Chapter 27: In the Shadow of Goza
The heavy rain dripped down Vert's body, flowing like a river and drenching her dress against her tall, curvy frame and voluptuous rack. Before her, the near 100-foot (30 meter) yoma stood like a hideous, misshapen octopus with its massive tentacles erecting out of the small 12 foot (about 3.5 meters) of flooding in the streets. Just ahead, Vert made out that the creature seemed to be riding on some sort of old warship made of wood with arching slate tiles for the roof. A menacing roar from the yoma created a gust of wind. Though the ends of her dress blew aside, revealing her tall, athletic legs, Vert remained still.
The yoma took the first strike, smashing its tentacle down onto the bus, just missing the goddess, who pole-vaulted over to a nearby van. The yoma followed up with another tentacle strike, but another pole-vaulting jump from Vert sent her onto the first tentacle. Vert felt her legs struggling to keep balance as she ran along it's slippery, rubber-like surface when it began to move. As the giant tentacle began to retract, Vert felt her feet go out from under her, her body now sliding down the slippery feeler. Instinctively using her spear as a grapple, she plunged it deep into the yoma's tentacle.
Murakumo and Minori had meanwhile jumped down on the awning of a small, abandoned clothing store in time to see Vert barely escaping the yoma's first strike. Watching with awe as she pole-vaulted like an acrobat and running down the slippery tentacle.
Ram climbed out of the busted wall of the 2nd floor and onto the awning where Minori and Murakumo stood. "Jeez, what gives? You can't just leave me behind when I'm not as jumpy as you jumpy froggies. I bet you smack blocks with your heads and jump on turtle shells just for the fun of it!"
The yoma let out an agonizing roar; Murakumo and Minori gasping as Vert gripped onto her spear, its tentacles recoiling in pain before whipping her down into the water, sending a small wave towards the other girls. "Brace yourselves!" Murakumo called out, Minori taking a stance.
"Wait, huh, what?!" Ram frantically looked around when the wave splashed over them, knocking her into the water below as she dropped her staff. Spitting and coughing, Ram splashed her head above the waves, "H-help!"
"Minori!" Murakumo shouted, but Minori simply looked up at her with a supposed confused look, tilting her head, and pretending not to notice Ram.
"Hmmm? What is it, Murky?"
"Ugh! Now's not the TIME FOR THIS, DAMMIT!" Murakumo stepped over to the side where Ram had fallen, sticking the shaft end of her spear out to the little goddess, who grabbed hold as Murakumo pulled her back up onto the awning.
As Ram picked up her staff again, the water dripping from her might as well have turned to steam as she stomped towards Minori. "What IS your problem!? I could have drowned!"
"Minori just didn't see you, is all." Minori's long pigtails shook with sass as she turned her head, closing her eyes, and folding her arms.
"Dummy!" Ram shouted.
"Stupid!" Minori retorted.
"IDIOT!"
"JERK!" At this, Ram turned her head away too, folding her arms. A moment of silence followed before Ram peeked over, to see if Minori was looking before giving her a push. Minori yelped as she tried to regain her balance.
Murakumo's hand then yanked Minori back, pulling her against the wall. "That's enough from both of you! Now is not the time for childish antics!"
"Yeah, Minnow head. We gotta help Vert!" Ram spouted, but Murakumo wasn't finished.
"You're JUST AS RESPONSIBLE!" Murakumo's tone made Ram mutter an 'eep', the Gessen Ninja then pointing aggressively. "You see that thing!? If we don't help her out, your friend will be in some serious-…"
"VERT!" Ram cried out, seeing Vert whipped from one of the yoma's tentacles. No sooner had she began flying through the air when the yoma followed up with a heavy release of ominous ink from a hole just below its fleshy mounds, to which one couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a mouth or a belly button.
Splattered by the ink, Vert flew by them in a flash, smashing against a nearby billboard. Ram's breath was heavy, her eyes slowly quivering. Something inside her snapped, as a boiling heat now rushed to her face. "AAAAAAHHH! I don't care if I can't transform, I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Creating a path of ice through the waters, Ram dashed across the flooded area towards the giant yoma.
"WAIT!" Murakumo called out, but Ram had gone. "If that thing's what I think it is there's no way she can take it! Minori, take the small one and meet me up on the elevated hillside street over there!" Murakumo pointed. "And please, for Gessen's sake, set aside your petty differences. Act not on what you feel, but what is just!"
Minori's eyes dropped for a moment as Murakumo leapt off towards Vert, before she too looked ahead, jumping down onto the path of ice Ram had left.
Ram jumped onto the mostly submerged trailer of a semi-truck. "You filthy MONSTEERRR!" Ram sent an array of fireballs towards the yoma, who's drenched body seemed unaffected, only getting it's attention. As though part of it's body, the oars of the boat beneath it moved in sync with it's tentacles, lumbering towards Ram slowly. A glimmering light emitted from Ram's staff as she raised it high into the sky. "Eternal Force Blizzard!" Focusing on the limbs of the creature that were sticking out of the water, pillars of ice formed, stopping the yoma in its tracks.
Ram readied for another attack when suddenly Minori jumped her from behind. "Come back! You can't face it alone!"
"You again!? Then let go and help me!" Ram tried struggling out of Minori's arms when they heard the ice cracking, the yoma's limbs beginning to break free. "You idiot! Let me go so I can hit it before it hits us!"
"But Murakumo said it's too dangerous!"
"Murakumo, shcmakumo! Now let. Me. GO!" In a desperate attempt, Ram elbowed Minori, knocking her off. Trying to send a lightning spell towards the giant yoma, the creature only seemed agitated. As it lifted its limbs out of the water, the lingering ice on its tentacles resembled that of a cumbersome club.
"You see?! NOW bad yoma has a weapon! This is your fault!" Minori glared.
"My fault!? If you hadn't stopped me, I could have beaten that oversized freak!" Ram yelled, when the creature groaned, it's ice-clubbed tentacle ready to strike. Jumping to one side, Minori and Ram were thrown far as water and debris were tossed up along with them, a detached parking meter striking Minori in the upper back.
Submerged at first, the girls managed to get ahold of a loose gas station sign afloat in the flood, gasping for air as their fingers struggled to climb aboard wet, hard plastic. The yoma unleashed an ear-piercing roar, spewing the same ink that struck Vert. Forcing Ram and Minori to dive back into the water, the yoma's ink slowly melted the sign. But no sooner had they dove under when a giant tentacle splashed them out of the water, launching them upward. Ram and Minori pelted the yoma with ice shards and rock hard candy, but it only furthered to anger the creature, who sent another tentacle their direction. While not striking them directly, the partial contact sent them both into the water once more.
As the yoma turned and began looking for them, Ram and Minori popped their heads out behind a floating piece of rubble. Both girls grabbing on, Minori then whispered to Ram. "Can you run on wheel?"
"What!? Do I look like a hamster!?" Ram whispered back.
"Just answer Minori's question!"
"Yes, Okay! Why?"
Minori pointed almost a quarter of a mile back towards an uphill street. "Murky wants us to meet her there! Now make an ice path!"
"But that freaky creep will see us if I do!"
"I has a plan! Little girl just needs to trust Minori!"
"I have a name you-… fine." Ram sighed, crawling up on the rubble, making sure that the yoma was looking away. "I hope you know what you're doing!" As Ram began to create an ice path, Minori crawled out of the water and onto the rubble with Ram.
"Ultimate Ninja Art… Strawberry Rainbow SLIDE!" summoning an enormous strawberry Baumkuchen cake, the yoma turned towards them as Minori jumped into the middle "Get in!"
"Whoa! It looks so yummy!" Ram's eyes sparkled for a moment, when Minori gave her an annoyed 'HEY!'. "Oh, right!" Ram said, breaking from her self-trance and quickly jumping into the sweet wheel with Minori.
"NOW RUN!" Minori shouted. Mustering all their little legs could, the two sped down the ice path like a giant hamster wheel. The yoma spewed ink, melting portions of both the ice path and the cake wheel. At one point, Minori nearly fell out the side of her wheel and Ram found herself grabbing Minori's arm, helping her back up as they regained balance, fleeing the hideous yoma.
Murakumo jumped across rooftop, awning, signpost, and across the roof of a bus stop, the view of the smashed billboard behind the battered goddess nearing faster with each desperate step. The heavy rain, hampering her vision, forced her to take her mask off. Her breath heightened as she watched Vert's body begin to slip from the billboard. Not even realizing a lack of shift in her voice, she cried out Vert's name.
Knocked unconscious, Vert's inked body crumpled before falling into the water below. Murakumo leapt for her hand, but just missed. "NO!" She got to her feet, quickly looked around, grabbed her mask towards her face, hesitated, put it back on her side, growled, and hesitated once more before diving into the water.
Submerged, everything around her seemed to slow, as though time itself had attacked, making her heartbeats echo through the water, slowly, frantically. As the ink washed off of her, Murakumo noticed Vert's dress had been partially dissolved, leaving her in tatters which exposed her fair skin.
Stroking past loose newspaper dispensers, various rubble, and a vending machine, Murakumo reached for Vert's hand before she sunk any deeper. Missing the first time, she performed one more stroke closer, grasping the CPU's hand. With Vert in her arm, Murakumo began swimming back upwards when her eyes widened, and a gasping yelp let water past her lips.
The golden eyes of her Hanya mask leisurely floated past her, descending slowly into a watery grave. With the other arm, Murakumo tried to reach out for it, but was nearly crushed by the sinking vending machine, which then descended upon her mask. No! My mask! Murakumo began to panic, but her lungs began panicking more. Fighting through the dread, she swam hard, keeping a grip on Vert until the water finally leapt off her face.
Gasping and coughing, she stayed afloat, swimming the two of them to the edge of the road that rose from the flooded area. Placing Vert down, she crawled upon the drenched asphalt, inhaling deeply. Crawling over towards Vert, her Furisode was near see-through and her voice stammered into its usual, nervous high pitch. "Vert. P-p-please! Don't… don't die on me!"
With a Grunt, Murakumo placed her hands just below Vert's chest, shoving a few times until Vert came to, coughing up water and moaning in pain. "Sir, I am finishing this fight! Aaah!" Vert recoiled, Murakumo now noticing red, burn-like marks all along her body.
"Vert! A-a-are you okay!? Can you walk?!" Before Vert could answer, the deafening roar of the giant yoma in the distance could be heard.
"No. I can't… not… not like this!" Vert held her hand against her chest, Murakumo pulling her closer.
"You'll… you'll make it, Vert of Leanbox! I know you can!" Murakumo cradled Vert's head, looking down at her when a giant Baumkuchen wheel splashed through the water and wobbled onto the road. As Ram and Minori stepped out and the cake wheel disappeared in a cloud, Murakumo called them over.
"Vert!? What happened!?" Ram exclaimed.
"T-that yoma's ink… I think it burned her." Murakumo replied.
"I'm not as good as Rom, but at least I can do this. Here, a little tickle spell ought to do it." Ram waved her wand over Vert, as a greenish-yellow glow surrounded the Leanbox goddess.
"Tickle spell? Why you wanna make her laugh? She need help!" Minori looked confused.
"AH! I-it's just a name to sound cute is all!" Ram protested.
A flying car suddenly splashed upward just a few feet from where they stood as it plunged into the water, following another roar from the towering yoma. "We… c-can't stay here any longer! Help me with her, the two of you!"
"Are… you alright, Ram?" Vert uttered a weak smile.
"I'm fine!" Ram got under Vert's arm with Minori getting beside her. "It's you who's the concern here!"
"That's good. If anything happened to you, Blanc would have my head for sure." Vert chuckled before grunting as she tried to move.
"J-just… try not to move more than necessary, alright? You're hurt." Murakumo looked over into Vert's blue eyes.
A slight grin formed between Vert's lips. "My… you really are adorable without your mask. Especially all that concern… in your eyes."
"W-w-w-w-w-what!? H-hey! N-n-n-now's not the time for that kinda thing, ya know?! We gotta get somewhere safe!" Murakumo's voice peaked, blushing lightly at Vert's comment. Quickly getting out of the yoma's sights, the girls trudged through damp streets before finding their way through the automatic doors of some type of office facility.
"Where we going, Murky?" Minori asked as they walked towards an elevator.
"There's a lounge on the 6th floor. We should be able to rest there." Murakumo replied, the elevator greeting them with a ding as it opened. Making it up to the 6th, they brought Vert over to a leather couch, helping her lie down.
"Stupid doujinshi boss. Was my level not high enough?" Vert groaned as she situated herself.
"T-try not to move so much. Just… relax." Murakumo stuttered.
"Mhm! We're safe now. So just let my spell do it's work." Ram added. After getting Vert to settle down, Murakumo asked Ram and Minori to follow her as they searched through the vending machines on the lounge floor. After getting some food for themselves, they headed back. Murakumo, now wearing a large paper bag over her head which she poked a couple of eye holes in, set down a pack of Japanese hot dogs and a bottle of lemonade by Vert, while she sat across from the goddess with some fried rice balls and a bottle of juice.
Vert thanked her as the two began to share a meal. After a bit, Murakumo struck up conversation. "So… tell me what your Leanbox is like."
"It's very beautiful. We call it the Land of Green Pastures. We have mountains that overlook abundant fields and gorgeous, traditional villages. But our industrial cities, especially the capital of Megasoft, attract even more tourism. We have conventions and concerts and events there every year."
"Perhaps I could visit sometime. Where is this Leanbox?"
Vert's eyes began to drift a little. "Honestly I… don't know. I just hope we can return home soon. Then we'll have a chance of finding her sisters." Vert looked over towards the window where Ram sat across Minori.
Murakumo took the rice ball she was eating out from under the bag on her head. "What happened to them?"
"We were fighting our enemies when we all got separated. I'm still uncertain of how or where we are or if anyone else but us made it through or not…" Vert proceeded to tell her about the convention and how she assumed they were still in their dimension, Murakumo listening with interest. Vert then gasped, her eyes drifting sadly towards the ground. "I left Lyrica and Murasaki behind. And let Ram get kidnapped… How can I call myself sister material when I do that?"
Murasaki? I wonder. Murakumo thought to herself before placing a gentle arm on Vert. "It took a lot of bravery on your part to go after that yoma for her sake."
"Heh… More like a lot of foolishness." Vert replied.
"Yeah, you're right." Murakumo responded, to which Vert replied with flat, unamused irises enveloping her eyes. "Still… I'm not sure about this whole dimension thing… but if yoma can come from other dimensions, why can't people?"
Vert then proceeded to ask about yoma, Murakumo explaining their demonic origins and their lust for blood. "The one you faced I had only heard about in old documents. It's called Goza. Legends say it was once a girl like us, but she lost her loved one at sea and in her despair turned into a hideous creature which destroys ships. But… that could be just a myth. But still, to face such a creature… foolish perhaps… but brave nonetheless."
Vert smiled, taking a sip of her lemonade. "You are quite noble yourself. Saving a stranger you were just fighting."
"I owed you one from earlier, besides… I'm not one to abandon people in need." Murakumo then noticed Vert looking up at her, backing up when Vert tried to take off her paper bag. "Wh-wh-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"My, why are you so shy? I've seen your face already. It's pretty. Can I not talk to my savior face-to-face?" Vert smiled.
"I-it's not pretty! A-and I said we're even!" Murakumo protested but then relaxed. "I'm sorry, Vert. But… every girl has her secrets. But… maybe one day…"
Ram sat against a support, facing out towards large glass windows. Opening a locket in the shape of a triangle, a light tear dropped from her eye as a picture of Rom and a cutoff segment of Blanc's hand could be seen. A light tapping broke her from her trance as she turned to see Minori who had pulled out a chair from a round table, motioning for Ram to sit down. "Your yummies will get cold."
Ram silently got up slowly walking over to where the chair was, sitting in awkward silence across from Minori, who looked down, not paying attention to Ram. Ram opened the lid to her Ramen, blowing on the soup, the awkward silence as thick as the steam from her bowl. "Iii… wanna thank you for… saving us back there." Ram watched as Minori slowly looked up from the Taiyaki she was munching on, to which Ram found her eyes awkwardly looking away. "Your… sweet wheel was… pretty cool."
"Thanks…" Minori replied, another awkward silence followed before Minori responded once more. "But… Minori not only one who save us. Your ice helped us a lot."
"I… suppose." Ram looked down awkwardly, still unsure of what to say. For a while, the distant chatter of Vert and Murakumo and the rain battering the windows was the only thing to be heard. As Ram ate some of her soup, she said. "This… soup is different from the um… Loweean one I'm used to. It's veryyy… sweet and less… rubbery…" an awkward sweatdrop formed over Ram as Minori tilted her head at her. Jeez, can this dopey kid even understand me?
Ram let her thought go, relinquishing pride floated on sighing breath as she looked down at the table away from Minori. "Look I… I'm… s-sorry. For… e-earlier. I just… miss my sisters. Especially my twin. She's somewhere out there and I thought she'd turn up shortly but now I… I don't know what to do or where I'm at or if… if she's okay." Ram's voice cracked as she choked on her words.
"You think they come back?" Minori asked.
Ram looked up towards Minori, who's eyes were looking down at her food. "Well. I-i-I mean of course! My sisters are just as strong if not stronger than me so, Y-yeah! They'll be fine!"
"Minori used to think the same thing… but then mommy and daddy never came back one day." Minori said, still not taking her eyes off her Taiyaki as she took another bite.
"I… I didn't know… s-sorry." Ram again looked away, unsure of what to say to Minori.
"It's okay. Minori hopes you find your sisters."
Ram nodded, trying to find a way to change the subject when she couldn't help but notice Minori's Taiyaki. "What kind of fish are you eating exactly? You just fry the whole thing?"
"It's no fish. It's a Taiyaki fish cake!" Minori replied.
"Ew, that sounds gross!"
"Nuh uh! It's sweet! Try some!" Minori ripped off a piece of Taiyaki, handing it over to Ram, who hesitated at first, but then opened wide, chewing down onto a waffle-like batter with the sweet taste of juicy, red beans within.
"Whoa. We don't have anything like this back in Gamindustri. It's… delish!"
"I told you!" Minori smiled.
"Like Wowee. I wish I could bring a recipe back to Lowee. Then maybe I could hear Mina be like 'wow, even better than Mina!'" Ram grinned with sparkles in her eyes.
"What's this Lowee you keep mentioning? Is it some kind of yummy?" Minori asked.
Ram shook her head, "Mm, mm. Lowee is my home. But we make all sorts of yummies, er… FOOD there. Stalbone Meat, Pocket Puffs, and all kinds of mushrooms which will send your taste buds to dreamland."
Finally, Minori and Ram found a way to chat amongst each other, casually talking of food, which drifted into other topics until the two grew tired, going back to find a couch near Murakumo and Vert respectively.
As Ram laid down across from Vert, the latter spoke up. "I'm glad you decided to get along with the little one. See, was that so hard, Ram?" Vert smiled.
"Ah! W-well I… we ought to be nice to our allies right!?" Ram stammered, drawing forth a chuckle from Vert.
"Yes, of course. Ram, might you wanna rest up here with me?" Vert said, motioning for Ram to join her.
"But you're hurt!"
"Nonsense. Your healing spell has been doing wonders, I feel better already and should be back to 100% by tomorrow." Vert smiled gently, again motioning with her hands to come over.
Ram hesitated at first, but walked over, resting the back of her head against Vert's warm bosom. After a bit, the little Loweean candidate turned on her side, looking up at Vert. "Hey Vert. Do you think we'll find Blanc and Rom? Or any of the others?"
Vert's silence stifled the air, uncertain of the answer herself. When Ram called out her name again, Vert brought her hand behind the little goddess's head, gently combing her hair. "Of course, we will. They are your sisters after all. Rom may be quiet, but she's a smart one. I know she'll be alright. And Blanc is a tenacious warrior if I ever knew one. And hard-headed to a fault." Vert mumbled the last part.
"What was that?" Ram asked.
"Oh, uh. Nothing." Vert smiled. "Just rest your head, Ram. We've all had quite a day."