The barrelling waters of the eastern sea rocked Alora's ship from side to side. Towering waves waiting to consume her, jagged rows of razor-sharp rocks prepared to shred the ship to pieces. However, even through the turbulence, as the crewmates wrenched their guts out, shivering at the lightning bolts that lit up the sea, Alora kept her eyes glued to the shore up ahead. The large land mass that stood as the last nation in the Far-East, closest to the rising sun.
"Ms. Alora," a young man said, sliding over the waters that flooded the ships deck. He knelt, and placed his hand over his chest, the beating wind threatening to tip him over and throw him off into the waves, but he, like his commander who stood proud in the midst of the storm remained firmly planted to the ground. "Is it not possible to ask your master to calm the waters. If the waves continue like this, I'm afraid the ship will capsize before we reach the shore."
Alora snickered, a wicked smile curling up her bronze cheeks. She turned around and began walking towards the sails, noticing the rips that formed and were slowly growing wider. " I don't know anything about sailing, but, in terms of the last part of the voyage, I suggest you carry on. If the other men can't handle this, tell them to throw themselves off board."
" But..."
"It would be more disgraceful for them to accompany me to go see my master. If anything, when he sees them in their dishevelled state, he'll simply give them his katana and ask them to commit seppuku right there where the land meets the sea."
The wind began slowing, and the waves dyed down as they entered a thick mist. But not any regular mist, it was heavily perfumed, the sun barely visible as an eerie cry echoed through the sea. The young man slowly got up and went to stand by Alora's side. She leaned against the railing. The sea was deadened, not even the waves crashing against the hull could be heard. The young man crept closer to her as he heard a choir of children singing. Their sweet little voices coming from all directions. A flute accompanied them as they sang, "Akuma. Akuma. Where is the door? Where shall I enter? Akuma. Akuma. Where is the way? How do I leave?"
"Go tell the other men, if they're still sane, to get themselves together. We're arriving," said Alora. The young man saluted, scurrying across the soundless pools of water.
As Alora stood there alone, the mist began to clear, the clouds parted, and the choir of children began quieting. Ahead, soaking in the golden rays of the sun was a man. Dressed in a black robe with two swords, a long and short one sheathed to his side. He had long black hair that lazily danced in the wind. Standing on the vast and empty beach, with the high-rise mountain range capped in snow standing behind him. Even with the galore of the ageless landscape, he felt older than them all, greater than the immortal mountain that stood silenced behind him. Alora couldn't help but admire the sight of his dark eyes that swirled with all the rage of a typhoon. As the ship drew closer, and their eyes met, the man gently smiled at her, and his eyes softened.
Alora dashed to the deck and belted, " Demon Hunters! Prepare to disembark!" The ships crewman, about ten of them, sprung up from beneath the deck and began preparing to dock. They dropped the anchor and pulled the sails, scurrying to get the ship to stop on the shore. As soon as they were done, they wasted no time and lined up before Alora, heads held high with chests puffed. Unlike her, whose tattoo of blazing fire that trailed up her arm was complete, theirs were half done. Blotches of ink against bronze skin that failed to tell the story of who they were.
Her golden breastplate glittered in the sun-light, reflecting some of that light into their eyes. No one squinted, all waiting with eye's wide open. " Follow me," she said. She turned and made her way across the deck and climbed down a ladder onto the beach, the crew following suit.
They walked across the beach to the man, protocol immediately taking over. The ten demon hunters stood in a straight line as Alora went further to stand face to face with the man. They were a breath apart as she looked up to him with her flaming eyes. The air thick, and tension great as they both had their muscles pulse as they stared each other down.
"I'm tempted to give you a hug," the man said in a low gruff voice.
" I dare you. But you know that when those young kids see you do it, that image of some fierce samurai with the strength of a fleet of demons will wash away with the tide," she snickered.
He craned his neck to look upon her face, her darling Bambi eyes and plump cheeks.
"Strange how you call them kids when you're practically the same age as them." He immediately wrapped his arms around her body and lifted her up into a warm embrace. Snuggling his cheeks covered in scraggly itchy hair against hers, cracking a thunderous laugh. "And now they can see that even their master turns into a little child when with her uncle!" Alora fought to pull away, but his grip on her was fierce. If it had been anyone else, they would have had their ribs crushed, but she was able to bare it.
"Put me down!" she squealed. "Please, Uncle Yasuo, put me down!"
"Okay," he laughed, placing her back onto the sand. He patted her head with a smile and walked up to the ten demon hunters behind her. The smile quickly fading and turning into a dark grimace, eyes heavy and dark like a demon.
The ten straightened up, bending into a deep 90-degree bow.
"At least you have manners," he said. " To be quite frank I'm not impressed with your physiques. you all look like shrimp. If you even attempted to slay a demon, I'm afraid you'd die instead."
He paced up and down the line, taking in the sight of seven boys and three girls. "Let me not waste time here. Time is off the essence," he started, staring at the sun that began descending into the sea. "Uku can become a hellish place to be when night falls. That's when all the Yokai and Oni come out to play. But you didn't come here to deal with petty issues. You're here to aid me in a special mission."
Alora traced a picture into the sand, sketching the image of a man. He was tall, muscley with his whole body covered in wavy tattoos. Alora placed her palms over the sand, pumped fire into the ground till molten lava burst out and took the form of the man she drew. Yasuo unsheathed his katana, struck the air and a great wind blew against the sculpture, cooling it and turning it into a life-sized image made purely from obsidian.
"You're here to help me hunt him," he said, pointing at the sculpture. "This is the Demon Lord of Takara shrine up on Mount Genji. Alora and I will handle killing he and his wives, but you ten will handle the problem he's caused in Uku. Many people have been deceived into following him, offering money, and asking for power, blessings and wealth. However, for such requests to come into fruition, he sends a parade of evil Yokai into the follower's house to do, obscene acts. The problem it causes is that many children who witness this end up in induced comma's that have their souls wander in the eternal mist leading into the afterlife. That's who you heard on your way here. If they stay there too long, their mortal bodies will die, and their souls will be trapped there for all of eternity." The sun was getting terribly low, and neither Alora nor Yasuo wanted to stay by the sea long enough to witness the parade.
"You task is simple," said Yasuo. "You are to stand in the midnight watch and protect the civilians from the parade until Alora and I have slayed the demon. But you must be careful. They are terribly strong, and with the amount of faith and expectations people have in them, you'll need all the luck you can get."
"Now that you've heard," Alora interrupted. "Off load our material. Lord Nobunaga and I will see you later at the midnight hour."
"Understood!" they belted in unison, hurrying back to the ship. Yasuo placed his hand on her shoulder, both watching the demon hunters. "Shall we head to the mansion for dinner. I asked Shizuka to prepare a monstrous feast for us."
"Thank goodness," she sighed. " I haven't eaten since leaving Asale."
And with that, the two turned around and headed towards the Nobunaga mansion hidden in between the mountains that spanned across Uku Island.