Unmei Force: Inherited Wills
Chapter 2: Fox vs Wolf, Hakurei vs Kagura
With Fox Mccloud...
Fox went down the pathway to his trial room, without any hesitation or worry on his expression, as he was already prepared for the battle to come, as he made his way to the door on the other side. With a tap from his hand, the door opened for him, allowing him to enter.
When he was inside the room, he looked around, before his eyes widened, when he managed to get a full look of the area itself, as it was quite familiar to him, being a large base, with windows on the four sides, all of them showing the brown-lit deep space around them, with asteroid fragments and all kinds of space debris floating amongst it. What's more was that the area itself was fairly run-down, as if it was handled by rough space pirates.
"...The Sargasso Base... I never thought that I'd be back here again." Fox remarked to himself, before he then raised his blaster. "I think that I have a good feeling on who I'm pitted against here... You can come out now, Wolf O'Donnel, if you're going to try something, you might as well show your face before we start trying to kill each other."
There was only silence for a moment, as Fox snapped himself around, pointing his blaster at every possible vantage point that Wolf could ambush him from. However, he then heard his rival's cackling, causing him to snap towards the direction of the voice, as he heard footsteps accompanying it. After a while, Wolf O'Donnel, leader of Star Wolf, in his grey-furred glory, dressed in purple coat, black pants, mostly covered by his spiked pilot boots, and cybernetic scouter on his left eye, showed himself, smirking widely like the wolf he was.
"I got to say, Fox, you've gotten quite smart yourself." Wolf remarked, his grin not leaving his face. "I'd say that you're becoming more like your father, these days, don't you think?"
"Why don't you try me and see for yourself, Wolf?" Fox answered back, as he raised his blaster to aim for Wolf's head.
"Ah, Fox... It seems that you're looking for a fight. Wolf sighed, before his grin grew wider, before he then whipped out his own blaster. "Good, because I'm also here for one! Once I'm done with you, I'm going to have a new foxtail for my spaceship!"
The two anthropomorphic aces immediately fired upon each other, as they rushed for cover, with their shots whizzing past each other, as they bobbed and weaved out of each other's shots, although Wolf's purple wave-like projectiles were harder to dodge with their shape and length, for Fox himself. Yet the same could be said, as Fox's own blaster out-paced Wolf's own, raining green laser blasts around Wolf. Once both of them managed to get themselves to cover, Fox behind a large metal container, and Wolf behind a set of stairs to hide and cover himself behind.
The two of them fired on each other again, as they tried to land a shot on each other, although it proved to be difficult, with how their cover managed to absorb most of the shots without any difficulty. However, the next moment that Fox decided to peek out of cover, he then found a hail of machine-gun fire heading his way, forcing him to hide behind cover, as the hail of bullets clashed against the metallic container, while he could barely hear Wolf's cruel laughter amidst the rattling of the gun and the pattering of bullets on metal.
From out of Fox's view, Wolf wielded a large machine-gun in his hands, as he sprayed bullets onto Fox's cover. "What's the matter, is that all you can do, Fox?" Wolf mocked, before he then slowly advanced, while slapping a new clip of bullets in, before he continued his suppression. "Such a shame really, to think that the successor of the Mccloud name is about to fall here. How pathetic!"
Fox waited for a while, for Wolf to reload, as he then produced a flashbang from his own coat, and then flung it at Wolf, as it clattered right in front of Wolf, surprising the lupine soldier, before it then exploded, as the point-blank blast assaulted Wolf's senses greatly, leaving his head ringing, as he struggled to get them back. At that moment, Fox then rushed up to Wolf, before then using one hand to grapple the machine-gun, and the other to sock Wolf with a hard hook punch that floored Wolf, and released his grip on the machine gun. Fox then tossed the machine gun away, as it clattered far from the two combatants, before Fox then made for Wolf to pummel him.
However, Wolf growled, before he then activated his reflector, as the purple razor-edged barrier forced Fox to halt himself, before he would be sliced onto the reflector itself. Wolf then quickly rose back up onto his feet, before he then got rid of what remained of the flashbang's effects.
"Smart. You managed to get my away from my own weapon." Wolf responded back, before he then lowered himself into a fighting position. "But you know what this means."
"Yeah." Fox answered back, before he then slowly lowered himself into a fighting position. "Yeah, I do. Let's settle this with fisticuffs, Wolf. Hope you haven't rusted on your fighting skills after being in that Wolfen for so long."
"Heh, you know nothing about me when it comes to that!" Wolf snarled back, before he then dashed at Fox, before swinging his claws to lacerate Fox, which Fox dodged by arching back, before going for a kick on Fox, which knocked the Star Fox leader off his feet.
Fox quickly looked up, before rolling to the side, to avoid being stomped on by Wolf, before he then kicked Wolf under the chin with a flip-kick, allowing him to get back up onto his feet. He then smashed through Wolf with a Fox Illusion, before then attacking Wolf from behind with a series of kicks and punches, then grabbing Wolf, spinning him around to face him. After that, he charged a Fire Fox that burned Wolf, and launched him along with the rising fox, before he was sent back to earth with a downwards kick.
Fox expected to land back on his feet, although he was shocked, when Wolf got back onto his feet, before he then cocked himself back, before then slicing through the air, leaving behind a trail of purple energy where his claws left, as he managed to hit Fox fully with his claws, before he then slashed downwards onto Fox, cutting into him further. Once Fox landed back on the ground, Wolf then pummelled him with a series of side-kicks, before finishing off with a abdomen punch that winded Fox, and then smashing Fox down on the ground with a downwards pummel. He then grabbed the prone fox by the chin, lifting his head up slightly.
"Got to say, pup." Wolf admitted. "You've gotten pretty good all these years, and you managed to give me quite the run for the money. However, I have had enough playtime. Time for you to join your father, Mccloud!"
Wolf then used his other hand, to grab his blaster, before aiming it at Fox's head. However, Fox then took this moment to discretely activate his reflector, which slammed into Wolf point blank, sending him flying back. Fox then swivelled himself around, grabbing his blaster, before then firing his blaster rapidly at the air-borne Wolf, as the blaster shots seared through his armour, and strike flesh. Wolf's expression turned into one of disbelief and agony, before he then slammed back down on the ground, skidding across it, as he was knocked out by the combination of pain from the blaster-fire and the impact.
"Heh... Can't let you do that, Wolf." Fox mocked, parodying Wolf's own signature quote towards himself, before he then holstered his blaster. "Hm... That was fairly easy for a trial. Sure hope that this ain't just a fluke. But then again, Wolf's not the kind of guy to fight outside his Wolfen, unless he really must, and he did have a few new tricks in his sleeve. Had I not learned some new tricks myself... He would have really killed me."
He then noticed that the door ahead of him reappeared once again, as he made his way to it, but not before giving the defeated Wolf a single glance and a smirk, before going through the doors.
With Reimu Hakurei...
Reimu exited her own door, as she found herself situated in a stone circle situated in a dark area around her. She looked around, as the stone structures looked like as if they were sacred grounds themselves, as there was energy pulsing under the cracks of the stone floor, and pillars that had torches situated on them, with blue flames inside of them. In the centre was a large hole, where a pillar of smoke rose, lit up by the light under the area.
She then looked around, hoping to find her opponent, as she prepared her gohei and ofuda, ready to fight at the first sign of trouble. After a few seconds of looking around, she managed to get her sight onto her opponent, a mature woman with a white hair-band, long black hair styled into a hime-cut, with gaps between each strip of hair, a white shrine maiden robe with red linings, black pants, and black closed-toe high-heels. She also had brown eyes, which seemed to match that of Reimu's.
"How odd… I didn't expect to see someone in this cursed place, much less another shrine maiden." The woman remarked. "Tell me, who are you? Who is your patron god, that you serve for?"
"Why don't you tell me first?" Reimu asked back, with a forceful tone. "You sure don't look like a proper shrine maiden, wearing just only those miko robes of yours."
"I could say the same back to you, young miko." The woman answered back sharply. "But I shall answer your question first, as you seem like that you're the one foreign here. I am Chizuru Kagura, the wielder of the Yata Mirror, sacred treasure of Susanoo. The place where we stand, is the grounds where the destructive and malevolent Orochi has been sealed. I don't know what is your reasons of being here, but you must leave."
"Hmph, that's not for you to decide." Reimu grumbled back, before she then placed her gohei down, and slid the ofuda back into her sleeves. "My name is Reimu Hakurei, my patron goddess is the Hakurei Goddess. Not exactly a known god in the Japanese pantheon of great gods, but I assure you, I'm more than what I look."
"I see, miko of Hakurei, I ask that you leave this place." Kagura replied back. "If you won't leave, then I will use force to do so. The seal holding Orochi is fragile indeed, and I cannot allow him to escape and wreak havoc on the world."
"That's fine, I'd be willing to help you send him back to whatever depths he crawled out of." Reimu answered back, before shaking her head. "But you see, I can't exactly leave, and not because I don't want to. In fact, I'd leave if I have to. But a certain asshole dropped me here, and expected the both of us to fight. When there's a winner, only then can I leave, whether I lose or win."
"…That seems terrible. Are you certain that this is the only way that you can return?" Kagura asked, slightly sympathetic to Reimu's situation.
"Don't give me pity. You may hold a sacred treasure, but back where I'm from, I've tamed even gods and goddesses, to follow a certain order that my land holds. Very few can handle a good fight with me." Reimu answered back, before she then crossed her arms. "But since you say that this seal of yours is fragile, I'm not going to resort to spell-cards to win this fight. In fact, you don't look particularly powerful, excluding that sacred mirror of yours. You want me gone? You better give me your best then, because I ain't going to hold back pummelling you, because I have a reason to win, other than to prove who's the better miko."
"…You seem strongly determined about this." Kagura stated, before she then nodded slowly, and taking a respectful tone. "Very well, I will respect your request, if what you say is true. You are correct that I'm not quite as powerful as you, from the power that you exuded briefly at the start of our exchange, but I assure you, a Kagura does not fall easily, especially one like myself, who was a part of the reason why Orochi lies behind the seal. Prepare yourself, Reimu, for I will show you a serious fight."
Kagura then readied herself, as Reimu did the same, as the two of them faced off against each other for a few moments. Kagura then charged at Reimu, as she struck at the red shrine-maiden with a series of flowing palm strikes, which Reimu tried to block, although some of them struck through her guard. She then twisted herself backwards, flipping her arms around herself.
"Jokatsu Zheng Zheng!" Kagura declared, before she then did a series of overhand palm strikes, which smashed Reimu down onto the ground repeatedly, before she then hopped forwards slightly, and caught the recovering Reimu with a leaping side kick, knocking Reimu back. "Jokatsu Cang Cang!"
Reimu slammed onto the side of a stone pillar, as she recovered, using the pillar side as support, before she then charged forward and returned the favour against Chizuru, with a series of palm strikes of her own, before then booting Chizuru back with a front kick, and then smashing her back further with a double palm-strike. Before Chizuru could recover, she was smashed with a elbow-check by the red shrine maiden, breaking her guard open, before Reimu then decked her in the chest with an Ascension Kick, sending Chizuru into the ai. She then chained it with a rising kick, before then sending Chizuru down on the ground with a downwards palm strike.
Chizuru slid herself back onto her feet, just as Reimu landed on the ground, as she gently touched her torso, bruised by Reimu's brutal attacks.
"It seems that you are fairly powerful, Hakurei…" Chizuru answered back, before she then slowly spun her hands around the front of her. "But your fight won't be easy regardless, for I have another power that will turn the tables on you."
She then created a few clones of herself, which seemed to look almost like the real Chizuru. They slowly lowered themselves into combat posture, before they rushed at Reimu at once. Reimu had trouble trying to fight off the multiple clones of Chizuru that rushed at her, as most of the blows leaked through her own guard, and she was left being pushed back slowly.
However, that fact changed, when Reimu herself managed to counter one of the clone's attack, retaliating with a high kick, which caused the clone to dissipate, as Chizuru winced in pain, as if she was struck herself, causing Reimu to be intrigued by the event itself.
"So these clones of yours can fight… But they're fragile, and you share their pain…" Reimu stated, before she then smirked deviously. "Well then, if you're going to use that ability of yours, then it's only fair that I turn it back on its head, to beat you back!"
Reimu then focused on evading the attacks from the clones, as she countered each and every clone, as they were taken down one by one with palm strikes or kicks from the red shrine maiden. When Reimu noticed that the last one before her was vulnerable, she then went for a strong low kick. However, her attack didn't go through, as it struck the clone, as if it was real, as it skidded across the floor, shocking Reimu.
"What the…!?" Reimu exclaimed, before she frantically looked around for the real Kagura, who seemed to have disappeared. She then looked back at the 'clone' Kagura, which slowly got up, scuffed where her attack landed, allowing Reimu to realise what Kagura done. "…Swapping with your clone mid-attack. Clever, very clever. Make the enemy think that a single swipe would break your clones open, and then you swap with one of the attacked clones, and block it yourself, before countering it. A versatile ability, I have to admit."
"I admire your compliments, but we are still in a fight." Kagura answered back, before she then created a clone that rushed up to Reimu. "100 Katsu: Tenjin no Kotowari!"
Reimu quickly reacted, and dodged backwards, as the clone immediately did a twirling spin attack, which would have smacked Reimu up, had it landed. However, Kagura wasn't done, as she pushed her arm out. "212 Katsu: Shinsoku no Norito!" She chanted.
Chizuru's clone then sprinted at Reimu, before then doing a strong criss-crossing arm strike which knocked Reimu back, as Chizuru exchanged positions with her clone, before she then leapt up and added another strike. "Tenzui!" She shouted.
Reimu quickly recovered herself, before she then saw a Chizuru clone jumping into the air, as she then thrusted down on Reimu with her palm, as Reimu managed to guard the attack with her forearm. "212 Katsu Otsu Shiki: Choumon no Isshin!" Kagura roared.
Reimu then dodged to the side, as she managed to avoid a palm thrust from Chizuru, who wanted to catch Reimu unaware, as she then shifted herself to face Chizuru again. Reimu then charged at Chizuru, who quickly sent a clone forward, before she then swapped places with it. As her attack went through the clone, Reimu growled, before then spinning around, and bringing her leg over for a overhead kick, that Chizuru was forced to block.
"You react fast… But I'll end it here! Rimen 1 Katsu: Sanrai no Fujin!" Chizuru declared, before she then summoned a clone, which then did a flowing spinning palm strike that grinded against Reimu's guard, as the real Chizuru tried to attack her unguarded lower half, as Reimu was forced to dodge side-to-side to avoid the low attacks. The clone then finished off with a strong pushing palm strike, that forced Reimu back slightly.
"Alright, I'm tired of this." Reimu snarled, before she then dashed up to Chizuru, who was still recovering from using one of her stronger techniques, decking her with a strike to the abdomen. "You want to finish this, Kagura? Then let me fulfil your wish then! I'm not going to let you have the chance to try and escape my own strikes this time!"
Chizuru gagged slightly, as the blow managed to stun her briefly, allowing Reimu enough time to unleash a series of palm strikes and kicks, before she then finished with a low kick that unbalanced Chizuru. She then pulled out a spell-card out of her own sleeve, prepared to activate it.
"Declare Spell Card: Holy Relic "Yin-Yang Sanctifier Orb"!" Reimu roared, as the card turned to energy which flowed into both of her hands, as they glowed brightly, before she then forced the energy out in the form a large searing energy orb that caught Chizuru in the middle of it, as the white shrine-maiden was severely injured from the attack, as she collapsed the moment the attack ended.
"…Strong…" Chizuru could only utter, being on her knees, and huffing in exhaustion. "This kind of power… Who are you truly, Hakurei…?"
"Like I told you, I'm a shrine maiden who spends her time dealing with rowdy and rebellious gods and goddesses. Ain't much other mikos who can claim the same, save for my own late mother and my respectable acquaintance Sanae." Reimu answered back briefly, before she then gave off a faint smirk. "Still, you did have me for a while, and I've duked it out with strong people when it comes to fighting within close range of each other. Just that I also have to make use of my gohei and ofuda. I didn't intend to use a Spell Card to end it, but you look like that you were only going to get more troublesome as the battle goes. So consider it a partial victory and an honour to you, forcing me to use these means to end the fight. I guess that makes you the first shrine maiden to actually make me fight you properly in a non spell-card duel."
Chizuru was left bewildered by the words that Reimu was saying, as she expressed her confusion clearly. "I… don't understand what you are saying." She admitted. "So you are saying that you are far more powerful than you would have been, had you not handicapped yourself?"
"Oh, I didn't handicap myself in terms of physical power. I really did smack you hard, so I guess you got a good body to resist those blows of mine." Reimu responded back, crossing her arms. "But yeah, you look like that on the magical side of things, you're not going to get far with your level of overall power. Then again, the power to seal ain't a joke, and that's a word from a shrine maiden who also done her fair share of sealing away impudent demons. You just need to get stronger."
"I see… Thank you for your advice, wise Hakurei…" Chizuru answered back, with a humbled tone.
"No, drop the 'wise' pronoun. I'm not exactly the most intelligent girl in this whole universe." Reimu answered back. "I'm just simply good with thinking some things through, and I know what to say and do in these kind of situations. So you don't need to act like I'm your senior or something, you look almost the same age as myself, so I'd say we're fellow believers of faith."
Chizuru nodded gently, before the door reappeared, catching the attention of both shrine maidens.
"I guess that the outcome has been decided." Reimu stated, before turning back at Chizuru. "Hope I didn't mess either you or that seal of yours up, especially the latter with that powerful strike I did to you."
"No, the fight didn't once impact the seal at all. As for myself… I will recover fairly quickly from these bruises and pain." Chizuru stated. "Go, Hakurei… You have a duty of your own, as I do here."
"Well, if we see each other again… I'll invite you for some tea." Reimu replied back, before she made for the door. "I know some tea that will soothe your soul, just from drinking it."
Reimu then entered through the door, as Chizuru watched as it disappeared, before she sighed.
"This shrine maiden… I wonder how much she has yet to tell me… With all that power in her hands…" Chizuru muttered to herself.