A Game of Fate

Chapter 3

Goddesses Hanayo and Rin

"Y-Yes, I did."

"Rin-chan, oh my gosh, it's been so long since someone has entered our shrine in hopes of a challenge. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Sort of. It depends on if this girl is capable of giving us a challenge. So… We take it that you defeated Nico-chan."

Honoka nodded her head.

"Interesting."

"Wow, Rin-chan, did you hear that? This girl actually beat our beloved Nico-chan. I love Nico-chan. She's so cute.

"Kayo-chin, I think we should focus on this girl instead of falling onto other tangents."

"Right. I'm sorry." She cleared her throat and addressed the issue. "May we ask your name?"

"My name is Kousaka Honoka and I'm here to challenge you."

"Wonderful. I am Koizumi Hanayo, one of the 8 descendants of the Goddess Muse."

"I'm Hoshizora Rin."

"Wait… Why do I get the feeling that this is a package deal?"

"Because it is."

"How is that fair?"

"We are the sister shrine. We are inseparable so if you have problem with that, you are more than free to leave this place."

"Yeah." Rin's voice was sharp which made the cats next to Honoka get a little on-edge."

"Alright, if you're ready, you may follow us and we'll show you to the arena."

Honoka was a little slow at following them since they seemed a little weird. At least the previous girl was a lot more straight-forward with her. These two seemed like they were hiding something. If they weren't hiding anything then they were just very weird in general. The walk didn't last that long. The process was almost identical to the previous girl. Honoka was introduced to a giant room, but this time, it already a preset look to it.

"Welcome to the arena. Today, we will be playing the Storm the Tower. Do you know how to play?"

"Nope."

"Alright. We'll explain the rules."

"The rules are simple," Rin interjected. "Kayo-chin and I are up there and you start at the far edge of the jungle. Your goal is to make to us and capture the flag. We are trying to stop you at all costs. You get it, right? That's what I thought."

"Rin-chan, what's the matter with you today? You seem a little aggressive."

Rin didn't answer. She just crossed her arms and headed up to the top of the tower.

"I apologize for her behavior. She's usually very kind. Is there anything you don't understand?"

"Um, I think I get it. I just have to make it up there and capture the flag. Exactly. Our only job is to defend it. Once you obtain the flag, the game is over."

"So are we betting anything?"

"Only if you want," she said with a smile.

"Well, I would like to ask you two some questions. No matter what I ask, can you answer them for me?"

"Of course. That will be your half of the bet. If we win… Hm, if we win… You will head down the mountain and tell everyone that you have lost."

Honoka's eyes shot wide open.

"That's right. We know who you are: The only person in the world who has never experienced a loss. With the track record you have, you should have lost by now, but apparently, you haven't. I think it would be a good reality check for you. No one can stay perfect forever. Do we agree?"

"I… I agree."

"Then let's begin!" Hanayo jumped up to the top of the tower while Honoka was transported to the far edge of the jungle. The game was starting.

…

Honoka started off strong. She gained as much ground as she could without getting in sight of the two girls. She remained behind trees and tried to make the least amount of noise as possible. In the beginning, she didn't think this would be that difficult, but that was only because the two girls hadn't started their defense.

After about a minute or so, Rin and Hanayo started their defense. Two cougars appeared next to Rin and she commanded them to track down Honoka. In the blink of an eye, they jumped off the tower and pursued Honoka at incredible speed. Unfortunately, Honoka was unaware of this so she continued to move closer towards the tower.

When she got within eyesight of the tower, she hid behind another tree and took a deep breath. She was deciding how she wanted to go about attacking the tower. To her eyes, they didn't seem like they were doing anything so a full frontal assault was a possibility. She continued to run through all of her options until something caught her attention. She heard rough breathing coming from above her. When she looked up, she saw a huge cougar towering right over her.

"They're animals in here?!"

The cougar pounced down towards her, but Honoka rolled out of the way before it could get her. Immediately coming out of her roll, she saw another cougar right next to her. She couldn't escape since the momentum of her roll kept her going in one direction. The cougar swiped at her and managed to cut her arm.

"Aahhh!"

"I got her."

"Rin-chan, remember not to kill her. That isn't the point of this game."

"Ugh, I know. Stop treating me like a child, Kayo-chin."

Honoka finished her roll and covered her arm as quickly as she could. Meanwhile, the cougars ceased their pursuit and returned to the tower.

This injury forced Honoka to retreat for the time being. She looked for leaves and vines to help cover the wound. The last thing she could worry about was a little cut on her arm so she gathered the necessary resources she needed and started to plan out another strategy. She was still unaware that those cougars were Rin's so she was still at a disadvantage.

Back at the tower, Rin summoned two cheetahs and had them stand guard at the base of the tower. Cheetahs were none for their incredible speed and prowess so they served as the best line of defense in case if Honoka tried a surprise attack.

"Kayo-chin, are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. Why would you think I wasn't?"

"Well, you're glasses are still on."

"I'm just testing this girl's ability, and right now, things are starting to seem interesting."

"What do you mean?"

"She's not giving up. I can tell that much. She's probably planning something else. I suggest that we stay on our guard and make sure that nothing gets passed us."

"But Kayo-chin, with your eyes, we won't need to worry about that."

"I know. I just don't want to use them excessively."

…

Once Honoka was finished with her little healing session, she managed to come up with a plan. Attacking them from the front wasn't the best idea so she decided to go up the side and test her luck. Quickly and silently was the way she went, but when she got close to the tower, she something blocking her way. The two cheetahs were standing guard as if it was their territory.

"What the heck are cheetahs doing in a jungle? I'm that stupid." Honoka immediately rescinded her original plan. With those beasts in her way, there was no way she could attack. She turned around and looked for something to serve as a decoy. That's when she saw a small pile of rocks. She picked them up and retreated some more.

When she gained some distance between her and the beasts, she threw one rock in one direction and one in the other causing the cheetahs to leave their current position. Now, this gave Honoka a chance to approach the tower with less heat. At first, she was slow just to make sure nothing else would sneak up around her. Once the area was clear, she charged at full speeds.

"Rin-chan!"

"What?!"

"Your cats are leaving their positions."

"What?!" She turned her head and saw them heading to the corners of the jungle. "What the heck are they doing?"

"I don't like this." Hanayo removed her glasses and looked into the jungle to see Honoka blazing towards them. "Rin-chan, summon more cats. She's coming!"

"No she isn't. I can't…"

At that moment, Honoka burst out of the trees in midair with every intent of getting passed them. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to work. Rin suddenly summoned a huge lion out of nowhere and it tackled Honoka out of the way. The good thing was that Honoka managed to remain on the tower. The bad thing was that she now had three enemies: Rin, Hanayo, and the lion. Rin and the lion were on one side of her guarding the flag while Hanayo was on the other side watching everything.

"How the hell did that happen?"

"You didn't know. I can summon cats to my will. Kayo-chin, over there, as vision that can see through practically anything. You don't stand a chance against us."

"Oh yeah?"

"Rin-chan, she's going right!"

Before Honoka could even take a step, the lion stepped right in front of her and prevented that path from being used.

"How the…" Honoka looked back and saw Hanayo actively watching her movements. That's when she realized that Rin's description wasn't entirely accurate. The only thing that Honoka could think of was that her vision allowed her to predict movements and other things like that. "Crap."

"We got you now."

Honoka was running out of time. She had to do something or else Hanayo would be able to analyze everything. Without wasting any more time, Honoka ran to the left and Hanayo was there to call it out. This time, the lion leapt right at her. However, Honoka was ready for this as well. She slid on her knees and avoided the lion's attack.

"What? How did she… Ugh!" Hanayo suddenly got a pain in her eyes which caused her to close them and turn away."

"Kayo-chin, watch out!" Rin's lion continued its attack, but since it missed Honoka, it was heading for Hanayo instead. "Vanish!" Rin swiped her arm and made the lion disappear, but that wasn't the only thing to worry about. Honoka was there and swiped her legs at Rin's causing her to fall to the ground.

"That flag is mine!" With Rin out of the way, Honoka only had to reach for the flag. She used every bit of strength she could to reach out for the flag while the other two were in complete shock as to what they were witnessing.

The buzzer went off as Honoka tackled the flag to the ground. She had won yet again. Rin and Hanayo couldn't believe that this girl bested her at their own game. Honoka slowly rose to her feet and turned around, holding the flag in her hands.

"I won. Answer my questions."

"You got lucky. If Kayo-chin's eyes weren't bothering her, we would have easily won…"

Hanayo stuck her arm out in front of Rin and then put her glasses on.

"You're smart. It's been so long since I've seen someone do what you did. You used me as leverage since the lion missed its attack on you. If it was solely one-on-one, that would have never happened."

"So are you going to answer my questions?"

"Sure."

"Good. Why are you people special?"

"You didn't know. The descendants of the Goddess Muse acquire power to keep the world in balance. It's as simple as that."

"I can't believe we lost to an airhead like her."

"Rin-chan."

"Anyway, what are the other Goddesses like?"

There was suddenly a long pause. Hanayo and Rin looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

"What? You said you would answer my questions."

"Sorry, but not that question. We are sorry, but you have to leave now."

"No. I have more questions."

"Rin-chan."

Rin suddenly summoned two giant tigers and had them press Honoka towards the exit. Even though Honoka had more questions to ask, her current situation kind of prevented her from getting anywhere else with these two girls. She quickly exited the shrine and looked up the mountain. There were five more shrines to go to, but an optimistic thought came to her mind. These challenges weren't too hard so her road ahead may not be as hard as she first thought.

"You may have beaten three Goddesses already, but I wouldn't get too comfortable. There's still a lot left in your way."

"Why do you always show up in these situations?"

"I told you. I'm the caretaker. I'm supposed to make sure nothing bad happens out here."

"Yes, you've already told me that."

"Anyway, do you have the courage to continue your journey to the top?"

"Of course I do."

The caretaker was about to leave, but when Honoka answered that question, they stopped in their tracks and headed towards her. They moved in closer to Honoka and stared her in the eyes.

"I wouldn't be so sure. The powers of the Goddesses are not something to look down on. If I were you, I would make sure my mind is ready to face the toughest challenges I could ever think of." After those words, the caretaker left in mysterious fashion. That's when Honoka managed to see who that person was.

"She's a girl?"

End of Chapter 3