From the newest recruits to the longest tenured members all of Galaxy Defense Force is represented within. All but Yuna, who stands outside this place that’s been more of a home than anywhere her chaotic life has taken her. All the women inside are like sisters to her. Now she stands just outside, biting her as she tries to fight off yet another in a series of increasingly regular headaches.
Devil Yuzuki: <All these losers should be throwing themselves at your feet to thank you for what we’ve done. Without us, there wouldn’t be a Galaxy Defense Force.>
Yuna stares at herself in the polished glass in the dojo’s door. For just a brief moment, the woman staring back wears an arrogantly sadistic grin. The monster lurking inside her has been far more active since Without Equal than for the past month combined. Just hearing that voice and seeing the haughty visage gazing at her causes Yuna’s body to tense up something fierce. With a desperate sigh she throws the door open and looks to the women within with searching eyes. They meet those of her friend Hoshi Sato first.
Hoshi: <Saito-san, congratulations!>
GDF’s Beating Heart flashes her best smile and nearly winces as the headache flares up instantaneously. It fades as Hoshi beams back and bows to her.
Hoshi: <Thanks for your hard work!>
For the moment her headache fades and her train of thought’s back on schedule. Yuna nods to her friend, then takes in the rest of the dojo with the most genuine smile she’s managed in three months. Even the aches and pains of their recent intense battle with Shuko MURDER-gun aren’t quite as taxing in this moment. Each step she takes deeper into the dojo is lighter, bouncier for one simple fact: for the first time since the Galaxy Princess Cup, she’s proud of her performance. For the first time she feels like a leader.
That’s when the headache starts to seep back in alongside the growing anxiety already infiltrating her thoughts. She picks up the pace quicker lest someone see her lingering in thought.
Escape isn’t so easy, though.
Kasey: Yuna, welcome back!
Yuna stops dead in her tracks as the American calls after her. The presence of her teammate forces Yuna to set those future concerns aside so that she might have a chance of focusing on the present. It takes a moment in which she inhales and exhales deeply, pressing her feet firmly onto the floor for her to respond.
Yuna: Vex-san? What is it?
Kasey strides up and puts a hand on Yuna’s shoulder as if to hold her in place.
Kasey: How’re you doing? It’s been a wild couple days.
As Vex begins to speak, her words begin to blur into a mess of sound. Sudden force throbs at Yuna’s temples like an entire percussion section’s taken up residence in her head. Kasey’s done so much emotional heavy lifting to help her find herself again, it’d be unfair to burden her with this. Yuna forces that cheerful smile but can't quite manage to stop her left eye from twitching.
Yuna: I’m - I’m doing good. I’m relieved. We defeated Shuko MURDER-gun decisively and sent a statement to Shuko-san herself. Tatsumaki-sensei is back and has a plan. It finally feels like things are going right.
Kasey squeezes her shoulder, her expression questioning Yuna’s response. Yuna has to focus harder to make out every word as the throbbing worsens.
Yuna: I just have a lot to think about. Without Equal made me a leader, and now I have to be sure to lead everyone to another victory. We punched them in the mouth, and now they’re going to be out for blood. We have to be ready to invade Shuko-san’s beloved Shrine and plant the flag of GDF and MGP in its soil.
Devil Yuzuki: <They’re going to eat you all alive unless you shut up and listen to me. Besides, don’t you want to feel the rush that comes with my help?>
Yuna’s eyes narrow as she continues on.
Yuna: <But we have a chance. We can beat them. I’ll make sure that we do, by any means necessary.>
Shino suddenly approaches as well, Shibuki following closely behind. Kasey remains there, watching Yuna expectantly. Yuna meets her eyes and nods appreciatively.
Yuna: Vex-san, thanks. For everything. I don’t know if I’d still be here without you.
Devil Yuzuki: <Dead weight. Shuko-san will rip out her throat personally! She’s just leeching off of us and you know it.>
Yuna’s eyes dart away as the voice cracks through the headache. The pain in her head increases, the artificial lighting becomes blurry and distorted. Yuna clenches her fists in defiance of the mental intrusion and her focus centers entirely on Shino. She clenches her eyes closed, breathes in and out and reminds herself of her faction. People who look up to her and rely on her to unify them. When she reopens her eyes Shino and Shibuki appear crystal clear.
Devil Yuzuki: <Ah, the ambitious runt and her beanpole thug! The only two women in GDF who actually get how to win your little war.>
Occasionally Yuna’s eye twitches, betraying the struggle of simply containing her reawakened demon. Yuna bows gratefully, her brunette locks hiding the pain that suddenly wracks her visage.
Yuna: <Suzuhana-san, you were a crucial part of our victory. Thank you very much for trusting me. Thank you for fighting so well. I am proud to call you my teammate.>
Shino blinks in surprise and there’s silence.
Devil Yuzuki: <Seriously? You’re gonna just let this runt get away with challenging your leadership? She just wants your spot so she can make us her dog.>
Yuna bites her bottom lip hard, the pain helping rip her mind off of the words of her dark side. She steps back slowly so as not to shock her overly pained mind with the sudden shift of posture.
Shino: <I just did what I said I would do. And you did the same.>
There’s an electricity in the air as the two size each other up. Yuna’s clenched fists tense up as mental images of a bloodied Shino fill her thoughts. It’d be so easy to remind her who’s in charge. It’s hard enough to fight a shadowy cabal who utilize mental conditioning, murder and a litany of other crimes to achieve their ends and their hyper violent minions without worrying about someone coming to usurp her place.
Yuna: <Right. Let’s get down to business.>
She flinches at one last flare up.
Devil Yuzuki: <Business? I have business with you. And a hidden gift for you. I think it’ll get you to listen to me.>
A disparate trail of destruction haphazardly lines the hallway in the modest Tokyo apartment GDF’s Beating Heart calls home. Leggings, t-shirts, sports bras and even the occasional glittering piece of ring gear preserve the path of this unnatural disaster. The bedroom door is slightly ajar, allowing the increasingly desperate sounds from within to escape. A copy of Puroresu Weekly is splayed out just inside as if dropped there by a typhoon; from its cover Yuna Saito smiles through her exhaustion with the violet belt around her waist.
Yuna stops in the middle of her frantic action, a pillow dangling from her hand like a pendulum. The cover catches the former champion’s gaze and soon she stoops down to get a better look at it. The pillow finally crashes as her full attention turns to the magazine that stands out among the other contents of her life strewn about the floor.
Her eyes narrow into a focused squint as the headache returns in force. It’s only with that focus that she’s able to accurately reach out and pick the periodical up.
A voice from the past clubs her over the head like a cartoon anvil.
Caponata: <Your leader is fat and stubborn... Kasey Vex is too much of a goody-goody, willingly throwing herself at trouble and putting herself in danger just because it's the right thing to do... and you, Saito Yuna, are stupid and delusional.>
Tears tug at the corner of her eyes, her fingers tightening on the magazine’s cover and covering up her face. Three months later the wounds left by that verbal assault still sting. Her head throbs as if her heart is pounding in her brain case.
Devil Yuzuki: <Still beating yourself up over that? Sakamochi-san told you. I told you. The traitor and the runt both told you. You need me to win these battles. And you definitely need me to win this war you declared so dramatically.>
Yuna’s grip tightens further, causing a crunching sound as the magazine gets forcefully rolled up.
Yuna: <Did you come back just to taunt me? Do you think I haven’t questioned my decisions enough? Besides->
She exhales deeply as if forcing the pain from the reopened wound out of her body. Yuna slides down the foot of her bed, idly wielding the magazine like a knife to fend off her darker side. As she hits the floor with a soft thump, another image catches her attention. A program from Without Equal open to a full page image of Galaxy Defense Force. Kasey, Shino, the Hixxes, CHIGUSA, Akari. Even as her head pounds, Yuna manages a sly smile.
Yuna: <I got GDF on the same page without you. We forced Shuko MURDER-Gun to play by our rules without you. I’d say I’m doing okay for myself.>
Her smile fades as the magazine in her hand begins unrolling thanks to a loosened grip.
Devil Yuzuki: <But the mafia bitch still has the violet belt. A happy little family doesn’t change the fact that she stole your dream.>
Immediately Yuna recalls the proud, self-righteous look the new champion wore while tearing her a new one after all the pain Yuna went through to reach the top. Her heart pounds a little faster, and she tosses the magazine across the room.
Yuna: <Fuck Costanza Caponata.>
Her hands reach up to grip her head in a vise, squeezing down in a desperate attempt to counteract the effects of Devil Yuzuki’s presence.
Yuna: <And fuck you too. You’ve been insisting for days you left something here that’ll convince me to listen to your plan. I’ve turned my entire place inside out and dug through every memory, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.>
Though she’s clearly alone, she can hear her alter ego’s sigh as clearly as if Devil Yuzuki were standing over her shoulder.
Devil Yuzuki: <Open your eyes, ‘hero’.>
The passing of a local train outside rattles the building, demolishing the wall of anger that’s beginning to build up from all of this. Her eyes catch a glint of light shining like a beacon from under her ruined room. Moving entirely by instinct she lunges forwards to capture the light before it’s gone.
Whatever it is, it’s thin and slightly glossy. Afraid it might break she pulls it out at a glacial pace. It doesn’t evaporate though. Soon she’s staring at the black rectangle she’s just excavated. A cheki? She flips it over and feels the dagger slide right between her ribs again.
An old photo of a young, very pregnant woman whom Yuna doesn’t recognize. But the cheaply dressed man next to her? Yuna knows him. Gorou Saito.
Which means-
Yuna: <M-mom?!>
Devil Yuzuki: <The forces behind the Shrine are a hell of a lot more dangerous than you realize, ‘hero’. They’ve got eyes and ears everywhere. They’ve been pulling the strings behind Shuko-san and her army as part of their master plan. They didn’t think twice about spending the lives of their minions to set up that plan. They’re the ones who killed Saito Hitomi-san, all to make me possible.>
Tears well up Yuna’s eyes as she clutches the photo to her chest.
Devil Yuzuki: <My point is these are ruthless, dangerous people who wouldn’t be above slitting your throat if they knew you weren’t going to play ball with them. Do you really think that a big smile, believing in yourself and doing things the same way you’ve done them is going to help you and your friends survive?>
Yuna shakes her head to clear the onrush of imagined assaults upon herself and the other members of GDF.
Yuna: <I will do whatever I have to protect my friends. I don’t care what this so-called Reqiuem’s said about someone not coming back from the Shrine. Every single GDF member who walks into that Shrine is coming home. I won’t allow any other outcome.>
There’s a deafening pause as Yuna sits on the floor, holding onto her mom for dear life.
Devil Yuzuki: <What about the Muramasa Blade? You’re just going to leave it for someone else to wield?>
Yuna: <The Cursed Blade isn’t my concern. Surviving Nijima-san and making sure my teammates all get home is what’s important. As long as we’re around to continue the fight against MURDER-Gun, that’s all that matters to me.>
Devil Yuzuki: <Sorry, Yuna-chan, that doesn’t work for me. These people took something very important from both of us. I can’t just let you throw away my chance to take back what’s mine. There won’t be another chance. I will cut people down to get my hands on Requiem’s prize.>
Something lurks on the periphery of Yuna’s vision - maybe it’s been there the whole time. Its shadow looms, threatens to engulf the disaster scene she’s turned her room into. But a hero doesn’t hide from danger. Yuna scoots around to face the threat head on and sees - herself. Rather a menacing version of herself, crouched near the doorway like a boogeyman. Devil Yuzuki.
Yuna: <I strikes me that letting you take that thing would be a bad idea.>
Devil flashes a lopsided grin and shrug.
Devil Yuzuki: <It strikes me that you don’t have much of a choice. To survive the Shrine and Project Yomi, you need me. They locked my darker mother away in a vault as part of their ritual. Failure isn’t an option - I need the Muramasa Blade or I’ll lose the one chance I have at reconnecting with her. I thought you’d understand with all the aching sorrow for our shared mother you hide away in your heart. And besides, didn’t Tatsumaki-san tell you that you needed to start taking things from Shuko MURDER-gun? What better than the greatest prize of Shuko-san’s beloved Requiem?>
For a brief moment Yuna’s defenses begin to lower, but still she holds firm.
Yuna: <Even if you make a good point, my answer’s still no.>
Devil Yuzuki: <I thought you’d say that. And that’s why I’m willing to sweeten the deal. You let me have control while we’re at the Shrine so I can take my birthright. I protect your friends, get them home, and help you in the Intrepid Odyssey. You’ve got to go through the whole world to get a shot at redemption. I’m offering you the backup you need to make that happen.>
Yuna: <I-I do want the violet belt back desperately. It fills my dreams even when I’m trying desperately to be strong for GDF. We’ve started winning as a team, but to be honest - I don’t know if I’ve still got what it takes to win on my own. And still? Clawing my way back up to earn the right to prove Caponata-san isn’t invincible and reclaim my dream - that still fills my heart.>
She sighs at the thought of lingering failures.
Yuna: <But that might come in time; the war will still be going on no matter if I get that chance or not. There’s something.. Else.. I want to achieve in the Intrepid Odyssey..>
Yuzuki leans forward, elbows on her knees as she hungrily presses the issue.
Devil Yuzuki: <Tell me.>
Yuna: <I want to ensure that no matter who else wins, Shuko MURDER-gun doesn’t. I want to stab them right in their dark hearts and make them feel the pain they’ve inflicted on us since I got here. I want them to bleed like they’ve made us bleed. I want to hurt Shuko MURDER-gun badly, then go on to take my dream back from the hands of Caponata-san.>
She looks down at the photo, noticing how loving her mother looked.
Yuna: <IF.. If you can promise me that Shuko-san’s girls don’t win. IF you can promise that I will have the chance to show Caponata-san how wrong she was about me and let me rip her heart out in front of the world..>
Yuzuki nods knowingly, lacing her fingers together.
Devil Yuzuki: <Say no more.>
Yuna shoots Yuzuki a burning glare usually reserved for Shuko Shiori herself.
Yuna: <One more thing. If he shows himself, I want you to leave the bastard who killed mom to me. He has to pay for what he did.>
Devil Yuzuki: <Bloodthirsty Saito Yuna-chan? NOW I’ve seen everything. Sure, that sounds entertaining. We each get to show the world that we’re not someone’s doll to be played with.>
Yuzuki extends her hand. An onrush of memories hits Yuna as she stares at the hand. Caponata stamping her into the dirt for wanting to save the Ring of Dreams. Gorou Saito pulling her by the hair and screaming at her. Shuko blowing smoke in her face and mocking her. Being treated like a tool of the Black Company by its visible associates. Yuna sneers and shakes Yuzuki’s hand.
Just then she’s blinded as the light flicks on. Yuna recoils like a vampire as the brightness assaults her.
Kasey: Yuna, is that you? What the hell happened?
Yuna rises to her feet slowly, nearly slipping on some of the items covering the floor. When she manages to adjust her vision at last, she flashes a small smile.
Yuna: It’s nothing. I’m fine.
Kasey: Are you sure? You don’t look fine.
Yuna: I said I’m fine. I just lost something.
She gazes back at where Yuzuki had appeared.
Yuna: But now I've found it.
Darkness has fallen.
A clap of thunder shakes the earth.
A trickle of rain patters on stone. All is dark, wet, stone.. and wood.
Flickers of light dance on the angular surfaces of the shrine; three women hold torches aloft in defiance of the night. Their red robes stick to their skin as the late summer humidity persists. Their white and red painted visages watch Devil Yuzuki, garbed in all black, expectantly. Her gaze is focused entirely on the shrine before her, held cocked ever so slightly to the side. While the others remain under cover, Devil Yuzuki stands imposingly on her offering as the sprinkles grow into a torrential downpour. Only when she’s becoming drenched does she speak.
Devil Yuzuki: <So tell me, how does it feel?>
Her eyes calmly flit down to the already broken woman at her feet. Miyama’s clothes are torn and stained. The stale stenches of cigarette smoke, piss and sweat intermingle with the iron rich smell of fresh blood. Yellow and purple splotches appear on her exposed skin, the first signs of bruising. Once so full of spite, the thug’s breathing has become quite labored.
Devil absentmindedly taps the battered woman on the shoulder with a bloodied kendo stick.
Miyama: <I’ve had worse.>
Devil’s lips turn up into a cheeky grin.
Devil Yuzuki: <Oh? Shall we continue?>
Miyama wheezes, but quickly grits her teeth.
Miyama: <Fine. I’ve got nowhere else to go.>
Devil chuckles under her breath.
Devil: <Good. This->
She motions to the blood dripping out of Miyama’s mouth and nose.
Devil Yuzuki: <Is not quite enough of an offering. You’ve done well to come to me, Miyama Maya-san. The Saito Syndicate is finished. Their headquarters was razed to the ground. I hear their leader’s been babbling something about a deal he made with the shadows. People have gone missing without a trace. The last remnants of the Syndicate are being stripped to the bone by the cruel world. The only hope you have - the only hope anyone has in this war - is to follow true power or seize it.>
She brings her arm back, gaze locked firmly on the woman’s face. The kendo stick careens into Miyama’s orbital bone; the thug’s head snaps back and she falls face first into the water pooling up between the shrine’s paving stones.
Devil Yuzuki: <And after everything you did for that cockroach, your agony and blood will open the door for real power. Mine.>
Miyama begins to push herself back to all fours; Devil punts her in the face.
Devil Yuzuki: <All of this->
Devil’s arm sweeps across the landscape of the shrine.
Devil Yuzuki: <Is to connect with the source of my power. As strong as I am, what I have is only a fraction of what I could be. My full potential was cruelly locked away at The Shrine by people who have their own plans for me. They took the life of one mother and locked the other away in a tube after she made my life possible.>
Devil kneels down on Miyama’s heaving chest.
Devil Yuzuki: <24 years. That’s how long the most terrifying woman in the history of Joshi Puroresu’s been clinging to life inside that hidden shrine. The greatest threat to the sparkly status quo of Joshi Puroresu the world’s ever seen, reduced to a macabre decoration for some cult’s cave. All that time I’ve had to drift under the surface as the weaker child struggled to realize her destiny. I waited. She was treated like a freak and pushed into the filth, and I searched for my destiny. And now I found it.>
She gingerly pulls a gleaming tanto out of her obi. Devil twirls it around absentmindedly as she shifts her weight onto ribs that are surely broken.
Devil Yuzuki: <As soon I heard of the Cursed Blade, I knew my purpose. The Masamune Blade is waiting for me. Devil Matsumoto-san is waiting for her true heir. I was born from an offering of blood and pain, so I figured why not reach out to her with my own version? It feels good, doesn’t it?>
Miyama struggles as Devil traces the line of her neck with the blade.
Devil Yuzuki: <I’m afraid that’s not going to do any good. Just like all the preparations of Nijima-san won’t stop me from reclaiming my birthright. No matter the methods and conditioning they used, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s nothing but a soulless corporate attempt to recreate me. She’s powerful, relentless and able to bring the strongest mortals to their knees, and she will put me through hell. I look forward to shedding each other’s blood. But she’s a puppet of her father’s will, serving only to further his goals. I wonder if she can think for herself?>
Beneath her Miyama’s breath grows more challenged. Devil presses down, the tanto drawing blood from the thug’s cheek.
Devil Yuzuki: <Maybe she’s like you, intimidating and dangerous but needing someone to follow. True power to latch onto and give herself over to.>
With a wet squish the blade goes a little deeper, drawing a pained whimper.
Devil Yuzuki: <Project Yomi and I were both born for this day at the Shrine. We’ve been connected since birth by a blood red string that leads us back to our true home. Her blood will be my final offering to my dark mother’s memory, the grease on the rusted door hiding the real treasure hidden within the shrine. Only one of us can walk out of that shrine truly alive, so I’m going to eviscerate her piece by piece while the entire Nijima Global Zaibatsu looks on helplessly. They’ll all learn that her incredible earthly skills are nothing compared to the power flowing in my veins. Not to mention the power they locked away with Devil Matsumoto-san. Thinking about it drives me mad. I can’t think of anything else! I’ll do anything to get my hands on it.>
Devil withdraws the blade and rises to one knee. She watches the blood gently roll off the blade and smiles.
Devil Yuzuki: <Sending the Black Dahlia’s number two to hell? Protecting the weaker child’s friends so I have the opportunity to claim the Muramasa Blade without intrusion? Yes. Anything to realize my destiny. Once I’ve gotten what I’ve been promised, I’m going to shatter the old world of Joshi Puroresu so thoroughly that they’ll never be able to put it back together. Miracle Galaxy Pro will bow down before Devil Yuzuki.>
Devil rises slowly to her feet with wide fiery eyes. A sing-song chitter escapes her throat as she licks her lips.
Devil Yuzuki: <It’s just like Sakamochi-san said. Rain has come. The storm’s here.>
She thrusts her arms outwards, expression full of detached glee. As she cranes her head back, the clouds of the night sky seem to dance erratically. A flash of lightning sets their linings aglow, and for just a moment she sees a face. Blue marks etched onto a scowling visage, eyes glaring through her from another time and place. Splat-splat - she takes two measured and soggy steps towards the shrine.
Devil Yuzuki: <Almost time.>
Devil rips Miyama off the ground, spits in her face and then delivers one, two, then three backdrop drivers. Through clenched teeth Miyama screams in agony. Devil kicks her hard as she continues.
Devil Yuzuki: <As for that damn Black Company? Yes, my success will further their goals, but it’s a necessary compromise. They can hide in the shadows all they want and pull the strings of their own puppets, but they can’t control me. My will is my own. If our goals align, then so be it. If not? They’ll be one more offering to the darkness they serve.>
A pause as she grinds her heel into an open wound on Miyama’s back.
Devil Yuzuki: <And the Shrine?>
She throws back her head and laughs as loud as the thunder itself.
Devil Yuzuki: < I was born there. One of my mothers rests there. It's my second home, and look what I did to my first. One wrong move, one attempt to force me to bend the knee? UP. IN. SMOKE.>
Miyama can barely move and writhes like a little worm on the ground. Devil sinks her free hand into the woman’s hair and forcefully jerks her head up so they look eye to eye. What remains of the thug’s shattered face stares pleadingly up at her. The blade of Devil’s tanto gently taps her on the cheek, causing her to writhe in pain all over again. For a moment Devil glances to the two women at the torii gate; a beat later she slams Miyama’s face into paving stone. More red slowly flows into the waters.
Light footsteps come up from behind Devil. She cranes her neck to the side to shoot her a malevolent glare.
Hifumi: <Er- w-well, I’m just - is this really necessary?>
She nods slowly, each movement having the impact of a forceful strike to the throat.
Devil Yuzuki: <It is. There’s too much at stake now, Hifumi-chan. Didn’t you say you’d do anything to help me?>
Hifumi tugs at her obi anxiously, failing to meet Devil Yuzuki’s gaze. In response Devil Yuzuki’s eyes narrow, her hand clenching the tanto hilt.
Devil Yuzuki: <WELL?>
In the dancing torchlight, Hifumi nods awkwardly - her gaze continues to be averted.
Hifumi: <Yes, of course! I just didn’t realize it would be this->
The woman’s eyes dart up to the tanto glinting in the scant light.
Hifumi: <Intense.>
Devil Yuzuki’s arms lower, though her grip on the blade never wavers. Suddenly she plants her foot and spins around, water flying everywhere; her arm violently arcs down towards the smaller woman’s face. Hifumi flinches, scrunches her eyes closed so as not to see the deadly blow. She whimpers meekly like a lamb who knows it’s been led to the slaughter. Then her head is forced upwards, guided by a soft yet firm grip.
Devil Yuzuki: <Dear, dear Hifumi-chan. You were so insistent that you wanted to see me a couple months ago. You jumped at the chance to assist me when I finally reached out. Do not fail me on tonight of all nights. I’d hate for you to become disposable.>
Another whimper escapes Hifumi’s throat as her nods become more frantic.
Devil Yuzuki: <Good. Take your positions. We’ve arrived at the climax.>
Her voice remains low but somehow manages to echo off the various walls in the empty shrine. Hifumi shoots a wide-eyed glance over her fellow participants through the hair plastered to her face by the downpour. The others take their steps slowly, too slowly for Devil Yuzuki’s liking. The towering woman flicks her head towards the shrine, her presence alone implying what will happen if they don’t. Suddenly the air is filled with paranoid steps, the lights dancing to and fro in the sacred space. Finally they form a triangle around Devil Yuzuki, who thrusts the tanto skyward as if to slice the heavens.
Devil Yuzuki: <DEVIL MATSUMOTO-SAN! Your messengers came to my lesser self in this space, now listen up. I’ve given you the suffering and blood of an enemy who’s given her soul to me. Now the world’s going to come and see me seize my crown, sitting on a throne of the annihilated enemies who thought they could stop me.>
Devil Yuzuki extends her arm to the heavens, piercing the heavy rain as she reaches for that face she saw before. A soft wet crunch sounds; a sharp pain grows across her palm but Devil Yuzuki doesn’t flinch. She only lowers the tanto and snarls while squeezing her free hand to force droplets of blood to fall onto the front of the shrine.
Devil Yuzuki: <I swear by our shared blood that I will take the Muramasa Blade by any means necessary. I’ll free you from your limbo. Prepare yourself, Devil Matsumoto-san. Yuzuki is coming home.>
As if on cue a bolt of lightning tears down from the sky, stabbing into the heart of Lake Hakone. Its violent glow lights up the clearing at the shrine and reveals the wide, dark smile across Devil Yuzuki’s face. Her eyes dance with the joy of destruction and her mind races with the thought of a bloodied pulp where Project Yomi’s face once appeared. All while her foot remains firmly planted on the chest of the thoroughly battered Miyama.
Hifumi: <Devil-san, there’s a light on the path to the ryokan. Someone’s coming.>
Devil Yuzuki turns slowly in the driving rain, maddened gaze searching for the reported intrusion. Surely enough a singular small light bounces ever so slight and draws ever closer. When she speaks there’s a savage satisfaction in her voice.
Devil Yuzuki: <Whoever they are, they’re too late. My ritual’s complete.>
Suddenly her body begins to ache dully after the exertions of the past few days. Her vision blurs just a bit as she can hear the intruder’s footsteps. They’ll be here soon. Devil Yuzuki’s hand tightens around the hilt of the tanto, prepared to make another offering to the darkness. The vision blurs further and she has her answer.
Devil Yuzuki: <Leave. And take this trash with you.>
Her foot crashes into Miyama’s ribs with a sickening crunch. The three mikos sprint across the clearing to follow her order. They grab her by the arms and legs, Hifumi directing their escape efforts. There’s a brief moment where Hifumi and Devil Yuzuki meet each other’s eyes so heated that Hifumi staggers back a couple of steps. Devil lifts the tanto up once more as her body begins to ache more sharply. She brings it down - and sets it in Hifumi’s hands.
Devil Yuzuki: <We’ve accomplished something great tonight. The money from the Saito Syndicate treasury should be in your dojo’s bank account. Go.>
Hifumi bows frantically and then turns quickly to follow her co-conspirators who have already begun to flee as fast as their weary legs can carry them. Devil Yuzuki’s body finally gives way to the other and she crashes down to her knees. One last look at the sky, pure demented joy filling her face; her head sags down just as the light emerges from the pathway.
Tatsumaki: <Saito Yuna-san!>
Yuna feels beads of rain pelting her head and shoulders, quickly growing lighter until they’ve stopped entirely. Everything’s fuzzy for a long moment as if she’s awakening from a dream. Then pressure is applied to her shoulders, her body shakes and her awareness comes to life with the force of a shinkansen at full speed.
Mizuki: <Oh shit! Oh shit oh shit! What happened? There’s so much blood..>
Yuna gasps as her consciousness returns and she finds herself in an unexpected locale. Mizuki’s here now? When did this happen? Her hand reaches out to reassure Mizuki that everything’s fine, and that’s when she sees the blood. Splattered all over its surface. Suddenly she’s in another time - raining blows down on the busted, broken Miyama; the thug coughs up blood, adding to the morbid decor of the shrine grounds.
<Serves you right. Know your place and make yourself useful.>
Then she rises from the mat, whipping matted hair out of her face and unleashing a horrific outburst that overwhelmed Aria Knight. She beats her down so badly that Knight demanded to be finished off.
<That’s right, BEG ME to end your pitiful existence. It’s all you can do to spare yourself now, bitch.>
Then she’s sitting on the mat next to a bruised, broken and unmoving 14 year old who was incapacitated by power far behind her comprehension.
<Idiot should’ve told Kato-san no. She deserved what she got.>
Quickly there are flashes of a half dozen others she didn’t recognize, all of whose bodies had been shattered by the power within her.
<Not strong enough. Eat shit and die.>
A smile tugs at the corners of her lips as endorphins rush through her body; it feels good.
Then one last voice calls to her.
Mr. Sakamochi: <It felt good did it not? It felt right.. she is the only reason you won. Embrace your gift.. or lose everything you have.>
Yuna grips her head as tears roll down her cheeks and thunder booms in the distance.
Yuna: <Yuzuki…>
Tatsumaki: <Damnit.>
The legend’s voice is full of a vitriol once aimed at Shiori Shuko on the night of Angel Kandori’s accident. In a flash Mizuki throws herself in front of Tatsumaki, hands held up to shield Yuna.
Mizuki: <Tatsumaki-san, that’s unnecessary! Yuna, let’s get you cleaned up.>
The Scarlet Emblem kneels down and rips her hoodie off in a panic. She desperately dabs at the blood splattered over Yuna’s person. All the while Yuna can’t take her eyes off her furious leader.
Yuna: <Tatsumaki-sensei->
Tatsumaki snarls.
Tatsumaki: <Have you given in to this Devil Yuzuki?>
Yuna sighs and flinches. Her body aches in so many places, yet she forces herself off the ground.
Yuna: <Of course not.>
Tatsumaki steps closer, her hands balled into fists.
Tatsumaki: <Then what’s all this?>
Yuna stares down at the blood splatter on the paving stones and a chill runs down her spine. Mizuki’s attentive but futile attempts to clean her up are enough to snap her out of her thoughts. Her expression grows stern and she glares back at her leader.
Yuna: <I don’t know.. but I do know that you made me a general in a war I wanted no part of.>
She breathes deeply in and out.
Yuna: <All of my sisters in GDF trust me as their leader. I brought them together and brought them victory. I’m asking you to trust me like they do.>
Tatsumaki: <Fine. Don’t make me regret it.>
Yuna: <You won’t as long as my heart’s beating. Victory will be ours.>
In the back of her mind, there’s a tingling.
Devil Yuzuki: <Ours indeed. I look forward to it.>
終わり
