Ok, this should be high enough. We won't need to worry about the commoners below us. But say, I was kinda expecting you to ride your staff to get up here... But, nevermind that, that other one also summoned wings once in a while, that's the kind of thing magicians do I guess. You ready?
Tomoeda's buildings looked quite tiny below them now due to how high they were flying. The night air was cold and dry.
I'm ready!-replied Sakura in a decided tone, staff in right hand, her left ready to retrieve any needed cards.
Ohoh, that's some fighting spirit I see in your eyes? You're definitely one of us. Very well, let us start!
Reimu raised her arms, and from her outstretched sleeves suddenly poured dozens-hundreds of paper ofudas and sharp needles, aimed not only at Sakura but also at the area around her!
Sakura's wings flaped and made her rise over the incoming projectiles, as she threw another of her spellcards into the air and thrust her wand into it:
WINDY! RELEASE! Immobilize that shrine maiden!
The Sakura card turned into her emerald lady form, swiftly flying towards Reimu, extending air tendrils around the flying girl in a cage formation to trap her. But just as Windy was about to fully envelop Reimu, she vanished in a flash of light. Sakura frantically looked around trying to find her opponent, when suddenly a new barrage of amulets and needles grazed the card mistress over her shoulder!
You're a lucky one, aren't you? If you hadn't moved then, I would've got a clean hit right away!-Reimu somehow had moved right behind and above Sakura's back! The card mistress turned around and gazed at the shrine maiden in the eyes.
...You're sad inside, aren't you?-asked Sakura, flying upwards so she was at the same height than Reimu.
...What did you just say to me, bitch?-replied the Shrine Maiden, launching a new flurry of square amulets from inside her outstretched sleeves
Your magic... Feels cold. Like you're used to always fighting alone. Even against those close to you. You will fight just for the sake of fighting.-Sakura once again flew away from the trajectory, but this time the amulets turned their flight path and started to home in behind her.
What's all this sentimental bullshit you're spouting up now?-a pulsing vein appeared up in Reimu's forehead.
I can feel it in the way you use your magic. The card you used... It had the same exact aura as you. Cold and lonely. It's not a Clow Card.-Sakura recalled Windy and used it to disperse the incoming homing amulets far away.
You damn right it isn't! It is a spellcard I created myself! One of my very first!-yet the name "Clow" suddenly seemed to ring a little bell on Reimu's head. She quickly silenced it, focusing again in the battle.
The Shrine Maiden pulled another spellcard from inside her sleeve and holded it high, her magic circle materializing at her back:
Ah, what the hell, have another! Wild Exorcism Dance!
The spellcard turned into red energy that covered Reimu's body, and she started a series of elegant moves in mid-air, spinning and turning over herself. With each move of the Shrine Maiden, thousands of paper ofudas and scarlet needles materialized and were launched in a thick barrage, too fast to dodge!
Windy moved to once more protect her mistress, but this time the projectiles were too much for her to stop, and each bore exorcising energy that severly injured the manifested magic card even with the lightest touch. Sakura felt the pain on her servant, and pulled another of her cards
Windy, return! SHIELD! RELEASE!A globe of force formed around Sakura, deflecting all of Reimu's incoming projectiles. The shrine maiden intensified her assault, but Shield didn't budge as Sakura's soul and heart focused on the card. She didn't exactly understood who this Reimu was, but she wanted to take her away from Sakura's loved ones. Away from Syaoran. She would not wield.
Such was her determination that Shield was no longer just stopping the shrine maiden's attacks, it was actively pushing them back, allowing Sakura to start flying closer to her opponent.
The Card Mistress noticed that Reimu didn't try to keep a distance, seemingly too focused on her dance to move away from her position in mid-air.
Flying faster, Sakura positioned herself behind Reimu, who tried to turn around her barrage of attacks, but the dance pattern didn't allow her to keep up with Sakura's fast movements. The card mistress dismissed her shield and raised her star wand over the shrine maiden:
Return to the form you were meant to be in, Hakurei card!
As Sakura's star wand came down, the red aura around Reimu left her body and coalesced in its spellcard form at the tip of her opponent's staff.
Wait, whad did you just do...?-Reimu was caught completely by surpise by this development, but Sakura wasn't finished yet, keeping her wand pointed at the captured card.
Card created by Hakurei Reimu, abandon your old form and reincarnate under the name of your new master, Sakura!
Reimu's spellcard started to spin wildly and glowing, and suddenly transformed, gaining a slightly different appearance, now a series of pink shades with a girly red heart at the corner on the front, a star pattern at the back.
While Reimu had a look of shock on her face, Sakura picked up her new conversion and smiled at her opponent:
I would much rather we be friends, Reimu. But if you keep using your cards for bad purposes, I believe they'll be better off...
Sakura was interrupted by a sharp pain on her stomach, that made her lose her breath. As her head bowed down from reflex, she could see that Reimu had just driven her closed fist right into her belly. So fast Sakura hadn't seen it coming. It hurted. A lot.
You've got to be shitting me, bitch!-said Reimu in a cold voice clearly filled with anger, before rising her left leg in one elegant move and kicking Sakura's face, sending her flying backwards.
Capturing somebody else's spellcards, that's one thing, but...-Reimu teleported behind Sakura and kicked her in the stomach again, making sure she couldn't produce any chant or concentrate. Powerful magician or not, she was still an human, and had made the fatal mistake of willingly getting too close to the Shrine Maiden, that had defeated several mighty Youkai before ever getting her first spellcard.
But stopping a fight to convert them into such a girly form while spouting sentimental friendship nonsense...-Reimu remained close and rained a series of fast punches and kicks on Sakura, making sure she couldn't use any more of her magic. Even if she happened to have the power to call her cards whitout a chant, she would never accomplish any magic while Reimu was showering her with painful blows.
THAT SERIOUSLY PISSES ME OFF!-Reimu drew three new needles from her sleeves, holding them in a single hand between her fingers, and jabbed them towards Sakura's throat. No killing intent, just aiming at her vulnerable nonvital spots to paralyze her nerves and finish the fight right there while teaching her a painful lesson.
Syaoran couldn't wait anymore. Altough he couldn't see the two fighting girls above due to the distance, he could feel their magic presences, and knew that Sakura was about to lose. Holding upwards the side his sword, he placed a jufu paper on it and chanted:
Obey the command! God of thunder, Come Forth!
As Reimu was about to land the finishing blow on Sakura, the shrine maiden's instincts warned her of danger and she teleported back. In the next moment a lighting beam struck down from above in the position she had been a split second ago, just grazing Sakura.
Almost instantly another lighting bolt came from above, but this one bifurcating again and again, forming a descending electric web above Reimu. She couldn't teleport again so soon, no time for spellcards, so she found herself following her instincts and fly downwards as fast as she could, barely able to dodge the incoming attacks.
Soon she found herself approaching the ceilings of the buildings below again, but the lighting net was catching up with her. She knew she wouldn't make it on time... But then the attack suddenly stopped and the lighting vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
Still Reimu was coming down too fast to be able to stop, so all she could do was flip over herself so her feet were pointing down and rolling with the impact. She had plenty of experience with free falling from the times when she first learned to fly by herself.
Once again in a firm surface, Reimu looked around to see what had happened with her opponent. Last time she had had seen Sakura, her wings were dissipating and she was falling.
Then Reimu saw Syaoran floating down from above, carried by a green mystic wind, sword sheated at his back, holding the semi-uncoscious Sakura on his hands. Below him were several spent jufu papers.
I must say that was pretty idiotic from you, magician boy-smirked Reimu-You dared to interrupt our duel, but then didn't put me down when you had the chance. Give me a reason why I shouldn't teach you a lesson about proper manners?
Sakura's safety was my priority, and it was either stopping you or letting my girlfriend die in a fall. If you still want to fight, I will be your opponent.- replied Syaoran with clear contained anger on his voice, gently putting Sakura on the ground away from Reimu.
You just saw me beat the crap of your girlfriend, and you don't have actual spellcards nor can even properly fly by yourself! I guess you really are an idiot... But fighting idiots can be fun on its own way. Very well, your title?
Syaoran Li, the sword that protects Sakura!-said the boy without a moment of hesitation, setting himself on a defensive stance and drawing his blade to position it between him and Reimu, the card mistress laying on the floor behind him.
Reimu opened up with a fresh flurry of ofudas and needles. Syaoran swiftly placed another jufu on his sword:
Obey the command! Fire God, Come Forth!- a stream of flames came out of from his blade, burning down the incoming projectiles.
The wall of fire pushed forth in the direction of Reimu. She could easily fly upwards, but she knew that would give an opening for Syaoran to pick up Sakura and run away. Pursuing them in this maze of buildings would be basically impossible for her. Neither did she feel like spending more spellcards that night. So instead she teleported to his left side, away from the flames, too close for him to be able to swing his long sword back at her. She closed her right fist and striked.
Syaoran bent his body sideways so that the incoming punch missed while driving his left elbow into Reimu's own belly almost simultaneously, making her stagger. She hadn't expected that.
KAAAA!-Kick, knee, punch, elbow, kick, kick, punch, Reimu found herself under a flurry of unarmed attacks from Syaoran, struggling to parry them with her sleeved arms to prevent any decisive blow, before finally flying upwards to disengage, where she knew he couldn't follow. But still close enough for her next move.
The shrine maiden pulled out another spellcard while Syaoran pulled another jufu:
Obey the command! God of thunder, Come Forth!
[Dream Land] "Super Duplex Barrier"!
Six translucent walls of mystic force formed a protective square around Reimu, just in time to block the incoming lighting. A bigger magic square formed over the top of the building, sealing any possibility of her opponents escaping.
Reimu followed it up with a new stream of ofudas and needles, that vanishes upon hitting the walls of the cube protecting her-only to reappear from the inside of the larger cube, attacking Syaoran and the still fallen Sakura from multiple directions!
Syaoran picked up Sakura with his left arm, dashing away from most of the incoming attacks, and with his right arm deflecting the dangerous projectiles that came closer to him with the blade of his sword. He could sense them coming due to their magic aura even if he couldn't always see them.
Reimu wondered how long could he keep evading like that.
AAAAHHHHH!-Meiling charged in screaming with a jump-kick to the external side of Reimu's border! It didn't even budge.
Meiling, what do you think you're doing here?-asked Syaoran, continuing to dodge and parry the projectiles from the shrine maiden aimed at him and Sakura.
I couldn't just stand and watch you struggle like that! Break damnit!-the chinese girl gritted her teeth and drove both palms of her fists on the mystic barrier in front of her, putting in all her martial training and strength behind. The wall seemed to vibrate a bit this time, but her arms and shoulders were left searing with pain from the impact.
And you are...? Geez, nevermind that, you don't even a magic aura. Just get out of here before you get really hurt, will you?-Reimu barely aknowledged the new presence by sending a couple of ofudas out of her barrier towards the new girl. She covered herself with her arms in a defensive position, refusing to retreat, and the explosion knocked her to the ground.
Seeing an opening between Reimu's attacks, Syaoran stepped forward and slashed his blade diagonally at the barrier protecting Reimu. The blade bounced off leaving just a small crack, that quickly self-repaired. The Shrine Maiden smirked at him:
What's the problem? You carry that big thing with you just for show?
Syaraon's brain was trying to think of a way to counter-attack, but ways already quite busy evading the seemingly neverending torrent of needles and ofudas.
I can see it from outside! The barriers are shifting! When she can attack you, you can attack her back!-screamed Meiling trough her pain.
Just shut up before I actually get mad at you, kid...-Reimu launched a few more ofudas outside her barriers and towards the fallen Meiling, making her scream before being reduced to some moans of pain.
Syaoran noticed the pattern then. Reimu launched her attacks to the interior of the inner barrier, and they came out from the inside of external barrier... Some kind of dimensional teleportation. It should work both ways, if he just could sense where the next one would come from...
The boy jumped back, evading another flurry of ofudas, and stabbed his sword at the mystic wall right behind him. The tip of the blade disappeared as it went inside the barrier, and the missing tip appeared right inside Reimu's own cube, aimed at her head.
The Shrine Maiden stepped to the side to evade it just in time, but that forced her to stop focusing on her spellcard, and just as the barriers disintegrated, she teleported to Syaoran's back, drawing a new needle on her hand and thrusting it at a specific nerve point at the base of his skull, which the Shrine Maiden knew would render him paralyzed...
Now, Sakura!-screamed Syaoran, ducking and dodging Reimu's attack at the last moment while stepping forward to keep a distance between them. The shrine maiden followed clear combat patterns. He was getting the hang of predicting them.
Then to the Reimu's surprise, Sakura partially opened her eyes and swinged her staff at the dissipating walls of the Duplex Barrier
R-return!-was all that Sakura could say, still having trouble to breathe due to the lingering pain on her stomach, but her strong will made it enough. Reimu felt her control of another of her spellcards slip away as it coalesced at the tip of the star wand, and this one flew into Syaoran's hands instead of remaining with Sakura.
Oh no you don't!-Reimu launched several larger blue ofudas towards her opponents from inside her sleeves, seemingly too big to be concealed anywhere inside her shrine maiden outfit. Sakura was recovering, but still too dizzy to use her own cards, while the boy's jufus surely wouldn't be able to stop this larger projectiles...
Syaoran dropped the card he had just received, and in one fluid movement changed his hold on the handle so the blade's tip was aimed at the falling card, stabbing downwards.
Super Duplex Barrier!-screamed the boy as his blade struck the captured card.
The protective cubes formed again, this time protecting Sakura and Syaoran from the incoming attack. Reimu could only look from outside with a look of disbelief. She had created her barrier to work across all dimensions, meaning she couldn't just step through dimensional rifts to enter it.
Syaoran wouldn't be able to hold it for long with his remaining magic, but he didn't need to. Sakura was now able to stand on her own. Soon her mind would be clear enough again to fully user her remaining magic power.
We did it, Syaoran!
Not yet, Sakura... If Reimu is from the Hakurei clan, then it means she's been holding back all this time... She still hasn't used her main weapon!
Since you've holded out so far, I may as well show you this...-smirked the shrine maiden. She dropped her arms, and from the sleeves pointing down fell two, four large spheres, each with a black-white design on them. As they fell on the ceiling floor below, there was a loud metallic sound and the concrete cracked, revealing they were made from solid metal.
You know what those are, Syaoran?
The legendary Hakurei Yin-Yang Orbs... Mighty holy weapons designed to battle magic enemies, they've exterminated countless youkai. They were thought to have been lost forever. Only a true member of the Hakurei clan may unlock their true power.
Don't worry, they've been designed specifically to be unable to do any lasting damage against humans.-explained Reimu smiling innocently, picking one of them up in her left hand, while the other three started to float around her.
They'll still hurt a lot if they hit you. [Holy Relic] "Yin-Yang Demon God Orb"!-The orb Reimu was holding suddenly started glowing with an intense blue light, and Reimu struck it with her gohei as a tennis player would strike a tennis ball with a racket.
The first barrier of Syaoran shattered instantly upon impact. The second holded for half a second before collapsing as well, enough for he and Sakura to get out of its way. The orb fell on the ground behind them, and rebounded up to the sky. Reimu teleported up and struck down the rising orb with her gohei, making it coming crashing down once more, then sent her three other orbs in quick succession.
Sakura and Syaoran found themselves forced to dash and jump around non-stop to evade the heavy ying-yag orbs, too busy to counter-attack. That gave Reimu the opportunity she wanted. Her orbs weren't actually a true spellcard, so she could use another one while the metal spheres kept her opponents busy.
Suddenly Sakura saw Reimu teleport right in front of her, holding a new spellcard on her left hand:
[Divine Arts]-"Dragon Slaying Circle"!
The card exploded into thousands of red and white amulets and needles that started circling the shrine maiden, forming an intricate wheel with Reimu on the center.
Reimu smirked again as she saw how Sakura was mesmerized by the beatiful pattern right in front of her. Beauty was power. The true strength of this spellcard of hers was the hypnotic effect to make the opponent lower their guard. The shrine maiden lowered her gohei, and the circle of amulets and needles swiftly expanded towards Sakura. The card mistress could see the events unfold in slow motion, but could't move. The attack seemed to be coming from all sides simultaneously. Nowhere to dodge. No time to use more cards...
SAKURA, MOVE!-Syaoran suddenly jumped in from the side and shoved Sakura through one opening in the pattern that she couldn't see due to her senses being enthralled by Reimu's spellcard.
Being violently pushed to the edge of the ceiling snapped Sakura back to her senses, and she looked back in time to see Syaoran take the full brunt of Reimu's attack. There was a multitude of white explosions, and then the boy flew away like a rag doll through the air before falling on a nearby ceiling, his torso impaled with dozens of long needles. His sword had dropped at his side. He was completely motionless.
Syaoran!-called Sakura. There was no response.
Tsk, since he appeared out of nowhere, I couldn't help but hit some of his vital points. Once an idiot, always an idiot I guess.-Reimu's expression was now completely emotionless as she flew towards Sakura with her circle of amulets and needles advancing in front of her.
S-Syaoran's gone?-tears started coming down from Sakura's face as she jumped back.
Yes, he's gone. Dead. There's one less person in this world. You have lost him forever. It's just a change in the population count. Even this isn't a big piece of news. People die everyday everywhere.-Reimu rised her shoulders in a showing she didn't really care, expanding her spell circle to envelop Sakura once more.
H-how can you say that? How can you be so cold?-Sakura's tears kept flowing as she rotated her staff to deflect the first projectiles from the Shrine Mainen approaching her.
Look, Sakura, I lost both my parents so young that I can barely remember them. I grew up seeing human corpses appear from the most varied causes of death. I usually can't even be bothered to get out of my bed unless there's some really big disaster going on that threatens a significant part of the population. That's why I don't associate with small fry humans much. They just die too easily. Even if it means they dislike me and I don't get any willing donations, I'm fine with that. I'm fine on my own.-Reimu focused on her circle to finish closing over her struggling opponent, with less and less room left to maneuver with every passing second.
Sakura's head lowered for a moment, tears falling on the ground below her needles and ofudas surrounded her. Reimu wondered if she had finally lost the will to fight and would finally tag along. But suddenly, Sakura pulled another of her cards:
I...I won't give up! I will make you understand the importance of the feelings of those close to you! FIREY! RELEASE!
As Sakura raised her head, Reimu could see there were no more tears on the red-haired girl's eyes. Instead, they were filled with burning anger, that she channeled through her want into a massive torrent of fire, much bigger than the one Syaoran had used. Sakura's burning flames burned them all to a crisp almost instantly. The leftoever ashes flew towards Sakura's staff and returned to card form, before being transformed into a new pink Sakura card whitout need of any chants, such was their new mistress's current determination.
I believe you can be a better person, Reimu! Your cards, I can feel your emotions on their magic! Just stop doing wrong things!-exclaimed Sakura at her opponent as her flames formed a wall between them.
How rude! I'm just doing my job, it can't be helped.-replied Reimu, gritting her teeth.
Reimu teleported once more behind Sakura to evade the attack, but the magic flames reacted almost instantly, turning around to create a protective wall around their mistress before seeking to engulf Reimu once again.
The shrine maiden dropped back into the floor and swiftly placed several ofudas in the ground around her, raising a translucent blue barrier that stopped the approaching fire. This Sakura seemed to finally be going all out, but Reimu could feel her magic energy levels dropping pretty quickly. She would drain herself out pretty fast at this rate, and Reimu trusted her normal defensive borders to buy her enough time to make her the victor now.
SWORD! RELEASE !
Through her defensive barrier, Reimu could see how Sakura had pulled out yet another of her cards, that seemed to fuse with her staff, converting it into a pink, elegant rapier. Almost looked like a toy. Reimu smirked. Sakura seemed to be down to her last ropes.
Sakura slashed down her new weapon, and to Reimu's, surpise the movement created an impact wave that cleanly sliced the ceiling below them, causing it to partially collapse. A split second later, Reimu's border was cut in half as well, and a gash appeared through the front part of her clothes. Her sleeves fell apart in pieces. A millimeter deeper and Reimu's flesh would've been cut as well.
Please give up. I don't want to hurt you.-said Sakura in a sad voice, holding her rapier to Reimu's throat, while Firey surrounded the area around them. No nearby empty space to teleport.
What did I tell you about interrupting battles for nonsensical reasons?-asked Reimu, before drawing a last spellcard from her blouse and simultaneously throwing herself upon Sakura's sword. The blade impaled her body and the shrine maiden's blood spilled over Sakura as she saw the life start to disappear from her opponent's eyes.