SHADOWS FORM A GRIN ☺

The reason she had approached the building was simply to explore. Many buildings on Silver Moon Boulevard had closed down, and were ripe for the taking for her guild. Humming softly, Izayuki allowed herself in a hotel that was abandoned and empty, but possibly perfect for Black Rose to begin work there. The last thing she expected was to be caught off guard- the magical item in the vicinity completely cancelled out her sensory, abilities, magic, and more. Usually in such cases, some Wonderland spirit made her aware of what was going on, but not this time. Why? Honestly, the answer was simple. They, too, wanted to see her suffer.

The instant Lucius attacked, Izayuki was taken aback, wondering why she had not noticed or sensed him sooner. There was something nearby jamming her sensory, obviously, but Izayuki's reaction was delayed as Lucius grabbed her wrist and pushed her into the wall. With her other hand, she attempted to slash out, but was astonished at her suddenly decreased speed. She was nowhere near as fast as she used to be... she was normal. The Bakedanuki lashed out with her claws, but found the force behind the slash extremely pathetic. What was happening?

The pale green-haired man suddenly pulled out a knife and stabbed it through her stomach. The pain felt like fire blasting through her body, making the young yokai scream out, having never felt such pain. A simple impaling, she could easily endure. But the twisting of the knife was more than she could tolerate in her weakened state. The fear of knowing she was completely powerless was also searing through her mind, igniting panic and adrenaline. The cortisol and more at least allowed her to withstand the injury a bit more, until Lucius removed the blade and struck it right back in, which issued more screams of agony from the girl, who was helpless. How was he managing to do this? She remembered him that night on the rooftop, as being quite weak. Even within Black Rose, he still only had the strength of a D or C rank... who had he bargained with to gain such an ability to botch her power? Alice... what is this... help me! Izayuki pleaded in her mind, crying out for the Daemon that had claimed her soul and resided within her. No answer came, however, not even from one of the spirits of Wonderland who also quietly remained within the yokai's body and thoughts.

"L-Lucius... st-op!" she cried as she managed to find words again. Izayuki knew good and well that this was none other than she deserved. She had hurt Lucius and his older sister, Astrid. While Astrid had seemed to make her peace with the Bakedanuki, Lucius had not, and still resented the monster. It was his fault he had driven her to such a furious state back then. Still, what did he plan to do with her now- simply torture her, or go for the kill? What could she do to make him stop, and who was the culprit and mastermind behind her now-missing power? Help... someone... anyone...

Powerless.

What was making her unable to use her strength? She could sense that Lucius was not that much more powerful than before, but at the same time, she was rendered incapable of doing anything. Even her physical strength and senses were being blocked. What in the hell was actually going on?
Izayuki clenched her teeth as the knife was pulled out of her stomach, and her head banged against the wall. At the very least, she had managed not to black out from that action, even if it still dazed her. He allowed her to fall to the ground, recovering only for a few seconds before her slammed her head back to the ground, only to lift her back up by the wrist and hold her against the wall. Some of the most painful part of the torture was to come. He leaned his foot into her wound and began focusing on her hand, making her cry out in pain as he did so. The blade of his knife suddenly found its way to her fingers, severing the tendon and eventually piercing and carving directly through her hand. Finally came her arm, which forced the young yokai to release more agonized screams. When would it end? Surely this was revenge enough for what she had done to him...

No, it was not enough. He hooked his fingers onto the end of her tail and painfully dragged her further towards the middle of the room, as she was weakly unable to stop him, despite dragging the claws of her one good arm and hand into the smooth marble, yet to no avail. He ripped out fur, but the next part was undeniably the worse; the most sensitive part of her body, her ears, suddenly penetrated by the dagger as it carved upward, slitting them in two. She attempted to cry out again, tears welling at her her eyes, yet to barely any avail with his hand wrapping firmly around her throat. Next, he lifted her by her hair as she attempted to hold onto her silver-furred ears with her single good hand. They were bleeding heavily, the cartilage broken and torn. What was next? Why was he not done? Surely he had not dealt this much damage to him back when she had her bloody night? He spoke again, and she suddenly realized everything. This was not revenge for what she had done to him, but for what she had done to Astrid.

If anything, she had mutilated Astrid much more than him, and while the small girl and the yokai were on at least fair terms now, Lucius did not seem to be the forgiving type. Before she could attempt to choke out words, however, Lucius threw Izayuki against the hotel doors. He made his way over towards her again, and stabbed multiple places around her abdomen, waist, and legs, severing tendons and tearing flesh. Finally, he sat on her stomach and began lightly pushing his blade into her chest, eager to scar her just as she had scarred him. However, the Bakedanuki's consciousness was already slipping. She had an insane endurance that had managed to keep her aware during the previous minutes, which seemed like years, of torture, yet finally, she was beginning to lose her senses. Her vision blurred away, while her ears were muffled by blood, and rendered useless. Her entire body burned with an agony that was impossible to describe, as it was something so unlike what Yukionna or Alice had ever put her through, and Lucius intended to continue on until she was dead.

That was where she was heading. Even in her last thoughts, she was unable to even think about her life or regrets. All that she could focus on was the pain, and her inability to grasp onto the idea of surviving. Even her Wonderland power had abandoned her, and the spirits were silent, breaking their promises and oaths. As Lucius attempted to dig in his knife once more, he would instantly feel no pressure meeting the tip of the blade, as her body disappeared into ribbons of dense darkness, only to swirl and wrap around her a bright, blazing pink orb. Within less than a small number of heartbeats to measure time, those 'ribbons' closed in on the ball of light, and vanished as they touched it. The light was none other than Izayuki's center and the core of her very being: her soul.

From there, Izayuki failed to realize anything. Her body had disappeared, leaving only her soul to float helplessly above the ground. In this form, she could no longer see, hear, smell, taste, feel, or sense anything. The scene was a distant blur in a memory, and the sounds nearby there, stirring the air with the slightest vibrations of their soundwaves, yet inaudible to the deceased yokai’s soul. This was not the first time such a tragedy had struck the youthful Bakedanuki, though. The last time it had occurred was when Storyteller had brutally murdered Izayuki, shortly after she had summoned her panda god, Seijin. Now that she was reduced to this helpless state, however, the pink-hued, blazing soul was able to at least detect energies and powers, and one was very familiar. An object on someone, another soul nearby, that had the faintest traces of energy from someone so similar to her last killer. It was not Storyteller, but who was it? There was no doubt about it; that was the only reason and way Lucius had managed to subdue his victim’s magic and strengths and successfully kill her.

Of course, the soul could not think, naturally. It had no mind. It was but a soul, attached to a spirit embedded deep inside of it, along with a few other unimportant ones who had no more power than she currently did. That was, until another familiar presence leaked into the area, one that was much warmer and less threatening than her most recent killer. After a bit of time, the Bakedanuki could somehow figure out how to regenerate, or if she did manage to fade away slightly, she could reincarnate with a vast number of options. But why go through such lengths when there was an easier way out? There was no reason, logic, emotion, morals, or even instinct, anymore. There was something there, but there was no possible way to identify it. It was so simple, not complex in the least, yet what could it have been?

As Astrid finally moved further into the room, Izayuki’s soul wasted no time in taking action. The bright pink orb of light instantly lurched forwards and whizzed towards the silver-haired girl, only to begin spinning around her at astonishing speeds, so that it was no more than a scintillating blur. Finally, after spiralling around the girl, the soul of the tanuki yokai would attempt to make its way into the core of its new host, targeting her heart and trying to enter through that area. The process would include a searing and burning sensation, sending the gripping feeling throughout the body. The Bakedanuki herself had barely any literal awareness of what was going on, as the yokai soul attempted to dominate the main one inside the body, and force Izayuki’s consciousness to return as it pushed aside Astrid’s.

Izayuki had not taken full possession yet, however. The soul of the tanuki began trying to change its host’s body to take more of a shape that it was familiar with. First, it would force a simple transformation, pushing out tanuki-shaped ears that were silver in color, as well as a large fluffy tail from behind. To top off the basic obake’s shapeshift, Astrid’s body would be left with canine fangs and wicked claws from her fingertips. No doubt, it would be a shocking and painful metamorphosis for someone unaccustomed to transformation, but the soul itself had no awareness of what was going on….

That was, until what used to be blue eyes opened to reveal two pinks orbs as Izayuki finally seized back her consciousness. Clutching her head from slight pain from the daze, the tanuki attempted to recall what had just happened. Lucius…. Blood…. Torture…. Pain…. More blood…. A shining dagger…. Blood…. Darkness. And now here she was, but what was that voice she had heard despite having the darkness consuming her senses? Surely it was not… Astrid? But wait, what had just transpired? It could not be…

Tanuki-tsuki… her thoughts rang out as she suddenly realized that the body she was in was not her own. The form was much smaller than her own, and since when had her hair been of a silver shade? No…. she was so confused. Where was Astrid? It would not be that she was Astrid; that made no sense. Yet the truth was striking Izayuki dozens of times over before her foggy thoughts finally placed the events all together. She actually had done it. A tanuki-tsuki. A possession.

Izayuki's thoughts were still slow and foggy as she continued trying to figure out what was going on, that was, until Lucius's voice broke her the silence. Pink eyes refocusing on him, he was covered in blood. Her blood. And shaking... shaking? Oh, of course. His older sister was Astrid, and right now? She was Astrid.
His glare was cold, and his hand went to grab for her throat as he finished speaking, causing the girl to back up, until she realized his hesitation. Ah yes, he would not hurt her now. If he tried to hurt her, he would hurt Astrid as well, most likely.

She had not tried to possess the Golden Phoenix guildmember, and how it had happened was a mystery to the Bakedanuki. Nevertheless, it had been done, and while she absolutely hated the feeling of being in another’s body, she had no time to sit idle while her killer was right before her. Earlier, her soul had managed to recognize trace aura similar to her killer from many months ago, Storyteller. Pinpointing that aura, Izayuki narrowed her pink eyes at a tiny chain hanging from around his neck, obviously holding something bigger. That was it. That was what had jammed her senses and magic moments ago, and was the main reason that she had lost against Lucius and had been killed. Clenching her teeth, Izayuki quickly lashed Astrid’s delicate hand forward and attempted to snatch the necklace and break it off of him. As expected, she could almost immediately sense strong-level magic flowing from it. This was the culprit object. Tossing it off to the side, the yokai instantly felt her strength regaining. He had not managed to cut out her ability to possess, but that was because it was not magic based, like her items or the most of her abilities.

“Haven’t I told you before?” she asked in Astrid’s body, despite the voice sounding hauntingly like her own familiar one, instead of the violinist’s more hushed tone. “Don’t underestimate a Bakedanuki.”

Astrid… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…

Within a matter of heartbeats, Izayuki lunged forward, her silver tail lashing from behind her as she swung up a leg to kick him off to the side, against a wall. After what he had done, she could not let him get away unpunished. Just like during that night on the roof, she was in a yokai fury state again, with her pink eyes glowing a bloody crimson. This time, however, she was able to hold onto her emotion, logic, morals, and reason, due to not being controlled by madness on top of instinct. Nevertheless, instinct was telling her to repay the man for what he had done to her, and it was all she could do to avoid trying to kill him again.

Assuming he was kicked to the side, hit the wall, and fell to the floor, she would make her way over to him at a fast pace and attempt to pick him up by the back of the neck and slam his front into the wall, pinning him. “Don’t you worry. I’m not going to kill you, but I can’t allow a pathetic human like you to remain in Black Rose~”

Forgive me for this, Astrid.

With that last thought hanging in the air of her mind, Izayuki identified the location of his guildmark and found it on his lower back. Within less than a second, she attempted to use her claws to penetrate the area, deep, and drag them through his skin over the guild mark. She would repeat this motion numerous times, sinking her claws into flesh and muscle and tearing apart his black-hued rose-shaped marking that associated him with the guild. The tanuki would only stop until any hint or sign of the guild tattoo was completely gone, shredded by her own claws. Taking a step back, she would release the back of his neck and retract her clawed hand, bringing her fingers close to her face to lick the blood, out of instinct. Unlike last time, she was not entirely driven by bloodlust. Nevertheless, it was good to have a familiar taste of the warm, sweet blood enticing her again. “If I ever see you again, I won’t hesitate to kill you. Now if you know what is best for you, get out of my sight.”

Astrid… please…. Don’t hate me.

There was a certain satisfaction in seeing the reaction to the pain she inflicted on Lucius. While she may have regretted torturing him the first time around, on that bloody night where her nature and instincts had driven her insane, after what he had done, Izayuki was hardly in a forgiving mood. Nevertheless, there lingered a guilt as she finished her goal with Lucius, having successfully removed his guild mark in the most painful way the yokai could have thought of. Instead of waiting around for her soul to regenerate some healed physical body for her, Astrid had entered the scene, and something had pulled the Bakedanuki's soul towards the girl, resulting in a tanukitsuki- a possession.

And here she was, in Astrid's body, with fresh blood dripping from the claws her soul had given the human's physical body. With her somewhat-cleaner hand, the tanuki wiped a blood drip off of her mouth with the top of her wrist, having had already consumed some of the blood that had lingered on her claws. It was too late for Izayuki to realize what she had just done; forcing Astrid to take blood from her own little brother.

... Astrid never would forgive her, would she?

Izayuki tried to stifle the realization under her other racing thoughts, but was having enough trouble gathering her bearings once again. Firstly, how was she supposed to dislodge her soul from the human's mind? Why could she no longer hear Astrid's voice... surely the girl was safe... right?

The Bakedanuki nearly jumped at the sudden crash as the wall came tumbling down. Turning with a start, Izayuki narrowed her pink eyes at the figure who had just stumbled upon the scene. That familiar scent, and aura? Truly, it was similar to her own, but not quite. "K-Kim?" she stuttered, recognizing the person who had saved her long ago by awakening her yokai spirit. What was she doing here now?

Lucius Foss ☺ Guildless ☺ C-Rank
Y o u   c o u l d   b e   t h e   c o r p s e   a n d   I   c o u l d   b e   t h e   k i l l e r

The tears or the now guildless mage continued to stream out of his eyes and down his face as he laid curled next to the wall. Clutching himself weakly with his scraped up fingers, most of his fingernails broken and bleeding out from underneath. His warm blood poured out from his recent wound, soaking through the lower part of his shirt. So much pain, why did he get himself into this mess? His damn pride was always making himself do things that weren't always the wisest. Especially picking a fight with the Black Rose guildmaster, why was she so much stronger? She was only a rank above his own wasn't she?
WHY AM I SO WEAK?! I CAN'T EVEN PROTECT MY OWN SISTER!
His own thought shouted loudly within this skull, making him sob. Why was he even crying now? He has had worse pain then this, was it just the fact that his sister getting tortured and possessed? Then the thought of her torturing him, Inanis was right, it was all his fault. Astrid wouldn't have to suffer all of this if it wasn't for him, he should of ignored her beautiful violin playing when he first met her. He should of continued on his way, doing whatever his god wanted him to do, like he was supposed to. But he didn't, he was greedy, he wanted it even when he didn't know. Lucius wanted a proper family, one that's father wouldn't constantly abuse their son whenever he made the simplest mistake. One that's mother wouldn't keep screeching at her son because he should've been the one that died instead. One that didn't have insanity and curses coursing through it's bloodline. So he let himself get attached to the little silver haired girl who was the purest person to ever exist on this planet. And he had the nerve, the nerve, to call her his sister. This green haired teen didn't deserve any of this, he shouldn't have anything worth while. He is just supposed to be a puppet controlled by the god of darkness, to spread tragedy and despair.
Of course I deserve this, but not Astrid, let her be safe
and I'll
I'll leave
just let her be okay
let her be ok-
His thoughts getting more blurry as he started to pass out, his vision blurring, spots dancing through his eyes. Lucius heard the wall break along with a shout, he heard words from a newly arrived person, and also the dreaded tanuki. But he didn't understand what they said, it was to hard, he could barely keep himself from falling unconscious. He needed to stay awake, just to see if she would be okay.

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