The Riddle, Part 2

The Riddle, Part 2

Through the mist your lover is beckoning
Comes that moment of reckoning
Faces change
Even smiles grow strange

All went white.

Much like the torrent of unsteady, unreliable memories that rush to the mind at the start of a new life, like winding rivers, stemming out of an endless font of vitality and eventually streaming into a wide ocean of entropy, all the combatants were met with an assault on the senses and the emotions.

As the mists parted, surrounding the masked heroine in an ominous swirl, Scarlet Senshi found herself in the middle of a clearing, still present at the site of the battle, but without any signs of the others. The solitude was unnerving. Kaoru wondered if something had happened to the others -- and if so, was it her fault? How could she call for them and check now? Would they notice the change in her voice from all the concern? Would they think the unassuming Kaoru Nagamine had somehow arrived at the site of the battle? She shook her head -- None of these thoughts were founded in any real evidence. Scarlet Senshi looked around, aiming her thorned metal pipe low to the ground, much like a golf club, expecting enemies to pour out of anywhere.

From the crimson miasma, only one figure stepped forth. It wasn't Kagayaki, nor one of his lackeys. It was a girl. A girl roughly the same age as Kaoru, wearing a female Higan uniform. She had two pigtails falling down the sides of her head, in a similar haircut to Meliaya, yet obviously longer. Her hair was strawberry blonde, and her eyes were a deep, jungle green. Above all, her most distinguishing -- and unnerving -- feature was a sharp, unfaltering, wide smile.

Kaoru could tell immediately.

Those eyes. That smile. Memories rushed in. She looked older, of course. This was someone she hadn't met in years, after all -- the fact that she apparently kept her appearance so similar to 7 years ago made the encounter all the more unnerving.

Nadeko.

Not sensing anyone else around, Kaoru took her helmet off, hands shaking all the while. An overwhelming feeling of defeat washed over Kaoru, seeing herself backed into a corner like that. She took her motorcycle helmet under her arm, as Nadeko approached her with the same unbreakable sunny demeanour. Her voice was inviting, high-pitched yet nuanced, almost singer-like, with a hopeful twinge that seemed almost like a mockery of Madoka.

"You've changed, Kaoru." Nadeko spoke in a mocking tone. "What happened to the smiling girl I'd play tamagotchis with? Now you're all frowns and furrowed brows."

Kaoru wanted to scream. Some otherworldly force compelled her to stay in the situation, no matter how much she fought to move her body and resist. What was worse, was that she couldn't muster the strength to attack in the first place, either. Somehow, Blakeney's voice had left Kaoru's mind. She tried to clutch the pipe in her hands, but her grip was empty, as the weapon disappeared into floating embers of spirit energy. She dropped to her knees in defeat. Kaoru's mind raced -- had she lost her contract with Blakeney? No, that couldn't be. Something that Kagayaki was doing interfered with her powers. Kaoru grit her teeth, knowing she couldn't get out of the situation just yet.

"Tsk tsk, are you even listening to me?" Nadeko sighed. "You were always a little absent-minded, Kaoru. After all, you were so entranced in playing with me that you let your parents die."

Kaoru shivered. Her first instinct was to recognise this for what it was -- manipulation. An emotional attack. A fairly low-brow one, too. But deep down, down in those depths of jagged edges and bleeding thorns that was Kaoru's subconscious, she agreed. Her parents were dead, because she had a friend. A friend she trusted. If only she had seen it coming, back in that summer of 1992, in the middle of the riots... Perhaps she could've saved them. Kaoru began to sob, fighting to hold back tears. Her breath was hurried and erratic as the memory of the day her parents were gunned down in her own home came rushing back, replaying like a broken record. Running down the stairs as her father held her hand. The gunshots. Mom running down close behind. She was shot in the neck. Blood everywhere. The screaming. The running. Hiding in the kitchen. The phonecall. A torture of waiting. A car outside. Dad rushing her out the door. More shots. Dad sprawling over on the seat of Grandpa's car. The sight of her old life vanishing away from the rear window, as the car drove off without him.

Again and again and again.

All her fault.

"Who are these idiots running around with you?" Nadeko asked, grinning innocently. "You know you only need me, Kaoru." Nadeko knelt down to Kaoru's eye level, caressing her face as she forced eye contact. Red and green clashed intensely. Sorrow gave way to shock.

"Where's the girl? I don't see her in these eyes. It's so simple." Nadeko kicked Kaoru to the ground, standing over her. Kaoru fell over, defeated, as she wept without sound, rage and guilt bubbling up inside that fragile, thorny shell of a being.

"You don't need these friends, Kaoru. We can go back to how it always was. You and me, no one else. Isn't that what you always wanted?"


Momofuku woke up from the white-out with a headache. She shook her head, remembering what just happened. The leader of the Fujiwara Senki rose to her feet, noticing the cloud of red mist she was surrounded by. Shock and horror filled her being as she called for Simply Red, and got no response. Momofuku looked around, with no trace of the others in sight.

"Shujinkoooo?! Madokaaaa?! Yaaaeeeee?! Where the hell are you?!" She shouted desperately, attempting to move through the mist. Her steps were useless -- it was like walking on a treadmill. There was no end in sight.

Soon enough, the mists parted. Momofuku found herself in the streets of the Fujiwara ward. Her steps were unsteady, as she wondered how exactly this could've happened. The grip on her boken tightened as she proceeded through... Silent streets. She saw people whose faces she couldn't place. Families, salarymen, children running around without a care in the world. The sky was clear, and the sun was bright. Even the air seemed less oppressive than usual. For a moment, Momofuku dropped her guard -- Was this how it used to be? No. This was how it should be. No criminals in sight. No gangs, no violence. The Fujiwara Ward was finally at peace.

Momofuku was mesmerized. She let the feeling capture her, as she walked into the streets and alleys of the neighborhood she loved so much, safe at last. But then, something struck her as odd. The faces of the people of the Fujiwara ward... When they crossed her, they showed fear. Mothers held their children. People changed lanes. Doors closed in her face. Wouldn't she be welcomed as a heroine? How could this happen?

The stout justiciar arrived at a park. Feeling increasingly unnerved by the situation, she approached a woman with her child.

"Excuse me," she asked with straightforward confusion, and a little betrayal, "what's going on here? Why's everyone shooing me away?"

The woman recoiled at the sight, immediately holding her toddler close with the fear of God in her eyes. "Momofuuki-sama, p-please forgive my slight! I'll let you do whatever you want to me -- But please, don't hurt my daughter...!"

"WHAT?!" Momofuku stepped back in awe. This woman feared her, as if Momofuku was some kind of predator. "I-I'm not gonna do anything to you! I-I just wanna know what's going on--"

A bicycle roared nearby, parking at the gate of the play area. Off steppd Fumiko, blood-soaked fists closed tight, all passion drained from her enraged eyes. "Momofuuki-sama! Is this woman disrespecting you?!" She held a large, bloody wrench.

"NO!!!" Momofuku protested. "What's the deal with you, Fumiko?! What's the deal with EVERYONE?!"

But it fell on deaf ears. "A lack of respect is an obstacle to peace. Come on, Momofuuki-sama! Discipline her, like we did the whole ward!"

"We did WHAT?!"

Momofuku started putting the pieces together. The Fujiwara Senki had pacified the Fujiwara ward, becoming tyrants that ruled with an iron fist. And she was at the top of it all. Momofuku dropped to her knees, clutching grass hard. She couldn't believe it. Was this truly the happy ending she was fighting for?

Fumiko grew restless. "Fine!" She proudly proclaimed. "I suppose I'll have this one, then!" She approached the woman with violent intent, who immediately presented her back as she hugged her child, as if to act as a human shield."

"NOOOO!!!" She cried, as her daughter began to wail. "Hurt me, imprison me, kill me if you must... PLEASE let my little girl go!"

"No one is exempt from the Fujiwara Senki's justice!" Fumiko exclaimed, winding up, ready to strike the woman with righteous fury in her eyes.

Momofuku couldn't watch anymore.

"I DON'T WANT THIIIIIS!"

Time stopped entirely for Momofuku. A burst of spirit energy shot out of Momofuku's body as she cried out, and Simply Red appeared at her side once again. The air returned to her lungs as she felt reinvigorated, all doubt being purged from her mind. Almost as if she knew exactly what to do, Simply Red gathered all her energy, striking the air... and causing the sky to crack. Reality crumbled into shards of glass all around Momofuku, and the nightmare world that had formed around her vanished into thin air, returning to mist.


Momofuku found herself at the site of the battle once again. She saw the red mist coating the decrepit streets of what was now a Flooding Zone, as enemies began swarming in enormous flocks over the skies. Strangely enough, the monster known as Kagayaki was nowhere to be found, but his presence was still felt. She had to find the others -- there was no time to waste.

As Momofuku dashed through the mists, striking down Lesser Ideas with her boken and Simply Red's fists, she saw a familiar light. It flashed repeatedly, in a pattern she recognized with ease. Momofuku rushed in the direction of the flashing lights, and it didn't take long for her to find Kukurihime blasting away at a Bigger Idea, a minotaur-looking creature that advanced towards the fox priestess, tanking the blasts with ease. Momofuku's rage was ignited, and she jumped into battle, striking the beast on its side with her boken and causing it to stumble.

"Momofuku!" Kukurihime cried out, surprised to see her host's friend come to her rescue. "Let's take this foe on together!"

"You got it!" Momofuku didn't let the creature take a breather, taking its left flank once again while Kukurihime blasted away from afar. The monster swung a large, muscular arm, but Momofuku's diminutive size allowed her to jump out of the way in the right moment. She landed on the Bigger Idea, running up its arm as she called for Simply Red once again.

"ORAORAORAORAORAORA!!!!" Momofuku jumped high, allowing Simply red to blast the monster's chest with an explosive flurry of blows. While it was distracted, Kukurihime performed some hand signs, and a wellspring of energy manifested at the Bigger Idea's back, pulsing with spirit power -- but still inert. Momofuku landed once again, the monster towering over her as it went for a stomp. Momofuku avoided the hoof, but the shockwave from the attack was so potent that it blasted her back. The Bigger Idea's eyes glowed red, as it prepared to perform a rush.

A hurt, but still standing Momofuku looked to Kukurihime. "NOW!"

Kukurihime waved her hands, and the sphere of spirit energy transformed into a reflective mirror. Its aura began sucking the Bigger Idea in, and it fought tooth, nail and hoof to escape -- to no avail, eventually being trapped in the Yata Mirror, which imploded into itself, crushing the Bigger Idea into nonexistence.

Momofuku and Kukurihime reunited for a moment of quick reprieve. They stared each other down with exhaustion and uneasy confidence -- yet confidence, nonetheless.

"Did you also get some kind of altered reality?" Momofuku inquired. Kukurihime shook her head.

"Madoka and I are highly resistant to such attacks," the Idolon priestess explained. "But I know for a fact that most others must've been trapped in some kind of tailor-made vision." Kukurihime considered for a second whether to ask the following question or not, hoping Momofuku wouldn't feel emotionally attacked, but she needed to know in order to expect similar things from the rest.

"If you don't mind me asking... What did you see, Momo?"

"I saw... The Fujiwara word at peace," Momofuku explained. Her tone soured mid-sentence. "But... We had become just like the yakuza, a violent gang that forced others into compliance. I don't want that... I want to see the Fujiwara ward finally at peace, but not like this!"

"That's because Kagayaki is only showing us what he thinks we want," another voice spoke behind Kukurihime. Momofuku and Kukurihime turned to see Yae, her black uniformed self, the commander: Laplace. "It's up to us to break the illusion."

"What did you see, Yae?" Momofuku asked. Yae shrugged with a coy smirk.

"Nothing," she admitted shamelessly. "Kagayaki couldn't get a read on me. I was back at school, but there was no one around, nothing to do... I don't even know what I want, so the illusion shattered by itself."

Kukurihime nodded in understanding. "I see... In that case, we must help the others break their illusions!"

Momofuku tilted her head in confusion. "How are we gonna do that? I couldn't see anyone in my own illusion."

"I think we can find them," Laplace explained. "Now that the three of us are out of our illusions, Kagayaki's chokehold must be waning. It's only a matter of time before we can intrude in others' illusions."

"Then let's waste no time!" Momofuku began running in a random direction, not quite sure where to go inside the sea of mist -- in truth, it barely mattered. Kukurihime summoned minions to take care of the Lesser Ideas that would accost them along the way, as she and Laplace followed Momofuku and Simply Red into the mysterious crimson fog.


And we all have so many faces
The real self often erases
Enticing lies
Flicker through our eyes

Ran awoke to darkness. Complete, utter blackness engulfed his being. His feet were cold -- He seemed to be stepping over some kind of wet surface, almost as if he miraculously walked on water he couldn't even see. He called out to others, he callled out to his Idolon. No one answered. He felt rage, even while his body's spirit energy was waning. Whatever that creature had done, he'd pay for it! Suddenly, that fury was conquered by waves of warmth that permeated all over Ran's body. All his senses were stimulated with unnatural vibrations of comfort, like floating on a cloud in Heaven itself. It was like nothing he had ever felt before -- No amount of drugs or booze could compare to the sheer feeling of contentness. And out of the corner of his eye, he saw something...

The world shifted, and suddenly, he could see himself in a hospital bed. He couldn't move. It was comforting to just... Rest. Doctors and nurses walked by, taking notes or changing what he could only assume was his IV drip. He didn't care for the sights, the days going into nights and back into days at a pace that felt faster and faster the less he cared.

"What... Is this?" He blurted out, momentarily returning to the blackness around him.

"Glad you asked," the voice of Kagayaki answered. The Shinigami thrall's words echoed throughout the whole space. Ran couldn't muster any feelings of opposition in his trance of otherworldly comfort. Kagayaki spoke in soft whispers, unlike the bravado and control he exuded before. His voice was deep, welcoming, and even kind. "I made things right, Ran. In this world, you were the one that ended up in a coma. You don't have to worry about a thing, Ran. Your brother's okay. You have no criminal record. Everything you could worry about is now gone..."

"Yes..." Ran repeated, now submerged in the waters of the black space as numbness began to set in. "I don't.... Have to worry about... anything..."

"All you have to do is welcome my reality, Ran," Kagayaki continued, his offer becoming more and more enticing by the second. "You'll have nothing to worry about, if you just give in. Let me do this for you, Ran. Hold my hand..."

A skeletal hand reached out from the dark waters. Ran extended his arm, ready to embrace the being, until...

"RAN NEJIMAAA!! Don't let that thing trick you!"

Ran was momentarily torn from the trance. Reality set in for an instant, and the pleasant waves gave way to immense, stinging pain all over his body as he started going into spiritual withdrawal. He shook, turning to see Momofuku, Kukurihime and Laplace, who had intruded into the black space.

"Y-You...!" Ran fought to stay conscious, fighting to lift himself out of the black water as it dragged him back in, little by little. "I'll finally get to forget about everything! Just... Let me have this...!"

"The Ran I know would never do this," Laplace reasoned, shaking her head in disappointment. "There's a real world out there, big guy -- And your brother's still waiting for you."

Kukurihime felt betrayed the most out of the three, reprimanding Ran. "Will you let him down like this? After all the hard fights we've fought together?!"

"I... I don't have to worry about anything," Ran spoke in a light voice. "I can forget all the bad things happened."

"Is that how you'll face your problems?!" Kukurihime reprimanded Ran once again. "You can't just pretend Ken isn't in a coma! You can't act like your criminal record never happened! The Ran I know fights every day to mend the past, for a better future!"

Ran's body was fighting, but his mind wanted to give in. He struggled, he recoiled, he reached out to the others, but to no avail. Kukurihime cast a Negacion, as she was unable to affect the whole Flooding Zone now, but this compartmentalized domain could perfectly be weakened.

Ran was suddenly plunged back in the hospital bed. His brother Ken had come to visit him. Sorrow washed over Ran, who was immobile, mute, incapable of embracing his brother or telling him the billion words that rushed to his head in a moment of clarity. Ken held Ran's cold hand, tears already streaming down his face, much like Ran in his own visits to Ken.

"Hey, big guy!" Ken tried to push back tears, feigning a happy tone. "I brought you my Higan dorm key. See? Here, touch it."

Ken held Ran's inert left hand, the one that didn't have an IV feed. Ran could feel the smooth, cold stainless steel in his hand, taking him out of the trance.

"Life in Higan's pretty cool!" Ken explained, attempting to laugh. "I just... I wish you were here with me, bro. I think about you every day."

Silence fell over the room, as Ran's hand went limp. Ken couldn't control himself for much longer and started to weep, pushing it back as much as he could to seem strong to a brother who wasn't even awake to see it all -- But Ran could see it. He could feel the warmth of Kagayaki's spell waning as Ken's own warmth twisted his trance.

"...I wish it had been me," Ken said, between restrained sobs. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. Why? Why did it have to be you, Ran? Why couldn't it be ME?!"

Something inside Ran snapped.

"WAKE UP, RAN!!"

Ken's voice echoed from his Idolon, Twinned Wrath, as it manifested outside of Ran's body, like another self, and smacked Kagayaki's hand away and offered Ran his own, pulling him out of the water. It was a struggle, as the water became viscous, pulling Ran back in a real tug of war. All three bystanders joined in, as Momofuku and Laplace grabbed Ran's free arm, and Kukurihime's spell pushed the darkness back into its pool.

"KEEEEN!!!" Ran shouted, fighting back the pain as he pulled himself closer and closer to Twinned Wrath, fighting to stay alive. He screamed manically, rebelling against the forces of darkness that tempted him back into a peaceful, dreadful slumber. Ran had to recognize the truth.

"Pretending the accident didn't happen won't change things!" He pulled himself one more inch out of the gooey black mess's clutches. "The accident happened... I made mistakes... But I'm gonna make it all right! I'm owning up to it all! I'LL MAKE YOU PROUD, KEEEEN!!!"

"Keep pulling!" Kukurihime demanded, as both Momofuku and Laplace struggled to rescue Ran from the black pool. The magenta light from Kukurihime's Negacion grew in intensity, and it finally culminated in a wide flash that cracked the black bubble.

"HAAAAA!!! THIS IS FOR YOU, KEEEN!!!" Ran gathered all his energy, strengthening his grip around Twinned Wrath's hand and preparing for one big, final effort.

"ONE MORE PUUUSH!" Momofuku motivated Yae, knowing Kukurihime had already done her job. With one final effort, Ran pushed through, and he was freed from the tempting blackness. The space around Ran, Laplace, Momofuku and Kukurihime crumbled into shards of black glass, and in a flash of white, they were all back at the site of the battle.

"Thanks, guys..." Ran was out of breath, only being capable of mustering a few comments while he recovered. "That was... Intense."

"You tell me," Kukurihime grumbled, with a disappointed scowl. "You were almost tempted back there..."

"But I wasn't!", Ran shouted, desperate to win back the respect of Madoka's Idolon, "I pushed through! Thanks to you guys!"

"It's good that you could face those issues head on," Said Yae, grinning ear to ear in her usual non-chalant way. "If you guys are susceptible to those kinds of emotional attacks, you're gonna have to do some emergency therapy on yourself."

Ran shrugged. "C'mon, it wasn't like that..."

"Okay, problem solved!" Momofuku spoke up, looking to stop the bickering. "We still got... Shujinko, Mihama, Kuroda, Suishi, and Shujinko's little sister..."

Yae corrected her without missing a beat. "That's Scarlet Senshi. We don't really know who she is, but she wants to help us. Hell, she was the one that warned us about this Bleeding -- well, now Flooding Zone in the first place."

Kukurihime shook her head. "This opponent... I banished him once. He has returned, somehow even stronger... We need all the help we can get."

"But that huge monster's nowhere to be found!" Momofuku protested. "What the hell is going on?! Why can't we just kill him directly?"

"If I had to take a guess..." Yae stroked her chin as she started thinking out loud. "I think it's doing something similar to what I do with my Realm of Possibility. That guy's hiding, and we won't be able to access him until his hold over everyone in the Flooding Zone is broken."

Ran looked at Twinned Wrath, who was still outside his body, and with an understanding nod, they embraced. Ran reunited with his Idolon, transforming back into Twinned Wrath.

"It's up to us to bring that bastard down!"

Momofuku was not impressed in the slightest. "How did we let it come to this?! If we had a little more time, we could've taken that guy before..."

"We waited all day, and Scarlet Senshi was here, of all places... How much time did we waste?" Twinned Wrath crossed his arms in confusion, remembering Shu's enthusiasm on the subject. He went along with it, and so did everyone else -- perhaps that was wrong? How could he NOT follow Shu?

"Doesn't matter!" Momofuku shut down the topic, as she darted into the mists once again. "Search now, talk later!"

Yae and Kukurihime looked at Ran, with their gazes sharing the same kind of resigned amusement. They followed Momofuku, advancing towards the unknown one more time, for the sake of their friends and allies.


"I'm hooooome!"

Meliaya opened her front door, being immediately greeted by the warmth of an inviting home. She stepped in, directly facing the living room as her father watched TV nonchalantly. The man turned to her with a kind smile.

"Hey, sweetie!" He said, standing up to playfully ruffle his daughter's hair. "How was school today?"

"Good!" Replied Yaya, taking in her father's gesture. "I won first place at the Lego robotics contest!"

"That's wonderful, dear!" Yaya's mother could be heard from the kitchen, a few meters away. She washed some dishes diligently. "How about you wash your hands? I've got your favourite omurice to celebrate! Why don't you call your siblings to dinner? It's almost ready."

"No need!" A girl, a few years older than Meliaya, and a boy in primary school age stepped into the room, expressing their enthusiasm in unison.

Soon, the whole family was seated. Excitement hung in the air, as idle chitchat and smiles were shared. Meliaya was overwhelmed by a feeling of sheer joy and inner peace. This was all she had ever wanted. Sharing a moment of warmth with her closest loved ones in the world.

"Congrats on your big win, sis!" Meliaya's sister, who sat next to her, patted her on the back. Yaya giggled at the gesture, showing a little embarrassment. Her sister's eyes showed pure pride in Yaya.

"It wasn't too hard..." Meliaya stayed humble all the way. "What's important is that I had fun!"

Her little brother's eyes sparked with admiration. "I wanna be just like you when I grow up, big sis!"

"Mama, Papa!" Meliaya turned to her parents, who kindly smiled in unison at the sight of their beloved daughter in a way that seemed... practiced. Like a choreography. Meliaya proceeded. "I've been making a lot of friends at the Student Council! Miss Yae, Miss Madoka, Miss Kao-Kao... They're all so nice!"

Their looks changed. Something went sour in their eyes, no matter how much they tried to hide it. Like a mix of embarrassment and rejection.

"That's... Great, sweetie!" Meliaya's father forced a toothy grin that stuck Meliaya as odd. Her mother, too, showed a similar kind of awkward acceptance. The father attempted to change course. "How's the omurice, by the way?"

Meliaya went on with her spiel about her friends, arriving at a certain proposition. "I wanna bring them all here one of these days! We could have a big snack party together! Wouldn't that be great?"

Meliaya's mother, father, sister and brother looked as if they had seen a ghost. Their hearts sunk, and soon enough, Meliaya's heart sank too, noticing the sudden strike of silence over the previously joyful atmosphere. Yaya looked at each of her relative's faces, wondering what could've possibly gone wrong.

"D-Did I say something bad...?"

"Dear..." Meliaya's mother spoke, with a gravely, low tone that indicated a mix of depression and rage, as if she had just been utterly rejected. "Do you not love us anymore?"

"W-What...?" Meliaya shook her head, shocked at her mother's question. "Of course not! I-I love you all a lot!"

"Then why do you think so much about your friends?" Her sister accused her with a blank, lifeless glare. "We're all you need, Meliaya."

Her brother reflected the same cold, dead eyes. "Big sis... Are you gonna leave me all alone?"

Mama and Papa grew increasingly frustrated, raising their voices as Meliaya cowered in her seat.

"Never speak of your friends again! You're all we have! We NEED you, Meliaya!"

"We are nothing without you! We're all you need -- Please! Stay with us!"

"I-- I-- Mama... Papa... Big sis... Little bro..."

Meliaya didn't know what to do. She shivered in her seat, her mind racing. Why would her family have this kind of reaction to her bringing up her friends? She remembered her days with her family, even from her infancy. Swinging with her sister at the park, playing hopscotch with her little bro, watching American movies with Mama and Papa... She stared at her sister, the pleading mess she was, as her whole family was, and tried to think of everything she knew about her. Something immediately stuck out.

She couldn't remember her sister's name.

Meliaya stood up from her seat in a cold sweat, as she realised she couldn't remember her brother's name either. Her eyes darted around the room in a panic as she started losing sight of who the people around her were. Papa and Mama's faces became blurry and unrecognizable, and her sister and brother soon became entirely faceless, startling Meliaya, who ran to a corner of the kitchen, cowering in fear from the horrific sight in front of her -- as well as the dreadful realization that, whoever these people were, they were not her family.

"Don't leave us... DON'T LEAVE US!!!"*

Meliaya's entire "family" began shouting in unison, their voices transforming into guttural growls as they all melted into black paste and conjoined into a single mass of eyes, teeth and arms. The mass leapt onto the table and then lunged at Meliaya, who managed to slip away under the table with her small size. She darted, hyperventilating, as she made a dash for the front door. Meliaya turned the knob and pulled as hard as she could, but to no avail. The door was locked shut, and the creature was not far behind.

All hope seemed lost. Meliaya screamed, still fighting back fate as the black, gooey creature caught up to her and pinned her to the ground, ready to suffocate her in its black ichor as it salivated, her "family"'s distored voices echoing out of the creature's toothy maw.

"We're all... One... Big... Family..."

"MAXIMUM EFFORT!"

Before the horrifying black mass could finish the job, it was struck in its side by the sudden appearance of a masked, bony hero. Memories rushed back to Meliaya as she got her bearings back and addressed her rescuer.

"S-SHU!!!" Meliaya was in disbelief. "What's happening?! What is all this?" It was only then that Meliaya realized that she was currently powerless, not having felt the presence of her Idolon in quite a long time.

Geistzer, Shu's Idolon Incarnation, replied with confidence, but he was ready to retaliate at any moment. "This isn't the real world, Yaya! It's an illusion... A lie, created by Kagayaki!"

"What do we do? I... I can't use my Idolon! How do we fight it?"

"Only you can! I can tell what kind of illusion this is..." Geistzer gave Meliaya a look of complete trust. "You can break this world, if you can point out the truth!"

"But how do I do that if I can't -- WATCH OUT!!"

Geistzer was suddenly attacked by the creature, which lunged at him with a myriad arms. Geistzer fought back, delivering a series of well-placed strikes and slashes with his bone claws, but the creature began to grow in size. It would engulf the whole indoor space at such a rate. Geistzer was pinned to a wall, unable to retaliate as Meliaya was left standing defenseless against the growing mass of arms, which now crept closer to her once again.

"Y-Yaya...!" Geistzer cried out. "The truth! You have to speak the TRUUUUTH!!"

Meliaya thought to herself, what could Shu possibly mean? The fear wasn't letting her think clearly. But it was a matter of time before the monster got to her and ended it all -- It was all or nothing! Meliaya stopped thinking, and listened to her heart.

Those memories... They weren't real. As she remembered what the real world was like, she envisioned that very same apartment, with the lights off. Nobody home. Her real life was lonely. But that didn't mean there weren't rays of sunshine here and there. People she could truly rely on. People who truly loved her, like a family.

Meliaya was never lacking in family. If her parents wouldn't be there for her... Her friends always were. The Student Council, Alyona, Itsuki. She saw all those faces surrounding her, giving her strength. The strength to speak truth to power.

"You... YOU'RE NOT MY FAMILY!!! MY FRIENDS ARE MY FAMILY!!!"

The creature cried out in wails of agony as it began to bubble up, evaporating and sizzling into black smoke that engulfed the whole room, creating an overwhelming darkness. As the smoke cleared, Meliaya stood next to, not Geistzer, but Shu, inside an illusion of her true apartment. Lights out. Nobody home. But Shu was there. Smiling.

"I'm proud of you, Yaya. You did really well."

"Shu..."

Meliaya started to sob, incapable of holding back her tears any longer. Shu hugged her tightly, letting her cry her heart out as much as she needed. The room fell silent, with only Meliaya's soft crying audible.

"It was... It was really scary, Shu..."

"You're never alone, Yaya. You have all of us. We're here for you."

Meliaya's tears shifted from those of sorrow and grief, to tears of joy. She was being embraced by her family. That was all she wanted.

The apartment around Shu and Meliaya crumbled into shards of glass around them, exploding into a flash of light. They soon found themselves back inside the red mist, as Geistzer, and Amelia Steamheart.

"What now?" Amelia asked, her cybernetic mind already taking note of everything that had transpired, and activating protocols to prepare for the fight ahead.

"We look for the others," Geister proclaimed. "I have a feeling that the rest won't struggle with their visions too much, if you and I had that kind of spell placed on us... I'm sure that after all of us have vanquished the visions, Kagayaki will face us again. But we can help them!"

"Then let's waste no time!" Amelia Steamheart flew deeper into the red mists, looking for anyone who was still trapped in their illusions... Before realizing she didn't quite know where to go. Geistzer, however, kept dashing, without a care in the world for his sense of direction.

Amelia tilted her head with curiosity. "How do you know where we're going?"

"With my luck, we're bound to find someone!" Geistzer admitted confidently. "Just follow me!"


Feel the terror draw at you nearer
The more you stare in the mirror
But hold your own
Face the wind alone

Nadeko stood triumphantly over a defeated Kaoru, who struggled to get back up. But every time she attempted to recover, her former friend kicked her down once again with overwhelming force. It wasn't that she was strong -- Rather, each of her blows generated massive heartache in Kaoru, exacerbating her feelings of guilt and regret.

"Your friends aren't coming," the illusory friend mocked. "Do you even trust that they will? They could've perfectly just left you all alone here. You have no reason to trust them, but you can trust me!"

Kaoru coughed up some blood as she groveled on the concrete. "...H-how could... How can I trust you now...? After what happened...?"

"Because you already did once, silly! Don't you want a friend? It's such a lonely experience to look down on everyone upon you, just because you think they might hurt you in the future. That's no way to live!"

"But you..." She coughed some more. "You already hurt me. Your parents did..."

"Then that means you know what to expect from me." Nadeko shook her head, kneeling confidently as she looked down at Kaoru, peering into her own gaze at eye level. "There's a comfort in that, isn't there? You're scared of the others, because you don't know if they'll hurt you or not. But with me? You already know."

Kaoru felt disgusted at herself. All the times she had worked together with the Student Council, she had stayed so adamant in her doubts about them. But it was so easy to just... Let her gut control her thinking, and let her pain speak for her. What happened to her years ago was still puppeteering Kaoru, and she let it happen, because it was easy. Kaoru fought to stand back up, but she couldn't hear Blakeney's voice supporting her. She couldn't see the others, coming to help. She lay on the concrete, ashamed and defeated, as she watched Nadeko prounce around and mock her for her weakness.

"Let's play, shall we? If your friends don't come... And you can't fight me on your own..."

"...your soul will be mine."

Kaoru went wide-eyed. She couldn't move, even as she watched the vision of Nadeko distort into that of Kagayaki, looming over her. The beast sneered, and then cackled, taking pleasure in the sight of the defeated Scarlet Senshi.

"As the servant of a Shinigami, I am one of the lieutenants that manages the great Nurarihyon's curse. The Death Marks. I am only a middle-level servant, and quite low on the hierarchy... But I am powerful, nonetheless. And that priestess was lucky the first time. You can't put down Kagayaki for long... You can only delay the inevitable, but never avoid it."

"W-What... What do you want from us? Why are you doing this?"

The creature's eyes narrowed in satisfaction. "Good question. In order for you pitiful humans to give in to the Death Marks, you must take comfort in death. I, Kagayaki, am the radiance that is found in death. I am empowered by all those that wish to die -- Taking the easy way out, finding simple comforts and not fighting back against the inevitability of returning to dust. I am willing to grant you mortals those simple comforts, a pleasant, painless life... All so that you'll give in, and let me claim your soul at last."

"You... You're a monster--" Kaoru fought to stand back up. She attempted to raise her body, but her wounds and her clouded mind forced her back to the floor, almost as she was pushed down by heightened gravity. "I'll never give in. You'll never have my soul."

Kagayaki cackled once again, as his enormous form twisted and melted back into that of Nadeko, grinning with merciful, kind eyes. She offered Kaoru a hand.

"Are you sure? It's as easy as taking my hand."


Reel on, love, toughen your scars
Year by year, we're falling like stars
'Till there comes a day
When we sell our souls away

Ai had lost her form as Shiai. She strolled through the red mists, finding no sight of the others, or of the enemy. She wondered, for a moment, if being so close to Shu earlier had made her start daydreaming more vividly than usual... But she stopped herself, when she recognized a silhouette in the crimson dust.

Shu walked out of the vermillion clouds, with a kind of swagger that Ai had never seen in him before. Something felt off -- Her heart rate didn't go up as fast as it normally does when she sees Shu. Her beloved stopped right in front of her, with half-closed eyes and an award-winning smile that would've stolen any girl's heart. As he did, the red mists transformed into a field of beautiful sakura blossoms, creating an amazing romantic atmosphere that still didn't impress Ai in the slightest.

"Hey, girl," Shu spoke with a tone Ai had never heard come out of his mouth before. A tone that part of her truly wished to hear from him, but nonetheless, there was an unnatural feeling about the encounter.

Ai gave no reply. She just... Watched. She waited, wondering what Shu would do next. He went on with his flirty advances. "I know you've been stalking me. I'm into that -- Stalker chicks are hot. I want you, Ai. I want you right now."

Ai should've melted at the sound of those words... But she didn't. They seemed fake, hollow. She stood still, motionless, without feeling. Shu placed one of his hands on Ai's cheek, sliding it down her chin, then her neck, then her shoulder. Then... A little lower.

The touch was repulsive to Ai. Like a trillion spiders crawling all over her body. She wanted to puke, she wanted to scream, but most of all... She wanted to explode.

"Why don't you show me what those huge ones can d--"

This was not Shu.

Ai instantly reverted into Shiai with a burst of otherworldly energy and stabbed the fake Shu with her enormous scissors, skewering him on the ground. She unsheathed the blades and repeated the process exactly 47 times, without a hint of joy, rage, or even life in her eyes. That thing that was once comparable to Shu was now a paste of black ink and goo that bubbled on the ground and evaporated, as the environment burst into shards of glass and light around Ai, before returning her to the red mists.

"How dare you try to supplant him?" Ai spoke coldly as she stared at the red, shifting skies, swarmed by Lesser Ideas. "I will find you. And I will kill you."


For a certain flower enthusiast, the vision in question was instead a re-run of a past memory. In the moment, he was entirely unaware of the nature of his predicament, however.

Takaishi found himself in front of the Yakuza compound. Shu was there, egging him on, as they progressed through their nonsensical rescue mission. But strangely enough, Takaishi felt like he had seen it all before... A feeling of deja vu took over him as he went through motions that, despite all rationale, felt practiced. He felt no shock when Shu lucked his way inside the building, with a gun in hand. He felt numb when the yakuza surrounded him and Shu. And, as Shu took the knife, just as he was going to slice his own finger off...

Time stopped. Takaishi didn't feel the strength to get his body to do anything. He stood helpessly, as Shu was about to bite the bullet for him. But something eventually snapped. The thoughts of pain, of danger, were still present... But the will to act, for once in his life, flared inside him like a raging inferno. Takaishi took a step forward, his body stiff, struggling to move at all, but he somehow managed. He was mad. Mad at the yakuza for doing this to him and his cousin. But most of all, mad at himself. For not doing something about it.

"Hm?" Shu looked over to Takaishi, becoming unfrozen. The world stood still, just for the two of them. Shu smiled coyly, wondering what Takaishi wanted. Takaishi's look was stern and determined.

"Give me the knife, Shu. I'm gonna do it."

"Pfft -- What?" Shu seemed like he was about to laugh his ass off. "No way, dude. Just let me do this for you."

Takaishi's frustration grew. "I mean it, Shu. Give me the knife. I'm going to cut my finger off."

Shu glared at the gentle giant. "You don't have the balls." That wasn't something Shu would say.

"What if I do? What if I want to put myself to that test, right here, right now?"

Before Takaishi could indeed take that test, Shu sucker-punched him, dropping Takaishi to the floor with one well-placed left hook to the jaw. Takaishi couldn't believe it -- That couldn't possibly be Shu. He got back up, not quite knowing how to react. There was a primordial fear that compelled him to just turn tail... But he had grown past that stage. Acknowledging the fear was one step on the path to action.

Memories of the actual event rushed back to Takaishi. He remembered when Shu cut off his finger, in his place. He remembered everything that happened after, as well: his run-in with Kohaku and Scarlet Senshi... Takaishi's motivation for joining this particular battle in the first place. Now, he knew what he was up against. Takaishi tried to summon his Idolon, but much to his shock, it didn't come to his aid. The fake Shu laughed in a sinister way, burning up into black ashes and transforming into the twisted, spindly titan form of Kagayaki.

"Foolish child. When I created illusions for all of you, I saw into your souls, and selectively withheld your powers and memories to make you all fall into your preferred lives. But for you... Why bother?"

"W-What do you mean?!" Takaishi demanded, attempting to sound infuriated, but rather, seeming far more intimidated than he actually was.

"The deal with you, Takaishi, is that no matter how much you know, or how much you can do... You'll never take the chance to do anything. Your muscle is wasted on you, your powers are wasted on you... You're a fraud. Why don't you just give up, and let the others take over for you? It'll be far easier, a painless fate."

Takaishi balled up his fist, trembling, as he stared at the giant that looked down on him. This thing... This bastard... Was underestimating him. His powers had been taken away, and he didn't understand how exactly -- But an overwhelming desire to just pummel this asshole overtook Takaishi, even helping him consciously ignore the clear disadvantage he was in.

"Oh yeah? What if I prove you wrong?"

"Please... There's no way that could happen. You can fight with your Idolon, but now? You couldn't hurt a fl--"

Takaishi hesitated, looking at Kagayaki, then at his own fist... He remembered Scarlet Senshi's words of encouragement. He accepted his fear, and decided to act regardless. Before Kagayaki could finish the word "fly", Takaishi struck Kagayaki's leg with his right fist as hard as he could. The Shinigami servant couldn't feel it at all, and Takaishi quickly held his fist from the pain of hitting what was the equivalent of a brick wall head-on, but the moment caught Kagayaki's attention.

"Oh? Well done, Takaishi... But not nearly good enough!" Kagayaki brought one of his enormous hands down, swiping at the floor and throwing Takaishi against a wall. Takaishi struggled to recompose himself, as Kagayaki took control of the situation once again.

"I think you'll listen to your friends, if you won't listen to me. Why don't we let them talk?"

Takaishi watched in horror as spectral copies of Shu, Yae, Madoka, Meliaya, Ran, Momofuku, Scarlet Senshi, and Ai appeared, surrounding him in a circle of judging looks and unappreciative glances, repeating the same mantras over and over.

"You're just getting in the way."

"Why don't you let us handle this?"

"Everything will be fine without you."

"You wouldn't have the guts to do what we do."

Scarlet Senshi's comment was particularly scathing. "I would never like a coward like you."

The voices came together, in a chorus, or rather, a cacophony of discouraging resentment, striking Takaishi from every corner as the towering Kagayaki watched with great amusement.

"JUST GIVE UP!!"

"N-No!!" Takaishi struggled to stand back up, holding his shoulder in great pain. He didn't know what else he could do... Regardless of whether it was fighting Kagayaki with his bare hands, or accomplishing his goal, he wanted to prove his budding bravery wouldn't be just that -- A budding flower. He was ready to make it blossom. But with his injuries, it seemed bleak. The shadow clones of his friends circled Takaishi, preparing to go in for the kill...

...Before a salvo of missiles shot them all into clouds of black smoke!

Geistzer and Amelia Steamheart flew in, ready to save the day, much to Takaishi's relief. He still didn't have access to his Idolon, but he managed to get back on his own two feet to meet the others.

"Shu! Meliaya!" The two interlopers arrived, landing beside Takaishi as the three of them stared Kagayaki down. The Shinigami thrall groaned in exasperation at the increasing resistance he was facing.

"Really?! I'm making this so easy for you all! You had your family, Meliaya! And you, Shu! You had a world truly at peace! Why won't you just take the plate that's right in front of you?!"

"Pshh, why would I want that?" Geistzer shrugged, acknowledging a vision that neither Amelia nor Takaishi had been privy to -- In fact, no one else had been privy to it, much like Yae's. "I want to be the hero everyone needs -- Why would I want a world that doesn't need heroes? If people want to be bad, so be it! I'll be there to stop them, just like we're here to stop you!"

Kagayaki cackled, as he transformed back into his facsimile of Shu. "Do you ever listen to yourself? You hero types are such masochists. You should have a taste of your own medicine!"

Geistzer and the fake Shu began having a heated martial arts battle. They were equally matched, as Kagayaki used his shapeshifting prowess to mimic Geistzer's moves and counter-attack just at the right times. But the real Shu wouldn't be outclassed. For every well-placed blow from Kagayaki, Geistzer delivered a mighty bone slice. It was a magnificent trade of blows and heroic maneuvers.

"Takaishi!" Amelia Steamheart called out to a still disoriented Takaishi. "Only you can break this illusion! Do you... Know what you have to do?"

Takaishi took a moment to think about it. "Yeah... Did Shu tell you about the time we chased the yakuza?"

"I think so... Oh wait, Shu peed himself! I remembered!"

Takaishi grimaced at the thought of the memory, and swiftly changed the subject. "I... I think I have to cut my finger this time."

There was pure horror in Amelia's eyes. "What?! Why?!"

"I've been letting people fight for me too many times... I'm still really, really scared. But.... I have to do it this time. Someone's gotta do it."

The room began to fill with black, gooey liquid, as shadowy clones of Meliaya began to sprout from the floor, forming a zombie-like horde that threatened to surround Amelia and Takaishi. They looked at each other, knowing what to do.

"I'll keep 'em busy! You go do... Whatever you have to do!"

Takaishi nodded, making a mad dash for the pedestal. He picked up the knife, which Kagayaki had dropped when he squared up with Shu, and began approaching the wooden box. He was attacked by a stray Meliaya zombie, and even when he was jumspscared half to death, his fight-or-flight instinct chose fight, and he stabbed the Meliaya look-a-like in the neck, causing it to melt with a horrific wail. The sight was gruesome, especially considered that the clones looked almost the exact same as his fellow Higan student.

"S-Sorry about that, Meliaya!"

Geistzer and the fake Shu were still locked in a fierce battle where neither gave an inch. Geistzer performed acrobatic maneuvers, slicing and dicing at Kagayaki with maximum effort, while Kagayaki ducked and weaved, with mighty blows placed right at the perfect times, in the perfect places. Kagayaki was the more cerebral of the two.

But Geistzer was just more Shu.

With one arm swipe, Shu forced Kagayaki to dodge to the side, which... With his tremendous luck, forced the mighty foe to stumble, creating the perfect opportunity for a wide solar plexus strike that took the wind out of the Shinigami servant's sails!

"TAKAISHIII!" Geister cried out. "Whatever you're gonna do, do it NOW!!"

Takaishi looked at his hand, and then, the knife. He was shivering. Thinking about it was easy, but actually doing it... How could he? It was so hard, now that he was in the correct position to go through with it. He took it slow, placing his hand in the right spot, and keeping his eyes on his pinky finger... No, the knife. No, the floor... No, the Yaya zombies! No, Shu and the fake Shu duking it out!

Kagayaki swiftly recovered, vanishing before Geistzer's eyes and delivering a sneaky strike to the back. Geistzer fell to one knee, momentarily stunned.

"DO IT NOW!!"

Takaishi remembered Scarlet Senshi's Idolon's words once again...

Let the lightning strike. Let the flash of it shock you.

Choke your fears away. Pull as tight as a wire.

Let the fever spike. Let the force of it rock you.

We will have our day, sailing into the fire!

He was scared. But that was okay. That didn't mean he couldn't do it. That didn't mean he SHOULDN'T do it. Whether you're afraid or not, that doesn't matter -- Sometimes, you have to do what you have to do.

"This is gonna hurt like hell..." Takaishi took a big gulp of air, and closed his eyes, shivering, his hand struggling to stay still as he slowly raised his other arm, winding up for the chop. Before he could change his mind...

"HAAAAAAA!!!"

He let it go down.

The screams of pain and agony coming from Takaishi's throat were deafening, engulfing the whole room, as his now severed finger sprayed blood at an incredible rate, staining everything on him. His heart rate shot up. He was hyperventilating. Before he could realize, everyone but him, Shu and Meliaya disappeared, time had returned to its course, and the yakuza from before stared at him in shock. Shock... And admiration.

"...Your debt is paid," the boss proclaimed. "You have shown your worth."

The world around Takaishi, Shu and Meliaya, much like all the others, shattered into a trillion pieces, and once again, they were all back in the red mists. Takaishi took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn't have his finger still severed... He opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that his hand was, once again, complete.

"Oh thank the heavens," he said in a cold sweat. Geistzer patted him on the back proudly.

"I knew you had it in you! Hell, you even pissed your pants, just like me!"

"I-I did what now--?!"

Takaishi looked down, and realized that he, indeed, had soiled his pants. He groaned in exasperation. "Ugh. Why couldn't that have been part of the illusion, too...?"

"I... I think you did it right after we came out of the illusion," Amelia reasoned. "It's, uh, a shame..."

Geistzer shook his devilish head. "Doesn't matter. That just goes to show, you can do what's right, even when you're scared! Remember what I told you, Takaishi? You're braver than you think you are."

"I... I don't know. I just... I was tired of being rescued. I should've been the one to cut my own finger off when it happened for real, not you."

"Hey man, someone had to do it. Next time, I'm sure you'll have your hero moment."

Takaishi felt his Idolon returning to him, as Nameless manifested, coiling its arms around and restoring some of Takaishi's vigor. He stared at it... This thing he never wanted. This fate he was just... Thrust into. Maybe he was meant to be here, after all...

"Anyway!" Geistzer resumed. "C'mon guys, we gotta go get the others! There's plenty of fighting we still gotta take care of!"

"Yes, Shu!" Amelia Steamheart suddenly lifted Takaishi into the air, much to his surprise, as she boosted her thrusters to max power to keep up with Geistzer's speed. "I hope you're not afraid of heights too?"

"I..." Takaishi was certainly started, but the worst had already passed for him. "...I think Shu would say you can only piss your pants once."

"Yeah, I would say that."


Can I run to you?
Are you true to me?
I'll do onto you
As you do to me
And we slowly learn
Someone has to burn
Better you than me

"Your friends didn't come," Nadeko said, looking down on Kaoru as she still resisted her grim fate. "It's so damn easy, Kaoru... Just take my hand. The pain will stop. You just need me! Your old friend, Nadeko!"

In a quick flash of black flames, Nadeko shifted back into Kagayaki, just to rub salt in the wound.

"...Maybe, you'll see your parents in the afterlife too."

That kind of mockery ignited a spark in the exhausted, defeated Kaoru, who pushed herself up ever so slightly with a hardy groan before smacking Nadeko's hand away, much to her dismay. Kaoru's scarlet irises irradiated an inferno of rage that her body couldn't quite match just yet. The Nadeko she was staring at was a fake -- Kaoru saw this grown-up facsimile of her so-called "friend" for what it truly was. A costume, a second skin that Kagayaki draped over himself to manipulate her.

"This is between you and me. You don't know my parents. Keep them out of your mouth."

"Fine! Have it your way," Nadeko replied, waving her hand away. "I can wait a little longer... Before I run out of patience and decide to start doing this the hard way."

Kagayaki was, indeed, running out of patience. All the other combatants had either shattered their illusions with relative ease, or escaped them with each other's help. Kaoru was the only one he still held power over -- If he could devour just one soul, perhaps he could salvage the situation.

But that spark of defiance was enough to give Kaoru one single boon... An electric shock ran through her whole body. She knew what this was -- Her danger sense. But Kagayaki was right in front of her...

They had come after all.

Unbeknownst to Kagayaki, Kaoru's danger sense warned her of the others' arrival ahead of time, giving her the strength of heart to push herself over the edge, standing back up with hips squared and firm feet as she put her helmet back on -- Of course, her danger sense had only activated to warn her due to the fact that she was unmasked. But that was all she needed.

"What...? What are you standing up for? Are you finally ready to fight?" The false Nadeko tilted her head with curiosity, then confusion, and finally exasperarion.

"No... No, it can't be..."

Geistzer's voice cried out.

"SCARLET SENSHIII!!!"

Parting the mists, a whole platoon arrived on the scene! Geistzer, the luckiest underworld superhero, Amelia Steamheart, the weapons-grade supercomputer, Twinned Wrath, the dual bruister, Laplace, the ice cold commander, Kukurihime, the priestess that once banished Kagayaki himself, Momofuku, leader of the Fujiwara Senki, Shiai, the scorned lover, and Takaishi and Nameless!

Both parties met up at opposite sides of the field.

"So THAT'S where you all were!" Twinned Wrath pointed out, clearly frustrated with the opposite group.

"We've done as much work as you've probably done..." Takaishi humbly admitted. "Can we... Leave all of the talk for later? We got something going on."

"I agree!" Momofuku interjected. "We gotta help Shujinko's... Okay, I guess she's not his little sister. Maybe a cousin?"

The eight combatants watched the scene from afar as Scarlet Senshi, who sporadically looked back to them, stared down some kind of intimidating girl that seemed to have an emotional stranglehold of some kind over her. They couldn't quite hear their exchange, either.

Geistzer expressed his frustration. "Tch... How are we gonna figure out how to solve this one?"

"We still have no idea who she is... If Scarlet Senshi has a similar vision to what we had, we'd have to get some idea of her background to help -- But right now, we're entirely blank!" Kukurihime lamented, shaking her head. This struck a chord with Laplace, who began thinking deeply -- yet at a lightning speed.

"Huh? Did you get something?" Inquired Amelia, as mentally acute as ever.

"...Not exactly, Kukurihime."

"Huh? Do you know who Scarlet Senshi is?"

It took Laplace one second and a half to answer. One second and a half too many.

"We can just use simple phrases. Most traumatic events have similar effects on people. Guilt, grief, aversions, phobias... If what's been happening to us is any indication, even something as simple as that might cause her to do the rest."

Shiai stood painfully silent as this whole exchange was going on. Even if she did know who Scarlet Senshi was, and she had an idea of who the other girl could be, she would most likely be no good to Kaoru's situation in her current bloodthirsty state. She reigned in her instincts as hard as she could for the duration of the exchange.

"Sounds like a great plan!" Geistzer stepped forth, showing initiative. "HEY, SCARLET SENSHIII!"

Scarlet Senshi was staring down the fake Nadeko, who desperately tried to get any kind of foothold over Kaoru once again.

"You don't need them... You don't know what they're gonna do! Who knows! Maybe I sent them to kill you, for all you care!"

Scarlet Senshi didn't pay attention to Kagayaki as Geistzer called out to her.

"Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault!"

Under the motorcycle helmet, Kaoru went wide-eyed. Shu didn't even know what she had gone through, what she was going through right now, yet he showed that much kindness in the moment? Kaoru didn't quite believe his words, for it was such a deep sentiment... But some other gears started shifting inside her heart.

"Don't listen to him! Are you really gonna roll the dice? Are you really gonna start trusting these people right now?!"

Kaoru took a deep breath as she took on a fighting stance. She was far, far from done. Much to the fake Nadeko's dismay, Kaoru was starting to get her second wind.

"...this time? Yes."

"Now THAT'S what I like to hear!"

Scarlet Senshi was engulfed in a tornado of multicoloured petals as Blakeney's connection returned to her, reinvigorating the heroine and restoring her powers. The metal pipe was summoned to her hand, as the others watched in awe.

"Alright, Scarlet Senshi!" Twinned Wrath cheered, followed by a clapping Amelia. Geistzer never doubted a true ally of justice for a second. He motioned for the rest to follow him, and soon enough, all eight fighters dtared at the distorted figure of Nadeko, which began to bubble up and evaporate.

"You... Y-You..." The fake Nadeko lamented, as she began to disappear. "You're killing... Your only friend..."

The others shared looks of confusion as Scarlet Senshi remained stalwart, trusting that the rest wouldn't believe Kagayaki's crocodile tears. Soon enough, Nadeko had melted into a pile of black goo, and the space around them burst into shards of glass that brought everyone inside it back to the Flooding Zone, in the same battlefield where it all began. Now, they all looked up at the towering beast, Kagayaki, whose delusions of grandeur and collected demeanour had gradually faded, leaving only a half-hearted husk that was about to throw a tantrum. He grew even larger, reaching a height of 20 meters as he growled with frankly childish rage.

"Foolish... FOOLISH!!! You humans will ALWAYS be foolish!! I have granted you EVERY possible chance at happiness. I have offered you the warmth of a family! Connections! Power! Second chances! Eternal peace and rest! And every time, you have bitten the hand that feeds you! Do you all yearn for suffering THAT much?! Life IS suffering! Why don't you all just... Let yourselves rest?! Let me do my job for you, and welcome the sweet embrace of death for once!"

"That's where you're wrong, Kagayaki..." Geistzer spoke up, taking the side of Scarlet Senshi as he placed a hand on her shoulder as a gesture of support. "Nobody here seeks conflict. But that's what drives life... It's ephemeral, often unpleasant, too. But through it all, we have each other..."

"...and those who seek to sow injustice will only reap the retribution of the righteous!"

Geistzer and Scarlet Senshi shared a dual pose that was far too perfect to not have been choreographed. They spoke in unison, as if they had practiced a tag-team wrestling promo.

"The allies of justice will make sure tyrants like you never rise again!"

"U-Uh... What they said!" Amelia joined in the sentiment, wanting to be part of the fun. She got a few looks from the rest. Kagayaki, however, began losing it. The being's butterfly wings began to burst into flames, as his whole body started sprouting smoke all over. He was coming undone... But a caged animal is often most dangerous.

"Fine! Have it your way! You want to fight?! You sure love your struggles, humans! I don't need you to give me your souls willingly... I am more than enough to drain the lives from all of you, and fuel Nurarihyon-sama's ambitions with your spirits!"


No minions. No opposing army. The Student Council and company faced Kagayaki, all by himself.

The battle began, as the Higan fighters approached the now titanic Kagayaki like an army storming an enemy beach. They ran wildly, without much of a formation, as the enraged Shinigami thrall lumbered his way towards them, burning up with rage with every step. Kagayaki wound up a fist and smashed into the ground, creating a shockwave that split the frontline combatants -- Geistzer, Twinned Wrath, Scarlet Senshi and Momofuku. The latter took initiative, as she began running up Kagayaki's enormous arm, not unlike the Bigger Idea she battled earlier with Kukurihime. It was a steep advance, but she kept her strength up, and almost reached the elbow before Kagayaki noticed the diminutive human running up his arm.

"Stop it!" Kagayaki smacked his arm with his other hand, almost crushing Momofuku and forcing her to
fall off to what would've been a considerable height, before Amelia Steamheart came to the rescue! She took Momofuku higher, now soaring over the battlefield as Kagayaki took on the remaining fighters.

"Thanks, Meliaya!" Momofuku acknowledged Amelia's true identity for the save. "I need to get in closer! What's goin' on down there?"

Much like a video game boss, Geistzer and Scarlet Senshi were targeting Kagayaki's legs in coordination, with chained slashes and lacerations from Geistzer's bone blades and Scarlet Senshi's thorned metal pipe. The damage was minimal, but enough to be a nuisance, as Kagayaki started to stumble. Twinned Wrath tanked an incoming desperation blow for them, being flung into a high-rise window as a consequence. As his mangled body began to reform, he grinned, jumping back into the fray to strike Kagayaki in the chest, draining his own spiritual essence and healing his body even further.

The back line caught wind of the progress that had already been made and moved in to capitalize.

"Keep your fire on Kagayaki's head!" Laplace instructed, as both her and Kukurihime fired energy blasts at Kagayaki from afar. "If those antennae aren't just for show, they could be critical weak points!"

At Kagayaki's back, half of the back line had broken formation to keep the foe at his wits' end. Shiai slashed away with her giant scissors, and Takaishi played the game of death by a thousand blows as Nameless performed its own "ora ora" barrage on Kagayaki's hamstrings.

"This is as high as we can go, Miss Momo!" Amelia Steamheart watched on the battlefield from up high, calculating the best trajectory to perform the following strategy with Momofuku. It was Momo's idea, but no one other than Meliaya/Amelia could've made it work.

Momofuku took a deep breath, steeling
herself for what was to come. "You can drop me off! I got this!"

"A-Are you sure?!" Amelia feared what Momofuku was about to do. Momo's confidence, however, was undeniable. All she had to do was nod.

"Alright, here goes..."

Much like a nuclear warhead, Amelia dropped Momofuku from the height of a skyscraper towards Kagayaki. She plummeted to the ground at terminal velocity, with that same fiery look in her eyes, almost as if she wasn't risking grievous injuries or death from this stunt alone. Momofuku had an extended fist out, as if to punch the first thing she came in contact with.

"SIMPLY REEEED!!!"

Momofuku summoned her Idolon, who began falling beside her. They were sure to deliver a strike of titanic proportions, perhaps enough to fell even a titan like Kagayaki himself.

Down on the ground, Kagayaki swung his foot and performed a sweep, kicking Geistzer and Takaishi off of him and flinging them away. Scarlet Senshi managed to dodge thanks to her danger sense, and Twinned Wrath's empowered battle instincts allowed him to avoid the attack as well. Shiai, on the other hand, resorted to stabbing Kagayaki's other leg to stay on him -- It was a superficial sting, nothing more. But this kept Kagayaki distracted long enough for him not to notice the tiny girl meteor that was about to drop right on his head.

"Oh, for the love of..."

The massive explosion of spirit energy that Simply Red's colliding fist shot out created a shockwave that broke Momofuku's fall, allowing Amelia to swoop down and catch her once again, leaving Momofuku relatively unharmed as Simply Red slammed her oni fist into Kagayaki's head like a meteor. Kagayaki was rattled, wailing as he held the top of his head, struggling not to crumble from the mounting pressure.

Geistzer celebrated as he got out of the rubble after receiving a rattling blow. "Great work, Momo!"

"Way to go!" Twinned Wrath joined in on the celebration. So did Scarlet Senshi, despite not being visibly expressive due to her helmet.

"A master maneuver -- A work of true justice!"

"You know what's up!" Geistzer shared in the sentiment. Both sentai heroes nodded in recognition of the amazing stylings of Momofuku, in their own sentai way. "They should give that move a name!"

Momofuku and Amelia Steamheart floated back down, arriving at the back line. Momofuku didn't waste a second -- She was all business.

"What's the situation? Do we have another Negacion in the works?"

"I believe we must weaken Kagayaki more in order for it to work," Kukurihime lamented.

"We have suppressive fire over here," continued Laplace. "The front lines are stacked -- Can I ask you to support Ai and Takaishi at Kagayaki's 6?"

"Consider it done!" Momofuku darted towards the other end of the battlefield, without so much as a goodbye. Kukurihime seemed like she wanted to say something, but there was no time.

Kagayaki groaned, his body shaking and distorting as his frustration grew more and more with the mounting damage. His blue eyes flashed red as his butterfly wings ignited once more, hatred flashing in his gaze.

"You have rejected my kindness for the last time! Now, you'll take it by FORCE!!"

The massive, skeletal figure rose into the air as he started charging some kind of spirit energy sphere in his mouth, burning wings flapping wildly as the sphere grew and grew in size. Scarlet Senshi went wide-eyed as an electric shock ran through her once again, her body acting as a radar for where the danger would come next.

"Geistzer!" She demanded. "The left flank -- We must avoid it!"

Twinned Wrath corroborated the sentiment. "I... I have a bad feeling too! We gotta floor it!"

Geistzer looked all over the battlefield, noting their formations... And realized the back line was in the line of fire.

"NO!!!"

Kagayaki roared like the rolling thunder, spewing a massive beam of scathing spirit energy that swung in a wide arc. The front line combatants managed to dodge out of the way with ease, and the posterior flank had been neglected entirely. But the back line...

Laplace went wide-eyed, realizing they wouldn't have time. "It's coming straight at us!"

Kukurihime took a deep breath, and summoned two Shikigamis that pushed Laplace out of the way right in the nick of time as the beam's arc arrived at the back line, engulfing Kukurihime in overwhelmingly powerful spirit energy. As the smoke cleared, Madoka lay unconscious on the charred concrete, her Incarnation undone.

"MADOKAAA!!"

Laplace rushed over to her unconscious friend, checking her vital signs. She was clearly still alive, but out of action. Her mind raced, thinking of what to do without access to Negacion and other spells -- They had to finish this fight with brute force only.

"Tch -- Guys! Hold the fort! I'll handle this."

Geistzer was powerless as he watched Kukurihime take the attack. He was too far away to save her... Rage and anguish ran through his whole body as the hero rushed over to Laplace, before using his lay-on-hands healing to stabilize Madoka.

"How's she looking?" Laplace inquired.

"She'll make it," Geistzer confirmed, "But she's gonna be out for a while. I'll keep her safe, you should go help the front line!"

"I thought I was the commander here..."

"I'm serious!" Geistzer's eyes flashed with the fury of the underworld. "I let this happen. Now, help me fix it!"

Laplace wasn't sure what Geistzer meant by that, as she believed tactical mistakes should be blamed on her, but she did as her Student Council President demanded of her regardless. Geistzer looked upon the unconscious Madoka, resting peacefully in his arms as her burns slowly began to heal.

"...I'm sorry, Madoka", he lamented, as an unusual, sorrowful tint coloured his voice. "I should've been there to prevent this."

Kagayaki landed back down, slamming into the battlefield and sending the front liners into disarray once again with a powerful stomp. Tensions were high, as the team had just lost one of its two powerful mages. The Shinigami thrall took pleasure in the chaos he had created, taking in the delightful pandemonium that lay in his wake.

"You're all masochists after all! You invite pain and torture into your lives -- For WHAT?! It'll all end soon, anyway! Embrace your fate, and perhaps I'll let you go quietly into the night!"

"The allies of justice NEVER go down without a fight! Prepare yourself, villain!"

Scarlet Senshi replied in kind, rushing into Kagayaki's onyx-tinted ribcage with a powerful jump before disappearing in an explosion of rose petals, narrowly avoiding a swing of Kagayaki's enormous hand, before reappearing and giving him a swing of her own, shooting a sharp, white pain into the beast with her metal pipe!

Takaishi, Momofuku and Shiai witnessed the pulsing crack that Scarlet Senshi's blow had left on Kagayaki's spine. Shiai knew what this was -- A fracture.

"...There," Her gravely voice spoke. "Target it. Make it worse."

"You heard her, Kuroda!" Momofuku moved so fast that her body became invisible. Momo and Simply Red zipped through the air in almost invisible zigzag motions, looking for the right moment to attack.

Takaishi and Shiai advanced together, striking at Kagayaki's legs. On the front line, Laplace arrived, taking a quick glance of the situation and immediately tracing a plan.

"Scarlet Senshi!" She called to the heroine, who nodded in response. "Distract Kagayaki! Keep him moving forward!" She turned to Twinned Wrath. "Ran, you back her up! Tank hits, dish 'em back!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Twinned Wrath steeled himself, as Scarlet Senshi summoned her motorcycle and drove into Kagayaki's foot, swerving and striking it with her pipe before immediately turning and driving away from Kagayaki.

"Here!" She shouted, taunting the towering foe. "If you wish to snuff out justice, you'll have to catch up to me first."

Kagayaki took offence. For someone to just run away from the inevitable... The servant of a Shinigami knew this had to be a trap, but he bit the bait regardless.

"Death comes for you all, phony hero! Run all you like!"

Amelia Steamheart flew over the battlefield, blasting missiles and ammunition into Kagayaki's body, without much response. She poured more spirit power into her rounds, but as the enemy began a slow advance, she began to scout ahead, acting as a secondary airborne distraction for Kagayaki, who tried to swat her away like a fly.

The ground shook with every slamming impact of Kagayaki's skeletal feet. Twinned Wrath struck from the front, dealing good Life Steal damage, while Takaishi and Shiai chased the lumbering beast with low attacks from behind. Momofuku kept her momentum up, watching Scarlet Senshi's movements...

With her combat intuition, or perhaps her own penchant for flashy maneuvers, Scarlet Senshi had a feeling that someone else was preparing for a wild move. She slid into the concrete, dust piling up as her motorcycle slowed down, before jumping off in a high leap, brandishing her metal pipe for a frontal attack. Kagayaki prepared to snatch the soaring heroine, but when he swung wide with his open hands, he caught nothing.

Instead, Scarlet Senshi had once again vanished towards Kagayaki's back, landing a powerful kick right at the site of the previous fracture! The opportunity was too good to pass up.

"NOW!!"

Momofuku became tangible once again, slamming her boken into Kagayaki's back with all her accumulated momentum and combining it with an uppercut from Simply Red's mighty oni fists. The blow was tremendous, creating a deep crater that cracked Kagayaki's whole torso, spewing orange light from the inside. Kagayaki fell to one knee as the fracture began spitting black fire and smoke at an accelerated rate, while the Higan fighters surrounded him.

Geistzer was still tending to Madoka. Kagayaki found himself at the mercy of Scarlet Senshi, Momofuku, Twinned Wrath and Laplace from one side, and Takaishi and Shiai from the other, who were quickly joined by Amelia Steamheart, flying in for the assist, guns trained on the Shinigami thrall.

"You're done, you big meanie!" Amelia declared, with a defying, yet still somewhat childish tone.

"End of the line, freak," Laplace remarked, with icy cold indifference. "You can't take down all of us."

Kagayaki was running out of options. He had taken too many bad hits. His illusions had failed. And now, nine Idolon users had him dead to rights. Black ichor and smoke poured from his skeletal jaw as he tried to catch his breath, clearly having lost quite some steam from the start of the fight.

But a servant of a Shinigami never goes down that easily.

"You... You ingrates..." Kagayaki tried to get back on his feet, but his knees gave out. He raised an arm to the red skies in anger, gathering some kind of energy.

Twinned Wrath was the first to warn the rest. "He's gonna try something! Watch out!"

"I am Kagayaki... Servant to one of the Four Heavenly Kings... I am a warden of the Death Marks... Your contracts are in the PALM OF MY HAND!!!"

There was no attack to properly dodge. A flash of multicolour lights struck the entire Flooding Zone, and as soon as it began to fade, Geistzer, Scarlet Senshi and Takaishi fell to their knees first. Everyone in the Flooding Zone began feeling weaker and weaker by the second, as their souls began being drained of life essence. It was Kagayaki's last Hail Mary, one last trick to try and survive.

"I AM KAGAYAKI!!!" The monster exclaimed, as he towered over the rest, growing more powerful than ever thanks to his life drain technique. "I AM DEATH ITSELF!!! After I've killed all of you, I'll rise above my masters and take my place as the one true Shinigami! AHAHAHAHA!!"

Those with Death Marks were unable to move, being drained clean of their life force. Scarlet Senshi was on the floor once again, clawing her way towards Kagayaki, fighting with her whole being to do something before her body gave out... She watched as Geistzer was in a similar position to her, and so was Takaishi. The others were being drained as well, but they had a chance to fight back. Yet... How?

With one last push of her remaining strength, Kaoru crawled over to the person she first gave her trust to in the Idea World business. Ai, now transformed into Shiai, was overwhelmed by Kagayaki's power, and her rage grew more and more with every step she took... But her own power waned as well. Shiai felt the touch of Scarlet Senshi on her leg, and they were soon teleported in a whirlpool of petals, behind Kagayaki. Scarlet Senshi gave Shiai a look of determination, of true trust, as she passed out.

Shiai knew what she had to do.

"I must admit", Kagayaki proceeded with his monologue, truly believing his victory had already been achieved, "Nine mortal souls with Idolons in one day?! One hell of a power-up for me! Thanks, ingrates! Enjoy the depths of he--"

The draining streams came to an abrupt, screeching halt, as all the Higan fighters began to feel their energies swiftly returning to them. A deafening roar of true agony reverberated in a cacophonic echo of doom, as Shiai had managed to plunge her monstruous scissors deep inside Kagayaki's already grave fracture.

"GAAAAAH!!! N-No, please! PLEASE!!! I'll give you anything! Riches! Fame! Love! I-- WRAAAAAAAGGHHHH!!!"

At the mention of the word love, Shiai drove the scissors deeper into the wound, and as the others rose to their feet, Scarlet Senshi awoke to the sight of Shiai having fully impaled Kagayaki through the ribcage, destroying his entire torso, and opening the scissors more and more, truly tearing the beast apart as its own death throes began drawing near.

Geistzer recovered, ready to retaliate -- Before noticing Madoka had awakened too. Her eyes opened gently as the spectral hero held her in his arms.

"Shu..." She spoke, still noticeably weak. "I... I should help..."

"No!" Geistzer shook his head. "You take a rest. GUYS!!!" He darted into the fray one last time. "GIVE IT ALL YOU HAVE, RIGHT NOW! MAXIMUM EFFORT!!!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Twinned Wrath jumped high in the air, landing into Kagayaki's gaping hole with a stellar curb stomp as his beastly instincts began kicking in. Shiai growled, taking monstruous pleasure in widening the wound as deathly guts of black oil and smoke spilled out of Kagayaki like a dark fountain of despair. Takaishi climbed Kagayaki's legs and used Nameless to cling to the wound from the back, using his Idolon's myriad arms to keep the wound open and support Shiai with a steady grip that made Kagayaki's anguish all the worse. Momofuku pummeled the monster's ribs with an ORAORAORA barrage from Simply Red.

"Clear the wound! We're coming through!"

Led by Geistzer, Laplace was being carried by Amelia like a valkyrie riding into war, firing energy blasts and ammunition into the open tear as the rest leapt down from the dying Kagayaki, providing a red carpet for them to seal the deal. Scarlet Senshi joined the charge, her motorcycle roaring further as she and Geistzer shared one final look of approval.

"THIS IS THE FINAL STRIKE!!"

"Justice..."

Geistzer leapt up high, and so did Scarlet Senshi. They joined forces, crashing down into Kagayaki at full force with a dual dropkick.

"FINISH!!!"

Geistzer and Scarlet Senshi burnt through Kagayaki like a shooting star, coming out of the back side of the Shinigami thrall and landing on the concrete below with a perfectly positioned superhero landing. They posed one more time, without even facing their foe, and at last, Kagayaki's torn torso ripped in two, splitting his whole body in rips and tears, before exploding in a massive burst of black ichor and blinding lights.


Every Judas once loved a Jesus
But finally, treason will seize us
And only fools
Follow golden rules

The Flooding Zone began to fall apart, the red skies swirling into disarray and, much like the illusions that the Shinigami thrall had created, the whole realm crumbled into shards of glass. Each shard fell down as a rain of gentle light that faded, with sorrow and completeness, and the Flooding Zone was destroyed, leaving only a crumbling Bleeding Zone.

Kagayaki was no more.

Silence fell over the battlefield for a moment, as all the involved people took in the scene. The battle had ended. The Bleeding Zone would soon stabilize and disappear. Crisis averted. They could finally rest.

Someone had to break the tension.

"WOOHOOOO!!!" Geistzer's enthusiasm shot through the roof as he celebrated that electric finish. He turned to Scarlet Senshi, who was still standing beside him. "You were AWESOME!!!"

Twinned Wrath shared in the celebrating, as he nudged Takaishi on the arm in a bro moment. "It was tough, but we did it! You're really pulling your own lately, man!"

Takaishi scratched the back of his head in a humble gesture, unsure how to respond with anything other than a "thanks, I guess".

Kaoru was exhausted. She was spiraling. The situation had been very mentally taxing on her, unearthing trauma that, even with how often she revisited it in her mind, was far more unpleasant to experience as an emotional weapon from an Idea World opponent. Shu's admiration once again felt like stolen valour.

"Geistzer, we may be a good tag-team..." Scarlet Senshi humbly replied in her own, still quite pompous way, "But tonight, we were all heroes."

"Yeah, yeah! I'm not denying that. But you work so well with us..." Geistzer struggled to make a point, never having met this kind of hesitation from someone else before. "I just thought that, if we could work together more often..."

"Shu," Interrupted Laplace, "We should go. You did a good job healing her, but Madoka needs some first aid in the real world at least."

"O-Oh. Sure. Open the path for us, Scarlet Senshi!"

"Onward, Geistzer!"

With a swing of her metal pipe, Scarlet Senshi opened a Garganta, leading into the silent streets outside the deteriorating Bleeding Zone. Everyone started turning away, too exhausted to have idle chitchat. But some chitchat was inevitable, especially for the Student Council.

"Miss Scarlet Senshi," Amelia Steamheart said, "Thanks for helping us... Could you come see us sometime?"

"Yeah, we hoped you'd show up to the Council room today," Admitted Twinned Wrath. "We know you're in Higan, so what's keeping you?"

Shu's question was the most painful.

"Will we ever know your name?"

Dozens of daggers shot into Kaoru's heart -- most self-inflicted. The weight of her betrayal hit her like a sledgehammer as she started to notice just how much her colleagues truly wanted to collaborate with another righteous Idolon user. Beyond Shu's penchant for tokusatsu, or the convenience of one more number in a fight.

The Student Council and friends were true allies of justice. So what was keeping Kaoru?

"I..." Scarlet Senshi struggled to maintain her heroic tone of voice, lest she accidentally shift into Kaoru and be recognized. "The Scarlet Pimpernel is a watcher in the shadows. Wherever the righteous cry out for justice, Scarlet Senshi will be there." She reconsidered her words, attempting to show a little more warmth than usual, and audibly smiling.

"We will surely meet again, my fellow allies of justice! But I still have business in keeping innocents away from this Bleeding Zone. We will fight side by side, another time."

Frowns and puppy eyes were shared all around. Shu, Ran and Meliaya understood that Scarlet Senshi wanted to stay anonymous, but they had hope in their hearts that perhaps one day, they would meet once more, when the time was right.

Yae approached Shu, each still transformed, and whispered something in his ear. Something Scarlet Senshi didn't get to hear. An alarm went off in the back of her mind, immediately expecting that message to be an issue of some kind.

Each of the combatants began exiting the Bleeding Zone and reverting to their normal selves. Shu and Ran left first, the former carrying an injured Madoka in his arms. Momofuku rolled her eyes at the sentimentality before stepping through the Garganta. Takaishi looked at Scarlet Senshi, mesmerized, before Ran pulled him out of the portal from outside. They could be heard bantering and bickering like siblings after a little rough tumbling. Ai and Yae were the last to leave, with Yae showing Scarlet Senshi a rare smile before stepping out...

Now, only Yae remained, still as Laplace. Kaoru's danger sense shot through the roof as she realized that Yae was the only one that hadn't left yet. She almost got light-headed, as she turned to the commander.

"And you?" Inquired the heroine. "What purpose do you have here? You can leave the clean-up to me."

Yae shook her head with a coy smile. "I just... There was something I had to do. You can close the Garganta, I told the others I'd stay a little longer."

Kaoru was trapped. Step outside, and expose herself to the rest, possibly being discovered... Or face Yae, alone, with no way out. Once again, Yae was playing a game of chess with Kaoru that she just couldn't keep up with. Hiding her nerves as much as possible, Scarlet Senshi cut her losses and closed the Garganta for the time being after making sure the others were gone and on the way home.

Now, only Laplace and Scarlet Senshi remained in the Bleeding Zone as they stared each other down like a Mexican standoff. The tension could be cut with a knife, as they shared a minute long silence, simply standing in front of one another.

Something had to give. And something gave... Far more than Kaoru ever expected.

"...You can drop the act, Kaoru. I know that's you in there."

Kaoru's whole world came tumbling down.

She felt nauseous inside her helmet. Her heart sank, and for a moment, Kaoru forgot to even breathe as she trembled in a way she had never trembled before. A direct hit. But one that Kaoru, deep down, knew was coming. The girl that stared her down was Yae Zennami, the most brilliant mind she had ever known, and a far more apt detective than even herself. Yae was almost omniscient. If there was a secret in this world, Yae was going to know eventually. It was a matter of time. Now, all that was left was facing the music.

Kaoru turned her back to Yae, almost tripping thanks to her unsteady steps, and slowly, very slowly, pulled the motorcycle helmet off of her head, revealing her short blue hair, a striking contrast to her black and red costume. An expression of defeat and resignation revealed itself as Kaoru slowly turned her head to face Yae once again, tears already swelling under her intense red eyes.

"What... Gave me away?"

Yae noticed Kaoru's red eyes, unobsctructed by her fogged up glasses for once. The sight amused her.

"...Oh. Now that I didn't know," Yae pointed out. "So you're not actually short-sighted?"

Kaoru had a similar moment with Ai when Ai found out, but she didn't expect the sudden change in tone when faced with Yae. She shuddered from the sheer whiplash, now looking down.

"Y-Yeah," She admitted, holding her left arm with her right. "I was never short-sighted. I figured that, if I wore my grandma's old glasses, my face would be less memorable."

"Hey, that's not a bad strategy," Said Yae, offering her colleague some praise. "Honestly? You were always one of my top suspects, but you had me going for a second there!"

Kaoru scowled, feeling mocked, instead of validated, by Yae's praise.

"Just answer the question, Zennami. What gave me away?"

The answer was swift and direct.

"That was Nadeko Sakaguchi, wasn't it?"

Kaoru struggled to find a way to respond. Each exposed secret stung more, one after the other. She was trapped, with no way out of the cage. It felt humiliating.

"...You just have to know everything, don't you?"

"Hey, the news report is public information," Yae answered coyly, before reciting what was most likely her own notes on the matter. "Daughter of Shinichiro and Shizuka Sakaguchi. They vanished after the murder of your parents, didn't they?"

Kaoru was ready to lash out at Yae, feeling accused and attacked from all fronts. Like prying hands, opening up old scars, just for kicks. Too much salt was rubbing in the wound. Her world was already over -- Her life was already done.

"...Stop. Please, stop." Kaoru pleaded, still showing her back to Yae. "I... I'm handing in my resignation letter from the Student Council tomorrow."

"Woahwoahwoah, you don't have to do that!!"

"H-Huh?!" Kaoru turned around, now facing Yae with her whole, teared up face. She couldn't believe Yae's words, after everything that had transpired. "W-What do you mean? I lied to you all for MONTHS! T-That's unforgivable, I... Zennami, you can be lenient at times, but THIS?!"

Yae gave a hardy chuckle. "You're taking this far too seriously, Kao-Kao! Here, sit with me. I just wanna talk."

Yae offered Kaoru a spot next to her as she sat on a staircase that led to an alleyway in the forbidden zone that the Bleeding Zone engulfed. Kaoru wasn't sure at first, but she agreed eventually.

"Kaoru..." Proceeded Yae. "I don't know if you'll believe me when I say this, but we like you. You do great work. You're a wonderful treasurer, you've taken on huge piles of work after the Census Club case -- which we couldn't have solved without you --, you're taking on extra cases I don't have the time for, and on top of that, you've come to the rescue in the Idea World more than once now! Hell, you saved my life when we battled the Census Club. I owe you one, girl!"

Kaoru shook her head, taken aback by all the sudden positivity after having expected to see the Student Council crumbling in pain and expelling her after knowing her secret for so long.

"...I'm sure we could arguably say you've likeky saved my life once or twice today," Kaoru reasoned, "or just about anyone else. We all had each other's backs most of the time. Everyone helped."

"Plus, you were the one that sent that calling card! You actually trusted us enough to come to us, even if you don't want to tell everyone that you're Scarlet Senshi."

"Where are you going with this, Zennami?"

"Every time you've had the chance to do the right thing, you've gone through with it. Coming to our aid during the Census Club battle, giving Takaishi words of wisdom, most likely meeting Kagayaki before us and sending the calling card to ask for help, fighting alongside us... You're a class act, Kaoru. You're just a little... quirky."

"So what, like Ai?"

"Honestly, yeah! You two are similar in that regard. Wait... Is that why you two have been so buddy-buddy lately? Oh, wait! Don't tell me!" Yae's eyes lit up. "Does she know?!"

Kaoru groaned in exasperarion. "...Yes, she knows. And I know about her own secrets."

"That's AMAZING! You're looking out for each other, how wholesome! The stalker and the superhero with a secret identity... Quite an unlikely duo. Who would've thought of that?"

"... can you stop mocking me to my face, Zennami?"

"I'm not, honest!" Yae shrugged. "I'm just happy to see you make strides. What I'm trying to get to is... I know you have your reasons for this. The whole double life thing. Your actions reflect that you're definitely helping us, but you're struggling to come clean about the way you're doing it."

"That's..." Kaoru's voice wavered. She wanted to break down and cry, but her pride wouldn't let her. Her breathing was hurried, and she periodically wiped tears off her face. "I have my own problems. Things I gotta deal with by myself."

"I can imagine... If I had one childhood friend, and then her parents killed my parents, I'd have some huge trust issues too."

"Don't you psycho-analyze me, Zennami. You don't know what's going on in my head."

"Hey, I'm not trying to be your therapist," Yae said, trying to mend the sour mood. "I just want you to think of me as a friend. A friend you can talk to about these things."

Something switched inside Kaoru. She pulled her knees up to her chest, now looking deeply into Yae's eyes. She was being the most vulnerable Yae had ever seen her yet.

"Do you... Think of me as a friend, Yae?"

"Oh, now we're on first name basis? Of course I think of you as a friend, Kaoru! We've worked together on cases, we see each other every day, we've had life and death battles side by side... Maybe we don't hang out much, but it's not like I have much time to actually hang out. Do you have any time to hang out?"

"Not really. Gets in the way of the mission."

"We'll keep that on the laundry list, then. But hey, this is a start. We have a lot in common, you know?"

"Yeah, it also helps that you know everything about my background, because you know everything about everyone."

"Hey, I'm sure you know a lot about me too."

Kaoru fell silent for a moment. She wanted to be a little more tactful about this, now that Yae was extending a hand in genuine friendship. "...Sucks to have such a scheduled life."

"See, there it is. We've also both been raised by our grandparents."

"Well, in your case it's a little more complicated..."

"Ha! I knew you'd say that. Just wanted to test how much you actually knew about me."

"Can you just... Stop torturing me, Yae? You never care this much about your other mysteries to act on your own like this. Why are you telling me all this? What do you want?!"

Yae took a deep breath, content with the progress she had already made. Seeing Kaoru act so frustrated, with her walls down, was satisfying to the seeker of truth. A hidden side to her fellow detective that was very rewarding to uncover.

"...Kaoru, you know as well as I do that in our business, the business of truth, no lie gets to last long. The truth will always come out."

"So? What are you trying to tell me?"

"They're gonna know."

"Who... The rest?"

"Yeah. They're not stupid, Kaoru. You've done a fantastic job of making yourself seem as inconspicuous as possible for months, but Shu, Yaya, Madoka and Ran... They're brighter than we give them credit for most of the time. They're gonna know eventually."

"...So I should prepare to be expelled, right?"

"NO!" Yae pinched her forehead, trying to reach stubborn little Kaoru behind her massive fortress of trust issues. "Kaoru, we want you with us. As treasurer, as a detective, as a friend, and as Scarlet Senshi. But there's gonna come a time, where you're gonna have to reveal your secrets to them and lay your heart bare. And I want you to do it when you're ready to be vulnerable with us."

Kaoru didn't think for a second that she was capable of such a thing. She just couldn't imagine herself coming clean to anyone, not even to the Student Council, unless absolutely forced to. But Yae's insistence planted a seed of doubt in her own impressions of what she could and couldn't do.

"You... You think I can do that, Yae?"

"I trust that you can do that. You trusted us today. You sent the calling card. You broke Kagayaki's illusion on you, and you fought beside us. Maybe the day was a little rockier than expected... But you managed to do that much. Although..."

"What is it?"

"It's not just for your sake, Kaoru. There might come a battle in the future where trust might determine life and death. For the sake of Kageoka, Higan and our friends... You have to learn to trust us. One day, you're gonna have to drop this little... Riddle you have going on. For all our sakes, and for your own sake, too."

Deep down, deep inside that heart of thorns, Kaoru knew Yae was right. She couldn't keep the riddle going forever. One day, the Student Council would know about her secret. And it might hurt her to reveal it more than it could ever hurt them to know.

"Yae, I... I don't think I'm ready."

"It doesn't have to be today. It can be next week, next month, hell, next year, for all I care. But you're never gonna be able to start healing until you learn to trust your friends, Kaoru."

A long silence built between the two. Not a tense one, not one of animosity. Just... Vulnerability. Both detectives had peered into the depths of each other's most staunchly protected wounds. But as Yae brought her own walls down, Kaoru was left to take the chance and lower her own defenses.

The Bleeding Zone finally disappeared around Kaoru and Yae, and instead, the pale glow of moonlight and the sound of distant ambulance sirens met the detectives as they shared a moment of genuine trust together.

Yae stood back up, content with the conversation. "I'm not gonna tell anyone, Kaoru. I want you to handle this however you see fit. I'd love to continue this little chat, and ask a trillion questions, but we should start heading back. They're gonna be worried about you if you don't answer your pager, so you better change your clothes before you head home."

Kaoru remained seated, staring back at Yae as she left. She was left with her own thoughts. All alone. Kaoru had, once again, blown it.

"Blakeney?" Kaoru called for her Idolon, who had been strangely quiet the whole time she talked to Yae. "Are you... Disappointed in me?"

"Never, my Scarlet Pimpernel", Replied Blakeney, not missing a single beat. "I'm very proud of you. I always tell you not to trust others... But you've found yourself a group of heroes that even I would consider trustworthy, ma chérie. Your decisions are your own, however."

"You... You didn't act alone, right? You had the Band of the Scarlet Pimpernel."

"Indeed! It's up to you, Kaoru. Do you think the Student Council can be your own Band of the Scarlet Pimpernel?"

"...I don't know. But I'll fight beside them again. That, I can trust."

One more person she was forced to place her trust in. One more wild card in her game of poker. One more loose piece in the game. How long until the riddle comes crashing down?

We all are caught in the middle
Of one long, treacherous riddle
Of who'll trust who?
Maybe I'll trust you
But can you trust me?
Wait and see

THE END

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Pub: 04 Nov 2025 02:37 UTC

Edit: 06 Nov 2025 23:09 UTC

Views: 54