Chapter 4: The Azure Miko, Kaori
It was a bright Saturday morning and Ino was out on another one of her daily morning weekend jogs. She always went down a certain path through one of the more secluded areas in the park she frequently jogged in.
On that particular path , she always jogged past a flight of steps that led up to an old shrine that was rarely taken care off since the previous caretaker became too old for the job.
Ino always enjoyed jogging down the path since it was quiet and peaceful plus she needed to clear her head. The last few days were so unreal to her.
Only recently, Ino had found out her best friend was a magical girl of some weird legend fighting some ancient evil force corrupting the minds of the innocent. The usual cliche plot one would have gotten out of any run-of-the-mill magical girl manga.
However that wasn't the only surreal thing. Ino had recently become a magical girl fighting for the same causes as Sakura. Complete with a hot rocking new outfit and powers! All too cool but at the same time unbelievable too.
Ino hoped that the jog would help her clear her head but on that day she heard a loud scraping of a broom against a floor coming from the top of the shrine steps she was jogging past.
Ino stopped for a moment and looked up the steps. "Huh, it looks like the shrine has a new caretaker...I think I'll go say hello..." she muttered out loud as she climbed up the steps.
Upon getting closer, Ino could hear someone humming a song as she reached the top.
The first thing she saw was a head of long blue hair tied in a low ponytail. Sporting the hairstyle was a young miko who was busy sweeping and humming with her back turned to Ino. Something about her seemed familiar.
Ino's suspicions were confirmed when the girl accidentally stepped on some dry leaves with an audible crunch, alerting the miko to turn around.
"Oh, hello," greeted the miko.
Ino recognized the girl's face at once. "Hey, you're one of those new girls at school! Kaori, right?"
The miko nodded. "I believe I haven't learnt your name."
"Oh, silly me! I'm Yamanaka Ino, please to meet you!"
"Like-wise," replied Kaori as she resumed her sweeping.
Suddenly, Ino felt awkward standing there doing nothing. "Um...do you want some help?"
Kaori paused for a moment before she handed her dustpan and broom over to Ino and walked behind the shrine. She then returned a short while later with another broom and dustpan and wordlessly began sweeping once more.
Ino blinked a bit as she glanced at the broom and dustpan in her hands before glancing back at Kaori. "Ok...I'll take that as a yes..." she muttered as she began to sweep as well.
As another wave of silence sweeps over, Ino decided to try and break the ice. "Soooo...you're a miko at this shrine?"
"Hai, although I was only trained for a few years, most of my training was mainly through self-study. I took up the job as shrine care-taker since I have nothing else to do."
"Oh..."
"So how is she?"
Ino looked at Kaori, a bit confused. "How is who?"
"Sakura-san, I've seen you two walk to school together."
"Oh...she's...fine?"
Kaori simply looked at Ino, making the girl feel uncomfortable."Ok, then..." she said finally before returning to work leaving Ino with a sweat drop hanging from the back of her head.
'Awkward...' thought Ino to herself.
Just then, a strong breeze blew past, blowing away the remaining leaves from the ground. Kaori brushed a few strands of hair from her face and watched the leaves fly away. 'Something bad is going to happen soon...'
the miko thought to herself.
It was at that moment, Ino felt her gem, the Star of Diligence pulsing in her pocket. The girl unconsciously clutched at it in surprise. 'Uso! This early in the morning?' Ino thought in disbelief.
(Ino-tan! Ino-tan!) cried a familiar childish voice that made Ino almost jump out of her skin.
"Hu-"
(Use your thoughts-desu!)
'I remember you! Who are you?'
(Just call me Hoshi-desu! But we don't have time to exchange pleasantries! Sakon and Jirobo are back!)
'DARN IT!'
"Is anything the matter, Ino-san?" asked Kaori politely as she placed her sweeping tools aside.
"Eh?" squeaked Ino jumping a little once more at being snapped out of her mind. "N-no! Nothing! It's just that I remember that I have to help my mom open the family flower shop! SEE YA!" said the girl hurriedly before dashing off.
Kaori said nothing as she watched the girl run off. "Oh I see..." was all she said although it was a bit too late. "That reminds me, Hikari-oneesama should be at the park today..."
Ino dashed down the secluded pathway with her Gem in hand. "KINBEN NO HOSHI: VIRTUE UNLEASH!"she cried holding the gem before her.
Japanese flute music rang in the air as a rush of wind transported Ino into the pocket dimension to transform. (Kinben=Diligence)
Japanese flute music playing in a breezy tone filled the air as Ino stood in a cat-tail field under a bright blue cloudy sky.
She threw the Topaz Star like a shuriken which sailed through the air and back to Ino. It began to swirl around her feet, working it's way upwards until it covered Ino in a mini typhoon as it shot high into the air taking the girl with it.
The typhoon disappeared into the clouds and above it emerged an older looking Ino wearing a white sleeveless, skintight suit with half her face covered by a face mask.
Ino continued to slowly spin in the air as the Topaz Star came into with a cloud stream behind it swirling around Ino.
Starting with the feet, black sandals with a loose sock design were revealed as the cloud trail faded followed by the rest of the clothing.
Ino wore a short purple vest like shirt with a raised collar, a slightly skirt that was cut off on the sides showing of her stomach and legs clad in the white under suit with a kunai pouch on her right leg. She also wore purple and white elbow warmers with this, along with purple fingerless gloves with metal plates.
Ino's fringe grew longer and thicker until it concealed the left side of he face. A small stream of clouds swirled and gathered up Ino's hair to form a topknot ponytail while her blond hair became golden yellow and trailed behind her longer than ever going past her waist where a dark brown belt appeared with a scroll pouch behind it. The Topaz Star spun to the belt and attached itself on the metal plate of the belt in a flash.
The girl then arched her back and spun to the ground, gracefully landing on her feet as she spun once more.
"Kinben Koken..." Ino began to say as she leaned on her right leg and slid out her left foot slightly while crossing her arms in front of her.
"Breezy Topaz! KENZAN!" she cried out as a strong gust of wind blew from behind making her hair and clothes flap about dramatically for effect.
Now that Ino had transformed, she found herself running on a cushion of air which gave her a crazy speed boost.
"Woah! Where did this come from?" Ino exclaimed in surprise.
"As the controller of wind, one of your special abilities is being able to run with it!" chirped Hoshi's voice from the Gem on her belt which blinked when she talked.
"OH! SUGOI!" cheered Ino as she ran smoothly in a rush of wind towards the site where she could sense the Sinful energy, the park.
She was barely even 5 feet away when she saw a Glutton fly out from the park entrance.
"Sakura-chan must have arrived already!" said Ino to herself as she entered the park, ducking just in time to dodge another flying body.
"COME ON! WHO ELSE WANTS ANOTHER PIECE OF ME?" yelled an unfamiliar voice fiercely.
Ino stopped in her tracks in surprise. There was someone fighting the Corrupts alright but it wasn't Sakura as she had thought.
Instead, there in the middle of the park was a teenaged girl with long red hair. Ino easily recognized her as Hikari, another one of the new girls at her school. She was taking down every Glutton coming her way with the ferocity of a beast.
Ten minutes earlier, Hikari Nekojiwa was actually on the way to the park herself on an errand to bring her sister Kaori her lunchbox. She wore a crimson top and khaki shorts with black jogging shoes while her hair was held back by a black hairband. On either side of her cheek were a pair of red whisker tattoos.
"Let's see, Kaori said I can cut through the park as shortcut..." she muttered to herself.
Hikari lifted the bento box to her nose. "Who-hoo...the sausages and the onigiri smell awesome! I can't wait for lunch!" she exclaimed as she entered the park when she felt a sudden menacing energy that made her stop in her tracks.
The park was littered with the bodies of people all over the place. Hikari quickly ran to a woman who lay face down. "Oi! Are you ok?" she asked in concern only to be surprised when she found the woman was merely sleeping.
Quickly she ran to the next person, to find him in the same state. "What the hell?"
All of a sudden, Hikari felt something snatch the bento boxes out of her hand. She whipped around to see a large fat guy opening it.
"Oooooh! Sausages and Onigiri!" exclaimed the fat guy in glee as he began scarfing down the contents greedily.
"Hora, Blubber-butt, do you really have time to be pigging out at a time like this?" yawned a young man wearing a beige hoodie who lounged about on a park bench.
"The name is Jirobo! And you're one to talk Sakon-Slacker!"
"HEY! FAT BOY! That lunch was for me and my sister!" screamed Hikari in outrage. She was fuming with anger. It was almost lunch time, and now her food was not only snatched away but eaten by a complete stranger! To add salt to the wound, it was a man!
Sakon released a low whistle. "Woah Jirobo, that bitch is pissed!"
Jirobo rolled his eyes. "Oh please, what can she do?"
That did it. Suddenly, Jirobo found himself getting grabbed and lifted into the air right above the girl's head! Considering Jirobo's body mass and weight, this girl's strength was beyond impressive. The girl's eyes blazed with anger while her red hair bellowed about her.
"WHAT. CAN. I. DO?" she repeated Jirobo's question outraged as she slammed him against the ground with each word.
"I CAN GIVE YOU HELL!"Hikari screamed ferociously as she spun Jirobo about in the air before throwing him against the ground.
Jirobo grunted in pain as he bounced once and slammed face first into a lamp post, making Sakon flinch on impact.
"Damn..." was all Sakon could as he glanced back at Hikari when a sudden flashback of a young fiery woman with red hair wearing a short pink kimono flashed before his eyes. "Ko-chan..."
Jirobo groaned in pain as he lifted his fingers and snapped loudly.
Suddenly, Hikari found herself the target of a barrage of crazed, starving people, coming at her from above. "ITADAKIMASU!" they cried savagely as they rained down on Hikari.
The girl didn't flinch at all, even when all the Gluttons piled on her.
"Oi,oi, isn't that a bit much?" asked Sakon sitting up.
Jirobo rubbed his head. "Shut up, that bitch de-"
"GAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" came a loud ferocious roar as the pile of Gluttons were blown back by a raging force.
Hikari stood slightly messed up but uncorrupted. Her eyes blazed wildly while an intense fighting spirit emanated from her. Now it could have been Jirobo and Sakon seeing things but they could swear that there was a two-tailed cat demon standing over her, roaring.
"Hi Neko-Ken: Neko Fury," muttered the girl before she acknowledge more Gluttons coming her way.
With one hand, Hikari grabbed the shirt of an oncoming Glutton and threw him over her head and literally out of the park while simultaneously punching another so hard he flew in the opposite direction.
"COME ON! WHO ELSE WANTS ANOTHER PIECE OF ME?" demanded Hikari fiercely, making the Gluttons shrink back in fear.
Even the Sloths who lay nearby felt the intense rage actually got up and scampered away.
Ino looked around in complete shock. Hikari's ability to intimidate was beyond belief. 'Could she possibly be...?"
"Topaz!" called Sakura from behind running up as Geo Rose.
"Rose!" said Ino in surprise as Sakura stopped and looked around in shock.
"Woah, what happened here?"
Ino didn't say anything except point wordlessly to Hikari who stomped up to Sakon and Jirobo, who were both actually intimidated.
"Sugoi..." they both whimpered as Hikari stood over them with intensifying anger.
At that moment, the Snake-Demon Orochimaru who was having a nap suddenly opened his eyes. He can feel it. There was an intense surge of wrath coming from the Earth's surface. Orochimaru glanced over at a statue of a young woman with a fierce expression on her face. The strange thing was, her statue was vibrating.
"Oh? Tayuya...You feel it too..." said Orochimaru as he walked up to the woman. "Unfortunately it is not enough. What a pity Tayuya...we could use your wrath right about now..." he said shaking his head in regret.
Next to Tayuya, a crouching young man with ponytail and glasses, was vibrating even more violently. Orochimaru smiled to himself. "He is almost ready..."
Back in the Human Dimension, Sakura was amazed at the sight of the Sins cowering before a mere mortal.
"Girl's got spunk I'll give her that,"stated Sakura bluntly when Sakon suddenly caught sight of the Guardians.
"OI! Geo Rose, Breezy Topaz, a little help?" he called waving to them frantically.
"PL-E-E-E-EASE?" cried Jirobo desperately. "I promise I'll be good next time!"
Sakura and Ino side glanced each other. "Yeah...sure you will..." muttered Sakura in sarcasm.
Hikari glanced over her shoulder at the two seemingly older girls. "Huh? Friends of yours?"
"DON'T LUMP US WITH THEM!" screamed the two girls in protest.
"We're the good guys-er-girls!" announced Sakura indignantly.
"Those guys in your hands, those two are Sakon and Jirobo, the Sins of Sloth and Gluttony!" declared Ino jabbing a finger at the said people.
Hikari glanced at the two men, unimpressed before looking at the girls. "And who are you two? Pretty Cure?"
Sakura stepped forward haughtily. "Virtue of Temperance, Geo Rose!"
"and the Virtue of Diligence, Breezy Topaz!" added in Ino flipping her hair.
"Shinseina bitoku no purotekutā wa, wareware wa, Kunoichi Gādiandesu! KENZAN!" exclaimed the two girls striking their fighting poses. (Translation: Protectors of the Sacred Virtues, We are Kunoichi Guardians! KENZAN!)
R.F. Pocket Space...
*Sees incredulous looks*
R.F.: What? I thought it'd make a nicer impact in Japanese!
Hikari raised her eyebrows. "Wow..."
Suddenly, the girl felt a sharp stab in her back. She glanced around behind just in time to see a kunai of dark energy enter her back and the two weird men disappearing into a portal, the one with the hoodie winking and casting a sign off salute to her before the portal closed.
Before Hikari could comprehend what was going on, she felt her mind go blank save for one thought, she was FAMISHED! She felt nothing mattered, all she wanted to do was pig out on anything meaty, even humans.
The Kunoichi guardians quickly took their battle ready stances as they saw Hikari beginning to salivate heavily like a beast and her eyes going blank. However, Hikari's corruption was different as compared to the regular Gluttons. Her physical appearance changed a bit as well. Hikari's canines lengthened into sharp fangs while her nails grew out into claws.
"Oh...snap..." cursed Sakura when Hikari began running on all fours toward the two making them both jump out of the way.
Hikari snarled like a wild cat as she doubled back and attacked again, aiming specifically at Sakura.
"WOAH!" cried the girl as she ducked before jumping back to dodge a swipe from Hikari. Hikari suddenly began unleashing a fury of swipes at Geo Rose who was dodging them with equal speed.
Fortunately, Sakura was able to get a grab on Hikari's arm. "SHANNAROOO!" screamed Sakura, her hands glowing pink as she tossed Hikari over her head.
Hikari flew through the air but quickly twisted her body and slid to a stop on all fours as she hissed ferociously at Sakura. She was beginning to look more feral with each minute passing by. Hikari snarled once more as she dashed at Sakura who quickly kept jumping backwards to avoid the corrupted girl.
"Topaz! A little help here?" yelled Sakura just barely dodging Hikari's clawing.
"Help yourself! My hands are full!" retorted Ino or Breezy Topaz going backwards in the opposite direction, busy fighting Gluttons.
Like the wind, Ino swiftly weaved her way through the crowd of Corrupts while kicking and striking with ease. With a magnificent leap, Ino sailed through the air, intending to kick a Glutton in the face when the man suddenly smirked and shielded himself with a sleeping little boy who was affected by Sloth.
Ino gasped, there was no way she could dodge in time. "NO!" she cried desperately, failing to notice a long narrow object flying towards them.
CLANG! The Glutton grunted in pain as a dustpan hit him square in the face, causing him be knocked out of the way. The boy ended being flung in the air at the same time and fell into the awaiting arms of none other than the teen miko, Nekojiwa Kaori.
Ino quickly twisted her body and landed safely by Kaori's side.
"That was close..." she heard Kaori say.
"Kao- uh, um... Miss! You shouldn't be here!" exclaimed Topaz as she stood up straight.
"Neither should you..." replied Kaori bluntly.
"Huh?"
"Move!"snapped the girl as she grabbed Topaz and jumped to the side dragging her out of the way of Hikari who flew past them.
Hikari hit the ground so hard a trench got formed as she slid to a stop. Suddenly her eyes focused on Kaori.
Snarling loudly, Hikari charged at the miko who quickly shoved the boy she was holding into Topaz's arms as she reached into her sleeve and ran forward, removing a slip of paper from it.
"He-HEY! HOLD UP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" yelled Topaz when suddenly, Hikari leaped impossibly high into the air, lunging for Kaori who quickly held the seal before her.
"Repel!" she yelled loudly. At that moment, Hikari connected with something invisible that began to spark blue energy on impact.
The spiritual force was so strong that it repelled the girls both ways with a shock wave that practically smacked Topaz and Rose who shielded themselves.
"Woah!" they both exclaimed, their hair and clothes flapping in the wind.
Kaori slid back while Hikari landed on all fours growling.
Kaori plucked out a new slip of paper from her sleeve and held before her face as she began chanting at a fast pace while Hikari was making a new wild dash at her. "Healthy soul tainted by cardinal desire, bow your head in shame. Rin, Pyou, Tou, Shah, Kai, Chin, Retsu, Rin, Kai, Zen..."she chanted quickly over and over again shifting the seal in various directions before she threw the talisman towards the girl, which plastered itself to her forehead.
Hikari let out a shriek as the paper struck her and released a sort of invisible force that bound her limbs together.
Kaori quickly turned to the two Guardians. "I believe this where you two step in?" she asked rather bluntly making Topaz and Rose snap to their senses.
"AH HAI!" they both said quickly as they placed their hands over their Gems which began to glow.
"Sakura Hammer!"/ "Breezy Bo-Staff!" both girls exclaimed as their weapons emerged in a rush of wind and cherry petals. The two quickly brandished the weapons which blew away the petals as they leaped into the air.
The flowers on Rose's Hammer began to glow brightly at the same as Topaz's stars which began to spin rapidly. "Soul Purification..."
"Temperance!" exclaimed Geo Rose as she raised the hammer above her head and began twirling it.
"Diligence!"exclaimed Breezy Topaz as well while she detached her bo-staff into a three-section flail.
"TEMPERANCE RUMBLE!" / "DILIGENT GUST!" cried the two simultaneously as Sakura brought her hammer down on the ground while Ino whipped her flail about. Both attacks created a massive display of pink shock waves rippling across the ground and amber gusts of winds whipping about wildly.
Kaori looked about as she saw the dark auras of sins being expelled out of the victims including her own sister who let out one final shriek as Gluttony escaped out her mouth and vaporized into thin air. Slowly, Hikari's feral appearance began to fade back to normal as the girl collapsed into Kaori's arms.
"Mattaku...Onee-sama..." she muttered smiling in relief letting Hikari's head rest on the ground as Kaori stood up and turned to face the two Guardians. "Arigato ne, Guardians-san," she said before bowing and walking off.
Right at that moment, Geo Rose and Breezy Topaz glowed their individual colors before reverting to their original forms with a pop. Thankfully, Kaori was already out of sight when it happened.
"Fu waah... who knew Kaori-san was a miko? A strong one at that too..."exclaimed Sakura obviously impressed with her classmate.
"Yeah..." agreed Ino absentmindedly when a piece of paper flew and slapped against her ankle. Curious, she looked down and plucked the paper to see it was one of the talisman's that Kaori used. Ino gasped when she recalled it was an exact match to the talismans that saved her the day she got her powers. "Sakura!"
"What? What is it?" asked Sakura when Ino quickly showed her the talisman. Upon seeing it, Sakura gasped in recognition too. "This talisman..."
"Sakura-chan, do you recall what Tsunade-sama said the other day when we showed her those talismans?"
Flashback...
Tsunade inspected the talismans closely when she suddenly sat up with a start. "Wait! I can feel it! It's faint but ...there's no mistaking it! This is a vibe from one of the Sacred Virtues!" she exclaimed loudly.
End Flashback
Sakura and Ino quickly exchanged glances as they both came to the same realization. "Don't tell me...Kaori-san is a Kunoichi Guardian?"they both exclaimed in unison at the possibility.
R.F.: AAAAH! FINALLY MY EXAMS ARE OVER AND I CAN POST THIS CHAPTER! My apologies for the long wait! A new development arises for our girls! What could possibly happen next? All reviews accepted! All flames shall be extinguished!