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"Gotta go with the Prez here. 'Sides, we can always grab some sushi later."

Nico sighs, resting against a lamppost. The night was wearing even on her.
"How are you guys holding up? I'm....getting a little beat myself, after all this."

Professor Greyhame studies the men on the ground, looking between them, Orrel and Reeve, before strolling over and picking up the remaining conscious man, a red welt on his head where Orrel struck him with a fan and picking him up by the scruff of his neck like an errant cat.

The Kuriyama man seems to recognise the old warrior and cringes.
"P-Professor? Professor Greyhame? S-sir! Don't hurt me! I swear, I wasn't...."
"....Takeru, I see. I am disappointed. I'd thought you were better than this. Top of your class, too."

He turns to the students.
"I'll handle these invaders. Professor Estelle should be here shortly. You children, get some rest. You deserve it"

Spring an ambush and box the stuffing out of Outrider B

"A man who likes a good meal AND a fight. After my own heart."
Todoroki lets out a hearty laugh.
"And a bunch of Izumites, huh? Pretty fancy dress, too. Guess you two must be some down-on-yer-luck merchants or somethin'."
"W-wait, is he offering to pay? No, I insist. I'll pay for our food."
Todoroki lifts an eyebrow at Rin, sizing her up.
"....those robes....yer one of those Mizuno healers, right? Travels around, heals people, gives medicines out? Great, good, nice to patch people up after our duel."
Rin starts flailing again, at the idea of a duel.
"W-what? Wait, you guys can't fight! People'll get hurt in here and the owners might get mad and-!"
"Relax, girlie, it's only a friendly spar. 'Sides, yer friend here agreed, didn't he?"

---

Taiga, Miyako and Setsurou
The Cat is getting closer. The crowd seems to be moving out of the way and the sound of moving boots on stone can be heard.

You got two minutes to prepare.

---

The strange woman finds herself accosted by not one, but three people. She seems rather relieved.
"Oh! Um....you guys are....okay to help me out with something? Thank the Maker. Okay. I'm, uh....recruiting."

"Okay, we should....wait for Kaori to come back with some food, we chow down and we get searching again. It's a new day. We'll find whoever sent that letter today. I'm sure of it!"

---

Todoroki simply waved a hand back.
"Well, since ya asked. Todoroki Guren, a pleasure to meet'cha. Me and Madoka here are travelling swordsmen. I'd say we fancy ourselves pretty good at what we do."

"A few....hours?"
It takes Rin a few seconds to process what happened. Her eyes immediately widen and she begins fretting and flailing, looking around worriedly.
"O-oh no! I've wasted time! I'm so sorry! I was so tired last night, you know? I-I'm sorry, that old lady needed some help with her groceries and then that little boy needed to find his parents and...."
Rin continues babbling away worriedly.

---

"Find anyone you like the look of, Madoka?"
Todoroki inquired, curiously. After all, anyone who could fight Madoka could probably be someone he could test his skill against too. True, their swordmanship styles were very different; she relied on agility and skill, he relied on overwhelming his opponents with sheer power. But skill was skill.

And besides, he had to get ready. Master Tokiwa was no easy opponent.

~~Aeons ago....~~
The mountains themselves were scorched with crowns of flame, and the sky was choked with reddened ashes. The plains were scoured to their very roots, the grass burned away and the rocks cleaved apart with the force of powerful magic. The roots and vines of a chaos long unseen in Horai faded into the wind, the skies betraying neither the Sun nor the Moon to onlookers. The mortals had long since fled or died. It had been up to the eleven Gods of the Land to defend the world.

But victory was close at hand.

The foreign interloping god before them writhed, shards of ice embedded within her shambling mass. Her body, a writhing mass of roots, vines and tendrils, pulsed painfully, as Ren's flames scorched her. Metallic chains enshrouded by light and shadow slowly dragged her into the chasm below, the work of Suzume, Mao and Amane to seal away their opponent. Another tentacle bore down on Fuyin, her winds protecting the others, only for a sharp cry to pierce the air, and a sharpened blade of coursing waters to descend upon the tentacle, cutting it cleanly.

Giro, God of Justice, bore down on the God of Curses, a sword in his hands coursing with the power of the tides themselves. His glowing blue eyes betrayed his exhaustion; for seven days and seven nights, they had fought the foreign god tirelessly, after she had broken into their world from unknown lands.
"Begone, wretched one! You are unwelcome in our world! Return from whence you came!"
"It shall take....more than that.....to defeat me, godling."

Several vines tore out from the ancient evil's mass, swiping towards the stalwart god. With a sweep of his blade, the god slashed away her tendrils, eliciting a wretched, awful scream from the demon. Giro raised his free hand, clenching his fist tightly to summon all the power he had left in him. Walls of water began to emerge from the chasm below, forming almost a claw over the God of Curses, descending upon her slowly. The hellish deity screeched, blasts of dark energy emerging from the snapping mass of tendrils that comprised her, but the water parted around them, forming itself into serpents, birds and other living things before reforming into an unchanging wall.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, another god lay dying.

"....I'm so sorry.....everybody."

His friends lay dying around him. The wise, powerful Dragon, the crafty Rat, the fierce and powerful Boar; all were laid low by the God of Curses. Their wounds were too great, the damage too much. Even with his power, the God of Life could not save them. He could not even save himself.

Even his nearest, dearest friend, the Cat, lay on his side, a terrible gash torn in his side.

The dying god pulled himself painfully to his feet. His injuries were great; the God of Curses, from wherever she had come, had torn into him with her deadliest blows.
".....I....I have to....I have to make it up to you, my friends."
The God of Life had but one final task. He could summon the last of his power, to do this last task.

Not for nothing had he been appointed a God of the Land.

Amassing what was left of his power, the God of Life strode first to the Rat and laid his hands upon his dying companion. As he did, a string of light emerged from his hand, connecting him and his friend. He slowly made his way to the others, ignoring the fighting in the background. He paid no heed to the thorns that launched themselves almost at his head, barely cast aside by Fuyin's winds, and ignored the force of powerful blasts of dark magic, landing not a hair away from him. As the dread God of Curses was dragged into the chasm that had been opened beneath her, he paid no heed to her dying throes and horrific screams, her last-ditch attempts to drag one of the other Gods of the Land with her.

He needed to save his friends, and that was all that mattered.

Soon, all of his friends were tied together with strings of light, from the Cat to the Rat. The God of Life slumped against a rock, his energy spent. He knew he had done what he had to.
".....I'm sorry I...got you into this mess. With this....promise, we can meet someday, somewhere happier. I hope we.....I hope we can all meet again some-"
His eyes began to close, his duty done.
"I will not be....caged! I will never be caged!"

The God of Curses had not ignored him.

A tendril crawled across the ground, ripping through dirt and stone, towards the dying Cat. The God of Life's eyes widened in fear, urging what was left of himself to move, to do anything to stop what was about to happen.

It was too late for him, for his strength left him.

The God of Life died then, afraid.

A darkness emerged from the tendril, beginning to take over the Cat, to take him with God of Curses into the abyss, before-
"Don't. You. Dare."
A row of icicles descended upon the tendril, obliterating it. Asha, Goddess of Love, strode calmly towards it, an icy glare in her eyes.

The God of Curses screamed her curses as she fully descended into the chasm that had been opened, that would now be her prison.
"You....you haven't.....beaten me! Godlings! I will return! I shall-"
With a loud roar, from the skies descended a massive meteor, smashing into the chasm, throwing dust and smoke and leveling what still stood with the sheer force. Mere mortals would not have withstood such force.

The Gods of the Land, thankfully, were not mere mortals.

The silence was defeaning, but victory was theirs. The God of Curses had been defeated at an awful cost.

The moment she was sure their opponent had been truly beaten, Asha turned towards the fallen God of Life. Gone was the icy goddess, here was the goddess of love, whose fallen friend needed tending. She scooped up his body in her lap, cleaning away the dirt and hair from his pained face.
"Giro! Amane! Someone! Come here, help me! Help me!"
Giro was the closest, striding over, sheathing his blade. The stalwart god's expression softened as he realised what he was seeing.
"....no."
His voice was soft. Asha felt tears begin to stream down her cheeks.
"Please, Giro. We can't....he can't...."
Fuyin arrived next, the air bearing her aloft and letting her land gently.
"....he's....he's gone, Asha. We can't...."
"We were too late."
Asha sniffled, choking back a sob.
"We.....we should've come faster. We could've saved him. We could've saved them."
".....we can't mourn long, sister. There are others who still need our help. He....wouldn't want us to stay idle, to cry over him like this."
"Giro's right, Asha. We....we have to go. Come on."

Fuyin approached the grieving goddess, her hand extended.
"It hurts, you're right. But...there's a time to cry and mourn, and we can do it when we've....we've fixed everything."
Giro surveyed the ruined land before them, the only sounds being the crackling of distant flames and the desolate wind. The footsteps of the other gods were getting closer.
"....yes. When we've fixed everything...."
He cast a gaze back at his fallen brother.
"This, I swear. We will fix this world, we will mend it....and if ever you should return, you will find a better world than you left. That....I swear on my honor as a god."

Unbeknownst to the gods, even as the others began to gather near their fallen compatriot, a darkness seeped from the Cat and into the strings of light binding his soul and the others together, and vanished, as quickly as it came.