In the midway of this our mortal life
I found me in a gloomy wood, astray.
It wouldn’t be long now.
It would all end soon.
The rescue mission had failed.
If they had found a way to kill a spirit, his purgatory would be all for naught.
He was in the grasp of demons.
The empty glass chamber sealed Kuroshiro’s strength with God knows what technology of lights and plasticine, reminding him of his days in Hibiya under the steel cage train station. All he had left were bright chemical lights in the floor and a space roughly the size of two large genkan put together. The open air, the piney smells, the friendly faces. All gone. All ripped from his life. All he had was his katana; useless against the force fields that bound him and the rosary around his middle finger.
So he prayed.
黒白
He remembered vaguely what had occurred following the betrayal and capture of the club. Soon afterward, Norowa had attacked with a message of evil and regret. Such threats could not be take lightly in days like these. Norowa had to come from somewhere and it was painful to not know. Logically, a yureī such as he does not attack unless provoked. So why had he attacked? Surely a yureī could not exist in America unless…
XL had enslaved him and trained him as an attack dog. To fall under the will of the living was truly unforgivable in the spirit world. This only proved that XL was not a normal enemy. They had the ability to take which was unreachable, playing the role of God and ripping the curtain in the temple. It scared him to believe this was possible.
After the attack of Norowa, Kuroshiro began to work with the others as a grief counselor. He got to know them. He laughed with them, felt anger against them, planned the escape of the others. He learned the pains of Sebastian and Griffin, the others pain visible in their eyes.
This eventually led to the escape plan. Kuroshiro’s job was to alert the group if something was off. Flying invisibly through the network of pipes, electrics and concrete, he began to weaken under the stress. Still, Griffin worked tirelessly amidst the grave situation, even looking for people who weren’t part of the club. Kuroshiro was impressed by his take-charge attitude.
Perhaps it was their technology that did this; perhaps it was the mental exhaustion. Throughout the rescue operation, he decreased in power only to find his life draining away. Soon, the hallways of the laboratory became less an orderly system and more a labyrinthine chaos. Kuroshiro separated from the group only to be knocked unconscious and woke up in the chamber he lived in now.
So, it seems the others were kept away from him due to his strange circumstances, being dead and all.
Scientists would come in and out of the room on a regular basis. Often, they would just scribble a note down on their brown clipboard and walk off. There were times he would press himself against the glass chamber, calmly asking to see the others. This eventually grew in power. A soft cry here, a bargaining there, but nothing worked.
No one acknowledged Kuroshiro. Any words fell on disciplined ears. Disciplined to not discuss anything with prisoners. They cared not for him. Kuroshiro was just another inmate.
As the days grew, he could see they were beginning to insult him. It started casually enough; one of the many scientists brought in a crossword or something. This one was older with a full grey beard, devoid of expression save for the casusal glances upwards to Kuroshiro. His labcoat was always pristine, which could single out the fact he had much pride in the unholy work. He sat down and proceeded to take a pen to the puzzle. It was just a way to pass the time. This went on for an hour or so before he stood up casually and left.
It happened again the next day as a younger woman, barely twenty-five came in with a small gaming console. This was the moment that he realized this was a test, Surely you wouldn't have someone unattented bring in an object that could so carefully hide tools. No, she just sat down, popped in a cartridge that came from her, and went to town on her system.
This was the moment Kuroshiro started truly questioning his reality. For example, why go to the trouble of all this? He knew he wasn't getting out. Why try to psychologically torture him at all? He could easily tell them what they needed. He hated to admit it, but this whole club business had really hurt his chances at redemption. His exposure to earthly treasures had simply increased since he joined. Second, how could they themselves just sit there continually and not feel what he was going through? What it the distractions? It's like they were telling him that he would not be given distraction. Personally, he was fine with that. His quiet thoughts and prayers carried him. Only so far. Third and most worrying, he looked closely at the console the woman was playing with. It had been long enough since his death that he wasn't that concerned with the Japanese video game market. Yet, he could clearly make out the name Nintendo. If this was a console, it was unlike any he had seen before. It was a sleek white product with two screens and an interactive stylus. So, had the console been released since his capture or prior? It had been a while since he had been captured. A week, a month? A year? He hadn't kept track of the time and paid for it dearly.
The woman left and Kuroshiro was alone again. This time, the lights were shut off, letting him sink into a obsidian abyss.
黒白
This continued with the various consortium of people and their ways. Clipboard, crossword, even bringing in food as if to tempt him with the hunger sating morsels. If they had him caged, they probably knew how spirits worked. He didn't eat, he never got hungry. Only during full moons did human qualities apply. Unless a full moon was coming soon. He didn't know. He didn't know anything. All that kept him company was the cube of glass and the calculative machines that powered the system. The praying had decreased, the thoughts ran silent. Truly, the scientists' work began to take a toll.
黒白
Eventually, Kuroshiro became stoic in manner, and refused to acknowledge the scientists. One particular day, a new man came into the room. He appeared old in a cut from stone manner and most likely held authority over the others. His suit exuded a sense of organization that Kuroshiro had not realized in a long time. The strides this man took were those of a brisk behemoth, limbering onward towards the cube. Reaching towards Kuroshiro, he turned on an intercom and began to speak.
"目を覚ます、平次." The man spoke in Japanese with a light Kansai accent.
Kuroshiro was so startled by the fact the first person to talk to him in so long was Japanese, he nearly forgot the language. A quick reminder and he had to go on offense "I know what you people want, alright? You want me to just tell you?"
"Heiji, I know you aren't that blessed with that much foresight. I haven't even told you anything. It's illogical to assume that what I want is information."
Twisting me own mantra against me. Just another reason to hold you accountable.
"I suppose so. Then we both know how this goes. You ramble on and provide exposition. I say, "You'll never get away with this!" pressed against the glass-"
"You watch too many movies, Heiji. It doesn't work that way."
"Well, then, ask me this question. How on earth do you know my name is Heiji?"
"We have done our research and have confirmed who you are. Trust me when I say we have highly reputable sources."
"That's just fantastic. Really, it is. So what are you going to do to me?"
The suit turned his to the side in cockiness "Nothing."
Kuroshiro couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But I'll be let out soon, right?"
The man looked with surprised intent. If anyone else was in the room, they would be just as shocked as him. Finally, the man let out a sigh tailing off with a laugh. "Heiji, do you know how to get the best result from anything that's just a tad stiff? Yawarakakusuru. A few more days-"
"What month is t?"
"-in the isolation chamber will-"
"Where are the others?"
"-get you to crack. Naturally, the day is-"
"Who are you?"
"-nigh, when you will rejoin polite society."
"Where do you have Akira?"
At this, Kuroshiro made a gigantic mistake. Now this man could exploit this fact of passion. "Your friend, Akira? The werewolf? Well, you'll be pleased to know she along with others will be subjugated to a restructuring process. They may be...different when they come out, but they'll have such a fantastic time afterwards. After all, how good must your life be when you haven't to care about what you can't stop?"
What. I can't. Stop.
The day Kuroshiro cracked came at that very moment. He ripped his sword, gripping it so hard the finger rosary dug into his spectral skin. In a mania rage, he chopped at the glass, punched it when the sword didn't work, rammed it with his body. Nothing worked. The shield was still impenetrable. All the while he screamed.
私はあなたを殺すでしょう！
よくも あなた！
あなたはすべての臆病者の！
黒白
This was the moment that the man in the suit made his mistake. He should have left, he should have gotten out, he should have called security. No, he was transfixed by the animalistic tendencies of Kuroshiro.
He just smiled and laughed at the caged animal Kuroshiro had become.
Just as Kuroshiro made a mistake with shouting her name, the man made a mistake.
It's said that when a butterfly beats its wing in South America, there is a snowstorm in Chicago. People attribute this to a miracle and continue on their way. However, a real miracle, an effect with no earthly cause, happens quite rarely. Tonight was not a miracle. Tonight was an action of logic. As Kuroshiro continued to assault the cage, the generator of the cage had to work harder to bolster the defenses. The catch-22 was that the power of such began to overwork the capabilities.
As he slashed harder at the glass, Kuroshiro was not concerned with the safety of his friends. He threw religion to the side. His heart was set on vegeance. This man dared to insinuate there was no chance. Yet, there was no real reason why he should pay. It wasn't he who tortured Kuroshiro to hopelessness. His scientists were the true villains at cause. They were the villains who caged him, restricted him. They...
were not the only ones. His parents, Father Akari, Akataka and his gang, the yakuza, the spirits who died, Tetsuya, Madame Yagata, the club.
They all made him less important. They spurred any rebellion. Anything he did that did not agree with plans they made was unacceptable. They made him a worthless servant.
A cosmic hoax.
A joke.
He was a laughingstock.
And now it's XL's turn to become my master. Just like Norowa.
I'm not like Norowa
I'm stronger.
No more.
No more.
The generator gave way. The defense was shattered. Kuroshiro leapt at the man's throat.
It was the night of a full moon. The Samhain moon.
This man had made a fatal mistake.
"私はあなたと一緒に切腹する覚悟でおります。."
Kuroshiro woke up on the soft damp ground, a physical being by the light of the full moon. The earthy smell invaded his senses, a welcome but shocking alternative to the antiseptic technology room. The sounds were crisper with crickets chirping by moonlight and a large city in the distance playing the soundtrack to modern times. His head was pounding from the ordeal but he seemed to be relatively unharmed. The Xenogenesis facility was just behind. He was a free man.
He stood up to try and find the others. The full moon hung high, giving him a renewed sense of energy. He turned to see the others-
They weren't there.
Akira?
Sebastien?
Karin?
Griffin?
Anyone?
"What are you looking for?"
Kuroshiro grabbed Yurokibō and unsheathed it with power. A young boy around eleven in a crisp white shirt and dress pants with fairly large glasses stood with a glazed look in his eyes. He appeared quizzical, not sure what to make of this man. Likewise, Kuroshiro couldn't tell what the boy wanted.
"I asked you what are you looking for?"
Kuroshiro put his sword away. "I was just for my friends. They seemed to have not fahrudo me out."
"You were in there?"
"Yes. You see-"
"I don't need to see, psychopomp. I'm here to do my job." he said with a gesture of his hand.
Kuroshiro looked behind him and saw a small desk with a desk chair and a much comfier armchair. A tall light and small plant complimented the atmosphere.
"You're a psychopomp!"
"Correct. I'm here on a consoling session which I was just wrapping up."
The man. He was talking about the man in the chamber.
"Oh, you needn't worry. I don't think he was the nai-susesu of fellows."
"He? You mean they, right?"
"No. There was a Japanese man and from what I can tell, if I'm alive and out here, I killed him."
"That's true. Fujitō Minamoto was his name. You also killed seven others."
Seven others
The young boy continued. "From what I can tell, you escaped by the energy the Samhain Moon delivers to ghosts. A common trait among all worldly ghosts. Unfortunately, when taken in copious amounts, this energy has...adverse effects. From what I can tell, you have committed yourself to vengeance and are becoming a demon. This explains the Bloodrage."
Bloodrage. You can't be serious. THIS ISN"T HAPPENING.
Kuroshiro fell to the ground. His looked at his blade. It was coated in a fresh amount of blood. This couldn't be happening. All these years, he looked for God. He played his cards right. For what? One night where he could take on the world? Purgatory was assuredly no longer his as the memories began to take shape.
...Escape through the chamber doors...
...Two doctors, the woman and the old man, cut down with no thought...
...Another scene, another dead man...
...A corridor turn into a new area of the facility...
...Torture chamber...
...Akira, forced against her will to not transform into a werewolf...
...Griffin, pleading for Kuroshiro to set them free...
...
...
...Another corridor, Griffin and Akira screaming...
...
...“お父さん！お父さん！どこにいる！助けて！”
He didn't do anything to save them. They were still in there. If he went back now, the security would slaughter him.
"You didn't hold back at all. All of the people came to me screaming for their lives."
"Which is why, my fine spirit, it must be done."
He looked up to see a pistol in the child's hand.
"You have killed far too many people for me to allow your to live. If the Bloodrage, combined with the Samhain Moon continues, you could wipe out half of my area within the night. I apologize, fellow spirit, but you wayward ways have failed you. As a psychopomp, I must ask you - do you have any last words or requests?
Kuroshiro shook his head.
SHIK
The katana blade sunk hard into the boy's arm, the gun forced from it's grip. In agony, the boy cried out and fell to the grass. Kuroshiro felt a sadness but an undoubted rage arising. He gripped the tsuka, standing over the boy, now crying and looking more pitiful than before.
About to commit another sin through the Bloodrage, he asked through gritted teeth, "As a psychopomp, I must ask you - do you have any last words or requests?"
The little boy shook his head.
黒白
"Dr. Yamanouchi, Minamoto, Dr. Patterson, and Dr. Bray along with five other employees were killed by the one they called Kuroshiro."
"The same one that killed the nameless demon and Norowa."
"The same."
"I shouldn't be surprised, really. He always a strong soul. Our technology is not conducive to such tolerance. Begin your investigation into this matter and see that the other captives do not know of this development."
"Yes sir. What about Kuroshiro? Our security cameras revealed the death of a separate psychopomp. In fact, it was our regional psychopomp. If he's killing innocents, it is most likely due to Bloodrage."
"True. If anything, this provides us with research material. Allow the fish to glide through the water, feeding on those less powerful. Though the harvest has ended in our world, it has just begun for the spirits. Follow him and on no circumstances do you engage him. Understood?"
"Understood, Dr. Yamanouchi."
...
"Heiji, our meeting is inevitable. Keep running. Only when I have you completely oblivious will you be back where you belong."
-------------------
Hey guys, it has been so very long since I posted and I intend to continue with the story more often. So, a couple things.
1) Logically, if the others receive physical torture, Kuroshiro receives mental. Why? Ever try to torture a ghost?
2) The whole Bloodrage is only ghost stuff so don't steal it! (Unless I'm cool with it) Basically, you go psychotic and kill anything that moves and within reach. He didn't kill Akira and Griffin because they were behind bulletproof glass or something or other and his physical form can't break it. No on said being human was all perfect.
3) Animelover7310, if you want to have Akira going werewolf again, that's cool. From what previous experience has taught me, Akira goes through the whole full moon phase while Kuroshiro turns on one night.
4) Kuroshiro kills A LOT of people in this chapter. I wanted to show him doing something he never does and that is take an innocent life. Obviously, there's more in store or else God would have sent him straight to Hell. At least, I think so.
5) This will serve as the intro of Dr. Yamanouchi, the doctor who is affiliated with Kuroshiro. His work includes that which is not living in the physical sense. This excludes vampires which technically live within a body. Though I included him in a previous chapter, please ignore that.
6) Kuroshiro is splitting from the group. From here until an unforeseen future, Kuroshiro will be hunted by XL agents and maybe, if AL and WW are cool with it, team up with another Mythological Creature.
And most importantly...
Pendleton Ward is a troll. A genius troll. If you haven't seen Adventure Time yet, you'll be confused from here on out if you try to watch new episodes. Go back, watch the old ones if you haven't still, and thank me later.
So it's 1:20AM on the East Coast so good night and keep it easy!
