JPHiP Forum

AKB48 Fanfics => AKB48 Fanfics => Topic started by: Ruka Kikuchi on February 01, 2014, 04:00:31 AM

Title: Samurai Princesses: No way out (Part 2) [ON HIATUS]
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on February 01, 2014, 04:00:31 AM
A collab with me and Comertez-san. Yoroshiku~



Long ago, in ancient Japan, when the Sun Goddess and Moon God were at peace, an evil darkness named Maou awakened to darken the world.

The Sun Goddess' most powerful warrior, the Tiger King, was the only one able to match the Maou Dragon's power, but he could not be defeated alone.

To seal the Maou's power, the Moon God gave his soul to four chosen princesses and transformed them into Samurai Warriors.

Using the magic of the Moon and Sun, the Tiger spirit and Moon soul defeated the Maou Dragon King and banished him to the Underworld.

However, the legends wrote that on the longest day of the hundredth year, he would return to shroud the world in eternal night.

And now, our four princesses shall awaken once more, in new reincarnations, to relive their legend again.


Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Legend Begins
Post by: ShipEveryone on February 01, 2014, 04:12:02 AM
Woooooo .

Interesting ~ .

I'm really curious who will be the princess ..
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Legend Begins
Post by: Kirozoro on February 01, 2014, 04:27:05 AM
I winder who is the Sun god and Moon god

Please updatesoon
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Legend Begins
Post by: Shinoki on February 01, 2014, 04:54:23 AM
I'm the type that inadvertently insults people while praising them,
so read to the end before sobbing on how mean I am:

my first thoughts:
- Well, this is kind of cheesy, but at the same time, I really enjoy these... I wonder, who are the members?????
- I get the feeling that the members'll only be in the main AKB... (since you two~)
- Fantasy ftw!
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Princess Luna (as a friend of mine always says: don't judge~ :3)
- Ru-san, you must be overloaded with work somehow...
- Nyan~ overall, I'm looking forward to more~!
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Legend Begins
Post by: Minamiyuki on February 01, 2014, 05:31:52 AM
Oooohhh... Another Action-fic... Lemme read it....

Waiting for your next update....  :) :) :)
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Legend Begins
Post by: cisda83 on February 01, 2014, 10:57:25 AM
Interesting... like a super heroes story

Can't wait to find out who are they princesses?

Who would be the enemies?

What kind of troubles are they going to come across?

Thank you for the nice prologue

 :twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Legend Begins
Post by: Zita on February 01, 2014, 07:40:21 PM
I want to read this story now.
Please hurry. :grin:
So many questions in my head.
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Legend Begins
Post by: noel nguyen on February 02, 2014, 05:51:37 AM
Woo, It's a interesting story, I want to read right now. Please hurry :D
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Legend Begins
Post by: karenchan on February 02, 2014, 06:47:06 PM
already "notify" this fic  :heart: :heart: :twothumbs
Title: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (SAYAKA - The Water Samurai)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on February 03, 2014, 03:36:01 PM
Note: There will be four prologues to introduce each character.

Enjoy! :heart:



Prologue - The Awakening (Part 1)


SAYAKA -- The Water Samurai



A woman with a strong structure. Sharp eyes, defined jawline, finely sculpted muscle. A goddess with exceptional beauty beyond compare, and a warrior with a heart that could never waver.

She was the Samurai Princess of the Water Element, "Kai." She was smart and very precise with her movements of the sword, and never lost her target. She never lost her cool and was, in a way, very manly.

However, when she did not fight, she had a family of her own to take care of and protect.

Brave yet kind, strong yet caring, the epitome of the Samurai and a Princess at heart, even though she wasn't born in royalty.

Now, in Okinawa, her newest incarnation rules as the head Samurai to the Imperial Palace. And, yes, once again, she was the only girl, but some could barely tell from her masculine complex.

Her name; Sayaka Akimoto.

===============

Sayaka Akimoto's POV

I unsheathed my sword as my opponents circled around me. As my eyes closed, I centered my energy and released all my tension.

"Maeru."

As they approached me, I gripped my sword tight and started my attack.

I stopped one sword with just the tip of my blade and threw it into the air, causing it to fly in the air and land on the ground. Spinning around, I blocked off my opponents attacks and stopped him in his tracks.

I heard a yell from behind and quickly turned the man around to knock the two of them to the ground.

"You're going to have to be a bit faster for me..." I chuckled under my breath.

I turned my head and saw one last opponent standing behind me, his sword tightly held in his hands.

Only one left...

I was ready to attack, when...

*CLAP*

When I looked, I saw General Takahashi leaning against the wall, slowly clapping her hands. She had a slight grin on her face and she hid her eyes under that hat of hers.

"Very well down, as usual, Akimoto."

"General..."

"No wonder the title of 'Leader Samurai' goes to you." she smiled as her hand waved off my last opponent and walked towards me.

"Thank you very much for your compliment." I answered as I bowed to her and sheathed my sword.

"Don't be so stiff to me, Akimoto." laughed off the General and pat my shoulder. "Come, let's have some tea in my office."

She headed me off from the open ground towards the corridors before eventually arrived at her office. She pointed me to sit as her other hand waved off the servants to get some tea.

"So.." began General Takahashi as she sat followed by me. "I've been wondering about who's going to replace me one day if I were to retire. And it seems I found it.." she smiled towards me before sipping her tea. "You are the perfect candidate for it, Akimoto."

"You praised me to much, General." I bowed again before sipping my warm tea.

"Hey, you deserved it." she said lightly before sipping her tea again. "But now, I have a mission for you." she put down her cup and the look on her face suddenly went serious.

I automatically also put down my cup and edged closer.

"There have recently been some disappearances in Okinawa. And not just that, but there have been many killings and animal attacks in certain sections of Japan." She unraveled a map and pinpointed some areas where the attacks took place. "It started out small, but eventually, local security couldn't even take care of things."

"So you want me to check it out."

"I'll alert the other palaces to be on high guard. I want you on patrol tonight."

"Of course." I bowed down in front of her and took the map in my pocket.

"You will leave tomorrow morning and send me reports from your hawk. We can contact each other with that." said General Takahashi. I turned and about to head out when suddenly she called me again, "Akimoto. Whatever is going to happen, I'm here for you." she said all the sudden.

"Yes ma'm." I saluted to her and threw one of my rarest smile before heading out of her room.

Then I remembered that I left my gauntlets in the office, I cursed lowly and turned back to the office. The office door wasn't closed properly and before I could knock on it, the voice of General was heard from the room.

"Are you sure she's the one?" asked General's voice sounded anxious.

"Takamina, how many times I heave to say it again to be clear?" asked another voice. My eyes widened, it was the sound of Kojima Haruna, the Imperial Fortune Teller. "Something is going to happen to her tomorrow!"

"Is it good or bad?" asked the General again.

"I don't know, my concern is right now is that whether you've told her or not." answered Kojima.

"I haven't." answered Takamina.

"Takamina!!" scolded Kojima. "Now how is she suppose to know her real fate then if something were to happen to her tomorrow? Akimoto Sayaka's real fate as one of the Legendary Samurai Princ-"

"Shhhhh!" I heard the General hushed. "We can't talk about it out loud here!" she whispered angrily. "Someone is listening to us."

My eyes widened wider realizing that the General might heard me. I rolled behind to one of the stone pillars nearby and made it just in time before the General blasted the door open. I froze and dared not to breathe nor to peek. The General is known very well for her sharp eyes and hearing abilities, I prayed silently so she won't hear me. But luckily, she doesn't. And Kojima was on the time to leave.

"Fine, I'll tell her tonight!" said the General in the tone of defeat.

"You better, Takamina." warned Kojima before she left. The General took a deep breath and walked back in with the door closed behind her. I sat there in silence, thinking what I heard before. The General was hiding something from me and so is Kojima. I took a deep breath and rethought about what I heard so far, something about "Legendary Samurai."

"I'll find it out later.." I whispered to myself and stood up from my hiding spot. My gauntlets can wait, because I knew now it's not the best time for me to visit General Takahashi.

===============

That night, I was circling the grounds as I kept guard of the palace entrance. My eyes darted around, keeping good watch, and every sound I heard made me more alert.

Looking out of the corner of my eye, I saw some kind of shadow move quickly from the darkness.

"Who's there?!" I ran in the direction it went and saw strange footprints on the ground.

The grass was burnt, smoking, as if it was hit with acid, and there was this black blood-like liquid staining the grass like ink.

What could've done this?

I heard a growl from my right and saw the shadow move once more, into the palace.

"Stop!"

I hurried and found the footsteps leading to the training room. I slowly approached the end of the black stained path, and it disappeared right at the entrance to the room. Taking slow, careful steps, I looked around to try and find the creature invading.

As I stopped in the center of the room, I looked carefully and didn't see any black ink anywhere.

Then, I felt my foot step on something round. I looked down and saw a small, blue orb on the ground. I knelt down to pick it up, then, an amazing shock of wind was released and the energy around the room changed.

I unsheathed my sword to protect myself and was about to slice the orb, but as the tip of the blade touched it, it glowed brightly and the orb's light wrapped around my blade. It started vibrating madly in my grip, and in my panic, I shut my eyes tight and quickly closed it back and everything went back to normal.

As my eyes opened back up, I saw that my sword's cover had changed from normal. As I took it off and revealed the metal blade, I saw these strange markings carved into it that weren't there before.

And, more importantly, the blue orb was now at the end of the handle.

But, how?

Before I could react to what just happened, I heard a low growl and smelled something rotten. Something that smelled like it was dead.

When I turned, something that seemed like a giant black lizard covered in black ink charged at me, emitting purple smoke, and had glowing red eyes staring right at me.

Before I could even see its full figure, I snapped my eyes shut in fear and swung my sword, cutting it in half and killing it. A high-pitched scream echoed in the room and I saw the strange creature vanish in smoke and the black ink melt on the floor, leaving the acidic residue and horrid scent.

I covered my mouth, looking at my sword stained in the black blood, and it didn't burn. It cleanly slid off and dripped off the silver metal, burning a hole in the floor near my foot.

"Ite!" I took a step back, cautiously aiming my sword around the area in case someone was watching me.

I heard a creek from the wood floor, and when I swung my sword around, I stopped as I saw it was the General I almost sliced, behind her was the Fortune Teller Kojima.

"General? Kojima-san?"

"Akimoto... did you...just kill that?"

"Sayaka-chan, your sword..!"

I pulled back my sword and put it back at my side, bowing to them. "I'm so sorry!"

"You killed a demon, and the ichor didn't burn your sword..." Takahashi sounded after a long silence.

Demon? Ichor?

"What?"

"Did you see a small crystal orb in here, Sayaka?"

"Wha-?" I was about to ask what was going on, but when I looked down at my sword, I couldn't help but feel confused as to what was happening. "I did... It's right here." I held up my sword and showed them how it had changed.

Haruna gave her a serious glare. "Takamina, it's time to tell her."

"Tell me what?"

Takahashi sighed out and took off her hat, looking at me with this serious change in her eyes. It was different from normal; it was more serious than normal.

"Sayaka..." she rarely calls me by my first name. Only when she's serious does she do that. "You are one of the Samurai Princesses."

What?!

"Now how is she suppose to know her real fate then if something were to happen to her tomorrow? Akimoto Sayaka's real fate as one of the Legendary Samurai Princ-"

A Samurai Princess? What is that?


"I'm a...what?"

"Come." Haruna gestured to both of us.

She led us down through dark corridors, turning left and right before eventually arrived in front of a big red door. Haruna pushed the door which automatically clicked open, revealing a big hall lit by candles.

The room was big as the throne room and in the middle of the room stood a pile of sticks mountained up high into the ceiling, on the walls were hung many beautiful paintings and calligraphy, many ancient scrolls lied open on the floor, and the most magnificent of all was the large hole above the pile of sticks which revealed the beautiful night sky dotted with silver stars.

"This room is called The Room of Fate. I used this room for my work as fortune teller," explained Haruna as she circled the wood pile. "For many years, my ancestors would use this room for most of their work, serving the royal family to foresee and told what fate has in store for them and the country. And now..." she grabbed a torch from a nearby fire holder and glanced at me.

"Your fate shall be told by me." she finished her sentence and threw the torch to the pile.

A big flame blazed up high, staggering me back. But Haruna stayed where she stood before, her mouth muttered some prayers and her eyes were closed. Green mists swirled around her, making her robe and hair floated in the air. The flame danced on the pile, this time images started to shift from the flame.

"Long ago, in ancient Japan, when the Sun Goddess and Moon God were at peace and balance.." Haruna's voice echoed loud and clearly. She opened her eyes and staggered me back again with her eyes which glowed in white. Not only that, when she opened her mouth, it also glowed in white. I shifted my sight again to the flame, this time the flame showed two blinding figure stood side by side.

"But then an evil darkness named Maou awakened to darken the world with misery and despair. His awaking has caused many to fall to their deaths and suffered under the riot he had caused..." this time a big dark figure shifted, making the flame suddenly turned to black.

"Only the Sun Goddess' most powerful warrior, the Tiger King, was the only one able to match the Maou Dragon's power." Haruna continued on and the flame showed another big figure in blinding light, facing on the dark figure. "but Maou was so strong that he could not be defeated alone by the Tiger King." Both figure then clashed to each other and created a a splitting fire where one side was bright and the other one was dark.

"To seal the Maou's power, the Moon God gave his soul to four chosen princesses and transformed them into Samurai Warriors.." this time the first figure appeared again and four circles of light shot out of her hand towards four different figures. As soon as the ball reached them, they glowed in bright light.

"Using the magic of the Moon and Sun, the Tiger spirit and Moon soul defeated the Maou Dragon King and banished him to the Underworld." the four figure then were faced with the big dark figure. Together, the four clashed to the incoming darkness, creating a big plume of flames to ceiling. After it settled down, the flame slightly grew weaker and weaker before eventually blacking out by itself.

I looked back at the fortune teller, her eyes were closed again and the mist vanished into the air. Her hair and robe fluttered down, so did the fortune teller herself.

"Haruna!" called Takahashi as she ran towards Haruna and caught her just in time. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Takamina.." croaked Haruna as she slowly opened her eyes back which has turned back to normal. "Just a little tired. But most importantly.." she glanced at me with a cautious eyes.

"You will meet the other three of the chosen Samurai Princess, Sayaka." she said lowly. "Everything will be tested, your strength, endurance, loyalty, and heart. All will be tested as you meet your allies and enemies. Dangerous path awaits as you and the other destined Samurai Princess journey down to the day where the Legend shall repeat again..."

I held my head, gripping my sword as I swallowed down all the information.

"So...what's going to happen to me?"

"Tomorrow, when you leave Okinawa, you will be exposed to the Maou's demon minions. You will have to be extremely cautious." Takahashi pulled out something in her pocket. It was a red eye mask. "Wear this so no one knows your true identity."

I nodded and took the mask, wrapping it around my head onto my face.

"You look beautiful, Sayaka-chan!"

"I'll get you your proper uniform before you leave. Haruna, I'll leave her to you." Takahashi left us alone, then Haruna and I went back to my room.

"So, Kojima..."

"You don't need to be so formal, we're the same age. Just call me Haruna."

"Haruna, this mission..."

"It's definitely not one to do alone. You actually have been chosen very well."

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"The four Samurai are represented by the four elements, depending on their personality. You were chosen with water, and I think that suits you well. Sayaka, I know you can do this, but even if you can survive on your own, you'll need the other three to defeat the Maou's more powerful minions."

The four Samurai Princesses... I'm water, so that leaves earth, fire, and wind.

God... this is happening so fast, though.

I guess I don't have a choice. I need to be careful, who knows what could happen to me now.


Takahashi came in with a kimono folded up in her arms. It was a light blue kimono patterned with blue wave-like markings to look like water, and a navy blue belt supported by some magenta string. There were small blue and light pink flowers on it and it felt like silk against my skin.

The two girls helped my change and I tied up my hair in a velvet dark blue ribbon.

"Perfect."

"You look just like a princess, Sayaka."

I smiled softly seeing my reflection in the mirror.

===============

The next morning, before anyone else woke up, I sheathed my sword onto my waist and headed out.

I took one last look at my home. This palace, where I was raised from my youth for so long. I could remember, the life I had before this. I never met my mother, I only had my father and my brother. My father took care of us in our life of poverty, and my brother trained me to be strong. Eventually, my dad succumbed to death and me and my brother went our separate ways.

I wonder how he's doing. He's been in the Japanese Army now, fighting the war, but all I can do for him now is pray for his safety. I haven't seen him in so long, I can only imagine what he may look like now. How much he's grown since we were kids...

It seems silly, doesn't it? Even though he's younger than me, he had to protect me, his older sister. I was actually very weak, long ago. I couldn't fight for myself. But then, he helped me, when I was fragile and timid, he made me stronger and more out-going.

"Sayaka." I heard Takahashi's voice that broke me from my deep thoughts.

"General... I was just about to leave."

"I know, but..." she reached into her pocket for something. "I have a present from you... it's from your brother."

Eh?!

I took the small box and saw a note on it. He wrote it.

"Sayaka, I hope you're living your life happily. Keep fighting and do your best for me, Nee-chan.  -Ryota"

"Ryota..." I opened up the small purple box and found a beautiful sapphire necklace in the shape of a butterfly. "It's beautiful..."

Takahashi took it out and wrapped it around my neck. It fit perfectly and dangled against my collar, I put my hand over it and felt my heart beating over it.

"Good luck." she said to me one last time before leaving.

As I turned back around, I wiped a single tear falling down my face and put the mask on. Then, holding my sword tight, I headed out into the darkness, ready to face whatever came my way.


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (SAYAKA - The Water Samurai)
Post by: Kirozoro on February 04, 2014, 12:33:52 AM
Wah i wonder who is the other 3 samurai princess

Please update soon
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (SAYAKA - The Water Samurai)
Post by: deguchi on February 04, 2014, 12:41:26 AM
Woh! So cool~!
I wonder who's the next princess~
Title: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (AYAKA - The Earth Samurai)
Post by: Cometerz48 on February 10, 2014, 03:30:07 PM
Minna-san, konbawa~
This is Cometerz48 bringing you the next prologue for this collab fic with Ruka Kikuchi-san. Would like to thank Ruka-san for checking and fixing up my grammars~

Enjoy~



Prologue - The Awakening (Part 2)


AYAKA -- The Earth Samurai


A beautiful young lady wrapped in an elegant satin robe, embroidered in gold threads and precious stones set on her silky hair. Her figure and eyes was small but the loss she had and the responsibility she’s shouldering right now wasn’t compatible to it. Now with fate laid it’s hands on her, the dark rounds on her eyelids shown how much it gained her stress.

Gentle and quite as the mountains in Edo region, she spent her time mostly on books and knowledge for the preparation to become the next holder of the throne. Not knowing that one day fate would make her become the Samurai Princess of Earth Element “Riku”.

Nor she’s brave or strong, but the love and the care for her family and the people of Edo were big enough to overcome her stress for sometimes. But once it doesn’t her sanity broke down into what people around her might fear.

All that she loves, that she cares, she can feel slipping away.

So young and yet the time for her to crowned has come. Her father had died before she could even be a woman like her mother whom struggled fighting the endless pain of a mysterious disease.

Her name; Ayaka Umeda.

===============

Ayaka Umeda's POV

“Hime-sama.” a voice called from behind me. I was so occupied with the scroll I’m reading until the voice called out louder. “Hime-sama!”

“Ah, yes!” I yelped in reflex due to the loud call and dropped my scroll.

I sighed and picked it up from the floor and then looked up to meet my Teacher’s grin. “Master Noro..”

“Hime-sama, you’re quite early today.” praised Master Noro Kayo, before she settled down next to me. “I was wondering for how long I’d have to wait for you today since you always come late to lessons, but it seems that my imagination is rejected today.”

“I’m sorry for being late yesterday.” I apologized and bowed to her. It’s true that I made her wait quite long since I woke up late.

“So, what’s with the early routine today then?” asked Noro before she stood up to dust up the board.

“I couldn’t sleep last night.” I answered truthfully as I got out ink and brush from a linen bag. “I just can’t.”

“Hime-sama, not sleeping for the whole night isn’t good for your health.” told Noro as he put down the board duster. “Is there something that’s bothering you?”

“Well…” I sighed. “I’m just thinking about my father, Master. He’s been away for so long now and my mother’s health is getting worse too..”

“Don’t worry about the Emperor, Hime-sama.” smiled Noro. “He’s a very strong person and he loves this country so much that he goes to the front line to fight with our men as well. Your mother is a strong person too, despite your father’s absence, she still can managed the kingdom well.”

“I don’t know...” I sighed again. “I just miss him so much…”

“Ah, Hime-sama..” pouted Noro before she embraced me. “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.”

“Thank you Master.” I said before letting her arms go and bowed to her slightly. She replied my smile and bow down as well.

“Now,” she went back to the subject. “we’re going to learn something light today. No need ink and brush, since we’re not learning literature or calligraphy today.”

“Then what are we learning?” I asked with  furrowed brows and put back my ink and brush.

“We’re going to learn,” Noro grabbed a nearby ornament, a katana. Long and sharp enough to behead someone, just like my father’s. “about Samurai Legends.”

“Samurai Legends?” I asked again.

“Yes, legends about Samurai.” answered Noro as she swung around the sword. I knew Master Noro has gained her title with knowledge about well.. Everything including calligraphy, sword mastering, archery, and even flute blowing.

"What kind of legends?"

“Well, to begin with..” she then took a seat in front of me and urged me to edge closer. “There is one Legend called The Samurai Princess.”

“Samurai Princess? Is it the one about the Moon God gave part of his soul to a princess in order to work together with the Tiger King to defeat a darkness called Maou?” I asked my teacher. “I think I’ve read it before off somewhere..”

“As expected of you, my princess.” Praised Noro with a smile. “Well you are correct, my lady. But did you know that it’s not just one princess? In fact, it was four princess that received the Moon God’s soul.”

“Four?” I scrunched my eyebrows. “I thought it’s only one.”

“No, my Lady..” chuckled Noro. “There is four to represent four different element of life. There is Water, Earth, Fire and Air.”

“Ah, so that’s how it is...” I nodded. “But why are we learning this, Master? I mean it’s just a legend.”

“Sometimes, the word 'legend' itself actually lives on, my Lady.” said Noro cautiously that I started to tensed up. “The reason I’m telling you this is because I’ve heard that there is a prophecy that says this Legend will repeat itself again.”

“Repeat? You mean, there will be these 'Samurai Princesses' and 'Maou’?” I asked shockedly.

“Yes, Hime-sama.” nodded Noro. “It is said that it will happen when a daugther of Edo Kingdom take on the throne of Edo.”

My eyes widened, I’ve been learning about my family tree as the Edo royal Family. And none of the dirrect bloodline has a daugther before I was born.

“Yes, my Lady.” nodded Noro. “It will happen in your time one day. You will become the empress of Edo since you are the first candidate to replace your father’s position on the throne of Edo. I want you to know all about this so that one day, you can support these princesses in order to defeat Maou.”

“But--”

“This is important, my Lady.” warned Noro. “No prophecy again has came out since that was spoken out about five decades ago, when your grandfather was on the throne. But only the palace knew about it, because it may caused a great panic through the country later on. Since no prophecy came out again, the Emperor and his ministers were worrying about the future for the country if that were to prophecy were to overcome. They’re afraid that it might be the end of Edo.”

I didn’t spoke at all. I was silenced by my teacher’s words, it was as if the burden on my shoulder has just been added. Another responsibility for me, Princess Umeda Ayaka of Edo. The next in line for the throne...

“My lady, please do not take it too deep yet.” Said Noro. “There’s still time for you to learn to be a good ruler, my Lady. And I will be there for you if you need guidance.”

“Thank you, Master.” I spoke softly to the big lady. Giving her a thin smile, but still burdened.

Noro smiled again in reply, “You can take a break now, Umeda-sama. Have you eaten your breakfast yet? You looked quite pale.”

“Ah, now that you reminded me!” I slapped my forehead. “I haven’t actually..”

“My Lady, you didn’t sleep and didn’t eat your breakfast. Please manage yourself well, your health is important for your life now.” Said Noro worriedly.

I smiled again, this is what I like the most from my teacher. She took care of me very well and listen mostly about my problems like my mother’s sickness and my father’s absence.

“I will soon.” I promised. “After I finished reading this scroll though.”

“Hime-sama...” warned Noro lowly. Her glare successfully terrified me.

“Fine, I’ll get my meal now.” I announced in defeat. I stood up and walked out of the room, watching my teacher’s smile before the door closed up.

Instead of heading to the dining room however, I turned my heels towards another place that I wish to visit right now; my mother’s room. My mother fell ill from what to be said a rare disease by the healers. She would coughed blood abruptly when her coughing starts to attack, not only that she would also have a difficulty in breathing and fainted out for a while.

I arrived at my mother’s door finally and knocked it softly before coming in.

“Ayaka..”

“Mother..” I spoke softly and approached my mother.

There she was, lying on the bed with bottles of weird colored potions on her bedside. Her beautiful face was pale and thin, I knew it was so different than the one I heard from my father long ago before he left for war. The disease has taken her health away, but not her willingness to rule the country on my father’s absence.

“Aren’t you meant to be with Master Noro now?” asked my mother as she softly caressed my cheek. “Don’t tell me you skipped her lesson or something.” She said suddenly and pinched my cheek.

“Itte!” I yelped and rubbed the red skin once she let it go. “It wasn’t like that. She just let me have an early break since I looked pale in her eyes.”

“Really?” asked my mother as she edged closer to me and sat up. “Well you do look pale, what’s wrong honey?”

“I’m fine.” I replied shortly. “I’m just missing father, that’s all.”

“Oh, honey...” she pouted and hugged me just like what Noro did a while ago. “It won’t be long, Ayaka. Once the war ends, he will be back. Now I heard that we’re on the winning side, I’m sure it won’t take long..”

My mother’s comforting smile healed my worries a little, making me able to smile for a moment.

“Ah, that reminds me that I’ve got something for you..” shifted my mother. But then she started to cough again and I knew she’s not meant to move at all from her bed.

“Don’t force yourself!” I strained her. “I’ll get it for you; just tell me where it is.”

“It’s just on my table right there.” She pointed at me to a box sitting on top of her desk. I quickly approached it and brought the box to her.

She then opened the box slowly and carefully and picked up an object inside the box.

“That’s beautiful..” I gawked in awe to the object.

It was an oval shaped mirror with a porcelain edges and handle, decorated in jewels and fragile flowers from colored crystals.

“It’s my first gift from your father.” smiled mother as she turned the mirror in her hand. It is said that it can show who you really are, deep hidden in your heart, all will be shown in the mirror. “It’s something that’s quite precious to me since it’s hand down from your ancestors.”

“Wow..” I couldn’t stop gawking at it. “What do you see yourself in that mirror?”

“I saw myself as a happy woman, I suppose.” answered my mother simply. “Which what I am now. Why don’t you try it out? I’m going to give it to you anyway..”

“Really?!” I asked in excitement and got it answered by mother’s nod. “Thank you!” I took the mirror from her offered hand.

“Go on.” urged my mother.

I nodded and raised the mirror to my face, what’s shown in the mirror wasn’t exactly what I expected. I saw my own face, my eyes looked sharper somehow, there are scratches on my face and a gash by my left cheek. I touched my own left cheek and found it alright and smooth, no gash.

“Well, what did you see..?” asked my mother.

“I saw--“ my voice was cut off suddenly by the sound of my mother’s door being opened. I glanced back and saw Noro rushing in. Her face was red and she was gasping as if she just had a good amount of running. Despite that, I knew something had happened. Her eyes were telling me everything, fear and regret..

“I apologize for interrupting, my Lady and my Queen..” bowed Noro. “But a news has arrived from the front line..”

“What happened?” I asked huskily. But then I regret for asking it, if it’s Noro that comes with news from the front line, it’s got to be about my father.

“The Emperor, my Lady..” said Noro. “The Emperor is dead.”

"What?!" I said in my panic, gripping my small compact mirror tight. "Father is..."

"I'm so sorry..."

============================================

I ran towards the body laying on the floor, wrapped up in a bloody, white sheet. When I unveiled it, I saw my father's face, bloody and beaten. He was the most pale white and stone cold to the touch. His locket hung on his neck, completely covered in blood, I snatched it and stare at the crimson object.

I clutched my head, crying on the ground. I can't believe he's gone...

Just imagining it now, being out there, with all those people being killed so ruthlessly....

"Ayaka..."

Then I had realized... all of this can end... Everyone was going to die soon. My family had been slipping from their grasp, and are dying. I can just die and go to Heaven with them.

Such a thought made me laugh...

"I should... just die! ...Haha.... Hahahahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Ayaka?!"

"Everyone's leaving!!!" I said as I laughed and cried. "I should just go with them!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!"

"Ayaka, don't say such things!"

"Everything in this world shall always come to an end!!!!"

I pounded on the ground, when I realized... the locket was still in my hands. And now, it was broken. The glass shattered in my hand, blood flowing from my palm, and the beautiful rhinestones and gems scattered on the floor.

Realizing what happened, I returned to my sanity and turned to my mother. "Mother, I'm so--" But, she had fainted, her hand tightly clutching her chest. "Mother!"

I knelt against her bedside, crying on and on.

Everything, yes, was coming to a tragic end...

"Ayaka Hime-sama, you must take the throne of Edo now. You are the only one left."

Looking up at the servant, I wiped off my tears and said, "I can't. I'm not ready."

"Don't worry. You will have us to support you."

He is loyal...

I nodded.

===============

“Hime-sama.” I turned back, it was Noro standing by the door. “There is someone who wished to see you.”

“Who is it?”

I asked. Noro opened the door wider, revealing two figures standing next to her.

“Atsuko..” I whispered. “Ami..” It was none other than my cousins, Maeda Atsuko and her sister, Maeda Ami.

“Ayaka..” said Atsuko before rushing to me and hugged me tightly. “I’ve heard what happened. I’m so sorry..”

“It’s alright..” I bit my lips. I’ve heard those words for thousands of times already since my father’s death, from the ministers, relatives, and neighbor kingdoms. “Where’s your mother?” I asked them.

Atsuko and Ami’s mother was my father’s younger sister, she wasn’t capable to have the throne since my dad is the first child and the first child would always inherit the throne. So instead, she married off with a high General of us, General Maeda whom died first before my father’s death.

“She’s with your mother.” said Ami bitterly. “We’re here for your coronation, Ayaka Hime-sama.”

I didn’t say anything nor responded to that statement. The thoughts of my coronation have been burdening my mind since all the servants, ministers, and guards have sworn that they will support me after my father’s death.

“A leader might have followers that protect him, but a leader also have a job to protect their own followers too..” my father’s words chimed in my mind. I remembered that evening before he left the palace to go to the front line, the day he told me that I’ll be his successor for Edo.

“My Lady, the coronation will start in the evening after the sun is down.” Informed Noro after the Maedas left the room. I’ve been keeping my teacher so close to me since the incident that happened on my father’s death, she’s been on my side almost the whole time now. I even told her to sleep with me, securing from the endless burden on my shoulder.

“Master Noro..”

“Yes, My Lady?”

“How is my mother?” I asked her quietly. It’s the first time I brought the conversation about my mother since I terrified her three days ago. I just don’t have the guts to check on her yet, I was scared that she’d knocked down again.

Noro smiled weakly, “She’s alright now my Lady. Why don’t you visit her now?”

I considered her words for a moment before nodding off. I walked passed her as the door closed up behind me, heading towards my mother’s room. My palm felt sweaty as I clenched it tightly, the trip felt so fast that now I have arrived in front of her room. I knocked it softly before pushing it forward.

My mother was there, sitting up on her bed, looking at the horizon shown by the window on right side of her room. Noticing someone has appeared in her room, she glanced and met my eyes.

“Mother…” tears started to swelled out as I rushed towards her. The woman of my life then welcomed me with opened arms and hugged me so tight. I couldn’t help not to break into tears. “I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry…”

“Ayaka…” whispered my mother to my ear as she caressed my hair pushed me from her arms so that she could stare into my face. “It’s alright.. Now it’s not the time for you to be in tears, Empress of Edo.”

“But I’m not ready yet…” I blabbered. “It’s still two more years before I could attend my ceremony.”

“Ready or not, it’s your fate now as Empress of Edo.” stated my mother. “Protect Edo, my dear. Protect it in any way you can and the whole Edo will protect you.”

I nodded and hugged her tighter before Noro could call me back to my room.

===============

The gongs have vibrated through the palace’s ground, signaling the time of coronation has come. From a small window, I could see many has gathered for the ceremony. Ministers, honor guests, and advisors. The Maeda family was among them, standing by the coronation altar since it’s for family relatives.

“My Lady..” Noro’s voice by my side. “It’s time.”

I nodded to the woman who’s going to accompany me to the throne, the new imperial advisor; Noro Kayo. Noro smiled and signaled the door to be open.

The day lights burst in to the room, ignoring it, I stepped out with my chin up high and eyes straight forward. Beside me was Noro in her imperial advisor robe and a katana hung on her waist. My eyes were fixed towards the altar where my mother, the Maedas, and priests are waiting for me. My own robe felt heavy on my shoulders and it’s pocket felt heavy too since I decided to brought my mother’s gift, the mirror.

But those two things would never beat the heavy burdens I’m going to carry out soon..

The walk was done in slow motion, but finally I arrived at the altar. The procedure was to have me sitting down on the throne first before the priest would speak the blessing and oaths before then put the crown on my head.

It was a complete silence from the walk to the moment the crown was to be put on my head. But before I could sat down on the throne, a loud hiss was heard on my side.

“She whom will face an undeniable fate..”

“Ami?”

I turned towards the noise and Ami walking towards me with her face completely covered with her own hair. Atsuko was right behind her, tugging her sister to pull back.

“Ami!!” she urged her sister. I glanced back at Noro and gave her my questioned look, the lady just shrugged and approached Ami.

“Lady Maeda, please do stay back during the coronation.” Stood Noro between Ami and I.

Ami strangely released a giggle, a scary one that would chill anyone right to the bone. “And let the whole world engulfed in darkness? Would you really like that, Samurai Princess of Earth?”

“What?” I finally released my voice for the first time since the coronation started. The crowd bellow started to buzzing up, hearing Atsuko’s words. The priests and my mother started to look uneasy.

“Ami, stop all of this craziness!!” spoke Atsuko as she shook her sister’s shoulder from behind.

“Maeda Ami, stop all of these nonsense at once!” spoke Atsuko’s mother, Lady Maeda, with a serious face. “We are in a royal ceremony!”

Ami, ignoring all of those reactions, kept on. “Yes, Umeda Ayaka. You may have a kingdom to protect, but your fate goes on and won’t be able to be denied. Choose, your kingdom or the whole world. Because Maou will engulf both of them in darkness if you and the other Samurai Princess don’t stop him.”

What is she talking about? Am I actually..?


“Your new fate starts, now.” said Ami before she fell forward to the ground. The crowd suddenly burst into loud noises, everyone buzzes about Ami’s statement.

“Ami!!!” yelped Atsuko, trying to catch her. But luckily, Noro was able to catch her first before anyone could.

“She’s alive, but her pulse is weak.” pronounced Noro with Ami unconscious in her arms, she turned back to me. “My Lady?”

I was too stunned to speak now. I looked at my mother, her expression was unreadable. Tears formed up in her eyes as she covered her mouth in disbelieve. In the crowd’s noise, I couldn’t hear a single thing clearly and no one bothered to hit the gong to silence the crowd.

But then, a shriek was heard on the far side of my left.

I turned and saw Lady Maeda staring up what’s in front of her. A huge bear in black fur was standing in front of her, it’s red eyes looked down on the woman as it releases snarls. The size of the bear was bigger than any bear I would see in the Edo Forest, bigger than any other creatures that I’ve ever seen.

“Mother!!” yelped Atsuko. But before the girl could reach her own mother, blood splattered on her face. Her mother’s blood.

I was too stunned to watch Lady Maeda’s body fell to the ground after the bear swooped it’s talons to her. The crows went wild as they tried to escape for their life, guards and soldiers blend in, trying to force their way in.

“Maeda-san, no!!” yelled a guard blocking Atsuko from coming any closer. But soon later, Atsuko experienced another shower of blood when the bear swooped it’s talons once again to the guard’s back.

Atsuko, too stunned to say any words, stare up at the bear. Covered in bloods, she screamed. The bear raised it’s talons again over her, but before it could pierce her, Noro’s sword sliced the bear’s hand first.

The bear roared in pain as dark liquid oozing out from the cut, the drops of liquid sizzled to the ground as if acids on paper. I snapped out from my stunned state and pulled out Atsuko just in time before she could experience the dark liquid reaching her.

“Take them to a safe place!” I yelled to the approaching guard and pushed Atsuko towards them. Atsuko looked at me in the eyes, I knew she was terrified. I glanced back at my mother, I saw the same expression as well. “Take all of them to safety!” I yelled to them before leaving Ami, Atsuko, and my mother to their hands. Ignoring the yelling from everyone, I rushed towards Noro whom was busily dodging the bear’s one and only talons left.

“My Lady!!” yelled Noro, noticing my approach. “Stay back!!”

Ignoring my advisor, I rushed closer until the bear could see me. Anger has taken over me now, my anger towards the bear, towards those who killed my father, towards the creature whom killed Lady Maeda, and especially towards the fate that has decided to make my life much more difficult..

“OI!!!” I yelled to the bear. I picked up a rock by my feet and threw it to the bear’s left eye, it hit perfectly and gained his attention. “YOU WANT ME? THEN COME AND GET ME!!” I yelled for the first time since my father’s death. All the things that happened recently, gave me a new strength to do such action.

I turned back and started running as soon as the bear leapt towards me. I ran as fast as I could without thinking about anything or hearing anything. Noro’s yell was little beyond the bear’s angry roar. I ran and turned just in time towards the corridor surrounding the coronation ground before crashing into a wall. A big rumble vibrated under my feet, indicating that the bear has crashed into the wall, I peeked behind and saw cloud of dust around the area and soon the bear started to focus on the chase again.

I pulled out the mirror from my pocket and threw my robe off, lightening my body for the chase. I ran as I kept the mirror steady in my hand so that I could see the bear behind. It’s eyes glared in frightening shade of red, indicating how angry it is.

I was angry too. So angry and frightened that I didn’t see an incoming ball of bright orange light heading towards my face. By the time it’s just inches from my face, I closed my eyes and raised my mirror to hit the ball away, but instead of feeling the glass breaks into pieces, I felt a tug from the moment the ball touched the mirror. The mirror vibrated like crazy in my hand, so powerful that it vibrated through my bones.

I opened my eyes just in time when I heard Noro’s yell and the bear’s roar. I was gasping from the experience and glanced to the mirror in my hand. The mirror looked same as before but a orange orb was attached to the end of the handle and created a twisted green vines on the handle like I’ve never seen before.

What happened..?

But before I could answer it, the bear has successfully overcome the guards and fixed it’s eyes once again on me.

I scrambled up and started running again, I felt a new energy rushed into me. As fresh as the air of the forest, it felt good and making me relax even though I was running for my life. I jumped over the fence and went back to the coronation ground, it was already empty except for some guards and soldiers.

That’s it, I was tired of running. Instead of running towards the guard and begging them to protect me, I turned towards the empty coronation altar. I signaled all the guards to move away from the scene since the bear was coming. As soon as I reached the altar, I turned back and saw the bear just a few meters away rushing in a killer speed.

I felt a tug on my guts and put out my right hand in front of me, I stared at the incoming bear in anger. I willed all of my anger into my hand and all the sudden a loud crack was heard from the ground. One of the bear’s leg broke the ground where it landed and soon the ground surrounding the bear broke and created a huge pit under the bear’s leg. The bear struggled but the harder it struggled, the bigger the pit becomes. And soon, the bear fell into the pit with a loud roar.

No one spoke for a moment, neither am I.

“My Lady…” I heard Noro from bellow me and stare at me with those unbelievable eyes. I put down my hand and soon finding my self stumbling forward and the world spinning in my eyes.

"Ayaka!!"

===============

My eyes hazily opened as I woke up in an unfamiliar bed. I wasn't at the palace anymore, but somewhere else.

"My Lady..."

I looked over and saw Noro beside me, and on my other side was Atsuko, asleep as she knelt down next to Ami in her bed.

"Master Noro, what happened?"

"You collapsed..."

I looked in my hand and saw I was still gripping the mirror tight. I remembered everything so clearly. The coronation, Ami's sudden outburst, the bear attack. It played through my mind like a movie.

"My Lady, I'm so sorry..."

"Noro, what's going on? What happened to me back there?"

"Hime-sama... you're the Samurai Princess of Earth, Riku."

I held my chest, remembering what had happened when I fought that bear. I also remembered my reflection in the mirror. Is that really who I am? Or maybe, who I was?

There's still so much I don't understand...

"Where are we then?" I asked her as I put down the mirror carefully on the table beside my bed.

"A safe house in the outskirt of Edo region, my Lady." answered Noro. "Your father built this house when the war erupted. He build it just in case if one day the palace is taken over by the enemies."

"My mother!" I jolted up. "What happened to her? What happened to my mother and the throne?"

"After you were out, your mother instructed me to take you, Ami, and Atsuko away to the safe house. She understood that it's your fate now as a Samurai Princess, that you can't possibly take the throne now."

"Then who's going to take it?" I asked her again.

"Your mother, my Lady." informed Noro. "My Lady, you have a bigger responsibility now as a Samurai Wariror."

"But.." I blabbered. "But, I don't know a thing about Samurai! I don't even know how to a swing a sword and how am I suppose to be a swordman?! And most importantly, I don't have a sword!"

"Your mother gave me this before we left, my Lady." said Noro handing me a long wooden case. "It is for you to take on your new destiny as a Samurai Princess."

I laid the wooden box on my lap and opened it carefully. Inside, a long Katana was sheathed and decorated with carving of a tiger on the case. The Katana felt cold in my hand as I took it out, it wasn't very heavy nor it was light. I unsheathed the sword and studied the blade, I could see a reflection of myself.

On the blade, there was an ancient text written on it that I couldn't quite yet read.

I sheathed the sword back and took out a folded orange fabric from the box. I unfolded it and looked at the orange kimono patterned with green vines swirling on the fabric, the belt was dark green in color and it comes with an orange string to support it. The fabric felt soft in my hands as I ran my hands on it.

"It's beautiful.." I whispered in awe, gazing at the gifts.

Noro smiled weakly, "Come, I'll help you put it on."

Then my teacher helped me putting it on silently. Once she was done, she took a step back and studied me.

"Beautiful as always my Lady.." whistled Noro. I turned around to the mirror and saw my own reflection on the mirror. My hair was tied back in a single braid, leaving my kimono completely exposed on the back. The color of the Kimono blended well with my body as well as the sword on my waist.

"Ah, don't forget this." said Noro with my mirror in her hand. She tucked it into my pocket and smiled. "Are you ready for the journey, my Lady?"

Confused of her words, I asked, "What journey are you talking about?"

"You can't stay here, my Lady." said Noro. "You must find the other Samurai Princess and work together with them to defeat Maou. What Lady Maeda said before isn't a joke, my Lady. Maou is rising and the legend of Samurai Princess shall be repeated again."

"But... But..!" I looked around in confuse. "How about Atsuko and Ami? How about my mother? How about you?"

"I was ordered by your mother to protect both of the Maeda now. The priest presumed that Ami was taken over by a dangerous spirit and should be terminated immediately. There's no one in the Maeda family left now except for her and her sister to protect her. And we cannot argue about the decision of the priest so your mother told me take the three of you to the safe house."

"Then what if the priest found all of you? All of you might be killed!"

"Do not worry my Lady." smiled Noro weakly. "I have a friend from another kingdom, one of your father's acquaintance. I've sent her a letter from my falcon to her and told the situations here and hopefully she could get us to safety before the priests found us."

"Then how about you?"

"I'm staying, my Lady." stated Noro once again. "I will do my duty as a protector of the Maeda Sisters."

I rushed to her and hugged her tightly, I sniffed on the jasmine fragrance of her hair, giving me a slight calm way of departing.

She hugged me too as she caressed my hair, "You will be alright, my Lady. I believe in you. Everyone believes in you, your mother, Lady Maeda, the whole Edo believes in you."

I pulled back and stared sadly at my teacher. She whom taught me everything from boring laws to exciting calculations, she who would listen to all my problems, she's my first friend I ever known..

"Here." she handed me a traveling bag and a dark hooded cape. "Inside, you'll find some supplies for the next coming days and some money. There's also some scrolls on sword techniques that I managed to pack in, I want you to practice it my Lady. Remember, practice makes perfect. Don't be shy to ask for help when you met the other Samurai Princess, the four of you will have to help each other out in order to defeat Maou."

She opened up the hooded cape and put it on me, "Your identity must remained secret, my Lady. The whole Edo would be looking for you and us as fugitives, so please do not do anything that might attract much attention." she finally locked in the last button, and finally, she pulled out a green eye mask and tied it around my head to cover my eyes, "and lastly please be safe, Hime-sama.."

"Master Noro.." I said. I took a step back and bowed to her, my last gratitude for all of her dedication to me and the palace. "Thank you so much, Master..."

"Good luck, my Lady." smiled Noro and bowed back to me.

I walked out of the room and took the last glance at the sleeping Maeda sisters. I headed to the verandah and looked at the early morning sky, the sun has not risen yet but I could see the white line beyond the horizon already. I turned back and waved at my teacher before finally setting my first step towards my new destiny.


To Be Continued


Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (AYAKA - The Earth Samurai)
Post by: mitsuhara_itsuko on February 10, 2014, 05:03:47 PM
I can't wait to find out who the other two Samurai Princesses are ! XD ... anyways, thx for the cool update ^ ^
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (AYAKA - The Earth Samurai)
Post by: Shinoki on February 11, 2014, 01:24:36 AM
Well, I could predict that Sayaka and Ayaka would be there...
but I wonder who the other ones are...
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (AYAKA - The Earth Samurai)
Post by: Kirozoro on February 11, 2014, 10:30:23 PM
Ayaka is one if the samurai princess

I wonder who goingto be next
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (AYAKA - The Earth Samurai)
Post by: kuro808 on February 12, 2014, 04:49:58 AM
Air and fire are left and the locations of ancient Japan of the two others should be interesting with their stories
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (YUKA- The FIRE Samurai)
Post by: Cometerz48 on May 17, 2014, 10:01:18 AM
Hello ho~ Back from my long hiatus!!!!!

Man, been keeping eyes for the forum but haven't write much anymore since school projects made me occupied boringly.. Now tossing them aside, I'M BACK!!

Would like apologize to Ruka-san for delaying the fic so long (Hontoni gomenasai, Ruka.. *bowed deeply*) and of course to all of you too for leaving the thread for so long, nee~

Enjoy the next prologue~





Prologue - The Awakening (Part 3)


YUKA -- The Fire Samurai


An average girl with tough life ahead of her, but the smile on her face never wears off as the sweats of her hardwork always drenched her clothes, so does the love for her family.

The warm Takoyaki always fill her mind as her spirit keeps on fighting on the means to make her family’s life better. No wonder that one day she would be known as the Samurai Princess of the Fire Element "Hinata".

Casting off the dusts, sweats, and dirt, the girl is a beauty and symbol of hardwork for anyone around her. Especially for those who shares the same interest as her.

Carrying baskets of local produce, she hopped around the market day and night, sunny and rainy day, freezing winter and blazing summer with the same smile on her face. Locals would always see her happily hovering in Takoyaki or Ramen shop on her breaktime.

Her name; Yuka Masuda.

==========================

Masuda Yuka’s POV

“Oi! Needing a box of carrots here!!”

“Where’s the cabbages I ordered yesterday?!”

“A sack of garlics here please!”

The voices of food vendors cook roamed in the early morning of the market. The market opens up early to welcome all sorts of citizens, from hungry locals to region distant travelers. It sells up from raw fresh local produces to steamy hot breakfast meals.

But I’m not dashing through the market for any of them, I was holding a squeaky wheel barrows filled with fresh vegetables and herbs. I ignored the sweats that I've produced in the early morning and kept on going as I scanned through the market.

“Aye-aye, here you go, sir! A box of carrots!” I exclaimed when I stopped and dropped the box of carrots in front of one food vendors. The owner smiled and thanked me after he inserted some gold into a little fabric sack that I held out to him.

I dashed off again and dropped down carts of cabbages in front of a store.

“Here you go, Mam, green cabbages of the local region.” I grinned as I watched more gold from the lady of the store.

I pushed my cartwheel in an insane able speed, luckily, no one is in my way since it’s early in the mornings where people might be still cowering under their blankets and mucking around on their bed. I don’t have time for any of them being honest, I wouldn’t be up early in the morning if it weren’t for a dream for our family.

The dream was simple, but yet, so hard for my family to reach it. It was none other than having a restaurant of our own. It was my father’s ideas actually to opened up a restaurant, my father was great cook and took the responsibility of the family meals since his wife fell ill and died after giving birth to his third child.

I sighed in relieve as soon as I dropped the last order for today, a sack of garlic for an udon vendor. I was just straightening my stiff neck when I stopped and smiled to the one dropping the gold inside my money sack.

“Ohayou, Sato-san.” I greeted the girl with my trademark smile.

The one greeted was scowling however, “Thank you for the garlic, Masuda,” she said shortly.

“What’s with the cold gratitude?” I asked her with a frown. “Oh, come on, Natsuki! We’re friends aren’t we?”

“Correction: We USED to be friends, Masuda Yuka.” said Natsuki as she crossed her arms. “Until you took the boy that I liked.”

“Oh, that?! That was ages ago, Natsuki!! It wasn’t me who was chasing him, it was the other way around!” I denied my childhood friend.

“Still! You knew that I liked him, Yuka!” yelled Natsuki. “Oh forget it, why am I talking to you? Why don’t you go back now and get that puny dream of your dad started!”

I clenched my fist, “Don’t you dare mocking my dad, Natsuki!” I growled lowly.

Natsuki smiled smugly, “Make me, Yuppai.”

“That’s it!” I yelled in anger as I lunged towards her, successfully pinching her soft cheek with my fingers. “Take that, damn it!”

“Oh why don’t you take this!!” yelled Natsuki as she pinched my ear with her fingers. I could feel the throbbing pain on my ear, by I shut my mouth from the temptation to yell in pain and instead kept on pinching her.

“What is going on here?!” boomed a voice from inside the store.

A round lady came out from the store, she was wearing a cotton apron over her clothes with some sauce smeared all of it. We both froze, still pinching each other, and turned to the lady.

“Ah, it’s both of you.” chuckled the woman as she smiled widely. “You both still playing with each other, I see?”

“We’re not.” answered Natsuki straight away as she pulled back and let go off my ear. “Just a ‘friendly’ long time pinch.” She wrinkled her nose.

I dust off my ears with a frown to Natsuki and bowed to Natsuki’s mother.

“Good Morning, Mrs. Sato.” I greeted the lady.

“Hello and good morning, Yuka.” Nodded Mrs. Sato. “Thank you for the garlic, just in time to be added to the stock.”

“You are most welcome, Mrs. Sato.” I nodded.

Mrs. Sato smiled, “Well, aren’t you sweet? Why don’t you come in and have some meal now? I bet you must be hungry.”  she offered.

“Mother!” scolded Natsuki unhappily to her mother.

“Not a word, Natsuki.” Said her mother as she silenced her daughter’s complain.

Seeing how unhappy Natsuki looked, I smiled thinly to the lady. “Sorry, I think I’ll pass. I need to get back home soon to prepare for my siblings’ breakfast.”

“Well, why don’t you just take it with you then?” offered the lady again. “Natsuki’s sister, Sumire, has been crying for some Takoyaki and I think we made too much batter for it. I think you could help us finishing it off would you?

“Mother!”

“Takoyaki?” I asked with a smile. Takoyaki has always been my favorite food, those beautiful pieces of octopus swimming in the melting batter inside the golden brown balls, topped with dried seaweeds… Swirling taste on my tongue each time I bite into it. “Sure!” I took the offer. Natsuki sighed in exasperation and wrinkled her nose.

“Great! Wait a second, I think my husband just finished up the next batch.” said Mrs. Sato. “Darling, could you bring a box of them here?” she called for her husband.

“Aye, aye, darling.” said Mr. Sato arriving with a box in his hand. His eyes widened when he saw me and smiled, “Ah, if it isn’t Miss Masuda. I should have known who would like a Takoyaki in the early morning like this!” he exclaimed happily.

“Good Morning, Mr. Sato.” I bowed to him. “I’m sorry to disturb you in early morning like this and thank you for the Takoyaki.” I said upon receiving the Takoyaki from him.

“No problem, dear. It’s us who should be thanking you for dropping the herbs we need everyday.” smiled Mr. Sato. “Right dear?”

“Ah, that’s right. Which reminds me..” said Mrs. Sato as she started to rummaged her apron pocket. “You and Natsuki haven’t been hanging out with each other in a while aren’t you?”

“Things change, Mother.” Replied Natsuki shortly as she scowled her face. “We just don’t do that anymore.” She glared at me.

“Well, I think it’s time for you to start doing it again.” stated Mrs. Sato as she pulled out a flyer from her pocket and handed it to me. “You know girls like you must’ve interested in your own fate don’t you? I heard that there’s a new fortune telling stall opened up in the market a week ago, the fliers have all the details there, so why don’t you both checked it out together?”

“A fortune teller?” I asked as I read through the flier, the location isn’t very far from the store.

Natsuki rolled her eyes.

“Since when you believe in fortunes, mother?” she sighed.

“Because I don’t believe in one, I thought you both might want to check on it for yourself.” She frowned upon her daughter.

 
=====================


“Just why is it have to be with you?” asked Natsuki unhappily as we walked on the market road.

“Hey, don’t blame me! It was your mother that wants us to check on it.” I answered back.

It was lunch break and I have finished my afternoon shift already, so I picked up Natsuki from the store and walked together towards the new fortune telling stall. And so far since we started walking, none of us have made each other happy.

I threw my head to the other side so I don’t have to see her as I fiddled with my locket that was hanging on my neck.

“You still have that locket?” asked Natsuki beside me.

“Yup.” I answered shortly without looking at her.

The locket was made by my grandfather and was given to me when I was little, when Natsuki and I were great friends. It was a small oval sized metal with some red precious stones carefully planted to it, it was so delicate that I always kept it close to me.

“How long has it been, eh? Twelve years since we fought over that thing?” asked Natsuki.

“Eleven, to be exact.” I corrected.

“Whatever. You know when I came home, my ear was like blue from your pinching.”

“Hey! My cheek was blue too for a couple of days thanks to your pinch!”

For a moment, we were facing each other in silence, for the first time in a while I saw her face up so close from me. I watched her round eyes staring into me and it seems the other way around also happened. Suddenly without any warnings, we both burst out laughing. It was a good laugh, her laugh sounded like crunchy roasted peanuts, light and cheerful in the same time. It was a laugh that I missed so much from her.

“Man,” said Natsuki still giggling. “What was that? A staring contest?”

“Seems like it.” As I wiped a tear from laughing too much. “Ah..” I looked up.

“What’s up?”

“We’re here.” I pointed on a store’s name board. “It’s the fortune teller stall.”

I slowly pulled back the curtains and saw a young girl sitting at a table. Her hood was hung low so I couldn't see her eyes, but I did see she had strange markings on her face, and on her hands.

“Welcome.”

“Uhh, hi...” I said nervously as we all stepped in. “Are you... Nonaka Misato-san?”

“Yes. Are you here to see me?”

“Yeah, uhh, we saw your flier and thought we should come down and have a look. W-would you mind reading us?”

“Sure.”

She stood up from the table, then walked over to Natsuki and waved her hand above her head, then stopped at a certain area.

“Hmm....” the teller had a smile come up her face slightly. “Your future lover is not very far away from you.”

“Majide?!” Natsuki stood up and cheered with joy.

“However...”

“Eh? However?”

“I sense some chaos in your family. Something is setting off the balance.”

“Haa?! Are you saying I have an unbalanced family? What the heck does that even mean?!”

“Now, now, Natsuki, calm down...” I said as I patted her shoulder and backed her away from Misato-san. Natsuki crossed her arms and pouted.

The fortune teller giggled softly, and then it was my turn.

When her hand hovered over me and our eyes met, I saw a change in her. It was the first time I saw her eyes, and there was fear in them. I saw the marks on her start to glow white and she started screaming, covering her ears and falling backwards, up against a wall.

“Misato-san?!”

“KYAA!!” yelped Natsuki in panic, tugging my sleeve. “Do something, Yuka!!”

“I- I guess those marks on her are linked to her powers, they glow white whenever there's a strong psychic presence…” I mumbled in stunned.

“Whatever! Just do something!!” urged Natsuki.

I switched my brain around and decided to grab her flying fist which just smacked a nearby vase. Despite her thin arm, I can feel powerful force she has which was making it difficult for me to hold her still since she’s struggling.

“Misato-san, get the hold of yourself!!” I told her loudly. But the fortune teller kept on struggling in my hands before eventually released her last scream then collapsed.

“Whoa!” Natsuki was just in time to grab a hold of Misato-san’s body before it hit the ground. The glowing light from her tattoos has faded away.

“She’s still alive right?” I asked huskily as Natsuki tried to find her pulse.

“Of course she is, baka!” said Natsuki. “But her pulse is very weak somehow..”

“..yokatta…” I leaned on a nearby wall. “What on earth made her scream anyway?”

“Well she started screaming when she tried to read your fortune…” mumbled Natsuki as she slumped down beside me. “Probably something horrible that she saw from that..”

“Does it means then that something real bad will happen to me?” I asked.

Natsuki shrugged, “Hey, don’t ask me. Ask the fortune lady here.” Pointed Natsuki to Misato-san who’s lying infront of us.

Awkward silence then was implying in the air after that and before I eventually broke it with a curiousity.

“She was screaming pretty loud right?” I asked.

“Yea..?”

“How come no one came? I mean, if someone is screaming, shouldn’t anyone from outside hear it too..?”

We looked at each other’s eyes as if we just noticed the same thing and ran for the curtains. The market was a complete silence as if it was midnight. But the sun was still up high, then what’s with the silence?

“Yuka, look!” said Natsuki as she ran to the nearest stall. She approached it and tried to yanked a lady who’s leaning against the countertop.

“Is she okay?” I asked.

“No, she’s…” wrinkled Natsuki and moved her head close to the woman’s head, “Sleeping?”

“Huh?” I moved my head to the lady’s head to and heard her snoring. “What the..?”

“And look!” exclaimed Natsuki while pointing around. Many people were also in the same state as the lady. Even an old grown man who’s lying on the ground was rolling around as he stuck a thumb into his mouth.

“Okay, that is not cool..” I stated. “Why is everyone sleeping anyway..?”

“Mom. Dad. Sumire!” Natsuki started running back home.

“Natsuki, wait!” I exclaimed as I ran following her. Not only several that were sleeping as we passed the streets, but it seems that everyone is sleeping after all…

We arrived in front of The Sato Noodle House and Natsuki went straight in followed by me. I could tell she was panicking her whole live out.

“Mom! Dad! Sumire!”

“Go look for Sumire, I’ll look for your parents in the kitchen.” I told Natsuki. She nodded and took the stairs.

I went to the back, the kitchen. Mrs. Sato was just snoring up beside the countertop where a half chopped onion was lying beside her, I quickly then dragged her out of the kitchen to the dining room and lied her there. I went back in to the kitchen and went further back to the store room and found Mr. Sato was lying on top of the flour sacks. I did the same to him as his wife.

“Natsuki!” I yelled to the stairs. “Have you found Sumire?”

I heard several running steps and saw Natsuki’s face was teary. “I can’t find her anywhere! She’s usually with my little cousin, Amina. But I can’t find both of them!”

I looked around frantically tried to find the two kids. But just as I did, I suddenly heard the sound of laughter from the back door. As if we knew what was it, Natsuki and I dashed for it.

I kicked the door open and found the two kids were playing on the grassy ground at the back of the store. Natsuki ran up to them and hugged both of them tightly.

“Thank Gods, you guys are okay..” she started sobbing.

But Sumire and Amina was just smiling and laughing as if nothing happened.

“What happened to you guys?” I asked them as I pat on Amina’s head.

“Snakie was strolling around then everyone go sleepy-bye~” said the four year old Amina.

“Snakie?” I scrunched my eyebrows.

“Un. Snakie~” Sumire pointed towards our back.

I turned my head and stunned. There behind us, a five foot tall snake was hovering over us. I could recognized it’s head shaped like a cobra and every scaled of it’s own were black and shiny. Except for it’s eyes, red and swirling?

My instinct kicked in and saw Natsuki’s eyes was dreamy like already as she stared up the eyes. I put my hands around her back and shook her hard.

“Natsuki, don’t look at it in the eyes!” I hissed at her ears which somehow worked.

“Huh..? Nan-“ she seemed to recover but when she looked at the snake, I covered her mouth just in time before she screamed.

“Snakie~~” Amina and Sumire was smiling and waved at the snake as if they just met a new friend.

The snake hissed in return but stared at me very intently. I gulped.

“When I count to three, grab Sumire and Amina then run as fast as you can. I’ll disturb it.” I instructed lowly on her ears.

Mumbles of protest was coming out of her while her mouth is well covered by my hand.

“One..”

“Mmmm!!” protested Natsuki.

“Two…”

“MMMMMM!!!!”

“Three!!” I pushed her out of the way just in time before the snake’s muzzle hit the ground between us. I got up and ran as quickly as I can. I looked back and saw the snake was hissing towards me and start sliding it’s heavy black body chasing me. I vaguely saw Natsuki running towards the other way around as she dragged Amina and Sumire at the same time.

I smiled in relieve. At least one problem is solved. Next: the giant snake.

I dashed towards the street quickly and carefully not to step on any of the sleeping people. I could see the snake was moving behind me, for a snake that big it was moving quite fast.

I tried to scramble my brain together, what’s the weakest point of being a snake.

Weasels! My mind exclaimed.

But then I looked back at the giant snake as I kept running.

There’s no way there is a weasel that big enough for that snake.

While my mind was racing everywhere, I didn’t realized that I’d soon find myself slammed into a set of wooden frame used for constructions. I was thrown back and landed hard on the ground.

Groaning, I opened my eyes slightly and saw a red light on top of me.

Since when the sun is red? I questioned briefly before the red light hit my chest.

I suddenly felt a huge force upon my chest, shaking me up from the bones. It was son tremendous that I felt my throat hurts from screaming because of it. But then eventually it stopped and I was gasping for air.

“What was that?” I sat up as I gasped for air into my lungs. The air felt warm somehow, warming my chest with such a tingling sensation.

I looked to my chest to see any injuries, but none of what I was expecting was there. I saw a faint glimmering red from my locket hanging on my neck and saw golden bronze, flame like curves circled around red and yellow gems on the golden surface and a strange writing carved behind the locket. There was a single ruby red orb in the center, glowing brightly.

“What is happening…..?” I asked myself.

A loud hiss from behind surprised me. I looked back and saw the snake’s giant tail was impaled by a  bunch of sharpened bamboo from the construction frame. The snake swished it’s wounded tail then and I caught the view of the bamboo’s sharp edges were sizzling as black blood oozed on it.

Acid? I looked up at the hissing pissed snake.

The snake’s attempt worked since the bamboo got thrown back from the tail and crashed into an oil lamp hanging on a pole. The glass broke and it’s fire started to lick at the black substance on the bamboo.

An idea came across my mind as my eyes scanned for another oil lamp just like that. I looked at the snake’s wound without looking at it’s swirling eyes, it’s still too small.

I grabbed a bamboo nearby and saw it’s sharp edge. While the snake was still occupied in pain, I stabbed it’s throat with the bamboo. Black liquid splattered out and splashed to my outwear sleeve, I yelped and took off the piece of clothing before it ruins my arm. The snaked hissed loudly as it cried in pain. Without looking at it’s eyes I could tell he’s about to kill me soon.

But before I could feel any sets of fang jammed into my body, I heard the snake hissed again. This time, pissed than ever. I opened my eyes and saw someone standing by the creature’s stomach and stabbed it’s stomach. I was stunned to see the strange tattoo hand on the sword’s handle.

“Misato-san?!”

“Well, don’t just sit there!” she exclaimed. Her face was still pale but she dug the sword harder into the creature’s stomach.

I nodded and run up to her, we stabbed the creature harder with the sword.

The creature was struggling and swishing. Then, it’s heavy tail suddenly hit both of us back and crashed into a wall.

“Ugh..” I tried to shake off the dizziness. I looked over and saw the black blood was everywhere now, puddling around the giant snake.

“Hurry..” I looked over to my side and saw Misato-san lying helplessly. I saw the black acid sizzling on her chest, she must’ve received the tail’s attack directly to her chest.

“Misato-san!!” I was about to run up to her, but she signaled me to continue what we started before eventually closed her eyes.

No…

I looked over to giant snake. It was hissing, squirming, and crying in pain. It’s red eyes weren’t so intimidating anymore, as if all it’s power has no longer effect on me. I stare at it’s eyes with all my might, demanding it to disappear forever for it’s trouble caused. Hatred and all other feelings were warming me up, flickering in my chest.

And without any oil lamp, the creature suddenly burst into flames.

I was taken back in shocked as the fire started eating out the giant snake. The acidic black blood completely works like fuels, burning it along with the snake. The creature released a cry and hissed as flames erupted along it’s body. The flame wasn’t red nor orange like what normal ones should looks like, it was blue and I could feel the heat on my face.

But I watched it all until the snake decided to give up and died as the flames were eating it out. Then it was all over, leaving trails of smokes and hisses from the remaining black acid.

As if the fire died, my chest felt a total coldness as if the warmth disappeared. The air felt cold and before I knew it, I was plunged into darkness.

===============

“Ngghh...”

“Yu-Yuka!” I heard a faint call on my right. But I can’t see anything.

“Yuka!!” I heard the call getting louder. I opened my eyes slightly, letting the lights into my eyes.

“Thank God you’re okay!” exclaimed Natsuki, hugging me tight.

“I told you she’ll be alright.” said a voice. I turned and saw Misato-san with bandaged up chest and her robe covering it slightly.

“Misato-san..”

“You did it, Samurai Princess of Fire.” she smiled.

“Samurai what??” I asked. Did she just say…

“Samurai Princess of Fire.” stated Misato-san again. She gave me a thin smile, “One of the legendary four Samurai Princess.”

“Is this some kind of a ‘wake up’ joke?” I asked the fortune teller. I looked at Natsuki then, “Or am I still dreaming?”

Natsuki pinched my cheek.

“Itte!!”

“Did that hurt?”

“Yes!”

“Then, it is not a dream, Masuda Yuka.” said Natsuki simply. “Please continue, Misato-san.”

“Erm, right..” she said awkwardly. “First of all, sorry for screaming earlier. That’s what would happen when I felt a strong presence when I tried to see their future. My tattoo here.” She showed her tattoos which weren’t glowing anymore.

“They’re like my connectors to strong presence. It absorbs the presence a bit before then I could see the fate completely. That’s why I blacked out after the tattoo glowed in process, I was seeing the presence as II blacked out.”

“What did you see then?” I asked.

“I saw you standing among the tops of building, looking down among the enemies in front of you. Together, you and the other three elements of Samurai Princess will face many enemies from those who truly hunts you and those that were hidden. All of them would eventually lead you to one and only Mao, the darkness itself.” said Misato-san sharply.

“Three other elements?”

Misato-san nodded.

“Water, Earth, and Air. All of you were scattered across the country, chosen by the Moon Goddess herself to repeat history.” She turned her eyes to her tattoos then, “Long ago, Maou took over the world and plunged it into total chaos and despairs. The four Samurai Princess helped the Tiger King to defeat Mao and locked him for thousands of years.”

“And now Maou is back?”

“Yes. The creature you saw earlier, it’s probably one of his creation. Made out of pure hatred and darkness, and assigned to hunt down the ones destined to be the new Samurai Princess.”
 
“Then does it mean-“

“We don’t have much time, Masuda Yuka.” Said Misato-san clearly. “You are the new Samurai Princess. Part of the Moon Goddess has touched you clearly and given you it’s power. Can’t you feel it?”

“You mean this?” I reached for my locket. It felt warm in my hand as if it was listening for the whole time.

“Come now.” said the fortune teller as she tried to get off the bed. She grimanced in pain in doing so.

“Carefull! Those wounds...” said Natsuki.

“It’s fine. The ichor only burned off some skin, but... it never reached my heart.” said the other girl quickly and walked over to the door. “You’re in my house by the way.” Then she signaled us to follow her.

“What happened to the market then?” I asked Natsuki. “Your parents? Sumire and Amina?”

“They’re fine. They can’t remember anything and were a bit dizzy after waking up. It seems that snake was controlling them.” Answered Natsuki. “Wow. Can’t believe the world is in your hands now...”

“Part of it.” I corrected her. “Make it into a quarter of the world, I’m not the only one.”

Misato-san stopped in front of a wooden cupboard. She opened it and pulled out a thin long wooden box along and passed it to me.

“My father gave it to me. He was also a fortune teller and he told me one day I would met a person that deserved this and change the world with it. And I know now that it’s you.” She said.

I opened the box and found a long steathed Katana. The cover was red with a golden dash of an animal, I took it out and found myself stunned looking at the animal.

“A Phoenix.” Said Misato-san. “A legendary animal associated with fire. Symbolizing immortality with the hope that the world’s peace stayed immortally.”

“It’s beautiful..” said Natsuki.

I unsteathed the sword and saw strange writing on the blade, carved out beautifully.

“And this will also help.” Said Misato-san handing Natsuki a bunch of fabric. “Can you get this on her, Sato-san?”

“Sure. Come on, Yuppai.” She pulled me towards the changing room.

There she changed me into a set of kimono, the fabric was soft tingly against my skin. It was patterned with red and orange flames and the base was white. It comes along with a red belt and a white string to secure it neatly.

“Sumire would definitely be jealous of you.” Stated Natsuki with a low whistle. “It’s perfect on you.”

“Thanks.” I looked at myself in the mirror. Natsuki was right, it’s a perfect fit.

“You would need these on your journey.” Said Misato-san coming in with a bag and black hooded cape. “You must find the other Samurai Princesses. They would share their knowledge with you about sword mastery I bet.”

“And your identity must remain a secret. Mao’s puppets are lurking everywhere and anywhere, it’s important that they don’t kill you first or the other Samurai Princess. Use the black cape the whole time as you travel, conceal you well in darkness.”

“Ah, I forgot about this!” exclaimed Natsuki as pulled out something from the package of fabric earlier. “This will cover you more..” she tied a golden yellow eye mask to my head.

“There..” she dusted off my clothes a bit and looked at my eyes. “She’s ready to go right?”

“Yep. It’s night now and it seems Mao haven’t heard about the news of his creature was killed yet. You should leave before he could reach you.” Said Misato-san.

Natsuki hugged me tight and kissed my cheek, “I’m sorry for the past five years not talking to each other nicely..”

“I’m sorry too, Natsuki..” I said. “Would you take care of my dad and siblings? Tell them what happened..”

“I will..” she said. “Take care of yourself, Yuppai.”

I chuckled and headed for the door. The night was chilly but the warm locket on my chest warmed my body enough. I stepped into the outside world and eventually started walking down a new life among the leaves of the forest, leaving my old life.


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (YUKA - The Fire Samurai)
Post by: Kirozoro on May 17, 2014, 03:05:11 PM
Yay a fire princess has appear

2 more?!? To go?!?

Update soon
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (YUKA - The Fire Samurai)
Post by: Yuki88 on May 17, 2014, 05:47:59 PM
Oh God lol you finally updated, heh.

First of all....

MAH N-TAKO SHIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP QAQ
Title: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (SAE - The Wind Samurai)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on May 18, 2014, 03:14:01 AM
@Kirozoro: Actually, one more to go, and here it is.
@Yuki88: Sorry we're late. Comertez was on hiatus, cuz she was busy with personal stuff, and I've had my hands full with new fanfic projects(be sure to check 'em out and leave a comment. :heart: )

But, now we're back. So enjoy. :heart:


Prologue - The Awakening (Part 4)


SAE -- The Wind Samurai



A young girl born in the royal life, spoiled and pampered, but she was sweet to her core and couldn't be denied by anyone. Although sometimes stubborn and childish, she is loved by her large family, and most of all, her big brother.

Born with the appearance of a young teenage boy, given the thought of a prince at first, but by most means, she was the Samurai Princess of the Wind Element, "Kuu".

Holding beauty and charm, she was the heiress of the Hokkaido Palace and was the friendliest and most playful princess you would ever meet.

Nothing could rid her of that brightness in her eyes and the energetic smile that warmed Japan's heart. That happiness in her heart and pure, and even when she was sad, she found a way to make others feel better. And that made everyone love her more.

Her name; Sae Miyazawa.

===============

Sae Miyazawa's POV

"YADAAAAAAAA!!!"

"Sae-sama! Please, you must let go!" I heard my maid yelling at me as she held my feet. She pulls on my ankles and knees hard as she tries to pull me off my bed, but I'm stronger with my arms hugging the matress and my hands holding the bed frame.

"No! I don't wanna do it!"

"Mou~, Sae-sama, you are a grown young lady, and you should act like one and behave better than this!"

"Exactly." I pouted, close to tears. "I'm still young. I just finished my Coming-of-Age Ceremony yesterday... but......"

Biting my lip, I can't hold my anger any longer and started a complete fit.

"THERE'S NO WAY I'M GETTING MARRIED TO SOMEONE I HAVEN'T EVEN MET YET!!!!!"

In my meltdown, more people were coming in and trying to calm me down, but I wasn't going to let them. I'm not going to go with this whole "arranged marriage" they have! Even if this helps stop the war, I'm not going through with it.

Love is something special, and it's not fair that my brother has to be engaged to someone he's known his whole life, and I'M the one getting married to a person I haven't even known a WHOLE DAY yet!!!

"Sae-sama, please calm down!"

"You have to get ready for the banquet tonight!"

"Yadayadayadayadayadayada!! YAAAAAADAAAAAAA!!!!!"

As I was screaming, I heard the door open and everything went silent.

"Hey!" I turned my head and saw my brother standing at the door. "Need some help here?"

"Haru..."

Haru separated everyone from me, then let everyone leave to prepare for the banquet, leaving only the two of us in my room. He shut the door and turned to smile at me.

"Okay, what happened?" he asked as he sat down in front of me.

I pouted as I sat on the bed.

"C'mon, Sae-chan. I'm not gonna leave until you tell me what's going on."

"I just... hate this! The guy's are all being so strict, and they haven't considered how I feel at all."

"They understand how you're feeling, but this is for the benefit of our families. I know what it's like to go through this, I'm engaged to Yukirin."

"But you've known Yukirin since you were children!" I pouted louder, turning my head away. "I barely even know this guy."

He just chuckled at my pouting face and patted my head.

"Sometimes, things about life can surprise you."

Eh?

"Like love. I never thought I'd become Yukirin's husband, and she already has a child, but slowly, I began to fell in love with her. And who knows? Maybe when you meet this person, you'll really like him."

As I thought about it, I did remember about how fate and destiny were so weird. My two older brothers are out at war somewhere, Haru's now engaged, and I'm about to get married to someone to help stop the war.

Yea, it's so weird...

But, maybe it'll turn out good, like Haru said. Perhaps I should just go along with this for now and see what happens.

I felt my smile come back as I looked at him. "Okay, Haru, I'll just go along with it for now."

"That's my girl," he said with that bright smile.

That smile came from our mother. I have it, too, so when people see us, they think we're twins, even though Haru's a few months older.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He reached into his pocket and got out something. "A late birthday present from your onii-chan~"

"Uwaa!!!" In his hand was a beautiful hairclip. It was a blue rose. "It's so pretty~" I happily took it and fixed it on the side of my head. Checking myself in the mirror, I fixed my hair and clipped it in securely. "How does it look?"

"It's cute."

I turned to him with a smirk, and a light blush. "How cute?"

"Really cute... No, super cute."

"Hrm~... I expected more."

"Oh? Like what?"

"How about...." I slowly creeped up to him and jumped on his back. "Calling me the CUTEST girl in the entire WORLD!!!"

"Hahaha! Sae-chan's the cutest girl in the ENITRE WORLD~! No one can beat her!!!"

"I am Sae!!! Hear me roar, face my wrath!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!!"

This was... our usual play.

===============

An hour later...

“Nee, Haru~” I prodded my brother’s shoulder. “I’m hungry. When is that person coming? I’m starving!”

“Please do wait for him, Sae-chan.” said Haru for probably the tenth time since the evening has settled down. “It’s rude to eat first before the guest arrive.”

“But don’t you think it’s much more rude to make the master of the house waits?” I pouted. “He’s late! How come I have to marry someone who can’t even be on time?!”

Haru rolled his eyes and sighed, “At least give him a chance, sis. This banquet is organized so that you can meet the guy and have a chance to know him before you know..” he coughed, “before you’re engaged to him.”

“But my stomach has already been on empty since tea time.” I growled lowly. “And it’s been an hour since the banquet meant to start!”

“Maybe he caught up with something,” commented Haru simply and pointed at an incoming guard. “What’s wrong?” he asked the guard after the middle age man stopped in front of him.

“A letter from General Takahashi of Okinawa, your highness.” Said the guard after he bowed and handed the letter to him.

“Hmm.. Okinawa is one of our allies.. I wonder what Takahashi-san has to say in this letter.” said Haru as he opened the letter.

He read it briefly and I watched him biting his lips as he went through the letter, as if something was bothering him. He bites his lip when he's worried or frustrated, like me, it was... our bad habit.

“What’s wrong?” I asked my brother as I tried to take a peek at the letter but was quickly shooed by my brother.

“Just some warnings about some security issues.” Sighed Haru. “General Takahashi is warned me to doubled up the security since there might be enemy’s spies lurking in the kingdom.”

“That’s creepy..” I shivered. “Oh Haru, do you think dad will be alright?” I asked him. My father is away right now to fight for our country in the endless war.

“He’ll be alright..” comforted Haruu. “Ryou and Shinjiro is with him, remember? And they are the perfectly cunning and skilled warrior of ours.”

“I just don’t want to lose any of them, Haru..” said Sae softly. “Dad, Ryou-kun, Shii-chan, you… You’re all my family left in this world...”

“I’m here, Sae-chan.” spoke Haru softly and placed his hand on my shoulder before he turned back to the soldier. “Tell the head of the guards to double up the security on the palace’s gate and corridors. Also tell them to double up the security on the city’s gate. This is an order from me.” He stated the last bit clearly to the guard.

“Yes Sir!” bowed the guard before heading out from the room.

Haru sighed and closed the letter before putting it into his pocket, “Handling this country isn’t easy you know, Sae-chan.”

“I know that.” I said as I smiled upon him and cling my arm to his elbow. “That’s why you have Yukirin as your wife now~ After all it’s her job as a wife to fill up your life.”

“Would you do that to the guy you’re about to meet soon?” asked Haruu suddenly.

I dropped my arm in an instant and pouted.

“Yadaaa!! I don’t want to marry!!!”

“Sae...” sighed Haruu with such an exasperation. “I am not having the same discussion with you over and over again.”

“Fine.” I stated. “Then I’ll just get some fresh air in the garden. Eating air might contain my stomach for now..”

“Need a friend, sis?” asked Haruu.

I shook my head, “Nah, stay here and then you can introduce me to him once he arrives.” I turned on my heels and start heading towards the garden. “I’m not running away!” I barked at the guards who decided to go with me as well.

“Leave her, she’ll be fine.” Haru sighed as he waved the guards away from me. I grinned to him and headed towards the garden.

The night sky was perfect scene for a romantic story just like in some scrolls I found in the library. But now, I have no interest in making one. Especially with someone who I never met and not knowing what he looks like.

“Stupid war, stupid marriage, stupid engagement, stupid banquet, stupid Haru..!” I cursed lowly as I walked through the garden. There’s no guards or maids around the garden, they all seemed to be pretty occupied by the banquet.

I turned sharply on a corner and hid behind the bushes. I concentrated on my ears to hear any noises getting closer to me, so far there aren’t any footsteps which mean there’s no one tailing me.

Cheering lowly, I slipped out of my hiding spot and headed to the nearest palace wall. Our palace was built in a forest area and surrounded by trees, whoever wanted to reach the castle needed to hike for a few miles or by horses.

The thing that I like the most about the area is that the forest was a place filled with many creatures such as beautiful butterflies, soft and bushy squirrels, some berries bushes, and bunches of flowers that are not displayed in the garden.

How do I know all of these? I sneaked out sometimes to the forest. It’s not that I hated the palace or something, it’s just that being in the palace especially as a princess is just boring. All you can do were some indoor stuff such as studying, playing music, or painting. I get tired of those things, I want to explore outside other than the garden.    

Yes, the garden is a pretty place but why can’t we see what’s more behind those gates?

Anyway, after a few jog in my troublesome clothing, I finally arrived at a gardening shed where the gardeners would store all the equipment there. I looked around one more time to make sure no one follows me, once I felt safer, I took off my clothes and revealed my black long trousers and a long sleeve plain old shirt.

“Now this is what I called the perfect attire.” I praised to myself. The clothes belongs to none other than Haru himself, at least I managed to stole it from his cupboard.

After busily trying my best to folded my thrown out clothes, I go around the shed towards the back where it nearly touches the palace’s gate. I managed to squeeze my way to the space and finally removed a wooden board, revealing a small hole on the gate.

I smiled to myself; I always use this hole to sneak out of the palace so I can visit the forest. My brother, Ryou-kun, told me once that he made the wall once so that he could what the world beyond the gate looks like. He told me that he saw many things that are not in the palace and I couldn’t agree more since I continued his tradition of visiting the forest.

After making sure that nobody is following me, I bent down and crawl through the hole. The forest air felt cool in my lungs as I sniffed the air. I got up to my feet and started walking through the trees. The calming night wind blew into my face and send a cooling sensation through the back of my neck.

As I was wondering what I shall do in the forest at night like this, I suddenly stopped on my track when I heard bunches of metal clanking. I dashed to the nearest tree and conceal myself, I set both of my ears sharply. Not just clanking of metals, but also some growls and men yellings.

Did the guards really followed me…? I thought to myself and quietly crawl low as towards the source of the voices. I stopped at one bush and peek behind it carefully, nearly unable to contain my gasp.

Even with only a moonlight to brightened the view, I could still see the grass seeped in deep red liquids, bodies lying on the ground motionless and wreckage of a carriage. But what made me gasped was a big creature with black furs growling in front of a pointed sword. 

The one pointing the sword was a man in robe, I could see his expression was glaring at the big creature. I turned my view to the big creature, it's eyes were blaring red and it's muzzle was black and covered in red liquids, blood.

I shut my mouth from the temptation to scream, but I couldn't hold it anymore once the man was slammed hard to a tree by the big creature.

"Kyaaa!!"

The creature turned towards the bush I'm hiding in, it's eyes caught mine in instant. The red eyes were wild and hungry, and I knew I could be it's next target.

I turned back and ran, I could feel by the vibration of the earth that the creature was chasing me. My running was easier since I'm already dressed for scouting instead of a royal dinner, but still, being chased by a sig scary creature isn't in my schedule at all.

"Help!!!" I yelled through the forest. The creature howled behind me, it's howl were loud and high pitched, hurting my ear.

I ran back towards the hole with the creature still following me. I slipped in just in time before the creature's jaw snapped at me and ripped the back of my shirt. Overtaken by fear, I left the hole exposed and ran for the palace, towards my brother's room.

I panted as I closed the door behind me and leaned up against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor. I covered my face and started sobbing into my arms. I feel so awful; not only did I run away, but I ran away only to see a monster physically kill people right in front of my eyes. I don't want this to happen, I absolutely hate it. I want to help, but I'm too afraid.

I need something to make me brave. I need....

Strength.

I'm not strong or brave at all. I was the only daughter; I was the one always protected by my father and brothers. I just want to finally see what it's like to fight for myself. I need courage to fight, but...

If it was now, it would've been too late....

I looked up and saw something coming from my room. It was a green light. I slowly got up and walked to my room. I found a small green orb glowing on my desk, and it was sitting on the center of my blue rose hairpiece.

I was curious, wondering why and what was making it glow, but I was also entranced by the glow. I was drawn to it, staring at the orb. Before I knew it, my fingers were inches away from touching it. I slowly touched the orb, then the light grew more and more intense. Soon, this giant wind surrounded me.

As I tried to keep my eyes open, I thought I saw a figure in front of me, reaching her hand out to me. I soon realized she was a spirit, and the very next second I realized it, all the wind surrounding me suddenly entered my lungs and the spirit girl entered my body completely.

My eyes slowly closed as everything around me grew dark.

===============

"****ama***"

"*****ae-sa******"

"***Sae-sama*******"


"Mm... ten more... m-minutes..."

"C'mon, Sae-chan, please wake up..."

"...Huh?" My eyes hazily opened and I saw Haru sitting beside my bed. "Haru..."

"Are you okay, sis?" he asked as he gently stroked my forehead.

I slowly got up, clutching my head as it was throbbing slightly. What happened? I remember I was preparing for the banquet, and we had to wait because they didn't arrive yet, but... after that, nothing.

I don't remember much after that; I guess I must've fallen asleep. But, I did remember when I had snuck out and was almost attacked by a wolf, and then the hairpiece that Haru gave me...

"Ugh!" I winced a bit as another sharp pain hit my head. "H-how long was I out?"

"Three days. It seems that someone had drugged our tea without us realizing, and while we were knocked out, we were attacked by an enemy spy."

"You were the last one to wake up, Sae-sama. We're so glad you're okay."

"Your highness, pehaps it would be best if you not leave the castle for a while. It's become very dangerous outside the castle, and we don't want you getting hurt."

"But, what about the marriage?"

"It was cancelled. The family we were planning to meet were all killed by the enemy spy."

"Oh..." I sighed, a bit relived I didn't have to go through the marriage. Thankfully, that also means everything that happened was a dream.

"Nee, can I be alone, guys? I think I need to relax and take this in."

"Sure, Sae-chan."

===============

Third Person POV

Later that night...


Haru went into his room, shutting the door behind him. He reached into his chest pocket in his yukata and pulled out a book. A brown leather book with the kanji for "Wind" written in gold.

He opened it up and saw the writing inside telling the legends from hundreds of years ago. The Legends of the Moon Goddess and Sun King, the Tiger warrior versus the Maou dragon, and the four Legendary Samurai princesses.

He bit his lip as he stared intensely at the Samurai girl with short hair, dressed in a green kimono with aqua green tints, a magenta pink ribbon tied around her waist over a white ribbon and strapped together with a golden thread. On the side of her head with a beautiful blue rose clip with small crystals dangling from it, and shining gold bells tying a small ponytail in her hair.

Haru closed the book and picked up an item from his dresser, an item he found the night when the palace was attacked. A red string...with golden bells.

He remember the look of the savior's face. The woman who saved him, wearing a beautiful green kimono with pink sakura flowers. A blue mask covered her face, but he could see the intensity of her eyes.

Haru knew exactly what had happened that night... He was the only one who knew.

"So... Sae is the reincarnation of the Samurai Princess of Wind..."



To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: The Awakening (SAE - The Wind Samurai)
Post by: kuro808 on May 18, 2014, 06:08:50 AM
I didn't even notice the last update and now with four princesses should bring up their mission :nervous
Title: Samurai Princesses: Tsuki no uragawa (Part 1)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on May 20, 2014, 08:11:32 PM
Finally, we got chapter one posted. This will also be divided into parts, and we introduce some new friends~. Enjoy! :heart:



Chapter 1

Tsuki no uragawa (Part 1)



================================

Akimoto Sayaka’s POV

The water was streaming peacefully on that sunny afternoon, I could feel the cool water flows down between my legs and its surroundings. I could just throw myself down into the water and get rid of the heat in my body and cool it with the water.

But here I am standing still as stone for the past hour, barefoot.

I could tell my body was complaining on how long am I planning to stay as I was now under the blazing sun, but my stomach complained first before they do. Complaining about when is lunch time.

I kept my mouth shut and my breathing synchronized until I saw a moving creature swimming just under my feet.

Gripping my sword tightly that was raised for the past hours, I took aim and stab it.
 
“Nice catch, Sayaka.” I compliment myself as I raised the stabbed creature, a medium sized river fish. Looks like it could last for tonight.

I roasted the fish over the fire I set bellow a tree on the riverside. It’s been three days since General Takahashi told me that I’m part of a legendary group of Samurai, and so far I honestly have no idea on where to find the other Samurai Princesses.

I tossed aside my black hood and lowered my eye mask. Gathering a bit of water from the river, I splashed some of it to my face. The water works like magic, cooling my face from intense heat of waiting for the catch.

Water….

The name of my element sounded in my mind repeatedly, like echoes. Like an urge to try something with the element, an invitation to learn something from it.

I put my hands on the water’s surface, and slowly raised my hand upwards as I willed my hand to grab the water upwards too.

It worked. Two thin lines of clear water appeared under my palm as if I was pulling it.

But somehow my concentration broke when I smelt something burnt, causing the water to drop down instantly. I turned and saw my fish was getting black on the surface, I ran for it.

“Yabai!!” I yelped and get the fish out of the fire. It was scorched black, but the meat is well cooked. So I sat down and started eating it slowly. It tastes good, but a bit of salt would make it much more perfect.

As I continued to enjoy my lunch, I heard a rustling sound from the bushes nearby. I quickly gripped my sword for caution, just in case something like an enemy would approached.

To my surprise, a small black monkey came out of the bushes.

I lessened my grip on the sword and sighed in relieve.

It was just a monkey… I thought. It has black furs and small muzzle sniffing in the air. It probably smelt my fish.. I thought again.

I tossed a bit of my fish to the monkey, and the creature caught it on the first try and quickly nibbled on it. I smiled thinly as I continued eating and watched the monkey. The creature finished it quickly and stares at me as if wanting more.

I stared back at the monkey’s brown eyes as if I was playing a game of staring game. The monkey looks cute thanks to the plants nutrition from the forest..

Wait... Plants nutrition..?

Now I remembered, monkeys should only eat fruits and plants. Not meat…

The more I looked deeper into the monkey’s eyes, the more I realized that the irises weren’t brown.

They were red.

My instinct kicked in just in time to grab my sword and jumped out of where I was sitting before the monkey’s fang landed on me. I scrambled up and sliced it in instant. The black sizzling blood splashed to the river pebbles on the ground, melting them.

The monkey released a cry before I sliced off it’s throat, leaving it’s head and body separated from each other. I gasped for breath after the shocking ambush and sheathed back my sword. I grabbed my shoes and put it on with thoughts that I need to get out of here..

I ran to a field in the forest where I left my horse to eat some grass and rest. I cast aside the last bush that covers me from seeing the field…

Dozens of small balls of black furs were gathering up around my horse and mounted on it. I watched my horse trashed around wildly as a dozen pair of fangs plunged into it’s body, biting it mercilessly.

Shocked, I ran towards the other way into the deep part of the forest. I never seen such savage act in my whole life before, freaking me out to the maximum point. I knew those creatures were recognizable; Maou’s dark creatures.

How on earth did they found me?? I asked myself as I ran faster with the hope that none of the creature follows me.

Wrong.

I heard rustling noise on my side above the trees, I looked up and saw dozens of black blurs jumping from one tree to another. My eyes widened in shock, not realizing that a tree stood in my way.

“..ooff!!” I crashed hard to the tree and fell on my back. Groaning, I scrambled up, finding myself surrounded by the black monkeys.

I pulled out my sword in instant and stared intently to my surroundings. All of them bared their nasty looking fangs and blaring pairs of eyes towards me. I pictured myself in the battlefield, surrounded my enemies.

I roared a war cry before welcoming their ambush one by one.

================================

Umeda Ayaka’s POV

I walked intently on the forest path as I scanned my surroundings. Leaves and sticks rustled under my feet as I walked on them, excluding them from my strange noise radar.

It’s been days since I left Master Noro and the Maeda sisters at the safe house. I’ve been experiencing some new things since then, like living outside the palace and started enjoying more of the forest. I slept under the stars, learned how to climb for harvest a fruit from trees, jumping to one tree to another, and how to master the art of controlling swords.

So far I’ve done my best training my sword skills with the scrolls Master Noro packed in, but I never tried to do it on living things. I just can’t bear to hurt something alive..

About yesterday afternoon though, I tried to do something that wasn’t on my mind before. I remembered about my coronation day which ended up with a huge hole in the middle of the palace’s field.

Earth…

Since that day, I never tried out to summon my true element as an earth samurai. It wasn’t the fact that I’m afraid, but more like not feeling the urge to do so.

But then I felt it. Like the earth rumbled under each of my steps as if greeting me to start knowing each other and to depend on each other.

I picked up three pebbles on the ground and placed it on my palm. I took a deep breath and stared at it intently, putting all my wills into the rock.

It worked. The three rocks raised a bit from the surface of my palm, shaking up a bit as I willed it to rose higher.

I kept my breathing steady and my excitement down. Then, I willed it to move in a circular motion as I moved my fingers in it’s own circular motion.

One day later, I became an expert in doing so.

“Absorbing knowledge doesn’t comes easy, my Lady.” I remembered Master Noro’s words each time I felt that I failed in the daily test she gave. I knew the same principle would also apply in mastering elements like right now.

However, my footsteps stopped on the sight of a footprint on the ground. I knelt and investigate it, looks like some kind of paw with sharp nails. I touched it, freshly made.

With the thought of possibly a wild savage animal, I looked around to see any signs of it. None was in sight, however encountering it might means death.

The ground wouldn’t be safe anymore.. I thought. I looked up the trees, the branches looks strong and dense. I judged whether to take the trees or not. In the end I did with my confidence on my light weight.

I moved my sword straps to my back so it doesn’t disturb me as I climbed the trees, then I started jumping from one tree to another. Carefully avoiding spots where it might be slippery, I jumped from branches to another.

It took my energy quickly and ten minutes later I was already puffing and leaned on a good looking branch of a tree. I took out my water bottle and sipped the cool water.

Suddenly I heard a roar in my ears and before I knew it the water in my bottle splashed to face in huge amount, making my face and hair wet instantly.

I coughed as trying to get the water that went into my nose. I looked up my water bottle and found it empty dry. I curled my lips, how strange it is to find a water bottle instantly dried after just a usual splash.

I packed it back in and looked towards the source of the voice, sounded more like a human’s roar than an animal’s roar.
Maybe somebody is around… I thought. I prepared my feet again and start heading towards the source of the voice.

When I arrived, I saw dozens of black furry creatures surrounded  and attacking a figure.

To my surprise, a woman.

The way she dodged and sliced the black creatures shows how capable she was handling the sword in her hands. I watched how fearless she looked as she bared against the creatures that were attacking her.

I pinched my eyes when I saw a black looking substance where the creature’s blood splashed on one of the tree and sizzled it’s wood.

Sizzle..?

To my notice, I heard a purr to my right and found one of the creature just beside me and stared intensely into my eyes. My irises met it’s red irises, reminding me of the bear on my coronation day.

I was too late to avoid it when it jumped towards me and pinning me down on the branches. It made a voice as if telling their friends that they’ve got another victim. Realizing it, I kicked the creature and accidentally lost my balance on the branch.

Save me!!! I screamed on the back of my head. I closed my eyes and get myself ready for the hard impact.

SPARLT!!

I landed on my back, on something soft and damp. I sat up and looked at myself splattered in thick mud, I groaned.

The woman noticing me, gave me a look that could be described as asking who am I. But then her attention was stolen by another attack from the monkey. I got up and saw a monkey sneaked up behind the woman, baring it’s sharp teeth.

Gritting my teeth, I clenched my fist tightly and shot a medium sized rock just in time to the monkey’s head. Black liquid splashed onto the tree’s bark, and sizzled it.

Surprised, the woman gazed at me. “Who are you?”

“We’ll get along later.” I answered. Taking steps towards her and stood by her back, I clenched my fist and raised it ready to work with the earth.

“Let’s get these monkeys a lesson of their life.”

================================

Masuda Yuka’s POV

Where do you think you’re going Yuka??!! Asked a voice in my head as I walked.

Finding my destiny. Got a problem? Asked another voice inside my head.

Sounds great. Samurai Princess of Fire? Don’t make me laugh. You? A part of legendary heroes of Samurai Princess? What kind of dream are you on now..? asked the first voice.

Don’t listen to her. She’s just not used to it… Said the second voice.

“Well I’m not used to any of these! So why don’t you both shut up?!” I growled to myself.

It’s been days since I left my town with al the cool things Misato-san packed in for me. Look at me, days ago I was a veggie seller. Now, a Samurai Princess wannabe?

To be honest, I have no confidence in what so ever that I am destined to be Samurai Princess of Fire.

I never got into a fight in my whole life before other than childish ones I did with Natsuki and the snake. I never heard the story before Misato-san told me about it and I never touched a sword before. And veggie daggers cannot  be counted as a sword.

I sighed as I continued walking with no directions. Misato-san only told me to find the rest of the gang and defeat Maou, the darkness before he rules the world.

I looked up at the sunny sky between the gaps of leafs on the trees, so far it seems to be so peaceful around here. No conflict, no wild scary animals, no…

Suddenly I heard a roar from deep inside the forest. I yelped in surprise and scrambled to a tree.

What was that..??!! I panicked. Could it be a bear looking for lunch? A tiger meets poachers? Or is it what happened when a bear and a tiger meets up with each other??

But then I thought more that the roar doesn’t sounded so wildly roar. More like a war cry or something rather human.

Maybe someone got ambushed by a bandit or something.. I thought. I have to save them…

Then I headed towards the source of the voice, not running but more like a jog. But then when I arrived, I wished I walked instead.

I cast aside a bush in front of me and found myself plunged in to a huge crowd of black furry balls. I saw two figure standing back to back with one holding a sword and the other one covered in brown mud with clenched fist and a medium sized rock floating in front of it.

It was awkward silence for a moment as three of us stared at each other, I was sure my mouth was open in awe.

But then one of the furry balls was revealed to be a monkey with nasty looking sets of teeth and a blazing red eyes. I knew instantly what it is.

“GYAAHHHH!!!!” I screamed and ran back to where I came from. But then I saw a monkey swinging down form one of the tree branches towards me. I knew it’s too late to avoid it, so I raised my hand ready to slap one of Maou’s minions and closed my eyes.

I slapped the monkey hard. I can feel the rough furs clashed with my palm and pushed it with all my powers. I opened my eyes and saw a black furry ball running around with it’s face on fire.

Fire…?

I looked at my hand that I just used to slap, it was covered with blue flames. Licking and dancing on my palm  with such warmness that made me relieve.

“Ah, it’s the fire..” I sighed.

My eyes widened, realizing what I just said. I turned back again and saw my hand still attached to the blue fire.

“GYAHHH!!! MY HAND IS ON FIRE!!!!”

I ran aimlessly as I shook my hand hard, trying to get rid of the fire. I ignored the monkeys started ambushing me now as I freaked out, but I somehow manage to at least grab a held on each of them with my blazing hand.

“HELLPP!!! MY HAND’S ON FIREEE!!!” I screamed on top of my lungs, completely freaked out. I ran blindly as I swished my hand, whacking any incoming attacks from the bunches of monkeys. Not knowing a pile of flaming black furs were set on fire.

Then I heard a rumbling sound, reminding me of an incoming wave in beaches near the town.

Wait a sec.. A wave..?

Before I knew it , a ten feet tall wave are standing upon me. I pulled a breath just in time before it splashed down on me with such force. I gargled on the water as it pushed me with it’s amazing force, pinning me into a tree.

Once it calmed down, I coughed up the water that went into my nose and mouth. I opened my eyes and saw I wasn’t the only one soaking wet. The figure that was covered in mud before was also soaking wet but now it’s body weren’t covered in mud anymore.

“Sorry…” said the other figure with an apologetic tone. “It just went out of control..”

“Wait, you were controlling that wave?!” I asked in astonishment.  I looked at my hand which weren’t flaming anymore, not a burnt mark or any black scorched spot on my hand too.

“And you were controlling that rocks too before!” I pointed out to the soaking figure whose squeezing the water out from it’s soaked clothes.

“Just who are you people??!!”

Then I felt a sudden warmness on my chest, I looked down and saw my locket glowed in alight a never seen before. I also looked and saw one figure pull out a compact that had a glowing orange stone like mine. The second figure had one glowing attached to her sword.

What’s happening???? I thought in panic.

I suddenly felt a pain in my head as a vision flashed in my eyes. I was seeing the people in front of me, but they looked different from normal. I could also see myself, and one more person I didn't recognize.

We were all fighting each other. Not a spar, a real fight.

"You're good... but you're going to have to do a lot better to beat me."

Before I knew it, I got knocked down and had a tip of the person's sword near my throat.

"Please... I don't want to fight... Can't we all just get along?" the vision me said.

"...."

Silence ran throughout the area. We all looked at each other and saw one common thing. We needed each other.

Then, laughter rang.

After that, the vision stopped. When I looked up at the two figures, they were staring at me with the same shocked expression.

"Did we just...?"

"Share a vision?"

"It was a memory."

I slowly got up, staring at the two, and slowly removed my mask.

"What are you--?"

"We're allies, right? It's okay to do this," I said as I pulled the mask off and showed my full face. "I'm Yuka. Masuda Yuka."

Sayaka's POV

Masuda Yuka... I haven't heard of that name before. She doesn't look like anyone I could've seen before, either. She's not a royal... A commoner? Why would a peasant like her be chosen if she isn't even born in royal bloodline?

"Yuka. Well then..." I turned and saw the other woman take her mask off. "I'm Umeda Ayaka."

"Umeda..."

She's the princess of the Umeda family in Edo. She's the heir to the throne. I understand why she was chosen, but when I first met her back there, it didn't look like she had much training in fighting. She must be a pampered princess.

"And you are?"

"...A... akimoto... saya..ka..." I said quietly without removing my mask.

"Huh? Can't hear you." Said Yuka.

"Please take off your mask." Pleaded Ayaka.

"Let's see that pretty face of yours~."

"A-aki......Akimoto Sayaka! ...mou... you really are desperate." I slowly untied the mask and showed them my face. I could feel I was blushing.

"Woah... you're pretty~."

"And you're BLUSHING! That's so cute!"

"C-cute?!" I unseathed my sword out of impulse and aimed at Yuka's neck. "I... am the head samurai in the Imperial Palace on Okinawa. A samurai cannot be cute."

She froze up, staring at me as her body shook.

Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Sayaka-chan~, you should be nicer." Said Ayaka gently.

Sayaka...chan?

"Yeah, Sayaka-chan~." Yuka pushed away the sword with a finger and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Who knew she could be such a tsundere?"

"Maybe she likes being praised." Stated Ayaka simply.

"Ha~ Mecha tsundere!" scoffed Yuka.

"That is not true!!" I pushed off their hands and walked away from them grumpily.

"You sure~?"

"Shut up!" I gripped my sword tighter, but this time, I remembered not too act out on impulse. It was always a bad habit. "I can't kill you, since we're allies... So, please try to behave better."

The two just giggled as I sheathed my sword back onto my waist and brushed back some of my hair.

"Are? Wait a minute..." Yuka suddenly looked at us. "One, two, three... aren't we missing someone?"

"Oh, we are missing someone. I completely forgot."

"Perhaps she's further upward." Wondered Ayaka.

"But, if we go any further, we'll head up to Hokkaido."

"And it's c-c-c-cold up there." Complained Yuka instantly.

"You'll have to put up with it." I answered as I started walking. "If you can't stand the cold, you can walk back to your Mamas and Papas for all I care."

"Now that's cold." Ayaka pointed out.

"Shut up! I am not--" I was interrupted by a sudden growling sound. I brought out my sword again. "Who's there?!"

Again, a growling sound.

Where is that coming from?

"Uhh, Sayaka-chan... that sound is your stomach."

"Eh?" I listened closer. I really was hungry.

"How long has it been since you've eaten?"

"I was going to eat some fish... but then it got burnt.... and then a demon monkey ate it........"

"How can you have all that muscle and still starve yourself?" Yuka said, feeling my muscles. "You need to nourish up."

"I'm fine! The muscles are just...a complex."

"Yeah, but you're bone thin."

"A-am not!"

As they laughed at my blushed face again, a sudden aroma caught my attention.

What is that... sweet smell?

Ayaka's POV

As I talked to Yuka, I suddenly looked over and saw Sayaka walking off somewhere, as if she was drunk.

"Sayaka-chan? Hey, you're going the wrong way!"

"Hokkaido's up north!" called Yuka loudly.

"Sayaka-chan!"

We followed Sayaka deeper into the forest, when we suddenly smelt something. It was the smell of cooking meat.

Meat...

When we got closer, we saw Sayaka near a fire eating a fish. There was a girl near her, smiling.

"You like that?" she asked.

Sayaka didn't respond and just moaned as she bit off the fish, chewing the meat.

Clumsily, I stepped forward a bit and broke a branch, causing the girl to look up. Yuka panicked, trying to run off, which caused us to fall onto the ground and land in front of her.

Great, two secretly legendary samurai princesses made themselves look like clowns...

I sighed.

"...Oh, hey." She didn't seem to have a problem and held up some more fish she caught. "You want one, too?"

Yuka's POV

I stared at the fish for a long time. I could feel my stomach rumbling, roaring at me for food. So, I politely took one of the fish and started eating it.

"...Ah! Oishii!"

"Looks like you guys were travelling together. This one didn't even hesitate," she chuckled, pointing at Sayaka. "She instantly saw the fish and was like, 'Are you God?' I seriously cracked up. She must've been starving."

"So you were hungry, huh, Sayaka-chan?" asked Ayaka as she took a fish off the girl’s hand.

"Oishii~" She ignored us as she kept munching down her food.

"So, what's your name?" I asked the girl.

"Yuko." Answered the girl simply. “What’s yours?”

“I’m Yuka.” I introduced myself. “This is Ayaka and the one that’s hungry over there is Sayaka.”

“Ah, you must’ve been traveling for a long time..” guessed Yuko. “Are..?”

“What’s wrong?” asked Ayaka.

“I think your friend Sayaka just took the last fish..” said Yuko with an astonished face and looked at Sayaka with an amused look.

“Sayaka-chan!” I called the guilty girl with an ‘seriously?’ tone.

“Gomen, gomen..” she bowed an apology.

“Well, it seems like I arrived on the right time then..” said another voice from behind. I turned and saw another girl with a huge grin plastered on her face. Her smile seemed to look similar to a cat.

Hanging on her hand was a woven bag filled with freshly caught fish and some bottles of wine.

“Ah, Jurina-chan!!” exclaimed Yuko and signaled the girl to sit next to her. “Everyone, this is my friend Jurina. She just arrived from the town nearby to get some supplies.”

“And went a bit more for fishing. I knew we’ll gonna need more fish.” Said Jurina. “Ah, I’m Jurina by the way..”

“You’ve got what I want Jurina-chan?” asked Yuko as she stirs the bag.

“Yeah, took me a few minutes to get the store keeper believing that it wasn’t for me.” Answered Jurina in annoyance.

“Ah, bingo~” said Yuko pulling out a bag of wine. “Wine anyone?”

================================

Third Person POV

An hour later...

Three people were lying on the ground around the fire. Their face was red from the alcohol that they shared together, and now they are snoring together.

“..Been a long time since Yuko got someone to drink with.” sighed Jurina.

“Ah, so you’re actually younger than me?” asked Ayaka with a thin smile as she watched Sayaka and Yuka mumbled between their snores.

Jurina nodded.

“People always looked at me like I’m way older than what my age actually is. I wonder why..?”

Ayaka didn’t answer to that. but, a little corner in her heart actually was yelling “BECAUSE YOU’RE TALL!!”

But then the reality of her being shorter than a girl that is like three years younger than her would be embarrassing.

“Uwa~ The stars looked so pretty tonight!!” gazed Jurina upwards. "The moon, too..."

"You like the moon?"

"Yea. It's beautiful..."

“Hmm..." Ayaka stretched out her arms and yawned. "Well, maybe I should get some sleep now..” she said. Bending the earth in the morning was actually tiresome.

“Sleep well~” said Jurina with a smile towards the princess. Ayaka smiled back and lied herself under a tree, then dozed off.

Jurina stared intently at the fire before then closed her eyes softly. Yuko who was snoring before groaned and sat up.

“Man, been a long time since I had fun drinking wine..” compliment Yuko as she snapped her neck.

“I actually never would thought that my brother’s daughter is quite a drunk ass.” chuckled Jurina in a different voice. She opened her eyes and revealed a pair of unusual silver irises.

“Gomenasai...” bowed Yuko a bit towards Jurina. ”So then, we finally found them, my Lady?”

“Well, they just came into our doorsteps.” Compliment Jurina. “Now we need to find the other one..”

“Where could she be?”
 
“Miles away, but I can still feel the last one. After all, I was the one that made it.”

“Then I guess we have to lead them there…Before Maou reaches her first.”

“Maou is faster now..” said Jurina carefully. “Who would’ve actually opened his seal..?”

“We need to find out about it.” Said Yuko. “But we need to keep an eye on them.” pointed out Yuko to the three sleeping figures.

Jurina closed her eyes again and produced three balls of light from her palm. Each of the ball went over to the girls and absorbed to the girl’s body.

"Is that...?"

“A protection spell.” said Jurina shortly. “I need to protect the warriors that will serve me from Maou. At least, until they’re all ready..”

Yuko smiled and yawned once again. "Well, the sun has set already, so my shift's ended."

"Alright, I'll go patrol the area." Jurina said, getting up. "You sleep well, okay?"

"Un. Night, Kaguya..." Yuko said before crawling back into her blanket and falling asleep.

Kaguya smiled at her sleeping face.

"The daughter of Amaterasu... energetic until the sun sets." she chuckled before heading out into the darkness.



To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Tsuki no uragawa (Part 1)
Post by: kuro808 on May 20, 2014, 08:47:10 PM
This is gonna be a fun read just between the three princesses :lol:
Title: Samurai Princesses: Tsuki no uragawa (Part 2)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on May 31, 2014, 04:56:47 AM

Chapter 2

Tsuki no uragawa (Part 2)



================================

Sayaka's POV

Argh... My head hurts... What happened to me?

"....ugh..." I slowly got up, holding my head as I groaned. It feels like my brain is being scraped up against a brick wall. "What was I...?"

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty." I heard a voice.

When I looked, I saw a girl eating a large loaf of bread.

"Want some?"

*SLASH*

"Who are you?! What did you do to me?!"

She looked at me with a shocked expression, my blade at the tip of her nose as she held her hands up, one still gripping the loaf of bread I sliced.

"Sayaka-chan, are you not fully awake yet? Must be the hangover. It's me, Yuko, remember?"

Yuko?

My head throbbed a bit as I tried remembering what had happened last night.

I was with Yuka and Ayaka... then I smelled something good. I was so hungry, I had to follow it. Then... I met Yuko. That's right. She and Jurina gave me the meat. And then, we started drinking wine and I passed out after being drunk for some time.

"That explains it..." I muttered to myself. "Where's the other one?"

"She's out hunting for breakfast."

"Okay..."

I looked and saw Ayaka was still peacefully asleep, clutching the locket in her hands. I noticed how she was so close to it, and wondered if it was important to her.

"Mm~ Takoyaki~"

"Eh?" I looked and saw Yuka, giggling in her sleep as her hands grasped the air.

"Gotta catch 'em... All the flying takoyaki..."

I shook Yuka awake, causing her to shoot up from her shock and grabbed my wrist. A few seconds after, her face suddenly changed expression.

"Sayaka-chan...?" she breathed out in a weak, shaky voice before covering her mouth. Then...

"..."

....................

"BLEEEEEEEEEH" She puked in the river.

"There goes all the good fish," Yuko sighed as she prepared a towel and big wooden bucket for Yuka.

"Thanks.." said Yuka weakly when she comes back from the river. "Now I remembered that I'm bad with alcohol..."

"Everyone has theirs when they drank too much." said Yuko patting the girl's back. "Jurina should be here by now.."

"Ah, there she is.." I pointed to a walking figure coming towards our direction. It was Jurina carrying a basket of berries in her hand.

"Hey~ I found a bunch of berry bushes nearby." said Jurina offering the basket.

"Sweet.." I commented as I plopped one into my mouth. The berry juice swirled in my tongue perfectly after the wine last night.

"Un.. I also found a bar nearby with it's chimney on. Maybe they served breakfast there." said Jurina pointing down to the direction she was from.

"A bar in the middle of the forest?" I asked with a scrunched eyebrows.

"Well, it's kinda beside the main road. Probably like a stop over." shrugged Jurina.

"I guess it's not a problem if we check it out." said Yuko. "Let's get a decent breakfast there."

I pinched my eyes in suspicion, "Fine. Yuka, wake Ayaka up now."

She nodded, and walked towards the sleeping girl, kneeling down to her.

"Ayaka, wake up~" hummed Yuka as she shook the little figure under the tree shade. When she touched Ayaka's hand, the little girl suddenly sat up with no warning.

"GYAHH!!" yelped Ayaka with a shocked face. I could see her hand clutched the locket I saw earlier tightly as if her life depends on it, she was gasping for air.

"What's wrong?" I asked the girl.

Ayaka shook her head, "...just a nightmare.." she mumbled.

"Well, you're awake now." patted Yuka with a comforting smile. "Let's get something to eat.."

================================

Ayaka's POV

I couldn't shake off that dream somehow...

I had a dream last night. An unknown girl, appeared in front of me. She was wearing a hooded robe, but I knew it was a girl.

She griped on my shoulders tightly and whispered into my ears. When she moved her face closer to me, I couldn't see her face at all, accept for a wide smile on her face.

"You will meet me one day, girl. And by the time we meet, it's either you or I that will plunged deep into the darkness.."

I tried to push her off, but she's not finish.

"That side of yours... Well hidden but so fragile. I shall crumble that easily.."

Then suddenly, I was thrown down into a deep hole that appeared under my feet. The air felt cold on my face as I felt it passing. I heard a laughter from above, the girl's laugh. She was laughing as if she was watching something funny.

"Father and daughter are pretty much the same, eh?"

That's when Yuka woke me up then.

================================

"Ah, we're here." said Jurina breaking my thoughts.

We've been walking for a few minutes now, my previous thoughts went through as I kept on walking.

I looked up and saw a shack with a name board sticking on the roof.

"Warukki's Zipper." chanted Yuko. "I don't know why, it sounded a bit erotic somehow.."

"Let's just come in.." said Sayaka pushing the door followed by the others.

"Hello~ Anyone?" called Yuka out loud.

"Hai~" said a voice. A girl popped up from the counter excitedly. "May I help you, travelers?"

"Hello~" said Jurina cheerfully as she approached the counter and sat on the stool. "I saw your chimney working, I was hoping if you're making some breakfast."

"Ah, you got me nee~" said the girl cheerfully. She pulled out a menu sheet from the counter bellow, "we provide food of course for travelers that passes the forest and the road."

"Hmm..." said Sayaka as she observe the menu. "How long have you opened this bar?"

"Honestly, I don't know." answered the girl with a pout. "My master told me to stay here for the last two weeks, because he's dealing up with something. He's the owner of this place.."

"That's strange.." I said as I looked around. I could see the dust and the spiderwebs on the other seats and tables. "Do you actually get customers?"

"Of course we do!" said the girl pouting again. "They just like to sit on the counter as I talked to them."

"Hoo.." I nodded a bit. The girl looked cute after all, sweet smile and dazzling eyes. Man could definitely fall for her after all.

"What's your name?" asked Yuko to the girl.

"I'm Miyuki, but you can call me Milky." winked the girl to Yuko. I could see a grin spread across the girl's face as she welcomed the wink.

"Oi! No flirting!" said Jurina as she whacked Yuko's head. "Can I get this please.." she pointed at one of the menu on the sheet.

"Sure~" said Milky. "What about the others?"

"Make it the same for me." said Sayaka.

"Me too." said Yuka looking around the room.

"Nice oppai...~" said Yuko.

WHACK!!

Jurina whacked the squirrel's head harder.

"I-I mean, I'll have the same too!!" said Yuko dreamily.

"And how about you..?" asked Milky too me with such a sweet smile.

"I'll have the same too." I replied. Milky nodded, but then she looked worried.

"What's wrong?" asked Jurina.

"You might have too wait nee~ The chef is out for a moment, probably to look for some ingredients." said Milky. "But she should be back by now.. Eh, there she is!" she pointed to the door.

A girl appeared from the door carrying a basket in her hands and a bow in her hand. A tube of arrows was slung over her shoulders and I could see some wild turkeys hanging on her waist, fresh hunted.

"Sayanee~ We have customers~" exclaimed Milky with a smile.

The girl called Sayanee looked at us happily as she went closer to the counter that connects to the kitchen.

"Hello, I'm Sayanee. The chef here." she introduced herself. "Ah, Milky... I found this creature injured by the forest, you think you can take care of them..?"

She went to her jacket pocket and pulled out a familiar looking ball of black furs.

Black fur...? I thought. Masaka...

"Oh darling..." said Milky with a duck face as she took the small ball slowly. "That looked badly burned up there.."

"Oooh~ Can I see?" asked Jurina edging closer. But then Yuka pulled her back.

"Don't..." said Yuka with a shaky tone. She looked over to me and Sayaka as if hoping we know what's going on.

"Who are you..?" glowered Sayaka to Sayanee. Her hand was already on the sword's handle, gripping it tightly.

"Nee, Sayanee..." said Milky as she tapped the small black fur with her hand. "She says that she knew these girls.. They hurt her and the others.."

"Oh really..?" asked Sayanee with raised eyebrows. "I wonder why did they..?" asked Sayanee with a sinister smile and it's eyes to us, especially me.

"They say, master ordered them to chase them down, but they fought them." said Miyuki with a sad pout.

I gritted my teeth, this is going to get ugly.

"Say, Miyuki..." began Sayanee putting down the basket on the table. "Don't you think we've got them now..?"

"Yes, Sayanee..." said Miyuki as she put the small ball of fur on her head. It suddenly turned to a curvy little horn on her left side. "Shall we kill them like master told us?"

"Let's do so." said Sayanee before clouds of darkness swirled around them.

"Yuko, Jurina, RUN!!" yelled Sayaka.

The two girls ran behind the counter where'd they be safe.

I turned and saw Sayanee looked at me with a strange look. She grinned, staring at me.

"W-why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because... you're insane."

Huh?

"Umechan, don't listen to her!" Yuka reassured me. "She's just trying to psyche you out."

Milky put another fur in her hair and it became the matching horn on the other side of her head. Then, a tail swirled out of her backside.

A devil?

Sayaka unsheathed her sword and aimed at Milky's neck. "Listen, I'll give you two choices. You can either let us go or I can chop off your heads."

"Woah, brutal, Sayaka-chan."

"Now, now, let's not be so--"

"You wanna go, too?" Sayaka pointed the blade to Sayanee, who just grinned.

"I don't want you..." Sayanee pushed her sword away and walked towards me. "I want you."

Sayanee pulled out a dagger and attempted to slash me. She barely cut my cheek, but I was able to step back and avoid her attacks.

I touched my cheek and felt the blood run down my skin, hissing a bit at the pain.

"Umechan!" Yuka grabbed her sword and tried to help, but got grabbed by Milky and was hugged by her from behind.

"No, no, no, you're not allowed to interfere~."

"Yuka!"

Yuka's POV

"Hey, get off me!" I said as I struggled to release the demon girl's grip on me.

"Nope. I won't let you~," she giggled in my ear. She sounded a bit weird, it gave me a bad feeling. "Sayanee~... make her go crazy."

"Will do."

"Oh, no, you won't!"

The demon girl suddenly appeared in front of me. Does she have super speed or something?!

"Let her play with her toy. And I'll play with mine~."

I pulled out my sword, holding it towards her. "I-I'm not afraid to use this!"

"You don't even know how to hold it properly."

"Mou~ Sayaka-chan, help me!!!"

Milky rushed up once more to attack me, but then Sayaka came in just in time and slashed her sword, knocking her back and cutting her hand.

"Sayaka-chan~!"

"Jeez, you're so hopeless."

"Hey! I'm new to this fighting thing!"

"No fair~" Milky whined. "I don't have a weapon! If you're a real warrior, you'll be nice to lil' ol' me and fight with your bare fists."

Without saying a word, Sayaka sheathed her sword and placed it on the table. Then, cracked her knuckles and neck a bit before taking a ready stance.

Kakkoii~...

"Come at me." Milky clenched her fists and stared at Sayaka intensely.

Instead of fists, Sayaka's hands were open palms, meaning she must have some special plan to beat. She took in a deep breath before grinning at the demon girl.

"Maeru."

Sayaka's POV

I ran forward and lunged towards the girl, swinging my arm forward to hit her, but she was able to grab my wrist and stop my attack. Only for a second, though, as I used my well-known strength to free myself and continue fighting.

Before coming to the Imperial Palace, I was trained in a dojo and practiced aikido for about 5 or 6 years. I can see she's having some trouble keeping up with my skill. All she does is dodge.

"Hey... what are you scared?"

I spun around and kicked my leg up to hit her, but she ducked once more and tried to attack me. However, as we were face-to-face, I saw her giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"I saw London, I saw France, I saw someone's underpants~" she teasingly giggled.

"Wait, what?!"

"Sayaka-chan, don't tell me... she..!"

I growled angrily and grabbed the demon girl's collar. "You did not!!!"

"I did. Who knew, a Samurai Princess who likes purple lace. And how sexy it was~. I could almost see your--"

"SHUT UP!!!!!" Anger filled within me and I prepared to punch the girl in the face. She raised her hand and ended up hitting my chest. Then, she gave a perverted grin.

"Dang. You're a chopping board."

"EXCUSE ME?!"

Before I could move forward to attack, she speeded over to Yuka and grabbed her chest.

"Kya!"

"You, however, really have a rack on you. Not quite like Sayanee's, but still impressive~"

"Hey, what was tha--?" Yuka was suddenly stopped when she was turned around to face Milky. I couldn't see her face, but I saw Milky looking at her, with... glowing pink eyes?

"You really are a baka~." she giggled while hugging Yuka. She looked at me and her eyes glowed pink again. "No one can resist my charm."

Instantly, I knew what was going on and use my sword to shield the pink light coming out of her eyes.

"Nee, Yuttan, this girl is being mean to me. Protect me~?"

When I uncovered my eyes, I saw Yuka with her sword in her hands, rushing over to attack me! I quickly blocked her attack, holding her sword. I looked at her eyes, they were pink!

"I won't let you hurt my Miyuki-sama!" She kept swinging her sword at me.

She's getting pretty close, though, too...

"Yuka, snap out of it!"

================================

Meanwhile with Ayaka...

Ayaka's POV

I held the silver metal blade firmly, pressing against the small knives strongly pushing against me to try and break it and slice me. I was staring right into the eyes of the strange demon girl, who was grinning at me the entire time we fought.

"Why are you... so interested in me?"

"I just told you. It's because you're insane."

I pushed her away and started swinging my sword. As I stepped forward, she just gripped her knives and spun them, thrusting them forward to cut through me. She almost stabbed my shoulder, but I was able to grab her wrist and work my way around it to release her grip on the small knife.

I released it from her palm and took hold of it, the two of us engaging into a heated battle.

When I saw an advantage for me to strike her, I used my earth powers to shake the ground below her and knock the second knife out of her hand. Now, I put the blade near her neck, and she was cornered.

But, still, she smiled for some reason.

"Do you really believe you can stop me?" she said.

Then, her smile disappeared and she grabbed my head. I felt something weird. There was something in my brain, it felt like buzzing in my ear.

You're so weak... You cannot win...

"What...? What is this?"

"Can you hear that?"

"...w-what are you... doing..?"

"You're totally crazy. Don't resist that voice inside you. It is your true self."

She's right, Umeda Ayaka. Give in to me. Let your anger drive your action.

"N-no!"

The screams of pain and agony, music to your ears. Your victims begging for mercy, such pitiful, hopeless pleas...

"No, I won't! I won't do it!"

Red... nothing but red... It's blood!

You've killed so many people in your past. It is your fate. Accept it.

"No!!! It's not true!!!"

Face it, you were born into this world, a monster. You are a killer, and you always will be.

"NOOO!!!" I grabbed my head and fell to the ground as I saw the awful visions play in my head. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

Why? Why does this happen to me?

Hahahahaha! That's it, just break them! Every single one of them that hurt you!

I'll be a good girl... I'll be a good girl...

Don't worry, it won't hurt for a second.

Mama... Papa... I'm sorry...

Are~? They died already? Too bad... oh, well, another one bites the dust...


"N-no... please stop..."

.................

"I knew it. You are crazy. You just needed a push, was all."

================================

Sayaka’s POV

"GAAAH!!!" I keep dodging all of Yuka's attacks. She was a puppet under the little demon girl's spell, a completely mindless, empty shell.

"C'mon, Yuka! Time to wake up now~!" I tried to get her back to her senses, but she wouldn't listen.

She growled at me and tried to stab the sword through my chest. I blocked it and we came face-to-face, inches apart.

"I will not allow you to get close to Miyuki-sama!"

"Okay then..."

With one swift movement of my sword, I pushed her back and pinned her shirt to the wall. She struggled, trying to break free, the fabric ripping bit by bit. I tried to think of a way to wake her up...

Only one thing came to mind.

Forgive me for this...

*POW*

Yuka's POV

....Huh?

I blinked my eyes a few times and saw Sayaka in front of me...

Why is my shirt sleeve pinned to the wall?

And... why does my cheek hurt?

"Itai~! Why did you punch me, Sayaka-chan~?!"

"That was your wake-up call."

"Aw~ my mind slave woke up from my charm."

I rubbed my cheek, still trying to process what happened. "Dang, Sayaka-chan. You're strength is about the same as a gorilla's."

"Shut up!"

"Ah! Anyways..." I looked over at Milky, who was sitting at the counter. "You! You're gonna pay for trying to control me... even if you kinda did, but I'm STILL gonna make you pay!"

“Kinda too late for that, nee~” smiled Milky before she snapped her fingers. The whole ground erupted in an explosion. I could feel the heat coming close to my face and the a huge mix of lava from the earth bursting out of the earth.

I closed my eyes and prayed my last wish.

“OH NO, YOU DON’T!” yelled a voice. I opened my eyes and saw a short figure standing between me and the hot lava.

“Yuko!!” yelled Sayaka still pinned down by one of Milky’s work of art. “Get away from there!!”

But the midget only smiled with her squirrel smile at us as she held her hands in front of her.

Milky’s expression froze just as Yuko clenched her fists. The lava suddenly curled up into a huge boiling ball before eventually disintegrated when Yuko’s hands sliced the air.

“You…”

“I will not let you touch them, Demon.” said Yuko with such a fierce voice to Milky. “Tell your master that these girls are under my protection.”

Milky hissed as she crackled her fingers, showing her big demon claws. “Mou.. Master definitely wouldn’t be pleased, daughter of Ameratsu.”

“I guess I have no choice but to go against the so mighty warrior like you..” smiled Milky before she disappeared.

“Where did she go?!” I asked. Then before I knew it, Milky already stood in front of Yuko and gave a high kick to the girl.

Yuko blocked the attack and grab a hold of the demon’s sexy leg. I could see the girl’s grin before slamming the demon into the ground with face first.

“Mou…” groaned Milky as she snubbed her bloody nose. “You’re going to pay for that!!”

“Then come and ask for it.” Challenged Yuko and welcomed another on of Milky’s attack.


Meanwhile with Sayanee…

Third Person POV

You are weak.. Only depend on others, never can stand by your own self…

“No I am not…” Ayaka groaned with her empty eyes. Sayanee smiled widely as she kept her finger on the girl’s head.

"This girl… I never knew that she would own such power." thought Sayanee. "Master would be pleased if he knows…"

That’s why I live inside you.. I was born from your hatred. Your hated of losing.. Your hatred of being weak.. Your hatred from being dependent to people and ended up hurting them..

“Please…” pleaded Ayaka. “Leave me alone…”

Leave you alone..? How? I AM YOU, UMEDA AYAKA.

Ayaka screamed and trashed her head around. Sayanee cursed and grab a hold of her chin to steady it as she kept her victim still under her spell. The demon archer was just enjoying the show she just created by herself.

Before she suddenly felt a tip of a blade at the back of her head.

“Leave. Her. Alone.” said the voice with a steady controlled emotion.

Sayanee cursed and kept the finger on Ayaka’s forehead before she moved her head to the side and gave a spinning back kick to the one pointing the weapon.

Her kick was strong enough to make the figure pushed back for a couple of feet, she was impressed how brilliant the figure blocked it.

“No wonder I felt a bit of moon presence in this place.” Said Sayanee as she stood with her bows and arrow pointed at Jurina.

Ayaka quickly slumped down on the demon’s foot, gasping for air. She looked and saw the two facing off, but her vision was blurry as she was still recovering from the monstrous visions.

“So it was, the great Kaguya.” sneered Sayanee before releasing an arrow. The arrow flew in such incredible speed and covered with dark aura.

But Jurina with no expression, raised her sword and sliced the arrow in half. Fading the dark aura around the arrow and it splinters fell to the ground.

“Demon, I will not allow you to go further than that.” said Jurina clearly as she pointed her sword to the archer whom loaded her arrow automatically. Her silver irises stares deeply into the demon’s lucid purple eyes.

“She’s an interesting subject after all..” shrugged Sayanee. “I might be an archer, but I have great interest in coming to be a curious of knowledge freak.”

“How dare you used human beings like an experimental rats!” yelled Jurina.

“Humans? Oh please..” disgusted Sayanee. “Humans are nothing but a weak creature. They depend too much on others and leave what they so called ‘friends’ rotten once they’re done with them.”

“That is not true!” yelled Jurina. “You demons, never understand why and for what reasons we humans appreciated friendship! You demons will never understand!”

“'Friendship', you say?” asked Sayanee coldly. “That sounded nothing more than a bullshit in my ears, human.”

Jurina charged in and swung the blade towards the demon. The demon quickly parried the blade with her bow and pushed Jurina back with such an immense strength. Jurina took her stance and hold back Sayanee’s strength as their weapon clashed to each other.

“You don’t get it do you?” hissed Sayanee with her face close to Jurina’s. “Humans are weak and we demons were supposed to bow to them when they were first created? Never will, Humans.. We Demons have not only prides but also intelligence to know who’s the strongest among all!!”

"Ughh… She’s very strong and I can’t use my full power without the moon at this time of the day…" thought Jurina.

Sayanee growled and all the sudden her body was engulfed in dark auras. As if she just got herself a power boost, the Demon pushed Jurina and pinned her into a tree.

But then the two of them heard a sudden scream and a few trees crashed to the ground. Sayanee turned and saw Milky got thrown to a nearby rock with cuts and wounds all over her body.

“MILKY!!” yelled Sayanee. Jurina used this chance to kick Sayanee’s stomach hard and it pushed her for a few feet.

Sayanee groaned before she jumped back and knelt beside the wounded Milky.

“You’re okay..?” asked Sayanee.

Milky coughed up and nodded. Jurina could see flickering hatred on Milky’s eyes as another figure approached closer.

“Leave now.” growled Yuko as she clenched her weapon tightly as she stared intently at the two demons.

Milky threw a glance at Sayanee whom managed to curved her her arm around Milky’s waist to support her.

“...tch, fine.” Said Sayanee with an annoyed tone. “We will meet again. And by the time we do,-“ she looked at Ayaka with such interest and amusement.

“I shall have the Samurai of Earth as mine.” She smiled before clicking her fingers. Dark clouds swirled under the demon’s feet before swallowed them whole and disappeared.

“Did she just left, like that..?” asked Sayaka coming out of the bushes followed by Yuka.

Jurina nodded and walked towards the gasping Ayaka. The girl was still shaken of Sayanee’s mental torture; the shock was all across her eyes.

“I-I…” stammered the girl.

“It’s alright, you’re safe now..” said Jurina. She picked up Ayaka and carried her to a tree to lean on.

"Eh?"

“You did well. For now, rest...” she touched Ayaka’s forehead with her finger and the shaken girl quickly slumped to slumber.

“What did you do to her?” asked Sayaka suspiciously.

“Recovery spell.” Said Jurina. “Only works when the casted one sleeps, so I combined them with slumber spell.”

“Sweet~ We’re not getting one too? We just faced Milky.” Said Yuka.

“Oi, in the end it was me who faced her.” said Yuko with an amused smile.

“She’s a bit different than any of you, I have to say…” said Jurina as she approached the other girls. “I did not expect fate would choose her as one of my warriors.”

“Who are you?” asked Sayaka to the two girls. She raised her katana towards the two of them when they stand close to each other.

“At ease, Akimoto Sayaka.” Said Yuko. “We are not your enemy.”

"Huh?"

"Please, let me explain. I guess now would be a time for proper introduction. Well, my human name is Oshima Yuko. It was given to me by my father, the sun God, Amaterasu, meaning, I'm a demigod."

"Demigod?" Yuka scratched her head, a bit confused.

"It means half human, half God." Sayaka said as she retracted her sword. "Does that mean Jurina's a demigod, too?"

"Jurina's situation is different. She's actually a royal descendant in the Moon goddess, Kaguya's bloodline. So, Kaguya-sama has the tendency to possess her body and help us fighting or hunting at times. She's only strongest at night, though, and especially under the full moon."

"Ah, now it makes sense..."

"So, I'm guessing you both were sent to find us."

"That is correct, Akimoto-san."

“Now that you know who we are, it is time.” Said Jurina.

“Time for what?” asked Yuka.

“Prove me that you are worthy to become my warriors.” Said Jurina with her silver eyes stares deep into the Kansai girl. “Fight me.”

"HUH?!"

“I won’t use this blade of course.” Said Jurina as she handed Yuko the blade. “I will only use my fist, feet, and speed.”

"Wait, is this girl serious?!" Yuka's mouth remained pried open.

“Go on now.” Said Jurina signaling for the two girls. “Fight me.”


To Be Continued


*Just a note to all you readers; Comertez-san is going to be on break a bit so she can finish her fanfic for Yuko's graduation, so we may be a while next chapter. See ya~ :heart:
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Tsuki no uragawa (Part 2)
Post by: kuro808 on May 31, 2014, 05:22:26 AM
They went into a fierce battle with two special beings on their side although the princesses in general are still raw but I guess not until they acquire a skill or power that they can defeat the tougher opponents
Title: Samurai Princesses: Fade Out (Part 1)
Post by: Cometerz48 on June 18, 2014, 05:09:35 PM
Chapter 3

Fade Out (Part 1)



=======================================


Yuka's POV

"Wait, what?!" I quickly hid behind Sayaka, shivering back as I saw Jurina cracking her neck and knuckles. "W-We have to fight you?!"

"Yes. Prove me that you are worthy of the gift I gave to each of you, Samurai Princess. I don't give that kind of power just to anyone!"

"Wait, we can't fight you!"

"Yeah, don't you think they've already been through enough, My Lady?" Yuko patted her shoulder.

Sayaka pushed me away a bit and stepped forward to Jurina.

"Look, Jurina, or Kaguya-hime, or whoever you are, we need some rest so we can be ready to fight you," she said in a stern tone.

Jurina gave her an intense glare with her sliver glowing eyes. I thought something was going to happen to Sayaka, but she didn't seem to be intimidated by her at all. She just stood there frozen, like a statue.

Is this... a stand-off?

There was no movement as the two were just in a stand still, staring each other off.

Then, Jurina made a move and proceeded to try and punch Sayaka. I covered my eyes, not wanting to see, but I didn't hear anything that sounded like a punch or groan of pain.

When I uncovered my eyes, I saw Sayaka, grabbing Jurina's fist and preventing it from hitting her.

"Woah..."

Jurina chuckled lowly, "Looks like I've underestimated you, Akimoto Sayaka."

"Now, listen... you have absolutely NO idea what we've been through. We deserve a bit more respect, like the 'warriors' and 'princesses' you say we are."

"I understand." She let go of Sayaka's hand and smiled. "Perhaps you truly are worthy of your title. I understand you were the head Samurai of the Imperial Palace. I could see all that in your eyes."

"You read my mind, basically?"

"My main concern..." she looked past Sayaka and was staring straight at me. "Is you."

HUH?!?!?!

"You don't seem at all like a princess or a samurai warrior. I definitely will be putting my extra interest in you later."

"EEEEEEEHH?!?!?!" I fell to my knees, grabbing the younger girl's heels. "Why?! Why me?! You clearly have the advantage~!"

"Which is why I would like Akimoto to train you."

"Maji?!"

Sayaka looked down at me, and I made my puppy eyes that no one could resist. She sighed and pulled me up to my feet.

"You really are hopeless."

"We shall face off tomorrow."

"Y-yes ma'am..."

================================

Sayaka's POV

"Alright, Masuda..." I sat the girl down in place, sitting in front of the calm river. "Are you ready for training?"

"Uh, maybe?"

"Look, I'm gonna be nice and let you start off slow, but don't expect anything. I'm still a warrior."

Yuka giggled, crossing her legs as she played with the water. I sat down beside her, crossing my legs.

"So, what's first, Miss Trainer sir? Er, ma'am. Ufu..."

"First part of training..."

I laid down my sword in front of me and took in a deep breath.

"A samurai must stay calm. If you let your emotions run wild, you'll put yourself at a disadvantage. Anger, excitement, leave it all behind."

"Eh?"

"We're going to meditate. Just sit here and stay quiet for an hour. Let yourself wind down and find your inner peace." I closed my eyes and heard the silence being carried by the wind.

3 minutes later...

"Mou~ This is boring!"

*Th-WHACK*

I quickly hit her head without opening my eyes, making her sit back down.

"Jeez, Sayaka-chan, don't be so cruel..."

"Sit back down and be quiet."

"Hai~...."

I released a heavy sigh as I felt the wind blow against me. I was about to smile, seeing how well behaved she was acting...

But then...

"OOOOOOM!"

Hm?!

"OOOOOOM!"

My eyes creaked open as I looked at her sudden chanting. I felt my eyebrow twitch a bit.

"OO--" I pinched her lips together, shutting her up.

"What... are you doing?"

I let go of her lips and she scratched her head shyly.

"Uh... finding my center."

"Can you try and find your center silently?"

"Okay. Sorry, Sayaka-chan."

I groaned and reassembled myself, closing my eyes once more...

5 minutes later...

......

Peace... This is nice...

...

"...Sayaka-chan..."

....

"...Sayaka-chan~...."

.....

"....I'm hungry...."

*Flick*

"Ite..."

"Wait..."

10 minutes later...

....

"...Sayaka-chan...."

.....

"...I gotta pee..."

*Th-WHACK*

"Ow!"

"I thought you were hungry!"

"I had to use the bathroom a long time ago, and it made me hungry."

"Just go real quick and be back here soon."

"OK..."

After a few minutes, she came back, now ready and more relaxed. We both sighed out, breathing in the fresh air...

15 minutes later...

"See, isn't this nice, Masuda?"

....

She's quiet...

A bit... too quiet...

"Masuda?"

*Snore*

"Hm?" My eyes snapped open and I saw her head hung back. She was peacefully asleep, drool slightly escaping her mouth as she snored loudly.

"Hehe... Yakiniku~..."

"Good grief, you're hopeless..." I pulled out a blanket and wrapped it around her, slowly laying her down as she dreamed away. "At least you found your inner peace this way."

"Mm~ oishii~..." She licked her lips, clutching the blanket. "Soy sauce rivers..."

What's with her and these weird food dreams?

===============

Meanwhile...

Third Person POV

There were no dreams that Ayaka experienced from her sleep. Just total darkness until she smelt an aromatic fragrance similar like her mother’s.
She opened her eyes hazily with her eyes still blurry, she looked upon the shadow hovering above her and it does smelt like her mother.

“Mother…?” she spoke softly. The shadow turned it’s head towards her and put it’s hand on her forehead.

“You seemed to be in better condition.” said the figure, it’s voice weren’t her mother’s at all. Her eyes cleared off it’s mist and revealed the figure was no other than Yuko.

“Yuko..?” croaked Ayaka. “What..”

“Sayanee was messing with your head earlier.” Said Yuko as she helped the young girl sat up and leaned on the tree. “Jurina saved you from her going further.”

Yuko offered her a water skin.

“Here, drink it.”

Ayaka drank it all as if she hasn’t drink for her whole life, her throat felt dusty dry.

“You have a strong shadow, Ayaka.” Said Yuko as she watched the girl drank.

“I think everyone has a shadow, Yuko.” said Ayaka confusedly as she pointed to Yuko’s on the ground.

“Not that kind of Shadow.” Retorted Yuko before putting her finger on Ayaka’s chest. “This shadow.”

"Eh?"

“Every human of course have shadows.” Said Yuko just as she saw the overly confused face. “But there’s a special shadow called Kage inside everybody’s inner self. These Kages are created by fears, contempt, lust, and all those bad things. Then it all piles up and created another side of it’s human, dark and dangerous side. Normal people’s kage were usually buried deep down and untouched, slumbered.”

“And mine is different.” Said Ayaka carefully.

Yuko nodded, “Yours is fully awake, Ayaka. And it’s just waiting to be triggered.”

“What made it triggered? I mean how come mine is fully awake while other people’s aren’t?”

Yuko tilted her head a little as if she was thinking,  but then another voice chimed in.

Your past.

Ayaka and looked up and saw someone else instead of Yuko. It’s long hair was messy and shadows hovered around it’s face, enabling Ayaka to see who it is. Her surroundings goes dark, leaving only her, the figure, and the tree.

“Who are you..?” she asked carefully. The presence of the figure made chills in her bones and Goosebumps to the back of the neck.

Don’t you remember Sagi?” asked the figure.

Ayaka’s memories flashed back as the name echoes in her ears. It was her first pet, Sagi the rabbit. White and fluffy as the winter snow, she always played with Sagi after each of Master Noro’s lessons. She was so soft and comforting each time she put the creature close to her cheek on the lonely days.

Until one day she went for a walk with her mother to the palace’s forest. It was snowy and the path was covered with snows thickly. Ayaka accidentally Sagi slipped from her hands and fell before then it ran off. Not hearing her mother’s voice, Ayaka ran chasing the rabbit deeper into the forest.

She was looking to any directions once she lost the rabbit’s track, before then she heard some sort a squeal coming from behind a bush. She approached it and saw the ground was red behind the bushes. She saw Sagi hanging aimlessly on a snake’s mouth by the head, she screamed.

The next thing she knew was Master Noro found her with the snake’s eyeballs crushed between her fingers and her clothes bathed in red.

“You…”

Yes. I was the one that killed the snake.” Said the figure. “I am your Kage. I am yourself, Umeda Ayaka.

“And your session is over.” Said another voice from behind Ayaka. She looked back and saw Yuko glowing in an orange flickering aura.

A demigod of the sun.” said the shadow not in a pleased tone.

“Leave.” Commanded Yuko firmly and the shadow vanished into the air along with the darkness. The sun came back and Ayaka could see the forest ground back.

"Woah..."

“Repetition of terrifying experiences can make Kages awakened fully." Said Yuko. “ You must learn how to control your own Kage. It wouldn't be nice if it came out when you guys fighting Jurina.”

“Fighting Jurina?” asked Ayaka much more confused now. “Why are we fighting Jurina? Where are the others by the way? Who are you two?”

“Whoa! Holds up the question while I explain.” Begged Yuko.

Then the girl told Ayaka everything from Jurina’s rescue to the challenge.

“So she’s practically going to test us? If we’re worthy or not?” asked Ayaka.

“More likely so. Kaguya understood your condition, so she asked me to train you.” Said Yuko.

“Train me..?” asked Ayaka.

“She decided that you actually are capable of using the element power than the other two and your sword technique is not so bad.” explained Yuko. “But you need to get a grip on that Kage of yours if you want to win.”

"And how do I do that?"

“Kage is weak with inner lights. I have my inner lights which surrounded me before from my power as the demigod of the sun, while Jurina has hers from Kaguya-hime’s power.” Said Yuko. “If that Kage came out during the fight with Jurina; even if she doesn’t activate her inner light at all, the presence of the moon could still weakened it and leave you also physically and mentally exhausted.”

“That’s why you’re the one training me.” Finished off Ayaka. “So that you can stop it if it goes overboard.”

“Correct.” Said Yuko.

“Then I’m in.” said Ayaka firmly. “Tell me what should I do.”

“First, you must face it again. This time you must keep it in mind that, you are visiting it as the main owner of your own body. So the Kage must respect that fully and not to defy that.”

“I am in control..” said Ayaka softly. “Kage are meant to be my visitors.”

Yuko nodded, “ready?”

Ayaka nodded and felt Yuko’s finger on her head, casting the spell which made her eyes in total dark like before.

“Good luck, Umeda Ayaka.” Said Yuko. “Don’t let your own Kage fade you out..”

===================

Meanwhile in another place...


"Haru~" Sae ran across the hall as she searched for her brother, looking in each of the rooms. She was in desperate need of her brother, for something important came up, and she needed his help.

She then ran past one of the outdoor training grounds and saw him practicing his archery.

Sae watched from behind the wall as he stretched out the bow, then let go of the arrow. It flew speedily, cutting through the air, and then hitting the bullseye, passing through another arrow.

"Sugoi..."

He wiped off his sweat with a towel as some of the servants applauded him.

Sae grinned as she slowly snuck behind her older brother and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Haru~"

"Ah!" The two siblings rolled on the ground playfully. Sae pinned her brother's wrists down and smiled as she laid on top of him like a blanket, giggling at his shocked face. "Sae..."

"Gotcha!"

"What the heck are you doing?" Haru released the girl's grip from his wrists and slowly got up. "I was in the middle of something."

"I know, but there's someone here who wants to see you."

"Eh? Who?"

"A certain... Snow White."

Haru's eyes widened and a smile curved across his face.

"Yukirin?!"

The two ran down the halls, sharply turning each corner while holding their hands. Sae opened the door to the dining hall and sitting at the table was a beautiful young woman with long black hair and snow white skin.

Sitting beside her, eating some sweets happily, was a little girl who looked just as beautiful, with her hair tied in twin pigtails. She laid in the elder's lap while hugging an stuffed alpaca doll, all while the woman petted her hair softly.

"Yukirin! Mayuyu!" Sae ran to the girl and hugged her tight. "Hisashiburi~"

"Sae-chan. Hi."

"Sae~!" The younger girl, Mayuyu, hugged Sae tightly while lying her head on her chest.

"Hey, Mayuyu. You little rascal!" Sae proceeded to tickle the girl, the two wrestling together on the floor. Haru and Yuki watched as the two battled happily. "You aren't getting away from me~"

"I shall defeat you this time!"

"Come at me, Princess Knight Mayuyu~!"

"I shall have your heart, Dark Dragon Sae!!!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAWR!!!!!" The two ran off in their fantasy battle, not aware of the two watching them. All as if they lived in their own world.

"It's always nice to see Sae-chan and Mayu getting along like that."

"Yeah. I've never seen Mayuyu happier with anyone else."

Yuki sighed as she turned around and faced Haru. He sat down in front of the girl and looked deep into her alluring black eyes.

"Now, why did you come over here?"

"There's something we need to talk about. I think you know very well, right, Haru?"

Haru puts up a confused face easily, and Yuki just sighed looking at her husband hopelessly.

“Leave us alone.” said Yukirin to the maids and guards around. As soon as they bowed off and closed the door, she turned back to Haru. “You suck at lying, Haru.”

“What are you talking about, Yukirin?” asked Haru.

“It’s about Sae.” Said Yukirin. “Do you really think you can lie to a priest like me, honestly?”

Haru tensed up, “Did you have an unusual dream again, Yuki?”

“Yes. And you should see it.” She sighed before leaning in her forehead to his, it is her power as a priest that she can share her memories with anyone.

Just as Haru’s eyes blinked, he was in a different place. In front of him was a high tower surrounded with dark clouds and lightning. What lies around were bodies of many creatures and men, all dwells on the ground in pools of blood.

“Stick to me.” Said Yuki’s voice from beside him. He felt her palm on his and just in another blink, they have reached the top of the tower.

Haru can feel such a chilly air surrounds the tower and got into him, “Yukirin what is this place?”

“There.” She pointed to what’s in front of them.

There were four figures standing with weakly surrounding a simple throne which seemed to be occupied. Haru could not see the face on the throne, but he could feel certain auras flickering around it, murderous ones.

“Maou! We’re here to seal you once and for all!!” yelled one of the figure. “You’ve torn apart many kingdoms in your hands and engulf them in total despair!”

“We shall not have you going further, Maou..” said another figure. “Not even millennia, not even centuries, not even decades, not even years, not even months, not even weeks, not even days, not even hours, and not even for seconds!!”

Then a chuckle was heard, it was deep and round voice as if it was a cliff with deathly depth.

“Do you really think you can stop me, Samurai of Kaguya?” said the voice before the figure on the throne swiped it’s arm to the air. The four weak figures screamed as they were thrown back and hit the wall.

But one past where Haru and Yuki were standing and broke the tower’s window glass before plunging down the heights. Even it was a split second, Haru could hear the voice of Sae from the figure’s scream.

“NO!!!” Haru screamed as he tried to reach down but he was too late.

The figure on the throne laughed cruelly, “Kaguya was a pathetic to send four wimps against me. I am Maou and I shall hold the world in Darkness!!”

“Even when the room got darkened, there’s always a light flickering somewhere..” said a figure weakly before throwing a huge ball of fire to the throne.

The figure on the throne sprang up and simply split the fireball in half by a swipe of his hands, shocking the one threw it.

“HO-“ it’s voice was cut off in a strangled on her neck. She struggled on the figure’s grasp as she was rose to the air by the neck.

“And when you play with certain lights, especially fires, you do get troubles.” Continued the figure simply. “You are one troublesome one I must say, Samurai of Fire. Unpredictable and yet uncontrollable.”

“Let go of her!!” yelled an incoming figure sliding on a frozen surface and rose a tidal wave to the figure. The dark figure simply clicked it’s fingers and the ground bellow the wave cracked open, plunging the wave down below the tower.

“How did-“

“You are a guest here, Samurai of Water. I am in control.” Said the deep voice before it shot a dark ball into the figure. The figure screamed as the dark ball engulfed her in a dark cocoon, choking her.

“Kai…” whimpered another figured crumpled on the ground, reaching out for the one in the cocoon.  “Hinata..”

“Oh dear, Samurai of Earth is down already?” asked the deep voice before approaching it and held her up by the chin. “My, my you are quite a beauty but..”

“You are nothing more than a ragged doll.” As soon as the figure said that, thin wires wrapped around her wrists and ankles, and hoisted her up into the air, unable to touch the floor.

“Is that it Kaguya?!” yelled the dark figure. “Is that all you got to stop me?!!”

“Like hell it was.” Said a calm voice. Haru turned behind him and saw the figure thrown out earlier riding a vortex of wind.

“Samurai of wind..” chuckled the dark figure. “Intertain me please.”

The one called released a war cry before shooting a vortex straight at the figure, so strong that the figure was thrown back slightly. She jumped back inside with the a circle of wind surrounding her. Haru watched her face and wonders trucked.

Her face was exact the same as his sister, only older and tougher face line than she has one now.

“Kaguya hime-sama send us for nothing but to seal you with this!!” she ripped out a pendant from her necklace. It was glowing in green fiercely as the wind grows bigger around her.

“As the wind blows, piercing the chains of darkness..”

Suddenly the dark vortex blew up in jet of water. The figure inside is now surrounded by swirling waters around her.

“And the water drowns the insanity of darkness…”

The thin wires snapped quickly and dropped the figure hanged by it, but then she quickly stood up with pebbles surrounding her.

“The earth shall rumble itself against the imbalance of darkness..”

Then the dark figure was thrown back by a fire swirling his hand which was choking on the Samurai of Fire. As the girl dropped, the fire hoisted her back up with fires dancing on her palms.

“Until the fire lit up the way to peace from despairs of darkness..”

“NO.. THIS CANNOT BE-“

“WE, THE ELEMENTS OF FATE SHALL BIND THE EVIL OF DARKNESS TO IT’S CORE FOR ONCE AND FOR ALL. WE SWORE ON OUR LIFE!!”

Then the four of them produced massive jets of lights and released it to the dark figure, such blinding lights that Haru covered his eyes from it…

“Stop.” Said Yukirin’s voice. Haru opened his eyes and saw that they were back in the palace’s room.

Quizzically, Haru turned to Yuki who looked exhausted. He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned on his chest.

“You know it’s her, Haru..” whispered Yukirin weakly. “She have to awaken it before it’s too late..”

Haru gritted his teeth and slowly broke away from his wife.

"I can't allow that."

"Why not?"

"She's not ready. And besides, she doesn't need to live that life anymore."

Haru looked outside the open door and saw his little sister and his daughter playing together, smiles on their faces.

"She has no need to remember that life. All she ever needed was to be happy, and I won't let her know about the truth."

Yuki's eyes widened. "Don't tell me... did you..?"

"I had to!"

"Haru, you can't do that. It's a forbidden spell; dark magic."

"Even so... I won't let Sae become victim to that Maou... I'm not letting her die again!"

"Haru..."

The two suddenly heard a scream from Mayu outside. The two quickly ran out and saw Mayu collapsed on the ground, coughing. Sae was trying to help her, picking her up in her arms.

"Guys, something's wrong with Mayuyu! We saw this black butterfly, but when it touched Mayuyu, she..."

"Where did it touch her?" Yuki asked.

"Um, the nose, I think."

Sae laid Mayu down and Yuki felt of her forehead.

"She's burning up."

"Maybe that butterfly poisoned her!"

"Calm down, Sae..." Haru held his sister close as she started crying into his chest. He looked up and saw Yuki give him a serious glare. "Get her to the infirmary! Hurry!"



To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Tsuki no uragawa (Part 2)
Post by: kuro808 on June 18, 2014, 08:23:51 PM
They seem to be slowly working their way to battle but Haru is hindering the dream and poor Mayu
Title: Samurai Princesses: Fade out (Part 2)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on July 13, 2014, 12:02:05 AM


Chapter 4 - Fade Out (Part 2)


Yuka's POV



"SAYAKA-CHAAAAN!!!"

I screamed at Sayaka as I tried to step on the stones, balancing the heavy boxes being carried in both my hands. I looked down anxiously as the water roared below me.

"SAYAKA-CHAN~, WHY DO I HAVE TO DO THIS~?!"

"A warrior must exceed her limits to become stronger. Now, show me your strength!"

But... I'm scared~!

I tried my best to keep the heavy boxes up and not fall into the river, but the cold water often splashed on my sensitive feet suddenly and caused me to jump from the sensation.

"Keep your ground, Yuka!"

"I know! I know already!"

Another splash hit me and a chill ran up my spine. I gripped onto the rope tighter, gritting my teeth as I felt it scrape and burn my raw skin. I jumped lightly from each rock to next, feeling the weights swing in the air. I twirled on one rock and jumped up, landing on the soft grass and letting go of the heavy boxes, sighing loudly in relief.

I looked up and received a smile from Sayaka.

"Well done."

Yay~

"But don't think we're finished yet."

Oh crap...

=============================================================

Ayaka's POV

The darkness filled my eyes quickly just by a touch of Yuko’s finger. I was plunged in into a total darkness and felt cold air chilling me to the bones and my lungs, not knowing what could happen next.

“I see.. She’s training you, eh?” said a familiar voice.

I opened my eyes and there I was standing in front of high vertical bars. I could not see how tall it was or how long it was set across, the darkness surrounds everywhere across the horizon.

“Welcome, this is your first time to visit me.”

I turned to what’s beyond those bars and saw the same silhouette sitting lazily on a white couch as if it was her property.

“Oh don’t get it wrong. I know we’re both living in the same body, but this is my territory.” Said the silhouette

“Why are you here in the first place?” I asked. “Why do you have to haunt me all the time? Living inside me and freaking everyone out?!”

The ‘tsk’ sound was to be heard in the air, “Obviously, that is Kage’s true nature, my nature. I was born within your very own deepest mind, way before Sagi died. In fact, I was just when you were born.”

My eyes widened, “How could you?”

“You’re a different matter, darling.” Said the silhouette.  “People mostly have problems with their own Kage got theirs developed as they grow. In your case, you were already born with it. It was a curse given to your father for an unforgivable sin that he did when you were still in your mother’s womb.”

Shocked, I started shaking. I’m cursed

“What did he do..?” I asked huskily. “What did my father do ever do?! He was a kind man!!”

The silhouette raised it shoulders, “Don’t ask me. I was told to stay within you, that’s all.”

Then before I knew it, I felt an arm hooking my neck and a figure standing behind me.

“May I remind you, that there were no such thing as ‘kindness’, oh darling.” said the same voice in her ear. I can feel soft touch on my ear and felt it moving on the surface as if it was smiling. “Humans only seeks for power within themselves, for their own selfishness. It was no need for their shadows to rise up, they are already the shadows themselves..”

“Don’t say that!!” I yelled. I pushed off her arms and turned to her, “Not everyone was like that!!”

“I beg your pardon?” asked the voice icily. “You do realize that everything that you do, everything human does always invites us to laugh at you? Everything that you do, that you think were right, I would laugh at it nonchalantly. Such a naïve for humans to think that they were the strongest ones and would fight each other just to be known for that.”

“Just like your father.” said a new voice. I knew whose voice it was, I turned and saw my mother standing beyond the darkness. She looked the same as I saw when I visited her last time, thinly weak figure and paleness on her face.

“Mother..?” I asked. I turned back to my own Kage, but it wasn’t there anymore.

“Your father left her just because he thinks that he’s strong enough to unite everyone together. Such a naïve..”

“Mother, that’s not true right..?” I asked. I reached for her, but by the time my fingers touched her robe she vanished into a thick mist before it disappeared.

Confused, I looked around frantically and found Noro standing behind me.

“Master Noro..”

“You do realize that she’s the first to notice that you’re cursed for your father’s sin?” she asked nonchalantly. “She tried to lock me up all the time when you sleeps and ends up…”

Noro coughed up loudly and brought her hand to her own mouth. Worried, I approached and before I got myself close she showed up her hand covered in blood. My eyes widened in horror and looked at her face, I saw blood smeared all over her grin.

“Ends up… hurting herself all the time…” she continued. Then a cold wind gusted into my face, gagging me up badly. I opened my eyes and saw nobody.

“It was such a shock though that destiny finds you to be the next legend..” said a new voice. I turned and saw Jurina standing behind me in distance. “I would expect myself to be facing such a dangerous enemy that would make my very existence to disappear..”

“But then, I found a new ally to change it.” Said another new haunting voice. My eyes widened in horror realizing whose voice is it, I turned and saw Sayanee with a dagger pointed up to my neck.

Staring into the girl’s deep eyes, I see it all black just like the lips she curled into a victorious smile.

“You liked her better than me.” I said.

“I wouldn’t lie about that honestly.” Said Sayanee in the silhouette’s voice. “She gave me another chance to take over your mind, which comes very rarely for me.”

“I won’t let her do that again.” I said. “I won’t let you taking over me again!!”

Sayanee laughed, her laugh was a cross between metal’s screeching sound and surging winds. “Don’t make me laugh, you are too weak to do-“

I cut her words and gave a slap across her cheek. I never thought that I would slap a figure that looked like the first demon ever to torture me. It’s skin was cold and hard as concrete, I cursed lowly upon the pain made by the impact.

Noticing my pain, ‘Sayanee’ only smiled evilly as she caressed her red cheek. “See you only ends up hur-“

“Shut up!!” I yelled cutting her words again. This time I balled my fist and punched her straight in the nose, knocking her out to the ground.

“What the fu-“ before she continued further, I climbed on top of her and punched her cheek with all my might and repeated it again and again. Everything she said earlier made my heart ached in such a hatred. How she transformed into my mother, Noro, Jurina, and Sayanee and say all those things..

“Don’t ever mock my father again, you wretch!!” I yelled and kept punching ‘Sayanee’ ‘s face. I ignored the horrible pain it made to my fist and kept punching. “He’s the best man I can ever have in my life, and you have no rights to do so!!”

I kept punching and punching, watching how ‘Sayanee’ ‘s face started to wreck up in my hands. I kept going with no control until my hands started to ached badly that it’s hard to move them anymore.

“Well, keep going..” grinned Sayanee evilly when I stopped my bloody hands. Her face was so beaten up badly that it was ten times much more horrible than the last time she showed the same grin. “Kill me. Let all your hatred swallowed you and fade you away into total darkness towards me, princess.”

I raised my fist again, this time I curled it up harder that I felt nails digging into my palm. Putting all my emotions, all my despairs and hatred into one ball of fist.

“Don’t let your own Kage fade you out.”

I froze, it was Yuko’s voice this time. Noticing the same, ‘Sayanee’ was not pleased that she made another ‘tsk’ sound.

I lowered my fist and get off her. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” asked ‘Sayanee’ with a sheepish grin. “You can kill me and end all of these miserable burdens.”

“Like what you said, you’re a part of me. In fact, you are me. If I kill you, something would happen to me too right?” I asked. I offered her a hand, “You need me to survive while I also be needing you.”

‘Sayanee’ looked at my hand confusedly. “Why would you offer your hand to me? Are you stupid?”

“Maybe I am. But I’m smart enough to know you’re kind enough to help me out one day.” I answered. “Do we understand each other?”

‘Sayanee’ hesitated. “What do you expect from me?”

“I know you always want to take over, I’ll let you to do so. But, help me out on trying to fulfill my destiny. Help me out by being on my side all the time.” I said.

‘Sayanee’ looked at me in disbelieve before she giggled strangely.

“Why are you lau-“ before I could finish the question I felt her hand rested on my shoulder and standing next to me. “How did you get there?!”

‘Sayanee’ rolled her eyes, “Obviously because-“ her face shifted again then I saw a girl with wavy long hair in the same height of myself, it was a reflection of myself.

“I am you. And I’m always here.” She pointed her finger to my chest and smiled. “You got yourself a deal, Umeda Ayaka. I’ll help you out, in return you would let me take over when I wanted to.”

“Deal.” I smiled. Her smile wasn’t that bad, it was warm like how I would when I faced the mirror.

“Ah, one more thing..” she said. “Be careful of that daughter of Ameratsu.”

I looked at her confusedly, “Why?”

“You’ll see..” she said. “I’ll show you. But for now, I’ll contact you when it’s needed.”

 Then she snapped her finger, and darkness filled back my eyes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next thing I knew, I was breathing a scent of apples. I opened my eyes hazily and saw Yuko sitting beside me as she munched an apple.

“Welcome back.” She smiled. “I was about to jump in before you could finally stop yourself.”

“I guess so..” I said slowly. “We got ourselves a deal now.”

“That’s great then.” Nodded Yuko before throwing away the apple core. “I didn’t expect that Kage would agree on the first visit, but you seemed to be fine.”

I nodded, “I think I’ll start training with the others then..” I said.

“Sayaka and Yuka is already at the riverbank.” Pointed Yuko. “I heard Yuka’s been screaming her lungs out, so be prepared for whatever Sayaka’s  gonna throw at you.”

“I’ll take my leave now and report to Jurina. I’ll see you later.” Said Yuko before she stood and leave.

“Be careful of that daughter of Ameratsu.”

“Eh..?” I blurted out, making Yuko turned around.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’ll show you.”

Then I saw a shadow hovering behind her, the same height and the same hair flows, but it was as dark as a silhouette. I could feel a stronger and darker aura hovering it.

“Nothing..” I lied realizing what my Kage showed me.

It showed Yuko’s Kage to me, a lot stronger than mine.

==============================================================

Yuka's POV

Sayaka raised her sword and pointed it towards me.

"Are you ready?"

I gulped, still a bit shaky as I tightened the grip on my katana slightly.

"..H-hai."

"Alright then..." The two of us stand in our ready positions. A moment of silence passes, and then, "Maeru!"

We charge at each other, our swords clashing. I could see the sparks flying every time my blade hit hers. Each time I strike, I felt something so good. It made me feel like I was strong and powerful. I couldn't help but smile like crazy on the inside.

I saw Sayaka grin and she used her powers to make some of the river water splash me in the face.

"Hey, no fair! You're gonna get it now!"

I lit up a ball of fire in my hand and threw it towards her, but she quickly dodged it on time.

"So that's how you wanna do it, huh?" Lighting up my hand once more, I touched my metal blade and set it ablaze with my bright red fire. She did the same and froze her sword into ice. "Come at me!"

Our swords clashed again and again, sparks and flames of red and blue flying. And it made me feel so alive inside. I saw the fire in Sayaka's eyes, too, and I could feel this intense heat burning through me that only made me grow stronger. With one slash, I was finally able to shatter the ice surrounding her sword and knocked it out of her hands. I pinned her to the ground with my sword at her neck and smiled.

She grinned at me and said, "Nice work."

I grabbed her hand and helped her stand back up.

"But you still got some work to do." she chuckled as I cracked my knuckles. "Next is hand-to-hand combat. You ready?"

"Of course!"

Hey, I don't feel scared anymore. Right now, I feel like I can do anything!

=============================================================

Meanwhile in another place...

Sae's POV

"Mayuyu..." I stared at Mayu as she slept in the infirmary bed, her face paler than normal and her head burning from the fever. I heard her shallow breaths as her body shivered and cold sweat ran down her forehead.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I looked behind and saw Haru's worried expression.

"You should leave," he said with a sad smile. "Me and Yukirin will take care of Mayu."

"Oh... okay." I left the infirmary and went silently to my room, falling onto my bed. "Please be okay, Mayuyu..."

I hugged my pillow and sank into it, trying to fight my tears of frustration and worry. All I could do was think about Mayu and what I could do to save her. I don't know what I can do to help her, or if I can do anything at all. All I can do is pray right now.

I closed my eyes slowly and felt myself slowly drift into sleep.

"You want to help her, right?"

...Eh? That dream again...

"You want to save her. Don't you?"

Yes, but... I can't do anything. I don't know what else I can do. Besides, Haru and Yukirin are...

"Do you really think that butterfly was harmless?"

Huh?

"That black butterfly's poison is very strong, anyone can succumb to it. Even though Mayu's a small child, there's only hope for a miracle if she'll survive."

I trust Haru... He'll save her. She'll be okay...

"No. The butterfly has not evolved into its true form yet. It's going to transform into a more terrifying and deadly form."

No… no way... Haru... If I don't do something, he'll...

"Yes. He'll be killed."

But, what could I possibly do? I don't have that sort of power...

"Yes, you do."

I... I do?

"More than you could imagine. You're stronger than you believe you truly are."

What..? What should I do?

"I'll show you. I will lend you my strength once again."

Again...?


I slowly opened my eyes again and saw a strange light floating outside my room. It was a calm, green light that looked like a star burning in the sky. Somehow, I felt attracted to it... like it was calling to me.

My head was spinning and eventually, I fell asleep again. Although, this time, I didn't feel like I was asleep. It was like, I was awake, but not at all, really, as if I was drifting into a deep dream. A peaceful silence washed over as everything else inside me shut down.

===============================================================================

Meanwhile...

Third Person POV

Yuki, dressed in her kimono outfit and a red ribbon with beautiful golden bells tied in her hair, waved her tamagushi stick over Mayu and softly chanted ancient prayers to purify the sleeping child of the butterfly's poison.

Haru watched silently, remembering Sae's sad eyes as she left. He knew very well she was worried about Mayu, but right now, he didn't want his sister to get involved with something this serious.

He bit his lip slightly, holding his head.

"I can't let her... I won't allow it."

As Yuki finished her prayer and put away her tamagushi stick, she walked towards Haru and dragged him to the end of the hall.

"Haru..."

No answer came.

"Talk to me. Why did you do that Sae? How could you have gone so far as to.."

"I don't want to talk about this right now." Haru tried to walk off, but then Yuki grabbed his wrist.

"I do." He looked and saw a serious fire burning in her eyes. "I'm worried about you, Haru. You don't normally act like this, ever. I need to know what's going on."

"It's fine... Everything's fine." Haru made her let go and took his katana to his side.

"Haru... why did you use Black magic...? Of all things… that. Why THAT?"

Haru didn't answer her question and opened the door to the garden.

"I'm going on patrol."

"But--"

"Alone!"

“..!”

“Just… let me be alone, Yukirin.” He stepped out into the garden without saying another word, leaving Yuki more worried than ever. Then, one of the servants walked up to her.

"Kashiwagi-san, where is Haru-dono?"

"He just went to patrol in the gardens."

"When he gets back, please tell him we need his help. Sae-ojou-sama has gone missing!"

"Eh?!"

=========================================================================

Back at Yuko and Jurina's location...

Yuko and Jurina were both training in the forest that night, preparing their bodies for the battle tomorrow. Yuko swung her sword and clashed it against Jurina's, both blades gleaming in the moon's light.

Yuko's ear twitched and she froze a bit as she heard a rustling in the bushes somewhere. They immediately stopped and looked around, trying to find the source. A gust of wind blew and then, Yuko saw a shadowy figure staring at them, hiding in the dark trees.

"Who's there?!" She pointed her sword and ran towards he figure. But then it faded away and Yuko saw the shadow jump up into the trees and start to escape. "Come back here!"

The two ran towards the figure, following its trail. They ended up in another empty part of the forest and couldn't see the shadow anymore.

Yuko looked around, furious.

"Where are you?! Come out!"

Jurina looked up and sighed. Seeing that the mysterious figure was gone, she tapped Yuko's shoulder and got her attention.

"We should head back. We don't want to get lost and make the others worry when they wake up tomorrow."

Yuko groaned and sheathed her sword. "Alright..."

As they started to leave, another gust of wind blew and sent a chill through Yuko's spine. The moon shone down on them once more and a strong feeling shook Yuko's core. Jurina froze in her tracks and her eyes gently closed, her head dropping to have her chin rest on the base of her chest.

Yuko looked up at the moon. The strong feeling had suddenly left, but she still remembered the strange presence she had just felt.

"Jurina, did you feel that?"

"I felt it. A strong presence..." She looked back and saw Jurina turn to look at her with a familiar pair of glowing silver eyes.

"It was just for a second... but I felt it. It's gone now."

"Whoever was watching us, they left. Quite in a hurry, too."

"Do you think it was one of the Maou's servants, my Lady?"

"No. Their aura was different, it wasn't evil. It was most likely someone else, but who, I'm not quite sure right now."

She turned and head back to the their previous location, Yuko following behind. Kaguya put out the fire and let the moon become their light. Seeing Kaguya's eyes, Yuko suddenly realized the meaning of her expression.

"You don't think..."

"We'll find them later. Surely, they wanted something. They'll probably come back."

Yuko nodded her head, gulping.

Kaguya took out her sword once more. "For now, let's continue training."

"H-hai, Kaguya-sama."


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Fade out (Part 2)
Post by: cisda83 on July 13, 2014, 08:20:14 AM
interesting development in the story

Sae is being left in the dark about her past and power

Would Sae be able to get her brother agreement to be samurai princess?

Would they be able to get together and defeat the maou?

What's going to happen to Mayu?

What kind of effect did the dark spell that Haru did do to the world?

Can't wait to find out

Thank you for the updates

 :twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs
Title: Samurai Princesses: Fade out (Part 3)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on July 14, 2014, 02:04:29 AM


Chapter 5 - Fade out (Part 3)



Akimoto Sayaka’s POV


A slight noise woke me up on early dawn on the next day. I opened my eyes briefly while still lying on my back, facing the slight dark sky upwards. I decided to sat up on my sheets spread on the ground and found two piles of the similar sheets empty with another pile of clothing.

They actually have already woke up..? I thought. I looked around to see any of the two, but there was no one else. I strapped my sword to my waist and stood up before walking to the river bank for a quick splash of water.

Just before casting aside a bush in front of me, I heard quick fast steps on the pebble ground. I stopped and knelt behind the bushes. Between the leaves, I saw two shadowy figures moving as if they were fighting.

One of the figure punched towards the other, but it wasn’t just a regular punches. I saw fire breaking on the fist followed by a fiery spinning kick. The other figure dodged by falling back and brought two of it’s legs up and clamped the punching arm together before punching up a block of the earth towards the captured figure’s stomach. But then, a burst of fire broke out the figure’s feet and hoisted the body up and somersaulted above the other figure, avoiding the block of earth.

With a loud thud, the figure landed on it’s knee and growled in pain, “I need to work on how I land, I suppose.”

“You’ll be fine Yuka.” said the other figure slumping on the pebbles. “You’ll get use to it.”

“How can you be so agile there, Ayaka.? I mean, you’re a princess aren’t you? You’re meant to stay low and pretty much not to ‘act’ around like that.”

“One of the lesson that my master taught me is gymnastic. It’s like dancing but you let your body flows in what you need to do.” Answered the figure on the ground sounded a bit tired by it’s breathing. “You’re doing good too with the basics there, Yuka.”

“But she definitely need to learn how to control her fire.” I chimed in an approached the two of them.

“Sayaka-chan!”

“I told you to stop calling me Sayaka-chan.” I scowled at the two girls. Despite in darkness, I could see the two of them smiling sheepishly, “But you guys really improved well.. Especially you, Yuka.”

“Then are we ready to face her?” asked Ayaka. I looked at Yuka and we both nodded at the same time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a quick splash in the river, we headed back to Jurina and Yuko’s campsite. The three of us left our colorful kimono robes folded neatly in our bags and was left with simple tank tops and cotton pants.

Jurina was waiting for us, she was sitting on top of a branch a few feet in the air smiling down as we headed closer. Yuko was standing under the tree, and gazed upon us as we approached closer.

“So I guess you guys are ready, right?” asked Jurina as she jumped down from the branch. Despite the tall height she landed smoothly on the ground with a soft thud.

Well she’s part of Moon Goddess no matter what… I thought.

“Well then, I’ll tell you the rules again then.” began Yuko. “You guys are allowed to use anything including hand combat, swords, and elements of your own. As for Jurina, she’s only allowed to use her hand, feet, and speed.”

“Are we clear about this?” asked Yuko to the four of us.

“How will the fight end?” asked Yuka.

“It will only end when I say so.” Said Jurina as she handed her sword to Yuko for safekeeping before then tossing her clothes aside, leaving her with a set of white cotton jumpsuit like ninja would use.

“I guess you’re only going to stop if we pushed you or you pushed us to the limit…” I said before tossing aside my kimono and leaving me with only cotton tank top, pants and the sword on my waist.

“Let’s do this then.” Said Jurina before suddenly disappeared into the thin air.

“Where did she go?!” asked Yuka looking around vigorously. But then she was taken back by Jurina’s appearance right in front of her and landed her fist on the girl’s stomach. “GAAHH!!”

“Yuka!!” yelled Ayaka as Yuka got thrown back from the punch to a nearby tree. She flicked a rock towards Jurina but then the girl dodged easily to the side and run towards Ayaka in such an intense speed.

“Show what you got, Princess of Edo.” Smiled Jurina. The young girl aimed a kick towards Ayaka’s head, but the shorter girl ducked just in time and I parried the kick just in time with my incoming leg.

“I see you got some teamwork going already.” nodded Jurina. “I wonder if…” she looked back at where Yuka was before.

“Don’t leave me out!!” yelled Yuka before running towards Jurina and jumped high before slaming her foot to the girl’s head. Jurina dodged to the side just in time and so does Ayaka and I, it was such a close one since I felt a bit of heat from the slammed feet.

“I see.. You’ve been combining your element with body combats.” grinned Jurina. “I am surprised that you’ve improved from the last time.”

“She’s not the only one though.” I said before I pulled out some water from my water skin and created a thin water line in the air, I willed the line to whip around towards Jurina. The young girl rolled up to the side to avoid it, but then she stumbled upon trying to get back up.

“Gotcha.” I grinned when I tugged the water line that’s tying around her left ankle. I admit, it was hard at first to control water and bending it. My stiff muscle was having a great time just to adjust to the smooth movement of the technique, luckily Ayaka was capable in teaching me a bit of that.

On the other end of the line, Jurina was tugging on it too. I could see her being distressed of the water line around her ankle. However, I pulled it along with Jurina to the side and slammed her to one of the trees.

“That’s rough, Sayaka.” commented Yuka, I shot her a look and let go off Jurina.

Yuka smiled sheepishly before running towards Jurina, she did another foot slam to where Jurina was recovering from the impact. But once again, Jurina dodged it to the side just in time and before Yuka knew it, the girl was already standing behind her.

“How di-“ her words were cut off by Jurina’s punches which landed on both of her shoulders. It was like how normal person would punch, but somehow Yuka was screaming as soon as she’s knocked to the ground.

“Yuka!!” yelled Ayaka. She stomped the ground and kicked the risen rock towards Jurina once again, but the girl was so agilled that she managed to dodged it like a pro.

“I-I.. c-can-‘t.. mov-ve my han-ds!!” trembled Yuka. Both of her hands were lying limply against the ground on her sides as her feet were struggling to get her up.

I looked at Jurina in disbelieve and the girl just showed her trademark cat smile formed from her lips. I’ve seen that technique before once a long time ago… Could it be that Jurina actually using..

“Ayaka be careful of her punches!!” I yelled. I knew Jurina’s techniques aren’t using magic this time, no… This one doesn’t need any magic at all…

“What do yo-“ this time Jurina lunges at Ayaka and karate chopped her left forearm. Ayaka yelped in pain and punched a spike towards Jurina with her right hand. Jurina jumped in time and kicked the spike’s end off as well as kicking Ayaka in the cheek.

“Ayaka!!” I yelled as I watched the small girl hit a tree with a loud thud. I ran towards her and saw her cheek was in deep red shade of color and her pain expression.

“That really hurts..” she whined. I saw her left hand hanging aimlessly on her side and her right hand caressing her swollen cheek. “I can’t move my left arm but my right one is fine..”

“I knew it..” I mumbed. I turned to Jurina who was standing  far in the distance, “You’re using Chi Blocking techniques aren’t you?”

“As expected of a high military ranked officer.” smiled Jurina excitedly. “Yes, I did use that technique just to get those elements out of the way for a moment.”

“What’s Chi Blocking?!” yelled Yuka still trying to get on her feet without her hands.

“It literally shuts off you energy flows to the part of the body which was hit.” I explained. “Including energy just to move your body normally. Don’t worry, it’ll be back in time.”

“And mean while it does..” said Jurina cracking her fist. “You’re mine, Akimoto.”

I kicked just in time to parry Jurina’s kick heading towards my head in a flash. Her speed was indeed incredible for someone that doesn’t use her full potential power, we were indeed lucky to go against her in daytime..

Despite in great pain, Ayaka still joins the fight. Jurina’s feet stumbled upon getting back to the ground after the kick thanks to Ayaka’s anticipation to grab a hold of her ankle with a hole she made in the earth. She dragged the hole away once the girl’s feet landed on the hole, making Jurina fell on her chin.

“Itte!!” yelled Jurina feeling the whole earth impact on her chin.

I pulled the waterline again and wrapped it around her ankle once more. But before I could tug on it, Jurina karate chopped my ankle just in time. I groaned in pain and stumbled back, releasing the water line and her ankle.

Jurina stood back up in victory, her smile was already triumpful. She knew that she’s going to win this fight.

“I SAID DON’T LEFT ME OUT!!” yelled Yuka running towards Jurina’s back. He hands was still hanging aimlessly  but her feet was running in such an intense speed before it jumped and somersaulted in the air. “TAKE THIS!!” she yelled as she tried to do another foot slam, only this time her foot was surround in blue flame.

It was too late for me to dodge that and I knew I could get hit by the fire because my ankle refused to move after Jurina’s karate chop. I did not dare to look and shut my eyes instead.

I didn’t hear anything else like Jurina’s screaming or maybe the sound of any blazing fire, as if nothing eventually happened.

I opened my eyes and saw another person has joined in. Only this time, Yuko was standing between Jurina and Yuka as she grab a hold of Yuka’s flaming foot just with her hand. But it wasn’t just a bare hand, I could see an orange aura coating it against the blue flame and eventually swallowed the blue flame and disappeared.

“That is a dangerous flame you got there, Yuka.” said Yuko before turning back to Jurina. “You’re okay, Jurina?” she asked worriedly.

Jurina was frozen in awe, but the she shook her head and nodded slowly. I didn’t see her face but I’m sure she has something to do with the blue flame.

“We’re done.” announced Jurina before turning towards me. “You proved me well, the three of you..”

“Yokatta!!” jumped Yuka happily.

Ayaka sighed in relieve, but I was staring at Jurina questionably. “Wait, but you haven’t pushed us to the limit yet!”

“But you already did that to me I have to say.” sighed Jurina. Now I can see the weariness of the young girl. “I don’t have much power in day light, Kaguya lends me hers at night. That’s why I can’t use magic in daylight at all and uses hand combats and speed I gained from trainings.”

“ I’m going to the river bank to get some water..” said Jurina wearily. “No need to follow me, Yuko. I’m fine.” She added just when Yuko’s about to go with her.

Jurina passed Yuka and stopped to stare at her. She put a hand on the older girl’s shoulder and gave a little squeeze, “You did great.” She said shortly before leaving to the river bank.

I stared at the distance in wonder as Jurina’s back disappeared into the bushes. Yuko started treating Ayaka’s swollen cheek by dabbing some cream on it and massaged my ankle lightly.

“Okay, hang on a bit this is gonna hurt.” She warned before she hit a point on my ankle lightly. I yelped loudly in reflex before shutting my mouth in embarrassment.

Yuka laughed as she pointed to my face, enough to make me scowled and flicked some water to her face. Then it was my turn to laugh at Yuka when she had hers on both of her shoulder.

“Yuko..?” asked Ayaka as the girl sips in some water. “Why did you jumped in by the time Yuka’s about to land her foot?”

“Yeah why did you?” pouted Yuka. “It could have been awesome if I could hit Jurina for getting my arms blocked.”

“To answer that question, I have to stop that flame.” Said Yuko as she nibbled on an orange she got from her pocket. “That fire wasn’t a normal one. It’s called Blue Flame and it is one level above normal ones.”

“Cool!!” said Yuka happily. “That means that I have improved right?”

Yuko shook her head, “To be ‘improved’ means that you can control your power, Yuka. Blue Flames are meant to come out after the wielder can master the normal ones fully and how you control your ones wasn’t enough. If Blue Flames came out at that time, it means that you still have no control of it yet and it can hurt others badly.”

“That was lucky for you to jump in then..” nodded Ayaka. “But why is Jurina frozen at that time, she could have just move.”

Yuko pursed her lips, I could tell Ayaka hit a spot there. A secret maybe that only Yuko and Jurina knows..

“Maybe she’s already tired out.” Said Yuko. “She’s basically normal human in day time without Kaguya’s power at night.”

“I suppose you’re right..” nodded Yuka. “Ah speaking of which, Sayaka-chan that was awesome water bending!!” she praised.

“Thanks.” I said with a thin smile. I turned and watch Yuko stares to the horizon where Jurina disappeared among the bushes, I knew she’s keeping something away.. Something between her and Jurina.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Meanwhile in another place...

Third Person POV

Everyone in the palace checked every inch of the grounds, trying to look for Sae. The guards were sent out to the farther ends of the forest to search while the other servants looked over the palace gardens. Yuki walked into one of the gardens, carrying an azusayumi bow. She kept it close to her chest, along with a necklace dangling around her neck. It was a handmade necklace made by Haru years ago, before they married, with a wooden cross tied together by a small rope.

In the distance, she saw a figure standing in the garden, looking around. Nervous, she knelt down and head in the bushes so she could get a closer look. She soon realized it was Haru, still patrolling the garden.

"Everything's fine..."

Yuki knew what he said wasn't true. Haru was hiding something, and she intended to find out what it was and why he's keeping it such a secret. She continued to follow Haru as he walked into a different part of the garden.

Haru held his sword firmly in his hand, looking around for any intruders. Something caught his eyes and he saw a black butterfly fluttering on the ground. Its movements were weak and it seemed to be twitching as it tried to rise back into the air. It eventually stopped and both wings fell to its side. Seeing as it was dead, he turned its back to it and started walking.

However, he was interrupted by a strange cracking noise. It sounded like something being ripped and torn apart, along with what seemed like squishing and gushing. When he listened closer, it sounded more and more like... a caterpillar emerging from its pupa! When he looked back, he saw the back of the butterfly seemed to have something crawling inside it. The skin and flesh was slowly ripped apart and something emerged from the bloody meat. It was a moth, bigger in size than before, and very demonic and evil. It had glowing red eyes and bloody fangs, letting out a loud screech at Haru.

He quickly raised his sword and started attacking the giant moth monster. However, it seemed strong and was attacking back, swinging and clawing at Haru. He got a scratch on his arm and was knocked down, losing his sword. Yuki was about to get up, but then the monster screeched again and flew towards him for a final attack. They quickly closed their eyes, waiting for the worst.

Haru didn't feel anything come. Yuki didn't hear screams in agony.

"What's going on?"

They opened their eyes and saw a masked figure standing in front of the moth, blocking its long arms with her katana blade. The figure was wearing a green kimono with a dragon and pink water lily flowers on it, one of the shoulders exposed and her chest wrapped in gauze. The samurai figure turned to look at Haru. Although a mask covered her face, he could see the light in her eyes and a small tinge of sadness tugged his heart.

"Kuu..."

The samurai swung her sword and started slicing the moth's abdomen. Her blade slashed the monster and caused it to roar in pain, black blood staining the silver katana. With one final thrust, she stabbed the sword into the moth's chest, killing it. It slowly turned into black dust and blew away in the wind, still leaving behind the black blood stains.

After it was all over, the girl knelt towards Haru and wrapped his injured arm in gauze.

"Th-thank you."

She smiled before standing up and handing something to Haru. It was a crystal vial with clear, sparkling water, dangling by a black thread tied around it.

"What is this?"

"Water from the ancient Moon springs."

"Of Kaguya's palace?"

She nodded and took Haru's hand, placing the vial in his palm.

"It has extraordinary healing powers. Let your daughter drink it to cleanse the poison. There's still time."

"Thank you."

The samurai unsheathed her sword and walked away. Haru was about to say something, but when he looked, she had already disappeared.

Yuki left silently, not noticed by the dazed Haru.

"I knew it. Sae really is one of the Samurai Princesses."

Haru hurried down the hall to the infirmary and saw Mayu, still unconscious, and very carefully poured the crystal spring water into her mouth. He heard a weak gulp and slowly saw the color return to Mayu's small pink lips and rosy cheeks.

"Yokatta..."

He took the empty vial into his room, when suddenly one of the servants burst in.

"Haru-dono! Please, come help! Sae-sama has gone missing!"

Haru looked with a confused face and smiled, patting the girl's head.

"Now, you must be getting under the weather. Sae-chan is fine. She's sleeping in her room."

"No! Please, look!" She grabbed Haru's wrists and dragged him into Sae's room, opening the door. "See! She's..."

When they looked, they both saw Sae asleep on her bed, peacefully dreaming as she hugged her pillow. She sighed as her mouth curved in a smile.

"Haru~, your cakes are the best..."

The flustered servant didn't know what to say or do, but watched as the girl slept before she felt Haru's hand at her shoulder.

"I told you. Sae-chan's perfectly alright."

"B-but... I..."

"You've had a long day. You should probably take an early rest."

The girl just nodded and held her head as she dismissed herself to her room. Haru looked back and pulled a blanket over Sae, kissing her forehead.

"Haru..."

He smiled sadly and moved closer to her ear. He whispered something softly that only Sae could hear it.

"Nothing is wrong. Mayu's okay. Everything's fine. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Nothing bad is going to happen..."

He heard someone's footsteps and broke away from his sister, stepping out of the room. He saw Yuki standing outside, looking at him with serious eyes.

"Haru." She closed the door of Sae's bedroom and pulled him close. "It's time."

Haru's eyes narrowed as he broke away from his wife.

"No. I won't let Sae become involved with this."

"She's a Samurai Princess. It's her destiny, and she can't escape it."

"No!"

"You can't make her run away from this fate. One day, she will have to awaken. She is going to realize her true identity and YOU are going to be the one who'll let her go. She's not a little girl anymore."

"But she's still my sister..."

Silence ran through the hall, no one seemed to notice their argument, as if it were all part of another world only they existed in.

"Remember this, Haru. If you do not allow Sae to awaken, a dark evil will fall upon not only your family, but the whole world."

Yuki walked away, leaving Haru silent.

Then, he approached her from behind and placed two fingers at the back of her neck. Everything suddenly froze around them. Yuki had stopped walking as something strange entered her mind and started taking over. She could hear Haru speaking, but it all processed as nonsense. Her entire body went weak and she felt her consciousness fading. She heard Haru's distant voice still speaking, softly and lowly. Almost hypnotically.

"There is nothing wrong. Sae is not a Samurai Princess. Everything is okay. The Maou is not coming."

He repeated those words until Yuki's mind finally gave way and she collapsed to the ground. Haru lowered his arm as he stared at the black symbol on his hand slowly fade.

He remembered the first time he used this spell. Sae was slowly starting to awaken, and desperate to keep his younger sister safe, he used it to alter and erase her memory.

Haru couldn't accept fate. He wouldn't let Sae go so easily, and he intends to keep everything just as it was; the way he wanted it.

"I'm not letting her go a second time." He clenched his fist tightly, remembering her face. "Kuu... I'll never let Sae become the Wind Samurai Princess..."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Back in Sayaka and the other's location....

Sayaka's POV

I woke up that next morning, flinching as I felt my foot twitch. I saw the bandages wrapping around it and remembered what had happened the other day. Ayaka was still sleeping. She looked more peaceful than before. Yuka and Yuko were both up, cooking breakfast together while Jurina was watching them excitedly.

"Ohayou~, Sayaka-chan!"

"O-ohayou..."

"Does your ankle feel any better?"

I held my foot a bit, feeling it still throbbing. "It's still a bit sore, but not as bad as before."

"I know." Jurina got up and walked over to her blanket, looking through her bag. "I have something that will help heal your ankle."

As she was looking through her bag, I heard Ayaka yawn and saw her rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Good morning everyone..."

"How you feeling, Ayaka?"

"Better. My arm's finally awake," she said giggling.

I looked up at the sky. The sun shining brightly, not a cloud to be seen... I think this is going to be a good day.

"...Are?"

We all looked and saw Jurina worriedly looking through her bag. Yuko came over and started looking with her, but the worried look on their faces grew.

"What's wrong, Jurina-chan?" Yuka said.

"My water..."

"Water?"

"I had a vial of ancient healing water from the Moon springs of Kaguya's palace... but now it's gone!"



To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Fade out (Part 3)
Post by: cisda83 on July 14, 2014, 07:33:55 AM
Eh... Kuu went and stole Jurina's vail

Ah... so it had been sometimes that Sae was supposed to be awaken

But Haru kept erasing her memory...

What's happening in the past?

Did the samurai princesses need to over their lives to use their power to seal the maou?

What's going on with Yuki...?

Why did Yuki lose her conscious?

What will happen next?

Can't wait

Thank you for the update

 :twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs

Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Fade out (Part 3)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on July 27, 2014, 12:43:00 AM
Chapter 6 - Information (Part 1)


Third Person POV

A horse walked steadily on a small path through the forest with a lone passenger on it’s back. She’s been traveling a few miles with her horse passing through many towns and villages. Her hood managed to give some protections from the blazing sun and rains. Her beautiful white dress flowed in the summer breeze and revealed a bit of her legs as the horse moved. The horse stopped upon a luxurious wooden gate standing on it’s way, the woman smiled. She has arrived at her destination.

Knocking on the wood, she waited a few seconds before someone finally opened the door and smiled.

"Ah, Kojiharu. Hisahiburi."

The woman smiled and lowered her hood, revealing her beautiful face to the man.

"Hey, Haru-kun. It’s been a long time since we met~ May I come in?" she asked politely.

"Of course." Smiled the man before he opened the gate wider for her to come in.

Haruna walked into the palace’s garden and took off her robe, handing it to one of the servants before following Haru inside the palace. As they walked in, Haruna looked around with a bit of frown on her face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Haru looking at his acquaintance’s expression.

“Ah, it’s nothing~” answered Haruna with a smile. “This palace has change somehow since I came here last time.”

“We did have a few renovations.” Grinned Haru before leading her again.

Haruna sighed in relieve that Haru took her fake answer. She lessened her head movements even though she felt cautious about something in this place. She can feel something strong, like a presence of something being kept down..
 
She felt a tug at her dress and looked down to see a small black haired girl walking beside her, her small hands clutching her dress.

"Well, hello. You must be Mayu-chan." Greet Haruna to the small girl. “My, my.. You really do looks like your mother..”

"Un! Nice to meet you, onee-chan." bowed the one called Mayu.

"I've heard a lot about you. Like, you love to play pretend don’t you?” asked Haruna.

"Yeah! Let's play, let's play! You're the princess!" urged Mayu happily. Her eyes sparkled brightly, making Haruna unconsciously smiled wider.

"OK~. And what are you?"

"I'm the knight who saves you from the evil dragon!"

Haru giggled, seeing the two playing together so well. He decided to join in and picked up Mayu, spinning her around.

"I'm the evil wizard!"

"Kyaa! Help me~"

The three ran down the hall into a large room with toys and pillows set all over the floor. Mayu told them to step on the pillows because the floor was lava, and they needed to get across to find the dragon. They happily played, until Haruna almost tripped and fell on Haru and Mayu. They all laugh and giggled, throwing pillows at each other.

"Pillow fight!" yelled Mayu happily to the two adults.
 
Haruna and Haru smiled to each other before started throwing pillows at each other’s face. Eventually, it became an all-out battle between the three, pillows flying all over the place. Their laughs echoed throughout the whole house, even the servants could hear their happy roars and fun cheers.

They all fell to the ground, out of breath and still giggling. When they had finally calmed down and sat back up, they saw the door was open and two people were watching them.

"Well, isn't this a sight." said a familiar voice. Haruna turned and saw her old friend standing at the door with another girl with short hair.

“Yukirin!” smiled Haruna.

"Mayuyu, are you playing without me?"pouted the other girl to the child.

"Sae!" Mayu ran and hugged Sae tightly, more full of energy than ever. "I got you~"

"Uh-oh. You're going to get attacked. By the tickle monster!" yelled Sae before attacking Mayu’s stomach with her fingers.

"KYAAA!!!"

Haruna watched the two play as Yuki walked over and helped her up.

"It's nice seeing you're already getting along with Mayu." said Yuki.

"Hisashiburi, Yukirin." Said Haruna before embracing her old friend.

Haru got up and stretched, going over to the other two young girls.

"Look out! Here comes the evil wizard!" yelped Mau as she pointed at her father.

"ROAR!"

“Well, shall we let them play together? We can have some tea in the garden if you’d like.” Asked Yuki.

“Sure~” answed Haruna cheerfully before following Yuki to the garden and sat on the chairs provided. Haruna accepted the tea cup from one of the servants and then asked, "So, tell me, Yukirin. That girl who was playing with Haru-kun and Mayu-chan. Was that Sae?"

"Yup, Haru's younger twin sister." Answered Yuki before sipping her own tea.

"She seems like a nice person. She really knows how to take care of Mayu-chan." Said Haruna.

"Every time we come over here, whenever she's not with Haru or being tended by me or the servants, she's off playing with Mayu. She's great with kids."

"Yeah. I'm sure she'll make a great mom in the future." Haruna heard that she was getting married from Haru. She could just imagine Sae and her future husband together, in love, and playing with their child.

But then she saw Yuki's confused look.

"What's wrong?" asked Haruna with a concerned tone.

"Haru never told me about this. When did they decide she was getting married?" asked Yuki confusedly.

Haruna frowned at her friend, "Not too long ago, remember? Well, the marriage was postponed because they were attacked a few days before they could meet, but..."

She then felt a chill up her spine. She still felt a strong, familiar presence around her. She knew now, there was only one thing it could be…

"Yuki, you're a priestess. Have you been... seeing things? Like strange dreams?"

"No." shook Yuki.

"Hm... has Haru told you anything? Have he or Sae been acting differently?"

"Not really. They're acting the same as always if you ask me." answered Yuki. "Why? What's wrong?"

Yuki touched Haruna’s hand, suddenly she felt a sudden shock go through her. A dark energy started to appear in her eyes, surrounding Yuki. Now, she knew something was wrong. Something was affecting Yuki, and she needed to stop it.

"Yuki... Do you know the legend of the four Samurai Princesses? The four chosen warriors of Princess Kaguya who defeated the Maou hundreds of years ago."

"Yes, I've heard of it."

"You do know that Maou rising again, you saw it right? It's happening! We need to find the others and stopit taking over the world."

"Eh? Haruna, what are you talking about? Nothing's happening, everything is just fine." Said Yuki with even more confused face.

Haruna scrunched her eyebrows, the dark energy still surrounds her friend.

"Can't you feel it? That presence.."

Yuki narrowed her eyes as she looked at Haruna confusedly. The fortune teller grabbed both of her hands and looked into Yuki's eyes.

"I can feel one of them is here. The presence is strong. How can you not feel it?"

"Eh?"

"Yuki, have you really forgotten our duty? We were chosen under Kaguya-hime-sama's watch to find the four Samurai and stop Maou."

"Haruna, you're acting strange. There's no Maou, there's no Samurai Princesses, and nothing bad is going to happen to us. We're perfectly safe." Then Yuki stood up, “I’m calling Haru, okay?”

Before Yuki could leave, Haruna pulled her closer and held her neck. Instantly, Haruna felt some coldness just on Yuki’s nape. The older girl then moved the black hair covering it and saw two black circles on Yuki’s nape.

This…. Thought Haruna.

“Yuki, what happened to you?! Who did this?”

“What are you talking about?! Nothing happened to me! Let go off me, Haruna!!” struggled Yuki as tried to break away, but the fortune teller's grip on her was strong.

Tsk.. I got no choice.. cursed Haruna.

“Sorry Yuki, this is going to hurt a bit.” She said before putting her index and middle finger on the black circles. “Release.” whispered Haruna as she pulled her finger from the circle, she pulled out two thin dark lines out of the circles.

“Urgh..” grunted Yuki feeling sharp pains from the two points. She closed her eyes and saw visions filling her mind, playing in front of her eyes like a movie. She felt herself grow weak as her arms dropped then followed by her body, luckily Haruna was there to caught her on time.

“Yuki, don’t you remember everything that happened 100 years ago? Remember how we were both chosen by Kaguya to do this."

"I..." whimpered Yuki softly with sweats started to break off her forehead.

"You had a dream a few nights ago, didn't you? I know; I had a similar vision. Maou's seal has already become weaker and his servants have risen. Takamina and I, we’ve already sent one of the Samurai out. Akimoto Sayaka, the reincarnation of Kai."

"Kai...?" muttered Yuki in a weak tone.

"Yes, remember. Kai, Riku, Hinata, Kuu! All of them!" exclaimed Haruna.

"I... I am..."

All of it hit her in a flash and the two broke away. Yuki's eyes snapped open as she held her head.

"I remember now... I remember everything." gasped Yuki as she tried to catch her breath.

"Thank goodness." Haruna sat Yuki back down as she started to take everything in once again. "What happened to you? Why did you forget?"

"Something... No, someone made me. I remember. It's Sae. She’s the next one for Kuu. But, last night... I suddenly forgotten everything. Like it was all a bad dream..."

"Who erased your memory? That memory curse was dangerous."

Yuki rubbed her temple once more, until she could make out her final memory. A face.

"Haru. It’s him.."

Haruna frowned, "Haru-kun? But why?"

"I don't know. I.. I don’t think he wants Sae to become the Samurai Princess... but I never thought he would go so far as to altering his own sister’s memory. And even, erasing mine..."

Haruna sat down, picking up her tea cup again and sipping some of the warm tea.

"We need to stop him. If he keeps up, Sae will never realize her destiny then it’ll be a matter of time before Maou take over the world..” said Haruna. Yuki nodded and took her cup too with a shaky hand.

The fortune teller set down her cup and got up. "I have to hurry and report this to Takamina then. She will know what to do..”

“But you’ve just arrive, Haruna.” said Yuki. “You can’t just go after hours on horse just to get here and leave in less than an hour.”

“I know.” Smiled Haruna drily. “But the world needs these girls, and the girls need us to realize their destiny to save the world..”

“Take care, Haruna. It was nice seeing you again after such a long time.” said Yuki as she embraced her old friend. “I’ll keep an eye on Haru and pretend that I’m still under the curse’s influence.”

“Good, I’ll figure something out with Takamina.” Said Haruna. “I’ll send you letter from my hawk, when I got something figured out. Tell me the situations too, okay?”

“Alright..” nodded Yuki they bowed to each other and Haruna take her leave.

She walked through one of the main hallways again and saw Sae happily playing with Mayu, not a care in the world. Haruna could now see a much strong dark energy surrounding her, the same one that surrounded Yuki earlier. She didn't even bother to say anything to Haru and left, pulling her hood up over her head again before climbing her horse.

"Miyazawa Sae... I pray you'll awaken soon."


==========================================


Sayaka's POV


"OK, so you mind explain to us what's going on?" I said as Jurina sat down, holding her head.

"In Kaguya's palace, there's an ancient spring with very special water. This water was created from the Moon springs long ago, and is considered very holy and sacred. It's known for it's extraordinary healing abilities. It can even save someone from dying."

"Woah... magic water, huh?" Yuka said with her legs crossed.

"But, it was stolen? By who?"

"We're not sure. We saw someone watching us a few nights ago, but we couldn't see the culprit's face." said Yuko.

"Whoever they were, they had a strong aura. I was still weak that night, so I couldn't tell who it was. I just hope it wasn't one of the Maou. If they had that, they'd be invincible." added Jurina.

That's bad... I thought. If they have that in their hands, they can pretty much be considered immortal.

"Don't worry, Jurina-chan," Yuko said, patting the younger girl's back. "We'll deal with that jerk when we find them. For now, I saw a village market close by, so let's go shopping!"

"We could use some more food." Yuka said as she finished her breakfast plate.

"And maybe some clothes..."

I looked at my current outfit. I would love to see what clothes they might be selling. Something cute and stylish, but also cheap. Something I'm able to afford.

"Eh~? I didn't think a samurai cared so much about her looks!" Yuka said teasingly.

"Shut up!"

"Come on," Yuko grabbed her bag and started walking. "Let's go~."

We all got up and started following Yuko until we finally reached the village market by that noon. We all split up and started looking through individual stores and booths. From what I could see, Yuko and Yuka were both looking at all the food, getting a few free samples once in a while, and Jurina was looking through all mystic related booths.

Meanwhile, Ayaka was with me, looking at clothes. Ayaka was pretty much loaded. She even had bags of gold coins to pay for everything since she’s a princess after all. I'm the exact opposite, not rich at all, even after I joined the Imperial Palace's army.

I can remember how hard it was, living in poverty. We only had so much to eat, and we had to work all day to get enough money. I had to work the hardest out of everyone when my father or younger brother were unable to. Dad always told me I was strong woman, like my mother. It broke my heart to leave when I joined the Imperial palace guards.

"Sayaka-chan?" Ayaka's voice brought me back into reality.

"Eh?"

"Don't hold back; buy whatever you want. I'll help pay for it."

"Ayaka, you don't have to do that." I said with a forced smile. Actually, I wanna sell out this whole booth. They're all so cheap, but so cute, too~.

I looked and saw Ayaka smiling, strangely.

"What?"

"Come on!" Ayaka suddenly took my hand. "Let's find you some clothes!"

"Eh?!"


Meanwhile...


Yuka's POV


I tried out a few free samples being offered by the sellers, including a steamy hot takoyaki at the booth just around the corner. I felt like flying to cloud nine when the ball landed on my mouth smoothly and Jurina would have to drag me away from the booth before I could demand a box of it.

"Come on, Yuka! We need to go!"

“Nee, but I’m hungry!” I pouted to the half moon Goddess. “And I missed eating Takoyaki..”

“I know.. I know..” comforted Yuko as she pat my back. “Jurina said she needs to check out something at the edge of the street there. She heard that there’s someone who sells mythical things over there.”

“Fine.” I scowled and followed the two. Man, I wished that I stick up with Ayaka and Sayaka instead of the two others. But I dared not to defy any of the two especially Jurina if I don’t want my arms to be blocked again.

We finally stopped in front of a small stall with strange items displayed on a thin mat and a figure sitting on the ground with her hand picking up a familiar ball of dough by a small wooden prick.

"She’s eating Takoyaki!!!" Exclaimed the other part of me. "Grab them and run for it!!!"

Shut up.. I replied to my own thought. My stomach clenched in supporting the excited statement which made me glowered at my own stomach.

Jurina scowled at me when she heard my stomach, but then she turned to smile at the figure. “Erm, you must be Matsubara-san, right?”

She looked up to Jurina and smiled, “Ah, a customer~ Yes I am Matsubara, how can I help you?”

“I was wondering if you have some..” Jurina looked around to make sure no one is close before whispering, “Holy water from Kaguya’s Palace.”

The girl raised her eyebrows in interest before putting in another takoyaki. “How much are you willing for it?”

Jurina gritted her teeth. “Need to make sure that it’s real first. How did you get it? I heard it’s a sacred place and no one knows where it is.”

The girl fell silent as she munched her food, “I just found the place.. I followed rumors.”

Yuko raised her eyebrow this time, “Rumors?”

Matsubara nodded, “My grandfather used to be a treasure hunter for some reasons and was interested in sacred places. When he fell sick, he asked me to look for something that could save his life or anyone’s life and told me about Kaguya’s Palace which has a healing water or some sort of it..”

She put her wood prick down and stared up at us, “It took me a month to seek for the rumors, going through my grandfather’s notes and exploring for it. Then when I found it, I was being tested.”

“Tested?” I asked. “By what and why?”

Matsubara shook her head slowly, “I don’t want to remember any of it, it was horrible. But once I passed it and got a bottle of it, my grandfather was already dead.”

Yuko and Jurina looked at each other as if asking for an agreement on Matsubara’s story.

“Show me the water.” Said Jurina. “I swear I won’t steal it from you.”

Matsubara paused for a moment before reaching up for her leather bag and pulled out a bottle of pure liquid. It looked like normal water, but the more I look through the glass bottle, the more I can feel some woozy feelings from it.”

Jurina received the bottle and opened the lid. She sniffed it carefully and handed it to Yuko to sniff it too.

“It’s real.” Nodded Yuko as she put down the bottle. “Name your price, you deserve it kid.”

Matsubara scrunched her eyebrows, “That was strange. I thought that you’ll gonna get me through such difficult bargains or something.”

“You deserve it.” Stated Jurina clearly. “M-I mean Kaguya’s Palace was not an easy place to find. Once you do, you’ll be tested by the guardians of the palace. Only a few humans could pass it well enough.”

“You sounded like you’re not human.” Said Matsubara with an observing look to the tree of us.

I turned to Jurina and saw her eyes. Despite it’s still noon, her eyes were glowing in faint silver already.

“Let’s just say that I know the place better than you.” Said Jurina.

“Fine.” Said Matsubara still looking at Jurina strangely. “Five hundreds of gold.”

“Two hundred.” Bargained Yuko with a crazed look. “That’s just one insane price there, young lady.”

“Four fifty.”

“Two fifty.”

“Four hundred.”

“Three hundred.” Gritted Yuko.

“Four hundred.” Stated Matsubara again. “Take it or leave it.”

“Hey, what’s going on?” asked a new voice. “Yuko’s doing a bargain?”

I turned and saw Ayaka and Sayaka coming behind with bags of new things. What caught the attention the most was Sayaka in a new kimono with red leaves pattern on it, while Ayaka was wearing a normal ninja suit under a black hooded cape. They both carried a sling bag each and a backpack too.

Oh yeah, we got the princess of Edo here.. I thought.

“Yeah, we found what we’re looking for but..”

Ayaka turned to Matsubara, “How much you want?”

“Four hundred pieces of Gold and all of you to leave immediately after this.” she said with a careful tone.

“That’s a bit rough.” I commented. “You didn’t say anything about leaving before.”

“I say it now.” said Matsubara avoiding to look at Jurina and Yuko for some reasons and started doing the same with Ayaka too.

Ayaka threw a bag of gold to the ground in front of the girl, “That’s about three hundred in there and that’s it. Take it or we’ll take it back.” She said sternly. I’ve never seen Ayaka with such a stern look as she looked down at Matsubara.

“I know you need money, and that’s how much we’re going to offer.”

“Ayaka, that’s a bit too mu-“ Yuko’s voice was cut off by Jurina’s hand on her mouth.

“Just look.” Pointed Jurina to the two.

Matsubara looked up at Ayaka and the other girl also did the same to the girl bellow. The two of them stared at each other for a while before eventually Matsubara cast her face aside.

“Fine. I’ll take it.” She grumbled and grab the money bag.

“Pleasure to have a business with you.” said Ayaka drily.

Man, where on earth did that happy young girl gone to and replaced by such a nasty looking girl all the sudden? I thought.

Just before we left, an applause was heard from the back. I turned and saw a girl and a woman clapping at us with such an amused face.

“That was such a good show! I never seen anyone bargained that intensely.” Nodded the woman to Matsubara and Ayaka.

“Well at least you got yourself something to be amused about.” scowled Matsubara as she packed her things to her own bag.

“Are, are..? Are you leaving? Mou, Rabutan says that she wants something from you though.” Pouted the woman to the girl beside her. “Right Rabutan?”

“Un..” nodded the girl. “Maybe that auntie should stay just in case she can ask for a bargain.” She pointed at Ayaka.

“Well, look at you..I think you suited more to be an old merchant than a princess.” I teased Ayaka softly before being elbowed by Sayaka and Ayaka at the same time. “Ouch!”

“Shut up, Yuka.” Scowled Ayaka. “Ano.. I really have to leave now with my friends here so lik-“

“Pretty please, auntie!!” begged the girl.

“Pretty pretty please old auntie!!” begged the woman this time following the girl.

“Who the hell are you calling an old auntie??!!” yelled Ayaka. “I’m still 18!!”

Jurina and Yuko looked at each other with such an amused face and I knew they were forcing themselves not to laugh at the acts.

“No.” said Matsubara firmly.

“Those guys need to leave, now.” She looked at us. The look on her face was confusing somehow, there’s a tinge of fear, anger, but also as if she was begging to us to really leave.

“Mweh..” said Rabutan looked pretty sad. “I was actually wondering if..” she suddenly grabbed a hold of Matsubara’s collar and pulled her close to her face with such speed.

“I can have your head for my master.” Grinned Rabutan to the girl.

Matsubara’s eyes widened in total fear, and I was taken back with the sudden announcement. Only Jurina, Yuko, and Sayaka that are in total alert, the three of them pulled out their weapons.

“Who are you?!” yelled Sayaka.

The woman giggled a bit before a dark thick fog surrounded her and vanished, revealing two horns on her head and a whip in her hand. Her eyes glowed in hunger as her lips curled into a sinister smile.

“Demons..” glowered Yuko.

“Ping Pong!! You get yourself correct~” said the woman happily. “Man, I didn’t expect that we’ll be getting like about six fishes in one catch~”

Rabutan whom also has turned to her demon form sighed, “Sasshi, why do you really have to be my partner?”

“Hey that was mean!!” said the one called Sasshi and pouted at Rabutan. “Mou.. We’re meant to be together right?”

“Honestly, I’d rather be with the others than you.” Said Rabutan as she traced a bit of Natsumi’s face with her claws. “And what do we have here?” she asked as she looked at us.

“Let go off her!!” I yelled as I took out my sword which somehow gone shaky in my hands.

Rabutan smiled in amusement at me, “Are, are… You must be the one that Milky talking about..”

Crap.. I cursed by the name of that certain demon.


Sayaka’s POV


“Let’s cut the chit chats shall we?” asked Sasshi before she rushed towards us. Her eyes were flickering lucid purple as she approached. Not only that, her body also started being engulfed in dark auras.

“Show me what you got!” yelled Jurina welcoming Sasshi’s punch with an opened palm.

“My lady, it’s no-“

“Hmm… I recognized you, I think..” hummed Sasshi before she backed out to dodged Jurina’s sudden kick.

“We never met before, demon..” gritted Jurina without lowering her guard.

“Really?” asked Sasshi with a wide grin. “Then perhaps you might recognize this!”

The demon suddenly sprang in high speed and jumped high, the dark aura surrounding her was now focused on her right leg. The more I watched the leg, the more I realized that the aura was flickering like fire. Purple fire..

Jurina’s face went slack as if she just saw Yuka’s blue flame before, she was standing frozen. I knew she wouldn’t make it to dodge the attack so I sprinted and pushed her just in time before Sasshi’s leg hit where Jurina was standing before.

“My Lady!”

“You okay?” I asked the young girl. She didn’t answer, instead she was shaking hard and her face showed complete fear as if she just saw something that terrifies her..

“I-I..”

“Ara, ara… I missed.” Grunted Sasshi. “But I guess you remembered me then, don’t you?”

Jurina looked at Sasshi in various expression as I can read. There was anger and hatred, but there’s also a complete fear directed towards the lady.

“You…” glowered Yuko. “You’re a controller of Demon Fire, aren’t you?”

“Ah, you must be my far, far, far, far, far cousin of fire right? Daugther of Ameratsu!” said Sasshi.

“I have no relatives of demons, thank you.” Gritted Yuko as she pulled out her sword from her waist.

“Chh, we could actually get along you know.” Pouted Sasshi. “Since we’re both a fire user.”

“Sorry, but the only difference between us is that you use fire with evil for evil while I don’t.” said Yuko before she attempted to slash her but missed.

“Sayaka, take care of Jurina.” Said Yuko to me. “I’ll take care of this demon.”

“Hmm.. I guess I should get going then~” said Rabutan. She pulled Matsubara close to her lips and kissed her right on the forehead, “Sleep tight~ Master wants to see you by the time you wake up~”

“Ugghh..” grunted Matsubara before she slumped down on Rabutan’s feet.

“Demon’s kiss…” said Yuko with gritted teeth. “Makes you sleep with thousands of nightmare haunting as minutes passed..”

“Glad you know it~” said Rabutan with puckered lips towards us. Black smokes came out of her clenched fist, and when she opened it the smoke flows out and gets bigger and bigger until eventually revealing a ten foot tall black furred bear with a familiar pair of angry red eyes.

“You..” I heard another person’s growl. I turned and saw Ayaka staring at the bear with rapid breath and tightened jaw.

“You like it?” asked Rabutan as she hoped on the bear’s back with just a simple jump. “That was my special gift for you remember?”

“That thing murdered almost murdered my cousin you, little wretch!!” yelled Ayaka angrily.

“Then I guess you’ll stay away from it if you don’t want this little baby to kill you.” Grinned Rabutan. “Sasshi, I’ll take my leave now. I got what we need, and if you think you want to take Sayanee and Milky’s job, do it fast.”

“Roger that!” said Sasshi as she fired a fireball towards Yuko, the girl somehow managed to slice the ball in half with her sword. But then to her surprise, Sasshi appeared just in time at the gap between the two halves of purple flames.

“What th-“ before Yuko can finishe her words, Sasshi kicked her right on the chest and send her flying towards one of the concrete walls.

“Yuko!!” yelled Yuka before she rushed to the girl. “You’re okay?”

“Ughh…” Yuko’s voice sounded hazy, the blood flowing from the side of her lips worries me. From far I could see a black scorching mark on her chest, which most likely came from Sasshi’s flaming kick.

Sasshi looked at the sky and smiled, “Man.. No wonder you’re so weak. Looks like you and your dad is in bad terms..”

I looked at the sky, it was cloudy all the sudden and the clouds were quickly starting to darkened as if a storm was coming soon. Now I remembered that Yuko’s power was based on the sun, no sun means no power..

“Shut up..” said Yuko pushing off Yuka’s arm. “Like hell I-“ she tried to stand up but quickly slumped again as she clutched her chest.

“Shit.. My ribs..” grunted Yuko weakly.

Sasshi smiled in victory, “How lucky I am to be able to defeat a demigod in this kind of day..”

Rabutan smiled smugly, “Looks like you got things under control then, I’ll see you later..” she quickly kicked the bear’s side and the creature ran towards the forest, bringing Rabutan on it’s back and Matsubara hanging in it’s mouth.

“You’re not going anywhere!” yelled Ayaka as she ran chasing them towards the forest. Before she could get far, Sasshi was already standing infront of her in jet of darkness and throw the princess towards a wooden crate. The wooden crate broke in impact and Ayaka yelped as her body wrecked the wooden crate.

“Nobody is going anywhere.” Said Sasshi coolly. “I’m gonna prove that I am way better than Sayanee!”

“We’ll see about that!” yelled Ayaka before she threw blocks of rock towards Sasshi. Sasshi dodged it swiftly as if she was an acrobatic performer, then she started slicing the rocks with her legs which made a clean cut on the rocks.

“My turn.” Said Sasshi before she released a jet of fire with just a kick of her leg. Ayaka produced a wall just in time before it hits her.

“Uh-uh-uh~” hummed Sasshi happily. Confused, I saw Sasshi kicked another jet of fire and this time it was bigger and stronger that it actually break the wall and threw Ayaka back.

“Ayaka!!” I yelled. I shot a jet of water from the river at the back towards Sasshi, but she quickly cuts it through with her pointed arms. I dashed and nearly sliced her shoulder if she didn’t jumped back.

“Ayaka, chase Rabutan.” I instructed the girl. I pointed my sword towards Sasshi, “You’re on with me, demon.”

“Wakatta.” Nodded Ayaka before she dashed towards the forest. I saw Sasshi moving slightly to stop the girl, but I quickly round up her ankle with a thin water thread.

She looked at me in annoyance but in the same time amused, “Very well..”

She dashed towards me and we clashed, sword and leg. I felt a tremendous weight and heat coming from the raised leg, the purple flame must’ve been a special type of flame. I pushed her back and managed to quickly slice a part of her clothes. The piece of material disintegrated instantly as it touched the ground.

“Agghh! My sadistic boss is going to get pissed of me if she knows you ruined my clothes!” screamed Sasshi. “You are so gonna pay for THAT!!”

The darkened clouds started to drizzle some of it’s droplets as we clashed more. I realized her flames were indeed different than any type of flames. Despite raining and water was everywhere, there were no signs of the purple flame fading away from her. In fact it just keep on getting stronger and hotter.

“You realized it eh?” asked Sasshi. “Let me tell you, Samurai of Water.. This flame is called Demon Flame, the strongest of all type of flame. It cannot be killed off easily with rain like this since it's produced and controlled by us Demons when we were in depths of Hell a long time ago where there were no certainties of terrains there. Now, there aren’t much Demons left controlling it anymore since..” she looked at Yuko in pure hatred. “Ameratsu been hunting them off one by one.”

“That was because your kind was making ruckus in hell and attacked the guardians of the hell’s gate!!” yelled Yuko through the rain as she still in Yuka’s arms.

“That’s because we were not meant to be in there.” Said Sasshi coldly. “Do you think we don’t know that you made our elders fallen to your dirty traps so you could have the Earth? No.. My Master was clever enough to realized it and that’s why he can turn the odds against you soon, humans..”

“The Samurai Princess stopped him once, and they will do it again!” yelled Yuko.

“Really?” asked Sasshi amusedly. “Look, even Kaguya is cowering there..” she jerked her head towards Jurina whom still in a state of shock.

“You..” glowered Yuko struggling to get up. “It was you who burned her everything thirteen years ago!! Her house, her family, her entire world!!”

“Hmm..?” hummed Sasshi. “I guess she’s not the only one that recognize me then. Were you there, daughter of Ameratsu?”

“No.. But my father told me to find her, and by the time I was there I watched her watching your flame burning her entire thing into ashes!”

“You humans should experience some bits of misery, you know.” Said Sasshi. “We demons always experience a misery much more powerful then you all. We watched you enviously as if you’re the only creature allowed to have happiness.”

“And does that makes you think that you have the rights to kill anyone?” I asked. “You killed a little girl’s family just because you think humans deserves a bit of misery? YOU THINK A LITTLE GIRL LIKE THAT DESERVES IT ALL?!”

“Oh.. That thing that she experienced wasn’t a misery..” spoke Sasshi dangerously. “You humans have no idea what true misery feels like, do you?”

“You..” I remembered my own misery then.. My parent’s death when I was little.. My brother’s fate at the war there, not knowing whether he’ll be back alive or not.

“ARGH!!” I yelled angrily as I raised my sword.

DUAARRR

I felt a huge energy shook me all the sudden and my eyes were blinded in huge amounts of lights. Unable to feel pain or anything, I felt my fingers lost it grip and my self blinded in lihts before it just fade away into darkness..


Yuka’s POV


My eyes widened in shock as I watched the lightning struck right on Sayaka’s sword. I watched her body trembled in impact before finally slumped in the rain.

“SAYAKA!!” I yelled and ran towards her body. I saw her clothes was slightly scorched in black, her hands was luckily wearing a pair of gloves but when I touched it the material crumbled like ashes. She wasn’t breathing at all is what panics me.

No way.. She can’t die yet!
I yelled on my head.

“Hohoho.. I guess today was my lucky day after all..” I heard Sasshi sighed in relieve. “Sayanee, look at me! I’m way better than you!” she yelled to the stormy sky.

“You…” I lied down Sayaka’s body and stand up facing the demon. “I’ll never ever forgive you..”

“Ara, ara..” smiled Sasshi. “I see another fire within you.. Are you perhaps the Samurai of Fire?”

“Yes I am, demon..” my chest grew warms somehow as if like what she said, there was a fire within me.

“Hinata, right? I see you choose your vessel cleverly..” said Sasshi as she licked her lips.

“Hinata?” I asked.

“That’s me.”

“Eeh?” I looked around looking for the source of the voice but there was nobody else except us.

“I’m here within you, Yuka. I’m always here inside you, watching the whole time..” said the same voice. “For now, I shall lend you my power once more.. Let’s defeat this demon.”

I felt my hands gripped the sword handle warmly and I breathed in carefully before breathing the air out. My sword grew warm before eventually I saw auras covering the my sword like how fire flickered around Sasshi, only the fact that the auras were red like flames. But it wasn't like how I did it last time, I could feel the flame was stronger and firmer this time as if something holds it all together.

“Hinata.. I have been waiting for years to fight you again!” screamed Sasshi happily before dashing towards me.

“Brace yourself, Masuda Yuka..” I heard Hinata’s voice fading away but not with the flames. My chest grew warmer and warmer by a comforting heat.

“Hiyaaa!!” I screamed and dashed forward towards Sasshi in that stormy day.


To Be Continued
Title: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 2)
Post by: Cometerz48 on July 30, 2014, 05:09:08 AM
Samurai Princess - Information (Part 2)



Sae's POV

*CRASH*

"KYAA!!" Mayu wrapped herself under the covers tightly as the thunder boomed. I hugged her as we both laid there under the blanket and watched the storm outside. Mayu just kept her ears covered and eyes shut as the lightning and thunder raged on. "Kowai..."

"Don't be afraid, Mayuyu." I patted her head reassuringly.

*CRASH*

"KYAAA!!" Mayu hugged me tight as she cried into my chest.

I caressed her back slowly, stroking her hair as I tried to calm her down.

"Don't worry. You'll be okay."

"..hic.. ..Really?" she sniffed as I wiped away her tears.

"Of course. As long as you're right here with me, that scary lightning monster won't hurt you. I'll protect you, okay?"

She smiled as she wiped off the rest of her tears. "Un..."

*CRASH*

"Uu..." She clutched onto me and shut her eyes as the flash of the lightning faded away. "Sae-chan... will you sing me a song? That one you always sing..."

I petted her head and held her closer.

"Of course."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZlL_yXSvoI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZlL_yXSvoI)

Chiicha na tenohira wa
NEMOPHILA no hana
Pukkuri hoppeta ha
ERICA no tsubomi
Atatakai haru no
Soyokaze mitai na matsuge

Saa oyasumi no jikan da yo
Suteki na LADY ni naru
Yume wo mite hosii yo

Suyasuya ude no naka
Kawaii negao
Mamoritai zutto
LUPINUS no hana no you ni sotto


I smiled as I saw her cute sleeping face. She looked so peaceful now that she's asleep. Not worried about the storm. I tucked her into the covers and laid her favorite teddy bear to replace me in her small arms.

Closing the door behind me, I looked out and saw the rain pounding onto the ground. The sky was so dark and gloomy, you couldn't tell if it was night or day anymore. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my blue rose burette. Haru's been acting a bit strange lately. Not his regular self. I feel like something's bothering him and we won't tell me.

I hope everything will be okay...

*CRASH*

"Eh?"

I jolted up as a bright flash suddenly blinded me. I saw something as I found myself surrounded by light, my vision slowly fading. There was a figure in front of me, but I couldn't see her face. I heard a voice calling out for me.

Something inside me felt warm. Everything else suddenly grew weak as I tried to call out to her. Before I knew it, everything else became blank and my world turned black.


Third Person POV

"Goodness, it's a major downpour..." Yuki said as she watched the rain from her room window.

She sighed as she wondered what could be happening with everyone. Only God knows where the others are and what they're doing, but right now, her concern was Haru. She needed to stop Haru from whatever he was doing, which again, only God or even the Devil knows, and allow Sae to awaken.

She closed her eyes and prayed for a while. "I hope you can hear me, Kaguya-sama. Please, hurry and find the others. We could use all the help we can get."

"Yuki-sama!" A maid burst through the door and interrupted her prayer. "It's terrible! Sae-sama's fainted!"

"Eh?!"

Yuki ran down the hall with the maid and found Sae collapsed on the ground. Haru was already there, trying to wake her up. Apparently, she was almost struck by lightning because she had gotten too close. The maid picked her up and carried her to her room to check up on her. When she was finished, she told them Sae was alright, but the shock from the event made her pass out.

The two dismissed the maid and slowly opened the door to Sae's room. They saw her asleep on her bed, a peaceful expression on her face. Her chest was slowly bobbing along with her breaths, like ripples in a pond. Haru sat down at her bedside and moved away her bangs so he could see more of her face.

"You really care about Sae-chan, don't you?" Yuki said to break the silence.

Haru chuckled. "Of course I do. She's my little sister."

"I know how you feel. Since you're here having to look after Sae, I'm all by myself taking care of Mayu."

"It's hard, isn't it?"

"Un..."

Yuki could see the look on Haru's face. Even if he tried to hide it, there was a look of worry on his face. But it wasn't worry of Sae's safety; it was worry of Sae awakening and regaining her memories. And Yuki knew, for whatever reason, Haru didn't want that.

Haru slowly got up and was about to leave, but then Yuki tapped his shoulder.

"I'm really worried about her..."

"Eh? About what?"

"Sae. What's going to happen if she finds what she's going to do with her life?" Yuki looked back at Sae, not gazing up at Haru. "She's all grown up, and soon, she won't have to rely on everyone. She may still rely on one person, but when it's time for her to move on..."

A dark look formed in Haru's eyes. He quickly hid it as Yuki looked back at him.

"What's all this coming from?"

"Well, what if she gets married? Or finds something she wants to do in the future?"

"Then, that's what she wants. I'll gladly let her do it; anything."

"But, what if it's something you don't want?"

"Eh..." Haru realized something and backed away some. "Is she telling you something weird? I know Sae... She wouldn't keep secrets from me."

Right now, the two of them were looking at each other and reading their inner thoughts like a book. For Yuki, it was so easy to see Haru was hiding his true intentions, but it was so shrouded in darkness, she couldn't figure out what it was. With Haru, he was growing suspicious of his wife that either of them could have regained their memories and were conversing in secret.

Yuki sighed and said, "Sorry. I guess I'm just too worried. Call it a woman's intuition."

Haru sighed heavily, leaning against the wall.

"A mother, as well as a brother, has to feel that way when their 'little girl' is finally becoming an adult."

"Yeah..." Haru gripped his tightly behind his back, trying to hold back the dark powers sealed within him. He smiled and said, "I'm gonna go. Will you look after Sae?"

"Something wrong?"

"No, I just need to get something. I'll be right back."

Haru left Yuki alone with Sae, feeling the veins in his hand pulsing as the curse was reacting.

Yuki broke her act and slowly walked over to Sae. She checked the back of her neck, but there were no markings that indicated a curse. Sae stirred in her sleep a bit and her position made it harder for Yuki to look, so she decided to let the girl be.

However, as she was leaving, she suddenly felt a tight grip at her wrist. She looked and saw Sae's hand holding onto her wrist, grasping it firmly and not letting go. Yuki tried to wake Sae from her sleep, but she wasn't responding. She only held on, tighter and tighter, until...

"Kai..."

*CRASH*

Yuki saw a bright flash and before she knew it, she was somewhere else. The vision she saw showed Kai and Kuu battling in the forest as the heavy rain poured on. Thunder and lightning roaring in the clouds as swords clashed and the battle raged on.

"Do you think you can defeat me, Samurai Princess of Water?" A girl with short hair said as she stopped Kai's sword and held it in her hands. She threw her aside and started attacking her, Kai blocking it with her long blade.

Behind her, there was a different girl with longer hair fighting Kuu. She was using small knives to try and cut Kuu, but all of them were knocked away by her sword.

"That the best you got?" Kuu said with a smirk.

"Oh, I've got much more up my sleeve, Samurai Princess of Wind."

The girl created a small orb of dark energy and threw it at Kuu. She sliced it with her sword and caused a small explosion. She came closer to her and started attacking with her knives, but was blown away by her strong wind.

The two battles raged on as Kai and Kuu eventually faced their backs to each other, their enemies circling them.

"Kai..." Kuu turned her head to look at her partner, meeting her gave from the corner of her eyes. "Will you be okay?"

Kai knew, it was just like Kuu to worry about her best friend, and the one she loved most, before anyone else. Including herself.

"Of course I will."

The two smiled at each other before engaging in their battles once more. While Kai used her sword to fight the slightly taller demon, Kuu put her blade away and used her barehands to combat against the demon girl. The shorter girl coated herself in a dark aura and enhanced her strength.

"You're mine now!"

The two entered a heated battle, both of their auras clashing and mixing together, dark and light. The storm raged above them as the demon girl summoned black lightning and started striking it down. She gathered up her energy and hit Kuu in the stomach with a strong blast of lightning. Kuu was taken aback and crashed into a tree.

"Kuu!" Kai hurried and held Kuu in her arms, protecting her from the demon's attacks. She took her sword and slashed the girl's arm, pushing her away. Dropping her sword to the ground, she looked back at the younger Samurai and held her close. "Kuu... please wake up..."

Kuu opened her eyes weakly and saw Kai in her blurry vision.

"Kai... Are you.. okay..?" she said in a shaky voice as she felt her consciousness slipping.

"Yeah... I'm okay." Kai felt tears running down her cheeks along with the rain. She took Kuu's hand and reached it up to touch her cheek. "Everything's going to be okay. Don't worry..."

"Kai... your hand is... so warm...." Kuu smiled as her eyes closed and she blacked out.

Kai slowly set her down and bit her lip as she tried to fight the rest of her tears. A strong blue aura surrounded her and suddenly, the rain seemed to grow harder. The wind also picked up and it seemed the water was circling her as her aura grew and grew.

She took her sword and stood up, her eyes glowing a bright blue as she looked at the short haired demon.

"I shall defeat you... Each and every one of you..."

"Hahaha! Don't get cocky!"

"You and your master shall fall..."

The demon glared at her as she coated herself in a dark aura and created a black sword.

"Maeru."

“With pleasure.” replied the demon before the two swords clashed, black and blue.

This time, Yuki widened her eyes seeing the difference on the amount of powers were increasing all the sudden from the two. She watched how the demon managed to push Kai and pinned the blue to a tree with each of their aura still colliding with each other.

“Oi! Gachapin! You alright there?” yelled the demon to her partner. Yuki turned towards where the shorter girl was kneeling as she clenched her wounded arm.

“I’m alright!” yelled the girl through the storm, I could vaguely see her pained expression and her hatred all over her eyes.

As if knowing what to do, the girl then summoned another lightning and pointed it at the tree close to the two figure. When the lightning touches the ground near it, the ground exploded and threw the two off. The demon landed on the ground beside her while Kai ended up being thrown into an overflowing river.

“Okay now that was way to close!” yelled the demon to the one she called Gachapin earlier. “Start having target practicing or something!”

“Oh, I would if it weren’t for your annoying trolls that always follows me everywhere!” pouted the shorter demon. “And the way you turn into things and interested in only bothering my life was very well indeed.” Said her sarcastically.

“Wait, I neve-“ her voice then was cut off by a sudden sound of rushing waters. The two rises their head as they saw a big water vortex appeared from the river where Kai was thrown earlier. The blue aura managed to lit the whole thing and stood out the most under the darkness of the stormy night. The two saw Kai standing over the vortex looking down at them with such an intense sight. She pointed to the two and two water cannons burst to the two with thousands of water gallon running towards them.

The taller one managed to dodge to the side and to Yuki’s surprise, her body shift into something else. Her facial was getting longer and wider as her arms and legs grew into a tonned muscles covered in thick black fur. Before she knew it, she watched how the transformation ended and managed to jump very high and pounce on Kai who was standing on the high vortex.  The two of them rolled on the muddy ground nearby. Kai was empty handed now with only her hands which are coated in water like tentacles, she watched the creature circling her and followed it’s eyes.

When the thunder clapped, the two attacked on the same time. The wolf rushed and tried to attack, but then Kai sent one of the arms of her water tentacles flying and hit the wolf hard. She spun the water around them and created a giant whirlpool, drowning the wolf. The demon found it hard to breathe and reverted back to her human form. Kai crashed the water onto the ground and when the water was finally gone, she was on the ground, coughing up water.

Kai took her sword, the aura still surrounding her like fire. She raised her sword and was about to finish the demon.

"Die, demon..."

*SLASH*

Yuki shut her eyes as she heard a loud scream fill the air, followed by a crash of thunder. However, when she opened her eyes, she saw that the longer haired demon, which the taller and seemingly younger one called Gachapin, protected the other demon and had Kai's blade stabbed through her chest.

"Thank goodness.. ..Y-you're safe..."

The taller demon's eyes widened in shock, "Stupid Gachapin! Why would you do this?!"

"Mari...ko..."

Kai took the blade out and made the Gachapin demon collapse into Mariko's arms.

"You idiot! You can't do this!!"

"Mariko... Just this once... call me by my name..."


Mariko couldn't fight her tears anymore as she saw the girl dying in her arms.

"Mii...chan."

Miichan smiled weakly before she finally felt her heart stop and her soul left the world. Her body turned to black dust and stained the grass, as well as Mariko's hands. The dark aura surrounding the demon became more evil and she started shedding tears of blood. She screamed out as large black wings suddenly burst out her back. She looked up at Kai with glowing red eyes and stood up.

"I'll never forgive you... Never in a million years," she said in a low tone to Kai before turning around and disappearing into darkness.

When it was all over and the rain stopped, Kai's body went weak and she fell to her knees. The aura around her disappeared and the intensity in her eyes was calmed, returning them to their normal dark brown irises. She turned back to her partner who was laying unconscious on the grass, soaking wet from the rain.

"Kuu..." She caressed her dear partner's cheek and kissed her lips softly as she slept. "I love you. I wish I can really say that to you sometime..."

She took out her amulet and traced out a pentagram on her chest.

"I call on the lords of Fate, give me your power..."

She drew out a line of red light from her chest and carefully attached it to Kuu. The light slowly entered Kuu's body and was attached to her heart, connecting it with Kai's.

Yuki recognized that spell. It was a spell that could bind two lover's souls forever, so even if they separated, they would meet and find each other again. It was both a blessing and a curse, because if one person dies, the other attached to the red "thread" would also die. Only their souls would survive and they would be reincarnated into the next life, eventually finding each other once more. It was an endless cycle.

"I don't care what happens to me anymore. If it means I can be with Kuu for the rest of eternity, I will gladly give up my soul to this spell."

As she watched the scene, Yuki eventually felt herself become pulled back into reality. She looked and saw Sae was no longer holding her wrist, but there was now cold sweat on her forehead and she was mumbling Kai's name in her sleep. This obviously meant her memories were resurfacing, so Yuki had to act fast. She took out her healing bell and was about to cast the spell, but then she heard footsteps and quickly hid somewhere so she wouldn't get caught.

"Yukirin, I..." She watched as Haru walked into the room, unaware she was watching.

He saw Sae still tossing and turning in her bed, trapped in her dream.

"Kai..! Kai..!"

A dark look formed on Haru's face that shook Yuki a bit. She saw a strange black mark form on Haru's hand as he moved back Sae's hair and revealed a strange, cross-like symbol behind Sae's right ear.

"So that's where it is..." Yuki said as she saw the mark glow as Haru touched it.

"Kai..! Kai! KAI!" Sae screamed louder as she felt the pain of the curse surging through her.

"There is no Kai. There is only Haru. There's no one else. Nothing to worry about. No reason to be afraid. Kai does not exist. Everything is okay." Haru repeated those words into Sae's ear, the black mark on his hand growing stronger and wrapping around his arm more.

Sae finally gave into the spell and calmed down, no longer repeating Kai's name.

When Yuki looked at Haru, he now had glowing red eyes and the mark on his arm was emitting a dark aura.

He knelt over and whispered in Sae's ear again. "Nothing is wrong. There is no Kai. Only Haru. Only Haru..." He repeated those words until Sae spoke again.

"Haru..."

He smiled as the mark on him stopped glowing and the redness in his eyes disappeared, returning to their normal brown. However, they seemed darker than normal, almost black. Seeing that the mark wasn't going away, he took some gauze and wrapped it around his arm, completely covering the black mark. He readjusted the covers on Sae and left, never noticing Yuki's presence.

She got out from her hiding place and looked at the mark behind Sae's ear. She took out her bell once more and said a few prayers before she rung the bells and slowly touched Sae's mark. However, black lightning emitted out of it and shocked her, cutting off the spell. The curse had grown too strong and now there was only one known person left who could remove it. Kaguya herself.

She called her egret with a little bird song and gave the small white bird a scroll.

"Send this to Kaguya-sama. Hurry."

The bird nodded her head and flew off, taking the small scroll.

Yuki quickly left the room and pretended to "run into" Haru in the hall.

"Oh, there you are, Yukirin. I thought you were watching Sae."

"I was, but something came up. Mayu needed help laying a game, and she's bored out of her mind now that Sae's resting." Yuki pretended to just notice Haru's arm. "What happened with your arm?"

"Oh, little accident with sword fighting practice today. I'll be okay, don't worry."

"Yokatta. I'll pray for you," she giggled while touching her head, chest, and shoulders. Haru chuckled, too, kissing his wife's cheek before leaving. He had no idea, which was good.

Yuki gave a sad look to Haru as he walked off.

"Haru... I pray this curse will be lifted off you. I don't want to lose both you and Sae."

========================================

Meanwhile in another place..

Ayaka’s POV

I rushed through the forest as quick as I can, ignoring how my back was hurting after that Sasshi threw me back. As I ran, I ran my fingers through my arm and winched at a slight touch on some areas. I stopped and saw a bit of brunt marks on my arm which must’ve been from the fire that Sasshi lashed at me.

Biting my lips, I poured bit of water to the wound. Realizing how it was a big mistake after a wave of pain comes after it. I managed to clamp my mouth shut and held down my scream deep down, the pain was so great that it nearly blinds me out.

“You’re okay?” I heard my Kage’s voice in my mind.

“I’ll managed..” I replied weakly.

“You know, I can take over if you mind.”

“Not now, maybe later..” I said closing my bottle and start running again.

“She almost did it didn’t she? She almost got me out.”

“How on Earth did she done it?” I asked. “Who is she?”

==============================================
Ten Minutes ago.

“That’s about three hundred in there and that’s it. Take it or we’ll take it back.” I said sternly. “I know you need money, and that’s how much we’re going to offer.”

She looked at me in the eyes with those hazelnut eyes, the more I stared at it the more I felt something wrong with her. As if the world was frozen, I was pulled back into a total darkness and the next thing I found was her standing in front of the bars where it kept my kage inside.

“Well, well.. Another person that can get in here.” Spoke my kage. I can see the shilouete sitting on the usual couch behind the bars. “What have you been doing, honestly?” she asked.

“I-..”unable to speak, I turned to her. “What are you doing here? How did you get in here?!”

The girl didn’t answer and instead just stared beyond the bars with empty eyes as if she was jinxed. She held out her hand and touched one of the bar. Immediately, the bars disappeared just under her touch.

“What the-“ I suddenly heard a pleased chuckled that’s definitely from my own kage.

“Oh, I guess that’s my cue to take over.”

Finding my voice back, I ran towards the sofa and held down the silhouette roughly. “You are not getting out until I say so!”

“Hmm.. But wouldn’t it be much fun if I came out?”

“I won’t let you!” I yelled holding the figure down, fighting back a sudden headache that came out of nowhere.

“Let’s just cut it there would you both?”

I froze hearing the new voice, and saw another figure approaching. I could not see the figure clearly, not it’s face or whether it’s a male or female. It was tall and some flickering auras surrounding it, as it gets closer the whole place brights up a little from the aura.

“Oh, I was wondering when are you planning to approach her yourself.” Said my Kage in an annoyed tone.

“Who are you?” I asked the figure.

“At ease, Umeda Ayaka. I guess you must be confused now that you’re seeing too much going on inside you.” Said the voice again.  “I don’t blame you. You’re probably the first one to have to experience being a Samurai Princess as well as having a Kage inside.”

“I-I..” unable to speak, the voice chuckled.

“It’s alright. You’ll get use to it soon enough.” Said the voice. “If that girl isn’t here, I don’t think I would ever meet you.” Pointed the figure at Matsubara.

“Her?” I asked. “Who is she? How did yo-“

“I said you’ll know her soon enough. Just message though, take a good care of her.” Advised the voice. Before my eyes snapped back to the market where she was staring at me.

My eyes widened just in time when she turned her head to the side, avoiding my eyes.

Who are you…?


=======================================================

“And who was that?” I asked as I jumped over a growing old vine. “You knew who it was don’t you?”

“Sigh.. I guess it’s time I tell you something interesting.”Said my kage. “That was Riku, your past life of Earth Samurai Princess.”

“What?!” I yelled. “And you just told me now?!”

“Hey, we don’t talk much until that girl came and unlock me.”

I almost reached the end of the forest now because I could see the trees are starting to get thinner. “What we were you both talking about?” I asked patiently.

“Well.. To start with, what you’re about to face is a five hundred year old demon that resembles like a fifteen year old.”

“Wonderful. She also creates those minions just with a palm filled with dark thick smokes..” I muttered.

“Second, you wouldn’t want to touch those smokes. Those smokes are pure acids of Hell that they created themselves from pure misery and hatreds, not only will it wounds you it’ll also damaged your mentality if that thing reached your lungs.”

“Great and why are you telling me this? Why not Riku?” I asked after finally out of the bushes and start running on a decent road. I glanced down and saw a footsteps shaped like a huge claw which indicates me that I’m on the right track.

“Don’t know Riku said it wasn’t the time yet.”

I gritted my teeth and saw a wooden gate in front of me as well as a black fur sticking on the wood, I ran past the gate and finally stopped by the sight of Rabutan standing on top of the bear.

“Well, you managed to catch up.” Smiled Rabutan.

“You..” I growled. I saw Matsubara lied down on the bear’s feet with such a pale face that she looked like she’s very ill and she looked like struggling in her own dream.

“What’s your business with this girl?” I asked dangerously as I pulled out my sword.

Rabutan smiled, “She’s the ultimate shortcut to awaken my master, you know..”

My eyes widened, “Shortcut?”

Rabutan nodded with such wicked eyes, “Don’t you know who she is? She’s one of your priest you know?”

“Priest?”

Rabutan rolled her eyes, “Ah, it’ll be a waste of time if I have to explain it to you all over. So why don’t you just..” she jumped down from the bear and tapped the bear on the arm.

“have some fun with my baby again.” She grinned and the bear roared loudly in agreement before rushing towards me.

I lunged to the side just moments before the creature run over where I was standing before. I can feel such a strong energy rushing past me before it turned and growled. I punched a spike bellow the bear’s stomach and made it yelped as it was thrown back. The red eyes were unforgiving towards me as it gets up and raked it’s claw to my head. I parried the claw in time with my sword and clashed with the other claw. I gritted my teeth as the strong claw pushes my sword.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Matsubara’s eyes opened up a little bit. Her face was still as pale as before and she was breathing rapidly. Her eyes stared deep into me and..

“My turn.”

Before I could do anything I felt my hands moving by itself and pushed of the claw. Expertly, my foot jumped and pushes of the bear’s bicep and slashed it’s muzzle. Black blood splattered on to my new robe, sizzling it.

It was like still being there but I have no control of my own body. I can feel a tinge of pain from the black blood splattered to my shoulder which was enough to convince me that it was the same liquid as before.

I willed myself to get back in control but as if there was something pushing me down to stay in the same position; I realized that it was my own kage.

“Stay down. I’ll show you what’s your true potential.” Said my kage with a sadistic tone.

I watched how my body dodged the incoming attacks expertly as it constantly giving deep cuts to the creature’s body. The bear roared angrily and nearly swooped my head off if the sword weren’t raised in time to slice of the claw.

The bear roared louder as the claw touches the ground like a piece of meat. I felt my lips tugged into a wide grin as  I raked the creature’s stomach with the sword. The black blood oozes out in no time and sizzling everything surrounding us like the grasses.

I felt my mouth released a sadistic laugh, a laugh that would chill me right to the bone. My eyes then widened in horror when my hands took a chance and stabbed the bear right on it’s left eye.

The bear roared in pain was slashing everywhere with it’s one claw. I felt my own mouth laughed hysterically as I slashed another on of it’s claw clean.

“NO!!” I heard Rabutan yelled as she watched her creation in such agony. I laughed and without knowing anything, my hand raised the blade and threw the sword right to the demon and got her right in the stomach.

Rabutan screamed in pain as slumped with the blade stuck in her stomach. I could see vaguely her eyes were unforgiving as she screamed in pain.

Stop it!! I urged to take back my body but it was no use.

My foot walks up to the slumped Rabutan and kicked her right in the chest to make her lied on her back. Her expression was beyond in pain as she yelped when I pulled the sword out of her stomach.

“Let’s see if we can do this!” yelled my kage before stomping on the demon’s stomach where it bleeds.

“AARRGGGHH!!” screamed Rabutan and started sobbing. Blood trickled from her mouth as my foot twisted the wound.

“SASSHI!!!!”

===============================================


Yuka’s POV

Our fire clashed, red and purple flames burned all the surroundings. For a few times already we clashes together and stare at each other’s eyes with absolute heat.

“It’s been a long time since I have such fun, Hinata!” laughed Sasshi as she surged a fire ball towards me. Her laughs now sounded more like a crazy maniac ones than a normal lady ones.

“Demons that re too much possessed with it’s own power can be dangerous. Be careful..” said Hinata as I sliced through the flame and gave a spiny kick of flames towards her.

Sasshi laughed and propelled herself up into the air and puffed her cheeks. Soon enough, I saw her producing the purple fire from her mouth towards me. Good enough to recover from the shock, I rolled to the side to avoid it.

“You can breathe fire?!” I yelled.

Sasshi grinned, “We demons have our own techniques in controlling Demon flames.”

“I have a plan. Do you think you’re ready for it?” asked Hinata.

I gulped, as long as it’s not that dangerously dangerous..

I followed Hinata’s instructions carefully, I rushed towards Sasshi and threw my sword towards her. As expected, she caught it easily but she didn’t realized that I was already standing beside her.

I propelled myself up and slammed my leg to her shoulder, she screamed and threw me back as she clutched her shoulder.

I hit the a tree on my back and grinned at the angry demon, I glanced at my leg and found it coated with the red aura to maximize the damage.

Nice work, I think she’s gonna kill me now..

“She’s been trying to do so and she won’t.” said Hinata pleased. “You got her chi blocked.”

I grinned remembering what Jurina did to me on the previous day. It wasn’t a pleasing experience at all to not be able to move my whole arm or even feel anything from it.

“You..” she growled and grab a hold of my blade. She spun the handle expertly in her hand before rushing towards me with it.

Her speed this time was terrifying, she nearly sliced my head if I didn’t move and cut a bit of my hair instead. I blocked her raised arm just when she raised the blade and kicked her straight in the chest.

Sasshi was thrown back into a concrete wall. The materials cracked on the impact as she gritted her teeth fiercely towards me.

I plant my feet firmly to the ground and spun a fire towards her followed by an intense rounds of fire bullets. It rained over Sasshi instantly as she was struggling to maintain her flame. After the smokes all down, I saw her panting with many wounds all over her figure.

“SASSHI!!!”

I turned towards the forest hearing the loud scream. I saw Sasshi’s face went slack before she managed to get up.

“RABUTAN!!” she yelled, I could tell she was in panic. Maybe Ayaka did something there and get caught up  with her.

I felt a sudden heat passing me, and realized it was Sasshi heading towards the forest. But because of her wounded up body, the speed wasn’t that fast anymore and before I knew it she was thrown back into the wall. I turned and saw Yuko standing up with her hands forward, she looked like way more than pissed.

“You are not getting away!!” yelled Yuko. Before she rushed forward and slammed her foot to Sasshi’s stomach. The demon spit some blood and slumped back in agony as she eyed us with pure hatred.

“Yuko, your ribs..”

“It’ll be fine.” Said Yuko sharply. “I have a score to settle with this demon.”

Sasshi sneered, showing her teeth caked with blood. “That’s more like it, daughter of Ameratsu. Show me if you still fighting in your father’s name.”

“Don’t talk about my father that way!” yelled yuko before she punched the demon’s face.

Sasshi laughed despite the bloody mouth she has, “I have fun. But I really should go..”

Suddenly the purple auras came back to her, this time it was thicker and darker. With no further moments wasted, she put her arm out and blast the two of us back. Yuko and I hit the wall at the same time and before we could land to the ground, I felt the demon’s knee slammed right into my stomach and pinned me to the wall by the hair.

I could taste the iron blood in my mouth as I looked into the purple eyes of her, my body goes limp all the sudden. I managed to turn my head and saw Yuko was already unconscious on the ground.

“That’s what you get for messing with me.” Said Sasshi before she kicked me to the side. I struggled to stand up, but Sasshi’s foot was already on my chest and twisted her heel.

I screamed, the pain was amazing. The heat of purple flames and how much force she puts in felt like digging a hole through my chest. I could vaguely hear Hinata begging me to stay awake but my body seemed to be doing the opposite.

Before my eyes closed, I saw a blinding light of blue from where I lied Sayaka’s body down. I tried to work out what is it but my minds was already shuts down to the darkness..

========================================================


Sayaka’s POV

“Wake up..” urged a voice.

I opened my eyes, but all I see was white landscape with no end. I looked around to seek for somebody, but there was none.

“Where are you? Who ar-“

“Listen to me, Akimoto Sayaka. Your friend is in great danger and so is mine right now.”

I scrunched my eyebrows, “What are you on abo-“

“I give you options now, one we can work together like how we are supposed to be. Or otherwise, you can continue lying down there and watch Maou fall despair to the world.”

I didn’t reply, there’s no need to. The answer was obvious, I choose the first.

As if it can read my mind, the voice spoke; “Reach up, take my hand and let’s do it together.”

I reached up to the white sky and felt an invisible delicate hand grasped it. The touch was gentle and felt cool which soothed my burnt hand from the lightning strike earlier.

“That’s it.. Listen, before we do this let me tell you my name. My name is Kai..”

===========================================================

Third Person’s POV

Sasshi turned as she saw a faint blue glow coming from the back. She turned and saw the body of Sayaka rose up into the air with water circling around her in smooth current.

Just by the time she saw the two eyes opened, she was taken back with the glows coming from the eyes. And before she knew it, she was blasted of with thousands of gallons of water to another concrete wall. The demon fire protected her on the hard impact but before it could help more, Sasshi saw the rain water started gathering up around her before then trapping her in a vortex of water.

The vortex insides were circling fast like a tornado, bringing the demon’s body circling round and round as being trapped inside. Sasshi felt water started gurgling her, making her unable to summon more of her Demon Fire verbally. By the time the motions stopped, her eyes were blurry and before she realized she saw the girl was already standing in front of her with her sword rose to the side of the vortex.

“Farewell.. Demon.” Mouthed the girl before slicing the vortex from the side.

The sword tip managed to slash the demon on her waist and cut thinly across her stomach, the blood spit out of her mouth easily mixed with the water that filled her lungs. She eyed the girl’s blue eyes with a pained expression and absolute hatred, but somehow her mouth formed a grin smeared with blood.

“S-sam-ur-ai of w-wat-er..” she croaked weakly. “Mari..ko s-sam-a will.. b-be thr-illed..”

After widening her lips, she slumped down face first to the ground.

Eying the demon on her feet, Sayaka raised her sword high and aimed the demon’s neck. But before she could stab it, the blade stopped in mid air and was caught in a grasp.

“S-sayaka..” she turned to the voice and saw the wounded demigod clenching on the blade. “That’s en-nou-gh..”

Just after she heard the gentle plea, Sayaka’s body slumped down forward into Yuko’s arm, unconscious and gently breathing. The faint glow left and only the blue orb was left to glow on her sword.

Yuko caressed the girl’s hair softly as she felt the rain has stopped and leaving them with dark clouds. She saw a black thick mist swirling from the corner of her eyes and watched a figure stepped out of it. Aware of who it was, Yuko widened her eyes and gritted her teeth towards the figure. The figure was tall and her short cropped hair framed her face perfectly as it was combined with smart looking thin eyes and lips.

“If you want to kill these girls right now, you better do it over my body!” yelled Yuko to the demon.

The demon sighed and ignore the short girl, instead she walked over to Sasshi and stopped on top of her.

“Oi, are you alive?” asked the demon looking down to Sasshi’s body.

Sasshi’s head rose a bit, enough to see the demon’s face and smiled weakly.

“Mariko-sama..”

“Ch, I just made that outfit of yours and you ruined it?” asked the demon called Mariko with hands on her hips. “I expected a good maintenance of it, you know.”

“Sorry, Mariko-sama..” chuckled Sasshi weakly. “I got carried away.”

Mariko sighed and wrapped her arm on Sasshi’s waist as well as putting the wounded demon’s arms around her head before bringing her up to stand.

Sasshi glanced at the unconscious body of Yuka on the side and smiled triumphfuly , “Samurai of Fire.. We will meet again. Next time we met, I shall send you to the depths of Hell burning in Demon Fire..”

Mariko turned and saw Yuko was eying her dangerously. It was obvious to her that the girl was easy enough to kill in this condition, and there is no fun to her killing something that’s not worthy to fight back. However, her eyes caught the faint radiance from Sayaka’s sword. Her eyes widened slightly in realizing the familiar glow in her eyes.

“Samurai of Water..” she spoke shortly as she eyed the figure holding on to the sword. It was indeed different but she could see how the girl could be potentially strong based on strong shape she gives out.

Mariko turned and clicked her fingers, making the dark mist to gather again and swallow Sasshi and her before it all completely disappears to nowhere.


While in another place…


The grunts and low swearing still coming out of Rabutan’s mouth followed with blood, splattering the grasses around as Ayaka continued stepping on her stomach for the last minutes. The shape of her creation was already far away from perfect after having two of it’s front claws sliced off, the creature just lied there trashing and roaring around as it’s master’s tortured voice rung in the air.

Had enough hearing the roar, Ayaka walked over to the bear’s side and eyed it dangerously.

“Do you want to kill this thing or should I do it for you?” asked her Kage.

Ayaka didn’t reply to that, she knew that her bitter memories involved this bear or at least the same type of it. Lady Maeda’s death, her ruined coronation, and her new fate..

“Forget it, I’ll just do it for you.”

Before she could find my voice, my blade was already cuts through the throat and sliced the head off with one swift slash. The bear grunted and struggling before the slash stopped it’s misery and disintegrate it away as it stained the grass surrounding it.

“N-no..” she heard her low groan. But she fell silence when Ayaka’s hazel eyes met her gray dangerously.

“Interested to be the next?” asked her Kage as she walked over to the poor demon as she swings her sword playfully. Rabutan eyed the sword swings in complete fear as she can’t move nor to avoid anymore.

“N-No.. Pl-ple-ase d-do-nt..” she begged with tears of blood starting to trickled from the corner of her eyes.

Ayaka felt her mouth released another chilling laugh that was none other than her kage’s. But she stopped completely and eyed the young demon in such amusement.

“No.” answered the Kage before rising the blade high above Rabutan’s chest. The demon’s breath turned rapid as she watched the blade held high and aiming for her chest, she closed her eyes and screamed in fear after she watched it coming down and…

“Ayaka, that’s enough.”

Rabutan opened her eyes and saw the blade being gripped by Jurina bare handedly. The red blood freshly tickled from her hand as it gripped the sword tightly. Rabutan widened her eyes and thought how stupid this girl must be to do such thing for her, but then she saw an aura emitted from the girl which wasn’t a normal one. In fact, it was strong and blinding her as she spend her moments watching it.

“You..” growled Ayaka trying to budge the sword off but it was no use.

Jurina sighed and before anyone knew anything, the young girl rose up and slammed her foot right on Ayaka’s chest and send her away to crash onto a nearby tree. Ayaka felt her back hurts for several times of the day already. But before she or her kage could recover from it quickly, she felt her shoulder being rained with many punches. The punches were as painful as she felt on her forearm yesterday, only this time it was folded hundred times by the amount of she’s getting. Screaming was useless as she felt the pain started cutting her off the nerves connecting to her arm, her sword dropped to the ground in process.

Jurina stopped the punches and watched Ayaka’s body slumped down with her arm limped on her sides. She felt thankful to follow her when she couldn’t bear to see the demon fire that’s burning in the back of her mind and leaves a trauma forever there. She knelt infront of the girl and hugged the girl tightly in her arms.

Her kage growled in the actions as Ayaka felt it slowly being drifted back by Jurina’s inner aura, she pulled back just in time when Ayaka felt her body back under her control again but leaving her purely exhausted due being used by her own Kage. It was like how Yuko said it before, her kage was weak against strong lights from inner auras like Yuko’s and Jurina’s and so it left her completely exhausted when it left because of it.

Ayaka slumped forward to be just caught by Jurina again and with her eyes weakly closing soon,  she saw a black mist gathering and thickened near Rabutan. She saw Sasshi came out of it and rushed over to the young demon.

Realizing the same, Jurina turned and saw Sasshi’s pained expression as she knelt beside Rabutan’s body. She noted some of Sasshi’s wounds that most likely to be from the fight with the others and saw it healing slightly. However, her eyes caught another figure coming out from the mist which made her frozen.

“She’s in a bad shape already. Let’s get her back.” Said the other figure to Sasshi.

The younger of the two nodded and carried the youngest demon in her arms. Sasshi gazed towards half awake Ayaka in pure hatred but she had it under control. Rabutan tilted her head slightly and reached up to Sasshi’s cheek and caressed it.

“Hey, you’re still alive.. I was expecting to get a new partner if you’re dead…” spoke Rabutan softly.

Sasshi chuckled, “Too bad you’re staying with me for another moments, Tsundere.”

Even know she dazed towards the two, but Jurina wasn’t looking at them. In fact, she’s staring into the figure behind them who was doing the same to her. A painful memories played again as she remembers the demon clearly on the day of her burnt life, the day she lost everything..

The demon’s face was difficult to read, she only eyed her and spoke with a decent tone.

“You’ve grown.”

Sasshi gazed up to Jurina and smiled dangerously as if she remembers the same thing too. She felt Mariko’s hand on her shoulder, signaling it’s time to go. Before the black mist swallowed them again, Sasshi mouthed to Jurina.

“Be aware of her wrath.” She mouthed before the mist swallowed her into total darkness.

Jurina was stunned and tried to work out what the demon meant. She looked at the sky and realized that the rain has stopped but still leaving the dark clouds and rumbling sky. She glanced to Matsubara who seemed to regaining her consciousness as she sat up and holding her head.

Jurina lied Ayaka down and approached the girl. The girl eyes widened when she finds Jurina’s hand rested on her shoulder and looked at the younger girl in fear.

“Please don’t be afraid of me.” Said Jurina. “You are one of my priest, Matsubara Natsumi.”

“What? I don-“ her voice was cut off by an instant images flashing before her eyes by the time Jurina’s eyes met hers.

Once it’s over, she breathed rapidly and met Jurina’s eyes again. Only this time, Matsubara’s eyes were a bit different as if a new power just surged into her and refreshing her a little.

“My lady.. Kaguya hime –sama..” she spoke softly. “I remembered now..”

Jurina smiled in relieve, “Welcome back, Priest of Soul.”
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 2)
Post by: Minamiyuki on July 30, 2014, 03:48:28 PM
As much as I like this fic because of the genre...

The thing that I like more is your signature.. REALLY NICE~!!!!  XD XD XD

Waiting for your next update...  :) :) :)
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 2)
Post by: Cometerz48 on August 03, 2014, 08:46:05 AM
Chapter 8 - Information (Part 3)


Sayaka's POV

"Kai."

I woke up somewhere I've never seen before. I found myself lying on the ground, the soft green grass wavering in the calm breeze. I looked up and saw two people, walking off somewhere together, holding hands.

Taking my sword, I followed them as a stone path appeared, leading the pair into a beautiful hideaway. The moon was full and shining under the two as the stars glimmered and shined. The reflection bounced off the lake as the river trickled down the path. They went under a large waterfall and looked up at the starry sky together from the dark cave.

Coming closer, I could hear some of their conversation. One girl brushed her long hair back as the other girl with shorter hair smiled and spoke to her. She mouthed something that made the other blush and turn her head away.

Did she... confess? I thought.

Seeing how this situation was playing out, it seemed perfect for a confession. It's night, the moon is out, and these two... they're both beautiful. They act like a couple in love, too.

Something I always admired. Who knew I was actually watching it in front of my eyes.

I saw the shorter haired girl held the other's chin and turned her face to look at her. She stared deep into her eyes before leaning closer and...

Oh my... I blushed madly and turned my face away for a bit as I saw them kiss. Calming myself, I turned back, but...

They were gone.

"Eh?"

"Sayaka."

I turned and saw a woman standing behind me. I recognized her. She was the girl with the long hair, the one who...

"You... Are you Kai?"

"Yes."

"And, that girl who was with you... Is she..?"

"Yes." A straightforward answer! "Don't worry. This is only a memory. MY memory."

Oh... That's it. I must be dreaming. And yet, I could feel my heart pounding, still.

"You must listen to me. That girl, Kuu, she is in danger."

"Eh?"

"She is being held down by a curse. Her current life is unable to reawaken. If she stays like this, Kuu will disappear forever."

"Where is she? Tell me where she is."

Instead of answering, Kai came closer to me and held my chest. I felt something grow warm as she whispered a few words silently. Slowly, she drew her hand out, and I saw a faint red line appear.

"This is what connected me to Kuu. And it is also connecting you with her current life."

"What should I do when I find her?"

"You must find her, Sayaka. And give her what I couldn't, 100 years ago."

"Wait, what? What do I need to--"

"Don't worry, she'll help you." said Kai pointing behind me. I turned and saw Matsubara standing with a shocked expression.

I couldn't help not to hung my mouth open, "What are you doing here? H-how..?"

"I..." she looked up to Kai as if asking for help.

Kai smiled, "Just start slow, Priest of Soul."

==================

A few minutes ago...

Yuka's POV

The smell of burnt woke me up with a wrinkled nose due to the authentic smell. I groaned by the sharp pain on my chest after just moving a bit of my body.

"Yuka!!"

"I wouldn't move more than that if I were you."

I opened my eyes and saw Jurina smiled down at me beside the bed with a burnt plant in her hand, my guess was that it was the smell of that thing. I glanced to the side and saw Matsubara leaning against the wall as she dabbed her sweaty forehead with a small towel.

"What happened?" I croaked weakly. I touched my chest and found it bare except with gauze covering it, exactly where Sasshi stepped on me.

"The demons left after another fight takes place." grunted Yuko from a hammock hanging beside the window. "Matsubara got us here to her hut and took care of the wounds with Jurina."

"I never knew that Holy Water would be such a marvelous healing substance." mumbled Matsubara before she sips a glass of water.

"Sayaka..." I mumbled. "What happened to her..? I remembered that she didn't breathe at a-"

"She's alive." pointed Jurina to a couch in the middle of the room. I could vaguely see her lying there with sweats pouring on her face.

"My lady, I felt something from Kai.." said Matsubara with a worried expression. "Do you think that she might be-"

"Kuu... No please don't.. don't leave me..." mumbled Sayaka while her eyes are still shut. Confused, I turned to Jurina and Matsubara whom nodded in agreement.

"Go for it. You can do it." said Jurina reassuringly. Matsubara looked at her nervously and uncertain.

"What's Matsuba-"

"Just watch." said Jurina. She nods again to the girl and watched her approaching Sayaka. Matsubara grasped the bandaged up hands of the former officer and closed her eyes. As if someone opened the window and let the air in, her hair blew in the air gently as she mumbled a few prayers.

"First off, you might be wondering who on earth is Kai and Kuu, correct?" asked Jurina. I nodded and payed my attention to the younger girl. "Kai and Kuu are the previous Samurai Princess along with Riku and Hinata."

Hinata..? I remembered the voice inside my head when I fought Sasshi.

"She was the Samurai of Fire wasn't she? She's the voice I kept hearing inside my head."

Jurina nodded, "The four sacrificed their lives 100 years ago when they sealed Maou. Their powers and parts of their soul are locked inside the element orbs like this one." she pointed at my locket where the red gem was attached there from the first time I fought one of Maou's minions.

"Oh, is that what they are..."

"Since you managed to absorb some of the powers from the orb, you'll also need to be able to cooperate with the souls that comes along with it." continued Jurina. "From what I heard from Yuko, it seemed that your fight with Sasshi was the first time Hinata made a contact with you directly, right?"

"Yes it was." I answered. "She helped me maintaining my power and kept the fire surrounding me steady."

"The souls can help you maintain your power since they have experienced controlling it better than any of you." chimed in Yuko as she tried getting down from the hammock. "But that's not the only thing that they would be sharing with you."

"Fragments of memories from the previous Samurai Princess would also comes occasionally, like what Sayaka is experiencing now." said Jurina. "Not only Kai helped her controlling her power, she took over her consciousness completely."

My eyes widened, "Taking over completely? Like controlling every single thing?"

Yuko nodded and grunted as she settled to an empty chair, "Mind and body and power, the souls of the previous ones can take over completely over an agreement they made with the owner of the body. And it seemed like Sayaka had it after she passed out from the lightning strike."

"Then what's Matsubara got to do with it all?" I pointed out. "How come you seemed to trust her and how come she suddenly did the same to towards us?"

Jurina smiled, "She's one of my priests. From the first Samurai Princesses, I always pointed out five chosen females to be my priests. Their job are to find and support the Samurai Princess that are scattered across the land."

"The memories of previous priests would appear in each of their dreams, pronouncing that they would become the next priests. After that, memories would appear again occasionally, telling and teaching them how to realize their duties."

"As for Matsubara, she is called The Priest of Soul. Her duty is specialized in helping the souls in cooperating with the new Samurai Princess, it gives her power to enter someone's inner heart to seek the deepest part of someone's soul and helped them."

"Like what she's doing now here." pointed Yuko. "She's seeking for Kai and Sayaka."

I nodded in understandment.

"Then where is Ayaka?"

Jurina sighed, "She's outside. She recovered first than anybody else, she said she needed time for herself."

"What happened to her?" I asked. "Is it got to do with her soul too?"

"Remember when I said that she's a special case?" asked Jurina. "Her special case is the problem."

====================================

Meanwhile, in another place...

Third Person POV

As the full moon shined over the Miyazawa palace, in the darkness, a figure slipped by and hid in pitch black shadows as Haru returned from his nightly duties and was dismissed to his room. Her feet moved light and delicately across the wooden floor. She moved swiftly, like the wind, not being noticed by the young man. As he closed the door to his room, Yuki stepped out and walked closer to her husband's door.

After following him, she silently reached his bedroom door and opened it slightly to look inside. She saw Haru unraveling the gauze on his arm, revealing the black markings edged in his skin. He stared at himself in the mirror, his eyes darker than normal. Yuki was worried that the curse was changing him, and she would eventually lose her beloved husband, or worse, Kuu could disappear and Sae will never realize her destiny.

"Haru... why would you go this far?"

"Argh!" She heard a sudden groan in pain and a loud bang.

She looked back and saw Haru had fallen to his knees, banging the table as he held his head, screaming in agony.

Yuki didn't know what else to do and quickly ran to her room.

Meanwhile, Haru continued fighting the pain in his head, moaning and groaning as he felt something trying to invade his mind. It felt like someone was controlling him, and it hurt like Hell as he fought back the mysterious force.

"Quit fighting. Just let yourself go."

"Wh... what... a-are you..?!"

"Don't resist it, Miyazawa Haru. Release that darkness within you."

"N-no! Show yourself!"

Haru began seeing things. He was seeing dark, evil things and started attacking them, turning his room into a complete mess. When Yuki got back, she saw what was going on with him and started panicking. She tried to cover up her act and knocked on his door.

"Haru, are you okay?"

"Go away!" he roared angrily, along with an almost demonic voice.

Yuki began feeling scared and didn't want to confront Haru in this state. She hurried to another part of the palace and went into Sae's room. She saw Sae was still sleeping and found her blue rose burette on her bedside desk.

She took out a special ofuda scroll and said a few prayers over it before releasing a strong burst of energy. The orb reacted and shined brightly, accepting the energy. It was an anti-kage spell, that would protect her from any dark magic or kages. Of course, this was still ineffective to the memory spell, since it was too strong.

Yuki looked back at the now peacefully sleeping Sae. She frowned as she pulled back her bangs and kissed her forehead.

"Kuu, if you can hear me, please. Help Sae wake up." begged Yuki.

Back with Haru...

"You cannot win against your inner demons. You won't be able to hide for too long."


Haru slowly got up, looking at himself in the mirror as he felt himself grow weak. He saw a shadow in his mirror grinning at him evilly.

"What the hell... are you supposed to be?"

"Why don't I show you?"

The shadow reached out and Haru was taken aback by darkness. The next second, he felt an intense pain throughout his whole body and screamed loudly. He collapsed on the floor as his body spasmed and his mind slowly started slipping out of control.

"You've been holding me back for too long. It's MY turn now!"

"GAAAAAAAHH!!!!"

*SNAP*

A figure snapped her fingers as she appeared from the room and Haru finally lost consciousness. The young woman, although her looks and outfit were very masculine, she was very much a girl, walked over to Haru and whispered in his ear.

"Ohayou~. We got rid of the nuisance." she said in a low tone. "Come out, come out~."

Haru opened his eyes and slowly rose up. However, it was not Haru inside, but a different person, taken over his body completely. He looked at his reflection. Haru's face, Haru's body... but his eyes were pitch black and an evil grin on his face as he let out a sinister chuckle.

"Finally, I'm free."

====================================

Back at Matsubara's hut

Ayaka glanced up the sky and watched the millions of bright stars scattered across the horizon. Kaguya's Holy Water did well with her shoulder since it saved her broken nerves connecting to her arms thanks to the rapid chi blocking from Jurina. Although, her arm still felt a little rigid, it's still better than the time she woke up.

Jurina told her everything, Matsubara's involvements, the system of the priests, and her problem.

Ayaka closed her eyes and sighed. She willed herself to be brought to the place where her Kage and Riku stayed. By the time she opened her eyes, she arrived once more in front of the bars and saw the couch attended as usual with a dark silhouette.

"You mad at me? I saved your life, y'know." said her Kage to begin with.

Ayaka fell silence since part of that was true. She wasn't sure if she's actually mad at her Kage, all she knew is that she needed to discuss something.

"Where is Riku?" asked the young girl. "I wish to talk with her."

"I'm right here." She turned around and saw Riku standing behind me.

"Riku.. So you're the previous Samurai of Earth."

"Yes I am, Ayaka." she smiled and approached her. "I have been watching for sometime. Your inner shadow concealed me enough not to be discovered by that certain demon."

"Who..?"

"Sayanee." answered her Kage. "Sayanee has a similar ability as what Matsubara has. She looked deep inside to seek for the previous souls of the Samurai Princess and what makes her different is that she would destroy it first by breaking your mind so that it will be extremely difficult to work with the previous souls."

"Like earlier..."

"Yup. And when that happens, there will be a point where the previous souls would fade away in trying to work with your mind. Fade until it disappeared completely."

"It almost happened to me." sighed Riku. "I encountered Sayanee before I knew much of my previous soul. She messed up my mind easily and fell into the edge of insanity, it goes till it reached the point where Kaguya-hime nearly decided to extract my power and what's left of my previous soul forcefully from my body."

"What happened then..?" asked Ayaka.

"Do you remember feeling the Earth for the first time?" asked Riku. "The tug in your guts when you plunged the bear to that deep hole? That's the Earth helping you."

Ayaka's eyes widened, "The Earth's alive?"

"Of course it is!" exclaimed Riku. "How would it gives lives to plants? How would volcanoes erupt if it weren't for the Earth's impulses?"

"Huh... I guess that makes sense."

"The Earth helped me, it absorb my insanity and neutralized it. Not only that, it tells me the remains of the previous Samurai Princess before me." said Riku slowly.

"How can the Earth do that?"

"What makes Earth special is that it remembers." smiled Riku. "The previous Samurai of Earth spend time mostly with the Earth, feeling the Earth's rumbles in her feet, being one with it as they fight side to side."

"It's alive then." Concluded Ayaka. "Like a partner."

"More like a trio actually if you add the previous soul too." shrugged Riku. "Now, you do realize why this is going to adds up to your problem, right?"

Ayaka's eyes widened in reply before nodding.

"Yes I do.."

=======================

"She has too many things inside her head."

"What?!" asked Yuka in awe.

"As I explained to you before about her Kage, it just adds up to number of inner connections she would have in her head." stated Yuko simply. "It was bad enough for her to actually owns a Kage, what's worse she has Riku starting to awakened and the thoughts of The Earth itself."

"So she has a total of four things going on in her head at once?!"

"Yes." said Jurina. "That's when Matsubara comes in handy. As the priest of soul, her job is also to maintain the inner connections so it stayed clear and smooth. Having these inner connections aren't easy, Yuka. You will experience tons of headaches occasionally."

"I think I already had." said Yuka caressing her head. "Wow, then I guess Ayaka will be the ones having more headaches than us.."

"Not only headaches." chimed in Yuko. "There is a possibility she'd go insane if Matsubara can't help her at all and this time, nothing can regain it back."

"We can't let that happen!"

"We know. That's why we have Matsubara here."

Meanwhile, in Sayaka's mind...

Sayaka's POV

"So, that's how it is..." The two nodded at my answer. "I understand."

"Eh? That was fast." Matsubara said, a bit shocked.

"I've been through a lot the past few days, so I'm pretty much used to it now."

Kai smiled and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"You know what to do now, right?"

"Yeah."

"We're counting on you girls."

"Things have only just begun..."

I nodded simply. There's no other way to answer; it is my destiny after all.

"Jaa..." The two started to leave, but then...

"Wait, Kai." I held her hand and stopped her. "You didn't tell me... what do I need to give to Kuu? I don't have anything."

She smiled sadly and pulled me in for a hug.

"Eh?"

"You do. The both of us have it. You will know when you meet her..."

"What..."

I saw something bright in my eyes and felt myself being pulled back. When I opened my eyes back up, I saw in a strange house. Matsubara was there, breathing heavily as Yuko and Jurina supported her.

"Sayaka, you're back!" exclaimed Yuka from a bed. Wow, she looked pretty beaten up..

"Yuka..." That's weird. She didn't add the '-chan' part. She just called me Sayaka. She looks so serious, I bet something really bad is happening.

"Glad you're okay, Sayaka."

"Matsubara, how do you feel right now?"

"Call me Natsumi. I'm tired, but... I think..."

"You wore yourself out, Natsumi-chan. Just rest for a bit." Yuka said, patting her shoulder.

"B-but..."

"She's right. You'll need the energy." Jurina said. "We'll deal with Ayaka later."

The three walked off, leaving me and Yuka alone in the room.

"What's wrong with Ayaka?"

"She's got too many connections going on inside her, or something, and they need Natsumi-chan to save her, or she might go...." explained Yuka as she jerked her thumb to the outside.

"Insane." finished Yuko up.

"Oh..." I bit my lip, looking back at the door. I turned and saw Ayaka standing out there, her eyes shut.

I hope she'll be okay...

=======================

Meanwhile, in another place...

Deep hidden in a forest, the ruins of what once to be a castle lied silently. Despite of it's silence, it is not forgotten nor unattended. Mortals who came too close to the castle would disintegrate instantly by the curses set up around it.

Underneath the castle, lied a deep, deep hole. If you can listen very closely, you would hear horrible screams of thousands of soul. If you're wondering what was inside the hole, I'll tell you. It is the Hell it self, torturing thousands and millions of evil souls of humans or the devils. Those souls can never get out from the hole, it is sealed close by a powerful spell created from thousands of lights.

However, despite it has been holding on for years, the seal has slowly weakened. And the voices of the tortured gets louder and louder due something else, they have been absorb by something else and now screaming louder for help.

Whatever it is, it is big and most importantly; Evil.

A demon watched the hole closely from the edge of the hole. She can feel the Hell was pulling her mentally back in, but from hundreds of years of experience she is strong enough to resist it.

"They're slowly healing up." said a voice. The demon turned and saw a woman walking in to the room. The woman was surprisingly a mortal but she is no ordinary ones, the demon could feel a dark aura of black magic surrounding it.

"Thank you, Tomochin." said the demon. "I bet Sasshi was screaming herself out."

"Nah, she pretended to be strong since Rabutan is beside her." said the one called Tomochin. She glanced at the hole with curled lips.

"He's rising isn't he?"

The demon nodded, "Soon he will be awakened completely. And when that happens, you'll definitely be rewarded."

"How about if I be awarded by you instead..?" asked Tomochin with a smile. "Mariko, I don't care if it's wrong. I know you love me."

Mariko smiled in reply and approached the witch. She bent down to caressed the soft cheek with her delicate fingers and whispered in her ear.

"Maybe later. I have to check out the others first."

"You're always delaying things, Mariko." said Tomochin. "But I'm glad that I summoned you all in the first place."

"You are one nasty human, Itano Tomomi." said Mariko. "Which is why I like you and I'll save you for later. In the meantime, have you check our special friend yet? I am disappointed that Sasshi and Rabutan failed to retrieve the thing we need."

"She's perfectly still in the same condition after 13 years." answered Tomochin. "The freeze curse you casted did well."

"Marvelous." grinned Mariko. "Well then, I'll see you again.. for your reward." then the demon disappeared.

Mariko landed on stone floor with a thud and black mist swirled around her before revealing her to a young demon playing with her pets.

"Ah, Mariko-sama!" straightened up the young demon.

"At ease, Milky." said Mariko with a smile. "Where's Sayanee? I wish to talk to her."

"She's away at the moment, I'm afraid." pouted Milky. "She said she's pursuing her interest right now."

"She is one curious demon." sighed Mariko. "If she's back, tell her to check on our special friend."

"What's happening with her?" asked Milky.

"Something that only Sayanee can do and something that Tomochin can't." said Mariko.

Milky nodded, "Speaking of Tomochin.. How long are you planning to accept her?"

Mariko's lips curled in instant and in no time she already has Milky's neck in her hand. The young demon widened her eyes in shock before it flashed a great fear towards the older demon.

"You do not speak of her that way, understood? Next time you're asking the same type of thing, I'll snap this neck of yours and threw you back in that hole." she spoke coldly to Milky with a very dark aura surrounding her.

Milky gulped and nodded furiously before Mariko released her.

"Now where is your partner, Mieko?" asked Mariko with an unusual bright tone to a shadow hidden behind a pillar.

"She's on her way back." said a voice before the shadow transformed into a woman with long silky black hair. "She should be here by no-"

Her voice was cut off by a sudden weight on her back and made her fall forward in surprise. Mieko sighed as she turned her head and gave a dark look on the new figure.

"Nishishi.. GET OFF ME!!" yelled Mieko loudly. The new figure smiled in amusement as she blocked her ears to protect her from Mieko's scream.

"My my.. Baba's scream is sure scary~" cooed Nishishi with a grin. She could see Meiko's vein popped a little in the corner of her forehead.

"Oi! I'm as old as Mariko! If you're calling me a baba then you're calling her one too!" retorted Mieko.

Nishishi glanced at a pissed looking Mariko and smiled apologetically. Mariko sighed, the issue of her being the oldest along with Mieko has been bothersome for years, But thankfully, she's getting used to it.

"Where have you been, Nishishi?" asked Mariko patiently.

"I did what you asked, Mariko-sama." bowed Nishishi like a gentleman. "I am glad to have consulted with Sayanee for your order. She is one smart demon."

"Very well." said Mariko. "Did you have any problems?"

"I am not sure yet of my deduction, Mariko-sama." said Nishishi. "I'll go with Mieko tomorrow to make sure about it first before resolving it."

"Perfect." said Mariko with a triumphant smile. "We'll be counting back now for our Lord's awakening. Soon enough, the Demons will have their rights back in this world."

"Yes, Mariko-sama!" said the other three demons together in sync.



To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 3)
Post by: Yuki88 on August 03, 2014, 08:28:14 PM
It's getting interesting. Haru finally overwhelmed by his Kage. And then the princesses.... SAYAKA GONNA SAVE SAE HAHA
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 3)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on August 06, 2014, 09:34:16 PM
Chapter 9 -- Information (Part 4)



Third Person POV

A pair of eyes was watching through the thick bushes of the forest. The sounds of footsteps she produced was close to none as she was an expert in terms of staying low. The lucid dark blue eyes of hers watch closely of her target, a girl in her middle teenage year.

The stalker leapt one tree to another as she followed the horses that carries her and her companions. The stalker was one hell of a devil after all, but superbly she has a big curiosity over things that ordinary demons won't have interest in. She smiled thinly as she watched the girl kept glancing behind anxiously as if she knew she was being followed. But of course she doesn't know who.

"Is there anything wrong, Ami-san?" asked an older woman riding a horse beside her. From the look she has, the demon guess she was at the end of her twenties.

The girl shook her head awkwardly. The demon knew it was just a cover of something lied deep inside the girl, something she has an interest on lately since her encounter with The Samurai of Earth, Umeda Ayaka.

"Noro-san, where are we going?" asked another girl who seems to be her older sister.

"I know you're tired, Atsuko-san, Ami-san. But we'll reach our destination soon, we'll be safe under their hospitality."

"Actually you have, Noro-san." said a new voice coming from the bushes not far from Sayanee.

Sayanee blends into the darkness and saw a figure riding it's horse coming out of the bushes before lowering her black hood.

"Long time no see, Takamina-san.. Oh, pardon me. I mean, General Takahashi-san.." smirked the one called Noro.

"You can still call me Takamina if you want, Noro," smiled the approaching woman. "Are these the girls you were talking about?" she looked around to see the other two girls.

"Yes." said Noro getting down from her horse. "Maeda Atsuko-san, Maeda Ami-san please let me introduce you to General Takahashi Minami."

"Pleasure to meet you." said Takamina approaching and took Atsuko's hand and kissed it. Even under the faint moonlight, Sayanee could see the girl blushed after such action.

"Alright then.." said Noro. "Ladies, please follow General Takahashi for now. She will offer you protections for the time being at her place."

"Where are you going then, Noro-san?" asked Ami. "Are you leaving us?"

Noro smiled grimly at the young girl, "I have to Ami-san.. I have.." she glanced at Takamina. "Something to do."

"What is it, Noro?" asked Atsuko. "You better tell us since our mother is dead now with no explanations coming from you and all the sudden we're wanted in Edo!"

"Lady Maeda, I-" Noro glanced at Takamina for help.

"Lady Maeda, Noro has her reasons. She needs to do something very important and I'm afraid we cannot tell you any about it." said the General as she put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Great, another secret.." grumbled Atsuko.

"Does it got to do something I did back there..?" asked Ami slowly. "It does isn't it?"

"Lady Maeda I-" Noro's words somehow caught in mid air just as Sayanee pulled out her blade. The sound of metal grazed her clothes material gave away her hiding spot.

Takamina shot a dagger and landed just beside Sayanee's cheek, the metal managed to scratch her cheek.

"Come out! I know you've been following us since we left the border!" yelled Noro.

Cursing, Sayanee walked out of her hiding spot in her human form. Her eyes finally met her target as the younger one looked horrified.

"Y-you.."

"You know her, Aamin?" asked Atsuko embracing the girl.

"I.. I saw her on Ayaka's coronation. She's the one I saw before I blacked out."

Sayanee smirked, "Ara ara.. I guess my spell was accurate then. For the fact, the one you saw was my clone and it was there to accompany the gift that my friend sent for your cousin."

"A gift?!" spat Atsuko. She angrily started approaching the demon. "That thing killed our Mother!!"

"Now, now..." Milky stepped out from behind and blocked her path. "Let's not get a hot head."

"Why you!" Atsuko grabbed Milky by her collar and was about to make her move, but then she felt something inside shut down as she stared into Milky's eyes.

Milky made her let go of her collar, letting Atsuko's hands dropped to their side as she silently stepped back from her.

"Good girl~"

"Lady Maeda!" yelled Takamina before she rushed to Milky with her sword out. Only to be clashed by Sayanee's bow.

"Not a chance, human." smirked Sayanee before she brings the blade upwards and kicked the general's stomach.

The general was thrown back to Noro who managed to catch her. Ami screamed in fear as she watched her sister being caressed by Milky.

"Sis.."

"Nee, you do know that we need your sister, right?" whispered Milky to Atsuko's ear.

"Yes." answered Atsuko shortly before she grabbed Ami's wrist a flash.

"Sis! Let go!! You're hurting me!!" yelled Ami as she tried to struggle from her sister's steel grasp.

Noro took the action and managed to separate both of them. She held on Ami while Takamina grasped on Atsuko's wrist.

"Maeda-san!! Snap out of it!!" yelled Takamina to Atsuko's blank eyes.

"Hmm.. This is delaying time." said Sayanee watching the ruckus.

"Mariko-sama is expecting you, Sayanee." said Milky. "She doesn't seemed to be happy and she's urging to see you."

"Did somebody offended her or something?"

"I did."

"About..?"

Milky sighed, "Tomochin."

Sayanee gave the look 'figures' to her partner, but Takamina was strangely glanced at Milky by the name she just spoke.

"T-Tomo.. chin?"

The two demons glanced at the general in surprise. The general was so stunned by Milky's words that she did not have time to dodge Atsuko's headbutt. The short General fell to her knees as she clutched her forehead.

"Takamina!" yelled Noro before she knelt beside her friend.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt." winced Sayanee. "Say, you knew our friend Tomochin, midget."

"Don't call me a midget!!" yelled Takamina before she threw a knife towards Sayanee and only to be caught by Milky.

"Sayanee.. I'd love to know more about Tomochin from her, but we really need to go now." said Milky.

"Alright. Command the girl there then." pointed Sayanee to Atsuko.

"Go grab your lil sis." smirked Milky. Atsuko once again grasped her sister's wrist hardly that Ami thinks that it's definitely going to leave a bruise.

"Dang it.." gritted Noro. She pulled back Atsuko once more and stood between the Maeda's. She pushed her sleeve and pointed a pentagram drawn on her palm and pointed it towards Atsuko.

The pentagram glowed in orange before it pushed Atsuko back and crashed to a tree. Sayanee curled her lips in displeased realizing the pentagram. It was a special one to protect from dark magic and evils.

"A Kaguya Priest, eh?" said Sayanee hastily. "I have no time to handle you, now."

"But I'll definitely return for my interesting object there." she pointed up at the terrified Ami.

"Be gone, demons." said Noro before the two demons vanished in a thick black mists.

Takamina ran up to Atsuko who seemed to be unconscious from the force. Ami knelt beside her and started sobbing.

"Lady Maeda, please follow my instructions for you and your sister's sake." pleaded Noro as she hugged the young girl. "stay with Takahashi-san and your sister. That people you just saw are demons.. They are now the enemy of your cousin, Umeda Ayaka."

"Ayaka..? But wh-"

"Your cousin is a part of a legend, you can find out more from Takahashi-san . But I really need to go now." said Noro before she mounted her horse.

"Noro before you go." cut off Takamina. "Please find out about Tomochin.."

Noro's eyes widened in hearing the name, "Takamina, you realized that she's alre-"

"Please! " exclaimed Takamina. "There's got to be a reason."

Noro nodded, "very well. I'll see you all later if we all were to survive. Takamina, don't forget to tell Haruna that-"

"I know. Take care." said Takamina before nods back at the lady and watched her left the scene.

===========================

The next day came quickly, the count down in Mariko's mind has started to getting closer of her master's rebirth. She knew soon enough her master will bring glory back to the demon beings.

She watched the deep hole again and sat by the chains hung up above the hole. She remembered it clearly a hundred years ago when the previous Samurai Princesses used the chains to bound her master before sealing him into the hole.

Kai, Kuu, Hinata, Riku...

The four names she could not forget nor to forgive for the things they did one hundred years ago. Mariko lost her precious friends, families, students.. Even her beloved one died in her hand after Kai's blade pierced her right in front of her eyes.

The chains rattled due to the tremendous dark aura the Demon produced just from remembering it all. All the demons knew that the demon that goes by the call Mariko-sama, only has one eternal grudge against. It was none other than The Samurai of Water herself, Kai.

The only time she felt the cursed presence was just after she picked up Sasshi after her hasty actions of disobeying with her command. It was no doubt it was Kai inside that girl lying in the hands of Ameratsu's daughter, just from the figure Mariko can tell how Kai chose her next one well..

"Remember my wrath, Samurai of Water.. I shall never forgive you." spoke Mariko dangerously and broke a part of the chain in her hand.

"Mariko-sama seemed to be in a dangerous mood, eh?" chimed a voice.

Mariko looked bellow and saw Nishishi sitting on a rock bellow with Mieko by her side.

"How did it go? Did you managed to find out about the problem?" asked Mariko.

Nishishi sighed, "Mieko, tell her about it."

===========================

An hour ago...

Haru's kage chuckled as he looked at himself in the mirror. Taking over his host's body after being locked up for so long, he finally felt like he was alive. He took in a deep breath and chuckled.

"It feels good to be free."

"You should thank me," Nishishi said as she stared in success at her work. "I was finally able to make that guy snap."

"Haru deserved a wake up call. He's been lying to himself for far too long."

A small giggle came from behind as Mieko appeared. "But still, you can't deny him."

"Huh?"

"It was his feelings for his lil' sister that drove him to this, along with the love he has for Kuu. Plus, he's hot~" grinned Mieko.

Nishishi face palmed as the older girl was grinning like an idiot.

"It's all that damned girl's fault, y'know. She'd always say, 'I love Haru-kun~!', and that REALLY put down pressure on us. Still, it's such a huge gap between her personality and Kuu's."

"Kuu, huh... That bastard thinks he can act like that to try and bind her." Nishishi growled.

Her partner looked up and clung to her arm.

"But, now, we can finally get our hands on that girl and destroy her once and for all."

"We've got her right in the palm of our hands."

The handsome girl laughed as she faced the mirror along with him.

"Now, we gotta take care of those other girls. Or else, they'll get in the way."

"The priestess? No problem. She's completely under our control. And that daughter of hers doesn't even suspect the thing."

"So, all that's left is the sister."

Mieko smirked, "Leave that to me."

She snapped her fingers and instantly became a mirror image of Haru. She giggled as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Uwaa~ Truly, this man is perfect! I wish he had married me instead of that priestess~."

"Focus, Mieko. Go find that sister of his and put her out of her misery."

"Roger doger!"

Meanwhile with Sae...

Sae woke up from her sleep and saw it was already night time. She was very surprised that she had slept through most of the day, but then again, when the storm was coming, nobody could tell what time it was. She was probably the only one awake, she thought.

Just then, the door opened and Haru walked in.

"Sae-chan~"

"Haru? You're still up? It's the middle of the night."

"I was worried about you when you almost got hit by lightning, Sae-chan. I can't rest knowing my imouto was almost hurt~."

Even though she noticed Haru's strange behavior, she could still see he was very worried about her safety. She brushed off the weird vocal pattern and got up.

"Well, thank you, Haru. That's very sweet of you," she said with a smile. She slowly stood up from the bed and sat down beside her brother. "I'm wide awake now. So..."

"Yeah, I don't feel tired either. But, you're still young, Sae-chan. You should get to sleep."

"Eh? But I don't even..."

When she looked up at Haru, she saw a red glow coming from his eyes and suddenly felt the world slow down. There was a buzzing in her head as she tried to keep her eyes open, but as she grew stronger, a strange wave of drowsiness washed over her.

"That's weird... I suddenly feel... so.. sleepy..." Sae's eyes fluttered closed as her whole body collapsed into Haru's arms and she fell deep asleep.

Mieko smiled and separated the girl from her.

"Good girl~. Now then..."

She coated her arm in a dark aura and put her hand on Sae's head.

"Time to get rid of that bothersome Samurai Princess."

But right as she felt her powers enter Sae's mind.

"..I won't.. do it..."

She felt a great shock hit her hand and made her retract her hand from Sae's head.

"Ackkhh!!" yelped Mieko shaking her hand. She looked at her palm and found it scorched up a little after the shock hit her. "What the hell..."

"N-no... I won't do it. I won't hurt Haru..." mumbled Sae in her sleep.

Mieko looked around and saw the blue rose burette near her. There was a familiar pentagram glowing inside the green orb. Mieko's eyes widened, it's been a hundred years since she saw the pentagram.

"A mark of Kaguya's Priest!" Mieko stood up in anger and reverted back to her old self. "Darn it! Almost had her, too.. Mariko is not gonna like this."

Mieko was about to leave but then she sensed a movement coming close to the door, she jumped behind a pillar just in time to hear Mayu's footsteps approaching Sae's bed.

"Sae-chan~ Let's play~" she wailed as she approached the bed and shook the princess's body. "Mou~ Sae-chan!!"

Mieko sighed, it was just Haru's daughter. She quickly sneaked out to the door and closed it very silently.

Sae's eyes opened slightly and she shook off the rest of her drowsiness. "Eh..."

"Sae-chan, wake up~! I wanna play!"

"Mayuyu...? How long was I asleep?" said the older girl as she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"You were sleeping in here ALL day, Sae-chan. The moon's out now!"

Sae opened her door and saw the moon was already high in the sky. She and Mayu sat down, looking at the stars. She heard the younger girl singing a song as she swung her feet.

"Usagi-chan~ Bunny rabbit on the moon~ Is he making mocchi mocchi Mocchi~ tonight as well? Kawaii usagi-chan~ I wanna meet you~ Let's go to the moon and eat Mocchi with him!"

"You sure you're not tired, Mayuyu?"

"Nope. I wanna stay up ALL~~~ night with you, Sae-chan!"

"Alright then." Sae stood up and smiled. "We've got the whole garden to ourselves. Let's play."

"Yay~"

Mayu and Sae ran off together, playing without a care in the world as Mieko came back to Nishishi's side. The two demons then watched the two mortal played peacefully with no idea what is going on.

====================

"Honestly..." Mariko scoffed. "I'd have an easier time with that task."

"Sure you can if you're not too busy flirting with that filthy human."

Mariko's ear twitched and she turned to Nishishi with a dark glare.

"Nishishi!" hissed Mieko dangerously.

"What did you just say?"

"Just saying maybe you can do better if you're not too busy to make out with that hum-"

*SLAP*

The sound roared loudly in the area, leaving an echo as it all went silent. Mieko covered her mouth in horror as she stared at the new shade of red on the handsome demon's cheek. Nishishi looked back and saw Mariko's eyes were pitch black.

"Don't you dare call her that... Don't you ever, ever, use her name in vein like that, Nishishi. Got it?"

Nishishi stared at the older demon's eyes dangerously. Despite being the third oldest after Mariko and Mieko, Nishishi is possibly the strongest hardheaded among them. It was not a surprise to see her eyes flickered with some fear but also hatreds.

"Nishishi..." said Mieko putting her hand on her shoulder. "Stop it."

But the handsome demon just stared at the the tall demon dangerously and so does the opposite, until the three of them heard a clap.

"Well, well.. I guess I came on the wrong time then.." said an amused voice that could be none other from Sayanee herself. "Go on, please continue. I'd like to see Mariko-sama's wrath for sometimes.."

"Where have you been?" asked Mariko.

"Chasing my recent interest." answered Sayanee. "Just common research."

"If you're looking for an interest, check our 13 years old freezed friend." said Mariko. "I believe you would find yourself occupied with her from now."

"Ooh~ Is she waking up?" cooed Sayanee. "I guess I should go now then~"

"Let me leave first, Sayanee." growled Nishishi. "I have no interest in being in the same place as someone who swallowed their own saliva."

"Nishishi!!" gritted Mieko. But the male looking demon already vanished into thick dark mist. "Mou..!"

Mieko sighed before doing the same.

Mariko's fist are still clenched tightly and Sayanee could see the anger being kept down  by the older demon. As a smart being, Sayanee knew it's not the right time to bother her.

"Very well, leave and do your job, Sayanee." dismissed Mariko. The short haired raven girl nodded before the thick dark mist swallowed her.

==================================

The next morning...

Sayaka's POV

Early that morning, the smell of cooking managed to pull me up into a consciousness. I opened my eyes with the drowsy feeling which I guess was from a sleeping potion Natsumi gave last night. I looked around Yuka was still snoring on the bed while Yuko's on a hammock.

I narrowed my eyes to look for the other three people, so I got up from the couch and looked around.  There was no one in the kitchen so I presumed that it was from outside. I went out and saw Natsumi was stirring a pot on a stove outside.

"Ohayou." she greeted warmly. "The sleeping potions seemed to be doing it's job well enough."

"I guess it did." I said cracking my neck. "Where's Jurina and Ayaka?"

"Ayaka's up there." pointed Natsumi up on a tree. I looked up and saw the former princess of Edo was standing at the very top of the tree.

"What is she doing up there?"

Natsumi shrugged, "Beat me. She's been there whole morning or maybe the whole night."

Just as I about to open my mouth and yell her to come down, the princess jumped off and landed safely on the ground with her knees bent.

I found her smiling at my gaping mouth and says "Ohayou~"

"How did you do that?!"

"Practice and a little help from Riku." she smiled sheepishly.

"Trying out to cooperate together, I see.." said a new voice that could only be Jurina. The girl came out of the side of the house with an egret in her arm.

"You like birds?" I asked her.

"Not really, but it is good in delivering messages." said Jurina. "We have a lead on where the last of Samurai Princess is."

"Maji?!"

Jurina nodded and pointed the egret, "It was sent to me by another one of my priestesses, Priest of Wind, Kashiwagi." She opened it up and showed it to me.

"Priest of Wind?" asked Ayaka. "Then she knew where Kuu might be."

"Yes. But there is a problem, someone put a memory curse on her and is preventing her from going through the first stage of the awakening."
 
"Wait, you mean all this time she hasn't been conscious of her fate as a samurai princess?!" asked Sayaka.

"Yes." said Jurina grimly. "We have to get to her as soon as we can."

"Hang on a sec!" said Natsumi. "Yuka and Yuko still in a situation far away from being fine, Jurina. And Ayaka's arm still in a bad condition too."

Ayaka narrowed her eyes she accepted a bowl from Natsumi. "What are you talking about, I'm fi-" she dropped the bowl to the ground as she winched in pain.

"Ayaka, are you okay?" I asked the girl who's gritting her teeth in pain.

"I told you. Even with Kaguya's water, you still need at least a few more days to get your nerves mended back." sighed Natsumi.

"Fine." said Jurina. "But Sayaka seemed to be capable. Sayaka, would you go with me?"

I nodded instantly without Kai have to say it for me, "Of course. Kai has been telling me to get to Kuu as soon as possible. She said Kuu is in danger."

"Very well.." said Jurina. "Natsumi, I need you too on this trip. The problem with this one will be involving inner connections with the girl's soul and Kuu's, we need you."

"Kashiwagi-san is residing in the Miyazawa palace. SO that has to be where Kuu's current life is."

"She's married to the prince of the Miyazawa family. Besides the servants, the only other ones with them is their daughter and the prince's twin sister." continued Jurina.

"What are their names?"

"Haru and Sae. I think it's very possible for Sae to be Kuu's current life."

"Hang on a sec! I'll come with you guys, but then who's gonna take care of them?" asked Natsumi.

"I think I'm well enough to defend myself and my friend, thank you." said a new voice from the hut. I turned and saw Yuko leaning to the door.

"Is your ribs healed up completely yet?" asked Natsumi suspiciously.

"It's good as new." grinned Yuko before swinging her body around before approaching the stove. "That stew smells good, Natsumi."

The healer sighed, "Okay. Then I guess I'm coming then.. I'll prepare the horses."

"Good." said Jurina before slurping her stew. "We leave this afternoon with the hope reaching the palace by dusk."

We packed the stuff we need quickly and in a few minutes the three of us were ready with each wearing black cape with hood before climbing on the saddle.

"I'll send you a letter when we need you." said Jurina.

"We'll be okay." said Yuko.

"Please don't mess up my house, you guys.." pleaded Natsumi.

"We won't." retorted Ayaka. "Good luck and come back in one piece."

I nodded before bracing my horse to chase Jurina and Natsumi towards our destination.


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 4)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on August 10, 2014, 10:38:12 PM
Chapter 10 -- Blue Rose (Part 1)


Yuka's POV

"Nee-chan!"

Hm... whose voice is that?

"Nee-chan! Wake up!"

"No~! Give me a little longer. I wanna sleep~..." I grumbled silently.

"Nee-chan! Hey, nee-chan, are you alive?!”

Wait... who is this, anyway..?

I opened my eyes and saw a young boy in front of me. I sat up and looked around my surroundings, an open ground with scraps of wooden crates and ropes lying around littering the ground. I saw a black scorched mark on the ground s if there was a fire camp set there.

"Nee-chan, are you okay?" asked the boy. He seemed to be quite young, around nine or ten.

"Huh... how long was I asleep for? What happened?” I grunted. My head felt a little hazy but slowly fading out.

"You saved me, Nee-chan.. You saved me from those poachers. I heard they’ve been kidnapping kids all over the land and sell them as slaves. And I fall for their traps when I was looking for herbs for my mother. But then, you saved me..” explained the boy before he hugged me. “Thank you, Nee-chan..”

I was still in a state of shock to have a kid hugging me all the sudden like that, but then I smiled and caressed his messy hair. “It’s alright, kid. Say, what’s your name?”

“Osamu.. What’s yours, Nee-chan?”

"Oh, it's..." I was about to say my name, but a force inside me changed it and made me say, "...Hinata."

"Hinata-nee. Nice to meet you, Hinata-nee!"

Hinata... so this is one of Hinata's memories?

Suddenly, I felt a flash in my head and I started speaking on my own.

"My friends are sick. They are going to die if I do not get the proper ingredients. There's a special plant up that mountain..." My finger pointed to a cave on top of a tall mountain. "I'm the only one left who can do it."

"I'll help you!" exclaimed Osamu excitedly.

"You can't! It's too dangerous!"

"I'm strong. I may only be 10, but you'd be surprised. I'll take on ANY challenge! Besides, I think I might know which plant you’re looking for. My mother is a herbalist and also a healer!"

“A herbalist and a healer?” I asked. Osamu nodded.

I felt myself come back and I looked at the boy's face.

I guess he’s not lying then…

"Just tell me what I need to do. I'll DO it!"

I smiled and stood up. "You really up for the challenge?"

"You bet!"

"Alright..." I stood up and walked towards the edge of the mountain’s forest. “Let’s go then~”

After about an hour of marching up the mountain, the both of us took a break under a tree. I have to say, the boy seemed to be strong since the time we start walking up. I offered him my water skin which he gulped it furiously.

“So, what are you looking for? I might know which is it..” offered the boy as her returned my water skin.

“I’m looking for the Moon Lily. My friend said that I can find it in this mountain range.”

The boy’s face went slack just by hearing the name, “You can’t!!”

“Why can’t I?” I furrowed my eyebrows.

The boy shook his head, “It’s too dangerous, Hinata-nee!! My mother said that there’s a dragon that guards the ancient field where that plant grows. Many people that comes for it never returns!!”

"Maji?!"

He nodded. He was serious.

Dang... so, what should I do..?

"Hinata-nee, I'll go by myself and get it!"

"Eh?! But you just said--"

"I'll be okay. I'm small enough that the dragon won't notice me. Plus..." he knelt to the ground and put his ear near the entrance to the cave. "The dragon's asleep."

"You really think you can do it?"

"Leave it to me, Hinata-nee!"

He walked into the cave, leaving me to wait silently.

"I remember this..." I heard Hinata's voice in my head.

"Hinata..."

"That Osamu kid, he was really something."

"I know..."

"Ano~ Yuka..."

"Hm? What? Is something wrong?"

"Well... you may wanna be careful."

"Eh?"

"Hinata-nee! I got it!" I saw Osamu running out with a Lily flower in his hand. But, behind him, I saw...

"Osamu, behind you!"

Osamu turned his head around and I could tell his eyes widened in horror before he screamed at a ten foot tall dragon standing just behind him. The snarling eyes was enough to make him stunned and loosened the grip on the plant.

"Osamu, RUN!!" I yelled.

Osamu dropped the plant and run for his life. I let him passed me first before chasing behind him. I heard the dragon's loud roar behind me as we running down the forest.

Thanks for the heads up! I growled silently to Hinata.

Then I saw Osamu tripped over a rock and fell forward, face first. I stopped and knelt beside him, his face looked a little swollen.

"Osamu, are you okay?" the boy nodded unsurely before getting up and yelped in pain.

"My ankle.. I think I sprained it.." he croaked with such a pained expression.

*ROAR*

Osamu screamed and hugged me tight. I turned and saw the dragon was just a few feet away, staring at us with those eyes and before I knew it, it opened it's mouth and breathed out such an intense heat encased in blue.

Gods, please save us...! I prayed as I closed my eyes desperately and held put my palm.

I felt a warmth swirling around me, I opened my eyes and saw my palm deflecting the blue flame so it swirled around us in blue vortex. I was wonder struck by the beauty of the blue flame, swirling around us without touching a single material of our clothes. Not a single pain I felt either from my palm nor from anywhere else.

Osamu looked up too and whispered, "It's amazing.."

Then the fire died down, leaving the dragon staring down at the two of us intensely. I pulled out my sword and pointed it towards the creature.

"At ease, Samurai of Fire... "said a new voice sounded heavy like old men.

Hinata, who is-?

"Ao..." said Hinata's voice. "Yes, I remembered now.. He's the guardian of the Sacred Cave where the Moon Lilies grows."

"What does the child seek? So intense that he dared to slipped passed me?" he asked as he stares down at the scared Osamu.

"Please forgive him.." I pleaded. "It was I who was seeking for the Moon Lilies. He's just trying to help me."

"Hinata-nee..." whimpered Osamu has he clutched my clothes tighter.

"Very well.. "said Ao. "Why are you seeking for the ancient plant?"

"My friends and Kaguya-sama are sick and we have run out of our supplies of Holy water. Somebody told us we can get Moon Lilies as the alternative medicine." I answered.

"Hmm.. Kaguya Hime of The Moon?"

"Yes."

"Follow me.." said the dragon before heading back to the cave. The two of us then walked silently beside the creature.

"For many years, Human has been seeking for the ancient Moon Lilies. They only bloomed once every ten years at full moon and lasted for a month before it withers away. Many humans has come for it with dangerous weapons they brought and attacked me even when I was sleeping. You have to excuse me for my act earlier, Child.."

"It's alright. I understand." nodded Osamu.

We followed the dragon into the cave. After passing the dark narrow road inside with only a spot of light in the front where we headed. Once we reached it, I saw a huge field of plants with silvery flower bloomed on each of their tops.

"You are lucky to have come just before it withers tomorrow." said Ao.

"It's beautiful..." I gapped.

"Take as much as you need, Samurai of Fire. You have a long way to go once you get your friends healed up."

"You can see the future?" I asked.

"Dragons have a slight vision of it. I foresee a sacrifice will be made when the time comes, a sacrifice that leads to either peace or despairs..."

"Is that my future?" I asked nervously.

"Visions are never clear. They are pieces of mysteries you have to unravel. But another thing I foresee is you'd be surprise that friendship cannot be seperated by time."

"What do you mean?" I asked again. The dragon nodded towards Osamu and I swear I could tell his lips was like smiling.

Suddenly something dropped out of Ao's mouth and landed on Osamu's hand who caught it just in time. My eyes widened to see a small white triangle on his palm.

"Dragon's tooth. Another ultimate medicine after Kaguya's holy water and Moon Lilies. Use it wisely, child,"

"Thank you." said Osamu looking up at Ao.

"And one last thing.." Ao turned towards me. "I see a bright fire inside you, Kono Hinata. Indeed you deserved the name of Samurai of Fire. One day you will meet an enemy that will push you to the limit, flame clashed with flame."

"Does that mean my enemy will be someone who's able to use fire?" I asked.

Ao nodded, "I will give you one last gift, Samurai of Fire. Step forward and closed your eyes."

I let go of Osamu's hands and stepped forward. I closed my eyes and felt the same warmth surrounding me again, I looked up and saw the blue flame swirling around me as if I was standing in the middle of the vortex.

"I grant you the Flame of Sky, a flame which only I, Ao of the Sky owns."

==================

I opened my eyes slowly and saw the sunlights lightning up the room. I saw nobody around but I heard a faint noise that must be Yuko from outside, so I assumed everyone was outside.

"Hinata..." I croaked "Is that..?"

"My memories? Yes." said Hinata. "Ao shared me his power and I used it against my enemy."

"It was Sasshi wasn't it? Your enemy? Ao said it."

"It is yours and mine now." said Hinata. "Try it."

At first I wasn't sure what to do, I simply pulled my hand out of the blanket and held it out before clicked my finger. I found my self once again wonderstruck by the sight of dancing blue flame at tips of my fingers.

"Congratulation, you are now a wielder of Blue Flame."

=============================

Sayaka's POV

It took us almost the whole day to reach Miyazawa's palace as what Jurina said. We took some short breaks occasionally as our horses stops for a drink in the water streams. Not only that, it seemed like Natsumi is also doing something else.

"What are you doing?" I asked her once when I caught her lurking round the bushes.

"Just looking for some herbs." answered the girl before she approached a plant and picked it.

"So what do you exactly do, may I ask? how come you look for Kaguya's holy water?"

"I was born in a healers family." she placed the plant into her bag. "We healed people by the herbs we collect and turned it into remedies and potions. My grandfather told me that Kaguya's holy water is the ultimate substance since it can cure anything, even the impossible ones."

"You said there was some kind of a test when you went to get it. What was the test?"

Natsumi's face went pale at once before she threw her head to the side, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why don't you?"

"Just don't want to and DON'T make me." she said. I can hear a tinge of fear in her tone.

"Don't force her, Sayaka." I heard Kai's voice in my head.

Kai...

"Sometimes, painful memories isn't something people want to share."

I guess you're right...

============

We finally stopped again once we reached a forest just before dusk. From the type of trees surrounding us now, I could tell it was different than the ones we've been passing. Telling us that we've been traveling far.

"I sent her the egret back to her just before we left, we should be meeting her right around here.." said Jurina getting down from her horse.

"Ano..." a voice was heard from behind a tree before us. I get down from my horse too and saw a figure coming out from behind. "Are you, Kaguya-sama...?"

"I'm here." said Jurina. Her silver iris showed up indicating Kaguya has taken over, she gave out her arm to the priest. "Are you Kashiwagi Yuki of the Wind?"

The figure took the hand and all the sudden, a faint glow appeared by the two connected hands. The glow stopped and the figure pulled down her hood.

"Kaguya-sama..." bowed the figure. When she raised up again, I saw a beautiful face framed by raven silky hair and gentle eyes.
 
"Tell me, where is Kuu?" asked Jurina in Kaguya's voice.

"I believe she was inside my sister in law, Miyazawa Sae. She is inside the palace where she, her brother, and I live."

"Then we should get to her as soon as possible." said Natsumi.

"But there is a problem, my Lady." said Kashiwagi. "As I told you before, the memory curse that I told you about was casted by her own brother, Haru."

"Why would he do that to his own sister?" I asked.

Kashiwagi shook her head, "I believe he was trying to protect her sister from the fate, but somehow he's using a dark curse.."

"Dark curse?"

"Black Magic." said Jurina. "It's power are mostly from hatred constructed deep inside the heart and turning it into a negative energy that anything that got cast by it becomes extremely dangerous."

"Then we have to get to her!"

"I will get the three of you in secretly. There is a side gate a few meters from here, once inside please follow me quietly." said Kashiwagi pointing to deep forest.

"Show us the way." said Jurina before following Kashiwagi's steps.

==========

After introducing ourselves to her, we started to know each other a little better. Kashiwagi was married to Lord Haru and has a daughter goes by the name Mayu. Haru's sister, Sae was a playful girl with fun attitude especially around his brother.

"She's very close to her brother, I guess it's no wonder if the two of them loved each other so much that they would do anything to protect each other." sighed Kashiwagi.

Once we managed to slipped in to the palace, Kashiwagi led us inside to a room.

"Please make yourself comfortable, I told one of my maid to get Sae that she has some visitors wishing to visit her."

"Ano..." I whispered. Kashiwagi raised her brow, "Is there any toilet around?"

"It's very close. Just go out a little and turned to the left, it's second door on the right. Be careful of my husband, He should be in his chamber at this kind time."

Just a little far from them...

Sae's POV

Oh my god. I can't believe we have a guest. And look at me, I'm a mess. I gotta get ready real quick. Hurrying into my room, I quickly stripped out of my clothes and looked for my kimono. I tried on absolutely everything on to try and see what looked best, but I couldn't find my favorite kimono. It was beautiful, and it went so well with my blue rose burette.

As I saw all my clothes laid down on the floor, I knew I just couldn't go out in something old and ragged. Then, deep in my closet, I found a white box hidden in the far corner. When I opened it up, I found a gorgeous green kimono with pink lotus flowers and lilies on it. Slipping it on, I fitted around me so well and it was so soft, like velvet.

Looking through the box, I found a magenta silk ribbon and tied it to my waist to hold the kimono. I put in my burette and looked at myself in the mirror.

"Woah..."

I couldn't believe it when I saw my reflection in the mirror. I looked beautiful, like a real princess. I almost didn't recognize myself. Still, looking closely, I felt like something was missing. I thought maybe I needed something like a necklace, so I decided to see Yukirin about the matter.

As I opened my door, I accidentally tripped and started falling forward. I felt someone catch me and I feel hard.

"Ite!"

Sayaka's POV

As I walked through the palace halls, I thought a heard someone's footsteps farther ahead. With my sword still strapped at my waist, I composed myself and slowly walked towards the corner of the hallway. Sticking my head out, I looked farther and saw no one else was down the hall. Sighing, I was about to leave, but then I heard something in one of the rooms. I slid open the door and someone fell forward and ran into me.

"Ite!"

"Ah, I'm so sorry..." I heard the voice say.

When I looked, I saw someone in a kimono in my arms. My first instinct was, "It's the lord..."

He looked up and instantly, our eyes met. Something inside me clicked and I felt a force inside my body taking over. I couldn't do anything and it seemed as if timed stopped. Everything else faded around me as we continued staring into each other's eyes.

I snapped back into reality and noticed his kimono had fallen slightly and revealing his bare shoulders and chest. My cheeks blushed madly and I quickly looked away.

"Excuse me!" I got up and bowed before him before walking off.

As I leaned up against the wall, I held my chest and tried to calm my breathing. But, for some reason, my heart was still pounding madly. I could still see prince Haru's face in my mind, and his eyes stared at me, like they were invading my soul. My face was hot as I closed my eyes and sighed heavily, falling to the ground.

Why... why is it pounding this much?

Sae's POV

While I was walking to Yukirin's room, for some reason I couldn't get that girl off my mind. She was so beautiful, the most beautiful person I've ever seen before in my life. I thought I looked like a princess, but... she looked even more so. More than Yukirin...

I leaned against the wall and looked up at the sky, holding my chest. I could still feel it pounding, even after she suddenly left.

But why? I only just met her...

"Sae-chan~" I saw Mayu tugging on my kimono, smiling at me happily. "Uwaa~ you look so pretty! Where did you get this kimono?"

"I just found it in my room."

"You look beautiful! Like a princess!"

Haha. Mayu-chan, so cute.

But still, I couldn't get that girl out of my head. I still followed Mayu as we ran down the hall, but the thought of her completely took over me...

I wonder who she was. I didn't even get her name...

Sayaka's POV

This is so wrong... He's married already!! I kept telling myself even after minutes passed.

Then I heard a certain chuckle that could only be from Kai.

What?

As if Kai was shaking her head and smiling, I could feel the amused tone in her voice. "My, my, Sayaka... That is called 'Love at first sight'."

What?!?!?

I heard a laugh now from her, it sounded so crisp and toasty. "You'll get used to it. I know it's hard to switch into gentle woman from once someone who beats her male underlings hard."

It's called training! I defended myself. Anyway, do you feel any presence coming from Kuu?

"I'm not really sure.. I felt she was being contained somewhere, and banging for help.. we have to find her quickly."

Right.

Just before I turned back to the corner, I heard a voice approaching closer. I quickly took my stance and about to swing my fist for precaution. Before it can hit the target, I felt it being deflected by something else. I turned my back and saw another figure standing there in the hallway, I could not see the face properly however due to the poor lightning.

"Who are you?" asked the figure who sounded like a male. I gulped, it could be a guard!

Before I could think of good answer, I heard a door opened and lights came out of it.

"Haru, is that you?" asked Kashiwagi's voice followed by some quick footsteps and rustling of her clothes.

"Yukirin, stay back! There is an intruder!" said the male. But then I heard a flicking noise "Itte!"

"It's not an intruder. She's one my guest!" said Kashiwagi. "Haru, meet my friend Akimoto Sayaka."

"Lord Haru." I addressed him and bowed swiftly. "I'm sorry for the sudden reaction before, it's my reflex."

"Ah, I should be the one apologizing." bowed the young lord too. "I didn't know we had a visitor at this kind of the day. Speaking of one, how come you didn't tell me?" he asked Kashiwagi.

"Gomen.. Her visit was a sudden and it was a quick business." said Kashiwagi.

"What's the business on about?" asked the lord suspiciously.

"Just a meeting with an old friend of mine."

"Ah, sou..."

I could still feel my heart pounding. Composing myself, I stood in front of him and bowed down low.

"I'm so sorry for earlier!"

"Eh? Earlier?"

"When we ran into each other, I didn't expect you to be changing... And I didn't mean to see..." I felt my cheeks blush heavily and I looked away. "NO! I didn't see ANYTHING! But, please, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!"

"Uh, what are you talking about? This is the first I've ever seen you."

Wait, what?

I took a closer look at him. I understood his clothes were different if he was changing, but... his voice, his face, his hair... They all look different.

"Wait, if it wasn't you, then who..."

"Haru~" I heard a voice coming this way as the figure ran towards us. "Sorry I'm late! I was in a rush to get changed, and then..."

She stopped as she looked at me, her eyes wide. I stared at her for a long time, too.

"Eh..."

......EH?!

"IT'S YOU!!!!!!!!"

"Would anyone please tell me what's going on?" asked Lord Haru sounded a little irritated.

=========

Third person's POV

After some explanations and some lies, Sayaka and Yuki managed to slip from Haru. The lord was somehow still a bit irritated, but a little smile and a kiss on the cheek from his wife managed to calm him down.

"Well, I guess the three of us should really go now.." said Yuki.

"Where are you three going?" asked Haru holding to his wife's hand.

"Girls talk." winked Yuki with a sly grin. Haru smiled and let go off her hand.

"Don't take too long, okay?" he asked. Yuki nodded before watching him leave towards his chamber.

Yuki and Sayaka both sighed in relief once they heard Haru's door closed. The two of them looked at each other in agreement before they looked at the princess.

"So what's this 'Girls Talk' we're going to be doing?" asked Sae.

"Sae, we should get into my room first." said Yuki before pushing the princess in and Sayaka tagging along behind.

"What took you two so long?" asked Jurina after Yuki shut the door. "Ah, is that..?"

"Sae, I'd like you to meet Akimoto Sayaka, Matsui Jurina, and Matsubara Natsumi." introduced Yuki. Sae still dazed by the new figures that she bowed a bit stiffly towards them.

"Who are they, Yukirin? Why are they here?" asked Sae settling on to a chair.

"Sae, we don't have much time so listen to Jurina closely." instructed Yuki before she gave us each a cup of tea.

"What? What are you on about, Yukirin?" asked Sae before sipping her tea.

"Miyazawa-san, the truth is..." began Jurina. "You are one of the legendary Samurai Princess."

There was a silence for a moment before eventually the young princess laughed out loud. The other four was quiet as they watched her laughed.

"Yukirin, since when you're into story tellers?" asked Sae between her laughs.

Yuki stared at the girl sadly and shook her head, "Stop it, Sae. She's not lying, none of us are.."

"Eh..? Wha... what do you mean?"

"If you think this is a joke, think again. We don't come far riding horse from dawn to dusk just to be laughed at." said Natsumi a little coldly.

"Natsumi, at ease." said Jurina before she looked at the princess with her silver eyes. "Listen to me, Miyazawa Sae. I don't choose anyone to be my samurai for nothing nor a joke. The master of darkness Maou is slowly rising, he was the one who started the chaos of wars until now. It's up to the Samurai Princess to stop him or else the world is going to a deep despair."

"Hang on a sec! There's got to be a mistake!" exclaimed Sae rising from her chair. "There's no way I am a samurai and with this 'Maou' thing going.. Who are you to choose me anyway, kid?!"

"Sae, sit down." said Yuki. "Jurina is currently the vessel of the Moon Goddess, Kaguya Hime-sama. She is the one giving powers and memories for the samurai."

Sae shook her head and looked at her sister in law in disbelieve. "Yukirin, I can't believe you brought a bunch a jokers coming here and tell me all these nonsense!"

"Funny if you call something that can end up the world as nonsense." said Natsumi expressionless.

"You got some attitude, there." eyed the princess dangerously towards Natsumi.

"You two, stop it!" Sayaka stopped the fight and grabbed Sae's wrist. "Miyazawa-san, listen! I didn't believe it at first too, but it's all true. Please, you've got to believe in us!"

The princess shook her head and yanked Sayaka's hand off her, "I'm telling Haru." she said, headed for the door.

"No!! Please, do-" Yuki's voice was cut of when she saw her fell forward just before she could reach the handle.

Sayaka caught her in instant, "Miyazawa-san!"

"She's just a little dazed." said Yuki kneeling next to her. "I asked Matsubara-san to slipped a bit of potion into her tea just in case this happens."

"I knew I'd be needing those berries." sighed Natsumi.

"Well, we have to hurry then." said Jurina. "Show me the mark, Kashiwagi-san."

Yuki pulled the girl's hair slightly to the side and showed a little mark at the back of the girl's ear. Jurina gritted her teeth once she saw it.

"This is one dangerous memory curse.." she whispered. "Natsumi, hold my hand. We need to do this together since this one is attached directly to her soul. One false move and we could lose her forever."

Natsumi knelt beside Jurina and hold her hand, the two of them then touched the mark with a finger.

"On the count of three. One, two, three!" a faint glow appeared from their fingers and the mark, blinding the room.

The next thing that happened was Jurina and Natsumi was standing in the middle of nowhere, in total darkness.

"My lady, is this..?"

"We have to find Kuu as fast as we can." said Jurina before rushing towards the unknown darkness. Despite seeing nothing, Jurina can feel Kuu's soul was somewhere trapped inside the cursed heart.

"There!" pointed Jurina towards a tall pole. The two of them stopped in front of the pole, when they looked up Natsumi's eyes widened.

"My lady.."

"We have to release her." said Jurina releasing a faint glow in her hand and revealed a long staff topped with a sharp arrowhead to make it look like a spear.

They saw a figure incased inside some kind of dark crystal on top of the pole. Not only that, the crystal was also chained and protected by a dark aura.

"Here I go..."

Jurina jumped up high into the air and flew to the top of the pole, facing the dark crystal. Muttering a few chants to herself, she took out a small scroll and threw it at the crystal. She then took her long staff and aimed the top of the spear at it.

She thrusted it forward with all her might and a large explosion of dark and light energy came out. The spear was being held back by some mysterious force, but the crystal itself was slowly shattering.

The figure inside, unconscious, had a pained expression on her face as the chains tightened and some of the dark aura pushed Jurina back.

"It's become too strong. Kaguya's power alone won't be able to handle it..."

"My lady!" Natsumi jumped up and took hold of the long staff with her. "I'll lend you my power, too."

"Matsubara..."

"Ready, and..." The two thrust the sword together and now the force was stronger. As they pushed it harder, the crystal was slowly shattering, but the chains tightened harder. They started expanding and enraveled the crystal more, almost completely covering it.

"No, this can't be happening!"

Sayaka's POV

I held Sae in my arms as she tried to break from the memory curse. She had a pain expression on her face as her body spasmed every so often and the mark near her ear pulsated a few times. She kept mumbling incoherent words as cold sweat dropped on her forehead.

I couldn't help but feel sorry. She's been kept from her destiny for too long, and now it's come to this. She clutched onto me tighter as her breathing became heavier.

"Miyazawa-san..."

Her eyes slowly opened and looked up at me hazily. I knew she wasn't all there, staring into her empty eyes. She was looking at me, yet she was also looking past me, and there seemed to be no light being able to enter.

"Who are you...?"

"Miyazawa-san, it's me. Sayaka..."

"Sayaka..? Where are you...? I can't.. see you... You sound so far away...."

"I'm right here." I took hold of her hand unconsciously. It was so warm, my heart was pounding again...

Could it be... I really am in love?

"Sayaka... you're so nice..."

"Eh?" I could see her sweet smile as her eyes were slowly closing again.

"I wonder... have we ever... met somewhere before... It feels so familiar... this feeling..."

"What?"

"Kuu!"

Suddenly I felt a warmth growing on my chest as the room got darkened. I looked down and saw a faint red thin line appeared on my chest and ended on Sae's chest, just above her heart.

"It's the spell.." whispered Kashiwagi.

I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth spread across my chest. When I opened it again, I was in a different place. It was dark and all I could see was a tall pole standing in front of me.

What is that..?

"Kuu!!" I heard Kai's voice. I turned to her and saw her standing just beside me as she looked up. "Kuu!! Please wake up!!"

I saw the similar red thin line on Kai's chest and heading upwards towards the pole's top. There, I saw some kind of cocoon wrapped in dark chains.

"Sayaka!" I heard Jurina's voice from the side. I glanced and saw her standing beside Natsumi with a spear in their hands.

"How did you get here?" asked Natsumi then she glanced at Kai. "Is that..?"

"Kai." I answered. "Tell me, is Kuu up there?"

Jurina nodded, "The curse is now close to the last stage. We have to get her out of there or the chains will entangle Kuu and Miyazawa forever!!"

"Sayaka!" I heard Kai's plead. I saw her eyes started to get glassy, "Please.. I need you. We have to save her!"

I was awestruck for a moment, I didn't know what to do. But then I remembered Kashiwagi's words. How cheerful she was, how lovable, cherished and how she loved everyone so much including her brother.

Those feelings, I imagined her being like that beside me and around everyone. My heart pounds faster and harder as the feelings and warmth overflowed in my chest...

I felt my hand grew warm by the hold of Kai's hand and I saw a blue light appeared on the entangled hands. The next thing we knew was that my sword appeared in our hands with the blue orb glowing brighter than ever and covered the sword with a massive a blue aura.

I looked at Kai just at the same moment she stared at me. The both of us stared at each other's eyes in agreement to the same feelings we felt on each of our heart, rhyming into one sentence.

"Let's do this." we said to each other in unison.

We rushed towards the pole and leapt at the same time. We were high above the air and over the cocoon, the split moment we were there was used to speak the same prayer.

"Please let this work.. Please save her."

Then we struck down the cocoon at the same time. The steel blade met the dark chains of the cocoon in one loud noise and I could see bright lights appeared between the crack we made and.....

===========================

Third person's POV


Sayaka, Jurina, and Natsumi jerked back at the same time, surprising Yuki. The three of them was gasping breaths as if they've been running for miles with no breaks. Sweats broke from each of their foreheads as they puffed out.

"My Lady!" exclaimed Yuki as she caressed Jurina's forehead. "Are you okay?"

"I'm.. fine.." said Jurina between her breaths. "Is she...?"

Sayaka scrambled towards the princess and take a look at the dark mark. The mark faded away before leaving a reddened patch of skin where the mark was printed before.

"Miyazawa-san..."

The princess coughed a little before slowly opening her eyes, meeting the dark brown iris of the former officer.

"Sayaka... I remember now."




To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Blue Rose (Part 1)
Post by: MaYukiIsLife on August 11, 2014, 08:12:43 PM
So... Yukirin is...Someone's wife!?

(She forces me to comment again)
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Blue Rose (Part 1)
Post by: Yuki88 on August 11, 2014, 08:15:54 PM
So Sae has been awaken at last. Now problem left is HARU.
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 2)
Post by: Cometerz48 on August 11, 2014, 09:43:02 PM
As much as I like this fic because of the genre...

The thing that I like more is your signature.. REALLY NICE~!!!!  XD XD XD

Waiting for your next update...  :) :) :)

Hahahahaha, thank you!  :lol: :lol:

Is my signature that amusing? If it is, thank you~ Please be sure to tune in for our next incoming chapters~



So... Yukirin is...Someone's wife!?

(She forces me to comment again)

Yes. She's Haru's wife which is Sae's brother (who's very similar to Sae so consider it as SaeYuki a bit)

I should show you the capture screens of Ruka's chat and I at G+.. *whispers* She does that too on me.. *wink*


So Sae has been awaken at last. Now problem left is HARU.

Yes. Exciting, eh?
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 2)
Post by: MaYukiIsLife on August 11, 2014, 09:45:32 PM
So... Yukirin is...Someone's wife!?

(She forces me to comment again)

Yes. She's Haru's wife which is Sae's brother (who's very similar to Sae so consider it as SaeYuki a bit)

I should show you the capture screens of Ruka's chat and I at G+.. *whispers* She does that too on me.. *wink*


I should show you the random conversations we have on Google Docs XD *Whispers* I have proof, a lot of proof *Smiles*
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 2)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on August 11, 2014, 10:52:35 PM
So... Yukirin is...Someone's wife!?

(She forces me to comment again)

Yes. She's Haru's wife which is Sae's brother (who's very similar to Sae so consider it as SaeYuki a bit)

I should show you the capture screens of Ruka's chat and I at G+.. *whispers* She does that too on me.. *wink*


I should show you the random conversations we have on Google Docs XD *Whispers* I have proof, a lot of proof *Smiles*

Oi.......... *glare*
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 2)
Post by: Cometerz48 on August 11, 2014, 11:43:33 PM
So... Yukirin is...Someone's wife!?

(She forces me to comment again)

Yes. She's Haru's wife which is Sae's brother (who's very similar to Sae so consider it as SaeYuki a bit)

I should show you the capture screens of Ruka's chat and I at G+.. *whispers* She does that too on me.. *wink*


I should show you the random conversations we have on Google Docs XD *Whispers* I have proof, a lot of proof *Smiles*

Oi.......... *glare*

Ah, she's here!!! *runs away*
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 2)
Post by: MaYukiIsLife on August 11, 2014, 11:59:05 PM
So... Yukirin is...Someone's wife!?

(She forces me to comment again)

Yes. She's Haru's wife which is Sae's brother (who's very similar to Sae so consider it as SaeYuki a bit)

I should show you the capture screens of Ruka's chat and I at G+.. *whispers* She does that too on me.. *wink*


I should show you the random conversations we have on Google Docs XD *Whispers* I have proof, a lot of proof *Smiles*

Oi.......... *glare*

Ah, she's here!!! *runs away*

*Follows Cometerz and does kancho to distract*
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Blue Rose (Part 1)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on August 12, 2014, 01:19:15 AM
*holds butt* I'm not sure what just happened..................... :grr:
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 2)
Post by: Minamiyuki on August 12, 2014, 06:31:47 PM
As much as I like this fic because of the genre...

The thing that I like more is your signature.. REALLY NICE~!!!!  XD XD XD

Waiting for your next update...  :) :) :)

Hahahahaha, thank you!  :lol: :lol:

Is my signature that amusing? If it is, thank you~ Please be sure to tune in for our next incoming chapters~


WE ROLLIN'

And.. THEY HATIN'

 :lol: :lol: :lol:

*holds butt* I'm not sure what just happened..................... :grr:

Ruka-senpai being kancho-ed ehh...  XD XD XD
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Information (Part 2)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on August 12, 2014, 06:54:16 PM
*holds butt* I'm not sure what just happened..................... :grr:
Ruka-senpai being kancho-ed ehh...  XD XD XD

You are not a part of this!!! :scolding: :scolding: :scolding:
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Blue Rose (Part 1)
Post by: Cometerz48 on August 12, 2014, 07:14:52 PM
Let's not get the kancho further, minna.. *pats everyone at the back*

Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Blue Rose (Part 1)
Post by: Minamiyuki on August 13, 2014, 01:26:11 AM
Don't worry.. I will not do that..  :D :D :D

I'm very kind person... *insert halo on the head*

Back to the topic, when the next update...  XD XD XD
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Blue Rose (Part 1)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on August 31, 2014, 04:43:33 PM
Chapter 11 - Blue Rose (Part 2)


Sae's POV

Flashback, weeks ago...

"Wake up..."

Hm... what..?

"Wake up."

Huh? Who is that..?


I opened my eyes and saw a really pretty woman standing in front of me. As I woke up more, I soon realized she looked an awful lot like me.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kuu. Listen to me, Miyazawa Sae. There is something very important that you must do."

"Eh? Me?"

"Yes. There is a dark evil rising in this world, and you must stop it. You must join with your allies and fight."

"Fight? I have to fight?"

"I know it sounds impossible, but there is a power living deep inside you. We need to hurry before--"

I suddenly heard a large crash and Kuu fell to her knees, clutching her chest. Her breath got rapid all the sudden as if she's having a seizure.

"Kuu-san! What's wrong?"

"Something's happening..." I watched as her body suddenly became incased in a black crystal. "I can't..."

"Kuu-san!" I tried to save her, but the crystal closed up around her before I could pull her out. I saw her banging on the crystal with her fist and trashing her legs as if she was being drowned inside the crystal.

Before I could even step and help her, I felt a strange force wash over me and I passed out...

Back to the present...

"So, that's what happened."

"Yes. When I came to, I completely forgot everything that happened. Even when I started remembering, the curse became stronger..."

"Obsidian Memory Curse.." spoke the young girl, Jurina. "It gets hardened and tougher to destroy each time it's casted repeatedly. Once it reached the final stage, the chains of rejections from the mind would appear and bind it until it crushed the crystal completely with Kuu if we were too late."

"But then you broke it first and saved Kuu." I said to Sayaka. "Thank you."

"It was not just me, Kai helped her too."

"Kai..?"

"My lover..." I heard Kuu spoke in my mind.

"Kuu!!" I exclaimed outloud, without realizing that everyone looks at me. I blushed. "Sorry, Kuu just spoke to me after a long time."

"It's okay." smiled Yuki patting my back. "Take your time."

I nodded and replied to her mentally.

Your lover..?

"She's another Samurai Princess just like I am, we were lovers in our past life. It seems like that girl there, Akimoto Sayaka is the vessel of Kai."
explained Kuu.

I nodded slowly, I imagined Kuu who seemed to be an easy going girl to be going out with someone who seemed tough and stiff just like Sayaka.

"She's not that stiff, you know..." said Kuu. She's actually cute when I bring her to festivals."

Hontouni..?! I asked with a grin and giggled slightly.

"She's alright, right?" I heard Sayaka asked Jurina.

"She's probably having fun with Kuu." smiled Jurina. "Kuu that I could remember is a very easy going girl and a complete mood maker."

"Ah, gomen ne.." I apologized. "I kinda ignored you guys."

Yuki laughed lightly, "It's okay. Now what matters is.."

"How to tell your brother that you've regained Kuu from the curse." finished Natsumi. "It was him who casted it in you so that Kuu wouldn't be awake and you'd be safe."

I bit my lips, I know Haru for my whole life. He's a gentle and a very fun guy to be hanging out with. I know he loved me so much as his little sister and would go that far to protect me. All that based on love...

"I'll confront him myself." I said. "I know Haru did it under the name of love to me. I'll tell him that if he really loves me at least he should accept the fact that I am destined for this and hiding it would just endangered me."

"Sae.." said Yukirin. "Then at least let me come with you."

"No, Yukirin." I rejected. "I think I have to do this my self. Like a private talk between brother and sister.."

I saw the rejected feelings in Yukirin's eyes before she eventually nodded. "I understand."

"We'll accompany you to his room and we'll wait outside. Is that okay?" asked Jurina. I stared at her silver eyes and got my self fascinated with the glow which reminds me of the moon itself.

I nodded before getting up slowly from Yukirin's arm. My body staggered a bit as I tried to walk but luckily, Sayaka caught me just in time.

"Thanks." I said to her.

"No problem." said Sayaka with a nod.

I opened the door and headed down towards his room with the others tailing me. I stopped in front of a big wooden door of my brother's chamber. I sighed before I knocked it lightly.

"Come on in." I heard Haru's voice from inside. I looked at the others for the last time before pushing the door and get in.

I shut the door behind me and saw him standing there. He turned to face me.

"Sae. What's wrong?"

"We need to talk."

"Okay." He sat down on his bed and looked up at me. "Is something wrong?"

"Haru... I remember."

"Remember what?"

"I know it was you who erased my memories."

His eyes widened and he quickly hid his shocked expression with a dry laugh.

"Sae, I don't know what you're talking abo--"

"Haru, I know everything. About the Samurai Princess, the Maou, everything. Kuu told me."

I saw his hand twitch a bit. "K-Kuu?"

"Don't lie, Haru. You're my brother, of all people, you should believe me. I know that you're faking, but what I don't know is why you sealed away my memories in the first place. Why don't you want me to do this?"

"I..."

I held his hand gently. "I understand that you love me, and that you want to protect me forever. But, this is something I have to do."

He pushed me away suddenly and I looked to see his eyes were growing darker.

"H-Haru?"

"Absolutely no. I won't allow it." he said in a different voice. He grabbed my collar and raised me up, pinning me to the wall. "I'm not letting you go through with any of this. You're going to be a good girl and stay with me. You will obey me and forget all about those worthless samurai."

"Haru, stop it!!" I struggled in his hand.

The door burst open and they all came in. Sayaka separated Haru from me and kicked him away. As I fell to the ground and caught my breath, I watched my brother acting like a wild animal as they fought. Even though Jurina was young, she seemed stronger than I expected. It was amazing.

"Sae, are you okay?"

"Kuu..."

"I feel a dark presence surrounding Haru. I think he's being controlled by someone."

"Who?"

"I don't know. But the presence is familiar."

I looked and saw Natsumi and Yuki standing behind Haru, pinning down his arms. Jurina placed her palm on Haru's chest and murmured a spell which then made her palm glowed. Haru screamed in pain loudly, making me cover my ears, and passed out.

Jurina and Natsumi laid him down on the bed and backed away from him. Yuki unravelled the bandage on his arm and I saw it was almost completely black.

"What happened?"

"It's another effect of the curse. Each time he uses it, it grows stronger and stronger inside him. It also forces out his kage, which is what was driving him to use it more frequently each time."

"Kage?"

"It's a dark power that takes over a person's heart when fueled by negative emotions. Things like hatred, vengeance, jealousy..."

"But in Haru's case, it was lust."

"Lust? Not love?"

"Lust is more powerful and deeper than love itself. It's the most powerful kind, but also the darkest."

"It's obvious..." Natsumi rolled up her sleeves."Haru is in love with Kuu."

"Eh?!" I gulped. "How could her fall for Kuu? I mean, Kuu lived about 100 years ago!!"

"Whatever the reason is, we need to treat his arm first." said Natsumi glancing at Haru's arm. "Kanata's telling me that it's slowly rotting thanks to that curse."

"Kanata?"

"The previous Priest of Soul." answered Jurina quickly before she handed a clear looking vial. "Use it. We can always get some more later."

Natsumi nodded and applied some of the liquid in her hand before rubbing it carefully to Haru's arm.

"Will he be alright?" I whimpered. I felt Yuki's arm wrapped around me, soothing me slowly.

"Let Natsumi do her job, Sae..." said Yuki with a comforting tone. I know she's worrying about him too.

After Natsumi wrapped his arm with a fresh gauze she stood back. "Now we need to get him back or otherwise we'll have his Kage back in."

"You know how to do it?" asked Jurina. Natsumi nodded, "Good. Please do it carefully."

But just before Natsumi could touch Haru again, her face went slack and her arm stopped in midair.

"What's wrong?" asked Sayaka.

"I.. I saw a string.. Tugging at his soul and Kage as if..."

"They're a doll and someone's controlling it?" asked Jurina. Natsumi nodded.

Jurina looked around dangerously and pulled out her sword. Sayaka as if knowing what's going on also took out her sword.

"What's going on?!"

"Yuki, Sae, step back." said Sayaka. "This is going to be dangerous."

"Dangerous indeed." said a new voice from the shadows near the door. A figure then stepped out of the shadow with a light chuckle. She was wearing dark clothing and her black messy hair framed the square jaw. The other figure following her also wears the same with a long silky hair.

"No wonder there's a mark of Priest lurking earlier." said the other figure. "It seems like you are the hidden priest, Kashiwagi Yuki."

"Don't tell me they're all..." said Yuki extended her arm in front of me. I can feel her tensing up all the sudden.

"Demons." growled Jurina.

=====================

Sayaka's POV

"Well, now..." The masculine demon stepped forward and drew out her sword on me. "Isn't this interesting?"

"Who are you?"

"My name is Nakanishi. My partner over there is Mieko," she pointed to the woman behind her.

"Nakanishi... why have you come here?" Jurina said, aiming her sword at her neck.

"We knew this one could be a valuable use to us," Mieko said as she caressed Haru's face gently. "But, it seems that if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself."

"So, if you don't mind..." Nakanishi raised up her sword and clashed it against my blade. "We're just going to take care of you NOW."

I pushed her back with my katana as both of our swords clashed. She threw her sword in the air and started attacking me with her bare fists. I quickly blocked her hand and spun around to face her back. She caught her sword from the air again and charged at me, but then Jurina rushed in front and blocked her with her sword. She turned to me and I saw the silver glow in her eyes.

"Kaguya..."

"Sayaka, you take care of Nakanishi. I will fight Mieko."

"Got it."

"Come at me, Samurai Princess!" Nakanishi ran down the hall, a demonic grin on her face.

I turned to Kashiwagi. "Yuki-san, protect Sae."

"Right."

I sheathed my sword and ran towards Nakanishi. We both charged at each other and were fist to fist. I was able to kick her a few times and circled around her to get an advantage. I grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm before pinning her to the wall.

"That the best you got?" she said before breaking away and swinging her arm. I stopped it before she could hit my head.

"I'm not even warmed up yet."

I readied myself again and kicked at her legs, trying to catch her off balance. I punched her gut and sent her flying, rolling outside into the garden.

"Well now..." She got up and wiped the blood off her mouth. "You're really something else, aren't you, Samurai of Water?"

I unsheathed my sword and aimed it at her.

"Show me what you got." She pulled out her blade and ran towards me.

"Maeru!"

Our blades clashed once more and we were face to face with each other.

"You aren't going to win."

"We'll see about that."

Third Person POV

Meanwhile, with Jurina…


“It’s an honor to fight you again, Kaguya.” Snickered Mieko as she pulled out her weapon, a scythe, out of the thin air.

“Mieko, listen to me. I really don’t want to fight you at all.” Spoke Kaguya in Jurina’s voice.

Mieko laughed, “Too bad, Kaguya. Maou’s offer interest me more than yours or the Gods. I have no regrets of what I did in the past.”

“Even becoming a demon like what you are now? Mieko, I knew you better.. You were a kind person, so much bet-“

“Shut it, Kaguya. Ever since you decided to share your power to the first Samurai Princesses, I knew you trusted humans than your own lieutenant.” Scowled Mieko. “Those filthy humans doesn’t deserves any of your magic! They’re just a sweet faced ragged dolls with sinister minds hidden inside. They may look vulnerable, even know they are better killers than us.”

“How about Demons, Mieko? Aren’t they killers too? What makes them different than humans?”

“Interesting question, Kaguya. Demons are born with it. They don’t pretend to be weak so that they can be given any power and kill each other with it.” Said Mieko before she rushed to Jurina and swung the scythe in full power.

The dark iron clashed with Jurina’s sword and each of them putting their efforts to push away their opponents. Mieko’s dark eyes stared intensely to the silver irises, in betrayed.

“You knew I was better than them.. I was your first ever lieutenant, Kaguya. And yet you decided to choose them.” Gritted Mieko. “Tell me, how am I supposed to decline Maou’s offer to destroy those creatures forever?”

“Mieko, open your eyes!!” yelled the half moon goddess. “Maou might accept you now to become a demon, but when he’s truly back, he’ll never accept you as his kind! In his eyes, you’re just the same as us with no pure demon’s blood in your veins!”

Mieko hesitated for a moment, giving a chance for Jurina to brought up their weapons and slammed her feet to the demon’s stomach. Mieko staggered back as she clenched her wounded stomach.

Mieko shook her head, “No Kaguya.. He will accept me as his kind, he understands me more than you are!!” yelled Mieko before she came charging towards Jurina.

“Mieko!!!”

Meanwhile with Sae...

The princess whimpered in Yuki’s arms the two watched the battles. From her first interaction with Kuu and now the two demons controlling her brother, she felt like needing a timeout for herself now.

“You know, if you’re not so busy cowering behind Kashiwagi-san, you can give me a hand.” Said Natsumi.

Sae turned at the healer and pinched her eyes, “Do you really have to speak that way?”

Natsumi shrugged, “Sorry, just the fact that a spoiled girl like you meant to be one of the Samurai Princesses is something that I’m struggling to get used to.”

“Matsubara-san..” whispered Yuki worriedly.

Sae clenched her fist, “Fine. What do you need help on?”

“Do you want to save your brother?” Sae nodded furiously, “Good. I need you to hold my hand and closed your eyes. As the Priest of Soul, I have an ability to get into anyone’s deepest heart where their souls stays. This time, I’ll get the two of us into your brother’s inner heart.”

It all sounded so crazy in Sae’s ears, but she willed herself to stay with it. “What do we do then?”

“There, we have to find your brother’s real soul. What we saw before was his Kage, which is his inner shadows where his dark side overpowers his real soul. Once we found it, we need to recover the soul and weakened the Kage so that it doesn’t get out again.” Explained Natsumi. “If I have enough power until then, maybe I can seal it forever.”

“Let’s do it then.” Nodded Sae as she accept Natsumi’s hand and closed her eyes.

“On the count of three. One.. Two.. Three!”

Sae felt a cold wind in her face and when she opened her eyes, she was in another place. A dark thick mist surrounded her and Natsumi who stood by her side.

“There.” Pointed Natsumi towards a faint silver string. “It’s the string I saw hat was controlling him and his Kage. In the other end of it we might find his real soul.”

“Or his Kage.” Said Sae.

Natsumi nodded, “It’s better to follow it before it’s too late. Let’s go!” And therefore, the two of them run into the thick mist.

After what felt like countless hours of running, they stopped their steps and stared beyond. Sae gasped by the sight of saw Haru’s pale figure trapped in a cage, unconscious.

"Haru!" Sae ran up and tried to reach her brother, but he remained unresponsive. She grasped the bars but then she jerked it back upon a shock from it. “Itte!”

Inside Haru's mind, there were a million voices whispering inside his head, filling his mind with commands controlling him.

"You will destroy the Samurai Princess."

"Obey. It is the only way to keep your sister safe."

"Follow my orders. Kill the Samurai Princess."


As she tried to shake off the pain, suddenly, something scratched her arm and she saw a dark figure beside her. The more she stared at it, the face area shifted to what looked like a demonic version of her brother.

"H-Haru?!"

"Miyazawa-san, stay back! That's his Kage!” said Natsumi as she ran to the space between Sae and the Kage. But then, the Kage swung it’s arm and threw Natsumi back.

“Matsubara-san!”

Sae glanced at the Kage and saw the similar silver string at attached to it’s chest, she looked back to her brother and saw the similar one on his chest, while the other one ran to somewhere beyond the darkness.

She turned back and stare at the Kage, it was like staring at Haru in his gloomy mood with completely black eyes. Suddenly she saw a dark power building up in it’s hands before it generated chains and swung them in his hands before they wrapped tightly, painfully around Sae.

"Ahh!" Sae struggled upon the iron touching her skin. They were like tiny little spikes pressing into her at the same time on the surface of the chains, she squealed in pain as she felt some of them have reached her blood vessels.

"You are mine, Kuu."

She vaguely saw Natsumi back with a blinding light in her hands before it turned into a sword and brought it down upon the chains, trying to cut the bind. They were strong, like iron, and they tightened as Sae struggled more, making it hard for her to breath.

"Keep breathing. Keep breathing." She kept telling herself, but she felt her conscious slipping.

"Miyazawa-san, hang on!!" yelled the priest before she brought it down once more, creating a spark of light as the irons clashed.

"Mats-subar-ra-s-san..”

"Out of my way, priestess!" Roared the Kage as it’s nails grew into a claw and grabbed Natsumi's neck, choking her. She weakly raised her sword and cut the Kage's hand, making it release both of them.

Sae fell unconscious, her breathing turned shallow as her pulse was slow and sluggish.

"Miyazawa-san!”

Despite after some having difficulties to breathe, Natsumi crawled towards the slumped princess and turned her on her back.

“Don’t you dare dying without fulfilling your fate.” Grumbled Natsumi as she tried listening to Sae’s heart beat. It was weak and the herbalist knew she only have one choice left. She leaned down and breathed out inside Sae’s mouth before she pulled back and pump Sae’s chest.

With her palm, she pounded the chest in rhythmic as how his grandfather had taught her. She does not expect to do this to anyone, but she has no choice. She had to revive this troublesome princess who happens to be the Samurai of Wind.

As for Haru, he felt something inside him, trying to fight, trying to free him from the voices.

"Keep her locked away."

"No. Let her go."

"Destroy her."

"I can't. I don't want to."

"Kill the Samurai Princess."

"NO! Leave me ALONE!!!"


"..ngh.." He slowly opened his eyes and saw his unconscious sister come into his hazy vision. "..Sa..e..."

Then he saw a dark figure hovering behind her sister, that shadow was familiar in his eyes. But his mind seemed to be fogged to recognize who it was.

Natsumi turned and saw the Kage back again in shock that she has no time to dodge a fist to the chest, knocking the air out of her. The priest palm crawled weakly towards Sae’s chest as she muttered a spell weakly.

Natsumi's palm glowed and a small orb came out of Sae. A figure emerged out in a blinding light and stood in front of the Kage. The lights gone down and revealed a glowing woman in dark green kimono and a sword hung on it’s back.

"Well, isn't this a surprise?"

"Kuu..!"

"You're Ruka, right? You sure have changed. I didn't expect this from you." Spoke Kuu.

"Kuu, it's okay. This way, we can finally be together. Forever."

"No, Ruka! It's too late. That was 100 years ago. We will never, ever, be married." Answered Kuu sternly.

"But... GAH!!!" it suddenly groaned in pain and fell back under the control of the strings. "Absolutely not! You will be mine, Kuu, for ALL ETERNITY!!!"

The Kage rushed towards her, but then in a flash she pulled out her sword and cut the strings binding him on the chest.

"It's over, Ruka..."


The Kage fell to it’s knees and felt himself weakening as it’s source of energy was disconnected.

"I'm sorry, Ruka... Even though you lost Maria, I could no longer except your love. I have a very important job to do."

"Kuu... I'm sorry."

"I understand. But now, we have to move on. I have Kai, and you... You must let Haru live his life. He has a wife, a daughter..." Kuu turned and knelt down to Sae, caressing her forehead. "And a sister who must carry on my legacy."

With the snap of her fingers, Haru and his Kage switched places. Haru was free from the cage and his Kage was forever bound to his prison once more.

"Kuu…”

Kuu glanced down at the weak Natsumi, “If you still have enough power, you know what to do..”

The priest looked up and nodded weakly.

“Good. You are one strong successor of Kanata.” Smiled Kuu towards the girl, making her blush.

"Thank you."

“Well then, I have to go back.” She turned towards the Kage. “Goodbye, Ruka."

Then she disappeared in a glowing green mist and into the orb before the orb went back inside Sae. Natsumi smiled and raised her blade as she cut off the string attached to Haru's chest. She then snapped her fingers weakly and returned Sae and herself to their own bodies in the room.

"Matsubara-san, are you alright?” asked Yuki after the priest of soul felt a jerk back from the experience. She felt weak, but the priority was clear.

"Miayazawa-san.. is she..?”

Yuki  glanced and rushed over to the princess and shook her shoulders.

"Sae! Wake up!"

Sae's eyes fluttered open as she looked up at the ceiling and saw Yuki.

"Yukirin..."

"Sae, are you okay?"

"Haru... Haru!" She shot up and saw Haru still lying on the table. "Haru, wake up. Please, please! Haru!"

Haru slowly got up, holding his head.

"Argh! What happened?"

"Haru, thank God!" She hugged her brother tight, leaving the young man confused.

"Sae, what's gotten into you?"

"He probably doesn't remember anything."

"Yuki? What's going on here?"

"It’s along story. But Maou has risen, Haru..”

“Maou?”

"You remember the legend. The four Samurai Princess must unite to defeat him. And Sae is one of the four."

"Sae..." Haru looked at his sister. He gave a soft smile and hugged her. "I see..."

"Eh? Haru, you..."

"I get it. This is what you have to do. I knew that, even though I was under the influence of my Kage."

“Actually, to be a fact, it was more than just your Kage, sir...” Chimed in Natsumi weakly before she slumped in an unconsciousness.

“Matsubara-san!” Yuki rushed back to the priest.

Sae glanced at his brother, "So, that means..."

"Sae, I'll let you become a Samurai Princess."

"Oh, thank you!" Sae cried as she hugged her brother tighter, feeling him caress her hair softly.

"I’m sorry about everything… Listen, I'm proud of you, Sae. You've finally grown up."

Sayaka's POV

“You’re good.” Snickered Nakanishi before rushing towards me with her sword twirled in her hand. “But I’m better!”

“Think again!” I yelled as the two iron clashed. I deflected her next attack and spun my body around, attempting to slash her waist. But she simply leapt back before dropped herself down and slammed her foot to my legs, knocking my balance out.

I gritted my teeth as my eyes looked up to her sinister smile as she point down her sword to my neck. But before she could do anything, her expression change as she bit her lips as if holding down a pain.

“Don’t tell me..” she gasped as she dropped her sword and clutched her wrist. “How coul-“

I used the chance hoist myself up and slammed my foot to her stomach. She groaned in impact and was pushed back but still standing.

Despite being in pain, her look on me was in complete hatred.

“I’ll get you for this. All of you.” She pronounced before she blended into the darkness and disappeared.

“We’re not done here!” I called. I glanced around and saw Jurina still engaging with the other demon on the porch and from the looks of it, it was an even battle.

But then, I saw the other demon, Mieko, clashed her weapon with Jurina’s and hoist it into the air. Then, she slammed her knee to the girl’s chest which threw her back.

“Jurina!”

Third Person’s POV

Mieko caught her scythe back and twirled it in her hand as she watched her opponent catching her breath. She knew well that a mere human vessel cannot handle the maximum power of Kaguya, her speed might be fast for normal, but Mieko knew better.

“See? You’re slower in that body, Kaguya.” Said Mieko. “Still proud working with humans?”

“Mieko..” panted Jurina still under Kaguya’s control. “Mieko, listen to me. Switching sides isn’t going to get you anywhere. You know who Maou is and what would happen if he’s completely broke off the seal!”

“Don’t think I’m stupid, Kaguya!” spat Mieko. “Of course, I’ll be glad to serve him than siding with the humans.”

“Mieko! Remember why you exist.. You said to me before that you’ll keep peace and harmony in balance along my side. You know this isn’t it!”

“I will keep peace and harmony.” Said Mieko. “By destroying the ones that started it, the humans!”

“No!!” yelled Jurina. “Mieko, please let the lights shine your heart once more! You’re too blinded by the darkness..”

Mieko shook her head, “The light was no more remained inside my heart since that day, Kaguya.” She raised her sword, “So long.”

“Mieko!!”

Before the tip of it can hurt anyone, Sayaka stepped in and parried it away. Mieko’s eyes widened as she pushed the samurai back and leapt back.

“How-“

“Your partner left just then.” Answered Sayaka. “You’re on with me if you still willing to stay.”

“Tch..” clicked Mieko. “Don’t tell me it failed..”

“It’s over now, Demon.” said Sayaka before she pointed her sword to the demon. “Leave!”

“We will meet again.” Said Mieko shakily, eying Jurina. “Kaguya..”

She then vanished into the shadows, on the ground where she stood before, lied a single black feather.

“Mieko..” whispered Jurina.

Meanwhile in the Demons Hideout

Sayanee sighed as she leaned back on a seat, as a demon it was a nearly impossible thing to be exhausted unless they’re fighting. But for her, fighting is probably the second thing that can make her exhausted.

She was different after all, she wasn’t as agile Nakanishi, not as strong physically like Mariko or Sasshi, not as resourceful as Lovetan and Mieko with their own magic. But she has one thing that others except probably Mariko have; knowledge.

Back in the days, she would rather be reading scrolls of knowledge that was thrown down the hell. Hell was a house and a prison for her before Maou unleashed it’s shackle and freed the demons to the world. Once she was freed with the others, she learnt how eventually humans were much more interesting on the insides than the outsides.

The scrolls she read back then were containing dangerous, dark knowledge about any kind of dark spells, black magic. But the one that interest her more was about the darkness within minds. And when she was released, experimental rabbits were scattered everywhere for her to apply her knowledge.

Hundreds or maybe thousands have fallen for her traps and died under her so called “experiment”. The way they died was either by biting their own tongues and bleed to death or other horrifying ways to kill themselves, they’d rather die eventually than going through the mental tortures of Sayanee’s experiment.

Even demons kept their distances from her, Milky was the first demon to approach her. She was as knowledgeable as her and so it was kind of easy for Sayanee to talk to her and the two become friends before lover. From then, Maou himself approached Sayanee.

It was a dark night and the lord of Darkness approached the young demon himself with Mariko on his side. Sayanee remembered the displeased on Mariko’s face when they were there, but the lord himself was different. He took Sayanee in with the sweet words he spoke, his promise once the world is completely under the darkness. For the first time, he made Sayanee feel being a part of who she really is; a Demon.

Then there were the troublesome Samurai Princesses led by Kaguya herself that was willing defeat Maou and seal him and the Demons back in hell. Then the battle between demons and the four Samurai Princess broke out. Sayanee abandoned her experiments and positioned herself on the back line with the strategist, instructing demons some phrases which made some loss to Kaguya and Humanity’s side. Slowly, other demons respected her better and gets close to her.

Then after the long battles, as a tactic to break off the four, Sayanee went into the action herself by facing one of the four herself; Yamakawa Riku.

One thing she remembered was that she gotten her old self back and did pushed the Samurai to her limit of her insanity before she left and left her with her companions.

Then she met her again, this time Sayanee raised her weapon; The bows and arrows of Hell. Made from hell’s darkest irons and poisons that kills instantly upon impact. The two battled themselves to the maximum point until Riku managed to made a gaping hole on Sayanee’s chest.

The demon slumped down and was just steps away from death if it weren’t for the help of Milky and other Demon Healers around that time. Then, by the time she wakes up, Maou was already sealed and the Samurai Princesses were gone.

And now the history will repeat itself again, the Samurai Princesses are back. Sayanee found her enemy immediately among them, her one and eternal enemy; Yamakawa Riku. It doesn’t matter if she was dead already and her soul was in another form, whoever it was, it’s still the same person who made a gaping hole on her chest.

Sayanee smiled, she was however interested with her other enemy, the current Samurai of Earth, Umeda Ayaka. Since she met the former princess of Edo, Sayanee started reading more of her scrolls, her favorite ones.

In her mind, knowledge and strategy were combining into different ways as to make her enemy suffer mentally when they met again. She was sure that they will meet again and by the time she did, she would end both of them.

“Sayanee, so how is she?” asked a voice. The jet black haired demon turned and saw Tomochin looking up towards an object that Sayanee has been focusing for the last hours.

“She’s quite stabile now. I delayed her soul from breaking the seal inside her so that the seal will goes off as the crystal breaks.” explained Sayanee to the human.

Among the other demons except Mariko and Mieko who seemed to distasted Tomochin, Sayanee was completely fine having the girl around. Tomochin might be a human but her dark magic and techniques were considerable enough for Sayanee to accept her.

Why bother getting rid of something that’s useful like her? Tomochin’s ability allows them to do things that demons can’t like the fact that they can heal others faster than demons healing themselves.

Tomochin nodded before touching the giant object, the rough surface of the crystal were cold. “Sayanee, how come you’re different than the others?”

Sayanee raised her eyebrows, “Different in a good way I hope.”

“I mean, why didn’t you distaste me? I fell for Mariko and so does the way around which your friends say that it’s forbidden for demons to fell for humans, but why aren’t you against our relationship?”

Sayanee chuckled, “Don’t get me wrong, Tomochin. I’m neutral about your relationship, I think anyone deserves to love and to be loved by anyone no matter who they are. Besides, why bother wasting energy on hating something that’s useful?”

Tomochin smiled and a dark power emerged on her palm, the crystal infront of her becomes darker and darker. But her eyes could still see a figure trapped inside the crystal, frozen still but yet she could feel dark aura twirls around the figure faintly.

“I tightened the molecules of the crystal so that it’s harder for the aura to break it.” Said Tomocin.

“Nicely done.” Stood Sayanee from her seat . “Now I nee-“

“SAYANEE!!” roared an incoming voice. And before Sayanee knew, Nakanishi has clenched her rob by the collar. The cold purple eyes met the dark green eyes in a heated stare.

“Hello, Nakanishi.” spoke Sayanee coolly. “Back so soon?”

“The spell that you gave me failed!!” spat Nakanishi before slamming the demon to the crystal. The force was strong but luckily it’s not strong enough to make a crack to it.

“Nakanishi, stop it!” yelled Tomochin grabbing the demon’s arm. “You’ll break the crystal if you keep continuing this!”

“Don’t get involve in this, Tomochin!” yanked Nakanishi off the human before staring intensely at Sayanee. “Explain this!”

“Get off me, Nakanishi. Didn’t I told you that the spell is still under my experiment? I never said that it will be a success.” Said Sayanee. “Tell me what happened.”

So then, Nakanishi let go off her and told her what happened including how her wrist ended up in pain. Sayanee listen to it closely before put her hands up to stop Nakanishi’s explanations.

“Wakatta. Tomochin, would you mind looking at Nakanishi’s wrist for me?” asked Sayanee.

Tomochin nodded and a faint dark power appeared on her palms as she whispered a spell. She put her palms just above Nakanishi’s wrist as she stared at it intently before it finally reduced down.

“Her energy lines on her wrist connecting to her hand were been cut off so some of her energy spilled out and messing up her vessels. I healed the cut but it will take a while for the energy to stream back to her hand.” Explained Tomochin.

“Hmm..”  mumbled Sayanee. “There must have been something that cuts off the line controlling Miyazawa Haru’s soul and Kage because those lines connects straight to your energy line inside your wrist. But to do that they have to get inside his deepest mind and whoever cuts it has an ability to enter someone’s mind and heart.”

“There was one girl who noticed your spell before Nakanishi and I walked in.” chimed in an incoming Mieko. “It seems like she has the same ability as yours to enter people’s mind and hearts. Could she be-“

“The Priest of Soul.” cuts off Sayanee. “It has to be her.”

“So she was the one that cuts off the line?” asked Nakanishi.

Sayanee nodded and shifted her hand in the air. A scroll appeared out of nowhere along with a brush, the demon quickly scribbled the piece of information into the scroll.

“Nerd.” muttered Nakanishi. Mieko’s elbow was faster than Sayanee’s eyes set on to Nakanishi. “Itte!”

“I’ll pretend not to hear that.” Eyed Sayanee. “I will report this to Mariko-sama. The Samurai Princesses has truly got their ace on their sleeves.”

“How about her?” asked Mieko as she looked up to the crystal. “Is she-”

“She’s stabile.” Said Sayanee. “When the time comes, she will be ready to be Master’s vessel.”

Nakanishi grinned. "Perfect."

The next day, over at the others' location...

"Ha!" Yuka threw out a punch and the Blue flame completely engulfed her arm. The two applauded in amazement as they saw how much she improved on her technique.

"Sugoi~"

"So, you finally mastered control on the Blue flame, eh? How did that happen?"

"Hm..." Yuka looked at her hand, clenching and unclenching her fist again and again. "I'm not sure, really. I just had a dream about one of Hinata's memories. I met this really HUGE dragon who lent me his powers to control the Blue flame."

"Ao?! Yuka, that was MORE than just a memory."

"Eh?"

"After that day, Ao and Hinata had a special link. When she finally reached her full potential, the souls of both Ao and Kou created the Dragon Stone and entered a contract with Hinata. Ever since then, the two have been loyal to her and gave her power from the stone when she most needed it."

"So... when I reach my full potential, I'll be able to do MORE than just blue fire. That sounds AWESOME!!!"

"It's the same with all of you. I remember when Riku reached her full potential, she made a gigantic tree come to life and turn into a massive soldier to protect her."

"Really?" exclaimed Ayaka. "That does sound amazing."

"Yeah, but, you guys still need training so until then, Ayaka, the only plant soldiers you can make are probably flowers."

"Eh~?" Both of them harmonized as Yuko was left chuckling.

They then saw a horse coming their way, Sayaka, Jurina, and Natsumi riding on it. They also noticed an unfamiliar girl on the back, hugging Sayaka's waist cutely. Yuko smiled; she knew.

The horse stopped as the four got off gently.

"Welcome back, you three."

Yuka and Ayaka couldn't help but notice how the unknown girl was holding onto Sayaka's hand and hugging her the entire time, making her blush.

"Ch-chotto... this is awkward..." she said whilst laughing.

"Haha, gomen ne, Sayaka."

"So~" Yuka spoke up, placing her arm on Sayaka's shoulder.

"Uh, who's your new friend, Sayaka?"

"Ano..."

"Hajimemashite." The girl suddenly bowed down, shocking the two of them. "My name is Miyazawa Sae, princess of the Miyazawa household. As of today, I shall accompany you three as a fellow Samurai Princess. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

"..."

"Hm?" Sae scrunched her eyebrows as she got no response out of anyone.

"Uh, Sae-chan... You don't have to be so formal with us."

"Ah... souka. Alright then..." Sae straightened herself up and her voice went back to normal. "Konnichiwa! Miyazawa Sae desu, yoroshiku~"

"Haha, now that's more like it."

"I'm not very experienced in training, but I'll do my best! Now, when do we start?"

"Actually, there's something I wanna do tonight." Yuko said before pulling out a sheet of paper. "This..."

"The Sun and Moon Festival?"

"What about it?"

"This is a festival where they honor us."

"EH?!?!?!"


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Blue Rose (Part 2)
Post by: MaYukiIsLife on September 01, 2014, 01:34:01 AM
Quote
"No wonder there's a mark of Priest lurking earlier." said the other figure. "It seems like you are the hidden priest, Kashiwagi Yuki."

Umm... Seems fishy~ From the sounds of it Yukirin's keeping a secret~
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Blue Rose (Part 2)
Post by: luvsidney on September 01, 2014, 03:34:21 AM
ruka~ ganbette~~~ ^^
sae is cute when she having fun with kuu haha
let out more of her boyish side when she is with sayaka =P
you know what I want to see heehee ^^
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Blue Rose (Part 2)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on September 05, 2014, 07:46:04 PM
Chapter 12 - Kingyo Hanabi


Third Person POV

“They actually have one to honor us?” asked Sayaka.

“Actually it’s for Kaguya and my dad, Amaterasu.” Said Yuko. “Since they were Gods and so on..”

“Well there’s still time, right?” asked Natsumi. “In the mean time then, I need a good sleep for a couple of hours. Like seriously I need one..” she added before she slumped herself to her bed.

“She deserves that.” Said Jurina. Her eyes were no longer silver and were shade of brown. “She hasn’t been taking any rest since she pushed her limit, last night.”

“What happened, last night?” asked Ayaka settling down to a chair.

So then, Sayaka and Jurina explained what happened. From the memory curse that was set on Sae so that she could not regain Kuu easily, meeting Nakanishi and Mieko, and Haru’s Kage.

“Mieko?” asked Yuko. “She’s still on their side, eh?”

“Who is Mieko actually?” asked Sayaka. “How come she sounded like she knew Kaguya a lot.”

“Mieko was one of Kaguya’s maiden hundreds of years ago.” Said Jurina. “But then she changed side when Kaguya gave her powers to the first Samurai Princesses. She had a horrible past with humans once and that made her dislike them very much.”

“Then when Kaguya chose the first Samurai Princesses, she can’t stand it anymore.” Finished off Yuka. “She left.”

Jurina nodded, “Maou’s voice whispered in her ears. Even if he was being sealed away, his voices and commands can still be heard by those he wishes to hear. He could feel every presence of hatred and would eventually take anyone who has evil intensions lurking inside their heart, including Mieko.”

“But of course, we knew Maou would not accept anyone except his kind once he fully restored his power and break off the seal.” said Yuko.

“Speaking of evil..” wondered Sae. “Natsumi-san said that was taking over his mind wasn’t just his Kage. What was the other thing?”

“Natsumi told me before we left the Miyazawa Household that it was an incarnation.” Said Jurina. “You guys might have incarnations of the past Samurai Princesses inside you and the priestess also have theirs . The one that Haru has was actually one person from their time too, Iwagami Ruka.”

"That guy creeps me out..." said Hinata with an eerie tone inside Yuka’s head. "And he gets reborn too?!"

"Who is he?" asked Yuka. "Is he your lover or something?"

"Like hell he is! Not in a million years! Ask your friend Sae. Kuu knew him."

Yuka gulped, “So, Sae-chan.. Hinata said that you might know who is this Iwagami Ruka, so..” she raised her brows. “Who is he?”

Sae’s POV

I raised my brows upon the question. I honestly have no idea who is this Iwagami Ruka, but then just like Yuka said; Kuu knew better.

"He’s a guy that I broke my engagement with after I met Kai."

“WHAT?!” I yelped upon the answer before covering my mouth in embarrassment as everyone stares at me. “Sorry. Kuu’s answer just shocks me.”

Yuko gave a haughty laugh, “Man, I like your reaction!” she laughed off before everyone joins her. Even Sayaka giggled a bit.

I started explaining then to them as Kuu speaks on my mind, “Ruka was a son of a land lord, he said that he had a lover named Maria who was a witch. They both were happy to be a couple even in secret since Ruka’s parents didn’t agree with their relationship. But then Maria left all the sudden with no goodbyes and that made Ruka fell into such a shock that he becomes quite insane. He breaks stuff around the town and scared off little kids and women.”

Yuka shrugged, “I guess Hinata was right.. Ruka is indeed a creepy man.”

“Don’t be.” I said. “I’m sure anyone would go like that if they lose their loved ones.”

“So then how did Ruka met Kuu and got engaged with her?” asked Ayaka.

“Kuu was his cousin. Her family went to visit him once to ensure the engagement that has been arrange since they were little. Kuu was a kind girl and wasn’t afraid to spoke to Ruka and interact with him, she respected her parent’s wish for her to marry him. Slowly Ruka went back to normal and developed feelings for Kuu.”

“But then Kaguya came and told Kuu that she was the next Samurai of Wind.” Chimed in Sayaka. “Sorry, Kai’s been bugging me to cut in for some reasons.”

I smiled, “It’s alright. So then, Kuu left her family and Ruka with just a letter to explain all the reasons on why she has to leave. But then one day she met Ruka again, this time it was different.”

“What happened to him?” asked Ayaka.

“Maou.” Said Jurina. “Maou whispered in Ruka’s ears and letting his obsessions for Kuu overpowers him, controlling him. He saw Kuu and Kai being together and that pushes his patience and attacks the group with no stopping.”

“Kuu can’t bear to counter Ruka’s attacks so she asked everyone to escape. They did escaped, but Ruka used his power as the new land lord replacing his father to hunt everyone down.” I went on. “In the end, Kuu didn’t get to meet Ruka again. She died before she gets the chance to.”

After a moment of silence, Yuka commented, “That is super creepy obsession. Man, love is such a scary power.”

Yuko nudged Yuka’s elbow, “But, without love, there would be nothing in this world except darkness, Yuka.”

“She’s right.” nodded Jurina. “You’re talking like you never fell for anyone, Yuka~”

“I have!” blushed Yuka. “Just once..”

“Believe it or not, Yuka’s actually cute when she blushed like that.” Pointed out Yuko with a grin.

“Mou~ Yada!!”

Everyone laughed then including Sayaka. I took a chance to look at her as she laughed. She might look stiff but she’s very cute when she laughed, her smile and the sound of her voice were just perfect.

Is this my real feelings..? Or is it just Kuu’s feelings for Kai..?

Ayaka’s POV

After we finished teasing Yuka, we decided to split up to get some lunch since nobody seemed to have one yet. Sayaka, Sae and Yuko volunteered to go hunting in the forest while Yuka, Jurina and I decided to stay and get some herbs from Natsumi’s garden.

“Would it be alright if we pick up some from her garden?” asked Yuka before getting a basket out.

“How did you survived while we were away?” asked Jurina.

“Yuko went to the market and brought in some food.” I explained. “I’ll go ask Natsumi then.”

So I left them in the kitchen and knocked Natsumi’s door. I opened it slightly and carefully as not to make any noise. I saw her lying on her bed carelessly with her blankets on the ground. I sighed and picked it up before throwing it over her and tucked her in.

I shake her hands a little, “Hey, can we use some of your herbs?”

A quick ‘un’ escaped from her lips. I turned to leave, but then I felt a tug on my hand and found her hand clenched tightly on my wrist.

“N-no..” she mumbled. “D-don’t l-leave me..”

Confused, I gently tried to let go off her hand but she clenched me tighter. I saw her expression, her breath was rapid and she bit her lips as if she was just having a bad dream.

“Hush..” I hushed into her ear, “It’s okay.. It’s just a dream..” I comforted her as I tried letting go but her hand was seriously strong. Slowly, I saw a tear coming out of the corner of her eyes and gently traveled to her cheek.

“N-no..” she whined lowly still with her eyes shut. “Please.. Don’t leave me alone, Riku.. I love you.”

Eh?

"I guess I can’t hide it anymore, eh..?" sighed Riku.

What on earth is going on? I asked. Explain this, Riku!

Riku sighed, "You know what Kai and Kuu relationship was like right?"

Yea..?

"Well, that goes the same with me and the Priest of Soul before her, Kanata."

Huh??

"Let me show you."


After that, I felt like the world just went up side down. I was expecting my self to fall hard on the wooden floor, but instead I felt a soft patch of grass easing my fall.

I sat up and looked around, I was no longer in the room. I was in the middle at a huge grass field with each of the grasses was tall enough to cover me as I lied down.

The wind blew and I felt a bit of cool breeze struck me, cooling my neck and my short hair.

Wait... Short hair? I thought. I quickly grabbed my hair and felt it different than my hair was. Wondering  my self on how on earth did I cut it in instant.

"Don’t worry, Ayaka. It’s not real, it’s just a memory of mine." I heard Riku’s voice in my mind.

Memory? Oi, don’t tell me that I’m–

“Dozing off again, Riku?” I heard a voice from behind. I turned and saw a girl standing behind me with a smile on her face. She carried a case full of arrows and a bow strapped on her back.

My mouth just went open and pronounced her name without I knew it.

“Kanata..”

“Come on~ We’ll ran out of food if you keep dozing off like this!” she grabbed my hand and pull me up before she started dragging me in the grass.

The previous Priest of Soul was totally the opposite of Natsumi. She was very cheerful and energetic, while Nastumi was a pretty moody and has a quiet personality. The two us finally stopped under a tree with the other previous Samurai Princesses gathering around a campfire.

“Ah, Riku-chan!” said one with long braided hair. “Just in time before Kuu eats you part of stew.”

“Hey! She eats very little you know, I’m just helping so that it’s not wasted.” Retorted one with a shorter hair than mine. “Itte!”

“Kuu, stop being greedy.” Eyed another one after she landed a knock on Kuu’s head. “Kanata and Riku, Hinata just got an info from Osamu-kun that there’s a festival around here tonight.”

“Cool~” cooed Kanata energetically. “Osamu-kun is the kid that helped you, right Hinata?” she asked to the girl with long braid hair.

“Yup.” Nodded Hinata. “He said he’ll meet me there tonight with his mother.”

“Huaa~ It’s been a long time since I went to a festival!” exclaimed Kanata. Then she leaned to my shoulder and looked at my face, “Right, Riku?”

My head nodded and hummed an ‘un’ awkwardly. Instead of pouting of the so-so reaction, Kanata just giggled and snuggled her coat.

“Where’s Kaguya?” asked Kuu after she put down her stew bowl.

“She’s gone to the town then she said she’ll meet us back at the festival.” Explained Hinata as she picked up the bowls and headed down to the water stream.

I looked at Kuu looking at Kai in a happy expression before the two of them started talking and laughing with each other. I guess it was true that they were a couple and their bonds are strongly hanging on to each other. I wondered however if the same effect would happen to Sayaka and Sae.

"It would." Answered Riku’s voice. "Ever heard of the legend of red thread?"

An invisible string that connects a true couple and only visible by the two that were connected by it? Of course I do.

"Well, those strings maybe constructed by fate that decides our love. However, in their case, they constructed it by themselves."

How?

"A spell, a strong one that would keep them together for eternity. Even after death."

Wow...
I gasped softly. I glanced down and saw Kanata’s sleeping face lying on my lap, her face was peaceful like a kid.

"Kanata was my best friend. I was born as a farmer’s daughter with a job to take care of my younger brothers and do some sewing. Meanwhile, she was a lord’s daughter, completely the opposite of me. But she was a rebel, she likes to run away a lot and we met each other for the first time when she come across me in the market when she was little. I still could remember her asking me not to tell the guards where she’s hiding behind crates of cabbages."

Now, that’s one very outgoing girl...

"Indeed. We both then made friends as my mother was employed to work as a servant at the lord’s household. We both grew up and eventually started going out for a hunt in the forest for food supplies. She was good with her arrows and bows as I was too, we became hunting mates."

You can do archery? That’s amazing!

"Anyhow, then we met Kaguya and she told the two of us our fate. I was as the new Samurai of Earth and Kanata as the new Priest of Soul. She was happy for me and agreed to left the household secretly to join the group."

Then how did you two-

"You’ll see later."
Answered Riku. I can tell she was smiling at me secretly.

“Hey, I think you should wake Kanata up now.” Said Hinata coming back with a pile of cleaned bowl. “We should head down to the village now.”

“I’m awake~” yawned Kanata as soon as Hinata finished her word before she shots up. “Let’s go~”

I couldn’t help not to smile at her gimmick and I don’t blame the others for laughing at it. Kanata is just an adorable girl with a child personality.

When we arrived at the festival, there were many people with so many different colors of their clothing. There were kids and adults wearing painted masks strolling around the festivals, waiting in front of food vendors, and even playing games.

“Kai, let’s check that out!” pointed Kuu to one of the game stall and dragged her there. Kai signaled us that she’ll meet us back later as she let Kuu dragged her away.

“I’ll be looking for Kaguya and Osamu.” Said Hinata before waving off to the two of us. Now there’s just her and I. I saw her looking around the festival looking for something.

“So what do you want to do, Kanata?” I asked her.

She still looks around until she stopped and squealed in excitement.

“Kyaa! There it is, let’s go!!” she grabbed my hand and dragged me into the crowds and passing out a few shops along the way, heading down to one certain stall.

------------------------------

“I told you I’ll catch at least one~” said Kanata happily.

The two of us are now sitting down on the steps of the temple above the festival, it was only the two of us with the well lit temple standing behind us. I looked at her happy face as she focused on a bowl in her hand where two small fishes swimming in the water. Believe it or not, she dragged me towards a fish catching stall and got herself two of it.

“Kanata, what are you going to do with it?” I asked her. “I mean, we’re travelers. We can’t keep that kind of pet without a certain place to stay.”

“I know.” She sighed sadly. “But I just like catching fishes on festivals, remember?”

“Un..” I watched her standing up and saw her walking over to the temple’s koi pond. “Are you putting them in there?”

“Un.” She nodded and let the fish in to the pond. The two of us watched the two fishes swimming in circles. It was odd to watch the two fish that was one in white and the other one was black, swimming in circles. It was almost hypnotizing.

“Nee, Riku..” I heard Kanata’s soft voice. “Do you remember about that tale form the land of Ming that my dad told me?”

“About the two fishes right? One black and the other was white.”

Kanata nodded, “He said that they are called the Yin and Yang. The two of them are meant to be together so that the world can maintain it’s balance with darkness and light together as one.”

“But then it wasn’t just the symbol of balance wasn’t it? It was also the symbol of-“

“Love.” She whispered.

I looked at her in question, but she cast her face aside. I can see a small teardrop on her cheek for no reasons.

“Kanata..?”

“Riku.” she stepped closer to me. “I love you. You’ve always been my friend, my closest one and only now I realized that I love you since the very first time we met.. Only now I finally able to say it to you. Yes, I love you Yamakawa Riku.”

I saw her smile in tears, I didn’t knew what to say except it was too late for me to say anything with her lips brushed mine softly. She pulled back but I caressed her cheek and pulled it closer that so our lips touched again.

“Riku...” she whispered on my lips.

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled before I pulled back.

“Rik-“ her eyes were shocked and disappointed. But before she gets to finish her words, I pulled her closer and let our lips collide again.

“I’m sorry for being such a stupid person.” I said slowly. The words just shot out from my mouth. “I’m sorry I never realized my true feelings all these times. My feelings for you, Kanata.”

“Riku...” she burst into tears of happiness and hugged me tight.

We were about to lean back in again when suddenly the voice of screams rung in our ears.

I pulled back instantly, “What’s going on?”

Kanata shook her head and looked down to the festival. “Look!”

I saw where she pointed at, a huge flame has erupted in the crowds. It wasn’t just a usual fire, it was in a dark shade of purple and soon I saw a recognizable blue fire erupted too from the crowds.

I heard more screams of terrified and fears, “That’s Hinata! There must’ve been something happening here! Could it be d-“

“Demons?” asked a voice. We both looked at the temple and saw a girl sitting at the offering place with her legs crossed. The girl was smiling oddly with such dark aura radiating around her. The short hair and her thin lips was sculptured perfectly with her medium figure.

I pulled out my sword, “What are you doing here, demons?”

“Obviously for her, of course.” Pointed the demon to Kanata who stood behind me. “The Priest of Soul.”

“You are not going anywhere near her.” I pronounced before rushing towards the demon. She simply leapt off the offering place before my blade landed there. She smiled and whispered some kind of spell before her hands radiated in a darker aura.

She shot out her hand towards Kanata and I saw a strange power coming out of it. My body moved instantly towards it before it can reach Kanata, my mind knew I was too late to deflect it and I..

*CLASH*

I stood weakly facing Kanata and saw her face horrified. My body felt the iron pierced the blood vessels and it’s dark aura touching my flesh. I vaguely heard Kanata’s scream and the demon’s voice of pleasure. I slumped down as soon as the weapon was pulled out of me and stare up.

“Riku.. Please…” I heard Kanata’s plead before I saw her beautiful face in tears. “Don’t die..”

“Kanata..” I weakly replied. “It hurts..”

“Riku.. Please…” she shook her head and cried desperately. “Don’t leave me…”

I saw her face slowly fading away and all I could see then was white.

---------------------------------

I opened my eyes weakly and saw Natsumi’s face close to me. Her forehead on mine, so close..

“Your body temperature is not normal.” She said pulling back. “You can’t possibly go to the festival in this condition.”

“Huh?”

“Listen, you have to stay because you’re sick, Ayaka.” Pronounced Natsumi as she got out of her bed.

"But..."

“I’ll tell the others that I’ll be staying to take care of you, no complaining princess.” She said before she left the room.

I took a breath and sat up. My chest felt heavy somehow as if the iron did pierced through than just in the memories.

Riku.. Was that..?

"Sayanee." Answered Riku. "Ayaka, I’m not asking you to follow my way of loving Kanata. But please, protect Natsumi from the demons. Especially Sayanee..."

Why does Sayanee targets the Priest of Soul so badly? I asked. I mean, the demons like Sasshi and Rabutan to before...

"Because, Sayanee has the same ability as the Priest of Soul. The two of them are able to enter someone’s deepest mind and seek for the deepest soul hidden inside anyone’s heart. They can either break it or strengthen it. Not only that, Priest of Soul also holds out a strong key."

Strong key..? What key?

"When the four Samurai Princesses sealed Maou, the one that holds all the four life lines into a strong seal together was the Priest of Soul herself. It was all up to her for the sealing to be successful or not. And she would be the last person to cut the life lines to complete the sealing. If the demons got their hands on her, especially Sayanee, they would force her to at least get half of the seal strength to wear off."

No wonder Rabutan said that she was the shortcut to revive Maou...

"Yes. And remember, the seal that Maou was sealed with is wearing off. He’s been breaking it from the inside by absorbing the souls of hell and turned it into energy to break the seal. It’s possible if Natsumi was forced to erase half of the seal strength, Maou’s seal can completely be erased."

We can’t let that happen!

"I know..."
said Riku. "So please, you and the other samurai must protect her until you can tightened the seal again."

Wait a moment.. You said that the four Samurai must use their life line to seal Maou, right? If life lines were cut, doesn’t that mean..

"Yes. That’s what happened to all of us, the four previous Samurai Princess."


----------------------------------

Later, that night...

Sayaka’s POV

Standing at the temple, I leaned against the entrance gate, looking at my kimono. I still don't understand why they made me wear pink, I look incredibly girly, and people are going to stare.

I looked up and saw some of them already having fun at the festival. Yuko, Yuka, and Jurina already went up while I waited for Sae. Apparently, they quoted, "We'll leave her to you."

I sighed... What's going to happen?

"Sayaka~" I saw Sae run up to me in her light blue kimono. With the blue rose in her hair, she looked so beautiful. "Sorry. Did the guys already go on?"

"Uh, yeah, it's just the two of us..."

"Ah, souka. Alright, well, we've only got tonight, so let's have some fun!"

"Un."

"Let's go, Sayaka!" Sae grabbed my hand and held onto it as she started running towards the festival.

I've never seen someone more excited for this kind of event. I always used to go to festivals with my grandparents and little brother when we were younger. Sae reminded me of how excited I was running through the festival and watching everything.

One summer, we went to a festival outside of Japan, just the four of us. My dad didn't have much of a family. Only grandma and grandpa. I never knew much about my mom, but I heard she had a big family on her side. Whenever I was there, with them, I was in a whole other world. It had a unique beauty different from Japan, but I loved it.

And now, being here with Sae...

"Nee, Sayaka, look! They're selling cotton candy~ I'm going to buy some!"

I don't even know what to say. I could feel how much my heart was pounding, when she touched my hand, when she turned to smile at me. The first time it was like that, I thought I was going crazy, but now... I don't now what to do.

"Sayaka, you want some?"

"Eh?"

"They have odango! You want some?"

"Sae... I..."

"Lemme guess, cuz we're samurai princesses, you wanna keep your body in tip top shape, right?"

"Well... I have to. I've always been on a strict diet. I needed my strength..."

"Mou~ you should loosen up more," she giggled before taking my hand and walking up to the stand. "Odango please~"

"Sae..!"

"Don't worry, I'll pay. You just relax and enjoy the festival."

"But...."

She smiled and patted my head.

"Leave everything to me, Sayaka."

"Eh..." Her hand... it's warm on my head.

"Ah! The odango's here!" She cheered as the small round dumplings were placed out in front of us. She didn't hesitate to start eating them. She didn't even care about etiquette, like what I was doing. But I could tell she was too happy right now and just wanted to enjoy.

"Is it good?"

"Oishii desu~"

In the light of the lanterns, her smile was bright. I felt my heart skip a beat every time she laughed. I remember Kai telling me she and Kuu were lovers long ago when they were alive, but... I still can't imagine myself being with Sae like that.

"Nee, Sayaka, I heard that they're doing fireworks later after the dance ceremony! I always used to come here during the festivals and know a really great spot to watch them."

"Ah... sou?"

"Yup. It's on a really high hill where you can see everything from the top. It's almost as if you could touch the sky."

H-high..?!

"Let's go together, Sayaka!"

"Uh... B-but, the others.. what if they don't find us... B-besides, I--"

"Sayaka, I told you not to worry. It'll be fun."

But...

But... more than anything... I'm.. I'm scared of heights!

Meanwhile...

Yuka's POV

"Takoyaki!!!"

"Mou~, you're loud, Yuka," Yuko said as she rubbed her ear slightly.

"Sorry, but... I just love takoyaki~." I grinned at the demigod before receiving the steamy balls from the seller. “Itadakimasu!”

“It’s a pity that Ayaka and Natsumi can’t join us though.” Said Jurina before she bit into her fish cake filled with red beans. I noticed her iris was silver, indicating that it was Kaguya speaking.

“You can unless you can win an argument with Natsumi.” Said Yuko. “Man, she’s one tough girl for real!”

“Why do you really want to come to this festival, anyway?” I asked with bits of seaweeds on my lips.

“I told you, it’s a festival where they honor us and the Samurai Princesses.” Said Kaguya. “The fire work will also be very pretty. It was already since a hundred years ago.”

“Wait a sec! You were here a hundred years ago?” I gawked at her.

Kaguya nodded, “I was. But the last time was…”

“What happened?”

Before Kaguya can answer it, Yuko suddenly jumped up and down as she pointed to a direction.

“That’s got to be the dance! Come on!” she pulled our hands towards the direction.

Third Person POV

As the three walked over to the stage, they managed to stand close beside Sayaka and Sae then sat on the available seats.

"Guys, it's starting!" The girls watched as the lanterns lit up and music started playing. It started with two people, made to represent Kaguya and Amaterasu, both of them dancing together beautifully on stage.

Then, a person in dark clothing came up and took away Amaterasu. After a few spins, his kimono melted away and revealed a different outfit underneath, along with gaining what looked like a wolf hat on his head.

"What was that about?" Yuka asked silently.

"It tells a story of me and my brother." Kaguya spoke up. "He was cursed by the Maou and became a wolf."

"After that, he summoned the Tiger King to protect Kaguya for him."

"See, that's him..." Kaguya pointed at a man wearing a tiger striped costume with a tiger mask on.

He and the Maou danced, representing fighting, with Kaguya and Amaterasu assisting them at times. With one move, all three of them fell and the Maou was left standing. Kaguya did a few moves and four new dancers appeared, each wearing a different colored kimono. Blue, red, yellow, and green.

"Is that... us?" Sae said amazed.

Yuko and Kaguya nodded.

Two of the dancers, representing Kai and Hinata, had ribbons to dance with like they were fire and water. The other two, representing Riku and Kuu, had fans, each styled different to look like earth and wind. The five girls "fought" the Maou together, spinning and turning so beautifully.

At the end of the dance, the Maou was knocked away and disappeared, supposedly being sealed away forever. The four Samurai Princess slowly knelt down to their knees and fell, "dead."

"Wait, so..." Sae looked at Kaguya in wide eyes.

"This is what must happen every 100 years."

"Our powers are not enough to kill the Maou, so we must seal him away and make him gradually weaker. The only way to do that is to give up your souls and wait to be reborn in your next life to fight."

"So... this just keeps going on forever? Again and again?" Yuka dropped her last Takoyaki in shock.

"I'm afraid so..."

"No way..."

As the crowd cheered at the end of the performance, the girls looked at each other nervously, knowing that their fate was something unescapable and unchangeable.

---------------------------------

Sayaka's POV

"Sayaka..." Sae spoke up after walking a long while. We both sat down on the benches, remembering what Kaguya told us. "So... that's it?"

"I guess... I should have known something was going to happen to us."

"Now I know why Haru was afraid of letting me go."

As I gripped my fists, I heard Sae start crying and she hugged me tight. My heart skipped a beat once again, so strong, I was afraid it would burst out of my chest.

"Sayaka... hic.. I don't wanna die..! I wanna stay... hic.. with you..."

"Eh..?"

"Sayaka... I wanna be with you.. hic.. forever..."

"Sae...." I wiped off her tears and slowly got up. "It'll be okay. I promise. We'll find some way to get through this."

"Honto..?"

"Yes. I'll absolutely make sure that we'll stay together somehow."

She smiled and wiped off the rest of her tears.

"Thanks."

She stood up and took my hand, taking me somewhere.

"Wh-where are we going?" I asked.

"It's almost time for the fireworks, right? We're going to the top of the hill to watch them."

"Eh?" We started climbing on the slope of the hill, the path becoming steeper and hard to climb. I couldn't help but keep looking back at the ground, checking how high we were from the ground. "Uh, S-Sae... How high do we have to go up?"

"Don't worry, it's just a little more to the top."

"Th-the top?!"

As Sae giggled as we ran up the hill, I held up my kimono and tried not to look down.

"Uh, Sae, do you really think we need to go to the VERY top, right?! I mean, there should be a perfectly good view halfway up or so. So don't you think--"

"Look!" She suddenly stopped, and when I turned around, I saw an amazing view of the entire festival. Everyone looked so small and the lights seemed to be dancing.

"S-sugoi..."

I don't feel scared. With Sae's arm wrapped around mine, I felt safe.

"Ah! They're about to start!" she pointed up and a small light shot up into the sky and faded...

Then....

BOOOOOM

"Woah~"

"Isn't it beautiful, Sayaka?"

"Eh? Uh, yes..."

BOOM  BOOM  BOOM

"Sayaka..." She took my hand and turned to look at me. "What do you... think of me?"

"What..?"

BOOM  BOOM

"Sae, what are you talking about?"

"I want to know what you feel about me."

"Wh.." I felt my cheeks flush and I looked away. "What is that supposed to mean? Did Kuu tell you something?"

"Well..."

"Sae, I...."

"Eh?"

We stared at each other a long time, her cheeks blushing, too.

"Sayaka..."

"..."

"Do you... love me?"

BOOOOOOOOM

I felt her grip on my hand tighter, she slowly got closer, her faces inches away from me. She grabbed both of my shoulders and closed her eyes. Her forehead pressed against mine and I closed my eyes as I felt her breath against my lips.

BOOOOOOOOOOM

"...pfffft, hahahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She laid her hand against my shoulder and started cracking up, stopping the kiss.

"E-EH?!"

"Hahaha, sorry... I just couldn't help myself..!"

"Sae, that seriously scared me! Don't do that!"

"Alright, alright. Come on, let's just watch the fireworks."

The both of us sat down as the fireworks continued, each one lighting up the sky brighter than ever. It reminded me of when I first saw fireworks as a small child, me and my brother being carried on top of grandma and grandpa's shoulders. I used to cover my ears from the loud sound before I got used to it.

When I looked at Sae, I saw her asleep, her head on my shoulder. I chuckled at her cute sleeping face and picked her up, carrying her carefully down the hill as the light of the final firework faded. I carried her in my arms all the way back to the front of the temple, feeling her clutch onto my kimono gently every so often.

"Sayaka~" I turned my head and saw Yuka and the others staring at me holding Sae. "Well, isn't this a sight."

"That's so kawaii~" cooed Yuko, grinning.

"You really are a sweetheart, huh?" asked Kaguya with a pleasant smile.

"G-guys! She... she just fell asleep, that's all."

"Sure." Yuka said before she and Yuko giggled.

"Come on, let's say one last prayer and head back."

"OK."

I slowly set Sae down before Yuko threw in some coins and rang the bell. We silently said our prayers as the sound of the crickets rang. I slowly opened my eyes and stared at Sae, remembering the moment we shared under the fireworks light.

Could it be... she's in love with me?

"Okay." Kaguya spoke up and everyone started walking again. "Sayaka, let's go."

"Alright..."

Sae's POV

Sayaka...

Sayaka.... I love you... I love you. I love you, I really love you...

I don't understand... But, it's true. Ever since I saw her, something inside me changed...

Whenever I looked in her eyes, my heart skips a beat... When I hold her hand, it's so warm, I never want to let go...

I wanted to know... if what I felt was real...

But I couldn't kiss her. What if when I kiss her, she'll hate me?

I can still remember it... We were so close. I wanted to kiss her for the first time, to finally feel what it was like.

But I just can't do that to her. Not until I find out how she feels...

So, Sayaka... please wait... When the moment comes...

It will be my moment... Our moment.



Ai Otsuka - 12 - Kingyo Hanabi 【LOVE IS BORN】 〜5th Anniversary 2008〜 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OTrahi3JMA#ws)

To Be Continued




Some fanart by Comertez-san of the previous SP. :3

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/albums/p7l7e2mcm46edntsl350sg4vv24ft0hu5?pid=6051900238341419442&oid=112795703946079979778 (https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/albums/p7l7e2mcm46edntsl350sg4vv24ft0hu5?pid=6051900238341419442&oid=112795703946079979778)
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Kingyo Hanabi
Post by: luvsidney on September 07, 2014, 06:15:36 AM
yeah~ yeah~~~ thank you for all the saeyaka's moment... and ayaka-natsumi?'s(riku-kanata) moment ^^
it's sweet yet a little bit bitten
so they four will dead for just seal maou w/o killing it and reincarnation again after 100 years.....
what a sad story!!!
for the demon side, will they become good again and help the princess to kill maou afterward? I really hope so, just a little bit cannot believe the bad side are act by the members also XD
Title: Samurai Princesses:Ryuuou
Post by: Cometerz48 on September 14, 2014, 03:44:15 AM

Chapter 13 - Ryuuou


Yuka’s POV

“You know, maybe we should buy those two something.” I suggested referring to Ayaka and Natsumi as we walked through the festival.

“I suppose so.” Said Yuko. “What should we buy them?”

“How about those?” asked Sae pointing to a stall selling masks. “We could get one for ourselves too!”

“Sou! A visit to festival wouldn’t be complete without eventually wearing one.” Grinned Kaguya.

So then the five of us approach the masks stall. The seller was a woman in black yukata, wearing a mask that resembles like an oni.

“Hello, we’re looking for some masks to celebrate the festival.” Greeted Yuko.

The woman pointed out the displayed masks behind the stall and signaled us to choose any of her collections. I chose one that resembles like an old chubby lady (okame), Yuko picked one that resembles like a fool (Hyottoko), Sae picked one that resembles like a monkey (saru), Kaguya picked one that resembles like a fox (kitsune). What surprised me was that Sayaka picked  one that resembled like a blue devil.

“Sayaka, are you sure you want that one?” asked Sae with a risen eyebrow.

Sayak shrugged, “I don’t know. I like it better since I think it suited my element, water.”

“Nice reason. It really does suites you, Akimoto Sayaka.”

My eyes widened upon hearing the voice, I looked at the seller as she removed her mask and revealed the familiar grin of the Demon’s Fire user, Sasshi.

We quickly tensed up and pulled our sword in instant and pointed towards her neck.

“Whoa! I’m not here to fight, you people!” she exclaimed putting her hands up.

“Then what are you doing here?” gritted Yuko fiercely as if she was itching to slash the demon’s neck.

“Just enjoying the festival of course.” Shrugged Sasshi. “This is the only moment of each year where we demons are acknowledged well enough. I mean look at those who wears devil masks!” she pointed up some other visitors wearing the mask.

“Last time we met in this festival, you unleashed your fire and killed a lot of innocent lives!” spat Kaguya. “Tell me how are we supposed to believe that.”

“Wait, when was the last time we met?” asked Sasshi as she tried to think.”Ah! It’s one hundred years ago, right?”

So that’s what happened one hundred years ago… I thought.

"She killed Osamu’s mother". I heard Hinata’s voice. "She’s a murderer!"

Maji?! I looked at Sasshi’s foolish face.

“What’s wrong, Masuda?” mocked Sasshi. “Hinata giving you an info about what happened a hundred years ago?”

I gritted my teeth. If Sasshi really was meant to be my enemy, I’d take her on. Those playful face she showed was hiding a psychotic personality of a murderer, I knew she was blinded by her power..

“Speaking of which…” Sasshi looked around. “Where’s that old auntie friend of yours?”

“Old auntie?” asked Sae.

“She means Ayaka.” Explained Sayaka quickly.

Sae looked back at Sasshi, “Ayaka doesn’t resemble like an old auntie!” she retorted.

“She does in my eyes.” Shrugged Sasshi. “So she’s not with you guys, and so does the Priest of Soul I suppose?”

“They’re not here for a reason.” Said Kaguya. “Tell me, demon, what business you have here?”

“I told you already!” pouted Sasshi. “I’m here for a fun occasion! So I guess she’s with the Priest of Soul?”

“Why do you want to know so bad where she is?” I asked suspiciously.

Sasshi sighed, “That’s a pity then.. I guess Lovetan and Milky would have a rather difficult time to kidnap her then~” then she grin, “Oopsie~”

“Oh shit.” Cursed Yuko as her face went slack. “We’ve got to go back now! They’re in danger!”

But before we could turned back, a purple fire erupted behind us. A wall of fire stand in front of us and started to freaked everyone around.

“What is that?!”

“There’s a fire! Save yourself!”

“Mummy!!”

I looked back at Sasshi who just smile as she supported her chin with the back of her hand on the stall. Her eyes went flickering purple as dark as her fire as her grin grew wider. A thick black mist swirled around her and turned the black Yukata into her demon outfit.

“Well, one of the fun occasions is that I get to make you guys busy while the others do their job.”

“You…” gritted Kaguya.

“Come on, show me what you got~” she cracked her knuckles.”I’ll go on a one versus five if you’d like~”

Ayaka’s POV

I guess Natsumi was right… I don’t feel so good..

I lied still on the bed, feeling my chest heaved up a bit. I saw Natsumi coming in with a tray of food before she sat on the edge of the bed next to me.

“Come on now.” She helped me sat up on the bed with the pillows on my back. “You must’ve been eating something bad for the last days. What did you eat while I was away?”

“Yuko’s been bringing in some food she bought in the market.” I said as I took a glass of water from the tray.

“What’s wrong? Princess of Edo can’t handle peasant’s food?” smiled Natsumi. “Just joking, don’t take it seriously.”

“Sharp tongue you have there, Natsumi.” I cooed. “I wonder what will happen if demons find you first before us.”

She froze and bit her lips upon the words I said. Then I realized that I said the wrong thing.

“Natsumi, I-“

“I never ask you all to protect me.” She mumbled. Her face went red and shaking, “I can pretty much take care of myself!”

Then she left the room and slammed the door. I sighed, I shouldn’t said those words..

Riku, don’t lecture me.. I pleaded.

"Not planning to." Answered Riku. "But you do need to apologize to her."

"Nice work~" I heard my Kage chimed in.

"Not helping, you stupid Kage."

"Oi! I’m not stu-"

Just shut up you two! I yelled mentally to the two voices. They immediately went shut up.

I sighed and tried to get off the bed. I have to hold on to the wall and the bed post for a couple of steps before I finally made it out of the room then eventually out of the house.

I saw a figure sitting on the front porch and the sound of soft sobbing. I sat next to the figure which I knew it’s got to be Natsumi.

“Natsumi, listen I-“

“What is it?!” she muttered between her tears. “Forget it, princess I am not interested! If you don’t want to protect me, then I’ll happily leave you guys alone!” she spat as she gets up and started to leave again. But I held her wrist tight.

“Let go off me!”

“Listen! I’m sorry what I said before okay..” I said. “I know it’s been hard for you late-“

“Don’t you dare telling me that you knew how it felt.” Eyed Natsumi. “You never knew how it feels to be a poor huh? You never knew how it felt when you lost your one and only family you have left in this world and being kicked around from one place to another alone!”

“Nat-“

“You never feel what it’s like to have these sadness filled you in the insides even know nothing happened and therefore I should be happy. And you most certainly don’t know what it feels like to see yourself will kill the friends you would hold into dearly for the rest of your life!”

“Is that it Natsumi?” I asked. “Is this why you chose this sharp tongue of yours to cover your sufferings? You knew you were suffering but you chose to close all the ways we can help you?”

“I don’t need anyone’s help!” she yelled. “I’m-“

I stopped her words and pulled her into my arms, “Listen to me! Riku asked me to protect you at any cost from those demons and anything else. I’m sorry if I couldn’t make it in time to ease your sufferings all these times.”

“You..”

“You’re not alone Natsumi, not anymore. I swear, I’ll stand by your side no matter what.” I pronounced. “Just promise me not to close your heart from all of us. Jurina, Kaguya, Yuko, Yuka, Sae, Sayaka, and I…  It’s alright for to share your suffers with us all. We’re here for you, we’re a family now, Natsumi.”

Then Natsumi sobbed hard in my arms, I caressed her hair as she hugged me tight and let my clothes drenched in her tears.

“You knew what would happen right by the time comes? I’ll have to ki-“

“We’ll figure another way out.” I cut her. “Even if it’s written as our fate, I won’t let it happen. I won’t make you suffer again like how Kanata felt when she lost Riku in her own hands..”

“You promised..?” she whispered through her sobs.

“I swear across my heart.” I answered.

she fell silence, “Thank you..” she whispered softly.

I let go off her once she seemed to calm down. She went back inside and brought the food tray out to the porch and set it down between us. We enjoyed our dinner as we saw the colorful firework from distant.

“That must’ve been from the festival.” I whistled.

“Un.” Natsumi nodded. Then she eyed the bushes in front of her, “Hang on.. I sensed someone getting closer..”

I glanced to the bush, soon enough I heard a rustling sound followed by a figure running by. It was a girl with such a strange hair color, golden. Her figure was small but she’s such a beauty.

“Save yourself!” urged the girl when she reached us. “They’re coming!”

“Who are you and who’s coming?” asked Natsumi giving a strange look to the girl.

“It’s not important, we have to leave now if-“

“We’re here~” chimed in a cute voice. I froze and saw the familiar figure of Milky and Lovetan stood by shade of a nearby tree.

“Well well well.. Look who’s betraying us now..” cooed Lovetan. “Naughty Tomochin~”

“Oh shit they’re here.” Cursed the girl. “Save yourself, Priest of Soul!”

“What are you demons doing here?” I asked loudly as I stand between the two and the demons.

“Obviously,” Milky rolled her eyes. “We’re here for her of course~” she pointed towards Natsumi.

“You are not going anywhere near her as long as I’m alive.” I pronounced. And clenched my fist.

"Ayaka, you can’t take on them! Your condition-"

"Kid, don’t be stupid.You can’t possibly-" my kage tried to persuade me.

Shut up. I told the two of them then I glanced back to Natsumi.

“I swear I’ll protect you, Natsumi. With my life..”

“Ayaka..”

I turned to the two demons, “Come at me, demons.”

Sayaka’s POV

"Prepare yourselves!" Sasshi said before stomping the ground and creating a large fire barrier circling us. "Let's see how can go out first!"

I pulled out my sword and stood in front of the demon. She stood at the center, grinning as we circled her.

"This'll be fun!"

"Maeru!"

I charged first, meeting her sword and seeing sparks fly. Yuka charged behind her, but she surprised her with a second blade and the two fires met.

"Interesting. Did you really think you learned EVERYTHING about me since our last battle?" she said before grinning and pushing Yuka back. She swung her sword and attempted to stab her, fire flaming up every time she trusted it. "You should know, I've changed since we last met."

"Well, YOU should know..." Yuka clenched her fist and I saw a blue flame engulf her hand. "I have, too!"

She swung a few punches at her, the blue and purple flames mixing together.

"Yuko, Kaguya... That..."

"Apparently, she was able to control and master the Blue flame. She's able to contain it better."

"But, what about the last time when..?"

I turned to look at Kaguya, who just gritted her teeth and raised her sword.

"I'll explain later. For now, we must assist Yuka."

"Right!"

Yuka's POV

"Keep your breath steady and maintain your stance. The key to keep your fire bending steady is to get those two correctly."

I listen to Hinata’s instruction to keep the blue fire steady under my control. I can feel how it actually drained my energy faster than normal fire, but I tried to keep my mind cool as I kept firing and dodging Sasshi’s attack.

“I see you seemed to master that old man Ao’s fire.” Smirked Sasshi before firing a wheel of fire towards me. I dodged it just in time before it crashes to one of the pillars. I widened my eyes when I saw the pole went down to the scared crowds, luckily no one got buried underneath it.

It’s too dangerous to fight here. I might injured the crowds.. I thought. I glanced around and saw a staircase leading up towards a lonely temple ground. That’s it!

I kept dodging Sasshi’s fire as firing some to her too as I lead her towards the staircase. I run up the steps with the demon laughing hysterically behind my back.

"Keep going, she’s right behind you." I heard Hinata’s voice.

I know. I don’t want her to get anyone killed like last time you were here.. I answered.

Hinata fell silence, I knew she has a certain guilt after that night.

I reached the temple ground and turned around just in time to welcome her blade and the killer aura she produced. Her fire was intense and so was mine.

“You know… You missed a lot of things, Kono Hinata.” Said Sasshi. “Since you died, I’ve been looking for many of your remained allies. Including your beloved Osamu-kun.”

My eyes widened in instant, “What did you do to him?!”

“I did what you’ve done to me.” Smiled Sasshi. “I pushed him off...  The Cliff of Darkness.

"YOU WHAT?!!!" I heard Hinata’s mental yell. I can hear the anger in her voice and the sadness. "YOU MURDERER!!!!"

Sasshi somersaulted back and smirked, “Ara-ara.. I guess I did offend you after all. It doesn’t matter because..” she loosened her collar and showed a slight darker line across  the base of her neck. “I still keep this scar as a trophy even after surviving from the fall on that cliff, Hinata.”

“Let’s see if I can make the same scar on your neck or maybe…” she charged and our blade clashed again. “I’ll try to make a deeper one on yours.”

"AS IF!!!" I heard Hinata’s mental yell again. I can tell she was furious, the blue fire somehow grew under my control. I parried another of Sasshi’s slash and gave a spin kick towards her chest.

Sasshi staggered back but smiled evilly, “That’s it Hinata, fight me for real just like we used to when Maou was banging on his seal on the last seconds of his release.”

“Stop it!” I yelled. “My name is Masuda Yuka, not Hinata!”

“Still the same.” Laughed Sasshi. “The two of you are still the Samurai of Fire, my enemy.”

"THAT’S IT!" Hinata yelled.

Suddenly, my feet moved by itself, running towards Sasshi in an incredible speed and my arm slashed down to her. Sasshi smirked as she dodged my slash and parried my blade with hers engulfed in Demon Fire.

The blue Fire grew on my blade and the next time we clashed our blades again, the two fire created a huge explosion. The force threw me back strongly and I felt my back crashed into a tree before eventually my head banged into the tree as well. I felt a million bricks on my head and my vision suddenly goes blurry.

I could vaguely the sword in my hand is still engulfed in blue and a bright red light came out of nowhere. I looked down to my chest and saw the gem on my locket shining brightly in red.

I felt a sudden warmness spread on my chest, so warm that it comforts me to close my eyes and hear Hinata’s voice.

"I will never forgive you, demon..."

Before I could reply to her, I blacked out.

Sayaka’s POV

When I looked up at the sky, I saw blue fire starting to fill the sky. It seemed to form the shape of a dragon, a loud roar filling the sky.

"Kaguya!" I turned and saw Yuko knelt down to Kaguya's side. She was on her knees, covering her ears. Her eyes were widened as she was mumbling something under her breath. Yuko turned to me, "Go find Yuka!"

"Got it." I ran as fast as I could toward the path of the blue fire. When I arrived, I saw Sasshi and Yuka standing in a ring of fire, and Yuka’s eyes were glowing red along with her pendant. “Yuka!”

“Whoa!” yelped Sae arriving next to me. “Is this Yuka’s ultimate form or something?”

“AAAAARGH!!!” She ran up to Sasshi and swung her sword full force. She kept trying to attack, and every time she was knocked down or even injured, it seemed to rile her anger more.

“You can’t be me, weakling!”

“AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!”

Her sword was covered in fire. The flames seemed to wrap around her the most, creating the image of a large blue dragon. Each time she screamed, a loud roar was released and echoed from the dragon’s throat.

”It’s Hinata!”

What?!

"Sasshi must've angered her! I've only seen her like this once before, when the demons killed everyone from her home village."

Yuka yelled out once more and the dragon roared once more.

What's with the dragon?!

"Probably the spirit of Ao, the dragon who gave her possession of the first half of the Dragon Soul Stone."

The WHAT?!

Before she could answer, there was a loud crash as the flames grew stronger and began to engulf Yuka.

"YUKA!!!"

Instead of being intense, I saw Sasshi’s lips curled up into a wider smirk. Her Demon fire grew stronger around her as the two clashed again and again. Each time they collide, a huge fire explosion grew between them, blue and purple created a crater.

“Sayaka, look!” pointed Sae.

I glanced and saw some of the trees in the temple ground were on fire due to the fight. I saw a pond nearby and willed the water upwards towards the fire before sending it back again to the pond.

This is dangerous! They can burn down this place if this keeps on going!

I looked at Yuka, the fire was getting bigger and bigger and I can feel it was impossible for the water in the pond to calm her down.

What can I do…?

“Sayaka, do you remember what the demon said?” asked Sae. “She said that she’s only here to play with us. I think the real target is Natsumi!”

“Shit, I guess you’re right.” I replied. “Ayaka’s with Natsumi though, but she’s not in a good condition. I’m afraid something bad will happen to them.”

“But first, we need to get Yuka to snap out of it.” I added before dashing towards the battle.

I willed the water once again to cover my hands and turned it into tentacles. When I saw Sasshi being pushed away by Yuka, I quickly grasped her shoulder in my hands. Since her whole body was on fire, the tentacles did a good job of protecting my skin from the intense heat. Still, I knew it’s not going to be long.

“Yuka, snap out of it!!” I yelled to the girl as I look into the blazing eyes. “You’ll burn everything if you keep this going!”

“No.” voiced out Yuka. I widened my eyes, recognizing it weren’t just her voice. There was another voice talking at the same time with her in sync. “Stay back, this is my fight.”

Before I could even talk again, Yuka took a grasp at the tentacles and swing it towards a tree. My body hit the trees around it hard.

“Sayaka!” yelled Sae as she ran towards me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good.” I replied upon feeling my bleeding lips.

"She’s not though." Said Kai. "Hinata has taken over her completely this time. Yuka hasn’t got total contract with her and if this keeps on continue, Yuka is going to fade away!"

Contract? Fade away?

Kai sighed, "Remember when I talked to you for the first time? When you reached my invisible hand, that’s our contract done."

That's right. I remember.

"A contract must be done to sustain the balance between the vessel’s soul and the other soul, so that both can take control equally. But with your friend here, she released Hinata’s highest level of power all the sudden. For someone who has done the contract it’ll take time for them to get it out, but for her it must’ve been from Hinata herself. And if this continue, Yuka’s soul is going to fade away and replaced by Hinata herself!"

That’s crazy! We can’t let that happen!

"I know, the only time someone can calm Hinata down that time was either Kanata, the previous Priest of Soul, and Kaguya herself."

Then where’s Kaguya- I looked around and suddenly I saw Kaguya engulfed in a strong silver light, dashing towards Yuka.

“Sayaka, Sae! Get out of there!” yelled Yuko pointing bellow us. I glanced down and saw a part of huge pentagram started glowing in silver underneath us, forming a circular pentagram around Yuka.

Sae brought me away quickly in her hands just in time before I felt a sudden force pushing us back strongly.

"What's going on out there?!" Sae said as we looked back at the current situation.

The strong red aura around Yuka faded and she passed out as the silver pentagram stopped glowing too. Yuko came out and pulled out some kind of scroll. It started glowing rapidly as a strong wind blew and circled the area, blowing out the fire. I coughed a bit as the scent of smoke was strong.

As the wind calmed down, we slowly walked back to Yuko's side. I felt a pain in my back and stopped, holding my shoulder. Sae pulled down my yukata and I saw some of the splinters from the tree were sticking into my skin.

"Sayaka, you're bleeding!"

"Don't worry, Sae. I'll be okay."

"But..."

"Don't get your hopes up." Sasshi raised her sword and was about to strike, but then Kaguya came in and blocked her, their eyes meeting. They gazed at each other strongly before Sasshi chuckled and released her sword.

"Kaguya-sama." We all went up to her side, keeping guard.

"I'm surprised you were able to stay alive for this long, kid."

"Eh?"

Kid? Is she talking about Jurina? Did something happen...

She turned and her sword disappeared from her hands. I saw a smile as she looked at us one last time.

"Just wait. I have a little present for you now~"

"What are you planning, demon?" growled Yuko.

"Let's just say... we have big plans for Jurina's dear onee-chan."

That instant, Kaguya rushed up and prepared to swing her sword, but Sasshi disappeared in a large mass of smoke. When she turned, I saw her eyes were brown.

"Jurina..."

"Onee-chan..." whispered Jurina softly before she slumped down to her knees, her face was awestruck.

"It can't be.." said Yuko. "I thought all of the Matsui were.."

Jurina punched the ground angrily. "What are they doing to my onee-chan?!"
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Ryuuou
Post by: luvsidney on September 17, 2014, 08:04:54 AM
Code: [Select]
Cometerz48-san~~~ look like you are back~~!!!! =P
Please continue the DiVA project and yuko's graduation fanfic ^^
I also miss them very much ^^
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Ryuuou
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on September 18, 2014, 04:39:52 PM
Chapter 14 - Cry


Ayaka's POV

"Come at me, demons!"

“Sure will~” smiled Milky before she dashed towards me. A whip appeared in her grasp all the sudden and I dodged just in time from the first swipe of it.

I dust off my clothes with a bit of a woozy feeling inside my head.

"Don’t force yourself, kid."

I know.. I felt the Earth in my very own toes as I kept leaping from one place to another, avoiding Milky’s whip.

“Coward.” Called Milky as she kept swishing her whip. Not realizing that each time I leapt avoiding her, I get closer to her.

When I was close enough, I swiped her feet off the ground and willed some small mounds to gave a rough massage session as soon as she touched the ground. Milky groaned as the earth mounds pounding on her back repeatedly in a great strength. I hopped back away from her as soon as I think she received enough.

Milky sat up with a displeased face before eventually started swishing her whip again. This time, she was much more determined to set at least one hit on me. She did after a few minutes to my shoulder. I yelped in pain upon the touch, it was like a being pierced by a very sharp iron before it quickly pulled back up.

“Ayaka!” yelled Natsumi.

“Oh shit, that’s going to hurt.” I heard the mysterious girl grumbled.

Milky released a chilly laugh, “Just an information, this whip is made from parts of monster skins that you can only find in hell. Of course, some modifications are made by Rabutan just for me~”

I bit down my lips, the pain was sharp and still stays there. I can feel the sweats running down my forehead as I tried to keep on avoiding the dangerous whip.

Riku, a small help would be great here. I thought.

"Get close and punch some parts that I will tell you soon once you did it."

I followed her directions and once I was close enough to the demon, I hand chopped her shoulder and the side of her chest once she raised her arm to whip. Milky’s eyes widened as she felt the strength upon the arm and released a pained yell before she slumped to her knees.

“You…. Wretch..” she growled eying me in hatred.

Chi blocking? I asked. Like what Jurina did?

"Yep. Works with Demon’s human forms all the time."

I saw Rabutan sighed and took some steps towards Milky before standing between her and I. She took off her glasses and her lips curled into a smile.

“Last time you did some terrible things to me.” She began before zipping down her clothes and showed a wrinkly scar on her chest. “This time, it’s my turn.”

Mists started to appeared in her hands and took forms of small furry balls that I saw when I met Sayanee and Milky for the first time. They eyes glared red into me before eventually hopping down from Rabutan’s hand. What made me stepped back was the fact that not only one or two that came out from the mist, in fact there was tens and hundreds of it.

"Kid, I think you better run now." Encouraged my Kage.

I won’t. I refused

Rabutan snapped her fingers and all the monsters charged towards me. I willed some small holes to appear and swallowed the monsters. But one was fast enough to land it’s teeth on my leg. I crumpled in instant upon feeling the small bone pierced into my vessels. I could not help to release a cry each time one sets its teeth on me.

“Ayaka!” I heard Natsumi. She ran towards me from the porch, her hand glowed in bright light before it formed a small pentagram and released a beam to one of the monster. The monster disintegrate upon the impact, but before she could release more, I saw her arm got tangled up with Milky’s whip.

Natsumi screamed in pain as she tried to tug on the bind. But each time she did, I knew she felt the immense pain from the whip. Milky came to stand in front of her and smack her right on the cheek hard enough to produce such sound.

“Natsumi!!”

“It’s no use to struggle, Priest.” Pronounced Milky. “Cooperate or otherwise..” she nodded to Rabutan.

Rabutan clicked her finger once again and this time the monster bit harder to my skin. I screamed as one land it’s teeth at the base of my neck, so close to veins.

“Humans have approximately 4.7 to 5.5 liters of blood in their body.” Spoke Milky. “I wonder how much it takes for one to be drained out completely.”

“Stop it!!!” yelled Natsumi in tears. "Don't hurt her!!"

“You’re not going to get away with this, demon!” I heard the mysterious girl yelled before dashing forward. But Milky simply landed a kick to her head and threw her away.

“I’ve always want to do that to you, traitor.” Smiled Milky.

“Nice hit.” Said Rabutan.

Milky turned back, “So it’s your choice then. I know Rabutan is aching to get the samurai a piece of her pain before.”

“But unfortunately, our order is only to get you and not to kill the Samurai Princess.” Continued Rabutan eying me in pleased.

I can feel the sudden nausea from the red liquids flowing out of the small holes on my skin. My lungs felt so weak all the sudden..

"Ayaka, hang on! Please…"

"Come on kid, stay awake!"

I can’t… I pleaded mentally. I vaguely saw Natsumi pleading silently at me with those tears, pleading me to stay alive.

"I’m sorry..." I mouthed.

She shook her head and yelled to me to keep my eyes open, I can’t hear her voice anymore somehow nor Riku’s or my Kage.

I guess it’s just me in the end.. I sighed. My eyelids are feeling so heavy that I knew I have to give in to the weight.

Don’t you dare giving up here, Samurai of Earth. You have not ask me, have you?

My eyes were already in the verge of closing but the new voice struck me frozen.

Who are you…? Please just let me-

Black out and let Maou take over me? Think again.

Take over you..? Masaka…

Yes. I am the Earth, Umeda Ayaka. And I have seen enough, now we shall work together as one.

I smiled weakly and let go off my last strength at the moment.

As one.

-------------------------------------

Meanwhile...

Sayaka's POV

"I wonder if Jurina-san will be okay..." Sae said as she and me sat down on the steps of the temple.

After we were able to calm down Yuka, Yuko took Jurina and Yuka somewhere to rest, I don't know where. But something must've happened with Jurina that she got angered by what Sasshi said.

"You think Jurina-san has a sister?"

"Probably. But, then again, Yuko said all the Matsui were killed by demons."

"So, what do you think..?"

"I don't know. But it seems serious, so we should leave them be for a while."

After a few seconds, I turned and looked to see Sae staring at me intensely. She took my yukata and pulled it down gently, revealing more of the wounds on my back. She took out something from her pocket and placed it in her palm.

"Wait, is that..?" It was a small glass bottle, filled with some kind of liquid.

"Kaguya's healing water. I found it back at the palace. I think she meant for me, too."

She opened it up and used some of her wind magic to release it from the bottle and form an orb.

"I can't control water like you can, but..." I felt the cool water spread out on my back and seeped into the wounds. "This should help."

"Thank you..."

Sae helped me up and we started walking back. I think now would be a good time to rest.

"Nee, Sae..."

"Hm?"

"How was today? Was it... nice? Casting aside that a demon just appeared a while ago."

"Of course. Today was a lot of fun! Especially with you, Sayaka!"

"Yeah..." I looked over and saw her smile, my heart skipped a beat. "What you said... about me liking you and all... were you serious about that?"

She stopped and looked at me. "Eh..?"

"Sae... I want to know."

"I..."

Things were silent... it was perfect to me. It seemed to hurt, but also comforted me.

"Sae, do you--?"

*BRRRRRRRRRRHHHH*

"What the--?!"

"Earthquake!!!" I yelped, struggling to stand still despite the shaking ground.

"What could be causing this?!"yelled Sae. Then I saw her gawking behind me, “Oh my….”

I turned back and saw a pillar of orange light climbing to the sky from far. Before I knew it, Kai already said it.

"Riku…."

My eyes widened, "Ayaka! We need to find her! Something could be happening to her!" I started running towards the light.

"Let's hurry!"

Meanwhile in another place...

Third Person POV

Yuka's eyes opened as she saw Yuko standing over her. She quickly jumped up and saw she was deep somewhere in the forest. Jurina was standing at some kind of shrine, praying silently by herself.

Yuko held her shoulder, "Leave her be. She's going through a lot."

"What happened? I can't remember..."

"It's my fault, Yuka."

Hinata?

"I let my anger get to me. I'm sorry."


"You were crazy out there, y'know," Yuko said. "I had to bind Hinata inside of you so nothing bad would happen to you."

"So, where are Sayaka and Sae?"

"They're headed home. Sayaka got injured."

I cover my mouth "Was that my fault? Oh God, I'm so sorry, Yuko! I didn't mean--"

"It's okay. You only lost control because you haven’t made a full contract with Hinata's soul. The contract between you needs to be strong before you can form one being. It was like that with Sayaka. After she was hit with lightning, she made a contract that binded her and Kai's soul together."

"So that light I saw around her before I blacked out..."

"That was both of their auras. It creates a powerful light that strengthens their powers."

"I thought I saw something when I felt Hinata taking over. Was that... my aura?"

"Yes. Each of us have one, and we alone have the power to unlock the true power hidden within them. Me, the other Samurai Princesses, the Priests..."

"Even Jurina?" The two looked and saw Jurina stand up from her kneeling position. She leaned against one of the trees and looked up at the moon. "How did they meet, anyways? Her and Kaguya..."

Yuko's expression became a sad one. "It's a tragic story..."

"I still wanna know."

Yuko looked over and saw Jurina's eyes were closed. She was talking to Kaguya, most likely.

"Okay..."

Flashback, 13 years ago...

Jurina and her sister hid alone in their room. Jurina clutched onto the older girl tightly and softly cried into her chest as she felt her pat her head. Her hand was so warm, it comforted her, but she still felt afraid.

"Don't worry," she said. "It will be okay."

"Onee-chan..." whimpered Jurina softly.

She kissed Jurina's forehead and handed her a necklace. It was a protection charm, so that she would always be with her.

"I'm going to stop them. Wait here for me, I promise I'll be right back."

"Promise..?"

"Un."

After that, she left and Jurina was alone, crawled up in her closet so that the "monsters" wouldn't find her. She held the necklace tightly in her hands, shutting her eyes as she waited for her sister to call her.

Minutes passed, but they all seemed like hours to Jurina. She slowly opened the closet door and saw the room was still empty.

"Onee-chan..."

She walked out of her and her sister's room and walked down the hall.

"Onee-chan?"

When she turned, she was shocked to see all of her family was scattered across the floor, dead. The house was almost covered in blood, something Jurina never wanted to see.

She ran outside, calling for her sister, then saw two dark figure standing in the center of the field.

“Man, she’s one troublesome human.” Growled one of them. “Almost opened up the wound that stupid Samurai gave me ages ago.”

“Then that clearly states that she’s the perfect one.” replied the other one. In her arm was Jurina's sister, unconscious.

"Onee-chan!"

One of the dark figure turned her head towards Jurina, “Ara, ara… That must be her little sister.”

The other figure turned her head to towards little Jurina, her irises were gray and very cold. A dagger quickly appeared in her hand before she threw it at Jurina that hit her chest, sending pain throughout her body.

Jurina screamed in pain and slumped to her knees, tears formed in her eyes. Pained, fear, hurt…

"Sorry, child. This one is going to be a valuable item for my Master." the figure said before she started surrounding herself in black smoke. “Sasshi, don’t forget to destroy this place.” She said before she disappeared.

“Roger that.” Spoke the other figure before she clicked her fingers. Burst of purple flames appeared from the houses, slowly burning down the house along with it’s inside.

“Goodbye, little one.” waved the dark figure before she also vanished into the darkness of the night. “If fates allows, we shall see each other again.”

Jurina felt her chest was in total pain as it started bleeding out and her vision was blurring. She reached out her hand to her sister as the fire started to surround her and burning down everything.

"O-onee... ch-chan...."

She was surrounded by silence, falling into an abyss of eternity.

Then, she felt something warm in her chest, wrapping around her body. She opened her eyes and saw someone facing her, she didn't know who she was, but she looked exactly like her.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kaguya."

"Kaguya... Am I dead..?"

"No. I'm here to save you."

"Onee-chan... they took onee-chan..!"

"Calm down, Jurina. It will be okay."

"I promised her... We both promised to be together... She said she would never die and would always protect me... I wanna save her... I wanna save onee-chan!"

"Understood."

Kaguya placed her hand on Jurina's chest and her spirit entered her body. The two became one being, a strong silver aura surrounding Jurina's body. Her eyes glowed silver as she rose up and created a sword of light in her hand.

"Wait for me... onee-chan."

End of Flashback

Yuka's POV

“No wonder Sasshi seemed to recognized Jurina..” I gulped, “She was there that night.”

Yuko nodded, “I was sent by my father that night to retrieve Kaguya. But then I only saw Jurina watching the Demon’s fire burnt down the house. She has fulfilled her contract with Kaguya at such young age.”

“Then you’ve been taking care of her ever since?”

“Jurina was herself in the day and Kaguya at night. I’ve been taking care of her, teaching her ways to live, I taught her everything I knew.” Explained Yuko.

“Sasshi said you’re in bad term with your dad.” I began carefully. “What happened?”

Yuko looked at me, I knew I touched a touchy subject to her.

“I mean, it’s alright if you don’t want to tell.” I stepped back. “I’m not forcing you to.”

Yuko sighed, “I guess I can tell you now, Yuka. The thing is being a demigod is not that easy. Gods doesn’t take care of their children, their human parents are. Amateratsu was never on my side since I was little, all I knew was my mother.”

“Lucky you, my mother died when she gave birth to my youngest sister when I was five. Can’t remember much about her though.” I said.

Yuko smiled, “The lucky ones are those that have both of their parents by their side."

"I guess you're right."

"Anyway, I didn’t knew anything about Amateratsu nor that the fact that I’m a demigod. All we do was move from one village to another, trying to find anyone that would accept us. I was angry each time I heard someone dissed us. The next thing I knew was that each village we left would always be struck by draught and each time I got mad even in secret, a fire exploded off somewhere in the village.”

“Wow, that’s some need of anger management control.” I commented.

“My mother was the only one that can calmed me down. I remembered her saying to me that they were wrong to disses her and I, she told me I was special…” Yuko’s tone started to trailed off. I saw tears forming in her eyes.

“What happened then?”

Yuko sniffed, “I was special not just because I’m a demigod. I also have something that many people and even Gods feared. A kage just like Ayaka’s..”

My eyes widened, I just can’t believe the cheerful girl I knew have such thing inside of her.

“The kage must have formed from years of moving and being dissed by others. That time, my inner light from being Amateratsu’s daughter has not fully awakened but it still enough to keep my kage down for the time being until…”

"Until?"

“Until I killed my mother.”

Yuko’s tears travelled to her cheek, but she continued. “I was too angry that time. She came home late and I saw her skirt bleeding out. I was ten but I knew what she did was dangerous, she told me she was trying to gain some money for the two of us. But then…”

"Yuko, you don't have to..."

Yuko shook her head, “Hatred and darkness overcome me, pushing my kage forward. I hated everyone, especially Amateratsu for leaving us. The next time I opened my eyes was my mother’s caressing my cheek with a dagger struck to her stomach.”

Oh God...

“She told me it was okay for me to be mad at her, for giving birth to me from Amateratsu. She told me she was always proud of me no matter how many kids got beaten up by me from dissing her and I. She told me she was proud of me all the way. I told her to stay alive, but she bleed out fast and she smiled weakly at me before she closed her eyes and sighed for the last time..”

I instantly round my arms around the little girl and felt her tears drenched my yukata. Her sobs in my ears as I caressed her hair softly.

“I’m sorry..” I whispered. “But it’s alright now right? You have us and Kaguya..”

“Yea..” pulled back Yuko. “Only later then Amateratsu finally had the guts to appeared in front of me as I watched the fire I set to my house, burning everything I have left and my mother’s body.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he was sorry for being a jerk and asked me to come to his place. There, I met my other brothers and sisters and all of us gets along together.”

“But you always had that hatred do you? For your dad.” I asked.

“I’d be lying if I said no to that.” Said Yuko wiping her tears. “Sometimes I couldn’t help to yelled at the sun and told him how much he was a jerk.”

“He never gets angry?”

“He said he deserves it and thus he never gets mad to me for hating him. But I still run errands for him, including now. Protecting Kaguya and the Samurai Princess.”

"Oh..."

Third Person POV

As the two talked, Jurina conversed with Kaguya inside her mind.

"You heard what she said, didn't you? They still have onee-chan. She's alive!"

"Did I say anything?"

"No, that's the point! You didn't do anything! We should've followed them, they would take us to onee-chan!"

"And what do you think would happen next? They would've killed us."

"We still would've had a chance--"

"That's not the point! Besides, we would be too late. Your sister's soul isn't connected to her physical body anymore. If we did save her, you would've had nothing more than an empty shell!"

"But... But I..!"

*BRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHH*

Kaguya opened her eyes and felt the world shaking around her. She held onto the shrine pole as she tried to stand up, looking over and seeing Yuko and Yuka panicking in the current situation.

She looked up and saw a pillar of bright orange light in the sky.

"Riku...!"

-------------------------------------

Sayaka's POV

"Sayaka! Hurry!" Sae held onto my hand tightly as we both ran towards the source of the bright orange light.

We finally stopped and saw Ayaka was floating with the Earth crumbled under her and the two demons, Rabutan and Milky, who had spread their wings and were flying.

My eyes widened upon Ayaka’s glowing eyes, so intense…

"This is not Riku’s… It’s not Riku taking control of her." Kai spoke in my mind.

Then who is it?

"You wouldn’t want to believe it, Sayaka. Trust me."


"Well, this is interesting." Smirked Lovetan.

"Let's see what you got, Samurai Princess!" Yelled Milky.

Ayaka didn't say a thing and raised a large boulder above her head just by a point of her hand, before throwing it at the demons. Milky threw a punch and it shattered to pieces.

"You think you're so good."

The ground crumbled again and suddenly a loud voice boomed.

"I am the guardian of the Earth. Your reign of terror shall end here."

"Woah. Did THAT just come out of Ayaka?!" Sae blurted out.

"Yes it did." I heard a pained voice not far from us. I glanced and saw Natsumi holding her wrist, from the look of her expression she looked as if she just cried.

“What happened here? How did-“

“The demons arrived just a while ago. Ayaka was in no condition to fight them but she still stand against them, but then she was about to overcome by them..”

“Then?”

Natsumi shook her head, “She has these lights bursting out of her in the last minutes then I heard Kanata screaming at me to take cover.”

"Sayaka! Sae! Natsumi-san!"

We suddenly turned and saw Kaguya, Yuko, and Yuka standing behind us.

"It's quite obvious she's become one with the Earth. I didn't think she was able to unlock that ability so quickly." Said Kaguya watching the battle between Ayaka and the demons.

"This is FREAKING CRAZY!!!" yelped Yuka with widened eyes. “I thought I’m the only one that can go crazy..”

"What should we do?" asked Sae.

"We need to try and call to her. If we can reach her now, we can calm her down." Said Yuko.

We ran up and stepped on one of the rising stone slabs and yelled out to her.

"AYAKA, STOP!!!"

"YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN!!!"

"C'MON, AYAKA, WAKE UP!!!"

"CAN YOU HEAR US?!"

"LISTEN TO US, UMEDA AYAKA!!!"

She turned to look at us with glowing orange eyes. With just a finger point, she casted us away as we crashed to the ground.

"It's no use... Her soul's been completely overtaken by the Earth's core."

"C-core?"

"The Earth's core is the source of all of the Earth Samurai Princess' full power. I don't know if Ayaka will be able to handle it once she reaches its peak."

"What will happen if she does?" I asked.

"Is she gonna EXPLODE?!" panicked Yuka.

"I highly doubt that." Retorted Yuko. “But if she keeps on going, I’m worried she’ll damage surroundings.”

"And she may go into a power overload and become fatally injured. We have to try and stop her before the core reaches its peak!" said Kaguya.

We watched as Ayaka kept her attacks at a tempo towards the demons. Rabutan produced a giant wolf from her dark mist and sent it out to Ayaka. With a quick swipe of her hand, a giant spike pierced it’s chest before it has a chance to set it’s teeth on Ayaka. The dark creature howled in pain before it vanished in dark smoke.

Milky produced another set of whip in her hand and passed it to Rabutan, “I have a plan!”

The two of them swished the whip at the same time and broke a stone wall that appeared suddenly. The swished it again, this time rounding each of Ayaka’s wrist.

“AYAKA!!” yelled Natsumi.

Despite the dark aura I saw surrounding the whip, Ayaka seemed to be fine. Instead, she strongly tugs her arms along with the demons.

“GYAAAHHH!”

The two demons crashed to each other when Ayaka brought her arm across. Before they have time to regain, two blunt spike of earth hits them on the chest and sent them flying.

“HUAAAAAA!!”

The two then crashed into a giant wall that appeared in instant, before they reached the ground and slumped, Ayaka was already there to grab a hold of each of their neck and pinned to the wall.

“Ayaka!!” Kaguya yelled.

I saw the look on Ayaka’s face as the two demons struggling at the grasp on their necks and being raised in the air.

“Let go off us!!!!”

“You are not getting away with this!”

Neither you are, Demons.” spoke Ayaka before she started to tightened her grip.

“At this moment, she’s going to kill them..” said Yuko.

“Isn’t there anyway to stop her?” asked Sae. “How about that spell that you used for Yuka?”

Kaguya shook her head, “That spell takes a long time to recharge. She can’t use it twice in a day, even a month!”

“What do we do?!”

“We’ve got no choice to attack her.” Said Kaguya pulling out her weapon.

“No!” yelled Natsumi holding down Kaguya’s weapon. “There must be another way!”

“I agree with Kaguya, Priest.” Said a new voice. I turned my head and saw a petite girl with golden hair, so odd.. “She has turned dangerous with the earth’s core under her control.”

“Who are you?”

“The name is Itano Tomomi, I used to work for the demons until I realized what were they up to.” She answered. I was about to ask again, but she cut my words. “Save the questions for later, you guys have a situation here.”

I looked around and saw a well. There were still some water inside it, I can use it for bending..

“What if we constraint her? You think it’ll work?” I asked.

“We can.” Said Yuko. “But you’ll need more strength than you have now.”

Kai… I thought. Would you help me on this?

"Of course. We are one, Sayaka."


"I'll stop her!" I said before jumping on one of the slabs again.

"Wait, Sayaka!" Sae grabbed my hand. It was so warm.

I turned to her and smiled, making her let go.

"I'll be fine."

I rose up and faced Ayaka once again. Focusing my energy, I summoned some waves of water to my side and aimed them at Ayaka. She just blocked them off and kept going, but I wasn't giving up either.

Kai!

"On it!"


I felt my body move on its own, with her thoughts, and the water around me changed from before. It moved differently with Kai in control, as if she could speak to them. There were moments they became sharp like blades and cut at the rock slabs, and then flowed easily and washed over the air. It was captivating and powerful at the same time.

However, Ayaka was incredibly strong with the power of the Earth in her hands. There were times when she's got me off guard and even try to crush me. I keep trying to call her as we fight, but she's too far to hear me...

What should I do?

"Sayaka!" I looked and saw Yuko and Kaguya standing on another rock slab and raised up beside me.

"If you keep going at this, both of you will be killed."

"But, Ayaka--"

Yuko quickly created an aura sphere and threw it towards an incoming boulder.

"Please, don't hurt her..." I said under my breath as the two faced her.

Kaguya pierced through the rocks Ayaka threw and managed to swiped Ayaka’s feet off the ground. But then Ayaka put her hands on Kaguya’s stomach and simply pushes her back, so strong that Kaguya hits the tree a few meters hard.

“My lady!” yelled Yuko. Distracted, Yuko didn’t realized that Ayaka moved fast to her front and did the same to her. Only, that Yuko was pushed off towards a giant slab of rock.

“Yuko!!” I watched the girl slumped to her knees.

“Darn it..”

Do not stop me unless you wish to die, Kaguya.

Kaguya struggled to stand up on her feet, “But she’s not ready, yet!”

Ready or not, her destiny awaits in my hand. And I decided it now.

“You can’t!!”

Watch me, Kaguya.” Ayaka approached the two demons still trying to regain themselves after the choking. But then, her hands were already on their necks again.

“Let go!!!!”

Good bye demons.

I closed my eyes, could not bear to watch further. But just as I thought that Ayaka crushed those demon’s neck, I felt a sudden tense out of nowhere. When I opened my eyes, I saw a round of black mist appeared out of nowhere and a hand shot out of it, gasping Ayaka’s arm.

“Pick on someone your own size, Samurai.”

My eyes widened upon the sight of Sayanee stepping out of the mist, her lips was curled into dissatisfaction.

You...

“Miss me?” asked Sayanee before she punched Ayaka right on her face, so strong that it threw her back against trees.

“Woah!” yelped Sae. “Now that’s a punch.”

Sayanee smiled in confidence before stepping in front of Milky who’s trying to gasp for some air. “You’re okay?”

“I’m good, now.” Replied Milky shakily.

“You better be..” said Sayaka as she stretched her neck. “Or otherwise I have to kill her now.”

Ayaka roared and Sayanee took her fighting stance steadily.

"Never underestimate Sayanee, Sayaka… I heard Kai. She may seemed weak, but…"

Sayanee dodged swiftly the spikes, rocks, mounds, and walls that Ayaka threw. She was surprisingly agile and strong. She busted a wall just by her strength and kicked Ayaka in the guts.

“Wimp.” Scoffed Sayanee. “Taking cover behind the earth are we?”

Ayaka roared again, this time her attack becomes faster and much more ferocious.

But Sayanee kept on dodging before eventually she yelled, “Nakanishi!”

“Right here!!” I saw Nakanishi charging straight at Ayaka, coming from under Sayanee’s summersault. The strong demon grasped palms with Ayaka as they battle the strength out. “So this is how strong the earth is, eh? Why didn’t you tell me years ago?”

“I thought you’re too busy taking revenges so I kept the fun till then.” Laughed Sayanee. But then suddenly she became serious and looked at me. “Oi, do you want her back or not?”

“Of course I do!”

Sayanee straightened her lips, “Temporary alliance, human. The earthquake she’s causing is disturbing our master’s plan, we demons have to stop it.”

“Why on earth would we want to make an alliance with you?!” yelled Sae.

“Simple, I have a plan and you don’t.” smirked Sayanee. “How about it?”

I looked at Kaguya for help, she looked doubtful about the offer. Yuko looked the same too, in fact she’s wrinkled her eyebrows upon the idea.

“Hurry, it won’t take long until she’s ruining this land.” Said Sayanee with raised eyebrows.

I bit my lips hard, I don’t know what to choose. If we stop Ayaka, it’ll eventually made Maou easier to do his plan but if we don’t stop her…

“I’ll take it.” Said Natsumi all the sudden. She looked at Sayanee with a tinge of fear. “You’re Sayanee right? Kanata said if there is anyone to trust regarding souls other than herself, it is you.”

Sayanee smiled, “Well, well, well… The new Priest of Soul. And so I’ve heard some of your work.. Including cutting some parts off Nakanishi’s life line..”

“I had no choice.” Said Natsumi. “I have a job as the priest of soul and it’s my duty.”

“Very well..” said Sayanee. “I’ll consider her words as yours as well, okay?” I nodded.

“Nakanishi constructed a pentagram just a while ago as I was busy taking her attention. What we need to do now is that we need to bring her to neutral by getting rid of the earth’s effect by eventually getting inside her mind.” Explained Sayanee, “Now I know, there’s no way you’re gonna let me in her heart, so I’ll be directing you guys what you need to do in there.” She added to Natsumi.

"Got it. Then what?"

“The pentagram is a freezing spell pentagram where anything or anyone caught inside the pentagram when it operates will be freezed but in her case it may only work for a few moments. I need you to work with Nakanishi while I made this pentagram work, to get your friend there to stay still inside the pentagram.”

“Once she is freezed, you have a time to get inside her and wake her up from inside. If you met her kage or perhaps Riku, get them to help you.” Instructed Sayanee to Natsumi.

“Then what will you be doing?” asked Yuko suspiciously.

Sayanee shrugged, “Well someone has to operate this pentagram which I will.”

“I’ll help on the pentagram.” Stepped up Itano. “I can do magic just a little though.”

“I know you would offer, Tomo.” Smiled Sayanee grimly. “But once we’re done with this, you have the demons verging on you for your betrayal.”

Itano gulped nervously but she kept her fear down, “Let’s just get this ruckus done with.”

I stepped inside the pentagram and willed my water to coat my arms and turned it into tentacles. I wrapped it around Ayaka’s waist and held her down.

“Ayaka, calm down already!!” I yelled pulling on the tentacles.

Third Person’s POV

“Sayanee, any moment would be great you know!” yelled Nakanishi who seemed to grew tired already.

“Get ready.” Said Sayanee putting her arms down on the pentagram followed by Itano. “1.. 2.. 3!”

The pentagram shone in a bright white glow, Ayaka, Nakanishi, and Sayaka freezed in instant as to the magic pentagram.

“Hurry, it won’t be long until the earth started tearing down this pentagram.” Said Sayanee.

Natsumi dashed towards the middle of the pentagram, whispering a few prayers, she put her hands on Ayaka’s chest and lights came out of her palm.

Watching the view, Yuko glanced down at the demon working on the pentagram.

“How would I know that you won’t attack us once this is over and done with?” she asked suspiciously.

“I won’t attack anyone that’s not in the same condition as I am.” Stated Sayanee. “My enemy will always be Samurai of Earth and I bet she’ll be extremely tired after this. So I won’t attack her, at least you have my words.”

Kaguya approached, “Then can we ask what you actually plan with the Matsui you have?”

Sayanee rised her eyebrows, “Sasshi told you, eh? Sou nee…”

“What do you plan with Jurina’s sister?” asked Yuka.

“That’s a secret.” Replied Sayanee simply with a smirk.

“You…..” growled Yuko.

“Dare to disturb me and this pentagram might turned off.” Warned Sayanee. “We don’t have much time anymore, my energy is going to run out soon..”

“Mine too.” Said Itano.

“Let me try, then.” Stepped Kaguya in and put her hands on the pentagram. Suddenly, it shone brighter than ever.

“Wow..”

“As expected of Kaguya-hime of the moon.” Said Sayanee. “Now let’s see if your Priest of Soul can do her job well..”

Suddenly the ground shook hard, another earthquake. Crumbling the earth.

“Sayanee!” yelled Rabutan. “The earth realized it!”

“Dang, so it figures out our plan already..” cursed Sayanee.

“What do we do??!!” yelled Sae.

“Start praying and hope that your Priest of Soul will succeed.”

As soon as Natsumi touched Ayaka, her surroundings shifted to thick bamboo forest. So unsual that she thought that the spell must’ve made a mistake.

“What the…”

“Finally you’re here, Priest of Soul.” Natsumi turned her head to the voice and saw a slight darker version of Ayaka leaning on a tree.

“Ayaka’s Kage..”

“She managed to made a contract with Earth itself before making a full contract with Riku, causing this place turned into bamboo forest.” Complained the kage. “She’s somewhere in this place along with Riku, we have to find them both.”

“How do we do that?”

The kage smirked, “Have you forgotten the concept of souls and it’s attachment? You have a lot to learn from the previous one I suppose.”

“Just tell me how!”

“Fine. Ayaka’s main soul is attached to Riku’s as her previous and myself as her kage, then-“

“There should be the soul line connecting it all!” exclaimed Natsumi.

The kage tapped it’s head lightly with it’s finger and that annoying smirk, “Finally you used your brain.”

“I wonder how Ayaka actually bear to stand your annoyingness.” Grunted Natsumi. She concentrated her powers quietly before she opened her eyes again. “I see it.”

“Lead the way then~”

Natsumi dashed, following the thin silver line she saw with the kage behind her. They came to a stop when they saw a giant tree in front of them. It looked like those trees you found in the swamp that’s hundreds of years old.

“There’s our princess.” Pointed the kage. Natsumi looked up and saw Ayaka wrapped in thick vines, hanging above the branches but still visible. She looked unconscious with her eyes closed.

“Ayaka!!”

“The tree seems to be the earth itself, taking control of her.” Said the kage.

Natsumi produced a spear engulfed in lights from her hand, “Then we have to cut the vines.”

She leapt up high and slashed the vines, she kept doing it until Ayaka was left hanging upside down on her ankle. But just then she was about to slash the last vines, the tree lashed out a vine towards Natsumi. Being too late to dodged it, Natsumi was forced to drop her spear and felt the vine wrapping her waist.

“Gyahh!!”

More vines wrapped itself around Natsumi as she struggled on the vines, but those vines were strong that it felt hard for her to breathe.

“Help!!”

Meanwhile…

“Tsk.. Everyone move away!!”

All jumped back as the pentagram crumbles up to the shaking ground. Nakanishi, Sayaka, and Ayaka unfroze in instant.

Confused, Sayaka yelled, “What happened?!”

“The Earth broke the pentagram, causing failures on the freezing spell!!” yelled Kaguya back. “Sayaka, save Natsumi!”

Sayaka looked and saw Natsumi frozen with her eyes closed not far from the slowly waking Ayaka. She saw a pentagram glowing in her hand, pointing at Ayaka’s chest.

"She’s inside Ayaka?!"

"Yes she is.."


Just as Ayaka about to slash down on Natsumi, Sayaka pulled her sword out in instant to parry it.

“AYAKA WAKE UP!!” yelled Sayaka loudly. “CAN’T YOU SEE WE’RE TRYING TO HELP YOU?!”

Nakanishi grabs a hold of Ayaka and slammed her to ground on to her back. Sayaka grimance upon the action, but it was a right thing to do. Just as Ayaka was about to stand up, a chain suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around the wrist. Followed by more chains until it wraps around Ayaka’s wrist and ankles.

“Need some help, I see, Sayanee..”

Sayaka turned towards the voice and saw a new figure standing beside one of the giant poles where the chains were bounded to. Her hair was short, very short with a pair of cold gray eyes..

"Mariko…" whispered Kai.

"Who?"

“Nice timing, Mariko-sama.” Sighed Sayanee. “I was about to kill that girl if nothing else can stop her.”

“The chains will buy some time for the Priest.” Said Mariko shortly. Her eyes were fixiated on Sayaka, “I see you chose your vessels well, Shizaki Kai.”

Wait she knew you?

"Of course.. If Sayanee’s eternal enemy is Riku, mine is her, Mariko."


Sayaka’s eyes widened upon the words Kai just said. Her enemy would be the woman in front of her.

As if she can read Sayaka’s mind, she smiled leisurely, “I don’t fight until it’s time for us to do so.”

“But I would start doing it if your priest won’t hurry and awakened the real soul.”

-------------------------------------

Natsumi was in the verge of breathing difficulties. At this stage, she would be completely engulfed by the vines and lost herself.

"I can’t die here…. Yet.."

Just as she’s about to give in, she felt her self falling down but someone caught her. She opened her eyes and saw Riku holding her in her hands.

“Riku..”

“Are you alright?” she asked the priest anxiously. Natsumi nodded as Riku settled the priest down.

“Yamakawa Riku.. Tell me why you have to stop her.” Boomed a voice.

“Please, she’s not ready yet!” begged Riku. “You can’t possibly control her, she’ll destroy everything!”

“But she will be working with me one day, why should it be held out much longer?”

“Because she hasn’t master the whole thing about you, yet! She needs to make a contract with me first before working with you! Like what I did one hundred years ago!!! Please, I’m begging you… Give me time for me to guide her until she deserves your power entirely..”

“Very well.” The last vine on Ayaka’s ankle unwrapped it self, releasing the girl to fall. But Riku caught her in time.

“Ayaka..” caressed Natsumi to her the unconscious girl’s hair.

“Thank you.” Said Riku. Suddenly the whole tree fell in to dust to the ground, in fact the whole bamboo forest scene was turned to dust all the sudden.

“Well that’s her mind back to normal... For the most part.” Whistled the kage.

Natsumi smiled before she pulled back to the real world where she left before. She jerked back in instant upon the arrival to her body, but Yuka and Yuko caught her just fine.

“You did it.” Smiled Kaguya. The priest turned her attention to Ayaka and saw her stopped struggling and lied unconscious with chains bounding her.

“That took you long enough.” Said Sayanee being supported by Milky as she tried to walk close.

“We decided to make a few arrangement in the end.” Said Natsumi.

“Then that cuts off the alliance then.” Said Nakanishi standing behind Sayanee. “We’re over and done here.”

Mariko buried down the poles with her strength along with the chains after it released Ayaka. But her eyes were intimidatingly watching Sayaka as she stood infront of the other demons.

“We’ll meet again when the time comes then..” she spoke.

“Wait!!” yelled Kaguya. Her eyes has turned to brown, indicating Jurina has taken over.

Mariko rised her eyebrows, “Yes?”

“What did you do my Onee-chan?!!” yelled Jurina.

“Jurina…”

Mariko arrogantly smiled at Jurina, looking at her amusedly, “Something extraordinary.”

Before any can get close to the demons, Lovetan swirled black mist around them. Engulfed in darkness, they disappeared.

"Onee-chan..."

"Hey." The girls all turned around and saw Tomomi was still standing there.

"You..."

"I thought you were with--"

"Not anymore." she said, bluntly. "I refused to assist with their plans."

"So, what your saying is..."

"If you would let me, I would like to join your side."


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Cry
Post by: luvsidney on September 18, 2014, 06:18:40 PM
look like tomochin is dangerous, she betrayed the human many years ago and betrayed demon now... very dangerous
and just not really understand what the demons plans, they help the princess instead... ah... I need to read more times to get understand their point of view ^^"
last but not least, just wanna request more saeyaka's time haha
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Cry
Post by: atsukojiyuu_C on September 19, 2014, 09:19:08 AM
You got me well with Yuko-sama's past (●̮̮﹏●̮̮) horrible feelings...
Wondering how about Yuko's kage? She haven't use it before, rite?

Seriously Tomochin has changed side? For real? Okay then, she could tell the Kaguya's gang anything about demons and their plan..

So interesting! Omg I love the characters so far :D 2nd gen + SayaMilky + Haruna + Jurina and all, woah XD

Waiting for the next happening :yep: thankyou~

(p.s.: I'm waiting for the continuation of Yuko's grad story too, Cometerz-san hihihi)
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Cry
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on September 24, 2014, 09:45:37 PM
Chapter 15 - A long awaited, short rest (Part 1)


Sayaka's POV

After settling Ayaka down to Natsumi’s bed, I joined the others at the living room. Everyone was sitting around the dining table discussing. Natsumi was smashing some herbs with some help from Yuka who seemed to be recovering better after her ultimate form.

I settled myself to a chair next to Sae, “Today was really something..” I began.

Yuko coughed a little before looking at Itano who was being silent the whole time, “So.. Tell us exactly who you really are, Itano. How on earth did you get yourself involved with the demons?”

Itano sighed, “Well.. to begin with, I used to be an apprentice in the capital ages ago before I left and became interested in something else, which is dark sorcery.”

“Dark Sorcery?” asked Sae.

“Black magic.” Explained Yuko. “Curses and hexes mostly.”

Itano nodded regrettably, “I went back to my village which was very far from the capital. But when I got there, my village was already destroyed by the troops that stopped by at the village. I was very angry and saddened to see my home destroyed by the war.”

“What did you do then?”

“I tried to seek for any ways to find the leader of the troops who destroyed my village. I went back to the capital to look for any scrolls regarding mass curse of dark magic in the royal library.”

“Wait a sec…” I butted in. “The royal Library was closed for public! Only the royal family or exclusive scholars!”

“It is, and I used to be one before I left. Somehow they still let me in and when I was fumbling around I found a scroll that interest me more. Something much more sufficient than casting curses in mass amount.. It is an extremely rare scroll.”

“Demon summoning scroll.” Said Yuko straight forward. “I’ve heard of it from Amateratsu that Maou made some scrolls centuries ago in the first war. It is said to be used by demons and it’s alliance to make it easier to travel instead of using the dark mist they used now.”

Itano nodded, “I stole it and went back to the ruins of my village. I prepared what it needs to summon the demons; some dark stones and a drop of my own blood. Once I read the mantra, the demon appeared just as the scroll fell into dust. She was tall and her eyes were cold as limestone as she asked me why did I summoned her.”

“Mariko.” I whispered instantly.

Itano nodded again, “Then I begged the demon to cast my revenges on the troops. She did it for me then but in exchange she saw me as a worthy ally. She told me Maou used to trust dark sorcerers, they were strong and able to do some dark magic that demons can’t.”

“So then you get yourself involved with the demons..” said Natsumi. “Then what were your jobs there?”

“Vary. But first she gave me to Sayanee and Mieko, since they both possessed a lot of knowledge. The two led me to a library inside their hideout, filled with thousands of scrolls.” Itano took a deep breath, “I was enlightened with the place instantly and the two of them said that I can come anytime to read and study all the scrolls, but when I read the first one I touched.. “

“Yes..?”

Itano gulped, “They were completely dark stuff. There were scrolls about the worse curses you can ever imagine, knowledge of hell, the darkest magic mist that dries you out to dust… But I was pleased all about it to become the first human sorcerer to master all that, so I read them all one by one..”

"Sounds like a lot of work..." Sae whispered under her breath.

“As spent my days there, they set my jobs out. I was tasked to learn some dark healing technique, a technique to heal but very dark and can only be used on demons. If human gets in contact with it, it only gets their wound worse. Once I mastered it, I was tasked to heal the demons when they got wounded up.”

“That’s a very dark version of healing you got there.” Said Natsumi. “What else?”

“I was also got tasked under Sayanee’s order. She has a lab filled with many prisoners, either screaming their lives out or silently frozen.”

“Onee-chan!” said Jurina. “Did you.. see my sister..?”

“Can you tell me what she looks like?” asked Itano. “Sayanee kept lot’s of them for her insane experiments.”

“I-I….” shook Jurina. “I can only remember she was thin.. and has this very kind smile.. I was four when she was taken away by the demons.”

Itano curled her lips, “Well, Sayanee certainly keeps a lot of thin woman who were mostly on their edge of insanity. Sorry, kid.”

“Do you have any ideas what the demons are planning?” I asked.

“They have a major plan involving Maou’s revival is all I can guess. They didn’t tell me any of their it except some minor plans of getting rid of you guys, Samurai Princesses.” Said Itano.

I looked over to Jurina and saw her fist clenching hard in frustration. I knew it must have been frustrating to experience everything at such young age.

“Then can you tell us where their hideout is?” asked Yuko.

“I’m not sure. When I met Mariko at first, she told me to follow her into the mist and then before I knew it I was in a different place, the hideout. I guess the mist was directed to the hideout instantly.”

“But..” stumbled Jurina, “Is there any of it’s surroundings that seemed familiar..?”

“It’s an underground place, no sun or breeze can get into the place and I never been allowed to get out. But...”

“But?”

“Deep in the hideout, there’s hole. Each time I approached it, I felt like it tried to suck me inside. I hear voices of my family I left in the village before it was destroyed, calling me to join in with them..”

“Sounded like some kind of a place where dead souls goes to.” Said Sae. “Kinda creeps me out a bit..”

“Hmm.. I guess Sae’s right. It must’ve been a place where dead souls goes to. But how come it can be inside the demon’s realm?” asked Yuko.

“Do you hear his voice?” asked Jurina.

“Whose..?” asked Itano.

“Maou’s voice.” Answered Jurina. “Kaguya told me that Maou was sealed in a place where it connects with another dimension where it most likely to be hell. And hell has a lot of souls tortured down there, fooling the living ones to join them.”

“Could it be some kind of a hell’s gateway to the world?” asked Yuka. “Wouldn’t there be some kind of guardians guarding the gate if it is?”

“There are some spells casted to keep the anything coming out of the gate, so strong that it can contained Maou.” Said Yuka.

“Who casted it?” asked Natsumi.

“The God of Death of course.” said Yuko grimly. “Shinigami himself.”

“So.. if we can find this gate, then maybe we can find where their hideout is!” pronounced Sae.

“How do we find the gate?” I asked Yuko.

“We have to ask Shinigami, of course.” Said Yuko. “He’s in charge of dead souls and where they goes to afterlife. But since he’s a God, he’ll be hard to meet.”

“But before that…” said Jurina looking back at Itano. “I need to know what they are planning with my sister.”

“What’s your last name, kid?” asked Itano.

“Matsui. I’m Matsui Jurina.”

“Matsui…” mumbled Itano as she looked like trying to remember something. “   You said that all your family were killed that night, right?”

“That’s right.” Said Jurina straight forward.

Itano smiled, her smile was as sly as a fox somehow. “Say, I have an acquaintance goes by the name Matsui. We both were apprentices in the capital when we were young, and the last time I heard of her was five years ago.”

“Impossible.” Said Jurina. “All of members of Matsui were killed that night!”

Itano shrugged, “It’s up to you. I’ll take you to her place if you want to go to see her, see if she’s your relative or not. If you’re not, I still encourage you to meet her.” 

“Why would you?” asked Natsumi suspiciously.

“I’ll tell you, we both shared the same interest in dark powers. Except, she was more into the demons herself. She might be able to give a clue to what the demons were planning to your sister.”

“Your choice, Samurai.”

-----------------------------------------------

After hearing Itano’s explanations, we all have a quiet discussions as the sorcerer excused herself to the bathroom.

“What do you think? You think she’s telling the truth?” I asked Jurina and Yuko.

“Hmm.. All her reasons are making sense but still I smell something fishy about her..” said Yuko.

“Is there a way for Natsumi to try and seek inside Itano?” asked Yuka. “She might have another soul like us.”

“I’m not really sure..” said Natsumi. “If she does have one, I should have felt it by now. But I can’t feel anything from her, she seems to be normal.”

“How about the Matsui she mentioned?” asked Sae.

“All members of Matsui family were meant to stay in the household on the day the demons came, because it was a special occasion.” Said Jurina. “But this Matsui… If she knows about demons, maybe she can help us.”

“How about Itano?” I asked. “Should we trust her words?”

“We’ll keep an eye on her for now.” Said Yuko. “Let her take us to the Matsui she mentioned. If she’s correct, I’ll start trusting her then.”

“Agreed.”

-----------------------------------------------

After the discussions, everyone dismissed themselves. Yuko and Jurina went to the guest room while Yuka and Natsumi decided to start nursing Ayaka who was still unconscious. I looked around to find Sae and found her sitting at the front porch.

“Hey..” I greeted as I closed the door. “What are you doing here by yourself?”

“Oh, hey..” said Sae weakly and patted the space next to her for me to sit. “Just looking up the stars. Reminds me of Mayuyu and Haru when we spent hours just looking at the stars from the mansion garden.”

“You’re missing them?” I asked settling down beside her.

“I guess I am.” Shrugged Sae. “My mother died years ago when I was little. My dad is away at war with my other brothers, Haru was the one staying to take care of our land.”

“I also have a brother and his at the war too.” I said. “He’s the only person I have now in the world. Despite I was adopted in to his family, he’s really kind to me. He’s so cool that fancy him so much as a sister.”

“There’s actually someone cooler than you, Sayaka?” giggled Sae. “Man, the way you bend those water tentacles was amazing.”

“Thanks.”

"Ano, Sayaka..." I heard a small voice from Sae beside me. When I turned to look at her, I saw her worried expression.

"What's wrong?"

"I was thinking... you're a trained Samurai, right? That's why you're so good at fighting the demons."

"Yeah."

"W-would it be alright if you train me?" she said before bowing down low.

"Eh?!"

"It's just because... when they attacked the last time, I couldn't do anything and was completely useless."

"Sae, you're not useless. You're a Samurai Princess, just like me, Yuka, and Ayaka. We're important."

"I know, but you guys have been training longer than I have. Well, actually, I've never gone through training. And even after I made contact with Kuu, I haven't unlocked any powers or memories. The three of you have been able to do things I haven't even begun to learn."

"Is that why?"

"Un..."

"It'd be a good idea, Sayaka." Kai said in my head. "Before me and the others met Kaguya, we had to train ourselves, so it wouldn't hurt to help Sae since she's had her and Kuu's memories repressed for so long."

"So, will you?" I saw Sae bowing again, her eyes closed.

I smiled and patted her head, causing her to blush a bit.

"Alright, if that's what you want, I'll train you."

Meanwhile...

Yuka's POV


“She still got the fever.” Sighed Natsumi as she replaced the wet towel from Ayaka’s forehead with a new one.

“Will she be fine? I mean after the Earth controlling her and she’s gone berserk..”

“If you are fine, then she should be too.” Said Natsumi sitting down at the edge of the bed.

“Nee, Natsumi..” I began.

“Un?”

“It’s your job as the Priest of Soul to sustain balances between the vessel’s soul and the previous Samurai’s soul, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Well.. I was wondering if you can like help me out with Hinata. I mean I kinda thing I was too overboard following her that I turned berserk. I don’t want to accidentally hurt anybody if that ever happens again.”

"Yuka…"

After a few moments of silence, she nodded and sat beside me.

“There is something called a ‘Contract’. It’s to sustain balances between the vessel’s soul and the previous ones so that none of them gets to overpower the body and controls it without the other one’s permission.” Explained Natsumi. “It also opens up to a new level of the element power since the previous one’s energy and it’s techniques flows better once the contract is done.”

"And the others have already made their contracts?"

“From what I heard, Sayaka made her contract with Kai when she defended you off Sasshi before.” Said Natsumi. “I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to work with Kai hand in hand over her attacks. As for Sae, since Kuu was repressed inside her mind, she will have to wait until she recovers--”

“Then please let me do the contract with Hinata!” I pleaded.

“Alright, but first we need to meet her.” Said Natsumi offering her two hands for me to hold. “We’ll be travelling to the depths of your mind where she is. Close your eyes, when I tell you to open them, do it.”

“Wakatta.” I closed off my eyes. I heard Natsumi whispered some kind of spell as I felt some winds gathering around us.

“Open up.”

I opened my eyes and saw a cage infront of me. Natsumi still holding my hands, let go off it as she approach the cage.

“Kono Hinata.” Called Natsumi. “We are here.”

A figure shifted behind the bars before I recognized it’s face of Hinata looking rather ashamed. Her braids were flowing on her shoulders to bellow, her eyes were puffed as if she’s been spending the last hours crying out.

“Hinata..”

“Yuka.. I’m so sorry..” she burst into tears and slumped down. “It’s just that Sasshi would eventually killed Osamu hurts me so badly. She already killed my whole family and burnt down my village.. I should have make sure I killed her before I pushed her into the cliff.” She whimpered.

“Oh, Hinata…” I whined and approached the bar and held it’s cold bars.  “It’s okay.. I understand. You lost your precious ones in life and even afterlife. It’s okay..”

“Yuka..”  sniffed Hinata. “You must finish Sasshi off no matter what. I don’t want you to feel the same as I am if.. if you died..”

“I will.” I promised as she reached out for Hinata behind the bars. “I won’t let her touch any of my precious ones.”

“Masuda Yuka,”  pronounced Hinata. “I am offering you everything I have as the previous Samurai of Fire. My power, my elements, my soul, in order to lit the world away from the darkness.”

“Would you accept her offer?” asked Natsumi kneeling between the two.

“I do.”

“Will you accept her as your partner in fighting side by side, sharing body, mind, power, and soul?”

“I do.”

I felt a sudden warmness on my chest and saw the gem on my locket glowed in red. Hinata’s hand felt warm on mine and it felt real as if we were holding each other in bodies. As if a gentle breeze blew to her, giving a new energy, she opened her eyes and I saw the light brown eyes filled with energy.

“Thank you.” She whispered then the red faded out along with the cage. Nothing separates us now.

“The procession is finished.” Pronounced Natsumi. “The Stone of Fire has accepted the Contract between you two.”

“Yatta~” I exclaimed and hugged Hinata in impulse. “We’re partners now~”

“Erm.. I guess we are.” Said Hinata awkwardly. “Sorry it’s just been a long time since I ever get hug from anyone.”

“Hee?” I asked pulling back. “Have you ever date in your life?”

Hinata shook her head shyly, “I never loved anyone dearly like Kai and Kuu or Riku and Kanata.” She confessed. “I just like taking care of little kids and play with them at the orphanage before I became the Samurai Princess.”

“Heee??! How about Osamu?”

“Ah.. I like him as a little brother.” Smiled Hinata. “Before I was sent to the orphanage, my mother died when she tried to give birth to my brother. But then they both died in the process, so Osamu is like a little brother that I always wait for..”

“Ah.. Sou nee..”

“Yuka..” said Hinata lowly. “If you are going to the capital later to meet the other Matsui, can you stop by at Ao’s cave?”

“EH?? You mean that dragon, Ao??!”

“Yes.” She nodded. “When I lost control and took over your body, I used a part of his soul, causing the blue fire to engulf me in his form. Part of his soul was inside the Stone of Fire while it’s other half is still in his body.”

“So.. You want me to visit Ao, making sure if he’s alright?” I asked.

“Yep.” She nodded again. “Ao lived in a cave at the Mountain of Moon, around a day trip from the capital. I think he’s eager for an explanation on why suddenly someone beside me is using his power, you have to introduce yourself to him, Yuka.”

“Maji suka??!” I asked horrified.

“Maji desu.” Smiled Hinata confidently. “We’ll talk again.”

She waved me again and all the sudden I was pulled back into the room, holding Natsumi’s hand.

“You seemed to be getting along well with Hinata.” Smiled Natsumi.

“She’s pretty cool I guess.” I shrugged. “How about you and Kanata?”

“Well, truthfully I never seen Kanata with my very own eyes like you did before. Her voice always ring in my head when I needed guidance. But I can feel all her feelings being conveyed when Ayaka protected me, I think she remembered her memories with Riku when that happened.”

“How about yourself?” I asked. “Do you have feelings for Ayaka?”

“What??!” she exclaimed. Even in dim light, I could see her face blushed a little. “No way. She’s too young and too repulsive. Besides, there’s no way we’re getting along well.”

“But she protected you.”

“That’s what she meant to do!” declined Natsumi. “If I died who would hold the seals to seal Maou?”

I smiled to myself, teasing Natsumi was kinda fun. “You might not know it, but she might be the one you know~”

“Yuka!!!!” Natsumi threw a pillow at me just in time before I get out of the room with a huge grin.



To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: A long awaited, short rest (Part 1)
Post by: luvsidney on September 25, 2014, 04:38:06 PM
I love to see those tk gals gathered and just like Yuka tease natsumi the feeling is so good haha   
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: A long awaited, short rest (Part 1)
Post by: Cometerz48 on October 03, 2014, 05:11:51 PM
Chapter 16 - A long awaited, short rest (Part 2)


Ayaka’s POV

I opened my eyes weakly and tried to sat up. My surroundings were all white and endless, I knew I was inside my own mind.

"Hey." I turned and saw Riku standing behind me with my kage.

“You guys..”

Listen, kid we have to talk.” Said my kage, she clicked her finger and all the sudden three couches appeared out nowhere. “Have a seat.

I got up and sat on one of the couch, followed by the other two. Awkwardly, I raised my eyebrows in question to what are they going to talk about.

"How did you feel? Like before you woke up just then?" questioned Riku.

I tilted my head, “Slightly tipsy. My head does hurt honestly.”

"It'll wear off soon." Said Riku. "Now, do you remember why you’re a special case, right?" I nodded.

Do you remember anything after Rabutan got you out?” asked the kage.

I tried to think, “I.. I remembered I was in a forest, a bamboo forest and voices calling me out.”

Then?

“I followed the voices and it led me to this giant tree. It called me to reach out to it… and the next thing I knew was that I woke up just then.” I told my story. Riku and the kage looked at each other, “What happened?”

"Ayaka... The voices that called you was The Earth. And what you did there, when you touched the tree… You’re making a direct contract to it." Said Riku. "Then what happened next was that the Earth took control of you instead of balancing it out with your soul too."

My eyes widened, “Then what happened?”

“You went out of control.”

I turned and saw Natsumi standing behind me. Judging from her expression, she was exhausted.

“Natsumi...”

Just in time.” Smiled my kage. “Have a seat and you can tell her the rest.

“When Earth took control of you, it created a huge earthquake. Frightening everyone in the festival, I heard.” Sighed Natsumi as she sat on a couch. “Then nobody could stop you unless I can come close and get into your mind. But you were rampaging, Kaguya and Yuko was already worn out from Yuka’s early rampage-“

“Wait, what happened to Yuka?” I cut in.

“Similar case as yours I heard.” Said Natsumi. “Sasshi was there to distract them all and somehow she gets into Hinata’s nerve, causing her to take control of Yuka and went rampaging.”

“Oh God..”

“I know.. But then Sayanee came out of nowhere and-“

“Sayanee?! What is she doing? Are you alright? Did she hurt you?”

Natsumi sighed, “I’m fine. She didn’t hurt me at all, in fact she helped us.”

“Helped you?”

“She used a freezing pentagram to get you frozen just for a moment, enough to give me time to get inside you. Then I found you on that tree where the Earth took control of you.”

“What happened then?”

“The tree attacked me and strangled me, but then Riku saved me and asked the Earth to give you more time.”

“More time for what?”

"The contract." Said Riku. "Before you can even contact the earth and lets it core to lend you power, you have to make a contract me first, The previous Samurai of Earth. My job is to be your connector and the Earth, I can sustain the balance the power given by the Earth and into you."

“Balance?”

If you received it too much, the Earth can influence your mind and like what happened before, taking over you.” Pointed out my kage. ”It’s not a pleasing situation to see your mind turned into a bamboo forest.

“How about your power then?” I asked. “The power of Samurai of Earth doesn’t just come from the earth, right?”

"Now that’s what I’m about to tell you next.” Smiled Riku. “Do have the mirror that your mother gave you?"

“Mirror..?”

“I got it.” Said Natsumi holding out the familiar small mirror. “Went through your stuff, sorry.”

"You see the orange gem over there?" I nodded as I held it. "That’s the gem of Bumi, the spirit of Earth. It is where my life lines were connects to and created the tread to make Maou’s seal one hundred years ago."

“Each Samurai Princess has their own gems, inside it were the spirit of each elements and contains part of the previous Samurai Princesses’s soul.” Explained Natsumi.

When the gem flew into you and eventually sticks to your mirror, that was when I met Riku for the first time.” Said the Kage.

"As long as you keep it close to you and not breaking it, I’m here to lend you my power." Said Riku. "That is every knowledge and every earth techniques with its theories I have."

I nodded, and watched the gem gleaming on the mirror. “Then what about the other one, the spirit of Earth?”

"Glad you asked that." Smiled Riku again. "But that would be for the next time. You’ll meet her soon enough."

“Her?”

Riku winked, "I’ll explain it to you when that happens, you have my words."

“Wakatta..” I nodded slowly.

Natsumi coughed a bit, “Now the contract?”

"Ah, sou..." said Riku. "Remember your situation?"

I nodded, “That’s why it’s complicated, right?”

"Unfortunately, yes." Said Riku grimly before she turned to Natsumi. "Have you consult this with Kanata?"

Natsumi nodded slowly, “She said that there is a way to make things not as complicated as this.. But..”

“But?”

“You two have to come as one.” Pointed Natsumi to the kage and Riku. “It’s the only way to make another room for the earth in her mind.”

You’ve got to be joking, priest.” Growled the Kage with a disgusted expression.

"NO WAY!" yelled Riku with a freaked out expression.

I watched Natsumi sighed again, “I know this is going to happen..” she muttered.

“Why do they have to become as one? They already like to argue a lot just being themselves.” I asked.

“There was never been a case that a kage and a past soul being in one body.” Began Natsumi. “The only record of it that I saw with Kanata was when we encounter Sae’s brother, Haru.”

“He has a kage? And a previous soul?” I asked.

Natsumi nodded, “As you know before, Haru’s kage was triggered when Nakanishi put a puppeting spell on his souls, his kage, and his previous soul. In the same time as it triggered, the kage and his previous soul became one and took control of him.”

"Who’s previous soul he has?" wondered Riku.

“Someone named Ruka.” I answered her question.

"Yikes!" grimanced Riku. "Why on earth the world have to be so small?"

“Anyway….” Cuts in Natsumi. “Since there is no way in the world that I will be using a puppeting spell like Nakanishi did, you two have to come out of it yourself.”

I looked at the two figure, Riku and my own kage. The two of them showed displeased in each of their faces.

"What happens when we become one?" asked Riku.

Which one of us will disappear?” asked the kage.

“None.” Shrugged Natsumi. “If Kanata and my theories are correct you two should become as one and if you have the same aim, your thoughts should be one too.”

"What if it’s not?" asked Riku.

“Let’s just be positive.” Eyed Natsumi dangerously to the previous samurai of earth.

Riku gulped, "You are so like Kanata in one way."

“Maybe I am.” Stared Natsumi as she grabbed Riku’s hand and the kage’s hand and forced them hold each other.

They looked at each other intensely.

"You know this is nothing like I want."

Neither mine.

“Then would you two just do it for me?” I pleaded as the two glanced at me. “Please?”

The two of them looked at each other again, this time a bit more regretful.

I guess there’s no other way.

Riku nodded, "Let’s get this right, Kage."

Then a blinding light came out of their hands. I closed my eyes and opened it up once the light goes down. I looked up and saw Riku standing by herself, but somehow her appearance has changed.

"I guess it works." Whispered Riku as she looked at her new appearance.

Her face was still the Riku that I know, but her hair style was no longer short and bushy. Instead, it was long and straight like mine. There’s a slight black shading on each of her eyelids like my kage. To sums it up, she’s a mixture of herself and my kage.

“Wow..” I gawked at her. “You’re actually prettier like this.”

"Really?" asked Riku. "Well--"

“I missed your messy hair though, Riku.”

I looked over to Natsumi and saw her smiling at Riku. But it wasn’t like hers at all, it was warmer and kinder in some way.. The sparkling eyes looks familiar..

"Kanata?" asked Riku in disbelieve. "Did you just..?"

“Take control of her? I guess I did.” She smiled naughtily. So different than the normal Natsumi that it almost choke me up in disbelieve. “Anyhow…”

She approached Riku and slapped her hard, like real hard on the cheek that it produced such sound.

I looked over to Natsumi’s face and saw it blushed in red and in the same time, tearful.

“YOU HAVE NO IDEA DO YOU HOW MUCH I HAVE TO GET THROUGH AFTER YOU DIED??!!” she yelled loudly and sobbed in tears.

"Kanata..."

“YOU STUPID MORO-“

My eyes widened when I saw Riku pulled Natsumi’s arm and kissed her on the lips, silencing her yell as she embrace her tightly.

What the…

"I’m sorry I left you alone after this time." whispered Riku once Kanata fell silence. "I missed you Kanata. I missed your smile, your laughs, your love. I missed it all of you."

“Riku, you..” Then Riku kissed her again.

“Erm.. guys?” I cut in and found the two staring at me. “What about the contract?”

“Ah sou ne!” exclaimed Kanata pulling herself back from Riku, flustered. “Well the thing is, it’s better to do it once you’re recovered enough though. I think your fever still made you weak and the connections after the contract would definitely knock you out completely if you’re not strong enough.”

“Then in short terms..” I raised my eyebrows. “I’m not ready yet am I?”

“No you’re not.” Said Kanata.

“Glad to hear that.” I muttered.

Riku smiled at me, "Don’t rush yourself Ayaka, get yourself recovered first. We’ll get our contract soon enough. I’ll talk to you more later."

Then she clicked her fingers, I felt my self pulled back into a new world. When I blinked my eyes open, I found myself on the bed with a heavy weight on my chest. Hazily, I tried to see who it is and froze when I realized it was Natsumi.

Natsumi..?

“Riku… I missed you, moron…” she mumbled in her sleep. Her face looked so peacefully sleeping tight on my chest.

Oi, Riku help me out here! I mentally yelled.

"Sorry Ayaka, just stay like that for a moment would you mind?"

I imagined myself strangling Riku so badly if I meet her again. But then I felt Natsumi’s hand embraced me tighter and eventually pinning me on the bed.

“Oi, Natsumi! Wake up!!” I hissed at the girl. But she seemed to be unable to wake herself up.

Riku! Tell me that Kanata is not controlling her!

"Not exactly her actually. More like Kanata’s memory triggered her body to be moving as it is in the memory."

How the hell did that happened??!

"She probably has the same feelings as Kanata I suppose."

Masaka.. She’s…

"I think she has feelings for you, Ayaka."

I stared at her, struggling as to that she let go off me. But she’s so strong and her face is getting closer and..

We kissed.

====================

Sayaka's POV

"Alright, Sae, are you ready?"

"H-hai!" Sae was dressed into her training outfit, which she had borrowed from her brother to take with her while she was here. I was changed into my old gi from when I took aikido classes.

"OK, let's start!"

I readied myself and waited before Sae prepared and said she was ready.

"Yosh! OK!"

I nodded and waited, until...

"Hajime!"

I made the first move and directed my attack towards her, however, she moved back swiftly and dodged. Her jumps and ducks were very swift and well timed; I'm impressed.

"Sae, hold your guard! Try to attack me back!"

"Hai."

I decided I needed to give her a good chance to let out her strength. I focused my energy from my body and waited for her to make her move. She immediately ran forward, letting out a loud scream, and threw her leg forward to kick me.

I caught it with both of my hands, spun around her, and chopped the back of her neck, knocking her down.

"You still got a lot to learn."

"I-itai..."

Suddenly, I felt a pain at my chest. It pulsed so hard, I could already feel tears growing in my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kuu..." I heard Kai crying in my head. I know I had done the wrong thing. I slowly helped Sae up and suddenly, my body acted on its own and hugged her.

"S-Sayaka?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"It's okay. I'm not hurt."

"But, I..."

She broke the hug and smiled, readying herself. "Come on, let's keep training. This time, I'm NOT losing!"

I smiled and readied my position. "Alright then."

"Hajime!"

====================

Third Person's POV

Ayaka couldn’t feel a thing except the soft moving lips and her own heart pounding loudly against her ribcage. She never felt like this before honestly, not a single time in eighteen years of her life.

Yet she didn’t stop the priest of soul dominating her until the she ran out of air in her lungs. Ayaka pushed off the unconscious Natsumi off her and eventually woke her up.

Still on top of her, Natsumi’s eyes widened in shock and back out to the edge of the bed.

“Oh my God.. Did I just..?”

Unable to say a thing, Ayaka stared at the priest and nodded her head slightly.

Natsumi’s face went truly red in embarrassment as she cover her mouth in shock. “I-I..”

“I think I know now that Kanata is quite an aggressive girl, now.” Said Ayaka awkwardly.

"Yes she is." Chimed in Riku.

Natsumi opened her mouth in disbelieve but no sound came out of her mouth, she was extremely embarrassed realizing what happened. Her face was totally red under the lamp lights from the window beside the bed.

The priest cursed herself and the previous soul mentally before eventually grabbing both of the samurai’s wrist and pinned it above her head.

“What the-"

“Not a word to anyone about this.” She threatened the young girl with deadly tone.

Ayaka was on the edge of releasing her laughs when she saw Natsumi’s red face so close to hers and now threatening her. But she force herself to look as normal as she can and nodded awkwardly to the threat.

“Good.” She hissed lowly before landing a peck on the young girl’s forehead then released her wrists.

“What was that for?” asked Ayaka as she looked at the priest in disbelieve at the door.

“What? Your mother never kiss you like that so you get well soon?” asked Natsumi back before she left the room.

Still feeling her cheek extremely warm and possibly red, she looked around for one certain girl. She owes her an explanation no matter what.

“Yuka, where’s Jurina?”

“Probably outside, watching Sae and Sayaka training.” Pointed out Yuka at the door. “How’s Ayaka and why on earth is your face so red?”

“She’s fine and nothing happened.” Answered Natsumi straight forward while cursing Kanata repeatedly deep down.

Yuka grinned, “Really?”

Natsumi threw her hands up and marched to the door, “I have no time for this!!”

Natsumi slammed the door shut as she still heard Yuka burst out laughing behind her back. She finally found Jurina and Itano sitting on the porch as she watched two figures practice hand combats.

“Kaguya, you there?” asked Natsumi.

Jurina turned her head, the brown eyes turned straight into a pair of silver irises. Jurina has automatically turned to Kaguya.

“What’s wrong? Is Ayaka alri-“

Natsumi grabbed the goddess’s wrist and dragged her to a tree nearby, leaving Itano by herself on the porch.

“Natsumi, what’s wrong?” asked Kaguya once they stopped.

“Kaguya, why on earth Kanata was able control me?!?!” exclaimed Natsumi straight forward. “I thought it was only for the samurai princesses that previous soul can take over their body!”

Kaguya narrowed her eyes, “Kanata? Was she able to do that?”

“Yes!” said Natsumi frustrated. “She put me into a sleep and the next thing I knew I was on top of Ayaka and-“

“Whoa, whoa! You what?!?!”

Natsumi shut her mouth again realizing what she just said before eventually put her head down and sobbed quietly.

“Oh dear…” whimpered Kaguya before approaching the girl. “Natsumi, tell me what’s wrong. I promised not to tell anybody..”

“Why does it have to be like this..?” sniffed Natsumi before sobbing quietly in Kaguya’s arm. “Why do I have to feel all these feelings that aren’t even mine? Why do I have to feel all this pounding heart each time I’m around Ayaka even know I never like her?”

“Previous souls tends to influence feelings of the vessel’s souls.” Began Kaguya. “Kanata and Riku were lovers in the past life and it was extremely saddening when Kanata have no choice but to let go off Riku in order to seal Maou.”

“But why do I have to feel the same as her?”

“Kanata was shocked by the fact she has let go off Riku and the other Samurai Princesses forever and fell into a deep mourning for the rest of her life. She really loved Riku all her heart and I think that’s what caused her overflowing feelings to effect yours too on Ayaka since she’s the “next” Riku. She reminded Kanata of Riku herself.” Explained Kaguya.

“But why is it me? Why do I have to be the priest of soul?”

“Listen, fate chose whoever it is wisely. If fate chose you as the next priest of soul, then you are the one that will make the prophecy come true. You and the princesses will be the ones destined to seal Maou, without you no one can fulfill the destiny perfectly.”

“Oh Kaguya… is there any other way to make her stop doing this to me?”

“Well the thing is, she won’t do any of this if you and her don’t have the same thoughts.”

“WHAT?”

“Natsumi, do you have feelings for Ayaka?” asked Kaguya this time. “One hundred years ago, Riku and Kanata were in trouble with Sayanee and on that day, Riku swore she would protect Kanata forever from Sayanee’s grasps. Did she do the same with you?”

Silenced, Natsumi nodded slowly. “But I never thought of loving Ayaka, I just care for her somehow.. and the thoughts she would protect me just made my heart pound, my lady..”

Kaguya smiled, “It’s alright for you to fell for her dear. But make sure it’s not from Kanata’s feelings, make sure it is yourself that likes Ayaka.”

“But what about Kai and Kuu?” asked Natsumi. “Would Sayaka and Sae be falling for each other too? Like earnestly falling, not forced?”

Kaguya smiled, “I believe they would. They create their own destiny with an ancient spell, written off on the book fate that will last for eternity.”

====================

Later that night...

Sayaka's POV

After a long day of training, it was easy to tell Sae had tired herself out. Maybe I pushed her too hard, even though she seemed fine. The next thing I knew, she was already passed out on the couch, peacefully asleep. Every so often, I always looked back to see her sleeping face...

"You think it's cute." Kai said, surprising me.

"K-Kai..!" I hissed in a low voice so Sae wouldn't hear. Kai just giggled a bit.

"Gomen, Sayaka. I couldn't help but notice how you were looking at Sae-chan."

Why did you suddenly come in?

"Because, you think she's cute. You keep looking over just to see her sleeping face, don't you?"

Wha.. No! I'm just looking out for her. If something happens, then...


"Sayaka..."

"Eh?" I looked and saw Sae's hand reaching out to something, maybe in her dream.

"Sayaka... don't leave..."

"Sae." I quickly ran over to her and grabbed her hand.

As I grasped it tightly, I suddenly felt myself become pulled in by something. I looked up and saw Sae standing in front of me, holding my hand.

"Come on, Kai!"

"Wait, Kuu!" My body and mind were no longer in control. I could just watch.

Is this... Kuu's memory?

"This way! I have something to show you~" She guided me through a cave and passed the waterfall. Under it was a beautiful view of the large river, lily pads drifting down the path under the full moon. "Isn't it beautiful, Kai?"

"Yeah..."

"Yokatta~ I knew you'd like it."

"Un." My heart is pounding... Was Kai like this?

"Nee, Kai... I have something to tell you." Kuu held my hand and I felt my heart pound. I looked deeply into her eyes as she did mine. "I love you, Kai. I want to be yours... forever."

"Kuu..."

She silenced me and held my chin as her lips met mine in a sweet kiss.

As she parted fro me, I saw her smile and couldn't help but feel my heart pounding so much.

"Please? Be mine, Kai..."

"Kuu... I--"

I instantly pulled myself away and saw I was lying on top of Sae, who was still sleeping like a baby. I turned behind me and saw Jurina's hand on my shoulder, her eyes glowing silver indicated she was Kaguya.

"Kaguya-sama..."

"You both shared a vision."

"Y-yes."

She smiled as she held my cheek.

"It's hot," she said. "Have you already fallen for Sae?"

"I..."

"Hehe, just kidding."

Huh... I never knew Kaguya could be so laid back. Or maybe that's because Jurina is her vessel.

"Anyways, I talked to Itano. She said we'll be heading to the capital, the location of the other Matsui. We're leaving tomorrow."

"Then how about Ayaka? Has she-"

"She's already awake. Natsumi said she'll manage for tomorrow's journey, but she can't ride alone."

"I'll ride with her." I offered.

Kaguya shook her head, "You can ride with Sae. Jurina agreed to ride with her."

"Understood. Um, is Jurina..?"

"She knows already. Although, I think she's still suspicious about the other Matsui. Let's keep an eye on her. I don't want anything to happen."

What does that mean?

Even though I didn't understand what she meant, I answered "yes" and dismissed myself for the night. As I started falling asleep, visions of me and Sae together filled my mind.

Am I really... falling for her?

====================

Meanwhile in the Demon’s Realm…

Sayanee opened her eyes as she heard the rustling noise by her side. She tilted her head slightly to see Milky still sleeping peacefully beside her between the bed sheets, she could see faintly the red marks from the previous battle she went through a couple hours ago. It’s getting better after she took her to Mieko to get it all heal up.

“Great, now it’s just me isn’t it?” complained Mieko as she healed up Milky.

“You’ll manage, Mieko.” Smiled Sayanee as she watched the dark maiden healed up Milky.

Mieko sighed, “I just don’t like where this is going though.. I’ve got a feeling that Mariko got something to hide from us. You know it, right?”

Sayanee pursed her lips and nodded. She knew the eldest was right about Mariko, she’s hiding something from them.

“I believe in her. She’ll reveal it sooner or later to us probably, whatever she has in her head.”

Sayanee sighed and got off the bed. Her hand reached out for a simple robe and covered her slender figure before willing dark mists to swallow her. She arrived upon a place where all her collections are, thousands of scrolls and binded papers, the library.

She was expecting it to be quiet since usually it’s either her, Mieko or Tomochin that comes down there. But she sensed another presence nearby, and reading off her collections.

“Mariko-sama, such a strange moment to see you here.”

Just in a blink, she’s already standing beside Mariko who’s reading off one of the tall selves. The eldest wasn’t surprised by Sayanee’s sudden greetings as she continued off reading a scroll.

“Hello, Sayanee. I hope you don’t mind I take a look at your collections.” Said Mariko simply.

“Not at all.” Shrugged Sayanee. “But how strange it is for me to see you reading off in the Souls and Death section.” Pointed out Sayanee.

Mariko nods and just kept on reading.

“Mariko-sama, what are you hiding from us?” asked Sayanee.

“What makes you think I’m hiding something from you, may I ask?” asked Mariko coldly not taking her eyes from the book.

“You wouldn’t let go off the person you like to spend your nights with on the bed easily, would you? Yet you did.” Said Sayanee. “You would only do something like that when you have something to aim for, Mariko-sama.”

“I told you my plans already, Sayanee.” Said Mariko dryly.

“And that doesn’t stop where you finished explaining to us.” Said Sayanee. “There’s a continuation to that, correct?”

Mariko pursed her lips, “You’d understand what I’m doing if you ever lost Milky, Sayanee.” Then she clicked her fingers and disappear in instant with the scroll.

Sayanee cursed mentally and looked at shelf. Her eyes wondered on each one, wondering which scroll did Mariko took. However her eyes widened once she realized it, she has taken one of her rarest spell scroll.

“Mariko-sama, you…”


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: A long awaited, short rest (Part 2)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on October 04, 2014, 06:12:11 PM
Chapter 17: Underground Water Drain (Part 1)



Third Person POV

The group of seven were sitting around the table that morning, eating breakfast as keeping eyes on a map spread out on the dining table.

“We can take this route if it’s still available.” pointed Itano on a place in the map.

Yuko nodded, “I think we can avoid the main roads just in case the demons send a monster for us. We can’t risk anybody in danger.”

“Wait, isn’t that place cautious of landslides?” asked Sayaka. “How about this one?”

“I’ll avoid forest if I were you.” Said Natsumi. “Sinister things can be hidden there. Beasts and robbers are lurking in it, too dangerous.”

“What’s this?” asked Jurina pointing on a thing path line alongside of a lake. “This one seems to be leading us straight to the capital.”

“But it’s a bit far if we calculated that road, longer than the main road. And her place isn’t exactly in the capital though.” Said Itano. “It’s near it, in this forest.” She pointed a shaded area no far from the capital.

“Forest of despair?” asked Yuka with raised eyebrows. “Why does everything have to be so gloomy around?”

Itano shrugged, “Only doing my job here.”

Yuko watched the map intently, “What if we used the main road for a few hours until we can reach this point.” She pointed out an intersection of the lake path and the main road. “Then we can use the lake path that can take us to the forest of despair.”

“So we’re not going to the capital?” asked Ayaka.

Yuko shook her head, “I don’t think we’ll make it there in time though I’m afraid.”

“Oh..”

Sae looked at Ayaka, “What’s wrong? Are you missing your mother?”

Ayaka smiled thinly, “I guess I am. But if I go back there now.. I’d probably be arrested.”

“Why?” asked Sae.

“I left the capital over a miscommunication you can say.” Said Ayaka. “My mother can’t do much about it because the royal priests and minister assumed I was a dangerous outcast and it’ll bring danger to the capital. They have more control on people’s trust than my mother does..”

“Oh..”

Itano smiled grimly, “Those priests probably are my colleagues in the capital, snobby enough to be the royal priests.”

“Snobby?!”

“They always stick to text books and stuff, never be brave enough to take interest of things outside the text books that humans make. As for I and the person we’re going to meet, we both believed of new knowledge somewhere out there and agreed that they are much more interesting than the ones that humans already know of.”

“Wow, I can’t believe you’re such a learner, Miss Itano.” Whistled Yuko.

Itano smiled, “Call me Tomochin. I guess it’s such a contrast of my appearance, eh?”

“How did you get your hair colored like that?” wondered Yuka as she pointed out the golden hair.

“A spell I learnt out of Sayanee’s scrolls.” Answered Tomochin. “She doesn’t just keep scrolls of dark spells in her library. I’ll teach you if you want once we took breaks on the journey.”

So then we left after the discussion with our packs strapped to the horses.  After making sure her hut is locked properly, Natsumi hopped on one of the three horses she has. Jurina was riding on one with Ayaka on the back and Sayaka on one with Sae. The priest’s eyes however pinched when she saw Yuko, Yuka and Tomochin got their own horses.

“Where did you get the extra three horses?” asked Natsumi to the demigod.

“Stole it off this morning.” Grinned Yuko, earning glares from Sayaka, Natsumi, and Jurina. “What?! It’s her idea!” she pointed out to Tomochin.

“Hypnotism spell.” shrugged Tomochin. “Not exactly stealing but more convincing the casted one to do what we ask.”

“That just reminds me of Milky’s ability.” Shivered Yuka a bit.

“It’s her power after all. Her power last longer than the ones I have, so that’s why we hurried back here.” Smiled Tomochin. “Let’s go.” So then Tomochin dashed to the road on her horse, followed by the others.

"Kai.. Do you think she can be trusted?" Asked Sayaka mentally to her previous. "She looks pretty dangerous with all the dark spells she mastered."

"So far she’s been showing her loyalties to us, accept it for now. But like Yuko said, keep an eye on her."

"Wakatta."

“What’s wrong Sayaka?” asked Sae as she tilted her head to look at her.

“It’s nothing.” Smiled Sayaka as she pull on the control and ride behind everyone else.

They rode from morning till dusk for the next two days. Stopping their horses and make a camp as soon as it gets dark. Sleep underneath the stars and shared food on the campfire before packing and leaving as soon as dawn struck. Finally, they come to a stop for a quick dip on the road alongside the lake that they talked about.

“Such a good day today to take a dip.” Said Yuka stripping herself into shorts and a simple sleeveless shirt before getting into the water. “The water is pretty cool you know.”

Jurina, Yuko, Ayaka, and Sayaka nodded before doing the same and enjoying their time in the lake. Yuko went over to a tall rock and jumped to the water from it, screaming in enjoyment. Then soon everybody followed her and had fun splashing and swimming.

However the ones that weren’t joining them were Tomochin and Sae who chose to be guarding the scattered clothes and watch the fun from the riverside. As for Natsumi, she’s hobbling around to collect some herbs just in case needed.

“Why aren’t you swimming?” asked Tomochin at Sae who’s sitting beside her.

“I can’t swim.” Confessed Sae with a red face. “Kind of phobiatic because once I nearly drowned when I was little.”

“Oh..” nodded Tomochin.

“But I still can play some splashing in the water though.” Said Sae. “Just can’t play in the deep water.”

"How about you, Kuu?"

"Well, I can actually swim in the waters. Ruka and I used to spend some time in a lake a bit far off from the mansion and just splashing each other for fun. He said it was memorable for him because it reminded him of his moments with Maria."

"Ah…"
nodded Sae.

“How about you?” she asked Tomochin.

Tomochin shook her head, “I don’t feel like it for now. Swimming in hot days like this can cause a certain effect on your blood streams if I am not mistaken which then will effect the color of my hair.”

“Speaking of your hair..” wondered Sae. “How about if you teach me how to change hair color like yours?”

“Eh?”

“Onegaishimasu!!” begged Sae as she grasped both of Tomochin’s hand and showed her best puppy face she always make. Even Haru and Yukirin can’t resist it at all if she does that.

Stunned in awe, Tomochin nodded in the end. “Alright. I’ll teach you.”

“Yay!!” celebrated Sae jumping in joy.

Tomochin watched the girl celebrates in giggle before she asked her, “What color would you like it to be?”

“Hmmm.. That’s a good question..” muttered Sae before her mind started to spin trying to figure out the best color. “Something that would look good for me.. Ah! I know!”

She took of her hairclip and showed the item to Tomochin. The blue rose was gleaming beautifully on the iron clip as well as a green crystal shaped like a leaf under the blue rose.

“Such a nice hair piece you got there.”

Sae nodded, “I’d like to change my hair color to this one.” She pointed at the green crystal.

“Okay.” Said Tomochin. “But since you’re still learning, let’s not color your hair entirely okay?”

“What happens if I do? Yours look pretty.”

“The possibility for beginners to try it out and experience malfunction is high and you wouldn’t want to have a mass hair loss would you?” asked Tomochin.

“No, thank you.” Said Sae scared. Imagining herself being bald and Haru laughing his guts out at her.

“Of course not.” Said Tomochin. “Just pick up a bit of your hair like this.” She showed the girl a small bunch of her own hair.

Sae nodded and followed her action, “Then?”

“Imagine the color you want as you closed your eyes. Will the thoughts to flow into your hands and eventually to your hair, try it.”

“Wakatta.”

Sayaka’s POV

I finally gave in to my lungs and decided to end my ‘holding breath underwater contest’ with Yuko. As I rub off my face, I saw Yuko fisting the air with a victorious smile.

"Oh come on Sayaka. You’re the samurai of water, why would you lost to a demigod like her?"

Well I’m a human, Kai. She’s a half–God.


I heard Kai chuckled, "Wait until I teach you all the techniques needed for it."

How last can you last Kai?

"About half an hour."

How did you do that?!!

"I'll tell you sooner or later, Sayaka."
I imagined Kai grinning at me.

“That was one contest.” Whistled Jurina. “I can only last for a minute down there.”

“A third of Sayaka’s.” said Yuka. “Not bad, kid.”

“Just wait until it’s the swimming contest.” I said. “I’ll definitely not be losing to you. Yuko.”

“Oi, I don’t want to lose to her too!” said Jurina.

Yuko laughed in victorious, “Beat me and I’ll be in charge of collecting fish for dinner.”

“DEAL!” said Jurina and I in sync.

“Okay than, that settles that.” Said Ayaka as the referee. “Hey, speaking of which why don’t we ask them to join us?” she pointed out to Tomochin and Sae on the lakeside.

"Ah I just remembered.." Said Kai.

Eh?

"You should ask Sae, Sayaka. Kuu can swim really well you know, despite being a land lord’s daughter."

Really? I’ll go ask her then.


So then I approached them followed by Yuka. The two of them seemed to be having fun talking somehow which was strange to me since Tomochin seemed to be the exact opposite of Sae.

“Hey what are you guys doing?” asked Yuka.

“Look!” pointed Sae at her hair. A gleaming green bunch of her hair was pointed by her to us. “Don’t you think it’s pretty? Tomochin taught me to do it!”

“Ah!” exclaimed Yuka. “You went on without me! I want to learn it too!!”

“You guys..” I shook my head in amusement as Yuka fussing on Tomochin to teach her.

Well, it’s kinda pretty..

"How about you try it, Sayaka?"

Eh? Me?


Third Person’s POV

In short that night then, they enjoyed their dinner of fish with Sayaka and Jurina in charge with since they lost to Yuko. But it was a chatty dinner since Sae and Yuka fusses over their new hair to everyone.

Yuka got herself the same as Sae but hers was flaming red like the gem on her locket. She said Hinata agreed on the color as it suited her elements.

As for Sayaka, she went along with Yuka’s decisions to color it the same as her element, water. So then a part of her hair is in dark blue shading.

“How long will this spell last for?” asked Jurina.

“Beginners’ can last for a month as for mine, I can deactivate it anytime I want and make it permanent.” Answered Tomochin.

“I want one too!” said Ayaka pouting. “Riku said orange suits me.”

“We’ll do that later then.” Winked Sae. “Right, Tomo?”

“Tomo?” asked Tomochin back.

“I think calling you in short is very cute.” Said Sae. “What you don’t like it?”

“I think Tomochin is cute enough.” Pronounced Tomochin. “Just don’t call me other thing than that.”

“Mou..” pouted Sae.

Tomochin sighed and she knew she done the right thing. She dared not to look at Sayaka however who somehow produced an intense aura when Sae called her cutely.

But the one who was completely silence that night was Natsumi. In fact the whole trip she was silent other than excusing herself for collecting herbs and a slight talk with others.

“She’s trying to adapt to Kanata.” Said Kaguya on one night when Sayaka asked what’s wrong with her.

“Is it hard to be the priest of soul?” asked Sayaka.

“A bit complicated than yours.” Commented her. “Has Kai ever told you anything about Kanata?”

“Nothing so far.”

“She should, they both have an interesting story to share.”

“They?”

"Riku and Kanata." Chimed in Kai as Sayaka snapped out of the flash back.

"Riku and Kanata?" Sayaka asked mentally as she looked at Natsumi and Ayaka who’s snoozing separately from each other.

"They’re both lovers like Kuu and I."

"Ah sou..."
she nodded. "Then?"

"Many interesting happened to them. And Kanata was a very strong person I have to say."

"Strong?"

"Do you remember how we died? She didn’t have a choice but to cut our life lines including Riku’s who she really loved. I can almost imagined her crying her eyes out when she lost her and all of us."


Sayaka’s eyes widened, "So she... killed all of you?"

"Don’t say kill Sayaka. She has no choice but to do that in order to seal Maou."

"Then when it comes to the moment then.. Would Natsumi do the same to us?"

"Perhaps. It’s her job."

"But I promised Sae that none of us will die like you guys once we sealed Maou!"
Screamed Sayaka mentally. "We will be alive!"

Kai did not answer her statement and gone silent. Sayaka pulled on her blankets and looked at Sae who’s sleeping peacefully beside her.

She caressed her hair softly and closed her eyes.

"Sae, I promise you we’ll be alive once all of this are done."

---------------------------

It was then by noon that the group finally entered the Forest of Despair. Even it was noon, there were white mists everywhere covering the forest.

“This place gave me goosebumps.” Complained Yuka.

“I can feel some souls around here.” Whispered Natsumi. “Like those who were so trapped in deep despairs.”

“Now we get it why it is named for.” Said Jurina impatiently. “Show us the way, Tomochin.”

“Stay close, don’t get lost in the mist.” Said Tomochin leading the way.

After a few minutes of walking our horses, they arrived upon a wooden hut. A bit bigger from Natsumi’s but there was no colorful garden around it. Instead, there were statues made out of lime stones and bushes that grows wildly surrounding it.

“That is one creepy hut.” Commented Yuka. “I hope the person who lives here isn’t as creepy as her hut.”

“Hush it.” Said Tomochin putting her finger on her lips before knocking on the door.

A small eye hole slid open with a pair of thin eyes, eying all of them. “Who are you?”

“It’s been five years since we met, Matsui.” Spoke Tomochin smugly.

“You..” The young woman pinched the thin eyes eying the girl before she saw the eye hole closed and unlocked the door.

The door opened and revealed a slender tall figure with black outfit and curly raven hair tied up into a bun. However, despite having visitors, she doesn’t seemed to be pleased.

“Well well.. Itano Tomomi.” She began. “What’s with knocking my door after five years and suddenly bringing all of these..” she eyed us. “Tough looking ladies.”

“Tough looking ladies? I like that.” Nodded Yuko.

Then Matsui eyed Yuko, “You’re not a mortal aren’t you?”

“How did you know?” asked Yuko.

“There are things that us humans can do other than just watching presence of their own race.” Smugged Matsui. “Living in this forest has teach me to see things that normal people don’t see.”

“Anyway..” cuts in Tomochin before jerking her thumb to Jurina. “This girl has something to settle with you.”

“I never met you before, how come you look for me?” asked Matsui as she looked at Jurina.

“Because I never met you that I look for you.” Said Jurina. “My name is Matsui Jurina, I am looking for anyone goes by the same name as mine and I heard you are.”

Matsui raised her eyebrows, “I thought the mass killing of a Matsui clan happened thirteen years ago.”

“Then how come you’re still alive?” asked Jurina intently.

“Even if we’re both Matsui, it doesn’t mean we’re related.” Hissed Matsui. “You’re wasting your time here.”

But before she closed the door in front of them, Jurina held the handle. “Wait!”

“Yes?”

“My mother’s name is Matsui Shiori, are you familiar with the name?” asked Jurina.

Matsui froze, her face went slack all the sudden. “Shi-shiori?”

“Do you know her?” asked Jurina.

“She’s my sister...” muttered Matsui. “Does that mean you’re my..”

“Niece.” Finished off Tomochin.

Matsui opened the door wider for them before she looks at Jurina intently. “You are her daughter.. Gods, you eyes.. Shiorin’s eyes and that faceline.. Your father’s..”

“So you’re my aunt then?” asked Jurina.

Matsui nodded and embraced the girl, “My dear.. I never thought that I’ll ever meet my family again..”

“Aunt.. “ stumbled Jurina trying not to get teary. “You’re the only one I have left now.”

Matsui pulled back and nodded, “Come inside and we’ll talk further.”

So then the group went inside the hut, it was cozy with fur couches near the fireplace and many selves filled with scrolls and pathology.

“You collect these things?” pointed out Sae at a pathology of an eyeball in disgusted.

“I do researches of animals and beasts in this forest and that’s a wolf’s eyeballs.” Said Matsui.

“Yikes!”

“So then..” began Jurina after settling down on the couches as she looked at her aunt on a rocking chair. “How come you’re still alive?”

“I left the Matsui House twenty five years ago.” Began Matsui. “My family were very strict on their children, what the eldest decides, we have to obey them. My sister was obligated to marry a man and soon she was pregnant with a child.”

“Is it Jurina’s sister?” asked Yuko.

Matsui nodded, “As my sister and her husband was waiting happily for her birth, I experienced horrible nightmares as months passes. I saw massive fire and darkness revolving in the land, killing humans and animals. Then I saw huge shadows hovering the sky and a figure being hailed by demons. Then I saw it was someone similar to my sister and I thought it was it might be her child.”

"Onee-chan!" Jurina said. "She's my... older sister."

“I assumed it was just a nightmare at first but it keeps haunting me every nights. Can’t hold it anymore, I tried to tell everyone. My sister, her husband, my father, my mother, the elders.. one of them believed me and thought I was crazy. I was slowly being rejected by the whole family and I can’t hold it anymore that I left about a week before your sister was born. I was only sixteen then.”

“Then you went to the capital and studied with Tomochin?” asked Sayaka. “What makes you eager to learn about demons then?”

“That nightmare keeps haunting me until I heard that my sister gave birth to her child. I knew my nightmare isn’t something usual and it has got to be something to do with demons. I studied hard in order to stop the nightmare if it would be real. But further on I realized that the capital has no records of demons, only a few descriptions but nothing deeper.”

“So then you left again, looking for the knowledge. Why this forest though?” asked Natsumi.

“The Forest of Despair has been rumored for being a popular place for suicides.” Said Matsui. “Deaths would not happen if Shinigami doesn’t appear. And Shinigami knows where demons are mostly to be because he always keep his eyes on them and Maou’s gate.”

“Maou’s gate?” asked Sayaka. “You know about the legends of Samurai Princesses then?”

“Of course, it has descriptions of demons especially Maou.” Said Matsui. “But I never meet Shinigami eventually after all these years, thus makes me never be able to meet demons directly.”

“I have.” Gulped Tomochin. “In fact I’ve been living with them for the last five years.”

“You did? How?” asked Matsui as her eyes opened widely in shock.

“Long story but I’ll tell you.” Said Tomochin quickly. “Jurina needs an explanations.”

“Thirteen years ago, when all the Matsui were killed except me. They kidnapped my sister in front of my eyes.”

“They?”

“Demons.” Said Jurina. “They killed all our family, aunt.”

“Oh dear..” muttered Matsui with a sigh. There was a saddened expression in her face for the first time, but she managed to take control of it. “How did you survive?”

“Kaguya saved her.” Said Yuko. “Kaguya hime–sama is inside Jurina and saved her from death.”

“Kaguya?!”

“Yes.” Spoke Jurina. She opened her eyes and showed the silver irises to Matsui. “I have been inside your niece for the last thirteen years, I am sorry to do this.”

Matsui shook her head as her mouth widely open. “No it’s alright. Thank you for being able to save her..”

Kaguya smiled before she closed her eyes again and revealed brown irises that Jurina has.

“Wow..” said Matsui. “I never thought in my life I would..”

“I know, aunt.” Nodded Jurina and gave her aunt a warm smile.

Matsui replied the smile, “Then what explanations would you need?”

“Do you know what the demons are planning to my sister?” asked Jurina. “Why would they specially kidnapped her? The only thing I remembered that they said she’s an important asset for their master.”

“If we’re talking about their ‘master’, it must have been Maou.” Said Matsui slowly then she widened her eyes. “Oh Gods..”

“What is it?” asked Natsumi.

“Now I remember..” said Matsui. “It’ll be Maou’s awakening soon.. the legend repeats again.. The Samurai Princesses..”

“We are the Samurai Princesses.” Said Sayaka.

“Oh dear…” whispered Matsui again in shock unable to say anything else.

“Matsui, I know you have about shocks attack already for today.” Interrupt Tomochin. “But please focus.”

“Alright…” she nodded. “Could it be the realization of my dream..?”

“The nightmare, you mean?” asked Ayaka.

Matsui nodded, “If my theories are right my dear…” she looked at Jurina. “I think your sister is being prepared for Maou.”

“Prepared?”

Matsui nodded again, “I think she will be Maou’s vessel once he truly awakened. It was her destiny.”

"What? No! Ugh.." Jurina suddenly held her head with both hands and backed away. "N-no! No..! NO!"

"Jurina?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"I think it's Kaguya. She's fighting with her."

"I told you, Jurina, it's too late for her!"

"No! I'm going to save onee-chan!"

"Jurina, I'm sorry. But you have to let her go!"

"I'm going to save her, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Yuka nudged at Yuko. "Hey, this is getting pretty intense, don't you think?"

"There's no way they'd... y'know, right?"

Yuko's eyes widened. "Oh no..."

"...Get out."

"Eh?"

"Jurina, no!"

"Get out! GET OUT RIGHT NOW!!!"

Just then, a huge wind burst out and surrounded everyone, causing them to shield their eyes. As it calmed down, they looked back and saw Jurina collapsed on the ground. Standing behind her was a young girl who looked exactly like her, but her clothes were different and her black hair was cut short.

"Kaguya?"

"No..."

Kaguya pulled her hood up and ran out, jumping up on the tree branches and flying away.

"No, come back! Don't leave! Kaguya-sama!" Yuko screamed out, but it was too late. She held her head, leaning against the wall. "This can't be happening..."

"Jurina! Wake up!"

"Mm..." Jurina slowly got up, rubbing her eyes. She yawned loudly and looked up at the Matsui, her eyes widening. "Onee-chan..?"

"Eh?"

Jurina smiled widely and hugged her aunt around the neck. "Onee-chan!"

"Onee-chan?!"


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 1)
Post by: luvsidney on October 08, 2014, 01:56:58 PM
it's really interesting story~!!!! for all the story lines abt the princess the war and the love love between them. somehow~ Kanata's yellow color is too sharp(?) and very hard to be read....

long for more rabu rabu moment for saeyaka~ \^o^/
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 1)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on October 11, 2014, 09:10:48 PM
Chapter 18 - Underground Water drain (Part 2)



Third Person POV

"Onee-chan~" Jurina hugged the elder Matsui tight as she purred softly like a kitten into her chest.

"Onee-chan?"

"Yuko, what's going on here?" asked Natsumi.

Yuko facepalmed. "I was afraid this would happen."

"Can someone just explain this to me?" said Jurina's aunt as the younger girl clung onto her. “Why is my niece acting like a toddler?”

"Kaguya's soul separated from Jurina's body and made them two beings once again. But the safe process should be done properly or otherwise…”

“Otherwise..?” Tomochin raised her eyebrows.

Yuko gulped, “A malfunction, causing memory loss for the main soul. Because Jurina made a contract with her when she was four, the only memories her current brain has retained are the ones of when she was a child, before meeting Kaguya."

“Not cool.” Said Sae.

“Definitely not cool.”

"That explains why she thinks I'm her sister." Nodded Matsui as she caressed Jurina’s hair.

Jurina wasn't even following the conversation everyone around her was having. She just smiled in ignorance, as if nothing was happening.

"This is bad... This is VERY bad..." muttered Yuko. “Oh God.. Where could she be going? We have to find her..”

"Don't worry, Yuko," Sayaka said reassuringly. "We’ll find Kaguya and have her make up with Jurina."

"But... Where could she be..?”

“How about the Kaguya’s Palace?” suggested Natsumi. “It’s the sacred place where the holy water fountain is. I’ve been there before!”

“Ah sou…” nodded Matsui. “I’ve heard about the place, located on top of the Mountain of Moon and only opens up it’s gate without the guardians at full moon.”

“What happens if you come there at times that are not full moon?” asked Ayaka.

“The Guardians will test you.” Answered Natsumi. “It was a horrible test..”

“Who are the guardians?”

“The Stone Golem of Moon.” Said Tomochin. “I heard the legends that after the first war with Maou, Kaguya made some stone golems to protect the palace so that nobody could get their hands on the fountain unless they are worthy.”

“I guess you know where you have to go now, Yuko.” Said Sayaka at the worried looking demigod.

"Hey, it'll be fine." Sae patted her shoulder. "You go out and look for her. We'll take care of Jurina-chan."

"Are you sure? I'm just worried; what if--"

"You can trust us, Yuko. Now hurry." Yuka said as she pushed the demi-God out the door.

"Thanks, girls. I'll be back as soon as I can. Take care of Jurina." Yuko said before hopped on a horse and dash into the mist.

The four princesses turned and saw Jurina was staring at them, seeming completely out of touch with reality.

"Jurina-chan~" Sae was the first to jump in and knelt down beside her. "Don't you worry, we're gonna take good care of you until Kaguya-nee-san comes back. OK?"

Jurina just tilted her head and smiled, not a care in the world.

-----------------------------------------

The kitchen goes busy by minutes later then. Matsui as the owner of the hut has responsibility to take care of her guest including her teenage niece who’s acting like a four year old. In the kitchen, she exchanged conversations with Tomochin and Yukaregarding their stories that fascinates her.

“God, I never thought in my life I would hear such stories..” she muttered after listening Yuka’s story of encountering demons. “And eventually meet the legends itself..”

“Trust me, being the legends is much more difficult than just hearing it.” Assured Yuka.

In the living room, Jurina was having some fun of her life as she played horses with Sae who has much more experience than the others when it comes to little kids as to been playing with Mayuyu for about a quarter of her life.

"Jurina-chan, hang on, we're climbing the mountains!!!" Sae said as she jumped up on the couch and walked around it.

"Oi! Don't break my couch!" they heard the Matsui say.

Jurina just smiled and cheered as she hugged Sae, dancing with her and spinning around. However, she suddenly stopped her a moment and started coughing.

"Are you okay, Jurina-chan?"

"..U-un. I'm okay, nee-chan!"

Sae couldn't help but feel her worry lingering. She felt something was terribly wrong with Jurina.

Meanwhile...

“You sure have a lot to learn, Ayaka.” Said Sayaka as they walked through the forest.

“I supposed so. I can’t bear to do the same as you.” Pointed out Ayaka to some rabbits hanging on Sayaka’s belt as to being trapped by some snares.

“Why?”

“I used to have a rabbit when I was little.” Said the princess grimly.

“Oh…” nodded Sayaka. “Hey what if we exchanged some stories?”

“Stories?”

“Yeah. I know you’re the next one in throne before you became a Samurai Princess.” Said Sayaka. “I’m sure you have a lot to tell.”

“I don’t think I really do, Sayaka.” Said Ayaka. “You heard about the king’s death right?”

“Yes.”

“Well the thing is.. Ever since his death, I can’t stop worrying about what he left behind. My mother, the kingdom.. Before he left, I promised him that whatever will happen later, I’ll take care of those two things.” Confessed Ayaka. “Now look at me, unable to do all that and worse, an exile of my own kingdom..”

“Ayaka it’s not your fault.” Said Sayaka. “You’re one of us now, we are the Samurai Princesses. Yours and our destiny are much more big now, saving the world from Maou’s darkness.”

“I know.” She nodded with a saddened expression. “Oh Sayaka, I still think I left my mother alone was bad enough.. I really missed her and looking at Jurina finally reunited with her only family just makes me missed my own mother too..”

Sayaka couldn’t help to approached the girl and gave her a gentle hug as the younger girl cried in her arms.

“Listen, you and Jurina are not the only one with a person left in their family.” I said. “I have a step brother fighting somewhere in the war. I love him all across my heart as a big brother who took care of me so well..”

“Did he left anything to you to remind you of him?” sniffed Ayaka.

Sayaka nodded and pulled out her necklace, “He left a letter and this necklace before he left. I received it just before I left my duty in the imperial army from my boss.”

“It’s beautiful..” smiled Ayaka. “I also have this from my mother.” She pulled out the small mirror, the orange gem gleamed beautifully on the handle.

"Ah! I know that mirror!!" Screamed Kai inside Sayaka's head. "It’s the Mirror of Truth!"

“Mirror of Truth?” asked Sayaka loudly.

“Eh? You know this thing?” asked Ayaka stunned.

“I don’t know, but Kai is trying to tell me something..” said Sayaka. “Tell me more Kai.”

"It’s an ancient artifact, mended from the Holy Crystal of Snow Goddess. Only a few people can use it since it choses who gets to own it and when it is in the right hand, it can show you anything. And what I mean anything is that EVERYTHING from hidden enemies to future!"

"Whoa! That’s amazing!"
Screamed Sayaka mentally before she explained to Ayaka what Kai just said.

“Masaka..” muttered Ayaka as she looked at the mirror again. “I-I’ve seen my self in this mirror, Sayaka. Like I was totally different, not knowing that it was myself as a Samurai Princess!”

"It only shows some random but truth things to other people, but only shows the whole story to those who are worthy of it." Spoke Riku suddenly.

"Does anybody you know able to use this mirror?" Asked Ayaka.

"There was one person we know from ages ago.. Without her, Kai would have gotten executed."

"What?! Did someone accused her?"

"Yes. Get Sayaka to come close and I’ll show you both a memory of it."

“Sayaka.” Called Ayaka. “Hold my hand, Riku said she wants to show us a memory of the mirror.”

"Ah, that…" nodded Kai. "Yes, I think you two should know about it.."

"What is it about?"

"You’ll know it."

Sayaka took Ayaka’s hand and all the sudden they were standing in a different place, like a small house.

“We’ll be safe here..” the two of them heard an exhausted voice.

They turned and saw Kuu was bending her knees as she gasped for air. She wasn’t the only one though, there was a girl in long braids watching the outside from a small hole on the curtains.

“Kai..” said Kuu looking up at Sayaka. “Tell me those are lies right? You wouldn’t do such things!”

“W-what..?"

“Crap, they’re coming!” hissed the girl that’s looking at the window. “Kai, you have to run for the woods we’ll meet you there!”

“What’s going o-"

Then the sound of a loud knocking followed by yells of men came from the door. Ayaka knew it won’t take long for them to take the wooden door down.

“Kai please! You have to get out from here!” pleaded Kuu. “I swear I’ll meet you at the woods.”

Sayaka didn't seem to know what was going on, so she took her sword and ran into the woods.

Ayaka looked around anxiously as to look for the others. “Where’s Kaguya and Kanata?”

“We split up.” Explained Kuu as she tried to block the doors as to try containing the forces to break the door.

“OPEN UP THIS INSTANT OR WE WILL TEAR THIS DOOR APART!”

“HAND IN THE MURDERER!”

“Murderer?!” yelped Ayaka in instant. Riku.. What’s going on?!

"Kai was an officer back in the days before she’s a samurai princess, just like Sayaka." Explained Riku briefly in my mind. "She left the army with some rumors going around that she and her boss had a relationship, thus when she left it looks like to the others that the two had issues and she decided to quit."

"That’s awful! Then was the one murdered.."

"It was her boss that got murdered. Kai and her boss was pretty good commanders but never something like couple. She asked to for all of us to comeback to accompany her back as to find some information from her boss regarding strange cases that demons has been causing. But then we knocked the door at the wrong time and saw her boss already dead in a blood bath."

"So you guys are accused as to that too?!"

"We are. But there’s chances that they’ll be accusing Kai worse than us because she has the motives as to that while we aren’t. That’s why we let her escape while we try to handl-"


Ayaka glanced as to the door breaks opened forcefully, causing Kuu fallen back to the floor. Ayaka and Hinata pulled their swords in instant and pointed at the guards who are mostly or all man.

“Surrender yourself this instant!” yelled one of them. “You all are accused as to the murder of the General!”

“How many times we have to told you that we didn’t do any-“ Just then before Kuu could finish her sentence, Kuu gotten herself a kick right on the cheek by one of the guards.

“KUU!” yelled Hinata. She tried to give back the favor to the officer but then two of them expertly grabbed her hands and forced her to drop the sword down and made her knelt down forcefully on the floor with her hands bounded. “LET GO OFF ME!!”

“Hinata!” Ayaka yelled. But then suddenly someone pulled her hands back and forced her to knelt to as her hands bounded in the same chains as Hinata. “Gahh!!”

Kuu looked up in absolute hatred to the guards who kicked her as she held her swollen cheek, “You did not just kicked a lady!”

“SILENCE!” yelled the officer who seemed to be the leader of them all. “There is another one of you, our old friend, Shizaki Kai.”

Kuu who was struggling on the chains bared her teeth to the leader just to get herself another hit on the cheek, producing such a loud slap.

“STOP IT!” yelled Hinata but then one of the officers pulled her braids back forcefully and caused her to struggle in a dangerously backwards angle. “Ack!”

“Now tell me where she is.” Said the officer kneeling infront of Ayaka as she grabbed her chin to forcefully look at him in the eyes.

Ayaka could feel her heart pounding, but a sentence slipped through her mouth without her control.

“Somewhere to figure out the truth.” She said smugly and spit to the officer’s face.

The officer pulled back in disgusted before whacked her in the stomach, causing the taste of iron in her mouth. “Bitch! TAKE THEM ALL!”

----------------------------------

Yuka’s POV

*DUARRR*

“Dear Lord!” I yelped accidentally dropped the potatoes straight to a pot of boiling water. Splashing my self in the arm with it, “Itte!”

“Are you alright?” asked Matsui as she hand me a wet towel to compress the red patches from the splash.

“I’m good.” I smiled thinly as I compressed the burnt. “The thunder surprised me though..”

“The Forest of Despair has no certain weather. It’s either cool and foggy or thunder storm.” Said Matsui. “You’re friends aren’t back yet, Samurai. Where are they?”

“The name is Masuda Yuka, but you can call me just Yuka.” I introduced myself. “Gosh, you’re right Matsui-san.. I wonder if they’ll be okay..”

“Call me Sakiko.” Smiled Matsui. “I hope they’ll be back soon before it gets worse. The storm here is pretty bad, and it’s very often for hails to appear in this thunder storm.”

“HAIL?!” I widened my eyes. “We have to find them!”

I rushed out from the kitchen into the living room and saw Jurina was crying in Sae’s arm. It was weird though to see a big teenager like Jurina crying like a toddler in Sae’s arm.

“What’s going on here?” asked Sakiko before she bends down beside Jurina and caressed her back softly. “Why is she crying?”

“I think she’s scared of the thunder from before.” Said Natsumi looking at the windows. “It’s seems pretty dark out there..”

“We have to find Sayaka and Ayaka! Sakiko said that there’s possibility of hails coming in this storm and if they’re not back in time they could get killed!”

“MAJI KA?!” exclaimed Sae. “I’m coming with you, Yuka!”

“Me too!” said Natsumi before following me outside into the rain.

“I’ll take care of Jurina with Tomochin, please hurry back!” yelled Sakiko as we dashed off into the rain.

“SAYAKA! AYAKA!”

“WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!”

“COME BACK YOU TWO, IT’S FREAKIN STORMING HERE!!”

I glanced around in the rain, not a care in the world that my clothings are totally soaked. The three of us ran in the rain together until we see two faint glows, an orange and blue light.

“There!” pointed Sae.

I pinched my eyes to finally caught the sight of Ayaka and Sayaka standing holding hands together in the rain. I could see the two of them radiating different auras of their elements.

"They’re sharing memories!" Said Hinata. "Riku and Kai are interacting with them about the same memories."

What memories are they sharing?

"I don’t know but when this thing happens, they’re like dolls while their soul is traveling deep in memories."

Then we got no choice to carry them before the hail attacks then!


“Sae, have to carry them. They’re unconscious!”

“Unconcious?” she asked. “Like what are they doing?”

“Sharing memories. I’ll tell you later, but we need to get them out of here!” I ran up to them and helped Sae carried Sayaka on her back while Natsumi carried Ayaka. The three of us ran as fast as we can with our friends in the rain to the hut with the thunders rolling above.

What are you two sharing…?

Sayaka's POV

As soon as I dashed towards the woods, my surroundings swirled weirdly and before I knew it I was held back.

What the-? I looked at my wrist and felt the cold chains bounding it and tied into a wooden post. What’s going on?!

I looked around and saw my self in a completely different place. Like a plaza where many people gathered and on my feet was piles of dried sticks. On a platform, some officers were standing around a guy in robe who looks like the imperial judge.

“Shizaki Kai, I hereby to pronounce you are guilty in the Murder of General-”

"Murderer! Murderer!" That was the only thing I heard clear in my ears. The citizens gathered in the plaza stomp their feet as they yelled the words, echoing to my very own brain.

“The sentence will be carried out today will be your death sentence of being burned live at stake.” pronounced the judge. “Your friends will be joining after you.”

“NO!!!” I heard Kuu’s yell. I turned to a small wooden cage just under the platform and saw her grasping the bars with her wrist shackled in chains. “STOP IT!!”

Then I saw familiar images of the other previous Samurai Princess, the messy haired Riku yelling at the guards, and a hair braided figure knocked out on the cage’s floor.

"Stop! I didn't do anything, I swear!" I felt my voice say.

"SILENCE!” yelled an officer who seemed to be the leader of them all. “LIGHT THE FIRE!”

I saw them raise a torch and walked towards me. I felt my heart pounding harder than ever as my eyes watched the fire coming close to me. The chains were so tight on my wrist that it hurts every time I struggled on it.

"Hold it!" Suddenly, a voice rose and a hooded figure walked towards the judge. It opened it’s hood and revealed a beautiful face with a pair of silver eyes.

Kaguya!

“Shizaki Kai didn’t kill the general!” yelled another hooded figure coming in and opened her hood, a girl with curled lips. “We have the proof! Show it!”

Then I saw another hooded figure coming in, another girl with tattoos on her beautiful face almost mythical for me to see.

“Behold, I see the truth in this Mirror of Truth!” She held up an object in her hand and it shined brightly.

The mirror!

"Look." The mirror showed what had happened. None of the girls killed the General, they were framed by the time they knocked on the door he was already dead and the culprit escaped through the back window.

“Lies!” yelled the officer leader. He turned to the judge, “These girls must’ve been using some tricks!”

“If we are using tricks, mind telling the judge where were you at the time of the crime?” asked Kaguya simply. She raised her eyebrows in enjoyable as she watched the officer leader’s expression, “You can’t, eh?”

“Simple. He’s the murderer.” Said the girl with curled lips. “I bet this is his.” She raised an emblem in her hand. My eyes widened recognizing the emblem of the imperial Vice general.

“Seize him!!” yelled the judge immediately as he pointed the leader of officer who is trying to get away.

The girl with curled lips raised her bow instantly and shot two arrows, pinning the true murderer by the shoulders on the wall. She looked at me and nodded in relieve as she approached to help me off the chains.

“Thank you, Kanata.” My mouth spoke the name by itself as I quickly slumped to her just as the chains broke off my wrist.

“I’m glad you’re alive, Kai.” she said.

“Who is she?”

“A new ally with an amazing artifact.” I heard her voice sounded in my ears before everything turned hazy and white.

Ayaka’s POV

I opened my eyes slowly as I felt the warm air around me and finally sat up. I saw Riku kneeling next to me with another figure, beautiful lady in blue kimono.

“Kai..?” I croaked.

"Hello, Umeda Ayaka. I see you have found the artifact we used one hundred years ago." She smiled. "And for some reasons, you and Sayaka received a memory of it."

“Sayaka?!” I yelped realizing the older girl is not here. “Where is she?!”

Riku pointed a limp figure just beside me and I saw her still sleeping peacefully on the ground.

“Wow, she really does looks like you, Kai. In some way.”

“Really?” asked Kai amusedly.

Riku nodded, “The sleeping habit is particularly the same.” Before she yelped in pain when Kai nudged her on the ribs, “Itte!”

“Thanks a lot.” Grumbled Kai. "Seems like joining with a kage affected your sense of humor a bit."

I couldn’t help but to giggle watching the two acted buddies.

“So…” I tried to reconstruct the conversation. “Do you think the Mirror could help us find the demons?”

“I most certainly do, Ayaka.” Said Kai. “However, you need to find the true chosen one that’s able to use the Mirror to it’s full potential.”

“How are we going to find her?” I asked.

“Similarities.” Stated Riku. “The previous user of the Mirror was from the capital, a witch named Nala who roamed around telling fortunes with her Mirror, not knowing that it’s an artifact.”

“Usually, the similarities of the previous and the future reincarnation are not that far away.” Said Kai. “For example, I was an officer for the imperial army before I knew my fate as the samurai princess. The same also goes for Sayaka, since she’s my future reincarnation."

“How about Riku and I?” I asked. “We’re totally different.”

“We both have fear. A strong one that can make us break very hard and as if world have gone dark for us." said Riku. “Yours was from fear of being burdens which then developed your Kage well. As for mine, I was afraid of losing people that I love, you have no idea how much I break down when Sayanee kidnapped Kanata from me easily..”

“What happened then?” I asked.

Riku shook her head, “Not now, darling I’ll tell you later. You and Sayaka have too much memories coming in already, it’ll effect your mental if we plunged you into another one.”

My tongue felt like arguing to what Riku said but she was right, stuffing the two of them with memories won’t help at all. Only making them worsened up mentally.

“So then we have to look for her in the capital?” I asked. “My kingdom? My home?”

“Yes.” Said Kai. “Riku has told me about you. Be careful in there, keep your eyes open and your ears up. You are a wanted person, Ayaka.”

“I don’t like being a wanted person especially in my own home.” I grumbled.

Riku smiled, “Heroes are the ones that came from the very bottom and they reached the highest level of all. You will be one.”

“If I don’t die like you guys.” I added.  The two of them looked at each other sadly and sighed as if they agreed on that.

“Even if you die..” said Kai slowly as she looked at me straight in the eyes with those piercing irises. “Die in honor, not defeat.”

“See you soon, Ayaka.” Smiled Riku before she clicked her finger. With a blink, I found my self back at Matsui’s house with everyone gathering around me.

“Thank goodness, you’re alive!” sighed Natsumi. “Kanata said you’re sharing memories with Sayaka, what is it about?”

I looked at Sayaka who’s groaning slowly in Sae’s arms as she tried to regain her consciousness.

“We found a way to find the demons.” I began.

--------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in another place...

Third person POV

It doesn’t take long for a demon to quickly appear from one place to another with their dark mist. It certainly doesn’t for the eldest of demons to travel from the hideout into the edges of a volcano pit.

Mariko looked down at the pit and saw the boiling lava bellow, bubbling in anticipation to whatever got thrown in there. She does enjoy some treatments involving the heat when hell was their home, but not this intense however.

“Fancy some beauty treatment by the lava, Mariko-sama?” Mariko doesn’t need to turned her head to see who’s talking. Sasshi in two piece relaxing on giant boiling rock, for a demon like her especially specialized in fire, this heat is nothing.

“I have a job for you.” said Mariko shortly.

“I’m listening to you.” Nodded Sasshi as she folded her legs together.

Mariko smiled, “How do you like to go for a hunt?”

Sasshi frowned, “What kind of hunting?”

Mariko smiled and explained what she has in her mind to the young demon. Once she finished it, she watched Sasshi’s reactions which was somewhere in the middle of ‘are you insane?!’ and ‘nice challenge!’

“Oh Dear Maou..” whistled Sasshi. “Ameratsu is going to kill me if I do this.. But count me in.”


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 2)
Post by: luvsidney on October 13, 2014, 04:59:02 AM
support =P and ganbatte~!! is sae jealous sayaka and ayaka share memory? haha
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 2)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on October 22, 2014, 03:00:19 AM
Chapter 19 - Underground Water Drain (Part 3)


Sae's POV

After listening to the whole story from Ayaka, the seven of us fell silence around the fireplace except for Jurina who’s fiddling with her aunt’s curly hair on her lap.

"We have to go to the capital.” Said Ayaka. “Our first chance to find the user is to go to the capital.”

"Hang on there," Sayaka suddenly stopped her. "I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to the capital right now. I mean look at our condition!” she pointed at Jurina who somehow gave an innocent look.

“I think Sayaka’s right there.” Nodded Sakiko as she caressed Jurina’s head. “You’ll have to wait for the demigod to comeback with Kaguya, you’ll find the user quicklier with her.”

“But at the same point, won’t be going to the capital would be better than staying here for who knows how long?” asked Ayaka again a frown. “We don’t know how long would it takes for Yuko to arrive at the temple and what if Kaguya isn’t there? It’s gonna take weeks!”

“Listen, I know you’re anxious about it. But we possibly can’t go at this state.” Pronounced Sayaka. “If you mind, you’re wanted, remember?”

“I’ll keep my hoods on all the time.” Replied Ayaka instantly.

“It’s not going to help you much, young lady.” Said Sayaka coldly. “You know that everybody in the capital recognized your face.”

"Of course, it's my home."

"Exactly!” said Sayaka. “Start considering about safety would you? If anybody knows you’re in the town, they’ll report it straight away to the officers then they’ll start hunting you down in the town. With if they captured you?”

“Then I’ll fight them all.” Argued back Ayaka.

“Then they’ll just take you for a serious outlaw.” Said Natsumi grimly. “If you fight them back, they’ll take it as a serious offence and before you know it you’re the enemy of the capital.”

“Then I’ll go by myself.” Answered back Ayaka as she stand up angrily. “I’ll find the user myself!”

She walked passed me, but I quickly caught her wrist. “Ayaka, you can’t go there alone. What if something bad happened to you?”

“Nothing will happen! I’ll manage by myself! I don’t need anybody’s help!” yelled Ayaka. Then she eyed Sayaka, “Stop telling me what to do, you’re not my mother!”

“Who says I am?!” asked Sayaka offensively. “Yuka, say something!” she urged as gave a pleading look to the girl. However, Yuka looked unsure as if she has something in her mind.

"Actually..." Yuka stepped forward a bit. "Actually, there's somewhere I need to go, too."

"Eh?"

"I promised Hinata I would meet Ao." Confessed Yuka. “But I think I have to do this one alone too.”

Sayaka retorted again. "You can't go! Nobody goes alone! We all need to wait for Yuko to come back."

“Tell me how long are we planning to wait, Madame Officer?” mocked Ayaka. “Open your eyes, time is ticking away until Maou’s out of his prison. We have no time to waste!”

Sayaka stood down angrily as she eyed Ayaka, “Stop being a hasty princess and sit down! You are nothing more than an outcast of your own home!”

Ayaka’s eyes widened in shock on the last bit of Sayaka’s sentence, even I also widened my eyes as well with everyone else. Realizing her mistake, Sayaka closed her mouth and shook her head.

“Ayaka, I didn’t mea-”

Ayaka laughed lighly, but her eyes was beyond forgiving as she stared at the older girl. “No you’re right, Officer. I’m nothing more of an outcast, a trash of my own people. Does that make you happy, now?”

“Ayaka-” but Ayaka put up her hand to stop her talking and shook her head.

“That’s it, I’ll go by myself. I’ll find the user myself, don’t follow me.” She pulled her hand from my grasp and shut the door loudly.

“AYAKA!”

“Okay, this is just beyond silly.” Said Natsumi before she got up and went out at the door. My guess is that she’s going to stop Ayaka.

“Oh God…” sighed Sayaka settling down on the couch. “You guys are unbelievable!”

“Oh you’re blaming us now?” asked Yuka. “It was you who start it with her! She has a point you know.”

“But it’s too risky for any of us to split up or even going anywhere!  Besides, what if something happens to either of you?"

“Nothing will happen!” said Yuka. “How old do you think we are, huh?”

"What if it DOES though?!"

“Okay that’s it you two!!” I yelled, shuts up the two of them. “Fighting like this isn’t going to get us anywhere. Ayaka’s right, we’re running on time until Maou’s revival and therefore we have to find the demons to stop them before they completely get Maou awakened.”

"But--" I put my hands up just in time when Sayaka opened her mouth to argue.

“You also have the right point that it’s dangerous for any of us to get separated in this time, remembering our states. So let’s just get a middle resolution so the three of you happy and the world happy from Maou.”

“You made it sound like a joke, you know.” Said Tomochin flatly.

Sayaka crossed her arm, “What do you suggest?”

“We’ll split up. - Let me finish!” I said eying Sayaka who’s about to argue again. “We’ll split up, Ayaka and Sayaka can go to the capital together and find the user. You can protect her from any suspiciousness and the danger of her cover being blown.”

"But what about-"

“As for Yuka,” I eyed at Yuka, “I’ll go with Yuka to meet Ao. I’ll stay away from your business but mind the fact it’s dangerous to go by yourself, we can’t confirm what happened to you if something were to happen.”

"Maji?! You’re going with me?” asked Yuka.

I nodded. “But keep in mind that the two groups will only have five day limit at their own businesses. We don’t know when Yuko is coming back, but it’s better to get it all done as quickly as possible.”

"But, Sae..." I stopped Sayaka and hugged her, surprising her and myself. My body just acted on its own. I can feel her heart beating along with mine.

"It'll be okay."

Sakiko coughed, “So then.. Natsumi, Tomochin and I will be staying and take care of Jurina then?”

I pulled back from Sayaka and nodded, “If Yuko and Kaguya comes back, at least one of you could explain the whole thing. And besides,” I looked at Jurina who’s smiling at me as she held her aunt’s arm, “I think you two deserved a quality time together as a family.”

“Family?” pronounced Jurina. “What is that, Sae Onee-chan?”

“It means someone close to you.” Said Sakiko smiling at her niece. “So close that I can tickle you like, THIS!!” she grinned and tickled Jurina. The girl roared in laughter as her aunt’s slender finger tickled the right spots of her ticklish nerves.

I couldn’t help but to smile at the sight, but I quickly turned again to Sayaka and Yuka. “So will that be fine?”

“I guess I can agree with that.” Said Yuka tilting her head.

“Great.” I sighed. “Now where is Ayaka and Natsumi?”

Third Person’s POV

It was storming outside, but luckily no hails. Ayaka dashed off to the horse stable, not a care in the world that her clothes are soaked in the rain. She can still the echoes of Sayaka’s words in her brain, engulfing her in anger.

"Ayaka-"

"Don’t lecture me Riku!"
Snapped Ayaka. Surprising Riku since never once she heard her host gets this mad at someone or something.

"Ayaka listen, I’m sure Sayaka didn’t mean to say it a-"

"Oh you’re on her side now?!"


The thunder clapped in the sky, stunning Ayaka a bit. Remembering herself she used to be scared of this kind of thunder when she was little and would hide behind her parents, frightened. Now somehow she wished she could do that again.

Unconsciously, a tear came out of the corner of her eyes. She rubbed it off, hoping for her face to be dry but in this kind of storm it’s just useless. She can’t lie anymore about the main reason she insist to go to the capital, she just missed the only family she has left apart from the Maeda's; her own mother.

She felt a hand holding her hand from the back, she glanced back and saw Natsumi eying her grimly.

“You said it yourself that I don’t have to be alone. I think it’s time to say the same to you too.” She said. “I’m here.”

As if her body moved by itself, Ayaka let herself slumped to the other girl and cried in her arms. Her tears and the rainwater soaked Natsumi’s clothes together as the princess poured all of her emotions into her sobs.

“Listen to me.” said Natsumi bending down to looked at Ayaka’s eyes. “I know you missed your mother but please think straight. You can’t go there alone to the capital, imperial guards and spies lurks everywhere within the capital. They’ll find you easily if you let your guard down just one bit and you know there is no guarantee that you can do that.”

"..Wakatta..." Ayaka said in between her sniffles.

“Now let’s go back to the hut and talk it straight with everyone, I’m sure we’ll find a way.” Encourage Natsumi. “You can’t always run away like this Ayaka.”

Ayaka nodded and yet still let her head rest on Natsumi’s shoulder, sniffing her last bit of tears.

She hated to admit Natsumi was right, she needed to think straight. She’s not a princess anymore, Noro is not around to protect her anymore, thus she’s on her own now with the other samurai princesses, Kaguya, Yuko, and Natsumi.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Said Natsumi. “Let’s go, you’ll catch a fever again if we stay in this place.” She stood up and took the girl’s hand before directing her back to the hut.

-----------------------------------

As soon as the two were back in, Sakiko welcomed them with a light scolding about getting her house wet from the two soaking figure before eventually told them to sit around the fireplace and get themselves dried.

Ayaka looked up when she saw Sayaka stood from the couch as she gets closer, the two stood infront of each other awkwardly.

“Sayaka, I-"

“I’m sorry for hurting your feelings, Ayaka.” Said Sayaka shamefully. “I guess I lost control of my tongue and eventually said those things. I swear I didn’t mean to though!”

Ayaka smiled weakly, “It’s fine really. I should be the one apologizing for being such a jerk, not thinking about the consequence and so on..”

The two them smiled at each other before breaking into a laugh. Looking at the two, Sae couldn’t help not to smile.

"I guess they’re back together now." Thoughts Sae. She looked at the dark sky from the window. "Kaguya, Yuko… I hope you guys are back soon..."

--------------------------------------

In another place, far away...

A figure was dashing on the rocky path of a mountain in the middle of the raging storm, despite it’s dangerous condition of slippy roads and strong winds, the figure kept going and going. It raised it’s head to look up at a rolling boulder coming towards her, but in a flash she quickly avoid it and watched it tumbled down.

Taking a breath, she looked up to see her destination; a huge building on the mountain. She pursed her lips as she is getting closer to it before dashing off again. She finally arrived upon a gate guarded by two statues of golem at the front. She took a step forward and the two gollems’s eyes glowed in silver.

“Who dares to come to such sacred place?!”

“Address yourself!”

The figure lowered her hoods, revealing her silver irises and the similar glow as the two golems. “I am Kaguya-Hime of the Moon, Goddess of Night.”

The two statue nodded and bowed briefly at the figure, “Welcome, Kaguya-sama.”

The figure nodded and stepped in to the gate and found herself in a huge ground with a giant fountain with glowing clear liquid water flowing into a pond and eventually unlimited. A huge roof covered the ground and the fountain, protecting it from the raging storm and rainwater. Behind the ground was a huge temple made out of pure white stone, raging with such aura.

The figure stepped closer and eventually sat on the pond’s edge. She took of her dark hood and her boots before dipping her feet into the water, it felt relieving enough after hours of running with no stopping. Not only that, the water felt like seeping into her mind, calming her after the rough moments.

She closed her eyes and maintained her breathings as the magic water cools her body and soul, she tried to remember what has happened. Jurina’s request to get out of her body was probably her only choice to do before the kid herself might turn insane. Of course she knows that it may caused some serious issues, but she’s just too mad at the young girl to even think about her.

She scrunched her eyebrows as she decided to take a dip herself into the water, groaning in relieve as it does the work. The magic doesn’t just work on humans too, it works on her too as a God.

“Rough day, Sis?”

Kaguya opened her eyes upon feeling a new presence appeared not far from her. She doesn’t raised her weapon, she knew enough who it was.

“Ameratsu.”

"It's been a while," Amaterasu said as walking casually closer. Kaguya still recognized him, even in his human form. The man he's spirit is hosting, Furukawa, looked like something he would've really been like before he turned into a wolf.

"What are you doing here?" asked Kaguya grumpily. She hated that goofy smile from his brother, even if he was in another body.

Ameratsu shrugged, “I heard my sister is not in the mood to come out in such storm. So I guess something‘s wrong with you .”  he sat on the edge of the fountain. “Beside, I miss you~”

Kaguya pursed her lips, “Oh boy..”

"OK, what happened?" he said, bluntly. "I know something's on your mind. You've always been a stubborn little sister."

"It's none of your business." Said Kaguya shortly.

"It's Jurina-chan, isn't it? I can tell, you two aren't bonded together anymore."

Kaguya's eyes widened a bit.

"What happened to you two?"

Kaguya sighed and explained everything to her older brother. She honestly hated being a little sister, because it meant, there was always something that her brother was able to do that she couldn't. In this case, he was able to read her like a book.

"So that's it... Yes, I heard about the Matsui bloodline. It seems the elder sister of Jurina has been marked."

"She thinks she can save her... But I know it's too late."

"How?"

"Eh... because..." Kaguya tried to turn her brain. “You know why, Ameratsu!”

"Sis, I think you should consider what Jurina is feeling. You should know, as you, yourself, are also a little sister."

"Yes, but..!"

"Jurina-chan obviously cares about her deeply cares about her sister. She's willing to risk everything, even her own life, just to save her. Right now, Jurina is out there, alone in the world, and she doesn't have anyone left to turn to!"

Kaguya felt tears fighting their way out of her eyes. Amaterasu patted her head.

"Sis... I get it. You just need to trust Jurina, okay?"

Kaguya wiped off her tears and took her feet out of the pool. "But she needs to get herself grow up. I can’t stand her being so stubborn on times.”

Ameratsu rolled his eyes, “Oh come on! She’s still a teenager, not a thousand year old Goddess like you are. Give her a break already!”

Kaguya pouted, “Then I should have picked someone older..”

“Hey, don’t start again.” Warned Ameratsu. “You know what you did was right, you saved her life. You knew she was the one, stop denying Kaguya. Regretting like that won’t help.”

“Fine.” Sighed Kaguya. “Thanks Ameratsu.”

“Wow it’s the first time my tsundere sister actually thank me well.” Whistled Ameratsu.

Kaguya raised her eyebrows and willed her holy water to make a thin tentacle and wrapped around her brother’s ankle and pull him into the pool, all happened in a such quick motion that Ameratsu found himself splashing into the water.

“OI!”

Kaguya laughed, her laugh was light but very youthful despite being a thousand year old goddess. Ameratsu couldn’t help not to smile watching her sister laughing before the two of them eventually start splashing each other in the holy water.

After hours of enjoying the holy water, the two of them relaxed on the edge of the pond. Ameratsu was the first to pick up a slight sound coming from the gate.

“We have a visitor, sis.”

“Then they’d have to go through the two golems.” Replied Kaguya simply. However, she finally look up to the gate once she heard it open.

Her eyes widened upon a small figure running towards them, no other than Yuko.

"Kaguya!" Yuko's voice rang in their ears as the demi-God ran into the palace. "Kaguya, you need to come back! We--DAD?!"

"Hey, how's my baby girl?!" waved Ameratsu with another one of his goofy smile.

"I AM NOT A BABY!!!" Yuko ran past her father and cast him aside and held Kaguya's hand. "We need to go, NOW!"

“How’s Jurina, Yuko?” asked Kaguya. “I’m afraid I think I did something to her.”

“You kinda did, actually sis.” Answered Ameratsu before creating a reflection image on the pond.

Kaguya widened her eyes when she saw Jurina clinging to Sakiko and Sae before eventually start piggy back on the two of them. Of course it should be fine if she has a body of a toddler, but the main problem was that the girl is in her full original size.

“Why didn’t you tell me this?!”

“You’re too hard to talk to, then you’d start a whole conversation of arguments on how this girl deserves it. I can tell it would be useless to talked about it without me lecturing you first.” Said Ameratsu. He nodded to his daughter. “You know what will happen don’t you?”

Yuko nodded, “After her memories, her soul would start to disappear as her body rejects it since it’s not in the normal circumstances anymore.”

Kaguya covered her face with her hands, “This is not happening...”

“Then I guess you better hurry, sis.” Said Ameratsu hurrying the two. “Ah and one more thing!” he called out before they left.

“What is it?” asked Yuko.

Ameratsu frowned, “I have a bad feeling coming to me, Yuko. I think the demons are plotting more things than just using Jurina-chan's sister for the Maou, I want you to visit some of our old friends after you get Kaguya back.”

“Dad, you mean THEM?” asked Yuko in horrified voice. Just imagining her father’s old friends truly raised her goosebumps.

Ameratsu nodded, “I want to make sure they are alright, they’ll respect you dear as long as you act appropriate.” She looked at Kaguya then, “Kaguya,”

“Yes?”

“Take care of yourself, sis. We’ll meet again when the time comes.”

“Un.” Nodded Kaguya before dashing off with Yuko to the dark forest. Ameratsu looked up the sky, looking at the dark night after the storm.

He still clearly remembered everything a hundred years ago, he witness the four legendary Samurai Princesses sealed Maou along with the Priest. Fighting alongside with them was amazing, but the most amazing of all was to be able to combine power with the past Samurai of Fire, Hinata. Combining his power as the sun God has created great power within the girl, enough to defeat Sasshi.

He sighed, wondering what the next samurai of fire will be like. So far he has watched her from the distances, a strong girl that loves her family well enough. But is she worthy enough for him to combine forces with her?

“Ao, I’ll leave that to you.” Whispered Ameratsu to the wind, willing the words to carry out passing the land till it reached the dragon himself.

--------------------------------------

After the discussions and dinner, everyone finally dismissed themselves out with agreements. Ayaka and Sayaka to the capital and Yuka with Sae to Ao’s place. Since Sakiko’s hut was small, there was only two bedrooms, one is hers and the other one has been abandoned for such long time that cobwebs were everywhere.

“Okay so which one of you will be sleeping in the other room?” asked Sakiko as she handed a pile of bedsheets. “Jurina and I will be sleeping in one room.”

“Will you be okay taking care of her?” asked Sae. “Remembering her conditions..” she eyed the toddler acting girl rolling happily on the floor.

“I’ll manage.” Sighed Sakiko. “Even if she’s not herself, she’s my only family left. And I think it’s time for me to take over my sister’s job over her.”

“Okay then..” said Natsumi. “I don’t mind sleeping on the couch honestly.”

“So am I.” said Tomochin hopping on a couch.

“How about you Ayaka?” asked Sayaka.

“I guess I’ll be following Sakiko’s words of staying around the fire to keep warm so I’ll probably sleep on the carpet.” She pointed at the furry carpet infront of the fire.

“I’ll join Ayaka too.” Chimed in Yuka.

"Can me and Sayaka have the spare room?" Sae asked suddenly, startling the older girl.

"Eh? Is that really okay?"

"Un. Anything is fine for me."

"Uh, okay." Sakiko guided the two to the spare room. Even though it was dusty and old, the bed seemed to be in good condition...

"Wait, there's only one bed?"

"Yeah, sorry, the other one broke down. You both don't mind sharing a bed, do you?"

"Uh..."

"It's okay!"

Sakiko left the two to get ready for bed. Sayaka tried to hide her embarrassment and started getting undressed. Sae suddenly turned to the wall, blushing heavily.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh, I... I'm just not used to changing in front of other people."

"But, you're a princess, right? Don't you have maids who dress you?"

"When I was a kid, yes. But, I am perfectly capable of dressing myself. B-besides..." Sae looked over at Sayaka through her bangs, but snapped her head back as she started seeing her bare back. "I've never seen you naked before."

"Being naked isn't that bad, is it?"

"W-well..."

Although, actually, Sayaka was feeling her heart pounding more than ever. She's never been ashamed of her body. But now, being with Sae is...

"Kai... have you and Kuu ever been naked together?"

"There were a few circumstances. But yes, we have."


Sae was also talking to her inner personal.

"Kuu, were you and Kai ever like this..?"

"Actually, yes. There are plenty of times I've seen Kai naked."


Sae looked over at Sayaka, slowly gaining her courage to look. When she saw her back, she noticed there was a bold, black tattoo edged in her skin. It was a butterfly, with what looked like lily flowers on the right side of her back shoulder.

"Sayaka..."

Sayaka looked back and saw Sae staring at her, blushing.

"Uh, oh... I should get undressed," she said, pretending not to notice.

Just as Sayaka put down her kimono and was about to change, she looked and saw there were scars on Sae's body.

"Sae, what happened to you?"

"Eh..."

Sayaka walked over, trying to look, but Sae covered herself. The elder forcefully pushed the latter against the wall and removed her kimono, observing her scars.

"Why didn't you tell me about these?"

"I-I..." She couldn't do anything as Sayaka turned to look at her back and saw a scar which looked very recent. "It's fine, Sayaka... I was..."

"How did this happen?"

"I was just... training."

“Training?”

Sae nodded awkwardly, “Like on the journeys at night time. I got up suddenly and can’t go back to sleep, so I trained.”

“By yourself?”

Sae tilted her head, “Sometimes if Kaguya or Ayaka caught me, they give an extra hand.”

Sayaka summoned some water in her hand and placed it on Sae's scar, causing the younger girl to wince in pain.

"Hold still..." Sayaka held onto Sae's shoulder as the water seeped into her skin and healed the scar. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry about me... I wanted to be strong..."

"Baka..."muttered Sayaka.

"Eh?" Sae was suddenly taken aback when Sayaka gently kissed her forehead, almost like a mother.

"I don't want you getting hurt if it's just for me. And I don't want you to become strong like me. You be your own person, Sae. You're beautiful as you are."

"But... Sayaka is.. m-more beautiful. More than me, more than anyone! And I..."

"You what?"

Sae never saw this coming. She never imagined, if she was going to say that, it would be THIS awkward. But, now that she's about made herself clear, it seems like the best time.

"I... I really love you, Sayaka." She blurted out.

"Eh..."

"I do... I love you... Ever since I first met you, I've felt this... connection. I HAVE to be with you..."

"Sae... I--" Sayaka was silenced when Sae suddenly captured her lips in a sweet kiss. Time seemed to stop as both of their hearts were pounding. Sayaka's eyes slowly closed, enjoying the moment, and her body went limp.

Sae finally parted for air, her face completely flushed.

"Um... We should.. get some rest."

"Ah... un."

The two changed into their pajamas and climbed into bed. Sayaka blew out the candle, darkness surrounding them. The younger girl hugged her shoulders, feeling the cold air against her skin. She turned over and saw the elder girl, her back facing her.

Thinking the girl was asleep, she slowly moved closer to Sayaka and hugged her, laying her head against her shoulder. Sae closed her eyes, feeling her warm body against hers. Sayaka looked back at the sleeping princess, a smile drawn on her lips. She turned over to face the girl and placed her forehead against hers.

"I love you too, Sae."

In the other room…

“Jurina! Come back here!!”

“Mweeeh, yadaaa~”

Sakiko sighed as she leaned on the wall, she looked at her grown up niece cuddling the pillow as she refused to let her aunt to wipe a warm wet towel to her face to clean her face. The woman isn’t used to moving this actively but she could imagine simply her sister being in the same situation as her right now on taking care of Jurina.
 
After wrestling the girl, tackling her, pinning her, she finally was able to wipe off the dirt, sweat, and grime, off Jurina’s face. Putting her into the night gown was easier however and so does getting her tucked in next to her.

“Auntie~” muttered Jurina in her aunt’s arm as she cradled her niece. “Tell me a bed time story, nee~”

“Eeh??” Sakiko tried to turned her brains around. For years she hasn’t been reading any stories or legends accept stuff regarding to her studies. Telling her niece those things, are probably not the best idea for a bed time story.

She looked down to her niece who’s looking at her innocently with a wide pair of eyes. Unable to resist such charm, the woman sighed.

“What if I sing you a lullaby?” offered Sakiko. She remembered a few lines from her own mother when she and her sister were little.

“What’s a lullaby, auntie?”

“It’s a song, Jurina. Here, let me sing one for you.” she took a deep breath and hopefully her voice isn't that bad for the girl.

[Cover] • Safe and Sound • (japanese) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5V3QOSTLHA#)

Sakiko sang softly as she caressed the girl's hair. She looked below and smiled upon her niece's sleeping face, cuddling to her thin figure. Sakiko was never good with kids since she left her home, she never date or even interact enough to be in relationship thus children never was something in her mind until she met Jurina.

From what she heard before, all of the Matsui are dead except her and her older sister, Rena. and of course, herself as the addition. She looked at Jurina's face, slightly resembled like her sister. She couldn't help not to let a tear to drop as to remember her dearest sister is dead along with the other Matsui clan, she loved them all despite her desicion to left them ages ago. She would've say sorry one day once she learnt something from the capital, but now she knew it was too late to do so.

As if her dead sister sent her a signal, Jurina came. Then there was Kaguya, separating with her niece, causing malfunctions to her soul. Trapping her old memories away and let the toddler soul to replace her. It was as if her sister given Sakiko a chance to get close to the remaining family, a chance which to take care the next generation of Matsui.

Jurina coughed slightly while she was sleeping, Sakiko patted her back carefully. However, her eyes widened upon a small red patch on her nightgown where Jurina coughed earlier.

"Jurina?"

Meanwhile in the living room...

Ayaka couldn’t sleep that night. She’s been shifting her sleeping positions for the last hours, still can’t get herself to comfortably sleep. Yuka in the other hand was snoring loud enough to cover the sound of storm outside.

Ayaka sighed and sat up, watching the fire place still lit with some coals left. The glowing coal was beautiful in her eyes, as the fire left still burning it slowly.

“Can’t sleep, huh?” Natsumi sat herself beside the girl. “I didn’t know you like watching coals glowing.”

“It’s beautiful.” Shrugged Ayaka. “How about you? Why can’t you sleep?”

“Did you know I never met Kanata? Like you and Riku usually do?” she looked at Ayaka’s widened eyes, “I guess you don’t. Well, she would always speak in mind however and somehow that also effects my sleeping mind.”

“Nightmares?”

“Memories. You can call the bad ones nightmares, well it is horrible.”

“Oh..” said Ayaka. “How long have you been having it?”

“A few times since Kaguya made me realized I’m the Priest of Soul.” answered Natsumi. “How about you? Too excited you finally going back to the capital?”

“You wouldn’t call it exciting though.” Said Ayaka. “Actually I don’t even know what I’m feeling.”

“Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Ayaka sighed, “I missed my mother, Natsumi. I missed my teacher, and I missed my whole life being just a normal princess again. I guess some of the reasons I urged you guys to go to the capital and find the user were the fact that I missed them all. I wanted to go back and at least tell my mother I’m fine and said a proper goodbye.” Then she told her everything, from the failed coronations to the her status as fugitive.

“But in the same time, I knew that if I come back I would endangered myself with the imperial guards and spies lurks everywhere recognizing my face in sight. I don’t want to endangered any of you, I never would forgive myself if any of you gets into danger because of my fault.”

“Hey listen to me,” Said Natsumi, holding the princess’s shoulders. “hang on to your feelings. I know it’s hard but when you reach the capital with Sayaka don’t act reckless. Keep your hoods all the time and remember your limit time that Sae gave to each group. Once you’re done, come back here safely. I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Will you be fine while I’m gone?”

Natsumi froze upon the question but smiled, “Of course I’ll be fine. You should be the one I’m worried about.” She flicked Ayaka’s forehead.

“Itte!”

Natsumi giggled before eventually Ayaka giggled too. Once they were done giggling, they looked at each other in the eyes. Natsumi realized how beautiful Ayaka’s eyes were, rich shade of chocolate color that just gets you locked. The two fell into silence before letting their inner feelings take over, shifting their face closer for a soft kiss.

The two hearts pounded in rhyme as the lips moving slow and softly on each other. They broke the kiss slightly to breath each other’s warm air then kissed again. They repeat it again and again under the stormy night, only witnessed by the glowing amber lit coal in the fireplace.

“Do you…” breathed Ayaka. Even in slight darkness, Natsumi knew she was blushing. Her palm on the girl’s cheek felt the warmth radiating. “Like me..?”

“I-I…I don’t know.. I’m not sure.” said Natsumi looking at other direction, avoiding the girl’s gaze.

“Me neither..” whispered Ayaka. “But-“

“Yea..?”

“will we be together like this again?”

Natsumi’s eyes widened, “Maybe.. But we should get some sleep now, night.” She was about to get up and leave for the couch but Ayaka caught her hand, stopping her.

“Stay, Natsumi.. You said you’re having nightmares, maybe..” began Ayaka. “Maybe we can face it together.”

“We?”

Ayaka nodded, “yeah. You and I.”

Natsumi nor Ayaka knows which one has the fastest heart beats at this stage, but as soon as they lay next to each other on the furry carpet they vaguely heard each other’s over Yuka’s snore.

Natsumi felt the grasp of Ayaka’s hand on her palm, and saw the beady eyes looking at her. She doesn’t know if it is Riku or her eventually, but it all feels comfortable. She closed her eyes and soon drifted to sleep with her hand not letting go of Ayaka’s and so does the opposite.

--------------------------------------

Far, far away in the same moments…

“I couldn’t thank you enough, Sir!”

“Don’t worry, Miss! It’s us that has to thank you for taking care of our kids!”

In a restaurant that night, after the closing hour, a set of tables were set around the room with foods and drinks. Not many people were there but all of them looked happy, particularly one young woman. There were also children, chasing each other as they laughed of fun.

“This is too much , seriously Mr. and Mrs. Sato!” said the young woman as she bowed happily. For the last hours, she has been enjoying many delicious food provided by the family. “I’m not sure how to pay for all of these!”

“I told you stop talking about payment!” scolded Mrs. Sato. “You have done so much for us and this village, Miss Minegishi. Willing to come at such distances from your hometown to teach children, we’re the one that should be paying.”

The young woman bowed and bowed over again, she looked around happily looking at the children of Sato chasing each other in enjoyments with other children too in the party. She smiled at the waving Amina who’s trying to get away from her other friends that pretends to be a monster, such happy views just made her smile wider.

By the time the children stopped having fun and yawns for bed, the adults offered her alcohol but knowing her limits as a woman, she declined gracefully. Thanking the family and the community, she left the restaurant with some food packed from the family saying that they refused to let her go unless she brought home some.

She walked on the lonely village streets alone, she was already accustomed with it since a year ago. The fresh night air and the gentle breeze was much more suitable to her lungs than the air in the capital, just another reasons of leaving the city.

She closed her eyes and kept walking straight as to feel the wind. But did not realized that she was heading to another incoming figure before eventually crashing to it. She found herself stunned as to her body did not touch the ground at all with an arm wrapped around her waist, securing her from the fall.

“It’s not safe to walk with closed eyes.” Said the figure. Under the moonlights and some torches, Minegishi saw a face of absolute beauty with short cropped hair. Her eyes were beautifully onyx, as if carved from the stone itself and attached to her pupils.

“I’m sorry, I was enjoying the wind.” Said Minegishi as soon as the person let go off her waist and helped her picked up the packages which is still somehow secured.

“You should be at home now, it’s not safe to wonder out alone at night.”

“I’m fine, how about you? I’ve never seen you before.”

The figure looked at her, “Shinoda Mariko, I just arrived from the capital. I heard about your stories, Minegishi. Such a honorable thing to do to teach children far away from your home.”

“Wherever I am, as long as there are someone expecting me ,I can call it home.” Said Minegishi. “Then you are here to..?”

“Give you a hand?” suggest Mariko.

“Right..” nodded Minegishi. “We should get going now then, we can talk in my place if you’re going to give me a hand tomorrow.”

“I have to get going though,” smiled Mariko. “I have a place to stay already so don’t worry.”

“Okay then.. what if we meet again tomorrow morning at the congee stall at seven? We can talk the arrangements there as we eat breakfast.”

“Alright.” Nodded Mariko. “Walk safe, Minegishi-san.”

“Call me Minami.” Said Minegishi before waving goodbye and dash off. Once the young woman was out of sight, Mariko shifted her dark mist and disappeared.

In her arrival, she arrived upon her chamber where it was her most private room and nobody was allowed to enter except with her permission. However, she found another presence in the room.

“What are you doing here, Sayanee?”

The young demon glanced at the taller demon with curled lips, not expecting her turn up quicker than she thought. “I’m going to need an explanation on why are you taking one my rarest scroll, Mariko-sama.”

Mariko growled, “Mind your own business, Sayanee.”

“My scroll, my business.” Gritted Sayanee, baring her teeth at the older demon. Mariko stunned as she never seen Sayanee with such expression, unlike her usual calm self. “You do realize using this scroll can cause imbalance, right?”

“I know that. It has been done once, and it can be done again.”

“That’s not the point!” retorted Sayanee. “Mariko-sama I swear if you use this scroll, you’ll regret it yourself.”

“I will use it no matter what Sayanee.” Finished Mariko off before bashing Sayanee in a blink of an eye out of the room. The smart demon has no time to dodge and found her hitting the walls behind the door.

“At least let me see if I can help you later.” Croaked Sayanee as she wiped some blood of her lips. “Master used it once before and refused to let me witness the process. I want to see how it works if you do it.”

Mariko eyed the demon dangerously before approaching her, “In condition. Not a word to anyone of this.”

Sayanee nodded and slumped to the wall as Mariko closed her chamber door in front of her.


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 3)
Post by: skylarkdragonstar on October 22, 2014, 06:23:43 AM
Sae and Sayaka KISSED?!

 :mon lovelaff: :luvluv2:
At last they confessed their feelings! :farofflook:

And the scene where they sleep together is adorable. :nya: Oh how I wish I could see a picture of them sleeping together w/ Sae snuggling up against Sayaka like that in real life. But the closest thing I've seen about them sleeping together in real life is...

(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8472/8095913579_cd377d592e.jpg)  :lol::hee:


In the beginning I was worried when they argued with each other, but I'm relieved that they made up. :mon exhaust:

Quote
Ameratsu frowned, “I have a bad feeling coming to me, Yuko. I think the demons are plotting more things than just using Jurina-chan's sister for the Maou, I want you to visit some of our old friends after you get Kaguya back.”

“Dad, you mean THEM?” asked Yuko in horrified voice. Just imagining her father’s old friends truly raised her goosebumps.
I wonder who are these friends of Amaterasu? :mon dunno:

And at the end...

Minegishi???

:mon spit: EHH?!? :shocked

Is she a reincarnation of Miichan perhaps? And what could Mariko be planning with that certain scroll Sayanee's serious about?

Guess I'll have to wait for the next chapter to get answers. :dozing:
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 3)
Post by: kahem on October 23, 2014, 01:05:27 AM
Eh??? Why did mariko get with tomochin if she plan to come to miichan??? Does she plan to become human or something?
Saeyaka is so cute!!!!!
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 3)
Post by: Minamiyuki on November 07, 2014, 09:06:14 AM
Yo~! Ruka-san~!!  8) 8) 8)

I'm still waiting on this fic.. Please update as soon as possible....  XD XD XD

*sitting beside the computer*
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 3)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on November 07, 2014, 11:59:08 AM
Yo~! Ruka-san~!!  8) 8) 8)

I'm still waiting on this fic.. Please update as soon as possible....  XD XD XD

*sitting beside the computer*

Y'know I'm not the ONLY one you should be thanking. ;)

We're working on it now, we've just gotten busy is all. Don't worry.
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 3)
Post by: luvsidney on November 08, 2014, 02:26:47 AM
Sae and Sayaka KISSED?!

 :mon lovelaff: :luvluv2:
At last they confessed their feelings! :farofflook:

And the scene where they sleep together is adorable. :nya: Oh how I wish I could see a picture of them sleeping together w/ Sae snuggling up against Sayaka like that in real life. But the closest thing I've seen about them sleeping together in real life is...

(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8472/8095913579_cd377d592e.jpg)  :lol::hee:

NO~~~~ you are wrong~~ in real life, they should be like THIS on the bed :

(http://stat001.ameba.jp/user_images/20121218/19/miyazawafamily/07/65/j/o0480064012335908903.jpg)

haha
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 3)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on November 09, 2014, 07:43:55 PM
Chapter 20 - Underground Water Drain (Part 4)


Yuka’s POV

I couldn’t see a thing except the fire surrounding me.

The heat was intense and I was like in the middle of nowhere. No sunlights, trees, sky, nothing except the fire surrounding me and smokes that felt choking in my lungs. As if my eyes were adjusting to the surroundings, the color of the fire shifted from red to purple.

My eyes widened, recognizing the fire instantly.

As if someone can read my mind, I heard a chilling laughter echoing. I looked around and saw Sasshi laughing as she licked her blade, glazed with slick dark liquid.

The next thing I heard was a loud roar, so loud that it popped my ears. I saw a huge dark shadow rushing over towards Sasshi, running passed me before crashing to something that sounded like a boulder. I heard the laughter again and saw Sasshi standing in a completely different place, away from where she was before a moment ago.

Demon, you shall not get what you desire.” Said a deep growling voice that seemed to be from the dark shadow.

Sasshi laughed again, “I have my order, and if it’s for master I shall have it..” she pointer her blade towards the shadow, “Even if it means to kill each of your kind.”

Then you shall have Ameratsu’s wrath on you.” Answered the shadow before rushing again towards Sasshi. But the demon just dodged in a flash and stood beside the shadow. “How did yo-” 

The voice cuts off suddenly when Sasshi plunged her blade deep to the shadow. The shadow roared so loud that I felt the ground shaking.

“I have my own ways. If Ameratsu is setting his wrath on me, then I shall destroy that wrath one day.”

You will never be able to defeat Gods, Demon!

“Let me be the first then. If I can’t I’m sure my master can once he gets revived!” exclaimed Sasshi. “You disgusting creatures have no respect towards the master of Hell, our lord Maou! Where were you all when the war broke?!” she yelled before kicking the shadow away for a few feet.

Sasshi gave a dry laugh and walked towards the shadow as she twirled her blade.

“You were siding with Ameratsu, even know he was the one that locked your kind and mine in hell together. My lord broke both of us free and what did you do? You sided with him.”

Maou was never our lord!” growled the shadow. “Our ancestors are ruthless just like him and accepted the eternal sealed in hell. Once they are freed, Maou was up to no good and intended to destroy everything!!

“He destroys to create a new world! Where Gods and Humans will bow to us!!” yelled Sasshi. “Why would you take a pity of humans? Look at you all, hunted into remaining by them..”

This is where you will never understand, Demons.” Growled the shadow. I can hear the heavy breathings, “You will never understand the balance you will ruin if you destroy the world. This is simply not our place to make a mess, it is the humans’s place. Our place is simply where we belong, Hell.

Sasshi’s went cold as stone, peering down at the shadow. “I give you a last chance. Join us and we’ll destroy the Gods and Humans for once and all.”

Never.

“Fine.” Sasshi raised her blade and plunge deep again. This time not only just hearing the loud roar again, but also suddenly a huge fire erupted from the blade, eating out the shadow.

The shadow cried in pain, trashing it’s body everywhere. Destroying boulders of it’s surroundings, before eventually with a quick swipe, Sasshi cuts off the voice and send something rolling towards my feet.

I looked down and instantly felt my stomach contain swelling up to my throat. I screamed but no voice came out. The head was similar but somehow different than the ones I saw on my visions.

"This is unforgiveable..." I heard Hinata growled in anger in my head.

Hinata, is this…?

"Yuka, we have to find Ao quickly…"


I nodded and stared in horror at the creature’s head. The thin single mustache and it’s beady eyes are now dead. Not a single light is left on the eyes, all gone except for the purple fire..

I looked up unforgiving at Sasshi, my chest hurts from the swelling hatred. The demon stood alone as she ripped open the dragon’s carcasses with her blade. My anger raged when the demon pulled out all the stomach content of the creature before sighed in tiredness then tossed it all to the fire.

“Any results?” asked a new voice. I saw a figure appeared from darkness, she looked a bit different than normal demons with black feathery wings.

Sasshi shook her head, “This one doesn’t have it and refused to join.”

“Let’s look for the next one then.” Encourage the figure.

Sasshi shook her head, “I think I need a rest Mieko. I-I.. I never killed dragons before and this is very..”

“Tiresome?” Sasshi nodded. “Get yourself a rest. I’m sure Mariko-sama will understand. I’ll be just around here for a little longer.”

“Okay.” Sighed Sasshi. “There’s the head over there if you need it.” She pointed towards me or more likely what’s on my feet before disappearing.

I watched the figure named Mieko walked casually and knelt down beside the dragon’s head. My mouth was killing me into yelling to leave it alone, but no voice came out and I watched her caressing the muzzle gently. I remembered Kaguya’s story then about meeting Mieko at Miyazawa’s mansion. Didn’t she said something about Mieko was her lieutenant before..?

“I never like killing other creatures.” Mieko spoke suddenly. “All I ever want is to live in peace, not caring what am I. Humans, maidens, demons, dragons… All I ever want was somewhere I can be happy.”

Masaka..Can she-

"I don’t know.."
said Hinata cautiously.

“But then things change, and mostly into things we hate. I hate everything and lost my way as to what I am. I don’t even know what I am now. Demons? I’ll never be one.” Laughed off Mieko drily as she pulls out a knife and cuts out the dragon’s teeth one by one.

I remembered what Ao said in my dream, Dragon’s tooth are great medicine substance along with Kaguya’s holy water and the Moon Lilies.

“And if I were to die, where will I go? Heaven or hell? Heaven for being Kaguya’s maiden before or hell for betraying her and helping demons? I am just a victim of fate.”

Listening to her words made me feel pity for the dark maiden. I heard that she was disappointed by Kaguya when she gave her power to the first Samurai Princesses, the humans to restore peace and balance from Maou.

“And Samurai Princesses, are they victims of fate too? Forced to be one with no idea how much they have to sacrifice, things they love and cherish.. All for the sake of peace in this world.”

I looked down, remembering Ayaka and Sae who has to leave their beloved ones behind. Especially Ayaka for being an outcast of her own country..  I remembered leaving my dad, my siblings, and Natsuki all the sudden. Imagining their faces made a tear drop from the corner of my eyes.

"Yuka…"

Hinata, do you feel it too..?  Feeling being a victim of fate…?

"I-I..."
stammered Hinata. "I don’t know.. I never thought of it but.."

But?


I heard a sigh, "If it’s for the sake of my loved ones.. I would protect it by accepting my fate. I’ll do everything to make a safe place for them to live."

I nodded, I felt it too.. No I know what makes us the similar. I want to protect my loved ones Hinata.. Dad, my siblings, Natsuki..I want to protect them all.

“Thank you” I tried to whisper at Mieko. My eyes widened all the sudden when Mieko placed her index finger to her lips as if telling me to be quiet without looking.

“Miekoo~ You finish yet?” asked a new voice coming in. A new figure appeared, this time a masculine demon but I can see the traces of female side on her.

“I’m done, Nakanishi.” Spoke Mieko after she cuts off the last of dragon’s teeth then stood up. “Let’s go back.”

“Sasshi did a quite bang up job here..” said Nakanishi looking around. “Ugh is that..?”

“Yep.” Mieko nodded. Before the shadow shifted around her, I swear I saw her giving me a slight nod. It stunned my so much that the next time I blinked was that I was staring at the wooden ceiling of Sakiko’s house.

I sat up, breathing calmly. It was just a dream...

"No, it seems to real for a dream..." said Hinata. "More like a transferred vision."

Transferred vision?

"Un.. It’s a vision transferred by using someone else’s power to give a vision to target on what’s happening at the sender’s side."

Who sent it? Mieko?

"I don’t know.. But one thing for sure, we have to find Ao before the demons finds him."


Sayaka’s POV

I woke up upon the slight smell of something fragrant. Groaning, I felt my stomach grumbled in anticipation before I decided to roll off my bed and head for the door. I walked towards the kitchen and saw everyone sitting around the table with breakfast laid out on the table. I saw Tomochin and Yuka on the stove with a pot for each of them to stir.

The first one to notice me was Sae, she looked so bright as she smiled and pointed to the empty seat beside her.

“Good morning, we thought you sleep so well that disturbing you would be a pity.” Said Sae. “Anyway, Tomochin and Yuka are making breakfast now.”

“Whatever they got cooking, it smelt nice.” Nodded Natsumi.

“Glad you said that.” Smiled Tomochin handing each of us a glass of warm liquid. “Drink up, it’s a special dried fruit I got from a trader in the village before.”

“It’s good.” I said feeling the bitter liquid flowed to my mouth.

“You could’ve add some sugar, this is extremely bitter.” Gritted Ayaka. Jurina nodded in agreement as she started twirling with hair aunt’s hair again.

“I heard some ruckus last night, was that you two?” I asked the Matsui.

Sakiko nodded, “A little hard time with her, but I finally managed to tuck her in with efforts.” Said Sakiko. “This looks wonderful” she smiled when Yuka put down a plate of warm congee in front of us.

Yuka smiled, “Let’s dig in then~”

So all of us tuck into the meal except for Sakiko who’s feeding Jurina. I volunteered for the job, but the aunt declined it gracefully, saying that she needs a lesson on how to feed a child.

Just then, Jurina suddenly started coughing. She's been coughing before, but now it seemed worse. She held out her hand and we were all shocked to see blood covering her palm.

"Onee-chan... what is this..?" she asked innocently.

"Jurina..!"

"I feel.. dizzy..." She slowly got up, trying to walk, but then suddenly fell to her knees and collapsed.

"Jurina!" Sakiko and I both ran immediately to her side, everyone else joining her. Sakiko felt her forehead. "She's burning up. Her body's shaking too."

"Let's get her covered up." I carried her to the couch and wrapped a blanket around her. Natsumi came with a wet towel and placed it over her forehead to try and calm her fever.

How did this happen..? Is this because Kaguya separated from her?

"Natsumi-san..."

Natsumi touched her hand and closed her eyes, however, she opened them right back up, as if she had failed to enter her mind.

"Her soul... It's fading..!"

"Eh?!"

" I think it's because Kaguya has been outside her body for too long. In this state, her soul is rejecting her body. If Kaguya doesn't come back and reunite with her soon...!"

"What’s gonna happen?” asked Sakiko grasping her niece tightly.

"I don’t know…” the priest shook her head. “Kanata said that if this keeps going Jurina’s soul is going to disappear and leave her with only a body with beating heart but no soul at all..”

“As if she’s dead..” whispered Tomochin.

Sakiko shook her head, “There has to be a way!!”

I looked worriedly at Natsumi, “how much time she has left?”

Natsumi shook her head, “I don’t know. Kanata warned me that we have five days best, she doesn’t dare to know what’s late than that.”

“Can’t you do any healings?” asked Yuka to Tomochin.

Tomochin rolled her eyes, “Hey, dark healing remember? Only makes worst for humans~” she said sarcastically.

“What do we do…?” asked Ayaka as she squeezed Jurina’s hand gently. I looked over to Sakiko who’s caressing her niece’s head gently off the sweat, her face was beyond worried.

"There may be one way..." Tomochin spoke up. "Yuka, you said you and Sae were going to the Mountain of Moon is, right?"

"Yea.."

"I heard rumors that there are special flowers that can be made into medicine."

Yuka’s eyes widened instantly as if she just remembered, “Ah! I’ve had a dream about it! It was Ao that’s guarding the flowers. Just let me remember what’s the na-“

"Ah, I've heard it too," Natsumi said. "The Moon Lilies. They're used for healing spells and potions."

Yuka clapped her hands, “That’s the one. Hinata was seeking for it once when everyone was sick and she’s the only one that can. That’s how she met Ao for the first time.”

"And this lily flower can save Jurina?" asked Ayaka.

"It just might, but you'll have to hurry." Said Tomochin. “They grow in the cave where Ao is currently living in, so Yuka, you may be able to talk him into giving one to you."

"Wakatta." Nodded Yuka. “Then do you think you guys can hold off Jurina’s soul disappearing?”

“We’ll try some potions and remedies from herbal plants around.” Said Natsumi. “I’ve been looking around and saw some plants growing not far from here that we can use.”

“Okay then.” Nodded Sae. “Come on Yuka, let’s go now.”

"Wait..." I held Sae's shoulder and turned her to face me.

"Eh? Wha..."

I hugged her, not wanting to let her go. I could feel her heart pounding, and mine as well.

"Was what you said last night... true?" I said softly in her ear, so the others wouldn't hear. I didn't want them to know what happened last night.

Sae clutched onto my back and whispered, "Yes... Every word. I love you. I'll be okay, I promise. Don't worry. All I want is for you to come back alive. I don't wanna be alone... or at least, I don't want you to leave me."

"Sae..."

She parted from me and went with Yuka out the door.

“Please hurry back!” pleaded Sakiko. “I’m not losing another of my family again..”

“You won’t.” I patted Sakiko’s back as I watched the two figure disappear from the door. However I’m worried with letting Sae go with Yuka. What if-

"They’ll be fine, Sayaka." said Kai

I’m worried, Kai. What if-

"Sae has changed now. She’s no longer that princess we saw in the household anymore, I’m sure Kuu has work with her to at least teach her how to bend her elements."

Still, I-

"Sayaka, you have to trust her. You have to trust Kuu and her."


I looked down, I still felt a pang of worried overwhelming on my chest. The promises I made with her that we won’t die after it’s all over, the kiss last night..

I guess I really have fallen for Miyazawa Sae...

Ayaka’s light tap on my shoulder brought me back, “We should get going to then.”

I nodded and caressed Jurina’s warm cheek softly, praying for her to get well soon. I watched Ayaka clenching Natsumi’s hands tightly as she whispered something to the priest’s ear. What are they talking about I wonder?

“Remember, you only have five days Sayaka.” Reminded Tomochin as she straightened my robe. “’As soon as you find the user, come back with her.” She pointed her head to Ayaka.

“I will.” I nodded off.
 
“Is there anything else you want? Maybe something from the capital?” asked Ayaka as she held the door open.

“Just get yourself back here, midget princess.” Grinned Natsumi. I thought that the priest might have annoyed the throne princess, but she seemed to be doing fine and smiled back at her.

“I will. Let’s go.” She walked off to her horse and hopped on it.

“Don’t forget to put on your hood.” I said as I got on mine.

Ayaka gave me a sly smile, “You’re already acting like my mom now.” But she put on it anyway.

“Don’t start with me, princess.” I scolded her half joking before dashing off to the woods with her following me.

----------------------------

Meanwhile, in another place...

Third person’s POV      

“So… You’re actually finished off before me?” asked Minami as she looked through some papers of Mariko that she gave.

“Yes. I mostly helped the imperial library after I graduated.” Said Mariko as she sipped a cup of tea in front of her. “But I have a few backgrounds on taking care of children in orphanage.”

Minami nodded, “Well then I guess I will accept your help then.” She put down the papers. “You’ve heard about me mostly, I guess. I ran a little school for children in this village, just to teach them how to read and write. I guess I could really use an extra hand like you, Mariko.”

Mariko smiled, “What time do we start?”

“Soon. We usually start in the afternoon, begins with a meditation in the forest patch near the building.” Said Minami as she sipped her tea.

“Meditation?”

“Yes. I believe it helps them calming off their repulsive behavior, just hearing the sound of rustling winds, the sound of cicadas, and practically the whole forest, I think it helps them understanding more of their surroundings.”

Mariko simply made a note on her little bind book, “what else then?”

“Then we go for a bit bush tucker. It means that we look for things to eat in the forest like berries and such.”

“Hunting?” asked Mariko.

“Nah,” shook off Minami. “I made a messy job with that and it’s teaching them violence. So I won’t do that..”

“Okay.. Then?”

“After that we go back to the school hut and learn how to write the characters we see in the forest. Pretty much I teach them so they know their surroundings better.”

“What can I do to help?”

“To start off with, you can be my assistant.” Said Minami. “I hope you don’t mind though…”

“No of course.” Said Mariko politely. “I’m just a volunteer, so don’t mind to pay me anything.”

“Seriously?!” asked Minami impressed. “Wow… Never met one teacher like that…”

“Just at least everyday we should eat like this.” Said Mariko. “This porridge is quiet nice.”

“The bill is on me.” Smiled Minami. “That’s a deal then!”

So the two of them left the porridge stall and headed to the edge of the village where a small wooden house was standing, behind it was the forest. From far, Mariko can see small figures standing by the house.

“Minami-sensei~”

The two adults turned their head around and saw three incoming figures, two small ones and an adult. The two kids ran up to Minami and hugged her legs as to not able to reach higher place to hug her.

“Hello there, Amina and Suuchan~” greeted Minami happily as she caressed the two small girls. She glanced to the other adult and smiled politely to her. “Good morning, Natsuki-san.”

“Morning, miss.” Saluted the tired looking girl. “I can’t believe these two are so energetic since you’re around.”

“Well, girl’s can’t lose to boys right?” asked Minami happily to the two girls and smiled widely to them.

“Yeah! Girl’s rule!!” yelled Amina happily.

Minami laughed, “Now that’s one spirit!” then she bent down beside the two, “Can you get the others to line in properly in front of the door? I will be there in a minute to open it, okay?”

Amina nodded, “Un. Let’s go Suu~”

The smallest of the two, Suuchan waved at Natsuki-san, “Bye nee-chan~”

“Don’t forget to eat your bento!!” yelled Natsuki as the two walked away. Then she finally recognized Mariko, “Well, hello there. Are you new here?”

“Ah, I nearly forgotten.” Said Minami. “This is Shinoda Mariko, my senior in the capital. She graduated first before me.”

“Shinoda Mariko desu.” Bowed Mariko briefly to the girl.

“Sato Natsuki.” Bowed Natsuki too. “Well I guess then you won’t be alone handling the kids now, Miss.” She said to Minami.

“I hope it will continue like this.” Smiled Minami. “Ah, Natsuki-san.. You’re handling Shiro-kun and Sanae-chan now, right?”

“Yes I do.” Nodded Natsuki. “Their sister left weeks ago for some reason and asked me to take care of the two when their father is working. They’re pretty good children and helps us sometimes in the restaurant.”

“I’m glad.” Smiled Minami. “I was worried since the two were a bit concerned when I asked everyone to bring their parents for fun visit next week. They said that their father is busy in the market these days since their sister left and they don’t have anyone else.”

“I talked to their dad yesterday and he agreed to let me take the role.” Smiled Natsuki.

“Yokatta, nee.. You are such a kind person, Natsuki-san.”

“You’re making me embarrass, Minami-sensei.” Retorted Natsuki. “Ah I probably should go now. You teachers have your children waiting for you there.” Then she excused herself.

“I guess you’re pretty capable of exchanging conversations with the children’s family too.” Said Mariko as they walked towards the hut.

“It’s important to let their family know what I do to their kids are good. You should’ve been here when I first arrived, it takes effort to convince their parents that early educations are important.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no.. It’s not your fault, really.” Smiled Minami. “But in the end I managed and my family supported the idea and sent some stuff needed like scrolls, papers, paintbrush, books, and other stuff.”

“You really are a kind teacher, Minegishi Minami.” Smiled Mariko.

 Minami smiled to the woman as they approached the group of kids already standing neatly near the door as they chatted with each other. Upon noticing their teacher, some greeted her and even gave a hug to her.

The welcoming sight made Mariko remembered her childhood days somehow, back in hell. There are demons who teach younger ones on strategies, black magic, controlling demon’s fire, and many more. And they are never this kind to the younger ones, it was as if there is no love and if you don’t survive it, you just won’t become a strong demon.

After Minami unlocked the door, the kids quickly sprang in to the hut. Inside there are shelves with neatly arranged scrolls and books, boxes of paint brush, ink bottles, all leaned against the wall. While small chairs and tables were arranged and lined up in front of a huge board for the kids. The kids sat on their own desk as they chatted happily to each other.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to them.” Smiled Minami then walked with her to the front of the class. "Ohayou, minna~"

"OHAYOU~~~"

"We have a guest here today, so please be nice and play with her, okay?"

"HAAAAAI~~~"

“Mii-sensei~” called a boy suddenly as he put his hands up. “I think Masao is having nosebleed again~” he pointed to the other boy beside him.

“Oh dear…” said Minami as she saw the blood dripping from the boy’s nose. “Mariko-san, can you take care of that please. It’s not as bad as it seems, just need the boy to get it all out then wipe it once it stopped coming out.” She whispered to the older woman.

You've GOT to be kidding me... thought Mariko haughtily looking at the nasty bleeding boy.

--------------------------------------

Few hours later...

"Mariko-san~ Come here~~~"

"Oi, oi, Mariko-san, check it out!"

"Mariko-san~ I've got you."

Mariko was completely cornered. To her, these kids were like wild animals. She couldn't control them.

"Alright, kids. Let's calm down and get ready for lunch."

"HAAAAI~~~" All the kids separated from Mariko and went over to their tables, each divided in little groups.

"How do you control all these kids?" Mariko asked Minami as the kids started eating their bento.

"It's easy once you get used to it."

"I see. I might not be that kind of person, though..."

"Mou~ don't look so down, Mari-chan." Smiled Minami as she patted her back.

"Eh? That name, just now..."

"Mari-chan? Is it okay If I call you that?” asked Minami. “Or should I call you Mariko-san?”

“Ah…” Mariko paused her words as the thought. “It’s fine.. you can call me that..”

"Only Miichan... called me that name..." thought Mariko as she watched Minami start to eat her bento. The human is awfully identical as Miichan that Mariko know. The eyes, round face, that weird mouth.. only her hair was a bit different, shorter than Miichan’s..

Noticing Mariko is eying her, Minami glanced up from her bento. “Would you like some of mine?” asked her.

Mariko shook her head, “Oh no. I’m fine thanks.” Smiled Mariko. Even how she eats nearly looks like Miichan….

"Minegishi-sensei~" approached one girl to their table.

"Yes? What's wrong?"

"Amina-chan and Sumire-chan aren't back yet."

"Eh~? Where did those two go?" Minami rubbed her head, and then had a thought. "Mari-chan, come with me to help look for them."

"Huh? Un, okay..”

So the two head out to where they had their activities before. Minami looked through the bushes nearby while Mariko search the woods.

“AMINA~ SUU~ WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!”

“SUU~ COME ON NOW, IT’S LUNCH TIME!!”

“Any sign?” asked Mariko. Minami shook her head, “Where could they be..?”

“Oh the Sato are going to kill me if anything happens to them…” groaned Minami bopping her head down. “Where are they..?”

“Hey, don’t give up yet.” Said Mariko lifting the woman’s head by the chin. “I’m sure those kids are somewhere around. They wouldn’t go far..”

Minami sighed, ”But where could they be..?”

Mariko gave a bit of thought. Humans especially girls are known to be liking beautiful things and it kept them captivated enough to forget anything…

“Is there any beautiful place around here?” asked Mariko. “Like not far from the hut.”

“There’s a vast field in the middle of the woods if you go a bit deeper.” Said Minami.

“Maybe they’re over there.” Said Mariko. “Take me there! I’m sure we’ll find them!”

So the two walked a little deeper into the forest, passing the woods and bushes. It just take a few minutes for them to finally see a vast green field in front of their eyes.

Minami’s eyes widened upon the sight of the two children sitting on the grass, “There they are! AMINA~ SUUCHAN~” she called before running up to them.

“I told you we’ll find them” chuckled Mariko as she followed Minami.

"Suuchan!" Minami ran up to the small child and hugged her. "There you are."

"Minegishi-san~” hugged Suuchan back.

"Suu, I found more flowers~" Sumire's cousin, Amina, walked over and handed her a small bouquet of daisies. “Minegishi–sensei~”

"Is this what you were doing?" asked Mariko kneeling next to them.

"Un! Here!" Sumire handed her teacher a big flower bouquet, making her smile. She then took a smaller bouquet and walked over to Mariko. "Here’s for you too, Mariko-san~"

"Sumire, going off without telling someone is bad." Scolded Minami gently.

Mariko nodded and caressed the cute girl’s head, “What if something happens to you?”

"But, I did it because I love Minegishi-san." Blinked Suuchan innocently.

"Eh..?"

“I would do anything for the people I love the most. Mum, Dad, Nacchi-nee, Amina~ and of course you, Mii-sensei.” Answered Suuchan tightening the hug around Minami.

"I like you, too, Mii~" Amina hugged the older girl's leg, giggling.

Mariko looked at the flowers in her hands, her mind went frozen hearing Sumire’s answer.

“I would do anything for the people I love the most….”

“I will use it no matter what, Sayanee…” her conversation with Sayanee rings through her mind.

If it’s for her, I will do so….

After thousands of years living, Mariko finally experienced to be touched by a four year old human. Sato Sumire seemed to touch a soft spot in her she never have realized.



To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: Underground Water Drain (Part 4)
Post by: Cometerz48 on November 29, 2014, 04:50:10 PM
Sae and Sayaka KISSED?!

 :mon lovelaff: :luvluv2:
At last they confessed their feelings! :farofflook:

And the scene where they sleep together is adorable. :nya: Oh how I wish I could see a picture of them sleeping together w/ Sae snuggling up against Sayaka like that in real life. But the closest thing I've seen about them sleeping together in real life is...

(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8472/8095913579_cd377d592e.jpg)  :lol::hee:


In the beginning I was worried when they argued with each other, but I'm relieved that they made up. :mon exhaust:

Quote
Ameratsu frowned, “I have a bad feeling coming to me, Yuko. I think the demons are plotting more things than just using Jurina-chan's sister for the Maou, I want you to visit some of our old friends after you get Kaguya back.”

“Dad, you mean THEM?” asked Yuko in horrified voice. Just imagining her father’s old friends truly raised her goosebumps.
I wonder who are these friends of Amaterasu? :mon dunno:

And at the end...

Minegishi???

:mon spit: EHH?!? :shocked

Is she a reincarnation of Miichan perhaps? And what could Mariko be planning with that certain scroll Sayanee's serious about?

Guess I'll have to wait for the next chapter to get answers. :dozing:

You know, I laughed hard at that.. Reminding me of mummies lining up in their tomb *just watched Mummy 2*

Oh, you'll find out soon enough...

One clue: You will be shocked by whatever we have for it :D

Eh??? Why did mariko get with tomochin if she plan to come to miichan??? Does she plan to become human or something?
Saeyaka is so cute!!!!!

Again, You will be shocked by whatever we have for it  :D

Yo~! Ruka-san~!!  8) 8) 8)

I'm still waiting on this fic.. Please update as soon as possible....  XD XD XD

*sitting beside the computer*

Y'know I'm not the ONLY one you should be thanking. ;)

We're working on it now, we've just gotten busy is all. Don't worry.

*coughing lightly*

Please keep an eye for the next updates. Yoroshiku...

*dark aura*

You got me well with Yuko-sama's past (●̮̮﹏●̮̮) horrible feelings...
Wondering how about Yuko's kage? She haven't use it before, rite?

Seriously Tomochin has changed side? For real? Okay then, she could tell the Kaguya's gang anything about demons and their plan..

So interesting! Omg I love the characters so far :D 2nd gen + SayaMilky + Haruna + Jurina and all, woah XD

Waiting for the next happening :yep: thankyou~

(p.s.: I'm waiting for the continuation of Yuko's grad story too, Cometerz-san hihihi)

Thank you, please keep supporting us  :nervous

Gomen for that one, I've been EXTREMELY busy as hell for the last few months. Preparation for college I guess...
I'll try my best to update it and get it over and done with.



(http://i.imgur.com/MscmHdu.png)

Chapter 21 - No way out (Part 1)


Yuka’s POV

We’ve been riding our horses for hours with no stop at all. I couldn’t stop worrying about Ao since the transferred vision I had of the dragon massacre. I couldn’t stop myself to grit my teeth and clenched the saddle tight each time I thought about it.

"Now we know what the demons are planning..." said Hinata. "They want the dragons to join back with them."

What’s the history that dragons and demons had?

"Long time ago, before Maou unleash all the demons into the earth, there are many things locked up in hell but the two big races were demons and dragons. You can say the two early ancestors worked together well in hell, the first controller of demon fire was actually taught by the dragons."

Then what happened?

"Although Maou opened the hell’s gate to the world, the dragons realized that it was not their place to make ruckus. Unlike the demons, dragons are much more into peace and harmony. Once Maou asked the dragons to take his side to bring down the Gods and humans, they refused and chose not to interfere with any of the sides."

Then how come they’re on Ameratsu’s side?

"Dragons needed strong reasons to fight. After their refusals, Maou sent his elites to steal their most precious item; Dragon Eggs."

Dr-dragon.. Eggs?


"Sou. Dragon Eggs are known to have special powers for the tiny soul inside it. Consuming it will give a tremendous amount of power to simply split a mountain in half with just a finger, the demons got their hands on a few and consumed them afterwards..."

That’s cruel!! I yelled mentally. I imagined those tiny unborn creatures, simply consumed for the purpose of consuming the world in chaos.

"It is. The dragons were outraged once they found out that the demons hunted most of the female dragons and gutting them out for the eggs. But then Ameratsu saved some of the female dragons before any demons can lay their hands to them. Ameratsu respected the dragons well and so does the dragons once Ameratsu returned the ones he could save to them."

And the dragons returned the favor.
I simplified. They decided to help Ameratsu against Maou.

"Correct. Most of their total populations died during the first battle against Maou which they sided up with Ameratsu and the first Samurai Princess. Once it was over, the dragons sworn to never help out against Maou ever again because of the shocking mass death of their kind. Ameratsu respected their wishes and let them roam through the earth to find their own place to live."

Then how come Ao helped you?

"Ao is among the young generations of the dragons that time. The ones that sworn not to help anymore were the elders of the dragons and the ones that already mated. Ao never met his mate and chose to live alone on the Mountain Range of the Moon. He accepted the job from the Gods to guard the Moon Lilies there for a peaceful life. Every time he saw a human entering his cave, he killed them because they provoked him so they could get through to the Moon Lilies."

Then?


"He was fond to the first Samurai of Fire, he liked her a lot since she saved him once from the demons ambush. She was the first one to call him Ao because of his blue fire which is different than any dragons possessed, thus he gave her his power on the last days of the war against Maou. He saw the same thing inside me when I sacrificed myself to face his fire when I saved Osamu. I was the second Samurai of Fire he met ever since the first battle against Maou."

Then I’d be the third one then. I sighed.

"Don’t worry, just be yourself Yuka but just try to be a bit sensible."

Wakatta...

“Yuka..”

I looked back and stopped my horse. I saw Sae’s horse already stopped to not that far away from me, I was able to see Sae’s weariness. We’ve been riding for almost the whole day and the sky above looked beautiful in a shade of oranges and purple, signaling the sunset.

“Can we just take a break now?” asked Sae, she looked completely tired and so does her horse. “We’ve been riding for hours with no stop unless for toilet and a quick stretch. Besides it’s going to be sunset soon. It’s dangerous to travel in the dark.”

I bit my lips, my horse looked also as weary as Sae’s. But I really wished to get to Ao as soon as possible before Sasshi does…

"Take a break Yuka. She’s right, travelling in the dark is dangerous." Said Hinata.

I guess you’re right…

I hopped off my horse. “Okay, let’s make a camp here then.”

We tried to settle down and get a fire to start building up. It doesn’t take long for us to finally sit and eat our dinner around the fire. I opened up the map and made a small sign to where we are. The next time I looked to Sae to ask for some thoughts, I already found her sleeping against a rock.

I guess I can’t blame her. She’s not use to this kind of situations yet. I thought that as I smiled down upon the lightly snoring girl. I took her robe and made it like a blanket all over her and made her lied down on a patch of thick grass for comfort.

"You’re like a mother, you know, Yuka."

I have two siblings at home, my mother died when she gave birth to the third one. I have to take care of them while working in the market. I explained.

I sat down and looked up to the starry sky. Hundreds, thousands or maybe millions of them scattered across the sky. I started to wonder if Natsuki and my family is seeing the same sky as I am.

I missed them, I guess.

"Not blaming you, Yuka." Sighed Hinata. "I missed people too.."

Osamu, right? I could tell Hinata was nodding silently to that.

"Yuka.. Would you avenged him for me?"


Hinata... I was stunned to hear such request from her.

"I want you to completely kill Sasshi. Crush and burn her to ashes!"

HINATA!! I yelled mentally. She’s at it again.. her hatred, it’s consuming her again… Cut it out Hinata!!! Ao wouldn’t want you to act like this if he knows what you’re using his power for!

"Who cares he’s ju-"

I CARE!! I yelled. He gave you this power and it was handed down to me through you, but it’s still his in some way! He gave you this power because he knew you would protect people from dangers, like he saw you saving Osamu!

"I am using it to prote-"

No you’re not! Right now, you asked me to avenged for Osamu by using this power that Ao gave. It’s not to protect but to destroy! You have to let go off him, Hinata..

"I..."


Please… I know you really loved him, but you need to let go now. I will defeat Sasshi, I promise you that but not for Osamu’s sake, no.. I’ll be doing it for everyone that’s still living in this land, for peace.

Hinata fell silence for a while after that, I let her be. Still gazing upon the sky, I fiddled with my locket and rubbed the red gem on it. It felt warm against my thumb, like how it felt when I first felt it’s power when I fight against the giant snake.
 
"I’m sorry..." I heard her whisper.

It’s okay. I reassured her. It takes time for pain to heal...

I could tell Hinata nodded to that.

"Y'know, all of you have animal guardians, like how we have Ao."

Maji?! I asked to the sudden change of topic.

"Yeah."

Sugoi~ What are they?

"Hm... I think Riku's was a lion. Or maybe a tiger...?  And Kai was a water serpent."

Dang...
I imagined myself looking at Ayaka riding a lion or a tiger and Sayaka riding a giant serpent. It looked cool in some way…

"Kuu was... um... actually, I can't remember Kuu's. All I know was it had wings."

Wings? I asked. Ah.. Air, right?

"Yep."

Just then, I heard a small voice coming from Sae. I looked and saw her still asleep, but she was moving around as if something was bothering her. I moved towards her and my hand touched the orb on her hairpiece she clutched.

"Kill her!"

"No!"

"You will do it! You will kill her!"

"No, Father, I won't!"

"Kuu, you listen to me! I demand you kill her!"

"No, I won't do it!"


I suddenly pulled back from the voices filling my head.

What are these voices? Are these from Kuu's memories?


"No..." I heard Sae mumbling in her sleep. Was it because of those voices in her head?

She started panicking as her breaths became rapid and her expression contorted to one of pain.

"No..! No! No, I won't do it..!! I won't!!! NO!!!"

I saw her gem glowing intensely as a strong wind formed around us. I tried to wake her up, but she kept screaming at her nightmares. As it got more intense, eventually, a huge tornado formed and circled us. I screamed as loud as I could, no longer able to hear even my own voice.

I shut my eyes and covered my ears, thinking this was the end, then I felt someone take my hands and uncover both of my ears. Behind me, there was Hinata.

"Hinata…?"

She pointed in front of me and there was a young woman who looked vaguely like Sae, kneeling beside the girl. She placed her hand on her head and soon, her breathing started to calm and her screaming subsided. The tornado disappeared and I looked to find myself in an unfamiliar place.

Masaka... I'm sharing a memory..?


I then heard a loud caw and a large bird flew down to the woman's side. It was the biggest bird I’ve even seen in my entire life, something like it only exist in myths.

"Woah..."

"He is my guardian." the girl answered.

"So, you're... Kuu?"

"Yes."

"Is Sae.. okay?"

"She was having a nightmare triggered by one of my memories. I was able to calm her down by replacing it with another."

"I bet I know what~"
Hinata giggled as she got up and hugged the girl.

"Hinata.."

"It's been a while, Kuu."

"Quite energetic, as usual."

"You too. You've gotten prettier. Haha."

I smiled seeing how they've interacted after so long.

"So... what happened to..?"

"It was because of me," Kuu said. "I accidentally showed her a terrible memory from my past. You heard them, right? When you touched her hairpiece."

"Yes..." I said softly, remembering how fearful the man's voice sound. "Kuu, did someone try to make you..?"

"My father." she answered quickly. "He didn't see me or the other Samurai Princess as saviors. He believed we were nothing but rebels, traitors. He also had trouble controlling his attitude. He wanted to prove to the town I was bad by trying to force me to kill my Mother. But I wouldn't."

"Oh God..."

"Back when we were alive, each one of us had to face our inner darkness. It was like a test. No matter how cruel or twisted we were on the inside, we had to face it. Me, Riku, even Kai... And even now, the four of you are facing them. My anger has made you almost kill people, Ayaka and her kage, and Sayaka..."

I don't believe it. To think, all of this was some sick mental test for all of us. And I didn't even realize...

"What did you do..?"

"I refused. And I kept refusing until he had finally gotten tired of torturing me..." Her voice cracked a bit. I could see tears welling in her eyes. "I even considered killing that damn bastard..."

"Come here, Kuu..." Hinata hugged the other princess as she started crying into her hands.

"It was awful, that man was just heartless..! I couldn't bring myself to tell the others what happened..."

"So, how did..?"

"Kai was eventually able to persuade her to tell her, and then she told us."

"I didn't know what I could say to you."

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault..."


I held my pendant, feeling my heart pound. I never knew...

I looked down and saw Sae was still sleeping peacefully, tears running down her face.

"What is she dreaming now?"

"Want to see?" Kuu said with a smile.

She took my hand and had me touch the orb in her hairpiece once more. The memory that flashed before me was her, and another woman, she was beautiful with a familiar strong looking eyes. The two of them were...

Eh? Is this..? Is that…Kai-san?

"Kai, I'm sorry... This is all my fault. I..."

"Kuu..."


I blushed heavily when I saw the two kiss and pulled away.

"You and Kai were.. lovers?" I asked Kuu.

Kuu nodded.

"Yeah, about time you found out..."

"Hinata, you knew?"

She stuck her tongue out at me shyly, giggling.

"Sorry, Yuka... I didn't know what you all would think."

"So, does Sayaka and Sae..?"

"Yes..."

"And, does that mean that they're..?"

"Yup."

Maji ka? This was news. No wonder they've been acting weird lately...

"I had no idea... I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay, Yuka," said Kuu with a smile. "My only regret was leaving her alone for so long..."

"I wasn't alone. I never was."
A voice rose. I saw the same beautiful young woman before who looked almost exactly like Sayaka. But the form wasn’t as clear as Kuu and Hinata’s, more like a mirage.

"K-Kai..?!"

"I could always feel you were with me. Even now, I can feel our hearts are connected."
Whispered the woman. She glanced to Hinata, “Hello, Hinata.”

“Kai-chan..” smiled Hinata. “Ohisashiburi.”

"That's why you're here."
Smiled Kuu in relief. She tried to grasped Kai’s hand but it just went through like a mist.

Kai nodded. "Ever since I bonded our souls with the Red Thread of Fate, we would always have a spiritual connection, no matter how far apart we were. But unfortunately, I don’t think it could give more than just a vision like this."

“It’s alright..”
smiled Kuu, looking up at Kai. “As long as I can see you right here, I’m the happiest human I can be.”

"That's so sweet..."
pouted Hinata. Kai and Kuu couldn’t help a smile seeing her like that, even I also smiled.

I wonder... If it's like that, did Sayaka and Sae truly fall in love with each other?

"I think you should get some rest, Yuka. We need to be ready to meet Ao." Said Hinata tapping my shoulder.

"Right. It was great meeting both of you..” I said to the two lovers.

"Of course."

"Anytime."


Meanwhile...

Sayaka’s POV

It was dawn when we finally reach the outskirts of the forest and saw the giant gate of the capital. We both stopped our horses and got off the main road, making sure no one is around too.

“We need to figure a plan to get pass the guards at the gate.” I said. “They would be reporting back for sure if they saw you coming back to the capital.”

“I know.” Said Ayaka as she pulled down her hood. My eyes widened upon the sight of her hair. It was no longer dark as it used to be, instead it was golden with shades of orange and brown. Totally different…

“How did you..”

“I asked Tomochin to teach me the spell for coloring hair.”” Confessed Ayaka. “I tried to make it different colors to reduce the possibility of hair loss. Is it nice?”

“Yeah I guess…” I nodded awkwardly. “But wouldn’t it be attracting attentions?”

“I’ll put on my hoods too and besides..” she pointed to her cheek. I saw a long mark across her cheek, it was healed a long time ago but still there. “Sayanee cut me in our first encounter. Riku told me getting hit by demon’s irons will take a longer time to heal and it leaves out a mark. I think this should do for my disguise.”

"Well I suppose that’s safe enough…"  said Kai inside my head.

I nodded, “Okay then but then how are we going to get through that security? I bet they will be asking questions.”

“They will. I’m going to use another way to get in.”

“Another way?” I asked the princess.

“Yes.” She said. “Trust me, I know a few weak spots of the gate.”

“Why don’t we both take it?” I asked Ayaka. “Wouldn’t it be safer for the two of us to stick together?”

“I’m worried of our horses.” Said Ayaka as she stroke her horse’s muzzle gently. “If we’re going to use this way, we can’t bring our horses at all and-“

“We need them to get away quickly if anything happens.” I continued as I know where her mind is going. “Wakatta.. Then once inside?”

“Go straight to the Himawari Tea House once you’re inside.” Said Ayaka.

“Himawari Tea House?” I asked. Wait we arrived then drink tea, honestly?

“Yes. I want you to seek for someone there, she was my teacher’s partner. I met her in some occasions and I think we can trust her.” Said Ayaka.

“You think?” I raised my eyebrows.

“She has some grudges against the priests that controls the capital now, I’m sure she’ll be on our side.” Said Ayaka.

“How am I going to identify her?” I asked.

“Go inside and look for a table at the very corner of the room, near the windows. She sits there alone every night.” Said Ayaka. “Tell her that you know Noro’s flower and she needs help on the basement.”

“Noro?”

“She’s my teacher, the woman’s partner.” explained Ayaka. “I’ll see you later.”

“Wait!” I grasped her wrist before she left. “How are we going to meet then? How do I know you’ll be safe?”

“We will, trust me.” Smiled Ayaka. “Ja nee, Sayaka.” She ran deep into the forest.

-----------------------------------

By the time I arrived at the gate, the guards signaled me to stop and get off my horse.

“May I see your personal papers, please ma'am.” Said one of the guards.  I flashed him my officer badge, stunning him and his mates.

“I am here on a vacation; the front lines have worn me down.” I pronounced.

The guards nodded, “And the horses?” he pointed out the two horses.

“One of them is a gift for someone in the capital.” I lied. “Much more of an offering if you know what I mean.”

The guard flashed a quick sincere smile before he stepped aside, “Enjoy your time, ma'am.”

“Thank you.” I nodded and heads inside.

The capital was still crowded even at night, many vendors on the side of the road offers hot food with such cheap price that people from all layers would line up for it. There’s also small rest house scattered on the roads with drunk man heads in with bunches of ladies. The lantern lit the road through the night, helps everyone to still do their activities at night.

It’s grown bigger than the last time I’m here… I thought as I recalled my last visit here with General Takahashi to give some reports to the emperor.

"It’s definitely has grown way bigger than the last time I’m here..." Agreed Kai.

Do you think we’ll find her? The user?

"I don’t know but the capital is a good start to find her for sure."
said Kai. "Everybody loves good fortunes, and I think she’ll find this place as a chance to boost her income. We’ll start by asking if they knew any fortune tellers around."

Okay… I remembered Ayaka’s instructions to look for the teahouse she mentioned. I stopped at a stall as I asked the guy to fill my water skin with water and paid him with a coin.

“Do you know where the Himawari Teahouse is?” I asked him. The guy was kind he pointed out to me  the directions, easy enough to get me there in a few minutes time.

I went in to the building, it wasn’t big but it is quiet crowded for a teahouse. The warm atmosphere simply from the talks and chats of the customers sitting together in tables and sipping warm tea. I looked at the far corner near the windows and saw a woman reading books on her tables. There were papers scattered across the table as if she’s studying.

"I think that’s the one Ayaka mentioned." Said Kai.

One way to find out. I walked towards her and take a seat in front of her.

She looked up from her book with a slight frown, she’s way older than Ayaka and I. She has a particular look of a capital apprentice, those that buries their noses on knowledge.

“May I help you?” she asked me with a raised eyebrow.

I leaned in and whispered, “I know Noro’s flower and she needs help on the basement.”

“I beg your pardon?”

I leaned in closer until I can smell her sweet fragrant, “I know Noro’s flower and she needs help on the basement.”

She looked at me for a few seconds, I can see she was scanning me quickly through her thin eyes. She bit her lips and threw aside her face, “What on earth is she thinking?”

She quickly stuffed in her papers and books into a sling bag beside her and took a gulp of her tea, “She better have a good reason to show her face here. Is she your friend?”

“Yes.” I said.

Sighing, the woman raised from her seat and yelled to the cashier, “I’m in hurry, just add to my tab!”

“Okay!”

“Come.” she signaled me to follow her out of the teahouse. “You have a horse?”

“Got two.” I pointed to my horses that I tied on a post.

“Good. Follow me.” she accepted one of my horse and hopped on it. The two of us dashed into the streets, avoiding people as  careful as we can. We finally come to a stop in an outskirt area of the capital, a big house stand in front of us.

She pulled out her keys and went in, signaling me to lock the door before closing the curtains. Next, she led me inside, it was just like normal houses except for a big table piled up with papers and huge bookshelf filled with books and scrolls.

She grabbed a candle and lit it quickly before signaling me to hold it and followed her. We went further inside the house, facing a wooden door. She unlocked it and revealed a staircase going down, we went down quickly before finally coming to a stop in front of a small iron door on the floor.

“What is that?” I dared to ask.

“Something that I thought she wouldn’t try to use.” Said the woman. She punched in her key into the keyhole and opened it. “You better have a good explanation to come back, your majesty.”

I heard a small cough which was very similar to Ayaka’s, “I do, Megumi-san..”

“Ayaka!” I exclaimed when I saw her face come to a few from the iron door. I pulled her out of the hole, and noticed that she was drenched and smelt horrible. “What happened to you?”

“The capital’s sewer.” Said Ayaka. “Noro puts in a map of it inside my traveling pack, just incase I needed to come ba-“ her voice was cut off by a sudden slap on her cheek, causing her to fell back.

"Don’t." I heard Kai when I was about to help Ayaka. I get the feeling that she needs to settle things with the woman.

I watched Ayaka glanced up to the woman standing in front of her as she caressed her swollen cheek, the woman standing in front of her clenched her fist as she stared down at the princess.

“ARE YOU INSANE TO ACTUALLY COME BACK HERE?!” yelled the woman.

“Megumi-san, let me-“

“Don’t even think about it princess.” She snapped as she clenched Ayaka by the collar, “It was your coronation day and the next thing I heard was that Noro saying goodbye and knocked me out with a sleeping potion. And the next thing I knew, you, Noro, and the Maeda children are on the wanted list!”

“Megumi-san, I-“ Ayaka tried to struggled on the woman’s grasp. “LET ME EXPLAIN!!”

“Let her explain, mam.” I said.

“Don’t interfere.” Eyed the woman before she pushed Ayaka to the wall and splashed her with a bucket of water.

“That’s enough ma'am!” I yelled seeing Ayaka being treated by the woman. Ayaka held her hand up, signaling me to stop. Her eyes telling me to let her take care of this.

"Let her do it, Sayaka."
Said Kai. I gritted my teeth, trying to calm my anger down.

Ayaka panted, “Megumi-san, it was tight situation. My mother instructed Noro to get the Maeda and I quickly from the capital as possible.”

The woman named Megumi crossed her arms, “Why?”

“I-I…” stammered Ayaka. “I-I can’t tell you. But I-“

“Then get out of here before I called the imperial guards.” Said Megumi coldly. “You’re giving me no choice, your majesty.”

“I-I…” gulped Ayaka. “Please swore to me you won’t tell anyone, Megumi-san.. I’m one of the Samurai Princess.”

“What kind of joke are you on, your majesty?”

“I’m serious!” said Ayaka. She pulled out three small pebbles out of her pocket and made it float in circle above her head as her finger moved in the similar circular motion.

Megumi’s hands dropped to her side, I could tell she was shocked to hear that the Princess of Edo is a destined to be a Samurai Princess. “Y-you.. are?”

“Yes.” Said Ayaka. “Please let me explain to you…”

-------------------------------------------

Third Person’s POV

Meanwhile, in another place….

“Jurina, be still already!!”

“Mou~ Yadaa!!”

“Natsumi, Tomochin help me!!”

Natsumi smiled as she watched Sakiko tackling down her niece on the bathroom floor. The woman’s hair was wet already from the splashing of the struggling girl that refuses to take a bath. The tub was still filled with the warm water for the girl, but she refused to what so ever to made any further contact with it.

Jurina was getting a bit better after Natsumi gave her a bit of potion to soothed down her fever, but the bloody coughed is what worries her the most. It’s still come up in some occasions which then she and Tomochin would make her coughed as much as she can before she comes to a stop. But she’s worried on how long will the girl last until she ran out of blood to cough.

"Jurina, get in the BATH!!!"

"NO!!!!"

"Hey, I got an idea," said Tomochin with a grin. She leaned over towards Jurina. "Hey, if you don't get in the bath, you aren't getting any candies."

With that, Jurina's eyes widened and she pouted.

"Fine..."

She took off her towel and stepped into the warm bath. Her child mind actually found it soothing and giggled on how the water felt against her skin. Sakiko, Tomochin, and Natsumi stepped in with her. The three adults sighed in relieve upon the warmth touching their skin.
“Nothing can beat the relieves of a warm tub of water…” muttered Natsumi. The three others nod in agreement.

"See, it's not so bad, right?" asked Sakiko caressing her niece’s head.

"Un." Nodded Jurina. She dipped her head in and start making bubbles in the water.

Natsumi took some shampoo in her hands and started scrubbing into Jurina's head. She giggled more at the ticklish feeling in her scalp.

"We'll get you clean~." Natsumi giggled as well.

She handed the bottle to Sakiko and the woman starts to pour some to a small bucket of water. She stirred it and formed a small circle from her thumb and index finger before dipping it in.

“Look here.” She winked to her niece and blew the circle, forming a huge bubble as Jurina’s eyes widened in excitement before eventually popped.

“Auntie, I want to try!!~” said Jurina loudly.

“Hai hai~”

After a few hours of playing with bubbles and cleaning themselves up, the four dried themselves and get dressed for dinner. The stew on the pot was ready since hours ago, just needed to be heated up to serve. Natsumi walked in to the kitchen and turned on the stove as she stirred up the stew.

“Hmm… Needs a bit more salt..” she mumbled after a quick lick from the spoon. She reached to the cupboard to get a jar of it, however she felt something furry instead when she grabs a hold of what she thought was where the salt jar was. “Hmm?”

She pulled it out and found herself grasping on a small white mouse which was struggling in her grasp.

It took a moment for her to realize what it was and eventually dropped it upon realizing.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!" Natsumi let out a loud scream. Sakiko, Jurina, and Tomochin rushed into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?"

"It's a MOUSE!!!!!!!"

They looked and saw a small white mouse in the corner of the room. Saskiko, Natsumi, and Tomochin all screamed and climbed on top of the table. There was no doubt the three were scared of the small creature.

“Mou YADA!!!!”

“GET IT OUT!!!!”

Meanwhile, Jurina was...

"Kawaii~" She picked up the little mouse and petted its head with her thumb. "Auntie, can I keep it?"

"Eh?!" Sakiko’s eyes widened upon her niece being fine with the small creature.

"Pweaze~" Jurina made the most adorable puppy eyes that she couldn't resist.

Natsumi and Tomochin looked over to the mistress of the house with looks of; "DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT."

Sakiko realizing the looks on her guest and her niece at the same time made her sighed. After overcoming the shock, Sakiko got off the table and walked over to her niece.

"You promise to take care of it?"

"Yes." nodded Jurina as she offered the mouse to her aunt.

"Hm..." Sakiko looked at the mouse and took it in her hands carefully with a little  disgusted face. "I'll find a place to keep it."

"Yay~ Thank you, auntie~"

"Jurina..." She never saw such sparkle, such love in her eyes. Jurina was truly like her mother. She loved everything and everyone, big or small, no matter who they were.

"Thank... y--" Jurina suddenly felt light headed again and collapsed.

"Jurina!" rushed over Tomochin. “Her fever is back.” She announced when she touched the girl’s forehead.

“We have to move her to the bed.” Said Natsumi.

"Right!"

“Sakiko-san can you he-“ she suddenly slumped down to her knees as holding her head.

“Natsumi-san!” Sakiko puts down the mice to a bowl and knelt down beside the priest. “Are you okay?”

“I-I..”  Natsumi felt her head suddenly in an execrating pain, as if her head was split into two. She tried to do what her grandfather said years ago to not panic and maintain normal breathing as she forced herself not to scream. After a moment or two she managed to stand up and hold on to the stool for support.

“I’m okay..” she mumbled. “Maybe just a headache. We have to get Jurina treated quickly..”

---------------------------------------------------

While in another place…

Deep down in the realm of the demon’s hideout, the hole leading towards where hell was darker than ever. Whatever inside it has been consumed completely by darkness and even with the protection seal to maintain it from coming out into the world, anyone close enough can still hear the a raspy cold voice stirring up slowly.

Sayanee watched the hole intently as she heard the chains above rattled to the soft vibration from the hole. She can feel Milky’s grip tightened around her bicep as the two demons stared together bellow.

Sasshi who was recovered enough sat on the one of the rock along with Rabutan fiddling with one of her mimions on her shoulder, while Nakanishi and Mieko were standing side by side not far from them.

They all glanced upon the sound of an arriving dark mist, stepping out of it was Mariko-sama herself.

“You’re late, Mariko-sama.” Said Nakanishi. “Where were you? Master was waiting for all of us to gather.”

Mariko did not respond and walk straight towards the hole before she knelt on one knee and lowered her head, the action was quickly followed by others.

“My Lord, I apologize for being late.” Spoke Mariko still in her position.

It is a surprise for my first lieutenant to be late, my dear Mariko..” chuckled a deep raspy cold voice from the hole. “Very well, but next time it happens again…

Mariko suddenly got tensed up and froze in instant, she looked down to where her heart is and felt as if an invisible hand grasped her inside, right at her heart. She dared not to breathe as she felt the hand teasingly ran it’s fingers on the surface of her heart inside, she knew just one squeeze or perhaps a crush could cost her life.

None of the demons dared to move or speak. Even the playful Sasshi was intense upon the view of Mariko being threatened by Maou, among all things she’s scared of; it is him.

…I shall crush this fragile heart of yours or perhaps your entire form, Mariko. Do you understand?” he said before letting go of Mariko’s heart, leaving the demon to gasp her breath.

“Y-yes.. My Lord..”

Good.. Now report to me.

“Kaguya and Ameratu has formed back the Samurai Princess. The girls chosen were Akimoto Sayaka, Umeda Ayaka, Masuda Yuka, and Miyazawa Sae. All were accompanied by Kaguya herself and a daughter of Ameratsu, Oshima Yuko.” Spoke Mariko briefly.

And the priest?

“The Priest of Soul chosen was a girl named Matsubara Natsumi.” Said Sasshi. “Before her memories awakened, we tried to take custody of her but unfortunately, the Samurai Princess caught up with us.”

Hmm.. Who was in charge of the operation?

“I was, my Lord.” Confessed Sasshi.

I can sense you act recklessly, didn’t you Sasshi?” asked the voice. Sasshi gulped and suddenly got tensed up, sensing something will come from her. When it did, Sasshi’s eyes widened upon feeling a sudden shock went through her body. She yelled in pain as she experienced the tremendous amount of shock force coming through her body.

“My Lord!” said Rabutan. “It wasn’t all her fault! Part of it was mine too!! Don’t take it all on her!!”

“No Rabutan!!” yelled Sasshi in pain, her eyes begging to Rabutan.

Oh don’t worry, you get yours too, Rabutan.” Said the voice, followed by Rabutan screaming in pain all the sudden as the same shock went through her.

The other demons stayed still not moving a muscle until Maou stopped the shock for the two. The two crumpled down in instant, gasping for breath.

I do not tolerate failure, may I remind you that?” asked the voice. “Now who else have failed? How about you, Nakanishi?

This time it was Nakanishi who was frozen, “My Lord, I..”

I see everything, Nakanishi. And I guess it’s partly yours too, is it?” said the voice referring to Mieko.

Mieko tensed up, upon realizing who Maou was referring too. Even know she turned sides to the demons and become a dark maiden for a long time already, she can never be comfortable when it comes to meet the Demon Lord with the others.

What is it, Dark Maiden? Is there something in your mind?

“N-no..”

Really? Is it Kaguya?

Mieko shook her head frantically but did not say a word. The scared expression was all over on her face, bigger than the others.

“My Lord.” Cut Sayanee loudly. “I think I also took part of the fault, it was me who failed to re-create the spell you told me.”

The voice chuckled, “Sayanee.. My favorite little pawn…

Sayanee did not say another word and ignored Milky’s worried look to her.

“Please my Lord, let me deliver you a good news.” Said Sayanee politely, trying to change the subject.

What is it?

“Your vessel is almost ready, my Lord.” Said Sayanee. “I have preserved the one you requested thirteen years ago.”

Excellent.. Who was in charge of it, Mariko?

“It was Sayanee and the witch, Itano Tomomi.” Said Mariko.

Ah speaking of the witch, how’s the plan going?

“It’s currently in process, my Lord.” Said Mariko. “They won’t suspect a thing and we’ve sent something to watch over her.”

Very good.” Said Maou. “Now, it won’t be long before I completely unlock all these seals. How about our planned allies?

“They still refused to do it.” Said Mariko. “And we are still searching for more.”

Hard headed creatures...” scoffed Maou. “You know what to do if they refused, right?

“Yes, my Lord..” answered Mariko. “The ones in charge of the operation are Sasshi and Nakanishi.”

And you, the Dark Maiden?” asked Maou.

“I serve as their back up.” Said Mieko.

Hmm…” hummed the voice. “There’s something more wasn’t it, Dark Maiden?

“I collected their teeth and scales for potions and remedies.” Said Mieko briefly.

No, no… There is something more you have done, Sato Mieko. You cannot lie to me.

Mariko glanced back to Mieko and found her trembling as she bit her lips.

“Mieko, what did you do?” hissed Nakanishi beside her. But Mieko did not answer and kept her lips closed by biting it with her teeth.

Consider this as your first warning from me, Dark Maiden.” Cooed Maou before Mieko suddenly shrieked as grasping her head.

“MIEKO!” Nakanishi held Mieko’s body as the maiden shrieked out in pain, no longer on her knees. She didn’t know that Maou just sent the dark maiden a punishment, a very torturous one.

“No please…” begged Mieko in the middle of the punishment. Her eyes goes completely black as dark visions kept coming, torturing her. “I swore I won’t do it again…”

Very well.” With a loud finger snap, Mieko slumped into Nakanishi’s arm gasping for air. Her eyes has gone back to normal, but definitely showing how the punishment given to her was a bit more than anyone else. If she could herself that time, she would rather than going through another one of that.

"Mieko..."

Remember your place, Dark Maiden.” Said Maou coldly. “You are at my mercy and your service, your life, belongs to me now.

"Y-y-yes...."

Mieko blinked weakly before slumping unconsciously in Nakanishi’s arm. The strong demon bit her lips as she looked at the dark maiden deeply in her arms. “Mieko…”

Now, I suppose that’s all for now.” Said Maou. “Keep the plans going and get rid of the samurai princess as soon as possible. I sensed that not all of them has gained their full potential, it’s a big chance to strike them down.

“Yes, My Lord!”

Maou chuckled, “March forward, my pawns. Soon I will rule back the earth in darkness once again!



To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: No way out (Part 1)
Post by: Cometerz48 on November 29, 2014, 04:55:51 PM
Ah, credits to MYJR for the logo. Thank you for making it for us :D
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: No way out (Part 1)
Post by: ametakarano on April 21, 2015, 09:12:25 AM
Senpaitachi... I'll be waiting for the update, Cometerz48-san and Ruka-san.

I've just recently read this fic and I really am hooked...  :on asmo:

Ayaka X Natsumi really makes me...

 :luvluv1: :luvluv2: :shy1: :shy2: :wriggly: :nya: :on bleed:
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: No way out (Part 1)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on April 21, 2015, 01:11:15 PM
Senpaitachi... I'll be waiting for the update, Cometerz48-san and Ruka-san.

I've just recently read this fic and I really am hooked...  :on asmo:

Ayaka X Natsumi really makes me...

 :luvluv1: :luvluv2: :shy1: :shy2: :wriggly: :nya: :on bleed:

Gald you like it, Ame-chan. :3 We will try to update asap! :heart:
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: No way out (Part 1)
Post by: Ruka Kikuchi on April 22, 2015, 07:02:55 PM

(http://i.imgur.com/MscmHdu.png)
Chapter 22 - No way out (Part 2)


Yuka's POV

"Finally, we're here." Voiced out Hinata in my mind.

I halted my horse instantly in front of a small pebble path heading slightly up to a tall mountain. I can see vaguely a silver glow on the top as if there’s something mythical up there..

“That’s Kaguya’s palace.” Said Sae also halted her horse beside me. “Kuu said that’s probably where Kaguya has gone to.”

“Well..” I got down from my horse. “Maybe we’ll see her on the way with Yuko. Hinata said that we have to walk from here.”

“How far?” asked Sae also getting down as she adjusted her sword strapping.

“Not that far, but keep your eyes open for demons..” I said before leading the path.

Sae walked beside me, “Yuka, why are you so eager to find this Dragon, Ao?”

“Hinata told me he was the one that made a contract with her over the blue flame.” I tried to explain. “Half of the power from my stone connects to him, making him attached to me spiritually.”

“So he’s your animal then?” asked Sae. “Cool, you got a dragon~”

“Wouldn’t call it that though.. It’s more like my elemental spirit creature. Ao’s power supports the Fire stone and my power in someway, I have to find him to balanced them all out.”

“Is that the only reason?” asked Sae. “When you said you suddenly needed to see Ao, you looked worried.”

I froze upon the statement, knowing myself that maybe I can’t fool Sae.

“You can tell her, Kuu will understand..” said Hinata.

So I began telling her about the transferred vision I had before, the killing that Sasshi did somehow printed freshly in my mind that I even know every little details of it. I watched Sae’s face turned to expressions as I told her the story.

“That’s why you need to find Ao..” nodded Sae. “Before the demon gets his hands on him..”

I stopped and leaned on a tree, “Sasshi knew that Hinata’s power and mine are from Ao, if she did something to Ao, then I…”

“Something will happen to your flame.” Finished off Sae. I nodded, unconsciously spilt a tear at the corner of my eye.  I tried to hide it from Sae, but she seemed to noticed it and hugged me tight.

“We’ll find him firsthand before Sasshi does, I promise.” Said Sae. “You’re ready to move?”

I nodded weakly and took Sae’s hand as she led the way this time. It takes time but eventually we came to an end of the path. Me and Sae stood in front of a large cave, the entrance to Ao's hideout.

"Sae, let's be careful."

"Okay."

I took hold of her hand as we walked down into the cave. I lit up the lantern so we could see our path and started deeper into the cave. I could feel Sae shivering because of how cold it was.

I suddenly stopped. There were more footsteps. Someone else is here. Sae and I hid behind a slab, so they wouldn't see us. I looked on the wall and saw two shadows walking forward, in our direction.

Hinata, what if its Nakanishi and Mieko?

"Then we'll have to stop them."

I nodded and set down the lantern, my hand at my sword. I waited for the right moment, and...

"Hiyaa!"

"GYAAAAH!!!"

The tip of my sword was barely touching a familiar Demi-god's nose.

"Y-Yuko?!" I drew back my sword and bowed to her. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were--"

"Masuda Yuka."

I looked up and saw a pair of silver eyes staring at me.

"Kayuga-hime..."

"You can come out, Sae, it's just us. Yuko and Kaguya."

Sae peered out from behind, picking up the lantern.

"Yuko... Kaguya-sama..." whispered Sae with a surprised face. “What are you doing here?”

Third Person’s POV

“My dad wants me to check on Ao.” Said Yuko. “He wants me to also check on other dragons as well..”

“Wait, you mean there is a lot more than just this Ao?” asked Sae with widened eyes.

“After the first war with Maou, the remaining dragons decided to find their own places to stay. Most stay in caves like Ao does, in an abandoned island, or in a volcano pit.” Said Kaguya. “My brother sensed something sinister being planned by Maou involving the dragons, that’s why her wants Yuko to check on the closest one; Ao.”

“You’re right about that.” Said Yuka seriously which was very rare somehow. Then she began telling the other two of the transferred vision she had on Sasshi’s doings.

“That bitch is going to pay.” Growled Yuko. “Who does she thinks she is?!”

“My brother was right indeed. Maou is on the move..” muttered Kaguya.”They’re hunting the dragon eggs. If they got their hands on one, it is not possible to completely wreck the remaining seals..”

“That’s why I’m here.” Said Yuka. “Hinata told me to warn Ao and clear things up. She said if I met him, he might balance out my abilities to control the blue flame.”

“What about the others? Are they o-“

“Natsumi said Jurina’s soul is slipping away. You have to come to her fast, Kaguya.” Said Sae. “Sakiko-san can’t lose her family again!”

“I’ll be heading there.” Nodded Kaguya. “The two of you, be very careful of what you are doing. Ao might be on our side, but still he will test you Yuka.”

“T-test?”

Yuko nodded, “I’ll drop Kaguya by Sakiko’s hut and drive off to check on other dragons near the areas.”

“Wait there’s more!” yelped Sae before the two left. “Sayaka and Ayaka, they left for the capital.”

“What?!” said Yuko. “I told you guys to stay in Sakiko’s hut!”

“The two shared a memory of something that can help find the demon’s hideout.” Said Sae. “The Mirror of Truth.”

Kaguya’s silver eyes widened, “That’s…”

Sae nodded, “Ayaka had it for the whole time, but she needs to find the one that can use it. They’re off to the capital to follow the first clue.”

“That’s dangerous!” exclaimed Yuko. “If Ayaka got caught, she may as well signed off her death.”

“That’s why Sayaka's also with her.” Said Yuka. “We split up so we could back each other up.”

“Sayaka herself won’t be enough.” Said Kaguya. “The Capital is a dangerous place, lurking with spies and guards, someone must back them up again. I will.”

“But then how about Jurina?”

“I will go after I settle down with the child.” Said Kaguya. “We’ll meet off in Matsui-san’s hut four from now. Good Luck you two.”

After they went off, only leaving Yuka and Sae together in the cave. Yuka turned forward.

“We have to keep moving. Ao’s big lair is inside this cave.” Said Yuka.

“Lead the way~” said Sae before she suddenly clutched her head. “Ugh!”

“Sae! You’re alright?” asked Yuka approaching the girl. “What happened?”

“I’m…” Sae blinked. “Something’s happening, I-“

Suddenly her hair piece shone brightly in green. Blinding the two with lights in their eyes..

Sae’s POV

I opened my eyes vaguely saw the familiar face in front of me.

“Ruka…”

The man smiled, “Hello Kuu. My, you are still pretty even after being tied up like that.”

I tug my hands, but they were tied very tightly behind my back to a wooden pose. “Ruka, what the hell?!! Let go off me this instant!!”

“Na ah~”
he put his finger on my lips. “I’m not letting you get away again, Kuu. You are mine.”

“Where are the others?!! If you lay a hand on them, I swear I’ll rip that th-“

“No bad mouthing~”
cooed Ruka as he put his finger again on my lips. I opened my mouth and bit hard his finger, causing him to pulled his bloodied finger. ”How insolent you have become, Kuu. But still…”

His other hand went to my chin and caressed it gently.

“You are flawless..”

He motioned me to look around, I was no longer in a cave, instead I was standing not far from a cliff with a huge canyon spread over the horizon. The wind blew hard my hair along with a few dusts.

“What-“

“Canyon of Dread.” Said Ruka proudly. “Such an amazing view right?”

“What have you done to them?”
I asked.

“Ah, they’re just down there.” He pointed down lightly.

“WHAT?!!”

One of the guards let go off the rope attaching me to the pole and dragged me by the knot on my hands, he dragged me till I stood by Ruka’s side. I looked at the man beside me and saw his eyes insanely flickering like a mad person.

I looked down and what I saw was shocking enough.

Kanata, Riku, and Kai was tied up on topes separately and hung upside down with the canyon just bellow them by hundreds of feet. The three looked unconscious with bruises and dusts and messy clothes.

“KAI!! KANATA!! RIKU!!”

“Ugh..”
I heard a slight groan of Riku opening her eyes. “What happened..?”

Kanata stirred up and when she realized what was going on she screamed loudly. “MOU, YADAAA!!!”

I saw Kai stirring up as well and her eyes caught mine instantly, “Kuu!!”

“Kai!!”
I yelled. I looked at Ruka dangerously, “Ruka, let go of them right now.”

“Hmm?”
hummed Ruka lightly. “But don’t you want to have some entertainment, dear? Well, I invited your friends here to give you some.”

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about..?"


*RAAAAAAAWR*

Oh God... what was that?!

"That's the sound of the Dread beast."

The WHAT?!?!

"It's the horrible monster that lives at the very bottom of the canyon."


"I see someone's hungry~" Ruka said with a chuckle.

"You... you're a mad man!"

He gave me a dark look, coming closer. His hand clasped around my neck. It reminded me of the cold feeling when Haru was possessed and he choked me.

"Now, now... I wouldn't speak, unless you don't care what happens to your friends. Now, I want you to be a good girl from now on, or else... I can't make any promises of your dear friends safety."

"Ruka, please, don't do this..."
I pleaded. “This is not you at all!!”

He kept laughing. "Oh, Kuu... you are so naïve. Is that why you so easily fell for Kai?"

I felt anger boil inside me. He clicked his tongue, circling me.

"I knew she had changed you... please, let's just stop this immature little game and go home. It can be just the two of us~"

"No..."
I shook my head. "I won't allow it..."

“Fine.”
Spat Ruka. “Have it your way, Kuu.”

He then turned to one of his guards whose securing the chains.

“Released the noisy one.” He pointed at Kanata. “She should be a nice entrée.”

Kanata’s eyes bulged out, “YADAAA!!!” she yelled in fear.

Riku’s eyes were widened as well and she struggled on her binds, “No!! Don’t!!!”

“Iie~” smiled Ruka like a maniac.

Kanata screamed as the guards prepared to lower her chains and Riku started swearing at the guys. She caught my eyes with a pleading look and teary eyes.

“Last chance, Kuu or she goes.” Said Ruka with raised eyebrows.

I looked at Kai who’s eyes were on me the whole time. Her orbs were filled with worries, fear, and anxiousness, I couldn’t bear to look at her like that.

“You are mine and I am yours until eternity.”

Remembering the promise I made that day to her, I closed my eyes, trying to focus on my power. Concentrating, I bit my lips, gathering my thoughts together…….

*SQUACK!!!*

When I opened my eyes again, I looked down and saw the others still being hung over the cliff. I saw a pair of red glowing eyes in the darkness, making fear run up my body.

"Everyone!"

A large monster arose, bearing its large fangs. I saw Kanata was starting to panic, trying to shake herself out of the chains binding her. The sound of the chains was enticing the beast, and it roared loud.

I felt myself starting to shake in fear...

What do I do..?

"Kuu..."

Eh?


I looked up at the sky. I swear, I heard someone calling me. "Who..?"

"Relax your mind and focus. I shall lend you my strength."

“I-I..”

“Trust me.”


I breathe in as calm as I can, then I felt an incredible power flow into my veins. A strong wind began to blow, creating a cyclone. Ruka started to become blown away by the force, being driven to the edge of the cliff. He cursed under his breath before leaving. As the wind kept blowing, the chains that binded me broke and I was released.

The wind subsided and I looked down at the others, still being hung over the cliff with the monster still glowering at them with it’s eyes.

SNAP!!!

Kanata screamed as soon as her chains suddenly snapped out, Riku yelled in fear as well. It was as if time slowed down a bit that with a point of my hand, something rushed over to the falling Kanata and swooped her out of the air and into the sky.

I looked up at the sky, whistling a soft song in the breeze. The next moment, I heard the sound of a bird call. In the sky, a large bird flew down with Kanata on it’s back gawking in awe at the creature she’s riding. It landed my side. Its long neck curved down, my hands caressing its head.

"Let's go."

I climbed on top of the creature and flew down to where Riku and Kai were being held.

"Kuu..." I saw surprise in Kai's eyes and the Riku’s opened mouth in awe as she stared at Kanata and the bird. I simply smiled before creating a strong wind that released them from the chains.

They fell onto the large bird and we flew back up to the top, landing safely on the ground.

"Kuu, that was amazing."

"How did you..?"
pointed Riku at the bird still in awe.

"I..." I felt my body grow weak and I collapsed, feeling a warm pair of arms catch me as I fell.

When my eyes opened again, I no longer felt the cold air of the cave. Instead, it was warm so warm like I was near the fireplace back at the mansion.

“You are awake.”

I looked over to the source of the voice and saw an old man sitting on a slab of rock with his eyes fixated on me in amusement. Despite the gray hair and the wrinkles, I could tell he’s not any ordinary grandpas.

“Who are you an where’s my friend?” I looked around to find Yuka. I finally saw her lying not far away from me with her necklace glowing in red.

“Your past memories interact with hers as well, triggering her past to come to her head as well.” Explained the old man walking down from the rock with a walking stick in his hand.

I frowned at him cautiously, “Who are you..?”

The old man chuckled, “You really are like your past life, Miyazawa Sae. Samurai of Wind really does resemble like you.. I still remembered clearly Hinata introduced me to her.”

My eyes widened, “Masaka, you are…”

--------------------------------------

Yuka’s POV

I remembered trying to help Sae, then the gem on her hairclip suddenly shone so brightly and engulfed us as well as blinding my eyes. The next thing I knew; I was sinking.

I felt the water swallowed me whole and gravity pulling me deeper. I tried to struggle or at least move my hands, but they were bound tightly around my back with what I suspected was a weight that’s been pulling me deeper into the water. The danger of drowning was dreadful enough with my mouth gagged, I was unable to breath at all and I can feel my hard pounding hard.

I struggled and struggled, trying to get to the surface, but the weight is so heavy for me to pull up and I can feel the need of air for my heart to beat was getting higher.

Suddenly I saw some familiar faces in my eyes. My family, Osamu, Kai, Kuu, Kanata, Riku… They all suddenly starting to fade away, leaving me alone to sink in the cold water.

“Gomen..” I mouthed as my eyes starts to blur. The water rushed into my mouth, gagging me until my view starts to darkened.

I was on the edge of Death. Sasshi doesn’t need to kill me at all.

Suddenly I felt a hand touching my bound and pulling on it. I was too weak to open my eyes and see who was it, but it was strong enough to pull me up into the surface and soon I was gasping for air. As I tried to sustain the air flow back in my body, my eyes were still blurry but I saw a dark shadow pulling me to the edge of the water and threw me to the edge to recover myself.

Still gasping for air, my visions starts to clear up and my hands are no longer bounded. I sat up as well as holding my hurting head, my chest felt so heaved up that I coughed pretty badly.

Seems like I made it in time, Samurai of Fire.

I looked up to the voice and saw a figure in completely black clothing standing in front of me. Her hair was short but straight, unlike Jurina’s short wavy hair. Her clothes were black but doesn’t look like what demons wear at all, more like a samurai but somehow she has an aura stronger than them. Her eyes and thin body indicates me that she was more than just a human. I looked at her eyes, it was black with white irises.

Who..?

“Shinigami.”
Said Hinata. “The God of Death.”

She saw my widened eyes and flashed a quick thin smile. “I am the Shinigami, Sono Hinata. My job is basically to take people’s life not to save life honestly.

“Then why did you saved me?” I gasped still trying to regain myself from the cold water, still coughing.

Simple. Obviously it is not the time for your death, Samurai.” Said Shinigami. “When it is not for their schedule to die, I have a responsibility to save them until the time comes. That does not mean I will help you defeating Demons though.

“What about my friends? Are they-“

I shall not reveal what happened to your friend but all I can tell you they are still alive for now.” Said Shinigami. “Any other question?

“Yes.” I swallowed. “My death. What will happen?”

Ah.” She raised her eyebrows. “Deaths are not something I share to the ones that will experience it, Samurai. No one can escape from Death and it is no use to acquire the knowledge anyway. But I can assure you I will personally pluck out that soul myself out of your body.

I shuddered, “That’s one scary threat..”

The shinigami flashed the smile again, “Basically without me saying it, it is already one. Death is a process, Samurai. The soul I take will leave a place for new soul to reborn on earth. Some souls may pass on to reborn without memories and a fresh way to start a new life, or they may as well be locked up in hell.

“What are the requirement for Hell?” I asked. “Not that I wanted to get in.”

It is not so hard.” Shrugged Shinigami. “Just piss off the Gods and be evil, I can secure you a place there.

“No thank you.” I declined straight away.

I saw Shinigami’s eyes stared into me deeply, “Do not get yourself too full of yourself, Samurai. Your toughest opponent is ever to come yet and there will be things you have to let go off for a better future.

“I know.” I said. “I must work together with the other samurai to defeat off Maou. I have to face that Demon, Sasshi.”

Shinigami shook her head, “Not only that. It may not happen anytime soon but by the time it does, you have to find a way back to substitute of what you have lost. You must get up from the loss that you will experience and moved on.

“Huh? What do you mean?!”

Shinigami waved off her hand and I saw the God’s leg started to thin away, “I will see you again, Samurai. I get the feeling it will be very soon..

“Are you saying I’m going to die soon?” I asked.

The Shinigami smiled mysteriously, “All living creatures will die anyway, Samurai. Only time tells off when will it be.” Then the God disappeared into the thin air.

Still trying to absorb the God’s last words, I tried voicing out to Hinata.

Hinata, did you…?

“Yes.”
Voiced out Hinata. “She came in front of me again and all of us the samurai princess that night on the tower when we sealed Maou away with Kanata.”

“Then what happened to you all?” I asked.

“We’re exceptions.” Said Hinata. “Normal souls usually goes straight away to the process into the next stages of death. Which either it will be put in hell or heaven or maybe gets reborn. But for us, Samurai Princess we still have our duty to guide the next ones; You guys.”

“So then all these times, you haven’t actually died?”

“We died physically. By the time our soul was no longer in our body, Shinigami explained to us the circumstances for our souls. We were to slumber down for 100 years inside each of the element’s gems until it was the time for the new Princess Samurai.” Said Hinata.

“You were asleep the whole time inside the Gem.” I pointed out. “And the Gem.. It rushed into me while I was trying to fend of the giant snake.”

“It was the Gem that sensed your appearance as the next Samurai of Fire. My soul was awakened as soon as the Gem touched your body.”

“Then you start speaking to me a while later. But why not as soon as you were already inside me?”

“I have to understand you first, Yuka. I cannot just voiced out my thoughts to you without you knowing anything so in the end I tried to stimulate my power into yours by flowing it your emotions.”

“You burst that fire to the snake.” I simplified.

“It was me giving the power, but you’re the one that times it perfectly.” answered Hinata. “It was the two of us.”

I nodded, “So then, Sae, Sayaka, Ayaka and I… Will we experience the same thing as you guys? What will happen to you guys when it was the time for all of us to.. experience the same if we were to I mean..”

“I don’t know.” Confessed Hinata. “We’d probably moved on to the next stage of Death.”

I went silence before eventually remembering something, “It was Sae’s gem that was glowing but where is she?”

“Ah..” said Hinata as if she just realized something. “Remember that creep that loved Kuu so much? That Ruka?”

“Uh-huh.”

“He set a trap once on all of us while Kaguya went missing. I was separated from the others because I kept burning off the ropes and fights off his guards until then…”

“He decided to drown you like just then.” I finished off.

“His guards must not be far from here.” Said Hinata. “But I have to find Osamu first.”

“Where is he?”

“Ruka knew Osamu was close to me somehow. He must’ve want him to watch me drown.” Growled Hinata. “I think the guards that were sent to drown me must’ve brought him too.”

“They can’t be far then.” I said before standing up. “Do you remember which way they go?”

“Can you see the mountain range?” I nodded. “Ruka holds the rest of the group there, so the guards will be on their way back to their mast-“

Her voice trailed off as soon as the two of us could hear a loud yell of a boy.

“Osamu!!!”

--------------------------------------

Far away and back to the reality...

Sayaka’s POV

Megumi refused to hear any from Ayaka until she cleansed herself from the sewer trip. So there she goes to the bathroom while I helped Megumii preparing for the night.

“So you are…?” she raised her eyebrows as she handed me a bundle of bed sheets.

“I’m Akimoto Sayaka, I was a captain of the Imperial Army at the front line.” I introduced myself.

“Then what brings you and your majesty together?” she asked.

“We met together, guided by instinct. I happened to be the Samurai of Water.” I said proving to her by bending the water out of the jar into the pot on the stove.

“Ah I see…” she nodded approved. “Takahashi Minami must’ve been your boss then.”

“You knew the General?” I asked her.

Megumi chuckled, “She might be a general now, but the Takahashi I know ages ago was a complete cry baby. Not that I’m making a fun of her..”

“She, Noro, and Kojima Haruna the current Imperial Fortune Teller, and of course I.. We were together as apprentices ages ago.” Said Megumi smiling as if she’s remembering the old days.”You know that all Imperial staff needed basic educations before taking their path to somewhere else, that’s when we became friends.”

“You know Haruna?” I asked Megumi.

Megumi smirked, “Is she still an airhead? Well, despite that she’s good at predicting the future.” Shrugged Megumi arranging a bed.

“She was the one who sent me off.” I said. “She and the General were the first people to realize that I’m the Samurai of Water.”

“She must’ve been one of Kaguya’s Priest.” Said Megumi. “You know what I’m talking about don’t you?”

I nodded, “Then the who’s the Priest that sent Ayaka off?” Before Megumi could answer, somebody else answered it for her.

“It’s Noro isn’t it..?”

The two of us turned to the door and saw Ayaka standing by the door with damped hair and a new set of clothes. Her face looked strangely guilty somehow.

Megumi bit her lips, “Yea.. She is.”

Ayaka sighed and came in to the room, “Listen Ohori-san, I-“

Megumi raised her hand to stop the princess talking, “No more apologizing, Your Majesty. Just explain to me slowly and detailed.”

So then Ayaka tell the whole story to Megumi from the failed Coronations, her journey, until the part where the two of us decided to set foot on the Capital. I added in some extra informations and so on till we finished the story.

Megumi sighed as she looked as if thinking to swallow the whole thing slowly, “Itano and Matsui, eh? They’re our friends as well, Matsui, Noro, and I slightly older though.”

“Tell me, what happened after I left.” Said Ayaka.

Megumi looked over to a box sitting on a cupboard and approached it before bringing it back near us. She opened it and pulled out some letters.

“Noro left me with this box here on that day. Inside there’s a letter she sent to Kaguya by hawk. She regained a memory that she’s one of her Priest, she found you with the previous Samurai of Earth lurking in you.” Explained Megumi.

“Her main concern were how could she helped you adapting with the power as well as managing your Kage. Oh yes, she and I knew you have one, Your Majesty..” nodded Megumi before Ayaka could butt in. “She said it wasn’t wise to tell the whole Palace of your conditions, instead we only told your father; The Emperor.”

“Despite your conditions, your father still believing in you and the two of us. Then on the day before his death, Noro sent him a letter to claim you are the next Samurai of Earth.”

“H-he.. knew?” asked Ayaka in shock. “He knew before he died?”

Megumi nodded sadly, “On that day too before we received the news of his death, his reply to Noro was to keep you safe from any conspiracy that the Imperial Priests had in mind and to teach you everything to be a Samurai Princess.”

“Dad..” gasped Ayaka, cannot help her tears falling out to her cheek. I couldn’t help but to give her a light pat on the head.

“Then..?”

“After your disappearance, Noro sent me a letter that she’s taking the Maeda’s to her friend, General Takahashi who were stationed near the borders.” Said Megumi. “She knew it was risky, but that’s the only place as to not being suspected by the Imperial Priest.”

“So they’re with the General then..?” I asked. “The what happens here? I heard the queen take over the government then.”

Megumi nodded, “Yes. But not for long.”

“What happened to her??!!” asked Ayaka worriedly. “Don’t tell her sickness-“

“She’s still alive, Your Majesty.” said Megumi. “But the Priests has allied with Ministers for a possible plan to bring her down. This is her weakest point right now, Your Majesty. She has no one by her side and soon they will take over her with the whole Capital being convinced that you and the Maedas are criminals.”

“We can’t let that happen!!” shook Ayaka. “If they brought her down then…”

“They might as well kill her.” Said Megumi seriously. Ayaka slumped down and soon started sobbing. I hugged her tight and soon I could feel her tears soaking my fabrics.

“When are they planning to bring her down?” I asked still hugging the sobbing Ayaka.

“I’m not sure, but it’ll be around this month I bet with the conditions getting heated in the palace.” Said Megumi.

“Can’t you do something to prevent it?!” asked Ayaka emotionally.

Megumi tilted her head sadly, “I wish I can, Your Majesty. But I am only an Imperial Apprentice… “

“Ayaka…” I looked at her. “Remember, you can’t risk yourself into this. If the guards finds out you’re here, they’ll hunt you down..”

“She’s right.” Said Megumi. “The new security policy for the capital will be launched tomorrow; Patrol Guards will be roaming around the City to keep the place save. That would mean dangerous for you to even come out.”

“But we still have to find the user!!” protested Ayaka. “Or otherwise, we can never find the Demons and they’ll come for us.” I sighed and looked at Megumi for help, but the woman only bit her lips as she thought.

“What do you plan then..?” asked Megumi. “Your mother is a difficult situation and so were you. Which would you prioritize, Your Majesty?”

“I-i…”

“I would give a hand to you, but three of us against the whole palace would be a suicide.” Said Megumi.

“I knew someone who might help us..” I suddenly said. “The General is coming to the Capital tomorrow.”

“How did you know that?” asked Megumi.

“Every fourth day of each month, she’d go to the capital to deliver her reports on the front line as well as relaxing herself out in her favorite capital restaurant.” I said remembering my boss’s tradition each time she took me to the capital.

“Then?”

“I have a plan..” I told them what I have in mind then.


To Be Continued
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: No way out (Part 2)
Post by: Minamiyuki on April 25, 2015, 07:24:37 PM
Ooooooooohhhhhhhhh.........  XD XD XD

I don't what to say.. But nice update...  XD XD XD

Waiting for your next update...  :) :) :)
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: No way out (Part 2)
Post by: luvsidney on April 28, 2015, 06:34:05 AM
thanks for update ruka

things are gotta be more excited and complicated ^^
Title: Re: Samurai Princesses: No way out (Part 2)
Post by: ametakarano on May 01, 2015, 09:58:49 AM
gee~~

i'll be waiting for your update senpaitachi.  :wigglypanda: :wigglypanda: :wigglypanda:

i hope there'll be more Ayaka x Natsumi moments!  :luvluv1: :luvluv1: :luvluv1: