Case #5-The Twelve Zodiacs, Part 5

"I'm glad that we were able to ditch them!" Circe exclaims as she and Raiden strut away from the Supernatural Investigators' Headquarters -after they were dispatched to the East Woods- with her arms folded behind her head.

"It's a good thing that we weren't caught up in their mess," Raiden sighs. "And I don't want to fight alongside the Supernatural Investigators, anyway. They're scary…"

"Oh? Is that why?" Circe smirks as she throws an arm over Raiden, causing the wizard to damn near faint. "Don't tease me, Raiden-poo, I know you wanted some alone time with me."

"Uh-ack-urg-blurgle-" Raiden stammers as his face flushed red.

But Circe and Raiden's mildly flirtatious conversation is interrupted when a sword -wielding man strolls over to them. Circe's eyes widen. "Hey, is that-!" She begins to exclaim, but Raiden cuts her off.

"Mikoto…" Raiden growls as he worms his way out of Circe's grip.

"Raiden Zephyr…" Mikoto replies as he touches a hand to his Susano'o Katana.

"What were you doing here? Raiden asks as he brandishes his wand.

"Same reason as you are," Mikoto replies as he draws his katana. "We're here to stop one another."

"Why did you ally with the Twelve Zodiacs, anyway?" Raiden asks. "I don't know all that much about the Zodiacs, or you, but I do know enough to say it's not your style."

"After I drew the Susano'o Katana, I began to remember something that I had forgotten," Mikoto explains. "My wife and my kids, from my time as Susanoo no Mikoto. At first, I fought only to retrieve the Susano'o Katana to restore my powers to their former glory. But now…I have a better reason. Sagittarius recruited my brother and I, and said that if we help him with his plans, he has a way that we can all obtain a wish. I know now that my powers in this form aren't enough to get my family back. And so, I will help Saggitarius with his plans. I will wish to go back to the way things were. I will live with my family, and instead of reincarnating, I will die with them, so that I can go to the afterlife with them instead of forgetting them."

"That's…actually a really nice dream…" Raiden falters as he lowers his wand a little bit.

"You dummy!" Circe snaps.

"You fool…" Mikoto softly says as he draws his katana, and in the blink of an eye, Mikoto appears before Raiden, following the arrow on the ground that only he can see. Raiden's eyes widen as Mikoto dashes by him, slashing the wizard as he passes, before landing behind Raiden and resheathing his sword. Raiden spits out a glob of blood as he drops to the ground on one knee, clutching the slash wounds on his chest.

"Predetermined Cutter!" Mikoto shouts.

"Just as I remember, he's too fast," Raiden grunts as he turns and peers over his shoulder at Mikoto with a wince.

"Raiden!" Circe cries as she reaches to her belt and draws a vial of mint-green liquid. Circe tosses the vial to the ground, which shatters, dousing Raiden with its contents. Moss then begins growing out of the liquid that was within Circe's vial, covering Raiden's wound.

"I don't suppose that you are attacking your comrade?" Mikoto comments.

"What's…this…?" Raiden asks as he softly touches the wound on his chest.

"That moss will increase your body's healing speed," Circe explains. "And by covering your wound, it'll prevent blood loss and infection."

"Woah…thanks!" Raiden marvels.

"Anything for you, sweetheart!" Circe swoons as she nuzzles Raiden, causing the wizard to go limp.

"Can you wait for after our fight to flirt…" Mikoto sighs. "You remind me…of Yamata."

"Whaddya' say?!" Circe snaps as she leaps up to her feet and draws clearish- yellow vial, flinging it at Mikoto.

"Now what does this one do?" Mikoto asks as he slashes through the vial, causing its contents to spray the ground before him.

"Oh, that one?" Circe smirks. "That's just a molotov cocktail." Mikoto eyes widen as he leaps backwards, and the ground around him goes up in flames.

"I'll help with this one, Circe!" Raiden says as he aims his wand at the circle of fire trapping Mikoto. "Parvus Gustus" Raiden shouts [Small Gust] as a gust of wind flies towards Circe's circle of fire, giving it some fuel, and sending it a blaze.

"I don't suppose that you can super-speed your way out of this one?" Circe smirks. Mikoto doesn't reply. Instead, he simply crouches down as he places one hand on the scabbard of his katana and the other hand on its hilt. A purple arrow then runs across the ground, starting from Mikoto's feet to Raiden, an arrow that only Mikoto can see. Mikoto then closes his eyes.

"TRAILBLAZER!"

In the blink of an eye, Mikoto draws his katana and dashes towards Raiden, passing straight through the flames, which dance around Mikoto's body, and granting a burning effect to his katana. Mikoto then dashes by Raiden and slashes him with a flaming katana, before the wizard can react. Raiden stumbles backwards as his body is engulfed in flames.

"Raiden!" Circe cries. But Circe doesn't have a chance to worry about Raiden, because Mikoto dashes towards her as well, following the path that his arrow laid out, slashing Circe as he passes by.

"Don't worry, Circe, I'm okay!" Raiden says as he aims his wand to the sky, which begins dancing through the air. Meanwhile, storm clouds begin rolling in overhead, as the sky darkens. "Caelum Tempestas!" Raiden shouts [Heaven's Storm] as a small bolt of lightning falls from a cloud high in the air above Mikoto, who swiftly uses an arrow to dash to the side, dodging the lightning bolt, which crashes to the ground next to Mikoto.

"You missed," Mikoto comments.

 "I didn't need that lightning bolt anyway," Raiden explains. "I just need the storm!"

Mikoto then feels some moisture come from above and looks up, only to be pelted in the eye by a raindrop. "Ow…" he comments. Rain then begins to fall from the storm clouds above, extinguishing the flames dancing around Raiden and Mikoto, and dousing Circe's circle of fire.

"We need a way to keep Mikoto from being able to touch us when he goes in for an attack," Circe comments.

"Here, I have an idea!" Raiden replies as his wand begins crackling with electricity. "Inpulsa Fluctus!" Raiden shouts [Shockwave] as he swings his wand outwards, creating a net of lightning coursing around his entire body.

"You dare challenge the God of Storms to a battle of lightning?" Mikoto asks. "You're brave, thinking I can't cut straight through that."

"You don't have that old sword of yours, do you?" Raiden asks. Mikoto swiftly draws his katana and flings it towards Raiden, causing his katana to fly towards Raiden like an arrow, following the arrow that only Mikoto can see.

"Turning Swallow!" Mikoto shouts.

"I'll protect you, Raiden!" Circe shouts as she draws a green vile and tosses it to the ground before Raiden, causing vines to grow out of the content's of the vile, wrapping around Mikoto's katana and ensuring it before it can pierce Raiden.

"Good, Circe, now's our chance!" Raiden exclaims as he aims his wand at Mikoto.

"No problem, babe!" Circe cheers as she sticks her tongue out and flashes Raiden a thumbs up.

"Fulminis Ure!" Raiden shouts as he fires a bolt of lightning at Mikoto, who, powerless to defend, grunts in pain as he's electrocuted.

"Hit 'em another time, Raiden!" Circe cheers once Raiden's attack ends.

"Right!" Raiden replies as he fires another bolt of lightning at Mikoto, but this time, Mikoto's able to counter. He holds one hand up then stomps his foot, shattering the ground and digging his foot into the earth. Raiden's lightning bolt flies towards Mikoto's hand like a lightning rod, but by grounding his body through his foot digging into the earth, Mikoto manages to discharge the lightning into the ground.

"Oh, now that's just cheating!" Circe snaps as she puts her hands to her hips.

"You…used your own body as a lightning rod?" Raiden asks.

"How long have you been practicing magic, young Storm Wizard?" Mikoto asks as he plucks his katana free from Circe's vines.

"Um…a little over ten years," Raiden answers.

"As you further develop your skills in lightning magic, you'll come to find that you've mastered every aspect of lightning," Mikoto explains. "Even when it comes to defending against lightning." Mikoto then stomps the ground again, sending cracks spreading across the earth towards Raiden and Circe. Lightning then flies out of the cracks, causing Circe to howl in pain as she's electrocuted. Raiden, of course, is able to tank the attack.

"Can't you do anything about this lightning?" Circe asks once Mikoto's attack ends, smoke billowing off of her and Raiden's bodies.

"I can only use lightning spells," Raiden answers. "I'm not sure how to manipulate lightning without using a spell…"

"So you can wield lightning with a spellbook and wand, but you you still need to use spells?" Circe snorts as she rolls her eyes, causing Raiden's own to widen. "Pathetic."

"Pathetic…" Raiden softly says to himself. Raiden's eyes then widen. "Cover me, Circe!"

"Huh, um, okay," Circe says as she draws a yellow vial. As for Mikoto, he draws his katana and dashes towards Circe. Before she's slashed by Mikoto, Circe tosses the vial to the ground, dousing its contents everywhere. Yellow mushrooms then grow out of the contents of Circe's vial. "Let's see you get to me now!" Circe smirks. But then, although she can't see it, Mikoto's arrow then raises into the air, curving over Circe's mushrooms.

"So my arrows don't need to run across the ground only, hm? Non-physical spaces work as well," Mikoto says to himself as he flies over Circe's mushrooms, following the path that his arrow laid out for him. Mikoto then slashes Circe with his katana as he passes by. As for Raiden, he fires off a bolt of lightning towards Mikoto, but just as before, Mikoto digs one foot into the ground and sticks one arm into the air, attracting it like a lightning bolt and discharging it into the ground. Mikoto then stomps the ground again, sending shockwaves of lightning flying towards Raiden and Circe.

"Raiden, now!" Circe cries.

"Right!" Raiden answers as he sticks his hands out to the lightning and twists them, causing the lightning to turn back to Mikoto.

Mikoto's eyes widen as he watches the lightning fly towards him, but he draws his katana again, dashing towards Raiden and Circe and slashing them before they have a chance to react, and causing them to fall to the ground.

"Dammit…" Raiden grunts as he tries yet fails to push himself off of the ground.

"Is this…it…?" Circe asks as she fails pushing herself off of the ground as well.

Mikoto struts over to Raiden and holds his katana out, using it to lift Raiden's chin up so that he's staring at Mikoto.

"What is it?" Raiden grunts.

"You have potential, Raiden Zephyr," Mikoto answers.

"You've said that before," Raiden grumbles.

"But after meeting you for a second time, I mean my words even more than I did before," Mikoto replies. "You're a wizard who was able to manipulate their element without using a spell."

"So what does that mean?" Raiden asks.

"It means that I'll let you go," Mikoto answers as he lowers his katana.

Raiden blinks rapidly. "H-huh?" He asks.

"I don't want to kill you, but even if you get up again, you can't beat me," Mikoto replies. "So this puts me in a predicament. It seems like my only choice is to just let you go."

"Won't your superior be mad at you?" Raiden asks.

"I'll say that I thought I had killed you," Mikoto explains. "So I'll just do this."

Swiftly, Mikoto sheaths his katana again then wacks Raiden and Circe on the back of their heads, causing them to limply flop face-down to the ground, unconscious.

***

"Carpet Bomb!" Agent Smith shouts as she tosses an entire array of eight plasma grenades towards Yamata, who simply sticks his hands into his pockets and smirks.

"Octo Dragons: Fang Road!" Yamata exclaims as eight glowing orange dragon heads fly out of Yamata's Orochi Dragon Scarf, making their way over to Smith's grenades. One by one, Yamata's dragon heads open their scarfy jaws up wide and chomp down on each grenade, which causes the grenades to explode, severing all eight of Yamata's dragon heads from his scarf. But eight more heads simply pop up in their place. Yamata retracts all eight of his dragon heads back over to him, which then begin to spin and merge together, forming four larger dragon heads. "Quad Dragons: Tail Slash!" Yamata cackles as he swipes a hand towards Smith and Gaumond, causing Yamata's four dragon heads to fly forwards.

"You're up, Gaumond!" Smith smirks.

"Got it!" Gaumond replies as he leaps in front of Smith and draws a silver handle, pressing a button on the handle, which causes a plasma shield to pop out of each side of the handle. Two of Yamata's dragon heads fly into Gaumond's plasma shield, which soaks up the attacks with ease. As for Yamata's two other dragon heads, they curve around Gaumond's shield, fangs bared and ready to strike. In order to defend, Smith swiftly draws two grenades and lobs them towards Yamata's dual dragon heads, which explode into them, causing the dragon heads to fall to the ground. But through the smoke of Smith's explosion, flies two more dragon heads, which curve around Gaumond's shield again, and before Smith can draw even another grenade, Yamata's two dragon heads sink their teeth into Smith and Gaumond's shoulders, causing them to howl in pain.

Yamata then retracts his four dragon heads back to him, which begin to spin and merge together, forming two larger dragon heads. "Dual Dragons: Swiping Wings!" Yamata shouts as he swipes a hand towards Smith and Gaumond, sending his two heads flying towards the two of them, one for each Supernatural Investigator.

"Ready, Gaumond?" Smith asks with a smirk.

"So long as you're with me," Gaumond answers.

"Aww, how cute!" Yamata sarcastically swoons. "Is that a confession of love, or…?"

Smith cackles madly to herself as she draws four grenades and begins juggling them around and around in a circle. "Flare Bomb!" Smith shouts as she tosses all four of her grenades into the air, and as the grenades begin to laugh, Smith leaps into the air and spins around, roundhouse-kicking a grenade towards Yamata's dragon head. Smith then spins around and kicks one, two, three more times, launching all four of her grenades towards Yamata's dragon head, which then explode, sending the dragon head crashing to the ground.

As for Gaumond, he raises his plasma shield up then charges forward, tackling his plasma shield into Yamata's dragon head, and sending it crashing to the ground.

Smith then draws five more grenades and juggles them again, before tossing them over to Gaumond, who grabs the ends of his shield and uses it like a baseball bat to catapult the grenades over to Yamata, who lifts four more new dragon heads out of his scarf and snatches four of the plasma grenades out of the air with their fangs. But the final plasma grenade manages to bypass Yamata's defenses, and explodes, sending Yamata tumbling backwards.

Yamata then hops back up to his feet and retracts his four dragon heads back to him, which begin to spin and merge together, forming one giant dragon head. Yamata's dragon head then opens its jaws up wide, and a sphere of orange energy begins to charge up within them, growing larger and larger and gathering more and more power.

"Mono Dragon: Serpent's Wrath!" Yamata shouts as his dragon head fires the sphere of energy towards Smith and Gaumond in the form of a mighty laser beam.

"Gaumond!"

"Right!"

Gaumond then crouches down and lifts his shield up, and Smith ducks behind him. Yamata's energy sphere then explodes into Smith and Gaumond, causing them to howl in pain. When the explosion subsides, the two Supernatural Investigators drop to the ground in a pool of blood.

"Give up?" Yamata asks with a smirk as he smugly peers down at Smith and Gaumond.

"Hey, Agent Smith, do we give up?" Gaumond asks as he slowly pushes himself off of the ground.

"Hell no, we don't!" Smith snaps as she begins to push herself off of the ground as well.

"Then it's time to do that?" Gaumond asks as he stands up at last.

"It's time to do that," Smith answers.

Smith and Gaumond fix their eyes on Yamato and narrow them. "SPHERE AND SHIELD COMBO, PLASMA WEAPONS AWAKEN!" They shout as a burst of plasma energy explodes from Smith and Gaumond's weapons, enveloping the two Supernatural Investigators.

"Oh?" Yamata smirks.

Smith draws a handful of plasma grenades and begins juggling them As she does so, the cores of the plasma grenades begin to glow orange, and then, they ignite on fire, and Smith begins juggling fire balls.

As for Gaumond, his plasma shield retracts back into its handle. And then, Gaumond's uniform begins to glow blue then molds itself into the form of body armor.

"First comes the spear-!" Smith begins to shout as she launches fire ball after fire ball at Yamata. Yamata's eight dragon heads fly towards Smith, chomping down on the fireballs. But Smith's fireballs cause Yamata's dragon heads to melt. Yamata continues sending dragon head after dragon head towards Smith, but Smith launches more fireballs at Yamata, and his dragon heads can hardly keep up, and Yamata is wrapped up in a fiery explosion.

"Fly, my dragons!" Yamata shouts as he swipes a hand towards Smith, sending his dragon heads flying towards Smith. But Gaumond leaps in the way and crosses his arms.

"-And then comes the shield!" Gaumond exclaims as Yamata's dragon head chomps down on Gaumond's armor, causing their teeth to shatter.

"Octo Dragons: Fang Road!" Yamata shouts as all eight of his dragon heads open their mouths and begin to charge up spheres of orange energy. One by one, Yamata then fires off orange laser beams. Gaumond keeps his arms up to block as Yamata's first laser beam blasts into him, having no effect on his armor. Yamata's second laser beam blasts into Gaumond, pushing him back slightly. Laser beam after laser beam blasts into Gaumond, until eventually, Gaumond's sent flying backwards and crashing into Smith, causing the grandes that Smith was juggling to explode. Smith and Gaumnond are wrapped up in the bursts of fire, and by the time that the explosion subsides, Smith and Gaumond are lying on the ground, defeated.

Yamata stares down at Smith and Gaumond.

He then raises an eyebrow at the two Supernatural Investigators.

And then, Yamata bursts out laughing. He laughs, and he laughs, and he laughs. "Defeated by their own weapon, eh?" He laughs. "How pathetic! I guess I'll use this free time to go get a drink…"