What a Gold Rush!

A.N. I wonder when the PS5's prices will go down online. Screw you, resellers! :)

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A week had passed since Hotaru disappeared from the eyes of Namimori and the family. Lucia had put surveillance on each member of the family, even Kaname was not exempt, and kept them under a tight leash. She did not want any of them to run off like Hotaru and worry their families to death.

Kaname wasn't given the chance to argue with the woman because Odysseus had been in need of his assistance for an experiment. Whatever they were doing, Yoruichi and Soichiro didn't want to butt in.

Last time Soichiro and Yoruichi walked in on Odysseus building some sort of armor, they had almost died from toxic gas. After that, they made a mental note to always knock on Odysseus's door before coming in. Better safe than 6ft under with no video games.

The two boys had also been bored. Without Hotaru around, they couldn't really have much fun at all. She usually came up with a plan to start the day off and end it with a bang. They missed having her around. And Yoruichi was more or less devastated by her disappearance more than the others because you know why?

He was trying to make her his girlfriend. But of course, someone just had to ruin it for him. Evil assholes.

"Hey, Yoru. I was wondering something." Soichiro said as they both walked in his room and fell to the ground on their buttocks. Yoruichi looked at him and nodded, telling him to go further.

"Do you... happen to know anything about the Giove? My mom won't tell me anything other than it's not her place to. Whatever that means. But I know that you know many things about the family, so can you please tell me?" Soichiro asked, blinking ever so sweetly to persuade Yoruichi into giving him what he wanted. Yoruichi found it ridiculous that Renovatio or Lucia hadn't told him much of the family. Only Hoshika was giving him small bits of information, he bet.

Yoruichi rubbed the back of his blonde hair with an exasperated sigh. He then gave Soichiro a goofy smile and tapped his chin. "Where should I start, boss? Hmm... oh yeah. You do know that Vincenzo was the first Giove Boss, but do you really know why he had founded it in the first place?" He asked Soichiro, who shook his head and Yoruichi let out a gasp. He hadn't expected Lucia to not tell him about the reasons behind the Giove existence.

That was just a blow to Yoruichi's stomach. "Well, at first the family was just a group of teenagers stealing from the wealthy men back in Europe. They couldn't really stand the fact that the more money you have, the more 'powerful' you were. Back then, money was EVERYTHING. Along with food and clothes, basic human needs, boss.

The first boss had stopped going for petty crimes once he was an adult. He was fed up with the way rich people acted to the poor; Picked on them for not having expensive jewelry, not having clean clothes, not even having a home to go to, vice versa. So with the help of his closest pals, they robbed one of Europe's greatest banks ever. They did end up getting caught for it but it was totally worth it because-", Yoruichi was interrupted by Hoshika, who opened the door for Soichiro.

She had a black box with a tiger silhouette being engraved on it and handed it to Soichiro. "I'm afraid you two have been ordered to head to Q's restaurant. She has some 'juicy' information on the location of Hotaru. How she even managed to get this is well beyond my knowledge. And the box is a gift from... well me, Chi-Chi. Please open it when you have the time. Do it alone." Hoshika said as she exited the room quickly. She smirked from behind the door, knowing Soichiro was going above and beyond to learn his family's history.

"Its quite remarkable, really. At first, he could've really cared less about the Giove and hadn't bothered to ever sit down and listen about his roots. A few months later, you'd see him accepting the person he is. A boy whose entire destiny is to become the boss of the Giove. Times like these made me wish I had a kid of my own. Lucia must be so proud of her son." She silently said to herself as she walked down the hall, her footsteps echoing through Soichiro's ears.

Yoruichi turned to face his boss and was shocked to see him getting dressed. Soichiro had changed his outfit completely in that few second time-frame, shocking Yoruichi to his very core. Soichiro now wore a slim fit black letterman jacket, a grey T-shirt with an 'S' on it as a sigil, and black jeans with a slight tear near his kneecap. Also, he wore brown boots that weren't suited for the weather but it was all that he had clean.

Yoruichi was astonished by Soichiro's sudden outfit choices. He usually had his mother decide how he looked or what he wore to any place. Was his boss... actually growing up? Yoruichi shed a tear as he gave Soichiro a tight hug. Soichiro, confused by Yoruichi but he didn't wish to be rude, wrapped his arms around Yoruichi's torso as they had hugged for what felt like forever.

"You gonna let go Yoru...?"

"Never. You're going up too fast, man!" Yoruichi let out a sob as Soichiro patted him on the back, still confused by Yoruichi's actions. He would've shrugged and went on with his day, but Yoruichi held his arms captive. There was only one thing he could do: Try and drag Yoruichi to Q's restaurant. Which would be a difficult task as Yoruichi had much more muscle and weight than Soichiro could with a few months of eating and training.

Oh, the misery Yoruichi brings.

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Location: Q's restaurant

Time: 4:35 PM

Objective: Gain information on Hotaru to help her.

Soichiro and Yoruichi had made it to their designated location. Yoruichi had finally let go of Soichiro and the lad had stretched his arms as they felt weaker than usual. Well, it hadn't mattered since as of this moment, they were going to help their friend in any way possible. They couldn't sit by as she was alone and most likely afraid, wherever she was. The possibilities of her being seriously hurt had kept flashing in Soichiro's mind, not daring to ever leave.

Maybe they would disappear if Soichiro was to get this information about Hotaru from Q. The only problem was... is that there was a huge line full of people outside of her restaurant. Citizens, police officers, even their Principal was there! Just what in the world did Q have going on? "Okay, she seriously called us here to talk but has a gigantic line outside her front door step. Am I the only one who thinks she did this to piss us off more than we already are?", Yoruichi asked Soichiro and sighed as the two stared at the woman's restaurant.

"I agree with you, Yoruichi. She called us here for information on that girl but has an eating event occurring. This must be some form of a joke and if it is... so help me, God." A voice appeared behind them as Soichiro and Yoruichi turned around to see one of Namimori's strongest men. Kaname Kouga, the most defiant man Soichiro had ever met in his life. A few weeks ago, Kaname had suffered dangerous injuries from his battle with Kenji and Bakura, with Kenji being controlled by Bakura to hurt Kaname since he was seen as a huge threat.

Kaname wasn't one to go down without a fight, however. He ended up beating Kenji (while almost dying in the process) and Bakura only got away because he was too tired from exhaustion. Kaname's been bearing a grudge ever since then, always thinking of heading back to Bakura and killing him. The very thought of Bakura had filled Kaname's mind with deep negativity, even more than usual. Scary stuff.

"I didn't know you were coming, Kaname. What made you want to be with us, all of a sudden? You're always saying that we are your enemies and have threatened to kill us more than once. What's your endgame, Kaname?", Soichiro asked of him with a satisfied grin forming on his lips. Kaname held his mouth agape, just a tiny bit, as Soichiro had managed to form the balls to talk back to him. In truth, he was certainly impressed with Soichiro. This was the way he should have been acting, not pretending to be some sort of loser. He clapped as Soichiro kept his eyes on him, careful to never let his guard down around Kaname.

"Wow, that's incredible. You've stopped acting like a complete wimp! I'm glad because that makes you even more worthy to be considered my equal. And to tell you the truth, my grandfather had told me to come here with you guys. He said it'd be far better if I were to back the two of you up, but I'm not seeing much of a reason to. The both of you look like you can handle yourselves perfectly well now, so you wouldn't be needing my help. Then again...", Kaname's clapping stopped as a smirk appeared on his face.

The boy had managed to disappear from the both of their sights, shocking Yoruichi more than anyone else. Soichiro, on the other hand, hadn't cared what Kaname did. He'd manage a way to beat him... some way, some how. All without the help of a dying will bullet. Soichiro gazed around the area, certain that Kaname was hiding somewhere and just waiting for the opportunity for him to let his guard down. "I'll just give you what you want, Kaname." Soichiro thought as he reached for his jackets pockets.

Kaname watched from the roof of Q's restaurant, not concerned in the least of Soichiro's power. He was confident enough that he'd be able to injure him without too much trouble. After all, he didn't have that hitman around him, who gave him these shots of "dying will". And he wouldn't bother to worry about Yoruichi; Yoruichi wasn't the type of man to join another man's fight unless the situation absolutely called for it. Kaname's red eyes flickered with dark purple energy as he jumped off the roof.

Batons in hand now, Kaname held them both upwards. He was going to slam his batons on the top of Soichiro's skull. And he was sure Soichiro hadn't noticed he was behind him, there was no way for him to be certain that he was being attacked from behind. A fiend-ish smile appeared across Soichiro's lips as chains had wrapped themselves around Kaname's wrists. The boy wasn't surprised by this but a small hint of shock showed on his face.

"How did you know I was behind you?", Kaname asked as he struggled to break through the chains with his strength. In fact, it felt like the more 'power' he put in his arms, the far weaker he got as he tried to break the chains. He looked to see Soichiro's back still being turned away from Kaname, making the lad slightly jealous. "These aren't regular chains, Kaname. To save you some time, my chains had simply been attracted to your batons since they were a form of a magnetic. You have two south-pole batons in your hand and I have two north-pole chains; They were magnetically attracted to since both of our weapons were once cobalt or iron."

Soichiro had stated as he tugged on the chains, pulling Kaname closer to his back. Kaname prepared himself as he was expecting Soichiro to attack him, which he certainly was. Soichiro spun around quickly and kicked Kaname deep in his stomach, shocking Yoruichi once more. Soichiro wasn't done yet, though. He let go of the chains and reached for Kaname's neck, wrapping his hands around it and slamming the boy into the ground.

The police officers watched in awe, astonished that two middle-schoolers had been strong enough to move fast enough to the point they couldn't see them. All the civilians gave the police officers looks of disappointment, ashamed that this is what their tax goes to.

Soichiro took a couple of steps back as the chains returned to his hand. Kaname groaned in annoyance as Soichiro had shown to grow extremely strong, perhaps stronger than himself. Just what caused this sudden transformation so quickly? He shouldn't be fast enough to grab him without being in Dying Will Mode. Kaname hadn't seen the orange flame appear on his forehead. So what the hell does this mean? This means that Kaname was weaker than Soichiro? No, there had to be more than just that.

Soichiro wasn't going to let Kaname think on his feet, though. The chains extended at Kaname and wrapped themselves around his torso. Kaname grunted in anger as he tried to break out of them once more with brute force again. "Don't bother. These chains drain you of your stamina once they've come into contact with your skin." Soichiro said as transparent blue flame-like energy had been emitting off of the chains.

"Damn, Boss has really gotten stronger. What did Renovatio do to make him this difficult of an opponent for a guy like Kaname!? And he's doing all of this without being in his Dying Will Mode. Jesus, Boss!", Yoruichi thought as he was getting excited to see Kaname finally meet his match. Yoruichi recorded the fight as the two glared at each other, both still unyielding.

"So the more I struggle, the more of my power gets drained from me? Gotta say, that's not very fair." Kaname said to Soichiro, who nodded in agreement. Kaname dashed at Soichiro, despite having his stamina being drained out of him every second. He tried to knee Soichiro in his stomach but the lad saw it coming and countered with his own knee. Then Kaname stepped back and spun around as his leg was lifted high enough to reach Soichiro's jaw. With the spinning momentum and his current strength, Kaname should be able to stun Soichiro for a few seconds and release his grip of the chains.

Unfortunately, Soichiro saw the attack coming and took a step back with a smile forming on his face. He tugged on the chains once again, although this time Kaname wasn't able to resist it. Kaname was dragged up to Soichiro and the brown haired boy smiled as he placed a finger on Kaname's chin. "You have spirit, Kaname. That's what I've always admired about you! But today...", Soichiro said as his foot had met Kaname's torso. Without meaning to, Soichiro had accidentally put too much of his strength into that kick.

The impact of the kick had set Kaname flying into the pavement, shocking the bystanders that had watched. Soichiro felt his soul leave his body as Kaname was motionless on the ground, not moving in the slightest inch. Yoruichi and himself stayed in their places, refusing to move until Kaname had gotten up. "You've finally met your match." Soichiro finished as he turned to Yoruichi and the two boys shrugged.

"Oh, shut up... you piece of shit." Kaname said as he got up and walked to Soichiro. The two boys shook each other's hands, respecting each other's fighting ability. Soichiro wasn't entirely all sure if Kaname bore another grudge against him, one much bigger than the one he has with Bakura. The citizens and police officers clapped while crying, happy that two boys had showed themselves to fully respect one another.

Suddenly, All three of the boys felt a sharp pain hit their chests. A bad feeling had arisen in their bodies. They exchanged glances with one another, their eyes telling a silent conversation. Soichiro turned to face Q's restaurant and sighed as he walked around the building to find a back entrance. He wasn't waiting for her to give him answers on Hotaru.

Yoruichi and Kaname followed, sneaking past the police officers without much trouble. Soichiro put on a mask as they walked in the ally to the back of her restaurant, the disgusting smell in the air had really made Yoruichi and Kaname regret following him. Yoruichi couldn't tell whether or not Soichiro was trying to kill his sense of smell, but it was definitely working.

A brown door had appeared in front of Soichiro and the lad was tempted to open it. But he had to be absolutely sure that there wasn't any enemy mafia behind the door, waiting for him to blindly walk into their trap. Then again, it was Q's restaurant. What was the worst that could go wrong? Soichiro opened the door and was shocked to see the people inside.

Q had chefs working in the kitchen of her restaurant, that was to be expected, but the chefs didn't look like they had a single wink of sleep. In fact, they look like they are afraid of falling asleep anywhere. The purple bags under the chefs eyes made Yoruichi weary of them and concerned for their mental health. He couldn't dare to think of what caused them to be so afraid of sleep.

"No point in worrying about them. Let's get what we came for and leave ASAP." Kaname said as he walked through the kitchen, ignored by the 'sleep-walking' chefs as they cooked various foods. Soichiro and Yoruichi followed his example, careful to not trip or touch anything that hadn't belonged to them. Yoruichi would have loved to take a few of the plates and pawn them off for some quick cash, but alas he had to follow his boss's orders.

The trio of boys had made it out of the kitchen and were now sitting at a table, waiting to see Q pass by. Soichiro had taken this as the time to discuss some very important things. "Since we'll be waiting for the old woman, I just wanted to tell you two something. We're ultimately at our lowest when we don't have one of our strongest warriors on the team, aka Hotaru. Without her, we're pretty weak. No, not weak like physically wise, but emotionally. She was the one to help us all stand back up when we were feeling down.

She even went the extra mile to buy us gifts to cheer us up. She did anything she could to make us laugh or smile. So this time, it's our turn to help her out. When we find out where she is and take her home, we'll throw the biggest party for her yet. So, what I'm really asking is... are the two of you with me on this? Odysseus just needs your word and he'll get straight to building the gifts I have in mind." Soichiro stated as he looked out to the window of his booth, gazing outside. He was watching two girls, more than certain they were both in the 5th grade. The two girls had been playing Hop Scotch and they were giggling as they kept failing.

It made Soichiro see the two girls as Hotaru, happily playing. She'd beckon them to come over, push them out of their comfort zone, and made them try new things. Honestly, that was the best thing Soichiro liked about Hotaru. Always the happy one.

Kaname cleared his throat, gaining back Soichiro's attention. Swallowing his pride, Kaname had been willing to throw a party for Hotaru. Of course, this had a condition to go with it. "It is true that I do not know Hikari like that and I have zero intentions of doing so, however I do believe she deserves a small get-together for her sacrifice to protect you. Me and Izana would like to choose the location for the party, you guys can handle the gifts. I'm willing to do all of this... IF Soichiro let's Arisa cook some of the food." Kaname said as his red eyes lowered themselves down, shamed that he was actually going to help his sworn "enemies".

"That's... so out of character for you, Kaname, I can't lie. It's so hard to imagine you as a guy who cares about other people than his family. I mean, I'm convinced this is a whole dream or somethin' to see you acting like this." Yoruichi said as he let out a chuckle and shook hands with Kaname, who had wondered if he should snap Yoruichi's wrists later, and turned to face Soichiro. The look on his boss's face was so different than the one he had months ago.

Before Bakura happened, Soichiro used to always look down and speak to others with the Japanese honorifics, despite them being younger than him. He never ONCE spoke out of tone during those times. But now? Soichiro had looked like an even more respectable boss in Yoruichi's eyes. He had shown more empathy and care for his comrades health than anyone he knew, besides his school counselor.

And that fact that Soichiro would do so much for just one person in the family made Yoruichi proud to be called his comrade. "Boss... Giove Primo would be more proud than me to see you this way. He'd probably cry!", Yoruichi thought as he turned to face Kaname again. It was definitely a long shot, but Yoruichi was sure his boss would accept the idea.

"I'm willing to do that, but here's the thing: My mother isn't so easy to work with in the kitchen. Trust me, I know that more than anyone else. So it's probably going to take a lot of convincing, but I got this. And Kaname, I do have a question for you: Are you and Izana a couple or something? The way you two look at each other is like-", Soichiro would have finished his sentence if Kaname's red eyes didn't force him to remain silent.

"Okay, we'll just say your friends. Hehe...", A familiar voice said as all three of the boy's heads perked up. They turned to the left of the booth, for Kaname it was the right, and saw Q holding a yellow packet. It was unopened and threw it on their table.

Soichiro took ahold of the packet and opened up. He had seen pictures of a humanoid beast, more than likely to be a demon. His eyes darted around each of the pictures as his facial expression slowly turned from happy to shocked. He saw that the demon was holding Hotaru's sword and even wore her necklace. His worst thoughts about the situation had been erased from his mind as this was the worst outcome to happen.

"Are you telling me... that this goddamn beast is Hotaru!?", Soichiro shouted as his fist met the table and he shot up from his seat as he glared at Q. He set the pictures down and looked ready to jump on Q. However, she remained unphased by his actions as she probably knew he was going to react like this and sighed.

Yoruichi grabbed Soichiro and contained him as he kept trying to deliberately attack Q. "What do you mean that whatever was on the picture is Hotaru!?! Kaname, look at it!", Yoruichi ordered Kaname and he reluctantly obliged. Kaname shifted through each of the four photos within a 10-second time frame and his mouth was agape at each picture. He looked through the pictured multiple times to see if he wasn't hallucinating or anything else. He sighed as Soichiro managed to calm himself down.

"Yep, this is Hikari, alright. Even has the sword that was a gift from her cousin. What creeps me out is how she even began to take on such a demonic transformation. No human should be able to look this way... even with plastic surgery. Her bone structure should have changed drastically by now, so there's probably no way to reverse the damage it did on her body. Even the scales on her body...", Kaname tried his best to stop himself from throwing up in front of Soichiro and Yoruichi. The last thing he wants is to lose his composure in front of the two bastards.

Yoruichi let go of Soichiro and looked at the pictures himself. Hotaru looked like a wild animal that was mutated from a combination of a racoon and a reptile.

She had blood red hair with human eye-balls stuck in them, as if she put them there to make herself look cuter. Her right arm had been coated in blue fur, while also having the joints in her arm out of place. Her right arm could reach down to her toes without even bending her knees to get there.

In the second photo, you could see her face and it was hideous. Blue dragonic scales had been coating her entire face, as if it was armor, and had green moss on her cheeks. Even her teeth underwent a transformation as they had gotten sharper, so sharp they had resembled a great white shark's teeth. They were also very bloody; That meant she was eating something completely uncooked and most likely alive. Yoruichi wondered what.

And he had gotten his answer in the third photo. He saw Hotaru... feasting on the remains of a human girl, who looked as if she screaming while being eaten alive. She was eating the left leg of the girl and had completely torn off the skin of her left thigh. She must have eaten the meat under the girl's skin as well. Yoruichi threw the photos on the table and almost threw up on Q, had he not known better.

"That... *pant* Can't be our friend!" Yoruichi said as he caught his breath and looked Q in the eyes. She hadn't seem disgusted by Hotaru's body transformation, in fact she looked as if she was enjoying seeing her in the form of a cannibalistic demon. Yoruichi would have knocked her out if this wasn't the only lady who knew what was going on with Hotaru.

"Answer my question: What happened to Hotaru? Maybe we can fix her." Soichiro said as an optimistic glint in his eyes began to form. He knew that whatever it took to fix Hotaru, it was going to be more than just a miracle. Kaname nodded, agreeing with Soichiro, which was a first in so many different places.

"Hm, you sure you wanna know? You might be surprised, little boss. I'm warning you, this is some information DOZENS of hitman have killed for. Make sure you don't leak this out." Q said as she pulled out a tablet and an hologram image was being displayed into the air. The trio of boys watched in awe as a video of Hotaru began to play out in front of them. Yoruichi watched with great intent, making sure he doesn't miss out on a single detail. The other boys had also followed suit.

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Hotaru's fight with Rosa

Hotaru had been on the ropes of the battle against her enemy. She was losing large masses of blood as she slammed her sword down against the pink-haired swordsman, who bore an awful lot of resemblance to Misa. Hotaru was bound to collapse as the battle went on as she began to wobble and lose her sense of balance against Rosa.

Rosa cackled as her red sword had flickered, as if a red flame was possessing it, and smiled at Hotaru. "You can't win. You've lost nearly all your blood and damn near can't see straight. What makes you think you have what it takes to win? You are a strong warrior, I'll give you that, but you should've joined me. Maybe we could have taken over Japan and reign as the most dominant!", Rosa said as she rushed at Hotaru.

Hotaru's injuries were so severe that Soichiro couldn't tell how she was standing. She had deep cuts across her fast and her legs, possibly so deep that Rosa must have managed to cut through her muscles and their tendons. A white smoke began to exit Hotaru's mouth as she faced Rosa, legit meters away from her impending death. Gripping her katana's hilt, her blood had began to leak onto the cold steel of her katana.

Hotaru knew she was nearing her limit. Her body wasn't going to be able to run off just adrenaline soon. "True, I'm almost at my wit's end. However, I can't just give up when I'm so close to winning. It'd be too selfish of me to just collapse against you. My friends—No, my FAMILY are counting on me to win. You wouldn't understand because you don't have any!", Hotaru said as she launched herself towards Rosa and held her sword high as a grin formed on her lips.

"You guys... would give up yourselves to save me, wouldn't you? You stupid bastards! To make me want to fight for you...", Hotaru began to say as Rosa and her had gotten into a clash with their swords. Swinging up and down so fast that their hands couldn't even be seen by Kaname was truly remarkable. The two swordsmen kept thrusting their swords at each other, only to end up colliding with each other's sword.

Rosa stopped attacking and did a back-flip to escape Hotaru's katana. However, Hotaru wasn't letting her get off so easily. She inhaled large amounts of air, regulating her breathing and relaxing the muscles in her arms. She spread her right leg outwards as she closed her eyes, remembering a stance that was once taught to her by her father.

"Stupid... I'm so stupid for doing this. Please... please forgive me, you guys." Hotaru said as tears began to escape her eyes. The distress on her face told Soichiro enough that she was afraid of what was going to be coming next. But she also knew that it was to be done if she wanted to win. She couldn't win unless she gave it all...

A blue mystical aura began to shroud her body. The wind began to encircle her as her blue eyes looked at Rosa's, tears still escaping her eye sockets. The blue aura began to grow into a pillar, a pillar that was 17 feet in the air, and morphed into an entirely different being. "May the heavens and earth grant me the power of the ones who came before me. The dragon, the boar, the ox, the tiger, and the lion. I'm willing to sacrifice my body in return of granting me the power to win. Please, hear my call, O Wise Ones!" Hotaru shouted, frightening Rosa.

The blue aura had now taken the form of a dragon, it's golden scales blinding anyone who was watching the fight. It's red eyes glared at Rosa and roared so loud that the volume of the tablet had to be turned down. Soichiro's mouth was agape as the golden dragon soared into the sky and looked down upon Hotaru, thinking of whether or not it should grant her request.

It then dove downwards at Hotaru, it's mouth wide open. Hotaru waved goodbye at Rosa and closed her eyes as she was taken into the mouth of the golden dragon. The dragon let out one last roar before it dissolved into golden particles. Rosa dropped her sword in fear as a sword cut through the wind itself.

A wind-pressurized slice had been sent at Rosa, who managed to move out of the way. The slice had been so strong that it cut through the very ground itself, making a chainsaw look like a baby toy compared to the swords strength. "T...they'd... give... u... up themselves... f-for... me...right?", a distorted voice said as it revealed to be Hotaru, in her demonic form.

She threw another swing of her sword at Rosa and the camera cut off.

No one knew what happened after.

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"No fucking way, Hotaru had a fucking dragon all this time?", Yoruichi said to himself as the hologram video had stopped. He turned to face Soichiro, who had been lost in his thoughts, and sighed as he looked at Kaname. The two boys had been amazed and horrified that Hotaru had been so eager to become a... demon? Beast? They couldn't figure it out.

"Well, that was the video that was recorded by one of our spies, Donna Fitzgerald. She was sent out to keep an eye on Hotaru by the Giove's current boss, Giove XI, and see if she was a candidate to the power of the sacred beast. Giove XI had his eyes on Hotaru ever since he was a baby and had his men watch over her to protect her from any dangers." Q explained with a smile still on her face. She wasn't horrified by the transformation Hotaru had taken and wanted to study it's power.

"Then why didn't Giove XI tell us about the possibility of Hotaru having this 'sacred beast' thing?! We could have prevented her from doing something so reckless!", Yoruichi said as he balled his fists in anger that he wasn't there to help his friend in her time of need. He couldn't be there when she was going through so much pain, yet still calls himself her friend. He found himself to be a joke for that.

"It was bound to happen at some point, Yoruichi. Those who become the host for that dragon manifest it during their teenage years. For some odd reason, I guess. So Hotaru was going to have the dragon appear, regardless of what you could have done. Don't beat yourselves up about it." Q stated as she turned around to see one of her chefs holding a plate full of lemonade. She took the plate and bowed to the chef with a smile on her face.

She placed the plate of lemonade on their table and took a cup for herself. Yoruichi and Kaname had began drinking their lemonade with satisfied sighs. Soichiro wasn't going to bother drinking anything from Q at that point of time. He was thinking of what happened to Hotaru.

"Yet that still doesn't explain what happened to Hotaru. I don't even know how you expect me to understand what that dragon is with that very little of information. You must be high." Soichiro boldly said to Q as his eyes glared at her, crossing his arms with a unsatisfied look on his face. Q raised an eyebrow in surprise of how bold he has gotten.

Q cleared her throat once more and clasped her hands together. It was obvious that she was trying to think of a way to make the next story slightly more interesting and less bloody. But that could never be possible since Hotaru's family was a bloodline that thirsts for the blood of their enemies. So she couldn't censor it or else the story would be false.

——————–———

Time:

Ancient Japan

"Long ago in Feudal Japan, there was once a peasant man. Hikari Jin. He was a begger, always asking for money and did absolutely anything to acquire it. Ever since his birth, he had always been poor and had to fight through deathly sickness with his pure willpower. Once he was 30 years old, his body was beginning to grow fragile and weak. So weak that his skin was beginning to crack, literally.

It was so terrible that the King who ruled over his homeland had exiled him, disgusted of how he looked. He could've chosen to kill himself, right then and there, but he just wouldn't. He felt as if he still had a purpose in life and needed to see it through, even with his broken down body. My, I admire the fact he still kept getting up. He's like a Shonen protagonist, only a few centuries late.

*Cough* Anyways, back to what I was saying. Of course, he searched for a way to heal his body. He traversed to many villages, asking for the doctor's to grant him a cure of his mangled body, and couldn't find a single one. Or he was kicked out of the village for being so deformed. At some point in his journey, he was starting to give up on this 'cure'.

If there even was one. Suddenly, a man dressed in black robes had approached him. He asked why his body was so damaged and Jin had no answer. All he wanted was to be free of his cursed body and start a family in the great plains. The robed man had gave him a way to be cured, after being touched by his story of discrimination.

The robed man had told him to go south in search of a green lake. This lake was said to be able to cure any disease, illness, or injury one might have. That easily lifted Jin's spirits and gave him hope as he left for the south. The robed man must've been a great guy to just let a stranger get that sweet juicy information, right? Couldn't ever be me, though.

It took him what felt like years to find this great lake, when in reality it had only been 6 months. Finally at his long desired destination, Jin had fell into the lake due to his fatigue and the fact his legs weren't as strong as they were previously. The green water had wrapped itself around his body, coating him as he felt his body's revitalization.

At the bottom of the lake had sat a gigantic beast, it's blue eyes staring directly into his. The beast hadn't moved or done anything to seem aggressive, and only moved to examine the man. Hotaru's ancestor couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the beast underneath the lake. It felt as if he was in a dream he had as a child.

Of course, this was all certainly real. The beast glowed in a bright blue aura as it floated closer to the sick man. It's pupils now have vanished from it's sockets and it's wings slowly flapped in the water. It was... unbelievable, to see that a man such as him could be the first to witness a full-on dragon.

"I am Archion, the guardian of the ocean. I am pleased to have a guest in my home, after all it has been centuries since I've had company. I see that your main goal was to be healed by my crystallis, which has already gone under affect.", The dragon had said to the man and glanced down at his small body.

Jin couldn't have said anything, since he was underwater and all. Feeling his body being lifted back to the surface, the man had looked at his hands and saw that they were completely normal. In fact, the lake even gave back his youth and made him a slightly more handsome man.

Archion arose from his lake and hovered above Hotaru's ancestor, looking down at him to see if he was worthy of the crystallis healing. Archion cleared his throat, awaiting the man's full attention. "You must be wondering, how is it that your broken down body was healed far faster than any doctor in this world? The answer is simple, my fellow human. The water in the lake is full of mystical properties, some unexplainable. The water can heal any injury, even a severed head."

Archion explained to Jin, whom couldn't contain his excitement about the fact he was literally blessed by a dragon. Jin was now a perfectly healthy 20-year old adult, his age and body being restored to their prime. "I owe you one, don't I, Archion? What is it that you ask for... women? Money? Food? I'll try to provide you all of it." Jin promised as he bowed to Archion and devoted his very life to the dragon.

"Stand up, human. I won't be asking for anything like that. You were in need of medical help and I provided it for you, simple. But I do want one thing from you: I want to see the world through your eyes and your descendants." Archion declared as he let out a mighty roar and almost had Jin squashed by his feet. Jin couldn't believe what he had just heard from the dragon. See the world through his eyes? That wouldn't be possible, in normal circumstances. But none of this was normal, at all.

"I'll have my spirit be passed down in your bloodline, one after another. I want to see how humans evolve in the next few centuries, even though I don't have much longer to live with this old body." Archion said as he shot himself at Jin's body. He moved so quickly that a few rings of dust had been lift in his trail. Jin shielded himself by covering his face but Archion wasn't aiming for that. Archion's body got smaller and smaller to the point it was the size of a lizard.

Then Archion had placed his lizard-like body into Jin's chest, fusing himself and Jin together. Jin was encased in a blue aura as his eyes were coursing with power. Jin was an entirely different person now, along with his body features.

He now had white long hair, which was in a ponytail, and had a goatee. He wore a silver kimono with blue waves on the back of it and a black sheath attached to his waist. A sword was now in his right hand, beaming with navy blue energy. This sword was a special one, a sword that Jin passed down to his daughters.

After the little ritual Archion performed, Jin rushed back to his hometown and started a family with the King's daughter. Despite being a peasant, the King of Japan had managed to make Jin a special instructor to teach his samurai swordsmanship. Jin was only respected by the King for his looks and his untamed power.

Archion and Jin had their souls fused together. Archion would be Jin's guidance counselor, while watching his family grow into more powerful people. Each new generation had showed Archion what humanity has to offer and humanity's flaws.

The spirit and power of the dragon continues to power the Hikari's. Even to this very day!

—————————

Present time

Q finished the story with a little razzle dazzle and looked at the three boys. They couldn't believe the story they had just heard. Seriously, Hotaru was of royal descent and had an actual dragon accompanying her? Even Yoruichi found it hard to believe. But wait, the story still didn't explain why Hotaru took on such a demonic transformation.

And she's meant to be a human/dragon hybrid? That's just weird genetics. "Yeah, all of the story sounds legit. But you still need to tell us one thing: Why the hell is Hotaru a fucking ogre?", Yoruichi asked Q with a hint of disappointment in his words.

Q sighed and placed a hand on Yoruichi's blonde hair, ignoring how stupid he is. "Think. The Dragon's spirit must have been corrupted by one of Jin's descendants and forced the cursed transformation on any Hikari who tries to use its power. I don't know how long it'll be for Hotaru to turn back to normal since we have Hiyori on the search for her right now. But quit worrying about Hotaru, she'll be fine." Q reassured Soichiro and Yoruichi as they exited the restaurant.

Q always leaves more questions than answers for the two boys. Well, it is to be expected. She is an info brooker and she probably wouldn't give them any more information without making them pay. Soichiro's wallets were only filled with five dollars, Yoruichi had a grand on him but he wouldn't tell anyone, and Kaname could care less about Q's info. Kaname still wants to kill her for kidnapping him and almost having him impaled 130 times.

The trio of boys had stopped walking in the middle of the street. They all looked at each other with tired faces. It was already night-time and Yoruichi was beginning to grow tired from all the worrying he's doing for Hotaru. "I suggest we all get some sleep. Bakura won't be sending out any assassins to come and kill us in our sleep. I'm certain he isn't that cowardly. Get some rest and we'll meet up at the diner tomorrow." Soichiro said right before his body vanished from their sight. Yoruichi was astonished by how fast his Boss had gotten and realized his Dying Will Mode must have been even faster.

So fast he wouldn't be able to catch up to it. Kaname patted Yoruichi's shoulders and walked off in the opposite direction, heading towards Arisa's home. "Good night, Yoruichi. I'll be looking forward to that party, somewhat. You better get some sleep." Kaname warned him as he slowly dissolved into darkness and left Yoruichi all alone in the street.

Yoruichi hurried off to his own home, dashing to it at full speed. It was dangerous to stay in one place at night for too long, otherwise Bakura might attack. And he wasn't in the right state of mind to fight anyone at this moment. He was TIRED, I tell you. Even his muscles were aching to rest and his eyes were barely managing to stay awake.

Thats how tired he was, readers. Yoruichi snuck into his house by slowly opening his front door so his mother couldn't hear him. He didn't want her to lecture him about staying with other girls or something of those lines. He just wanted to fall asleep on his bed and dream about his dad, seeing him in his full glory again.

Yoruichi snuck in successfully and stood on the tips of his toes as he walked up the stairs to his room. Careful to not step on any broken glass bottles his mother left behind, Yoruichi was so close to getting to his bed. Five meters away from his door, Yoruichi reached for the knob to open it. What he didn't account for was that his mother was still up.

Mari turned on the lights in the house and stood in front of him with a stern facial expression. She had her hands on her hips and gave Yoruichi a exasperated sigh. "Where were you these past few hours? Were you with that Tsukuba boy again!?!", Mari asked her son as she got closer to his face and rubbed her hands against his cheeks. She looked for any injuries across his body and was glad that he hadn't shown any signs of fighting.

"Yes, I was. We were just being normal kids... chillin' and playing sports. I'm just so tired from throwing a football at him, like I can barely move my left arm!", Yoruichi lied as he lifted up his left arm with his right. Mari gave him a suspicious look and let out a dismissive huff. She untied her her ponytail and let her long brown hair free.

She wrapped her arms around Yoruichi's torso and silently sobbed.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been the mother you needed, Yoruichi. Ever since your father died, I've been a wreck these past few years. I have an addiction to alcohol, I've even done a few drugs... all to just get rid of the pain your father left behind when he died. I'm sorry that you have been born as my son, Yoruichi! I just wish you'd run away from me and live with Lucia because I'll never be a good enough mother to you!", She shouted as tears came rolling down her face. Her crying really began to piss Yoruichi off.

He patted her back and let out a shaky sigh. "You aren't the perfect mother and you shouldn't try to be. All you should do is focus on becoming the best you possible. I'm alright with you drinkin' booze but drugs is where I draw the line." Yoruichi said as she let go of him and he opened his bedroom door. He stepped inside his room and let out a yawn then scratched his back. He was getting tired of all the emotional crap today. Just let the boy rest!

"I'll...start going to rehab, Yoru. I've been thinking about doing this for awhile now, actually. I'll do my best to become the mother you need... and tell Soichiro I send his mom my best regards." Mari said as she closed his door and sighed as she walked back into her room. "I don't have the heart to tell him the rest...", She thought as a photo of Dan (her dead husband) had been faced in her direction.

Quickly, Yoruichi flopped on his bed and slept soundly. The dreams of his father still being alive had lit a smile on his face.

———––

Meanwhile, Elric was sitting on a building with a telescope pointed directly at Yoruichi's room. Elric found it hilarious that a boy who smiled as brightly as the sun was in a abusive relationship with his mother. Elric ate a piece of ham as he sat in the darkness. Namimori was surely a busy place but at night was when he could roam freely. No worries of them seeing his monstrous arms.

"At some point, I'll have to move in the daylight to beat Yoruichi and claim his head as my own. He may be just a middle schooler but I won't hold back. It'd be unbecoming of me if I didn't give him the ULTIMATE fight. Since he's the son of 'Dan the Beast Killer'!" Elric shouted as he stood up on the building and clenched his fists tight as he stared at Yoruichi's home. He felt like it'd take years before he was able to attack Yoruichi, even though it'd only take a few hours.

"Still, Lord Bakura won't let me kill him in his sleep. My lord always prattles about having 'honor' and at least letting our enemies have a fighting chance. Yet, whenever he fights, he resorts to attacking them while their down. My, he's a hypocrite!", Elric angrily thought as he jumped off the building to another. He figured that since he can't attack Yoruichi, he can attack his mother!

Elric had quickly advanced to Yoruichi's home and broke in by a window. Elric ran up the stairs to Mari's room and punched a hole through her door. She screamed in fear as he made his way closer to her and grabbed her by the throat, squeezing so hard that she fell unconscious. Yoruichi shot up from his bed as he heard her screams and ran to her room.

Elric turned to face him, holding his mother's body like a doll and laughing. "How about this... I'll give you some motivation to fight me. You meet me at the island southwest of here; We'll be fighting there. I think you'll want to see someone there..." Elric cackled as he vanished into a puff of black smoke with Mari. Yoruichi leaped at him but he was too late and yelled in fury. The blonde boy immediately got dressed and rushed out of his home.

He ran down the street at top speed, heading to Namimori docks to steal a ship and get his mom back ASAP. Someone had shut this idea down, though. Hoshika was at the docks, reading a book about flowers, and was shocked to see Yoruichi coming at this hour. She assumed he'd be in bed or playing video games. "What are you doing here, Yoruichi? Ain't it past your bedtime?", Hoshika asked him and he ignored her.

He jumped onto a small canoe and grabbed a paddle, trying his best to get to the island. Hoshika grabbed him by his ear and lifted him out of the canoe, careful to not rip his ear off, and let out a worried sigh. "What's going on, Yoruichi? You're not acting like your normal self." Hoshika said as she checked his body for any injuries and was relieved to see none. Yoruichi tried to move past her but she kept getting in his way, waiting for his answer.

"Elric... that tall bastard took my mom to that island! If I don't get her back soon, he'll kill her and I won't have anyone else left!" Yoruichi shouted at Hoshika as he tried to jump into the water, alas Hoshika grabbed him by his shirt and raised an eyebrow. "Elric, Bakura's right hand man? You wouldn't need to worry about him killing your mom. He has a strict code on not harming women, which is why he hasn't targeted me or Lucia. He probably took your mom to make you angry, and when your angry... you lose all the ability to think your actions through. Would have made it easier to kill you for him." Hoshika explained to Yoruichi, who understood what she meant.

"How do you know about his secret code, Hoshi? You his girlfriend?!", Yoruichi asked and she shook her head. She looked out to the ocean and stared at the island ahead of them. The fact Elric wanted to fight Yoruichi was of no surprise to her, except she didn't take in account to Mari being an ordinary woman. She expected Dan to have taught her some self defense moves before he passed. She should've known something like this would happen.

"No, I wouldn't ever date a pig like him. I know his code because it's in his files back at Giove HQ. We have files on just about 85% of humans on the planet and Elric is one of that 85%. I can't tell you much about him, since his files are actually top secret... but he doesn't care if you are a kid or not. He's going to try and kill you with everything he has. Don't show any mercy and kill him when you get the chance. I know this is a little too much of me to ask y—", She went silent when she saw how dark and serious Yoruichi's face was. He didn't look like he could care about Elric, instead he just wanted to kill him with everything in his body.

"The bastard took my mom. Of course I won't be showing any mercy! I'll destroy him and get my mom back. For the sake of my dad." Yoruichi said before walking in the direction of Soichiro's house with Hoshika. She wrapped her left arm around Yoruichi and walked him to the Tsukuba Residence.

Upon arrival, Soichiro was actually awake at this hour and eating a bowl of cereal. When he saw Yoruichi and Hoshika walk inside, he knew something must have come up. "Whats the problem, Yoru?", He asked with his mouth stuffed full of cereal and Yoruichi laughed at him. The two bickered for a moment until Soichiro had given him a serious look. "What happened, Yoruichi?" He asked once again, with more power and courage behind his voice.

Yoruichi didn't dare hesitate to answer his boss's question. "My mother was kidnapped by Elric, one of Bakura's henchmen. He took her to an island southwest of here and is holding her hostage until I make my way over there. I just need you to be my backup, sir, in case I fall short in battle." Yoruichi explained as he lowered his head towards his boss. Soichiro placed a hand on his shoulder and his brown eyes ordered Yoruichi to lift his head back up.

"Yeah, I'm coming, whether or not you ask. I want to see Elric's abilities for myself... and I do want to get information out of him. When you beat him, let Hoshika drop a sedative into his mouth and we'll finish everything else. He WILL tell me where Bakura is if he values his life." Soichiro said as he walked upstairs to get dressed. Yoruichi watched in awe of his boss and turned to face Hoshika.

"Do you... know what happened to Boss? He's become an entirely different person! He's even gotten stronger without the use of his Dying Will Mode!", Yoruichi exclaimed to Hoshika and the woman let out a laugh. She placed a finger under Yoruichi's chin and smiled. "When Renovatio takes the time to properly nurture and care for his students, he's able to turn a wimp like Soichiro into a grade A badass." Hoshika said to Yoruichi as she heard his footsteps come down the stairs.

Soichiro wore a black hoodie with a black T-shirt underneath. He had a necklace wrapped around his neck that had a flat globe as the chained piece. He wore black pants, trying his best to remain stealthy. His footwear was brown boots with his initials engraved into them. This was his "stealth suit", so to speak.

"What're we waiting for? We can go now. Odysseus and Lucci couldn't come with us, mainly because the two are asleep and hard to wake up." Soichiro said as he walked out the front door with Hoshika and Yoruichi behind him. He was walking to the docks and kept his guard up for any assassin watching them. He couldn't afford to slip up in front of Yoruichi. Especially when his mother was kidnapped.

Once they were at the docks, Hoshika grabbed a canoe large enough for all three of them and threw it into the water. The boys grabbed the paddles and hopped onto the canoe. Yoruichi and Soichiro slowly paddled their way to the island Mari was being held hostage at. Hoshika hummed as she let them do all the work, which was annoying Soichiro the most.

"Oh yeah! Hoshika, why were you at the docks earlier? You never told me why you were just hanging there." Yoruichi asked of the woman and she turned to face him. Hoshika placed her hand in the water for a few seconds to soothe herself. "Because a certain man tasked me with protecting his yacht from a thief, aka YOU. And you know who that man is, right? The one who gave you and Mari enough money to last 5 life times." Hoshika said to Yoruichi, whose mouth went agape.

"Are you telling me... GIOVE XI IS HERE IN NAMIMORI?!", Yoruichi shouted at Hoshika and got up quickly. Soichiro prevented the canoe from knocking over and sighed in relief since he can't swim. Hoshika nodded and Yoruichi squealed like a fangirl. "Ohmygod, I can't believe he's here! I have so much to repay him with for helping both of us!", Yoruichi said to Hoshika and she happily sighed.

"No need to do all of that. He expects you to beat Elric with little to no difficulty! So make him proud and your life-long debt will be gone!", Hoshika declared to Yoruichi and the boy nodded. He faced the island as they grew closer to it and clenched his fists tightly as his fight with Elric was coming. "Yeah, I'll beat him up to the point you can't recognize him." Yoruichi promised as Soichiro chuckled.

——————–

T

hey landed on the island and left the canoe on the shore. The trees on the island made it damn near close to impossible to see in it due to all the darkness. Luckily, Soichiro and Hoshika packed flashlights with them and walked into the forest. They listened for any sounds like screaming or fighting so they could find Mari quicker. "Be quiet, Yoruichi. Don't do anything too sudden or I won't be able to hear her." Hoshika warned the blonde.

Suddenly, the sounds of muffled screams filled Hoshika's ears. Soichiro,  Yoruichi, and Hoshika raced in the direction of Mari's screams without a second thought. Yoruichi was growing more worried about his mother as her screams got louder with each step he took. He was going to make Elric pay for what he was doing to his mother.

Yoruichi stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a boxing ring in the middle of the forests. Bright lights had been coating the boxing ring but their brightness was slowly turned down. In the boxing ring stood Elric, who had Mari held by her throat, and smiled as Yoruichi got closer to the ring. Elric's smile pissed off all three of the 12th generation.

"Let go of my mother... NOW!", Yoruichi roared at Elric as he was about to launch himself onto the ring. Hoshika placed a hand on his shoulder and made him look at her, deep in the eyes. The two hadn't exchanged any words but their eye contact told Elric everything he needed to know. Yoruichi faced Elric once more and let out a sigh.

"You're just trying to get me riled up and make me lose all self control. I'm going to stay calm, dammit." Yoruichi said as he jumped into the boxing ring. Elric threw Mari out of the ring at Hoshika, who caught her easily, and chuckled as Hoshika examined the woman's body. A black box had been tied around her neck with no means of Hoshika being able to get it off.

"There's an explosive wrapped around her neck. If you don't beat me within 10 minutes, it'll detonate and blow her head off. If you do beat me... well, the bomb is defused and won't set off. Then you can get the explosive off of her neck and leave with a happy ending. However, I won't be-", Elric didn't get to finish his sentence as Yoruichi rushed at him and shot a kick at his stomach.

Elric stepped to the right and grabbed Yoruichi's ankle, twisting it. Yoruichi let out a muffled groan as he refused to let his mother see him in pain. Elric let go of his ankle and let Yoruichi drop onto the ground, who did a backflip to land on his feet. Elric removed his fur coat to reveal his perfectly toned body.

His muscles were so huge that he had actually looked obese with the fur coat on. Elric had veins popping up everywhere across his body as Yoruichi stared him down. His muscles looked as if they could break a brick if you threw it at them. Elric stared Yoruichi down as the two fighters glared at each other.

"I was supposed to fight your father back when he was alive. He was always a fool, prattling on about how strong he was and that he had killed a sabertooth tiger with his bare hands. I challenged him to a fight, alas he was assassinated, unfortunately. But I'm glad he has a offspring because I can kill you now!", Elric shouted at Yoruichi as he raised his left fist and threw a punch at Yoruichi's skull. Yoruichi quickly moved his head to the side as Elric's punch went past the right side of his head.

A cut appeared on the side of Yoruichi's head and he gasped in shock. Elric was able to move so fast that his punches were just as sharp as a speeding bullet, he thought. Quickly, Yoruichi raised his fist upwards and hit Elric's chin. An uppercut, to be exact. Yoruichi jumped back as Elric didn't seem phased by the attack.

Yoruichi dashed back to him as he threw a barrage of punches at Elric's body. Yoruichi threw over 50 punches at the man's face, chest, and his legs. Yet Elric didn't seem satisfied by how weak Yoruichi was compared to the rest of the 12th family.

Elric expected Yoruichi to be able to grant him his one desire: To feel pain from his enemies. As the son of Dan, why wasn't he able to make him feel anything? As the son of the beast, WHY HAD HE BEEN SO WEAK?

Elric swung his right leg outwards at Yoruichi's head, making full on contact with Yoruichi's skull. Soichiro and Mari let out a gasp of horror as blood escaped Yoruichi's nose and his eyes. Yoruichi fell onto his knees as a river of blood escaped his mouth. Elric lifted him by his hair and directed five more punched at his skull. "I'm disappointed in you." Elric said as he kept punching, breaking Yoruichi's nose and barely giving him any time to breathe.

Elric dropped him onto the ground. Yoruichi tried to crawl away but Elric couldn't stop himself from what came next. He stomped on Yoruichi's spine repeatedly in front of Soichiro, who was getting angry with how Elric was brutally beating Yoruichi. Elric walked away from Yoruichi's body, a few meters away as he exhaled.

Elric ran back to Yoruichi's body and leaped into the air. Soichiro watched with his mouth agape as Elric performed a body slam on Yoruichi's back. Hearing the sounds of Yoruichi's bones breaking, Soichiro let out a agonizing yell as he tried to jump into the ring himself. Hoshika grabbed him by his shirt to prevent him from getting himself killed and sighed. "Just watch, Soichiro. Yoruichi isn't dead." Hoshika said as Soichiro kept trying to break free of her grip.

Yoruichi's eyes became dull... the meaning of lifeless. In his moments of dying, he watched his boss trying to join in on his fight and let out a pained chuckle. "Everyone was working so hard to make themselves stronger to match up to Bakura. Hell, even I was training at the dojo. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to beat Elric or save my mom. I'm just... useless to you guys. And here I was calling myself your right hand man, boss. I'm so pathetic...", He thought as he closed his eyes.

—–————–

Yoruichi's mind

Yoruichi opened his eyes to find himself in a open field. The sun was shining and he was back home in Europe. He was on a farm his father had spent years making, trying to be a farmer and raising cattle. Yoruichi sighed as he thought of it as another hard-working day under the sun, forgetting that he was in a death-match quickly.

He walked over to his old farm-house, expecting to see his father trying to fix the tractor again. And there he was, smoke covering his face and his overalls. His father, Dan, was washing his face with a bucket of water and a rag. He looked up to see Yoruichi and smiled, happy to see his son on the farm again. "Well, Yoru, I'm glad you're here to help me! Are you ready to milk the cows? Because we'll be needing their milk for dinner today. And once you're done, meet me in the kitchen! I got a little surprise for you." Dan said as he walked off to the house, most likely to clean his face with hot water.

Yoruichi laughed as his dad left, happy to be able to help him. As he milked the cows, an image of a boy flashed through Yoruichi's mind. He hadn't known who the boy was, but it certainly freaked him out. Perhaps he was being haunted by a ghost for breaking his grandma's mirror last week.

Whatever the case, he had completed his job. Carrying the buckets full of milk, Yoruichi did his best to not spill it or even tip it over. He destroyed his dignity when he milked them cows and he wasn't going to let all of his hard work go to waste. No, he was most certainly not. Once inside his home, Yoruichi placed the buckets of milk in the sink and sat down at the kitchen table. Of course, he washed his hands!

Dan walked to Yoruichi with a box in his hand, smiling at his son. He put the box on the table and sat across from Yoruichi. "So, how has your mother been, Yoruichi? Has she given up drinking alcohol?", Dan asked his son and the blonde boy couldn't believe what he was hearing. His mother wouldn't ever do alcohol– wait, didn't she drink booze all the time? The memories of his current life slipped back into his mind and he stared at his dad with a shocked face.

"Yeah. I know, its crazy that I'm dead and talking to my own son this way. It would've been better to talk to you had you brought an ouija board. And you're currently fighting someone really dangerous, right? Elric the man-eater. Tough opponent to beat, trust me." Dan informed his son as Yoruichi leaped over the table and hugged him. Dan returned the hug as Yoruichi cried loudly, finally meeting his father again.

"M-mom's quitting alcohol and heading to rehab soon! A-and I'm the 12th boss's right hand man, just like you, Dad!", Yoruichi wailed to his father as Dan patted his back. Dan shushed Yoruichi as he stared into his son's eyes, the two's souls connecting together.

"I'm glad you're mom is okay. But don't follow my footsteps, Yoruichi. Be your own man! Don't try to mimic everything I did! You won't ever be able to become Soichiro's right hand man until you become your OWN man. You can't keep following in my footsteps... you have to forge a path that only YOU can walk, Yoruichi." Dan said to his son as Yoruichi rubbed his tears away and turned to face the box.

"Yoruichi, the only reason your body is still alive is because I've been transferring lots of my power into you. Your spine, nose, and skull should be completely healed by now. You know... that means you have to get back out there and defeat Elric. Defeating him was something I could have never accomplished Yoruichi, no matter how much I tried. YOU have the potential and the power to do it!" Dan informed his son once more as the box began to shake frantically, excited about Yoruichi.

"Inside this box is the power I'm passing on to you. The Sun Seal, a seal that grants a sun flame user insurmountable power. The first sun guardian made this seal in battle while the first Giove Boss was being beaten to a pulp. The Sun Seal has dangerous drawbacks Yoruichi... but I'm sure that you'll be compatible enough that it won't matter to your body." Dan said as Yoruichi opened the box and placed his hand inside. Dan smiled as he slowly began to fade away from Yoruichi's vision.

"When you die, come help me on the farm. I want to make the greatest farm you've ever seen, Yoruichi! But don't die too soon. It wouldn't be fair to your mother if you died so young. Please watch over her, okay? And tell her... I love her so much. Goodbye and stay safe." Dan said to his son as Yoruichi tried to hug him one last time. But Dan dissolved into a bunch of golden particles. Yoruichi held back a tear as his hand was engulfed into a golden flame. He closed his eyes as the room around him began to dissolve too. "Alright. I got this."

———————–

Back to the current time

Yoruichi's eyes shot open as Elric was about to leave the ring. His body was coated in a golden energy, presumably healing his battered body and preventing him from dying. He silently thanked his father as he got back up and looked down at his hands. They were covered in golden flames, not feeling any burning. In fact, his body felt more alive than ever now. "Elric, come back here. I ain't done with you, yet." Yoruichi's voice boomed at Elric, who was shocked to hear him.

Elric spun around to see Yoruichi, more alive and angry than he was before. Without a warning, Yoruichi threw a swift jab at Elric's chest. A burn mark in the shape of a fist had appeared on Elric's chest, shocking everyone else except Hoshika. "H-how...? You didn't even move from your spot-", Elric was cut off as Yoruichi knee'd him deep in the stomach. Elric shot out blood from his mouth as Yoruichi threw another quick jab at Elric's face.

Elric was getting hit with punches that were moving at twice the speed of bullets. He was forced to his knees and covered his head to protect himself from Yoruichi's attacks. Yoruichi wasn't going to stop there, though.

He focused all of his power into his fists, his veins coursing with god-like energy. "Dad, you were right. I have to forge my own path by stepping out of your shadow. I'll start... BY BEATING THIS BASTARD TO A PULP!", Yoruichi shouted as he kept throwing punches into Elric's back.

By focusing on placing raw power into his fists, Yoruichi can cause all 1000 of his joints in his arms to lock and join together to increase his speed to the point where he can mimic the speed and power of a jet. This technique would be known as "Gold Rush" by Yoruichi, who could only develop it watching videos of air-crafts and studying their mechanics.

Yoruichi's fists burned even hotter as he began to melt away the skin on Elric's back with each punch that connected. Soichiro and Hoshika were shocked to see how merciless he was being. Yoruichi... wasn't holding back anymore! He was really going to kill Elric without a second thought. Soichiro and Mari jumped into the ring to prevent that from happening.

Yoruichi stomped on Elric's head with explosive force, causing the very island to shake from his power. Soichiro lost his balance and fell onto the ground, embarrassingly. Mari wrapped her arms around Yoruichi's torso and cried into his ears. "Stop, Yoruichi! You're going to kill him!", Mari shouted in her son's ears as he stomped on Elric's head. He stopped once he saw how scared his mom was acting and sighed.

"But he kidnapped you and has a bomb on your neck. Why the hell shouldn't I kill him, huh?", He asked Mari as he lifted Elric by his throat and slammed him into the ground. The boxing ring broke into pieces and he grabbed his mom before she was caught in the mess. Couldn't say the same for Soichiro because he was covered in brown dust and God knows what else.

Elric was on the ground, unconscious from Yoruichi's beat down. Tears had ran down the man's face as he slept, having nightmares of the 14-year old boy. Hoshika clapped her hands as she walked up to Yoruichi, impressed by how strong he had gotten. "Gotta say, I'm glad you got back up because I was afraid you had actually died." Hoshika said as she hugged Yoruichi. His power vanished and the fatigue immediately hit him.

He collapsed in Hoshika's arms as whiplash hit his body. Yoruichi wasn't sure what exactly his father did to save him from dying, but he was thankful to be able to see his mom and everyone else again. "Ugh... do you know what happened to me? My dad didn't go into detail like I wanted him too." Yoruichi said to Hoshika, who smiled at his question and let out a hum.

"The Sun Seal happened to you. Each Sun Guardian in the Giove has passed down the power of the sun, so that they may be able to fight on the Frontline. Because Sun Guardians are naturally super weak, even with hell-ish training. The Sun Seal grants you what your heart desired in battle: Power. You wanted to win against Elric so badly that you managed to reach out to the past Sun Guardians. You now have 11 of the Sun Guardians power coursing through your very veins now." Hoshika said as Soichiro let out an irritated growl.

"WHY DIDN'T NO ONE SAVE ME FROM FALLING TO THE GROUND!? I'M ALL DIRTY NOW!", Soichiro cried out and everyone else laughed. Yoruichi noticed that the sun was coming up and stared ahead. He was glad that his battle was over and Soichiro wouldn't have to worry about Elric anymore. So his eyes began to close, despite his wishes, and Yoruichi fell asleep to his long awaited rest.

Meanwhile...

With Bakura

Bakura sat on his throne, completely shocked at the news of Elric's defeat. Bakura saw a video, that was recorded by one of his spies, of Elric being beaten like a toddler without putting up a struggle. He was actually shocked and his mouth was agape as he replayer the video over and over. He looked at Kaiba, who was in the room with him, with a crazy look.

"Please tell me that one of you got Elric back." Bakura said to Kaiba, who shook his head and thats when all hell broke loose. Bakura jumped from his throne and threw multiple daggers at Kaiba's head, who saw this coming and evaded the attack by rolling to the right. Bakura needed to pump out all of his anger in a fight, so Kaiba was now the only adequate opponent.

"COME AT ME LIKE YOU WANT TO KILL ME!!", He roared at Kaiba as they had quickly gotten into a brawl. Kaiba sighed as he threw his book to the side and attacked his master.

☆☆☆☆☆

SNEAK PEEK OF KANAME AND SETO'S FIGHT

Kaname stood a few meters away from the stranger in front of him. The man in front of him was letting out dangerous levels of bloodthirst. This made Kaname want to fight him even more! It was like a battle between two caged animals on the brink of extinction.

Kaname took off his black jacket and red armband as he pulled out his weapons. His two most truth worthy weaponry, his batons. Seto smiled and pulled out a knife in front of Kaname, "Hope you like scars. Because I'm going to give them to you." Seto declared as he rushed at Kaname with his blade outwards.

"Nah, It'll be YOU with the scars. Don't underestimate me, you psycho." Kaname said as he charged at Seto.

————————

And that's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed and had a good day! Reminder to always show kindness to others!

Soichiro: Crazy how I got clowned at the end, man. I hate you.

Hotaru: Did this fool really just call me an ogre in the chapter? I should KILL YOU!

Yoruichi: Sorry! It was my line, I had to say it! Or else I would've gotten fired!

Hoshika: Whatever the case, I can't wait until my fight. Matter of fact, why haven't I fought yet?

Because you're broken beyond scaling.

Hoshika: I'll take that as a compliment, thank you!

Kaname: Anyways, now that you've fools have shut up. I just want to say–

Arisa, who snuck into the studio: THAT  WE LOVE EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU GUYS WHO HAVE WATCHED OUR STORY! THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING HERE AND WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH! SHARE THE STORY WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND STAY SAFE!

Renovatio: Why the fuck is Gas 15$ per gallon–

[ Connection terminated. ]