Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Spells and attacks will be written in bold fonts.
Thoughts, flashbacks, and emphasized phrases will be italicized.
Hanami Jomakushiki arc - Chapter 25 - Burnt Petal Under Pyres
~Hoseki Shrine, Sakuragami Ward, Sakura City~
Aria and Mai stopped in their tracks as they eyed the hulking, red-haired stranger watching them from underneath the torii. The sullen, yet anguished gaze of his ashen eyes matched his sable attire.
"Who is that?" Aria asked Mai.
"Not sure," Mai tried to mask her apprehension.
The red-haired male carefully approached them. Each footstep he made in the shrine pavement left no trace of sound.
He stopped when he was only a few yards away from the two.
Upon closer inspection, Aria and Mai could see the man sported wrappings and red tattoos on his bulging arms. Mai's aquamarine eyes momentarily widened when she glimpsed the red lycoris designs. Instinctively, she stood protectively in front of Aria.
"Sir, may I ask what brings you to Hoseki Shrine at this time of day?" the older pinkette firmly interrogated the suspicious stranger.
"I've come to pay my respects," the man sternly replied, " But, I would prefer to visit real shrine. There's something I must ask the Goddess herself."
The tension between Mai and the stranger made the immediate atmosphere feel heavy.
"We don't allow just anyone into the true shrine grounds. Blasphemers from Higanzakura are especially forbidden," Mai demanded answers, "Tell me. Why are you really here?"
"What on Earthland is going on?" Aria quietly exclaimed, confused by their exchange.
"Hmph, how astute. I'm really here to visit a friend," the red-haired male's exhaled as his expression switched to a small grin, "Tell me, Mai-chan, how is Haruhiko doing?"
At the mention of the name 'Haruhiko', Mai began to tremble. She looked to the dark-clothed man with terror in her eyes, "H-how do you know my name? More importantly, how do you know about Father? "
"Father!?" Aria was perplexed, "This is the first time I'm hearing about Mai having a Father...Could he be, just like the man described in Chagotte's vision?"
The red-haired male switched his gaze to Aria, "It seems you weren't informed about this at the briefing with the prefects, mage of Fairy Tail."
Aria's red eyes widened at the man's remark, "How do you know about our meeting with the prefects?"
His ashen orange eyes stared back into Aria's red ones, "The real question you should be asking is 'Why did none of the prefects or Mai bring up Haruhiko during the meeting?'"
Mai cast a guilty look upon hearing the man's query.
The younger pinkette shook her head and conjured an amethyst knife into her left hand.
She pointed her crystalline edge towards the red-haired male's direction, "I can tell you're trying to drive a wedge between me and Mai. It's not going to work."
"Even if it's the truth?" the red-haired male rebutted.
Aria tightened her grip on her crystal knife.
"It seems you do have your doubts. I can't blame you, "the man sighed as he gazed upon both girls, "Ah...My bad. I've been late with introductions. The name's Higan. Higan of Higanzakura."
Mai glared at the red-haired male's lycoris tattoos.
"Higanzakura...Is this the 'cult' that Lady Chigusa and the other prefects were telling us about?" Aria asked.
Mai quietly nodded.
" 'Cult'...The Ward family's labels are just semantics made from a shaky pedestal," Higan frowned in contempt, "If you intend to believe them just because they gave you a warm reception, I suggest you wake up and reconsider."
"That's enough slander, dissident," the older pinkette conjured an amethystine fan, "I'm not going to let your rudeness slide."
"A shame, you sound just as strait-laced as him..." Higan sighed with a minute hint of sorrow.
Mai furrowed her brows at the red-haired male's critical remark.
Higan exhaled. A sable aura emitted from his being. Black vines sprung from the ground and undulated around his vicinity like serpents. Red buds sprouted from the ground beneath him. They bloomed and unfurled into clustered, red lycoris flowers.
Red flowers of the far shore greeted the pink petals of transience falling from above. Every sakura petal that touched the ground withered and dissipated into carbon dust.
"This raw magic power..." Aria kept her gasp to herself, "Every fiber of my being is screaming that this won't end well."
"The idea of going up against you hurts my heart, "Higan lamented, "I didn't want to fight either of you. I hope you would be able to understand and forgive me. I hope he would too."
Aria casted a quick glance to Mai. The older pinkette's donned a turmoiled, confused expression.
"He wouldn't forgive you for touching a hair on either of our heads..." Mai glared into Higan's ashen eyes with her aquamarine orbs, "If things were different...If Father wasn't incapacitated...He'd wipe the floors with you..."
"That I know is certain," Higan grinned a sad, reminiscent little grin, "If things were different...If many of us weren't forgotten or negatively affected by the mass Memory Wipeout, there would be no Higanzakura or plot to confront the usurper herself."
The black, misty aura surrounding him intensified, "I'll give you one last change, Miss Sakuragami...Do you still intend to stand in my way?"
"Verily," Mai nodded undauntedly.
"Very well..."
The red-haired male gathered his magic power around his arms. His red lycoris tattoos lit up with in the increased influx.
"Flower God's Dance!"
"God Slayer Magic..." Aria bit her bottom lip, "We're up against something real awful..."
Elongate black vines formed around his arms. Higan slowly spun himself clockwise around his person causing the black vines to spin like twin whips against his opponents.
Mai imbued her crystal fan with magic energy. She then waved it towards Higan's approaching vines twice, "Sakura Kamaitachi"
Her fan's waves whipped up two lavender gale crescents which cut through the Flower God Slayer's first vine with ease.
The second vine, however, fast approached them.
Aria let her reflexes kick in. Quickly, she grabbed Mai's hand and teleported them out of harm's way. The second vine crackled as it came into contact with the bare stone pavement in front of the shrine.
Higan grunted in dismay, "How impertinent, running away like that..."
Before he could take another breath, a multitude of crystalline daggers rained down from around him in a circular formation.
"Don't count me out just like that, old man, " Aria's voice echoed from above him.
"What the-?" the red-haired man immediately turned around and looked above.
Falling from high in the sky, Aria outstretched her hands as she materialized a myriad of crystalline shuriken and knives. Once the last of the arsenal manifested, the younger pinkette pushed her hands towards the ground as if ushering her crystals to strike.
"Million Florets!"
Amethystine weapons rapidly hailed from the sky, ready to harshly pelt the man at ground level.
Not waiting around to get taken out, Higan quickly jerked his left hand with vine attachment to protect himself. The black vine whipped up and curved backwards, shielding him from a fraction of the falling myriads of sharps coming his way. Many crystal daggers and shuriken dug into extra ligament like a coat of fancy barbs.
Higan's efforts, however, did not halt all of Aria's weapons from reaching the ground.
"You're attacks are futile if they don't hit..." Higan leered at the descending Aria.
Aria snickered, "Oh really? You'd do well to check your feet!"
"What?!" Higan glanced at all the hail that successfully reached the floor.
"MAIIIII-CHAAAAAAN!" Aria called out from above
On cue, Mai stepped out from the side of the main shrine office building.
Higan then turned his attention to them, "How did you get there?"
"On it, Aria-chan!" The older pinkette quickly waved her fan before Higan could strike her, "Freezing Efflorescence!"
Miniscule, magenta magic circles appeared an inch above each and every summoned crystal weapon. In the subsequent seconds, they all burst, coating everything in their near vicinity in amethystine sleet. Like Ice Magic, a thick layer of Ether crystals formed on Higan's vine extension. This froze the attachment in place and made it too heavy to utilize.
Simultaneously, the crystal weapons on the shrine grounds erupted into sleet that spread to his feet, freezing them in place.
"Nghhh...So cold," Higan stifled a grunt from the biting cold invading both his legs and the added weight on his vine.
Aria slid down the frozen vine and landed in front of Higan. Upon landing on the sleet-coated ground, the pinkette nearly slipped.
"E-Eep!" the Teleportation mage sweatdropped as she regained her footing, "Oh boy...that could've been bad..."
"Indeed," Mai's geta clacked on the frozen floor as approached Aria and the now-immobilized Higan, "You could have bruised yourself. Or worse, you could have ruined the shrine maiden outfit I picked out for you."
"You care more about the clothes than me?!" Aria was baffled by the older pinkette's jest.
Reminiscing those idle, bygone days, Higan smirked at the girls, "I'll admit you two bested me. But using Ethereal Flower in such a crafty manner would surely make your ancestors roll in their graves."
"Unfortunately, I have no memory of them," Aria puffed her cheeks poutily, "So why on Earthland were your memories not affected?"
"I think you're smart enough to figure that out...%%%" the red-haired male's ashen orange eyes glimmered sullenly at her and Mai.
Higan's last remark was only heard as distorted muffles upon reaching her ears. Although that last strange word could not be discerned by her auditory system, the rest of her body reacted as if she heard it. The pinkette's eyes widened.
Her heartbeats hastened. Her head began pounding like a kickdrum. Her knees buckled as she nearly slipped again.
Perplexed, Aria eyed the man, but could barely muster the words, "W-W-What?"
A tearful Mai crouched beside Aria and held her up to support her, "A-Aria-chan, are you alright?"
The pinkette shook her head to snap her out of her inner conundrum. She shrugged Mai off and glared at Higan, "I don't know what your game is, but I would appreciate you quit getting into my head!"
"I'm sorry. That was foul on my end." Higan frowned at Aria with genuine sorrow, "It's not your fault that your memories and the ones of those closest to you were manipulated. Pressing you with the truth might aggravate you mentally. Worst case, you have even greater potential to end up like the people at Ryoran."
Aria found herself too lost for words to respond in kind. This man clearly knew more about what's going on than others were willing to tell.
Higan channeled his God Slayer Magic from his person. Within seconds, a calm, black tide formed beneath the soles of his green boots.
Red lycoris clusters, once frozen, now thawed like spring flowers emerging from winter snow. Not only did the flowers unthaw themselves, Higan's feet were finally freed from the amethystine sleet. His frozen vine attachment dissipated into sable smoke.
"Darn," Aria cursed under her breath, "Our joint effort amounted to nothing."
"Step back," Mai stood protectively in front of Aria, "He's far from finished."
"Flower God's Devouring Spring."
In the blink of an eye, the black tide beneath Higan's feet soon encompassed the entire pavement of the shrine grounds. Neither Aria or Mai had a fraction of a chance to escape its clutches. Additional red lycoris flowers proliferated and bloomed afoot the fluid-esque, obsidian surface. Wherever the ominous tide spread, the ether crystal sleet spawned from Mai's spell shattered and sunk into its enigmatic depths.
"I-I feel...so tired..." Mai clutched her forehead as her crystal fan crumbled into ether dust.
Aria nearly fell over a third time from the sudden fatigue, "This spell...is dangerous."
"I'm glad you figured it out, %%%," Higan remarked, clearly unfazed by the eerie black tide beneath his feet, "Trespassers who dare step in the Flower God's Garden are bound to be inflicted with ailments of all kinds. Rest assured. I have no intention of killing either of you. Wouldn't dream of it."
Hearing that muffled word again only piqued Aria's curiosity more.
Who is Haruhiko? Why did the Chigusa and the ward prefects not mention him during the meeting? What truly happened 4 years ago? Why does Higan seem to know the truth?
What is the truth?
Despite her incessant queries, she could barely muster the strength to ask him for any answers.
"Then...w-what d-d-do you w-want?" Mai struggled to form a full question under the adverse effects of the Flower God's Devouring Spring.
"Simple," Higan turned to two presences waiting under the torii entrance, just outside the periphery of the draining black tide, "I wanted to draw her out of her kennel."
A tall, pink-haired woman clad in a crimson haori with white sakura embroidered onto the cloth stood next to a blonde male in yellow gradient robe with chrysanthemums printed on the sleeves and hems. Floating around him were five blank canvases, a jar filled with water, a palette of paints, and a five paint brushes.
The woman narrowed her pupils at the red-haired male disdainfully, "Just what kind of blasphemy do you intend to commit this time, dissident?"
"This time?" Aria pondered as her consciousness fluctuated.
Mai was a little worse for wear compared to Aria. She weakly smiled as she espied her aunt and Kikue Ward's prefect from afar.
Noticing the two girls were being drained from within Higan's tide, Chigusa glanced to her subordinate and nodded.
Kikumon nodded back with his lightless blue eyes. He refocused his attention to one of his canvases. Two of his paint brushes dipped themselves in water, then dabbed themselves in yellow and green paints. By Kikumon's Telekinesis, they proceeded swirled and danced upon their designated canvas. Shortly after, they stopped and were discarded into the water jar.
Kikumon turned the painted masterpiece around, revealing what looked like a emerald birdcage interwoven from green stems. The base of the cage was cushioned with a bed of chrysanthemum flowers.
"Come forth, Chrysanthos Cradle!"
Kikumon's artwork flashed. From the canvas floated the depicted floral contraption in a shower of yellow petals. Unlike the fine print, Kikumon's creation was far larger. Seemingly intended, the vessel had enough space to house two people to rest on its flowerbed.
As if ordering it, Kikumon pointed to the debilitated Aria and Mai. The verdant cage then burst into a firework of yellow petals, vanishing from everyone's sight.
Impulsively, Higan turned around towards Aria and Mai's directions. In a burst of chrysanthemum petals, Kikumon's Pict Magic creation reappeared behind them whilst hovering unaffected over Higan's black tide. It opened its stem-tied doors and reconfigured them into viny appendages to scoop the girls into the safety of its confines.
Higan raised a hand, contemplating his next move. His magic could have easily destroyed the Kikue prefect's contraption. In the end, he let the flower cradle transport Mai and Aria across the tide back to Kikumon's side.
Chigusa and Kikumon exchanged eyes.
"Take them to my residence, Kikumon. It's me he wants to deal with," Chigusa ordered the blonde prefect.
"As you wish, Lady Chigusa" Kikumon bowed before he boarded his levitating chrysanthemum cage with the girls and paint supplies in tow.
Ultimately, there was no need to hold innocent people hostage like this. He was a man of principal, after all. The one he was after, was someone who went against his.
Higan turned around and glared deadly daggers at Chigusa. The head of Sakuragami Family tilted her head in slight confusion, "Now why on Earthland would you give up your leverage against me, dissident?"
"Treating me like a stranger after all these years, Chigusa?" the Flower God Slayer sighed, "It's really unsightly how you act so high and mighty despite plunging lower than most."
"Rich words from someone who uses such impious magic in these hallowed grounds, " Chigusa retorted.
Purple ether crystals coalesced in the atmosphere around the head shrine maiden. The materialized gems transfigured into an amethystine kagura suzu and crystal fan that hovered next to her. Another set of crystals coalesced around her back to form a violet hagoromo with jeweled feathers.
Upon donning the three garments, Chigusa floated in air above Higan's summoned black tides.
"A fan, a kagura suzu, and a feathered sash...How do you intend to fight me with your Goddess's divine garments when my magic is made to slay gods?" Higan angrily taunted Chigusa from the surface
"Silence, blasphemer!" Chigusa's indignant voice boomed across the shrine grounds like the thunder after a lightning strike as she hovered above everything., "Ethereal Flower is an Ancient God Era Magic that precedes even God Slaying Magic. Do not underestimate the might of the Divine Hanagami Sakuya!"
"I am fully aware of her power."
Black vines adorned with red lycoris flowers snaked in and out of the sable tides. More crimson higanbana unfurled amidst the glinting, obsidian shallows as Higan menacingly glared back at Chigusa.
"Such great power needs to be held in check."
~Takeshita Ward En Route to Rangekka Ward, Sakura City~
"Blutblumen..." Arvesque snapped her metallic thumb with her prosthetic middle finger.
Every red splatter that littered the gray stone pavement sinisterly effloresced into sanguine flowers.
Upon reaching full bloom, the crimson flowers detonated and engulfed the two mages in a downpour of bloody thorns.
Takenobu swirled his water-forged naginata to parry and intercept out as much shrapnel as possible. Shinji, too, joined in on the parrying efforts with Kaguya-Hime's lavender glow in the fray.
Yet, Arvesque's barrage proved too rapid and plentiful. Bits and pieces whizzed past their openings, imparting cuts and scrapes onto both mage's clothes and skin.
When the hardened blood rain was about to subside, Arvesque's hands glowed with blood red energy.
"Rotpeischte!"
She widened the space between her metallic fingers. Thereafter, her fingers extended into barbed, sanguine whips. With bloodthirsty eyes locked on Shinji, she leapt off the indigo rooftop lunging her claws towards her prey.
Just when Shinji and Takenobu thought they were in the clear, both eyed Arvesque homing in on them from above.
"Be careful not get snagged by those ropes, " the Bladesmith warned the Takeshita prefect, "She'll either cut us up more or, even worse, use Blood Puppetry to turn us against each other."
"How sinister. Duly noted," Takenobu firmly nodded. The cerulean-haired male poured more Water Magic into his naginata while pointed the tip of his polearm towards the approaching enemy.
"Suigetsu: Heavenward Reach!"
On command, Takenobu's naginata pole base extended in Arvesque's direction. The ashen-eyed woman clicked her teeth as she waved her scarlet strings at Takenobu's attack. Dancing blood strings spliced through the water spear with ease. Water intermingled with a cloudy, crimson tinge splashed onto the pavement where the spells collided.
"Impossible..." the Takeshita prefect's eyes widened in shock, "Her blood cut through my water?"
"Out of the way, insect," Arvesque smirked vilely as her threads continued to cut through Takenobu's naginata until they latched onto his hands. Noticing her strings landed on their target, the Blood Mage pulled her hands back. This caused the red strings to tighten their grip.
"Gggahh!" Water Magic user let out an agonized welp. Scarlet strands etched searing pain into his limbs upon their increased their constriction. Using the fastened strings on her prey, Arvesque absorbed her magic blood to zip towards her target with an outstretched leg.
Refusing to look away, Takenobu grit his teeth as he glared vehemently at Arvesque through the lens of his spectacles.
"Takenobu-dono!" Shinji shouted out to Takeshita's prefect.
But his calls were all for naught.
Arvesque landed a velocity-powered kick straight into the Takenobu's guts. The impact imparted upon cerulean-haired male's body was so immense, it caused the pavement below to rise in a cloud of dust and gray stone rubble.
When the dust cleared, Shinji saw Arvesque standing over Takenobu's unconscious body. His flamboyant, turquoise magua and long white pants were cut up. Stains of dirt and blood blotted the golden bamboo designs sewn onto clothes. His spectacles were cracked and clouded with dust that covered his golden eyes.
Shinji cast his icy, sapphire gaze at the enemy he thought he would never see again.
Arvesque immediately refocused her eyes on Shinji. Immediately, the Blood Magic user maneuvered her hematic threads towards the raven-haired swordsman.
Shinji swung his luminescent katana against her blood strings. Every strand was instantly severed by its edge.
"Eager to use the moon's light against me again so soon?" Arvesque grimaced as she conjured a bloody web towards Shinji, "If you didn't have that in your belt, you would've been a skinned carcass a long time ago."
The raven-haired male furrowed his black brows as he slashed through more of Arvesque's strings. Blood drops spewed and scattered as Shinji's blade broke up her sanguine constructs. With her eyes on the splatter, Arvesque knew all too well what to do next.
"Crap..." Shinji cursed internally.
"Think fast," Arvesque then snapped her fingers again, "Blutblumen!"
Airborne blood drops bloomed again into explosive crimson flowers. Hematic shrapnel whizzed everywhere around Shinji's person. The raven-haired male kept his body close to his katana as he used the moon's light to dispel the blood spurs launched in his direction.
Still, his efforts did not perfectly leave him unscathed from the omnidirectional attack. A few more barbs lightly tore through the fabric of his light-blue dress shirt, stained his white T-shirt, and jeans. Shinji grit his teeth to not let out so much as a wince to satisfy his enemy's schadenfreude.
Seizing her chance, Arvesque waved her fingers again.
"Rote Harpune!" Her blood spindles promptly spun themselves into twin, scarlet harpoons.
With her orange rhombus irises locked on his prey, she threw of them towards the unsuspecting Fairy Tail mage.
Right when Shinji cleared the last of the blood barbs, he espied the blood javelin coming his way. He brandished his Kaguya-Hime and sliced through the javelin, dissipating the hardened state of the blood.
Arvesque then lunged towards the raven-haired male with the second harpoon in hand. Her bloodthirsty eyes glinted with killing intent as she instantly closed the distance between the two of them.
"!" Shinji could barely express his shock before she attempted to plunge her spear into his abdomen.
Fortunately, his reflexes kicked in at the nick of time. He immediately shielded stomach with the body of his blade. The impact of Arvesque's spear hitting Shinji's blade caused such immense recoil, he staggered a few steps back.
"Gggnnnhh!" The raven-haired teen grit his teeth in pain as he tightly gripped his blade. His hands pulsated from the sting of the vibrations.
Arvesque's blood spear uncoagulated into red liquid void of Ethernano. This, however, did not faze her in the slightest. The Blood Mage wickedly grinned at her formidable prey's sword.
"Now, would you look at that?"
Once Shinji's hands stopped hurting from the recoil, he examined his enemy's line of sight towards his magic blade. Perplexion ailed his eyes as he analyzed a crack on the body of the Kaguya-Hime's blade. It's lavender moonglow completely dimmed from the damage it sustained. The enchantment on the blade wore off, leaving behind a plain, black steel katana.
"Hmmm...So there are means that exceed Moonlight's capacity to dispel after all," the Blood Magic user's grin only deepened as she delved into more taunting," How do you intend to fight against my Blood Magic with your best counter down for the count?"
Shinji sent his blade back to into subspace.
"I have other tricks up my sleeve, too, Arvesque," the Fairy Tail gave her another frosty glance.
"Requip: Fuujin Armament!"
Shinji was enveloped in a brief flash of light.
When the light subsided, his scraped streetwear was replaced with emeraldine armor over black compressions pants and a black hoodie. The black hood's drawstrings were tied in mizuhiki knots and cuffed to two silvery mitsudomoe clasps on the armor. His mouth was covered by an obsidian face mask with a dark-green air filter.
Shinji raised a vambrace-covered hand into the air. Into his palm, he reequipped an emerald futsudomoe-shaped blade.
"Sword Multiplication"
Six more futsudomoe blades materialized behind Shinji. They floated around his back in circular formation.
The Bladesmith mage manifested Wind Magic around his armored feet to float into the air. He twisted the stretched the grip of the futsudomoe, transfiguring it into a bow. A string of jade luminescence formed to connect the ends of the blades.
Wind gathered into his spare hand, forming a tempestuous arrow.
Shinji drew his quiver, aiming for Arvesque's throat.
"Oh?" Arvesque tilted her head inquisitively "It seems you have learned a new trick or two in the past 4 years."
~Umehana Ward, Sakura City~
Baika's floating purple runes dripped into black, murky ink that bleed into the stone pavement.
"Her runes...are turning into ink?" From behind the runic barrier she was trapped in, Carla duly noted an increase in the Umehana prefect's magic power output.
The opposing Bachi smirked in defiance, "What an honor for you to use your signature Ink Edict against me."
"Ink Magic?" the white-haired cat girl was curious for she was unfamiliar with this type of magic.
"Flattery will get you nowhere..." Baika moved her hands in counterclockwise motions to hasten the transmutation of her runes into ink.
Once all of her purple runes were transformed, she procured a sepia-handled calligraphy brush from her kimono sleeve. Ink immediately infested her brush, dying the once white bristles pitch-black.
"...But honest answers will."
"How about a fun, little wager then?" the opposing Rune mage narrowed his eyes at his superior, "If you win, I'll spill. If you lose, then I will have you forfeit some clandestine documents related to the Five Ward Families."
"Tch," Baika nonchalantly clicked her tongue, "You've gotten rather cocky thinking you have a chance, fledgling."
"Wow, your arrogance is befitting of a prefect," Bachi stuck a tongue out as a ring of golden letters formed around his hands.
The black-and-yellow haired fellow traced a new auric phrase in front him, "Holy Scripture: Rebuke!"
Arrows made of light rapidly shot out from the golden words towards Baika.
"Edict -Ward!" the black-haired woman swiped her blackened brush in front of her, etching a rhombus-shaped formation of black words in front of her.
Not only did the summoned ward successfully block the onslaught of blinding arrows. Every arrow that came into contact with the strange shield bleed into blobs of black ink.
"Her shield converted his magic into more ink?" Carla mentally observed.
"You'll have to do better than that if you want those documents," Baika taunted as her brush absorbed the ink created from her fellow Rune user's magic.
"My turn," she immediately used the newly acquired ink to etch more characters into the air, "Edict- Restraint!"
The various ink phrases Baika crafted began to encircle Bachi like a swarm of angry bees. One by one, the sable characters paused. Black tendrils suddenly emerged from each static word, latching and binding their target's arms, legs, and neck as intended.
"Ngghh.." Bachi writhed under the grip of the ink tendrils tightening around his neck and limbs.
While her subordinate was restrained, Baika quickly turned her attention to the runes trapping Carla.
Baika touched her magic ink brush onto the runic forcefield around Carla and wrote a new character into its code. Upon contact, their golden color darkened into black before melting into a pile of ink. Baika's brush then absorbed all the new ink converted from Bachi's runes.
"Amazing!" Carla praised the Umehana prefect as she gleefully left her confines, "I had no idea Ink Magic could be used to undo rune spells."
"One still needs knowledge and skill with manipulating runes to use Ink Magic like this," the Ink Mage sighed before turning to Bachi.
Despite his bindings, the yellow-and-black haired male crafted an enchanted phrase using his tongue.
"Holy Scripture: Sanctuary"
Bachi conjured an expanding forcefield of golden letters from his body, cutting through the inky ropes that once kept him down.
Baika stood in front of Carla with her blackened brush in tow. She immediately crafted another rhomboid formation of characters.
"Edict- Break."
The inscribed characters within the rhombus converged into a concentrated, spherical ink blob. In the subsequent second, the blob contents were hosed onto the incoming wave of golden runes. Every shimmering letter dimmed into congealed, murky liquid that splattered onto the floor.
"Tch. Pretty cheap of you to have a counter," Bachi clicked his teeth as he inscribed multitude of rune circlets flat in front of him, "Holy Scripture: Admonishment!"
Similar to rebuke, Bachi's "admonishment" shot out from each circlet in the form of inbound light beams.
Baika and Carla maneuvered themselves around the array of radiance while running towards Bachi.
The lasers that shot past them connected with the stone pavement causing the contacted ground to combust.
""You missed," Baika jeered at her subordinate as she wrote up a line of inked characters in preparation, "Is that all you got dissident?"
Bachi, with auric runes lining his fingers, responded with a silent smirk.
Student and teacher clashed again. More shining, gold runes devolved into splatters of black ink.
Carla drew out her claws ready to strike the opposition. Focusing her gaze, she decided to rely on her future sight for precaution. Her brown eyes flickered golden once more.
"Thairis Aer"
The world of possibilities overlayed itself atop the present moment. She witnessed the accumulation of black ink in the premises as Bachi and Baika continued to swipe at each other.
While it was a relief that Baika's magic would invalidate the function of any runes Bachi could write, it was weird that Bachi didn't use a different means to strike.
"Perhaps...he's doing this on purpose?"
Looking a little further into the brawl, she noticed the bristled in her ink brush became devoid of color. She would have to switch to evading Bachi's attacks to pause and gather ink into her brush or fight Bachi on equal footing with her Jutsu Shiki runes. Such was the impediment of Holder Magic.
Carla snapped herself back to the present. She quickly eyed the state of bristles on Baika's black brush.
"Baika-san!" the female Exceed called out, "Switch to Jutsu Shiki for the time being! If you overuse your ink, you'll run dry!"
After her last collision with Bachi, Baika took two additional steps back. She conjured purple runes in one hand while holding her grey-bristled brush towards the newly formed ink.
Bachi momentarily turned and glared at Carla with golden runes in his hands, "I really should have put you in a more complex cage."
"Try me!" the Fairy Tail mage showed her sharpened, silvery claws.
"I'm fighting two against one. And one of you has the means to cancel my runes," the yellow-and-black haired man clicked his tongue in disdain, "Guess I'll have to step up my game..."
He glared at Baika, "If you can melt any runes used against you into the ink, then maybe changing the subject might just do the trick!"
"Is beating me just to find answers really worth the risk? What if you hurt yourself in a way that can't be reversed?" Baika's expressed uncharacteristic concern at his implications.
Still, she was too late.
Bachi lined a phrase of golden letters across his chest, "Holy Scripture: Light!"
The Higanzakura mage became enveloped in a cocoon of blinding light.
"What on Earthland!" Carla shielded her eyes with her hands.
"Just like how Dark Ecriture can be used to demonize their users...Holy Scripture is capable of turning their users into-"
Before the Umehana prefect could finish her sentence, the ball of light burst. From the cocoon emerged a four-winged being resembling Bachi. But not quite.
Golden cracks were etched into now marble-like skin. His once brown, hexagonal irises were now gold with dark, slit pupils. His statue-esque, shirtless form peaked out from what took place of his lower half - a spherical formation of revolving rings of golden script. Between each phrase were life-like brown eyes which blinked in real time.
"Angels..." Baika completed her sentence with dread, "The biblically accurate type..."
"Oh crap..." Carla cursed as she gazed up at the holy monstrosity above her.
~ ?, Rangekka Ward, Sakura City~
"Romeo-san..."
Her sweet, yet muffled voice echoed in the dark void
"Romeo-san..."
He could feel her try to shake him with her further attempts to stir him awake.
"Romeo-san...Romeo-san..."
The shaking grew more fervent. Her voice grew louder and more distressed.
"Mmmm..." the Fire mage opened his eyelids to the semi-blurred sight of Wendy kneeling above him.
"Sorry...Wendy..." Romeo still felt fatigued from whatever the hell Ranmaru sicked on them while they were in the hospital.
He searched around his surroundings and noticed him and Wendy were placed in a room with straw mat flooring. The walls of room were painted with orchids.
"Where the heck are we?" Romeo pondered aloud, "This isn't the hospital..."
"No, it's not. I have no idea where in Sakura City we are," Wendy sighed before showing Romeo her wrists, "That's not the worst part."
Romeo's eyes widened at the anti-magic cuffs around her wrists. He quickly checked his hands and realized his hands were cuffed too.
"Shit," the Fire Mage cursed, "They really thought this through."
"If it's any consolation, I don't think they intend to kill us," Wendy tried to lighten the mood.
"Funnily, I don't get that from them either, "Romeo sighed, "I'm just really confused about everything that's going on..."
"How about you let us tell you?" a familiar female voice from behind the holding cell door spoke.
The holding cell door swerved ajar.
"Step through and take a seat," her voice echoed from outside.
The cuffed Romeo and Wendy did as they were told.
From the holding cells, they entered a green-walled lounge room illuminated by eerie, red butterflies fluttering about the space. In the center of the room was a semi-circle of light-green bean bags atop an orange rug. In front of the bean bags lay a red velvet throne.
Sitting haughtily in her throne was none other than Ageha, herself. Standing next to her without his hyottoko mask was Ranmaru with his hands tucked into the sleeves of his maroon yukata.
"Try anything funny and I'll use my butterflies on you," the twin-tailed teen bluntly threatened as her butterflies flew closer to the two Fairy Tail mages.
Romeo glowered at his captors' vicinity before taking a seat on a green bean bag with Wendy next to him.
"Is all of this really necessary? Was all of what happened at the hospital really necessary?" Wendy narrowed her brown irises at the teen girl and the brown-haired man standing next to her.
"I may have been a little caught up in the moment," Ageha expressed a morsel of regret, "I couldn't help myself when I saw my gramps regain himself, even if it was momentary."
"It's not like I don't see where you're coming from," Wendy kept a calm yet stern tone, "But it was selfish of you to use your magic to control the hospital staff and other patients alike. As a user of healing magic, I cannot condone that kind of recklessness."
Romeo gulped. He could tell the Sky Dragon Slayer was seething beneath her polite etiquette.
"She is right, Ageha," Ranmaru joined in, "It was not easy cleaning up and soothing things over with the hospital bureaucrats. While I may be Rangekka Ward's prefect, that does not mean I can brush everything under the rug."
"Wow. Really quick to jump into the 'Blame Ageha' Game, aren't you?" the twin-tailed girl clicked her tongue at her affiliate, "There wouldn't be a Memory Wipe Incident if it weren't for the Sakuragami Family."
"Or so were Mr. Kocho's most recent words..." Ranmaru stated, "And Higan's massive hunch."
"What is it about the Sakuragami Family that make even a prefect like yourself think they caused it?" Romeo inquired.
"I would like to clarify that it's not the entire Sakuragami Family I have doubts over, "the Rangekka prefect raised his hands in false surrender, "Miss Mai is too pure to engage in such treacherous actions."
"Geez. What a simp..." Ageha crossed her hands over her chest.
"If Ethereal Flower can be used to manipulate memories, I can surmise only its strongest practitioners can use it so," Ranmaru pondered aloud, " I'd hate to think Lady Chigusa would do something so nefarious but...she does keep a lot of secrets under wraps..."
"You're missing someone..." the twin-tailed teen twitched her brows at him.
"That would make less sense though..." Ranmaru' expression became sullen.
"Who are you guys talking about?" Romeo asked, "Is there another strong user of Ethereal Flower other than Chigusa?"
Ranmaru and Ageha looked to each other.
"I take it none of the prefects dared to mention Haruhiko during the meeting," Ageha sarcastically jabbed at Ranmaru.
"Haruhiko?" Wendy was unfamiliar with the name.
"How could we? Chigusa forbade us from doing so," the brown-haired male's already saddened expression deepened.
"That controlling, conniving witch..." Ageha grumbled to herself, "I'm calling it. She is so the perp."
"We only have speculations and no evidence to prove anything," the Fire Mage turned to the Rangekka prefect, "And um...Who is this Haruhiko guy?
"He's Mai's father...and Chigusa's younger brother," Ranmaru replied.
The Fairy Tail mages responded with dead silence.
"No, we were not told about him," Romeo answered, "Do you know why mentioning him is taboo?"
"After the Mass Memory Wipe Incident, he was severely incapacitated, " Ranmaru explained, "Far worse than the cases in Ryoran's ward. Haruhiko's current state is the main reason I want to doubt she would conceive something as treacherous as this."
"It's a shame she chose not to tell us about him," the Sky Dragon Slayer dolefully sighed, "In the end, she has her reasons."
"Speaking of 'healing'," Ranmaru decided to change to subject, "We have someone we would like you to test your skills on, again."
"Again?" Wendy tilted her head a tad confused, "But we know that my healing magic doesn't work against the Memory Wipe victims."
"It won't be just you per se," the Rangekka prefect eyed his younger subordinate, "How about it, Ageha? Wanna try teaming up with the enemy?"
"Huh?!" Ageha's twin-ahoges became zig-zagged as she jolted in her chair, "Absolutely not!"
"He-Hear me out," Ranmaru held his palms up to pause her antics, "If we combine her healing magic with your Psyche Manifestation, we might be able to temporarily undo the physical and mental ailments on Mr. Kocho for a longer duration. Maybe even heal him completely."
"Heal Gramps c-c-completely?" the twin-tailed teen's ahoges arched to form a heart-shape as a hopeful sparkle in her eyes glistened for a split-second.
In the following second, the ocular glitter shifted to ocular dullness.
"Now that's just wishful thinking," Ageha's ahoges sunk down like wilted flowers.
"Agghh...Okay, okay," Ranmaru withdrew his hands in surrender, "It was worth mentioning."
Romeo sweatdropped, "Man. Take me back to my cell."
"I think it's worth a shot," Wendy stated.
"You what?" Ageha's ahoges went back to being zig-zagged again.
The twin-tailed girl walked up to the cuffed Dragon Slayer.
"I said I think it's worth a shot," Wendy repeated.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me, pipsqueak" Ageha glared down at the bluenette, "You're not trying to half-ass so you can screw him up permanently, are you?"
"I'm not. You have my oath as a practitioner of healing magic," Wendy stood up to match her height face to face, "Do I have your oath that you won't get in my way?"
"Whew~" Romeo and Ranmaru simultaneously whistled at her roast.
"Tch. A smartass with a tongue...Great," Ageha irately rolled her eyes.
"O-Okay...So where do we go from here?" Romeo interrupted.
"Ah, we relocated Mr. Kocho to one of the hallway beds," Ranmaru answered gesturing to a wooden door behind them in the corner of the room, "We just need exit this place to enter the hallway."
...
~Guest Room Hallway, Rangekka Residence, Rangekka Ward, Sakura City~
Ranmaru lead the two Fairy Tail mages with Ageha behind them out the lounge door into a hallway illuminated by the late afternoon Sun. The walls sported similar green tones as the paint used in the lounge.
The green-walled hallway consisted of multiple wooden doors. Between each door was a black wooden stand with an orchid-filled vase. Light fixtures were hung overhead, but the need to turn them on was not necessary given the time of day.
"This way," Ranmaru gestured for his prisoners to follow him a few doors down.
Romeo and Wendy glanced behind them to see Ageha glare daggers at them.
"You pipsqueaks better not be thinking about flaking out now," her twin cowlicks twitched to signify she was on high alert.
They sighed before following Ranmaru into the indicated room.
The guest room they entered was different from the lounge they were held captive in. The tatami flooring of the guest room was a tea-green shade. White scroll paintings of orchids hung from the wall. The cabinets were lacquered with black varnish. A similarly varnished nightstand decorated with a lamp and an orchid-filled vase was stationed next to a white and blue futon.
Sleeping soundly in that futon was Mr. Kocho looking a little worse for wear since the hospital visit. An IV bag was attached to a hanger behind him, with a single tube plugged into his arm.
"Grandpa..."
Seeing her grandfather in this state made Ageha feel all choked up. She immediately hid her frown behind her sleeve.
Wendy put an arm on her shoulder, "I gave you my word that I would be here to help him. Clearly, I can't do this alone. Will you work with me to help him?"
"Dammit...Might as well give it a shot," Ageha removed Wendy's hand off her shoulder, "I'd rather not see him like this anymore."
Ranmaru procured a key from his sleeve and unlocked Wendy's magic-sealing cuffs.
Wendy and Ageha kneeled next to Mr. Kocho's futon with glowing hands hovering over his dormant figure. A neon butterfly visor appeared in front of Ageha's eyes.
Romeo sweatdropped as he watched the scene next to the Rangekka prefect.
"When are you going to get these off of me?"
"And let you set my house on fire?" Ranmaru leered at the purple-haired teen, "I don't think so..."
"Fair point..." he sighed in defeat. In seconds, another question popped up in his mind, "I'm curious about another thing, Ranmaru?"
"Ask away," the brown-haired male replied, "At the very least, I owe you some explanation."
"Some, my foot," Romeo internally scowled before relaying his next query, "Is there a bigger reason behind why you want Ageha's granddad healed? Cause normally, an elderly and possibly immunocompromised person is one hell of a risky first choice for a test trial."
"Heh. Of all the things you could've asked, you chose that?" Ranmaru chuckled sarcastically, "Still, you're quite astute. There is more to Mr. Kocho than being a treasured acquaintance and dearly beloved grandfather."
"An answer please," the young Fire Mage demanded.
"Mr. Kocho is one of Higanzakura's founders," Rangekka prefect stated, "Moreover, our current leader stated that Mr. Kocho has significant ties to...this."
Ranmaru held out a red book.
The title was Benizome Sakura.
Next Chapter: Red-Dyed Cerasia
Okay, can confirm the flashbacks will be in the next chapter.
As always, please feel free to give me your constructive criticisms, feedback, suggestions, etc. But please, don't be too harsh with me. If you choose, to Ageha will sick her butterflies on you!
Ageha: *surrounded by the sea of neon red butterflies" Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss!
Author: Bossgirl represent!
