Valchirie Dell'Orizzonte
by firepowerblade2
Chapther 7: Fate Just Keeps Firing
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or Senki Zessho Symphogear.
The strike had sent Chris flying into a cliff behind her, the torn up ground that wasn't even touched and a partially collapsed cliff a testament to how powerful the attack was.
How can she use her power like that? Chris asked herself as she struggled to get up. Although her armor had taken the majority of the damage, her body still ached all over, It's almost as powerful as the other girl's Climax Song.
A new pain shot through her body as the Armor of Nehushton started to repair itself and fuse with her. I have to finish this before she tears me apart.
Turning to her opponent, she was surprised to find the other girl had broken her stance and simply stood there.
"Are you making fun of me? Me? Yukine Chris?" the silvernet accused.
"I'm not," Hibiki replied, "Hey, Chris-chan… let's stop fighting already. We aren't like the Noise. We can talk to each other. If we talk to each other, we can understand each other! Because we're both human!"
"You're a liar," Nehushton's welder stated, Prima never used honorifics with me, "A huge liar! A huge idiot!"
The silvernet leaped at the blonde to launch a punch followed by a round house kick. The kick sent Hibiki flying back through a tree, splitting it in half. Chasing after her, Chris preformed another round house kick as the blonde got back up. Although she was wining, the armor wielder could feel herself fusing with the relic
"Chris-chan…" the blonde reached out to the other girl. Chris felt her anger rise up at once again being reminded that this girl was not Prima and with the armor fusing with her, her next decision was made very easy.
"Fly away! Armor Purge!" like a grenade going off, the Armor of Nehushton exploded off of its user and became shards that damaged the surrounding area.
Killiter Ichaival tron
"This song…" said Hibiki, recognizing it for what it was.
"I'll show you the Ichaival's power," Chris declared, her silhouette inside an orb of light and two rings.
"The Ichaival?" Genjuro asked in shock, not expecting another relic to randomly pop up after missing for ten years.
"Aufwachen waveform detected," reported Sakuya, the relic's name showing up as confermation.
"We've matched it with our existing data. It is the Ichival!" finished Aoi.
"Then they even have the second lost relic?" the red head asked, realizing that the enemy had most likely been active sense Section 2 was first started.
"Chris-chan's just like us?" Hibiki asked herself.
"You made me sing," Chris stated as the dust cleared to show her new appearance. Her 'leotard' was mainly red with a few white trimmings around a cleavage window, at her waist she had a white metal 'skirt' that didn't cover her crotch and had non-functional wings angled towards the ground, her arms had red shoulder length gloves with metal plates strapped to them, her headgear's band looked to be made of hexagons and had what looked like four speakers, two on either side of her head, the only thing it had in common with the Armor of Nehushton was the platform shoes.
"You made me sing my song…" she repeated, "I'll show you how much I hate singing!"
"You hate singing?" the blonde asked in confusion.
"And as a bonus for getting me mad, I'll use something that I've been hiding for eight years!" Chris stated as she placed a ring on her right middle finger.
The piece of jewelry was silver with a red and brown Hexagon shaped gem, at the top of the gem was a jaguar and inside the gem was the image of an orb breaking apart on one side.
Isn't that ring… Hibiki thought before red and brown flames erupted from the ring's gem.
"What?" the silvernet exclaimed before, "HeheheHAHAHAA, I can't believe this! Dying Will Flames and Phonic Gain are one and the same?!"
"Dying Will Flames?" whispered Hibiki.
"You have no Idea how much worse things have gotten for you" claimed the other Symphogear user before the plates on her arms transformed into crossbows and fired energy arrows at the blonde!
The younger girl ran to avoid the attack but after the last projectile missed she found the ground under her feet suddenly gone. She was fortunately able to land on her feet… only to be attacked by Chris as she jumped to get a clear shot.
Hibiki leapt out of the crater to dodge the shot. If she had the time to look back she would have noticed that outside of burning plants, there was no signs debris or damage.
Chris transformed her crossbows into mini-guns and fired hundreds of bullets at the blonde.
Billion Maiden
The assault tore through the landscape and mowed down several trees. She followed up the attack by extending hidden compartments in her 'skirt' reveal several dozen rockets that would not have been able to fit into it under normal circumstances and fired them off.
Mega Deth Party
The missiles homed in on Hibiki and exploded, kicking up dust and obscuring Chris' vision. Not letting up she pulled off another Billion Maiden to make sure the blonde didn't survived. When the smoke cleared she saw a white and blue, yet heavily damaged, wall.
"A shield?" she asked in surprise.
"A sword," a familiar voice corrected.
Looking up, she saw the source of the voice standing at the vary top of the giant blade, the white and blue figure stood gallantly with her blue hair blowing in the wind, ankle blades looking like wings and a katana like sword drawn for battle.
"Heh, I heard you were asleep and almost dead," the silvernet mocked, "Come to help your loser friend?"
"I decided that I will not ever lose again," Tsubasa replied.
"Tsubasa," Genjuro's voice spoke over her headset, "Don't force yourself, also her ring that produces G2 Phonic Gain That 'erases' inorganic matter."
"Yes sir," the blunet replied to her uncle.
"Tsubasa-san?" Hibiki asked, unsure if the girl that was supposed to be in the hospital had really saved her.
"Are you awake, Tachibana?" the bluenet called out, "Well, I'm not in top shape, either. I'd like you to help me, despite the power you've already gave me." With that said blue and light green flames erupted from the katana in her hand, although the size and shad es were inconsistent.
"Th-Those are…" the younger girl gasped.
"Gamma 3 phonic gain detected coming from Tsubasa-san," reported Aoi.
"Zeroing in on the source… It's coming from a relic on her right hand!" confirmed Sakuya.
"So it's finally time," commented Genjuro, no matter how this battle ended, thing will change.
"It can't be!" gasped Chris, even if it had been years, she could still recognize something as unique as a dying will flame! But more importantly is the fact that, even with a ring, the bluenet could ignite the flames at will so soon. Also, the flame was a mix of Rain and River Flames meaning…
"You found one of Prima's rings!" the silvernet accused as she ignited her own ring, "I'll be sure to take it back and see if you have any others!"
As threatening as her opponent was, Tsubasa was more concerned with the flame she was showing. Her flame is staying a constant size and shade, I need to figure out how to keep mine stable before I figure out what it does.
Chris let lose with her mini-guns at the bluenet, but she dogged by jumping off the blade as it dissolved. The swordswoman slashed at the other girl twice, forcing her to fall back. When Chris tried to shoot her again, Tsubasa flipped over her and slashed at her again. The silvernet ducked out of the way, just as predicted. Tsubasa struck her opponents mini-gun with the hilt of her sword. Recovering from being knocked back, the gunner found a sword at her neck, her foe was behind her and facing in the opposite direction.
She's moving totally differently, Chris thought, However…
"Tsubasa-san, she's…" Hibiki called out.
"I know," Tsubasa responded.
Seeing her chance, the silvernet knocked away the blade and maneuvered herself to stand in front of the bluenet, the other girl however…
"I'm stuck?!" Tsubasa realized, although her feet were originally on solid dry ground, the were suddenly stuck ankle deep in mud. Before she could use her booster to get out, energy arrows shot them off.
"You only just learned how to ignite your ring and it's not even stable," Chris taunted, "you never stood a chance."
"I'll take back your ring once I take care of the faker," the archer stated as she turned away.
The swordswoman grit her teeth in frustration at how useless she felt. Lacking the leverage and grip to take advantage of her superhuman abilities, the bluenet instead pointed her sword to the sky. With only a few sparkles in the sky as a warning, countless daggers flew towards the silvernet.
Thousand Falling Tears
Seeing the attack coming and what would happen if any one of the blades hit her shadow, Chris would have normally tried to dodged. Instead a pillar of wind surrounded her and deflected the attacks, not even her shadow was hit.
The silvernet had a irritated look as she leveled he cross bow at the bluenet. "I guess I have to take care of you first," she said as she shot an arrow.
Tsubasa's mind flashed to her dream of Kanade telling her how there was something beyond the battle. For just a moment, her desire to experience this something overpowered her sense of duty and thru off her aim as she swung her sword, the flame that engulfed shrinking yet becoming more vibrant. Although she didn't even graze the projectile, it was still close enough for her flames to make contact.
"What?!" gasped the samurai girl. When the flames touched the arrow it nearly stopped in mid air, rather than succumb to gravity it instead slowly moved along its original trajectory. Unfortunately, the effect was for only a moment as the flames on the arrow started to fade.
Tsubasa, her feet still stuck in the mud, leaned to the side to doge. Straitening back up, she looked to her shocked and worried opponent as what just happened fully sunk in.
Was that… my power? The bluenet asked her self. While knowing what her flames were capable of, even just a small part, the fact that it required her to hesitate rendered it entirely useless… unless…
Focusing, the samurai girl held her blade in front of herself and willed the flames to appear. Although they still fluctuated, it still wasn't nearly as bad as earlier and she noticed a droplet falling from the blade despite the heat she could feel from it.
Chris' eyes widened upon seeing water rise from her foe's flame and form a floating ball of water the size of a basketball. The bluenet swiped her sword near her feet and, following the implied command, the ball of water washed away the mud and freed Tsubasa.
"Putting value on your own life and still be willing to put it on the line to achieve is a much more heavy burden then I realized," Tsubasa commented, bringing to her mind her conversation about how her desire to help others could be an 'excuse to commit suicide. "Tachibana isn't me," she commented to herself before pointing her blade at the archer, "Yukine! This time I will be taking you back to where you belong!"
"You're trying to deceive me," Chris clammed in denial, "Your after my ring, the last memento of my most important person! WELL YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!" she said before red and brown flames erupted from her ring and enveloped her.
The flames receded to reveal the silver haired girl with metal spider legs coming from her back, an arm cannon with a skeleton design on her left arm and four skull rings joining her original. Above her floated six loops constructed from metal bones and by her side stood a large jaguar. All of her new weapons had her red and brown flames coming out of them.
Hibiki watch the transformation as Tsubasa took a stance in preparation to fight. She couldn't shake the feeling that Chris would kill someone before she stops. She wouldn't let that happen! If their flames granted special abilities, then maybe igniting her own could help change that.
With that thought in mind, the blonde focused on her flame. And suddenly she remembered.
Several meters away and in the air was a portal made of darkness, everyone's focus on the battle preventing them from noticing its existence. Protruding from it was the upper body of a figure in a black coat, top hat and a mask.
The figure watched as flames erupted from Hibiki's forehead, far more vibrant then when she used them during training.
"It's about damn time," the figure chuckled.
Chris took aim as her foe prepared to dodge and deflect incoming shots. Uri stood by her, ready to attack anything that got too close and the floating rings were prepared to stop any perceivable attack. Before she could do anything, her body and Uri's suddenly felt MUCH heavier.
"Abbastanza!"
Turning to the source of the voice, the archer and sword woman were thrown for a loop at what they saw.
Hibiki had flames coming out of her forehead and a calm but determined expression on her face, on her arms were a pair of metal gauntlets with jewels on the back of the hands. Perched on her right shoulder was a lion cub with a mane made of flames.
Don lose focus, the silvernet thought, she definitely has the rings and can use hyper mode but…
"Per il futuro oltre l'orizzonte.
For the future beyond the horizon.
It was a phrase Prima originally came up with sound cool but still reflected their goals.
"Sawada... Rai?" Chris tentatively asked.
"I'm back, my moonlight," Hibiki responded extending a hand and releasing the gravity.
Dismissing her ring weapons, the silvernet reached out her hand. Suddenly Hibiki launched herself into the air and rammed her shoulder into a Noise trying to attack Chris.
"Tachibbana!" Tsubasa called out in worry.
"RAI!" the archer yelled as she caught the blonde, "I attacked you! Why did you save me?"
"Of course I would protect you, we were finally reunited," Hibiki confessed as she lost consciousness.
"Prima,"
"You cannot even do what I ordered you to." said an echoing voice, "How much must you disappoint me?"
spotting more flying Noise circling over a certain area above the nearby lake. Below them was Fine leaning on a guard rail and holding Solomon's Cain. Despite only talking to them in a normal voice, her words echoed easily to them'
"Fine," identified Chris.
Fine? A name that means 'the end," thought Tsubasa
"Listen, this girl is Prima, she can lead us, then we can fulfill her wish and, as you say we'll be free of the curse, and the world will go back to being one, right?"
"I'm done with you," stated Fine.
"Huh? What do you mean?!" the hot headed girl asked.
In response, the light blonde woman's hand glowed and the Nehushton's glowing fragments transformed into light and gathered above said had before disappearing. Turning towards the three girl and tilting the cane, silently ordering the Noise to attack.
The monsters responded by pointing themselves downwards and spinning horizontally like tops and quickly approached. Not letting go of the younger blonde, Chris deployed the spider legs and started shooting her flames and turning them into mud. Any that got past that were sliced down by Tsubasa.
While the girls were being kept busy, the older blonde jumped out of sight.
"Wait! Fine!" cried the silverned in confusion. She hesitated to follow in case she put the younger girl in danger, yet if she didn't leave, Fine might be forced to do something they weren't prepared for.
A hand grabbed her left shoulder and she turned to what she almost mistook for a Vindice. they had a top hat and black coat like normal, but she was wearing a mask that showed healthy skin and long vibrant red hair and a ring that was releasing Night Flames, showing she was living off her own power.
That ring is…! Chris realized, "Please, protect her."
Handing Prima over to the masked figure and leapt after her former mistress to try and get answers.
"Wait!" Tsubasa yelled out, only to be ignored by the archer. Turning to the masked figure, she leveled her blade…
"Return Tachibana now, you will not get another warning," the bluenet threatened, preparing to impale them if they didn't comply.
"If you're too serious all the time then someday you'll snap," commented the figure.
Tsubasa's eyes widened at the statement, like how Chris reacted to Hibiki's words, She only knew one person who would say that to her.
"K-Kanade?"
The figure reached for its mask with their free hand, what was behind the mask was a familiar red eye with the other covered by a leather belt.
"I'm sorry for making you wait." Amou Kanade said.
"Signal lost. We cannot continue pursuit," reported Aoil, no longer able to track Chris.
"We have information about Sawada Rai," Sakuya brought up, having over herd what the silvernet called Hibiki. He brought up a blood stained picture of a little girl that looked identical to said girl.
"Last seen at age six, she was born abroad in Itily as the only child of Sawada Yoshinobu and Sawada Kazuto Megumi. Her parents' bodies were found at their newly built home after their bodyguard, Gokudere Hayato, was found dead in the city, her body was never found near either site," he continued, "All attempts to investigate by the media and police were suppressed by the Government."
It lines up, all that's left is… "Go back a generation to her grandparents," Genjuro ordered, wanting to get rid of any uncertainty of where his student came from.
"Yes sir," Sakuya responded and after a few moments he bought up the information to the main screen, "Th-This is!"
"Continue," the commander ordered.
"Right, her grandfathers are the leaders of two of the world's most powerful Mafia families, the Vongola and the Simon."
On the main screen, images of two old men in their eighties appeared.
"First is Sawada Tsunayoshi, tenth boss of the Vongola Famiglia and leader of the Vongola Alliance, currently recovering from a loss of members from when he first became the boss. On her mother's side is Kozato Enma, tenth boss of the Simon Famiglia, contrasting Sawada and the Vongola, the Simon started out nearly forgotten until the tenth generation, at which it elevated to the second ranked family in the alliance."
"As I expected," Genjuro commented, his theory confirmed, now all he needed was…
"Outside of the bosses, the Vongola and Simon have Guardians named after wheather phenomenon and environments respectively. I want to know if they have any relatives of note."
"Yes sir," responded the male operator as he looked through the available data.
"The Sun Guardian, Sasagawa Ryohei, is the older brother of Sawada Kyoko, Tsunayoshi's wife," he reported before giving the more relevant information, "The Storm Guardian, Gokudera Hyato, and the Swamp Guardian… Shit P., are the parents of Sonnet M. Yukine, Chris' mother."
"I see, so that's how they're connected," the commander said, all his suspicions confirmed. All the while an image of Kohinata Miku being escorted into the base was on the commander's private screen.
"Come on Tsubasa, I said I was sorry."
Kanade and Tsubasa were in an elevator after they both went through a medical exam by Ryoko, Tsubasa for only just getting out of the hospital and Kanade because she was missing. Hibiki stayed behind to check on Gungnir.
"Two years, Kanade, two years! And you never once tried to let me know you were alive!" Tsubasa pouted, "You even prevented Uncle from interfering with my fight with Tachibana, why?!"
"I-It isn't just me," the red head reluctantly admitted, "As you were likely to receive a ring, Reborn-san wanted Hibiki-san to settle things on her own and to see how the Dying Will Bullet would interfere with Gungnir."
Realizing that she would only become more confused if they continued on this subject, Tsubasa desided to change the topic to something more personal.
"After you left, I devoted myself to the sword more then ever, I even abandoned my humanity to become a better protector," she said, gaining a shocked look from Kanade, "But while I was in the hospital I came to realize that it didn't give my life any value and there was something beyond the battle. But still, I'm not human, is it even possible for me to accept it?"
"You could go back to being human. That would fix it, wouldn't it?" the former wielder replied, "If you're too serious, you'll snap someday."
"Even so, it's too late," denied the bluenet, "If I went back, what could I do? No, I wouldn't even know what I should do."
"Do what you want. Simple, right?" stated Kanade as they got out of the elevator, "Your not alone anymore, you can count on everyone to support you."
"What I want…I don't think I've thought about that in a long time," Tsubasa reflected on the red head's words, "A long time ago, I'm sure there was something I used to love…"
"If your having trouble remembering, then I'll stay by your side until you do,"
"Thanks Kanade."
"You had a lot of scratches, but nothing serious," Ryoko said to Hibiki, "In fact, it seems your Phonic gain, your Flames, are already healing them."
The two of them were in the base's medical room, just finishing up Hibiki's exam.
"In other words, I'm okay?" the blonde asked as she rose from the exam table.
"You're just exhausted from using too much energy," the brunet explained, "Rest a bit, and you'll be fine."
"Then, I'll-" the blonde said as she got up, only to nearly fall into Ryoko's arms.
"That's why I said you have to rest," she scolded the tired girl.
"I think I'm cursed…" Hibiki complained.
"Gao" said a worried voice. It came from the lion cub that had appeared when Hibiki regained her memories. Smiling at his concern, the blonde patted him on the head.
"Thanks for worrying about me Natsu," she said.
"I never thought I'd see one of Geppetto Lorenzini's Box weapons in real live, let alone as a pseudo relic integrated into a real relic," commented Ryoko.
"You know about Box Weapons?" the blonde asked in surprise.
"Of course! There is always the chance some inventions could be based on relics," the researcher explained, "Though the technology seems more advanced then I thought it would be."
"Anyways," Ryoko said, switching subjects, "Are you worried about your friend?"
"Yeah," confirmed the blonde.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine," the older brunet reassured, "Ogawa-kun and the others are explaining things to her."
"I see…"
"Once they explain the need for secrecy, she'll be sent home."
"Okay. I understand," Hibiki agreed, unconvinced.
In the main command room, Genjuro and the main operators were discussing the events of the recent incident.
"I can't believe the enemy has Ichaival, too," worried Sakuya, "And Yukine Chris, one of the Gear wielders."
"In a battle where we turn relics into the power to fight, we've completely lost our superiority," Aoi concluded.
"Who are they? What does this Fine want?" the male operator asked, voicing the questions they were all wondering.
Meanwhile the doors opened to let Ryoko, Hibiki, Tsubasa and Kanade in.
"I understand this is serious, but both our Symphogear wielders are fine," Ryoko pointed out, "It's too early to be gloomy."
"Tsubasa, what were you thinking?" Genjuro scolded as he got up off of one of the couches, "You even used a power you didn't understand."
"I'm sorry for going out there on my own," Tsubasa apologized, "But… When my comrade is in trouble, I can't just sit by!"
That got Hibiki's attention.
"Tachibana is still inexperienced," Stated the bluenet, "She's inexperienced, but I believe her to be a warrior."
"Tsubasa-san…" Hibiki said in surprise. Turning to the younger girl, Tsubasa smiled as she addressed her.
"I'm still far from perfect, but I think I can go out there and back you up," the bluenet offered, "Also, Kanade told me about the Time Ring's role and requirements and I can see myself fulfilling that. I would like to formally accept the potion of Time Guardian."
"Tsubasa-san… Let's do out best," the blonde declared before turning to the red headed girl, "Kanade-san, the clothes you were wearing…"
Amou Kanade was wearing a black dress suit with a mini skirt and a white dress shirt and black tie.
"It's as you suspect, Bermuda von Veckenschtein used his Night Flame to save my life and watched over and watched over my recovery," Kanade explained what happened after she disapeared, "They saved my life and gave me a new way to fight and save people."
"Hibiki-kun," spoke up Genjuro, "Were there any problems in your medical check?"
"If I eat a full meal and get a good night's sleep, I'll be fine!" the dirty blonde stated, If I sleep in the place where I'm most warm. Miku…
While Hibiki was distracted, Ryoko reached out to tap the younger girl's breast.
"WAAAAAAAAAAA, What are you doing?!" the blonde asked in a panic.
"The fragments of Gungnir near your heart are merging with your body in a way they weren't before," explained the researcher, "That might be where your energy and recovery abilities come from."
"Merging?" asked the blonde weilder.
Couldn't that be a serious problem? Tsubasa asked herself.
"Don't worry. It's only a possibility," the brunet assured
"Thank goodness."
"Oh, by the way," Ryoko said, changing the subject, "could the three of you lend me your ring for a few days? I've never heard of these rings in any legends and I want to do research on them."
"Uh, sure?" was the tentative response from the blonde.
"By the way, where are the other rings?" the researcher asked as she was handed the items.
"Oh, after the first time I activated Gungnir, I started leaving them in my dorm," stated Hibiki.
"Hmm, I guess examining them can wait till I'm done with these,"
"Haa, all these amazing discoveries and we have to work with the Mafia," complained Sakuya. He suddenly felt a small but vary strong hand was nearly crushing his shoulder.
"Fujitaka-san," said an extremely pissed Hibiki, "My grandfathers are NOT Mafia bosses."
Over the next hour Sakuya had to endure a lecture about how Tsuna and Enma had worked to remove the criminal elements from the Vongola Aliance and restore it to how it was with the first generation.
Hesitantly, Hibiki returned to her's and Miku's dorm and called out to her, "Hey, Miku… How do I… Um, that is…"
"Welcome back," the dark haired girl said, speaking as if talking to a complete stranger.
"Ah, yeah. Hi," responded a still nervous Hibiki, "Um, can I come in?"
"Sure. It's your room, too."
"Well… U-Um…" the blonde tried to think of a topic.
"What? Those people told me most of it," the angry girl stated, shutting down any chance her room mate had at apologizing, "I don't think there's anything else to hear."
"Miku…"
"Liar," Miku accused, "You said you wouldn't hide anything!"
That clam hurt Hibiki more then any of the battles she had experienced so far.
"Why Fine?" asked Chris, after several hours of wandering she found herself entering a park after nightfall.
She couldn't get her mind off the fact that Fine seemed to have knowingly made her attack Rai.
My goal is to destroy those with both the power and will to fight. To stop them from starting a war. It's what Prima wanted… Right?
Her self-reflection was interrupted when she heard a little girl crying. Turning to the sound she found the girl sitting on a bench and a slightly older boy in front of her. Assuming the worst, Chris decided to intervene.
"Hey, there. Don't be mean to someone weaker than you," the silvernet scolded.
"I'm not being mean," claimed the boy, "My sister…" only for said sister to cty even louder.
"I said, 'Don't be mean"!" the archer yelled, preparing to punish the boy.
"Don't be mean to my brother!" said the girl as she stood before him, ready to protect him. Seeing the perceived victim protecting her tormentor left Chris too confused to act.
"He was being mean to you, right?" the silvernet asked unable to figure out how she was in the wrong.
"No!"
"Huh?"
"Our dad's gone," explained the boy, "We were looking for him, but my sister said she couldn't walk anymore, so…"
"You're lost? You should have just said so," the homeless girl complained, completely ignoring the fact that she never gave them a chance to talk.
"But… But-" sobbed the girl.
"Hey, don't cry!" ordered the silvernet.
"You made my sister cry!" said the boy as he sheilded his sister.
"What a pain!" Chris complained, "I'll help you look, so calm down!"
After a few minutes, Chris was leading the boy and girl through the city by the hand. At some point she began to hum and draw the girl's attention.
"Wh-What?" she asked when she finaly noticed the girl's gaze.
"Do you like singing?"Asked the girl.
"I hate songs," stated the silvernet, "Especially mine. All it dose is break things."
Eventually they reached a nearby police station and found the father there.
"Dad," said the boy as they saw each other.
"There you are! Where did you go?" the father asked.
"She got lost with us!" exclaimed the girl.
"Wrong. She helped us find you," corrected the boy.
"I'm sorry you had to do that," said the father, expressing his gratitude.
"It's fine. It wasn't out of the way," Chris reassured him.
"Hey, did you thank her?" the father reminded his children.
"Thank you," they both said.
"You guys are close," commented the older girl, "Hey, would you tell me how you all came to be so close?"
"I don't know," answered the boy as his sister latched onto his arm, "We always fight."
"We fight, but we make up, so we're friends!" answered the girl.
Around this time Hibiki has been trying to work up the courage to speak to Miku while the later continued to read her magazine in silence.
"Miku, I want you to listen to me, I-" Hbiki said before being interrupted.
"You're just going to lie again, right?" Miku accused as she got up and went to sleep in the lower bunk.
Hibiki looked like she wanted to apologize but remained silent. The blonde looked to a picture of her and her room mate in middle school. She walked over to the piano and laid the picture down so that it didn't show.
Deep underground in the command center, inside Ryoko's lab, said woman was thinking about the events and what they could mean.
The Symphogear both increases the physical capabilities of its user and coats the body in a barrier that prevents Noise from consuming them. Furthermore, its impact forces the Noise, which extend into another world, to vibrate at a certain frequency. This forces them to exist under this universe's laws, which neutralizes their phase barriers.
But with a human wielder, that's always been the limit of the Symphogear's capabilities. The strain placed on the wielder's body by the energy the Symphogear releases tears it apart. The Superb Song is the most obvious example. As long as there is a gap between Symphogear-wielder and relic, there is no obvious way to reduce this strain. That is the conclusion my old theory reaches. But the one who changed that opinion Tachibana Hibiki/Sawada Rai, the first combination of a human and a relic and the one who brought to my attention the advanced form of phonic gain, the Dying Will flames.
The activation experiment, supposedly a concert by Amou Kanade and Kazanari Tsubasa, drew out and amplified the phonic gain from the audience, successfully activating the Armor of Nehushtan. But Tachibana Hibiki was successful in activating an equally intact relic, Durandal, under her own power. It is unclear how much the combination of human and relic vs affinity contributes to the event, however, it is clear that a greater paradigm shift independent of my influence has already occurred and is coming to the forefront of the world.
If a human can use the Superb song, without placing any stress on themselves, and utilizing the relic's power freely… That will be proof that we've been released from the bonds set by the Custodian in the distant past. We shall speak to one another with true words, and the Lulu Amel will be able to determine their own destiny… Surpassing the past
"Thus, the path that music has traveled through history is a story of its own, We call this path 'Music History.'"
The teacher's voice drone on as Hibiki struggled to pay attention, too distracted with her situation with Miku.
"Tachibana-san" addressed the teacher.
"Y-Yes?" she replied.
"Read the rest of the paragraph from the textbook!" the teacher ordered.
"I'm sorry. I wan't paying attention," replied the blonde.
"Haven't you been doing that a lot lately?" the instructor inquired, "Make sure you turn in that late report after school. Got it?"
"Yes. I'm sorry," the blonde once more apologized. Through all this Miku didn't react at all.
Later at lunch, Hibiki found Miku eating by herself in the cafeteria.
"Can I sit here?" Hibiki asked. Not reciving an answer the blonde still sat across from the other girl. Neater spoke for a few moments until the blonde girl spoke up.
"Um… Miku, I…"
"You two seem kind of different than usual."
Only to get interrupted by Shiori and her other friends.
"What's going on?" asked Yumi, "I don't really get it, so explain it in anime terms."
"I'm sure it's Bikky's fault," Kuriyo guessed, "Sorry, Miku… She's an Idiot. Forgive Her."
"Come to think of it, the teacher was talking about a report," commented Shiori.
"She said you were the only one who didn't turn it in…" continued the brown haired girl, "It isn't even that long. What's wrong with you?" she got an embarrassed chuckle from the dirty blonde.
"Maybe Bikky has a part-time job she isn't talking about?" asked Kuriyo, getting a reaction from Miku.
"Eh? Hibiki has a job?!" Yumi asked in shock.
"Isn't that against school rules?" pointed out Shiori.
All of a sudden, Miku rose from her seat and ran away with Hibiki chasing after her, leaving their friends wondering if they made things worse.
Hibiki chased after the other girl, blaming herself for keeping secrets. As she reached the rooftop, she found Miku staring out at the landscape, seemingly to have made a decision.
"Sawada Rai," the blonde said, "That is my birth name."
"Eh?" Miku was expecting Hibiki to try and heal their relationship, not for her to suddenly regain lost memories of her past.
"I regained myself in the last battle," the blonde stated, "Hibiki no longer exists."
"T-That can't be," argued Miku, tears starting to form in her eyes, "Are you saying you have no attachment to all the memories we shared? That I can't even end my end my friendship with her properly?"
"That's right," said the blonde, "The only thing that you have that I value is the ring that Hibiki foolishly gave you and I want it back!"
With tears of despair flowing down her cheeks, Miku ripped off the ring and threw it at the blonde's feet before running back into the school.
Leaning down to retrieve the ring, the blonde noticed tears falling from her eyes.
"T-That's strange, why am I crying when Miku is s-safe," the blonde asked herself despite knowing the answer and soon she couldn't hold back the tears at all.
"I'm sorry Miku, my sunshine."
And so, the girl who viewed her herself as Rai and Hibiki spent the rest of the day crying.
"I know this was first started from us. But what I'm saying is your work is too sloppy," Fine said into the phone as she scolded the man on the other end of the line, "We'll be trapped if we were traced. Unless that is your intention…"
"Only God can control everything. You know that well, don't you?" countered her contact.
Their conversation was interrupted as the doors to the room burst open, drawing an annoyed glare from the blonde.
"What do you mean, you're done with me?! You don't need me anymore?!" yelled Chris, "You're treating me like a thing, too?! My whole head's messed up! Weren't you going to help me make Prima's wish come true?!"
As the silvernet calmed down and took in the appearance of the room she couldn't help but notice something on the table.
Are those pendents?! Indeed, there were four red stones like the one she was wearing around her neck, but before she could inquire about them Fine finally acted.
"Why does no one do what I want?" the blonde asked before firing a beam from Solomon's Cane, summoning several Noise in front of Chris. The latter realized she had been betrayed and would have to use Ichival against the vary person who gave it to her.
"I guess it's time to say goodbye," the naked woman said, "Yes… The way you do things, war will never end. All you could do is prevent one war, but start two or three more."
"This was your Idea!" Chris objected, "The pain and the Gear were both things you gave me-"
"You're wearing the Symphogear I gave you, and you're still useless," interrupted Fine, "I think we're done.
Chris realized the older woman was equipping the Nehushton as particles of light began to surround her.
"Both this armor and I are Indestructible," the naked woman claimed as the lights took form around her, "The future goes on forever." At last, she was wearing golden armor that revealed more skin then Chris' did. "My Kadingir is almost complete… I've no reason to use your power anymore."
"Kadingir… That's…" Chris said trying to come to terms with what she heard.
"You've learned too much," Fine said before giving the Noise the order to attack.
Dodging the first wave of foes, Chris could only look back as Fine stared at her with cruel enjoyment.
"Damn it! DAMN IT!"