(A New Fate and the continuation of the events that unfolded when fate last greeted our characters. Let us see where it goes from here)
Bold = English Conversations
Bold Italics = Japanese Conversations
Fate 33
Previously on Canon Distortion
Sora Minakaze had found himself having to fight against the Nox Nyctores Mucro Flagro: Draco after he found out that the weapon had managed to take over his friend. As a result, Sora was unable to use his full power to defeat the Nox Nyctores out of trying to knock his friend back out to reality. Just when it seemed it was over, Makoto managed to make it to the scene in time, resulting in her deciding to take over the fight as Sora couldn't help but worry that seeing him hurt has changed how she sees things
And now, the continuation of Canon Distortion
The tension that lingered in the air was intense. Draco had just been in a scuffle against his eternal rival and was so close to killing the man and now was facing off against the current owner of Balmung. That was something that lingered in his mind, how on earth can there be two people capable of using Balmung's special ability. Maybe it's because the current form of Balmung is not that of a weapon like he was but instead a person, a Black Beast pretending to be a human being.
But that was not all. Not only was both Sora and Makoto capable of using Balmung, they were just casually making manifest Black Beasts to fight with them. This was the case with Makoto as she threw a punch that was followed by an astral Black beast that followed her fist, forcing Draco to dodge as the Astral beast tried to bite down on him. He could not understand how these calamitous creatures can exist the way they are and how they obey their every whim.
For Sora Minakaze it was simple to simply say that it's because he was a Black Beast that he could summon and command other Black Beast heads but that did not add up. Wouldn't the other Black Beast heads rebel at the thought of being controlled by such a weakling? Then there's the case of this Makoto woman and how these astral Black Beasts behaved like the real deal, as if to suggest that besides their astral form they were just as alive as the real deal.
Makoto meanwhile was not thinking of such things. Her mind had been dominated mainly by the fact that her boyfriend was harmed by something that decided to possess the body of her friend. She knew she should be holding back her punches to prevent herself from killing the man but at the same time she couldn't help but feel her blood boil as she did not want anything bad happening to her boyfriend. He has already suffered enough in his life before this whole mess and this new mess he was in was just a sick chapter written by some god that she barely has any understanding of.
As she fought with this simple desire in her heart, Draco could simply feel his guard being pushed back. Forming a flame shield, Draco began to implant various ignition seals on the various astral Black Beasts and detonating them to destroy them but as soon as he did, Makoto created more to replace them. It seems that unlike Sora's Black Beasts, Makoto's astral Black Beasts were more fragile but as a result, didn't cause direct harm towards her.
'This woman's…' Before Draco could even think to finish his thought, he immediately saw another set of Black Beast heads charge towards his way as Makoto had made them much smaller than before. What they lacked in size they now made up in numbers as she was able to send them towards him in a barrage, preventing him from being able to apply his ignition seals on the beasts. Draco took a deep breath and instead sliced at the astral black beasts with wide slashes, forcing Makoto to dodge as well as the astral beasts were dispelled with ease.
Makoto meanwhile had dodged Draco's attack by ducking low. As soon as she did, she immediately slammed her shoulder right into the possessed Nox Nyctores's chest, sending him crashing to a wall as Makoto immediately began to deliver a series of fists both with her prosthetic hand and her real hand and did not relent in her barrage of punches. Draco could sense the shift in fighting styles as while Sora was holding back his blows, deciding to attack in small but meaningful strikes, Makoto was going for volume and strength, leaving barely any room for him to attack or use his more time consuming moves.
"Oi. Are you sure you want to be going as hard as you are right now? Aren't you afraid of killing this person you call your friend?" Draco questioned, wondering if by playing the friend card, he could get Makoto to lessen her barrage of punches. "Oh don't you think playing that card will get me to surrender." Makoto followed that retort with a simple yet devastating punch to Hunter's solar Plexuses. As soon as she delivered this strike, Draco could feel all of the air leave his body as he staggered back.
Makoto used the gap this attack delivered to throw a punch right at Draco's face. Draco instinctively raised his arms for a block, trying to create a barrier to block the rest of Makoto's attacks. He was unable to make it manifest in time, resulting in Makoto being able to deliver a blow right at his liver, causing him to immediately stagger in pain as this caused Makoto to relent, stepping back as Draco staggered in immense pain, struggling to stay standing as Makoto kept her fists tense, knowing that despite the good blow she had landed, she knew better than to let her guard down.
"Give him back." Makoto said, her voice stern as Draco took a few deep breathes as he stared at the woman in front of her with great scorn. "Do you really think you have won Balmung?" Draco questioned as Makoto shook her head. "Do you really think I am going for something as simple as winning and losing right now?" Makoto questioned back as Draco could feel an aura grow from the woman. "Right now, you have the face of my friend and you dared try to harm my boyfriend with my friend's face. He can thank me later for beating the shit out of you."
Makoto did not hold back her words for she was just sick of things. She was sick of the constant fights against her friends and she was sick of having to fight to the death to save her friends. Finally she was sick of trying to hold back her punches to hope that her friends would be able to get themselves out of their situation. Sometimes, you need to give your friends tough love to show them that you truly care for them and Makoto was going to give that to Hunter at that moment.
"… Judging by your tone this has been happening enough for you to have that kind of attitude." Draco said as Makoto saw him stand back up, shrugging the pain that he was feeling as the liver blow's effectiveness had worn off. "Not enough for me to continue my beatdown of you." Makoto said, immediately dashing towards Draco once again to continue her barrage of punches. Draco was not going to let her have her way as he slashed the ground, creating a wall of fire and running backwards.
Makoto knew at that very moment that Draco was trying to create distance between him and her so that he would be able to cast some of his other spells against her. She also knew that this running tactic can also be a feint to land a decisive blow while she was vulnerable. She may be seeing red but she was not so red to see what is clearly a trap being laid out for her. She also knew that overthinking things would do nothing for her. She needed action, not indecision.
Without even giving another second's thought, Makoto ran towards the fire and jumped right through it to avoid burning her feet. She had thought about Draco running away or using his magic from far away but the last thing she had expected was to be attacked through the flames at close range. Her beastkin senses were enough for her to dodge past the attack but not fast enough for the attack to graze her exposed stomach. This made her feel something warm heat up there and before she knew it, she was sent flying towards a wall, crashing right through it as Draco had managed to apply and detonate an ignition on her before she could fully evade.
Draco himself did not waste time, pursuing after the squirrel woman as she was buried under the rubble. Creating a ball of flame, he sent it flying towards Makoto, banking on the fact that she was buried under rubble to slow down her response. Makoto's response to this endangerment to her life was to create circles behind her back and immediately have them fire. This caused her to feel herself getting pushed back by a great force as Draco saw Makoto Nanaya suddenly emerge out of the rubble at speeds that most people would not be able to emerge from such a situation.
Makoto herself could feel the sudden G-forces she had placed on herself threaten to rip her apart but she held on, forcing herself to turn in the air as she swung her fist right towards Draco. "LIGHTNING ARROW!" Makoto shouted, startling Draco as he instinctively created a barrier to protect himself. Makoto however was baiting this as she used the barrier he created to instead stabilize herself by stepping on it like it was a platform, jumping off it and causing his balance to be disturbed in the process.
As Draco struggled to recover, he saw Makoto land on her feet. Unfortunately for her he managed to recover faster so he was able to deliver his attack faster by thrusting a blade right at her direction. Makoto however was not fazed, instead parrying the attack with her prosthetic arm much to Draco's shock as he found himself exposing his chest to her. "SPACE COUNTER!" Makoto yelled, dashing and punching him at the same time, causing Draco to spin where he was for a second, leaving him unable to defend himself as he felt Makoto wrap her arms around his neck.
As soon as Draco could feel the prosthetic arm slide itself around his neck, he immediately knew to throw himself forwards with great force. This not only forced Makoto to let go lest she find her back getting smashed to the ground but it also forced her to recover from the strong position she had been given, thwarting her attempt to choke him out with a rear naked choke. "SIRIUS JOLT!" The next move Makoto yelled was enough for Draco to think that this was another feint and prompted him to charge right for her.
Makoto couldn't help but hide a slight grin on her face knowing that her feint had worked as she immediately threw her punch right towards Draco with even greater force. Draco realized that the attack was not a feint but in fact the real deal. Despite this knowledge, he was unable to block the incoming attack and was forced to take the attack at full force, sending him sliding across the floor. At that moment, Draco could feel a splitting headache hit him as he could feel the very fabric of control he had establish begin to unravel in front of him.
As Draco recovered from his headache, he lifted his head to see the sight of several Makotos charging for him. Having seen this from his Master's eyes, he could tell that this was one of Makoto's special tricks. However something was very different from this Asteroid vision compared to the other ones but couldn't let that inkling distract him from the fact that a dangerous move was heading his way and it was up to him to intercept before it was too late.
'If one of them is the real woman and the others are fakes, there is only one thing I must do.' As soon as Draco had this thought cross his mind, he immediately clenched his fist and began to produce flames from there. Tossing them to the sky, the flames rained back in holy hellfire, threatening to burn Makoto and her clones away. Makoto knew that even with Balmung by her side to help her change her position in the clones, this attack would have been effective… if Draco was only attacking the people that he was seeing.
At that moment, Makoto immediately sprinted left… and right. This one simple action greatly confused Draco as his flames struck those that were in the air only to reveal that more were waiting in the back for their chance. This action greatly alarmed Draco as he had done his attack intending to hit 3 people but those 3 people have suddenly multiplied to 6 as 3 Makotos charged at him from the ground while 3 other Makotos came soaring from the skies, ready to slam their fists towards him.
Draco was not sure what to do at that moment. He could make manifest a bigger flame to destroy all the copies in front of him at once but his increasing instability with his latest takeover is starting to strain his ability to produce his signature flames. So instead of flames, Draco decides that he should instead focus on the Makotos on the ground because she was most likely among that group. As soon as he dealt with those on the ground, he could easily deal with the others in the air. Even if she used Balmung to swap herself with the ones in the sky, he could easily block her attack.
With that, Draco immediately executed his plan, slashing right at the Makotos at the ground, slicing them apart with his flame blade. As soon as he did, he immediately raised hand and formed a barrier to protect from the incoming punch. But the punch never came as all three of the Makotos coming towards him simply phased right through him. This alarmed Draco as he had thought the opposite way before realizing what Makoto had done, turning around to see Makoto Nanaya had managed to appear behind him and swung another blow towards his liver, causing him to keel over once again as he felt Hunter struggling to regain control.
"Not...NOW…" Draco said, gritting his teeth as Makoto tched at that moment. "Was that too slow? No, he blocked at the last moment.' Makoto thought as she saw that her punch had landed where Hunter's liver would be but Draco had managed to hastily create a small barrier to protect his liver. This implanted an ignition seal on her fist, allowing Draco to activate it, causing her hand to get blasted right towards the sky, exposing her to his next attack as she knew she had to grit her teeth for what was to come.
Draco first started by slamming his fist right on Makoto's own solar plexuses, giving her a taste of what she gave him. Makoto felt the air exit out of her lungs as she slowly stumbled back, leaving her further exposed to Draco's next attack which was a slash that would have resulted in her being cut apart. Makoto took a deep breath as she knew there was only one way to avoid being cut in half as thanks to her beastkin reflexes, most attacks which would be lightning quick were now slower in her eyes. As a result, Makoto simply waited patiently for the attack coming her way.
Makoto walked a tight dance of death with this tactic. Wait too long and she will end up cut apart. Wait too early and she will suffer from the backlash that Balmung brings and open her back up to another attack. Regardless, she needed to do this otherwise her life will end at this next strike. As Draco swung his blade, he knew that the possibility of Makoto avoiding his attack with Balmung was a certainty. The only thing he was unsure of is what she was going to do once she activated it.
Just before Draco's blade sliced her in half, Makoto immediately activated Balmung. At that moment, she chose an option that Sora himself rarely picks but at the same time suits her very well. Draco immediately felt the weight of the blade suddenly launch upwards, his eyes drifting towards his own Maw slowly slipping out of his hands in slow motion before it flew right out of his hand. Makoto had chosen an option that not even Sora would have picked, which is to attack the weapon off her opponent's hand.
'Shit!' Draco thought as he raised his hand to the sky, ready to summon the maw back to his hand before it could fly away and Makoto knew that she needed to act right away at that moment as she began to charge her fist at that moment. Draco realized that he had not enough time to summon his own blade back and slice Makoto where she stood so he merely gritted his teeth and formed an ignition point right at his chin, bracing himself for the attack that was coming.
Makoto herself was not sure what kind of attack she should use to finish this fight but at the same time she knew she needed to go as hard as she can to ensure the win. At that moment, she could feel her blood begin to boil and her Drive going into overdrive as Draco saw a Black Beast head manifest and charge itself right towards him. At the same time Makoto delivered a punch right towards him, smacking him in the face and assuring that he would not be able to escape from the next blow the Black Beast Head was going to deliver.
Makoto did not stop upon delivering said blow, moving quicker than before to chase after Draco as he flew in the sky. Slamming her fist down on Draco's stomach, Makoto sent the possessed Hunter flying to the ground hard enough to cause him to start skidding. Makoto herself landed on her feet, sliding on the ground as she did not lose any momentum from her strike. She knew she needed to keep punching and striking otherwise Draco would recover and that may result in her losing her chance to finish things.
"CYGNUS COMBINATION!" Makoto yelled as she swung an uppercut to send Draco flying towards a wall. As soon as his back smashed right onto it, he found himself slamming with so much force that he was instead launched right back towards Makoto as she stood her ground and slammed Kuroi back down towards the ground. As soon as she did, she sent the Nox Nyctores right to the ground and right back into the air.
Draco could feel the wind strike his face as he tried to recover from the madness he was suffering from but unfortunately he was unable to fight against such power. How can this one woman swing with such natural strength. He had thought that her strength was something gifted by Balmung even when looking through his master's past memories of the woman. The fact that the strength of her fists have actually increased told him that she was becoming even more powerful and for once, Balmung may not be the only factor in this phenomenon.
Makoto meanwhile could not read such thoughts from Draco. All she was focused on was utterly defeating the arrogant Nox Nyctores and bringing her friend back from the subconscious the Nox Nyctores deem to lock him in. Her fists did not stop swinging and her resolve did not waver. She was going to rescue her friend no matter what and even if her own fists start to hurt from the pain she is inflicting, she will save Hunter
"ORA!" Makoto yelled as she swung her fist in an uppercut manner, sending Draco into the air as she immediately tensed and got ready to punch. As she did, an astral Black beast Head and fist manifest beside her. Draco felt first a fist land right on his back, sending him right into the air as the Black Beast Head bit down on him with it's massive teeth and began to send him crashing towards the ground. Makoto at that moment tensed her fists as she made manifest another astral fist and swung it right away. As she did, the Black Beast head accelerated it's movement towards the ground, allowing it to meet Makoto's Astral fist and causing Draco to be sent flying.
"AND FINISH!" As soon as Makoto said that, she immediately pushed the astral fist as much as it could, causing Draco to be slammed even harder to a building's wall, creating the same effect that would happen if a meteor would smash to the ground at top velocity. The wall collapsed around Draco, alarming Makoto as she used an Astral Black Beast head to protect Hunter from the rest of the rubble.
As soon as Makoto finished her special move, she couldn't help but remain tense at the situation in front of her. She was not sure if Draco was still the person in control or if Hunter was back or if both people were currently unconscious. All Makoto knew was that the situation had been put to a stable control and now she can only wait for something else. The silence that had greeted her made Makoto even more tense as she looked left and right for any other potential threats that could be coming her way.
As soon as she heard footsteps approach her way, Makoto couldn't help but immediately turn to face the source of the steps. As soon as she did she instinctively assumed a fighting stance, making sure she can face the target of her fists without losing a step. "Wait Makoto it's me." Sora immediately said, helping to dispell all the tension she felt as Makoto couldn't help but rush towards Sora and hug him tightly. At the same time she did that, she gave him a kiss out of sheer worry that had a similar effect as to getting punched in the face.
"What the hell Sora! You had me worried!" Makoto said, expressing the shock she had felt to how things had gone. Sora took some time to simply pause and process what he had just heard before hugging her into his arms, stroking her back as he did so as he saw the gentle sway of her tail in his eyes. "Sorry Makoto. A lot suddenly happened and I had to act before things got worse for everyone involved." Sora said, apologizing for his actions in the process.
"I wanted to call you, I genuinely did but when Hunter… Draco suddenly showed up without warning and wanted to attack Noel...Mu, I had to act before things got more violent and out of control." Sora explained as Makoto could accept that explaination. "At the very least… you were not acting without having a last resort at the very least." Makoto said, relieved to know that Sora was not acting recklessly.
"In any case… is Hunter alright?" Sora questioned as they turned their heads towards the rubble, wondering if Hunter had managed to regain his consciousness or will they need to beat him up again to make sure that Draco did not try taking him over again. "We should at the very least move him out of there. The building's about to collapse and it would be dangerous if he was underneath the rubble when that happened." Sora said as Makoto nodded her head, approaching the rubble to dig Hunter out.
As she did, another pair of footsteps could be heard approaching the group. Sora turned to face the source of the footsteps, letting Makoto handle Hunter. "MAKOTO! WHERE ARE YOU!?" a voice shouted as both Sora and Makoto knew who that voice belonged to. Before they could discuss who was to meet and talk things with the mystery person, another pair of footsteps were heard approaching their way.
As soon as Sora took a look at the corner, he could see approaching his way a red haired woman wearing a strange hat which had an eye on it and a rather modest outfit. Behind her was a black haired man who had a bowl hair cut that Sora could immediately recognize as before he could say a word, they immediately pulled their weapons on him, forcing him to raise his hand to let them know that he was a friendly.
"Makoto's with me. We are here trying to make sure that Hunter's alright." Sora immediately said, letting the two individuals that he was with Makoto and that they could trust him. "Hibiki, keep watch. I need to make sure that Makoto's alright." The red haired woman, Sora knowing her to be Tsubaki Yayoi said as he watched her run past him to make sure that Makoto was alright. He knew better than to go after Tsubaki, especially since it seemed that she did not recognize him. The last thing he wanted to do was make things worse for everyone involved and get into another misunderstanding.
"Are you harmed in any way," Hibiki Kohaku questioned as Sora could feel the 100 yard stare he was receiving from the bowl hair cut man. "I am fine as you can see, more of the worry should be given towards Hunter at the moment." Sora explained. "It would be more helpful if you can explain further what is going on." Hibiki questioned as Sora understood that Hibiki was trying to figure him out and if he was the actual threat.
Sora was unsure how to handle the current situation. He did not know how much he should actually reveal and how much he should just keep to himself. He knows that Hibiki's perceptive so it would be difficult to hide information from the man but at the same time, telling Hibiki everything would make things worse as it was simply unbelievable how the series of events went through. Sora had to walk a tight rope between telling the truth and fudging the details.
"I was walking around the streets looking for people we know along with Makoto. When I found Hunter, I thought that he was friendly but all of a sudden he attacked me. He nearly got me if it wasn't for Makoto arriving just in time." Sora explained, showing the bruising on his neck he received from Draco grabbing him from the neck. Hibiki calmly nodded his head, processing what Sora had just told him.
"That does make sense, Tsubaki did say that Miss Nanaya started running out of nowhere and it appears that you were the person that she was looking for." Hibiki answered as Sora took a deep breath mentally as he was sure that what he had said wouldn't be considered suspicious. "Though I would like to make sure that Miss Nanaya is saying the same thing that you said. Are you alright with this?" Hibiki questioned as Sora nodded his head. At that moment he knew what he could try doing.
"Amy can you tell Makoto what I just told Hibiki?" Sora said to himself in thoughts as he felt nothing for a second before a sensation of receiving a thumbs up was directed his way. "For the sake of other details, can you tell me more about you in general and your relationship with Miss Nanaya and also the mercenary Bullet." Hibiki questioned as Sora nodded his head at that. "Well… They are people that I know closely. I have known Makoto for the longest time while Bullet's a recent acquaintance but we trust each other. Is she safe at the base?" Sora questioned
"Miss Bullet's safe at the base right now. She has been anxiously waiting for any kind of news in regards to what has happened to you." Hibiki said, Sora nodding his head in understanding. "Anything else do you want from me? I need to go and make sure that Makoto's alright. She had to fight against Hunter and I am worried that she may have been hurt." Sora explained as Hibiki nodded his head at that statement. "She should be safe with Miss Yayoi I can reassure…"
Before Hibiki could finish, a sudden boom could be heard from the corner. This immediately triggered both Sora and Hibiki's instincts as they both ran to where Tsubaki and Makoto where. They were alarmed to see that Tsubaki was standing next to Hunter but Makoto had gone missing. "She's gone Hibiki. Makoto's gone!" Tsubaki said as Hibiki looked around the scene. Sora himself couldn't help but stare at the scene, fear gripping his heart as Makoto had just been through one intense fight and now she was being thrown into another.
"Is that fear I sense from you Balmung?.." A new voice said as Sora suddenly saw time freeze right in front of his eyes. He took a couple of deep breaths understanding that what he was seeing was probably real… as crazy as it was to say that people frozen in time is real. "I see… so you don't fear your own death but the woman's…" The voice continued as Sora took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them back up he could see right in front of him was the Imperator herself, greeting him with a smile that sent chills down his spine.
"What the hell are you doing here Imperator… Izanami…" Sora questioned as Izanami simply chuckled upon hearing Sora question her with a threat. "Why I am here just on a courtesy visit… and to let you know that I am simply borrowing her for a small conversation. Don't worry, I will be sure to drop her off nicely when I am done." Izanami said as Sora immediately sped up his stride, intending to demand where Izanami had taken her.
Before he could even reach her, he suddenly felt a flash of pain hit his head, forcing him to drop down to his knees and hold his head in pain as he tried to register what is going on. "Though I will speak to you on a later date. I just wish to have a special conversation with your precious girlfriend." Izanami explained before suddenly time returned to normal, Sora stumbling forward as Tsubaki and Hibiki looked at him confused. "How… How did you…" Tsubaki said as Sora shook his head upon hearing that statement.
"Makoto… Makoto's been kidnapped by the imperator" Sora simply said, letting everyone know the severity of the situation.
Makoto felt a sluggishness to her movement. She was talking with Tsubaki at one point when suddenly Amy told her about Sora's alibi. After that… another voice suddenly came over her and before she knew it, darkness came over her vision. She can feel her vision now return to her as the first thing she saw was a completely red sky and that she was standing on top of it. Startled, she couldn't help but instinctively walk back only to feel a wall behind her only to realize that the wall was invisible. There was only one thing that Makoto could think of as she looked around her surroundings and saw the gigantic metal thing in the sky…
...Telling her that she was not in Yabiko anymore…
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? I know it's quite late of a release, I have been busy exploring builds in Remnant 2 and I may have consumed my time trying to do builds in that game. I have been making sure to enjoy my hobbies while also writing this story and balancing my commitments outside of all of that. It is a bit stressful at times but at the same time, writing this story is my personal enjoyment and I take a sense of fulfillment from it.
SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT TO ALL THOSE INVOLVED!? WHAT IS IZANAMI'S PURPOSE WITH MAKOTO!? WILL MAKOTO BE ABLE TO HANDLE HERSELF ON HER OWN OR WILL SHE BE OVERWHELMED BY WHAT THE IMPERATOR IS PLANNING FOR HER!? AND WHAT ABOUT SORA IN THIS SITUATION!? WILL HE ABLE TO FIND A WAY TO REACH HER OR WILL IZANAMI HAVE DIFFERENT PLANS FOR HIM!? ALL THIS AND MORE THE NEXT TIME FATE RETURNS TO OUR HEROES!