In the Circles of One's Mind
Silence seemed to be all they experienced as the duo of Mako Makanshoku and Senketsu drifted through the tangled matrix of red fibers that strung out around them. Memories were tied to the strings but they were constantly changing, altering into the more Ragyo obedient variants, to keep Ryuko in check and under the control of the cruel woman. The last one they entered though was that of chapel on an empty street in the rain.
The door was bound tightly and Mako kicked it several times trying to shatter the handle and open up the spot where their Ryuko would be concealed." Open! Up!" she pointed flailing her arms and legs against the wood slowly loosening the handle.
'Mako it is not that difficult,' Senketsu sighed as the handle exploded sending its interior counterpart flying. When they kicked the door from the hinges they saw the handle and the head of a Life Fiber mannequin laid on the ground. Ryuko stood in a white wedding down holding her bouquet and staring blankly at the wall.
"Ryuko?" Mako approached nervously her large rounded eyes wobbling with tears. Her best friend was there again except something felt off about it, the way Ryuko barely reacted when they entered put a weird hexing feeling in the air.
"You? What you doing here?" Ryuko turned holding onto the bouquet as if it were the last earthly possession she had. This was her perfection, the world that she wanted, the happiness she wanted.
"We're here to save you," Mako and Senketsu said in unison an echoing effect that made Ryuko's skin crawl. The possessed girl turned at them and snarled her rounded blue eyes becoming narrow and fierce, angry at them for intruding inside of the chapel on her wedding day.
"Save me from what? This is my paradise, my dream world! You aren't taking it away from me!" she howled the bouquet morphing instantly into the red half of the Scissor Sword. Her fierce look grew more aggressive as the blade seemed sharper within the confines of her mind than it did anywhere else.
'This can't be your dream world. The Ryuko I know wouldn't be a some sort of puppet to this not while there was something to be done,' Senketsu spoke out with all the seriousness he could muster. Ryuko's expression changed briefly before contorting back into the sheer anger that had quickly consumed her when Mako appeared there.
"Obviously you do not know me then!" she hissed with words like venom. Mako's cheery features puffed out in her cute but serious face as she stormed up the stairs knocking over the mannequin's body." You little bitch! You ruined it all!" the red-highlighted teenager roared her blank eyes seemingly spouting fire as she glared at the every resistance Makanshoku.
"If you wanna stay cooped up in this little dream world and not wear Senketsu, fine! But if you do you should stop being Ryuko too!" Mako boldly said as her attempt for Senketsu to be stuck onto his former host failed." You hear me! You can stop being Ryuko too!" Mako clung to Ryuko buy the shoulder straps of her frilly wedding gown, this angered Ryuko even more.
"Fine! I'll start by doing this!" the possessed Ryuko roared before bringing the Scissor Sword down at speed almost untraceable by the human eye. Mako's body felt heavy and her eyes began to water and pain burned inside of her chest. Senketsu's sole eye bulged as the breaths of his current wearer grew more and more intense.
'Fssssshhh!' the sound of water rushing from a faucet echoed through the empty chamber of the chapel ringing in Ryuko's ears. The only issue was there was no faucet or water spout nearby, the only thing nearby even close was a large slash across the chest of Senketsu and by extension Mako Makanshoku.
Blood raced out almost like a hose's watery spray filling the air with a vibrant crimson that stood out against the grays of the false memory. Every wall, window, and structure in the room was covered in the bloody crimson slick. Mako's panicked eyes could not help but look down at the geyser of blood shooting from her chest.
Ryuko stayed there looking forward whilst keeping the blade where it had been positioned. Her wedding dress, her 'purity', had bee soiled by the blood of one she loved and hed close. Her black hair became slick with the ruby stain and soon pellets of the blood slowly fell over her glassy possessed eyes. Ryuko Matoi felt it the memories slowly comeback as the blood floated out into the rest of her memories, a crimson wave of cleaning.
In the present that wave of cleaning was flowing from her body in a massive wave of black-silver energy that twinkled with the ever familiar stars of their transformation. Everyone aboard the ship was being dragged away by it until it suddenly stopped hard within its tracks and Ryuko hung there bearing the Scissor Sword at her side eyes concealed behind her red highlighted bang.
Nui began to laugh wildly it was only theory in the first place but how fruitless could that have been." Teehee! Looks like you failed. Come Ryuko let's send this place to Davey Jone's locker!" the blonde laughed raising her half of the Scissor Blade, it transformed into a scythe-like Decapitation Mode. Her sole blue eye sparkled with malice and joy Nui was weird for sure.
Through the air a tearing sound echoed in all of the ears of the Resistance. A whirlwind of red that hit something with all of the force of a semi-truck and the uplift of a 747 airplane. Nui was creamed and smashed against the largest part of the control panel a loud tearing sound following as the Scissor Blade ripped through metal. Blood exploded out almost comically from her spine as blood ran down her mouth.
"Can you please shut the hell up!" Ryuko roared voraciously from her position across the deck. Heavy pants left her mouth and sweat had collected on her brows the struggle for action had been real.
"Gehgeh? What?" Nui's head turned around blood flooding from the mouth in a river-like stream. Her sole eyes was gazed at Ryuko, who's black hair hung over her eyes and sweat rippled down her face to the tattered deck of the Naked Sun.
"I ain't no puppet. Not for you or that bitch Ragyo," the teenager shouted, both of her white gloved hands reached up and clutched the collar of the Kamui tightly. A yank sent a shiver through her entire body, she was almost pulling herself in the process.
"Stop Matoi, you'll kill yourself!" Satsuki shouted staring at her long lost sister with stunned eyes. There was a look though in Ryuko's eyes that told her no matter what the Kamui was coming off.
Ryuko's fiery eyes lit even more so as she started to rip the frame of Junketsu from her own." I don't care if it kills me!" the entire Kamui was shredding slowly its regeneration nothing against the strength of the enraged Ryuko." If I don't take Junketsu off..." blood began to erupt from the massive tears in her flesh that were wrought by ripping the sewn in Kamui away.
In a rain of crimson and a massive scream of pain Ryuko gasped and gawked as a burning raced through her entire body." I won't be able to wear Senketsu again," blood covered and panting Ryuko looked over at Mako with a large smile.
"Where are you going?" Satsuki asked the crawling scraps of Junketsu whilst pinning them down with her halves of Bakuzan.
"Too bad for you that doesn't even matter," Nui's voice was airy and fine much as it had been before she was stabbed clean through. Her right and left hands bent back almost creepily and tore the second Scissor Sword free from her back. The blood that had been racing out disappeared as the wound closed as if it had never been there, and now she hopped down from the crater in the wall with a smile.
"Great she's immortal too," Sanageyama said snidely whilst hearing every step she took towards Ryuko's somewhat prone frame.
Shinko stood up between the two young ladies his injured arm hanging loosely off to the side while his remaining hands held the Murasama towards Nui." You may have both halves of the Scissor Blade..but you aren't touching Ryuko," he growled as the torn-up arm stung in the salty ocean air.' She just snapped back to reality letting her die before getting Senketsu would mean I failed big time,' he promised himself while keeping position firm.
"Makanshoku give Senketsu to Ryuko. Kurosaki is not going to last long," Gamagori ordered as Nui looked towards the bloody frame behind her injured adversary.
"Like you are going to stop me!" Nui laughed before bringing both blades down. A loud clang rang out as the lone long sword stopped both with a horizontal position, the pressure seeming off to the sides rather than the core.
"I stopped you and Matoi before. You aren't getting through me!" Shinko shouted keeping his position as Mako hurried over to her best friend, Senketsu in hand.' Hurry up Mako I can't hold off this force forever. One arm shouldn't be putting out the force of two for more than a few seconds,' he groaned as his feet began to shake along with his knees and body.
'Shinko this is getting too dangerous bale out,' Sentokitsu told his wearer, the gift of Senketsu had not been given yet.
"No, not until she gets Senketsu," his knee buckled and all the force plowed him into a bowing posture, the blade in his sole hand ringing with the aftershocks." Damn it Mako how hard is it to give her a damn Kamui!" he yelled as Nui pressed down harder trying to knock him out of the way before Ryuko got her Kamui.
"Kurosaki, you are biggest fucking idiot but thanks for all of this," Ryuko commented as her Kamui lept from Mako towards her." Senketsu you ready?" Ryuko questioned her ally as Shinko's body continued to crumple under the sheer force of Nui's blades.
'Of course,' he responded back as he applied himself over Ryuko's naked frame.' Are you okay?' he asked as their transformation began.
"No, that really freakin hurt," she commented as the star shower erupted as Synchronization activated in full.
"Life Fiber: Synchronize! Kamui Senketsu!" their voices rose in unison as Ryuko obtained the all too familiar form of Synchronization. Her feathery black hair stood up slightly as the power coursed through every red channel along the navy blue frame. Steam flowed from the vent along the back and power flushed through every part of her tired body.
"Harime, pick on someone that can still fight!" Ryuko charged forward the Kamui's gloves becoming blade. The collision of weapons threw Nui back a few steps as Ryuko landed back on her feet. The blades disappeared for a moment returning to the gloved form as Ryuko stared with a glare towards the blonde, wielding both halves of the Scissor Blade.
"After going through all that trouble to fit Junketsu to you. Ryuko you still chose that worthless dishrag," Nui chided drawing both blades back as if ready to strike down Ryuko on the spot. Said teenager stared forward bluntly completely un-amused by the threat looming over head.
'Senketsu. You have both Satsuki and Mako's blood running through you still. My friends, my family they did this for me,' she smiled faintly before glaring up preparing a witty retort." C'mon Nui, Senketsu is warmer than that piece of shit Junketsu would ever be! I'm glad to have him back on!" Ryuko snorted teasing the blonde that had helped manipulate her in every regard.
"Why you little!" an 'x' shaped slash ripped forward as Nui brought both arms down. Ryuko stood there ready to take in the strike as if she had anticipated it in full from the start.
'CROOSH!' the force impacted her left glove and deflected out around her in a large five pointed star. The wave off of the ship were torn back but Ryuko remained stationary as Nui looked on in absolute awe and disbelief.
'THUD!' Ryuko swept in and delivered a right hand to the side of Nui's face knowing that Senketsu would not be able to keep up with threat of the two Scissor Swords. Nui swung again and found her arms folded under Ryuko's and tucked to the toned side of the aforementioned teenager. Stuck Nui had no choice to to accept the knee lift that drove into her chin with thunderous impact.
Ryuko spun out of their grapple holding both halves of the Rending Scissors in her hand for the first time ever.' These two swords were dad's weapon. He made these to combat Ragyo and the other Life Fiber threats. Now they are in my hands, back home,' her blue eyes closed for only a portion of a second but they visualized the two halves combining at their junction, forming a giant pair of Scissors like her father envisioned.
"It is over for you Harime!" Ryuko turned to slash down with the twin blades only to find Nui no longer there. Behind her the flicker of an afterimage caught her attention the blonde doll had vanished with sheer speed.' Shit. I let her have time to move that'll make things a lot closer than they should have been,' the teen thought as the sound of something tore through the air.
A silver needle pressed down through the back of her neck with a thunderous noise. Nui laughed maniacally as she did the deed." Heheehe. You see Ryuko-chan its over for you instead!" she laughed until Ryuko's frame flickered away.
"Wh-wha?" Nui looked in shock.
"Pfft, you are still too slow," Ryuko appeared her right foot jabbing into the temple of her father's murderer. The ship shook and every raised tile and pillar in front of her on the ship shook and fell with a very Nui Harime-shaped hole within them. The debris crumbled as Ryuko placed her feet down firmly again, a smug smile crossing Ryuko's face.
Nui rose from the debris of metal and concrete with a bored expression on her face. The remarkable trait about Life Fiber beings was their insane durability, and in Nui's unique case, their insanity. Almost zombie-like Nui readjusted her body to straighten out the damaged limbs and close the mediocre cuts that had since sprawled over her body. This was not a fight that would end in a single blow.
"You may have torn off Junketsu and beaten me up but what about your friends! That's right soon they'll be my puppets!" the crazed blonde laughed as dozens of red threads extended from her fingers. In a tangled mesh they all moved forward much to shock and disgust of the people on board, they were quickly surrounded all it took was a single yank and they would be reduced to nothing more than tools on a string.
'Schink!' the fibers that surged through the air suddenly were destroyed. Ryuko appeared a few feet in front of Nui spinning the red half of the Scissor Sword over her wrist. Senketsu quickly went to work as well drawing in the power of the torn Life Fibers and adding it to his own.
"Like hell I'd let that happen," Ryuko remarked hands moving like a series of red blurs. Nui did not feel anything as the teenager's hands stopped moving, she though saw the glimmering of something tearing through her body of had she? Then everything happened in rather comical effect.
'Pop!' as if someone freed a cork from a champagne bottle Nui's right and left arms fell from her body. Ryuko smiled as the pink frills along the wrist tore slightly upon contact with the ruined deck.
A shaking filled the solo blue eye of the blonde as the wounds on her shoulders began to shake with the incoming geyser. A geyser it was too as blood shot out like a river from the two ports that once held her arms.
"My arms! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" she howled hopping back and forth between her feet. The crimson spray continued as Ryuko watched heartlessly as she continued to dance about crazed.
Blood shot out further when she turned towards Ryuko." I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I am the Grand Couturier do you know how important my arms are!" Nui shouted wildly as Ryuko let out a chuckle.
"Duh, dumbass that is why I cut them off," the freed Ryuko said almost casually as the blood continued to run away from her. The blonde stared wildly forward before gaining a placid expression.
"Hah! Oh well I can pop them back on just like-" Nui began to boast until her lone eye saw Ryuko storm over towards the grounded limbs.
"Oops," she snorted driving her heel into the elbow of the severed left arm. It shattered and the Life Fibers within we pulled towards the Kamui, sparking the power to grow from within it again.
"Oops again," the right met the same fate as its right counterpart. They tore away and were both part of the Kamui Senketsu from that point onward.
A tremble shook the petite frame of the blonde as her pink heeled shoes thudded against the tile flooring." I. am. going. to. kill. you!" Nui seethed taking a lumbering step forward until massive COVERS slammed into the surface splitting them apart.
A helicopter raced over head with Ragyo's practical lapdog dangling from the cargo ladder. In a swift motion the dark skinned woman clutched and carried away the blonde, blood raining down from behind them.
"Fire!" Inumuta shouted launching three blast of heat from the massive cannons on board the ship. Damaged as they were the rounds inside launched out unhindered aimed to plow into the helicopter. Until more COVERs appeared and took the shots full on without a hint of hesitation, the result was showing that the cannons were inept at that distance.
"Senketsu!" Ryuko smiled ready to fly off within her Kamui. That was until it stalled on her resulting in a rather embarrassing face-plant and her underwear being exposed to those on board.
'You have used too much blood. Going after them is not very wise,' the Kamui informed having full statistics of his host's body.
"Damn it really? Then how are we going to deal with them," Ryuko growled as the COVERs encroached on the ship with a violent intent. Her red highlighted hair blew as she drew both halves of the Scissor Sword up aiming both at the COVERs.
"No Matoi. This can be done by those aboard," Satsuki smiled as a massive rack arose from the ship's cargo hold, bearing gigantic cannon-like structures Ryuko have never seen before." In her rush to preserve Nui, Rei failed to realize what she left behind," the heiress to REVOCs said calmly as Sanageyama stepped up.
"Allies and Life Fibers by the dozen. We'd be fools to not take this opportunity!" the blind youth commented running forward to arm himself. This was the chance they had to get the drop on Ragyo.
"Right," Tsumugu replied in his more standard DTR attaching two of the Removers to its sides.
The Elite Four grabbed what they could in their hands and charged at the mass of COVERs that approached from the sky. Gamagori especially seemed to bear the hardest burden, after stroking his chin he took to the rack.
"Err," he growled pulling three from the rack on each arm followed by three more across his monolithic shoulders. It seemed that the Toad of the Elite Four was not confined by human limits, the weight must have been massive." Seven-plus-two Removal Device!" he boomed like a lion's roar before approaching the group in a charge with the other members of the Elite.
The first wave stood no chance fourteen of the freeing items were smashed cleanly into the group of five COVERs that led the charge. Again with a sound like that of champagne popping five bodies were fired out from the devices left to coil up on the ground in the fetal position.
"Medics get them now!" Satsuki said as several more bodies were being flung from the machines in a rapid succession. As the Makanshokus raced to pick up the bodies Satsuki began to recognize the faces of those on the ground." Hakodate? Fukuroda? And the other club captains," she exclaimed as the monstrous horde was retracted away by the wily forces of those on board.
Tsumugu and Iori stood next to the stand where the four pieces of the absolutely butchered Junketsu were on display, sometime had passed as the glow of an orange-yellow sunset radiated over blue water. Their eyes looked at the teenaged Student Council President with a hint of intrigue." What do you want to do with Junketsu?" the former Sewing Club head questioned pointing towards the frame where the Kamui was positioned.
"Keep it locked up for now," Satsuki commented the black trench coat that had been given to cover her sparring-clothed frame. Shiro froze at the those words, the destructive power was indescribable.
"Are you sure we shouldn't get rid of it?" Kinagase spoke up knowing that Iori would not. Their concern though was the same and it revolved around the feral and unrestricted power of the God Robe, Junketsu.
"This battle is far from over," Satsuki commented staring off towards the sinking sun. The warmth was just a facade for the cold woman that was bound to be waiting for them when they made it to Honnoji.
"You're not seriously considering wearing that monster again," Ryuko's voice cut in as she approached her sister from across the ship. She carried herself seriously trying to stay calm at the same time.
"I will not make the same mistake twice," Satsuki responded in her typical stoic voice hand tucked in the trench coat. Her long black hair flowed in the passing sea breeze as she awaited the comeback from her sibling.
"Those are big words coming from someone that could not even wear Senketsu correctly," the younger of the two said with a smug smile. The others on-board at this point had begun to congregate around the siblings as they stared at one another.
A heavy inhale followed by an equally sized exhale left Satsuki." Matoi what do you want from me?" Satsuki spoke cool and concise as if she were not just put through hell by her younger sister.
"I really want to punch you in the face. If you can take one full-force punch from Senketsu and me, I'll let you fight with us," Ryuko said simply, getting everyone that had surrounded them to instantly perk up with attention.
'You are being unreasonable,' Senketsu spoke to his wearer with a huge amount of concern.' Satsuki risked her life to save you,' the Kamui continued.
"That doesn't forgive how high handed she's been until now," Ryuko snapped back at the Kamui, which was still activated around her. Everyone was apprehensive and hoping that the head of Honnoji Academy would have more sense than to accept it.
"Fine, our enemy is Ragyo Kiryuin. If I can not stand a single punch from you the chance I have of doing anything against her is slim to none," Satsuki shrugged before bowing towards her sister with a faint smile on her face.
"Please reconsider Ryuko. No ordinary person could live a full-force strike from you and Senketsu," Mikisugi brought up his blue hair being whipped in the same sea breeze that came by.
"Lady Satsuki Kiryuin is no ordinary person though is she," Ryuko revved up making her sibling smile at the wording.
"Well Matoi come on," Satsuki said still calm even in the face of death.
Ryuko tucked her foot down and angled her knees taking a full posture to deliver the strongest possible punch the Kamui and her could muster, the air seemed to be thrown away as her right hand retracted. Senketsu saw the determination and backed it fully no matter how much he may have disagreed with it. Black locks hung before Ryuko's eyes hiding the emotion within them, this was for Satsuki and Satsuki alone.
"Here I come!" she throttled forward with a huge push off. Right hand racing forward she was ready to absolutely smash her sister's face.
Goodness, things have certainly taken the hostile turn for the worst! Can Satsuki live a strike from Senketsu?
It has been a little bit more than a wait for this chapter to come out. Over the past three weeks I've had some graduation stuff to prepare for, more college visits, exams, among other family related things. so I apologize for the wait but I promise updates will be more consistent.
Thanks for reading,
~Herodan3