Shinrin Jinja ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Ichijiteki Park School started in fifteen minutes. Kimagure Gakuen didn't have a habit of ringing their bells late. Uchida Haruko knew that quite well. So she couldn't very well stand around her all day. The blonde class representative gave another look around from the tree she was standing by in Ichijiteki Park. It was early Thursday morning. Haruko had intended to go straight to school as usual, but something was nestled in the post before she left in the morning. It was an un-addressed letter marked with Haruko's name. She took it with her when she left for school and then opened it on the way there. It read; "Haruko-chan. I have something I need to say to you. Meet me at the front gate of Ichijiteki Park at 8.30, before morning classes start. I'll be waiting for you." Even now, Haruko was taking the letter out of her pocket and re-reading it. She had no idea who wrote it or who wanted to meet her here. She couldn't tell who it was by the calligraphy of the katakana and kanji either. Which was strange; because she was usually so good at that. So Haruko just waited for this person to show up. Whoever they were. But she found it out soon enough. The younger of the Uchida siblings turned to her right when she heard the sound of light footsteps. And her expression morphed into a smile from seeing the person there. Yui. Dressed in only a white Tokyo-Zappers tee shirt, denims and a pair of trainers. Out of her school uniform. Regardless, Haruko strode up to Yui with a giggle in her throat; more than happy to see the normally timid girl. Haruko stopped and smiled. "Yui-san! I can't believe that you're here! Watanabe-sensei got a sick note from you saying that you wouldn't be attending classes for a while. So how come? What did you have?" Unlike the normally weak and timorous way that Yui acted before, she was very stern and serious. Even the smile that she was giving Haruko seemed... forced. Haruko noticed this. But she didn't quite know what to make of it. Yui seemed a little different today. As if she had been made aware of something or... had discovered something that had allowed her a new quiet confidence. A private confidence. Haruko tilted her head to the side, searching Yui's dazzling bottle green eyes for an answer to this sudden change in her disposition. "...Is something wrong? So seem a little... distracted. Are you still feeling sick? Is that why you're not wearing your school uniform? ...Aren't you going in for classes today?" The silent but atypically decided Yui looked up at her friend, eye level. "...No. I'm not going to class today. And I... might not be coming to class here... ever again." That was a little confusing. Haruko's eyes thinned out; showing this confusion. Just what did Yui mean by that remark? She understood that the girl might not be feeling very well, but she couldn't use that to skip school indefinitely. That was just... nuts. Then the bolt of lightning called realization struck Haruko down like a tree in a thunderstorm. Emissions of both worry and assumption filled her. But none of them were completely misplaced. Haruko blinked, her gentle voice growing shallow. "...Y-You're not... leaving are you...?" "...I don't know..." What could Yui say besides that? If Haruko knew what she and Hibuki intended to do then she'd know that Yui had every reason to say this. Entering the Shinrin Jinja could be the last thing she ever did. And Yui didn't want Haruko thinking that she ran away or disappeared without a trace. In the Hazumaru girl's mind; it felt better to make the Uchida girl believe she was leaving by choice. The last thing she ever wanted would be to hurt Haruko by 'vanishing'. Because there was always the outcome... that she'd die in the Shinrin Jinja. "...I might be," Yui finally continued, "I don't know yet. It's hard to explain. But before anything happens at all... I just wanted to tell you something..." This was all pretty much going straight over Haruko's head so she just went with the flow and followed along with what Yui was telling her. "...Which is?" Well Yui didn't have much to say as she did something to show. The young brunette looked downwards again and mustered something inside herself. Breathing slowly, thinking swiftly. Then she acted instantly. Throwing her arms around Haruko's neck and wrapping her in a protective yet sweetly gentle hug. Haruko blinked with surprise, feeling Yui lean into her ear to speak. "Haruko-chan," She voiced softly, "In the week or so that I've been living in Tokyo... I've seen a lot of things and met new people. But you're the best thing about this town. And before I go, I really want you to know that... I'm so very glad that you are my friend... but your friendship... means more to me than just that. Haruko-chan, I... " It would be pretty obvious to anyone that Hazumaru Yui was not the kind of girl who expressed her emotions very easily. But necessity often made heavy demands on the human heart. Which was why her following action took so much effort. The brown-haired woman took a deep breath and gave a firm, quick lick of her lips with her tongue, moistening them. Then time simply slowed down as Yui tilted her head to the right and pressed her lips against those of the class representative, Uchida Haruko. The blonde froze with both shock and surprise as Yui kissed her. Feeling the softness of the slightly shorter girl's lips. Their warmth. And a passion that leaked out as easily as anything. Before she even knew what she was doing, Haruko dropped her note & bookbag and grabbed Yui by the cheeks, tilting her head to the side and parting her mouth for better entry. Yui's hands fell to Haruko's waist with the action, gripping them tightly, but with a softness that was so neglected by her other form, that of Shiki. And the two remained their, simply kissing, displaying an affection that was very new to them... but also... very appropriate. Though neither Haruko nor Yui could have understood it very well... there were strong emotions that were binding them together. Neither of them could have resisted it. Nor would they have wanted to. But as easily as the beautiful moment came, it ended. Before Yui lost her herself, she abruptly broke the kiss between herself and the Uchida girl, taking a breath. Haruko did the same, though her eyes expressed great confusion. She couldn't help but ask herself, why had Yui pulled back like that? Yui tried to ignore the wetness in her eyes as she said this. "Goodbye, Haruko-chan..." As soon as she loosened her embrace over Haruko, Yui stepped backwards and ran for the other side of the park as quickly as she could. Haruko looked on with both confusion and... a little heart break. Yui was saying goodbye? After that...? Without even stopping to see how Haruko felt about this? Or listening to her case for Yui to stay? "Yui-san!" She yelled desperately, "Wait!" But there was no way that the Uchida Sister could have caught up to Yui at the speed she was going with. Nor would she be able to hear any words. Yui ran right around the cobblestone corner that navigated around a tall-fenced off bush. Inside that bush was her shinobi clothing, Miyuki, her mouth-mask and her fresh stock of shuriken (a new, sharper set made by the very patron of the Kakugame Jinja, Master Genryukai) all bunched together. Across from that bush on the other side of the stone pathway was Uchida Hibuki. In normal street clothes, just like Yui was. He hadn't seen any of what had happened. But her knew full well of the situation between Yui and Haruko. He'd have had to be blind not to. Hibuki crossed his arms. "Did you say your goodbyes?" "Yeah," Yui didn't look back at her new partner, "...I have every intention of coming out of this fight alive. But I can't assure it. So I just wanted her to know how much she meant to me... in case I do die." "You're not gonna die." Hibuki said, frowning. "Maybe so. But I just had to do it. Haruko is... very important to me, even though we haven't known each other long. I just wanted to let her know that. And to make sure that she didn't worry about me if I never come back. Now I can focus on the Shinrin Jinja with a clear head." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Outside the Shinrin Jinja For a relatively sunny morning... there was a glacially cold wind passing through the streets of Tokyo. Not lost on the quiet dignity of the Shinrin Jinja. Cut off from the rest of the city with its pride. Beside the tall metal gates that blocked off outsiders from the precinct was a long chain of newly planted (about 30 years ago) oak trees. Upon one of those oak trees were Shiki and Hibuki. Watching the shrine with stern eyes. Hirotsugu was inside that place. As was Yagami. It was finally time to settle the fate of the Honshu Koga. Shiki crouched down on one branch of the tall oak tree she and her partner were on. Fully geared up, with her facial wrappings nudged tight along her face, her twenty shuriken in her twin thigh pockets (ten on either side) and Miyuki strapped to her back waist. Hibuki stood on a branch just a little ways higher than Shiki's. And he had left his Kabuki Cat Mask this time. There was no need to hide his identity from anyone anymore. "So that's the place that Hirotsugu-yarou's been hiding in, huh?" Shiki mentioned, "I would have never guessed it." Hibuki pressed his gloved palm into the bark of the oak tree. "...It's flashy enough for his twisted tastes. And it's even bigger than it looks from the outside. But you should be able to get to Hirotsugu quickly. The layout of the place is really straightforward." Shiki looked up at Hibuki. "...I hope so. I don't intend to drag this out. I might even be able to kill Hirotsugu-yarou before Yagami-san gets a whiff of it. If I'm fast enough." "I wouldn't count on it," The Uchida shinobi answered, "Yagami-san is as clever as he is powerful. He will be expecting us. But whatever you unlocked from the Scroll of Mizuryu should be enough to at least put up a better fight than before." Shiki grinned darkly. "Like you wouldn't believe. Now lets get this show on the road. I need to get inside the shrine as quietly as possible. So I could use a nice little distraction for the lesser ninja to cope with while I get myself in there." To that, Hibuki nodded, forging his left hand into the two-fingered sign of the shinobi. Then let his eyes slip closed to prepare for his little distraction. It would take more effort than usual because Hibuki hadn't used this Ninjutsu in a while. But it was better than nothing. Ryoko's skills with illusion had inspired it... so it was only fitting that Hibuki used its power to help take down the Honshu Koga. His focus went away from that large oak tree and towards the front doors of the Shinrin Jinja. They were guarded by two security guards (dressed in dark suits and sunglasses) at all times. But they were not the real guards for the shrine. Just drones used as a lure. In the long stone path that led up to the front doors was a puddle of rain water that had generated during the night rain. Just what Hibuki needed. The water rippled a little. Then began to rise up in a collective and solid but writhing form. That water soon began to reach a height of around six feet. Then began to take on a humanoid form. Legs, arms, feet, hands, and a face. Soon vibrant colour began to pour into the apparition, giving way to a complete form. A replica of the real Hibuki. Weapons, clothing, face and all. The Hibuki-clone soon gave a powerful grin, faced off with the guards, made the two-fingered sign and deftly spoke, "Mizuppoi Gizou Harada... Hibuki no Henka!" (Watery Counterfeit Body... Hibuki's Variation!) The two guards at the far doors of the Shinrin Jinja blinked with confusion. No surprise there. Security was very tight around the shrine. How could someone have snuck in so easily? But no matter what that meant, those two burly muscular men ran from the doors and instantly went for the Hibuki Water Clone. The replica smiled at the two of them and reached around its back for its copy of the real Hibuki's short sword, Tsumeitai Ryuu Ga (Cold Dragon Fang). The first of those surly bodyguards came up and loomed over the shorter, Hibuki-copy. "You!" The guard yelled aloud, "This is private property! Now you better get your ass out of here before we remove you with force!" The Hibuki Clone continued smiling but didn't say a word. It simply pulled Tsumeitai Ryuu Ga from its sheath and slashed in a brutal downwards motion. The guards screamed in agony as the blade hacked right through his shoulder, chest and stomach and cut back out at the waist. Blood spewed freely as the body collapsed into two halves, falling downwards into a bloody pile. The remaining guard trembled with fear as the Hibuki replica came for him. It charged with all the speed and fluidity of the raging river; and horizontally slashed at him. From the waist upwards, the body of the security guard was sent into the air with a sickening build up of blood, bone and guts twirling around it. The hacked corpse splattered all over the ground. Cold and dead. The Hibuki clone smiled again and sheathed its sharp duplicate of the Tsumeitai Ryuu Ga. It stood silently before the Shinrin Jinja; making its mark. Now it was just a matter of the Mizuryu Clan ninja taking the bait. Which they did. Eight swift blurs shot down around the Hibuki Clone from the air, surrounding him. They formed into eight lesser shinobi; dressed in grey ninja outfits and armed with short swords and shuriken pouches. These were the real guards of the Shinrin Jinja. Now they had been lured out of the filthy rocks they had been waiting under. Over by the oak tree; the authentic Hibuki was maintaining his focus for the Water-borne copy of himself. While Shiki was using her Mind's Eye to probe the Shinrin Jinja for someone to use Shunhenkou with. She opened her eyes and scowled. "...Damn! There's some kind of spell over the entire shrine that's preventing me from using Shunhenkou to get inside it! Like a firewall!" "Guess you'll have to sneak in the old fashioned way," Hibuki said steeling himself, "And I'll keep these guys busy while you do." Shiki nodded her thanks. Then made her move. The elongated wrappings attached to her face whipped around her head as she adroitly jumped into air; sailing off the sturdy branch of the oak tree. She came back down with swift movement and landed upon the gardens of grass beneath. Then made a quick dash across those lush gardens towards the very building they surrounded. In seconds she was on course for a collision with the large metal railings that blocked off outsiders from intrusion. Shiki grinned behind her mouth mask and leapt straight over black metal fence. Her body glided over it like an eagle on the breeze and she made a soft landing. She was within the temple precinct. But she spared no time to admire it. Shiki began running towards the Shinrin Jinja itself, but towards the left side of the sanctuary. And while she did that; she managed to hazard a glimpse at the front gates. Hibuki's Water Copy was still fighting off the minor ninja of the Mizuryu Clan. And from the looks of it, the duplicate was really holding its own. Which was good; because Shiki didn't want to waste time worrying about whether or not Hibuki could hold his own. The girl moved swiftly from one part of the inner gardens to the other; darting in swift strides that took her all the way up to the left wall of the Shinrin Jinja. To one of the side entrances (in the shape of a rather small wooden door) that had now been left unattended. Shiki stopped as she came to the tiny wood door lodged into the face of the side wall. She then rotated her smooth body, drew up her leg, and smashed it through the small wooden compartment with a brutal kick. From years and years of ninja training; Shiki knew how to break things and make as little noise as possible at the same time. But very little could have smothered the sound of that. Regardless, Shiki dove through that small opening as best she could. Her torso shot through the window-sized gap and rolled into the pine wooden floors of the Shinrin Jinja. She was inside.
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