The battle between Enraged and Beloved continues...
The Evening Before - Part Three
Burning flames from hell. Soubi knew that if he allowed the attack to reach him and Seimei, the fight would be over. And that could not happen, for Seimei, his Master, had ordered him to win. And the only purpose in Soubi's life was to follow his Master's orders – if he was unable to do even that, he would have nothing; he'd be no better than a zombie. He'd have to think of a counter-attack fast and not merely defend – as per Seimei's orders, which were absolute. Throwing another glance at the roaring fire, Soubi narrowed his eyes. There was a way…
Ha, let's see how you like that Agatsuma, Hanayama gloated mentally as he watched the flames head for Soubi at lightning speed. Before the flames could reach Soubi however, he threw out his right hand in an emphatic gesture and his lips moved. Hanayama's eyes widened in surprise when he heard Soubi's words.
"Ice, sleet, hail. Freezing snowstorm from heaven, put out the flames and pierce the enemies!" Expecting a hasty defense, Hanayama was shocked when Soubi's words caused a blanket of snow to materialize, putting out the flames he had so painstakingly spelled into existence in his previous turn. While a normal snowstorm might not necessarily have managed the feat, the key word lay in Soubi's use of the word 'heaven'. Using the cold, emotionless might of heaven to defeat the furious flames from hell…and with such speed no less…Hanayama was jolted out of his involuntary contemplation when he caught sight of the cold, sharp icicles heading towards him at light speed.
Yumi cannot take any more damage! Panicking at that thought, Hanayama gave in to his first instinct. "Defend!" He shouted hastily. The shield that sprang into existence in front of him at his shout was a shimmering, transparent wall. The icicles crashed straight into the shield, their sharp points resulting in great pressure that allowed them to embed themselves in various spots. Soon, spider-web-like cracks spreaded outwards from those spots, throughout the entire shield.
"Icy shards, sharp as diamonds, pierce through!" Fragmenting into a thousand pieces, the shield scattered in all directions as the strengthened icicles flew at Hanayama and Etou. "Guuh...ahh…" cried Etou as one icicle pierced through her shoulder blade. "Yumi…ah…argh!" Hanayama broke off in mid-sentence as several icicles pierced his body all at once. Blood seeping out from his wounds in trickles, he breathed heavily as he realized that two additional bonds had appeared on his Sacrifice – thick heavy manacles chained her ankles together. Judging by how his usually prim and stone-faced Sacrifice was scrunching up her face, making small, involuntary noises and by her trembling hands and legs, it must have been very painful indeed. Still, Etou's eyelashes fluttered as she breathed faintly, "Con…ti…nue…the at…tack…" Even as she suffered unimaginable pain, her eyes flashed with fire befitting her true name.
Seimei's lips curved into a small smile as he watched Etou's struggles. Somehow, watching the suffering of others always warmed his usually cold heart. Yet of both the Fighter and the Sacrifice, Seimei only concentrated his attention on the Sacrifice, deeming the Fighter's suffering to be insignificant and unworthy of his attention. But still, the suffering of one girl could only entertain him for so long…Seimei was getting tired of the fight. "Win this fight quickly, Soubi." Hearing his Sacrifice's command, Soubi bowed his head in acknowledgement. Now the only question was how he could end the fight speedily.
There was absolutely nothing he could do for her at this point, save to fight his way out of this situation. Although Hanayama could not bear to watch Etou suffer, he had to continue – his Sacrifice had made known her wishes and a Fighter who did not obey such important orders was of no use. Yet one more hit and they would lose…out of necessity, he shut Etou's plight out of his mind and tried to gasp out his next spell. Something to end this fight quickly…He cast his eyes about the surroundings desperately…drums, piano, violins…
His weary mind lighted upon a use for these instruments, "All musical instruments, play at a deafening volume, burst the enemies' eardrums!" At those words, a cacophony of sounds and noises (for that could not be called music) rose from the myriad of musical instruments in the room, all directed at Soubi and Seimei.
The noise was deafening, even on Hanayama's end. Seeing Soubi and Seimei instinctively raising their hands to cover their ears, Hanayama allowed himself a flash of hope that maybe, just maybe he would win this fight. But his relief was short-lived when he noticed Soubi's lips moving. Then suddenly, the noise was cut off instantaneously, the sudden silence as deafening as the loud noise had been. In addition, Hanayama soon found that he had difficulty drawing breath and that was not merely due to the shards of icicles stuck in his body. The bastard…Hanayama's stomach lurched with a sick realization. He called forth vacuum, so that sounds would be muted. Both a defense and an attack at the same time…
Seimei watched with satisfaction as, in light of Soubi's most recent attack, thick chains materialized out of thin air to immobilize Etou Yumi completely. Once the Sacrifice on one side was completely bound, the battle was over. He had won the fight, although it had taken much longer than expected. As the battle systems faded back into reality, he cast a glance at his Fighter, who was standing still waiting for his Sacrifice's approval. Seimei's lips curled as he whispered in Soubi's ear, "You're useless, Soubi." At those words, Soubi hung his head like a kicked dog. As befits his lowly status. Well, no matter, he would deal with Soubi later. For now, he walked past Soubi, concentrating all his attention on Etou Yumi, who had proven to be much more troublesome than he had expected. She was someone he had to watch, Seimei mused. Based on her personality, he doubted that she would have sought him out on her own, which meant that she had to be acting on someone's orders. Could it be Ritsu? Or Nana? It could not possibly be Nagisa, because she favoured using the Zero units…
"Etou-san, daijyoubu desu ka?" Seimei's smile was exceptionally gentle as he enquired whether his opponent was feeling alright. Both had collapsed on the floor soon after the battle ended, wounds bleeding, spilling the precious substance all over the music room floor. Cradling Etou's head in his arms Hanayama Jirou stared up at Seimei with cold rage. He could hardly believe his ears. He has the nerve to ask this question when it's partly his fault that Yumi is in this state? Before he could speak however, Etou lifted her hand slightly to silence him.
Her gaze stony hard, in spite of her pain, she managed to gasp out, "Aoyagi-san…I acknowledge…your victory…this time…one day…we'll defeat…you." Amused by her bravado, Seimei's lips curved slightly. "Indeed. Perhaps when you recover, we shall cross swords again." With those parting words, he turned to leave. Pausing by the door however, he addressed his Fighter. "Soubi, take those two to the infirmary before returning to your room. After all, one must always see everything to completion." Soubi's obedient nod went unnoticed as Seimei's back remained facing the room.
Without even looking back to see if Soubi obeyed his orders, Seimei left the music room, leaving Soubi to take care of the two wounded opponents, whom, Seimei was sure, would just love being taken care of by the person who caused those wounds in the first place. Now he just had to plan out the rest of Soubi's punishment…
The End.
Many, many thanks to Ariliii for beta-reading this story, even in the midst of exams! :D
To read more about Soubi's punishment, please read the sequel 'Long Night' at http:/ / www. fanfiction .net/s/6031134/1/Long_Night (minus the spaces:D)
All comments and feedback are welcome, please review!