Chapter 9

Demon Realm

“You nearly had him,” a demon said to Mary as she had finally gotten the headaches to stop, “What happened?”

“You saw what happened,” Mary said as she removed her hand from the bridge of her nose and placed it on the table she was leaning on. “The colors of his eyes, that glow, the way it flowed into him. It was the Dominance of the Kings that saved him. How he was able to use it at such a young age is beyond me. I’ve been a demon for 463 years and I’ve gotten nowhere close to even using a hint of it, yet at 91 my son seems to have unleashed it.”

“Well, he is the current Demon King, it only makes sense.” He said, “However, the fact that he could use it while as a human is exceptionally scary. Something like that hasn’t happened since the first Demon King. Then again, that’s not saying much as Tokyo is the third Demon King, following after your husband respectively.” He then chuckled before saying, “I don’t even think the Demon King’s son could pull off a feat such as that, and that kid’s been around for much longer than you have.”

“I fear that with this new development my son will end up surpassing me. If that happens he can do whatever he wants and we won’t be able to revive Nobunaga.”

“Why do you want to revive the Demon King anyways?”

“Because I believed in his vision,” she responded as she turned to the demon, “Like with Japan, my husband sought to unify something. He wanted to unify the Demon, Mortal, and Spirit Realms into one conjoined Super Universe. When that happens, he would be able to use the powers of not only the Demons and Humans, but the Gods and Angels as well. With that he would become a perfect being and would far surpass anything and anyone in the vastly infinite upon infinite dimensions, time, and space, he would truly become an actual God.”

“And you?”

“I would be by his side, helping him achieve such power.”

“And what about when he doesn’t have a need for you anymore.”

“My husband loves me,” she said rather irritated, “He wouldn’t dare dispose of me.”

“Whatever you say,” the demon responded, “So tell me, what will you do about Tokyo? You want him to marry someone else, but he came here and made it clear he wasn’t interested.”

“He can say that until the end of time. He won’t be able to change the fate my husband set in stone for him.”

Fengdu Ghost City

Tokyo slowly woke up to the smell of food. He blinked a few times before he turned to see Beijing with some food laid out in his room. “Hey,” she said with a smile, “You were out for quite a bit.”

“How long?” Tokyo asked as he sat up and rubbed his forehead. He winced as his hand got close to his nose, “Ow! Damn!”

“Yeah, I apologize.” She said, “A lacrimal bone injury is painful whether you’re human or not.” She stood up and walked over to his bedside, “Here, take this.” Tokyo looked into Beijing’s palm to see a spherical bead with a dark green color, “It’s like pain medicine on steroids. It not only helps ease your pain, but it restores your stamina as well.”

“I didn’t think something like that existed,” Tokyo said as he took the bead from her and stuck it in his mouth before swallowing it whole. He gave a dull cough before clearing his throat.

“They don’t taste the greatest, luckily I brought some food. It’s my favorite, it’s from this family restaurant in a small town.”

“You leave this place?”

“Yeah, someone has to. It’s usually Fuma and I who go out and protect this place. There are other soldiers, but they only really go out if there’s a threat or a war.”

“Makes sense,” he said as Beijing moved across the room and sat on the floor, “Speaking of threats, what’s going on with here?” He slid out of the bed and onto the floor where all the food was, “I hear there’s something out there that killed Baihu.”

“You heard correctly,” she said, “I haven’t seen it myself, however Fuma says that he’s at least smelt it.”

“Oh really?” Tokyo asked as he grabbed the nearest plate of meat and started to eat off of it.

“Yes, it-“ She paused when she saw him picking up and eating the meat with his hands and shoving it into his mouth. “Um…don’t you want chopsticks?”

“What for? If I’m going to be around for eternity, then why put in the extra effort to eat food?”

“I mean…yeah, but, dried citrus peel chicken is sticky, so don’t you at least not want to get your hands dirty?”

“I can just lick my fingers off,” Beijing gave a soft snort before placing her hands over her mouth and nose. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing! Nothing!” She said, “I’ve just never met anyone who insists on eating dried citrus peel chicken with their hands!”

“I eat everything with my hands. Well, at least since 1972.”

“What happened then?”

“That’s when MOS Burger opened and hamburgers came to Japan.”

“Oh, I see.”

“You’ve never heard of them?”

“I have, I’ve just never had one.”

“What?! How have you never had one?!”

“I’m usually satisfied with the food native here to China.”

“Well I’m not,”

“Wh-What?! You don’t like Chinese food?!”

“Huh? No, I like it. I meant I’m not satisfied with you being satisfied with just Chinese food.” He said, “When I leave for Japan, come with me and I’ll take you to a nice burger place.”

She blushed lightly before saying, “You want me to go back to Japan with you?”

“Yeah, of course.” Tokyo said before he leaned back, “Come to think of it, there might be a burger place here in China. However I’m not sure if they’re authentic or not.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she said as she looked down with a smile. She picked up a plate of food and began to eat.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Sure,”

“That’s the first time I’ve ever really had a sparring match with anyone,” he gave a soft chuckle before saying, “You know, Sashi and I don’t ever do anything like that. It’s usually because I’m always out, and the time we spend together she’s often tired or I’m tired. She’s also always worried about hurting me, she’s so much stronger than me it’s not fair.”

“Sashi…?” She responded, her hands now beginning to shake.

“Yeah,” he responded, “She means everything to me. I really can’t imagine my life without her.”

“Oh, I see…”

“Do you have someone who means the world to you?”

“I do…it’s just, he’s just….he’s not what I thought….” she then set down her plate and said, “I just remembered, I have to do something, I’m sorry!” And with that she turned and darted out the door. Tokyo sighed before he finished the food on his plate before eating everything else and then walking out the door. He looked around at the different buildings in the city but couldn’t seem to find Beijing, he couldn’t even smell her. However Beijing sat in her room on her bed with her face in her palms. “I don’t get it…! I just don’t get it…!” She sobbed, “He was supposed to be mine…! This was supposed to be easy…!”

China 1592

“I’m sorry!” Beijing bawled into her palms

“It’s alright,” her mother said as she knelt down to her, “I promise you, everything is fine.”

“No it’s not!”

“Yes it is,” her mother responded with a smile as she held up a paper, “It’s a very pretty painting.”

“It’s not perfect! I ruined it!”

“No, it’s not ruined.” She said as she looked at a massive pool of ink on the bottom left hand corner, “No, it looks very nice. It could be a pool of water, or maybe a nice hole that’s been dug.”

“No!” Beijing said as she looked up at her mother with tear-filled eyes, “It’s supposed to be you and me going to the market! There’s no holes or pools of water in the market!” She sniffles before placing her hands back over her eyes as she continued to cry, “I can’t do anything right!”

Her mother sighed before picking her up and sitting with her in a chair. “Beijing, it’s really quite alright. You don’t need to get upset over a little spilled ink.”

“I just wanted it to be perfect!”

“I know,” she responded, “However, you won’t always do things perfectly every time. You need to work for things, and even when you think you’ve perfected your talents you’ll only need to work more. Only practice will make perfect.”

“I nearly had it! But I messed up! I’ll never be able to get married!”

“That’s not true,” she responded, “Remember what Lord Nobunaga told us? Your husband won’t be born for well over 300 years. You have lots of time to practice, and work hard so you can try to be the perfect bride for him.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do if he rejects me…!”

“He won’t, it’s like the Demon King said, he’s not going to be able to resist you.”

Fengdu Ghost City

Tokyo sighed before he started to walk through the city. He eventually came to the top of the mountain where a large building sat. The building resembled a face and inside it looked like a dungeon. Swords and other weapons decorated the walls and there were boxes jam packed with scrolls. He came to the center of the room where a large table with a crystal dome on it sat, it was much similar to the one in Okinawa. He placed his hand on the dome and it lit up, “Sanctuary, Okinawa, Shurijo Castle.” The light on the dome moved as if it were breathing, and after a few moments Sashi appeared in the center of it.

“Hello?” She responded,

“Hey,” Tokyo said with a smile as he leaned forward on the table,

“Oh, hi,” she responded softly, “I haven’t heard from you in a couple of days, I was starting to get worried.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. However, I’m totally fine.”

“What’s with the bandage on your nose?”

“Just a lacrima bone injury, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I believe it’ll be fully healed by the end of the night.”

“That’s good, any info on what’s going on over there?”

“No, I’ve been a bit preoccupied.”

“With what?”

“Well, for starters I went to see my mother.”

“Your mother? Why?”

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but apparently she’s arranged a marriage for me.”

“Oh, uh…yeah, I heard.”

“What?!”

“She came to me the other night and told me about her.”

“Did she hurt you?”

“No, she scared me a little, but I’m fine.”

“That’s good.”

“Have you met her?”

“Who?”

“Beijing.”

“Yeah, I have.”

“What’s she like?”

“Well, she’s a bit shy, however I can tell she’s worked very hard for her power.”

“Okay, and…is she prettier than me…?”

“What? No, why are you-“

“Listen, you can go after her if you want to.”

“What?! No! Hell no! I don’t feel anything for her!” He said, “Sashi, listen to me, I feel absolutely nothing for her. I could see her becoming a potential friend, but other than that I feel nothing.”

“But she-“

“I’ve known her for less than a day,” Tokyo said, cutting her off, “I’ve known you for 80 years, and you’ve known me for just as much time. You should know that nothing in this word will ever replace you.”

“I know…but…your mother knows an awful lot, and if this has been set in stone since before you and I were born, then why would we mess with that? She said she was a perfect mate for you, which means she’s likely seen the future and she knows that you and I don’t last.”

“What the hell does she know?” Tokyo responded firmly, “My mother knows nothing of children. In her time as a human she never had any. And when she had me, she neglected me and abandoned me the second Hanako was born. She’s old, and from a time where she could command everything and no one would bat an eye. There is nothing she can do to prevent me and you from having a future. Don’t let her get to your head.”

“I…yeah, I understand…”

“Good,” he responded, “Tomorrow morning I’ll be speaking with Blanca.”

“Why wait?” Blanca responded as she entered the room followed by Zero, “We think we have an idea on what’s going on.”

“What is it?” Tokyo asked,

“Well,” Zero said as he twisted his pinky in his ear while his left eye lit up showing a projection of something hw found, “Fuma and I decided to split up, eventually I found a path of destruction. I was able to find this footprint.”

Tokyo looked over the footprint as Blanca began to talk, “Whatever it is, it’s massive, and humanoid. Which honestly could be a many number of things.”

“Perhaps a Dijiang?” Tokyo asked,

“No, this is much larger.” Zero said, “Plus there’s only one pair of tracks. Two feet.”

“Could be a generic Gui Chai..” Blanca said as she started to think.

“No,” Tokyo said, “You told me it killed Baihu and wears his skin as a pelt. A generic soldier of hell isn’t capable of such strength even at its peak.”

“Have you considered an Oni?” Zero asked as he looked closer at the footprint,

“What?!” Sashi said, “No, they’ve been extinct since mankind found a way to exorcise demons and Yokai and other spirits. Hell, I’ve even hunted down a few of them that try to disturb the people of Okinawa.”

“It’s our best bet,” Zero said, “Assuming they aren’t extinct, and there’s still one left, what do we do?”

“We’d need recruitments.” Tokyo said, “Even with the training I’ve done with you, I’m still nowhere near as powerful as Blanca described it.” Blanca then gave a soft gasp before she rushed over to a table with scrolls, “We’d need at least 50 more of me.”

“I can come to China if you need me to.” Sashi said,

“No,” Zero said as he turned off the projection, “They’ll need you in case something happens. And if things go sideways and this Oni decides to journey south then you’ll need your full strength. We’d need an army.”

“No,” Blanca said, “Not an army,” she came back to the table with a scroll and said, “Just him.” She then started to roll out the scroll as Sashi gasped.

“Wait, you don’t seriously mean-“

“I do,” Blanca said, “We need to awaken and form an alliance with Sun Wukong.” Tokyo looked over the scroll Blanca had opened, “This a map on where to find him. He’s been asleep for who knows how long. However, he has more than enough strength to help us out.”

“How much strength?” Zero asked

“He’s comparable to Buddha,” Blanca said, “Buddha once held the world tree which contained all of creation which included its infinite realms, dimensions, and space-time. All of which Buddha only saw as fictional.”

“Holy crap…” Zero said shaken to his very core,

“It would be more than enough to take down an Oni,” Tokyo said, “However, we won’t be able to control him. How do we get him on our side, and how do we make sure he doesn’t betray us?”

“Oh, that’s simple.” Sashi said, “Just give him a banana.”

“….what?” Tokyo responded,

“He is a monkey after all,” Blanca said, “So a few bananas should suffice.”

“Uh…are you sure…?” Tokyo and Zero asked in unison, utterly baffled at how simple this task was.

“Yes!!!” Blanca and Sashi said in unison,

“Well…okay then…” Tokyo said as Fuma walked into the room.

“Everyone is sound asleep, for now.” Fuma said, “Get me caught up to speed.”

“We suspected whatever is out there might be an Oni,” Tokyo said, “If worse comes to worst do you think you might be able to-“ Tokyo sighed before he said, “You know?”

“I could,” Fuma said, “However, it’ll be hard to control, last time I nearly lost who I was.”

“What’s he talking about?” Sadhu asked,

“Like me, Fuma has a giant sized form.” Tokyo said, “He only ever used it once, but I figured he could use it again.”

“However, I lost control and began to rampage through the city until Tokyo gained enough strength to stop me.” Fuma responded, “However, I last used it over 60 years ago, 63 to be exact.”

“How could you not tell me about it?” Blanca asked a bit concerned,

“I didn’t want to worry you, besides, I’ve never had a need to use it again. But if this is an Oni we’re talking about then I’ll need to.”

“But, I don’t want to lose you, I’m sure we can-“

“Blanca,” Tokyo said as he folded his arms, “Have some faith in Fuma. I guarantee you he’ll be able to control it.”

Blanca turned to Tokyo with a glare before she then looked back at Fuma. She then walked over to Tokyo and looked him dead in the eyes as she said, “He better, or I guarantee that you’ll NEVER set foot in this city, or China, again.”

EXORCIST Base Beijing

Purge flipped back and forth on the pages of Kusanagi’s file. He hadn’t slept, he didn’t think he needed to sleep, and even if he wanted to he couldn’t sleep. He looked the file up and down, he saw Kusanagi’s real name, along with his marital status and partner, and sure enough, there was his mother’s name. Katsuragi Hayase, with Mafune Hayase next to it behind a slash. From what he gathered, Kusanagi only knew about his mother’s death, and not Hayase’s. He wasn’t sure if he should tell Kusanagi or keep it a secret.

He also had loads of questions. Did Kusanagi know that Hayase was pregnant? If he knew, why didn’t he come back? And where has he been for the past 19 years? He set the file down as he stood up and stormed out of his room. He walked through the facility before he came to a door. He paused before opening the door and stepping outside onto a long bridge which led to another door. He swallowed heavily when he saw Kusanagi standing in the middle of the bridge against the railway. He sighed before he walked along the bridge.

He then stopped a few feet away from him. Purge turned and looked up to the moon before he looked down at the ground several hundred feet below him. “It’s beautiful out, no?” Kusanagi said,

“Oh, uh,” Purge responded, “Yeah, it’s alright.”

“I’m sure you have several questions,” Kusanagi said, “Why I won’t let you kill the Gashadokuro for instance.”

“I have lots of questions, however, that’s not one of them. Not anymore.”

“So you now see,” he responded, “My mother meant everything to me. We would go out almost every day and have our lunch in the park. When I came home from school we discussed what I did for the day, and she would help me with methods on how to study. However one day when I was about 16, she just stopped. All at once our usual activities stopped happening. She stopped laughing, stopped smiling. It was only when she killed herself that I found out why. I looked so much like the Gashadokuro she had unknowingly and unwillingly given birth to, and it brought back pain.”

“I’m sorry…” Purge said, “I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like.”

“It wasn’t easy,” he responded, “My mother was my best friend, and my father’s as well. My father and I could barely make it with just the two of us. However, he eventually married a wealthy woman and our lives got better.”

“I see…”

“What about you?” Kusanagi asked, “What was your mother like?”

“Oh, well,” he said as he scratched the back of his head, “She was amazing. She was very beautiful and always had a smile on her face. As a kid she was always my guardian spirit for lack of a better term. She made sure I slept well at night, and if I had a nightmare she would let me sleep with her.” He sighed as he looked down, “I was nine when she died. Our village no longer appears on the map. Not because it’s small, but because of what happened.”

“Let me guess, you’re from Kiragana Village?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“My wife lived there,” he said, “However, she didn’t make it out alive.”

“How’d she die?”

“She was crushed,” he answered, “However, we don’t know if it was by the two behemoths or part of a building.” He then chuckled as he said, “Knowing Hayase is in a much better place now brings me peace. She was a firm believer in the afterlife and all things spiritual. I’ll see my family and my wife again. And you’ll in turn see your mother again.”

“Yeah, yeah I hope so.” Purge said as he then leaned on the railing, “Can I ask you something else?”

“What is it?”

“Did you and Hayase ever have a child?

“No,” he said, “But we tried for one many times. I had always wanted a son to pass along my strength to, or a daughter so I could do my best to give her the world.”

“I see,” he then sighed before saying, “Anyways, I should go to bed. We’ll be searching all over tomorrow.”

“I guess I’ll see you around then.”

“Yeah, see you around.” Purge said as he then stood up and walked back in the direction where he came from.