A young, blonde girl banged against the inside of a cupboard door. "Let me out! It's not funny, you guys! Please... let me out!" As she screamed, she heard the other girls laughing outside.
"They don't like you. No one does..." A female voice spoke in Mikoto's voice. "That's why she left..."
"My mother had no choice!" said Mikoto, crying.
"Of course she had a choice!" The other voice spoke louder. "She chose to leave you behind."
[
Outside her shadow plane, Mikoto's mouth was frothing. Her eyes rolled back as she convulsed.
Meanwhile, Rina dodged Kazuo's attacks and countered when she saw him losing focus. She hit his cheek with the mace, knocking a tooth out.
Kazuo fell, landing on his back and groaned. Shit!
Rina released her weapon and walked towards Mikoto. "Let me show you what it means to lose someone you love..." she said, turning to Kazuo, who was still on the ground. She made the Adi mudra and stretched one hand. A black chain rose from her shadow, connecting to Mikoto's binds.
Wake up! Kazuo punched the grassy earth, trying to get up. "Leave... her... ALONE!" An indigo aura burst around him, and he got on his feet. He lunged in Rina's direction, holding Raijin with both hands.
Raijin: Kanden!
Kazuo swung sideways.
Rina leapt away, dragging Mikoto along.
"HAA!" Kazuo thrust at the shadow chain, charging it with electricity. As the current streamed through the shadows, Rina and Mikoto shuddered.
Thereafter, the two ladies collapsed, and Rina's chain disappeared. She awoke moments later and struggled to sit upright. Her body kept trembling from the shock. "Not bad," she muttered, noticing a cut on her palm and balled the hand into a fist. He's probably mastered Fudoshin, being able to keep up with me. I'm still getting used to Senshin in combat.
Meanwhile, Kazuo tried to resuscitate Mikoto, who was still trembling. Her mouth had stopped frothing and the seizures stopped. Stay with me, Miko... Kazuo pressed his hands against her chest a few times. "Yes, you can do it..." he said, before giving her some rescue breaths.
"You know what... Inazuma?" Rina chuckled as she got on her feet. "You're one crazy fuck!" She walked towards them at a slow pace with the Adi mudra in hand. "Even if she survives... her mind is already broken. Now it's time for me to break yours as well..."
Oh, shit! Kazuo froze, sensing Rina as she approached them. I'm almost out of prana...
Rina pointed her hands at him. Sokubaku!
Dark chains twirled around Kazuo's wrists.
Rina parted her arms and he did the same. She raised him above the ground with her shadows. As they walked to the bushes, he kept fidgeting. "Let's see what you're hiding," she said with a sneer. "You're lucky I'm not supposed to kill you. But there was no mention against breaking your mind."
Kage genzō: Yume no Fūkei!
Rina and Kazuo appeared in the latter's shadow plane. There, Kazuo's shadow drew a black katana when it saw his inner psyche restrained in chains.
I see why Kagami-sama had me prepare for all those months. "You've personified it as well, huh?" Rina smirked before projecting her own shadow. "Let's see which one is stronger... GO!"
With those words, the battle of shadows began. Similar to their prior fight, Rina held back and Kazuo was slower. Minutes later, she stopped toying with him. Her shadow transformed into several chains that bound him and his shadow.
"You can stop resisting... It's over." She walked towards Kazuo's psyche and placed a thumb on his forehead. Shit! His mind is already a fucking mess!
Memories of Kazuo's relatives and friends appeared above them. As Rina dug deeper, she unraveled more. An image of Natsuhi surrounded by Shadow ninjas appeared and Kazuo screamed.
"NOOO! PLEASE!" Kazuo's voice echoed. Images of Natsuhi stabbing herself repeatedly. "STOP!"
Rina paused the images once she accessed the memories Kagemaru had shared with Kazuo. Tasting bile in her mouth, she paled. Grandpapa's dream aside, what you did was too far, Papa...
Moments later, Rina exited Kazuo's shadow plane. His body lay frozen and bruised. Having exhausted his prana, he had a faint pulse. At that instant, she recalled her true mission and sat next to him.
If I go through with it, I'm no different from my parents. And if I don't, I lose my crown... It would've been easier had I just killed him. I don't know why Kagami-sama would want me to do this shit! Fuck! She punched the ground. This is all wrong. I shouldn't do this. Fuck! I shouldn't. I shouldn–
Kagami's voice echoed in her mind. "If you so wish to become Queen, that is my only request." Rani's voice followed. "Of course I do his bidding! It's not like I have a choice in the matter. None of us do."
After a few minutes that felt way longer, Rina made a choice. One she did not approve of. She convinced her other half that it was all for the throne. Her crown. It had to be done for her grandfather's dream. She unfastened Kazuo's trousers and got on top of him.
[
Later that night, Kazuo opened his eyes. He lay on a wooden table, wearing a white kimono and covered with bandages. His memory was a lucid haze. Why do I feel weird? Wait... He saw a woman in a black sari tending to him. "W–Who... are y–you?" He noticed her resemblance to the Shadow Princess. Rina? "What the–What the fuck did you do to me?"
"The name is Rani, dear boy." She rummaged through her shelves filled with potions. "Is that how you greet someone who just saved your lives?"
"Y–you're... the G–grass Witch!" He tried to move but his body refused. Why does she look like her? "Where is she? Where is your daughter?" He glanced at Mikoto lying on the next table. "I hope you didn't do weird stuff to us," he said, facing Rani.
So, the sick bastard manipulated my daughter into assaulting Lord Kazuro's boy. What does he really want with Inazuma blood? Rani met Kazuo's gaze and smiled. "Ah, it seems my reputation precedes me, though I prefer the term sorcerer. In all honesty, I could've just left you two to die there." Then again, Kagami would kill me. But either way...
"I wouldn't leave my sensei's descendant to die." She glared at him for a while, studying his face. "Quite intriguing! You resemble him so much. Save for the violet hair, of course."
Kazuo frowned. "Did you plan the ambush?"
"Sorry to disappoint, but I played no part in this."
Kazuo tried to sit and groaned. His body was still sore. "What are you gonna do to us?"
"Nothing, for now." Rani walked over to check on Mikoto. He's body recovers faster than normal. "Let's just say you're more useful to me alive than dead."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You'll find out some day... when you're ready."
Kazuo struggled to sit upright. He ignored the pain and looked at Mikoto. "Is she going to be alright?"
"Yes... but it'll take a while." Rani gestured for Kazuo to lie down. "You should rest as well."
Kazuo did as instructed.
"I've been meaning to ask... how my old friend is doing," she said, tending to Mikoto. "If you'd trained under me, Rina wouldn't have stood a chance..."
By the way, she learnt with Hanzo. But I wonder who's stronger. "He's fine... He told us about you."
Rani chuckled. Done with Mikoto, she picked up a bucket with used tourniquets for disposal. "I hope he mentioned how I was Lord Kazuro's best student."
☯
Two days later…
Rina arrived home, dreading what had happened. She entered the Shadow Palace and found Kagami playing shōgi with Daisuke near her throne.
"Your Highness," Daisuke smiled. "Welcome back."
"It's Your Majesty, now." Rina's face showed zero emotion. She took off and headed to her room.
As she walked past, Kagami bowed his head. "All hail the Shadow Queen," he said with a slight grin. The look she gave assured him that everything was going according to plan. Now, on to the next phase. He turned to the board and moved his bishop. "Checkmate."