Case #12-The Rogue Brothers, part 3

"This is troublesome…" Mikoto mutters to himself under his breath as he peers in through the glass roof of the Museum of Japanese Mythology.

"Eh?" Yamata asks as he shoves his brother to the side so that he can see. "What's the matter?" Yamata then peers into the museum, seeing Reaper's Paranormal. "Damn, so they got bodyguards…" Yamata grumbles.

"Do you sense that, brother?" Mikoto asks. "These six feel…different. The pair in the center and on the left must have some sort of supernatural abilities."

"And the guy on the right is a big shot," Yamata smirks. "The creature with the highest bounty on their head in the blackmarket, a Reaper."

"A Reaper?!" Mikoto cries. "Yamata, we must retreat. We're no match for such foes without our weapons!"

"Don't bitch out on me, Miktoto!" Yamata exclaims as a crazed, sadistic grin spreads across his face. "THis is our chance for the big leagues!" And with that, Yamata smashes through the glass roof of the museum and hopes inside.

"Yama-'' Mikoto begins to shout, but he realizes that it's too late. "DAMN!" He grunts. "Alright, I'll take the back entrance." Mikoto then retreats to the back entrance of the museum, where he finds the door, which he then kicks off its hinges to enter. "I must trust in mine and Yamata's abilities now!"

***

CRASH!

All of a sudden, the two of us hear the glass roof above us shatter as a man from above leaps inside of the hole that he created then lands on the floor of the museum. Swiftly, Evelyn and I duck behind two large statues on either side of us for cover. Slowly, the man stands up and stares dead-ahead to where Evelyn and I were previously standing with a wide, sadistic smirk. "It's no use hiding!" The man cackles. "I know that you're there…Reaper!"

"Is that…one of the Rogue Brothers…?" Evelyn whisper-shouts to me.

"H-he knows what I am…?" I say to myself as my eyes widen.

"Come out and plaaaay, Reaper!" The man continues. Judging by Koga's description, he must be Yatama Rogue, the eldest of the twin brothers. Slowly, Yamata begins creeping towards Evelyn and I, and as he does, he pulls out a long cord tied around his pointer finger with a kunai-knife attached to the end.

"What's he going to do with that little thing…?" Evelyn asks under her breath.

Yamata chuckles to himself as he swings the kunai knife around by its thread. As he passes by a statue, Yamata swings the thread (and the kunai attached) outwards, using it to easily smash the statue to pieces.

"EEP! Never mind!" Evelyn shrieks.

"Evelyn, do you trust me?" I ask Evelyn in a whisper.

"H-huh?" Evelyn asks. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"Good, then follow my lead…"

***

The door behind Raiden and Circe begins to rattle, causing the witch and the wizard to flinch and duck behind a statue for cover. Next, they hear a crash as the door is blasted off its hinges then falls to the ground in a cloud of dust. A man in a white gi emerges behind the door. "Now…where did you two go…?" The man begins to say as he trusts over to the statue where Raiden and Circe are hiding behind. "A wizard and a witch, hmm? They were here just a moment ago…"

"They can tell that we're magic-users?!" Circe whisper-shouts to Raiden.

"Probably 'cause of the outfits…" Raiden replies with an awkward chuckle.

"Based on Koga's description, this must be the younger brother, Mikoto…" Circe says.

As Mikoto begins approaching Raiden and Circe, he reaches to his hip and draws a long, black katana. "Please make this easy and surrender," Mikoto sighs. "I don't enjoy spilling innocent blood…"

***

"Aw man, you got me!" Eveleyn exclaims as he leaps out from behind the statue and holds her hands up in surrender to Yamata.

"HAHAHA, got 'cha, Reaper-' ' Yamata cackles as he spins to face Evelyn, but when he sees the girl standing there, he pauses. "Y-you're not the Reaper, are you…?" He asks. "This is just a little girl, she couldn't be what Miktoto was referring to, right?"

"Y-yes I am!" Evelyn replies with a nervous laugh. "I'm the Reaper, alright, see?" Evelyn replies as she draws her Reaper whip.

"Don't move!" Yamata shouts as he swings his kunai knife on a thread towards Evelyn, causing her to flinch

"ZAAAACH!" She cries, blowing my cover, but that's more than okay.

"That's right, she isn't the Reaper!" I roar as I leap out of the statue next to Yamata. I draw my sickle-sword as I continue charging towards Yamata. "I am!"

"Woah!" Yamata cries as he retracts his kunai knife and hops away from me. "So there you are!"

Distracted by my assault, this gives Evelyn a chance to swing her whip towards Yamata, slashing him with its Reaper blade and bringing him in the thick black rope.

"Yes!" Evelyn cheers.

With Yamata bound, I swing my sickle-sword towards the bandit with all of my might, but before I can slash Yamata, he un-tenses his body, causing Evelyn's whip to loosen it's hold on Yamata, which permits Yamata to be able to wiggle free from Evelyn's bindings, then swiftly duck under my slash to dodge, knocking my leg with his kunai-knife as he does so, and my leg begins to tingle.

"Evelyn!" I cry.

"Hey, I haven't had any training with this thing!" Evelyn shouts back.

"He's crafty,'' I grumble to myself under his breath. "He tensed up his muscles to increase his size enough so that when he flexed his body, the whip was loose enough to escape. Smart."

"You don't know how many times I've been bound by ropes!" Yamata laughs as he swings his kunai knife towards me, but I bring my sickle-sword up to block. "You get pretty tired of it after a while!" Yamata finishes as the threat attached to his kunai-knife wraps around the blade of my sickle-sword. Yamata then yanks his thread backwards. "And you also get pretty good at wielding 'em!"

"H-hey!" I cry as my sickle-sword is forced out of my grasp.

"Looking for this?" Yamata smirks as he swings his thread around in a circle, my sickle-sword along with it. Yamata then stops swinging his blade as he catches my sickle-sword out of the air. "Woooh, this swing is sweet!" Yamata whistles.

"Give It back!" I roar as I charge Yamata.

"I don't think so!" Yamata cackles as he hops backwards.

 I launch a fist towards Yamata, who sends his kunai knife flying towards in response. Yamata's hands dance through the air, causing his thread to wrap around my wrist. "Hah-hah!" Yamata laughs as he yanks the third downwards then stomps on it.

"Waaahh!" I cry as I'm sent face-planting to the ground.

"Oof, Zach…" Evelyn crgines. "Get yourself together."

"I can't believe I'm going to eat a soul for just a normal person…" I grumble to myself as I stick my hand into my messenger bag. But before I can pull out a soul, I pause.

Agent Sniper's words flood back into my mind. "I know that eating two souls in one day is bad for your health…" he says. "Eating three souls in one day…that could kill you…"

"Damn…" I quietly yet harshly hiss to myself through clenched teeth under my breath. "Why…am I trembling…?"

"Zach…?" Evelyn softly asks with a gloomy frown.

"Ghahaha, paralyzed by your fear of the strength of the Rogue Brothers, eh?" Yamata ackles. "And, nothing for nothing, you are wrong, Reaper. I am not just a normal human."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Evelyn snaps.

"I-" Yamata proudly booms with a satisfied grin as he spreads his arms out wide to his side. "Am the reincarnation of Yamata no Orochi!"

"Yamata no Orochi…?" Evelyn asks. She then pauses as her eyes widen. "You mean the dragon?!"

Yamata smirks with a nod.

"R-reincarnation…is it real…?" I stammer.

"It's real, alright!" Yamata booms. "Real and I'm proof of it!"

"How do we know you're not just crazy?" Evelyn asks with a sassy attitude as she puts her hands on her hips.

"Well…I guess I have no proof of that," Yamata smirks as he charges me again, while swinging around his threaded kunai-knife. "But once you see me resume my true power after claiming the Orochi Dragon Scarf for my own…you'll be trembling in fear!" Yamata swings his kunai-knife towards me as I bring my arms up to block, but Yamata's knife slashes me, causing me to wince in pain as blood leaks from my wounds.

"Zach!" Evelyn cries.

"I'll take your bounty, Reaper!" Yamata cackles as he raises my sickle-sword high into the air above his head, but before he can slash it towards me, Evelyn swings her whip towards Yamata, wrapping it around the former-dragon's arm. "Oh…?" Yamata asks as he peers down at the whip wrapped around his arm then tracks it over to Evelyn. With no effort at all, Yamata tenses his arm back, yanking Evelyn off of her feet and causing her to fly towards him. Swiftly, Yamata then socks Evelyn in the gut, causing her to spit up a glob of phlegm as Evelyn's body goes limp.

"Evelyn!" I cry as I launch a fist towards Yamata again, but before I can punch Yamata, my entire body goes cold. Shivers are sent up and down my entire body as I begin to sweat profusely. I can feel my entire body begin to slow down as my stomach churn and my head heats up massively. "Wh-what's happening to me…" I grunt as I drop to the ground on all fours, gasping for breath.

"Hmm…" Yamata mutters as he rubs his chin. "This is odd-" Yatama continues as he strolls over to me. "Usually poison that my knives are laced with can kill anyone within thirty seconds flat. It's been a few minutes now, yet you're still alive?" Yamata finishes as he swiftly kicks me in the chin, sending me tumbling away. "How is this possible?" Yamata asks as he crouches down then grabs my hair, hosting my face up to meet his. "How are you still alive?" Yamata asks as he jabs a finger into my forehead.

"Poison, eh…?" I smirk. "Well unfortunately for you…I'VE ALREADY BEEN POISONED TWICE!" With a roar, I spring up to my feet as I uppercut Yamata in my jaw, causing his head to violently snap upwards as blood rushes out of his nose.

"Wh-what?!" Yamata cries as his eyes widen as he crashes to the ground.

"After experiencing Circe's poison twice, no regular poison can affect m-" I begin to say, but I'm interrupted when blood rushes from my nose as I crash to the ground, before blacking out.

***

"Don't make this any harder than it needs to be…" Miktoto begins to say as he draws his katana while he slowly crawls over to the statue that Raiden and Circe are hiding behind.

"Sh-shoot, what do we do?" Raiden whisper-shouts to Circe.

"Hold on-" Circe replies as he holds up a finger to Raiden then looks up and sniffs the air. "Do you…smell that?"

"Small what?" Raiden asks.

"Since I've spent years living around all sorts of poisons, I've developed a good nose for sniffing them out," Circe explains. "And over where Zach and Evelyn are…I smell an incredibly lethal poison, once potent enough to kill a damn elephant in seconds. I'm gonna head over there."

"A-are you sure?" Raiden stammers. "Should I go with you?"

"You've done enough for me," Circe replies as she pops up to her feet then peers down at Raiden with a sweet smile. "My dear shining knight." Circe then leaps out from behidn the statue and takes off towards the stench of the poison.

"There you are!" Mikoto shouts as he turns to face Circe, but as he sees the witch run off, he pauses.

"Sorry, don't got time for ya'!" Circe shouts as she turns and peers over her shoulder, then sticks her tongue out and winks at Mikoto, before turning back forwards and continuing her jog towards Zach and Evelyn. "You can tango with my boyfriend!"

"What's the matter, are you afraid of going after a witch?" Raiden asks as he emerges from behind the statue. "She may curse you, you know."

"As I said, I don't enjoy needless bloodshed," Mikoto replies as he aims the tip of his katana at Raiden. "So stand down, or else I'll be forced to cut you."

Raiden begins trembling.

"Th-that was easy…" Mikoto stammers. "Are you going to surrender? If you stand in my way, I will unfortunately be forced to kill you."

Raiden continues trembling, but he slaps himself on the cheeks with each hand, then looks up to face Mikoto. "I…am a member of Reaper's Paranormal!" Raiden exclaims. "If I fail this job, then I'll bring shame to our name."

"Very well," Mikoto replies as he clutches his katana tightly between both of his hands. "You brought your own demise upon yourself."

Raiden draws his wand and aims it at Mikoto, but before he can even chant a spell, Mikoto reappears directly before Raiden, causing the wizard's eyes to widen. "Wh -what…?" Raiden stammers. "He's…too fast!"

"Your hubris will lead to your demise," Mikoto says as he thrusts his katan towards Raiden. "Just like Yamata."

"F-Fulminis Ure!" Raiden shouts as his wand begins crackling with blue electricity, causing Mikoto's eyes to widen. And before Mikoto can pierce Raiden, he retracts his katana and leaps backwards. A bolt of lightning fires out of Raiden's wand, flying towards Mikoto, who, in response, tosses his katana into the air. Raiden watches in amazement as his bolt of lightning curves upwards, now aimed at Mikoto's katana. Raiden's bolt of lightning blasts into Mikoto's katan, which serves as a lighting rod. Once Raiden's lighting bolt lets up, Mikoto's katana falls back into his hands, coursing with electricity.

"It…sucked up my lightning?!" Raiden cries.

"This is my katana, Arashikiru, [Storm Cutter]," Mikoto explains. "It can attract lightning from the very sky itself then manipulate it for my own attacks. When I lost my powers as the Storm God Susanoo, I developed this katana in order to resemble my old strength. But once I get my hands on Susanoo's true katana, which he obtained from Orochi, I won't need this chea[ imitation anymore."

"Wh-what do you mean, when you were Susano'o?" Raiden asks.

"I am the reincarnation of the fallen God of Storms, Susanoo no Mikoto," Mikoto explains, causing Raiden's eyes to widen. "And my brother…the reincarnation of Yamata no Orochi. We are searching for our artifacts to regain oru former strength."

"Reincarnation…is it real…?" Raiden stammers.

"You, boy, you are a Storm Wizard, no?" Mikoto asks, causing Raiden to perk up.

"Y-yes!" Raiden answers as he tenses up.

"As the former God of Storms, I can tell that your lightning…is weak," Miktoto replies, causing Raiden's eyes to widen even further. "Lightning comes from the sky and is based upon speed and fury. Someone as slow and as kind as you…has no hope of becoming a powerful Storm Wizard."

"Now…STORM CUTTER!"

Mikoto swings his electrified katana towards Raiden, sending a crescent-moon shaped blade of lightning flying towards Raiden, electrocuting the wizard, who howls in pain. "D-darn…" Raiden winces as he crashes to the ground. "H-he's right. I let the pride I felt of being able to cast spells without a spellbook go to my head. I have no hope of becoming a powerful Storm Wizard…"

"What's wrong?" Miktto asks as he struts over to Raiden. "You've never been shocked by lightning before, have you?"

"N-no…" Raiden grunts as he slowly pushes himself back up to his feet, causing Mikoto's eyes to widen. "I have. Many times before, in fact."

"You'll never be worth anything!"

"Why can't you be strong like me?!"

"What kind of Zephyr specializes in WIND spells?!"

The words that Raiden's father tormented him with floods into his mind.

"My dad…would electrocute me any time I failed…" Raiden winces. "And trust me, I failed a lot. By the time that my dad was nine, he was able to cast high-level lightning magic without a spellbook. I couldn't even cast a lighting spell until I was thirteen. And my dad's lighting is much, much stronger than my own…"

"SO SUCK UP MY LIGHTING AND SEND IT BACK AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT, AND IT'LL NEVER AFFECT ME, SO LONG AS I'M FIGHTING FOR THE PRIDE OF REAPER'S PARANORMAL!"

Mikoto's eyes widen. "I was wrong about you, young Storm Wizard," he says as he disappears before reappearing behind Raiden. "Where you lack in rage and speed, you make up for the passion you feel when fighting our friends." Swiftly, Mikoto sheaths his katana, then strikes the back of Raiden's neck, causing Raiden's eyes to roll into the back of his head as his eyelids flutter. And a moment later, Raiden's smoldering body crashes to the ground.

"You'll make for a powerful Storm Wizard someday, you'll be useful."

***

"Zach!" Evelyn!" Circe cries as she spots the wounded bodies of her friends laying on the floor on the other end of the museum, and rushes over to them. Zach's body is pale and he's trembling, while Evelyn looks relatively unscatched.

"Oh man, oh man!" Circe panics as she clutches her head and paces back and forth. "Who do I treat first?!" Circe the drops to the ground next to Evelyn and pull out a small vial of purple liquid. "Zach looks to be in worse condition, but he's strong," Circe says to herself as she holds Evelyn's head up and places the veil to her lips. "Evelyn is only human, so I'll treat her first!"

"N-no…" Evelyn grunts as her eyes slowly flutter open. "Treat Zach first…"

"A-are you sure?" Circe stammers.

"Yeah," Evelyn coughs. "Only he was poisoned."

Circe pauses. "THen…why are you on the floor…?"

"I WAS ATTACKED TOO!" Evelyn snaps.

Circe then drops Evelyn before jumping up and rushing over to the pale Zach. The back of Evelyn's head smacks against the floor with an "oof!"

Circe then crouches down next to Zach and scoops his head up, tilting it back and touching the vile to his lips, forcing him to drink.

***

"Down the hatch!" Circe exclaims, and a moment later, my eyes shoot open as I let out a nasty cough. "WOAH!" Circe cries as she leaps backwards, causing the back of Zach's head to smack aagsint he floor as well.

"What Was that for?!" I snap. "And what did you feed me? It tastes like shit!"

"A-are you a zombie…?" Circe asks with wide eyes.

"Why would I be?" I ask as he pushes himself off of the floor.

"Whatever poison that was used on you was incredibly lethal," Circe explains. "You should be dead. And even if you somehow survived, my "Cure-All Antidote," which isn't specialized in that poison, shouldn't have worked so quickly. And also, you shouldn't have woken up so fast, even if it worked."

"Oh, yeah, that Yamata guy already told me all of that," I explain as the color begins returning to my face. "Apparently, I'm super-resistant to toxins ever since your poison knocked me out…twice."

"Hey, so my curse did some good afterall!" Circe exclaims.

"Yeah, sort of," Evelyn replies with a small chuckle.

"Hey, wait, where did Yamata go?!" I then ask as I spin around in a circle.

"Who?" Circe asks.

Evelyn and I turn and face one another, our eyes wide in anxiety. "SHIT!" while simultaneously crying.

"Who's Yamata?" Circe repeats.

"THE ARTIFACTS!" Evelyn and I cry as we take off towards the center of the museum.

"No, they're called the Orochi Dragon Scarf and the Susano'o Katana!" Circe replies as she jogs after us.

***

"Sh-should we…help them…" Crimson asks.

"No, we must stay here and defend our post," Koga explains. "For if we fail, then-"

Koga is then cut off when a voice calls: "Yoo-hoo," and Crimson and Koga peer over to where they heard the voice, watching as Yamata struts over to them. "You're with that Reaper, right?" Yamata asks.

"One of the Rogue Brothers…?" Crimson asks.

"Why is he coming out in the open like this…?" Koga adds.

"Wait a minute-" Crimson continues as her eyes widen. "If he's here, then that means he passed Zach…"

Crimson pauses.

Her eyes gloss over

"WHERE IS ZAAAACH?!" Crimson roars as her entire body ignites on Hellfire as she charges Yamata.

"Zach, huh, I take it that's the Reaper?" Yamata cockily asks. "Unfortunately for you, I already send 'im sliding down down to Hell with my poison!"

"ZACH COULD NEVER DIE TO THE LIKES OFF A SHITTY BANDIT LIKE YOU!" Crimson roars as she launches a flaming fist towards Yamata.

"Woah!" Yamata cries as he hops backwards to dodge, but Crimson is too fast, and she socks him in the gut, causing blood to explode from Yamata's mouth as he's sent flying backwards.

"COME BACK HERE!" Crimson roars as flames rush from her feet, propelling her towards Yamata. "I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!"

"Dammit, Devil-Girl, wait!" Koga cries as he extends a hand out to Crimson, but it's too late. Crimson has already given over to rage as she charges Yamata again, who for once, isn't laughing. Koga then senses a presence come from behind him, causing him to spin around and brandish a knife, only to be met with a downward swing from Mikoto's katana, which Koga blocks with his knife. "The second Rogue Brother, hmm?" Koga asks. The ninja's eyes then widen. "What did you do with Raiden and Circe?!"

"Raiden, hmm…?" Mikoto asks. "That Storm Wizard has potential." Swiftly, Mikoto then spins around mid air and roundhouse-kicks Koga in the gut, causing the ninja to stumble backwards. Mikoto then spins around and slices the glass display case housing the two artifacts clean in half with his katana.

"A-amazing…" Koga marvels as the two halves shatter against the ground in millions of pieces. "He sliced the glass so perfectly that it didn't even shatter, just cut in two…"

"Even with our supernatural abilities, are we no match for the physical apex of humanity…?"

Before Koga can stop him, Mikoto then reaches into the display case and plucks out a long orange scarf that appears to be made up of scales. At the end of each scarf, is a fierce Chinese dragon head.

"Yamata!" Miktoto shouts as he tosses the scarf into the air.

"Right!" Yamata replies as he leaps above Crimson, snatching the scarf out of the air and swiftly wrapping it around his neck, before landing back on the ground behind the Devil. Yamata then spins around to face Crimson with a smirk, as eight dragon heads rise out of his scaly scarf, which serves as the dragons' necks.

"Shit…" Crimson replies under her breath as her flames extinguish.

Next, Mikoto reaches back intot he display case and picks up the purple katana within. And when it does, it begins to glow. Miktot tosses his black katana to the side as he spns around to face Koga while drawing his new sword.

"We've…failed…" Koga sadly replies as he lowers his knife.

A wide smirk creeps across Yamata's lips.

"Fly my dragons!" He cackles as he thrusts a hand towards Crimson, sending all eight of his scarf's scaly dragon heads flying towards Crimson, their fangs poised and ready to strike.

Crimson watches as Yamata's eight dragon heads begin flying over to her, and once they're close enough, Crimson shouts: "Hellfire Mace," as she ignites her first in Hellfire then charges the eight dragon heads back.

Using her flaming fists, Crimson smashes through one…two…and then three dragon heads, but Yamata's attacks are too fast, and Crimson soon finds herself overwhelmed.

Crimson only manages to smash through two more dragon heads before the remaining three heads latch onto her, causing Crimson to howl in pain as they sink their teeth deep into her flesh. One dragon chomps down on Crimson's right shoulder, a second dragon manages to take a mighty bite of her left leg, and the third dragon's fangs punctures her wrist.

"Perfect…" Yamata snickers as he swipes two fingers upwards, and with it, five more dragon heads lift up from his scarf. "It seems like the ability of this scarf made from the scales of my former body is to turn into the heads and necks of dragons, but only eight of them." Yamata smirks. "Eight of them…just like me."

Crimson grunts in pain as she rips the dragon heads out of her flesh, tossing them to the ground and stomping on them. Blood leaks as Crimson's wounds as three more heads rise out of Yamata's scarf.

"Octo Dragons: Fang Road!" Yamata shouts as all eight of his dragon heads fly towards Crimson.

Crimson brings her arms up to block, but she's powerless to do anything as each one of Yamata's dragon heads tear into her flesh, sinking their mighty fangs into the Devil's body.

"What's the matter, giving up?!" Yamata cackles.

"No…" Crimson replies as embers begin to spark all across her body. "It seems like the legend of Orochi is true, where no matter how many heads I kill, they just keep coming back. So I'll just have to destroy them all at once."

With a roar, Crimson's entire body is engulfed by a mighty rush of Hellfire, scorching Yamata's eight dragon heads.

"D-dammit," Yamata grunts. "Come back, my dragon heads!" Yamata shouts as he waves a hand towards him, but the fangs of his eight dragon heads are lodged so deep in Crimson's flesh that they're unable to pull free. Crimson then flexes each muscle across her body, tightening her grip on Yamata's head.

"Wh-what?!" Yamata cries. "She purposely let my dragon heads devour her so that she can lure them in for an attack?! Just who does that?!"

"I do!" Crimson roars as she incinerates Yamata's eight dragon heads to ash.

***

"You're a ninja, hmm?" Miktoto asks as he slashes his purple katana down towards Koga, who brings his knife up to block, a clang echoing throughout the museum as the two metal blades clash, sparks flying from the impact. "Well I am a Samurai. So between you and I, let us test who is better."

"I have no time for such idiosyncrasies," Koga replies through gritted teeth, as he struggles at the pressure behind Mikoto's blade. "But you Rogue Brothers have threatened the life of my prey, and because of that, my clan. I will be forced to kill you if you don't surrender."

"As will I," Miktoto replies. "I despise unnecessary bloodshed." Swiftly, Koga drops his knife (which clangs to the ground) as he reaches behind his back and draws a small silver shaft. Koga then presses the button on the shaft as he clutches it tightly between both hands while swinging it towards Mikoto. And as he swings the shaft, large metal poles extend out from the tiger side, forming a six foot bo-staff aimed for Mikoto's head. Swiftly, Miktoto ducks under Koga's attack then swingss his katana upwards. At first, nothing happened. But as Mikoto sheaths his katana, Koga watches as amazement as his bo-staff is cleaved in two. But the impressive part is how the bo- staff breaks away. Somehow, Mikoto manages to slice the bo-staff vertically, despite being such a thin target.

"What impressive swordsmanship," Koga mutters to himself as he tosses the two halves of his bo-staff away.

"Now, do you concede defeat?" Mikoto asks as he aims the tip of his katana at Koga.

"Of course not," Koga answers as he pulls out a scroll and unravels it, which then bursts into a cloud of smoke. When the smoke settles, Koga is wielding a giant metal shuriken. "Koga Clan's Secret Ninjutsu Technique #5698, Arekuruu Shuriken! Koga shouts as he flings the shuriken towards Miktoto, who, in response, closes his eyes as he crouches down into a running stance and sheaths his katana. When he opens his eyes, a large, purple arrow stretches from Mikoto's feet towards Koga, an arrow that only he can see.

"I see…" Miktoto says to himself.

In the blink of an eye, Miktoto dashes past Koga, sliving the ninja across his chest as he does so. Koga's eyes widen as he drops to the ground, clutching his bleeding wound as he pants heavily. Koga then looks up, finding his shuriken cleaved in half as well. "Such…speed…" Koga pants.

"So that's the ability of his weapon…" Miktoto says to himself as he sheaths his katana. "When drawn, this katana gives me an amazing burst of speed too fast for me to even control. And that's where the arrow comes in, it dictats my movements, so all I have to worry about is slashing my target." But then, Mikoto's eyes widened as blood burst from his chest. Miktoto drops to the ground on one knee, clutching his bleeding slash wound. "How did you-" Miktoto asks as he peers over his shoulder at Koga, who brandishes a small tanto blade.

"The sixth rule of being a ninja," Koga explains. "Always hide your fangs."

***

Evelyn, Circe, and I quickly make our way over to the center of the museum. And when we finally make it, our eyes widen, for before us, stand Yamata, with an orange scarf wrapped around his neck, and the other Rogue Brother, wielding a purple katana.

The dragon scale scarf of the eight-headed serpent, Yamata no Orochi, and the katana once wielded by the fallen God of Storms, Susano'o no Mikoto.

Behind the Rogue Brothers are Crimson and Koga, who are crouched on the ground on one knee, soaked in blood and panting heavily.

"D-dammit, we're too late…" I grunt as I look away in shame.

"Crimson, Koga, are you alright?!" Evelyn cries.

"Oh?" Yamata asks as he turns and peers at me with a smirk. "So you survived, Reaper? I was sort of hoping you would. I was looking forward to fighting you with all my strength."

"C-Circe…?" Koga stammers. "You weren't with Raiden…?"

"No!" Circe cries. "Raiden, is he alright?!"

"He is alive," the Rogue Brother, who must be Mikoto, answers. "But is he alright …now that it is a different question."

"Dammit, I'm going to find Raiden!" Circe cries as she takes off towards the opposite end of the museum, but in the blink of an eye, Mikoto appears before Circe, causing her eyes to widen. "He's…so fast…" Circe marvels. In a flash, Mikoto slashes Circe with his katana, causing the witch to spit up a glob of blood as she drops down to one knee.

"Circe!" Evelyn cries.

"I'm going…to save Raiden…" Circe grunts as she struggles to push herself back up. "Just as he saved me…"

"Witch!" Koga calls Circe. "I will go save the wizard! You stay here and take care of the swordsman!"

"And why should you save my boyfriend?!" Circe snaps.

"Because you are in better condition," Koga answers as she struggles to stand up. And when he does, Circe's eyes widen at Koga's bloody appearance. Koga then reaches behind his back and pulls out a scroll. Koga then unravels the scroll, and when he does, a medical kit appears in his hands in a puff of smoke. "The seventh rule of being a ninja is to never travel without medical supplies," Koga says, and Circe can tell that behind his mask…lies a smirk.

"But you're our enemy, how can I trust you?" Circe smirks back, causing Koga to blush.

"B-because- '' Koga stammers. "If the Reaper lost a friend, it would impair his ability to be killed!" Koga hastily explains, then rushes off.

"That makes no sense!" Circe exclaims as she looks to the sky and laughs. But a mere second later, a scowl washes over Circe's face as she lowers her head and narrows her eyes at Mikoto. "So you did one on my boyfriend, huh…?" Circe growls, as poison gas begins leaking from her pores. "I'm sorry, but I can't promise that I won't kill you now…"

"Hey, Crimson, wanna tag out?" I call to the Devil. "You look pretty banged up, and I got a score to settle with Yamata."

"Who am I to intrude in your battle?" Crimson answers as she turns around and begins walking away from Yamata, while I begin walking towards him, and as he passes by one another, we high-five.

"Kick his ass," Crimson sneers.

"I plan to," I smirk.

"What should I do, Zach?" Evelyn calls to me.

"It's going to get too dangerous for you," I answer. "You go find Koga and see if he needs any help. Get your wounds treated while you're at it."

"Right…" Evelyn sadly answers.

***

"Now then, Reaper, shall we finally finish what we started?!" Yamata cackles as he thrusts a hand towards me, and eight dragon heads wiggle out of Yamata's glowing orange scarf, all flying towards me.

"With pleasure!" I answer as I draw my sickle-sword and charge Yamata.

Yamata's eight dragon heads swarm me, all frantically snapping their jaws at me, trying to get a taste. But with my sickle-sword, I'm able to slice a few of the heads off of Yatama's dragon scarf, keeping his attack at bay. But no matter how many dragon heads I chop off, more keep coming, and I soon find myself surrounded.

"Octo Dragon: Fang Drive!" Yatama shouts as his eight dragon heads swarm me. Each dragon head then opens their mouth up wide, charging up an orange ball of energy in between their jaws, causing my eyes to widen.

"Oh, shi-" is all I have a chance to muster out before the dragon heads fire, and I'm wrapped up in a giant explosion of orange energy.

When the explosion clears, I drop to the ground on one knee, soaked in blood and coughing fromt he dust. Looking around, the surrounding museum exhibits have been reduced to ash.

Yamata's eyes widen as he surveys the carnage. And then, a huge, sadistic grin spreads across his lips.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Yamata cackles as he rears his head to the sky and laughs. "So I still have my breath attack, eh? This is the kind of destruction that I can cause now?! Pathetic! Just imagine what I can do once I've mastered these new powers!"

"H-he's mad…" I stammer.

"Naw…" Yamata replies as he lowers his head and smirks. "Just crazy."

Yamata then swipes his hand towards me, causing all eight of his dragon heads to fly towards me again. I manage to repel Yamata's attack by slashing through a few of his dragon heads, causing Yamata to retract his eight dragon heads back to him.

Yamata then thrusts a hand up to the sky as he stares upwards with a small smile. "I don't know what, exactly, but something…is telling me to do this…" Yamata giddily says to himself. "The voice of my past life…is reaching out to me through this scarf!"

The four dragon heads on the right side of Yamata's Orochi Dragon Scarf as well as the four dragon heads on the left side of his Orochi Dragon Scarf all begin to spin, glowing bright orange before merging together, forming two large dragon heads as opposed to the original eight.

"I see…" Yamata softly says to himself as he looks back down to face me. "While I can wield upwards of eight dragon heads at a time, I can combine them to create fewer, stronger dragons. Next time…I'll try four…"

Yamata's lips then curl up into a smirk as he swipes a hand towards me. "DUAL DRAGONS: SWIPING WINGS!"

Yamata's dual dragon heads then begin to fly towards me, and in response, I clutch my sickle-sword tightly between both of my hands as I bring it up in order to attack. But when Yamata's double dragon heads are directly in front of me, when I attempt to slash through them, my sickle-sword instead bounces off of their scales.

"What?!" I cry. "I can't cut them?!"

Yamata's two dragon heads then fly past me, and as they do, they slash me with their mighty fangs.

"D-dammit!" I grunt as my eyes widen in pain.

"Careful, Zach!" Crimson calls to me. "Their fangs are sharp!"

"Yeah, I got that!" I snap as I stumble awkwards and clutch my bleeding wounds, blood dripping from my right hip, where I have a giant bite mark lodged in my flesh from Yamata's fangs.

Yamata then retracts his two dragon heads back over to him, which then begin spinning as they glow orange again. Next, the two dragon heads shrink as a second dragon head spawns out of the original two, forming four medium-sized dragon heads out of Yamata's Orochi Dragon scarf, rather than eight little heads or two large heads.

"Quad Dragons: Tail Slash!" Yamata cackles as he swipes a hand towards me, causing Yamata's four dragon heads to fly forwards.

"Alright, here we go!" I shout as I shove my hand into my messenger bag, but before I can draw a soul, one of Yamata's dragon heads fly over to me, chomping down on my hand, and forcing me to drop the soul, which rolls across the floor.

"Damn!" I grunt as a second dragon head chomps the soul to pieces.

Yamata's final two dragon heads fly over to me, and as I swing my sickle-sword towards them, it begins to glow with purple flame-like energy.

"Soul Hunter!" I shout as I slash through the two dragon heads. "I thought scarfs were supposed to be soft!"

"There's nothing soft about the scales of the great Orochi!" Yamata smirks. "Now, I'll just summon more dragons!"

Yamata's scarf doesn't budge

Nothing happens.

"Uhh…I'll summon more dragons!" Yamata repeats, but again, nothing happens. "What-what the heck?!" Yamata snaps as he begins tugging at his scarf. "What's the deal, why can't I summon more dragon heads?! This is now just some dumb, useless scarf! This never would have happened if I had my original powers!"

"Oh?" I begin to say, as sparkles light up in my eyes. "You mean to tell me that you can't summon more dragons…?"

"H-huh…?" Yamata shudders as he peers over at me.

"I'll take you out for good!" I shout as I charge Yamata again, raising my sickle- sword high into the air as I do, which begins glowing with purple flame-like energy, just as before.

"SOUL HUNTER!" I roar as I slash Yamata across the chest, causing his eyes to roll into the back of his head as he's sent flying backwards, blood pouring from his wounds.

***

"Poison, hmm…?" Mikoto asks himself as he watches poison gas leak from Circe's pores.

"Poison Curse Magic: Forbidden Fruit!" Circe shouts as she thrust a hand towards Miktoto, sending a rush of purple poison gas flying towards him.

"Well unfortunately for you…" Mitoto begins to say as he crouches down low, sheathing his katana and placing one hand on its hilt. A purple arrow spreads from Mikoto's to feet straight forwards towards Circe, an arrow that only he can see. Next, in the blink of an eye, Miktoto draws his katana and slashes Circe as he dashes by her. "-I've been poisoned by my brother many times," Mikoto finishes as he resheaths his katana, as blood spurts fromt he slash mark that had just appeared in Circe's chest.

"PREDETERMINED CUTTER!"

"N-no way…" Circe stammers as she stares at her poison cloud, which had been split clean in half. "He used the speed of his slash to slice my poison cloud in half to make a free path towards me…"

Mikoto then crouches down low again, placing a hand on the hilt of his katana just like before. An arrow spreads from Mikoto's feet, before zig-zagging across the ground towards Circe. "Predetermined Cutter!" Mikoto shouts as he draws his katana and dashes towards Circe. As he dashes Mikoto's feet follow the path that the arrow laid out for him, zig-zagging across the ground towards Circe, his body moving so fast that Mikoto's brain can't register, and he closes his eyes, allowing for his feet to do the moving.

"If you're going to slice me no matter what, I may as well take you down while I'm at it!" Circe cackles as she scrunches her body. "Poison Curse Magic: Gas Chamber!" Circe shouts as poison gas floods from all of her pores, forming a gas cloud around Circe.

"Shit!" Mikoto cries as his eyes fly open. "I need to stop…but how!"

Mikoto continues dashing towards Circe, and as he passes by her, he slashes, drawing blood but also causing Mikoto to get infected by Circe's potion in the process.

Mikoto drops to the ground, coughing madly as he scratches at his throat desperate for breath. "Sh-shit…" Mikoto coughs. "So it seems like…once my arrow has been laid out, I can't stop…"

"Arrow?" Circe asks as she tilts her head at Mikoto. "I don't see a bow?"

"Not that kind of arrow," Mikoto grunts as he pushes himself back up to his feet. "But don't worry about it."

"Well what are you gonna do now?" Circe smirks. "Ya' can't touch me!"

"If I can't touch you, then I'll just have to do this-" Mikoto begins to say as he places one hand on the hilt of his katana, and his other hand on the scabbard, but without crouching down low again.

An arrow then extends from Mikoto's feet to Circe, but rather than dashing towards Circe, Miktoto simply draws his katana and swings it outwards, then lets go of it, sending his katana flying towards Circe, following the path that the arrow laid.

"TURNING SWALLOW!"

"WHAT?!" Circe cries as she watches Mikoto's katana fly towards her.

"I have assumed that the Susano'o Katana causes me to dash towards my target following the arrow, but I was wrong," Mikoto begins to say to himself. "It only attracts my katana towards the target, following the arrow. So if I draw my katana and let go, it's as if I flung a mighty arrow towards my opponent. Intresteding, this is interesting…this battle is a good test of my newly awakened powers, I am learning a lot."

Mikoto then crouches down low again, placing a hand on the hilt of his katana just like before. An arrow spreads from Miktot's feet across the ground towards Circe's. "Predetermined Cutter!" Mikoto shouts as he draws his katana and dashes towards Circe.

As Circe watches Miktoto coming, she draws a small vial of gray liquid with a smirk and holds it up to Mikoto. "This'll work!"

"What is that…?" Mikoto growls as he slashes Circe with his katana as he dashes past her, causing Circe's glass vial to shatter, which erupts in a cloud of smoke. "I see…" Mikoto says as the cloud begins to envelope Circe and himself and restrict their vision. "So that was your plan."

"You can't cut me if you can't see me!" Circe nags. "Na-na-na-na-na-naaa-na!"

"Even if I can't see you, my Susanoo Katana will never miss," Mikoto says as he crouches down low and places a hand on his katana. Multiple arrows then begin to spread across the ground from Mikoto's feet in every direction, spreading further and further until one touches Circe.

"There!" Mikoto shouts as he dashes towards, following the path that the arrow laid out for him and slashing Circe as he dashes by. But as Mikoto clashes Circe, he hears glass shatter.

"COMPASS REGULUS!"

"Gotcha'!" Circe grins.

As the smoke cloud begins to fade, Mikoto sees that the contents of Circe's glass vial were splattered all across the floor. Mushrooms then begin to sprout from the puddles.

"What…what are these?!" Mikoto cries.

"They are…" Circe smirks. "Exploding mushrooms!"

"NO!" Mikoto cries as Circe's mushrooms explode, sending Mikoto flying backwards.

***

"E-Evelyn…Koga…?" Raiden asks as his eyes slowly flutter open, seeing Evelyn and Koga crouches down besides him.

"Don't worry, Raiden, we're here now!" Evelyn replies as she helps Koga bandage Raiden up, causing the wizard to smile.

"We'll save you, useless Storm Wizard," Koga adds, causing Raiden's smile to fade into a frown as he turns away in shame.

"I…couldn't bet him…" Raiden frowns. "I brought shame to Reaper Paranormal's name…"

"Don't worry!" Evelyn interrupts with a smirk. "Zach and the others will get 'em!"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Raiden snaps, causing Evelyn to flinch. "I lost! It doesn't matter if Zach and the rest win, because I lost! I know you feel it too, Evelyn, I feel useless! We had our moment during the Landow Village case, but now, we're useless!"

"I know…" Evelyn frowns as she looks away as well. "I know…"

***

Yamata is sent flying backwards by my attack while Mikoto is sent flying backwards by Circe's attack, their backs slamming into one another.

"Shit…" Yamata grunts.

"Damn…" Miktoto mutters.

I then take a step towards the two brothers from the left as Circe takes a step towards them from the right. Finally, Crimson stands up and faces the two as well, surrounding the Rogue Brothers.

"Give up?" I smirk.

"NEVER!" Yamata booms. "As long as I have my Orochi Dragon Scarf, I-"

"Yamata," Mikoto says as he holds a hand out in front of Yamato, causing his brother to pause. "We already got what we came here for. Now isn't the time to be rash. If we lose here, then all we've done is for naught. We should now shift our priorities to escape, rather than combat."

"DAMMIT…" Yamata grunts as he stares at the ground and clenches his hands into fists, his entire body trembling with rage. "The great Yamata no Orochi…never runs …if we flee now, then it'll bring shame to my name…"

"YAMATA!" Mikoto booms, causing his brother to flinch and look up. "Don't be stupid!"

"I know, but-" Yamata begins to say.

"They're gonna try to escape, guys, let's get 'em!" I shout as I draw my sickle- sword and charge Yamata and Mikoto, and Crimson and Circe charge after me.

"Feeling good now, Circe?" I smirk as we charge the Rogue Brothers.

"I've recovered some stamina," Crimson answers.

"They're coming after us, Mikoto, we'll have to fight 'em off before we can escape!" Yamata exclaims.

"Then so be it…" Mikoto replies as he crouches down low and places a hand on his sheathed katana's hilt. And then, in the blink of an eye, Miktoto draws his katana and dashes towards us.

"Woah!" I cry as I pause the stumble a step backwards.

"Careful Zach, he's fast!" Circe calls to me.

"What is it, with you and Crimson stating the obvious today?!" I snap.

Swiftly, I bring my sickle-sword up to block as Mikoto swings his katana towards me, causing our tow blades to clash.

"Now that they're busy with Mikoto…" Yamata begins to say as a smirk creeps across his face. "-I can make my escape!" Yamata finishes as he turns around and begins running away.

"H-he's RUNNING?!" We cry.

"What was all that talk about not bringing shame to your name?!" Circe furiously snaps.

"Oh yeah, that!" Yamata cackles as he begins running away. "In all honesty, I did mean it, at first, but then I thought twice about things, and I remembered that if you beat me here and I get arrested, I can't bang any hot chicks in prison! Also, I heard prison wine tastes like shit!"

"B-brother…?" Mikoto sadly asks as he turns and peers over his shoulder at Yamata. "You're…using me to get away…?"

"Sorry, Mikoto!" Yamata cackles. "But I need one of us to take the fall, don't I?"

 "Sorry 'bout this!" I say as I retract my sickle-sword away from Mikoto's blade, using his moment of distraction to slash him with my sickle-sword before snap-kicking him away, causing Mikoto to stumble backwards. "-But I'll have to use this rough moment of yours for any chance I can get!"

Yamata continues cackling as he runs farther and farther away.

"Crimson!" I shout.

"Right!" Crimson replies as she ignites a hand in Hellfire then thrusts it towards Yamata. "Hellfire Scream!" Crimson shouts as she releases a rush of Hellfire which flies through the air towards Yamata.

"Shit!" Yamata cries as he turns and peers over his shoulder at us, watching as the glow of Crimson's flame illuminates his face more and more as it draws closer.

But before Yamata is seared by Crimson's flames, Mikoto sticks both of his arms out and leaps in the way, Crimson's flames engulfing him instead.

Once Crimson's attack lets up, Mikoto's scorched body drops to the ground, coughing out puffs of smoke.

"M-Mikoto…?" Yamata asks as he stops running, his eyes wide as he turns around to face his brother.

"Y-you're right, Yamata," Mikoto coughs. "These kids are too strong. If both of us get arrested, this will all be for naught. One of us needs to be the distraction for the other to get away, and if that needs to be me, then so be it. I'll see this as my punishment for tormenting my sister."

Mikoto's eyes then widen.

"M-my…sister…?" He softly says to himself. "Yes, that's right, I had forgotten her…my sister, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu…"

"No, I won't let you get away!" Circe shouts as she thrusts a hand towards Yamata as well, interrupting the two brothers' touching moment as a stream of poison gas releases from Circe's pores which flies over to Yamata, engulfing him in a cloud of smoke.

"B-brother!" Mikoto cries from his palace on the ground.

"Hellfire Screw-" Crimson begins to shout again as she engulfs her body in Hellfire, but Crimson is interrupted when Circe holds a hand out to her.

"Hold on, let me help!" Circe says. Poison gas then begins leaking from Circe's pores, which is then attracted to Crimson's flames. Circe's poison gas then wraps around Crimson's Hellfire, and the two gas merge.

"I like this feeling," Crimson smirks as she chambers her fist. "It feels… powerful…"

Crimson then launches a fist outwards, sending a powerful rush of fire and poison flying towards the two brothers.

"HELLFIRE SCREAM, EXPLODING POISON!"

Crimson's Hellfire Scream flies over to the two brothers then explodes, causing Yamata and Mikoto to howl in pain as they're engulfed in Crimson's mighty explosion.

"My poison gas is combustible!" Circe cheers.

Eventually, the explosion subsides, revealing the blood-soaked and charred- black bodies of Yamata and Mikoto, writhing on the ground in pain.

"Shit…" Yamata grunts.

"Damn…" Mikoto grunts as well.

"Mikoto, distract them with your speed…" Yamata coughs.

"So-so you can get away…?" Mikoto coughs back.

"No…" Yamata answers. "It's too late for that now. Now…both of us are getting out here…"

Mikoto's eyes widen.

Weidling the brotherly bond between him and the reincarnated dragon that he slain thousands of years ago, Mikoto summons every last ounce of strength he has left, and pushes himself up to his feet.

"R-right…" he says.

Mikoto then crouches down low and places a hand on the hilt of his katana. And in the blink of an eye, Mikoto appears before me, before slashing me with his katana as he passes by.

"Sh-shit!" I grunt as I spit up a glob of blood.

"Zac-" Circe begins to cry, but her shouts are cut off short when Miktoto dashes by her and slashes the witch with his speedy katana as well.

"What's happening?!" Crimson cries as Miktoto dashes by her and slashes her as well.

"Mikoto…is a man who despises killing innocent people…" Yamata grunts as he slowly begins pushing himself off of the ground. "Which is ironic, because as he told me, Susano'o no Mikoto killed hundreds of people during the rampage that got me kicked outta heaven…" Yamata continues as he pushes himself back up to his feet. "But maybe that's why he doesn't like killing now, Miktoto is repenting for his sins, and is bettering himself," Yamata continues as he looks up to face is. "But the man you see before you…isn't Susano'o no Mikoto, the God of Storms going on a rampage, and it isn't Mikoto Rogue, the pacifist. This is a Mikoto that the world never gets to see.." Yamata finishes. And then…he smirks. "THIS IS MIKOTO THE THIEF OF THE ROGUE BROTHERS, A KILLING MACHINE WHOSE MURDERING CAPABILITIES SURPRISE EVEN MY OWN!"

As Yamata makes his speech, Mikoto continues slashing the three of us, who are powerless to do anything against his speed. Meanwhile, Yamata's eight dragon heads then begin to glow orange as they spin and merge together, forming their own huge dragon head-like cannon attached to Yamata's scarf.

"One head?!" I cry.

"You saw how powerful two heads were, imagine what one could do!" Crimson exclaims.

"And now…" Yamata begins to say as the jaws of his single dragon head open up wide, and a sphere of orange energy begins to charge upw ithin them, growing larger and larger and gathering more and more power.

"MONO DRAGON: SERPENT'S WRATH!"

Yamata's dragon head then fires that sphere of energy outwards in the form of a mighty laser beam, but rather than firing it towards us, Yamata aims his dragon to the ground, firing it against the floor of the museum with a giant flash, blinking us all.

"SHIT!" I cry as the burst of light caused by Yamata's attack renders me unable to see.

"Mikoto, let's go!" Yamata cries, and we hear a click sound as Mikoto sheaths his katana, before some heavy footsteps as the two brothers make their way over to the back door, followed by some scrambling noise as the door is opened. And then, once the flash of light finally subsides, we see that the Rogue Brothers…are gone. 

Reaper's Paranormal…has failed our first mission…

***

"WHADDAYA' MEAN, THEY'RE GONE?!" Mr Lincoln -owner of the Museum of Japanese History snaps- and I can hear, as he lectures us all, the sound of his admiration for us leaving his voice with each breath.

After the Rogue Brothers had fled, looking at the state of Crimson, Circe, and I, who were too bloodied up to chase the Rogue Brothers, factoring in their head start and Mikoto's speed, we called the mission a failure. After that, we called up Mr Linclon to tell him that the Rogue Brothers had escaped witht eh Orochi Dragon Scarf and the Susano'o Katana, to which he arrived surprisingly fast, then instantly began to chew us out. I can't say I blame him. We failed.

THis is the first case that Reaper's Paranormal has failed. And as stuck up as it is to say, it feels..weird. Of course, I've lost fights before, no shame about that, but this feels…different. It feels much worse, as if my ego has been bruised, and not just my body.

Despite the absolute failure that was our mission, the six of us returned to our normal lives the very next day, and of course, we all saw one another back at school. All six of us wee rain the next day as well. Sort of. And as for the Rogue Brothers, well…we haven't seen them since.

And neither has the rest of the world, as their name disappeared from everyone's vocabulary.

***

"Oh, man, am I exhausted!" Yamata yawns as he stretches out his arms then flips backwards onto his bed, in the huge penthouse apartment that he and his brother are renting during their time in Nestant Town. Yamata then reaches behind his pillow and pulls out a bottle of alcohol, which he flicks the cap off, before taking a swig. "BLEGH," Yamata gags as he spits out the alcohol. "The booze here is terrible! Boy, do I miss Japanese sake!"

"Same here, brother," Miktoto sighs as he sits out on his bed and draws his Susanoo Katana, which he begins sharpening. "Those kids were surprisingly powerful for their age."

"Especially the Reaper and the Devil," Yamata adds. "But they were no match for even a mere fraction of my original powers!"

"So, where do we go from here?" Mikoto asks. "Back to Japan?"

"We?" Yamata asks as he stands up and wraps the Orochi Dragon Scarf around his neck. "What do you mean, we?"

"W-we're brothers, aren't we?" Mikoto asks as he sheaths his katana.

"Err, wrong!" Yamata buzzes. "I only teamed up with you 'cause no one else would believe me if I asked them to help me get my scarf!"

"Wh-what are you saying, brother…?" Mikoto sadly asks.

"Stop calling me that!" Yamata snaps, causing Mikoto to flinch. "I'm saying that we're done, you and I! You have your sword, I have my scarf, so now, we'll both go our separate ways. I'm leaving now. I'm gonna head back to Japan and finally get my hands on some good ass sake. I'll sleep around, drink around, and party. If anyone comes to stop me, I'll kill them. If I see you around, Mikoto, I'll leave you alone. Unless you try to stop me, or tag along with me, or whatever, and I'll kill you too, got it?"

"Y-yes, brother…" Mikoto sadly answers as he looks to the ground. "I mean… Yamata…"

The squabble between the two brothers is interrupted when they hear a knock on the apartment door.

"Wh-who would be knocking…?" Yamata asks as he creeps over to the door.

"Brother, be careful," Mikoto instructs.

"I have my scarf, I'll be fine," Yamata replies. "And stop calling me brother!"

Once in front of the door, Yamata peers through the peephole, seeing a man who looks to be about nineteen, with black hair standing up in short spikes and blue and white eyes, the color of souls.

"He looks…supernatural," Yamata comments, before opening the door to greet the man. "Yeah?" He asks, annoyed, causing the man to perk up. "What is it?"

"Yamata Rogue…" the man says as he peers up at Yamata. "Mikoto Rogue…" the man then continues as he looks past Yamata to Mikoto cautiously standing a few feet behind him.

"Those are our names," Yamata grunts.

"I see that you've obtained your weapons…" the man continues, causing the brothers to perk up.

"H-how do you know about them?!" Yamata cries.

The man then looks back up at Yamato and smirks. "You can call me Sagitarius," he says as he extends a hand out to Yamata. "How would you like to join me, and raise some Hell?"