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Dissonance
Event XIII
Silence
Sitting up, her lips were parting and closing, her tongue moving, but no words would come out. The two girls in front of her just stared in bewilderment as she continued her futile efforts to try and bring out her voice again. To say as much as thank you and sorry.
But was she surprised? Not very. Considering what she had done, losing her voice must be just punishment. Lowering her head, Ellen stared at her hand with great intensity. She could still smell the stench of death that had covered the platform. The disgust she felt when she looked at the mindless crowd, endlessly listening to her hymn, dying and resurrecting to die once more. No matter what she told herself, that they were not real, that they were only figments of her nightmare, she couldn't truly see them like that.
To her, they had been people like any other. People she would meet on the street, at her concerts, on the bus, the train. People just going about their lives, suddenly subject to a never ending cycle of ruthless massacre. Their blood was stuck to her hands.
"What's wrong?" Setsuna sensed that Ellen wasn't speechless because of Love. Sure, it was bad timing of her to just attack Ellen with her proposal like that, but that couldn't be the cause. The two girls backed away and sat down on their chairs.
Ellen only shook her head slightly, silently starting to cry. Her voice had always been her greatest and most prized possession. The voice she used to sing great melodies, she used to entertain people, to make them happy. And which she had used to try to kill everyone around her.
Only the sound of her breathing and sobbing accompanied her tears. Her shoulders shaking, her tears dripping on her hands, Ellen was watched by Love and Setsuna with sorrowful faces. They didn't know what to say.
"Your voice... is gone." Setsuna had waited a few minutes before she said anything. Never in her life had she seen a scene so surreal, so sad. Just seeing Ellen like that, shedding bitter tears of loss and remorse, she felt like crying herself.
Love didn't say anything and just watched. While she wanted to help, she realized that she knew very little of Ellen and that anything she said might only deepen the wounds the girl was fighting. It was one thing to soothe Setsuna, who she knew very well. Another entirely to do the same for an almost stranger.
They waited another minute until Ellen turned to them, her eyes half closed and glued to the blanket on her legs. A single nod was all they needed to know. She had lost the right and ability to sing or speak. It was the price she had to pay for almost killing them. For almost killing Setsuna and the other five.
She knew. That her song had reached those who fought. Her other self had made sure she didn't forget even a moment of it.
Setsuna had been with Love long enough to know just how much words could hurt or heal. She had experienced it herself, twice. She knew what it was like to be in that horrible place. The exile could make you believe anything. And yet she couldn't say anything, couldn't think of anything that would make Ellen feel better.
She didn't even seem to register what Love had been saying. Setsuna couldn't blame her for that at all. After going through an ordeal like the exile, the first thing she heard was Love trying to pull her into a relationship.
Overcoming the initial thoughts of just punishment, Ellen realized that she might never be able to speak or sing again. Tears continued to fall but sadness gave way for despair and fear. Lifting her head slightly and looking at the two that were with her, she opened her mouth on reflex, trying to say: What do I do now?
But no words would come out. She tried harder, tried to clear her throat, tried to scream out, tried to shout, but it was all futile. How stupid must she have looked, yapping like that in front of Setsuna? She couldn't even tell her that she was happy Setsuna was okay.
"It'll come back." Setsuna said the only thing she could think of at the time. Considering how much, how long, how loud, Ellen had sung, it wasn't surprising that her voice would be gone for a while. But the blue Cure just shook her head.
It wouldn't come back. The part of her that enabled her to kill, to make people suffer. She had been forgiven once and given a second chance to do things over as human. But now, there were no more chances for her. After using her gifts, her powers, her voice, like that, she won't get another chance. And why should she? There was no way to atone for what she had done.
"Don't blame yourself so much." Love had been silent until then, not saying anything after her initial onslaught. She could see that Ellen was not just hurt physically but scarred emotionally. And those were hard to deal with. She had learned that much from Eas.
Ellen just stared at her. Why would she not blame herself? Whose fault could it be if not hers? She couldn't tell if Love was reading her mind or simply guessed what she was thinking, but she said the exact words that made Ellen's self-imposed vision of just punishment crumble. "It's nobodies fault. The exile does awful things to people. Setsuna believed she killed me. She was trapped in a nightmare and nightmares don't make sense."
"Love..." Setsuna didn't feel comfortable with Love just telling Ellen all of that like that. She liked the girl, and seeing her hurt did hurt her too. But did it really make her feel any better if she knew what kind of torment she too had gone through?
The pink Cure looked at her partner and Setsuna was startled by how serious Peach's expression was. She had felt the exile, experienced it and somehow overcome it. She still felt a bit of guilt gnawing on her inside, but she didn't blame herself any more than that.
Love stood up and nodded to Passion one last time before she left the room. Despite all her insight in people and when they were troubled, she was still a stranger to Ellen. Even if that were to change soon, right now, she needed someone who she could relate to. Alone.
The door closed, Passion slowly moved to the bed, sitting on it, hugging Ellen. Even though she had temporarily stopped crying, thinking she could no longer cry, a massive wave of sadness overcame her, her arms wildly clinging to Setsuna's back, her face buried on her chest, her whole body rocking with sobs.
Holding on to her, Setsuna felt horrible, seeing Ellen suffering like that. She wanted to help her, she really, really did. But it wasn't as easy as just wanting to help someone and everything turned out fine. The way she saw it, Ellen was not only blaming herself but also scared of herself. She was a nice girl that cared deeply for her friends. For someone like that to sing a hymn of killing... Of course that would scar her deeply.
Minutes passed and Ellen showed no sign of calming down. After the initial shock, after her failed coping mechanism of thinking of it as just punishment for her deeds, she was confronting the hard truth about what happened. She could no longer talk or sing. She lost the part of herself that defined her, that carried her thought all her life.
She wanted to talk, to sing. But she was afraid as well, afraid of hurting people through her songs. Scared that she might lose control of herself and sing that hymn again, kill people. How could she wholeheartedly wish to have her voice back if getting it back meant that she was a constant danger to everyone else? A bomb that could explode any moment and kill them all.
A contradiction like that in her mind, she didn't want to remain mute and she didn't want to be able to sing. But what else was there? She couldn't just seal a power that was part of her. To sing had always been her life.
After no more tears would fall, after she had cried herself dry, Ellen finally stopped, staring blankly in front of herself, still leaned against Setsuna. The whole time, the only sound heard in the room had been Ellen's erratic breathing and sobbing. Love, who had waited right outside, leaned against the door, had a depressed look on her face.
"When I was in exile, I was caught in a nightmare I couldn't even imagine until then. I was trapped inside my own mind, made believe that my entire life as Setsuna had been a lie. That I killed Love and the wounds she gave me made me sleep. During that sleep, I dreamed my entire life. Even when I encountered you and Lemonade, I couldn't break out. I tried to resist, but I simply couldn't overcome what was trapping me." Setsuna was talking slowly and with a low voice, telling Ellen a painful story.
"I was in her head, told everything I knew was a lie. That I never existed, that I killed the girl I was in love with. Even when I got out of exile, I couldn't escape the prison, the nightmare. It was a feeling beyond terrible. And then, Love appeared before me. I was about to kill her in reality that time, but she overcame the nightmare. Or rather... she helped me overcome it." Making a short break, Setsuna held Ellen even closer than before. "I know you went through a lot. I'm sure none of us can imagine what it really was like. But it wasn't you who did that. I just know you're not that type of person, that you would never sing a hymn like that. You're a gentle soul that doesn't want to hurt anybody. The exile is a nightmare that has power over us, that draws from our worst fears and horrors."
"I know it's not easy to not blame yourself. I'm still struggling to not do so for hurting Love and the others. It would only make Love sad and nothing would be solved." Setsuna sighed. "If you need time, I'll be there for you. I'll wait as long as it takes. And... I know this isn't the time. I even think there couldn't be a worse time but... I like you Ellen. I really do. I felt bad for cheating Love before and I was so scared that it might ruin my relationship with her, and I still liked you. But now I realize how pointless a fear that was. She told me herself, that my happiness is hers. That she won't mind if I like you, be with you as well. It might not be what you wanted, it might not be what you will want to put up with, but if you do want... I'll, no... we will wait for your answer. No matter how long it takes. And I want you to sing for me. No matter what you think, no matter how much you're scared of hurting people with a hymn again, I know that you would never do it if not forced so by the exile."
Ellen looked up, having a hard time swallowing everything Setsuna had just said. But she got the gist of it. The red Cure and her partner trusted her. They cared for her. She didn't know what to think of Love, but what Setsuna said made her happy just a bit. That someone was not scared of her even now. That someone would still want to listen to her.
"You should get a little more rest. I'll wake you up when it's time for dinner. Do you think you can handle that? Nobody is going to blame you, Ellen, don't be afraid of that." Setsuna had just finished her line when Love came back in, looking at the blue Cure, showing her a smile. She was carrying Setsuna's favor bowl.
"Since she can't talk right now, let's give her a notepad so she can at least answer things beyond a yes or no question." Love's approach to things were simple. Push her a little, make her forget what tormented her. Unless she started to forget those things, she'd never be able to deal with the issue and return to normal.
"I'd scold you for just jumping into things blindly if you were anyone else, but I know you better than that. It's up to Ellen to use it, but it's a good idea." Briefly letting go of Ellen, Setsuna noticed that she didn't even flinch when Love saw her tightly hugging the girl. Taking her bowl, imagining a thick notepad, a single coin vanished and a pad with about a hundred pages popped up right on top of it.
"Missing a pen." Love smiled and she could have sworn that Ellen, too, showed signs of a smile just then. Closing her eyes again, Setsuna thought of a simple ball pen and it showed up, no more coins vanishing. She hadn't received much of a reward for her last battle and now, forty coins remained.
She thought about simply wishing for Ellen's voice to return but that was likely something that would need a lot, an enormous lot, of favor. It wasn't that she was mute from birth or, likely, that she had ruined her vocal cords. Setsuna thought that Ellen was simply afraid of herself. And who could blame her for thinking that way?
Putting the notepad and the pen on the bed, Setsuna turned to the purple-haired Cure. "You had a really rough time. Get some sleep. I'll stay right here if you want."
Picking up the pen and the notepad, Ellen felt weird writing down what she could have said in one or two seconds. But it was better than being unable to communicate at all. She only wrote down two words. "Thank you." She felt even more thankful than before. Showing the text to the red Cure, Setsuna smiled a little. Crossing out the text, Ellen continued to write. "Are you gonna stay here too?" Showing it to the pink Cure resulted in an immediate response.
"If you want me to, sure." Love cared about the girl more than just wanting to make Setsuna happy. She couldn't ignore someone who was suffering like that. Especially not if they were a nice person. Though she still knew very little of her, she just had a feeling that Ellen was a really nice girl.
Feeling just a bit happy that others were still willing to stay with her after everything she had caused to happen, Ellen laid down, Setsuna still looking over her, Love watching her from her chair after she sat down. Those two were a pair and yet they cared so much about her. Of course she still liked Setsuna, but she no longer felt bad about it.
It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, despite the two of them watching over her.
=== Dissonance ===
"Who will handle negotiations?" Aqua looked to Berry and Mint. Now that White had switched, Komachi had taken her place as one of the leaders. Everyone else was still too much on edge from hearing the killing hymn all the way out in the living grounds.
"Beat is in no condition to fight and neither is anyone from my team, maybe excluding Peach. Though I'd rather not have her fight as the only one of her team." Miki wasn't feeling that well, though she was in a better condition than Inori, who looked like she was dealing with a horrible hangover.
"Before we decide who fights, we'll have to negotiate how many fight and when." Mint felt a little out of place. She was a calm thinker, but she wasn't really the type to take control of a situation unless she was forced into it. It seemed weird that she would be asked to decide the groups actions.
"I could go. Though I want to hear what you two have to say. Personally, I think we're served best if stick to our previous course. As many battles as possible with as many people as possible each." Karen was not a fan of the fighting, but right now, everyone was afraid of the exile and it's effects. The only way to do something about it was to increase the number of battles and participants.
"What other option is there? We're all afraid of the exile. And we don't know the cost for protection yet." Miki wasn't in a good mood. She didn't want to blame Beat for what happened but she sure didn't feel comfortable having her on the team, for now.
"I think we're taking the wrong approach. We should do something about the exile as a whole, not just protect ourselves one by one." Komachi knew the inevitable question that would follow a statement like that. "I don't really know how, but there should be a way. If we can wish for protection, we should be able to change the exile."
"Who knows. Even if that's possible, just imagine how much favor we'd need for that. It still boils down to fighting. I agree with Karen on this. The other team will likely be of the same opinion." Miki wasn't meaning to glare at Mint, but she had trouble controlling herself. The whole deal with the last fight and the hymn put her into a very bad mood.
"With Beat, Pine, Passion and you out, that leaves eight others. I'll see what I can do." Karen sighed and was about to stand up when the topic changed.
"What are we gonna do with Beat?" Miki brought the topic up since she wasn't fully convinced they were out of danger yet.
"I don't think there is any danger. She was unconscious when she arrived." Komachi didn't want to think about locking Beat up or anything like that. It wasn't really her fault what happened.
"Passion was quite a danger even when she came out of exile." Miki had a valid point. "Love stopped her before anyone got seriously hurt, but there is nobody from Beat's team on this side. Who is gonna stop her if she loses control?" Miki just wanted to feel safe and she couldn't until it was clear that Beat had regained her sanity.
"Any of us are strong enough to silence her if she starts singing. Peach and Passion are with her. Don't you trust those two?" Karen had her own points and she didn't like the way Miki looked at things.
"I do trust them. You're right. I'm just really on edge because I experienced that damn hymn relatively close up. It's brutal. You can't compare it to what we've heard here." Anyone would be scared if confronted with a song that could steal one's life.
"She won't be a problem." Komachi had a stern look in her eyes. "Milky Rose came to, Passion came to and considering the way she looked, Beat is less a danger than those two were."
"We should all get some rest. No use in arguing with each other about this." Aqua pulled a stop to the argument before it got out of hand. "I'll do the negotiations, they should be up pretty soon. We kind of missed breakfast in the turmoil with the exile. We should have lunch before we do anything else."
Miki couldn't hide a grin as Karen suggested having lunch. Komachi, after Marine had asked, had told her that Karen was a slow, but quite big eater and always had been. "Sounds good to me. And look who's coming in just at the right time." Berry pointed to the entrance where Blossom and Marine were casually walking together, discussing something, slowly heading towards the table.
"Congratulations Marine, Blossom, you just volunteered to make lunch." Miki wore a diabolic smile on her face, watching Marine pull a shocked face. Berry stood up and left, heading for her own room, eager to get half an hour of sleep in before lunch.
"Most will get a turn making food eventually, so don't mind it. I'm sure Luminous or Rose will help you if you ask." The taller of the two blue Cures shouted from the hallway, still grinning at Marine's surprised face.
"I can help you if you want." Komachi volunteered. Lunch usually consisted of sandwiches for her, and she could do that much easily. She didn't mind helping, especially since Karen would get to eat something she made.
"Thank you." Tsubomi smiled to Mint, who responded with a smile of her own in turn. She was a little worried that she might not get anywhere while keeping Erika from spiking the sandwiches with some, as she would say, interesting things.
"I'll think a bit more about the negotiation. I'll see you at lunch Komachi." To the surprise of the green Cure, Karen stood up but leaned down to kiss her on the cheek before she left. Covering her cheek with her hand, Komachi looked after Karen with a blush on her face.
"I'll show her what it means to pull a fast one on me." Erika had a very specific aura about her as she entered the kitchen, one that spoke of revenge and intrigue. Tsubomi sighed and followed her closest friend, worried that it might end in disaster.
To Komachi's surprise, Erika was pretty well versed and skilled in cooking. As long as it didn't require lots of preparation. The designer was simply too lazy to bother with hours of work. Having paid a close eyes on which ingredients they got from the team favor pool, Erika had no choice but to satisfy herself by scheming without action against Berry.
"Komachi, how well do you know Urara?" They way everyone handled Cure and civilian names was that unless you knew someone pretty well, you simply addressed them by their Cure name. It was just easier that way. In Erika's case, since she wasn't exactly too well mannered, it was a little up in the air how well she really knew someone.
"I hadn't talked to her in a long time until we got here. She used to be really sweet, though a little naive and trusting. Why do you ask?"
"I'm just curious about her. What's her job like, what kinda taste she has in women and so on." Erika noticed that Tsubomi started chopping tomatoes with a lot more strength and focus as soon as she started to talk about the yellow Cure. Lately, it had always been like that. Even if she had figured it out, why was it bothering her so much? Was it because she hid it from her? Or was she actually jealous?
"I... don't really know that much about her. She's the vocalist in a band, lives alone and I heard she goes out to party with her fans a lot. I wouldn't know what taste in women she has... I didn't even know she was into girls." Komachi wasn't that comfortable talking about Urara like that.
"Do you know if she's seeing anyone?" Erika turned around and looked at Tsubomi, who had just split a whole cucumber in half with so much force that one end rolled all the way over the working plate to her. Maybe she should drop the topic. "Never mind. How did you become a defense fighter Mint?"
"I never liked fighting much, so I was always a bit on the supportive side of things. I started out with a single barrier. I was able to use it as attack too, but I decided to focus on support and defense. It took me a few years to get where I'm now." While Erika and Tsubomi cut vegetables, cheese and sausages for the sandwiches, Komachi put it all together, storing the finished sandwiches on the trays in the kitchen.
"I could never do that, it'd become boring." Erika wasn't the type to stick to any single activity, beside her job, for too long. Her fighting style resembled that.
"I was really surprised when I saw you just copying the attacks of others. How do you do that?" Mint couldn't quite imagine how it worked. After all, it took most of them months and years to polish their attacks and refine them to the level they were at now. It seemed almost unfair for someone to just copy them like that.
"I borrow them, not really copy. I can only use them for a few minutes after I see them and there's a limit to how many I can keep in mind. I couldn't really tell you how I do it. I just see how they do it, and imitate them. It's my ability, I call it the Great Marine Queen of all Trades."
Komachi smiled awkward at the name. That naming sense totally fit her personality. She wasn't bragging about it, which helped a lot in liking her, but she could be a bit annoying still.
"Itsuki, Yuri and I just call it Copycat, because that's what she is. Would you tell us what your ability is Mint?" Tsubomi was a lot more polite than the blue Cure, to everyone but Erika since it was completely wasted on her. They've been friends for so long now, they sometimes slept in the same bed when they worked way overtime or showered together when they were running very late.
"You'll eventually find out anyway, so there's no harm in telling you. I don't think Marine can copy it either." Komachi turned around and created a small barrier inside the palm of her hand. It was like a small green dome made of light. "My main ability is really just barriers of all sizes and shapes. I'm a lot worse at hand to hand combat now than I was years ago, but it's really hard to get to me. Marine, try to squash the barrier." Mint put the dome on the ground, slightly smaller than her hand now.
Without considering the effects, Marine stomped the dome and felt a sharp sting in her foot, like she had stepped into a splitter. The pain was gone after the fragment of a second but her surprised face lasted a bit longer. "My barriers, upon getting destroyed or attacked, reflect the inflicted damage back to whoever caused it. This was a really weak and small barrier, but my strongest ones can take pressure of about two tons before they break. If someone breaks a barrier like that, there is no way they'll still stand after it."
"But that's not really your ability. That's just... you know, what you do. Like my Marine Impact or Blossom's Petal Storm." Marine stopped working and turned around, looking at Komachi's back, juggling the knife in her hand, making Tsubomi roll eyes.
"I can create a special barrier, or a zone rather, that voids almost all abilities and limits everyone inside to physical combat. It's called Clear Zone. It's kind of complicated to explain how it works. Maybe some other time, okay?" Komachi filled the fourth tray and counted the sandwiches.
"Tsubomi, what was your ability called again? I've never seen you use it, so I keep forgetting." Erika tried to include her friend into the conversation since she seemed to be in quite a bad mood.
"Yggdrasil's Blessing. I named it after the great world tree from mythology since we were tasked with protecting the heart tree." Putting her knife down, Tsubomi joined Erika and looked at Komachi, who was also taking a break. They still had a bit of work to do, but for now, they had earned themselves a short rest. "It revitalizes whoever I use it on. In summary, you could say that I give my energy to someone else. It's really exhausting so I'm not going to do it unless I'm about to run out of energy myself. I can even bring back someone that is unconscious."
"That's amazing. How did you come up with something like that? You don't look like the supportive type." Komachi was amazed that someone could create an ability like that.
"It's a long story and a bit boring. The short version..." Tsubomi put a finger to her chin and thought about it for a few seconds before she continued. "In our big fight against Dune, I saw someone die that was really dear to a good friend of mine. I never wanted her to go through that again, so I looked for a way to save people on the edge of dying."
Erika knew that Tsubomi was talking about Yuri's father and Dark Cure, the two that died during their final battle with Dune. After finally finding her father, Yuri had to watch him die. They never talked about it, but Erika heard from her sister that Yuri hadn't taken it well.
"I'm sorry I asked. I didn't want you to remember something like that." Komachi had her own set of unpleasant memories and she didn't want to remember those either.
"Don't mind it. Maybe we should continue, I can see a few others already waiting at the table." Blossom took a sneak peek out the small window, seeing Rose, Luminous, Pine and Black sitting at the table. She couldn't tell what they were talking about but whatever it was that Pine was asking Rose, it made the purple Cure blush.
=== Dissonance ===
"I'm surprised that Honoka would leave Nagisa behind." Saki was crying rivers, giving Mai, who was working next to her, a pleading look. She hated cutting onions like nothing else.
"Don't worry about it so much Saki. Let me take care of the onions if you hate it so much." Taking the knife from Saki's hands, Mai sighed and let her partner take over washing the rice. Due to skipping breakfast, they were all pretty hungry and nobody objected when Saki suggested fried rice, so now they were preparing just that.
"Do you think one of us will be forced to leave the other behind?" Taking off the gloves of her costume, Bloom continued where Mai left off. "I don't really want to think about being on a different team than you."
"Nagisa will be here after the next battle, or at least she will try to be. You're worrying too much Saki. Even if we had to fight each other, that won't change anything between us." Mai was, now too, crying from peeling the onions though she didn't mind as much as Saki. They were used to cooking together, though neither of them was exceptionally talented. Saki was good at baking, but actual cooking was different.
"Don't even say that. I don't want to fight you." Saki's tone changed considerably as she complained. "I don't think Honoka would want to fight Nagisa either."
"Of course not. But you know things don't always go the way we want to." Mai didn't like confronting Saki like that, but she was aware that the two of them ending up on different teams and fighting each other would happen sooner or later.
"I didn't expect that we would be doing this alone." Mai changed the topic and looked at the mountain of work left to do. Cooking for two people was already work but for twelve, that was almost an epic quest.
"We could ask Kaoru and Michiru for help." Saki didn't mind relying on these two. They always seemed to be bored anyway.
"We're never going to finish this alone. Let's ask them." The girls didn't even have to leave the living room to find the two sisters. Sitting on the table, next to each other, apparently teasing Melody and Rhythm, with a few assists from Lemonade. It was easy to tell who was teasing who just by the way they reacted. Kaoru and Michiru had a smile on their faces, Lemonade looked clearly amused while Hibiki and Kanade looked a bit embarrassed.
"Kaoru, Michiru. Can you help us out in the kitchen?" They had been close friends for years now, and the Kiryuu's were strangely loyal to Saki and Mai, always aiding them in whatever they asked them to do.
"Sure, we'll..." "... help you out." Standing up and waving Lemonade goodbye, the yellow Cure took over where the sisters had left off and continued to ask Melody and Rhythm a few very peculiar questions.
Michiru looked a bit smitten when she looked at the mountain of work. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, but she preferred short and strenuous labor instead of long periods of monotone one. Kaoru had quite a knack for cooking, she not so much.
"Michiru, can you help Saki cut the vegetables? Kaoru... you know your way around, don't you?" Mai wasn't coy about admitting that Kaoru was a much better cook than any of the three would ever be or desired to be.
"It'll go a lot faster if you do it this way Mai." When they were alone with their best friends, the sisters always dropped all their acts and just talked normally. While they ran a jack of all trades shop in the same town Mai worked and lived with Saki, they didn't see each other more than about twice a week, since Saki was exceptionally busy all the time.
"Mai, you haven't drawn anything since we got here, right?" Michiru was always more interested in the purple-haired Cure's work than in Bloom's. She liked sports but not enough to obsess over it the way Saki did and trained. In Cure form, she could compete with Bloom easily, but as civilians, there was no way would last in either a power or stamina contest against the girl.
"I'm not sure I should be spending favor on things like that when I don't know when I'll be up for exile. I really do want to draw though. Maybe a portrait. I've drawn all three of you multiple times in the past but I'm really itching to draw Moonlight or Muse. They both have a really nice aura about them I wanna capture." It wasn't uncommon that Mai launched into full blown artist mode and started talking technical terms, but she controlled herself that time.
"Muse is interesting. I didn't know one of us Cures had the power to change their age. She's really young and yet one of the most mature among the group. I see her talking to Moonlight a lot." Kaoru was a people's person, always interested in getting to know others and mostly doing jobs that involved handling their customers. Michiru was more of a just-do-it type in comparison.
"Don't stalk her, okay?" Mai sometimes felt the need to put a stop to the curiosity of the sisters. There had been a few occasions in the past where said curiosity had gotten the better of them and caused quite a bit of trouble. Nothing serious, but enough to make Mai scold them.
"We don't want her to get mad, so we're keeping our distance. Most of the time anyway. It's actually less boring here than we thought. They're all pretty interesting." Michiru could feel a glare on her back and it wasn't a pleasant one. Mai supported them when it came to finding their part in society, but she didn't approve of their outlandish curiosity.
"It could be a lot worse in here. Considering the extent of things the powers that brought us here can do, it's a wonder we're not just locked in cells and made to fight, regardless of who feels up to it or not. Considering all the worse alternatives, this isn't so bad." Kaoru smiled, something that outsiders, that included everyone but her sister, Mai and Saki, rarely got to see if ever. "There are some really bad things about this, but once we get them under control, this place won't be so bad."
"Just don't step on anyone's toes you two. You realize that I won't be there to save your butt if you get in trouble." Sometimes, Mai felt like she was scolding two children. The sisters were extremely smart and capable, but also plagued by massive curiosity and somewhat limited common sense. "I'm grateful you two got Moonlight to back down from Dream earlier, though. I would've stepped in if she started to attack Rouge, but thank god it ended peacefully."
"Dream screwed up badly. We heard from Rouge. She put all six fighters in danger for some reason I can't comprehend. She seems to be offended by this place or can't accept it. Something like that. Instead of being happy that we have the freedom we do, she's all hung up on a little fighting." Michiru wasn't the type to have any pity for someone like that. She rationalized a lot of things and thus couldn't understand visionary ideals like the ones Nozomi had.
"I don't think she will show her face around anyone for a while. Rouge looked really angry and I doubt Moonlight is over this. I've taken my fair share of hits from the other team and I don't blame any of them for that. I can understand why Rouge and Moonlight hold a grudge though." Taking a step back and looking at the mess that she made, Michiru regretted that she had so little affinity for cooking.
"What shocked me most was that one of us had the ability to use a hymn as a weapon. She probably didn't sing it voluntarily, since she was in exile, but... " Saki was afraid of fighting the Cure that could use a hymn that killed people.
"Chances are high that she won't use it in a fight. She'd have to deal with the repercussions of everyone else seeing her use it. If I was on her team and she started to sing it, I would put her down." Kaoru loaded dishes on the trays, having finished her own preparations faster than everyone else.
"Let's not talk about this. I'm sure the girl is off bad enough on her own. I wouldn't be happy if I was forced to sing a killing hymn. You two, what exactly are you doing? I said cut the vegetables, not play risk with them!" Michiru had a mountain of hacked carrots towering over various smaller piles of almost indistinguishable pieces of vegetables on Saki's side. They had gotten bored with just helping out.
Saki alone was a capable cook but more specialized in baking, specifically bread and related things. The main issue was that she was very easily side-tracked and then pulled into sometimes amusing but mostly nonsensical situations. Like playing a game of Risk with vegetables. Mai was wondering just how much of that was Michiru's and how much Saki's fault.
"Michiru, Saki, clean up your mess." Turning around and wiping her hand with a towel, Mai sighed heavily. She should have known better than to put those two together. Michiru was really smart but she was also easy prey for things like that. "Kaoru, watch those two for me until I come back. If they do anything stupid... you know what to do." It wasn't the first time something like that had happened.
"Who's winning?" As soon as Mai had walked out the door, Kaoru looked over the battlefield, which deserved being called that every bit, and tried to make a just assessment of the situation. She felt bad for Mai, but a little fun wouldn't hurt. They didn't let anything hit the floor or get dirt on it.
"I have her outnumbered." Saki was pretty sure that her battalion of onion together with a few other piles would be enough to take down the redhead's monster carrot legion.
"You won't even make a dent into this." Michiru was sure she would walk away with victory. Kaoru failed completely to make any kind of assessment since traditional rules obviously didn't apply to cooking ingredients. But it was incredibly silly and amusing to watch the two of them go at it. The blue haired girl was tempted to take the rice and join the battle, but that would've been very unfair.
All three of them noticed too late that inside a kitchen, wind was usually not a naturally occurring phenomena. Kaoru was the first to turn around and be greeted by something that Mai had learned a few years ago from Honoka after having to deal with quite a few unreasonable situations caused by Saki.
The freezing smile. "Would you please stop playing with the food others are going to eat?" What Mai said and what she truly meant was completely different from one another. And the three of them could perceive that very well.
Stepping away from the table, Mai's smile only widened. "Now, if we could just start on finishing this up, that would be great." What that really meant was that Saki could sleep in a different room and the sisters would get a lecture, if they decided to fool around any longer. Mai was a really gentle person, but one pissed her off, a never ending lecture followed. With no objections, work resumed, this time in an orderly fashion and without further interruptions.
=== Dissonance ===
Karen didn't have any fond memories of the last time she had to deal with Windy. But she had to try her best nonetheless. "Let's start."
"I'm curious what happens if negotiations fail. Would you like to try?" Kaoru had convinced Mai and Berry to let her go and handle everything this time, but she had her own idea of what was best for the team. If they kept on sending out the same people every time, it would become boring very fast.
"There must be several people on your team that can't fight too. How does it make any sense to fail negotiations on purpose to make them fight? You picked the wrong time for this." Karen was trying hard not to get angry at the sheer impudence of that girl. Fail negotiations on purpose? Who would come up with something like that?
"There's a high chance that what you said will always apply. People who fought in the last battle will be exhausted, both physically and mentally. So no matter what time I pick, there is always this one obstacle. Which means, I can either ignore it or forget about my plans. I don't like to give up on finding out about new things." It was probably against Mai's wishes, and right now she was only probing the other Cure, but she really did want to know what would happen in an all-out battle.
"Even so, this is the worst moment you could have picked. You must have heard the killing hymn too. Beat can't fight, and neither should those directly involved into the last fight. That includes the three from your team. Are you heartless enough to force them into battle because of your own selfish interests?" Karen knew that type of person well. Curiosity was what drove those people ahead, made them make unreasonable choices just to remove that infernal nagging in their mind. She had dealt with some of those before, in her business. And she knew how to defeat them.
"You may have a point. But who says they will recover anytime soon? What if they are staying this way? There are too many possibilities to just decide that this is the worst moment to do this. There might be worse things to come every day from now." Windy walked up and down her side of the platform, watching Aqua, who was simply staring at her from the center of her side, not moving a meter.
"There was nothing like this before today and chances are, nothing this drastic will happen in the future. In cases like this, you take a wait and see approach, not tackle the wall with your head until you break through, no matter how much damage you take. I wonder what the rest of your team would say if they knew you were intentionally trying to break down negotiation. Would they be pleased?" Karen didn't shy away from a battle of wits.
"What they think is not relevant right now. Of course they won't be pleased, but who would? There are consequences to everything, in this case, they're just not severe enough to out-weight the need to learn what happens after negotiation breaks down." Kaoru hadn't expected to launch into a full fledged argument about this. She hadn't come prepared and her opponent was not exactly an easy target.
"What if someone dies? What if the forced battle removes the healing everyone received after a battle up until now? Would you take the responsibility if someone from your team died? What if your partner took a lethal hit? You would be the one to have caused that."
Kaoru hesitated. That was indeed a possibility she hadn't thought of. And given the place they were in, there was a real danger of death associated to that possibility. If Mai and Saki got hit badly, she'd never forgive herself. Maybe it really was the wrong time. But if that possibility existed, would there ever be a time that was right? "Fine." Her voice was showing just how much she hated giving in to Aqua. She couldn't risk Mai or Saki getting hurt.
Without saying anything else about it, Karen moved on. "The last battle was three versus three but the exile caused additional problems. There is no sense is trying to force the issue, though we all have good reason to want to battle as many times as possible. I suggest a total participation of fourteen people, seven on each side."
"That would leave only the now injured and unable to fight maybe plus one healthy to fight the next battle." Kaoru saw Aqua's point about the fighting since, now that it was known it was possible to protect oneself against the exile, everyone wanted to have as much favor as possible. That didn't exclude those that just changed and still had four or more fights of a lock on them that stopped them from changing or getting voted upon.
"They will have recovered by then. At least they should. I can agree to a six versus six as well but I can't agree with anything below that." As long as they could get Komachi, Luminous, Kurumi, Marine and Blossom in the battle, there should be enough offensive and defensive power to hold off anything. Karen was naturally aiming for a win.
"I wonder about that. But I see your point. Six versus six sounds reasonable. But it is already about noon." Practically everyone had developed some kind of sense for the time of day. There was only ever dark space outside, so it was hard to tell when exactly the day started or ended. The only real indicator was the lighting in the halls, originating from the walls itself. When they were, seemingly by magic, bright at day, they were much darker at night. "Set the fight in two hours. That will put the next exile run tomorrow morning. I feel it would be best to standardize the time of the battles. For a lack of a better way to describe it, let's say two hours before night."
"I can agree on that for this battle but it depends on what the others say. I see no problem by holding the battles at a specific time every day. It will remove one factor from the negotiations, which will make things easier in the long run." A certain level of routine would normalize the situation a bit.
Finalizing the number of participants and the time of fighting, the two of them still stared at each other, trying to gauge each others intellectual potential. Kaoru had taken an interest in Aqua. It was a rare occasion to meet anyone that could best her in an argument. She might have been at a disadvantage in this one, but nevertheless, she lost. Karen on the other hand had become wary of the azure blue Cure. Some people didn't see the obvious problems in their grandiose schemes.
The real danger of the argument had not been to agree to breaking off negotiation but to keep arguing. If they couldn't even agree on whether to negotiate or not, then that was already the goal of the argument itself. A double layered trap that many would simply fall into, not quite thinking that far.
Windy was the first to get bored of staring at Aqua and turned around, stepping into her own circle, ready to go back and report the outcome. There were some truly interesting people on each side. She couldn't wait to fight them.
=== Dissonance ===
"We should look for volunteers first. We can fill up the remaining spots after that." After Aqua returned to the living grounds, Mint and Berry were already there, waiting. It was Berry's idea to give those who actually wanted to fight the chance to do so. "Let's call everyone and see who wants to participate. I have the distinct feeling that there will be a lot more volunteers than before."
It was exactly like she said. After collecting everyone in the living room, with the exception of Beat, Peach and Passion, who excused themselves by telling Pine to tell the others, the first volunteer spoke up after just a few seconds. "I'll go. I've been in exile once. I'd rather fight all day and night than go through that again. No matter who I have to fight..." Kurumi wore a serious expression. Most of them had witnessed what had become of her even after she left the exile. A disturbed, nervous wreck that couldn't tell nightmare from reality. They had seen it again with Passion. It was understandable that she'd want to go and rack up favor.
"I'll go with you. You're still my friend." Luminous walked next to Kurumi, a gentle smile briefly scurrying over her lips. She didn't want Kurumi to go through that nightmare again and she wanted to be prepared when it was her turn to switch. She still preferred to be on the same team as Nagisa and Honoka and it was without a doubt that Nagisa would switch after the next battle.
"We're going to fight too. There are only two, this one included, battles before I can change. I can't participate in two in a row." Tsubomi was worried about Itsuki and Yuri, but also about herself. The way she saw it, the exile was confronting one with the worst nightmares one could think of. She didn't want to find out what exactly her worst nightmare was.
"I'm just in it because I enjoy competing with everyone else. I'm too quick to get stuck in exile." With her smug face, the blue Cure grinned wide as she declared her thoughts like a fact. Marine was, unsurprisingly, relaxed and aloof about the whole thing. She had absolute confidence in her abilities to make it through a run, no matter who else was running. That she needed more favor for her plans added another reason as to why she was participating.
"I'm not able to fight and I don't think Inori is either. Beat, Peach and Passion aren't even here, so they're without a doubt not going to fight. That only leaves you three." Berry looked at the corner where Black, Aqua and Mint stood. "And two of you will have to go."
"Black has reason to avoid this fight. There's the possibility her partner is going to be there. Komachi, you're okay with fighting, right?" Karen was well aware of how much of a pacifist Komachi was, yet, how strong she could be when it came down to it. Not to mention, with Luminous at their side for protection and Kurumi for offense, they had a very strong team, even without Black and White.
"I wouldn't want to fight you either, so I understand why it's better for us to go. That makes the team full. I hope everyone else has recovered by tomorrow or we'll have a big problem." Mint was already looking at things after the battle. Granted, it would be Black that switched, but that still left the three injured from the last fight.
"Thanks, you two. I would fight if there was no other choice, but I'd rather not run into Honoka in a fight." She had been there, and it hadn't been pretty. They were adults now, but she really could live without Honoka kicking her ass again.
"Now that that's settled, we have about two more hours till the fight. The exile run won't be until tomorrow but I trust you're going to switch, Black?" Berry tried to wrap the meeting up so everyone could go about their own business again. It wasn't that she disliked being around everyone, but the meetings were a little stiff and sort of matter of fact.
"I'm going to follow Honoka, yes. I feel bad about leaving you girls like this, but I won't be any good if I stay here without her." Nagisa didn't smile or grin. She really meant what she said.
"Okay then. Everyone, dismissed. I've always wanted to say that." Berry smiled briefly and so everyone else. A group of people remained in the living room, while the others went their separate ways. Kurumi, Tsubomi, Erika and Hikari were left in the end.
"It's always a little difficult to just go back to acting normal after deciding to go and fight." With a loud sigh, Kurumi sat down on the table, looking at Hikari. "I'm amazed everyone is so casual about this. It'll be my first real fight and... well.. what is it like?"
Erika was the first to reply, grinning wide. "It's fairly interesting actually. You're pretty worn out in the end, and it hurts a lot when you're hit in battle, but you're always healed at the end. But it's kind of fun to test just how strong you are and how far you can go in a battle royal. I don't mind it that much since I rarely get hit." She was bragging again and Tsubomi simply shook her head, smiling to herself. That was just how Erika was.
"But you were knocked out in the battle before last. I saw you unconscious." Hikari was stating it matter of fact, a single finger on her cheek, as if she was still trying to remember it.
"Well, of course I'm not invincible. But I took down a bunch of others before they got to me." The designer defended her pride, Kurumi catching Tsubomi's wild smile, unable to hide it. "In a one versus one, I can beat anyone!"
"The battles are hard and without mercy, but Erika is right, everyone's injuries are healed at the end. There's something like... I'd say a stimulant, you receive when you enter a battle. It drives up your aggression and will to fight." Tsubomi explained while Erika continued to ramble to herself about her achievements in the fights. "From what I could tell, our sense of pain is dulled heavily too, so it's not really that bad. The biggest issue is really fighting your friends."
"In the first fight, I had to take on two of my own team, Moonlight and Sunshine. They're really strong so it was kind of a pain. I was hit by some kind of unfair shit early on!" Erika was again, left to herself while Hikari and Tsubomi explained the fighting to Kurumi.
"So, essentially it's a last girl standing group fight. And that team wins? My ability is not really designed to be used against people but monsters..."
"Don't worry, I don't think you could accidentally kill someone in a fight. Not even with Abbadon." Hikari knew a lot about Kurumi, including the way she fought and her abilities. She was really happy that the girl had learned her lesson after Aqua dumped her.
"I know Luminous and Mint specialize in support. I do a bit of everything, just like Marine. Since we're going to be on the same side..." Tsubomi didn't have to finish her line.
"Offense. I prefer to tackle my enemies and take them down with sheer force. I can cover both close and long range attacks. Though my defense is horrid." Kurumi cracked an awkward smile. "I'm kinda nervous now... what do you usually do when you wait for a fight to start?"
"Talk to each other. Maybe play a game of cards. We don't really have all that many options right now." Just as Tsubomi finished saying that, Black came back into the living room, which also doubled as dinning hall, looking extremely bored. Tsubomi was always interested in how everyone else became a Cure and she really wanted to know how White and Black became one, as they were the oldest and most experienced ones. "Black!" Tsubomi waved to the older Cure. It would pass the time until the fight quite well to tell some stories.
=== Dissonance ===
"How is she?" Love had just woken up, having fallen asleep on her chair. Rubbing her eyes and letting out a short yawn, the pink Cure noticed a tray with a few sandwiches on it. She must have slept through lunch and someone was kind enough to bring them food.
"She woke up a couple times, looking really pale and disturbed but her voice is still nowhere to be found. I think she's still having nightmares." Setsuna was looking tired, sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Ellen's hand and playing with a few strands of hair with her other hand.
"Have you eaten anything?" Love didn't feel that hungry but she realized that fasting wasn't going to help anyone, least of all Ellen. Taking a sandwich and biting part out of it, she held it out to Setsuna, who took a bite herself, looking absentminded. "You really do care for her, don't you?"
"She's a nice girl and I know what she went through. It was different from me but still pretty bad. She loves music and singing. It must have been a tremendous shock for her to be forced to sing that hymn." Anyone else might have asked if Love was jealous of the care Setsuna showed for another girl right in front of her partner, but the red Cure knew better than that. "I like her. Maybe not like I like you, but we've known each other for years now. Nobody will ever replace you."
"I know." Love finished up the first sandwich and handed Setsuna the other. The former labyrinth denizen averted her gaze from the sleeping Ellen, looking at her partner. It was a difficult thing to ask, especially with the way Love was. It was mostly her own insecurities she wanted Love to blow away.
"You're really okay like this? Making her part of... us? Anyone else would be jealous and really angry. I think it's a good solution so we can be happy but... won't it be weird for you? I mean it will be weird even for me... to be suddenly with two partners. I can't even imagine what it's really going to be like. And I don't even know if she will accept this to begin with. She might not want to share her affection."
"You're such a worrywart, Setsuna." It was one of the rare moments where Love wore a special kind of smile. It was different from an amused one, from a romantically embarrassed one, or a gentle one. Only Love could smile like that, and she only ever did for Setsuna. Just seeing it would put Setsuna at peace, ease her worries, make her believe everything would be alright. "It'll be different, that is all. We learned to be together once already, so this time, we just have to learn it again."
"You make it sound so easy. But I know you can pull it off. What really worries me is that if she wants to be with me, then she also has to be with you. Lets... lets say we're all sleeping together and the situation would just develop so that you two came close to kissing. Wouldn't that weird you out? Kissing her?" She knew Love well, but it was an unknown situation and there was nobody she could really ask about that kind of thing.
"I don't think so. You're really worrying too much Setsuna. With these things we can only try and see. She and I both like you, so no matter what, we'll want to be with you. It wouldn't be odd that we might end up kissing on occasion." Grabbing another sandwich, Love bit in it and found it tasting a little odd. There was mayonnaise on egg on salad on... she put the top bread slice back before she discovered just what else there was.
"Worrying is the only thing I can do right now, Love. She's lost her voice and there is probably nothing I can do about it. And when I think about the fact that she wouldn't have ended up in exile if she didn't save me, I feel responsible for all of this."
Love stood up and sat down next to her partner, her right hand touching upon Setsuna's, the two of them tightly holding Ellen's. "We can't go back in time and undo what's done. But we can live on and make up for everything. That's what you did. Eas died and you were brought back. Instead of making the same error over again, you started to make up for everything you regretted. If you really feel sorry, you need to make up for it by forgiving yourself. Neither of us want to see you depressed and gloomy." Love had amazing insight in people's emotions and used it to make them feel better.
A reluctant smile formed on Setsuna's lips as she gave up arguing against Love. It wasn't possible to win. At the same time, the purple haired girl behind them started to move, slowly opened her eyes. What she saw were the side profile of two girls sitting on the bed, by her side, watching over her. One of them was Setsuna, and she was in love with her. The other was her partner, Love, and oddly enough, she had a really warm feeling looking at her. Not the same fire one felt for romantic interests but rather something much warmer and gentler, something kind.
"Hey." Talking softly, Setsuna turned to Ellen. She wasn't pale anymore, but she looked really worn out. "Hungry?" There were too many things she could have said right then, but she preferred to stick to something simple. A question that could be answered with just a nod or shaking her head.
And she nodded. Despite all, she was starving. Getting up, she leaned against the wall, her head booming with the pain from a headache that didn't want to go away. Despite the two girls moving away slightly, so she had some space to move, Ellen noticed that it wasn't only Setsuna who had held her hand while she slept. Love had been part of it too.
The fact that she couldn't talk still tormented her but she no longer felt desperate. Not all the time she had spent laying in bed with her eyes closed had been her sleeping. A lot of it had been thinking. It was hard to comprehend, that the scenery so real, so vivid and terrifying, had been just inside her head. A nightmare that was so brutal that the wounds one received still carried over to reality, since one really believed that it happened even after waking up.
Knowing that much, it was a single jump to come to terms with what she did. But that jump was across a gaping canyon of darkness, that would swallow her up and never let her out again if she screwed up. Thankfully, there was a single, no, two ropes for her to hold onto in case she slipped up.
Greedily devouring the sandwich, she ate yet another before she felt a little better. Taking the notepad, Ellen wrote out something. "Thanks for staying with me." Ellen was in the middle of the bed, Setsuna to her right, Love to her left, both of them looking at her.
"You don't need to thank us for that. How are you feeling?" Setsuna needed to know the girl was doing okay now.
"A lot better." It was a pain to write out even simple answers like that but she had to bear with it until her voice returned. If it would at all. That was one of the things she wasn't sure about. Even if the scenes had only happened in her head, there were three things she was sure had been real. Her song reaching the fighters, the exile runners, and everyone else on the living grounds. She had hurt everyone, and with that, she had lost her right to sing. There was really no other way for her to see it than that.
"Your voice will come back. After all, you didn't sing of your own free will. Setsuna attacked everyone, even me, when she returned from exile. Milky Rose attacked people as well. You didn't do anything that the others didn't. Yes, you hurt some people, but none of us can go through life without hurting others one way or another. You need to realize that if you decide to never talk and sing again because you're scared of your own voice and powers, then you will also rob all those people that loved your voice, that were made happy by your songs, of their joy of hearing you sing again." Setsuna smiled as she watched Love. The way Love was now was exactly what had saved her when she was betrayed by Moebius.
She never really thought about it that way. To never talk with Hibiki, Kanade or Ako again. To never sing for her fans again. Sealing her voice away in fear of her power was going to rob so many people of the joy, the happiness, they gained from listening to her? Then why...
"Won't you be afraid I might lose control and sing the hymn?" Ellen looked at Love, showing her what she had written down. Setsuna took a look too, and she was first to reply.
"Nobody that knows you would be afraid. No Cure would willingly sing a hymn that killed her friends. We all know that. Some of us might be a little on edge, but once they talked to you and see just how much you care for others, they'll realize how silly it is to be afraid of your songs." Her partner watched her. Setsuna said what she wanted to say as well, almost exactly the same too.
Ellen just stared at the empty page of the notepad, not knowing what to write down, what to tell them. What they told her seemed to make so much sense, but she still had trouble accepting it. But she didn't give up hope anymore. If what they said was really the truth... she had to get her voice back.
"Ellen. It's okay for me to call you that, right? There is something else we need to ask you." Even Love felt a tiny bit nervous now. It wasn't easy to ask someone out, and this was no different than that. "I know you like Setsuna and she told me she also likes you. I don't want you to carry the burden of an unrequited love and if it makes Setsuna happy, all the better." Making a short break, Love tried to find the right words. "What I mean is... you know we're a couple. But I don't mind if you become part of this."
"You're terrible at this Love." Setsuna giggled a little and grabbed Ellen's hand. "She's inviting you to be part of our relationship. I love her, and that will never change. I can't be without her. But I like you too. Love is an understanding girl with a big heart, so she wants us three to be happy together. It's the only way nobody is left alone."
Again, she didn't know what to say. She had been confused with her feelings for Setsuna, knowing that she was taken. And suddenly, all her worries, all her confusion about Love, everything was blown away by that single invitation. It hurt her to shed even a single tear, but despite that, Ellen started crying, happy that after the horrible things everyone had to endure because of her, the two of them made an offer like that.
This time, it wasn't only Setsuna who hugged her. The two of them held her in their arms together, each a side, their smiling faces left and right. She didn't have to write down an answer for this, they understood just from holding her.
=== Dissonance ===
"Hold it, hold it, hold it! You cheated! You somehow cheated! There's no way you had that many cards the last round!" Kanade was pointing at Hibiki, who was holding a dozen cards in her hand, more than twice the allowed number. And she was screwing over Egret, who was just about to win the game.
They had decided quickly who was going to fight. Egret, Bloom, Bright, Windy as well as Melody and Rhythm. Four of them had volunteered, Melody and Rhythm had been picked for their versatility of being able to use both attacking and supporting abilities. After that, they just needed something to pass the time.
"Cheating is allowed as long nobody finds out. And how about all that equip you have? I somehow doubt you've killed that many monsters for treasure. Seems awfully convenient, doesn't it? To accuse me of cheating when you're obviously pulling cards too!" The pink Cure didn't let that slide, partner or not.
"So you're saying I can't play fair and I have to cheat to beat you?" Kanade was now standing up, glaring at Hibiki, who was glaring back.
"Are they always like this?" Lemonade, using the chance to quietly sweep a few cards from the discard pile, was talking to Muse, who had been pulled into the game as well. Bloom was there as well, the owner of the game. The six of them were playing munchkin, a game Saki really did own back home as well, a gift from Michiru.
"It's not my fault you can't count how many cards I have!" Despite everything, the two of them were still going at it every other day.
"Says the girl who can't even remember where my equipment cards come from! Is your brain made of Swiss cheese that you have so many holes in your memory?"
"You're the right person to talk about brains! Who was it that needed every single card explained to her the first round?"
"Yes they're always like that. It was much more tolerable for a while since we had enemies to distract us, but ever since then... and I get the feeling it got worse just as they got together... you're too close." Ako felt a little uncomfortable. For the whole time during the game, Lemonade had sat next to her and came continuously closer. Lemonade smelled really nice but she felt a bit intimidated by how close she was.
"It's funny to watch. You don't like it?" Urara's hand had grown from three to five and her hidden stash from two to ten. Munchkin was such an interesting game. And even more interesting was Muse. The black Cure had a mature aura about her, yet, she had unexpectedly childish elements to her personality.
"It get's really tiresome if you see it every single day. You're too close, back off." Ako's patience was running thin. It wasn't just Lemonade being closer but also the way she looked at her. She couldn't quite place what it was about that look, but it disturbed her quite a bit.
"Fine then, I'll show you how this game is played!" Kanade was gritting her teeth and glaring at Hibiki.
"You're on! I'll wipe the floor with you so hard, you'll turn into a cleaning rag!" She had the exact same gritting and glaring directed towards Kanade.
"Will you two calm down already? I play lamp of wishes. The monster goes poof." Mai was good at games but not quite that good. Saki was next to her, hiding her cards well enough so that Mai had absolutely no idea what she had on hand.
"My turn!" Hibiki took a single card from the doors pile and turned it over. A high level undead monster. "I'll take it down." Declaring that proudly, Hibiki glared at Kanade, who pulled a single card from her hand.
"I'm cursing you Hibiki. Necrophobia." Kanade covered her mouth and started to giggle. "That will teach you to screw with me."
"Using my ring of wishing to remove the curse." Hibiki had an incredible smug face when she grinned at Kanade. "Were you saying something? I thought I heard you say something about looking silly,"
Ako simply shook her head, followed by a glare at Lemonade. "You're. Too. Close. Get. Off. Me." The yellow Cure had gotten so close that she could have just put her arm around Muse if she wanted to. Kicking Urara's chair, Ako put some distance between Lemonade and herself.
In the meanwhile, Hibiki and Kanade had started to argue about the exact effect of a card. Hibiki had played a potion of friendship that allowed her to get the treasure but no level up and Kanade tried to play the deus ex gatling gun on top of that, destroying both monster and treasure.
"It's totally fair use and legit play! You make the monster your friend and I blast it!"
"It's already given me the treasure when I play the potion! You can kill the monster but I still get my treasure! You're really getting on my nerves!"
"Look at you, with your hoard of cheated cards! You can just cheat your way out of every situation but not this one!"
"Take your card back Kanade. I rule that you can't play it since Hibiki played a friendship potion and thus the battle is over. Unless you have a traveling monster." Saki had heard just about enough arguing.
"Fine." Kanade's tone was ripe with dissatisfaction. She would get Hibiki. Taking a card from the door pile, the game took a brutal turn. The hardest monster in the entire game, Khali, came up. If she beat it, Kanade would win the game. But not as long as Hibiki was there.
"I play two traveling monsters, undead soldiers and... the many orcs. I also play two-headed on Khali!" Hibiki exhausted quite a bit of her arsenal, trying to kill Kanade. Nobody else seemed intent on further sabotaging her.
"I sacrifice my mount and a slave to get rid of the soldiers and orcs and I run from Khali." There was absolutely no hope of beating that thing after Hibiki had to meddle with it. And then, on top of everything, Kanade failed the escape roll by one. The minus one that Hibiki had cursed her with earlier. "Hibiki!" The blond Cure screamed as her partner was delighted Kanade just died and lost all her gear.
Ako was skipped over because she had been cursed previously by Mai. She was one level short of winning the game. Lemonade was in last place at level six and nobody paid much attention to her. Which was a fatal error. "I play three level up cards and equip these." Lemonade put down a card that could make her force another player to help her in a fight. Everyone on the table was shocked as one powerful card after another mystically appeared from Urara's hand. Finally picking up a door card, she didn't get a monster. "I'll fight against this." Only needed one more monster to win, Urara played a harmless level one monster. There was nothing the others could do to prevent her from winning now. Not with all the cards she had on her hand.
"Alright, you win. This was much more exhausting than I thought it would be." Throwing down her cards, Saki stretched. The game had lasted nearly an hour, most of them cheating a lot and constantly pulling cards out of hammerspace. About thirty minutes remained till the battle.
"I need a break." Ako left her cards and the arguing couple behind. She could hear their accusations all the way out in the hallway still. They were, at times, really tiring to be around. And what was wrong with Lemonade? The thought crossed Ako's mind, but it would be really weird for that to happen. Did Lemonade have a crush on her?
No, that couldn't be. There were five years of age difference between them. Maybe she was just curious about her or purposely annoyed her to cheat. Just as the thought about it, someone touched her butt. Quite unexpectedly, Ako let out a "Kyah!" sound and jumped away, turning around and looking at a blatantly grinning Lemonade. The woman didn't even look slightly guilty or embarrassed.
"Nice butt." With just those two words, Urara walked past the now speechless and angry Muse. She didn't get enough of her composure back before the yellow Cure was gone. Her face had a deep shade of crimson around her nose and cheeks.
She suddenly wished she had volunteered for the fight. Something to take her mind off that impertinent yellow Cure. She was still a princess so casually feeling her up was quite the offense!
Inside the living room, Hibiki and Kanade were both breathing hard, exhausted from shouting at each other. "You... cowardly hack...!" Kanade pointed her fingers at Hibiki, her breathing heavy, her body leaned against a chair to support herself.
"You... unreasonable... nitpicker..." They were down to just throwing insults at this point, both mad at each other that they hadn't won the game and each marking the other one responsible as the reason they lost.
"Will you two give it a rest?! I can hear you all the way in my room!" Yuri had shown up, not looking very pleased with the ruckus.
At the exact same time, both girls pointed at each other, shouting. "It's all her fault!" "No, it's your fault!" "Don't copy me!" "Shut up!" They were completely in synch.
Mai had enough of their silly argument. Putting her fingers to her lips, Mai let our a ear deafening whistle that echoed through the hallway. "Get a grip you two. I never heard of a couple that throws such a hissy fit over losing a game." It was really hard to annoy Mai as much as they had done.
Looking at each other for a second, then violently averting their faces, both of them started pouting, Kanade leaving first. Mai covered her eyes with her hand and sighed. "What a troublesome couple. They can be so cute too."
Yuri, before returning to her room, was caught by Ako, who really needed someone to talk to. It had been something she wondered about for some time now, and she wasn't going to get anywhere thinking about it solely on her own. It was, when it came down to it, a pretty simple question.
Yuri sat on her bed, her book still in hand, looking at Ako, who didn't quite know how to best phrase her question. "This is just something I've noticed but... it seems to be really common for a Cure to date another Cure. I never really thought about it much when Rhythm had a crush on Melody but... Now I see Egret and Bloom, Sunshine had a thing for Melody too, and from what I heard, White has a partner too. It's a few too many to think of it as coincidence."
"I can't really give you an answer to this. There is obviously the factor that most of them went through hell and back with their partner. So that is one factor that might spark romantic interest. Beyond that, there is always the problem that if a Cure dates a civilian, they might get pulled into their fights and problems." Yuri looked down on her book. She was close to making a decision and the odds were heavy in favor of one side.
"You think, maybe we're supposed to be this way? It's not that I'm against same sex relationships but..." She didn't want to mention Lemonade. It could have been just teasing from the yellow cure. From what she saw, the woman liked to get a rise out of people.
"You're worried what it might mean for you? You're a princess and maybe you're expected to produce a heir to the throne. Is that it? Or is it that you're worried if you can handle a relationship with another Cure?"
"I'm not even sure I'm ready for any kind of relationship. But yes, both of those things are on my mind. My mother would probably even be understanding. She and my father are still young so they might even have another child which could become the heir."
"Looking at you like this, it's really easy to forget you're in truth just a thirteen year old girl who goes to middle school. You talk, act and look like an adult. I'm just saying this from an objective perspective, but you're quite attractive." Yuri sometimes thought of Ako as her equal, someone who was dealing with similar problems and had a similar mindset. But that was just on the surface. She might be mature for her age, even mature for what she looked like, but there were many facets about her that clearly showed she was still a young girl, not a grown woman.
"Ultimately, it's up to you. I met Momoka before I became Moonlight and it took until after the fighting was over with that she asked me out. Others might get together earlier than that. It really depends on the individual. If you ask me, it's the circumstances that arise with being a Cure that leads us to seeking romance with one of our own. Not being a Cure itself." Yuri found it to be a surprisingly difficult topic.
"Do you ever think that people expect differently from you? That they shun you for dating another girl? I'm not sure I should even think about this as future queen." Ako had thought about being queen quite a bit, yet, the thought of who she would marry to make king never crossed her mind. She still had more than eight years before her mother would even consider letting her take over.
"People that really care about you won't shun you for this. I've dated Momoka for a while, and even though we have to keep it a secret from the general public, nobody in our hometown bothers to look twice when we walk around holding hands. If you, yourself, accept it, others will too. I'm sorry this sounds so philosophical but there is really no universal answer to these questions. You'll have to try and see where it leads you." Yuri got up and let out a huge sigh. She was probably confusing the poor girl much more than she wanted to.
"It helped talking to you. I'll think about this a bit more on my own." Nodding to Yuri, the black Cure left the room. At least she now knew that it was no rarity among Cures and that nobody would even bother to think twice about being interested.
Going for a walk, Ako heard a weird muffled sound coming from behind a corner. Checking for it's source, she stopped just in time when she heard the sound of someone panting and moaning. "What if someone see's us Hibiki?" Kanade was sounding very out of breath, short pauses of gasps between her words.
"Then they'll see us kissing, no big deal. Mai and Saki kiss each other right in front of everyone and nobody minds." Hibiki was just as out of breath.
Before she could witness any more of the private life of the two, Ako walked away as fast as she could without giving away she had overheard them. Around the corner, in the gap next to a deserted room, was Hibiki, having pushed Kanade against the wall. The white Cure had a scarlet red on her cheeks, excited about getting caught.
"I'm surprised you're such a good kisser." Kanade had little to no experience and thought Hibiki was only a bit ahead of her, she did learn a few tricks from Itsuki when they were together.
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me." Hibiki grinned wide, closing her eyes slightly, her left hand pushed against the wall next to Kanade's shoulders, supporting her as she leaned forward, kissing Kanade's neck, her right hand playing with and teasing her love's breasts.
Kanade had both her arms around Hibiki's neck, getting rapidly more excited as the pink Cure kept teasing her, kissing her. Even then, the two of them were arguing a little. "I know almost everything about you. Don't pretend you're.. ah, that's my ear Hibiki!" Kanade's eyes closing in reflex to the sudden stimuli, Hibiki effectively shut her up.
"The one giving in first has to volunteer for cleaning the bathroom." Hibiki pushed out a few words between nibbling on Kanade's ear and moving her right leg between Kanade's. She wasn't planning to go all the way, just make Kanade admit defeat.
The white Cure wasn't going to give up without a fight. Grabbing Hibiki by her shoulders, she pulled her from her neck, forcing a passionate kiss on her lips. Despite never having done it before, she slid her tongue into Hibiki's mouth, knowing full well what a french kiss was. She didn't read all that manga for nothing.
The kiss erupting into a fight for dominance, the two of them fought back and forth until Hibiki finally emerged as winner, at a high cost. She was just as excited as Kanade was, her nipples poking erect through the thin fabric of her top, both of Kanade's hands firmly grasping her breasts, fondling them.
The taste of Kanade's lips fresh, Hibiki licked suggestively over her lips, she pushed herself against Kanade, ceasing to support herself, her own chest pressing against Kanade's. "That's unfair, ah..." Kanade couldn't keep her voice down and let out a loud moan just as she could feel the softness of Hibiki's breasts on her own.
The blond girl was just about to give in and up as something unexpected happened. They were found by, of all people, the Kiryuu sisters. Separating quickly, it was quite obvious what they had been doing just from looking at their faces. Not letting them say anything, the two lovebirds vanished quickly.
"I wasn't going..." "... to say anything." The two looked after the embarrassed girls. They had walked in or found Mai and Saki more than a dozen times and half of the time, they had been in much more peculiar situations than those.
"I want to try it too." After seeing that it wasn't just Saki and Mai who did it but rather almost everyone around then, Michiru was becoming very eager to try it out as well.
"Wait till tonight." Kaoru put a sudden stop to any wild ideas Michiru was getting. She had enough common sense to realize it would be really weird for two sisters to be doing sleeping with each other. But not enough common sense to actually reject the idea as a whole. Because she was interested as well, and Michiru was better than most to try just how much there was to it.
=== Dissonance ===
"It was total chaos. Yuri was holding two cellphones at once, jugging calls, my sister was screaming at the producer and there were stage workers trying to repair stuff everywhere. Eventually, one of them tripped and emptied a bucket of water right on Yuri. She was so furious, people said they could see the water boil right off her. And in the middle of all that, Tsubomi tried to help everyone at once and Itsuki made a few attempts at mediating between my sister and the producer, both of them screaming like angry lions." Marine had joined the group at the table while Blossom excused herself, not feeling so well after eating a specific sandwich which had something on it she couldn't quite stomach.
"You lost me in the middle there. Why was your sister fighting with the producer again?" Nagisa had difficult following the exact chain of events that led up to that apocalypse.
"Like I said, she was shooting for a new magazine and was supposed to get a little intimate with one of the male models which she outright refused. Of course, she was already dating Yuri, Moonlight, at the time, who was right there, so she couldn't do that. Or at least she didn't want to. I heard Yuri was actually okay as long as it was all staged. But Momoka is like a stubborn donkey when it comes to these things. So they started arguing and the male model tripped over a cable in an attempt to do something stupid. Which pulled a camera down."
"What happened then?" Inori was quite a sucker for stories like these. Marine was not exactly the best storyteller, but she knew a few funny events.
"The producer was questioning her honesty in saying he doesn't believe she's in a relationship as he hadn't heard about that. So Momoka walks right up to the soaked wet Yuri, pulls her all the way to the producer and launches in an intense kiss, leaving Yuri shinning red."
Inori almost did a spit-take as she heard that. "That must have left quite the impression on him. That does remind me of something similar Love did in the past." She didn't have many funny stories to tell, but there were a few she remembered.
"Love, you know, Peach, wasn't really dating Setsuna, Passion, at that point yet, which makes this even funnier now than it was back then. What happened was that we were all on a trip and went to Shibuya and there was this one guy who kept hitting on Setsuna the whole time. He just wouldn't shut up or believe that she wasn't interested. So, somewhere down the line, Love decided to prove that Setsuna was already taken, kissing the poor girl right in front of him. This is just me, but I think even back then, Setsuna had a crush on Love, making this even worse than it sounds. For the rest of the trip, Setsuna kept blushing whenever Love as much as looked at her." Inori told her short story, earning a few laughs from the others on the table.
"I have a nice one too. Nozomi, Dream, was always the leader of our team, but as a normal person, she's a horrible klutz. I wouldn't even trust her to make sandwiches without burning down the entire kitchen." Kurumi, actually actively participating in the storytelling, was finding it to be really pleasing to be nice to people for a change. "All six of us were helping out in a restaurant where influenza had knocked out the entire staff except the cook. Karen worked as the cashier, Komachi, Urara, Nozomi and me were waiting tables while Rin was helping in the kitchen, the only one we trusted not to ruin the store by munching away at the food. And the problems already started before we started working. Komachi had trouble fitting into the uniform because of her chest, Aqua was a little too tall and Rin wasn't going to make the cut as waitress because the uniform was too loose. With some effort, we got Komachi into the uniform and out on the floor." Kurumi made a break and took a deep breath.
"It took an immense twenty seconds until Nozomi broke the first plate. Komachi couldn't help her clean up, she probably would have exploded the outfit. She's was way too curvy for it. And then the worst thing that could happen happened. A large group of people came in all at once and we were super busy all of a sudden. Nozomi caused one catastrophe after another. Pouring water over a customer. Mixing up orders. Getting the entire order wrong. Breaking the device for taking orders. And so on. It all went downwards when we tried to put her in the kitchen and make her help Rin and the cook. Barely five minutes passed until they sent her back out. So we had nothing to do for her. In the end, we felt so bad that we made her stand in her waitress outfit just out the door, looking nice and inviting people in." For every mishap Nozomi caused, Kurumi imitated her, looking quite silly. The whole group was half on the ground, trying to feel bad and stop laughing when she finished. Half the fun was watching her, the other half imagining a klutz of such epic proportions.
"You people..." Karen was shaking her head, watching the group laugh at the story from when they all helped out the shop. She had initially come to notify the others it was almost time, but now she needed to put a stop to Kurumi's loose mouth, too. "It's time. We have five minutes till the battle."
The atmosphere shifted from one moment to the next. Erika, Kurumi and Hikari excused themselves from the group and followed Karen, Tsubomi and Komachi already at the gateway. "We'll use the same tactic as last time. Mint will protect Luminous, but this time, they'll look after themselves. I trust Mint to keep anyone at bay until someone picks the attacker off. Everyone that already fought knows what it's like. Kurumi, just do your best, nobody is going to point fingers at anyone after we're done, no matter what happens." Aqua wasn't the most motivating leader, but she had this aura of calculated victory about her that made people trust in her decisions.
They were all there when the gateway opening and the familiar red light greeted them. Most of them fully expected to return to the platform hell that had been the location of battle the last two times. And they were surprised to see it gone.
The area towered over them, quite literally. A single, massive tower with a spiral staircase, leading to it's top. It was high enough for the top to vanish in the darkness, beyond sight. Aqua estimated the whole tower to be at least five hundred meters if not more. It was truly gargantuan. A convoy of trucks could have made it up the staircase side by side with ease. The stairs itself were more like a ramp than actual stairs. To fall and loose your footing was to slide all the way down or over the edge. There was solid ground all around the tower, still, free fall from a couple hundred meters height would be extremely dangerous. And there was no guard rail to speak of.
"This changes things. We should stay away from the tower and fight on solid- What is it Marine?"
"You can forget that idea. Look." Erika pointed at the distance, where they could see other towers, part of the castle so huge that it dwarfed the still enormous tower. But what the blue Cure was pointing at was not the towers but the ground. It was crumbling. "In a few minutes, the ground around the tower will be bottomless pits. Just like the ground between the platforms last time. The only safe place will be the very top of that thing." Marine didn't lose any time and started running, the rest of them following suit.
And they were not the only ones running. In the distance, to the other side of the tower, were their enemies, approaching the tower rapidly, ready to fight and claim the top spot, the only real safe ground. But Rose wouldn't make it that easy for the other team to reach the tower in time. Waiting till her own team was out of the way, she slowed down and finally came to a stand still about hundred meters away from the tower. A massive purple and metallic flash lit up the area for a split second as she activated her ability. "Abbadon!"
The other side saw the attack coming. "Incoming!" Egret shouted and activated her own ability. "Wings of Heaven!" The storm of metal shards was raining down, each impact creating a crater the size of a fist. The shadow group spread out, moving at much higher speed than before, an azure glow around their feet, enhancing their mobility to more than twice their original rate. They would reach the tower first, gaining the advantage of higher ground, yet, Rose's attack forced Egret to utilize her ability much too early.
Egret was the first to reach the base of the tower, just in time to be defend against Blossom, the vanguard of the light team. Crossing her arms to protect her face, the white Cure took a powerful punch straight on, noticing just how much of a problem the ground really was. It was a gigantic ramp, smooth like polished stone and ascending at a rapid rate. She was pushed back almost ten meters, Blossom staring down on her from slightly above. It was difficult just to stand your ground at all.
The next clash was far more violent in nature. Bloom had caught up with her partner and attacked Blossom with a flying heel kick. "Six lights of the North!" Luminous explosive light attack devastated the ground and the wall between Blossom and Bloom, the latter coughing in the rising cloud of stone dust and debris.
By the time the dust settled, Blossom and Egret were gone, both of them running up the ramp. By the sheer size of the tower, it was over a hundred meters thick at the lowest point. Just being on the other side of the thing separated one from everyone on the other side by more than just seconds.
"Rhythm of Glory!" A combo attack by Melody and Rhythm, a powerful sound resonated in the minds of everyone on their team, boosting their attack and defense. The two of them could only use physical attacks while they kept up the buff but it was well worth it. Bright clashed with Milky Rose at the foot of the tower, the two of them grappling each others on shoulders and arms, trying to overwhelm each other by sheer strength. Rose was at a huge disadvantage, Bright being the physically strongest of all the Cures to begin with and being further boosted by the Suite team's ability.
Melody and Rhythm passed the purple and yellow Cure in a flash, racing after Egret and Blossom. Four Cures had entered the tower. Bloom was taking wild evasive maneuvers against Marine, who was a huge danger, given how many abilities had already been used and that she could utilize any of them. Taking the metal storm from Rose at close range would be extremely dangerous.
Luminous and Mint faced Windy, who blocked the entry to the tower, giving her own team an advantage in that it was three versus one up there. But there was one enemy she had lost sight of, the tall blue Cure from the enemy team.
"Prison of Enlightenment!" Hikari drew a small octagon of light into the air and then pointed at Windy. Seemingly solid walls of golden energy rose from the ground, imprisoning Windy inside the field. Mint had not hesitated to advance upwards, Luminous slowly catching up to her, leaving the imprisoned Windy behind alone.
"Sunflower Ravage!" Bloom smashed the wall next to Marine with a powerful punch. Running was meaningless if her enemy was simply much faster than she was. From the corner of her eye, she saw Mint and, behind her, Luminous approach. Marine had chased her up the tower quite a bit. Further down was something like a barrier field of light and Windy was standing in it. She was too far to help her.
Rose was seeing the futility of further holding up Bright. She couldn't win a contest of power so she decided to play dirty. Kicking up some dust from the ground, Bright backed off just far enough to give her time to launch an attack. "Metal Hazard!" A miniature version of Abbadon, a small gust of sixty metal fragments shot right at Bright, who didn't seem to admit defeat just yet. A brief, silvery yellow glow in her fist, she smashed the first shard to come close, the ensuring shock wave disrupting the trajectory of all the other shards, missing her.
The purple Cure was long gone when Bright took a deep breath, having escaped knockout barely in time. As the last one to approach the tower, she stopped briefly at Windy's barrier. A single hit from her at the center point and the walls crumbled like glass. It was enough to keep a physically weak Cure in check but Bright was like a thunderbolt of raw, brute force.
Over a hundred a fifty meters above them, closer to the steadily thinning center of the tower, was Blossom, racing Egret almost side by side, each of them trying to push the other off the continuously narrowing path. With a single quick movement, Blossom got a hold of Egret's neck, pushed her down, making her fall. The white Cure hit the ground at such high speed that the skin on her cheek was burned. The impact was enough to make her roll over twice before she managed to push herself off the ground and continue running. The distance between Blossom and her had widened. "Azure Sky Flight!" Egret vanished, Blossom wildly looking around but completely neglecting the area right before her.
The heel drop, Egret had the higher ground if only slightly, hit Blossom with full power, literally crushing her into the ground, completely halting her speed. About to grab her and throw her off the tower, either to a lower part of the ramp or completely off the tower, Egret was rudely interrupted. A blue flash, and part of the costume on her stomach was cut apart like it was no more than paper. A cut not too deep, she was still losing blood. Backing off further up the ramp, Egret noticed that there was something odd about the air.
"Mirroring Lake." Aqua announced coldly, canceling her disguise and facing Egret straight. She needed the extra energy and focus to take down a Cure that speedy.
Luminous was no longer running by herself but carried by Mint, who kept a mobile barrier around herself. Queen of Light immobilized Luminous and it had a limited range but it provided a heavy boost to every aspect of fighting for her own team. And they had just caught up to Melody and Rhythm, who were running up the ramp hand in hand, a prerequisite to uphold the Rhythm of Glory.
Canceling her support skill, Luminous started running by herself. Only Mint was in range for Queen of Light and it was fine as long as they only moved up but to fight two, she had to help her. "Six lights of the North!" Luminous shot the six orbs of energy straight at the enemy Cures.
Melody and Rhythm both jumped up in the air at the same time, turning around in mid-air. Hibiki was closer to the wall. Without any kind of sign, Kanade held on tightly to her, her free arms around her partner's waist, while the pink Cure used her free arms to push herself, and Kanade, away from the wall. All of that happened in a matter of three seconds. Luminous orbs crashed into the wall, destroying part of it, the debris hitting the ground and starting to roll down.
Mint was slower than those two, but she had range. Jumping up and trying to get a good lock on them, she created a barrier. This time, Rhythm reacted first, jumping, pulling Melody with her, the two avoiding imprisonment by Mint. The green Cure launched another one, again, Rhythm suddenly turned backwards, pulling Melody out of harms way, turning again and continuing up the ramp.
Windy had just caught up with Bright and quickly went past her. They could see that Bloom and Marine were fighting in the layer above them, but it was downright madness to try and jump up there. The walls were completely smooth, and even a small attack could potentially push them off the entire tower. Rose was far ahead of them and should catch up with Marine any second.
"Silver Rose Storm!" Kurumi launched an attack without considering Marine's position. She simply hoped the blue Cure would get out of the way in time. A whirling shard of metal fragments surrounded Bloom, who was surprised by the sudden appearance of the purple Cure.
The shards cut into her arms and legs, shredding her costume to pieces. "Ten Strike Bloom!" Hammering the ground with a flash series of punches, the the shards hit debris and rock fragments, one attack nullifying another. But now it was two versus one. Given that Bright was fighting Rose, both she and Windy should arrive soon. She had to stall for time. Or so she thought. There was no sign of Marine. Rose noticed that as well.
Egret couldn't run any further. Blossom had outmaneuvered her and got in front of her, both her nose and her lips bleeding, Aqua behind her, dozens of small cuts from razor sharp wind on her face and legs. Egret wasn't looking too well either. Aqua had slashed her twice, the initial cut on her stomach, and a piercing hit that went right through her left hand, leaving a small hole. Her weapon might be made of water, but it was still razor sharp.
Egret couldn't see down from where she stood, carefully watching Blossom with one eye, Aqua with another instead. "Blossom Impact!" A huge pink energy blast came flying right at her, which Egret barely avoided by jumping out of the way. But she had chosen the wrong direction. Aqua was exactly where she would land, predicting her move. Grabbing the white Cure by her right arm, Egret was whirled high into the air and throw over the edge of the tower. That was it for her.
"Hibiki, throw me!" Rhythm demanded all of a sudden and Hibiki obeyed without second thought. Using her full power to propel the white Cure high in the air, Rhythm shot past the edge of the ramp above them and barely managed to grab Egret by her long ponytail. The energy from Aqua throwing the purple haired Cure pulled Rhythm a little off track, but she managed to get both of them down safely.
In the meantime, Mint and Luminous had caught up, now facing three versus two. Mint used the chance and tried to lock all three enemies in several layers of barriers but Melody anticipated that much. Unable to do more than literally kick her partner and Egret out of the way, closer to the center of the tower, Melody got caught inside a barrier. Trying to break free, Hibiki hit the inner wall of the barrier with full force, shattering the thinnest layer but suffering the same damage herself, forcing the pink Cure on her knees.
"Move, move, move!" Luminous and Mint looked back. Marine was approaching them at such high speed, she looked like a blue ball of lightning sizzling over the ground. Luminous was almost run over by Erika. The two white Cures had no chance to get away before Marine reached them. "Abbadon!" The entire area exploded into stone debris and dust, sucking up all visibility.
Bloom and Rose were about even in terms of fighting prowess, Bloom stronger, Rose faster and more versatile. Kurumi had used too much energy already, breathing hard, and Bloom had taken two heavy hits, unable to use her left arm, multiple metal shards stuck halfway in it. If she was foolish enough to pull them out, she'd bleed out in a matter of minutes.
Things got a lot more hectic when Bright and Windy finally caught up, and Blossom and Aqua descended from the layers above. All of a sudden, the ramp had turned into a battle royal. Blossom, using the additional force from jumping down, landed a heavy hit against Bright, strong enough to drive her back down the ramp a dozen meters. Aqua didn't even bother to land, grabbing Windy and throwing herself off the ramp to a layer yet even further down.
Bright was at the lowest point, Blossom between her and Bloom, and Rose above Bloom. The situation came to a temporary standstill, everyone plotting their next move. The first to do anything was Blossom, who simply turned on Bright, leaving her back wide open, attacking Bloom from behind. Grabbing her by her arms, kicking the backside of her knees and forcing the pink Cure down, Blossom used her full power. "Nature's Claim!" Several pink circles appeared all around those two, exploding with enough force to take a huge chunk of the ramp out with them. Rose instantly moved towards the dust cloud, only to meet face to fist with Bloom's attack.
Blossom had underestimated the endurance of the sunflower Cure and had exhausted her own energy too much, leaving herself wide open. Bright stepped in, grabbed Tsubomi by her neck, flung her around like a small doll and crashed her into the wall three times before she was thrown off the tower too strong and too far for anyone to save her.
Rose was suddenly two versus one, but Bloom was badly wounded and Bright lacked the speed to keep up with her.
Windy found herself abandoned by Aqua near the lowest parts of the ramp, the blue Cure already running back up as fast as she could. She was tired of running. "Wrath of the Sky!" The entire ramp was first becoming misty, then cloudy until visibility was reduced to less than a meter ahead. It wasn't one of her more useful attacks as it affected both friend and foe, but three from her team knew the ability well enough to realize that it would clear up further up.
Aqua had no problems whatsoever to find her way up the now hidden path. But she decided that it was too dangerous to let Windy keep that ability going. Going back, Aqua listened intently for steps that approached her. And there they were. Stopping and standing still, holding her ground, Karen waited patiently for Windy to reach her range. With a calculated and precise hit, the blue Cure hit her enemy right into the shoulder with her water rapier. Windy screamed out in pain, knowing that her plan had backfired. Aqua was smart enough to memorize the width and length of the ramp.
She disliked always relying on her ability in moments like these, but from a team perspective, if she was going to lose, and with a hole in her shoulder that much was inevitable, it made sense to take whoever took her out with her. "Stormflair." Windy knew exactly where Aqua was after all. At the end of the blade that had just pierced her. The decision to use her ability was made in a split second.
Seconds later, the cloud carpet cleared up. Aqua and Windy were both knocked out, laying face down on the ground.
Marine was still coughing from the dust she had breathed in. And so were the others. Making a mental note not to use Rose's ability again due to lack of control and area of effect being too huge, Marine moved to escaped from the dust cloud, coincidentally picking up Luminous in the process and pulling her out as well. In the process of attacking with Rose's special, she had accidentally knocked out the yellow Cure. Friendly fire was a very valid possibility with abilities she couldn't control.
The dust started to settle and what emerged was Mint inside a barrier, which was inside a bigger barrier, the larger one imprisoning Melody. Egret was out for the count, hit by several shards from Marine's attack. She was losing blood, which slowly ran down the steep ramp. Rhythm had only sustained scratches and a few cuts, Hibiki shielding her from most of the attack.
Eying the green Cure, Melody had already experienced once what happened when she broke a barrier. The damage was imposed on her as well. So, there was a simple way to stop that from happening. Using attacks that caused damage to the enemy without needing to travel through the barriers. "Kanade!" Signalizing her partner to get out of the way, Melody took a deep breath. She still didn't have full control over that ability. Beat had taught her the basics, but she needed to develop the rest herself.
Forming a monstrous pink sphere in front of her, easily the size of herself, Melody pulled a fancy looking guitar from it. She, herself, wasn't immune to the damage either, but she had to use this chance while Marine was still in range. The attack still didn't have any real name. "Powerful Melody!" was the temporary title for it.
Hitting the magical instruments strings, the entire area shook under the impact. It was like the guitar was hooked to a monstrous amplifier. The sound made the very air vibrate. Melody bend over after just one cord, but kept on playing. It was a heavy rock song that was designed to damage enemies immune to physical damage or out of reach.
It had the desired effect. Mint was sensitive to sound, and in a way, the easiest target for attacks like those. Her barriers could protect her against any physical damage, but not against an attack like that. There was only one way to stop her, but it was risky. "Clear Zone!"
Melody was baffled when her instrument vanished together with the barriers. Mint was still shaken by the force of the attack but Marine was less sensitive and on the attack. Hibiki had no time to defend herself, but she didn't need to either. Kanade took Marine's attack, not suffering much damage. Erika had speed but not power. Not inside Clear Zone.
Getting up and launching a counter attack, Melody hit Marine twice in the stomach, followed by a spinning kick in the chest, sending her flying all the way over the edge of the tower. Rhythm attacked Mint in the same moment. The green Cure protected herself by blocking every attack as good as she could but she wasn't fast enough. Whatever she blocked dealt absolutely no damage whatsoever, yet, the quick punches that penetrated her defense did damage her.
By the time she managed to get some distance between herself and Rhythm the positions had changed. She was now trapped between two enemies and things didn't look good. Both of them attacked at once and Mint didn't have enough energy to create more than a single layered barrier. Deciding it would be Rhythm who shattered the barrier, giving the physically stronger Melody a chance to land a direct blow, she turned towards the pink Cure and took a defensive position.
And she was wrong. Melody hit the barrier as hard as she could, smashing it into millions of tiny pieces, and Rhythm brutally hit Mint in the back with a powerful kick, sending her crashing into the wall. Only letting out a single groaning sound, Mint fainted as she hit the stone surface.
Rose was exhausted. Bloom was too, but there was the problem of Bright. She had seemingly infinite stamina. Not knowing what the rest of the battle was looking like, she decided to at least take out Bloom, seeing if she could deal with Bright by outrunning her until she found support.
Saki was having trouble just standing. The sharp pain of the metal fragments stuck in her arm was blurring her vision and it was becoming increasingly difficult to even stand. She tried her best to hide she was actually staggering by ever so slowly backing up at the same time. Even if she went down, Bright would take down Rose no matter what. She might as well give her a clean shot then.
Jumping at Rose while leaving an obvious weak spot in her attack, Kurumi fell for it and tried to land a kick against Bloom's stomach. The purple Cure had her leg grabbed, whirled around until Bloom grabbed both her arms, holding them up. They were still in mid-air, she couldn't do anything.
"I'll apologize later Saki." Michiru said and jumped right at the two. "Full Moon Devastation!" The impact made Rose cough up and spit out blood, the same as Bloom. The force went right through the purple Cure and hit Bright's ally as well.
The second Kurumi lost consciousness, Bloom did too, the two of them hitting the ground hard, not moving a finger. Bright saw the area around her become distorted and seconds later, she was back in her own room. They had won.
=== Dissonance ===
When Ako came to, she groaned with a heavy headache. There was nobody else in the room, but she could tell by the smell it wasn't her own. There was a very slight trace of alcohol in the air, and the bed didn't smell like her own.
The others had left for the battle and when she found herself still walking around, she had run into Lemonade, who tried to invite her for a drink. Ako had never drunk alcohol, which didn't come as a surprise to anyone who knew her real age. Lemonade obviously didn't, she was treating her just like other adults. In a way, it was flattering, on the other hand, it was bothersome.
The yellow Cure had not given up and at some point, Ako simply gave up trying to get away or turning her down. Wanting to just get it over with, everything after was a total blur. Just as she tried to get up, her headache got a thousand times worse, forcing her back on the bed.
"You could have told me you're a first-timer Muse." Urara entered the room, carrying a pot in her hand. "Drink this, you'll feel better. Maybe. A bit, I guess." Handing the black Cure a glass with hot, green tea, Ako almost spit it back out for how bitter it was.
"It tastes like crap but it'll help you beat down that headache." Lemonade sat down on the bed, leaning against the wall.
"You got me drunk. Anything else I should know? Like undressing me and having your way with me?" Ako was full of snark, considering it wasn't exactly only Lemonade's fault all of that happened.
"Thought about it, didn't want to deal with the shit storm that would follow. If I did, I wouldn't have bothered to put your clothes back on. Relax, I'm no rapist." Urara didn't deny that she thought about it. While it had been payback with Marine, she simply fancied Muse's style and looks. Tall, curvy but not too curvy, nice fashion sense. Her personality left something to be desired, but one couldn't have everything.
Ako didn't know if she should really ask but Lemonade was really blunt about things, so she might as well go all the way. "You're interested in me?"
"I wouldn't bother inviting you to a drink or getting you to my room if I wasn't. Oh and by the way..." Urara looked at Muse and had a huge grin on her face. "I overheard part of your conversation with Moonlight."
Before Ako knew what was going on, Lemonade was kneeling right on top of her, a seductive smile on her lips. "I can teach you everything you need to know. And just in case, I do think we Cure's are supposed to go out with each other. If we were intended to be interested in guys, there would be male Cures."
Ako had a nice view of Urara's cleavage in her position. Her mind was still fuzzy from the alcohol, her heart beating fast from the sudden situation. "Who says I want to learn anything?" Her stubborn side came through, as usual. She didn't take kindly to people belittling her. Pushing Lemonade away and getting up, staggering with her headache, Ako walked to the door.
"What a shame. If you change your mind, you can come back. But..." Urara grabbed Ako's right arm and pulled her around, the other hand on her neck, she kissed the black Cure without even a hint of guilt. And it wasn't just any normal kiss, but a fierce, passionate one. To her surprise, Ako just stood there, dumbfounded by what was happening. As they separated, a thin line of saliva still connected their lips, Urara licking hers with a fiendish grin. "That's my payment for the alcohol, carrying you all the way back here and the tea."
Shoving the black Cure out of her room, Urara snickered. She knew that type well. Stubborn, proud, prideful and easy to upset, never admitting defeat, always a backup plan up their sleeve. The easiest way to make them interested in you was to surprise them, go on the offensive. With that kiss, if the girl really was new to romance, she undoubtedly piqued her interest. Now it was only a matter of waiting until the seed would bloom and bear fruit.
Ako opened her mouth, closed it, multiple times, without finding any words for what just happened. An intense blush started to arise in her face and that made her even angrier. She just stood there, thinking about bursting into that room and shouting but something stopped her. What she disliked was that Lemonade had simply forced the kiss on her, not what she had forced on her.
Her head was hurting even more now, so the black Cure walked off to her own room. Lemonade grabbing her butt made a lot of sense right now. She did feel a bit flattered that someone was genuinely interested in her, though she didn't particularly like the person who it came from.
One realization came pretty quickly to her. Romance was terribly complicated and she won't be able to run from it forever. And out of all times, now was absolutely the worst to run into Hibiki and Kanade, the two of them looking very exhausted but otherwise physically fine.
"We won. We finally won a battle!" Hibiki seemed quite happy but calmed down quickly when Kanade slapped her shoulder to turn down the volume. The fighting often came with headaches in the end, and she didn't want any shouting right now.
Without saying a word, Ako staggered back to her room, a mix of feeling miserable and anger on her face. Neither of her team mates dared to ask what had happened.
Waiting for the others, everyone eventually showed up, although Bloom looked really exhausted, constantly rubbing her back, while the red haired Kiryuu sister looked pretty guilty. Moonlight and White acted as the ones to report to. "So it's a huge tower now?" Honoka didn't like that any more than the platforms, though it forced less close combat fights.
"It might work out nicely, depending on how well we utilize the advantages it holds. The key factor is that fighters on upper layers can join those on lower layers with relative ease to out-number the enemy." Moonlight knew that it was a double-edged sword. But at least they were no longer forced to fight on the platform hell.
"Should we decide the next runner right now? Most of us are here. The only ones missing are Muse and Dream." Mai wanted to have that decision over with. There wasn't a lot of possibilities right then. Five people were locked down, almost half the team.
"It's safe to assume there won't be any volunteers at this point." Yuri was conflicted. She wanted to volunteer both because she was worried about Itsuki and that the rest of her team was on the other side. But she also feared what would happen if she met up with Berry, who had proudly declared her ambition to make Yuri hers right in front of her. She still hadn't found consensus with herself on if she really could abandon Momoka. There was also the issue of how the others would react, specifically Erika.
"The potential candidates are Bloom, Bright, Windy, Melody, Muse, Moonlight and myself. If either Bloom or I change, it will decide the next three runners as well." Mai knew that Saki would follow her no matter what. The same held true for the Kiryuu sisters.
"Beat changed because she went after Passion. I would like to stay until at least Rhythm's lock is gone so we can change one after another." Hibiki wanted to avoid spending time away from Kanade right now as much as possible. She also didn't want to leave because Itsuki had been the one to leave just before her, and she wasn't dense enough to not realize what implications Kanade would see there.
"I think it's best if one of us four changes." Mai didn't like the idea of potentially getting stuck in exile, yet she thought it would make the most sense to use their close friendship so that the group as a whole didn't have to worry about who the next runner was going to be for at least a little while.
"I'll go." Kaoru was first to volunteer, knowing that if they changed right now, Mai and Saki had a high chance of getting stuck in exile without protection. They didn't have enough favor right now. "We all will eventually change, so if this gives you enough time to get the missing favor, I'll go." Looking at her best friends, Kaoru knew that Michiru would follow right after her.
"I hate this system." Kanade sneered, quite displeased that the system forced groups of friends apart and potentially even against each other. Thinking about fighting Ellen wasn't making her happy at all.
"We all do. But for now, we can't do a lot about it. The next runner is Kaoru, Cure Windy." Yuri announced it as a matter of fact. None of the other splash star members said anything. They weren't happy but they understood her intentions.
=== Dissonance ===
"It's not your fault. It was just a bad match up. They had two heavy hitters and nobody expected Melody and Rhythm to work together that well after what happened the last time." Hikari was trying to comfort Kurumi, who was rather depressed over losing her first fight.
Blossom had finally finished scolding Marine for how carelessly she had used Rose's ability in the fight. Mint was trying to calm down the pink Cure, with limited success. They were all tired and most of them head headaches, but they still reported what happened to Berry. Given how tired everyone was, the blue Cure didn't bother to go into any tactical details. The fighters had gotten back just in time for dinner to be ready too.
The general mood wasn't exceptional, but they all knew that the next fight might turn out differently. Luck in the match up was a huge factor. Dinner was pasta with tomato sauce. The dinner was relatively quiet until Love, Ellen and Setsuna showed up. Against all her expectations, nobody seemed afraid in the least of the purple haired Cure. Instead, she was welcomed just like anyone else.
Sitting to the right of Setsuna, next to Blossom, Love was left of Setsuna, next to Inori. "She looks a lot better. But what have you been doing all day in her room? Watching her rest?" Inori couldn't help her curiosity.
"Mostly that, yes. We... talked." Love hid that Ellen couldn't speak. If she wanted to tell people, she could do so by herself. "So what happened to Setsuna and her? They look like they're really getting along. I can't see her dumping you for someone else. Did you leave her?" Inori knew Love well, but it was the first time a situation like that had happened.
"We're sort of together now." Love couldn't understand the immense confusion mirrored in Inori's face. "She likes Setsuna, I like Setsuna, so we're sort of together as well."
"You're really unbelievable Love." The blond girl shook her head, almost speechless. "I can't think of anyone else who could go into a love triangle and come out with a three-way relationship."
"Isn't that the best way to solve it? She's cute and I'm sure she's really nice too when I get to know her better. " Love didn't see the problem Inori seemed to try to make out of it. "Is it weird for us to be like this?"
"Considering who I'm talking to, it shouldn't even surprise me, really. But generally, yes, it's weird. I hope it works out just as well as you think it will. I wish I had your luck in romance. I'll never find someone nice." Inori got a little annoyed with all the romance happening around her.
Miki, sitting to Inori's left, wasn't that lucky in romance either. She hadn't seen Moonlight outside a fight for a while now and she was kind of wanting to just go and switch over to see her. She wanted to learn more about her. But to do that, she had to pass the exile. Black was next to change, which made sense, since White had left. It was a difficult decision. The exile was not a nice place.
=== Dissonance ===
The absolute absence of light, pitch black darkness so thick that it could be cut. No walls, no ceiling, ground flat and smooth like a gigantic stone plate polished to the point of reflecting even shadows. Silence so deafening that one's own heartbeat seemed like the sound produced by an enormous, relentless drum. Breath, air flowing in and out of her lungs, sounding like storms on a rough sea. Each step causing an echo that seemed to find the end of the world and come back.
But none of these things truly frightened Itsuki. If this was all the exile could do to her, then it wasn't all that bad. And still, there was a certain anxiety she couldn't lose. Something deep inside her mind that told her "Don't let your guard down."
The only way to count time was to count her heartbeat. How many steps she took in one direction. Or was it a circle she was walking in? She had lost both her sense for direction and time completely. How long would she have to wait until the next run happened?
Her question was answered the moment she thought of it. At the far side of the darkness, so small it was barely the size of a match stick's head, was a light, the sign of the gateway opening. Was this her way out?
Itsuki started to run as fast as she could towards the light, but no matter how hard she ran, it didn't get bigger. Until finally, she found someone that shouldn't be there. Not just one person but a whole group, the students from her dojo. And that was not all. There was someone... she didn't recognize. Someone who was teaching the students. "What are you doing? These are my students." Itsuki was annoyed that someone would take over her dojo like that. What were they thinking, pretending to be the instructor?
"Who the hell are you?" The person she didn't recognize was asking her such a rude question.
"The leader of this dojo. I teach here." Itsuki turned in terror when the voices of her students reached her.
"Who the hell are you lady?" "Get lost." "You're annoying." "Who do you think you are?" "Wow, she's hot, who is she?" "Stop interrupting." "Teach, kick her out." "Go away."
Taking a few steps back, the screaming, the protest grew ever louder. "What are you saying?! It's me! Myoudouin Itsuki!" The yellow Cure protested but the screaming got even louder, completely suppressing her shouts.
Backing off slowly, Itsuki only shook her head. It must be a bad dream. It couldn't be real. Turning around and running from the scene, she only stopped when she was completely out of breath. There was a faint whispering in her head. "It's your fault. You left them behind. You left everyone behind."
Shaking her head wildly, trying to get the whispering out, Itsuki denied that very thought. It wasn't true. She had always cared for those around her.
What she came across next terrified her even more. Tsubomi and Erika were walking hand in hand, staring at each other love drunk, smiling happily. "Erika! Tsubomi!" Itsuki called out to them. She didn't know what was happening, but seeing her closest friends was a big help. They would help her.
"Uhm... do we know you? And how do you know our names?" Tsubomi was still polite and yet... she seemed to honestly ask those things. She wasn't the type of person to play games with her friend in a situation like that.
"Tsubomi, who's that girl? Don't tell me you've been cheating on me." Erika was still joking around, just like always. "You finally asked me out and I find out you have a mistress! I'm so shocked!"
"What are you two saying? Stop joking around, it's me, Itsuki. Cure Sunshine." The blond woman was breaking out in cold sweat. What the heck was going on?
"Cure..." "...Sunshine?" Tsubomi and Erika looked very dazzled and confused, giving each other a doubting look.
"I don't know how you know about us being Cures, but there's no such thing as a Cure Sunshine. It's Blossom, Marine and Moonlight." Erika was no longer joking around and standing in front of Tsubomi. "You can leave now and you better do because if you don't, I'm going to kick your ass. I don't take kindly to fakes and pretenders."
Tsubomi didn't say anything and just walked away with Erika. Itsuki couldn't even defend herself. The shock of her friends denying her existence was too much for her to handle. She could hear them talk about her, insult her until the shadows finally swallowed them, silence returning to her.
Falling to her knees, Itsuki felt sick. And there was the whispering again. "If not for you, Tsubomi would have fallen in love with Erika. She wouldn't have turned her down. You ruined their happiness." She couldn't accept that. It was Tsubomi's own decision to like her... it wasn't her fault!
"If you didn't exist, everything would be better. Everything you touch turns into disaster. Nothing you do has any meaning. You can be easily replaced."
"Shut up! That's a lie! What about my brother?! Who would have led the dojo while he was sick if not me? He believed in me! He was confident that I could do it!" Itsuki shouted by herself, shouting towards the voice that was whispering in her head.
"Hey Satsuki." Itsuki raised her head, looking at a guy taller than she was, looking rough but also kind of refined. "Need anything else? I'll stop by the convenience store on my way back from training." The guy who was calling her brother so casually received a quick response.
"No, but thanks for asking." Her brother appeared a few meters behind the guy, who simply ran past Itsuki, as if she didn't exist. "Oh, are you a visitor? You must have wanted to see Kamui. I'm afraid he just left, as you saw." Satsuki knelt down, looking unexpectedly healthy, and held out a hand to Itsuki. "If you want, you could wait inside until he returns. I'm sadly fairly busy, so I can't attend to you, I'm sorry." He treated her like a complete stranger.
"Satsuki... you don't realize it's me? You don't recognize your own sister? It's me, Itsuki." Her voice almost crumbled when she was treated with kindness but like a complete stranger by her own brother.
"I'm sorry but you must mistake me for someone else. I'm Myoudouin Satsuki. My only sibling is Kamui, who you just missed. I don't know of any girls born to my parents. I can't imagine that Mother or Father would have a illegitimate child either so you must be mistaken." It was too much. Everything Itsuki held dear, her work, her friends, her family. It was all taken from her, and everyone seemed to be happier that way.
"With a real heir to the dojo, there was never any pressure on him. He recovered and decided to pursue an academy career. If you hadn't been born but another son to the Myoudouin family, everything would have worked out so much better."
"No!" Itsuki covered her face with her hands. She couldn't accept that. If she was an error, if everything was better with her out of the way, why was she even alive? Why did she fight and work so hard? Where was the sense in all of it?
The whispering was no longer just a whisper. It was like a voice in her head, putting alien thoughts and ideas into her mind. "No matter what you do, nothing will ever matter. Your students will forget you. Your friends would move on. Your family could support themselves just fine. You're unneeded. A nuisance. Be gone." Itsuki no longer thought. She only listened to the voice. Knowing that everything it said was the truth.
=== End of Event XIII ===
