[Fic] Power Struggle (Setsuna/Midori, Evil Zone)
Title: Power Struggle
Author: Racewing (fandomgreen)
Fandom: Evil Zone (Eretzvaju)
Rating: NC-17 (just barely.)
Pairing: Setsuna/Midori (with vaguely hinted Setsuna/Karin/Midori. No, seriously.)
Challenge: Midori is usually the one who has to be stopped from getting into trouble, which is why it feels so strange when she has to stop Setsuna from doing just that. [requested by fanaticalone]
Word Count: ~6800. And here I was going for the record. Dang.
Notes: I'll get this out of the way now; this is a week-and-a-half rush job based on a video game containing nonexistent localization, a horrific dub, and translation that can be called incomplete, hackeneyed and unserviceable at absolute best. The first is my fault, somewhat; I honestly thought I'd have more free time to crank this out than I ended up with in the end. The rest, blame Titus and Yuke's. It was the fighting game craze of the 90s, everyone needed to bring one out for the quick cash. Anyway, this means I had to fudge a lot of things, and while the end product is decent, I suppose, it's nowhere near what it would be if I had, say, a month of zero obligations to polish this baby up like I want to. I hate to say it, but I think I miss college.
At any rate, if it reads weird, or seems generic, those are my advance apologies. If you enjoy, then I'm glad. This goes double for fanaticalone; I tried my damndest for ya'. :)
Text file dump under the cut. A HUGE BATTLESHIP IS APPROACHING FAST.
One of her was asleep.
The other was wide awake.
At a campsite set up in an unknown forest, Setsuna Saizuki lay in a sleeping bag with her eyes closed. She was getting peaceful rest; her other half, her spectral half, was enjoying the tranquil quiet.
This wakeful half answered to the name "Karin."
Karin was a slightly younger female spirit coexisting inside of Setsuna. They were linked in the most extreme way. However, they'd been around each other long enough to get used to, and to sometimes even like, the simple rules that this association brought about:
One was the other, the other was the one. What one knew, so did the other. What the other experienced, so did the one.
Feelings were simultaneous.
Thoughts were shared.
To the core.
...usually, anyway.
---
As Karin lay conscious, she could hear the occasional battle cries of another, practicing not too far away. They served to keep her mind on the one source of meaningful conflict for both herself and Setsuna during their journey. Apparently crazed bounty hunters and superheroes they were able to handle, but the sharp words of a single young woman made the both of them flinch.
That young woman had managed to weigh on both of their minds ever since they'd run across each other earlier that day.
Karin and Setsuna had been summoned (no, "invited"; one might even say "attracted") to this world outside of worlds, this "I-Praseru," by Ihadurca, whom they'd only come to know as some malevolent being who had the power to destroy this world and others, were she not stopped.
If Karin had had a choice, she would have come alone. She would not have dragged Setsuna into this. Setsuna had her own battles to fight. With her here, her home world would be easy prey for Vice, were it to realize that Earth's Guardian Angel was currently nowhere to be found.
But it hadn't been up to Karin. She'd been powerless to stop their transport to this world, and she knew that it was all her fault. Curiosity had sent the both of them on an unstoppable chase until, finally, they'd found themselves here.
Yet, even with all of her remorse, Karin knew that Setsuna understood this.
If only the other person in their current party were able to as well...
-----
Racewing Productions (greenracer@gmail.com) Presents:
"'Friendship' V: Power Struggle"
An Eretzvaju (Evil Zone) Lemon
This story contains sexual scenes, yadda yadda, and all that good stuff.
If you're not over 18, or haven't read one of these things before, I
strongly suggest you turn back now.
All characters featured herein are trademarks of Yuke's Future Media
Creators. This story is copyright Racewing, May 2006.
-----
Neither of them could believe their eyes.
To think that both of them could meet up in this strange world like this. The odds were astronomical.
Midori was especially surprised to see Setsuna here. Her tagalong friend? The one she always got out of scrapes? What was she doing here?
She expected Setsuna to know about as much as she did. Probably less. Imagine her shock when Setsuna proceeded to tell her exactly where they were, why they'd been fighting strange person after strange person, and about a being named "Ihadurca," who supposedly had the power to destroy them all.
But what caught her attention more than anything was Setsuna's unexpected confession. That, more than any sort of story about alternate universes, had been the official Doozy Of The Day.
---
"Midori," Setsuna had said, sitting across from her friend, "I don't know all the details, but I do know that what we're wrapped up in... it's bigger than the both of us. Which is why I have something to tell you. Something I've kept from you for a while now. I hope you can forgive me for that."
"Yuki," Midori had said (using her childhood nickname for Setsuna, as was her wont), "I haven't exactly been in the practice of holding grudges against you. I don't plan to start now. So tell me. What's up?"
Setsuna nodded. "The truth is," Setsuna said, picking her words carefully, "I... I have.. another... inside me."
Instantly, Midori's mouth fell open. "Yuki... you mean, you're... you're..."
Unable to finish the sentence, she curiously poked at Setsuna's stomach, as if looking for something.
Only then did Setsuna realize, and her face turn bright crimson.
"What? No, no! It's nothing like that!"
Midori put her hand behind her head and laughed. "Oh, good! Well, then, I guess I'm back to not quite knowing what you're talking about."
---
"What are you doing?" Setsuna could hear Karin ask with alarm within her.
"Don't worry," Setsuna replied. "If anyone will understand, it's her. I know it."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Search my thoughts. My memories. My heart, if need be. A part of me still doesn't want to tell her, but if we are to survive here, and surpass our current limits... then I think we need to know all about each other."
A minute passed. During that minute, Setsuna felt like a single person. Before she'd met Karin, before she'd become the Guardian Angel. It was a simultaneous feeling of freedom and loneliness that she hadn't experienced in quite some time.
She used that minute to tell Midori, as best she was able, about the spirit living within her, trying to break it down into words the karateka would understand. Of course, not ever quite understanding it all herself, it was somewhat... tough.
Finally, Karin's consciousness made itself known again.
"I see," she said. "She is close to you. Perhaps... even close enough. Still, I hope you're right. I will trust you, as I always have... and I will trust her, for the moment, as well."
"Thank you, Karin," said Setsuna's mind. "Just watch and see."
---
This news was something Midori had never known up to this point, and she was of about five different minds as of how to take it. Had Yuki always had some kind of... ghost within her? Or was this some kind of new thing?
Whatever it was, as she listened intently to Setsuna's story, things were becoming abundantly clear.
Setsuna... Yuki... had to be saved from the burden she bore.
And there was only one way to do that.
---
"Huh. I think I get it now. I'm glad you told me."
Setsuna wanted to be relieved, but... there was an edge to Midori's voice. It was an edge that Setsuna had only heard a few times in her life--it was only present when she was preparing to fight a great enemy... an enemy that she was fully prepared to give her all against, because she'd projected all of her anger towards it.
"Yuki." She stood, assumed her ready stance, and clenched her fists. "Brace yourself."
Blinking, Setsuna backed away from her friend. "W-what are you doing?"
And that was when Midori pointed straight at her... or, one might say, through her.
"Performing an exorcism. This spirit of yours: she's the reason you're here, right? So all I have to do is get her out of you. Then, you can go home."
Setsuna just stared at Midori for a long time.
Clearly, she couldn't be serious. This was dense, even for Midori.
But that look of determination. Her focused eyes. Not a smile anywhere in sight.
...oh, wow.
She was definitely serious.
"What?" Setsuna exclaimed, running directly in front of Midori, and holding out her arms. "No way! You can't just... just punch her out of me! She's a part of me, Midori. We're stuck with each other, for better or worse--and right now, it's been for the better. Midori, she's helped me through so much..."
Midori almost fell over. How could Setsuna not see the risks here? "Helped? She's about to get you *kill*--"
She stopped and sighed. Clearly, she wasn't going to be able to win this through mere words. Time for an approach she was actually good at.
"All right, look. You're really set on this, I see. But... I can't let you walk into certain doom without a fight."
"And why not?" asked Setsuna, hands on hips.
"Well... b-because..." Midori sputtered.
Setsuna's voice turned cold--colder than Midori was used to from even her. Consequently, her next words had the effect of an icicle to the heart. "You have no problem running blindly into danger at a moment's notice! Do you see me getting all overprotective?"
"B-b-but t-that's different! I'm *me*! I'm the heir to the Fuin School of Martial Arts! I can take care of myself! You carry a toy sword around!"
And Setsuna's expression became even colder. You'd never know they were friends at this point, as opposed to being the most bitter of rivals.
It took all of Setsuna's willpower, and the back of her mind reminding herself that Midori still did not know of any of her secret world-defensive exploits, to keep herself calm.
She'd figured, one confession at a time. But Midori was sorely trying her patience.
"This sword is *real*, Midori. And if you knew what it could do... what it *has* done... you wouldn't be talking right now."
---
It was at that exact point, looking into Setsuna's eyes, that Midori finally understood.
She was really bad at this whole "warning" thing.
Midori's mind stepped back for a minute.
What was her motto?
A poem she'd once read, long ago. Paraphrased:
Those who stand still, fearful of consequences and the unknown, will never be able to walk the roads of life. You'll always find the answer--your answer--if you go without hesitation.
It was a rule she lived by. It was something she would always tell people who asked her for advice. Friends, her father's disciple-hopefuls, whoever.
Except, she realized just now... her Yuki.
Midori had always kept Setsuna close. Always kept her from harm. Always came to rescue her in her time of need, no matter what happened to herself in the process. She wasn't around Setsuna every single waking moment, but that didn't stop her from wishing she could be, or making up for it when she was.
Why was that?
Nuts. No time to reminisce now--she'd clearly touched a nerve, and the normally calm and collected Setsuna was now an inch away from boiling over.
---
Midori's confindent smile returned; cool and challenging.
"Like I said, Yuki. If we're going to come to any sort of understanding, then I'm going to have to check on your power. If you've gotten stronger since the old days, then I might not be able to stop you now. Feel like showing me what you've got?"
"But why?" Setsuna asked. "Must we solve this by fighting?"
Midori shrugged. "It's not exactly one of those things I can help. You ready?"
"Well... if we must." Setsuna sighed, drew her sword, shut her eyes... and chanted.
It was the chant she always used to fully meld with her other self, in times when she needed great power to crush the most immense of foes.
Midori wasn't a foe in the strictest sense, but Setsuna had only one chance to show her that she wasn't about to hide behind a protector's shadow any more.
True, it was partly her fault; never letting Midori know that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Still, if there was a time for Midori's illusion to be broken, now was as good as any.
"Unto the one who illuminates my passage and destroys evil! In the name of Setsuna, I vow my unfailing love..."
Midori blinked. "Huh? Whatcha doin'?"
"I want your power and soul. Take my body for the sake of your name..."
"Um... Yuki?" Midori faltered, and let her guard down for the slightest of moments. "This is starting to freak me out, here-"
"KARIN! COME FORTH!"
"Oof!"
Before Midori knew what had hit her, the hilt of Setsuna's sword had slammed into her solar plexus.
That hilt had been backed with all of the power and force of Setsuna's body. She'd moved said body that fast.
Through the pain, Midori wondered at that moment if there was anything else Yuki had neglected to tell her over the years.
***
Kata.
One of the basic methods for keeping many martial arts fresh in one's mind.
Reminders of positioning, placement, and technique, spread out over an area. Routine, predictable... yet invaluable at the same time.
A significant number of those who undergo this exercise imagine a a set amount of attackers coming at them from all sides, and using their invisible opponents' imaginary attacks to further enhance their own strategy and delivery.
This was what Midori was doing now... except "set amount" didn't figure into this equation.
She knocked away human beings left and right, trying to forget about her current dilemma. Her promise to herself to protect the one person who'd ever understood her, befriended her, and *stayed* her friend even after finding out that she wasn't one of those prim and proper girls.
All the attackers, she either knocked away or into submission.
The girls who called her "weird," or sometimes "freak." The idiot would-be suitors who showed up to her father's dojo in an attempt to fight for her hand.
She always won--after all, just who was strong enough to deserve her?
Even those she *used* to call "friend," who suddenly decided to make a big issue out of why she always hung out with that "creepy girl" at the college. Or the pervert guys who would give both of them funny looks whenever they walked to each others' houses.
She loved those. Their noses always broke the easiest.
The attacks continued. A palm to the face. A fist to the solar plexus. A kick to the chin. Efficient as she was, her mind was conditioned to replace two foes for every one she struck down... until, finally, she found herself surrounded.
This would have been just fine, except that tonight, for some reason, in her mind's eye, she spotted Setsuna amongst the faces in the crowd as well.
No. No!
They weren't going after Midori. They were going after *Yuki*, who shrank back with every step they took. She took a futile swipe with her sword-- Midori saw it knocked away, sent smattering against the ground.
They were trying to take her away.
And wordlessly daring Midori to stop then with what little strength she had.
"Little," huh?
She'd show them. She'd show them all.
Setsuna was all she had.
She wouldn't let a little thing like the world come between them.
She gathered all of her inner power, melded it with her strength of will, and directed the mixture at the ground.
With a growling roar, chi became explosive.
***
That'd been the same move she'd used during their fight. It had taken roughly a minute for the smoke to clear back then, too.
She moved around while she waited--no sense in making herself an easy target. Through the clouds, a tiny part of the back of Midori's mind refused to stop nagging.
This isn't solving anything, it said. You're inflicting the same pain upon Yuki that you didn't want her to experience in the first place.
Shut up, brain. It's for the greater good. A small beating now is better than a lethal wound later, right?
Time to end this quickly, then. One final attack.
The smoke finally cleared. Setsuna had the same idea.
As soon as her vision focused, she could already see Setsuna rushing towards her.
Setsuna, that is... times three.
Moving so fast that it looked like she'd duplicated herself. Each of them with their swords held high. They were now taking to the skies.
When had she learned that?
No matter. Midori knew that she was faster. She put herself into overdrive, zigzagging for effect. A fourth afterimage should do the trick. Yuki would be at a disadvantage.
The Setsunas and the Midoris clashed. All-on-all became one-on-one.
And then... a lucky kick, at just the right moment.
For a moment, Midori was sure *she'd* landed it... then she felt the pain, compounded by the stressful beating she'd inflicted on her own body by using so many powerful techniques at once.
She flew across the clearing, and slammed to the ground. When she tried to rise again, she found that she could not.
Damn it. Damn it to hell.
---
Was it only because Midori had pushed herself so far? Or had Setsuna really gotten that much stronger? Under her nose, no less?
She'd have to think about that.
As Setsuna moved to help her up, Midori made a mental note to suggest that they set up camp for the night... as soon as she was able to speak again. She'd need the time to try to figure out another way to stop Yuki from running off to certain doom.
Because clearly, going with her (literal) strengths had, for once, failed her.
...
...
Damn it to hell.
***
Midori finally came out of that reverie, and calmed down a bit, satisfied with the night's practice.
It occurred to her that she hadn't made much headway towards talking Yuki out of any of this. Which meant that deep down, she was still worried. Even if she *could* handle herself, what would keep the worst from happening?
Maybe she could find and get rid of this "Ihadurca" person on her own, really quickly. Then evil would be destroyed, and Yuki would be none the wiser. Everyone would win, right?
With a "whew", Midori flapped her shirt onto herself in an effort to cool off, which, given the warm night, wasn't going to work.
The bad news was that she really hadn't expected to get quite so much into her nightly exercises. The good news was that there was a spring that she'd spotted nearby. Looked like she was going to have to use it now instead of waiting until morning. Sticky clothes just weren't going to work here.
---
Back at the campsite, the still-awake Karin witnessed Midori's return, and saw her reach into a pack to pull out a change of clothes. She also saw Midori take a look at Setsuna, and kneel over her sleeping form.
With a forlorn sigh, Midori ran her fingers through Setsuna's hair, then got back up and left the site.
As quietly as possible, Karin decided to break a rule. Her curiosity had officially overridden her conscience.
Setsuna's eyes opened, but it was not Setsuna behind them. Karin willed her host's body to rise, and used it to follow the one who, she was beginning to see, made the both of them so... so...
...was there a word for these feelings?
***
A spring? In this world?
Well, they'd already seen stranger things in I-Praseru. No wonder Midori had been so adamant about camping at this site. She must have been here for a few days now, getting to know the territory. Or perhaps she'd forged it herself.
Karin put aside her surprise in order to concentrate on the fact that she was trying to be stealthy. That composure was lost, however, when she saw Midori shed her top, and her shorts, laying both on a nearby rock.
The rest of her garments followed, and Midori stepped into the water-- recoiling at first, but quickly adjusting, and sliding the rest of the way in with a happy sigh.
---
So transfixed was Karin on this scene that stealth would no longer have been a problem anyway. She no longer was taking breaths, let alone making any sounds.
For the life of her, however, she didn't know why. All she knew was that... those damnable feelings were back. Creeping over her, melding with her.
Physicality. Infatuation. It'd been the first time *Karin* had seen drops of water glistening off of Midori's skin in the moonlight... but what about...
...no. Ridiculous.
Setsuna?
Were there feelings that her host still possessed that not even Karin had been privy to?
She pushed those aside as well, and approached Midori, who was now lazily soaking in the water.
At this rate, it would take forever for Setsuna and Midori to set things back to the way that they should be by themselves. Karin didn't know whether or not she'd be more harm than help, but she felt she at least needed to try.
Being able to investigate Midori up close would just be an unforeseen benefit.
Unforeseen. As in not premeditated. At all.
Yes.
---
"Yuki?" Midori asked, her voice laced with mild, but pleasant, surprise. "What are you doing up this late?"
"Actually," said Setsuna's voice, "Setsuna is... sleeping."
That got Midori to turn around to look. Nope, it was still Yuki. "Huh? But you're..." Then she realized, and her voice grew quite cold after that. "...oh," she said, scrunching her face. "Yeah, what is it?"
"Well," said Karin, "I was actually hoping that we could come to an understanding."
"About what?" Midori huffed. "I'm understanding that you being in my best friend is about to have her take on an otherworldly being of tremendous strength and power--one I'm not even sure *I* can combat. There's nothing I need to understand that I don't know already. I just know that if you didn't exist, Yuki would probably be safe at home."
Karin sighed. "Why do you so badly want her out of the way of harm that may not even come to pass? Why do you not want her to face what she wishes to face?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Midori countered.
"Because she can't throw punches like you do? Because she can't split rocks with her bare hands?"
"Well, I-... yeah."
"Has it ever occurred to you that she might have changed since that day you had to save her from the unknowns of your village?"
Midori promptly clamped up. She had to admit, she hadn't seen that one coming.
---
Years ago, just before either of them had become teenagers, things had been different. Setsuna had been the hyper, playful one. Midori had been dedicated and reserved. How things change.
Setsuna had been playing around, wandered behind that village, and into the dark thickness of the trees and foliage. "Hide-and-seek," she'd called it, except Midori hadn't agreed to play along.
Because of that, Midori hadn't known of this impromptu adventure until she'd heard a shrill scream... then, crying.
Within seconds, she was following the noise, running at top speed while doing so. She ran into the mini-forest, not caring about the right way to do so. There was only one safe path into the brush that didn't cause whoever entered it to encounter thorns; it was lost to Midori's mind as she barreled in to save Yuki from whatever she'd gotten herself into.
She didn't care that she'd gotten pricked by darn near a thousand nettles looking for her friend. She'd found her, and that'd been all that mattered. Yuki had been bitten by some animal--that'd been the source of the scream. Midori ran back through the sharpness, holding Setsuna close so that she wouldn't get pricked by anything else.
In the end, it was only Midori that had needed to be treated. The bite had proven to be harmless--merely painful. Midori, on the other hand, had been in danger of losing a lot of blood. In the end, only her speed had saved her.
Yuki had been so worried. Apologized so many times. Said it was all her fault. Midori had told her not to fret, however. Had anything untoward happened to Setsuna, that pain would have been a hundred times worse than these stupid pinpricks.
She'd made a show of laughing after that, even though it hurt to do so.
---
Something clicked just then in Midori's mind as she thought about those events from long ago. It wasn't a month after that incident that she'd started seeing Setsuna running around, practicing with a bokken... and smiling far less often.
Perhaps something about that whole ordeal had touched her?
So lost in thought was Midori that she'd almost missed out on Karin continuing her speech.
"I'm not even sure I should be telling you this, but... she felt horrible that you got hurt saving her from her own lack of common sense--more so than you know. Ever since that day, she's strived to be more like you... but she could never completely go through it. She's still maintained a part of herself. That part is forever scared of what you might think of her."
Midori remained silent--and perhaps, remorseful? No, impossible--as she pondered this. None of this was her or Yuki's fault. People got curious. It happened. There was no reason to develop any sort of clinical case over it.
...what? No, Midori *didn't* have a protector's complex. Shut up, brain. This was all a plot by Setsuna's ghost thing to confuse them. Had to be.
As if reading Midori's thoughts, shook her head. "I'm not trying to clear myself in your eyes. I'm merely saying what she would never say to you. Setsuna has proven to be my only friend, but I know that before me, you two... shared something, that I find myself unable to grasp. I only know that if it were to dissolve now, I would be doomed to a life of sadness... because Setsuna would never forgive herself.
"In my time meeting you, and looking into Setsuna's memories, I can see why she thinks so fondly of you. But right now, I sense that those feelings are clouded. Only you can restore them to what they once were."
At that moment, a seed of curiosity was planted within Midori--a seed with an insatiable appetite.
"These feelings," she asked, "what would they be?"
Karin shook her head again. "They are not for me to say. They are quite... personal."
Midori fell silent again, mulling over things. Finally, she came to a decision.
"May... may I talk to Yuki?"
"If you wish, I will awaken her."
"Yeah, please. But... wait. Give me a few minutes to think."
Karin nodded. "All right."
"And if you wouldn't mind," Midori added, with a blushing grin crossing her face, "could you... do me one tiiiny favor?"
***
Setsuna awoke.
Clothes gone. Cold. Indecent.
Not in comfortable bed anymore. Surroundings... unstable.
What... what in the flying heck--
Surprised, and slightly afraid of drowning, she yelped and splashed about. This was before she realized, hey, she was standing up, so drowning was impossible, and two hands were bracing her and holding her still. Particularly strong ones, at that, yet smooth at the same time.
No question as to who this was, then.
"Hey, hey, calm down," she heard Midori say. "It's just you and me here. For miles, even. At least, I think so. As for your current state... well, let's just say you did that to yourself," she added, with a grin and a wink.
It took Setsuna a few seconds to get it. Oddly enough, this wasn't the first time this had happened to her. "...Karin?"
Midori beamed. "*If* that's her real name," she said, just before her expression turned serious. "Look, I... I wanted to talk."
"What about?"
Midori's resolve faltered. She'd given herself a good fifteen minutes (or so she thought--she didn't exactly carry a watch) to think about what she was going to say, yet still, she was a mess about this. "Well... um... you won the fight, and... I guess, I..."
Setsuna shook her head and sighed. "Midori, I don't want you doing anything you don't want to. I have my own reasons for wanting to win this supposed "tournament", but at the same time... perhaps... perhaps I *should* listen to you. If it is your wish, I-"
And Midori almost lost it right there.
She blamed herself, of course. She was the one who drove Setsuna to this. How could she be so selfish?
That "Karin" person had been right. It was up to her to fix things, now more than ever.
"No, *no*... geez, this is going about as well as I thought it would. Look, maybe if I..."
Seconds later, Setsuna felt Midori's arms wrap around her from behind. At that point, she and Karin become all-too-aware of Midori's bare--and ample--chest against her back. It was impossible, however, to say which of the two was *more* aware.
Setsuna froze at first, but relaxed into the embrace--they'd hugged before, after all.
Just not... well, nude, or in the bath, or anything... okay, fine, they'd done nothing like this before.
Look, just don't think about it, okay?
"Hmm... yeah, that's better," Midori said, resting her head on Setsuna's shoulder.
It was amazing how much modesty Midori could shed simply by willing it. As far as Setsuna was concerned, the amount of blood that had rushed to her face by now was making her woozy.
"It's like this," Midori said in a lazy voice. "I don't ever want to see you hurt, Yuki. That just comes out of us knowing each other since we were kids, an' stuff. But I have a confession to make. I haven't been raising this big a stink all day just because of you. And I think it's finally time for me to face that fact."
"You haven't?"
Within the depths of Setsuna's mind, Karin smiled. One of her hunches had indeed been correct. She was glad to be instrumental in bringing it out. Now to observe the rest of things.
"Nope, sure haven't," Midori said. "See, if I lose you, right...? That means I don't have anyone to protect. It'll also mean I've failed. The only thing that keeps my mind at peace sometimes, when people toss me strange looks or words about my art, is that I know I'm using it for a greater cause." Lifting herself off of Setsuna, Midori turned her around, placed both hands on her shoulders, and stared into her eyes. "That cause, in case you haven't guessed it by now, is you."
Silence ruled for a few moments, with Setsuna fighting off far too many feelings of flattery at once. They'd destroyed any chains of thought she might have had up until now, such that the only thing she was eventually able to say in response was, "...I see."
"But..." Midori sighed. "There's this other thing. When I saw you fight today, it really opened my eyes. At least in the back of my mind. I tried to convince myself that maybe you just got lucky, or that spirit inside was helping you, or *something*. But no. No, no, no. Yuki, you've gotten so much stronger, and I'm not talking about physically or anything like that, even though you have, so I guess I do mean that in some small way-"
Setsuna giggled. "Midori, you're babbling." It wasn't an insult, either. Midori had a tendency to run off at the mouth when she was unsure of herself; thus, Setsuna was used to making such claims, and Midori was always appreciative of being set back on the right track.
"Right, sorry," Midori said, taking a deep breath. "Yuki, you... have courage. Real courage. Courage in the face of the unknown. It takes more than just being a fighting machine to be strong, you know. And you've unlocked the secret. Between the two of us, you're the mature one. You always have been. That's why, on the rest of this journey, I want us to fight together. I want to follow your lead. I want to follow *you*."
Setsuna barely stifled a gasp. This was something she'd never expected to hear. The one person she always looked up to, the one who seemed to always possess infinite strength... "You... really mean...?"
"Yeah. I do," Midori said, as the two drew closer to each other. "I'm really proud of you."
Her smile was still there, but it'd turned sad. Wistful. Her gaze drew southward as well.
If Setsuna didn't know any better, she could swear Midori was blinking back tears.
"You've grown up," the martial artist said, "while I was too blind to see it. Looks like you don't really need me anymore..."
It was strange, really. At that moment, Midori was practically Setsuna's idol. At last, the approval she'd waited for, for so long, was finally at hand.
She wanted to hug Midori, but she wasn't quite sure how hard a hug it took to match the joy she was feeling right now.
She's so sweet, she heard Karin say in her mind. She agreed, of course. Midori was very precious to her. Always had been.
Which was why she shouldn't have to sacrifice her feelings for Setsuna's. Especially not just after admitting the reverse to herself.
Consciousness and consciouness held a conference, and in the process, Karin brought those latent feelings she'd encountered earlier than night upon an unsuspecting Setsuna.
Feelings that Setsuna knew she'd pushed down... for fear of public opinion? She wasn't too sure on that. But here, it was a moot point. In I-Praseru, the public didn't quite exist, now, did it?
They knew what they had to do.
Setsuna did the only thing she could think of... ironically, while not really thinking about it at all.
She placed her hand on Midori's chin, pushing her face up, and bringing their eyes level once again. Midori was now forced to look, through somewhat blurred vision, at Setsuna's serene smile.
"Midori... no matter how strong I may become... I will always be honored to have you watching over me."
"...Yuki..."
Moments later, their lips met.
It had been a joint effort.
***
Evil Zone.
A dimension cut off from all others. Here, loneliness is a way of life.
Ihadurca was a being used to existing in nearly all dimensions in some way of another. Being confined to a single one... she'd had so long to get used to it, yet she'd never been able to.
So great was her power that, every so often, she was able to break even this dimension's barriers... but they would only come as glimpses. Visions. Mental transmissions.
Such as... wait. Right now?
A feeling, a sensation... very familiar to herself.
A connection.
In I-Praseru... where this whole mess had started.
Perhaps... no, it couldn't be.
It must know. Somehow.
She tried to contact it. She summoned all of her power, sent a miniscule part of her mental being towards the source. It was hard to make out, but perhaps...
...perhaps there was a small chance of escaping this accursed world.
---
The moment Setsuna's lips parted, Karin's presence jumped inside of her.
"Karin," her mind queried, "is something wrong?"
Silence. Then...
Again, something inside of her said. Kiss her again.
But it'd be going too far, wouldn't it?
No. Never deny yourself. (Subjugate others!) To deny yourself to is to deny (rightful) power. To deny happiness. Would it make you happy to let this beautiful (delicious) woman walk away now?
...wait. Was it Karin's presence urging her on like this? Convincing her to take advantage of the situation?
Taking...
...over...
Yes.
She knew, now.
Midori must know as well.
Her eyes... they saw beyond simple pleasantries, beyond courtesies, beyond decorum.
All could be hers, if she were to merely reach out and snatch it. This included even the strongest of beings.
Again, a kiss was shared--Midori noticed that it was far deeper than the first, with tongue sliding in between lips. Once she felt a hand that wasn't hers slowly stroking her left breast, squeezing playfully, Midori had to gasp in surprise.
"Yu... Yuki?"
"So... so long..." breathed Setsuna-
(no, Karin)
(no, Setsuna)
(no, neither)
(we are together, we are one, we are *all*)
-in a voice that was faraway, yet possessed an unnatural clarity. "So many years I've wanted this... didn't know what it was... now I do..."
Midori gasped again, as her neck was licked, and a nipple flicked by Setsuna's thumb. "Are.. are you..."
Setsuna put a finger to Midori's lips in a silencing gesture. "If, somehow, your earlier fears come to pass..."
Midori weakly shook her head. "N-no, Yuki, I told you, I believe in your strength--aah!" was as far as she got just before she was interrupted by a dual nipple-pinch.
"Do you? Truly?" Setsuna asked.
Midori didn't answer--not because she was unsure of herself, but Setsuna's constant interruptions, on some subconscious level, had somehow trained her to let her friend have her say.
Setsuna nodded. "If these are to be our last moments... I wish to share them with you."
Wordlessly, and full of anticipation, Midori nodded back.
Discipline is a key word and top priority for anyone practicing in the martial arts. So are little things such as concentration. Rationality. Self-control.
For a Fuin martial artist, even one as "spirited" as Midori, those qualities are turned up to eleven.
The Fuin school relies on swift power strikes to successfully subdue its opponents. These strikes, however, are performed with enough stealth and silence to rival even the ninja of legend.
Which was why, right now, it was both distressing and liberating for Midori to be in the position that she was in right now.
Or rather, positions. Setsuna managed to never keep her in a single one for long.
Curious mewls worked their way into satisfied growls; surprised giggles into ecstatic moans. Setsuna's hands found themselves stroking along places Midori never expected; places where only she alone, on the coldest, darkest (and sometimes just boring) of nights--
--God, she'd never dated, had she? No wonder people looked at her strange.
All the while, words were whispered in her ear; of encouragement, of love, of wanting to repay personal debts of years past... some of which Midori was unable to remember even as they were brought up, one by one.
Before long, all of the caresses, all of the licks, those all became secondary. All of Midori's joy could now easily be had by listening to all of her Yuki's gratitude--her reassurance that all of her years of training and dedication had been worth it in the end.
A warm tongue slid wherever hands could not be; or, sometimes, where hands just had been previously. Fingers slipped inside of her, a gentle rocking motion following soon afterward. Cries graduated in succession as the minutes passed.
Unintelligible.
Setsuna's pet name.
And finally, in a shining moment of temporary irrationality... her true one.
---
The time Setsuna finally snapped out of things was about the time Midori had recovered from her afterglow. However, while Setsuna's perceived rationality had returned... her memories stayed constant as well. Which meant that she was about five seconds from being, for lack of a better term, freaked.
"Did I do that?" her mind asked herself. "Or was it Karin?" She didn't know the answer--she just knew she had to say something to Midori, who was still not quite all there at the moment, but soon would be.
"Midori... I... I didn't..." Setsuna was trying to figure out some way to explain it, she really was, but she was quickly running out of words. Fortuantely, Midori didn't seem all that, well, put out about the whole affair. Or, if she was, she was doing a great job of hiding it.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Midori said, cuddling her companion close. "We'll sort it out in the morning if you want. But... yeah. I think we both need some rest." She was still breathing deeply.
Setsuna nodded as best she could.
"Yes, I... I believe we do."
--------------
Notes:
Man, I can't tell you how good it feels to be working on fighting games again! It's like coming home.
Ah, Evil Zone. A fighting game I both love and can't stand. Don't know what it is, really. But if not for this requested story, I probably wouldn't have kept the game around long enough to notice its true charms. Thanks. You know who you are.
Catch you all on the other side of the arcade monitor.
-Racewing
The Green Lemonranger
http://racewing.anifics.com
***
One of her was awake.
The other was fast asleep.
Actually, did spirits sleep? Setsuna wasn't sure. Karin did retire for stretches of time, but never knew what she did during them. The events of just an hour past must have taken quite a bit out of her. But where had those impulses come from in the first place? And why did either Karin or herself only act upon them now?
Had she always felt this way about Midori? And more importantly... had what she had done served to drive a rift in between their friendship?
Had such a thing actually occurred, she'd never forgive herself.
So lost was she in thought that she failed to notice the flap of her sleeping back being pulled back, or a pair of arms encircling her... the same way as in the lake.
Lips on her neck. A hand caressing her backside... her thighs... closer to their junction with each second. She gasped, her breath catching in her mouth.
"Mi... Midori?..."
And finally, a soft voice, just above a whisper. "Yuki... I'm not sure how much of that back there was you... and how much of that was really you... but I have things to thank you for, too."
Setsuna turned around, and lips met lips for her trouble.
At least now, she had her answer.
No matter what one's strength, some bonds could never be broken.
(fin)
Author: Racewing (fandomgreen)
Fandom: Evil Zone (Eretzvaju)
Rating: NC-17 (just barely.)
Pairing: Setsuna/Midori (with vaguely hinted Setsuna/Karin/Midori. No, seriously.)
Challenge: Midori is usually the one who has to be stopped from getting into trouble, which is why it feels so strange when she has to stop Setsuna from doing just that. [requested by fanaticalone]
Word Count: ~6800. And here I was going for the record. Dang.
Notes: I'll get this out of the way now; this is a week-and-a-half rush job based on a video game containing nonexistent localization, a horrific dub, and translation that can be called incomplete, hackeneyed and unserviceable at absolute best. The first is my fault, somewhat; I honestly thought I'd have more free time to crank this out than I ended up with in the end. The rest, blame Titus and Yuke's. It was the fighting game craze of the 90s, everyone needed to bring one out for the quick cash. Anyway, this means I had to fudge a lot of things, and while the end product is decent, I suppose, it's nowhere near what it would be if I had, say, a month of zero obligations to polish this baby up like I want to. I hate to say it, but I think I miss college.
At any rate, if it reads weird, or seems generic, those are my advance apologies. If you enjoy, then I'm glad. This goes double for fanaticalone; I tried my damndest for ya'. :)
Text file dump under the cut. A HUGE BATTLESHIP IS APPROACHING FAST.
One of her was asleep.
The other was wide awake.
At a campsite set up in an unknown forest, Setsuna Saizuki lay in a sleeping bag with her eyes closed. She was getting peaceful rest; her other half, her spectral half, was enjoying the tranquil quiet.
This wakeful half answered to the name "Karin."
Karin was a slightly younger female spirit coexisting inside of Setsuna. They were linked in the most extreme way. However, they'd been around each other long enough to get used to, and to sometimes even like, the simple rules that this association brought about:
One was the other, the other was the one. What one knew, so did the other. What the other experienced, so did the one.
Feelings were simultaneous.
Thoughts were shared.
To the core.
...usually, anyway.
---
As Karin lay conscious, she could hear the occasional battle cries of another, practicing not too far away. They served to keep her mind on the one source of meaningful conflict for both herself and Setsuna during their journey. Apparently crazed bounty hunters and superheroes they were able to handle, but the sharp words of a single young woman made the both of them flinch.
That young woman had managed to weigh on both of their minds ever since they'd run across each other earlier that day.
Karin and Setsuna had been summoned (no, "invited"; one might even say "attracted") to this world outside of worlds, this "I-Praseru," by Ihadurca, whom they'd only come to know as some malevolent being who had the power to destroy this world and others, were she not stopped.
If Karin had had a choice, she would have come alone. She would not have dragged Setsuna into this. Setsuna had her own battles to fight. With her here, her home world would be easy prey for Vice, were it to realize that Earth's Guardian Angel was currently nowhere to be found.
But it hadn't been up to Karin. She'd been powerless to stop their transport to this world, and she knew that it was all her fault. Curiosity had sent the both of them on an unstoppable chase until, finally, they'd found themselves here.
Yet, even with all of her remorse, Karin knew that Setsuna understood this.
If only the other person in their current party were able to as well...
-----
Racewing Productions (greenracer@gmail.com) Presents:
"'Friendship' V: Power Struggle"
An Eretzvaju (Evil Zone) Lemon
This story contains sexual scenes, yadda yadda, and all that good stuff.
If you're not over 18, or haven't read one of these things before, I
strongly suggest you turn back now.
All characters featured herein are trademarks of Yuke's Future Media
Creators. This story is copyright Racewing, May 2006.
-----
Neither of them could believe their eyes.
To think that both of them could meet up in this strange world like this. The odds were astronomical.
Midori was especially surprised to see Setsuna here. Her tagalong friend? The one she always got out of scrapes? What was she doing here?
She expected Setsuna to know about as much as she did. Probably less. Imagine her shock when Setsuna proceeded to tell her exactly where they were, why they'd been fighting strange person after strange person, and about a being named "Ihadurca," who supposedly had the power to destroy them all.
But what caught her attention more than anything was Setsuna's unexpected confession. That, more than any sort of story about alternate universes, had been the official Doozy Of The Day.
---
"Midori," Setsuna had said, sitting across from her friend, "I don't know all the details, but I do know that what we're wrapped up in... it's bigger than the both of us. Which is why I have something to tell you. Something I've kept from you for a while now. I hope you can forgive me for that."
"Yuki," Midori had said (using her childhood nickname for Setsuna, as was her wont), "I haven't exactly been in the practice of holding grudges against you. I don't plan to start now. So tell me. What's up?"
Setsuna nodded. "The truth is," Setsuna said, picking her words carefully, "I... I have.. another... inside me."
Instantly, Midori's mouth fell open. "Yuki... you mean, you're... you're..."
Unable to finish the sentence, she curiously poked at Setsuna's stomach, as if looking for something.
Only then did Setsuna realize, and her face turn bright crimson.
"What? No, no! It's nothing like that!"
Midori put her hand behind her head and laughed. "Oh, good! Well, then, I guess I'm back to not quite knowing what you're talking about."
---
"What are you doing?" Setsuna could hear Karin ask with alarm within her.
"Don't worry," Setsuna replied. "If anyone will understand, it's her. I know it."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Search my thoughts. My memories. My heart, if need be. A part of me still doesn't want to tell her, but if we are to survive here, and surpass our current limits... then I think we need to know all about each other."
A minute passed. During that minute, Setsuna felt like a single person. Before she'd met Karin, before she'd become the Guardian Angel. It was a simultaneous feeling of freedom and loneliness that she hadn't experienced in quite some time.
She used that minute to tell Midori, as best she was able, about the spirit living within her, trying to break it down into words the karateka would understand. Of course, not ever quite understanding it all herself, it was somewhat... tough.
Finally, Karin's consciousness made itself known again.
"I see," she said. "She is close to you. Perhaps... even close enough. Still, I hope you're right. I will trust you, as I always have... and I will trust her, for the moment, as well."
"Thank you, Karin," said Setsuna's mind. "Just watch and see."
---
This news was something Midori had never known up to this point, and she was of about five different minds as of how to take it. Had Yuki always had some kind of... ghost within her? Or was this some kind of new thing?
Whatever it was, as she listened intently to Setsuna's story, things were becoming abundantly clear.
Setsuna... Yuki... had to be saved from the burden she bore.
And there was only one way to do that.
---
"Huh. I think I get it now. I'm glad you told me."
Setsuna wanted to be relieved, but... there was an edge to Midori's voice. It was an edge that Setsuna had only heard a few times in her life--it was only present when she was preparing to fight a great enemy... an enemy that she was fully prepared to give her all against, because she'd projected all of her anger towards it.
"Yuki." She stood, assumed her ready stance, and clenched her fists. "Brace yourself."
Blinking, Setsuna backed away from her friend. "W-what are you doing?"
And that was when Midori pointed straight at her... or, one might say, through her.
"Performing an exorcism. This spirit of yours: she's the reason you're here, right? So all I have to do is get her out of you. Then, you can go home."
Setsuna just stared at Midori for a long time.
Clearly, she couldn't be serious. This was dense, even for Midori.
But that look of determination. Her focused eyes. Not a smile anywhere in sight.
...oh, wow.
She was definitely serious.
"What?" Setsuna exclaimed, running directly in front of Midori, and holding out her arms. "No way! You can't just... just punch her out of me! She's a part of me, Midori. We're stuck with each other, for better or worse--and right now, it's been for the better. Midori, she's helped me through so much..."
Midori almost fell over. How could Setsuna not see the risks here? "Helped? She's about to get you *kill*--"
She stopped and sighed. Clearly, she wasn't going to be able to win this through mere words. Time for an approach she was actually good at.
"All right, look. You're really set on this, I see. But... I can't let you walk into certain doom without a fight."
"And why not?" asked Setsuna, hands on hips.
"Well... b-because..." Midori sputtered.
Setsuna's voice turned cold--colder than Midori was used to from even her. Consequently, her next words had the effect of an icicle to the heart. "You have no problem running blindly into danger at a moment's notice! Do you see me getting all overprotective?"
"B-b-but t-that's different! I'm *me*! I'm the heir to the Fuin School of Martial Arts! I can take care of myself! You carry a toy sword around!"
And Setsuna's expression became even colder. You'd never know they were friends at this point, as opposed to being the most bitter of rivals.
It took all of Setsuna's willpower, and the back of her mind reminding herself that Midori still did not know of any of her secret world-defensive exploits, to keep herself calm.
She'd figured, one confession at a time. But Midori was sorely trying her patience.
"This sword is *real*, Midori. And if you knew what it could do... what it *has* done... you wouldn't be talking right now."
---
It was at that exact point, looking into Setsuna's eyes, that Midori finally understood.
She was really bad at this whole "warning" thing.
Midori's mind stepped back for a minute.
What was her motto?
A poem she'd once read, long ago. Paraphrased:
Those who stand still, fearful of consequences and the unknown, will never be able to walk the roads of life. You'll always find the answer--your answer--if you go without hesitation.
It was a rule she lived by. It was something she would always tell people who asked her for advice. Friends, her father's disciple-hopefuls, whoever.
Except, she realized just now... her Yuki.
Midori had always kept Setsuna close. Always kept her from harm. Always came to rescue her in her time of need, no matter what happened to herself in the process. She wasn't around Setsuna every single waking moment, but that didn't stop her from wishing she could be, or making up for it when she was.
Why was that?
Nuts. No time to reminisce now--she'd clearly touched a nerve, and the normally calm and collected Setsuna was now an inch away from boiling over.
---
Midori's confindent smile returned; cool and challenging.
"Like I said, Yuki. If we're going to come to any sort of understanding, then I'm going to have to check on your power. If you've gotten stronger since the old days, then I might not be able to stop you now. Feel like showing me what you've got?"
"But why?" Setsuna asked. "Must we solve this by fighting?"
Midori shrugged. "It's not exactly one of those things I can help. You ready?"
"Well... if we must." Setsuna sighed, drew her sword, shut her eyes... and chanted.
It was the chant she always used to fully meld with her other self, in times when she needed great power to crush the most immense of foes.
Midori wasn't a foe in the strictest sense, but Setsuna had only one chance to show her that she wasn't about to hide behind a protector's shadow any more.
True, it was partly her fault; never letting Midori know that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Still, if there was a time for Midori's illusion to be broken, now was as good as any.
"Unto the one who illuminates my passage and destroys evil! In the name of Setsuna, I vow my unfailing love..."
Midori blinked. "Huh? Whatcha doin'?"
"I want your power and soul. Take my body for the sake of your name..."
"Um... Yuki?" Midori faltered, and let her guard down for the slightest of moments. "This is starting to freak me out, here-"
"KARIN! COME FORTH!"
"Oof!"
Before Midori knew what had hit her, the hilt of Setsuna's sword had slammed into her solar plexus.
That hilt had been backed with all of the power and force of Setsuna's body. She'd moved said body that fast.
Through the pain, Midori wondered at that moment if there was anything else Yuki had neglected to tell her over the years.
***
Kata.
One of the basic methods for keeping many martial arts fresh in one's mind.
Reminders of positioning, placement, and technique, spread out over an area. Routine, predictable... yet invaluable at the same time.
A significant number of those who undergo this exercise imagine a a set amount of attackers coming at them from all sides, and using their invisible opponents' imaginary attacks to further enhance their own strategy and delivery.
This was what Midori was doing now... except "set amount" didn't figure into this equation.
She knocked away human beings left and right, trying to forget about her current dilemma. Her promise to herself to protect the one person who'd ever understood her, befriended her, and *stayed* her friend even after finding out that she wasn't one of those prim and proper girls.
All the attackers, she either knocked away or into submission.
The girls who called her "weird," or sometimes "freak." The idiot would-be suitors who showed up to her father's dojo in an attempt to fight for her hand.
She always won--after all, just who was strong enough to deserve her?
Even those she *used* to call "friend," who suddenly decided to make a big issue out of why she always hung out with that "creepy girl" at the college. Or the pervert guys who would give both of them funny looks whenever they walked to each others' houses.
She loved those. Their noses always broke the easiest.
The attacks continued. A palm to the face. A fist to the solar plexus. A kick to the chin. Efficient as she was, her mind was conditioned to replace two foes for every one she struck down... until, finally, she found herself surrounded.
This would have been just fine, except that tonight, for some reason, in her mind's eye, she spotted Setsuna amongst the faces in the crowd as well.
No. No!
They weren't going after Midori. They were going after *Yuki*, who shrank back with every step they took. She took a futile swipe with her sword-- Midori saw it knocked away, sent smattering against the ground.
They were trying to take her away.
And wordlessly daring Midori to stop then with what little strength she had.
"Little," huh?
She'd show them. She'd show them all.
Setsuna was all she had.
She wouldn't let a little thing like the world come between them.
She gathered all of her inner power, melded it with her strength of will, and directed the mixture at the ground.
With a growling roar, chi became explosive.
***
That'd been the same move she'd used during their fight. It had taken roughly a minute for the smoke to clear back then, too.
She moved around while she waited--no sense in making herself an easy target. Through the clouds, a tiny part of the back of Midori's mind refused to stop nagging.
This isn't solving anything, it said. You're inflicting the same pain upon Yuki that you didn't want her to experience in the first place.
Shut up, brain. It's for the greater good. A small beating now is better than a lethal wound later, right?
Time to end this quickly, then. One final attack.
The smoke finally cleared. Setsuna had the same idea.
As soon as her vision focused, she could already see Setsuna rushing towards her.
Setsuna, that is... times three.
Moving so fast that it looked like she'd duplicated herself. Each of them with their swords held high. They were now taking to the skies.
When had she learned that?
No matter. Midori knew that she was faster. She put herself into overdrive, zigzagging for effect. A fourth afterimage should do the trick. Yuki would be at a disadvantage.
The Setsunas and the Midoris clashed. All-on-all became one-on-one.
And then... a lucky kick, at just the right moment.
For a moment, Midori was sure *she'd* landed it... then she felt the pain, compounded by the stressful beating she'd inflicted on her own body by using so many powerful techniques at once.
She flew across the clearing, and slammed to the ground. When she tried to rise again, she found that she could not.
Damn it. Damn it to hell.
---
Was it only because Midori had pushed herself so far? Or had Setsuna really gotten that much stronger? Under her nose, no less?
She'd have to think about that.
As Setsuna moved to help her up, Midori made a mental note to suggest that they set up camp for the night... as soon as she was able to speak again. She'd need the time to try to figure out another way to stop Yuki from running off to certain doom.
Because clearly, going with her (literal) strengths had, for once, failed her.
...
...
Damn it to hell.
***
Midori finally came out of that reverie, and calmed down a bit, satisfied with the night's practice.
It occurred to her that she hadn't made much headway towards talking Yuki out of any of this. Which meant that deep down, she was still worried. Even if she *could* handle herself, what would keep the worst from happening?
Maybe she could find and get rid of this "Ihadurca" person on her own, really quickly. Then evil would be destroyed, and Yuki would be none the wiser. Everyone would win, right?
With a "whew", Midori flapped her shirt onto herself in an effort to cool off, which, given the warm night, wasn't going to work.
The bad news was that she really hadn't expected to get quite so much into her nightly exercises. The good news was that there was a spring that she'd spotted nearby. Looked like she was going to have to use it now instead of waiting until morning. Sticky clothes just weren't going to work here.
---
Back at the campsite, the still-awake Karin witnessed Midori's return, and saw her reach into a pack to pull out a change of clothes. She also saw Midori take a look at Setsuna, and kneel over her sleeping form.
With a forlorn sigh, Midori ran her fingers through Setsuna's hair, then got back up and left the site.
As quietly as possible, Karin decided to break a rule. Her curiosity had officially overridden her conscience.
Setsuna's eyes opened, but it was not Setsuna behind them. Karin willed her host's body to rise, and used it to follow the one who, she was beginning to see, made the both of them so... so...
...was there a word for these feelings?
***
A spring? In this world?
Well, they'd already seen stranger things in I-Praseru. No wonder Midori had been so adamant about camping at this site. She must have been here for a few days now, getting to know the territory. Or perhaps she'd forged it herself.
Karin put aside her surprise in order to concentrate on the fact that she was trying to be stealthy. That composure was lost, however, when she saw Midori shed her top, and her shorts, laying both on a nearby rock.
The rest of her garments followed, and Midori stepped into the water-- recoiling at first, but quickly adjusting, and sliding the rest of the way in with a happy sigh.
---
So transfixed was Karin on this scene that stealth would no longer have been a problem anyway. She no longer was taking breaths, let alone making any sounds.
For the life of her, however, she didn't know why. All she knew was that... those damnable feelings were back. Creeping over her, melding with her.
Physicality. Infatuation. It'd been the first time *Karin* had seen drops of water glistening off of Midori's skin in the moonlight... but what about...
...no. Ridiculous.
Setsuna?
Were there feelings that her host still possessed that not even Karin had been privy to?
She pushed those aside as well, and approached Midori, who was now lazily soaking in the water.
At this rate, it would take forever for Setsuna and Midori to set things back to the way that they should be by themselves. Karin didn't know whether or not she'd be more harm than help, but she felt she at least needed to try.
Being able to investigate Midori up close would just be an unforeseen benefit.
Unforeseen. As in not premeditated. At all.
Yes.
---
"Yuki?" Midori asked, her voice laced with mild, but pleasant, surprise. "What are you doing up this late?"
"Actually," said Setsuna's voice, "Setsuna is... sleeping."
That got Midori to turn around to look. Nope, it was still Yuki. "Huh? But you're..." Then she realized, and her voice grew quite cold after that. "...oh," she said, scrunching her face. "Yeah, what is it?"
"Well," said Karin, "I was actually hoping that we could come to an understanding."
"About what?" Midori huffed. "I'm understanding that you being in my best friend is about to have her take on an otherworldly being of tremendous strength and power--one I'm not even sure *I* can combat. There's nothing I need to understand that I don't know already. I just know that if you didn't exist, Yuki would probably be safe at home."
Karin sighed. "Why do you so badly want her out of the way of harm that may not even come to pass? Why do you not want her to face what she wishes to face?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Midori countered.
"Because she can't throw punches like you do? Because she can't split rocks with her bare hands?"
"Well, I-... yeah."
"Has it ever occurred to you that she might have changed since that day you had to save her from the unknowns of your village?"
Midori promptly clamped up. She had to admit, she hadn't seen that one coming.
---
Years ago, just before either of them had become teenagers, things had been different. Setsuna had been the hyper, playful one. Midori had been dedicated and reserved. How things change.
Setsuna had been playing around, wandered behind that village, and into the dark thickness of the trees and foliage. "Hide-and-seek," she'd called it, except Midori hadn't agreed to play along.
Because of that, Midori hadn't known of this impromptu adventure until she'd heard a shrill scream... then, crying.
Within seconds, she was following the noise, running at top speed while doing so. She ran into the mini-forest, not caring about the right way to do so. There was only one safe path into the brush that didn't cause whoever entered it to encounter thorns; it was lost to Midori's mind as she barreled in to save Yuki from whatever she'd gotten herself into.
She didn't care that she'd gotten pricked by darn near a thousand nettles looking for her friend. She'd found her, and that'd been all that mattered. Yuki had been bitten by some animal--that'd been the source of the scream. Midori ran back through the sharpness, holding Setsuna close so that she wouldn't get pricked by anything else.
In the end, it was only Midori that had needed to be treated. The bite had proven to be harmless--merely painful. Midori, on the other hand, had been in danger of losing a lot of blood. In the end, only her speed had saved her.
Yuki had been so worried. Apologized so many times. Said it was all her fault. Midori had told her not to fret, however. Had anything untoward happened to Setsuna, that pain would have been a hundred times worse than these stupid pinpricks.
She'd made a show of laughing after that, even though it hurt to do so.
---
Something clicked just then in Midori's mind as she thought about those events from long ago. It wasn't a month after that incident that she'd started seeing Setsuna running around, practicing with a bokken... and smiling far less often.
Perhaps something about that whole ordeal had touched her?
So lost in thought was Midori that she'd almost missed out on Karin continuing her speech.
"I'm not even sure I should be telling you this, but... she felt horrible that you got hurt saving her from her own lack of common sense--more so than you know. Ever since that day, she's strived to be more like you... but she could never completely go through it. She's still maintained a part of herself. That part is forever scared of what you might think of her."
Midori remained silent--and perhaps, remorseful? No, impossible--as she pondered this. None of this was her or Yuki's fault. People got curious. It happened. There was no reason to develop any sort of clinical case over it.
...what? No, Midori *didn't* have a protector's complex. Shut up, brain. This was all a plot by Setsuna's ghost thing to confuse them. Had to be.
As if reading Midori's thoughts, shook her head. "I'm not trying to clear myself in your eyes. I'm merely saying what she would never say to you. Setsuna has proven to be my only friend, but I know that before me, you two... shared something, that I find myself unable to grasp. I only know that if it were to dissolve now, I would be doomed to a life of sadness... because Setsuna would never forgive herself.
"In my time meeting you, and looking into Setsuna's memories, I can see why she thinks so fondly of you. But right now, I sense that those feelings are clouded. Only you can restore them to what they once were."
At that moment, a seed of curiosity was planted within Midori--a seed with an insatiable appetite.
"These feelings," she asked, "what would they be?"
Karin shook her head again. "They are not for me to say. They are quite... personal."
Midori fell silent again, mulling over things. Finally, she came to a decision.
"May... may I talk to Yuki?"
"If you wish, I will awaken her."
"Yeah, please. But... wait. Give me a few minutes to think."
Karin nodded. "All right."
"And if you wouldn't mind," Midori added, with a blushing grin crossing her face, "could you... do me one tiiiny favor?"
***
Setsuna awoke.
Clothes gone. Cold. Indecent.
Not in comfortable bed anymore. Surroundings... unstable.
What... what in the flying heck--
Surprised, and slightly afraid of drowning, she yelped and splashed about. This was before she realized, hey, she was standing up, so drowning was impossible, and two hands were bracing her and holding her still. Particularly strong ones, at that, yet smooth at the same time.
No question as to who this was, then.
"Hey, hey, calm down," she heard Midori say. "It's just you and me here. For miles, even. At least, I think so. As for your current state... well, let's just say you did that to yourself," she added, with a grin and a wink.
It took Setsuna a few seconds to get it. Oddly enough, this wasn't the first time this had happened to her. "...Karin?"
Midori beamed. "*If* that's her real name," she said, just before her expression turned serious. "Look, I... I wanted to talk."
"What about?"
Midori's resolve faltered. She'd given herself a good fifteen minutes (or so she thought--she didn't exactly carry a watch) to think about what she was going to say, yet still, she was a mess about this. "Well... um... you won the fight, and... I guess, I..."
Setsuna shook her head and sighed. "Midori, I don't want you doing anything you don't want to. I have my own reasons for wanting to win this supposed "tournament", but at the same time... perhaps... perhaps I *should* listen to you. If it is your wish, I-"
And Midori almost lost it right there.
She blamed herself, of course. She was the one who drove Setsuna to this. How could she be so selfish?
That "Karin" person had been right. It was up to her to fix things, now more than ever.
"No, *no*... geez, this is going about as well as I thought it would. Look, maybe if I..."
Seconds later, Setsuna felt Midori's arms wrap around her from behind. At that point, she and Karin become all-too-aware of Midori's bare--and ample--chest against her back. It was impossible, however, to say which of the two was *more* aware.
Setsuna froze at first, but relaxed into the embrace--they'd hugged before, after all.
Just not... well, nude, or in the bath, or anything... okay, fine, they'd done nothing like this before.
Look, just don't think about it, okay?
"Hmm... yeah, that's better," Midori said, resting her head on Setsuna's shoulder.
It was amazing how much modesty Midori could shed simply by willing it. As far as Setsuna was concerned, the amount of blood that had rushed to her face by now was making her woozy.
"It's like this," Midori said in a lazy voice. "I don't ever want to see you hurt, Yuki. That just comes out of us knowing each other since we were kids, an' stuff. But I have a confession to make. I haven't been raising this big a stink all day just because of you. And I think it's finally time for me to face that fact."
"You haven't?"
Within the depths of Setsuna's mind, Karin smiled. One of her hunches had indeed been correct. She was glad to be instrumental in bringing it out. Now to observe the rest of things.
"Nope, sure haven't," Midori said. "See, if I lose you, right...? That means I don't have anyone to protect. It'll also mean I've failed. The only thing that keeps my mind at peace sometimes, when people toss me strange looks or words about my art, is that I know I'm using it for a greater cause." Lifting herself off of Setsuna, Midori turned her around, placed both hands on her shoulders, and stared into her eyes. "That cause, in case you haven't guessed it by now, is you."
Silence ruled for a few moments, with Setsuna fighting off far too many feelings of flattery at once. They'd destroyed any chains of thought she might have had up until now, such that the only thing she was eventually able to say in response was, "...I see."
"But..." Midori sighed. "There's this other thing. When I saw you fight today, it really opened my eyes. At least in the back of my mind. I tried to convince myself that maybe you just got lucky, or that spirit inside was helping you, or *something*. But no. No, no, no. Yuki, you've gotten so much stronger, and I'm not talking about physically or anything like that, even though you have, so I guess I do mean that in some small way-"
Setsuna giggled. "Midori, you're babbling." It wasn't an insult, either. Midori had a tendency to run off at the mouth when she was unsure of herself; thus, Setsuna was used to making such claims, and Midori was always appreciative of being set back on the right track.
"Right, sorry," Midori said, taking a deep breath. "Yuki, you... have courage. Real courage. Courage in the face of the unknown. It takes more than just being a fighting machine to be strong, you know. And you've unlocked the secret. Between the two of us, you're the mature one. You always have been. That's why, on the rest of this journey, I want us to fight together. I want to follow your lead. I want to follow *you*."
Setsuna barely stifled a gasp. This was something she'd never expected to hear. The one person she always looked up to, the one who seemed to always possess infinite strength... "You... really mean...?"
"Yeah. I do," Midori said, as the two drew closer to each other. "I'm really proud of you."
Her smile was still there, but it'd turned sad. Wistful. Her gaze drew southward as well.
If Setsuna didn't know any better, she could swear Midori was blinking back tears.
"You've grown up," the martial artist said, "while I was too blind to see it. Looks like you don't really need me anymore..."
It was strange, really. At that moment, Midori was practically Setsuna's idol. At last, the approval she'd waited for, for so long, was finally at hand.
She wanted to hug Midori, but she wasn't quite sure how hard a hug it took to match the joy she was feeling right now.
She's so sweet, she heard Karin say in her mind. She agreed, of course. Midori was very precious to her. Always had been.
Which was why she shouldn't have to sacrifice her feelings for Setsuna's. Especially not just after admitting the reverse to herself.
Consciousness and consciouness held a conference, and in the process, Karin brought those latent feelings she'd encountered earlier than night upon an unsuspecting Setsuna.
Feelings that Setsuna knew she'd pushed down... for fear of public opinion? She wasn't too sure on that. But here, it was a moot point. In I-Praseru, the public didn't quite exist, now, did it?
They knew what they had to do.
Setsuna did the only thing she could think of... ironically, while not really thinking about it at all.
She placed her hand on Midori's chin, pushing her face up, and bringing their eyes level once again. Midori was now forced to look, through somewhat blurred vision, at Setsuna's serene smile.
"Midori... no matter how strong I may become... I will always be honored to have you watching over me."
"...Yuki..."
Moments later, their lips met.
It had been a joint effort.
***
Evil Zone.
A dimension cut off from all others. Here, loneliness is a way of life.
Ihadurca was a being used to existing in nearly all dimensions in some way of another. Being confined to a single one... she'd had so long to get used to it, yet she'd never been able to.
So great was her power that, every so often, she was able to break even this dimension's barriers... but they would only come as glimpses. Visions. Mental transmissions.
Such as... wait. Right now?
A feeling, a sensation... very familiar to herself.
A connection.
In I-Praseru... where this whole mess had started.
Perhaps... no, it couldn't be.
It must know. Somehow.
She tried to contact it. She summoned all of her power, sent a miniscule part of her mental being towards the source. It was hard to make out, but perhaps...
...perhaps there was a small chance of escaping this accursed world.
---
The moment Setsuna's lips parted, Karin's presence jumped inside of her.
"Karin," her mind queried, "is something wrong?"
Silence. Then...
Again, something inside of her said. Kiss her again.
But it'd be going too far, wouldn't it?
No. Never deny yourself. (Subjugate others!) To deny yourself to is to deny (rightful) power. To deny happiness. Would it make you happy to let this beautiful (delicious) woman walk away now?
...wait. Was it Karin's presence urging her on like this? Convincing her to take advantage of the situation?
Taking...
...over...
Yes.
She knew, now.
Midori must know as well.
Her eyes... they saw beyond simple pleasantries, beyond courtesies, beyond decorum.
All could be hers, if she were to merely reach out and snatch it. This included even the strongest of beings.
Again, a kiss was shared--Midori noticed that it was far deeper than the first, with tongue sliding in between lips. Once she felt a hand that wasn't hers slowly stroking her left breast, squeezing playfully, Midori had to gasp in surprise.
"Yu... Yuki?"
"So... so long..." breathed Setsuna-
(no, Karin)
(no, Setsuna)
(no, neither)
(we are together, we are one, we are *all*)
-in a voice that was faraway, yet possessed an unnatural clarity. "So many years I've wanted this... didn't know what it was... now I do..."
Midori gasped again, as her neck was licked, and a nipple flicked by Setsuna's thumb. "Are.. are you..."
Setsuna put a finger to Midori's lips in a silencing gesture. "If, somehow, your earlier fears come to pass..."
Midori weakly shook her head. "N-no, Yuki, I told you, I believe in your strength--aah!" was as far as she got just before she was interrupted by a dual nipple-pinch.
"Do you? Truly?" Setsuna asked.
Midori didn't answer--not because she was unsure of herself, but Setsuna's constant interruptions, on some subconscious level, had somehow trained her to let her friend have her say.
Setsuna nodded. "If these are to be our last moments... I wish to share them with you."
Wordlessly, and full of anticipation, Midori nodded back.
Discipline is a key word and top priority for anyone practicing in the martial arts. So are little things such as concentration. Rationality. Self-control.
For a Fuin martial artist, even one as "spirited" as Midori, those qualities are turned up to eleven.
The Fuin school relies on swift power strikes to successfully subdue its opponents. These strikes, however, are performed with enough stealth and silence to rival even the ninja of legend.
Which was why, right now, it was both distressing and liberating for Midori to be in the position that she was in right now.
Or rather, positions. Setsuna managed to never keep her in a single one for long.
Curious mewls worked their way into satisfied growls; surprised giggles into ecstatic moans. Setsuna's hands found themselves stroking along places Midori never expected; places where only she alone, on the coldest, darkest (and sometimes just boring) of nights--
--God, she'd never dated, had she? No wonder people looked at her strange.
All the while, words were whispered in her ear; of encouragement, of love, of wanting to repay personal debts of years past... some of which Midori was unable to remember even as they were brought up, one by one.
Before long, all of the caresses, all of the licks, those all became secondary. All of Midori's joy could now easily be had by listening to all of her Yuki's gratitude--her reassurance that all of her years of training and dedication had been worth it in the end.
A warm tongue slid wherever hands could not be; or, sometimes, where hands just had been previously. Fingers slipped inside of her, a gentle rocking motion following soon afterward. Cries graduated in succession as the minutes passed.
Unintelligible.
Setsuna's pet name.
And finally, in a shining moment of temporary irrationality... her true one.
---
The time Setsuna finally snapped out of things was about the time Midori had recovered from her afterglow. However, while Setsuna's perceived rationality had returned... her memories stayed constant as well. Which meant that she was about five seconds from being, for lack of a better term, freaked.
"Did I do that?" her mind asked herself. "Or was it Karin?" She didn't know the answer--she just knew she had to say something to Midori, who was still not quite all there at the moment, but soon would be.
"Midori... I... I didn't..." Setsuna was trying to figure out some way to explain it, she really was, but she was quickly running out of words. Fortuantely, Midori didn't seem all that, well, put out about the whole affair. Or, if she was, she was doing a great job of hiding it.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Midori said, cuddling her companion close. "We'll sort it out in the morning if you want. But... yeah. I think we both need some rest." She was still breathing deeply.
Setsuna nodded as best she could.
"Yes, I... I believe we do."
--------------
Notes:
Man, I can't tell you how good it feels to be working on fighting games again! It's like coming home.
Ah, Evil Zone. A fighting game I both love and can't stand. Don't know what it is, really. But if not for this requested story, I probably wouldn't have kept the game around long enough to notice its true charms. Thanks. You know who you are.
Catch you all on the other side of the arcade monitor.
-Racewing
The Green Lemonranger
http://racewing.anifics.com
***
One of her was awake.
The other was fast asleep.
Actually, did spirits sleep? Setsuna wasn't sure. Karin did retire for stretches of time, but never knew what she did during them. The events of just an hour past must have taken quite a bit out of her. But where had those impulses come from in the first place? And why did either Karin or herself only act upon them now?
Had she always felt this way about Midori? And more importantly... had what she had done served to drive a rift in between their friendship?
Had such a thing actually occurred, she'd never forgive herself.
So lost was she in thought that she failed to notice the flap of her sleeping back being pulled back, or a pair of arms encircling her... the same way as in the lake.
Lips on her neck. A hand caressing her backside... her thighs... closer to their junction with each second. She gasped, her breath catching in her mouth.
"Mi... Midori?..."
And finally, a soft voice, just above a whisper. "Yuki... I'm not sure how much of that back there was you... and how much of that was really you... but I have things to thank you for, too."
Setsuna turned around, and lips met lips for her trouble.
At least now, she had her answer.
No matter what one's strength, some bonds could never be broken.
(fin)