Himeko and Chikane stared in horror at the new Ame no Murakumo that had appeared before them. The God of Swordsmen was colored the same shade of purple as Gattai Orochi was, and looked just as vicious. "How is this possible?" Himeko said. "How can Ame no Murakumo be Orochi's Eighth Neck?" "That's what happened when Orochi's power left my body," said Chikane. "When the Orochi inside me realized that it couldn't control me, it transferred to Ame no Murakumo." "But how can the God of Swordsmen be an Orochi?" Himeko asked. "I thought only people with the Orochi Gene could become Orochi." "Remember the legend?" asked Chikane. "The eight bodies of Orochi were spawned when Susanou cut off Orochi's eight heads. And then Susanou found the sword Ame no Murakumo within Orochi's tail. Because Ame no Murakumo was once part of Orochi's body, she carries the same gene that allows Orochi to control his followers!" "If it were not for you Priestesses," Ame no Murakumo roared, "it would not have come to this. You disobeyed me and now you will pay the price!" "Her conscience has been overthrown by anger," Chikane realized. "Ame no Murakumo knew that her life was in danger. Even though she's a God, her desire to survive must be just as strong as ours. The fear and the dark feelings that came with facing her own destruction were what caused the Orochi inside her to surface." "Can we defeat Ame no Murakumo in her Orochi form?" wondered Himeko. "It was difficult to overcome her power even with the combined strength of Amaterasu Oomikami and Tsukuyomi no Mikoto. But remember what Tsukuyomi said. I found the other half of the bivalve, a sign that you and I are meant to be together; the love that we share is so powerful that it rivals the power of the gods. With the power of that bond, as well as the power of Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, we can defeat Ame no Murakumo once and for all, and lock her away inside the Lunar Shrine along with the other Orochi!" "I told you," Ame no Murakumo said, "you do not have the power to lock me away. Only I am granted that ability!" In a fraction of a second, Ame no Murakumo gathered enough power to fire a powerful beam of light from the spike on her head. Himeko and Chikane did not have enough time to react and they were both thrown to the ground. Ame no Murakumo rushed at the grounded Priestesses with lightening-fast speed, giving Himeko and Chikane barely enough time to roll out of the way of the blades on the Sword God's wrists. "She's fast," Himeko said. Tsukuyomi no Mikoto stood to Ame no Murakumo's left and Amaterasu Oomikami stood to her right. Ame no Murakumo looked back and forth between the two celestial gods. "Which one of us are you going to attack, Ame no Murakumo?" Chikane asked. "Both of you!" The God of Swords turned toward Tsukuyomi no Mikoto and fired her rockets, sending Amaterasu Oomikami flying. Himeko cried in fear as her body flew backwards. "Himeko!" cried Chikane at seeing Himeko in pain. Ame no Murakumo's mouth opened and a beam of purple light fired from her throat. Chikane attempted to block the beam with Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's blade, but the beam simply engulfed the blade as well as Tsukuyomi's body. It was not a beam meant to damage the opponent, but to immobilize it! The glowing fabric that the beam had transformed into constricted around Tsukuyomi's body, rendering the Moon God unable to move! The power of Ame no Murakumo's rockets continued to propel her toward Chikane and she swung at the Lunar Priestess with the blade on her right wrist. Unable to run, all that Chikane could do was shift her weight to the right so that Tsukuyomi no Mikoto would fall out of the way of Ame no Murakumo's blade. The tactic worked and Ame no Murakumo's blade only nicked Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's left cheek. The blade also left a cut in the glowing fabric surrounding Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, which the God of the Moon climbed through to free itself. However, only after she was free of Ame no Murakumo's net did Chikane feel a stinging sensation on the left side of her face. She touched her cheek with her hand and found that her cheek was bleeding! Chikane had not even felt a blade cut her cheek; the injury had simply appeared! For a moment, Chikane was surprised and panicked by the wound that she had received and she retreated back to Himeko, who was standing up from Ame no Murakumo's rockets. "Chikane!" said Himeko at seeing Chikane's cheek bleeding. "Be careful, Himeko," said Chikane. "It seems that when Ame no Murakumo is in her Orochi form, any attacks you receive from her are inflicted onto your body." "If I kill your other selves," Ame no Murakumo said, "you die along with them!" Ame no Murakumo ran at Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu again. Himeko aimed the Solar Priestess blade at Ame no Murakumo and Chikane aimed the Lunar Priestess Blade at the Sword God as well. Shots of violet light fired from the blade on Amaterasu Oomikami's left wrist and shots of blue light fired from the blade on Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's right wrist. The blades on Ame no Murakumo's wrists spun around, blocking the shots fired at her. However, the spinning blades worked to increase wind resistance, and Ame no Murakumo's advance slowed down, giving Himeko and Chikane enough time to dodge out of the way. Before Ame no Murakumo could turn around to face the Priestesses again, she was hit in the back by several arrows, which exploded and sent her flying forward. However, as she flew through the air, Ame no Murakumo did a somersault in the air, looking at Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu upside-down and fired a beam of yellow light at them. The beam knocked the celestial gods to the ground again, giving Ame no Murakumo enough time to land on her feet and turn around to face the Priestesses. "Her agility has improved," Chikane said as she and Himeko got to their feet. Ame no Murakumo rushed at them again. Chikane grabbed Himeko's right shoulder with her left hand and Himeko grabbed Chikane's left shoulder with her right hand. Amaterasu Oomikami's right arm had fused with Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's left arm and both ran at Ame no Murakumo. Himeko and Chikane held their Priestess Blades in their free hands and called out in unison, "Celestial Spiral!" Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi lunged at Ame no Murakumo, both of their bodies spinning around one another, locked together by the purple-red arm between them. Ame no Murakumo stopped in her tracks, trying to make sense of what was happening. The spinning blur that was Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi hit Ame no Murakumo, engulfing the God of Swords in a flurry of flying blades and feet. Ame no Murakumo tried extending her blades so that the two celestial gods would injure themselves in their attack, but as quickly as their Spiral attack had hit, they jumped away and separated into their separate entities, facing the disoriented Ame no Murakumo. Ame no Murakumo had several dozen cuts around her body, each one oozing glowing, white blood. Himeko and Chikane then felt stinging pain in their legs and found that they had been cut by Ame no Murakumo's blades as well. "I'm not sure if that attack was worth it," Himeko said. "I think it was," said Chikane. "Look." Himeko and Chikane looked at Ame no Murakumo to find that the God of Swords could barely stand from all of the cuts in her body. Ame no Murakumo was badly injured. "I don't think she's able to fight any more." Himeko and Chikane clasped their hands together and called out, "Divine Light of the Eclipse!" Amaterasu's left arm and Tsukuyomi's right arm fused and they fired a powerful beam of white light at the dazed Ame no Murakumo. "It's over for you!" exlcaimed Chikane. "Not...yet...Lunar Priestess," Ame no Murakumo said in a weak, but defiant voice. Ame no Murakumo fell onto her back, the Divine Light passing less than a meter from her chest. As soon as the beam had passed, the rockets on Ame no Murakumo's back fired, propelling her off the ground and sending her flying away from Tsukuyomi no Mikoto and Amaterasu Oomikami. "She's...fleeing?" Himeko said. "She must have realized that she couldn't defeat us," Chikane said with a smile. "She came close," said Himeko, holding her legs in pain. ---------- Himeko and Chikane returned to the trauma center to recover from their injuries. "Are you two all right?" Rika asked as the Priestesses returned. "We're all right, Missus Himemiya," said Himeko. "But your legs. And Chikane, your cheek." "It's nothing serious," Chikane said. "We still don't want those to get infected." Even though Himeko and Chikane could walk without difficulty, Rika still offered to help them to the first aid center for treatment. Himeko and Chikane needed nothing more than antiseptic, bandages on their legs, and a small adhesive bandage for Chikane's cheek. When they exited the first aid center, Himeko and Chikane were met by Rika, Otoha, and Makoto. "What happened out there?" asked Mako. "It seems that Ame no Murakumo is just as much an enemy as Orochi was," Chikane replied. "Ame no Murakumo IS an Orochi," Himeko added. "What?!" Otoha exclaimed. "How is that possible?" asked Rika. "I thought that Ame no Murakumo's purpose was to seal Orochi away inside the Lunar Shrine. Was I mistaken?" "That was her purpose," said Himeko. "But what we didn't realize is that Orochi's hold over her is just as powerful as it is on any of his other followers. All that Orochi needed to take control of Ame no Murakumo's mind were dark feelings to enter her soul." Chikane looked at her feet and said, "I can't believe that we're the ones responsible for this." "Don't worry, guys," said Mako. "I'm sure you'll pull through in the end. You two have nothing but love in your hearts, and that's more powerful than any evil god." "'Love conquers all,' as they say," Otoha added. "That's right," said Chikane. "We came close to defeating Ame no Murakumo. If she hadn't escaped, we probably could have beaten her. And our injuries weren't severe. All we need is some way to chase after Ame no Murakumo if she tries to escape again." "Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu," said Himeko. "If we can utilize their full power, then we'll have a real chance of defeating Ame no Murakumo and rebuilding the world. But to do that, we will need to receive as much power from each other as possible. The more power we gain from each other, the more power we can pass on to our other selves." "We'll help you too," said Mako. "We'll be rooting for you all throughout," Rika said. "Even if we can't be with you in body," said Otoha, "we will be with you in spirit." Himeko and Chikane smiled and said, "Thank you, everyone." ---------- For the next few days, Himeko and Chikane did nothing but lie on a bed and hold each other close, allowing as much power to pass between them as possible. Both the Solar Mark and the Lunar Mark glowed as they concentrated on nothing but their love. Their eyes were closed, not letting anything distract them from each other, not even their sense of sight. They could feel their powers steadily growing, but the process was slow. "Chikane," Himeko said, her eyes remaining closed, "do you think we'll have enough power to beat Ame no Murakumo?" "Of course we will, Himeko," said Chikane. "I'm afraid." "I know, Himeko. I'm afraid too. But don't worry. I'll always be by your side. I won't leave you no matter what. Even if we die, Ame no Murakumo won't defeat us. As long as we can be together, we will not have lost." "Right," said Himeko. After a long moment of silence, Himeko added, "Even you get locked away inside the Lunar Shrine, I'll follow you." Chikane opened her eyes and asked, "If I get locked away, you'll lock yourself away with me?" "Without a second thought," said Himeko. "Thank you, Himeko." Himeko then opened her eyes and the two girls looked at each other. "Chikane," said Himeko, "I think that there's a way to increase our power." "How is that?" Chikane asked. Himeko's gaze turned slightly away from Chikane and she blushed. Chikane's eyes widened a bit and she said, "You don't mean..." "I think it's the only way," Himeko said softly. "Remember what happened the last time I touched you? You turned away. The memory of that night was too painful for you." "We don't have a choice. If it means defeating Ame no Murakumo and saving the world, I'll go through with it." "Himeko," Chikane said, worry rising in her voice, "we don't have to do this if you don't want to. I can't let you go through with something that you would regret." Himeko's eyes then widened and she said, "It's too late." Himeko sat up and said, "She's coming." Chikane sat up as well and said, "I guess we won't be going through with it tonight after all." The Solar Mark and the Lunar Mark started glowing brightly and the room was lit up with bright, white light. Mako, Otoha, and Rika heard a loud sound from outside the facility. They looked out a window and saw that the sound was caused by the footsteps of two mechs walking away from the trauma center, one of them colored purple, the other colored red. As they walked, they faced off against another mech, an Ame no Murakumo that was now colored a dark purple, just the same shade as the larger mech that it had fought the week before. "Good luck, you two," said the three women watching the standoff. ---------- OMAKE: After Himeko and Chikane's cuts had been bandaged, they decided to conserve their strength and lie in bed next to each other, embracing each other so that they could gain more power from each other. However, the silence only lasted a moment. Himeko's eyes opened as she felt something press against her hip. "Chikane?" she said. Chikane opened her eyes and looked at Himeko. "What is it, Himeko?" she asked. Himeko asked, "Is that a tanto in your pocket?" Chikane smiled and said, "No, I'm just happy to see you."
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