It was night time, the lights of buildings and poles being the only thing illuminating the area. One person in particular was walking on the sidewalk, a person that stood out well.
A beautiful woman with long straight black hair, pale skin, blue eyes with a mask covering her mouth. She's walking, minding her own business, but the way she walks, it's like she's approaching someone, or even waiting for someone to approach her.
And indeed, someone approaches her, two young men approach the woman.
"Hey there, you seem lonely." One of the men said with a grin on his face while the other chuckles.
"Why don't you accompany us so you can have some company?" The other asks.
"Can I ask you two a question?" The woman speaks with a gentle and curious tone.
"Huh?" One of the men looks confused at her.
"Sure, you can ask us anything." The other men said, causing the woman to giggle.
"Very well then…." The woman looks at them, her bright blue eyes sparkling "... Am I beautiful?"
The men look at her, their eyes connect as they are left speechless, despite wearing a mask covering her face, they already knew the answer.
"Hell yes!" One of the men shouts.
"You are beautiful like the moon!" The other shouts too, the response causes the woman to giggle again.
"Very well, now may I ask another question?"
"Yes! You can ask many questions baby!" One of the men shouts, completely hypnotized by the woman's beauty."
"You say that I'm beautiful, so…." The woman begins to take off her mask, the two men look with curiosity to see the rest of her face… Then an expression of shock and horror appear on their faces as they stare at the woman.
"I am beautiful…. Even with this?" The woman reveals a bloody slit around her mouth that runs from ear to each, forming a creepy smile.
The two men look in shock and horror at this revelation, then one of them screams before running away, leaving his friend behind.
"Hey wait!" The one that was left behind extends his arm to try and get their attention, until suddenly, a knife flies past him and hits the man that was running on his back, causing him to stop in place and his body falling limp on the ground.
"What about you?" The woman asks as the man looks at her "Am I beautiful, even with this?"
The man stares in shock, but still answers "Y-Yes! You are beautiful even with this!" He asks with fear in his voice.
"That's good." The woman smiles, the smile creeps the man due to the bloody slit "I'm so glad you accepted me despite my appearance." The woman then pulls a knife "So, let us match each other."
The mere sight of the knife causes the man to panic before he runs in fear, however, the woman suddenly appears in front of him and grabs him by the neck.
"Don't be afraid. Soon you will look just like me…." She then puts the knife close to his mouth "Beautiful!" She swings the knife, and the only thing that is heard is the man's screams of horror.
The next day arrives, inside the training room of the Shinobi Temple, Hyuuga and Tsubaki are doing their usual training routine, though this time, their sparring session is a bit different than usual.
Hyuuga is spinning while kicking, while Tsubaki is blocking with her arms, he stops as he reels his leg back and kicks forward, Tsubaki blocks but is pushed away on impact.
"Here's one more!" Hyuuga yells as he leaps with a flying kick, though Tsubaki manages to grab his leg and toss him away.
Hyuuga falls on both feet and dodges a punch from Tsubaki, before grabbing her arm, he falls on his back and using his leg, he tosses Tsubaki backwards.
"Hah! Another point for me." Hyuuga said in a smug tone.
"Since when you were counting our training sessions?" Tsubaki asks as she chuckles and gets up.
"I wasn't, but we can assume I have the most points." Hyuuga grins, Tsubaki laughs at that.
"Oh please, we all know I have the most points." Tsubaki points to her with a smug face.
"Yeah yeah say whatever you want, I'm not done yet." Hyuuga takes a fighting stance.
"Neither am I." Tsubaki takes a fighting stance too "Now remember the reason why we are training."
"Yeah I know, don't need to remind me." Hyuuga said before remembering the events of some days ago.
"Indeed I was, it was me who broke the seal and released the Yokais, and it's because of this that I managed to obtain the ultimate power!"
"Whatever Danzo's plan is, we will stop him!" Hyuuga said.
"We will, so that's why we must train." Tsubaki said, Hyuuga nodding his head as the two leap forward and prepare to strike each other.
Elsewhere with the Kagami siblings.
"Thank you for helping me with my shopping list brother." Fuuka said.
"No problem sis, although…. Why do you need this much stuff?!" Setsuna asks, holding a ton of bags.
"Oh come on, I didn't buy that much." Fuuka said, causing Setsuna to just stare at her.
"You seriously need to stop spending so much money, we aren't rich." Setsuna complains.
"Fine, I will TRY not to spend so much." Fuuka pouts, with Setsuna sighing in relief before spotting something in front.
"Sis, look at that." Setsuna said.
"Look what?" Fuuka asks before looking in front of her.
A bunch of people are gathered in the same place where the two men were attacked by the mysterious woman. The siblings try to see what is going on, but there's so many people there that it is difficult to see what happened. They could see some police officers trying to push the people away.
"Hey hey no one steps forward!" One of the police officers shouted.
The siblings look at each other and nod, they then run to a nearby alley and after checking if no one is nearby, Fuuka does some hand signs.
"Wind Ninpo: Sky Vortex!" A small vortex of wind surrounds the two and raises them upwards to the top of a building. The vortex disappears as the siblings land on the building, Setsuna gently putting the bags down as they go to check what exactly happened.
"Oh my." Setsuna said as he and Fuuka stare at the scene of the crime.
A large sheath is covering the man's upper body, it's possible to see some blood dripping from his body that passes under the sheath.
"A murder huh?" Fuuka asks.
"Guess so, and from the looks of it, it seems that person was killed very recently." Setsuna speculates. "Although…."
"Something feels fishy to you doesn't it?" Fuuka asks, Setsuna answers by nodding his head "Me too, so let's wait a bit to see if something comes up."
The two spot another police officer appearing.
"Sir, we have found another person that saw the incident." The officer said.
"Really? Alright, bring them in." The other officer said.
"Okay sir, although I'm not so sure he's going to be helpful." The officer said.
"What do you mean?" The other officer asks.
Two other officers bring the man, the officer looks at him as his eyes widen in shock.
"What the hell?" The officer said with shock in his voice.
The man has his mouth mutilated from ear-to-ear, forming a creepy smile, thankfully there's no blood there and it seems he could still use it, however the man was clearly scared of what happened as his body is trembling.
The officer isn't the only one shocked by this, the Kagami siblings are also shocked upon seeing the man's state, Fuuka gasps as she puts her hand on her mouth, and Setsuna just stares.
The officer in command goes to talk to the man.
"Son, I know what happened to you must have been horrifying, but please, could you explain what happened?" The officer asks, feeling sorry for what happened to the man.
The man is having difficulty explaining what happened due to his fear, he hesitates, but finally manages to explain.
"M-Me and m-m-my friend talked to this woman…. This woman…." Just thinking about her causes the man to start sobbing "S-She asked us if w-we think she's beautiful, we answered yes…. And she removes her mask. Oh god, her mouth has this cut, m-my friend ran in fear, and s-she threw a knife at his back."
The officers stare in shock as the man explains.
"That woman…. She's a monster, she did this to me! She did this to me!" The man shouts as he cries, the officers comforting him.
The Kagami siblings, after hearing the man's story, stare at each other, figuring out what he meant by that.
Some time later, Hyuuga and Tsubaki have finished their training and are walking in a park drinking some sodas, Hyuuga gasping in relief.
"Oh man I deserve this, a delicious cold soda after intense ninja training." He said before taking another sip.
"Glad to see you are getting better, Yasakani." Tsubaki compliments him.
"Well I have your assistance after all, I hate to admit… Actually I don't, you are a better teacher than my old man."
Suddenly, Haruki sneezes.
"Bless you!" Riku shouts.
"Thanks Riku, Hyuuga must be talking about me!" Haruki said.
Back to the duo.
"Oh really?" Tsubaki leans a bit closer to Hyuuga "Would you mind explaining why?"
"First: Personal space." Hyuuga said in a blank tone, causing Tsubaki to move away from him. "Second: He's very, uh, passionate about training, hell my mom used to scold him when he worked me and my siblings very hard."
Tsubaki giggles at that "Well I can tell he takes training very seriously."
"Yeah maybe, but man I'm glad I don't have to train with him anymore." Hyuuga chuckles before taking another sip of his soda.
"Uh, excuse me, would you mind helping me with something?" Hyuuga and Tsubaki hear a voice from behind.
"Sure, what do you need?" Hyuuga asks as he and Tsubaki turn around, his eyes widening as he spots a woman in front of him.
He stares at her speechless, his cheeks becoming red and he almost drops his soda.
Tsubaki sees this and she grins as she moves her head close to Hyuuga.
"Oh what's the matter? Why aren't you saying anything?" She said in a teasing tone, causing Hyuuga to snap back to reality.
"W-What?" Hyuuga said.
"Hey it's alright, it's normal for boys to be left speechless after seeing a beautiful woman." She continues to tease him.
"S-Shut up!" Hyuuga snarls before turning his head to hide his embarrassment, Tsubaki laughing before staring at the woman.
"While I will admit that you do indeed look pretty, it is nothing compared to me, after all, I am the living embodiment of every men's dream girl!" Tsubaki said as she swings her hair with her hand, the woman and Hyuuga stared at her.
"More like the living embodiment of my nightmares." Hyuuga turns around and mutters that sentence, catching Tsubaki's attention.
"What did you say?" Tsubaki snaps as the two stare at each other, the woman looking at them before clearing her throat, catching their attention.
"S-Sorry." Hyuuga said as he and Tsubaki turn to face her "What exactly do you need help with?"
"Well…." The woman turns to face Hyuuga "Am I beautiful?"
The question catches the two by surprise, Tsubaki stares at Hyuuga as he tries to answer.
"Uh… Well…" Hyuuga rubs the back of his head nervously as he tries to come up with an answer.
"I wouldn't answer that question if I were you."
The three look behind and see the Kagami siblings approaching.
"S-Setsuna?" Hyuuga said.
"What do you mean by that?" Tsubaki asks.
"Because answering that question might result in your life being in danger." Fuuka answers in a cold tone, causing Hyuuga and Tsubaki to gasp in shock.
"W-What are you talking about?" The woman asks.
"Why don't you answer that yourself…. Kuchisake-onna?" Setsuna said as the woman blinks in shock.
"Kuchisake-onna?" Hyuuga asks, then he and Tsubaki's eyes widen in shock as they connect the dots "You mean she's a-"
He's interrupted by the woman laughing, the four ninjas look at her.
"I'm impressed that you managed to find out my true identity." The woman said.
"Well it's very easy to solve a mystery if the witnesses are still alive." Fuuka said.
"I was only trying to make him as beautiful as me." The woman said before removing her mask, revealing her disfigured mouth to the shock of the four.
"Okay I take back what I said, you are not beautiful!" Hyuuga said as he points at the now revealed Kuchisake-onna "You are ugly as hell!"
"Ugly?!" Kuchisake-onna snarls angrily at that comment "You will pay with your life for calling me that!" She said as she pulls a knife and rushes towards Hyuuga.
Kuchisake-onna thrust the knife in an attempt to stab Hyuuga, however he manages to hold her arm with both hands as the knife almost reaches his face.
Despite that, Hyuuga could feel the supernatural strength of the woman as she pushes her arm forward, she manages to outstrength Hyuuga and the knife stabs his left cheek, Hyuuga groaning in pain.
"Yasakani!" Tsubaki shouts as tackles the woman, she drops her knife as both roll on the ground.
While Tsubaki pins Kuchisake-onna on the ground, Hyuuga puts his hand on his left cheek. It wasn't a deep cut, but it still hurt and blood was coming out of the wound.
"You're not going anywhere Yokai!" Tsubaki shouts.
"You…." Kuchisake-onna muttered "You dare call yourself more beautiful than me?!"
"What?" Tsubaki questions what Kuchisake-onna said.
"No one's more beautiful than me!" Kuchisake-onna yells with anger in her voice as her eyes glow "I will kill anyone that calls themselves more beautiful than me!"
Energy builds up on Kuchisake-onna's body and it bursts, launching Tsubaki away as she falls on the ground.
"Kusanagi!" Hyuuga shouts.
"I think we have more important things to worry about." Fuuka said before pointing to Kuchisake-onna, the energy surrounding the woman has disappeared and she reveals her true Yokai form.
One aspect of Kuchisake-onna is the large creepy-looking mouth she has, this one more horrifying than the one from her human disguise, stuck in a sinister smile with a torn mask. Her body has black and silver skin, another aspect of her true form is her hair, which looks more like appendages in the shape of a long hair, with a knife at the end of each appendage.
The group stare at the Yokai's true form with shock on their faces.
"Oh what's the matter? Too stunned over my beauty?" Kuchisake-onna said in a twisted teasing tone.
They stay silent, only glaring at the Yokai with Hyuuga helping Tsubaki get up.
"Sis, stay back, we'll handle this." Setsuna said, Fuuka nods her head as she backs away and the trio puts their Ninja Drivers on.
Hyuuga pulls the Tora Scroll, Tsubaki the Hakucho Scroll and Setsuna the Kitsune Scroll, then they press their buttons.
[Tora!]
[Hakucho!]
[Kitsune!]
They insert the scrolls on the Drivers as large versions appear behind them as they perform their respective transformation poses.
"Henshin!" The trio said at the same time before spinning the cornua.
[Henshin no Jutsu!]
The scroll opens as their respective animals come out of them and merge with their users to transform them into their Rider forms.
[Yasei no Hantā, Tora]
[Yozora no Janpā, Usagi!]
[Kazenoyoni, Kitsune!]
They transform into Orochi, Tsurugi and Gensou respectively.
"Let's see if you call yourself beautiful after I get my claws on you!" Orochi snarls at the Yokai.
"I will skewer you alive before you have the chance!" Kuchisake-onna said.
The Yokai is the first to initiate the fight, she extends her arms and moves them forward, this motion causes her appendages to be launched in that direction.
The trio dodge being skewered by the appendages, Orochi and Gensou rolling out of the way while Tsurugi leaps high in the air using the springs on her legs.
Kuchisake-onna spots Tsurugi leaping, upon seeing her, she remembers when Tsurugi called herself more beautiful, and immediately commands her appendages to go after her.
Upon reaching the spot where the trio were before dodging, the appendages immediately change direction and go up, now they are moving towards their new target, Tsurugi.
"Below you Kusanagi!" Orochi shouts to get her attention.
Tsurugi looks down and spots the appendages all moving towards her. She stretches her right arm, which then pulls her entire body towards it to avoid the appendages.
"Stay still!" Kuchisake-onna shouts.
"You should stay still!" Orochi said as he takes this opportunity to attack Kuchisake-onna.
He runs in all four before leaping and scratches Kuchisake-onna, causing sparks to fly on impact.
Kuchisake-onna hisses from being hit by Orochi, though she manages to retain her concentration as the appendages get close to Tsurugi, who is avoiding them by stretching her limbs and being pulled by them, the appendages manage to strike her, causing sparks to fly on impact as Tsurugi is sent crashing.
"And now it's your turn!" Kuchisake-onna said as she retracts her hair back, then her hands retract inside the arms and from them, two blades come out as she rushes towards Orochi.
She swings her arms to try and slash Orochi, he dodges one but is hit by the other arm. He counters with a scratch from his right claw, then follows-up with a hook punch with his other hand.
Kuchisake-onna's appendages move towards Orochi, he swings his claws each time one of them gets close, though due the number of appendages, he's starting to get overwhelmed.
That's when suddenly, the Kyofu Shuriken appears and cuts some of the appendages, causing them to fall on the ground.
"What?!" Kuchisake-onna shouts as she sees the shuriken returning and she strikes it with her arm blade, knocking it away, but this was just a distraction.
Gensou leaps and performs a flying kick at Kuchisake-onna, pushing her away, then he rushes at her and delivers some fast chops, followed by a kick and then another chop.
Before she could counter, something grabs her arm, revealed to be a stretched hand, and she sees Tsurugi coming in.
"That is for attacking me earlier!" She said and the moment she gets closer, she punches Kuchisake-onna on the face.
She stumbles backwards and looks at Tsurugi.
"My face! You punched my beautiful face!" She shouts.
"I'm gonna make sure there's only one beauty between us, and that's gonna be me!" She said as she rushes towards Kuchisake-onna.
"Is she serious about this?" Fuuka said in a deadpan tone.
Tsurugi stretches her right arm forward to try and punch her, the Yokai dodges the attack, Tsurugi then extends her left leg to perform a sweeping kick, she manages to hit Kuchisake-onna, causing her trip but before she could fall, Tsurugi grabs her by the arm and and delivers another punch to her face.
"I'm not done, take this!" Tsurugi then goes to punch Kuchisake-onna again, but then, the Yokai dodges and stabs Tsurugi with an appendage, the blade pierce through the suit.
She removes the appendage as Tsurugi stumbles backwards, but then, a wooden figure appears in her place as it falls.
"What?!" Kuchisake-onna said.
"Ice Ninpo!" She hears Tsurugi's voice and turns around "Jet Bullet!" Tsurugi delivers an ice-enhanced stretch punch at Kuchisake-onna, causing a small explosion and the Yokai is sent rolling on the ground. "Classic substitution Jutsu, never failed once."
Kuchisake-onna manages to get back on her feet as she looks at Tsurugi "You will pay for this, all of you will pay for this!" She yells as her appendages lash out everywhere, Tsurugi leaps backwards as the lash attack causes a large dust cloud to appear and when it vanishes, Kuchisake-onna has vanished.
"That sure was a temper tantrum." Tsurugi said as she goes towards the rest of the group. She, Orochi and Gensou deactivate their transformations.
"Are you guys okay?" Hyuuga asks.
"Well I'm fine, but not exactly happy to be that Yokai's target." Tsubaki said "Some people can't just accept the beauty of others."
"And it's because of that the Yokai was mostly focused on you." Hyuuga said. "But seriously, what the hell was that Yokai's deal?"
"Some people are very obsessed with beauty, wanting to be the most beautiful and precious person in this world." Fuuka said.
"And as we can see based on that Yokai, she seems to have an obsession with wanting to make others as 'beautiful' as her." Setsuna said.
Hyuuga and Tsubaki look at each other, then they both imagine themselves with Kuchisake-onna's "smile" on their faces, both crying comically and the Yokai behind them laughing evilly comically too.
Their thought balloon disappears as they hug each other in fear at the thought of becoming as "beautiful" as Kuchisake-onna.
The Kagami siblings look at the duo and just have the most disappointed look on their faces, Fuuka sighs and Setsuna shrugs.
"Either way, we better be careful when that Yokai returns, and it will return." Setsuna said.
"With Miss Tsubaki here probably being number one on her hit list." Fuuka said in a snarky tone, this catches Tsubaki's attention as she points at Fuuka.
"Then bring it on! I'm not afraid of no Yokai, if she's so angry because I called myself more beautiful than her, then we'll settle to see who's the most beautiful in the world!" Tsubaki said in a confident tone.
"Why is that your main priority?" Hyuuga asks.
"Well then, me and my brother shall make your leave, but we'll keep an eye out when that Yokai returns." Fuuka said "Until then, farewell, and I hope that Yokai doesn't mess with your pretty face, Miss Kusanagi." Fuuka said in a mocking tone as the two siblings walk away.
"That girl really knows how to push my button!" Tsubaki said, and without noticing, she's hardening the grip of the hug with Hyuuga.
"You're hurting my back!" Hyuuga said.
"That's not important! Right now, we have to be prepared when that Yokai returns!" Tsubaki said.
"Maybe not to you, but I like having my spinal cord functioning." Hyuuga said, feeling a lot of pain on his back.
Elsewhere with Kuchisake-onna, she has assumed her human disguise again and is hiding behind a building, she's breathing heavily from the previous fight and puts her mask back.
"I manage to escape, but…." Kuchisake-onna said as she clenches her fist in anger "I won't forgive those Riders, especially the blue one!"
"While I will admit that you do indeed look pretty, it is nothing compared to me, after all, I am the living embodiment of every men's dream girl!"
Remembering what Tsubaki said causes Kuchisake-onna to scream in anger as she punches the wall, the punch being strong enough to cause a large crater on it.
"Oh my oh my, someone's in a bad mood huh?" A male voice is heard and Kuchisake-onna looks to her side to see a man walking towards her. "Kuchisake-onna, it's been quite some time since I've last seen you, how have you been-" The man approaches her, but Kuchisake-onna pulls a knife and points it at him.
"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Kuchisake-onna asks in a threatening tone, the man pretends to be shocked after hearing her question.
"How could you forget me? I'm shocked, shocked!" The man said in a very dramatic tone, Kuchisake-onna then realizes who the man is as she lowers her knife.
"Gashadokuro?" She said.
"In the flesh!" Gashadokuro said. "Though bones in my case, but you get what I mean."
"I'm surprised that you are still alive, I thought a fool like you would've died a long time ago." Kuchisake-onna said.
"What I can say, I have the devil's luck with me." Gashadokuro said, Kuchisake-onna looked at him with an unimpressed expression "But enough of that, what's the matter with you? It's rare seeing you this angry."
"I'm sorry, it's just…. Those ninjas." Kuchisake-onna said.
"Let me guess, you got your ass kicked by them and had to retreat?" Gashadokuro said, he then moves to the side as Kuchisake-onna throws a knife at him.
"I just made a tactical retreat." Kuchisake-onna said "But no, that's not what I'm angry about. Oh no, it's that damn blue ninja!" Kuchisake-onna said in an angry tone.
"Blue ninja?" Gashadokuro said before realizing who she's talking about "Oh, you mean Tsurugi?"
"Yes, her!" Kuchisake-onna shouts "She dared call herself more beautiful than me! I won't let that slide, when I find her, I will disfigure her face so only I, Kuchisake-onna, am the most beautiful one!" She shouts.
"Oh I see, so that's why you're mad." Gashadokuro said before chuckling "Well then, while I myself am not allowed to get involved in the fight…. Yet, I got a little thing that can help you get your revenge." Gashadokuro said.
"You do?!" Kuchisake-onna asks.
"Yes, a gift from a friend." Gashadokuro shows a corrupted Seal Scroll that has the image of a buffalo on it.
"What is that?" Kuchisake-onna asks.
"A Seal Scroll corrupted by Yokai power, pretty neat right?" Gashadokuro said. "Some Youkais have used it to give themselves a little power-up, and since you were one of the lucky ones that manage to escape being sealed, I really wonder what it might do to you."
Kuchisake-onna stares at the scroll for a while, she realizes that with this power, she could have her revenge not only against the ninjas, but Tsubaki especially.
Despite wearing a mask that covers her face, she smiles evilly and grabs the scroll.
"You made the right choice, now if you excuse me, I need to return." Gashadokuro said before walking away and disappearing.
"Thank you Gashadokuro." Kuchisake-onna said as she pulls her mask down and she puts on a devilish smile, made it even creepier by the scars on her mouth. "There can be only one beautiful person in this world, and that is I, Kuchisake-onna!" She laughs evilly while holding the Yagyu Scroll in the air.
At the Kagami house, Setsuna enters the office and sees Fuuka on her computer.
"You've been on that computer for quite some time." He said "Any particular reason?"
"Trying to see if I can find more information about Danzo." Fuuka said as she continues to type on her computer "So far, nothing that could be useful."
"I see." Setsuna said "Still, it's still a surprise that he was the one responsible for breaking the seal and release the Yokais."
"And he's working with them as well." Fuuka said.
Setsuna reminiscences of his previous encounter with Danzo, remembering how Gashadokuro transferred Kagutsuchi's soul inside the scroll Danzo was holding.
"Hey sis, is it possible to seal a Yokai inside a Seal Scroll?" Setsuna asks.
Fuuka turns her chair around to talk with her brother "Surprisingly yes, you just need to trap the Yokai's spirit inside the scroll, it's similar to how normal Seal Scrolls contain the spirits of animals." Fuuka explained "Although this is Yokais we are talking about, there are probably some differences when it comes to seal them."
"... Do you think it might have to do with the Yokais we have encountered so far?" Setsuna asks.
"What do you mean?" Fuuka asks.
"We have encountered two types of Yokais: The ones that were sealed, and the ones that didn't." Setsuna said "It seems like the ones that manage to escape the sealing Jutsu retained their sentience and ability to think, while the ones that were sealed, did not."
He was right, Fuuka has also noticed that as well but never connected the dots until now, but it makes a lot of sense when she thinks about it.
"True…. The Yokais that were sealed resemble more mindless beasts than actual living beings." Fuuka said "I always wondered why that was the case though."
"In any case, I'll go do a small patrol, just in case I spot that Yokai again." Setsuna said "You keep doing what you're doing."
"Will do brother." Fuuka said, her brother nodding before heading out. "Alright then, let's see what other secrets he is hiding." She returns to her research.
With Setsuna, he has put on his ninja uniform and is currently on top of a building, keeping an eye to see if he can spot where Kuchisake-onna might appear.
"The Yokais that were sealed lost their ability to think, being reduced to mindless beasts that attack any human in sight, while the ones that weren't manage to retain their sentience." Setsuna mutters to himself "Quite a fascinating discovery if I do say so myself."
Setsuna notices something glowing in the distance, said glowing thing seems to be getting close by the minute, his eyes widen in realization and he moves to the side. He thought he had avoided it, but it was just a distraction, Setsuna grunts as he feels something pierce his skin and he looks down, a knife has stabbed his left arm with blood dripping from it.
"D-Dammit…." Setsuna curses as he removes the knife, grunting in pain and tosses it away. He focuses on the same direction the knife was thrown and spots the one that has tossed them.
Kuchisake-onna, who is on top of a far away building, without her mask, showing a sinister smile, and tossing a knife on her hand as she prepares to throw it.
"Well, I managed to find her at least." Setsuna said. "Now I just need to take her down."
Kuchisake-onne then throws another knife at Setsuna, he avoid this time and jumps to a nearby building, starting to make his way towards Kuchisake-onna. The Yokai, noticing this, summons more knives and throws every one of them at Setsuna.
Despite the injured, and bleeding arm, he's managing to avoid all of them while gripping the wound with his right hand.
Setsuna goes to leap towards another building, spotting an opportunity, Kuchisake-onna throws a precise knife at Setsuna's right leg, causing him to yell in pain and he falls onto the building.
He tries to get up, but is having difficulty due to the injury on his leg. He then looks to the side and out of nowhere, a knife stabs him on the head as it falls flat on the floor.
"And here I thought you'd be more of a challenge." Kuchisake-onna said, her confidence then vanishes when suddenly, Setsuna's body shatters into glass "W-What the?!"
"Did you really think something like that could've easily killed me?" A voice comes from behind Kuchisake-onna and when she turns around, a gust of wind suddenly appears as it pushes Kuchisake-onna away.
"H-How are you alive?" Kuchisake-onna asks in confusion.
"You forgot something Yokai, I am Setsuna Kagami, current head of the Kagami clan, and let me tell you a little secret: Don't trust a Kagami." Setsuna said with a confident tone in his voice as he increases the power of his attack and Kuchisake-onna is pushed away from the building, causing her to crash into another.
The gust of wind disappears and Setsuna grunts in pain as he holds the injury of his left arm with his right hand "Too bad the injuries I suffer don't disappear when I use my illusions."
"Oh, I'll make sure you'll be the one to disappear, damn ninja!" Kuchisake-onna shouts with anger on her voice as she has transform into her true form, releasing her appendages at Setsuna, who moves out of the way as the appendages hit the building instead, causing some debris to fall from it.
The people below scream in fear as they try to run away from the debris falling, before they could fall, a red and blue blur appear and grab the people as the debris hit the ground, revealing themselves to be Kamen Rider Orochi and Tsurugi, in their base forms, they put the people they rescued on the ground.
"Everyone, move, we'll take care of this!" Orochi said.
The people listen to him and start running away, Tsurugi helping them going in a certain direction to avoid the incoming battle.
Setsuna and Kuchisake-onna spot the two, a smile appearing on the former's face, as for the latter….
"You!" Kuchisake-onna grows in anger, she screams and launches her appendages at the two Riders.
Because they were distracted with helping the people, the appendages are wrapped around their bodies and pulled by Kuchisake-onna.
Kuchisake-onna swings her appendages everywhere, smashing the two Riders onto buildings, then onto each other, causing sparks to fly on impact.
"That one hurt you, jerk!" Orochi shouts in anger, with the Hebi Dual Blade in hand, he slashes through the appendages holding him, causing him to fall onto the ground.
Tsurugi decides to do the same as she prepares to slice off the appendages holding her with the Cho Katana, but Kuchisake-onna sees what she's trying to do and shakes her violently, causing Tsurugi to drop her sword as it falls on the ground.
"Oh no, no, no, I won't let YOU of all people escape!" Kuchisake-onna shouts in anger, her petty grudge towards Tsurugi growing stronger.
"You're still mad over me calling myself beautiful?" Tsurugi said in disbelief.
"Yes!" Kuchisake-onna said as she brings Tsurugi close to her "You think yourself more pretty than me? More beautiful?!" Kuchisake-onna shouted as she slices Tsurugi with a knife, she grunts from the slice. "No one is more beautiful than me, and if anyone dares say that they are…!" She said as she continues to slice her "I will kill them with my bare hands!"
"You are freaking insane!" Tsurugi said.
"And you are dead meat!" Kuchisake-onna raises the knife she's holding with the intent of finishing Tsurugi.
"Super Fire Ninpo: Flame Sword Slash!" Suddenly, a fiery slash appears and cuts through the appendages holding Tsurugi, and hitting Kuchisake-onna in the process.
The appendages holding Tsurugi burn to a crisp as she falls, with her doing a superhero landing upon touching the ground.
"Who dares?!" Kuchisake-onna shouts.
"I do, you crazy psycho!" Orochi said while holding the Cho Katana, which has the Hebi Scroll inserted on its slot and the blade ignited in flames.
Kuchisake-onna screams as she leaps forward towards Orochi, crashing onto him as the two roll on the ground.
Orochi manages to get up fast and dodges some of the Yokai's attacks, he uses the Cho Katana to block Kuchisake-onna trying to slice him with her knives.
Kuchisake-onna swings her appendages to try and slice Orochi with the blades at the end of each, he's starting to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of appendages.
As Tsurugi watches the two battle, Setsuna lands right next to her, though he grunts in pain due to the injury on his leg, this causes Tsurugi to turn around and spot him.
"Kagami? Are you okay?" Tsurugi said.
"I-I'm fine, but I'm surprised to see you're concerned about me." Setsuna said.
"Listen, I may not trust you Kagamis, but that doesn't mean I'm heartless towards you." Tsurugi said.
"That's good to hear." Setsuna said, he tries to get up, but is having difficulty due to the injury on his leg. "If I didn't had this stupid injury, I would be able to fight as well."
Upon hearing this, an idea pops up in Tsurugi's head, although she doesn't know if it will work or not."
"You just had an idea right now haven't you?" Setsuna asks.
"Yes…. But I'm not 100% sure it's gonna work." Tsurugi said.
The two hear Orochi screaming as he lands near him.
"I'm okay!" Orochi said, only to then be pulled away by Kuchisake-onna's appendages while screaming again.
"Not like we have much of a choice anyway." Setsuna said, causing Tsurugi to sigh.
"You're right, time to implement that idea then." She said and rushes towards the fight.
Orochi slices off every appendage that comes to attack him, but the more he slices or burns, the more keep appearing.
"God this never ends!" He shouts in anger.
"Yasakani!" Tsurugi shouts "Go help Kagami over there, I'll handle her!" She said.
"Wait what?" Orochi said.
"Just do it!" Tsurugi shouted.
"Okay okay fine!" Orochi said, he removes the Hebi Scroll from the Cho Katana, inserting it back to his Driver, and tosses the sword to Tsurugi, who grabs it and engages in a fight against Kuchisake-onna while Orochi rushes towards Setsuna. "Hey Setsuna."
"Hello Hyuuga, so how's the day going for you?" Setsuna asks.
"Oh well you know the usual, fighting against Yokais and trying not to get skewered alive by that crazy psycho over there." Orochi said. "What about you?"
"Well currently I'm bleeding from my arm and leg, somehow I'm still alive but chances are, the reaper is gonna give me a ride towards the Sanzu River." Setsuna said in a rather casual tone.
"Well sorry, but you're not dying today." Orochi said as he turns around "Hey Kusanagi, what exactly am I supposed to do?!"
"Well…" Tsurugi said while engaging with Kuchisake-onna, the two clashing their blades "I was thinking that you could use your fire to cauterize Setsuna's wounds to stop the bleeding."
"Alright, thanks for explain-wait you want to do what?" Orochi questions Tsurugi's idea.
"Look, it's the only idea I could think of, especially considering your current situation!" Tsurugi said as she's hit by one of Kuchisake-onna's blades, she counters by kicking her away.
"Do I look like I have experience cauterizing wounds?!" Orochi shouted.
"Well you can either do that, or leave him to bleed to death." Tsurugi said.
Despite the ridiculous tasks assigned to him, just hearing that causes Orochi to really think about it.
"Ah what the hell, it's not like I have a choice anyway!" Orochi said, he snap his fingers and a small flame appears on his right index finger. "Okay Setsuna, I have 0 experience with this so, it might hurt."
"Then hurry up, I think my eyes are seeing the light." Setsuna said, obviously lying.
Orochi takes a deep breath and passes his finger over the wound on Setsuna's leg, he grunts in pain and tries not to scream due to how painful it is.
With Tsurugi, she's managing well against Kuchisake-onna, especially not wanting to let her get close to Orochi while he helps Setsuna.
Kuchisake-onna thrusts some of her appendages to try and stab Tsurugi, she manages to dodge them but is hit by some she didn't dodge.
She manages to retain her balance and slices the appendages, Kuchisake-onna hits her with one of her knives, causing sparks to fly, Tsurugi retaliates with a slash, followed by a side kick that knocks her away.
The rage was starting to build up inside Kuchisake-onna, Tsurugi could even see a dark aura all around her with her hair floating around.
"Enough!" Kuchisake-onna yells loudly "I won't be defeated by the likes of you, not now, not ever!" She pulls the corrupted Yagyu Scroll, Tsurugi's eyes widen from underneath the helmet.
"Another corrupted Seal Scroll?!" She said in disbelief.
Kuchisake-onna starts laughing maniacally as she presses the button of the scroll.
[YAGYU!]
She then thrusts the scroll onto her body, she grunts while shoving the scroll inside and her body releasing black energy.
Kuchisake-onna screams loudly as the black energy covers her entire body, releasing a powerful shockwave everywhere. Tsurugi plants her sword on the ground so she won't be thrown away, but it's proven to be futile as she's pushed backwards, crashing on Orochi and Setsuna, the three rolling on the ground in the process.
The shockwaves stop and the only thing the trio hear is the evil laughter coming from Kuchisake-onna, they then look and see her new form.
One notable thing that has changed is that, Kuchisake-onna has grown in size, towering over the trio with her new bulky body with visible veins appearing on her arms, legs and torso, making them resemble muscles. Her hair appendages have changed appearance, no longer resembling hair, but instead, taking the form of large horns on each side of her head, and speaking of, it has changed to resemble a buffalo.
"W-W-W-What the hell is that?!" Orochi shouts while pointing frantically "That's not fair!"
"Since when you of all people cared about fairness?" Setsuna said in a snarky tone.
"S-Shut up!" Orochi shouted.
Kuchisake-onna takes a chance to look at her new body, her arms are shown to be trembling.
"My body…. It looks amazing!"
The trio falls flat on the ground from her reaction to her new appearance.
"I'm not only beautiful, but I'm even stronger as well!" Kuchisake-onna said.
"Guess she has her own standards of beauty." Tsurugi said.
"Hey Setsuna, can you fight?" Orochi asks.
"The cauterization is gonna stop the bleeding, so I'm gonna say…." Setsuna said as he got up first, puts on the Ninja Driver and pulls the Kitsune Scroll "Yes." He presses the button of the scroll and inserts it onto the Driver.
[Kitsune!]
"Henshin." He spins the cornua
[Henshin no Jutsu!]
[Kazenoyoni, Kitsune!]
Setsuna transforms into Kamen Rider Gensou, he joins Orochi and Tsurugi with the trio standing ready to fight.
"Orochi…. Has arrived!" Orochi introduces himself.
"Tsurugi…. Here I come." Tsurugi introduces herself.
"Gensou…. Is here." Gensou introduces himself.
The trio are the first to act as they rush towards Kuchisake-onna, she tries to punch them but the three leap above her and all strike with a flying kick.
Kuchisake-onna blocks with her other arm and swings it, knocking the Riders away. She grabs Tsurugi by the leg and smacks her onto Orochi and Gensou, the three being knocked away and crashing on the ground.
"Okay, not exactly a good start." Orochi said.
"Scatter!" Tsurugi shouts, the three sees appendages ready to stab them and quickly move out of the way.
Orochi does some hand signs as he leaps in the air.
"Fire Ninpo!" Orochi raises his right fist as its coated in flames and he flies towards Kuchisake-onna "Iron Fire Fist!" He delivers a fiery punch at the Yokai's face, causing sparks to fly "Gotcha! Wait what."
Kuchisake-onna counters with a powerful punch at Orochi that sends him flying, she uses her appendages to grab him by the leg and smash him on the ground twice, then brings him closer to her "Is that all you got?"
"Maybe not, but how about this!"
Tsurugi appears falling behind Kuchisake-onna and slices her back with her katana, sparks fly from her back and the attack is followed by the Kyofu Shuriken being thrown, cutting the appendages and releasing Orochi, who falls on one knee as the shuriken returns to Gensou.
"Now is our turn." Gensou said as he leaps forward and delivers a slash with the shuriken, managing to hit Kuchisake-onna who tries to counter with a side punch, but he quickly dodges using his enhanced speed.
Tsurugi takes this opportunity to deliver an ice-enhanced slash at Kuchisake-onna's back, causing a small icy explosion that pushes the Yokai forward as she falls on the ground.
Kuchisake-onna quickly gets up, it looks like the corrupted Seal Scroll is having a huge effect on her emotions as she's now boiling in rage. She gets up and lets out a loud roar that sounds like a sinister bovine roar, the windows from the nearby buildings and cars shatter, and the Riders have to put their hands in their helmets to try and block the sound.
She uses that opportunity and rushes towards the trio, energy surrounds her and she strikes them with a ramming attack, Orochi manages to regain his balance as he pulls the Hebi Dual Blade in Futaken Mode and performs the Raging Roar Ninpo, striking Kuchisake-onna on the torso with sparks flying from every hit.
Meanwhile, Tsurugi and Gensou have managed to get back on their feet and charge forward. Tsurugi, with her Cho Katana in Rifle Mode, shooting energy shots at Kuchisake-onna while running around her, Gensou arrives with a flying kick at the Yokai's face, causing her to grunt in pain.
"You annoying pests!" She shouts in anger and releases a wave of energy that knocks Orochi away and disorientates Tsurugi and Gensou. Kuchisake-onna then uses her appendages to pierce through Gensou, that is, until his body breaks like glass "What?!"
[Hissatsu no Jutsu!]
Kuchisake-onna hears the announcement and she turns around, but she was too late and she witnesses the fox-themed Rider gathering a large amount of wind towards his shuriken.
"Super Wind Ninpo!" Gensou holds his shuriken before pressing the trigger.
[Kitsune! 4Tsu-boshi Strike!]
"Fox Illusion Wind!" Gensou throws the shuriken and the moment it gets close to Kuchisake-onna, it splits into smaller versions that surround her. They then attack her from all directions, cutting through body as sparks fly everywhere, before all strike at once, causing a small explosion.
Orochi and Tsurugi take that opportunity to also activate their own finishers to give them some time to think of a plan. The two spin the cornua of their scrolls.
[Hebi!/Cho! Hissatsu no Jutsu!]
Fiery energy coats Orochi's right hand while icy energy coats Tsurugi's left hand, the two nod at each other and deliver powerful punches at Kuchisake-onna, launching her away as she crashes onto a nearby wall.
"In your face you narcissistic psycho!" Orochi shouts.
"Let's see if you find yourself beautiful after this!" Tsurugi shouts too.
"Glad to see you two are enjoying yourselves, but it's not over." Gensou said.
"You're right, we need to end this now." Tsurugi said.
"And retrieve that scroll, anyone got a plan?" Orochi asks, the trio hears noises coming from Kuchisake-onna as she slowly gets up.
"If we can overwhelm her with speed and mobility, that will give us a chance to win." Gensou said.
"Speed huh? We got just the right thing, don't we Kusanagi?" Orochi said.
"Read my mind Yasakani, let's do this." Tsurugi said.
Kuchisake-onna gets up as she cleans some dust that was in her body from crashing in the wall.
[Henshin no Jutsu!]
The announcements cause her to turn around and when she turns around, she immediately gets hit by a scratch, followed by a tackle.
[Yasei no Hantā, Tora!]
Orochi appears on his Tora form standing on all four as he leaps and scratches Kuchisake-onna, causing sparks to fly and she counters by swinging her arm, hitting Orochi as he's knocked away.
"Over here ugly!" A voice, especially that last part, catches Kuchisake-onna's attention as she looks up.
[Tenkū no Utsukushi-sa, Hakucho!]
The voice came from Tsurugi, who is in her Hakucho form floating in the air and looking down at Kuchisake-onna.
"Ugly…. You filthy brat! I will make sure you die in the worst way possible!" Kuchisake-onna screams as she unleashes her appendages at Tsurugi, the now swan-themed Rider flies down, managing to avoid the appendages as she does some hand signs.
"Ice Ninpo: Swan's Dive!" Tsurugi extends her arms as she's surrounded in a white aura and strikes Kuchisake-onna.
The attack causes Kuchisake-onna to lose her balance as she stumbles backwards, that's when the Kyofu Shuriken appears and cuts through her appendages.
"You damn ninja!" Kuchisake-onna shouts in anger.
Her appendages quickly regrow and in a fit of anger, she screams and releases her appendages towards the Riders. Tsurugi is hit by some of them as she loses her momentum and starts falling, Gensou meanwhile, is dodging the appendages but is hit by some of them, not having enough concentration and time to create some illusion to take his place.
Orochi then suddenly appears running on all four on one of the appendages, Kuchisake-onna spots him and commands her other appendages to go after him.
He manages to avoid the appendages by leaping onto others, he uses his claws to scratch through them, though he's grazed by one, almost losing his balance but keeps moving forward as she uses an appendage to leap in the air.
"Prepare to feel my claws Yokai!" Orochi said, he spins the cornua of the scroll and does some fast hand signs.
[Tora! Hissatsu no Jutsu!]
"Super Fire Ninpo!" Orochi spins at high-speed as he ignites his entire body, turning himself into a fiery buzzsaw as he dives towards Kuchisake-onna "Tiger's Hunt!"
Kuchisake-onna launches her appendages towards Orochi, who cuts through them easily with his flames and as he gets close to Kuchisake-onna, a fiery tiger appears around him, roaring towards the Yokai and Orochi cuts through them, causing several sparks and electricity to appear all around her body.
"No… This is not the end, it will not end like this!" Kuchisake-onna shouted.
"Sorry but, this is the end." Gensou said as he inserts the Kumo Scroll on the Kyofu Shuriken's slot.
[Hissatsu no Jutsu]
Gensou spins in place as he gathers black energy on the shuriken
"Super Wind Ninpo: Big Spider's Trap!" He throws the shuriken and when it strikes Kuchisake-onna, it burst into web that wraps all around her "And now, the grand finale." Gensou said as he spins the cornua of his scroll and leaps in the air.
[Kitsune! Hissatsu no Jutsu!]
He does some hand signs as copies of himself appear all around Kuchisake-onna.
"Super Wind Ninpo: Dance of the Ilusion Fox!" The copies charge towards Kuchisake-onna, all of them turning into green energy foxes that strike her from all directions while the true Gensou watches "The illusion that you call life has come to an end." The copies all gather on Gensou as he absorbs them, turning himself into a large fox and charges at Kuchisake-onna, delivering a powerful strike as he passes through her.
"Impossible, impossible!" Kuchisake-onna yells before exploding, her soul appearing and implodes.
"Even in their final moments, they can't still comprehend being defeated by mere humans like us." Gensou said before chuckling "It's funny."
The Yagyu Scroll appears flying from the explosion and Tsurugi catches it.
"Gotcha!" She said "Another scroll obtained."
"Glad we got another one." Orochi said, he then looks at the scroll's image, noticing the buffalo "Ah buffalo huh…. Can I get this one once it's purified?"
"And may I ask why?" Tsurugi asks.
"Well…. Let's just say that if I get that bulky body, I always wanted to do some wrestling moves." Orochi said as he rubs his hands while chuckling, Tsurugi just sighs, already used to his antics.
She and Orochi spots Gensou walking towards them, she instinctively holds the scroll with both hands.
"Relax, you can keep it, I'm fine with this one." Gensou said while holding the Kumo Scroll. "That was some fun teamwork, don't you think?"
"I won't deny that we did some good, but don't think this makes us friends." Tsurugi said.
"Eh, fair I guess." Gensou said as wind gathers around him "Hope we see each other again, adieu." Gensou waves goodbye as the wind covers his entire body and once it dissipates, he has disappeared.
"I honestly don't wanna see him again, but I get the feeling we'll have to team-up a lot more in the future." Tsurugi said.
"I'm still a bit iffy about him, he's not a bad guy, but something about him doesn't make it easy to trust him, his clan aside." Orochi said.
"Coming from the guy that put all of his trust in him some time ago." Tsurugi said in a snarky tone.
Orochi was about to say something, but no words came out of his mouth as he realized how right she was.
"No words huh? Figured." Tsurugi said in a smug tone as she walked away while tossing the Yagyu Scroll in the air a few times.
"God I hate when she's right." Orochi said as he follows Tsurugi.
From the top of a building, Gashadokuro is watching the two Riders walk away and he just sighs in disappointment.
"I gave her the power, but it wasn't enough." He said "However, I really wanna see them using that scroll, maybe next time we face each other, it will be an interesting fight." Gashadokuro said as he chuckled to himself before vanishing.
To Be Continued….
Next Time on Kamen Rider Orochi:
"I feel like I've seen that Yokai before."
"I will finish what I couldn't that day!"
"I won't disappoint, I promise."
"YOU!"
"Kusanagi!"
Chapter 12: Ninpo: From the Past