Hakurei Honor Ch.6
Author`s Note: Finally a semi long chapter! LOLS… at any rate…
As for EXpertUS : Ahh… sorry for that. Then again it's an intro chapter for Mami anyways.
Chapter 6 : Look Back! Fight!; Surreal Circumstances
*clack-clack-clack*
"Hurry Madoka! They`re gaining on us!" The blue haired girl pretty much had shouted at her friend. Said girl could only huff tiredly as she ran faster. Trailing behind them was their magical girl sempai weilding two large guns; muskets from the looks of them, turning, shooting, rolling, jumping, grumbling as she covered her kohai`s escape from weird looking creatures that looked like large cotton balls with stick like appendages and a large mustasche that resembled one from a certain food mascot. Looking at them one can see that some of them only ran in pursuit, some rode on large wheel barrels with rose thorns and flowery wreats upon them while others flew with butterfly/moth wings on their backs. But the most important thing was they were all armed with various deadly objects; gardening tools ranging from large cutting scissors, hoes, shovels, rakes, to scythes... hell one of them carried a pesticide spray (the large used on farms) and most absurdly enough one of them even held a flamethrower and the worse part was that they were chasing them! They even chanted this creepy song that the blonde could vaugely recognize as german. Despite all this, the girl unappropriately could not help but look back on the events that morning...
#0#
The blonde`s friend (one of two best friends) could never stop surprising people to the point that it was all surreal. Heck the first time was when she learned that the miko have maids. M-A-I-D-S! M-E-I-D-O! It was a very absurd concept. Really, how many people wouldn`t find how odd that a shrine maiden has maids working for her. Even better that she doesn't even have just one! And she has not only two maids! Nononono... Ryuuto and VIVIT were the only ones commonly seen at her side, though not often the miko would have different ones or have additional ones. And boy that number was not just one or two! Hell she had twenty at one time! And that leads to the next shock: She is in fact...
An ojou.
It was not that visible, not concievable but the maids should have been a tipoff. But the girl being an ojou? Really absurd! If that was the case... WHY WAS SHE EVEN A MIKO IN THE FIRST PLACE! And she really is an ojou! (if one could enter the shrine they would find… things that no miko could possibly afford) It . .surreal. And now she was having another one of `those` episodes. Within minutes of hugging them (her, Ritsu and Mio), the shrine maiden apparently woke up/came into her senses and within minutes fixed her appearance to the point that the crying wreck they saw earlier was just their imagination. It was so damn surreal that both she and Mio could no help but twitch in exparation, worry, relief and irritation at the fourth girl guffawing out loud. The laughing ceased when Ritsu noticed the heated glare Mami and Mio was giving her. Thankfully the shrine maiden intervened before it escalated into something else.
"I apologize to the indignified display I have shown earlier. I`ve been troubled by a vision I have recieved during my divination last night. And thus my fear and worry over it. I am truly sorry for the discomfort I`ve caused you." She told them whislt bowing low enough that one she could manage.
The two kind girls gave her a warm smile while the third looked away abashed. With that, the fear and anxiety they felt when they heard the shrine maiden's breakdown was instantly forgotten. Mami thought of amazing her friend was, trusted, honored, respected and loved. All this even with her friend`s indifference and gruff behavior.
"Sheez... Reimu if you`re gonna worry us like that, you could at least sober up in your own bed first so this didn`t happen." Ritsu said while still looking away and now scratching her head. The shrine maiden chuckled at this.
"Like I said I`m sorry for it. But so you know I am very used to my daily routine that I often do it subconciously. It`s very obvious when I`m in deep though early in the morning and I need someone to interact with me to wake me up from my stupor. This is not the first time this happen and I`m thakful that I have someone there to care for me in both situations. I am very happy." the girl told them. The warm feeling the three felt was impossible to deny that they broke down into fits and giggles. And a few minutes later they were moving again.
#0#
"So what were guys doing before my untimely interruption." Reimu asked them, who in turn was fiddling with her mobile phone. `Sending her maids a text message… probably.` Mami thought.
"We were talking about the exchange student Reimu. Do you know anything?" the tallest of them answered, hoping to gain insight on the person who was going to be their new classmate.
"All I know that`s it`s a she and you and Mami would help acclimate her." Reimu answered while still not looking away from her phone.
"Nothing else? Wow you let us down miss president."
"And I`m proud to be unable to uphold your more than low expectation of me Tainaka."
"Hey!"
"Now, now Tainaka-san... you know how gruff Reimu could be right." All Mami got was a grumble. Mami snickered, seeing the gruff personality rearing it's head.
"You know. You can be worse than Hyouma..."
"Oh? Unfortunately for that sourpuss I am more sarcastic than he is..."
"So true." Mami commented. Between Reimu and Hyouma, the shrine maiden would always beat the delinquent even by words alone.
"Well the two are similar though Hyouma has the face of a thug and Reimu is pretty. Honestly I think Hyouma just needs a girlfriend."
"Thank you Mio for somewhat differenciating me from that idiot. Though the last comment makes me wonder."
"Huh?!"
"Yeah Mio, it`s like admitting you like him."
"No I don`t!"
"Oh... Akiyama-san! Really?"
"No!"
"Of course not Mami. That firebrand would break Mio faster than Ritsu`s constant idiocy."
"Hey!" "What?!"
Looking onwards, as the blonde majou shojo eyed the school gate, she noticed her. She was a maid, average height, rigid posture, wore a white puffy hat concealing her light purple hair and wore round glasses. She then turned to her friend and asked if she was one of her family`s maids. When she saw the surprised expression on her face, Mami winced hoping not to see a repeat of the other day when the shrine maiden crushed that:
"Hazuki-san?"
What followed was a bizzare introduction proving said miko was an ojou. And then sometime later she meets the maid's mistress and one of Reimu's childhood friends: Nogizaka, Haruka.
#0#
`We`re so alike and so different that it`s unreal.` Mami thought of the girl as she shot several more clumps of familiars with her muskets. Then retreating back she took a short pause to take her hat and grabbed something from it and shoot. When the familiars dissipated, one can see that they were blasted with a long silver shotgun with similar engravings as her muskets. Behind her, her two kohais cheered her on. Briefly giving them a thumbs up without turning she resumed her attack by bringing up the shotgun and firing it`s second and final spread shot at another group of familiars before chucking it in the face of the scythe weilder that charging her right flank. Then jumped off from where she stood, while eyeing both girls and her opponents and chucked the shotgun to one of her foe's faces. They were fighting now on different area, tired of running the blonde urge her two companions aside and began attacking the mob. She was lucky that they oblidged. And now after a few minutes/hour the her foes were finally dwidling in numbers, though still somewhat numerous. Flicking her hands forward her sleeves enlarged for a few seconds before whatever inside blew out and into her hands, they were two handguns with a similar design to her other two weapons except looking more modern/futuristic (her shotgun was akin to a blunderbuss). She began making sweeping shots that tore through her opponents rather easily. What`s more is that those bullets pierced any flesh (if it was flesh) that it passed before embedding into any solid object, whether it was the floor, wall or the weapons the familiars carried. The bullets then in turn became ribbons that lashed out and crushed familiars by constriction, slashed them into pieces or held them down.
Each of Mami`s guns had different abilities and limitations (mostly ammo) that she knew by heart. Her handguns was one of her weapons with few drawbacks, and that was the number of bullets (5 each) and it could be used in melee effectively (not even by throwing it). It was by far one of the most powerful, and thanks to it she had cleared a vast majority of her foes. Looking about she counted only four more opponents to deal with despite that the sweep didn`t kill that much of them. `Did they retreat?! What kind of witch am fighting with such intelligent familiars?` but any further thoughts were pushed away as the remaining rushed her. Jumping up she avoided the only grounded opponent and produced a musket from her skirt in mid-air. The but of the gun slams into the face of the familiar stunning it. Mami in mid-air summersaults kicking one of her airborne assailants and hitting the other two with muskets she produced while doing said move. On top of that she managed to flip the first musket with her feet so that, now upside down (and with the handguns discarded) she is able to shoot the one on the ground with that gun, then continuing her spin so she can grab the two other muskets and shoot the other two. The last one is easily dispatched by the ribbons that came from the first tree shots. Landing gracefully, her two underclassmen left their position to congratulate her.
"That was awesome Mami!" Sayaka told her enthusiastically. Madoka who could not speak her awe for sempai could only nod in agreement.
"Thank you." she returned, truthfully unused to people complimenting her fighting abilities. Oh, she got complimented for it already. But Kyubey`s words unnerved her more than assure her. Heck the shimmer in those red beady eyes and the way her structured the compliment did not. As if he/she was mocking her and the rest of the magical girls. It`s true that many mahou shojo did not rise to her level of adaptability and variation, often relying on the weapons and powers they first get. Also when the bastard said; "...not many could grow as adept as you. You don`t even bat an eye over the dead." was way out of line. She was tempted to shoot it then and there, and that she think about it that`s when she began distrusting the creature. Despite this, she could not help but smile considering that she these ideas from Reimu and Mirai (mostly Mirai) with their various conversations and the games they play. Mirai`s shooting games like Gungrave and Reimu`s obsession with Dragon Quest help the most though. It did also help that she took acrobatic and shooting lessons (her uncle insisted, considering that they cant hire bodyguards). Pushing those aside, she urge her two compatriots onward seeing that they might get lucky next time and that they were burning daylight. With their agreement Mami forced all wandering thoughts despite the large pit of dread forming in her gut.
#0#
Witch labyrinths, if weren`t deadly would`ve been pretty, if they were like this one. The large amount of flowery hues, greens, ash white and earthly brown would make the area a 16th century garden ruin overrun with nature`s blessing as it persevered through the ages, it was like a forieng tourist attraction. It would make a good painting too if it wasn`t marred by the nigh enless multicovered void that surrounded them. These were the thoughts that came through the youner girls` heads as they trudged onwards, looking for the witche`s nest while avoiding more familiars. Mami thoughts on the other hand appropriately went over (not what happened in school earlier) to how irregular and frightening the barrier was. With the feeling of dread urging her she began to recount the hows:
First of all, despite witch barriers being common in isolated and rarely visited areas (like this one in an abandoned construction yard). The fact that there was no victim/s in the immediate vicinity disturbed her to no end. As if they were waiting for a magical girl to drop by.
Which lead to the second point. Just as the party of three entered the barrier they were immediately greeted by a mob of familiars; armed to the teeth and seemed intent on disemboweling them. It did not help that they mostly targeted the two non-magicals.
The third thing is the fact that part of said mob retreated and despite Madoka and Sayaka`s cover, did not go after them. Yes she was powerful but she did not dillude herself on the fact that she could protect them. And yet despite this, they never even bothered with them.
And finally this... After ambushing them with intent to kill. Getting into a difficult battle in which Mami muses she could have lost. They now marched onto witche`s nest unchallenged. In fact they were getting closer and yet...
`We haven`t seen any more familiars! I know I wasn`t able to take them all out and I know they retreated! Is the witch overconfident? Is it that powerful?` Her unease grew as they came closer... closer. She looked around, paranoia gripping her but none came. And after a while they came into an odd room. It was a far cry from the rest of the witch`s labyrinth. It was a cube with the front open so anyone could see inside. All of the room was padded, like the one`s in mental rehabilitation centers. It only had one thing in it... the witch. Mami gulped, at last they came face to face with the witch: It was large and slug like with head full of hair (it looked like hair) and butterfly wings on it`s back. It didn`t seem to notice them as it contnued to stay immobile.
"That`s the witch?" Madoka asked. Mami nods and motions them to stand back. `I will see if they`re waiting for me to drop my guard or not.` Bowing like she was addressing an audience, she takes her beret and tosses to her right before slapping it with her hand making it spin and stop in mid-air with the bottom facing her. She then lungend her right into it then pulls out her best weapon. It was a rifle with large bayonet attached to it (of course like her other weapons. Duh). Despite even more difficult to summon than her shotgun, this was the weapon used frequently replacing the large number of muskets she used. It was more powerful than her handgun and held infinite bullets, it doesn't have the piercing ability though and costs too much magic to make. Twirling her gun, she uses it to fling her beret back to her head while it dropped another rifle which she caught with her left. Now ready, she looked about. Looking at her surroundings carefully, then turning to where her charges were (who gave her encouragement) and saw no other threat, she charged forward. `It`s risky but I'll slash then retreat and shoot. So if I`m ambushed from behind and get caught in a pincer attack I`ll be able to react properly.` It was a good plan but...
*slitchk*
It wasn`t needed.
"Wow!"
"Yeah! In one hit no less!"
`I beat the witch? With one hit?! ONE HIT?!`
With one dashing slash, Mami managed to beat the witch. It was so evident with the creature`s death wail, the dropping of not one but two grief seeds, the barrier dissipating and the cheers of her kohais (they didn't realized that witches don't go that fast). But that didn`t register to her. No... not even the odd fact that the witch dropped large garden shears as well. The warning bells in her mind blared out loud, for what she has done was completely impossible! There was no witch so weak to die in one hit, it was proven again and again with their resilience. Even the most fresh witch (according to Kyubey) could take long to take down. Also with familiars so tough it was impossible for it to happen.
She then heard it.
It was...
Clapping.
And it wasn`t from her kohai`s who was still busy congratulating her. Turning to look to the origin of the applause, her eyes went wide before turning angry.
She grit her teeth, if they weren`t in deep trouble then. They are now...
#0#
Kai: And now a cliffhanger.
Mami: I DONT CARE! FIRST I GET AMBUSHED AND NOW THIS! WHO AM I FIGHTING ANYWAY!
Kai: But that`s fo- *urk*
Mami: *begins choking Kai*
Sayaka: Well in any case please read and review!
Madoka: And Reimu-san said to donate to her shrine.