F.E V (Elsewhere P.2)

Rakuyō: F.E 5 𓇢

Arizona V

Elsewhere P.2

October 14th, 1889, 4:55 AM

Arizona Wilderness

Smokey jumps out of the shadows with Soluna's unconscious body near an entrance to the woods. He huffs, dropping to the ground. "I have to hide here… I have to save energy…"

Red mist appears in front of Smokey as Nya forms out of it. She looks down at the two. "So this was your escape plan? Bringing her to the wilderness?"

"How exactly do you expect to keep her safe from wild animals?" Nya asks. Smokey tilts his head upward. "I'll figure something out! Can you stop being so negative all the time!"

"If you're going to follow us, at least be helpful! Because right now you're just being a burden!"

Nya crosses her arms. "Tuh! Burden?!" she shouts. "Listen, kid, if I wanted to I could reap your soul right now! You should be grateful I'm even allowing you to participate in this and protect your little friend there!"

Smokey grabs onto Soluna, dragging her into the woods. "I don't care! I'm not thanking you for anything, you think you did me a favor?"

"I'm fighting for both me and Soley's life while you just stand there and follow us around like a puppy!"

Nya's eye twitches. "Why, you little…" she mutters under her breath. "You believe I owe you any support? YOU are the one who's the anomaly here! Half dead, half living! You're making my job harder!"

"So who's really the burden here?!"

Smokey grunts, pulling Soluna deeper into the shadows of the trees. "YOU!" he shouts. "Because you won't stop talking! If I'm such a burden, leave us alone!"

"Hmph!" Nya hums. "I do what I please! If I want to follow you, I'll follow you!" She steps forward, following Smokey into the woods. "No undead little shit will tell me what to do…"

A few minutes pass. Smokey and Nya stay silent, the sound of Soluna's body dragging filling the silence.

I wish she would at least offer to carry her body! She's such a bitch! Smokey thinks to himself.

The sound of a bush rustling cuts through the silence. Both Nya and Smokey turn their heads to the sound, green particles surrounding both of them like fireflies.

Nya raises an eyebrow. "Well, well, seems like there was already a contestant here, huh?" She snickers. "Oh no, what will you do, ghost boy."

Smokey's body tenses, and he prepares to dive back into the shadows. "No… no…" he says to himself.

At that moment, a brown rabbit hops out of the bush, leaping past Nya and Smokey. Nya turns her head to it. "Oh… I guess it wasn't, I must be dreaming then…"

She turns her back to the ground, leaning forward. "Because I definitely didn't SENSE someone behind there!" she shouts. "You know, just hallucinating, nothing more."

"Quite the smart-ass, aren't you," a woman's voice says from the bush. She steps out, wearing an ivory-green chest wrap, her skin the color of warm sand, wearing a lime-green bob, her eyes a deep orange. At the bottom she wears ivory-green tight shorts, green tribal markings etched across her skin.

"So which one of you is the Host?" the woman asks. Nya scoffs. "Well, you must think very highly of yourself if you think you can just walk up to me and ask questions."

The woman chuckles. "Same goes for you too, who are you, for me to need to introduce myself? I'm here for one thing and one thing only."

"Oh?" Nya says. "You know, I've argued with enough mortals for one day, so I'll just let you have this one." She shrugs. "As for your Host, figure it out, I don't help people with no manners."

"Mortal? Me?" the woman repeats. "No, no, I'm not one of them, you see, I'm a Spirit." Nya narrows her eyes. "A Spirit? Wait a minute, you aren't a Gen-sei, are you?"

"Oh… good guess! What gave it away? Hey, you're not a human, are you?" the Gen-sei says, pointing at Nya.

"What kind of question is that? No, I'm not human." She points to her horns. "It should be obvious."

"Oh, right, my mistake, so, mind telling me, is it you that's the Host?" the Gen-sei says, turning her gaze down to Smokey holding Soluna. "Or is it the shadow creature?"

Smokey shakes as her eyes stare down at him. "Stay back… stay away from us…" he mutters.

"So it is you," the Gen-sei says. "I would feel terrible hurting a child, monster or not. So how about this, hand over the power and we can both walk away unharmed."

She bends her knees, leaning forward. "Is that okay with you, little one?"

"Oi! Before you focus on the kid, answer my question." Nya interrupts the Gen-sei. The Gen-sei stands back straight, shifting her gaze to Nya. "What is it?"

"Since when were Spirits able to be in this game? I thought it was a thing only for mortals," Nya says.

"I don't know, and that's not really my concern, the only information I have about this game is that it happens every 1,000 years."

"I've been hearing it in my head since this night began, just leading me and telling me to find the Host." She rubs the sides of her temples. "It's actually quite annoying. It's always talking about reaching my desires."

Nya hums to herself. "So that's how you all keep finding each other, a voice leads each contestant to this so-called Host."

"Interesting, this makes me want to stay and watch this even more," Nya says.

"It's Anito… but let's skip the introductions here." She turns back to Smokey, her eyes widening. "He's gone?!" she shouts, seeing empty space.

Nya giggles. "Oops, should have kept your eyes on the prize, huh?" Anito grits her teeth. "You! You're working with the Host? I should have known!"

Nya rolls her eyes. "I work with no one other than myself and Amore, that's your own fault for not seizing the opportunity."

The green particles start to swirl around Nya and Anito, both of their hair beginning to flutter from the wind and the pressure it creates.

"Are you sure attacking me is wise? I feel like you're underestimating me right now," Nya says with a grin, her eyes and hair flickering crimson.

"Underestimating?" Anito says back. "No, far from that, something about you screams danger, I didn't plan on fighting you, but seeing how you work with the Host, I have no option."

Nya raises her arms slowly, flicking her wrist out, aiming it at Anito. "Right, right, there's no rule against me killing Spirits, just remember, you raised the blade against me first."

The particles close around the two. "Wander Into Elsewhere!"

"Ling Dei!" Anito bellows as Nya's palms glow scarlet. "Impulso Di Mort-"

"Huh!?" Nya grunts as the glow instantly fades, the particles crashing into her. "ERK!" she shrieks as they cover her entire body, weighing her down. She falls to the ground as the surrounding trees and grass begin to whistle.

Anito smirks. "My, my, you were so confident too." She walks up to Nya as the particles engulf her.

"Bāaibaai!" she says, waving down at Nya as her body disappears into the green light.

Anito chuckles. "Now the Host is fully mine to take!" She floats into the air, leaving a green particle trail, and closes her eyes, trying to sense where Smokey is.

(East.) The voice returns, saying in her head.

Anito's eyes burst open. "Hehe!" She launches east through the trees. "Hiding in the woods won't help you, creature!"

—

Deeper in the woods, Smokey resurfaces from the shadows, falling next to Soluna, the sound of gasping muffled by his mask.

"I can't go any more… hopefully the Red Lady took care of that woman." He claws at the dirt, trying to float back into the air.

Green particles fall down near him. He turns his head upward, looking as they drop. "NO!" he shouts, seeing Anito float above him.

"Shhh, no need to scream, Host, you remember our deal?" Anito says softly, floating down towards him.

Smokey flies back to Soluna, holding onto her. "Leave us alone! Where's the Red Girl?!"

Anito touches the ground with a grin. "Oh, her? She's in a better place right now, having the time of her life, probably."

She walks towards Smokey. "Now come on, let's get this over with," she says, reaching out her palm.

Smokey huffs, looking down at Soluna's body. This might be the only option, but I have to try.

"Look! I am the Host! But listen, if you want the power, forget our deal! I'll only give it to you if you're able to heal this girl here!"

Anito hums, looking down at Soluna. "She looks like another contestant, judging by her outfit, did you take her out?"

Smokey nods. "Yes! She tried to kill me, but I felt bad taking her down! So I'm asking you to heal her."

"Seeing both of us, she'll be wise not to fight us together! I just want to give her a chance to live!"

"How selfless, I respect it," Anito says. "Fine, I can help with that." She steps next to Soluna's body, crouching down. She puts her palm near the wound on her chest.

"I like you, so I'll show you this technique just in case you need it one day, it's Soul Reconstruction. You pull the energy from your essence, turning it into energy for your body to heal faster."

Her palm glows green as it shines over Soluna's wound. Skin cells grow from the hole, stretching and connecting, green light radiating through her body.

"And ta-da! There it is, she's good as new!" Anito says with a smile. "Now, for our deal, hand over the power." Smokey nods, floating closer to Anito.

Soluna grunts softly. "Uh…" She lets out a soft groan, opening her eyes. "W-where am I…" she whispers to herself, looking around at the trees. She slowly sits up, rubbing her eyes.

Once her vision adjusts to the dark, she notices Anito grabbing Smokey. "Erg!" Smokey grunts. "Sorry, I know it's going to hurt, just know it's coming from a good place!"

Soluna's eyes widen. "SMOKEY!" she shouts. Anito turns her head to her. "Smokey?" she repeats. "Who the hell-" before she could finish her sentence, a branch fires at her.

"Tch!" Anito sucks her teeth, jumping out of the way with Smokey. She lets go of him. "You said she wouldn't attack!"

Smokey flies around Anito, diving into the shadows. "What?" Anito says to herself, turning to Soluna as Smokey rises, floating next to her.

Branches and vines flutter wildly from underneath Soluna as her pink eyes glow. Anito shakes. "You… you lied to me! She wasn't your enemy, she's your ALLY!?"

Smokey thrusts his arms out, charging a dark pulse. "Yeah, and guess what! She's the Host, not me! Thanks for the free heal!"

Anito's eyes burst wide. "YOU!" she screams before Smokey fires his pulse. The beam of darkness engulfs Anito as she covers herself. "ERRRG!" she hisses, being blown back, crashing against a tree trunk. "UGH!" she shrieks, spitting up blood.

Soluna leaps forward as her branches and vines follow her, the tip of all of them sharpening, aiming for Anito.

Anito clenches her jaw, violently flicking her arm upward, as particles surround her. "DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU BOTH!"

Soluna and the vines grow closer to her. Anito's pupils dilate. "PERISH IN ELSEWORLD! LING DEI!" she bellows.

The green particles close in on Soluna as she approaches. They stick to her vines and branches, and instantly they fall to the ground. "What the?!" Soluna grunts, landing on the ground.

The particles attach to her, clumping together. "GRAH!" she shouts, falling to the ground. "SOLEY!" Smokey screams, rushing towards her as particles rush towards him, sticking to his shadowy skin. "AH!" he screams.

Anito stands, brushing dust off her body. "Good to know I found the real Host! Now hunting you in Elsewhere will be easier!"

Soluna, under the particles, struggles to move as her vision starts to fade into a green light.

Instantly she opens her eyes, falling from an azure blue. "WHAT THE?!" she panics, shifting her body weight, flipping over. The view of snow-peaked mountains stretches across a lush greenland.

Her hair and skirt flutter upward. She tries to summon vines from her palms, trying to force energy out of her palms, flexing her arms. "My powers! They're gone! Shit!"

"I'm going to die! I'm going to die!" she panics. "Where's SMOKEY!?" she screams. She starts to fall faster. She closes her eyes, bracing herself.

In that moment, the feeling of wind blowing against her disappears. The feeling of soft grass brushes her back. She opens her eyes, finding herself on the ground. "Okay…" she mutters. "What is this?!"

"Oi! Wood Girl!" Nya's voice calls out. Soluna sits up, looking around for where it came from. "Shinigami?!" she exclaims. "Where are you?!"

Nya's footsteps approach Soluna. "Right here…" she says, stepping in front of her. "Now, how did you heal yourself? You were on the brink of death the last time I saw you."

"I– I don't know, I just woke up surrounded by trees… I saw Smokey getting attacked by some woman with green hair, so I tried to kill her, then she sent me here."

Nya sucks her teeth, her eye twitching. "That bitch…" she says lowly. "I swear, when I see that dirty Gen-sei I'll tear her head off!"

"LITERALLY!" she screams.

"Gen-sei? Was that her name?" Soluna asks, standing. She wobbles, stumbling back. "Damn it…" she mutters under her breath.

"Tch… no, I honestly forgot her actual name, Gen-sei is just what she is, a Spirit of the Visible World."

"Wait, a Spirit? So like you?" Soluna says. Nya shakes her head. "Yes and no, we're both Spirits by classification, yes, but we are not the same species. She's from the Visible World and whatever race she is. I'm from the Invisible World, Kakuriyo, and a Shinigami."

"Two very different things."

Soluna tilts her head. "I'm not sure I'm following… can you explain it again?" Nya sighs. "Look!" She raises her arms and straightens her hands, placing her right hand above her left.

"Think of my hands like two different worlds, my right is Kakuriyo, my left is the Visible World, which is your world. That Gen-sei is from your world, not mine!" She puts her hands down. "Get it now?"

Soluna nods. "I think I'm catching on… yeah, so that brings me to my next question." Nya palms her face, dragging her hand down. "Oh, mia madre… more?"

"Yes, actually, I have a lot, but I'll stick to the important ones… so I read a book about a man named Yesha. It was said he had similar powers to me. Do you remember anyone with that name you ever reaped?"

"Yesha?" Nya repeats, putting her hand down. "No, I never heard of a man named Yesha with powers like yours."

"And even if he did exist, I probably wasn't the one who reaped him, you'll have to ask Akuji or Azazel about that." She then huffs. "Probably not even Akuji. I doubt he remembers anything at all, the idiot… Azazel will be your best bet, then. But your chances of meeting him are less than 1%."

"What do you mean?! Wait-" Soluna says, stuttering, before she's cut off. "I mean the only way you can ever see Akuji or Azazel is if you croak. And since technically I'm the one looking after you, your soul comes straight to me if you die. So finding your answer is impossible," Nya says.

"No… I refuse to accept that! I made a promise… I made a promise to Akuji that I'll see him again when I die! So no, I won't accept you being my reaper!" Soluna shouts, gritting her teeth. "And second, fine, even if you don't know about Yesha, it also talks about two twins of the Sun and Moon, they gave Yesha the power, apparently."

Nya scoffs. "So, since you want to be technical, 'first,' you can't choose who collects your soul. If you want it to be Akuji so bad, go find him yourself… oh wait, you CAN'T!"

"And 'second,' I do know a pair of twins that resemble the Sun and Moon, I can't stand them, that's if you're talking about Sachi and Ikigai and not some random myth you read in a book."

Soluna's eyes widen. "Wait, they're real!? The twin goddesses of life!" Nya snorts. "God- goddesses!? Haha!" She laughs out loud.

"Sachi and Ikigai are not goddesses, they're just like me but govern life instead of death. They're daughters of a god, though, one of the Stars."

"Govern life? Stars? What are you talking about right now!?" Soluna says, grabbing her temples. "This is crazy!"

Nya points one finger up. "Listen, consider yourself lucky this isn't common knowledge for mortals. Sachi and Ikigai are what we call Spirits of Life, they're essentially avatars of the ecosystem of the cosmos. Akuji, Azazel, and I are agents of death. We collect souls and make sure the balance is right. We counter each other, life and death. Those are our roles."

She then puts another finger up. "Now, for the Stars, there are exactly 10 of them, they oversee my world, this world, Heaven, and Hell. Boom, simple, right? They are what we call gods."

Soluna's pupils shake as she falls to her knees, the sound of grass crunching filling the air. "I can't take this all in…"

"So…" she whispers, looking up at Nya. "Who created everything!? All these beings, all these worlds, there has to be a God above that, right?!"

Nya shrugs. "I don't know, I never thought of that. I just exist, born and raised in Yomi, that's it."

Soluna's thoughts spiral. This can't be real, it can't be… what am I hearing right now!?

Nya turns her back to Soluna. "Come on, we need to find a way out of here. I doubt that Gen-sei is just going to keep us sitting here."

Soluna stares at the grass, not moving. "Go ahead…" she says weakly. "I need time to process this…"

"Tch, your call, if that weirdo comes and kills you, it's on you!" Nya says, walking off.

—

In a twisted street of Victorian houses, all painted red and black, Smokey flies under a pitch-black sky. "AUGH!" he screams. "This is so creepy! Where am I?!"

He looks around as every house looks the same, some stretching and twisting. He continues to fly through the neighborhood.

He looks down, noticing a shadow walk past one of the lit windows. "EEK! I'M NOT ALONE?!" he screams. "Oh no… what if it's a monster…"

"Do I check? Or do I leave it… ehhh, but it could be someone who can help…" He places his claws on top of his mask. "Ugh, screw it! I have to risk it!"

He flies down towards the house, places his back on the wall around the window, slowly peeking in. He notices a man with white locs wearing a black cloak walking inside.

He looks around at books, tossing them, opening drawers. "Who is that guy? Another contestant? He's dressed weird, so he has to be." Smokey whispers to himself.

Akuji turns to the window. Smokey quickly pulls his head out of the window. "Oh my God! Did he see me? There's no-" before he could finish, a book smashes through the window, glass bursting outward.

"AHHH!" Smokey screams as Akuji leaps out the window. Akuji lands on the pavement, looking up at Smokey. "AH-HA, THERE YOU GO, DAMN GEN-SEI-"

"Eh?" Akuji pauses, humming to himself. "You aren't the Gen-sei girl, what the hell are you supposed to be?"

Smokey points down at him. "I should be asking you that! Why are you just throwing books out of windows?! What is wrong with you?!"

"So are you connected to the Gen-sei? Or… are you just a creature?" Akuji asks. Smokey scoffs. "Hey, don't ignore my question!"

Akuji rubs the back of his head. "What a pain, first person I meet here since being trapped is some shadow blob."

"I really have to reconsider my life choices here," he says to himself. Smokey descends towards him. "Hey! Are you listening to me at all? Who are you!?" he says.

Akuji narrows his eyes, staring at Smokey. "I'm a Shinigami, that's all you're getting from me, creature."

Smokey huffs. "I can already tell you're a difficult one… worse than the Red Girl."

"Red Girl?" Akuji repeats. "Oh hey, you got a girlfriend, little guy? So you're not here alone?"

Smokey shakes his head. "No, never! That's the last girl I'd want as my girlfriend! I want a kind and caring woman in the future! Not some nagging girl that claims to be Death."

Akuji tilts his head. "Wha- claiming to be Death? Red… wait a minute." He pauses for a bit. "AMORA?!" he shouts.

He steps forward to Smokey, grabbing him. "Aye!" Smokey shouts. "Hey, tell me about this girl. Did she have long crimson hair and red eyes, was she also short?"

"Yes, yes! The biracial-looking girl! Let me go now!" Smokey says, pushing himself away from Akuji's grasp.

"You met Danya?! Where is she!?" Akuji asks, stepping forward. "I don't know! You're asking me questions when we're in the same situation!"

"Aghh!" Akuji groans. "Useless! Where's Santana when you need him."

At that moment, the sound of a horse neighing radiates through the area. Akuji and Smokey both turn, facing where the sound came from. "A horse?" Akuji says to himself, running towards it. "Hey, wait!" Smokey panics, chasing after him.

They arrive in the middle of one of the streets, seeing a man in an all-red cowboy suit and red hat with a ruby shining in the center of it, his long ginger hair flowing as his horse jumps around.

"Aye, boy! Calm down now! Calm it down! It's alright!" the man shouts, petting the side of his horse. The horse starts to calm down. "You see, Ferno? It's nothing to get all rowdy about."

"Hey! Who are you supposed to be!?" Akuji shouts, grabbing the man's attention. The man and horse turn to Akuji and Smokey.

"Now what do we have here? A pretty boy and a…"

"Whatever that is."

"Mind explaining who you are? Are you one of those contestants?" Akuji asks. The man chuckles. "I don't believe I owe you anything, pretty boy. Hell, who are you to ask any questions? You look like a contestant your own damn self, that means it's open kill."

Akuji scoffs, turning to Smokey. "Hey, man, tell this guy to eat shit, who does he think he is…"

"Why don't you just tell him?" Smokey says back. Akuji sighs. "Listen, asshole, fall off your horse and eat shit!"

Smokey leans forward, taking a closer look at the cowboy. "Wait… is that." A memory of the sheriff from town replays in his head, when he had short ginger hair and normal clothes. "Deputy Blaze!?"

"Deputy Blaze?" Akuji repeats. "What a lame name. Let me guess, his power is fire?"

Blaze chuckles. "What are you trying to do, pretty boy? Just stare at me, or throw down your choice."

"HA!" Akuji laughs. "You want to fight me? You don't know what you're getting yourself into, focus on your contestants, I'm not even allowed to kill you if I wanted to."

"Haha! See, I respect the confidence!" Blaze yells, reaching into his belt, grabbing a red revolver. He aims it at Akuji, smiling. "Even without those little magic tricks, I still know how to put a bastard down!"

"Oh? And what are you going to do with that? Tickle me with metal? PFFT!" Akuji bursts out laughing.

Blaze makes a horse sound, "HEH-HEH," before bursting out laughing. "HAHAHAHA!"

The two of them laugh simultaneously, both of them annoying and loud.

"JAJAJAJAJAJA!!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Erggg… would you two shut up? It wasn't that funny," Smokey groans.

A sound bursts, BANG! Blaze fires his revolver as the shot cracks through the air. Akuji instantly opens his eyes, flicking his wrist, deflecting the bullet on contact. The bullet flies towards one of the houses, piercing one of the windows.

"Oh, you really thought I was bluffing, huh?" Akuji says, wiping tears from his face. Blaze snickers. "Wow, impressive, you have some serious skill to just slap that out of the way!"

"I see fighting you without those magic tricks would be a waste of time."

"So-" he stutters before an echoing voice of a woman interrupts him, announcing, "May the hunt begin, all 5 players have been collected!"

Akuji looks into the sky. "That's the voice of that Gen-sei!" Smokey looks up as well. "It's her again!"

Blaze hums. "So that was her plan, that's why she snuck me in here. Foul broad."

"There's a total of two Hosts you need to find here, the last two standing get to battle and win the game, does everyone understand?!" she says in a cheerful tone.

"Five?" Akuji says to himself. "So there's me, this ginger, the shadow thing, and Santana… who are the other two?"

The Gen-sei's voice returns. "Your core abilities are now reactivated, remember, good luck and have fun!"

Blaze's horse neighs, grabbing Akuji and Smokey's attention. He makes the horse sound once more, bursting into laughter. "HAHAH!" Ash erupts from his mouth, flowing into the air.

He makes his hand into a finger gun, pointing it at Akuji. "Well, since we can use our magic tricks again, I'm fired up! Time to beat the daylights out of you!"

Akuji grins, shrugging. "Sadly, I'm not your issue, I would love to sear your mouth shut, but-" he pushes Smokey forward, jumping back. "He's your problem, HAHA!"

Smokey stumbles forward. "HEY!" he shouts as Akuji turns to purple mist. Blaze's horse's hooves clap against the pavement.

Smokey looks up, seeing Blaze with a wide grin etched across his face, his ruby glowing on his head. "Well, crap… I don't have any other options here, do I."

"Strangely, I feel a lot better than when I was in the forest, I can at least fight more this time," he says, floating higher in the air.

The two stare at each other, ash continuing to steam from Blaze's mouth, as Smokey slouches forward, looking down at him. The Gen-sei's game has begun.

Rakuyō: Frontier Escapade 5 END (X)