"MIKOTO!!!!!"
Mai's enraged scream filled the night-sky. After all what that damn cat had done to her, why couldn't she have the decency to die? That blast from Kagutsushi should have erased her, but no, she was still standing there and seemed to ignore her completely. She would not be ignored! She wanted Mikoto to look into her eyes when she burned the flesh from her bones.
On the cue, Kagutsushi started to shot fire-beams at the little girl.
For the first time, Mai was happy about Kagutsushi acting without her command. Once, she had envied the other Himes for the loyalty of their children towards them. They never acted against their wills, doing exactly what their mistresses demanded; unlike Kagutsushi, who simply attacked everything that threatened Mai, without any consideration for bystanders. All Mai could do was directing his power into the right directions to lower the damage.
But not tonight. Not anymore. Finally she could understand her child's lust for destruction. Finally she felt bonded to the fire-beast. All her thoughts were now fixed on destroying Mikoto. Nothing else mattered.
But she wouldn't stand still! That damned girl kept dodging every attack Kagutsushi threw at her. And what enraged Mai even further was that Mikoto still was not fighting back. She wanted Mikoto to fight her! She needed relief from all the pain she had endured. All the pain that Mikoto had caused. Wanted the cat-girl to face her for everything she had done to make her life miserable. So she just floated beside her child and waited. Waited for Mikoto to bring the fight she desired to her, while fury like never before burned through her veins.
There, finally. She saw Mikoto screaming out loud, raising her black claymore and pointing it towards her. Black, spear-like stones broke out of the earth around her and her eyes glowed yellow.
That was it. That was the enemy she was lusting for.
Burning inside, blood dripping down her chin, she calmly watched Mikoto jumping towards her.
Driven by the memories of her little brother fading away in her arms, she created a fire-shield in front of her. The black blade stroke against it. Sparks flew. The cat-girl crossed Mai and shoved her aside. A snarl escaped Mai's lips.
As soon as Mikoto's feet touched the ground again, she started running. Simultaneously, Kagutsuschi moved also, moving head to head with the little girl. He took a breath and spit another fire-ball at her. Mikoto jumped out of the way easily.
"Stay down!" Mai demanded darkly, her voice filled with bitterness and grief. "This is my fight."
And Kagutsushi obeyed. Never before had he obeyed to stop fighting before the enemy was destroyed.
Slowly, Mai left her place above his right shoulder. The more she left the safety of his presence, the better she felt. After she had lost her mother as a young child, her normal life after she came to Fuuka, and finally the brother she dedicated her life to, it felt strangely freeing now to put her own life on the line. To face death who awaited her on the ground in form of Mikoto.
After Mai landed, the two Himes just stared at each other. The orange-haired girl didn't care for what was going on behind those yellow eyes that fixed her. Behind her eyes, she thought of the short time she had spent with Mikoto. How she had saved her from Natsuki, starting al the madness. She had put up with all the cat-like girl quirks. The embarrassing nuzzling against her chest. The always clinging to her like she was a doll, the annoying characteristic of begging her for food, and her food alone. Now she was ashamed of herself for actually enjoying it. It had felt good to be needed and wanted by someone. Mikoto had made her feel loved like her brother never could. It had been nice to know to have someone who would do everything to protect you, as Mikoto had stated again and again.
But Mikoto had just gone too far. First she had tried to destroy the Crow-Child that had attacked them and later almost killed Yukino. She might have done all that to defend her, but Mikoto just didn't know when to stop. And now Takumi died because of that! But never again. This time it would end, one way or another!
Gracefully, Mikoto leapt in the air. Growling, Mai also jumped, her arms surrounded by fire. With a loud screech, golden rings meet black steel. Both were pushed backwards from the force of their collusion. Without a stop, they leapt at each other again and again, furiously striking at the other. The air was filled with the sound of crackling fire and steel cutting through air. Both Himes got wounded several times, but none of them seemed to notice the pain.
"AAARRRRGGHHHH!!!
Frustrated with the ongoing battle, Mai flew up high and let a stream of flames come down at Mikoto. As the fire surrounded the little girl, she barely blinked. Instead she whirled her blade around, dragging its tip over the ground. The forces of her claymore blew the flames away. In front of her opened a black hole. Determined, she drove her sword into it and caused dozens of black spears to break out of the earth all around the glade. Mai was forced to fly higher. She prepared to fire another blast at Mikoto, as one of the black spears impaled her leg.
She screamed out in pain and hate at the damned cat, which now came flying towards her. Desperately, Mai shouted,
"KAGUTSUSHI!"
And Kagutsushi acted. His giant tail swept forward and shattered the spear that had impaled Mai's leg. A huge splinter remained in her flesh, but now that she was free, she quickly flew out of Mikoto's reach.
As Mikoto landed this time, she could not avoid Kagutsushi's blast. The explosion tossed her on her back. Before she could recover, the fire-bird was upon her, crushing all the spears under its body. When its fangs came down at her, Mikoto lashed out with her claymore. The black sword dug deep into the Phoenix beak, but that only irritated him.
With a deafening crush, the fangs closed.
After a short moment, Kagutsushi unfolded his wings and rose in the air. Silence lay upon the forest. Slowly, Mai came floating to where she had last seen Mikoto, her child hovering over her like a giant guardian angel.
Mai's cold eyes found Mikoto lying in a hole Kagutsushi's fangs had dug. Her entire left leg and half of her left arm were missing. Streams of blood flooded out of the little girl And her skin was full of burn-marks. The eyes had stopped blazing. Tears were running down her cheeks and she raised her remaining hand towards the orange-haired girl, pleading.
"M-Mai." Mikoto's voice was full of pain, regret, begging and love.
Mai's expression was cold. Still she was burning inside. No more. No more would she let this childish mask fool her into believing that there wasn't anything else but a merciless warrior behind these cat-like eyes.
She landed and walked towards Mikoto. Finished, was her thought. She was finished with it, with all the Hime-business, with Fuuka, with this entire damn Carnival. But most of all she was finished with her old self. She, the always understanding and selfless Mai, who had cared for her sick brother since the death of their mother, who had taken in Mikoto when she had nowhere else to go, who had sacrificed herself when Alyssa tried to destroy Fuuka. In the end, it had brought her nothing. Her brother was dead, Mikoto was dying, and soon, all the other Himes would have killed each other until only one remained. Nothing to do about it.
Standing next to Mikoto, she looked down at her coldly. Slowly, she raised her hands over her head, her rings surrounding them with fire. Mikoto looked in her eyes, and what she did let Mai hesitate.
She smiled. Her expression changed into a perfect picture of childish happiness and satisfaction. She said, kindly,
"Mai always takes care of everything. I failed in finding my brother, but I am happy to be together with Mai from now on."
Frustrated that her victim still only puzzling her, still showed no remorse for what she did, Mai brought down her fists on Mikoto's chest, screaming her hate out into the night. Shattering the body of the person who had been like a little sister to her.
Again there was silence. All life had vanished from Mikoto's eyes. Mai kneeled next to her broken, smiling corpse. Taking a deep breathe, Mai noticed green sparks appearing before her. She was confused. That looked like the sparks in which Takumi had vanished.
She noticed that the sparks were coming from her body. And suddenly she felt a burning pain in her chest.
She started to laugh bitterly. How could she forget that? When a Hime or her child died, so did the person who they cared about most. How could she have thought that would be anyone else but her in Mikoto's case?
In the end, Mikoto had been right, they would be together. The irony that she had just killed herself let her laugh even louder.
How was that saying, she asked herself. Oh, right. "Death remains the greatest adventure."
There was a silent explosion and she was gone. In a cave somewhere below Fuuka two new columns rose.