“For all those watching, you will notice that a mysterious mist has engulfed the ring. Since I’m unfortunately trapped inside of it, I can’t see what’s going on between the two fighters. And since I can’t see what’s going on around me, I can assume that you can’t see what’s going on either. Hopefully, someone will be able to dispel the mist so we can know the outcome of the two fighters.” Koto announced while she slowly tried to find her way around the thick mist.

            Fear and caution seized her as she traversed the thick white terrain upon her hands and knees. She felt around the cloudy abyss for some idea of where she was; but it proved fruitless. The mist was too thick; and the powers lurking within it were too frightening for her to pursue any farther. Frozen in fear, Koto remained in her current position to give her as much distance from the strange powers lurking in the depths of the sea of mist.

 

            The mysterious woman was impressively strong; it shocked Makoto that she claimed to be one and the same as her friend; there had to be some mistake; because how could her sweet little Kimika turn into someone like this vicious warrior. Her confusion was slightly interrupted by the tightening grip upon . It took a great amount of her strength to break the mysterious warrior’s hold and throw her a distance into the thick mist.

            Sharp, painful pants escaped her lips as Makoto tried to regain her breath. She grasped at her chest as her lungs painfully throbbed. Out of the woman’s grasp for the moment, Makoto hid in the opaque bosom of the mist as she tried to regain her composure. She could sense the strange woman’s movements as she lurked in the misty abyss. Makoto wanted to remain hidden; but she had to find out the truth about this mysterious new being.

            “You are pretty strong. You almost had me there. To think I almost believed your claim to be Kimika; but there’s no way that could be true.” Makoto smirked coldly as she dryly taunted the woman. “Come on. Stop messing around with me and tell me the truth. Who are you? And what have you done with Kimika?”

            “You truly are a stubborn one. I am who I say I am. I am Kimika.” The cool emotionless voice of the mysterious woman echoed through the fog. Its origin unknown to Makoto as she carefully moved through its unknown terrain to find a secret refuge from her pursuer.

            “You are a liar! You can’t be Kimika!” Makoto snapped angrily at the woman’s unwavering determination to assume her friend’s identity.

            “Why can’t I be? What’s so unbelievable about that?” The woman questioned in dark amusement as she heard Makoto’s trembling anger. “How well do you actually know Kimika to be so certain? Do you really know everything there’s to know about Kimika’s past to be so sure?”

            Makoto’s lips clenched tightly in response to the woman’s words. As much as she hated to admit it, there was truth in her words. There was much she didn’t know about her new friend. No matter how deep their friendship was becoming, there was still many things that they didn’t know about one another. There were many secrets they still hadn’t discovered about one another. How could she be so certain that this woman and her friend weren’t the same? Why was it so unbelievable to her?

            “Your silence is the greatest answer. You are starting to realize the truth.” Makoto was paralyzed in her own conflicting thoughts to react as the woman’s voice drew near. “But your doubts are somewhat justified. Kimika and I aren’t the same being; but I am a part of her.”

            “Stop with this cryptic B.S. and just say what you mean already!” Makoto snapped impatiently at the woman, as her silhouette began to become clearer in the mist before Makoto. She remained guarded as the woman drew nearer to her.

            “Very well then. I will tell you what you desire to know.” Though her voice was clear as she stood only a few feet away from her, the fog continued to conceal her from the anxious goddess. “My name is Kioni. I was once a priestess of the water sprite tribe in the artic region of the Demon World. My spirit was fused with Kimika’s as part of my legacy upon my death. You are right. We aren’t the same; but I have sworn to protect her whenever her body becomes under dire stress. That is why I cannot let you harm her anymore.”

            Makoto’s confusion grew at the warrior’s explanation because of its vagueness. However, before she could voice any of the thousand questions multiplying inside her, the warrior attacked her, lunging through the misty sea to try to grab hold of Makoto once more; But her attempt failed as Makoto swiftly moved out of her way.

            It didn’t matter if this Priestess Kioni was a part of her friend, she refused to give her an advantage like that again. She was determined to defeat this mysterious priestess and find some way to save Kimika.

 

            The thickness of the fog engulfing the ring shielded Kurama and the other from seeing what was happening between the two girls. Being in the dark about what was going on between them, made Kurama very anxious. However, it wasn’t his sister’s fate that concerned him so much, but that of Makoto’s. His concern for his sister had mysteriously faded, while his fear for Makoto’s safety rapidly grew.

There were intense sensations that he was sensing from her which continuously fed his fear. He could sense her physical and mental anguish caused by her battle with his sister. Confusion seized him at these sensations because he couldn’t understand what was causing them. Makoto was a very strong warrior, who was much stronger than his sister, regardless of her training. There was no way that she could cause her such trouble.

As the strain continued to weigh on Makoto, Kurama desperately longed to do something to help her. He wanted to interrupt this ridiculous match and stop it before any further harm came to her or his sister. He didn’t care if she hated him for getting them disqualified, but he couldn’t take much more of her growing agony. All he cared about was saving her and his sister.

‘Makoto…’ As he looked on at the fog covered ring, he tried to conceal his growing concern from the others; but it was obvious to Hiei, who was standing beside him, what was going on inside his friend’s head.

“I don’t know why you’re so concerned about Makoto. She’ll be fine. She’s a goddess. It’s Kimika I’m worried about.” Hiei said indifferently as he watched as the white fog danced on before him, concealing the condition and whereabouts of his friend.

“I’m concerned about Kimika. But I’m also concerned about Makoto. I don’t know what’s happening between them, but I can feel that Makoto is in extreme pain.” Kurama answered plainly.

“You can feel her pain? That’s weird. I can’t sense it. I wonder why you can.” Hiei looked at him with a raised eyebrow as confusion took hold of him because of Kurama’s words.

“That is peculiar. Normally, demons like you wouldn’t be able to sense specific details about a goddess like their feelings. It’s rare to possess such an ability.”

Koenma looked at Kurama with a suppressed intrigue. Something about this new found ability seemed to reveal some knowledge, which had remained hidden within him for years. The revelation was of something he never thought possible with Makoto.

“I don’t think demons are the only ones limited to that restriction. I can sense the level of her energy, but I can’t feel her current condition.”

The masked fighter replied as he tried to sense the current status of the two girls.  He could sense the whereabouts of the goddess, but he couldn’t sense her condition. There was also another peculiar situation. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t sense where Kimika was. He could only sense a new, stronger presence lurking in the mist along with Makoto and the announcer girl. Even though there was a very small similarity between Kimika and this new presence, the masked fighter couldn’t believe that it was even possible for them to be the same being.

“That doesn’t surprise me. Only certain beings aside from other gods can sense the condition of a deity.” Koenma explained.

“But I don’t understand if Makoto is a goddess, then how can she be in pain?” Kurama changed the focus of their conversation to the question he truly desired to know the answer of. Feeling her on-going struggle pained him and made his blood churn as he desperately suppressed his desire to save her.

“She’s able to feel pain because of the form she’s in.” Koenma began to explain as he focused his attention back to the ring. “Fighting in her human form makes her susceptible to injuries and physical emotions such as pain. Even though that form still retains her strengths and abilities, its vulnerability is its greatest weakness and can prove dire for the deity.”

“Wait are you saying that Makoto can die if she remains in that form?!” Kurama could no longer hide his concern when he heard Koenma’s response. His chest throbbed as fear took a vicious hold on his heart, poisoning it with growing doubts.

“I’m not sure.” Koenma nodded. “I have never seen a god maintain that form for this long.”

“Then she has to use one of her other forms instead. She shouldn’t risk the chance that she might die.” Horuna interrupted sharply as she looked up at Koenma with her crimson eyes bursting with fear for her friend. Koenma looked down at Horuna for a moment, before averting his gaze away from her and returning it to the towering mist before them.

“There is a reason why she’s remaining in her human form. Just like her human form, her other forms have vulnerabilities of their own. Her goddess form, which is her natural form, is extremely powerful; and that power can be devastatingly destructive when used. Her demon form, Rika, is just as destructive; but it’s also very unstable and uncontrollable. If she used either of these forms against Kimika, she could fatally injure her. It seems her friendship for Kimika is great enough that she would rather risk her own life, instead of risking Kimika’s. I never thought I’d see the day when the rogue goddess would make such a gamble.”

 

“Interesting… I never believed the apparition girl possessed so much power. That’s impressive.” The soft voice of a woman came from one of the cloaked figures of the opposing team as she spoke to her colleague, who was beside her focusing on the ring. The long dark hooded cloaks they wore shielded their features from one another and any spectators. But the current state of the match shielded their presence from their adversaries and many of the audience on the opposite side of the stadium.

Her partner didn’t respond to her words, instead they just nodded in agreement.

“You knew about this hidden trait of the apparition girl, didn’t you? That’s why you wanted me to take control of her.”

“Yes. I knew. That is but one reason why I wanted you to take control of her.” Her companion answered indifferently in a delicate feminine voice. “The girl is an empath, which makes her easier to control. Without proper protection, novice empaths are easier to control because of their susceptibility in reflecting others’ emotions. Soon Makoto will bend under the immense power of her friend’s hidden power. Her emotions for the apparition girl will restrict her; and that will be her downfall.”

 

Makoto was able to maintain her strength and speed as she clashed with the Priestess. It was impressive how strong she was. With each clash of their physical blows, a slight tremor was sent through her body. It was very clear that the priestess’ power was much greater than that of her current form.

Her human form was very strong, but it was also very susceptible to physical damages, making it very vulnerable. The fact that it wasn’t strong enough to overcome the priestess meant that Makoto had no choice but to use one of her other forms. She would need to change into her demon form if she wanted to defeat the priestess; but she couldn’t. It was too risky.

If she transformed into Rika, in order to defeat the priestess, she would need to access a large amount of her power to defeat her. If she accessed that much of her power at once, she wouldn’t be able to control her actions. The bloodlust of her demon side might overtake her and cause her to critically injure her friend.

She wouldn’t allow that to happen. She would fight as long as she could in her human form until she could figure a way to defeat the priestess and save Kimika.

 

The rapid movements of the fighters caused a powerful whirlwind that blew away the thick fog around them. Within moments, the ring was once again visible to the surrounding spectators to their pleasure and surprise. The goddess remained in her human form, which was slightly disheveled from her opponent’s attacks. But her opponent had completely changed.

There no longer stood the innocent image of teenage Kimika, but the tall, delicate figure of a woman. She fought adorned in long pearl and turquoise robes of silk. Her long ruby hair was tied up by a net of pearls. Her body and its features, though they were very similar to Kimika’s, were very defined by age and maturity.

Shock filled everyone witnessing this revelation for the first time, even Makoto was surprised by the sight of the priestess’ true form. Her face and eyes, though similar to her friend’s in shape and color, were emanating with a cold, determined look of vengeance toward Makoto. There was no doubt that Priestess Kioni and Kimika were indeed a part of one another. But Makoto wasn’t sure how she would be able to surpass the raging priestess so she could reach the heart of her friend before it’s too late.

 

“Kioni?! No. It can’t be.” Hiei stared in complete terror of the beautiful priestess fighting Makoto.

“Kioni? Who’s that?” Horuna asked in confusion of Hiei’s current terrified expression.

“Kioni’s a spirit residing inside my sister. She’s very powerful, but hard to control. That’s why she’s not supposed to be released.” Kurama explained softly while he stared at Kioni in fear.

“You mean that’s the spirit of Priestess Kioni, the ancient priestess of the ice sprites, seizing control of your sister?” Koenma questioned in slight surprise of the revelation of this new warrior’s identity.

Kurama nodded in response. His concern for Makoto began to grow immensely at the sight of Kioni. It was clear that fate had only one path for her to take if she was going to save Kimika. But would Makoto be willing to travel down it?

“The water tribe from which Priestess Kioni came from is also the tribe from which my sprite mother descends. I don’t know much about her legend, but I do know that the last time she seized control of my sister. It took everything we had to subdue her. The devastation she left in her wake was immense. I’m afraid to think what will happen now that she’s free again.” Kurama explained. His voice remained strong despite the fear hidden behind it.

“That’s interesting. I can tell that this priestess is strong; but I think she might be the greatest hope for Kimika to break free from their mind control.” The masked fighter stated softly, while observing the priestess and assessing her current state.

“What do you mean?” Hiei asked.

“The priestess seems to be growing in strength by each second. Soon she will become too strong for them to control. Kimika will be free. The only problem that will remain is, how will Makoto stop the priestess once Kimika’s freed? If she’s not able to best her, we might lose the only chance to save Kimika from the priestess’ control.”

 

The whirlwind that dispelled the fog sent Koto flying out of the ring. When she finally gained her bearing, she noticed that the goddess was dodging the attacks of a beautiful ruby haired warrior instead of the girl, Kimika. She looked on in confusion as she tried to figure out what was going on.

“Wait. Who’s that? That’s not the girl from before.”

“That woman is the same as the girl from before. She’s just a part she repressed.” One of the cloaked members of team Kazeki replied, without removing her gaze from the fight between the two fighters.

Koto looked at the cloaked fighter wide-eyed in confusion. There were many questions racing through her mind, but she chose to refrain from voicing them because the cloaked fighter made her very nervous.

She nodded in response, before retreating slowly on her hands and knees.

“You’re afraid of me, aren’t you? There’s no need to be. I won’t hurt you.” The cloaked fighter turned to look at the announcer girl. Her piercing blue eyes sent chills down Koto’s spine as she met her gaze. She refrained from moving any further in fear of what the cloaked fighter might do to her.

“Okay.” Koto answered briefly before grabbing her mic from off the ground and announcing the current status of the match.

“I never thought it was possible, but it seems Kimika has turned the tables on the rogue goddess. The fighter is showing the powerful goddess her true power and thrilling us while she does.” Koto announced, astonished at how much difficulty the goddess seemed to be having against Kimika’s new form.

With the mist gone, Makoto was able to see Kioni’s attacks more clearly, which made dodging them much easier. Makoto’s speed was incredible as she dodged each of Kioni’s physical blows. There were many points where the goddess could have seized control, but she didn’t take them. For some reason, Makoto refused to go on the offensive.

The agitation of the crowd began to grow as they bit back their curses and groaning because they still feared the wrath of the goddess. But they weren’t the only ones agitated by Makoto’s evasive behavior. Kioni was becoming very disappointed in Makoto’s defensive behavior.

“Have you become scared of me, goddess?”

“Yea right! You wish I was scared of you!” Makoto snapped angrily. In her building rage, Makoto countered her attacks by striking Kioni square in her abdomen and sending her flying across the ring.

As if unaffected by Makoto’s attack, Kioni immediately landed on her feet and stood strong once more, staring down Makoto in a cold, desolate manner. A small smirk of dark amusement crossed her face when she noticed Makoto’s rising anger.

“I see I’ll have to change that.” At Kioni’s words, Makoto hurled a lightning bolt at her, but Kioni easily dodged it. “There have been very few people who have witnessed my true power and lived. Today must be your lucky day. Behold!”

Her voice boomed as an artic wind swept through the stadium, originating from the priestess. Within moments, a vicious snow storm engulfed the ring. The strength of the winds caused the snow to fall upon Makoto like stones. The pressure of the snow and ice prevented Makoto from taking flight.

Grounded to the ring, Makoto desperately tried to maintain her footing upon the ice covered floor. Her eyes tried desperately to make sense of her surroundings through the raging storm; but the intensity of the snowy debris made it impossible. She had no other choice. She needed to find some way to adapt to this hell storm Kioni conjured, so she could defeat her and figure out some way to free Kimika from Team Kazeki’s mind control.

 

As the snow storm trapped the two fighter in a frozen tundra, the artic winds emanating from it consumed the stadium. Many of the spectators huddled with one another as the icy air grew denser. Only those few, who were resilient enough, paid the decreasing temperature no mind. They only watched on to see the state of the fighters.

“Such power.” One of the hooded members of Team Kazeki said in admiration of the priestess’ current display of power. ‘If I was able to control a powerful being as strong as that priestess, no one would ever try to cross me. I must possess her power.’

Desire took hold of the cloaked member of Team Kazeki. She closed her eyes and sensed for Kioni within the storm. It took some time to locate her among all the chaos. But when she finally found her, she used her power to try and grab hold of Kioni’s will.

Entering her mind wasn’t hard, since she had already entered it to control Kimika; but once she tried to take control of it, a powerful shockwave sent her flying into the stadium wall. The pain from the impact caused her to lose consciousness immediately.

 

Blinded by the ferocious blizzard, Makoto had to rely on her other senses to navigate the storm. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Within moments, her other senses heightened and she was able to sense everything in and around the ring. She scanned the area for the whereabouts of Kioni; but she couldn’t sense her at all. She completely vanished.

She tried to move around the ring, but the ring’s floor was heavily coated with ice, which made it difficult for her to maintain her balance. And with the vicious winds of Kioni’s storm, Makoto was still unable to fly. If she couldn’t move around, then she would be an easy target for Kioni. She refused to give Kioni such an advantage.

Immediately, Makoto began to glow as bright as a flame. The light engulfed her for a few moments, until it finally faded. When it faded, a black cat was left where Makoto stood. The feline stood upon the ice with its sharp claws dug into it, so it could maintain its footing. She hung on for dear life as she tried to withstand the raging elements. However, no matter how hard she tried, the elements were too much for her to handle. The cold air, strong winds, and harsh elements were taking their toll on Makoto, but refuse to give up for Kimika’s sake.

 

“It’s time.” The masked fighter stated simply.

“What do you mean?” Koenma questioned in curiosity of his words.

Everyone turned their attention toward the masked fighter with interest in his words’ meaning. They followed his gaze to see where he was looking. His gaze was trained on the opposite side of the ring where the members of Team Kazeki stood. Although, to their surprise, only one of their members stood by the ring. They followed the path of his stare to find that he was gazing at a huge crater in the side of the wall, where someone seemed to be crawling out of it.

“What do you think happened over there?” Horuna questioned in surprise.

“I’m not sure. But that’s what I’m referring to.” The masked fighter began calmly as he watched the other member of Team Kazeki try to rise to his feet. “It seems that member of Team Kazeki finally lost his hold on Kimika. Kioni is too powerful and skilled for him to control.”

Koenma observed the situation carefully, then responded.

“It seems that you might be right. But I fear that even though she’s freed from their control, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to free her from Kioni’s control.”

“We will find a way to free Kimika. We have to find a way to save her. I refuse to give up on her.” Horuna’s words stunned Koenma. The certainty of her words were strong; but the hope behind them was stronger. “She would never give up on us, so I refuse to let her down.”

 

The fallen member’s lapse of consciousness didn’t last long, along with the pain of the collision with the wall. She was able to push herself forward, resting upon her arms as she looked at the chaotic blizzard engulfing the ring in awe.

“How is it possible that I wasn’t able to take control of the priestess, like I was able to control the girl?”

“Why are you surprised when the answer’s quite simple? The priestess was too powerful for you to control.” Her comrade explained coolly.

“Wait. You knew that all along?”

“Correct.”

“So why did you let me attempt to control her?” The fallen member demanded, her voice quivering with shock and annoyance.

“I knew that you were going to do whatever you pleased, regardless of what I said.” Her partner turned to her and stared at her with her cold piercing blue eyes. There was no emotion left in her voice as she spoke. “Besides, I wasn’t certain about my theory; so it was a good way to test it.”

The fury building up inside of the fallen member towards her partner’s icy, emotionless words prevented her from responding. She just seethed quietly as she continued to listen to her comrade’s words.

“I knew once the priestess was released that no one would be able to control her; not you or even the girl she resides in. Makoto’s friendship for this demon girl will prevent her from taking any measure to stop Kioni. Her weak heart will prevent her from reaching her true power to defeat her friend. Which means, she will fall victim to the priestess to spare her friend’s life.”

 

“Well… Well… aren’t you a pretty kitty?” The sound of Kioni’s voice echoed through the winds encircling Makoto.

She tried to force open her eyes to locate the priestess, but the ferocity of the storm continued to impair her vision, leaving her vulnerable in the ice and snow. Though her feline form gave her stability upon the ice, it limited her abilities greatly. Also with her new handicap, her vulnerability increased even more. For the first time ever, she was helpless.

“It seems the great goddess can’t stand up against my meager powers. What a disappointment. I thought you would be more of a challenge.”

The storm’s fierce power raged on, pummeling Makoto with hail stones. She tried to shield herself with a barrier, but she was too drained from the priestess’ previous attacks. Her little body couldn’t take much more of the priestess’ attacks. If she didn’t do something soon, she would lose the chance to save Kimika for good.

 

Kioni noticed Makoto’s weakened state and used it to her advantage. With a wave of her arms, a giant boulder of ice formed before her. Then with a swift movement of her hand, the boulder went hurling towards Makoto at top speed.

“Ice mountain of the Damned!”

The powerful roar of Kioni’s voice was drowned out by Makoto’s scream, when the attack collided with her. The huge boulder of ice engulfed her, trapping her inside and extinguishing everyone’s final hope to save Kimika.

 

Kurama and the others looked on in horror as Kioni trapped Makoto. His greatest fear had been realized. Makoto was defeated; and Kioni was growing stronger by each passing minute. There was no one strong enough now to overcome Kioni; and Kimika would remain trapped inside of her forever.