Chapter 29

Oh, how the turn tables.

"WWWRRRYYYYYYY-"

"Quiet you." I slap the leopard-looking Stray beneath me mid-screech.

But although it stops screeching for a moment, it continues to try and remove the absurdly large dumpster pinning its lower body to the ground.

"You know, you really don't have the right to be like this," I huff, arms crossed, looking down at the gaudy gold-wearing leopard, "you were the one who told me to get as close as I'd like, remember?"

And that I did, to drop a dumpster on the poor Dio cosplayer.

Or, rather, I body-slammed him to the ground then dropped the dumpster on him to keep him there.

Its hands, more paw than truly human, suddenly tense.

"WRRRRRRRY–"

I sucker punch it straight to the jaw, its impromptu battlecry cut short as its head suddenly snaps down and hits the dirt, making no more sound nor movement any longer.

Looking back at its hands, I see the barest hints of claws poking through.

Not sure if he was going to try and claw me, or my handy dandy test subject blanket here, but either way I couldn't have that!

Eh. Doesn't matter in the end as it's always best to start with the subjects being unconscious.

Especially the unique screaming ones.

Which was every single stray I've run into for the past few nights, but I digress.

It spares my ears the pain for at least a little bit, because no matter what, I'll be hearing a lot of screeching.

Turns out, being annihilated out of existence, no matter how fast you go, hurts.

None of the monsters have been shy about letting me know that much at least.

I let out a long, tired sigh as I kneeled next to my latest catch, staring at it with a dull expression.

The novelty of how every single stray seems to be unique in some way is beginning to run out, as is my patience.

See, these repeated experiments have yielded results, good and bad.

The good thing? I have consistently been able to get purified pieces, which is what I've taken to calling them.

The bad thing? I'm only getting them after annihilating the Reincarnated Devil's body and soul.

It isn't for a lack of trying to focus the power either, by the way. The power of purification, going off its Shinto Ritual counterpart, cleans out all it considers unclean.

I know it can be used to cure or attack specific things, or at least there's a precedent for it considering Inari was able to actively not affect Kuroka with her Holy Spirit Power.

But I lack that type of control at the moment.

So as it stands, my purification is very much a filthy racist that will try and purify everything in sight, kind of like a 'pre-retaliatory' immune system, it considers people like Yokai or Devils the same as a disease and will try to destroy it.

I can kind of work around it, by using very small amounts of the power, but that's only effective on smaller things like actual disease.

Also, all the…screaming, as I mentioned before is still a problem.

Getting away from that, now it's not a case of whether or not I can purify the Piece, it's can I even get to the piece to purify it without hurting Kuruka?

And the answer to that is…my chances aren't looking too great.

If the piece is where I think it is, the soul, jammed in there like a Sacred Gear, then I think I may be fucked.

This would be so much easier if Kuroka could just pull out her piece, but I've never seen anyone do that before.

Well, beyond Ajuka, but of course he could do it, and it would make sense for him to lock it up nice and tight.

Pretty sure the only reason the pieces aren't simply exploding, teleporting away, or whatever failsafe they have in place isn't working is because of what they're made of.

Attribute crystal. Don't think it was ever given a proper name.

When I purify everything, the crystal pieces take on the attribute of my purification, basically overriding all the Devil stuff within.

But if it's in the soul, then no wonder I destroy everything on the way, I have to go through everything to get to it.

Although, there is technically a way to get to the soul directly, skipping the body at the very least.

Senjutsu.

One of its basic functions enables a direct strike to a person's spirit, I could technically use that to skip the physical body.

Slight problem with that though.

It's an attack, and I'm nowhere near good enough with Senjutsu to think I could precisely attack something in someone else's soul.

With the way my power works? It's more likely to hit and outright purify her entire soul, especially since I'm gonna be contending with the power of two mutated bishops!

With that method, to actually purify her pieces, I'd have to hit her soul with a lot of purifying power.

Enough even she wouldn't be able to resist if things went south.

That's a no-go, I'm not a surgeon with a scalpel, I'm more like a bomber with a nuke here!

I blink incredulously at the comparison, squashing the urge to physically kick myself for that.

Although, thinking about it like that…

What if I had a connector of some kind, a tunnel, bridge, route whatever you call it, straight to target?

I'd prefer several, truth be told, but I'd be lucky to have even one.

Are there? Could I make any?

Senjutsu enables the attacking of others' souls, and one's ki is their life force, coming from the soul.

We've done that before, connected directly no?

Ah. The Bedroom Method.

That…could be a good start.

Luckily I don't need to be fucking for it to work, as amusing as it would be to tell Ajuka to his face that I fucked the Devil out of someone.

Assuming it even works.

What else, though? Come on, there's got to be more than that!

Ahah! Chakra! Fuck I can't believe I never considered it!

Or, to be more specific, ninshu, or its principles at the very least.

It was meant to connect people spiritually, right?

Don't know exactly how it works, I recall Chakra being all interconnected in some way though, even through a simple fist bump.

On that note, what about my other powers? My eyes…

I look intently down at the knockoff, not even a vampire, leopard Dio, my eyes shifting and spinning with four pupils, three tomoe, and the center dot.

These eyes of mine, one of the basic components of one of its abilities as the 'Eye of Insight' are the power to see chakra, or in my case, see energy, giving it color, enabling me to distinguish it by composition and source.

It's an aspect of my eyes that I only recall using once, way back when I was staying with Kuroka months ago.

I saw some type of power coming from her then, a purple aura around her.

But that was with my eyes then. Now that they're matured?

Looking down at the Dio wannabe now, with a bit of focus and intent, his cosplay is joined in my eyes by flowing glowing patterns of light.

Specifically, there are two that stand out to me, both coming from the same source, seemingly coming up out of his chest.

One is this dark golden color, that spills out of his body and clings tightly to his form in an aura.

The second is black and red, looking less thick and more airy compared to the dark gold's liquid-like composition. That energy disseminates across the leopard's whole body, not leaving it, but infusing it.

With a quick reminder about the basics of Demonic Power, I surmise that the golden aura is the stray Devil's hellish power.

Assuming the Demonic Power comes from the Evil Piece, then to get a better look I'd need to use the other methods I was thinking about before.

Except I can't necessarily test any of that with random strays, now can I?

Well, I suppose I could give random strays chakra, but the process is entirely instant.

Which means I'd have to hold these guys while it forms, then contend with them likely trying to use said powers against me, and if one of them escaped with such a power?

Yeah. Ain't risking it.

Even if I could have Kuroka there as a sexy lab assistant getting a kick out of it.

Still not worth it.

Also, that would be reaching the limit of how far I'm willing to go with the whole larping as a mad scientist thing I've been doing.

At that point, no matter how reprehensible these strays are, I'd start feeling bad going that far.

So instead, how about throwing all my powers plus the kitchen sink at the problem and seeing if that'll work?

Deities in this world can do some crazy shit, like tearing out Sacred Gears from their users without killing them levels of crazy.

I'm at least halfway a deity, why not try that, but for Evil Pieces instead?

"Fuck it." I intone aloud, staring at the spot on fake Dio's chest where his Demonic Power streams out from, "Worth a shot I guess."

Not like I'm going to get anything else from this guy doing the same old shit again anyways.

I put my hand over the spot, and pull on my Holy Spirit Power, not my purifying light power, sending it straight down and in like a fishing rod with a flex of will.

With my eyes, I watch as my bright, honey-gold energy crashes into the devilish golden-yellow power, there is a very brief resistance before my power bulldozes ahead.

The guy doesn't have enough Demonic Power, fortunately. His being unconscious also probably helps.

I'm mostly working blind now as my eyes can't see the soul directly, but hopefully, with Bouchujutsu and some bastardized Ninshu, I can get a feel for it instead.

Right now though, I'm pretty much willing to pull the piece out of his soul.

It's as simple as that.

The leopard's eyes suddenly snap open, and he almost instantly begins screeching madly.

"WWWWRRYY—"

Only to be cut off, not by me, but as he promptly pops like a meat balloon.

The dumpster crashes to the ground, as what's underneath it practically liquefied on the spot.

Slowly reaching up, I wiped the thick coat of blood and gore from my face, beholding an immediate area that looked like someone bombed with several layers of extra thick red paint.

I blink ahead, patting the dumpster conciliatorily on its side.

I have no fucking clue if I did that myself, or if that was one of the hypothesized Evil Piece fail safes.

Either way.

I slowly take off the cheap, formerly white, lab coat I was wearing, and chuck it in the dumpster before righting it.

I was going to consider maybe trying to bless stuff, but if this is what happens when I try and throw around some divine power maybe I should hold off until I can talk to Uzume.

Or Inari. Preferably Inari.

I don't think Kami bullshit is supposed to do this, but just in case, I'm going to not.

Ended up wasting a good few thousand yen on that coat too…

Oh, well. I'm not much of a scientist after all, only mad.

Especially since I'm going to have to clean this all up!

With a sigh, my hands ignite with flames as I get to work, evaporating and scorching everything down to the ground, regrowing any foliage I need to with my light.

If there's one thing I'm thankful for, it's that Kuroka has been away this whole time doing…whatever Vali Team does now that canon is destroyed.

Maybe Vali is looking for the next Red Dragon Emperor?

They'd be an actual baby right about now, but still, I could see him doing it. If nothing else then to train his future rival himself.

Kuroka should be back soon though, so it's time to get this show on the road.

Fuck I hope I don't mess this up…

~ A New Sun ~

I had the bedroom all well and prepared by the time she got back.

Nice little candles and sweet-smelling incense, the windows open just enough to let the cool night air circulate on through.

I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible at this point, or at least try it, there was no point in holding off on it after all.

The problem, the first one and hopefully only, was Kuroka herself.

"Kuroka." I deadpan down at the cat sitting and facing me in my lap, "This isn't helping nearly as much as you think it is."

"Nyah~?" She purrs back, right into my neck in fact, to which she promptly gives another little lick, "I beg to differ, darling~! I think you're sufficiently distracted from your worries, nyah~?"

I huff petting her on the head, "In a sense, now I need to focus on not ravaging you."

Kuroka looks up at me, tilting her head slightly in confusion, "But…you said we were doing Bouchujutsu again?"

"The non-sex version." I boop her on the head.

Kuroka pouted, "But that's the fun version!"

"This isn't meant to be fun you!" I snap back, "I wasn't kidding when I said this could really hurt you if I fuck it up! I could kill you!"

"You won't though?" She licks my neck again, the suddenness causing me to give an unprepared shiver, "Darling would never hurt me on purpose, nyah~!"

"On purpose." I stress, "It still could happen."

She shakes her head, "Not if you don't want it too, nyah!"

I simply sigh at that, "Love the faith, but I'm still nervous. Not that easy to simply shake it off."

"Hmm~?" Kuroka hums, before slowly starting to smirk and dropping her kimono to her waist, leaving her chest bare before me.

"...Kuroka." I grumbled, "Really?"

"Hey! Bouchujutsu works better the more skin-on-skin contact there is! Even without the fun stuff!" She huffs, crossing her arms.

Okay, that's fair–

"Also, I thought you could use my titties as stress balls, nyah~!" She cackles, grabbing her breasts with either hand and jiggling them around.

I stare at her.

I stare at her, really, bloody hard.

"Please take this seriously." I sigh out, slumping forward and laying my head on her shoulder.

Kuroka leaned against me with a purr, I could feel her smile on me as her hand came up behind my head and stroked my hair.

"I am, nyah~!" She then promptly took one of my hands and placed it smack on one of her admittedly very squishy and soft melons. "Just in my way~! Annyah~!"

She half moans, half mewls, as idly squeeze and grope her like some kind of plush marshmallow.

"Which someone seems to like, hmm~?" She purrs straight into my ear.

Fuck.

This is fairly relaxing, actually.

I mutter out a garbled response.

"Nyaaah~? What was that~?" Her tail swishes happily behind her, "I couldn't hear you, darling~!"

"...you do have a very nice chest, you." I mumble out.

"I know, nyah~!" I could feel the smug, I didn't even need to look at her for it.

"Going to tell you right now though," I add on quickly, "I'm not groping you the entire time during the process."

I could also feel the exact moment it switched right to pouting.

"Wait, 'entire time'?" She parroted, "So some of the time then, at least?"

"...Maybe." I give.

"I'll take it, nyah~!" She cackles in final victory.

I merely let out a simple pleasant sigh.

Without even realizing it, I suddenly feel a lot better.

Damn cat. Using my trick of being an idiot and adding your horniness to it.

I'll remember this when you're begging for kittens after this works, and I'll tell you no creampies for a while.

Unless I figure out how to control my virility.

Should be a basic divine ability, truth be told.

But enough of that for now.

I suddenly sit up straight, Kuroka yelping as I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her flush against myself.

I set my forehead against hers, staring into her eyes with a small smile.

"Ready to do this?"

Kuroka smirks back at me.

"Whenever you are, darling~!"

Nodding, I take a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment, only to open them back up, Sharingan activated and swirling.

Similarly to the leopard stray from before, Kuroka also possesses two energy sources coming from her chest.

One black and purple that spreads out and infuses her body, and another dark purple power that forms a much thicker aura around her body, compared to the strays anyway.

However, entirely unlike the stray is a third power, a bright, almost liquid-looking light purple flame set in the middle of her stomach.

If I focus hard enough, I can even see the misty translucent outline of her chakra network.

"See something you like, nyah~?" Kuroka muses with a smile.

I snort and roll my eyes, spanking her as I do, pulling a yelp from between those lips of hers.

Before she can add anything more to that, I raise my hand in front of her, palm facing her.

"Paw." I ask nicely, like an owner asking their pet.

Kuroka grumbles and blushes, not giving me a proper response as she raises her hand and presses it back against mine.

"Now…you know how when you make that energy in your gut, you combine and knead together from two separate aspects? One physical, and the other spiritual." Kuroka nods, I continue, "Focus on the spiritual aspect. I think you described it once like ki before, right?"

"Mhmm~! Similar, but not quite." Kuroka muses, "Ki, or even Youki, is much more of a personal spirituality type of deal, while this is more…worldly, I nyah?"

Ah, the return of the philosophical kitty.

"Good, that means what I'm about to say next isn't too crazy," I start with a small smile, "we need to meld those separate spiritual aspects, and connect, essentially like a bridge."

"Like Bouchujutsu~?" Kuroka immediately piped up.

I chuckled, even as I turned her down and prompted another pout from her, "No. But, the process may be similar at its core, I think?"

Kuroka wiggled her eyebrows at me as I sighed.

"Just…that spiritual aspect, send it out like you would Ki for Bouchujutsu, and I'll latch onto it and piggyback off it. Like a phone call." I add, quickly, before Kuroka can somehow turn any of that sexual.

She huffs but closes her eyes to do as I say regardless.

The only reason I can tell is because I can see what she's doing.

Thinking about it more, the spiritual or mental aspect usage here, isn't it a lot like Yin Release? A proto-version of it, anyhow, that doesn't use chakra.

Instead, what seems to emit from her head are waves, rippling hazy waves, nearly invisible even with my fully mature eyes.

Closing my eyes myself, I do the same, focusing on expelling that pure mental or spiritual component that makes up chakra, imagine molding it together and mixing with the outside–

Our eyes snap open.

Ninshu. What was its base idea, again?

Ah. The ability to understand one another without even the need for communication.

"It's like senjutsu, but…deeper." Kuroka mused breathily, finishing a similar thought to my own.

Despite myself, I blush, prompting her to giggle.

It's weird. It is so fucking weird.

Words can't be used to precisely describe what I'm feeling, they're just that, feelings, yet they tell a whole story.

I know the girl sitting before me trusts me implicitly. There isn't a shred of doubt, anywhere in her. She wholly believes that once I set out to do something, I'll do it.

And it's not only that either! Of course, I feel lust, but not just that, love…she wants a family, one she never got the chance to have, and there's so, so much more!

The connection slips as my focus wavers, I quickly reestablish it by slamming back down on it with a flex of mental will.

She chuckles, leaning forward to press a dainty kiss against my lips, "I know it's a lot, don't worry, just focus on one thing at a time, nyah~..."

I give a shuddering breath, "Y-Yeah, one thing at a time…"

One thing at a time.

We can explore this more later.

What's important for now, is that I should be able to look deeper with this.

"Bouchujutsu proper next." I state.

"Mhmm~..." Kuroka happily hums in affirmation.

We've done this one before, so slipping into the state is almost as easy as breathing.

Within a breath, gold and purple mist pop out around our combined form, mixing.

With my eyes, I can physically see as her Ki erupts from that point on her chest where her other powers come from.

As it coats her physical form, that spot on her chest seems to glow faintly, translucently.

My Ki mixes with her, pulsing back to the spot, wherein it shimmers and pulses back out.

For the tiniest of moments, the splitist of seconds, I beheld something beautiful.

Physically, I barely hear her, as Kuroka mutters, "Go on ahead, nyah~? What are you waiting for?"

I take a deep shuddering breath, and nod, closing my eyes.

My mind's eye rockets wide open, clearer than it's ever seen before, at least when it comes to Kuroka specifically.

Unlike the last time I did this, I follow my glow as it enters her.

Also vastly unlike the last time I did this, I don't find a dark empty void of some sort.

How do you describe the weight of a soul?

Because it isn't enough to describe merely the color, although it is beautiful, with every single shade of purple I ever knew existed wrapped around a mote of precious light.

Around that, specs of brilliant gold dance, my power, my very life force mingling with her own.

It's all beating. The colors, the mote inside. It all throbs and flows, it's alive, and it proves that she's alive.

I don't want to even touch it, but I know I have to.

Something this beautiful…if the Pieces are here, then they should stick out like a sore thumb.

I can't see it here, her Demonic Power, I'm too close now, but feel it?

Everything here feels so warm, so real.

Except.

My sight drifts closer, gold shuddering around me as I near the center mote.

If I was physically present, I would have laughed.

There, right behind the mote, hiding, the only thing I'd describe as cold, as artificial.

Two Evil Pieces, side by side, Mutation Bishops.

Her pieces must have evolved with her time spent with me because I don't recall her taking mutated pieces originally.

Oh well. It matters little in the end.

I don't dare touch the pieces directly, or as directly as I can like this anyway, just in case.

Instead, I bring forth my purifying power, with the next pulse of my golden ki, swirling silver sparkles join the cacophony of color.

My will slams down upon my power like a steel trap, as I laser focus on the two Evil Pieces.

There is nothing unclean here, besides those.

A tidal wave of silver followed shortly, as it slammed into the pieces.

A bright red flash fills my mind's eye, and with a jolt, I'm suddenly and violently thrust back into my physical sense.

Belatedly, I blink spots out my physical eyes, groaning as it feels as though my mind's eye got punched in the, well, eye.

It is then that I vaguely realize that our jury-rigged Ninshu is no longer active, nor is our Buchojutsu.

Looking down, I find Kuroka leaning against me, dead to the world, groaning lowly as a trickle of drool drips from the corner of her mouth.

"Oh…fuck."

Pulling her and laying her down gently on the bed, I quickly check her pulse.

Heartbeat. Good.

My eyes spin back up, as I check over her metaphysical.

I watch with bated breath as that dark and purple power of hers, her Youki perhaps, slows down to a trickle of production.

But the more important bit, her Demonic Power?

It's being sucked back in.

I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

Gently running my fingers through her hair, I sit there, watching vigil over her.

Her body didn't explode, neither did her soul it seems, since she's still making Youki, and again, she didn't explode.

The night is still young, but I'm pretty certain she'll be alright.

I let out a deep relieved breath that I've been holding for so, so long.

Now, I wait.

~ A New Sun ~

Meanwhile, elsewhere in a land so far beneath the Heavenly High Plane and Central Land of Reeds, a dark mirror of Japan sits.

With all the same buildings, all the same streets, yet haunted by ghostly gray specters of the few once living who cross the Sanzu on the side of the Shinto into this place.

Neither a Heaven nor a Hell, this is the Land of Yomi.

Normally, this land is rather calm.

Even after Susanno took over, with all his proclivities, Yomi's scant changed.

This land has that effect, it's always been like this: dark, dreary, tainted, unclean.

Things continue as they always have, just with a few shades less color, and a ceiling made of roots and rock fit in the sky.

So, when Izanami woke up today, looked outside, and saw several Shinigami caught and flung across Yomi on a realm-spanning tornado, she knew things were going to be, unfortunately, very different today.

See, for all Yomi doesn't change, that applies significantly more toward her son.

Truly, despite him never once acting like a king of this realm, it does fit him best…no matter how boring he claims it to be.

With a yawn, Izanami rose from her slumber, throwing her long luscious black hair out behind her and out of the way.

She nearly walked out in her birthday suit, but deciding to spare her son the embarrassment, threw on a nice dark blue and red kimono haphazardly.

Ah, and the finishing touches, her parasol and a lamp, traditional make, of course, can't go wrong with the classics.

One to protect herself from all the storm stuff her son tends to cause, the other so she doesn't have to strain herself to see.

Satisfied, and deciding to hurry it up before another Shinigami flies past her window crying, she heads on out to find her son.

Luckily, it doesn't take much, even over the sounds of the storm outside she can hear him roaring in…joy?

Well, that's new.

It's a small walk from her chambers to the throne room, this place being the only dark mirror of the Palace in the High Heavenly Plane, she knows it like the back of her hand, even if it wasn't a short strut.

Throwing up the doors to said hall, she finds her son standing before his stone and black iron throne, clutching a scroll in one fist tightly as his gaze is raised to the sky, as she said, roaring.

"WOOOOOOOOO! YEAAAHHH BABY! THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!"

Izanami stood there, deadpan staring at her, as lightning filled and struck the hall.

Tempestuous winds and rain bellow, and with a casual raise of her parasol, all splash harmlessly against it.

Upon putting it down, her son finally turns and seems to recognize she's even present.

So what does he do?

"WOOOOOOUUU! MOTHER!"

She simply sighed at him.

That seemed to snap him out of his rhapsody, at least temporarily, as he blinked at her, the blaze in his eyes slowly going out as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah," he clears his throat, "Mother…did I…?"

"Yes." She answers plainly. "Yes, you did. And I also believe you chucked half of the Shinigami to Hokkaido." She drawled out dully.

Susanoo, at the very least, winced as he looked outside and saw what she meant.

"Well, I, uh…apologize. But!" He holds up the scroll clenched in his fist, "I have very good reason for my reaction!"

"I'm sure you do…" Izanami mused, walking to him.

Susanoo huffed, "No no! I do! See, read it yourself!" He holds the scroll out to her with a smug smirk.

Taking it, she opens it, rolling it out.

It's not too long, maybe a forearm's length of characters, from…King Yama?

"Ho? A soul transfer?" She muses with a raised eyebrow, "Why did you…?"

Wait.

Why does the surname 'Ikuse' sound familiar?

"Because now," his hands slip over her shoulders, holding her gently, as she looks at him he smiles…maliciously, "I finally have what I need to take and destroy the last remnant of what's left of that bastard."

At his snarl, Izanami frowned, "Susa, darling, if this is about Kagustuchi, then I–"

"Of course it's about Kagustuchi!" He barked, "For the longest time, I couldn't get to that damn sword, that last remnant of him. But now? Now I can!"

She put both of her hands on his face, "And how many times must I tell you? You don't need to go so far…especially now, especially after you already made sure he stays dead."

Susanoo cringed slightly at that, at the pain on his mother's face, at the pain he caused.

"I especially need to after that." He says solemnly, decidedly, "The job won't be finished otherwise, Mother."

Izanami sighs deeply, "And when everyone, your sister, the Earthly Kami, the Dog God, and his team, fights you for this?"

"It will all be worth it." Her son states resolutely, "Especially if little Ama will get her flat ass down to see you." He grumbled a little as he added.

Izanami merely chuckled, patting Susanoo on the chest chidingly, "Be nice now, Susa, this is why she doesn't visit."

Continuing his grumbling, Susanoo lets go of her and walks to his throne.

Ah, that son of hers. So stubborn. So…

Well. Let's just say his doing things like this is why he got thrown out of Heaven in the first place.

But kidnapping a Longinus Sacred Gear user's dead grandma to use them as leverage to make the user mutilate themselves for a divine weapon is a new one.

Now, where is that poor old woman being kept?

She figures she may keep the mortal company, at least for a little while.