Borof landed on Nekohana's shoulder as she sat aside to witness the duel between the two princes.
"Woman, we haven't seen you for a whole day, whatever the hell have you been up to?" the plushie loudly asked.
"I missed you too," she awkwardly replied. "Well, not much, just reminiscing about my past with your master. But now it seems my actions may have gotten him in trouble."
"Why? Because you helped that thickheaded oni better his deck? Hah, don't you worry, his strategic thinking does not surpass that of an angered caveman. The master will be able to handle him without issue!"
"When this match is over, one of you will have to explain me what happened that made poor Akamaru so angry at Shishima."
"Oh don't worry, the details are as amusing as they are pathetic."
Their cards arranged on the two dueling, five blue rectangular shields materialized above each of them, the fateful rematch between the two prideful youkai had begun.
"Bad Action Dynamite 2, I summon Dorgan Churis." A blue mouse donning the fossilized skull and claws of a dragon appeared by Akamaru's side. "He's a speed attacker, so I break one of your shields with him!" Heeding the order, the rodent rushed towards the opponent and hacked away one of his shields with the sharp claws. "I end my turn and since I summoned the creature via Bad Action Dynamite, it gets destroyed." The mouse vanished in an explosion just as quick as it appeared.
"I cast Reload Charger, discard Hellborof, Supreme Dragon Edge and draw a card. Then the spell goes to my mana zone," Shishima calmly stated.
"Bad Action Dynamite 2, I bring out another Dorgan Churis. I attack with him and this time I Revolution Change into Dogiragon Buster, Blue Leader!"
"What the...?"
Much to the feline daiyoukai's surprise, the blue mouse reappeared and rushed at him, then turned around and hi fived a blue armored dragon with a long blonde mane and a long blonde mane and a sword in its mouth, the latter continuing the attack of the former.
"With Dogiragon Buster's Final Revolution, I bring out two Gashadodokuro, Oni of "Tamagari" from my hand!" Two giant skeletons wearing samurai helmets, shoulder pads and having two katanas sheathed on their backs also appeared behind the dragon which rushed at the opponent's shields and hacked away three of them with the blade in its mouth. "Onitime has activated and Dogiragon Buster gives speed attacker to all of my multicolored creatures, that means that both of my Gashadodokuro can attack as we-"
"Shield trigger, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Hellborof, Supreme Dragon Edge who brings out Welcome Hell, Supreme Devil King Palace!" A winged and horned purple wolf appeared alongside a winged demonic palace, causing the top two cards of his owner to go into the graveyard, those being Tigernitro, Explosive Devil and Tsuruhashi Doji. "With Welcome Hell's effect, I revive Tsuruhashi Doji." A small blue oni wielding a scythe also appeared, causing the top three cards of his owner to go into the graveyard, those being Assault, Onifuda Kingdom, Bone Dance Charger and Borof, Final Dragon Edge. "I recover nothing with his effect. Tsuruhashi is a slayer and due to Onitime he is also a blocker. Do you still wish to attack?"
"You can bet your sorry ass I am! This time I'm pulling no stops - Gashadodokuro, break his final shield!" Akamaru ordered and one of the skeletons unsheathed a katana and used it to slash away the remaining opposing shield. "That was my second attack, so I summon Valchuris, Dragon Armored for free! Valchuris is a speed attacker, so it's time to finish this, todomeda!" A trio of mice, each wearing the red skull of a dragon and holding a repair tool appeared in the battle zone and rushed towards the demonic lion.
"Tsuruhashi, block the attack." The small blue oni jumped in front of the mice and hacked each of them with his scythe, but in retaliation they also hit him hard with their tools, the creatures vanishing in an explosion of smoke.
"I attack you with my other Gashadodokuro, todomeda!"
"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Hayabusamaru, Lightfang Ninja and block the attack." A small plane creature flew in front of the other skeleton's attack and took the full blow of its katana.
"Tsh, I should've known you just won't go down easily. However, you're now without any shields while I haven't lost any this time around. Let's see how you'll be able to pull a comeback now, Shishima!"
"You overestimate your skills. This will be your own downfall, Akamaru! I cast Monte Scale Sign and revive Borof, Final Dragon Edge whom I equip with Go To Hell, Annihilator Blade." The plushie flew off of Nekohana's shoulder and entered the battle zone with the dark blue bone scythe, causing his owner to self mill Ninjariban, Dragon Edge and recover Assault, Onifuda Kingdom. "Go To Hell revives Ninjariban who brings out Reddull, Dragon Soul Castle, which in turn gives speed attacker to Borof. I attack with Hellborof and Welcome Hell revives Tsuruhashi again." The small blue oni reappeared, causing three more cards to fall in his owner's graveyard, those being Gokensai, Oni of "Outrage", Reload Charger and another Tsuruhashi Doji. "I recover Hayabusamaru and double break your shields with Hellborof!" The taller wolf plushie howled and flew towards the opponent, hacking away two shields with his scythe. "I then attack with Borof. Go To Hell revives Tigernitro, Explosive Devil and Welcome Hell revives another Tsuruhashi." A yellow tiger plushie holding dynamite with tiger-shaped flames around it appeared alongside another blue oni which milled Rousseau Montes / Monte Scale Sign, Bone Dance Charger and Jaouga, Onigaoni, the latter of which was recovered. "Borof, break his shield! I end my turn and due to Tigernitro's Mana Arms 5, you must choose a card in your hand and discard the rest."
"What the...?" Akamaru replied in surprise and then reluctantly tossed Valchuris, Dragon Armored, Jaouga, Oniga Overlord and Dokuganryu, Oni of "Kagekiri" into his graveyard.
"Then I destroy Tigernitro, Ninjariban, Borof and Hellborof to Dragsolution Welcome Hell into Deathgoros, Supreme Devil Corrupt King!" The winged palace fired two purple beams upon the quartet of plushies and burned them all away, knocking Borof in particular out of the battle zone and back on Nekohana's shoulder, after which it broke open and unleashed the Demon Command Dragon inside who wielded a bone scythe.
"That looked like it hurt," she remarked.
"Gee, what gave it away?" the tiny purple wolf sarcastically replied.
"Deathgoros destroys Dogiragon Buster and one Gashadodokuro!" Shishima announced and his creature hacked both the blue armored dragon and one of the skeletons with his scythe. "How was that for a comeback, you hotheaded imbecile?"
"It's still not enough, because I'll keep bringing on the pressure on you! At the start of my turn, Gashadodokuro returns a shield to my hand without shield trigger. Now, Onitime, I summon two Gedogongen, Oni of "Korekara" with two mana each." Two samurai red oni wielding two katanas each in their four arms appeared by Akamaru's side. "Gashadodokuro, todomeda!"
"Ninja Strike 4, Hayabusamaru blocks the attack!" The plane creature once more appeared to intercept the skeleton's blade.
"Gedogongen, todomeda!"
"Tsuruhashi, block! He's a slayer, so both creatures are destroyed."
"No matter, that way I'll be wasting all of your defenses. My other Gedogongen, todomeda!"
"I block with the other Tsuruhashi and both are destroyed as well."
The two small blue oni blocked the path of the two red oni samurai and in the process all creatures ended up hacking each other with their blades until they all vanished in a large explosion.
"Are you quite done? Because I've had just about enough of your weak nonsense," Shishima said with a dismissive tone as he began his turn. "Onitime, I summon Jaouga, Onigaoni for 5 mana instead of 10." A tall red and blue oni with a single horn coming out of his head, skull shoulder pads and a chest armor made of ribs appeared by his side. "I attack with Jaouga and revive Gokensai, Oni of "Outrage"." An oni donning a red and blue samurai armor appeared as well, a skull necklace around his neck and dragon skulls attached to his arms. "Jaouga, break his final shield!" His opponent took cover as the creature ran headfirst through the remaining shield, bringing it down with ease. "Judging by your silence, there are no shield triggers to speak of. In that case, I shall perform your last rites now - I attack with Deathgoros and revive Tsuruhashi Doji." The small blue oni reappeared and sent the top three cards of his owner's deck into the graveyard - Rousseau Montes / Monte Scale Sign, Reload Charger and Assault, Onifuda Kingdom. "I recover Hayabusamaru. Now go, Deathgoros, todomeda!"
"Revolution 0 trigger - Bolshack Dogiragon! I reveal the top card of my deck and if it's a non-evolution Fire creature, I put it in the battle zone and evolve it into this creature." Akamaru nervously sweated as he checked the top card. If that failed, then the duel would have been lost. He slowly revealed it and then... "I put Basara into the battle zone and evolve him into Bolshack Dogiragon! With Basara's effect, your strongest creatures are destroyed, in this case it's just Deathgoros."
"Keh, Deathgoros flips back to Welcome Hell."
"Then with Bolshack Dogiragon's effect, I force battle Jaouga!"
A dragon donning red armor with two golden gauntlets appeared, his long blue mane flowing in the air. The creature lashed towards the single-horned oni and brutally maimed him with the gauntlet-covered fists.
"You've bought yourself another turn. However, now that I have Gokensai out, your speed attackers are worthless. Then when I will be able to attack with him, your removals will be just as worthless. You're simply on borrowed time."
"Oh yeah? Let's see how true that is - I cast Iron Fist of Revolution! I reveal Dorgan Churis, Jaouga, Oniga Overlord, Bolshack Dogiragon and Dokuganryu, Oni of "Kagekiri". The latter is stronger than Tsuruhashi, so I destroy him!" Another golden gauntlet descended from the sky and crushed the small blue oni, much to Shishima's surprise. "Not so confident now, are you? Bolshack Dogiragon, attack and force battle Gokensai!"
"I discard Ninjariban, Dragon Edge to keep Gokensai."
"Then... todomeda!" shouted Akamaru.
"Ninja Strike 4, Hayabusamaru blocks!" Shishima retorted and the plane creature flew in the path of the red armored dragon, taking the full blow of his fists.
"Gashadodokuro, finish this, todomeda!"
The giant skeleton unsheathed both its katanas and lashed at the opponent, cutting him with the blades and throwing him far into a tree, thus marking its owner's victory.
"Shishima!" shouted Nekohana, who got up from her spot and rushed to his aid.
"I did it, Nekohana! I finally managed to defeat that asshole!" Akamaru cheerfully stated, but much to his confusion, the lioness youkai did not seem to reciprocate his enthusiasm.
"Are you alright, Shishima? Say something, please!" she begged while kneeling down and checking the damage done to her prince's body. Much to her relief, he still had a pulse.
"Why so overly dramatic? We both know the damage I did wasn't fatal. I just wanted to dish him some well-deserved payback," the oni bragged while packing his cards. "I guess that makes us even now."
Nekohana blocked out his boasting and fetched her travel bag to search for healing herbs and potions. It was all her fault, she unwillingly helped one of Shishima's rivals get better and thus had indirectly contributed to his defeat. Back on Earth when it came to Hajime, she aided him in order to protect humanity. But with Akamaru there were no high stakes, he was just a stranger to whom she showed unconditional kindness. How could she ever regain her beloved's trust after betraying him yet again?
"Trust me, your kindness is wasted on the likes of him," Akamaru assured her while patting her on the shoulder. "Self-absorbed daiyoukai like him don't know the meaning of gratitude."
"Don't touch me," Nekohana coldly replied, which unnerved him enough to retreat his hand. "Leave me alone. I must nurse my prince back to health."
"What do you mean by 'your prince'? He's long since been disgraced by Koushishi for the murderous rampage he pulled right after the former king's death. The entire Twilight Kingdom knows this. He deserves no pity." The young oni froze with fear once she gave him the piercing glare of an angered predator ready to pounce. "O-okay, I guess I'll just go take the Darkness Onifuda cards and be on my way then..."
"That you will not do, Akamaru!" A tall old oni walked from between the tree, blocking his path to Shishima's dueling table.
"Dad? What are you doing here?"
"I have closely watched your journey ever since you decided to pursue Shishima on your blind quest for vengeance. However, did you stop at least once to think why I have decided to split the cards between you two as such?"
"I don't know, because he's the son of your former comrade and you feel like you owe him something?"
"That's not true. Your attitude is fiery, passionate, straightforward. You do not hesitate to charge headfirst into battle, and that is why I decided to bestow the aggressive Fire Onifuda Kingdom cards to you. Shishima, on the other hand, is your opposite. His attitude is cold, calculating, patient. He bides his time in battle to better know his opponent before taking action, and that is why I gave him the defensive Darkness Onifuda Kindgdom cards. Don't you see? You two represent the halves which make the Onifuda Kingdom an unstoppable force of defensive aggression. I merely gave each of you what I knew was best suited to your play styles."
"Still, if Shishima never came, I would've eventually received all these cards! Why do you keep favoring him over me, your own son? All these years you never once gave me the chance to prove myself to you, and now when a stranger comes and bests you, he is all of a sudden worthy of my own inheritance? What is it? Do you actually wish Shishima was your son instead of me?!"
The Oni King sternly regarded him and in response to the angered accusations he pulled a wooden box out of his purple pants, which he then offered to his son.
"What's this?" the prince wondered as he opened it and was surprised to see a couple of new Onifuda Kingdom cards. "Hyakki no Jaoumon, Hyakki no Tenjakaku, End Jaouga, Oniga Emperor Devil? And they have this new effect called... Oniend?"
"Yes, this effect is the culmination of Onitime, it happens once a player has no shields," the Oni King calmly explained. "You see, I have always intended to pass these cards to you, but before you could be worthy of them, you had to overcome your attachment to the power of Onitime. In order to do so, I tested you by only giving you half of the Onitime cards and then passing the other half to someone I knew would be a worthy challenge. It just so happened that fate had brought Shishima to my doorstep, and he had also managed to defeat me, as his father had done thousands of years ago. I could see no other youkai more suited to help you grow as a duelist. And the fact that you have not only survived him but also finally defeated him is a testament to this, my son."
"Dad..." Akamaru regarded him, tears forming in his eyes. "Forgive me, I was such a prideful jerk, I'm so sorry you had to put up with my attitude!"
"Worry not, all is forgiven. But the one to whom you owe an apology is Shishima, for bothering his own personal quest for vengeance."
The two turned towards the defeated one and saw that Nekohana had already applied ointments to his wounds and bandaged them with leaves. She looked back at them while caressing Shishima's mane, a threatening glare coming out of her once soft eyes.
"He doesn't need your apologies right now. Worry not, I am sure he will pay you a visit once he feels better. But listen to me, Akamaru, if you ever dare harm my beloved again, it may as well be the very last thing you do!"
"Your beloved? So that means that you..." The young oni was shocked by the revelation. Did that mean that his developing crush was not being reciprocated? Had fate been that cruel to offer him aid straight from his rival's lover? Or had it all been a clever ploy orchestrated by Shishima and Nekohana was part of it? At that point he no longer cared, for ultimately he had triumphed, but it was still a bittersweet victory.
"We will take our leave then. When prince Shishima awakens, please pass him my regards and let him know he is always welcome in the oni village," the Oni King stated, then he gently patted his son on the shoulder, the two of them turning around and exiting the woods, disappearing in the desert storm.
"Borof, go pick up your master's cards and follow me. I'll take him somewhere safer," Nekohana instructed.
"A good idea," the wolf plushie agreed with her for once and flew to the vacant dueling table.
It was well after midnight that Shishima finally awoke from his slumber. He was back in the grove where he had previously faced Akamaru and won. The soft wet grass on which he rested was oddly comforting, akin to bed sheets. And then there was the smooth sound of a flute in the dead of night, a warm lament to times long past and feelings left unspoken. A few feet away, sitting cross-legged on the grass, Nekohana played her instrument with the grace and passion of a muse. In spite of the tragedies they had both been through, in those solemn moments she seemed unchanged.
"Just like in the old days..." Shishima remarked, his voice loud enough to let her know he was awake.
"Please don't speak too much, you need to properly recover your strength," Nekohana advised and crawled closer to him, setting her flute aside. "I've closed all your wounds and applied the proper treatments. Knowing you, they will heal by the break of dawn. If there is anything else you need, just call. I will go pick some herbs just in case your condition worsens."
"Your scent is as sweet as I remembered," he confessed, leaving her speechless. "Could you stay by my side for a while?"
Nekohana lightly pinched herself to ensure she was not dreaming or under an illusion spell. But no, it was real, Shishima was showing her again the side which he kept hidden from the world. Had the caring protective prince she had fallen in love with returned at last? Acquiescing to his request, she lay down on the grass by his side and the two admired the night sky in silence.
"I have gone back to the capital palace, confronted and made peace with my past," she softly whispered. "Would you be able to do the same? I wish we could just leave the Twilight Kingdom behind us for good and start a new life somewhere safe."
"You've already asked me the same thing twice. First when I was going to confront my mother in the throne room, then a second time back on Earth after I revealed your true identity to Hajime." He turned to look her straight in the eyes. "Despite all the atrocities I have pulled, do you still find it in your heart to be with someone like me?"
"I know that you are not a monster deep down, Shishima. You just have to accept this fact yourself. I am most certain that we would be happy together if we found the right place."
"The right place... that would have to be Earth, no doubt about it. We are the only youkai who ventured there and spent so much time living among mortals. Nobody else in the Twilight Kingdom has any interest in that primitive world, meaning we would have no actual threats."
"And we shouldn't become threats to humans either! They are generally powerless to stop us. Please, would you do it for me? Would you set aside your twisted ambitions and spend a peaceful life with me?"
"A peaceful life... would be boring. However, Nekohana, for your sake, I promise to return there with you once I have finished my business in the Twilight Kingdom. As for what will happen once we arrive there... we will cross that bridge in due time, together. But until then, I have to avenge my father."
The lioness sighed in defeat. Perhaps a part of her beloved would never change, perhaps he would always seek the thrill of toying with others and having enemies. Still, he deserved to know the truth, so without any hesitation she spoke:
"Shishima, I wanted to tell you... that Rufu was the one who called off the army on the night of Purgatory's fall, as per your mother's orders."
"What?!" he raised his voice, shock and anger on his face.
"Koushishi wished to remain sole ruler of the Twilight Kingdom, so she orchestrated Akushishi's death at the end of the war. I know you wanted to discover the truth on your own, but after today's events I decided that I could stay silent no longer. Please forgive me..."
"So all this time it was her. My own mother had truly been behind every facet of my misery. She will pay..." Shishima growled while struggling to get back on his feet and spread his wings to take off into the sky. "She will pay for everything...!" Ultimately his yet-to-heal wounds and overall body's weakness had him collapse back on the grass.
"Please, calm down, don't let anger guide your actions again!" Nekohana begged while placing her hands on his shoulders. "You need to rest for now. Tomorrow when your mind is clear, you can plan your next step against her. I beg of you, just lay low for the time being so that your wounds may properly heal."
"I guess you are right," he turned to regard her with a tired expression on his face, his eyes growing heavy again. "But if I fall asleep, Nekohana, would you please... stay with me?" Before she could answer, he closed his eyes and drifted into the land of dreams again. Passion's Grip pollen was truly a potent drug.
"Of course I will, my beloved," she whispered back and yawned, fatigue managing to get to her as well. "From now on I will once again walk by your side." She cuddled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Good night!" she wished him as she also drifted asleep, her heart blooming with happiness that their severed connection had finally been rekindled.