II Negative Mind

by SorrowfulReincarnation

It's been twenty years since he has last set foot into Gensokyo. He has changed, but so has the land. And as he finally returns to the land of fantasy and forgotten things, he sets a chain of events into motion that threatens the peace anew. Only this time, he cannot do a thing. His homecoming draws closer, but is it really a good idea to return to the place you have abandoned?

10. Arc II - Ch V, P1 - The Dance of Witches

So... Phew!

It really is finally done, the ninth installment to II-Negative Mind: End of Daylight, Seven Seconds!

There is something important that you need to know before you start reading now: This chapter has been uploaded in two parts because of it's sheer size. I don't know when it did, but it did escalate at one point, and got this huge... And I couldn't really cut anything from it, because everything in it needs to happen at this point. So yeah, two parts.

I guess you could say that I have two chapters for you this time, seeing how each of them is just as huge as a normal chapter... I know that it is no excuse, but I guess "two chapters" are at least somewhat of an repayment for the time I kept you waiting.

And because I kept you waiting, let's keep this short here - I want to mention something, and then we move on to a short review time, and then you get the first part of the chapter. The important stuff regarding the next chapters and all is at the end of part 2.

Now, I'm sure you've noticed it – This chapter's title is "End of Daylight" - Just the same as that of the final chapters of I-Negative Bullet! *le gasp* Following "End of Daylight ~ The suns sets, Complete Darkness", "End of Daylight ~ As the flower withers" and "End of Daylight ~ Negative Gensokyo", this is going to be the fourth chapter in the Negative Bullet Project to have "End of Daylight" in it's name.

I think it should be pretty obvious as to why, right?

...That's it. Let's do review time real quick, and then you get the chapter. Like I said, the important stuff is at the end of part 2.

Scourge From BloodClan... Am I right when I say that you enjoy explosions? Especially when Flandre blows something up? Kidding, who does not?

We've exchanged a few private messages about Flandre's and Koishi's abilities and all, so I guess everything was said there, was it not? What I want to mention, though: We will not really see much of Koishi and Flandre this time, with this chapter focusing mainly on Chôzen's team and Mima's team and the Gekido Sisters, but you get to see at least a little of them.

Seeing as the two pairs of sisters will clash in the fight after this one, though, you'll just have to keep patient to see more about them. And don't worry, the next update will definitely not take as long as this one did!

StupidityNowOffersWisdom... Thanks. I'll try to keep it that way.

Tez7... That will be pretty dangerous fireworks, if you ask me. Now, the "happy hour" may hit the fan real soon, who knows? What I do know, and you probably too, that Yûgure won't stop making moves on Yume any time soon, and that Chôzen is not liking any second of it...

That's it for review time!

Now, let's not waste any more time, and dive right into the chaos that the fight of Chôzen's team against Mima's team will be...

Shall we?

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 do belong to me, as for I have created them. This goes for all of the other OC's as well.

---

Chapter 5: End of Daylight ~ 7 Seconds

Part 1: The Dance of Witches

"Shh..."

I let out a little moan, the noise disturbing my sleep a little.

"Shhhh!"

Again, that noise - Was I dreaming? No, I wasn't even asleep - I feel it. I am not in a dream, for my dreams are only lucid dreams - Comes with my ability to manipulate dreams. I was awake, but my eyes were shut - What was the origin of this noise then, though?

"Come on, Yume, get'cha ass up!"

Feeling a slap on the right side of my face, I groaned, and reacted much quicker than I thought - By reaching out, grabbing the wrist of the one that had assaulted my face, and closing my hand tightly around it. Having inherited my mother's strength, I could have as well put a chair on the wrist and sat on it - Hurt just as much.

"Fuck, Yume, are you trying to kill me?!"

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep!" I groaned finally and opened my eyes - Thus identifying my assailant to be my very own half-sister, Yajû. She was standing above me, face distorted in pain, teeth digging into her lower lip as she tried to keep her pain inside.

With a growl, I let go off her hand - Not without noticing the bruise that I had created on her wrist - and watched as Yajû took a few steps back, rubbing it gently. Sitting up while running a hand through my hair, I glanced around the room - And frowned as I noticed that it was still dark, in the middle of the night.

"Okay, why would you wake me in the middle of the night? Scared to go to the bathroom by yourself?" I snarled towards my younger half-sister, then turned to see if Mom, Dad or Rumia had woken up - Neither of them had. Normally, Dad would've noticed and would've scolded us - He doesn't exactly have a deep sleep - but he was intoxicated after some party in the infirmary (if we understood his slurring right), and snoring.

Knowing about my father's ability of natural negation, this seemed to be impossible... Well, not if the alcohol was actually slowing that ability down, thus making it impossible for his body to negate the intoxication just like that. While not taking as long as it took someone else to get rid of all alcohol in the system, he wasn't able to just negate it as well.

"Haha, very funny, Yume." huffed Yajû, sitting on one of the chairs by the table when I turned to look back at her, "Geez, were you going to rip my damn hand off? Well, the flesh won't just come off, like it did with Dad's hand!"

"You know that my Mom doesn't approve of your cursing, right?" I sighed, then stretched my tired limbs. What was she waking me for in the middle of the night, anyways?! I can deal with a lot, but if someone interrupts my lucid dreams, I'm bound to get mad.

"You know that I hate it when you're like that? Come on, get all timid again, please - I like that Yume better, she doesn't talk back." snorted Yajû in return, leaning back in the chair and putting her bruised wrist onto the table.

"You expect me to be all shy when you interrupt my dreams?" I growled, just sinking back into my futon and turning away from my sister, "Why aren't you sleeping, anyways...?"

"Dreams about that succubus, eh? Whats-her-face? Yûgure, right?" sniggered Yajû immediately - And the anger within me hit a spike. Slamming a fist onto the ground, damaging it a little due to my strength, I sat up and twirled towards her, bringing all anger up that I could. Okay - Wake me up form a lucid dream, and I'm bound to be irritated rather than timid... Go too far after that, and I'll use my strength to give your face an entirely new expression!

"Don't bring Yûgure up now! I'm warning you... That succubus has done enough to my innocence already." I hissed lowly, balling a fist and threatening my half-sister with it - Even if I could only barely see her in the darkness, the only light in the room what little the moon let in through the window, and Yajû's crimson eyes with those little green thunderstorms in them glowing dangerously.

"Well... I can tell. You were just lying there, moaning her name in your sleep - 'Yûgure, Yûgure, come and take my vi...'! Urgh!"

SLAM!

She didn't get any further. My pillow, thrown with enough force for it to be like a stone, hit Yajû in the face and she fell backwards off her chair, hitting the ground with the back of her head first. Now, she lay on the ground, writhing in pain while cursing and rubbing the back of her head furiously.

Served her right.

I let out a huff, the anger and irritation leaving me. Sending a small glance towards my parents and Rumia to confirm that they were still asleep, I got up and walked over to my little sister to grab my pillow. My bare feet made soft sounds as I waddled over to the pillow lying next to my sister, and bowed down to pick it up - And noticed that my sister was fully clothed, silver cross-necklace and all.

"Why are you wearing that? Going somewhere?" I inquired, glancing down to my own body, clad only in a gothic-pink nightgown. Yajû opened her eyes and glared at me accusingly, to which I rolled my eyes and extended a hand towards her - She took it, and I pulled her up.

Before I could react, she yanked my pillow out of my arms and threw it over my head onto my futon. I was about to complain, but Yajû merely grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door, grabbed something from the table on the way out, and then put a hand onto my mouth before I could complain.

Once outside, she released my mouth, and put something into my hand. Glancing down, I found that it was a lollipop - One of my lollipops, that was, since that had become my trademark, more or less. It was rare to find me without one of these sweet, oh so sweet things in my mouth... Just as rare as it was for Yajû not to chew on bubblegum, which she was doing at that moment.

So, with a huff, I put the strawberry-flavored lollipop where it belonged, and immediately enjoyed the sweet strawberry flavor that spread through my mouth.

The moment could've been almost enjoyable - But Yajû suddenly grabbed my wrist again, and began to pull me through the corridor. This was getting too far, though - I knew I could free myself anytime, due to my increased physical strength, but didn't feel like hurting Yajû another time. Even though she had irritated me greatly, I felt sorry for hurting her - We were sisters, after all. While not having the same mother, we had grown up together, learning from our own, and the respective other mother that we had.

"Where are we going?" I sighed around the lollipop in my mouth, having given up on going back to my lucid dream - Even though it hadn't exactly been lucid anymore, it had been so beautiful! Such a beautiful meadow on a small hill, white flowers shaking gently in the wind, that doll with that dark red-purple dress...

I don't know why my lucid dreams always begin to turn into 'normal' dreams lately - I can't even dream those, and yet I'm in them, well aware of it being a dream, but the body doesn't feel like my own, and doesn't move when I will it to. And it's always about that meadow and that doll...

My own, lucid dreams happen in a world that I can freely shape on my own once I've found the 'mirror'. Each night, I'm thrown into a random location in my own world, and can move freely around in it. I can move, and try to find the mirror, a huge construct somewhere in the world, that, upon touch, allows me to change the world like I want it to.

I don't really know when it began - I've always had these lucid dreams, but the 'mirror', a large and clear crystal, embedded into a dark blue and spiky archway, that reflects me when I step up to it, has only appeared after this weird voice called out to me in my dreams, telling me that my special mind is now among a collection of many... It has an unique and distorted tone to it, and it's always emphasizing and stretching the vocals.

After that happened, the 'mirror' first appeared and I learned how to use it. I do so nearly every night, changing it to whatever I want - No, rather need - after the events of a day. For example, if I had a bad day and had been among huge crowds of people, something I can't bear because of my shyness, I can at least relax once asleep, changing the world in my lucid dream to a quiet and calming place...

However, during the last few days, something weird has happened. If I walk up to the 'mirror' some hours after falling asleep, I see this meadow inside - Touching it will make the world around me vanish, and throw me into this 'normal' dream... I wonder if it does have some meaning? Is it showing me the dream of somebody else, someone close to me? If so, who would dream of this meadow, and the doll on it? Mom? Rumia? Dad? Or Yajû, after all?

"Hello~ Yume, are you in there?"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I found Yajû standing in front of me, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Geez, still asleep - Or back to timid, after all? Thank god if so." snorted my bold half-sister, before turning away, and revealing to me that we were standing in the doorway to the arena - It was the same location where we had run into Dad and Kanako Yasaka fighting.

"You spaced out on me, so I bet you didn't listen at all - I said we're going to the arena. I want to see it in a different light, without all the audience, the fighters, the judges - And in the moonlight." smiled Yajû over her shoulder, surprising me at the honesty in her smile - Not a hint of sarcasm, irony or boldness that usually was in it.

"And what does that have to do with me?" I inquired, surprised and confused.

"Something wrong with me wanting to share such a beautiful sight with my half-sister? Geez, Yume, we've known each other all our life now - We may fight, may be opposites when it comes to our personalities, but you're still my older, albeit smaller sister..." chuckled Yajû, before pushing the door open, and entering the arena. With a deep sigh, even though a little touched by my sister's words, I followed her inside.

"It was actually your lover's idea, anyways - Yûgure came up to me earlier and asked me if I wanted to see the arena in the moonlight. She said that she felt that I enjoy the moonlight as much as she does, and offered to replace the usual roof with a large window upon putting it back after the floating island fight." added my half-sister the moment that I had caught up to her.

Moonlight... Yeah, for some reason, Yajû loved the moonlight. In the outside world, where Yajû and I had been sharing a room - Neither of us ever minded, like Yajû said, we had lived our entire life together so far - she had sometimes left the room through the window at night to climb onto our roof and just bathe in moonlight. She didn't even know herself why she did... She only knew that she felt like the moonlight was calling out to her.

But how did Yûgure know that? And why was Yajû going on about me having any romantic interest in that succubus again!

"Yûgure is not my lover!" I hissed, even though I knew that Yajû would never stop teasing me about that. And all just because that succubus had to try and seduce me...

Walking down the stairs to the edge of the story, I couldn't help but sigh as Yajû quietly snickered at my anger. The arena still lay in nearly complete darkness - It couldn't be any later than 2 AM. We were the only people inside it, as far as I could see... Then again, Yûgure may be around - I'm only suspecting this, but I bet she was aware that Yajû wouldn't come alone, dragging me along into the arena that would be illuminated only by moonlight - If that wasn't 'romantic', I don't know what would be. Moonlight was considered to be romantic, especially to a succubus, right?

Was this just another scheme of the succubus to get close to me then?

So as we reached the edge of the story we were in, and could finally see past the fence, I was expecting to see someone in the middle of the battlefield - Yûgure, that was, and not who we really found there, standing in the moonlight with her back towards us, looking down at something to her feet.

It was Yuuka Kazami, only wasn't she wearing the red plaid skirt, but those clothes from the outside world that we had once seen her in when she had been bullying Hina Kirisame.

"Hey... Isn't that Yuuka Kazami? What's she doing here?" asked Yajû quietly, having spotted the Flower Youkai as well, "She should be sleeping, or at least rest a bit - She is going to fight against Dad, Mom and Nanatsu tomorrow, after all...! Isn't she taking them serious at all?!"

I nodded silently, not averting my gaze as Yuuka kept on staring down at something in front of her, something hidden to us.

"Maybe she is setting up something for the fight? Dad told me that Mima can be quite sneaky, but... Yuuka? I know that she once did everything for Mima, but now that they are together, that doesn't quite make sense - I mean, Yuuka may be a sadist, as far as Dad and Mom told me, but she also has a sense of honor and justice..." I whispered, and Yajû nodded silently - And suddenly rose to her full height.

"Let's find out, eh?"

Before I could do something, Yajû smirked and jumped over the fence. I shrieked, knowing that she wasn't able to fly, and quickly followed her - Even though I was a little scared of just jumping over a fence down into the unknown. Hitting the ground in the story below right after Yajû, I quickly jumped onto my feet - Just in time to see Yajû jump over the next fence.

"Who's there?!" hollered Yuuka's voice through the empty arena, echoing off the walls. She must have heard me shriek. I mentally scolded me for that, but knew that, now that we were discovered, I wouldn't have to move as stealthy as before. Following Yajû over the fence, I shortly locked gazes with Yuuka's red eyes as I fell, and I saw her anger turn into a questioning frown.

Rushing towards the edge of the next story, I gathered my physical strength in my feet and jumped - Way further than before, falling several stories instead of one, high over Yajû's head as she moved closer to the battlefield by jumping down story after story.

Feeling anger radiate off the Flower Youkai, anger at being discovered, I focused on her and prepared for everything - Mainly to attack, feeling that she was threatening me with her glare alone.

And this time, I wouldn't hold back like last time, seeing as she was just as strong as me when it came to physical strength - She and Mom were even when it came to physical strength, and since I had inherited Mom's physical strength, she was also equal to me. I knew that I had nearly no chance of ever beating her, lacking the experience of fighting - But I could at least try to keep up with her!

Shifting the lollipop in my mouth from the left corner of it to the right, I watched as Yuuka's right hand began to glow in a ghastly green - And pushed my own right hand forwards, palm glowing in silver light. Yes, I was able to fly, but didn't do so as I fell towards Yuuka, and yes, I could create bullets - I had tried both already.

Actually, I had known about my ability to create bullets in the outside world already, and how they were special like the knife bullets of Sakuya - The rest of my family knew as well. The thing with flight was something I discovered during a quiet minute - I had concentrated, like Mom had always told me about flying in Gensokyo, and had managed to indeed hover over the ground.

And with those two things combined, I'd be able to 'play' Danmaku. While I didn't have any spellcard yet, I was better off than Yajû - She didn't have any magic, and thus, was not able to fly, and couldn't create any bullets.

And thus, I would have to finish this fight without her getting hurt.

Silver shards, looking like someone had just shattered a mirror and had picked them up, appeared before my hand - It weren't many, but still enough to play Danmaku. One would wonder why it were silver shards, instead of regular bullets - And why it were silver shards, because my powers to manipulate dreams weren't related to those.

The answer was simple, and yet only a suspicion of mine - There was another power within me, one related to reflections, or at least mirrors. Whenever I stood in front of one, I felt different - And to make it even worse, I had no reflection on my own. I'm not sure if anyone but me, Mom and Yajû knows about that... But I'm sure there is some connection between mirrors, me, and those silver shards that were my bullets.

The only mirror capable of reflecting me seemed to be the one in my lucid dreams... Only in it had I ever seen my own face. I was determined to find out why that was the case, and what it was with mirrors and me - But whatever I had tried, it just didn't work.

I hope that I'll find out in time - The ability to manipulate dreams isn't exactly great. It pales in comparison to negative energy, seven deadly sins and darkness, pales in comparison to twilight energy, manipulation of borders and the power to manipulate Qi - All of these could be used in battle, while the power to manipulate dreams was useless when the victim was awake.

I hope at least that secondary power of mine can be used in a fight...

"What do you think you're doing, brat?!" snarled Yuuka, deflecting all of my shards with the single swipe of her parasol. I gasped, then quickly pulled my hands up to defend myself from any physical attack that Yuuka would do, now that I was in her reach. It came, a fist, a fist that hit my crossed arms with the power of a train.

Hitting the ground with my feet first, I sled over it, feet digging into the stone. Something black zoomed past me - Yajû!

"Fight me, Kazami!" laughed my combative, and sadly powerless, sister. For a moment, I thought she was in for a world of hurt - But Yuuka seemed to have noticed how powerless Yajû was, and simply grabbed her wrist, twisted it, and then threw Yajû at me.

I caught my sister, preventing both of us from feeling pain, but she was flying with enough velocity to still made me slide back a little further - At least she was safely in my arms, though.

Instead of charging right at us again, Yuuka simply snorted and turned away, looking back to whatever was on the ground before her, out of my sight due to her standing between me and what she was looking at. Both Yajû and I were frowning at that, having seen Yuuka's earlier glare and her glowing hand as a threat - But now she wasn't even facing us anymore?

"You're still here? Leave." huffed the Flower Youkai, turning her head to glare over her shoulder. Now curious as to what she was doing in the empty arena in the middle of the night, I set Yajû down and walked towards the Flower Youkai, her dangerous eyes resting on me all the time, even as I rounded her in a safe distance and looked down to the object in front of her.

It was... A flower?

I frowned at the dead, lunar blue flower in front of Yuuka, resting in a little patch of dirt, hanging it's head. The moonlight fell upon it, giving the whole thing an almost melancholic and depressing scene - Until I noticed the ghastly green glow as it flared up around it. Looking up to Yuuka, I found her having extended her hand to the flower - the same ghastly green glow radiating off it, much like I had seen earlier...

And then, I finally learned what it was for - As the dead flower was suddenly in full bloom again, looking as lively it must once have - Giving off a pale, lunar blue glow.

"You weren't going to attack me...!" I gasped, realizing my mistake. The Flower Youkai looked up from the flower and turned to me, a soft smile on her lips as she nodded.

"I wasn't." she replied, before bowing down to pick up the flower, "This flower is special - It dies when not drawing powers from the moonlight. I was merely going to try and revive it - since tonight is a full moon - when you two showed up, attacking me... As far as I can tell, you misinterpreted my glowing hand as me charging up an attack, is that it?"

I nodded slowly, before turning to look towards Yajû. She had moved, now standing on the other side of Yuuka, examining the flower in the Youkai's hands.

"I think I remember meeting you two before... Aren't you two the ones that protected Hina? Hina Kirisame?" asked Yuuka all of sudden, making me cringe at the memory.

"Yeah, I did. You were bullying that girl, and I can't stand bullies." I shot back, glaring up at her eyes - And found amusement within them.

"So it was you... You're that girl with the same strength as me. Care to tell me where you got that from?" she inquired, amused - Until I shook my head. It wasn't that she didn't have to know - It was to wipe that smirk off her face. And it worked, after all.

"Have it your way. Then at least give me your names." huffed the Flower Youkai. I rose an eyebrow and glanced towards Yajû, who merely shrugged, before returning to observe the flower within Yuuka's hands with great interest.

"Yume... And that is my half-sister, Yajû." I introduced ourselves, not telling her my last name - She should figure that out on her own, after all she knew Mom, Dad and Rumia.

"Yume and Yajû... Well then, next time we meet, Yume, consider us rivals - I won't be this friendly next time, may even start a little fight, who knows?" she shrugged, though a nasty grin was on her face, making a cold shiver run down my spine, "Let's make a little deal right here... If I win that fight, you're going to tell me where you got that strength from. If you win, I'll stop bullying Kirisame."

Before I could reply, saying that I wouldn't make a bet with her, she turned away from me and towards Yajû.

"Here... Take care of this little fella from now on, alright? I have the feeling that both you and her love the moonlight - That is what called you here, ain't I right?" spoke Yuuka, offering the lunar blue flower to Yajû, who took it with a confused face.

"I'm going to get some sleep now... You two should do the same." called Yuuka over her shoulder, as she turned to walk off the battlefield and towards the next staircase, "And about you, Yume... I won't be hunting for you. Should we run into one another, though, expect me to start the fight - I'm really looking forward to it!"

And with that, the sadist left the moonlight that fell through the large window in the ceiling above us, vanished in the semi-darkness, gone from my sight in only a few seconds. Looking over to Yajû and the flower she held, I couldn't help but wonder about this weird Youkai... And how she had become my enemy, my rival, in just two days of me being in Gensokyo...

With a last sigh, I closed my eyes and curled my tongue around the lollipop in my mouth, savoring the strawberry sweetness spreading through my mouth.

Opening my eyes again and letting my gaze travel from Yajû over the flower in her hands, the moonlight on the ground and the silver shards that were my bullets, stuck in the ground after Yuuka had deflected them, that reflected the moonlight now, and finally up to the large window above us, the full moon hanging in the starry sky, I let out a deep sigh.

"You know, Yajû..." I whispered, finally turning the Angel of Death's attention back to me, "You were right. It's a beautiful sight... Thanks for waking me."

As reply, Yajû looked with a blank expression at me for a few seconds - And then made a gum bubble, popping said chewing gum a second later.

I giggled a little in return.

I don't know why, but my bold, adventurous half-sister always manages to pull me into such interesting events... And I can't stay mad at her, even if I was angry because she had woken me up in the middle of a lucid dream... I could have these each and every day - But enjoying such a moment with my half-sister wasn't going to happen every single day...

And I wasn't going to meet people like Yuuka because of that.

Maybe having my own rival already wasn't that bad... Maybe that would help me to get over my shyness - Until now, I hadn't backed off a single time when fighting with Yuuka, a stranger to me, like that.

And I certainly wouldn't start doing so now - She was a bully, and I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of being just another victim. Next time I'd see her, we'd fight - And for Hina's sake, I'd win!

But until then... We, meaning Yajû and me, should enjoy the moment we have.

---

Hours later, the morning of the battle has come...

Chôzen's PoV

"Hey, Chô..." began Nanatsu, frowning lightly at me as I reached for the doorhandle. I stopped and turned to her, raising an eyebrow at her and Rumia, both of them frowning at me.

"Yes?" I asked, before completing the movement and opening the door to the Scarlet Devil Lounge, immediately attracting the attention of the occupants, especially as Yajû entered the Lounge first, grinning at the sight of Toki next to Meiling.

The Lounge was pretty crowded today, with Remilia and Satori sitting in their respective thrones, Meiling and Toki – now with Yajû – standing on the other side of the room with their backs leaned against the wall, Sakuya and Rin standing by Flandre and Koishi respectively and brushing the younger sisters hair, and finally Patchouli and Koakuma sitting in the alcove with Yûgure.

"Could you perhaps say something? About how you feel about this all, I mean? You've been awfully quiet all morning..." muttered my first wife, following Yume with her gaze as our daughter slipped past her into the lobby, immediately attracting the attention of Yûgure. One warning glare from me, though, and a chuckle from the succubus, and she turned away from Yume.

"What is there to say?" I groaned, not really comfortable with the topic of the fight. It was still early in the morning, and the fight wouldn't start for another half an hour. That gave us just enough time for a small visit to the Scarlet Devil Lounge, a visit that I had asked for.

"I understand your notion, dear brother, but I'd rather have you voice your thoughts as well..." commented Remilia from where she sat in her throne, "And good morning to you, as well."

I rolled my eyes at the sarcastic comment of the vampire due to my lack of a proper greeting, and voiced my own, albeit grumpy, greeting.

"He's a mess inside again. In conflict with himself. One side of him wants this fight badly, and the other is cautious, not wanting to battle Mima again, fearing he might hurt her or drive her away, destroying the friendly rivalry that they have build up." spoke Satori in a monotone voice, before smiling to herself and averting her third eye.

I sent her a mean glare, which she accepted with a chuckle, and then groaned.

"Yeah, what she said. Look, I'm really not sure about all of this... Fighting Mima back then was easy, she was evil, and we were going to save Gensokyo. But that changed after that, and I'm not even sure what the relationship in between Mima and me is. It is easy to get riled up and letting off steam by challenging her, but anything after that is... Complicated." I explained, walking over to the alcove that Patchouli and Koakuma sat in, and flopped down on the bench as well.

"You sound and look like a grumpy, sulking kid, you know?" commented Rumia, before quickly turning away and smirking to herself as she saw my glare.

"Shut up." I snarled, before leaning my head back and crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"Shall I make you feel better?" offered Koakuma from directly to my right, a mischievous tone in her voice. When I didn't play her little game with her, though, and just gestured her to stop it, she just harrumphed and pouted.

"I bet it won't be as complicating anymore once you'll face Mima on the battlefield." muttered Rumia, too engrossed in looking through the window down at the arena, deep in thought herself.

"There's the next problem... We don't know what Mima is up to, and how strong she has become during our absence. Surely, she must have trained... She must have waited for this day, another chance to fight me." I counter, "Twenty years have passed since I last fought Mima, Rumia... And now, I have to take my weapon up again and fight against her another time."

"Where's the problem, then?" exclaimed Rumia to my surprise, turning to me and the others, "It's just like back then if that's true, isn't it? Back then, we didn't really know what Mima was up to as well, or how strong she really was. We hadn't really fought against her before, and yet you had to pick up your weapon and fight her."

This statement caused an interesting thing to happen in the Scarlet Devil Lounge, as everyone shared short glances and muttered something incoherent, wondering how Rumia had just accessed the situation that way.

"Look, what I'm saying is... Mima may see this as her chance to fight you again, but I've got the feeling that she's looking at it like she's been looking at it twenty years ago. Maybe not with the same kind of hatred she felt back then, but she's going to compare the situation to the one back then, and she is sure as hell not going to make the same mistake that Yukari did. Mima knows that you've got stronger." reasoned Rumia, nodding to herself.

"In fact, that will be what she hopes for. Chôzen, Mima is testing herself against you. She knows that she can go all out when it's you, and you know it's the same way the other way around. You know she has become stronger, and she knows you have become stronger as well. And today, you two are going to test yourself against one another, a silent promise that you've made twenty years ago." she added, before turning to Nanatsu, knowing that I understood her message.

"That makes me wonder... Who are we gonna fight, 'natsu? Back then, it was the two of us against Yuuka, but now, Shinki's on their team as well... I mean, I know we two got stronger as well, but so did Yuuka, without a doubt. It's going to be complicated... Are we going to take them on two-on-two or one-on-one? And if it's the latter one, who is going to fight against whom?" asked the Angel of Death, frowning at the Shinigami.

"Well... That's a good question..." muttered Nanatsu, blinking, "I guess it'll depend on how they are going to handle things. To be honest, we can't really force them to fight us either way, since they can always do something against it. So I guess we two will just have to wait and see what plan they have in that regard. We know only one thing about this fight: Mima is, without a doubt, going to fight against Chôzen. She will have it no other way. If it were anyone else, I'd take into account that they'd not fight who we expect them to on purpose... But it is Mima, and she'll not miss this chance, no matter how cunning she is."

"I'd say you should play it defensive at first, just to see if Yuuka and Shinki are going to fight you as a team, or on their own." suggested the pink-haired male from the other side of the room, looking at us over Yajû's head. He turned to Meiling, but the Dragon Youkai merely nodded, agreeing with him.

"It would be the best thing to do." I agreed, glancing at Nanatsu and Rumia. And Toki was right. Mima and Yuuka were each cunning on their own, so to see if they had come up with some kind of plan, we all – well, maybe except me, since Mima and I would probably go full offensive right away – would have to play it defensive at first.

"You should also not underestimate Mima's raw power..." came the silent voice of Patchouli Knowledge from the alcove behind me, "I've seen her magic, and it's power has increased during the last twenty years. She has come up with strategies and spells that have only one purpose: To counter your abilities, and defeat you, Chôzen."

I turned around and locked gazes with the sorceress, then nodded. I had figured that much myself. It was obvious that Mima, who without a doubt would have looked forward to fight me again one day, would have prepared for that event.

"All in all, you should be careful." summarized Sakuya eventually, speaking up for the first time that morning, "Mima is not an opponent to underestimate. We all saw that twenty years ago."

She gently brushed through Flandre's hair for a last time, before she took back two steps and bowed, indicating that she was done with the younger vampire's hair. Flan jumped up from the chair she sat on, grinned at Koishi, who still wasn't done, and bounced off to where Yume stood by Nanatsu's side, starting a conversation with the shyer one of my daughters.

"I felt that first hand, you know?" I groaned towards Sakuya, suddenly feeling phantom pain all over my body, especially the area where my spleen was supposed to be. Everyone around me had a hard time holding back their giggles and laughter as they saw me rub the area where my spleen was, having heard the supposedly 'funny' story from Eirin. I rolled my eyes at that.

"Where's Okuu, anyways?" I asked, eager to change the topic. I'd have enough of Mima for the rest of the morning, talking about it really didn't raise my mood.

"She's wasted." exclaimed Rin in an almost happy manner, "Your party in the infirmary yesterday was too much for her! She's such a birdbrain sometimes, she forgot all the time that she had already had more than enough sake and kept drinking!"

I rolled my eyes again. Great... That party really wasn't the smartest thing to do, seeing as I had that fight against Mima the following day. Then again, I had known that I was going to be right in time, my negation ability eventually taking care of my intoxication.

Makes me wonder if Mima was alright after the party in the infirmary... Or if she was just as wasted as Utsuho. Mima wasn't exactly known for holding back on a party... Part of me hopes that she was intoxicated, thus making the slowly approaching fight easier. Then again, it would also make the fight way more boring... Mima should be able to fight back, at least.

Wait... She was there in the infirmary yesterday, right?

...I'm not so sure anymore.

"Too bad." giggled Koishi, "She's going to miss all the fun. Everyone's real eager to see you three fight against Mima's team! Everyone's been looking forward to this fight more than for the finale, seeing as it is going to be dramatic and over the top! "

"That so?" asked Rumia.

"Yeah." replied Yûgure instead of Koishi, raising from her seat, "Anyways... Please excuse me, I should be going. I haven't quite decided on what to do with the battlefield yet, but I have a small idea of what I'm going to do... So I have to confirm that the battlefield has the right size and density."

We all watched in silence as the younger succubus left the room, no doubt swinging her hips like that on purpose. While it didn't get any result from me, nor Nanatsu and Rumia, and most occupants in the room, I found myself surprised at who it did affect.

Yume.

The shy daughter had averted her gaze, her face as red as a ruby. She was blushing madly, and had even pulled her collar up to hide part of her face, and with that, her blush.

I found myself surprised at this, seeing as Yûgure hadn't done this directly to her this time. Before I got the chance to ask her if Yûgure had done anything to her again while I wasn't looking, Flandre bounced, ever so energetically, over to me and lifted her right hand as she did so.

"Onii-sama! Did you see the fight yesterday? Did you see it?" she giggled. Seeing that finally did what the others had tried to, and had not managed to do - It disrupted my bad mood and immediately made me relax: Flandre, no matter how much time had passed - She was still childish and innocent deep down, no matter what had happened to her. And seeing that brightened my mood immediately.

"Yeah. Good job there, Flan!" I smiled, letting out a small sigh and shook my head at how easy it was for Flandre to change things.

"High five!" she exclaimed, slowing down a bit. I chuckled at the thought, but found myself complying, raising my bony hand for a high five.

"Uh... Flandre..." began Remi that moment, just as Flandre reached the final steps in between me and her, "You shouldn't do that, don't forget that you tend to accid..."

KABOOM!

What. did just. happen.

So there we were, Flandre made her final bounce, swung her hand forward and it met my bony hand and... Then, there was just smoke. Smoke, and a sharp ringing noise in my ears.

"What the hell was that?!" I heard Rumia scream from somewhere to my left. I could see the silhouette of my second wife against the smoke, waving her hands in an attempt to clear it - Only for Nanatsu to cry out in pain when Rumia accidentally hit her over the head.

"Is everyone alright?" I heard Sakuya in the distance, somewhere close to where I suspected Remi and Satori to be - Without a doubt, she had moved over there to shield her mistress and her mistress's wife.

"Everyone is okay over here." responded Meiling, "I managed to shield Yajû Gekido-Shisô and me with my Qi, but I fear Toki got caught in the explosion. Toki?"

Hearing no reply, the others around me groaned.

"Great, the one who could've helped us with this smoke got hit... Patche?" I heard Remilia from Sakuya's direction.

"I'm on it. Please bear with me while I prepare a wind spell." came Patchouli's reply from the alcove behind me, "Koakuma, please assist me. We shall create an orb of wind that will suck in and contain the smoke. I'll need some of your magic to properly keep maintain it, so please lend me some of it."

Hearing Koakuma move, I groaned and closed my eyes, raising my bony hand to rub the bridge of my nose - Only for it to never reach my face. Frowning, as my bony hand should've already met my face, I tried to look at it through all the smoke, only to find that the smoke was too dense.

"K-Koakuma!" shrieked Patchouli all of sudden, "Immediately retrieve your hand from my..."

"I'm sorry, Patchouli-sama, I thought that was your shoulder...!"

"Could you two get affectionate some other time, please?" I heard Rumia call, "Perhaps when the two of you are alone?"

"Rumia, no jokes now. Could someone explain what happened, instead?" I shouted into the smoke, not daring to move from my spot, fearing I might bump into something or someone. That usually led to embarrassing moments...

"Flandre..." I heard Remilia sigh. Come to think of it, Flandre hasn't been answering since the explosion...?

"Look, Flandre's ability changed a little, and even though she managed to overcome her insanity, and has better control of her abilities now, it isn't perfect..." began Remilia, "What I'm trying to say is... She kind of accidentally causes explosions once in a while when she touches something and isn't concentrating, especially when she's swinging her hands at great speed - Like for a high five."

I blinked. Wait... Was Remi really implying that Flandre tended to blow up things by accident? And that she just caused an explosion when we high fived...?

Wait!

I moved my right arm again, rose it until it should be in front of my chest. Lifting my left hand, I cautiously, fearing what I may - or rather, may not - find, extended it to the same spot... And eventually, touched my own, right upper arm. Gently tracing along it, I sled my left hand down on it, down to the elbow, down to where my wrist was, and where the flesh of the arm ended and revealed my black and bony hand... And almost began to cry when I noticed it.

"Remi..." I began, taking notice of how my voice sounded like I was going to cry any moment now, "...I think Flandre just blew my hand off."

I was met with silence.

It was gone. It was really gone, my right hand wasn't where it was supposed to be. Flandre had just blown my hand off!

"Patche, how long until the spell is done?" I heard Remilia ask eventually, apparently not too comfortable with the thought of a black bony hand lying around somewhere.

"Almost done. You may as well start looking for his hand, though." replied Patchouli behind me, obviously still flustered from the small accident with Koakuma.

"Well... We may as well." I heard Rumia reply in Remi's stead.

"I think I found it already... Oh, no, wait, that's just a fork on the table. Thought I had it, because it was thin and pointy." I heard Marisa, of all people, from the smoke.

"Marisa?" I groaned into the smoke.

"Yeah? Is that you, brother-in-law?" she called right back - Obviously enjoying herself.

"No, I'm Alice." I snorted, rolling my eyes.

"Well, might as well come over and snuggle then, showing ya lots of affection, my lil' doll~"

"Slut. Stop flirting with everybody."

"Love ya too, Gekido."

"Look, I'm not interested in picking a fight with you now, Marisa. I have enough challenge as it is with the upcoming fight with Mima - Which I'lll need my hand back for, by the way... The fight will soon start, and I can't fight at full power without my right hand!"

"Oh my god, Gekido, you really exploded..."

"Enjoying yourselves? Done? Good. Now stay quiet. I have to focus on this, unless you want me to accidentally create a space that sucks all oxygen from the room, resulting in a huge vacuum, that will either crush us all, suffocate us or make us all freeze to death." called Patchouli out, interrupting my small bantering with Marisa.

"When did you get in here, Marisa?" I sighed, coming to the conclusion that I might as well start a small chat while waiting for the smoke to vanish.

"About the second that Flan blew your hand off. Why?" shot Marisa back, her voice closer than before.

"A hand, huh? I was guessing it was a spleen that exploded... huh..." came a third voice from the location that I suspected the door to be.

"Eirin?!" I groaned, turning my head into the direction that I suspected the door to be.

"Yes? Don't you feel well?" inquired the pharmacist from the smoke.

"Great, now our random group is all here. Now we can all just enjoy this smoke together!" laughed Marisa loudly, obviously amused at all the chaos.

Okay, that was it. And Insanity seemed to agree with me. Feeling him force his way through, I waited for what was to come.

"I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill the fuck out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"

One.

Two.

"Found it!" I heard Sakuya exclaim, "Oh, wait, no, that's not it. That's one of my knives. And it's sticky with blood... I wonder who I hit? Accidentally of course. Marisa, are you still there?"

One.

Two.

"Eirin, please take Marisa to the infirmary once the smoke dissolves." I heard Sakuya giggle mischievously.

"Gladly. Because I didn't have enough work to do already with the drunk hell-raven and the other fighters from yesterday." I heard Eirin snort in sarcasm.

"Ew, I think I just stepped into the witch's blood..." I heard Koishi complain, and rolled my eyes. So much for things calming down.

"Ew as well... I just touched something warm and... Oh, hey, I think I found Toki. He's over here, knocked out... Either that, or he's quiet because he enjoyed my finger being up his nose just now." called Yajû through the thick smoke, sarcasm dripping from her voice, "Hm... Yep, that's definitely him. No tits."

"And I found Flandre. She's knocked out - Was thrown into the wall by the explosion, hit it too hard." added Meiling, her voice serious.

"D-Dad?" came Yume's quiet voice from behind me, "I found your... hand."

Raising an eyebrow and turning around, I immediately screamed at the sight - Way too girly, by the way.

"What was that?! Some girl is in trouble!" came Marisa's voice groggily from behind me, just from above the floor - Before a stabbing sound followed.

"Whoopsy Daisy, I just accidentally let my knife fall. Marisa, I hope it didn't hit you!" called out Sakyua in a playful tone - Needless to say, Marisa didn't respond. Now that she was a Youkai and way more durable, Sakuya really didn't hold back on her.

"You're making my work so much more fun, Sakuya Izayoi." snorted Eirin, obviously not as amused as her words implied her to be, "So, Gekido, why did you scream again?"

"Yume, what the hell is going on?!" I shrieked, unable to keep my shock inside at the sight of the two silver orbs that shone in the smoke before me, looking like some really creepy, freaky eyes - Because they were exactly that. Yume's eyes.

"I'm not sure... All I can tell you, Dad, is that I can see perfectly fine. I mean - It does look a little darker in here, but... I see you. I can see Toki. I can see Meiling standing next to Flandre, who is lying at the foot of a crumbled wall. I can see Yajû - By the way, stop harassing Toki, he's going to wake up any second now - and I can see Mom, Rumia, Remilia and Sakuya, even Eirin standing in the door, frowning at me like I'm something really interesting..." replied my daughter.

"Hey, Eirin, no experiments on my daughter, you got me?!" I heard Nanatsu shout, followed by a gruff noise from Eirin's general direction.

"Look, can someone finally do something about the smoke now?" sighed Rumia eventually, and I heard her move around uncomfortably.

"Done." came Patchouli's voice that moment. And true to her words, a soft breeze rushed through the Lounge that moment, and the smoke was sucked up into what eventually was revealed as a orb of green magic above Patchouli's head.

With the room finally clear of all smoke, I took a glance around and surveyed my surroundings. The occupants of the room were mostly the same, standing where they stood before Flan unleashed the chaos – With the addition of Marisa, lying to Sakuya's feet, and Eirin, standing in the door.

The lunar pharmacist let out a sigh when she spotted the bleeding, unconscious witch on the ground, before pushing herself off the doorframe and stepping into the room.

While she reached Marisa and picked the unconscious, still bleeding witch up, I accepted the bony hand from my older daughter's hands and quickly checked it for any damages. Unsurprisingly, it had none, and I could attach it to my bony wrist again – Simply by holding it close, letting the negative energy flowing through my arm do the rest.

I moved the bony hand experimentally, wriggled each finger – Of course, not just to flip Eirin off as she walked past me, why would I do something like that – and eventually came to the conclusion that it may as well have never been blown off.

Still good as new... Good as new a molten hand could be.

With Eirin dragging Marisa out of the room, I turned to the next interesting thing - Toki finally getting up from the ground, apparently wondering why his nose was bleeding. Looking back to what Yajû said, it was easy to figure out that she was responsible for that.

He excused himself and left the room while holding his bleeding nose, leaving the room in uncomfortable silence. Really no surprise with the quick turns of just moments before, which everyone apparently was still trying to process.

Since I had already given up on that, I just went on to the next thing on my mind.

"Yume..." I began, turning to my older daughter, just to find that her eyes had gone back to normal, not glowing at all. She cringed madly as I addressed her directly and pulled her back to reality from whatever train of thought she just had.

"Uh... Yeah, Dad?" she asked timidly, once again showing how much she disliked being the center of attraction. Seeing that, and how she probably really didn't know about the thing with her eyes just now, I sighed.

"Nothing, forget it." I dismissed, rubbing the back of my head with my left hand, turning my attention once more to the other occupants of the room. Remi and Satori had begun a small conversation of their own that I didn't want to intrude, and Koishi and Meiling had moved Flan to the table, sitting the unconscious vampire down in one of the chairs. And Patchy and Koakuma had just went back to their respective books.

Seeing as I had no desire to talk to Sakuya just then, and neither expose myself to the questions about the fight from Nanatsu and Rumia, I just decided on keeping quiet and wait the remaining time until the battle out.

Didn't even have to wait, as it turned out, though.

The door to the lounge opened up and revealed Toki, stepping back into the room in his...

Why was he wearing a black maid outfit?

"Chôzen Gekido's team is requested on the battlefield. They want to start." called out Toki with a surprisingly high voice compared to before, before bowing and making place. Sharing a short glance with Nanatsu and Rumia, the first worried and the latter one excited, I nodded and stretched my tired limbs for a last time, before making my way out of the Lounge with the two in tow.

"Good luck, dear brother." I heard Remi call out.

"Go kick their asses! You did that before, right?" followed Yajû quickly, pumping a fist into the air. With all due respect for her enthusiasm... I doubted that it would be as simple as twenty years ago. If you could call that simple, that was. The only thing that had really changed about that was, that it wasn't about Gensokyo's fate this time... And that Shinki was fighting with Mima this time.

"Don't get hurt..." muttered Yume quietly, fiddling with the hem of her dress.

"We'll make it." I chuckled, even though I wasn't so sure about that myself – After all, it was against Mima, Yuuka and Shinki this time.

Finally leaving the room, walking past Toki, I took a last glimpse at him – And seriously wondered if he had looked that feminine before.

"Maybe he's into crossdressing." echoed the ever so charming voice of my Flame-Soul in all it's seriousness – Which was next to none.

"Shut up. There's more important things than that right now. Focus on the fight with Mima! She's not a foe to be taken lightly! Be on your guard at any time, and watch out for whatever mean trick she has up her sleeve this time, Chôzen!" interrupted Insanity, making me sigh.

Yeah, that reminds me of how I just love having two voices inside my head, bickering all the time...

Glancing behind, I shortly considered asking Toki about his feminine appearance and the black maid's outfit to satisfy the Flame-Soul's curiosity – Only to spot him entering the Lounge, closing it behind him.

Seeing that, I let out another sigh, knowing that I didn't have any excuse now anymore to not focus on the fight ahead of me.

The moment that I left the corridor to the Scarlet Devil Lounge, thus being in the large hall that the arena was, I swung myself over the nearby fence and pushed myself off it, flying towards the battlefield in the center of it, not caring to even use the stairs, and was followed by Nanatsu and Rumia almost immediately.

I landed in a crouched position aside the battlefield after a small frontflip, just to show off a little bit. I wouldn't get to do that much in the fight against Mima – If anything, I was going to embarrass myself again, like I did on the party after the big fight against Mima twenty years ago.

Just when I rose from my crouched position, glaring over the edge of the battlefield at the entrance to the corridor that lay there, from where Mima's team would come any moment, something else caught my attention.

It was the suffocating smell of death lingering in the air, invading my nostrils. I didn't need another second to know who the smell belonged to, and why it was putting so much pressure on me. It was the suffocating smell of death that an evil spirit full of regrets emitted.

Like the evil spirit of someone that had drowned at the peek of it's life.

"Hello Murasa." I greeted, not turning around to face the sailor spirit that sat in the first row to my right with Nue and Mamizou.

"How's it goin', Gekido? Didn't see ye sorry ass in a while." chuckled Minamitsu Murasa, narrowing her eyes at me, a challenging smile gracing her lips.

"Good so far. How about yourself? How is everyone at the Myouren Temple doing?" I inquired, taking note of how Rumia and Nanatsu landed to my left, serious expressions on their faces.

"Fine. It's been pretty calm lately, even the landlubbers of Toyosatomimi no Miko have be'n calm and didn't pick a fight. It's a truce, ye could say. Not that I enjoy such a thing, I'd rather get in a fight with them, cannons blazin'."

The sinister snicker from Captain Minamitsu Murasa, who I had never been on good terms with, let me chuckle myself, but also wonder about how lively Murasa seemed for an evil spirit that died through drowning at the peak of it's life, thus full of regrets.

Unlike Mima, who was an evil spirit born from hatred, the smell of death that lingered around Murasa was almost suffocating, her regrets never having left her side, even though she had regained conscience through Byakuren.

It was that moment that green hair caught my attention, Mima rounding the corner of the corridor I had kept an eye on. Yuuka was right aside her, Shinki following the two of them with a big smile on her face, carrying no hint of the sinisterness that lay in Mima's and Yuuka's self-pleased smirks.

"Was nice talking to you, Murasa. We continue this another time, over a good battle." I huffed, rolling my shoulders, my attention now entirely focused on Mima.

"Whatever ye say. Ye still owe me a rematch, anyways." I heard Murasa snort, but that was the last thing I heard from her, my right foot on the first step up to the battlefield. On the other side of it, Mima had already floated up onto it, changing her ghost tail back to legs only after she had taken her spot.

Nanatsu quickly appeared to my left, and Rumia landed to my right after having jumped onto the battlefield, staring down Yuuka as the Flower Master of Four Seasons and Shinki took their spots next to Mima.

"Fancy meeting you here, Chôzen." snorted Mima, crossing her arms beneath her chest as she observed Yûgure coming up to us. For some reason, Mima grinned at Yûgure – Surprising her just as much as it surprised me.

What had Mima planned, and how did it involve Yûgure without her knowing?

"Yeah, whatever, Mima." I sighed, rolling my shoulders again, taking note of how my right shoulder was a little tense – Probably from the explosion earlier. Flandre really shouldn't have done that...

"Not in the mood for our usual banter?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow at me, a self-assured smirk on her lips.

"I bet I regret asking, but... Why are you so amused? Not a single doubt about winning or losing?" I sighed, before glancing at Nanatsu and Rumia again, just to see if they were ready for anything that may be thrown at us. Their expressions said everything, though – They were prepared.

"You'll see in a moment, Gekido. Where would be the fun in telling you just now? A little hint, though... I am prepared for this, and you'll not enjoy my little dance in the slightest." shot Mima back, nodding to herself.

"Dance?" repeated Nanatsu, having heard the sneer in Mima's voice as well during that word. Something about that word should not be good with the way Mima said it...

"We shouldn't tell everything just now." smiled Shinki, repeating Mima's words from before, "Just know that we won't be beaten as easy as Yukari's team was in the first round."

"If you can call that easy... After all, she had felt the need to cheat to make it even harder for us." huffed my second wife, the twitch of her right hand telling me that she was ready to summon Tyrfing the moment that the barriers would be up and the fight had officially started.

"I suppose she did..." admitted Mima, though that damn smirk wasn't leaving her lips, "In her words, though, she was just exploiting a few loopholes in the rules she made up."

"And let me guess – You'll be doing that as well?" I huffed. Now, don't get me wrong - It wasn't that I had that low of an opinion of Mima. Rather than that, it was that exploiting loopholes was something that felt natural when it came to thinking of Mima.

She was pretty mischievous, devious and, worst of all, actually thinking things through at an incredible speed - even in the midst of battle and several other parallel thought processes - before acting, unlike most of my rivals. This made Mima so much more of a dangerous opponent - One that would always do these things; thinking things through and exploiting weaknesses that others didn't notice; exploiting their own quick thinking and their ability to change their entire behavior on the spot.

And seeing Mima's smirk grow like mad, I knew I was right.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I wouldn't call it exploiting... I'd call it something that no one has thought of when making the rules, even Yukari didn't think of such a thing..." snickered the evil spirit, and her smirk began to irritate me more and more with every second that was passing.

"Uhm... Are the contestants ready?" asked Yûgure, for the first time unsure about what was going on as it seemed. I could see that she didn't like that, the feeling of not being in control. It wasn't that hard to see that Yûgure was someone dominant, someone that couldn't just accept a subordinate role to someone without secretly pulling the strings. So having her put into the position of someone about to be taken advantage of somehow was clearly irritating her, or at least throwing her off guard, leaving her vulnerable and helpless.

"For this fight, it was agreed by the judges and Yukari Yakumo to apply the spellcard rules. The dangers are too great, or something like that. I also have a small message for either team... 'No one cares if you object or not, you're going to use the spellcard rules'. Yakumo's words, not mine." muttered Yûgure, before raising her eyebrow again, "So are you ready?"

"Affirmative." smirked Mima, extending her right hand – I knew the motion. I knew what she'd do – The moment that the battle would start, she'd summon her crescent moon staff. Behind her, Yuuka pulled her pink parasol, and Shinki just smiled while hovering slightly over the ground.

A glance to my left revealed to me that Nanatsu had a determined expression on her face, her right hand over her shoulder, the hilt of Shi no Taizai already in her grip. We had talked about it, and came to the conclusion that she'd have to use both Senkoku, as well as Shi no Taizai and it's second form.

Rumia, on the other side of me, seemed to be excited as always when it came to a strong enemy, a fight that would get her adrenaline pumping through her veins. Like I had noticed before, she was about to summon Tyrfing – But her left hand was ready as well.

In this fight, there was no sense in holding back. Shi no Taizai, Senkoku, Alastor, Tyrfing and even Kaibutsu – and with that, Rumia's new fighting style of wielding a pistol and a sword at the same time – would come to use. Would have to come to use, if we wanted to have a chance against the powerful team that consisted of the powerful magician and evil spirit Mima, the sadistic powerhouse Yuuka, and the next-to-almighty goddess of Makai.

Mima's team had tricks up their sleeves - We had as well, hopefully able to counter theirs.

"We're ready as well." I eventually spoke, turning back to Mima and her teammates. Yûgure nodded, then slammed her hands down on the ground before her - But not without sending a last, confused and irritated frown at Mima.

Yeah, Yûgure knew that Mima was up to something as well, something that would somehow involve Yûgure.

The ground beneath my feet began to change, Yûgure quickly made her escape as to not get caught in the barriers and the battlefield. The barriers rose around us, glowing once – And before I knew, the fight I had awaited and feared for so long had begun.

~ Twenty years don't mean a thing! Music cue: Disaster: Day of Crisis - Main Theme ~

Everything happened incredibly fast that moment.

Nanatsu pulled Shi no Taizai and twirled it, the scythe with the black wooden hilt and the red blade spinning wildly in front of her. Immediately, the blade lost it's red color again and turned silver, a second blade appearing on the other side of the hilt, and a spearhead extending from the black hit upwards, right in between the blades.

At the same time, Rumia let out a maniacal laugh, the chains of bloodlust bursting forth from her heart and curling around her torso and down her right arm, to the point where it was attached to Tyrfing, which appeared in the Angel of Death's hand. Immediately, red veins began to curl up Rumia's forearm, pulsating as the red energy that Tyrfing's blade shone with flew through them.

I almost expected Kaibutsu to appear as well – But instead, merely it's spellcard materialized, which Rumia quickly slipped into one of her pockets, obviously waiting for the right moment to call onto it and surprise her opponent with a point-blank shot.

Meanwhile, I also called out to the blade of guilt, Alastor. I relaxed immediately upon feeling the heavy chains of guilt curling around my torso and my left arm. Alastor appeared within my awaiting hand, while my bony hand lit up in emerald flames. Much like Rumia was fighting with a sword and a pistol, I was fighting with a sword and a fist (or claw, if you wanted to call it that), after all.

Our enemies hadn't hesitated as well, though.

Yuuka had opened her parasol and leaned it onto her shoulder. While this was making it less of a threat, it did merely mean that Yuuka was yet to get serious, waiting for us to give her a reason to make her parasol – which was dangerous to begin with – Even more dangerous.

Shinki hadn't really pulled a weapon or anything – She remained hovering above the ground, but her eyes had gained a dangerous glint to them. One wrong move, and we'd feel the power of Makai crushing us.

Mima, however, had done exactly what I had suspected her to do: She had summoned her crescent moon staff, held it in front of her body like a staff and was staring past it, directly at me. Challenging me. Daring me to attack first. Neither of us acted.

And all of this happened while an orange wave rolled over the ground from the spot that Yûgure had touched it, changing the battlefield around us.

We all glanced around carefully without changing our positions when the battlefield had nearly completely changed, frowning at the large area that we stood in. It seemed to be some kind of graveyard by a cliff, with five large headstones behind Mima's team, the one in the middle elevated on some kind of altar or shrine, steps leading up to it.

A large hole was in the middle of this island-like cliff, a large abyss surrounding it, only a bridge connecting it with the barrier behind me and my team. The air smelled fresh, almost as if the graveyard we were on was on the side of a mountain - Kind of like the air on Youkai Mountain, but with a different smell lingering in it.

But with the way that the five headstones were arranged, and how they were the only ones, this made me think of the graveyard we were on as some kind of royal cemetery... (1)

"Don't attack." I hissed to my two wives the moment that I focused back on Mima, even though I knew they were smarter than that. Even Rumia knew that attacking Mima headfirst was not a smart thing to do – So even she kept her temper in check.

Who did attack first – Was me.

Was supposed to be me, according to our plan, at least.

Who really did attack first, though, was Mima.

"Twilight Fog Movement!" exclaimed the evil spirit, the tip of her crescent staff glowing in twilight suddenly, before her body dissolved into black and yellow smoke – That reappeared before me.

It happened way too fast, I didn't get the chance to guard myself, completely caught of guard. Mima appeared from the smoke in front of me, her fist impacting with my chest, exploding in the dark colors of twilight. Pain shot through my body as it was hurled backwards, my heels digging into the ground in an attempt to stop myself.

Mima disappeared in another cloud of twilight-colored smoke, reappearing where she had first vanished, exchanging a sinister smirk with Yuuka.

Seeing no reason to not continue with our plan, I pushed myself off the ground, emerald energy flowing through my feet. At incredible speed, I rushed towards Mima, going through the first step of our plan in my mind like it hadn't gone wrong already.

It was important, after all that we continued our plan, our first attempt at luring Mima and her team into exposing their tricks first. While Nanatsu was the most durable of us, I was more likely to adapt to a sudden change and avoid the danger that came with it, thus the reason why I was charging at Mima's team headfirst to "coax" them into acting.

But instead of forcing them to use a new trick, Mima reacted different than I had hoped.

She let me close in on her, Yuuka and Shinki not moving a single bit, before she sidestepped and let my slash with Alastor hit nothing but thin air. Her crescent staff suddenly slammed into my back, making me freeze up. She used that to twirl on the spot and slam the crescent staff at full speed into my stomach – Sending me flying right back towards where I had started my attack.

I landed painfully on my back, but managed to bounce off it and backflip, landing on my feet again.

"Dammit, our plan went wrong twice already! At least we do know Mima's new teleportation trick now, but that's not the kind of trick I wanted to see...! That's just one of many tricks, and nothing compared to what she's still holding back!" shot through my head as I got up from the ground, Alastor leaned onto my left shoulder, my right hand blazing in emerald energy again, which had stopped momentarily after me being hit twice.

"Yuuka, Shinki! Step one!" shouted Mima suddenly, and her two teammates took action almost immediately. Both swung down their hands, Yuuka closing her parasol and bringing it down. Vines burst forth from the ground and rolled towards Nanatsu in a straight wave, catching her off guard when they curled around her ankles and up her legs, pulling her down onto the ground.

"Nanatsu!" I hissed, seeing how we were failing badly already. It only got worse when I heard Rumia gasp in pain, being hit by a wave of Makai's light from Shinki that pushed her backwards. Both girls were unable to attack – I didn't take long to realize that it had been Mima's plan.

Especially when an orb of twilight energy collided with my chest and send me flying backwards as well. We weren't defeated yet, but unable to act – And that was, what Mima had really aimed for.

The moment that the three of us were all knocked back and unable to interfere, Mima rose both of her hands above her head, twilight energy lighting up in them. Yuuka and Shinki both seemed to be excited when that happened, making it obvious that we were about to see one of Mima's greater "Anti-Chôzen"-Spells.

"Step two!" exclaimed the evil spirit, before pushing her arms to the sides, "Let us prepare the dance of witches! Three magic circles!"

I cursed under my breath when I looked up, trying to move my body, but only got it to flinch. The twilight energy was moving over my body like lightning, paralyzing me, making me unable to move as it coursed through my veins. Damn it, Mima...!

That way, I was forced to watch as two huge, yellowish magic circles appeared around the evil spirit's hands, circling around them at insane speed. These two were suddenly pushed away from Mima, continuing their path until they impacted with the barrier that surrounded the battlefield – And attached to it, slowing down until they were spinning at a very low speed. Mima wasn't done, though, and pushed a hand behind her, summoning a third circle, which repeated the same as the other two.

But Mima wasn't nearly done yet.

"Step three! Twilight timer!" shouted Mima, letting go of her staff, which began to orbit around her, to slam her hands down onto the ground, "Sun seal!"

Immediately, a gigantic magic circle began to spread over the ground, a deep orange in color. It was the same magic circle that I had seen her use in the fight against Cirno's team, and thus, I knew how it would work.

The gigantic sun on the seal would slowly move over it and would slowly start to set. Once that would happen, the time around it would be changed to sunset, creating a large amount of twilight that would give Mima a power boost.

"...She really did plan this through. Immobilizing us to set things up for the real fight... But what is up with this 'dance of witches'? What is that supposed to be?!"

"Guessing from it's name... Nothing good."

"Geez, Insanity, how did you figure that out?"

"Well, maybe she just begins to dance and wants the right atmosphere for it?"

"Stay out of this!"

"Stay out of this!"

It was that moment that the twilight energy that held me back dissipated, and I didn't waste any time in getting up and rushing at Mima. While I did so, I threw an orb of negative energy at Yuuka, it's purpose to either hit or at least break the Flower Youkai's concentration. It fulfilled this purpose by forcing Yuuka to avoid, thus not being able to concentrate on the vines holding Nanatsu down, and giving her the chance to escape her prison.

Rumia had meanwhile gotten up as well again and moved over to Nanatsu, helping her up.

I, on the other hand, jumped over the sun seal directly at Mima. She sidestepped my vertical swipe with Alastor, leaned back when I swung my fist at her face, and grinned at me in a malicious way.

I immediately dismissed Alastor and charged my left hand up with negative energy as well, then swung my right fist at her face. She twirled her crescent staff and pushed my fist away, then blocked my other fist with her right hand clad in twilight energy to cancel the effects of the negative energy in my hand, before headbutting me.

I stumbled backwards, shortly disoriented, Mima's smirk invading my mind. I glared up at her, ready to jump at her again, but she slammed her staff down on the ground, releasing a shockwave of twilight energy that catapulted me vertically off the ground – Which Mima in return used to slam another twilight-charged fist into my stomach, sending me flying back yet again.

I hit the ground right in front of the bridge, bounced off it and landed on the bridge, sliding across it while trying to stop myself with my hands.

"Heads up!" I heard Yuuka snicker loudly, somewhere close to me. Looking up from my spot on the bridge, I found her jumping towards me – Parasol closed and held with it's sharp tip towards my face.

I rolled to the side, heard and felt her impacting with the bridge, causing it to shake violently and go into a kind of steep angle. Without a doubt, she had destroyed the pillars holding it up with the strength of her impact.

Before I even managed to get the chance to get up, Yuuka grinned diabolically down at me over her shoulder, before jumping up into the air again towards the end of the bridge that was directly at the barrier, turning in midair to face me and the island that the others were fighting on, her parasol held over her head like a hammer.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no!" shot through my head as I realized what she was about to do. My hands and feet sled over the stone as I tried to get up and get off the broken bridge as fast as possible.

I failed.

Yuuka slammed her parasol down on the end of the bridge, causing it to flip, catapulting me right off it. I screamed as I was thrown off the bridge, but the screams quickly subsided when I impacted with the barrier with my back first, sending a wave of pain through my body and forcing all air out of my lungs.

The Flower Youkai was cackling madly at the same time, especially when she appeared before me, flying, grabbing me by the collar. I was still trying to regain my breath when she twirled around and threw me back towards the island, causing yet another wave of pain at the next impact with solid matter.

"Damn it... The hell is going on?! We're losing badly! We didn't even get to land a hit on them until now!" I growled in my mind upon forcing myself up onto my feet, glaring around groggily. What a good thing that my body was used to all the pain from all the fights twenty years ago, giving me enough endurance to stand what I had been through.

Feeling someone push it's back against mine, I glared over my shoulder, only to spot Rumia's blonde hair.

"Things aren't looking so good, huh?" she growled, eyes focused on Nanatsu fighting Shinki. Not that she was doing better, though, but at least she and Shinki had yet to hit each other, avoiding each other's attacks.

"Not really... I've expected them to have become stronger, but not this much! And Mima has planned all of this through!" I growled – Only to freeze up in shock, realizing who I had forgotten to keep an eye on, my gaze darting around to find her.

"Rumia!" I roared, twirling my head around, "Where is Mima?!"

"Above, Gekido~!" cackled the evil spirit. I looked up, preparing to block any attack that might be incoming – But Mima just hovered there, grinning maliciously, her body radiating twilight energy.

"Yuuka! Shinki! It's time to start the real thing!" roared Mima, and her teammates immediately stopped what they were doing to jump off the ground and fly over to their team leader. I narrowed my eyes, but gestured Nanatsu to quickly come over to where I and Rumia stood.

But while she was still doing so, Mima finally revealed the trick up her sleeve, the one thing that she had been preparing.

"Step four!" shouted the evil spirit, extending her arms, the twilight energy around her glowing brighter than before, especially as the scary noise of a bell ringing echoed through the air – The twilight timer had fulfilled it's purpose already, the sun on the seal was setting, tinting the battlefield in an orange glow.

Mima was at her strongest now.

"Dance of witches ~ Walpurgisnacht!" called out Mima, the twilight energy that had gathered around her suddenly exploding outwards, before suddenly moving back towards Mima.

I stared with eyes wide and mouth open as Mima's six demon wings with glowing red lines extended from her back, and as the twilight energy took shape above Mima's head, becoming a gigantic halo made of black, orange and yellow light - Twilight energy.

A halo made of twilight.

The simple four words, as 'harmless' as they sounded – They summoned forth the real thing, turning the fight upside-down, making it even harder than it already was.

They did nothing.

Seemingly nothing.

For a moment, I just frowned at Mima, awaiting something to happen, especially when she and Yuuka had those diabolical smirks on their faces again that kept growing with each second...

"...It did work, didn't it, Mima?" asked Yuuka all of sudden, a moment of skepticism showing. Mima cringed, but smirked at Yuuka.

It did work, as I should find out a moment later.

The thing was – The change didn't happen in the battlefield, not immediately. Rather than that, the dance of witches affected three different spots outside of the battlefield...

~ Music fades out ~

---

Third Person PoV

Eirin looked up from her document upon hearing a patient behind her sit up. Turning around on her chair, frowning as she didn't expect anyone to get up, and wouldn't let anybody do that, she found that it was, off all people, Marisa.

"Marisa? Are you sure you should be doing this?" asked the lunar pharmacist with a sigh, rubbing her sore eyes with the thumb and the index finger of her right hand, "You lost quite a bit of blood, and even though you are a Youkai now, being stabbed by Sakuya Izayoi should not be taking lightly. I advice you best lie down again and..."

"Oooooh~ Marisa, teach me how to do that! I wanna have my eyes glowing that pretty as well~" slurred a drunk hellraven in a childish voice, causing Eirin to cringe and lower her hand to frown at her patients. Indeed, Utsuho Reiuji sat on her bed next to Marisa's, giggling to herself as she watched how Marisa's indifferent expression slowly changed, the corners of her mouth twitching up into what was finally a full-blown smirk.

The pharmacist stood up, her frown increasing, making sure to pick up the small flashlight on her way over to the witch.

"Marisa, is something wrong?" asked Eirin, her mind already working on what Utsuho Reiuji could be referring to - glowing eyes were not a trait of Marisa's.

The moment that she was close to the witch, though, she already saw what Utsuho had meant – Marisa's eyes were not their usual yellow, but glowing in the colors of twilight energy.

"I knew Miss Mima would need me sooner or later!" snickered Marisa all of sudden, new strength coursing through her. Before Eirin could do a thing, Marisa had already shot up and rushed past her, throwing the door open.

When Eirin finally turned around, confused as to what had happened, Marisa was long gone from the infirmary.

---

Alice cringed.

Her eyes kept focused on the battle that had seemingly come to a stop, Chôzen and Mima staring each other down. Slowly, though, she rose her gaze a little, focused it on the large yellow glowing sign of a broom that hovered over the battlefield.

Did nobody else see that? No one was looking at it, not the audience, not Chôzen, not Nanatsu, and not Rumia, even though the three of them should see it, right in between them and Mima's team.

For some reason, this sign awoke something within her. It was the need to go to the place of the sign, the feeling that someone was requesting her to help. Her help was needed, and it woke the feeling within her that she needed to help.

She glanced towards her sisters from Makai, who stood to her right, some leaning over the fence to get an even better view. None of them seemed to see the sign as well, none of them seemed to feel the need to reach it.

Noticing this, Alice let out a sigh and came to a conclusion.

"Alice?! What are you doing? Where are you going?!" asked Yuki in surprise, seeing her sister climb onto the fence, ready to drop into the story below.

"I... need to go somewhere. I need to help." muttered Alice, turning her gaze to her sisters, who were now all frowning at her.

"Going to help Chôzen? How are you...?" began Mai, but trailed off when Alice shook her head. The puppeteer didn't say anything else, though, didn't confirm, nor deny that she was going to help the walking enigma. Instead, she merely narrowed her eyes, gaining a stern expression, as she let her gaze remain on her sisters, even though she clearly felt the need to turn and run towards the battlefield.

"Alice... What is wrong with your eyes? They're glowing like the sunset of Gensokyo..." muttered Yumeko, raising an eyebrow at her upon spotting the change in color of Alice's eyes. Other than that, though, Alice looked and behaved the same.

Alice smiled as she heard this, knowing who was requesting her to help, and how she'd be able to help. She slowly turned her gaze away, nodded to herself, the smile not leaving her lips, even as she let her eyes rest on the sign in the middle of the battlefield, right above Mima and Chôzen, again.

"Don't worry about it. Just enjoy the battle, alright? I'll see you after the battle." she whispered, right before dropping over the fence. She landed in the story below, right in front of a flight of stairs, scaring the people around her, and began to descend it as quick as possible.

Someone needed her help.

A fellow magician was requesting her help.

---

WHAM!

The occupants of the Scarlet Devil Lounge froze as Patchouli Knowledge suddenly shot up from her seat in the alcove, slamming her book onto the table.

With wide eyes, shocked about something, she stared at the window and the battle that could be seen through it, the battle that she had not really paid any mind to before.

"Patche? Is something wrong?" asked Remilia, raising a delicate eyebrow at her old friend.

"Impossible..." whispered Patchouli, leaving the alcove and hurrying to the large window, staring at the sign only she could see – that only fellow magicians could see – with wide eyes.

"It's the dance of witches! I've... I've never seen it before, have only heard the myths about it, have only read about it... The cry of a witch for help... This magic... It hasn't been used in ages! Calling it forth requires incredible amounts of magic! Even I cannot do that!" rambled the bookworm in speed and shock unusual for her usual calm behavior.

"What are you saying, Patchouli...?" muttered Sakuya, too shocked to actually care about using a title with Patchouli's name.

The sorceress in question twirled around and stared bewildered at the other occupants of the Scarlet Devil Lounge.

"The dance of witches is an ancient ritual... It's supposed to be only a myth, a legend, nothing more! It is said that the dance of witches is a ritual that only the strongest witches and sorceresses - the highest witches and sorceresses of them all - have ever learned and been able to learn and perform, a ritual that allowed them to request the help of any witch or sorceress in their surroundings, drawing their attention towards them and allowing them to combine their magic into one." began Patchouli, before turning back to the window.

"To think that Mima doesn't only know how to initiate it, but that she has enough power to summon a dance of witches, and possibly even hold it up while it is being executed... The thought frightens, and yet excites me!" muttered the sorceress in lavender.

"If it drains so much magic power, wouldn't it be unwise for Mima to use it this early in the fight, seeing as it..." began Sakuya, only to be interrupted when Patchouli twirled around and glared at her.

"I never said it would drain magic power! You only need to possess the right amount of magic power to summon forth the dance of witches... It doesn't drain your magic at all." growled Patchouli, before suddenly turning to the door.

"Hey, wait, Patche, where do you think you are going?!" shouted Remilia the moment that she saw her friend being about to leave. Patchouli stopped shortly, her frown turning into a small grin.

"I cannot stop myself now, Remi. I need to be part of this dance of witches - It could very well be my only chance for it to happen! I need to experience this, I need to learn how it works, now that I know that it is real... And that aside, a fellow magician needs my help." whispered Patchouli.

Before anyone could do something about it, Patchouli had left the room, hurrying down the corridor to the arena.

"...Does this mean that Patchouli is going to do something to help Mima against Dad?" muttered Yajû after a few seconds, but got no response, only an insecure glance from Yume.

The Scarlet Devil Lounge lay in silence, everybody frowning at the door, before slowly turning back to the battlefield, unable to understand how such a small thing could change Patchouli's behavior. Only two occupants of the room were not frowning - Koakuma and Yûgure exchanged small, albeit satisfied grins after seeing their mistress like that.

---

Chôzen's PoV

"What's this about, Mima?" I called up to her, preparing myself for anything. My eyes darted around in a desperate attempt to find any sign that would give away what the so-called 'dance of witches' was, but found none. Nothing was out of the usual, nothing was different from before.

"You'll see in a moment, Gekido. Until then, I have to ask you to stay put and do nothing... You wouldn't want to ruin the tension and suspense, would you?" chuckled the evil spirit, smirking at me with madness in her eyes.

While Mima herself was calm and excited about this, I easily spotted Yuuka's eagerness to get back to beating the crap out of us – However, Mima was holding her back. Mima wasn't going to allow any mistake in this fight, I knew it just by looking at her and how the fight had progressed so far.

Mima had us right where she wanted us to be, I felt it. The fight had just begun, and we were already at her mercy. I don't know how she did it, but she managed to do what Yukari couldn't: She had somehow foreseen our behavior. Somehow, she had known how we were going to act, despite not knowing what had changed in the last twenty years.

"And what if I don't do that?" I called right back, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Then I'll have to ask you nicely again." she shot back – Just as I pushed myself off the ground and threw myself at her, hands blazing in emerald energy. Mima rose an eyebrow, but quickly pointed her crescent staff at me, the tip of the crescent moon atop it shrouded in dark energy.

Even though I crossed my arms to defend myself, the black lightning that shot forth hit my body with enough power to not only stop my advance towards Mima, but to actually throw me back into the ground below, eliciting moans of pains from my throat as I felt my forearms being burnt by the black lightning.

"Chô!" I heard Nanatsu gasp, but couldn't answer, cursing to myself as the twilight energy shot over my body in shape of black lightning once more, paralyzing me.

What was up with that?! It hadn't done that twenty years ago! Was this a new trick of Mima's as well?

"I told you I'd have to ask nicely." snickered Mima, waving her hand while doing her best at holding back her laughter. Seeing Rumia twirl towards Mima in response, I forced out a growl to get her attention, knowing it was up to me to prevent Rumia from making a mistake.

"Don't... do that! We don't know what she can do!" I managed to snarl, the paralyzing effect wearing off already. It took me a lot of strength to force it away and get up again, not once taking my eyes off Mima and her diabolic grin.

"The dance of witches is already summoned, you'll just have to wait a little longer, then we can fight for real." sighed Mima, her grin suddenly vanishing.

"What do you mean, Mima?" I heard Nanatsu ask, I myself not able to do so just now, still under the remaining effects of the twilight energy.

"Look, you should've noticed it... That I've planned this. That I've studied your characteristics to know how you'd move at the very beginning of our fight. I've been doing that for a while now, and then compared your characteristics from back then with those from your fight with Yukari's team... And, in your case, Chôzen, to what I saw of your fight against Kanako." replied the evil spirit, no hint of sadism on her face anymore.

Yuuka and Shinki were watching her intently, both smiling softly. Without a doubt, they knew what was going on. Even the impatient expression of Yuuka was entirely gone, much to my surprise.

"I've been doing that for a very important reason... I had to counter anything that you'd do at the beginning of this fight so I'd be able to summon the dance of witches... It's important, especially for me, that it would work." continued Mima, turning her gaze to our right. I followed it, past the magic circle on the barrier, and frowned when I spotted Marisa running down the stairs, right towards the battlefield.

"The dance of witches is incredibly powerful... Powerful enough to be forbidden for most magicians to use, save for a selected few. I myself shouldn't even have learned this, no one ever authorized me to... I did so, nonetheless. Why? Cause heck, I'm Mima!" The evil witch snorted at this, before turning to face us again.

"Now, are you three prepared for something no one is expecting?" whispered Mima, narrowing her eyes, "For the past to repeat itself?"

Before I could ask what she was referring to, the dance of witches went past the initiation process, beginning it's main phase. I spotted them, all three – Marisa, Alice, Patchouli – running towards the battlefield from different sides. I frowned at this, unsure why the three of them were running towards us – Until it was revealed to everyone. Until it shocked everyone.

Marisa, Patchouli and Alice reached the edge of the story they were in at the same time. They jumped at the same time. They hit the barrier at the same time, right in the middle of the respective magic circle on the barrier in front of them.

They broke through the barrier and entered the battlefield at the same time, sending sparks everywhere.

My mouth fell open at the display before me. I turned my head to face the judges, who were all frowning at the event that had taken place, Sly smirking instead, and Kanako Yasaka behind them with her mouth wide open and her right eyelid twitching.

That shouldn't have happened. The barrier around the battlefield, made by Kanako Yasaka, was supposed to no allow anything to pass it, neither from the inside nor the outside, was supposed to be strong enough to contain explosions from Utsuho, attacks from Flandre, even Mima's magic. The only thing able to break through should've been my negative energy when meant to negate the barrier – since that couldn't be prevented by anyone - and Yukari's gaps.

And now, Patchouli, Alice and Marisa had broken through it. So that was what the magic circles had been for... Their only purpose was to allow the three access to the battlefield!

"Miss Mima! I knew you'd need me sooner or later, ze! Now everything's just like in the old days when we still fought Reimu~" cackled Marisa to her mentor and adoptive mother, amusement obvious on her face.

"I don't know much about this, but I will do as requested. I'll help." sighed Alice, playfully hitting the shoulder of Marisa, before the two of them exchanged a small grin.

"A dance of witches... Prodigious! I don't know how you could obtain enough magic power, Mima, or how you even learned this... But I'll be doing as requested. Not to help you or anything, but to experience this on my own." huffed Patchouli, before the three magicians all turned to my team.

"Sorry." they spoke in chorus, before taking a few steps towards each other, creating a small circle.

I watched in confusion and yet shock, not yet fully having caught up with the events. Nanatsu and Rumia seemed just as confused, but didn't act as well. It was a good question that we were asking ourselves that moment, to be honest.. This turn of events was not foreseen, not stated in the rules...

Mima was right, it was something no one had thought of. It didn't break a rule, per se – It was never stated what would happen if someone were to enter the battlefield somehow, simply because it had seemed to be impossible. Until now.

Did this make Patchouli, Marisa and Alice our enemies as well? Were we allowed to hurt them?

"What is going on?" whispered Nanatsu, leaning closer to me. Rumia leaned closer as well, without a doubt trying to listen in on us. It was better if she did, actually. Not that it would help us now – We would have to come up with a new strategy as soon as we knew what the dance of witches would do. At that moment, we could only voice our thoughts and keep ready to jump out of the way in case that the dance of witches would somehow cause an attack.

"I don't know..." I muttered, clenching my hands to fists, "But I think we are about to experience a dance of witches."

"Aren't we going to stop it?" whispered Nanatsu uneasily, watching with worry as the three magicians rose their hands and pointed their palms ahead of them, their hands almost touching one another as the three began to move in a circle in almost dance-like movements.

"No. I want to see this... I don't think Mima is going to use the dance of witches to do defeat us. I think she has something else planned, something... I don't know. I don't think she is going to hurt us with the dance of witches, that is all." I replied, narrowing my eyes.

"You know what this reminds me of? The ritual of Complete Darkness. It's beginning to feel more and more like back then... And I don't like it a single bit." growled Rumia, her left hand sliding into her pocket, without a doubt to pull the spellcard that would summon Kaibutsu if necessary.

It was that moment that a bright blue orb of light appeared in between the three dancing magicians, eerie chants leaving their lips as their movements blended into one another, creating something that, without a doubt, really looked like a dance of witches...

~ The dance of witches! It's melody echoes around: Kimi no Museum – Witches Ball - Magus ~

I didn't need long to figure out what the orb in between the three magicians was. It was a collection of their respective magic, the three kinds of magic melting into one – Right underneath Mima.

A sudden ray of energy was projected upwards from the orb, but it parted and, looking much like a fountain, came raining down, forming an orb around the three dancing magicians.

"A shield... Well, that solves the problem whether or not we are supposed to attack them. That thing is made up from the magic of three powerful magicians, and it won't be penetrated by anything unless they run out of magic..." echoed my Flame-Soul's voice in my head.

"Believe it or not, but I don't think that your negative energy can do anything to that, Chôzen. There are some things that even the powers of annihilation can't do anything against... Not without enough strength put into them. And I doubt that you'd want me to interfere with that little dance." followed Insanity right after, and I confirmed his suspicions by shaking my head.

"What's going to happen now, Mima?" I called out, not taking my eyes off the dance of the three magicians. The Flame-Soul was by now orbiting my head in a nervous manner, and even I couldn't help but feel a slight bit of dread, fear of the unknown.

"Wait for it." was Mima's only reply, a soft expression on her face as she watched the dance. Her soft expression was illuminated in the glow of her twilight halo, giving her a surprisingly soft, harmless and even melancholic semblance.

"Chôzen, you can't be serious about that! It's Mima we're talking about! She's a deceiving, lying, backstabbing...!" growled Rumia, leaning closer to me. I saw Patchouli take a step towards the orb, closing her eyes as her chants grew more intense and began to differ from those of Marisa and Alice, her her hands began glowing in lavender as she continued her dance in closer proximity to the orb.

"Shut up, Rumia." I snarled, catching her off guard. I glanced at her, taking in her shocked expression, before turning back to Mima. "You are fooled by yourself. What you think of right now is the Mima from back then, the one that wanted nothing more than to avenge her being abandoned. I'm not saying that Mima has changed much... But she did have a change of heart. I saw it."

Images flashed before my inner eye, images of Mima and me standing in a nothingness of white with a greenish hue to it. Over the twenty years, I've had seen them a few times, images of this nothingness, me and Mima, even though I couldn't really tell when they had actually taken place – And yet I was sure that these were flashbacks, that the scene had been real.

Patchouli slowed her chants and opened her eyes, the lavender glow in her hands slowly dissolving. Her gaze didn't leave the orb, and yet she peeked over it at Marisa and Alice, sharing a short glance with it. Their chants were the same again both in volume and in words.

"Sure you did." chuckled Mima, before closing her eyes slowly, "Chôzen... Have you never asked yourself how our battle would've ended if... If I hadn't been how I had been back then? If I had been just as strong, but hadn't acted on mere need for personal vendetta?"

I rose an eyebrow at this, but didn't have to think. The thought had been there, the need to wonder how things would've ended if Mima and I had fought back then just for the need to fight – Without the whole chaos with the undead, without our hatred for one another. Just with all the powers we had gained for that final battle, with Nanatsu and Rumia on my side, and Yuuka on Mima's side.

"I would be lying if I said 'no'. Of course I have... Several times. Multiple scenarios formed themselves inside my head, lots of possibilities how..." I began, and frowned as Mima suddenly joined me, using the exact same words, our voices becoming a chorus, "...it could have ended, with my victory or my loss, or even in a draw. Who would've been the stronger one in such a fight?"

"So you too, huh?" I sighed after a few seconds of silence, the only response Mima's nod at first. We all watched as Alice repeated what Patchouli had done before, moving towards the orb in between her and the other two magicians, taking the lead in the dance of witches, her hands shrouded in light-blue magic.

"Of course I have. And I wish I could turn time back and just get the chance to undo my actions, now that I know that I've not been alone at all, now that I know that I was just telling myself that..." a heavy sigh left Mima's lips, "Would I change it if I could? Yes, definitely. I'd give anything to undo my faults."

"Look... I know that you didn't plan it to escalate like back then. I know that you tried to do what you thought was right... You only wanted to go down in history, you wanted to not be forgotten, Mima, and I sure as hell won't blame you for that." I replied with a sigh just as heavy, "I know that the guilt you feel is never going to vanish completely. Like I told you back then, the only thing you can do, rather than drown in guilt, is to earn your forgiveness."

"She's been doing that." intervened Yuuka immediately, not quite snapping but not quite happy either, "And I don't think that there is anyone left to feel a grudge towards Mima for what she has done. She showed how serious she's been about repaying everything."

"She sure's been!" added Shinki.

"And I expected no less." I chuckled, earning a chuckle from Mima as well, and soft glances from her teammates. Nanatsu nodded, agreeing with me - Only Rumia did not quite do anything, showing that she was still not trusting Mima. Not that I could blame her - But with time, she'd finally stop feeling that way towards Mima as well, I was quite sure of that.

The twilight timer suddenly rung again, it's haunting bell echoing through the battlefield.

~ Music fades out ~

"It is time. Chôzen, Nanatsu, Rumia..." whispered Mima, before gaining an almost apologetic expression, "I'm sorry."

She slowly sunk down to the ground, her teammates by her sides. Marisa had taken the lead in the dance of witches, her hands ablaze in yellow magic. Mima landed in behind the orb, putting the three dancing magicians between her and our team. The twilight timer rung again, indicating that the sunset had reached it's peak - When the timer would ring next, the sunset would be over, and Mima's powers would return to normal with the sunset being gone.

"I'm sorry that I will have to put you through all of this again. You may have moved on, but I've been stuck there. Twenty years have passed, but while I've continued to live my existence as a soul, I'm... I'm having nightmares. I'm having dreams. I'm having doubts." continued Mima, slowly nodding to herself - It wasn't hard to notice that she was holding back tears.

"I need to know this now, Chôzen. That's why I have prepared everything, why I have set up everything to be just like then. Now is the time that we can once more live through it, and that I can be pulled away from the vortex it has kept me in, drawing me back into it's depths over and over again." Mima slowly closed her eyes.

"Ignore the dance of witches... I merely needed that to momentarily gain enough power to counteract the terraforming of Yûgure. That's the only reason I've summoned the dance of witches - The moment that I've counteracted the terraforming magic and have replaced it, I will direct all the power that is generated by the dance into the new battlefield to keep it upright and keep Yûgure's magic at bay." she finally revealed.

"Wait! What's that supposed to mean?!" roared Nanatsu, having quickly realized what Mima was saying. I myself realized it as well, but the first question that came to my mind was why Mima would want to change the battlefield, other than in her favor, which made no sense. Mima would not go all the way up to this point just for a small advantage in her surroundings!

"It's now or never." growled Mima, not opening her eyes, but lifting her hands and her staff, "Magic repulsion!" She swung her hands outwards, the crescent moon staff glowing in an eerie green, releasing a shockwave, Mima it's epicenter.

The shockwave rolled over the ground at incredible speed, the ground around us peeling away, revealing the bare stone of the original battlefield once more. Immediately, though, Mima slammed her staff down onto the ground, resulting in another, twilight-colored shockwave, changing the battlefield again - This time, into a dusty ground, rock that slowly rose from the ground, lifting us higher and higher.

Blue lightning strikes shot forth from the orb that Marisa, Alice and Patchouli were in, still performing the dance of witches. The lightning struck the shockwave from Mima, which absorbed the magic offered to it, gaining the strength necessary to change the battlefield to Mima's whim.

It didn't take me two seconds to realize what Mima had meant all along when I saw the battlefield change.

There was a reason she had brought all of this up, a reason for all the questions - She really had meant it when she had said that she would do everything that she could to change the things from back then, to escape her nightmares, doubts and guilt.

With wide eyes, unable to think a straight thought, Nanatsu, Rumia and I, as well as the entirety of Gensokyo that was observing the fight, watched as the battlefield changed from Yûgure's choice, to the original battlefield and then...

Then to an exact replica, without a doubt directly from Mima's memory, of the cliff that our final battle had taken place on. Everything was just like back then, just before our battle had started. No destruction, that, without a doubt, was still present today at the real cliff.

I twirled around, suddenly overwhelmed by the change in our surroundings. Emotions flooded my mind, demanding too much of me at once, my mind unable to comprehend. Nanatsu and Rumia were turning wildly as well, Nanatsu with shock on her face, Rumia with clear distrust, a snarl upon her lips.

Slowly turning to Mima, I tried to say anything, but found myself unable to form a single word. The orb with the three dancing magicians inside had lifted off the ground at some point, now hovering above us, not getting in our way, and not in the way of my gaze. Mima, however, just shook her head, telling me that way that words should not be spoken now. Instead, she rose her right hand, balled to a fist. Both Yuuka and Shinki rose their gazes, their eyes glued to the fist of their team leader.

And as Mima opened her hand, Yuuka and Shinki shot forwards. I couldn't do a thing as they rushed past me, still unable to quite do a thing, still too shocked... Especially at how desperate Mima was. How desperate she was to not only fight us, but to also atone for her wrongs.

As Mima lowered her hand and lifted her crescent moon staff, holding it in front of her body as she stood in an offensive stance, I found myself once more in a desperate attempt to say anything - But failed.

Instead, Mima narrowed her eyes, lifted her staff higher and turned it so that the crescent moon was pointing at me.

And then, she pushed off the ground, and rushed right at me. And just for a second, the image of the fight from back then flashed in front of my inner eye...

CLANG!

---

Yume's PoV

For some reason, everyone in the Lounge had fallen into an uncomfortable silence, save for 'female'-Toki, Yûgure and that vampire girl that Lady Patchouli had called 'Airisu' the other day. Yajû stood at my side, frowning down at the battlefield - Before turning around to face Yûgure.

"Yo, Yûgure... Mind telling me what just happened?" inquired my bold sister in her usual bold and loud manner. My 'lover', as Yajû would put, even though there was not a single hint of desire inside me for the seductive girl, merely rose an eyebrow at my sister, before standing up from her spot in the alcove next to Koakuma, and walking over to us, joining us at the window.

"Mima has used Lady Patchouli's power, in conjunction to that of Marisa Kirisame and Miss Alice, after summoning forth the dance of witches, much like Lady Patchouli has mentioned before taking her leave." responded Yûgure in seriousness that was totally unlike her, "She has used this power to cancel my terraforming magic, replacing it with her own, to make the battlefield look like what I suspect to be..."

She trailed off and glanced over to Meiling, who merely nodded, confirming Yûgure's theory.

"Yes... That is the spot that Mima has fought Chôzen twenty years ago in the battle that decided Gensokyo's future." growled Meiling, narrowing her eyes, "We've expected everything from Mima... Everything but this. She must be way more serious about this fight than we thought..."

"As are you, as it seems..." I thought, silently surprised at the aggressive side of Meiling that I saw for the first time, "To believe that she can change like that... Until now, she has been such a cheery, good person. But there is something like that beneath...? Why is this enraging you so much, Meiling?"

"Makes this even more interesting!" snickered Yajû as she turned to the window again, "I wanna see this up close. Yume, you're coming with me, aren't you?"

I nodded, my decision made in just a second. It were our parents, after all, that fought down there. Seeing as this battle with Mima twenty years ago had been a very important step in their lives, I wanted to see the repeat of it up close, learning more about them. That aside, it would also allow me to see Mom's fighting style with her scythe...

A scythe. I really wanted one as well and thus wanted to learn how to handle one, even if I despised fighting. To possess your own scythe was a great honor for a Shinigami, it meant that you had earned your title and were working for a Yama. Being born as a member of the species Shinigami didn't give you the right to wield a scythe. Of course, it was your own decision if you wanted to wield one, but it was just that - Just a scythe, nothing special about it.

If you were to be hired by a Yama to work for it, though, it was something entirely different. The Yama would, as to seal the contract, give you your very own scythe, one forged and customized just for you, that would work with your abilities and enhance them. This meant that Komachi's scythe was enhancing her ability to manipulate distance, Minoue's scythe enhanced her ability to manipulate height...

Mom's scythe, however, was special. Shi no Taizai was special, even among the scythes of the Shinigami out there, simply for the fact that, other than enhancing it's owners abilities, it possessed it's own ability - The more the victim gave into the deadly sins, the sharper would it's cut be. Besides that, it was not forged specifically for Mom, but for the one with the title of "Nanatsu no Taizai", and it had already been in possession of the Circle of Yama for several thousands of years without anyone really knowing where it came from. So it was simply handed down to Mom - Because Mom was the one with the title of "Nanatsu no Taizai".

One day, I'd get my own scythe... I don't even know how to name it yet, or how it would affect my abilities - Especially if I really had a second one. I knew I would have to earn my right to wield a Shinigami's scythe first, Shikieiki Yamaxanadu would have to accept me as one of her Shinigami. While the chance that she would not do it was next to none, with my mother being one of her Shinigami already, I still would have to work hard for this.

I would have to prove my worth. And I was already given that challenge in shape of the task that Shikieiki had given us the day before.

"Remilia, we're going to take our leave! We'll be back later on!" called Yajû out, gaining a nod of approval from Remilia, before taking my arm and dragging me to the door to leave the Lounge.

"No one is going to force you to stay here. I can understand your desire to go out and see Gensokyo, with you first being here. When Flandre finally managed to overcome her own madness, she was really eager to get out of the mansion with Koishi and see Gensokyo as well. She had agreed to stay inside to prevent herself from hurting anyone before, but with that out of the way she really wanted to meet everyone, and there was no reason to deny her that wish." spoke Remilia with a soft smile, momentarily stopping Yajû, who was interested in what Remilia had to say.

"I advice you to stay inside the arena, though. There's not really someone out in Gensokyo aside some fairies, anyways, with the tournament taking place in here. Nearly everybody was invited..." continued Remilia, before suddenly gaining a thoughtful expression and turning to Sakuya, "Say, Sakuya... Did we invite Yuyuko and Youmu from the netherworld?"

"Along with the Poltergeist Sisters, the Prismriver Sisters. I believe I have spotted Yuyuko and her loyal swordswoman Youmu near the canteen of the arena last." replied Sakuya, bowing to her mistress.

"The arena has a canteen? Are you serious?" snorted Yajû, raising an eyebrow at our 'aunt'.

"It was originally meant for the combatants, but is open to the visitors during certain hours." replied Sakuya in her mistress stead, bowing to us now, "Milady was an important founder of this project. She spend a lot of her wealth into the construction of this arena, and with some money to spare and an unused corner of the building, it was decided upon building a bath and a canteen for the combatants, to grant them some luxury."

"Interesting." commented Yajû, crossing her arms in front of her chest and a smirk on her lips, "And probably pays off."

"Indeed it did." answered Sakuya for her mistress once more, before gaining somewhat of a thoughtful expression, "I believe that this human barkeeper that now is a judge approached us with the idea of adding a bar to the canteen yesterday, but we decided against that, not wanting to risk some of the fighters getting unnecessarily drunk... Which they did nonetheless, somehow."

She turned to Meiling, who was grinning sheepishly, scratching her chin uneasily.

"Well, Sly may or may have not something to do with that..." chuckled the gatekeeper sheepishly, "He may have asked Meira, who has been running his pub since he vanished all those years ago, to... 'bring some bottles in through another entrance than the main entrance'."

"She smuggled them in through a window?" huffed Sakuya with a pretty stern expression of disbelief.

"Maybe?" offered Meiling, thus admitting it.

"Since he vanished?" I pondered, more occupied about what Meiling had said about this 'Sly' we had met in Higan, "So they don't know that he was imprisoned?"

"Good luck with that, Meiling~" sniggered Yajû, waving towards the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, before pulling on my arm again, "Let's go, Yume, and leave them to their lil' lover's quarrel."

She stopped again, though, her grin widening as she did. She suddenly turned around, turning to the other occupants of the room again. I turned as well, frowning, unsure as to why she would do that when she was so determined on getting closer to the battlefield.

Doing that, I noticed a little detail that seemed off - Toki, unlike before, had chosen a spot next to Sakuya, rather than next to Meiling. That aside, her stance was different than before, which could have to do with her center of gravity being somewhere else.

Tell me what you want, but Toki had definitely changed gender. 'He' was a little smaller than before, his body had more curves, his hair was longer and he stood entirely different, putting more weight onto his left leg rather than standing in a steady stance. Several of his habits had changed slightly, like how he was tapping his hip impatiently with the index finger and ring finger of his left hand at the same time, rather than just with his index finger.

Did that come with his change of gender?

"Yo! Toki, ya wanna tag along?" snickered Yajû, waving her hand as if to encourage the 'guy' to join us in searching a better spot to watch the battle.

"To...? Do you mean me?" asked Toki, raising an eyebrow at us in a confused way. There was another thing I noticed now, namely how thin 'his' orange (Wait, wasn't it pink earlier?) eyebrows were, and that his voice had become higher, and yet stayed slightly deep. As he shifted his stance a little, amusement in his eyes, I found myself once more confused about his change into a female, as well as the sudden change in clothing, wearing a black maid outfit rather than the black outfit that resembled Meiling's dress so much.

Feeling uncomfortable of the idea of someone we didn't really know much about accompanying us, I leaned closer to Yajû and pulled on her sleeve a bit, which was enough to tell her what I wanted. She turned to me, the smirk still on her lips, but one eyebrow rose slowly.

"What? You feeling uncomfortable about him? Shall we take your lover Yûgure with us as well?" chuckled my half-sister - Loud enough for everyone in the Lounge. Loud enough for me to lose it in embarrassment.

"Yûgure is not my lover!" I roared - And was quickly rewarded by pale hands snaking around my waist from behind.

"We can change that, my little gothic angel. Wanna become lovers? I knew you were interested in me!" whispered Yûgure's sultry voice into my left ear, thick with lust, making me cringe madly.

"I'm not interested in you!" I whined, doing my best not to give into her - And the feelings that she could cause with her touch - again.

"Playing hard to get, are we? Well, we can take it slow and become friends with benefits first." giggled Yûgure - And I snapped upon feeling her left hand slowly tracing down my stomach towards a more... 'private' area.

Snapping out of the stupor I was about to fall into, I twirled around and pushed Yûgure away from me, all while also falling backwards and quickly hiding behind my sister. Leaning past her, I pointed accusingly at the succubus that had just fondled me... again!

"How the hell is that taking it slow...?! You stay the hell away from me!" I bellowed, for once not caring that I was attracting attention, "From day one, you've been doing nothing but molesting me!"

"Molesting?" asked Yûgure with a pout, "I am only showing my affection towards you, my little gothic angel!"

"Like hell you are! I don't need your perverse affection!" I shrieked, before quickly twirling around and pulling my sister with me, mind set on leaving the Scarlet Devil Lounge and get as much distance as possible between me and the perverted succubus, "You don't know anything about personal space!"

"I do not when it comes to you, my little gothic angel~!" I heard Yûgure shout behind me, but didn't think a single second about stopping and going back. That succubus didn't know about personal space, but I was eager to increase it towards her as far as possible.

Quickly leaving the corridor to the Lounge behind me, still dragging Yajû behind me by her collar, I found myself stomping through the large crowd that was following the battle down in the middle of the battlefield closely. My embarrassment, which had turned into anger, was slowly subsiding the more distance I put in between me and Yûgure, and so, I found myself slowing down, eventually coming to a stop just in front of a staircase, and glancing towards the battlefield as well.

Dad had blocked Mima's strike with his blade, Alastor, and was struggling against Mima. Sparks flew around them as the hilt of the staff with the crescent moon atop it ginded against the blade with the fangs at it's tip - Before Mima suddenly pulled away and swung her staff in a horizontal swipe, which Dad blocked with the back of his bone hand. A burst of negative energy from his bone hand knocked Mima's staff away, then he let go of Alastor and swung his left fist forward, encased in emerlad flames, hit Mima square in the face with it, sending her flying, her feet skidding on the ground, whirling up dust.

Mima almost knocked into Shinki, who was keeping Rumia at bay with attacks made of golden light, but was stopped when the woman I had heard of as the goddess of Makai rose a barrier of golden light in between her and Mima. Mima crashed into it - Or rather, seemed to be caught by it, not being hurt by the impact at all, just stopping in midair, before the barrier dissolved and released her. Mima charged right at Dad again, while Shinki turned once more to Rumia and released another barrier of golden light that rolled towards Rumia.

Mom was fighting against Yuuka Kazami at the same time, and seeing the two struggle against one another, their attacks equal in strength, I couldn't help but shudder and be reminded of my own encounters with the Flower Youkai. Over and over, Mom's Senkoku impacted with the parasol of the sadist, neither of them threatening to break under the pressure. Each time that their weapons impacted, enough pressure was released to whirl walls of dust up around them, and I swore I even saw the ground gaining the ocassional crack, threatening to collapse into a crater.

"Quite the battle, eh?" snorted Yajû, reminding me of her presence. I gasped when I realized that I was still holding her by the collar, and quickly released her, much to her amusement. She straightened her clothes, chuckled, and nodded towards the battlefield again.

"Your mother's using her new hammer... Not necessarily a mistake, seeing as she has more momentum with it that with her scythe, due to the greater weight. See how Yuuka is struggling? It's only faint, due to Yuuka's own huge resistance, but she's stumbling slightly whenever her parasol and your mother's Senkoku collide. So if your mother were somehow to increase the momentum of Senkoku even further, or somehow decrease Yuuka's resistance, she could actually break through Yuuka's defense and land some powerful blows." mused Yajû.

"Quite the analyst when it comes to weapons, huh?" I giggled, "Can't believe you're thinking something through. But there's a first for everything, right?"

My sister sent me a small glare at that, but eventually just resorted to roll her eyes at me and started to search through the pocket of the bleached jeans that she wore today.

"I can't fight on my own, but that doesn't mean that I can't be interested in weapons, does it?" muttered Yajû, and I heard bitterness at the beginning.

I knew how hard it was for her to be the only powerless member of a family that possessed incredible abilities. She had often admitted how much she'd desire to have an ability, even if it was something 'simple' like the incredible physical strength that Mom and I possessed - She admitted that she'd even be happy with something as weak as my ability to manipulate dreams if it meant that she had magic, and would be able to use bullets. She only wanted to not be left out, and I could understand that.

Sadly, she was left out. And it was the only thing that I had ever seen that could make my sister actually turn bitter and depressed.

"Right. I'm still amazed how you can analyze such a thing, but being ignorant to other things." I snorted nonetheless, knowing that it was best not to show that you felt sorry for her. If she hated one thing more than being powerless, it was if others pitied her for it - And I knew that it would make her even more furious if she was to pick a fight with someone with magic, who'd go easy on her because she didn't.

"Let's not talk about such crap and rather get closer to the battlefield. You wanna see that up close, right? Especially your mother's attacks." sighed my half-sister, knowing how much I desired to learn how to use a scythe in a fight, and my desire to possess my own scythe.

"Sure." I responded, not really eager to continue the conversation with the way it was going. Yajû nodded, then gestured to the staircase we stood in front of, turned to it, and began to descend it. I let out a small sigh, nodded to myself, and then slowly began to follow her.

She was already at the bottom before I had descended half of the stairs, with her taking two steps at once. She waited patiently for me, though, before descending the next flight of stairs, her intention to descend as far as necessary - necessary to get as close as possible to the battlefield, that was.

After moving down another two stories, Yajû didn't immediately go to the next flight of stairs, but moved to the fence to see if this was close enough. I followed her silently, avoiding it to bump into someone, using my relatively small height to slip past the larger people around me, other than Yajû, who had just pushed past them.

I've reached the fence as well and took the place to the left of Yajû. We had gotten pretty close now, but were still looking down on the battlefield. It wouldn't hurt to descend another story, I guess...

Just as I was about to turn around, I saw Mom getting hit by Yuuka's parasol. I cringed and turned back, my gaze now glued to the battle before me. Mom's face was distorted in pain as she got up from the ground after having been sent flying by Yuuka's attack. The Flower Youkai took aim with her parasol, rainbow-colored energy gathering at the front - But I never got to see what attack it would unleash into, as Mom suddenly twirled around and threw an orb of hellfire into it, forcing Yuuka to jump back as the rainbow-colored orb and the hellfire orb exploded violently upon meeting.

"Oh my, what do my eyes spot? Could that be Yume? Can't believe we run into each other again by coincidence this soon!"

I froze. That voice! That voice from behind me... The voice that said my name in such an amused, yet challenging way...!

Both Yajû and I twirled around at the same time, not even making an attempt at hiding our shock. Yes, even Yajû was shocked, perplexed even. How could she not be?

In front of us stood Yuuka.

But Yuuka was...?

I turned my head to look back at the battlefield, where Mom and Yuuka had engaged in another struggle of strength. But if Yuuka was fighting Mom like she was supposed to with the semi-finals taking place, then who was this before us, grinning at me like that?

"You're not..." I muttered, turning back to the green-haired sadist before me, her eyes scanning me curiously. No, she wasn't Yuuka... Yuuka was the woman fighting at Mima's side against my parents. She had to be, she was the one that had been introduced as Yuuka on the first day of the tournament, wearing the red plaid outfit... The 'Yuuka' before me was the one wearing the clothes from the outside, the simple white tank-top with a black flower design on it and a pair of light blue jeans.

This was not Yuuka. The one who had become my enemy and first rival ever was not Yuuka. The woman with the incredible physical strength, rivalling my own and that of Mom, was not Yuuka.

But if she was not Yuuka... Who was she then?

"I'm not what, lil' Yume?" snickered the green-haired woman, her hand slowly moving to the handle of her parasol, "Not going to fight you? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we agreed on that, and I'm not letting you of the hook easy!"

"No, you're not Yuuka!" growled Yajû in my stead, balling her fists, pointing behind her at the battlefield, where Yuuka was still fighting Mom.

The green-haired woman before us rose an eyebrow, but then let out an irritated huff.

"Of course not! You didn't really think I was Yuuka Kazami, did you?" she asked, but the expressions on our faces were enough of an answer for her, and she began to laugh cruelly, throwing her head back, her right hand at the height of her chin, not even hiding her mouth.

"Mistaking me for Yuuka! Can't believe someone really did that! Guess I really do look like her!" she managed to shout in between her cruel laughter, laughter that sent chills down my spine. Realizing how serious this situation had turned, I slowly moved into a stance I had seen countless times from Mom fighting against Dad or Rumia during their three weeks of training.

Yajû moved into a more agressive stance as well, one that slightly resembled that of Rumia, but wasn't copied from her like mine was copied from Mom - Even though I didn't have a weapon like her.

"Oh, getting in the mood, are we?" asked the green-haired woman, reaching for her parasol after all, pulling it and holding it like a mace, "So we're going to keep our promise after all and have a little fight for fun, right?"

"Who are you?!" I hissed, once more feeling my shy side slip away and being replaced by a stronger side, much like during my other encounters with this sadist that I had thought of as Yuuka.

"Who I am? Well, I'm clearly not Yuuka Kazami, as you can see..." laughed my rival, gesturing past me to the battlefield where Yuuka was fighting, "But who am I?"

"Change of rules." I growled and narrowed my eyes, my mind racing a hundred miles a second, trying to understand the situation I was in, "If you win, I'll tell you our last name and where I got my strength from..."

"Your last name? So you are sisters!" exclaimed my rival, in glee that she had found out something about us.

"...And if I win, you're not only going to stop bullying Hina Kirisame, but you're going to tell me who you are!" I continued, not fazed by her interjection.

"She's a shapeshifter..." growled Yajû all of sudden, her eyes holding incredible venom.

"Me? A shapeshifter?" inquired the green-haired woman, raising an eyebrow in amusement, a sadistic smirk of utter madness appearing on her face, distorting it's beauty, "Not bad, how did you figure that out?"

A shapeshifter?! I snapped my head back towards my rival, not quite believing what Yajû had just figured out. My rival was... A shapeshifter imitating Yuuka Kazami...!

For a second, Shikieiki Yamaxanadu's task came to my mind. She had told us of this conflict that she felt arising, a small danger that would happen in the ranks of the audience - Was this it? A shapeshifter, going to cause chaos by imitating the combatants...?!

"Yajû..." I growled under my breath, leaning closer to my sister, "I think we just found the source of the danger that Shikieiki-sama felt arising... That conflict, you know?"

"Oh joy. Now we just have to knock this shapeshifter out, unmask it, bring it to Shikieiki-sama, and then keep an eye on that judge Shikieiki-sama doesn't trust... That Sly." huffed Yajû in response, before nodding towards the fake Yuuka, telling me all I needed to know - It was time to fight, time to fulfill Shikieiki-sama's request of preventing this arising conflict.

"I feel that you've got your mind set on our fight now... Heh! Fine with me, I've been longing for this, anyways!" smirked the fake Yuuka, shifting her parasol a little in her right hand, holding her left, unoccupied hand like a claw. Her smirk grew even further, growing sadistic and mocking, challenging.

I took a deep breath, well knowing where this was going. I knew I dispised fighting - But it wasn't like I really had a choice in this. The fake Yuuka and I had agreed on this... A fight once we'd meet again, not for me, but for Hina Kirisame's sake. Also, I knew that I, despite hating the idea of fighting, would have to at least learn it sooner or later - If I was a Reaper-type Shinigami, like Mom, I would have to fight sooner or later.

Wanting a scythe didn't mean that I wanted or would have to fight with it - Ferryman-type Shinigami had scythes, but didn't have to use them for such a thing. Reaper-type Shinigami used their scythes to cut a being's life if it was at the end, and also could cut spirits with it - Ferryman-types could cut spirits as well, but it was not their job. An interesting thing was, that the scythes of Reaper-type Shinigami could cut living beings without hurting them - Their bodies, at least, as they could cut the soul.

One did not chose if he wanted to be a Reaper-type or a Ferryman-type Shinigami, it was decided for them. It lay in their very soul, and would come to show itself once the time was right in shape of a change in the Shinigami's aura. Even if you were born as a child of a Shinigami, it didn't mean that you were the same type of Shinigami as it.

So it could very well mean that I was a Reaper-type, like Mom was, or a Ferryman-type, like Komachi or Minoue...

Whatever I was, I'd have to learn to fight, would have to learn to at least accept that I couldn't completely avoid fights.

"Ready? Let's settle this with a spellcard battle!" shouted the fake Yuuka - Only to be stopped when I shook my head.

"I don't possess any spellcard yet." I growled, remembering what I've been told of spellcards.

"Not? Well, fine." huffed the fake Yuuka, even though she seemed to be annoyed, irritated by me not possessing a spellcard, "We'll still use the spellcard rules... Don't wanna kill you, after all, little Yume."

"Fine with me." I growled, before turning my gaze towards Yajû.

"Yajû... Stay out of this. This is my fight."

She nodded, knowing that it didn't only mean a lot that I was actually willing to fight, but because she knew to respect the need to fight a battle by yourself. And it just happened at this fight was going to be mine.

"Ready... Whoever you are." I muttered towards my rival, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Good." smirked the fake Yuuka, "Spellcard rules, initiated... No spellcards. No immunity."

~ Yume's first real fight! The shy daughter leaves the shadows of her family! Yume vs. ?: The Last Story - Evil Beasts ~

"No immunity?" I muttered, unsure what she meant with that. She rose an eyebrow for a second, but the grinned.

"No immunity... It means that, while attacks and physical harm can't cause death, we are not immune to physical harm. What I mean is... We can break each others bones, we can bleed, all that stuff... Should we be in a dangerous, maybe even lethal condition by the time that the battle ends, we will be healed to a certain degree. It's an additional optional rule to the spellcard battles, developed by Yukari Yakumo and Reimu Hakurei about fifteen years ago on behalf of the more violent fighters like Mima Kazami, Yuuka Kazami and Yuugi Hoshiguma, who enjoy fights like those." explained my opponent, before nodding to herself.

"I don't think I agree to this rule." I growled, baring my teeth - I really didn't enjoy the thought of my first fight, which I wasn't really fond of to begin with, being bloody, yet not lethal.

"Too bad, the rules are set now. You should've disagreed right after I declared them, then it would've worked." snorted the fake Yuuka in enjoyment, leaning a bit forwards.

"This is going to be grand, I can feel it!" laughed the fake Yuuka, her irritation making place for her sadistic amusement again. Before I could decide on how to act, with this being my first real fight ever, the fake Yuuka threw herself at me, her parasol swung in a wide arc from the left to the right at the height of my head.

With a shriek, I ducked, making her miss me by mere inches. Wind rushed past me, my hair shook, and the green-haired woman lost her balance through her own attack. I knew this left her wide open for any attack from my side - But I hesitated, still unsure, which was my mistake.

She used her own loss of balance to let her whole body fall to the right, rose her left fist and put her entire momentum in it - And punched me into the stomach, knocking all wind out of me. I heard a gasp leave my throat, wheezed before the wind was knocked out of my lungs - And was suddenly thrown high up into the air by the impact.

I heard Yajû shout something and the people around us scream and run, but my body felt numb and I didn't really hear anything, too focused on getting back on my feet, too focused on shutting the pain out. The fake Yuuka didn't let me. Her foot slammed down on my back when I had gotten up onto all fours, forcing my body to impact with the ground. It collapsed, created a huge crater around me, but luckily didn't break completely - It would've meant that I'd have to fall down an entire story.

"This is why I hate fighting..." I thought, wheezing as I tried to get up again, "The pain, the needless violence... How can anyone enjoy this? How can anyone enjoy being beaten around?!"

"I'm disappointed... " I heard the fake Yuuka's voice above me. "Shut up!"

"That was it already? This is the strength I thought of rivaling mine? That of Yuuka Kazami or Nanatsu no Taizai?" "I don't want to fight... I don't want this!"

"This is everything you've got, Yume?!" "Two blows and I'm out... I didn't even get the chance to fight back... She hit me just two times and I'm already on the ground, defeated..."

"Well, looks like I'm going to get to know your last name that easily. Tell me then, what is your last name, and how did you achieve this physical strength equal to that of Yuuka Kazami? Equal to that of me?" "Stop mocking me! Stop it! STOP!"

"To believe that I actually was afraid of you for a second when you stopped me from bullying Hina Kirisame... Ah, speaking of her, looks like I can just go back and bully her all I want... I wonder how she'll feel if she knows that her fate lay in your weak little hands, Yume. I bet she'll be...Eh?!"

My body had reacted on it's own. Despite my body hurting all over, I had somehow regained the strength to move - And had grabbed onto the fake Yuuka's ankle. My head shot up, I glared at the pale foot before me - And pulled on it, yanked on it.

The fake Yuuka gasped when I pulled her feet away, thus resulting in her falling backwards, hitting the ground with her rear and her back first, before hitting the back of her head onto the ground. New strength surged up within me and I got up on all fours, glared at her as she twisted and turned, holding the back of her head while letting out curses, swearing under her breath.

Not willing to abandon this chance again, I crawled over her, straddling her waist. She lowered her hands at this, disbelief in her eyes - Right before my right fist impacted with her face, twisting it to the side. I didn't stop, though, and swung my other fist, knocking her head into the other direction.

She tried to push me off with her own physical strength, tried to raise her upper body, but I laid my hands onto her shoulders and slammed it into the ground, creating another small crater. She cursed again, pain obvious in her eyes, but so was the blind fury. Her red eyes seemed to glow dangerously as she opened them again, struggling against my hold. I rewarded this with another push against her body, slamming her into the ground anew.

"Way to go, Yume! Catfight of the powerhouses!" cheered my half-sister, standing to the side. She was the only person that had remained close to us, the other people fleeing as our fight began, now putting more and more distance between us the more intense our fight became.

The fake Yuuka landed another hit into the side of my stomach, but it didn't throw me off her - I was still holding onto her shoulders, thus resulting in us being flipped over by the momentum. Not wanting to be beneath her, I jerked my own body into the direction that we were falling, increasing the momentum, and thus flipping us over twice instead of just once - And I was on top again.

We had landed in the first crater, the one that was the result of me being slammed into the ground. I reached back with my right hand, but the fake Yuuka caught my punch. When I pulled my hand back, I found myself unable to, her grip on my fist too strong. She began to increase the pressure on it, trying to squish is in her hand, making me hiss and growl. I swung my other fist, faster, hoping to get past her defense, but the shapeshifter just repeated the procedure and caught this punch as well.

Now being unable to use both of my hands, she had me. I was still on top of her, straddling her, allowing me more movement and giving me the advantage - But I couldn't attack as well.

That was what the fake Yuuka thought.

Acting on impulse, I pushed my entire weight against her the moment that she rose her upper body, slammed her torso back into the ground - And being in the largest, deepest crater made by our fight, the incredible pressure put onto it by my physical strength, did the rest.

The ground beneath us collapsed, and the two of us were in free fall for a few seconds. Surprised, we both let go of one another during our fall, tried to land safely, but failed.

I let out a scream of pain when my back impacted with the ground of the story below, my own scream and the pain drowning out the sound of the people around us screaming and running away, caught off guard by two girls falling through the story above them. The fake Yuuka hit the ground not too far from me, impacting with her face first, hissing as it bounced off the ground.

The moment that I managed to regain control and opened my eyes, Yajû dropped through the hole above me, landing just a few inches next to me.

"Yume, are you okay?!" she whispered in a worried tone, but was interrupted by me sitting up, growling to myself, pushing my pain into the back of my mind. Anger took over, let embarrassment and shyness fade, adrenaline pumping through my veins, numbing pain and drowning the reason out - It became just a tiny whisper in the back of my head, repeating over and over how much I despised fighting, but I paid it no mind anymore.

This wasn't about me, it was about Hina Kirisame, who I was fighting for, and Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, who I had promised to prevent the arising conflict before it got out of hand.

...Maybe that had gone wrong already, with me causing it to get out of hand by starting a rivalry and a fight with the being that had revealed itself to be a shapeshifter imitating Yuuka Kazami.

"I'm fine. Don't interfere with this...!" I snarled and rose to my feet, glaring at the fake Yuuka as she did the same, holding her bleeding nose - Without a doubt, it was broken, either by my punches before, or by the impact with the ground - and glaring at me.

"Not so loud now, are we?" I huffed, rolling my shoulders. It didn't do much, it eased the pain a little, but would only be temporarily. Still, despite me being angry, I found myself amused at the thought of me, the 'cute and shy little girl', beating the crap out of a taller foe.

The taller woman narrowed her eyes and reached for her parasol, only to find it missing from her side. We both glared left and right in an attempt to find it, knowing that it was a dangerous weapon. When neither of us could find it, though, at least I came to the conclusion that it was left in the story above.

The fake Yuuka didn't seemed to be worried by that, though, and instead turned to glare at me, anger in her eyes. It seemed that she wasn't really talkative during a fight - or she was just too furious to mock, taunt and tease me anymore - as she went right back into an offensive stance.

She waited for a second, then she rushed at me again. I raised my right hand and caught her left punch, but wasn't expecting her to be prepared for that. A blow from below into my stomach knocked the wind out of me and made me double over, a second punch from below - passing the arm that the fake Yuuka was holding in place - hitting my chin sent me upwards into the air.

Reflex alone made me lean backwards and thus backflip. I concentrated, and my flight kicked in, allowing me to remain in midair while summoning the silver shards that were my bullets into my awaiting hands. I swung my right hand, threw three shards in a vertical line at my opponent - three being the most I could summon in one hand - before swinging my other hand horizontally, throwing the other three shards horizontally.

The fake Yuuka managed to avoid these by dodging the vertical line, and then doing a surprisingly gracious cartwheel over the horizontal line.

"You're pretty good, little Yume. I think I may actually be serious about this... A little, at least." huffed the green-haired woman, narrowing her eyes a bit - And suddenly rose into the air as well.

She came right at me at speed I hadn't expected from her, and yet I managed to cross my arms in front of my chest, trapping her wrist in between mine when it came at me in a punch. She pulled her hand back, fell out of the air and onto the ground, only to quickly push off it again when I threw a new set of shards at her, all while I was moving backwards through the story along the fence.

I was caught off guard when the fake Yuuka suddenly turned around in midair, being upside-down, and falling towards the ceiling by using her power to fly. She landed on it on all fours, then rose her right hand and pointed it at me. I barely had the time to dive to the side as a powerful laser was released from it, but I managed and rolled across the ground, momentarily giving up on fighting in midair.

"You're making rookie mistakes, Yume!" hollered the voice of the fake Yuuka from right above me, making me turn my head so I could look up at her. She was now right above me, and I saw what she meant - I had moved towards her when I had avoided her laser.

Summoning new shards and throwing them at her, I hoped to force her to move away from me, but much to my shock, she just let go of the ceiling and fell right towards me, through my shards, not caring a single bit as the shards hit her.

She landed on the ground right in front of me in a handstand, but her right foot hit my right shoulder and made me cringe as it went numb, followed by her twirling on the spot and kicking my feet away. I landed on the ground, more pain shooting through my body... Enough pain for me to finally give up. I couldn't move anymore, couldn't stand up again. My right arm was numb, my legs hurt and trembled, I was breathing heavily.

I had lost my first fight ever.

~ Music trails off ~

"Argh... She really isn't Yuuka!" shot through my mind as I lay on the ground, "That... She fought like Yuuka Kazami is said to fight at first, but now she's moving entirely different! Mom told me that Yuuka is slow and powerful, her fighting style based on powerful blows meant to incapacitate the enemy... But this Yuuka, this fake... She's fast and agile. Just look at what she just pulled off!"

Suddenly grabbed by the back of my head on my hair, I let out a gasp and a shriek, especially when I was pulled up and had to struggle.

"You lasted longer than I thought... I even had a little fun here. You had me fooled at first, when you didn't get up after just two weak blows, I thought I had been worried for nothing and was getting paranoid. You have no idea how you surprised and worried me when you first showed me that you possess the same strength at me... For a moment, I was quite angry, with it being the first time that someone other than Yuuka Kazami gave me a slap on the wrist." chuckled the fake Yuuka into my ear.

"But after putting some distance between us, I came to like the idea of having someone just as strong as me, someone other than Yuuka Kazami. It's why I loved the idea of starting this little rivalry with you, Yume. I admit that I am a little disappointed...You could've lasted longer. But that's not important... What I really have to admit is, that it has been quite a while that someone forced me further than just a few hits, and that actually managed to corner me. You really had me there for a moment." she continued, nodding to herself.

Being too weak to struggle against her hold, I simply hung there, her hand on the back of my head the only thing that held me up.

"Still, you've lost. That means, that you've got to tell me your name now, the reason that you have this strength... And I get to have some more fun bullying Hina Kirisame." giggled the fake Yuuka softly, teasingly, "But I do have a heart, even if I don't seem like it. I have a small offer you, one that we both benefit from."

"We keep this little rivalry of ours alive... Same conditions. I'll leave as soon as I have your name and the reason for your strength, and the next time that we meet, I'm going to start another little fight with you. If you win it, I'll stop bullying Hina Kirisame. If I win, we just repeat the procedure, I'll leave, we meet again, then we fight. What do you say to this little proposition, Yume? What's your reply?" whispered my rival into my ear - But I couldn't answer. I was panting, was still trying to regain enough strength to reply, let alone stand on my own...

"Her reply?"

I felt the fake Yuuka cringe against my back. Her breath against my ear vanished, meaning she had turned her head to the source of the voice.

Which was Yajû.

"Her reply is, that she won't agree. Her conditions are different." growled Yajû. The fake Yuuka didn't do anything at first, apparently trying to understand what Yajû was trying to do or say, but then, I felt how I was moved. She threw me over her shoulder, which was at least more comfortable than dangling over the ground by your hair, and then carried me, carried me away from Yajû. For a second, I saw Yajû's face, found myself confused as to what she was getting at and frowned at her serious, desperate face.

What was she trying to do? What did she mean with my conditions being different?

The fake Yuuka suddenly pulled me off her shoulder and set me down on the ground, my back resting against the wall. She did so surprisingly soft, gracious and careful - almost as if I was a porcelain doll threatening to break if handled too rough - which was totally different from how she was behaving before and during her fight.

Did she have a soft side after all? Who was she, what was her real appearance, why had she taken Yuuka Kazami's shape, of all shapes available? Why was I sympathizing with her, if she did deceive me and others? Who was she to do something like that to me?

And why couldn't I hate her for the rough fight that we had, and the way she beat me around so cruelly?

"You're her sister, right? You can at least tell me that much... Actually, you could tell me the whole thing, with Yume here being unable to and owing me that with her loss... But it seems that we have to negotiate something before?" inquired the fake Yuuka, raising an eyebrow at my half-sister.

"Indeed we have... And I'm Yajû, like we told you tonight, and I am Yume's younger half-sister. That was you in the arena last night, right? You, and not Yuuka Kazami." growled my wild half-sister at my rival.

"It was me." confirmed the shapeshifting being in Yuuka's shape, before smiling at my half-sister in a wicked way, tilting her head a little, "Half-sisters then, huh? How interesting."

"It is."

"Now then, Yajû... Are you trying to tell me that you are going to negotiate the future of my little agreement with Yume? The one that she already lost?" sniggered the fake Yuuka sinisterly.

"I am... She can't, as you can see. But I'm not going to negotiate. I'm going to tell you how it will work now." snarled my enraged sister, balling her hands to fists, going into a battle stance.

Yajû... What are you trying to do? Don't do something foolish...

"Trying to tell me what to do? You've got guts, little girl. But you've got nothing to back it up, do you?" shot my rival back. She was less friendly to Yajû than she was to me, I heard that in her tone. It wasn't that she didn't like Yajû, but she also did not hold an ounce of respect for her. Why she held respect for me, in the first place, I didn't know. The only possible explanation was, that she respected my strength...

"Listen to me, whoever and whatever you are..." spoke Yajû in a slow, threatening tone, narrowing her eyes at the fake Yuuka, "Same conditions as before. You win, we're going to tell you what you want to know..."

Yajû trailed off, and I saw how the fake Yuuka's eyes lit up in amusement and interest.

Yajû... Don't tell me you're going to...

"...But this time, I will take Yume's place. And if I win, you'll stop bullying Hina Kirisame, and you'll tell us what and who you really are."

Yajû... No...

---

Nanatsu's PoV

~ While the daughters fight the fake Yuuka, Nanatsu deals with the real thing! Nanatsu vs. Yuuka: Pandora's Tower - Masters of Darkness / Master Theme 2 ~

A swipe from above forced me to shift Senkoku in my hands, using it's hilt to block the near parasol. Yuuka grinned at me as she pulled the parasol along my sledgehammer's hilt, trying to hit my fingers, but I used the pressure she put on Senkoku that was shifting to the lower end of the hilt to swing the other end up and push the pink menace away.

Yuuka lost balance and fell, but twirled to regain her footing while extending her parasol, trying to stab me from her twist. The sharp, spearhead-like end of the parasol hit the head of my hammer, though, and merely sled along it, creating sparks.

"You never disappoint, Nanatsu!" exclaimed the Flower Youkai, a sadistic smile on her lips, "Even though I must admit that I'd rather had fought Rumia... I still have a score to settle with her for stabbing me back then."

"It's all about that fight twenty years ago today, huh?" I huffed, using my strength to push Yuuka's parasol away, but didn't move in for an attack, as it was pointless without breaking Yuuka's defense, "I sense that you have no ill feelings towards us for it, and yet we repeat it?"

"Correct. It's mostly for Mima... But it's also fun, seeing as how it was our greatest fight, and our most important one. That aside, we're giving the people quite a show." sniggered Yuuka, moving in for another swipe, this one from the right.

I blocked it by turning Senkoku, the parasol bouncing off it's hilt. Yuuka wasn't fazed at all, instead swung her free hand at my face, which I dodged. Taking two steps further back, I avoided the next swipe, then moved in myself for an attack.

I missed, though, when Yuuka jumped back, causing the heavy hammer to impact with the ground in between us, making it collapse and turn into a large crater.

"So, while we are at it... How have you been doing in the last twenty years? We didn't really get to talk about that until now." mused the Flower Youkai.

"So how have your last twenty years been? Sharing your bed with one dolt is hard enough, I know that, believe me... Sharing it with two must be even harder, huh?" inquired Yuuka, avoiding two punches from me just by leaning backwards.

"Once you have one, another one doesn't make it harder. Besides, it never gets cold in winter." I replied, amused by our choice of topic, blocking a left hook from the powerful Youkai. With our strength and resistances being roughly the same, though, it didn't hurt or break through my defense.

"Guess so. Still, being the voice of reason isn't easy, right? You don't want to know how often I have to make sure Mima doesn't do anything stupid." she laughed, taking three steps towards me at once in an attempt to hit me with her parasol again.

"It sure isn't. Now, are we going to continue this little chit-chat or are we finally going to fight seriously?" I huffed, feeling that this conversation wasn't only distracting, but also going into a boring direction that was best saved for another time.

"Not in the mood, are we?" teased Yuuka – Only to finally get hit by one of my attacks, Senkoku's hilt slamming down on her right shoulder, momentarily throwing her off balance and making her hiss in pain.

"No. I'm in the mood for a fight. Let's talk about the boring stuff that happened after our great battle twenty years ago another time, and instead focus on the battle we are going to repeat. Mima's and Chôzen's exchange got me curious too, and I'm now interested as well how it would've ended if stuff hadn't gone down the drain before and while the battle." I admitted, grinning at Yuuka's face.

"Your two lovers seem to have rubbed off on you with their need for an adrenaline rush. You weren't one to be this serious about a fight all those years ago..." scoffed my opponent, but then merely shrugged and tilted her head a little.

Without another word, she went serious as well, pulling up her left hand and pushing Senkoku up in an attempt to throw me off balance. Instead of that happening, though, I let go off the sledgehammer and reached for Shi no Taizai on my back, drawing it and swinging it in a horizontal swipe at the height of Yuuka's abdomen.

She avoided by making a clumsy jump away from me, giving me more than enough time to catch Senkoku when it came falling from the sky, and putting Shi no Taizai back into it's place on my back.

I jumped towards her, Senkoku high above my head, ready to slam down on her. Yuuka blocked it and changed it's course with a swipe from her parasol, throwing me off balance. I landed in front of her, but was stumbling around, trying to regain my balance, which Yuuka used to land a powerful punch into my stomach.

Forced off the ground backwards, I managed to prevent myself from being thrown across the entire battlefield by shifting the center of my gravity to the back, thus making a backflip during which I pulled Shi no Taizai, and slamming one of it's two blades into the ground, using it to slow me down.

A deep cut in the ground was left back from my flight as I pulled my scythe from the ground, and strapped it onto my back once more.

"Senkoku is definitely the weapon I want to use in this fight... It's not as fast as Shi no Taizai, but it has the greater momentum and the potential to break through Yuuka's defense. Now I just have to catch her off guard somehow to break through... Then I can use Shi no Taizai."

Yuuka was waiting for me to come back at her at first, but when I didn't move again immediately, she chose to make me move – Using her famous Master Spark.

I fell into a sprint when Yuuka aimed her parasol at me, but not away or towards her, but to the side to keep my distance to her. The first Master Spark followed almost immediately after I began my sprint, a quick jump being the only thing to save me from getting burnt by it.

Landing on the ground after the jump, I turned and pushed a hand towards Yuuka, hellfire bursting forth in a powerful orb from my hand. Sadly, Yuuka didn't really care, and just deflected it with her parasol, before slamming her hand down on the ground, summoning the same vines that had caught me earlier.

Coating my body in hellfire, I was save from being caught this time – The vines didn't really like the heat that surrounded me, and quickly vanished inside the ground after trying to get a grip on me.

Still, they had only been a distraction.

Yuuka was suddenly next to me, the parasol stabbed into the ground aside her, a punch already aimed at my face. Swinging my left arm and letting go of Senkoku, the hammer standing on it's head with the hilt pointing upwards, I blocked the punch with my forearm, pushing it away from me. Yuuka immediately sent a hook from the other side at me, but I blocked that as well, before ducking quickly to avoid the hook from the other direction.

My hand found the hilt of Senkoku, and as I rose from my ducked position, I swung it at Yuuka's middle from the side. She hissed loudly as she sled on the ground, the momentum pushing her away from me.

She didn't get thrown off the ground, but her heels were digging into it, whirling up dust. Somehow, she had picked up her parasol while she sled past it, and opened it up to slow herself down.

The moment that she closed it, I was right in front of her, and delivered a good punch to her nose. She fell back and hissed, holding her nose while cursing under her breath.

"Not bad, Nanatsu. You didn't lose your touch." commented the being that was equal in strength to me and my daughter, "I guess it's true what they say... You don't forget how to fight if you know nothing but to fight."

"Guess so. We are fighters at heart, hm?" I shot back, earning nods of agreement from the Flower Youkai.

"It seems that the fighting spirit truly lies within the genes, though... The knowledge how to fight is given to the next in the line by genes, but the talent for it still lays dormant, in need of practice." whispered Yuuka, her gaze resting somewhere beyond me.

I rose an eyebrow, waited a few seconds in which I wondered if Yuuka was trying to deceive me, but when I was assured that she wouldn't attack me while I was turned away, I turned around myself, following her gaze.

What I found shocked me.

There, in the second story of the arena outside the nearly transparent barrier... Were Yajû and Yume, the latter one resting against the wall, bruises all over her body. And Yajû was staring down someone that looked suspiciously lot like... Yuuka?

"These are your daughters, right?" inquired the Yuuka I had been fighting, making me turn back to her.

"Yajû is Rumia's daughter..." I muttered, "The one against the wall is mine..."

"I figured as much. They radiate aura that isn't too different from that of Rumia or you." mused Yuuka as I turned back to her, her gaze resting on the conflict in the second story as well.

"Yuuka... If you're here with me... Who are they fighting?" I inquired cautiously, knowing that the obvious answers would not be to my liking.

"They are fighting... Her." murmured Yuuka, and I heard how her voice turned stern, full of disapproval, but not enough to be considered hatred, and yet there was something soft to it, hidden behind the obvious anger, "She must have seen something within them that attracts her, otherwise, she wouldn't be fighting them right now. She ignores people that she doesn't see as worthy, and doesn't agree to fight people unless they are incredibly strong... Like Yakumo, you and your lovers, Mima or me..."

"Seeing as how this feels like she was the one to challenge your daughter, it must mean she sees her as an equal... Never before has she challenged someone by herself..." she added, her hands balling into fists, "Your daughter must truly possess some kind of strength that makes her equal to... HER."

"Her? Who is she? Why does she look like you?" I inquired further, turning to glare at the conflict as well.

"I'd... I'd rather not talk about it right now. It is not that I am denying her existence, but it is much like our earlier conversation... It is something I'd rather like to talk about at a different time. Maybe I could even convince her to introduce herself to you properly." muttered Yuuka, closing her eyes and sighing, "Look, it's something you should rather talk to Mima about, and not me."

"So I'm guessing it is Mima's fault then that there is a second you running around? What is she? Like... Is she that Flower clone of yours, the one that you use for the Dual Spark, having come alive through of one Mima's crazy experiments? Or is she a clone at all?" I theorized.

"A... A clone? Well, not exactly... Let's just..." Yuuka trailed off, before letting out a loud groan, "Look, let's just save this for after the fight and have some more fun beating the crap out of each other. That woman that imitates me is not that much of a threat to your daughters... She likes to play with her 'prey', likes to make bets that either side can benefit from... Picking her fights only with those that she respects, she is never aiming for their death, knowing that she will not be able to enjoy another bet and fight against them again if she were to kill them."

"Fine with me... I won't ask more questions about the woman imitating you for the rest of the fight. But if Yume and Yajû are hurt by that thing that looks like you, I'm going to blame Mima." I sighed, pulling Senkoku up and going back into a fighting stance, as did Yuuka, "And what Chôzen did to Mima twenty years ago will pale in comparison to what I'll do to her when Yume gets hurt by something that she is to blame for. I won't spare Mima's life... I've lost a child before, but I won't lose a second one."

"So it's true what they say... Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned..." mused Yuuka mockingly, before nodding to herself, "Blaming Mima if they get hurt by the woman that looks like me? ...Fine with me."

~ Music fades out ~

---

Third Person PoV, Back with Yajû...

To say that she was nervous was an understatement, especially now that they had already declared the same spellcard rules as the fight earlier. While loving the thrill of battle as much as her parents did, the young Angel of Death was not foolish, and knew how weak she was - As much as she despised it. As such, the whole proposition she had made - the command she had given - was certainly dangerous.

She had done it on an impulse. Having seen her sister getting kicked around and getting beaten the crap out of, she knew how dangerous the fake Yuuka would be to her. Yume did have an ability, did possess magic, could create bullets, could fly, and could - even though she denied it and had never done so before - fight. And yet, this fake Yuuka had beaten the crap out of her.

To step in for her, daring to challenge the fake Yuuka, the need to defend her sister, had come entirely on impulse. And Yajû was already regretting her decision to challenge this powerhouse.

"You really want to do this? Are you sure that you want to take Yume's place in this agreement?" asked the fake Yuuka, suddenly going into a fighting stance, "You must be pretty strong then, even if I don't feel any magic coming from you. Could it be that you follow the same rule as the families of Scarlet and Komeiji? The younger sister is the stronger one?"

"I..." began the Angel of Death, but the fake Yuuka interrupted her.

"Either you're incredibly strong, or you're incredibly foolish." huffed the doppelganger of Yuuka Kazami, shortly leaving the stance, only to suddenly fall back into it.

"You know what? I usually don't fight weaklings, I don't even care for them other than bullying them... But for some reason, I feel different about you. Must be because of your sister's impression on me... I make an exception. I let you fight me, I accept the new conditions. But let me add something..." she added quickly, not allowing Yajû to say anything. The last sentence, however, did increase the sick feeling in the young Angel of Death's stomach, especially as the fake Flower Youkai lifted her left hand and pointed it at the older Gekido Sister.

"...Consider this your chance. I don't think that you have the strength necessary to beat me, I don't even think you'll stand as much as your sister did. But if you manage to somehow stand long enough for your sister to recover and resume her fight with me, I'll give her a second chance to fight me and make me stop bullying Hina Kirisame. But if you don't, you've lost your chance, and I'll win, after all." she finished, a sinister smirk upon her lips.

"Do you accept this, Yajû?" inquired the fake Flower Youkai, mockingly raising an eyebrow at the younger of the Gekido Sisters. For a moment, Yajû bared her teeth in a snarl, considering her options and chances. Here she was, given the chance that she wanted, given the chance to fight - But she had not wanted it like this.

She was forced into a corner. Her opponent was an overly powerful being that could possibly even shift it's shape at any time, even if it had not shown to do so until that moment. It had beaten Yume, her sister, who had until that day always been there to step in and defend her with her unnatural strength - And that without trying too hard.

It meant that Yajû herself did not stand a chance.

And yet, she had only one answer.

~ Yajû vs. ?! Music cue: The Last Story – Death Dance ~

Instead of replying, she let her fists answer the question of her sister's rival. Hoping to catch the fake Yuuka off guard, Yajû went in for an attack with the grace of a professional boxer, her fists raised to her chest, eyes focused on her target, moving in small jumps that alternated between left and right.

The fake Flower Youkai seemed to be surprised by the fast and fluid movements, but wasn't as open for an attack as Yajû had hoped. The moment that she reached her opponent and swung her right fist at her, the fake Yuuka blocked her strike effortlessly with her forearm, her gaze kept on the Angel of Death before her.

Fearing that she might be in for a world of hurt, Yajû reacted as she did during any fight she had ever had - be it with one of those snobby girls that had attended to the same school as her in the outside world, the annoying boys that had never allowed her to play soccer with them, the bullies that never stopped making fun of weaker girls and boys - and went into a fit of rage.

It felt like a deja-vué when she used her favorite and strongest combo, consisting of a flurry of punches and kicks that no one had ever been able to keep up with, save for her mother and her father during their occasional training, both Yume and Nanatsu too slow to keep up, and yet resistant enough to just take the beating without much harm.

And this fake Yuuka here wouldn't have the same resistance, would she?

The first hook connected with the fake Yuuka's side, if Yajû could trust the feeling of an impact. She didn't stop long enough to confirm it, and just swung her other hand forwards, hitting the Youkai at the height of her left shoulder with her open hand, using it to push off her opponent. Using the momentum, Yajû twirled on the spot, rose her left foot and slammed it into the fake Yuuka's side, making use of exactly the same momentum.

Pulling her leg back, she used it to push off the ground with her Youkai strength, thus catapulting herself up high enough to kick at the Youkai's sternum.

Only to have her ankle caught in a firm grip.

Now held in midair just by her foot, Yajû stared in shock at her opponent, who didn't look hurt at all - Why should she, having blocked each of Yajû's attacks with her forearms?

"That's quite some skill you've got there, Yajû..." muttered the fake Flower Youkai, her sick smile spreading across her entire face, "Your movements are quick, well coordinated and complimenting each other. But there is one thing lacking from them..."

Wind suddenly roared in the Angel of Death's ears, right before an incredible amount of pain shot through her body, the sound of stone cracking drowning out the wind. The fake Yuuka had just swung her into a wall!

"And it is strength. You could be a very powerful fighter, but you lack the physical strength for that. Your strength is average for a Youkai, maybe slightly above the norm. You'll be able to stand your ground against Fairies and weaker Youkai, but it's too weak to take on any Youkai that has some kind of other strength or ability!" laughed the green-haired woman, pulling Yajû away from the wall, only to slam her down on the ground.

"Normally, those who have average physical strength have some other ability, some kind of magic. Their advantage is another trait. Those who lack physical strength have magic, like Patchouli Knowledge. Those who are weak in magic or have magic that isn't made for fighting use weapons and their enhanced physical strength or speed, like Meira, or Momiji Inubashiri."

Yajû felt herself being picked up, but it was over already. Her body was not responding, numb. Lacking the resistance against this enormous strength like Yume did, as well as the endurance from being used to fights against equally powerful or even more powerful opponents, each hit had felt like at least fifty.

"You have neither. I cannot feel a single ounce of magic inside your body, you can't fly... You can't even play Danmaku. Your physical traits are average at most, your resistance is average, your endurance is average. The only thing great about you, Yajû, is your ego. Your ego, and your mouth." sighed the rival of Yume, letting go of the Angel of Death's ankle.

Lying on the ground, her whole body sore, Yajû could only silently admit defeat, cursing to herself in her mind that she had already lost. She was too weak. Too weak to even do as much as do harm to this rival of her sister. She would not have any luck in Gensokyo if what this fake Yuuka had said was true...

"Too bad that she bought me enough time to recover."

~ Music change: Persona 4 - I'll Face Myself -Battle- ~

The fake Yuuka frowned, turning away from Yajû over to her rival Yume, who had gotten up from the ground. She didn't seem entirely recovered, but at least enough to try to fight against her rival once more.

"Hm.. I never said she was useless, did I? It's like I said, she has quite some skill. She has potential. If she were to have some power, she may very well be able to be on terms with us. She just needs something to complete her fighting style... If she were to have some element to enhance her physical attacks, like Fujiwara no Mokou, or some magic to increase her physical abilities, like Byakuren Hijiri does, she could very well be a threat. But until she manages to gain this magic, weapon or whatever, she is just the average, powerless Youkai." commented the fake Yuuka, turning to face her rival.

When Yume didn't make an attempt at going into a stance that implied that she was ready to take on the doppelganger of Yuuka once more, however, she sighed and flicked her fingers. The former spellcard rules, the one applying to the fight of the fake Yuuka and the Angel of Death, were ended, their fight officially over.

Immediately, new strength filled the Angel of Death's body, the pain slowly becoming numb, yet not vanishing completely, much like the fake Yuuka had told them earlier. As much as she enjoyed the idea of the additional 'no immunity' rule with her loving physical fights, she hated it at that moment, silently telling herself to never accept it against an opponent that had several times her own physical strength again.

"Yajû... Rest for a bit. I'll take care of the rest now. Thank you." sighed the older Gekido Sister as her younger sister passed her, and Yajû nodded. After hearing what the Flower Youkai - that was what she was imitating at least - had said, she didn't quite feel as bad about her loss than before.

But she also had her mind set on something now.

"So... Looks like it's the two of us again. You don't look like you'll be able to take many of my hits... Are you sure you want to do this, Yume?" asked the sadist, raising an eyebrow at her rival.

"Then I just have to avoid getting hit by you, right? And yes, I've got my mind set on this now. I'll not let you bully Hina Kirisame more than you already have, and I won't let you hurt my sister again..." growled Yume, going back into her fighting stance.

"Screw this all... Screw timidness, screw holding back! She bullied Hina, and now she hurt my sister!" shot through the older Gekido Sister's mind, and she unconsciously narrowed her eyes at her rival. Reaching into the pocket of her black gothic lolita dress, she pulled out a lollipop and removed it's wrapping, before placing it inside her mouth. The taste of cherry filled her mouth, but the taste didn't matter to her at that moment, it was the lollipop that made her calm and collected, giving her a subconscious distraction.

"Sounds really heroic and stuff, but if you don't have something to back that up, Yume, then you'll..." began the shapeshifter, laughing to herself – Until the laugh remained stuck in her throat, all wind knocked out of her as Yume pounced on the taller woman.

Arms thrown around the taller woman's neck, Yume swung herself around her body and ended up on the fake Yuuka's back. Immediately, her rival tried to throw Yume off by swinging her right elbow back, but Yume let herself fall to the left, thus throwing her current ride off balance.

Snaking an arm around the green-haired woman's neck, Yume let herself fall backwards and put her entire weight into her fall. A shriek indicated that she had just achieved her goal – The fake Yuuka fell over, hitting the ground to Yume's feet.

Not making the mistake of allowing her opponent to recover, Yume summoned her mirror shard bullets and threw them at the taller woman from up close. Somehow, she still managed to avoid them and get back on her feet in a single movement, now directly in front of the black-haired Shinigami.

The first punch came from below and Yume never saw it coming. It hit her in the stomach, making her double over in pain, all wind knocked out of her lungs. The second punch, coming at her from the side, she somehow managed to block. But the third punch, coming from below and hitting her chin, sent her up into the air – Only for the fourth punch from above to knock her into the ground.

Hard.

She felt herself bouncing off it a few times, coming only to a stop when she was already hurting all over again. Of course, there was a reason for that, and she was well aware of it – She hadn't let the fake Yuuka declare the spellcard rules for their fight, and she wasn't sure herself about how to do it.

While she was sure that she had broken a finger on the impact, there was one thing that was not broken yet, and it was her will – Her will to get back at this imitating Youkai. The need for revenge, heck, even the need to fight was something unfamiliar to Yume.

Until that moment. Until she had begun the rivalry with this being that had at first seemed to be Yuuka Kazami, but had eventually turned out to be nothing but a mere copy, a being imitating the powerful Flower Youkai.

But, in all honesty, Yume didn't even care anymore who or what her rival was, as long as she'd get to fight her, and pay her back for what she had done to others.

With a new rush of adrenaline came new strength, and the Shinigami with the ability to manipulate dreams shot up, back towards her rival. The taller woman didn't seem to have suspected that, as she didn't get her arms up in time to defend herself, instead falling victim to Yume's next, actually quite powerful punch.

The punch connected with the fake Flower Youkai's chest, just below her sternum, and actually knocked all wind out of her. Her feet shortly left the ground when the raw power of the smaller girl's attack sent her flying backwards, then met it again in a desperate attempt to lower the velocity at which she was flying.

Eventually coming to a stop, the Yuuka Doppelganger let out a furious growl, even though she felt excitement on the inside, with it being the first time that her opponent had knocked all air out of her and had sent her flying. Deciding to no longer hold back, she unleashed a ghastly green glow around her hands as she stormed towards Yume, letting instincts guide her movements.

She knew better than to do so, but she felt like she could as well go berserk on her rival.

Laughing to herself, she swung her right fist in a hook at her opponent, not caring as Yume blocked it – Because she couldn't have blocked the second one, no matter how much she would've tried.

A fist, coated in ghastly green, went past the smaller girl's defense and knocked into the side of her head. Yume was swept off the ground, only to impact violently with the wall to the left of her. The right side of her face felt numb from the punch, and the left side of her body wasn't quite willing to respond.

She knew she'd be covered in bruises later on, and that her mother would scold her for foolishly going into a fight without setting up the spellcard rules before... But at least Yume could look back and think to herself that she had at least tried...

~ Music fades out ~

"Defeated already? How sad. But I've got to say, Yume, you really know to handle and utilize your strength. If it weren't for those rookie mistakes you make occasionally, you would've actually managed to cause me more problems than you already did. But then again, I may be the first real challenge you ever had when it comes to strength and resistance..." commented the green-haired woman, nodding to herself.

"How many fights against weaker foes have you fought? Sixty, seventy? You know how to handle your strength, but you're making rookie mistakes when it comes to opponents that have the same strength as you, or a similar fighting style." inquired the doppelganger then, raising an eyebrow.

"The fight against you..." growled the Shinigami with the powers to manipulate dreams, pulling herself out of the wall, glaring at her rival, "...was my first fight ever."

The taller woman's eyes widened as she tried to comprehend what she had just been told, trying to read the smaller girl's mind... And found herself frowning as she found no hint of a lie within the Shinigami's eyes.

"Your first fight...? Impossible! You're well aware of how much strength you possess and how to use it, you move with too much grace to not have fought before! Don't lie to me!" roared the doppelganger, taking two steps towards her rival, glaring at her. But Yume didn't hesitate or back off, not this time. She merely glared back.

Grabbing the Shinigami by the collar, the Youkai that imitated Yuuka Kazami pulled her up, staring into the silver, no, color-less eyes of Yume. And for some reason, she lost herself within them, stared into the depths before her... And found herself intrigued by the feeling of discomfort and fear that spread through her upon looking into these clear, crystal-like voids.

"Let go of Yume! You've done enough harm!" hissed another voice, reminding the fake Yuuka of the Angel of Death's presence. Yajû was standing to her left, hands balled to fists, glaring at the rival of her sister.

"And what will you do to stop me? You may have the potential, but you are lacking the powers to stop me. I wouldn't even have to try if I wanted to kill you. Like a match, I could crush you between my fingers. So unless you want that, you better not interfere while I am speaking to your sister... That move before in all honor, daring to step up to me and negotiate to take her place... But a second time is simply foolish. Do not get on my bad side..." growled the taller woman, a growl that came from the depths of her throat.

Yajû found herself hesitating for a moment, actually considering to indeed back up, but then allowed another impulse to guide her. Her right hand shot out, and laid around the fake Yuuka's left wrist. The tall woman turned her gaze away from the Shinigami she was still holding by the collar, glaring at Yajû with killing intent in her eyes.

"Didn't you listen, little girl? Let the strong ones settle this between them!" snarled the green-haired woman in a low, dangerous tone.

Yajû didn't need to be told that she was weak – She knew as much. Being the only person in a house of five powerful Youkai, Youkai with abilities she could only dream of, that did not possess anything but the natural, average strength of a Youkai, she knew that she was weak.

Having no ability, Yajû couldn't attack any other way than through physical combat. Throwing herself into battle, she'd always be forced to rely on punches, kicks and headbutts. And she didn't even possess more than average strength for a Youkai.

Weak. She was weak.

She didn't possess any magic inside her body. This meant that she couldn't create bullets. And she couldn't fly. Everyone could, even the dumb and weak fairies. She couldn't. She was weaker than a fairy when it came to magic.

Unable to fly, unable to use bullets – She couldn't even play Danmaku. Everyone in Gensokyo settled their small fights and conflicts with Danmaku.

Yajû would never be able to, being unable to use magic.

Maybe she could try and learn magic, like she had heard from her mother about Marisa. Marisa, a mere human, had learned magic.

...But Marisa had possessed a small amount of magic inside her body to begin with.

Yajû hadn't.

Yajû wasn't only virtually powerless in regards of magic, she was powerless.

Yajû was weak and powerless. Yajû was just Yajû, forced to hide in the shadow of her stronger sister when it came to fighting, who in return hid in her shadow from attention.

But Yajû would never be able to really do anything. She was the odd one, the freak of nature. And she hated it. She was sick of it. She was sick of being the odd one out, the powerless Yajû that had to be protected.

She was sick of people telling her to be careful, sick of people trying to protect her. She didn't want to be protected, she wanted to fight, wanted to have fun, wanted to experience the thrill of battle as well!

So who cared if she'd die one day in battle just because she didn't stand a chance? Who cared if she was weak? It wasn't the thing that bothered her, it was the thing that everyone just treated her like she was a fragile doll about to break!

She was sick of being the weak one!

"...Sick. Of. It."

The scream of a woman in pain broke the silence. Ghastly, dark-red light lit up, Yajû screamed and almost backed up in shock. Crimson and black danced around the wrist of the fake Yuuka and the hand of Yajû, the two of them stared into the ghastly smoke-like mess of colors that surrounded their hands.

The fake Yuuka was screaming her lungs out in pain, the killing intent in her eyes replaced by actual fear. She let go of Yume's collar, yanked her hand back, taking six steps back at once when she almost lost her balance.

Yume dropped unceremoniously to the ground, holding her neck, but also staring at her sister's hand, which was still enveloped in the colorful smoke-like mess. Yajû herself was staring right into it, her expression a mix of utter horror and curiosity.

The fake Yuuka, however, showed a feral snarl as she held her left wrist, the wrist that Yajû had held. It wasn't until both Yajû and Yume turned to her at the same time and looked at her wrist that the fake Yuuka did so herself, removing her hand to examine the damages done to it.

A large burn surrounded the entirety of the fake Yuuka's wrist, red and swollen, the skin around it pale and dead. Yajû was still looking at it when the smoke around her hand dissolved all of sudden, the light fading.

"What was that...?" snarled the fake Yuuka, one eye clenched shut in pain, "Shit, it hurts! What did you do to me?!"

Yajû, at loss for words, unsure herself about what she had just witnessed, just shook her head, trying to form a sentence that would actually make sense, trying to come up with an explanation. The Yuuka doppelganger didn't wait for that, though, and quickly took another two steps back, hissing and snarling in pain.

"This isn't over!" she roared, suddenly twirling around on the spot and rushing towards the direction of the infirmary, "Yume, I'll come back to claim my prize! I won, and we both know it! And when I'll do, I'll also deal with you, Yajû!"

The two sisters, still at loss for words and unable to comprehend the situation, could only watch as their strange acquaintance and rival rushed away from them, soon vanishing from their sight behind a corner.

And then, both turned to Yajû's hand again.

"What was that...?" whispered the Angel of Death, experimentally moving her fingers, unable to find any difference to before, however.

"I don't know... It couldn't possibly... That you do have an ability, after all? I mean... For a moment, I felt magic and... now it's gone again..." whispered Yume.

"No... No, that wasn't me... That... This light just now, this red and black... It... Yume, didn't you feel it? This feeling of... dread surrounding it? This power... It felt so malicious..." muttered Yajû, "No, that wasn't me. That can't have been me. Someone must have interfered, someone around here..."

She turned and glanced around, trying to spot someone who shone out, someone who was looking directly at them, someone who seemed to possess such malicious powers... But she was unable to, the arena was full of all kind of beings that could have as well done that. There were just too many...

But then, she spotted him. On the other side of the arena, looking at her rather than at the battle.

Directly at her.

It was him, that judge, the man they had met in Higan... Sly, that was the name he was known by, wasn't it? He was also the one that Shikieiki Yamaxanadu had told them to watch out for, the one that Shikieiki mistrusted, saying that he wouldn't do a thing as long as he was watched...

...Had he done that? Was he responsible for this glow around her hand?

...Could he have done such a thing over that huge distance in between them? He was on the other side of the arena!

"Yume... We best keep it to ourselves. What just happened, I mean." whispered the younger Gekido Sister, "I have the feeling that it is best that word doesn't spread about this..."

Yume didn't reply, but Yajû knew that she'd agree – maybe not without a second thought, but she would. Yajû herself, however, did not dare to break the eye contact with the judge... Not before he eventually did, his self-pleased smirk not dying down for a single second as he returned to watch the fight between Chôzen's team and Mima's team.

"Who was she, though..." muttered Yume eventually, and Yajû knew that she was referring to the fake Yuuka, even though she didn't turn to her sister, "...You probably didn't feel it, but I noticed it during my fight with her... She's frail as a flower, but doesn't wither away. I noticed it during my second fight with her... She doesn't have a huge resistance, like I first thought. It's rather that she immediately recovers..."

"I don't know, Yume..." growled the younger sister, looking down at her right hand again, before clenching it to a fist and making a decision, "Yume, let's head back to the Scarlet Devil Lounge, after all. We can still watch the fight from there... I need some time to think..."

The older Gekido Sister rose an eyebrow, confused and not quite sure about things as well, agreeing that she'd need time to think over this as well, alone... So she eventually rose from the ground with the help of the wall, and leaned onto Yajû.

The two Gekido Sisters, supporting one another's weight, both lost in their own thoughts about the events that had transpired ever since they had left the Lounge, began to make their way back to the Scarlet Devil Lounge in hope to find some peace there...

"Yajû~..."

"Hm?" Yajû stopped dead in her tracks, pulled out of her thoughts by the silent, feminine whisper. Had Yume just tried to get her attention? Why would she whisper like that? No matter how timid she was, Yume had never whispered like that! Not with this... Playful tone. Besides, it wouldn't make any sense for her to whisper, with the loud commotion around them, Yajû shouldn't have been able to hear her...

But if that was the case, why had the whisper been this uncomfortably clear - Uncomfortably close...?

"Yume, did you just... whisper my name?" inquired the younger Gekido Sister, not turning to look at her sister, staring right ahead.

"Uhm... No? Why should I? I've been lost in thought myself..." admitted the Shinigami, confused by the question, "And I didn't hear anything..."

"I... see." murmured Yajû, hesitating shortly, her confusion growing. Things were beginning to make less and less sense... And it had all started with that doppelganger. It all had to do with that doppelganger imitating Yuuka...

"Let's head back." she added, letting out a loud sigh as she and Yume began to hobble back towards the direction of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, both silently hoping that Patchouli knew some kind of healing spell.

"Yajû~"

The young Angel of Death kept walking, ignoring the sing-song whisper, the foreboding voice with sick sweetness to it's voice.

"It begins now, Yajû~."

---

(1) The battlefield described here is actually an area from the RPG Maker Game I've been working on. Since I didn't need to think of a complicated battlefield here, with the battlefield quickly turning into the cliff that the final fight of I-NB took place on, and had that area open in RPG Maker when I was writing this, I thought of it as pretty fitting for taking the place of the transition between the beginning of the fight and the real battle.

End of Part 1...