Chapter 7

Once again, that Densuke kid had shown Rose that humans weren't entirely bad. She thought about their conversation once she classed the door. She had just left his room after he had passed out while they were in the middle of a conversation. Sure, it made her a little mad, but he was human, and he must have had an exhausting day. He had just been captured and beaten all day, only to find out his friends are in one of the most dangerous places to be in.

Densuke, unlike the way she thought he would be, was generally kind, thoughtful and tried to understand the ways of demons. He had asked her a bunch of questions regarding to normal shopping lives, rules between husband and wives, anything that might be different from humans and demons. And to both his and Rose's surprise, they didn't have that different of opinions on things, which worried Rose a bit. All her life, she had been taught that all humans and all demons were different from one another. To find out that most of their laws and views were the same...

When he grew hungry, he asked if there was anything he could do to help make something to eat. Rose, upon her queen's orders, told him that she would get it herself, but he insisted in helping in something that would be his mess (which Rose was grateful about). Not only that, but he made extra so that Rose would have something to eat while watching him. And the kid wasn't half bad with food like she had suspected him to be. He cooked a decent meal, especially for somebody who had never seen or heard of half of the ingredients he put in their sandwich.

Once they had eaten, and he was laying in the bed while she sat in a chair nearby, he was starting to ask her questions about herself. Questions from what her favorite thing to eat was, to what her childhood was like. She eyed him carefully, looking for anything that could be a trap of some sort. But he looked sincere, and that made her answer. But in the middle of her answering, he had fallen asleep, and she had snuck out of his room to let him rest. It was a big day tomorrow.

But something had disturbed Rose. Densuke had never asked anything about militia or warriors or anything. He didn't ask anything about fighting or security or anything a normal person would ask about before going to war. Or was this a normal human thing to lack response to an upcoming fight? Or was he the problem?

"You seem disturbed, Rose." she heard a voice behind her as she walked down the empty corridor of the palace. She turned around to see Arkos leaning on one of the pillars, grin intact with his slyness on his face.

"Well, for one, there's a ninja hiding in the palace. That's something that could get me fired." Rose said with a smile.

"Don't worry," Arkos said, pushing himself off the pillar, standing with his arms still crossed over his chest, pulling off the "Hard-ass" look. "I'm only going to be here for a second."

The news had hurt Rose a little. She was hoping to see him for a bit. It had been a few days since they had actually spoken to each other, which seemed like an eternity, even if they weren't together. However, she was careful not to show her excitement in seeing him. She still wasn't entirely sure where this feeling was coming from. She knew that it wasn't something she was proud of, and nothing anybody could find out about.

"Well, how can I further help the Great Arkos?" Rose feigned a humble bow.

"Well, actually," Arkos stated rather seriously. "I've heard some rumors. Well, news, is more like it."

"And what could that be?" Rose asked, almost smug. If Arkos was hearing something, it was probably old news. The one great thing about ninja's being so distant from the world was that they were the last to learn anything that happened. Which was good in this case. She couldn't even tell Arkos that the kids were captivated. Nobody was suppose to know that anybody knew. So, she had to keep her mouth-

"That the Densuke's friends have been held up by the Water nation."

Rose froze in place. He had heard already? If he, Arkos, the man to always be at the end of line of news, had heard the news, how many other people in the world had already known? Would the Water continent's security be up before they had a chance to start their battle plan? It had only been a few hours. How could he have known already?

Rose didn't know how to react. For one, she couldn't be caught looking surprised. That would give him the knowledge of how long the secret had been going on. He could blackmail the Plant continent and tell the other nations and Water nation if he wanted. All this was bad. Very bad.

"I was the one to tell your queen." Arkos said when Rose hadn't moved for moments. Rose looked at him with confusion. "I was dressed up as a messenger. I've known for a while."

"So that means you know our plan of action as well..." She glared at him. She hated this about him; knowing how he was and what he was after..."How much do you want in order to keep your mouth shut?"

"Your body for one night." Arkos grinned.

Rose froze again for a moment. She didn't think that she had heard right. Her look said exactly what she felt.

"Perhaps I've found a reason to relax." Arkos' grin had started to rise as he answered her confused look.

"And what could possibly find a way to make you relax from obtaining the world? Didn't you once say that nothing would make you stop? Not anybody or anything?"

"Maybe a little enjoyment of your company will inspire me." Arkos stretched, showing ease.

"You're such a pig." Rose shook her head with a smile.

"Is that a yes?"

"It's a maybe."

"We always know what happens when you say maybe."

Rose grinned at him with the same look he had on his face.

"Good. Than I don't have to say anymore." her voice was just as taunting as his voice had been.

"You're room, midnight." Arkos stated, a command, not a question. But before Rose could look at him fully and talk to him, he disappeared with a soft wind blow. She looked around the room, not seeing anybody or anything. She sighed. She always hated when he disappeared without a good bye.

"Midnight it is." she sighed to herself out loud, as if there was somebody there to hear. But, who knew. Maybe he was...

XXX

"So how long are you going to keep us locked up in here, ya jerk!?" Aiji demanded.

Leon, the blue haired demon, had simply looked in Aiji's direction, and then looked away. Again.

The group had been locked to t a wall in the dungeon, and Leon had been order to watch the prisoners until the queen was ready. Leon had shown no emotion, not even irritation, as the Aiji had yelled, screamed, swore, made funny faces, and made rude noises for hours on end. His own group seemed more ready to kill him than Leon had.

From what the group had seen, water was more than just a symbol in the land. Water was literally everywhere you looked. Some of the cities were underwater, others were on top of it, some were just on the shores of it. However, there were different types of water flow everywhere. Lakes, rivers, creeks, oceans, the works. And from what they've seen, even normal civilians could bend water to their use, making forms out of liquid, such as keys or hammers.

"God, this is so boring..." Aiji complained. "I thought maybe we would be fighting to the death or something if we were going to be here this long. I thought you said your queen hated humans. Why are we still alive?"

"I'm surprised we're still alive with the way your mouth never stops moving." Yuri stated with a sigh.

"Seriously, Aiji, you're kinda getting annoying. Even to me." Hannah imputed.

"Well, you can't blame me!" Aiji exclaimed. "This place sucks!"

"Hey, Leon." Ryuku called out. "Can you please send him to be the first to get killed?"

"It would be a pleasure." Leon said dryly. Nobody was sure if it was a joke, or if he meant it. Didn't matter, either way. Nobody wanted Aiji alive at the moment.

A knock was made on the steel door that guarded the only entrance in the entire dungeon, which Leon sat next to. He opened the door, and some of the guards had said that Leon's presence was requested by the queen. He gave a cold stare at the five, and then walked out, leaving them alone. Once the door closed, everyone looked at each other.

"So, what's the plan?" Yuri asked Ryuku.

"I dunno." Ryuku looked down in thought. "I mean, this place is heavily guarded. Even if we managed to get out, where could we go? We don't know where allies or enemies reside here. We don't have that map anymore. It's still in Ninja territory."

"We could just make a run for the border." Aiji suggested.

"And where exactly is that, idiot?" Hannah pointed out.

"Hannah's right." Yuri said. "We don't even know what continent are next to here, how far they are, or what their views on us humans are. Arkos did say that each continent had their own level of likes or hatred towards humans, right?"

"That's what I heard." Yuki stated. "So if we go out, we're simply shooting in the dark."

"But it's better than sitting here." Ryuku argued gently.

"Oh, really? Running, starving, and being hunted for days, possibly weeks on end is better than just sitting here?"

"Well, excuse me for trying to make us survive with a little hope!" Ryuku exclaimed. "I must be such a horrible person to want my friends and pissy girlfriend to get out of here okay!"

"Pissy!? Who the hell gave you the right to call me pissy! You're the one who's moaning and complaining like the little bitch you are!"

"Takes a bitch to know one!" Ryuku threw back.

"Well, at least I have enough balls to even attempt having intercourse with the man that I love. You couldn't even do that with me!"

"Well, I'm sorry that I wanted sex to mean something!" Ryuku was now shouting. "That I wanted it to be special, and not some friggin' demon horny air!"

"Um, guys?" Hannah tried to interrupt.

"Of course!" Yuri continued fighting. "I forget what a girl you are! You can't even just show a little bit of passion?"

"You call what could have happened passion!?" Ryuku yelled.

"Hello, guys?" Hannah said a little louder, but their glare was kept on each other.

"Well, it's better than being the only girl in the entire world who didn't have sex! Not to mention the girls who just so happened to be on the streets and shacked up with some guy! And I can't get my boyfriend to treat me with a little roughness? You should know I'm no princess."

"Well, excuse me! But did you ever think that maybe you're not the only person who needs to say okay to the sex issue!?"

"Guys?" Hannah tried one last time.

"WHAT!?" the two shouted at her in unison.

"Never mind..." Hannah was shot back into her meekness. But Yuri had used the moment of silence to make herself heard for the rest of the group.

"Look at you two." Yuri said with distaste. "You guys are arguing at the most crucial part of our capture. We're trying to figure out how to survive, and you guys are shouting about your sex life! Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this?" the two hung their heads in slight shame, but not looking in the others direction. "Now let's forget your little dispute and lets find a way to get out of here."

"We could always sacrifice Aiji and make a run for it." Hannah suggested, half joking.

"Thanks, babe." Aiji stated sarcastically.

"No, nobody's getting left behind." Ryuku stated. "No matter how much we all want him dead right now." Aiji was surprised that Ryuku, of all people was standing up for him. Aiji guessed he had misjudged-

"Densuke wouldn't forgive us." Ryuku stated his real reasons.

Or not.

"Some friends you are..." Aiji pouted.

They heard the steel door screech open, and they had seen several guards behind Leon. Nobody wore any form of emotion. Sure, the sea's a little grey at times, Yuri thought. But this is ridiculous.

"The queen would like to see you." Leon spoke.

The others didn't know what this had meant. They were told they were a minor problem, that the queen would arrange for their death when she had time. What could she possibly want? Were they all going to die now? It didn't help that the only time the soldiers showed emotion was when they unchained everyone, and gave them sly, dark grins.

As they walked down the corridor, they had seen that the ceiling had acted as an aquarium with several types of fish floating around. There were no walls, only pillars that had kept the building standing tall, and letting you get a great view of the sea that ran along the beach right outside of the corridor. The air smelt of both sand and pine forest, which was an odd combination.

As they walked into the throne room, there were almost no guards, which was surprising. Besides Leon, there had only been one other soldier there. Either the Water continent was a very peaceful place that they didn't need to worry about assassination, or the queen was so powerful that she...

"So, you're the humans?" a voice rang out. The throne was facing the opposite way from everybody, so nobody had seen the face of the queen. But her voice sounded strict, as if she had no intention of mercy or patients. Of course she didn't, Ryuku remembered. She hated humans, or at least that's what he heard. They had no chance, unless Arkos or Iro or somebody had busted through to save them. But nobody would get the news in time to even react before they were killed. The conversation with the queen would be their last.

"Yes." Ryuku said softly, not sure how to present themselves in the Demon World. One way to show respect back in the human world could be considered disrespectful down here.

"What are you going to do about it?" Aiji yelled with force.

Ryuku swore that if they were going to die slowly he was going to ask if he could kill Aiji himself.

"You humans find your way here to our world and manage to survive the aura change, which is quite impressive." the queen turned her throne around, which represented her. Her hair was a navy blue, her eyes were cold and sharp. She was a very tall woman, by human standards anyway. She stood at least six foot tall. Her posture had shown power and might, and Ryuku could clearly see why she was one of the more feared leaders in the world. Her presence alone was intimidating.

"However," the queen continued. "You humans shall pay for your intrusion and plans to overthrow our world order. You're giving certain groups in the world troublesome hopes that is ruining our world."

The group had heard her voice echoed through the hallways. Even her voice had showed power.

"Have you nothing to say?!" the queen shouted. The group couldn't help but look away. Her looks were too fierce. Ryuku had never felt so much fear from a person talking before. And it wasn't the control she held over all of the guards and such that were in the country. Her presence itself was terrifying. Going up against her, no matter how big of an army you had, would mean death. It was as if everything about her sucked any form of confidence or hope out of you.

"You humans are too weak to even speak. You're not worth being known as an enemy. You can't even be called prey."

"Now, Misty-poo, that's not very nice." a voice rang out from behind the group. Behind them, they could see a young female, about their age, if not a few years younger, walking into the throne room. She had baby-blue hair, which was tied into a pony tail. Her clothes were brightly colored, wearing board shorts that seemed a little too small, and a tank top with bright blue, yellow, and pink. She was barefoot, and had her arms crossed her arms lazily. Her facial expressions were the exact opposite of the queen that reigned on the throne. This girl's seemed happy, bubbly, even.

"I thought I told you to be nice to our guest when they arrived." the girl had stated as she walked past the group.

"You don't understand. These are humans. The filthy, disgusting creatures that had your parents killed without mercy."

"I know what they are, silly. I'm not dumb." the girl said in a manner that surprised Ryuku and the others. This girl had spoken to the queen in such a manner that was so familiar. Even if her and the queen were friends, didn't people have to show respect to those around company, whether they were enemies or not?

"And you're just going to talk to this filth..." the queen spewed, but the girl's eyes had hardened, and she spoke with quickness and sharpness as she seethed: "Misty!"

The queen was startled by the outburst. But then her eyes had done something that Ryuku hadn't expected. They softened. And then they looked down to the floor.

"I'm sorry, your majesty." the woman on the throne had stated.

"WHAT!?" the group had shouted in a scattered mess of a noise as they looked at the girl, the real queen of the Water Continent.

"It's fine, Misty. Just scoot your butt over so I can get a seat in my chair. I wanna talk to our human people."

Misty had gotten off the throne entirely, bowing as the real queen had started to sit on the chair. But as she sat down, she grabbed onto Misty's arm and pulled her to available space on the chair. It was like a little sister who was worshiped by the big sister. An odd sight...

"So, you guys are the humans, huh?" the real queen looked each one of them individually, studying their faces. When the studying was over, her face was filled with a huge smile. "Well, my name's Aqua! I'm the queen around here."

"Quite the hyper one." Yuki said quietly.

"No kidding." Hannah agreed.

"Well, how else are you going to have fun around here?" Aqua asked. The two had looked at her intently. They had no idea how she had managed to hear their words. They were being as quiet as possible.

"So, tell me..." Aqua stated as she crossed her legs Indian style. "Are all of you humans this quiet?"

"It's hard to talk when all you think about is how you're going to die." Ryuku stated with a mixture of plea and firmness on how wrong it all was.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Aqua waved her hand as she scoffed.

"You mean, you're not going to kill us?" Yuri asked.

"I never said that." Aqua laughed. "I just think you shouldn't worry about stuff you can't control. It dampens the mood on life."

"So does death..." Ryuku muttered.

"I'm just so curious..." Aqua stated. She stood up on her chair quickly before leaping down the steps, landing right in front of the group. She observed them closely, getting, literally, in their faces to get her thoughts. "I've never seen you humans before." she took a few steps back, not letting them out of her sight. She raised a finger to her dimple, thinking. "You know, you humans aren't too different looking from the stronger demons."

"Stronger demons?" Aiji repeated.

"Yeah. The stronger a demon is, the more... human, I guess you could say, they look. But the weaker ones look like giant bugs and stuff. Those are usually the demons who feast on anything and anybody without regards to rules or regulations. Those are the demons you usually fight in your world."

"So, you're a queen, huh?" Yuri asked. "I don't sense a lot of energy coming out of you, no offense."

"Nah, it's alright. At least you're starting to talk. But, yeah, I guess I've trained to hide so much of it when I'm not using it, that I've become weak looking. It's always nice to see the shocked look on opponents faces when they read my real power." Aqua laughed at a memory. "What about you guys? Are you super strong compared to others in your world?"
"I suppose..." Yuri said, looking at the others for reassurance. "I mean, I don't mean to speak for anyone but myself, but my boyfriend- I mean, our friend- Densuke is probably the most powerful out of us."

"You mean that Densuke kid isn't one of you two?" Aqua pointed to the boys.

"Sorry," Ryuku stated.

"Afraid not." Aiji shook his head.

"Well this is disappointing." Aqua said as she brought her finger back to her dimple. "Is he still in the Plant Continent's custody?" she asked.

"From what we know." Yuki offered.

"Huh..." Aqua thought. "I thought he would have been out by now. Oh well..." she stretched and back-flipped back into her seat in one leap. "I guess you guys are going to stay alive." she sounded disappointed.

"Alive?" Aiji asked happily.

"Yeah. I gotta have that Densuke kid to have a reason to come out here. If I defeat him, one of the strongest in your world, I know I can handle the demon hunters who killed my parents. That's all."

"So, all of this hunting us down is really to find out if you can find and beat the demon hunters who killed your parents." Hannah asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Man, Densuke would totally understand you." Ryuku laughed, and the others couldn't help but smile, which made Aqua cock her head in confusion. Was there something about death and family that this Densuke kid could relate with? And if it was as simple as that, they wouldn't be laughing. Something had to be a little bit more ironic in order for them to have that kinda grin in the situation they were in now.

The humans had started to talk about Densuke, and they were speaking about something he had done or where he was: stuff Aqua didn't entirely understand. While they were talking, she waved for Misty to lean over to Aqua.

"In three days, if Densuke hasn't come to save his friends..." she pointed to the group before running her finger across her throat, making the appropriate sound affects. And if Misty hadn't gotten the gestured hint, Aqua's eyes had said enough: Death.

XXX

Hakura had been in her castle, wandering the halls aimlessly. She was in thought about the situation for the last few days. Densuke had his friends had surely arrived to Demon World. She knew that much. She also knew that the Plant Continent had captured Densuke, but what had happened to his friends. It had been five days since Densuke's capture, and knowing that group, they would have attacked by now. Unless of course they were captured themselves.

This thought process had changed the whole view on things. Say they were captured. Depending on which continent had they were on, different things could very. Certain continents would use him as bait to get Densuke, thinking that he might have escaped, or they didn't get the news that he was captured. Others would use them as bait to other continent leaders as auctioning tools to gain more money than Hakura was putting out. Others would just spar them to death, while some would just kill for the sake of killing humans.

But Hakura couldn't worry about what ifs. She had to think about who could possibly have them and think about the children's situation. Lets say that Densuke's friends were captured. Who would have the greatest chance of capturing them? After some thought, the idea only came down to two: the Earth or the Water continents. They were the neighbors of the Plant continent. But which one.

If it had been water, Hakura couldn't help but smile. Although the Water and Plant continent had a truce, the two leaders hated each other more than dogs and cats did. Whenever the two were in the same room, everyone around could feel the tension. A word didn't have to be said, nor did a glance have to be made in order to strike up hatred among these two. They could just sense each other, and start to have a problem with one another. Trying to pry a human or group of humans from the other would truly be a sight for Hakura to see.

However, if the earth continent had captured them, they were probably slain already. The Earth continent was a land of peace. And peace had come with a price: no outsiders. Anybody inside the Earth continent had been there since the day they were born. If one individual caused too much trouble, he or she was outcasted. If they were to return, they were killed without so much of a second thought.

If the group was killed off, Hakura would be disappointed. Sure, she wanted the kids dead so she could have a peaceful rule, but the recent kings and queens were nowhere near the expectations that Hakura had. In fact, every single one of their advisors had been better suited for the job. But the advisors were too close of friends to betray their masters, even if it was to rule the perfect world. And since the rules stated a king or queen would rule until death, she couldn't do anything about it. Sure, she could kill them herself, but that would mean a possible assassination of Hakura out of retaliation of close friends of the said leaders.

All Hakura wanted from her world was peace. They grew restless with so many people reproducing, and that was the reason Hakura was trying to open the gate to the human world. Sure, the human world would be destroyed and havoc would ensue for them, but Hakura was hardly human. She just wanted peace for her people, just like when she first started her journey...

"Your majesty?" a voice called out. Hakura had come back to reality. When she looked up, she had seen her own advisor, Kiki. She was looking down at a notepad with a semi-worried face.

"What is it, Kiki?" Hakura asked softly, gazing upon one of the thousands of paintings that hung down her corridors, waiting for the news.

"Well, I've got some news on Mr. Hiromushu's friends."

"Dead or alive?" Hakura asked before Kiki could finish her sentence. She wanted to get straight to the point on the matter.

"Alive, ma'am."

Hakura sighed with relief. She then looked at Kiki, and began to walk down the corridor, Kiki following right behind her, reading off her notes.

"According to sources, they've been captured by the Water continent." Hakura had let out a snort of humor, and Kiki couldn't help but smile. Everyone in the world knew about the two queen's hatred for each other. Kiki continued. "It also appears that Densuke is being sent out to save his friends by orders of the Plant Continent."

"They probably want all the bodies for themselves without having to waste soldiers..." Hakura thought out loud to herself before pausing. She stood in the same thinking position for a few seconds before she turned to Kiki. "How did you find out about this so fast?"

"We had an envelope dropped off from an unknown source. We're looking to find who it could be-"

"Don't bother." Hakura interrupted. "It was Arkos, obviously. He's the world's largest big mouth; always giving hints or notes to anybody and everybody."

"Why do you think he does it?"

"To stir trouble. He knows that exposing things that should remain in the dark causes tension between lands. He wants the continents to fight each other."

"But that's not going to happen, is it?" Kiki asked rhetorically. "Not after what you've done."

"Right..." Hakura agreed as her thoughts started to take her back. "Not after what I had done..."

Hakura had slowly thought about the past. It was quite a rollercoaster ride. She had been born alone, nobody to watch over her. She had taught herself to survive in the old world of people simply killing each other to survive. Without any allies or partners, she had grown strong at a quick rate. By the time she was in adolescence, she was considered a threat to most of those in her area.

Back in those days, men were the ones who fought. Women were simply wenches who had brought the meals and repopulated the world, or let off sexual steam. No women fought, and if they tried, nobody had gone easy on them. They were destroyed as quickly as possible. Girls had their own worlds, and men had theirs; there was no reason to mingle those worlds.

Another thing that had been different around that time period, there had only been three kings. They had controlled a majority of the world, but they all hated each other with spite. War was as common as breathing, and continental cliques were made. Step foot in a territory you didn't belong to, the locals ganged up to kill you. Nobody traveled, nobody spoke out their ideas, nobody did anything but kill to survive.

However, with Hakura being both a woman and a drifter, she had been challenged and attempted to be killed on several occasions, but rose against those challenges. After a few years of managing to live, Hakura had spared a few lives, making a few alliances. Of course, she had only spared them to rub it in their faces that a female had the ability to fight as well as the next male, but some men had found themselves wanting to be her disciple. Hakura was originally against the idea, but with disciples came their friends. With friends gaining more friends to join under her teachings and her reign, Hakura could actually make a difference with her world. And so her plans to change her world had started.

Hakura had slowly, but surely, created an army. Any disciple that couldn't do her basic training, she killed herself. She had to weed out the weak ones out of her group. She moved across different lands, getting more and more people to follow her. After years of fighting and sparing, her army had grown to become more than just some thing that was talked about sometimes in a bar. Her army had been the biggest thing, and the three kings had started to take notice to it. It was then that Hakura needed to be destroyed.

Several assassination attempts had been made on Hakura, but she had survived them all. Not without several injuries and even more lives that she truly valued to be sacrificed. After a friend of hers, the very first female to join her group, a bright, strong girl by the name of Aria, had taken several arrows in order for Hakura to survive, Hakura had decided it was time to go into the offensive.

Hakura gather more soldiers in the next few months, and stormed the castle of the weaker King. It was a perfect invasion, and Hakura had killed the King without too much of an effort. He was more bark than bite. It was then that Hakura had become an official ruler of Demon World. But it wasn't enough. She had known that the other two kings had been in on the assassination plans.

Four months later, the second king had been killed by Hakura with more hassle, losing more than half of her army. But the King's people were completely destroyed. She had taken over two-thirds of the world, and she had seen that she was creating peace, something she had never seen before, and truly cherished. She had her heart set out to make the remaining hell of the planet into something livable.

The last King, however, was the strongest of the few, and he didn't die without destroying Hakura's body. Fortunately, Hakura had trained herself enough to learn to move her spirit out of her body and into another. But in her weak state, she couldn't do more than find a fetus of a human, before the baby had a real spirit.

She was born as a human, accepting her human name of Hakura, and lived as a human. The side affect of living in the human world so long in such a body was that she started to lose her memory of where she originally was from. By the time she had hit the age of thirteen in her human body, she had forgotten that she was a demon, but had developed demon hunting skills. She had killed efficiently, not leaving the horrid beasts alive, feeling somewhat of a hatred towards demons. But also an extreme curiosity towards them.

After years of hunting, Hakura had eventually spared a demon, letting it live. It had thanked her, and said that Hakura reminded the demon of their queen. Hakura didn't know that there was some sort of system, and decided to look further into demons and their way of thinking. All of this had been going on while training side-by-side with Taki, Densuke's mom.

But once Taki had married Densuke's father, Hakura had decided that she had to be as good as Taki in all ways. She found a man who she cared little for, but could support the two of them and quickly married. She heard that Taki had become a couple months pregnant, and Hakura had to have a baby as well. Once Taki had twins, one thought to be dead, Hakura had taken the baby, and placed it in an adoption center, where Yuki was adopted. It was a strike towards Taki, but one that was later left unfulfilling.

As the years passed, and Hakura kept trying to break the awesome title that Taki had held, Hakura had felt depressed, defeated. There was no way to stand up against someone so powerful, so amazing. Hakura would always be Taki's shadow. Plus, her marriage had been a disgrace with such a disgusting man. Her baby Yuri had been her only pride and joy. But even with her, the world still seemed to crumble around Hakura, making her contemplate suicide more than a few times a day.

But she didn't need suicide.

Hakura Hotomutsu had been hit by a truck while not paying close attention while crossing the street. She died instantly, but her spirit had gone on. She didn't know how she was able to stay alive outside of her body, but she had done it. Hakura had found a body of a woman who had passed away in a hospital, and they were putting the corpse in the tin canisters where they stored the dead.

Hakura managed to break out, and sneak out of the hospital without being noticed. She had regained all her memory of her passed human life, but she also realized that demons had played a special part in a past life before that she was a human. It was then that Hakura had actually taken the time to

But Hakura soon found out that demons were even less trust worthy than humans. Offer them something and they'll befriend you. Somebody else offers them something the slightest bit bigger, they'll sell you out in a heartbeat. She had to find somebody she could trust, some form of allies.

Then it struck her. After watching some children learning martial arts downtown, she had realized that the people who had shown the most loyalty to their masters were young children who had been grown up and trained by the same person. If Hakura could gather children and train them, she could show them her ways, her true ways. It was then Hakura had contacted Yuki's parents and offered to train Yuki, knowing that the entire family had been well respected Demon Hunters.

Several years passed, and Hakura had found Densuke. Her plan was simply to kill him, get the seed of Aitoshi and Taki, the two people who hurt her the most, out of the world. It could forever seal her dark past of the two after killing off Densuke's mother. But then another plan had come to mind. What could be better than training the child of the bitch you hated most to trust and learn from you?

Hakura had taught both Densuke and Yuki, only to find out that her daughter, Yuri, had been going to the same school as Densuke. Even though Hakura had been killed early in Yuri's life, and she doubted her father had mentioned her very much, Hakura couldn't feel that she couldn't show herself to Yuki. She would know who she was. She would ruin everything. If she said one word, Yuki and Densuke could find out about the past that she tried so hard to seal.

But a day had come that Hakura would forever remember. The day that Kagori had released Goro out of his seal, and Kagori had thrown Hakura down the cliff, and tossing a cliff on top of her. It wasn't Hakura who had managed to save her. Her demonic self had woken up, her entire memory had come back.

Just like when she was human, Hakura had a demon son who hadn't known much about her. Her demonic self was cast into human world when he was too young to remember anything. And Hakura, always staying in the shadows of people's lives, had made sure nobody had known who she was, neither in the human world nor the demon. She would come out when she was ready to take her title of supreme ruler back.

But as time had passed and Densuke had grown stronger, she was getting more well known. More people had began to figure out she was important and strong. It went against her plan. She had to make sure that nobody had gotten to close to her. Which worked out fine as she purposely lost against Kagori and Goro. She hadn't actually died, but had dispersed her spirit out of her body for a few hours. Same had happened when the funeral had come around. But she had the same body, mind, and memories. But she thought it was about time that she had ended her demon son's rule in the human world. She wanted peace for her demon race, the one she truly belonged with. And that would happen if demons could rule the human world, and she got rid of the disgraceful demons, which her son was included with.

She had killed her own son without as much as a second thought, and told her human side of the story to Densuke. She figured that if she was going to destroy him sooner or later, he had the right to know who had set up for the death of, and actually killed, his mother. And she knew that it would take her a year to open up the gate. So she thought that she would have some fun with Densuke and his friends. She knew that Densuke had the same spirit as his mother. He would do anything to keep his world safe. She wanted to see if she could get him to kill off these ridiculous people who had claimed to be rulers as queens and kings while she was gone, and she could find the right people to rule the planet. She would take care of Densuke when his job was over.

And that's where she was now: simply waiting. It had already almost been three weeks since they had come to the demon world, and all they had managed to do was get used to the air and get captured. Hakura knew that they would be slow at adjusting to the demon world, but she guessed she overestimated them. She had no idea it would take this long.

"Kiki?" Hakura said, coming back to reality again. She didn't have to look at Kiki to know that she had her attention. Hakura gave a grin, even though she knew nobody could see it. She, for once, was feeling a little giddy. "Grab your coat. We're going to watch Densuke try to free his friends and cause the first world war we've had in a while..."