Enlightening and Home? [Private and Plot Continuation: Aikayume Azusa]

[Tomomi]

His eyes were closed, her breath hitting his face and neck as he heard her mentioned that there would be no teasing, only punishment until all his dignity would be forfeited to her. He was allowed to enjoy himself though if he wanted. The former priestess of the Aikayume Clan had her sensei in the perfect position to show him what she was truly made of and she did in more ways than one. This punishment, torment, would not be some simple five minute thing where Azusa would grow bored quickly of her sensei and then toss him to the side partly because he was in no condition to move at all and she knew damn well that if she was going to get payback on him, this was the time.

Her claws would dig into the exposed flesh of her sensei near his jugular vein as a pool of blood would hit the ground and her appetite would get the better of her as she sucked and licked his blood. His blood felt sooooo good on her tongue and she would pet him as she feasted on his life energy while he was fighting to get oxygen to his brain due to how she was positioned on his body. The bloody, messy feast would continue unfortunately for the descendant of Byakko for awhile, approximately 40 more minutes, and by the time that she was done, his body was covered in blood and he was fighting for his life right beneath her. The whole time the former apprentice of his would have a huge smile on her face as she would prod his open wounds with her fingers and do other things as well that are not PG for this post that would've been enjoyed more had Kyuji not been injured in the process. In total, he had ten different open wounds on his body but fortunately none of them had been directly on an artery or vein or he would be dead right now. The locations of these openings were near the following fatal spots: external jugular vein, common carotid artery, superior vena cava, superior mesenteric vein, subclavian vein, brachial artery, basilic vein, cephalic vein, cephalic vein and the pulmonary artery.

In the end, the descendant of Byakko's eyes were glazed over as his breathing and heart rate began to fall. He was slipping slowly towards death as he could see a white light in the distance as his hand would rise momentarily before falling and he laid there motionless. If Aikayume Azusa could remember anything from when he was teaching her medical things, she would see that her sensei was slowly fading away from this world and needed immediate medical attention. He was going to die from blood loss if he didn't get the attention that he needed immediately. Poor dude admitted his feelings towards his apprentice after all these years and he received all of this for his troubles of taking care of her and watching out for her...maybe if he didn't destroy her special hat on their first encounter, he would've never been punished like this. But, he didn't think that she would lose control of herself this badly. Had he been able to breathe, he would've probably begged her to get him medical help but he couldn't due to all the blood that he was losing along with coughing up blood as he laid there every few minutes.

 

[Muramasa Maya]

Azusa was in trouble.

What she had intended to only be some minor roughhousing quickly escalated into a situation far, far out of her control. Her punishment, originally only going to push just slightly over the lines of abuse, had now ended up with her sensei lying on the floor of his dojo with trails of blood messily coating the area. This made her, and hopefully, Kyuji, realize that she was unable -or unwilling- to show any restraint when it came to her newfound lust for blood.

It was a miracle that she had not ended up inflicting any outright lethal wounds upon Kyuji's body, because Azusa certainly was not keeping his well being in mind at all. The only thing which had saved him was Azusa growing tired, feeling the exhaustion of their earlier spar...Had this occurred before she was tired out, Kyuji may not have survived!

"Amazing...Are...Are you still alive, sensei? You must have the spirits' blessings to be so fortunate! As expected of my sensei; it would be an embarrassment if you succumbed so easily to mere 'playing'...Sensei, speak to me..." The fallen shrine maiden questioned, poking her blood-covered finger against his shredded skin. Her tone was playful; afterall, she had just finished a very satisfying experience. And while Kyuji could certainly have stopped her before letting things continue this far, thus Azusa convinced herself that Kyuji only had himself to blame in the current situation, she also was an Aikayume who very much hated the feeling of being indepted to someone. And she certainly felt gratitude for Kyuji allowing her to toy with him very much at his expense. The more bloodlust faded from her mind, the more she could see that he was actually in a dire situation...The Fox glared down upon him. "....Hmph. Very well. You will be in my care then, sensei."

Unsure if Kyuji was even coherent enough to hear, let alone comprehend, her words, Azusa went to work cutting off strips of cloth from their attire. Her claws were enough to leave Kyuji in such a state, so cutting out makeshift bandages to prevent further loss of blood was no issue. "You are welcome." Although he was in no condition to notice, Azusa had just finished making this new outfit, the previous night for today's spar...and it was now being shredded to make bandages for him. So Kyuji was probably going to suffer for this in the future, but at least now it was being used to help him.

With his immediate wounds addressed, the fox propped his head upon her lap and waited, her tails curling around the two of them. She knew where the Byakko infirmary was of course, but was unwilling to leave Kyuji on his own while she searched for some Byakko clansmen. And she certainly wasn't going to drag him across the floor all the way there herself! So, she decided to see if Kyuji could make do with only the lower ranking medical techniques Azusa was able to use with the current state of her chakra. His life would ultimately be up to his own strength.

[MFT]

 

[Tomomi]

As he laid there motionless, Kyuji's body slipped into unconsciousness as he started to come off the high of the moment into hypovolemic shock. As his apprentice would attend to her "patient", she would be able to see obvious signs of this form of shock including his cold, pale skin and weak pulse that was rapidly decreasing. His hand that had rose earlier had fallen to his side once again and the descendant was not even in this world anymore mentally or psychologically. No, the spirit of Kyuji had already begun the ascent towards the afterlife where he would be reunited with his parents, his small list of friends, and hopefully he could make amends with some of his poor life choices; well, that is what he assumed at least.

See, his spirit had left his body and he was heading upwards before feeling a strong force on his one shoulder, but being unable to see who it was. He didn't need to see who it was when the voice spoke. It was Lord Byakko, but he was not making himself visible for some reason. A loud growl could be heard behind him before a strong voice projected itself to him: "Byakko Kyuji, my descendant. You are being too reckless with your pride yet again as you were heading towards the celestial skies to sit beside me. Why did you not learn last time to control your pride as you know that your pride came before a fall with Kuro and now it has gotten you again. You are fortunate that you took the Byakko Oath years ago so I am able to send you back to your plane of the world for a small price. See, you have nine lives as soon as you took the Byakko Oath years ago with your wife beside you...you have already lost one before when your arm was ripped from your body by your brother and your next live is being taken now if you want to return back to your home, your family, your friends, your village, and that kitsune woman who you have been watching over since she was a mere student in the Academy. I will send you back but you will only have seven more lives to live so make them count and find someone to become the next in line for your title before you eventually move up here with me. Also when you fight Azusa again, you best go after her and take her out quickly before she has a chance to leave you in a bloody pulp like this again or you could stop playing guardian and help in the infirmary to find the cure that might help you. Good luck, Byakko Kyuji, and make your last seven lives count...don't disappoint me. "<i></i> He would then feel this strong force push his spirit back down in an accelerated pace to his body which would his head to jerk up momentarily before falling back down into Azusa's lap.

This brief reaction would see his torn apart body begin to heal itself as he continued to lie there. Eventually, he would stir again and his eyes would open up to see that his head was resting in Azusa's lap and her tails was curled around them in what appeared to be a barrier of sorts. Maybe, she snapped out of her torturing mentality when she saw her sensei's health dropped into critical condition or maybe there was a side of the disease that was in both of them that allowed the infected to still feel remorse and worry like a normal human being, he really didn't know. Once he was able to shake off the cobwebs and could actually think straight, he would look up at Azusa and say the following directly: "I am alive, Azusa. There's no need to worry! This time next week, we will fight one on one again with no kiddie gloves on...I want to see how you can handle a real fight where I am using all my skills and not trying to fight toe to toe with someone who is physically stronger than me right now. Now if you would be so kind, could you help me get up so I can reward you for our spar today with a gift? You will train with this gift for a week and then we will see if you truly are ready to take back what is rightfully yours."

He would then lay there waiting her response which hopefully was to help him since he was still a little sore from their spar and "playtime" earlier. He was however impressed that his wounds from her assault had healed so quickly and they were not half-assed at all as punishment from Lord Byakko; he also would be impressed that this fair maiden had cut up her outfit to cover his wounds like bandages...it was a sign of respect and care from her, something that she hadn't shown to him in soooooo long. Lord Byakko was right though, he would need to try to get a cure for her disease and his own sooner than later especially with Azusa becoming more and more violent with each passing week that she was in here.

 

[Muramasa Maya]

She could feel it. Even though she was no longer priestess of the Aikayume, she was still a shrine maiden, and could feel the essence of life enshrouding Kyuji. Was it because he was here, within the Byakko Estate? Was their latent power in the environment the Byakko Estate was built upon, like there was for the Aikayume Shrine? Or was Byakko Kyuji simply blessed with the favor of the spirits like she once was herself?

Whichever the answer, the vixen smiled as she stroked the Byakko's forehead; she could feel that tonight was not the time for Kyuji to pass to the afterlife, and shortly after, his eyes open. Of course, she was relieved...but her smile turned into a displeased scowl. "...Stupid sensei. Perhaps that punishment was too extreme. A little." She muttered. That was about as close to an apology for eviscerating him as she could manage.

"A gift that I am to train with..Will it help me kill that demon?" She did recall him mentioning that before, but truthfully, being able to let loose had been a present enough for her; not that she'd tell him! By all means, if her sensei desired to reward he, she most certainly was not going to stop him. Her golden ears perked up, and her tails uncurled themselves from resting upon him, Kyuji's blood matting the normally lustrous golden fur. "What have you gotten me?" the curious fox inquired, slowly assisting Kyuji upwards; she was half-expecting him to pass out immediately upon rising to his feet.

 

[Tomomi]

Unexpectedly, he would be "scorned" by the former priestess of the Aikayume Clan. At the very least, there was still that side of her that he had grown accustomed to that continually tried to break out from beneath her disease which continued to have her slowly turn more and more into an impulsive, blood-starved beast. Hopefully, his clan's infirmary could conjure up an antidote to hers and the Byakko Clan's variations of the disease sooner than later especially with his apprentice being practically ready to be on her own again, even though he didn't want to see her leave.

Fortunately for him, she would help him back to his feet and although he was wobbly at first, he would not fall like Azusa assumed. Before he was helped though, he did hear her mention the gift that he was going to give her and he smirked at this. Yes, it was time to bring this gift to her and he would need to call upon some of his Byakko guards since he wasn't physically ready to fetch the item himself. So, he would take a few groggy steps before emitting from his mouth a loud roar which acted like a call as it brought two guards to the room. The two guards' looks would show it all as they were concerned about the bloodbath that was behind Azusa and Kyuji along with her tails covered in dry blood and dry blood on Kyuji. However being the good little guards they were, they would listen to him and go fetch the item that he wanted.

Upon their return, the item was covered in a sheath and they would hand it to Kyuji. A bow would be in order then and they would head off closing the door to the room behind them leaving Azusa and Kyuji alone....again, oh boy. Luckily for Kyuji, he wasn't going to die again hopefully right now as he approached Azusa and extended his only arm out to let her take the prize. Once she took it, he would put his hand on her head, giving a gentle smile as he began to explain: "As you pull the weapon from its sheath, you will notice that it will look familiar to you as I used it against Mao, Surutameni and you in your Genin Exam. It was my sword and it is now yours, the Liberator of Darkness. As you recall, it has a dark aura that surrounds it which grows with each enemy that is filled with demonic, evil, or dark energy being slain by it. You must only kill with the sword if the enemy is corrupt like Akkuma or any of the bottom feeders who are running the black market or hellhole areas of the village. If you would decide to kill someone who is pure like me, the sword would shatter and you would be left without a sword. As you practice in this upcoming week, you will notice that the sword will move with your body and will be able to do some unique things that a regular sword could not do like expand and contract. This is due to it being blessed by Lord Byakko who is my god and I am his devoted follower and descendant."

He would then pause a moment to let everything soak into her little skull and then continue: "Do you have any questions or concerns for me right now? This time next week, we will be sparring as equals and I will not be holding back. I also will be using my strengths and not my weaknesses like I did today since I can see how strong you've become and we don't want another incident like today. Work hard this week and prove to me that giving you this sword was the right thing...who knows, you may even be allowed to leave the estate alone moving forward if you prove to me that you are capable of protecting yourself."

 

[Muramasa Maya]

Kyuji summoned the Byakko to the room, and the kitsune's multiple tails raised slightly, her body tensing and eyes sharpening into into a glare to the door when Kyuji summoned other Byakko. The Byakko were perplexed upon entering; and to be fair, Azusa, expected them to rush to their wounded lord's side upon sight of the bloodstained room...So she glared at them the entire time, daring them to attempt separating her from him...let alone restrain her as she was before. Never again would she allow herself to be thrown to the ground in such an undignified manner.

...But they did nothing of the sort. No more bloodshed was needed, but Azusa still couldn't bring herself to relax from her tense state. Not until they returned and left once again, giving the item to Kyuji. And what an item it was.

It was beautiful.

The miko found body subconsciously drawing closer to claim the gift, her emerald eyes shining momentarily freed from the cloud of hatred, pride, madness and jealousy that normally shrouded her gaze. "Ahh...beautiful. A truly lovely weapon blessed by the spirit of the Byakko himself...worthy to be wielded by my hand! Sensei...You have done well. I am....thankful." The fox was entranced, blushing as she tentatively reached out to the blade softly, as if it would shatter upon the slightest touch. Her ears twitched as Kyuji touched her head, and if she weren't so enthralled by the beauty of the sword she'd hug him, tails swaying side to side.

But, sword. Growing more confident, she unsheathed the blade, noting the wispy trails of shadowy light trailing off the blade, like steam off a hot surface. "You are mine now, Liberator of Darkness. And I will grant you your feast; this I promise to you." She spoke. Enamored with her gift, the shrine maiden ran the tips of her index and middle fingers along the length of the blade's flat side.

Stroking the blade, the fox's green eyes shifted back towards to her sensei with a look of smug mischief. "A week will be more than enough for the two us to become familiar. Should I win, there will be far more things I desire aside from leaving. I want to know where Akkuma is; that was the deal we agreed upon for me coming here." Yes, she'd leave Setsuna's 'care' to return to being trained by Kyuji in exchange for information on Akkuma. And she was eager to put her newfound strength to use as soon as possible. "If the Liberator of Darkness wishes to take only tainted lives, I can think of none more vile. That will be my offering to it...Afterwhich, it will understand that I am its master. I will be the one to choose who it kills. Nothing else." Sheathing the blade, the fox clutched it against her chest, fawning over it. The joy in her expression was not unlike a child being given a new toy...Aside from the murderous fantasy of slaying Akkuma, of course.

 

[Tomomi]

That gentle smile on the descendant of Byakko's face would grow as he saw the excitement and happiness on the little fox's face as she grabbed the sword from him. With praise and giving her a gift for her hard work since she had come here, he had made all her negativity and aggression disappear from her petite little frame as she basked in the beauty and glory of the craftsmanship of the sword as she spoke to him. She actually admitted that she was thankful for the first time today as it seemed that there was still the little girl that Kyuji had raised since she was a student instead of that body; he was thankful as well for that but they still needed to find the cure for her and himself from that disease that had plagued them both before it manifested itself and took them further from their sanity. It would only be a matter of time till it was spread too much to ever get her or him back.

However for now, he would listen to his former apprentice as she addressed him as she continued to admire her new-found gift from her former sensei. Little did she know that he had made a replica of her sword for himself if a time ever would come where he had to showcase his brute strength that he had before. In any case, she would eventually probably find out since there wasn't much that got by her even when he thought he was being tricky. After all, she had grown up around him more than she had around her own family since she much rather preferred being a shinobi over doing those simple-minded shrine priestess duties or at least that is what she said back in the day.

But, her only goal and the one that he agreed to help her with was to eliminate Akkuma now or at least make him pay. This training that she had endured the past few months had been difficult and at times annoying for her and Kyuji, but she was now an equal in his eyes with him. The only thing that was left to do was to have a friendly spar in a week's time and see if she could hold her own when he wasn't holding back at all and was at full strength. His gut feeling was that he would still be slightly stronger than her, but she would be in complete sync with her weapon enough to draw his blood again and leave him with some memories in the form of scars and bruises. However, they would have to make it to next week first and hopefully they would both be able to fight and not be too exhausted or achy.

Once the former foxfire priestess was finished speaking, her former sensei would take his hand off of her head and pause momentarily before addressing her. "I am glad that you like your gift, Azusa. It is a sword created for an important figure or god which is why you were chosen since you are an important figure in my life as you are and will always be my apprentice since I taught you since you were a little girl in the academy. But anyways, I remember the conditions that were set in place regarding Akkuma and you will still be able to get your hands on him as soon as you fight me as an equal next week and prove to yourself and me that you are ready to fight a demon and the devil himself. Just know though, should I win next week, there are things that I desire as well, Azusa." He would then take a moment to gather his thoughts and then continue with his beautiful purple eyes from his lord staring right into her green eyes and possibly into her soul. His voice had gone from warm and welcoming to cold in an instant as the words left his mouth: "Our desires and conditions for our spar can be discussed next week prior to the first attacks being slung by either of us. As for now, our training for today is over and you are dismissed. Work hard over the next week and you will get what you want, but if you slack or try to do something to get out of your training, I will be disappointed in you and I will have to punish you accordingly and it won't be fun for you, little miss."

He would then call forth the Byakko guards to escort Azusa out of the room as other Byakko members would proceed to enter the room and begin cleaning it up. As for Kyuji, he would leave the room before Azusa and head into one of the bathrooms to bathe and cleanse his body of the sinful nature that he did along with the blood that stained his body from their little playtime with one another. Eventually, he would go into the Byakko Infirmary later in the day and begin to work with the medics on the cure for ZAX-001 and ZBX-001 with other coded names for the other Byakko members who had been infected during Azusa's bloody fury. It appeared the medics with Kyuji's help and Azusa's cousin's as well were going to take proteins from the samples that they had been taking from the infected and trying to make a vaccine for all the infected. Of course, a special one would have to be made for Azusa since she had a fusion of her clan's blood and the Byakko's blood. The medics, the medical chief, and Azusa's "caretaker" would all work diligently that night into the morning since the Byakko Infirmary had been trying different methods on fellow Byakko with no success in the past. Finally though after the initial tests and months, they had a cure and had been able to treat all the Byakko family members along with Kyuji and Hinoka if she was infected as well. There was one last person that needed to have the vaccination and that was Azusa herself.

Of course, it wouldn't be an easy feat for anyone to do that as she despised being touched by "filthy" hands or being forced down. However, she had been a good patient with allowing them to take her blood and saliva samples in the past so they would try to do it again during one of her training sessions. An alternative that they would try too is to try to place the vaccine into pieces of her food and treats that she may eat since it wouldn't hurt anyone if they consumed the vaccine as well since it was all for a good cause. Her cousin would beg as well to see Azusa to talk to her, but Kyuji would not allow her to leave her room unless he was around her to ensure that she wasn't violently attacked again and found laying in pain and blood; it was for her sake after all.

The real question was Azusa had been training well since he praised her and gave her a sword. But it was another day in the week and her training session was soon to begin, would she continue to show up or not?

 

[Muramasa Maya]

A weapon only to be wielded by someone of importance on par with divinity...How could the fox not smirk at hearing that?

"I will treasure it..." Azusa spoke. This weapon was proof that she was 'just' in pursuing Akkuma. "...And you will get your fight. It would be a waste of time to entertain any thoughts of beating me, sensei. Not when I have such a gift on my side." Azusa continued. If this was to be a final gauge of her abilities, then fine; unlike her, Kyuji's chakra was not stunted, so she wished to see how she compared when Kyuji used the Ninjutsu and Genjutsu techniques he had relied upon in the past. Of course, the thought that she could lose never crossed her mind; nor did whether or not Kyuji would still reveal Akkuma's whereabouts to her in the event she lost, or whatever other conditions he would place on their duel.

Their training over, Azusa turned to exit, only too see she was being escorted yet again by two Byakko guards. People talked. She would think that they surely must have heard about what had happened to the unfortunate Byakko in the past --or even noticed the blood splashed throughout her and Kyuji's sparring room--. And yet they diligently would escort her...Kyuji certainly had better treat them well to have such loyal clansmen in his home. (Hmph. Kittens here are more loyal than the backstabbing foxes at the Shrine) As much as they irritated her in following her, she wouldn't fault them. Not when she had just attacked the head of their clan...speaking of which; "Oh, and sensei? Please do not pass out in the hallways. I am still hungry." She lick her lips, her tails swaying as she left.


...But one week was a long time. Azusa returned to her room. Making sure that the guards have left, she found that Hinoka was missing from where she had left her. The pink haired shrine maiden was in no state to move on her own...Azusa knew the amount of blood Hinoka had lost bordered between life and death...Had she underestimated Hinoka's strength? Or had someone entered her room and removed her? Kyuji certainly should have let her know...Or was he hiding it? If Kyuji knew that she was able to harm even himself and Hinoka, would he really be willing to let her leave the estate?

"...And that demon is related to him as well. I...was a fool to think he would tell me so easily..." Doubt slipped into her mind. Azusa gripped the blade she had been gifted; as beautiful of a treasure as it was, it was not what she had desired. What she wanted was Akkuma. The closer she got to being able to slay the demon, the more unknown factors she realized were around her. Whatever disease infected her had already reached a point where she would lose control of herself...waiting another week to -possibly- find out where Akkuma resided was out of the question.

She came to the Byakko Estate to hide from any Aikayume attempting to catch her. And now she had the skill to protect herself again, she no longer needed to hide.

She no longer needed to stay here. Not when her time was limited.

While Kyuji returned to the infirmary, Azusa was left with her demons in her room. While Kyuji was working on the cure to the disease Azusa had brought into the Byakko estate, Azusa began to work on her escape. One by one more Byakko clansmen where 'disappearing' that night, only to be found in the morning stuffed into some closet. Their injuried were nonlethal; when Azusa hit, it was by surprise. A few of the more aware ones had a few more injuries to them needed to subdue them, one was practically suffocated in Azusa's attempt to knock him out. By the time Kyuji would have finished his work, so too would Azusa; there were no guards left to see her from escaping. No one to witness her leaving.

By the time morning arrived and Kyuji had his cure, Azusa would be nowhere to be found.

[MFT]
[Topic Left]

 

[Tomomi]

The next day would roll in and as he awoke, it was clear as day that something had gone entirely wrong during the night as many of his guards were missing from their posts. Immediately, he would get on the communication system and call for any of them to appear where he was, but there was nothing from the other side like they had all been disposed off. It was odd that all of his guards had vanished like they did and he would begin to check the rooms in his home one by one to see if they moved elsewhere for one reason or another; this "adventure" would go on for quite some time and eventually he would enter the room that his apprentice was staying in and could see exactly what happened. In the closet, one could hear moans and groans of people and once opened, a pile of bodies were laying there dazed, confused, and some even battered slightly. But the more important variable was Azusa herself who was nowhere to be found in her room nor in any of the rooms that he had checked.

He would move to the training quarters to see if she was maybe waiting on him there, but she was not there and she certainly wasn't anywhere in this estate. Of course, he would ask his brother's family and the other branches of the Toraono Clan if they had seen her leaving at any point, but unfortunately none of them had seen anything. It was like she had been planning this escape since she was initially brought here and saw an opportunity to finally strike and escape. The problem wasn't that she wasn't capable of taking care of herself since she surely showed that yesterday to her former sensei; the problem was that she was still infected with that disease and it was going to manifest itself more and more until it completely took control of her body. She was putting herself in danger and if she wasn't careful, she might be buried earlier than she anticipated.

Immediately, the descendant of Byakko would be banging on his daughter's door and telling her that Azusa escaped considering she was one of the stronger members of the clan and would be able to handle a confrontation if she found her. She also was an ANBU so she could pull strings to assist her father if she wanted to, but that would be entirely up to her. As for her father right now, he would merely go into one of the empty rooms in their home in the darkness and just sit there on the bed. Nothing was said nor were any emotions expressed initially; he looked like a statue and was shocked at the whole thing.

Only time would tell what would happen for the descendant of Byakko, but one thing was for sure, these days moving forward would be hard ones for him as one could assume that his little heart was slightly breaking and his emotions would leak themselves soon enough.

[Topic left and the plot has already been continued elsewhere ]