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Chapter Text

Since the moment they discovered that Izumo was planned to uphold the power of Nine Tails, Ryuji Suguro had done nothing but think about her, and how they were going to save her from its wrath and impotent death. With the betrayal of Renzou and the knowledge of her being imprisoned and tortured, Ryuji couldn’t eat, he could barely sleep, and he couldn’t talk and laugh with his friends. He was being near tormented and felt guilt-ridden for not knowing about Renzou. If he knew, then perhaps he could’ve protected Izumo better, even if she refused the need for protection. At least they had formulated a plan now, acting as a comfortable escape for Ryuji – as if everything and everyone would be alright if they followed the plan. They were to locate the Illuminati and therefore Izumo and try to break her out. And if someone had to die for this plan to work, that would have to happen.

Now, they were about to break in, and his nerves were completely flattened by the idea of being able to see Izumo again. She’d been gone for almost two weeks now, and he missed her pretty face. Now, they were crouched behind a bush, ready to take down the Illuminati guards in front of the place they were keeping Izumo, or so they thought.

“Is everybody ready?” Yukio Okumura asked, looking between his students, and then at Rin, “You’ve got to listen to me, Rin, I am your commander.”

Rin nodded and opened his mouth to (probably) say something stupid. “Just a nod will suffice.” Rin nodded, though pouted childishly. Ryuji mustered up the strength to add, “If you do anything to ruin the plan, I will kill you myself, got that Satan boy?” Once again, he nodded, not wanting to piss off his brother in this moment.

“Save that energy for the battle, Suguro.” Yukio ordered, giving him a curt nod. “Alright… You two first, then Suguro and then me. Miwa stay here with Shiemi, then you two come out when we’ve dealt with these guards.”

Everyone nodded at the plan and set it into motion. Soon, Suguro was standing in line with the other boys, and they were poised ready for attack.

“What are you kids doing here?” One of the guards spat, pulling out his rapier ready to defend this building with his life. Ryuji heard Yukio whisper into Rin’s ear, “Go easy on them, they’re just human…” which made Ryuji slightly infuriated. Izumo was ‘just’ human too, yet they were abusing her and using her for their own gain… The Illuminati were scum who deserved to die, especially to Satan’s flames. At least he could utilise his anger in this battle.

Rin nodded and practically growled as he pulled out his sword and his blue flames danced circles around them, though they were never hot around Rin’s friends.

“Satan Slash!” He yelled as he charged at the guards and aimed both his sword and his flames at the guards. Satan Slash? What kind of goofy name for an attack is that? Ryuji thought, and for the first time in over two weeks, he suppressed a chuckle. Following the first two guards being knocked to the floor by Rin’s flames, two more being crushed by Kuro and Yukio shooting wildly, Ryuji leaped forward and used all his might to swipe two guards with his Bazooka, “Get out of my way!” He yelled, emotion coursing through each word as he pictured Izumo’s face.

Everything about her was appealing to him. Her appearance, her traits, her nature, her tsundere act, her voice… She was perfect, a goddess walking among them. And though it might seem like they were in a committed relationship, both were yet to talk about what they were. Their non-existent label was exactly that. They were themselves. They’d spent many nights together, and still upheld their academic rivalry, they rarely thought about a real label, and weren’t fussed when they did.

“And that’s that…” Rin said as they looked down upon the guards writhing on the floor in pain. “Let’s get inside…”

“You call that attack… Satan Slash?” He pointed out, laughing loudly and crudely, for the first time in weeks.

“Shut your ass! If you don’t like that it’s called that, go talk to Shura!” Rin immediately yelled childishly, scowling as he pointed and defended himself while they began to head inside the building.

Around them, they quickly found, was not in fact an Illuminati base, but a simple mall. The music around them sang of Inari’s peace and happiness, which was quite the binary opposite of how eerie the place felt without anybody here. The whole place seemed abandoned, despite the bright lights and lively feel of all the shops nearby. It looked like a regular mall, but everything about their mission and their prior knowledge made it seem like a hellscape.

“It’s a shopping mall…?” Yukio pointed out the obvious, though it was more a question. Why the hell was this just a regular looking shopping centre? Where was Izumo? He gulped down the desire to yell out her name and dash off to find her – but that would be dangerous, not only for himself but for the whole mission.

“Where’d all the other people go…? I don’t see a sign of them, or anymore of the Illuminati. Or Izumo… Or Renzou…” He pointed out, trying not to make it obvious how scared he was for Izumo.

Rin’s face said it all, “They’re here… Something definitely is. Watch your backs.” Konekomaru and Shiemi looked equally as afraid as the latter raised her voice, “Are you sensing something, Rin…?”

Ryuji knew that Shiemi cared very deeply about each member of the team, however she had a strong affinity for Izumo, and he knew that she wanted Izumo to be safe almost as much as he did. Almost.

“Maybe this isn’t even a real mall…” Koneku added, causing them all to look around to discover any discrepancies. Yukio spoke up, “Stay calm everyone. This commotion may cost the mission – the enemy is coming. So, let’s look for a way underground and try not to get separated. Boy was that dramatic foreshadowing.

After a few moments of them searching for a trapdoor, an elevator or a simple gap, Ryuji practically jumped out of his skin as he heard Yukio’s gun fire three shots. He looked at Koneku before walking over to the others with haste.

“What happened…? Oh, a ghoul!” The shorter boy stated, eyes wide as he looked upon the creature.

“We heard it trying to say something, so it has to be a zombie.” Koneku explained the differences between a ghoul and a zombie, mainly for Rin who clearly hadn’t been paying any attention in class. The main thing was that zombies were much harder to kill, meaning if anymore appeared, they’d be in for one hell of a fight.

Crouching down, Konekomaru read out the nametag, or number tag… “Test subject number 6411… That means someone turned him into thi- ah!” He yelled, leaping back as the zombie seemed to convulse and throw up blood.

“Konekomaru! Are you alright!?” Ryuji yelled, making the shorter boy whimper in terror, “Yeah…”

“Uh, you guys…!” Shiemi pointed, sounding utterly terrified and slightly out of her depth as the rest of the group looked to the left. Before them, was an entire hoard of zombies, all covered in blood and hobbling like the corpses they were. They all grumbled and groaned, focusing on the same thing – they were hungry.

“Where’d all those come from…?” Rin questioned, everyone’s faces showing an equal level of surprise.

“Mr Okumura!” Koneku shouted, pointing over to the zombie they’d already dealt with. It was slowly but surely rising from the ground, lifting its head despite having had its brain blown out by Yukio’s bullets.

“What’s going on…?” Yukio whimpered, even he sounded out of his depth, which filled Ryuji with worry and dread. If even Yukio was afraid, what were the ex-wires supposed to do? He cleared his throat, clearing remembering he was in the position of authority, “We must find the entrance to the lab… Now!”

They all began heading in the same direction, one they hadn’t yet been in. But before long, the zombies were coming from every angle, blocking any route they could take. “Aw, crap! They’ve got us surrounded!” Ryuji exclaimed, terror spiking each of his words.

“We’ll have to cut a path through them.” Yukio ordered, his face stern and his mind clearly running like clockwork.

“Locked and loaded over here – just say the word.” Ryuji said, holding his rocket launcher up onto his shoulder, ready to blast his way through. Anything for Izumo. He’d physically do anything – possible or otherwise – to get Izumo safe in his arms.

“That’s too risky, Bon… If they’re on fire, they can burn us… If Okumura used his flames though, he’d be able to burn straight through them.” Ryuji grumbled in defeat. Always count on Rin and his ungodly abilities, never me.

“I don’t know…” He hesitated, making Yukio look over at his brother, “It’s the only way, Rin… There’s no room for hesitation right now.”

Suddenly, the ground opened beneath them, dropping them into an inverted metal cone. They slid down the walls, everyone yelling in confusion as they were swallowed into the deep dark pits of hell. And everyone was split up…

“Is anyone there…?” Ryuji yelled, shining his flashlight around the metal chamber. All alone. “I-Izumo?!” He attempted feebly, not expecting any good results. The metal walls around him, and the floor beneath were covered in blood stains and splatters, making his body force down a gulp to avoid retching. “Damnit… I’m all alone, they dropped us in different places… Fuck…” He spoke aloud, desperate to fill the sickening silence with familiarity.

He was left in complete silence for a few moments, his mind whirring with all kinds of thoughts. I can’t die, who will save Izumo if I die? I must get out of here… I must find a way, please… God, anyone will do… Please…

Then, completely shattering the silence came a loud grumble before a splat against the floor. A huge monster fell from the ceiling and landed before him with a murderous roar, towering above him at 15 feet tall. It stunk of rotting meat, dark red blood seeping out of its pores and extremities and only adding to the life-ending stench, though as an exorcist Ryuji must admit he was used to wicked smells, sights and even accidental tastes. It grumbled so loudly that the floor rumbled beneath his feet, making his body unfreeze and snap into action. Ryuji pulled his bazooka from his side and onto his broad shoulder, ready to shoot at it. Catching sight of it’s face, he physically recoiled, “Is that thing supposed to be a zombie!? Holy shit!” He yelled before firing a rocket into the direction of its heart, if it even still had one. He pressed his heels into the ground to avoid being knocked away from the force of his weapon and whimpered as the creature groaned in pain, or anger, it was hard to tell.

“I… want to… go… ho-ome!” The monster growled, making Ryuji think harder about a way to kill this thing. It… It must still think it’s human, I’ve got to show it that it’s as far from human as something could possibly be. How on earth do I do that…? I’d need a mirror… or something else reflective. Like water! I’ve got this!

Ever since middle school, Ryuji had his mind set on becoming both an Aria and a Dragoon, and even when both Konekomaru and Renzou questioned his decisions, saying that he’d struggle to recall fatal verses while still fighting, or that he was too weak and lanky to carry a rocket launcher. So, everyday he trained to up his physical ability and concentration skills and now he was glad to be able to use the bazooka in battle. He forced the ammo into the barrel and aimed it, planning on which fatal verse he would use to summon the water-ess familiar and show the monster its reflection through a puddle. Shooting the bazooka near the zombie, he began reciting the fatal verse, eyes focussed on the ammo as it shot through the air.

“I want to go home!” The creature kept repeating, clearly desperate and abused. Ryuji watched as the bullet turned into the water goddess and cast out a wall of reflective water. Once the creature looked at its reflection and saw what it had become, it’s eyes widened, for once almost resembling as much emotion as a human withheld.

“You’re never going home again!” He told it, feeling slightly bad for the creature who was once just a regular human, probably having no idea about demons, ghouls and exorcism. The creature collapsed to the ground, its heart clearly stopping pumping as it realised who it had become. And that was that. But Ryuji was stuck in place, his heels pressed into the ground as a seemingly random memory develop in the forefront of his mind…

He was walking home from school, the first grade, with Renzou, his two older brothers Juuzou and Kinzou and Konekomaru. He was walking beside Juuzou, who embarrassed him by calling him Bon.

“Do you have to call me that…?” He whined, as a young boy would.

“Would you rather be called Lord Ryuji?” The elder boy teased, making the little boy grumble under his breath, accepting that Bon was better than Lord. Then Juuzou went on, “You’re very important to the Myó Dha Sect. You’re the hinge, Bon.”

“What’s a hinge…?” The little boy asked, eyes wide as he looked up to Juuzou, whom he saw as his own older brother.

“It’s like… an electric fan without the middle screw. It won’t work without it. You are just as important as that middle screw, Bon. Everyone in the Myó Dha Sect needs you. Do you understand?”

After that day, I trained hard every day to prove myself as the hinge. I ensured I was strong enough and helped around the Sect every day, doing odd jobs and heavy lifting. Additionally, when I thought my father was slacking off, I knew I had to be the one to confront him about it, otherwise I wouldn’t have been doing my job as the hinge.

“Give it up son, no matter how hard you work… Everyone moves on eventually…” His father had told him. The feeling left in his chest after hearing that, was eerily similar to when Koneko had yelled at him,

“Will you stop trying to be the leader!? Give someone else a chance for a change!”

Don’t they need me anymore? If I’m not needed, then what am I to live for?

Then, another memory, another face appeared in his mind. None other than Izumo Kamiki, the girl he would die for… But, more importantly, the girl he would live for.

“Oh, so you want to defeat Satan. If you’re trying to make me laugh, at least tell a better joke!” She had sneered, though the slight pull of her upper lip told him everything he needed to know. That the night before that, laid in his bed after consummating their love for the first time, she had vowed to stick by him on his quest to get revenge, with the only rule being for him to not die doing it.

Snapping him back to reality, his thoughts shifted onto Renzou. His best friend since before he could even remember. How could he do this? How could he betray everyone like this, including by capturing Izumo, knowing how much it would physically hurt her, and emotionally damage him? Why? Things can’t go back to normal after this, and he wondered if he’d ever get to see Renzou again. He knew he wanted to punch him across the face without mercy, but he also desperately wanted to hug him and call him and idiot and tell him he loved him.

“Alright, enough thinking, Ryuji… Go and get her.” He instructed himself, trying to pull himself out of his own cursed mind.

Remember, I’m doing this for her. To save her life and tell her I love her.

“I’m on my way, little Fox… I’m on my way.”

Chapter Text

Izumo Kamiki wasn’t the type to wait around for a man, or anyone, to save her so she took matters into her own hands and escaped the examination room. As much as it pained her to see her mother suffering, on the verge of death, Izumo couldn’t let herself end up the vessel for Nine Tails – she knew that she was too weak to withhold that power. After the unforeseen betrayal of Renzou Shima, she was unsure of who she could trust anymore, making her jump at shadows as she ran down the hallway with her foxes beside her. She was absolutely, utterly terrified to her core.

What was that noise? She felt her heart racing as she ran and tried to look behind her, only resulting in her falling onto her behind.

“Where do you think you’re going, Izumo?” The cold, unfamiliar tone of Renzo’s voice sent a shiver down her spine as she turned, still sitting on the ground in defeat. For once, the poor girl couldn’t think of anything to say – not a smart remark, or a witty comment, not even an honest answer. She had nothing left in her. She had been caught again.

Behind him, the dark demonic flames of Yamantaka watched her menacingly, eyes firmly on it’s target despite Renzou having not set them on anything yet. The demonic power was huge and deadly, but she knew that it couldn’t harm her, only other demons, so Mike and Uke were the ones really in trouble.

“Yamantaka’s flames are super deadly to demons and spirits” A tone more familiar in Renzou’s voice, one she could just about recognise as that idiot’s words, “So don’t even try sickin’ those foxes of yours on him ‘cause he’ll just turn them to ash.” Izumo could have sworn she heard Mike whimper, but she wasn’t so sure as she refused to take her eyes from Renzou. “Be nice and let’s head back to the examination room. Kay? That sound like a plan?” He asked, voice as sweet as ever, making Izumo’s chest physically hurt from emotion.

She finally raised her voice, convincing herself that it was just Renzou she was talking to. Just good, friendly, moronic and flirty Renzou – her friend. “Well, those flames can’t hurt me since I’m not a demon.” He laughed, as if she’d just told a joke, making her flinch but try to hide it.

“That’s true. The flames can’t put a scratch on your body… But they can knock you out like before.” The pink haired boy finally looked down at her and they made eye contact. He looked at her like he had no previous affiliation with her, making her heart squeeze out any positive emotion she had leftover for him, or so she thought. “It doesn’t take me too much effort to do that.”

Izumo physically growled as she recalled the events of Renzou’s betrayal of knocking her unconscious, when she felt so safe with him. That’s all gone now. I hate this man more than anything. She thought, though part of her mind didn’t believe it one bit.

“I don’t need these two to take you on.” She proposed, “I’ll take you on the old-fashioned way!” She growled as she built up as much energy as she could and began galloping towards him, having absolutely no idea what she was thinking. Of course, she couldn’t win. She was much smaller than him, much weaker than him. But she couldn’t back out now. She leaped into the air and aimed to kick him in his face, but he had quicker reflexes and grabbed her midair, catching her on his upper arm and leaving her defenceless to his mercy. She whimpered as pressure from the dodgy landing hit her lower half. Suddenly, as she threw herself out of his grasp, Mike and Uke jumped before her.

“I will not let you harm her!” Mike yelled, dashing before Renzou and growling. Izumo yelled, “No! I order you to stop!”

Mike replied, “Silly child! We are your weapons, use us!” Izumo didn’t respond, and Mike took that as an answer and began wielding himself up for attack.

“I didn’t want to have to do this to ya!” He shrugged before reciting a fatal verse to get the demonic power prepared. The power of Yamantaka immediately swallowed Mike whole and took his life without a moment to waste, making Izumo and Uke gasp in upset. She couldn’t believe the amount of emotion which washed over her in that moment. Guilt, regret and sadness.

In a moment of grief, Uke charged to the demon, trying to get revenge for his partner. Izumo yelled after him to try and stop him, but it was no use. Within a split second, he was dead too. She felt even more alone as she, in that moment, seemed to accept her fate as the next heir of Nine Tails.

*

“Bon! You’re alive! Thank goodness!” Konekomaru yelled from across the gap as Ryuji jogged over from the cell that he had been trapped in. Before he could conjure up a reply, a loud high-pitched squeak sounded over the intercom along with some disgusting laughter. That’s him! That’s that fucking doctor who is testing on Izumo!

“Hello, you pesky little cockroaches. I am the head of the Illuminati’s far east laboratory. Dr. Michael Gedoin. You snot nosed bastards are trespassing in my sanctuary!” He said, his nasally, high-pitched voice seeming to go through everyone’s ear drums in an unpleasant way. “A sanctuary for the development of my elixir of immortality. For that you will suffer the anguish of 1,000 deaths! And before you draw your last breath, I promise you will understand the gravity of your crimes!” While the freaky man spoke, Ryuji leapt over the gap between the cells and joined back up with the rest of the group.

“Anyone know what he’s talking about? Is it Izumo?” He asked, his mind focussing on her and only her to avoid getting himself into an irreversible spiral of overthinking.

Yukio nodded, getting everyone’s attention to speak, “Yes. It’s why he kidnapped her. To use as a test subject for his immortality drug. And I bet, that hoard of zombies we saw in the mall are the results of his experiments.” Everyone gasped, they clearly had no idea they were getting into something as complex as this and neither did Ryuji. Izumo had never once spoken about her family, or Nine Tails, or a bloody immortality elixir to him.

The loudspeaker sounded again, “You are correct.” He snickered, “Those zombies, while useful, were the duds from my human trails. Previously they were tourists to Peace Town Inari. Producing an elixir with potent regenerative power is a tricky task – one that requires gobs of human subjects. “Impressive, isn’t it?” Gedoin replied as Rin gasped. “The food and drink in Fox Alley are laced with a special drug I designed that, when ingested, induces a state of ecstasy in the brain. The more they eat the more they crave, until they physically cannot go on without Fox Alley’s delicacies, then they are selected to live in Peace Town Inari. But during the experiments, they feel no pain or fear thanks to my drug. That is how Lord Lucifer wants it. He feels it’s cruel to use people against their will and subject them to needless suffering. Rather humane of him, is it not?”

“What are you? Some kind of demon?” Rin growled.

“I am not. I am quite human, unfortunately.”  One of the zombies roared at that very moment as Kuro pounced over them to get to them. Said zombie, duplicated its body and grew twice the size. “I found that overdosing on my drug regenerates the body endlessly, until nothing remotely human is left to see.” Kuro whimpered and jumped over to Rin

“You bastard! Turning folks into that! And it doesn’t bother you at all!” Rin yelled, his flames growing larger with his anger.

“Hah, no, it does not.” The cursed doctor replied, “That’s because I despise humanity!”

“Easy, Rin…” Yukio warned as his brother snarled like an animal.

“You monster!” Rin yelled, emotion coursing though each word, making Ryuji’s heart race. He was tempted to go off and find Izumo, unable to listen to the doctor any longer. At that moment, as the group decided to start running away from the duplicating zombie, Ryuji turned his head slightly and then he saw her.

Izumo was walking between four Illuminati guards, wearing a long floral kimono, resembling the colours of her foxes. She looked absolutely gorgeous, but her puffy, red eyes and fidgeting hands showed exactly what was under the fancy dress and neat hair: it was a scared teenage girl.

“Izumo!” He yelled, his voice cracking slightly from disuse as he stopped in his tracks, along with the others. His body quickly unfroze and jolted into action, running over the cells and leaping up to the walkway. “Izumo! We’re here!” He shouted, though a certain pink-haired boy stopped him before he could reach her.

“You ain’t saving no one, bud.” He snarled, making Ryuji look over into Renzou’s eyes.

“Renzou… What the hell?” Was all he could force out as Renzou lifted his K’rik against Ryuji’s rocket launcher, clearly coaxing a fight out him. “Let me get to her, man…” He tried, forcing his Bazooka against the opposing weapon. Sweat dripped down his forehead from the formation of Renzou being his ‘opposition’.

“I always told you, you were too weak to carry a rocket launcher.” Renzou laughed. The type of laugh only someone with insider knowledge could conjure up, and it made Ryuji even angrier. “I don’t know what happened, but you’re not the Renzou Shima I grew up with… You Illuminati scum, you’re a bastard! A fucking bastard, Renzou!”

“Careful, you’ll burst a blood vessel getting that angry, Bon.” He shoved the boy backwards with his much heavier weapon, making him stumble.

“Don’t you call me Bon… You lost that right!” He snarled, practically spitting into Renzou’s face, showing how little he cared for the salmon-haired boy – or so he thought he did. In all honesty, Ryuji wanted nothing more than for him to turn around and say it was all a practical joke. He turned back to look at Izumo, “Izu! Hey!”

This time, the girl turned to look at him, eyes wide and avid as she realised it was him. Perhaps she thought she was imagining his voice before. He threw her a small, relief filled smile, trying to reassure her from afar. Though, the moment was quickly drawn to a close when one of the Illuminati guards shoved her and told her to keep walking. Ryuji panicked and turned back to Renzou, shoving him viciously away from him. “Leave me alone… Let me go back down there then! I won’t go after her!” He said, needing to be reunited with the others to be able to think of a solid plan.

“You’re absolutely right, man, there’s no way you’re taking her.” He practically purred as he shoved Ryuji back down to the others and he joined back with the Illuminati, guarding Izumo.

“Dude!” Rin yelled, clearly just as angry as Ryuji, “What happened to you? We’re supposed to be friends!”

“Just drop the whole friend’s thing already. I warned you it might come down to this.” He yelled, clearly getting too into the battle as he leaped down and began a sword fight with Rin, both beginning to battle it out. Rin put up a good fight, only using his sword despite his cool flames dancing around his ‘horns’ and tail as he refused to use Satan’s flames on any of his friends.

“Stop! Snap out of it before I get mad.” That was quite comical. He was clearly already very mad. Especially so as he punched Shima across the face, jumped on one of the other guards and landed before Izumo, offering her his hand. Ryuji held his breath, a lump stuck in his throat as Izumo looked at Rin, eyes wide and terrified.

“Come on! We gotta go! Hurry…” Rin said, in his usual heroic tone, but Izumo didn’t budge as if frozen in shock. There was a long pause, where the cogs turning in Izumo’s brain echoed around the entire chamber.

“No… You can’t save me, no one can… Leave me alone.” She pulled her hand away from Rin as he tried to grab her. She turned and continued walking in the direction of the laboratory, “This is my problem, not yours! So leave me alone.”

Ryuji had to swallow to stop his heart jumping out of his chest and landing in a sappy puddle on the floor. His eyes flickered from object to object, trying to both decipher what had just happened, as well as stop himself from breaking down crying. What happened to her? Did they brainwash her? There’s no way she wouldn’t want to be saved from the horrific wrath of Nine Tails, right? Surely, she didn’t want this. Surely… Though now, Ryuji wasn’t sure he knew her at all. Over the course of their time together, Ryuji had opened his heart to her, telling her about his dreams and hopes, his past and his failures, his thoughts and emotions… Clearly, Izumo hadn’t done the same, or in as much detail as Ryuji. She never spoke about her family, and he never probed it out of her, Ryuji had no idea about Nine Tails, or the Illuminati or anything of the sort. Did he even know her at all? Perhaps he had got it wrong; got it all wrong. Maybe they didn’t bring up labels because she didn’t want to be affiliated with him, perhaps she didn’t want to be his girlfriend, or anything to him. Maybe, just maybe, Ryuji’s feelings for her weren’t reciprocated, and she just used a mask, a filter over her authentic self to get what she wanted out of people. Perhaps, just like his father, and his best friend, people didn’t genuinely need him, just used him for their own selfish benefit. Perhaps, Izumo just rejected Ryuji, as much as she rejected Rin’s help.

No. There was no way he could be so wrong. There was no way he could misread every interaction with her, especially those from when they were alone. She always seemed genuine, and he always assumed she didn’t want to talk about her family for a reason. This would be the reason. Perhaps she didn’t want to talk about her mother – Nine Tails – because she knew. Izumo knew the whole time that she, one day, must take up its wrath and leave. Maybe she didn’t want to put a label on their relationship because she knew that she’d have to leave him. Perhaps she didn’t want to leave too much of a mark on him, so he didn’t miss her too much, or convince her to stay. That made sense. However, she had left a mark on him. A dent so big that he felt physical pain in his chest whenever she was away, and his chest squeezed in happiness whenever she smiled, or laughed her angelic if not a little mischievous smirk. Izumo had turned Ryuji into a soft, husband material, lover and he didn’t mind one bit. He didn’t care what she said, he wasn’t giving up that easily. He knew that if the roles were reversed, she wouldn’t stop until he was safe.

“What’s that idiot think she’s doing!?” Ryuji asked, emotion edging every word as he didn’t care about hiding his love for her any longer.

“Rin!” Shiemi yelped as Renzou sent Rin flying using his Yamantaka.

“Shima!” Rin gasped, clearly not expecting the hit at all.

“Okumura!” Ryuji yelped as Rin seemed really hurt by the blow. Rin disappeared down a tunnel with Shima close behind, but everyone knew he’d be alright. He was Satan spawn after all.

“We’re surrounded…” Yukio announced, worry coursing through his statement as Kuro came running behind them.

“Kuro… Can we hop on your back and carry us?” He asked the cat, who growled at him but nodded slowly.

Ryuji exhaled as they all got on the demon cats back, but he stayed put, a million different plans and ideas coursing through his mind. He had to find where Izumo was, there was no other option. He solidified his stance some more, as Yukio looked down at him, wondering what was taking him so long.

“Suguro? I know it’s hard to see her like this but… We must stick together.”

Ryuji swallowed hard, wiping his teary eye on his sleeve, “Alright…” He said, swallowing his pride and clambering onto Kuro’s back, a few more tears scratching down his tanned cheek. Despite all the plans he could’ve gone through with, he decided he couldn’t jeopardise Izumo’s safety. The group were best when working together, and deep down he knew that he couldn’t save her alone.

Chapter Text

Looking up at her mother, body decaying from the inside out with tubes and wires connecting to her, keeping her alive by a tiny thread, Izumo’s mind was filled with her little sister. She couldn’t bear to put Tsukumo through this – so, it was all down to her. And she was going to overpower Nine Tails. That is what all the exorcist training meant, it all led up to this moment. Opening the handheld fan, she began going through each step of the traditional dance, preparing her body and calling forth the spirit. As the music began, she remembered all the times she practiced this, it traditionally being a beautiful thing for the Kamiki family, praised and amazing. It was never supposed to be conducted in a laboratory, with wicked spectators such as these.

Her traditional kimono and hair spun around her angelically, framing her curvy body like she was an awe-inspiring watercolour painting. This dance originated from love and power and was never supposed to be a death sentence. It was unfair, it was all totally unfair. Though, she refused to think of it that way. She needed to focus on her innate power, her mind and soul needed to be clear of any other thoughts to be able to do what she had to do. Her only other option besides death. She kept a straight face, letting the melody drift into her ears and through her mind, cleansing herself and allowing her breath to be rhythmic with ease.

As the music reached its dramatic climax, Izumo saw tail after tail appearing from under her mother’s dress, making her whimper and groan in pain. Izumo knew she couldn’t think of the pain she was to endure; she must focus! Eyebrows furrowing, she watched her mother, her own body as stiff as a statue. Here it comes… Nine Tails! I will control her… I have to! Her mother – or rather – Nine Tails begun laughing manically, as if goading her to do something. The tails disappeared from her mother and Izumo ducked down, the music finally ending as she opened her arms. “Obey me…!” She said, quiet enough for the Illuminati not to hear her, her heavy breath was the only thing that could be heard for a while before she spoke again, “Obey- Hah!” She gasped as sharp pains stabbed into her torso and her eyes felt so much pressure that she felt they would explode from her head.

“No!” She yelled out in pain and anguish as she collapsed to the ground, hands barely keeping her stable as the wrath of Nine Tails overpowered her body. I really thought I could do this…

“Activate the mask.” Gedoin ordered, making an afraid looking guard press a button, causing pain above any sort of scale to pierce through the mask and into Izumo’s head, her eyesight blocked by bright electric sparks. There was no way she could have prepared for this. There was no way anyone could have. This was more than torture, more than pain, and she already wished she could die to escape it. She couldn’t recognise the fact she was screaming, her throat turning raw from the pressure.

If she had the capacity to think of anything other than the pain, she’d wonder what on earth she did to deserve this torment, this punishment. Because no-one holy, no-one good would ever be gifted torture to this avail. The skin on her face began to burn away, leaving no evidence of it being there to begin with as her face turned red and patchy, along with profuse sweat and tears, she felt disgusting.

And finally, Nine Tails was here. Each tail began sprouting from Izumo’s body with a life of its own, moving and growing and causing more pain. She half wondered when she would go numb to it all, if ever, though she quickly refocussed on the pain, her brain physically unable to think of anything else. Jumping up with painful energy, the mask flew from her face, and she felt like there was another occupant in her mind. Nine Tails. Despite it not having fully taken her over yet, she continued to persist, reaching to grab Tsukumo’s fox doll. All she focused on was protecting her little sister as well as gaining Nine Tails power.

Tsukumo. My precious little sister. But another, deeper and foreign voice spoke in her mind. Alive or dead, there’s no way to know for sure. It was here to tantalise her, to coerce her into giving in.

Paku… My one and only friend. Again, the voice disagreed with her, Uh-uh… There are no secrets between friends. You’re afraid. If she knew the truth about you, she’d run. You’re all alone like you’ve always been. So, there’s no point in struggling anymore. Or sticking around. Now, she was finally numb to the pain, feeling like a tortuous lull of false security. I’m so tired of everything…

A memory popped into her brain, as if trying to make final connections and ideas before giving in. ‘I got sick of them all. Bon, Koneko, my brothers, my family and the whole Miyoda life. It’s one big drag and I wanted to ditch ‘em all.’ Renzou had said, something she really believed he felt, and knew he’d grow to regret. I guess he was right in the end, we are the same… And I do regret it. I should have taken Rin’s hand and run away with my tail between my legs, putting Tsukumo in danger, because you’re right. She could be dead for all I know, and now I will be too. I wonder… why did I get so mad at them all the time? Because I feared getting too close to someone and breaking their heart. But it was too late. Honestly, I hated them all. They each had different opinions about every little thing. They could be stupid and selfish. Just being around them ticked me off. But even so… whenever they weren’t getting along for real. I hated that more. I guess that means I… I must’ve liked them. That’s it. That must be it. I loved them. I loved them all. And him. I really, really… love him. Now you get it, but it’s too late. She couldn’t tell if that was in her mind, or if it was Nine Tails’ voice. All she knew was that she felt absolutely stupid. Why did she leave them when they came looking for her? When she looked down and saw Ryuji, his face wide, exhausted and shocked, she recognised the feeling in her heart and yet she ignored it. Ryuji… I’m so sorry. I hope you forgive me, when I’m gone and I’ve shattered your heart into a million, immortal pieces… I’m sorry. Don’t grieve for me. It’s not fair for you, my sweet Ryuji.

As tears spilled from her eyes and over her stinging face, she finally gave in and begged, “Help me… Someone help me…!” Her voice was hoarse and broken, quiet and drained. There was nothing left for her to do but die.

His face was all she could make out as she closed her eyes, imagining his soft bedroom voice, hugging her and telling her that everything would be okay in the end. That she was alright, and so was everyone else. That Renzou hadn’t turned to the Illuminati and kidnapped her, stabbing her in the back and breaking the friendship she didn’t know was there. That she didn’t have to uphold Nine Tails, that she’d be able to live a normal life and make friends and have a normal, real boyfriend, not one she had to hide from and keep secrets from. She imagined burrowing her face into his chest and taking in his natural scent – a manly scent with a tinge of citrus shampoo. Smiling as he lulled her to sleep, running his large, scarred hand down her back and over her curves, tracing her vessel and loving every part of her, calming her and loving her. That was all she needed, his unconditional love. Hearing his soft voice as he told her everything was fine, and he’d protect her forever… However, what she truly heard, and made her jolt her eyes open was the opposite of a soft voice…

“Ahhhhh! You bastard! You made her cry!” A deep, familiar voice yelled, setting off his rocket launcher and chanting fatal verses over and over under his breath, eventually causing a loud eruption of orange light, shattering the glass shield and knocking Gedoin over. Izumo felt enough energy wash through her to raise herself up with her hands and looked at who was yelling. Ryuji Suguro. She, of course, continued to cry, this time with relief as she thought that, just maybe, she could carry on living. Ryuji had never been angrier, physically snarling like a rabid animal as Gedoin began to shriek, “You murdered my zombie! And for what, so you could rescue Izumo, is that it? And you have to nerve to call me a monster! You, sir, are no different! You hypocrite! You think you’re a hero? How laughable. Anyways, she wants this! She consented!”

Despite her vision being blurry, she watched as Ryuji, instead of using his rocket launcher, marched over and punched the wicked doctor square in the face. He didn’t even bother to look at his victim as he turned around and dashed over to Izumo. “Zumo! Come on… I’m not taking no for an answer, you hear?” As he spoke, the rest of the group found their way through the hole Ryuji had made in the roof and began fending off zombies as they came down the ‘feeding tube’.

“Please… Help my mother…” She finally said, making Yukio dash to her side while Rin fought most of the zombies off. Ryuji crouched to her side and began placing his hands all over Izumo, checking her body and whimpering at the state of her injuries.

“Oh, Zumo… My poor Zumo… Never scare me like that again…” She could see the glassy state of his eyes and felt the urge to cry even more. Stop fending me off! I’m taking control of your body! She gasped outwardly and shoved Ryuji quite forcibly backwards, “It’s too late! I’m too far gone! Get out of here while you still can!” After a moment of them all being confused and afraid, she roared, unable to stop Nine Tails from growing stronger. Her breathing grew erratic as Nine Tails spiralled and turned insane in her brain, ready to attack and kill all her friends and force her to watch.

*

“Mr Okumura! How do we exorcise this thing?” Ryuji yelled, scrambling to get up and away from the demon.

“It’s an ancient high-level demon… No-one’s figured out how to exorcise it yet!” He replied, continuing to fire his gun at the hoard of zombies making their way down. “The Kamiki family are the experts on Nine Tails. If Miss Kamiki’s mom were conscious-“ They looked over and saw Mrs Kamiki standing up beside Kuro, seemingly able to stand without too much pain or trouble. She looked exhausted, heavy bags under her eyes from five years of Nine Tails. Despite this, Ryuji immediately recognised Izumo’s eyes as her mom’s, making his heartbeat faster.

“I can see again…” She whispered, voice hoarse, “I-Izumo!” She stepped closer and began to try and reason with the demon, “Be still within my daughter’s vessel; it is not suited for a demon as powerful and noble as you! I, Tamamo, request it.” She was calm and reasonable with it, beginning to raise her hands. Nine Tails swung for Tamamo, but she dodged with expert precision as she seemed to dance angelically.

“What the-“ Yukio begun to say, but turned to the rest of his team. “Guys! Don’t let any of the zombies near them!”

Ryuji nodded and begun smashing his rocket launcher into the zombies, using it like a heavy sword rather than a gun. “Keep hanging in there, Zumo… You’ve got this, stay strong. The exorcist exam is in three months, and I know you don’t want to miss that!”

Everyone else followed him and spoke their words of praise or encouragement to Izumo; showing just how much they cared about her. Ryuji prayed that she could hear them.

“Calm you noble demon… I humbly beseech thee to return to my vessel!” Tamamo furthered, holding her daughters face. With a flash of light, the Nine Tails demon escaped from Izumo’s sweet body and back into Tamamo’s, making the older woman grow powerful before their eyes. Izumo fell to the ground with a light thud, making both Shiemi and Ryuji dash to her side.

“Nine Tails is back inside of me and when I die, it will die with me.” Tamamo assured the wicked doctor, but Ryuji didn’t care about that, or anything other than his lover. Izumo watched with wide eyes as her mother spluttered blood and fell to the ground, her life (and the life of Nine Tails) slowing to a halt…

“Mother!” Izumo’s grief-stricken cry was enough to break any man’s heart as she ran to her side.

“Izumo… You’re safe… I’m sorry…” Tamamo’s soft words pierced Izumo’s heart and made her release and long preserved sob. The sob of a little girl losing her mother.

“You can’t die! You can’t…” She cried, “My whole life it was always my job to save you. I had no one to rely on so I stopped trusting everyone. I got used to being like that, because I got no help at all! But after all this time, why’d you have to help me now?”

“Because… you’re my treasure…” And with that, Izumo broke down crying on her mother’s chest, grasping weakly.

“I’m sorry, Mom!”

“It’s… alright… You have good friends… Tsukumo, and Uke and Mike too… And a protective boyfriend. You’ll be fine.” The spirit of Nine Tails rose from her mother’s body, not giving Izumo or Ryuji much time to process that she’d just outed their relationship to the group and given them a label. Yukio checked in her eyes and for her pulse, but Izumo knew that there was no hope. Ryuji dropped to his knees beside Izumo and wrapped a protective arm around her, and she drooped into his arms, gently clutching his jumper as her sobs turned into silent tears. “I got you, Zumo…”

Chapter Text

“She’s dead! So what? That’s life on the trash heap of humanity! Everyday thousands of people die like that old hag! It will be your fate too…!” The cursed doctor yelled, shaking as he got back up onto his feet and continued raving. “But not me!” He placed the Nine Tail’s helmet atop his head and reached for the controller. “I shall force a demon to possess me! Why, you ask? Because I am the chosen one!” Ryuji stood up slightly in front of Izumo, wanting nothing more than to protect her with his life. The group shielded their eyes as bright purple sparks formed around the chubby man and blocked his transformation from their vision. Ryuji audibly gulped and shared a look with Izumo. Her beautiful purple eyes were glassy with leftover tears but thinned challengingly anyways. He admired her emotional strength but knew how damaging this was to her truly. He was prepared to assist her through recovery… If they made it through this final stretch alive.

The purple light became blinding, along with Gedoin’s manic laughter increasing in volume until it penetrated their ears and made Izumo slam her hands into the sides of her face and close her eyes to block it all out. Ryuji’s heart ached for her, and all he wanted was to take her to safety, but he knew the pride inside of her had to be the one to defeat the evil doctor. Although it was difficult to see through the thick cloud of grey mist, his figure raised and contorted away from the safety of the ground and it was unknown whether he was still laughing, or crying out as his human skin stretched over the new growths spurting from every section of his body. After a length of his croaking voice desperately craving to cease, it finally did so and was replaced by the squelching of his snakelike limbs dispersing over the dusty ground.

When the dust and purple smog around the doctor finally cleared, it was obvious that he was no longer human and was out to destroy the lot of them. Taking in the sight of the fleshy mound that Gedoin had become, Ryuji had to force himself to swallow to avoid his last meal visiting his mouth again. His skin resembled more of the slimy exterior of a slug, than a human, or even a demon, potentially highlighting how disgustingly low he resided on the hierarchy of life. As if to be even more revolting, he began grabbing the zombies and eating them whole, desperate for their strength and lifeforce.

“He’s eating them…” Yukio unhelpfully pointed out, as if everyone wasn’t watching in shock anyway.

“It looks like he’s been possessed by a necrophager.” Konekomaru added in disgusting awe, his voice squeaking slightly through how afraid he was.

“By eating his test zombies, he’s ingesting more of the elixir!” Yukio said, pausing each time he shot a bullet from his gun so they could hear him.

“G-Geodin…” Izumo growled, attempting to stand herself up, but Shiemi looked scared, “Let the others handle him…”

Ryuji looked over at Izumo as she looked at the ground. Her wounded face was sticky with sweat and left-over tears, and her eyes were thinned and dull. His limbs shook in nervous anticipation as he and Shiemi waited for an answer.

“I-I have to get up and fight him…” Her voice was cold and unattached as she fought against all odds to stand before him. On her way up, Izumo grabbed a large metal pipe, and Ryuji could barely believe his eyes as she lifted it up nearly effortlessly.

There was a strange flash of light as Izumo whispered something to herself. A pale green and a bright yellow spark entered the area with the wind, before turning into Uke and Mike before her very eyes. Ryuji smiled, having no idea that the two foxes had been killed by Renzou, yet had returned from the dead. Izumo’s eyes brightened more than he expected they could in this moment as she squealed and hugged them both, her arms tight around their necks. Izumo wasn’t looking in Ryuji’s direction, and he tried not to take that too personally as she walked over to Rin, who had his iconic blue flames around him – ready for a fight.

“I know how to kill him. I’ll say a chant to bring him down, but I’ll be vulnerable while I do it.” When she spoke, she looked at everyone individually, “So, please, help me do this!” Her gaze lingered on Ryuji for more than was necessary, and in that moment he felt like he would do absolutely anything for her benefit, for the rest of his life. But, instead of saying something polite, Ryuji yelled in his usual manner,

“You don’t have to ask us, you idiot!” He walked over to her and wrapped his free arm around her, holding his bazooka in the other. “You don’t have to ask me, alright? I’ll be here.” He murmured, making her lean slightly into him. Pulling away almost as quickly as she cuddled him, she stood up straighter.

“Thank you.” She announced to the group, where Ryuji was still stunned by her touch – he was so glad she was alright. She walked into the centre of the arena, her kimono billowing behind her in a beautiful way as she cleared her throat for the chant.

“Repose Spirit!” Uke and Mike stood proud beside her as she began chanting loudly, facing the disgusting being.

Ryuji tried not to get distracted by her radiating beauty as golden light formed over her palms while she spoke loud and clear, her eyes closed as she focussed on getting all the words correct. Suddenly, items formed in her hands and on her head, but she continued to chant. “Part the clouds, dispel the wind and rain. Quell this spirit, purify this vessel.”

Uke and Mike turned into more anthropomorphic beings and stood beside her in karate gear as they were ready to fight for her. Her white and flowery simple kimono finally turned into a gorgeously intricate dress.

Ryuji could no longer hear her lyrical tone as he shot the creature with his bazooka, desperate to cause this man as much pain as physically possible. He deserved a brutal death was what he did to Izumo, and all the people of Peace Town Inari. He was despicable. One of Izumo’s foxes leapt into the air as she finalised her chant and shot a neon green arrow to his forehead.

“Izumo!” Gedoin yelled, and Ryuji wanted nothing more than to force her lovely name from his mouth. “I know you agree with me!” Giving him a stare like no other, she slashed her handheld fan towards him and brought forth an unfathomable explosion – a flash of golden light and a huge crash, along with inhumane screeching from Gedoin’s creature.

“She fried his ass!” Rin exclaimed in amazed disbelief while Konekomaru asked if he was dead yet. Izumo whimpered, “I-I’m not done with him yet…” before falling to the floor unconscious. Ryuji ran over to her and held her head up, away from the dusty ground.

“She just fainted, thank fuck.” He announced to the group while stroking her knotted hair.

“We’re all done here.” Mr. Okumura said, “Miss Kamiki is safe with us. Let’s get her to the hospital back home, ASAP.”

Ryuji nodded as he looked down upon her, “I’m so proud of you, Zumo. So, so proud.” Then he jolted, “Wait a sec!” This time he expelled his voice to the class, “What about Shima?”

“Yeah, we ain’t leaving without him!” Rin exclaimed

“Hey, guys!” Shima’s voice rang from above them, making them all gasp and look up expectantly. “Ya’ll put up a heck of a fight!” Both Ryuji and Rin yelled his name in anger

“It’s been real, but I got to split now.” Carefully placing Izumo’s head onto the floor, he jumped up.

“No, you don’t!” However, once he gathered Shima’s attention, he struggled to get the words out.

“Oh, yeah! I almost forgot – congrats, man! I bet you make her real happy.” Shima smiled genuinely.

“Was it my fault?” He choked out, ignoring the pink haired boy’s stupid remark.

“Nah, not even. I’m doing this for me, man. See ya!” Ryuji winced as Shima left through the roof; he just wanted his best friend back.

***

After a long while of standing leaning against the door to Izumo’s hospital room, Ryuji was debating whether he should go inside. He didn’t know what to say to her, but if he was standing here, he knew she was safe. He was sure she would want time alone to debilitate what had happened in the lab, and it was likely that she was very weak after her experience holding the wrath of Nine Tails. Drooping his head backwards against the wall, it was in that moment he realised how long his hair had gotten; it was impossible to pinpoint the last time he had a trim. The blonde was well over-grown and covered his eyes when he propped his head up like this. His brown roots had grown in over the top and he looked in desperate need of a restyle overall. His dark chestnut eyes thinned as he continued to debate in his mind whether he should go inside. She was all alone, and he would hate for her to feel like shit in solitude. Yet at the same time, he was unsure how to cheer her up, or if she even felt like continuing a relationship with him. Not to mention the fact her mother just passed away.

Gently pushing his palm into his forehead, he grew himself some balls and rapped his knuckles against the white wood door. He heard an almost silent squeak of entry and pushed the handle, making the door exhale a swift creak.

“Izumo? It’s me Bon.” He announced, his eyes thinning as he adjusted to the dim light of the hospital room. Izumo was sitting up in the bed, propped up against two pillows and looking directly at him. She was ethereally beautiful even in her weakened state. Her hair was down and freshly combed, sitting pin straight by her sides and outlining her sloped round face like a picture frame. Ryuji hadn’t yet realised that he was staring at her dumbfoundedly, until she parted her pale lips to fracture the silence.

“Ryu.” Her voice was hauntingly quiet and gravelly, though after clearing her throat in the form of a cough, her tone improved tremendously. “Ryuji, I…” She trailed off mysteriously, making his heat leap into his throat in despairing tension.

“I was wondering when you would get here.” And with that simple statement, she provided him with the smile he had only dreamed of witnessing again.

“Oh, Izumo. I’m so fucking glad you’re alright.” He couldn’t restrain himself anymore and charged over to her, wrapping his toned arms around her frail body as lightly as he could. “Darling, please… let me ask you something. It’s been on my mind since you disappeared.”

Izumo wrapped her short arms around him, splaying her fingers out over his back and letting his strong cologne wash over her senses. “Of course. Go on.”

“Will you be my girlfriend, Izumo?” He said, pulling back to look into her dark indigo eyes. She appeared to be debating what the right response would be, until her glassy eyes snapped up to his and she nodded.

“Yes.”