Kingdom Hearts: Sin Angel
Episode 6: The Kansai Conundrum
"Oh wow, it's so cool!" Konoka marveled at the strange card Nodoka held in her hands. It had a picture of Nodoka flipping the pages of a levitating book, with several others circling around her head. "So you do get a card when you kiss Negi-kun! I knew I should've participated!"
"Konoka-san…" Yue gently reprimanded.
"Ah, you're right Yue. Nodoka confessed to Negi-kun, so I guess I'll have to deal with it…" Konoka trailed off, tears of joy streaming down her face. She apparently enjoyed collectible items.
But unknown to the girls other than Nodoka, that was in fact, a pactio card. And it turns out that Asuna and Cygnus were none too happy about this revelation. "How are you going to take responsibilities for all those cards you made last night?" Asuna said, holding a copy of Nodoka's card as well as several weak-looking cards from other girls in their class.
"What?.! ME?.!" Negi nearly screeched, having not been around last night except for his kiss with Nodoka. The aforementioned girl had wandered over to their corner and hidden out of sight, listened in on their conversation.
"I don't think it's his fault," Sora added to his defense, frowning. "We were gone while the girls were doing their silly 'Love-Love Operation' game, and he didn't kiss Nodoka of his own will. Sonic conned him into doing that."
"Sonic?.!" Cygnus interjected. "It's this ermine's fault!" He pointed furiously at Kamo. "He set up a pactio circle all around the hotel! It took me FIVE HOURS to get rid of it! And seeing how those cards are still there," He glanced at the cards Asuna was holding, causing the girl to blanch a bit. "I obviously took too long."
"But it was a brilliant plan!" Kamo tried to defend himself. "The girls were all plotting to play a game to kiss big bro on the lips! If some of them did it'd mean more pactios which would help us fight the Heart—"
"SHUT UP." Cygnus snapped.
"Fightin' Heartless is a dirty business, we can't let someone innocent like Miss Nodoka into this, ahyuck!" Goofy added.
"Umm… Goofy is right," Asuna added. "We can't give away any more of these cards. It'll get tougher for you to keep magic a secret, Negi."
"You're just a normal girl too, Asuna," Negi pointed out.
Asuna blinked. "How could you say that, after all we've been through? I helped you fight Evangeline when she went evil on us!"
"Evangeline? Who's that?" Sora asked.
"Ahh no one we need to worry about at the moment," Negi nervously added. He then calmed down. "But I guess Asuna-san's right. We need to keep this a secret from Nodoka-san."
"Such a waste, and her card would be so strong, too." Kamo muttered.
"Never mind that," Sora said. He turned to Negi. "The groups are all under free time, right?"
"Yeah, today's the best day I can deliver that letter," Negi answered. "I can sneak out of here with you and Asuna-san."
And so they continued their discussion, unaware that Nodoka had listened in on half of it. She turned away, only to come face to face with Sonic, a small grin on his face. "So that's the story, eh?"
She gasped a bit before recognizing the blue hedgehog again. "You again!" She turned back to the group, a wistful look in her eyes. "I want to help them, but…"
"No worries!" Sonic grinned. "You've got some new powers on your side, plus the courage in your heart. That card of yours is your pactio with Negi. You can summon its power by saying 'Adeat'!"
Nodoka looked at her card for a moment. Regarding her face for a moment, she quietly called out, "Adeat." With a bright flash and a wind strong enough to lift her skirt for a moment, the card disappeared, replaced by a thick brown book. "Ah… it turned into a book!" She saw the title, Diarium Ejus, written in bold yellow letters on the front. "Amazing," She whispered.
"Not bad," Sonic regarded the book as well. "What does it say?"
She flipped open the book, happy to feel that familiar sensation of turning pages once more. However, that gave way to confusion when she noticed something unusual. "The pages… they're empty…" She stared blankly for a moment, at a loss on what to do. That changed quickly as words began to appear, fading onto the empty pages. Nodoka gasped as she recognized a picture of her and Negi's kiss last night!
Furthermore, there were words, too… I kissed my beloved Negi-sensei yesterday, kya! It was only by accident. One day I hope for us to kiss in a romantic way. Nodoka simpered as she realized these were her current thoughts. "What is this book, Sonic?" She asked in a quiet, quivering voice.
Sonic took a precursory glance at the pages. Sure enough, he saw the words Nodoka did, but a tinge of magical energy alerted that the book wasn't done yet. "Flip the page!" Sonic instructed, and Nodoka did so. Forming on the pages was a picture of Sonic smiling with Nodoka and examining her book. Of course, what were more disturbing were the words that followed: What does her book do? What if the other guys from Sin Angel find this book? This is awesome! I wonder what would Vexen think? Dude, this day is going by so slowslowslow I want to kick some ass NOW… there were several more words after that but they were lost in the shock of Nodoka realizing she was reading Sonic's mind.
This book… is a very bad book, Nodoka shivered and Sonic continued to stare in open mouthed shock.
Sonic, noticing Yue and Haruna coming around the corner, disappeared, leaving Nodoka with a mess of thoughts. "Nodoka!" Haruna called out, waving an arm excitedly. "Come on! Let's get ready!"
----
Sneaking across the foyer and out of sight from his students, Negi quietly made his way outside. If he could get away quietly, he could make his way to Kansai headquarters with little to no problems. Kamo sat on his shoulder, keeping a tight grip as the boy hurried along.
"Escape via the back exit successful!" He crowed. "Now I can hurry and get to the main temple of Kansai!"
"Is it going to be that easy?" Kamo asked. "I bet the Heartless are waiting for us!"
"Well Asuna-san and Sora-san were supposed to meet me here but…"
"Oh Negi-sensei!" A singsong voice called out.
Negi turned to see Group Five catching up to him, lead by Haruna. Nodoka, Yue, Konoka, and Setsuna were there as well. The otherworldly heroes Sora, Cygnus, Donald and Goofy were behind them.
All the girls had changed into casual clothes, which Negi promptly noticed. "Wow, such cute clothes!" He marveled. However, this was only a façade to hide his panic as he hissed to Asuna, "Why are all the others with you?"
Asuna jerked her head towards Sora and Cygnus, who both hung their heads in defeat. "We screwed up," They both chorused. "The girls saw us leaving."
"Hey Negi-kun! Let's take a look around together!" Konoka cheered.
As the girls rallied on for adventure, Negi continued to inwardly panic. Sora, however, saw this and whispered in his ear, "We're sorry! We'll lose them halfway somewhere!"
Negi nodded. This might not be too easy…
----
As luck would have it, the girls found an arcade.
"Negi-kun! Asuna! Cygnus-kun!" Konoka called out from nearby the gaming machines, waving excitedly. "Come over here and play with us!"
"They come all the way out here just to play some arcades?" Cygnus remarked, raising an eyebrow. He dropped this skeptical look when he noticed another arcade version of Super Smash Bros. Melee not too far away from the girls. "OOOO, SMASH BROTHERS WHOO HOO!" He wasted no time in hopping on the machine and wasting quarters.
Sora laughed for a moment before an idea popped into his head. He leaned towards Negi and said, "This is our chance! We play a bit and then we leave while they're distracted!" Both Negi and Asuna nodded in agreement.
Sora and Asuna gravitated towards the machines in the exit. The older Keyblade Master challenged Cygnus while Asuna took to playing a solo game. Negi of course, followed Sora. "Can I play?" He asked.
"Sure," Sora smiled.
Cygnus tilted his head out. "The more the merrier. But don't expect any mercy. I know how child geniuses are," He chuckled maniacally.
The game began. Cygnus took his usual pick of Roy, Sora took to Link, and Negi decided to randomly pick Ness. Negi surprised both older boys by being quite lethal for his first time playing. He KO'ed both of them within two minutes. "Whoa. Not bad," Cygnus marveled. "But let's get serious."
A boyish figure walked over to the last slot. His long hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he wore a leather jacket and dark pants. "Mind if I join in?" He asked coolly.
"Okay," Negi answered.
After the original round was over, the new boy joined in, deciding to pick Ganondorf. His expertise in the game rivaled Cygnus's; Negi lost almost immediately after the boy and Cygnus had ganged up on him. Negi sighed in frustration as the announcer blasted, "Player three, defeated."
"Aww, I lost!" Negi grumbled.
"Not bad for your first playtime," Cygnus shrugged when the game was over.
The new kid grinned. "I agree. You're not bad. But you've got a long way to go, Negi Springfield." He gave a small wave before walking off. "See ya around."
"W-what! How do you know my name?" Negi sputtered in surprise.
"You entered it in the machine yourself," He turned to Sora and Cygnus. "Heh, nice game, Sora, Cygnus. Later," And with that, he left.
Cygnus scratched his chin, observing the boy with a leer. "There's something strange about that boy."
Sora looked to see Haruna, Yue, and Konoka thoroughly distracted by a card game. "Maybe… But now's our opportunity to split!" Sora called out to the others. "Asuna! Donald! Goofy! Setsuna!"
The seven of them gathered close to each other. "Okay, Sakurazaki-san, we're leaving Konoka to you," Negi said.
"Okay," Setsuna nodded. "Please be careful, all of you."
"Tch, I'm staying here," Cygnus folded his arms. Sora glared at him, but figured there was little he could do about it.
"I'm going!" Donald insisted. "Goofy, stay here and keep an eye on Cygnus and Setsuna!"
"Gotcha!" Goofy grinned and gave a thumbs-up.
"Our troops are mobilized!" Kamo cheered. "Let's go!"
And with that, Sora, Donald, Asuna, and Negi left the arcade and made their way towards Kansai in full sprint.
Nodoka, who had hung towards the back during the entire time, peeked out of her hiding place as she saw them leave. "Where are they going?" She asked herself. Although Sonic wasn't around to guide her this time, she figured if she was going to help Negi and Asuna, now would be the best time. She waited for them to gain some distance before following them.
----
The dark-haired boy took a sharp turn down the alley and came to a stop in front of four other people. "Heh, as I thought, he's the Springfield kid. The Keyblade chump is with him."
"So it's true," the woman smirked. "The legendary son of the Thousand Master and the Keyblade Masters. We truly have worthy opponents."
"You'll have to play your cards right, Ms. Amagsaki," Slade said, his one eye leering at her. "Otherwise it could get difficult for all of us."
"Of course it could," The mysterious hooded man stepped forward, catching the attention of all the rest. "But I have a feeling that this will go smoothly," He unhooded himself, revealing a man with lopsided silver hair. Zexion smiled. "You should probably stall Sora and the Springfield child. Leave the rest to me."
Chigiusa Amagsaki smiled and clenched her fist. "I'm gonna pay you back for last time, you little brats!"
----
The train charged towards its destination as its lone passengers sat and talked with each other. "I'm sorry for making you come along, Asuna-san," Negi answered. "Sora-san, you too."
"No worries!" Sora smiled a cheesy smile. "I always help out friends in need."
"What are you talking about?" Asuna raised an eyebrow. "Would any sane person let a ten-year-old boy go out on a dangerous mission by himself?" When Negi simply chuckled lightly, she continued. "It's just that… people who try their best at everything… I don't hate them, whether they're brats or not! You got a problem with that?"
Negi smiled and shook his head.
"Let's show these Kansai goons who they're messing with!" Donald bellowed with his strong lisp.
----
"Wow… it's huge…" Sora remarked as they stood at the Thousand Gates, the gateway towards the Kansai Mansion.
"This must be the Kansai Magic Association's Headquarters," Negi said. "All we need to do is hand this letter over to their leader. But I have a feeling that the Heartless are expecting us here."
"Well, let's not disappoint!" Asuna said, pulling out her pactio card. "Adeat!" Her harisen was in her hands once again, and as soon as the others pulled out their weapons, the Heartless appeared.
Among the familiar monkey-like Powerwilds, their improved cousins (known as Powerwild IIs) and the diminutive Shadows were a new breed of Heartless, decked in long elaborate white robes and baggy pants, much like a Shinto priest's robes. However, the Powerwilds attacked first.
Sora and Donald quickly dispatched the monkey Heartless with powerful strikes of the Keyblade and Thunder magic. However, the new Ying-Yang Heartless used a flurry of charms to unleash their own magic, making it difficult for Asuna to attack.
"Ras tel ma scir magister… Saggita Magica Septendecium Fulguralis!" Negi shouted, unleashing seventeen arrows of lightning and smashing the Ying-Yang Heartless to oblivion.
Just as it grew silent again, another crowd of Heartless appeared.
"Aww, not more!" Negi snarled in frustration.
Luckily someone heard his complaint, as a whirling ninja axe sliced down the Heartless with ease. "Hey guys," Sonic gave his usual smile as he dropped down next to Sora. "How's it going?"
"Sonic?" Sora blinked. He stepped towards him. "What are you doing here?"
"Lending a helping hand, of course," Sonic grinned. "It's part of my contract as a member of the Sin Angel!"
"Sin Angel?" Negi asked. "What is the Sin Angel?"
Sonic shrugged. "Not really sure. I know we act as the most powerful group of mercenaries in the universe. I was chosen to make sure the other guys don't pull any tricks." The blue hedgehog pointed towards the gate. "Anyway, you guys are trying to get past these gates to the mansion, right? It should be up ahead."
"Okay then, let's go!" Negi cheered as he followed the blue hedgehog into the Thousand Gates. The rest of the group followed wearily behind.
"Can we trust him?" Asuna whispered to Sora.
"I'd say yes," Sora answered just a bit uneasily. "I don't think he'd intentionally get us in trouble."
They trekked onward, crushing Heartless along the way. Sonic, in his restless fervor, patrolled not just in front of the group but around them as well, knocking off any would-be sneak-attackers. However, after roughly thirty minutes of walking and Heartless bashing, they stopped.
"We've been at this for thirty minutes, now!" Asuna said, huffing and puffing. "What's going on?"
"Tch, I don't remember this being a marathon!" Sonic raised his eyebrow, not the least bit tired. "I'll scout ahead and see how far we got." And with that he dashed off…
…only to appear seconds later right behind everybody. "Say what!" Sonic exclaimed. He immediately split back the way he came, only to once again arrive right back where the started.
"Try going into the forest!" Negi suggested, a touch of panic in his voice.
Sonic dashed off into one side of the forest, but only appeared on the other. "DAAHHH!" In a last ditch effort, he ran up a nearby tree and launched himself up into the air, only to find himself magically transported back to the ground. "What is this! It's like… like an infinite time-space-loop-thingy!"
"Infinite time-space-loop-thingy?.!" The rest of the group exclaimed.
"Yes! An infinite time-space-loop-thingy has got us trapped in the thousand gates!" Sonic exclaimed. "Those Kansai clowns probably did it!"
"How can they make an infinite time-space-loop… whatever it is?" Sora implored.
"How did we not see that we walked right into an infinite time-space-loop-thingy?" Negi cried.
"HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE GOING TO SAY INFINITE TIME-SPACE-LOOP-THINGY?.!" Donald quacked at the top of his lungs.
As the gang panicked and complained, the Kansai members watched from the treetops in amusement. "They fell into our trap perfectly. Guess they're a bunch of brats after all." Chigiusa smirked. "All you need to do is keep an eye on them."
"Bleh, that's so boring!" The dark-haired boy complained, resting atop a tree branch. "I like face-to-face battles better!"
"You just do as you're told, okay?" The woman hopped off the branches and disappeared. The boy only huffed before continuing to listen in on the heroes below.
----
Surprisingly not attacked by Heartless, Nodoka wandered towards the Thousand Gates in peace. Negi-sensei… Asuna-san… where did you and your friends go? Stepping up to the entryway, Nodoka was dismayed to find a "No Entry" sign blocking the way. "No entry? I guess I need to look someplace else…"
Help!
"Wha? Negi-sensei?" Nodoka twitched. She thought she heard Negi cry for help. Taking a look at her book again, she could see it was glowing. She opened the book to see a picture of Negi and the others panicking and running around in circles. "This must be Negi-sensei's thoughts! And Sonic-san's here too! Oh… oh no!"
----
"Hey guys, I like running, but dude, this is a waste of time!" Sonic shouted.
Everyone came to a stop, pausing to catch their breath. "But what are we gonna do?" Sora asked.
"We should take a break here and plan something out," Negi answered. Seeing as here was a rest stop, the group sat down on some benches, with the exception of Sonic, who stood on top of one instead.
"What's their deal?" Asuna complained. "Why is Kansai trying so desperately to keep us from handing in a single letter?"
"I don't think that woman that attacked you guys truly represents Kansai," Sonic said. When everyone else turned to him with puzzled expressions, he continued. "If she did, she wouldn't be so desperate to stop you. I could be wrong, but I've got a hunch on it."
"So this woman's trying to stop us because her boss will find out what she's up to if we deliver the letter?" Sora repeated.
"I guess that makes sense," Negi said. "But that doesn't help us with our current situation."
"The loop's gotta be maintained by someone or something! Let's go find 'im!" Donald suggested.
"Easier said than done, we don't know how strong this person or thing could be," Sora said back to Donald.
"But you're pretty strong, Sora!" Negi said, smiling at him. "You wield the Keyblade, and I haven't seen anyone defeat Heartless better!"
"Hey!" Asuna objected. "I'm strong against the Heartless too!"
"Tch, like the Heartless have been any problem so far," Sonic grinned. "If they can't touch us, there's no way any clown from Kansai can!"
The dark-haired youth, who had been listening in on the conversation, decided that his "prisoners" were far more interesting than he imagined. Since he was bored, he decided to see if all their bragging was actually true. "Hehehehe… I can't let that comment go!" Taking a few charms crafted by that Slade guy his employer was working with, he jumped up and slammed down on the ground in front of the group.
At once, three monstrous centipede-like creatures emerged out of the ground. Their large prong-like fangs snapped viciously as three triplets of three eyes stared down the group. "You should try me on for size before you go mouthing off like that!"
While most of the heroes stared in open-mouthed shock, Sonic simply stepped forward, confident as usual. "A new challenge! Whoo-hoo! Bring it on!"
The kid smirked. "Hey Gastroc! Go play with the hedgehog!"
The monstrous worm-dragons answered by snapping their jaws at Sonic, forcing the hedgehog to dodge their attacks and head away from the rest of the group. "Hey, that's cheating!" They heard Sonic yell as he frantically tried to dodge the Gastroc attack.
As soon as he disappeared into the distance, the other four turned back to the newcomer. "…no way! You're that kid from the game center!" Sora exclaimed.
"That's right! You talk all that crap about being able to fight, so let me show you how it's done!" The kid sneered, making his hand into a fist.
"Negi!" Asuna cried, preparing her fan.
"Right!" Negi answered as he, Donald, and Sora prepared their weapons.
"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a brat!" Asuna cried as she lunged.
"Sorry, woman, but you're not the one I want to fight," The kid dodged her with ease, instead launching a direct attack on Negi. A flying kick sent the red-haired boy tumbling into the ground.
"You're gonna pay for that!" Donald screeched, unleashing a blast of ice towards the boy. He dodged, planting a roundhouse kick that sent Donald sprawling into Asuna and both of them tumbling into the woods.
This left only Sora and Negi. Sora lunged towards the boy unleashing a powerful combo, but the boy was too nimble; he dodged every hit. Sora nearly gasped in surprise when the youth bounced right past him and aimed towards Negi once again.
Negi tensed before aiming a spell. "Flans… Exarmatio!" A blast of wind shot towards the boy, shredding all the charms he was holding.
But that didn't matter, because all the boy wanted was to give Negi a knuckle sandwich, and he did.
As Negi bounced painfully along the floor, Sora whipped his Keyblade around and charged the boy, now noticing his hat was off and he had… dog ears? "You're not an ordinary kid, are you? No wonder you're so fast!" Sora brought his weapon down, but the boy grabbed it. Sora strained to let go. "Who are you?"
"I'm Kotarou Inugami," the boy bellowed. "A dog demon, hired to mess around with you punks by Kansai! What of it? Your big key ain't nothin' special!" He chucked the Keyblade, and Sora along with it, across the ground. Sora recovered however and skidded to a stop.
"Really?" Sora crossed the gap between him and the boy in an instant, and his Keyblade slammed into Kotarou's gut, sending him skyward. "You just got lucky last time! I've taken down worse people than you!"
Kotarou recovered in midair and landed on his feet. "Hmmm… not bad," The boy smirked. He launched himself into Sora, forcing the boy to dodge frantically as he launched several rapid punches. "But your little buddy is still a wuss!" Kotarou hopped on top of Sora, and, using him as a spring board, launched himself into a still recovering Negi and sent him spiraling with another punch.
"Negi!" Sora cried out
"Ha! That chump calls himself a proper mage! I bet his daddy the Thousand whatever isn't tough either!" Kotarou mocked.
Negi wiped the blood off of his mouth and snarled. Sora looked absolutely furious. "You don't mess with my friends…" Sora snarled and launched a Strike Raid; the keyblade striking the boy's face like a boomerang. He skidded along the ground for a moment before recovering and bounding back for another attack on Sora. Both combatants locked claws and Keyblade into a furious dance that lasted roughly a minute.
"Ras tel ma scir magister…" Negi unlocked his magic and gathered his strength. "Saggita Magica Seris Fulguralis!" Seventeen arrows of lightning all shot towards Kotarou. Sora hopped out of the way at the last second as roughly five of them hit their mark.
Kotarou hissed in pain as Negi stood once more. "Think about that next time you call me a wuss…"
"I'm thinkin' about it…" Kotarou's fingernails grew into claws. "And you're still a wuss!" He lunged towards Negi.
"Cantus Bellax!" Negi shouted. At once his magic energy fortified his physical strength, and he countered Kotarou's lunge with a well-placed punch to his gut. Kotarou crashed into the ground. Negi wasted no time running towards him and landing another powerful kick, but the other boy blocked the attack. Both boys locked into battle, up until Sora appeared out of nowhere and landed a perfect Sonic Blade to Kotarou's side, causing the boy to crash into the ground.
This time he struggled to move. "This is the first time I've taken a beating from humans…" Kotarou clenched his teeth. "You two aren't bad in the least… but," Before their eyes, the boy began to transform. His hair grew out, his claws increased in size… in essence, he became more beast-like. With a wicked, fanged grin he continued. "It's far from over. IT'S TIME FOR THE REAL THING."
"This is about to get extremely ugly," Sora's eye twitched as he and Negi prepared their weapons.
"Let me first show you what darkness is," the new and improved Kotarou cackled as he opened up a dark portal. Black dog spirits emerged from within and lunged at Negi and Sora. The Keyblade Master countered this by stepping in front and twirling his Keyblade, deflecting the spirits with only slight difficulty.
The bad news was that it gave Kotarou perfect opportunity to launch a wicked punch to Sora's stomach, sending him into Negi and both of them several feet away. As the two of them struggled to get up, Kotarou taunted. "Had enough yet? I'm just getting started!" He charged towards them, bouncing around with lightning speed.
I can't see him, he's too fast! Sora clenched his teeth. Is he coming from the right?
"To your left, Sora-san!"
Sora, despite all his shock, let instinct take over as he obeyed the voice, dodging to the left as Kotarou landed his attack where he was just moments ago. As he moved Negi out of harm's way, he looked back to see a familiar face.
"Nodoka?.!" Sora and Negi's mouths hung open in shock.
"H-H-H-Honya-chan?.! Why are you here?.!" Asuna asked. She and Donald had mostly kept out of the fierce battle between the boys, but Nodoka's arrival pulled them out of hiding.
"Well, this book…" Nodoka held her diary, but then noticed Kotarou lunging for another attack. "Ah! Above you, sensei!" She shouted directions to Negi and Sora, helping them dodge Kotarou's lightning fast attacks and counter them perfectly.
"I'm not done with you punks yet!" Kotarou bellowed. He lunged for a last attack…
…and Sonic reappeared right under him, kicking him squarely in the chin. He flipped twice before crashing into the floor. Sonic landed some distance away. "Hey guys, sorry we're late!"
"Sonic?" Sora blinked.
Before he could comment though, he noticed Kotarou recovering, leering at them with canine teeth.
"Let's finish this!" Negi bellowed.
Sora nodded. He and Negi focused their energy together. "Ras tel ma scir magister…" The two boys extended their hands out towards Kotarou. "Fulgratio Albricans!" "Blizzard Wind!" The combined force of a powerful blizzard and a blast of lightning was too much for Kotarou, and the wolf-demon boy went down.
"Oww…" Kotarou mumbled. "This sucks… but you'll never get out of here…" His wolf-like features regressed, leaving only his ears as a sign of his abnormality.
Nodoka had an easy remedy for that. "So Kotarou-kun… is that your name? How do we get out of here?"
"What makes you think I'll just tell you—wha?" He noticed the glowing book in her hands. There's no way I'll tell them how to escape! They'll get mad at me if they do! There's no way that they'll figure out that the sixth gate from here has three charms that maintain the—wait a minute. That girl was reading my attacks earlier—HUH? C-could it be that book? This is bad…
Nodoka turned to the rest of the group. "I-it looks like all you need to do is destroy the three hidden charms on the sixth gate east of here…"
"WHOA!" Asuna and Kamo exclaimed.
"She's awesome, isn't she?" Sonic grinned. "That's why I helped her out all this time!"
"Wait… she's got that book and a contract with Negi because of YOU?.!" Asuna pointed at the blue hedgehog.
"Yep! That's the jist of it!"
Asuna seethed, but the rest of the heroes wasted no time. Donald sent a barrage of thunderbolts towards the hidden charms and destroyed them. Everyone saw the barrier phase slowly out of existence. "The path's clear! We should get going!" Donald instructed.
"We're finally free!" Sora said. "I hope delivering this letter might calm things down…"
The gang walked past Kotarou, in which Nodoka uttered a small apology.
"Wait a second," Kotarou said, lying on his back. He looked extremely exhausted but otherwise showed no signs of battle scars. He pointed to Sonic. "Hey… aren't you a member of the Sin Angel?"
Sonic turned to acknowledge him. "Yeah. What of it?"
"Why are you helping these clowns… I thought your gang was helping us," Kotarou said.
"Heh, you should know that we as a whole don't discriminate on who we give aid to—wait, you said one of us is helping Kansai!"
"Yeah… you mean you don't know?"
"I thought Vexen was looking for something at Mahora Academy…" Sonic pondered, scratching his chin.
"Wait, so that means there's THREE members of the Sin Angel here?.!" Sora asked.
"Yeah, I guess…" Then another thought hit Sonic. That thought was no good, as Sonic cursed. "Oh shit. I haven't seen the third guy! That means the others are under attack!"
"What?.! Setsuna-san and Konoka-san could be in danger!" Negi exclaimed.
Sonic turned to the others. "I'm going to see if the others are okay! Keep going to Kansai!" He revved up and dashed off back towards the arcade.
After a few moments, Sora sighed. "I hope the others are all right…"
----
"H-H-Heartless?.!" Cygnus clenched his teeth. "They're wrecking the arcade!" Most of these Heartless were of a new breed, dressed in long elaborate white robes and baggy pants—something Setsuna recognized as the Kansai uniform. No doubt this was the enemy's Heartless and not the random ones from yesterday.
Setsuna immediately knew what they were trying to do… drive them out of the arcade, to someplace vulnerable as to allow them to snatch Konoka. "They're trying to lure us out into the open, we need a new place to hide!"
"Dammit, the others!" Cygnus pointed as the Heartless began to surround Haruna, Yue, and Konoka. "We need to get them out of here! Goofy!"
Goofy wasted no time charging the Heartless. However, one countered by throwing a charm, blasting him away with a pillar of fire. "Yeowch!"
Cygnus clenched his teeth. "Not good," he looked at Goofy. "But an idea. Charge again!" Goofy looked at him for a moment but decided to take his advice. However, once he started running again, Cygnus bounced up and placed his hand on Goofy's back. "TAKE THIS!" He and Goofy became one supercharged tackling machine, mowing down the Heartless with ease. Had Sora seen it, it would've reminded him of Ansem's Rockshatter Technique.
"Ojou-sama, Ayase-san and Saotome-san, we must leave the premises immediately." Setsuna grabbed Konoka's hand and led her away, with Haruna and Yue following closely.
"What's going on?.!" Haruna asked, her voice near panic. "Are you on the run from the yakuza or something?"
Setsuna didn't answer. She instead led them outside and through the alleyways. On the edge of her peripheral vision she could note Cygnus and Goofy following them, dealing with the Heartless before they could reach the girls. They truly are getting ruthless, Setsuna thought, remembering Yusuke's words yesterday. Attacking in broad daylight… doubtless we need someplace to stay protected…
Up ahead, the group saw a row of buildings, with a wide one at the front. "Isn't this cinema town?" Yue asked. "If you wanted to come here, you could've told us…"
All right! Setsuna inwardly cheered. A place to lay low until Negi and Sora get back. But I can't get these others involved… I trust the dark child will watch over them. She spoke up. "Um… I-I wish to be alone with ojou-sama! Let's split up here!" She suddenly picked up Konoka. "My apologies, ojou-sama." With incredible strength, Setsuna jumped clear over the walls of Cinema Town, leaving two girls, Goofy, and Cygnus in utter confusion.
As the girls mulled it over, Cygnus took a more vocal approach with Goofy. "I need to follow them." He said. "Can you guard these two?" He pointed to Yue and Haruna.
"Why of course, ahyuck!" Goofy said. "But what are you chasin' Setsuna for?"
"My own reasons," Cygnus shamefully admitted. "That, and I have a feeling they're in more danger than anyone else."
Goofy nodded sagely. "I'm trustin' ya to do what's right."
Cygnus smiled. "Thanks, Goofy," He turned towards the walls of Cinema Town, and using the powers of darkness, propelled himself over the walls as easily as Setsuna did. Goofy just stared for a moment, noticing that the Heartless were gone.
"Maybe he was right?" Goofy said to himself.
----
High upon the rooftops, Terra observed Konoka, Setsuna, and Cygnus as they diffused into the gentle chaos of Cinema Town. She grinned as she spoke into an earpiece. "Zexion… they've been lured into Cinema Town. They're all yours."
----
This feels… weird, Cygnus mused silently as he walked the streets of Cinema Town. It all seemed to mirror a large Japanese movie set, as people milled about in kimonos, samurai costumes and other assorted clothes. It's almost feels like my planet. Cygnus continued to scan the crowd for Konoka and Setsuna as he continued to muse internally. That woman… why is she so secretive? Why is that even bothering me? Maybe it all has to do with Konoka. That girl is a shining example of perfection on this world... But I still don't understand what drives that woman to be so cold to her… But then again, she's cold to everyone.
Setsuna, on the other hand, was merely keeping an eye out for Konoka as she tried to figure out her next step. The Heartless have stopped attacking… the enemy must not want to cause a commotion here, so it's safe for us to lay low here until Negi and the others get back. She looked to her left and noticed Cygnus wandering about in the distance. She was about to call out to him when another voice rang out, "Oh Secchan!"
"Yes? Ojou-sama—" Setsuna turned around, only to catch a shocking surprise. Konoka was in a beautiful kimono, complete with redone hair in a long ponytail and an oriental umbrella. "WHOA!"
"Ta-daa!" Konoka cheered.
"W-why are you in those clothes?.!"
"Didn't you know? They've got a changing room where you can borrow kimonos!" She giggled. "How do I look?"
"Oh! Err… b… beautiful…" Setsuna bowed, her face flushing red.
"YAY! All right!" Konoka twirled happily.
She really has become beautiful, Setsuna thought. Wait… why am I feeling this way?
From the other side of the street, Cygnus watched in open-mouthed horror. Suddenly everything about the two of them made perfect sense.
And from what he saw, he had already lost the battle.
"What?.! NOOOOO!" Cygnus screeched to the heavens. Unaware that he had caught everyone's attention, he continued. "WRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYY?.!" Unfortunately for him, the entire crowd nearby crowd surrounded him, Konoka and Setsuna included. Quickly changing tactics, he fell to his knees, forced tears streaming down his face. "I had to place that bet against the king… and now I… I LOST EVERYTHING!" And he made a string of sounds that could only be described as comical sobbing.
So he nearly jumped up in surprise when the audience started clapping, and Konoka approached him. "Cygnus-kun! That was great!" She grabbed his hand, and Setsuna's as well. "But it'd be better if you both were in costume! Come on, I'll pick one for you, Secchan!"
Both of them sputtered in surprise as Konoka dragged them to the changing rooms.
----
"Why do I get men's clothing?" Setsuna asked to nobody in particular. She was outfitted in a samurai costume, her sword Yuunagi tucked at her side.
"Because it suits you. But at least you don't look like a cosplayer," Cygnus answered. He was decked in a dark jacket, white gloves, white pants and boots. With his arms folded, he looked like a spitting image of a younger Ansem.
"Secchan! Cygnus-kun!" Konoka called their attention.
"Yes?" The other two chorused.
"Look! A sweet bun!" Konoka made a face with the aforementioned snack stuffed in her mouth.
"Pffft! Ahahahahaha!" Setsuna and Cygnus failed to keep their laughter in.
Konoka, delighted with this result, walked over to Setsuna. "You finally laughed, Secchan!" Setsuna said nothing, her face slightly red. Still holding the snack, Konoka gently tried to feed the snack to her friend. "Say 'ahhh' for the sweet bun!"
"Ojou-sama!" Setsuna's blush became deeper red.
"Hehhehehehe," The girls turned to a smirking Cygnus, his arms still folded. Seeing as he had their attention, he walked over to them. "I see it now. I know now that I never stood a chance, and I understand why you're so protective of her. I may not be the right person for Konoka but…" He took Konoka and Setsuna's hands, and joined them together. "This looks about right."
Both girls stared at him for a moment. Setsuna flushed beet red, and Konoka smiled. But before they could all sputter away in embarrassment, a flurry of girls showed up in the distance. "How cute! That guy is marrying a bishounen swordsman and his princess!" one shouted.
"Can we take a picture?" Another added.
"Sure!" Konoka grinned, causing Setsuna to flush red once more.
Still in the position of Cygnus holding their hands together, they posed for the camera. Cygnus managed to convince the crowd to take pictures of the lucky couple alone, which had Setsuna protectively hug Konoka while holding her sword. He then posed for a solo picture, putting on a wicked grin that would've made the less sane Ansem proud.
"Maybe they think we're a couple because of Cygnus-kun!" Konoka giggled.
"What are you saying, ojou-sama?.!" Setsuna sputtered. However, she stopped this and thought about it as Konoka asked for pictures from the group of girls.
Meanwhile, the three of them were unaware that Haruna, Yue, and Goofy had watched them for some time. "There was something between those two girls after all," Haruna said as she stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"Looks like friendship to me," Yue added.
"Yeah," Goofy agreed. "But I'm glad Cygnus patched things up between him and Setsuna!" Goofy looked to his left as he saw a horse-drawn carriage appear. "Somebody's comin'!"
"Wha?" Cygnus, Konoka, and Setsuna stepped back as the carriage came to a stop in front of them. From the carriage stepped a man decked in a shogun outfit. His helmet was off, revealing his silver, lopsided hair.
"You're—" Setsuna began.
"That's right," Zexion said, a grin on his face. "I'm the top shogun of this area, and I have returned for my daughter."
"Say what!" Setsuna and Cygnus chorused.
"What are you talking about?" Cygnus nearly shouted, completely nonplussed by the statement.
"It's an act, Cygnus-kun! He's an actor!" She whispered.
From the crowd, Yue whispered to Goofy and Haruna, "Cinema Town has actors that spontaneously involve visitors in their acts."
"So that's what's happenin'," Goofy understood.
Something clicked in Setsuna's mind. This man didn't look too trustworthy, not to mention… Have the Heartless stopped because of this man? This was probably his plan from the beginning… take Konoka-ojou-sama away while everyone's watching by pretending it's a play! She stepped forward and snarled, "No! You are on my territory, as long as she has no desire to go back I will protect ojou-sama!"
Konoka, surprised by Setsuna's acting ability, hugged her. "That was so cool Secchan!"
"D-d-don't do that!" Setsuna protested, her face growing red again.
Cygnus caught on quickly. "If you came to crash the wedding, you're one step too late, I've already married them," Cygnus flashed some phony marriage papers that he wasted ten seconds on to create. Tossing them away, he continued, "And if you think you can force them away," He summoned his Keyblade and crouched into a fighting stance. "You've got another thing coming."
"Is that so?" Zexion showed no signs of emotion. "That leaves me no choice," he pointed his sword at Setsuna and Cygnus. "I challenge the both of you for Miss Konoka. We will meet at the Nipponbashi (Japanese Bridge). If you do not arrive within thirty minutes…" He leaned close towards the challengers, whispering, "You will not escape with your lives, Setsuna and Cygnus."
Both of their eyes widened in shock.
"Farewell," Zexion stepped back on to the carriage, and it trotted away. Setsuna stared after it blankly.
Cygnus swallowed hard. "This doesn't look good, does it?"
"Hey Cygnus! What's going on?" Goofy barged towards him, catching the boy by surprise.
"Goofy, we're in trouble," Cygnus muttered. "That actor… I actually felt his power."
"You need some backup?"
"No… in case we can't you should protect the others," Cygnus whispered.
Haruna and Yue however, turned their attention towards Setsuna. "Wow, you two are close! How long have you been going out for?"
"W-what do you mean?" Setsuna asked, as Konoka practically hid behind her.
"I know that guy is up to no good, we'll help you out!" Haruna pumped her fist. "We'll support your love with all our might!"
"What! Y-you got it all wrong!"
"We need to get moving," Yue pointed out. "We don't have any time to waste."
And so the six strong group headed off towards the bridge, with Setsuna and Haruna arguing the whole way.
----
Sonic came to a stop nearby. In the hustle and madness of Cinema Town, the blue hedgehog was hardly noticed. "Just as I thought. I knew there was a third member of the Sin Angel at work here! The bad guys wouldn't be this coordinated on their own. Perfect plan!" He thought back to what Oni had said to him earlier. "I guess this is what she meant by keeping her other 'children' in check. I guess I should keep to the shadows for now and see how things play out." He revved up before dashing further into Cinema Town.
----
The atmosphere around the bridge had grown tense and silent by the time the six of them had arrived. Cygnus, Goofy, Haruna, Yue, Setsuna, and Konoka stood side by side as they approached their destination. There was a crowd nearby as word of the duel had spread throughout Cinema Town.
Standing atop the bridge was Zexion, still in his shogun garb. As Setsuna and Cygnus stepped forward, he spoke, "I'm impressed you caught onto my act before I whispered your names," Zexion announced to the two warriors. "But this battle will be no act."
"What're you trying to do!" Cygnus shot out.
He pointed a finger at Konoka. "My aim is to show Miss Konoka that there is more to this world than what first appears." He pulled out two authentic swords.
"S… Secchan? That guy is kinda scary…" Konoka whispered. "Be careful…"
Setsuna simply answered. "Don't worry, Konoka-ojou-sama… No matter what happens," She turned back to smile at Konoka. "I'll protect you!"
"Secchan…" Konoka smiled.
"I'll protect you, too!" Cygnus boasted. "Also considering I just made your marriage license…" He rubbed a finger under his nose as a cocky gesture before Setsuna smacked him lightly.
"Get a grip, we're about to fight!" Setsuna commanded.
"Oh, oh right," Cygnus summoned his Keyblade and got into a fighting stance. He turned slightly towards Goofy. "This could get hectic. Get Konoka somewhere safe and push these other two back into the crowd!" He whispered.
"Right!" Goofy nodded. He turned to the other three girls. "Excuse me ladies, head back this way! I need to take Miss Konoka somewhere safe!"
"I'll leave it up to you, Goofy!" Cygnus shouted. "Be careful!"
"Secchan!" Konoka began to shout as the crowd saw Zexion leap into action.
That unfortunately fell on deaf ears as Cygnus and Setsuna rushed to counter Zexion's twin blades. A loud clash was heard as the three locked blades. Zexion pushed back and focused a whirling combo on Setsuna, who parried the blows with ease. Cygnus tried to strike down the silver-haired man, but his attack was deflected at the last second. Zexion then rushed towards Cygnus, slicing down where the boy stood just moments before.
"Not bad for such children," Zexion commented, no emotion showing through his face.
"I take my job seriously," Setsuna growled as she slashed at him several times. Zexion dodged the attacks and swept with a wide arc, forcing Setsuna back.
"Perhaps too seriously?" Zexion asked as he lunged for her again.
"That's my line," Cygnus snarled as he chucked his Keyblade in an imitation of Sora's Strike Raid. The move knocked Zexion slightly off balance, just enough for Setsuna to land in a kick to his chest. As Zexion stumbled backwards, Cygnus leapfrogged Setsuna and slashed down on the man, knocking him further away. Setsuna imitiated Cygnus's attack, and both of them repeated the attack a few times more before Cygnus finished up by swinging Setsuna around and upwards to smash Zexion into the air. However Zexion countered in midair with a wide sweep and knocked both warriors into the ground.
As the three of them continued to fight, Goofy led Konoka away from the battle scene. "Are you okay, Miss Konoka?" Goofy asked as they rounded a corner.
"Yes," she nodded.
However, a pack of Ying-Yang Heartless appeared before them. A determined Goofy wasted no time in pulling out his shield and spinning like a tornado through the masses of Heartless, destroying them instantly. "In here!" Goofy directed towards a building. The two of them entered and scampered up the stairs. "Gawrsh, these steps are kind of long…"
"Goofy-san, perhaps this building is…" Konoka began, but it looked like they reached a hiding place at last. "Ah, a room!" They entered it…
…only to see it was already occupied.
"Welcome, Konoka-ojou-sama," Chigiusa Amagsaki sneered. "It seems that Terra-han and the Sin Angel representative were able to track you down after all. Oh?" She noticed Goofy. "Protection must be hard to come by these days, huh?"
A shape formed behind her. It resembled the Invisible Heartless but this creature had horns and a mane of hair. It aimed a crossbow at the two of them. "You can't attack us and defend dear Konoka at the same time, so just stay put or it'll get worse for the both of you." Chigiusa smiled.
----
Still fighting Zexion, Setsuna and Cygnus pressed a harder offense, but to no avail. "Can't find an opening…" Setsuna clenched her teeth as she narrowly avoided another swipe from the silver-haired man.
The crowd noticed something going on in the rooftops. "What's that?" Someone asked from the crowd.
"Wait, isn't that Konoka?" Yue blinked.
"Oh no, the princess is in danger!" Another random crowd member shouted.
"It's a monster on the rooftops!"
"Is that CG?"
"Wouldn't CG need a hologram of some sort to work?"
"Maybe it's stop motion graphics!"
"This is not a T.V show!"
"I hope that dog guardian does okay!"
"Ojou-sama!" Setsuna exclaimed.
"What?.!" Cygnus looked up to see the situation. "SHIT."
"Pay attention," Zexion taunted, smashing both of them in the stomach with the dull end of his sword. Both crashed into the ground. From their lying positions they looked up to the castle once more.
Seeing as they were looking in her direction, Chigiusa spoke. "Sakurazaki Setsuna, guard of Konoe Konoka! Can you hear me?" She boomed. "You can see that this Heartless has these two within its sights! Don't interfere if you value ojou-sama's life!"
"Goofy-san… this is CG, isn't it? They're making a movie?" Konoka whispered
Goofy kept his eyes on the Heartless, gripping his shield tightly. "Don't worry, I'm gonna keep you safe," he whispered to Konoka.
Sensing Goofy's distress, Konoka answered, "It's okay… Secchan said she's protect me no matter what… she'd definitely come save us!"
"What are you muttering about? Don't waste my time!" Chigiusa demanded.
Goofy took a step forward…
…and his foot sank in a hole in a roof, causing him to tumble inside. "YAAAAAAHOHOHOHOHOOOOOEY!"
This in turn caused the Heartless to react and fire its arrow. "W-WHAT DID YOU SHOOT FOR?.!" Chigiusa yelled at it.
(Because he moved! You're supposed to complement me! I followed directions!) It responded.
Seeing the Heartless fire the arrow set off all sorts of alarms in Setsuna and Cygnus's heads. But Cygnus reacted first. "NO!" He whipped his Keyblade forward on Zexion, forcing him to block. This in turn, gave Setsuna time to disappear away from the bridge.
With nothing between her and the arrow, Konoka only stared at the incoming rush off death, her eyes wide with fear.
Setsuna dashed in front of her at the last second.
The arrow pierced her upper chest, never reaching Konoka at all.
"Setsuna! NO!" Cygnus screeched.
To make matters worse, Setsuna teetered off the edge of the building, unable to recover.
"Se…" Konoka watched in horror as he friend fell off the edge of the building. With that, she felt there was only one thing to do.
As if she were on autopilot, Konoka jumped off after her. "Secchan!"
The crowd watched with a mix of horror and amazement as Konoka fell even with Setsuna.
Ojou-sama…? Setsuna blinked as she barely registered the girl in front of her, falling along with her, healing her…
Healing her!
A light flashed. The crowd watched in awe as Konoka exuded waves of healing energy, slowing her descent greatly and removing both the dreaded arrow and the wound on Setsuna.
Meanwhile, Cygnus was seeing nothing but red. "You damn woman!" He bellowed at Chigiusa. "JUST DIE!" He hurled his Keyblade at her like a boomerang. However, the true unlucky one was the Heartless, which took the hit right in the face. The sharp end of the blade was just inches from Chigiusa as it went through the Heartless, disfiguring it before it disappeared completely into dark mist. The Keyblade reappeared in Cygnus's hands. "I'll KILL you next time!" And with that he ran away from the bridge to Konoka's side.
By now, Konoka stood safely on the ground, with Setsuna cradled in her arms. "Secchan… thank goodness," Konoka said.
"Ojou-sama…" Setsuna said. "You healed me?" She looked towards her shoulder, seeing that the wound was completely gone.
"I was in a trance," Konoka answered honestly. "I really don't know what happened."
Seeing as she was still alive, Chigiusa mused from the rooftop. "So that's her power… We'll definitely make use of that." She disappeared.
Cygnus came running over to them. "Are you two okay?" He noticed Goofy approach from behind, a sorrowful look on his face.
They nodded. Konoka looked over to see Zexion approach. "Awa…" She pointed, and the other two saw the silver-haired man walk towards them.
"That, Miss Konoka, is why the darkness is after you," Zexion answered. "Your power is amazing beyond recognition, and that is why the Heartless want you dead. But," He pulled out one of his swords. Setsuna tensed, Konoka gasped, and Cygnus snarled, his Keyblade ready. "Perhaps…"
This was quickly interrupted when he saw that he didn't have a sword anymore. More accurately, he saw that his sword had been sliced off. Zexion turned around to see a figure standing behind him.
"'Sup Zexy?" Sonic calmly greeted, his ninja axe on his shoulder. "Isn't that what Axel calls you nowadays, or so I hear?"
"Sonic." Zexion did not look surprised at all to see him.
"No need to be telling girls scary stories about the Heartless! Besides, it's not like her friends will let things happen to her!" Sonic jumped over Zexion and landed in front of Cygnus, his trademark grin still on his face. "You guys need to split, meet up with Negi and head to Kansai! It's not safe for you here!"
"I guess you're right…" Setsuna nodded. We have no choice, she added in her thoughts as she picked up Konoka in her arms. "Ojou-sama… let's get back to your family home… and meet Sora-san and the others!"
"We'll catch you later, Sonic," Cygnus grinned as he, Konoka, Setsuna, and Goofy split away, ignoring the crowd's standing ovation on their performances.
Sonic turned back to Zexion. "So how about it? A last battle to really get the crowd going?"
Zexion only answered by pulling out his second sword.
(Ah! Record time busting out this new chapter! And it's my longest one to date.
Next time: The Negima saga comes to a thrilling conclusion as our heroes meet the kindly big boss of Kansai, but the rebels aren't done yet! What evil have they got under their sleeves? And what does the hidden home of the Thousand Master hold about Ansem? Stay tuned!)