Changing the Game

The battlefield outside the Tokyo PD went into an immediate lull. Police, yakuza, exorcist and demon paused their fighting, looking to where the light and energy had come from. They all saw the figure straight out of a tokusatsu superhero show, armored and ready for combat.

“How did he change into a friggin’ action figure?” Gouki asked, his hands gripping Harry’s shirt.

“I have no idea,” Harry said, forgetting the maniac in his grip, the monsters surrounding him, everything else but his friend, transformed into his heroic ideal.

“And now…” Reo said, walking towards Yami smoothly and confidently, his boots crunching over the debris in the street, his scarf flying behind him like a proud banner. Yami stood straight, ready for a fight, leaving Hinata crumpled at his feet.

“Give me a minute, sweetheart. I have to mess up your brother’s fancy new suit,” Yami said, cracking his knuckles and throwing a devastating punch at Reo. It cracked into Reo’s palm and his fingers closed on the fist like a vice. Yami winced in pain, and seconds later Reo’s katana cut clean through the bat demon’s arm, leaving a clean stump there.

“I realized something from you,” Reo said, punching Yami so hard his head spun on his neck until it cracked. Yami lashed out with his remaining hand, scratching Reo’s armor and causing sparks to erupt from it.

“Do tell, hero!” Yami taunted. They began to trade blows, a flurry of punches, kicks, headbutts and throws.

“You’re only so strong because you believe you’re strong. I believe something too,” Reo said, an uppercut staggering Yami.

“What…do you believe?” Yami asked.

Reo pulled his gun, firing several shots into Yami’s body, blowing holes in him. He then unsheathed his katana, the blade crackling with energy.

“Heroes…”

Slice.

“…always…”

Stab.

“…PREVAIL!”

His sword plunged directly into Yami’s heart. A pulse of energy thrummed through both the blade and the demon, and Yami let out an ear splitting scream. In an explosion of light and heat, the human form of Yami Ishikawa was blasted from the demon yamachichi, tumbling over the ground and skidding to a stop where Hinata sat.

“How…how are you doing this?! You cannot! This is impossible! A human cannot wield this type of energy, even if he is an exorcist!” the yamachichi screamed as the sword stuck out through his back.

“As a friend of mine likes to say, impossible doesn’t exist,” Reo said. A quick lift of his katana cut through the yamachichi, and the demon split in two, dissolving as if he were made of mist.

“I’m sorry, did Reo kill a demon? Can we kill demons? Guys, I didn’t even know we could kill demons!” Gaku said. The gashadokuro he had been whacking with his bo took the moment of confusion to strike. Takeshi, however, blocked the blow like a living wall.

“Don’t let your guard down staring at Reo’s superhero bullshit! We’re still fighting a war here!” Takeshi commanded, and the two girls leapt back into action, Mizuki using her whip to pull the gashadokuro’s head back while Mayumi pumped arrows into it.

“Totally! And we’re gonna win it!” Mizuki cheered.

“And then we’re having a long talk about superheroes with Reo!” Mayumi said.

The battle began again, but the tide had shifted. The yakuza were far more hesitant to fire at the police, the remaining demons less eager to join the battle as Reo and Hinata regrouped and defended the other exorcists as they dealt with the gashadokuro.

“How did your friend transform, Harry?” Gouki asked as they traded blows.

“Like I have any idea, you psycho,” Harry spat back, dodging a brutal punch.

“Maybe you do, though…” Gouki said, landing a blow to Harry’s gut, giving him a second to think. “He believed he was strong, so he…”

A sudden rush of memory hit him. He and his grandfather had been discussing demons in his study shortly after D Day had happened. The room had been dark, oppressive, exactly as grandfather had liked.

“How are you getting all these demons to follow you?” Gouki had asked as his grandfather sat behind his desk, hands folded.

“Demons are simply men with the right ideas,” his grandfather said. Gouki had flipped his chair, pounding the desk angrily.

“Stop with the bullshit! I’m sick of your riddles!” Gouki raged.

“Fine,” Reiji said, pulling out the ancient stone disk from his pocket. “I keep this with me at all times. Do you know why?”

“You’re bizarre?” Gouki said.

“Yes. True. But I’m also smart. Unlike you, Gouki,” Reiji said. He stood, walking over to his grandson. “Consider this a symbol of my will. My desire personified. If I tell you possessing this makes you the head of the family, the belief makes it true. This belief is what allows me to control the demons.”

“I don’t understand a damn word you’re saying,” Gouki sneered.

“I know you don’t,” Reiji said. “Let me simplify.”

He walked out of the study, leading Gouki to the backyard where several demon posessed yakuza gathered. ”Boss!” a kappa called out as he lounged by the pool.

“Observe, Gouki,” Reiji said, holding the disk behind his back so only his grandson could see it. With his other hand he beckoned the kappa towards him. As he got closer the lines on the disk began to glow red. The kappa dropped to his knees, as if gasping for air, and the ghostly image of the demon began to separate from the man buried underneath it, still tethered together but both writhing in pain.

“My apologies, but I require a demonstration of my will. You all follow me because I am powerful. I control your lives as humans…and as demons. Do not doubt the power of Reiji Kageyama.”

The red glow dimmed on the disk and the kappa fully fused back with the man. Everyone, human and demon, looked to their boss with silent awe. Everyone but Gouki, who felt a burning contempt. He knew the look in his grandfather’s eyes. A silent dare to understand his point.

“Was this little display showing why you never accepted a demon? What, you don’t want to risk being controlled?” Gouki asked as they walked back in.

“No, Gouki. First, nobody can control me. Second, I hope you learn by the time you earn this disk…”

Gouki took a heavy punch from Harry, snapping him back into the present, his grandfather’s words consuming him.

“I won’t need one.”

“You gonna let me in on the half of the conversation you’re having in your head? Because my mom used to pull similar shit,” Harry said, going for a tackle. Gouki grabbed him, pulling them both to the ground, rolling over each other until he ended up on top.

“I was thinking about my grandfather. His stupid bullshit!” Gouki said, pounding Harry with a fist. “Maybe it wasn’t such bullshit after all! Your glasses wearing friend has opened my eyes! I’ve thought too small my whole life, Harry!”

Harry caught Gouki’s fist before another blow could hit him. He pushed him off, rolling away and getting to his feet quickly. Gouki, however, did not pursue him. He looked down as his hands, the disk clutched in them, his brow furrowing in concentration.

“Grandfather wanted me to follow his lead…” Gouki said. Energy began to crackle over him, much like it had with Reo. Harry’s hammer appeared in his hand. It seemed the man against man part of the fight was over. This thought did not comfort Harry. “I was to lead the yakuza. I was to control the demons. But I don’t want to control them! I want to lord over them! I WANT TO BE THEIR GOD!”

What happened next wasn’t a possession as Harry had normally seen. When a demon is contracted by a human, they replace the human form with the demon. Gouki, however, transformed. His body began to grow large and muscular like an oni. Bones popped out of his skin, jagged and sharp like a gashadokuro. Darkness leaked from his form like a shinigami. His neck stretched out as a rokurukubi, a third oni eye popping out of his forehead and a kappa’s pool of water appearing on the top of his skull.

“Demons. Exorcists. Both of you are given your powers. But I will TAKE what is mine and become the DEMON LORD!” Gouki shouted, his words shaking the windows of the buildings and terrifying all present, man and demon. Harry stood before the monstrosity Gouki had transformed himself into, hammer on his shoulder.

“Well, my lord, how about I take your ass to the cleaners?” Harry said. He tensed, leapt and swung his hammer with all the power in his soul.