When I walked through I frowned. There was a big castle; it had signs and whatnot all over it. I said "So, this is the witch's realm?" Eruka said "To think that not one, but two Shinigami would set foot in the witch's realm, no one would have imagined." Kid asked "If we're on Earth, how come we haven't discovered this place." Eruka replied "This space has been distorted with Mabaa's magic to prevent any kind of intrusion from the outside. Even the large scale soul protect spell you are trying to do this time would be nigh impossible without Mabaa's support." I said "Who exactly is this Mabaa." Eruka said "There is no point standing around guessing, please take us to out meeting place immediately." Suddenly quite a lot of witches appeared in front of us. "It seems you won't need to." Kid said.
Our hands were tied behind our backs; I asked Kim "Why do I have more ropes?" She grinned sheepishly and said "They heard about your anger, and that you killed two witches, and that you're a death scythe." I nodded and said "Yup, that'll do it." They then put some heavy cinder blocks on us. Again, I got two instead of one. The witch who met us outside yelled "The witch trials are now in session!" The audience yelled "Death to the Shinigami's! Kill the traitorous witches! Burn them at the stake!" I sighed and said to kid "Can I just get rid of these now?" I said gesturing to the bonds and cinder blocks. One of the witches next to us hissed "Shut it!" I looked up and said "Make me." The witch smiled and kicked my stomach. The wound opened back up, dripping blood. "She has black blood!" the witch said. The witch that brought us in said "Then tie her up with more ropes." I rolled my eyes. Another rope was brought. Kid yelled "AS A GIFT WE HAVE BROUGHT THE WEREWOLF THAT STOLE ONE OF MABAA'S EYES!" Free said "What, you really have no mercy?!" The main witch yelled "SILENCE!" Mabaa nodded and said "Nyamu!" Kid said "We're in a race against time right now, please release us at once." The witch said "Denied." Lisa yelled "WA…WAIT! Why us too then?! The bad ones are the Shinigami brother and sister right?!"The witch started coldly and said "Denied. Read out their charges and their sentences." I rolled my eyes. "As you wish." said a chameleon witch. "The witch, Eruka Frog, for conspiring with Medusa Gorgon the witch, setting free the werewolf with the demon eye, and becoming a subordinate to Shibusen afterwards…is hereby sentenced to death five times!" Eruka frowned and hid beneath her hat "Somehow, I expected this to happen, but it's still…" I smiled and said "It's alright Eruka." She smiled sadly and nodded. The chameleon witch carried on "The witch Tabatha Butterfly, stage name 'Lisa', for conspiring with Shibusen and being intimate with a death scythe, is hereby sentenced to death. The witch Taruho Firefly, stage name 'Arisa', for conspiring with Shibusen and being intimate with a death scythe, is hereby sentenced to death." Arisa yelled "Are you serious?! Isn't this too much?! This is seriously improbable! I plead MJA!" A witch prodded her. She pouted and said "MJA! MJA!" the witch said "Add another three deaths to her sentence." The chameleon witch nodded and said "Understood. Being immortal, increasing their death sentences would be meaningful as a single death is not enough to end them, the werewolf with the demon eye, already with 500 death sentences for stealing Mabaa's left demon eye and for escaping from prison, in total…is sentenced to death 1000 times."I laughed and said "That's what you get." A witch kicked me again. I hissed "Alright, I'm shutting up now!" The chameleon witch said "The witch Kimiearl Diehl, for escaping without the assembly's permission and enrolling in Shibusen, the enemy, is hereby sentenced to death." Kim stuttered "O…objection!" The main witch said "Come forward with any objections!" Kim pouted "How can I come forward with this huge thing on me?!" The witch said "Then motion denied." I had to stifle a laugh.
The witch up front said "I will personally read out the brother and sister's sentences and charges." I rolled my eyes. The witch yelled at Kid "FOR BEING A SHINIGAMI! IS HEREBY! SENTENCED TO DEATH ONE MILLION TIMES!" Kim said "Pfff serves you right." I burst out laughing. Kid turned to me and said "You're a Shinigami too," I frowned and said "Damn, I forgot." The witch turned to me and explained my charges and sentences.
She said "The Shinigami, Hotaru, for being a Shinigami, for being a death scythe, for making a death scythe, for having black blood and for being rude to witches, is hereby sentenced to…FIVE MILLION DEATHS!" I heard cheering erupt all around me. Eruka said "It's alright." I nodded and said calmly "Like I'd let them kill me." Witches around me yelled "Show me the Shinigami's insides! Impalement, burning at the stake, I'm fine with anything! I have an experiment to do with their eyeballs! This is gonna make witch history, I'm so excited!" I looked at Kid pleadingly. He nodded, he just couldn't be bothered. I yelled "SHUT IT! I could break through all these ropes at once and these blocks are nothing! I could kill everyone in this room in less than 10 seconds! But, why should I? Currently order is being disrupted by the Kishin's madness, now; this is not the time for you and I to be fighting!" I looked around the crowd, meeting every pair of eyes as I went. I said "My brother is only here so I don't break this place." A witch in the crowd yelled "The witch's number one enemy is Shibusen, how dare you say that after killing our comrades!" I sighed and said "So many weapons and meisters have lost their lives to witches." Kid nodded and said "My sister may seem immature and selfish but when the time comes she is smart and sacrifices herself for the people she loves. You saw that she has black blood. She got it from her friend so that she could protect everyone." I nodded and said "It's true. Now, all of you witches say 'witches have a destructive nature, we cannot coexist!' But, is that true? All humans possess this reckless nature, some more than others," I said, gesturing to myself "Yet, there are many ways to show this! This trial proves that even in the witch's realm order is honoured? If you only have a destructive nature then there is no way you could have this order, all of our battles, all of our deaths, isn't that just because of a long chain of hatred?" The witch yelled "NOTHING MORE THAN A CHAIN OF HATRED?! OUR HATRED RUNS DEEPER THAN HELL ITSELF! That's simply an excuse put forth by the stronger Shibusen! To the witches who were alienated and driven away to this closed realm, hatred is our instinct!" I asked the witch "Do the witches with us feel the same way about this? Do they possess the hatred?" I said to Eruka "What do you think of me, speak your opinion honestly, you already have five deaths, go even further." She nodded and gulped. She said "To start with, I thought that Hotaru was evil and selfish and that she followed the rules brainlessly…" She looked to me "Now that I know her, she is kind and strong, in mind, body and spirit and that she never follows the rules." I smiled. I looked to Lisa and Arisa "If someone tears out another man's heart then that's endearing." Arisa said "Right!"
Kid then said "Even Kim here is a depraved woman who makes up lies, fakes tears and acts cute to seduce others." Kim yelled "HEY!" Kid then said "Even now, we're friends who have shared a naked communication." I giggled, he must mean that time in the shower before we came here, right before I kicked his ass out. "IDIOT! DON'T SAY SUCH THINGS! AND THAT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE!" I laughed and said to Kim "You're not making it any better."The main witch said "Kimiearl Diehl, do you have no shame…and with a Shinigami…have you fallen that low." Free said "I wonder what it feels like to do that with a Shinigami?" He looked at me. I shook my head and said "Hell no, look the other way pal." I sighed and pushed the two heavy cinder blocks of me. I easily snapped the ropes around my hands. Everybody gasped. Kid did the same. Everybody gasped. He bent down and started begging "I BEG YOU! LEND YOUR STRENGTH TO SHIBUSEN! CURRENTLY, ORDER IS CHANGING! WE CANNOT ALLOW THE KISHIN'S MADNESS TO DESTROY IT! MY IDEALS REQUIRE YOUR STRENGTH! Soldiers are fighting on the moon as we speak! To protect this world! You are the only ones who can save us! Witches are strong, wise and beautiful! I beg of you to lend your strength to us amateurs!" I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "Kid, get up." I kicked him, he flew up before landing on the ground with a thud. One of the witches in the audience said "Wow, she's strong." I nodded and said "I'm a Shinigami, a meister, a weapon, a death scythe, AND I'M REALLY PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW!" The main witch nodded and said to Kid "Lowering our head changes nothing! That will not ease our hatred!" Mabaa put her arm in front of the witch. She stared at us and said "Nyamu." The witch nodded at Mabaa and said to the other witches "Let them go." I nodded and went to walk out the door but Kam ran in. She jumped into my arms and said "Your daddy scary!" I laughed and said "Okay, come on, we're going to go back and have some sweets, okay?" she nodded and said "YAAAAY"
A witch walked over to Kam with a rope. My arm transformed into a blade as I said "You touch my weapon and I'll rip apart this whole realm." Kim rushed over and said "She meant nothing by that, this is her weapon partner, Kam." Kam ran over to a cat witch and stroked her fur. "AWWWW, pretty kitty!" The witch frowned before smiled. Kam ran back over and said "I like it here!" I smiled and said "Maybe we'll see them again soon." I looked at Mabaa and said "Thank you for having us." Kim said "We'll discuss the remaining details," She looked at my cuts and bruises. She said "Tanunucoon Raccooncoon Ponpon Ponkitanu Pon Pon Pon." She tapped my chest, all my wounds healed. I hugged her and said "Thanks Kim." She nodded and said "Go back, we'll get back to you soon."I nodded and headed through the portal with Kam and Kid.
Kid said to father "Hotaru did really well." I smiled and said "Thanks Kid." He nodded and said "We have done everything we can; Kim said they'll discuss the remaining details amongst themselves so we came back." I nodded and said "I want to believe in Mabaa's stare and her 'Nyamu!'." Kid said "Go and get changed, grab your weapons and then meet me back here." I nodded. Father said "What's that?" he gestured to my stomach. I said "Oh, just some blood." 'CRAP!' He dipped his finger in it and said "It's black." I nodded and said "Yes, my blood is black." I looked up at Father and said "Will this do anything to harm the mission?" He shook his head and said "As long as you don't let it take control." I smiled and said "I won't." I went and got ready and met Kid in the death room. He said "They are ready to leave." I frowned "Huh? But…it's only been 30 minutes?!" Kid nodded and left the room. I said to father "I get it now, you want fear and order to coexist," I turned to father and said "Kid and I are proof that it can work. I hold the fear and he holds the order? That's right, isn't it?" Father nodded and said "You are smart, aren't you?" I smiled and did something I had never done before. I threw my arms around father and said "I love you dad. We will win this battle." He nodded and hugged me back "I know you will." He said. I wiped away my tears and said "I won't disappoint you father, goodbye." I left the room after Kid. I sat down with Kam on the air ship and got ready to take off. Marie said "I know you have done a lot, but do you mind putting up a shield when we get closer to the moon?" I smiled and said "Kim used her healing magic on me, I had a shower and I'm happy, it'll be no problem." Marie smiled and nodded.
I saw Kirikou on the air ship. I ran over with Kid and asked "Are the others on their way to the moon?" Kirikou nodded and said "Oh yeah, they wanted me to give these to you guys." He pulled wrist bands out of his pockets. He turned to me and said "Tsubaki got you this one." He handed me a black beanie. I grinned and replaced my gray one with it. Kirikou asked "Why do you always wear that gray beanie, it's so old?" I passed it to him and said "Turn it inside out." He did. He smiled and said "Wow." Inside my beanie were many things, glued to the edges. I had photos. He asked "What's this?" He pointed to a piece of paper. I smiled and said "The receipt from when we all went out that one night." He smiled and said "Wow, I never realised." I shook my head and said "Well, now I have a new one to fill up." He smiled and nodded. On the beanie was a drawing of a cartoon soul. Kirikou said "All of them have that drawing on. Tsubaki thought it would be nice for all of us to have." I puffed and said "That's really cool." I looked as Kid, Liz and Patty put theirs on. Kirikou bent down to Kam and gave her another black beanie, the same as mine. She loved it. I put the gray and blue beanie with my stuff on the ship. Kirkou said to Kid "Let's see, where should you wear it, you need to keep it symmetrical. Do you need two?" Kid shook his head and said "No, its fine." I gasped as he put it on one arm. He said "Order is trying to change, so I must try to change with it." I grinned "Yes Kid!" I yelled happily. Liz and Patty said in awe "Whoa." Kid then bent down on the floor and pounded with his fist. "But I'll need to make the picture absolutely perfect!" I sighed and said "He's back." Liz nodded and said "I knew it." A voice from a speaker echoed around the ship "One hour until arrival." Kid said "WHAT?! Can't you make it four?!" I shook my head and said to fire and Thunder "How are you two doing?" They laughed and hugged me. I said "I missed you too." Kirikou said "Those kids really like you." I smiled and said to Marie "When do you want a shield up?" She thought for a moment before saying "When we start to see the moon?" I nodded and said "That's fine."
I decided to see who was on the moon. I used my soul perception to get a good idea of it. All the death scythes and their meisters were fine, I couldn't sense Justin. All the clowns were still there, no surprise there! I then sense…Black*Star. He was fighting. I said to myself "Black*Star, if you die I swear I will kill you." I sensed Maka and Soul, which was enough for me. I was happy at that moment. I was with all my friends and that was all I needed to be happy, I didn't care that I would probably be killed or kill my father, I…was…happy, and nothing could change that. Azusa was freaking out! She was worried about attacking the moon without the witches. Kid said "The witches are testing us, they're seeing if we have faith in them or not, which is why we'll attack the moon as we are." I nodded and said to Azusa "That will show them our good faith." Azusa said angrily "Save me from the stubbornness of Shinigami's! That is foolish! What did you guys even do at the witch's realm?! You understand that our relationship can't be fixed with just one or two bowed heads?" I nodded and said "The witch's greatest enemy are us. They'll only think that we're using them to our own advantage!" Azusa asked seriously "Do you really think that sort of enemy can cooperate with us? It's even more likely they'll use this to attack Shibusen." Marie came up and said "I think you've said enough Azusa." Azusa said to me, she had a serious look in her eye that was hard to ignore. She said "Malice is one of those things that nothing can change, ever. It is difficult enough to forget malice between humans…but between two different races is just?" I said to her "I believe in them, and if nobody else does then there's no chance of them coming." Kid nodded in agreement. Azusa started to talk to me directly "I'm not saying its bad to have ideals, but you're just a kid, so you don't understand." I took Azusa to the side and said confidently "You may think that I am immature, and I think everyone does but having ideals alone is completely meaningless, you have to work to realise those ideals. If you say that crushing ideals with hopeless ideas from having experienced both the sweet and bitter of life is an adult way of thinking…then you can call me a kid all you want." Marie smiled and said "You talk more like a Shinigami all the time." I nodded and said "Thank you." Azusa said to Kid "I'm worried about the ship's crew?!" Kid nodded and said "We know you are, you're a kind person, but this ship will not fall. I have faith in everyone on this ship." Kid and I walked to the railing. Kid said "To the thirty six elites who returned with me…if a single one of you objects I will cease the assault." I took a breath and yelled "SO WE'LL ASK YOU ONE MORE TIME! WILL YOU COME ALONG WITH US AND DEFEAT THE KISHIN?!"