Tiny new friend

Godess's Boon Lineage: +100% Jewel
Golden Lacrima: +25% Jewel

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The day had been long for the young dragon as he walked through the city of Hargeon disguised as a commoner. He wanted to inspect the town, make sure things hadn't gone tits up since his departure... more importantly, he wanted to check in on specific members of the guild of Lamia Scale. Samira was the first one he checked in on, using his stealth to vanish from sight and appear near her window. He slid his gaze in and noticed a black cat sitting on her desk talking to her, much to his luck the cat was also looking at Samira so it didn't see him. It smelled like one of her spirits, so he assumed it was one of those spirits that doubled as pets that he'd heard of. She seemed distracted, looking at the book of the gods but it was obvious that she wasn't reading. He knew how she smelled when she was confused and distracted, as well as... other... times... and this was definitely the confusion. 'It seems she's not as good at deciphering riddles as I thought.' Ysrad said in Ikuchi's head. 'What did you do?' Ikuchi asked while hiding behind the wall, not making a single audible sound. 'I revealed to her the answer to an issue she's having, though... not exactly how her meager intelligence could-' 'Do not insult her, old man.' Ikuchi interrupted, the status of being a "good ally" having more significance for the young dragon than normal humans. 'My apologies, I hadn't realized she was close to you.` 'She's not.' Ikuchi's reply was cold as death, and highly annoyed sounding as well. 'Your rider seems to be suffering from a literally shattered heart... she'll need to reclaim the pieces, one of which you carry.' the old dragon said to Ikuchi, causing his eyes to widen at the thought of Kaori having any room in her heart for him. He grit his teeth at the thought of facing her again, and while his instincts told him she'd see nothing that needs forgiving, his pride told him otherwise. Ikuchi had spotted an odd shaped shadow flying across the ground and looked up at the cause... a type of bird that wasn't native to the port that was flying in circles around the castle. Ikuchi didn't know why his instincts pulled his attention to it, but he wasn't going to risk anything by ignoring them.

Ikuchi vanished and reappeared at the top of the castle and watched the bird flying around, and after an hour of it, the bird landed on the top of a pole to take a rest. The young dragon had figured it must've come from quite the distance away if it was resting after only an hour, but that was to his fortune. He vanished and reappeared behind the bird without making a sound. He then grabbed the bird gently, making sure to keep its wings pressed firmly against its side while restricting as much movement as possible. He felt it squirm in his hand, kicking its feet, and trying to peck at him but having very little success. Ikuchi noted the letter attached to it and removed the item, causing the bird to panic even more at the thought of having its message stolen. He skimmed over the letter while picking out specific details to understand it. An ally of Kaori's had requested assistance in a different place that was through the wakusei portals and provided a key to go there. Kaori wasn't in Hargeon at all, so Ikuchi had taken the mantle and decided he'd go in her stead. Ikuchi had tied the letter back to the bird's leg but kept the key for the portal and released the fowl. It fried reclaiming the item, but had quickly been caught again. He vanished and reappeared in the guild where he put the bird in a cage, instructing one of the members to release it after a full day had passed and began making his way to the Wakusei Portals.

Once there, Ikuchi inserted the item in the slot on the portal and watched it change to a rainbow colored version. Stepping through it was definitely an odd feeling as always, but he paid it as little mind as physically possible. Arriving, Ikuchi had to squeeze through some pillars that were just far enough spaced that he could get through with maybe some room for a magazine or two- something good for funneling enemies through. Once he was past that obstacle, he saw a camp had been made with people moving things around. There was a tower and a wooden structure amidst the various tents, and one person stood out among the multiple humans present... She had white hair with a set of wolf-like ears on her head, and a rather fluffy tail to match. Going by how she was coordinating everyone, she must've been the leader and her scent had matched the one from the letter. As Ikuchi approached, she would see he wore a pair of black dress shoes polished to a perfect shine. In the middle of the bottom lace was a solid gold flower, a hibiscus. He wore a set of black dress pants to match, and a well cared for shirt of the same color was tucked into them. From his neck dangled another golden hibiscus, as though it were symbolic to the man. His broad shoulders gave way to normal sized arms, the muscular structure hidden behind black silk sleeves; courtesy of his formal shirt. The man wore a dark grey tie that had a crimson outline on the top, and holding the two tie ends together and preventing wind from flicking them about was a golden clasp. On his face was a gray mask with some markings on it. The mask covered his forehead, eyes, and nose like a type of masquerade mask that lacked the tacky shiney crap. Upon standing in front of Leila, Ikuchi would say "Miss Vergious, my name is Ikuchi. Lady Kaori is currently preoccupied so I'll be assisting you." with a strong and respectful tone.

Ikuchi had felt his heart sink when she asked what his relationship with Kaori was. He remembered back in the Lamia Scale guild hall how he raised his sword to her, and while it was to prevent her from doing something she'd inevitably kill herself out of shame for, it wasn't his job to do that. "I..." he began saying, his voice had changed to sadness and guilt. "I am neither. I am her former servant, one who has fallen from grace and is trying to redeem himself. I used to be her most trusted ally, but... things happened. I lost my honor that day and am unable to face Lady Kaori until I reclaim it." his words sounded true and very sincere, though they gave Leila very little reason to trust him. Kaori wasn't a spiteful person and it was generally difficult to get on her shit list, so without having specified anything or gone into detail on the situation he left himself open for suspicion- though, that was a non-priority for the dragon. After a bit more walking Leila had said "I was expecting company of a cute girl, but I suppose you will do. But I do suggest that you go around the camp and find a spare change of clothes. I appreciate the dapper look, but where we are going, it'll be very humid. Large amounts of mud and water in the way too. Formal attire is the last thing you want. That is if you do plan to tag along as was the subject of my letter." Ikuchi let out a small chuckle, such things were of little consequence to him. "I appreciate your willingness to compromise and accept me, and a change of clothing isn't necessary. Lady Kaori and I have been through the desert and bloody fields with me dressed like this. Consider it a handicap to make the fight more fair for our enemies." His tone was less sad than before, and more confident as he remembered the good old days.

The two had passed a group of individuals who gave Ikuchi a fairly dirty look that he didn't bother acknowledging with any reaction. As far as he was concerned, they were nothing more than humans with little to no power- he could end them with one hit if attacked. Ikuchi was used to dirty looks from lowly humans anyway. He grew up back when humans were less trusting of anything, and while walking around settlements he always had to make sure to enter and exit without stopping most the time. While in the wilds he took on his true form, which made humans attack him on sight but made survival much easier otherwise. His attention had returned to Leila when she began speaking, saying "This path will lead us to the west end of this specific island. It's a dead end with not much there, but a number of creatures made it their home. We have to show dominance so that they grow hesitant and don't attack this camp. And by dominance I mean dominance. I don't fancy killing the local fauna, so a mere display of power to scare them off will be enough. Any questions?" Ikuchi hadn't truly acknowledged the statement by answering directly, but he did respond. "Your magic allows you to change your form, is that correct?" he would ask having noticed her arm changing when he was approaching. If she told him he was right, or explained her magic, Ikuchi would say "Then we are not so different." hinting that the form she saw wasn't his real one. If she denied her magic being take over, then Ikuchi would say "I see."

"I can understand your lack of trust for me, but I feel it necessary to say that I can literally smell it radiating from you." Ikuchi said bluntly, addressing the one thing that would make this temporary team problematic. "If you're going to be suspicious of me then I have no reason to believe you won't stab me in the back out of paranoia, in which case I may as well leave and avoid that fate." Ikuchi held his right hand out and a ring with eight celestial keys had appeared. "Charlotte, Jedinaiah, Scarlet, Mammoth, Aquarius, and the three new spirits whose names I'm yet to learn; these are their keys as I'm sure you've seen them before. They respond to me the same way they respond to Kaori since I'm part of their contracts, let that sink in when trying to gauge my reliability." The whole time, Ikuchi's tone didn't sound angry or offended. He was using a very straight tone with her that was more matter of fact than anything. The set of keys vanished, except standing behind him was one spirit in particular that he didn't anticipate calling herself out. His eyebrow raised at her smell, but his mask concealed that reaction. She had green feet inside black dress shoes, and the skin on her legs were green which transitioned into pale skin. She wore a light purple, flowing dress with a black belt under where her breasts which were still covered by the dress. She had pale skin on her arms that transitioned to green hands. Her face was very cute and had gentle features, light pink lips, and azure eyes with the same colored hair. A pair of antlers stuck straight out of her head like sign posts, and she had ears resembling an elve's ears. Behind those, but a bit further up on her head, was a pair of pink fluffy bits that only served to make her seem cuter, and not in a lesbian sort of way.


It was Query, the spirit who formed the black hole back in Bosco. She walked up to Ikuchi with an inquisitive look on her face and rested her hand on his chest while closing her eyes. Ikuchi stood there and looked at her through his mask, not moving at all out of curiosity for what she was doing. "You truly are part of my contract." she said before removing her hand. "I am Query, my gate is Enigma. My summoner is connected to you, but you are causing her pain by staying away. I request you return to her, she does not feel anger towards you, but rather gratitude for what you did back then. I feel gratitude as well, without your actions I would not have found her." As always, Query's tone was soft spoken and very polite. She didn't have the classic high pitched tone that other kind and caring girls seemed to have, but rather, a mature one that carried an air of being aloof and aware- a contradiction in and of itself. Ikuchi looked at the spirit and then looked away. "I will take your silence as a means of consideration. Bear in mind, you will need to face her to make her complete again... you and Ashley together." Query said before vanishing into azure particles. Spirits were connected with their summoners on very deep levels, most knowing everything about their wizards and others knowing nothing but having absolute faith in them. The face that she knew about Ashley was proof that Ikuchi truly was contracted with her. "Let's get going Miss Vergious, we'll ensure the creatures know the boundaries of their territory." he said coldly, not wanting to think about what just happened any further. He would wait for Leila to begin walking since she knew the way and follow behind her.

---

Walking down the narrow and fairly linear path, Leila had said something that Ikuchi had taken with a grain of salt. "I don't know your style of battle, so if you decide to kill... I won't try to stop you. But remember what I said before. I refuse to have blood on my hands. Don't think I'm saying this as a warning... it's my weakness. Any enemy can take advantage of these decisions I make. It's more of a plea that if something like that happens and you decide to help me, I will be thankful. Truly." No one could refuse one hundred percent to not kill, no being- human, animal, microorganism, goddess, or otherwise was able to completely avoid murder. However, each individual had different buttons needed to press and lengths required to traverse before they would kill. For people like Ikuchi and Kaori, that line was so thin it was almost completely non-existent. Ikuchi had waited a few seconds after she had finished talking before saying "Lady Kaori does not allow her allies to be harmed if she can help it. They could be the most powerful of gods or the weakest of children, she protects them just the same if they're on her side. I am no different." Ikuchi had heard the rustling and smelled the creatures hiding within, but had done nothing as Leila didn't want to kill the local wildlife if she could help it. "Miss Vergious, if I may be so bold as to say this..." he paused while fixing his gaze on Leila "...Your policy of not killing will not prevent you from doing it. I am not saying you would turn hypocritical, but there will come a time where you- because of your past choices- will have no choice but to choose between losing a dear friend, or forfeiting your policy on not killing. You chose to align yourself with the Magic Council- former Rising Star; you'll find no shortage of enemies. You choose to assist humans, you'll find no shortage of enemies, both human and not human. You choose to attempt friendship with Lady Kaori... you'll bathe in blood from that alone. However, don't give up on your policy just by knowing that. I find it to be cute... I like cute... and tiny... and combinations of the two. And now I'm rambling." His whole lecture was delivered in a fairly serious, but not condescending voice while they walked. All of it was true, she had made all the right choices in life to make all the enemies the universe could offer and then wanted to be friends with the leader of the most vicious clan in all of Midi, but didn't want to kill...

Ikuchi had let out a sigh and stopped walking, turning to face the brush with a scowl on his face. Due to the mask he was wearing, Leila would only see the mouth half of his expression. "You've been stalking us for a while... I have been listening to you breathing, and smelling the lunch on your breath for the past ten minutes." A man stood up in the brush who Ikuchi had remembered seeing at Leila's camp, one of the guys who were laughing while eating lunch with his buddies. "Damn outsider, you don't belong here!" he shouted in anger before moving to stand between Ikuchi and his boss, Leila. Ikuchi let out a small laugh and turned while crossing his arms over his chest. "Please my fellow servant, pray tell... How do you belong here? As I recall, you came in on human transportation so do tell me how you have a birth right to walk this land." he said with a smirk on his face, honestly waiting for the response. "We found this place-" "Ah, yes... human conquest, the ultimate birth right. Seriously now, tell me what's stopping me from ending your conquest right now? Miss Vergious isn't the answer, she's much too slow moving for that." The man stood and grit his teeth. He wasn't about to call him a liar since Kaori was somewhat famous for being brutal, ridiculously fast, and powerful. Ikuchi had no intention of killing the man, but he was more than willing to put him in his place. "I'll show you!" the man shouted and charged Ikuchi with a balled up fist. Ikuchi let out a sigh since what was about to happen was something he considered a chore, and not a battle worthy of his true power. Ikuchi vanished from where he stood some fifteen feet away and at the exact same moment he had appeared standing next to the man with his hand on the man's stomach. As he said before, Leila was most likely not fast enough to stop Kaori. What he didn't mention was that he was trained by Kaori, and had battled Kaori on equal footing longer than anyone before had ever done. The man had felt time slow down as he looked to his right and saw Ikuchi, then he felt the palm move forward and lift him from the ground from the force. A battle axe formed in Ikuchi's hand as he raised it straight up. The battle axe was pure white with a six and a half foot long pole, also white. At the end of it was a golden hibiscus like the one that dangled from his neck, attached by a white tassel to the weapon. The broad side that was without a blade was exposed to the man, then quick brought down on his back to send him to the ground. The man turned around to face Ikuchi and felt the top end of the axe pressed against his neck. The axe had the two blades on both sides of the pole, and the top was without any sharpening which was good for pushing people back, not decapitating them. He pressed the flat part into his neck till the back of the man's head was against the ground. "Know this, I have every right that you, Miss Vergious, or her other servants have to walk this land. Go back to work plebeian, attack me again and I'll remove your limbs." Ikuchi removed the weapon and turned to continue down the path.

The man had returned to the camp with nothing more than a back ache and damaged pride, a reward compared to what Ikuchi would've done if that man wasn't part of Leila's group. "I apologize for that. I wasn't raised by humans so my connection with them is minimal at best. Something you may find funny, the first time I met Kaori she split my skull open. She was the second human I ever befriended, everyone else was kept as far away as possible." It wasn't long after that they had come to an elevated stretch of land overlooking a shrine where a great deal of wolves had gathered. Ikuchi got down on a knee and looked at them all as they laid around and heard their stomachs grumbling. A large wolf came over with a deer's leg and dropped it in front the pack, letting his kin eat while he starved further. "Miss Vergious, I do not feel comfortable attacking these creatures. If we can find a large animal or two for them, I can do something much more civil. There's a herd of creatures a mile or two away, we can take out a few of them."

---

"You would not be able to stop me." was the point at which Ikuchi began laughing, and without concern for the woman's alleged power. He took in a deep breath and gave a toothy grin before inhaling "You scold me but fail to realize several things- Miss Vergious. First, you have yet to see even a quarter of Lady Leraci's power, nor do you know what she truly is... she doesn't know what she truly is. Second, you assume you can defeat me at all. You may look similar to a dragon now, but you are not a dragon. Third, you scold me when you fail to acknowledge that if you were a better leader, your men would have no qualms with a stranger in their midst. Were you a better leader, you'd not divert better assets to less demanding places. Were you a better leader, you wouldn't challenge someone you've known for less than an hour. Your ignorance of your opponents will be the end of you... Your arrogance will be the end of everyone you hold dear. To set you on the right path, defeating me means killing me and everyone in the Leraci Clan. You lack the numbers, knowledge, humility, and resolve for that much. But by all means, failure of a leader, make my day and start a war with a clan whose entire existence has made it an art form..." Ikuchi's words were grim for the last sentence, and his next words were more nonchalant and relaxed, as though he weren't talking to someone who just tried to make him scared "Of course, I won't attack anyone unless engaged. I don't like randomly attacking the undeserving." Whether Leila had said anything in response was irrelevent as he would have already begun walking away. Turning your back to an enemy is the ultimate insult for warriors, it meant they were no longer a concern, no longer considered your equal- no longer a threat. If she did attack Ikuchi, she'd quickly find a barrier around him that would take the impact. If she didn't attack, then she wouldn't need to worry about the man's blessing.

Much later, after discussing the fact that the wolves were starving and Ikuchi would be able to resolve things peacefully if they could obtain meat, going so far as to mention a nearby heard of animals they could pick a couple from, Leila had said there was no need for it and moved on to resolve the issue herself. Her method was growing a set of fruit that had the properties of meat, and made Ikuchi grimace while forcing his gag reflex to stay hidden. To him, the act was the equivalent of giving them dog food. Furthermore, the act was also the equivalent of giving a hungry man a fish instead of getting him a job. They were fed for now, but undoubtedly would be hungry again later. She made no negotiations with the wolves to bring about an alliance between the two specias, which only meant that her crew was still a viable source of nutrition for them. Still, Ikuchi hadn't shared his opinion since there was no cause for it. She hadn't asked for it, and it wasn't his mission to tell her she was setting herself up for failure. The wolves would be expected to have an issue with Ikuchi, but instinctively one had walked up to him and pressed the top of its nose to his hand while smelling the man. There was no issue between Ikuchi and wolves, he was closer to them than other humans and any animal could sense his position in nature. Ikuchi had taken to rubbing the snout of the wolf before moving his hand to begin rubbing the back of her head. Once the alpha had eaten his fill, he approached Ikuchi and pressed his nose into the man's head and began smelling, confirming that the man wasn't some form of apparition or the result of starvation induced hallucinations. A lick on his temple had confirmed for Ikuchi that he was welcome among the pack, and he turned his gaze to meet with their leader.

Leila had said "How intriguing… we encountered a number of new species so I assumed that there would be none which are also native to Earthland. Suppose I’ll have to investigate further later on. Seems like this trip is already starting to be worth it." to which Ikuchi thought, but didn't say 'What? A whimsical journey with myself didn't do that?' as it would be much too soon, and he didn't think Leila had removed enough of the pole in her ass to comprehend sarcasm. However, something interesting happened that would allow him to give a more appropriate comment. A monkey that looked like a blue and white Capuchin had ran across the path, up Ikuchi's back, and onto his shoulder to begin playing with his hair- most likely hoping to find something that wasn't there. Ikuchi had reached over, grabbing the monkey by the arm and pulling it in front him where it dangled. "If keeping you was something Lady Leraci wouldn't hammer me for, I would... though she did not express any rejection to permitting temporary alliances..." To which the monkey let out a happy set of calls as though it understood what he said. It began moving down Ikuchi's arm like a tree branch and resumed its position on his shoulder. Leila was inspecting some paw prints and had commented "By the looks of it, there’s more than just these guys. Some of these are not even from… huh, these are… well, I suppose we can go further in. We’re not that far from the edge of the island, so it’s possible that there are some smaller cave systems with creatures hiding inside. Better be watching your surroundings for predators." Ikuchi had no fear of other predators to begin with... He was the son of two dragon gods, other predators were just vermin for him to prove dominance over- but naturally he wouldn't tell that to Leila, he had no reason to. Further more, the Dragon Gods weren't broadcasted to others, and Ikuchi smelled like a human in his current form so she had no reason to suspect his bloodline to be along those levels. "After you, fearless dragon lady." he said with a small smirk, letting Leila be the leader she oh-so-much desired him to believe she was.

---

Up till then, Ikuchi had been quite wary of Leila since she had proven to be far too arrogant for his tastes. However, the straw broke the camel's back when she said "I have fought by Kaori’s side in Bosco where we faced a grand foe. There, I saw a great deal of power, far more than the quarter you claim." Which was when Ikuchi let out a chuckle, turned around to show her his back and said "Look kid, I don't feel like dying alongside some arrogant wretch." and vanished. Every last word after that sentence, even her turning her back to him had gone to waste as he wasn't there to experience it. He wasn't around to hear her speech, not the part about him not knowing what she was, nor the part about her pegging him as a solitary creature, not even the bit where she told him she'd give him a pass to leave the place. He was already gone on account of Leila's arrogance and ignorance, thinking that she knew Kaori's capabilities after seeing only a couple spirits and a few caster class spells. It was absurd, foolish, and childish to think that way and only showed Ikuchi that she was desperate to be the dominant figure on the mission when she was trying to apply that visage to a dragon- a being who was the symbol of dominance in most cultures, and the symbol of power in many others. It was her own fault for alienating Ikuchi, having shown blatant disappointment over Kaori's not being there. It was as though she expected Kaori, a guild ace of a monster hunter guild who was almost constantly on missions, to be at the guild's castle, or drop everything to come and assist someone she hardly even knew. Then she had placed blame on Ikuchi for defending himself, even threatening his safety instead of calling into question her own crew. Of course, that's how bigoted bias works and Ikuchi wouldn't hold it against her for too long. He didn't hold grudges against ungrateful people, he pitied them for all of a few seconds while turning his back on them, leaving them to their fates.

By the time Ikuchi reappeared elsewhere on the island, he'd already changed form from his human one to that of an animal. Leila would be completely unable to use any manner of power to figure him from the other wild life. As she'd said herself, admitting to Ikuchi, she didn't know about the animals here and expected all of them to be different from the ones on earthland. She wouldn't be able to decipher one strange animal from the inevitably hundreds of other strange animals that roamed the land. Leila would be completely alone for the mission, but what Ikuchi had figured would be that her arrogance and lack of self discipline would result in her blaming him instead of looking inward. While he didn't know that she was the reincarnation of a goddess, he could smell the god complex on her like funk on a fresh pile of horse feces. When she had come across the drakes, she was alone, without any partner at all. While this was going on, Ikuchi was reflecting on his master's previous fights.


Ikuchi's mind floated back to before he ran away, before Kaori found him and took him back in, before Kaori became a Wizard Saint, before everything that happened before she met Leila, all the way back to the events that happened at the Soulsmoke Phoenix's Shrine... The phoenix made the first move, inhaling before bellowing forth a cloud of black fire. Even from a distance, the intensity of the flames could be felt. The bird wanted the power to say that it didn't go down without giving Kaori hell, and its passion extended into its every attack. Kaori had no fear in her heart in the face of the intense flames. As her hair whipped around from the force of the fire pushing the air in front it towarda the masked ninja, Kaori released one of the shotguns and used her telekinesis to keep it held in the air. She stretched her hand out towards the blazing inferno as though she were commanding it to stop. A few feet in front of her, the fire slammed into an invisible wall of energy and began fanning out. It seemed as though the flames had consumed the wall as it wrapped around the barrier like ocean waves running over a sea shell on the beach; but, much to the phoenix's surprise and Kaori's lack there of, the ninja was completely unscathed by the attack.

Embers shot past Kaori's mask in the wake of the clashing forces and Kaori grabbed the shotgun she let go of earlier and fired a slug at the bird, hitting the obvious target. The second one in the opposing hand was fired while she used telekinesis to pump the first, another hit. Kaori continued doing this, alternating the attacks to keep a constant spray on the phoenix, but the bird wasn't gonna go down from a few solid holy metal rods to the chest. It spread its wings and flapped once, sending forth a multitude of black, smokey crescents towards Kaori. They were at varying levels, and Kaori knew she couldn't dodge them all; but she knew she could stop some. 'No. I have the power to stop all darkness.' she thought as time seemed to slow down despite Ikuchi respectfully sitting next to Samira. "Shirofune!" Kaori shouted while spinning on the toes of her sandal, allowing her shotguns to erupt into white particles as a different set of particles took their place.

As she spun, a one quarter inch blade formed in each of her hands that was one inch wide, double edged, and four feet long. The blade had no guard, and at the end of its hilt was the kind of forked end you'd see on an arrow. The first crescent wasn't only cut in half, it was purified by Kaori's sword. The black turned into golden light that erupted into particles as it tore itself apart. Kaori was attacking with a heart of love, a heart strengthened by the presence of her friends and reinforced by their love for her. The second sword came across, cutting the next two crescents in half and purifying it as well. In rapid motion, Kaori had alternated her attacks while seeming to be in a violent dance, cutting the darkened soul based energy and turning into a warm light. The bird spun, sweeping its tail across the area and smashing it into Kaori to send her flying back. Were they not on flat ground, Kaori would have to worry about falling off a cliff or something worse; but, as fortune would have it, such was not the case. She landed on her hand, keeping the white sword held in it and used the momentum to swith to her feet while sliding back a bit.

The bird let out a screech while raising its wings, creating a large unit of twenty shadows to attack Kaori. "Send all the shadows you want, my light will reach you!" Kaori shouted, using her Multi-Clone spell to create nine more version of herself. These ones were special in that they could all use Kaori's spells, and shared her passive effects. Each Kaori had attacked one shadow, and vanished to reappear in double the numbers. As one of the Kaori clones stabbed the shadow with her Shirofune, she said "Shii-nee" and the shadow began glowing and then, it erupted into an explosion that consumed the surrounding area.

The phoenix was smoking more than before, it feeling the sting of Kaori's passion as its righteous light began whittling away at its feathers. The birds eyes glowed a bright violet as it began using an ability that Kaori thought was unique to her, but had now learned there were others with it... A pulse of magic energy erupted outward and consumed the area, changing it from the green and white mists of Kyoka, to a burning hot hellscape. Buildings were on fire, and men and women were in the streets fighting each other with katanas. Kaori's heart stopped, she knew this memory... A man began running towards her, his eyes completely white as he raised his sword. Another version of Kaori showed up and cut him across the stomach, ending his life. She had no mask, and her eyes were filled with tears. A woman appeared out of nowhere and attacked her, the younger- much younger Kaori blocking and shouting "Stop, please! I don't wanna fight you!" with a desperate tone. Each person that attacked Kaori had something in common... One symbol dangling from their necks in beautiful solid gold... a hibiscus, the symbol of her clan. It revealed the source of Kaori's distrust for people, the fact that the day she lost most of her clan, the day she became the clan leader, the day she began hunting Saia down... was because she was forced to kill them herself at the age of ten.

A white light erupted through the vision originating from Kaori. A powerful energy pulsed from her being as the pillar of light began to get brighter. Ikuchi had used his tail to block his own eyes to shield them from the intensity. Kaori's mask had untied from the force exerted on the bands as it flew from within her body. Kaori's kimono was flickering just as wildly as her snow white hair. White strands began forming in the air, surrounding Kaori and connecting to the brilliant pillar of light she had created. "You cannot phase me with my own past... I am a monster, I do not feel. I do not show remorse, and I do not regret killing my own people. We will meet again under the warmth of our sun, as the embers clear fields of death in preparation for seeds of life to be sown." Kaori said in a bold tone while raising her right hand. A white sword appeared in her hand, the same one that she had used against the leader when Samira first met Kaori. This time however, the area was filled with something much more powerful than Kaori's hope, her love, or her joy...

White particles began lifting off of Kaori's being, Ikuchi's, and Samira's. The same particles began lifting off the ground, off the phoenix, off of the pillar and from the gem it held. The hope surrounding them was from more than just Kaori, but rather the hope of many people... the hope of humanity. Kaori's kimono was replaced by a flowing white dress, and a pair of angelic wings even larger than Gabriella's and twice as bright. Kaori prepared to attack, and the phoenix began to see the light as it shone too brightly to be ignored. Kaori began flying forward, however she suddenly stopped... Standing before her was Samira with tears in her eyes, arms spread wide as though she were protecting the bird. Kaori's sword began shaking, and she couldn't figure what to do. She quickly realized how great a 'friend' Samira was when she smiled grimly from ear to ear, a black sword appearing in her hand that was thrust through Kaori's heart. The white light radiating from her quickly turned to darkness and Kaori's hazel eyes quickly turned dull and grey as she collapsed on the floor.

"Sammy..." she said in a weak tone, sitting on her knees with a sword of darkness in her heart "...Why?" she finished asking, tears running from her eyes and down her cheeks. The sword Kaori once wielded had turned black and began fading away, and the world became quiet. "You thought I was your friend?" she said in a bitchy tone. "No... you're my bodyguard- that's all you'll ever amount to! You're a half assed, sorry excuse of a wizard and an even worse clan leader. You can't even keep your servant under control the fucking pervert!" she began laying into Kaori, causing her eyes to water more. A dark barrier had formed around Kaori and the phoenix that even Ikuchi's strength couldn't break through. It was now an obligatory one on one match... "Do you even think that scaley mutt of yours loves you? He'd just as easily abandon you as soon as you stopped giving him food. That crew of yours? They'd all leave you. They don't like you, they're afraid of you, you stupid cunt!" "Stop..." Kaori said in a weak tone, blood beginning to drip from her mouth. "No! I wont stop! I'm tired of submitting to your will! I wanted to see ONE of these things, and you turn into a damn child instantly! Then you don't even ask what I want you selfish bitch, and force me to come along! Do you know how hard it is holding my lunch in on the back of that shit!? No, you don't! You don't even care-" "Please... I- I'm sorry..." "-about my well being! You just wanna see your fucking birds, and make yourself happy!" "No... that's not true." "Then you'll go back to your ship and flaunt all your WONDERFUL wealth about, with your expensive ass vanity set, expensive ass bed, fancy fucking chest while I'M left wondering what kind of TWILIGHT ZONE BULL SHIT you dragged me to!" "I... I didn't want..." "You snuggle the living shit out of me, and you know what- YOUR HAIR SMELLS LIKE SHIT! I don't want that near me, I don't want it in the same room as me! Cut it all off you ugly brat!"

Ikuchi's throat began glowing bright red and he opened his eyelids, revealing hellfire for eyes that resemble a dragon's. He shot forth a blast of black flames that only left a red mark on the barrier. Then, he began frantically tackling the barrier with no signs of stopping. He knew the Samira laying into his master was false, but he also could sense his master was breaking. She trusted Samira, and right now, that trust was tearing her apart. He noticed the tip of Kaori's fingers beginning to turn black, and his assault on the barrier became more desperate as the darkness was consuming her and Samira showed no signs of stopping her verbal barrage.

"Even your spirits hate you!" she shouted, arrogantly leaning over Kaori and adding more weight. "And just like your shitty half-breed, and shitty pirate spirits, I'd abandon you just as soon as you stopped being useful." and that was the final straw to break the camel's back. "SHUTUP!" Kaori shouted, all of the darkest emotions of her heart filling the air and completely paralyzing Ikuchi from their weight. However, those emotions cleared quickly... Kaori hesitantly looked around her and saw a field of wheat, sunlight washing over her as her grayed out eyes continued crying. Over a hundred thousand armored men and woman were standing around Kaori, Ikuchi, and Samira. An extremely old man walked out of them, materializing from dust particles and standing in front Kaori. "Grand... father...?" she asked in a weak tone, not believing the sight in front her. The old man kneeled down and touched the sword in her heart, turning it into light that dissipated. He then pulled her in, the phoenix all the meanwhile doing nothing as it hadn't known what was happening. "My dear, you worry too much." he said calmly, stating the last words he said to her when she killed him. "I did not appoint a weak child to take my place... I appointed the strongest of any clan leader who ever lived." his words turned Kaori's eyes to the light, causing them to return to their hazel appearance as the clan leaders of times gone by all got on their knees and prostrated themselves before Kaori.

Kaori's eyes turned fierce and she became angrier than ever, she grit her teeth and grabbed the still dissipating katana. The blade exploded with white energy and Kaori's grandfather vanished, allowing her to blast forward while she rammed it into the phoenix, with it the love of her grandfather, and trust of ever leader bowing to her. The bird's black, smokey feathers turned white and the world returned to normal. Kaori fell from the phoenix's chest, landing on the ground while blood pooled around her from her wounds. The phoenix understood Kaori, and had seen what she meant by saying she (the phoenix) had a flawed heart. A voice rang through the air, peaceful and soft. "Your light has reached me human... for this I thank you." it said, bowing its head and sending a single tear down its beak onto Kaori's heart where she was stabbed. Ikuchi's mind returned to reality and he mentally laughed at the thought of Leila knowing anything of Kaori's power.

---

Ikuchi had let out a sigh and got up from his position, making his way through the brush and moving towards Leila's camp. Even in his dragon form, Ikuchi's movements didn't make a single sound, a blessing from his parents that they gave him before he started his journey over two centuries ago. Peering through a small gap between leaves his hellfire eyes narrowed to slits, focusing on the men and women moving about, one seeming to be standing vigil, and none of them seeming to notice him. His scales were a very dark shade of grey with crimson tips, so he blended in almost flawlessly with the shade around him and since he didn't produce any sounds from moving, not even brushing against the leaves, and he hadn't stepped on any twigs (yet) there was nothing to draw attention to him. Humans, whether they wanted to believe it or not, were pack animals- no different from wolves once you took away the claws, fur, tails, ears, and fangs. He let out a soft growl that had attracted the look of someone, but the individual didn't attack as Ikuchi lurked away, moving from the camp and heading back towards the wolves Leila assisted. He stood at the beginning of their home and sat on his hind legs, curling his tail around him and watched the pack interact with each other. After a few minutes he let out a growl, unable to see the difference between them and humans. He pressed on, moving towards where Leila had made the assumption the rest of the pack would be and not expecting a group of half breeds to be there.

Upon reaching the cave, the smell of fur had mixed with something else... Ikuchi had began walking through the tunnels, past stalagmites and stalactites, past rodents who were minding their own business and lesser predators who all stayed clear from the dragon's path, and following the scent of Leila's dragon form. He walked at a leisurely pace, not particularly slow, but he had no sense of urgency about him. The smell of the wolves was fresh enough in the place for him to think they were still alive, but the smell of several large reptiles was somewhat odd to have it mixed in. Dragonhounds were an extremely rare breed of land dragon; in fact, the only four in existence were him, his brother, his great grand father, and one that he was yet to meet but had heard of several times. Though, this smell didn't have any of the traits of a land dragon in its scent let alone a dragonhound like him. The sound of battle had been heard several moments after it had already begun and Ikuchi began picking up his pace. Had it been wolves the battle wouldn't have taken place, Leila lacked the resolve to attack first- she wanted peace but was afraid to wage war; or, at least that was Ikuchi's opinion. He heard flapping, like a bat except a lot bigger, bigger than Ikuchi even. His pace picked up, turning to a full on sprint and not much longer the smell of blood had crossed his nostrils.


The sound of a rock being crushed echoed through the tunnels and into the massive cavern the four drakes and Leila were in, and then something black shot out the darkness at record speed. The drake in front Leila that she was touching felt the pain of massive, black teeth sinking into the back of its neck just before it was lifted off its feet. Ikuchi's momentum kept him going, and his strength let him throw the drake across the expanse and send it flying across the ground and smashing through several rock formations on its way. The veins on the underside of his leathery neck began lighting up, glowing bright red before he let out a blast of flames that were black in color and made of molten onyx that burned though the body of the drake on the other side and left it limp. The other three took to the air in an attempt to get some distance, which Ikuchi allowed. Under his claw was a small, shiny object... a celestial key... He moved his paw in a way that the six in long onyx claws sparked against the floor and send the key sliding towards Leila. He turned his head, the third eyelid coming across horizontally and revealing pure red eyes with vertical slits, the red parts seeming to burn like the flames of hell itself as he let out a growl. This version of Ikuchi had a massive head with large, demon-like horns pointing behind it. The head had many exposed teeth, and was decorated with black, gem-like scales that had crimson trimming on the ends. These scales continued down the back of Ikuchi, all the way to the tip of his tail. His sides, and belly were covered in a thick, dark grey, leathery material that may as well be on a rhino. His four massive claws were the same material as his scales, and were razor sharp. In terms of size, Ikuchi stood at six feet tall while standing on its four massive legs, fifteen feet from nose to tail, and three feet from shoulder to shoulder. His eye changed color from hellish red, to a pure white as Ikuchi used one of Kaori's healing spells to stop Leila's bleeding as well as reduce the pain enough for her to tolerate. It wasn't much, but it was all the two of them had time for- the rest would be up to whatever medical team she had, or any healing spells she knew.

The three remaining drakes had landed on the other side and an extra one had dropped from the ceiling to join its buddies. Ikuchi took a few steps back, his eyes returning to their original color and his snarling growing louder. The scales on the last quarter of his tail raised up as he prepared to fight his opponents, hoping that he didn't honestly have to take on all four of them and Leila would get up and take on two. Leila didn't have many reasons to suspect Ikuchi on a logical level, and she had no knowledge of his ability to switch form. However, none of the animals on this planet seemed to care for her like the ones on earthland. Dragonhounds were known to a very minor extent on earthland, and were more dragon than hound... as in, they were completely dragon and only had some hound-like appearances. None of her crew had any need for a spell to change their form to one, it's not like the physical advantages of being a dragon that was smaller than other dragons was that significant... and turning into a more common dragon would be so much more badass. Ikuchi's onyx claws and fangs began giving off a strange type of energy... an almost divine aura came about him as he prepared, waiting only to see if Leila had the strength to get up or if she would accept defeat.

Looking forward, Ikuchi didn't hear anything moving behind him. While normally this would be a good thing, in this moment, it was very bad. The lack of movement means that Leila had wasted his time, meaning he would have wasted his rider's time as well. He had gone through the effort of coming back to help her, and she lacked the will to be of any use. It was an insult to his generosity, one that the dragon would never stand for. Ikuchi turned away as many wolves showed up, walking away from Leila long before she vanished with a black hole opening and him walking in. He was using the aid of his and Kaori's powerful allies, the mythical Snoop Genie to leave this world that would become Leila's grave. He didn't look sad when he left, his tail wasn't low or between his legs, and his movements weren't sluggish which would show there was nothing holding him back and making him want to stay. His head was held high and his tail slowly swayed from side to side as he walked away as proud of a dragon as ever, as though he never even met Leila. Ikuchi didn't care for the woman, she'd shown him everything she hates in humans... The highest level of arrogance, a god complex, and upon being shown that they have no dominion over something... a complete loss of volition. He didn't even give her the dignity of a passing glance as he left.

Upon arriving on the other side of the portal, he was in his penthouse suit in Hosenka with a small girl already jumping and latching on to the top of his head. A flame engulfed Ikuchi as the portal closed and revealed his human form, after which returning the child's hug. The young girl had asked if Samira was doing alright, to which Ikuchi informed her that she was doing fine. He let her know that he wasn't sure how Kaori was doing, but he could feel that she was no longer in pain, but still very much alive. This made her smile and a woman resembling an angel had walked in, stating that she was glad that Samira and Kaori were both doing alright. Ikuchi had then announced that there was something he had to do, which confused the woman and little girl but since he hadn't given them reason to distrust him they didn't ask any questions. Ikuchi had gone to his room and sat at his desk, picking up one of the lavish gold and ivory pens that the hotel provided while also pulling a clean sheet of paper. He stared at the page, not knowing what to write nor what he should write... 'sorry for abandoning you' was a pretty bad opening, but not exactly inappropriate. Several hours later he found himself drifting off and falling asleep not long after that.

When he opened his eyes, Ikuchi and Samira were exiting the Wakusei portals in preparation for going back to Hargeon, more specifically, when Ikuchi was stepping outside of the building the portals were in; something shot from behind, slamming into the servant who was carrying a stack of books that made him throw his ten rare books high into the air while simultaneously being taken through the air. The landing was about as graceful as their take off, and resulted in Gabriella holding onto Ikuchi tightly, wrapping her wings around the man so as to protect them both from getting injured. A hundred feet out, when they finally stopped rolling Gabriella had seemed to have come out on top in the most literal sense, and she pushed herself up to get her breasts away from Ikuchi's face. "Ouch." Ikuchi said, letting his body relax and head tap the dirt road below him. "Where is Miss Kaori!?" Gabriella demanded, her eyes filled with panic. "At the castle being treated by Lady Ceostra." Ikuchi stated calmly, feeling that his luck would have it be another story. "Miss Gisen has been out of the castle for days... in the Cursed Lands." Gabriella said, hesitantly.

A magic circle appeared nearby that was fairly large, and as it rose from the ground a very familiar ship had materialized. A small girl wearing a pirate's outfit had run out of a port on the bottom, stopping in front of Ikuchi with tears in her eyes. Ikuchi's neutral expression turned into a frown as he didn't need to be told what was going on. A Celestial Spirit was away from her wizard, crying... "What are we dealing with?" he asked, not needing to be told Kaori was in danger. "I- I don't know... but we can't contact Miss Kaori! There's some dark energy sealing us all, and- and Aquarius-" "I care not for him- How fast can you get us to Hargeon?" he cut Charlotte off as she tried explaining that Aquarius was in a very hostile mood. "Get in, I can teleport the ship there." Charlotte said, turning to run back to run through the now opened cargo bay door. Gabriella had gotten off Ikuchi and flown back to retrieve his books. She would have to fly back to Hargeon as once the mage and the dragon were on board, the ship was gone.

As the ship appeared in front the guild hall, Ikuchi shot out of it and vanished to reappear across the bridge and vanish again. He had begun making his way to the medical area of the castle when he heard the sound of something being slammed. While Samira made her way through the guild hall, she saw a large fist made completely of steel coming toward her, impacting her stomach and slamming her into the wall. The rest of his being began materializing as the cyan particles formed a very angry Captain Iron Fist. "You did this..." he said grimly, his glowing eyes reflecting the surface of the sea and was showing no capacity for mercy. A much larger fist hit Aquarius, sending him flying back through the hallway. A nine foot tall monster of a man who's body took up almost all of the hallway materialized to challenge him. "Nursing room six, fourth floor." he said in a deep voice. "The others are holding her back." he added, implying someone was fighting Kaori's spirits... When Samira arrived to the specified location, the cracked wall had exploded as Scarlet and Jediniah flew through surrounded by darkness. Ikuchi and Samira looked through the hole and saw something that no one could have expected...

The room was in complete disarray... The cabinets that housed first aid supplies were reduced to nothing more than nails on the wall, the cabinets were on the floor and dripping with the contents of destroyed glass. The beds that once lined the room were reduced to splinters, scattered along the corners of the room along with the shredded remains of the bed casings and feathers of the insides of those beds. Cracks lined the walls where the marks of battle had been seen, and in the rubble was Scarlet and Jediniah. The two had large cuts in their bodies, and their eyes were whited out. The bone swords Jediniah held were broken, and Scarlet's shotguns bent irregularly. The two spirits vanished back to the spirit world to recover, and in the middle of the room was the shit of nightmares... Kaori's mask had been cracked so that one of her eyes could be seen beyond the metal under-layer of the mask. This crack expanded until the mask had fallen off... Her hazel eyes were set among a sea of darkness that was creeping inward, preparing to consume the last of her mind. Black tears had been flowing from Kaori's eyes as the betrayal she'd witnessed consumed her and sent her heart into chaos. Her eyes would narrow on Samira, not knowing that she was the original. As her shirofune began materializing in her right hand, Kaori would straighten herself up with more tears coming from her pain filled eyes... But something was terribly, and very blatantly wrong with the sword. It was no longer white, nor was it radiating light. The sword was purely black, and radiated a black smoke to reflect the darkness in her heart. Ikuchi's eyes shot open and he looked around, confirming he wasn't actually in the middle of that horrible dream. Much to his relief, he was in the penthouse suit in the hotel in Hosenka and not having to fight Kaori a second time.