Kiyoshi was in a great mood. The plan he had discussed with Shin yesterday had worked out perfectly.
"I didn't even have to wait a few days for the fish to bite the bait. — At this thought, the blond's gaze shifted to Himejima. — How lucky I was to meet little Akeno. She wasn't even too offended that she was used. — The guy smiled. — Once she got used to us a little, she stopped being wary and her true character showed itself. Bold and daring — I like such people, but... — Zankoku couldn't shake off the unusual feeling when he was near this little priestess. It seemed to him that Akeno was not an ordinary person. — Is it because she is an onmyouji? Although the others don't feel anything like that. Even Yuri, who spent the night with her. — The blond decided to put such thoughts aside. — There are more important things to do now.
The phone call with Zaraki went well. Ryu was able to convincingly tell the story of the skirmish with Deputy Zankoku. Godo was pleased with the work done and ordered Shin to be dragged to the abandoned construction site where their gang had settled. Zaraki planned to lure his competitor and get rid of him, so he organized a gathering of the entire gang.
Kiyoshi gathered his people and an hour later, during which all the opponents were supposed to gather, they headed to the meeting place. There were sentries at the entrance who ran to report when the crowd approached.
— Here we are, — Zankoku spoke loudly while continuing to walk, — Everything has already been said earlier. We are acting according to plan.
The girls remained near the entrance. Now they were simple observers. The guys went further to the center of the site, where their opponents were waiting for them. On the cleared area, at a short distance from each other, two gangs met. Their numbers did not differ much from each other. Most of them were unarmed, but some of the teenagers were holding bats, steel pipes, brass knuckles or bokens.
— Here you are, Zankoku, — Godo broke the silence.
A large teenager, almost two meters tall, with a large, pumped-up body. Using his brute physical strength, Godo Zaraki was able to lead his gang in a short time and now decided to take over all the gangs in the city.
— I don't see Shinichi with you,— the hooligan looked around the crowd, — so he was really caught, and since our guys didn't come back, you managed to intercept them. Commendable.
Godo looked at his opponent with some superiority. The blond was slightly above average height and had a thin build. Zaraki knew that he shouldn't be fooled by Zankoku's fragile appearance. Under his clothes was a powerful and trained body capable of competing with him in strength.
— I'll leave it to your imagination, — Kiyoshi stepped slightly ahead of his group, — but I actually met and took care of your guys, — he said with a wide smile.
— You'll pay for this, — Godou tightened his grip on the pipe. — Today, I will crush you and become the only king in this city.
— These are my words, Zaraki. Today, I will send you to the hospital!
All the people on the court were waiting with excitement and anticipation for the signal from their leaders.
— Forward! Crush them! — Zaraki shouted.
— It's time to have fun! Beat them up, guys! — with these words, Kiyoshi rushed into the crowd in front with his favorite wooden sword in his hands.
In these years of practicing kenjutsu, the blond did not become a great master and did not make much progress. However, he was able to master the basics, and considerable practice in street fights made Kiyoshi an experienced swordsman, for an amateur. Until he meets a master or a more experienced opponent, then thanks to his high physical data, he will most likely be able to win.
Having received the signal, the teenagers rushed at each other with a battle cry. A crowd—on—crowd fight began. There was nothing spectacular about it. Only hatred and cruelty reigned here. Teenagers beat each other with fists, steel pipes or bats. Somewhere they fought one on one, but more often it was a real human dump, where several opponents piled up against one.
In the epicenter of all this were two leaders. A dead zone formed around them, where no one tried to stop these two. Several fools who decided to attack the enemy commander from behind lay nearby.
— Surrender, — Godo said, delivering another blow, — as you can see, your people are gradually losing.
— Don't even hope, — parrying the blow of the metal pipe, the blond lunged with his bokken. — All I need is to defeat you. Then I can easily deal with your lackeys.
A teenager jumped out of the crowd, intending to give his boss an advantage and attacked Zankoku. Kiyoshi had to distract himself from his opponent. Dodging the blow of the unlucky hooligan, the blond did not hold back and kicked the teenager in the back of the head, knocking him out. Returning his attention to Zaraki, Kiyoshi noticed a blow approaching him. There was no way to avoid it and he had to put his sword in front of him.
— Damn it! — The sword gave way when it collided with the pipe and the wood split.
— Now it's your turn! — Godou used all his strength to strike. — Aaaah, fuck! How painful!
Zankoku used his broken bokken and the sharp part was sticking out of his opponent's hand. Only for this strike he had to take a steel pipe on his forearm.
— That really hurt, bastard! — With these words, Kiyoshi kicked Godou in the face, causing him to fall. Jumping on top of the fallen enemy, the blond began to strike Zaraki in the face until he passed out.
— Stop hesitating, guys. — The blond attracted attention with his shout. — I've already dealt with Zaraki, and you're still playing around. You're forcing me to help you with this.
As soon as most of them noticed the unconscious Godou, the fighting spirit of Zankoku's subordinates increased. Having found their second wind, the teenagers pounced on their opponents. When Kiyoshi joined the fight, the first deserters from the Zaraki gang began to appear. As soon as the first person ran, the rest of the cowards followed him. Leaving a few comrades to continue fighting. Since the main entrance was on the opposite side, the rats ran to the "back entrance". Approaching the missing part of the wall, the teenagers anticipated freedom, but their path was blocked by five guys led by Shinichi.
— I hate traitors, — said the teenager, adjusting his glasses. — There is no way out. Today, the Zaraki gang will be completely defeated. — He pointed at the deserters. — Beat them up.
Having quickly dealt with the rest of the opponents, all the members of the Zankoku gang, including Shin and the girls, began to approach their leader. He was standing right next to his competitor, who had already come to his senses.
— Are you happy? — Godou spat, still lying on the ground.
— Not quite, but I will be soon, — he approached Zaraki with a frightening smile. — I seem to remember that I promised to send you to the hospital. And I am used to keeping my promises.
Stepping on the teenager's chest with one foot, the blond grabbed the left arm of the defeated opponent with his hands.
— You shouldn't mess with Zankoku and his men, — with these words Kiyoshi broke his arm. A cry of pain filled the entire area. — Oh, this is not the end. You still have one arm left.
— No! Stop, please! — Zaraki begged with tears.
— Nope! — the other arm was broken with a smile on his face.
Kiyoshi looked at his men. Most of the teenagers looked at him with a little fear or looked away. Shinichi had long since gotten used to the cruel side of his friend and only looked at his leader with boredom. Kiyoshi's attention was drawn to Akeno. The girl did not take her eyes off the blond and there was a strange smile on her face and a blush on her cheeks. He decided to ignore the strange priestess.
— Today we proved to everyone else, using the example of Zaraki's gang, that they should not mess with us! Now most of the city will be under our control, — the blond's words were met with enthusiastic cries. — And now let's get out of here. We need to help our wounded and get a good rest. Let's go.
The crowd of teenagers left the abandoned construction site, under the distant sirens of the police and ambulance. In their wake, they left behind beaten opponents, liters of blood and dozens of knocked out teeth.
Two weeks passed after the fight with Zaraki. All this time, Zankok and his people had to lead a normal life and not attract attention to themselves. The police became too active after the mass brawl, the news of which was covered in the media.
Yesterday, Kiyoshi turned fourteen and he spent the whole day with his family. This morning, he had a small party with a small circle of friends. Everyone except Shin had already gone home.
—I hope the cops calm down soon. This is starting to get annoying,— the blond complained to his friend.
—There won't be such control anymore, but I still have to be more careful,— the brunette noticed his friend's strange behavior. In the middle of his words, Kiyoshi stared at the wall and looked intently. — Hey, what's wrong? — He also looked in that direction, but didn't notice anything unusual.
— Shin, I have a bad feeling about this, — Zankoku felt an unusual feeling coming from the side and approaching them. — We need to get out of here. You go first, I'll leave a little later too.
— Is it somehow connected with what Akeno told you? — Shin remembered how the priestess told his friend about the supernatural world. And that Kiyoshi was connected to it. The brunette would not have believed it, even though his intuition confirmed the girl's words, if not for the dark wings that appeared behind Akeno's back.
— I don't know. I hope not, — the guy thought that "it" could be following him. He wanted to hold off the creature and give his friend time to escape. — You go, I'll catch up with you later.
— Liar, — Shin smiled. — The main thing is don't die. Good luck.
— Yeah. See you later.
A minute after Shinichi left, the doors to the warehouse were broken through. The projectile flew through half the room and crashed into the boxes, raising dust. Kiyoshi expected something like this, so he only glanced briefly at the pile of garbage and again focused on the entrance.
— Reincarnated? Renegade? — the man asked, entering through the hole. — It doesn't matter. Wait your turn.
The blond watched as the creature from which he felt the pressure of energy slowly walked towards the projectile that had flown in.
— You made me run around, useless beast! Now you will receive an appropriate punishment. — A cough was heard among the destroyed things.
— Shirone, are you okay? — A dark-haired girl with cat ears appeared from under the rubble, hugging a younger white—haired girl.
"So he didn't come for me, but was chasing them. But what is the reason for this? — the teenager wondered. — They are too young and do not look like dangerous criminals. If I had known about this in advance, I would have left with Shin. It's a pity, now I am an extra witness that they will get rid of." — the guy feverishly tried to find a way out of the current situation.
— Please, — the black-haired girl begged, — let my sister go. I will go with you and do everything you say, but…
— Kuroka-onesan, — the girl in her arms exclaimed.
— Shut up, youkai. — An angry cry filled the building. — You are the property of the Naberius house. Your worthless lives will serve a great purpose. You should be glad for such an honor.
The man stopped a few meters away from the sisters. He pointed his hand in their direction and a magic circle formed on it. The older sister covered the younger one with her body, expecting an attack.
— Don't hurt children, bastard, — a pipe flew towards the demon. Such a thing could not harm the higher demon, but it broke his concentration and the magic circle dissipated.
— Spawn! I was going to give you the opportunity to live longer, but you do not appreciate it.
With his face twisted with anger, the man began to approach the teenager.
— You are not reincarnated, but you feel demonic energy, — the demon stopped abruptly, thinking out loud. — Half-breed. Could it be that one of the higher ones got together with a human? — His sharp gaze was directed at the young man, — Answer me, what demonic clan do you belong to?! Who are your parents?
— I don't understand what you're talking about, psycho, — the blond grinned, provoking his interlocutor. — My mother was a human, but I'm not sure about my father. I've never seen that bastard.
— So someone really got involved with a human. Trash! — the man's voice was full of contempt from the mere thought of such a thing. — Probably some lustful offspring of the Phenex. It doesn't matter, — he interrupted his thoughts, — You must die, half-demon, — the demon sent a blade of wind at Zankoku with magic.
The spell hit the teenager, throwing him into the wall. He was alive, but bleeding.
— Now he's here, Kha-kha – the man's speech was interrupted by a slit throat. — Bast-kh-ard.
While the demon was distracted by Kiyoshi, the nekomata took advantage of this opportunity, approaching him. The blond noticed this and deliberately distracted him, focusing his attention on himself. Killing the demon was the only possible chance for him to survive.
— I'm sorry, but I can't help you. My strength is running out, — Kuroka ran up to the teenager and examined her savior. — They are not enough to heal your wounds, — the girl dejectedly lowered her head and her cat ears pressed to her head.
— Then quickly bring papers and easily flammable garbage here, — ordered Zankoku. Seeing the incomprehension in the girl's eyes, he explained: — I need fire. It will help me recover.
The black-haired girl rushed to fulfill the guy's request, her sister joined her. Within a couple of minutes, a fire was burning near Kiyoshi. Crawling towards the fire, the teenager fell into it with his wound.
The girls' screams and attempts to help were heard, but the blond brushed them off. Fire couldn't harm him. As a child, he had discovered that even if his hand was engulfed in flames, there was no pain or damage. Later, Zankoku accidentally noticed how his scratch was healed with fire. And now the flames from the fire focused on the teenager's cut flesh, slowly healing the damage.
— Wow, — the white-haired girl was surprised when the blond rolled over onto his back and everyone saw the healing process. — Cool!
— So you really are a half-demon Phenex, — her sister did not share the girl's admiration. She was wary and ready to eliminate the potential threat.
— True, — the guy smiled, noticing Kuroki's reaction, — but today I met a demon for the first time and learned a lot about myself, including the name of my biological father's clan.
— You say that you lived among people before? — Still wary, but less hostile, the older sister asked.
— Yes. I found out that I belong to a race that is not quite human a little over a week ago. And then by chance I met a person with a similar case to mine, — Kiyoshi spoke carelessly, checking his condition. — Well, now I should leave this place before this demon's friends show up.
— Can you help us get to Kyoto?
— Why should I do that? — the blond asked, looking for new clothes in the gang's supplies. — I don't want to get involved in your problems. I'm happy with my human life.
— Sorry, but you won't be able to live peacefully anymore, — Kuroka said with pity.
— What does this mean? — the guy frowned.
— The demons who will investigate the disappearance of our pursuer will find this place. You can't control or hide your demonic power, so they'll find you quickly, because the entire building is literally saturated with your presence.
— Fuck! — Kiyoshi sent the box of things flying without holding back. — What the hell!
He fully realized the situation he found himself in. Now he can't continue his normal life. He will have to leave the city and hide in order to lead the pursuit away from his loved ones.
— Why Kyoto? — Zankoku asked, letting off steam.
— Miss Yasaka lives in this city. She is the leader of the Western youkai and will be able to help us. She will help you too when I tell you about your help.
— What makes you think that she will help you or listen to your words?
— She protects all the youkai clans, and our nekomata clan was attacked by demons. My sister and I managed to escape, but some of our fellow tribesmen remained in captivity. — The black—haired girl's hand was squeezed by her sister, giving her support. — As soon as Mrs. Yasaka finds out about everything, she will be able to help. She is a subordinate of the Shinto gods.
— If that's really the case, then good, — agreed Kiyoshi. —I hope she can help me too.— — Then I'll take some things and let's go. The fastest way to get there is by train, — the blond looked at his companions. — Can you disguise your ears and tails? And we need to change our clothes. In this form, they will send us to the police or an ambulance faster.
The nekomata were all covered in bruises and abrasions. Their clothes were torn and dried blood stains were visible in places.
— No need for this, — for the first time since their meeting, a smile appeared on Kuroka's face. — There is a better option.
In place of the girls, cats of the corresponding colors appeared. Kuroka became a black cat, and Shirone a white kitten.
— This really does make things easier, — he said, stroking the cats with a smile.