Shin Minako, The finale of the Dichotomy trilogy Rating Options

[MorriganAensland]

A/N: Well, hot damn. I'm one story away from finishing this grand trilogy which started out just being an attempt to write an unconventional Magic Girl story fraught with too many references to Super and Real Robot anime. When I started, I had no idea how things were going to play out, and even now, there's still a long road ahead of me and I don't know how everything's going to play out. But that's what makes it exciting. Well, enough talking... time to start this last installment of the Dichotomy Trilogy.

The light

When the alarm went off that morning, I was already up. The New Years Eve celebration last night ushering in the year 2015 hadn't given me much time to sleep. And even when I did find the time to rest I found myself out of bed long before I had planned. It was a new year... the last year Mizuki, Asuka, my sister... heck, everyone I was close to, would be at M-- University. Winter break would be over soon, and then we could finish up this grand journey at Tokyo's famous school of higher learning.

My name is Minako Yuki. I am twenty-one years old and live at home with my slightly younger sister Hokuko. Twenty-seven months ago, a lot of crazy stuff happened in my life but things had been sorted out by the efforts of my friends and things had returned to normalcy for me. In spite of two isolated incidents which ended up correcting themselves without my involvement, the past two years of my life had been the best ever. No scrambling and fighting monsters, no taking orders from a woman with her own twisted ambitions, and no wondering how exactly I fit into the grand scheme of things.

There was a knock at my door and a girl with short brown hair and glasses peeked through the door. “Minako, you up for breakfast or do you want to wash up first?” She was Akane Kirashima, the first friend I ever remember having in all my life even though we drifted apart when we were just children. During the battles in 2012, however, we ended up reconnecting, and I owed Akane my very life.

“I think I'd like to eat,” I told her as I looked out the window and whistled. The snowfall hadn't let up that much from last night, and before I could even start to muse about how Hokuko was handling it, Akane beat me to the punch.

“Asuka and Horoki snapped a few photos of your 'sister' last night,” Akane said with a yawn. “She's out of the house, but she has to use a rather... how shall we say... conspicuous means of avoiding the problem with you-know-what.”

“How conspicuous?”

“An umbrella. An easy one to notice too.” She laughed before cracking her neck. “We'll be getting some photos later today, hopefully. We can take a look at them after we come back.”

“No problem. I'll be sure to check the weather forecast them.”

“Alright then. I'll let you know when it's your turn to wash up then, Minako.” With that, Akane left me to my private little world to think about 'them'. They were my parents, and as much as I'd liked to say they raised me right well... I wouldn't really know.

They died ten years ago, struck down by the cruel whims of destiny. Not long after that, I met a woman named Loretta Brauner, who gave me a purpose and a duty to fight for. And then... stuff happened for the next eight years of my life and it wasn't until I met the woman named Mizuki Rajoshin did things straighten out. And since they were buried here in Kyoto and I spent most of the year in Tokyo, I didn't get to visit them that much... but this year was different and that's why I was here.

It was starting to snow again. I'd have to hurry up if it took a turn for the worse.
_
The maiden

Argh. Goddamn jet lag. I'd thought I had shaken it off after a few days in New York City, but I guessed wrong since I was on my last legs when it was barely evening. And considering how much of a fool I looked already, I was not going to lose consciousness at an anime convention.

My cell phone got a call and I was once again glad I had the foresight to set it to “vibrate”. No way I could hear it with so many shouts and discussions going on all around me. I did my best to find a quiet little alcove and then answered it.

“Yeah?”

“Just checking in, Mizuki,” my father's voice said. “The session should be wrapping up in a few hours. We'll be home soon. How's the convention?”

“... I still can't figure out how she got me to agree to this.”

There was an amused laugh. “I'm going to take that as you saying 'good'. Do you want us to pick up some food or something for dinner?”

“It was getting late,” I told him, “So I already got something to eat. I'm going straight to bed when I get home... no questions asked.”

“Are you sure you don't want us to skip out and get you?”

“Nah, I can power through this. But I appreciate the thought though. Let me know when you're done and I'll head outside so you can pick me up.”

“Okay then. I love you, Mizuki.”

“Love you too, dad.” And with that, I went back to the convention.

I... have a friend named Horoki. She helps me out with math and when she found out I was going to New York to spend time with my parents, she begged me to go and get her all the paraphernalia I could. It didn't help that pretty much everyone else I considered a friend was interested in at least one series being exhibited there. And naturally, they also demanded I cosplay... so I was dressed up in a ridiculously frilly black and white dress. At least Horoki had no objection to me wearing my yellow headband as a long choker and my similarly-colored scarf as a ribbon on the front.

The lines for Arcane Hecate and Maji School, located next to each other were finally starting to thin out. It was late and besides, a number of events were going to be starting soon. If I was lucky, things would go fast and I could just jump to one booth after finishing up with another. I had no interest in hearing some prodigy author who didn't seem to realize there were more fantasy creatures than just dragons rant on and on anyways.

Opposite of me looked to be a woman around thirty years old with a little kid, I would've said a mother and son except for the fact they looked very different. The child looked fairly normal save for dark violet hair and probably was American or European, but the woman was definitely Japanese. Her red hair was less unconventional than the boy's... but still rather uncommon.

But what really threw me off was that these situations usually involved the kid dragging the parent everywhere. Here...

“Oh god, Anser... this is going to be so freaking awesome!!!”

… It seemed the opposite. Oh well... that kid was handling it well enough so there was no reason I couldn't.

“Wah! Saori!”

Anser's shouts caused me to turn again, seeing the woman staring at me again with a nervous look in her eyes. Behind a set of light-blue sunglasses, Saori blinked once before clearing her throat. “Ah, sorry... you... looked a little like someone I had trouble with a few months ago.” The redhead laughed before she stretched out her hand. “But that problem's been over and done with.”

I couldn't help but laugh in return and shake her hand. Me, resemble someone? Well... there were over six billion people on the planet, after all. “I've had my own share of trouble in the past. Again, it's all over and done with.”

“Saori Ichimonji,” the woman said before looking down to the boy and smiling. “This is Anser. He's my adoptive son.”

“Nice to meet you too,” I told him before we realized we were holding up the line and quickly advanced In mid-stride, I couldn't help but notice he was looking at the ever-approaching booth with more dread. “Oh, come on. Your mom can't be that bad, can she?”

The younger Ichimonji just looked at me for a moment before sighing.

“She's written fanfiction for Maji School.”

“Hey!” Saori scolded. “It kills time when I have nothing to do at L++ or at work! What's the shame in that, Anser?”

“...” Anser was not in the mood to continue this conversation and he took charge. “Anyways... and I'm sorry if this sounds like prying or anything, but your name wouldn't happen to be Mizuki Rajoshin, would it?”

…

“Well... yeah... but... do I... know you?”

“To be honest...” Saori began to say when a loud and overwhelming voice was broadcast over the intercom, coercing all into silence.

“Attention, all attenders of Mahoucon... we must tragically inform you that an accident has happened. Please leave through the closest exit immediately. Your names are on record and your admission fee will be reimbursed in the near future. Apologies, and again, please leave through the closest exit immediately. Thank you for your consideration.”

There was something about the man's voice that let me know the severity of the situation, and I wasn't the only one that was clued in. Even after the broadcast ended, hardly anybody seemed to be in the mood to rant about this turn of events, and those that did were swiftly shut up.

The woman and the child were gone, leaving me alone in my stupid Magic Girl outfit and wondering how they knew of me. There was quite a line being formed in front of the exits, and I mused it was a miracle that everyone was staying under as much control as they were. But more importantly, in that crowd Saori and Anser were nowhere to be seen, and that possibly meant they were they were connected to this.

If they were enemies, they were something entirely new, and something I might not have a second chance to get the jump on. And so against my better judgment, I began to walk further into the convention center. Nobody was really paying attention to me, which was good as I undid my “ribbon” and “choker” returning the effects to their proper places. My dress was... something unwieldy, but hopefully it would be only a minor problem if it came to fighting.

And with that, I pressed on to confront the woman named Saori Ichimonji.
_
The light

I couldn't recall the last time I had been at this cemetery, paying my respects to the people that had raised me. And considering how my life had settled out into something manageable for the past twenty-seven months, that really spoke ill of me. But maybe I was just waiting for a nice atmosphere to do it in. A bouquet of flowers had been placed between their graves and I smiled amidst the descending snow as Akane stood off to the side.

After a moment I sighed and started walking towards her. “Okay... I think I'm done here.”

“That was quick,” she said before falling in step with me. “Did you... like... say anything to them?”

“No,” I answered. “But I wanted to be there... and show them that I was happy.” And that was true. I had a good friends, a loving girlfriend, and a simple life. There wasn't anything that could-

There was the faint sound of a foot falling into the snow. Instinct took hold as my entire body performed the motions that had been all but routine after so many fights for so many years. My hands gripped Akane's jacket, pulling her out of the way as a very large and very unconventional spear sailed through the air where we had been moments before. In spite of the snow kicked up by the weapon's impact with the ground, I still saw enough of it.

The blade was... a seashell. A perfectly blue seashell, attached to a wooden shaft with nothing but rope. In spite of the primitive nature of the weapon, I had to attest to its strength.

After all, it had pierced clean through a pair of tombstones after missing us.

“After sitting on her hands for over two years, it's amazing you still have a fighter's discipline, Minako Yuki. Dario... I think we might have gone into all of this without thinking it through.”

I turned, keeping Akane behind me. Sure enough, a pair of individuals were there... a girl with curly light-brown hair and pink robes next to a guy in...

A loincloth?!?

It made no sense... accompanying the woman in the mid-day snow was a very, very well-toned man with darkly tanned skin and short blonde hair. And the only article of clothing on him was a scrap of cloth covering his shame.

“Apologies, Arys,” Dario confessed as he bowed his head down. “After all this time and the operation's-”

“Nonsense,” the woman, Arys responded as she looked at him and smirked. “The element of surprise isn't that important.”

“But-”

“Now hold on a minute!” I shouted. “I don't know who exactly you are but I came here for a very personal reason and I'm not in the mood for this!”

The two people exchanged glances before Arys sighed. “... Dario, as I was saying...” there was a flash of steel and Akane and I sprang away, having predicted the woman's tactic long in advance. An elegant , blood-red katana cut into the ground where we had been moments before.

“Akane!” I shouted as I looked at her, “Get out of here!”

“What about-”

I clenched my fists. “I'll be fine.” I had Dario and Arys's attention and I called upon my powers for the first time in a long time. Even if they didn't serve the ideals of Destiny... even if they didn't have anything to do with that whole debacle involving Soma and Ikki Higashi eighteen months ago...

I'd fight them.

“CHANGE!” I screamed out, “YAMI!”

There was a flash of brilliant light and then...

“M-Minako!”
_
The mirror

There was only one time during the battle of 2012 that I saw Minako's armor: at a point when we all would have died had she not called upon it. It was white like the snow, a practical design that still carried an angelic theme with it, complete with deployable wings to permit flight.

Don't ask me about the last part. It was the powers of a Magic Girl and you just had to roll with the punches.

… What Minako had called to her now... was not that armor. The white plates were dull and soiled, fractured in numerous areas and a pathetic shadow of what I remembered it being two years ago. Minako was all but petrified, Arys and Dario looking on at these developments with smug looks on their faces.

“It's been so long without her maintaining your armor...” Dario calmly explained. “You're helpless, Minako Yuki!”

Arys attacked again, Minako diving out of the way. She was recovering her composure, but my friend still needed help and-

“Go ahead... try it.” I looked up, seeing Dario leaning against a grave. While Minako was fighting for her life against the woman, the blonde-haired man just stared back at me. “It's the obvious thing to do, right? She needs a weapon and... well, you know.”

“... Why aren't you helping your friend?”

The katana crashed into something and I almost panicked, barely relieved that it was just another tombstone. Minako moved in to attack and I almost let myself calm down before I realized that I was still in a conversation with the enemy.

“Oh... I already am...” he responded. Looking back at Dario, I found another spear leveled straight at my throat. “No mirror means no healing... correct Miss Kirishima?”

… God... dammit.

“Miss Yuki!” Dario shouted, drawing Minako's attention as Arys pulled away from the knight in failing armor. “I'd advise you to surrender and end this charade. Our quarrel is with you alone... please keep it that way.”

“You're the one involving me,” I snapped as I tried to slowly inch away. Dario could only smirk before sighing.

“Oh... Miss Kirishima... you don't try to come off as amiable, do you? Oh well... if you want to delay the inevitable by a few moments...”

I didn't let that get to me as I spoke up again to Minako while not taking my eyes off of Dario. “Minako, don't you dare quit here of all places. I've got questions I need answers for and I'm not giving up... don't die in front of your parents. How would they feel about that?”

I could see Dario flinch slightly at the mention of Minako's parents. That proved the incentive needed for him to charge.
_
The light

“This... ends here!” Arys shouted as she raised her katana high in the air. I took the initiative to try to strike, but Arys just bent backwards. “JUST KIDDING!” Her leg swung up and slammed into the side of my head, and the snow-covered ground was slick enough for me to be knocked down. Arys laughed as she brought her leg down and pinned me there so she could finish me off for good. “It's time to snuff you from the face of the planet, Yuki!”

I acted fast, reaching backwards and snapping off one of the damaged “feathers” from my armor's wings and swinging it forward into Arys's other leg. The end was sharp enough to pierce her leg and give me an opening to scramble up to my feet.

… Just in time to see Dario lunge and kill Aka-

The blonde stumbled in the snow, giving her the opportunity to run. My momentary surprise at Akane's gambit quickly was swept away. For one, it was Akane and I was a fool to have doubted she couldn't take care of herself.

I threw the shard of my armor into my offhand as I saw Dario prime himself to throw his second spear at Akane's fleeing form. “I don't think so! Brilliant...” A shaft of light coursed from my finger as I pointed at Dario. “LUMINESCENCE!”

The man dove away and I returned to focus on Arys as her blade scraped by my left side and drew blood. She seemed rather happy with herself as I tried to block her next attack with my arm guards only for the katana to sink through my defenses and wound my arms.

I was in pain, and I knew that blow to my side was going to need more than a few bandages. But it didn't matter much at the moment, and I retaliated in the most practical means. In spite of my wounds, I pried one of my arms out and slashed her across the throat, cutting the woman up before she knew what had happened.

“ARYS!”

The girl in pink staggered back, Dario frantically running towards her. Ironically his scramble in the snow was proving more difficult and time consuming than a more restrained approach, and yet he still managed to get to the girl in time to catch her before she fell back and dashed her head on the ground.

His panic almost immediately vanished as he looked up at me, and for a moment was just looked at each other in the snow. I was winded, confused as to why my armor was in such a state of disrepair, and injured.

Dario, on the other hand, simply had frustrations about a girl in a lab coat escaping him and possibly was rethinking the logic of wearing hardly any clothing in the middle of winter.

“D-Dario...”

No... no way...

My eyes opened wide as Arys's own looked up at Dario and she smiled. I could hear breaths from her. Not pained ones... but honest, calm breaths as Dario sighed.

“Yuki.” He addressed me and I cautiously backed up, angling the shard of my armor in my hand while looking at him. What was going on here? How could... how could she shrug off that kind of injury? He didn't even pay any attention to the fact I was holding a weapon, no matter how improvised it was. “... Do not think that it is over.”

“What's to stop me from killing you right now?” I asked as with my free hand I pointed straight at them. “I certainly have the opening.”

“Of course you do. Keep telling yourself that.”

I released another blast of light, only to find myself blinded by it instead... another mystery to add to the collection as I blinked desperately to try to regain my sight sooner.

A few moments passed without incident. I found myself alone in the snowy graveyard with nothing but a lot of unanswered questions to keep me company.

I had to get going. Akane couldn't have gone far and I had to find her. And from there? Well... start trying to make sense of all of this, no matter what the circumstances.

[Asher Omega]

Someone needs to stay Dead. I mean Dead is Dead! unless your Undead.

[MorriganAensland]

Arys is not undead.

But don't worry, things will get explained soon enough. And by "soon enough", I mean "probably within the next two-three weeks".

[LinneaKou]

*Alice: WHAT AM I DOING AT A CONVENTION??! D<

LK: You're pimping Majischule, now hush! *smacks Liss on the head with a rolled up newspaper*

YAY! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! Also, YAY!

Minako, don't you know it is rule number 738 of Mahou Shoujo etiquette that you have to maintain your magical outfit to avoid unnecessary problems in the heat of battle?

*Alice: Probably not. She doesn't have an entire enchanted wardrobe like me, or spelled armor like the Purists, so why would she know?

LK: Quit making sense.

I. AM. SO. EXCITED. FOR THIS. *happydance* You've got me squealing like I was when I first saw the HP6 teaser in theaters (and I was apparently so annoying that people were hissing at me)!!

[MorriganAensland]

The mirror

I felt myself calm down a bit when I saw Minako walking through the snow alone. The girl was holding her side; she was obviously in pain, but my friend was still alive. That armor she had called upon was gone but the mystery involving it's damaged state still ate at me.

At least Minako had the strength to smile when she noticed me.

“... Are they dead?”

She shook her head. “They went into this prepared, whoever they were.”

I helped support Minako as we began to walk back. This was going to be just like in 2012, with us lying about all sorts of injuries to physicians and our parents. The path back home was going to involve visiting pharmacies and getting painkillers and bandages and going over our stories multiple times so there would be no problems. There would be phone calls and emails to everyone that could possibly be attacked, warning them to find Hokuko if in danger.

This would be easier if Mizuki were here.
_
The true

“Kerrigan, I think we might have a bit of a problem,” I spoke through my cell phone as Anser and I ran down a well-lit hallway. The interior lighting made it all the more easy to see the dozens of dead bodies strewn everywhere. I felt a little upset that my son had to see it, but it had seemed the best at the time.

And if someone could kill all these people single-handedly... there was no way I was letting him out of my sight.

“What kind of problem?” she asked. Jeez, and to think I was just here for the sake of my inner fangirl and this happens!

“... You remember how occasionally Shot or I would get this feeling when someone would start using their Hallowed Prisms for the first time? Well guess what just happened.”

Anser stopped dead in his tracks when he heard me say this before just looking down at the ground. “Don't... don't tell me that someone's...”

“This is making me start to think about that hospital we were considering looking into nine months ago,” Kerrigan finally told me. “... Think you can get through this?”

Looking down the hall and the collection of dead bodies, I tried to get a grasp of what I was going to be up against. With Anser here, I couldn't afford any serious mistakes, and I'd never forgive myself for dying here when I'd already taken down the creator of these jewels in the first place.

“Yeah,” I said to Kerrigan as much as I said to Anser. “All it'll take is getting into range and using Cocytus. No more, no less.”

With that I hung up the phone before smiling at Anser in an attempt to cheer him up. “Come on, things can't get too bad, right? We're up against one person with the Prisms.”

“But they could still be dangerous!” Anser responded. “And I don't think we've ever seen someone kill so many people so quickly either!”

I put a hand on Anser's shoulder squeezed it gently. “I'll get through this. I know what I'm doing. Come on... we need to find this person.” A moment passed before my son found the resolve to continue on and we picked up the pace again. And then...

Oh... god...

I wasn't sure if our suspect had done the deed with a knife or a letter opener or even their own hands. I didn't really want to know

]NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BEST SELLER NEW YORK-

They had carved the words everywhere in this section of the hallway, with long, deeply cut engravings that did little to calm my nerves. Whoever was to blame had a lot of time on their hands, and they hadn't much cared for precision either.

“Attention...”

… No...

“I am pleased to report the difficulties we were experiencing here at Mahoucon are now over and done with.” The voice was feminine, and I already had a solid idea of who it was. “The crisis we thought was nearing is over and averted, and you are all free to return to main exhibition room. You'll be in for a real treat. I know I will.”

I looked at Anser for a minute before I took off running. “Anser, get somewhere safe and stay there, no matter what! Things could very well get ugly from here on out!”
_
The maiden

I poured on another burst of speed as I heard the address. Going after people that knew my name was one thing; letting a killer possibly get a shot at murdering more people was something entirely different. And considering the bodies on the ground, I knew I had a killer on my hands.

So there was going to be a detour. I'd follow the suggestion of the speaker and see what would happen. Things couldn't be too bad, after all, I had the Dai Makai.

Long before I reached the heart of the convention center, I saw that the doors to it were open. Definitely a trap, complete with a figure with long black hair sitting down at a booth with piles of books around them.

As I neared her, she finally looked up at me. “Oh, my first fan... and so early too!”

…

It... it hurts. Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygo-

My heart felt like had been thrown in a meat grinder; my entire body contorting into some grotesque shape as I tried to claw at my chest.

This pain, this... this overriding pain was going to drive me entirely mad as I screamed out. My quivering body became still... and then collapsed on the ground.

A book slid over to my resting place, autographed by a Miss Iginia Gnone “One dow- Wait a second... WAIT A SECOND!!!” Her panicked and furious voice let me know this wasn't going to be one of those situations where the enemy's gloating would give the protagonist a chance to recoup. Dammit.

Iginia pulled me to my feet before slamming me on by backside, looking up at her. Her eyes shone with a pure, deranged hatred as I screamed again. My entire body trembled from the torture she was somehow putting me through, and that was before she gleefully kneed me in the gut.

“YOU'RE ALL ALIKE!” she howled. “WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM ME?!? AT THE END OF THE DAY, I TRY TO-”

SHUT UP OLD HAG! It wasn't like I hadn't had heart trouble before, just nothing anywhere near this magnitude for over two whole years, and that was fighting against a very, very loathsome blonde. My frustrations made themselves clear as a pool of darkness formed underneath us and a fist shot up from it straight into the face of the woman. She was launched into a wall, and I got a precious moment's reprieve from cardiovascular torture.

Two separate pains had gripped my heart; the feeling as if it was constricted by some force -which it technically was-, and the familiar feeling of a rapidly-accelerated heartbeats. It was the kind of sensation that made me think back to that horrible woman... incidentally also dragon-themed.

Iginia pulled herself back up and drew my attention. “Such power...” she growled. “To think someone would deny me all of this...”

The pain was flaring up again, and I had to take a guess before I Miss Gnone did any more damage. “Like I care about if you want to hurt all these people who have never done anything to you?” I shut my eyes tightly, trusting that the Dai Makai would defend me in the case of an attack as I raised a hand to the side. More darkness formed into a lengthy staff and I held it at the ready. “I'll have you know I'm not above killing.”

“But with your eyes closed there's not much you can really DO!”

How typical. Shouting that last line was an obvious giveaway she was going to attack, and countering it was no difficulty as the Great Sea of Evil guided my attacks and I thrusted the staff out, slamming Miss Gnone away from me as I dove in for the kill. As long as I kept my eyes shut, I guessed I'd be okay.

My staff crashed into the ground and I could hear Iginia running around me; I called forth more of the Dai Makai and decided to stop beating around the bush. Even if I couldn't direct them by sight, the instinctual defenses of the Dai Makai made it all too easy to pin down and grasp Iginia Gnone and slam her against a wall. She was raving mad, and I was in no mood to continue the old song and dance. Crushing her would be sufficient.

“NO!” Great. She wasn't going to go quietly. “I... THIS POWER IS NOT MEANINGLESS! I WON'T BE BEATEN BY SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND MY PAIN!”

Even with my eyes shut, I was still assaulted by a cascade of brightness. My eyes stung from it and my staff shriveled away from the onslaught in mere seconds as Iginia's speech devolved into lunatic rantings.

“Why.. why doesn't anyone give me the respect I deserve?!? For years people were saying I was a prodigy, l-like kick-starting the new age of fantasy comics!”

With the Dai Makai on the defensive, it was all too easy for her to slam into me from the side before I was slammed into the ground. I had to roll away, but Iginia had already expected this and I felt something leathery -probably a shoe- slam into my throat. Only a short-lived splash of Dai Makai cushioned the attack, saving me from severe harm. It didn't keep me from being knocked away again though.

“I'll kill you and anyone else who opposes me!” she spat as the light faded away again. “I will have my revenge on the whole world for-”

… Yeah. This was getting repetitive. At least Iginia being vocal made it easy for me to keep track of where she was.

I heard the sound of footsteps coming towards me and acted quickly, grabbing at my scarf and pulling it loose. From there it was purely just reviving a routine as I spun around and got it spiraling around me until it caught onto something.

Bingo.

I yanked Iginia towards me and brought my leg up, crashing her into it before wrapping her head in my scarf. Taking a chance, I opened my eyes and was relieved to find that even though things were very bright, I wasn't suffering from any chest pains.

The entire room was bathed in a technicolor splendor, the light coming from a very particular piece of jewelry fitted into a necklace. During the scuffle it must have been exposed, and it looked like a fairly solid target.

I floored Iginia with one furious punch to the face before bringing my foot down and smashing the gem apart. And she stayed down.

Hopefully that would be the end of that.

The doors burst open, and I turned seeing that Saori woman running straight at me with a silver weapon somewhere between a cleaver and an axe in her hands. She looked like she meant business, but then began to immediately slow when she realized that someone was on the ground to my side.

“... You... deal with this?” she asked slowly. I nodded.

“You familiar with this?” I responded. She nodded too. “I guess that's a good thing... because I am very much in the dark right now and I'd-”

I never finished. My mind simply crashed, and after that I just fell and hit the floor.
_
The true

Hearing about someone from an individual who admires and respects them often paints a certain kind of picture. Then when you finally meet them, you often find out all sorts of things about them that make them seem much more human. I was making all sorts of discoveries when it came to Mizuki... and unfortunately, so were her parents.

“Your daughter has never really gone in for an extensive check-up, has she?” Kerrigan said as she sat across from Sayaka and Tetsuya Rajoshin. They were ordinary people, both with dark brown hair and brown eyes; the norm of the Japanese phenotype. They were, however, a little dumbfounded by all these crazy details about Mizuki that were coming to light. Anser and I stayed to the side, knowing that even though Kerrigan was talking about a person she had a tremendous grudge against, she hadn't crossed any lines just yet.

“Not for a few years, why?”

“Doctors found something when Miss Ichimonji -that's her over there-,” she gestured towards me and I gave a brief wave of my hand. “Brought her in here. Due to the damage to her heart-”

Sayaka's eyes spread wide. “Damage to her-”

“It's under control, technically,” Kerrigan tried to assure her as she found a few papers and spread them out on the table between them. “For some reason, your daughter's heart muscles are torn in numerous areas, as if they were over-exerted to an unimaginable degree. However... the problems with this are minimized.”

“You're talking about my only daughter, Miss Tiam,” Tetsuya told her. “How can something like... like that... be dealt with, to say nothing about us knowing about it?”

“I don't know,” she responded with a shrug. “Maybe a wizard did it or something. But the reason your daughter's still alive is that someone, no matter who they are, operated on her sometime in the past. They sewed the injuries closed... quite masterful handiwork as well. Aside from some minor chest pains every so often, your daughter's quality of life would not have been diminished.”

“That doesn't explain why she had to come here, though.” Tetsuya and Sayaka were fairly direct with Kerrigan. I summed it up to years of interacting with authority figures at the UN.

“Well, the problem was that at Mahoucon, there seemed to be a bit of a freak accident...”

Freak accident was one way of putting it as I got up to get Anser and I something to drink. Hot cocoa would do our bodies good, what with the winter cold we had to face outside. My son got the idea to tag along though. He must've had something on his mind he didn't want the Rajoshins to hear.

“What really happened there?” Yep. Called it.

“That woman had Hallowed Prisms, Anser. She used to be a very famous author in Europe who made comics. And then people started to notice patterns and reused plot devices, and before long everyone was reassessing how good they thought she was.”

“But she was still invited to Mahoucon, right?” Anser pointed. “She must've been at least decent for them to let her come and speak, right?”

“That was probably decided on a whole number of factors. For the moment though...” I yawned. It later than I would have liked. “We should just try to keep a lid on it and figure out where we stand. For one, whether or not Iginia ever went to that hospital. And second-”

“Keeping Kerrigan from doing something stupid with Mizuki, right?”

“Yeah.”
_
The preceding

“She does look a lot like Chizuru did,” I sighed as I stared across the dining room table of my apartment. “And I didn't necessarily give her a clean death when we fought, either.”

“We didn't give her a clean death,” the other inhabitant of my apartment corrected as she sat across the table from me. It wasn't like she actually needed to sit down or anything, what with being dead and all, but it still was pleasant to emulate a sisterly discussion as best we could. “And seriously, the fact that you're more upset about this than me is really saying something about you.”

“Maybe I'm just tired, Iris,” I sighed. “But I mean, it still brings back a lot of memories.”

Iris leaned forwards and rested her arms on the table and her chin on her hands. “Like what?”

“Identifying your body, for one. That... wasn't a pleasant sight in the slightest. And I mean, I guess it would've been a little easier to cope with if I wasn't forming an counter-assassination group at the time. At least that way I wouldn't have to deal with the fact I was in charge of organizing and assigning people to go out and commit murders and yet I couldn't grant myself a single, childish whim.”

“Kerri, we've been over this before,” Iris pleaded. “I was the aggressor in that situation. I would have killed Mizuki if she hadn't done the same to me.”

“And right or wrong you were still my only sister.” I stood up and then started walking to the bedroom. “But I'll get over this. It's just going to take some time.”

Iris looked at me funny. “Just time?”

“A few other things, but they're minor and should be morally acceptable by all parties. After all, it's not like Rajoshin wouldn't have people that would cry if she died, right?”
_
The maiden

Another bright and wonderful morning in New York City. A few crazy rants from my parents followed by perfectly simple lies that they could not refute without proof of magic and more than a couple failed attempts to get in touch with Minako and my friends back home were the highlights of my morning, the second day of 2015.

That was, until she walked in the door, pulled up a seat, and sat down right in front of me. She was a bit older than Saori had been, but not by that much. She looked at me with a strange kind of begrudged acceptance, the view of her left eye hindered by a thin lock of hair before she finally reached out a hand towards me.

“Hello. My name is Kerrigan Tiam. Twenty-seven months ago you killed my sister.”

…

Wow. Was not expecting that.

I cautiously reached out, almost afraid that some twisted trap was going to be sprung, but instead nothing happened. I grasped her hand, shook it firmly twice, and that was the end of it.

“I'm... sorry?” This was a really uncomfortable situation for me, but I had to just try to work with it and hope this wouldn't devolve into a fight in a hospital. “I'm sorry to say this but I killed more than just one person back then... if you know what you're talking about. And I don't recall fighting anyone with the last name 'Tiam', so unless you have a picture or something then-”

“Her name was Iris. She used the pseudonym 'Ayame' when you met.”

… Ah. The Buddhist. “Look...” I said as I sat up straight. “I understand if you might feel bitter about it. I'd feel upset too about it if my mom, or my dad, or heck... Asuka's essentially a sister to me now, were killed by someone. If you want to duke it out or something, that's fine. Just don't drag my parents or anything into this or-”

Kerrigan raised her to silence me. Not sure what was going to happen I complied as the older woman looked down at the floor of the hospital room. A moment passed before she started to talk again.

“What... was it like... fighting her?”

…

“What was it like, do be caught up in a fight with my little sister? Was it hard, was it easy, did she fight dirty? All I know of that battle was the end result: that Iris died from blunt force trauma after being pummeled by dozens of large masses, no doubt caused by you.”

I closed my eyes and bowed my head down. “Why is this so important to you?”

“Because it's the point that our lives first intersected.”

“Very well then.”
_
There was a certain amount of exposition that had to go along with recounting of my battle with the First Candidate, details like explaining why Asuka, Hokuko, and I were at a funeral in the first place. Throughout the whole tale Kerrigan stayed fairly quiet, occasionally asking for me to further explain a few things but usually leaving me to just tell my story.

It was a fight that stuck out in my memory. It was the first time I had seen, in no uncertain terms, limits of my Dai Makai and the first of many times the devil's luck would keep me from going six feet under. Kerrigan herself grew saddened as I continued, but at the same time enthralled.

“... And that was the point I started figuring out her own Great Sea of Evil could take a shape, but then it was stuck in that form. It wasn't much longer before I broke her wrists and distracted her. Almost like some kind of sick joke, the finishing blow was the 'Makai One-Hundred-And-Eight Salute', a sick joke on the Buddhist symbolism surrounding the number. I left her to die alone and-”

“-And that's the point that you dragged me into all of this.” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she stood up and started walking away. A step from passing through the door, Kerrigan paused and turned back to me. “Do not think I do not have my own experiences with Iris after that battle... and some day I will have to tell you of the struggle I fought along with Saori Ichimonji. Here.” She placed a card on the table before smiling. “You should be out of here by tonight. Give me a call... and we can take things from there.

“Goodbye, Miss Rajoshin. It was nice to hear of the kind of person she was back then... to help draw a contrast with the woman she is today.”

Wait, what did that mean? Did Iris somehow-

“I hope to see you again, Miss Rajoshin. Until then, farewell.” Kerrigan left without saying another word, leaving me with nothing but my thoughts , her calling card, and yet another layer to the mystery of who the hell all these people were and how they knew about me.

[Asher Omega]

very interesting. I can't wait to see the reaction of Mizuki when she sees Iris.

[MorriganAensland]

Hee. I was tempted to do something like "And here she is right now!" and then have Mizuki freak out, but even though it seemed funny, it didn't seem right. Nonetheless, they'll meet up in the next chapter.

[LinneaKou]

Argh no! I missed all of you! *headdesk*

My number one question is this: if Majischule had a booth in Mahoucon, and I'm a starving college student... who was there manning the booth? And if it was Alice, where the heck was she when the beatdown happened?

*sigh* As you can tell, I'm kinda losing it. ^^;;

WELL. Mizuki yet again proves herself to be a capable fighter, even when she's up against something she's never dealt with before. Saori and Anser seem somewhat comfortable with her, and Kerrigan is oddly calm while dealing with her. I half-expected her to at least yell, but once again, you surprised me. I can't wait to see Mizuki's reaction to Iris. I really can't.

And out pops the cat from the bag! Guess what, Ma and Pa? Your daughter has serious heart problems inflicted by deranged avatars of Eastern mythological figures! I'm pretty sure their faces were a sight to see. Too bad Mizuki wasn't awake to defend herself. I really would like to see the way she interacts with her parents... I haven't seen much of that. ^^

OKAY, REQUEST TIME. Once I finish with AM's Winx!self portrait (hopefully within the next week) I'm going to need a very detailed description of Minako's armor. It's about time I did a picture of her in full Sun Goddess splendor, right? Besides, she's the only one not given her own portrait. I feel guilty. That, and I love my tablet and need more excuses to keep working with it. ^^;;;

And now I'm off to fulfill my obligations as proud cousin/auntie-to-be. See y'all soon!

[MorriganAensland]

Well, Kerrigan's saving being angry and shouting for a later, much more fanservicy sequence with Mizuki. Not the sexual kind of fanservice either... cause that would be weird.

Yayz! Minako in armor! But considering her armor gets a bit of a revision when she gets it fixed, you're going to get a few spoilers in the process of it. But we can discuss that via PMs.

[Asher Omega]

yes. no yelling fanservice. thats only possible with two things. Yandere or raep H. both of which are very... not to my tastes at least.

[LinneaKou]

I forgot to add... I love this series of works. Just letting you know. Like I haven't said enough before. (that, and I was told to give a heartfelt compliment to someone I know. A fortune cookie said to. Thar ya go ^^)

[MorriganAensland]

The maiden

“Look, I'm fine, there's no need to-”

“No need?!?” my father said in disbelief, he and my mother blocking the exit to the rest of the hospital. “Mizuki, your heart is being held together with ]TINSEL! There are so many questions your mother and I are being bombarded with by our own curiosities that we don't know where to start!”

Great. Just great. I finally recover from this whole debacle to get back on my feet and give Miss Tiam a call... and my folks decide to spring all of this on me now. And of course, they just had to act overprotective as if they were afraid of my own well being. Never mind that I had, in the past, been stabbed, crushed, nearly fell to my death, electrocuted, strung up like a puppet, and fought the avatar of an Far East force of nature and eventually killed her. Nope. All of those problems were life-threatening and I got away just fine. Instead they're panicking about the stitches from one of those near-death experiences.

“What do you really want for me to say?” I responded. “I could give you the truth, but you'd probably assume it's me pulling your leg. I could lie, but then I'd have to live with that on my conscious too,” I said as I started to pull myself out of bed.

“Mizuki, you almost died!”

“And plenty of people did die there!” I shot back. “I understand that you're worried sick, but for a moment be grateful I survived by some sort of freak miracle!”

A beat passed before my mother looked down at the ground. I was afraid of what was going to come next.

“Mizuki... is this because you hate us? Because we're never-”

This was going to be bad. Really, really bad. They would talk and apologize for never being for me, acting as if this was all their fault and they were terrible parents. How much of it was honest and how much of it was just a ploy to make me feel sorry and think I was in the wrong was anyone's guess. But I would get sad because they were still my parents and all that doubt would eat at me and things wouldn't get anywhere anyways because I wouldn't tell them about why string was keeping my heart together. The rest of my trip would probably be soured as a result and I'd have to wait until I got back home to vent. Then-

“Uh... excuse me?”

There was a blonde-haired nurse standing there, with suspiciously familiar blue-tinted sunglasses resting on top of her nose.

My parents paid little attention to her, and the woman started to take charge as she handed a few documents to my father. “Apologies, Mr. Rajoshin... although we do try to make sure that our medical facilities have a higher standard than most... that does not mean we do not make mistakes.”

“M-mistakes...?” Dad looked at the nurse funny for a moment before taking the papers and flipping through them. For a moment he seemed almost furious and I thought this was not going to end well.

… But instead he just closed his eyes, sighed, and smiled.

“And you're sure this time?”

“Yes. Yes we are. But if it would make you feel better, we could always do a few more tests, just to check.”

“Check what?”

Dad gave the papers to Mom, who all but threw her hands up in the second she realized what was on them before they suddenly realized I was still in the room.

My mother spoke first. “... Mizuki... how about... we just try to be happy you survived, and forget about any of these crazy slip-ups the hospital does.”

Slip-up? Guess I had friends with connections here. I wasn't going to spoil the moment with something as unneeded as the truth and just tried to be happy with them. The mood in the room took a drastic upswing and we were all ready to change to more positive subjects. There were things to discuss like my senior year at M-- starting soon enough, various experiences at the Rajoshin shrine with gramps and Asuka, and other stories I hadn't gotten around to tell my parents yet.

After a while the nurse returned, mentioning something about arranging for me to leave the hospital and led my parents way. Those sunglasses were looking awfully familiar.

“... So tell me,” I began quickly and quietly so as to not alert anyone else. “... You never got any Magi School paraphernalia, did you?”

She chuckled. “No, no I did not. Incidentally,” Saori continued, “Don't try to go off on your own in the future. My only immediate family knows what I can do... yours does not.”

“And what's that supposed to mean?”

“For one, my son is an incubus I summoned. Second, my parents are in the Caribbean and whine about me being a 'crazed gunwoman' when I am anything but. Now if you'll excuse me... I've got a few things to take care of and then we can talk.”

Saori left, leaving me wondering just who I was getting involved with. Well, whatever stunt she had pulled, it was getting me out of here so I didn't really have the fight to complain. I still had Kerrigan's card and I needed a lot of answers.

That would have to wait though. I'd just have to wait until I had the opportunity to talk to them again.
_
The child

Before long, and with a little subtlety on the parts of Kerrigan and Mom, Mizuki Rajoshin was out of the hospital. Sure, all we had done was cover up the truth about her condition, but it was for the best. Besides, we had other things to deal with and we couldn't afford to have a potential ally get an unnecessary transplant any time soon.

Mom was back from the hospital by the time I woke up, and took the time to wash the blonde dye out of her hair again while I had my breakfast. There was not much to do, with no homework or even a reading list to do for winter break. There were only a few days left and then Mom would have to start waking me up early to go to school.

Eventually my mother came out of the bathroom, wearing some casual clothes as she sat down next to me.

“How's Miss Rajoshin doing?” I asked. Mom shrugged.

“She'll be fine, probably the only survivor of that Gnone woman's massacre.” Leaning back in her chair, she rubbed the back of her neck. I guess hanging your head under a bath faucet could strain it out a bit. “Everyone else died from heart attacks.”

“Heart attacks? Like-”

“Yeah,” Mom confirmed. “Overexertion of the heart muscles at a rapid rate until they give out. Mizuki survived because the string inside of her prevented her from having a severe enough cardiac episode. She was very lucky. She should be getting in touch with Kerrigan soon and we can take things from there.”

“You sure that's going to be all of it?” he asked me with an upraised eyebrow. “Mizuki doesn't know Iris still exists as a Remnant Psyche, and it might be uncomfortable for her to grapple with.” The kid had a point, but I just shrugged and tried to look on the positive side of things.

“We'll deal with all of those issues when we get to them, Anser.”
_
The jewel

Thud

I couldn't believe it. Minako and Akane were attacked by two people in the cemetery? I thought we had done all that song and dance before and gotten it over and done with!

Thud

I guess sometimes you don't get what you always want. And with them off in Kyoto, we were told to stay close to Hokuko and keep away from anything looking suspicious. And granted, Hokuko was my best friend – not even nearly killing each other all those months ago can break the bond we had – I wasn't going to just walk out of the Rajoshin shrine and risk getting attacked before meeting her.

Thud

Besides, it was the Rajoshin shrine, as in the home of Mizuki Rajoshin, the Usurper Empress and resident expert in all things relating to the Dai Makai. They probably wouldn't bother knocking on the door, running the risk of attacking Mizuki on her own home territory in the process.

Thud

Of course, far be it from me to just sit on my rump while Kouji Rajoshin was off running errands and visitng old friends. It was late, the shrine was currently closed, and I had the entire place to myself to practice one thing over and over again.

Thud

Without the Yasakani Magatama, I would have to defend myself via other ways. I practiced with a bow all the time anyways since I was always wanted to stay one step ahead of Mizuki when it came to archery. A little bit of practice to loosen up the arms in case of trouble wouldn't hurt any.

Thud

I relaxed my arm and focus as I checked at the result of my brief session. Six arrows, all embedded dead in the center of the target. Not bad at all. In a hallway where an opponent wouldn't have any cover, I'd do quite nicely for myself.

My phone began to ring, and I quickly marched over to it and answered it. It was a text from Akane; she and Minako were heading back to Tokyo and would be here by tomorrow morning. Until then I'd just have to keep things under control. In the meantime, my best friend in the whole world could worry more about keeping her boyfriend and Ayasato safe too, more emphasis on the former.
_
There was a knock at the door a while afterwards. It wasn't time yet for Mr. Rajoshin to return, but I guessed it couldn't be that dangerous to at least answer. After all, if it was an enemy, they would've just barged in.

“A-AAAAAAAAACHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

… But if they were out for my blood, biological weapons would be one way to go all the same. Besides, a sneeze that loud would ruin any element of surprise. I was still under no kind of attack, so I had to just hope for the best and answer the door.

There were a few more very loud sneezes as I walked to the door and when I looked out the peephole. For a second I thought of Dario, but this guy's blonde hair was much darker and dirtier. Plus he was actually wearing clothes and looked a lot more sickly than Minako and Akane had said he'd been. There was another pained sneeze of unbelievable volume, and I saw him raise his hands up. Clenched tightly in them was possibly the upwards of a dozen tissues, many downright disgusting.

Okay. Provided he kept his distance, I couldn't think of any reason not to at least talk to the guy.

I opened the door, taking an assertive stance and tone as I greeted the man with a slight nod.

“Ah, hello dere... Mizz Kabudo.” He knew my name. Not a good sign. Sure, his speech was burdened with allergies, but I could still understand what he was saying. “Apologieez for dis. Winder is... not a fun dime for me...”

“At least give me a name.”

“... I'd radder not say who I am. Again, Apologieez.”

Yeah. I'm sure.

The guy tried to speak again, only for our conversation to devolve into rampant sneezing as he raised up his hands to keep me away from him.

“Ah, this izzn't a good dime, honeztly. Zubtlety would... ACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!” the guy devolved into a fit of apologies after sliming me.

Gross. Just... gross[i/].

I'd have to get a shower after this and wash my clothes. And if that didn't fail, [i]put them out of their misery via Viking Funeral.

Wait. When the heck did that sniveling loser leave?

More importantly, there was a very, very small purple gift box on the doorstep, complete with thin crimson ribbons keeping it together. Its colors were... identical to that.

In the distance I heard the faint sound of thunder. I wondered if someone was trying to be subtle with me.
_
The preceding

Being in New York City for this brief period of time meant I didn't have access to Interpol facilities. At least not without asking a lot of questions and arousing some suspicions about whether or not I had an ulterior motive. If we were back home it would be easy enough; invite Mizuki into a gym or something that would be under renovation soon and take it from there.

Unfortunately, we'd have to settle for the rooftop.

The twenty-one year old standing in front of me, clad almost entirely in black and gold, tightened the headband that covered the scar I knew was under it.

“You said to come up here. Now I'd finally like some answers, Miss Tiam.”

“Certainly, Miss Rajoshin,” I responded with a courteous bow. “I took the liberty to look into your parents' schedule, tomorrow's the third and there's going to be work for them tomorrow. The world's big and expansive, and the politics surrounding it are even greater. The people at the UN will find something for them to do.

“But discussing my own interests can come second. First, I think it's important to finally tell you a tale about one psychotic redhead who summoned an incubus one day-”

Mizuki cut me off with a stern voice and a raised hand. “Already heard that part. Saori mentioned it earlier when I was in the hospital.”

Interesting. “I'm sorry you haven't had much time to talk with her, she's a very unique lady. I met her... oh, about the time you were killing the personification of Destiny all those months ago. She was quite insane.

“Not too long ago she killed a woman who could make the hearts and minds of millions bend to her every whim. You owe her a lot, Mizuki. We all do.”

“I'll be sure to give her my thanks when I get the time. But still... I want to know exactly what's up with you, Saori, and the incubus boy. I can handle craziness, so just tell me and let's see where that'll lead us.”

Kerrigan, when are you going to mention me?

Soon enough, Iris.
_
We talked. Up there on the rooftop of the apartment building Mizuki was staying at I told her of my own bloody escapades, including the woman who took her name and emulated her abilities, my own previous experiences with murderous Magic Girls, and of course, the woman named Midori Ai. I saw her expression became somewhat intrigued when I discussed her entrapping the entire Western Hemisphere in her jewels at the start of our final battle and when I finally ended, she had only one question to ask me.

“... Is she here right now? Iris?”

I nodded. “Yes, and if you must know, she feels a lot less angry at you than I do.”

“You'll never get over the fact I killed your sister, will you?”

“Probably not, Mizuki.”

I could see Rajoshin recoil slightly as Iris's ghostly form became visible before she just shook her head and sighed.

“Hello again... Ayame.”

“Hello to you too, Sayaka.”

I could tell there was an unusual kind of familiarity brewing between the two, Mizuki and Iris both staring at each other for a moment. I could accept Mizuki for a lot of things... but the Iris she was meeting today was not the Iris she had fought against and killed. If she couldn't behave respectfully, then we would not be getting along at all.

“You were here this whole time, weren't you?” the miko asked my sister. “You can stay pretty quiet.”

“I sorta have too. I have to stay close to Kerri, and I can't make it seem like she's haunted, after all.”

“And you saved a lot of people this time too, my parents included. I'm sure your sister is very proud of you.” And then Mizuki closed her eyes and gave a very warm and happy smile. “And I think I owe you a great, great deal of gratitude.”
_
The mirror

It was quiet that night. I was in my own home, safe and sounds, and I was still finding myself unable to sleep or think of anything other than that moment. Minako had nearly died out there, and yet she had saved my life and her own, as she had so many times in the past.

There were a lot of fun times when Minako and I were younger, just playing around and doing lots of crazy stuff together. She always made fun of me for treasuring an adult-sized lab coat, but I always responded she was just jealous and I'd look “totally awesome” in it when I was older. I remembered birthday parties and fun days at school and lazy summer afternoons where we'd spend hours doing nothing whatsoever.

… And then there was the accident. There was the phone call we got, and the pained tone my mother had taken when she spoke with the person on the other end of the line. I even can recall the exact toys I was playing with at the time... a bunch of blocks with kittens on them.

And then after that Minako was so sad and there was that blonde-haired woman... the woman I found out years later was Loretta Brauner. And Minako had tried to stay strong when she said her goodbyes, but it was a doomed endeavor from the start, because I was in tears before long and she didn't have the strength or determination to carry on when I had given up. After that there were no more lazy summer afternoons with her... and that lab coat became the only reminder of those happy days. And it took me so many years to reconnect with Minako again.

I yawned and fell back onto my bed. What made Minako so special? Sure, she was a potential vessel for Amaterasu, the only Candidate of the Solar Empress, but what possible difference could that make in the end? 2012 was over and done with, and nobody had bothered us for more than two whole years, so what was the problem?

It was... confusing. But I'd be back in Tokyo by tomorrow evening and Horoki and I could take things from there and start trying to piece things together. That way, I wouldn't lose Minako again.
_
The student

I checked the scrap of paper in my pocket again before walking across the street. It was late, I was out in the streets of Tokyo, I was alone, and I didn't care. There were some things in life that suppressed a desire to ensure survival. A desire for the truth was one of them.

Kei Kimatura. Everything started here, at this point, months after that woman died in a traffic accident in the United States and months before Ikki got an e-mail from her, detailing the nature of the Hallowed Prisms. It ate at me, it ate at me in a way that got my mind thinking in dangerous ways and asking dangerous questions.

[LinneaKou]

Wahoo! Giselle! Finally, someone who has some more pieces of the puzzle and is SUSPICIOUS!

Wow, I seriously thought that Mizuki and Kerrigan were going to duke it out on top of that building in this chapter. But no, everyone kept their cool.

As for the snotty gift-giver ...ASUKA DON'T OPEN THE PRESENT! Reminds me of the serial killer who supposedly plays the sound of a baby crying out on a front porch to lure his potential victims outside. *shudder*

Poor Mr. and Mrs. Rajoshin. Not only are they being led along, they're pulling the "concerned parents 'we're not good enough'" faces. Oh how this reminds me of my own lovely 'rents... and extended family *headdesk*. I feel sorry for them, a bit.

Minako's armor may take a while to depict, and maybe I'll release the finalized version when she gets her power-up upgrade. What a fun challenge!

And YAY for the blonde Saori! XD

[MorriganAensland]

The student

The interior of the house was in a state of disrepair. Whoever had kept up with the maintenance outside no doubt just wanted it to not drag down the equity of the neighbor's property. Thankfully I came prepared; a flashlight to take care of the darkness and a little something special if I was unwelcome.

The lobby leading into the rest of the home was dusty and dirty. I made a note to take a shower when I got back to the hotel, and for the moment just tried to find a path further into the Kimatura residence.

A few specks of dust fell from above me, and followed by a large and heavy blanket that blocked the light. For a second though I could see someone standing there... on a staircase to the second floor. I acted quickly and almost with a routine to my actions, my left hand sweeping down to the wooden handle of my weapon before I swung it up, a ball attached to string crashing into the wall a few inches away from where my opponent had been.

For a moment nothing happened and I slowly freed myself from the blanket before raising the flashlight up. Sure enough, there was a staircase there, and near the top of it stood a pale girl with dark hair and crudely-taped glasses on her face. She was very young, no more than two or three years older than Anser, but like him she gave off that vibe of being more adult than most people that had passed puberty. I recalled my kendama's ball before pointing at her. My host just bowed her head.

“I am sorry,” she quietly spoke, “But I do not like imitations of the Profound Shine in this house. Nothing good comes of it.”

“Answers. Now, Miss Kimatura!”

She shook her head before starting to walk towards me. She looked very upset that I was keeping my light trained on her, but that was just going to be her own fault and nobody else's. “Unfortunately, I am not the person you were hoping I was,” she sighed. “Kei Kimatura has been dead for over two years now.”

“Then how do you explain you?” I snapped as the girl brushed past me, pushing a few pieces of junk out of the way before continuing to walk along.

“Oh, that's an easy one.” The girl turned back to me and gave a toothy smile. “She made me.”

“M-made you?” I took a step back, making sure that the door outside was slightly ajar. If things took a turn for the worst, I could dash on out of here and try again another day. On the other hand, I was here for answers and this girl hadn't done anything too hostile just yet. “Don't tell me she had help from an incubus and a succubus or-”

“No.” The girl walked further into the house, still put off by me shining a light straight on her before she reached what looked to be a table with some candlesticks on it. “If it would be acceptable though... I believe this would be a more helpful light source for you while at the same time not reminding me of that horrible power.”

She planted a single black rod of wax on one of the candlesticks and the world immediately became... darker. At the same time though, I could make out the details of my surroundings and could finally bear witness to how much of a crapsack the house really was.

“The power of the Gou Kurosou is fairly potent, even if used by a mere Construct like myself.”

“... Construct?” I tightened the grip of my kendama as I put my flashlight away. Using it now was unnecessary, after all.

“The Gou Kurosou is...” the girl chuckled, “I can see into you... miss. I can see that at one point you were tainted by the inverse of the Gou Kurosou, the Hallowed Prisms.” Walking back towards me, she wasn't surprised that I was staying put. “I'd introduce myself, but I actually don't have a name. Kei never gave me one. She made me from the dust, providing me with a mark so I could exist.”

She turned her back to me before lifting her shirt up. I could distinctively make out a whitish etching on her back: the Japanese character for “assist”. I was immediately reminded of Shot's mark on her hand, helping her “surpass” Saori.

“I've been helping you out, Giselle. Well, you and Ikki... this whole time.”

“Y-you mean...”

The nameless girl turned to me and nodded. “Yes. I was Ikki's contact, the person providing him intel about the Hallowed Prisms. I don't need to eat or anything so... I've spent the past few years just staying inside, acting when I needed to and otherwise just whiling away the weeks however I see fit.”

“Then I guess I have some thanks to give to you.” I could see the girl was looking rather closely at my kendama, with an almost confused look on her face.

“That's... a weapon that the toymaker made, isn't it? I'm sorry, it took me a while to recall where it was from. The man who wanted to create a murder weapon that could slip through customs. He was empowered to make that by the Hallowed Prisms.” Her eyes narrowed. “I do not want that in this house.”

“I”t not the same,” I corrected. “This is a redesign I made on my own.” Holding it up so the girl with glasses could see, I turned a dial with one of my fingers, the magnets inside of the device taking care of the rest as the metal blades realigned to form a scythe head as the handle extended out. “I built it off of what the old one could do after finding that guy's notes.” I turned the dial again and it resumed its “casual” form.

“So you did use an instrument made by a follower of that woman.” The girl pointed over my shoulder. “I am sorry. It is one thing to be a pawn of her and then be freed. It's quite another to willingly use the handiwork borne of the Prisms and bring it into the home of the girl who left me behind to fight against them. I must insist. Leave.”

“Unfortunately, I still have questions.”

“If they mean so much to you, have someone who does not use the Prisms for their own gain, no matter how indirectly, come here instead. I do not wish for a fight, but I will respect the wishes of Kei Kimatura. It is nothing personal.”

“What if I were to just leave my weapon-”
“Miss, please.” She silenced me without needing to raise her voice as she reached over and snuffed out the “flame”. I was again engulfed in darkness. “I am nothing more than a facsimile of a girl Kei Kimatura knew once. I am not human, but I am still very, very close. I have been living in this house alone for a long time, and it is precious to me. If anything, respect its sanctity.” She looked at me for a minute before sighing. “However... if you want answers... I will send them to you online.”

“Y-you mean-”

“There are certainly libraries all throughout this great city that offer free Internet. I will email you the information you need so that we can discuss things further. That way, you win and I win.”

I gave about as strong a smile as I felt like. “It's better than nothing. Thank you.”
_
The north

I was up early that morning, which was not something I did very often. But things were different. Minako had been attacked and then there was that mystery guy that had visited Asuka. The box had been stored under a snow-drift just for safety's sake, and we'd take a look at it only after we'd gotten some answers.

Horoki was at her home, keeping herself entertained with DVDs and marathons of her favorite shows, while checking in with me by phone every half hour. Unfortunately, I didn't want to wake Soma up, so I had to get some clothes together and then get out of his bedroom quietly. Breakfast was easy enough to scrounge around for, but nobody in the Elpiz household was awake yet. Best to leave it that way; I was up because I had a job to do. I was the only one that could fight, since I didn't need one of the Imperial Regalia.

It was snowing outside. Not heavy enough to impede Minako and Akane's return back to M--, but still enough that made me hesitate going outside all the same.

My phone jittered off of the table, and when I looked at it, I knew something was wrong.

The guy showed up again. He's chilling outside.

It was a text message, and I was already starting to panic as I dreaded what I'd have to do. Unfortunately, I didn't have many options due to my nature as a Yuki-Onna. Anyone with Horoki's phone could have sent that message to me, and even though it was Horoki's regular check-in time, she could very easily have been under observation.

And if they had called me... then they might even know what I was capable of. Not good. Not good at all. But if they were trying to deter me, they messed with the wrong demon as I grabbed an umbrella and took off running. Now I had to put my hopes in the snow not letting up, otherwise things could go very badly for me.

Horoki, please hang on.
_
The mirror

The early morning hours had gone by without incident. My parents, Minako, and I all helped load my friend's luggage back in the car for her return to Tokyo and our friends in the city. I would be returning soon enough, and then we could all work to figure out the truth of this all. The weather wasn't too bad, and it was all going to be roads we had all been long familiar with to boot. I wasn't sure how worried Minako was about all of this but this was really making me think. At least M-- was a bit easier to worry about, with me just snooping around places I shouldn't be.

“Are we all set?” Minako's voice asked behind me. I turned, seeing my friend doing her best to get over that attack , eager to just get home and do her best to protect everyone else.

“Yeah,” I answered. “Worried about me? You shouldn't be.”

“You're going to be here alone,” she asserted. “We were lucky before and-”

“I'll be fine,” I told Minako, trying my best to calm her nerves. “Those two sounded more interested in you than me. Plus,” I gave a weak laugh, “I survived without your help before, didn't I?”

Minako 's expression dampened as she walked by me. “This isn't like last time Minako. You had the Yata Mirror then, so healing was no problem for you.”

“And before that, I was just a very driven girl running around a campus controlled by the personification of Destiny and four avatars of Eastern forces. I'll manage.”

And I was right. The drive was quite uneventful, with the roads cleared of enough snow that it wasn't a concern. Instead we just talked with my parents about what we'd be doing for our final semester at M--, any big plans Minako would have for the rest of break, and just carry on like normal people.
_
The light

I realized, as I looked out the window, that Akane was right. We'd be okay. Mizuki would be back from New York in a few days and until then, things had been quiet enough.

The car then slowed to a halt, but I didn't recognize my surroundings. It was suburban, but... well, when you spend so many years of your life in one area, you can tell when-

“Dad, what's wrong?” Akane said as she leaned forward in her seat. Her father just fumbled around until he got the car in park. Akane's mom and my friend herself were under the same kind of spell, unable to even say what was getting on. For a second I was afraid that we were under attack again when Akane just turned to me. Her parents were already getting out of the car.

“... People can be so cruel when they want to be.”

Akane followed her parents, and not sure what was going on, I followed her as well. What I saw was horrid, but... in the conventional way.

In a snowdrift on the side of the road, a dog had been pinned to the ground by half a dozen wooden poles. It was a horrific mess enough... and then the dog twitched. Almost immediately Akane's father took charge, and things became a blur. We needed a phone that actually got reception and unfortunately this place was not good for our phones.

There was no way to tell what breed it was, the poor thing had been mutilated before it had even been impaled, and most of its coat had been dyed red from its blood. It was stuck there, just whimpering and showing its misery to the world.

There were houses a ways off, not too far if I ran. If I was fast, then I could get back with help or at least use a phone. I had done races in the snow before, this wouldn't be impossible for me at all, and even as that snow picked up again I wasn't deterred. I could do this. Anyone could.

“MINAKO, I-IT'S A-”

Even as Akane was shouting those words out, I could see flickers of blue in the surroundings.

Oh... god...

There was barely any time to act, much less to accomplish anything with. Dozens of thin spears, each using a blue seashell as a replacement blade flew by me, to say nothing about the others coming from angles.

There were painful sounds, ones I didn't want to hear. Bones breaking, blood spilling... even gasps of agony before they were cut off by the cruel whims of reality. And then, as if he'd been there the whole time, Dario was standing less than two feet away from me, with another of his spears in hand.

“... Suckers for an easily set up trap, weren't they... Yuki?” he said with a smirk before pointing his weapon at me. “Makes no difference to me, personally. You're the only one I'm after.”

THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT TO THEM, YOU MONSTER?!? Screaming wouldn't solve anything, but I snapped, lunging at the goddamn abomination and transforming silently. Degrading armor was still armor, a luxury that Dario did not have. And I would tear him apart with my own bare hands if I had to!

I pointed straight at him, my finger glowing white as I released a burst of energy at the pathetic excuse for a human, Dario swatting my hand away from him with his spear well before I could release the attack. “That got you riled up, didn't it?” he chuckled almost as if this was all a joke. “Of course... you have no idea who you're dealing with. And let me tell you something, Yuki.”

His expression immediately darkened. “You were more of an abomination the day you were born than I will ever be. You... you were cut from a cloth I can barely stand to think about!”

“Then focus on me instead of Akane!” I growled before reached back and broke off another shard from the remains of my armor's wings. “Focus on the person you hate!” Angling the makeshift dagger in front of me, I sprinted at the man. His spear came shooting out at me, but it was simple enough to deflect which gave me the perfect opportunity to jab my index finger straight into his forehead.

“BRILLIANT-” His eyes spread in terror. “LUMINESCENCE!”

There was a flash of light and a tortured scream. Die and get out of this world, Dario. You've killed en-

A tanned leg rose up before crashing down, smashing through my armor with barely any resistance and completely destroying the remains of my armor's right shoulder-guard.

“Now look, ma'am...” he snarled before slamming his spear into the side of my head. The world started spinning, and I was again facing more questions than I would've liked before falling into the snow. “How about... before you continue these stupid little exercises involving you having to fight with a decreasing amount of firepower backing you up, you realize you're going to doom those very people you were so keen on avenging?” Above me, he pointed out to them, and I foolishly looked back at them.

A-Akane...

The entire Kirishima family were... like that dog. They were in the snow, fallen and with dozens of spears sticking out from all of them. And yet in spite of Dario's handiwork, I could see them just barely moving...

“You remember what happened to my accomplice, dear Arys?” Dario asked as he brought his spear to be gently pressing its point against my throat. “I guess you could say... that is my ability, so to speak. To 'maintain' an individual's existence regardless of injuries.”

“S-so...”

Dario chuckled. “As long as they stay within spitting distance of me, they'll be just peachy. I just needed to get them in a position where I could work with. A fairly fitting trap, I have to admit. A tad to complicated for my taste, to be honest but if you want to get someone by surprise, you do something uncharacteristic of you.”

He wasn't going to do anything stupid like pull the weapon back.. He was going to kill me right here, right now. He was sure enough that even though this “maintain” thing of his would keep people alive, I wouldn't be one of them. Then again, maybe he was just going to leave afterwards and wait until we were out of his “maintaining” range.

This was what he tried to do to Akane before... wasn't it? Well, it was close enough.

Thank you... Akane. For showing me the way.

Dario's footing suddenly faltered, the man impulsively raising his spear in an attempt to keep from falling and condemning himself.

Even if my powers were lacking, they were still that of light, of heat. Quietly melting a bit of snow, as I was quite relieved to find out, was among them.

The clouds above us darkened, quite quickly I might add, as I flipped backwards, knocking Dario's spear away before letting loose a feral scream and stabbing with my rudimentary weapon. The blonde-haired man in nothing but a loincloth daggered back before promptly slapping me away.

“What... what kind of freak are you?!?” Dario shouted. I had thought he'd been crazy before, but now it seemed like his entire perception of reality had shifted as he waved his arms around madly. “This is supposed to be the place you try to defend, and you didn't think one second about your actions! If I were to die... what would happen to THEM!?!” He pointed at Akane and her parents, almost laughing with insane glee when my face grew bright red from the same.

“You're a monster on a whole different league than that nutjob Nagask when you want to be, Yuki!” Dario pulled the metal scrap out of his chest, ignoring the blood trickling from him as he began to devolve into manic cackling.

“I... I can't believe it! At least every abominable crime Nagask has ever done has been one he's done of his own volition! You can't even control that part of you! You lost yourself... if even for a single moment, and you took an action that would bring about the death of people you care about! You didn't even think things through at all... You... heh... You were probably going to cry such honest tears if you had succeeded, weren't you?”

I took a single step back, only to slip and fall backwards. What... what would have happened if... if...

“Now imagine if my abilities had a larger radius. Let's say a whole city,” Dario continued on, “You... you still would have tried to kill me then, you wouldn't have gotten yourself under control in time! You would've-”

He was cut off by a very loud crack of thunder. The chance to stop guilt tripping me helped considerably with his state of mind, and he almost casually cleared his throat before straightening his back. Before continuing.

“Apologies, Yuki. I went into this having a good grasp of just what kind of monster you are. And someone who's going to unwittingly sacrifice those they care about was something I didn't peg you for. Oh well. Live and learn.”

There was another crack of thunder as Dario charged at me. This was... this was not going to end well at all.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHH-”

Dario stopped his maddened rush as we both turned to see a sickly man with dirty blonde hair standing there, the numerous spears that had impaled the Kirishimas nicely piled up in front of his feet, frantically pulling a tissue out of his pockets.

“-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!”

I almost thought my eardrums would shatter from the deafening volume the man sneezed at before looking up at us for a moment.

“Oh... hi dere...” The newcomer weakly waved at both of us before blowing his nose. “Sowwy about all of dis... I habe some weird habits. I hobe I'm nod indruding, am I?”

What... what was going on here?

“Oh, and whoever did a number on those poor people... they're pretty extreme.” The man's voice suddenly was perfectly clear, and Dario's eyes opened wide with shock. “And here we have a well-meaning Magic Girl fighting against a complete nutjob who's following orders of a deranged Hakkeshu who wants revenge on another deranged Hakkeshu.”

“Y-you're...” Dario had all but lost the resolve to keep fighting as he beheld the splendor of this... admittedly really unhealthy-looking guy.

“Oh, please...” the man blew his nose again. “Just because my sister calls me a dork doesn't mean I should sit on my hands all the time. Minako... familiar with this?”

He squatted down and pulled a familiar looking weapon up and tossed it to me.

“You remember this, don't you?”

“... Yeah.”

The blade was a foot and a half long, with the entire number's weight quite low thanks to its small size. It was a simple looking tsurugi blade, but one I recognized now even after over two years of not using it.

“Tragically I really should be getting it to your friend, but you need it more than her and she's got friends anyways. But you... to override his Darkness, you need an even stronger Light, and your own isn't going to cut it right now.”

“B-but if she kills me-” Dario stammered. Whoever this guy was, it was really shaking him up.

“Oh, please. Like she's not going to put two and two together now,” the man he looked at me and gave a warm laugh before it devolved into a sneeze.

There was another echoing of thunder before turning back to Dario with the sword, my sword, in my hands again. I could trust this man. If he had this, the legendary Kusanagi Blade, then he would also have it. And with it here there was no reason to be afraid anymore.

“Morning-!” I dashed straight at Dario. “Light-!” His spear was cut to shreds effortlessly as I swung the Kusanagi Blade down with all my strength. “EX-EC-CUUUUUUUUUUUTIOOOOOOOOOON!”

The mysterious man Dario was neatly killed, red blood staining the white snow around us as I fell to my knees and breathed a sigh of relief.

The other man was gone, but it didn't bother me. I looked over at the Kirishimas to confirm my suspicions and was pleased.

For one, I was alive. And judging by the mirror in Akane's hands and the lack of wounds on her and her parents, they were too.

“... Thank you. Thank you, Susanoo.”

I heard thunder again, happily informing me my random guess was correct.

So thank you indeed, Susanoo. Thank you for giving me the power to protect and save once again.

[LinneaKou]

...

OMFG *bursts out laughing* I never would have guessed! Susano-o = sneezing snotty guy! YAY!

Freaky Kei clone is freaky. That's it.

Whatever happened to Horoki? o_O

And GOOOOO MINAKOOO! *starts the wave with Alice cast* A fabulous deconstruction of magical girls and their ilk. Why is it that the shadows and light cannot coexist? If they could just get along for a few minutes, Alice could get some sleep! Well, so could Mizuki and company.

And now I'm off to bed. Because I have to walk dogs at six in the morning. And set up my compy to receive internet in a house that's not mine. Also, I think I'm falling asleep.

Short but sweet. Great chapter!

[MorriganAensland]

Lolz.

Well, Horoki's NEXT chapter. That's when we get to see Hokuko show why she doesn't like the snow that much, and also will introduce Giselle to the Minako cast.

And yep, sniffles guy is Susanoo. The rationale is Susanoo was born from Izanagi's nose, so he's allergic to everything in the entire world. Just for the sake of humor.

[Asher Omega]

I figured it was Suzano-O. only I was wrong with my first guess. but that's just awesome.

James (protaganist of GMG): meh. I would have shot him.

James you shoot everything.

James: that's because you made me into a Kamen Rider clone. WITH A GUN!

not quite but that's for me to know and you to endure.

James: oh great. bet that's going to be fun times.

[MorriganAensland]

Kamen Rider with a gun isn't that bad.

Mizuki: I'm Mazinkaiser as a Magic Girl

Saori: I'm the Big O as a member of the Killer7

Minako: I'm some mix of Ideon, Baldios, the Hi-Nu Gundam, and Tekkaman Blade that Morrigan hasn't sorted out yet!

[MorriganAensland]

The child

“Are you familiar with the Hakkeshu?”

That had been the question Tsukuyomi asked me when he showed up in front of our hotel room, quite serious. The term itself wasn't unfamiliar to me, but I wasn't exactly sure of all the details as he let himself in.

“It's been a while, hasn't it?” I asked, already dreading the reason for the visit as he shut the door behind him and nodded in recognition of Saori. She went off to do something, possibly get tea ready as the Lunar Emperor turned to me and smiled.

“I'm sorry to make the house call now, but I've been in communication with my brother and things are starting to grow series. I was hoping you could explain things to Saori.”

“What's... the Hakkeshu have to do with any of this?”

The god walked past me further into the house. “Let's wait until Saori is up to speed on who they are first. Then we can discuss the rest.”
_
It was late, yeah, but Saori and I had spent a night not too long ago awake so it wasn't as if we didn't have practice. Saori and I sat on one side, Tsukuyomi on the other as he began. “I'm only coming because a number of issues are starting to pile up and in all honesty, it's not like you're unfamiliar with everything going on.”

“You have an entire military force to work with though, don't you? Including support from the Demon Empress herself, to say nothing about other high-ranking gods.”

“Well,” Tsukuyomi responded. “Let's start at the beginning.”
_
The are eight... I guess calling them “Avatars” wouldn't be too far off. They all have great power and near perfect mastery of the element of their domain. They're associated with Taoist beliefs of the eight elements, although there is a slight revision.

Whereas most supernatural entities are connected to the Profound Shine or the Dai Makai, they are not. I guess you could say, rather than being connected to the light of the sun or the darkness of the space opposite of it, they are connected to the very planet itself. There's the usual four: Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water, along with the Heavens as a stand-in for light, the Moon, the Mountains, and Thunder.

For the most part they have stayed out of these struggles, since they're not really connected to the idealogical disputes between the Separatists and the Loyalists. However... a... few how shall we say... “opinionated”.

Currently the worst of the worst are those of the Heavens, although they are really not taking sides and instead taking a “do as you please” attitude. At any rate, the danger that Hakkeshu provides us is equal to the threat to the Separatists.

Unfortunately... there's a certain woman who serves as the Hakkeshu of the Moon... Tsuki no Kaguya. She is under the direct command of the leader of the Separatists and we believe she's been the one who has been responsible for attacks in Japan targeting one Minako Yuki.
_
“Wait... that's...”

“The same person that was saved by Mizuki Rajoshin more than two years ago and the sole Candidate of the Solar Empress Amaterasu,” I added. “But... but why attack her?”

“I have no idea,” Tsukuyomi sighed. “To say nothing about why attack her now.”

“... We should probably inform Kerrigan and try to get some of the old Hachi Satsu operatives to try to keep an eye on her, shouldn't we?”

“I'm not sure how much that would help, unfortunately,” Tsukuyomi sighed. “But for the moment, we need to move tonight. We can't wait any longer.”

“The full moon?” I asked.

“If we go up against Kaguya, the full moon is when her powers will be greatest,” the Lunar Emperor elaborated. “More precisely, she'll have an advantage specifically over me, and the fifth is the first full moon of this new ye-” he paused when he realized Saori was looking confused at him. “It revolves around the fact that my powers still stem from the Profound Shine and hers don't. It is also only during a full moon that a lunar eclipse is possible and, well, she can trigger one, it's no problem for her, and it's a very big problem for me.”

“... Why is it that you keep ending up facing women you're handicapped against?” How much of Saori's question was in jest and how much was from genuine concern was something only she knew, but Tsukuyomi let it slide.

“Nevertheless, if the plan something big for the fifth, I won't be much use and Minako could be in tremendous danger if they use Hallowed Prisms against her. So we're acting tonight. That hospital. And we can't afford to lose.”
_
The maiden

It was a long day, complete with reuniting with a Candidate I'd killed over two years ago. I was tired and looked forward to a satisfying snooze, and then tomorrow I could get down to business and help out Iris's sister. It was funny, really. The person I had killed in the past was directly responsible for saving the life of Saori Ichimonji and by extension millions of people.

Yet another reason why following the lock-step of Destiny never did anyone ever good.

My beloved strawberry-emblazoned blanket was still at the shrine, but I didn't mind that much. It would be safe back home, with Asuka and everyone else.

Still no word from any of them. I was starting to get-

My phone rang and I immediately filled with dread as I rolled over in bed to grab it. It was late and everyone in Japan knew it would be for me, and everyone here would be fast asleep. Which means it would be something serious. Which would mean crawling out of bed, sneaking out of the house, and lots of fun and games in the middle of the night and then even more fun and games explaining where I had gone to. That probably would drag my heart condition back to the forefront and probably ruin the remaining time I had here.

It was from Saori, with the text message carrying the severity of the situation quite well. It's hit the fan. We need to move. Now. Along with it was a photograph of Saori, Kerrigan, and Iris with a man with silvery hair. He very, very faintly reminded me of Jun.

Well... at least they did a good job letting me know they weren't joking.

I rolled out of bed, using the Dai Makai to cushion my fall and not wake anyone up. After checking to make sure the door was shut tightly and then coating the walls in Dai Makai so that absolutely no sound or light would escape from it, I flicked on the lights and grabbed what I'd need. Within a few minutes of rummaging around I located my new trenchcoat (jet black with gold trim, incidentally) along with some bandages, energy bars, and a pair of wooden sandals.

If I said these things were my lucky charms, I'd probably be understating how important they were going to be if things got ugly. But I threw them all in a bag before dispelling the Dai Makai. It was time to go to work.
_
The student

“I want to apologize for my rude behavior last night,” the nameless girl had written me when I went to the predetermined chatroom. “... Family issues and one's own background can lead people to do stupid things.”

“Weird way of putting it,” I sent back. I was in a library currently, what with being guaranteed a quiet local complete with free internet. Social norms about not causing trouble would also mean I'd probably not be bothered in the event someone needed to use a computer and worst case, I could fluently speak Brazilian, German, and English. My Japanese wasn't half-bad either, and I could swear up a storm in any combination of them to hopefully scare anyone off.

“Again, apologies,” the Construct told me. “I don't trust many things, least of which are people related to forces that are a genuine threat to the world.”

She meant the Hallowed Prisms, no doubt. But also the Profound Shine, for whatever reason. “Understandable. Although really, aren't some of these fears misplaced?”

There was a brief period of time in which I got no response. Then she gave me a brief message which still made me realize this girl was... very passionate about her beliefs.

“I fear those forces because I know what they are capable of. One which grants people a protection so they never have to better themselves. The other is the very force that lets you, those without my... origin, exist. That second force made us and it can easily unmake us. Every testament to that force's powers, be it a computer or a table or even food, reminds me of the precarious balance your life is in.

“Just one madman with enough power over that force, and millions can die. Why do you think it was a user of that power that was required by those evil women in the battle of 2012?”

Wow. She... certainly had a way of coming cross dead serious about all of this. What's more, for a brief while I really couldn't find the nerve to talk to her about anything crucial or important... she was a creation of Kei Kimatura's, but it was hard to determine where I should take it from there.

“... You know...”

Huh?

“This has been the first time in my entire life that I have actually talked with someone. It's a pleasant experience. Well, someone that is not... like me.”

“What's the difference?”

“People... like me sometimes have trouble coping with the fact that they are different. Many times they adopt odd habits or change their appearance in ways so they stick out in people's memories. Since they have no parents or family of any kind, imprinting for the sake of emotional attachment is impossible. If they are memorable, however... say, always wear minimal clothing even in the middle of the winter, for instance...”

Something slowly dawned on me. “Would... would someone who carries an umbrella even in the middle of the winter count?”

There was a pause before the next reply. And then: “... It could just be an ordinary crazy person. It's not as if Constructs have a monopoly on unusual activity. Why do you ask?”

“Some blue-haired girl came running by this place a bit ago. More than a few people were talking about how weird it was for her to be carrying a huge umbrella around.”

“You're being crazy. You're just labeling someone who happens to be a bit of an oddball as another person like me. I can tell you that...” And then, for what seemed like ages, nothing. There was no indication that the girl was even there anymore.

“You need to go after her. She's... different.”

“Wait... what?”

Another pause. I was dreading a wall of text. “You forget my power is to 'assist', correct? I can sense these things. It's how I helped provide intel to you and Ikki, even though I knew so little of the outside world.” She had a point there. “It's a... well, it's not exactly something I can discuss with just euphemisms. But I can tell, my ability is letting me know... what you have on your hands right now is a Yuki-Onna. A very unique one at that.”
_
The north

As I sprinted down the winter sidewalks, desperately keeping myself out of the snow. I was getting close, which was good. The bad news was, in spite of calling Horoki's home phone and cell, I wasn't getting anything.

The house finally came into view, and I felt myself grow a little colder when I noticed a single window, slightly ajar and providing an entrance for the freshly-falling snow and who knows what else.
_
I found the door to the Ayasato's unlocked. Unsure if it was a trap or not, I hesitantly opened it, discovering all the lights had been turned off and the only illumination coming from the windows, all of them with their curtains conveniently drawn closed.

There was a crash from much further into the house, and I blindly rushed in afterwards. It was most likely a trap, but I wasn't going to run the risk if Horoki or anyone else was in danger.

“Is that all you've got, Ayasato?!?” I woman's voice cackled as I heard more sounds of a fight. Again, quite possibly a trap, and again, I wasn't going to take a chance that could lead to someone dying.

I rounded the corner, nearly being cut in half as a red katana whipped around and cleaved through part of the wall. Before I could process what was going on, I was kicked away just as the woman in pink returned to focus on... Horoki.

Trying to recover from the woman's attack gave me the time to finally take a look at the girl I had come to save. Unfortunately, she was sporting numerous lacerations and her clothes were stained with so much blood. Inside each of her hands was a large kitchen knife, possibly the largest that Horoki could find as she clashed them against her intruder's sword.

“Getting slower and slower, sword-girl!” the brown-haired woman said as she knocked Horoki away before instinctively turning to face me and deflect a punch before knee me in the gut. Even though I was a Snow Woman and a demon, I wasn't that far off from being a human and this person was stronger than she appeared as she thrust her sword straight at me.

“NATASSIA!”

I had no idea what had happened here before, I had no idea how long Horoki had been fighting an apparently losing battle, but I could not deny her inner strength and determination. Granted, in panic and genuine concern she had screamed the name I wanted so very badly to leave behind, but I had to hand it to a mauled woman impaling my opponent's arm into the drywall with one of the knives.

“Take that...”

Almost instantly, the woman grabbed her sword with her other hand, and effortlessly impaled Horoki with it.

…

They just stood there for a minute, Horoki blinking in disbelief as the blade slid out of her.

“... Dammit...”

And with that she fell to the ground.

… H-Horoki...

“And now that we have that taken care of...” The woman in pink struck unbelievably fast, obviously intent on putting me through the same hell she had put Horoki as attacks rained down on me without mercy. “Of course...” she let out a bit of a laugh as I tried to raise my arms up to protect me. “Not like you're actually invited here!”

And with that she effortlessly batted away my defenses and impaled me too, pinning me to the wall with a smirk on her face.

“After that whole debacle with Yuki and Kirishima, it's nice knowing you idiots are just as easy to humiliate as everyone else. The name's Arys... by the way...”

I was halfways expecting the world to start growing dim any second now, but strangely that wasn't happening. My confusion just seemed to amuse Arys even more and I began to recall what Minako had said about getting attacked before. B-but why would...

“Of course, Dario is probably taking care of Minako right now... I figured I'd take initiative of proving that we can beat you guy s within an inch of your lives.”

Chalking my lack-of-dying on my demonic nature, she just glared at Arys while slowly moving my right hand up. If I got the element of surprise, I could pull the katana out and-

“Oh, hell no you DON'T!” One of Horoki's kitchen knives sailed through the air and got me just below the shoulder, killing nearly any use of that arm. “And don't think I wouldn't kill you or the idiot, here,” Arys sneered as she plucked the other knife out of Horoki's hands and played with it.

“B-but...”

Arys suppressed a laugh with the perfect amount of restraint to utterly infuriate me. “Oh, I'm not doing this because Miss Ayasato, or whoever you are for that matter, are any real threat. Right now I assume Dario's mopping up the problems with Yuki once and for all, and I'm just here to remind you and your little group that we are more than a match for you.

“So you're going to leave this house in one of two ways when the authorities get here. Either in stretchers...” Arys grabbed the sword and but she wasn't pulling it out of-

I screamed. The sword was forced to carve its way out, breaking bones and destroying organs along the way as Arys looked at me.

“Or you'll leave in a body bag. Let's just say I have the power to be very precise with what I do. To... 'cripple', if I so wish.” Arys pulled the knife out of me before spinning around and delivering a point-black kick to the side of the face, the strength behind the attack enough to blast me through walls and crash.

I landed in snow, skidding along for a while before slowly stopping. This person... they... couldn't be human. There was no way.


“Huh. You're outside.” I turned, seeing Arys looking at me from the house. Horoki was lying on the ground, and I felt both relief and panic when I realized she was still faintly breathing. Arys was dangerous but that wasn't any excuse to end this fight as soon as possible and get medical assistance.

…

“It's snowing.”

“What's that got to do with anything?” Arys asked as she approached me. “If you're hoping for the weather to provide some kind of tragic symbolism as I leave you for dead or not even give you that much of a break, your priorities right now are a little misplaced.”

I suppressed the urge to sigh in annoyance as I pulled myslelf up. My clothes were stained with my own blood, but that would be a non-issue in about five seconds as I stood up again, head bowed and fists clenched.

“Sorry about all of that...” I quietly told Arys. “Before I was... well, you get the idea.” Arys looked amused at my brave march towards her. “You should try to get away from me.”

Yuki-Onna are demons of the mountains and the snow. We are not masters of the elements and we can easily pass for humans as long as its warm. Right now, I couldn't afford to pass for a human. The changes were already starting to occur inside of me, and it would be mere seconds before Arys realized she was out of her league.

The girl in pink lunged at me with her katana at the ready. I was kinda pathetic, really.

My hand reached out, catching it effortlessly. In that instant, the blade, hilt, and Arys's hand flash-froze and shattered. The woman recoild away from me in disbelief as my hair darkened to pitch-black and grew down to my feet... a thankful self-censorship since my clothes went the way of the katana at about the same time.
]
“I'm a Yuki-Onna, Miss Arys. In the snow my demonic nature makes itself present. Including a body with a temperature that is both Absolute Zero and a hunger for the warmth around it.”

Arys was already turning and running by the time she heard the words “Yuki Onna”, and she was headed straight back into the house. I followed in pursuit, deciding to forget about issues of bodily concealment if I got out of the snowfall. She was probably going to use Horoki as a hostage and that would probably not end-

There was the glint of metal as Arys froze in her tracks. Standing there, in a failing body, was Horoki Ayasato with another knife in her hands.

“You... you're not going anywhere.”
_
The sword

This woman... this woman was unforgivable. She had attacked Minako and Akane before. She had attacked me in my own home... she had attacked Hokuko when she tried to save me...

“ARYS!” I forced myself to scream. “Do to me what you want... but to step on other people... to take joy in torturing people... to take pride in leaving people on the line between life and death... I can't... I CAN'T JUST LET MYSELF DIE IF YOU'RE FREE TO DO AS YOU PLEASE!”

“Justice?” Arys sneered. She was probably just counting her blessings that Hokuko was keeping her distance. Even if Minako's sister got out of the elements, it would still take a brief instant to revert back to normal and that would mean further damage to my home.

She was hoping I could end this. Doing so would probably kill me, but at least Arys would go down too.

Arys, trying to keep her cool, readied the knife she still had as she looked at me. “You're doomed, you know that? It's not like I haven't trained with my off-hand.”

“I'll live with-”

My speech was cut short as I coughed up blood and my guard faltered. Great... damage to my lungs. The knife tumbled out of my hands as Arys charged and Hokuko screamed my name out. Even with her demonic powers, there was... there was no way Hokuko was going to stop Arys in time.

With nothing powering me by the strength drawn from courage, I swung my leg up, knocking the knife straight at Arys's head. My enemy's eyes widened to the size of saucers in dread.

Yeah. Didn't expect your opponent to be good with math and angling, did you?

But it wasn't to be.

“DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD GET ME?!?” Arys yelled as she knocked the knife away, only to crash into my upraised foot and get knocked backwards, just as planned.

“Yeah.” A moment later, Hokuko's fatal touch reduced Arys to icy dust as I collapsed. “I.. really did...”
_
The north

“H-HOROKI!”

Ayasato was sprawled out on the ground, blood flowing out at a gradual but oh-so-steady rate. She didn't have much time and I could almost hear the news reports tonight about the death of an M-- student just ready to start her senior year.

I couldn't even rush to her aid, my own damn nature would bring down the house around her and throw fuel on the fire. And that would mean-

“W-wow...”

There... there was another person here? Oh god, this was not going to end well was it? Horoki was on death's door and-

The girl must have arrived mere moments ago. She stood there incredulously, barely able to comprehend the scene she had walked into. She just looked at me, and then down at Horoki before slowly getting out her cell phone.

“I should be calling 9-1-1 right now, shouldn't I?”

[Asher Omega]

isn't 9-1-1, 1-1-0 in Japan? also Math will save you from EVERYTHING. except maybe Elder gods. that you need a boat or something bigger for.