Chapter 17

I didn't stop swinging my sword until night fell.

I knew that logically, I should be sitting down, meditating, and advancing my Senjutsu.

But I just wasn't in the mood for it.

Too…I wouldn't call it pissed off.

Moody, maybe?

Done.

Yeah, that fits.

I was too done to sit around and take in the world's ki at the moment.

So, I spent the entire beating up myself, several times over, as I tried to get down and incorporate the Flower and Mist Breathing forms into my repertoire.

Due to me no longer sending three clones to the Academy, only keeping one at Kuoh now, I could summon somewhere around six for the practice.

An additional help was only needing to push for two rather than four, which means I could assign three clones to each and have them go at me.

Pop them, reform them with newly found insight, and repeat.

Due to Flower and Mist being derivatives of Water and Wind respectively, I had a pretty decent baseline.

The problem that I didn't consider until trying to learn them is just how much more highly specialized the forms were.

Still, with my rather sour mood being hell-bent on slicing something, and my clones sharing the sentiment, I think I got a good grasp on the basics.

Nowhere near enough to roll the forms' techniques into my fighting style, yet.

Give it a week or two more, and I think I could do it.

Then, I need to focus fully on upgrading from the Dance to Sun Breathing proper.

That should complete my swordsmanship unless I can think of something else to add later.

Now then.

I lay in a crater of my design, inside the confines of one of the Himejima Clan Training Halls.

The place looks a lot like the dojo on my estate if I'm being honest, just with a lot fewer red and bird symbols everywhere.

Oh! Also, this place is far less durable than my own.

Seriously, I created this crater when I kicked off the ground.

Wasn't even a particularly strong kickoff.

To say the rest of the Training Hall is faring any better would be a bold-faced lie.

So, yeah, the rest of the hall is just fine.

Just like the other, uh, seven I believe there are?

Were. There were seven.

I am very done, alright? Not my fault their training halls are made out of cardboard!

Regardless, none of that matters, as for this one moment, dull of action and anything to do, I turn to what all young adults my age do at these times.

Lay on the ground with my phone in one hand, and a cup of tea in the other.

Yes, I raided their storeroom.

Also yes, they didn't have any soda, and I'm contemplating mass murder.

I texted Kuroka and told her what was going on.

She thanked me for telling her ahead of time what was going on and told me I could handle a ten-winged Fallen Angel.

She confirmed something I wasn't too sure of myself, that the Fallen are weaker than their pure counterparts, even if their number of wings is the same.

An Angel with ten wings can supposedly body a normal ten-winged Fallen, even beat down a twelve-winged Fallen unless it's Azazel.

This just makes me wonder how the hell the Grigori only just recently got torn apart, if true.

Not like Kuroka has any reason to lie about any of that.

She also sent me good luck nudes.

Which shockingly didn't replace my old mood, just added on top of it.

Fuck.

Beyond chit-chatting with my kitty, I also finally got around to combing through the internet about my appearance.

And shitposting.

So much shitposting.

None of it helped me feel better, but fuck if it wasn't fun.

Generally speaking, general reactions to its appearance were, 'Holy fuck. How did this guy get conceived', and memes.

Some motherfucker made a gif of that part where the dragon blew off my clothes with an aura blast and sent my body ragdolling through the air.

Made that shit my profile picture.

What? It does look pretty damn funny if you zoom in on it hard enough.

You can make anything look funny if you zoom in enough or pause at specific frames.

Glad to see the internet hasn't changed, no matter the universe.

Or at least, that's the feeling I got while reading through

With one last sip to finish my cup of, admittedly pretty damn good tea, I set the now useless cup down with a pleasant sigh.

Just on time too.

It's time.

Supposedly, every night, well past midnight.

A little over two, right on the dot.

Minutes ago, the night sky was like that of a dull summer night. Warm, clear, and sparkling with stars.

But now?

Gray storm clouds seem to spiral into existence, converging on the compound from all around, out of nowhere.

As a single life force, stronger yet darker than any I've felt so far, slips passed the border and onto the grounds.

Even so far away, I can feel it, feel him.

An old dark soul, rumbling like a distant storm.

It's Baraqiel. It has to be.

I sigh, shooting one last text to Kuroka simply stating that my fight is here, before setting my phone on silence and putting it away.

My halos flicker into existence as I float up, out of my crater, and casually open up the window.

I don't attempt to hide, there's no need.

I'm not going to assassinate the dumbass, beat the hell out of him if I have to, but not sneak attack him.

In fact.

I want him to come to me.

So, to announce my presence, I flare out my power like a beacon as I take to the sky.

The life force I felt had started moving toward the big building I was in earlier, but as soon as I flared my power, it stopped.

And started moving towards my location.

Albeit, at a much slower speed than when it was b-lining straight for the big building.

Even then, it didn't take long for him to get here.

He stopped a good bit away from me, yet even with the distance and darkness suffusing the area, I could still see him.

A tall, large man, with ten stormy black feathered wings, sprawled out behind him.

The rest of his body was clad in a rough and ragged dull tan cloak, from head to toe.

I couldn't see his face until he tentatively pulled back the hood and dropped it to his shoulders.

Exactly as I recalled him looking, if a bit gruffer than usual, Slicked back and down black hair, tanned skin, slick and spikey bear.

The Fallen simply stared at me, with his trademarked stoney face.

I'd say I couldn't read his expression, but he doesn't make an expression at all, so eh?

It doesn't take long for the meandering silence to be broken.

"Are you here to kill me?" Baraqiel intones before I open my mouth, gruffly.

"Maybe." I hum out, dryly, "But I don't truly plan to."

The man lets out a sigh, "Good. That's good. Then my quest-"

"Is done." I finished for him.

"I…what?" He grunts back lowly.

"Suou Himejima is dead," I state the facts, "I killed him myself earlier today."

Ah, there we go, his facial expression finally changed, his forehead creasing upwards as his eyebrows lifted slightly.

"No, I may not be here to kill you, but I suppose for you it might feel the same." I continued, "Your daughter–"

His wings start sparking.

I smirk, "You're going to talk with her and stop killing old men. There are no more excuses anymore." I follow through, unperturbed.

For what feels like a good, long moment, he merely stares at me.

I see his hands tense and grip into fists, several times, rustling his cloak.

His jaw works itself like he's trying to think of something to say.

Finally, he settles on, "You know her?"

"A bit, not personally," I confirm, "but we're in the same class at school."

"I see," He grumbles, "yet you know of our story?"

"I did kill Suou, after all," I wave off, "probably would have killed the other elders too, just like you have been. Your situation isn't exactly unique, it's fucked, and neither one of you has been helping fix it."

"I…" the man looks away with a huff, "this situation isn't yours to mediate on, boy."

"Ah! But it is!" I start floating toward him, "See, you got free from your responsibilities to the Grigori and the first thing you do is try to get a little revenge!"

"What of it?" He bites back.

"You didn't, oh, I don't know." I hum out, "Try and look for your daughter again, try and see your daughter again, try and…oh, I don't fucking know? Try and comfort your daughter after she and the town she was living in nearly got blown to pieces?"

"That…!" he rumbled out, his wings sparking slightly more, "She doesn't need me anymore. My organization nearly caused her and her new family's deaths," he ground out, "now, of all times, she probably wishes not to see me the most."

I snorted, "You're a crock of shit." I refute back.

To his positively dumbfounded look.

Now, I float right before him.

"You think she blames you? Specifically? I doubt that, and if she does, I'll slap that dumbassery right out of her head."

My Touki flares abruptly, my mark burns into existence on my face, and my eyes spin into their activated state.

My hand comes up, clad in my power, catching the longsword of golden light aimed at my neck.

The air cracks and roars as its movement is halted.

Baraqiel stares down at me, eyes now properly open with a mix of rage and surprise, his arms trembling with exertion as he still tries to make the blade carry through.

"Hmm?" I raise an eyebrow at him, "Someone is eager to protect someone from the littlest threats, huh?"

"You will not," he grinds out through gritted teeth, "lay a hand on my daughter."

I give him a toothy grin right back, "Well, someone has to be her Daddy if you aren't."

Hmm. You know.

Maybe I'm not the greatest choice for trying to talk down someone or de-escalate a situation.

But, at the same time.

Was this really going to turn out any other way, at least at first?

His longsword roars as golden thunder bursts into existence across the blade, coated with sparks of pure cyan light.

I let go, just in time, shooting backward as he completed his swing and filled the entire area I was in, from the sky to the ground, with a wall of Holy Lightning.

Chuckling, I reach to my back and draw my sword.

As the wall of lightning falls apart, I see Baraqiel standing there, now holding a second light-made longsword, both coated in Holy Lightning.

"Take it back." He states, coldly.

I smile, "For a man that's too much of a coward to face his daughter? For a man who was planning on ultimately dying here, in the end, being unable to face her?"

He flinched at that.

I figured, from the moment he started talking about how Akeno wouldn't want to see him.

What did he come here for, ultimately? It wasn't revenge.

It was to die.

Revenge was more like a cherry on top. He could finally end who tore apart his family, then he could get himself killed, and finally free Akeno of his existence.

Or something along those lines, I'm not in his hand, but something like it I bet.

He probably expected it to be Suzaku, in the end.

Unfortunately for him, I'm not going to let him take the coward's way out.

"No. Never." I conclude succinctly.

His face turned into a deep frown, "So be it," he mumbled, before slowly starting to float towards me, "then I shall make you."

His body blurred forward in a haze of coiling thunder.

My sword ignites, and I breathe, slashing up to meet both his descending swords.

Fire and lightning hiss and bash against each other, neither overcoming the other.

Midair, we push against each other, with him steadily yet slowly pushing me back.

I click my tongue and twist.

Hinokami Kagura—

His eyebrows raise rapidly as fire erupts around my blade, swirling and devouring the meager amounts of lightning around his swords.

Burning Bones, Summer Sun.

My blade spirals out, flames booming with it.

Baraqiel quickly backpedals away from the raging blade and flames and is just as quick to move to his next attack.

Holding one sword out, I watch as it explodes with Holy Lightning, shifting into a lance larger than he is tall, made entirely out of his unique element.

Then, he throws it, the air cracking at the might of his toss.

I flow into the next stance quickly.

Flame–

A flame-clad vertical stroke cuts the lance of lightning clean in half, directing its two smaller parts around and behind me.

Another explosion. Another crackling thunderous lance.

Dance.

A flame-clad horizontal stroke follows, and like the previous slash, sends the second lance around me just the same.

Four explosions, four thunderous crushes behind me, as I look up and see Baraqiel darting higher above.

Thunder rolls between palms facing each other, kept close between his palms.

Even though the crashing and cracking of lightning, I could hear it.

"Resound, Thunder."

Two words, uttered in the ozone-baked wind, as they ignite the heavens.

Baraqiel claps, and the sky shudders and booms with a mass of Holy Lightning, coming down in the form of several large thunderbolts.

I spiral to the ground, narrowly dodging the first one to fall, before hitting the ground and exploding across it in movement.

Fake Rainbow.

Lightning rains as if hail, peppering and beating the ground.

My afterimages and I blaze through the maze of lightning, dancing through it all.

This guy, he's weaker than Juggernaut Drive, but not by an insane amount.

This is doable.

Baraqiel himself joins the party of electricity, a spear made of lightning firmly in hand, and a deep frown upon his face.

He crashes down with his storm, piercing the ground with his spear, and drawing all the lightning to it like a beacon.

The ground rumbles as static shock waves begin to burst across the ground from the spear, radiating out like ocean waves.

I grimace as all my afterimages pop to the newly electrified ground.

Before it can hit me properly, I take to the now free sky once more, a single seal forming with my free hand.

I inhale, deeply, mixing it with the power in my body, before roaring out a mass of flames in the form of a comet.

Baraqiel grunts, holding out his other hand almost dismissively, forming a greenish-yellow Fallen Angel magic circle.

The comet-shaped fireball crashes into the barrier circle, causing Baraqiel to stumble slightly under the sheer force behind the attack.

His circle starts cracking, and I keep the gout of flames up for just a little longer.

Until he finally wrenches his spear from the ground and collects all his lightning into it.

I smirk and shoot straight down at him, riding my torrent of flames like a wave, wrapping it around my blade.

I spiral like a wheel down upon him, crashing and cutting through his magic circle, slamming and slashing through the ground in front of him.

Caking the entire area in front of him with flames.

He growls, raising his spear to bring it back down, this time on me.

No.

Beneficent Radiance.

I spiral into the air, fire following my blade as I slash up into the spear, cutting in twine.

Making it promptly explode with thunder all around us.

I pour out my aura, my Holy Spirit Power, into the sheath of flames around my body, bolstering it against the torrent of power.

And with a stomp of my foot, I explode my fire and power out all around me.

Fallen, too, are weak to holy aura after all, just like Devils.

Baraqiel tries to step back, cloaking himself in the wild surge out around us for protection in much the same manner as I am with my flames, but I won't let him.

All it takes is a step, and I'm past his guard.

With my blade, arching out to his defenseless center.

Dancing Spirit.

Several flaming arched slashes lash all around his center, a combination of Thunder Breathing's Rice Spirit helping Dance strike more than once, quickly, continuously!

Each strike is taken, but not by his body, but by his wings.

Wrapping around protectively, his wings tense up like blades themselves, and lash out at each incoming slash.

The sheer force behind each attack cracks the ground beneath us, sending out waves of fire and thunder in equal measure.

I huff out flames, break my form, and flow into another to break the stalemate.

Sunflower Thrust.

My blade spikes out, tip poised for his center, coated in whirling flames.

His wings come down like a shell, wrapping around my blade, trying to stop it.

Only for my blade to promptly, point blank, erupt with fire as I pour my power into it on mass, shredding and scorching his lightning cloak.

A wave of crimson fire blasts forth, picking up and carrying the former cadre, dragging him along the cyclonic spiraling flames straight into the training halls.

Former training halls. As the fires tear through and blast the entire building apart with an explosion.

Emerging gruffly from the burning wreckage, Baraqiel reveals himself quickly.

His cloak has been completely burned off, leaving him in a…male version of the church exorcist uniform.

Huh. Okay.

Several of his wings are practically destroyed, with most of the feathers being burned off, and spines cut up and dripping with blood.

The rest of his body isn't doing the greatest, but still far better, only seemingly splattered randomly with minor burns.

With a sly hum, I stab my sword into the ground and lean against it, crossing my arms and smirking at him.

"Damn. I'm doing more work beating you for your stupidity than your Daddy's ever done, huh?" I state, looking over him.

Baraqiel merely stands there, face hard, before finally managing a cold, "Why."

I blink at that, "Hmm? Why, why what?"

"Why go through all of…this." He waves a sparking hand around us, "It's not any of your business, boy. You even said you don't know Akeno personally. So why."

My head tilts slightly, "Do you need a reason to want to repair a broken family?"

At that, he simply stares at me, incredulously.

Ah. I suppose he truly wouldn't get it, being Fallen and all.

The first broken family, biblically anyhow.

"Speaking of," I go on, "are we done here, or do you need me to legit punch you in the face to finally get it through your fat skull?"

The Fallen grumbled at that, then harrumphed.

Then the sky fell atop me.

A massive surge of Holy Lightning came crashing down upon my shoulders, filling my vision until all I saw was gold.

My entire body was set abuzz, but shockingly, heh, it wasn't that bad.

The holy light part wasn't all that effective against me, I think.

As soon as the surge subsided, all I could smell was ozone, charred ground, and smoke.

I was full-on smoking as if I had just been cooked alive.

Suppose technically I just was.

But to Baraqiel? Judging by the look of abject surprise on his face, it may as well look like I took no damage at all.

Honestly think his face might have taken more damage than I did, if he keeps moving it who knows? He might break it!

I huff, momentarily, I recall that moment just a little while ago when he waved his hand.

Ah. That's when he set up the attack.

I crack my knuckles and get off my sword, leaving it stabbed into the ground.

"Alright," I grunt out, "one punch to the noggin, coming straight up."

With that, I charge.

Baraqiel quickly forms light swords, grits his teeth, and swings out one of them.

I easily flip over it, over him, completely, and lash out a kick down at his head.

He blocks it with his second sword, only for me to use it as a platform to kick off and land behind him.

As soon as I hit the dirt, light explodes from my feet.

Much less messy than fire, but still not easy to control without a focus.

Regardless, I'm counting on that.

Baraqiel turns to meet me, only to be greeted by a flashbang as I blast toward him, coating my fists with the same explosive light.

He grunts, his eyesight cut out as it may be, but he still manages to bring both his swords down upon me.

Fuck it.

I grab both of them with my light-covered hands, caring little as the meeting of light destabilizes both powers.

Focusing on him, I see that he's too damn tall to reach his head like this, so I do the first thing that comes to mind.

Break his bloody kneecaps.

My foot lashes out once more, straight into the offending knee with an audible thwack.

The strike barely makes him flinch.

Ah, right. Masochist. Pain won't do it.

I need something more.

I look up at him, seeing him grunt and shake his head as his vision returns.

Our eyes meet as he finally opens his eyelids, but unlike his, my eyes are spinning.

A big proper Genjutsu won't stick, he's strong enough, and my eyes weak enough, that it just wouldn't take.

But! Shoving absurd amounts of Holy Spirit Power into his brain to trick it into not enjoying pain?

I can do that. I think.

Holy Spirit Power suddenly bellows out from me, Baraqiel flinches, his eyes dulling rapidly as my power presses down upon him.

"Hnnn?" He groans out, confused, as for one perfect moment.

He doesn't like the feeling of all his injuries.

My foot comes out once more.

Crack.

He howls in pain as his attacked knee buckles.

As his concentration is fucked, I explode the light around my hands, shattering his light swords before grabbing his uniform, pulling him down the rest of the way.

His head comes down.

My head goes up.

And slams right into his nose.

The most glorious crack and pop noise echoes out between us, as Baraqiel falls directly back and hits the dirt.

A big, bloody spot, right in the center of his stiff stoney face.

I, meanwhile, stagger back, my head abuzz from forehead to back.

Man's face is about as hard as it looks, it turns out.

"Not exactly a punch, but same idea," I grumble out, "you get it yet, old man!?"

"Oh, I think he gets it, Lord Arahitogami~..." a voice, a very feminine voice, suddenly speaks softly right into my ear.

I whirl around, blinking wearily as I think I see someone else. But the rather piercing red eyes give her true identity away.

"S-Suzaku…" Baraqiel mutters groggily, having lifted his head slightly to see her.

She certainly does look like a more mature Akeno. She looks practically the same as her though, in hair and general figure, the only real difference is her crimson red eyes.

And of course, she fills out the shrine maiden outfit she wears just as well as Akeno does. If not better, I'd say.

"Hmm, hmm!" She hums, looking around at us.

Then the destroyed area around us, the demolished and burning building beneath us, and the grounds scarred with craters and cracks.

I point to Baraqiel, "He did it."

Baraqiel wheezes, "Hnn!? B-Brat! You!"

"Well, he did everything around the building." I relent easily, "I blew up the building itself. Already wrecked it training all day beforehand."

I put my hands together apologetically.

"My bad."

Suzaku merely looked over at us amusedly.

Then she sighs, deeply. "Boys. Hah~. Alright, first things first." Suddenly, she held her hand up, poised like a finger gun.

I barely had time to blink, before she made a firing motion, before suddenly, Baraqiel exploded.

I gape in his general direction, as the equivalent of a firebomb suddenly goes off right in front of me, centered on the man.

"You—" I turn towards her, only for Suzaku to wave me off before I can even begin.

"Wait a minute." She interrupted curtly.

I huff and turn back towards the rapidly settling flames.

Which, now that I see I'm looking carefully, I see aren't even burning the ground it's touching.

With no fuel, the flames quickly disperse, revealing a very alive, yet also very knocked out Fallen Angel.

Who also wasn't any more burned, at all.

She just used the force of the attack itself to knock him out.

I turned back to her, "Show off."

Still really cool, though.

Suzaku merely giggled at that, before bowing to me slightly, "I thank you, Lord Arahitogami, for not killing that very stupid man."

I waved her off, "No need to thank me, I figure, I did what you were going to do already, right?"

She raises her head, before tilting it, "Hmm? Whatever do you mean?" She asks so incredibly sarcastically, so fakely, that I almost cringed on the spot.

I merely deadpanned at her, "You were just using Baraqiel here to clean up the clan, weren't you."

She hums and looks away with a simple content smile on her face.

What was it that the new head of the Nakiri said about Suzaku again?

Ah. Right, he called her scary. I could see it.

"I will neither confirm nor deny such accusations, Lord–"

"Noriaki, or Kusanagi if you must be so formal." I curtly interrupt her, saving her tongue from more of that.

She nods, "Lord Kusanagi. But! What I will say is, thank you for subduing the Fallen, I do believe he will be much better off in a certain someone else's hands."

"Ah, care to share whom exactly?" I ask knowingly.

"Well," she begins, "the Gremory Family is known to be rather agreeable, and with all the change going down in the Underworld, another Fallen wouldn't be outside of the norm."

She saunters up to me, "Of course, to the rest of the Clan, said Fallen did die tonight. With only two people knowing his real fate, yes?"

Cheeky minx.

Very scary indeed.

"Of course," I smile easily, "I see no reason to speak up otherwise."

"Hmm~!" Suzaku hums happily, walking right past me before waving for me to follow, "Come along, Lord Kusanagi, let's have a chat."

Almost off-handedly, she pulls a small paper figure from her pocket and drops it onto Baraqiel.

The little paper man suddenly gets up, on his own, looks down at Baraqiel, and seems to sigh before flashing away.

Taking the body with it.

That was a Shikigami, I believe. A paper familiar imbued with a little bit of the maker's spiritual power.

Putting that out of my mind for now, I follow Suzaku, jogging to her side.

"I'll be brief, and honest, to start with," She begins with a sigh, "I wasn't planning on coming back so soon, you know? But when I caught word you had shown up, I figured I couldn't exactly wait any longer."

"Ah?" I blink at that, "I'm sorry? Granted, I did originally come here to meet with you in the first place, so, mission accomplished?"

She chuckled weakly at that, "I suppose so, Lord Kusanagi. It's been a very busy, and rather stressful few days, what with everything going on, everything changing…" she trails off, "new developments keep springing up, even as we speak, I bet."

"Ho? Such as?" I inquire.

"One of the other reasons I had to return sooner and get everything back in order faster," she huffed, "the Yokai have called for a Hyakki Yagyō."

Night Parade of One Hundred Demons?

"I'm afraid I've never heard of the term before."

"It's a great gathering of the strongest Yokai in Japan, their people, and factions, all in one place for a grand meeting," she elaborates further, "and in this case? That place is Kyoto." She finishes with a tired sigh.

Fitting for the name, I suppose.

"Ah, I see why you had to come back. If the Yokai are going to pull this united event, then the Clans need to look united as well." I muse aloud.

"Correct, Lord Kusanagi." She confirms easily with a smile. "Fortunately, moving so many Yokai at once can take a little while, so I still have time to clean everything up, before the Clans meet up themselves at the Inner Sanctuary."

She suddenly stops, turning to me, "With all that being said, what do you plan on doing now, hmm?"

I scratch my chin, "Well if it isn't too much trouble, I'd still like to talk shop with you, and while I'm at it, I want to help clean this place up a bit, since I did cause a bit of the damage."

"Ah?" She hums thoughtfully, "Aren't you a sweet one? I don't mind, truthfully, sitting down and talking with a cup of tea sounds positively divine right about now."

"Excellent." I form a lone hand seal, causing a little under several clones to appear around us.

Suzaku blinks, and looks at me, the original me.

I shrug it off, "Kami stuff."

"Ah." She nods, as my clones jump away back to where we were.

"As for after this? Well. If the Clans and Yokai are all going to meet, that saves me tons of time from going to each faction. So," I grin, "may as well crash both parties at the same time, see what's up."

Suzaku chuckles at that, "Well, I suppose I should have expected that. Now then." She claps her hands together, and the sky clears.

Gone is that dull, dreary haze, and back in full force is a true, warm summer night.

"You wished to talk shop, now I believe I have an idea of what you want, but let's see about that over some tea, yes?"