“Kimika?! That can’t be! She’s on my team!” She glared angrily over at the announcer girl, Koto, then turned over toward the committee booth. “There’s no way we can continue this fight. She’s my missing teammate. I don’t know why or how she came to be on their team, but I doubt it was of her free will. I demand the committee force them to bring out one of their actual fighters and return my friend.”

    The announcer girl looked over the situation in slight confusion. She covered as she looked innocently at Makoto.

    “That is a problem if this fighter is your teammate; but I have no authority to change anything.” Koto turned to the announcer board above the stadium. “It’s up to the committee if they will do as you wish, goddess. Because of the unique circumstances of this situation, they might comply with you.”

     The audience roared with slurs of disappointment at the delay of the match. Their curses and boos drowned out Makoto’s thoughts as she looked over Kimika in confusion. She tried to assess for herself what was going on by observing Kimika’s current state of mind.

     She tried to see the truth inside Kimka’s mind; but she couldn’t see a thing. Her mind was completely vacant. She couldn’t see anything, not even emotions or memories. Somehow Kimika’s mind was entirely blocked off from her.

    That was impossible since it would take a high level of magic to do something like that. She highly doubted Kimika possessed the strength or skill to do such a thing. Someone had to do that for her. Someone must have put some type of mind control spell over her. That would explain everything that was happening.

    “Kimika, why are you on their team? Are they forcing you to fight for them?” Makoto slowly moved closer to her as she trained her unflinching gaze of wander on Kimika.

    Kimika massaged the back of her neck as she looked up at Makoto in a slight daze. “I… I don’t know. Everything that happened to me after reaching the arena till now is a blur.” Kimika stammered softly as tried to comprehend what was going on around her.

    “A blur?” Makoto’s eyes grew at Kimika’s words. She looked closely at her friend’s actions. She seemed normal at first glance; but when she took a closer look, she seemed out of sorts.

    Makoto had no idea what they did to her; but she could tell that she was suffering from whatever they were doing. She just didn’t understand why they would want to use Kimika. Regardless of Kimika’s word, Makoto doubted Kimika was of any value to them to use against her. So why did they take her?

    Her concern was eminent, but it soon became shrouded by anger and annoyance. These new feelings weren’t roused by the actions of the other team; but those of her friends.

    “How could you be so careless and ignorant, Kimika?! I’m not sure if I should entirely believe that you could really be so stupid and get manipulated like this! I refuse to believe anyone could be like that!” Makoto scolded angrily.

    The sight of her friend becoming flushed with anger and slight doubt in Kimika’s own words, saddened Kimika. She averted her gaze downward away from her friend’s. Her body tensed as she desperately tried to restrain the tears threatening to fall and tried to recall what happened before she entered the ring. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, everything was a blank mystery. It was like those moments of her memory were being shrouded from her. But how? Was her mind hiding it from her as a precaution to conceal some horror that occurred to her within that time? Or was there another source interfering with her memory?

   “I’m sorry, Makoto.” Kimika answered softly without removing her gaze from its fixed position on the floor. She then uttered few more words, but they were too soft to reach Makoto’s ear.

 

    Within moments, the committee’s decision was made. The rowdy audience roared in excitement over their decision as it showed on the screens overhead. The decision was finalized and in favor of the blood thirsty spectators.

    “Well, everyone, it seems a decision has been made!” The announcer girl, Koto, started hesitantly in shock. “The committee has voted to go against the goddess’ wishes. The match between the rogue goddess, Rika Makoto, and her confused ex-teammate, Kimika, will proceed regardless of how she come to be on their opponent’s team.”

    “What the hell are you talking about, fox girl?!” Makoto roared, dashing to Koto’s side and grabbing hold of her collar angrily, lifting her slightly of the ring. “Tell your idiotic bosses to get off their fat asses and check the rule book! There is no way this could be considered a legit or fair fight!”

    Koto tried to wriggle out of Makoto’s grip, but she was too strong. She gulped silently as she tried to contain the fear building up inside her. But no matter what she did, her fear shone clearly in her eyes.

    “I’m sorry, goddess. It is not my call. I have no power of persuading the committee’s decision. I’m just as surprised as you are about their decision. Please don’t hurt me.” Koto pleaded fearfully to the angry goddess before her.

    Makoto noticed the trembling demon girl in her possession and realized the truth in her words. She was a mere messenger. She had no say in the decision of those cowards lounging in the glass covered booth above the stadium.

    She released the announcer girl and turned her unflinching glare toward the committee box. She refused to move until they explained their treachery.

    “Oh come one! Stop stalling!”

    “What’s the matter, Makoto?! Is the rogue goddess scared?!”

    “We want to see blood! Stop talking and Start fighting!”

    The impatient roars of the crowd began to agitate Makoto. With each taunt, her blood began to rise along with her annoyance. Her energy rose in tune with her rapid growing anger. She elevated from the ring as her powers grew more volatile. Her long raven hair floated gracefully around her as her dark brown eyes began to glow a deep fusion.

    As their insults and disrespectful chants continued, the goddess’ fury increased. She could no longer hold in her intense emotions any longer. Within moments, she released a booming voice that rattled the entire stadium.

    “Enough!!!” A shockwave followed the earthshaking command of the goddess causing many of the spectators, who were sitting in the rows closest to the ring, to fly backward colliding with the demons in the rows behind them. Instantly, a heavy silence fell over them. No one dared to utter another word.

    Makoto settled down and floated back down to the ring when the stadium was doused in silence. She turned her gaze back toward the committee and awaited their explanation. It didn’t take long before an automated response sounded over the loudspeakers.

    “The committee rules against changing the match since the fighter, Kimika, entered the ring for the opposite team of her own free will and there isn’t any proof of being coerced otherwise. The match is valid.”

    “What?! Are you blind or just stupid?!” Makoto yelled seething with rage at the incompetence of the tournament committee. “It is obvious that she was tricked to fight on their team! You must be behind this as well!”

    Koto noticed the building rage in the goddess. She looked on at her in confusion and pity at the unfairness of the committee’s judgment. She wished that she could do something; but she was powerless.

    With each ferocious demand Makoto made to the committee for them to withdraw their decision, Koto could see a murderous intent begin to grow inside the goddess toward the committee. When she saw Makoto begin to charge toward the direction of their booth, Koto bravely intercepted her. She laid her trembling hands on Makoto’s arms in a pleading attempt.

    “Goddess, please. You can’t argue against their judgment once it is made. You will be disqualified if you do. I don’t believe you want that.” Koto’s trembling voice pleaded gently to the enraged goddess. Makoto looked down at her in slight intrigue of her courage to stand up to her. “I’m sorry, but you must fight your friend.”

    Makoto calmed down and stepped away from the announcer girl to return her gaze toward her friend. It was inevitable. She must fight Kimika, her best friend. But would she be able to do that without losing control? She would have to try her best to do so, for her sake and Kimika’s.

 

    Kimika had no idea what was going on around her because she was paralyzed in pain. Her head was being tormented by many sharp pains causing her vision to become impaired and hazy and her to lose control of her own thoughts. They gradually began to increase until she could no longer hear the sounds around her. The only sound she could hear was a sharp irritating ringing.

    She collapsed her hands on top of her head as the intense pains and ringing persisted and grew stronger.  “No. I won’t… Please. I can’t… Stop! Leave me alone!” Kimika pleaded painfully as she tried to combat her strange tormentors. She huddled over as they became stronger trying her best to withstand them, but she was slowly losing to their overwhelming invasion of her mind.

    From her position at the side of the ring, Horuna could see the heartbreaking display of her friend. Fear took hold of her for she didn’t know what was tormenting her friend. She could see her pain; and she desperately wanted to run to her aid; but she wasn’t in any position in doing so.

    She called out to Makoto to bring her attention to Kimika. “Makoto, there’s something wrong with Kimika.”

    Makoto, who had returned her gaze at the heartless committee, turned back toward her friend. Concern made her rage subside when she noticed her friend’s painful condition. She moved over to her side to check on what was troubling her friend.

    “Kimika, are you all right?” Makoto asked gently, touching her shoulder in genuine concern.

    At the touch of Makoto’s hand on her should, Kimika grabbed her hand, whipped her over her shoulder, and slammed her into the ring.
 

    Hiei and Kurama gawked in awe and confusion at the scene unfolding below. They couldn’t believe what was happening between Makoto and Kimika.

    “That’s not fair! What are those imbeciles thinking?! It’s obvious that Kimika was manipulated somehow to fight for that Kazeki team!” Hiei hissed in irritation at the situation his friends were forced into.

    “I’m not very shocked by the committee’s decision. They aren’t known for being fair. My concern is for my sister alone. There’s something wrong with her. She seems to be in pain.” Kurama observed calmly, trying to conceal his growing concern. His eyes were slightly wide as he watched on; although his face remained expressionless.

    Hiei didn’t respond. Instead, he closed his eyes and concentrated. He tried to access her mind to find out what was troubling her. It took a few moments before he was able to access her mind.

     This was not the first time that he had accessed her mind. He did it a few times before without difficulty. But this time wasn’t as easy as the previous times. Her mind was blank. Her thoughts… her feelings…. Everything in her mind was closed off from him. But how? Kimika couldn’t and wouldn’t do that. So who was behind it?

    “You are having difficulty reading her thoughts? That doesn’t surprise me, Hiei.” Kurama and Hiei turned around immediately at the sound of the masked fighter’s voice coming from behind them. He ignored their surprised expressions and slowly walked in between them, looking down at the ring, before continuing. “There is a powerful presence masking Kimika’s mind. I don’t know where that presence is coming from; but I have a feeling that they are behind all of this confusion.”

    The masked fighter took a pause when she noticed Kimika’s pain.  “She is suffering because she is resisting their attempts to control her mind. If she continues to fight them, she might win. She also might collapse from the strain. We just have to hope that her will is strong enough to overcome it before that happens.”

    The masked fighter’s words weighed heavy on Kurama’s and Hiei’s fears. They knew there was truth in his words. They just hoped Kimika was strong enough to overcome this on her own.

 

    The pain from the impact against the ring floor was not as intense as her shock of Kimika’s attack. She rolled on her stomach, pushing herself slowly up off the floor. She looked up at her attacker wide-eyed in disbelief.

    Her emotions raced through her body paralyzing her for a brief moment. Confusion ceased her senses making her tremble slightly as she tried to regain her composure.

    “Kimika, what’s wrong with you? Why are you attacking me?” Makoto pleaded to her friend for answers. Her emotions of disbelief and confusion was evident in her voice.

    She searched her friend for a sign of why she was acting so strange; but no matter how long she searched, she couldn’t find a reason. She only saw her friend looking down at her expressionlessly. She didn’t react or respond to her words. She just stared at her blankly. She almost seemed dazed as if she were in a trance.

    Her words weren’t going to break through to her friend. She could see it in her expression. Before she could get back on her feet, Kimika attacked her once again.

    Makoto tried desperately to dodge each of Kimika’s physical assault, but she was faster and stronger than she realized. She evaded her strikes as much as she could, trying not to counter them; but as her speed and power increased, she began to realize the inevitable truth… She would not be able to continue avoiding Kimika’s attacks for much longer. She would have to fight her. She had no other choice.

 

    Horuna stiffened in fear at the sight of her two friends battling one another. This was wrong and very dangerous. Even though Kimika seemed to have grown stronger, she still wasn’t strong enough to beat Makoto. She was giving Makoto a hard time at the moment, but Makoto was only defending; she wasn’t even fighting back; She knew when Makoto did begin to fight her seriously, Kimika wouldn’t fair very well; If Kimika pushed Makoto to the point when she would be required to use her full strength, then Kimika would be in grave danger. But was she actually strong enough to push her that far?

     She couldn’t understand why the committee would go against Makoto in their ruling. It didn’t make sense. Besides her case being a just one, she highly doubted the committee would dare to make an enemy of Makoto; that wouldn’t be a wise choice on their part.

      “If you are wondering why the committee went against Makoto, then I will tell you what I discovered.” Koenma started explaining indifferently, while training his eyes on the match between Kimika and Makoto. “Even though the committee would do anything to prevent invoking Makoto’s wrath, they had no choice in this decision. She was overruled by someone higher than them.”

        Koenma’s words though plain held much truth in them. He had no reason to lie to her. If what he discovered was true, then Kimika’s current situation wasn’t by chance or mistake. Someone put her in this situation; someone with much power and sway over the committee. She just couldn’t help wondering who could possess such power especially over a goddess like Makoto. Would any mere person really dare risk challenging the rogue goddess? Or was there another reason behind her friends’ current situation?

 

       The silence of the crowd became overwhelming as the two fighters clashed; blood was yet to be spilled, but the speed and power of the goddess’ opponent filled the crowd’s gore thirsty appetite just as well; so many watched on in amazement as the regular apparition girl seemed to grow more of a nuisance to the goddess; stunned at her vigorous pursuit, no one dared to utter a sound. Only the fierce sounds of their blows echoed through the silence.

       Makoto’s body tensed with each blow Kimika delivered; the strength of her attacks started to make her defense tremble; her human body wasn’t enough to fend off Kimika’s assault, somehow Kimika had grown immensely strong within the past few days; her speed was incredibly greater than it had been before; Even though she easily dodged each attack, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep it up for too long. If Kimika continued to grow stronger, then she would have no other choice, but to fight back. But Makoto knew she couldn’t do that; for she knew, no matter how strong Kimika became, Makoto could seriously hurt her or worse if he fought her with her true power. She would restrain herself from using it as long as she was able; but she wasn’t sure if Kimika would allow her to continue her passive state for long. She would be forced to fight back sooner than later and there would be nothing she could do to stop it.

 

         Watching the appalling match between her two friends, made Horuna tremble with anger. Her hand clenched into a fist as she tried to contain her building rage. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening. She couldn’t believe the committee was allowing this to happen. How dare those foolish cowards use her friends for their own sick amusement! It was all their fault! The damn committee members and this sick hooded freaks of team Kazeki!     

         She shot an intense look of fiery rage toward the two hooded figures standing on the other side of the ring. Her pulse raced at the sight of them for she was positive that they had something to do with Kimika’s current behavior. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure out a way to uncover their involvement without breaking any rules.

         After a few moments of intense contemplation, she finally came up with a solution. It was a technique which she learned from a priestess many years prior to her capture. She hadn’t utilized this ability for some time and she was still learning basic control for it; but if there was a perfect opportunity to use it, this moment would be it.

        She relaxed, closed her eyes, and released all of her intense emotions. When she was completely calm, she scanned the energies close to her until she found those of their opponents. Their energies were shrouded by a dark presence, making it impossible to figure out their true strength. However, that was not her concern; she wanted to discover which one was controlling Kimika so she could find a way to break their hold on her. She tried to scan their minds; but when she did, she was thwarted by invisible force which sent her flying away from the ring by a strong shockwave.

 

        Noticing Makoto’s weariness, Kimika lured her deeper into her rhythmic pursuit, making sure she matched each of her blows. She waited a few moments until she was sure that Makoto was ensnared in her pattern; then with the swiftest of kicks to Makoto’s side, she sent her flying to the other side of the ring.

        Makoto groaned in pain as her body collided with the hard concrete ring. Her entire body surged with a relentless agony caused by Kimika’s sneak attack. Her human form wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer if she continued on like this. She gathered all of her strength to force herself off the floor; but as soon as she raised her shoulders from the ground, her arm was pierced by something sharp like a blade. She cursed in agony, grasping her bleeding wound. She looked down at it to find the source of agony, but there was nothing. There was only a tear in her black leather jacket, which was now smeared with her blood. Her blood oozed out of the fresh cut on her arm, leaving small drops of crimson upon the ring beneath her arm, as she tried to reposition herself.

        Before she could discover the cause of her injury, she picked up the faint sound of swift whistle cutting through the air toward her. She immediately dodged the object, which was hurled at her, and looked back to where it landed. There piercing the floor was an arrow made of ice.

       She shot a sharp glance of surprise toward the direction from where the arrow come from. There was Kimika with a sparkling bow of ice drawn back in her hands. She quickly released the bow, shooting three arrows of ice at Makoto, when their eyes met.

       Though she was wounded slightly, she was able to easily avoid her friend’s attacks. She nimbly dodged each arrow, maneuvering her body with acrobatic agility. Her friend quickly resumed her assault. When she realized her friend’s attacks would soon hit their attended target, Makoto had no other choice, but fight back in defense.

       Makoto took a deep inhale until her cheeks were large and round, then she exhaled, blowing out an icy mist. The white mist shrouded her position from her opponent; and when her opponent’s attacks hit it, they shattered on impact. The barrier held up against all of Kimika’s arrows. Makoto waited until Kimika was creating more before administering her counterattack. She quickly stomped the vast mist shattering it into large sharp ice fragments and sending them hurling towards Kimika.

      “Ice storm!” Makoto yelled as she rapidly destroyed the entire wall of mist.

       The sharp ice fragments whizzed past Kimika as she nimbly dodged them. Thousands of them were coming towards her in incredible speed; Ice, as sharp as iron, came raining down upon her. She was fast, but Makoto’s attack was faster. A few shards pierced her cloak and scraped her skin, nearly missing vital points of her body. She realized she wouldn’t be able to dodge each of the ice shards for much longer. She extended her left hand and created a thick barrier around her of water. As soon as the ice shards hit her barrier they dispersed.

       Makoto watched on in disappointment as her attack dissipated in Kimika’s barrier. Her jaw clenched when she realized that ice attacks would render useless against Kimika, as long as she used that barrier. She was protecting herself with salt water, which would immediately dissolve any of ice based attacks. She didn’t want to fight her with any fire attacks because Kimika could easily over power them with her new power boost. Her earth attacks could manage very well and would guarantee her victory; but they would prove to be too brutal and could cause Kimika to take on too much damage. The same applied to her lightning attacks, but it could weaken her enough for Makoto to take advantage if the right voltage of electricity was used. 

       Makoto didn’t have long to debate her offense for Kimika had recovered from her attack and was already retaliating; a swirling cylindrical tower of water came rushing toward Makoto; without a second thought, she sent a lightning bolt to clash with Kimika’s attack; it immediately stopped the attack from reaching Makoto, but it also traveled the current of the swirling water to its original source.

        The shock of Makoto’s lightning surged through Kimika, electrocuting her. Kimika detached herself from the attack as she shook profusely from the electric current. Her entire body felt as if it were on fire as it trembled profusely; she screamed as the fiery surge overtook her body. The screams lasted for a moment before she felt a shock sent her flying through the air and the intense pain of her body colliding with the concrete of the ring.

      She tried to move, but she couldn’t. Her body was paralyzed in agony. She tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn’t comply. She was helpless to do anything; but even so, a very faint voice urged her to rise and continue to fight. It longed for her to continue to fight until she destroyed her friend, Makoto.

 

      Koenma, who was observing Horuna as she was scanning, ran to her side to help her when she flew back by the force of some unknown force. He supported her gently in her arms. Calling her name softly to recall her from her unconscious state; but the effect of the shockwave was still heavy upon her, paralyzing her momentarily. She tried to force her eyes to open, but they wouldn’t comply. Her whole being was paralyzed; she couldn’t move. Even her mind was in a state of darkness which was only lit by the soft sound of someone calling her name.

     “Horuna… Horuna, please wake up.” Koenma called repeatedly, shaking her softly to rouse her from her unconscious state.

      Horuna began to stir after hearing someone’s soft calls in her ear. When her ruby eyes opened, they met the concerned gaze of Koenma, who was holding onto her in a strong embrace. Their gazes met as she gathered all of her strength to prop herself up on her arms.

      “What happened? Are you okay?” Koenma queried in concern.

      “Yes. I’m fine.” Horuna blinked her eyes a few times to readjust them to her surroundings. “I was mentally scanning the minds of the two members of Team Kazeki to discover more about them; but when I tried, I failed miserably. Their minds were shrouded by a dark presence. I tried to bypass it; but when I did, some sort of energy force field sent me flying.”

      “I don’t know who those fighters are, but they are strong. They’re extremely powerful especially if they can block all mental probing in that way. It’s very hard to master such a technique. It’s no wonder they’re able to control Kimika.” The masked fighter explained, entering from the ringside entrance and walking over to where Horuna was.

       Koenma and Horuna quickly turned in the direction of the masked fighter’s voice. They watched as he entered with her brother and Kurama. At the sight of his sister sitting on the ground in Koenma’s arms, Hiei ran to her side and looked her thoroughly over.

       “Horuna, are you alright?” Hiei questioned warily. His eyes scanned her entire being to find the source of her current condition. When he was satisfied of her well-being, he, with the help of Koenma, helped her to her feet.

       Horuna looked at her brother as she nodded in confirmation. Before she could add words to her gesture, she was interrupted by Kurama, who was fixed on the ongoing battle between Makoto and Kimika.

       “I wish there was a way we could break their hold on my sister, but we can’t without going against the committee’s rules. If we try to interfere, then Makoto’s team would be disqualified.” Kurama’s voice was cool and indifferent as he analyzed the two members of the opposing team. His worry was concealed very well beneath his concentration to find a solution on how to help his sister; even Hiei didn’t recognize his true feelings hidden behind his words.

        “I could care less if they are disqualified by our actions! We can’t just sit back and watch them manipulate Kimika to her death. How long do you think Makoto is going to be able to stay on the defense? We have to save Kimika before she pushes Makoto too far.” Hiei snapped impatiently.

       “I’m not sure how long Makoto will hold out. But I know we can’t interfere, Hiei.” Kurama responded, indifferently. “Even if we were able to break their hold on her that would only be for the match. It wouldn’t stop them from targeting her outside of the arena. There’s a reason they’re targeting the girls; and we won’t discover what their reasons are or their identities if we cause Makoto and the girls to be disqualified.”

       Kurama’s words were mute to Hiei as his rage consumed him. Horuna could feel the tension emanating from his entire being. She grabbed onto his arm, holding it tightly to her chest. He looked at her; his eyes wide with surprise as his little sister prevented him from going any further. Her pleading eyes ensnared him even tighter.

      “Please, don’t do anything rash, big brother. Kurama’s right. You must keep faith that Kimika will break out of their hold on her own.” Her eyes shifted from him to the arena where her friends fought. She watched them carefully as she continued to voice her thoughts.

“Besides, I’m not sure they’ll be able to control her for much longer.”

       “What do you mean?” Koenma asked in curiosity of her words.

       “When I was scanning her mind earlier, I sensed a strange power, lying dormant deep inside Kimika, possibly for a long time. It felt like an ancient and strong power, which I highly doubt Kimika knows anything about.” Horuna watched anxiously as Makoto frantically dodged Kimika’s ice arrows. Hiei moved in her vision’s path to redirect her back to her explanation. “The power was able to remain concealed and dormant as long as Kimika had control of her will because she had no knowledge of it; but now that she’s no longer in control of herself, the power is free to emerge. I’m pretty sure they plan to unleash that power on Makoto, but I doubt they’re strong enough to control it as well.”

       Everyone was too shocked to respond to Horuna’s revelation; for the battle between Makoto and Kimika was changing as Makoto finally went on the offensive and sent Kimika flying with one of her lighting attacks. Everyone looked on in wonder if Kimika would be able to survive long enough to break free.

       “Well, I guess that’ll be the only moment Kimika will have to fight for control. She’ll need to tap into that hidden power. That’s if she can last long enough to do so.” The masked fighter stated plainly.

 

       Fatigue completely consumed Kimika as she fought to maintain consciousness; Agony became her only ally as it kept her tethered to the ominous world around her; her body was at its limit; She just knew it; but still, something inside her urged her to push on; it defied her body’s weakness and forced it to comply to its wishes.

       Makoto watched cautiously as Kimika forced herself onto her arms for support; she could see that her friend was struggling desperately to regain her footing; She watched on; her eyes misting as her heart began to break because of her friend’s struggle; The announcer girl counted the seconds Kimika remained on the ground; Makoto knew if the announcer girl reached ten before Kimika regained her footing, then this nightmare would be over; and she could focus all her rage and energy into smiting the ones responsible for this, and hopefully break their hold on her; unfortunately, Kimika was determined to continue fighting.

       “Please stay down, Kimika!” Makoto pleaded when she saw her friend rising at the count of number five. But her pleas fell on deaf ears for she continue to rise despite her struggles.

       At the count of eight, she was firmly standing; her eyes glared at Makoto with a deep emptiness; she began to stalk toward Makoto slowly; with each step, the air around her became shrouded in a thick white mist; it didn’t take long for it to completely engulf the ring and impair Makoto’s vision.

        Makoto searched around her warily for any sign of Kimika. Once again she was in awe of her friend’s new skills; she was definitely not the same weak apparition girl she saved from those demonic thugs, only a few days prior. She floated carefully as she wandered through the thick fog; she wasn’t sure what Kimika had planned, but Makoto could tell that she wasn’t going to like it.

        After a few moments of searching, Makoto realized her eyes were of no use to her in her current environment. It would be pointless for her to continue on searching in such a way. She closed her eyes and carefully scanned the area to see if she could sense Kimika’s whereabouts. She located the whereabouts of the announcer girl, Koto, but the whereabouts of Kimika was unknown to her. It was as if she vanished into the mist.

        Makoto couldn’t understand what was going on. Kimika’s energy had completely disappeared and seemed to be replaced with a much more powerful presence.

        “Who are you? What have you done to Kimika?” Makoto demanded forcefully to the unknown presence lurking in the mist.

         A strong laughter echoed through the mist in response to her demands. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but I am Kimika,” assured the soft voice of a woman, piercing through the mist to Makoto’s ear. “I’m just a part she suppressed.”

        Within seconds after the mystery fighter’s Makoto felt a pair of hands clamp around , pinning her to the ground behind her. She try to see her features of the woman, but she was shrouded by the thickness of the fog. By the silhouette of the woman on top of her, her attacker only barely resembled her friend. Her voice seemed much more mature than Kimika’s. She gasped for air as the mysterious woman increased the pressure on . This new fighter was too powerful to be Kimika. Even her scent differed from Kimika’s, but Makoto could faintly sense a tiny bit of Kimika’s essence lurking inside her, which meant her words must have some truth in them.

       “I will make you pay for trying to harm Kimika. You will forfeit your life for your treacherous act.” The mysterious woman hissed as she prepared to rob Makoto of her life.