Warning: Suikoden II Spoilers

Hero's Name: Riou (Duh)

Army Name: Wei

Castle Name: He Fei

Lucageist!

Chapter I: Shu, Where Are You?

He Fei Castle, once a run down castle, now a thriving city.

The war with Highland had finally ended, everyone was preparing for the rebuilding of Jowston. Shu, the Wei army strategist, was in his chambers...

Shu looked over various documents on his desk. The first act would be to assimilate the captured Highland territory into Jowston, while keeping the citizens aware that they will not be treated as Luca treated the Jowston citizens. That would be hard enough with the knowledge of Lord Riou's rune.

Shu sighed, looking at a grandfather clock on the wall, "I might as well call it day and enjoy dinner."

"Hoo hoo hoo..."

Shu's eyes widened, he turned...

...Nothing. He must have been hearing things.

"Hee hee hee..."

There it was again! What the hell was that! ...Probably someone in the bar, or the castle settling. That's just it, Shu.

"MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

...That was a bird. ...The...Jowston Loud Mouthed Eagle.

Shu carefully made his way to the door. He opened it.

About halfway, it slammed shut on its own.

"Who's there! Luc? Is this one of your damned tricks! I'm not in the mood!" Shu shouted, turning around.

"Close, pig..."

That voice... ...Impossible.

"...All right," Shu said, calming down, "Whoever you are, you do an incredible imitation of- AUGH!"

A white aura surrounded Shu, the strategist tried to scream, but he could not. Electricity, worse than even the Thor attack of the Thunder Rune, surged through his body.

After a moment, the aura faded and Shu fell to his knees, panting heavilly.

"...Hoo hoo hoo... Heee Hee Hee..." The strategist chuckled, "MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

-

Riou Genkaku and his fellow stars of destiny (excluding Kiba and Nanami, sadly, they had fallen during the war) sat at a large table in the dining hall. A fine meal was prepared by Hai Yo, to celebrate the victory over Highland.

"...Where's Shu?" Luc asked, breaking a dinner roll.

"Probably busy." Teresa replied, sitting across from Luc, with Shin at her side, "He wasn't here for lunch, or even breakfast."

"Too bad..." Riou lowered his head.

The door to the dining hall opened, loudly hitting the wall.

"Oh, Lord Shu!" Riou smiled, waving to the strategist.

Shu stood straight, looking forward at all of the stars of destiny, "...HELLO..." He said, through his teeth, smiling.

"Lord Shu, you're just in time!" Hai Yo came into the kitchen, carrying a roast pig, "The main course is just about to be served!"

"Oh...GOOD...I like...pig." Shu carefully made his way to the empty seat to the left of Riou, who stood at the head of the table. He sat down as Hai Yo rested the pig in the center of the table. He gave Riou the first piece, knowing which slice he liked.

"May I...please...have a leg?" Shu asked, somewhat strangely.

"Of course, Lord Shu!" Hai Yo smiled, cutting Shu's piece, "I hope you like the spices I used, it's recipe that Lord Gremio gave me."

"Oh, I LOVE pig... ...Especially roasted." Shu was staring at Riou as he said this, however, the army leader failed to notice the crazed look in Shu's eyes, looking somewhat like Sid whenever he tried to scare Tuta.

"I always thought you liked beef." Teresa said.

"I prefer pig... ...Roasted. Over an open fire."

Hai Yo placed Shu's plate in front of him.

"Thank...you..." Shu said, he furiously picked up the piece of meat, and (loudly) began to tear into it.

Hai Yo's jaw dropped, while various other stars gave him an odd look. Riou just stared at Shu, eyes widened.

Shu noticed this, "...Oh...Right..." He put down the meat, took a napkin and tied it around his neck. Again, he began tearing into the piece of meat.

Miklotov pushed his plate aside, losing his appetite as he watched Shu eat.

A few others did the same.

"Uh... Lord Shu... ...are you...feeling okay?" Riou asked.

"...FINE...LORD RIOU." Shu said, with his mouthful.

"You just seem to be acting weird..."

"I'm...very hungry." Shu replied. He tossed the cleaned bone behind him, it clattered on the stone floor.

"We can see that..." Viktor muttered.

"I would have expected you to be the one to eat like that." Flik whispered to Viktor. Viktor shot him a glare.

Shu stood up, "I need to...return to my quarters... ...To plan revenge- I mean... ...To strategize...things..." He left the table.

"...What the hell just happened?" Camus asked.

"As corny as it sounds, I believe Shu forgot his table manners at the door." Miklotov said, "...Among his wits."

"...So... What's for dessert?" Riou said to Hai Yo, hoping to change the mood at the table.

As he said this, Shu walked back into the dining room. His face and hands covered in chocolate pudding, "By the way, Hai Yo, I found this in the kitchen while looking for some more...pig... Delicious." He licked his fingers and left.

"...That." Hai Yo said, "Fear not! I made ice cream just this afternoon!" Hai Yo quickly ran back to the kitchen. His shouting was heard next, "SHU! GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY BUTCHER'S KNIFE!"

"...SORRY...!" Shu's footsteps, leaving the kitchen were heard.

Hai Yo poked his head out of the kitchen, "...Uh... I'll be back with dessert after I...make more ice cream..."

The stars began to talk...

"What do you suppose is going on?" Teresa asked, "Shu was perfectly normal this morning when I saw him."

"Maybe he's just in a hurry to go back to work." Miklotov suggested, "Even though it doesn't quite excuse his table manners..."

"Maybe he lost it, maybe thinking so much fried his brain." Apple said, "I've know Shu for years, he would never act like this normally."

Shu suddenly poked his head into the room, "...By the way... ...I'm perfectly normal and sane as of now. Don't suspect anything different, it's me, regular old Lu- ...Shu. Yes, Shu. Ta ta." The sound of Shu running through the castle echoed through the dining room.

"...I'm willing to go with fried brain." Riddley said

"Agreed." Various other stars said.

-

The next morning was just as weird, Shu was in the dojo... ...Training with a sword. He was doing exceptionally well, too. Various stars remained behind to keep an eye on Shu, something was definitely off about him. At breakfast, all he ate was bacon and sausage. He also threw a fit at Hai Yo when he found out the bacon wasn't really "pig," it was Kosher turkey bacon.

"TAKE THIS!" Shu threw his sword downward, slicing a block of wood into pieces. A few soldiers backed away as Shu continued to chop it furiously.

"Something's wrong with that man..." Long Chan Chan halted his training, he watched Shu closely, "Wakaba... Do me a favor and-"

"Get Riou?" Wakaba asked.

"-get me some food, I need to think on this."

Wakaba nodded, giving LC Chan a weird look as she left the dojo.

Long Chan Chan studied Shu's fighting style...He could have sworn he saw it before.

Shu gave Long Chan Chan a sharp glare, even the great (and gluttonous) martial arts master fell back as Shu stared at him. His eyes were different, somehow.

Shu grinned then went back to slicing a wooden dummy.

"...I know that fighting style." Long Chan Chan stood up, he turned to Riddley, who was observing the Kobold training, "Lord Riddley, when Wakaba returns, have her send my food to the bar, I need to think!"

"Uh... Right..." Riddley rolled his eyes as Long Chan Chan ran off.

Shu continued fighting like this for serveral hours, not taking a break. Soldiers were beginning to question whether or not Shu would ever stop. Almost all of the wooden dummies were destroyed, Shu even broke three sword hilts with his grip.

Flik and Viktor were the reason Shu finally stopped training, "Lord Shu... I don't want to disturb you, but, it's time you saw Lord Riou about what to do with the Highland Kingdom..." Flik said.

"...Oh, RIGHT..." Shu grinned, "I'll...See...Riou... ...Hoo hoo hoo...Hee hee hee... Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Shu chuckled.

"He's in his room, alone." Viktor said, "Y'know, tallest tower with that observation deck with no rail to keep someone from tripping and falling. It's also the one where no-one could hear you scream if you were being murdered, Riou's a light sleeper you know!"

"...Excellent..." Shu left.

"...Why'd you tell him all that? He's lived in the room below Riou."

Viktor shrugged, "I dunno."

-

Meanwhile, in Leona's bar... LC Chan and Wakaba were eating, LC Chan thought long and hard about Shu's fighting style...

...Then, it hit him!

"WAKABA! Quickly, get-"

"-more food?" Wakaba asked.

"No! Get Kahn! I must protect Lord Riou from Luca Blight!" LC Chan took a quick gulp of his drink, then ran off.

"Uh... ..Right..." Wakaba gave her master another weird look as he ran off into the castle. She then shrugged and looked in search of Kahn.

-

"Oh, Lord Shu!" Riou bowed, greeting his strategist, "Thank you for seeing me. I need your advice on how to deal with the Highland Kingdom. Since we conquered them, we need to-"

"LET'S...Discuss this on the observation deck, Lord...Riou...I need some fresh air..." Shu said, with an odd grin on his face.

"Of course." Riou nodded, smiling. He walked to the stairs leading to the observation deck.

-

LC Chan ran straight into Riou's room, throwing the door open, "LORD RIOU! SHU IS- ...Crap." Riou wasn't in his room.

"L-LORD SHU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? HEEEEELP! PUT ME DOWN!"

He was on the observation deck with Shu...Great.

LC Chan charged up the stairs, "LORD RIOU! I'LL SAVE YOU!" He arrived to find Shu holding Riou over his head, standing at the edge of the observation deck.

"MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Shu laughed in triumph, "NOW I HAVE YOU!"

"NO YOU DON'T!" LC Chan charged forward...

...and accidently pushed both Shu and Riou over the edge.

"...Eep." LC Chan looked over the edge. Riou was screaming and Shu was laughing maniacly... ...Like Luca Blight would.

That was when it happened...Be it a miracle or just good timing...

Feather with his rider, Ayda, swooped below Riou and caught him. Shu continued to fall, screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" loudly.

Ayda and Feather landed in the courtyard...

Shu crashed through the ceiling of the restaurant, destroying a table.

Ayda climbed off of feather, however, she had trouble getting Riou to let go of her.

Flik, Viktor and other stars came to the scene, they had heard the screaming.

"LET GO!" Ayda shouted, Riou was a pale white and his eyes were wide. He was on Ayda's back, holding on like he did when Ayda and Feather caught him.

Viktor and Flik eventually pried him off of Ayda, but Riou didn't seem to respond.

"Lord Riou...Are you okay...?" Flik leaned forward, he waved his hand over Riou's eyes.

Riou suddenly jumped up, he grabbed onto Flik's cape and pulled him closer, "I...was...scared..." He said.

"We gathered that."

"So...scared..." Riou released Flik's cape and fainted.

"...What the hell just happened?" Viktor asked.

-

On the top of the observation deck, LC Chan sighed in relief as he saw that Riou was safe (although a bit terrified). He then looked to where Shu landed...

...The man was gone! Shu somehow survived the fall and ran off! That confirmed it! Shu was Luca Blight... ...Or possessed by him, rather. Either way, this was bad, very bad.

-

Hai Yo looked at the hole in his roof, then the destroyed table, "...What's with this place lately?"

A waitress shrugged, "Shu just...fell...Then ran off, screaming about something."

"...Well, he's paying for this!" Hai Yo growled, "Let's clean this up before lunch..." He sighed, "It'd better not rain today."

-

Huan and Tuta were looking over Riou, while Viktor and Flik stood guard, soldiers were placed around the entire area, windows, doors, inside, everywhere. LC Chan filled in the Castle, Shu was the one who pushed Riou off of the observation deck and then tripped and fell as well (as LC Chan described). Hai Yo confirmed that Shu survived the fall.

The door to Huan's office opened.

"Well, doctor?" Flik asked.

"He needs to stay in bed for a few days, from the look of his face when you brought him him, the fall took a few years off of his life. Other than rest, he's fine. A few bruises, his color should return in about a day."

"Good, we'll position guards around his room, around his bed, everywhere! Shu won't get away with this!" Flik shouted, "I can't believe he would turn on Riou like this!"

"He doesn't do it by choice." A voice from the corner of the room said.

"Who's there!" Viktor drew out his sword, Flik did the same.

Kahn stepped out of the shadows, "Relax. It's me."

"Kahn? I thought you left to South Window."

"Wakaba found me and brought me back. LC Chan filled me in, from the sounds of Shu's sudden change in behavior and his new laugh, he has been posessed!"

"But... By who?" Huan asked.

"Think, who is the one person who has good reason to come back from the grave to kill Riou?"

"...You... Don't mean..." Viktor looked back into Huan's office, cautiously.

"Luca Blight!" Kahn announced, "Luca Blight has possesed Shu to get to Riou. It's simple! The inhuman strength, the sudden pork intake, the laugh, it must be Luca!"

"...Impossible..." Flik sheathed his sword and lowered his head in thought, "...If this is true, then, we must be extemely cautious! Luca is out there, again!"

"Exactly, give me two hours and I can put a seal at Riou's door to prevent Luca from entering." Kahn said, "If you'll excuse me." Kahn bowed and left. A soldier passed by him, running to Viktor and Flik.

"Lord Viktor! Lord Flik!" The soldier kneeled, "Shu has been captured, he is being held in the dungeon. We await your orders, or those of Lord Riou!"

"Keep him captive, have as many guards around his cell as possible!" Viktor ordered, "No matter what, he cannot escape!"

"Yes, my lords!" The soldier ran off to give the orders.

-

Kahn's seal was in place, Riou was in bed. Now all that had to be done was find a way to exorcise Shu. That could be a problem...

Especially because Kahn didn't have the proper materials for such a thing.

"I'm sorry, but I need holy water." Kahn said, "Holy water and a priest."

"Aren't you a priest?" LC Chan asked. He, Ayda, Wakaba, Hai Yo, Viktor, Flik, Tuta, and Huan had gathered in the meeting hall. They were the only ones with knowledge of Shu's insanityposession.

"I'm not a priest! I'm a vampire hunter, there's a large difference!" Kahn said, "There is an alternative..."

"What's that?" Viktor asked.

"Well, Luca can only posess one person at a time, and only once." Kahn explained, "If we can lure Luca out of Shu and into another person, he couldn't posess Shu again. This can be done, and we can trap him into an object, instead of a person."

"An object? Like what?" Hai Yo asked.

"A lamp, an arrow, a book. Whatever it is, we can seal Luca in there permanently." Kahn said, "I'll begin placing seals around the doors in and out of this castle. That way, we can keep Luca in the castle. We'll have the homefield advantage."

"Good." Ayda said, "How do we lure him out?"

Kahn was silent, "...I'm still working on that..."

"...Great." Flik muttered.

"Wait! I've got it! What are the things Luca likes? Something he would leave Shu for someone else for?"

"...Killing Riou?" Ayda suggested.

"Besides that."

"...PORK!" Viktor shouted.

"...Pork?" Tuta asked.

"Luca always talked about pigs, and when he first possessed Shu, all he wanted was pork and things like that!" Viktor said, "We can lure him out with that! Hai Yo, can you make an all pork banquet tonight?"

"I can." Hai Yo said, "But how do we make sure he posesses someone we can easily identify?"

"Easy." Kahn said, "We'll set bait. Have someone stand outside of Shu's cell, alone, and talk about the banquet. Then, Luca will possess our bait."

"One problem," Huan held up a finger, "who's the bait?"

"Someone weak, someone Luca can't be at full strength with... Someone Luca could easily possess, as well..." Kahn thought.

LC Chan and Wakaba thought, everyone else lowered their heads in thought.

Tuta coughed while thinking.

All eyes went to Tuta.

"...No. OH, NO!" Tuta stepped back, shaking his head, "No way! No!"

"Tuta, it will only be temporary, you won't even remember what you did as Luca!" Kahn said.

"What if I kill someone?"

"You won't, we'll make sure of it!" Flik said.

"Tuta, you're a child. Luca couldn't be at full strength within your body." Huan explained, "Please, Tuta, we'll make sure you won't be hurt."

"...You promise I won't fall out of a window?" Tuta asked.

Kahn nodded, "Promise. We'll begin tonight. Until then, I'll start setting seals. Good luck, everyone." He left.

The group separated.

Flik and Viktor left to stand guard outside of Riou's room.

Wakaba and LC Chan to keep an eye on Shu.

Huan and Tuta back to Huan's office.

Kahn to place seals around the Castle.

Ayda to prepare for the battle.

Hai Yo to cook the food.

To Be Continued...