATION! I SHOULD HAVE ENCOUNTERED BEFORE! WHERE? WHOM? .......WHEN?........WHY CANNOT I RECALL MY MEMORY?
The Ootengu had gone. The last warrior was lying half dead on the ground. The EVOKER had been shattered and the Kamaitachi has vanished without a trace.
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I HAVE FAILED MY CLAN AND MY COMPANION....THEY ALL DIED FOR ME....I WAS TOO WEAK TO PROTECT THEM....
PLEASE KAMI, GRANT ME A SECOND LIFE SO THAT I CAN AVENGE! I SWEAR WITH MY BLOOD! I SWEAR TO SACRIFICE MY SOUL TO THE KAMI OF ETERNAL DEATH AND SIN, IZANAGI! LET ME OFFER TRIBUTE WITH BLOOD AND FEAR TO YOU!
I TAKE THIS OATH BY MY BLOOD, AND FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION, UNTIL THE DATE OF REVENGE!
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Blood ran from her wound, streaming towards the shattered Scythe. The pieces came together. A new Scythe was born, covered with CRACKS LIKE TERRIFYING BLOOD STAINS!
The cracks glowed in weird purplish color, flew back to its master's hand. A teleport tunnel appeared with a bony inhuman figure stepping out of it!
"KAMAITACHI!" The summoner and the demon looked at each other. A reunion through resurrection, had bound the pair together again,
"I owe you my life! My Summoner friend! I swear in front of the Scythe, to protect you and your offsprings, till the death of me!"
"What is going on with me...why can't I remember it at all?....MY HEAD!"Ootengu, still floating in the midair, suddenly collapses in pain, holding his head and moaning,shaking.
The Yakuzu girl turns to Naomi. "Leave him to me. So DO NOT FAIL MY MISSION, go free the hostages, NOW!" "Trust me, Naomi. I would not die easily ."the Kamaitachi has recovered a lot via his unique HEALING ABILITY
"Thank you! You guys please hang on here. I will be back soon!"
Naomi leaves for the seek.
The opponent seems having managed and settled his confusion,
"TSUNA, I TAKE CONTROL OF YOU! So don't ever intrude my mind!"he nails it with a speech to himself.
He returns onto the ground, blood still running down his legs yet his voice becomes calm and confident again.
Ootengu stares at the Yakuzu girl
"I SEE. You CANNOT SUMMON..."
"If I did, you die."
The 2.5m tall figure bursts into boisterous laugh, so loud that it almost shakes the ground.
"But wait....? Your strength? It doesn't belong to a HUMAN. DID YOU FUSE WITH YOUR DEMON, AKI-ONI?"
"What? Fusion?"Kamaitachi is shocked by such hypothesis as well.
She remains silent. WORDS DO NOT MAKE THINGS EASIER. She transmits all her energy into her only entrusted friend, the Scarlet Blade and it glows vigorously in evil crimson.
"YOU ARE ONE OF THE THREE ARCHI-DEMONS, right? Tell me! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT FUSION THING !? HOW TO DEACTIVATE IT?"
The 2.5m tall Demon laughs again! " Seek your answer in Hell !? Hahahaha!"
Meanwhile, right at the entrance of the building, an APC M1296 Dragoon, just arrives. Two VIP descend from it: A female Archer with reddish S-waves, in a special black military suit; An elegant woman in Coco Chanel classical little black dress carrying a long spear.
"I wonder what powerful Demon would require 3 summoners to handle. Is that the first time happening here in Japan, Mrs Foster?"
".....I think so. WE ARE ("What? WE ARE?") curious too, Ms Robin. But it wouldn't take long to find out ourselves."
After desperately opened countless doors of rooms and chambers inside the building, Naomi finally reaches her colleague friends. While they scream in their first glance of her demonic mask, she spends quite some effort to comfort them
"Oh! Thank God! You are coming to save us!"
"Now everybody please follow my exact instruction and I ll guarantee safety to you all. Now walk down the service corridor on your left hand side and go straight to the emergent exit. The guy over there! Would you please guide them out?!"
Naomi urges the panic crowd to evacuate when she is comforting them through the voicemodder concealed in the fox mask.
"Got it!"Mr. Kobayashi, who remains calmest amongst the crowd, take the lead. Naomi stays inside the room until the last girl leaves.
Then there is a huge explosion somewhere inside! The whole building shakes and the walls of the corridor starts to crumble.
"Wahhhhh!" The refugees scream and dash through the corridor towards the exit, while Naomi uses her body to protect the last girl from the toppled wall. They are yet being cut off from the escape route by the collapsed debris.
"Are you both ok!?" Mr. Kobayashi yells from the other side.
"Why did you come back !?" Naomi is frustrated by possibly two lives to be going to save now. "You stay off to your right hand side! I am going to blast a freeway for her!"
"Ok! I will standby here!"
Naomi gathers her wits and strength, knowing that she may not be able to make another blow.
"Samantha! Get up! I know you can do it!"
"Er....? Yes!"the girl knows there is no time for any question.
Naomi swings the Scythe and just enough to blast a big hole through the debris. The girl charges. Right at the middle of her way, Kobayashi grabs her hand and pull her through the way, just about to avoid the collapsing debris to seal the escape route again.
"What are you both waiting for? Leave!"The two humans are too relieved to run again until they hear Naomi shouts.
"Are you going to be fine there? Please do not die!"Kobayashi shouts out while he is running towards the exit.
Naomi feels a warmth in her heart. She is exhausted. The last blow has consumed her last strength and she faints.
The building keeps collapsing.
Are they okie? How is the fight over there? Do they lose already?
Her anxiety and depression doesn't last long. A familiar glare appears in front of her. A burning ring of blaze just opens up a black hole in the midair -a bony inhuman figure steps out of it lending his helping hand to the little Naomi on the floor.
"Get up, my best apprentice! We should leave now!"
Right outside the building, the 4 summoners and the friendly demon witness the tearing down of the structure until it vanishes from sight.
"Well, well! I hope this is what the BIG ONE really intended to do, to destroy a human asset without causing any casualties" the Archer is not very happy with a sudden retreat of the opponent before the fight began.
"But...isn't it too fishy? A BOMB SET-UP BY A DEMON?"The Chanel Lady asks.
The Yakuzu girl leaves the gang with no goodbye.
"Your colleague is cool. I like her."Robin, the Archer praises the lonesome warrior while Mrs Foster turns to Naomi and Kamaitachi.
"We know there are other Summoners besides of we [HOUNDS]. But you just look....too KIND to be one of [HOME]. So...do you mind telling us your origin?"
"And we are not here to ARREST you, AT LEAST FOR TODAY."Robin supplements.
".....He is Kamaitachi, the Master of Wind. And I am the BEST APPRENTICE OF HIM."
Blood just stops running out from the wound. Ootengu sits on the floor. The vibe around the demon starts becoming foggy. Starting with the armor, then the feather and finally the Long-nose-Mask, the "traits" of the Arch-demon fades away one by one. Leaving on the ground is a young man with silver long hair and a pale good-looking face.
On his forehead marks a roman letter [II] !
"So, is the PLAY loud enough to draw our audiences' attention?"
A gentle soft lady voice whispers from his back.
"The name of [Ootengu] should be lound enough!"
"Thank you, [II]. Your hard work is much appreciated."
"Just that.....apart from the HOUNDS, there are two summoners that we should pay attention to...."
THE LADY WAS A BIT SHOCKED BY [II]'s REPLY.
"YOU COULD <SEE> IN HIS EYES IN FUSION FORM?"
"Somehow, yes. Indeed it is my first time I can manage my senses over Ootengu's in my BATTLE FORM...."
"So, let me guess. One is from the US-J League."
"Precisely, [ I ]."
"And the other one is?"asks the lady namely [ I ].
"........" [II] or Ootengu falls in deep silence. He is more concerning about those EYES OF DETERMINATION which confuses him too much.
A month has passed. This evening, Naomi is just woke up by a nightmare, the same nightmare that tortures her since she was a child.
"Human, keep your Oath in mind! Feed me with demonic fresh and blood, or I WILL FEED ON YOUR LOVE!"The Scythe in her nightmare threatens her, with her Father's decaying body lying in front, and her Mother staring them with her grudgeful eyes....
Naomi is awakened, sweating and shaking.
SO...I SHOULD FIGHT UNTIL I DIE....otherwise I will just risk my beloved.
Tonight, everybody in the company goes for the annual party. After the tragic incident happened a month ago, the company decided to push forward the celebration time in order to boost up the morale of the team.
"Have you seen Naomi, Sam?"Hideo asks the girl, Samantha, the one who Naomi saved at last in the last incident.
"She should be on her way already. Don't worry! She will show up. Otherwise YOU WILL BE SHARED AMONGST USSS! Hahaha!"
Hideo's face goes red. But he is more concerned about Naomi's presence tonight.
"Sir, a lady has just left a message at the front desk for you..."
Hideo receives the written message. But instead of reading it immediately, he runs to the front desk.
"Sir, the lady has left here, for just a while."
"Thank you!" Hideo charges, hoping to see his dreamy girl upon opening the door.
He is disappointed, once again. On the street, filled with dizzying neon lights and busy vehicular honks, he hardly can identify her silhouette from hundreds of them.
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"Please accept two apologies from me, Mr. Kobayashi.
Firstly I cannot join the party tonight. I just received an urgent call from my auntie living in Kanazawa, claiming that my uncle's health is in bad condition recently. So I have no choice but to set off for Kanazawa tonight.
And so, accept my second apology, I will be absent from work for a while. I am so sorry that I cannot commit a specific date of come-back to our company at this moment.
But I always keep my faith. I believe someday, the wind will bring me back. And before that, please take care of yourself, my dearest Hideo san. I will never forget you!
Yours
Naomi Ito
(P.S. You look great tonight. Nice suit!)"
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Although Hideo's heart is filled with the bitter taste of disappointment, one thing makes him happiest man in the world tonight: he just confirmed the true love of him and he will wait for her forever!
"You sure you don't wanna kiss goodbye?"
The Summoner and her Demon are standing on the roof top of a nearby building.
"Master, I am not sure if it is a right choice, but one thing I can be sure,"
Naomi's eyes are once again filled with determination,
"I will never fail my friends. And when we meet HIM again, I WILL END IT for once and forever!"
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