23 Chapter 23 - Thwarting of plans

'I swear that a couple of months can't go by without those stray fallen being idiots' I thought to myself as I was heading to their location.

Long story short, the brilliant mind (Kokabiel, but I had no tangible evidence yet) behind those stray fallen thought that it was an amazing idea to partner with some like-minded idiots from the Old Satan Faction and diddle around with the Youkai.

I honestly thought that this would turn up into one of those double-double-cross situation where they each worked together only to betray the other at the end. I could see them thinking like that and trying to incite the Youkai against either the Grigori or the Devils.

Now, Azazel's Dogs were supposed to handle this whole situation. I met the guys once, a nice team though Tobio was a bit too much into the hero type for me. Well, the pups were sent out to one location but it turns out that the ragtag team of warmongers had another one planned while the first was a diversion and here I come, the day's saviour.

All my attitude aside, this was an important thing and I realized it, if the tensions between the factions heightened it could lead to the involvement of the whole Shinto Pantheon and that would be the spark that ignites this tinder of a stalemate that we currently found ourselves in.

Luckily, with the coordinates obtained by Azazel, I was on my way to the second place, it was, lo-and-behold in yet another abandoned storage facility/warehouse. I swear that those things seem to be dotting the world but, who am I kidding, this was the world of deluded villains so these kinds of places were presented during Douchebaggery 101.

I arrived near the place and proceeded to lay low and investigate before I went in. I hugged the walls and extended my senses inside, powered to the max.

'Damn, it's worse than I thought' and it was. Somewhere along the line, the devils and the fallen had encountered a stray group of rebellious youkai. It was plain to see since members of all three groups were present there with no weapons being drawn and no over the top insults being said. Seeing no movement, I chose to observe the situation a bit.

"When are the others coming with the target?" said one of the fallen, I could identify them by the difference in mana signature that each race gave out. It wasn't a huge difference but subtle enough to enable them easier access to their race specific magic, light, senjutsu and demonic. Mana is mana and, in theory, you can do everything with it, but I'm digressing, it was time for murdering not lecturing.

"They'll be here soon, the distraction was a success and the target was acquired and is en route as we speak" this time, it was a youkai who answered.

"With this we'll be able to show them who's the boss!' spoke an over-eager devil.

"And I suppose you're the boss, huh?!" retorted the youkai.

"Why you!"

"Enough, we'll have time to bicker later. Remember the plan" the fallen spoke once again, he seemed to be the leader of his faction for this operation.

"Hn"x2 the other 2 stopped their infighting and decided to wait for the target.

I decided to wait as well, if this was a VIP that was captured, I could save them and earn some brownie points. I couldn't just engage them now and risk the capture team getting away or simply killing their subject.

While I would wait, this didn't mean that I just stood around. I blended with the shadows and made my way inside, thus setting myself on the roof of the main chamber. I made sure to turn my phone's sound and vibration off, I had seen too many movies and didn't want that particular flag raised.

Besides setting myself into position, I sent familiars out to scout the perimeter and report any activity.

"They're almost here, ETA 15 minutes" said the youkai.

Ten minutes later, I saw them, a group of 11 youkai hauling ass with one of them carrying a bundle on her shoulder and the other forming a protection circle around her.

I raised myself up from the beam that I was laying on and went into a crouch.

*rattle* Soon enough, the main gates opened and the group entered the hideout.

"Good job Shina, I knew that we could trust you with this" said the youkai leader to the woman holding the bundle.

"Thanks, there were some close calls but my cover remained intact. Can't believe I had to take care of that slut's bastard for so many years" said the woman while adding a great touch of venom at the last part.

"Hah! Thank you for your sacrifice, dear. Now we can put it all behind us and start leading our people to where they need to be. Drop the little bastard there" he pointed to the place, in the middle of the room where a magic circle was slowly being constructed by the other 2 races.

The woman, Shina, proceeded to dump her unconscious charge into the circle and, damn.

'Of course it has to be the little fox tyke' I grumbled to myself. 'I swear that Milfsaka and her daughter have a talent for getting duped and kidnapped'

Though I complained to myself, I didn't act just yet for I knew that they would still out their plan sooner or later.

Time slowly passed and soon, the magic circle was completed and the chibi loli, tautology, I know, woke up.

"What's going on?" asked the confused girl as she looked around and began to panic when seeing all those people, leering at her.

"S-Shina?! What happened? I remember being with you after momma left then…" Kunou began to ramble as she spotted her now ex-caretaker among the people.

"Shut up you brat! Gods above how I've always wanted to tell you that!" spat out the woman and Kunou relented.

"Why are you doing this?!" yelled a now teary-eyed little kitsune and my protecc instincts were activated, but I couldn't let them out just yet.

"Why?!" intervened the leader "WHY?! It's because you and that whore of a mother have ruined our people and turned us into losers! The massacre in the underworld was just the icing on the cake and we did nothing, NOTHING! What's next, huh, what's next?!" screamed out the youkai leader and I noticed that the devils jumped a bit at the massacre part.

Honestly? He kind of had a point, a whole subspecies of your race gets massacred and you do almost nothing? Even giving the devils some autonomy on your territory? But his point was null to me. (A/N I don't exactly remember the repercussions suffered by the devils after the nekoshou massacre so just roll with it)

"Wh-" started Kunou but was cut off by the man.

"Shut up, you brat. You'll finally be useful to the youkai. You see, this place is special, it's a leyline that connects to Urakyoto, I've spent years trying to amass power slowly and with my new friend's help, I succeeded. You see, although you don't have your mother's power over them, you still have a connection. Hahaha, and that connection will be the trigger towards the bomb that Shina planted in your castle while she was taking care of you! With your mother dead and the others crippled, we'll take over the faction and lead them where they should be!"

"Hahahaha" the other youkai laughed with the fallen and the devils being eerily silent.

"Now, my friends, let's get started" he urged on the devils and the fallen.

"Now, wait a second"x2 both the leaders of the other groups said in unison then looked at each other in surprise.

"You too?"x2

"Yeah"x2

"Then, prepare to die!"x2

The circus left the youkai baffled but they were slowly coming to a realization.

"Wait! What's going on?!" yelled the youkai leader while his men took up defensive positions.

"You've served your purpose in bringing the child here, now prepare to die knowing that you helped the fallen/devil cause!" X2

While the whole tirade was going on, Kunou was just sitting there, scared and unable to move from the circle, with tears falling from her eyes.

'Don't be afraid, everything is going to be okay' I sent a telepathic message to the frightened loli.

She looked around, trying to find the source but failing.

'You can't see me but know that it will be alright' I sent one last message and prepared to interfere.

"Now, die!" the die was cast, the jig was up and they all were ready to jump at each other's throats.

I sent a message to Azazel, saying my stance on this 'No mercy this time' and jumped in the middle of the three parties.

"Wha, who are you?" said no one of importance.

*clap*

*clap*

*clap*

"Gentlemen, I hate to interrupt your mexican stand-off but it ends now" I said, looking around the entire room.

"Bah, let's end thi- GAH!" some schmuck tried to say but was stopped by way of shadow impalement.

"Dear" I turned to Kunou "do close your eyes, it's going to be messy" and she just stood there, probably too shocked to move.

"Oh, man, how am I going to explain this to your mom? Ah, I know!" *snap*

And with a snap of my fingers, a servant rose from my shadow and went to Kunou, gingerly placing her hand over the girl's eyes. Yes, I had female blood servants, yes equality.

"Now, where were we?" I turned back to the kidnappers and jumped between the devil group.

"Ah yes, I believe you said 'die'?"

One of them jumped on me but what he got was his head bitten off as my fangs went for his throat and ripped it clean off, leaving me with a new chew toy and the room filled with shock.

Their surprise lasted only for a little as the devils used both magic and their bodies to rip into me, lacerating my body and cutting off some limbs.

"Hahahahaha! Yes! That's it!"

My laughter echoed in the warehouse as I regenerated and jumped from between the devils and landed in the middle of the youkai. Two of them, the closest, jumped on me but my hands were playing rock paper scissors with them being the paper and my hands the scissors. I impaled them through their chests and left with two presents, their hearts to be exact.

The fallen were about to charge some light spears my way but… "Nuh-huh! We're not playing shooters, we're playing DODGEBALL!" I supercharged the hearts with mana, creating mini bombs, and threw them in the middle of the fallen.

*boom* *boom*

Two explosions were heard as viscera was thrown through the room.

*sniff* "Mmm, extra crispy" I grinned at my opponents.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YO-?!" yelled one of the surviving fallen but was cut off when I appeared in front of him and slowly caressed his face and put a finger on his lips.

I locked eyes with him, enjoying the terrified expression I saw in them and he stared into my glowing orange ones.

"Shh, baby girl"

"P-please.."

"No" and I bit into his neck, sucking his blood while changing it with mana.

"Get him!" yelled someone from across the room and they all wanted to charge. I rotated myself and chucked the body that I was still biting into at them.

*boom* another explosion, this time smaller. I didn't want to end this too quickly.

I looked at the devils, they still had the most numbers, and grinned.

I spread my arms and clapped. The blood around the room churned and formed spears. My grin got even wider as I saw their wide eyes.

I launched the spears and saw them hitting their targets. I didn't go for anything fatal, just cutting off some limbs. Before they registered anything, I laughed and launched myself across the room, to one of the youkai.

Before he could react I grasped his head in my arm and raised him up. He was struggling, trying his best to get away, scratching and clawing at my arm, tearing off ribbons of my flesh, but my arm held strong.

"Good effort" I said as I crushed his head like a ripened fruit and raised his body.

The rest of the guys in the room, now with about 30 remaining, half of their previous force watched as I drank forth from the bleeding headless as blood poured from his open neck.

I looked back at them, smiling as shadows came alive and enveloped me without my say so, leaving only my glowing eyes visible.

That was something that recently came up, if I wasn't holding them down, shadow, magic, blood were continuously drawing themselves to me.

"Time for an encore"

I ran towards them and began the final song of this symphony of the night.

Now, it was even easier as they had forgotten their racial barriers and grouped up. Ah, nothing but a good old-fashioned slaughter, it brings people together.

As I ran, two light spears came to me and cut off my legs. My body continued moving as blood came out and made them anew. My hand went through the chest of one fallen and grabbed the head of the devil behind him. I ran again, dragging the devil and painting skid marks with his head on the ground. My target was a particularly bulky youkai. Before arriving in front of him, I jumped and angled my feet, thus piercing his chest with both of them with almost all my body passing through save for my arm that still held the shish kebab'ed fallen and the devil with half his face shred off.

"Well well well, look at you" I said to the dead bodies "I guess unity can be achieved and I got myself a full collection"

I flexed my arm and the three bodies exploded in a shower of blood.

The room was silent, they were all terrified and couldn't move so it was no longer as fun.

"Looks like that's it for tonight's entertainment" I said as I stamped my foot, sending cracks throughout the entire floor.

"Now, then, see you soon" and with that, I began walking to where Kunou was.

The people just looked around, stunned, not knowing what to do. One particular devil got his balls back and tried to run towards me, well, that was a mistake.

*crack*

The ground cracked beneath everyone save 4 people and stone spears rose up and impaled everyone through the chests, crushing their hearts in the process.

The 4 survivors were the 3 leaders plus that woman, Shina, I would leave the four of them to Yasaka so I just knocked them out with magic.

I arrived in front of the magic circle that contained Kunou, it was a nice little trick but nothing special. I touched it and ran it in reverse with some small modifications, this shattered it.

I was about to get near the fox when I suddenly stopped.

'I can't let her see this place like it is' I thought, looking around at the remains that littered the place 'It's like Coachella on drugs here, and Coachella IS drugs. It won't do'

So I snapped my fingers and the stone spears shifted and moved to the back of the warehouse, what? I wasn't about to ruin the impersonation of Vlad the Impaler, imitation was a form of admiration after all.

After the spears were moved, I opened my mouth wide and the blood and magic in the room began to flow into me leaving behind only desiccated corpses.

The bits and bobs laying on the ground were moved near the spears with some hefty telekinesis usage 'I should do this more often, it's a great exercise for control, moving the mummified viscera and limbs'

After all of this was done, I wiped my hands to get rid of imaginary dirt and finally approached the scared loli.

My servant nodded towards me and let the loli go, disappearing into nothing.

Kunou, finally being able to see and hear, jumped on me and hugged me.

"There there" *pat pat* "I told you that all will be okay"

*sniff* "Mister, who are you?"

"Just your friendly neighborhood dhampir, please call me Hiro"

"Un, I'm Kunou"

"Nice meeting you Kunou, though some other circumstances would have been ideal. Kunou, can you call your mommy?"

"Un"

"Good, do so, we'll wait here, don't worry, the bad people are gone and mommy will take care of you"

"Okay.."

I then summoned a stone chair and sat myself on it, placing Kunou on my leg.

"Tell me, little one, are you still scared?"

*nod*

"Do you want to never feel like that again?"

*nod nod*

"I'll teach you"

I wasn't going to teach her magic or anything else, no, I was going to teach her a way of life. The thug life.

When I saw her I just imagined her, dressed like a small biker and threatening to shank anyone who messes with her turf.

"Do you want to?"

"Yes! I don't want to be scared anymore"

"Good, well begin while waiting for your mother. First, a set of rules, the one I'm going to tell you is not the first but it applies in this situation very well. You're gonna be a boss so listen well, number 3:

One crew's rat is every crew's rat. Rats are now like a disease; sooner or later we all get it, and they should too.

You see, this rule is about…."

And so, until Yasaka and her entourage arrived, I began introducing my young protégé to the miracles of the thug life.

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A/N

Hope you liked this chapter.

I really want to turn Kunou into #thuglife so no more damsel in distress for her and the image seems funny to me. Imagine a small Kunou being accosted by some idiots and shaking them while speaking about her territory and how they shouldn't have crossed her.

Anyway, see you soon,

Author out.