Chapter 37: A Promise's Determination

Somewhere on the west side of the bamboo forests, Yoji fought Rika and Pana's nightmare selves after Rika refused that the two were them. He and Ifrit dodged the ninja tools with dark aura. Yoji commanded Ifrit to turn into his chakrams and threw them at the dark ninja tools, destroying them completely. After destroying the ninja tools, Yoji was ambushed by Pana's nightmare self and blocked her attacks. However, Pana's nightmare self gave him a blinded strike on his chest, sending him flying.

"Yoji-san!" Rika cried.

Yoji's chakrams transformed back into a flame demon Ifrit and caught him from landing on the ground. Ifrit put its master down after saving him and returned back into its orignal form.

"Give it up already! You can't defeat us." Rika's nightmare self exclaimed.

Yoji panted, realizing that their true darkness were very powerful and intense unlike his six former nightmares.

"I won't give up, there's no way I can lose." he replied.

"Then you leave us no choice," said Pana's nightmare self.

The two nightmare selves attacked Yoji altogether; Rika's nightmare self summoned a dark bo staff and Pana's nightmare self using taijutsu. Yoji blocked and dodged their attacks respectively, but no avail. Suddenly, Rika's nightmare self switched her weapon and summoned a dark kusarigama and threw at Yoji, restraining with the chain.

"Damn it!" he thought. "I can't use my chakrams right now."

"Hmph. You think you can defeat us. I don't think so." Pana's nightmare self scoffed at Yoji.

"Stop it... Just stop it..." Rika cried as her tears came out from her heterochromia eyes that are blue on the left and brown on the right.

"Don't tell me what to do. Besides, you're nothing to me." The ninja tool nightmare self explained to Rika.

"She's not nothing! You can't lash at her like that!" Pana exclaimed as she became angry.

"Well, what about you then? Isn't it tough to be alone?" Pana's nightmare self asked.

Pana became shocked that her nightmare self asked about herself when she was an orphan back then.

"You had no family and no place for yourself. You tried to survive desperately until you met Shaolin who took you in. However, she disappeared back then, but despite that, you kept that promise that she'll return someday," Pana's nightmare stated. "That promise is nothing to me."

"That's not true. Shaolin-nee-san returned even Seirin-san since we met Yume." Pana exclaimed to her nightmare self. "I'm not alone! I have friends as well.

"Do you really care for them? Not even having sympathy as an orphan from every people you confronted? You can't escape this kind of pain and loneliness no matter what."

Pana became shocked after hearing her nightmare self's words and hesitated at the moment.

"Pana..." Rika worried.

"When Tou-san disappeared, I was looked after by Seiichi. Kaa-san died when I was a child before Tou-san disappeared. I was alone all the time," Rika's nightmare self explained. "It's hard to be alone back then! I hate it so much!"

Rika became speechless at her nightmare self's painful words.

"You two. You're just like me," said Yoji. Rika and Pana became surprised as they heard Yoji's words and looked at him. "That lonely feeling. Losing my parents to war, trying to survive, being taken care by Seirin-shisho and Shaolin-shisho, and everything. I left Inyo to find them, but I ended up captured by Otogakure and became a missing-nin for three years. But, thanks to Yume, I was glad that they came back. You remember that promise, right, Rika? You told me I could meet them again."

"That promise?" Rika suddenly realized that she told him to come with them once they find the others who were separated. "That's right. We'll come back to Inyo once we got together."

Rika's nightmare self realized shockly and lashed out at her, "Are you out of your mind?! Do you even know what you're doing?! If Yume comes with you without completing the game, you'll be dead!"

"I don't care if anything happens to me, Pana, Seiichi, Kuta-kun, Tsukida-kun, and Yori-kun. I want us to be happy without loneliness and pain. That's why... this promise is our determination!"

Rika wiped her tears and stood up strong. Pana smiled.

"Let's do this, Pana. Together."

"Yeah." Pana replied.

The two kunoichi focused their chakra to each other and became unleashed them.

"Chakra no Kyomei!"

Their chakras resonated each other and the two kunoichi prepared to fight their nightmare selves. Rika used her ninja tool scroll and summoned a barrage of kunai with explosive tags at her nightmare self, much to her shock. She let go of her kusarigama, releasing Yoji as he was about to back away. The explosive tags activated and the explosion appeared, however Rika's nightmare self survived from the blast. Rika ambushed her nightmare self from behind and attacked her with her bo staff. The ninja tool nightmare self tried to dodged and blocked the attacks, but with no avail.

As the nightmare self lost her strength, Rika prepared her ninja tool technique with her two ninja tool scrolls to end the battle.

"Everything changed since Pana and I met Yume from Konoha. Tou-san and Shaolin-san came back from a mission from three years ago. Our dreams came true. So I can't lose to my other self no matter what!"

She opened her ninja tool scrolls and summoned many kinds of ninja tools with strings to her fingertips. She raised them up into the sky, aiming at the ninja tool nightmare self.

"Sogu: Arashi no Konran!"

She directed them down at her nightmare self and finished her off. Rika's nightmare self became shocked as soon as the ninja tools came towards her.

"This can't be happening!"

The ninja tools struck the nightmare self completely, ending the battle.

Meanwhile, Pana attacked her nightmare self with her taijutsu as her chakra was resonating. Then she gave her a blinded strike at her chest and prepared her final attack.

"I'm not alone anymore. It's all thanks to Yume. Shaolin-nee-san returned. My promise was fulfilled back then. That's why I'll end this painful sympathy right here and now!"

"Zessho: Mekuraken no Kuro Ryu!"

The dark taijutsu nightmare self flew backwards and landed on the ground, thus became defeated. As Rika and Pana's battle had ended, the two nightmare selves' true darkness were suddenly faded away, returning back to normal. As they were back to normal, they stood up quietly and didn't say anything.

Yoji surprised that Rika and Pana defeated their nightmare selves with their collobartion technique together. He smiled after the two battles ended. Rika and Pana confronted them as they went towards them.

"You're right," Rika complied.

"Yeah," Pana agreed.

"You're really us." they said to their nightmare selves together.

After they accept them, the two nightmare selves smiled and nodded to them, and then they became two light orbs and went within them.

"We did it, Pana." she smiled.

Yoji went towards the two kunoichi after they accepted their nightmare selves.

"Thanks, Yoji-san. If you didn't encourage us, we couldn't defeat our nightmare selves then." Rika thanked him.

"We should get going. We need to find Yori," Yoji explained.

"He's right. We have to find him as soon as possible." Pana agreed. Suddenly, Rika noticed someone coming out from the bamboo trees. "What's wrong, Rika?"

"Someone's coming out from the bamboo trees," she answered, pointing at the other side. As the figure came out, a young boy collapsed after running so quickly. "Hey, are you alright?!"

The two kunoichi went towards the boy and Yoji suddenly noticed as he knew him.

"Yumekui?"

Rika and Pana became surprised as Yoji realized him.

"You know this boy?" Pana implied.

After they encountered Yumekui, the young boy opened eyes and noticed he found Yoji, while his former name was Ryoji.

"Ryoji."

"Huh? Yoji-san, he called you that old name of yours." Rika complied.

"Yoji-san?" Yumekui replied.

"It's my real name," Yoji answered. "Just call this name from now on, Yumekui."

"Okay"

"You okay?" asked Rika. "You sure ran so quick when we saw you."

He nodded at Rika. Yumekui began to notice the Inyo forehead protector around Rika's forehead. He knew that the two kunoichi were Yori's comrades.

"Please. Please help Yori-san..."

Rika and Pana surprised that Yumekui knew about Yori.

"Where is he?" Pana asked.

"He's fighting Ikari-san, but I'm worried he can't defeat him."

Yoji became shocked that Yori was now fighting Ikari.

"Ikari's fighting Yori, but why?" he wondered with a confused look. "We better go find out. Yumekui, can you take us there?"

"Okay." he nodded.

They left and went to the Yori and Ikari's battlefield in a hurry. Later at the lake on the east side of the bamboo forest, Yume became speechless and had lost for words. What had happen to the Ally of the Byakugan after she met the Nightmare Seeker?