Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).
Chapter Five: The Kyoto Chronicles, Part IV: All-Out War in Kyoto
"Wow, that's amazing, Honya-chan!"
The class gathered around Nodoka, who was filled with embarrassment, but it was overridden by her pleasure at her new prize. The beautiful card she held in her hand resembled a tarot card, but had her own image on it. It showed her in her school uniform, but with a long jacket on and surrounded by floating books.
"Ah! Ah! Let me hold it!" Risa begged. Nodoka allowed her. "Ah…." Risa sighed. "I knew you got a card from kissing Kain-sensei! If only I could have gotten it! I need another chance…."
"It seems like you guys had fun last night," Kagome laughed. "I'm sorry I missed it…although I guess I don't envy the punishment you got…."
"It was pretty fun," Kiami added. "We should do it again sometime."
"It was fun," Akari agreed.
No way am I doing that again, Chisame thought. My feet still hurt….
Risa gave the card back. She was about to say something more, but Shizuna entered and clapped her hands to silence the class and attract their attention. "Okay class! Today, the third day is a completely free activity day! Go back to your rooms and get ready!"
"Hai!"
As they separated, Kaoru approached Nodoka. "You did great Honya-chan! But I won't lose next time!" Nodoka could only stutter in response.
Nevertheless, she was once again giddy as she made her way back to her room. Hehehe…I'm taking good care of this card! It's proof of my first k-k-kiss with Kain-sensei!
"Eh?" She was brought up short as she spotted Mai, Erika, Momo, Tokine, Kain, and Nanami tucked away in a corner.
"I can't believe you, Kain-sensei!" Mai waved the guilty evidence in one hand. "All these cards! All that nonsense last night! How are you going to take responsibility for this?"
"Er…."
"C'mon, Ojô-chan," Kamo pleaded. "It was all fun, and…."
"That's right," Nanami agreed. "What's the matter with making a little profit while helping you guys out in your little magic crusade?"
"Jinnai-san, you and that perverted ermine stay out of this!"
"Easy, Mai," Momo soothed her. "Regardless of what happened last night, I think Kain-sensei is as much a victim in this as anyone…."
"I have to agree," Erika said. "Why are you so upset about this, Mai?"
Mai flushed and muttered, "I-it's the principle of the thing! And I don't mean the kisses! I mean these!" There were five cards in her hand; deformed, childish looking ones of Kazumi, Kiami, Kanade and Kaoru, and one much more elaborate one of Nodoka. The latter card radiated a small amount of magic. "These four that kissed your…your clones seem to be harmless, but what about Honya? She's just a normal girl! We can't get her involved in all of this! Well, we can't do anything about the gift cards Jinnai-san and Kamo-kun handed out, but we absolutely can't make use of the master cards!"
"Well, no need to worry about that," Kamo laughed. "Apart from Nodoka-chan's, the rest of them are useless anyway, just little trinkets, although they're still valuable to certain collectors…."
"But, Mai, you're just a normal girl too…" Kain protested.
"Well, I wish I still was," Mai muttered. "I don't know how you can say that after all that's happened. And after all that's happened, I'd rather keep the rest of my classmates from being tainted by this as much as possible…."
"In any case, keeping everything on the down low should help keep your secret safe," Tokine observed. "I'd say, based on how things are going, Kain-san, it's best to slow down how often your students find out…."
"Well, I don't have any real argument with it…we should keep Nodoka out of danger," Kain agreed.
"Oh, that's too bad," Kamo sighed. "Looks like the ojô-chan has a pretty powerful card, too. Oh well. Maybe next time….
"In any case, Mai-chan, I guess it's finally time to tell you the rest about your own card. You'll probably need it before we're done with Kyoto."
"Eh? But, isn't it just useful for communicating?"
"And transporting, remember. But more than that, you can use it to call out your artifact at any time."
"Eh? Really?" Mai pulled her card out to look at it.
Tokiha-san has a card, too… Nodoka thought, watching carefully from around a corner. It's not just me…and…is that ermine talking?
"Yeah! Give it a try! Just hold it like this and call out something."
"Something? That's very descriptive…."
"Well, you can say almost anything as long as you are thinking about making it come forth. If you feel sophisticated, you can say 'Adeat!' which means 'come forth' in Latin. You can say something in English to be impressive, or use a word like 'manifest'! Whatever you use, stick with that, and it will come out."
"Ah…okay…Manifest!" The card disappeared, and Mai's rings flamed into existence. "Ah…it really appeared…." Then she remembered where she was and began to panic as she floated slowly upward. "Okay, now how do I turn it off?"
"Call out 'disappear', or 'vanish', or any appropriate kind of 'go away' type of word or phrase."
"Vanish!" The rings disappeared, and Mai dropped lightly to the floor, her card reappearing in her hand.
As the clustered group murmured over this new demonstration, Nodoka turned and slunk away. That was odd, she thought. I couldn't make out most of what they were talking about, but…. She looked down at the card in her hand. Well, why not try it out? She had heard that well enough….
"Manifest!"
To her surprise, the card disappeared. A warm light exploded around her, filling her and flowing through her, and a large book appeared in the air and settled into her hands. It was lighter than she expected. It was just like one of the ones on her card, expensive looking with gold etching and an exotic crown-like symbol. The word 'Diarium Ejus' adorned its face.
"Eh? Ah…it turned into a book…how mysterious…it's beautiful…and it's shining…."
She opened the book. To her surprise….
"The pages…they're all blank!" She flipped through them, a little disappointed.
Then words and images started appearing on the book. Fascinated, she watched it, observing the result….
'Wednesday, the 18th of April,' she read. "A picture diary?" she murmured.
The picture above the entry showed Nodoka and Kain engaged in a kiss…a kiss seemingly somewhat more romantic than what had actually happened last night. 'I kissed my beloved Kain-sensei yesterday. Kya! It was only by accident, though. One day, I would like to do it in a more romantic way….'
She flushed as she read. Th-these are…my thoughts…?!
"What's the matter, Nodoka?"
Nodoka turned her head in surprise. "A-Ami?"
"We're getting ready to head out. Yue's just behind me. Let's hurry, now!" She walked on, seemingly somewhat distracted.
Nodoka watched her go, then looked down at her book. A new entry had appeared on the next page. The picture showed Kain surrounded by girls, including Nodoka, Mai, and Kagome. Next to the same date was Ami's name in parentheses. 'Nodoka actually got her kiss with Kain-sensei yesterday. I am so proud of her, so happy for her! Still, I can't help this feeling of disquiet. Nodoka confessed to him, kissed him, and yet…what does he really think? Of her, and the other girls? He seems to be spending so much time around Mai-san, Erika-fukukaichô, even Hinamori-san now. It's suspicious….
'And speaking of suspicious, what about this trip? Frogs appearing out of nowhere on the train, water from the waterfall turning to wine, and now that kissing festival that had mysterious exploding fake Kain-senseis! Something is wrong with all of this….'
The entry of Ami's very rampant thoughts ran onto the next page. Nodoka was just finishing it when Yue called her next. "There you are, Nodoka."
"Yue…."
"You were standing there quietly all by yourself, so I wondered if Kanade-san or someone had one of their weird ideas…."
A new entry was appearing in Nodoka's book, and she looked at it in surprise. It was dated the same but marked with Yue's name, and it showed a picture of a stunned Yue lying on the ground, and Kain leaning over her, his face dangerously close to hers. 'Yesterday was an extremely troublesome day. Kain-sensei pushed me down right in front of Nodoka. I just couldn't believe how stupid and absurd it all was, and even now I worry about…'
Nodoka shut the book with a snap, shock and horror on her face. Yue regarded her questioningly.
"What's that book about, Nodoka?"
"Ah…n-nothing…this is…."
"Why are you hiding it? We're friends, aren't we? You don't have to hide a book from me."
A-a-a-ahh! Nodoka moaned inwardly. T-t-this book is a very bad book!
"Hey!" Ami suddenly called, looking back at them. "Hurry up and get ready! We're going with Kain-sensei today, right? We need to hurry up and get changed into our casual clothes."
"Right, right, don't rush…unlike you, I didn't get much sleep," Yue muttered.
Kain finished changing and stepped out of the room, the letter from the principal in his hand. "All right!" he declared. "Today is complete free time, no schedules or necessary activities, so I finally have time to deliver the letter!"
"And we better escape before anyone catches us," Erika noted, and grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
The two slipped by, vaguely hearing the girls milling in the foyer wondering about Kain's location. "Eh? Has he left already? I was hoping to tour Osaka with him!"
"Escape via the back door successful," Kamo chuckled as they made their way out of the building and onto the grounds. "As much as I enjoy their company, we can't be distracted by the girls today. We've got work to do today."
"Ah, I'm surprised you know what that word means," Erika jabbed. "Well, we can leave Higurashi-san to Yukimura-san and Hinamori-chan. We'll meet up with Mai and head to the Kansai Magic Association's main temple."
"Ah, yes," Kain enthused. "I've got the map right here…."
"Is it far?" Erika asked, looking at the map.
"I don't think so. Here, it should be easy to get to…just past here, and…."
"Right. Where are we meeting with Mai?"
They arrived at the bridge that marked the edge of the hotel's grounds, but Mai wasn't present yet. "Odd," Kain mumbled. "She should have been here by now…."
"Kain-sensei!" Ami called out.
Kain turned to see Mai approaching…flanked by Momo, Kagome, Tokine, Nodoka, Yue and Ami. They were dressed in casual wear, and Kain's first appropriate reaction was….
"Oh, what cute clothes!" Then he remembered the situation and grew flustered. "Mai!" he hissed after dashing in close enough to conspire. "Why are the others with you?"
"Sorry, Mizuno-san saw me leaving! It seems she suspected we'd sneak off together or something…."
"Kain-sensei, what are you doing here with Erika-san?" Ami asked sweetly. "Planning on running away together?"
"I'm not letting him out of my sight today," Erika growled, thinking quickly and grabbing Kain roughly by the collar. "After what happened last night, can you blame me? Things obviously go crazy when I'm not around, and I have my duties and dignity as the fukukaichô to think about."
That seemed to satisfy Ami, who continued, "I see you have a map there. Did you have somewhere to go? Plans? Can we come along?"
"D-d-doesn't group one have activities or plans for today?" Kain asked hopefully.
"Nope!" Yue declared.
"Kain-sensei, let's look around together!" Kagome insisted.
"Mai!" Kain hissed.
"Sorry, sorry! But all we have to do is lose them along the way, right? Momo and Tokine-san will help with that…."
"All right, let's go!" Kagome insisted again.
"Hmm, even the area near the hotel is nice," Momo noted.
"Yes," Yue replied, going into lecture mode, "the Arashiyama Sagano area has many places famous for their autumn scenery. It would be nice to come here during autumn."
Nodoka continued to stare at the cover of her book.
"Where are we going, Sensei?" Ami asked.
"Do you want me to guide you?" Yue offered.
"Eh…no, um…I'm just kind of interested in looking around…." Kain laughed a tad desperately.
"Any bright ideas about how to lose them, Mai?" Kain growled, sidling up to her again.
"Unnn…can't think of much besides trying to lose them in a crowd…."
Ami watched them curiously. "Mai-san…if it's not too forward of me to ask…."
"Eh? What is it, Mizuno-san?"
"You aren't…dating Kain-sensei, are you?"
Mai almost fell over in shock. "Hardly!" she screeched, her face the red of angered embarrassment. "He's our teacher, you know! Even I'm not that dense!"
"Right…right…sorry for disrespecting you…."
She turned away, then noticed one of the group was lagging. "Nodoka, hurry up! I know how it is to daze out with a new book, but…well…I guess I don't have the right to say much more than that…."
Kagome had found something of interest. "Hey! An arcade! Let's get a sticker photo together of our Kyoto trip!"
They dragged everyone off to the booth, and took several photos…Ami and Yue made Nodoka take one with Kain, and many other combinations rolled through it. In each of them, there seemed to be a tiny ermine in the corner making a face.
"There's something odd about these photos," Kagome muttered, although she regarded them happily.
"Must be your imagination," Yue replied.
Momo waved them over. "Hey! Come check this out!"
"We've come all the way to Kyoto and Momo's interested in the arcade?" Mai muttered. "Is this a rare thing for her…shinigami people?"
"Well, it's not a bad idea to play some games," Kamo pointed out. "If we all get playing, they'll be distracted! Play a few games, and you can slip out."
"I guess that's a good idea…Momo probably thought of that…."
"Kain-san, have you played many games?" Tokine asked.
"Erm, not really."
"Well, try this one out. It's the newest fighting game from the Comcap franchise. You battle with all sorts of wizards and the like."
"It's inspired from the card game we were playing on the train," Yue noted.
"Ah, okay…how does this work…?"
He seemed to gain a grasp of the controls rather quickly, and showed quite a bit of skill at defeating the computer opponents presented to him after only one failure. The girls watched him and cheered.
"Not bad. Can I give this a go?"
Kain turned in surprise as a boy his age walked up to the second player's position. He was slightly taller than Kain, which was unusual since Kain, while short for his race, was still an American. He had medium-length black hair pulled back in a ponytail, with only a pair of bangs on his right and left sides, dressed in a lightweight green jacket over a black shirt and black pants. He smiled at Kain slightly as he put a coin into the machine.
"Hmm…all right." Kain turned his attention back to the game.
The boy selected a swordsman as his character, and the two began their duel. The match was a greater struggle than any of Kain's computer opponents, but by the end of the round he had barely defeated his opponent. The students cheered.
"Not bad," the boy admitted with complete calm. "You're a worthy challenge after all. I don't get too many at this game."
Kain felt the game boiling his blood more than he had felt in a long time. "Is that so? Well, I'm thankful to be recognized."
"Let's see how it continues…."
The second round was also a struggle, but the boy surprised Kain with an amazing block and counterstrike when they were both at critical life. The third and final round, however, Kain was completely overwhelmed. Everything he tried was too slow, and his opponent countered every move he made.
Kain stared at the screen in shock. "Wow," he breathed. "That was…amazing…."
"You're really not bad yourself, especially for a newbie." The boy turned away. "You've got great fighting instincts, I'll tell you that. Unfortunately, that's all I have time for today. Keep on fighting…Kain Lockeheart." He started off.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Kagome seethed. "You can't just win and run!"
"H-h-how do you know my name?" Kain marvelled.
The kid pointed to the screen, where Kain's name was on full display. "You entered it yourself when you started playing. If you don't pay better attention than that, you'll never be a real fighter." He laughed lightly but good-naturedly, and waved as he departed.
"Tsk, he got away…" Kagome muttered.
Before he managed it, however, he bumped into Nodoka, who was still hanging back and not paying much attention. He managed to catch her as she fell and straightened her.
"Ah, watch where you're going, Ojô-chan," he admonished. "Wander in a daze like that, and you could get hurt. It'd be a shame for such a thing to happen to a cute girl like you." He then left the blushing girl behind.
"Well, let's give Mizuno-chan a go," Momo declared. "She's actually really amazing when she plays video games. The genius girl is a natural!"
"E-eh? But I…well…."
"C'mon, let's see it, Ami-chan!" Kagome insisted.
"I shall be your opponent, if you like," Yue offered. "I won't make it easy on you, Ami."
"All right, I'll give it a try…."
The four of them zoned into the game quickly, and Kain and Mai saw their chance. "We'll leave Kagome to you and Momo, Tokine-san!"
Tokine nodded. "Count on us."
"Let's go, Erika!" Mai grabbed the girl, who had been observing the arcade in a bit of a nervous daze. Truth be told, she wasn't used to places of human excitement and passion like this.
Nodoka, however, had been in such a state of confusion and shock all morning that she had almost become an afterthought to the rest of the group. They zipped past her without noticing…but she noticed them, and followed them out into the street.
"Okay, let's get that letter delivered and put a stop to this madness, Kain-sensei!"
"That's the plan!"
Meanwhile, the boy ducked into an alleyway and approached Kiriha Sarugaki. "Kain Lockeheart, just as I suspected."
Kiriha smiled slightly. "So…son of the Grand Archmage, just as the rumors said. He'll be quite a challenge for us…and his little girlfriends aren't bad either. This should be interesting…I'm gonna pay you back good for before, you little brats!"
And the camera pans to show the assembled enemy team…Kiriha, Kinue, Kairen, the boy, and another young man with a blank expression and dark, earthy hair.
The stage has been prepared….
"I want to thank you both for all the help you've given me," Kain said to the girls as they rode the train.
The looked at him in surprise, and then Erika smiled. "It's not like we're doing this all for you," she replied. "Well, we're not saying we hate you or anything, but we're determined to protect our classmates and stop this mad war between mages, just as you are."
"That's right," Mai agreed. "We should be thanking you for allowing us to help out with this."
"Hehe, you're welcome, Mai-chan," Kamo said. "If it wasn't for the contract, you'd be in big trouble right now…."
Mai flicked him lightly with her finger. "I don't want to hear things like that from you, Kamo," she said crossly. "You've almost been more trouble than you're worth." Kamo just laughed in reply.
Their stop arrived, and a few minutes later they were standing in front of the designated location. A large, traditional Japanese walkway adorned by wooden pillars wound up into the mountains.
"So…this is the land of the Kansai Magic Association's main temple?" Erika wondered.
"After all we've been through, it feels…sinister. It feels like something's going to jump out at us any minute…" Mai noted.
"There is an odd feeling in the air," Kamo growled. "I'd keep your guard up, kiddos."
"There's no one around, Mai," Kain pointed out, drawing his staff from his cloak. "Go ahead and bring out your artifact, just to be safe."
"Okay," Erika declared as they readied themselves. "Let's go."
They dashed into the grounds and pounded their way up the path, scanning side to side in case a sudden attack came. After a relatively short sprint they ducked behind pillars and looked around.
"Nothing seems to be happening," Mai concluded. "Are we safe?"
"Seems like it," Kain remarked. "I guess we might make it unscathed…."
"No," Kamo sighed, "something's already happened."
The two stared at him. "What?"
"Erika-chan's gone."
They looked around. It was true. "W-w-what happened to her?" Mai quavered. "Was she kidnapped while we weren't looking?"
"More like we were the ones captured. Try running ahead."
"What?"
"Just run further up the path, Mai-chan."
"Fine…."
Kain watched her take off, flying rather than running at a very low altitude over the ground. She soon disappeared from sight, but then he heard the whirring of her rings behind him and turned as she pulled herself up, confusion dominating her face.
"W-what's going on?" Mai wailed.
"We've been caught in an enclosed space, a magic loop," Kamo explained. "I think it was triggered to affect only humans, and it got me too because I'm in contact with Kain. That's why Erika-chan's not here. Whoever set this up—hard money says that it's Kiriha and her goons, of course—wants her separated from us for some reason."
"No! There's got to be a way out! We just have to out-think it!" She charged off into the woods to the path's right….
And flew right back to the path from the left. "What? Really?"
"Yes, Mai-chan, you can't beat it like that. We'll have to find another way out."
Nodoka, meanwhile, had followed them all this way. She wondered where they had run off to, and was brought up short by a 'no entry' sign barring the path into the temple grounds, a short distance from the entrance. Did they go in here?
"Where is Kain-sensei?" she said aloud.
She felt her book stir in her hands, and she opened it. It showed a new entry, featuring Kain's thoughts, and read 'Trapped in this magic space? Troublesome. We have to get out of here! Who knows what will happen to Erika if she was separated from us on purpose? And they might be going after Kagome! This is a bad situation!'
It happened again! Is this…what Kain-sensei is thinking and feeling right now? He seems worried! What's going on?
Meanwhile, Kain and Mai explored their prison. A small rest area with vending machines and toilets was within the closed space, so they were able to sit down and ponder their predicament. "How do we get out of this?" Mai wailed. "What's happening to Erika?"
Kain was deep in thought. He stood up and paced around, looking up in the air, staring at the ground, and muttering. Mai observed him cautiously. "What's up?"
"I might have an idea on how to escape from here. My cloak can distort time and space, like when I used it against Alyssa. This is a time/space trap, so it should be able to help me make a hole…I just have to find the focus points of the spell…."
"You're close to a way of escaping? Good news for me, since I can't let that happen…I'd much rather deal with you directly than sit around waiting."
The trio looked around in surprise, seeking the source of this new voice. Suddenly he dropped from the trees over head. It was….
"Y-you! From the arcade earlier today!" Kain stammered.
The boy raised his head and smiled. "Greetings again, Kain Lockeheart. It's time for a rematch, I think." He clenched his hand slightly, and a long katana appeared in his grasp. "With real weapons this time…."
Erika glanced around when Mai and Kain disappeared. She knew some magic was at work, but she didn't get much time to ponder and analyze the situation before a lilting laugh caught her attention. Kinue came walking out of the trees and met her on the path. "Good morning, Erika-ojô-sama. What a pleasure to meet you here at this time." She pulled her blades from the stick she carried. "Shall we dance together again?"
Erika gritted her teeth. "This again, Kinue? What do you want?"
"The feel of death, perhaps, the joy of cutting? Some would say I'm less human than you are, perhaps. Maybe they're right. I don't feel as other humans do. I have…different emotions. Emotions that only the sword, and blood, and death can assuage. Now, no more talking, Erika-ojô-sama…now the only communication we need is the blade."
She leapt at Erika, swords flashing. Erika repelled them and leapt back, then looked up, her eyes red and aflame.
"You're right, Kinue-nee-san. The time for talking is over."
"I can't believe they ditched us," Kagome sighed. "Where'd they go, anyway?"
Ami wouldn't admit it—not to Kagome, at least—but since Nodoka had vanished alongside Erika and Mai, she didn't feel too put off this time. Yue was of the same opinion.
"What's up, you guys?" a voice called out. The group turned to see another five girls approaching: Yukari (who had spoken), Kazumi, Matake, Nanami, and Sakura.
"Gaming, huh?" Yukari continued. "Can I join in?"
"I thought you were going to be with Kain-sensei this morning," Sakura mentioned to Kagome as Yukari and Yue started their game together.
"We were, but it seems he slipped out." Kagome, standing with her arms crossed, drummed her fingers on her side. "He's been acting odd even since we arrived in Kyoto. Mai, too, and…." She risked a glance sideways at Momo, who was heading outside.
Momo sighed as she left the building. She couldn't shake the feeling of dread she was getting. It was going far too well; despite all their fears, they had only faced one attack yesterday—against Erika, and apparently from a personal vendetta more than the mission to kidnap Kagome. If anything was going to happen, it was going to be soon.
Oh. But not that soon…really?
Momo looked through the crowd and saw the purple hair and blank expression that had confronted her two nights ago. She had been called Kairen, and had taken Kiriha away before she could capture her.
Momo stared at her. Would she dare to attack Kagome here? Quite possibly…Momo felt that if any of Kiriha's forces were anything like the Kinue girl Erika described, they wouldn't care about the innocent bystanders.
She ducked back inside. Tokine looked over in surprise, then met her and listened to her whispered warning. She thought for a moment, nodded, and then the pair approached Kagome. "Kagome-chan! I just thought of something great to see. Let's go!"
The two grabbed her arms, and, over her protests, pulled her away.
Yukari and Yue, surprised, looked up from their game, and the rest of the present class looked over in confusion as well. Sakura watched them go, and then turned to her classmates. "This seems interesting. Shall we follow them?"
If we can lose everyone, we can get to a place where at least they won't be in danger, Momo thought. I hope Tokine's idea is a good place….
"So where are we going?" Kagome demanded, having decided to bear out whatever her ambitious friends had planned.
"Remember this place, Kagome-chan?" Tokine replied, pointing.
Kagome looked. "Oh, Cinema Town. Yes, we always wanted to come here when we were young, didn't we?"
"Let's go check it out," Momo insisted. "I've never had a chance to visit it before!"
They entered the amusement park, and Tokine noticed the changing room. Tourists visiting 'Cinema Town' could dress up in various costumes in order to better experience the art of great escapism. "Let's try something on!"
It was a good idea, Momo had to admit. When they moved to their own changing rooms, she was able to take a gikon, substitute soul pill, which kicked her spirit body out of her gigai. Advising her physical body to lie low and stay out of sight, she headed out and kept an eye out for their pursuers.
There was no sign of Kairen. She looked around, carefully, seeking danger in every face, in every figure. Still, nothing. Did they actually lose their enemy?
"Momo! There you are!" Kagome slapped her on the back.
Momo started. "K-Kagome! You can see—uh, sorry, I was distracted…." She instinctively wanted to ask the question, but realized it was pointless before it came fully out. It was strange—true, she was a mage descendant, and one with measurable power, but it took more than a bit of magic potential to see shinigami. Normally, especially in the human world, it took a well-trained mage to see a shinigami's spirit body…..
"Hey you guys! Looking good." Tokine had been following Kagome, and now Sakura, Ami, Yue, Nanami, Yukari, Matake and Kazumi emerged from the dressing room as well. All were dressed now, by some unspoken agreement, in Japanese clothing. Most were dressed in traditional kimonos; Kagome was dressed as a miko, an ancient Japanese shrine maiden, while Tokine had found Buddhist priest clothing approximating her own traditional kekkaishi outfit. Sakura had an elaborate noblewoman's kimono complete with umbrella that seemed quite extravagant, even for Cinema Town.
"That's an interesting kimono, Hinamori-san," Yue remarked. "I don't really recognize it. What time period is it from?"
"Eh…it's called a shihakushô," Momo replied nervously, trying to figure out why she was visible in broad daylight like this.
"Nice sword!" Yukari remarked. "It looks real authentic."
Before Momo could reply to that, a sudden snort sounded and a coach pulled by horses drew up level with the group. Momo froze as she spotted Kairen, dressed as…well, wrapped in black with a face mask, like a cinematic ninja, in the driver's seat. The door of the coach opened and Kiriha stepped out, dressed in a very low-cut kimono with a fan in her hand. She snapped it shut and pointed it at Momo. "Samurai! The time has come for you to repay the debt you owe me! If you have not the coin, never fear…I shall simply take your daughter instead!" She pointed the fan at Kagome.
Daughter? thought the assembled onlookers. To their eyes, Momo appeared more youthful than even Kagome did….
"Making her a miko will not save her from your debt! Be ready to pay your dues!"
"What's this about?" Matake muttered.
"Ah, Cinema Town has actors that spontaneously get the visitors involved in their acts," Yue explained. "It's all very well-scripted."
"Oh, sounds neat," Yukari said brightly.
Momo gritted her teeth and placed a hand on her sword. Well, it's not so bad for us that she's chosen the cover of Cinema Town to attack us, but I can't help but worry that this might be part of a bigger plot. "I refuse to bend to your mad schemes anymore, Ona! The only thing you will receive from my hand is my blade!"
"If you don't leave us alone, we'll make you pay!" Tokine agreed.
"Oh, quite the arrogant and overconfident bushido you are," Kiriha laughed. She pointed. "Well, if you wish to settle this, the stage of that courtyard will work best. Come, then, unless you will choose to flee like an honorless coward." She stepped back into her carriage, shut the door, and the caravan drove off.
Momo was startled at the clapping behind her. She turned and stared at her classmates. "Excellent, Hinamori-chan!" Yukari enthused. "I never knew you were such an actress! No wonder you guys decided you wanted to visit this place so much!"
Sakura looked coyly between Tokine and Momo. "I bet you guys set this up, didn't you? Yue-chan says that this happens on occasion, but you two were way too serious about this. Do you know these people?"
Silence fell as the group stared. Then Tokine began to laugh someone sheepishly and then coughed. "A-ah, well, we r-really shouldn't talk about this while the scene is still going." She turned to Momo. "We better go meet them for the battle, right, Momo-chan?"
"R-right."
They didn't enjoy going into battle with the happy-go-lucky class behind them, but at least they should be able to do battle without getting them involved or worrying about their secret being revealed….
Kain pulled his sword out of his cloak and blocked the boy's strike. "You—you're the boy from the arcade! Who are you? Why are you doing this?"
"You can call me Kenjirô," he replied, showing mercy on the poor narrator. "I'm a swordsman—and I enjoy matching my blade with worthy opponents. That, to me, is life and purpose. I don't care much about what my allies want—I just needed the opportunity to fight you, Kain Lockeheart!"
Mai, bedecked in her swirling rings, came descending on the swordsman from behind, but he ducked and rolled away just in time. "I'm not interested in fighting you, Ojô-chan," he muttered. "I prefer not to fight women…."
"Don't give me that!" Mai snapped. "If you attack one of us, you'll be fighting both! We're partners here, and we've got a mission to fulfill; we can't stand around here just because you're some battle-crazed idiot!"
Kenjirô smiled slightly and reached a hand into the inner folds of his jacket. "You've got a point," he agreed. "That's why Sarugaki-san prepared me with these. They should keep you busy while I fight to my heart's content." He drew out three strips of paper and threw them at Mai. They transformed en route, exploding into three large oni similar to the ones Kiriha had summoned two nights previous.
"What? These guys again?" Mai moaned. They immediately attacked her, and when Kain moved to stop them, Kenjirô appeared behind him, forcing him to break off his assault. As Mai tried to fly in to aid him, the oni struck again, forcing her back and away.
"Now, let's settle this properly, as men," Kenjirô breathed, and lashed out.
He was good, Kain had to admit. Based on sword skill, he has certainly Kain's superior, and better even than the kendo experts in his class. His speed and strength were also equivalent to what Kain could manage with his usual spell boosts.
Still, if this was all he had, he wasn't much of a threat. Kain parried a thrust but with only a little leverage, forcing it up only slightly and letting it slide across his left shoulder. He grimaced slightly at the pain, but then rammed the boy in the stomach with his staff, forcing him back. As Kenjirô staggered, he charged energy at the staff's tip, and then released a swarm of magical bolts that leapt towards his foe.
Kenjirô leapt back and away, retreating, but the missiles pursued him unerringly. Finally he stood his ground and swept his sword up to meet the attacks as they reached him. A small explosion engulfed him. When it ended, his long hair was now out of its pony tail and standing up slightly—it was also pure white. Kenjirô looked up with eyes that were now golden and almost bestial, with vertical irises. "Not bad, Kain Lockeheart," he admitted. "I didn't think you'd make me reveal myself so quickly."
Kain blanched. "W-what are you?"
"I'm a hanyô—a half-yôkai. My mother was human, but my father was a Sword Demon, a rare but powerful being whose yôki, or demonic power, existed in his soul blade. I have inherited that power." He raised his own sword. "We're perhaps not a pleasant people, but this is the only way we know how to live—by fighting and improving our swords and our skills."
Kain readied himself for another attack. "So why are you determined to fight me?" he demanded. "I'm not much of a swordsman myself, to be honest. I'm mostly a self-taught fighter in general, and I don't have a lot of experience."
"Maybe. But you're the son of Kalan Lockeheart. That should count for something. Are you ready? Here I come…."
Kenjirô came in again, stronger and faster. Kain was hard-pressed to keep up with his attacks now, let alone counter with an attack of his own. Kenjirô struck high, forcing him into a cross parry above his head, then lashed out with a kick, sending him flying into a tree just off the path. Kain impacted, gasping as he bounced, and just managed to duck as Kenjirô's sword came in. The blade cleaved into the tree at head high, going halfway in, and as Kain prepared to make use of this opening, he whirled back around, pulling the sword free with ease. Kain blocked the strike that came next, but it was a feint, and his opponent withdrew the sword again and cut upwards, slashing Kain across his torso. He staggered backwards, but no blood was yet drawn—he fell to one knee, however, breathing heavily.
"Pretty impressive magical shield," Kenjirô congratulated him. "To be honest, I'm surprised it's holding up that well against this blade of mine. Still, this is somewhat disappointing…I thought you'd at least be able to fight back a little better…."
Nodoka stumbled around, somewhat lost. W-what should I do? she thought. What should I do? Kain-sensei and Tokiha-san are in trouble, and they need help!
"But, where are they?" she wondered aloud. Then she realized something. "Wait! I can use the book again! If I just call out Kain-sensei's name, I'll be able to read about what he's thinking and feeling right now, right? That's how it seems to work. Let's see…."
She tried her experiment, and, sure enough, she opened the book to find it writing for itself. It showed a strange white-haired boy with a sword sending Kain flying. 'He's too strong! Is this guy really only half-demon? I don't have time to use any kind of spells or anything, I…I can't….'
Nodoka sat down on the path and continued reading, a combination of fascination and horror running through her. Is this really what's happening to Kain-sensei right now? She turned the page, where another picture formed to accentuate Kain's thoughts on his receiving a drubbing. It's like a light reading adventure novel aimed at kids!
"Oh, and Tokiha-san might be able to help, but she's stuck fighting those three weird ogres! And now he's lost her in the fighting! If only they could work together…do your best Kain-sensei!"
Meanwhile, the camera shows, behind her, Kain bouncing through the trees and struggling to get his feet under him as Kenjirô moves in pursuit. Nodoka fails to notice the action for some time as she continues to read…although the combatants, with other things on their mind, don't spot her, either.
Still, Nodoka finally noticed the strange sounds, just in time to turn and miss them as they again left the sight of our camera. Obviously, when she got into reading, she lost all track of her surroundings.
Mai struggled with the ogres for some time, dodging and weaving like a small bird as the ogres flailed at her with their large smashing weapons.
She gritted her teeth as she flew up and out of their reach. "Kain's in trouble!" she muttered to herself as she watched the three fiends. "I don't have time to play around like this…but can I take them on my own…?" She slapped her face. "No, I can't think like that. I can take them. I know it. I just have to try…." She stared at them again, steeled her resolve, took a deep breath, and charged in.
She threw fire out in front of her which the first oni blocked with his club, but she weaved around it, hardly slowing, and unleashed a few more blasts right into his face. As he staggered back, blinded, she charged at the second one, which was already moving to intercept her, and dodged around its club and slammed a fist into its stomach. To her surprise, it staggered and seemed to waver, and she flew up and kicked it in the jaw. It fell over, disintegrating into thin air almost too easily. She then flew in at the third at her maximum speed, actually slamming into it, and it, too, toppled like a tree and disappeared before it hit the ground. She turned towards the first oni, which had finally recovered, and fired a big stream of fire at its hand. It dropped the club in pain, and again Mai rushed in. She wasn't sure why, but against these things, her fists seemed to be far more effective than her flames, and with another mighty punch she dispelled the magically summoned creature.
She felt a small measure of satisfaction and relief, but suppressed it quickly. She still had work to do. It wasn't hard to tell Kain and Kenjirô's location from the sound of the blades crossing, and she flew in their direction.
Kenjirô knocked Kain down and was about to deliver a mighty overhand swing for a possible coup de grace when Mai flew in, grabbed Kain, and flew out without a pause before Kenjirô could even bring the sword down. "Hey, wait!" he demanded, charging after them, but even his speed couldn't match Mai at this full retreat.
Nodoka gasped as the two suddenly went blazing through the air above her and disappeared into the trees on the opposite side of the path. Nodoka stared after them, and then looked down at the book in her hands. Well, it was definitely working. "At least they got away," she muttered. "Oh…maybe I should run after them? But…."
She heard breathing and mild cursing behind her and started. Suddenly recalling something else useful she'd heard that morning, she muttered "Vanish," and sure enough the book returned to being a card. She pocketed it and turned just as Kenjirô came stomping out of the woods and back onto the road. His hair was back to being black and he was staring around with his normal, human eyes, although he was still holding his sword. Then he spotted Nodoka. "Oh, you're that ojô-chan from the arcade," he said, half-hiding the sword. "What are you doing here?"
"Y-you're from back then…."
Damn…did she follow me? Kenjirô wondered. Aloud, he said, "You can't be here! Didn't the sign outside say, 'No Entry'?"
"Eh…ah…s-s-sorry…."
"Well, it can't be helped," Kenjirô sighed. "Anyway, it's dangerous around here right now, so you should stay put, okay?"
Eh? Dangerous…?
"I'll undo the trap and let you out later, Ojô-chan," he continued. "Stay here and out of trouble until then, please." He turned to go.
Trap?! Then…this boy is…yes, there's no mistaking it! His hair seemed different in the picture, but he has that sword…he's definitely the boy who was beating up Kain-sensei! W-what should I do? What should I do?!
"Ja ne!" Kenjirô called as he started away.
"Ah! Wait!"
Kenjirô turned back in surprise. "Hmm?"
W-what should I do? Nodoka wondered, panicking. What can I do? I have to do something, but….
Maybe it was just her imagination, but the card in her pocket suddenly seemed to grow hot, and she came to her realization.
"Um…my…my name is Miyazaki Nodoka," she stated. "What's yours?"
He stared for a moment, then smiled. "Well, I suppose it would be rude of me to go away without saying after you introduced yourself. I'm Kenjirô. Hanatabi Kenjirô. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
He then turned away again. "Later!" he said again, and bounded off.
She stared after him. "Hanatabi Kenjirô-san…he doesn't really seem like a bad guy…but…sorry…I can't let you hurt Kain-sensei anymore….
"Manifest!"
Erika turned her head slightly. There was definitely something strange in the air, some odd magic happening behind the dimensional wall….
"So, you feel it too?" Kinue teased, dashing in again with a head-height slash.
Erika ducked under it and grabbed Kinue's arm, using her momentum in a perfect jujutsu throw. Kinue, however, recovered herself and shifted her momentum in mid air, landing gracefully some distance away. "Not bad, Erika-ojô-sama. Worried about your precious little sensei?"
Erika scowled. "I thought the time for talking was over."
"Oh, just being nice. He's probably not doing so well. The boy who's after him is as strong as I am…probably. Maybe stronger. He's a hanyô, but I hear his demon parentage is extremely strong…."
Erika dashed in this time, and Kinue widened her eyes in surprise. She deftly but only barely dodged Erika's savage strikes, once, twice, thrice, and then she retreated back into Erika's suddenly extended foot, causing her to fall. A sweep of Erika's right arm threw her fully to the ground, and then Erika came driving in with her other hand, the mana almost streaming off of it.
Kinue managed to flip over, once again barely avoiding the strike, and used her momentum to flip away several times before landing on her feet a safe distance away. She stared at Erika, who, her arm in the ground almost to the elbow, slowly withdrew her hand and rose back to her feet. Her blood-red eyes glistened at Kinue.
Kinue smiled again. "That's much more like it! That's how a vampire should look! Full of bloodlust and intent to kill. Tell me, is this sudden show of ferocity all on behalf of your precious little sensei?"
"Don't patronize me. I've just finally decided that I can't let a monster like you keep living to threaten my friends!" So declaring, Erika charged in again, and Kinue, smiling even more widely, moved to meet her in response.
"So, I see you've come to meet our challenge," Kiriha crowed as the costumed girls approached. "I commend you for the courage to stand and face me instead of running away."
Kiriha stood, gloating, an action she was born for, while Kairen stood next to her, still expressionless, in the middle of a large courtyard. They were in the ancient Japan section of Cinema Town, hence the abundance of archaic wear, and this terrain seemed to be a type of large town square. A few people wandered about, but they moved out of the way and looked with interest at this bit of theater. With nothing around except the large sakura tree rising form the center of the plaza, it was an ideal place to start a fight.
Momo put her hand on her sword. "Don't think you'll get away with any of this. We'll stop you right here and now; we won't let you use Kagome for any of your schemes."
She flushed and sighed with embarrassment as her audience once again applauded her acting.
"Hoho…well said," Kiriha laughed. "Well then, shall we get this started? I don't have all day, you know."
"Allow me," Tokine said. "Ketsu!"
Kiriha's eyes widened in surprise, but she dodged backwards before the translucent green cube of energy had finished forming around her. Momo charged in, drawing her sword, but Kairen was suddenly in her path, catching Momo's sword upon a collection of talons that she wore over the fingers of her right hand. Kairen pushed Momo back, and Momo went almost straight up into the air.
Kiriha, meanwhile, was moving back quickly, and drew a few more prayer strips out of her robes. She flung them at Tokine, and they transformed en-route into a swarm of monkeys. Tokine, however, simply encased them all with her kekkai and exploded them with a "Metsu!"
High above the terrain, Momo raised her sword. "Snap, Tobiume!" She flung a fireball from the transformed sword downward, and it exploded over the form of Kairen. She wasn't too surprised, however, when Kairen suddenly appeared behind her and slashed with her claws. Momo turned in time to block the blow and, after the clash, again retreated some distance, using the very air as a purchase as she readied a spell. "Bakudo number 63: Sajô Sabaku (Chainlink Chain Bonds)!" The stream of golden chains snaked out at Kairen, but she extended her left hand, and the chains disappeared in to the glowing purple mass.
The students below stared in shock at the battle raging before them. "Quite amazing," Sakura murmured, still seemingly cheerful and pleasant, her default state of being. "This has been well-prepared. Cinema Town has some impressive special effects, doesn't it?"
"Y-yeah," Yue agreed. Special effects? Well, it must be, but…I've never heard of anything like this! Is this really just a performance…? O-of course it can't be real….
Mai dropped Kain to the ground and the two remained, panting, for some time, Mai standing and Kain lying on the ground. After several moments, Kain whispered, "Thanks, Mai. You're a real life saver."
"N-not a problem." She straightened up and absentmindedly slapped at dust on her skirt. "Why were you in such trouble?" she demanded. "You beat Alyssa, and she's supposed to be some big demon monster, right? Why is this kid causing you so much trouble?"
"Er…to be honest, Alyssa was really going easy on me," Kain muttered. "If she'd been real serious, she probably could have killed me at any time. I beat her with a real tricky spell I'd spent all day preparing, and even so it barely worked. This time…I don't have terrain advantage."
"Sounds like you're trying to make excuses, Kiddo," Kamo declared, appearing again. "Still, you're right—this kid's not gonna be easy for you to take down."
"You always seem to appear and disappear at convenient times," Mai accused.
"So sue me, I'm not a fighter, Sosumi! Ah, the joke doesn't work in Japanese, despite it sounding like a Japanese name. Revenge!"
Mai stared at him, but he continued, "In any case, our best bet might be to find a way out of this dimensional space and check on Erika. If we can get her help, we can probably take him down real easy…."
"No." Kain stood up and brushed himself off. "We take him. I've got an idea."
"Oh, really? Well, I hope for your sake it's a good one. You can't take much more of this…."
"I'll be fine, now that I've had a moment to think. He's coming. Let's get ready. Can I count on you, Mai?"
Mai recoiled in surprise. "Who do you think you're talking to? Of course you can!"
"Right. Let's go."
The three hopped out of the bushes and headed back up the path. Along the way, Kain explained his plan to Mai.
"That's crazy! You can't think it will work…."
"It's risky, I'll give you that," Kamo agreed. "Are you sure it'll work?"
"I'm sure I won't be able to beat him any other way," Kain replied. "He's too fast and too strong. Even with this, I'll be hard-pressed to keep up…."
"Ah, there you are. Finally decided to come out and play?"
Mai and Kain froze in their tracks and stared at Kenjirô. He once again let his hair go white and pointed his sword at them. "Are you finally resolved to see this through, Kain?"
Kain raised his own sword in reply, held in his left hand. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Kenjirô frowned as Mai also readied herself. "I told you I'd rather not fight women, Ojô-chan. And really, Kain, what kind of man lets his woman do his fighting for him?"
Mai reddened at that, but Kain replied easily, "You have your rules, we have ours…and among other things, I don't think I have to take any lectures on honor and manliness from someone who fights by trapping people inside a maze."
He shrugged. "Well, I can't respond to that. Fine, then…let's begin…."
Mai charged in first, flying above Kenjirô and dropping flames on top of him. He dodged aside and raised his sword to meet Mai as she drew close. Mai withdrew as the sword came at her and raised her shield; Kenjirô's sword met the field and, after a second of strain, tossed her aside. She bounced off the ground and into a tree like a bad pinball.
Kain dashed in while Kenjirô was distracted and began to exchange sword blows with him. To Kenjirô's surprise, Kain was faster and stronger than he was before.
"Not bad," he declared as the two battled. "You've improved somehow. What's up?"
Kain didn't reply, but Kenjirô's acute senses detected the faintest phantom of the power flowing between his two opponents. "I see…it's that contract you two have. How much mana does it drain?"
Kain wasn't actually sure how long it would last, which was one of the reasons he wanted to avoid using it more than necessary and didn't rely on it immediately. Mai came racing in again, and Kenjirô was forced to withdraw as she threw more blasts of flame at him.
Kenjirô also saw another point of power in Kain's right hand, however. "So this is your strategy…let the girl distract me so you can hit me with your best spell? Not a bad idea…but it's not gonna happen."
He slashed at Mai, and a wave of slicing energy raced towards her. She blocked it with her shield, but the next instant he was above her, drawing another slip out of his clothes. A cascade of bar-like energy beams descended on Mai, pinning her to the ground.
"That one should hold you for a while," Kenjirô muttered. "As much as I'd enjoy playing with you longer, it seems your insistence on ganging up on me doesn't give me time." He raced in again at Kain.
Kain met his sword strikes, parrying, jumping under a low cut, knocking aside a third strike and ducking under the next sweep. Two more swings, and he forced Kain to stumble back and jumped in the air, bringing his sword down in a massive, mighty swing.
Kain dropped the sword from his hand, then reached out with that hand and caught the blade. Kenjirô's eyes widened in shock. Blood trickled from the wound, but Kenjirô stood there, frozen, his hands on his sword and Kain holding that blade in his hand.
"W-what…" he managed, but his speech was slurred and hard in coming. He was completely paralyzed. He could only look down as Kain raised his right hand, a ball of churning black-red energy held within. Kain smiled slightly before he put it to Kenjirô's stomach and fired it point blank.
Black-red fire shot through Kenjirô's torso. His skin whitened and he convulsed slightly from the shock of the attack, and when Kain finally released his sword, he staggered backwards before collapsing.
"W-what was…that…?" Kenjirô growled, struggling futilely to raise himself. "How…did you get me…?"
"I've made a bit of study of demons," Kain explained as Mai, already free from her own magic bonds, came over with a mix of wariness and relief. "More mazoku than yôkai, to be honest, but I know a lot of magic. You said that you inherited your sword powers from your father, right? As a sword demon, your sword is a part of your soul, kind of like Hinamori-san and other Soul Reapers. I figured I could use that to cast spells affecting your spirit through it…."
"You risked grabbing…my sword…just to try that out…?"
"You didn't leave me much choice. You're faster, stronger, and more skilled than I am…an ideal situation would have been to let Mai fight you and then hit you with some of my big artillery spells the first chance I had, but I figured you'd continue to try to negate her so you could get to me. As fast as you are, I couldn't rely on trying to get a hand on you myself, nor could I try to rely on getting a lucky shot with my doom bolt…the best way to touch you was through your sword."
"That was great, Kiddo," Kamo remarked, hopping onto Kain's shoulder. "You've done real well. Now, Mr. Swordswinger, why don't you tell us how to get out of here, since we won fair and square?"
Kenjirô gave a low chuckle. "Won? No…I don't think so…not yet…."
Demonic energy began to explode outward from Kenjirô and he rose to his feet, enveloped by a black whirlwind of energy. His hair was now whiter and longer, going halfway down his back, while his skin had become bright red. His eyes gave off a glow, now, seeming to cast a reflecting shadow on his personal demonic tempest.
"W-what the heck is this now?" Mai moaned. "He's still not done?"
"Your attack was magnificent, Kain," Kenjirô noted. "But I forgot to mention something…my father was of the highest class of yôkai, one of the great lords of Arcanus Myrror, and I've inherited all his power. I can call upon the full demon power in my blood." He raised his sword again. "I took round one, you did well on round two, but this is the final round, round three. Are you ready?"
"Wait a minute!" Kamo barked. "Even if you have demonic power, your body is still partially mortal. You're hurting yourself even worse calling it up like this. Stand down!"
"Shut up, hamster. I'm not here to talk to you. I'm here to fight Kain, and take the best that he can throw at me. Can you take my best, Kain? Let's find out!"
Mai moved to intercept the rush and put up her shield, but Kenjirô swatted her aside with one swing. Kain, calling once again on all the powers he could manage, scooped up his sword again and blocked Kenjirô's next strike. They danced for a few more seconds, but it was obvious that Kenjirô was now far above him. Even with his power, he relied mostly on his speed, Kain realized…but even knowing that didn't help him any. He couldn't keep up with the quickness of the monster. He blocked a couple of the strikes, but more were getting through. If only I knew where he would strike next… he thought. If only I had some way of knowing how he'd attack….
"Kain-sensei, to your left!"
Kain, moving automatically, blocked the strike coming in from his left side. Kenjirô, surprised, disappeared again.
"Above you, Kain-sensei!"
Again, Kain's sword moved as soon as he heard the words, meeting and deflecting another savage strike. Again Kenjirô vanished, frustrated.
"Behind you this time!"
And this time Mai moved and intercepted the attack first in response to the advisement, sending Kenjirô sailing with a flying kick. He flipped around in midair and hit the ground on his feet, causing grooves in the earth as he skidded for a distance. He stared at the two, and then all three turned to look at the speaker. There, of course, stood….
"Nodoka?!"
"Honya?! W-why are you here?"
Her? Kenjirô narrowed his eyes at the girl. I thought she was just a normal person…she didn't feel like she had any magical power. How's she predicting my moves…?
Kain saw Kenjirô staring at the girl and leapt into action. Kenjirô, surprised, ducked the first sword swing and blocked the second. "Hey, hey! Suddenly, so eager, Kain? What's the matter? Got your gumption back because your girl is here?"
Kain didn't reply, but flung his still-bleeding left hand at Kenjirô. He recoiled as the blood flew towards his eyes, but Kain made a quick gesture and his blood exploded in flame, forcing Kenjirô back again. Kain moved to charge in, but staggered suddenly, half-collapsing and gasping.
"Blast, Kain's in bad shape…he's pushed himself too hard, used too much magic." Kamo explained this after appearing next to Nodoka. "We can't deal with this much longer…."
Kenjirô recovered from his shock and charged at Kain, but Mai intercepted him. Nodoka again began to call out instructions for Mai, allowing her to gain the upper hand on him.
Damn her, how is she doing that?! Kenjirô thought furiously.
"Not bad, Ojô-chan," Kamo congratulated her. "That's your artifact, isn't it? I thought you might be nearby when I was explaining it to Mai-chan…."
"U-um, yes…anyway, K-K-Kamo-san, I think I understand what's happening! Let's get out of here for now, all right?"
"Heh, sure…but how do you suggest we get out of here? We're still trapped in this space…."
In response, Nodoka took a deep breath. "E-Excuse me, Kenjirô-san! How do we get out of here?"
"Are you crazy, Ojô-chan?" Kenjirô barked back while fending off Mai and Kain. "Like I'd ever…." And then he stared at Nodoka, who was reading in her book. Wait a minute…it couldn't be….
"H-head east and find the 6th gate from this open area! It seems all we need to do is destroy the runes hidden on the top, left, and right sides!"
"Nice," Kamo congratulated.
"Amazing!" Mai exclaimed.
"Is that it? Then it's time to go," Kain said softly.
"Like I'll let you!" Kenjirô leapt at him, his sword flashing.
Kain put his hand to the ground and a cloud of vapor billowed out, blinding everyone. Kamo leapt on his shoulder as he started flying, blazing a trail out of the cloud eastward. He scooped up Nodoka on the way, causing the girl to give a little shriek, and Mai sailed after him.
"There it is," he called. He extended a hand and three magical bolts flew out, striking the top and sides of the gate on the path and causing runes to light up on their surface. "All you now, Mai!"
Mai hurled her fire at the runes, shattering the pillars and upper arch. A white swirling field opened before them, and they continued into the gulf.
"Wait!" Kenjirô growling, pursuing them at breakneck speed.
"I don't think so," Kamo called back. He put his paws together in some kind of magic sign. "I do have a few tricks of my own. Rewind time!"
As Kain, Mai, Kamo and Nodoka disappeared into the portal, the archway suddenly reassembled itself, and the portal winked out. Kenjirô swiped at it with his sword, but it was far too late.
"Damn it," he cursed, and then his white hair receded and returned to black, his skin returned to normal, he seemed to swell inward slightly as he returned to his normal size, and he collapsed to the ground, his sword winking out.
"Damn," he repeated. "I really did push myself too far…they got me good." He smiled at the portal. "That was kinda fun, though. We have to do this again sometime…."
Author's Note: Character Introduction: The Villains, Kiriha Sarugaki, Kinue Tôgi, Kenjirô Hanatabi, and Kairen
As I hoped, action was the name of the game this chapter. And we aren't done yet, but the chapter's already long enough, and we arrived at a good point to pause. We'll finish the battles next chapter.
Not a lot to mention about the chapter itself, and there are no freshly appearing characters, so I'll go ahead and mention our current collection of villains.
Kiriha Sarugaki is strongly based on the main villainess from the Negima version of the Kyoto Arc, Chigusa Amagasaki. For all the nearly identical villains I'm putting in, I'm still changing the names…I'm not quite sure why. No reason I can give. In any case, she is not as exact (partially because of the changes) as the students are, but she is very similar, with similar abilities. Her past and her reasons will be revealed next chapter. Again, it is quite similar to the (mostly just hinted at) original story, but not identical.
Kinue Tôgi (although now her name is simply Kinue) is based on Tsukuyomi, and she is…pretty much the same. In the original story, Tsukuyomi was tied to Setsuna Sakurazaki. She was trained in the Shinmeiryû sword style just like Setsuna, and obsesses over her. She's a truly horrible lesbian psychopath who gets erotic thrill from fighting Setsuna. Yeah, she's a freak. I've moved her into the Tôgi family and let her go after Erika to slightly expand her freakiness…she really wants vampire power (or the next best thing).
Kenjirô Hanatabi is a character I developed during the demon anime craze, when YuYu Hakusho and Inuyasha were the popular anime in America. I really loved the worlds of the two anime, and, as was my usual case, I came up with my own similar worlds and my own related stories and my own characters.
Kenjirô replaces Kôtarô Inugami, the wolf-demon kid who encounters Negi in similar circumstances and goes from his enemy to (eventually) his best friend and rival. Kenjirô is here to fill a similar role. The original Kenjirô character is a quiet, reserved, almost tragic figure, but as I put him in this story he absorbed many of Kôtarô's qualities…and that's fine, because in this story he needs a little more aggressiveness to fill the shoes. He'll still have his own little quirks and personality traits outside of a fighting instinct that have yet to be revealed, but for now he's a savage antagonist.
And, finally, Kairen is…unique in placement, added because of all the extra protagonists in this version. Her image is based on a somewhat common ice girl archetype from certain anime and video games. Her combat style is based on the new strange one used by Viola from Soul Calibur V, simply because I like being able to make custom characters based on some of the more unique fighting styles the series offers. So, I can now make this character simply so I have a better visual idea of her. She is a quiet, silent, mysterious girl…similar to the already too-great number of girls of this type (obviously, I like this archetype)…and she faithfully serves her master (who hasn't really been revealed yet). She'll be around for a long time, but I don't have much more to say about her yet.
And so, let's move on and finish up this stage of battles….