Chapter 2

Nao laid asleep at her desk. “Hey,” Tokyo said before saying, “Hey, Chibi Chest.” Nao groaned before she turned onto the other side of her face. Tokyo sighed before he then appeared on Nao’s computer screen before he screamed and lunged out. Nao’s eyes went from slightly open to suddenly bulging as she screamed and fell backward in her chair. She groaned in pain as she rubbed the back of her head. “Bout damn time,” Tokyo said as he then pulled his legs out of the computer screen and stood leaning against her desk.

“Did you have to do that…?” She groaned,

“You weren’t waking up,” he said, “We have a job to do, remember?”

“Job…?”

“The high school,”

“High school…??” She then inhaled sharply, “Shit! Job!!!” She then got to her feet and ran to the bathroom, “We’re late!!!”

“It’s your fault for staying up so late,”

“I always stay up late!!! My doctor says I’m a borderline insomniac!!!”

“When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?” He asked as he looked around, “Or a clean room…”

“I have no idea!” She said as she suddenly spits into the sink before she washed her mouth out and ran into the main room. “Okay! Let’s go!”

“Shouldn’t you at least change?” Tokyo asked as he rolled his neck, “You wear that same trench coat and sweater combo every day, it’s absurd. Besides you’re starting to stink.”

“I-“ She then turned and lifted her shoulder to smell herself, “Ew, I really do stink…” She said,

“Hurry up and change so we can go,” he said as he folded his arms and sat on the edge of her desk.

“I-“ She said as her face boiled to a hot red, “I’m not changing with you in here!”

“Honestly, if you think I’m going to stare at your Minuscule Mune then you know nothing about me.” She growled before she grabbed some random clothes before she stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Tokyo sighed before he placed his hand on the base of his neck, “Humans sure are sensitive.” He then gave a soft groan as his stomach growled, “Damn...I’m hungry.” He then looked over his shoulder and screamed, “Hey, Baby Bitties, you almost finished?! I’m starving!”

“Just shut up…” Nao said,

“Are you cryin?”

“No…” she said, “Maybe…”

“Why?”

“I just don’t get why you’re so mean to me is all…”

“If I were being mean to you then you’d be-“

“It’s just…I really like you,” Tokyo sighed as he ran his hand along his face, “I like having you around, I just don’t get why you don’t feel the same…”

“If you’re going soft on me I’m gonna leave,” he said as he came over to the bathroom door and kicked it open. He then flew into the room and grabbed her by the collar and pinned her against the wall, “Listen to me, do you really think that a Yokai or some other demon that’s out there is going to go easy on you all because you think they’re mean?! Most of the time we don’t care about your feelings except for a select few! So are you gonna baby out on me, or am I going to barge into a goddamn high school with the internet’s number one Ghost Hunter?!”

“Y-You really think I’m number one….?”

“No shit!!! You’re always number one on trending, and the numbers don’t lie. Now get dressed and let’s get our asses down to that high school!”

She then smiled before saying, “Alright!” She then went to remove her top, “Let’s go-“

“No!” He said as then left the bathroom, “Keep your Dwarf Dumplings to yourself, you hear?!” Nao then gave a soft laugh before nodding.

“Yeah! I hear you!”

E.X.O.R.C.I.S.T. Base

Purge was then brought to a large room with a window on the opposite wall. The door behind him closed as his commanding officer then smiled, “You know, I think you’ll like this,” he said as he then pressed a button and the room began to move down, “Tokyo, or at least that’s what they call him, is a special kind of Yokai. A Gashadokuro is no laughing matter. A skeleton that’s 50 meters high, and some experts say that it’s not even their full size. Some theorists suggest they can get quite large, well up to 30,000 meters give or take, which is about eight times the height of Mount Fuji.”

“Bigger than a Daidarabotchi…” Purge said in disbelief,

His commanding officer chuckled and said, “Yes, much bigger. However, with this, you can kill Tokyo while he’s small.” The window then viewed a massive hangar. Purge’s eyes widened as he approached the window.

“That’s a-“ His mind then flashed back to his childhood before saying, “Hōnengyo…”

“Yes,” he said as he approached the window, “We made it.”

“Made it?” Purge asked as he turned to him,

“Yes,” he then pressed a button and on his uniform and whispered into a microphone on his collar. Seconds later the skin of the yokai vanished revealing a giant machine, “The skin you saw was a hologram projection,” he said with a smile, “As you remember, in 2020 Japan showed off the first full scale and working Gundam. A feat that got the attention of the whole world. However, seeing as how E.X.O.R.C.I.S.T. is bigger than the Japanese government and the United Nations combined, our little project here has been the biggest kept secret in the world. It started production in the ’70s and as we gathered more and more data and technology the project only grew.”

“What do you call that thing?”

“Well, the Russians in our team call it Gargantua, the Germans for some reason think it’s Frankenstein, however the British call it Cyber Hōnengyo. However its official name here, in Japan, is Mecha Hōnengyo MK-1.”

“Mark one? You mean,” he then turned to him and pointed to the windows “You want to mass-produce this thing?”

“No,” he said, “There’s only one last Gashadokuro left on the planet, so as such we only need one robot. However, Tokyo has displayed immense intelligence, making him definitely a Class LR Yokai, at least in the intelligence department, and as such he could destroy it. So we’ll need to adapt and make modifications.”

“My God,” Purge said as he turned back to the window as the room finally came to a stop.

“Trust me, God was definitely on our side when we made it, so you have him to thank.” He then chuckled and said, “However, I think this was his limit, you know, he cut me off and my prayers for a pilot have never been answered.”

“Let me do it,” Purge said quickly, “Put chemicals in the cockpit, more specifically luciferin. I can power the machine through my ability to manipulate light, I can then control it with my mind instead of clunky controls. It’ll have the same reaction times as me and a much better combat system.”

“I see,” he said before he clapped his hands together and looked up to the sky and mouthed the words ‘thank you’ before he turned back to purge and placed his hand on his shoulder, “Y’know son, you have a much better handling of these things. I never understood why you didn’t advance in rank.”

“It’s simple,” he said, “An intimidation display if Tokyo sees my low rank he’ll expect the strength of a foot soldier.” He then leaned forward and placed his hands on the window frame as he looked out to the mechanical beast with an intense glare, “So when I go all out, he’ll fear me.”

Toki Doki Academy

As they approached the high school Tokyo opened his mouth as he placed a massive burger inside of it before he chewed and swallowed. “Honestly, I don’t understand how you can eat burgers every day.” Nao said, “Have you ever considered eating something else?”

“I can stop eating burgers when I want to, these are just choices.”

“I see…”

“So what’s the deal,” Tokyo asked as he reached into a large brown bag and pulled out the last of his burgers, “Why’d you take this one?”

“Well, about halfway through the school year the students just decided to stop showing up to school. They say something spooked them. Not even the staff and teachers go in anymore.”

Tokyo sighed before he put his last burger in his mouth, “I see, and here I thought she grew out of it.” He said as he chewed George swallowing.

“She?”

“Yes,” he said as he walked inside the school, “I have a pretty good idea about who is causing all this.” The two walked down the hall Nao took her video camera out of her pocket and turned it on. She hit record and started to look around.

“I don’t get why this place is abandoned, it’s a rather nice school.” She then groaned and said, “No, that’s not how I start things.” Tokyo rolled his eyes as Nao began to walk ahead of him, “Okay! Alright, everyone, it’s Naokai. Today I’m investigating Toki Doki Academy. This is a place that I’ve gotten lots of requests for and-“ Nao suddenly screamed and spun around as she heard a large crash. She froze stuff when she saw a locker that had been smashed in. She backed up a few feet before the crash went off again, she spun around to see another smashed locker this one much closer to her. She then turned and looked across the hall as the door to a locker bent and eventually was torn off the hinges and thrown. She screamed and fell to the fetal position, “DONT KILL ME!!!!”

Tokyo then snickered before he started laughing as he rendered himself visible again. “Wow, I honestly didn’t think that still worked on you!”

She looked up at him and growled, “You jerk!!” She stood up and stomped over to him, “Why aren’t you taking this seriously?!”

“Oh come on, let me have a little fun.”

“How is scaring me fun?!”

“You screamed like a child!” He said as he continued to laugh. Nao glared at him as her expression flattened. She then reached into her coat and pulled out a spray bottle and pointed it at him. The Spray Bottle had a label on it that said Holy Water. He then stopped laughing and looked at her, “Really? The spray bottle?” He asked as he folded his arms, “I saw you fill it with water from the sink this morning.” Nao then blinked before she squeezed the trigger causing water to land on Tokyo’s chest.

Tokyo inhaled sharply before she tore his top off, “Get it off me!!! I’ll die!!!” He said as he threw his top to the ground. He then shot a laser from his left eye causing his top to go up in flames before turning into a pile of dust. He gave a heavy sigh as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Wow, who knew Yokai’s were weak to tap water,” Nao said as she turned and started to walk off. Tokyo growled as he gave a soft pout. He vanished into his Yokai Realm and got a new top before he appeared beside Nao in an instant. “So you said you knew who was doing this.”

“I do,” he said as he placed his hands in his pockets, “Come on.” He then turned and walked into the bathroom.

“Y-You can’t just walk into the girl’s bathroom!” Nao said as she followed in after him. She saw Tokyo stand in front of one of the stalls before he kicked the door open before he turned and leaned against the stall frame with his arms folded.

“HANAKO!!! THE FUCK YOU AT?!?!?!!!” He then said rather enraged.

“Geez...so kind…”

“I’M NOT GOING UP TO THE THIRD FLOOR TO GET YOU!!! SO COME OUT!!!” Shortly after Tokyo’s statement, the toilet water began bubbling followed by a flush. Soon a little girl with a bob haircut and red skirt walked out of the bathroom stall with her head hung. “Hanako, what’re you-“

“I’m sorry big brother…” She said softly,

“Big brother…?” Nao said to herself, “Wait! Hanako-San is Tokyo’s little sister?!?!?!!!”

“Why are you haunting schools again?” Tokyo asked as he squatted down and looked her in the eyes, “We talked about this, you can’t-“

“It wasn’t me…” She said as tears started to fill her eyes, “I’m sorry…”

He sighed as he then leaned back and sat down, “Do you know what’s going on?”

“The students have been talking about something beneath the school…”

“Beneath the school?” Tokyo asked, “What’re the students doing under the school?”

“I don’t know…”

“I see,”

Hanako then turned and looked to Nao, “Who’s this?”

“Just someone who wants to help,” Tokyo said as he turned to Nao, “Did you hear about what might be beneath the school?” Tokyo asked as he turned back to Hanako,

“No,” she said as she looked down and anxiously held her hands together, “But, they said they heard hissing.”

“Hissing?”

“Yes, like a snake.”

“That’s stra-“ Before Tokyo could finish the power to the school went out. “What the hell?” Tokyo said as he stood up,

“The power could be out because no one has been around to pay the bills,” Nao said,

“Even so, schools have a generator.” Tokyo said, “We should go.”

“No!” Hanako said as she quickly grabbed onto Tokyo’s hand, “No! Don’t go! Don’t leave me here alone! Please, big brother, stay!” Tokyo looked down to Hanako to see her crying. Whatever was in this school had even his sister scared.

“I’ll be back,” Tokyo said, “Stay here, Nothing Nubs is going to stay here with you.”

“NOTHING NUBS?!?!?!!!!” Nao screamed,

“She’s alright,” Tokyo said to Hanako, “I know she’ll keep you safe. Trust me.” Hanako looked down before she then wrapped her arms around his waist giving him a tight hug. She let go and he knelt and smiled at her before he pat the top of her head. “You’ll be fine, I promised I’d let nothing else happen to you all those years ago. Nothing has happened yet, and nothing will ever happen.” He smiled at her before he stood up and left the bathroom. Nao paused as she watched Tokyo walk off, she had never once seen Tokyo smile outside of when he laughed at her. What type of relationship does he have with his sister?

Several Years Ago

Tokyo walked through the flames carrying something on his back. He panted heavily as he bled from openings in his body. The right side of his body had been penetrated by several shards of glass both large and small. His skin was a deep red from being burned heavily. His left leg was broken so he walked with a limp, and his breathing was harsh and slowly fading from his vocal cords slowly melting. His healing factor seemed to be acting in reverse.

People screamed in horror as some covered their eyes and looked away. “Come on….Hanako….” he said softly as he walked through the town, “Come on….Hanako…” He said over and over before he came to a house. He bit down onto the frame of the door, some of his teeth breaking and others falling out before he moved it open by moving to the side. He stumbled into the house before he eventually hobbled to a bedroom and looked into the mirror on a vanity. “Mom…” he said softly as his vision began to fade, “No….Bloody...Mary…” He then fell onto his side murmuring those words over and over.

Tokyo woke up sometime later on the same floor. He slowly pulled himself to his feet only to fall again. He was then caught before he hit the ground. “It’s alright darling,” a soothing voice came. Tokyo was suddenly rolled onto his back as he was held in a woman’s arms. “You’re alright, everything is fine.”

“Hanako…” he spoke softly as he started to turn, “Hana-“

“She’s gone,” His mother responded, “She’s been incinerated darling, there’s nothing to be done.”

“What…?”

“Human life is so frail, it’s short and fragile. The slightest thing can end it.”

“No…” he said he then rolled and fell onto his stomach. He looked up to see Hanako’s incinerated body. He slowly reached out to her as a tear formed in his eye. “Hanako...please...talk to me…!” He said before he grit his teeth before screaming, “HANAKO!!!!!”

Present Day

Tokyo wandered through the halls before he stopped as he heard a soft hissing. He then heard soft scratching before he looked down the hall. He then looked up to see a woman crawl from the ceiling down the wall and onto the floor. She was a lamia. The top half of her body was human while the bottom half was of a snake. She had warm brown eyes, and tar-black hair which she kept tied into two buns on the back of her crown. She had lines on her face which seemed to split her head into nine parts. The way her scales were colored and layered made them look like an optical illusion as she moved. She stood up as she gave a gentle hum as she folded her arms. “Why hello there,” she said rather sweetly as she slithered towards him, “My god! You’re quite beautiful!” She placed her hands on his face as she admired his details and slithered around him in a circle, “You know, the male students have stopped coming to see me. So I’m feeling rather frustrated.” She said with a pout as she slid her hand down his body.

“I hear there’s something below the school,” Tokyo said as he moved away from her. He turned and looked her in the eyes, “Do you know about it?”

“I do,” she said, “It was me, I’m so sorry. Would you be willing to forgive me?” She asked as she moved close to him and pressed her breasts against his chest.

“Why’d you do it?” Tokyo asked, “Lamias like yourself normally live in warmer places, Japan can get hot but it’s more humid than anything. To put it bluntly, you’re out of your habitat.”

“You aren’t going to tell me to go back are you?” She said with a pout,

“You can’t stay here,” Tokyo said,

“What?! No! Please don’t kick me out!!!” She whined as she hugged him, “Please!!!” She begged, “What do I have to do to convince you to let me stay?!” She then gasped before saying, “I know!” She said with a smile, “What if I gave you something nice?” She asked as she leaned into his ear as she slid her hand down his body, “It’s spelled, F-E-L-A-T-I-O~!”

“Hm,” Tokyo said, “Thanks, but sorry,” he then broke the space between them by suddenly conjuring his giant Kunai. He spun and kicked her in the stomach sending her flying down the hall, “I’m in a relationship.”

She pouted before saying, “How dare you hit a woman!”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said as he rested his Kunai on his shoulders, “But everyone I face are all equal. They’re equally pieces of shit.”

She growled before she clenched her teeth, “Fine then! Guess I’ll just kill you!” She then accelerated towards him before she thrust her palm into his chest. Tokyo flew down the hall at great speeds before he rotated and placed his foot on a locker before he pushed off with his foot sending several lockers crashing down the hall as the woman approached. She slithered in between each of the lockers before she accelerated towards him as she sliced her hand through the air. Tokyo quickly blocked her nails with his Kunai. The two clashed with one another before Tokyo grabbed her by the face and threw her. She rolled along the lockers before she then slid across the ground.

As she came to a stop she got onto her hands only to look up and see Tokyo point his Kunai in her face. She then clenched her teeth before she wrapped her tail around his foot before she then threw him upwards. Tokyo crashed through several floors of the school before he eventually landed beneath the floor of the art room. He opened his eyes momentarily before he was suddenly grabbed by the woman before they crashed through the floors and stopped at the entry-level. This caught the attention of Nao as she raced from the bathroom to see Tokyo being pinned against the ground by the snake woman.

She opened her mouth as her tongue then dangled down above his face where it hovered before sliding across his eyeball. Tokyo then kneed her in the side before he rolled backward and threw the woman down the hall. He rolled onto his hands and feet before he stood up, “HOLD ON, IS THAT A LAMIA?!?!?!!!” Nao screamed rather shocked, “I THOUGHT THEY ONLY EXISTED IN STRANGE PORN AND ISEKAI MANGA!!!”

“Yeah,” Tokyo said, “They’re quite real.” The woman then got up before she spun and faced Tokyo. She huffed angrily before she gave a confident smirk. The lines on her face then started to glow before her head split. Each part branched out to have a neck, and the rest of her human head grew from the nine pieces. Her human top half turned to a snake before she then fell forward. “I see, so she’s Xiangliu, in Japan, she would be known as a Sōryū.”

“Wait, you mean the serpent that causes floods and storms?!”

“Yes,”

Her middle head growled before saying, “Because you refused to fuck me, I guess I’ll fuck over your entire country!!!”

Tokyo then turned and looked out the window as the flood and storm alarms went off and the sky went dark. Thunder was heard and lightning followed before it began to rain. Tokyo then turned to the Nine-Headed Snake woman and sighed. He rolled his neck before he grabbed the corner of his face and tore it off revealing the flaming skull beneath. He then held out his hand as his Kunai then came to it. “Guess I’ll have to take you down,” He said as the two charged one another. The two of them clashing caused a sonic boom that blew a huge hole in the school causing them to become exposed to the rain.

As the dust cleared Nao lowered her hands from her face. She took a few deep breaths as she looked ahead of her at the pile of rubble and debris. She swallowed lightly before she took out her camera and started to record the destruction. The only sound being made was that of the storm and Nao’s breathing. She was suddenly startled by Hanako coming out of the bathroom. She sighed in relief, “You really-“ A loud scream suddenly split the air as Tokyo and the woman burst from the debris! Tokyo had transformed into his giant skeletal form as he wrestled with the now giant snake woman.

Tokyo roared as he stood up straight before some of her heads then shot out and grabbed his wrist, shoulders, and neck before she head-butted his face causing him to topple over onto the school completely crushing it. He then rolled onto his side before he got onto his hands and knees. She roared as she perched herself upwards making herself seem bigger. Tokyo reached down and grabbed his Kunai, which now appeared to be a regular size. He spun the Kunai on his finger before he grabbed it tightly. The Kunai then absorbed into the palm of his hand. He growled as he held his hands out in front of him holding his right hand horizontally, so his palm was facing him before he bent his right thumb into his palm as he placed his left thumb near his right knuckle as he placed his middle and index finger on his left thumb.

As Tokyo “removed” his thumb an extremely long sword started to form. As the blade reached its full length he grabbed the handle and spun the sword around his head before resting it on his shoulders. It was a massive buster sword that was 60 meters in length (so only 10 meters taller than Tokyo) and had bones along the top edge of the blade. The snake woman growled before she hissed and charged him at full speed. Tokyo stood up straight and swung the sword twice above his head before he lunged towards her and spun in a circle. He cut off two of her heads and a massive gale of wind sliced through the air before it cut off part of a distant mountain. He then stabbed his blade into the ground to stop himself before he turned back to the woman.

Tokyo exhaled some steam before he gave a soft groan and knelt back down on his knees. He painted heavily before he looked up at the snake woman. “W-Wait! What’s wrong?! Is he okay?!” Nao said as she noticed Tokyo a bit out of sorts,

“It’s the gravity,” Hanako said, “Due to his size gravity weighs on him a ton, if he’s eaten a lot of people then he will gain muscles and will be able to fight a lot better with extra strength.”

“What?! He has to eat people?! Isn’t there any other way?!”

“There is. If he dragged her into his Yokai Realm then he wouldn’t be as tired since he has full control of that realm.”

“Why doesn’t he take her there?!”

“I don’t know, probably because he wouldn’t be able to bring you.”

“Me?” Nao said as the two giant monsters clashed. Tokyo pushed the snake woman back before he swung his sword downwards over his head cutting another one of the woman’s many heads off. “Why me? Why couldn’t he bring me?”

“You would die.” She said, “Humans of any kind will be instantly killed the moment they set foot into a Yokai Realm.”

Tokyo panted heavily before he stood up and swung his sword at the snake woman again, this time he struck her with the flat side of the blade knocking her on her back. He then crawled over to her before he placed his foot on her chest as he stood over her. He quickly fell to his knee before falling to his hands in an exhausted state. He then looked up and grabbed the middle head and pulled it to his face. “How?” He asked her, “How are you this far out of your territory?” She went to speak before a missile was shot directly at her head resulting in an explosion of Holy Light. Tokyo groaned as he placed his hands over his eyes and stumbled backward. He stepped backward through the school before he knelt and rested his hands on the roof of the school as the eye holes in his skull sizzled.

“Alright, alright, alright!” A loud commanding voice came. Nao turned as her eyes widened. She saw a rather large and extremely muscular man. His skin color was a light tan and he was completely bald. He wore a large Japamala that wrapped around his midsection several times before wrapping around his neck. As he walked his feet made quite loud noises. As he sneered up at Tokyo he lifted a large blaster onto his shoulders. “How the mighty have fallen!”

Tokyo shook his head as he tried to look around, his vision seemed to remain a blur. “Hey, tough guy,” the large man said as he then shot Tokyo in the shoulder with a beam of Holy Light from his large gun. Tokyo winced as he turned in the man’s direction. The man sneered once more as he chuckled evilly, “Yes, that’s right, look right at me.”

“And you are…?” Tokyo said as he shook his head once more trying to get his vision to clear.

“I am the Extreme High Commander of E.X.O.R.C.I.S.T! Kaizoku Buddha!”

Hanako’s eyes widened upon hearing the man’s name. She then panicked and ran into the bathroom again, “Hey! Wait!” Nao said as she chased after Hanako, “Hanako!” Nao said as she went to grab the girl but her hand slipped right through her.

“I’m sorry, I have to leave now!” Hanako said rather afraid,

“What is it?”

Hanako then turned as tears fell down her face, “There’s nothing we can do!” Hanako said, “The man out there, there’s no stopping him!”

“Who?” Nao asked, “Buddha?”

“Yes! Him! He’s the most powerful Exorcist to ever live! He’s killed immensely powerful spirits, demons, Yokai, and other supernatural beings! Abaddon, Belial, Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, and other threats such as that! All of the people I just named can wipe out the universe with less than a thought!”

“What?!” Nao said, “Isn’t there someone strong enough to take him on?!”

“No! Not that I-“ Hanako said before suddenly stopping.

“Hanako, what is it?”

Outside Buddha grinned as he turned to the other soldiers, “Alright boys, strap him down!” The soldiers then started to move and shoot wired hooks towards Tokyo. Some wrapped around his arm which he growled at before he swung his arm sending several of the soldiers flying. A hook then shot through his wrist and pulled it to the ground. Before he could reach over to his wrist and pull out the hook his hand got shot by a wire and was pulled away. Tokyo growled as he went to stand up only for more wires to continue to strap him down. More and more wires moved through the air before Tokyo was rendered completely immobile.

Buddha chuckled before he walked over to Tokyo’s face and looked him in the eye sockets. “Say goodbye,” Buddha said as pointed his gun into the large eye socket. He then froze when blood splattered on his face. He turned to see one of the soldiers on the ground completely drained of blood and twisted up like a rag. Buddha grits his teeth before he turned and saw a pair of hands sticking out of a window. The hands slowly closed and made a twisting motion as more soldiers were twisted up and their blood splattered everywhere. “Damn…” Buddha said, “Bloody Mary.” He looked to the remaining soldiers and said, “Fall back!”

“But-“ A soldier began,

“Fall back!!!” Buddha said, “Bloody Mary is an Omega Level threat and not even I have the power to stop her!!!” The soldiers and Buddha then quickly retreated before Bloody Mary came from the window and gave a soft sigh. She then turned to Tokyo and opened her palm releasing all the wires. She levitated down to the ground as Tokyo slowly reverted to his base form. He scoffed before he was grabbed by Mary and helped to his feet.

“Are you alright?” Mary asked as she looked him over, “You seem a bit thin, have you eaten anything lately?”

“I’m fine,” Tokyo said pulling away from her grasp,

“Tokyo! Thank god!” Nao said as she ran from the school and over to him. She then tightly hugged him and said, “I thought it was over for you!!!”

“I’m fine,” Tokyo said as he pushed her off of him,

“What brought you here?” Mary asked Tokyo,

“That did,” Tokyo said pointing to the corpse of the large snake, “I didn’t know it was her until later. I just don’t understand why she’s so far South.”

“I see,” Mary said as she turned to the corpse, “Could you get anything out of her before she died?”

“No,” Tokyo said, “Which means I’ll have to head to the Shuri Castle for answers.”

“Shuri Castle?” Nao said, “Didn’t it burn down?”

“That’s what everyone thinks, and it’s what we want you to believe.” Tokyo said, “However, it’s actually thriving. It’s protected by a spell, so on the outside, it looks burned, but actually, it’s fine.” He then sighed as he rolled his neck, “Hopefully they can give us answers.”

“Oh, I see…”

“My, you’re rather cute,” Mary said to Nao, “Who’s your little friend Tokyo?”

“Oh, uh,” Nao turned to Mary and smiled, “Hi, my name is Nao, I tend to go out with Tokyo every now and then whenever we hear of some supernatural mishaps.”

“I see,” She said with a smile, “Well, do take care. Hopefully, you can take good care of my son.”

“Oh uh…” Nao said as she blushed, “Y-Yeah, I can try.”