Disclaimer- I do not own any of the characters from Yami no matsuei. only the original character.
A/N- I had finished this chapter in one day. It's a record for me. So, i'm not sure how this chapter will come out. but i hope you like it anyway.
Chapter 3
Tsuzuki stared in horror as the huge winged dragon rose out of the pentagram. ''This can't be happening.' He turned his gaze to the smirking girl. 'What are you?'
"Ooryuu! Burn it to the ground!" ordered Alicia.
The dragon reared its massive head back, opened its mouth and spewed forth flames. Tsuzuki quickly put up a barrier protecting him, Tatsumi and Hisoka. He could see the girl standing in the mist of the flames unscathed and smiling at them.
"Stop this at once!" Tsuzuki yelled over the raging flames. He stared around to see the ministry building on fire. The dragon's hell fire had set the Sakura trees on fire as well. The only unaffected tree was the one where Oriya and Ukyou were hiding behind.
"I will burn Meifu down to the ground if I do not get my brother back!" she yelled back to him. "So what do you say, Mr. Tsuzuki? Do I get my brother or do you watch everyone die?"
"He made his decision," said Hisoka.
"You really think any person in their right mind is going to sit by and watch as their sibling is framed for something that is not his fault!" Alicia turned rage filled silver eyes upon the dragon. "Ooryuu!" But before she could give the dragon another command, Tatsumi spoke up.
"If what . . . what you say is true . . . than you should take this up with Lord Enma," said Tatsumi getting to his feet with help from Hisoka. The flames were sucking up the oxygen making it difficult to breathe.
Alicia stared at the secretary and started laughing. "How can I defend my brother when the people in charge of this place are the true culprits? No, the time for talking is over. I shall take my brother. Ooryuu! Destroy!" The dragon's huge tail slammed into the building.
"Tsuzuki, do something!" yelled Hisoka.
"STOP IT!" Tsuzuki pulled a handful of attack fuda's from his pocket and tossed them toward her. There was light and the slips of paper turned into flock of sparrows.
"Ooryuu! Halt!" She commanded and the dragon ceased his assualt on the building and waited patiently for its mistress to command it.
Alicia raised her staff and out of nowhere a flock of ravens appeared swooping down on the sparrows swallowing them. "Is that the best you can do, Mr. Tsuzuki? You're going to have to do better than that if you want to stop me. Either you fight me or you watch your little friends go up in a ball of flames." She smiled evilly at him. "Come on Tsuzuki, kill me. I'm sure all those villagers you slaughtered won't mind welcoming another of your victims into their mist."
Her words were like a knife twisting in his heart as he crumbled the fuda's in his hand. How did she know about his greatest sin. No one but the personnel inside the ministry is suppose to know about what he did when he was alive. Then he turned his pain filled eyes up to her when she spoke again.
"So, how do you want to kill me, Mr. Tsuzuki? Shall I turn my back on you or would you perfer to kill me while I sleep with an axe. I'm sure you will probably enjoy my screams of death. How does this sound. No, please don't kill me. I do not want to die," she said mockingly laughing at him.
Tsuzuki raised his hands and clutched the sides of his head as the voices of the villagers screaming to him not to kill them pierced his conscious. He fell to his knees letting the tears fall from his eyes. "No! I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He repeated while rocking back and forth.
"Tsuzuki, snap out of it!" yelled Hisoka shaking the traumatized guardian.
"Give it up kid, just hand over . . . " Before she could finish she felt something wrap around her arms forcing her to drop her staff. She looked down at her arms and saw shadows wrapped around her elbows and wrists.
"Mr. Tatsumi," Hisoka said looking at the secretary.
"I know about sorcerers like you. You channel your powers through an object to magnified the effects," said Tatsumi glaring at the young woman.
"Oh my. Whatever shall I do," she said in a mocking tone. "I guess I will have to do this." She clutched her hands into fists and the shadows fell away from her elbows and wrists. Tatsumi stared in shock. This was the first time anyone has ever broken his magic.
"Did you really think I was some weak novice that needed help like using a staff as an amplifier for my powers? You poor fools. I only have the staff so it will identify me as a Kurenai warrior. I am Alicia Muraki, Kurenai warrior, rank zero class." She smirked at them. "And encase you don't know what it means. It means that I am an elite. Only a handful of us every reach this level where the staff is merely for show." She raised one gloved hand and her staff appeared before her. Gripping the staff tightly in her hand, Alicia returned her attention back to the stunned secretary.
"Don't look so shock, Mr. Tatsumi. As I said, I know everything about all of you. There is no way for you to stop me. Let's end this. Just hand over my brother and I will leave."
"No!" yelled Tsuzuki standing to his feet. "He chose to come because he wanted to atone for the crimes he has committed. As his sister, you should respect his decision." Those purple eyes became hard and determined. "If it is a fight you want, so be it." He clasped his hands together. "Oh 12 gods who protect me. I beg you hear my plea. On flaming wings appear before me, legendary shikigami of fire. Suzaku!" Rising out of a tornado of flames with a fierce shriek was the great firebird of legends. With wings spread wide, she waited for his command. "Explode!"
"Ooryuu! Attack!" The dragon opened it mouth as flames erupted from its mouth heading for fire shikigami. And at the same time, a great ball of flames spewed from the birds mouth to overwhelm the flames of the Ooryuu and incinerated the dragon.
"It's about time you decided to fight back. At first, I was beginning to wonder what it was my brother saw in you." Alicia smiled at him as she plunged the staff into the ground and raised her gloved hands. Placing her left fist in the palm of her right hand, she extended two fingers. "You should know. I can play just as rough." Suddenly a white light engulfed her. "From the southern sky on the wings of ice and snow. I summon the celestial swan of ice, Cygnus." The sky exploded in a blinding light as a huge white swan appeared in the sky. Then she retracted her fingers forming a fist. "From the eastern sky, I summon the impenetrable force of Cancer. Give me your unbreakable armor." Cygnus spread his mighty wings as red armor appeared on them, a breastplate like that of a crab hugged his chest and resting on his head was a helmet with a crab on top. Once the spell was completed, the swan looked very imposing with the armor.
The three men looked on in shock at the huge white bird with eyes that were so black it was like looking into a deep dark well. No light whatsoever was reflected in the bird's eyes. "Don't let Cygnus' fragile form fool you. Along with Cancer's impenetrable armor, he is quite capable of taking on that overgrown parrot of yours."
Suzaku shrieked in outrage at the insult. Flames of rage rose in her eyes as the swan stood behind its mistress calmly waiting for her command. The bird's calm demeanor enraged Suzaku even more.
Alicia leaped onto the swan's head and planted her staff in the top of the helmet. "Come on, Tsuzuki, let's see which is stronger, fire or ice."
"Fire will always melt the ice," said Tsuzuki.
"True but if there is more ice than fire, the flames will go out."
Suzaku had had enough. She opened her mouth and spewed forth a river of flames. Cygnus opened his mouth and sent a blast of ice at the firebird. The three men were shocked to see the two birds evenly matched. Suzaku's flames may have been melting the ice but it was still holding her flames in a stalemate.
Alicia put her hands together forming a triangle. "From the depths of space from which all things are born, I summon forth the icy heart of the great void. Give me your power!" suddenly a black light tore through the sky striking the staff. Cygnus stretched forth his mighty wings and waited. "Now Cygnus! Celestial Glacier Freeze!" The ice swan was consumed with the black light as his ice attack pushed back Suzaku's flames.
Tsuzuki watched in horror from beneath the safety of his barrier as Suzaku's flames were snuffed out and she was encased in a block of black ice. The frozen Suzaku fell back crushing the building behind her. The freezing breath of the swan put out part of the raging inferno. Then there was a burst of light and Suzaku was gone.
"What did you do to Suzaku?" Tsuzuki demanded turning back to face the girl.
"Hmph, you needn't worry. That ice just drained her of her strength," said Alicia jumping down off the head of Cygnus. "Now, you see even with your shikigamis. You cannot defeat me. Give me what I want and I'll go away."
"Never!" Tsuzuki pulled out a handful of attack fudas and sent them at her, changing into miniature fireballs. Alicia quickly leaped out of the way.
"That's more like it," she said laughing as she dodged the fireballs.
Stepping out of the safety of the barrier he went head to head with Alicia as he sent every attack he knew at her and each time she avoided contact. Then Alicia turned and struck the ground with her staff. A fissure zig zagged from the metal ring toward where Tatsumi and Hisoka were standing. Both shinigamis leaped out of the way as the ground fell away. Deciding that they would have a better chance if he and Tsuzuki worked together. Tatsumi used his shadows to attack as well. They had caught her off guard. Whenever she tried to attack one, the other would launch his attack against her. But as the battle went on, she was able to predict and counter their attacks. Alicia Muraki was proving to be quite skilled at combat. She sliced her staff though the air sending little blades of wind to cut the men all over their bodies. Blood oozed from the wounds. "Your wounds are shallow, but next time I shall make sure they cut deep."
Alicia ran toward a kneeling Tatsumi with staff raised high and struck. Her staff hit the ground and exploded. He quickly leaped out of the way but the force from the attack sent him skidding across the ground. He was exhausted.
"Tatsumi are you all right?" asked Hisoka as he and Tsuzuki ran over to him.
"I have you now!" shouted Alicia as she was bringing her staff down on top of them.
xxxxx
Watari and Muraki ran as fast as they could through the burning collapsing building. "What in the hell is going on out there?" said Watari leaping out of the way of burning falling debris.
"Damn, I told Oriya not to tell her where I was," said Muraki. "I knew something like this would happen."
"So, do you really think you will be able to talk your sister out of attacking us?" the blonde hair guardian turned to doctor.
"I don't know." Muraki smiled to himself. "She has always been protective of me."
Both men came to a screeching halt when something crashed into the building blocking their path. Watari gasped in horror when he saw Suzaku encased in the black ice.
"Cygnus," said Muraki. "We have to hurry before it's too late." They hurried around the frozen shikigami, running to the back of the building. Just as they reached the rear exit, a large chunk of the ceiling falls blocking their path. The flames were intense as it engulfed the entire building.
"We're trapped," yelled Watari. "Both the back and front exits are blocked and with this intense heat, I'm sure the other exits are probably melted shut."
"Stand back, I'm going to make my own exit," said Muraki. Before he could blow a hole in the side of the building, the ground beneath them shook violently knocking them to the floor. A jagged crack appeared in the wall and a second later, it crumbled down providing them with a way to escape. "Come on, I have to stop her before she calls Sagittarius arrows." They ran out of the burning building and ran to the front of the building.
xxxxx
As Alicia swung her staff down at them, Tsuzuki immediately pulled out a barrier fuda just in time. Blue sparks erupted from where the staff hit the barrier and repelled her backwards.
"Tatsumi, can you get up?" asked Tsuzuki.
"Yes, I'm fine," Tatsumi said getting to his feet panting for breath. "What are we going to do about her? She is very skilled at fighting."
"Well boys, it's been a real thrill to fight you but I have things to do and places to go," said Alicia smiling. She raised one hand above her head. "From the southern sky, I summon forth the heart of the great hunter, Sagittarius. Lend me your bow and arrows!" suddenly a shimmering light fell upon Alicia as a bow with no string lowered into her hand.
"It has no bow string," said Hisoka. "And she has no arrows." They stared at her puzzled.
Raising the bow, a bow string and arrow of pure energy appeared as she pulled back. The men stared in shock as she released the arrow. Tsuzuki strength his barrier but nothing could prepare him for what happened next.
The arrow went through his barrier, setting the fuda on fire and nicking him across his cheek. Blood welled up in the cut and trickled down his cheek as he dropped the burning slips of paper. Tsuzuki stood frozen as the girl smiled evilly at him as she notched another arrow. They tried to move but found they could not. Looking down in horror, their feet were encased in cement. Tsuzuki reached for another fuda but felt his arms go limp. Realizing that there was no escape, they waited for the end to come. She aimed her arrow at Tsuzuki's heart. "Time to say good night boys." She released her arrow.
Just then, Kazutaka leaped in the way of the approaching arrow. With arms outstretched and eyes closed, he stood his ground protecting the man he loved and waited for the cold touch of death to embrace him.
"NOOOOOOOO!" screamed Alicia in horror.
