A/N: Hello again, fellow readers! I'm glad that you enjoyed my latest chapter of "Sparked". Some of you had some really interesting theories and opinions. I hope this chapter will be just as intriguing.
Chapter 12:
Exactly one month and five days had passed since Hiyori had fled from society. Her hair had turned completely blue by now, along with both of her eyes. She had lost a considerable amount of weight as well, to the point where she could easily count her ribs. Her hollow eyes had sunken in and her skin was now the same deathly-white color as Tagitsuhime's. The aradama inside Hiyori was slowly taking over her, and probably in just a short amount of time, she would lose whatever humanity she had left.
The Onryō Shrine continued to serve as her lair. She would only leave the mountain to steal noro for Tagitsuhime, and the only humans she talked to were the Origami sisters. The other humans Hiyori interacted with she either scared off or killed. Most of her victims were either young Tojis or soldiers from the Special Ritual Riot Squad, who'd venture too close to her mountain.
She had become the perfect monster that Tagitsuhime and Konoka had dreamed of: emotionless, cold, and cruel. Hiyori didn't bother denying the fact, and was ashamed to admit that she was now used to being one.
"You have been very obedient lately. I'm proud of you," Tagitsuhime said one day. "I have another mission for you. Same as always, just steal the noro."
Then, with narrowed eyes, she added, "And try not to get shot again."
Hiyori glumly stared at the eleven bullets beside her cracked mirror. Each one had its own painful memory that she knew she'd never forget.
Getting up from her chair, Hiyori grabbed Kogarasumaru and left the shrine in a flash of lightning.
Kanami sat outside of Minoseki Academy, eating a bag of Mai's cookies. Her friend had fully recovered and was released from the hospital a few days ago. However, Mai was restricted from hunting aradama at the moment, due to Director Maniwa's concerns about her stitches. The first thing Mai did was make batches of baked goods for all of her friends. The older-sister intuition inside Mai told her that Kanami and Sayaka had missed her baking. Which was very true in Kanami's case, as she found herself staring at the now empty bag, which only had crumbs left.
Looking up at the stormy clouds, Kanami let out a sigh. The rain had cleared thankfully, but there had been no rays of sunshine or signs of blue sky for the past month.
It had been a very boring day for her so far. Sayaka and Kaoru had to help with a new mission that Director Maniwa gave them. Ellen was busy with her grandfather, and Mai had to catch up on her schoolwork.
Aradama activity had also risen. Konoka had ordered for an increase in military strength and defenses. No surprise there.
Kanami pulled out of her wallet the photograph she always carried with her. It was bent and worn, and most of the colors had faded, due to her looking at it too much. It was a photo of Kanami with all of her friends. They had taken this particular picture right after Kanami and Hiyori returned from the netherworld. A smile creeped up her face, as she remembered the joy she and her friends felt in that moment.
'Hiyori-chan, we really miss you, you know,' Kanami thought.
A tear rolled down her cheek and dropped onto the photo. Kanami hastily wiped it away. This picture meant so much to her, and she would have hated it getting damaged beyond repair. She carefully put the photo in her wallet, just as her Spectrum Finder started buzzing.
'An aradama?'
Kanami picked up Chidori and took off swiftly, following the directions of her Spectrum Finder. The building she reached looked as though a bomb was blown up near it. Shards of glass were scattered everywhere and smoke rose from the remains of the building.
When Kanami ran inside, she stopped abruptly. Her eyes widened as she gazed at the figure before her. Kanami thought she was dreaming, but the stab she felt in her heart reminded her that she wasn't. Wrapped in a blue aura, okatana in hand, Juujou Hiyori possessed the same beauty that Kanami remembered, but it seemed emptier and colder than usual.
Kanami gulped, "Hiyori-chan..."
"Kanami..."
The Minoseki Toji took in the girl before her. Despite Hiyori's drastically changed appearance, Kanami could still tell it was the same girl she fell in love with. Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes.
"Is it...really you?" Kanami whispered, trembling.
Emotions swelled up in Hiyori's chest. Just what she needed... She turned away, not wanting to gaze upon the girl she loved.
"Go away, Kanami," she ordered.
Hiyori's voice sounded different to Kanami. It sounded colder and more distant, but she shrugged it off.
"I won't," Kanami said, going up to Hiyori and wrapping her arms around her.
Sniffling, Kanami choked, "You didn't even let me say goodbye to you back then."
Hiyori said nothing. She couldn't stay here. She needed to leave before the police or even worse, the Special Ritual Riot Squad showed up. There would be no doubt that they would capture her, if not kill her on the spot.
Kanami couldn't stop crying, letting her tears stain Hiyori's uniform, as she continued to embrace the girl. She felt her knees weaken.
"I love you...Hiyori-chan."
Those three words... Just hearing them caused Hiyori to feel like a storm. Quite literally too, as her emotions caused a flurry of turbulent wind to fly all around the two of them. The two Tojis' hair whipped in the wind, but neither of them seemed to notice it. Hiyori tried her best to squirm out of Kanami's grasp, but Kanami was determined to remain locked in this position.
"You should stop loving me and start fearing me already!" Hiyori shouted, refusing to listen to her heart.
With her full strength, she shoved Kanami away. Hiyori's hair flowed above her head as blue energy illuminated her eyes. Lightning shot forth from Hiyori's hands, as she clenched her fists, lighting up the room with a powerful glow. Kanami fell back, terrified of the great display of power Hiyori had cast.
"Is this the girl you love?!" Hiyori shrieked. "A monster?!"
Kanami glared at her, feeling provoked. Why couldn't Hiyori trust her? One thing about the Heijou Toji that always ticked Kanami off was how Hiyori always felt she had to do everything by herself.
Kanami knew what she had to do.
She got up and unsheathed Chidori, spitting out, "Well then, I guess since you're a monster, I'll have to fight you."
Her spiteful words made Hiyori actually let out a growl.
"So, this is why you love me?! Because I'm an equal match for you in dueling?!" she yelled, then with a scathing voice, "But then again, that's all you ever care about in people."
Hiyori unsheathed Kogarasumaru, letting her power wrap around it. She was in no mood for games.
"I'll show you what a monster looks like," she said, before launching herself at Kanami.
They fought fiercely. Every technique and every move they had knowledge of, they used, trying to beat each other into submission. Kanami let a smug smirk cross her face. Hiyori had gotten stronger since she last dueled her.
"You're more in control of your powers, I see," Kanami panted, her smirk widening. She couldn't help feeling turned on at how intoxicating Hiyori was, full of fiery wrath while breathing hard.
"Disappointed?" Hiyori snapped.
"Hardly," Kanami replied.
In her senseless anger, Hiyori wanted nothing more than to rip that smug grin off of Kanami's face, even though she knew that she couldn't possibly beat her. Ichikishimahime's future sight proved that. However, Hiyori's rage blinded her from fully accepting that, as she continued to swing her blade at her opponent. Their blades met and tangled.
"Your arrogance is revolting," Hiyori seethed. "And your impulsiveness makes me sick."
"I know that," Kanami teased. "But I only show my arrogance and impulsiveness to you."
Her innuendo earned her a worthwhile reaction from Hiyori, who snarled, "Now you're just being a womanizer."
"I'm not denying it." Those words literally made Hiyori see red.
Kanami quickly swung her blade, aiming for Hiyori's stomach, but found that she had easily blocked it with the side of Kogarasumaru. Kanami stopped and stared at the aradama Toji in surprise.
"Nice try," Hiyori said, before swinging her okatana, pushing Kanami back.
Kanami smiled, laughing, "This is fun, right Hiyori-chan?"
Then, with a seductive smile, she added, "It's even more fun watching you sweat and pant."
Hiyori had enough of Kanami's humor. She grabbed Kogarasumaru with both hands ready to deal the winning blow.
"You've gotten stronger, Hiyori-chan," Kanami began, then with a hard look, "but if there's one weakness you do have, it's that you lose concentration when angry!"
With a yell, Hiyori thrust her okatana towards Kanami...to then be sliced down by Chidori. The energy in Hiyori's hair gradually faded away, making it fall down in her face one lock at a time. Her eyes lost their white glow, diminishing back to blue. With a saddened smile, Hiyori let her body fall to the ground.
"Strong as always, huh, Kanami?" she weakly said.
Hiyori let out a hiss of pain when she felt Kanami pin her down. She expected Kanami to deal the finishing strike with Chidori, but instead felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her. Kanami's body shook as she sobbed.
"If you think I love you just because you're a good sparring partner, you're totally wrong!" Kanami cried. "I love you either way! I've always loved you and always will!"
"Kanami..."
Hiyori tried to struggle out of Kanami's grip, but was stopped when she felt Kanami's lips crush onto her own. The kiss was desperate and rough, but Kanami didn't care. She needed Hiyori. A moan escaped from Hiyori's mouth, once she felt Kanami shove her tongue past her lips. After a long time, they finally broke apart. Both of them were panting heavily with tears streaming down their cheeks.
Through the haziness of her mind, Hiyori couldn't help comparing the kiss she just shared with Kanami to the numerous ones Tagitsuhime gave her. Although both of them were rough, Kanami's had a more loving warmth to it, while Tagitsuhime's was just full of harsh sexual desire.
"Hiyori-chan..."
The wailing sounds of police sirens from outside made Hiyori jolt up. She quickly grabbed Kogarasumaru, intending to flee. However, the pull on her uniform made her pause. Kanami was clinging to her dress with her head hung low.
"If this is the last time we ever see each other," Kanami wavered, "at least promise me that you'll be happy."
Hiyori turned away, refusing to look back at her.
"I will," she choked out.
A smile made its way across Kanami's face as tears continued to pour from her eyes. It was as though the world went into slow-motion, as she finally let go of Hiyori, letting the Heijou Toji disappear in a bolt of lightning. For a few seconds, Kanami remained on the ground, staring at where Hiyori had just been. Then, her body shook and she let the sobs she was holding in, make their way out of her throat.
"Kanami, are you okay?"
She looked up to see Asakura Mihono, a Toji who also attended Minoseki Academy. A bunch of other Tojis were right behind her, followed by a few police officers.
"Search the building," a police officer ordered. "There could be injured people."
Mihono went up to what remained of the building's butsudan and peered inside.
"Seems like the noro was stolen," she commented.
"Noro? Stolen?" Kanami was confused.
"Didn't you hear, Kanami? There has been an aradama stealing noro everywhere across Japan!" Mihono exclaimed. "And if anyone tries to stop it, they never live to tell the tale! The aradama slaughters them brutally."
"There's been at least fifty deaths by now," another Toji added. "Haven't you heard it on the news?"
"No," Kanami admitted. She honestly hadn't watched the news lately, due to not wanting to hear Konoka talk about military numbers and brag about her own position of power.
Memories of Hiyori, her hair and eyes ablaze with lightning, made Kanami pray that what she was thinking wasn't true. After a month of being apart, who was Hiyori now? Was she still the determined girl who'd argue about mint-chocolate ice cream not being toothpaste? Or was she something completely different now?
'Hiyori-chan...are you still the same?'
A/N: Well, hope that little spar between Kanami and Hiyori was entertaining! This got inspired from Episode 21 when Kanami had to give some tough love to Hiyori. It was so heart-warming watching that scene, cause Kanami was finally able to find something else she cared for other than sword-fighting. And she didn't love Hiyori just because she could use a sword, she loved her anyway. The feels!
(Something tells me Kanami had a crush on Hiyori since the first day.) Honestly, saying, "I ran away with you just because we didn't finish our spar," made me raise an eyebrow.
Sorry for me rambling. Have a great day, y'all!