Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"Mmmm! This is so delicious, Tobio!" Natsume says as she takes another bite of her rolled omelette, closing her eyes and melting into her seat.

Tobio lets out a soft laugh and turns to the new person sitting at the table, "Isn't this much better than cup noodles, Lavinia?"

The magical girl and housekeeper in question -as she called herself last night- nods seriously. Her blue eyes sparkle in delight as she polishes off her French toast, "Indeed, Tobi is wise."

She's wearing the same magician robes and floppy mage hat as yesterday, her long blonde hair flowing out in waves around her. Thankfully, she's wearing clothes now, unlike when he woke up this morning to find her lying in his bed.

Lavinia had met them on their way to their current safehouse. She had been following after Natsume since she had been late to return, using some form of magic to track Natsume from a sigil placed on her.

Once they were back and safe within the apartment's wards, the two girls proceeded to brief him on the situation. They showed him a recording from half a month ago of Utsusemi attacking another survivor; some of these 'Cicadas' were even people he recognized from school. They also gave him information on the organization behind this, helping him understand that these Cicadas are artificially created superhuman weapons.

They explained Sacred Gears to him, and it was a struggle to act surprised. While Tobio thinks that Lavinia and Natsume are trustworthy, it's still too soon to be completely open with them.

Once they've saved everyone and ended this nightmare, then he'd open up to them fully.

"Tobi? Can you save some food for Vaa-kun?" Lavinia asks him suddenly.

"Vaa-kun?" Tobio whispers in confusion.

"He lives here, too! He's a nice boy, if a bit energetic." Natsume says in response, "All he does is eat cup noodles, and with how much he runs around… We can't help but be worried about him. He needs a healthy diet to grow up strong, yannow?"

"He's our fourth member. However, only three of us lived here before you showed up. Samejima spends all his time outside." Natsume sighs, shaking her head.

"Ryoukou's number one delinquent, Samejima Kouki?!" Tobio says, sucking in a sharp breath.

After saying that, he shakes his head. Something like a delinquent isn't exactly scary anymore, despite his gut reaction.

"Shark isn't a bad person," Lavinia says with a soft smile.

"Shark?" Tobio says sweatdropping.

Lavinia nods, "Shark means 'Shark'" she says, switching between Japanese and English.

"Hey! This bastard didn't answer!" Natsume fumes, staring at her phone angrily. She paces around, waving her phone in a clenched fist.

"It's okay, I applied one of my marks on him. He's that way." Lavinia says, pointing her wand off into the distance, "The response isn't powerful. He must be in an opponent's barrier."

"He's surrounded by enemies? Damn that Yankee!!" Natsume rages.

A little confused, Tobio follows behind them quickly as they dash outside.

"Isn't it too cliché for an evil hideout to be here?" Tobio remarks as they arrive outside a dilapidated building.

"The cicadas aren't one for originality, it seems." Natsume responds with a smirk, "Though that Yankee charging in here without backup is somehow even stupider. I'm going to have words with him once we've saved his butt!"

Jin sniffs the air and growls at the building, sensing the familiar presences of Cicadas within.

"Let's split up. Jin and I will go in a group, Natsume, Lavinia, you two search together." Tobio says, running his fingers through Jin's fur to calm him down.

Not only is he more used to fighting by himself, but they're also more used to each other. He's also wary of Lavinia; not only is she incredibly strong, but she seems far more perceptive than her ditzy demeanor portrays.

"Are you sure, Tobi?" Lavinia asks.

Before he can respond, Natsume cuts in, "Don't worry, Ikuse-kun is strong!"

"Well… if Natsume says so," Lavinia says with a decisive nod.

In that way, Tobio ended up separating from the others to search for Samejima. Slowly searching the eerily quiet floors, Tobio and Jin kept vigilant. To prepare himself for combat, Tobio maintained a low level of his enhancement magic. He can ramp it up higher if needed, but keeping a high level of enhancement would only lead to overheating.

The Fire God's Breath was an interesting spell and a difficult one for Tobio to master, especially as a beginner.

The basics of the spell is to incubate a magical flame within his body, using his lungs as a furnace and melting power into the body. Air of the Wood element rushes into the lungs, collides with the ember generated by the spell, the Fire element, and the enhanced Fire element energy, which collides with the Earth-aspected alveoli for gas exchange. From there, the power generated melts the Metal element of the lungs and combines it into oxygenated blood, sharpening the Water-aspected blood to sharpen the body. Finally, the practitioner exhales enhanced Wood energy into the air around them.

When another breath is taken, and more air rushes in, the cycle of generation continues.

All this enhancement and ramp-up potential is a side effect of the spell's end goal: to nurture a spark of divine flame in the body. The tiers of mastery for the spell represent the quality of the flame within the caster, and only the blessing of the Himejima clan allows a human body to attempt the process.

Even now, Tobio can sense the ember within him growing and changing. The ember is merely the lowest Human grade, but still seems so powerful to him.

The communication sigil Lavinia placed on him before they separated suddenly flares in his ear, "How are things going over there? Anything happened yet?"

Tobio places his hand over his ear to respond, "No, nothing yet."

As he approaches a jog in the hallway, a small white cat walks around the corner, followed by a tall, lanky man in jeans and a loose tank top with deep cut sleeves. He runs his hand through mid-length, spiky hair and stares at Tobio with sharp eyes before putting his hands back in his pockets.

"Damn, so you guys came all the way here, eh?" Samejima Kouki says, looking annoyed.

"…yeah, everyone came looking for you," Tobio responds off-balance.

"Haa, dammit. The Witch-girl must have pinpointed my location." He shakes his head, "I told her not to do whatever she wanted."

Both Tobio and Samejima shift their attention up a nearby escalator to ominous presences further away.

"Ikuse-kun, sorry we got attacked! I'm with Lavinia now. Where are you?!" Natsume's worried voice cuts through the communication magic.

"I found Samejima-" Tobio responds, only to be cut off by Samejima himself.

"I'm worried about the witch-girl, but I've got business with the guys above." Samejima drawls, stalking off up the escalator.

"Oi Yankee! Don't run off, get back here!!" Natsume yells through the communication magic only to be ignored. "Ikuse-kun, please chase him down."

"Got it! Are you guys alright?" Tobio asks, chasing after Samejima.

"Don't underestimate my Gryphon-chan! Besides, we've got a real Magical Girl here!" Natsume boasts with a laugh, the sounds of destruction carrying through their magical connection.

"Okay, both of you be careful!" Tobio says, ramping up his enhancement to catch up with Samejima.

"Roger!" Natsume chirps back.

The building rocks with an explosion even as Tobio runs faster. He slides to a stop as he enters a large room and sees Samejima standing up ahead, facing down an army of Cicadas.

Samejima hunches over and starts to laugh excitedly, and a shiver runs down Tobio's spine as he senses a familiarity in that laugh.

A wide grin stretches across Samjima's face as he cackles in delight, "Ha ha ha ha!! Byakusa, let's do this!"

The white cat leaps onto Samejima's shoulder, and its twin tails wrap around Samejima's arms. "My cat is a spear that can pierce through anything! I'll stab through all of you! Bring it on!!"

'Oh god,' Tobio thinks, recognizing his earlier feeling, 'He's a battle maniac like Ibaraki.'

Samejima leaps into action, stabbing through Cicadas left and right with lethal precision, the power of his Sacred Gear living up to his boast of an absolute spear. Tobio shakes his head, and he too jumps into battle.

"Jin, slash to your heart's content!" Jin lets out a long howl in response, and the shadows in the room writhe.

Blades of shadow erupt from all directions, eviscerating Cicadas in a grand display of Jin's power. Tobio doesn't slack either, charging into the melee, his scythe flashing and spinning wildly. Cicadas are split with each movement, their bodies falling apart as Tobio passes. Tobio's body burns with power as his enhancement cycles, the air shimmering with power from each exhale.

Samjima lets out a noise of delight as he notices Tobio's entry into the fray, "You can fight, huh! And you're no beginner either."

Byakusa's tail stabs forward, skewering through another group of cicadas, "What's your reason for not running away, man? What drives you!?"

"All this bullshit here, this situation where you can die at any moment, surrounded by these warped monsters… Why are you risking your life here?" Samejima shifts to dodge a strike and blows off a Cicada's head.

"I am scared!" Tobio yells back, ducking under a strike that would've decapitated him and cutting horizontally, bisecting the Cicada. "But! I have someone I need to save and friends I want to help!! I need to fight for them!"

"Even if I die, it'll be while trying to save them," Tobio says sharply, the tension shifting in his chest and coming undone as he resolves himself.

"Is it a girl?" Samjima responds with a laugh.

"...huh?" Tobio misses a step and blushes brightly. "Um, well… it's not like that."

"Ha, it's alright, man. Own that shit! I'd rather fight alongside someone with understandable reasons like yours than some self-righteous hero." Samijma looks around at the leftovers of their massacre, the last of the Cicadas falling to pieces as Byakusa and Jin finish up.

He holds out his fist towards Tobio and grins widely, "I'm Samejima Kouki! I'll fight with you any day, brother."

Tobio slowly bumps their fists together and smiles back, "Tobio Ikuse… pleasure to meet you, Shark."

They both sense more presences arriving and ready themselves for battle.

"Ready for round two, brother?" Samejima barks out.

A new voice cuts in, sounding amused as the flood of Cicadas parts to allow them through, "As expected, the real deal is something else."

The man who looks like a Yakuza, dressed in a suit with his shirt unbuttoned to show off his chest, strolls in and looks around casually, uncaring of the destruction. "Artificial trash really can't compete with the real thing. I mean, I knew it, but seeing it in person is something different. To think so many of our Cicadas can't even deal with four Sacred Gears."

"The fuck are you? Are you behind this?" Samjima growls out, and Byakusa hisses a warning at the newcomer.

"I'm one of them, we should say." The newcomer responds, smirking, "I'm Doumon Kazuhisa. I'm helping with the Four Perils plan this time."

"I just came to take a look, but this is interesting." Kazuhisa muses.

Tobio keeps his confusion to himself, but Samejima doesn't share his hesitation, "The fuck is the Four Perils plan?"

"Ho? The Grigori haven't told you yet? Well, I'll have you come with me now either way." Kazuhisa snaps his fingers, and the Cicadas unleash an ominous energy. "These minor experiments are nothing more than tools to draw you two out, owners of the dog and cat."

"You bastard, I'll fucking kill you!" Samejima growls, his spears snapping over his hands in response.

"How rude," Kazuhisa scoffs, "Even if you're skilled at using the 'Horn' of the Perils, you should know your place. As I was saying, let's give you a real challenge now."

Talismans fly up above Kazuhisa and form a pentagram of blue energy between them, the strings vibrating with magical power.

A void opens up in the ground between Kazuhisa and them. Bulbous giants coloured such a deep blue rise up from the void, slowly taking on a metallic sheen as their rounded bodies stand up straight.

Magical energy flows through them, animating their bodies as the circuits glow a sea green. Each of the two golems emits a metallic groan.

"I might not look it, but I come from an exalted lineage of magic users. My golems will subdue you now." Kazuhisa claims casually but with pure certainty.

"Magic summoning? Anything goes, huh?" Samjima spits out derisively.

"Even these, compared to what you two carry, are minuscule." Kazuhisa cackles, "...How unfortunate. Right!!"

A golem's giant fist accelerates toward Samejima, who dives out of the way before he's turned into paste.

"Brother!" Samejima shouts before sending Byakusa flying towards the nearest golem.

"I know!" Tobio calls back, and Jin rockets towards the other.

Meanwhile, Tobio drops his enhancement magic. After hearing the name Doumon, he remembers Suzaku's rules about his enhancement magic. He can't use it in front of a Principal Clan member like this, or he'll risk not only his life but Suzaku's as well.

Both Tobio and Samejima are stricken with shock as Jin and Byakusa are captured by the golems. Neither manages to leave more than a scratch before the giant hands wrap them both in a crushing grip.

"Ha ha ha ha!! It seems like, for now, my golems are stronger. How pitiful a showing." Kazukisa laughs mockingly as his golems press down on them with all-enveloping palms.

Tobio strains to escape, unable to move despite his trained body. "What is wrong with you! Despite being so strong, you use people as Cicadas?"

"Huh?" Kazuhisa sneers, "You're blaming me for this instead of yourself? If you and the other survivors were on the boat, then we wouldn't need to use this trash."

"Your fever must have been your Sacred Gear sensing danger, but even then, we should've known. If it weren't for the Grigori's interference to protect you, then this wouldn't have happened." Kazuhisa shakes his head mockingly. "Those Black Winged Bastards, 'Protectors of the Sons of God'."

Kazuhisa spits out those words like a curse and glares down at them. "Well, the Four Perils plan would've needed a lot of sacrifices for research, so maybe their collaboration was necessary either way."

"More importantly, it's time to go, so let's grab you and your friends and get going." Kazuhisa nods before stopping and snapping his fingers as if coming to a realization, "Ah, wait! You, yes you, come over here."

From the Cicadas around Kazuhisa, Sasaki lumbers out towards him.

"Sasaki!" Tobio shouts, struggling harder and feeling the ember in his chest flare in response. A metallic groan sounds out as Tobio rises under the golem's palm, only to be pushed down harder into submission.

"Nice struggle, kid, if futile." Kazuhisa chuckles, "You still haven't killed a person since awakening, have you? As one of the four perils, shouldn't something interesting happen when your dog tastes blood?"

Kazuhisa grabs Sasaki by the back of the neck and shoves his limp form towards the blade of Jin's head, stopping just short of impaling Sasaki, "Aren't you curious about it?!"

Sasaki seems to regain some life and turns to Tobio, tears rolling down his face, "I… Help… Me… Ikuse…"

'Sasaski!' Tobio struggles harder as memories of good times with Sasaki rush into his mind's eye. The shadows around the room writhe and thrash violently as Tobio pushes his body harder and harder. His bones grind in their sockets, and his muscles stretch painfully, a primal scream erupting from within him.

"This is wonderful! An exuvia with a consciousness?! I can't believe he's still awake in there. I'll have to report this to the staff." Kazuhisa seems delighted as he says this, laughing as if this is a joyous day.

Raw hatred courses through Tobio, and that darkness flows through his body; his limbs feel a chilling numbness even as volcanic fury burns inside him. Tears flow down his face as he screams, "Shut the fuck up! You bastard!! Sasaki… Everyone… I won't let you!"

Tobio begins to rise, the giant hand above him pushing futilely against him.

"I remember! You were close with Toujou Sae, right? You should know how much she screamed for you to save her during our experiments! 'Tobio, Tobio, please help me~' " Kazuhisa mocks him before realizing Tobio is back on his feet, "What…"

"All of you… You are pure evil." Tobio growls out, the shadows distorting his voice into an eerie warble.

'Unforgivable,' He thinks, holding his hand to the sky as the shadows in the room grow deeper and darker, flowing to his hand from all directions.

'I get it now,' Tobio thinks, shutting his eyes, 'Shadows, become my blade!'

The golem suppressing Tobio and Jin is torn to shreds as the shadows become a whirlwind, coalescing in his grasp as a scythe sharper than anything Tobio has imagined. Jin howls in the background, sending fear through everyone in the room.

Tobio's eyes glow, and the shadows cling to his form ominously as he points the scythe at Kazuhisa. "Jin… you are my blade that can cut anything… sever it all."

Jin seems to double in size, and his bladed horn grows larger as blades of shadow grow from all directions, carving through everything in the room save Samjima, Byakusa, the Exuvia hosts, and Kazuhisa. Jin cries out with an even deeper howl as the shadows continue to grind everything into dust.

"This power, this power isn't the Four Perils! What are you?!" Kazuhisa yells as he frantically retreats, narrowly dodging shadow blades as he stumbles away.

Tobio stalks towards him, Jin at his side, and the darkness following like an unending tide.

A magic circle appears in the air beside Kazuhisa, the light pushing back the darkness, "Kazuhisa, retreat."

Another man steps out in front of Kazuhisa, feeling much more powerful to Tobio's burgeoning senses.

"Manager Himejima!" Kazuhisa gasps in fear and awe equally.

The name stuns Tobio long enough for this manager to grab Kazuhisa and throw him through the circle. On his way out, the man looks over his shoulder at Tobio, "Interesting. We will meet again someday soon. Dog."

With that, he steps through the magic circle, escaping.

Tobio clenches his fists and bites his lip hard enough to draw blood, "Dammit!"

"He ran away?!" Samejima yells, running up to Tobio, "You almost had them."

Tobio slumps down and punches the ground, releasing the shadows in the room from his grasp.

Natsume and Lavinia both run into the room as Tobio calms himself. Only now does he realize that the Cicadas have all been teleported away as well.

After taking stock of the environment and catching up with them, Natsume sighs, "There was some real danger, huh? We were so overwhelmed by their numbers that we could barely move."

"Nice excuse for being late, Birdbrain." Samejima drawls, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Huh!? Who's a birdbrain, you no good Yankee?!!" Natsume rages back at Samejima."We wouldn't even be in this mess if it weren't for you!"

"Tobi." Lavinia says, standing in front of him with a smile, "Your will has connected with your puppy."

Tobio looks at his hand and sighs, "... yeah, I guess it did."

"That's good!" Lavinia responds happily.

Tobio thinks back to the manager, 'Himejima… was that a coincidence?'

"Wellll~" Natsume says playfully, "Now that we're out of the woods here, how about we meet the Governor?"

Lavinia nods, and in an instant, a vast magic circle spreads out beneath them, and they disappear in a flash of light.

Tobio blinks, and suddenly they're in a classroom. The PA buzzes, and a voice echoes through before Tobio can fully adapt.

"Testing, testing, ahem." The voice rings out before continuing, "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Pardon my manners for not greeting you in person."

"Governor! I've gathered all three of them, so give me my answers now!" Natsume calls out to the PA.

"You definitely did your part! Fine." Rather than being offended, the voice sounds amused, "Before we begin, I'll introduce myself; I am the leader of the Grigori, an organization that researches Sacred Gears and other sources of supernatural power. I also have Sacred Gear owners under my protection."

"You must be curious about what happened. Let me explain some things. Since ancient times, there have been groups fighting evil spirits in this country. They used older systems of magic, Onmyoudo and Houjutsu. Not only were they magic users like our Lavinia, but they also carried other strange supernatural powers."

"Among them, there were families with even greater power. Descending from the direct disciples of Abe no Seimei, the Principal Clans control the Four Sacred Beasts and the Yellow Dragon. Most of their descendants protect the country from the shadows, fighting the evil spirits that would harm humanity."

"Oh, that bastard was called Doumon." Samejima cuts in only to be ignored.

"A few exiled members, however, have been running amok recently. As you've encountered." The Governor General continues. "The Exuvia Organization, as they call themselves, is behind the tragedy you've been drawn into. They, having been born with partial powers and exiled for it, resent the founders of their clans and the Gods they worship. To destroy the clans and slay their gods, they seek the Four Perils."

"Ignorance, Greed, Chaos, Misery. Monsters from legend that bring misfortune… and High-Class Sacred Gears nearing Longinus status. Exterminated in the past, they've arisen as Sacred Gears that may hold the potential to slay the divine."

"Every few generations, the Perils reunite. They've done so once more in Ryoukou High. Once the Exuvia Organization found out, they began planning to retrieve them."

'That's the truth behind the shipwreck,' Tobio realizes.

"A legendary monster," Natsume intones quietly as she brushes a knuckle under Griffon's neck, "So… Why help us? It certainly isn't for 'protection' or 'research'."

"Those Cicadas were created using our research and technology, which we developed for the sake of creating artificial Sacred Gears. The same traitor who leaked our research must have also leaked your status as the Four Perils."

Samejima shoves his fist through a desk, splitting it in half, and points up at the PA, "So this is all because of your incompetence?! You also knew about their plans in advance, didn't you?!"

"Strictly speaking, it isn't our responsibility to intervene." The Governor interjects calmly, "We have our own circumstances that prevent our interference. As such, we have supported you in a more roundabout way."

"Because you idiots can't get involved, we have to clean up your mess?! Go fuck yourself!!!" Samejima yells back.

"Shark!" Lavinia pleads to him, "It wasn't the Governor's fault alone. My organization… the people we are after are also involved. I'm helping the Grigori chase them as a result."

She bows her head sadly, "I am also at fault for not telling you all everything before now. I wished to let you adapt to this world slowly and not burn you out by telling you everything all at once."

She sniffles, and her bangs fall in front of her eyes, "Please, if you are going to be mad, be mad at me as well."

"Ahh, fuck! Whatever, what's done is done. As long as we get those bastards, I don't care." Samejima sighs, collapsing into his chair and running his fingers through his hair as he stares at the ceiling.

"Well, as Lavinia says, this is all more complicated than we thought." Natsume says quietly, "Magicians, Monsters, Sacred Gears, Onmyouji… It's all a little fantastical."

Tobio nods in agreement, and Samejima sits back up, crossing his arms, "By the way, can't you turn back the people who have been made into Exuvia?"

Tobio lets out a gasp, 'If they can do that, then everyone… could they be saved?'

"Yes! We can!" The voice of the Governor cuts through his thoughts gleefully. "I can guarantee that if your friends are brought to us safely, they can be returned to themselves. This is my vow to you."

"Then no objections!" Samejima says, slamming his fist into his other palm with an excited grin, "I might not believe it yet, but if you can bring back our friends, then I'll let you off with just a punch to the face!"

"We'll do it." Tobio says, nodding to Samejima, "Please help us save them."

"Of course, of course! By the way, Tobio Ikuse. Do you have a grandmother?" The Governor says, his voice brimming with curiosity.

Tobio frowns, a mirage of brighter times drifting close then vanishing as suddenly as it appeared, "I did… she died when I was in elementary school."

"I see, and her maiden name?" Tobio closes his eyes as he realizes the angle of the Governor.

He shakes his head slightly, not bothering to hide it, "It was Himejima."

The silence that follows is profound, and Natsume is the first to break it, "Governor, what's the matter?"

The Governor laughs, and they can all sense how deeply amusing he finds Tobio's response, "Sorry, it's nothing. The irony was so big that I didn't know how to respond for a moment."

Lavinia seems to realize something: "Could it be that his grandmother is related to the heads of the Principal Clans?"

"Oh, don't mind me. Everything will become clear when the time is right. Be aware that there are other Himejimas out there, Black Dog Boy. It's a name quite famous in our world." With that prophecy uttered, the PA cuts out, and they're left to figure out what's next.

Tobio can't help but feel awkward as his cousin is referenced; if only they knew how aware he is.

From a few blocks away, on the roof of another apartment building, I watch as Tobio practices with Jin, Natsume, and another he hasn't noticed, watching him. Already, I plan to chastise him when this is over for dulling Jin's blade.

Seriously! How could he manage to do so poorly against that weakling Kazuhisa that he managed to escape?

I pace angrily, just remembering the pathetic display. Based on my estimate of his power, Tobio alone should have been able to clear out that building; Kazuhisa isn't even someone who should be able to scratch him.

I kept my distance a little since Lavinia Reni, Grauzauberer's hunting dog and assassin, might have detected me. It seems that was a needless worry, as this scenario has either dulled her senses or I didn't need to be worried at all.

An assassin getting too wrapped up in making friends… Well, I'm not one to talk, I guess. My raw killing edge has dulled as my life has changed, though given my strength hasn't suffered, I can't say that's all too bad. It's hard to bare your teeth at the world and fight with impunity when you have connections to worry about.

I shake my head, no point worrying about that.

I smile as the other observer, Vali Lucifer, interrupts Tobio's practice.

While I can't hear them from here, the context of their conversation is clear: Vali wants a fight to gauge Tobio's strength.

He might dress it up as some test to see if Tobio can hold his own and not hold him back, but I know different. Vali is the same as me; he wants to see if Tobio can become strong enough to enjoy fighting. Battle maniacs like us don't need some fancy reason to fight someone.

The two exchange words for a while before their battle starts.

The battle itself isn't anything impressive, as Vali mostly plays around with Tobio and Jin. The most interesting part is when Tobio engages in melee along with Jin. He seems to have finally figured out how to vent heat into his shadow to some degree, allowing him to increase his enhancement significantly and use it for longer.

Tobio and Natsume end up going back after the battle is done, while Vali remains on the roof a little longer.

Vali Lucifer, the White Dragon Emperor, huh… just thinking about fighting him makes me excited. I wonder just how strong he is now? Even so young, surely he must be strong.

"Tobio was a nice warmup, but you… You seem like a real challenge!" Vali's voice calls out from where he floats in the sky above me, the wings of Divine Dividing keeping him aloft, "The Dragon sealed within my arm hungers for battle!"

I slowly grin, and my fighting spirit leaks out. The building beneath me trembles as I cease to restrain myself. "I guess I can make time if it's to fight you."

He throws his head back and cackles, "Come! Show me a real challenge!"