JNHRO Homefront
darthcourt10
Well worn.
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Lord K
Homefront
"You look like a fisher's wife."
"Huh?" Tiredly looking up from his vigil across the moonlit waters, Kiba accepts with a small "thanks" the offered cup of coffee in Kogamaru's hand, while the wolf himself then takes a seat on a second of the sheared off wooden piles that was once the legs of a boat jetty leading out into the bay. Now all that remains of it are a few stumpy logs closer into the shore, that the okuri-inu as since cut down and re-purposed as seats in the tidal zone of the beach. Further out, the charred tops of a few of the deeper piles still rise out of the water, flanking the blackened and splintered form that was once a classic wooden hulled motor yacht.
Breaking his observations of the wreckage the okuri-inu still hasn't had the time or money to remove after so many years, Kogamaru looks at Kiba quietly, noticing his distant gaze and the way one of his legs bounces quietly on the beach, in tandem with the silent drumming on the edge of his cup. "I said you look like a fisher's wife. Standing at the shore and pinning for her husband to come home after the storm."
"Oh...." Apparently too tired or strung out to see the humor, the dog yokai glances back out to sea, before realizing what captured his attention was only a trick of the light upon the oceans surface.
Frowning, the younger canid then lightly taps at his friend's shoulder to regain his attention. Even in the semi-moonlit night, the shield Kogamaru has found himself carrying around for most of the day, gives of a slight glow that lets him see in detail, the worry and tiredness on his friend's face. "Hey Kiba. Come on man, let's go inside. It's late."
The okuri-inu shakes his head, even as he looks over the okami's shoulder and back up towards the house. Through the doors opened to let the cool night's sea air in, Kiba can see the form of Asuka, curled up on the couch alongside Junko. Taking care not to wake the sleeping teen beside her, the witch shuffles a deck of cards as she listens to the wizarding wireless set on the table. It is a nervous tick of her's, an activity mirrored in many of the other unconscious movements and gestures of those also crowded around the table, not just listening to the magical radio, but also watching the muggle news on the big screen, and communicating with family, friends and J.N.H.R.O.s contacts via their phones. Even as they watch, a owl swoops out of the darkness of the night sky, entering through one of the open doors with a letter for someone inside clasped in it's talons.
Turning his gaze away from the beach house, Kiba then sighs with resigned exhaustion. "We had our very last meeting here."
Knowing that terrible day the dog yokai is referring to, the wolf nods quietly. "That we did."
"Go figure then, that the first time we ever come back here for something official, the shit hits the fan again." Running a hand over his face, Kiba looks up to the sky, as if looking for some unknown answer in the stars. "Technically twice is only coincidence, but fucking hell..... First Blood Week and now this shit today."
Kogamaru nods morosely. "There's gonna be a lot of yokai caught in the backlash for this, even if it wasn't even close to being as bad."
Looking over from his appraisal of the heavens, the dog tilts his head curiously. "Yamainutaira ride it out okay?"
"They're good," responds the okami "I talked with Ryougamaru earlier. Nothing really happened to us. I guess people still remember that even if father and I were pacifists, the rest of the Hokubu Okami are proud of their martial ways, and more than capable of putting up a fight. Daisetsuzan's supposed to be a right clusterfuck at the moment though. The main gate got hit from what I heard."
Kiba winces. "I suppose that makes what happened in Adachi somewhat lucky then. I think Jin might have completely lost her shit then and there, if she ended up with the aurors and spiders duking it out on her turf. Hopefully wherever she ended up running off to, there was some privacy for her fight...."
Tailing off towards the end, Kiba glances back over the water. Looking away from the dog opposite him, Kogamaru gives a sigh at the obvious shared worries between the two of them. "They'll be fine Kiba. These attacks have made travel a nightmare for everyone. They're probably just stuck in muggle traffic or something."
"Jin's a tough old lizard," responds Kiba, doing little to alleviate either of their worries. "She's big enough and smart enough to handle her problems. But Ai being late as well.... I just have a bad feeling about this." Draining the last of his coffee, he then levels the okami with a worried gaze. "Ai is never late to things without good reason. When she says she'll be to a meeting, especially one to go over the prep-work for something as vital as tomorrow, you can bet that she'll be there by hell or high water. At the very least, she would have given a heads up about being turned around or emergency deployed to something else. It's been hours. Even if something had come up during their long range patrol today, they should have landed by now....."
Uncertain what to say, Kogamaru looks away. The ripples in the water capturing his attention, after a minute of only the okuri-inu's silence and the lapping waves to capture his attention, the wolf decides to make an attempt to change the subject. Unsaid is the worry that Kiba's bad feelings and ill hunches are often startlingly correct.
"You ever going to get that boat out of there?"
"Hmm?" Looking up in confusion, the dog yokai then follows Kogamaru's pointed thumb to the charred skeleton that was once a boat and it's private jetty. Eyeing it up the wreckage that was once upon a time called "Dances with Waves", Kiba then sighs."Look, I don't know. Originally I couldn't be fucked to, since nobody wanted to come back after Blood Week, but if I'm gonna be here more often...."
"You're gonna be here more often?" The okami looks to his friend in confusion. "Are you planning to liaise with the clans or something from down here until something's sorted out for Kyoto or Tokyo?"
The okuri-inu grimaces. "Maybe. That depends on what happens. If tomorrow's even still on after what a clusterfuck today has been for everyone wherever all those spiders turned up." Inspecting the bottom of his empty cup, Kiba then deflates quietly. "I remember when we first started meeting here instead of The Tanuki's Balls. So many good memories from the old days. And then after Blood Week, it was like there was something hanging over the place, something that wasn't just thanks to the risk of Abyssals due to being right on the seaside. Nobody ever seemed to feel like it was right to come back here, especially after we started setting up more seriously in Tokyo. Why travel all the way out here, when there are nearer venues in the city?"
Kogamaru runs a thumb along the lip of his cup, quietly remembering both the good and the bad times, flanking either side of that terrible August in 2005. "You should have said something. If you felt like we should have come back here again, I mean."
The okuri-inu shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe I didn't feel like it would be right to bring back the J.N.H.R.O. here either. It was never the time or moment when it would have felt right to suggest it. But then, that "right time" just never appeared, and a few years back, I actually started to get sick of this place. I kinda wanted to get rid of it really, but there were too many good memories locked up in here to let it go. So I just let it sit here for years, and every time I drove down to check on it, it felt like it was getting sadder and sadder, and left something festering in my gut each time."
"What made you want to come back then?" frowns Kogamaru in confusion. "If you felt the place didn't fit the J.N.H.R.O. anymore and you hated it so much, why did you just say you were thinking of staying here and fixing it up? Why even have this meeting here? We could have all simply taken the train down to Yokosuka tomorrow instead."
For a moment Kiba looks thoughtful, quietly taking a moment to arrange his thoughts and feelings before putting them into words. "I don't think I hated the place. I just felt.... disappointed and sad for it. We had so many great times and moments in this house that shaped who we, and the J.N.H.R.O., are today. And then yeah, something terrible happened, but then we kinda just.... disrespected it all. We never picked up and came back like we should have. I got tired of being the owner of a glorified mausoleum to everyone that died, when some of my fondest memories here are supposed to be of getting shitfaced and dancing on the lounge table till it broke with those same people, or enticing somebody into illegally using magic to fix everything because somebody crashed the boat into the jetty."
For a long moment, Kogamaru doesn't reply, instead letting the dog yokai figure out his thoughts. "I've been thinking making that house like that again."
"Like what now?"
Kiba shrugs, unconcerned at the wolf's confusion as he segues down a new tangent. "Tuition in Tokyo is expensive out the wazoo. And while my apartment suits me fine, that's because I'm barely ever there. It's a place to sleep, and that's about it. Ai's apartment is even worse than mine. Leaving aside that she's never home, it's not only even smaller than mine, she's a downright magpie and pack-rat. " Quietly, his gaze then turns back towards the house, Kogamaru's following his to settle on the sleeping daitengu, happily bundled up in a nest of blankets on the couch, and actually seeming to sleep better for the presence of the yokai around her, in spite of the noise and bustle.
"This is a nice neighborhood. There's a decent amount of space and privacy separating all the houses around here. And even if the beach is still full of shit, I have yards here. Commuting and travel is not an issue, since the fireplace is connected to the Floo network. This is the kind of place where a kid can actually have some room to not just grow, but safely and securely be themselves. Without a disguise." Raising a hand, Kiba then gestures vaguely off to the east, in the direction of the other side of the Muria Peninsula. "And even better, there's supposed to be this really awesome school just a short train ride away in Yokosuka. She's a smart kid, Asuka. But I think, more than schooling, what she needs is people she can trust and be actual friends with, not just people she wants to look up to or emulate. And I think being around kids her own mental age could go a long way toward helping that."
Guiltily, the okuri-inu looks down. "I can't just keep dragging her around to work and J.N.H.R.O. meetings. That's not fair to her, no matter how much she loves it and gets on with everyone. That sounds terrible, but-"
Cutting Kiba off, Kogamaru rests a hand on his friends shoulder. "But it's doing what's right." Looking upward at the night sky for a moment, the wolf then sighs with heavy melancholy. "I don't begrudge my father for taking me away from Yamainutaira for much of my childhood. While I was lucky enough that being with him was where I wanted to be, I realize now that he was also giving me the best possible chance to lead the Hokubu Okami into the future, in a way he never would have been able to. Being Koshaku was something I would never have been able to escape." Turning his gaze back to the house, Kogamaru then points not just beyond it, but to the lights of Zuchi, stretching away up into the moonlit hills of Kanto, back lit further by the faint haze of light pollution from the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area on the other side of the peninsula.
"Asuka though, does not have that hanging over her. She is not beholden to a legacy like me and Ai. She is free to choose her own path to walk in life, like you did. The future is full of infinite possibilities for her, and the present is rapidly becoming far different from the pasts we knew." Confidently, the okami nods. "I believe in your decision Kiba. Muggle educations never did any of us wrong. And if things keep going the way they are, in a few more years, it may very likely put her at an advantage to many of her magical peers, human or yokai. She'll be fine." His smile turning humorous, Kogamaru then gestures at the house and it's encompassing beachfront. "Especially with a place like this to grow up in, and a revolving door of role model coming and gowing. Honestly, it almost makes me feel a little jealous."
Chuckling at the words of the traditionally garbed wolf, Kiba finally gives a weary smile. "Thanks Kogamaru."
Looking out over the waves once more, now there is more of a lightness and unburdening of weight about his expression, even if he still looks worried. "Sorry about that man. I didn't mean to unload on you like that. But thanks for listening, really."
"Don't worry about it." The wolf just shakes his head with a small grin. "Decisions like these weigh heavily, especially when they are difficult ones, with the best intentions at heart for those closest to us."
Kiba chuckles quietly and looks back at the okami. "Man, I remember when it was us older gang who were supposed to give these deep, advisory talks to our young kohai. How did you get so wise?"
Kogamaru just smiles knowingly at the okuri-inu. "Through the same reasons I know Asuka is in good hands. Father wasn't the only one who helped make me who I am today."
"Heh. Thanks Kogamaru." Looking back up to the house, the dog yokai's smile softens. "If Asuka were to turn out like you, I think I'd be proud beyond belief. I know Tsumemaru was."
The young wolf laughs. "Yeah, well, father wasn't afraid to show it either. I was 55, and he was still carrying around all those baby pictures in his wallet, alongside my graduation one." Both the canid yokai laugh at the memories of more than a few such occasions of the pictures in question being brought out on display.
Seeing the dog yokai at last looking more at ease, Kogamaru dusts off his robes and begins to stand. "Come on Kiba. Let's call it a night. Even if the meeting is off tomorrow, maybe you should show Asuka around town instead, if you're going to be staying here more often? Going over the hill and showing her the base could also be neat for her too."
Giving a weary sigh and glancing out to sea one last time, finally the okuri-inu concedes to the suggestion. "Alright then. Let's call it a night. It's a long way from Iruma, so maybe Ai did just get stuck somewhere or is waiting until tomorrow to come down. Jin's probably in a worse position. She'd be trying to bike down, and be stuck in that jam on the Wagan."
"Yeah," nods Kogamaru as he helps his weary friend to his feet. "We'll seem them tomorrow. You can hit the hay, and I'll stay up a little longer in case anything new crops up."
Kiba just grumbles quietly at the thought. "Hn, knowing our luck, there's going to be some aftershock of all these attacks on the aurors and magical communities we're gonna have to handle tomorrow still." Giving a jaw cracking yawn as he follows the wolf back up the beach and towards the house, the dog yokai takes one last look back out across the water. "Urgh, you're right though. Better to just turn in. I'm so.... freaking..... tired....."
Missing how the okuri-inu tails off, Kogamaru gives a yawn of his own. "Yeah. Say, do you still keep the spare sheets in the same closet?"
Recieving no reply and finally noticing that he can't hear the footsteps of the dog behind him, the wolf pauses and turns around in confusion. "....Kiba?" Spotting the okuri-inu looking out to sea once more, this time something make's the okami's hackles raise. "Kiba? What are you starring at-"
Then he spots it. Out on the water, a shape moving beneath the sea. Like the cresting bow wave of submarine that has yet to break the surface, the unknown mass rises up as it enters the shallows, tearing through the masking water on an undulating head-on course for the shore. Rather than slowing down however, the rising swell that is far to long and thin to be any natural breaker, continues it's high speed charge towards the beach, and almost seems to drunkenly yaw back and forth now that it is out of the deep.
Long familiar with the sight, Kogamaru feels a chill come over him at the automatic knowledge that this is different. "Kiba..... Something's wrong...."
"I know."
Slowly but surely, the unstable zig-zagging path of the heaving wave's course drifts away from the clear section of beach. Then with the thunderous crash of splintering wood, the form within barely manages to avoid the ruined yacht, and plows through the stunted, blackened, remains of the old jetty, before finally surging ashore in a rolling swell of water that momentarily drives the tide almost up to the two yokai's feet.
"JIN!" Even as the waters recede, Kogamaru is already charging down through the retreating surf to the form that has been washed up.
Quick on the okami's heels, Kiba can already hear the commotion for inside as those still up are alerted by the commotion, that has even managed to wake many of those already asleep. Stumbling through the withdrawing brine, and the collapsing spill of black sludge and white scales that is being diffused by it all and running back off into the sea as well, the okuri-inu finally catches up to Kogamaru, who has already located the source of the tepid mire that washed ashore with the wave.
"Kiba, give me a hand!" Reaching out join Kogamaru in helping the jacket clad form in the darkness and surf, for a moment, the okuri-inu sees a flash of worry in the eyes belonging to the once more semi-human mizuchi as she does her best to stagger out of the water and filth.
"Wait! Koga! Don't grab that- ARGGGHHH! MOTHERFFFFFFUCKERRRRRR!!!"
Reflexively letting go of the hand he grabbed to help Jin to her feet, it is almost farcical how the green haired woman then ends up slipping and disappearing back into the surf and sludge. Resurfacing and spluttering angrily, the two canids are now much more careful as they help the dragon to her feet. Once out of the water and with the two supporting her as she staggers her up the beach to collapse in the sand above the tide, it hits the two how much the mizuchi is bent over and cradling her right hand.
"Jin, what the hell happened!?"
"I think I broke my wrist." Sitting down roughly, the ex-water kami then hisses with pain, biting out an amendment to her assessment through gritted teeth. "Gah! And I guess a couple of ribs as well..."
The sudden presence of a light shining down on the three of them doesn't just alert Kiba to the arrival of those who were inside the house. It also highlights the fact that one of Jin's horns is cracked, and her right eye is completely bloodshot, with most of the accompanying side of her face being so swollen, bruised and covered with splits, it's difficult to see the eye at all. Judging by the trail of blotchy bruises and small cuts that continue down her neck and then under her jacket, it's easy to assume that the damage goes down to her chest, and that the broken ribs aren't an exaggeration either. And then as if to add to her woes, what parts of her aren't bruised in some way, now look almost sunburned instead.
Looking up at the newcomers, Kogamaru spies more than a few of them with their phones still in their hands after running outside. "Somebody call a doctor!"
Kiba busies himself with delicately helping the dragon out of her now waterlogged leather jacket and going over her for further injuries.
"Jin, what the hell happened to you?!? Somebody said you went off to hunt down a spider yokai who attacked somebody a few hours ago? Nothing that attacked anybody else should have been able to take on a dragon?"
The mizuchi hisses, this time both in pain and self-recrimination. "There were more attacks?"
"Yeah."
"Then that just makes me running off and leaving everyone behind even stupider- OW! JESUS CHRIST!" Yelping as Kogamaru and some of the others unsuccessfully attempt to remove her injured wrist from her jacket, in the end, the dragon settles for simply tearing the sleeve open along a seam. "Look me. The good old Aoijinkawa is up to it's old tricks. New name, same shit. Getting pissed off, getting half cocked, and getting her face kicked in. Thank fuck Ai was already there when I turned up, otherwise then I'd really be in the-"
Something chills Kiba's blood, while a ripple of silence spills through the crowd.
"Wait, what do you mean Ai was already there? Jin, what the hell happened?! I thought you went off to fight one of those little spider or gas yokai that have been stirring up shit all day?!?"
The water dragon growls at the thought, only to be cut off by a strained hiss and a curse as Kogamaru begins checking her ribs for breaks. "What I was chasing wasn't just one little spider. This was some mass murdering psycho-bitch with-ARRGH! MARY AND JOSEPH, THAT SUCKS!!!"
"Sorry."
The ex-kami grimaces, though not entirely because of the pain either. "Actually, maybe it was lucky I did turn up. Originally I was just gonna hide and set an ambush, but then- you're not gonna believe this- that spider bitch was actually laying a trap the entire time. - OW!"
"That's your fourth break."
"-urgh, god that was a clusterfuck."
"I can imagine if she did this to you." Observes Kiba.
"No, she didn't," agrees the ex-water dragon. "I never even managed to get my teeth near that spider bitch. That trap wasn't for me. And I wasn't the only one to blunder into it either. I saw at least one five-tailed Kitsune working alongside the kanmusu Nagato, her kid Abyssal, and a whole bunch of others, with probably more yokai elsewhere in the fight judging by how they were trying to get up to the village to save- OWWW!!! KOGA, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!"
Too stunned by the information the water dragon has casually dropped into the conversation, the wolf doesn't even bother apologizing. "There were yokai openly working alongside JMSDF shipgirls???"
"And the JASDF," adds the ex-kami awkwardly. "That's how Ai got involved. They must have been flying by, when the air support request went out."
"One spider yokai needed a anti-ship operations specialized strike package to take out?" Ask Kiba incredulously.
"Actually, I don't know if Ai even knows about the spider. She was fighting the same thing I was, trying to buy time for the Kitsune and the battleship to finish it off."
Kiba and Kogamaru look at each other in shock, before then turning back to the wounded dragon.
"Jin..." The okuri-inu gives her a horrified look. "Were you fighting, fully transformed, in front of not just a shipgirl, but Ai's muggle pilots, flying planes with some of the newest and most advanced imaging and sensory data recording systems in the JASDF to date, specifically installed to make capturing in high quality kills and the effects of muggle weapons against Abyssals, to make post-battle intelligence and assessment more accurate and definitively confirmed???"
Holding up her good hand with her finger raised to make a counterpoint, the dragon pauses. Hesitating for a second, she frowns. Slowly, she then lowers her hand, now looking even more guilty than before.
Kogamaru however, remains focused on the other major aspect of that sentence. "Hold on a moment- Jin, you still haven't told us what you were even fighting in the first place. The hell did this spider yokai have working for her, that could tank the combined efforts of a decently-aged Kitsune, a kanmusu battleship, an Abyssal Princess, an entire flight of strike fighters with missiles big enough to destroy capital ships, and a rage empowered water dragon."
Finally cornered, the mizuchi shifts awkwardly, or at least as best she can while looking like a half-drowned victim of a brawl.
"It was a Gashadokuro. I don't know how, but the crazy bitch had a Gashadokuro and set it on the kitsune and the battleship. Ai turned up before I could figure out how to jump in and not get caught in the- OWWWWW!!! WHAT ARE YOU-?!?!?"
Screaming in pain as Kogamaru and Kiba alternately accidentally let go of her broken wrist or stop supporting her as they leap to their feet in shock, the dragon descends into a wave of observations about their mothers, even as they and a number others in the crowd barely avoid panicking.
"Holy shit, what the fuck do we do for a Gashadokuro?!?"
"Hide, ward said hiding spot, and pray it goes away before you run out of supplies?"
"There's hasn't been one in hundreds of years!"
"Shit! The attacks were hours ago! They must have been diversions."
"Do you think you could ward one into an area, rather than out of your home?"
"Even if I was that good, I don't think that's how it works with Gashadokuro."
"Fuck, do you remember how fast are those things are supposed to move?"
"No clue." Thoughts racing in his mind, Kiba then helps the still swearing dragon to her feet. "Shit, where did you guys fight it Jin? Do you have any idea where it was last headed when you escaped."
Growling in annoyance, the mizuchi does her best to give the wolf the finger with her good hand. "I didn't escape asshole. And the only place that thing is headed, is back to Yomi."
Kogamaru blinks owlishly at the dragon's words. "It's headed where now?"
"To Yomi! You know. The world of the dead?"
Now it's Kiba's turn to look at her confusion, causing the mizuchi to growl in frustration.
"It's shuffled off this mortal coil once more. We gave it a final send off. It's back in the farm after buying it. We sent it to the Dark Dimension. It's back to room temperature. We put both it's feet back in the grave. It's riding the pale horse now. We Candyman'd the fucker. Wiped out. Tango Uniformed. Gone for a Burton. Returned to sender. Back to being worm food. The asshole is dead!"
Uncertainly, the dog and wolf share a glance, before Kogamru tentatively broaches the subject. "Jin.... are you concussed?"
"What?!" Frowning furiously, she looks between the two. "No. I mean, I took a good few punches to the head from it, but I'm fine. Why would you ask if I'm concussed?"
Kiba shakes his head. "Jin, you must be confused. Nobody just up and kills a Gashadokuro, no matter how much firepower they have."
"Maybe it wasn't actually a Gashadokuro?" Offers Kogamaru hopefully.
Staring between the two for a moment, Jin then comes to a decision, and uses her good arm to punch Kogamaru in the shoulder first, though this gives Kiba the time to dodge the annoyed swipe at him in turn.
"You little shits. I'm telling you. That was a fucking Gashadokuro, and I'll eat my god damn bike if I'm wrong. Not that there'll be much left to check. I don't know what that kitsune and battleship did to kill it, but if they'd purified it any harder, they'd have cooked me as well." Sighing and running her good hand through her green locks, the mizuchi then frowns, as if the words she said are only just hitting her. Looking at her almost sunburned fingers, the dragon blinks owlishly as the gravity of the days events finally catches up with her.
"Holy shit. I just fought a Gashadokuro today." Blinking, she then looks up at the group around her. "Holy shit, I helped kill a Gashadokuro."
Kogamaru looks at her uncertainly. "Jin?" As if his hesitant query is the key that finally unlocks the damn, the dragon abruptly begins crying with laughter.
"AHAHAHAHA! I HELPED KILL A GASHADOKURO! WHAT THE SHIT! I HELPED KILL A FUCKING GASHADOKURO AND EVERYONE CAME OUT OF IT ALIVE! HOLY FUCK! IF I WAS STILL A STREAM-" Leaning back as best she can, the ex-kami then howls her triumph to the sky. "-THEN PEOPLE'D CALL ME A REAL FUCKING GOD!!! WHOOOOOOO!!!!- ACK!!! ARGH, MY RIBS!!!"
Rushing forward with the others to help the dragon as her elated celebrations finally exacerbate her injuries beyond the threshold of the elation and endorphin rush, Kiba and Kogamaru help the dragon back to her feet and begin directing her transport inside the house.
"There! Let's set her up on the couch! And somebody put the feelers out for if there's been anything funny going on with the Self Defense Forces today or if we have any new leads on these attacks!" Even as the group carries out Kiba's instructions, and the mizuchi is awkwardly half supported inside while continuing to crow about her victory, the now awake Asuka is already hovering near the wounded mizuchi, practically vibrating with the obvious questions she wants to ask about the water dragon's titanic battle and doubtlessly heroic struggle.
Finally separating themselves from the pack and tiredly looking upon the proceedings, Kiba then glances at Kogamaru. Already, the wolf's brow is knotted with heavy thoughts and worry. No doubt the foremost is the same one Kiba quietly chooses to voice.
"I think our timetable for the Statute's fall just got smaller."
Homefront
"You look like a fisher's wife."
"Huh?" Tiredly looking up from his vigil across the moonlit waters, Kiba accepts with a small "thanks" the offered cup of coffee in Kogamaru's hand, while the wolf himself then takes a seat on a second of the sheared off wooden piles that was once the legs of a boat jetty leading out into the bay. Now all that remains of it are a few stumpy logs closer into the shore, that the okuri-inu as since cut down and re-purposed as seats in the tidal zone of the beach. Further out, the charred tops of a few of the deeper piles still rise out of the water, flanking the blackened and splintered form that was once a classic wooden hulled motor yacht.
Breaking his observations of the wreckage the okuri-inu still hasn't had the time or money to remove after so many years, Kogamaru looks at Kiba quietly, noticing his distant gaze and the way one of his legs bounces quietly on the beach, in tandem with the silent drumming on the edge of his cup. "I said you look like a fisher's wife. Standing at the shore and pinning for her husband to come home after the storm."
"Oh...." Apparently too tired or strung out to see the humor, the dog yokai glances back out to sea, before realizing what captured his attention was only a trick of the light upon the oceans surface.
Frowning, the younger canid then lightly taps at his friend's shoulder to regain his attention. Even in the semi-moonlit night, the shield Kogamaru has found himself carrying around for most of the day, gives of a slight glow that lets him see in detail, the worry and tiredness on his friend's face. "Hey Kiba. Come on man, let's go inside. It's late."
The okuri-inu shakes his head, even as he looks over the okami's shoulder and back up towards the house. Through the doors opened to let the cool night's sea air in, Kiba can see the form of Asuka, curled up on the couch alongside Junko. Taking care not to wake the sleeping teen beside her, the witch shuffles a deck of cards as she listens to the wizarding wireless set on the table. It is a nervous tick of her's, an activity mirrored in many of the other unconscious movements and gestures of those also crowded around the table, not just listening to the magical radio, but also watching the muggle news on the big screen, and communicating with family, friends and J.N.H.R.O.s contacts via their phones. Even as they watch, a owl swoops out of the darkness of the night sky, entering through one of the open doors with a letter for someone inside clasped in it's talons.
Turning his gaze away from the beach house, Kiba then sighs with resigned exhaustion. "We had our very last meeting here."
Knowing that terrible day the dog yokai is referring to, the wolf nods quietly. "That we did."
"Go figure then, that the first time we ever come back here for something official, the shit hits the fan again." Running a hand over his face, Kiba looks up to the sky, as if looking for some unknown answer in the stars. "Technically twice is only coincidence, but fucking hell..... First Blood Week and now this shit today."
Kogamaru nods morosely. "There's gonna be a lot of yokai caught in the backlash for this, even if it wasn't even close to being as bad."
Looking over from his appraisal of the heavens, the dog tilts his head curiously. "Yamainutaira ride it out okay?"
"They're good," responds the okami "I talked with Ryougamaru earlier. Nothing really happened to us. I guess people still remember that even if father and I were pacifists, the rest of the Hokubu Okami are proud of their martial ways, and more than capable of putting up a fight. Daisetsuzan's supposed to be a right clusterfuck at the moment though. The main gate got hit from what I heard."
Kiba winces. "I suppose that makes what happened in Adachi somewhat lucky then. I think Jin might have completely lost her shit then and there, if she ended up with the aurors and spiders duking it out on her turf. Hopefully wherever she ended up running off to, there was some privacy for her fight...."
Tailing off towards the end, Kiba glances back over the water. Looking away from the dog opposite him, Kogamaru gives a sigh at the obvious shared worries between the two of them. "They'll be fine Kiba. These attacks have made travel a nightmare for everyone. They're probably just stuck in muggle traffic or something."
"Jin's a tough old lizard," responds Kiba, doing little to alleviate either of their worries. "She's big enough and smart enough to handle her problems. But Ai being late as well.... I just have a bad feeling about this." Draining the last of his coffee, he then levels the okami with a worried gaze. "Ai is never late to things without good reason. When she says she'll be to a meeting, especially one to go over the prep-work for something as vital as tomorrow, you can bet that she'll be there by hell or high water. At the very least, she would have given a heads up about being turned around or emergency deployed to something else. It's been hours. Even if something had come up during their long range patrol today, they should have landed by now....."
Uncertain what to say, Kogamaru looks away. The ripples in the water capturing his attention, after a minute of only the okuri-inu's silence and the lapping waves to capture his attention, the wolf decides to make an attempt to change the subject. Unsaid is the worry that Kiba's bad feelings and ill hunches are often startlingly correct.
"You ever going to get that boat out of there?"
"Hmm?" Looking up in confusion, the dog yokai then follows Kogamaru's pointed thumb to the charred skeleton that was once a boat and it's private jetty. Eyeing it up the wreckage that was once upon a time called "Dances with Waves", Kiba then sighs."Look, I don't know. Originally I couldn't be fucked to, since nobody wanted to come back after Blood Week, but if I'm gonna be here more often...."
"You're gonna be here more often?" The okami looks to his friend in confusion. "Are you planning to liaise with the clans or something from down here until something's sorted out for Kyoto or Tokyo?"
The okuri-inu grimaces. "Maybe. That depends on what happens. If tomorrow's even still on after what a clusterfuck today has been for everyone wherever all those spiders turned up." Inspecting the bottom of his empty cup, Kiba then deflates quietly. "I remember when we first started meeting here instead of The Tanuki's Balls. So many good memories from the old days. And then after Blood Week, it was like there was something hanging over the place, something that wasn't just thanks to the risk of Abyssals due to being right on the seaside. Nobody ever seemed to feel like it was right to come back here, especially after we started setting up more seriously in Tokyo. Why travel all the way out here, when there are nearer venues in the city?"
Kogamaru runs a thumb along the lip of his cup, quietly remembering both the good and the bad times, flanking either side of that terrible August in 2005. "You should have said something. If you felt like we should have come back here again, I mean."
The okuri-inu shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe I didn't feel like it would be right to bring back the J.N.H.R.O. here either. It was never the time or moment when it would have felt right to suggest it. But then, that "right time" just never appeared, and a few years back, I actually started to get sick of this place. I kinda wanted to get rid of it really, but there were too many good memories locked up in here to let it go. So I just let it sit here for years, and every time I drove down to check on it, it felt like it was getting sadder and sadder, and left something festering in my gut each time."
"What made you want to come back then?" frowns Kogamaru in confusion. "If you felt the place didn't fit the J.N.H.R.O. anymore and you hated it so much, why did you just say you were thinking of staying here and fixing it up? Why even have this meeting here? We could have all simply taken the train down to Yokosuka tomorrow instead."
For a moment Kiba looks thoughtful, quietly taking a moment to arrange his thoughts and feelings before putting them into words. "I don't think I hated the place. I just felt.... disappointed and sad for it. We had so many great times and moments in this house that shaped who we, and the J.N.H.R.O., are today. And then yeah, something terrible happened, but then we kinda just.... disrespected it all. We never picked up and came back like we should have. I got tired of being the owner of a glorified mausoleum to everyone that died, when some of my fondest memories here are supposed to be of getting shitfaced and dancing on the lounge table till it broke with those same people, or enticing somebody into illegally using magic to fix everything because somebody crashed the boat into the jetty."
For a long moment, Kogamaru doesn't reply, instead letting the dog yokai figure out his thoughts. "I've been thinking making that house like that again."
"Like what now?"
Kiba shrugs, unconcerned at the wolf's confusion as he segues down a new tangent. "Tuition in Tokyo is expensive out the wazoo. And while my apartment suits me fine, that's because I'm barely ever there. It's a place to sleep, and that's about it. Ai's apartment is even worse than mine. Leaving aside that she's never home, it's not only even smaller than mine, she's a downright magpie and pack-rat. " Quietly, his gaze then turns back towards the house, Kogamaru's following his to settle on the sleeping daitengu, happily bundled up in a nest of blankets on the couch, and actually seeming to sleep better for the presence of the yokai around her, in spite of the noise and bustle.
"This is a nice neighborhood. There's a decent amount of space and privacy separating all the houses around here. And even if the beach is still full of shit, I have yards here. Commuting and travel is not an issue, since the fireplace is connected to the Floo network. This is the kind of place where a kid can actually have some room to not just grow, but safely and securely be themselves. Without a disguise." Raising a hand, Kiba then gestures vaguely off to the east, in the direction of the other side of the Muria Peninsula. "And even better, there's supposed to be this really awesome school just a short train ride away in Yokosuka. She's a smart kid, Asuka. But I think, more than schooling, what she needs is people she can trust and be actual friends with, not just people she wants to look up to or emulate. And I think being around kids her own mental age could go a long way toward helping that."
Guiltily, the okuri-inu looks down. "I can't just keep dragging her around to work and J.N.H.R.O. meetings. That's not fair to her, no matter how much she loves it and gets on with everyone. That sounds terrible, but-"
Cutting Kiba off, Kogamaru rests a hand on his friends shoulder. "But it's doing what's right." Looking upward at the night sky for a moment, the wolf then sighs with heavy melancholy. "I don't begrudge my father for taking me away from Yamainutaira for much of my childhood. While I was lucky enough that being with him was where I wanted to be, I realize now that he was also giving me the best possible chance to lead the Hokubu Okami into the future, in a way he never would have been able to. Being Koshaku was something I would never have been able to escape." Turning his gaze back to the house, Kogamaru then points not just beyond it, but to the lights of Zuchi, stretching away up into the moonlit hills of Kanto, back lit further by the faint haze of light pollution from the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area on the other side of the peninsula.
"Asuka though, does not have that hanging over her. She is not beholden to a legacy like me and Ai. She is free to choose her own path to walk in life, like you did. The future is full of infinite possibilities for her, and the present is rapidly becoming far different from the pasts we knew." Confidently, the okami nods. "I believe in your decision Kiba. Muggle educations never did any of us wrong. And if things keep going the way they are, in a few more years, it may very likely put her at an advantage to many of her magical peers, human or yokai. She'll be fine." His smile turning humorous, Kogamaru then gestures at the house and it's encompassing beachfront. "Especially with a place like this to grow up in, and a revolving door of role model coming and gowing. Honestly, it almost makes me feel a little jealous."
Chuckling at the words of the traditionally garbed wolf, Kiba finally gives a weary smile. "Thanks Kogamaru."
Looking out over the waves once more, now there is more of a lightness and unburdening of weight about his expression, even if he still looks worried. "Sorry about that man. I didn't mean to unload on you like that. But thanks for listening, really."
"Don't worry about it." The wolf just shakes his head with a small grin. "Decisions like these weigh heavily, especially when they are difficult ones, with the best intentions at heart for those closest to us."
Kiba chuckles quietly and looks back at the okami. "Man, I remember when it was us older gang who were supposed to give these deep, advisory talks to our young kohai. How did you get so wise?"
Kogamaru just smiles knowingly at the okuri-inu. "Through the same reasons I know Asuka is in good hands. Father wasn't the only one who helped make me who I am today."
"Heh. Thanks Kogamaru." Looking back up to the house, the dog yokai's smile softens. "If Asuka were to turn out like you, I think I'd be proud beyond belief. I know Tsumemaru was."
The young wolf laughs. "Yeah, well, father wasn't afraid to show it either. I was 55, and he was still carrying around all those baby pictures in his wallet, alongside my graduation one." Both the canid yokai laugh at the memories of more than a few such occasions of the pictures in question being brought out on display.
Seeing the dog yokai at last looking more at ease, Kogamaru dusts off his robes and begins to stand. "Come on Kiba. Let's call it a night. Even if the meeting is off tomorrow, maybe you should show Asuka around town instead, if you're going to be staying here more often? Going over the hill and showing her the base could also be neat for her too."
Giving a weary sigh and glancing out to sea one last time, finally the okuri-inu concedes to the suggestion. "Alright then. Let's call it a night. It's a long way from Iruma, so maybe Ai did just get stuck somewhere or is waiting until tomorrow to come down. Jin's probably in a worse position. She'd be trying to bike down, and be stuck in that jam on the Wagan."
"Yeah," nods Kogamaru as he helps his weary friend to his feet. "We'll seem them tomorrow. You can hit the hay, and I'll stay up a little longer in case anything new crops up."
Kiba just grumbles quietly at the thought. "Hn, knowing our luck, there's going to be some aftershock of all these attacks on the aurors and magical communities we're gonna have to handle tomorrow still." Giving a jaw cracking yawn as he follows the wolf back up the beach and towards the house, the dog yokai takes one last look back out across the water. "Urgh, you're right though. Better to just turn in. I'm so.... freaking..... tired....."
Missing how the okuri-inu tails off, Kogamaru gives a yawn of his own. "Yeah. Say, do you still keep the spare sheets in the same closet?"
Recieving no reply and finally noticing that he can't hear the footsteps of the dog behind him, the wolf pauses and turns around in confusion. "....Kiba?" Spotting the okuri-inu looking out to sea once more, this time something make's the okami's hackles raise. "Kiba? What are you starring at-"
Then he spots it. Out on the water, a shape moving beneath the sea. Like the cresting bow wave of submarine that has yet to break the surface, the unknown mass rises up as it enters the shallows, tearing through the masking water on an undulating head-on course for the shore. Rather than slowing down however, the rising swell that is far to long and thin to be any natural breaker, continues it's high speed charge towards the beach, and almost seems to drunkenly yaw back and forth now that it is out of the deep.
Long familiar with the sight, Kogamaru feels a chill come over him at the automatic knowledge that this is different. "Kiba..... Something's wrong...."
"I know."
Slowly but surely, the unstable zig-zagging path of the heaving wave's course drifts away from the clear section of beach. Then with the thunderous crash of splintering wood, the form within barely manages to avoid the ruined yacht, and plows through the stunted, blackened, remains of the old jetty, before finally surging ashore in a rolling swell of water that momentarily drives the tide almost up to the two yokai's feet.
"JIN!" Even as the waters recede, Kogamaru is already charging down through the retreating surf to the form that has been washed up.
Quick on the okami's heels, Kiba can already hear the commotion for inside as those still up are alerted by the commotion, that has even managed to wake many of those already asleep. Stumbling through the withdrawing brine, and the collapsing spill of black sludge and white scales that is being diffused by it all and running back off into the sea as well, the okuri-inu finally catches up to Kogamaru, who has already located the source of the tepid mire that washed ashore with the wave.
"Kiba, give me a hand!" Reaching out join Kogamaru in helping the jacket clad form in the darkness and surf, for a moment, the okuri-inu sees a flash of worry in the eyes belonging to the once more semi-human mizuchi as she does her best to stagger out of the water and filth.
"Wait! Koga! Don't grab that- ARGGGHHH! MOTHERFFFFFFUCKERRRRRR!!!"
Reflexively letting go of the hand he grabbed to help Jin to her feet, it is almost farcical how the green haired woman then ends up slipping and disappearing back into the surf and sludge. Resurfacing and spluttering angrily, the two canids are now much more careful as they help the dragon to her feet. Once out of the water and with the two supporting her as she staggers her up the beach to collapse in the sand above the tide, it hits the two how much the mizuchi is bent over and cradling her right hand.
"Jin, what the hell happened!?"
"I think I broke my wrist." Sitting down roughly, the ex-water kami then hisses with pain, biting out an amendment to her assessment through gritted teeth. "Gah! And I guess a couple of ribs as well..."
The sudden presence of a light shining down on the three of them doesn't just alert Kiba to the arrival of those who were inside the house. It also highlights the fact that one of Jin's horns is cracked, and her right eye is completely bloodshot, with most of the accompanying side of her face being so swollen, bruised and covered with splits, it's difficult to see the eye at all. Judging by the trail of blotchy bruises and small cuts that continue down her neck and then under her jacket, it's easy to assume that the damage goes down to her chest, and that the broken ribs aren't an exaggeration either. And then as if to add to her woes, what parts of her aren't bruised in some way, now look almost sunburned instead.
Looking up at the newcomers, Kogamaru spies more than a few of them with their phones still in their hands after running outside. "Somebody call a doctor!"
Kiba busies himself with delicately helping the dragon out of her now waterlogged leather jacket and going over her for further injuries.
"Jin, what the hell happened to you?!? Somebody said you went off to hunt down a spider yokai who attacked somebody a few hours ago? Nothing that attacked anybody else should have been able to take on a dragon?"
The mizuchi hisses, this time both in pain and self-recrimination. "There were more attacks?"
"Yeah."
"Then that just makes me running off and leaving everyone behind even stupider- OW! JESUS CHRIST!" Yelping as Kogamaru and some of the others unsuccessfully attempt to remove her injured wrist from her jacket, in the end, the dragon settles for simply tearing the sleeve open along a seam. "Look me. The good old Aoijinkawa is up to it's old tricks. New name, same shit. Getting pissed off, getting half cocked, and getting her face kicked in. Thank fuck Ai was already there when I turned up, otherwise then I'd really be in the-"
Something chills Kiba's blood, while a ripple of silence spills through the crowd.
"Wait, what do you mean Ai was already there? Jin, what the hell happened?! I thought you went off to fight one of those little spider or gas yokai that have been stirring up shit all day?!?"
The water dragon growls at the thought, only to be cut off by a strained hiss and a curse as Kogamaru begins checking her ribs for breaks. "What I was chasing wasn't just one little spider. This was some mass murdering psycho-bitch with-ARRGH! MARY AND JOSEPH, THAT SUCKS!!!"
"Sorry."
The ex-kami grimaces, though not entirely because of the pain either. "Actually, maybe it was lucky I did turn up. Originally I was just gonna hide and set an ambush, but then- you're not gonna believe this- that spider bitch was actually laying a trap the entire time. - OW!"
"That's your fourth break."
"-urgh, god that was a clusterfuck."
"I can imagine if she did this to you." Observes Kiba.
"No, she didn't," agrees the ex-water dragon. "I never even managed to get my teeth near that spider bitch. That trap wasn't for me. And I wasn't the only one to blunder into it either. I saw at least one five-tailed Kitsune working alongside the kanmusu Nagato, her kid Abyssal, and a whole bunch of others, with probably more yokai elsewhere in the fight judging by how they were trying to get up to the village to save- OWWW!!! KOGA, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!"
Too stunned by the information the water dragon has casually dropped into the conversation, the wolf doesn't even bother apologizing. "There were yokai openly working alongside JMSDF shipgirls???"
"And the JASDF," adds the ex-kami awkwardly. "That's how Ai got involved. They must have been flying by, when the air support request went out."
"One spider yokai needed a anti-ship operations specialized strike package to take out?" Ask Kiba incredulously.
"Actually, I don't know if Ai even knows about the spider. She was fighting the same thing I was, trying to buy time for the Kitsune and the battleship to finish it off."
Kiba and Kogamaru look at each other in shock, before then turning back to the wounded dragon.
"Jin..." The okuri-inu gives her a horrified look. "Were you fighting, fully transformed, in front of not just a shipgirl, but Ai's muggle pilots, flying planes with some of the newest and most advanced imaging and sensory data recording systems in the JASDF to date, specifically installed to make capturing in high quality kills and the effects of muggle weapons against Abyssals, to make post-battle intelligence and assessment more accurate and definitively confirmed???"
Holding up her good hand with her finger raised to make a counterpoint, the dragon pauses. Hesitating for a second, she frowns. Slowly, she then lowers her hand, now looking even more guilty than before.
Kogamaru however, remains focused on the other major aspect of that sentence. "Hold on a moment- Jin, you still haven't told us what you were even fighting in the first place. The hell did this spider yokai have working for her, that could tank the combined efforts of a decently-aged Kitsune, a kanmusu battleship, an Abyssal Princess, an entire flight of strike fighters with missiles big enough to destroy capital ships, and a rage empowered water dragon."
Finally cornered, the mizuchi shifts awkwardly, or at least as best she can while looking like a half-drowned victim of a brawl.
"It was a Gashadokuro. I don't know how, but the crazy bitch had a Gashadokuro and set it on the kitsune and the battleship. Ai turned up before I could figure out how to jump in and not get caught in the- OWWWWW!!! WHAT ARE YOU-?!?!?"
Screaming in pain as Kogamaru and Kiba alternately accidentally let go of her broken wrist or stop supporting her as they leap to their feet in shock, the dragon descends into a wave of observations about their mothers, even as they and a number others in the crowd barely avoid panicking.
"Holy shit, what the fuck do we do for a Gashadokuro?!?"
"Hide, ward said hiding spot, and pray it goes away before you run out of supplies?"
"There's hasn't been one in hundreds of years!"
"Shit! The attacks were hours ago! They must have been diversions."
"Do you think you could ward one into an area, rather than out of your home?"
"Even if I was that good, I don't think that's how it works with Gashadokuro."
"Fuck, do you remember how fast are those things are supposed to move?"
"No clue." Thoughts racing in his mind, Kiba then helps the still swearing dragon to her feet. "Shit, where did you guys fight it Jin? Do you have any idea where it was last headed when you escaped."
Growling in annoyance, the mizuchi does her best to give the wolf the finger with her good hand. "I didn't escape asshole. And the only place that thing is headed, is back to Yomi."
Kogamaru blinks owlishly at the dragon's words. "It's headed where now?"
"To Yomi! You know. The world of the dead?"
Now it's Kiba's turn to look at her confusion, causing the mizuchi to growl in frustration.
"It's shuffled off this mortal coil once more. We gave it a final send off. It's back in the farm after buying it. We sent it to the Dark Dimension. It's back to room temperature. We put both it's feet back in the grave. It's riding the pale horse now. We Candyman'd the fucker. Wiped out. Tango Uniformed. Gone for a Burton. Returned to sender. Back to being worm food. The asshole is dead!"
Uncertainly, the dog and wolf share a glance, before Kogamru tentatively broaches the subject. "Jin.... are you concussed?"
"What?!" Frowning furiously, she looks between the two. "No. I mean, I took a good few punches to the head from it, but I'm fine. Why would you ask if I'm concussed?"
Kiba shakes his head. "Jin, you must be confused. Nobody just up and kills a Gashadokuro, no matter how much firepower they have."
"Maybe it wasn't actually a Gashadokuro?" Offers Kogamaru hopefully.
Staring between the two for a moment, Jin then comes to a decision, and uses her good arm to punch Kogamaru in the shoulder first, though this gives Kiba the time to dodge the annoyed swipe at him in turn.
"You little shits. I'm telling you. That was a fucking Gashadokuro, and I'll eat my god damn bike if I'm wrong. Not that there'll be much left to check. I don't know what that kitsune and battleship did to kill it, but if they'd purified it any harder, they'd have cooked me as well." Sighing and running her good hand through her green locks, the mizuchi then frowns, as if the words she said are only just hitting her. Looking at her almost sunburned fingers, the dragon blinks owlishly as the gravity of the days events finally catches up with her.
"Holy shit. I just fought a Gashadokuro today." Blinking, she then looks up at the group around her. "Holy shit, I helped kill a Gashadokuro."
Kogamaru looks at her uncertainly. "Jin?" As if his hesitant query is the key that finally unlocks the damn, the dragon abruptly begins crying with laughter.
"AHAHAHAHA! I HELPED KILL A GASHADOKURO! WHAT THE SHIT! I HELPED KILL A FUCKING GASHADOKURO AND EVERYONE CAME OUT OF IT ALIVE! HOLY FUCK! IF I WAS STILL A STREAM-" Leaning back as best she can, the ex-kami then howls her triumph to the sky. "-THEN PEOPLE'D CALL ME A REAL FUCKING GOD!!! WHOOOOOOO!!!!- ACK!!! ARGH, MY RIBS!!!"
Rushing forward with the others to help the dragon as her elated celebrations finally exacerbate her injuries beyond the threshold of the elation and endorphin rush, Kiba and Kogamaru help the dragon back to her feet and begin directing her transport inside the house.
"There! Let's set her up on the couch! And somebody put the feelers out for if there's been anything funny going on with the Self Defense Forces today or if we have any new leads on these attacks!" Even as the group carries out Kiba's instructions, and the mizuchi is awkwardly half supported inside while continuing to crow about her victory, the now awake Asuka is already hovering near the wounded mizuchi, practically vibrating with the obvious questions she wants to ask about the water dragon's titanic battle and doubtlessly heroic struggle.
Finally separating themselves from the pack and tiredly looking upon the proceedings, Kiba then glances at Kogamaru. Already, the wolf's brow is knotted with heavy thoughts and worry. No doubt the foremost is the same one Kiba quietly chooses to voice.
"I think our timetable for the Statute's fall just got smaller."