A/N: This is the last chapter for "Sparked". Big thank you to all of you who have followed and supported my Toji No Miko fanfic. It was a lot of fun writing this fanfic and hope you all enjoyed it!
Chapter 22:
"And unfortunately, the Renpu Tojis who attacked us, were able to escape," Maki finished.
"Thank you for your report, Shidou-san," Akane said.
Yukari ordered, "Please report back to Director Maniwa, if you may."
The Elite Guard bowed, before exiting the hospital room. The two Origami sisters were now staring at the two individuals in front of them. Kanami and Hiyori looked nothing alike; not even their personalities were similar. But now, the two of them wore the same guilty frowns on their faces, as they tensely met the gazes of the Origami sisters.
"I'm going to get straight to the point when I say this," Yukari sighed, "but this situation will be different on a whole new level. The Great Disaster of Sagami Bay was duck soup. This time, we're all going to have to deal with an aradama princess with three goddesses inside her."
"Which is something I don't understand," Kanami admitted. "How could Hiyorihime even possibly exist in the first place? I mean, isn't she-?"
Then, she stopped remembering that Hiyori was right beside her. A regretful look tugged at Kanami's facial features, when she saw the misery in Hiyori's eyes. She took Hiyori's hand, wrapping her warm fingers around it.
"Don't worry, Hiyori-chan. We'll save Kagari-chan."
Kanami received a grateful smile in response, but even then, she could tell that Hiyori was still worried.
"To answer your question, Etou, possibly when you kissed Juujou, Tagitsuhime merged with her to save her life. However, as you know, aradama has the capability to have high intelligence and intellect when enough noro agglomerates with it," Yukari explained. "As Juujou had already absorbed quite a large amount of noro before that, the full aradama inside her must have gotten strong enough to not need to be a part of her anymore."
"So, you mean if I never kissed Hiyori-chan..." Kanami faltered.
Emotions of guilt tugged at her heart. Her mouth drooped downward, as the gleaming spark she always seemed to have in her eyes, faded. Hiyori glanced at Kanami through the side of her eyes, feeling uncomfortable. She hesitated, before putting a hand on the Minoseki Toji's shoulder.
"It's fine, Kanami. You saved me," Hiyori reassured her friend.
Feeling the warmth from Hiyori's hand brought a small smile to Kanami's face. She didn't regret saving Hiyori and if the price was now having to deal with Hiyorihime, she would take it in stride. All Kanami cared about was the fact that Hiyori was alive and that she could now remain by her side forever. The Heijou Toji gave a similar look of happiness, before it turned to one of confusion.
"Just how could you merge with Tagitsuhime in the first place?" Hiyori questioned.
"I might be able to explain that," Akane answered. "You two are connected in more ways than you know."
Twenty Three Years Ago...
"Why won't you help her?!" a voice screamed.
Akane desperately tried to hold back the dark green-haired Toji, who was screaming at the doctors before her. Tears streamed down the flailing girl's cheeks, as she stole a desperate glance at the hospital bed next to her. The young, purple-haired woman occupying the bed was unconscious and just barely breathing.
"Kagari-chan, please! The doctors are doing everything they can," Akane said, trying to calm down her friend.
Kagari shook her head, as she choked back tears. She wouldn't let her friend die!
"Please! Give Minato-senpai my blood!" she begged, at last. "Please, save her!"
Present Day
"Kagari really cared for Minato," Akane finished. "Something Tagitsuhime knew very well, which is why I'm sure she knew she could merge with you."
The smile, which she had on her face, slightly became more melancholic as she continued to gaze at the two girls. As memories resurfaced in Akane's mind, Kanami's hair disappeared, replaced by a purple spiky ponytail. Her stature became taller and more athletic. When the younger Origami sister turned to stare at Hiyori, she instead saw a young girl with dark-green hair and a composed expression.
A murmur escaped the younger Origami sister's mouth. "You both have your mothers' eyes."
"What was that, Akane-sama?" Kanami asked.
Akane blinked, and immediately the image of Minato and Kagari faded away. A nervous laugh left her mouth.
She shook her head, replying, "Nothing."
Kanami and Hiyori glanced at each other, unable to help but display the slightest hint of concern. However, everyone's thoughts were interrupted once Hiyori let out a pained moan, clutching her stomach. Her head pounded, as the world started spinning around her. She held her breath, waiting for the pain to pass.
"Hiyori-chan, are you okay?" Kanami asked.
Hiyori ignored her, instead putting a hand to her mouth and running out of the room. Kanami only shared a worried glance with the Origami sisters, before running after her friend. She didn't have to run very far to catch up with the Heijou Toji. Throwing open the women's lavatory door, Kanami was met with the scene of Hiyori slumped against the toilet, retching.
"Hiyori-chan, what's wrong?" Kanami gasped. "What's going on?"
Hiyori only let out another moan. Her hair was damp with sweat, her face paper-white. She was so weary that her sight was all blurry. The pounding in Hiyori's head felt like someone was trying to break it open with a jackhammer.
"Can you get up, Hiyori-chan?"
Weakly, Hiyori nodded and took Kanami's outstretched hand, allowing the Minoseki Toji to hoist her over her shoulder. Just moving made Hiyori want to black out, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to bear with it.
"Come on, Hiyori-chan. Let's take you to one of the medical staff members."
In the early hours of the evening, a lone figure carefully made her way down to the depths of a gorge, hidden in the Yamanashi Mountains. The cries from a crow echoed through the gorge as it followed the young woman. The skies were streaked with vibrant colors of orange, yellow, and pink. A great contrast to the gloomy greys that raged during Hiyori's aradama reign. The acres of what used to just be full of dark greens and black, prickly branches were starting to look as though they came from the Garden of Eden.
Hiyorihime's lips were pressed together, as she glowered at the beauty all around her. Already her dark dominion was starting to weaken. That would change soon. The frantic cries of the child she held pulled Hiyorihime out of her thoughts of conquest and revenge.
"Mama!" Kagari cried. "Mama!"
"Hush, my little one," Hiyorihime soothed. "Everything will be alright."
She stopped, staring at the noro that was now at her feet. With a sinister grin, Hiyorihime raised Shitsuren, letting it glow with energy. The noro swirled around her, before clumping together in certain places. Within just a few seconds, the liquid substance became the formed angular figure of Hiiragi Konoka.
"You!" Konoka growled, once she lay eyes on the person who summoned her.
"Is that how you address a princess?" Hiyorihime frowned.
Konoka raised an eyebrow at that. This did not sound like the Hiyori she was familiar with. Although the young woman before her had the same stern features as the Heijou Toji, Konoka knew that Hiyori wasn't a person who cared about status. From what she experienced, the green-haired woman knew that if the real Hiyori was standing in front of her, she would have already tried chopping off her head.
"You are not Juujou Hiyori, are you?" Konoka said.
"Yes and no. More like the part of Hiyori that is the true version of who she really is," Hiyorihime said, absentmindly.
She held her hand in front of her, admiring her blue, talon-like fingernails, as she added, "Hiyori's body was nothing but a vessel for me. I wasn't strong enough to break away from her at the time."
Hiyorihime let a nefarious grin show on her face, giving Konoka a clear view of her pointed fangs, as she crooned, "Until Kanami released me."
She balanced Kagari with one arm, as she outstretched the other. Immediately, her pet crow perched on it, ready to serve his true mistress once more. Konoka soon discovered that the little feathered bird wasn't the only one of Hiyorihime's minions. Her eyes widened, once she saw who was approaching. An army of girls, wearing S-Equipment with red visors, took their places behind the aradama princess, their okatanas drawn. Konoka recognized them as the Renpu Tojis she ordered for President Takatsu to recruit for her.
"With your former personal guard as my army, I'll bring Hiyori to her knees. I'll make her beg for mercy."
Konoka swallowed as she stared at the aradama princess. Though the sun had not gone completely down, the Hiiragi woman felt cold. Despite this, already Konoka was starting to like this version of her niece.
"How may I serve you, Hime-sama?" she asked, her eyes flaming with wicked glee.
A cruel grin spread itself across Hiyorihime's face. Her eyes glowed with energy, as her hair expanded into long tendrils, with several blue eyes of noro appearing underneath it. A burst of lighting erupted from Shitsuren and exploded into the sky, as Hiyorihime let out a series of cackles.
"We have much work to do."
A/N: And that's it for "Sparked". Wow, we now have Konoka back along with Hiyorihime, our new villain. And could possibly be wrong with Hiyori right now? Is she feeling symptoms of weakness or perhaps something else? Again, feel free to send me your thoughts and theories. I love hearing from you all!
As I'm sure you could all tell from the cliffhanger ending, yes, there will be a sequel for this. The Toji No Miko game characters will have more appearances in the sequel than they did in this fanfic, as they'll have a more definite and vital role.
I'm so thankful to all of you guys! Thank you all for your kind and helpful reviews, and see you later until the sequel!