Hello and welcome back to Shinigami Playground! Here's chapter 4.
It's been a while. A long while. I'm glad I managed to update this...
Enjoy~
Shinigami Playground
Chapter 04: Guru Guru Hashitteru ~Run, Run, and Back to Square One
__________________________________________________________
“Time to go home, Nagisa-sama. The great master of Byakko clan, your father, is awaiting your return.”
Ryouha stared at the scene, dumbfounded. Her eyes locked on the two figures crouching before her shinigami partner, while her mind was trying to make sense of the situation.
Let's do a quick recap.
She was just walking around Shinjuku like normal. And then Nagisa broke her peaceful moment, like normal. Then a pair of strangers chased them like they wanted to kill them, and now that same people are bowing and calling that shameless shinigami partner of hers 'young mistress'.
…
…
…
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?
Ryouha felt her head started hurting again from the absurdity. She took a breath and closed her eyes.
Okay. Enough. Stop trying to understand, Ryouha, there's no point. Just... ignore them...She let out the breath, feeling thought calmed her a bit. Now, let's find a way to retreat from the scene without being found. She reopened her eyes, studying the situation. She could see Nagisa stood after a while, looking down on the two girls with a blank expression, before the shinigami scratched her head.
“Uh, who? I think ya guys got a wrong person.”
…
Of course. Who is she kidding.
Ryouha mentally scold herself. She didn't expect that response, but at the same time she kind of expected it.
If that person is a young mistress of some important clan the world might as well be ending.She saw Nagisa turned and let out her usual goofy laugh.
“Well then, see ya. Hope ya guys find that young mistress—“
“Bind.”
SLAM!The shinigami squirmed in pain. A swarm of enchanted paper slithered around her legs, pulling her and making her fall to the hard asphalt face first. The girl named Shu growled and stood in exchange, crossing her arms as she stepped on the girl's back for like the countless time that day.
“See my point now, Yuuri? There's no use talking to her. I say we knock her out, stuff her into a bag, and send her straight back to the palace right NOW.”
“Do you want the great master to kill us? And for heaven's sake, stop stepping on the young mistress!”
Ryouha gave the bickering girls another long stare, before raising her hands to her face.
I forgot. The world IS ending...She gave up. She didn't know what to expect anymore. The only thing she understood now was that they wanted to take Nagisa back to wherever her home was. She'd be glad if they would do just that.
“Hmph. Ha ha, bad news for ya, Shu~ I'm participating in Shinigami Playground and already got my very own vessel over there. Ya guys can't force me back now~”
So much for that pipe dream. Ryouha thought to herself as she held her face tighter, feeling her headache returned ten-fold. No, it's not the side-effect of the skull mushroom; it's just her frustration plummeting out of the roof again. She peeked from between her fingers, seeing the new duo had turned their attention toward her.
And now I can no longer escape... She sent Nagisa a piercing glare, but the shinigami didn't seem to notice even a sliver of her frustration. That's it. She gave up. She wouldn't expect anything anymore. For real now.
“I'm sorry, miss. Are you okay?”
Ryouha blinked and lowered her hands. The girl in black jacket, the one she met before at the hobby store, bent down and offered her own hand to her. She stared at the extending hand for a while before taking it.
“...I'm fine, um, Oota-san...was it?”
“Just call me Yuuri.”
The girl smiled and helped her up, before stepping away to give her some space. At least this one was thoughtful, Ryouha noted to herself as she saw Yuuri stood a safe distance away from her, her hands tucked behind her back as if showing that she meant no harm. The black-clad shinigami stole a glance at her grumpy partner, and the small girl let out a long sigh.
“Fine, fine. Sorry 'bout earlier, I just charged so suddenly without thinking. Thankfully you manage to activate Byakko's blessing before hitting the ground. Yer not hurt are you?”
“Y-yes, I'm perfectly fine...”
Byakko's blessing? What...is that? Is she talking about that wind from before? Ryouha silently thought as she tried to keep her straight face. It's better not to pry any further before she's roped into something more troublesome. Curiosity kills the cat; she'd learned that the hard way. It didn't seem like Shu had seen through her facade anyways. She just need to keep up with the flow and slowly retreat—
“Pfft, her? It's me who activated that. No way an amateur like her know any spell~”
WOULD YOU SHUT UP FOR ONCE!? YOU STUPID SHINIGAMI!!!Ryouha couldn't help sending another glare at Nagisa. If it wasn't for her quiet nature she bet she would've shouted for real. Too bad she wasn't that good at masking her expression so Shu easily read through her bluff. The girl grind her foot down.
“Oi, Nagi. Did ya just drag some human from Utsushiyo
1 and make her yer vessel?”
“Ouch, ouch, ouch, stop grinding my back! I didn't choose her just because; I checked with Tamamo's eye and ya gotta believe the quality of her soul and compatibility with mine are top-notch.”
“Spout yer defense later after I drag ya to heaven's court.”
“Ha ha, nice one.”
“It wasn't a joke. Or do you prefer if I bring ya to Jonishi-sensei?”
“Muuh, I don't know which one is worse... But hey, I'm innocent~ She's been able to see ayakashi before I made her my vessel so I'd say she's more on Kakuriyo side. Which means I didn't break any rules per se.”
“Do you even know the definition of 'humans of Kakuriyo'? They are people who can perceive
and have been interacting with residents of the hidden world on their own accord.”
“Well, she
has been interacting with them. In fact she's being chased by an ayakashi before I helped her.”
“Oh really now? It's not rare for ayakashi to drag normal people to their nest sometimes, especially when they're hungry.”
“How convenience~ Isn't that what you call 'interacting', eh Shu?”
The two girls glared at each other, a smile plastered on both of their face. Neither of them looked like they'd yield anytime soon.
That aside, why are they arguing about me like I'm not here? Ryouha could only wonder as she switched her gaze to Yuuri, seeing the shinigami let out a long sigh. Looks like she wasn't the only one having a headache from this.
“Excuse me for a while.”
The shinigami flashed her a quick smile, before she left her side and stepped in between the quarrelling girl. Ryouha stared at the current situation in silence. If she wanted to escape this would be the best time, but it seemed like her plan was thwarted again.
“Like I said, I didn't do anything wrong~”
Nagisa yelled, before switching her gaze to her vessel.
“Go tell them, Ryou-chan; you chose to be my vessel yerself, ain't ya? Saying things like 'I want live' and all.”
Ugh... Ryouha flinched. She couldn't deny that. Though how much she hated it she
did ask Nagisa to save her life. Which mean she did choose to be in this whole vessel business, even if she's kinda forced into it.
“Oh, I get it. Yer using the situation to force her into making a contract.”
Shu growled and grind her foot harder, while Yuuri tried to stop her by coiling her arms around the girl's.
“Break that contract and let the girl go. I thought you've known how much I hate yer petty tricks.”
“Ouch—I didn't trick her! I genuinely tried to save her life.”
“Heh, right. 'Genuinely'. Right.”
“It's true~ She's half-dead already when I found her so I gave her the position of divine vessel to heighten her regeneration and fix her flesh.”
“You what?”
Uh-oh. Ryouha felt like she had been involuntarily pushed onto a land mine. She had no idea what these girls had been talking about but it sounded bad. Really bad. It was bad enough that it turned both Shu and Yuuri into frozen statues in an instant, and she's somehow there tangled in the middle of the mess, with no clue or any way to escape. Yuuri released her grip on her partner, while Shu turned her face upward and took a deep breath.
“You...”
The girl whispered.
“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING MAKING A PERMANENT CONTRACT SO EASILY!?”Shu roared and kicked the shinigami with all her might, ignoring the painful grunt from Nagisa. Yuuri didn't even try to stop her anymore as she trembled and fell to her knees.
“The young mistress... made a permanent contract with someone outside of the branch family... And a person from Utsushiyo on top of that...”
“Do you even understand yer position as the heiress of Byakko clan!? Argh, I've had enough of your frivolous action! I've had enough!!”
The girl clenched her head and screamed to the reddish sky, while Nagisa simply tilted her head. Ryouha didn't even know what to think. The only thing left in her head was the word 'permanent'. Permanent. Permanent contract. As in the contract she made with Nagisa would last forever for some indefinite time. She slumped to the ground and hugged her knees.
Death... I should've chosen death...Nagisa pushed herself up and looked around, completely oblivious of the mess she had created.
“What's wrong with you guys? Isn't this the best possible outcome? Even Koko-chan agreed with my choice.”
“How much of a moron are ya!? She's an ayakashi, she won't give a shit about the tradition from shinigami clans!”
“Like you're one to say.”
“At least I know which is allowed and not allowed, unlike you who don't even know common sense!”
“Ehe he he~”
“IT'S NOT A FREAKING COMPLIMENT!!!”
Shu let out one last shout, before she fell to her own knees beside Yuuri. Nagisa simply shrugged, switching her legs forward as she tried to pry off the enchanted papers around them. The whole place turned silent.
“...wait, something is weird.”
Shu suddenly raised her face, and Nagisa tilted her head again.
“What's so weird? That aside, can't cha remove this binding spell already?”
She ignored the girl's remark and stood, turning her attention to the other human. Ryouha seemed to realize the change in the atmosphere and raised her own face, staring back at the approaching girl.
“You said she was chased by ayakashi before. I thought it was the usual case of a human being spirited away
2 but I just realized it's impossible. At least not in the duration of this game.”
What is she talking about? Ryouha slowly rose to her feet and stepped back, sensing the dangerous look on the girl's eyes.
“Shinigami Playground is held in a way that it negates any harm to ordinary humans, which means she's a human from Utsushiyo who is invited into the game.”
The girl smirked.
“You're a [Seed], ain't ya?”Ryouha froze. Fear started to fill her as she saw the joyful look on the girl's face.
“Damn, why didn't I realize this sooner? We can easily finish our job now. Hey, Yuuri.”
Shu grinned and pointed with her thumb.
“Let's kill her.”…
…
…
Huh?
“If she's dead the contract will be nullified and that idiot will be automatically disqualified from the game. We can finish our job and shave any potential war among the branch families. Plus, we can cover up the fact that the heiress of Byakko is using a filthy seed as her vessel. Sounds good enough?”
The girl said it so lightly, with no remorse or hesitation. A vessel like her, a human, was talking about killing her like she was a mere livestock. She knew it already, that shinigami had a different way of seeing human's life, but for another human think just like those gods of death...had she become something even lower than humans then?
…
That's right. How could she forgot? She was nothing but a fodder to their game.
A seed— “Stop spacing out and call my holy name!”Ryouha flinched. The loud voice brought her back to reality and she gritted her teeth, stretching out her right arm.
[Amanozako]The red mark on her hand crackled as she said that. A familiar white halberd materialized in her grip right after, and without thinking her body moved and slammed the bladed end to the ground.
“Shit.”
CRASH!!Shu leaped away, moving just in time before the ground crumbled under her. She landed a few feet away from the crater, seeing her target fell into the big gaping hole that extended deep into the dark hollow space. The girl growled and ruffled her hair.
“Tch, they ran away. I didn't know there's a huge tunnel right under Shinjuku.”
“Shu. Shall we go after them?”
The girl glanced at her partner, before turning to the almost forgotten red orbs that was floating in the air. The orbs had grown exponentially bigger from the time she retrieved it, and Shu narrowed her eyes as she realized that.
“Bind.”
The previous enchanted papers slithered around the orb from her command, covering it perfectly like a cocoon.
“You go and capture 'em, Yuuri. I'll be watching after this cursed soul.”
“Got it. How long can you still maintain the barrier?”
Shu shrugged, heaving her body to the ground and sitting cross-legged in front of the cocoon. Yuuri nodded, before jumping down into the hole.
“Just another thirty minutes at most.”=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=
Ryouha slid to her knees. Her breath ragged as she grabbed the white halberd tightly, leaning her weight to it.
“Wheew, that was close...” She blinked, hearing Nagisa's voice echoed in her head. Right, she's doing this again; the shinigami possession. This was the fourth time she used it and she could feel herself starting to adapt to the sensation. She gulped some more air and stood.
“Good job back then. Now lemme take over—“ “No.”
She quickly said, almost in a hiss.
“I'll let you take over when the situation grow dangerous, but before that... I will do this myself...”
“Sheesh, no need to be so mad~ I get it, this is yer body so I won't use it again without permission. I'll just give ya instruction when needed.”Hm? She's quite surprised that Nagisa would back down so easily. The shinigami could just forcefully take over her body if she wanted but it seemed like she decided not to. Perhaps she didn't care as long as she cooperated. Ryouha decided such and started walking, studying her surrounding as she did.
“Nagisa... what exactly is going on?”
“Eeh~? Nothing much, really~”Oh, she's not having that. The girl stopped on her track.
“Whatcha doing? Hurry up, let's move.”“No.”
“You want them to kill ya?”“...why not? That doesn't sound too bad... compared to spending a lifetime with you.”
She could hear Nagisa let out a big whine from that. It took her whole courage just to say that. To be honest she didn't want to die, but it's probably her only way to make Nagisa talk since the shinigami said she needed her for the game.
“Okay, I get it~ I'll tell you. The thing is shinigami are not supposed to help a seed so it seems like my contract with you will create, well, some kind of an uproar. That's why those two are trying to kill you as it's the only way to break the contract.”
“...the only way?”
“The only known and easiest way, at least. Don't worry, I won't break my promise of giving your normal life back after the game. I still have my trump card hidden.”That barely explains anything. But she could pull some plausible conclusion: Nagisa is a heiress of some big shinigami clan so following the traditional way of how Japanese clan works, the permanent contract she made with an outsider will create a political uproar among the branch families. Plus, if the truth about her vessel being a seed is brought to light it will taint the name of the whole clan. Before that happens those two, who probably happens to be her retainers, will sweep the whole case under the rug. That is, by killing her vessel.
Which is me...Ryouha couldn't help clenching her face. Why is everyone trying to kill her lately? She didn't have a slightest idea. She knew that she didn't want to die though, so she better start walking.
“...fine, I'll take your words for now. Do you have any plan to stop them?”
“Ha ha, nope.”“...”
“I just told you to break the ground for distraction but I didn't expect this underground tunnel, so I don't know my way around. Bet that's also the case with them.”Ryouha took in the information carefully. From her observation both Nagisa and her pursuers used the same accent which was unique to the western part of Japan, mostly around Kyoto and Osaka. They probably just arrived to Tokyo so it's given if they didn't know how to navigate around this underground complex of Shinjuku; this set of tunnels were among the largest in the country and extended throughout the town just like a maze, gaining it the nickname of Japan's labyrinth station. She'd have a field advantage here.
Now, her objective; she just needed to survive until this fake Magatoki ended. She remembered Nagisa saying the time limit was around an hour which means she still got another thirty minutes. The safest choice was to hide and avoid direct confrontation until then.
“This feels just like hide and seek~”Nagisa lightly remarked, and Ryouha frowned.
“Do you have any way to track their position?”
“Nope. It might be possible with Tamamo's eye but it's in their hands now.”The cursed soul. She didn't know the details but it seemed to be able to give its owner some kind of tracking ability.
“Wait... Doesn't it mean they can use its power now?”“Nah, no way~ Only the leader of each clan can control the cursed souls and use them, without being corrupted by the immense impurities that is. If a normal shinigami uses them they'll be toast~”And what were you thinking using such dangerous item so carelessly before? If Ryouha didn't know any better she would've flipped, but she had learned that there's no point in questioning Nagisa's action. She just needed to focus on the current matter.
“Wait, stop.”Ryouha stopped on her track, planting her back on the nearest wall in reflexes. She silently peeked from above her shoulder.
A single bird-like figure was perching on the railing a few feet away, the big eye that sat on the end of its neck carefully scanned its surrounding.
Ryouha gulped and gripped the halberd tighter. What is that? An ayakashi? As if reading her thought Nagisa answered.
“Its one of Yuuri's shiki. A scouting type.”“...what does it do?”
“Eeh, sending everything it sees to her? I guess. When we were small she used them just like surveillance cameras to stop me from sneaking out of study session.”“...”
Ryouha decided not to ask any further. But surveillance camera, huh? That means it wouldn't matter as long as she stayed out of its view.
“How many of them does she have?”
“I'm not sure. I've seen her use around ten at the same time but she might be able to use more.”That doesn't sound good. This place might be humongous but with ten cameras flying around she wouldn't be able to move so freely. At worse she might even need to find a way to disable them.
“But, hmm... This is weird. I kinda expect Shu to charge right on. She hates this kind of recon thingy.”Another piece of information. If she considered that and her previous confrontation with the other vessel she had to agree with Nagisa, which mean Yuuri probably went after them herself. She didn't know why but this is a great chance. Maybe she could even...
“Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Ryou-chan?”“...”
No. No. Stop it, Ryouha. That's crazy. There's no way you could defeat a single shinigami even if they're not using their vessel.The girl quickly scolded herself and turned away from the perching shiki.
“...we're not fighting her.”
“Eeeh~?”“You said it yourself; that it'll be bad if they catch us.”
“That's the case if they're together, but Yuuri alone? I can take her. I won't let you die anyway so I won't fight a battle I think we won't win~ Oh, heads up.”Huh?
Ryouha halted. One of the winged shiki suddenly passed by her face and twisted its neck. Its big pearly eyes grew even wider as it caught sight of her figure.
SCREEE——SLASH!Ryouha fell backward, her hand swung the halberd upward and cut through the creature before it finished its loud screech.
“Nice reflexes~ Yer getting better at this.”You're doing that on purpose!She shouted inside her head, hearing the shinigami laughed at her reaction. This is bad. That screech was probably some kind of alarm to notify its position. She had to get away from here fast. The girl pushed herself back to her feet and ran, maneuvering through the narrow and identical corridors of the underground tunnel. She needed a concrete plan; if she just moved around aimlessly it wouldn't take long until Yuuri find her. She had to think of something. Something she could use from the field advantages she had.
“Another shiki up ahead.”Ryouha skidded and changed her course, slipping behind a pillar. Okay, think. Where is she now? The girl glanced around and recognized some of the shops. She's on the west side of Shinjuku station, on the Keio line to be precise. The corridors around here are quite simple so she better moved further toward Odakyu line, where the maze would grew more complex. The girl mulled to herself as she saw one shiki passed by without noticing her, her mind already devising an escape route. She could use the many pillars to stay out of those shiki line of sight, then exited through Oedo line gate B and took the escalators up to Odakyu south exit. Or, she could take the further and more complex corridor toward the central west gate. She could also hide in the deepest underground of Oedo subway, but if Yuuri chased her there she'd be trapped.
“...let's go with the first option.”
Ryouha grabbed the halberd and moved out of her hiding place. She didn't need to think too much. If she could move around and trap that shinigami in circle inside this maze it would be her win—
“Hey, Ryou-chan~ I'm getting sick of running all the time.” “...”
The girl kept on running, trying to ignore the voice in her head.
“Let's do something else, I just found an amazing idea~”=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=
“They got me.”
Yuuri muttered as she took the remnant of her shiki, seeing the paper doll cleanly split into two.
Half of the shiki she dispatched had been eliminated and she still had no clue where her target was. She didn't expect them to simply waste their time like this, luring her deeper into the complex structure without revealing themselves. It seemed like the vessel was a lot level-headed than she thought. It's not like she didn't predict this outcome though. The shinigami sighed and stood, bundling all the remnants of her shiki into a small ball.
“Come forth and serve my will, [Hebi].”
The crumpled papers shook and twisted, before transforming into a white snake that slithered around the shinigami's extended hand. The new shiki hissed and flicked out its tongue once, before it leaped to the ground and slithered away. Yuuri silently followed after the creature.
Her targets had done well escaping until now but they made a fatal mistake by choosing to disarm her shiki; sure it would decrease her vision but every time they made contact with the paper doll, even if they only left a little particle of dust, everything would be recorded in its formula. Once all the information had been accumulated she only needed to reuse the remnants to make another shiki with a keen sense of smell.
“And then I will be able to find you. Right, Nagisa-sama?”
Yuuri ended her sentence with a smile, watching her target being crushed onto the station wall by her enchanted papers. Nagisa growled, before spitting away the paper that was covering her mouth.
“Bfft, that's not fair! What the heck with that shiki, I never know you have 'em!”
“Well, thanks to you who always try to escape on every possible occasion I managed to define a new formula.”
Nagisa let out another growl, and Yuuri glanced around.
“Did you make yourself as a bait so your vessel can escape?”
“That's right~ Quite gallant, ain't I?”
“You really like to show off, Nagisa-sama...”
Yuuri let out another sigh.
“Still, I kind of glad that you did. Because I actually don't want to kill her with my own hands.”
“Ha ha, what's with that? It's not like you to be so unprofessional~”
“I owed her big time, or something.”
SLIP--The shinigami turned and twisted her body slightly, dodging the fist that was thrown at her from behind. It seemed like her attacker wasn't used to fighting at all; her blow missed by a huge margin and she tumbled down from the force of her own punch. Yuuri almost felt bad for her, but as she saw the small smile on the girl's face, her eyes widened.
“...amanozako.”
The shinigami froze. The human girl wasn't targeting her at all, but the little pouch of enchanted papers dangled on the belt around her waist. Ryouha spun her halberd, snatching the pouch with its hook as Yuuri stepped away to reach the remaining papers on the wall.
“Don't move.”
Yuuri stopped, her fingers only a few breath away from the papers as the spear end of Ryouha's halberd pushed against her neck. She slowly retracted her hands, raising them beside her head.
“Or? What are you planning to do with that, miss?”
“...”
Ryouha didn't answer. She only stared at the shinigami, her eyes observing her each and every movement. Heavy silence lingered in the air until suddenly a loud buzzing could be heard. Yuuri waved her hands slightly.
“Don't worry, it's just my phone.”
The shinigami took out the said device from her jacket pocket, showing the incoming call on the screen.
“See?”
Ryouha narrowed her eyes.
“...pick it up and put it on loud speakers.”
Yuuri did as she was instructed and pushed the button.
--“Yuuri. Have ya got them?”“Sorry, I got careless. They caught me instead.”
--“Huh!? Yer kidding me!” Ryouha could hear Nagisa laughing inside her head.
--“Whatever, try to escape and get back here quick— BEEP...
The call suddenly cut off. Ryouha bit her lip and pushed her halberd closer to Yuuri's neck.
“...what's wrong?”
“I'm not sure.”
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...The two girls snapped their head upward, seeing the lamps above them flickered from the sudden movements around the tunnel.
“What's that? An earthquake?”Nagisa asked, and Ryouha carefully looked around her.
“I-I don't know. Probably—
“Look out!”CRASH!Yuuri shouted and tackled the girl down, saving her from the black sludge that shot out of the wall just like a hungry snake. Ryouha scrambled away in panic, watching the creature pulled itself out from the debris and screech at her.
“Ayakashi? I thought Shu's barrier supposes to stop them from entering.”Another screeching sound echoed in the dim-lit tunnel. Ryouha turned to the source, seeing some more of that black creature flooding down from the staircase. She gripped her halberd tighter, trying to stop her trembling. Yuuri glanced at her, noticing the fear in the girl's eyes.
“Say. Would you like to make a truce for now, miss?”
Ryouha snapped her head toward the shinigami. It might be a bad idea, but it seemed that the shinigami genuinely felt indebted to her considering that she did save her from the previous ayakashi. Besides it's probably her safest ticket out of this current situation alive. Ryouha nodded, letting the shinigami took back her little pouch from the ground.
“Wait, wait, who said you can do that?” “Thank you. Oh, and tell Nagisa-sama to save her protest for later.”
Yuuri threw the remaining papers to the air and brought her palms together.
on chirichi iba rotaya sowaka;
come forth and serve my will, [Onibi3]!The ayakashi roared as they heard the chant, charging toward them; the creatures never reached them as a wall of blue flames sprung from the floating papers, burning anything that it touched. The black creature fell to the ground, wriggling inside the flame.
“Now!”
Ryouha instantly moved, stabbing and slashing the fallen ayakashi before they managed to recover. Their body dissolved into thin air. More ayakashi flooded down from the stairs, blocking the narrow entrance.
“Aah, this is getting troublesome. You don't mind I take over from here, right Ryou-chan?”
“...you already did.”“Ha ha, I guess~”
Ryouha laughed, her brown eyes turned jet black as her shinigami partner took full control. She rested her halberd to her shoulder and tilted her head.
“Ya ready, Yuuri?”
The other shinigami nodded, before they both turned to face the incoming ayakashi.
“Time to reap some souls~”=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=0=
Shu let out a low growl. She leaped to a nearby building and caught the protruding sign beside the windows, hanging on it with one hand.
“Dammit, what the hell with this amount of impurities?”
She pulled herself up and swung to a traffic light next, dodging another black spikes that chased after her. The girl jumped straight away after she landed, climbing higher onto the building. She grabbed her bleeding arm as she reached the rooftop, catching her breath. The red blistering orb on the ground had grown larger than her own body now, black liquid kept spilling out of it giving off a foul smell of sludge. Perhaps it was just her imagination but the sludge had started to transform, from an undistinguishable spiky blob into something that resembled a four-legged creature.
“The queen of Kitsune4... One of The Four Great Evil Ayakashi, Tamamo no Mae.”
Shu mouthed the name in a growl, before snapping her eyes to another part of the city. More and more ayakashi started to emerge from the black holes that opened up on the ground, as if attracted to that orb. The newly formed creature didn't seem to care and consumed those ayakashi in its sludge instead. The creature started to gain a more solid form, black fleshy texture covering its front limbs just like a set of muscles without a skin. Its size kept on growing.
“Shit, is it trying to regain physical flesh by feeding on other ayakashi?”
Shu growled and stretched out her left arm, sending out more enchanted papers from under her sleeves. The papers flew and circled the creature.
“Bind!”
The girl clenched her hand into a fist, and the papers crushed the creature from the command, forcing it into another cocoon.
“Comee ooon....”
The creature shakily raised its half-made face toward the sky.
YAAGGGHHHAHHH---!!!It let out a loud scream, creating shockwave and sending the papers away along with a portion of the town. Shu cursed and sent the remaining papers circling around her right hand.
“Strengthen!”
She pushed her palm forward, lessening the force as her body was hurled across the air at high-speed. She crashed against some debris a few times before skidding on the asphalt, forcing herself to stay on her feet despite her ragged breath. The pseudo-ayakashi had grown to almost the size of three-stories building now. She didn't have any enchanted papers left and her right arm was as good as dead.
“I'm so screwed...”
Shu growled. She should've called the officers from Hell to transport this soul the moment she had it; she carelessly handled it like a normal soul, underestimating the amount of impurities it could produce. Now what could she do? Even if Yuuri came to her aid, will she able to exterminate this monster? The monster that took even the strongest shinigami to seal in the past.
...
“Let's give it a try.”
BOOM! Shu smirked. A huge explosion shot out from the ground, obliterating all the lesser ayakashi on its wake and cutting off one of the cursed soul's limbs. She sighed and stood into her full height.
“Took ya long enough, Yuuri.”
Her partner landed right beside her, her face as calm as ever. Shu glanced back to the creature, seeing more sludge falling from its missing limb and regenerated it into a more gruesome state. The sea of lesser ayakashi kept flooding out from the hole.
“What with the flashy explosion?”
“That was the young mistress. You know that she can be very rough with her technique sometimes.”
“Heh, she's just showing off...”
Shu snickered, before she drew her head back and took a deep breath.
“ONE KILOMETER ON TWO O'CLOCK DIRECTION; LET'S REGROUP AT THE TOP, SHITHEAD!”Her voice rang across the ruined town, and the creature looked around, trying to find the source of that voice. Shu already ran to the destined position by then, wielding her longsword with her good hand as she cut through the lesser ayakashi and slipped into the remnants of some alleys. She kicked off the ground and climbed up another building, perching on its rooftop as she watched the giant creature from afar.
“Oi, stop calling me 'shithead'. And what the heck is that thing?”
Shu turned to see Nagisa landed on the other end of the rooftop.
“It's the cursed soul. And what are you, a control freak? Taking full possession of yer vessel like that.”
“C'mon, little Ryou-chan can't handle such huge ayakashi~ She'll faint on place.”
“That's your fault for choosing an ordinary human as yer vessel. Anyways,”
She stood, resting her longsword on her shoulder.
“Here's what we gonna do; you chip out its outer flesh and I'll seal the core.”
“You still have enchanted papers?”
“No. But you know that I still have other technique.”
“Half-assed spell won't work on it, Shu-chan~”
The girl growled as Nagisa patted her head, swatting the hand away.
“Grrh, then what do you suggest!?”
“You chip the outer flesh, I seal the core.”
“Like you know any sealing spell.”
“I don't. But I do have the best instrument to stop a rampaging impurities~”
Shu looked at the girl in disbelief.
“Are you trying to consume the cursed soul again?”“Exactly~ There's no better way to clean impurities than using the natural metabolism of a healthy working shinigami.”
“Healthy my ass, yer head is so broken...”
Nagisa only laughed at that. Shu didn't know what else to say. She had to admit that it's her safest bet for now but that means she'd be going back to square one; Nagisa would take possession of the cursed soul again and the shinigami might use that to her advantages later. That also meant she would aid the criminal act of handing a cursed soul to someone outside of clan leaders.
…
“Screw that, rules are made to be broken.”
“Alright~ That's the Shu I know and love~”
Shu groaned and pushed Nagisa away.
“One swing; I'll put my whole power into it and cut through its outer shell. Ya hafta deal with the lesser ayakashi yerself.”
“No problem. Can your body hold on for another ten seconds, Ryou-chan?”
Ryouha swallowed her voice.
“Yeah... I... guess.”It hurts. It hurts a lot. This is the longest time she ever let Nagisa possessed her and her head already felt like its splitting apart. But she had to endure it. Even without knowing much about cursed soul she knew that letting that monstrous ayakashi ran rampant wouldn't lead to anything good. They had to stop that thing here before it grew even stronger.
“Get ready. I'll start the counting.”
Shu drew her sword back, and Nagisa leaped down the building, planting her feet to the asphalt.
10...
Shu closed her eyes, shifting her focus to her sword.
9...
Nagisa ran toward the creature, cutting through other ayakashi that stood in her way.
8...
The wind around Shu raged, the red skull on her hand starting to give off a dim light.
5...Nagisa slid under a four legged ayakashi, using the momentum to cut it in half before continued running.
3...
Shu jumped off the building and raised her sword high above her head.
2...The creature roared, before it was split cleanly in two from the downward swing.
1—Ryouha stopped. Her body suddenly lost its balance. Her vision turned blurry and she could see patch of red dripping under her feet. Nagisa seemed to realize the strange condition and stopped her rush, planting the halberd to the ground to stop her fall. Blood slowly trickle down her nose.
“Ryouha you've reached your limit! I'm undoing the possession—”
No. No, she couldn't stop here. She looked up toward the creature, seeing it starting to regenerate itself in blinding speed.
She couldn't stop. If she stop that thing would kill her for sure. And then it would kill everyone else.
She wouldn't allow it...
“Aaaah!!!”
The girl screamed and raised her halberd, throwing it with everything she had toward the glowing red orb. Her body rejected. Her muscles felt like they're being ripped apart. Black spikes flew toward her, but they dispersed before reaching her, as if repelled by some unknown force. She could faintly see Nagisa transformed back to her human form, her hand digging into the center of the orb, before she collapsed to the cold ground.
“Dammit!”
The shinigami yanked the cursed soul away from its flesh, the core thumping in her grasp just like a real heart; she brought it to her mouth and chomped it down without another delay, taking in the blob of impurities. The remaining sludge fell to the ground like black acid rain.
“Ryouha!”
Nagisa ran toward the fallen girl, holding her in her arms. The girl was unconscious. The shinigami put one hand over the girl's nose, checking her breathing.
“Is she dead?”
She flinched as she heard Shu said that, tightening her grip around the girl's shoulders.
“...no. She's alive.”
“Tch, that's too bad. I thought I could at least get one job done.”
Nagisa didn't answer, and Shu raised a brow at her. She kind of expected the shinigami to either laugh or lash at her, so the quietness only added her unease. She ruffled her hair and released her longsword.
“Nagisa-sama! Are you unhurt?”
“..yeah. Yeah, of course. Ha ha~”
The shinigami let out a small chuckle, though her eyes was telling another story. She seemed to be lost in thought, until the girl in her arms suddenly moved.
“Uurgh... Where am I...? How many hours...had passed?”
The girl opened her eyes slowly, and Nagisa face lit up as she saw that.
“Ryou-chan, you're okay~!”
Ryouha yelped as the shinigami snuggled her as if she's some kind of a stuffed toy, feeling her body cringed from the sudden movement. She looked around. There was no ayakashi left, her whole body felt numb and was covered in impure mud, which mean the battle was already over. It seemed like she only passed out for a few minutes this time. But still...
My last spare of uniforms...Ryouha silently sobbed to herself, mourning at the fact that her red school jersey had now dyed in muddy black. She's never been glad that she doesn't have school tomorrow.
“Heh. Yer quite sturdy for a person from Utsushiyo.”
Ryouha looked up to see Shu smirking. She narrowed her eyes.
“...are you still...planning to kill me...?”
Nagisa flinched as she heard that. She growled at Shu like some dangerous animal and tightened her grip around her vessel neck, not even realizing that it started to choke the girl. Shu simply sighed in response.
“Nah, I'm beat. I'll take my chances later.”
With that the girl threw herself to the ground, laying on the cold asphalt. She gave a long look at the reddish sky, noticing the crack spreading on it.
“It's about time for this fake Magatoki to dissolve anyway.”
…
…
…
“Not if we don't allow it.”The crack suddenly started to fix itself, and Shu groaned, rolling her eyes toward the source of the voice.
“What do you guys want?
Shinigami Playground Reparation Unit, the [Zaka] clan.”
Two girls in military-like uniforms walked in, one in blue and one in white. They eyed the whole scene with cold eyes.
Ryouha stared back at them.
Reparation unit? There's... such thing in this game? But didn't Nagisa say the destruction in Magatoki won't affect the real world? And what are they doing here? This isn't part of the game. As if reading her mind the girl in white uniform stepped forward.
“We do have something to say about this fake Magatoki you created but first and foremost, we're coming for that little prick of shinigami.”
Everyone's eyes followed the direction the girl was pointing and Nagisa blinked.
“Me?”
All of the girls let out a sigh in unison, as if tired of the obvious development. Ryouha swore she would slap her face if she could move her body. The girl in white uniform nudged her temple.
“Hirate. Please read the list.”
“Yes.”
The girl named Hirate snapped her fingers, and from it a flame lit up. The flame spread in the air as she opened her palm, scattering into a list of ancient letters.
“Several buildings in Akihabara. The sidewalk area of Meguro river. And just now the underground tunnels of Shinjuku.”
Nagisa tilted her head as she heard that, and the girl in white growled.
“THAT is the list of things we have to repair thanks to you. And you haven't paid for any of them.”
Ah. Shu and Yuuri stared back at Nagisa. They seemed to understand what's going on, but it wasn't the case with the main culprit.
“Pay? Why do I have to pay?”
“You little...“
The enraged girl dropped her shoulders and leaned forward. Somehow Ryouha could see her teeth elongated like fangs and something sharp started to protrude from her back. Her voice grew deeper.
“Are you trying to test my temper?”“Um, S-shiraishi-san... Fangs...”
The girl stopped abruptly as Hirate tapped her shoulder, dropping her head. She let out a long breath and returned to her full height. Her previous monstrous traits disappeared.
“Ahem, anyways, pay your due. You always disappear once Magatoki ends and we can't even locate you because you haven't signed the players contract.”
“Eeh, what's that? Never heard about 'em.”
“That's because you didn't attend the opening ceremony, Nagisa-sama. You already ran off by yourself to the human world...”
“Is that so~?”
Yuuri nodded. Sometimes she couldn't believe how airheaded her master could be. She turned toward the two figures.
“Does it mean the two of you are here as representatives from both Tsuchigumo
5 and Jorogumo
6? I thought your clan leaders are the ones who oversee the registry.”
Shiraishi glanced at Hirate, who in turn pulled out a scroll from her side pocket.
“It's because our leader of Jorogumo is not... 'suitable' for dealing with troublemakers.”
“That goes the same for us Tsuchigumo. You wouldn't believe how soft can they be.”
Shiraishi finished with a sigh and put one hand to her hip.
“So miss troublesome shinigami over there. Come here and get this over with.”
“Aye, aye...”
Nagisa let out a lazy answer, leaving Ryouha to Yuuri's care. She stopped in front Hirate as the girl unrolled the previous scroll and held it open with both hands.
“And then? What do you want me to do?”
“Please show your reaper mark and hold it above the scroll.”
Nagisa shrugged and removed her glove.
“Like this?”
“Yes. Please stay still.”
Stab.Nagisa froze. A sharp black limb shot out of Hirate's back and stabbed through her palm. Her blood silently dripped onto the empty scroll.
“THAT HURTS!!!!”The shinigami screamed on top of her lungs and rolled around the ground in pain, clutching her bleeding hand.
“Oh, shush. You're a shinigami; flesh wound like that will regenerate in a flash.”
Shiraishi brushed the shinigami away and approached Hirate, noting the serious look on the girl's face.
“This is...”
“Something wrong, Techi?”
She peeked from above the girl's shoulder, reading through the ancient writings that appeared on the scroll.
“I see. What an irregular, no wonder her works are so messed up.”
The earth spider hummed, before pulling out a phone from her pocket.
“Fine then. You probably don't know about this as well so I'll show you how to calculate your Kegare points for now.”
Ryouha blinked as she heard that.
Kegare. Impurities. Are they using it as points in this game?
She watched as Shiraishi pulled Nagisa's hand and scanned the reaper mark on it with her phone just like a QR code.
“Here are your current points.”
||Scanning Result||
Lv.A – 0 x 100 : 0 pts
Lv.B – 0 x 50 : 0 pts
Lv.C – 0 x 30 : 0 pts
Lv.D – 0 x 10 : 0 pts
Lv.E – 20 x 1 : 20 pts
------------------------
Kegare gained : 20 pts
Damages : -10000 pts
------------------------
Total : -9980 pts
_________________________________________
| |
| Good work! |
| Don't forget to send the purified souls |
| to the Ministry of Right and Wrong~ |
|_________________________________________|
Nagisa stared at the screen blankly, her mouth slightly agape. Shiraishi gave her a sweet smile and waved the phone in front of the girl's face.
“Work hard to pay those points back, shinigami.”
“H-ha ha, you're rigged that device, right? I defeated a Tatari before and I know they're at least C rank.”
“Did I hear a protest?”
The ayakashi pulled her phone back. Her smiling face suddenly turned dark.
“Do you want me to rip you apart and check if there's really any C rank soul inside? Huh?”
“...no, ma'am. I'm sorry.”
Shiraishi huffed, satisfied to see the shinigami planted her face to the ground in apology.
“And you, onmyouji
7. We'll be taking over your fake Magatoki and start the reparation of reality now. Please leave immediately and tell your clan leader, that the [Game Master] want to speak with them about this.”
“Sure, sure.” Shu waved her hand in dismissal.
“Just start working already you giant creepers.”
Shiraishi gave the girl a cold stare, before she jumped into the huge hole on the asphalt, followed by Hirate. The two ayakashi quickly disappeared into the underground tunnel, blending perfectly in the darkness.
“Hah... Ha ha ha... Minus nine thousand, she said? What a joke...”
Nagisa laughed under her breath, her body trembling. She stood and walked toward the gaping hole.
“Just you see! I'll pay those points back a hundred fold!!”The shinigami clenched her fists and screamed into the crater, her voice echoed throughout the underground chamber. Shu sighed, while Yuuri couldn't help letting out an awkward laugh. Ryouha hung her head as she saw that, feeling the little energy she had left disappeared in an instant.
This is going to be another disaster...__________________________________________________________
Shinigami Playground : Chapter 04 // END
--Shinigami ☆ Q&A Corner--
1the ‘apparent’ world, in contrary to the 'hidden world' (Kakuriyo).
The place where humans and other physical beings resides.
2also known as ‘Kami-kakushi’ (being hidden by spirits).
A mysterious disappearance that happens when a creature of Kakuriyo,
usually ayakashi, takes an ordinary human away to their realm.
The said human will usually be found dead, have their mind broken,
or forever lost in the unseen.
3the demon fire. It has the appearance of a small ball of flame,
usually blue or white, that floats around the air.
They are known as spirits that born from corpses of humans and animals,
and also from the grudge of a living person towards others.
They usually don’t produce much heat but may grow bigger
when fed with impurities. That’s why ayakashi tends to avoid them.
4the word ‘kitsune’ literally means ‘fox’,
but it can also refers to ayakashi with the same appearance and name.
One of the strongest race of ayakashi, they are skilled in many kind of magic
especially shape-shifting. Most of them have a wicked demeanor,
but some are also known to protect humans as the servants of prosperity god Inari.
It doesn’t change the fact that their root lies in their cunning nature
so it’s better not to be involved with them at all.
5the earth spider ayakashi, one of the two races that make up Zaka clan.
They make webs in dark caves and lies in wait for their prey to venture in.
Because of that they’re known to be less aggressive than their sibling the Jorogumo,
while in reality they have bigger power and matching ambition.
Another special trait of theirs is their skill in construction;
it is said that they can construct any building in one night,
emerging above ground in one time and disappearing the next day.
This may explains why ayakashi’s structures are completed much faster than human ones.
6the fire-breathing spider ayakashi, one of the two races that makes up Zaka clan.
Unlike their sibling the Tsuchigumo they’re more cunning and may use all kind of trickery
to lure preys into their nests. They also have no fear of shinigami and have kidnapped
many humans from Utsushiyo in the past.
This tendency have been long gone but their ability to burn down any building in one night
as well as their eccentric nature make them widely feared even among ayakashi.
7the practitioner of the art of onmyodo,
the Japanese equivalent of divination and magecraft.
In the past the bureau of Onmyo have a high standing in imperial court
and even personally tasked by the emperor to protect the country from evil spirits,
but after a political clout during Heian period their authority have completely vanished.
Nowadays not many onmyouji are left and those who still continue the practices
do so in the shadow, acting as specialists in Kakuriyo.
Topic: [ALL48+46] Shinigami Playground (NagiUha+Various) [BONUS] (Read 20229 times)