abstract
| - The grey rain of the clouds pelted down upon Amanogawa City; today was the day to turn it all around. This was the final—Yuuki Kaburagi, through acquiring a piece of Mujaki's DNA, was able to pinpoint the location of the Royal Family of the Crimson Sovereigns. Still, he was worried about how it would all go. The last time he was involved in a 'castle raid', it didn't go well, to say the least. Though, these allies were far more competent (read: not lazy) then the previous. Maybe now, the rain and the depression would cease in this city? Hopefully, it would. The Shinigami yawned as he hopped out of bed. Staring at the mirror, he gazed upon his lithe figure. He was a highly effeminate male, whose features were almost completely feminine in appearance. He possessed wide hips, long legs, and droopy eyes. His blonde hair was worn in a bun which spiked up slightly at the top, gently flowing out to the left side, with several strands of hair sticking out at the sides of the bun as sort of waves. He wore a Lycrois flower on the right side of his hair. Surprisingly, he showed no signs of fatigue- that probably owed to his past as a Mototsu. Rubbing his eyes sensitively, the Shinigami gazed back at Zakura Terui, or rather, a lack of Zakura Terui. Oh, my. Seemed as if the Crimson Sovereign had disappeared—again. Sighing, Yuuki Kaburagi quickly dressed himself, before trudging outside. It was at least three in the morning; though glancing at the weather, it could be easy to mistake it for still midnight. Lying upon the damp grass was a young man who bore the appearance of a young, very feminine male with a petite and slender frame, much like a woman's, and light brown eyes. He had light pink hair which reached down to his waist, and was tied up in a simple braid, and had two bangs going down to his chin. He wore the most simple of apparel; a red sleeveless t-shirt and baggy azure jeans. This was Zakura Terui, who was exercising for no apparent reason other than to get fitter. Yuuki called out his name, which caused the young man to glance up at him with a smile. "Oh! Mornin', Yuuki. You're ready to go?" He said that in such a dissonantly cheerful tone. Was he for real? Such a tenacious battle, and he was so calm? Yuuki applied his palm to his forehead in exasperation, uttering, "Y-Yeah. Alright, now to get everyone else here…" Now, to play the waiting game. On second thought, the waiting game sucked. Spiritual energy amassed and converged upon the Shinigami's palm, opening a sort of portal to the dimension in which the Royal Family of the Crimson Sovereigns reside. Gazing into the portal, all Zakura could see was a vast abyss of nothingness and void that threatened to engulf him. Zakura couldn't wait to save his life; asking Yuuki about a million questions in the span of a millisecond. "Don't fuss over unimportant details, you." In a bemused voice, Yuuki replied. Seeing as how he was rubbing his temple with one hand, he was attempting to contain his temper. "Heheh. Sorry for keeping you waiting." A rugged-sounding voice resounded throughout the air as an unfamiliar figure approached the two. This person was a slim, yet muscular and toned young man of average height with dull red hair, which was kept in spiky strands jutting outwards in every direction, and a smaller, frontal tuft of hair partially hanging on his forehead. He had slanted eyes, and above the right one a thin scar was visible, diagonally going up his forehead. His left ear was adorned by an earring, with a prominent metal pendant reminiscent of a double-edged blade attached to it. On his left shoulder, he had an oddly shaped tattoo. Around his waist was a purple, intricately designed belt. Zakura exclaimed, "T-Touma…! What are you doing here?" Touma flashed the two a confident smile, as he ran the odd cellphone over the purple belt buckle. "Standing by." A metallic, monotone voice resounded throughout the air, echoing from the belt buckle the moment that the phone touched it. Yellow energy spun in a spiral pattern from in the middle of the phone and the belt buckle, which spread out and formed an outline of Touma's body in a trailing pattern, before exploding, forming several plates of stark-white armour in assorted locations on his shoulders, arms up to the elbow, legs, and upper chest area, with piston-like protrusions from his upper arms and ankles, as well as a skintight white bodysuit underneath it all. His helmet was stark-white and possessed a purple glowing visor, along with two crossed spikes at the top, and had a large vent at the back, allowing Touma's spiky hair to stick out. Zakura and Yuuki were at an utter loss for words. So, Touma Seisou was the Kumabachi Reisōbi wielder? So…Touma attacked them and killed Omura? Why? Zakura inched back, as Touma thrust out his hand, offering him a handshake. Ah, well. What's done is done; no need to worry about it now. One of Zakura's philosophies was to turn the other cheek without hesitation. Smiling meekly, Zakura accepted such a handshake; something that surprised Yuuki. Turning to the portal, Touma inquired, "So…that's it, eh? Well, we gonna go finish this or not?" Yuuki puffed his cheeks out, annoyed at this person's presence. "Alright…Now, where's Isshō—" "S-Sorry for being late…!" A shrill voice rang out, as a young man with a highly feminine appearance, possessing long, auburn hair which was tied into shoulder length twintails using small, yellow bows showed up. He had peach coloured skin and emerald eyes. In addition, he wore a simple outfit, with a snow-white dress under a black apron. Touma glanced at the three; he was like a third wheel—the odd one out, so to speak. But that was because he didn't need to be pretty to be awesome. Besides, he was a true man, or more correctly, a man and a half. And it damn well showed with his combat record; only two losses, the rest were absolute victories. Forcing more of his spiritual energy into the portal, Yuuki declared, "…Alright. Now, let's go." One after the other, Zakura, Touma, Isshō and Yuuki entered the swirling void. Last time Yuuki opened a portal, everyone rushed in at the same time—the results weren't pretty, to say the least. He could remember the results as clear as day. That was why, Yuuki forced them to be patient and enter one at a time as to not have a repeat of the last time. Exiting the portal, the four gazed upon the domain and source of the Crimson Sovereign race—a demonic appearing castle. The sky was a haunting crimson, and the clouds were pitch black. Thunder crashed down from the sky at a never-ending pace—this wasn't a good sign. Still, none of this put them off, as they marched forward.
|