Licking away the cream on the spoon, Reira quivered in excitement.
"I never knew dessert in Tokyo tastes so nice! I'm complete now!"
Spoon after spoon, the strawberry parfait was demolished.
Even though she had just finished breakfast a while ago, her gluttonous appetite for sweet stuff was a bottomless hole.
"Waiter, I want another honeydew parfait and mango pancake. Thank you."
After the waiter came over on Reira's wave, he still couldn't take his eyes off Akira's Bladestaff, which he laid beside his seat, Mako's tonfas and Reira's sheathed katana.
The whole dessert shop's worker had been eyeing at them since they entered the shop, it wasn't rare to see weirdly dressed people in the streets but bringing such huge 'props' around was definitely rare.
Akira bitterly smiled at the waiter as he walked away with the new order.
"I really need to go and settle this. Mako, remind me to talk with Uncle Samuro when we get back later. He said he has a way to make us less obvious and convenient."
"Sure." Sipping on her coffee, Mako looked at Reira opposite her, "Now, Reira-neesan, it's time for you to tell us what you are doing so far away from home."
Reira put her cup of tea down after a sip, "I would be lying if I say I am here for vacation and visit my two favourite people in the world along the way."
"Really, Reira-neesan…" Mako said with disdain.
"Ahem, fine. I am actually here for some personal business, not on assignment or anything but I am chasing after someone, a specific Yoma to be exact." said Reira.
"A specific Yoma?" Akira asked as his curiosity was piqued.
"Yes, his name is Tsurugi."
The name didn't ring a bell in either Akira or Mako's head, hence the puzzled look.
"What's so special about this Tsurugi that my great big sister decided to come all the way down to Tokyo from the edge of Hokkaido?" Akira asked.
"Well, you know my identity as wandering exorcist takes me to places. To be honest, I haven't gone back to Hokkaido for a while now, but that's not the point." Reira waved her hand, she added, "I took an assignment from a shrine in Akita Prefecture. The assignment requires me to escort some priest while he delivers some old katana to the next city, and that was when I met that persistent bastard."
"During the escort, that bastard jumped out and tried to rob the katana, I fought him but he managed to kill the priest with his strange katana. I protected the katana and delivered it to the designated shrine but I was told that the real protection target is the young priest, the katana was just a front to lure people off." Reira sighed helplessly, there was obvious grudge and grievance in between her words, she was everything but happy after being bested by a Yoma.
"The assignment went south, it's probably one of the few assignments that I've failed, so I went after that bastard. After that, we fought each other many times. In terms of strength, we are evenly matched, I have the confidence to beat him, but he seemed to have a much better information source than I do, so much better than he is able to get ahead of my in almost all my assignments."
"Then, during our last encounter, which is less than a week ago, he left halfway during our fight, right before I was going to finally unsheath my kanata against him. It didn't seem like he was afraid of my katana, he somewhat yearned to fight me in my true form, but he seemed a little distracted during that fight and escaped. I chased him here and the rest is what you guys already know."
Reira's revelation provided a sea of information for Akira and Mako, they were trying to find clues to relate this Tsurugi to the mysterious Yoma that Reika mentioned before but lacked evidence.
Akira even suspected that this Tsurugi might be related to the one, or might be the one, who caused those unnatural transformation with those purple shards in Yomas.
"Did you do any research about this Tsurugi? The two of you have fought many times, I'm sure you know a little more about him." asked Mako, attempting to get more information to connect the dots.
"Well, not much is really known… at least I don't really know anything about his background, but I know he is a very old Yoma, he usually appeared in a hakama with a rusty sword in hand. He seems to follow a code of his own either, or orders, he would just go after the target every single time, not a single passerby or innocent was killed, at least from what I can tell."
Reira picked up her cup for another quick sip.
"What an odd Yoma. Based on what you said, there must be something or someone behind him, providing him with all those information." said Akira. He also added, "As a matter of fact, several weird cases also happened in our jurisdiction recently…"
Akira filled in the details about all the strange purple shards and Kamen, who came specifically for his life, plus the White Seal that burst out of him when he was attacked. He also voiced his speculation that all this might, or might not, be related, he was determined to get to the bottom of this and find out who was targeting him.
The honeydew parfait and mango pancake was served, while they were exchanging information. The odd gaze from the waiter still did not soften.
The desserts were fuel to their discussion, which it slowly turned into friendlier conversation, asking each other how they had been recently and Reira showed extreme interest and delight about Akira finally getting contracted to the shrine.
"Whao, so much has happened since you got contracted, too bad I'm not there to witness it! Must be fun." Reira tossed the last piece of pancake into her mouth and chewed happily.
"I bet it would be a disaster with you around." said Akira.
"So, Reira-neesan, what are you plans now?" asked Mako.
"Well, I plan to stay around for a bit, locate Tsurugi and find out his true background. Since I have no place to stay in Tokyo, I'll linger at your place! Is it okay? I'm sure it's going to be fine, since I can also accept assignments as an exorcist! It will be fun, just like old times!" Reira exclaimed without giving Akira and Mako the opportunity to even discuss it.
The two of them were used to their big sister being so bold and feisty anyway, and just like what she said, her identity of wandering exorcist could easily find her job in every region.
A wandering exorcist is the counterpart of a contracted exorcist, they were still recognized by the Exorcism Society but they were not bound to a single shrine and had jurisdiction over a certain region.
The wandering status provided them with freedom by sacrificing lesser support and access to the core information network that was shared between all three major branches of the society.
Reira had been a wandering exorcist almost all her life, she preferred to travel around rather than settle down and serve one single shrine. Still, she tends to keep her active region in the north, that was why she hasn't seen Akira and Mako after completing their training with their master.
"If you say so, I guess gramps and Uncle Samuro wouldn't say otherwise. They are always busy anyway. Welcome to the group, Reira-neesan!" Akira welcomed Reira with a bright smile.
"Thank you very much, my cute little brother, now… let's get the bill and go for lunch before we head back shall we?" Reira called the waiter for the bill, leaving Akira and Mako dumbstruck.
Lunch?
They just finished breakfast and brunch, which was desserts, and now she's going for lunch?
"Reira-neesan, your appetite is still as big as ever." said Akira with a bitter smile.
"Oh, you know, being an exorcist traveling around is tough work, it's important to refill your energy."
Akira paid for the desserts before the trio left for their next destination.
The trio strolled around to cure Reira's appetite and it took them quite a while before they returned to the shrine.
Before Reira moved in temporarily with Mako, she purposely dropped by Samuro's little office, which was behind the souvenir stand, and informed him of her arrival and temporary stay.
Samuro welcomed her with open hands and asked her to take care of the duo.
Things started to settle down around afternoon as all three young exorcists finally got some rest after hassling around for the whole night.
However, someone else in the city didn't settle down like Reira despite being outsiders themselves. Even though it was broad daylight, evil still lurks in the shadows.
Goma and Tsurugi arrived before an old apartment.
They were told to meet up with the others and eventually the one who summoned them to Tokyo.
Goma opened the door and walked in, followed by Tsurugi.
The apartment was dusty, it has been a while since anyone lived here. The place was dark even during the day as the black curtains blocked the light from entering the window.
They were the first to arrive. Tsurugi, out of habit, carefully checked every single inch of the apartment, while Goma stood in the middle, seemingly thinking about something.
"They are late." said Goma.
"We are not late, you are just early, Goma."
A male voice came through the entrance, followed by a man and woman entering the apartment.
The man dressed in a delinquent Yankii-like appearance, wearing a short jacket and baggy pants coupled with a forward pompadour hairstyle and sunglasses, bandages were wrapped around both his hands; the woman wore a tight purple one piece, with a big fox fur coat over her shoulder notwithstanding that it was summer, there was also a lady cigarette lingering at her mouth, her wavy brown hair was also hanging over her shoulder.
"Otto, Yobo." Goma grunted.
The man, Otto, grinned sharply at Goma, then shifted his gaze to Tsurugi.
"You and Tsurugi are always early, stop blaming us for being on time." said Otto with disdain.
"That's right, besides, not everyone else is here either." said the woman, Yobo in a coquettish manner.
"Here."
A heavy voice suddenly came from the ceiling, followed by a face taking form.
The face, a bloated one, looked down at all four of them at the ground and smiled.
"Kabe, you little bastard, stop scaring us like that!" Otto said in a jumpy mood.
"Sorry."
The face, known as Kabe, apologized and showed a sad look.
"Now that everyone is here, can anyone tell me why are well summoned here?" Otto said frivolously.
Kak.
The noise of the door opening caught everyone's attention instantly.
The person who walked through the opened door, however, put a confused look on their faces.
"Hey, this is a private meeting, who the hell are you?" Otto pointed at the person with his bandaged hands.
Rei, without his fedora and scarf, glanced over Otto with a sharp and cold gaze.
Otto's fierce presence paused for a moment, he wasn't afraid but he sensed that there was something bad about this man before his eyes.
Rei then walked to the center of the room, and took out an eyeball from his inner trench coat.
Wings grew out of the eyeball after it was laid on Rei's hand. It started to flap before it flew up in the air.
"Greetings everyone."
A voice came through the eyeball once it got into the air, it was Mumen.
"Rei, I want you to meet my Harbingers."
"My fellow Harbingers, Rei."
Mumen quickly introduced both sides with his confident voice. Even though he wasn't at the scene, his voice sounded like he had everything in control.
Both sides, Otto, Goma and the others and Rei, sided up each other in a similar dubious gaze.
"You five, listen closely. Rei here is the one you will serve in the near future, and whosoever so much as talk back to him, will go through me when I come back, so bear that in mind."
The words that came out of the little eyeball with bat wings were pressuring even though it sounded calm. Its look was nothing to be afraid of yet the words, when they entered the Harbingers' ears, it froze all of them.
Otto and Yobo reacted bitterly, yet they dare not talk back either at the little eyeball or Rei.
"Hmph." Otto grunted and turned around to Yobo, which was his wife.
Goma and Tsurugi on the other hand were pressured by the words too, yet they did not show it on their faces.
Only Kabe did not react, as he was… a wall.
The little eyeball then flew over to Rei's ears, whispering, "I've got orders from master. He said it is best for you to stay in the dark while the Harbingers handle the situation. He doesn't want you to expose yourself, giving away the element of surprise. He also suggests that you distract that Akira, try to keep his scent away from our tail, or do anything to the White Seal. I will be back very soon."
Rei nodded lightly.
"Well then my dear Harbingers, I will see you when I am back. Behave, or suffer. Hehehehe…"
The little eyeball was engulfed in black flame all of a sudden, burning it to cinders, leaving Mumen's eerie laughter echoing in the room.
"Tsk, pushy bastard." Otto spat on the floor, he added, "Well little young master, what do you want us to do?"
Rei took a picture out of his pocket.
"I want you to kill this person." said Rei coldly as he showed the Harbingers Akira's picture.
"That's it? Hahahahaha, that bastard summoned all of us here so that we can help you kill a single person?" Otto laughed disdainfully.
How could a single person worth this much hassle?
It baffled every single one of the Harbingers, except Kabe, but they accepted the task nonetheless.
"I don't care what's all this fuss about, neither do I want to care. Consider this task done." Otto grinned as he took the picture away from Rei. "Come on, my love."
"Let's go guys, the faster we are done, the faster we are out of this city."
"Before you go, I have something for all of you." Rei stopped the Harbingers with a raise of his hand.
The five of them were surprised when Rei showed his palm and five purple malevolence shard appeared floating.
"Consider this a welcoming gift." With a slight push, the five purple malevolence shard floated to each of the Harbingers and into their body.
Their bodies quivered for a moment when the shard entered their body. The quivers were not from pain, but from ecstasy.
"Guess you are not such a bastard after all." Otto sharply glanced over Rei with a cunning grin.
Holding his wife's hand, Otto went out the door with Kabe following behind.
Right when Goma and Tsurugi wanted to make a move, Rei held them back.
"You. I heard you are the smartest, I have something extra to ask of you."
An envelope appeared in Rei's hand and was passed to Goma.
"I believe with your intellect, you will know how to use this to your advantage." Rei said.
Goma raised a brow at Rei's meaningful words, he opened up the envelope to reveal a picture.
"Unlike your hot-headed friend, you should know this target is not an ordinary one. If you somehow fail to kill him, break him."
Goma's glanced over the person in the picture before he kept it in his sleeve.
Both him and Tsurugi then left, leaving Rei alone in the room.
Lifting the black curtain up, Rei looked outside with a heavy gaze.
"The tests is coming to an end… are you the one?"