Love Conquers All: Homura
Pairing: Asuka x Homura
Genre: Romance/Suspense
Disclaimer: I do not own Senran Kagura or any of its characters.
Author's Note: Well, here it is, everyone! My third installment of Love Conquers All. The reason why this came out way later than my last one is because I am trying to think of other ways for the girls to go against their own teammates without being so repetitive. But for right now, the girls being under spells is an only option. And it may be the same thing for the next installment as well.
So...here you go.
Night falls. It's pitch black and almost everyone is in bed, sleeping waiting for the new day to come. However, some people like to stay up and take walks, which can be dangerous if you're alone. Lamp posts are on at least so that they know where they are going, but other than that, it's very dark in some areas. Asuka is one of those people. She just wanted to pick up some stuff to make another futamaki roll for tomorrow. And she exits the shop just a few minutes before it closes. Bidding farewell to the clerk, she heads back to the dorms, happily walking along and humming to herself.
However, her happiness is cut short when she hears some noises coming from nowhere. She looks to her right, but nothing's there. The noise comes up again, so she turns to her left. Still nothing. Quirking an eyebrow, Asuka wonders if it's just her imagination. She turns back and keeps on walking when the noises grew louder behind her. She grits her teeth, swiftly turns around as she summons her twin swords, ready to fight.
"Alright! Come on out!" She shouts. "I know you're here! Show yourself!"
She backs away a little, keeping her guard up for any enemies that might pop up. Still, the sounds are coming from everywhere now. Left, right and above. It's so dark that she can't make out where it's coming from. She keeps backing away until she bumps into something or rather...she feels two squishy objects on her back. She turns around and before she can react, that person tackles her, making her disarm her weapons. In the darkness, Asuka could see a long pony-tail, a hint of dark skin and wearing her shinobi outfit. The dark brunette immediately recognized this figure.
"H-Homura...chan..." Asuka gasps.
"Time to meet your end...Asuka..." Homura growls. Her eyes are glowing red for some reason, which is scaring Asuka. The tanned girl raises her "claws" and is about to strike her when the brunette lets out a scream.
**Reality**
Asuka bolts out of bed, panting heavily. She clutches her head with one hand while clutching the sheets with the other. She's been having the same exact dream at least 3 times since a few days ago. Not only that, but the dorms feel a bit...empty. Lately, Ikaruga, Yagyuu and Hibari were reported missing and now only she and Katsuragi remain. Both of them searched everywhere, but they were nowhere to be found. Asuka is getting really worried about them and couldn't stop thinking about them. Getting out of bed, she does her usual routine and heads downstairs to eat.
Katsuragi is already down there, all amiles and eating away. "Oh, morning, Asuka! Come on, come on~! Eat! There's plenty of food to consume~!"
Asuka nods with a small smile and sits down to serve herself some eggs and bacon. Katsuragi notices the expression on her friend's face.
"You had the dream again?" She asks.
Asuka's only response is a nod.
"Hey, that's the third time in just a few days," the blonde says. "Something's up. I bet that dream is trying to tell you something." She grabs a bottle of juice and pours it into her glass.
"But...why would a dream tell me that Homura-chan would turn against me like that?" Asuka asks. "I don't understand..."
Katsuragi knew she blew that one and wasn't making things any better. She rushes in and puts a hand on her ninja comrade's shoulder. "Hey, hey, don't worry. Homura is not like that at all in reality. You should know that, right?"
Asuka looks up at the blonde and nods. "I-I guess you're right."
"It's only a dream, Asuka. We will find the others today. Not to worry."
Asuka looks down at the table. She is still unsure about if their search will have any luck this time. For the past few days, she and Homura haven't been talking nor seeing each other. And it's not like they did not want to see each other, no. Asuka has been trying to contact her countless times, but no answer from her at all. She even asked the Crimson Squad members if Homura was present during those few days. A few of them told her she was busy with her part time jobs. Others told her that she's been gone without returning to the hideout at all.
Asuka became suspicious a this. If Homura is nowhere to be seen, then where is she? First, she has to find her Hanzo Academy friends and then Homura next. Today should be the day they will be found! She cannot give up now!
**Crimson Squad Hideout**
Haruka is pacing back and forth, rubbing her chin in thought while Mirai is lying on her belly on a cushion. Hikage is sitting on the chair and Yomi is munching on lots of bean sprouts to calm herself down. The whereabouts about Homura's disappearance dis not only affect Asuka, but the rest of the Crimson Squad members, too. They even hear reports of other shinobi going missing during those past few days without them realizing it. Now, they have to keep their guard at all times so that they won't get caught like the others. But the question is: who is doing all this? What purpose does this person have kidnapping the shinobi? And who were those shinobi?
Mirai adjusts herself a little. "Haruka-sama...come up with anything yet?"
The honey-blonde shakes her head. "No, I'm afraid not. Homura-chan was supposed to return from her part time jobs to cook us dinner that night, but...she never returned. Nor did she return the day after or yesterday. I just...don't understand."
"Homura's been acting weird," Hikage says, shrugging.
"You said it," Mirai agrees. "Our leader wouldn't lose track of time. She's better than that."
"But what else could be the reason she won't return?" Yomi asks.
It is then that it hits Haruka. "Maybe...something must have happened to her and she went so far away that we couldn't find her."
"But how does it explain the missing shinobi?" Mirai asks. "We don't know who did it, yet."
Haruka rubs her chin in thought. "Girls, I will investigate this matter. I'm going to the town's library. I shall return with information soon."
"Let me go with," Hikage says.
"Sorry, darling, but you must protect the team," Haruka says with a sad smile. "I will be back, no worries."
Mirai nods. "Okay..be careful, Haruka-sama!"
The honey blonde nods, waves good-bye and leaves the hideout. Hikage rubs her chin in thought while the others watch their teammate leave the hideout, hoping she will come back in one piece.
**Later**
The search goes on for Asuka and Katsuragi. But no luck at all. They searched high and low of the city to find their comrades. However, they are nowhere to be found. To make matters worse, there has been news about other shinobi being reported missing. Asuka knew that those shinobi are her friends from Gessen and Hebijo elite. That's why she couldn't contact them, especially Yumi.
However, the big question is still flowing in her mind: who IS causing all this trouble and what does this person want? Sighing, she Katsuragi decide to take a break from searching and get a bite to eat.
They head towards a small restaurant next to the library and enter, unaware that Haruka is present and entering the library as well.
The honey blonde walks toward one of the row of computers, logs in and goes online. She types something in the search box for the reports of missing shinobi. Nothing is found as she scrolls down, however, when she sees the words, "Gessen Academy" this catches her eye. More importantly, she recalls Shiki having a blog, sos she types it in and notices an update. She clicks on it and there she is shocked to read what's on there. Her teammates have gone missing since the few days have passed. Since yesterday, she and Yumi only remained in the academy. She scrolls down further to see at least 3 vlogs posted. She quickly clicks on one video and the it buffers a little to load the video.
The first video is with Shiki by herself in her room, on her belly, staring at the screen.
"Everyone. Hey, it's me, Shiki. Something...strange has been going on in this academy. First off...we keep hearing these strange noises out of nowhere that night. We were wondering if there were any intruders nearby, but no luck. So...I hope tomorrow will be okay. Bye."
Haruka clicks on the next video. The thumbnail shows a frightened Shiki.
"Um...hello. So...it seemed that Yozakura and Minori went missing. W-we tried searching for them, but they were nowhere to be found. Please, if anyone knows them, contact me and report where you found them. Yumi-chin, Muracchi and I are getting really worried about them..."
Haruka gasps softly. It's starting to make sense, but that still doesn't answer her question onto who did it. Maybe the last video should prove useful. She clicks on it and the video loads.
"Everyone! I'm scared! The lights are out and Yumi-chin and I keep hearing noises and it's getting closer! There is nothing we could do! What's that, Yumi-chin? Tanned skin? Flaming hair? Oh, no! Could you mean...ah! Yumi-chin look out!"
Haruka sees a bit of red in the background and screaming in the distance. Shiki rushes back to her computer.
"Everyone! For those...for those who are watching...it seems that H-Homura is not herself right now! It seems that she's been-"
CRASH!
Haruka gasps, cupping both hands to her mouth, seeing static on the screen and then the video stopping. She cannot believe what she heard right now. Their Crimson Squad Leader, Homura...was behind all this...all this time? And she didn't even get to finish what Shiki had to say, but judging by those words, Haruka has figured out what happened to Homura.
**That Night**
"It's hopeless!" Katsuragi groans. "We've searched everywhere again, but still no luck! Every building in this city and every place we could think of." She turns to her brunette friend. "I am so sorry, Asuka."
Asuka is trying her best to hold in her tears. "I just...don't understand...Ikaruga-san...Yagyuu-chan...Hibari-chan...where could they be...?"
The blonde hugs Asuka tightly. "It's okay, Asuka."
"No, it's not okay! For three days they've been missing! For three days, other shinobi have been gone missing and now there's only two of us left!" Asuka clutches Katsuragi's shirt as she shuts her eyes tightly. "Please, I want my friends back! I want this nightmare to be over and done with!"
The blonde gently strokes her hair. "Asuka..." She knows this is not only hard on Asuka, but on herself as well. Since they have gone missing, it's been pretty boring. She, too, misses her comrades as much as Asuka does.
Suddenly, something catches Katsuragi's eye. A building in the middle of a large forest. It's glowing red and it looks like it's wrecked from the windows, to the top floor and some of the other floors. She quirks an eyebrow.
"Huh? Did we really miss that?" The blonde questions as she lets go of Asuka and starts approaching the building.
Asuka quickly follows. "I...am not sure. But let's check it out."
They walk towards the building and see inside looks like it's been burnt and destroyed. Many rooms were empty and furniture and other items were burnt to a crisp. The red glow disappears, making everything pitch black. Katsuragi looks around as she is unaware that she is being separated from Asuka. The brunette in the other hand stops and shakes a little.
"K-Katsu-nee?" She stammers. "This is scary. L-let's go back." She then realizes there is no response from the blonde, meaning she's all alone. "Katsu-nee!?" She decides to search for her and then head back to the dorms before stuff gets really bad.
Meanwhile, Katsuragi looks around, searching every room, but each of them are empty and wrecked. She walks upstairs to the next floor and searches from room to room. Still nothing. She approaches a long hallway, turning left and right until she gasps at the sight of a familiar shadowy figure, standing in the distance. The building starts glowing red again, showing her figure a bit more clearly in the light. Her main "claw" weapons are already out. Homura, who is wearing her usual casual attire, grins as she slowly approaches the blonde, tracing her claws on the window, creating little sparks as they go. Katsuragi makes a run for it, down the long halls way, up the stairs to the next floor and keeps on running, no matter where she goes. She could've fought Homura, but her fear got the best of her and just started running.
She bolts toward two doors and opens them. There, she steps into a large dining room. The walls were burnt and there is no table nor chandelier. But she does notice a row of chairs lined up against the wall...with people tied up on them! Katauragi gasps in shock as she slowly walks toward them to have a better look. Her eyes widen at the sight of severely injured shinobi maidens.
"I-Ikaruga...Yagyuu...Hibari...?" Katsuragi stammers. "Oh, god! Th-this is not real...wh-who did this..."
"I did...Katsuragi..." Homura replies from behind her.
The blonde turns toward her and glares at her. "Wh-why? Homura...why would you do this!?"
Homura closes her eyes as she chuckles. "Maybe a better question is why did it take you so long to find your friends?" She raises her claws. "I was just about to kill them until you showed up."
"H-Homura...please don't do this..." Katsuragi says, backing away. "This isn't like you...ah!"
Homura peers close to her, having one of her claws up to her face. "I don't think so...time to play..." Katsuragi notices Homura's eyes glow red as she raises her weapons.
"No...NOOOOOOOOO!"
Asuka hears Katsuragi's cry and uses her ninja speed to track down where the sound is coming from. She approaches the dining room where Katsuragi could be found, but she is too late. The blonde is already hurt, cut from the arms and legs and tied up to a chair against the wall. Asuka gasps as she cups one hand to her mouth as she sees her other shinobi friends tied up and hurt as well. She then turns toward Homura and notices her eyes glowing red on and off. Too afraid to confront her, she bolts out of the room and uses her ninja speed to escape before Homura even notices.
**Crimson Squad Hideout**
Haruka gave out the news to what happened to Homura and the rest of the team were in complete shock.
"Homura...possessed by a demon!?" Mirai shrieks. "This is insane!"
"That's my only conclusion." Haruka says. "It must have possessed her while on her job or something and has taken complete control of her, capturing the other shinobi."
Just then, they hear loud fast footsteps come toward them.
"You guys!" Asuka cries. The first person she jumps to is Haruka and hugs her tightly, crying.
"A-Asuka-chan?" Haruka says. "You're alive?"
"Help!" The brunette sobs into Haruka's shirt. "Homura-chan...Homura-chan was the one...behind all the missing shinobi...and she's got them all tied up! Including Katsu-nee!"
"What!?" The rest of the Crimson Squad members shout in unison.
"I...I didn't know what to do..." Asuka cries. "She's...how could she do this...?"
Mirai angrily stands up and kicks a chair over. "This is just GREAT! We've got a demon possessing our leader, taking control of her and kidnapping our friends!"
Yomi is crying as well. "She's going to come after us, too. I know it. She must have been saving us for the big finish..."
Asuka looks up from Haruka's shirt. "Wait...did you say Homura-chan was possessed by a demon?"
Haruka nods. "That's right. The evil spirit must have snuck inside of Homura without her realizing it and that's what caused this madness."
Mirai throws her hands up in the air. "Well, now what!? We can't just sit there and cry! She's never gonna stop!"
Haruka puts on a serious expression on her face. "I think I have an idea. I will lure Homura to our base."
"What!?" The rest of the girls say in unison.
"We will set a trap for Homura-chan," Haruka says. "Long enough for us to figure out how to break the spell."
"But we don't know where Homura is right now!" Mirai says.
"I'll have Asuka-chan lead me," Haruka says. "But she will have to remain unseen. Hikage will go with this time just in case things get bad."
"What can we do?" Yomi asks.
"Have your weapons ready when Homura-chan gets in here," Haruka says. "Until then, just wait patiently until we return with Homura-chan."
Mirai nods. "Okay, be careful!"
Haruka turns to Asuka. "Now then, after you guide me and Hikage-chan toward that place, you must return to our hideout immediately. We'll let you know when it's safe to come out."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Haruka winks. "You'll see in a moment, dear~!""
Asuka stares at her for a moment before nodding. And so, the three girls leave the hideout and make their way toward the wrecked glowing building. Once they arrive there, Haruka nods, signaling Asuka to sprint back toward the hideout. Now it's up to Haruka and Hikage now. They decide to split up to search for Homura that way. They search from room to room, with Haruka on one floor and Hikage on another. No sign of their shinobi friends nor Homura, yet. Hikage goes down the long hallway and takes a look in every room there. She approaches a door and opens it, revealing a large office. But before she can look any further, she hears a noise from behind her. Hikage pulls out her knife and gets into her battle position. Noise of claws scratching the wall and footsteps are growing louder. The greenette looks left and right for the figure to strike at any moment.
Just then...
BANG!
Hikage gets grabbed by the head and slammed against the wall by Homura.
"You..."
BANG!
"Can't..."
BANG!
"Save Asuka!" Homura shouts with each hit and with one last one, she slams Hikage on the floor and grabs her by the shirt, grinning. "Tag...you're it."
"Homura-chan!" Haruka's voice echoes throughout the room. She must have gone on the same floor as Hikage.
"Seems like your friend's here. I'll be right back," Homura says as she drops the injured Hikage.
Meanwhile, Haruka walks along the long hallway, up towards two doors. She is told by Asuka that their friends are held inside that room. Before she can approach it, Homura's voice and chuckle greets her.
"Hey there, Haruka," she says.
The honey blonde and notices the tanned girl's eyes glow faint red on and off for a moment before permanently staying red.
"Now that you've caught me," Homura says. "What game do you want to play?"
"Screw you!" Haruka presses.
"Ohhh~! Sounds like fun!" The tanned girl says, but quirks an eyebrow while crossing her arms. "It's a little fast for me."
Haruka can't believe that this whole time, a demon has possessed Homura to do all these things. And she wonders if Homura has the willpower to fight it. Probably not.
"How about we hang first?" Homura grabs Haruka by the shirt, opens the doors and shows her the captured shinobi.
Haruka can't believe what she is seeing. Almost all of them are tied to chairs, unconscious and bleeding. The Elite Hebijo are hanging by chains tied to their wrists on the wall above the other girls. Haruka shakes her head, almost to the point of crying from seeing this.
"No...no...no! This can't be!" The honey blonde cries.
Homura pulls her close, grinning. "Oh, I'm the real deal now. You and the rest of your members are next~"
Haruka grits her teeth and shoves Homura away, taking off down the long hallway to find Hikage. Homura quickly follows. Once Haruka finds the green haired girl, she encourages her to get a move on because Homura is chasing them. Hikage runs ahead, escapes the building just in time. Haruka quickly follows, but feels Homura right on her tail. She uses her ninja speed to jump toward the first floor, toward the exit, but Homura stops her dead in her tracks in front of her and kicks her hard, sending her flying against the wall. Haruka recovers and tries to find a way around the tanned girl.
"We've got so much to do Haruka," Homura says. "Why run away now?"
"I'm here to save you, Homura-chan," Haruka says. "You're possessed by a demon. You have to listen to me!"
Homura chuckles. "That Homura girl can't hear you. I've taken complete control over her soul. And there is NOTHING you can do about it~"
Haruka grits her teeth. "Oh, I can. If you can catch me, that is." She pulls out a smoke bomb and slams it on the floor, creating an explosion.
Homura coughs from the smoke surrounding her and gasps at noticing Haruka has vanished. Gritting her teeth, she gets out her claws and uses her ninja speed to chase the mad scientist. Haruka looks behind her to notice Homura gaining up on her in seconds. She looks back and sees she is almost close to her hideout. With a few high leaps, she and Homura make it towards the entrance. Right before Haruka enters, she is grabbed by the wrist by Homura, but the honey-blonde shakes it off, grabs her wrist and throws her into the cave. She rushes in and cuts the rope, holding a large boulder the rest of the team worked together to find and it drops to block it. Homura quickly recovers as Haruka pants from running so much.
"Yomi-chan, get her!" Haruka cries.
Yomi readies her great sword as she runs toward the tanned girl while Homura angrily approaches Haruka. Yomi strikes her in the arm with her sword, causing her to stagger back a little. Right when Yomi tries to strike her again, Homura blocks it and slashes it from her hands with her claws, making it drop. The tanned girl then thrusts her claws at Yomi, making them stick to her chest a little and pull her close, growling. Homura tosses her towards Mirai, both of them crashing into each other tumbling towards the cave wall, hurt. Haruka jumps on Homura's back and tries stabbing her with an empty needle she has.
"Homura-chan, stop this!" She screams.
However, Homura spins and throws her hard on the ground. She throws out her claws and approaches the honey blonde.
"Nice try, Haruka," she growls. "Now let me take a stab." She raises her arm and thrusts it forward, but Haruka quickly blocks it with a picture frame lying near her. Homura chucks to the side and huffs with anger.
Hikage crawls toward the tanned girl, taking out one of her knives. As Homura raises her claws to slash Haruka, Hikage stabs the tanned girl's leg. Homura screams in pain, turns toward the greenette and kicks her in the face, making her fall on her back. The tanned girl grits her teeth as she raises her claws again.
"Now why don't you just freaking die!?" She growls.
She raises her claws once more, ready to slaughter the greenette when all of a sudden...
"HOMURA-CHAN!"
As quick as light, Asuka rushes in and hugs her beloved Homura in front of her.
"Wh-what!?" Homura says. "Get off me!"
Asuka shakes her head and buries her face into Homura's shirt. "No! I won't let go! Please, Homura-chan...snap out of it!"
"She cannot hear you, little girl!" Homura says.
Asuka looks up with a serious expression and tears fall freely from her eyes. "Homura-chan...I know you're in there. Try to remember! Remember you and me, Homura-chan. Together!"
Homura's eyes flash red on and off repeatedly. She grits her teeth as she drops her weapons and clutches her head with both hands. "No! I...I have complete control...you can't fail me...now! You'll never fight this!"
"Homura-chan!" Asuka cries. "Remember! Just try!"
Homura's body glows red around her on and off as well while the tanned girl struggles to keep her composure. She shuts her eyes tightly, having flashes of images of her and Asuka together. How they first met, fought each other, defeating Dougen together and then...falling in love and dating. Homura opens her eyes, but still feels pain in her head, so she shuts them tightly again, clutching her head, crying in pain.
Asuka puts on a serious expression, despite the ongoing tears. "Homura-chan...I love you..." she whispers. She raises her hand, caresses the tanned girl's cheek and leans in to kiss her on the lips.
Homura's eyes widen as the glowing begins to cease and spread out from her body. The red spirit starts to leave Homura's body, creating mist that is fading in seconds. The demon lets out a screech as the last of it fades away. The red glowing building also fades, setting their shinobi friends free and healing them with glowing sparkling blue light.
Back at the hideout, Homura notices Asuka kissing her and relaxes her body.
"Asuka..." she closes her eyes as she wraps an arm around her beloved's waist and returns the kiss.
Haruka and the others are smiling with happy tears forming. The two pull away and Asuka gasps happily.
"H-Homura-chan!"
"Asuka..." Homura says, putting on a gentle smile. "I'm free now."
The brunette plunges into Homura's chest, sobbing happily. The tanned girl looks up while stroking her beloved's hair and nods, smiling. The rest of the team members gasp happily, their smiles widening in excitement. Everything is back to normal now, everyone is free from the demon's grasp and now there is peace. Asuka and Homura's love for each other conquered the demon's spell.