Darkness will win!

Alone stood a woman in a black coat, standing on the hospital of Namimori. She grinned mischievously as a black butter knife had appeared in her hand. She carefully rubbed the butter knife against her right sleeve, slowly cutting the seams. The woman had decided to shove the butter knife through her right arm without a care in the world.

She hysterically laughed as the hole in her arm began to leak a river of black-red blood. She seemed to be enjoying the excruciating pain she dealt to herself. This isn't something you readers should do, mind you. This is a highly dangerous act that could potentially kill you if you don't get any help quickly. Which is why I advise you NOT to repeat any of what this woman is doing.

"Hotaru Hikari. A strange name for a girl like her. I wouldn't mind having her join our little... suicide squad. She must have talent to do a one-sided massacre of Dr. Iida's test-subjects. Lana had managed to get herself killed like all the others by the hands of a Hikari, a branch of the Igarashi family. However, I will be the FIRST to kill a Hikari!"

The woman declared as a katana, concealed in it's sheath, showed a red aura. It looked like the katana had been hungry for bloodshed and wished to be bathed in the organs of Hotaru Hikari.

A middle schooler who had absolutely no idea she was being targeted as of now.

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

Location: Namimori Junior High, Roof Top.

Time: 1:30 pm.

Day: Friday

Hotaru was eating a chicken sandwich as Yoruichi had been arguing with his mother (on the phone, mind you) about a COD match.

"Mama, I was just telling my teammates that they aren't very good at the game! I didn't actually mean what I said about them needing to kill themselves! It's just a match!" Yoruichi was losing this argument. Bringing up the fact that you told your teammates to go blow their heads off with a shotgun to the head was definitely not a good way to win the conversation. Yoruichi had proceeded to swear on everything that is holy that he wasn't stealing her credit card to buy these 'costumes' for the game.

Hotaru sighed at his antics and put down her sandwich onto a paper plate. Hotaru found boys to be very stupid at times like these and drank some water. "Yoruichi, you shouldn't be so hard on your mama, y'know. She's just concerned for you." Hotaru said to him as he hang up the phone and sighed in defeat. Yoruichi pulled out a comb for his hair and looked at Hotaru with squinted eyes.

"Easy for you to say, Hotaru. She's always so overprotective of me and thinks I can't handle being on my own for a little bit. Does she think I'm weak!? Does she think I don't have what it takes to be the boss right hand man?" Yoruichi asked Hotaru, who shook her head once more. Boys... always so dense and naive. It's actually remarkable of how stupid boys can be sometimes. Yoruichi really can't see why his mother wants to check up on him? Stupid.

"Well, it's called being a mother. Of course she's going to be scared for you, doofus. Your always fighting people that are usually bigger than you. I think she doesn't want you to go overboard and get yourself hurt or even worse." Hotaru told him in a deadpan voice. It felt like she had to spell it out in letters so that he would understand where she was going with this.

"I guess you're right..." Yoruichi muttered as Hotaru gave him a Kool-aid packet with a bottle of water. It was the fruit punch flavor so Yoruichi would enjoy drinking his portable kool-aid. It did happen to be one of his favorite flavors. "Boss, hurry it up! Hotaru is gonna ruin your homework if you don't come quickly!", Yoruichi shouted at the sky and heard Hotaru growl.

"I HAVE BETTER GRADES THAN YOU TWO COMBINED!"

"YOU HAVE AN A- IN SCIENCE."

"YOU HAVE A TRIPLE D MINUS IN TWO CLASSES! HOW AM I THE ONE WITH BAD GRADES!?"

The two had begun another fight and were about to pounce on each other until they heard the opening of a door. They both looked the other way to see Kaname and Soichiro standing next to each other. And Soichiro hadn't looked like he was freaking out for once. He looked... calm and content.

"Will you two shut up? It appears we have a very much needed meeting. From what Soichiro could tell me, we have some enemies that should be dealt with. Bakura... the one whose been targeting your friend for the past year and a half, is sending his top leading assassins after you guys. Amazing."

Kaname said as he let out a little chuckle at the end. Batons in hand, he bopped the two on the head with them and smiled mischievously. Hotaru and Yoruichi were about to jump on him when they heard Soichiro clear his throat.

"Y-yeah, Kaname is right. He is sending some pretty strong guys at us and we don't even know who they look like or who they are. We should make a game plan, in case they catch one of us when we are alone." Soichiro said as Yoruichi grinned. Finally, Soichiro was acting like a leader to the rest of the family. Even though they were missing two core members, Odysseus and Hoshika, they would still have an idea of what to do in the mean time. Soichiro rubbed his hands together and his brown eyes sparkled for a quick second.

"I think its fair to say that you guys should carry a weapon on you or at least SOMETHING that will defend you against Bakura. He's... pretty strong and he won't go down so easily. So always remain on guard, you can't trust anyone around you except us. Don't try to talk to anyone else, either. Especially Lucci." Soichiro said as Kaname nodded at him and concealed his batons before staring Yoruichi in his eyes.

"Be weary of Bakura if you spot him. He has a strange power to conjure powerful illusions; He even made a meteorite in space. The only reason me and Kenji walked away unscathed was because... Lucci saved us." Kaname gritted his teeth at the last bit and felt Soichiro pat him on his shoulder. Kaname shook his head and placed his hands in his pants. He was getting tired of having to deal with assassins now.

"Illusions aren't real, Kaname. They are just tricking your eyes into seeing things that aren't real." Hotaru stated as she went through a medical book and read through some passages on a paragraph about the eyes. Kaname face palmed as she tried to place some logic into his statement. He grabbed the book from her then shut it and handed it back.

"Since when has logic applied to any of us? And truth be told, most of the damn town saw the meteor for themselves. Read the news article about 'Mysterious Meteor; Black Hole sucked it in?'. It describes two meteors being sent in the direction of Namimori, being perfectly capable of destroying the town upon contact. I doubt any of us want that, do we? Imagine the little animals getting crushed by a space rock."

Kaname said as Hotaru pulled out her phone and typed in the news article name. Many stories had been added into the article from plenty of different people in Namimori. I'd say about a hundred thousand.

Even pictures of the meteors had been taken.

So many frightened people had been seen in the pictures and it almost made Hotaru sick to the stomach. She hadn't realized how scary it must have been for everyone in that area of Namimori. To be facing death in front of you and it being inevitable must have been rough on everyone. Parent's too. Bakura was cruel for sending everyone into a panic because now the FBI was to come into Japan and investigate the scene.

"Bakura never makes it easy for us, huh? Since the FBI are here, they have sealed off certain parts of the town. Limiting our transportation routes and any possible hide outs. If we were to step even a foot inside one of the cut off areas, we would be arrested or shot down. This is where I'm hoping your... Giove family could divert the FBI's attention to a different problem and let us do our job. Which is stopping Bakura." Kaname explained the situation to all three of them. Hotaru and Yoruichi looked at Soichiro, waiting for him to say something about the situation.

"Bakura really is a monster. Scaring all those people and forcing even the police into submission. He is a scary guy, y'know. Whatever the case, I don't really know how to... uh contact the Giove. I learned almost everything I know now through Hoshika."

Soichiro admitted he hadn't known how to contact any of the Giove, especially Giove XI. But its to be expected of him not being able to talk to the Boss. I mean, what kind of mafia boss exposes his own number? A stupid one that wants to die quickly.

"Ooh! Why not ask Hoshika? She has a huge connection to the Giove! She could tell Giove XI to do something to make the FBI go away for a short while. Its a very small chance for any message to Giove XI to go through, though. He is always busy with his wife but I'm sure it'll work for Hoshika." Yoruichi said as he smiled at the thought of Giove XI acknowledging Soichiro and the rest of his friends. It'd be bittersweet to know that the Giove Boss knew what they were doing. To get a small bit of recognition from him... would be a dream come true for Yoruichi.

"Well then, I'll work with you guys for now. We are temporarily allies. I'm only doing this so that Arisa can sleep at night knowing that I've got your back, Soichiro." Kaname said as the bell rang, indicating that lunch was over. Soichiro's stomach grumbled and Yoruichi chuckled as he gave Soichiro a chicken sandwich. Soichiro thanked him and ate on the way back to class.

Hotaru followed them from behind, stuck in her own thoughts about Bakura. "Bakura really wants to kill us all. He isn't playing a joke with us, he wants us dead. He wants us down. Forever. No 2nd chances for us if we die. I... I can't let that happen. These guys... everyone I've met here... are really the ones I ever really fit in with. I can't lose them. Not after all we've gone through together." Hotaru thought as tears ran down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away and smiled as she ran up to get closer to Soichiro and Yoruichi.

"Losing them... would be losing my family. My one, true family."

□•□•□•□•

Location: Hikari Residence

Objective: Prepare for war

Time: 6 pm. Almost time for dinner.

Hotaru had been in her room and been silent ever since she left school. She ignored her mother and father then locked herself inside her room. She even ignored her little sister and muffled the angry shouts of her mother.

She stared down at her sword that was gifted to her by her cousin, Hiyori. Hotaru gained the blade by training under Hiyori and learning her family's techniques, only a half of it. She acquired the "Dance" style and Hiyori had acquired the "Snake" style. Both sword styles had been equally as hard to perform and even harder to perfect.

But it didn't matter to Hotaru. As long as she is given the power to protect her friends, it's alright with her. She grabbed her sword by the hilt and clenched it tightly in her hand. This katana of hers... shall lead her to victory and defend Soichiro, one of her closest friends. She isn't going to run away from anyone... this time, she's ready to throw away her life if it protects the one she loves.

"I forgot... I have to name you. Hiyori said I could never become a true swordsman without giving you a name. Well, I really ain't a swordsman. I'm just a girl swinging a huge kitchen knife." Hotaru lightly joked. But it wasn't really anything funny, she was just saying that out of habit. To jest is key for her survival in this family.

"Your name is Amagumo. We'll be helping each other alot more now. Sorry for neglecting you these past few months... I was afraid of touching you. I know, that's silly." Hotaru laughed at herself for talking to a sword. She really must have been going insane these past few months. Sometimes, it's the only thing you can do in these dark times. "But I won't just be needing you. I'll need an old friend of mine."

Hotaru went to her closet and opened the folded doors. She gasped at the sight of her old weapon that she trained with as a kid.

To see it still in good condition made Hotaru's heartache. It was a staff, a gift from her father. Not the father downstairs, mind you, but her biological one. "I remember the day I first got you. It was... way back in the old days with Dad."

Hotaru's mind then forced her to relieve a few memories she buried inside of her heart. Memories too painful for her to bear now.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

A younger Hotaru had been in a courtyard with other children, learning to master weapons by professional masters.

Hotaru had chosen a different course than most students, which had been to learn how to wield a staff. Everyone else chose either katanas or shurikens.

Hotaru only chose the staff because of a fairy tale that her father told her. It mainly consisted of the hero traversing the world and doing good deeds wherever he went. He once split the world's ocean into two so that many land animals hadn't drowned in the water. She wanted to do something like that for people. And it sounded very fun to halve the ocean.

Hotaru had been trying to do a technique that required her hands to be under her while she kicked. With the staff still being in her hands. It didn't seem to be very difficult but she still needed to improve. She accidentally hit herself in the leg a few times and had to be supervised by an adult.

"Hooootaruuuuu, I brought you something!" A man shouted her name and her face had gotten red like a tomato. She looked up to see a tall man, about 6 foot tall in front of her.

His cyan eyes locked with hers as they stared at each other. He wore a black vest with white stripes as a logo and had an iron chest plate underneath. Also wore a black turtleneck. He wore grey cargo pants and had two belts wrapped around his waist. And his weapon, a cutlass, had been magnetically attached to his back.

His long white hair had been tied into a ponytail. He looked like the older version of Hotaru, had she been born as a male.

"I brought you some souvenirs from a mission in New York. I think you'll like what I found." Her father said as she was lifted into the air by him and he laughed as she got even more embarrassed by him. Her father was a mercenary that worked for the Igarashi family and often did dangerous jobs for pretty high amounts of cash. If it wasn't for him, Hotaru would be homeless by now.

Hotaru had been set down by her dad and watched as he gave her a brown bag full of gifts. "Don't tell your mom but I may have accidentally taken a woman's necklace. It was totally not my fault! I was just caught in the heat of the moment when my team was celebrating and boom! This woman bumped into me and the necklace landed in my cup." Her dad dramatically explained with his fingers flying around everywhere. Hotaru shook her head in disbelief before rummaging through the bag.

"Master Kouta, we've got some bad news." A old man in a full black suit had been walking towards Kouta (Her father) and Hotaru. Kouta sighed as he removed his cutlass from its magnetic sheath and pointed it at the old man. He covered Hotaru's eyes and made her stand behind him. "What do you want? I'm retired. I'm not helping anyone else out anymore, I quit being a merc." Kouta bitterly said to the old man, who let out a hiss.

"Oh, but Kouta... you don't want your wife to be harmed, do you? She is with your 2nd child. If you don't want her to be harmed, then you best do as I say. The Fuu clan have humbly requested that you accept their proposal of being their top assassin. They were truly amazed by the job you did in New York, where you set up multiple bombs across the city and had thousands of people dead." The old man stated to Kouta, who groaned at the thought of what happened in New York. Kouta could still feel the warm blood of innocent men on his face, like a newly formed scar.

"I thought I told you- I QUIT! I'm not an assassin nor am I a mercenary. I've quit that business; I'm set for life. My kids aren't ever going to struggle the way I did back when I was still a kid. I won't use this blade EVER again." Kouta threw his cutlass into the ground and glared at the old man. He was telling him to back off before things had really gotten serious.

"You're still coming with me. The Fuu Clan needs you, Kouta- I need you. Come with us and your kids will be living in a palace of fortune for the rest of their lives."

Kouta balled his fists and was seething with anger as the old man kept trying his best to persuade Kouta into joining a clan. A clan that didn't really seem strong to Hotaru if they were willing and daring enough to kidnap her mom. Like, if you have to take a family member away to gain his attention, you've already lost. "I... I'll think about it. Bring me back Dahlia, now." Kouta demanded and the old man chuckled.

"No. Not until you join us."

And then the sounds of gunfire pierced through the sky.

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Hotaru snapped back into reality and shook her head. That was a weird memory. But it wasn't the time for her to think about her father. It was time for her to get serious for the first time in her life.

To get rid of her fear of fighting a stronger opponent, Hotaru must cut down what is holding her back. She won't hesitate to step in for Soichiro any longer. To serve as the left arm of her best friend... Hotaru will cut her weakness down into bits of scrap.

Never will she hesitate to protect Soichiro ever again. And that was a promise.

"Alright, my babies... let's get you all ready for war. Tonight, we're hunting." Hotaru declared to Amagumo and her staff. She cracked her knuckles as she prepared to search for Bakura's assassin.

☆■☆■☆■☆■☆

Hotaru had finished sewing her cloak, a disguise to hide from the police officers that patrol Namimori at night, from her old clothes as a kid. She even took a few of Moegi's baby clothes and stitched them into a full black cloak.

It had loose string prying from it but it seemed to be her only option. She made it big enough for her to conceal both of her weapons once she snuck out of the house later that night. If anything, she should be proud that it didn't fall apart for her first time sewing. She didn't know the basics but went with whatever she thought worked together.

She quickly equipped herself with her two weaponry and threw the cloak on. She added in a dark green hood to hide her face and smiled as she looked in the mirror on her left. "Yoruichi is going to pay for saying I don't know how to dress up once he sees this! Better say your prayers, blondie." Hotaru said with a smug smirk and went to open her window, which was right next to her bed.

Hotaru slowly got on top of it and dared not to make a single squeak come out of it. Her parents lived a floor down from her room and would immediately hear the loud noise from her room. She quickly lifted the window and put a leg through it as she went to sneak out. Suddenly, she heard a knock on her door and she face palmed. Just who was it!?

"Hey... Hotaru. It's me, your step-dad. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that I've been such a... nuisance in your life. I know you hate seeing me and your mom together, I don't want to make it seem like I'm replacing your real dad. He's a better man that I could have ever been, you know. All I'm trying to say is: Please let me know if you need to talk about something or need help... just let me know." He said through the door and made his way back downstairs.

Hotaru sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Way to go, pops. You really do know how to make me feel stupid." Hotaru said with a chuckle and exited her room through the window. She slowly closed the window and turned to face the tall buildings from afar. It was go time.

Hotaru jumped from her roof into a pile of bags, which had stored pillows. She dashed through the streets as if there was no tomorrow and kept her right hand on the sheath of Amagumo. She could be attacked at any moment; It was best to not let her guard down. She hadn't known what her enemy was capable of and yet she felt her heart pump even faster.

Was it excitement for fighting a stronger opponent? Or was it because she was running out of breath? Perhaps, a little bit of both. Hotaru huffed as she walked to Namimori Junior High, her middle school as of now. She expected to find someone there, waiting for her. If not, then she'd search everywhere possible for her prey.

She wasn't letting anyone get near Soichiro and the rest of the 12th family. No one was to lay a finger on them without her permission. "Maybe I'm getting a little obsessed with him?" She asked herself as she stopped in the middle of the street, two blocks away from her junior high. Lost in deep thought of Soichiro, Hotaru hadn't noticed that cars were glaring their horns at her. Some car owners even threatened to call the police if she didn't let them resume traffic. Ironic.

Hotaru hurried to the sidewalk and saw someone standing in front of her. A woman with short gray hair, almost similar to Misa's except the end of her hair was cut too evenly.

A bony finger had been pointed at Hotaru and she held out left her hand to help the woman, seeing her as a mentally ill woman who needed help to the hospital. Of course, that hadn't been the case.

A small needle ejected from the woman's finger, making its way to Hotaru's chest. Hotaru moved to the right and quickly pulled out her sword, swing it upwards at the woman's hand. Swiftly severing it from her arm without letting out a groan of disgust from the blood. The red liquid had seemed appetizing for Amagumo as the blade shakes lightly, as if asking for more of the woman's blood.

"Nghahhhh!! Why would you- why would you do that!?! Police! Police, help me!" The woman tried to plead for help from the police, who had been five blocks away from them. Hotaru squinted her eyes as she held Amagumo's sharp end to the older woman's chest. Hotaru... didn't seem afraid to kill this woman. "Answer this question, why did you just try to kill me, old lady? You could've died trying that one on anyone else." Hotaru said with a bit of arrogance in her voice.

I guess she liked being the voice of authority for once.

The elder woman did not speak and laughed as Hotaru raised an eyebrow in surprise. She didn't seem to know why this woman wouldn't answer when there's a blade at her chest. Does she not fear death? Was she looking for someone to make her pass on? What was her intentions?

"You see, Hotaru... You're just a little girl holding a sword. You are nothing compared to Rosa... she'll have your head if you kill me." Now the old woman talks. Was she pleading for Hotaru not to kill her when she just attempted to kill her?

"You'll go unconscious in a short while. Then you'll die from massive blood loss, old woman. I can have that hand of yours reattached if you tell me who Rosa is?" Hotaru pressed the sharp end of her blade a little harder at the woman's chest. And she was lying on that last part, she didn't know anyone who could reattach lost limbs.

"Rosa... is Bakura's best swordsman. She'll have your head in halves before you could even blink. She's also one of the G-" The old woman hadn't gotten the chance to finish her sentence as her head began to expand. You could've called her Jimmy Neutron by the size of her head. It did look identical to a bowling pin.

Hotaru immediately backed away as the old lady let out cries for help as her head exploded into tiny meat particles in the air. Hotaru watched in horror as the old woman's body began to decay, even the bones. Seeing the flesh of a human being eaten by the bacteria closeup was a horrifying sight to see. And that shouldn't have happened either.

If Hotaru was paying attention in health class, bodies do not decay at a fast rate such as the one she had just witnessed. It takes years for the body to decompose like that, right? So this had to be the work of Rosa.

Rosa, her newly found prey. Hotaru wasn't sure what to make of her other than being Bakura's best swordsman. Hotaru placed her sword back into its sheath and sighed. "Couldn't have gotten any information out of her, huh? Rosa, you made her head blow up once she started talking too much. Just what secret are you hiding? Scared of someone else knowing who you really are?" Hotaru thought aloud, intentionally trying to provoke Rosa.

If the woman had been in the area. But something told Hotaru to keep testing the woman's patience. "I never knew Bakura let cowards into his group. People like you should stay in a dark cell, locked in with no key. The world would be better without any weaklings." Hotaru said as she began to take a step forward, only to see a kunai thrown next to her feet. Hotaru smirked as she quickly had Amagumo in her right hand.

The hilt of her blade shook since she felt the bloodlust of a dangerous enemy. Someone she would take pride fighting.

"You know, brat... Your plan to lure me out is really obvious. Hikari's are so dull." A woman's voice could be heard, a soft and bone-chilling one. Hotaru took a step forward and searched for any signs of this assassin. Had she been in the trees or the houses? Whatever the case, Hotaru needed to find her and eliminate her. Worst case scenario was herself being eliminated.

A small throwing star, or better known as shuriken, had been heading towards Hotaru's skull. A small weapon like this should be easy for her blade to cut through. It didn't even need much effort for her to break it into two. Hotaru chuckled lightly as she waited for it to come close enough for the tip of her sword to reach.

Unfortunately, Rosa didn't want to make things easier for Hotaru.

The throwing star had released a gray gas that spread quickly throughout the area. Hotaru, surprised by this, had no time to protect herself from the shuriken as it grazed the right side of her cheek. That was sure to leave a scar.

While the shuriken hadn't gone too deep, it still left a shallow cut on her. A small trickle of blood escaped and streamed down to her chin. Warm and hot, just like her favorite pizza.

The gray gas blinded her; She could not see any enemy moving through the gas. She was wide open for an attack at all sides, if Rosa so wished. Hotaru lowered her katana and focused on her sense of hearing, listening for any footsteps from Rosa or noises. Hotaru heard a twig snap to her left and quickly went into action.

"Stance 6... Genesis Purge!"

Hotaru launched herself to the left and raised her blade high. Gripping the hilt tightly, she slammed the blade downwards at the location of which the twig had snapped. The impact of the blade meeting the ground had caused it form cracks that could crumble into dust at any moment.

Hotaru hadn't managed to cut her target fully but she did end up cutting a part of Rosa. Specifically, her ponytail. A long strand of magenta hair tied with two rubber bands had been cut off. Some of it was still left on Hotaru's sword, but barely.

Hotaru paid no mind to that as a woman rushed at her with a knife in hand. Rosa. Hotaru dashed at Rosa, her katana aimed for her chest.

Rosa threw her knife into the air as she reached for something in her black jacket. She had acquired a pistol and began to fire a few bullets at Hotaru. Hotaru remained unfazed by this as she expected Rosa to be the type to deal with fire arms, similar with Renovatio.

Hotaru's eyes became that of a hawk's; She saw each and every bullet aimed for a different part of her body. Mostly the upper area. Time seemed to have slowed down a bit for her. She couldn't have possibly dodge her way out of this one. The bullets were going to reach her head before she could even jump.

She had to act fast or it was game over.

Time began to resume as the bullets almost made their way to her heart. Quickly, Hotaru placed her sword in front of her and sighed.

"Stance 2... Levithians Barrier!"

Hotaru's sword began to spin in a circular motion, effectively slicing each of the incoming bullets into metal pellets of scrap. Her wrist had been in immense pain of all the twisting and turning she had to perform in such little time.

The pain was worth it. If it's for Soichiro and the others, everything she'll do will be worth it. This is pain that couldn't be compared to watch Soichiro was going through with Bakura. He wasn't hiding behind closed doors, like the coward she was.

Never again will she be humiliated in front of him. Not EVER!

Rosa caught her knife from earlier and licked it clean. She hadn't appeared to be afraid of Hotaru's skills as a swordsman, but she had admired them. "You know... Hikari's can't be compared to other swordsmen in the world. Your folks are God's when it comes down to wielding a sword. That's exactly why I chose to fight you, Hikari. I'd like to test my skills... against a God!" Rosa declared as she fired a bullet at Hotaru's face.

Hotaru evaded the attack by simply moving to the right and running closer to Rosa. Lowering her sword, Hotaru had planned to kill this woman quickly. "I don't know what you are talking about. My family doesn't use weapons, other than me. And I'm no God! No one is! But even if there were, you'd lose to them." Hotaru stated as the two women had finally gotten close enough to one another.

Hotaru quickly rose her blade upwards, trying to have it split open Rosa's jaw. Hotaru watched as Rosa stopped the blade from reaching her chin with only one finger by putting it on top of it's sharp point. Just one. And not even a trickle of blood had escaped her finger. Hotaru tried to pull Amagumo away and failed.

"Let me let you in on a little secret, okay? I'm no ordinary human. Some parts of my body are completely steel, so I wouldn't try to rely on using that sword too much." Rosa warned her and let Hotaru pull the sword back, making the teenage girl stagger backwards as Rosa looked at her left arm.

It was a metal arm attached to what remained of her elbow through the usage of stitches. A knife shot out of her metal palm and landed in her right hand. "You know, I was once trained by one of the world's best assassins as a kid. She ranked #4. Maybe your friends know of her?" Rosa asked, before Hotaru charged at her with her sword aimed at her chest once more.

Hotaru spun in a circle before horizontally slashing at Rosa's chest. Rosa attempted to dodge by moving back but she had been too slow. A shallow cut was formed against her chest, cutting through her suit and making its way to her skin.

Rosa let out a stifled pained sigh as she reached for her pocket. She pulled out two balls and threw them at Hotaru, who cut them down to tiny pieces of metal scrap.

Unfortunately, thats what Rosa wanted her to do. The balls had let out highly concentrated sleeping gas. Gas so strong that it was able to knock out half an army in minutes. Rosa had been laughing in Hotaru's face as the girl's knees began to give out.

Hotaru covered her nose and mouth with the help of her cloak but it wasn't going to do any good. She slammed her sword in the ground and had her hands clasped around it, holding onto it for dear life. Hotaru had a coughing fit as Rosa stood in front of her with a pistol aimed at her head.

"I'm more used to the gas, little girl. I used to take this stuff for kicks when I was your age! You should be falling asleep soon enough. Maybe I'll answer a question of yours or rip your tongue out?", Rosa said to Hotaru and laughed.

Hotaru had been struggling to keep her eyes open. The thought of dying because she couldn't stay awake was going to make her the laughing stock of the family. Kaname would find it funny that a woman such as herself died in a pathetic way such as this.

It was truly a pain in the ass.

"A-are you... doing this only for the money...? If so, that's... thats a stupid reason... to kill someone..." Hotaru said as Rosa glared at her. Rosa grabbed Hotaru's white hair and began to pull, making the girl scream from the pain.

"Of course not. I wouldn't ally with Bakura over money! The bastard can't even afford a can of beans. I'm only doing this so I can get answers from him... and he said that he knew about the person who gave me this arm. Any information of her is vital for my revenge."

Rosa said as she placed a hand on Hotaru's cheek, rubbing it as she made her way down to her neck.

Rosa still had the pistol centered on Hotaru's forehead. If Hotaru tried anything, it wouldn't be fast enough to move out of its way before Rosa could fire. She should've packed a long range weapon earlier... like a boomerang. Yeah, she'll definitely ask Odysseus to make one for her when she makes it out of this situation.

And how would Hotaru do that? Pleading for her life wouldn't be honorable. The only logical thing to do now is to make Rosa lower her guard. Which wouldn't be an easy task, mind you. For some reason, this felt like a metal gear solid mission.

"M-maybe... I-i could tell you... about that woman..." Hotaru said, trying her absolute best to stay awake. Her eyes were feeling like they had hundreds of stones pulling down on them, trying to make her fall asleep. She only managed to stay awake this long was because of her will to survive. The will to see tomorrow with her family.

Rosa's snapped as if they had gotten a jolt of electricity. "Tell me what you know about her. Do it... and I'll spare your life, IF its good information. And I'll give you a little Jumpstart by removing some of the sleeping gas from your system." Rosa said as a small glass vile had been in her hand. A red liquid had been poured inside of it, only a small amount though.

Rosa forced Hotaru to open her mouth with her right hand and poured the liquid down the girl's throat. "An antidote I whipped up a while back, long before I had teamed up with Bakura. It's to prevent any blood clots forming in your body and gives you... something like an adrenaline rush." Rosa explained with her left hand's index finger on the trigger of the pistol.

She was a trained Special Forces OP. It would be stupid if she let her guard down in front of the enemy. Much less a child with the desire to kill her.

"Now. Get to talking." Rosa demanded as Hotaru rose up from the ground. Pistol still at her head, Hotaru let out a pained sigh.

Rosa raised an eyebrow as Hotaru screamed in agony, her hands covering her face. She fell onto the ground, screaming as loudly as possible in front of the woman.

"Maybe your body can't handle sleeping gas so well. Oh well. I guess I'd best put you out of your mi-", Rosa hadn't gotten the chance to finish that sentence as Hotaru's shoe hit the bottom of her chin.

Hotaru grabbed the hilt of her katana and twirled as Rosa's pistol was cut in half. Hotaru chuckled as Rosa spat out blood to the pavement.

Of course, that wouldn't be enough to stop a woman such as herself. Rosa rushed at Hotaru as a knife slipped out of her jacket sleeve and thrust her arm forward at the girl.

Hotaru grabbed the woman's wrist with her left hane and attempted to shove her knee in Rosa's gut. Rosa took the hit and groaned softly as Hotaru shook the woman's wrist violently, trying to make her lose her grip of the knife.

Like seriously, how many knives has she pulled out up until now? 5? 6?

Rosa dropped the knife from her hand and kicked it's hilt at the last moment... right into Hotaru's thigh! The girl howled in pain as she let go of the woman's wrist and gave Rosa an opening for a attack. Rosa repeated her action; Kicking Hotaru in the face and making her fall to the ground.

She sat on top of Hotaru's body, laughing as she threw punches at the girls face. Each swing had sent vibrations through the earth, forcing Hotaru's body to jump a little bit.

Hotaru was being brutally pummeled by Rosa as the woman stood up and walked a few meters away.

Then she ran back to Hotaru and leaped in the air as she slammed her right elbow onto Hotaru's stomach. The girl shot out so much blood from her stomach that it completely covered her face.

Amagumo rolled out of Hotaru's hand, shamed that its master was losing so easily by Rosa. Rosa looked at the blade and smiled, "Interesting."

Rosa picked the sword up and walked right back to Hotaru. She placed her left foot on the girl's face and rubbed it, letting her blood soak into her boots. "I know you were lying about her. So, in respect of you breaking your word, I'll kill you with your own sword. If I didn't, you'd be the one dying from the lack of blood really soon." Rosa said as she raised the blade high.

It quickly went to slam itself into Hotaru's chest, piercing her heart and instantly killing her. What an unfortunate outcome.

Or... at least, thats what Rosa had wished the blade to do. Instead, it was mere inches away from penetrating her chest. But it wouldn't touch her, much less kill her.

It was as if the blade had a mind of it's own. It couldn't harm it's own master or it'd be a disgrace to its creator. "Why... why won't you do as I say?!" Rosa angrily shouted as she kept trying to stab Hotaru. It was to no avail.

Hotaru chuckled softly as she reached for her belt. Four metal rods had been stuck next to each other on her belt. Her second weapon... was to be of use in her final battle against an enemy. She didn't like it but it didn't seem likely that she'd survive after this. She's lost too much blood already.

So if she is going out, its going to be with a bang.

Hotaru weakly rose up, holding back any tears or needless gags. Any unneeded movement was only going to get her killed faster in this battle. Rosa, on the other hand, was baffled that she was still able to stand. How the hell was she even alive?

No human should be alive after losing 26% of her blood. This wasn't possible. It just couldn't be! What did this brat have that pushes her to keep going, even on deaths door? It must be something, Rosa wanted to know what it was.

"You... are amazing. I admire your bravery but you'll die quickly after beating me. IF you can beat me, that is. You should just give up and retreat to a hospital. That way, you'd die with some people watching you." Rosa said as her left arm shook uncontrollably. She was surprised to see her arm doing something like this. Has it been exposed to some high concentrated form of water?

The four metal rods in Hotaru's hand had clicked together like magnets. Revealing a 5 foot tall staff for Rosa as Hotaru pointed it at Rosa. "C...come at me... you bitch..!" Hotaru goaded Rosa into attacking her, which she did.

Rosa threw Amagumo to the side and reached for something behind her. A sheath covered by a robe. She grabbed the hilt of her own sword, smiling demonically as Hotaru faced her. Her own blade had finally shown itself to Hotaru, giving off evil vibes.

"Zantestuken is it's name. You shall be cut down to SCRAPS once I'm done with you."

Rosa said as she launched herself at Hotaru and began to wildly swing her blade at the girl.

Hotaru evaded each attack by a miracle, only suffering small scratches. She made her staff spin in a circular motion, similar to the second stance shown earlier. It blocked incoming attacks from Rosa's sword, effectively making an almost impregnable barrier.

The only downside to this move is: stamina. Hotaru's wrists will be sour once the move is over and she wouldn't be able to move them properly for a while.

"Zantestuken: RED DEATH!", Rosa shouted as she raised the hilt of her sword on the right side of her head and bent her knees a little bit. She was in the "Te Ura Gasumi" stance.

She launched herself directly to Hotaru, the tip of her sword aimed for the center of her "barrier".

Zantestuken had thrust itself into the center of Hotaru's barrier, stopping her staff from moving an inch.

The girl's right arm had been paralyzed, stopping her staff from moving through the usage of a vibration. Which came from Rosa's sword.

An underrated technique from a certain... white haired man. "You can't move your arm at all. NOW YOUR WIDE OPEN FOR AN ATTACK!" Rosa roared as she pulled her sword back to her.

Hotaru sighed heavily as her eyes began to lose sight of Rosa. They were closing on their own, not of her own accord. Hotaru quickly shook her head, "Yeah... I guess it's time." Hotaru said as Rosa dashed towards her. Hotaru felt the intense bloodlust leaking out of her; Meaning she was to end this fight quickly.

Hotaru threw her staff at Rosa, who caught it before it could have hit her face, and ran to her sword. She needs that sword if she is trying to unleash it's hidden power. Hiyori had once warned her that it wasn't just any sword forged by her family. There was a power that only Hotaru could draw out in it.

Quickly grabbing the hilt, Hotaru spun around to see Rosa's red blade inches away from her forehead.

In that moment, Hotaru felt heat coming off of Amagumo. In fact, she could feel something burning in her right arm. Some sort of fire had been ablaze on her right arm.

Black-Blue flames had completely coated her arm, alarming her greatly. But she hadn't felt any pain from the flames, it felt warm and welcoming. The flames had been familiar to her, as if she already knew who they came from.

That hadn't mattered to her. Rosa was shocked to see those flames. Shocked so much that she was hit into complete silence and stunned. Perfect.

Hotaru inhaled a good amount of air, relaxing her shoulders and chest. She was trying to regulate her breathing after all the injuries she was taking with Rosa. "Hikari Original 1.." She muttered as she lowered her knees and head, preparing to launch herself at Rosa with just enough power to deliver a devastating blow.

The ground around Hotaru began to crack under her feet as the dark blue flames on her right arm began to flicker rapidly. Hotaru could feel the flames heat, somehow miraculously, keeping her alive. She hadn't known how or what caused Amagumo to unleash such a power. But she did know that she was to thank the blade right after this move.

With her eyes closed, Hotaru could "see" the body heat of Rosa a few meters away. She wouldn't be able to land a direct hit with her eyes open because of how weak she was getting overtime. "Now... don't hold back, Hotaru. Give it your all... for Soichiro. He'd do the same for you." She muttered to herself as she was launched at Rosa with godly speed.

Rosa hadn't even noticed she was going to attack because of how mesmerized she was by that blue flame of hers.

"Hikari Original 1: SHINING FLASH."

Hotaru had been swinging her sword rapidly at Rosa, who had been blocking each attack by using her metal arm as a shield. Hotaru had been accompanied by a gold dragon, outlined in blue with sparkles coating it, as she kept attacking Rosa.

Hotaru raised her sword high and went for a downward slash at Rosa's metal arm, attempting to cut through it. She had actually made a cut in the woman's arm and was trying to slam her sword through her arm with all of her might.

Hotaru roared in anger as her pupils vanished for a moment, scales had started to appear on her face and body. Her nails had sharpened to the point where it looked like she could cut any human in half.

Rosa howled in pain as Hotaru(???) had managed to cut the metal arm off. Hotaru(??) arrogantly smiled as Rosa held up Zantestuken, albeit sluggishly.

Rosa leaped back as Hotaru(???) held a finger up at her.

"No way. Bakura never mentioned that she was in possession of the Hikari's sacred treasure! The Hikari's are said to have managed to create a special type of ore... ore that was not of this world, but instead the next. Ore that came from the underworld. That special ore had a legend going around in the criminal underworld: If you came across the Hikari's Sacred Treasure, you will have given up your soul to it, becoming a mindless drone. I suppose there is some truth to that because she doesn't look like she knows what she's doing at all!" Rosa thought as she slowly began to panic at Hotaru's demonic transformation.

"I'd... give up myself... for them..." Hotaru(???) muttered as she ran to Rosa with Amagumo shining brightly. She slowly raised her blade towards Rosa with a crooked smile. Rosa could feel it in her body that Hotaru wasn't planning anything good with that sword.

"Divine Sword Technique: Piercing Cloud." Hotaru said as she lowered her sword in a swift motion. She had cut through solid ground with the sheer strength of her blade, all in just one swing.

The ground split apart towards Rosa and the woman had absolutely no idea how to counter an attack that she couldn't even see! No swordsman in this world should be able to produce this much power, let alone take on such a demonic power.

Rosa barely managed to escape the attack as her ponytail had gotten cut off when she was dodging. Rolling to the left, Rosa decided she was to end things. "It's obvious I underestimated that sword of yours. I think I'll be taking it after I'm through with you."

Rosa lunged at Hotaru, spinning in a circular motion. Hotaru watched as she zoomed past her head like a football and cackled as Rosa had been behind her.

Rosa had intended to cut her down from behind in that moment. She thrust her blade forward at Hotaru's chest and smiled. She really thought this was the end for Hotaru; The end of a Hikari. But Hotaru was never one to go down easy like everyone else thought.

She stepped to the side as Rosa's sword had not managed to hit it's target. Hotaru had Amagumo's sharp tip at Rosa's neck, contemplating on whether or not she should devour Rosa whole.

This was definitely a new and deeply arrogant side of Hotaru, wait is she even Hotaru at this point? No. She was something else entirely. Something that shouldn't exist in a girl like Hotaru.

"No. I won't devour you like... this! It'd be better if I killed you like a Warrior, a blade lodged deep in your forehead." ??? Said as she leapt back a few meters, giving Rosa the chance to get back up. Rosa knew she wouldn't be able to win if she didn't come up with some sort of plan.

She was definitely out of tools, thats for sure. No more gas, no more smoke bombs, no nothing. Well, it couldn't be helped. She had to kill Hotaru and get out of the area to recover. Note to remember, if she does survive, she was never allowing herself to fight for Bakura ever again.

Hotaru rushed at Rosa and began to wildly swing her blade at the woman, who could only parry each swing. Hotaru had hysterically laughed as the two bladed kept clashing with each other, over and over again with no intentions of stopping.

Sparks of metal flew by as Rosa tried her best to continue attacking with her one good arm. Lucky Hotaru!

The two swords had been cutting through the ground and the houses nearby as the battle dragged on. And it finally ended now.

Hotaru grabbed Rosa's head and threw her into the sky without a second thought. She had leaped into the air, still swinging her blade like a bat at Rosa.

Unfortunately, you can't move very well in the air unless you have a plane or some ability that allows you to fly. Rosa didn't have either of them. She was stabbed in the stomach by Amagumo, blood had been splattered against Hotaru's face.

And she enjoyed the taste of it. Hotaru had let out a moan of pleasure as the blood of Rosa had been in her mouth. "Sweet... but doesn't have that 'tender' touch." Hotaru said as Rosa fell to the ground on her knees.

Rosa quickly got up, ignoring the blood gushing out of her stomach and still held her sword up at Hotaru. Her hand had been shaking as Hotaru stepped closer to the pink haired woman. "I'll kill you... you monster!" Rosa shouted as she threw herself at Hotaru, ignoring the fact she could die.

The sound of metal clashing pierced Rosa's ears as Amagumo had been side by side Zantestuken. Then something unexpected happened... Zantestuken began to break. The sword was actually crumbling into metal dust. "Pathetic. A sword like that is no match for a blade as destructive as Amagumo." Hotaru(???) said with a laugh as she plunged Amagumo into the heart of Rosa.

TW: CANNIBALISM!

Rosa watched in terror as Hotaru shoved the blade into her chest without a smile on her face. Then she leaned in for a kiss with Rosa, who had been in a moment of shock. Of course, Hotaru wasn't actually going for a kiss.

With her teeth, she bit Rosa's lips and teared them off with all her might. Rosa's eyes let out a stream of tears as Amagumo left her chest and Hotaru rammed her hand in her stomach a moment later.

She had managed to grab Rosa's spine and forcibly ripped it out with no difficulty. At all. Like, she did it as if she was in Mortal Kombat (good video game btw). And with that, Rosa's body had been on the ground.

Hotaru began to rip open her stomach and devour her intestines, savoring each taste with maximum efficiency. "My master, I hope you've enjoyed the food I have taken so long to prepare for!" Hotaru(???) said to herself as she continued to eat the remains of Rosa.

TEAM CHRONICLES: 1!

TEAM BAKURA: 0!

☆☆☆☆☆

Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. What happened to Hotaru will be explained in the next chapter, I promise. And this was my first time actually writing about small bits of gore so I hope you guys forgive me if I was a little unrealistic.

Soichiro: Did she... really just eat...

Oh yes. Funny, right?

Soichiro: ...

Odysseus: Holy mother of Scott!

Bakura: Now THAT'S nasty, Zenin.

Kaname: Your favorite delinquent here! Just came to tell you that the next chapter will be centered around Yoruichi, who is the biggest simp on the goddamn planet! Also, be sure to leave your thoughts and share the story with your friends. Oh and one last thing... The 12th Family is super sorry for being gone for over 4 months! We've been having some... *whisper whisper* Can I even say it legally?

Nah, go ahead.

Kaname: Some difficulties surrounding the apps and whatnot. But we still have loads of chapters saved. So again, we won't be too long. And we do hope you all have a fun Valentines day! Bye.