Fan Fiction ❯ Project M.I.S.T.: Chikyuu ❯ The Temple Grounds Battle! Jishin's Close Call - Part Two ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: As I stated before, this story is totally original. If you have any questions, email me at souzou_ketsuna@hotmail.com, or leave a review with the question and your email and I'll write back.

"I hope this tea isn't too hot . . ."

Faia let out a sigh as she poured Yama a cup of tea. The two were in the living room at her house after Faia suggested having a chat inside and out of the cold atmosphere of autumn. After receiving permission from her uncle, the two decided to talk about their lives, important issues and places that Faia would need to know about if she was to live in Tokyo. She found the conversation extremely useful as she hung off every one of his words. However, they decided to take a break from talking and enjoy some warm tea.

"It should be fine." Yama replied, picking up the cup. "So what happened to your parents?"

" . . .They died in a house fire, as did my little sister." she replied. "I inhaled so much smoke that the doctors told me it caused brain damage. I can't remember the fire at all, but my uncle told me about it. He was devastated because he and my mother were close."

"I'm so sorry." Yama said, seeing her sadness. "Actually, I sort of know how you feel."

"How so?"

"Well, I can't remember my parents, but I neither love them or hate them. I don't even know if I had brothers or sisters."

Yama hesitated for a moment, wondering if he wanted to tell his story that hurt him so much. He never liked the memory if regaining consciousness on a rainy night in a deserted part of the city and feeling completely unwanted and abandoned. However, he thought that it would be good to let it out again, especially since only a select circle of friends, mainly Mizuiro, Moroi, Seiei and Enrai. He drank some of his tea, and then placed the cup back on the coffee table before deciding to continue.

"You see . . .the earliest back I can remember is waking up in the street. I was about five years old and alone. I think my parents were either killed somehow or that they might have abandoned me. I don't know which," he said.

"How terrible."

Just then, there was a knock at the door as Faia lifted her cup. She turned to the door and cleared her throat after swallowing the tea she had just consumed. The door opened, revealing a tall man wearing a temple kimono as well. He had dark brown hair that was slightly spiked and one eye that was blue, for his left eye was scarred shut and was covered with a black eye patch. He also had a combination of a moustache and goatee. He looked toward Faia with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes Uncle Gorotsuki?" she asked.

"Faia, I'll be in the basement if you need me. I'm doing a fire reading," he explained.

"Okay uncle. I don't think I will need to disturb you, I've got everything under control." Faia replied, flashing a small smile.

Nodding, Gorotsuki smiled back and left the room, sliding the door shut behind him. Faia watched as his shadow disappeared from sight before she turned back to Yama and drank some of her tea. There were a few minutes of silence between them, especially for Yama since he was somewhat in shock at seeing the man Faia called her uncle. He had never seen anyone so large in his life, muscle and height wise. Before her could contemplate the intimidation he felt however, Faia cleared her throat from drinking too much tea.

"That . . ." he stuttered to say. "That . . .THAT'S you uncle? He's so HUGE! He could break me apart like a twig!"

"Don't worry Yama, everyone is intimidated by Uncle Gorotsuki when they first meet him, just because he's a bit more towering and because of the scar on his eye, but in reality he's a very nice and friendly person." She smiled to show there was indeed nothing to be afraid as she placed her cup back on the coffee table. "He took care of me after the fire and took me into his home, especially since we have no other relatives, and he was the closest to where I was living when it happened. I'll never be able to repay him for all of the kindness and consideration he's shown me."

"You're lucky to know your family." Yama expressed. "I wish I could meet my real family . . ."

Faia watched Yama as he frowned, feeling bad that she currently knew her uncle and that he had no one from his blood family that he knew. She could see how lonely he was, even though she felt he was the kind of guy who must have many friends in his life. But then again, she realized even in a crowd people can be lonely. Getting an idea, she reached into her pocket and pulled out an indigo colored charm. She then leaned forward and placed it into his open hand.

"Here you go." she expressed, smiling the entire time.

"Huh? What's this for?" Yama asked.

"It's a Family Charm," she explained. "If you wish on it and keep a strong sense of hope, then your family will always be with you. It's a present because everyone deserves to know who their families are."

Looking down at it, Yama remained confused for a few minutes before letting it sink in. Here was a girl who he met only a little while ago, and already she was attempting to cheer him up with his problems that though they were a great issue in his life, he tried not to let plague his everyday activities. He smiled at her generosity, as he placed the charm in his pocket, then took his cup and lifted it to his face.

"Thank you Faia."

Floating in the sky, Yuuku surveyed the shrine area as her right hand grasped her power amplifier still around her neck. Her eyes were narrowed in a determined fashion and her bronze wings were totally outstretched as she looked around, wondering where exactly the mysterious auras were that Makura had sensed. Though she could feel a faint trace, she still knew that she needed to search through the amplifier to get a better understand what the energy was. Thinking for a minute, she decided she needed a closer look at the area. She allowed her wings to completely relax and she dropped down to the ground. After landing on her feet with the complete grace of a samurai warrior, she stood straight up and looked around once more.

"Hmm, I am sensing some energy . . .something familiar and revolting" she thought. "Makura was right about her suspicions."

She smiled, and then walked over to the ceremonial bells. She was so preoccupied that she failed to notice Ekishou walking up the steps of the shrine area. Looking up toward the bells, Yuuku smirked as she crossed her arms in front of her. Smirking, she then raised her left hand up to her face as her other hand gripped the handle of her katana. Her eyes narrowed as a sly smile appeared on her face, which seemed to trigger a surge of lightning energy to engulf the now clenched fist.

"These humans believe that wishes can come true, simply by ringing a copper bell?" she said aloud. "How pathetic . . .but as Makura said, there is a mysterious force emitting from this place . . .and of course I must carry out the orders given to me, and destroy that force to be on the safe side."

Suddenly and without warning, Yuuku felt a large force striking her from behind and pushing her forward and downward. She was slammed onto the ground with the weight still on her, holding her down with much force indeed. The female assassin released a growl as she attempted to overpower the mysterious force.

"What was that!" Yuuku yelled.

She turned herself around, then gritted her teeth when she saw Ekishou raise a clenched fist. Driving the fist forward, Ekishou put all her strength into the effort as the empty hand slammed into Yuuku's face. She was stunned for a second, but quickly retaliated by quickly bringing her boot up to Ekishou and slamming it into the blue winged Senkyouden's stomach. She was thrown off from the force of the attack, causing her to roll a few feet away before stopping on the pain pathway. Ekishou clutched her chest, coughing from having the air knocked out of her, as Yuuku climbed to her feet, holding her hand to her face.

"What are you doing here?" Ekishou demanded.

"I'm here to carry out a mission little water sprite." Yuuku replied, glaring at her opponent. "What brings you to this site of future demolishment?"

"What are you saying!" she asked, coughing up some blood. "Do you plant to destroy this place?"

Ekishou's eyes widened as they still kept an angered trait. The pain in her stomach and the blood coming up were instantly forgotten as she climbed to her feet. Smiling, Yuuku closed her eyes and crossed her arms as she sat down on the block below the ceremonial bells. A smirk appeared across her face as she pulled on the ropes, causing the melody of the bells to ring out and echo throughout the battle area. She turned back to the water influenced Senkyouden, pulling out her katana blade and bringing it up to rest on her right shoulder.

"That is exactly true. Don't try and stop me Ekishou, for such an effort will only be unavailing." Yuuku replied. "You realize that you cannot win."

This angered Ekishou. Clenching her teeth, she pulled her sword out of its sheath and charged forward, across the terrain and toward Yuuku. The assassin simply smirked as she brought the blade down from its perch. Raising her empty hand, a stream of fire suddenly appeared and shot forward, striking the blue winged opponent and incasing her within a pillar of fire. Ekishou's entire body felt the effects of the flames and she screamed out in pain. The fire seemed to seep deeply into her skin and face, bringing forth more unbearable pain as more screams of agony escaped her mouth. She was completely imprisoned with no means of escape it seemed, especially when she found herself trying to break the cylinder walls with her fists. Watching the fire burn her hands with ever hit and knowing it was safe to leave her unattended, Yuuku smiled as she went back to the task at hand.

"Now then, I shall finish my mission," she said. "Let me see, there is a great deal of glass around here . . .Oooh, wouldn't it make such a mess if anyone in these buildings are stricken by all of that glass if it were to shatter?"

Yuuku then started laughing manically as she jumped into the air, using her wings to gain more elevation. When she felt she was at a proper height above the shrine, she removed her power amplifier from her double choker necklace. Grinning, Yuuku held out her amplifier in front of her and closed her eyes. The broach began to glow in a bronze energy as a dark storm cloud appeared above her.

Gorotsuki sat in a meditative position on his knees. His hands were clasped together and on his lap forming random mental symbols, while his eyes closed as a large fire burned in front of him within a square hearth, dancing wildly but never once going beyond its set boundaries. As the flame burned, his hands and fingers kept changing to form different signs as he meditated deeply. Grabbing some kind of dust, he tossed it into the inferno and it burned brighter as he began chanting.

"Great fire god, reveal thy vision now. I call upon the entities of Star . . .Fire . . .Water . . .Wind . . .Thunder . . .Sun . . .Moon . . .Earth . . .Light . . . Shadow. I implore thee, come forth and show me what I seek now!"

Suddenly the fires burned brighter once again, causing Gorotsuki's eyes to flash open as he witnessed the vision inside. Yuuku's form appeared within the flames, only now she seemed to be within tranquility's grasp. The broach floated above her hands with both her gloved hands on either side as it illuminated a bronze light throughout the shrine area. Suddenly, he witnessed the winds picking up speed a large surge of lightning shot down from the storm could and through the amplifier. The energy increased quickly and surrounded Yuuku in a sphere of lightning. Suddenly, the sphere grew larger in the next few seconds as her eyes flashed open.

"Element of lightning which I call forth, come alive and strike the very earth below me!" she yelled.

The lightning suddenly became brighter upon the words spoken, shooting out in all directions of the area. As this happened, a massive lightning bolt gathered in all the energy from the sphere and shot down toward the ground. Upon colliding, it seemed to push the area in deeper while a shockwave began emitting from the center. Gorotsuki gasped as he witnessed a set of windows shatter quickly from the energy.

"Shit!" he cried out, watching the vision vanish. "I have to hurry!"

As the fires size shrank until it was completely normal, Gorotsuki was already scrambling to his feet. He quickly rushed to the door of the room, and then up the stairs as the hope of beating the shockwave raced through his mind. He had to hurry and make it to the purpose of his doing the fire reading before the vision he saw brought forth sheer tragedy.

As the sounds of thunder echoed throughout the area, Faia suddenly gasped and placed her cup back onto the coffee table. She remembered that the weather reports didn't call for lightning, and she remembered that a lightning storm in the middle of autumn was next to impossible of happening. As she stood up and walked over to the large window, Yama looked toward her and followed, curious as to why she suddenly did that. Faia placed a hand on the glass as she looked outside toward the pathway to the shrine, with Yama joining her and looking outside as well.

"What's wrong Faia?" Yama asked. "Did you hear the sounds of thunder just now?" she asked. "Yeah, I did. But there shouldn't be lightning at this time of year, right?"

Suddenly, Yama's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly at the sight upon the pathway. From his point of view, it seemed like a large wave of lightning energy was quickly flying across the ground and toward their location. Leaves were completely ripped form the trees and pieces of concrete were torn away from the ground, which make Yama gasp in horror. She suddenly turned toward him, becoming slightly nervous after seeing the current expression on his face.

"Faia, take cover! NOW!" he shouted.

"What do you mean? What's going on Yama!" she demanded.

Yama made no effort to respond verbally to her question, as the sight in which he had just witnessed engulfed all of his thoughts and concerns. He quickly grabbed Faia, who cried out in surprise, and dove to the floor with his own body acting as her shield. As the two landed on the wooden panels, the shockwave that Yama had seen slammed against the house, causing the windows to crack and quickly shatter into hundreds of jagged shards.

"Don't move Faia!" Yama shouted.

The clear debris scattered and flew in all directions of the room, hitting the floor or falling outside of the house. Suddenly, Yama cried out from a suddenly pain as shards fell onto him and pierced his back, plus his shoulders and upper arms. Despite that however, he refused to give in and quickly pulled Faia closer to him to make sure none of the shards struck her.

"Yama stop this! You're going to die!" Faia yelled out. "No! I'm not going to lose any of my friends! I don't want to lose any one else!" he replied, resisting the urge to scream.

A moment passed and everything became silent. Both Faia and Yama refused to move in fear that the destruction was only in a state of pause. Finally needing to know, Faia opened her eyes slowly, looking around the room to make sure it was completed. She suddenly felt something damp, where she realized that Yama was still on top of her. She returned her gaze quickly, and cried out in horror when she saw his shirt stained with his blood. Faia frowned, then slowly crawled out from underneath him and examined his back. She instantly felt weak at the sigh of all of the blood still draining from his body, but put the urge to be sick behind her.

"Yama! Are you okay?" she asked. He opened his eyes and looked toward her, smiling weakly as he saw her concern.

"I've been better. It's not every day that you are pierced with so many glass shards . . ." he replied.

"This looks bad," she whispered. "I'm going to find my uncle and a first aid kit. Don't move an inch or you'll make it worse!"

"Don't need to . . .worry about that." Yama replied, sounding tired and weak.

Quickly climbing up onto her feet, she headed for the door. However, she stopped suddenly, turning toward him and smiling faintly. She then left the room and raced down the hall, leaving Yama to finally release his pain. He slammed his fist against the floor and clenched his teeth, letting his entire body collapse as he lay upon the floor. The blood continued to escape his back, and more was suddenly spurted out of his mouth as he began to cough uncontrollably for a moment.

"At least she's safe . . .I don't want any more people to die or leave . . ." he quietly said before coughing again. "How funny though . . .looks like that despite all the friends around me, I'll end up alone in the end anyway."

Suddenly, he heard loud footsteps slowly approaching the room. Yama lifted his head and watched the door, hoping it was Faia or Gorotsuki returning with help or the proper first aid needed for his situation. However, he suddenly witnessed his vision blurring from the lack of blood within his system and as well he felt his entire body weakening. His mind was then taken by fatigue as his eyes crossed and closed, forcing him to fully drift off into a deadly slumber as his blood continued to leave him. As he lay lifeless, a strange figure with a male's build and wrapped in burgundy clothes walked into the room. His eyes were hidden away behind a hair of sunglasses as he walked across the floor toward Yama.

"I must hurry or he will perish," he said.

When he found himself standing in front of Yama, the stranger kneeled down before him and checked the teenager's pulse to find that it had decreased dangerously. Knowing he had to act fast, the stranger then proceeded to wave a hand over Yama's back, causing all of the glass shards to disappear instantly. A hand then entered a pocket within the strange garments and removed two crystals, one shaped as an oak tree and the other shaped as a chain of three triangular mountains with snow covered peaks. He then placed them both within Yama's right hand and closed his fingers over them.

"Don't worry," the stranger said. "Everything will be fine."

He smiled, then stood up and turned to leave. As he did, green and brown energies slowly appeared and emitted from the crystals, proceeding in a mist like energy to surround Yama like a thick fog in the early mornings. It floated all around him for a few moments before the green descending downward and seeping into the wounds of his body. As that happened, the remaining brown mist entered his body as well, only it seemed to incase him suddenly within a brown and green shell.

Holding her open hands up to her broach that was back on her choker so that the palms were facing it, Yuuku kept her eyes closed as her magic searched the shrine area for new energies like Ekishou's, only slightly different. After a moment passed, she opened her eyes and smiled. The light within her amplifier faded, and suddenly she began to laugh with great delight.

"I can no longer sense those aura's," she thought. "It appears as if my magic was successful this time. How wonderful!"

Weakened greatly by the pillar of fire, Ekishou swayed back and forth on her feet before falling sideways to hit the walls of the inferno like prison. She wiped the perspiration from her forehead while struggling at the same time to keep her eyes open. Reaching her hand up toward her power amplifier, she barely managed to close her fist around it as she closed her eyes.

"How am I going to get out of here?" she said weakly. "Toki-Sori . . .anybody . . .I need help . . ."

Suddenly, Yuuku reappeared from the sky, landing on her feet before riding from the ground. She looked toward Ekishou as the warrior of water finally passed out from the lack of energy. Yuuku smiled and waved a hand in front of her, which caused the walls of the pillar to drop. As Ekishou fell forward toward the ground, Yuuku leaped into the air and unleashed a whirlwind kick. The bottom of her heeled boot collided with the side of Ekishou's head, sending her sliding across the cement-tiled pathway. She finally came to a halt by slamming into the base of a tree. She lay lifeless after stopping, which pleased Yuuku greatly.

"This is much easier than last time," she said, smiling in a sly manner. "I could get used to battles like this."

As she watched Ekishou remain immobile and covered with not only cuts and burn marks, but now with blood slowly coming out of fresh wounds, Yuuku was unaware of another presence approaching quickly. The build of the body resembled that of a young male. He ran quickly down the pathway, carrying a spear on his back between a set of green wings. Upon reaching the archway, he leapt up to the top and landed. He knelt down, looking toward the crisis unfolding as Yuuku walked over to the water warrior and kicked her in the stomach. When she was sure Ekishou was completely out of it, the assassin began to cackle as she lifted an electrified hand over the lifeless body.

"Time to say good-bye. Too bad you never gained a chance to return to your native soil." Yuuku said mercilessly.

Gasping, the winged male suddenly leapt up into the sky and completely unfolded his wings, diving down toward Ekishou as Yuuku launched a surge of electricity flying toward the warrior of water. Right before the energy landed, Ekishou was quickly scooped up and flown into the sky. The electricity quickly dug through the tree, causing it to fall over onto the ground a few minutes later. Yuuku growled in anger as she looked up, fists clenching as she watched the two in the sky. The male's entire form could be fully seen. He had blond hair with one side half covering one of his blue eyes. His clothing consisted of a red sleeveless body suit, brown gloves on both his hands, two metallic shoulder pads with two belts around his chest, metal knee pads on both legs, and brown hiking boots. Around his waist was a large, black colored belt with a brown crystal shaped like a chain of three triangular mountains with snow-covered peaks. Holding Ekishou around her waist with both of his arms, he watched Yuuku from down below as her anger continued to rise.

"Well, look at what we have here." she said with a grin. "It would appear that Jishin has decided to join the battle?"

Suddenly, both warriors heard a groan that directed their attention toward Ekishou. She stirred, and then slowly opened her eyes half way. Looking down, she gasped as she discovered that she was no longer on the ground within the fire pillar. She looked around, then upward to see Jishin. Her eyes widened as she saw his face.

"What's going on . . .?" she demanded. "You're a Senkyouden too?"

"We'll talk later. I think there's a greater concern on the ground." Jishin replied.

"You've got that right!" Yuuku shouted.

Giving a sly smile once more, Yuuku raised her katana up and behind her head. She narrowed her eyes toward the two airborne teens as the blade became electrified. She pulled the katana forward and toward the ground in front of her, sending a wave of lightning magic toward Jishin and Ekishou. Quickly reacting, Jishin pulled Ekishou closer as he flew toward the side. The energy flew past them and exploded in the sky as the two landed on the ground. Jishin released his grip around Ekishou's waist, and then smiled as he turned to face Yuuku once again. He then quickly glanced back to look at the blue winged female.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Nodding, Ekishou pulled out her sword from its sheath and gripped the handle with both hands. Jishin reached back, grabbing the upper piece of his spear before pulling it upward and out front. He then grabbed the lower part of the pole and narrowed his eyes as the two faced off against the orange haired assassin. Yuuku snickered, placing a hand on her hip as her smile failed to disappear.

"This should be amusing," she said. "Ekishou of Water and Jishin of Earth think they have a chance."

As they continued to stare off, Jishin gritted his teeth as he glanced back to Ekishou. Suddenly a thought hit her, in that she realized Yuuku had leaked out some information that might prove fatal toward the orange haired assassin. She looked toward him, then quickly placed a finger onto her power amplifier as it began to pulse in sync with her thoughts. Jishin was fully unaware of her actions, especially when his own mountain amplifier began pulsing as well

"Jishin, Yuuku said you're of Earth," she said.

Jishin gasped, hearing her words within his mind. Glancing at the crystal, he figured that was how she was talking to him telepathically. He removed his hand from the lower part of his spear and placed one finger onto his amplifier, causing it to pulse as he continued the mind-linked conversation. His amplifier began to glow brighter as he allowed the telepathic link to connect completely with himself and Ekishou.

"Yeah, so what?" he asked.

"That must mean you can manipulate the Earth Element like I can manipulate the Water Element. Just concentrate your energy on that and you can form a spell to use against her!"

"I'll fight Yuuku while you get a spell ready. I fought her yesterday and I have a small idea of how she likes to fight." she said.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Jishin asked.

"Trust me." Ekishou replied.

Both nodded, then turned toward Yuuku as she continued to watch, keeping her grip on her katana blade tense yet free at the same time. Ekishou's eyes narrowed as her grip tightened in her right hand. Removing her fingers from her power amplifier, Ekishou gripped the handle of her sword. Yuuku smiled, then quickly gathered another surge of lightning energy and fired it. It flew across the ground, tearing away the tiles in the pathway. Jishin reacted quickly, putting his hands out in front of him and raising them upward. The action resulted in a slab of earth to break away from the ground and rise, shielding both himself and Ekishou. The lightning energy slammed into the wall, but disappeared moments later. Seeing a good opportunity, Ekishou clenched her teeth then raised the blade as she raced forward toward Yuuku. Swinging he sword, Ekishou let out a loud battle cry as Yuuku performed a back flip which just happened to hit Ekishou's head with her boot.

"YOU REALLY THINK A WEAKLING LIKE YOU CAN STOP ME!"

As the water warrior stumbled backwards from the attack, Jishin's eyes closed as he slowly became engulfed in a green aura that matched the color of his wings. Everything seemed quiet from his point of view as his energy gathered around him. As he maintained his concentration, he couldn't help but be amazed at his new abilities. He was able to feel the souls of the trees and other forms of plant life, as well as their own individual voices. Jishin felt at peace somehow, even in the midst of the waging battle between Ekishou and Yuuku. Slowly rising from the ground, Jishin's wings unfolded fully and stretched out horizontally. The energy surrounding him brightened and increased as he decided what he would do.

"Guess it's time to see exactly what I'm capable of . . .I hope it's something. That orange haired chick looks like she's playing for keeps."

Ekishou leapt into the air, her ice energy swirling around her arm as an ice shard began to form. Once it materialized, she threw it downward toward the assassin, watching as it covered the distance hastily. Yuuku smiled, and then lashed out her sword to form a fireball that flew up toward the dagger. Both collided, but the shard was instantly reduced to water before becoming steam. The fireball continued flying upward, catching Ekishou off guard. It struck her in the chest and knocked her out cold, causing her to plummet toward the ground. Yuuku smiled as she placed her katana back in the sheath, then unfolded her wings as she flew up into the air toward her opponent, creating a hammer fist. She put all of her strength into her attack as she slammed down against Ekishou's back, causing the blue haired girls form to take on an increase in velocity. She slammed down against the ground, appearing to show no signs of life. Yuuku remained in the air, flashing a grin at her work.

"One down . . ." she sneered.

As the scene unfolded, Jishin's arms were crossed in front of him as his right hand held his spear. A gust of wind suddenly appeared and swept through the trees, pulling away most of the leaves from the tips of the branches. Instead of floating to the ground however, the leaves remained on the wind and flew toward Jishin as his energy continued to increase all around him. The leaves them proceeded to swirl around his form, creating a tornado like affect. Yuuku gasped as she felt a sudden rise in energy pulsing in her head, causing her gaze to be averted from Ekishou to Jishin. Seeing the spell being prepared, she couldn't help but snicker as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Might as well see what this boy hopes to achieve." she said, smiling once again.

Suddenly, Jishin's eyes flashed open and his green energy burst out from him in all directions. It passed over the many leaves swirling around him, causing them to change their composition and instead of an organic substance they were all metallic. Spotting Yuuku, he lashed out his arms toward her and caused the metallic leaves to fly forward in her direction at a high speed. The female assassin snickered, and then raised her left hand toward the leaves to show her palm. A burst of fire energy shot out, forming a large barrier that caused the leaves to instantly melt and disappear upon impact. Jishin gasped in horror, gripping his spear tightly with both hands as he witnessed his failed attempt.

"This isn't good. How can I beat her when she's got that much strength!" he thought.

Seeing his obvious distraction, Yuuku knew it was the perfect opportunity to attack. While maintaining the firewall, she used her right hand to form a pool of water below the warrior of earth. She gave a sly smile, and then lifted the hand quickly until it was above her head. In tune with her motions, the pool suddenly shot a burst of water upward to strike Jishin and engulf him in a sphere. He cried out and felt his body weakening from both the attack and from the large amount of energy used in his magic, which caused him to black out like Ekishou. The water instantly disappeared, causing his form to fall and hit the ground as well. Yuuku couldn't keep in her contentment, and thus let out a loud maniacal cackle as she floated down and landed on her feet.

"What pathetic Senkyoudens they were!" she declared. "They cannot even defeat me when they out number me!"

As she continued to cackle, there was a sudden flash of energy that appeared in the sky. She stopped as she felt its high energy, then looked up only to see a barrage of fireballs flying down and striking her multiple times. She screamed out as each of the flaming spheres hit her, unable to counterattack or even move. Once the barrage ceased, she dropped to the ground as scratches and deep cuts lined the bare skin of her arms and legs.

"What was that?" she thought. "Those fireballs came out of no where and now I have little energy left! There is no way I can kill Ekishou and Jishin now . . ."

Yuuku frowned, then reached into her fighter gi and pulled out the T-Sphere. She then closed her eyes as the dark energy engulfed her and transported her away. Hiding behind one of the taller trees in the forest, a hand covered with a fingerless glove twirled and griped a diamond staff. It was shaped to resemble the leg of a bird clutching a quartz sphere. All that could be seen of the wielder was a body draped in a sapphire cloak. A smile could be seen on the being's face before it turned around and ducked behind the tree once more. It's cloak flapped in the wind before it too disappeared.

"They'll be fine . . ." echoed a voice.

Time passed and the afternoon was drawing closer toward the supper hour. There was a suddenly groan as Ekishou's eyes slowly opened. At the same time, Jishin was slowly coming around as the two pushed themselves up before climbing to their feet. As Ekishou checked herself over for wounds, Jishin slowly walked over to her. He placed his spear back into the case on his back before stopping in front of her.

"Are you okay Ekishou?" he asked.

Just then, Ekishou growled in anger that confused Jishin greatly. She instantly spun around and lashed out her hand at his face, slapping him hard on the left side of his face. He stumbled backwards a few steps before stopping, and then frowned as he placed a hand to his cheek. Ekishou continued to glare at him, her hand now clenched in a fist as she put her sword away with the other.

"What was that for!" he demanded.

"Of all the people that had to be Jishin, why did it have to be you, Yama Tensai? And another thing, don't EVER touch me again!" she yelled.

"I had to do that in order to save you!" Jishin retorted. "Otherwise you would have been toast!"

"That's not good enough!"

As the two continued to argue, there was a soft laugh that could be heard only at close range up on the trees. Standing atop the highest branch was the cloaked stranger, with its arms crossed in the front and purple wings fully unfolded to both sides. The staff was still in its hand as the being spoke to them self in a female voice to herself. Smiling, the mysterious girl turned to leap down from the trees, landing on the ground in a kneeling position. She stood up, and then proceeded to walk down the pathway into the distance. She soon disappeared, her cloak once again flapping in the soft breeze.

"Those two are Senkyoudens I see," she thought. "But with their current attitudes toward each other, they shall have many difficult journeys . . ."

What an interesting outcome, I wondered how those two were able to stand each other seeing as Ekishou had chosen to show hatred toward Yama . . .err, Jishin. I mean, those two are total opposites and they were working together just find until they found out who their human forms were. I can't even begin to imagine how they got along before the rest of us returned.

Now it's only a matter of time before the rest of us are found. With Yuuku still on the loose, I hope Ekishou and Jishin will pull themselves together and work as a team until Toki-Sori and Kon-Denkou find the rest of us. If they can't then Kuroi-Sakaime may claim their lives. Good luck to both of you!