A sense of familiarity and wonder overwhelmed Nekohana as she explored the small garden in Fukurokuju's cave. Dusk Roses, Rot Mushrooms, Leech Mosses, Spiked Vines, Stretching Bushes and all other kinds of plant life which would bring wonder to man's imagination. She once learned about them, she once knew how to tend to them, she once sensed and was one with them. Although to a youkai one thousand years was not a long time period, to her it felt like an eternity since she had been separated from the Twilight Kingdom's plants. Waving a hand above them, she made the pale red flowers bloom quicker as they bathed in the moonlight. They were grateful for her return and so was she for their reunion.
"I see you are enjoying yourself," Fukurokuju spoke as he relaxed against a tree, admiring the lake.
"My apologies if I got a little excited." Nekohana walked up to her host. "It's just that I had gotten accustomed to the more primitive plants from Earth-"
"And you forgot that plants can respond back to you, I am aware," he interrupted her with a knowing smirk.
The flower youkai blinked at him in disbelief. "How did you...?"
"I govern over knowledge. Needless to say, you and Shishima are both welcome to stay here for as long as you wish. My home shall be your shelter from the outside threats, and trust me, there will be many. There will also be plenty of challenges you both will have to overcome on the paths to achieving your goals."
"Thank you. Your generosity is greatly appreciated, sir." Now that she felt more comfortable around the imposing owl, Nekohana sat by his side and also admired the small lake upon which the red moon was beautifully reflected. "I am sorry if I'll sound rude with this, but-"
"Rest assured, your worries are for naught; Shishima will believe you after he sees the truth for himself," Fukurokuju abruptly answered once again, taking her aback.
"Could you please stop doing that?!"
"Force of habit. It comes with age, once you start seeing all possible outcomes of every small event at once." But the truth was another, he enjoyed showing off to lower youkai merely to be amused by their baffled reactions.
"Even so, I would rather have a normal conversation, thank you," Nekohana insisted, to which the old being nodded. "Do you think there is any way for Shishima to discover the traitor's identity on his own? It frustrates me to no end that he refuses to believe me, especially since everything I have done up to this point was out of love!"
"Yes, if the prince plays his cards well, he will be able to uncover the mystery. I must confess that I myself was not aware of the traitor's identity during this past millennia, but now that I have looked into your thoughts, I am not in the least bit surprised. This just confirms my suspicions that he, among a select group of others, are out of my perception's reach. And there is a single daiyoukai in this entire realm capable of this feat..."
"You mean there are things that even you, Fukurokuju, are not aware of?" the lioness uttered, disbelief in her voice.
"I would rather not dwell on this subject, but the short answer is 'yes'. Though I am more than certain that those who are evading my perception are not achieving this feat through natural means."
Silence fell upon them as both turned their attention to water, each lost in their own thoughts. In appearance, Nekohana was as simple as any other low class youkai. She lacked serious ambitions, did not care much for the greater picture and had no desire for knowledge or power. It would have almost been an insult to even call her a demon. All of her actions had indeed been motivated by the strong love that she felt for Shishima, and how ironic that this seemingly pure feeling had pushed her into lives of deceit, seduction and manipulation.
"You are indeed a stronger than you seem, child," Fukurokuju finally spoke. "However, you tend to let your emotions guide you and sometimes even overwhelm you. If you are to succeed on your quest, I suggest you begin to expand your horizons."
"Expand on my horizons, you say?" She regarded him with curiosity. "That's one interesting way of putting it. In my past human lives, I tried my best to-" She paused as a sudden wave of energy pulsated against her. "What the...?" The pulse grew stronger, forcing her to turn and regard its source - the garden itself. "The Twilight Kingdom's plant life is resonating, it must be reacting to something... but what?"
Fukurokuju remained silent and observed her as she placed a hand on the tree's root, calming down to enter in a state of meditation. As Nekohana attempted communicating with the plant, all of a sudden she was enveloped in a glowing green light which sucked her inside the tree.
Never before had she experienced something so surreal and oddly familiar at the same time. She felt the roots through which she traveled, the fungus which connected all plants in the underground and which guided her path. Despite not using actual words, through their actions they made it known that she was being summoned. Before she could even concentrate enough to ask any question, she found herself pushed out of the soil into an eerie grove. The moon's crimson rays barely reached down through the thick branches, weakly lighting the rich grass and sharp stones. And right there, in the very center of that small corner of nature, where the ground had gone bald, stood a tall and imposing tree with reddened leaves, its multitude of roots stabbed inside the rotting flesh of corpses, their blood pulsating through its trunk.
"Nekohana, welcome back to the home where you belong!" the tree greeted, its low-tone echoed voice booming in her ears.
"It can't be... you are Jubokko," the lioness spoke in disbelief as she regained her composure and got back on her feet. "I've only heard your voice once a year during the harvest moon, but I never thought you would be so... bloody."
"But why does my appearance surprise you, child? As all life comes from the earth, it must also return there. That is true of both flesh and plant, I am the main proof of this."
Nekohana gulped as she regarded the multitude of youkai corpses which could not dissolve into nothingness, as the tree's roots fed on them, no different from a leech. "You've made your point quite clear."
"I have summoned you here today because you have failed your mission, child."
"My mission?"
"Yes, the same mission that your mother Mesuhana had been entrusted with, as has each plant youkai. The task of reproducing so that your offspring will nurture the next generation of plants. More so, you have failed in returning to the ground in order to renew the circle of life."
"Because of the spell I cast to bind me and Shishima to human bodies..." she muttered under her breath.
"But now you have returned, so it is time for you to be judged for your transgressions!"
"J-judged?!"
Two small roots emerged from the ground and wrapped themselves tight around the unsuspecting guest's ankles, dragging her feet deeper into the dirt. Jubokko's trunk seemed to grow in height, its imposing shadow cast upon her.
"Nekohana, flower youkai, you stand before the entire plant life of the Twilight Kingdom, accused of not passing on your genes and of not giving back that which you were gifted at birth. How do you respond to these accusations?"
"How do I respond?" she repeated while struggling to break free from the trap. "Guilty as charged!"
The nerve of her answer surprised the tree. Usually the youkai it ruled over would have displayed humility out of fear of its ultimate judgment. "So you admit that you have failed all plant life. Is there anything you have to say in your defense?"
"I have loved and cared for plants before I even learned to walk on two feet. If I have failed in my task of reproduction, that is an unfortunate event for which I am sorry. However, fate had other plans. As for me not returning to the earth... forgive me, but my love for Shishima goes far beyond that. I simply desired to see him again, no matter what!"
"So you choose flesh over your own kin?! All plant youkai who commit such heresy will be reverted to being fully plants!"
Pairs upon pairs of roots emerged from the ground and stabbed Nekohana's limbs. She screamed as she felt magical sap pouring into her veins. In truth, her only plant feature was the mane of flowers growing out of her head, for a distant ancestor from her mother's side had been purely a plant youkai. As such, the substance which was being injected into her had the property to transform animal tissue into plant tissue. Although it was a slow and painful process, she could feel how her arms were turning into leaves, her legs into roots and most of her body into a stem. Was this how she would end? After a thousand years of reincarnations and chasing after her beloved, would she really die and become one with the Twilight Kingdom's plant life? All alone, forgotten by everyone, including Shishima? Through the storm of pain and regret which her mind endured, she recalled the fateful night when Purgatory fell. She remembered the palace garden, the lake, the moonlight, Shishima's hug, his caressing, his kiss, his reassuring words...
"Nekohana, I don't want to see you suffer anymore. I swear I will do anything to make sure that from now on you are happy."
No, she would not allow herself to end like that. Mustering whatever power she had left, Nekohana concentrated just enough to take control of the roots which stabbed her and force them out of her body. Jubokko watched in shock as his prisoner freed herself and then collapsed on her knees, sew pouring out of her wrists and ankles before it could have any effect whatsoever.
"You dare defy my will?!" asked the tree with utmost indignation.
"Jubokko, forgive me, but I will not stand by and allow myself to be punished by you!" the lioness declared as she struggled to get back on her feet. "My loyalty towards Shishima takes priority over plants and that's final!"
"Your loyalty is to a forsaken child who lost all titles and was banished from the Twilight Kingdom. You are a fool to believe that I will spare you because of this!" the tree declared and its roots tried lashing at Nekohana once more, only this time they froze in place after moving a bit. She had also seized control of them and was fighting back against him.
"It seems we are evenly matched..." she remarked with a faint smirk on her face.
Growling out his anger, Jubokko made two wooden tables rise from the ground and moved its branches to one of them to shuffle a deck of cards covered by dirt. Relieved that her life had been temporarily spared, Nekohana squeezed the remains of the foreign substance out of her body, closed her wounds and produced her own deck out of her flower mane, heading to the empty table to begin their match. The tree witnessed its opponent place a strange card in the battle zone, with six face down cards coming from the top of her deck onto it as seals. A white skeletal figure crucified in a large stone, with two golden halberds sticking out of its neck, appeared into the battle zone, six glowing red X symbols floating around it.
"I cast Dark Life." Jubokko checked the top two cards of its deck and added Belladonna, Demon Faerie to its mana zone and Dakliedrange to its graveyard.
"I cast Scale of Bravery and Love." Nekohana discarded Mad Dead Wood, Seductive of D to draw two cards.
"I summon Rymer Druid." A green-skinned humanoid appeared in the battle zone, wearing an orange loincloth, a necklace with painted eyes, golden bracelets and earrings and a witch hat, and wielding a wooden staff with a skull on its top. Its owner checked the top four cards of its deck and added Belladoane, Immortal Faerie to the mana zone, letting the other three cards to fall into the graveyard, those being Vivaladrange, Infeldrange and Gigandydanos, Big Tree King. "Since I played Rymer Druid from my hand, it gets destroyed." In an instant, the humanoid perished in an explosion.
"Bad Action Dynamite 2, I summon Dorgan Churis for 3 mana! He's a speed attacker, so I attack with Dorgan Churis and Revolution Change into Dogiragon Buster, Blue Leader!" A blue mouse donning the fossilized skull and claws of a dragon appeared and rushed at the opposing shields, after which it turned around and hi fived a blue armored dragon with a long blonde mane and a sword in its mouth, which took the mouse's place and resumed the attack. "Since Dogiragon Buster is a Fire Command, I take a seal off of Forbidden ~The Sealed X~." One of the floating red X symbols surrounding the crucified skeletal creature disappeared, causing Magnum, Shortshot to land in its owner's graveyard. "Final Revolution, I bring out Evil Heat, Screaming Demon Dragon from my hand!" A dark purple demonic dragon with pink flowers growing out of its skin also materialized, causing another floating X symbol to vanish and Linnevenus, M Demon Dragon to land in its owner's graveyard. "Evil Heat is also a Fire Command, so I take out another seal. Then I put the top card of my deck into the graveyard... and take Doguraeater, D2M2 into my hand. Dogiragon Buster, triple break!" Heeding her order, the blonde dragon cut off three shields with the swords in his mouth.
"Shield trigger, I summon Trap Giant and send Evil Heat to your mana zone." A horned giant with a small forest growing all over its mountainous body appeared, a mustached face carved on its head, and it used a dual-bladed sword to cut off the demonic dragon, making it disappear into the mana zone. "My turn begins, I charge mana and Fushigiverse!"
"Fushigiverse?" a confused Nekohana repeated.
"With the Fushigiverse effect I can send a creature of my from the battle zone to my mana zone and then summon a creature from my graveyard by paying its Fushigiverse cost reduced by the cost of the creature I sent into my mana zone," Jubokko explained. "I send Trap Giant into my mana zone and summon Gigandydanos, Big Tree King by paying 14-9, so 5 mana!" The creature got enveloped by a green aura and also disappeared into the mana zone, then the ground around them shook and cracked open as a giant tree creature crawled out on its four legs, its head shaped like that of a moose, a small purple halo floating between its horns, a multitude of small birds flying around its branches, its wooden face shaped like a skull out of which it exhaled an eerie purple smoke. "When Gigandydanos is put into the battle zone, I send all cards from your hand into the mana zone." The lioness bit her lip as she dropped Doguraeater, D2M2, Linnevenus, M Demon Dragon, Magurakazura, D2M and Dorgan Churis into her mana zone. "And while Gigandydanos is in the battle zone, I cannot be attacked by creatures weaker than him."
"And that thing has 50000 power..."
"This is the power of the Darkness Nature Fushigi Kingdom, Nekohana! The power to turn death into new life, a natural cycle from which you keep running out of your misguided selfish desires."
"Misguided, you say?" she asked while drawing her next card. "Oh, we'll just see about that! I cast The End of X, which takes another seal off of Forbidden ~The Sealed X~ and I also seal your Gigandydanos!" The third X symbol surrounding the crucified skeletal creature disappeared, Dorgan Churis landing in its owner's graveyard, then a gigantic golden halberd fell from the sky and impaled the quadrupedal tree creature. "Dogiragon Buster, final break!" The dragon jumped at the two opposing shields once more and used the sword in its mouth to cut down them down, rendering the opponent defenseless.
"Shield trigger, I summon Vyston, Earth's Death." A blue robotic stag beetle wielding green swords in its of its four hands appeared in the battle zone and caused the halberd which impaled the tree creature to vanish. "Since Vyston is a Command that shares a civilization with Gigandydanos, I unseal him! And now my turn begins again, Fushigiverse! I send Vyston to my mana zone and summon Infeldrange from my graveyard with 12-8, so 4 mana." The stag beetle got enveloped by a green aura and disappeared as well, being replaced by a winged dragon made out of pale gray wood covered by green moss. "Infeldrange has mach fighter and 14000 power, so I attack Dogiragon Buster. When Infeldrange attacks, I put the top card of my deck into the graveyard and put a card from my graveyard into the mana zone." The creature lashed at the other dragon, causing Underkane, Fearless Monster to land in its owner's graveyard and Dark Life to go into its owner's mana zone, after which the weaker creature was crushed by its wooden claws. "And now I pass the turn. You are without creatures, and even if you were to summon a speed attacker, my Gigandydanos will ensure that you will not be able to win this duel. This is the true power of Nature. Your little demonic plant dragons have no way of overcoming this raw natural strength."
"Maybe not..." Nekohana said while drawing her next card, "...but I still have some tricks up my sleeve - I expand Mad Dead Wood, Seductive of D!" Suddenly, their surroundings changed to those of a forest of toxic plants filled with gravestones, a giant Venus Flytrap in its center, holding a lipstick.
"I see, you plan to Denjara Switch on your next turn and get rid of my Gigandydanos while also reviving the speed attackers from your graveyard. Then I will ensure you will have no more turns!" Jubokko threatened. "I summon Belladonna, Demon Faerie and destroy her to put the top card of my deck into the mana zone. Then I summon Vyston, Earth's Death tapped. Whenever your creatures attack, they will be forced to attack Vyston if able. Also, he has slayer. Now, Gigandydanos, break all of her shields!"
The flower youkai braced herself as the quadrupedal tree creature spat its purple fumes upon her shields, tearing each one of them to pieces. Thankfully, as she checked the cards she received, there was some hope for survival. "Shield trigger, I cast Scale of Bravery and Love." She discarded Dorago the Great, Dragon World and drew two cards. "Shield trigger, I cast Gogogo Go1 Knuckle to destroy Vyston and I also discard Demonkazura."
"Your pathetic display of power was not enough. The time has come for you to rejoin the nature you have been running away from! Infeldrange, todomeda!" Jubokko ordered and the wooden dragon flew at its latest prey.
"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Hayabusamaru, Lightfang Ninja and block the attack!" Nekohana declared and a small white plane creature appeared and took the dragon's attack.
"It cannot be..."
"Oh, but it is! I did manage to get another turn, Jubokko, which means one thing... Denjara Switch!" The Venus Flytrap opened the lipstick and used it to color its lips dark red, after which it descended upon the battle zone and devoured all opposing creatures. Magnum, Dorgan Churis, Linnevenus, Dorago the World and Demonkazura each emerged from their graves. "With Magnum, Shortshot's effect, whenever you put a creature in the battle zone during my turn, it goes into the graveyard instead, so you will not revive anything! Linnevenus, Dorago the World and Demonkazura are all Fire Commands, so I take the three remaining seals off of Forbidden ~The Sealed X~!" One by one, the floating X symbols disappeared and the stone cracked open. The crucified figure emerged from it, revealing itself as a tall white humanoid with black horns, red spikes coming out of his arms and two golden halberds sticking out of his neck. "Forbidden Liberation – Dokindam X, the Legendary Forbidden!"
"Its power is 99999, more than even my Gigandydanos..." the shocked Jubokko uttered.
"You spoke of power? Well then, here is my own power, and natural or not, it was enough to defeat you! Dokindam X, todomeda!" Nekohana ordered and the tall creature took out the halberds from his neck and tossed them at the opponent, their blades slicing the tree in half.
Thus their match ended and the sights reverted to the desolate forest of the Twilight Kingdom. Blood spilled out of the opened trunk, pouring upon the hidden grove. Using her powers, the lioness moved a dozen of leafy branches to shield herself and her cards from the rain of blood. As disgusting as the experience was, at the very least she had proved her point. With determination in her voice, she loudly proclaimed to the forest surrounding her:
"Listen to me, oh plants of the Twilight Kingdom! I am willing to nurture you, but I will not become your slave, for I am the maker of my own destiny!"
"Indeed you are, Nekohana," Jubokko's voice once more echoed in her head as the rain of blood stopped and the cut tree reattached itself, much to her horror. "Fear not, child, for I no longer intend to harm you." Her expression changed from shocked to confused. "You have proven yourself worthy of living your own life. Although you have defied our will, your strength has earned your freedom and your devotion to us will now be rewarded." A branch moved to the wooden dueling table and packed up the cards, offering the gathered pile to the flower youkai. "Please, accept my gift of Fushigi Kingdom cards. They belong to the Darkness and Nature civilizations and feature the Fushigiverse effect I have shown in our duel. Seeing how your deck also utilizes the graveyard, I know that you will put these cards to good use."
Taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, all that Nekohana could do was silently pick up the present. As soon as she touched it, she was enveloped in a green aura which sucked her inside the tree and transported her through countless roots and fungi until she awoke back in the garden from Fukurokuju's cave, by the tree and lakeside. There was no other youkai in sight, she was alone. No, as long as there were plants around, she would never truly be alone. Looking at her new cards with a smile on her face, she sat on the grass and began rebuilding her deck beneath the moonlight.