A/N: Literally getting roasted here at home. Summer has been cooking me to perfection lately. My phone and computer are feeling fried too.
Chapter 9:
The dark forests of the Yamanashi mountains were almost like a maze-like setting in a horror film. The brewing storm overhead didn't alleviate the chilling atmosphere either. Sayaka and Kaoru had spent a few missions hunting aradama in the mountains, but those were during the daytime. Now, what with the murkiness of the night, everything seemed to have taken more sinister and threatening forms.
Grumbling in her mind, Kaoru internally thought, 'Stupid rain. Stupid wind. Stupid trees. Stupid mud.'
She let out a sigh, before asking the furry creature on her head, "Smell anything, Nene?"
Nene sniffed, before perking up. Taking a few more sniffs, he coiled his tail around his mistress's hand, pulling her along. Kanami looked up from her Spectrum Finder.
"Has Nene-chan found Hiyori-chan?" she asked, her eyes widening with excitement.
The four Tojis only had to walk a few more steps, before all of their Spectrum Finders started going haywire. It could only mean one thing. However, Sayaka could feel herself swallowing a lump in her throat, once she realized which direction they were heading in.
"That way is to the Onryō Shrine," she said, creasing her eyebrows in concern.
"Your point?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow.
Sayaka didn't reply, but silently wished that Mai was with them. She longed for the comfort and reassurance from the older-sister figure. Instead, Sayaka clung onto Ellen's sleeve and desperately prayed in her head that Hiyori wasn't anywhere close to the haunted location.
As Nene continued leading them along, Ellen suddenly pointed to what looked like a dark structure in the distance. Even through the veil of pouring rain, there was no doubt that what they were seeing was the Onryō Shrine. Kanami's face was grim as she beheld the ruined monument, which seemed to tower threateningly over them from the peak of the tallest mountain. Judging by how the stormy clouds were clustered around it, she felt almost certain that the eerie shrine was where Hiyori set up her lair.
Sayaka whispered, "That is...?"
"Hiyori-chan's there. I just know it," Kanami said, her face full of determination. "Everyone, let's go!"
Suddenly, Ellen grabbed Kaoru's arm so tightly that the pink-haired loli winced. However, her eyes widened as well once she saw who was emerging from the shadows of the forest.
"Good evening, ladies. What brings you here?" Tagitsuhime asked, with a toothy grin.
Kanami glared, as she responded, "We are here to find Hiyori-chan."
"How considerate of you, but in case if you haven't known, this mountain is part of my domain," Tagitsuhime said. "And I don't recall giving you permission to be here."
"Where is Hiyoyon?" Ellen snapped, ignoring the aradama princess's previous words.
Tagitsuhime blew a strand of white hair from her face. A haughty look shone in her eyes, as she summoned her two okatanas, Onimaru and Oodenta.
"She's with me now," she taunted, staring at Kanami in particular. "So sorry to crush your dreams, but some people are just never meant to be."
Kanami clenched Chidori tighter at Tagitsuhime's words. They stung her heart, but she refused to show any weakness. Now was not the time for crying.
Kanami said, "Hiyori-chan may not be meant for me, but she belongs with us! So, give her back!"
"If what my darling Hiyori told me was true, you all practically threw her away," Tagitsuhime said in response. "Hiyori is my family now. And together we'll destroy this world!"
Without another word, the aradama princess swiftly appeared in front of Kanami in the blink of an eye. Luckily, Kanami's superior instinct allowed her to predict Tagitsuhime's attack before she had moved, allowing the Toji to arch her head back. Just in time too. Any second later and Kanami would have found Tagitsuhime's two okatanas buried deep in her neck.
The next moments became an absolute disarray of chaos, as Kanami and her friends battled the aradama princess. Nene let out a roar as he transformed, using his large tail to fling down a few of the surrounding trees, in the hopes that they would crush their opponent.
Ellen and Kaoru fought together as they usually did with Ellen occasionally using her expert hand-to-hand combat skills. Just as Ellen dealt a hard kick to Tagitsuhime's abdomen, Kaoru used her large okatana like a baseball bat to swing the aradama princess back. They didn't escape unhurt though. Tagitsuhime let out an annoyed growl, before swooping upon the two of them. Her okatana blades managed to slice the two partners down.
Seeing his mistress down on the ground, Nene stood over Kaoru protectively, letting out a ferocious roar. Going into madness, Nene lunged forward to take down the aradama princess, in an effort to protect Kaoru. His strength and agility were an almost equal match to Tagitsuhime's, but eventually he felt the blade rake along his side.
"Ne...ne..." he whimpered, sadly, before reverting back to his small furry self.
Kaoru let out a tsk, and yelled, "Kanami, Sayaka, it's up to you now!"
The other two Tojis nodded in response, before charging. They were easily the fastest of the four, but even they were dangerously close to being overpowered by Tagitsuhime. Kanami darted from behind the aradama princess, but was knocked down when she felt the crunch of Onimaru's hilt meet her abdomen. Angered at the downfall of her friend, Sayaka fought against Tagitsuhime alone, swinging her okatana wildly. She tried to land a strike on her opponent, but was cut off when Tagitsuhime descended upon her with impossible speed.
"Die," Tagitsuhime hissed.
However, the aradama princess let out a cry of pain when she felt something stab her back. She turned around with a look of rage to see Chidori's blade sticking right through her. A look of victory was on Kanami's face.
"Miss me?" she smirked.
Fire flashed in Tagitsuhime's eyes, as she quickly teleported away. Everyone was breathing hard, exhausted from their fight. Although she was frustrated that she let the aradama princess slip out of her grasp, Kanami couldn't help thinking over Tagitsuhime's previous words. Was Hiyori really with the aradama princess? Her mind prayed that Tagitsuhime just meant that she was keeping Hiyori prisoner. She didn't want to believe that her friend could fall for such a monster. Could she?
With a cry of rage, Maki severed the aradama in front of her. The monster screeched before its body fell into two pieces.
"Show off," Suzuka teased.
Maki put her okatana back in her sheath, and responded, "If that's what you want to call it."
Suzuka gave a flirtatious smirk of her own, before her hand reached up to Maki's face. However, the orange-haired Elite Guard caught her hand and pressed it to her lips. They held each other's gaze for a few seconds, before giving into their temptation. Maki's eyes darted around, making sure no one was around in the darkened square, prior to kissing Suzuka's cherry-flavored lips.
Their kiss was slow at first, but as they continued, it started becoming deeper. The two Elite Guards hardly ever had time to themselves, either due to their missions or the lack of privacy. Finally, after those few heated minutes, Suzuka and Maki eventually broke apart, heavily panting.
A troubled look was in Suzuka's eyes and she turned away. Unsure of what could have caused her girlfriend to be so suddenly despondent, a flurry of questions flew in Maki's mind. Was she too rough? Did Suzuka not like it?
"Maki-san, how long are we going to keep hiding our relationship?" Suzuka sighed.
"Suzuka, we both know that our relationship is taboo," Maki hesitated, then tried to lighten the awkward tension by joking, "Besides, Mashiko Kaoru would most likely tell us to get a room."
Deep within her, Maki also wanted as much as Suzuka did to let the world know about their relationship. On several occasions, she had seen several boys stare at her girlfriend with lecherous gazes and had wanted nothing more than to punch them silly. It took her all her willpower in those moments to not scream out in public that Suzuka was hers, and hers alone.
Their attention was brought to a halt, once Suzuka felt her phone vibrating.
"Hello?"
"Konohana Suzuka, this is Hiiragi Konoka," came the reply.
Suzuka frowned and tried to keep from sounding hostile, as she answered, "What do you want?"
"The presence of a large aradama has been detected at the Origami family mansion. Please come quick with Shidou Maki!" Konoka begged.
Suzuka retorted, "And you cannot deal with it yourself, because...?"
She heard Konoka let out a huff of exasperation, before replying, "Excuse me? I am the only leader left now that the Origami sisters are gone. Who will people turn to if I perish? Also, it is your duty as an Elite Guard to suppress the aradama. And as the Origami family ambassador, I am not asking you—I am commanding you! Now, go at once!"
Without another word, Konoka hung up, leaving Suzuka to glare at her phone.
Sayaka swallowed hard when they approached the great stone steps that led to the shrine. From underneath the torii, all four of the Tojis got their first real look at the Onryō Shrine. The embellishing was dark in color and tall, strong spikes of glass rose from the ground, forming a lotus-flower-shaped barricade around the shrine. Ellen deduced that it was most likely Hiyori who created the glass fortification.
"Well, we won't accomplish anything by just staring," Kaoru said, leading the way up the stone steps.
At the haiden, they stopped at the entrance, uncertainly. Kanami took a deep breath, before knocking. No answer.
Kaoru rolled her eyes, before calling out, "Come on, flat-chested girl! Just open the doors or we'll find another way in."
For just a few seconds, nothing happened. Eventually, without warning, the doors slowly slid open by themselves. Kaoru's eyebrows rose, not sure whether to be impressed or not. Stepping inside the haiden, the four Tojis stopped. Hiyori was standing in the very middle of the worship hall, glaring at them.
"What are you doing here?" Hiyori growled.
Standing up as straight as possible and squaring her jaw, Kanami pleaded, "Hiyori-chan...come back with us. Please."
Hiyori's eyes narrowed. Though her face projected anger, inside her mind, Hiyori was trying with all her concentration to hide the nauseating anxiety she was feeling. Noticing that Mai was not with the rest of her friends gave her a sick sensation of guilt.
"Get. The. Hell. Out," she said, slowly.
Her blue eye flickered erratically, but then diminished slightly before surging again, as though she was trying to scare them away. They couldn't stay here. If Tagitsuhime chanced to return, there was no doubt that the aradama princess would take down all four of her friends and possibly kill them.
"Get out of my sanctuary and leave my mountain!" Hiyori shouted, as tendrils of her hair surged above her, ablaze with blue energy.
However, Kanami was not the least bit intimidated by Hiyori's threatening form. In fact, she moved closer to the girl, reaching out to her. She knew Hiyori wouldn't purposely hurt her and that she was probably the only person remotely close who could keep Hiyori at bay. Kanami had several friends who she trusted, and who trusted her. Hiyori had only her. And she needed her now.
"Hiyori-chan," Kanami said, weakly, "I know you've given up on yourself, but I'm not giving up on you!"
Hiyori remained silent, so Kanami continued, "You've cried all alone. You think no one understands you. You've closed yourself off. You've fed on your own anger feeling it was your only purpose. And you've pushed me away several times."
Hiyori snarled, "Did you come all this way just to state facts I already know?"
Kanami gave her a similar stern look, saying, "But, even if you do push me away now, it won't change anything!"
Then with sorrowful eyes, she sniffed, "You mean so much to me, Hiyori-chan... We made a promise, didn't we? If you become a monster, I'll be one with you. Remember?"
"You're my best friend," Kanami added, as a lone tear made its way down her cheek.
"Why won't you just go?!" Hiyori screamed.
She felt her facade crumbling quickly. Seeing Kanami sad hurt as much as her words. Hiyori trembled, trying to control herself, as objects inside the haiden crackled with blue lightning. Ellen, Sayaka, and Kaoru slowly huddled together, keeping a safe distance away from anything near them.
"Kanami, are you really my best friend? Because if you are, you will walk out those doors right now with the others, without looking back, and move on with your life!" Hiyori ordered.
Kanami gulped. She took a few more steps, hesitantly, until she was standing right in front of the aradama Toji. She took her friend's hand and placed it on her chest, closing her eyes. Hiyori's hand was cold as a corpse's, but Kanami didn't care.
"If that's truly what you want, then you have to kill me," Kanami decided.
"Kanamin!" Ellen cried.
"Are you crazy?!" Kaoru shouted.
Sayaka gasped, "Kanami, no..."
Hiyori choked, staring petrified at her hand against Kanami's heart. She could feel it pounding and her own heart started to beat just as fast.
"Enough!" she bellowed, snatching back her hand and turning away.
Then, her head shot up as she heard something. The noise of a certain pair of hard footsteps. Hiyori's eyes widened with fear.
"Go!" she hissed, pushing Kanami away. "Go now!"
It was too late, even if Kanami and the others listened to her. Everyone stared down the hallway behind Hiyori, paralyzed with shock and fear, as Tagitsuhime emerged.
Hiyori broke the silence by stammering, "They're leaving right now. Please let them go. They won't ever come back."
"Let them go? Even though the two of us are going to destroy them and this world anyway?" Tagitsuhime growled, summoning Onimaru and Oodenta again.
"Hiyoyon will do no such thing with you!" Ellen spat.
'I'm sorry, Kanami,' Hiyori apologized in her mind. 'But I'll do whatever it takes to save you.'
She didn't care about her happiness or her life in that moment, only determined to protect her friends. Hiyori swiftly grabbed Tagitsuhime's arm, pulling her close to her. With the best evil look she could manage, Hiyori flashed Kanami a cruel grin, before kissing Tagitsuhime forcefully on the lips. The sound of a clang was heard a second later. At first, Kanami wondered what it was, until she realized that she had dropped Chidori in her shock. Her three friends wore similar looks of horror.
It was as though someone stabbed her in the chest. Kanami put a hand to her heart, tears spilling down her cheeks. She almost forgot how to breathe as she stared at the sight before her.
"Hiyori-chan?" Kanami whimpered.
Hiyori broke the kiss, pretending to smile fondly at Tagitsuhime, before saying, "They'll be on their way now that they know the truth."
Then, with a look of hatred, she ordered Kanami, "Leave."
"No!" Kanami shouted, her swollen eyes now glaring at Hiyori.
Tagitsuhime cackled, "You heard your precious lovebird. Juujou Hiyori is mine now. And the last thing we need is a third wheel."
Kanami grabbed Chidori, intending to strike down the aradama princess until she felt the forceful blast of lightning push her out of the haiden. A few seconds later, the other three Tojis joined her outside on the ground, moaning in pain.
"Hiyori-chan!" Kanami screamed, running back towards the shrine.
She was pushed back, however, as lightning from the sky crashed down to the ground, narrowly missing her. The other three didn't need any more persuasion and grabbed Kanami, dragging her away, kicking and struggling.
Back in the shrine haiden, Tagitsuhime was pressing light kisses along Hiyori's neck. The aradama Toji put up no resistance. If submitting herself to Tagitsuhime gave her friends enough time to leave the mountain, Hiyori would gladly swallow her pride. She let out an audible moan, feeling the immoral pleasure on her skin.
"So, you've finally accepted me as yours?" Tagitsuhime snickered, running her hands up and down Hiyori's body, lingering for a few seconds on certain parts. "You're willing to be mine?"
Hiyori shamefully nodded her head, tears threatening to escape from her eyes. Tagitsuhime lifted her chin, before telling her to follow her. Hiyori found herself walking behind the aradama princess outside to a small building in the back that she never noticed before. The doors were sealed tightly with noro. Tagitsuhime removed the noro with a swift motion of her hand, unlocking the doors before flinging them open.
Hiyori's eyes widened once she looked inside. Two figures were on the floor, bound in chains. Their faces were pale and miserable, and the chains had bruised their skin.
Hiyori gasped, "Origami Yukari and Akane?"
A/N: For fun, whoever can guess why Hiyori's lair is called Onryō Shrine gets a cookie. ;)
Also, interesting fact. If you're wondering how Hiyori was able to create a spiky glass fortress, it's actually 'cause of some cool science-thingy. Apparently, when there is the perfect amount of silica or quartz in the earth, lightning can actually create amazing glass sculptures. I suggest searching it up.