Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.

Parasitica led master and apprentice on a merry chase throughout Shurikon. Numerous times, she tried to confuse them with body doubles and illusions, tried to distract them by summoning minions to hinder them and attempted to buy herself more time to get the scroll case open. However, Mibojin unfailingly was able to pick her out from all the duplicates, and any obstacle the evil queen threw in their path she and Hood were able to clear out very swiftly.

"Sensei, how am I doing this?" Hood wondered after she crushed another half a dozen Shadowkhan and mantis Funghouls. "I've been training with you for months, but even so, I shouldn't be this good already, should I?"

"It's quite simple. You're doing it because you must," Mibojin replied, slitting the throat of her last ninja zombie and lunging at Parasitica, who cursed and took off again.

"What do you mean?" Hood asked, chasing after her.

"While training is all well and good, experience is often the best teacher. Often, the best way to improve oneself is to be put in a situation where you must improve or else, you'll die," Manti explained. "Our mission is of paramount importance. Failure is not an option. You know this with every fiber of your being. And so, you are surpassing your limits with every breath, because to do otherwise is to fall behind, and you cannot, will not do that."

"I see… Yes, that makes sense," Hood realized. "And Parasitica can't really do that, can she? She's not here. She's just piloting that bug from afar. She isn't in any danger. There isn't really any impetus for her to improve or grow stronger because this isn't do or die for her. Not like it is for us."

"Precisely," Mibojin replied with more than a little approval. "You really have learned how to be a proper ninja, haven't you?"

"I had a good teacher," Hood said fondly.

"No, you didn't," Mibojin rejected this. "I never took you as seriously as I should have. You're this good despite my training, not because of it. I promise, after this, I will give your education my fullest attention."

Hood sniffled, tearing up. "That's all I've ever wanted."

Their long pursuit of Parasitica finally came to an end at a replica ninja castle filled with traps and mazes. As the duo vaulted over the walls, the gates suddenly shut behind them, and Shadowkhan appeared and set the top of the walls ablaze, trapping them in the castle courtyard.

"You shouldn't have followed me here, Bugranger!" Parasitica sneered, perched atop one of the castle's tiers. "Because this will be your place to die!"

Somewhere on the Rainbow Line, Akira Nijino sneezed.

"What about me?" Hood asked.

"You will die too."

"No, I mean why didn't you mention me in the same breath as sensei? I've been chasing you as well," Hood pointed out.

"Because I don't care about you. Also, what was I supposed to say, 'you shouldn't have followed me here, Bugranger and sidekick?' Doesn't sound quite as good."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

"But now that you've fallen into my trap, you will die here," Parasitica sneered as more evil ninjas materialized around her. "My thralls shall keep you occupied, while I finally unlock the secrets of the scroll!"

"I seem to remember you saying that you were going to send all of your minions to try and kill Kagami," Manti pointed out.

"This may be a difficult concept for you to understand, but since I am no longer a part of the Hive, that means I can say things that are not necessarily true. This is called 'lying,'" Parasitica said condescendingly.

"I know what lying is," the Divine Insect grumbled.

"Have fun with my slaves," Parasitica crooned as more and more ninjas manifested. "I doubt they'll kill you, but they'll certainly hold you off long enough for me to at last get this damn case open-"

"The scroll… Is MINE!"

With a bellow of fury, something smashed through the gates, sending the dark ninjas flying, and Mibojin and Hood barely dodged out of the way before the something smashed into the castle, hitting it so hard the entire first floor shattered and the structure partially collapsed on itself, causing Parasitica to cry out in surprise and nearly lose her grip on the scroll as she suddenly found herself a lot close to the ground. "What-"

She barely jumped out of the way just before something burst through the eave she'd been standing on, sending shingles flying everywhere. The monstrous Kōnchuki shrieked and convulsed erratically as his wings buzzed discordantly, causing everyone to flinch. "The scroll… Is MINE!" He shrieked, acidic saliva flying everywhere and melting everything it touched.

"ANOTHER Hitotsuki?!" An incredulous Hood cried.

"Well, there's two at Tokucon, I suppose we were due for one," Mibojin grunted.

"Wait… That's… That Ono fellow, isn't it?" Manti realized. She shook her head sadly. "A pity. It seems like he couldn't resist giving into his darker urges yet again."

"Poor guy really needs help," Hood agreed with a sympathetic nod.

"This could actually work to our advantage, though," Mibojin observed as Kōnchuki chased after the enraged Parasitica, trying to get the scroll from her. The outraged Swarm queen kept trying to eviscerate him with her blades, but his carapace was quite tough, his movements too erratic, and he didn't seem to notice any pain, so fixated was he on claiming his prize. "If Parasitica has to deal with him as well as us, it will make it that much easier to steal the scroll."

"Or that much more difficult, since he'll come after us if he realizes we have it," Hood countered. "Plus, what if she kills him? Then she could turn him into some sort of horrendous Hitotsuki/Fungal Beast hybrid and then we'd REALLY be in trouble!"

"True. Do you have an alternative?" Mibojin inquired.

Hood nodded. "I do."

"It's an interesting plan," Mibojin observed, reading her mind. "I'm a little surprised you'd suggest something that underhanded. Are you sure you can pull it off?"

Hood nodded with determination. "There's only one way to find out."

Mibojin nodded in approval. "Very well. I… trust you."

She meant every word.

As Hood squealed in delight, Mibojin launched herself into the air. "PARASITICA!"

"What-"

Mibojin tackled her, smashing her through one of the castle walls. Kōnchuki snarled and started to go after her when Hood called out to him. "Hey! Minoru Ono!"

"That is not my name!" The Hitotsuki shouted. "I am Kōnchuki!"

"Right, sorry," Hood apologized. "Look, you want to kill Taro Momoi, right?"

"I do, almost more than I want to be a ninja," Kōnchuki replied. "But Taro is almost impossible to defeat. The one time I killed him, he got better! I need the power of the Oonemuri Touch to guarantee victory this time!"

"But that's the thing, you don't have to! Taro is completely vulnerable right now!" Hood informed him.

Kōnchuki started. "What?! Explain!"

"There's this other Hitotsuki over in Tokucon who got him first-"

"WHAT?! Someone else killed Taro?!" Kōnchuki screamed. "But he is my nemesis!"

"Don't worry, he's not dead," Hood said quickly. "The Hitotsuki is one of those weird collector guys who wants everything in mint condition, including people. He turned Taro into a life-sized action figure and packaged him and everything! He's still alive, but completely and utterly helpless and powerless. If you go over there right now, you might be able to kill him! You won't even need the Oonemuri Touch, he can't even defend himself!"

Kōnchuki looked torn. He glanced from Hood in the direction of Tokucon, then at the castle, where the sounds of intense fighting could be heard, then back at Tokucon. "He… He's really defenseless?"

Hood nodded rapidly. "Yes! But your window of opportunity is closing. Other heroes are trying to fight the Hitotsuki, and if they defeat him, Taro will be turned back to normal. But if you kill him before that happens…"

"Then… It might actually stick!" Kōnchuki realized. He frowned. "But… Do I really want to win that way?"

Hood struggled not to curse. She did not have time for this. "Look, my sensei says morality is relative. You've tried winning a bunch of times the legit way, and it's never worked out, right?"

"Well… It did, once," Kōnchuki admitted. "But it didn't take."

"The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Just take the win," Hood urged. "You don't need the scroll. This may be your best and only shot."

Kōnchuki hesitated. He glanced at the castle again. "Well…"

"Also, there's a second Hitotsuki causing trouble over in Tokucon," Hood said quickly. "And if she gets her hands on Taro…"

"What? Another one?!" Kōnchuki exclaimed, turning his full attention back to her. "She'll try to kill Taro?!"

Hood shook her head. "Oh, you wish that's all she will do to him! Gokamiki is just turning people into collector's items, but Katsutoshiki is turning everyone that's Japanese or looks Japanese into white cis Christians and nonhumans into other ethnicities or animals because she's super racist. If she finds Taro, she'll transform him like all the rest! He won't even be Taro anymore! He'll be Thomas, or Toby, or Theodore, or worst of all… Timothy!"

Kōnchuki gasped in horror. "No! I can't let that happen! I must kill him first, to spare him such a terrible fate!"

"That's the spirit!" Hood encouraged him.

Kōnchuki opened a holographic door…

And hesitated. "Wait a minute. How do I know you're not lying to me to get rid of me?"

"I'm a member of the Hive. We literally can't lie," she assured him.

Kōnchuki still looked uncertain. "That sounds an awful lot like what someone who can lie would say to convince people they can't."

Hood sighed. "Okay yes, in all honesty, I am trying to get rid of you, but that doesn't mean anything I just said was wrong either. Also, I'm hoping that you being there might help protect my princess and her friends from those other Hitotsuki, they're sort of in harm's way right now."

"So you are using me!" Kōnchuki exclaimed. "But… At least you're being honest about it, I think," he conceded. "All right! Off I go!"

"Bye! Good luck!" She shouted after him as Kōnchuki passed through the door and disappeared. Despite herself, she couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt. While she was relatively confident the Bugrangers or one of the other heroes at the convention might stop him before he killed Taro, given everything that was going on right now that was by no means guaranteed, and she wasn't sure setting the leader of the DonBrothers up to die, no matter how unpopular he was, could really be justified as being for the greater good-

Suddenly, another holographic door opened.

'OOK AT THOSE PECS!

THIS ONI'S GONNA CLUB YOU!

"Okay, we're here, where's the Hitotsuki?" An irritated Oni Sister demanded. "I was in the middle of giving out autographs and selling manga! And I was totally going to get some guy's number!"

"You were not. And oh my. It looks like we may already be too late," Saru Brother observed, looking at the damaged and burning castle and the chaos all around them. "I shall write a haiku-"

"Oh no, this isn't a Hitotsuki's fault, there's this whole other thing going on," Hood assured them. "You just missed the guy, he went to Tokucon to kill your leader, who's been transformed into an action figure by another Hitotsuki along with the other Don."

"Tokucon?! But we were just there!" Haruka snapped, stamping on the ground in frustration.

"We had better head back there. The others are probably already fighting them," Shinichi suggested.

"Actually, I think you guys are the last ones, a third Hitotsuki turned the pheasant guy into a Caucasian Christian and the dog one into an actual dog," Hood informed them.

"What, again?" Shinichi asked. "That sure seems to happen an awful lot to him…"

"Are you kidding me?! Ugh, of course this would happen!" Oni Sister complained. "Why is everyone on this team utterly incompetent and unreliable except for me?!"

"I'd hardly say that was an accurate statement-" Saru Brother stated, only to duck as the enraged ogre tried to take his head off with her club.

"Come on, let's get going," she snapped, opening another door and dragging Saru Brother through it. "Looks like it's up to us to save everyone else's asses! AGAIN!"

"Perhaps Sononi and Sonoza will help?" Saru Brother suggested. "I would like to see Sononi again…"

"She's not into you, give it up already," Oni Sister told him bluntly. "Still, at least they're somewhat more reliable than that dumb sword, or Master…"

The door slammed closed behind them.

Her guilt alleviated by the knowledge that more heroes – for a given definition of the word – were on the case and trying very hard not to think about the fact that she might have sent them to their deaths as well, Hood took off towards the castle, knowing she needed to help her sensei.

She didn't bother following Mibojin through the opening she'd smashed into the castle, already knowing she wasn't on that floor anymore. Buzzing higher up the side of the keep, dodging or deflecting various projectiles which got flung at her and avoiding streams of boiling oil and eaves which were rigged to collapse on top of her, the cicada smashed through a wall, setting off at least half a dozen other traps. Once upon a time this might have been her undoing, but thanks to her months of training she was able to evade the arrows and darts and throwing stars, use perfect timing to get past the swinging pendulums and flaming bowls of pitch, slide beneath a collapsing ceiling before she could be crushed beneath its spikes, and navigated a shifting maze of folding doors by the simple expedient of barreling right through it.

And then seemingly at random, she veered 90° straight upwards, smashing through the ceiling, and she would've smashed Parasitica too if the possessed mantis hadn't leapt out of the way at the last second as Hood burst into the room. "GAH! Where did you come from?!"

"Colony 12, sector nine, subdivision Theta of planet Cicadia, home of the Fighting Cicadas, ranked 37th in the Pan-Galactic Bugball League, and we might've made it to the semifinals if you hadn't destroyed our planet!" Hood shouted angrily.

"I don't believe she meant that literally," Mibojin said, twirling her blades.

"I know, but I needed to get that off my chest."

"You obese brute… You do realize ninjas are supposed to be stealthy, right?!" Parasitica sneered.

"Yeah, but I had no time to be stealthy!" Hood retorted, only to pale under her mask. "Wait… Shit, did I just pull a Ninninger?!"

"I will forgive it this once, so long as you never quote that man again," Mibojin said sternly.

"Yes sensei."

"Cicadia… Cicadia …" Parasitica murmured, tapping her chin with the blade. "You know, I'd almost forgotten about your planet. There was nothing particularly memorable about it. Average population, average size, average resources, average tech level, average people… And an unimaginative name of course. Utterly forgettable and insignificant. I almost overlooked your world completely."

"Then why didn't you? Why did you destroy my world?!" Hood demanded.

"Do you know, I honestly can't remember," Parasitica said with a shrug. "I think you were just in the way."

Hood trembled with fury. "Hood…" Mibojin started.

"I know, sensei." Hood slammed her club into the ground several times, causing cracks to spread and the hole she'd burst through to widen. "Let's finish this."

The trio circled the hole in the middle of the room silently, the three ninjas tense, weapons drawn and ready to be used at a moment's notice.

Then Parasitica smashed her blades against each other, the resulting sparks creating a blinding flash.

Instantly, master and apprentice were in motion. Mibojin, of course, was able to see right through the attempted diversion, flinging her Shuriken right at Parasitica, who immediately dodged. Hood, who'd moved into a flanking position, swung her club at the evil queen's midsection, almost surprised when her blow hit, even more surprised when the mantis's body split in half…

Only to cry out when the upper half launched itself at her while the lower half did a flying kick at Mibojin, whose Shuriken came back to serve as a shield to deflect it just-in-time. "You know, I've always wondered why you wear that hood," Parasitica sneered, driving one blade into Hood's shoulder and causing her to howl in pain. "Are you hideously deformed? If not, I think you soon will be."

Bellowing, Hood spread her wings and started flying around erratically, smashing into walls, floors, and ceiling to dislodge Parasitica, who cackled madly and kept stabbing her over and over, spilling her hemolymph all over the room. She tumbled towards Mibojin, who violently kicked Parasitica's legs at her upper body, stunning her. "PUSH!"

Roaring, Hood pushed Parasitica away as far she could, then quickly pulled back her hands as Mibojin flung her Shuriken, slicing through the undead mantis's arms and causing the wicked queen to fall off her apprentice, screaming in rage. "Give those back!"

"Sure thing," Hood said, flinging the blade arms at Parasitica, whose torso hopped up to catch them, reattaching the limbs to her shoulders, before landing back on her waist and fusing her body back together. "I'll be keeping this though!" She said, holding up the scroll, which she had snatched during the previous altercation.

"Well done, Hood!" Mibojin praised her. "Quickly, get it out of here, I'll keep her occupied-"

Two streaks shot past Hood, causing her to cry out in agony. The streaks resolved themselves into a mantis Funghoul and a Shadowkhan, each of which was holding a scroll and had blades dripping with hemolymph. The cicada gasped, wobbling in the air, clutching a wound on her stomach, one of her wings shredded and struggling to keep her in the air.

"HOOD!"

"What's this? You actually care about her? That's not like you, Mibojin," Parasitica observed in amusement. "I didn't think you cared about anyone really, except maybe your daughter. Even your teammates you largely tolerate."

"You don't know me as well as you think you do," Mibojin snarled, throwing her blades at the two ninjas, who dodged, only to get struck by a pair of kunai, causing the Shadowkhan to vanish in a puff of smoke and the mantis to fall to the ground, the scroll falling from its hands and rolling across the floor. Both Mibojin and a bleeding Hood quickly dove for it, only for Parasitica to fling an energy blade at the ground, throwing up a shower of wood splinters as the floor, already severely weakened by the hole Hood pushed through it earlier, caved in, the scroll falling into the room below.

A Shadowkhan's hand snatched out and caught the scroll before it hit the ground, then multiplied itself, each running through a different exit. Mibojin and Hood jumped down and chased after the one Mibojin instinctively knew was the correct one, while Parasitica flew down after them, laughing and flinging energy blades, slicing through walls, floors, and ceilings, the structure groaning as it took more and more damage. Rooms began to collapse, walls toppled over, holes opened in the ground, ceilings caved in. The castle didn't have much left in it.

"Or maybe you don't know yourself as well as you think you do," Parasitica taunted, spinning like a bladed wheel and diving into the floor behind master and apprentice, tearing it up as she chased after them. "Were you like this before? Can you say that for certain? How much of the person you are now is still the woman you once were, and how much of you is something totally different? Your mind, your body, all have been altered to become a Bugranger, and the alterations grow with every battle and every transformation. Your personality has changed. You have changed. At some point you'll no longer be human anymore. Even your genius leader may not be able to turn you back, assuming that's even possible.

"And when that happens, will you even want to? Or, and here's a better question… Will your daughter want you to?"

And then Mibojin did something unthinkable.

For a fraction of a second, she lost her footing, and would have fallen into the storm of blades behind her if Hood hadn't grabbed her in time and thrust her forwards, nearly falling behind herself.

Parasitica laughed. "Struck a nerve, didn't I?"

"Sensei, don't listen to her lies!" Hood shouted, buzzing her remaining wings to hop briefly into the air to try and outspeed Parasitica. "Yes, you have changed! So what? One thing that humans and bugs have in common is that we all metamorphosize in one fashion or another! Who you are today isn't who you were yesterday, just like who you are tomorrow isn't who you are now! Every cell in your body has died and been replaced at least once by now, so in a sense you aren't even who you are when you were born! The Ship of Theseus paradox is bullshit. At the end of the day, you are you, and isn't that enough?"

"… I really took you for granted, Hood," Mibojin admitted, very much impressed. "I will not do that again."

The hallway they were running through opened into a large shaft running down the center of the tower with a major support beam in the middle of it, several other doors on other levels opening onto it, and dozens of laser grids from floor to ceiling. The Shadowkhan leapt into the room, spreading its limbs as cloth unfolded between its arms and legs so that it could glide, and began diving through the lasers.

Mibojin pressed her arms to her side and dove after the ninja, while Hood…

Hesitated. "Sensei, I don't think I can fit into any of the holes in the lasers!" She shouted.

"Of course not, you're too FAT!" Parasitica shouted as she burst out of the hallway after her, drawing her blades back to slice her to pieces.

Hood barely dodged out of the way as Parasitica flung and energy blade at her, which shot past and sliced through the central support pillar, cutting off a large part of it and causing the whole building to tremble. "Will you cut it out with the jabs at my weight? I'm actually pretty small for my age!"

"Congratulations, you're the thinnest of the fat, which still makes you obese by everyone else's standards!" Parasitica sneered, preparing to decapitate her-

"Oh hey, sensei got the scroll."

"WHAT?!"

Horrified, Parasitica looked down and saw that Mibojin had indeed caught up to and killed the Shadowkhan, and was trying to pry the scroll case open before she hit the ground. It was really stuck.

"NO!"

Parasitica shut down after Mibojin, forgetting about Hood…

Which was exactly what she wanted.

As Parasitica once again engaged her sensei, Hood backed up into what was left of the court or, then launch herself forwards with all her strength, slamming her full weight into the support column, already severely destabilized thanks to Parasitica taking out a chunk of it and all the other structural damage they'd committed throughout the castle.

The big wooden column did more or less exactly what you would expect a pillar with a big piece missing to do when a rather large, very heavy, very fast-moving cicada rammed into it: it broke.

The castle's collapse sped up exponentially. The structure quaked. Wings caved in. Walls crumbled. Whole floors got sandwiched together. Booby-traps malfunctioned and went off, causing a series of explosions to rock the building, fires igniting all over the place and rapidly turning the doomed castle into a swiftly burning hell.

As huge pieces of the ceiling, now ablaze, fell down around them, Parasitica and Mibojin crashed into the ground, furiously grappling and striking each other at close range as ownership of the scroll literally exchanged hands multiple times per second. "YIELD!" The evil queen screamed in Mibojin's face, splattering her mask with acid.

"I could say the same to you," Mibojin retorted, headbutting the possessed mantis. "This whole place is coming down on us. If we don't leave immediately, we'll be flattened."

"No, you'll be flattened," Parasitica corrected her. "It'll be a shame to lose this Fungal Beast, but I already have plenty of other minions who can simply dig through the remains and retrieve the scroll once everything dies down. All you'll have achieved is delaying my victory by a few minutes."

"Perhaps so," Mibojin acknowledged. "However, if there's one thing I've learned from Ariel – and I've learned many, many things, most of which I really wasn't interested in knowing – is that sometimes the best way to win is to make sure your opponent doesn't. And if that means destroying the scroll…"

She threw the case at one of the fires roaring around them.

"Then so be it!"

"NO!"

Parasitica dove into the fire, not caring as her puppet's body burnt, desperately trying to retrieve the scroll…

Only for it to vanish in a puff of smoke.

It took several moments for Parasitica to realize she'd been had, and then she shrieked so loudly several more timbers collapsed as she whirled around and flung several energy blades at Mibojin, who was running for the exit. Mibojin dodged between the blades as they shot past her, throwing her Shuriken back at Parasitica, who angrily deflected it with one of her scythes. Mibojin flipped through the air, landed on her feet, and kept going…

Only to skid to a stop as the passageway she'd been about to enter collapsed, thanks to the energy blades she had so artfully evaded.

In the split second she took to reassess her options, Parasitica struck her in the back with her scythes, causing her to cry out in pain as she fell to her knees. Parasitica stomped on her back, pushing her down and applying more pressure to the wound, forcing Mibojin to loosen her grip on the scroll, which the evil mantis pried from her hands. "No more games," she snarled, raising her arm to decapitate her captive. "Now you die-"

"BANZAI!"

Hood slammed into Parasitica, wrapping her thick, strong arms against the skinnier Fungal Beast's abdomen and flying into the air, deliberately slamming her into every wall, beam, and piece of falling debris in her path.

"Let me go, you oaf! LET GO!" Parasitica shrieked, stabbing the cicada again and again.

"You want me to let you go? Sure thing!" Hood said, pausing as she reached the apex of the shaft, which barely had any ceiling left, exposing the convention hall ceiling. "I'll let you down hard!"

And with that, she flipped over and dove back down the entirety of the chamber, slamming Parasitica into the ground and crushing her beneath her weight.

The impact was the last straw. The entire castle caved in at that very second, the shockwave from Hood's crash slamming into Mibojin and sending her smashing through the collapsed passage and out into the courtyard just as the entire building came down, narrowly avoiding being crushed herself.

Mibojin stumbled to her feet, clutching her side and favoring one leg, her mask cracked enough to expose one eye as she stared in astonishment at the smoldering pile of rubble, blood seeping from the large wound Parasitica had cut into her back. "Hood…"

"Did you teach her that? Because I certainly didn't," a stunned Manti said.

"I'm starting to wonder if I taught her anything at all," Mibojin admitted. "Or rather, if she ever needed my tutelage."

"Come on, sensei, don't say that!"

The debris shifted, and an extremely battered and bloodied Hood staggered out. Her wings were shredded, her carapace cracked and oozing hemolymph, she had lost one arm and was using another to hold the tattered remains of particular fashion statement together…

And in her only free hand, she was triumphantly raising the scroll over her head.

"After all, there's no way I could've done ANY of this if it weren't for you!"

Mibojin did not run over and embrace her apprentice, relieved she was still alive. She'd known full well that it would take more than a collapsing castle to kill her.

That didn't mean she didn't want to, though. How odd.

"Hood. Well done," Mibojin said in approval as she walked rather quickly over to her tired but victorious apprentice. "I have to say, you've handled your first Shurikon very well. I promise you, future ones will not be nearly this eventful."

Hood chuckled, only to gasp in pain and cough up some hemolymph. "That mean I get to go to next year's?"

"Assuming we aren't both banned for life and/or assassinated, yes."

"Awesome!" Hood said, stumbling and grabbing Mibojin's hand to keep from toppling over. "So let's take a look at this thing already and save-"

Hood stopped rather abruptly.

Her active presence on the Buzzing vanished completely.

Mibojin blinked, uncomprehending. "Hood?"

Her apprentice gurgled. A vertical line of hemolymph ran down her body.

And then her body split into two separate halves, splattering her with hemolymph as they flopped to the ground.

"Finally," the very battered but already regenerating Parasitica sneered, drawing back her dripping blade. "She's lost some weight."

Mibojin just stared.

Her instincts were screaming at her.

The Hive was shouting at her.

Manti was desperately trying to get her attention.

She should move. She should act. She should fight. She should kill.

She did none of those things.

Why did she do none of those things?

Why…

Why was she crying?

She hadn't cried when her mother died, hadn't cried when so many of her comrades and sisters died, hadn't cried since THAT MAN beat it out of her, so why…

Why…

She was trembling. Why was she trembling?

Why couldn't she move, why couldn't she speak, why couldn't she stop crying why couldn't she stop feeling she needed to stop she had to stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP

While Mibojin was having a complete breakdown, a still-laughing Parasitica stooped down and retrieved the scroll tube from Hood's hand. "Now, finally, I will have my victory," she declared. "Your daughter will have the honor of being the first to suffer the Oonemuri Touch, and you will live just long enough to see her die as well before joining her. And oh look, how thoughtful, your apprentice loosened this for me!"

She gleefully tore open the tube…

Only to discover it was empty.

"… What? Where is… Where is it? WHERE'S THE DAMN SCROLL?!"

The tube was empty?

Then…

Then did that mean there was no scroll?

That it had never existed?

That this was all for nothing?

That Hood had died for nothing-

"Mibojin! Your hand!" Manti shouted inside her head.

What? Her hand?

It was at that moment she realized that there was something in her hand, the one Hood had clasped when she pulled her up.

Slowly, she opened her hand.

Oh.

Clever girl.

Maybe she had taught her a thing or two after all.

Parasitica, who had been desperately tearing apart the nearby rubble in a desperate attempt to find the scroll, looked up by chance and saw that it was in Mibojin's hands. "NO!"

She leapt to her feet, but it was too late. Mibojin opened the scroll, ready to learn the secrets of Kiba no Hoko so that she could destroy this Fungal Beast, destroy the Swarm, destroy Parasitica, and guarantee that her precious apprentice hadn't died in vain-

The scroll was blank. There was nothing there.

Mira and Scarabella stiffened, and if Kagami hadn't flung a pair of kunai between the eyes of the Funghouls they had been fighting they might have been overwhelmed. "What is it? Did something happen to my mother?"

Her girlfriends shook their heads, tearing up. "No, not your mother," Mira said.

"Kagami, it's… Hood, she's…" Scarabella stammered.

Kagami's heart raced. "Hood? What happened to her? What happened to my sister?!"

The children screamed as Gokamiki started towards them, only for a holographic door to open and spit out Kōnchuki. "TARO!" He shouted, spotting the life-sized packaged action figure. "You… What have you done to him?!"

"Oh, are you a collector as well?" Gokamiki perked up, immediately forgetting his prey for the moment. "As you can see, he is now perfectly packaged and preserved in mint condition so he can be safe in my collection forever. You can look, but can't touch."

"I'm going to do more than just touch him… I'm going to KILL him!" Kōnchuki declared, starting forward.

"What? No! You can't do that!" Gokamiki wailed, grabbing Kōnchuki by the arm and trying to pull him back.

"Watch me!" Kōnchuki growled, forming an energy ball.

"NO! You'll ruin his collector's value!" Gokamiki protested, pulling back hard and causing Kōnchuki's shot to go wild.

"Does it look like I care?!" The other Hitotsuki snapped. "Taro must die!"

"NO! You'll die!" Gokamiki cried. "No, wait… I'll add you to my collection! I don't have any Hitotsuki, after all, and bug collecting is rather popular for some reason…"

The children stared in confusion as the two monsters began fighting each other. "Should. Should we do something?" Galacta asked after a moment.

"I guess we could run," Cutaros admitted. "But I'm having trouble taking my eyes off of this."

"Shitsuki wants to see where this is going," Shitsuki agreed.

"Well… At least they seem to have forgotten about us," Philia admitted.

Fuuka frowned and glanced at her friend/fiancé. "That reminds me… You said earlier something happened to my family."

Philia, Galacta, and the kittens cringed. "Oh. Right. About that…" Philia said hesitantly.

"There's a third Hitotsuki," Galacta said. "She attacked the lecture hall where the Bugrangers were giving their panel. She turned everyone there into generic white Christians, and everyone not noticeably human into other ethnicities or animals."

"She got our mom too," Jun whimpered.

Fuuka stared at them. "Then… My parents… My family…?"

Philia sighed. "I'm sorry, Fuuka."

Fuuka said nothing.

And then she dissolved into a flurry of bats which flew into the air, shrieking and hissing, off in the direction of the lecture hall.

"She ditched us!" Aki cried, hurt.

"Honestly, I can't blame her," Luna said sadly. "She's an Ozu. Family means everything to them. And it's not like she's the only one who would react like that."

"Shitsuki wants to drive axe into evil woman's head," Shitsuki stated.

Mei nodded unhappily. "You and me both, sib."

Abruptly, a holographic door opened and Saru Brother and Oni Sister emerged. "Oh no, there really are two of them," the blue monkey noted. "This will be tricky without the others."

"Hold on," the yellow ogre said, raising a hand. "Do we actually have to do anything?"

Shinichi frowned. "What do you mean? It's our job to fight Hitotsuki."

"Yes, but hear me out," Haruka said. "Right now they're busy fighting each other. But the second we get in the way, they'll team up to fight us both, right?"

"Probably, yes," Shinichi admitted.

"So, wouldn't it make more sense to just wait for them to wear each other out, then swoop in and take them both out at once?" Haruka suggested.

"Logical, but it seems rather cowardly," Shinichi pointed out.

"So you're saying you can't wring a haiku out of this?" Haruka asked pointedly. "One which I'll be sure to put into the manga adaptation of this adventure?"

Shinichi stroked his chin. "I'm sure I can come up with something. Still, we should probably escort these children out of harm's way and make sure our teammates don't get caught in the crossfire."

"Good idea," Haruka agreed. "Hey, do you think Taro will actually thank us for saving him this time?"

"No," Shinichi said bluntly.

Haruka groaned. "Yeah, probably not." She clapped her hands together and turned to the kids. "So! Just follow us, kids, and we'll get you to safety! Also, I'd be more than happy to give you all autographs and free copies of my latest manga!"

"No thanks, I'm not really a fan of First Love Hero or DonBrothers. The artwork is great, but it's very difficult to like most of the characters, most of the plotlines peter out and never go anywhere, some of the pairings make no sense, a lot of the running gags and attempts to keep the characters from finding out what's going on went on for so long that they just became exasperating and strain credulity to the breaking point, the villains lack all menace after a while, and it never feels like anything gets resolved or explained satisfactorily," Cutaros said.

"You're on your own," Haruka said harshly, turning her back on the kids.

"Haruka! You can't just abandon them like that!" Shinichi chided her. "Come, children, I will take you to safety, and along the way, I shall teach you of the wonders of wabi-sabi."

"Shitsuki prefers tanka, actually," Shitsuki spoke up.

"You're on your own," Shinichi said bluntly, turning his back on the kids.

"Disappointing, both of you. This is behavior unbefitting of heroes."

"Master?!" Haruka started, seeing a rather sedate Kaito Goshikida clad in black approach.

"It would seem that it is time for me to once again fulfill my duties as the True Hero-" Kaito said, raising his Geartolinger.

There was a gunshot and an energy bullet grazed his hair.

"Not so fast, True Hero," a man looking like Stacy but in white said from some distance away, pointing a Geartozinger at him. "We must settle our business first."

Kaito's eyes seemed to positively light up upon seeing the other man. "My True Rival. I didn't expect to see you here."

"I wasn't going to be here," Stacy admitted. "Until I found out you were here. Shall we continue our battle?"

"But of course," Kaito said, cranking the handle on his gun, Stacy doing the same. "Our battle will never end."

Stacy grinned softly. "I would have it no other way."

#45 BANG!

#01 BANG!

"Change Zenkai."

"Dark change."

BA-BANG! BA-BANG! BA-BANG! BA-BANG! BABABABANG! ZENKAIZER!

EVIL BANG! STACAESAR!

The duo, now Zenkaizer Black and Stacaesar White, regarded each other for a moment in silence, before charging at each other, shouting at the top of their lungs while firing their guns at each other as cherry blossoms inexplicably swirled around them.

"Such a beautiful clash of men! I must compose a haiku!" An awestruck Shinichi declared. "Let's see…

Black and white hearts clash

What is a man's rivalry

But a vow of love?"

"I must draw this," Haruka frothed at the mouth, frantically scribbling what was going on into her notebook. "The amount of Yaoi fans I'm going to bring in with this alone… It'll more than make up for Sonoi dying and ending his and Taro's tragic romance!"

The children stared blankly.

"What the fuck," Luna said eloquently.

"This is why Ms. Ariel hates the DonBrothers," Philia said wearily.

"So, those two are totally doing it, right?" Cutaros spoke up. "We're all thinking it, right?"

"Oh, absolutely," Mei agreed.

"No doubt," Shitsuki concurred.

"It's so romantic!" Neycombe, Aki, and Jun gushed.

"NO! Love between men is WRONG!" Katsutoshiki screamed as she barged onto the scene. "I must stop this at once!"

"No! We aren't going to let you ruin our source of inspiration I MEAN this beautiful and extremely homoerotic rivalry between men!" Haruka angrily declared.

Shinichi nodded in agreement. "Indeed. For after all,

What are love and hate

But-"

"NO! Monkeys don't talk!" The Hitotsuki shouted. "Evolution isn't real! Humans did not come from apes!"

They stared at her. "But they did, though?" A confused Aki said.

"And YOU! Witches?! Monsters?! Hideous inhuman creatures?!" Katsutoshiki shouted, pointing at the children.

"Hideous?!" Neycombe protested indignantly.

"All of you will go right to hell… Unless I save your souls here and now!" Katsutoshiki yelled, powering up her cannons…

When suddenly a familiar flock of bats descended on her, shrieking and biting and flapping around her. "No! Little devils! Get away, get away!"

"You ruined my family!" Fuuka's voice shrieked from every fanged mouth. "Now I'm gonna ruin you!"

"Infernal monsters! DIE!" Katsutoshiki shrieked, preparing to fire her cannons.

"Uh, what will happen to Fuuka if she gets zapped like that?" A worried Galacta asked.

"I'm not sure we want to find out," Luna said nervously.

Fortunately, before Katsutoshiki could do something potentially unspeakable to Fuuka, another holographic door opened and the transformed Sononi and Sonoza rushed out and grabbed the Hitotsuki by the arms, pulling her back.

"Editor! What are you doing here?!" Haruka demanded.

"A better question is why you aren't doing anything about all these Hitotsuki!" Sonoza snapped back.

"I was drawing a beautiful battle between men!" Haruka insisted, gesturing at the dueling Zenkaizer Black and Stacaesar White. It almost looked as if they were dancing.

"Oh, that's all right then, the amount of Yaoi fans you'll bring in will definitely make up for all the ones you lost when Sonoi died and ended his and Taro's tragic romance," Sonoza said with perfect understanding.

"I see Taro and Jiro have been incapacitated, but where is Tsubasa? Oh, and the other one," a worried Sononi asked.

"That Hitotsuki turned him into a dog!" Philia informed her.

Sononi considered this. "… Is he a cute dog?"

"Yeah, but he's the pheasant guy's pet now," Mei informed her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Truly we're dealing with a formidable adversary… And with those other two Hitotsuki here as well… We're going to need extra help," Sonoza decided. "Come, Murasame!"

The Ninjark sword suddenly appeared, flying through the air. Sonoza extended a hand towards it…

Only for it to shoot right past him and bury itself up to the hilt in Veila's chest.

Neycombe screamed.

So did Gokamiki, but for different reasons. "NO! SHE'S NO LONGER IN MINT CONDITION!"

"Oops," Sonoza said.

"Oops?! You may have just murdered one of my closest friends, and all you have to say about it is 'oops?!'" Philia demanded.

"In my defense, this has never happened before," Sonoza said.

"Good! One less disgusting insect to infest God's perfect world!" Katsutoshiki yelled.

A sobbing Neycombe grabbed Shitsuki's axe and would've buried it in the Hitotsuki's chest when suddenly Veila's husk began to glow and the Ninjark sword was absorbed into it. "What? What is this?"

"No clue. This has never happened before either," Sonoza said, baffled.

Veila's body began glowing brighter and brighter as her skin hardened and turned more opaque, cracks spreading from the breach the Ninjark sword had created, light emanating from them. Without warning, her body shattered, the plastic and cardstock encasing her ripping apart as something burst forth from her remains.

Something amazing.

She was an elegant Worm with leaf-green carapace and an armored skirt looking as if it were made of leaves flowing from her waist, her slender legs armored at the top and ending in points, leaf-shaped wings hanging behind her like a cloak. Two arms were folded over her chest cupping modest breasts with a crest resembling a stained glass beefly beneath them. Her primary arms had leaf-shaped mantis blades serving as armor and weapons on the backs of her arms, and she was clutching the Ninjark sword in one hand. Her face was yellow and framed by vaguely leaf-shaped armored plates covering her head reminiscent of a helmet, four sparkling red eyes glittering beneath a pair of yellow antenna extending like horns from her forehead. Overall, she looked like a green insectoid leaf-themed knight.

"No way… Is that…" Cutaros stammered.

"Veila?!" Neycombe gasped.

Veila, for indeed that was she, smiled benevolently at Neycombe and sketched a courtly bow. "'Tis indeed I, my lady, my mistress, my love. I hope thou hast not wept or fretted too much in my absence? Thou should not waste thine tears on a humble retainer such as myself. Thou art far too beautiful to allow thyself to be consumed by sorrow and despair."

She knelt and kissed Neycombe's hand as everyone stared, enraptured.

The Fangire swooned.

Most of the children squealed in excitement.

"So much YURI," Haruka moaned, frantically trying to capture the beautiful moment on paper.

"Love is beautiful,

No matter what form it takes,

All life is enriched," Shinichi recited.

"No! Love is only for men and women, especially not disgusting insects!" Katsutoshiki ranted, breaking free from the Cerebrans and bats and rushing towards them.

"A thousand pardons, my shining star, but I must deal with this knave," Veila said, standing up, a mask resembling a knight's visor sliding into place over her face. She tensed, took a step forwards…

And then there was a tremendous gust of wind, and suddenly she was standing behind Katsutoshiki, Ninjark sword held at her side.

The Hitotsuki gurgled, then screamed in agony as explosions erupted all over her body.

"Foul wretch! Thou art unworthy to breathe the same sanctified air as mine lady love!" Veila snarled as she spun around on one foot, cloak flashing behind her. "For the atrocities thou hast committed against the families of my friends and countless innocents, I shall vanquish thee in my lady's name and honor… And you wretches as well!" She added, glancing furiously at the rather alarmed Kōnchuki and Gokamiki.

"But I just got here," Kōnchuki protested.

"I shall allow no evil to persist so long as it threatens my beloved!" Veila declared, raising her sword straight up in front of her face and pointing away from her. "And so, to protect her and mine other bosom friends… I say this: HAVE AT THEE!"

Neycombe promptly fainted from gay as her knight began to engage the three frightened monsters.

"Heheh, she said 'bosom," Cutaros snickered.

"… Okay, you know what, I think I'll just sit back and watch," Fuuka admitted as she coalesced beside her friends. "Something tells me this will be fun."

"Why aren't you ever that romantic?" Luna complained to Aki.

"Nani?!"

Shitsuki huffed. "Shitsuki is irritated Shitsuki can't use axe."

"Maybe next time, sib. Maybe next time," Mei said, sympathetically petting their shoulder.

None of them were aware of a dark figure approaching.