Story Update - [Haru]
I posted this, and then forgot to note it on LJ... a whole month on. *facepalms*
Title: Argument #12, 492
Fandom: Sakura Taisen
Author: yumi_michiyo
Genre: General/Romance/Drama
Prompt: #43 - the ogre injured, written for 100_fairytales
Rating: K
Universe: Manga canon, takes place after chapter 24
Word count: 1,461
Cross-posted to 100_fairytales and FF.net
Author's Note: Part 7 of the serial Haru.
Summary: Sumire and Kanna have another one of their blowups.
Sumire was not happy. She had spent the entire morning bickering with Kanna - precisely what they had been arguing over long forgotten - and had gotten a telling-off from Maria. Even though this was normally how their arguments ended, Sumire was sore because Kanna - Kanna the insufferable lumbering woman - had gotten the last word. And had gloated about it.
To make matters worse, she had let it affect her and made a mistake in her onstage cues during afternoon rehearsal. A tiny one, to be sure, which went unnoticed by everyone else, but Sumire had to be perfect.
To make matters worse, Sakura had positively shone in rehearsal. The younger girl felt a little guilty she could not bring herself to be completely happy for her, because it meant her position as the Top Star was facing competition.
The young woman stomped up to her room after dinner, prepared to spend quality time relaxing with some good imported tea -
- the alarm sounded. She sniffed.
"I suppose I must," sighed Sumire, breaking into a run.
When she arrived downstairs, she was surprised to see Kanna sitting at the briefing table, rubbing a rapidly swelling forehead.
"Well, what mischief have you gotten yourself into now?"
The Okinawan glared and promptly winced. "Kanna-san fell out of the dressing tube and hit her forehead on the floor," explained Sakura.
"The stupid claw didn't let go of my boot quickly enough," interjected Kanna. "Darned thing - Kohran, you'd better get someone to fix that."
Sumire was barely able to suppress a smirk.
Yoneda stood up at the head of the table; the Hanagumi fell silent. "Aoi Satan has been spotted in Azabudai," he said, calling up the image on the screen behind his head. "The Yumegumi has proposed the black metallic objects the Kuronosu council seem to be planting are seals."
"Seals?"
The picture vanished and was replaced by a blurry image of the seal, taken at the last battle. "Yes, powerful seals laid years ago by the people to suppress Bishop Tenkai's powers. It seems the Kuronosu council has resurrected him and is trying to unlock his full powers..." Yoneda touched a sheaf of paper at his elbow. "Follow-up reports from the Tsukigumi indicate a vast decrease in the spiritual power of the surrounding after the object has been planted."
"So far, the attacks follow a pattern; all nearby important temples within the main Tokyo district," the commander pointed out the different locations as he spoke, "and of course, this."
A straight line appeared on the map, passing through all the locations.
Ogami frowned.
"That means - "
"Yes." Yoneda placed his hands behind his back. "We predict the next attack to be at Ikegami Honmon-ji."
"The reason we sounded the alarm was because the Yumegumi reported an unusual elevation of reiryoku in the area which usually precedes an attack," added Ayame. "Your mission is to scout the area and prevent the seal from being laid; if possible, destroy Tenkai's minions. We will stand by with Goraishi if you need backup."
"Understood." Ogami rose to his feet. "Teigoku Kagekidan, our mission is to protect Ikegami Honmon-ji! Go forth!"
"Yes sir!" They chorused.
***
Sumire's purple koubu marched around the perimeter of the building for what seemed like the hundredth time. "How boring," she sighed. "The enemy should come out to fight instead of wasting my time like this."
Her radio crackled. "Talking to yourself, eh, Sumire?"
She frowned. "Certainly not to you, Kanna-san."
"Oh come now; don't be so hostile." Sumire could practically see the Okinawan grinning as she spoke, no doubt being completely clueless about the nature of their mission.
She could not resist. "At least I am not as ignorant as a certain unrefined woman who is disregarding Ensign's orders."
"What did you say, you witch?"
Sakura sighed. "They're fighting again."
"Again?" Kohran commented. "They went at it all mornin'."
"Sumire isn't happy unless she's fighting with someone," observed Iris. "Like the other time..."
"Be quiet, all of you!" All five members of the Hanagumi winced and rubbed their ears as Maria's voice crackled over the radio, drowning out all of them effortlessly.
Radio silence reigned momentarily - and was soon broken by a dramatically hissed "This is all your fault!" from Kanna.
"Me?!" came the outraged reply almost immediately.
Ogami closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Huh... never a peaceful day around those two." They quickly snapped open again at the insistent beep of an incoming transmission.
"Ogami-san!" Tsubaki's face appeared in front of him. "We're picking up an elevated reiryoku reading from the temple grounds!"
"Something big is manifesting!"
"Damn!" he cursed, kicking the koubu into gear. "Hanagumi! Report your location, now!"
"I'm in front of the temple torii with Iris," came in Maria's voice.
"I'm behind the temple building with Kohran," answered Sakura.
He nodded. That left only two who had not responded... "Sumire-kun? Kanna! Where are you?"
Silence.
"... All units, report to the temple grounds immediately!"
***
Sumire was just about to deliver an insult when she felt an immense pressure weighing on her. "Such strong reiryoku..."
Behind them, on top of the main temple building, a figure materialized. Aoi Satan smirked down on the two solitary koubu in the courtyard.
"Well, Imperial Fighting Troupe. Your numbers seem greatly reduced."
They moved into a battle formation. "Hah! Two of us alone is more than enough to take you on!" shouted Kanna.
Satan smirked. "While impressive, mere courage alone will get you nowhere." His robot rose out of the ground, poised menacingly between him and the girls.
"Yaaaah!" Kanna charged forward, closely followed by Sumire. Sparks flew as the two met in a clang of metal. The enemy easily flung Kanna aside with a casual shrug and spent the rest of the blow on Sumire's naginata.
She gritted her teeth - the enemy was strong - and ignored the protests from the koubu's arms.
"Hold him!"
Kanna reappeared in her field of vision, sinking her magnetized claws into the mecha's flank in a one-two punch. Electricity crackled from the gashes but it seemed not to care.
Sumire's strength gave way then. Satan's koubu parried a half-hearted stroke from her naginata blade and knocked her bodily aside.
"Aaah!" The lights in her cockpit flickered madly.
"Sumire-kun! Kanna!" A familiar voice crackled over the radio. "Are you alright?"
"E - Ensign!"
"Hold on, we're coming! Until we get there, don't engage the enemy directly."
She tightened her jaw. "... Yes, sir."
"A bit late for that..." In a loud clanking of metal, a distinctly battered Kanna appeared. "Well, we'll just keep him busy until the others get here." She pulled Sumire's mecha back to her feet. "You okay?"
"More or less... thank you, Kanna-san."
"Don't thank me too quickly..." She gestured in the enemy's direction. "We can't let him place the seal!"
Already, the large black object hovered above the ground, emitting waves of spiritual energy enough to send the gauges of their koubu haywire.
"Onkiriri basara unbatahmun... onkirir basara unbatahmun..." With every syllable, the pulsating wave of energy rippled through its surroundings.
"Back me up," yelled Kanna, breaking into a run.
"W - wait, Kanna-san!" Sumire followed behind. "You can't expect to fight him in this condition!"
"I didn't say anything about fighting!"
Lowering her head, the Okinawan charged right into Satan's koubu. There was a brief moment filled with the sound of crunching metal before the enemy's side plate gave way. It teetered off balance before crashing down in front of its startled master - cutting off his chant midway.
Sumire smiled. "Well done, Kanna-san!"
"Aheh... thought you'd never say something like that to me, Sumire." Kanna extricated her distinctly battered koubu from the tangle and began limping back. "Let's finish him!"
Satan gritted his teeth and picked himself up. "Khhh... you think you have thwarted me? How foolish..."
"Look out!"
The robotic eye of Kanna's koubu swiveled around, spotting the accumulation of reiryoku - the battered machine creaked and groaned as it tried to move fast enough -
"Ah!"
Sumire flung herself in between them and held a defensive position. The force was mostly deflected by the naginata blade but she was thrown backwards.
"Sumire!" Kanna worked the controls of her koubu furiously to no avail. "Damn..."
Satan smirked. Before he could say anything, a loud crashing noise from the wall signalled the arrival of the rest of the Hanagumi.
"The Imperial Fighting Force is here to serve justice!"
"Haja Kensei, Ouka Houshin!" Sakura's attack not only shattered the seal but also damaged Satan's koubu.
"D - damn!" Satan backed away, weighing his options; finding the odds not in his favour, he vanished before their eyes.
"Sumire-kun! Kanna!"
They emerged from the beaten-up koubu cockpits looking as battered as their machines but otherwise unharmed. "That was a close one, guys," commented Kanna.
"Too close," sniffed Sumire, dusting off her jacket. "If Kanna-san had not bravely attacked Satan, the seal would have been laid."
"What're you talking about, Sumire! If you hadn't saved me from that attack, I wouldn't even be here!"
"... and here they go again," sighed Kohran, but she was smiling.
Title: Argument #12, 492
Fandom: Sakura Taisen
Author: yumi_michiyo
Genre: General/Romance/Drama
Prompt: #43 - the ogre injured, written for 100_fairytales
Rating: K
Universe: Manga canon, takes place after chapter 24
Word count: 1,461
Cross-posted to 100_fairytales and FF.net
Author's Note: Part 7 of the serial Haru.
Summary: Sumire and Kanna have another one of their blowups.
Sumire was not happy. She had spent the entire morning bickering with Kanna - precisely what they had been arguing over long forgotten - and had gotten a telling-off from Maria. Even though this was normally how their arguments ended, Sumire was sore because Kanna - Kanna the insufferable lumbering woman - had gotten the last word. And had gloated about it.
To make matters worse, she had let it affect her and made a mistake in her onstage cues during afternoon rehearsal. A tiny one, to be sure, which went unnoticed by everyone else, but Sumire had to be perfect.
To make matters worse, Sakura had positively shone in rehearsal. The younger girl felt a little guilty she could not bring herself to be completely happy for her, because it meant her position as the Top Star was facing competition.
The young woman stomped up to her room after dinner, prepared to spend quality time relaxing with some good imported tea -
- the alarm sounded. She sniffed.
"I suppose I must," sighed Sumire, breaking into a run.
When she arrived downstairs, she was surprised to see Kanna sitting at the briefing table, rubbing a rapidly swelling forehead.
"Well, what mischief have you gotten yourself into now?"
The Okinawan glared and promptly winced. "Kanna-san fell out of the dressing tube and hit her forehead on the floor," explained Sakura.
"The stupid claw didn't let go of my boot quickly enough," interjected Kanna. "Darned thing - Kohran, you'd better get someone to fix that."
Sumire was barely able to suppress a smirk.
Yoneda stood up at the head of the table; the Hanagumi fell silent. "Aoi Satan has been spotted in Azabudai," he said, calling up the image on the screen behind his head. "The Yumegumi has proposed the black metallic objects the Kuronosu council seem to be planting are seals."
"Seals?"
The picture vanished and was replaced by a blurry image of the seal, taken at the last battle. "Yes, powerful seals laid years ago by the people to suppress Bishop Tenkai's powers. It seems the Kuronosu council has resurrected him and is trying to unlock his full powers..." Yoneda touched a sheaf of paper at his elbow. "Follow-up reports from the Tsukigumi indicate a vast decrease in the spiritual power of the surrounding after the object has been planted."
"So far, the attacks follow a pattern; all nearby important temples within the main Tokyo district," the commander pointed out the different locations as he spoke, "and of course, this."
A straight line appeared on the map, passing through all the locations.
Ogami frowned.
"That means - "
"Yes." Yoneda placed his hands behind his back. "We predict the next attack to be at Ikegami Honmon-ji."
"The reason we sounded the alarm was because the Yumegumi reported an unusual elevation of reiryoku in the area which usually precedes an attack," added Ayame. "Your mission is to scout the area and prevent the seal from being laid; if possible, destroy Tenkai's minions. We will stand by with Goraishi if you need backup."
"Understood." Ogami rose to his feet. "Teigoku Kagekidan, our mission is to protect Ikegami Honmon-ji! Go forth!"
"Yes sir!" They chorused.
***
Sumire's purple koubu marched around the perimeter of the building for what seemed like the hundredth time. "How boring," she sighed. "The enemy should come out to fight instead of wasting my time like this."
Her radio crackled. "Talking to yourself, eh, Sumire?"
She frowned. "Certainly not to you, Kanna-san."
"Oh come now; don't be so hostile." Sumire could practically see the Okinawan grinning as she spoke, no doubt being completely clueless about the nature of their mission.
She could not resist. "At least I am not as ignorant as a certain unrefined woman who is disregarding Ensign's orders."
"What did you say, you witch?"
Sakura sighed. "They're fighting again."
"Again?" Kohran commented. "They went at it all mornin'."
"Sumire isn't happy unless she's fighting with someone," observed Iris. "Like the other time..."
"Be quiet, all of you!" All five members of the Hanagumi winced and rubbed their ears as Maria's voice crackled over the radio, drowning out all of them effortlessly.
Radio silence reigned momentarily - and was soon broken by a dramatically hissed "This is all your fault!" from Kanna.
"Me?!" came the outraged reply almost immediately.
Ogami closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Huh... never a peaceful day around those two." They quickly snapped open again at the insistent beep of an incoming transmission.
"Ogami-san!" Tsubaki's face appeared in front of him. "We're picking up an elevated reiryoku reading from the temple grounds!"
"Something big is manifesting!"
"Damn!" he cursed, kicking the koubu into gear. "Hanagumi! Report your location, now!"
"I'm in front of the temple torii with Iris," came in Maria's voice.
"I'm behind the temple building with Kohran," answered Sakura.
He nodded. That left only two who had not responded... "Sumire-kun? Kanna! Where are you?"
Silence.
"... All units, report to the temple grounds immediately!"
***
Sumire was just about to deliver an insult when she felt an immense pressure weighing on her. "Such strong reiryoku..."
Behind them, on top of the main temple building, a figure materialized. Aoi Satan smirked down on the two solitary koubu in the courtyard.
"Well, Imperial Fighting Troupe. Your numbers seem greatly reduced."
They moved into a battle formation. "Hah! Two of us alone is more than enough to take you on!" shouted Kanna.
Satan smirked. "While impressive, mere courage alone will get you nowhere." His robot rose out of the ground, poised menacingly between him and the girls.
"Yaaaah!" Kanna charged forward, closely followed by Sumire. Sparks flew as the two met in a clang of metal. The enemy easily flung Kanna aside with a casual shrug and spent the rest of the blow on Sumire's naginata.
She gritted her teeth - the enemy was strong - and ignored the protests from the koubu's arms.
"Hold him!"
Kanna reappeared in her field of vision, sinking her magnetized claws into the mecha's flank in a one-two punch. Electricity crackled from the gashes but it seemed not to care.
Sumire's strength gave way then. Satan's koubu parried a half-hearted stroke from her naginata blade and knocked her bodily aside.
"Aaah!" The lights in her cockpit flickered madly.
"Sumire-kun! Kanna!" A familiar voice crackled over the radio. "Are you alright?"
"E - Ensign!"
"Hold on, we're coming! Until we get there, don't engage the enemy directly."
She tightened her jaw. "... Yes, sir."
"A bit late for that..." In a loud clanking of metal, a distinctly battered Kanna appeared. "Well, we'll just keep him busy until the others get here." She pulled Sumire's mecha back to her feet. "You okay?"
"More or less... thank you, Kanna-san."
"Don't thank me too quickly..." She gestured in the enemy's direction. "We can't let him place the seal!"
Already, the large black object hovered above the ground, emitting waves of spiritual energy enough to send the gauges of their koubu haywire.
"Onkiriri basara unbatahmun... onkirir basara unbatahmun..." With every syllable, the pulsating wave of energy rippled through its surroundings.
"Back me up," yelled Kanna, breaking into a run.
"W - wait, Kanna-san!" Sumire followed behind. "You can't expect to fight him in this condition!"
"I didn't say anything about fighting!"
Lowering her head, the Okinawan charged right into Satan's koubu. There was a brief moment filled with the sound of crunching metal before the enemy's side plate gave way. It teetered off balance before crashing down in front of its startled master - cutting off his chant midway.
Sumire smiled. "Well done, Kanna-san!"
"Aheh... thought you'd never say something like that to me, Sumire." Kanna extricated her distinctly battered koubu from the tangle and began limping back. "Let's finish him!"
Satan gritted his teeth and picked himself up. "Khhh... you think you have thwarted me? How foolish..."
"Look out!"
The robotic eye of Kanna's koubu swiveled around, spotting the accumulation of reiryoku - the battered machine creaked and groaned as it tried to move fast enough -
"Ah!"
Sumire flung herself in between them and held a defensive position. The force was mostly deflected by the naginata blade but she was thrown backwards.
"Sumire!" Kanna worked the controls of her koubu furiously to no avail. "Damn..."
Satan smirked. Before he could say anything, a loud crashing noise from the wall signalled the arrival of the rest of the Hanagumi.
"The Imperial Fighting Force is here to serve justice!"
"Haja Kensei, Ouka Houshin!" Sakura's attack not only shattered the seal but also damaged Satan's koubu.
"D - damn!" Satan backed away, weighing his options; finding the odds not in his favour, he vanished before their eyes.
"Sumire-kun! Kanna!"
They emerged from the beaten-up koubu cockpits looking as battered as their machines but otherwise unharmed. "That was a close one, guys," commented Kanna.
"Too close," sniffed Sumire, dusting off her jacket. "If Kanna-san had not bravely attacked Satan, the seal would have been laid."
"What're you talking about, Sumire! If you hadn't saved me from that attack, I wouldn't even be here!"
"... and here they go again," sighed Kohran, but she was smiling.