Chapter 8: The Elemental
If you guys saw the author's note before I deleted it, you know that reviews are unseeable right? If I don't reply to them, I don't see them, because I make sure to reply to everyone. If I see them by the next chapter, I'll reply to them then. The five for chapter 7 and the ones for chapter 8.
Rin: Don't forget! Hana, Len, and I love you all and we would never ignore you unless there's some kind of problem!
Len: So please, continue supporting us! Or Hana is going to sulk the whole week like she's doing now!
Me: *sulks*
Rin and Len: Like so…
Me: *sigh* Let's commence…
Rin and Len: We apologize if the writing is a bit bad this chapter because of the author's sulking!
Action!
Presenting: Chapter 8: The Elemental!
…
Recap:
A blast of force echoed around Rin. She raised her face, streaked with grime and tears, and a woman emerged from the ground around her. A light green glow emitted around her as a green jewel began to form in the hollow of her throat.
"I'LL KILL YOU! ASHURI!"
…
A loud scream finally caused Len to tear his eyes away from the corpse of his beloved adopted sister. He decided never to use the last name Hatsune again. He didn't care if it was his legal name. His name was Len Kagamine.
The scream was full of rage, anger, sadness, and simply pure fury to almost the point of insanity. The source?
Rin.
His head slowly turned around to watch her, seething, glaring at Ashuri, the Demon Commander. Then he noticed something off about her.
A green glow? A green jewel? And who in the world was that mud woman?
"What happened?" He whispered, his voice hoarse. He hadn't been listening to the earlier conversation since he had been too busy grieving.
Lenka let out a wry laugh. "We should probably evacuate before Rin goes berserk."
"Berserk?"
"She's the Earth Elemental, Len. And in such a state, she could probably destroy this entire area if she loses control of her power."
"Earth Elemental… Rin?"
"Yes." Lenka seemed to be trying to not let exasperation show in her voice. "Len." She said softly. "I know that you are grieving. But. This really isn't the time. This is war. Len."
Len let his sister's soothing voice wake him up from his trance. Slowly, he stood up. "Right…"
Suddenly the mud woman approached the Drafted and Angels, who all cowered behind Rin, too amazed to move. "GO!" She screamed, surprising everyone. "Or do you want to be destroyed by Rin?! EVACUATE!" Startling them, the woman herded them to their feet and shooed them out of the clearing. They disappeared through the trees.
"Come on, Len!" Lenka pulled him towards the edge of the clearing. He let her drag him before he spotted Rin. Her face, rage filled and ready to kill.
He abruptly dropped his sister's hand. No. He had to support her. "You go."
Some Demons managed to escape as well before tall vines created a prickly barrier around the clearing. "Len!" He heard Lenka scream as the barrier blocked her from him.
Now all that were trapped in the barrier was Rin, the Demons and Ashuri, the two Elemental Spirits, and Len.
The mud woman spotted him, momentarily looking surprised that he hadn't made it over the barrier. Her facial expression then softened. "You are her beloved, are you not?"
Len blushed lightly at the sudden words. "Um…"
She laughed, a noise like tinkling bells. "You two are still beating around the bush, hm?" She held out her hand. "My name is Kusa, the Earth Spirit."
"P-pleased to meet you?" Len phrased it as a question, taking her hand and shaking it. It felt cold and slimy; he was surprised that no mud came off on his fingers. "I'm Len."
"You as well." Kusa glanced at the vine barrier. "Well, you can't leave now. Might as well stay here. I'll protect you." She winked. "I can tell how much you mean to Rin."
…
Rage blurred Rin's vision. She knew of two things:
Kill Ashuri.
And since she can't really kill Kaze, she decided to give the Wind Spirit a good beating.
"Rin." Kusa appeared by her side. "Rin. Calm down."
"Don't tell me that!" She snapped angrily.
"If you don't, you'll kill Len!" The Earth Spirit retorted hotly.
"What?!" This caught Rin's attention. "Weren't they going to escape?" In the few seconds that she was summoned, Kusa managed to slow down time and quickly explain Elemental powers and that she was going to evacuate everyone to Rin.
"Yes." Kusa admitted sheepishly. "He stayed behind."
Through her rage-filled vision, she managed to spot Len, flattened against the barrier, staring at her with determination and encouragement in his beautiful sapphire eyes.
"I'll kill him!" Rin cried frantically through her telepathic communication with Kusa.
"That's why you need to calm down!"
"Are you done?" A voice broke through their internal fighting. Ashuri watched on, bored. That sentence almost made her seem sane for a moment, causing both Rin and Kusa to freeze in surprise. Then she grinned wickedly. "I want to torture you already."
Kaze's wind swirled around her. She glared menacingly. "Stop fighting already! Bring it on, sister!"
Rin took a few deep breaths. Kusa watched worriedly, not rising to the bait. "Rin." She suggested softly. "Change to Elemental form. You're upset enough to do it. It might get rid of some of your anger."
"You sure?"
"Positive." Kusa tried to reply cheerfully. I think. I hope.
Rin winced, unlocking her power. The strength of the magic almost overwhelmed her. She chanted. "I am the controller of the earth." Instead of reciting the line for just summoning the sacred weapon, she went on. "Come to me, Petal Bow. I call upon the full power of the earth to change my persona, to truly make me one with my element. Kusa, I am thy master, and so thou shalt grant me this power!"
"I agree to these terms as the earth spirit, Kusa!" Kusa sealed the spell.
Vines protruded from the ground that was ripped barren of grass. They rapidly wrapped around Rin, encasing her.
Kaze recognized these signs. Her eyes widened. "Crap! Ashuri, attack them now!"
The Demon Commander blindly obeyed, and both she and Kaze led the rest of the Demons forward. They all lunged at the Earth Elemental, only to be stopped by whips of vines slashing their way.
"I won't let you harm her!" Kusa shouted, stepping forward.
"Sister." Kaze hissed. The two spirits engaged in a chaotic battle, wind against earth.
"I won't let you either!" Len lunged forth from his position by the barrier, his fists clenched with determination. He drew his sword, raising it above his head. "For Rin! And for," He faltered a little, before shouting with reinvigorated strength. "MIKU!"
…
As her spirit and lover fended the enemies away from her, Rin was currently inside her mind. She was in a clearing where flowers dotted the ground, much like the one her physical body was in, but more… green.
"Hello?" She called, a bit timid.
"Rin *******." Her last name was blocked by a beeping sound as another Rin appeared in her mind. This Rin wore a short emerald dress with high white knee socks. Her hair was done in a small bun and many emeralds adorned her small graceful body. "What is it that you wish for? Enough to call upon the form of an Elemental?"
"I…" She murmured, staring at her other form. "I want to defeat Ashuri and Kaze! I want to avenge Miku and everyone who died here!"
"What good do you believe will come of that?" Her other form cocked her head to the side cutely. "They're already dead. What is the point?"
"I…" She didn't know. "Saving everyone?"
"They already escaped."
"..."
"You don't know, do you?"
"..."
"Look to the future, Rin. Don't dawdle in the past. Now. Tell me."
Images shot through Rin's mind. Suddenly, she understood.
Mayu, traumatized indefinitely by her past.
The Angels, most not remembering their past.
Miku, having the burden of being an Elemental because of her emotional past and birthright.
"I…"
Len, holding out his hand to her for a new…
"Future. I want to defeat them. SO THE SAME THING WON'T REPEAT IN THE FUTURE!" Rin screamed, finally realizing.
Her other form smiled, satisfied.
"Good." The landscape slowly faded away. "As long as you remember that."
…
Rin burst out of the vines. She was now dressed the same as her other form. Her Elemental form. Her emerald skirt ruffled in the wind as she drew a white bow with ends tipped with purple.
Len believed that he had never seen anything as beautiful.
Kaze howled in shock while Kusa grinned. "Rin! The rarer the flower, the stronger the attack!"
"Oh?" Rin replied coolly, examining the bow. "I see." She then narrowed her eyes in Len's direction. Or more specifically, at the Demons attacking him. "Get off of him!" Her eyes flared in anger as she watched them wound him.
She held out her hand. "Triple Rose Arrow." Green, purple, and white roses materialized from a mud puddle that appeared in her hand. Their stems were sharpened to the point that it was similar to a knife. "These are pretty common. They mean hope, enchantment, and purity. How fitting." She laughed coldly, eyes fixed on the Demons. "You have none of these."
They were a blur, flying towards him. He braced himself to be hit along with the Demons, but it never came. He opened one eye to see a quick mud barrier, guarding him from the explosions occurring outside.
When the mud barrier dissolved, all the Demons had disintegrated, except for their Commander, lying weakly on the ground. It pained Len to watch a twelve year old girl, bleeding all over, struggle to stand up.
But it had to be done.
"Still alive?" Rin made her presence known from besides Len. She gently helped him to his feet, contrasting with the cold emotion in her sapphire eyes. "I'll treat you to a rare arrow. Arrow of Campion." This time, the flower was a beautiful shade of purple. It had been pronounced extinct for a while before it was once again found.
She didn't shoot it from her bow. Instead, she quietly made her way over to Ashuri, standing by her body, still supporting Len. "I'm sorry." Len heard her whisper. It was nothing like what she acted like a few seconds before.
The Demon Commander glanced up at her, and they once again spotted the adolescent girl who wanted to be accepted in her crimson eyes. "Do it." She choked weakly. "The princess will be able to rest in peace."
"No." Rin shook her head softly. "Only the future will be able to be peaceful."
Ashuri blinked in surprise. Then she smiled. "T-tell… Sayuri-nee… I love her, alright?"
"I promise." Rin replied solemnly. Closing her eyes, she used shaking palms to grasp the arrow.
Len gently placed his hand on her arm. Meeting her sky blue orbs with his own, he smiled in encouragement.
And the arrow stabbed down.
…
Kaze watched in shock as the new Earth Elemental executed Elemental form and made quick work of the Demons. That human boy was something too, being able to stand his own against the Demons for a while. They were prodigies.
Her gaze flicked back to her sister, who was watching her, a bit sad, but also with a smirk. They both knew. Kaze wouldn't be able to win this battle.
"Just give it up, Kaze." Kusa murmured softly.
Kaze quickly reviewed her options. It was either escape now or escape later. And spirit or not, being skewered by the arrows of the Petal Bow was painful.
"This isn't over, Kusa." Kaze melted into the wind.
She won't be able to show her face at the Elemental's home for a while. Kasai and Mizu would murder her.
…
The Drafted crowded around their Princess's body. They had covered her in a white cloth and the Witch of Wood had built a stretcher. Graves littered the barren clearing of the battlefield, on each carved the names of the Drafted who had passed in this battle and the ones in Merli and IA's groups.
"Miku." Rin muttered softly. She was now the leader of the Drafted, being an Elemental. It had been about a week since the battle. The Angels had returned to their home, Mayu apologizing for everything and Lenka promising to visit sometimes. The Drafted themselves were leaving today after everyone had grieved and gotten back on their feet. Rin wished that they could bring all the bodies with them to give a proper burial, but they couldn't. "I'm an Elemental now. You did a great job leading us all. Thank you. Rest peacefully."
Rin and SeeU had even dug a grave for Ashuri. She now rested peacefully in the clearing with all the other heroes of the battle.
"I hope I do as good as you."
Arms gently wrapped around her shoulders. She leaned back, knowing who it was, breathing in his scent. She and Len had finalized their relationship the day after the war.
No. Not by dating.
He was now an official warlock.
His hands trailed gently down her arms, lightly brushing the scars of the pain she had inflicted upon herself when she executed the contract. They dragged back up to lightly grab her chin and turn her to face him. "You'll do fine. I'll be here for you." He smiled gently. A couple of scars were littered on him, but his eyes were as captivating as ever.
And the Drafted disappeared into the forest once more.
…
Slightly shorter chapter for the win! Still past 2k words!
Doesn't it seem like the last chapter? It's not! (Yes, even though I'm still sad about the review thing, writing reenergized me.)
Rin: One more chapter to go and then the epilogue!
Me: Don't forget to review (even if I can't see them)!
Len: Keep an eye out for Chapter 9: The Return!
~Hana (Rin and Len)
EDIT: ... 1 hour later and I realize that it doesn't say that I updated while it does show the new chapter...
EDIT 2: Everyone. Sorry if the next chapter will be a little late because I'll be waiting for the reviews to show up before I post it. I apologize.