Love Conquers All: Murakumo

Pairing: Murakumo x Shiki

Genre: Romance/Drama

Disclaimer: I do not own Senran Kagura or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Yes. The title says it all. And I think some of you have an idea why I titled this, just like my previous "Love Conquers All" installment with Murasaki. Yes. This will be a series, but in separate stories. But this one will not be related to my previous installment. So…please enjoy this piece with one of my favorite Senran characters, Murakumo.

It's almost as if it's a dream. Murakumo could've sworn this is a dream. But…it's all real. Almost. All she remembers is her walking to a small shop that interested her for some reason. There, she met a woman named Presea Testarosa, who is a wizard and can make all people's dreams come true. Murakumo would love to have her dream as top manga artist come true. After she arrived, she's been told her future by Presea, given a drink and then escorted out of the shop. Murakumo thought this drink would affect her greatly, but…she is wrong. Tonight…it's different.

Something in her head is echoing. A voice, a voice sounding exactly like Precia, calling out to her.

"Murakumo…my precious, precious darling. Those comrades of yours…they never wanted you. They despise you. They must be punished Murakumo.

Kill for Precia..."

It is at that moment that Murakumo feels her body moving on her own. Her willpower is no match for the witch's spell and there's nothing she can do about it.

**Gessen Academy**

"And all done~!" Minori says happily. "All the candy I could eat~!" She admires her stack of chocolate bars she just made for the whole year. Plus some jelly beans.

Yozakura crosses her arms abd shakes her head in dismay. "You know you're gonna get yourself sick if you eat all of them in one day. Besides, all of those candy is not for you only. Remember? We're celebrating Murakumo's birthday."

"We are?" the petite girl scratches her head with an eyebrow raised.

The short haired girl chuckles. "Yes we are. Now, there are a few more stuff to organize, so I'll be right back, okay?"

"Kay~!" Minori immediately gets back to work as Yozakura leaves the room.

The petite girl hums happily to herself as she gets out the streamers and scissors. She gets the main room, which is where the party will take place. Shiki and Yumi are in charge of the cake while Yozakura makes sure everything is in tip top shape. She is in charge of the party, plus the one that asked Murakumo to go out for a bit since they want to surprise her.

Minori puts up the streamers on the walls with a ladder since she's the shortest of the group. It might be a little frustrating, but Minori vowed herself to be a reliable person. And so far, she did a good job on setting the tables for food and hanging up the banner with the help of Yozakura herself.

She is almost done when the lights suddenly go out. Minori lets out a heavy sigh.

"Hey! Yozakura-san!" She calls. "Did you turn out the lights!?"

No answer.

"Turn them back on! I'm almost finished!"

Still no answer. Minori huffs and climbs down the ladder, very carefully. It's pitch black in the room now and she can't see a thing.

"Yozakura-chan!" She calls again. "This isn't funny anymore!"

The flicker on and off for a second. Minori could have sworn there is a figure standing a few feet away from her. She squints as the lights flicker repeatedly this time. Minori sighs in relief.

"Oh, it's you, Murakumo-chan!" She says. "Ummmm...you're...early. How did you get in here?"

Murakumo doesn't say anything as she takes a few steps toward her. Minori backs away.

"Um...if it makes you feel any better," Minori says nervously. "I have chocolate bars."

Murakumo closes gaps and shoves Minori to the floor. The petite girl gets back on her feet and backs away some more.

"W-wait! What are you doing!?" She cries as she is being shoved to the floor again. "Wh-what's wrong with you!?" She bumps into a wall. A dead end.

Murakumo comes closer. Minori summons her large bear and tries to hit her with it, but Murakumo blocks it, snatches it out her hands and slams it down on the floor.

Minori frantically looks around, trying to find a way to escape, but Murakumo doesn't give her a chance. Both hands grab her neck and begins squeezing it tightly. Minori struggles to free herself, wiggling and kicking wildly, but Murakumo's grip is too strong.

"St-stop...please..." she chokes.

Murakumo doesn't listen as she continues squeezing with all her might. Minori's strength is deteriorating quickly. She has no idea why her friend is acting like this, but she can't let her kill her.

Murakumo squeezes more and more. Minori's legs weaken by the minute and starts to lose conciousness. Then...Minori collapses. Murakumo loosens her grip, takes a goos look at the petite girl then, turns her head to her right.

*Meanwhile*

"Cake's almost ready," Yumi says as she looks at the oven.

"Muracchi's going to, like, LOVE it~!" Shiki says happily. "This party will be a blast. I'll guarentee it~!"

Yozakura nods in approval. "That's great! We're almost done, girls. And the party will begin! I'll check up on Minori, okay? Keep it coming!"

"Will do!" Yumi and Shiki say in unison.

Yozakura runs toward the party room where it's pitch black. She tries the light switch, but it wouldn't work. Lights start flickering on and off repeatedly. Yozakura squints at the sight of a small figure on the floor. She immediately recongizes it and hurries toward her.

"Minori!" She cries. "Minori, wake up! Wake up!" She tries shaking her awake, but she won't budge. Yozakura pants fearfully as she stands back up and starts to turn and run.

But she finds Murakumo at the door. Standing there silently.

"Murakumo?" The short haired girl says, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing back so early? I don't understand. I would've called you."

The masked brunette doesn't say anything as she reaches out her hand to grab her, but Yozakura ducks and runs around the room.

"Hey, what's wrong with you!?" Yozakura shouts as she ducks again to avoid Murakumo from grabbing her. She jumps over a table and dive rolls toward another as the masked brunette tries to grab her again. The short haired girl slaps away her hand and stands back up.

Murakumo tries to grab her again, but Yozakura summons her gauntlets and punches her a couple times.

"Sorry, Murakumo!" She says as she makes a run for it.

Murakumo shakes her head from the pain and shoves the tables away to go after her. Yozakura runs down the long hallway as fast as she can. Murakumo stops and summons her spear. Taking aim, she takes a few big steps and throws it straight on, hitting Yozakura's right leg. Luckily the blade did not go directly at it, but it made a deep wound for sure. Yozakura screams in pain as she topples to the floor. Her leg is bleeding fast.

"Help!" She screams. "Someone help! Murakumo's gone crazy!"

Shiki and Yumi hear her cries as they stop what they are doing. The cake is ready, but did not get a chance to finish decorating it.

"Was that...Yozakura-san?" Yumi asks.

"Muracchi has gone crazy?" Shiki questions. "Like, what does she mean?"

"No time for questions, we have to help her!" Yumi drops her apron and runs out the door with Shiki following.

"Wait! Wait!" She calls.

They approach their injured comrade and help her to get to safety.

"Girls..." Yozakura says. "Y-you have to get out of here. Murakumo is acting like a totally different person. She's trying to kill me!"

"Wait, wait," Shiki says. "Muracchi would never do that to any of us."

"I just found Minori unconcious in the party room!" Yozakura shouts. "And I figured Murakumo did it! She's not herself right now!"

Yumi rubs her chin. "That can mean only one thing..."

"What is it?" Shiki and Yozakura ask.

Before the ice ninja could answer, they hear footsteps coming toward them. Murakumo is heading towards the three.

"Run!" Yozakura cries. "Save yourselves!"

"Wh-what about you!?" Shiki yells. "We can't, like, leave you here!"

"We have no choice! Come on!" Yumi grabs her blonde friend by the wrist and the two run for their lives.

Murakumo keeps on walking with the two girls running for their lives. Yozakura manages to crawl near her and try to grab her to slow her down. But the brunette kicks her hard, making the short haired girl loosen her grip. Murakumo keeps on walking.

Meanwhile, Yumi and Shiki head outside and hide in the dojo.

"Now what were you, like, saying earlier?" Shiki asks.

"Murakumo-san...is under a spell," Yumi says.

"A spell!?"

"Yes. Someone must have cursed her into turning against us."

"Th-then if...that is true, how are we going to stop her!?" Shiki asks.

"That's the difficult part," Yumi says. "If she can't break it herself, the spell must be very strong. We have a few options, but we must do it now before she kills all of us."

Yumi starts to stand up, but gets grabbed by the arm by Shiki.

"What do you think you're doing!?" She whispers loudly. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"It'll just be a second," Yumi assures her. "A ninja always takes risks."

Shiki lets go of her friend as the ice ninja tip toes around the dojo, looking for any signs of Murakumo. It is dead silent, but Yumi must be aware at all costs. An enemy could strike at any given moment.

She tip toes near a window and looks around for the masked brunette. Her blue eyes look back and forth carefully. The outside is clear. She slowly turns around. However...

CRASH!

Glass breaks and arms wrap around Yumi's neck. The ice ninja struggles to get free by wiggling wildly. She manages to loosen Murakumo's grip and tumble to the floor face down. Murakumo crawls through the window and lands on her feet. She goes after Yumi, grabs her and shoves her to the floor.

As the masked brunette steps toward her, Yumi jumps to her feet and summons both of her fans and try to hit her with them. However, Murakumo grabs them, snatches them out of Yumi's hands and slams them on the floor. She then summons her large meat clever and tries to strike her with it. Yumi ducks, causing the blade to get stuck on the wood. Yumi uses this chsnce to tackle the brunette and pin her to the wall, but only for a few seconds before being shoved to the floor again

Shiki watches in horror as Murakumo jumps on top of the ice ninja. She puts both of her hands on her neck and starts squeezing it tightly. Yumi wiggkes around wildly to free herself, but the masked brunette's grip is too strong. Shiki is shaking in fear. If Murakumo kills Yumi, Shiki knows she will go for her next. But she HAS to do something. She comes out of her hiding place and takes a few steps towards the two girls. The blonde takes a few deep breaths.

"Muracchi!" She calls.

Murakumo swiftly turns to the blonde. Shiki holds up a beautiful bracelet, a gift for only Murakumo. The brunette stands up and slowly takes a step forward. Shiki runs toward her and hugs her tightly.

"It's okay..." she says with her voice shaking. A couple tears fall from her face. "You can stop now..."

She removes her mask, revealing Murakumo's blank emerald eyes. Shiki crashes her lips against hers.

Murakumo makes no movement. Somehing inside her is fighting the curse and it's working. Her emerald eyes go back to normal and she notices her dear blonde friend, kissing her. She returns the kiss and wraps her arms around the blonde. After pulling away, Shiki gasps in surprise.

"M-Muracchi?" The blonde says.

"Hi, Shiki," Murakumo says.

"You're back!" Shiki hugs her friend while crying happy tears.

Yumi watches this happy moment with a small smile. Everything is back to normal, but the only problem is that they need to find out who caused all this. Who brainwashed Murakumo into trying to kill her ninja comrades? But for now, they need to help out the rest of their fellow ninjas and celebrate Murakumo's birthday.