Persona BLEACHED 4: Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Winds of Change
January 9, 2031
What had began as an all-out war throughout Tokyo was beginning to shrink down into isolated conflicts.
The mercenaries hired by the Kawagami Conglomerate had scattered to the winds. Agents of the Velvet Room had already caught up to them and wiped their memories clean.
Harold Dystergaard's cult had been routed. Those who had survived past their figurehead's demise had surrendered to the Defense Force. Horace and Robert were found unconscious, and were taken into custody.
The Wolfpack itself had suffered enormous losses. Three of their four main generals were dead. Morale had dropped to profound lows. Many who wished to save their own skins began surrendering.
All that was left was the two heads. Ezekiel and Johnny.
Atop Tokyo Tower, Emily looked out to the city, while Cindy sat against the damaged satellites. 
"There you are." Dai landed. "I'd been flying around for a while."
"Hey, Dai..." Cindy uttered half-heartedly.
"That didn't sound as spirited as usual. Did something..."
He noticed Hugo sitting next to Cindy.
"What's going on with him? Is he rebooting?"
Cindy shook her head. "Hugo's gone."
"Gone? What happened?"
"Her brain chip was severely damaged. The only way to fix it was to replace the CPU. Hugo sacrificed his consciousness to repair it." Emily explained.
"If he hadn't done that, I'd be..." Cindy trailed off.
Dai knelt down next to her. "I'm sorry. I know how much he meant to you. He has my gratitude for saving you. As cold a comfort as that might be right now."
Cindy rested her head against him. "....."
"Dai." Emily spoke. "Did I sense correctly just now? Zhenlong is...?"
He nodded. "Father put an end to him. And what of the old wizard?"
"Dystergaard is no more. I personally saw to that. The souls he stole can finally be at peace."
"I know how much that had been weighing on you. That must have been difficult."
"You will never know *how* difficult. But that is in the past now. This battle is nearing its conclusion."
"All that's left now are the leader and his right hand. Sounds simple enough, until you remember who they are."
"Precisely why I need to ask you a favor. I need you to look after Cindy for me."
"Huh? Where are you going?" Cindy asked.
"I'm going to have words with our uncle."
"What?! B-but..."
"Please understand. I am the Arch-Witch. It's my duty to tend to any threat to the world's safety. And there is no greater threat than he." Emily put her hands on Cindy's shoulders. "I promise to return. And when I do, we'll do as many fun things as you want. I owe you that much. And Hugo."
Cindy looked as though she was about to cry. She tightly embraced Emily. "I love you, sis...please, be careful..."
Emily sighed pleasantly. "Of course. That goes without saying."
She motioned with her hands, and opened a portal. "And Cindy?"
"Yeah?"
"...I love you, too. Please, stay safe."
At once, Cindy's eyes lit up. She had been waiting all her life to hear those words. She nodded. "You betcha! And there's no take-backsies on what you just said!"
"Wouldn't dream of it. Take care." Emily walked into the portal, which closed behind her.
"Oh...I have the coolest big sis ever..." Cindy swooned.
"Did I miss something...?" Dai pondered.
Down below, the defeated Wolfpack thugs were being led away by the Defense Force. To the side, Kat conversed with her housemates.
"You're gonna do what?!" Natalia questioned.
"I'm gonna go help out Prof. She could use all the help she can get." Kat replied.
"But isn't she crazy strong? Couldn't she beat up that thug on her own?" Tabby asked.
"Girls...she isn't going to change her mind." Carrie said.
"But Care...!" Natalia uttered.
"I think we've known her long enough to know. You aren't the kind to run away from the danger, Kitten. Especially when it involves Professor Kubo."
"You know me so well, Care Bear." Kat replied.
"She's your hero. Any chance you have to fight with her for the fate of the world is one you'll take every single time. No matter how dangerous."
"Yeah. You do know me."
"That man's proven difficult to defeat. You're sure that this is what you want to do?" Tabby asked.
"One-hundred and ten percent." Kat affirmed. "The day you guys named me as the leader of our band of misfits, I thought y'all were nuts. I'm the last person who should be given any kind of responsibility. But you all clearly see more in me. That kind of a role comes with a purpose. And that's beating up assholes who wanna mess up our home. So that's what I'm gonna do."
Natalia hugged her. "I'd tell you not to do anything crazy, but I know you better than that."
"Love you too, Hoodsie. And your hugs."
Tabby still looked nervous. Kat patted her shoulder. "You've done great, Tabs. I'm so proud of how far you've come. Bet you didn't think this is where you'd end up after sitting next to me, did ya?"
Tabby shook her head. "You said on that day that you would show me something I'd never seen before. I think you've gone above and beyond on that. I've had my universe opened up exponentially since meeting you. I don't know if I have the words to properly thank you. Only...do you remember what I said to you when we first met? About why I asked to sit next to you?"
"Sure. You said I looked, and I quote, 'fascinating'."
"Well, Kit So-yin. I can say with full confidence that you are, by far, the most insane, fascinating person I've ever met and likely will *ever* meet." Tabby hugged her. "Thank you."
Kat patted her on the back. "Love ya always, little sis."
"Oh dear, if that isn't the highest honor you can get." Carrie teased.
"Always gotta poke me. I--"
Carrie put her finger over Kat's mouth. "Wait to tell me after you get back. Preferably over a candlelight dinner."
"Okay. I'll find the most hoity-toity place I can afford and I'll spend the whole night launching compliments your way. You'd better be ready for it."
"I'm already counting the seconds."
The two kissed.
From the Velvet Room, Rose and her child audience were watching on the screen.
"Kitty Kat gets alllll the ladies." Shizuka said.
"Shizuka! Where did you learn to talk like that?" Rose questioned, as if the answer wasn't on the screen in front of her.
"So are all of Auntie Rin's friends like superheroes? That's so cool!" Uri exclaimed.
"It's...something like that."
Back in Tokyo, Kat called out. "Oi, Sparky! You're coming along, right?"
Max, with his helmet down, turned away from the P.D.F. agents he had been talking with. "Goes without saying."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Uri exclaimed in shock.
"Owww, my ears..." Shizuka uttered.
"Maxie looks so cool! He was a superhero the whole time?! My friends are all gonna be so jealous!"
"Absolutely NOT! You are not telling *anyone* about this!" Rose responded.
"He kinda looks like Captain Thunder, but like, all blue."
"Cuz he was." Shizuka replied.
"Ah...!" Rose uttered.
"Maxie was Captain Thunder?! No way! He said Captain Thunder was an idiot! Why would he call himself an idiot, huh?" Uri questioned.
"Maxie calls himself an idiot all the time." Shizuka retorted.
As the children bickered, Rose rubbed her eyes and groaned.
In the real world, Max approached Kat. "Sure you're up for this, Kitty Kat?"
"You already got the answer. How about you?" Kat replied.
"I've been waiting for this since this whole mess started. I think I knew from the beginning that I had to be there when it ended. I brought another world's war here. Accident or not, I have to be there to stop it before it consumes more than just Tokyo. I don't want to be the kind of man that lets his mistakes eat him alive without doing something about it."
He turned to Ibuki. "So I guess that means--"
"I dunno why you're looking at me like we're about to have some tearful goodbye. I'm going with." she replied.
"What?! No, no way!"
"What, think I can't hold my own? I'm a big girl, I know how to take care of myself."
"It's not that, it's just--"
"Maxie."
"Huh?"
"What have I been saying since the beginning? I want to fight for a happy ending. But not just that. A happy ending with *you*. I wanna be there to make sure you're okay. I'm so...*so* ready for this to be over. And...this city's my home. My family's home. I wanna get my hands on the asshole that's trying to burn it to the ground."
"I get it, I do, but--"
"You're a protector. And a worrier just like your sister. So just watch my back, and I'll watch yours. Easy as that."
"It isn't that easy, Ibuki! Even without the enchantments, Johnny is still incredibly dangerous. And...the last time a Max crossed his path with the woman he loved beside him...she died. She died, and it's consumed him ever since then. I couldn't take it if something happened to you that I could've prevented. The guilt would kill me by itself."
"You...really are afraid."
"I am. *Of course* I am! We're so close...it would hurt so much worse if I were to lose you now."
"Well...that feeling goes both ways, stud."
"Huh?"
"How do you think I'd feel if I lost you so close to winning this thing? If after everything, I'd have to sit and stew in that new apartment all by myself, without you there?"
She put her hands on his shoulders. "We either sit this out together, or kick his ass together. No in-betweens. Okay?"
He could see it in her eyes. That mixture of fear and love. She wasn't going to back down. All he could do was nod. "Okay. I watch your back, you watch mine."
"THANK GOD. I thought I was gonna have to knock you in the head until you said yes." Kat chimed in.
"Don't play innocent, Kitty Kat! Other reason I'm tagging along is so there's no funny business from you!" Ibuki responded.
"Funny business?! Whaddya mean?! I'm the least funny gal out there!"
"Your words, not mine." Max said.
"Uggh, let's just go before I slap somebody."
---
Ueno.
Johnny sat patiently on top of a pile of rubble.
"You just going to sit there and wait for something to happen?" Rin asked.
"You coulda taken a swing at me all this time, apple cider. Guess that's the problem with you brainiacs. Always so damn cautious." Johnny replied. "Guess that's just the reaction I get out of people. I know what's coming. Zenny is dead. So's pretty much everyone else not named Zeke. And everyone with a grudge against him is probably already dealing with him. Everyone else...well. I don't need to tell you who they've got a bone to pick with."
A portal opened atop a pile of nearby rubble.
"Speak of the devil."
Emily appeared. "Johnathan O'Donnell."
"I'd accept 'Uncle Johnny' too. Did your mommy give you that attitude? Ohhhh wait, that's right. You don't have a mommy no more."
"Goad me. I've come to avenge her."
"Harry's already kicked the bucket."
"And it was my foot that did the kicking. But he was the gun. *You* were the marksman."
The sound of someone flying on wings could be heard. Dasuke landed nearby. He unsheathed Shadowpiercer. "Johnathan."
"Yo." Johnny saluted. "Gotta say, didn't think you'd show. Zenny must not have done a good enough job of tuckering you out."
"In any other instance, I would have gone elsewhere. For you, I make an exception."
"And which of my many crimes has your panties in a bunch, Sookie?"
"Naruki."
"Ahh, right. Almost forgot about that bit of loveliness."
"Only you could make murder so routine that you would forget the deaths of hundreds of innocent people."
"What's a few massacres here and there? You'd know about the slaughter of innocents, wouldn't you?" 'Xianwu'."
Dasuke growled.
Another figure hopped down from above, landing next to Rin.
"Oh good, more!" Johnny exclaimed.
Kat rose up. She looked at Rin, and nodded. Her mentor returned the nod. "Glad you could make it."
"Wouldn't miss it." She turned to Johnny. "Kit So-yin, leader of the Ashen Artisans, at your service."
"That supposed to mean something?" Johnny asked.
Metal hit the ground next to Kat. Max rose up, helmet on.
"Oh there you are, kid. Here to knock my skull in?"
"Knock it in? No. I'm here to make it into a toilet seat." Max replied.
"Gonna make me flush, kid."
"Your jokes suck."
Johnny turned his head. Ibuki had an arrow pointed at him. "My, aren't you a vixen?"
"Fuck you."
"Please do."
"I'm off-limits."
"Like I respect boundaries."
Max charged his hand and aimed it at Johnny. Kat grabbed it and held it down.
"Touchy, aren't we, kid?" Johnny asked, before making a realization. "Ooooh, wait a minute! This is your main squeeze, isn't it?"
"So what if she is?" Max responded.
"Oooh, now it's getting fun! Offing Maxie's main ladies is my favorite pastime, y'know!"
A menacing, dark aura began to emanate from Emily.
"Touched a nerve there, did I?"
"ENOUGH."
Bobbi appeared atop a nearby building. Commander Max, his helmet repaired, landed next to her.
"Back for an encore, broski and sissypoo? This party's starting to get a bit crowded, but hey, I'm a gracious host." Johnny quipped.
"Enough with the jokes, Johnny. Do you even understand the magnitude of what you've done? Today and throughout your existence?" Bobbi questioned.
"Really gonna need to elaborate, cuz it's not like I can remember every booger I've picked out of my nose."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up! What is wrong with you? All you've ever done from the start is cause trouble. Lying, scheming, stealing and killing. It's all second nature to you. Look around you, Johnny!" the Commander began. "You've managed to incite the anger of not just one, but two whole worlds. Every single person here has their own reason for wanting to defeat you. People from every background have joined together because we all see you for the utter monster that you are. And for WHAT?!"
"Your own flesh and blood see you as the enemy, John. Every person you led here is either dead or about to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. And throughout all of this...you've just laughed. Your massacres, your invasions, this entire pointless war...every time we throw your actions back at you, all you do is laugh, and joke. You have caused the deaths of THOUSANDS, John! How does none of that affect you? How can you sit there, looking so casual, knowing all the horror you're personally responsible for? How is all of this a joke to you?" Bobbi demanded.
All Johnny could do, was chuckle. "Even after all this time, you still don't get it. I am exactly what your employers created me to be. A machine built to shoot, and torture, and maim, and kill. Everything I've done, has been to make you all better."
"Bullshit! How does shooting your brother's wife make anything better?" Kat retorted.
"Got him to grow a spine, didn't it? If I hadn't exposed that bit of weakness in him, he'd never have gotten the push he needed to get the Commander's seat. And he even got another wife and kid out of it! Everything you have now, Maxie, it's because I gave it to you. You oughta be thanking me!"
"Eat shit and die, Johnny. Nothing could ever justify what you did to Carrie. Or the years of pain and misery it's caused me and Emily." the older Max responded.
"Losing my mother forced me to grow up quicker. But the strength I gained from it doesn't erase the pain I feel even now." Emily added.
"I fully believe that there is good to be gained from trauma. But it could never excuse the perpetrator's actions. I've gained so much insight and purpose from the people I've lost, but I will never say that I'm happier with them gone." Rin concurred.
"Why can't you people see what I've done for you? Everything I've done has exposed the weaknesses in your almighty Defense Force! I only caused as much destruction as I did because you were too slow or weak to react! And what did that do? Force you all to get better! Heroes can only get stronger when their enemies do! Face the facts, people! I'm the best fucking thing to *ever* happen to the Planetary Defense Force! There hasn't been a soldier born that's been able to match what I've done, but you bet your ass you're gonna keep trying! Because *I* set the mark! *I* force you all to get better! *I* prove with everything I do that *our world is a joke*! So quit with all your sanctimonious grandstanding and admit that without Johnny O'Donnell, you would be NOTHING!" Johnny ranted.
Nobody said a word. 
Kat drew her knives. Rin, her lance. Ibuki prepped her bow. Max brought out his gunsword. 
Emily prepared her staff. Dasuke took a stance with his sword. Bobbi formed an ice axe. The Commander, unsheathed his light sword.
"Johnathan O'Donnell. You have been accused and found responsible for the deaths of countless Defense Force agents, as well as the murders of thousands of innocent men, women and children." Bobbi dictated.
"The hell is this?" Johnny questioned.
"As well as for wanton acts of destruction, theft, terrorism, and countless war crimes. As Chief Justice of the Planetary Defense Force, New York Office, I hereby sentence you accordingly."
"For your years-worth of heinous crimes, you are sentenced to the only suitable punishment: execution by combat."
---
On the far edge of town, Tsutsugo sat by some rubble next to Mimi and Lin, chewing gum. "Want some?"
Both women shot him looks.
"Don't say I never offered."
Nearby, Tan, Jin and Shinji looked over the damage. "This is gonna be a hell of a maintenance job, I can tell ya that much..." Tan said.
"Already know I'm gonna be replacing my windows. Hopefully none of my stuff got looted, but I don't like my chances." Shinji responded.
"I still need to check on the store. Fingers crossed they avoided that half of town."
"If any of these creeps touched my store, I'll have their fur." Jin uttered.
"Always so pleasant, Mirai." Shinji quipped.
Over by another building, Kirumi was by herself, looking at something.
"Hey there, hun. You doing alright?" Tenko approached.
"I'm...alright, I suppose."
"What's that you got there?"
Kirumi was holding a torn piece of fabric, the Kawagami emblem stitched onto it. "I found this among the rubble. I thought it was poetic in a way. Hundreds of years of history, and I probably just witnessed the end. I don't know whether that's a good thing or not."
"Doesn't have to be the end if you and your fam don't want it to be. Maybe you can make it something better. Up to you."
"You make it sound so simple. Nothing involving my family ever is."
"Well, I've never been the type to overcomplicate things. Course, I didn't grow up in a fancy corporate workspace. Guess I'm still a farm girl at heart. But hey, if you really can't deal with all that mess, you've got plenty to look after you around here. Like that big joker and his brilliant knockout sister." Tenko chuckled. "Don't tell my hubby I said that."
Kirumi let out a giggle. "Something tells me he's heard it all before."
Tenko realized something. "Actually, now that I've mentioned her...has anyone seen Number Two?"
The others all looked around. Sure enough, the younger Rin was nowhere to be seen.
"What the...where'd she go?" Shinji questioned.
"Did anyone see her walk off?" Tenko asked. Everyone else shook their heads.
"Last I saw her was right after Rinnie--er, our Rinnie--flew off." Tan said.
"Maybe she just wanted some time to herself?" Kirumi surmised.
"Well if she's anything like our Rin-Rin...I think she's gone off to 'do something about it'." Tenko said.
"So she's either gone to dogpile on the big bad, or...that creepy assassin guy." Lin added.
"I'm not liking either of those ideas..." Tan uttered.
---
Outside Akihabara.
"Hey...Kenny?" Sahir asked.
"Yes?" Kenneth asked.
"You think we should be helping out more? Instead of, y'know...hiding?"
"The other me and your girlfriend seem to have a strong handle on things, so...perhaps waiting and seeing how it plays out is the better option."
"Yeah...you're probably right."
"(I wouldn't vocalize this, but I'm utterly terrified at the moment. And the worst part is, it's not our enemy that frightens me the most...)" Kenneth thought.
Out in the open, Ezekiel stood with cuts all over his body, as dark wind energy swirled around his sword. He panted, with a smirk on his face.
The older Ken was also panting, having also been cut. "(Just like I thought. He's as impossible to keep down as Johnny. This is sport to him.)" he thought. "(But it's not just him...)"
He glanced over at Sakuya. She'd been wounded, but showed no signs of tiring. Her expression remained completely blank.
"(This girl hasn't reacted at all to anything he's hit her with. She's operating like a machine. Every one of the people I've met from this world had some kind of positive feeling about them. But this one...I look at those eyes, and there's nothing there. I've seen that look before. The kind that's been broken down and rebuilt into the perfect killer. I'm sure the old crones from P.D.F. UK would approve.)"
"...it's not enough." Ezekiel spoke up.
"What isn't?" Ken questioned.
"My blade...it craves more blood. But not only that...it craves your terror. Fear was erased from us by our handlers, was it not, brother? But you, girl...where is your fear?"
"I abandoned it in another life." Sakuya responded.
"Heh..." Ezekiel raises his sword. "We will find it."
Crimson energy began to emanate from him, as it transformed into wind, which enveloped him completely. His entire form took on a shadow black hue with red outlines. His hands and feet became clawed, while his face morphed to resemble that of a jackal. Spikes protruded from his arms and back to give the illusion of fur. He took the hilt of his sword, and proceeded to pull it apart, forming a second, identical rapier.
"Come...let me taste every last drop of fear and despair left in you!"
"You're out of your mind, Zeke! Don't you sense it? This war is over! Your army is eradicated! There's nothing left to fight for, idiot!" Ken yelled.
"So long as Johnathan and I breathe, the war will never end! The Wolfpack will be born again! Do you honestly think our world is short of people with grudges against the Defense Force? Even if I am to die here...our hatred will live on forever!"
Sakuya appeared behind Ezekiel, blade pressed against his neck. "If? No. Your death is a certainty."
Before she could react, Ezekiel's face disappeared...and then reappeared on the back of his head. "Is it?"
"...?!" Sakuya jumped back.
"Ah, so there is still emotion within that cold husk." Ezekiel's body twisted around, his bones making snapping noises, and aligning with his head. "How convenient for me."
"Get the hell away from her!" Sahir, emerging from his hiding spot, lunged at the demonic assassin.
His face switched sides again. "How gallant." Blades of wind materialized around him. He launched them, striking Sahir in the chest, sending him to the ground, clutching where he'd been cut.
Kenneth followed it up by attacking Ezekiel with a longsword from behind. Again, the jackal-headed man turned his face in his enemy's direction. "You all never learn."
Ezekiel slashed at the sword, breaking it into pieces and cutting into Kenneth's arm, who jumped out of the way.
"Enough of these games, Zeke! Mine is the head you want, isn't it? Leave these kids out of it!" Ken demanded.
"Patience, brother. I need to feed first." Ezekiel responded.
"Feed...?"
"Oh, that's right. I've never shown you this form before, have I? This is Johnathan's greatest gift."
The same reddish aura that surrounded him began to emanate from Sahir and Kenneth. Their expressions turned vague.
Inside Sahir's mind, he stood in a dark space.
"'His greatest gift, bestowed upon him by the dark tomes. Strength, garnered from fear. And through his blood, I have obtained such gifts. Fear is my *sustenance*.'" Ezekiel's voice echoed.
He appeared from behind Sahir, hands on his shoulders. "And oh, what delicious fear I've found."
Footsteps. Heavy footsteps. Sahir froze.
"A beast. A thunderous beast. 1500 kilograms of pure muscle. It has scarred you in the past. Why not...take a closer look?"
What appeared from the shadows was a large, bull hippopotamus. Ezekiel pushed Sahir forward, and the hippo closed its heavy jaws around the young man.
In the real world, Sahir's midsection suddenly erupted in a torrent of blood, reflecting the bite. He collapsed to the ground.
"...!! Sahir-kun...!" Sakuya exclaimed.
"Fear is irrational. No matter how unrealistic something might be, the mere *possibility* is enough to cripple even the strongest spirit." Ezekiel continued.
Now inside of Kenneth's mind, the young architect was standing at the top of a seemingly endless flight of stairs, high up past the clouds.
"'It can also be so deep-seated as to make the mundane terrifying. These steps represent your worst nightmare. A disapproving parent, erasing your imperfections through physical punishment.'" Ezekiel leaned in to Kenneth's ear. "'Again until it's perfect, Kenneth.'" He whispered in the voice of a woman with a Liverpool accent.
Sweat dripped down Kenneth's face.
"'But fear can be overcome. Sometimes, all one needs...is a little push.'"
Ezekiel kicked him, and Kenneth began tumbling down the stairs.
Outside the vision, blood erupted from several parts of Kenneth's body.
"ENOUGH!" Ken leapt at his brother. Swift as the wind, Ezekiel dodged and delivered a crushing kick to his abdomen, sending him flying away.
At that moment, Sakuya lunged and aimed her sword at Ezekiel's neck. He blocked the strike with one sword, then pierced her shoulder with the other.
"You project the image of cold lethality. You have been broken down and rebuilt for one purpose. Yet despite your makers' best efforts...you have not completely erased your fear." he dictated.
Within her mind, Sakuya was a small child again, sitting on her bed and playing with a doll, a small bow on the side of her hair. The door to her room opened. A stern, balding man in the garb of a priest was standing there, holding a belt.
"'Pain has been a constant since the very beginning. Your heart spoke that you were something different from what the world said you were. To a man binded to his faith, yours was a sinful existence.'" Ezekiel's voice spoke.
The scenery shifted to Sakuya, a little older, wearing a set of dark robes, surrounded by taller figures in similar garb. They all lobbed objects at her, as she nimbly dodged them or grabbed them out of the air.
"'But you were saved. By ancient devils. They promised you the life you craved. In return, they molded you into their weapon. Drowned out your empathy and hardened your spirit. Until the ones you'd been conscripted to kill reawakened them. And so, you believed that this life was behind you. But it never is. The need to destroy is ever-present. Yours is an existence that can never know peace. Because you know, deep down...'"
The vision changed again. Sakuya was in the living room of her apartment. Her mother, Lily, lay motionless on the bed.
"'...that eventually, the ones you love will be in the way of your blade.'"
Sakuya looked closer. She could see the blood on her mother's chest. "M...Mother...?"
No response.
With increasing horror, Sakuya held up her hands to see that she was holding a dagger, covered in blood.
"No...no...! This...I would never..."
"'You cannot escape the truth of your existence, Sakuya Hanakotoba. That you are a cold, and merciless beast, whose path is lined by corpses and blood. No matter how much you try to disguise yourself, this absolute truth remains. You are exactly what your father always said that you were. You are an ABOMINATION!'"
Ezekiel appeared behind her, then drove his sword through her chest.
As the vision ended, she remained impaled on the sword. Ezekiel pulled it out. With a blank stare, Sakuya fell to the ground.
"Yours is a sad, tragic existence, Sakuya Hanakotoba. And now, you can die in a pool of your own blood, exactly how it was destined. But don't worry." He peered at Sahir and Kenneth, both bloodied on the floor. "You'll at least be dying together."
He turned to face Ken, who was getting up and clutching his arm. Turning himself into air, he quickly moved in front of his brother, pointing a sword at him. "Now it is your turn, brother. The question at the forefront of my mind has long been what keeps you up at night. Nothing I could ever bring to the fore could ever intimidate you. I genuinely wonder if even *you* know what frightens you. Why don't we find out together?"
"(Dammit...! Those kids...I need to get them to a med-tent quick...Zeke, you bastard...)" Ken thought.
"I'll be tasting your blood before the day is done, Kenneth. But first, let's take a trip into your innermost--"
Ezekiel held his sword up, but stopped when he heard a noise nearby. "Are you mites so desperate to hasten your deaths? I'll be more than happy to oblige."
A dark fog crept in. "Hrm...and just who has come to visit today?"
Appearing from the fog, face once more hidden by her mask, was the younger Rin.
"The ghosts of Naruki, back for vengeance." she answered.
---
October 30, 2026
Earth-013.
The night before Halloween, and Tokyo's Naruki district was decked out in as much spooky imagery as it could manage. Black and orange lights decorated the trees, while paper ghosts hung from the roofs of the businesses.
One such business, favored by many in the area for how well-decorated it was for every holiday, was the walk-in clinic of Dr. Hanatarō Kubo and his wife, Dr. Yumi. The well-liked pair were seen as pillars of the community for their willingness to accept any patient with any level of problem, as well as their generosity towards the local children during every festival.
It was getting late, and it was close to the time when the pair would hand the reigns to the overnight staff.
Hanatarō looked at his watch. "Out late again. What's gotten into that girl?"
"Hormones, Dad." commented the voice of their son, Togemaru, from one of the rooms.
"She's thirteen years old, Taro. I talked to Sumaru a little while ago. She and Miko were working on their costumes for tomorrow." Yumi said.
"There, see? Nothing to worry about." Togemaru chimed in.
"I still don't like her being away this late. Especially this time of year. It's like Christmas for troublemakers." Hanatarō said.
"GoGo'll be fine, Dad. Isn't Miko taking karate lessons?"
"Funny."
"And hey, if she does get into trouble, there's always the chance a ninja can come in and save her." Togemaru held up a black, armored ninja uniform, complete with a menacing demon mask.
"With a sword stuck in the sheath, dear?" Yumi questioned, pointing out what Togemaru carried on his back: a sword, held in a black sheath.
"I could still beat somebody over the head with it. Or it could finally let someone take it out. Might be nice."
"Don't bet on it. No one in the family's been able to unsheath that thing for a hundred years." Hanatarō replied.
"Magical weapons only ever seem to operate on their own whims. It's at least a nice prop to have." Yumi added.
Hanatarō took another look at his watch, and sighed. "Alright, think it's time we call her. If she's going to be out this late, she might as well stay over with Miko."
Little did the doctor realize that his daughter was much closer to home than he thought. A few blocks down, two teenage girls in goth-style clothing were in front of a stand selling ice cream.
"Thank you!" the brown-haired girl, Namiko, said to the vendor.
"Did we really have to stop for this, Miko? Ugh, I can already hear Dad's lecture in my head..." her red-haired friend, Rin, grumbled.
"Anything's okay when it involves ice cream, GoGo." Namiko handed Rin her cone.
"That how it goes? Maybe we should get Dad one just to calm him down."
"Great idea! Hey, can I have--"
"I was kidding!" Rin tugged her away.
The two began to walk towards the clinic. "Hey, so, I think the costumes came out really cute, don't you?" Namiko asked.
"Totally. Hopefully I can actually wear it. So long as I don't get grounded." Rin replied.
"Your dad's not gonna be that mad, is he?"
"He's been on my case about how late I'm staying out. I'm not gonna just stay at home all day. I'm not a baby anymore."
"Parents just get worried alot. My mom texts me at the same time at lunch every day. 12:07 exactly."
"That sounds more like your mom being weird."
"Yeah, maybe. Least your mom's cool about you staying over late."
"Yeah. Her and Togie. I wish Dad would just listen to them and lay off me. It's not like anything bad happens around here."
That girl, in that moment, could not have known how prophetic those words were.
As they continued walking, Namiko stopped. "Oh, I just thought of something!"
"We're not getting more ice cream, Miko."
"No, not that! Here." Namiko took something out of her pocket: A black-and-red intertwined string.
"Isn't that one of the strings from our costumes?"
"Mmhmm. It was left over, and I thought about what to do with it, and I finally had an idea." 
She tied the string around her friend's wrist, finishing it with a bow shape. "Uhhh..."
"The black and red looks really cute on you. I know it's not much, but I thought I should give you something for our friendship. Since, you know...you're my only friend."
"Oh...Miko, thank you. I--"
Rin suddenly noticed people gesturing at something on the roof of a building.
It was a man-sized wolf.
As the onlookers began questioning if this was an early Halloween performance, more wolves began to appear on the buildings and in the alleyways.
Atop one building, a humanoid figure, black and red with the face of a jackal, pointed outward. "Time to feed."
The crowd quickly realized what was happening, but not quickly enough. The wolves began to savagely attack anyone they came across. The people began to scatter in terror.
Rin was initially paralyzed by fear, but snapped out of it when Namiko tugged on her arm. "Come on, GoGo, we have to run!"
"Ah...!"
As the girls ran, Rin looked up, and saw the jackal-headed man. The two momentarily locked eyes, before the young girl continued fleeing.
The sounds were nightmarish. Glass shattering, buildings collapsing, people screaming as they were being attacked.
One man hid behind the counter inside his store, his phone up to his ear. "Come on, come on...where's the damn Defense Force when you actually need them?!"
The door to the shop broke down as a group of wolves trotted in. The man tried to stay quiet...until coming face to face with one of the attacking canines. He screamed as it lunged at him with jaws wide open.
At the Kubo clinic, Hanatarō frantically ushered patients out the back door. "Please, quickly! There's no time to waste!"
"What the hell is this...?!" Togemaru questioned.
"Taro, there's patients here who can't be moved easily, what do we--" Yumi began.
The doors broke. The wolfmen entered, growling.
"Alright, freaks, you wanna play?" Togemaru tried taking out the sword, but it remained stuck. "Come on, of all times..." He resorted to hitting one of the wolves over the head with it.
All that did was anger them. They lunged.
A block away, the girls hid inside an alley. "What are we gonna do?!" Namiko panicked.
"The clinic isn't that far away, if we get there we should be--" Rin started.
More growling and yelping. They were getting close.
"Which way are they coming from?" Rin questioned.
Namiko spotted a large box. "GoGo! Hide under there!" She pushed her friend along.
"Wait, what?! There's no way we're both gonna fit--"
"I'll be okay! Just stay still and hide!"
"No, Miko! Don't--"
The wolves arrived. They zeroed in on Namiko.
Terrified, she ran. The wolves followed after. Rin did as instructed, hiding completely still underneath the box. 
The noise was terrifying. There was so much of it that she couldn't make out anything. All she could do was hope that the monsters wouldn't take notice of the box.
What seemed like an eternity passed. The noise stopped. There was no more yelling, or growling. Rin mustered up her last bit of courage, and lifted the box.
She looked around. "Miko...?"
At the end of the alley, she spotted her friend. She was face-down. Rin approached her. She saw the claw marks on her back. 
"Miko...Miko, please, wake up! Please..." She tried to shake her, but there was no response. She began to cry, then another thought occurred to her. 
Her parents and brother.
She ducked out of the alley. Everything was shattered glass and smoldering rubble. What had been a joyous atmosphere barely an hour earlier was now completely dead. Rin stepped over so much rubble as she raced towards the clinic. 
She didn't want to look at the people strewn across the road.
She made it to where the clinic used to be. It had been replaced with debris.
"Mom?! Dad?! Togie?!" she called out.
She got onto the rubble. She saw something sticking out from it.
A sword.
She pulled it out...only to see the hand of the one holding it.
She reeled back. Even though it was just the hand, she recognized the cuff of the shirt they were wearing. The same one her brother had been wearing earlier in the day.
Frantically, Rin took out her phone. She hoped, beyond hope, that her parents made it out. She called her mother.
No response. Until, she heard ringing. From beneath the rubble.
She collapsed to her knees. She screamed, and she cried. They were gone. All of them were gone.
When she opened her eyes, she spotted something else sticking out. She moved the rubble to find the black ninja suit her brother was planning on wearing for Halloween. The way the roof had caved in managed to keep the suit mostly intact. Beside it was the demon mask. It had been singed. She held them close. Then, her eyes darted to the string Namiko had given her. Despair had truly begun to overtake her.
The sword at her side sparked. 
She took hold of it. Grasping the hilt, she pulled. At first, there was some resistance. But with another tug, the black blade emerged.
Before she could truly comprehend all that was happening, she could hear the sounds of helicopters approaching.
The P.D.F. had arrived. Far too little, far too late.
By the time they scoured the area, the costume, sword, and girl had all vanished into the night.
All that was there to be found were ghosts.
---
"Well, hello there, my good Oni. I had started to think you'd vanished." Ezekiel said. "If the Commanders are who you're looking for, I'm fairly certain Johnathan is dealing with them. You may want to hurry."
"Don't give me the courteous act. You know why I'm here." the younger Rin retorted.
"(That's the Oni girl...Kubo. What's she doing here?)" Ken thought.
"'Never forget Naruki'. You have to have heard those words at some point, right? Surely you haven't forgotten the time you slaughtered a hundred-and-seventeen innocent people, have you?" 
"Ahhh, but of course. I fed very well that night, as I recall. That fear that only comes when one's life is about to end...there is nothing like it." Ezekiel mused.
"I shouldn't even be surprised that's how you remember it. How I remember it? Seeing the corpses of my family and my only friend. Dead because you and your mutts were hungry." Rin put a hand on her sword's hilt. "You had to have known this day was coming. The day I came for your head."
"I had hoped you would provide us with the Commanders', before then. How bitterly disappointing. We provide you the outlet for vengeance, and this is the thanks we get? How ungrateful."
"I thought that's what I wanted. But...someone taught me that revenge can eat you up from the inside. Blind you to reality. And that's what it did. I shamed everyone around me by taking up this sword for you monsters. Not anymore. What I'm after isn't vengeance." Dark power crackled from the sword. "It's JUSTICE."
She leapt at Ezekiel, bringing the sword down upon him, which he blocked.
"You'll be getting *neither*." He slashed with his other sword, but she jumped away.
He suddenly, quick as a burst of wind, materialized behind her. "Boo."
He drove his sword through her shoulder, then quickly retracted it. She fell to her knees. He raised his sword up again, only to be met with a single dagger flying at him, which quickly lit up. He parried it away as it exploded.
"Damn..." Ken, having just thrown the knife, grumbled.
"Your aim needs practice, brother. Besides, you are far too late." Ezekiel responded.
Rin's eyes shook. Inside her mind, she was in a dark space. The architecture formed around her. The ruins of Naruki.
"Why...why am I...?"
"'Your fatal mistake was attacking me with doubt in your heart, dear Oni. Few terrors are so potent as those that replay in your mind at every waking hour. You have spent the last five years reliving this day.'" Ezekiel's voice echoed.
Suddenly, groaning. A man, badly wounded, crawled out from some rubble. "Ohh...it hurts...I can't feel anything..."
A woman emerged, just as horrifically hurt. "Why...why is this happening to us...?"
More and more people began to come out from the rubble, all of them echoing the sentiments.
"I don't...want to die..."
"Help us...someone...anyone..."
"I want my mommy...make it stop hurting..."
They all began to approach Rin. She began to run.
"'Where are you going, 'GoGo'? These are the people you wish to avenge, aren't they? Do they frighten you so much?'" Ezekiel taunted.
She kept running as more people crawled out from the rubble, begging for help. 
Soon, she arrived at the clinic. Her family's clinic. Or what was left of it.
The rubble began to shake.
"No...no, don't..." She knew what was coming.
As she turned to run, Ezekiel grabbed her, holding her in place. "Why the rush? Don't you want to see them again? Your poor Mommy and Daddy?"
A hand rose up from the debris.
"Apologies if they're a little more...damaged than you remember them."
Out came Dr. Hanatarō. Wounds covered his body. "Ringo...where are you...Ringo..."
Next came Dr. Yumi, herself badly bruised and cut. "Where...is my baby...please...let her be alive..."
Then, Togemaru, his arm broken and dangling. "GoGo...gotta see...GoGo...one more time..."
They limped towards Rin, mortified and in tears. "No...nooooo...please, no..."
"Say what's on your mind, Ms. Kubo." Ezekiel mocked.
"Mom...Dad...Togie...I'm so sorry...I should've been there...I would've taken dying with you..."
The crowd of wounded began to surround her. They all continued begging for help.
"Stop it...stop it...stop it..." Rin begged.
"GoGo..."
She didn't want to look. She knew the voice. Ezekiel held her head up, forcing her to.
There was Namiko, with visible claw marks all around her. "It hurts...GoGo...help me...it hurts so bad...I wanna see...my mom and dad...please, GoGo..."
"No...no no no no no no no no..." Rin tried to crawl away. The crowd closed in. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
In reality, she trembled, bundled up in the fetal position.
"So much for the terrifying Oni of Naruki. To think men feared you coming for their souls if they entered the city. What a glorious feeling, knowing even demons fear me..." Ezekiel mused.
"ENOUGH OF THIS, YOU SICK BASTARD!"
Ken attacked with his own sword, lit up with heat, as Ezekiel blocked. 
"What does any of this even get you, Ezekiel? What the hell made you like this?"
"What made me...? Kenneth. It was the same thing that made *you*. What were we trained from youth to do? Kill people in the name of 'good'. What a funny thought that is. I am exactly what our mentors built us to be. The perfect weapon of war, harnessing the enemy's weakness to gain further strength. Would this offend you so much if I was wearing your uniform?"
"Evil is evil regardless of what badge they're wearing."
"Isn't evil a matter of perspective?"
"You're evil from *every* perspective."
"So you won't consider my argument."
"Not in this or any lifetime."
"Then goodbye, Kenneth."
Wind energy gathered around Ezekiel's leg, and with tremendous force, he kicked Ken in the side, sending him hurtling away.
"Wait right there. I need to finish feeding."
Rin remained in her catatonic state. Inside of her mind, the crowd of people swarmed all over her. 
"'It's hopeless...'" her voice echoed. "'I'm going to die here...inside my own mind. Swarmed by the people I'm supposed to be getting justice for. Crying out for help while I just cower.'"
"'Why was I allowed to live? Why did they all have to die and leave me here, alone? What's the point in me even surviving this fight? I've got nothing to go back to. No family, no friends, no home. Just a bunch of rubble and bad memories. I should just die here and join everyone. Then people can go on thinking I went out back then. It won't make any difference...'"
"(You're loved. And it will get better. No matter how dark it gets.)" her older counterpart's words reverberated.
"'Nobody's gonna care...'"
"(I can't speak for the dead, but I know this can't be what they wanted for you. And I know what it's like to be enslaved by hate. But I have people who helped me work through that anger. They helped me to see that a life lived for the sake of revenge is no life at all. Let me be the same for you.)" Max's voice sounded.
"'I'm just gonna die here...with no one ever knowing...'"
"(The black and red looks really cute on you. I know it's not much, but I thought I should give you something for our friendship. Since, you know...you're my only friend.)"
The voices of the wounded all ceased.
Rin, slowly, got back up, ceasing her trembling. "No...not yet. He wants me to think I don't have anything to fight for. That it's all been a burden. I can still live...even after it's all finished. I can't just give up and let it end like this. Not now."
She looked around at the crowd. To her family and one true friend. "I'll make sure you all can rest. I've carried you all for so long now...but it can finally end today. I promise."
Everyone in the crowd nodded. They disappeared into light. Rin's eyes lit up with determination.
In the real world, she got back up, grabbing hold of her blade.
Ezekiel turned his face. "Mmmm...?"
Energy crackled out of Rin's sword as she panted.
"What...? How is this possible? You were trembling like a scared kitten just a moment ago...this should be impossible. Not even the fiercest wills--"
"No more." Rin spoke.
"Hnn?"
"I've had enough of your nonsense. Throwing my family in my face and mocking their pain. Who do you think you are? My dad always told me...that this sword should only be used to protect people. I finally get it now. I'm not here for revenge. No..."
Four red Kanji letters lit up across the length of the blade.
月 (Moon)
牙 (Fang)
天 (Heaven)
衝 (Piercer)
"...I'm here to protect the world...from you!"
She pulled the sword back.
"GETSUGA..."
Then, slashed it forward.
"...TENSHŌ!"
Dark energy manifested from the slash, launching at Ezekiel in the form of a crescent moon. He blocked with both swords, as the energy wave pushed him back. As his feet dragged, his swords began to crack. They shattered, and the attack struck him directly in the chest, slamming him into a wall and causing an explosion.
Ken looked on, stunned. "(Unreal...that girl was catatonic a second ago. That sword...a katana of pure darkness...the power coming from it feels...ancient. Where did she get that thing?") he thought.
Ezekiel rose up from the smoke, a gash across his chest and his face violently shifting. "What the hell was that?! How did you break free from my spell?! No one...no one has ever overcome the terror I inflict! You're just a pathetic, walking husk of a girl...so how?!"
"There's a first time for everything, freak." Rin leapt towards him. Ezekiel raised the shattered remnants of his swords in an attempt to block, but the girl struck him before he could do so.
"(So fast...! Where is this coming from?! Is it that sword...?! How is she overcoming my fear?!)" he thought.
Memories played out. First, when he was a boy, standing over a rabbit. He held a knife. "(From the very beginning...the only emotion I could ever get out of any other creature was fear.)"
It shifted to his old commander, lying prone in his bed. "(Neither cold, hardened soldiers...)"
Then, to that Hokkaido politician he had just assassinated, trembling next to his desk. "(...nor feeble political types could ever withstand the power I exude.)"
"(Johnathan has always told me that the terror our power illicits is absolute. Not a single being in the universe is without fear. What is a human to do when faced with something so personal that they could never overcome it? And now, watching as this girl breaks through my power...)"
"(Am I...afra--)"
Rin delivered a single, explosive slash to Ezekiel's chest, sending him crashing to the ground.
Landing near Ken, Rin looked towards where Ezekiel hit, before sheathing her sword.
"That was something else, kid." Ken said. "That sword...where did you get that?"
"It's...an old family heirloom. The only thing I have left aside from this costume. They always said it would wait for the right person to wield it." Rin replied.
As the smoke cleared out, Ezekiel appeared on his hands and knees, his transformation wearing off. He bled from several wounds across his body. He panted...and then he laughed.
"What is so funny?" Ken questioned.
The bloodied general got to his feet. "How could I not laugh...at such absurdity?! To have a broken child overcome my fear...it's the very definition of absurd!"
As he continued cackling to himself, Rin shook her head. "Even now, he looks like he still wants to go another round..."
With a mad look in his eyes, Ezekiel goaded them on. "Well come, then! I don't need a sword or fear to kill you both! For any assassin worth a damn...their body is their ultimate weapo--"
His tirade was halted, as a wodao sword pierced his chest from behind, at a rising angle.
Rin and Ken reacted with shock.
"How...who..." Ezekiel struggled.
Lying on the ground, with her sword jammed into his backside, was Sakuya. "I told you...when we last fought...that by my hand...your life is forfeit! Bankai!"
The sword dissolved into petals, that swirled around Ezekiel, before promptly attaching themselves to him. He had seen this technique before. He knew what was about to happen.
"No...NO! Not like this! Johnathan! You promised me...that we would take it all together! That our power as an unbreakable absolute! I'm not going to die here! I can't die here! Why...why is this happening?! Kenneth! Brother! Don't let me die like this!" he ranted.
Ken averted his eyes.
Ezekiel began to shake. For the first time, he began to experience fear. He raised his hands to the sky. "THE WOLFPACK WILL LIVE FOREVER! JOHNATHAN! KILL THEM! DESTROY THEM ALL! BUILD A STRONGER WORLD UPON MY CORPSE! I--"
"Scatter to the winds." Sakuya gestured.
The petals all turned into crimson blades, that pierced Ezekiel from every angle. Rin looked away.
The blades dispersed, and the Wolfpack's second-in-command collapsed face-down into a bloody heap. The life disappeared from his eyes.
Sakuya let out a sigh. "Mission...accomplished." She passed out.
Ken approached his brother's body. He checked for a pulse. Nothing.
"He's...gone?" Rin asked.
"...yeah. He's gone. We were built to survive a lot, but...there was no surviving that." Ken replied. "I won't make excuses for him. This was probably the only path the world allowed him. And if that's the case...maybe there is a lot for us to fix. You're the Naruki survivor, right?"
"I...yeah."
"Then...we all owe you an apology. For not coming quick enough to save your friends and family. I know words don't do much. And I know that there's a lot to be done to fix what's broken. My commander would admit to as much."
"...forget about it."
"Not the response I was expecting."
"I just...want you to do what's right for the people left behind. And the ones that can't speak for themselves anymore. They deserve to be remembered. And to know that this won't ever happen again. At least now, with him gone...my mom...my dad...my brother...my best friend...they can rest a little easier." Rin collapsed onto her back.
"Hey! What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm just...tired."
"Shouldering so many burdens would do that to anyone. Let alone a girl your age. Just sit tight. I'm getting the med team out here for these kids."
As Ken left to check on the unconscious Artisans, Rin closed her eyes. "(It's finally done. So...what do I do now? Guess that's for after the big bad is gone. It's been a long ride to get here...and I've done all I can. Max Jadefang...other me...and even you P.D.F. people...it's up to you now.)" she thought, as she drifted off to sleep.
---
In the midst of the fighting, Johnny stopped. "....."
"Your senses do not deceive you." Emily stood away from him. "He's gone. Your most faithful disciple is no more." 
"So he is..." Johnny rubbed his head. "...you were my only friend, Zeke."
"...is that it?" Max questioned. "Your 'only friend', and that's all you have to say about it?"
"What, you want me to get all teary-eyed and give out a eulogy? The hell would that do? He was a killing machine, just like me. He lived for death, and now he's got it. Least I can do is give him a thumbs-up and a 'job well done'."
"Unreal. After all those years of killing for your ass." Kat responded.
"Callous, even to your own lieutenant. I would have thought that if losing *anyone* would hurt you, it'd be Zeke." Commander Max chastised.
"Oh, don't misunderstand. I'm *fuming*. I'm giving him the response he would've asked for. An acknowledgement, and a promise that I'll rip you all to tiny pieces. I'll build a new Wolfpack on top of your cold, broken bones." Johnny exuded a fiery aura.
"Watch yourselves. This feels different." the older Rin cautioned.
"Guess he's finally ready to take us seriously." Max braced.
Johnny held out his hands and crouched. "One last bit of fun, for all the marbles. It's either you, or me. If my Wolfpack is going extinct...then I'm taking as many of you assholes down with me as I can manage!" His energy flared. "Now...BRING IT!"