𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 ━━ HOPE MIKAELSON ll

13

JAXON AND JOSIE found themselves following the Japanese till they arrived at the Mystic Falls High school. Their steps faltered when they saw Alaric with Hope and Landon near a car.

"Dad?" Josie called out as they neared the group.

"Josie?" Alaric frowned in confusion, "what the hell's going on?"

The Japanese guy then responded in his language earning confused looks from everyone around except Josie and Jaxon who knew the language.

"He said, 'we came to protect the bonsai-headed boy'— I think." Josie replied as she said something to the Japanese in his language which made him look at Hope who instantly knew they were talking about her. "That's Japanese for, what the hell is she doing here?"

"Fuck off," Jaxon said to Josie then looked at Hope, "don't mind her. She's had a tough day—"

"—Just because she's supernatural doesn't mean we can trust her." Josie cut Jaxon off as she said to Alaric, "I mean, she shouldn't be here."

"Seriously?" Jaxon groaned, narrowing his eyes at Josie as he whispered in a harsh whisper so they wouldn't hear, "even after I told you—"

"—It doesn't matter!" Josie whispered back, "I still feel threatened."

"That sounds like a you problem," Jaxon didn't bother speaking in hush whisper as he said that. Josie was about to say something when Alaric beat her to it, "Look, I will take all the help I can get. Even from him," he nodded in the direction of Kurutta who was now sitting on the pavement. "So ask him to tell us everything we should know."

"Kurutta-san," Josie said to him making him stand up as he began speaking while Josie translated, "dropped on his head as a baby. Samurai school to learn discipline. He learned to slay Oni— demons, which is what we're chasing. He was a hero." Jaxon's brows raised at his next words and a smile threatened to break out as Josie frowned, "All the women begged to— Kurutta-san, I don't even know that word, but it cannot be relevant."

"Josie, the point."

"Kurutta spent months tracking down an Oni that possessed people, moving from person to person by touch," Josie began narrating, "he was just about to kill it when it found its way into the body of a child and escaped him yet again. He gave chase and caught the demon. But he could not bring himself to harm an innocent child. So, instead, he made an impossible choice and he took the Oni into himself. But it was then that he realized, unlike everyone else who had been possessed and remembered nothing, he was still partly in control of his faculties. He thinks the Oni found it harder to possess his broken mind. His words, not mine. He tried to stab himself with his sword, and the Oni wouldn't let him. So he decided to never touch a person again."

"Feeling bad for him right now," Jaxon muttered earning a glare from Alaric which he dismissed with a grin.

"So that it could never possess anyone else," Josie continued, "and then Malivore, eternity of nothingness deep psychological torment. He came through an ana—" she frowned at the unfamiliar world.

"Portal," Jaxon said earning a nod from Josie just as Hope asked, "where?"

"Uh, sorry, the ancient samurai isn't an expert on Mystic Falls geography," Josie replied sarcastically just as Landon asked, "how do we kill the demon?"

"With his sword," replied the witch, "It's spelled with a special kind of magic, so if we can just find the Oni."

As if on cue, the truck beside Hope started moving, someone was inside, trying to get out. "Not a problem," Hope said, glancing at the truck. Just then, the door flew open and Rafael managed to get out.

"Wait, no, no, no, no!" Alaric said as the Japanese began fighting Rafael who was the current host of the demon.

"Motus," Hope said, making his sword that he was going to use to stab Rafael fly away making Rafael escape. Kurutta-san lied on the ground, mumbling something in his language.

"He said that could've gone better." Josie translated for the others while Jaxon made his way to Hope with a smile, "hello, love."

"Hi—"

"—Uh..." Alaric began with a frown as he stared at the two, "now's not the time for that. Did you forget that a demon kind of literally got inside the school?!"

"Right, sorry." Jaxon rolled his eyes with a fake apologetic tone, "let's get your demon."

‘Come see me.’ Hades spoke, ‘right now. We need to talk. It's important.’

‘I'm kind of in the middle of something here.’ Jaxon replied, ignoring the eyes on him, ‘can it wait?’

‘No. Get your ass here right now!’

‘Fine. Jeez.’ The demigod muttered, sighing before he broke the link.

"What is it?" Hope asked, already knowing that he was talking to the God of the underworld.

"He wants to see me," Jaxon responded as he took out the blade he'd always keep in his pants making Josie's eyes widened, having never seen that process before. "Wait, what are you doing? Who wants see you?"

"My dad," Jaxon replied, cutting open his palm with a blank face. Landon stared at the guy as if he had grown two heads, "what... what is he doing?"

"He's going to the underworld," Hope replied, watching as Jaxon allowed the blood to fall on the ground in front of them, "to see his dad. You wanna go, Landon?" She decided to tease the phoenix who instantly shook his head, "uh, to see Hades? no, no, no, thank you."

"He's not scary," Jaxon stated and they all watched as his wound healed itself then their eyes flickered to the blood on the ground which let out a bright red light. "All right, here we go."

"How long are you gonna take?" Alaric asked, eyeing the blood on the ground with confusion.

"Depends, why?"

"Don't take too long," he said, "we might need you here."

"Of course," he flashed him a smirk before placing his palm on his blood, the red light glowing at bright as ever making the others place their hands in front of their eyes to cover them from the bright light. When they removed their hand, neither Jaxon nor the blood that was on the ground were there.

_____________

What do you think Hades is gonna tell Jaxon?