Fantasy The Divide

[SaphireTsuki]

And then there was a scream ripped out of her. That one bit of satanic energy... it burned. She actually began squirming, trying to escape her own mind, to get the pain out of her head... so much raw power, and it hurt SO MUCH. Where was it coming from? How could she remove it? Tears began to run down her face as she regained consciousness with a jolt, grabbing onto whomever or whatever was closest, squeezing onto them with all of her strength...

 

[Sir Raime]

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The blast of familiar satanic energy passed through Ophi...and the audience behind him....and the arena behind them.....more like half the arena, actually. Demons poured out of the stadium in droves to save themselves from Johanna's wrath. Out of all the victims of the blast, only one still remained in the aftermath. Ophidius stood tall and defiant, looking on at the one who fought him with an unreadable expression. He felt as if that blast ripped something out of him, yet he felt at peace, not in pain. The memories that had been twisted and corrupted by eons of loneliness, fear and paranoia had been washed away by that all-encompassing strike. The final bestowed world-shattering clarity upon him. Everything seemed far more vivid. Every sensation overwhelmed him with its purity, no longer muddled by the chaotic mess of thoughts in his head. "Sorry for all that. Lost my head for a moment." He said to Johanna, then walked up a stairway of rubble to the arena's seating area. His skin and clothes began to turn a concrete grey color while he felt his body cracking and crumbling in some spots. When he finally was by Saphire's side, she was squeezing the life out of him with a desperate grip for something among the maelstrom of demonic energy that had been assailing her throughout the fight. "Easy there." Ophi mumbled as he patted her on the head. God, it hurt just to talk. "You don't deserve all the shit life keeps throwing at you, but you never let that stop you. I'm proud to call you a pupil of mine for that kind of determination. I've got to go now, but don't forget you have people you can rely on. Oh, and take these." He handed her two bundles of cloth from the depths of his jacket, each wrapped around a small, slender object and having a name stitched into the fabric.


'Sodom'


'Gomorrah'


Two holy knives he looted from a freshly fallen angel many centuries ago. He held onto the weapons in the hopes they would allow him to someday exact his revenge on his would-be executors, but that idea was silly in retrospect. The only time he ever actually used them was to put down Johanna shortly after Aika's arrival. Perhaps the ivory angelic daggers would give the girl some comfort in the demon-infested remains of the arena.


"Sorry about the scarf, by the way." He said both cryptically and apologetically as he walked back down to the arena. He marched on with his hands in his pockets, his body now completely chalk grey with chunks falling off and disintegrating as he almost reached the mouth of one of the arena's exit tunnels.


Mephistopheles stopped and let out a pained sigh as his body collapsed into a pile of ash and blew away on the wind.

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Johanna found herself hovering in the air, looking at her destruction after she blasted Meph with that destructive blast of Satanic energy. Half of the stadium was missing, but....when Ophi said Sorry a switch flipped back in Johanna. She floated in the air for a while watching break apart. She continued to watch him. All the way to Saphire. She watched him walk towards the exit and then her wings started to shrink back into her back, black feathers beginning to go everywhere.


Johanna started to fall, her back towards the ground the mask breaking into pieces on her way. Everything seemed to go in slow motion for her. Her fall, Ophi's walk, the mask coming a part...the tears...The tears? She watched as she fell faster than her tears, the mask and salty water seeming to take far much longer to fall than she was. Even in her slow motion fall, she felt like she was falling faster than she could.


She held her hand out, reaching towards the demon who she had fought a long side. Who she had put her life on the line for, and who had done the same for her. "OPHI!" she called out in a shrill filled with a mixture of pain, sadness, and regret,"DON'T YOU FUCKING DIE YOU STUPID SNAKE!"

 

[Akio]

Akio had freed himself from the rubble and watched the first so fast and furious he couldnt even interfere. He saw orphi dying, no he saw orphi die and he felt a feeling of regret. "Good bye orphi." He said before leaping forward and catching johanna right before she hit the ground. While he didnt cry his eyes reflected loss, of a man who had seen a 100 comrades die and just say another.

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Johanna landed in Akio's arms with a slight thud, as the rest of her remnants of being in her Okurigami form faded away. As her hair grew back to their normal length, it began to go back to black. Her wolf ears went away, and so did her tail and claws. She shed a tear a bit, before falling into a deep sleep. She was tired. Her body wasn't use to using all that powerful energy yet, and well..she just killed a former comrade , a trauma she hadn't faced before.

 

[SaphireTsuki]

Saphire's pain faded slowly, her grip on the summoned naginata forgotten only when she'd held onto Ophidius-san... and then... she... a sob, the pain forgotten as she realized... She couldn't sense him anymore. Not like he'd faded away and disappeared, but that he was truly and well gone. Forgotten. Destroyed. Her hands fumbled, looking for something, and the two bundles he'd left were found by one hand, the naginata in the other. She drew both of them close, and just cried. There wasn't even any noise from her anymore, she just cried.


He'd called her his disciple, to the end... he'd been serious about that. ANd he'd taught her so much about using her energy, life and spiritual, to heal others... even how to draw some life energy out of plants, though she was loath to do it. ANd he'd taught her some of combat... how much had she gotten from him? How close had he been to her, and she hadn't even realized? She'd never see him play the cute weakling, never listen to his odd random stories, never have to clean up his mess again... Protect those he loved? She'd never even known how close she was to him! How... how many times had she missed him being protective... how many times had she missed his attempts at helping, how much of what he'd done for her and others had she missed? And because she was too sensitive she hadn't been able to try and stop him!

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Arturo looked over to Saphire, and sighed gently looking off into the distance,"I guess...." he sighed again,"Maybe it's time I embrace myself." He looked over to the now sleeping Johanna and nodded to himself,"I am two...as she is."


He slowly began to lose his current form, growing smaller and turning more into a human. He grew another wing proper, white feathers looking graceful on it. His demonic features were disappearing, and angel one's were taking place.


He took in a deep breath, shirtless, white pants and feathers flying everywhere. He walked over to Saphire and wrapped his wing around her and took in a deep breath,"We should go..."

 

[SaphireTsuki]

A tiny nod, she was unable to talk. The emotions were swirling in her head continued to make the silent tears continue to fall. Her arms shook, but she let him lead her away. This wasn't good... she couldn't keep acting like this... she'd let this cry end and then she'd go back to acting like normal. She had to. The other demons... the other humans... they wouldn't understand, and may not care. She had to keep going... but man would it hurt... so much.

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

END OF ARC...fuck you if you wanted to post before the end SHUDA POSTED. um...

 

[SaphireTsuki]

xD naru teba.... *shakes head* So yeah, @Akio this is the end of posting at the arena.

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

It was weeks later. School had ended for the moment, and Johanna had packed her bags to head for the Demon World. Well, it wasn't like she was carrying a lot anyways. She wasn't a high maintenance girl. She liked fighting and at this time, she was bent on defeating her father.


A guardian should protect, not destroy. That's what Koharu told her, and she told him to 'bite me brat' and quit that day. She didn't have a sword anymore, Ophi had ruined it, so she had a single backpack of things. She was standing on top of one of the buildings in Hokkaido, just staring down at the city lights on the warm spring day. A black wife-beater giving way to cleavage and her bra being visible. She was in her demon form, white hair swaying the wind at the higher altitude, wolf tail stiff, her wolf ears pointed up.


She had been spending more time in that form, mainly to get use to it if anything. She was half demon, half wolf. But it didn't mean she had to be anyone more than the other. She was ready to leave, but had promised Akio she would wait on him.


Arturo took a deep breath sweeping the front of the mansion from the trash or flowers that the wind blew to the front porch. He had decided to stay at the mansion, and Koharu had even offered him a job as a Spirt World detective. Spirit world had accepted him where Demons and Angels wouldn't. He would go investigate crimes and the like whenever they needed him to, but right now, he was helping keep the mansion clean. His wings lay folded on his back as he continued to make his work.


Lucifer, well Hayate, had returned and been stuck in the room with what seems like on weeks end playing the latest iteration of Call of Duty. He seemed to be in there daily, eating chocobees and pizza when his human body demanded actual food. Hanzo, who had his own place because he was wealthy in his human form -which he wouldn't tell anyone what he did- visited from time to time, but had less of a concern to keep up with Lucifer and it was much more boring without the Serpent around.


Yet, there Koharu stood with Saphire looking out at the world and taking in a deep breath,"Feels different."

 

[SaphireTsuki]

Weeks.... weeks and she still couldn't think his name. Couldn't say it, couldn't think it... she still acted the same. As though he was alive and well. When she let her guard down she found herself waiting for his next prank, for the next broken shouji... and then she'd nearly break down, but she refused to. Her tenants needed her... the world needed her... she couldn't cry. There wasn't any use in it, as she couldn't help anyone like that. It didn't matter how hard it became, how difficult it was for her to get up and move, or to fall asleep... it didn't matter that she didn't have an appetite, or that she had to act the cheery, helpful person she'd always been.


He'd told her, after all, that he was proud of her because she kept on, no matter what happened. She wasn't going to let him down from wherever he was. That was why, when Koharu had come back, she didn't scream or yell as her first impulse was. Instead she'd just mustered her courage, smiled, and as always offered him food and drink, a seat inside, and asked him politely what he had wanted from her. When he didn't immediately answer, instead mentioning how it all felt different, she didn't let her smile fall, instead she just replied "Yeah... it kinda does. A lot has happened." It didn't matter that everyone thought she was taking it well.... nothing mattered at all. SHe'd realized, at long last... she was never going to be happy. She wasn't strong enough, or smart enough, she didn't have hundreds of years to gain the things she lacked, so she'd just protect everyone else's happiness... her own life was meaningless in the long run anyway.

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[Sir Raime]

A man dressed in jeans, a long brown duster jacket, weathered old brown boots and a white stetson strolled up tp the front porch with a violin case slung across his back. "Pardon me," He said to the white-as-snow man sweeping petals and rubbish off the porch. "Is this where a sneaky-lookin' lizard in a red suit lives? He's about yea high, white-blonde hair, and annoying as all hell."

 

[SaphireTsuki]

Her blood froze... he had just described... that person dared to... She grew completely still, not even breathing as she mentally shoved all of the pain down. Deep deep down. Now was not the time for that. It would never be time for that, actually. Over the course of several seconds, silence stretching thick across her heart, she relaxed. Physically, anyway... because she probably would never be ok inside ever again. And that was perfectly fine. She turned around, looking perfectly calm and chipper as always, and over to the guest she went.


"Hello, my name is Tsuki Saphire. Are you perchance looking for..." A short pause, what should she say? His name was still too raw for her to say, but... she had to show that he knew who he was talking about. "One of my guests?" Yes, that would do. He was... he was... no, don't think like that right now. She had to stay strong, stay solid, had to keep the mask up. She couldn't cry... it wouldn't solve anything. It didn't matter to this guest, and he might not even know.

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Arturo looked up, his keen hearing picking up on any muffled conversation. With a deep sigh, he took the broom and placed it to the side and wrapped one of his wings around her nodding to her for a second, trying to convince her to come with him. He had been around long enough to see through that shell of her's, and he looked over to Koharu.


Koharu nodded and looked to the new comer,"He's not here. I know who you're looking for, maybe I help you?"

 

[Sir Raime]

The look on that poor little girl's face darn near broke his heart in half. "Sorry for stirrin' up any trouble, darling." He said, his American accent being heard loud and clear thanks to a translation charm in his pocket. "That slippery rascal aint here? Huh, he scheduled an appointment and everything....but he never was too keen on keeping track of time, so I won't fault him for it. The red menace called me here to give one of my famous fortune tellings. I've got a scary accurate thing for predicting the future." The man from Georgia pulled up the brim of his hat to reveal a cheerful face filled with wrinkles and the eyes of a man who has been to hell and back. By simply looking at his face, you could tell he was the kind of person who stared down hurricanes and scared them away.


"The name's Johnny, and I'm the best that's ever been."

 

[SaphireTsuki]

Arturo was.... trying to get her to move away? She didn't really want to talk about O- him, but.. but... but she was the darn owner, and it was her job to deal with guests, for however long they were at her home! Her fists curled, nails digging into the palms, and then they released, slight red marks signalling where she'd broken through the skin. She just didn't have the fight to keep dealing with it... if Koharu wanted to deal with it then he was welcome to it. She didn't care any more... so she just nodded to him, habit making her memorize his name, and let Arutor continue to lead her.


It was better than listening to the other man reminisce about him... how long would she have to be haunted by his ghost? she could hear him right now... telling her to shout her thoughts to the world, and people be darned! Use that unhappiness as energy, or something similar.

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Arturo was glad to keep the young girl from the situation and even managed to crack a smile. He wanted to think of something to do to make her smile but he couldn't so instead, he used his wing to pat her in the back,"I can,...."


It was when he was interrupted by a purple haired man in front of him, playing a handheld game. The violet eyes of the younger man loked up to the two,"Blue hair do you have anymore..." he trailed off when he spotted the newcomer. Black wings sprouted from his back (for the first time in front of Saphire) and he flew in front of the fellow,"YOU! GIVE ME BACK MY DAMN FIDDLE YOU CHEATING SON OF A BITCH. I will murder you and take your soul and torture for every single day in the pits of hell if you don.t I WILL FUCKING OWN YOU NOOB."

 

[Sir Raime]

Johnny let loose a laugh that split the air like thunder. "Hahahaha! You lost fair and square, Old Scratch. I told you I'm the best and you paid the price for being blind to the truth." Johnny looked Lucifer dead in the eye, inches away from his face as he smiled from ear to ear. "Git gud Satan. Git gud."

 

[SaphireTsuki]

He just... moved to attack a guest. Outside her house... wait. Outisde her house. Normally she would try to stop it, but there were several reasons why she didn't. One: Hanzo was actually a demon. Two: It wasn't inside the house, so it wasn't against the rules. Three: Her head was hurting from the sudden influx of so much energy RIGHT NEXT TO HER. Four: She just didn't care any more. So instead of reacting she just leaned into Arturo, headache making it hard for her to balance, and sighed...

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

"Bet you won't bet me now! I Will destroy you casual." he a black aura began to form in his hand but he let go away. "Come one, paper scissors rock for my damn fiddle. I want it back. Give it. I WILL KEEL YOU." he held his hand out,"RO SHAM BO NOW!"


Arturo shook his head, bringing Botan closer to him in his wings,"I've got some food, I'll cook you something you like, maybe it'll help. You like seafood right? I've gotten some good demon recipes. Yet, demons can cook believe it or not."

 

[SaphireTsuki]

Demon recipes.... and she wouldn't have to cook this meal... she nodded. Not that she was particularly hungry, she just... didn't want to worry anyone. So she forced herself to eat whatever they put in front of her. Seafood. He was gonna make her something with seafood. Where was the enthusiasm? Normally it would make her want to race him to the kitchen, but food... food was... just there for her. A lot of things were, actually. "That would be nice." Another kind smile, she never let it fall, if she did she wouldn't be able to put it back up. It was tiring, but she couldn't afford to break down. She was responsible for protecting everyone's happiness.

 

[Sir Raime]

Johnny's laughter grew in tandem with Hayate's rage. "Pardon me, but do you have a table or anything where I can sit down? I've been paid in advance to read your fortunes, and I don't turn down payment from an old friend."

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Hayate growled a bit flapping his wings, and flying in the air and making a table appear,"YOU READ THE DAMN FORTUNE so i can beat you in checkers or something. Got damn it!"


Arturo nodded to the woman as they went through the house. He knew how it felt to lose things, but he had been so long without, he didn't want to lose Saphire before he even got the chance to pay her back,"You know. You'll never move on holding things in..."


Koharu blinked for a minute, staring at the scene,"So...you two....well. If i'm no longer needed here......"

 

[SaphireTsuki]

Her hands nearly curled again, he... he was... the small flare of anger died almost at the same moment it was born. He was only trying to help, she knew. The smile that had looked normal nearly faltered, but she held it up by a thread. It was now much more bitter, however... not kind and happy but self-deprecating. Was he going to talk to her like he knew? He may well know, now she thought of it... but that didn't mean he was going to be able to help. "Move on? I'm fine." Perfectly fine. She'd be perfect. She had to be. "Besides... crying doesn't solve anything. It won't bring him back, and it won't help anyone else."