Chapter 4

The inside of the palace was illuminated with several hundreds of thousands of lamps and candles. It stacked several hundred meters high and had multiple layers. Several smells filled Nao’s nose, it was strong and was a mixture of blood, flowers, incense, candy, cooked meats, and several other parts of nature. She looked around at the different demons and spirits completely taken back. “Ah! Lady Sashi!” A high sounding voice with an English accent came, “It’s nice to see you return! And you’ve brought Master Tokyo with you as well!” Nao turned to Sashi who then sat down on her toes and looked to a Tanuki. He stood on his hind legs and wore a blue military uniform and a matching beret.

“Ah, hello Tako. How has everyone been?”

“Everyone has been alright! However-“

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Nao said, “Who’s this?”

“Ah! You brought a guest!” Tako said as he turned to Nao, “Pardon my manners!” He then clicked his heels together and saluted, “Extreme High General Tako Liam Syrus Takarada III!!!!”

“He’s in charge of the military here,” Sashi said as she stood up, “He also helps me make rather important decisions around here. He also has the highest ranking out of all the military in the world, Extreme High General is just the short version of his title.”

“Oh, I see…” She said, “And why is he British?”

“I was stationed in London England where I was incognito behind enemy lines for a few years in an imprisonment camp, afterwards I staged a full force revolution! We really stuck it to ‘em! However, their words and accent rubbed off on me.” Tako said to her,

“Oh, wow, that sounds cool. What was the camp called?”

“It was called the ZSL-“

“HUMAN!!!!” A loud voice screamed, everyone turned as a large creature looked down from several hundred feet up. “TOKYO!!! I SMELL IT!!!!” He then jumped and raced down the several levels before he crashed to the floor and slithered over to Tokyo. He then came to such a hard stop that wind started to blow. Tokyo stood there with a glare on his face with his arms folded. The monster before him was a hundred feet long and was solid black, it’s many legs resembled human hands and his “face” was a red Tengu Oni Noh mask. “WHERE IS IT?!?!!!!” He screamed, “I CAN SMELL IT!!!”

“Your nose is broken,” Tokyo responded, “Even if there was a human here, I have no clue why you of all people would accuse me of bringing one here.”

“MY NOSE IS FINE!!!” He growled, “HOW'S YOURS?!?!?!!!”

“It’s fine, however your stench alone is making me sick. Get to the bath house because I sure as hell am not dragging you there.”

“IS THAT A CHALLENGE?!?!?!!!”

“You really don’t want to fight me, especially not now. I’m rather tired.”

“I GUESS KILLING YOU WILL BE MUCH EASIER THEN!!!!”

“Hey, you don’t have to-“ Sashi began,

“You know for a fact you can’t kill me,” Tokyo said, “Unless your intelligence has left you in your old age.” The rings in Tokyo’s eyes changed to pink, gray, and dark blue with his pupil turning yellow, “I guess you need to be reminded of your place.” The entire palace went dark before a blue pulse emitted from Tokyo’s body sending the large demon flying through the palace before he crashed into the wall and part of the higher levels. Tokyo raised his right hand and put it over his left eye. He then split his middle and ring fingers making his eye visible, “Bones of the Past,” he opened his index and middle finger as an eye opened on his face between his fingers, “Lee!” He then moved his pinky away from his ringer finger causing another eye to open, “Chōkii!”

His fingers turned black as black markings formed on the left side of his face. He moved his right hand in a circle before he brought it into a fist on his side. Nao’s eyes widened, “Wh-What is this….?” She spoke softly,

“It’s half of a transformation,” Sashi said to Nao telepathically, Nao then looked to Sashi as she continued to speak, “A Gashadokuro represents the bones of the humans who have died. They’re often born in places with mass death or in graveyards. Whenever someone in the world dies their bones become part of the Gashadokuro. Tokyo is now drawing power and abilities from people in the past. Right now it’s martial artists Bruce Lee and Motobu Chōki.”

“Who’s the other half?”

Tokyo raised his left hand over his other eye before he split his middle and index fingers. He then opened his index and middle fingers and said, “Oyama!” before he opened his other fingers and said, “Yip!”

“Mas Oyama and Yip Man.” Sashi responded as her face started to turn a bit red, “Aaaaah~! He’s showing off just for me!”

Tokyo moved his left hand straight out in front of him and flattened his palm as the marks on his face and fingers appeared. Spikes then protruded from Tokyo’s collarbone as they then wrapped around the back of his neck before they connected. Two spikes then came from his Serratous anterior muscles before they curled up and over his shoulders while two more curled down beneath his arm before they all pointed backwards. Black rings then began to swirl around Tokyo’s arms as his glare on the monster intensified.

The monster then fell back onto his feet as he growled.”I’LL END YOU!!!!” The monster then charged Tokyo at a surprisingly fast speed. Tokyo stood still for a second before he suddenly accelerated at neck destroying speeds. He then planted his right foot in the ground in front of him, and his left foot behind, as he then raised forearm to a vertical blocking position. The monster couldn’t slow down and as such it crashed face first into Tokyo’s arm with a loud cracking noise echoing through the palace. Tokyo performed an uppercut to the creature's face causing it to slightly stand up, once in a vertical position Tokyo performed a long and powerful series of chain punches. Every time the creature was struck it moved upwards, up and up and up until Tokyo had delivered a blow to every inch of its body before he grabbed onto its stumpy stinger-like tail and swung it into the air.

Tokyo then jumped from the ground with such force the entire palace shook. He eventually shot past the monster where he then flipped and flew straight towards it. Tokyo then struck the monster in the face with the palm of his hand sending it crashing to the ground. Tokyo then landed softly as the monster slowly got back onto its feet. It roared as he then ran towards Tokyo at full speed. The spirit came to a stop as Tokyo reached out and grabbed onto his long red nose. The spirit tried to pull away but Tokyo wouldn’t allow it as he held on with tremendous force. He then performed an uppercut to the spirit’s chin causing his fist to penetrate its body. He then pulled his arm through the creature's head before he then poked two fingers out of his eyes. Tokyo then hit the monster on the side of the head with his knee before he turned and performed a Jukkido flip slamming the monster onto the ground.

“Wow….I’ve never seen Tokyo fight like this…” Nao said,

“You haven’t?” Sashi asked,

“No,” she said, “He usually uses his sword and stuff.”

“Ah, I see. He probably does that so that the entire planet doesn’t know where he is.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Yokai, Spirits, and Demons all have something called a Spiritual Essence. It can’t be felt by humans, but other supernatural beings can feel it. If Tokyo were to use Bones of the Past outside the palace then all of humanity would feel his presence.”

“That’s incredible….” Nao said completely shocked

“Yes,”

“So…you mentioned you were a black belt. Can you fight like that?”

“I sure can,” Sashi responded, “However if Tokyo fought me using Bones of the Past then I don’t know who would come out on top.”

“My god…”

Tokyo rotated his arms in a circle moving them in opposite directions, blue light flowing off of them, before he then tucked his fists into his sides. “Fengdu Fists,” he said before he started to throw several punches, “Gates of Hell!” Air flew from his fists at such a speed that it ignited the nitrogen within itself before turning to a fireball. The fireballs ambushed the giant creature causing explosions to kick up. Tokyo screamed as he began to speed up his punches, the air went from its usual self, to fireballs, and then to plasma. It was then that Tokyo dashed forward and threw a plasma engulfed fist, “Gashadokuro Liberation!!!!” He then punched the long red nose of the spirit causing it to shatter as his fist continued to move forward before making contact with his face. Dust flew all about the palace. Sashi then waved her hands in a formation with enough force for the dust to clear.

Tokyo stood over the creature as it laid there on the ground defeated. Tokyo then placed his foot on the side of the monsters head as he said, “Let this be a lesson to you, if you dare challenge me again, I will kill you.” The markings on Tokyo’s body vanished as did his four extra eyes. “Do you understand me, Red Face?” The monster groaned as he got up and then bowed to Tokyo,

“Yes, I understand, please forgive me.”

“Get out of my sight.” Tokyo said before he watched Red Face walk off. Tokyo then looked around at everyone in the palace who had watched the fight, “I’ve been gone for a few months and you all greet me with silence?! Why did I even bother coming back?!” Tokyo screamed as he folded his arms. The crowds of supernatural beings all then threw their hands up and cheered.

“Wow, they really like him…” Nao said,

“Why of course,” Sashi said, “Afterall, he is the King.”

“Really?”

“That’s right!” Sashi said before she turned to Tako, “Tako, I’d like for you to get a large feast ready.”

“Righto!!!” Tako said as he clicked his heels together and saluted before he dashed off.

Sashi then turned to Nao as she said, “We should probably get you a bath before you eat, just to wash off any lingering human smells. The pendant Tokyo gave you will only do so much.”

“Oh, uh, okay.”

“Come with me, I’ll take you to your room and then the bathhouse.”

Challenger Deep

The large submarine battleship burst through the wall of the deepest part of the Challenger Deep, a ginormous Wani was wrapped around it. Inside the ship sat members of EXORCIST, their captain in the center of the large room. The ship then fired middles from its sides which came down on top of the Wani. The Wani gave a roar of pain, but didn’t let go of the ship. “Kusanagi,” the captain said, “You’re up.” One of the pilots near the front removed his helmet as he stood up and ran to the back of the ship. He came to a large tube which shot him up into the ocean. The heavy water pressure caused him to land firmly on top of the submarine.

He held his eyes shut as he grabbed the katana at his side. He emptied his mind, shutting down all five of his senses at once. He sat there in silence before he activated his senses once more. A Kinetic Chain moved from his brain and then outward through his body. He then moved at a speed too fast to see as he spun around the entire battleship before he landed back in his original spot as he put his sword back in its scabbard. The Wani roared before it then froze, lines began to illuminate on its body before it split into pieces and went up into blood filled explosions. “Kusanagi,” the captain’s voice came from the piece in his ear, “Nice work, let’s head home.” Kusanagi nodded as he then entered the battleship once more.

Once he reached the command center a call came onto the screen. “Gentlemen, how goes your exploits to the bottom of the sea?” It was Purge’s Commanding Officer, as well as the current overall leader of EXORCIST, Lucifer Ross.

“We had a bit of trouble,” the captain of the ship said, “However, we were able to pull through.”

“I see, and did you gather enough Luciferin from the underwater life?”

“More than enough,”

“Excellent!” He said, “Now then, I’d like to borrow your second in command, Kusanagi.”

“For what exactly?”

“I’m putting him, Purge, and Buddha on a quest up North. There’s been some seismic activity in China, and we don’t know the exact origin of it. It’s why Buddha discovered a Sōryū at a highschool.”

“How long do you think this will take?”

“It won’t take long, probably a week at the longest.”

“Do you have a problem with that Kusanagi?”

“No,” Kusanagi said, “Whatever is in China that scares off a Sōryū must be strong. It’ll make quite the worthy opponent.”

“That’s great Kusanagi,” Lucifer said with a smile, “I’ll be in touch.” And with that the call then ended.

Okinawa

Nao looked around the large table in disgust as she watched the numerous Yokai and spirits feast. She had no clue what they were eating but it all looked revolting. Nao swallowed heavily before she looked down to her own plate. Her Tonkatsu seemed to be the only thing that didn’t have a face or was super slimy, however she wouldn’t rule out the fact that it might still be alive. She then turned to Tokyo who sat back with his arms folded and his eyes closed. His left eye started to twitch more often, “What’re you annoyed about?” Nao asked,

“I’m not annoyed,” Tokyo said, “I’m fine.”

“Your eye is twitching like crazy,”

“It’s fine,” he growled, “Just pass me those!” He said as he pointed to a bowl on the table. Nao turned to see a bowl of actual normal food.

“Uh…cucumbers????”

“Give them to me.”

“Um, yeah, sure.” Nao then reached across the table to grab the bowl of cucumbers before she slid it over to Tokyo. Tokyo then opened his left eye before all of the cucumbers flew inside of it at an incredible speed before he closed his eye yet again. He scoffed before he gave a dull groan followed by a sigh.

“Well that’s odd,” Sashi said to herself,

“Yes, quite odd.” Tako added, “Master Tokyo isn’t one to eat vegetables, even so I didn’t think he was fond of the Cucurbitaceae variety.”

“So, uh, Tokyo?” Sashi said,

“Yeah?” Tokyo responded with a faint cough,

“Is something the matter?”

“No, everything is fine. We came here for some answers.” He said as he slowly opened his eyes, “We have a bit of a problem?”

“Problem? What kind?”

“We ran into his Lamia the other day, however upon further inspection she revealed herself to be a Sōryū.”

“What?!” Sashi said as everyone at the table then turned to Tokyo,

“This far South?!” A spirit sitting the table asked,

“What the hell is going on?!” Another asked,

“I have no clue,” Tokyo responded, “I was hoping Sashi might have answers.”

“I see,” Sashi said before she stood up, “Everyone! Please excuse me! You’re free to continue eating!” She then turned and walked off,

“Let’s go,” Tokyo said to Nao as he stood up and followed after Sashi. Nao nodded as she followed shortly behind him.

“How could I not know about this?” Sashi said to herself, “Does EXORCIST have something I don’t know about?”

“It’s not them,” Tokyo said as the three of them turned down a hall,

“How do you know?” Nao asked,

“EXORCIST has bases all over the world,” Tokyo responded, “However, even with said bases they simply don’t have the numbers to fully push a supernatural entity out of its habitat. Yokai, Demons, and Spirits outnumber humans on a two to one ratio. The only way for them to leave their habitat is if there’s something that threatens them and their ecosystem. We can live everywhere and anywhere.”

“The only way to get us to leave is if something is threatening our existence. Lamia’s can often handle themselves when it comes to EXORCIST.”

“Then what do you think is driving them out?” Nao asked as they came to a large door,

“Something really big and really powerful.” Tokyo said as he turned to Nao before Sashi pushed the doors open. The three of them walked into a room which resembled a library. A large table was in the middle of it and on the center of it was a large glass dome. Sashi approached the dome before she held her hands out and touched it. The dome lit up and she moved her hands across it before he came to China. She pressed onto a location before the dome changed colors. After a while a beautiful pale woman with black hair appeared in the center of the dome. She looked rather terrified of something,

“Blanca! What’s wrong?! Are you alright?!” Sashi said,

“I uh….” The woman responded, “I don’t know….” she then looked around before saying, “I don’t have much time….it’s still out there.”

“What’s out there?” Tokyo asked as he approached the dome,

“I don’t know, but it’s quite large…! Almost all of my people have been….” she then wiped tears from her face as Sashi said,

“Did something else happen?”

“Yes…” she said, “Whatever it was it killed him….”

“Killed who?” Tokyo asked,

“Baihu…” Sashi and Tokyo’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Afterwards it skinned him and left him for dead…! Some have told me that it wears his skin as a pelt…!”

“Don’t worry,” Tokyo said, “I’ll come down and take a look at things.”

“I’m going too,” Sashi responded,

“No,” Tokyo said to her, “If whatever this thing was could kill Baihu, then there’s no way I’m letting it near you. It’s best that you stay here, you can keep everyone safe.”

“Yes but I’ve been stuck in here while you’ve been going out there and-“

“Sashi, please.” Tokyo said, cutting her off, “Everyone will be more calm if you stay here. You’ll need to defend everyone in case EXORCIST were to attack.”

“But I-“

“This is non-negotiable.”

“I just got you back,” Sashi said as she grabbed his hand, “I don’t want to leave your side, and I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’ll be fine,” Tokyo said, “Afterwards I’ll come right back, I promise.”

She sighed before she turned back to the dome, “Don’t worry Blanca, help is one the way.”

“Thank you…” she responded before the dome then turned off.

“Please tell me you’re taking someone with you,” Sashi said,

“I know a guy,” Tokyo said, he then turned to Nao and said, “She’s coming too.”

“Wh-What?!?!!!!” Nao said,

“Do you want to stay here?”

“N-No, not really.”

“Then you’re coming with.”

“You should get some rest,” Sashi said, “Stay here for the night and then leave in the morning.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Tokyo responded before the three of them walked through the palace. Nao trailed behind Sashi and Tokyo as she started to think over the past information she had just taken in. Once they came to an elevator Nao spoke up as the door closed.

“Hey, um….you two seemed shocked about Baihu being killed, why is that?”

“Baihu is the equivalent to what you humans call a universal constant. Same goes for the others like him, the Azure Dragon, the Vermillion Bird, and the Black Tortoise Genbu. There is a whole wheel of them. They’re guardians, they strive to protect not only the world but the laws of nature. Sashi is one of them.” Tokyo said as the elevator moved up,

“She is?! What one is she?!”

“I’m a Shisa,” Sashi responded with a smile,

“Shisa….?” Nao paused to think when suddenly it suddenly clicked. “So is that why you live here in Okinawa?!”

“Yeah,” Sashi said, “It’s my domain, not only do I live here but I’m bound to it.”

“So you can’t go to other parts of Japan?”

“I can, but the moment someone is in danger I’m instantly warped back here. I usually don’t get very far however, but I like it here in Okinawa, it’s very calm and beautiful and all the people are nice.”

“I see,” Nao said, she then paused before saying, “Wait, when there’s a Shisa there’s usually two of them. Where’s the other one?” Sashi remained silent before she looked down with a soft sigh. “Is he around, or like on the other side of the island or something?”

“Sashi is the last of her kind,” Tokyo said,

“Wait…really?” Nao asked, “But, how does that work? I know that you need a male and a female in order to guard something, or else it doesn’t work! I mean, there has to be one out there, right? ” The elevator then came to a stop and Sashi stormed out of the elevator and down the hall. Tokyo then turned to Nao with a firey glare on his face, “What did I-“

“Do you really not know when to read the room?! Or shut up?!”

“I…” Nao then looked down a bit before he said, “I didn't mean to upset her….I just-“

“When I said she’s the last of her kind that was your cue to stop!”

“Yeah, but,” she then reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone, “I’m just saying what I read about them in mythology! You need a male and a female to-“

“You don’t think Sashi knows that?!” He then growled before he dragged her out of the elevator before taking her over to a corner, “Look, for the past 200 or so years Sashi has been doing her hardest to try and keep things peaceful. She knows that there isn’t another Shisa out there, and without a male she’s been doing both her own job and the males job.”

“I…I didn’t know….I-“

“Listen, just,” he rubbed his temples with a growl before saying, “Try not to say anything else to her unless you’re going to apologize.”

“I…okay, yeah, I’ll do that.”

“Good,” he then turned and walked down the hall. Nao sighed before she followed after him. She stopped at her own room where she then walked inside and face planted on the bed. Tokyo came to the room next to Nao’s and slid the two large doors open and walked inside. This was his and Sashi’s room. It was large and spacious with lots of charms and pictures, a nice dresser and closet, and the bed was immensely large. Tokyo referred to the bed as a futon, but it was just a largely oversized dog bed.

He then walked over to the bed and sat down as he rubbed the back of his neck. He then gave a dull groan as Sashi crawled across the bed and rubbed her face against his. She then slid past him before she rolled and laid on his lap. He looked down at her stomach before he turned to Sashi and said, “It was cute when I didn’t know you.”

“What do you mean?” Sashi asked with a soft smile, “It’s still cute now.”

He sighed before he started to rub his hand on her stomach as a soft smile spread, “Yeah, I guess it is.” Sashi then sat up and grabbed onto his face before she started to kiss his cheek.

“I’ve really missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he said before he then wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he looked into her eyes, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” She said as she rested her head on his shoulder, “I’m just tired, it’s been a long day.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, of course.” She said with a smile as she started to close her eyes, “I’ve been thinking….”

“About what?”

“….I want to try again…”

He then paused before he looked at her, “You don’t mean-“

“I do,” she said as she sat up and looked him in the eyes, “I think it’s time.”

“Sashi…” He then sighed, “Listen, I-“

“I don’t get it,” Sashi said as she stood up, “I just don’t understand you!” It was then that Nao perked up as she started to hear Tokyo and Sashi argue.

“Is this about what she said?!” Tokyo asked,

“It has nothing to do with what Nao said, this is about something that I want! Something I’ve been thinking about trying again for years now!”

“Then why are you bringing it up now?!”

“Because you haven’t been around for three months! Why does it matter if it’s today or tomorrow or a week from now?! This is something I want to talk about!”

“I really don’t think now is a good time.”

Nao then sighed before she got up and walked out to the balcony outside her room with her tablet. She sat down and turned it on before she began to look at different sites on Shisa mythology. “Then when is a good time?!” Sashi asked,

“I don’t know!”

“You don’t know?!” Sashi asked, “While you’re out there saving the world I’m stuck on here on this island wondering if you’ll ever make it home to me or not! I figured whenever you come home that we’d be able to talk! Especially something like this! This isn’t just about you, it’s about me! It’s about us!”

“I don’t feel this is something that could help us.”

“That’s what you feel, but what about I feel?!”

Sashi, please-“

“No! It’s been years Tokyo! Actual years! I don’t want-“

“Sashi, I don’t want to go through that again!”

“It’s not going to happen again!”

“How do you know?” Tokyo asked, “Do you have a way to lock this place down? Do you have a way to be at your fullest strength? Do you have-“

“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TOKYO I JUST WANT TO BE A MOTHER AGAIN!!!”

Tokyo placed his hands on his hips before he sighed, “I’ll talk to you later, you just need to cool down.” And with that Tokyo then vanished into his Yokai Realm. He teleported himself to the Abashiri Prison. He wandered through the prison before he came to a cell and stopped as a voice came from it,

“Do you mind if I ask you something?” Tokyo sighed before he turned to the dark cell. A pair of feet and hands could be seen from the light of the moon, “Every night you come in here, and every night I ask the same thing. This time, I want an answer.” The hands then lifted off the ground before the voice inside the cell began to walk forward. “However, I do thank you for the meal.” The prisoner then came to the cell bars before he said, “What the hell am I still doing alive?”

“I suppose I owe you an explanation,” Tokyo said as he folded his arms, “Zero.”