Last time on Shapeshifters are Troublesome: Earthquake! Wild Hanayo and Rin appeared!
AN: Oh no. I think I promised Nozomi and Eli in this chapter, but then I realized that was next chapter. SORRY. I don't own Love Live! School Idol Project.
"I don't see any demons," Nico said, scanning the village from a hill.
"They only come out at night, nya!"
"Then, we'll wait until night," Maki said.
"Let's explore the village first!" Honoka yelled.
"But-"
"Nico," Maki interrupted, "we can gather information from villagers."
"Alright." Nico said grumpily.
The five girls entered the village, then Rin and Hanayo gave them a short tour.
"So, Hanayo, what can you tell us about the demons?" Nico asked.
Hanayo stumbled slightly, and replied, "there has only been several sightings, but all the witnesses described the demon as a fox, with a circle of dark flame around it."
"There's only one?" Honoka questioned.
"W-We're not sure."
"So, we need a plan," Honoka said, brows furrowed.
"It's rare to see you so serious, Honoka," Nico commented.
"Shut up. Anyways, anyone has an idea?"
"How about we surround the demon, nya?" Rin suggested.
"W-We can't, remember? Some of the men tried to, and they couldn't get close to the demon without being burned." Hanayo reminded Rin.
Maki sighed, "are you serious?"
"Well then, we have no choice but to wing it!" Honoka exclaimed.
"No!" Nico and Maki shouted.
"I don't think that's a good idea..." Hanayo muttered.
"Let's do it, nya!"
"See? Three against two, so we win," Nico said.
"Kayo-chin, please?"
"W-Well, if Rin says so-"
"Hahaha! Three against two! We win!" Honoka yelled.
"Great." Maki said sarcastically.
"Where's Hanayo and Rin?" Nico asked, scanning the area.
"They're not fighting, remember?" Honoka said. "Silly Nico."
"What?! Think about it, Honoka. Three inexperienced shapeshifters are going to fight a demon that ten men couldn't defeat, and the worse thing is, there's no plan!"
"For once, I actually agree with Nico, we can't win this," Maki said.
"Don't worry! Leave it me! Dendrocnide moroides!" Honoka struck a pose and winked at the other two.
"What the heck is that?" Maki asked.
Nico threw her hands up into the air, "I don't even care anymore, let's just do this."
"Wait! I have a plan!" Honoka said suddenly.
"It's gotta be some dumb idea, but anything is good right now." Maki said.
"So, I'm going to turn into a plant, the Dendrocnide moroides, and I want you two to lure the demon to me!"
"I don't know what you're going to do, but if you die, it's not my fault," Nico said.
"How long do we have to wait?" Honoka asked again.
"Shut. Up."
"Be patient," Maki said.
"Okay."
Five seconds later, "how long-"
"Shut up!"
"Oh, is that the demon?" Maki asked.
"Where? Where?" Honoka whipped her head left and right, eyes alert.
"Ooh, I see it," Nico said.
"Where?" Honoka asked.
"Don't worry, just turn into your Hydrogen Peroxide or whatever first, we'll lure it here." Nico said.
"Dendrocnide moroides. Not the fiery water or whatever." Honoka said.
"Just do it." Maki said under her breath.
Honoka took a deep breath, absorbing energy from the atmosphere. Her entire body turned a strange shade of green, her fingers extended then flattened into large heart shapes, and roots grew from her feet.
'Great, I forgot to tell them that I need the demon to touch me. I increased the toxic of the stings, so stinging the demon will immediately cause a great amount of pain to it... Oh my bread! Hanayo said that the men couldn't get close to the demon because they get...burned!'
Honoka had no time to change her plan anymore, 'I don't care, I'll burn if that's what it takes to protect my friends!'
Honoka observed the pitch-black wolf and red leopard in front of her. They seem to be taunting the demon, snarling at it and jumping back when it got too close to them. 'Great job.' Honoka thought. They were making good progress, bringing the demon closer to her.
'Come on, you can do it guys! Just-'
Suddenly, Nico froze and let out a pained whimper. She collapsed, and transformed into her original form with a puff of pale pink smoke. 'No! What's going on?!' Honoka thought, reverting back to her human form.
By the time Honoka reached Nico, Maki was already standing over her, shielding her from the demon. Maki swiped at it, trying to scare it off.
Honoka stood in front of Maki and took a deep breath, then forced herself to transform. In an instant, Honoka turned into a gigantic flower, except, it wasn't like any flower Maki has seen before.
The plant was a sickening shade of purple-blue, with a big gaping hole in the center of the flower, lined with rows of sharp thorns, with a slimy green thing hanging out from it. Thorny blue roots protruded from the ground, a strange colorless liquid being excreted from the thorns.
Maki gaped in horror, as she realized the hole and the rows of sharp thorns, along with the slimy thing, made a large, terrifying mouth.
'Holy shit.' Maki thought when Honoka moved, and made a rumbling sound, as if she was growling.
The demon backed away from the thorny blue roots that cracked the ground beneath it. It stared at Honoka warily, glancing backwards, as if planning an escape.
Honoka seemed to sense this, and blue roots shot up behind it, forming a thorny cage and trapping the demon in place. She bent down towards the demon, her tongue leaving a trail of saliva on the ground.
Maki saw genuine fear and panic in the demon's eyes as it trembled, its tail between its hind legs. A drop of the colorless liquid dripped onto it, and it let out a shriek of pain as its back swelled.
She tightened her grip on Nico's shirt, biting her lip. 'Huh?' Maki thought, looking down at her hands, 'I don't remember turning back. When did this happen?'
Words that you may not understand:
Dendrocnide moroides = stinging tree. You experience great pain from touching it... I think.
Hydrogen Peroxide = I don't take Chemistry, but I remember touching this and my hand felt like it was on fire.
Next time on Shapeshifters are Troublesome: Kayo-chin and Rin's identities revealed! Nozomi and Eli appear (this time for sure, I think)!
AN: Again, I'm sorry for no Nozomi and Eli in this chapter. I'm not sure what the heck is up with the text underneath, it looks wrong on my computer.
Replies to Reviews
GAT-X105VividPanzer:
Yeah, I thought it was lame too when I came up with it, but then I thought of the stinging tree (the poisonous tree) and then decided 'honks is a plant now!' I don't even know how I came to that conclusion. Thanks for the review! (Your name looks cool!)
haytsun:
She'll meet them after she meets the rest of Muse, because I didn't know where to put them, sorry. Thanks for reviewing!
Death Gremory:
I just want Nico-chan to suffer- I mean, make friends. Yeah, that's what I meant to say. I don't know how to use Tumblr. And I don't think I can write a make-out scene, I can't even write romance. Also, it's true that I didn't use Photoshop, because I used Paint. Thank you for being my first ever favorite, I am forever grateful to you.