Chapter 12

Super Secret Ninja Art

Dogen cackled with pride, as the battle outside raged. He saw that the two scrolls were reacting to the fighting spirit of Asuka and Homura. Soon, Sora and Ikaruga saw an arrow, with a letter attached to it. Inside her barrier, Asuka and Homura clashed furiously with each other, but the battle was wearing them down, as both warriors fought against each other. But as Homura moved in for the killing blow, something flashed within her mind, and she saw herself at the mercy of someone she once knew, Komichi, who had been tasked with eliminating her, however she brushed it aside and continued her fight, as well as told her that she knew nothing of betrayal. Finally, Asuka knew that the gloves were off for this battle, and she soon unleashed her maximum power. Homura saw that Asuka had become stronger, until she was cast out of the Kekkai. Katsuragi complained about how she was lost, just as Ikaruga and Sora came to her, and Terra's side.

"Apparently, there are some hidden stairs ahead of us," Ikaruga told her.

"She's right. take the map, Katsuragi," added Sora.

As they raced on, Ikaruga thought it was Rin who was helping them. However, Kiriya soon arrived and demanded to know what she was planning.

"What brings you here? Worried about your students?" she asked.

"No, at least not all of my students, just one," he said firmly.

"I simply want to prove a point, sensei. After I failed my mission, I realized that I could never attain true power as a good ninja, because it can only be found in evil. I knew that in order to prove that to you, I'd have to prevail against your current Shinobi students," explained Rin.

"In other words, your half-hearted attacks on Hanzo were meant to strengthen my students so you could prove your point?" questioned Kiriya.

"I knew the fear of an impending attack would push you to train them harder. And look at how far they've come in such a short time. Very impressive, Kiriya Sensei. When the students chosen by the Super Secret Ninja Art scrolls fought, and my student came out on top, I thought I was well on my way to achieving my life long goal of becoming a super ninja. That is, until the Yin scroll made its way here," she remarked.

"Hold on, you didn't order them to take the scroll?" asked Kiriya.

"No, the order was given by Hebijo's headmaster and leader, Dogen. He went behind my back, and contacted the girl's directly," answered Rin.

It shook Kiriya to his core, as he questioned why that monster would do such a thing, because the union of the scrolls of light and darkness was forbidden. Rin told him that although things didn't go her way, she assured him that the battle would soon come to an end, as one would be the successor of the two scrolls of power, and that this fight to the death would begin. Kiriya tried to find a way to stop it, but he was stopped and told that it wasn't their place to interfere, just as Daidoji arrived, as she spoke about their sad reunion, and said that her underclassmen would prove victorious over Rin's students. As Katsuragi, Sora, Terra, and Ikaruga were approaching the staircase, they were soon accosted by Yomi and Hikage who followed them. Both kunoichi refused to fight them, because they didn't want their rivals to die. This made Katsuragi annoyed at Hikage, because she knew now that Dogen was the mastermind behind everything, and ordered her to move aside. Suddenly, Hikage began to feel strange, as if something was about to burst out when she saw the determination in her rivals eyes, and all the emotion she held back soon burst out, which impressed the blonde kickboxer, just as Ikaruga jumped to her side, and they quickly retreated with Terra at their side, while Sora stayed behind to find Asuka and help her. Hikage tried to follow them, but suddenly Yomi was surprised to see that her friend's first emotional outburst had startled her. This made the greenette blush when she admitted that she did have a fierce temper.

"It's just like Katsuragi said, Hikage. Emotion is what makes you human. That proves that no matter how you feel, you can learn to experience different kinds of feelings. Happiness, sorrow, love, loss, anger, sadness, anything at all. Sometimes I'd have an emotional outburst whenever someone I saw got hurt was treated with disrespect. So you see, I am who I am… because of them. I'm glad you've felt your first surge of emotion in years, Hikage, and so has your rival," Sora explained to her.

Hikage couldn't help but smile at him, as she could see that Sora was different from him.

"You really are something else, Sora. That much I can say," she admitted.

Below, Haruka had Roxas and HIbari backed into a corner, and as she prepared to strike them down, Yagyu and Riku had come to the rescue, warning her to leave their friends alone.

"This has to stop now. If you accept your demise after being beaten, it will only hurt Sora. That isn't destiny, it's what you call a false belief," Riku said to her.

"Too bad for you, so I'll dispose of you both," remarked Haruka.

However, Mirai arrived just as Yagyu was bound in her whip, and pointed her weapon at Hibari and Roxas. Just as they were about to infight, HIbari's power soon burst out as she told them to stop what they were doing. Both girls took each other's hands, and managed to get the three of them to safety, while Riku looked at Mirai, as they knew that they had combined their techniques to escape, which was proof of that fact Haruka had learned before, and the other girl had to agree.

"Yeah. They're strong together. No matter how far apart they are, they'll always be in each other's hearts, just like how we're part of Sora's heart," Riku said in agreement.

"You're right. Let's follow them, you guys," replied Haruka.

The two of them nodded and raced ahead. Elsewhere, Asuka was trying hard to reach the scroll, when she saw Homura again, and was shocked to believe that she hadn't given up. Both girls fought again, but at the same time, Dogen saw that the scrolls were growing even more powerful, just as Sephiroth arrived, his eyes filled with anticipation. Asuka tried to dissuade Homura from fighting, but the tanned kunoichi had heard enough, as she marched forth to perform the killing blow. Suddenly, a shining light appeared behind them

"Congratulations ladies! You are the chosen ones!"Dogen's voice said to them.

Asuka had never heard that voice, but Homura knew who it was, and demanded to know what he meant by chosen ones. Dogen however, told Homura that she and Asuka would come to his office, and be released by the power of the two scrolls, that they were divine representatives of, and had the power to attain Yin and Yang. Homura was shocked by what she heard, but she soon began to grow angry, when she heard that they were all pawns in his game, as well as betray everything that he hated, just as everyone came to their side. Homura then explained that Dogen had been using them to attain the power of both scrolls, by tricking her to turn against the organization he was part of.

"Dogen, you monster! You'll pay for this!" Sora snapped angrily.

"For once, I agree with Sora," added Haruka.

Everyone else had to agree as well, as they powered up and began to fight, but the madman had other ideas, and with the two scrolls, he transported them into his own Shinobi Kekkai, and ordered a battalion of replicas to attack them, as Sora called to both Asuka and Homura. In an unknown dimension, Asuka and Homura looked about, wondering where they were.

"If you followed my orders, I wouldn't have to go through such extremes. Now, I've no choice. Here's my secret ninja art. Giant Serpent!" glowered Dogen, and a giant snake appeared before them.

Both girls knew that they had to fight, while their friends battled the mechanical replicas. Despite everyone's differences, they knew that they had to work together, until Hibari came to a panicked Sora's side, and tried to assure him that Asuka would be alright. As they fought, Asuka and Homura fought against a strange multi-headed serpent, but it still healed itself, regardless of its wounds being healed quickly, which only caused Homura's anger to grow even more at how she had been deceived. Yet despite Dogen's biting words, Homura began laughing as if she'd lost her mind.

"Seems you don't know who you're messing with. The last man who betrayed me, didn't live to talk about it. Did you honestly think you were gonna get away with this? I've already committed the ultimate sin once! AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN!" she explained, as her power burst out.

She stalked towards the serpent, and with all the power at her command she attempted to strike, but Asuka tried to convince her not to toss her life away, and even went so far as to tell her that friends always cared about each other, because they'd be lost without them, which suddenly triggered Sora's unknown powers once again. Outside in the Hebijo grounds, The battle raged as more RGRO ground units were being deployed. Suddenly, several more ground vehicles arrived, firing a volley of missiles at some of the heavy battle tanks, destroying them in an instant, one by one, but the ground troops wouldn't back down, which surprised Kurai Izunia who had arrived.

"This is not looking good at all," Nuno said to the others.

"We must ensure that our war machine survives this battle," agreed Sephiroth, and they quickly marched off and left the war room.

"Lord Kurai, we must order a general retreat," one of the Hebijo teachers said to Ardyn's son.

"My father would never allow the Warriors of Light to get away with their treachery," Kurai remarked as he walked towards the teacher with a purpose of his own making.

"We'll be sending most of our students into a network of caves below this academy to ensure that they'll all be kept safe from their war mongering ways. We can't allow them to discover the plans to our ultimate weapon. For once they discover the plans for what we're going to create, they'll surely destroy us for it, my lord, Kurai," another teacher explained, and passed him the data device.

"Tell your students that I'll take these designs with me to Niflheim. They will be much safer in the hands of my father," assured the son of Ardyn and Galaxia.

Outside the battle raged even more furiously, as the gunships fired on the Hebijo ground units, destroying them one by one, as they whooshed overhead. Explosions had begun to buffet the surrounding training grounds, causing several of the students to scatter about while some were being rounded up by the RGRO and taken prisoner, while some would attempt to make an escape, even though Nuno then told Yomi that both the rich and the poor had no place on the side of darkness, and would all be slaughtered for it, causing her to become angry at him for what she believed to be lies. Not wanting their enemies to escape any longer, as they saw several warships about to take off, Reeve stepped forward and turned to one of his command officers.

"Have all soldiers concentrate all their fire on the nearest vessel!" he said.

"Yes sir," replied the commander, and he ordered that all units be directed to the coordinates.

Heavy anti-aircraft cannons fired at one of the escaping ships, damaging it severely so that it was never going to take off. It soon fell to the ground, and with a loud crash it sent a massive dust cloud everywhere, as the troopers braced themselves, as they fought against the Hebijo students, even though some would put up a decent fight. On a gunship, Haruka, Michiru, and Axel saw something just ahead of them. It was Kurai, on what looked like a speeder bike, being escorted by two more students from Hebijo.

"So, that's Kurai. Pilot, kill him!" Haruka barked.

"We have no missiles left, Sailor Uranus," replied the pilot.

"Then follow him," an enraged Sailor Uranus said furiously.

"We'll need help," protested Michiru.

"We don't have time for that. Haruka and I can deal with this," remarked Axel.

But Kurai noticed them approaching, and he ordered the students to turn around and fire at the gunship with their heavy cannons, forcing them to take evasive maneuvers. Suddenly...

"HARUKA!" cried Michiru, as she was sent off and landed on the ground below.

"MICHIRU!" howled Haruka, as she saw her fall unconscious below.

"Set us down!" she cried.

"Haruka! Don't let your own personal feelings get in your way!" Axel said furiously to her.

He ordered the pilot to pursue Kurai, and to maintain evasive action.

"You need to lower the ship!" snapped Haruka.

"I can't take this guy on my own! I need you at my side! If we catch him we can put a stop to this war he's planning! We've got a job to do!" Axel argued.

"Well I don't care! Put the transport down!" Haruka argued back.

"Then Sailor Moon would say you've disgraced all Sailor Guardians and would banish you for it!" countered Axel.

"I won't leave her behind!" howled the Sky Guardian.

"Get it through your thick skull! What do you think Michiru would do if she was in your position!?" Axel asked.

Turning away, Haruka looked at the floor, thought about it, then turned back to Axel.

"She would do her duty," she answered.

At the command center, the RGRO commander watched with the three cats, as they received wind of the Hebijo army's full scale retreat.

"Well done, Commander. Have a ship be ready for us," Artemis said.

Kurai soon reached his secret hanger, just as the pilot told them that more incoming Hebijo students were coming towards them, forcing them to turn around and retreat. But inside the top most floor of the castle, Sora, thanks to his connection to Asuka, had heard everything that he needed to hear, and stood up, his eyes glowing with renewed determination, as they flashed red for a brief second.

"Asuka's right. I couldn't save Nehelenia and Galaxia from death, and to both those days, I hate myself for not letting them have that second chance. But this time is different. I swear! I'M NOT LETTING YOU DIE!" declared Sora, as he summoned the X-blade to his hand, surprising the others.

He pointed it in front of him, and a beam of pure light burst through the barrier, and created an opening that he'd burst through.

"Sora, where are you going!?" Ikaruga asked as she and the others vanquished the last of the cyber ninjas.

"To make a difference, Ikaruga!" Sora replied, and he disappeared into the barrier, shocking them all.

Everyone was worried, but although they knew that he could do it with the strength of his friends, Haruka saw that Sora had done it before, and Mirai agreed that they would do it too, as they knew that Hibari had the power to reach out to people, and they all set to it, by sending their power to Asuka, who was struggling against the snake, as it bound her and Homura in it's coils, until they heard their voices. Dogen refused to let them do it, until suddenly, he saw Sora burst through with the X-blade in hand, as a light appeared behind him, and soon everyone's spiritual powers flowed through them, giving them even more power that they never felt before. Suddenly the scrolls in Dogen's hands flew out, and soon merged with the two girls, thus unleashing their latent powers, and the three of them managed to take out the multi-headed serpent in a flurry of strikes, sending the madman flying out. Asuka thanked her friends, as they all ran to her side, but she shared a kiss with Sora, the boy who loved her, and held him close to her. Suddenly Dogen stood up, and was furious at what happened. Mirai alerted them of his plan to retreat, but the others refused to let him go, and followed him to the roof. The sight of all of Sora, Asuka, and Homura's friends banding together surprised Rin, making her see that they defied that false destiny. Kiriya told his former apprentice something that ninjas, whether on the side of light or darkness, would always come to a compromise by confronting an even greater darkness that wanted to destroy everything around them, and that friendship was even more powerful than anything else, as they saw them confront that very monster.

"It's all over, Dogen!" Sora said to him, as he pointed his X-blade at his enemy.

"Yes, for all of you!" Dogen replied, as he soon unleashed his full power.

"If I can't have this world! THEN I'LL JUST HAVE TO DESTROY IT!" he screamed loudly.

"Then seeing as you've chosen to become a lost cause, by refusing to surrender for your crimes, so be it. As of this moment, you have become your demise, for all the lives you've shamelessly manipulated in your twisted puppet show! And that's something I can't tolerate, just as Homura won't. You've crossed that thinly veiled red line for the final time," remarked Sora.

"Everybody, let's lend him our strength," Asuka said to the others.

"Yeah, what Asuka said," agreed Homura.

The power of Yin and Yang that flowed through their beings soon merged into Sora granting him a new power that he never felt before, and soon, all of Sora's other friends, the Warriors of Light, decided to do the same.

"ULTRA DIVINE HARMONY!" he shouted, as his body radiated with Asuka and Homura's power, and the power of their friends from two different sides.

DIVINE DISCORD!" Dogen shouted as well, as he soon radiated with an even more powerful darkness within him.

"You thought that by having Asuka and Homura fight to the death, you'd make it so that one would be standing. But you're wrong about them. Those two are far more stubborn than you should've realized. When you tried to trick them into doing that stupid crap, you made an extremely fatal mistake in your life. Homura's fighting style and fierce temper may remind me of my friend Logan, the Wolverine, and I choose to believe in her, even though she's on the side of darkness, just as Asuka's on the side of light! I'll show you the truth about how people are free to make their own way in the world, as well as prove that all destinies are never truly set in stone! As I told Haruka before, Evil will never win! And there's always more to light that meets the eye!" Sora proclaimed, as he felt himself be surrounded by an aura of both light and darkness, thanks to the Yin and Yang scrolls' power within Asuka and Homura now being a part of him.

(Here we go you guys, so play Sono Chi No Kioku from Jojo'S Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders for this epic battle between Divine Harmony Sora and Divine Discord Dogen)

"Shinkai e nemutta monogatari ga

Shakunetsu no suna wo namidatete

Shukumei wo mata yobisamasu"

(Sora: Let's finish this, Dogen!

Dogen: With pleasure, Boy!

Street Fighter Announcer: FIGHT!)

"Shūchaku no chi wo kogasu kamokuna honō

Obi ki yoserareta kamigami no keshin

Osore wo shiranu ken ga tsuranuku

Mezasu basho to wa mada minu sadame

Chikazuite kuru kessen no toki

Utsubeki piriodo wa... Sutā purachinamu!

Hajimatte shimatta monogatari ni ubawareta mama no toki ni

Ima owari wo tsugeru tame aruki tsudzukeru kuruseidāsu!

Kūhaku no rasutopēji ni sono kobushi wo tatakikome

End of the world sono chi no kioku

Oraoraoraora!

Oraoraoraora!

Oraoraoraora!

Oraoraoraora!"

(Instrumental Break! This is where Sora and Dogen exchange a few words with each other during their battle, until Asuka and Homura lend him even more power from the two scrolls that are connected to them, granting him even more power to overcome the madman, which would normally kill him, but he endures it, and he attains a new form called Ultra Divine Harmony, because Homura has now become his new friendly-rival, and Asuka admits that she truly loves Sora, thus becoming a new addition to his family, as they see Dogen be taken down for good)

"Ame no yōna emerarudo sabaku ni fureba

Gusha nanoru yūsha miseru shinkirō

Yami no kehai ō hamon no ibara

Fukkatsu no tame erabanu shudan

Mukuna ikichi wo motome samayō

Rekishi ni utsu kusabi sutā purachinamu!

Hajimatte shimatta monogatari ni nagashite kita kanashimi ni

Ima owari wo tsugeru tame inochi wo kaketa kuruseidāsu!

Shukumei no rasutopēji ni sono ikari wo tatakikome

Hikari to yami no desutini

Meguru rekishi wa buraddi

Uketsugareru fumetsu no puraido

Hajimatte shimatta monogatari ni ubawareta mama no toki ni

Ima owari wo tsugeru tame aruki tsudzukeru kuruseidāsu!

Kūhaku no rasutopēji ni sono kobushi wo tatakikome

Hajimatte shimatta monogatari ni nagashite kita kanashimi ni

Ima owari wo tsugeru tame inochi wo kaketa kuruseidāsu!

Shukumei no rasutopēji ni sono ikari wo tatakikome

End of the world sono chi no kioku

Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraora!

Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraora!

Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraora!

Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraora!

ORA!"

(And it ends with Kurai waiting for the falling Dogen to fall on his sword and he dies in an instant, after Sora sends him plummeting down towards the ground.

Mortal Kombat Announcer: Sora Wins! Flawless Victory! Ultimate Fatality!

Sora: Devils never cry. Tears are a gift that only humans have. But you are no longer human, Dogen. All you've become is a truly heartless devil.)

"Way to go, Sora!" Katsuragi said happily.

"Yeah, and good riddance to that devil," agreed Homura, as she stepped forth and shook Sora's hand, signifying that they're relationship as friendly-rivals would be just as strong as her newfound friendly rivalry with Asuka.

"Well, anyway. What do you say we have one more battle, with you in Crimson Mode, against me in my Ultra Divine Harmony form, Homura?" Sora asked her.

"Yeah, you're on, Sora! So let's see how strong you are before we part ways, and my friends and I become Team Crimson!" agreed the newly christened leader of her own group of rogues, walking the path between light and darkness.

"Wait, you and Homura are gonna fight?" Asuka asked in confusion.

"Yep. But this will be more of a battle of truths, Asuka, not to the death," replied Sora.

"Then in the name of the name of the moon, let the battle begin!" Sailor Moon announced when she and the others joined them on the roof.

(Well, with Dogen gone, it looks like Sora and Homura are about to have just one more battle, but this time, it's gonna be a battle of truths, rather than to the death. It's time to play Renka Tairan from Shin Koihime Musou Otome for this epic battle of truths, that has plenty of heart for our two friendly-rivals in their empowered forms.)

"Maiagatte iku sajin

Karamaru unmei wo

Sashishimesu ka no you ni

Ookiku hirogaru

Sono saki ni shinjiteta

Mirai ga aru naraba

Kono mi wo toshite made mo

Tatakau imi wa aru

Yuruginai omoi wo kasaneau

Kono chikai shinjiteru

Taemanai ame ni utare

Shoujo wa namida wo nagashita

Ubawareta no wa dare no negai

Michibiki dasu sono kotae wa

Dare ni mo fure sase wa shinai

Hakanai hanabira no you ni

Chiru no mo warukunai to

Zetsubou no hakobune ga

Kokoro madowasu kedo

Itoshiki kimi no namida

Kono te de nuguu yo

Sono saki ni sagashiteta

Rakuen ga aru nara

Ima subete nagedashite

Mikaeri motomenai

Kawashita kuchidzuke no sono imi wo

Shiru made wa tomarenai

Shinku no bara ni miserare

Ibara no wana ni ochite yuku

Kibou wo mitsuketa no wa anata

Nageki no tou ni okizari no

Ano hi kawashita yakusoku mo

Kaze mau hanabira hito hira

Itsuka wa kimi ni todoke"

(Here comes an awesome instrumental break as both Sora and Homura revert back to normal, even though this is a battle of truths, but they do exchange some friendly banter as they fight it out on more friendly terms)

"Taemanai ame ni utare

Shoujo wa namida wo nagashita

Ubawareta no wa dare no negai

Michibiki dasu sono kotae wa

Dare ni mo fure sase wa shinai

Hakanai hanabira no you ni

Chiru no mo warukunai to"

(And the song ends with Sora ultimately triumphing over Homura, who accepts her defeat, but she and her friends aren't affected by Dogen's Yoke Technique, which means that they're going to live to fight another day)

"Man, you really are something else, Bub. But, at the same time, you, me, and Asuka are the same. We both have people we can count on, as well as give us strength. But, even though I got beat by you, it looks like we didn't die after all, because I don't sense Dogen's presence anymore," she said.

"That's because after Sora sent him over the edge of the roof of this place, the fool fell on Kurai's sword, and his power and soul became a part of me," Sephiroth explained to her.

"SEPHIROTH!" snapped Asuka, and she drew her blades.

"Wait!" Sora said to everyone, and they all stood down.

"Thanks to that, we know now, that people who are on the side of light or darkness, may one day come to understand that there will always be an even more dangerous darkness lurking behind the scenes, thanks to what that man showed us before he met his end," Nuno said.

"However, don't think that this will be the end, you ungrateful mortals. Soon, everyone and everything Sora cherishes will be destroyed, and Vanitas will be unleashed from within," added Nuno, who joined him.

"Until then, you'd best be prepared for what comes next, Sora, if you survive that is," smirked the One-Winged Angel.

"So that guy's even worse than Dogen was," observed Yomi.

"You may be right, Yomi. But for some reason, Sephiroth doesn't scare me anymore. Even if I do see him again, we'll always find a way to beat him together, because that's what real warriors, no matter who or what they are, will always do," Sora assured them.

"Well, as fun as it sounds, I hope the next time we meet, we'll see each other again, everyone. Until then, I hope you're ready for another round," replied Homura.

The others nodded, but for some reason, Asuka was happy to hear that she and Homura would see each other again in the future. And soon parted ways on more amiable terms, as Rin stepped up next to Sora.

"Sora, even though I'm on the side of darkness, I want you to know that all of you have taught me an important lesson I won't forget. So, thank you, for taking out Dogen for us, Warrior of Light," she said to him.

"Thanks Rin. And may your heart be your guiding key," Sora replied, as he watched her vanish before him.

He then turned to everyone at his side.

"Guys, let's go back to Hanzo Academy, and celebrate our victory now that Dogen's out of the way," he said to them.

A few days later, after the whole debacle with Hebijo, and the former Elite five students had fled becoming renegade exiles on the run, Sora and all of his friends awaited the return of Asuka, who had good news. She had now completed her advancement test, and was congratulated for it. Even Sora was happy to hear that, as they both shared a kiss with each other. Soon after Kiriya arrived, now that he knew that no matter where Rin went, she'd always be with him in spirit, and even congratulated Asuka as well, by saying she reached the rank of Prodigy. He soon told the girls that Headquarters sent word of the Hebjio incident, there was no sign of them, as they learned that Sephiroth had reduced the academy to a smoldering ruin with Supernova after they had all left, but the girls knew that their friendly rivals were out there somewhere, and they hoped to meet them again, so that they'd fight together against even more dangerous forces of darkness that were worse than Hebjio Academy's former headmaster.