It's been. So goddamn. long.

Just yesterday, I looked at the date of Negative Mind's last update and was all like 'The bloody hell?! It's been five months! Where the hell have I been?! What have I been doing?! Just when did five months pass?! I was working on this chapter, wasn't I?!"

...well, I was. But barely had time for it, and focused on HoH, since I desperately wanted monthly updates, and then there was school and... Yeah. I'm shocked myself, can't believe I really didn't update NBP in so long, despite wanting to write this book soooooo badly! I've got so much planned, and we haven't even reached the 'main plot' of Negative Mind... The part where it gets reaaally interesting (I'm looking back at the first chapter right here...)

So pleaaaaase forgive my long absence. I'm really sorry...

But yeah... Sure has been quiet around me, huh? Sorry for that... I was working real hard on this chapter, then unexpectedly got good grades at school and managed to pass the year, and in relief, fell into a state of relaxation and laziness... And well, the only things I really did for the rest of the summer holiday were getting up late and playing video games, as well as working on my own game. And before I knew, school started again, I had less and less time and was working on the monthly updates of HoH, and school is kind of my priority right now... I won't stop writing, however. Might just get a little longer before I update (not five months again, holy shit!), because I won't be back from school before evening, and then still have to do homework and all. I still try to do so as much as possible, and it will become more frequent again opposed to the time between this and the chapter before (like, way more frequent! I'm not only angry at myself, but shocked at my own laziness!).

And yep, that's right, I'm currently working on a game. And no, sadly it won't have to do with NBP (I did once start a game that was based on NBP, but abandoned it again halfway through because of me failing at coding the events right), even though it does feature a small reference (which, in the end, will possibly taken out again, lol). The game is nearly done now (about 75%), which was why I returned to work on NBP, which I suddenly wanted to write again.

And boy, it worked well! Trust me, now that my desire to write NBP and HoH is back (especially NBP, dammit!), I will continue with the interesting parts (II-NM is about to get really interesting, and HoH will soon as well!).

Another important thing to note before we start this chapter is, that this chapter is divided into two parts – This is the first part, focusing on the fight of Remilia's and Yuugi's teams; and the second part will focus on the fight of Flandre's and Utsuho's teams – It should be up towards the end of the week. I decided to divide the chapter into two parts due to the sheer length I had, even though I was only halfway done with the second fight.

Also, on a side-note... The poll whether or not to write none, one, or both of the spin-offs to NBP is about to come to an end – With the second half of this chapter at the end of this week, actually. So, just to remind you... You have until the end of this week to vote.

And now, back to the present! (Geez, had so much to say due to my long absence regarding NBP...)

And with present, I mean this chapter (or at least, part of it)... And as always, Review time!

Aerhyce... First off, I don't think I'll turn the Grimoire of SorrowfulReincarnation into an own book – I don't know, it would kind of miss a story and be pointless, and I don't feel like coming up with a story for it – So, once the time has come, the Grimoire will be here, at the end of the chapter, introducing the new OCs.

Second thing: Not only the ship had enough of all the shit it was going through – Yukari is pissed about the destruction as well, as we can guess after the end of the last chapter. But yes, the ship had it's own glorious moment when it finally got it's revenge on Kanako and Chôzen for all the shit they were putting it through...

And I, personally, think that Kanako was more than pleased with the fight in the last chapter – She's just not going to admit it. Hehe.

Nicolas Crossworth... And I have returned as well! (Dude, I bet you thought I had died or something... I mean, five months, and only the occasional update of HoH?)

Thank you very much, first off – Boy, I was really nervous when writing the last chapter, having planned the first fight of Chôzen and Kanako in II-NM for quite a while now... Especially when I came up with the idea of throwing them into the fight of Mima's team against Cirno's. And heck yes, writing the strong Cirno and the Daiyousei with the hidden gloom has never been so enjoyable!

About Aya's kid... I'm not going to spoil, but it may appear quite soon. And then, you'll see. Anticipate that!

White! White like snow! White like Eirin's hai... *random arrow soaring past* SILVER! SILVER!

Tez7... I'll have mercy. This time. On the kids... It's only going to be powerhouses fighting it out! Enjoy~

And with that, we'll move on to the chapter, shall we~?

...You can't believe how I missed that sentence.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Touhou/Project Shrine Maiden, as it belongs to ZUN. However, Chôzen Gekido (and his respective personalities), Nanatsu no Taizai, Yume Gekido and Yajû Gekido-Shisô, Sly, Shiho Kumo and Ryoko Jigoku do belong to me, as for I have created them. This goes for any other OC's introduced as well.


Chapter 4.1: The battles of the sisters ~ Scarlet Mind

My sleep that night was surprisingly calm and undisturbed, something that hadn't happened in nearly twenty years. The reason for my disturbed sleep were nightmares... Nightmares of the four years I had gone through during my last stay in Gensokyo, everything from waking up wit no memories over the apocalyptic night until the point where I successfully beat the insane Mima. Everything came back to haunt me in my dreams.

But there was more... With returning memories, my nightmares gained strength through new topics and fears. Nanatsu's rejection and the sealing of Rumia added to the list of things, along with several more things I'd rather forget.

In the end, though, my nightmares didn't only revolve around things from the past. Things of an uncertain future had been plaguing me as well... Mainly the uncertain future presented to me in shape of the transformation that I would sooner or later go through. While the transformation had nearly stopped, I sometimes had found myself having nightmares about me turning into a beast... Into a monster, something so inhuman that it wasn't even a Youkai, let alone a human-like Youkai, anymore.

When would the transformation stop? How much of a monster would it turn me into? Had it stopped already? Or was it just laying dormant?

The only new change since my departure from Gensokyo had been a single step further into my transformation... One that I could easily counter, one that neither Nanatsu nor Rumia, nor any of our children had noticed because I prevented it from becoming too obvious.

During a week that I had been alone at home, though, I had allowed it to grow, had allowed the change to take place. And what I saw and felt still bugged me.

Within a single week, my fingernails had grown into long and pointy blades, effectively turning my hands into claws, tools of murder. By cutting them off once in three days, though, I could easily hide their abnormal growth.

Still... This was another step of the transformation, wasn't it? The only one that had taken place in twenty years... For now. My greatest fear, though, is that this transformation will start again, now that I am once more exposed to the magical aura of Gensokyo. It was just one of my theories, but it could be that it amplified the speed at which I turn.

I just hope it was not the case.

So yeah... Nightmares. No pretty ones, disturbing my sleep for nearly every night in twenty years. But this night, the first night back in Gensokyo, in the living quarters of the arena, was surprisingly undisturbed. At first, I would've guessed that it was just the two battles today; with Yukari and Kanako respectively. Or perhaps it had been Alice's presence that calmed me...

...It was neither of them.

The reason for my undisturbed sleep wasn't a good one, as I soon had to find out... The moment that I opened my eyes, to be exact.

Because, as I opened my eyes... I was no longer in the arena. Heck, I wasn't even in Gensokyo anymore!

I shot up as soon as I noticed the changes in the surroundings, the cold and broken stone walls, the large wooden doors, the holes in the ground and the red carpet with yellow trimming and the stench of blood stuck to it in shape of dark stains...

And the throne on the far side of the room, with something organic hanging above it.

I remembered the scenery only too well, another thing my nightmares kept on showing to me just because how disturbing the events in the broken throne room had been... So this was another nightmare, was it not? This was it again... The nightmare about my battle with the very incarnation of the Unfocused World, a world that was made of the collection of several minds... A world that had gained a consciousness of it's own because it consisted of so many beings.

I knew this nightmare only too well... While it had been one of the less frequent ones, I regretted the decision I had to made there. I had to turn my back on the Unfocused World, which had been the greatest connection I had to Alice at that time. Our addiction to one another had been at it's highest point back then. After that, our relationship just wasn't the same anymore, the connection cut as she helped me to cut my bond with the Unfocused World for Mima being no longer able to manipulate me through it.

"I guess I just have to get this over with... I know this nightmare in and out. No sense in not starting it... I just have to get up and let this happen once again..."

With a heavy sigh, I sat up and prepared to rise to my feet, which had triggered the next event each and every time... This time, it was different, though. I had just sat up and prepared for the organic thing above the throne to spit out the Unfocused Alice, the dark version of Alice... The Unfocused World had no distinct shape, but always took the shape of that thing which you associated with it the most.

In my case, this was Alice, who first triggered both her and my connection to the Unfocused World.

"Hmhmhm. Hello again, Chôzen Gekido." spoke the dark voice of the Unfocused World, it's voice followed by a distorted echo of itself that sounded like sharp hissing or whispering, scaring the hell out of me. I snapped my head around to stare at the throne... To my shock, she was already there. The Unfocused Alice was already sitting in the throne, lazily leaning onto one hand.

I quickly rose to my feet, fearing that my nightmare had changed to an even crueler one... But it was not the case.

This was not one of my nightmares.

"I welcome you back to my world... So, welcome back to me. You do remember my face? Well, the one that I borrowed, at least?" chuckled the Unfocused Alice with a distinct accent, emphasizing and stretching the vocals, and stroke a finger over her pale skin, then grabbed one of her black locks, which contrasted so much with Alice's golden blonde, and curled it within her fingers.

"Out of all the shapes that I have taken, this is definitely the one that I enjoy the most. Being Alice just suits me on so many levels... Don't you think?" she added, scarlet eyes resting upon me with both scorn and glee carried within them.

"Aren't you the Queen of Hearts rather than Alice?" I snorted, not sticking to my dialogue from back then. If this nightmare had changed, then it wouldn't matter if I changed as well.

"Is there a difference between them, Chôzen? I told you all these years ago that Alice kills the Queen of Hearts and will take her place, only for it to happen once again once a new Alice has been chosen. It's an endless cycle... Alice and the Queen of Hearts are just the same person from two different points of view."

The voice of Insanity startled me and caused me to turn towards the pillar to my left, against which the insane, crimson replica of me was leaning. That had not been the case back then. Insanity had not been present during my fight with the Unfocused World!

"You don't understand, do you? This is not a nightmare. This is reality. You are inside the Unfocused World at this very moment." spoke another voice. I turned into the other direction and found another replica walking towards me, this one with it's head burning in green flames. The incarnation of the Flame-Soul inside the Unfocused World.

"I was so gracious as to overlook our bad past, Chôzen Gekido. Once the spark had been triggered anew by the kiss of the one whose shape I have borrowed, Alice Margatroid, I reached out to that thin string and took it within my hand, pulling you into me again. I just thought it was best if I inform you myself that you are now once again part of me." giggled the Unfocused Alice, turning my attention to her.

"What?!" I gasped, realization striking me hard.

"Being back to dense again, huh? Your mind is now connected to the Unfocused World again. We can once more enter it, just like back then. When Alice kissed you, the Unfocused World saw the opportunity to make you part of it again and did so." snorted Insanity from the side.

"But... Alice... What?!" I stuttered, not quite believing what I had just been told. This was not a nightmare! This was friggin' reality!

"Alice triggered your connection to the Unfocused World in the first place by kissing you and forcing you to swallow the 'Butterfly Dream Pills' that Eirin had made... She accidentally swallowed some of it as well, which led to both of you being part of this world, remember?"asked the Flame-Soul and I nodded. Yeah, I remembered that... Alice didn't trust Eirin and had tried to try the pills on me, only to end up swallowing some of them as well during our quite intense kiss back in Makai all those years ago...

"Because you took the same drug, a small connection has been created in between you due to gaining connection to me the very same moment. When you separated from me, this connection became dormant as well... But it's back now, back in full power due to Alice's kiss." finished the Unfocused Alice in a mad giggle.

"Does this mean that I can freely move around again in the Unfocused World now?" I asked cautiously.

"Indeed it does. You even have your own part inside me again, just like back then. You may not be able to enter just now, as your part of me is currently rebuilding itself and only allows you to enter me on free will once it is completely rebuild, but I hope you enjoy this... It is my 'welcome back to Gensokyo' present to you, in a sense. You have no choice but to accept it, though." replied the Unfocused World, still amused by everything.

"Whatever. Are we done with this game of twenty questions now? It will soon become morning, and you should at least get some sleep before that. Being here may rest your body, but not your soul, remember that... Well, I'm out." And just like that, Insanity vanished, faded out.

"Isn't he just charming? And so sensitive and calm!" sneered the Unfocused Alice, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Just lovely. Anyways, Chôzen... He is right. You wouldn't want to miss Remi's and Flan's fights, right? Or Satori's and Koishi's, respectively."

"I guess so..." I muttered in reply. The Flame-Soul nodded, then faded out as well... Leaving me alone with the Unfocused Alice.

I was just about to leave as well when I remembered the source of my nightmares and something that the Unfocused Alice had said long ago...

"Hey. Can I ask something?" I inquired upon turning back to the throne.

"You just did. But you may ask something else as well." chuckled the megalomaniac being, irritating me immediately. I remembered just exactly why I had wanted to defeat her, or rather it, so badly all these years ago...

"Twenty years ago, you were the first one to talk about my transformation. You were also the only one to actively tell me anything about it. Twenty years have passed now and I went through a few more steps... But I need to know how long it will continue and what it will turn me into." I growled. And the Unfocused Alice frowned.

"Interested, are we?" she snorted, "Well... Since you asked so nicely, I tell you. The transformation will continue up to the day that you will have to negate the existence, it is what prepares you for the final negation. Do not worry about the steps happening too quickly, they are scattered up to that day."

"I see. And what about what I will turn into?" I inquired cautiously.

"I don't know for sure. I do know, though, that it is separated into four phases, each with a different amount of steps. You already went through phase one... Animal. You grew fangs, as well as barbs on your bones, which turned black. It is the shortest of the phases, with only three steps. The second phase, which you are now in, is that of the 'exalted Youkai'... Expect to become a little more Youkai-like soon, losing a bit of your rather human-like appearance."

"Damn...!" I hissed and bit down on my tongue, not too eager about turning into more of a Youkai than I had always been, "What about phases three and four?!"

"I don't know about them, but as far as I can see, they will be the most effective ones, turning you from the exalted Youkai back into the higher being that you once were... In a mortal version of it, at least. Expect them to be the most violent ones, changing you completely in appearance and personality."

At this, I became silent. What did the Unfocused World mean with that? I knew what it would end up turning me into, a mortal version of the higher being I had once been... But what about changing me completely? Had I been that different back then?

I didn't dare to ask, though, and decided against it.

"Thank you for the information. I shall now leave you be." I grumbled quickly, then focused back on how I had left the Unfocused World back then when I had been part of it... Concentrating.

As the world around me faded out, I heard a last sentence from the Unfocused Alice that managed to send a chill down my spine just by how malevolent the tone was that it was using.

"Oh no, thank you... I enjoy your nearly god-like powers being part of my world, Chôzen Gekido... Hmhmhmhm..."


As I opened my eyes this time, there was no destroyed throne room around me. Not at all.

Instead, I was greeted by the sight of the white ceiling of the nice and comfy living quarter... I was back in Gensokyo, back in the arena, back in my body in a conscious state. The light of the rising sun was filling the room, was tinting it in orange. While it wasn't as beautiful as the twilight of dusk, it's symbolism was in no sense of less worth.

"Hey, cut that out already! Why do you always do that?!" roared a loud voice, which I identified to be Rumia's. Seeing as it was still early, I merely let out a silent sigh and closed my eyes again, not really drifting back into sleep but merely to snooze a little.

"It's just fun, that's all~" sung another familiar voice, this one sadistic.

"I don't think it could be considered fun! Let go of me already!" growled Rumia again and I heard how she continued to trash about, struggling against whoever was holding her.

"Rumia, Yuuka, stop that already! Chôzen is still asleep! Show some respect!" hissed Nanatsu's voice, causing me to roll my eyes at the caring side of my first wife, as well as the revelation of Yuuka being the one who Rumia was fighting against. For some reason, this felt just too much like the last meeting of Yuuka and Rumia twenty years ago... Yuuka had been mad at Rumia then for blabbering out things she shouldn't have.

"Yeah, Gekido, I just thought the same." chuckled a fourth voice, one that caused me to open my eyes again as new-found energy filled my tired body.

"Guess it makes no sense to pretend to be asleep anymore..." I sighed as I sat up and moved a hand through my messy hair, my eyes immediately taking in the situation. Nanatsu was sitting at a table with Yuuka and Rumia, with Yuuka having Rumia in a headlock. The fourth person sat on a chair as well, but she had turned it backwards and was leaning her upper body onto the backrest, which was now at the front.

"Mima, Yuuka." I greeted the two green-haired women, getting a short nod from each of them. After that, my eyes traveled back to the evil spirit that was facing me, and our gazes met and locked. A silent conversation began, nineteen years of memories exchanged in a few seconds, no word spoken... Yeah, we'd have to talk about them eventually, but for now, we had reassured each other that everything had been okay.

But with that resolved, another question became important.

"How did you know?" I inquired and rose an eyebrow at her. Everyone but Mima rose an eyebrow at me at this, seemingly confused what I was referring to... But Mima knew. She merely shrugged with her shoulders, though, and closed her eyes as she leaned back onto the backrest of the chair she sat on.

"I don't know for sure..." began the evil spirit in a casual tone, "I just felt that you were awake and had a sarcastic thought."

"You just felt it?" repeated Nanatsu, frowning at the evil spirit that sat to her right.

"Yeah. Might have to do with how your husband chose to defeat me twenty years ago!" proclaimed Mima and sent me a smirk, "They do know that you idiot connected our souls for a few seconds to channel all of Gensokyo's negative feelings into me, right?"

"They do. I explained everything to them..." I replied, though I was frowning at her, "And why do you keep on calling me an idiot?!"

"Because no one should just temper with souls like that!" scolded a voice from the door, "Be lucky that I didn't scold you for that back then!"

"Ah, Shikieiki-sama!" exclaimed Nanatsu as she jumped up, almost knocking her chair over, and bowed to the judge and her two Shinigami Komachi and Minoue, who had just entered the room together. Rumia, though being an employee of the Yama as well, remained in her seat and closed her eyes, regarding the three new people in the room with a simple snort. Might have to do with the fact that she had just broken free from Yuuka's strong grip, though.

"It's alright. I'm off duty, remember?" chuckled Shikieiki as she walked into the room and finally sat down on a chair by the table, while Komachi leaned against the wall next to the door and Minoue walked up to Shikieiki to stand behind her. I examined both Shinigami for a second, let my eyes travel up the golden scythe of Minoue and finally stopped them on the rod of remorse that was fused to the hilt of the scythe there.

"And yet you are scolding people, Eiki, even though you are off duty." snorted Mima in return and gave the Yama a glance that just screamed that she was looking for a fight with the mighty being. Not that Shikieiki would fall for such a thing.

"I have every right in the world to scold you people for the things you've done! It's been twenty years, but both of your actions have messed up everything and still are a frequent topic in the court of the Circle of Yama, even now, twenty years later! You can be more than happy that punishing you has been decided against." growled the Yama of Gensokyo. It was easy for me to see just how much she held back her real anger.

We must have really messed up things twenty years ago.

"But that's not why I am here. Instead, I am to wish you my best luck for your further fights... I believe that your next fight is against one another? If so, I will wish for you both to do your best and try to win. However, I am aware that only one of you can win, but that shouldn't stop you from doing your best... But I don't think I need to tell you that. You two are pretty

eager to fight one another, am I right?" continued Shikieiki, giving both me and Mima a serious and disapproving glare.

Mima and I shared a short glance at this, then began to smirk at one another. Yes, this would be one heck of a fight we were about to have. But until then, another day would remain... Before that, the Scarlet and the Komeiji Sisters would fight for the second battle of the semi-finals.

"But aside my good luck wishes, I also have another thing to mention... I fear that something is about to happen. You probably won't have to worry about it, but I feel a small conflict arising in the ranks of the audience... So that's why I came to ask your daughters to look into it." revealed Shikieiki then, giving me, Nanatsu and Rumia a stern glare.

"Our daughters?" repeated Nanatsu with a slight frown.

"See it as a first look for them into what they will eventually have to do once they work under me. Since Yajû is going to be an Angel of Death, who are more or less the ones that I sent to take care of pretty much whatever I need to have, like an errand or some kind of special person to be retrieved, she will have to learn it anyways." replied Shikieki, "As for Yume... We don't know what type of Shinigami she is yet. She could be a Reaper-type or a Ferryman-type... I guess until we know, this kind of job will do."

"The threat isn't that great, is it?" I asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Not really... It shouldn't be too problematic for them. Just what we need for them to learn what they'll have to do. And if it turns out to be a big threat after all, we still have Komachi and Minoue, as well as you three... or all the other strong fighters, waiting for the next round to begin." answered Shikieiki, getting more relaxed again.

"Speaking of our daughters... Where are they?" I inquired after a few seconds of silence and a few glances through the room. Mima seemed to be bored by this topic, as she gave a grunt of dismay, possibly because no one was really paying attention to her, and began a conversation with Yuuka about a topic I didn't really understand... Something about a gal with ten masks; and if she was somewhere in the arena as well.

"Yajû and Yume left early to find a girl they met yesterday... I think her name was Hina." replied Nanatsu after sending a short glance to a bored Rumia, who was playing with a burning candle on the table.

"Hina Kirisame... In case that you forgot, Marisa mentioned that it was her daughter..." mumbled Rumia and kept poking the candle just below the flame, just to suddenly yelp out in pain as she burnt the tip of her right index finger on the hot wax.

"Serves you right..." grunted Nanatsu as she frowned at Rumia, but then turned to me, "Yeah, what Rumia just said. Speaking of yesterday... Just what the hell did you think you were doing there?! Yukari is really mad at you and Kanako now! You better keep out of her reach for the rest of the day, unless you want to end up in an active volcano again!"

"Again?" I heard Komachi mumble, and found her, Minoue and Shikieiki frown in confusion at Nanatsu, but neither of us made any attempt of explaining them what Nanatsu had just meant. Mima had perked up as well, always interested in something that would annoy Yukari Yakumo, but seeing that nobody was going to explain as to what Nanatsu had referred to, she grunted and turned back to Yuuka to continue whatever they had been talking about.

"Back to the topic... Yume and Yajû will later join up with us when the battle begins. As it seems, we've got two invitations... One from Remilia to watch her battle with Yuugi's team from the Scarlet Devil lounge, and later that of her sister together with her, as well as another invitation from Kanako and Suwako to meet up with them behind the judges... Apparently, they've got some seats there." continued Nanatsu, not caring about Komachi's question.

"I didn't know whether or not you'd enjoy being around Kanako, especially considering that I have no idea if that fight of yours yesterday was a friendly one or not, so I accepted Remilia's invitation and told Kanako and Suwako that we may drop by... So Yume and Yajû will meet us at the Scarlet Devil lounge." finished the Shinigami of the seven deadly sins, and I nodded.

"You did the right thing... That fight in between me and Kanako was a friendly one, but we'd be an easier target for Yukari if we'd be close to each other." I joked, "That aside, maybe it's better to not be close to Kanako. May result in us getting all eager for another fight... But I guess I pay them a visit later on. You know, drop by, tease and taunt Kanako, then leave..."

"I hope you don't overdo it... Another fight with Kanako that will damage the arena, and Yukari will skin you both alive, chop you to pieces, throw you into an active vulcano, wait for you to both revive since neither of you can truly die forever, and then repeat the procedure until neither of you can remember how many times you died..." snorted Rumia as she rocked her chair back and forth.

"My, aren't we a sensitive one?" chuckled Yuuka and patted Rumia on the shoulder... With enough strength to push her and her backwards leaned chair over. Not on purpose, of course... Why would Yuuka, who is absolutely not sadistic, do such a thing?

...Sarcasm mode end.

With Rumia cursing beneath the table and out of my sight, complaining that she probably just dislocated her shoulder right there and then, I shrugged the former accusation off.

"Nah. You know, Kanako and I can keep ourselves under control. If we ever want to, that is." I huffed, a little irritated that they basically just told me that Kanako and I would never be able to control ourselves.

"I hope someone has a red pen to underline that last sentence there. IF, and I mean a major 'if' here, the two of you ever WANT to control yourselves." commented Yuuka, sweet sadism accompanying her voice. I let out a feral growl into her direction, irritation growing as the sadistic Flower Youkai leaned onto her hand and closed her eyes, a sweet smile upon her lips, before she returned to her conversation with Mima anew.

"Shut up, Yuuka..." I grumbled under my breath as I turned to Nanatsu, but no one in the room really cared about it, not even Yuuka herself.

"Now then, are we ready to head out? The first battle will soon start." asked Nanatsu, raising an eyebrow at us. Yuuka stopped in mid-sentence at that and frowned over to Nanatsu.

"Is it already that late? Oh my, how time flies when you have fun, right, Rumi?" chuckled the Flower Youkai and glanced down to the ground aside her, beneath the table. I heard an apathetic huff, followed by a fist appearing in my vision from beneath the table, which was threatening the Flower Master of Four Seasons.

"I know, right? We had lots of fun!" giggled Yuuka and patted the shaking, threatening fist mockingly. I regarded this with a disapproving shake of my head, then glanced to Shikieiki and Mima, who had done the same.

"Well, I think we could..." I began as I opened my eyes after stretching my tired limbs, only to be interrupted by Shikieiki, who had stood up from her seat as well.

"Komachi, Minoue... I think it is time for us to head out. I have to see Yukari before we start patrolling." instructed the Yama and nodded to the door she had entered through. The two Shinigami in question nodded, then left the room in a casual manner with Komachi raising her hand to bid goodbye, while Shikieiki remained to bid us goodbye, only to leave then as well.

I waited until the three of them had left before I turned back to the girls.

"Well, now that they are gone, I guess we could also..." I began anew, only to be interrupted yet again as the Flower Youkai rose from her seat with a sigh. She sent a short, sadistic grin into my direction that basically was all that I needed to know that she had interrupted me on purpose, but I remained calm as Yuuka addressed us all like Shikieiki had done seconds earlier.

"Mima... We'll meet up later, okay? I need to find 'someone'..." she started in an almost mysterious way and then turned to us, "Thanks for your hospitality, I guess... And all the fun of course, right, Rumia?"

The fist reappeared from beneath the table and began to shake again in a silent threat, which Yuuka merely accepted with a gentle smile. She turned her back to us, waved a last time, and then left the room much like Shikieiki and her two Shinigami had done before. And as she left, the hand that had formerly threatened her flipped her off.

I held back a short chuckle, as did Mima, while Nanatsu merely shook her head , disapproving of Rumia's rudeness.

"Guess I'll stick with you three then. If that isn't too much of a problem, that is." smirked Mima as she turned to me and Nanatsu, "I mean, that vampire brat won't say no if her 'big brother' asks real nice to invite me, right?"

"Well, I think..." began Nanatsu, but I interrupted her the moment that I saw that she was still pondering.

"It's fine, won't be a problem at all! Remi won't say anything if you're with us." I smiled at the evil spirit that I had befriended, despite the hate we had once felt for one another.

Looking back, it really is quite a miracle on it's own how the whole 'Negative Gensokyo Incident' led to what the present is. I mean... I hated Mima's guts back then. After everything she had done, I had wanted nothing more than to break her in the most painful way before I negate her... And then, after realizing that Mima and I had been no different from one another back then, I had even defended her...

I guess Shikieiki really is right... No one should mess with souls. If they are connected, even if only for such a short moment as Mima's soul and my had been, truths and emotions are revealed that were never meant for others to know. It had taken us only seven seconds to fully understand one another and abandon all our hate for one another once our souls had been connected... Which is quite frightening, seeing as how much we had really wanted each others demise...

With a loud sigh, I began to move. Walking past Mima, I patted the evil spirit onto her right shoulder and motioned her to get up. There was no such thing as a strange feeling as I touched her shoulder, despite it being unusual. Must have to do with the fact that we had connected our souls once...

Looking to Nanatsu, I smiled and nodded to the door. She understood the gesture and rose from her seat, as did Mima. At the same time, I rounded the table and finally stopped next to Rumia, who was lying on her back on the chair that had fallen over along with her. We shared a short glance and she nodded, then extended her arm towards me. I took her hand and pulled her up, all along smiling warmly.

How long had I waited for this? How long had I longed for this all those years ago? I had wanted to live a casual life, one that wasn't boring and yet not too eventful... And I had wanted to live such a life in Gensokyo. Of course, merely being in Gensokyo ensured that the days wouldn't be boring at all, but... Back then, a casual life had been impossible. I had no memories at that time, and after they had returned, the whole thing with Mima had started.

Now, a casual life in Gensokyo was possible. And I'd enjoy it as long as it would last. Which would, hopefully, be a long time.


Knocking on the door to the Scarlet Devil Lounge, I cast a glance towards Mima and Nanatsu, then past them and Rumia to the battlefield. Yúgure had just entered the battlefield and was exchanging some words with the judges, who were inspecting the battlefield. My guess was, that Yúgure was telling them what she wanted to change the battlefield into.

"Come in." came a quiet reply from the other side of the door, one that definitely didn't belong to a Scarlet or Komeiji. I pushed it open and entered the lounge, only to frown as I noticed that it was nearly empty, save for three individuals and a few Fairy Maids. Meiling was leaned against the wall on the far side of the room, looking through the window to the battlefield. She turned her head to us as we entered and smiled, but then glanced down to the battlefield again through the large window.

Nanatsu had turned to the other two people in the room, Koakuma and Patchouli, and bowed to them. I lifted a hand and waved casually, then frowned towards the empty thrones on one side of the room.

"Hey Patchy, where's Remi?" I asked. And in that moment, it felt as if I had never left Gensokyo to begin with... And no one was really treating me like I had. How weird...

"Remi left the lounge a while ago with Sakuya, Satori, Flandre and Koishi to return to the mansion. Apparently, they have to retrieve something before the next battle starts..." muttered the bookworm and casually flipped a page of the tome she was reading. I turned my frown away from the thrones and directed it at Patchouli, but she didn't even look up from her book.

Koakuma showed us an apologizing smile, even if there was no need for an apology. That was just how Patchouli was, and one would have to accept her like that.

"Too bad. And here I was actually looking forward to see that brat." snorted Mima, before she began to chuckle to herself like a madman. At this, Patchouli finally did look up, and something like an excited expression (or at least as close as it could come to that with Patchouli) lit up on her face.

"Mima! Good to see you, you're just in time... Could you please have a look at this passage here? It's about magic that's making use of antimatter, but it's quite complicated..." muttered Patchouli quickly and waved the evil spirit over. I rolled my eyes as I saw the spark in Mima's eyes, and watched as she flew over to Patchouli to have a look at the book in Patchouli's hands.

Sorceresses among themselves, geeeeeez!

"You think it's going to blow up in their faces? Just think about what we read in Mima's journals about the last time she tried to mess with nature... She trapped herself in a constantly spinning room for days after messing with magnetic fields..." commented my Flame-Soul, but I ignored it. Still, when did something not blow up in Mima's face? And the fun part was, that it was probably better that way... Just think about what may have happened if Mima's plan and magic actually succeeded back then, if the 'Complete Darkness' would have been unleashed... Whatever it was... (1)

Then again, her 'Complete Darkness' had blown up in her face and had resulted in her becoming corrupt, a full onryô that she had never meant to be... So maybe it was better if it did not blow up in her face? I don't even know anymore... When it came to Mima, one could never be sure if it was better if things didn't work like she wanted, or if it was better if they did work like she wanted...

One thing for sure: With Mima, the days would never get dull and boring. Either she caused a lot of trouble with one of her mischievous schemes, or she was making a fool out of herself, ignoring all laws of physics and reality while messing up...

"Well, Remilia is not here yet, I guess... And Yume and Yajû aren't as well..." I muttered and looked around in the room, shared a short glance with Meiling, "So I guess now is the best time to spent Kanako and Suwako a visit. I'll be back for the first battle, alright?"

"Well... Sure, but don't take too long, alright?" replied Nanatsu with a small smile.

"Yeah, and don't get all worked up with her. We don't need another fight... And we don't need Yukari to be even more pissed." sniggered Rumia, speaking up for the first time since we had left the living quarters.

"I won't, I promise." I smiled and shook my head, "Please wait for me here, alright?"

And without another word, leaving Nanatsu and Rumia with Meiling, Koakuma, Patchouli and Mima, I left the lounge again to find the goddess I had fought with the day before.

Even if it was, in reality, just to avoid the boring wait in the lounge. No offense, but Patchouli wasn't exactly the most talkative person, and listening to her and Mima muse about magic wasn't exactly the most interesting prospect. Koakuma, on the other hand, would surely mess with my head again... And Meiling had seemed to be in thought about something. And with that, the whole situation in the lounge promised to be weird.

Aside that... I also wanted to spent some time alone, to clear my head of everything that had happened the day before, and that night...


Making my way down the stairs that led to the seat of the four judges, I pushed through the crowds of mythical beings and humans in hope to spot the ones that had invited me to begin with.

A crowd of Tengu made their way past me and I recognized Hatate Himekaidou among them, but neither of us stopped to talk; we merely regarded one another with a kind smile and a gentle nod. As I turned to look towards the battlefield again to see if they had already finished the final preparations, I spotted Sanae talking with Komachi just behind Sly and Aya, who were arguing about something... It may have been twenty years, but I still remembered that the two of them didn't exactly get along.

I was just about to move towards the smiling Sanae and the confused Komachi (she did frown in a confused way, at least), when Komachi nodded and walked past Sanae, while the miko began to leave towards a spot somewhere to my right. Even though I tried to call out to her, she didn't hear me and continued her way.

"Should I talk to her? She'll hear me, cause, ya know, you can't exactly miss a voice in your head... And I can only communicate telepathically..." offered my Flame-Soul, but I shook my head. Instead, I followed Sanae's line of vision and eventually spotted what, or rather who, I had been looking for... Kanako and Suwako, sitting near the end of a row of seats just two rows down to my right.

With that problem out of the way, I relaxed a bit and even smiled as I spotted Kanako and Suwako, who had noticed me as well and were waving me over. In the end, the two of them weren't that bad, even Kanako wasn't that bad... The two of them just didn't really have a limit when it came to reaching their, sometimes quite selfish, goals...

Well, anyways... I was looking forward to spent some time with them. Actually, I want to meet all my old acquaintances, friends and foes and want to spent some time with them. Being back now in Gensokyo just felt so right, so natural... Even after twenty years, Gensokyo still refused to deny me. It still accepted me... Even though it knew, that deep down, I was one day going to end it. It, and everything else.

Sometimes, I am surprised that people accept me just like this, even though they know that I am the so called 'destroyer', the one to eventually cause the end of existence for a new start to take place. I don't think I can understand such... Was it kindness? Was it kindness to accept me for who I was, no matter my purpose?

Sure, not everyone knows... But gods like Kanako, Suwako and Shinki know definitely, just by looking at me... And of course, certain people that have reached a 'higher level of existence', like Byakuren and Miko... And even though they do know, they accepted me from the very beginning, never saw 'the destroyer' within me but Chôzen Gekido... How will probably remain a mystery for me.

But that is a thing of the past... Or rather, the future. The far future. Shikieiki herself had told me that the last thousand years had yet to come... I had way more than enough time until I would have to destroy everything.

So... I guess that topic shouldn't bother me for a while. Besides... Why should I think about such a dark thing now? The present was anything but dark! Rather than being gloomy, I should be happy... Like the others are. Even Kanako is happy to see me again!

Apropos Kanako... I saw her wave again, this time a bit more faster than before, and took that as a sign that they were getting impatient with me standing around there, staring into thin air...

Yeah, I had spaced out for a moment. How I knew? Sanae had reached them by then and was talking with Suwako, which meant that I had spaced out at least long enough for Sanae to move up some stairs and down the row to the goddesses.

Seeing as I indeed seemed to have quite some time on my hands until the battle would start, seeing as Yúgure was just turning a small area around her into different biomes as if to look for the right one for the next battle, I smiled and nodded into Kanako's direction, then walked down the stairs until I had reached the row that Kanako and Suwako were in.

As I entered the row, I spotted Mokou not too far from me at the top of the stairs I had just come down. She had her back leaned against the wall, was smoking (which I doubted Keine would tolerate), and was talking with some girl I had never even seen before...

This other girl had long, dark auburn hair with two wolf-like ears protruding from it. With dangerous, red eyes that reminded me of a predator, she was staring at Mokou with an evil smirk... I don't know why, but she seemed to be a calm, and yet dangerous woman. She was build like Mokou and just as tall as her, but didn't seem as much of a tomboy. For example, she wasn't wearing red suspenders, but a red, black and white dress that gave her less of a tomboyish appearance than Mokou.

For some reason, though, this new girl, which Mokou seemed to be familiar and friendly with, had long and red nails... Sharp enough to rip apart anyone that would stand in her path, yet she seemed to be skilled in using them without hurting herself or others. And that reminded me of my own misery again, the fact that my nails grew into claws like that in three days if not cut in time...

Whatever. That girl with Mokou, she was a Youkai, that for sure. Some kind of Animal Youkai... Some kind of dog; or at least something with dog or wolf ears... A wolf tengu? But... One with black ears?

...No, no she wasn't anything related to Tengu. But if so, just what kind of Youkai was she? What other kinds of Youkai were out there with dog or wolf-like ears? Inugami?

"The hell, Gekido, are you coming over here or not?! Make up your damn mind!"

Kanako's sudden outburst got my attention and I quickly turned back into her direction, only to realize I had stopped again. But it didn't get only my attention, as everyone around me was now staring at Kanako and me.

"Uh... Sorry. Was distracted for a second." I chuckled, loud enough for a pissed Kanako to hear. She let out a grumpy huff and crossed her arms in beneath her chest, eyes closed but twitching dangerously. I let out an uneasy chuckle, which ended in a long sigh, and then glanced around through the people all around me that were staring at me. Most of them had turned away again, but a few were still staring in confusion or amusement.

I sent Mokou and that other girl a last glance, only to find that they had turned towards me as well. Mokou was smirking at me, possibly because she knew me well enough to know that I had spaced out again and had thus enraged Kanako, and as our eyes met, Mokou let out a huff and began to laugh to herself while she threw her head back.

The other girl, the one with the dark auburn hair, was staring at me with narrowed eyes, an evil smirk upon her lips. I watched as she leaned closer to Mokou and muttered something... Something that looked awfully lot like "So that's him?". I wasn't that good at lip-reading, but seeing her raise her right eyebrow in a questioning way, nod into my direction and move her lips led me to believe that she had just asked Mokou about me.

"GEKIDO!" roared Kanako, and I quickly turned back into her direction, all muscles tensing up. This time, as people turned to look at us, some of them began to chuckle... But even through all that, I could hear Mokou laugh loud and clear. Damn, I was embarrassing myself here...

"Shut up, Orochi..." I grumbled under my breath and quickly began to move towards her. Spewing curses under my breath about Kanako and her impatience, I made my way through the row to her, Suwako and Sanae...

Only to be stopped in my path again. And this time, not because I was distracted by anything.

"Gekido, huh?" breathed a kind of muffled voice behind me, cold breath hitting my neck. I froze up as this happened and felt my eyes widen, and even though Kanako saw me stop, she didn't shout again... Instead, she suddenly seemed all confused about something. Something behind me.

Turning my head to look over my own shoulder, I found no one in behind me, confusing me even more. I was sure I hadn't heard the voice before, even though I couldn't help but feel familiarity as I tried to think about the owner of the voice. Who had it been? Where was the owner now all of sudden? Just a second ago, he must have been behind me, but there was no one now. Even as I turned to look left and right through the crowd around me, which no longer was looking at me, I couldn't spot anyone familiar.

Turning to Kanako again, I just saw her shrug as I inquired with a gaze alone if she had seen who had been in behind me. She turned to ask Sanae and Suwako, but neither of them had looked at me to begin with, so as Kanako just turned back to me, she shrugged anew. I shook my head, then begun to move again... Deadly fault. Almost deadly.

Something fast and silver moved through my vision. Like a silver ray of lightning, it flashed through my vision for the fragment of a second and embedded itself right in front of my right foot. Both Kanako and I stared at one another with wide eyes, before we both lowered our gazes at the same second to the thing that had just embedded itself into the ground next to my foot.

It was a blade. A blade without a hilt, a little longer than the usual knife, but shorter than the short swords that Yumeko wielded.

Immediately being struck with panic, I felt my Youkai senses kick in and backflipped away from the blade, just as several more rained down and embedded themselves where I had stood before.

And then, the owner of those blades landed just behind them.

The figure rose from it's crouched position and stared over it's left shoulder at me with a single, red eye. It wasn't exactly tall, but also not that small, just a little smaller than me in height. It's entire body was wrapped in white bandages, making it look somewhat like a mummy... A dangerous assassin-mummy.

Only one eye, her left eye, was exposed. I was pretty sure that this being was female, as it clearly had a female build. Thin and agile, yet almost fragile. Some strands of white to silver hair were exposed through the white bandages at the top of her head, all of them short, barely reaching down to her shoulders.

This being, covered in bandages, finally rose her right hand and showed it to me while an insane glint appeared in her single eye. And as she showed her hand to me, I finally saw the set of blades she had in her right hand, followed by some of the bandages curling up to reveal her mouth distorted into a creepy smile, soft and silky skin of a pale shade around luscious pink lips.

Just as I rose my bony hand to light it up in green flames of negative energy to defend myself, the being moved. And it was like it had just teleported as it finally moved. She was gone from her spot and was in front of me in just one second, one blade at the height of my neck. I reacted quickly, moved my head to the side and twisted my body out of the way of the blade, all while the strange assassin-like being watched and chuckled in a very female voice... One that sounded so awfully familiar all of sudden...

Suddenly, the being was gone again. A shadow fell upon me and I realized relatively quick what it meant, forcing me to dodge as she fell towards me from above with four blades at once in between her fingers supposed to impale me as she punched. Instead, her punch hit the ground and the blades made a loud noise as they sled along the stone floor. The people around us, alerted at the noise, finally realized what was going on before their eyes, and quickly moved away from me and my opponent, falling into a state of light panic.

My opponent turned on the spot, her fist dragging across the ground and the blades screeched as they scratched on the stone. The being charged at me in a crouched position, then suddenly disappeared. Noticing the shadow again, I rose my right hand just in time for my black bones to block the sharp blades. And then, the pressure was gone, and so was the being in bandages.

And before I could spot her again, a sharp pain shot through my right shoulder.

"Welcome back in Gensokyo, Mr. Gekido." giggled the same voice that had breathed against my neck before. And this time, I recognized the voice of the assassin-like being. But... That couldn't be! She didn't look anything like her! But then again...

I twisted my head and stared over the fist on my right shoulder at the being in bandages. She pulled her fist back, the blades slid out of my shoulder and showed the four cuts they had created, none of them deeper than a few millimeters. Glancing at the fist that she was showing me so proudly, I noticed that she had moved the blades so that only the tips were exposed between the fingers of her clenched fist.

She took two steps back and opened her hand, all while she turned her arm around to show me the bottom of her forearm. And the hilt of the blades. These ones had hilts. And I recognized the fancy, custom-built hilts immediately. Especially the insignia engraved onto them.

As if to seek in her exposed eye for a confirmation for my theory, I frowned... And she began to laugh. And as she laughed, the bandages all over her body began to move and began to lose their length, as if they were all alive... As if they each had a mind of their own.

They sled along her body, exposed skin on her forearms and legs, exposed a white and blue dress, released the white to silver hair... And finally, the bandages had retreated until they were only curled around the woman's forearms, revealing to me just who she was.

She threw the knives into the air, three of the four knives vanished as she did so and reappeared in the black strap around her left thigh, and the final knife was caught again with her left hand. With that, she began to play with the knife, twirled it around her finger, and began to play with the green bow at the end of her right braid with her free hand.

"S-Sakuya...?!" I muttered in surprise, shocked about her being the same being that had just attacked me. She smirked and caught the knife she had played with, then quickly slipped it into the strap that was around her upper left thigh as well.

"Indeed, Mr. Gekido... Chôzen." smiled Sakuya Izayoi, Remilia's loyal head maid. Before I got anything else to say, she pulled out her golden stopwatch and glanced at it.

"You know..." she began all of sudden, "Sometimes, I wish I could just stop THE WORLD!"

Taken off guard when she suddenly raised her voice, I was also not prepared when she suddenly 'teleported' again... When she stopped time. And so, from one to another second, I collapsed onto the ground as a sharp pain shot through my back.

Sakuya had just elbowed me in the back.

"I apologize sincerely for that, but that was for you being an ignorant idiot that left Milady alone in Gensokyo without as much as a single information about your further whereabouts. You should've just told her that you'd be leaving Gensokyo for a while." scolded the maid as she closed her stopwatch, a mocking smirk upon her lips.

"Also, that was finally the revenge for you beating me when you first intruded the mansion and had virtually no power. I hope this shall humiliate you just as much as I had been back then." she added. And I sweatdropped. Somehow, this certainly was a humiliating defeat... And she even used the name of her father's most powerful ability, the world...

"Come on, get up. She didn't hit you that hard..." snorted another voice, one that immediately made me glare up at the owner, "And to think that you actually beat me before... Now you're just cruel, embarrassing me like that."

"Shut the hell up, Orochi." I growled at Kanako as I rose from the ground, "She knocked me down, not out. And besides, you could've helped, you know? Instead, you just stood there, not doing a single thing to help me... If anything, you were embarrassing yourself, standing there like an idiot that doesn't know what to do! ...And it's not about you and your pride to begin with, either!"

Seeing Kanako's shocked frown, I felt satisfaction spread through me. And with that, I turned towards the still smirking head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Now that the bandages were gone, I recognized her immediately. Like I had noticed the day before, when I had seen her during the introduction ceremony, she barely looked any older than twenty years ago... Tell me what you want, but she certainly was no normal human. Possibly had to do with her ability to manipulate time...

"Hey, Sakuya, what the hell is up with those bandages, anyways?" cut in my Flame-Soul, using his telepathic ability to speak with the head maid. Sakuya smiled at this and sent my Flame-Soul a glance, but then turned to us again.

"You don't understand, do you? Can you not feel it? The change that twenty years have brought? The change that time has awoken within me?" inquired the head maid and took another glance at her pocketwatch, "Ah, I fear that we have to continue this conversation at a later point in time... I guess I have to go already, my battle is very soon to start. Please excuse me."

With that, the head maid bowed deeply before me, before she repeated the procedure into the direction of Kanako, Suwako and Sanae, with the latter returning the gesture. Sakuya's smile increased and she turned away from us to leave, seeing as her battle would start in just a moment... But stopped to smirk at me in a challenging, mischievous way.

"I'll go and will meet up with Milady, Meiling and the others in the lounge... You should head there as well soon, Chôzen. That is, if you don't want to decline Milady's invitation. Also, on a side note, I ran into your beloved daughters and reminded them to go to the lounge. They should be heading there as we speak." she informed me, and I nodded.

"Thanks, Sakuya." I smiled, and the maid in question nodded once.

"Now, I believe that you still have things to attend to before you'll go to the lounge... I'll just assume that we won't meet again before Milady's battle, and with that mine, will begin, so I'll bid you goodbye now, Chôzen... And have fun figuring out what changed about me." And with that giggle, which soon turned into a soft fit of laughter, Sakuya turned away and left.

I watched her leave, but not without wondering what she was referring to with 'the thing that had changed about her, the thing that I should be able to feel'. She didn't seem really any different to twenty years ago, save for the fact that her power seemed to have nearly doubled. She hadn't changed in appearance, and her chronokinesis; her time-manipulation, was still the same as well... But something about her power seemed different. Her power felt different... Her aura.

Something was definitely off about her.

"Still the same, Gekido." snorted a voice from behind me, making me flinch a little, "You're still staring after women that strike your interest in some way, despite being married. You're no better than that stupid barkeeper."

"Shut up, Orochi... I'm not interested in Sakuya." I growled under my breath.

"Oh really? You do realize that you aren't exactly staring at her back, right? It's a little higher... You know, about an arm's length, skirt chaser." commented the snake-like goddess, making me cringe violently as I noticed that my gaze indeed had somehow found it's way down to Sakuya's... 'derriere'. Any other word for it wouldn't be fitting for someone from a noble mansion... Even if she was merely it's head maid.

"G-gravity!" I growled as I twirled to Kanako. I knew that Sakuya had still heard the goddess... Her soft fit of laughter had increased in volume, and she had begun to move her derriere a little more seductive. I had to swallow to get myself under control again... Geez, married for more than twenty years now to two women and I'm still somewhat of a pervert...

"Gravity? What has that to do with it, skirt chaser?" snorted Kanako, apparently amused at the new nickname for me.

"Gravity!" I repeated, trying to sound as secure as possible, "It was gravity! I was looking at Sakuya's back, but the gravity pulled my head down a bit, so it looked like I was staring at her..."

I trailed off as I saw the disbelieving frowns of the two goddesses and the half-goddess. Kanako had crossed her arms and had raised an eyebrow at me, Suwako had moved into her frog-like position and had her eyes half-closed, and Sanae was outright questioning me with the raise of a delicate eyebrow.

They were totally believing me. I should've become an actor instead of a walking enigma!

"Uh-huh." muttered Sanae as she flopped down into one of the three empty seats next to the two-and-a-half goddesses. Meanwhile, Kanako and Suwako exchanged a disbelieving frown, before turning to me again.

"Are you serious, skirt chaser?" snorted Kanako, leaving me to huff.

"Well, he didn't change at all, Kanako. Remember the time when he was chasing after my skirt?" huffed Suwako, amused. I cringed madly, then felt my left eyelid twitch violently. Me? Chasing after Suwako's skirt? There had never been such a time like that! When I had begun to train under the, back-then still adult in appearance, native goddess, I had been to insecure about such a thing... And then became indifferent! And when I met her again, she had already turned into a child! And I'm not into that...!

"Or when he was wooing me?" added Kanako, nodding. My eyelid began to twitch even more violent. So maybe there had been a time when I had been into Kanako... Was about twenty thousand years before I met Nanatsu, back when I began to train under Suwako... Kanako had trained under her as well, and we had begun our rivalry back then... But I have never been wooing her! The heck, I had been to insecure, and then indifferent, same as with Suwako!

"Are you challenging me, Orochi? If so, you're doing great at it, I'm getting pissed here...!" I snarled and balled my bony hand to a fist, which was immediately enveloped in emerald flames.

"Maybe I am... What are you gonna do about it, you big cry-baby? Throwing negative sparkles at me? Boooohooo, I'm so scaaaared." taunted Kanako... And suddenly had my fist up her face, causing her to topple backwards, cursing in pain.

"GEKIDOOOOO!" she bellowed as she regained her balance and clenched her fists. Her face didn't look as pretty as before now, blood running out of her nose and a big scorch surrounding it due to the emerald flames around my fist. She had tears in the corners of her eyes as she charged towards me, but I was already getting ready to block the hit...

Well, we both had been ready to block each others attacks. Each others, not from someone else, mind you...

CLONG!

WHAM!

The next thing I knew, a metallic noise echoed throughout my skull, almost as if someone had hit a Chinese gong right inside it, followed by my chin burying itself into the cold stone of the floor. I heard Kanako curse in pain while I held my head, and as I opened my eyes, I found her face a mere meter away from mine. Her face was distorted in pain, a small hole was in the ground where her chin had hit the ground, and she too was holding her head.

Glaring up to find what had just hit us, I felt my blood run cold. Standing above us was the girl that had once been our 'grandmaster'... Suwako Moriya. But she had a creepy smile on her face, one that was too sweet, and her eyes, though closed, carried murderous intent. And the reason for the metallic noise echoing through my skull was there as well, sparkling in the light of the arena as Suwako lifted the two weapons of hers... The Moriya Iron Rings.

I shuddered at the sight of the small goddess towering above my crouched form, and quickly began to crawl backwards, away from her.

"You better go now, Chôzen. I believe you have somewhere to be." chuckled Suwako, but her voice sounded a little sinister, and her smile just didn't want to leave her face.

"Well, actually, I thought I'd spend some time with you three and then go back to the lounge just in time for the battle to st..." I began, but trailed off when Suwako's eyes opened, just a little, just enough to see her irises.

"I believe you have somewhere to be." she repeated, the murderous intent growing as a shadow fell onto her face. I squealed and quickly rose to my feet.

"Gooood thing you remind me of that, Suwako!" I chuckled uneasily and turned on my heels, following Sakuya's steps.

"Was nice seeing you again, Chôzen. I hope you'll drop by for a visit at the Moriya Shrine eventually. And please, use the door this time, and not the roof. And please don't destroy it again, yes?" I heard Suwako call after me.

"Will be done!" I shouted, though my voice still sounded too high, as I began to backtrack my way to the Scarlet Devil lounge.

And all the way, the mocking laughter of no one else but Fujiwara no Mokou, who had watched the entire exchange with that mysterious canine-girl from afar, accompanied me.

Welcome back to Gensokyo, Gekido...


Yume's PoV

"Can't believe we almost forgot to return to the lobby! Good thing that the maid reminded us..." cackled my half-sister, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. I sent a short glance into her direction, but then nodded and continued to focus into the direction we were walking to, up the steps to the story that the entrance to the lounge lay in.

"And we didn't even find Hina Kirisame..." I sighed. I had really looked forward to meeting her again. She seemed to be a nice girl and I would like to get to know her better... Just not in the 'Yúgure way'. I still shuddered as I remembered the advance of the succubus...

"Too bad! I never got what kind of power she has!" agreed Yajû, nodding to herself. Sending her another frown, I couldn't help but think that my half-sister didn't seem to care about relationships on a personal level... She always was going on about 'I want to see that power' and 'I want to fight her one day!', even though Yajû herself was virtually powerless.

That made me worry sometimes. I would always be there to protect her if the need arises, but... But what if I wasn't one day? Our ways would surely part one day, and we would have to fight for ourselves... In a land like Gensokyo, according to our parents, magic was important. So how would Yajû handle herself? Would she pick up some kind of weapon, like Rumia, her mother, did? Well, but Rumia wasn't powerless without it... Would Yajû lose such a weapon in battle, she would be 'royally screwed', as she put it.

I doubt that Yajû would be able to handle herself just like that... And I doubt that she would settle down in a village like the humans without abilities do. Yajû was just not the person to live a quiet lifestyle... Always rowdy, always picking fights. She would get in trouble... And I just hope that I, or someone else, will be there in such a moment to defend her. She'd probably complain, saying that she didn't need to be protected... But she was my little sister, and I would protect her.

I'm not strong with magic, either. My ability to manipulate dreams and sleep isn't exactly offensive... I do have another ability, but I'm still not able to control it correctly... Nobody knows about it yet, and I'm not going to tell anyone about it until I have at least managed to control it... It's not exactly offensive either... But at least I know that I can endure a lot. If I wouldn't be able to fight for Yajû, then I'd at least be able to take any damage for her.

I want to protect my sister as long as I can. That is my prayer. That is, what keeps me going. That is what makes me overcome my own shyness, my own insecurity.

"Oi, Yume!"

The sudden yell pulled me out of my thoughts and I quickly shook my head to regain senses. Glancing around, I found that I had stopped only a short distance away from the lounge, and Yajû was frowning at me.

"Y-yes? What?" I asked her.

"What is wrong with you? You've been in la-la-land for the past minute... You spaced out on me, stopped there and refused to listen to me!" complained Yajû, before her face suddenly lit up, "Oooooh, you've been daydreaming about her, right? That succubus-girl, I mean. What's her face? Yúgure?"

I cringed as that name fell, along with the implication that I had a crush on the girl that had virtually violated me the day before, and I felt my face heat up.

"Stop teasing me!" I screamed and balled my fists, "I don't even know if I swing that way, stop making this even more confusing!"

Yajû frowned at me, and I realized what I had just said. My face suddenly felt like a furnace, heating up even further... It must have been glowing red by then.

"So you're saying that you don't know whether or not you're into boys or girls, and that there is a chance that she might get into your pants?" asked Yajû after a few seconds of silence. Oh Yajû, subtle as ever.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed, "Let's just go in already!"

Immediately, my younger sister burst into a new fit of laughter, and I couldn't help but notice how crazy it sounded... Insane was probably the better word. I had always doubted that she was sane, but her laughter was just plain crazy, like that of a madman. I know that siblings often think like that about each other, but am I the only one noticing her insane laughter? Am I the only one creeped out by it?

I let out a frustrated growl and pushed past Yajû, pushing her a little on purpose, which only added to her amusement... But then, upon spotting the three women that waited in front of the lounge now, I froze.

I knew them. I had seen and met them before... Mom's colleagues. Komachi Onozuka, Minoue and Shikieiki Yamaxanadu.

Yajû seemed to have spotted them as well, as her insane laughter had stopped. However, a quick glance into her direction showed me that she was still smirking. Obviously, the new situation amused her greatly... And seeing as Komachi and Minoue were smiling as well, they seemed to be amused as well.

"Yume Gekido... Yajû Gekido-Shisô..." began Shikieiki Yamaxanadu as she began to approach us, the two Shinigami following her almost silently.

"Shikieiki Yamaxanadu-sama..." I quickly whispered upon realizing the full extent of the situation, and bowed as deep as I could without falling over. Yajû wasn't following my example, and I was just about to poke her into the side to show her that she was forgetting something, but Shikieiki Yamaxanadu's melodic laughter stopped me.

"It is alright, Yume Gekido. I'm off-duty right now... Happens once in a time as well." chuckled the Yama, lowering her rod of remorse until it hung loosely in her hand by her side. I rose from my bow and smiled at the woman, even though I felt how insecure my smile was. But who could blame me? One of the most powerful beings in existence stood before me; one more powerful that Yukari Yakumo, Reimu Hakurei, Rumia, Mom or Dad...

"More like, once in existence." snorted Komachi and rolled her eyes, leading Shikieiki to frown over her shoulder at the taller woman.

"Are you implying that you would want to spend more time with me outside our jobs, Komachi?" inquired the judge, causing Komachi to blush furiously and flinch. I watched as the redhead turned her gaze away, and then how Shikieiki's smile became warm and more honest. Minoue had been giggling in the background during the whole scene, and seeing that somehow made me relax a little.

"Oh Komachi... You act nothing like it, but in the end, you're still a prude. It's easy to manipulate you~" chuckled Shikieiki, before turning to me and Yajû again. My half-sister had watched this exchange with a frown and great interest, leaving me to sigh as I saw that.

I would never understand her, we were just opposites... She's bold and direct, I'm shy and reserved... And that's just the surface of our opposites...

"What's the problem?" asked Yajû, bold and to the point as always.

"Ah, how analytical of you, Yajû. You're just as bold as Rumia, but you seem to have at least somewhat of an analytical side, instead of rushing into things headfirst... Though I don't doubt that you would rather rush headfirst into a battle before thinking." commented Shikieiki with a smug grin, and Yajû shrugged.

"Blame aunt Nanatsu... She raised me as well, don't forget that. I was bound to adopt some things from her. It's almost disappointing how Yume didn't pick up anything from my mom... A bit of courage would've done her good." mused my younger half-sister, sending me a grin, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

"Hm... Perhaps. Now, as you just deducted, Yajû, I am here to ask you to do something for me... See it as a small glimpse into what your job will be one day... You do realize that you are to work under me one day, right? It's the heritage of your mothers..." spoke the Yama, regaining somewhat of her authoritarian personality.

"Nanatsu is my ace among the reaper-type Shinigami, and Rumia is the leader of the Angel of Death... Even if we don't know yet what type of Shinigami you are, Yume, and even if there are merely Sariel, Rumia and you, Yajû, that have remained of the Angel of Death... You two are to continue what your mothers have begun." began Shikieiki, and rose her rod of remorse a little again.

Was she on duty now or not?!

"Oh joy." snorted Yajû, but I could feel that she wasn't actually annoyed. If anything, Yajû felt happy deep inside... I was her sister, her half-sister that grew up aside her at least, but that was still enough for me to know her. And I knew that her lack of power was bothering her, even if she didn't show it... Given such a purpose now by Shikieiki Yamaxanadu would make her feel less useless. It must be quite hard for her to be the only powerless one in a family with a wide array of abilities like negation, manipulation of dreams, manipulation of sins and manipulation of darkness...

"Please stop with the whole 'your fate has been chosen for you'-stuff, Shikieiki-sama. It puts people affected at unease." smiled the green-haired Shinigami as she placed a hand on the shoulder of the Yama. Shikieiki Yamaxanadu turned towards her and smiled uneasily, silently admitting that she got a little carried away with excitement of having a new Shinigami and a new Angel of Death that were going to be possibly just as strong as their respective mother.

Minoue shook her head in disapproval, even though a smile was still upon her lips, before she stretched her body and let out a content noise of relaxation. Komachi's smirk returned upon seeing that, and she gave her fellow Ferryman-Shinigami a friendly jab on the shoulder, earning her a smirk from Minoue in return, that only seemed to calm into a smile as she turned to Yajû and me.

"I know that it is kind of hard to deal with such a thing... I myself have to follow my mother's footsteps. My fate has been chosen for me as well, but I can't say that I am complaining about it. Then again, I might have gotten over that centuries ago." she giggled.

"Centuries?" I dared to inquire, the word throwing me off guard. Minoue looked by far not like she was much older than us. In fact, her physical appearance was that of a woman in her mid-twenties... Then again, Yajû and I would eventually stop aging physically as well, due to being Youkai...

"Oh, yeah. My age is that of over five centuries by now... They even jokingly call me 'the oldest of Gensokyo's new generation'." sniggered Minoue and leaned onto her golden scythe, which she had drawn to inspect what appeared to be a rod of remorse fused to the top of the scythe's hilt. She gently ran a finger over it, ridding it of some dirt.

"That's quite the feat. Haven't you grown bored of your job if you're doing it each and every day, over and over, for centuries?" inquired Yajû, her interest piqued again.

"Actually not. I take great pride in my job as a ferryman-type Shinigami, and each successful day is a greater prize for me than any emerald can ever be. Having learned from the best, it's not that astounding that I am very successful, is it?" replied my fellow Shinigami, now being the one to start the friendly jabs at Komachi.

"Oh stop it, you're making me blush." snickered Komachi, " 'sides, I'm not that great."

"Well, not anymore." snorted Shikieiki, apparently unable to hold back her amusement, "She's you with the flaw of laziness removed, Komachi. I mean, you've always been the ace among all the ferryman-type Shinigami I ever had the pleasure to work with, but Minoue is more efficient."

Komachi's smirk was replaced by a shocked frown halfway through Shikieiki's words, and it was apparent that she had drowned out the second half, including the, might I add friendly, taunt.

"Shikieiki-sama..." gasped the redhead, "Did you just... joke?"

Shikieiki and Minoue began to laugh at the redhead's shocked expression, and even I couldn't help but admit that Komachi looked pretty out of it. Can't blame her, though, Shikieiki seemed to be a rather serious person.

"What's it you want us to do, Shikieiki Yamaxanadu?" inquired Yajû after she had recovered from her snickering. Shikieiki recovered herself, and turned back to us with a small smile.

"First of all, please don't call me by my full name and title. My name is Shiki Eiki, Yamaxanadu is merely an indication of me being a Yama... I prefer if my subordinates call me 'Shikieiki-sama', or 'Enma-sama' if talking to others about me." began Shikieiki-sama, and waited until both Yajû and I had nodded.

"Now, what I want the two of you to do is actually not a single job, but two at the same time. Seeing as you are two, neither of them should be too complicated." continued the Yama, before taking a few steps towards us. When she didn't stop in front of us, both Yajû and I stepped aside and allowed her to advance past us to the railing. And once she had reached it, she placed her hands on top of it and began to let her gaze wander through the large arena.

"First, I feel that something is arising... A conflict. I don't want it to escalate, but I can't look into it... People behave different knowing that I am around... And everybody knows my face. Same goes for Komachi and Minoue." huffed Shikieiki.

"I see what you mean... People don't know much about Yajû and me, and even if they would see the connection between Yajû, me and our respective mothers, they wouldn't come to the conclusion that we would be working for you... Especially not when it comes to me, as I am not carrying a scythe on my back, which is the pride of a Shinigami that works for a Yama, no matter if ferryman or reaper." I concluded.

"And you don't have the personality to be a Shinigami. I can't imagine you walking up to someone and telling them that they are dead... Or that they have to climb into your boat on their way to receive judgement." mocked Yajû, which I rewarded with a punch to her shoulder, one less friendly than those in between Komachi and Minoue before.

"Interesting how you lose your shyness once you are analyzing something, Yume." commented Shikieiki-sama, making me gasp in realization. I had indeed lost all shyness a moment ago to analyze her words.

"And now she's back to bashful. You shouldn't have mentioned that, Shikieiki-sama." snickered Komachi, who had snapped out of her stupor and was now approaching the Yama. Seeing Yajû nod in agreement, I kicked her against the shin, but didn't get the result I had hoped for. Instead of earning a yelp of pain, I only received even more snickering from my half-sister.

"So the first half of our job is to find out whether or not there is a conflict, and to prevent it if possible. Shouldn't be that hard, seeing as you are entrusting the job to us newbies. What's the other half of the job?" asked Yajû.

At this, Shikieiki's smile vanished, and she turned back to stare into the arena. This time, however, her gaze didn't move. It lingered, lingered on a certain spot, a spot that I identified as the seats of the judges. With a frown, I stepped up to the railing and stared down at the seats of the judges as well, but my gaze got distracted for a moment when I saw Dad moving past them. Apparently, he had spoken with Kanako Yasaka, the woman he had fought with the day before... At least, it seemed to be that way, as she and the other goddess were located in the direction that Dad was moving away from.

He stopped for a moment when one of the judges, the man that we had encountered in Higan, the fourth judge named Sly, seemed to address him. Dad stopped and frowned at Sly, then replied something, and then turned away from the fourth judge of the tournament. Seeing Dad come this way, I figured that he was on his way to the lounge.

"The other half of your job is to observe that man." growled Shikieiki-sama all of sudden, and I found myself glancing towards her. Her face carried an expression of utter disgust and hatred, one that I knew a Yama shouldn't have. Following her gaze, I found that she was staring at, who else should it be, Sly, the man that she had shown disgust for ever since the tournament had started.

No, even before that.

For some reason, I couldn't disagree with her distrust of him, though, especially as I found that he was staring right back at Shikieiki-sama as if he had known all along where he'd find her. Something about him just wasn't like it should be.

"I don't trust him at all. He's up to something. I don't expect you two to find out what it is... Actually, I don't want you to know, as you'd learn of my past with him that way. All you have to know is, that he is a messed up person. He hides behind a mask of slyness, but it is actually madness that's leaking through ever so often." growled Shikieiki-sama in a feral tone.

"Do not be foolish, don't let him wrap you around his little finger like he did with everyone else. He is not to be trusted, but manages to make people believe he is... He gambles with you, makes complicated plans involving you, based only on the fact that you are yourself, exploiting the fact that you'll do exactly as he expects you to simply because you are you..." snarled the Yama.

"Don't interact with him unless absolutely necessary. Watch him from afar... Don't try to hide it, he will, and probably already does know that I am giving you this mission. He is highly analytical and cunning, schemes, manipulates..." her growl became louder as her warning reached it's end, and for a moment, I feared she'd leap across the entirety of the arena to wrap her hands around his throat.

However, she eventually tore her gaze away from him, something that made his smirk grow into a full-blown, lunatic grin.

"He knows... He knows you'll be observing him. But that'll be enough to keep him from doing anything. He doesn't act as long as he is observed." hissed the Yama as she stepped towards Minoue, "Anyways, that is all. I expect you to report to me in case you solved the arising conflict... About Sly, though... Just observe him. In case you see anything out of the ordinary, even though I doubt it, tell me once we meet somewhere. And please do not hesitate to tell anyone if the conflict that will undeniably arise should be too much... We've got an entire arena full of strong fighters, one should be able to help you in case things go out of hand against my expectations."

"We'll do that, Shikieiki-sama." I confirmed, and then bowed, "Thank you for giving us a chance to prove ourselves."

"You don't need to prove yourselves, Gekido-Sisters. But I'll still expect a lot from you. If these expectations are not met, I'll not stop having trust in you, though... If anything, it'll make you even trustworthier. For anyone is not flawless... Your father, and your respective mother, have made enough mistakes themselves... Out of which Chôzen is the one who has the hardest time accepting his mistakes." sighed Shikieiki-sama, before making some gestures into the direction of Minoue and Komachi.

"Anyways, we'll be taking our leave. Thank you for listening to my request, and good luck to you. I'm looking forward to continue working with you." smiled the Yama, before she, along with her two ferryman-type Shinigami and personal guards, left.

Turning to Yajû, I found that my half-sister had a creepy grin across her face. She was enjoying this...

"Come on, Yajû, let's enter." I grumbled and nodded to the Scarlet Devil lounge. And even though Yajû nodded, I knew that she was thinking about the new job... I found myself thinking about it, too. And in thought as I was, I pushed the door open and entered the lounge first...

Baaad mistake.

After taking only a few steps into the room, I found Mom and Rumia already smiling at me and Yajû. Meiling looked away from her conversation with the silver-haired maid that had introduced herself as Sakuya, but the maid merely glimpsed towards us before turning towards the large window on one side of the room. Lady Remilia and Lady Satori were already standing in front of it, staring down at the battlefield.

I glanced down there as well. The battlefield had already changed, was no longer just made out of stone, but a red carpet. This time, I found myself examining a large, mansion-like construction... It actually looked somewhat like the entrance hall to a mansion, with the walls missing. Two large staircases were located near the middle of the battlefield, but connected into one just below the last flight of stairs, which led to the second floor, which was actually a catwalk along the barrier, the only thing to prevent one from falling down a thick, wooden fence of a red color.

Though I had never been in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, I could tell that it was built in a similar way. The lounge itself, the very lounge that I was in, reminded a lot of the interior of a Victorian mansion, and so did the battlefield now. Yúgure must have planned something again... After all, she alone decided how the battlefield would look like.

Speaking of that bothersome succubus... Where was she? If she had finished the terraforming of the battlefield, why hadn't she come back to the lounge yet? That was where she spent the time in which she wasn't needed, right?

"Contestants, please take your respective spot on the battlefield! I repeat, members of Team Scarlet and Team Hoshiguma, please enter the battlefield now!" shouted Aya Shameimaru. Lady Remilia began to smirk in a way only a vampire could, her lips curling back to reveal her pointy teeth. Her red eyes were sparkling in excitement. Lady Satori didn't look as excited, but was smiling softly, and even her third eye was focused on the battlefield.

Sakuya quickly made her way towards them as the window opened and turned into a flight of magical steps down to the battlefield, just like it had done during the introduction ceremony. Satori offered her hand to Remilia, and the vampire enclosed it with her own, bowing lightly, before leading Satori down the steps like a man that had asked a woman for a dance on a ball... The two of them truly knew how to behave like a noble.

Sakuya, with her right hand resting upon her left at the height of her hip, followed them down the stairs with a smile that just didn't seem to stop. She looked just as graceful as her mistresses... I really envy them. I'm one of these girls that would love to be a princess in a fairy tale.

While Lady Remilia's team descended to the arena, their enemies were nowhere as graceful... Then again, despite the difference in social standing, they consisted of an Oni, a hashihime(2) and a Jorougumo... Aside the Jorougumo, Youkai that weren't exactly known for their calm behavior.

Just as Remilia reached the lower end of the stairs, the Jorougumo named Shiho Kumo set her first pair of legs onto the battlefield, and then pulled herself up onto it with the remaining ones. As Satori set foot onto the battlefield just two steps after Remilia, Yuugi heaved Parsee onto the elevated battlefield. Sakuya followed her mistresses and took position just behind them.

And finally, Yuugi pushed herself off the ground and jumped onto the battlefield, actually causing the floor to give in slightly where she landed due to her size, weight and massive power. I stared in surprise at the wooden planks that had ripped through the carpet upon Yuugi Hoshiguma's landing, the planks that she had pushed up. And despite that, Yuugi had the hugest grin I had ever seen on her face as she stared at Remilia.

"Don't disappoint me, vampire-girl." taunted the Oni.

"I won't. I am not weak... And a strong opponent is what you're looking for, right?" hissed Lady Remilia, challenging Yuugi. And upon hearing Lady Remilia's words, the Oni began to roar in laughter, assuring me, and everyone else, that she was accepting the challenge.

And the moment that the barriers rose and enclosed the battlefield, my mistake also kicked in.

All the time while observing the start of the fight, I had failed to notice the warmth that had spread through my body, and the comfortableness that I suddenly felt, even though I was still standing. As I began to move, however, I felt that something was holding me back... Something at the height of my waist. Looking down, I found, much to my horror, two pale, slender arms curled around me.

Before I had the chance to shriek, my entire body was pulled off the ground and my vision became blurry for a second, followed by it refocusing as my back hit the wall next to the now closed door, and was held in place by a female body pushing up against my own. I got a glance at Yajû, who was frowning at me, just before another face hovered before my own. A face that I would've rather not wanted to see.

I was about to protest when the face came closer in an attempt to catch my lips with it's own, but then changed it's course quickly and the lips of the color of dark-red cherries darted for my neck instead. As the lips curled around the tender flesh of my neck and begun to suck on it, the complaint I had been about to make turned into, much to my shock, a whimper, which quickly turned into a moan.

I was melting under the touch of this other girl again, my back on fire as her fingers worked their magic down, and eventually held onto my rear. I threw my head back and closed my eyes, tried to inhale, but even if I did so, I didn't feel it. The warmth was spreading through me, I moaned again when I tried to complain, and my attempts to push the intruder of my personal space away instead turned into me pulling her closer... My body was betraying me!

"Sh... Shtop!" I eventually managed to mewl, but the assailant didn't care. My eyes shot open as the heat reached a spike, and colors flashed in front of my eyes, almost blinding me. I moaned again, turned my head left... And found my blood running cold, the heat suddenly gone, as I stared at the confused and shocked face of no one else but my own father, standing there in the door just aside me.


Chôzen's PoV

"...Now this is awkward."

One second, I had been musing about Sly's stupid joke to accept bets for my fight with Mima the next day, and the next second, I push the door to the lounge open and find myself standing next to my shyer daughter getting ravished by no one else but a succubus by the name of Yúgure.

Seeing Yume's shocked expression and how she was wriggling under the succubus' touch, which currently was focused on her rear, I found myself with a blank mind for a second, only stopped by my Flame-Soul's comment.

And then, as if to mock me, Yúgure pulled her face out of my daughter's neck and grinned at me, her tongue still hanging from her mouth. I watched in even greater shock as she licked her lips hungrily, and then leaned back towards my daughter's ear.

"You're mine now, my little gothic angel..." I heard Yúgure breathe, before she pulled away from Yume, revealing the bright red hickey on Yume's neck to everyone. Hearing a giggle from the dark alcove behind Yume, I rose my gaze and frowned at Koakuma, who was giggling to herself, and Patchouli Knowledge, who was glancing up from her book to meet my gaze.

"D-Dad!" shrieked Yume and quickly averted her gaze, blushing madly while she placed a hand on the hickey, "It was not what it looked like!"

Oh, it was exactly like it looked like... Yúgure was playing with my shyer daughter's mind! That damn succubus... Why did she have to chose Yume, of all people, as her victim? Yume may have a warm personality when it comes to her friends, and she'd do anything for them, but she is still shy and won't allow anyone to get too close to her without pushing them away to the point where she is comfortable with the emotional distance again.

Instead of listening to my daughter's continued efforts to explain, I scowled at the succubus that was now next to Koakuma. Seeing them standing next to each other, I felt like Insanity's warnings from back then were not about Koakuma, but the other succubus. Insanity had always warned me about the 'hidden side' of Koakuma, one that was more of a succubus than the shy personality we knew... Seeing Yúgure behaving like Insanity had always suspected Koakuma to be, as well as thinking back to what I've heard about Yúgure practically absorbing anything she read, made me realize something.

"Yúgure..." I muttered, then narrowed my eyes at her, "...I see it now. I see now what I failed to see before. Stupid of me to not see what you didn't even try to hide... Explains the sense of familiarity I felt upon seeing you for the first time."

The younger succubus nodded at this, mocking me by confirming that I was indeed stupid to not see her 'secret'.

"Please don't just tell, Chôzen." scolded Patchouli's tired voice from the semi-darkness of the alcove, "Some secrets are best left that way - secret. But nice of you to notice it... I did well, did I not?"

I nodded silently, but didn't just turn away from the two succubus. If I had, I would've seen Mima, who sat next to Patchouli in the alcove, look up from her book to peek into the one that Patchouli was still holding, reading a passage that seemed to have attracted her interest.

"Nonetheless, Yúgure... Don't you dare play with any of my daughters. If your feelings are honest, I may come to accept them, but if you are not in love with either of them, I advice you to keep your distance to them, at least in that way... Play with one of their hearts without honest love involved, and I might just make your life real dangerous..." I hissed, narrowing my eyes at the succubus.

"Oh my, the overprotective daddy has awoken." mocked the younger succubus, running a hand through her hair, "Oh well, I might just have to stay away or fall for her... We will see how this develops."

I narrowed my eyes again, but knew that this was the best answer I would get from her, and thus turned my attention entirely away from the flustered Yume, the smirking succubus duo and the serious Patchouli. I sent a short glance to the young girl in Remilia's throne, then to Flandre, Koishi and Meiling, who now stood near Rumia and Nanatsu and were already discussing their upcoming battle.

I let my steps carry me through the room, not without placing a hand on Yume's shoulder to calm her a little (after all, I knew how confused you felt after a succubus had been playing with your feelings and mind), and approached my wives. Or at least Nanatsu, as Rumia had vanished to somewhere mysteriously.

Well, at least that question got answered pretty quickly. To be exact, when the collar of my shirt was pulled down at my back and Rumia's tongue sled across my neck, the cold, round and hard piercing causing goosebumps to appear all over my body.

"Rumia!" I scolded, but the crazy woman just laughed to herself and put her arms around me from behind.

"Something the matter, hot stuff?" she giggled into my ear, making me scowl at her from the corner of my eyes, "Still afraid to admit that you enjoy it when I do that?"

"It's... weird." I huffed, turning my gaze away to the large window. The fight below had already begun, but so far, nobody seemed to have landed a single hit... Well, Remilia, who was fighting with Yuugi, seemed to hit her, but Yuugi didn't really seem to care. I remembered how much she could take before showing signs of exhaustion, and knew that Remilia would have to fight a though battle to bring down Yuugi.

At the same time, Satori was dodging every attack of Parsee with incredible elegance. Again, not really surprising, as Satori was able to read Parsee's thoughts, and with that, knew about each attack Parsee was going to make the moment that she thought about it.

Sakuya and Shiho, however, had not really started their fight yet. Sakuya was standing in a safe distance to the queen of arachnoids, and they were challenging each other with their eyes. But knowing the two of them and their abilities, we were in for one heck of a fight... Time versus gravity.

"Onee-sama is going to have fun, isn't she?"

Flandre's voice directed my attention back to the lounge, and I nodded while I turned to the blonde vampire. Rumia chose this moment to let go of me and return to Nanatsu's side, gently placing an arm around her waist in an almost possessive manner. That crazy woman...

"She is." I confirmed, "You know that Remi always enjoyed to fight at least once in a while."

"Big sis is no different." added Koishi in an almost proud manner, "Big sis may not look like it, and may pretend not to, but she enjoys the thrill of battle as well. Why else would she have immediately accepted to participate in this year's fighting tournament? She knows as well that bonds are best formed in the heat of battle... You know that best, don't you, big bro?"

"I don't know what you mean, not at all..." I whistled innocently, remembering the fights against Mima, Okuu and Yuugi only too well; battles which had ended with me creating or recreating a bond with someone.

"Has the brat started her fight?" snorted Mima, appearing behind me and Flandre. Placing an elbow on my right shoulder, the hovering spirit leaned onto me, unsurprisingly with little weight, and began to observe the fight as well.

Glancing over my shoulder at the smirking Mima, I took the chance to glare past her at Yúgure. The young succubus was still standing next to her co-worker Koakuma, and a playful smirk had made it's way onto her lips again.

Mocking me. She was mocking me with it.

I followed her gaze when she averted it, and upon finding that she was looking at Yume, I glared daggers at the succubus. Not that Yúgure cared, no, rather than that, she got what she wanted. She got me angry. I knew that she had aimed for that the moment that she stuck the tip of her tongue out of her mouth, mocking me.

Again.

"What's so interesting over there?" huffed Mima, drawing my attention away from the succubus. She had followed my gaze and was apparently searching for the reason I had stared over there, but I averted my gaze to prevent her from coming to the right conclusion. While we had become something that could be considered friends and rivals, there were things that neither of my friends had to know. This was a matter that concerned only Yúgure, Yume and me...

"Nothing. Let's watch the fight…" I growled, and turned back to look at the fight.

Yúgure… I have one advice for you. Be careful in what you do from now on, or I might just make your life damn dangerous. That was not a joke… I know your secret. I know who, and what you are... I should've known from the moment I was told how you drown yourself in knowledge...

Little did I know that Nanatsu had observed me and had interpreted my gaze as that which I had just thought... And little did I know that she was worrying that I was so protective of Yume because of the death of our first child, the stillbirth...


Third Person PoV

~ The third round begins! Music cue: Koumajou Densetsu II - Final Stage Boss Battles ~

"You're quick... And strong! I have to give you that, lil' vampire, ya ain't bad at all." laughed Yuugi, trying to hit Remilia's head with a horizontal punch that would've knocked rocks in two. Remilia, exploiting Yuugi's large size and her own little one, merely had to lean backwards to avoid the punch.

"Likewise." grunted Remilia, even though she didn't really mean it, merely saying such a thing out of politeness. While she certainly was intimidated by Yuugi's raw physical strength, she wasn't really one to fawn over such a thing as physical strength. She did possess quite a bit on her own due to being a vampire, but she measured a person's strength not only on it's physical strength, but rather by one's strength in terms of magic and physical strength combined with flexibility, agility and whatever else made up one's strength in battle.

One could say that she saw the complete picture, not just one color of it.

"Hiyep!" shouted Yuugi as she tried to slam a fist down on Remilia's head from above, but missed as the young vampire mistress backflipped away, using her wings to give herself a boost up into the air during her backflip. And as she did, she could see how Yuugi's fist impacted with the ground where she had stood before, breaking it apart and sending broken wood flying everywhere, but also revealing that there was a basement beneath the battlefield.

"I best not get into the way of any of her attacks... I fear one is more than enough to decapitate me with the raw power she has." grumbled the young vampire in her head, before finally hitting the barrier that surrounded the battlefield. Placing her feet against it, she took a quick glance across the battlefield to spot her team-mates.

Satori was fighting with Parsee not too far away from Yuugi, if it could be considered fighting that was, with the way that Satori merely kept avoiding Parsee's attacks while the bridge princess kept tiring herself with punches and green bullets that continued to miss their goal.

Seeing this, Remilia couldn't help but smirk, knowing that Satori was merely waiting for her to finish her battle with Yuugi, so they could work together against Parsee. It wasn't that Satori was weak - She merely had different strategies than anyone else that Remilia had ever met.

Sakuya, meanwhile, had not moved from her staring contest with Shiho Kumo in the first story of the mansion-like battlefield. But Remilia could feel the tension that had begun to increase in between the two way-too-sweet smiling women.

"No cheatin', princess!" roared Yuugi, drawing Remilia's attention back to the Oni in question. The vampire barely had any time left to realize what Yuugi had been talking about, as something was flying her way. Remilia pushed herself off the wall and flew over to the other side of the battlefield, where she rested her feet against the barrier anew, thankful for possessing great speed while flying.

Once she had her feet against the barrier, Remilia turned to look at the spot where she had been before, only to find one of the floorboards impaling the barrier, shattering apart upon impact due to the velocity it had hit the barrier with.

Glaring down to Yuugi, Remilia found Yuugi just about to rip another broken floorboard out of the shattered ground to use as a projectile. Deciding not to allow Yuugi to do such a thing, Remilia pushed herself off the barrier and turned her own body into a weapon by swooping down on the unsuspecting Oni.

Yuugi never got the chance to avoid the attack, and instead groaned out in pain as Remilia's body slammed into her face, almost knocking her over. Both recovered quickly from the impact, with Remilia pushing herself off Yuugi and back into the air, while Yuugi regained her balance and ripped out the floorboard finally. Remilia reached the barrier anew, turned and pushed herself off, not daring to give Yuugi the opportunity to throw something at her, and darted back down at the Oni

Unfortunately, Yuugi had caught on pretty quickly.

Just as Remilia was in reach, the Oni swung the floorboard she was still holding with one of the nastiest smirks that Remilia had ever seen before. A sickening noise echoed throughout the battlefield as the floorboard shattered upon impact with the vampire's body, knocking all wind out of Remilia and sending her off course.

Yuugi smirked down at the remains of the now completely broken floorboard in her hands, which she had just used as a bat, before looking up to find a large hole in the staircase nearby, with Remilia lying in it, groaning and writhing in pain.

"Whoops." snorted Yuugi mockingly. Remilia heard the taunt and grew enraged. Somehow, surprising even herself, she managed to sit up and push the pain into the back of her mind. Glaring down at her left shoulder, she noticed that a piece of wood protruded from it. Pulling it out of her dress, which it had impaled, she was kind of happy that the spellcard rules protected from bodily harm, which was pretty much the only reason that the piece of wood hadn't impaled her shoulder as well.

The young vampire mistress glared from the piece of wood in her hands towards Yuugi, enraged at being thrown around like a fly, and felt her anger get the better of her. Yuugi was in for a beating...

She narrowed her eyes at the Oni's neck as it approached her, then allowed herself to smirk for just a second. That was still enough to make Yuugi uncertain, as the Oni stopped and frowned, unsure about what the vampire mistress was smirking at.

She got her answer a second later, having fallen for Remilia's scheme.

From one second to the other, Remilia was gone from her spot in the broken staircase, merely the piece of wood she had in her hand before falling out of thin air... And a searing pain on the right side of Yuugi's neck, catching the Oni off guard. Slapping her hand on the searing spot like there was a fly to swat, Yuugi cringed and glared down towards her neck, even though she was unable to see the spot in question.

Hearing a mocking giggle from behind her, she twirled around and found Remilia behind her, rising from a crouched position, mockingly licking the tips of her sharp nails as if she had just bathed them in the blood of her prey. Yuugi realized immediately what Remilia had done, long before the young vampire mistress jumped into the air and rested her feet against the barrier again.

Being the predator she was, Remilia had concentrated on Yuugi's neck and had activated her vampire powers, increased agility and strength... The searing pain was quickly explained as well, and the reason for it managed to amuse and piss Yuugi off at the same time: Remilia had sled her sharp nails along her neck as she had rushed past her... That excited Yuugi, because she hadn't even seen Remilia move, something that proved to be a challenge, which in return was something Yuugi would never deny.

What irritated her about that, though, was, that she knew Remilia could've caused more damage than that. But Remilia had instead chosen not to... Not because she was going easy on Yuugi, if it hadn't been for the spellcard rules, the simple touch of her sharp nails just now would've cut her neck open. No, Remilia had chosen not to do more damage to her because...

Because she was taunting Yuugi.

And the Oni didn't like it one bit. She enjoyed throwing back heated insults and compliments during battle, loved to tease, taunt and mock as she fought... But being taunted in this way had no enjoyment to it. And that certainly pissed Yuugi off.

She knew that she had the disadvantage in this fight, unable to fight over great distances without something to throw like a rock and her bullets were weak compared to her raw physical strength. The fact that Remilia had the advantage because of her speed, ranged abilities and strength, even though weaker than Yuugi's and barely enough to break the Oni's defenses, hadn't thrown the Oni off until now... To be honest, she had joined the tournament just for the thrill of battle.

But being taunted like that held no real thrill.

Now irritated, Yuugi bowed down and ripped another floorboard out, one just next to the large hole in the ground that she had created before and that led down to the basement, and prepared to thrown it at Remilia, only to find the vampire already coming at her again from above.

Reacting like she had done before, Yuugi rose the floorboard like she was about to throw it, but then changed her grip on it and swung it at the vampire mistress... Only to miss as Remilia's feet touched down on the wooden ground and sled on it, the vampire mistress herself ducking under the plank. Yuugi's eyes widened as her makeshift bat missed it's target, the raw power of her own swing missing it's target almost ripping her off her own feet.

And Remilia used exactly that as she pushed herself off the ground and slammed full force into Yuugi's abdomen, knocking all wind out of the resistant Oni. Even her resistance had a limit, and an entire body at that velocity knocking into her shattered it.

While she barely felt any pain because of the direct hit, her body still reacted by pushing all air out of her lungs and being knocked off balance. Yuugi, reeling backwards, tried to regain her footing by taking a step back... Sadly, there was no floor but a large hole behind her. The hole she had created with one of her attacks on the quick vampire.

Groaning in annoyance, Yuugi couldn't do anything but allow gravity to pull her down into the basement of the battlefield, but at least Remilia wasn't pushing into her abdomen anymore.

It had become far worse, as Yuugi had to realize a moment later, still in free fall.

Remilia, having pushed herself off Yuugi, was now in midair right above Yuugi, her feet placed against the underside of the catwalk above. A dangerous smirk distorted Remilia's expression, and Yuugi knew it was going to hurt.

She was right. She was thrown into a world of pain as Remilia pushed herself off and swooped down on her with the same speed she had displayed earlier. Remilia's smaller body impacted once more with Yuugi's abdomen, knocking the wind she had just regained out of her lungs again.

The speed of Yuugi's fall increased as Remilia slammed into her with incredible velocity, and the fall that should've taken at least another three seconds was over in a flash of color, followed by small pieces of stone hailing down on Yuugi.

She was lying in the middle of a crater that had once been the floor of the basement, Remilia sitting on top of her stomach. Every muscle in Yuugi's body was aching, no way enough for her to stay down, but still enough for her to admit that it had broken through her Oni-Defense and having to recover a moment.

As Remilia rose from her seat on Yuugi's stomach, the Oni let out a short snicker and eventually sat up, rubbing her sore stomach.

Glancing over at Remilia, Yuugi began to smirk.

Maybe this fight wasn't going to be boring after all.

Both she and Remilia knew that it would take a lot more to knock the Oni out, and the two of them knew that it would take a lot more power than Remilia would bring up after being hit like before... But they both also knew that even Yuugi wouldn't be able to stand a three-on-one for long. She herself knew it, and had promised herself one thing, knowing that neither of her two partners were as strong or resistant as her: To have as much fun as possible while it lasted, and to not regret when she'd lose a round. For her, it wasn't about winning, but enjoying herself.

And besides, even if it would end here already...

Remilia was already entertaining her more than she had thought.

Fighting Remilia wasn't so bad at all... And neither were the taunts of the vampire mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

~ music fades out~


~ Music cue: Koumajou Densetsu II - Ran Boss Theme ~

"Gungnir!"

Satori glanced over her shoulder as she heard Remilia exclaim the name of her signature attack a moment after having fallen into the basement with Yuugi, but kept her third eye focused on Parsee to read her thoughts and avoid her attacks. She spotted Remilia flying directly above a large hole in the ground, the legendary spear Gungnir in her right hand.

In one quick motion, the spear was thrown downwards into the hole, followed by Yuugi cursing out loud and shouting out rather ridiculous things and making funny noises.

Jumping back until she was at the edge of the hole, Satori glanced over the edge to get a glimpse at Yuugi, only to find the Oni in nearly perfect shape - Safe for the spear pinning her down to the ground, the spear she wasn't able to touch and pull out due to it being made of a mixture of Remilia's scarlet energy and blood. It looked actually a little comically how Yuugi tried to struggle against the spear, cursing to herself that the spear was hot to the touch.

It was just that moment that Remilia landed aside her with a smirk on her lips that made Satori's legs wobbly. She rarely admitted it to others, but she had fallen in love with the self-pleased smirk of the noble vampire, a smirk so self-assured that it made the Satori's heart melt in excitement. It made her feel secure and safe within the proximity of the vampire, absolute contrary to the introverted nature that Satori had.

Remilia didn't hesitate to voice her thoughts, never shy to let others know she was displeased or didn't like them. Satori always had kept such things inside of her, as voicing her thoughts often led to accidentally using information that she wasn't supposed to know but did know due to being a satori, a mind-reading Youkai.

"Satori..." began the other noble, causing Satori to flinch and snap back into reality, "Mind turning that eye to me for a second? There's something private I'd like to 'tell' you... I'll shield you in meantime."

"Kyeeeeh?!" shrieked Parsee, turning all red, "Can't you at least keep your lovey-dovey crap until after the fight? Or do you see me and Yuugi being all over each other now?!"

"Jealous?" snorted Remilia, well knowing the bridge princess and her abilities from the time she had been dating the woman at her side and having to go down into the old hell, which meant crossing Parsee's bridge.

"As a matter of fact, I am!" shrieked the bridge princess and began stomping onto the ground. Remilia saw this as her chance and summoned another Gungnir, swiping at the height of Parsee's feet, actually managing to knock the hashihime over.

Knowing why Remilia had done this, Satori turned her third eye away from Parsee and over to the vampire.

"Can you hear me now? Good. Your face says all." invaded the voice of Remilia Scarlet her thoughts, or rather, the thoughts of Remilia Scarlet invaded her mind.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me?" muttered the satori named Satori, her two eyes resting on Parsee, who was throwing a tantrum as she got up. Remilia rushed forward to meet Parsee in battle, preventing her from using her green bullets to avoid the tackle.

"Why don't we play our little game with the enemy? You know what I'm talking about don't you?" resounded the vampire's voice in Satori's mind. And upon hearing this, the Komeiji-turned-Scarlet couldn't help but smirk.

"You're talking about our contract, Remilia?" she send back, enjoying it as Remilia turned her head to grin at her despite blocking Parsee's punch. Remilia had heard her message. A long while ago, during their wedding night, the two had decided upon a contract... Actually, it had been more of Remilia's work.

Remilia, being a vampire, needed a steady supply of human blood... However, for reasons even Remilia herself couldn't understand, she had been attracted to Satori's blood much more than to human blood, as they had found out by accident when Satori had accidentally cut herself. The smell of Satori's blood, which Remilia had later called 'irresistibly sweet', had sent Remilia into a craze in which she had attacked Satori's cut on her finger, sucking the blood directly from it.

Only after drinking a bit of Satori's blood, enough for the noble of the underground to feel weak, had snapped Remilia out of it, realizing what she had done, and that it seemed to be related only to her, as Flandre, who had been with them, had not reacted any different to Satori's blood than usual. Patchouli Knowledge, Remilia's friend, had later suggested that it might be that the smell of Satori's blood drove Remilia crazy because fate, Remilia's element, had chosen Satori as the noble vampire's mate...

Koakuma, nobody knowing whether or not she had been serious or joking, had suggested that it was some kind of fetish.

Whether or not this was the case, the two nobles had come to an agreement: During their wedding night, they would perform 'the contract', an ancient vampire magic, performed by drawing magical circles onto the bodies of the two mates with their mingled blood, that hadn't been done in the line of Scarlets since several generations: The mate promised it's blood to the vampire, becoming it's steady supply of blood, but in return, the vampire would be unable to ever chose another mate, as their lives would be bound to one another... Their fate entwined, so to speak.

It hadn't been until months of Satori allowing Remilia to suck a little of her blood on a weekly basis that they noticed that something was different. From then on, Satori had been able to actually send thoughts to Remilia instead of just reading them once looking at the noble vampire with her third eye. Patchouli Knowledge had guessed that this kind of thing was possible due to Satori, Remilia's mate, not being a human, like usually when it came to 'the contract'... It had been the first time ever that the mate of a vampire, and a Scarlet at that, had not been a human.

Apparently, the receiving end of Satori's powers had leaked into Remilia due to the contract, or maybe through Remilia drinking Satori's blood, allowing Satori to send and receive thoughts to her mate and wife.

The only thing necessary for that to happen, and with that the only limitation to this exchange of thoughts, was that Satori had to look at Remilia with her third eye. But this offered lots of interesting ways to the two to converse in private, keeping things from the others around them... And no one, not even their sisters or servants, knew of this side-effect of 'the contract'.

Satori watched as Remilia caught the next punch of the hashihime and twisted the arm of her into an uncomfortable position, earning a groan of pain from Parsee. Pushing Parsee away from her, Remilia backflipped gracefully and landed next to her lover with one of the most sadistic smirks that Satori had ever seen from her, before rushing towards Parsee again in an attempt to tackle into her.

The smirk, though, had been all that Satori had needed to know. It was time for their strategy, the one that none of their enemies had ever figured out.

She took a few steps away from the battle between Remilia and Parsee, making sure to have enough distance between them to not get pulled into it, and in hope that Parsee would just forget about her being there, which would make their strategy against the bridge princess more efficient - It would mean that Parsee, who Satori knew to be analytical and smart behind the jealousy, would not notice the real reason for the increase in Remilia's abilities, which would happen any moment now; the moment that Satori would start it.

Which was now.

The third eye of Satori shifted back to Parsee, and the thoughts of the bridge princess invaded her mind once again. Feeling the anger of the hashihime flare up, as well as hearing Parsee's thought about her next attack, Satori shifted her third eye to Remilia.

"Punch from your right, height of her chest. Duck."

The command was uttered through the link established by 'the contract', and Remilia reacted according to the satori's advice. Satori observed as Remilia ducked, just as Parsee swung her left fist at the height of her own chest, green energy sizzling within her palm. Missing Remilia, however, something she hadn't foreseen, caused her to lose her balance, what the vampire immediately took advantage of; rushing up into the air with her head buried in Parsee's gut.

The bridge princess let out a groan and almost threw up, the pain making her stomach twist and turn. The pain only stopped as Remilia's movements stopped, but Parsee still found herself in midair while scowling down at the vampire, seconds before she crashed onto the ground herself.

Parsee wasn't done for, though, the pain not anywhere near enough to stop her now. Since Yuugi was unable to do anything, pinned down by a Gungnir, she'd have to take the lead and come up with a strategy against the older-sister duo... Not that they had one to begin with. Yuugi's only strategy had been 'Knock them out before they knock us out! Either way, let's enjoy this adrenaline rush!'.

...As much as Parsee liked the Oni, Yuugi's lack of thinking things through and just acting on instinct sometimes annoyed her, and other times, she envied Yuugi for being able to live such a carefree way of life.

"Laser, aimed directly at you. Jump."

Sitting up abruptly, Parsee pushed her right hand forwards and sent one of her special lasers, the ones that actually consisted of green orbs of different size that hovered in midair instead of moving, into the direction of Remilia Scarlet. But, as if Remilia had foreseen it, she jumped out of the way, flapped her wings once and rose higher into the air, where she backflipped and placed her feet against the barrier.

"She'll roll out of the way. Adjust your course... Eight degrees to the right."

Parsee, still on her rear on the ground, recognized this as Remilia's way of preparing to rush at someone in a dangerous tackle, and rolled to the left just a second after Remilia had pushed off the barrier. As Remilia redirected her course to hit Parsee nonetheless, the hashihime was sure that Remilia predicted her every move. She had seen it, the smirk that had played on Remilia's lips as she changed her course, just one second BEFORE Parsee herself had moved.

The hashihime had no time to pursue that theory, though, as Remilia slammed into her that moment. The ground beneath them gave in, wood flying everywhere like before, this time only in a smaller area. Parsee's vision became blurry for a second as they moved from the illuminated battlefield into the darker basement, only getting worse as Parsee felt her own body slam into the concrete wall of the basement.

Remilia pushed off her three seconds after the impact, then landed in a safe distance to Parsee, while the hashihime herself fell out of the wall and landed on the ground before it, not caring about the imprint in the wall behind her, but taking note of the fact that Satori dropped into the basement through the smaller hole in the ceiling, the one that Parsee herself had made when Remilia had pushed her through it seconds ago.

Seeing that the two of them stood more or less in a line, Parsee decided to end the fight before it got out of hand and would result in her losing it.

"Don't think it's over. One of her special lasers, right at the two of us, we're standing in a perfect line. Move right, then come at her in an arch. I'll mirror your movements, my love."

Parsee let out a growl as she pushed both of her hands forwards, her palms directed at the two nobles, determined to knock them both out at the same time, hitting them both with one of her special 'lasers'. However, much to her chagrin, both of the nobles avoided - Once again, just before Parsee acted.

"Something definitely is wrong with their movements." shot through the hashihime's head as she kept her gaze on Remilia, lowering her hands immediately after the 'laser' - or rather, the stream of green orbs - had shot out of her palms. Seeing Satori as the lesser threat, especially considering that she hadn't attacked once, Parsee focused entirely on the vampire.

Which turned out to be a fault.

Seeing Remilia changing her course and coming at her, Parsee prepared to block the vampire's quite obvious punch and then catch her off guard. Before that happened, though, Parsee suddenly felt a sharp pain in her right side, and let out a sharp hiss.

Turning to her right, she found Satori pulling her leg back after having kicked the hashihime. Which was yet another fault, as this had distracted Parsee from Remilia, who managed to land a way more powerful punch.

Right in the hashihime's face.

Parsee first felt the fist connecting to her face with the strength of a vampire, then she felt as she was knocked off her feet. The next thing she felt was how her back impacted with a wall again, this time not as powerful though, merely leaving her to hiss and slide down to the ground on it. And there, she felt the next kind of pain; a searing pain on her cheek.

She knew what had caused it the moment that she laid eyes on Remilia, the vampire licking her sharp, scarlet fingernails. They had scratched her during the punch.

Switching her gaze over to Satori, Parsee silently wondered to herself why the noble of the underground had acted, and how she had exploited Parsee being distracted by Remilia like that - It was almost like the two of them had arranged their attacks!

"Wait... Arranged?" thought the hashihime as she used the wall to help herself back onto her feet, exploiting the fact that Satori's third eye was focused on Remilia, "Arranged... Satori knows what I think and what I'm going to do... But Remilia is the one responding to that...? How?"

Seeing Satori's third eye turning to look the other way, Parsee leaned a little to the left to glance past the two noble women. As she had guessed, Satori's third eye had turned to Yuugi, who still was pinned to the ground by Remilia's legendary spear. It was a good thing that the spellcard rules prevented physical harm - Parsee really didn't like the idea of blood pooling around Yuugi's stomach due to the spear sticking in it.

"Don't mind me! I'm just... Well, hangin' is the wrong word, but I'm sure a sharp mind could come up with some pun regarding my current problem - As sharp as the spear pinning me down, for example." snorted Yuugi, having long given up on pulling the spear out of her stomach.

"Giving up, are you?" cackled Remilia, narrowing her eyes at the Oni on the ground. Yuugi rose an eyebrow at her, but then closed her eyes and shrugged.

"Nah." she chuckled, before she opened an eye and looked at Parsee with it, "Yo, Parsee! Since I'm seeing Shiho and that maid going at each others throat from over here - and let me tell you, Shiho isn't doin' all dandy - I think I'm speaking for her as well when I say that our hopes are pinned on you!"

Both Satori and Remilia frowned at the Oni, and Parsee did as well, for the last line.

"Was that supposed to be a pun regarding your situation of being pinned to the ground by Gungnir?" snorted Remilia, raising an delicate eyebrow in perfect unison with Satori. Yuugi began to roar in laughter, throwing her hands and feet into the air and shaking them wildly, not even caring that the spear was still pinning her down.

"You got it!" she roared, hammering her fists onto the ground, causing it to crack under her raw strength, before she suddenly stopped laughing and turned her gaze back to the two nobles - and a sinister expression spread across her face, "She got you."

Both Satori and Remilia whirled around, understanding immediately what Yuugi was talking about, realizing that they had been distracted from the real threat. Sadly, they realized it too late.

Remilia let out a growl of pain and doubled over when the right fist of the hashihime buried itself in her stomach, causing her to stumble backwards, while Parsee had already moved and hit Satori with a foot sweep, causing the noble to fall onto her rear.

Hearing Remilia behind her, Parsee swung her right elbow back and hit Remilia into the stomach with it, knocking all air out of the vampire's lungs, then exploiting the short moment that the vampire was stunned, and threw her over her head into Satori.

Remilia flew into Satori and the two of them bounced off the ground, hissing in pain as they hit the concrete again and ended up in a small pile of limbs.

The hashihime, panting and sweating, her body aching from the earlier attacks of the vampire, really hoped it ended there - Sadly, it didn't. Just when she was about to rush to Yuugi's aid, hoping that she'd be able to pull the spear out of her stomach, Remilia and Satori had untangled and were already on their feet again.

Seeing that she wouldn't be able to help Yuugi while being attacked, Parsee instead focused on the battle again. Two against one really wasn't fair, but considering that this was a fighting tournament, it was allowed. There was no rule that the fights had to be one-on-one... She couldn't really see that happening with the stronger fighters, anyways.

Satori and Remilia shared a short glance, which caught Parsee's attention, but she had to react quickly and rise her hands, her first thought to block Remilia's attack, but then decided to for a right hook to counter the vampire's attack with one of her own.

"Right hook. Avoid left and aim for her face again." echoed through Remilia's head after Satori had read Parsee's thoughts, as they had chosen to use the same strategy as before again, exploiting the contract.

Parsee, however, had her eyes glued to Satori's third eye, and not the nearing Remilia. And upon seeing the third eye turn away from her to Remilia, Parsee made a mental note of that and rose her gaze - Just in time to be hit by Remilia's punch from the left, as she had avoided the hashihime's right hook.

Parsee growled and stumbled a few steps to the right, sure-footed this time, and not flying across the dimly lit basement room. Turning back to the noble couple, Parsee allowed herself to show a nasty smirk, Yuugi's enthusiasm rubbing off on her. That had happened more often lately - In totally unlikely moments, Parsee couldn't help but think of Yuugi and smirk, feeling reassured again, pushing her jealousy into the back of her mind. It was still there, whispering it's jealous lines of utter envy, but not as loud as before.

Parsee made a mental note on that as well - She was sure that this happened whenever she was getting all revved up in a battle. So was Yuugi's competitive spirit rubbing off on her?

Either way, she really didn't mind - It made fighting at least somewhat interesting and enjoyable for her.

Seeing Remilia coming towards her again, Parsee decided to use a foot sweep on the vampire the moment that Remilia, who was in middle of a jump, would land in front of her. Her eyes were glued to Satori's third eye again, however, and the moment that it turned to Remilia right after Parsee had decided on her move, she was finally sure.

Remilia's punch hit her from above, as Remilia hadn't just landed in front of her, but had swung her fist at her from above, and Parsee let out a loud hiss as the fist first hit her, then as she hit the ground with her chin first. Despite the pain still being present, she immediately opened her eyes, not liking that everything was blurry, though - She had hit the ground quite hard, and that with her head - well, technically only her chin - first.

Parsee let out a loud growl, displeased with the blurriness of her sight, and closed her eyes again, clenching her fists and hammering the ground, on which she was now lying on her stomach. And just when she figured out something important!

"Yo, Parsee..."

Hearing Yuugi's voice not too far from her, Parsee opened her eyes at an instant, spotting Remilia next to Satori in a safe distance through the blurriness, and then turning her blurry gaze to Yuugi.

"You're not down for the count, are ya?" inquired Yuugi, snickering to herself, "I mean, I'd help ya up, but as you can probably clearly see, I'm kind of stuck here... This drawing pin really is efficient. Think the brat'll tell me where to get one of these toothpicks?"

Hearing Yuugi's still unbroken enthusiasm, as Yuugi was still able joke around like that, Parsee couldn't help but feel strength return to her tired, aching body. Yuugi... She wasn't only a powerful fighter, but knew how to motivate her allies, lending her strength to them in a fight not only in raw physical strength, but also in spirit.

Clenching her fists, Parsee gathered this new-found strength and actually managed to get up on all fours, her blurry sight returning to normal, somewhat at least.

"Oh my, oh my, the perks of love~ Lending strength to another like that... Doesn't that remind you of us a little, Remilia?" giggled Satori, obviously having read Parsee's thoughts, "Or is it just admiration for Yuugi, Parsee?"

"A bit of both I hope!" declared Yuugi from the ground, giving Parsee a childish thumbs-up. The hashihime rolled her eyes at the childish antics of her girlfriend - yes, girlfriend - and waved her hand at her.

"Later." huffed Parsee, before grinning at Remilia and Satori, "Now it's time to win, isn't it?"

Satori and Remilia shared a short glance, before Satori jumped backwards, not once averting any of her three eyes from Parsee; while Remilia rose her hands and held them like claws, grinning nastily at Parsee. The hashihime didn't even move a bit. After Remilia had taken over for Satori, the hashihime hadn't made any move on starting the first attack - Not like Remilia would allow her to, anyways.

So once again, Parsee waited until Remilia pushed off the ground, this time running towards her instead of jumping like the attack before, and then turned her gaze to Satori, still standing in the distance behind Remilia. Parsee glanced towards Remilia again for a second, decided on a right hook like last time, and then glanced towards Satori again. Seeing the third eye turning away from her, Parsee quickly turned back to Remilia, who was now nearly in front of her...

And then, a sinister, Yuugi-like smirk spread across her face.

"She'll do a right hook. Evade left again like before, Remilia."

Remilia, having just heard Satori's warning, reached Parsee, stopped abruptly and evaded to the left to avoid Parsee's right hook - At least, that was what she had intended, until the right side of her face knocked into something hard, something that moved against the direction she had been moving in.

Pain filled Remilia's world, a dull echo roaring inside her head after her skull had smashed into something. Dizzy, she stumbled around, having lost her balance, and even as she regained it, she felt sick. After the attack from Yuugi earlier, this certainly didn't help!

"What the...?" she heard Satori's surprised thoughts invading her own, stumbling backwards in an attempt to turn towards her mate, "Remilia... I think Parsee figured our strategy out..."

"I did figure out how you kept on avoiding my attacks and counterattacking like that... That's what you've been just wondering about, right, Satori?" smirked Parsee, a sharp hiss of air escaping her as she shook her left hand, the one she had just hit Remilia in a left hook with.

The poor vampire was stumbling around a little, not looking too well after hitting her fist like that - If anything, the vampire had done that to herself, since Parsee had actually been too weak for a left hook of full strength, which meant that the vampire knocking her head into her left hook was actually a good thing for her.

"I don't know how you're doing it, since you're supposed to only read minds, but I guess it has something to do with you and Remilia Scarlet being mates... Somehow, you're sending her my thoughts, or you're at least telling her what I'm about to do." snickered the weak hashihime, taking a step forward to regain the balance that she lost for a second, exhaustion getting the better of her.

"I figured it out when Remilia kept avoiding my attacks much like you did before. At first, I was confused and guessed I was easy to read, or maybe her just being lucky - but then I saw that your third eye kept moving to Remilia just after I decided on what to do... And that's why I just send you a wrong information. I thought about a right hook - but the moment that you turned your third eye away from me, I decided on a left hook. And what was the result? I was right, and finally managed to land a good hit!" exclaimed Parsee, proud of herself, "You're strategy is useless against me now!"

"Huh..." huffed Satori, genuinely surprised, and yet again amazed by Parsee's sharp intellect and observation skills.

"Way to go, Parsee! Now finish it! Oh, how I'd enjoy to do that!" shouted Yuugi from the side, pumping her fists into the air while once again struggling against Gungnir, her competitive spirit reawoken. And Parsee couldn't help but smirk.

"Maybe you're getting to do just that~" sung Parsee, reacting before she lost the chance. Remilia never saw her coming, still too dizzy, and thus didn't manage to block Parsee as she grabbed the vampire's shoulders and pushed her towards where Yuugi was pinned to the ground.

Yuugi, excited, caught Remilia by the ankle and rose the vampire into the air, just like that, and began to swing her around. Parsee, happy that at least one opponent was out of her way, rushed towards Satori, determined to finish the more fragile noble off before her counterpart managed to join the fray again.

Parsee jumped, landed right in front of Satori and smirked at the surprised mind-reader, then swung her right fist forward to knock Satori out once and for all - If it hadn't been for Satori surprising her.

Satori sidestepped to the right. But not only that, she grabbed Parsee's arm with her left hand, twirled on the spot so that the hashihime's arm was pushed against her upper back, and then swung her right elbow back.

The last thing Parsee saw, before everything went black for the already weakened hashihime, was how the elbow hit her face with a sickening crunch.

"Well... Looks like training physical combat with Remilia did help me, after all." snorted Satori inside her thoughts after countering Parsee's attack like that.

"Contestant Parsee is has just lost consciousness!" roared Aya outside the barrier, thus inaudible to the fighters inside, jumping up. Rinnosuke, having learned from the former reactions of excitement of the tengu, ducked just in the right second, thus making the black wing of the tengu rush over his head without knocking him over again.

"You know what that means, right?" grinned the tengu, turning to her fellow judges.

"Yeah. If Emerald-Eye isn't goin' ta wake up before Spider-Girl and Hoshiguma are knock'd out as well, or have surrender'd, they'll lose." snickered Sly, picking his flask with the weird, green stuff inside up, taking a long sip from it, "This is goin' ta be really interestin'! But'cha know, I rather want ta see the younger sisters on the battlefield now... I wanna see booms, and bangs, and stuff blowin' up! Gahahaha!"

"You're mad." stated Rinnosuke, facefaulting at the other male.

"I'm so beyond mad! I'm batshit insane!" hollered the barkeeper, causing everyone around him to sigh. Twenty years of confinement in Higan hadn't really helped the psyche of the human barkeeper...

Inside the barrier, Satori stared down at the limp body of Parsee, who she considered to be one of her friends - Well, not that she had much, but Yuugi and Parsee were two of them, as they weren't judging her for her ability (in later case, actually even being jealous of it).

Just as she was about to help Remilia, the ceiling near her broke, startling the mind-reader as a body came crashing through, impacting with the ground next to her. Sakuya Izayoi lay next to her in a small dent in the floor, hissing as she recovered from what Satori easily identified to be Shiho's gravity increasing powers.

The maid in question recovered pretty fast though, and was quickly back on her feet, jumping out of the basement through the hole she had just made when she crashed into the basement, and was gone from the mind-reader's sight, but not without Satori having read her mind, and thus knowing that Shiho had exploited the fact that Sakuya had been in the middle of a jump, which meant that the gravity increasing powers had pulled her down with enough force to slam through the catwalk of the second story and the floor of the first story, ending up in the basement that way.

Just as Sakuya was gone, Satori heard Remilia yell out something and turned back into her direction, only to find the vampire flying towards her with incredible speed, apparently thrown by Yuugi. Remilia, however, extended her wings and slowed herself down, eventually being able to twist in the air and land on her feet, even though she still sled over the ground.

Hearing Yuugi groan in displeasure, Satori was entirely sure that she had thrown Remilia at her to knock them both out.

"Looks like you did your part well." chuckled Remilia, standing there proudly, even though Satori easily saw that Remilia was dizzy again - Yuugi had swung her around for a while, after all. Satori knew what Remilia was talking about, though. She had spotted the unconscious Parsee.

Yuugi had as well, let out a loud sigh, and then suddenly stopped struggling against the spear. She just rested there, the legendary spear still through her stomach, and then let out a, surprisingly pleased, huff.

"Looks like it's up to Shiho now." snorted the Oni, before turning to the two nobles, "But I won't give up just now. Not until Shiho is on the ground as well."

"That's not going to take long. With you, the greatest threat, out of the picture, it is only a matter of time before Parsee Mizuhashi and Shiho Kumo would be defeated." shot Remilia back, intentionally closing in on the Oni until she was just out of the dangerous fighters reach.

She still found herself surprised when Yuugi was smirking sinisterly again all of sudden, seeing something through the hole above her that Remilia didn't.

"Oh really? You think I was the most dangerous of my team? Well, when it comes to raw strength, I suppose you're right, but..." Yuugi trailed off, just in time for her words not to get lost in the sudden shattering of wood behind the vampire, and the shriek of pain, which caused Remilia's smirk to fall as she slowly turned around, only to find Sakuya buried in the ground, "But when it comes to magical strength, Shiho is our ace. And look at that, as far as I can see, your maid is on the ground rather than Shiho."

Blind rage filled Remilia at the sight of her maid in the ground. She twirled around, back to the Oni, and was about to leap at her to let her rage out on her, but was interrupted when a pink bullet, one that she recognized as Satori's, hit the Oni.

"Don't get fooled by her. She wanted you to attack her so you'd be in her reach. I suppose you aren't too eager to get swung around again, so you better stay away from her. We don't have to defeat her anyways , as far as I can see. We only have to defeat Shiho... Yuugi may be an Oni, but she knows when she has lost. So let's go and defeat Shiho... Then it's our victory." echoed the thoughts of Satori in Remilia's mind.

The vampire let out a huff as she turned to the satori, then locked gazes with her. Satori nodded, as if to show Remilia that they'd move on to the next opponent, but she was stopped when Remilia suddenly put her hand onto the mind-readers shoulder.

"We shall not interfere..." murmured the vampire, looking up through the hole into the battlefield above, where Shiho Kumo and Sakuya were fighting on one of the catwalks. For a short moment, the gazes of master and servant met, and Remilia easily saw the seriousness in her headmaids eyes.

"We shall not interfere. That is Sakuya's fight. If she loses, we may avenge her... But until then, we won't do a thing until she asks for it. Do not dare to disrespect the choices of my servants - You'd not only hurt their honor, but mine as well." breathed the vampire, before she suddenly pushed Satori against the wall of the basement. The mind-reader found herself surprised for a moment, but the moment that her third eye stared at the heart of Remilia, she realized what Remilia was up to, and smirked back at the vampire - which leaned in and caught the satori's lips with her own.

"I told you already, Satori... We both are two parts of a body - I'm the body itself, the flesh, the beauty, the first layer that protects what lays beneath. You're the mind, the brain, the control, the second layer that is so beautiful and yet fragile, the layer that needs to be protected by the first layer. On our own, we both are strong, both are our own individuals. But, if we work together, we make up a body with a mind, two layers working in perfect harmony. You are my one and only mate, and I'll do anything to keep this harmony in between us consistent." breathed the vampire against the lips of the mind-reader, the promise making the satori shiver in excitement.

"Hey - The hell are you doing?!" they heard Yuugi shout, but neither of them really cared, especially as Remilia's kisses began to trail down Satori's chin to her neck, "Get a room for that! Don't get all mushy in front of me after knocking my girlfriend out! I'm getting jealous over that!"

For a second, Remilia opened one of her scarlet eyes and let it trail over to the Oni, before smirking nastily into the mind-reader's neck as she continued to kiss and nibble on it.

"Hey, don't ignore me like that! Gah, this is getting really frustrating! HEY! At least get this spear out of my stomach... Paruparu~"

~ Music fades out ~


~ A maid against a spider queen: Koumajou Densetsu - Clockwork Doll ~

"Quite the ruckus down there, hm?" chuckled Shiho the second that Sakuya landed on the catwalk again, the maid's eyes resting on the spider queen. Shiho took a moment to lock gazes with Sakuya, before glancing past her at the two holes in the catwalk, holes that had been created when Shiho had used her gravity-manipulating powers to smash Sakuya through it.

"Indeed it is. However, the ruckus will be over in a second, as for milady has defeated both the Oni and the hashihime in her perfect cooperation with Lady Satori." replied Sakuya, narrowing her eyes at the spider queen. Shiho rose an eyebrow at Sakuya, then adverted her gaze for a second to glance over the edge of the catwalk down into the basement, to confirm Sakuya's words - Which was her fault, as Sakuya used that moment to get revenge on Shiho for the earlier attack.

A foot impacted with the side of the spider queen's face, knocking the usually steady spider queen off balance, causing her to yell out in surprise rather than pain. While she wasn't knocked around, her eight spider legs in combination with her gravity-manipulating powers holding her down, she actually had to take a step to the right with her two foremost legs, while her upper human-like body fell onto the railing of the catwalk.

Glaring up, her playfulness gone after the sneaky attack on her, the spider queen pushed her left palm towards the maid that was in the middle of a jump towards her. Gravity twisted and doubled, hit Sakuya full force, the direction of her fall suddenly away from Shiho.

Sakuya let out a loud scream when her back impacted with the barrier around the battlefield, her body twice as heavy as before due to the force of gravity being doubled for a moment. It stopped the moment that the spider queen lowered the hand, but was still leaning onto the railing.

The maid sled down on the barrier, hissed but didn't dare to curse. She rose her gaze and glared at the Jorougumo, then noticed the position that the queen was in - And reacted, before she lost her chance.

For Shiho, Sakuya was gone in the blink of an eye, and reappeared above her.

For Sakuya, she stopped time, swung the knife in her hand two times and cut the railing to the right and the left of the spider queen, and then jumped high into the air, throwing all the knives she had on her body towards the queen frozen in time.

And as time returned, the first thing that Shiho felt was how gravity worked against her. The railing, cut apart to her right and left, gave in under the queen's weight. At first, she had only lost her balance, but the moment that the first of her eight legs missed the catwalk, the entire weight of her spider body was in free fall - And because her body was a bit larger than that of the average human-like Youkai, her weight was also a bit more, and thus not as easy to get under control once in free fall.

The second thing that she felt was the tip of a knife scratching into her foremost left leg. She opened her eyes and let out a wail of pain, before noticing that she was already in the middle of what could only be described as a cloud of knives. She rose her arms and crossed them in front of her face, while also pulling all of her spider legs in and wrapping them tightly around her lower, spider-like body.

She waited until all of the knives had soared past, some cutting into her arms without leaving any wounds thanks to the spellcard rules, then lowered her arms and extended her legs to break her fall with them - But as she did, she found Sakuya falling towards her, one leg extended. The foot of the maid impacted with the right cheek of the spider queen, changed the course of their free fall, which ended with Sakuya breaking her fall using the spider queen's body.

Shiho, lying on her back aside the large hole in the ground, hissed as she moved all of her spider limbs experimentally. After making sure that they were working just fine, she used her arms to push herself up in what seemed to be a sitting position - Only that it didn't work like that for the spider queen, since her lower body was, after all, that of a spider.

Just when she was about to roll back onto her eight feet, she found the maid with the ability to stop time suddenly in the air above her, ready to unleash another storm of knives. Knowing that she wouldn't stand much more of these devastating attacks, these flurries of knives, she rose her right hand and pushed it towards the maid, unleashing her gravity-manipulating powers once again.

Instead of falling towards the spider queen, Sakuya was suddenly falling towards the roof of the arena, which had luckily been fixed since the battle between Chôzen and Kanako, and impacted with it, shattering it as she slammed into it with twice her own weight, as gravity had been doubled towards it.

The ceiling groaned as it cracked again, but wasn't damaged anywhere near enough for Sakuya to smash through it - Only god knows when she'd stop falling if that would happen. Shiho Kumo was, after all, a force to be reckoned with. If she'd use her gravity-manipulating powers in the right way, she could just send her enemies into outer space by reversing gravity in the open - or simply turn them into a puddle of goo on the ground by enhancing gravity enough.

Luckily, Shiho was not a maniac, overall not a person to kill others, and not a serious enemy - it was just a fighting tournament, after all.

So it was directly after smashing into the ceiling that the gravity returned to normal, pulling Sakuya down to the ground again - if Shiho wouldn't have changed gravity for her instead of Sakuya, causing the body of the tall spider queen to slam into Sakuya halfway down, tackling the maid back into the ceiling.

"Aren't we quite... serious?" growled the headmaid, opening one of her eyes, which she had closed due to the pain, "I figured you'd be more of a playful person." The spider queen frowned at the maid, but then nodded.

"I am... But isn't this a serious fight? I think it's fine to be this serious once in a while. Besides, aren't you a serious person, and a serious fighter?" giggled Shiho... only to stop when Sakuya's laughter drowned out her own, causing the queen of arachnoids to frown.

"I am. But I've not been serious yet in this fight... And neither have you, ain't I right?" chuckled the maid once she had calmed down a little, "I've told this to Chôzen Gekido earlier as well... I ain't who I've been twenty years ago. Not entirely, at least. Something has changed, something milady herself often forgets, or simply doesn't want to boast about... I am the perfect maid - Now, more than ever before. As for now, I have not only the beauty, but the body unmoved by time."

"What are you possibly referring to, headmaid?" breathed Shiho, leaning closer to Sakuya, getting lost in the headmaid's gray eyes.

"Time is a complicated little thing - Nothing is unaffected by time, but the time itself. Those who claim to be immortal in sense of not aging are wrong - They age, only so slow that it cannot be proved. Even for me, someone who is able to manipulate time, the topic is very hard to explain - All I can tell you about it, without making it too complicated for you, is, that it is impossible to revert time - I can speed it up, slow it down, stop it, but not reverse it - I can, however, turn things back to where they were originally." explained the maid, before narrowing her eyes at her opponent, which was still pinning her against the ceiling.

"Also, I can tell you that I have long slowed down the speed at which I age - Now, it has entirely stopped." whispered Sakuya, "Now have fun figuring out what I'm possibly referring to while I defeat you... Time will tell you what I've been talking about, but I'll not be wasting any time in defeating you!"

~ Music change: Koumajou Densetsu - Menace ~

Shiho barely had any time left to gasp when the maid's eyes suddenly turned from gray to dark blue, and then to a bright, dangerous red. The moment that Sakuya's eyes had turned to red, an insane smirk spread across her lips, and something lashed out, curling around Sakuya's body like a second skin - Bandages.

But it didn't stop there.

Knives broke through the bandages at the height of Sakuya's right shoulder, sticking out from behind it, waiting to be used. Several more knives shuffled out from underneath the bandages all over her thighs, their handles extended towards Sakuya so that she could just pull them out and use them. More blades appeared around Sakuya's wrists, creating a circle of iron, a shining, silver halo.

Shiho had to move her own eight legs to not poke or cut herself on the suddenly appearing knives - She didn't even have to fear touching them, though, as she suddenly found herself being pulled away from the maid, down towards the ground, without even having getting hit. By turning her head a little, she still found the reason for her sudden descent towards the ground; knives attached to ropes, ropes that were bound to her wrists and legs, even her neck.

"When did she...?!" was all the queen could think, before she impacted with the ground with her back first, all of the knives embedding themselves in the ground. She groaned out, realizing she was aside the large hole a second later, but didn't immediately get up - Another fault.

Glints of silver above her caused her eyes to widen, the sheer amount of knives hovering below the ceiling, in between Sakuya and her, enough for her to shiver in fear. She tried to escape, but her limbs were still bound by ropes, and these were attached to the knives in the ground. Seeing no other choice than to free her limbs, the spider queen changed the gravity around the knives, pulling them out of the ground that way, one after another, each quicker than the one before.

When the final knife was out of the ground, she looked up, only to find the incredible amount of knives was already descending towards her. With a loud shriek, the spider queen changed the gravity around her so that she was pulled towards one of the walls, which was actually the barrier that surrounded the battlefield. She sighed in relief of having escaped, then looked up, finding the knives already embedded in the ground, and then returned gravity around her to it's original way.

She was just about to return to the middle of the battlefield when Sakuya landed in a crouched position, the knives still protruding from beneath the bandages all over her body, actually intimidating the spider queen a little, especially as Sakuya quickly sled her hands over her body once, grabbing ten knives in the process, holding them in between her fingers as she presented them to Shiho.

The queen took a step back, shocked at the threatening way the maid covered in bandages was holding her knives. Intimidated as she was, the queen actually let out a yelp as the knives on Sakuya's body vanished beneath the bandages again with a sharp hiss, and reacted quicker than she thought; reversing gravity around herself. No second too late, though, as Sakuya threw her ten knives, which all missed the queen that was now standing upside-down beneath the catwalk above them.

"Hidden blades all over her body... I thought it was already bad when she was in that maid's outfit, but that didn't really leave much place to hide a knife - Now that her entire body is covered in bandages, she can pull a knife practically from anywhere! Still, what's up with the bandages, anyways? How did she move them, when they are clearly not part of her body? And what is with what she said earlier? She said that only time is not affected by time - But then she said that she herself isn't affected by time! What did she mean...?!" shot through the spider queen's head, glaring at Sakuya.

The maid, however, now that it was her turn, didn't give Shiho any time to think, and attacked again, throwing another handful of knives at the spider queen above her, followed by another five from the other hand. Shiho swung her right hand, changing the gravity for the first five knives to the side, but didn't manage to change the other fives gravity in time, and instead avoided by quickly swinging herself around the edge onto the catwalk.

She expected Sakuya to follow her, but was surprised when the catwalk in front of her broke, shattered apart by what looked like a chakram made of thirteen knives attached to one another by their handles. This chakram was caught by Sakuya, who suddenly stood on the other side of the hole, and attached to the bandaged maid's left knee, hanging on a small hook that Shiho hadn't noticed before.

"You cannot hide from the face of time." chuckled the maid, the bandages curling up to reveal her nasty smirk. Shiho huffed and rose her hands to manipulate gravity, but Sakuya had moved a second before, using her timestop to move right in front of the queen, slapping her hands away.

"Don't think I didn't notice that fighting you over distance isn't going to work - You just move out of the way or change the gravity around me or my knives. But fighting you close range, keeping your hands busy, which you need to change gravity..." began Sakuya, only to be interrupted when Shiho spoke up.

"Is even more of a mistake!" she shouted into the maids face, increasing the gravity around Sakuya with her gaze alone - She didn't need her hands, it was merely a habit of hers. Sakuya let out a grunt as her body became twice as heavy, but she still reached back with her right hand, preparing to punch the queen.

Shiho's eyes widened when she saw the halo of knives appear around the maid's wrist again, spinning like a chainsaw. The queen reacted as Sakuya swung her fist forward, increasing the gravity around the fist away from her, causing Sakuya to stumble a few steps back as she was pulled backwards on her fist, but Shiho still had the disadvantage due to the huge amount of hidden weapons on the maid's body.

Of which she was about to learn about another one.

She was taken off guard when the bandages suddenly moved over Sakuya's body again, curling around like snakes, losing size as they returned to be just a short bandage around Sakuya's left arm. The maid, now with less possible spots for a hidden weapon, seemed to be less of a threat to the spider queen for the untrained eye - But Shiho, having sharp senses, had noticed that she still had the red eyes as she turned to Shiho again.

A knife appeared in the hand of the maid as she charged at Shiho, but the spider queen blocked the hand with her forearm, then swung her other hand forwards to ram the palm into the maids stomach while turning gravity, but Sakuya fell back and backflipped - And a sharp pain shot through the spider queen's face, making her scream in anger and pain.

Shiho stumbled a few feet backwards, cursed aloud, something that someone who had known her twenty years ago would've been confused about - For those who knew about the weird friendship of the playful spider queen and the bold ex-queen of nocturnal Youkai, though, knew that their habits had rubbed off on one another. Shiho had begun to curse once the situation became quite serious - Ryoko had adopted a few less noticeable things.

The spider queen lowered her gaze after having pulled her head up, then glared at her opponent's feet. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary, the shoes of the maid looked normal, just like before - But there had definitely been something that had cut her across the face a moment earlier.

She looked up at Sakuya's face to meet the maid's gaze - And the narrowed her eyes.

Experimentally, she swung her right hand forwards, then pulled it back just as Sakuya was about to counter. Leaning back, Shiho avoided the punch from the maid and the dangerous halo of knives around her wrist, then used her gravity manipulation to slide backwards across the ground just as Sakuya suddenly went into a handstand - And thus, the spider queen saw the hidden, retractable blades at the heels of Sakuya's shoes.

Shiho used this moment to change the gravity around the tips of the blades - And watched in utter satisfaction as the hidden blades at the heels of Sakuya's shoes broke.

But the fight was still over that moment, when Sakuya front-flipped towards Shiho, a grin on her face as the bandages curled around her whole body. The gravity-manipulating spider let out a squeal - then it was over, Shiho's upper, human-like body pinned to the ground by Sakuya's entire weight.

Shiho was about to move - But then, all of sudden, knives shot out of the bandages all over Sakuya's body, all of them pointing at Shiho, stopping mere millimeters from the spider's body. And Sakuya's nasty grin hovered right in front of Shiho's face.

"I saw you weakness, spider queen." whispered the maid in bandages, "You can only change gravity at one location, but not at more. I first only suspected it, but then saw that you pulled the knives that pinned you down one after another - And then, seeing as you used it at my heels, I knew you'd not be able to use it on me." Shiho let out a huff at that, but then sighed loudly.

~ Music fades out ~

"I give up. You've got me." sighed the spider queen, moving her hand past Sakuya's body, before releasing a single, white bullet into the air, that shot up into the heaven, and then exploded in a cobweb-like motif. Sakuya, her eyes turning back to gray, smirked in a self-pleased manner, something she had picked up from her mistress, and silently was glad that she hadn't failed Remilia.

"Oh, and I know your secret, maid." began Shiho, just as Sakuya had gotten up and had turned the bandages around her body back to their original length around her left arm. She frowned down at the spider queen, but then let out a huff and turned to look down into the basement, where she found her mistress and Satori smiling at her. Yuugi Hoshiguma lay on the ground, still pinned by Gungnir, and still refused to give up, pouting and crossing her arms.

"Oh really? You figured it out?" chuckled Sakuya, glancing over her shoulder at the queen of arachnoids.

"I figured that something was weird about you and your abilities - Satori had told me about you being a human with chronokinesis; the ability to manipulate the flow of time. But what I've seen just now was unlike anything Satori had told me, and then there was what you've said earlier..." giggled the spider queen as she rose to her full height, lazily stretching her arms while letting out a content noise.

"The thing with the bandages surprised me at first - Until I figured out that they're not moving on their own, but rather guided by you. You've told me that reversing time is impossible, and I figured it would take too much power, even from a Youkai, to do such a thing - But then you said that you can turn things back to where they were originally. So I thought to my little self: 'Shiho, what if these bandages were originally wrapped around her body?'..." continued Shiho, narrowing her eyes at Sakuya.

The maid wasn't really paying attention to the explanation. She was listening, but not looking, waiting for Yuugi to finally give up so that they had won. It was a nice little thing that Shiho had given up - Sakuya really didn't want to knock the Jorougumo out, knowing how hard that would be due to Shiho's ability to manipulate gravity, thus pulling Sakuya away from her - Getting her into a dangerous situation to get her to give up proved much more efficient.

Then again, laying down on Shiho's way more sensitive upper body, which didn't have skin as resistant as that of her lower spider body, thus impaling her with all the hidden blades that Sakuya's bandages form offered, would've drained enough from Shiho's body to render her unconsciousness - Outside of a spellcard battle, it would've possibly even killed the queen.

Or at least turned her into a pincushion.

"Zephyr."

Sakuya perked up, glanced over her right shoulder at the queen and smiled.

"Excuse me?" she smiled, her smile growing wider as the spider queen smiled back.

"Zephyr... You've turned into a Zephyr." repeated Shiho, narrowing her eyes, "You didn't think I'd know about such a rare species of Youkai, did you? I'm interested in exalted Youkai... Zephyr are one of them, but are quite rare, and are often mistaken for wind-related Youkai due to the god of the same name, which controlled wind. Not many know that Zephyr are actually Youkai controlling time."

"You never dare to disappoint, Shiho Kumo... Yes, I've turned into a Youkai about three years ago. While I didn't change in appearance, my time-related powers got quite a boost. It's still impossible for me to reverse time, but it is now much easier for me to manipulate the flow of time; allowing me to do so in a much larger area, as well as at several smaller spots at once. Furthermore, I can also move much longer, and a lot easier, when time around me is stopped." explained Sakuya, before turning away.

"I will not specify what species of Youkai I am. Your theory may sound interesting, but I will neither confirm, nor deny it." added the maid, her voice unwavering.

"You won't have to. I know when I see a certain species of exalted Youkai, and you are definitely one of the rare Zephyr." hummed the spider queen, crossing her arms beneath her ample chest.

"Like I said, I won't confirm anything." snorted Sakuya, before suddenly jumping over the railing. Shiho frowned as she watched the maid leave like that, but then smiled to herself and followed Sakuya down into the basement of the battlefield, using a thread shot from her open palm to raise herself into the air, and then slide down on it into the basement through the large hole.

Her eight legs touched the ground directly next to the Oni that was still pinned down by the legendary spear, and she locked gazes with Yuugi for a second, apologizing for her defeat by the hands of Sakuya with her gaze alone.

"Looks like we won after all." chuckled Remilia as they stood around the Oni, with Parsee lying face-down not too far from them, still unconscious.

"Not until I give up, I believe." shot Yuugi back, crossing her arms in between her chest and the spear, looking smug due to the fact that the fight was not yet lost for her team. At this, Remilia and her headmaid shared a short glance, with Sakuya nodding at an instant.

"Could you be so kind as to 'convince' Miss Hoshiguma here of our victory, Sakuya?" requested Remilia, the smile upon her lips too sweet for the Oni's tastes, so sweet and self-pleased that it caused Satori to shiver again in excitement.

"As you wish, milady." confirmed the maid. She stepped over Yuugi and pulled one knife from the strap around her thigh, smiled softly as she held it over Yuugi - And let go of it.

The Oni let out a gasp when she saw the knife falling towards her face, tried to raise her arms, only to find them moving surprisingly slow, never able to catch the knife in time - And the closer said knife came to her right eye, the slower was it getting.

If this was torture, it was working really well, even on Yuugi. Still, the Oni, though freaked out by this sudden turn of events, was not going to give up - Yet, as Sakuya noted silently.

Bowing down next to the tall female pinned by the spear, Sakuya watched closer as the distance between Yuugi and the knife was decreasing, and how the Oni was starting to sweat a little more than before - Still, Sakuya wouldn't leave anything to chance, and smiled sweetly as she pulled out another knife - 'gently' prodding the Oni's right cheek with the sharp tip.

"Are you giving up yet, Miss Hoshiguma?" asked Sakuya sweetly, as polite as ever - Too sweet for Yuugi's tastes, reminding her only too well of the sadist that was going to fight alongside the evil spirit and the makaian goddess in the semi-finals.

"Not a chance! You think your little magic trick is scaring me? Pah!" snorted Yuugi, her voice unwavering and her gaze not showing any sign of her discomfort. Sakuya rose an eyebrow at the Oni, but then nodded, much to Yuugi's confusion.

"I believe. Let me show you, though, why Lady Remilia calls me a master of 'convincement', though." smiled Sakuya, rose her right hand and flicked her fingers. At first, Yuugi didn't notice anything different from before - Only that it had become darker. As she looked up and away from Sakuya's face, she found that the knife in front of her face hadn't vanished - Rather than that, it was now accompanied by at least hundred of it's kind, all slowly descending towards Yuugi.

At this, the Oni actually gulped, but still remained strong, determined that this wouldn't be enough to make her give up. She'd barely feel it, anyways, her skin was as hard as a mountain, this would sting a little, but wouldn't just defeat her - Maybe wear her out a little, but certainly not defeat her... After all, it had taken Suika hours of throwing boulders at her to even exhaust Yuugi a little...

"Huuuuuh? Still not enough?" asked Sakuya, raising her delicate eyebrow again.

"M-More?! Just how many does she have?! Where does she hide them?!" shot through Yuugi's mind, but she made sure that her expression didn't reveal the little doubt she had.

"Hm... Then, how about this? I guessed that we would end up like this, and that you wouldn't give up just like that, so we went back to the mansion to retrieve this little thing here..." snickered Sakuya, looking up to her mistress and Satori. She flicked her fingers again as she saw Remilia nod - And finally, Yuugi's calm broke.

Hovering above her, sharp tip pointing down at her face, barely fitting into the battlefield, was the big hand of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's clock tower.

"Eeeeeeeeh?!" shrieked the Oni, eyes growing wide, "You're calling that 'little thing'?! How did you even get that here!"

Sakuya grinned smugly, nodding to herself, while Remilia's self-pleased smirk couldn't grow any wider, and Satori and Shiho, as well as the audience outside the arena, couldn't be any more shocked at the turn of events.

"Well, how is it possible that the Scarlet Devil Mansion is so big on the inside? The answer is simple: Space is an aspect closely related to time. Explaining it to you in detail would take days, and you wouldn't understand a single thing - So let me just tell you that my manipulation of time involves the manipulation of space, in a way. I created a pocket in which I carried the hand of our clock tower... And look, here it is." explained the perfect maid, chuckling at the end.

"So... Are you giving up now?" inquired Remilia, taking a step forward. Yuugi glanced towards her and snarled, then turned back to the maid, and then to the big hand that was slowly descending towards her, along with all the knives - Not that she was paying attention to those anymore.

"Well... That certainly is going to sting. And not just a little, but..." thought the Oni, one eyelid twitching a little.

"Hm... Still not giving up? I really didn't want to do that, but..." began Sakuya, causing Yuugi to cringe.

"There's more?! Did you take the other hand of the clock tower with you as well, or what?!" exploded the Oni, turning and thrashing around, fighting against the spear that was still pinning her to the ground. Sakuya, meanwhile, looked up at Remilia, seeking confirmation in her mistresses eyes - She found it, and flicked her fingers again.

And to Yuugi's surprise, the knives, as well as the hand of the clock, vanished.

"Huh?" muttered Yuugi, before letting out a sigh, "Uhm... Does this mean you're giving up?"

Sakuya let out a giggle at that, shaking her head as she rose to her full height again and pulled out a single knife, twirling it around with one finger, playing with it.

"Well, I actually didn't want to do something this mean, and I'm usually not someone to step this low, but..." giggled the maid. And her giggle turned into a sinister chuckle... And suddenly, she twirled on the spot and threw her knife away from the group, towards an individual almost everyone had forgotten about.

And as Yuugi saw where the knife was heading, she let out a scream and pushed her right hand into the air, immediately releasing a single red bullet, that rushed up into the air and exploded high above the battlefield into a gigantic red star - And the barriers around the battlefield collapsed, letting in the loud cheering of the audience.

Yuugi had given up.

Remilia burst into a fit of laughter at this, once more confirmed in just how good her maid was at 'convincing' people, while Sakuya jerked on a chain in her hand that was attached to the knife she had thrown at Parsee, thus pulling the knife back and catching it with her free hand.

"That was really low." growled the Oni, sitting up after Remilia finally pulled the spear out of her stomach. Gungnir dissolved the moment that the vampire held the legendary spear, leaving Yuugi with the bad aftertaste of the meanest defeat she had ever been through.

"With Yuugi Hoshiguma and Shiho Kumo both having surrendered, and Parsee Mizuhashi being knocked out, Lady Remilia Scarlet's team wins this round of the tournament, and moves into the semifinals!" shouted the loud voice of Aya Shameimaru over the loud cheering of the audience.

"Quite a sneaky victory, if I may say so. But there is no rule against this..." commented Akyuu, glancing at the other judges.

"Who cares? The fight wasn't bad at all, if ya ask me!" snickered the madman of a barkeeper, interrupting whatever his fellow judge Rinnosuke had been about to say.

Remilia shared short glances with Sakuya and Satori, being completely fine with the way they had won. Enjoying the cheering audience, Remilia smirked in self-satisfaction, enjoyed her victory to the fullest - And yet turned around and extended a hand to Yuugi.

"Good fight." she said, and meant it, "I'm sorry for the way we won, but you have to understand that I can't just lose here. I have to be an example for Flandre, have to keep my title of a noble, and want to face my dear brother later on - I won't lose just now. But perhaps we can have another battle in the future - a fair one."

Yuugi frowned at the vampire, especially as Remilia extended a hand to her, a gesture Yuugi didn't really know much about - But in the end, she just smirked and took the hand of the smaller woman, shaking it.

"Got'cha. I'll hold you up to that eventually. I have to admit - You know how to fight, and I enjoyed our little fight at the beginning. I also understand your need to continue into the next round... To be honest, I looked forward to fighting Chôzen Gekido as well after all those years, but meh... You deserve that fight now. And... It's been a while since I've been defeated. Guess this was the hit over the head I deserved for quite a while now..." snorted Yuugi, chuckling to herself.

"Besides - I actually would've given up sooner or later. I was bluffing... Even I can't stand a three-on-one for long, especially if you alone could give me a run for my money. And I saw what lil' mind-game you and Satori play... Nah, I would've lost sooner or later, so I would've given up - You didn't need to threaten my girlfriend Parsee like that." huffed Yuugi as she let go of the vampire's hand, leaving Remilia to shrug with a grin.

"Anyways!" called the Oni out as she bowed down and picked up Parsee, throwing the hashihime over her left shoulder while giving the rear of the hashihime an overly affectionate clap, "I'll be takin' my girlfriend to the medical wing - I suppose you should show up there sooner or later as well... But I guess you'll be watching the battle of ya sister first. I'll tell that crazy nurse to keep at least six beds ready, though, and some place for ya team - The six beds of course, knowing how destructive Okuu and ya lil' sis can get. I'll be waiting to hear the sirens yell and the explosions echo all the way to the medical wing."

"You surely will hear them." sighed Remilia, remembering only too well how destructive Flandre had become, especially during the last twenty years.

It was just that moment that the broken ceiling above them dissolved into nothingness, while the catwalk that had made up the second story vanished into nothingness, and the floor that they stood on, the floor of the basement, began to rise up until it became the floor of the battlefield, now returned to it's original state.

Remilia, Yuugi and their respective team-mates all waited until that had taken place - then, the Oni and the Jorougumo turned towards the next exit to take Parsee to the medical wing. That was Yuugi's plan, at least - Shiho never got that far, running excitedly towards and starting a conversation with Ryoko Jigoku, the mad ex-queen of nocturnal Youkai, who had waited exactly in that exit.

Remilia examined the ex-queen for a short moment, then turned to look up to the Scarlet Devil Lounge, immediately finding the other two more destructive fighters standing just behind the window - Flandre and Utsuho. In a moment, Flandre would team up with Koishi and Meiling to fight against Utsuho, Ryoko and Rin... The hell would break loose, that for sure.

Swinging her hand horizontally, Remilia summoned forth the magical glass staircase up to the Scarlet Devil Lounge, made of the window that Utsuho and Flandre had been standing behind, with Utsuho immediately dashing out into the air, flying down to where Ryoko stood. And as Remilia began to ascend exactly that staircase with Satori and Sakuya at her side, Flandre, Koishi and Meiling came their way, descending the same staircase.

And as the sisters and their teams passed each other, they stopped for a short moment to share a few words.

"It's your turn, Koishi." whispered Satori, smiling at her sister. Koishi nodded in return, smiling brightly as she pumped a fist into the air.

"Don't worry about me, Onee-sama! Flan, me and Meiling will have lots of fun with Okuu, Orin and Ryo-tan!" grinned the younger Komeiji in her usual, carefree way, causing Satori to sigh in relief, and yet worry... She glanced down to Koishi's open third eye, and a thought crossed her mind - How far would Koishi go this time?

Of course, no one but those who knew Koishi's fighting style in after Flandre had opened her third eye again would know what she'd mean - Which meant, that nearly everyone in this arena was in for a surprise. But Flandre wasn't the only one with a new, different, unique fighting style... Flandre had her own as well, one that only she'd be able to use; as much as only Koishi would be able to use her new fighting style.

"I'll not disappoint you, big sis!" declared Flandre excitedly, pumping both her fists into the air - Thus revealing the ten rings she wore - One around each finger. Remilia noticed them and smiled - Even though the rings were cheap and looked nothing like the brilliant rings that Remilia enjoyed so much, they were perfect for Flandre's new fighting style. Which was the reason as for why Flandre had changed her outfit a little.

Now wearing a brown belt with a big, brown pocket on each side around her waist, over her red dress, Flandre also sported the ten rings around her fingers, several cheap bracelets and anklets, a cheap necklace that consisted of several dull and tear-like pearls on a string, as well as ten rings, just as cheap, on her bare feet, one around each of her toes.

Seeing that, Remilia couldn't help but chuckle - Utsuho, Rin and Ryoko were in for a surprise... And a world of pain.

The little sister duo, known for their chaotic fighting styles twenty years ago, would present their new, improved, even more chaotic fighting styles this year... Along with Meiling, known for her power, they were making up a team that even Remilia feared... Feared, because, if Flandre's team really won, they'd meet in the semi-finals.

And if there was anything to stop her from fighting Chôzen in the finals, and claiming the title of this year's champion, it was Flandre's team.

Remilia let her gaze travel over to the judges, and then through the audience, spotting the other teams of the tournament one after another.

Yes, she was sure... There was no team as chaotic, uncontrollable, explosive and destructive, unpredictable and plain insane as the team made up by Flandre, Koishi and Meiling.

"Make me proud, Flan." smiled Remilia silently as she passed her sister - Allowing Flandre to take the spotlight. And Flandre would make her proud, Remilia was sure of that.

As Sakuya and Meiling finally passed each other, they gave each other a high five, their eyes closed and huge smirks on their faces - It was their silent exchange, Sakuya passing the stage onto Meiling.

And just like that, the teams had swapped places; Flandre, Koishi and Meiling reaching the battlefield while Utsuho, Rin and Ryoko climbed onto it as well, and Yúgure setting foot onto the battlefield, already pondering about what to change the battlefield in - While Remilia and Satori entered the Scarlet Devil Lounge and sat into their thrones, with Sakuya taking her spot aside them.

"Well done, Remi." commented her old friend, Patchouli from the side, looking up from the book that she and Mima were pore over, and the vampire smirked into her direction. Not that she enjoyed the fact that the evil spirit was in her lounge - she and that evil spirit never really got along, but she wasn't as bad as Yukari Yakumo.

Remilia took notice of Chôzen, Nanatsu and Rumia as well, standing near the window and staring down to the battlefield. She and Chôzen shared a short glance, and she gestured him to come over. He nodded, whispered something to his wives, and then approached Remilia, and she couldn't help but grin.

"Aren't you taking this a little too far, Remi?" he inquired the moment that he was in front of her, frowning a little. She shrugged, not sure if he was right or not - In her eyes, taking such 'precautions' to ensure that she was moving on was a gray area, not distinctly black or white, a decision whose color was entirely up to who saw it.

"I just won my fight, and that is all you have to say, dear brother?" sniggered the vampire, before stretching her limbs, "Anyways, that's not why I called you over... I called you over because I'm going to tell you something that'll interest you about Flandre's abilities..."

At this, he rose an eyebrow, but then huffed.

"Yeah... Now that you mention it... Flandre's ability to destroy absolutely anything was based on the fact that she was insane - If she has lost that insane part now, what has become of it?" he inquired, crossing his arms over his body.

Remilia couldn't help but show a feral smirk - He had hit the nail on the head, the important information about this.

"And now that I think about it, what did she wear all those rings, bracelets and anklets for? Wouldn't they hinder her movements rather than help her?" he added, raising his eyebrow even higher.

"And here we go! Yúgure has just changed the battlefield... This may become really interesting! The fighters have taken their spots, the battlefield is changed, Yúgure has left the battlefield and the barrier is almost completely raised - We've increased it's density and resistance this round, 'cause we want to make sure that the destructive abilities of these six fighters aren't going to become a threat to us..." echoed Aya's voice through the arena.

Chôzen turned his gaze to Satori.

"...And what about Koishi? If she is no longer acting unconscious, doesn't this mean that she would have to actively learn to fight? That would also mean she isn't as unpredictable as before... So it would mean that them regaining sanity and consciousness would actually mean that they have grown less powerful..." mused the man with the emerald eyes.

Remilia and Satori, both grinning widely, shared a knowing glance.

"The barrier has been raised, the fight will start n..."

KABOOM!

Chôzen's eyes widened, Aya's voice cut off by the sound of an explosion - Turning to look over his shoulder with wide eyes, he never saw the nasty, sinister smirks of Satori and Remilia as the entire lounge was lit up by the light that invaded it through the window, large shadows cast against the wall.

He only saw the bright light of the explosion that filled the entire interior of the barrier.

"Oh what the bloody hell...?"

To be continued in "Chapter 4.2 - The battles of the sisters ~ Subconscious Insanity"...


(1) The 'Complete Darkness', Mima's plan from I-NB that we never got to see, due to it blowing up in her face and turning her into the powerful "Onryô-Mima" form that she had been back then... Soon, the Negative Bullet Spin-off "Dark Paradise" will begin. And in it, we will see the whole scenario "What if Chôzen lost and Mima won? What if Mima had indeed unleashed the 'Complete Darkness'?"... Hope you're excited for the dark story that it's going to be, featuring Hong Meiling and Sakuya Izayoi as it's main characters!

(2) A hashihime is a "Bridge Princess", Parsee's Youkai-Species.


I know, I know, what a mean cliffhanger - But please don't forget that I was writing this and the second part of it as one chapter. So this actually wasn't planned to be a cliffhanger, I merely decided to turn it into one after seeing that the chapter was becoming too long - I'm already halfway done with the fight of Flandre, Koishi and Meiling vs. Utsuho, Rin and Ryoko...

And let met tell you, I'm still getting excited each time I mention the words 'explosion', 'flash', 'Flandre' and 'Utsuho'...

You're in for the most destructive, most explosive and most flashy fight of the entire NBP so far. Pitting Flandre against Utsuho is sick enough as it is - Pitting a sane Flandre against Utsuho is even worse... I, on my part, pit Flandre, Koishi and Meiling against Utsuho, Rin and Ryoko.

You can call me batshit insane now.

Thanks.

Oh, and there was some more Yume x Yúgure in this chapter for Aerhyce, who requested it in his review to chapter 6. Hehe. Just for you, Aerhyce. And I won't stop there... Because it would be a shame to let the sweet Yume x Yúgure that has build up so far just let to go to waste, right?

Anyways, this is the end of the first part of this chapter - The second one will follow towards the end of the week, as far as I can see. So please remain on the edge of your seat for the explosive fight about to come - It'll blow your roof off and'll unplug your toasters...

...Why toasters? Because I'm raising chapters meant to sneak into your kitchen and unplug your toasters, that's why!

Better hide yo' toasters before the end of the week!

This is SorrowfulReincarnation, and I'll...

Uh...

So long!