Spiral of Destiny (part 18 of 25)

a Kannazuki no Miko fanfiction by Nathan Warford

Back to Part 17
Chikane and Himeko stared in horror at the gigantic mech towering over 
them. Gattai Orochi was a fearsome beast, almost as fearsome as the 
Priestesses expected it to be in its original form from the age of the 
gods. They knew the only reason it appeared so humanoid was because it 
was being controlled by humans.

"You're too late, Priestesses," said a voice from the creature. "Gattai 
Orochi has been summoned." Chikane and Himeko could hear that the words 
were being spoken by Tsubasa. However, he was speaking not in his own 
voice, but with the voice of Orochi."

"Judgment Day has arrived," said Miyako with the same evil voice. "The 
world shall witness divine retribution at the hands of the Orochi."

"And you shall be the first to fall to the fire and brimstone of our 
combined force," Girochi said.

Although terrified by the United Body of Orochi, Chikane quickly shook 
off her fear and spat back at the Orochi, "Don't think for a moment that 
you've won simply because you summoned Gattai Orochi. If I remember 
correctly, we defeated that sorry excuse for a monster last year."

"That may be so," said Korona, "but Orochi didn't have his followers to 
protect him when Gattai Orochi was defeated."

"Because of you, Lunar Priestess," continued Rehko, "the only Orochi 
left to summon Gattai Orochi was you. As soon as you left his side, 
Orochi lost nearly all of his power and fell to the hands of Ame no 
Murakumo."

"Gattai Orochi may be stronger than before, but so is Ame no Murakumo," 
exclaimed Himeko. "Chikane and I have a strong bond and a deep love that 
will not be defeated by any number of evil souls."

"Then we won't hold anything back," Nekoko cried. "Let's see how you 
horrible priestesses like getting locked away for a few hundred years!"

"You brought this upon yourselves," said Souma. "There's nothing left in 
this world worth protecting because of you. And the power of the Solar 
Priestess no longer has any hold over our Orochi blood."

"What about your family?" Chikane said. "If you destroy this world, 
Kazuki and Yukihito will die along with it. Would you really sacrifice 
your family just to satisfy your grief?"

"What about your family, Chikane?" Chikane gasped at hearing her father 
speak. "Is that not what you're doing? Going against your family to keep 
from losing the Solar Priestess?"

"I'm...protecting the world," Chikane tried to sound defiant.

"Are you really?" Takeshi asked. "You weren't able to defeat us last 
year. You were barely able to lock us away in your past life! The blood 
of a priestess must be spilled to satisfy the needs of Ame no Murakumo." 
Gattai Orochi reached its hand out to Chikane as Takeshi continued, 
"It's not too late to change your mind, Chikane. You can come with us. 
Take your place as the Eighth Neck of the Orochi and free yourself from 
your fate."

Chikane cried in pain as threads of dark energy penetrated her back. 
"Chikane!" cried Himeko. The blonde turned toward Chikane, the brilliant 
glow from the Solar Mark shining upon Chikane.

"I...am not...an Orochi," Chikane growled. "I am the Lunar Priestess of 
Ame no Murakumo!" The pain subsided and Chikane stood upright. "And no 
father of mine will let me turn my back on the one that I love!" Chikane 
clutched the Lunar Priestess Blade and Ame no Murakumo extended the 
blades on its wrists.

"Then you leave me no choice," Takeshi said in Orochi's voice. The 
yellow jewel of Gattai Orochi's hip portion emitted a purple light, 
which coalesced in front of Gattai Orochi in the form of a giant sword. 
The Orochi mech picked up the sword and prepared to strike. "To protect 
the family, I must sacrifice my dear, beloved daughter."

Ame no Murakumo took a posture similar to that of Gattai Orochi, ready 
to counter the enemy's attack. Gattai Orochi charged at Ame no Murakumo 
and Ame no Murakumo charged at Gattai Orochi. The sword god levitated to 
the evil god's height and their blades collided.

The sound of metal blades resounded throughout the mountains of Japan as 
the two great gods fought under the purple light of the godless moon. 
While smaller than Gattai Orochi, Ame no Murakumo had tremendous 
strength, easily blocking every attack it was not able to dodge. What 
the God of Swordsmen lacked in quality it made up for in quantity. Even 
against Gattai Orochi's monstrous blade, Ame no Murakumo was able to 
counter the evil god's attacks with its two blades.

Beams of energy shot from the faces on Gattai Orochi's shoulders and 
knees, leaving centimeter-deep burns on Ame no Murakumo's outer hull. 
Himeko and Chikane could feel the pain of the Orochi's attacks, but 
continued to persist. The red jewels at the tips of the spikes on Ame no 
Murakumo' back glowed as the god started collecting energy. The energy 
from the jewels flowed from the spikes on its back to the spike on its 
head and fired a yellow beam of light at Gattai Orochi. It looked as if 
the beam had hit, but the larger mech did not have a scratch on it! "Too 
slow," said Tsubasa.

Gattai Orochi fired more beams at Ame no Murakumo. The Solar Mark and 
the Lunar Mark lit up, the power of the priestesses allowing Ame no 
Murakumo to dodge out of the way. It somersaulted through a gap in the 
beams, landing in front of Gattai Orochi. The sword god swung its blades 
and Gattai Orochi jumped back. As Ame no Murakumo stood up, Chikane and 
Himeko saw the Orochi body stagger a bit. They heard the Orochi members 
groan in pain and saw two cuts on Gattai Orochi's abdomen, crossing to 
form an X-shape. "You see?" Chikane said. "Gattai Orochi is not 
invincible."

"It's still more powerful that Ame no Murakumo!" cried Nekoko as Gattai 
Orochi came in for another strike. The two mechs continued clashing 
their swords together, creating sparks that could light bonfires. Every 
time that Gattai Orochi swung its sword, Ame no Murakumo needed both of 
its swords and all of its strength to hold Gattai Orochi back. It could 
not swing or kick before Gattai Orochi had jumped back a hundred meters 
to a safe distance.

The Orochi mouths opened and a blinding light exploded from Gattai 
Orochi's frontside. Himeko and Chikane cried out in surprise as they 
were temporarily blinded by the light. All that they could do was use 
their powers to strengthen Ame no Murakumo's defenses as much as 
possible. A bright beam of light fired from Ame no Murakumo's wings, 
shielding the God of Swordsmen from the blast that Orochi had fired. By 
the time the priestess' eyesight had returned, Orochi was already 
swinging its sword at Ame no Murakumo again. Chikane barely had enough 
time to roll out of the way and swing her sword. The Orochi members 
cried in pain again as a clearly visible cut was left on Gattai Orochi's 
back, glowing white liquid dripping from the wound.

Orochi threw its foot out from behind, hitting Ame no Murakumo in the 
head. Himeko and Chikane felt the foot hit their heads and they cried in 
pain as their bodies were flung backwards, just as Ame no Murakumo's 
body was. They held their heads in pain as they regained their senses. A 
dent had been left in Ame no Murakumo's head in exactly the same place, 
a trickle of white liquid dripping from the point of impact as well.

"Heh, that actually hurt," said Chikane as she got to her feet. She then 
looked at Himeko and said, "Are you all right, Himeko?"

"I'm fine," Himeko said, getting to her feet as well, her expression 
showing just as much determination as when the battle had started. 
Himeko held the Solar Priestess Blade in her hands and Chikane held the 
Lunar Priestess Blade. Both priestesses rushed at Gattai Orochi and 
started swinging their swords simultaneously. With both of Ame no 
Murakumo's blades swinging, the Orochi had to sacrifice strength for 
speed. Because Ame no Murakumo's swings were twice as frequent, Gattai 
Orochi's counters had to be twice as fast, and increasing the speed of 
its single blade decreased the amount of force that the Orochi body 
could impart.

Izuhara no Tamazuchi's white bullets of energy fired from Gattai 
Orochi's stomach portion, but Ame no Murakumo blocked the bullets with 
only its left blade by spinning it around its axis on the sword god's 
wrist. Ame no Murakumo stabbed Gattai Orochi's chest with the spike on 
its head, drawing more white blood from the evil god. Orochi hit Ame no 
Murakumo in the stomach, throwing the God of Swords high into the air. 
Chikane and Himeko screamed in fear as they went into free-fall. Orochi 
raised its sword into the air, intending to let Ame no Murakumo impale 
itself on the blade as it fell. However, Chikane regained her balance in 
time to dive at Gattai Orochi, knocking Orochi's sword out of the way 
with the blades on its feet.

Ame no Murakumo landed in from of Gattai Orochi and the two giant mechs 
took stances at one another. Both the priestesses and the Orochi members 
were panting heavily, adrenaline coursing through their veins. "Kill! 
Kill the priestesses!" Takeshi's voice rang in the Orochi members' ears. 
Tentacles extended from Gattai Orochi's hip portion and fired bolts of 
electricity at Ame no Murakumo. Ame no Murakumo absorbed the lightning 
with its blades. While Ame no Murakumo was distracted by the lightening, 
Take no Yamikazuchi's blue beam fired from Gattai Orochi's chest 
portion, hitting Ame no Murakumo in the leg. The God of Swordsmen fell 
to the ground, as did Himeko and Chikane, feeling the pain that Ame no 
Murakumo felt.

Gattai Orochi roared as it stood over the wounded Ame no Murakumo. The 
sides of Orochi's head portion started glowing red as it prepared to 
fire one of Take no Yasukunazuchi's attacks. Himeko and Chikane looked 
on it horror as a giant, red fireball flew at them. Ame no Murakumo 
burst into flames as the attack hit. Himeko and Chikane screamed in 
pain, feeling as if their skin was on fire.

----------

As the flames died down, the Ame no Murakumo was in ruins. Its hull was 
charred, pieces of it were strewn across the area, and its eyes were as 
dead as burnt-out light bulbs. It was hard to believe that anything 
could have survived the Orochi's onslaught.

"And this was supposed to be the mighty God of Swordsmen," Girochi 
scoffed. "What a load of horse shit."

"Can it be," said Miyako, "that we've finally won?"

"We killed Ame no Murakumo!" Nekoko cried gleefully. "Nya! Nya!"

"Excellent work, my followers," the seven Necks heard Takeshi say in 
Orochi's voice. "Ame no Murakumo, the only one that could have defeated 
us, has been destroyed. Go forth. Tear the human world apart. Every last 
human will become extinct!" Gattai Orochi turned away and went off to 
continue destroying the world, leaving the utterly defeated Ame no 
Murakumo lying in pieces on the ground.

----------

Chikane impaled Himeko with the Lunar Priestess Blade. Chikane thrust 
her sheathed tanto into Himeko's crotch, shedding her virgin blood. 
Chikane fired an arrow at the Earth from the Lunar Shrine, her Orochi 
powers destroying everyone and everything that Himeko held dear to her. 
Chikane stood by and did nothing as she allowed Orochi's Seventh Neck to 
take Himeko away. Chikane lay on the ground, helpless to prevent Gattai 
Orochi from destroying Ame no Murakumo. As she watched the horrible 
images course through her mind, she could hear her father's voice 
telling her, "You are the Eighth Neck of the Orochi. You cannot escape 
Orochi's power."

"Stop it!" Chikane cried. "Just stop it!"

"Chikane!" a female voice cried. Chikane opened her eyes to see a 
middle-aged woman standing over her, wearing a pink blouse and a white 
skirt. "Are you all right, Chikane?" the woman asked.

Chikane stared at the woman in surprise, remembering the woman's bluish 
black hair and light blue eyes. "Mother?" she said.

"Yes, Chikane," the woman answered. "It's me." Chikane instantly sat up 
and wrapped her arms around her mother. "I'm so glad you're all right," 
Rika said. "You had us worried for a while. You've been asleep for three 
days. We found you lying on the ground in the middle of nowhere next to 
Himeko. Both of you were in pretty bad condition."

"Himeko," Chikane remembered. "Where's Himeko?"

Chikane tried to stand up but Rika quickly put her hands on Chikane's 
shoulders and kept her from getting up. "Easy," Rika said. "You're in no 
condition to be making any quick movements."

After Chikane had calmed down, she looked around to find herself in a 
white room. She was lying in a warm bed, wearing a blue hospital gown. 
"Where am I?" she asked.

"This is a trauma center in Seoul, South Korea."

Chikane looked at her mother and said, "South Korea?"

"We didn't believe that Japan was safe any more, so we brought you and 
Himeko here for treatment."

"How did you find us? And how did you get us all the way to South Korea 
in three days?"

"Well, on Sunday, I was looking around the house for your father, but I 
couldn't find him. So, I found Otoha to see if she knew where he was." 

--------------------

When I found Otoha, she was running through the mansion, looking for me. 
"Missus Himemiya!" she cried.

"What is it, Otoha?" I asked.

"Himeko and Chikane are in trouble," said Otoha.

"What?!"

Otoha called the chauffeur and told him to bring us to Kamiyatate 
University Medical Center. On the way, I asked Otoha, "What is all of 
this about, Otoha?"

"I just received a call from Makoto Saotome, one of Himeko's friends," 
Otoha replied. "She called Himeko's cell phone, which was still in the 
guest bedroom when I was vacuuming the floor. She told me that she saw 
from her window at the medical center two huge robots fighting. She had 
a feeling that Himeko was involved and that's why she called Himeko's 
cell phone. I knew that if we were to find Himeko, we would find Chikane 
with her."

"Two huge robots?" I asked.

"It must be Ame no Murakumo and Orochi. Himeko and Chikane have to be 
there, fighting for their lives."

When we got to Kamiyatate University Medical Center, I was surprised to 
find that Makoto Saotome was in a wheel chair. Despite having a broken 
leg and a bump on the head, she was still full of energy and very 
adamant about saving Himeko.

From the medical center, we could see two giant robots fighting, just as 
Makoto had said, a large, silver robot twice the size of Tsukuyomi no 
Mikoto, and a purple robot twice the size of the silver one. We saw The 
large purple robot fire a ball of fire at the silver one, engulfing it 
in flames. As that happened, we heard the voices of two girls coming 
from the burning robot, screaming in pain. "Those are Himeko and 
Chikane!" cried Otoha, recognizing the voices.

"Oh no..." I said. Afraid to get close to the battle, we couldn't do 
anything but watch as the silver mech burned to the ground. It was only 
when the larger robot started walking away that we drove to the scene of 
the fight.

----------

"After we found you," Rika explained, "we called your father's private 
helicopter and told them to meet us at the estate." Rika's face turned 
even more somber than it was as she said, "We barely had enough time to 
escape before the purple robot came back and destroyed the mansion."

"And then you brought us here?" asked Chikane.

"That's right."

"I see." Chikane's fists clenched a bit and she said, "I'm sorry Mother, 
but could you leave me alone for a bit?"

"What's wrong, Chikane?"

"I just need to be alone with my thoughts for a little bit. Just wait 
outside the room and I'll tell you if I need anything."

"Okay," said Rika. The woman stood up and walked to the door, exiting 
the room.

Now alone in the white room, Chikane was able to let her tears fall. Her 
head bowed and she sobbed. "Why couldn't I..." she cried. "Why couldn't 
I stop the Orochi? Why couldn't I protect Himeko? Why did things have to 
turn out like this?"

----------

Chikane emerged from her room to find her mother sitting in a chair next 
to the door. "Are you feeling all right, Chikane?" asked Rika.

"I'm just fine, Mother," said Chikane.

"Do you need anything?"

"No. I just want to see Himeko."

"Of course. I'll take you to her."

"Thank you, Mother." Rika stood up and led Chikane down the hall.

The room that Himeko was in was several doors from Chikane's room. Rika 
quietly opened the door and poked her head inside. "How is she?" Rika 
asked.

"She hasn't regained consciousness," said Mako, who was sitting in a 
wheelchair beside a sleeping Himeko. Otoha was sitting in a chair on the 
opposite side of Himeko's bed, dressed in an elegant, yet casual, green 
dress. Rika quietly stepped inside, followed by Chikane. "Hello, 
Chikane," said Mako at seeing the dark-haired girl enter.

"Hi, Makoto," Chikane said.

"Are you okay?" Mako asked.

"I'm just a little out of sorts. I'll be fine."

"You probably want to spend some time alone with Himeko, right?" asked 
Otoha.

"Yeah," Chikane replied.

Otoha stood up and went to the door. As Makoto wheeled herself towards 
the door, she said to Chikane, "You're staying with her even though your 
condition isn't much better than hers. Himeko is one lucky girl."

Chikane waited until the three women had exited to reply, more to 
herself than anyone else, "That isn't true."

Chikane knelt down beside the bed that her girlfriend was sleeping on 
and took Himeko's hand in hers. "Himeko," she said softly, "I'm sorry 
that I couldn't protect you. I can't understand how I could have let the 
Orochi overpower me like that. I'm the descendant of Susanou..." 
Chikane's voice began to crack. "I'm the descendant of Susanou, and I 
couldn't defeat the Orochi. It's my mission as the Lunar Priestess to 
protect the world that you live in, and I was so helpless to stop them! 
What kind of a Priestess as I?" Chikane's tears tapped on the backs of 
her hands. "I failed you, Himeko. I'm sorry that I let you get hurt like 
this. I'm sorry!" Chikane's head fell to the bed and she cried next to 
Himeko.

As Chikane cried, Himeko slowly opened her eyes. "Chi...kane..." she 
said, turning to the dark-haired girl beside her.

Chikane raised her head and looked at her beloved through teary eyes. 
"You're awake," she said. She wrapped her arms around Himeko and cried, 
"Thank goodness! My mother tells me we've been here for three days."

"Your mother?" Himeko wondered.

"Yes, she's here too," Chikane replied. "Otoha is here also, as well as 
Makoto."

"Where are we?"

"A trauma center in Seoul, South Korea. It wasn't safe in Japan so Otoha 
and Mother brought us and Makoto here."

"It's hard to believe we're still alive."

"I wish I weren't," said Chikane, her head looking down again. Himeko 
looked at Chikane, more than a little surprised at the taller girl's 
statement. "How can I live with myself when I can't use my powers to 
protect you? Killing you in my previous life, raping you, and destroying 
the world were because of Orochi, and I understand how you can forgive 
me for those. But just standing by and doing nothing while Ogami stole 
you away? Letting the Orochi destroy Ame no Murakumo along with any 
chance we had of saving the world? I could have stopped those from 
happening. I could have stopped them but I didn't! Even when I'm not 
under Orochi's control, I can't protect you. I'm not worthy of your love 
after all. I don't deserve your love when I allow these horrible things 
to happen to you."

"Is that what this is about?" Himeko asked. "Is this about Ogami 
capturing me and Orochi defeating Ame no Murakumo? Is this all about you 
not being able to protect me? That doesn't matter." This time, it was 
Chikane's turn to be surprised by her girlfriend's statement. "When 
Ogami captured me, I still found my way back to you on my own. 
Protection is not what I need from you, Chikane. All that I need from 
you is your love. That's the only thing you need to give me. As long as 
I have your love, everything will be okay. We all draw our power from 
others. I was able to revive Ame no Murakumo last year on my own because 
I drew my power from people like Mako, Otoha, Souma, and even from you. 
The reason that Souma was able to fight to protect me was because of the 
power he received from me. Even the gods draw power from others; Ame no 
Murakumo draws her power from the Solar Priestess and the Lunar 
Priestess. You might not have the power to save the world, Chikane. But 
WE do. We brought Ame no Murakumo back after it was destroyed last year, 
we can do it again as long as we accept the love that we have for each 
other. Whatever happens, don't think about what you do and do not 
deserve. All that matters is our love. So accept my power, Chikane. Draw 
your power from me and use it to defeat the Orochi once and for all!"

Suddenly, Himeko pulled Chikane close, embraced her tightly, and pressed 
her lips against Chikane's. At first Chikane was stunned by Himeko's 
action. Before then, Chikane had been the one to take the initiative, 
and she was surprised when Himeko stole back the kiss that Chikane had 
taken from her when the Orochi attacked the year before. Before Chikane 
could react to Himeko's overt display of affection, she felt her body 
overflowing with incredible power. The Solar Mark and the Lunar Mark lit 
up brighter than they had before, filling the room with their light.

"That was so beautiful," Mako said as the door opened and she entered. 
"I'm so happy for..." Makoto trailed off as she looked into the room and 
was bewildered to find that she, Otoha, and Rika were the only ones 
there.

----------

At that time, Gattai Orochi had recently finished destroying the cities 
and towns of Japan. "The power of Gattai Orochi is unstoppable!" cried 
Nekoko.

"The world will soon be destroyed," said Rehko.

"And then," Tsubasa finished, "a new one will take its place."

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" a female voice cried from 
behind them. Before they could react to the voice, Gattai Orochi was 
impaled through the back by a massive blade, more than half the Orochi 
mech's size. The blade ripped straight through Gattai Orochi's body, 
cutting the creature in half. The blade opened up in front of the 
crippled Gattai Orochi, revealing itself to be Ame no Murakumo! However, 
it was not the Ame no Murakumo that the Orochi had destroyed three days 
ago. It was not the sword god's usual silvery-white color. It was now 
glowing a brilliant shade of gold!

Chikane and Himeko, their Priestess Uniforms having magically 
materialized on their bodies, looked down upon Gattai Orochi, which was 
slowly crumbling as the life oozed from its body. "Without the power of 
Orochi," Chikane heard her father say, "the Himemiya family will lose 
its power over the people of Japan."

"I know that," said Chikane. "And I don't care. Without all of that 
power, I can live the life of a normal girl, next to Himeko whom I love 
more than anyone else. And I will not let her world be ruled by the 
Orochi!" Chikane raised the Lunar Priestess Blade and Ame no Murakumo 
prepared to strike one last time. A fiery, orange halo appered behind 
Ame no Murakumo and Chikane brought her sword down, the blades on Ame no 
Murakumo's wrists plunging deep into Gattai Orochi's body. The United 
Body of Orochi crumbled and the aura of dark energy that was Orochi's 
spirit retreated to the sky.

"What happened?" Souma wondered, sitting inside the no-longer-active 
Gattai Orochi. "How did Ame no Murakumo come back after we destroyed 
it?"

"You can't destroy the God of Swordsmen," Chikane said from the golden 
mech towering over the Orochi members. "Not as long as the Solar 
Priestess and the Lunar Priestess share the bond of love."

Ame no Murakumo's wings started glowing as it prepared to perform its 
next task. As Ame no Murakumo built up its power, the Lunar Shrine 
reappeared on the surface of the moon. The Orochi members stared in 
horror as a bright beam of light fired from the giant mech's wings. 
Tsubasa, Miyako, Girochi, Korona, Rehko, Nekoko, and Souma all cried out 
as they felt the light penetrate their bodies, sending them flying into 
the Lunar Shrine. The seven Necks of Orochi had been sealed away.

With Orochi's followers locked away inside the Lunar Shrine, it was time 
to take care of Orochi himself. Ame no Murakumo flew up into the sky, 
after the swirling, purple aura that was attempting to escape. Again, 
Ame no Murakumo's wings started glowing as it approached the swirling 
ball of dark energy. The Sword God's wings fired their sealing beam at 
Orochi's spirit, and sent it into the Lunar Shrine as well.

----------

For a long while, Himeko and Chikane simply stared at the shrine 
standing tall and majestic on the moon's surface. As the two priestesses 
comprehended the situation, it slowly dawned on them that both Orochi 
and his followers had been sealed away. Not only that, much of the world 
had not been destroyed!

Ame no Murakumo, having sealed away the Orochi, returned to its 
silvery-white color and descended back to Earth. As they exited the Ame 
no Murakumo and set foot on the ground again, Himeko and Chikane looked 
around themselves. South Korea had not suffered any casualties due to 
the Orochi's attacks, and they knew that Russia, southern Africa, 
Central America, Canada, and much of China were not in much worse 
condition. "We did it, Chikane," said Himeko. "We defeated the Orochi, 
and most of the world is still in one piece."

"And because less than half of the world has been destroyed," Chikane 
said, "less than half of the world has to be rebuilt. It will still 
require the power of the Priestesses, but it won't require sacrificing a 
whole priestess. We might not have destroyed Orochi once and for all, 
but at least we can still be together and live our lives like we've 
wanted. Orochi will attack the world again in a few hundred years, but 
we'll be reincarnated and we'll be ready for it! Now we know how to seal 
Orochi away before the world is destroyed, and we can live all of our 
lifetimes together."

Tears of joy were streaming down the priestess' faces, both of them so 
happy that they had finally discovered the loophole that they had needed 
to both defeat Orochi and share their lives together. They embraced each 
other and kissed passionately. There were no words to describe the 
happiness in their hearts.

"Shrine Maiden of the Sun, Shrine Maiden of the Moon," a booming female 
voice said from Ame no Murakumo. "Orochi and his followers have been 
sealed away into the Lunar Shrine. Now, the last rite of the two 
Priestess must be performed."

"'Last rite of the two Priestesses'?" Himeko asked.

"Less than half the world has been destroyed," Chikane called to Ame no 
Murakumo standing above them. "We don't need to perform the last rite. 
We can use your power to restore what little has been damaged."

"Unacceptable," Ame no Murakumo said. "The blood of a Priestess must be 
spilled."

"What's going on?" wondered Chikane.

"You get sealed away inside the Lunar Shrine anyway!" said Himeko. "The 
awakening of the Shrine Maidens is confirmed by their ability to unlock 
you from the Lunar Shrine when Orochi returns. If you're going to be 
sealed away inside the Lunar Shrine along with Orochi, then you only 
have to use up as much power as you usually do. You don't have to draw 
power from the death of a priestess to remake what's been destroyed!"

The blade on Ame no Murakumo's right wrist extended and Ame no Murakumo 
swung the blade directly at Himeko! Himeko winced in pain as the edge of 
the blade drew just a small bit of blood from the tip of her nose. "I 
will not be questioned by the Solar Priestess!" Ame no Murakumo yelled 
angrily. "A Priestess must be sacrificed."

Chikane stepped forward and said, "I am the Lunar Priestess, descendant 
of your original holder, Susanou no Mikoto." The Lunar Mark on Chikane's 
back lit up as she used her power to take control of the God of 
Swordsmen. "I am the one destined to control the Ame no Murakumo and you 
will obey me! Stand down and restore the world with your own damn 
power!"

Ame no Murakumo withdrew her arm, appearing ready to surrender to 
Chikane's will. However, the blade on its wrist did not retract. "The 
blood...of a Priestess..." Ame no Murakumo spoke with a shaky, unsteady 
voice. Chikane put all of the power she had into subduing the God of 
Swordsmen. Finally Ame no Murakumo finished her sentence, "...must be 
spilled!" The giant god thrust its blade toward the Priestesses one more 
time.

Ame no Murakumo's blade was deflected by another. Ame no Murakumo's 
glowing green eyes were met with a pair of glowing blue eyes. Tsukuyomi 
no Mikoto had appeared; the God of Swordsmen and the God of the Moon 
were crossing swords!

To be continued...

----------

OMAKE:

"They're...gone!" said Otoha at seeing that Himeko and Chikane had 
disappeared from the room.

"Where could they have gone?" wondered Makoto.

"I wonder if they went back to fight Orochi." said Rika.

"Oh Chikane," said Otoha, "Be brave. Defeat Orochi and save the world 
like I knew you always could."

"What's up with you?" asked Mako. "What, are you in love with Chikane?"

Rika looked back and forth at Otoha and Makoto. Sensing a confrontation 
coming, the older woman exited the room and closed the door.

"Yes!" Otoha exclaimed to Makoto. "I am indeed in love with Chikane. But 
it is not meant to be. She belongs to Himeko."

"It seems we're in the same boat. We're both left without someone to 
love." Otoha and Makoto looked at each other for a moment. Suddenly 
Otoha jumped on top of Mako and they had hot lesbian sex all night long.

Onwards to Part 19


Back to Spiral of Destiny Index - Back to Kannazuki no Miko Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction