"Ruby…"
Dia whimpered her sister's name in her sleep. Riko stirred, hearing her Knight, and turned in her sleeping bag. She could faintly see it in the morning light. Dia's cheeks were stained with tears. The Princess frowned.
Dia-san… You've been suffering all this time without your sister. She clenched her fist. I'll see to it that the two of you are reunited! I promise!
Not wanting to break daylight, the girls once again departed on foot to Dia's village. As they were nearing the gates of the village, Dia felt a wave of nostalgia rush through her. She smiled softly.
I wonder… if everyone still resents the Kurosawa family… like they did after Ruby was brought into the world. She shook her head. What am I thinking…! I… suppose they would still have a reason to hate me. The Knight clenched her fist. Guess I'll prepare myself for the worst!
They reached the gates of the village. The first thing that they heard beyond the gates was… children. Screaming; horridly.
"Papa! Mama!"
The Princess' breath hitched at the children's cries.
"Riko, something's not right!" Sakura shouted.
"You read my mind, Sakura." She nodded to her two Knights. "Dia-san! Kanan-san!" They nodded to each other, and pushed the village gates open. As that happened, the others, excluding Chika, all quickly prepped themselves with their armor. Once the gates fully opened, they were surrounded by the most gruesome sight.
Dia's eyes widened in horror at her homeland. Small streaks of tears rolled down her cheeks as she pressed her hands to her mouth.
The village grounds were littered with bodies. The entire vicinity reeked of blood, and…
Poison!
Kanan brought her hand to her mouth.
"Everyone! Don't breathe any of this in!"
"Hee!" Chika squealed and mimicked Kanan's actions, pressing her hand to her mouth.
"How awful…!" Riko whispered. "Who would think to prey on all these innocent people?!"
"Ojou-sama… Take a closer look, if you can."
"Eh?"
"The only survivors of this massacre are… children."
The Princess glanced around the village, and… sadly, Kanan was right. She slowly stepped forward and decided to take a look around the village, staying aware of her surroundings. Her stomach turned. She could hear the faint cries of the children from inside their homes. She kept her gaze down, so as not to startle the kids.
After several paces she came across… a church.
"Riko! Look at that!" Sakura pointed at the middle of the doors to the church. The Princess narrowed her eyes to get a better look. "Are those… seals?"
"Ojou-sama!"
"Riko-chan!"
Riko turned to her comrades. She peered down for a second.
If I remember correctly… Her gaze turned to Hanamaru. Hanamaru-chan's family runs a temple. She whipped her head back the church doors. Maybe she could…!
"Hanamaru-chan, this church seems to be sealed up."
"Zura?" Hanamaru followed her Princess' gaze. Seeing the seals on the doors, she bit down on her lip. "I can break this seal, Princess." She gave a determined smile. "Leave it to me, zura!"
"You can do it, Hanamaru-chan!" her sprite, Nina, cheered.
Hanamaru twirled her enchanted staff in the air before pointing it towards the doors. Riko glanced behind Kanan, to see Dia coming to join them. Riko frowned.
Just how much more suffering does my precious Knight have to endure…!
She stepped closer to Dia and saw that she was carrying something.
A three-tailed kitsune cub…?
"Dia-san… that kitsune, is it…?" Dia gave sad smile down to the fox in her arms.
"Before Ruby… disappeared… she had found him in the forest, trapped in a bush." Her fingers nuzzled his fur. "I entrusted this cub, Kohaku, to a family that my father knew. I wanted to take him into the palace, but… he gets overwhelmed in large places." The kitsune's nose twitched, and he gave a small yawn. Riko giggled. Behind her, she heard the sound of the church doors being opened. Hanamaru turned to her Princess, and smiled, satisfied.
"Thank you, Hanamaru-chan!" She went over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Great work!" The Princess steeled herself before moving forward, inside the church. "Stay your ground, everyone," she whispered. The floors of the church creaked heavily beneath their feet. Glancing from left to right, Riko could feel the chills slowly making their way down her entire body.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone here…" You observed, glancing upwards towards the roof of the building. Dia stopped in her tracks, as she remembered. something.
"That… could be where you're wrong, You-san." She carefully looked up at her comrades. "There's actually a… cellar… beneath these floors, which also happens to be our Priest's study." She gave a sad smile. "I would… sometimes go there as a child, anytime that I… missed Ruby."
"Dia…"
The Princess gave a soft smile and stepped aside.
"Lead the way, Dia-san." The Knight gave a nod before stepping forward.
"If you'll all follow me."
The girls all followed Dia down into the cellar, with Akane lighting a flame along the way. Dia carefully opened the door, and peered down the staircase. The Knight held her breath as she descended down the stairs. The others followed closely behind, until they heard a voice.
"Who's there?" The girls steeled themselves, preparing for a potential brawl. However, Riko's eyes narrowed to get a closer look. Akane's flame was shining in front of a small group of kids, cowering in the corner of the room. Suddenly, Kohaku's ears flipped upwards, and the kitsune frantically looked up at Dia. The raven-haired Knight looked down at the fox. Kohaku smiled happily and scrambled up to Dia's shoulder before licking her cheek. Dia giggled.
"Ko-Kohaku, hehe! That tickles!"
"Y-You're… Kurosawa Dia…?"
Dia glanced toward the group of children. She pursed her lips and carefully made her way towards the frightened little ones. She crouched down to their level and lent a smile.
"Yes. I'm the eldest daughter of the Kurosawa family." The boy that asked for her name didn't meet her eyes. "The fact that you know my name… must mean you also know the name of my sister, Ruby. Is that right?"
"Kurosawa Ruby… the cursed sister…" Dia didn't like that term, "cursed", but she ignored the boy's phrasing and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Young man… what is your name?" He finally met her eyes.
"… Makoto." Dia gave a slight nod.
"Makoto, let me ask you this. Do you have any siblings?" Makoto shook his head. Dia gazed downward, smiling sadly. "I see… Then, since I left, the curse hasn't been lifted…" Kanan stepped over to where the kids were and crouched beside Dia.
"Listen, guys. We're trying to find Dia's sister. Do any of you remember seeing her, maybe around the area of this village?" Makoto, once again, shook his head.
Dia pressed. "Has anything out of the ordinary been happening around here?" All the children thought for a second until one of them finally spoke. A young girl.
"Uhm… I don't know if this will help much, but… there are these… puppeteers that come around often — I think they're street performers, or something like that." The Princess heard this and paced over to the kids.
"When was the last time you saw them?"
"… A while back."
"Have you seen what they looked like?"
Makoto spoke up. "Well, if anything, we do know that they definitely looked like sisters." Riko's eyes widened as her breath hitched.
"D-Did you say… sisters, Makoto-kun?"
All of a sudden, the church shook with tremors. The kids huddled together, screaming. The Knights and Princess stood their ground.
"What's going on out there?" Kanan growled. Riko looked over to the children. She frowned, biting down on her lip.
"Riko!" Sakura squealed. "We have to check it out!" The Princess gave a nod before turning to Chika.
"Chika-chan, can I count on you to watch these kids — keep them safe?" Her friend gave a nod.
"Leave it to me, Riko-chan."
"You-chan, can you stay behind, as well?" The Knight gave a salute and winked.
"As you wish, Princess!"
Smiling gratefully, Riko ran towards the stairs. "Thanks, you two! The rest of you, follow my lead!"
"Right behind you, zura!"
"Ah! Hanamaru-chan, Mari-san, gather all the children in the village and bring them back down here, quickly!"
"Got it!"
As Hanamaru and Mari scattered the village to gather the children, Riko swiftly ran through the village with Kanan and Dia. Kanan stopped in her tracks, hearing… laughter?
The next second, the poisonous air surrounding the village became stronger. Kanan gagged, her hand flying to her mouth. Her eyes were strained, the Knight slowly beginning to feel nauseous. Dia and Riko soon followed suit. The Princess breathed heavily.
This is bad… It's a good thing this poison didn't spread towards the church's cellar… Otherwise… all those poor children…
Riko quickly shook her head free of those wretched thoughts before hearing Sakura beside her. She turned her head to see Sakura wave her hands, closing her eyes. The next second, a bandana was tightly placed over the Princess's lips.
"It's protection against the poison," the sprite explained. Riko nodded.
"Arigato, Sakura."
Mei and Akane mimicked Sakura's actions and placed red and green bandanas onto their owner's mouths.
Dia's breath hitched as she heard another wave of laughter sound throughout the village.
"Who are you?! Show yourself!" the Knight demanded. Her kitsune, Kohaku, suddenly leaped off of her shoulder, and transformed into a much larger kitsune-demon. He growled, standing his ground for his companion. Reassured, Dia smiled underneath her mask. A gust of the poisonous air flew through the three girls. Riko squealed, standing her ground.
"Sakura! My bow and arrow!"
"Right!"
Sakura magically teleported the Princess's weapon into her hands. Through the poison in the air, she looked around for a place to aim her arrow. She could faintly see the silhouette of a hooded young girl standing on the roof of a house. Her eyes gleamed fiercely, as she released her arrow towards the figure. The next second, the figure quickly disappeared. Riko gasped, and as quick as lightning, the figure had swiftly teleported behind her. The figure put her in a chokehold and thrashed her to the ground, the Princess's chin scraping the ground. She groaned at the pain. She struggled to meet her eyes with her assailant. Her eyes widened when she saw a pair of fiery-red eyes. Her assailant removed her hood. She looked down at the Princess, smirking.
"We meet again, Riko-sama…"
S-Seira-san…
"Why…?" Riko whispered. "Are you responsible for this massacre, Seira-san…?"
Seira returned the Princess's distraught expression with a chuckle.
"Ria! Now's your chance! Move!"
"Right, Onee-sama!"
"Heh?!"
Ria swiftly swooped down to Kanan, lunging herself at the Knight. Kanan groaned as she hit the ground.
"Kanan-san! Riko-sama!" Dia looked on at her partner and Princess, feeling completely helpless. Unbeknownst to her, Seira and Ria were not alone in this fight. Dia felt something in the pit of her stomach. Before she could suspect whatever it was, she was suddenly struck to her shoulder blade from behind. She roared at the pain, and was brought to her knees. She howled at the seeping blood trickling down her back. Akane called for her owner in distress.
"Dia! Are you alright?!"
"Nnnggh…! Wh-Who…?" She slowly turned her head, and was frozen in shock at the figure leering down at her as she was on her knees. Kohaku's eyes widened, and the kitsune found himself backing away from Dia's assailant.
She was facing her long-lost beloved little sister, Ruby, as the latter stared down at her with her eyes completely blank.
"Ru…by…?"
"This is… Ruby-chan?" Riko whispered. "You… You're… alive? But… how—"
"You can thank our Yohane-sama for bringing your precious sister back from the dead, Kurosawa Dia!" Seira roared as she lunged herself at Riko.
"What are you… nnnghh… going on about?!" Kanan groaned as she continued to fight the younger Kazuno sister. Ria smirked.
"See for yourself, Sacred Knight."
RUBY: Akai taiyou no doresu de odoru
Watashi no koto mitsumete iru no?
Me o sorashitai demo sorasenai
BOTH: Ah jounetsu de yakaretai
The sisters were both had a fiery-red aura around them. Their eyes shone, their adrenaline pumping. Dia's body was in full-force to fight her sister, the anger boiling inside her. The confusion, the sadness. A plethora of emotions overwhelmed her and her first instinct is to attack. All while Ruby just stares back at her elder sister with the same blank expression. With tears prickling out of her eyes, Dia angrily went along with Ruby's ploy and sang.
RUBY: Tokimeki ijou no rizumu
Koyoi shiritakute
Itsumo yori
Daitan na
Kotoba wo tsubuyaita
DIA: Jibun no kimochi nano ni
Zenzen wakaranaku
RUBY: (Nacchaitai na)
DIA: Risei kara
Shirei ga
RUBY: (Todokanai)
DIA: Kontorooru fukanou
RUBY: Sonna koi wo
DIA: Shitai notte koe ga
RUBY: Todoite shimatta?
DIA: Hazukashii tte omou kedo
RUBY: Motto shiritai no
DIA: Motto shiritai no
RUBY: Ikenai
DIA: Yume da to
BOTH: Kidzuki nagara
Akai taiyou no doresu de odoru
Watashi no koto mitsumeru hitomi
Me o sorashitai
Demo sorasenai
Manatsu wa dare no mono?
Anata to watashi no mono ni shitai
Datte ne
Kokoro ga tomaranai kisetsu ni
Hajimete mune no tobira ga
Aite
Shimaisou yo
You knock knock my heart!
Dia's blades clashed with her sister's daggers as she roared.
"Ruby… Why?!"
As they were continuing their individual battles, Kanan and Riko thought the same thing…
They're sisters… After getting to meet again after so long, this is how they settle it? It's just… too cruel.
DIA: Tamerai gachi no suteppu ga
Atsuku kawaru koro
Itsumo nara ari e nai
Shoudou ni tomadou no
RUBY: Anata no te ni
DIA: Watashi no te o
RUBY: Kasanetara
BOTH: Nanika hajimaru?
Hanabi ga terasu yokogao
Kitto
Kono hi ga kuru to yokan shiteta
Watashi
Mou modorenai
Modoritakunai
Manatsu ni sasowarete
Anata to watashi no natsu ni shitai
Datte ne
Kokoro ga tomarenai kisetsu yo
Amaku setsunai kaori de
Fui ni
Nakitaku naru
Ki ga shita no
Dia was, once again, knocked to the ground. Kohaku growled at Ruby, wanting to protect his companion. Dia groaned, standing back up.
"K-Kohaku… Akane…"
"Dia!" her sprite cried.
"Let me… handle this…"
"You're not serious…" Akane whispered.
"I don't know what's making Ruby act this way, but… I swear on Sumire-sama's name that I will…!" She stood her ground, unsheathing her blades once again. "…Set my sister free!" She lunged back over to her sister, their weapons clanging against each other. The fire never left Dia's eyes as she sang her heart out.
DIA: Chikadzuitari
RUBY: Hanaretari no
DIA: Dansu de atama shibireteru
RUBY: Koko ni ite yo
DIA: Koko ni ite yo
RUBY: Mou
Kowakunai no
BOTH: Nanimo kamo ga
Akai taiyou no doresu de odoru
Watashi no koto mitsumeru hitomi
DIA: Me o sorashitai
RUBY: Demo sorasenai
BOTH: Manatsu wa dare no mono?
Anata to watashi no mono ni shitai
Datte ne
Kokoro ga ne
Tomarenai kisetsu
Hajimete mune no tobira ga
Aite
Shimaisou yo
You knock knock my heart!
Ah
Jounetsu teki ni
Dakishimete!
With the sisters' Union Song coming to an end, Kohaku took this chance to pounce onto Ruby, and pin her down with his large paws. He growled at this now stranger, his fangs bared. Dia wiped the blood from her slightly-scraped features, panting. She knelt down to Ruby's level to meet her sister's dead eyes.
"Ruby… Don't you recognize me?"
"…"
The older sister clenched her fist.
"Say something!" she roared. Seeing her plan go accordingly, Seira forced Riko onto the ground, pinning her.
"Gnghh… Seira…san…" The latter just giggled. "What's… so funny?!"
"Oh, you'll found out soon enough, dear Princess." She leaned down and whispered into Riko's ear. "Yohane-sama is dying to see you." The Princess's breath hitched at that, and the feeling of Seira's breath sent a chill down her spine. Seira laughed and leaned off of Riko. "Until then, Princess, you'll be seeing more of those demons that we sent over to the Academy, very soon."
Riko gasped. "So, that was you?!"
Seira sheathed her blades behind her back and turned to her sister and Ruby.
"Let's head back, girls." She turned back to Riko. "We'll need to report this to Yohane-sama." Before the three of them could disappear, Dia roared to Seira.
"What have you done to my sister?!"
Seira stared back at Dia, her eyes dead.
"There's no use in calling for your precious sister, Dia. She doesn't remember you."
"…Eh…?"
"Hmph!" Kanan scoffed. "She's bluffing."
"Oh, but it's true, Kanan." Seira went over to Ruby and wrapped her arms around her. "She's nothing but a puppet now." She smiled at the younger girl. "A very obedient one, at that…"
Clenching both her fists, her palms bleeding, Dia growled and before she could step over to Seira, Riko stopped her.
"Dia-san, don't lose yourself here — not to them!"
"She's right, Dia!" Akane cried. "You're getting too heated!"
Now back to his small form, Kohaku propped himself onto Dia's left shoulder and, pressed his cheek to her own, in an attempt to calm her. Dia snapped out of her rage.
"Kohaku…"
The kitsune licked Dia's cheek and smiled. Dia returned a sad smile to the creature, the tears daring to escape her emerald eyes.
"We'll be taking our leave, now," Seira said casually. She turned to her sister. "Ria." The younger Kazuno sister snapped her fingers and the three girls teleported themselves away.
With her sister now out of sight, Dia fell to her knees and punched the ground in frustration, the tears falling freely down her cheeks.
"My entire village is massacred, only leaving the children behind… My sister is… being controlled…!"
"Dia-san…"
"Dia…"
"This… Yohane-sama… When I see her…" Dia looked up from the ground, her eyes raging with anger. "I'll kill her!"