Morning arrived and the team had already gone on their mission to stop Ryukushu from attaining the three gladiators' weapons.
This particular day was the ideal time period to summon the three gladiators and the demon would stop at nothing to get the three weapons that were hidden somewhere in Rome, even if it meant sacrificing his own men as long as it meant killing those who got in his way.
Kelpy, Tanashi, Kamba, and Beiu were willing to put themselves on the front line for their leader. Ryukushu boldly commended their honor, with such cooperation amongst the Sagichi, their foes stand no chance against them.
The angel sped through the grass in the plains at the outskirts of Trastevere city. Atlas had gone the other way closer to the recreational sites and lake. Now that the team has split up, Mr Oshiro didn't have to bear the weight on his shoulder anymore; For the whole night, Mr Oshiro kept rambling about their movements because everybody seemed laid back at the buffet.
Standing against one of the structures and rocks in the grassy plains was Ryukushu, Kamba, Kelpy, and Beiu who were talking amongst themselves about the location of the weapons and the summoning site. Beiu flew around laughing to himself about Ryukushu's surprises for their enemies who were on their way.
When Douma saw the faint figures of Ryukushu and one of his subordinates, the angel instantly hid behind one of the large rocks and listened to their conversation.
"Sometimes you must learn to contain your grief and anguish. They can give out important details to your biggest enemies." Ryukushu paced around, ridding away the concerns the other three had about the whereabouts of Atlas and Douma. In addition to that, Kamba was busy whining about the lack of support from his comrades which Kelpy found ungrateful.
"Especially when they're right around the corner, listening as you speak."
Douma leaped away from his spot as Ryukushu fired a beam at the sitting boulder a few meters away from their gathering.
He sensed my presence even though none of them saw me here. Perhaps he was quick enough to at a glance. This is going to be a problem for the others if they stumble upon him, his hearing is sharp too. Standing upright, Douma narrowed his eyes at Ryukushu and his group who were snickering and mocking him from their laughter and hand gestures. The purple blob and the shortest of the group being the most insinuating among all of them.
"We meet again. Only this time, one of us will perish. I promised you and your friends that. But I won't ask if you remember, because it won't matter to your soon-to-be corpse." Ryukushu casted a dark energy around him, forming static on his sword and wrists.
Kelpy and Kamba immediately ran down the hill. Beiu on the other hand hovered to Ryukushu's side, anticipating the fight.
Douma stood his ground and took out both of his golden fans. When Kelpy drew his sword he lunged at the angel who slashed him away. Both their weapons clashed with each other. Kelpy was quick at blocking the attack. He managed to leave Douma anxious, the blonde was fumbling with his movements after that strike of his sword.
Besides Kelpy pouncing on their opponent, Kamba sprang up from the other side preparing to claw Douma to shreds. Steadily, the angel moved back to where Kamba was landing and knocked him away with the back of his fan.
"Freezing Clouds!" Douma summoned a storm of frost in their direction, including where Ryukushu stood.
But to his horror, Kamba rose up from the ground and pushed the accumulation of cold wind and frost with his bare hands.
Although it was a struggle for Kamba given the cold, he endured it. Soon after, an explosion occurred, the clouds of frost subsiding along with the emergence of smoke.
Douma sprinted out of the cloud of smoke, getting his fans ready in case they decided to repeat their tactics again now that a distraction had been put in place. But Ryukushu and his henchmen were nowhere in sight. They completely vanished without a trace.
Ryukushu was definitely looking for the weapons now but given how quiet their movements were during the explosion in these grassy plains, Douma couldn't let his guard down just yet. He continued running towards the colosseum miles away. Glancing at his surroundings every now and then.
~~~
Both Chachamaru and Kurai ran towards to the field with the troops following closely behind them. Once they got to the field, they stopped in their tracks when one of the men claimed to have heard something from the trees.
"I heard something I swear! It sounded like cackling!"
"Are you sure about that? I heard nothing." The feline replied dryly.
Stepping forward, Kurai put on a serious expression. Despite this act of toughness, Chachamaru could tell he was already exhausted from all the running.
What did they expect? Mr Oshiro told them to run all the way here because the enemy would most likely roam around such areas. But they were literally going to a place that they had little to no idea about. If Chachamaru were to ask everybody present here if they knew this field existed, a majority of them would scratch their heads. Tough man Kurai too.
"It's probably just an animal or a bug." Kurai spoke, pushing everybody aside so he could investigate the sound.
"A cackling animal or bug you say... So we're dealing with Hyenas now?" Chachamaru questioned Kurai who spun around with the expression of a scaredy cat.
"I don't know OK?! I'm just as freaked out as he is!" Kurai shrieked. "Why don't we hear it anymore? I think we're being watched! Whatever you guys do don't go near those trees!"
Suddenly they heard shuffling coming from the trees. The whole group spun around, waiting for whoever was hiding to show themself.
Contrary to the guidelines set out by Mr Oshiro and Kurai, Yushiro who was being chased by Shinobu had decided to embark on his own mission. The violette disapproving his decision since Mr Oshiro had told them to avoid carrying out such tasks by themselves. They weren't even instructed to partake in this mission.
Yushiro's engrossment with the weapon they were given had piqued his interest in the wielding of a weapon.
And since there were bad guys on the loose, it gave him a reason to utilize these tools but in the most careless way possible.
"If you don't wanna come along you can always stay at the hotel. I can handle this by myself." The green-haired teen told Shinobu who was stumped by his words.
"Did you forget what Mr Oshiro told us? We're not supposed to wander about by ourselves. You're making matters worse by walking into potential enemy territory. Do you even know where we're going?" Shinobu fought back.
Lifting his eyebrow, Yushiro stopped in his tracks and scanned their surroundings. Both of them appeared to be walking in the middle of the woods. They were passing by several houses and stores just a second ago.
Yushiro sighed and looked away from Shinobu. Disgruntled by how the violette was pointing out the obvious. "I'm not sitting around. We came here for a reason."
"But we can help the others in a different way Yushiro. Putting ourselves in danger is only going to make the situation worse than it already is." The violette responded.
"I know what I'm doing."
Shinobu watched Yushiro taking a few steps towards the steep slope on the left. He stopped and looked at the bottom which had a walkway leading to a refurbishment center.
Just as Shinobu walked over to him she slipped and fell down the slope. Yushiro called out to her but the violette had already reached the bottom.
"Oh no Shinobu!" Yushiro yelled.
Dusting off the dead leaves from her shirt, Shinobu looked up and saw how far she was from Yushiro now, but at least this wasn't another part of the woods. She was back at an urban area.
Suddenly a chef holding a pan on one hand and a knife on the other approached her with a creepy smile that made her wish she hadn't slipped on the slope. He was walking really slowly.
The violette wanted to believe that maybe he was being friendly but the way he looked at her while holding a knife out in the open said otherwise.
"Hello dear." The chef's arms grew longer, flailing around like the tentacles of an octopus. Gasping in shock, Shinobu stepped back from the chef and kept her eyes on the knife moving about in the air, as well as the pan that moved closer to her whenever she looked away from it for a moment.
Shinobu couldn't form her words. This wasn't normal, whoever this chef was he couldn't be an actual person. Which meant both she and Yushiro had just stepped into the pit of death.
Yushiro laid on the forest floor watching the scene helplessly. He really wanted to go down there and help Shinobu escape but he was too afraid to do so. Moreover, he didn't have the guts to slide all the way down there from this steep slope.
"Pretty gorgeous lady of Douma, might I say." Smirking, the chef quickened his pace. His smile grew wider when he saw the horrified confused look on Shinobu's face.
Now that's something I wanna see. Delicious. The chef flitted his eyes, awaiting Shinobu's response to the big reveal.
There was something about this man's voice that sounded oddly familiar. He definitely wasn't faking his voice like he did seconds ago. Shinobu stared at the man in front of her, only one person came to mind and that was Tanashi. The masked man who apparently betrayed Atlas and carried out Cryptic Sanctuary's biddings. Atashi tried to kill Douma because of him. If he opposed, Tanashi would go after his loved ones despite Atashi's possession of a very prized and sought after artifact. Until now, Tanashi was always described as a horrid human being who lacked the emotional capacity to even think ahead of the harm caused by his own actions just for his own gain. Whatever he wanted be it now or as a whole, it couldn't be good.
This man was greedy and he'd stop at nothing until he gains that satisfaction. Jumping from one place to another, jumping from one person to another. His greed never stopped.
Grinning, Tanashi swung the knife in Shinobu's direction, startling her with its fast movements in the air. The pan moved towards her like a python. She rolled away from it, narrowly missing the knife that scraped against the floor of the walkway leaving a mark.
"The show's only started." Tanashi began twisting in all directions causing Shinobu to let out a scream.
He morphed into a large menacing monster with two pairs of bug eyes and a mouth that looked like a catfish's. Shinobu scurried back trying to stay as far away as possible.
There were so many questions in Shinobu's mind that disrupted her focus which was to get away from Tanashi who was said to be locked up. How did he get out and when did he have these shapeshifting abilities. Wasn't he an ordinary human there's no way he just magically got these powers.
That's when the realization occurred to her as the large bronze-colored beast smashed the ground to oblivion with his bare fists.
Ryukushu had set him free and gave him these powers after a mutual agreement. They both shared the same enemy. Of course Tanashi would accept the offer even if it means becoming a part of Ryukushu's group which wasn't a problem. After all, he had new powers and could easily get away with anything he did.
Shinobu found herself being thrown to the ground after avoiding Tanashi's arm that almost struck her. The large beast strode towards her clenching his fists and enjoying this power surging through him.
"I won't be treated as a joke anymore." The large beast leaped up casting a large shadow over the area where Shinobu was getting up from.
Before she could even blink, Shinobu dashed away from the large beast and tumbled on the ground. She lifted herself up despite the overwhelming pressure she felt from having to constantly push the entire fiber of her being away from this monster in such a limited space.
"You'll still be a joke no matter what you are." Shinobu retorted which made Tanashi furious. Who was she to judge him like that? He had powers and she didn't.
At least that's what he thought because little did he know that a meticulous power was concealed within the violette, waiting to be utilized to its fullest potential when the time was right.
"Oh you'll pay for that. I'll make sure." Tanashi responded in a typically monstrous voice.
Shinobu braced herself as she took out her blade. She had no to other choice but to defend herself from this monster, as if she were a swordsman fighting for stability even though she didn't initiate this battle. Tanashi would only catch up with her since he was capable of leaping over greater heights effortlessly.