Pyromystic: Tenang aja, Megohime dan Masamune dkk bakal sukses memecahkan kasus tersebut, tapi aku yakin tidak akan ada yang bisa memperkirakan apa yang akan terjadi XDD nuked
Mocca-Marocchi: Of course not ! Megohime is not a boy ! nuked for completely missing the point dan Yuuki beserta Ren dan Yin bakalan muncul lagi di arc berikutnya jadi tunggu dulu yaa~~ sebagai gantinya, aku buat cameo singkat sebagai fanservice XDD (bukan yang "porno"2 kok, tenang aja =_=)
Silvermoonarisato: Err.. thnx ? Tapi maksud anda dgn makhluk itu apa ?
Credits goes to Pyromystic for the architectural information she provided for the first part of this chap ^^
"talk" (for human or at least humanoid characters)
'thought'
"Talk" for echoing voices (aka the speaker is unseen from the character's perspective.
[talk] (For Ren and non-humanoid characters)
{thought}
[Talk] for non-humanoid echoing voices
(Note: All of the "signboards" are written in-universe in English. So the characters here couldn't understand it because it is written in using Latin letters with English language.)
Megohime already prepared herself to face danger as she approached the stairs. She heard about the fate of those who fell prey to the "twin demons" attack, but nevertheless she is determined to clear her friend's good name. She mentally psyche herself as she prepared to ascend the stairs to the temple.
..however, she never expected to ends up in a completely different place...
As soon as she stepped through the Torii, Megohime instead ends up in a pitch black area. The only light in that area originated behind Megohime. So when the light source got "thinner", Megohime turned around and saw a massive pair of door, easily reaching almost five times her own height, closing behind her. Megohime ran towards it, but it shut closed by the time she managed to reached it and an circular seal of light with a pentagram appeared over it. Megohime reached for the door handle, but the seal gave her a short jolt for the trouble, rendering the door inaccessible. She tried to calm herself, drawing deep breath when a faint light flickered behind her.
Megohime turned around to see a pair of torches seemingly floating in midair. Then another pair ignited, and another and another, until every single torches in the room were lit. Then, several massive ornamental chandeliers hanging high above suddenly lit all by themselves, brightening the area considerably.
The area has a distinct Gothic architecture, evident from the extreme height and size of the room which caused Megohime to pondered if this place is the home of a giant. Pairs of multiple shaft with ornamental carvings stood proudly as they formed a pointed arch in the ceiling. The windows above is covered with colored glass, each and every single one of them formed a different patterns than the other as if it were telling a story. The ceiling itself has a painting of stars that seemingly twinkled in random rhythmic patterns every seconds pass. Directly below it, the hall had a ornamental bright-colored carpet than spans from the entrance to the bottom of the grand staircase. Beside the staircase is two hallways, one leads to the West wing and the other leads to the East wing of the palace.
The staircase lead to two different wings of the Palace, with a massive clock embedded in the wall above the intermediate landing of the staircase. Several massive gears and instruments could be seen inside the wall around the clock. There is also a lone, wooden sign which stood right in front of the staircase. In front of each shaft stood a suit of medieval armors, each armed with different kinds of weapons and shield patterns. The aisles on both side of the hall were filled with several dolls, mannequins, paintings, and other stuffs, some of which were broken or at least partially broken. The life-like dolls, the paintings, and the unfamiliar architecture sent chills to Megohime's spine. "What is this place ?..." Megohime asked as she began to explored the hall. Several steps away from the door, Megohime heard an all to familiar voice...
"Where are we ?" Ja asked.
"Ji never saw a place like this !" Ji stated.
Megohime looked around to find them, but she couldn't. Then, a pair of light literally jumped out from one of the patterns on Megohime's jacket. The light materialized to Ji and Ja, who were wearing their "traveling clothes"(1). "Ji ? Ja ? What are you doing here ? How did you get here ?" Megohime asked.
"We were worried about Mego-nee so Ji and Ja decided to follow you," Ja said.
"But I already make sure no one is following me ! How did you do that ?"
"We are kitsune ! All Ji and Ja need to do is to hide ourselves on Mego-nee's clothing !" Ji said with a proud smile.
"Oh really ? And when exactly did you do that ?" Megohime asked, somewhat suspicious.
"Well, uh, we were... erm..." Ji stammered, before Ja replied, "We did it when Mego-nee were changing."
Megohime, with a flat, emotionless expression, turned and stared at Ji. "Ji... you didn't peek while I were changing, did you ?" she asked with a deadpan voice.
"N-no ! Of course not ! Ji will never do that !" Ji quickly replied nervously.
Ja simply smiled. "Don't worry Mego-nee ! Ja had made sure Ji didn't peek !"
Megohime stared at the kitsune twins for a moment before she sighed and walked past them and towards the staircase. She actually glad they were here though, since that means she didn't have to do this alone. 'This place aren't natural, I might need their help,' Megohime pondered, 'And I could also used the company.'
"Okay then ! Let's finds out how to get out from here !" Megohime said.
"Why not looking for the one who lived here ? They might lead us to the exit !" Ji said.
"But, what if they are the 'demons' ? Won't it be dangerous ?" Ja asked.
"No need to worry ! Ji is here to protect you girls ! Beside, a kitsune like me have nothing to fear !" Ji replied.
Megohime ruffled Ji's hair. "Heeh~~ you seems so confident~" she cooed, "Very well, I believe you can protect us both !"
The trio then marched towards the stairs. However, the surreal atmosphere of the room quickly sap away their enthusiasm. The suit of armor is unnerving, but the dolls of various sizes were the most unnerving with their life-like expression, even from the broken ones. Nonetheless, they soon reached and stopped in front of the sign. They tried to read it out of curiosity, but they couldn't understand the language. "What does it say ?" Ji asked.
"Mego-nee, can't you read it ?" Ja asked.
"Forgive me, but I can't," Megohime replied, "it seems to be written in a different language."
True enough, it is not written with either Japanese Kanji or Chinese Hanzi. Instead, the message on the signboard were written in Latin. The language that were used is also Latin, which roughly translated to:
Welcome to the Twilight Palace !
1) The Palace have many places with games, so be sure you will be able to enjoy all of them !
2) Be polite to the inhabitants here and don't break anything or you will be punished !
3) Twilight Palace is a place for everyone to have some fun, so play nice and don't make a mess !
While Megohime and Ja tried to figured out the message despite not being able to read it, Ji decided to explored the hall. He went to the aisle on the west side of the stairs to checked out the multiple dolls there. Some of the dolls were of a familiar Japanese design, and he also both curious and baffled at some Dogu amongst the dolls. Eventually, he stopped to observed a particular doll. It is an adult-size mannequin, wearing a ragged, dull colored, jester-like clothes and a wide-brimmed hat. The mannequin's face were made of porcelain, but it's face were mostly smashed, with only the upper left side of the face intact. The rest of the face were somewhat skeletal and made out off wood with an hole for it's right eye and a fully-articulated mouth. It's right hand were stripped off it's ornaments, leaving only it's wooden frame while the left hand were covered with black glove. The single eye of the mannequin lifelessly stared to the distance as Ji inspected it. Ji turned around towards Megohime and Ja.
"Mego-nee ! Ja !" Ji called out, his voice echoing throughout the hall. Both Megohime and Ja turned around to face Ji as he continued, "Come and check this out-" Ji pointed at the Mannequin, "-these dolls looks very life-like !"
On cue, said mannequin suddenly turned it's head to face Ji, much to Megohime's and J's shocks. Noticing their surprised face, Ji turned his head to look at the mannequin, who looked at him in response. Wide-eyed, Ji continued to pointed at the mannequin while both he and the mannequin looked back to Megohime and Ja. The mannequin and Ji then looked at each other again before the broken doll shrieked, causing Ji to jumped away while Megohime and Ja momentarily screamed in surprise.
The Mannequin straighten itself, it's joints and body creaks and cracks with every movement. It popped it's neck before slowly walking towards the trio in an hauntingly graceful fashion. It's gloved hand reached out to what's left of it's "face" then grabbed it and threw the porcelain parts to the ground, smashing it to bits. Several more creaking noises appears and the trio realized far too late that they had been surrounded by others mannequins. Each mannequins had a minor difference to separated them, but for the moment, identification is not the main concern for the trio.
Ji stood in the front most of the trio, his fox's ears and tail revealed and his fangs barred. Ja's ears and tail also revealed as she prepared for battle. Megohime drew his pistol and reached for his naginata. "I don't think they are here to greet us," Megohime commented.
– –
The mannequins attacks, and Ji claimed the first blood by delivering a running drop kick to the closest mannequin then jumped from it to another mannequin. Right before he collide with the mannequin, Ji transformed in midair into his kitsune form and then used his claws and fang to destroyed his target. Ji's fangs dug deep into the mannequin's wooden frame and never let go as he smashed the mannequin into the ground. Ji's current form is that of an fox as large as a wolf, with gold and white fur and golden eyes. Ji's mane were somewhat spiky around the neck, somewhat resembling a mane.
[Prepared yourself !]
Ji sway his tail once, then whip it towards a mannequin to fired a Kitsune-bi at it before he pounced at another mannequin. The fire burns in a yellowish tint, turning the unfortunate mannequin into ashes within minutes. Ji smashed the second mannequin then pounced again at yet another mannequin. When Ji pounced to the fourth mannequin, it spun around like a dancer to dodge the attack. It then rolled away before jumping and spinning as it threw several knives at Ji. The Kitsune managed to dodged most of them, but one knife grazed his shoulder.
"Ji ! Are you alright ?" Ja asked.
[Ji is fine ! Protect Mego-nee !] Ji said. Ji then shrugged off the pain then leaped back into action.
"Mego-nee ! Stay close to Ja !" Ja exclaimed, and Megohime do just that.
Unlike Ji, Ja prefers to keep her distance from her enemy and attacks using various kinds of magic and illusion. She summons several Kitsune-bi around herself Megohime, driving away mannequins that got too close for comfort. She then made them revolved before she fired it at several mannequins at once. One mannequin leaped and successfully stabbed Megohime in her chest with a knife. However, it was actually another mannequin, disguised by Ja's illusion. Ja continued to turn some of the mannequins against each other, but their numbers continue to grow. "They are too many !" Ja stated.
[Mego-nee run ! We can't protect you like this!] Ji exclaimed.
"And leave you guys alone ? Not a chance !" Megohime replied, "Beside, I can defend myself just fine !"
Megohime twirled her Naginata, using the other end to diverted a mannequin's attack to her side before using the blade to slashed, slice and dice the mannequin in consecutive, graceful swings. Her movement with her custom Naginata were like that of a dancer, for with each swing of her polearm, the ribbons follow it's movement gracefully. Within minutes, Megohime managed to defeat multiple mannequins all by herself, surprising both Ji and Ja.
[Mego-nee is pretty strong...] Ji admitted.
"Ji ! Focus ! Some of them still remains !" Ja said.
[Okay ! Let's finish this !] Ji exclaimed before he roared and charged at the last group of mannequins. Ji spun around, releasing a burst of energy that knocked the mannequins skywards. He then leaped backwards, turning back into human form upon landing. With the mannequins in the air between Ji and Ja, the Aizen summoned leaves amidst the helpless mannequins. They then unleashed their combination spell, creating a tornado that swept the mannequins and sliced them apart with the sharp leaves. When the wind dies out, Ji jumped back to Ja's side and the two of them does a high five for their successful teamwork.
"This is it !"
Megohime slashed several times at the last mannequin, but it kept evading the attacks with strange, dance-like move. Nevertheless, she continued to fluidly swung her weapon at the jester-like puppet. The two continued to traded and evaded each other respective attacks. Finally, Megohime caught the puppet off guard, stabbing it with her naginata. "It's over," Megohime stated before she drew her pistol and blast the mannequin's head off, "Rest in peace."
The wooden head flew away into the dim hallway leading to the east wing of the palace, rolling several times before stopping. Megohime took a deep breath, relaxing herself before she holstered her pistol.
– –
"Kakoii ! Mego-nee is so strong !" Ja said.
"Those dolls are no match for Mego-nee !" Ji commented.
Megohime shook her head. "No, I am not strong enough," she said, "Both of you did most of the work."
"We won't be able to beat this guy without Mego-nee's help, so cheer up !" Ji said.
"Uhm... Ja don't think that we have won just yet..." Ja said. Both Megohime and Ji then looked at the direction Ja is pointing.
The mannequins that were broken to pieces stirred and creak as the individual pieces slowly moved to reunited. Each and every one of the mannequins began to reassembled themselves as the trio looked on in horror. "We can't stay here for long, we must leave !" Megohime stated, "Stick together ! Don't get separated !"
"Okay !" The Aizen replied in unison.
With that, the group headed through the Palace's West hallway, leaving behind the mannequins. They don't know where the path they choose will lead them, but as long as they stick together they will find a way.
...Or is it ?
– – –
"So in the end, Kojuro won the competition... as usual..." Shigezane said.
"What competition ? I don't know about any competition !" Kojuro replied.
"It is... you know what ? Never mind, let's forget about that stupid contest..." Masamune stated.
"What ? What do you mean ?"
Just returning from the hunting trip, Terumune went back to the castle while Masamune, Shigezane, and Kojuro decided to returned their respective horses to the stable. Along the way, Yumetsuki is in an unusually good mood. This is due to the fact that Kojuro had been declared the -unofficial- winner in the -unofficial- hunting contest since none of the animals that Masamune and Shigezane hunted were able to match Kojuro's boar, and Terumune had to stopped the hunt before Masamune and Shigezane could hunt the entire forest.
Needless to say, both Masamune and Shigezane sulked while the oblivious Kojuro still have no clear idea of their problem. The trio headed back to the castle with Kojuro continued asking about the competition along the way. Halfway to the castle, they encountered Genkichi, who were somewhat panic and confused. Curious, they approached the spy. "Long time no see Genkichi-san, how do you do ?" Kojuro asked as he bow in greeting, "We haven't met again since our adventure in Nagatsu."
Genkichi bowed in respect, though cold sweats still running through his skins. "Long time no see my lords," he said.
Noticing Genkichi's jumpy attitude, Masamune asked. "Hey what's wrong ? Why are you so nervous ?"
"Truth to be told my lord, there is something that troubles me..."
"What is it ?" Shigezane asked.
"Earlier this evening, I was assigned to be Kojiro-dono's attendant in his daily stroll," Genkichi said, "But I lost him when I lay my eyes off him."
Kojuro sighed. "He does that all the time, you'll get used to it."
"But Kojiro-dono haven't return yet ! I looked for him everywhere on the castle's grounds, but I couldn't find him !"
"What ? Where could he possibly gone to ?" Masamune asked.
"Not only that, Megohime-dono also went missing," Genkichi continued, "Before Kojiro-dono disappeared, we met Megohime-dono who were leaving the castle. I think Kojiro-dono went to follow her into the city."
"Did she told you where is she going ?" Shigezane asked.
"No, she didn't."
"Masa-chan ! Kojuro-kun !"
Masamune and the others turned around to see Ayame coming towards them. She stopped right in front of the group, taking her time to catch her breath. She were sweating profusely from running all around the place. "Ayame-san ? What is it ? Why are you here ?" Kojuro asked.
After she regained her composure, Ayame replied. "Have you seen Ji and Ja ? They haven't come back home and I can't find them anywhere !"
"What ? First Kojiro and Mego, and now those two ! What is going on here ?" Masamune asked.
While the others asked each other if they know where Megohime and the others might have gone to, Kojuro took a step back to think. He tried to remembered any details, no matter how small, from earlier events to look for clues. Eventually, he remembered something...
"I think I know where they might be !" Kojuro said, "Follow me !"
With that, Kojuro sprinted off to his destination with others except Genkichi following close behind. "My lord ! What should I do ?" Genkichi exclaimed.
Shigezane stopped for a moment while the others kept moving. "Make sure no one else knows about this !" he shouted before catching up with the others.
– – –
Like any other part of the Palace, the hallway leading to the west tower was also massive. It is considerably smaller than the entry hall Megohime and the Aizen visited before, but still large enough to be filled with multiple furniture. Different kinds of cabinets with intricate designs were placed randomly on either side of the hallways. Aside from the cabinets, there were also tables, pictures, dolls, and other knick-knacks. Lanterns hung from the walls on either side, providing the room some light. Strangely enough, the lantern still lit even though the sunlight brightened the room from the windows.
On one end of the hallway is a double-leaf wooden door, almost as high as the hallway itself, with unique carvings of Gothic design. One of the door knobs rattled, and one leaf of the door slowly creaked outward. From the tiny opening, Ji's golden eyes peered to the hallway to see if there were any danger inside. Other pair of eyes joined him, stacking on top of one another. "Can you see anything that might try to kill us ?" Megohime asked.
"Nope, but Ji spotted some of those creepy dolls though."
"Ja don't like those dolls at all, and this place creeps me out."
"Who live in here ? Giant ? This place is massive !" Ji asked.
The door fully opened and the trio entered the hallway. Megohime had her pistol and naginata drawn, ready for any kind of surprise attack. Ji and Ja on the other hand, had insisted to carried some kind of weapons to defend themselves even though their skills made any weapons they choose to be either a crutch or a deadweight. The fact that both twins had an "unique" choice in weapons only made things worse. Ja had choose, of all things, a staff. It was once a broom, but Ji removed the bristles so Ja could use the broomstick. Ji opted for "coolness", so he snatch one of the great sword that were displayed along with a suit of armor. Predictably, the sword dwarfed Ji, and even with his enhanced strength due to the fact that he is a youkai, he still struggled to even lifted that thing. Things got worse when the -supposedly- empty suit of armor got mad because Ji stole his sword and became animated as it tries to retrieved his sword. Megohime threw one of the other knight's helmet at the animated suit of armor, but it doesn't even affect it. The loud clanging told the trio that the suit is empty, and Ji wisely left the sword behind before the trio bolted from that place after the knight whose helmet got thrown by Megohime politely "asked" with a gesture for Megohime to return it's helmet. In the end, Ji got himself a decent, one-handed sword.
"Well, at least the sun is up so this place aren't so gloomy anymore," Ja stated.
"That's weird... when we get here it's still in the middle of the night," Megohime said, "Time couldn't possibly passed away that soon."
The trio made their way to the other end of the hallway, staying well clear from the dolls, as they traded ideas and theories about the mysterious palace. They all agreed that the palace is massive, leading Ji to theorized that it is a home for giants. When they were halfway through the hallway, Megohime's question on the time were answered by a loud, echoing toll of a bell that could be heard throughout Twilight Palace and the town surrounding it. It is so loud that even with their ear closed, Megohime and the Aizen could still heard it. As the bells continued to ring, the sun suddenly set and were replaced by a full moon.
"What is going on !" Ji asked, almost unheard due to the bell's toll.
Then, the whole buildings suddenly shook and rumbled. "Earthquake !" Ja said.
"Not, this is not an earthquake," Megohime replied.
Megohime's suspicion were proven correct when the hallways suddenly split into two halves. Ja almost fell down the gap, but Megohime and Ji managed to catch her before it was too late. When Ja reached a stable ground, the trio watched in amazement as the section of the hallways they were on floated into the air. Not only that, they witnessed as other parts and sections of the palace shifted, switched, and moved to different location as Twilight Palace rearranged itself. The main keep and clock tower were still intact, and the only changes to it was when other building reattached themselves to it.
"What ? This is impossible !" Megohime said.
"Nothing makes sense in this place !(2)" Ji replied.
Before long, the half of the hallway where Megohime and the Aizen were attached to a part of a hallway connecting the eastern tower to the east wings of the main keep. The rearrangement process were not so subtle, leaving the trio winded. When they regain their composure, they saw another ornamental, double-leaf door, with another signboard right in front of the door. "Another sign ? Is it written in something that we could read ?" Ja asked.
"Nope, still the same weird characters... who write these things anyway ?" Ji asked.
"That's a good question, so far we only encountered things that were trying to kill us, but we haven't seen anyone of flesh and blood," Megohime stated.
"Then let's go find them and asked them how to get out from this place !" Ji said as he went for the door with others following close behind. They entered the dark room beyond the door, unaware of the message written on the signboard:
Maze of Reflections
1) Make your way through the labyrinth of mirrors to reach the exits !
2) There are several trapdoors and revolving doors disguise as the mirrors, so take care not to get lost !
3) Don't play around here if it's Gemini's turn unless you are invited
4) Don't play around the cracked mirror, it is still not fixed yet
5) The Maze of Reflections is for everyone's entertainment so don't make a mess !
– – –
Megohime and the others couldn't see a thing due to the absence of light source. It is so dark that Megohime couldn't even see her fingers. When they entered, they briefly spotted some lanterns before the door were shut closed, so now Megohime waited while Ji and Ja, who had a better night vision than Megohime, tried to find the lanterns. "Found it !" Ji said.
"Ja found another one as well !" Ja said.
"Excellent work you two !" Megohime said, "Now let's brighten the mood here shall we ?"
"With pleasure," Ji replied.
The kitsune twins then used their respective kitsune-bi to lit the lanterns. When both lanterns fully lit, other lanterns and torches all over the chamber suddenly lit by themselves, revealing a massive labyrinth of mirrors that almost touched the ceilings of the chamber. The chamber is incredibly high and wide, almost as large as the first hall they entered only shorter. The trio stepped forwards in amazement and wonder, but after several steps, the door behind them suddenly locked shut and another seal formed over the door, this time with a twin crescent moon mark. "I guess there's only one way out now..." Ja stated.
"Yes, through that maze..." Megohime said, "Stick together, we don't know what awaits us inside the maze."
"Haai~ !" Ji and Ja replied.
The trio then sticks together to avoid getting separated as they entered the maze. The space between each wall of mirrors is wide enough for two grown man to stand side by side, but it is disadvantageous for weapons such as Megohime's naginata so she decided to store her weapon and used her pistol instead. Ja had ditched the broomstick at the entrance of the maze, but Ji stubbornly kept his short sword even though he didn't really need it. "Why do you still carry that thing ? You done well without it," Megohime asked.
"But it's cool !" Ji replied, "Beside, we can't be sure that we have no use for this, can we ?"
"Ayame-chan told us not to play with weapons, especially the one that we don't really need," Ja said.
"Yuuki-nii said that it's okay since I could take care of myself," Ji retorted.
"I don't want to speak ill of other people, but I don't think Yuuki-san is responsible enough to tell you that," Megohime said.
– – –
At Maeda castle, Yuuki(3) suddenly sneezed twice(4) in a row, causing him to dropped his Shogi piece. He and Yin were having a friendly game of Shogi and, to Yin Long's surprise and chagrin, Yuuki proved to be quite skillful at this game. Ren, who were lazily watching the game until Yuuki sneezed, looked at his companion. [Are you coming down with something ? If you did, don't pass it to me,] Ren said.
Yuuki rolled his eyes as he rubbed his nose. "I am really thankful for your concern Ren, I really~ do," Yuuki said sarcastically.
"Do you need a break ? If so, we could end this game for now," Yin Long said. He was overconfident of his own skills, forgetting the fact that he haven't play for decades and that this is not the same as Xiangqi, and he ends up losing.
"Nope~ no need~ !" Yuuki replied, "You were careless and now you are losing, so don't try to escape from this !"
'Darn it !' Yin screamed in his mind, his plan to avoid an embarrassing defeat utterly foiled.
– – –
Back at the mirrors maze, Megohime and the others were having a hard time to navigate through the labyrinth. The mirrors made turns and dead ends difficult to find, resulting in several wrong turns and multiple backtracking. "It's official, we are lost," Ji said.
"Didn't we passed this place twice ?" Ja asked.
"Yup, we did," Megohime said, pointing to the cross mark on the floor, "I made that mark earlier, and I've seen it twice."
"Ji really had this place !" Ji admitted, flailing his arms -and sword- around.
"Ahahaha~'
An innocent laughter, echoing throughout the walls of mirrors, gained the attention of Megohime and the Aizen. They turned around and saw a young child, no older than 13, who stood in front of them with both hands behind his back and a perpetual innocent smile. His eye color were different, with his right eye colored bright red and his left eye were a shade of baby blue. His hair is white, mostly covered by his black, wide-brimmed hat with a golden hook dangling on the left side and gold outline. He wore a black, sleeveless shirt, and a blue jacket with gold outline that only covered the right side of his torso over the shirt. On his left arm, he wore a separate sleeve, with the color red and the same gold outline. His pant and shoes were simply colored black. Strangely enough, neither Megohime nor the Aizen noticed him even with all the mirrors around them before he revealed himself. "You don't like this place ? Why ?' the boy asked.
Ji blinked. "No reason, Ji just don't like this place, that's all."
The boy giggled, confusing the trio. "You have a funny way of talking~ !' he said before he put his pointer finger on his chin as he tilted his head quizzically, "But who are you people ?'
Megohime approached the boy before she crouched to be as low as the boy. "My name is Mego," Megohime said, then she gestured towards Ji and Ja, "And they are Aizen Ji and Ja."
The Aizen waved at the boy, who simply smiled in reply.
"And you are ?" Megohime asked.
"We are Gemini Joker !' the boy said, "We live in here ! This is a fun place to be~~'
Megohime and the Aizen were surprised at the boy's answer. But before they could questioned him, the boy already somersault backwards and landed in an intersection.
"A place where dreams exist and imagination runs free-' the boy stated as he swayed his right arm to his right, "For we are born from dreams and hopes~'
"We dwells between the living and the death-' the boy took one step forwards as he sway his left arm to his left, "For we exist in neither realm~'
The boy crossed his arms to hold his shoulders then twirled around before spreading his arms upward. "At the Twilight Palace ! We live between the dawn and the dusk of eternity !'
The boy then stared at Megohime. "Strangers usually aren't welcome, but this time we had invited a special guest,' he stated, "We already make sure that the door would open for our guest, but how come it is not our guest who is the one that came through ?'
The boy's smile suddenly turned into a Cheshire cat's grin. "But since nee-chan is cute, we still want to play with you~'
Sensing a dangerous aura from the boy, Ji and Ja moved in front of Megohime. Ji pointed his sword at the boy, growling as he does so, while Ja summoned a kitsune-bi between her palms. 'There's more to this kid than meets the eye,' Megohime thought, as she drew her pistol, 'And what does he meant by "we".'
The boy clapped his hands twice, causing ripples to appears in the mirrors around him. Then, various kinds of weapons emerged from the center of the ripples before floating towards the white-haired boy. The weapons, ranging from knives to rifles, revolved around the boy. "Now~ let's play !' the boy said, smiling sweetly as he wielded a pole axe, "Onigokko !'
– –
The boy swung his pole axe to send all of the weapons sans the rifles and pistols at Megohime, Ji and Ja. The Aizen dodged the bladed weapons while Megohime took cover behind the mirror walls. Instead of shattering the mirrors, each and every one of the weapons "phased" inside the mirrors, leaving ripples on the surface of the mirrors. Ji and Ja then saw swords and polearms heading from behind their reflections on every mirrors around them.
"Mirror's Edge~'
Various kinds of bladed weapons shots out from every mirrors and into another mirrors across it. Ji and Ja struggled to evade the assault while the less agile Megohime tried to deflected the attacks with her naginata and pistol. To make matters worse, the boy leaped and spun in the air then slammed his pole axe at Ji. The kitsune narrowly jumped out of harms way as the axe smashed the floor. Gemini then jumped over the axe and swung it at Ji once more. Ji evaded it and retaliated by throwing a flare of fox's fire at Gemini, who responds by throwing a ball of light. The two projectiles collided in midair and exploded, but Gemini's light ball converged and fused before homing in towards Ji and exploded again. The explosion blasted Ji to a mirror wall several feet away, but it turns out to be a revolving door as Ji ends up on the other side of the wall. The sword he picked up shattered to pieces due to the explosion.
"Ji !" Ja exclaimed, then she saw Gemini's reflections behind her.
"Both of you are twins ? You're just like us !' Gemini said, "let's have some fun !'
"There's no fun in this !" Ja replied as she fired several kitsune-bi at Gemini. The odd-eyed boy jumped away before taking a turn on the intersection. Megohime saw his reflections leaving from the area as his laughter faded away. Megohime ran towards Ja. "Are you alright ?" she asked.
"Ja is fine, but where's Ji ?" Ja replied.
"We must find him, let's go !"
Megohime and Ja went through the revolving door, but they ends up on the wrong part of the maze. "He's not here !" Ja stated as she tried to find another door by pushing at the mirrors.
Concerned, Megohime tried to calm her down. "Ja, calm down. We will find-"
Suddenly, one of the wall revolved, sending Ja to the other side of the wall. "Ja !" Megohime shouted as she tried to get through, but the door were locked. No matter how hard she tried to pushed it, the door wouldn't budge.
Megohime pounded at the mirrors in frustration. "What kind of game is this ? This is not an onigokko !" she exclaimed.
"But it is Onigokko !'
Startled, Megohime looked around as she saw numerous reflections of Gemini. The maze made it hard for her to know his locations, but she had her pistols and naginata drawn as a precaution.
'We are 'it', and you must get away from us ! If you do, you win. But if you failed, you lose ! It's fun and simple !"
"That's not how you played the game ! If you let us out, I will teach you how to properly play it, what do you say about that ?" Megohime asked. Then the reflections shifted position, a sign that the boy is on the move.
'Win the game first, then we'll listen."
Megohime then found herself in a seemingly dead end. She looked around for any sign of the boy when she saw the boy's reflection in front of her, aiming a wheel-lock pistol at her. She turned around to find... nothing but a hallway of mirrors. That's when she realized the "reflections" is actually a person. The other boy shot once, and Megohime tried to dodged the shot but the bullets pierced through her arm. The pain from the shot caused Megohime to dropped to the ground while the bullets kept going and went into the mirror on the other end. Instinctively, Megohime lie down on the ground while she held her wounded arm, just in time to avoid the multiplied bullets that emerged and shots out from the mirrors. When all of the bullets had gone, Megohime looked at the hand she used to hold her wound and, to her surprise, found no blood at all. While the pain stills lingered, her wound had disappeared. Keeping the questions for later, Megohime stood up and saw the other boy prancing towards her.
The boy looked exactly the same as the other boy Megohime and the Aizen encountered earlier, but his appearance slightly different. His clothing and eye colors were inverse, as if he was a reflection of the other boy. 'Hee~~ you're pretty good, nee-chan ! Other people usually gave up by now."
"Who are you ?" Megohime asked.
'I'm Gemini."
"And I'm Gemini.'
Megohime looked back to see the other Gemini standing behind her. "'We are Gemini Joker !'" both of them said. 'There's two of them ? This is not good,' Megohime thought as she slowly walked backwards to another hallway while both Gemini slowly follows her with a grin, 'But at the very least, I found the culprit responsible of those attacks.'
"Where are you going nee-chan ?'
'Don't you want to play ?"
"Sorry, maybe next time," Megohime said before she turned around and ran away. The Gemini gave chase, but they went through a different path. Megohime saw their reflections, but it is hard to know which one is a reflection and which one is a Gemini. She saw one of the Gemini in front of her so she fired a shot at it. But it is actually a reflection, and the bullet shattered the mirror to pieces, revealing a wooden wall behind it. She continued to ran as Gemini's laughter echoed throughout the maze.
Before long, Megohime winds up in a dead end. She turned around, only to saw both Gemini at the entrance to the dead end. "It's over~'
'Looks like we won !"
'Is this the end ? Masamune... if only you were here...' Megohime thought. The twins then summoned their respective polearms and lunged at Megohime, but a wall of fire stops them in their path. Megohime looked up to see two large foxes leaping and landing in front of her. She identified one of the foxes as Ji, which means the other fox, one who has a far more slender and graceful appearance, as Ja. [Mego-nee, are you okay ?] Ja asked.
"I'm fine, thank you !" Megohime replied.
[Hop on ! Ji think that we might had found the exit !] Ji stated.
Without a second thought, Megohime immediately jumped to Ji's back. The trio then leaped over the walls just before Gemini extinguished the flame. "Hey !'
'That's not fair !"
– –
The group made their way to the "exit" by traversing the top of the walls, avoiding the traps and the weapons that were being thrown by the Gemini. Fortunately for the group, both Gemini had a hard time catching up with them despite seemingly possessing a teleportation ability. Before long, the group arrived at their destination, which were located on the edge of the maze. There, Megohime saw a broken mirror that leads to a dim hallway. "What is this ?" Megohime asked.
The Aizen assumed their human form. "We found a cracked mirror when were were looking for Mego-nee," Ji said.
"Ja felt a wind blowing from the cracks, so Ji smashed it," Ja said.
"Do you know where this might lead us ?" Megohime asked.
The Aizen shook their head. "Well, it is better than spending some times with those twins ! Let's go !" Megohime said. The trio then went through the hole and into the hallway, right before Gemini managed to catch up.
"Should we go after them brother ?'
'No~ they won this round... we should clean this place up before Luna found out."
"'Agree !'"
– – –
At the Torii gate, Kojiro panicked. He tried to find Megohime, hoping that she were just fooling around, but he couldn't find her. Eventually, Kojiro knelt to the ground due to fatigue. The boy is on the verge of crying when he heard a familiar voice. "Kojiro !"
Kojiro turned around and saw Masamune and the others running towards him. "Onii-chan !" Kojiro exclaimed before Masamune hugged him tightly.
"Thank God you're alright..." Masamune said, not letting go of Kojiro.
"Onii-san, I'm so sorry ! I tried to look for onee-chan but I couldn't find her anywhere !" Kojiro replied in tears.
"It's okay, we'll find her, I promised you that," Masamune said as he patted Kojiro's back.
Shigezane approached the brothers. "Kojiro, did you see the Aizen ?"
Kojiro sniffled before he replied. "N-no I don't... I only saw onee-chan walking through the torii before she disappeared."
Ayame approached the torii in question and inspect the area around it. "I could feel Ji's and Ja's presence, but they aren't here," Ayame said, "I think they are with Megohime, for I felt her aura with theirs."
Masamune ruffled Kojiro's hair before he marched towards the torii. "But where are they ? They can't possibly just disappeared into thin air just like-"
"Masamune, wait !"
Kojuro and Shigezane managed to hold Masamune back, preventing him from walking into a portal that suddenly opened in front of him. The portal were located on the torii, and suddenly activated when he approached it. Masamune's face were inches away from entering the portal, and both Kojuro and Shigezane pulled him back. The portal dissipated as soon as Masamune is out of range. "I guess we now know what happened to Megohime and the Aizen..." Shigezane stated.
"But how come that only appears when Masamune approached it ? And why now ?" Kojuro asked.
"Maybe this portal was meant for Masamune," Ayame stated, "And it only appears now because it is activated during the night."
"But that doesn't explained why Megohime got through it !" Masamune said.
Kojiro tugged Masamune's sleeve, gaining his attention. "Before she went through the torii, Onee-chan changed her clothes to disguised herself," he stated, "She wore onii-chan's armors, but I don't know the reason she did that."
Kojuro turned at Ayame. "Could the portal mistook her for Masamune ?"
"Could be, but that would meant that whoever created this portal does a lousy job at it," Ayame replied.
"Well then, what are we waiting for ! Let's go through that thing and find Mego !" Masamune exclaimed.
Shigezane steps in front of Masamune. "We have no idea what's beyond that portal, are you sure about this ?"
Masamune scoffed. "Hell yeah ! I will do whatever it takes to get Mego back, so don't try to stop me !"
Shigezane sighed. "I guess nothing will change your mind huh ? Fine, do what you want... I'll be waiting here with Kojiro," he said, "So don't you dare coming back without Mego and those twins !"
Masamune turned towards the portal and was about to go through it when Kojuro held his shoulder. "I'm coming with you," he said, "Someone have to make sure you don't get lost."
"I'll come with you as well," Ayame said as she held Masamune's other shoulder, "Ji and Ja are my kids, and you need all the help you can get !"
Masamune grumbled. "Whatever ! Just don't hinder me when we get there !"
The trio walked towards the portal. At the last seconds however, Masamune looked at Kojiro. "We'll be back, so wait for us okay ?"
Kojiro nodded. "Onii-chan, good luck !"
Masamune smiled at Kojiro before he, Ayame, and Kojuro walked through the portal, and disappeared in a flash of light...
And another chapter done !
I apologize for the lousy chapter, but what can I say ? I've done my best to meet up the deadline TT^TT
On the next chap, Ayame, Masamune and Kojuro will join the action at Twilight Palace ! So stay tune and wait for next week's chap ! XDD
1) Their appearance in their FA by Silvermoonarisato. You can check it out in their profile at Koei lovers.
2) In case you haven't realized it, this is my excuse for the lack of consistency for Twilight Palace's location. And also the excuse for "out-of-place-and-period" items, such as gears and clocks. In other words, time is irrelevant in Twilight Palace, so items from the future and past could be found here. Welcome to my wacky imagination ^^
3) a special cameo scene just for Yuuki's and Yin Long's fans ^^
4) In most part of Asia, and especially Japan, sneezing could means someone are talking behind your back, and sneezing twice means someone is speaking bad things about you. Additional info, apparently three sneezes means someone is in love with you and multiple sneeze means you have a cold.
Dogu (土偶): small humanoid and animal figurines made during the late Jōmon period (14,000 –400 BCE) of prehistoric Japan. This is a slight reference to Warriors Orochi's Himiko since her weapon in that series is some Clay Dogu.
Kitsune-bi : literally means "fox fire"
Shogi (将棋 shōgi) : also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan.
Xiangqi : a two-player Chinese board game
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