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?

14. Arc II - Ch VIII - Klaxons blare again

*calmly sips hot cocoa, reading newspaper* Can you believe this? So apparently, after having vanished for months from the Touhou Fandom, this one plane from the the SorrowfulReincarnation Airlines, the Negative Mind, has finally been sighted again, and that for good! Turns out they had gone missing in a storm of schoolwork, an original work, personal problems and other things, and the pilot had to make a forced landing.

*Puts newspaper away* Anyways! Good to see you guys again, and, as to not keep this from you any longer than I already have, why don't we directly move on to the chapter? Everything important will be said in the A/N at the end! Have fun!

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 8: The klaxons blare again

"Hope you're all excited for the big finale tomorrow, when Chôzen Gekido, Nanatsu no Taizai and Rumia Gekido-Shisô clash with Utsuho Reiuji, Rin Kaenbyou and Ryoko Jigoku. Are you all ready for the big clash tomorrow?"

As people began to cheer excitedly, Mephistopheles merely rolled her eyes. People. Humans. Youkai. They could be so easily excited, their minds so easily manipulated and altered to one's liking. Pain. Pleasure. Those two weren't far from one another, and one usually led to the other.

People just didn't know.

Occasionally, Mephistopheles showed them. Revealed to them that there was so much more. The true potential. Seldom did they like it. Rarely did they ever come back for more. Some did. Masochists.

She regretted ever showing that Celestial what potential could be achieved.

Turning her attention away from the battlefield below, where Eirin Yagokoro and her followers had appeared to take care of the wounded fighters, Mephistopheles let her gaze travel through the room she was in, taking in the expressions of those around her. They seemed excited, didn't seem to notice her watching. They seldom did.

Mephistopheles smirked to herself. It was almost too easy to observe others. To take note of the things they liked and things they hated, just by their mere expression alone. The expression was one treacherous feature that the least could escape. Humans. Youkai. Demons. They all had expressions, expressions that betrayed them. And she exploited that. Enjoyed toying with them.

And yet, cringed as she locked gazes with one individual in the room after all, eyes narrowed in one warning glare at her over the edge of a book.

So maybe there were one or two individuals that she had to be more careful of. They knew what she was up to, knew she loved to manipulate and betray, to jest and joke, taunt and tease. They always knew.

"I will be taking my leave for today." announced Mephistopheles, knowing it was best not to pull off anything funny in front of the elemental sorceress that knew her secret, her identity. After all, she had been summoned by her.

She bowed to the occupants of the Scarlet Devil Lounge. Bowed mockingly. Had been too long since she had ever been submissive to anyone, and now she had to be to not only her summoner, Patchouli Knowledge, but her whole 'family'.

Again, the warning glare of Patchouli over the book, but while acknowledged, it was also ignored rather promptly. Patchouli was reminding her of their contract, and though Mephistopheles knew that she was bound by countless rules, she knew better than to break a single one of them. She'd rather stay in Gensokyo, and not fall back into the circles of hell where she originated from. Especially now that she had seen... her. That sweet, innocent flower with the smell that fascinated and captured her. That she had become addicted to in mere moments.

She turned to the door, grinned to herself. She had to find her. She needed to see her before she left. Touch her. Just one last time. To keep the trouble away, to keep her own heart contempt. To believe that she, the manipulator, had fallen for one innocent being's spell! But she couldn't fight it. Wouldn't fight it.

Leaving the lounge behind, she chuckled to herself, rolled her shoulders. Maybe she wouldn't head home, after all. She had never specified she would go home, did she?

"Good evening, Mephistopheles. Are we heading home?"

The male voice from one of the darker corners of the corridor in front of the lounge let the demon cringe madly and shriek. The demon's name was called, it's darkest secret brought to light! Panic took Mephistopheles over and the demon twirled on the spot, hands lighting up in the dark-blue flames she also used to play Danmaku.

Chôzen Gekido stepped out of the darkness, unmasked disgust and anger in his otherwise so stoic face. The man hadn't been lying, after all, knew her secret. And that he hadn't been lying made the demon panic even more.

"What... What do you want?" growled Mephistopheles, narrowing her eyes in fear and distrust. Justified distrust. He wasn't bound to her in a contract, he could tell whoever he wanted what her real name was. If people knew that she was a demon, she'd have an even harder time to get them to trust her.

"Such hostility. This could end up in a fight if the mood doesn't relax, and if I were to shout, somebody would definitely hear your name, which you..." he began, teasing her, taunting her. Mocking her. And it flared up anger in her.

"What. Do you. Want." Mephistopheles brought forth in between clenched teeth, grinding them on one another. That man! His nerve!

"I know your dark plan, Mephistopheles, and I sure as hell won't allow you to continue with it."

"Dark plan?" she repeated his words, narrowed her eyes even further, searching for some kind of explanation in his features. Dark plan? Last time she had checked, she didn't have any dark plan to speak of. So what was he referring to? What 'dark plan' did he believe she had?

"Exactly!" exclaimed Chôzen suddenly, pulled up a finger and, in an almost comedic way, pointed accusingly at her, "You want to seduce Yume to turn her into your servant!"

"Can't let you do that, Sta... Yúgure!" added a second voice in her head, which she knew to belong to the sentient flame that circled his head.

The demon facepalmed. Facepalmed as hard as she could. So he knew her secret, had figured it out somehow – And used it for this?

"You moron!" she groaned and relaxed. So she had been worried for nothing – he appeared and made her panic for nothing!

"Wha...?" he muttered to himself, apparently caught off guard by her reaction, his hand lowering slowly, "You mean, you aren't Mephistopheles...?"

"That's not it! Yes, I am Mephistopheles. Yes, I do go by Yúgure now, and yes, due to being summoned by Patchouli Knowledge, I've adopted her name to indicate she is my master. Which means, yes, I do go by Yúgure Mephistopheles Knowledge as of now." huffed the succubus-like demon, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms beneath her chest, "But I do not have any stupid 'dark plan' or something!"

The confused expression of Chôzen was priceless, and if not for the seriousness of the situation, the reason for his confrontation, she would've probably laughed. Probably. But that wasn't the case. The situation, while seeming comedic, wasn't. Not at all. Not if it really was about Yume.

---

Chôzen's PoV!

"This is about Yume, is it?" sighed Yúgure, adding further to my confusion. So she had understood my motivation for confronting her, but despite my expectations seemed surprisingly calm. Serious even. Something that I hadn't expected, that for sure.

"It is, as you should know if you have listened to me just now." I replied, raising an eyebrow at her. What a strange girl, even for a demon. I had expected her to reveal her true colors upon being discovered by me, but instead of her behaving like the demon I had expected, she went into panic. I can't say I didn't enjoy seeing her squirm when I said her name aloud – but it was not what I had prepared for.

This was not the dangerous demon, after all.

"How did you even find out that my soul is that of the demon Mephistopheles?" inquired the girl all of sudden, raising her eyebrow as well. My frown increased and our gazes met, and even though I tried to make her uncomfortable with my gaze alone, I found that she was not backing down, was not even blinking.

She was just staring me in the eye. With confidence I hadn't seen like that in a long, long time.

Her question was justified, I suppose. And the answer wasn't even that complex. Sure, she hadn't exactly made it easy for anyone to find out – I doubted that anyone outside of the Scarlet Devil Mansion even suspected her to be anyone but a summoned servant to Patchouli instead of a powerful demon (aside Yukari, maybe, but that meddlesome gap hag knew more than she should to begin with) – and did her best to keep her secret. She didn't behave like a powerful, scheming, manipulative demon. If anything, she behaved like a spoiled brat or a seducing woman that knew what she wanted. Or like Patchouli and Koakuma were her guardians. Or she their daughter.

Ridiculous, but effective. People seemed to overlook the small hints.

I didn't.

"It was hard to see it." I began, taking a few steps back and leaning against the wall, now that the situation was relaxing, "But I guess I noticed it because I was so suspicious of you to begin with. I'm a paranoid person, especially after the whole Mima-thing twenty years ago, and a very protective father, if you want so."

"Protective indeed." snorted Yúgure in amusement, tilting her head a little, "You know... You can extinguish that flame, right? I'm no threat to you. I may be strong, but I don't even have two-thirds of your strength if what I heard about you is true."

I rose an eyebrow again and glanced down to my right, bony hand. It was engulfed in a flickering green flame of negative energy. With a sheepish cough, I quickly extinguished it by shaking my hand.

"You're like a reverse-Hades. He had a problem with his flames being extinguished, you have a problem with it being lit up."

"I don't even have a clue what that is supposed to mean..."

"Ignore that. Emotions getting the better of me." I chuckled uneasily. Huh, never happened before like that, though. I remember my negative energy acting up inside my body, but for it to become that obvious outside it...

"When did your emotions not get the better of you?"

"I'm the sole product of his emotions getting the better of him."

"He's like a...!"

"So not the time for that, guys!"

"I bet. So how did you figure it out?" snorted Yúgure in return, unaware of the two other personalities in my head voicing their agreement. Why was it, of all times, that they always got along in the most unfitting and random situations, and never when I needed them to?

I sighed, rubbed the bridge of my nose. Rolled my neck until I felt the pressure on it and on my shoulders slowly fade away. Groaned.

"It was your love for books." I eventually revealed in a sigh, blinked the dryness from my eyes, "Your need for knowledge. Whenever I saw you, you either inquired about things or spent time reading, only to then sleep for a while later. I didn't think much of it until I remembered that sleeping is the way that the brain processes acquired information a lot faster, at which point it made sense again."

I pushed myself off the wall and took a few steps towards the door to the Scarlet Devil Lounge, and though I had averted my gaze from the curious demon, I knew that her eyes were still lingering on me, watching me intently.

"That alone made me curious. Sure, reading a lot alone isn't that suspicious, I mean, Patchouli reads a lot, and Patchouli isn't a demon because of that. Though she can become one personality-wise if you go on her nerves a bit too much." I continued, smirking to myself as I heard Yúgure snicker to herself at the comment.

"But it was when you began..." I trailed off already, not quite liking the next thing I was going to say, knowing that something protective woke in me because of it, "...to seduce Yume in this weird way, that I knew that something was off. You behaved much like Koakuma does when she uses her succubus-charm on purpose. You began to try to seduce her into something that she couldn't escape of."

I stopped and turned to her. "But I knew you weren't a succubus, and that got me thinking." I rose my hand, made a gesture into her direction, "The closest thing to a succubus is another type of demon. And that, with the thirst for knowledge, led me to wonder about what demons I know about."

She rose an eyebrow, smiled widely. Yes, she was enjoying this, and I knew that I was feeding her information about myself. And information is knowledge. Knowledge is what she thirsts for.

"That made me remember my time in Makai. The countless months I spent there, isolating myself from the world when..." I rose my right arm, stared at the bony frame that it was, the energy flowing within it, remembered my solitary time in Makai and the negative emotions, "...this happened. All the books about demons I've read there, down in the library underneath Pandaemonium. And one name just wouldn't leave my mind anymore when I thought about you."

"Mephistopheles." she finished for me. I nodded. And it became quiet once again.

My mind was racing at this point. I had been right about her being Mephistopheles, I had confronted her about it and what I had thought to be her 'dark plan'. The latter thing had turned out to be wrong, and now here I was, standing in front of a girl I had wrongly accused of manipulating my daughter into something that didn't seem to be the case.

How would I progress from here on? What use did I gain from this? I had overreacted, I knew that much, had acted too soon and had only taken one outcome into account, had even prepared to fight a sinister demon.

And here I was, standing in front of a girl that held no ill intentions, that was just a seductive person by nature. Just like Koakuma. Like Shiho Kumo. Dangit.

"It's alright." began Yúgure suddenly, causing me to cringe and wonder if I had said the last thing out loud, though I realized I hadn't as she continued, "To be protective of her, I mean. It's a parent-thing. And I guess I really am not the best influence for someone like Yume, or the most trustworthy person. She's fragile and shy, and I'm direct and... well, me. Not exactly someone you bring home to meet the parents."

She had averted her gaze before, but now turned to look at me with seriousness in her eyes that I had neither expected, nor knew to be usual for her. None of the seductive features lay on her face, none of her former happiness, playfulness or childishness.

"Because of that, Chôzen, I do not expect you to trust me or believe me, not right now." she continued and clenched her hands, "But I hope that, with time, you will come to trust me. To accept me. Because..."

She hesitated. Hesitation, as if she didn't really understand what she was going to say next either, suddenly unable to look at me after all. Her gaze softened and she bit down on her lower lip, gnawed on it with those pointy teeth of hers.

"Because I think that I, for the first time in my life, am seriously attracted to someone. To Yume. I'm not going to say that this is love, not yet, and maybe will never turn into it. But I know that I feel different about her. That I feel the need to protect her and be serious about her, that I need to be close at all times to ensure she's fine." she looked me in the eyes, but her expression remained soft, so fragile and vulnerable all of sudden that it sent a chill down my spine, "That's why I ask of you – Let me try this. Let me find out if this is what I think it is. I can control myself now, I won't be as direct anymore as I've been so far, I won't make her feel uncomfortable anymore as much. And..."

Another time, hesitation flashed across her face.

"And if I find that Yume cannot feel the same way about me as I think that I do feel about her, or that this feeling that I have is not love after all, I'll immediately stop and retreat to a safe distance from her. One that we'll both will feel comfortable with."

To say that I was surprised was an understatement. I had been wrong. Before me stood neither girl nor demon. Before me, pouring out her deepest emotions, her biggest doubts and opening her heart to me, stood a headstrong young woman that wasn't quite sure about her own feelings.

This was not what I had expected at all when I chose to confront the demon. I had come to prevent any harm from Yume, to get a threat, a danger, an enemy even, out of her way – And instead, I found who might as well be Yume's future. Her possible first love or girlfriend. Or possible best friend. Someone who had no interested to harm Yume.

She would harm Yume, would hurt her, there was no doubt. Enemies tended to do that. Friends and loved ones, too, however. There was no way to fully avoid the fact that Yume would be hurt in the future, and I couldn't be there to always protect her, I knew that much. Even though she was the shy one, the one that retreated and hid rather than fight, the one that I felt the need to protect to keep her innocence and safety alive, she would eventually find herself at a point where there was no choice for her but to fight back. And she needed someone to be there for her then, to be her backup.

Was Yúgure that person? Had I been so wrong about her?

The fires of doubt were ignited. The burning sensation of regret heavy within my chest. The negative energy in my right hand flashed once, as if to assure me of the negative emotion that it was gaining new strength from.

I balled my bony hand to a fist. Knew better than to make quick decisions. And yet, still did ever so often.

"Don't mess this up, Yúgure. For both your own and Yume's happiness."

---

Yume's PoV

Slowly, I opened my eyes to glance around the room that lay in darkness. Sleep had not come easy to me that night, the night before the finale, and so I had spent my hours laying next to my sister, pretending to be asleep until I heard that even the last member of my family had dozed off.

Dad's rhythmic snoring was echoed by Rumia snoring into a pillow, with Mom lying snuggled into Dad's side. Yajû lay sprawled out over her futon in a position that should be deemed impossible as long as you had bones.

Now was the time. It was getting close to midnight and everybody but me was asleep.

Silently, I shuffled out from underneath the simple blanket, avoided any contact with Yajû – not that it would've woken her up, she slept like a stone – and rose to my feet. I picked up my clothes as I passed them on my way to the door, quickly slipped into them and prepared myself for what was coming next.

Coming next would be something that I had been waiting all evening for. That I had longed to understand most of my life. The very miracle of my being, the solution of it allowing me to understand myself better, bringing me one step closer to awareness of my own being.

I needed to go to the bathroom.

Not as in 'to take a pee', but to see the mirror again. Not that I could see myself in it, but that didn't matter. Not aft what had happened earlier that day.

It felt strange to leave Yajû behind for something this important. To leave the room all by myself without any member of my family being at my side. Without being 'protected' by someone from all these things that I had a hard time dealing with. The strangers. The new situations.

Life, in other words.

Each step echoed down the empty dark halls. My bare feet met the tiled ground with distinct noises, the cold of each tile sending a new chill through me. I cursed myself for not putting on some shoes or socks, but knew that I couldn't go back and get them. Every second in the room would threaten to wake up my mother, who had a light sleep. And besides, curiosity had gotten the better of me already.

The arena by night, void of all the excitement and people, was like a completely different place. Not as lively. Not as warm and welcoming. Cold and bare, almost like they were haunted, the only sounds echoing through the hallways were my own steps. It didn't seem like anyone else was awake – aside that pharmacist that Rumia had warned me of, as I saw the light as I passed the infirmary – and I much preferred it that way for the time being.

This was, for the first time, all about me, after all. About my development. My path. No hiding behind Yajû, no avoiding confrontations. This clash was with myself, and I needed to do it with my head held high, sure of what I was going to do. No doubts were allowed.

The door to the women's bathroom opened with a slight creak, no louder than my footsteps before. Nonetheless, I cringed. Cringed as the cold air from inside hit my face. I stepped inside after making sure that nobody was inside other than me, and even then found myself throwing a glance around ever so often as I approached the full-length mirror in the room.

There were more mirrors than just that one. More mirrors hung over the sinks, each reflecting the dimly lit room a bit, as I hadn't bothered to turn on a light. It was best if it remained dark, with no one knowing that I was even in there.

Reaching the full-length mirror that, much like every other mirror aside that one in my dreams, refused to show my own reflection, I found my feet suddenly no longer responding to me. Froze up in front of the glass, with my body refusing to move any other step. Hesitation flashed through me. Wonder if what I had experienced earlier that day was just me falling asleep and dreaming it.

The only way to find out was just an arm's reach away.

My right arm shook violently as I slowly rose it. Had it always been that hard to raise my arm? Had it always weighed that much? Had it always been so cold in the room? My gaze remained glued to the mirror before me, on the smooth surface that refused to show me my own image, and the wooden frame that surrounded it.

I swallowed.

And my fingertips brushed along the smooth and cold surface.

And caused waves in it.

I immediately pulled back, did so in such a fast manner that I almost lost my balance. The moment that my hand was no longer close to the mirror, it seemed to become 'real' – solid – again, the waves vanishing in favor of the reflecting surfaces old hard appearance. Quickly casting a glance around in the room, I wondered if what I had seen just now was real or just an optical illusion, my mind playing tricks on me. Mirrors, not solid? My hand being able to pass through?

Now I needed to know.

Faster than I knew, I stood in front of the mirror again. Again, no reflection on my own. Again, my hand rose, this time no longer feeling heavy. I hadn't dreamed after all. I knew what I had seen, what I had experienced earlier that day.

This time, I didn't pull back as my hand came in contact with the smooth surface. For a second, I did feel a resistance against my palm, but as I applied more pressure on it, the same familiar waves appeared around my hand – and it began passing through the mirror.

Shock and horror came over me as I saw my own hand on the other side of the reflecting surface, which now seemed more like glass that I could see through instead of being reflected in. I waved my hand, saw how the hand behind the mirror did the same. Shuddered. It felt a lot colder on 'the other side'. Icy even.

But my experiment needed to continue. Had to go on until I knew all that I needed to know.

I pushed. Pushed further until the resistance slowly became less and less, until my arm was buried up to the shoulder in the strange 'doorway'. It became a lot harder to move when the entirety of my body rested against the surface that wasn't as solid as it should be, felt as if something was pushing me back, not wanting me to come in. I hadn't felt the same thing earlier that day, but I had fallen into the mirror rather than slowly stepping inside then.

Before I knew what had happened, I was inside. A final push had been enough to send my body hurling through the reflecting surface – and then I was in. Was inside the mirror. In the room that looked just like the bathroom, but was the perfect mirror image of it. A different kind of light existed within there – it wasn't the lack of light, as it was in the 'original' bathroom. It was as if some kind of light-bluish light was falling into it from everywhere at once, but leaving dark shadows on the walls. As if it was everywhere at once, and yet nowhere.

I was inside a reflection. Inside the mirrored bathroom.

My hands rose on their own, turned as I stared in wonder at them, unable to quite believe what was indeed happening. Was this my connection to mirrors? Was this why the bullets I could create were shaped like the shards of a mirror? I could literally walk into the mirror?

But, if I was in here, did that mean that there was no Yume outside the mirror anymore? Even as I turned around and looked back through the mirror into the original bathroom, there was no 'reflection' of me. Had I become my own reflection then, in a sense? Had I taken the place of that which did not exist?

The sound of a door opening made me cringe violently. I had almost shrieked – could someone outside the 'mirror world' even hear me? - but bit down on my lip instead, avoided it. My first instinct was to look back through the mirror into the bathroom I had originally come from, but as I turned, I already saw who it was. Saw her clearly in the mirrors, holding a small lamp. Yúgure.

But not only could I see her through the mirror I had walked through, I could also see her through the mirrors above the sinks in this version of the room – almost as if I was looking through the mirrors over the sinks in the original room. And then, of course, there was this somewhat transparent version of Yúgure here with me in the mirrored world as well, stepping up to the sink closest to the door in perfect synchronization to the 'real' Yúgure in the world outside the mirrors.

Fascinated, I watched as both the original and her reflection placed their lamps on the sinks, leaned over their respective sink and turned the water on to wash their (her?) faces. And began to wonder how much this really meant. Curiosity grew again. Questions opened up.

Reflections were transparent versions of the original and seemed to have no will on their own, so what if the original were to enter the mirror world? Would the reflection step into our world? If one interacted with things in the 'real' world, things in the mirror world responded – did it act the same way vice-versa? What could I do? What did this mean for me? Why could I do all this?

I needed to know more.

My hand reached out for the closest sink. Fingers curled around the valve. I turned it. And almost recoiled as water began indeed to flow from it, and both Yúgures snapped their heads up to glance into the direction of the flowing water.

Panicked, I quickly turned it off again, but could still hear how both Yúgures murmured something along the lines of 'what the...?', before shuddering and going back to washing their faces. So all I did in the mirrored world affected the real world. Did this mean that, if I touched someone, they would feel it? Could I hurt someone, without them being able to hurt me? I didn't seem to exist in their world at that moment, but what if they swung their arms around, and those of their reflection would hit me?

Did our whole world exist as a mirrored replica?

I shuddered at that thought, but knew that it was the thing I needed to find out next. So, passing Reflection-Yúgure, I stepped to the door and reached for the handle. It felt cold, almost as if completely frozen over, but didn't refuse to move as I put weight onto it. And so, I pulled the door open.

To come face-to-face with a large nothing.

Of course, nothing was the wrong word. The part of the hallway that was reflected in the mirror in the real world did exist, as well as a far floating rooms in the distance – but the rest did not. The hallway was more than incomplete. I didn't need more than a second to understand that only that which was reflected in a mirror did exist within the mirrored world. I was in a large void of nothing, an abyss of nothingness, in which only that which a mirror showed did exist.

A mirrored abyss...

I shut the door, lost in thought. Too lost in thought to realize that I wasn't alone, in a sense.

A shriek tore me out of my thoughts, Yúgure twirling around and staring at the door in her own world, which had just opened and closed on it's own. She was no longer facing the mirror, but her reflection was facing me, and it had an expression of sheer panic on her face. Was this was the real Yúgure was looking like at that moment as well? The reflections could reflect even that which was not visible to them?

"Who's there? Stop messing with me! Come out!" roared the girl I had come to accept as a friend, eyes darting left and right as she scanned her version of the room for the culprit of my doing, "Is this your idea of fun, Gekido? I thought you said you'd give me a chance?!"

The last part made me frown, especially considering that there were, aside me, three Gekidos, in a sense. My father, my sister, and Rumia. Which one of these was Yúgure referring to? Who made her seem so paranoid?

For a moment, I hesitated. Stared at Ýúgure as she finally shuddered and turned back to the sink, this time to turn it to cold and splash quite a lot of water into her face. She was probably thinking that she was going crazy, the poor girl.

But could I show her? Show her that which I had just discovered for myself? My 'new' powers? And what about all those still unanswered questions? I couldn't answer all of them by myself, but if I told Yúgure, and she'd be willing to help...

I had helped her to find out something about herself, to come to terms with the weird way she was feeling. Would she be willing to repay the favor?

Swallowing once, I slowly approached her. Her reflection, that was, the barely visible version of Yúgure leaned over the sink much like her real version was. Hesitantly, I reached out for her once I stood behind her, my hand going for her shoulder.

It connected.

And Yúgure shot up with a shriek, knocking over her lamp in the process, leading to it hitting the ground and going dark. One question was answered, and another one quickly followed when Yúgure stumbled backwards and right into me, knocking all air out of me and sending me stumbling backwards myself. Yes, the original felt if I touched their reflection, and yes, they could hurt me. Despite being not visible in their world, not even there, there seemed to be some resistance in the location I would be standing in on the other side of the mirror, since reflections were trying to walk through me in this world.

I looked up just in time to find Yúgure staring in disbelief at the reflection in the mirror, dark-blue flames enveloping both of her hands and coating her version of the room in a blue light. She spotted 'my reflection' behind hers after a few seconds and let out a small sigh.

"Yume, what the...?"

Yúgure trailed off. She had turned around, the flames enveloping her hands extinguishing – Only to come back in full power as she didn't find me behind her. She twirled around to the mirror again, stared in disbelief at 'my reflection', then at the empty spot behind her. Panic flashed across her otherwise so kind features.

Realizing my mistake, I quickly rose my hands in an attempt to calm her down, to show her that it's alright and that she wasn't in the middle of what must without a doubt look like a nightmare.

"Yúgure, wait, it's me!" I spoke immediately, and, answering yet another question, the girl did cringe. She could hear me.

"Yume? Where are you? What... What is this?" I heard her ask, once more looking to the empty spot behind her, "Are you invisible? How can I see you in the mirror?"

"Well..." I chuckled uneasily, only yet realizing that this was kind of hard to explain, "I'm kinda in the mirror? As in 'inside' it."

She frowned, then turned to look back at the mirror in front of her. Creepy enough, despite her reflection looking away from me, it did look like the real Yúgure was staring through the mirror right at me, almost as if she was looking through glass.

Curiosity got the better of me yet again. Glancing to the full-length mirror I had used to enter the mirrored world, I found that I could see Yúgure through it as well, only from the side. Which was kind of creepy, given that it looked like she was standing behind a wall in front of me and looking at me through glass. Given the right angle, I could probably look through one mirror to see me in another doing the same. And given that I was in a world on it's own, but that would mean that looking through another one I would be looking back into the one I was in and able to see my back, I think I just started to think with portals.

Is this how Yukari Yakumo felt? Is this how I would have to think when using this world? Was this anything like Yukari's gap world?

"You're – You mean, you're in there?" muttered Yúgure in amazement, lifting one hand to knock on the mirror she was looking into, "How is this even possible? I hear your voice loud and clear, coming from... everywhere. Are you really not in this room here?"

"I have no idea. I didn't know I could do this until earlier today. I mean, I always knew I had no reflection, but I didn't ever touch a mirror until earlier and... just passed through." I replied, shuddering at the image of me walking through a solid object, "So no, I'm not in the same room as you. Not really. But, uh, there's kinda a second you in here, doing everything you do. Your reflection."

I immediately spotted the confusion and the curiosity on the other girl's face, especially as she leaned even closer to the mirror, almost as if to pass through herself. Which, as she had proven when she had knocked on it, didn't work.

"Can you show me?" she inquired suddenly, "I mean, can you get me... 'inside' as well?"

I frowned, not quite sure about that. Could she enter if I pulled her along? Then again, how should she enter this world, with her reflection always in the way? Wasn't this like when you and a stranger met paths, and you both always avoided each other into the same direction? You kept blocking each others path.

"I'm not sure." I replied in all honesty, "Your reflection should be in the way. I have none, so it isn't a problem for me." I swallowed, suddenly feeling the effect of curiosity again. "Give me a second."

Not really knowing what I was doing, I slowly approached the Reflection-Yúgure. She didn't turn to me, couldn't, as Yúgure was still looking right at me. Carefully, I touched the replica of my friend – and both of them tensed up with a shriek.

"Your hands are cold!" complained both of them, and I quickly pulled my hands back, realizing only now how much my body temperature must've lowered with my time spent in the colder world.

"Sorry. It's cold in here. A lot colder than in the world you are in." I apologized.

"It's alright. Ah... Let's not try this, after all. Another time." responded the succubus girl uneasily, only then bowing down to pick up the broken lamp. She cursed silently, but left it at that. Realizing how uncomfortable it had to be for her to essentially talk to herself, I let out a sigh and walked over to the sink she was standing in front of. I needed to try one more thing.

I reached into the mirror, the world beyond it much warmer, and placed my hand on Yúgure's shoulder. Of course, she shrieked again and stared wide-eyed at the mirror, once more almost letting the lamp drop. But she caught herself, and it, before that happened, and instead glared at me.

"Could you not do that? Do you have any idea of how creepy that looks from my point of view? There's what is supposed to be a reflection, reaching right through the mirror, extending a hand to me!" she complained, though there was no real anger in her voice. Just shock. I rolled my eyes and smiled a bit, but pulled my hand back. I knew she was right.

"You have no idea of how creepy that is for me, too. I see two versions of you." I responded, but quickly turned to the full-length mirror I had entered through to leave this world again.

"Others would give everything for even one of me, and you have two and complain? I'm offended." giggled the succubus, much more playful again as she spotted me stepping out of the mirror, walking up to me and smiling through the darkness, "Still, what the hell is this? Is this your ability?"

"I guess. I knew I could manipulate dreams, but this is new for me as well." I replied with a shrug, not sure what else to do. This was kind of a lot for me as well. And there were still too many unanswered questions about this new world.

'New' being the wrong word. It must have existed since the first ever reflection, maybe even longer than that, unaware by anyone but, as far as I could see, me. But to me, it was new. A whole new limit of what I was capable of.

And it was kind of scary.

"Definitely interesting, though. I wouldn't mind seeing this world you just spoke of." chuckled Yúgure and looked past me, extending a hand to the mirror, running a slender finger and a long nail over it, with her reflection mirroring it, "I mean, I always had the feeling there was more, you know? There's been stories about this other world beyond the mirror, full of beings that look like us, since practically forever. Rumors, nothing more. Scary stories of doppelgangers coming and taking our place. But it seems you just proved how much truth there is to these rumors."

We both went quiet after that. For a moment, we both stared into the mirror, watching as Yúgure's reflection stared back. Both lost in our own thoughts about the world beyond the glass.

And then, Yúgure turned away.

"I tell you more another day, okay? It's kind of late, and I didn't plan on staying here. I was merely going to clean my face up a bit." chuckled the other girl and held her broken lamp up, "Good thing I didn't have to pee. With your small show just a few minutes ago, I would've peed my pants. You scared the hell out of me, and I'm a demon!"

"I'm not sure if that is something to be proud of." I muttered uneasily, somewhat amused. The word 'demon' had gone past me unnoticed back then.

"Sure is. Doesn't happen too often." she continued, "Now, excuse me as I go back to bed. Today is going to be a big day, and I have to be at my best for the arena I'm going to prepare with my terraforming magic. It's going to be something flashy and perfect for the finale. A throwback even, maybe."

"Okay? Sorry about the lamp, by the way."

"It's alright. I learned something very interesting in return about you, my little gothic angel. And though it was creepy, I was glad I could share this moment with you. Kind of special, isn't it?" she giggled in a flirtatious way, winking at me.

I smiled back, and seeing this, Yúgure turned to the door.

But as she opened it and began to leave the room, I couldn't help but stop and look back into the mirrors of the room. The room that suddenly seemed to be so much bigger, so much deeper than before.

After what I had just learned about mirrors and myself, and what I would undeniably still learn about those things, I knew that I would never be able to look at mirrors the same way as before.

---

Chôzen's PoV! It's time for the finale!

The people in the arena were cheering madly when my team made it's way down the long flight of stairs towards the battlefield, with Rumia walking to my right, and Nanatsu to my left, and me at the front. Yajû and Yume had once more chosen a place in the Scarlet Devil Lounge, as I could easily see the two of them just behind the window of the large dome, staring down at us and cheering in excitement as well.

The time had come. After days of fighting, of struggling and meeting both old and new faces, the day of the finale had arrived. And just like it had been the finale of the journey to find my memories, it was me against Utsuho Reiuji, with Nanatsu and Rumia at my side.

Only this time, this wasn't about memories. About preventing a nuclear disaster. This time, our fight was about honor and a title. Of course, this was, in a sense, not the last fight of the tournament yet. Those who had lost in the semi-finals had yet to fight for the third and the fourth place. And, of course, there was also going to be the fight of this year's champion – either my team or that of Utsuho, whichever team would emerge victorious from the next fight – against the champion of the last year.

Which I still didn't know who it was.

I had made many assumptions so far. It had to be someone who wasn't in the tournament this year. Kanako came to my mind, but Yukari had mentioned that Kanako's team – herself, Sanae and, strangely, Kogasa (but then again, two goddesses on the same team would've probably been overkill, and I doubted that Suwako had any interest in participating in these 'pointless' fights) – had lost in the finale last year. But who was strong enough to give Kanako a run for her money? It was no one from the Scarlet Devi Mansion. Yukari's Shikigami came to my mind. Shikieiki did, though she had surely not participated. Toyosatomimi did. Aya did.

There were lots of foes that could've as well been the champion of the last year. Many who were, with all the limitations of the tournament, equal to Kanako's team. This wasn't going to be easy. Neither Utsuho's team, nor the champion of the last year would be, if we were to defeat Utsuho.

Many worthy foes had gathered in this place, using different strategies and tactics, each approaching their enemies in a different way than in the fight before. Yukari had approached me with an offensive defense strategy, going in to do as much damage as possible to me in an attempt to prevent me from defeating her and moving on to her teammates, which she had searched to protect.

Although not my enemy in the tournament, Kanako had gone full offense on me. Mima's team had been slow on Cirno's team, enjoying the fight before defeating them, with Cirno's team going full out on them, managing to even catch them off guard a bit. Flandre against Utsuho had been a battle of pure destruction, Remilia against Yuugi a battle of wits. And Flandre's and Remilia's teams against one another had chosen emotional fights – sister clashing with her respective sister, and lovers fighting against one another – to once more prove their strength and test themselves.

When Mima had taken me on, she had searched to recreate the events from back then to see if it had been no mistake that I had won, and to finally find closure on it. And Utsuho against Yuugi had been a battle of endurance, the loser being the one who could not adapt to the battlefield as well as the other team.

Now, it was Utsuho's team against my team. And I had no idea how that would turn out. Had no strategy, other than me taking Utsuho on, and sending Rumia to deal with her old friend Ryoko, leaving Nanatsu to fight Rin.

"We should've played that one video game that came out recently a lot more, after all. You know, this reminds me of it in so many ways, we should call this tournament, as a tribute to it, Super Smash Sisters."

"You never cease with the randomness, do you?"

"I think he has a point."

"I think you have a weird idea of what's being the point."

"Funny hearing that from you, weirdo. Cause I think you have a serious problem. You're arguing with voices inside your head, mister. Again."

"...Touché."

"Fighting your inner demons again, are you?" chuckled Nanatsu all of sudden, leaving me to shake my head and frown into her direction.

"How'd ya know? Has it become obvious? Am I talking to myself? Have I finally lost it entirely?" I muttered uneasily, shuddering at the thought of myself running around and being all weird. Which, now that I think of it, has been pretty much a summary of my life. So, ah... Weirder than usual?

"No, thankfully not. But your face was all scrunched up and you were looking at nothing in particular. That usually happens when you're arguing with them again." explained Rumia for Nanatsu, with the Shinigami nodding eagerly.

"She just called us 'them'. I'm offended."

"So that's your motto today, eh? Being offended by anything and everything."

"What's with the accusing tone? I'm offended you even think of me that way!"

"I feel confirmed."

"I feel offended that you feel confirmed."

"I feel a headache coming our way if you keep talking and arguing."

"Oh please not!"

"Oh please not!"

Say what you want, but we did agree in one thing – We didn't like headaches. Having a headache with two more personalities inside your head, feeling it as well, is really, really annoying. It's like having the worst hangover ever, of all time, and being locked into a tiny room with two of your friends, who have an equal hangover. Every noise that one of you makes causes the headache of the other two to act up, and since they'll moan in pain and no one can leave the room or even bring as much as a small distance between you, you pretty much get the worst echo-like effect ever.

Of all time.

I was snapped out of my thoughts – which, in a sense, weren't entirely mine, I guess – by someone that chose that moment to place herself in our way, right at the bottom of the stairs. A girl with dark blue hair and eyes of the same color, wearing a frilly green leaf-patterned Kimono that faded to a more teal shade towards the bottom. Perhaps the most curious thing about her were the small fins in place of her ears, making it quite obvious she was some kind of water-related Youkai. Not a Kappa, though.

Even though the wheelchair that she was sitting in made me question that.

"The grand heroes themselves." she spoke timidly, smiling softly up at us. Her voice was soft, quiet, but very melodic. Pleasant to the ears, and that in a completely different way than Rumia's or Nanatsu's voices. She moved the wheelchair back a bit, awkward in it's movements, and allowed us to leave the stairs behind that way.

"I wouldn't call us heroes." I replied the moment that I stood in front of her, raising an eyebrow at her, "Being forced to fight for something you don't believe in due to a quirk of fate doesn't make one a hero."

"But a tragic back-story does. And I am all about the tragedy. The romances of people that cannot be together due to society. The lovers, separated by fame or wealth. Two people, distance separating them, but trusting in one another, holding onto each other. The hero, sacrificing himself for the girl he loves." the Youkai in the wheelchair narrowed her eyes at us, observed us, smiled, "Or a love triangle. A man torn between the princess and the female warrior."

"What about the girl that can't use her legs and really pushes her luck with the crazy madwoman?" offered Rumia in return, a hostile tone in her voice. The woman in the wheelchair laughed at that and rose her hands in an attempt to calm Rumia down, showing her that she meant not to insult her.

"Perhaps to sacrifice herself for a bigger reason? That would indeed be tragic. The ultimate sacrifice to keep her friends safe." she turned her eyes to Nanatsu, "But if it's merely to meet the three people she idolizes, it's not as tragic, is it?"

"Not quite." replied Rumia sharply, before nodding down to the legs of the woman, hidden beneath the Kimono, "I've never been one for subtlety or pity, so don't feel offended if I'm direct now: What's with the wheelchair?"

Ugh, Rumia. Hold the bone to her and she bites off your arm.

"Yes... The girl in a wheelchair, sacrificing herself for her friends would indeed be tragic." continued the female in the wheelchair, smiling to herself as if she hadn't heard Rumia, before reaching for the lower end of her Kimono, "If the girl was indeed confined to the wheelchair, and not just sitting in it as some kind of experiment. Or if she did actually possess legs."

The woman lifted her Kimono during the final words – and thus revealed the blue-grey fish tail that ended in two large fins. A mermaid.

"Huh." snorted Rumia and rose an eyebrow herself, suddenly smirking, "You got me there. Still, what's up with the wheelchair? What kind of 'experiment' are we talking about?"

"Well..." began the woman, only to suddenly float out of the wheelchair, leaving it back as she began to hover over it, "To start off, my name would be Wakasagihime, and I know just fine who you three are. And this 'experiment' was me trying to find out if a wheelchair is anything as comfortable as it seemed to be in this manga that I borrowed from Yukari Yakumo. She has quite the collection. In that manga, a mermaid, unable to fly like we can do here in Gensokyo, was spending most of her time on land in a wheelchair. She seemed comfortable with it."

Manga? Really, Yukari, now you start influencing other peoples lives instead of manipulating, ruining or flat out change them? With manga from the outside world, of all things?

"That's so Yakum..."

"Shut up, don't forget the headache!"

"That does sound like my half-sister." chuckled the fallen angel in return and finally relaxed. Seems she was fine with the mermaid – Wakasagihime – after all.

"Anyways, you three... I came to wish you good luck for your upcoming fight. It's sad, almost tragic, that we did not have the pleasure of meeting before, but we should change that. Well, I did just now, did I?" she giggled to herself as she trailed off, then tilted her head a bit and smiled in a way that reminded me of the timid honesty of the Kappa Nitori, "I'm gonna root for you three, so don't you lose, okay? Besides, Kagerou and Mokou have a bet going on, with Kagerou betting for Utsuho's team. It would be benefiting for everyone if Kagerou got taken down a peg or two."

The werewolf-friend of Mokou again. Huh. Figures that... No, actually, I have no clue how the feisty werewolf and the quiet mermaid know each other. Maybe they met in a romantic setting, during a starry night at the shore of – Where does that mermaid live, actually?

"Under the sea."

"Headache!"

"We will do our best. Can't promise we're going to win, Utsuho is no easy foe, and she's got Rin and Ryoko to back her up." I sighed, rubbing the back of my head as I glanced towards the battlefield, where Yúgure was talking with the judges about something, "And when it comes to her partners, it's actually Rin that I'm afraid of."

"Rin?" inquired Wakasagihime, seemed surprised, "Surely she is the weaker of the two. I have heard the tragic story of Ryoko Jigoku, and the strength she gained from it. Rin Kaenbyou is known for her intellect and her tactic, much more than her actual reliability in a fight."

"Sure, Ryoko has the brute strength and is incredible powerful when it comes to laser danmaku." I replied, sharing a glance with Rumia, who knew only too well what her old friend was capable of, "But Rin is the very dangerous factor in this equation due to Utsuho. Rin alone decides how dangerous Utsuho will be."

"Alive, safe and unscathed, Rin is a major factor in Utsuho's motivation. Utsuho seeks to protect her, no matter at what cost, and will abandon a fight and get herself in danger if it's to save Rin. Since Utsuho is so resistant, though, she will probably not even feel the attack she takes for Rin. That makes her very dangerous in both offense and defense, which will be already quite high due to Ryoko being on the team." added Nanatsu.

"If we do manage to get past Utsuho and hurt or defeat Rin, we will set off Utsuho's anger, which in return sparks her motivation to defeat us, turning the desire to win into a need to win, for Rin. To avenge her. The blazing retribution." chimed Rumia in, a scowl finding it's way onto her face as she turned to glare towards the other side of the battlefield, from where Utsuho's team approached, "Which means that either way, we will fight a dangerous foe. But we do plan on setting off Utsuho's anger. There's no way we can defeat her first, Rin doesn't have the resistance that both of her partners have. She will get caught in the crossfire either way, and be defeated."

A plan was slowly coming together. We should've approached it this way before, logical and focused on Utsuho, rather than on all three.

"The plan is for me to engage Utsuho in battle and keep her occupied, as Rumia will do with Ryoko." I explained the plan I had just made up, though not as much to Wakasagihime as to Nanatsu and Rumia, "Nanatsu will charge in and defeat Rin. This'll trigger Utsuho's anger, but I've dealt with that before, and I'll manage again. With Rin defeated, Nanatsu will move on to help Rumia with Ryoko. She'll need the additional help, Ryoko is on par with Rumia, from what I know. If I didn't manage to deal with Utsuho by the time that Ryoko is defeated, the two of them will help me with Utsuho. I'll probably need that..."

"So my wish for the best of luck to you is appreciated then." giggled the mermaid, and I nodded. Yes, we'd need all luck we could get. This wasn't Mima, who had told Yuuka and Shinki not to interfere with her fight against me. Utsuho, while slow, had a complex way of thinking, and a short fuse to go with it when it came to Rin. And Ryoko was dangerous and versatile, being able to deal out large amounts of wide-spread destruction, but was also cunning and able to focus her abilities for controlled destruction.

This wasn't just any battle. Not with these foes, the unlikely, but very dangerous trio. Ryoko had proven just how dangerous she was in her battle against Meiling, and if not for Flandre defeating Utsuho before Rin, Utsuho would've proven to be a way tougher challenge for Flandre.

I'm not going to say that it was luck that helped them, but it hadn't been a strategy, either. They hadn't planned to defeat Utsuho first, a thing most deemed impossible. I wouldn't be able to do the same thing just like that, not without help.

So, in a way, Flandre was stronger than me.

"Contestants, please take your spot on the battlefield! The finale can now begin!"

Hearing Akyuu calling out to us, I finally let out a deep sigh. No more time to waste thoughts on how to approach this battle, and how these plans would probably fail on an epic scale. Utsuho tended to crush your plans into oblivion. By accident.

"Just like Parsee's spine."

Giving a last appreciative nod into the direction of the mermaid, I set myself into motion, my suddenly heavy limbs starting to move my even heavier body into the direction of the battlefield that was mere meters away. On the other side, Utsuho jumped onto it with a spectacular backflip, cape waving wildly in the wind of her movements. Ryoko and Rin, much less spectacular, merely hopped onto it, as did Nanatsu, Rumia and I.

And just like that, the finale was about to begin.

Taking our spots on either side of Yúgure, who had moved to the middle of the battlefield – surely ready to manipulate it – and was observing us, Utsuho and I shared a glance. She seemed excited, in the more childish way, smiling innocently. This was just the finale of another game to her, wasn't it?

"Now then! From the old capital of hell, Utsuho Reiuji, Rin Kaenbyou and the ex-queen of nocturnal Youkai from the Forest of Magic, Ryoko Jigoku, have made their way to this point, using their second chance to move right on into the finale! And who will they face? No one less but Chôzen Gekido, Nanatsu no Taizai, and Rumia Gekido-Shisô, who have managed to win against the team of Mima Kazami in a breath-taking round of the semi-finals." exclaimed Rinnosuke, though the volume of his voice was mostly due to Yukari's meddling.

"It's gonna be excitin', I can tell ya! I'd make bets about this, but Yakumo forbid me to do so..." added Sly, and I rolled my eyes. There was no question as to why Yukari had forbid him the joy of gambling – he was a gambler at heart, knew tricks, deceived, lied, and probably cheated. And drank. Whatever that icky, sizzling, bilious green stuff that looked so much like acid in his flask was.

"For a reason." huffed Aya, once more proving that the reporter and the barkeeper weren't on the best of terms, "But this isn't about you, as hard as that is for you to accept!"

"Contestants!" yelled Akyuu, by no doubt trying to interrupt the argument of her fellow judges before it even started by escalating into one, "The moment that Yúgure has transformed the battlefield and Kanako Yasaka has set up the barrier, you may begin!"

Yúgure, who this as actually a message to, nodded. She gave a final glance into the direction of my team, then into that of Utsuho's team. Utsuho was surprisingly calm, with Rin smiling – even though nervous – and Ryoko jumping left and right, alternating between which foot she landed on, more than obviously excited and full of energy. Energy she would unleash upon us as soon as she was allowed to.

Yúgure didn't hesitate. Slamming down both of her hands on the ground and concentrating, only to then quickly push off that spot and fly backwards into the direction of the judges, she initiated the battle. The ground shook violently as it terraformed this time, something that hadn't happened before, even when it had turned into a floating island.

The moment that Yúgure was out of the battlefield, the orange barrier of Kanako Yasaka was erected, trapping us in the still changing battlefield.

We all watched as the ground beneath us tore from the rest of it in a large rectangular shape, elevating us upwards. The platform we were on was standing on four pillars, one at each corner, with the concrete slowly turning into some kind of black stone that oddly reminded me of that fall into the active volcano that Yukari had accidentally send us on a few days before.

More of that black stone rose into the air at the corners of the battlefield, climbing up the barrier a bit, as all the area between it and the platform we were on began to sink further down. A sudden heat made me cringe, sweat forming on my forehead long before I spotted the magma that took the place of the lowered ground. We were on an elevated platform in the middle of a sea of lava. But it didn't stop there.

The wave of Yúgure's terraforming crept up the barrier, rose to the ceiling, sled along it, only to then come down towards us in several spots as stalactites and, right above the middle, some kind of mechanical Icosahedron surrounded by two halos of iron that, without a doubt, represented something akin to the nuclear reactor down in the hells of blazing fire.

I swallowed the knot that formed in my throat. Yúgure's choice for the battlefield sure didn't help the feeling that this was much like my final fight with Utsuho back then, the one about my memories. It had been in the hell of blazing fires. This battlefield reminded of it. It had been the end of my journey for my memories, this one was the end of this years tournament. Back then, I was desperate to regain my memories. This time, I was desperate to win. After defeating Yukari, after Mima sending us on into the finale, after being gone for twenty years, this was my chance to prove everyone that we were still fitting in, that we were still who we were and that they could rely on us in times dark, should there ever again be such a time.

"Spellcard rules initiated!"

The transformation came to a stop. I lowered my gaze, ready to begin.

A control rod slammed into my face.

~ Can the walking enigma overcome the black bird? Chôzen versus Utsuho! Music cue: Foreground Eclipse – Flames within these black feathers ~

I cursed, my face throbbing and aching, sent backwards into the air at incredible speed, body spinning wildly. The worried gasps from Nanatsu and Rumia assured me that they had been caught off guard as well, but neither of them could help me – Ryoko had charged at Rumia with her claw-gauntlet on, forcing the Angel of Death to block, while Rin had summoned several floating skulls, burning in blue fire, and had thrown them at Nanatsu.

My body stopped to spin just in time for me to see Utsuho pushing herself off the platform, her body glowing in the orange light of nuclear energy, coming right at me in what was essentially the weaker version of her spellcard 'black bird of Chernobyl'.

On instinct, negative energy gathered in my right hand, green lightning sizzling between black bones. I charged it, let Utsuho come close, knew the risk of doing that. My hand lashed out at the last second, green energy mixing with orange one, my hand slamming into the side of Utsuho's shoulder when she was mere inches away.

Thrown off balance, she twirled, but rose her right leg in an attempt to hit me with the congealed matter that enveloped it, knowing how devastating a kick with it would be. Weight gathered in my left hand, chains bursting forth from my heart and curling around my left arm, only to attach to Alastor the moment it was laying in my left hand – it's blade blocking the actual hit of the kick.

The immense power behind it, however, could not be stopped, and so, I found myself flying backwards through the air, threatening to impact with the barrier eventually, would I not be stopped. But I was stopped, and that by Utsuho pulling her leg back – around which I had laid the chains.

Pulled into the other direction, a simple tug on the chains freed them from Utsuho's leg, and allowed me to maneuver back towards her, dismissing the blade of guilt again already.

Utsuho was clearly displeased, but merely narrowed her eyes as I came for her again, even allowed me to come within an arm's reach of her, which I used to throw a punch at her head with my good hand. She blocked it with her control rod, got me in the right side with a kick, but merely got a flinch out of me. What did prove to be way more efficient, though, was her palm being thrust into my chest with inhuman power.

While not sending me flying, it did catch me off guard and led to me losing my balance in midair, something that Utsuho quickly exploited. It was at that point that I was sure that the Yatagarasu was guiding her every movement, as she reacted way quicker and more coordinated as during her fight with Flandre. Grabbing me by the ankle and pulling it up, she had me losing my balance for good, turning my world upside-down – and began to spin me around herself .

I felt the effect kick in almost immediately as the world around me began to spin, the nausea. While being able to stand many things, it was circular movement that got to me. A pathetic weakness that I chose not to tell even my best of friends – which were, by coincidence, almost all my greatest rivals.

Utsuho let go of my ankle and sent me flying through the air. The world continued to spin, even as I focused on regaining my balance to at least stop the spinning, if I couldn't stop my flight. The world eventually stopped the right way around, but my body impacted with the barrier for what felt like the six millionth time in the tournament - And I didn't even get used to the pain yet!

I couldn't fly after the impact, my body refusing to listen to me, consciousness even blacking out for a second. Utsuho had gotten way more powerful than I remembered her to be. Either that, or the Yatagarasu was really helping her a lot this time.

I remembered the lava too late. Thankfully, though, it was ground that my feet came in touch with, and I realized that I had hit the barrier in one of the corners of the battlefield a second later. Nonetheless, I stumbled – and quickly felt adrenaline kick in and all strength return as I saw what I was tumbling towards. Lava.

My feet came to a stop just in front of the hot liquid, though my toes already feeling like they were being roasted. I shuddered.

"Nope, not again, I think we can safely say that we do not want another bath in magma!"

"Wholeheartedly agreed!"

I pushed off the ground and charged back into the air, all too eager to get away from the liquid that had once cost me a lot of flesh, my lower body, and to this day had not given me my right hand back. Even if that had been when I had taken a bath in magma. Nuclear charged magma.

Utsuho had watched this with great interest, but was back to attacking me the moment that I was back in the air, already charging towards me with her control rod being extended, a blade of energy at it's tip to cut through me. I gasped, quickly brought up my own left hand and summoned Alastor, the only thing in my arsenal that I trusted to be able to counter something like that. And indeed, it blocked the blade – but sent me off balance yet again.

"Where does she take this immense strength from? Shit, she's gained like, what, double her physical strength from back then?"

A leg slammed into the side of my skull and sent me twirling to the left, followed quickly by a wing slamming into my face, and a hand curling around my throat. Yanked around like I was a little doll, Utsuho threw me by my throat into the direction of the platform we had started off on, on which Rumia and Ryoko fought – and more pain echoed through my body as I slammed down on the ground.

But I caught myself. Had learned to take the pain for as long as necessary from the battles in my past. Used the momentum to roll over the black stone right after my impact, coming to a stop on both my wobbly legs right aside Rumia.

"I don't remember that bird to be so strong, nor so silent. Isn't she, like, bubbly, childish and talkative?" I growled to my second wife upon ensuring that I would not distract her, or end up being a target to Ryoko's attacks.

"Do you need me to spell out that it's that freaky eye of hers?" snorted Rumia, somewhere in between amused at me and pissed at Ryoko, who used energy blades to continually strike at Rumia's Tyrfing from different angles, "Stab her in the eye or something, Chôzen, I really got to...!"

Rumia cursed aloud when Ryoko's energy pushed Tyrfing to the side, and Ryoko's claw lashed out – and was quickly blocked by me interfering, my bony hand getting in the way. My former mentor's eyes widened – right before I swung her hand upwards and slammed it into her own face, sending her stumbling backwards, before I followed with a sweeping kick right after, sending her face-first onto the ground.

The Angel of Death smirked at me in a pleased manner – before she suddenly turned the other way and, in the probably most graceful and yet lethal manner, kicked the nearing Utsuho in the side of her head, sending her face-first into the ground as well, sliding over the black rocks.

Rumia took her position behind me, placing us back-to-back.

"You're getting sloppy, eh? Is this a little too hot for you?" she chuckled, amused by her own joke, "Should we swap enemies? You seem to be able to handle Ryoko a lot better."

"I'd rather not. Besides, it was the element of surprise." I responded quietly, watching as both the hellraven and the ex-queen slowly got to their feet, "It's best if we stick to the plan. You delay Ryoko. I take care of Utsuho."

She nodded, prepared herself to take on her old friend again, while I watched Utsuho rolling her shoulders and her neck, then focusing back on me. So much for my little breather.

Rumia charged forward behind me, engaged Ryoko again in another battle of strength. Utsuho reacted at roughly the same moment, lifting her control rod to point it at me, small hatches opening up on the orange surface, an orb of energy gathering at the tip. My only reaction was to quickly gather a shield of green energy in front of me, as the thin laser followed only a second later, accompanied by countless small streams of bullets being released from the hatches.

I countered by breaking the shield to the side, the recoil sending me out of the way from the streams, most of which were erased by the shields destruction. Utsuho tried to pull her control rod around to aim at me again, but I quickly released a laser that deflected the control rod up into the air, something that Utsuho had not prepared for, the recoil of her own weapon sending her falling onto her rear.

What followed next made me cringe in hindsight, but in the heat of the moment, I let my need for battle get the better of me, leading me to charge at Utsuho – and kick her right into the face. She shrieked in pain, was sent rolling over the black rocks and the edge of the platform, forcing her to spread her wings and take flight again.

Figuring out that it was time to go all out on Utsuho, I lowered the barrier between me and Insanity, let the power of my own wicked mind flow into me. Green hue turned red. My powers rose. Time to cut the birdies wings.

Like the berserker I was at that moment, I followed her right away. Stomping with all my speed towards the edge of the platform, I pushed myself off it and catapulted my body right at the troublesome divine flame. She saw me coming. She noticed the change of color.

She was prepared.

The eye of the Yatagarasu on her chest lit up, glowed crimson. The iris began to spin wildly, taking in all around it rather quickly, before focusing on me. It was too late to turn around for me. I could only pull my limbs in before the eye of the Yatagarasu unleashed a shockwave of burning energy.

Despite the spellcard rules, I still felt the burning sensation, the lines that burnt into my arm for only a second. My body was flung backwards, ripping through the air. I impacted with something that shattered immediately, the sounds of rocks falling into lava and the ghastly noise of a platform of rocks slowly tilting following right away, long before my body impacted with the ground and bounced off it, only to slam into the barrier right after that, sinking down on it until I lay flat in one of the corners of the battlefield, spotting how the platform that the fight had begun on began to tilt dangerously into the direction of the now missing pillar that held it up.

And then, there was this glowing orb of nuclear energy right behind it...

"Nuclear Bird 'Black Bird of Chernobyl'!" I heard Utsuho scream, the last remains of nuclear energy gathering inside her. I barely found the time to gasp, knew I had to get the hell away from where I was, but would never make it in time – if not for a little trick I had rather not pulled.

"Negative Bullet!" I announced quickly, the name of the spellcard immediately activating it's effect, and throwing my body through a tunnel of negated air resistance and gravity, catapulting me high up into the air and away from where Utsuho impacted only a second later – after breaking through two more pillars of the platform.

That was too much for it. It groaned, no longer able to support it's own weight with just one pillar alone, and collapsed mere seconds after, tilting into the direction where the first leg had gone missing. Ryoko and Rumia reacted quickly and jumped off the platform, which came crashing down into the lava at the same time. As it finally came to a stop, only the corner with it's pillar still intact was sticking out of the fiery liquid.

I shivered at the images that flooded my mind, only too much reminiscent of the battle against Utsuho in the hell of blazing fires twenty years earlier.

The curse of living for a long time and having the brain to go with it: Remembering all the trouble you've ever faced.

I shuddered, but turned back to Okuu, who had recovered from her impact with the rocks and turned to glare up at me, ready to continue the hunt for my head. Not that I would make it easy for her. But the problem was that I didn't have all the spellcards from back then anymore. The two 'Reaper Signs' had already become useless back then, and since my departure from Gensokyo, I had also given up quite a lot of my other spellcards. Some just didn't fit me anymore, were too much of my memory-less self's representation. Others were made in anger, and I rather not used them again. Then there was the one that Reimu had forbidden me to use.

My permanent return meant I would have to create new ones. Kind of perfect, maybe my daughters could learn something from it, and learn the rules I had so generously ignored. Ya know, don't create spellcards from negative emotions, don't create lethal spellcards, don't let your insanity win you over and don't let it create spellcards, don't become a selfish idiot and especially not a monster while you hunt down the vengeful spirit of the one that created Gensokyo.

"Rules are meant to be broken. Like buildings."

"Or people."

"Okay, one day, someone will sue us."

"Can't sue me, I'm not even a whole person. Besides, can you sue the voices in the head of someone? Can't touch us!"

"Objection!"

"Objection!"

So, how do I fight back Utsuho? What spellcard that I still have left is the best approach for a powerful birdbrain that uses the 'Ultimate Power' of the Yatagarasu?

The hellraven was already rushing towards me, forcing me to abort the train of thoughts in order to react to her. I ducked her clothesline with the control rod – I swear I lost some hair there, feeling the wind whirled up by the sheer force of the attack brush through my short hair – and aimed to wrap my hands around her waist to pick her up and throw her into the ground, but she merely changed the course of her control rod, taking the whole momentum in a sudden whirl upwards – which ended with the rod slamming down on my head rather hard. And with hard, I mean that it knocked me out of the air and sent me falling out the air at the speed of a meteor, leaving me to crash into already broken and tilted platform, creating huge cracks in the surface of it.

Despite the spellcard rules, I felt dizzy and disoriented, my whole body aching and throbbing as I picked myself out of the tilted platform after what felt like I had blacked out for a few seconds. The raw power I was up against sure felt a whole lot stronger than I remembered it to be. Was it perhaps that I really was out of shape? I mean, who could blame me, I had lived 20 years in peace, not once fighting, and a month of training wasn't going to fix that.

But after the victory of Yukari's and Mima's teams, I had been confident that I was back once and for all. Too confident. It was only then, as I sat there in the debris of the platform, dangerously close to the lava, that I realized that I wasn't. That we had won our prior battles by Reimu giving up, knowing it was three against one, and Yuuka giving up as agreed with Mima – Yuuka would've won their fight if she hadn't given up.

We shouldn't be in the finale. And I sure as hell wouldn't make it against such a powerful foe, not without continually regaining my edge once more, as this sword, the sword that I was, had become blunt, as had Nanatsu and Rumia. If we wanted to win, there was only one way, and it was tactic. Tactic, teamwork, and a lot of luck.

And at least the latter one sure wasn't on my side.

I pushed myself off the tilted platform and rushed towards Utsuho at as much speed as I could muster, summoning Alastor once more the moment I got in close range. Utsuho seemed to have suspected such a thing, as she immediately changed the position of her control rod to block the first incoming strike, but she clearly underestimated the speed of the weapon. Sure, it did brush harmlessly along the control rod when the first strike connected and merely created a few sparks, but the moment it was past it, all it took for it to hit Utsuho was for me to switch it's direction and angle – The natural extension of my aura, my negative energy, through the blade that negated air resistance and allowed it to immediately absorb it's own momentum, doing the rest. Kinda sucked that I, despite using the same aura, couldn't negate air resistance or momentum just like that.

Especially the latter one would've saved my ass a few times twenty years ago. Like, when I crashed into the Moriya Shrine. A few times. God, that would've saved everything! The countless hours of fixing the shrine! I swear to god, if I ever get the chance to change that, I will!

No time to waste thoughts about that. Alastor cut through Utsuho's side, and while not being able to really cut her due to the spellcard rules, it met resistance and moved through her. A scream erupted from her throat, more avian than human, and she was thrown off balance a bit, thus giving me a rather large opening that I could work with, cutting her more and more.

But, as it is with rapid strikes on an enemy, there is a point where you best stop. The point where they get used to it and see through your movements. Where they can counter easily. Where you're in for a world of hurt.

I stepped past that point. Just a little bit. Ya know, to the point where Utsuho suddenly blocked my next strike with her control rod, and sent a punch with the other hand right at my face. Hurt a bit in the eye, cause, ya know, she hit me right on it.

Being casual about pain does so not work.

I screamed like a sissy little girl and brought distance between me and Utsuho, cursing like a madman at the pain in my right eye, which was swelling up, despite the spellcard rules. Sometimes, I just don't understand how they work!

Utsuho didn't give me time to adjust to the sudden restriction in my vision – changing from depth perception to none, as I could only see with one eye – and rushed straight at me again, her control rod once more opening up it's hatches, this time as a blade of energy was released from the tip.

I rose Alastor in an attempt to block, which had suddenly become so much harder with the loss of depth perception, and could only snarl as I felt the blade cutting through my chest, going past Alastor. Utsuho followed right up by swinging her fist at my face, something that I found myself unable to block as well, and the pain that surged through the right side of my skull sure didn't help anything.

My defense was down from that moment on, I knew that much, and thanks to the lucky hit Utsuho had landed on my eye, total offense was not an option either.

But sometimes, you don't even have to make a decision. Sometimes, that decision is made for you. Utsuho made it for me.

She closed in on me again before I could do as much as react, the control rod, which had returned to normal, slamming into Alastor with enough strength to actually knock it out of my hand. The chains, endlessly extending, rattled as Utsuho turned the control rod to me again, aiming it at my chest.

I attempted to curse, but was cut off by a powerful burst of energy being unleashed from the control rod, slamming into my chest with enough force to go past what little defense I could muster, my body violently pushed through the air.

My vision was blurry even before I impacted with the barrier this time, bouncing off it. My last remaining strength went into keeping me in the air, attempting to focus my vision on my enemy. What I saw through my blurred vision was not what I wanted to see.

Utsuho was flying in midair, body glowing in the bright light of nuclear fusion. Bright orange with a core of yellow. Particles from all around gathering inside her. Her black wings, now coated in yellow and orange, extended fully, and continued to grow in size, extending beyond their limits.

The klaxons inside the battlefield, protruding from the ceiling, began to blare loudly, indicating the power of the nuclear fusion. I didn't have to be a genius to know that those outside the battlefield were blaring just as loudly.

It was a beautiful sight. Beautiful, but oh so deadly.

Utsuho slowly began to spin. A vertical halo of energy appeared around her, spinning in the opposite direction, the tips of her wings gliding through it, as if guided by rails. I felt how what little strength I had left was leaving. I felt how my throat slowly became dry.

A chuckle escaped my lips.

"Nuclear Bird! Black Bird of Chernobyl!" I heard Utsuho scream. Saw how the halo of energy vanished as she was launched into my direction, continually spinning like a drill. I knew my Flame-Soul attempted to make a joke about heavenly drills, seeing as how Utsuho as descending diagonally upon us. I blocked him out.

He wasn't going to ruin this for me.

Utsuho closed in at incredible speed, body spinning faster and faster as she gained velocity. The force at which she would slam into me was undeniable, especially since she was still gathering nuclear energy, power that slowed down, but made it stronger. I prepared myself, pulled Alastor back on it's chains.

She was mere inches away when I pulled Alastor up, preparing to absorb the nuclear energy with the blade, and the impact by putting my feet against the barrier behind me. She was mere inches away when she stopped to spin and I saw the glint of madness in her eyes, the glint of the anger that the Yatagarasu was waking within her.

She was mere inches away when she used all the energy within her to come to a complete stop, making eye contact with me for a few seconds – only to then twirl into the other direction, control rod extended.

I felt my eyes widen, I turned my head to the right, my body not being able to respond just as fast. The last thing I saw coming was the control rod, right at the height of my skull, still glowing in nuclear energy.

And then, after a sickening crack, only black.

---

Nanatsu's PoV

~ The carriers of corpses clash! Nanatsu vs. Rin! Music cue: Sound Holic – Dancing Ash ~

I landed on the tilted platform, one foot sliding across it. Despite the odd position, I changed the position of Shi no Taizai within my hands and swung it up, cutting through the burning skull that had chased me there. It blew up mere inches away from me, but didn't trigger any of the other skulls that were still rushing at me, too many to be cut apart, forcing me to avoid yet again.

Pushing off the platform, I could only watch in frustration as I saw several explosions rock the black platform, shaking it violently. And yet, it did not sink further into the lava it protruded from.

My feet came in touch with ground, even though it was more of a pillar of burnt rock that stood in the sea of lava. Still enough to give me a short breather, and lift my gaze in an attempt to spot Rin again, the source of the skulls.

It wasn't too hard to find her, she had remained in the same position near the barrier, more of the volatile skulls surrounding her body, ready to be launched my way.

I scowled, tightened my grip on Shi no Taizai. This was a job for Rumia, she was the one with the gun, she'd be able to hit the skulls before they got too close. Normal bullets refused to trigger the skulls, but with Rumia's Kaibutsu having a physical core, they surely could.

Only was Rumia having enough problems with Ryoko, the berserker of a queen refusing to go down, no matter what Rumia threw at her. I had spotted her a few times during my escape from Rin's attacks, throwing everything she had at Ryoko. The ex-queen hadn't exactly seemed to be fazed.

Come to think of it – I hadn't seen Chôzen in a while. He and Utsuho had moved through the limited space of the battlefield like crazy, destroying everything in their path, but now, it had become silent. Eerily silent. But I couldn't glance around, couldn't avert my gaze, not with Rin still having these skulls and being able to throw them at me.

They seemed to inhabit quite some power in their explosions, and while one was far from being able to knock me out, the damage would still be undeniable. Damage was the last thing I needed, with Utsuho and Ryoko both being able to exploit exactly that with their raw power.

Rin launched another skull at me that moment, and I jumped backwards, watched with a growl as the skull blew the pillar up and let it crumble apart into the lava below. It was time I found a way to counter, though I wasn't quite sure how to do that yet.

I couldn't rush straight at her, not with the skulls. There was no way I could stop all of them, and flying through the explosions didn't seem to be the wisest idea, even with the high resistance I had. On the other hand, what much of a choice did I have? We weren't playing the regular Danmaku here, bullets were a great way of attacking, but wouldn't be enough to stop Rin from throwing the skulls, a much stronger kind of bullets.

Glancing over my shoulder for a split second, I wondered how I could get Senkoku into the game. The slower, but much more powerful hammer. Just like Shi no Taizai, it was a close-range weapon, melee, and had no way of attacking from afar with a physical attack. And there was no way I could cut the skulls from afar in a straight path, allowing me to close in on Rin!

...Was there?

A weird idea crossed my thoughts – I swear, I blame Rumia's influence for these crazy, risky ideas I get sometimes! - and I glared back at Rin, just as she threw another three skulls. I let them close in, counted the seconds. Guessed the distance between us, between Rin and me.

I had one shot. If this failed, I was going to lose one of my only ways of doing great damage to our opponents. If it worked, Rin was more than likely defeated. As much of an average fighter and great mind as she was, she couldn't stand a lot of attacks from a strong fighter like Yuuka or me.

"If this works, I'm so gonna celebrate the day that Rumia's riskiness rubbed off on me."

Two fast cuts, then all of the three skulls were down, enveloping me in a cloud of smoke and fire. It hurt, but was what I needed, Rin couldn't see me for a moment. As fast as I could, I threw Shi no Taizai up into the air. Unlike when Chôzen wielded it, there were no chains in between me and the scythe – not now, at least, though they did show up from time to time – and so, this was a mostly silent action.

Pulling Senkoku and reaching back with it, all I needed to wait for was the right moment. My chance to strike. I swallowed, waited. The smoke was clearing. I could see Rin in the distance. She could see me. We locked gazes, and she threw more of her skulls directly at me.

The sound of a whirling scythe coming closer told me it was time.

I swung Senkoku with all my might, and the heavy hammer did connect – with Shi no Taizai. The sound of the impact echoed around, but I didn't care, I had made it. Now I had to rely on my luck.

The scythe, it's course changed by the impact of the hammer, flew away from me, spinning wildly in a horizontal way, anti-clockwise. Rin's eyes widened, but she realized too late that the scythe was coming at her – and cutting through every skull in it's path.

Seeing the first explosion, I knew this was my cue. Followed the scythe with all speed I could gather.

The Kasha reacted eventually, tried to shield herself, but was too slow. The hilt of the scythe hit her in between her eyes and threw her off balance, left her to squeal in pain as she was thrown backwards. But it wasn't over, and we both knew it. But we also knew that Rin had made a mistake, and that letting me get in close range was going to be her defeat.

Hence why I caught the scythe as I reached them, and slashed through Rin immediately. She shrieked in pain, but brought both of her arms up in an attempt to defend her head. Only wasn't I going for that, and reached with my free hand for her foot instead, pulling her up by the ankle.

She gasped, but was at my mercy as I swung her into the barrier behind her, feeling her body bouncing off it not exactly the most enjoyable thing, but a necessary evil to ensure our victory. I let go of her after slamming her into it twice, but didn't let her off the hook. She was still able to fight, I felt it.

The hilt of Shi no Taizai hit her into the stomach, and forced her into the barrier anew, this time with her back first. She cried out and struggled against the scythe, but I merely repeated it, then threw her up into the air above us, following her by planting my feet against the barrier and running up on it, one of Shi no Taizai's blades sliding over it.

Rin saw me coming, summoned another skull and threw it at me, and though it exploded right in front of my feet, it was to no avail, merely catapulted me off the barrier when I exploited it for my jump into her direction. I slammed into Rin shoulder-first, brought a bit of distance between us, then swung Shi no Taizai again.

I don't imitate a lot of other fighting styles, especially not since a lot of them can't be used with two-handed weapons like a scythe or a sledgehammer – but copying Chôzen's rapid cutting worked just fine at that moment.

A cut from the left with Shi no Taizai, going through Rin's waist. A cut from the upper right with Shi no Taizai, slicing through her shoulder. Another cut from the left, this one at the height of Rin's legs, throwing her off balance. A cut from above, going through her waist as she was horizontal to the ground at that moment. A hilt slamming into her legs, throwing her further up, but turning her the right away around again. Another cut from the side, going through her waist. A hit from Senkoku to the head, slamming it into the barrier.

And it was over.

~ Music fades out ~

The hammer had Rin pinned against the barrier, but she wasn't moving anymore. Unconscious, and that for quite a while. Spellcard rules or not, a hit from Senkoku to your head was going to leave you defeated for some hours.

I slowly pulled the hammer back, caught Rin as her limp body fell towards me. She had stopped moving altogether, eyes rolled into the back of her head. Definitely unconscious. I felt kind of sorry for having to resort to such mean and powerful things to defeat her, but the others needed my help, and that quite fast – especially now that Rin was knocked out cold. Utsuho would notice it any moment, and would give Chôzen one hell load of trouble.

I let out a sigh – I really didn't like this much violence. But this was a fighting tournament, and I was not going to hold back on anyone, no matter who it was. As mean as it sounds – if this had led me to defeat my opponent, I would've done the same thing to Yuuka or Mima, both in my league, but also to Cirno or Letty, both weaker than me. Maybe not to Daiyousei, though.

"YOU!"

Cringing at the enraged voice, I twirled around, Rin still in my arms, but knew it was too late, heard the klaxons blaring loudly. I cursed, something I rarely did, reached for Senkoku, the only weapon I had that was powerful enough to deflect Utsuho Reiuji – too late. She slammed into my body at full force, her entire body glowing in nuclear energy.

I could only scream at the immense pain of the attack, which not only ripped Rin straight out of my arms, but also sent me into the barrier, erupting yet another wave of pain. The barrier wasn't giving in, like stone would have, and I bounced off it. Cursed, but thanked my resistance for taking the brunt of the damage.

Utsuho flew in front of me, holding the unconscious Rin in her arms. A thousand things flooded my mind that moment, most of them questions, with one being louder than the rest – where was Chôzen?

Knowing that Utsuho was too occupied with checking on Rin, I allowed my gaze to wander, searching for any hint of Chôzen, a green flame, green lightning, maybe Alastor.

What I eventually found shocked the hell out of me.

Chôzen was lying against the barrier in one corner of the battlefield, sitting slumped over on the black rock there. A gray orb lay aside his left ankle. The core of the Flame-Soul.

I swallowed the knot that formed in my throat that moment. The plan had failed. Chôzen was defeated, and that beyond the point of a simple defeat. He was out cold, knocked out with enough strength to knock the other parts of his consciousness out as well. The Flame-Soul and Insanity were defeated as well.

Chôzen was not going to help us for the rest of the battle, would not be able to occupy Utsuho Reiuji for the time that we needed to fight Ryoko. We were pretty much done for.

Something warm curled around my throat, catching me off guard. I screamed and struggled immediately, but found that I could not touch the object with my bare hands – it was pure energy, hotter than what my hands could handle. How it didn't burn my throat was beyond me.

I was yanked around on the whip of energy, first slammed into the barrier, and then dragged along as Utsuho, from whose control rod the 'whip' extended, descended to where Chôzen already lay. Still fighting the hold on my neck, I could only watch as Utsuho gently placed Rin down on the ground – and then swung her free hand at me.

The punch hit me in the side of the skull, and if not for the energy around my neck immediately disappearing, I would've probably been pulled right back to Utsuho – instead, though, I found myself thrown across the battlefield, only to nearly hit the tilted platform.

Nearly, as Rumia suddenly threw herself in the way and caught me, slowing us both down enough for the impact with it to be tolerable. She cursed like the madwoman she was as we both rolled up the steep surface, but yanked me to my feet immediately afterward, positioning herself behind me, back-to-back.

I didn't need to ask why. Utsuho had followed us and was flying beyond the upper end of the platform, staring down at me furiously. On the other side, Ryoko stood on a small rock in the sea of lava, a smug grin on her lips as she stared down the scowling Rumia, who had Tyrfing drawn.

It was up to us now, the exhausted Shinigami and the tired Angel of Death, to somehow turn this back around and win the fight.

How, though, I had no idea.

~ Two times the fire and darkness! Nanatsu & Rumia vs. Ryoko & Utsuho! Music cue: Foreground Eclipse – Flames within these black feathers ~

We waited for our enemies to move first. We were already at the disadvantage, and any quick move could cost us a lot. Ryoko was the first to move, but only because Utsuho chose to gather nuclear energy for her first strike. Instinctively, I reached for Senkoku, let the Angel of Death behind me block her lunatic friends attacks, waited for Utsuho to move.

Unleashed the energy within her by charging right at me, I swung Senkoku. No second too late, the heavy hammer impacted with the side of the glowing drill that Utsuho had become, and deflected her off to the side, sending her god-knows-where. She would return. But I had just gained some time.

I took a step back and tapped Rumia – perhaps a bit low, as my hand ended on her rear – twice, a sign that she understood perfectly. At the same time, we both turned right, not moving from our original position, but allowing me to swing Senkoku again, this time at the other destructive woman. Ryoko hadn't seen it coming, and the hammer broke through her defense, sending her flying as well. She immediately unleashed a storm of lasers into our direction, but both Rumia and I had waited for something like that, and jumped into the air in perfect synchronization, still remaining back-to-back all the while.

We had just reached our spot in midair, just below the Icosahedron, when Utsuho returned, charging at me from the side. I threw my body backwards and rolled over Rumia's back, who turned and pressed her back against mine again, leaving us to face each other's opponent.

I heard Rumia throwing Tyrfing – the chains were rattling – at Utsuho, probably in an attempt to catch her in the chains, while I summoned hellfire-bullets and threw them at the nearing monster of a Youkai. Ryoko remained barely fazed, avoiding most of them, and threw a laser back herself, which I deflected with the side of Senkoku's head.

She reached me and immediately threw a kick at my side, which I thankfully saw coming and blocked with my right hand. I knew Ryoko was fast, faster than I was, but I also knew I could stand quite a few more attacks more than her, and so I let myself be hit by her punch to my left shoulder, taking it.

Behind me, Utsuho came crashing down from above in an attempt to hit Rumia with a dive, which Rumia blocked with Tyrfing, throwing Utsuho off balance, before throwing her back with a kick into her stomach. At the same time, I took another hit from Ryoko, though on purpose, grabbing her arm and yanking her around by it, swinging her around me after giving Rumia the taps to her waist to let her know she would have to duck.

Ryoko being thrown back away from us, I glared over my right shoulder, saw that Utsuho had already recovered and was charging towards Rumia again, body coated in nuclear energy, control rod extended into a blade.

Another double-tap against Rumia's waist and she rolled over my back when I ducked – landing an axe-kick on Ryoko's head, who had returned for more. At the same time, I twirled underneath Rumia and swung Senkoku, hitting Utsuho in the side of her right ankle with enough force for her to be turned upside-down, which disoriented her and allowed me to land another hit to follow the first, bringing some more distance between the hellraven and me by throwing her back.

Rumia slammed the hilt of Tyrfing into the side of Ryoko's head, let her stumble to the side in midair, before pushing the barrel of Kaibutsu, which she had summoned, into the side of her waist, and pulling the trigger. Ryoko cursed aloud when the bullet coated in darkness passed through her waist and paralyzed her for a second, giving Rumia the time she needed to follow with more attacks that were meant to drain Ryoko's stamina, rather than actually sent her through the air.

Utsuho was back, had closed the distance between us in another charge. This time, as I tapped Rumia to show her to duck, I didn't avoid Utsuho. I held Shi no Taizai, to which I had switched, sideways, and let the hellraven impact with it. My upper body was forced backwards by the impact, and I let it be, let it rolled over Rumia's back while pulling my legs in and placing them against the stomach of the berserk hellraven. I saw her eyes widen for the split second that we continued to roll – then I pushed both of my legs forward, and the hellraven-turned-yatagarasu off me that way.

She crashed into Ryoko and sent the two of them into a trip into the barrier, the nuclear energy being discharged into the berserker queen rather than into me or Rumia. Ryoko screamed as she impacted with the barrier with her back first, Utsuho snarling as she used her mighty black wings to push off Ryoko, not caring for her partner's wellbeing, only interested in avenging Rin.

The moment that Utsuho had moved aside, Rumia pulled the trigger of Kaibutsu all the way through three times, sending a small barrage of bullets at the exposed ex-queen, keeping her pinned against the barrier as Utsuho changed her course and, charging her control rod, came back towards us.

Rumia rested two fingers against my hand. I knew what it meant. Knew it was risky, but our only chance to get rid of at least one of them. I grabbed Rumia by the back of her shirt, whirled her around once, and then threw her – right towards Utsuho.

The hellraven rose an eyebrow, confused, but altered her course slightly – exactly as we had intended. She and Rumia missed each other by mere inches, the Youkai-turned-throwing-weapon grinning as she passed Utsuho. And slammed into Ryoko only seconds later.

I couldn't watch how that turned out, had to prepared for Utsuho. She reached me, control rod pointed at my chest, but deflected to the side when Senkoku slammed into the side of it. No second too late, a burst of nuclear energy missing me by mere inches.

Seeing that she had failed, Utsuho closed in, lifting her leg to kick me into the right side, which she actually succeeded in. I growled, but pushed her leg away and swung Senkoku at her head, though she ducked the strike and instead went for my midsection. Her punch failed to connect, thanks to me shifting Senkoku so that the hilt was in the way, and using it to push the hellraven back.

Blind anger had found it's way into her eyes, she was desperate to avenge Rin, but I wouldn't be so easily defeated. The Yatagarasu's eye on her chest glowed a dangerous crimson as Utsuho rose her control rod and pointed it at my face – and was suddenly flung to the air, crashing into the barrier somewhere to my far left. Rumia flew in front of me, grinning

Behind her, I saw Fairy Maids crossing out Ryoko's face, as they had already done with Chôzen's and Rin's faces before. Ryoko lay in a crumpled heap at the foot of the barrier, not even attempting to move.

Our moment of victory was cut short by Utsuho slamming into Rumia's side, coated in nuclear energy. The two of them ascended quickly, but it was the chain of the falling Tyrfing in front of me that caught my interest first. Out of instinct, I grabbed it, held onto it, searched for Rumia's gaze. Met it, for the most briefest of seconds.

The chains stopped extending. I was still holding onto it, and my enormous strength was preventing me from being pulled along. All the momentum was carried over as the hellraven and Rumia were no longer moving towards the barrier, but into a circular motion around me as I began to swing them.

They picked up speed, even though Utsuho must've noticed something was off. Indeed, she tried to stop, but Rumia had laid her arms and legs around the hellraven, hands fighting to keep Utsuho's black wings down. This was the end of the fight, Rumia and I both knew it. And I was incredibly thankful for Rumia's sacrifice. Cause that is, what it was, a sacrifice.

I moved a bit. The momentum, which had greatly increased, was carrying the two for a last round – before they both impacted with the barrier at tremendous speed, whirling up a cloud of smoke and energy. Neither of them groaned as they slammed into it, and I knew that Rumia couldn't anymore the moment that the chains in my hand dissipated, meaning Rumia had fallen unconscious from the force of the impact, and her already weakened state.

The fairy maids moved again, crossed out Rumia's face.

Didn't move from there to Utsuho's face.

The hellraven, though greatly weakened, shot out of the cloud, blowing it away with the single movement of her black wings. I felt like cursing, seeing as how Utsuho had made it through, and we both were the only ones left. Rumia fell towards the ground, landing not too far from Chôzen and Rin. Unconscious.

It was me, exhausted, against Utsuho, equally exhausted. And I felt like I was at disadvantage.

The hellraven pointed her control rod at me, but then seemed to change her mind, as she instead rose her left hand and pointed her index finger at the ceiling. I knew that stance, and was prepared for when the miniature sun appeared above her, glowing a sinister shade that meant danger.

It exploded into hundreds of bullets, first in a circular pattern, then more random. I prepared myself to evade, but quickly found that I had to do so a lot more than it seemed at first glance – as Utsuho threw the miniature sun at me.

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to cut through it or anything, that was something Youmu Konpaku was more skilled at, I evaded to the left and sled just past the large orb and through a cloud of smaller bullets, and flew towards the hellraven.

She rose an eyebrow, but then pulled her control rod up and pointed it my way. The klaxons started blaring, a circle of energy appeared around the rod that showed the familiar warning 'Caution!' in between nuclear hazard signs, and Utsuho aimed.

I dove underneath the laser that followed, grazed it, Shi no Taizai's blade sliding along it. Utsuho growled and the laser died down, quickly followed by the familiar blade reappearing at the tip, ready to interfere with my scythe.

I ducked the horizontal swipe and slammed the hilt of Shi no Taizai into her stomach, then swung it up to connect with her chin, sending her tumbling backwards. She growled, but retaliated by bringing her leg up, the congealed matter hitting me in the knee.

A scream escaped my lips, the brute force of the weird matter making it feel like my kneecap just had burst apart, but the pain subsided when it flared up elsewhere, the control rod slamming into my skull from below. Thrown through the air, my flight was stopped by me slamming into the Icosahedron with enough force to make the multi-sided object shake violently, creaking and groaning like a chandelier set into motion. Not done with me, Utsuho followed in a charge of nuclear energy, though it missed when I rolled to the side and pushed off the Icosahedron. Utsuho crashed into it and it shook, but didn't rip out of the ceiling – even though some dust rained down after the latter impact.

The hellraven turned, and I reacted in time, blocking her attack with one of my own, Senkoku and the control rod clashing. I had gotten better at swapping in between my weapons, that for sure. I was getting used to it, thankfully, as it was going a lot faster now.

Utsuho pushed me back a bit and followed right away – her mistake, as I quickly pulled Senkoku upwards and, in a way not quite unlike whack-a-mole, brought it down on her head just in time to deflect her next charge. Whack-a-yatagarasu, Rumia would've probably joked.

The new course of the hellraven sent her falling down onto the tilted platform below which, by now, really looked like it wasn't going to stand a lot more. Several craters from different fighters slamming into it graced it's surface, cracks all over the platform. Utsuho was lying in the middle, panting madly, not yet getting up again.

I sent a glance towards the swinging Icosahedron.

Now or never.

Senkoku was put back into it's place on my back, Shi no Taizai pulled instead as I ascended quickly. The Icosahedron was attached to the ceiling by a single white hook, though it looked a lot less like one now after the multi-sided object had swung so much, not only bending it out of shape, but pulling it a bit from the ceiling.

I didn't hesitate. Utsuho had seen me and was getting ready to move out of the way. I swung Shi no Taizai with what little strength I had left – and it cut through the hook, sending the Icosahedron on it's way. Utsuho didn't make a noise as the thing came crashing down on her and the platform – she didn't have to, had moved out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit by it. I growled, thought I had missed my chance, as Utsuho was glaring up to me and ready to charge at me once and for all.

When the Icosahedron, having bounced off the tilted platform and shattering it in the process for good, hit her after all. Utsuho didn't even scream as the object slammed into her and pulled her along. Panting heavily, I watched as the metal object hit the surface of the lava and, Utsuho right underneath it, began to sink into it.

I knew Utsuho would be able to stand that bath. I knew that it was anything but lethal, no one would've ever allowed Yúgure that. So, somewhat amused and more exhausted than anything else, I watched as the large Icosahedron stopped sinking into the lava, having apparently reached the bottom of it, buried half in the liquid.

Utsuho did not return from the lava, and the Icosahedron was not moved again.

~ Music fades out ~

The next thing I knew, the barriers came crashing down. People were cheering, the battlefield was slowly turning back into it's concrete appearance, the fairy maids crossing out Utsuho's face before the hellraven even appeared from the lava vanishing and the concrete rising. The Icosahedron remained until the end, and thus allowed me to get a glimpse at the defeated hellraven, breathing heavily, laying underneath it. I chuckled, but moved to push it off her, even though it began to vanish only a few seconds later.

The cheering and catcalls increased when I extended a hand to Utsuho and the hellraven took it, allowing me to pull her up onto her feet. The finale was over, and we had won against Utsuho's team. Chôzen was out cold, Rumia had sacrificed herself for this victory, but we had won.

"Sorry for having to defeat Rin. I could've probably been a bit softer on her." I admitted weakly, patting the hellraven's arm. She didn't say a thing, couldn't with how exhausted she was, but nodded and smiled, reassuring me that she wasn't mad. Anymore. She sure scared me for a moment there, when she suddenly went berserk on me.

"It's settled then! After a fight that neither of us saw coming that way, Nanatsu no Taizai has achieved victory over Utsuho Reiuji, and has led her team to victory! Chôzen Gekido, Nanatsu no Taizai and Rumia Shisô are the champions of this year!" exclaimed Rinnosuke as he stood up

"Party seems to have to wait, though, until our so-called champions are released from the infirmary then. Just look at them carelessly sleepin' the day away!" snorted Sly and broke into a fit of wild, uncontrolled snickering, which had a hint of madness to them that I sure didn't like. But I had to agree – with the way that Chôzen, Rin and Rumia lay in one corner, all of them laying in a weird position, it sure did look like they didn't have a care in the world.

"That's not gonna be a problem." chimed Akyuu in, "The celebrations are scheduled for after the last fight, after the new champions fought the old ones. For rest of today, the fifth day of the tournament, we have the losers rounds scheduled, and first thing tomorrow, on the sixth day of the tournament, will be the fight between this year's champions and last year's champions, starting at exactly midday!"

"Oh, I can't wait for that! Are our new champions really as powerful as they proved to be? Can they overcome last year's champions? Were they more powerful after all? Altogether, last year's champions had a lot less knockouts in their own rank than this year's champion! Chôzen alone went down in all three fights he fought, and that's the amount of times our old champions were knocked out in all their fights together!" claimed Aya.

I frowned. The champions of last year had been knocked out three times altogether? That proved to be quite a challenge if it was true. It meant that they could stand a lot in a fight, especially if it was true that their opponents in the finale had been Kanako, Sanae and Kogasa, who they had defeated.

Just who was last year's champion to be so powerful? Did we even stand a chance? Did we even know them?

My gaze trailed through the audience, tried to spot a familiar face, someone with an expression that didn't fit the rest, someone who looked amused more than excited. At first, I didn't spot anyone like that. Byakuren was smiling and clapping, Murasa was calling something perverted towards me (that woman...), Kogasa was cheering, that mermaid was smiling and clapping.

Was it someone from the Myouren Temple? Was it Yukari's Shikigami with Suika? Lord Tenma, Aya and Momiji? Marisa? Or...

My gaze came to a stop as I saw her. Smirking smugly, looking down on me. On us. She was amused for a different reason than everyone else, and she fit into the role of last year's champion perfectly.

Toyosatomimi no Miko.

I narrowed my eyes, scowled. She saw the challenge in my eyes and responded by tilting her head a bit to the side. Seiga Kaku and Soga no Tojiko appeared on either side of her, frowning down at me just as much.

I guess that explains where our champions from last year are.

"Good work there."

I froze up and whirled around, a little more caught off guard than I should have been. Fujiwara no Mokou was standing behind me, grinning.

"Thanks." I replied, though frowned at her presence. She frowned back, but then seemed to realize the reason for my confusion, and chuckled.

"Eirin." she answered simply, pointing past herself, where Tewi was leading Utsuho towards a gurney carried by rabbits, Eirin was heaving Ryoko onto one, and Reisen and Kaguya were carrying Rin, and Keine was carrying Rumia, "She asked me to come along and pick up your oh-so-useful husband."

I rolled my eyes at Mokou's mocking words.

"He did his best, now shut up." I chuckled and nodded towards Chôzen, telling her to pick him up that way. I was too weak myself, I felt that in my entire body. Even though I had enhanced resistance and a great deal of stamina, Utsuho had drained most of it. Hadn't the Icosahedron hit her, I would've been the one that lost.

"She also asked me to tell you to get your ass over there. Her words, not mine." continued the fire-wielding immortal, "And quite frankly, she's right. You do look like crap right now."

"You're a beauty yourself, girl." I snorted, knowing that we were just exchanging friendly jabs, and that she was right. I probably did look pretty beaten up. Utsuho had not been holding back on us, and especially not me.

The next time we fight them, I let Chôzen defeat Rin, so that Utsuho goes berserk on him.

"Thanks." chuckled Mokou, "But no, really, you should get yourself patched up. After all, you should be at your peak for the champion fight tomorrow. No one wants to see how you get beaten around because you're too exhausted from today's battle. People wanna see you beat the crap out of them."

"Will do." I replied, and watched as she picked Chôzen up like he was a bag of potatoes – she really wasn't gentle with the way she dragged him by his arm over her shoulder – and returned to me with him pulled along.

"Good. Go and rest for the remainder of the day, you three did well. I'll drop by later and tell you how the losers rounds ended. Besides, I doubt anything too exciting will happen during them."

"Guess so. Thanks, Mokou." I sighed and let two of the rabbits from Eientei guide me down on a gurney, "I see you later."

"No problem, really. See ya later."

---

And that's it for this incredibly late chapter!

Was it to your liking nonetheless? I know this is not going to repay you for the many months I've been missing, but life is unfair, ya know? I didn't plan for it to be like this. I love NBP and wish I could give you an update every week, like at the very beginning. But I've come a long way in quality and quantity (at least, that's what I like to believe based on your guys reviews) and I don't want to disappoint you with short or crappy chapters. That is one reason why I spent more time on each chapter now. But not the reason I didn't update.

The thing is, I'm in my last year of school. My grades sucked, I worked hard on getting them better. We get our school certificates tomorrow, and my grades still suck. Wasted time? I don't know. I don't even know how my life will continue from tomorrow on. But it will.

Also, I'm working on something original. An own novel, fantasy genre, and I really like for it to be somewhat of a good story. To be somewhat successful. Not the next Harry Potter, mind you. So yeah, most of the time I have to write goes into that. And during the last months, I spent a lot more time gathering up the necessary resources and information for that. Until December, I nearly isolated myself completely for that. At the beginning of December 2014, I picked all of this up again, and I make some room every month now to continue with my fanfictions.

But let's move on, right? You probably don't want to hear the excuses anymore. I've made too many. I'm sorry.

Now, who can guess what manga Wakasagihime was referring to? A mermaid in a wheelchair, fond of tragic romance? It's actually quite funny I made this reference to that manga, cause that manga made a reference to Touhou. Shocked the hell out of me when I saw that reference. Since this is a Touhou-fanfiction, and I am making this reference to a manga who made a reference to Touhou, this reference-ception?

Anyways, this chapter turned out a bit different from what I had in mind back when I started Negative Mind. Probably because such a long time has passed since then. Chôzen wasn't intended to be defeated until the end of the fight, but Nanatsu took his place. Ya see, when I write fight scenes, I put on some music (most of the time the one I suggest) and let my mind be guided by my creativity. By the flow of my thoughts. Which is, kind of, how most of the funny scenes come together as well. I write down a few things at the beginning of each chapter to remind me where it's supposed to go and what I have to cover. But the rest? Pure guidance of my mind.

Is there anything else to say? I believe not. Let's finish this with the announcement of this years schedule for Negative Mind:

This year will bring you an update about every two months (maybe sometimes three if I have to work on something else), which means – I'll see you for the fight against the champions of the year before in March! Until then, what do you think how the champion fight will turn out? Why don't you figure out who the champions are? Cause Chôzen sure will have to, before we're "Turning up the heat (again)!"

Thanks for flying with the SorrowfulReincarntion Airlines, which does not plan to vanish again for months!

So long~