Student 32: Sunset Shimmer

by Show Stopper

Arc 4: Chapter 27

“So let me get this straight,” Sunset muttered. “You’re telling me that this white-haired boy, possibly singlehandedly, snuck through the Kansai Magic Association’s barriers and wards, subdued all of their guards and mages, and instantaneously petrified Haruna, Nodoka, and Asakura with apparently little effort.”

“...Nichi-chan, when you say it like that, it makes this guy sound really impressive.”

Sunset groaned and massaged the bridge of her nose. “Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything at all?”

“I’m afraid not,” Yue replied, her voice a little staticy through the phone. “In my desperate flight through the forest at night away from an honest-to-God mage, it somehow slipped my mind to ask him for the particulars of the situation.”

“You’ve been around me for far too long if you’re snarking like that.” Sunset sighed. “Alright, we’ll be there soon. Try to stay out of sight until we get there.” She flipped the phone closed and tossed it back to Kaede. “Well, looks like we’re going in pretty much blind.”

Kaede pocketed her phone and gave one of her enigmatic smiles. “I’m sure we’ll be fine, de gozaru. It’s not as if we’re helpless.”

“If you say so.” Sunset turned to stare out the window, watching as the streets flew by. She, Kaede, Ku Fei, and Mana had snuck out and boarded a train as soon as Yue had called, but it would still take several minutes to arrive. “So, exactly how ‘not helpless’ are we?”

“Ku Fei-san and I may not know much about magic,” Kaede said, “but you’ve traded blows with her briefly, and she’s yet to surpass me. We’re confident in our abilities, de gozaru. As for Mana-san,” she shrugged, “I don’t know her very well, but she carries herself with confidence. I’m sure she’ll be fine, de gozaru.”

Fine might not cut it, Sunset thought, glaring out at the moonlit streets of Kyoto. That onmyou is a joke, and the dog-brat is no match for either Ku Fei or Kaede, but that Shinmeiryuu girl is dangerous, and this white-haired boy Yue described is a complete mystery. He’s powerful, definitely, but I have no idea to what degree. If he’s beyond Springfield’s power and my experience… She shook her head. No. I can’t be working myself into a panic. I need to stay calm. Nothing I can do about it anyway until we get there. She slung her backpack off of her shoulder and pulled out her notes and a pencil. Best I can do is prepare for the battles ahead.

And pray that Springfield has a plan.

*****

The train pulled into the station a few minutes later, Sunset and the others darting out as soon as it stopped. Yue was waiting for them in a cafe nearby, nervously sipping from a juice box. “You’re late,” she said as they arrived, trying to conceal her trembling. “So, what’s the plan?”

Sunset turned her attention to the small mountain that held the Kansai Magic Association’s headquarters. “Find Springfield and follow his plan. Beat up anyone who tries to stop us on the way.”

Yue’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a horrible plan.”

“Best we’ve got.” She turned to face her small group. “Kaede, you take Yue and lead the way. Ku Fei, you and me are right behind her; we’ll keep an eye out for ambushes. Mana, you take the rear. Make sure nothing gets us from behind. Got it?”

“Question!” Ku Fei shot her hand into the air and glared at Sunset. “Why are you the one making the plan aru?”

“Because you and Kaede are idiots,” Sunset replied. “Yue knows the situation best, but she has no training or experience whatsoever with this sort of situation; I have both. And unless Mana is going to try to take the lead,” she glanced over at Mana, who shook her head, “then it falls to me by default.” She walked right up to Ku Fei and glared down at the smaller girl, who glared right back defiantly.

“You don’t like me. I get it. You don’t like what I said to everyone that day in the plaza or how I’ve treated everyone since. That’s fine; you don’t need to like me. Heck, you can hate me for all I care.” She jabbed a finger into Ku Fei’s chest. “But for tonight, you will do as I say. Because right now our friends and classmates are in danger. Whatever petty issues you have with me or I with you don’t matter. What matters is if you can follow my lead into battle. Because if you can’t, then you’re a rogue element that we don’t need. So,” her eyes narrowed further, “what’s it going to be?”

Ku Fei glared into her eyes, unblinking. Searching. Whatever she found, she nodded. “Alright,” she said, stepping back. “I’ll do what you say, aru. But!” She smirked and held out her hand, “I can’t take a challenge like this lying down. Someday, you and me are going to fight and resolve our ‘petty issues,’ aru.”

Sunset smirked back and took her hand, gripping it tightly. “You’re on.” She turned back to find that Kaede was already carrying Yue bridal-style. She nodded her approval. “Alright, everyone. Move out!”

*****

A quick check around Kansai Magic HQ had confirmed Sunset’s fears: every single person inside had been petrified. They’d found no signs of Asuna, Setsuna, Konoka, or Negi. Sunset had quickly surmised that Konoka must have been taken, the other three flying off to rescue her. All that was left was to find out which way they’d gone.

The massive pillar of light, accompanied by waves of magical energy that were palpable even to the non-mages in the group, had been a pretty good hint.

“Aren’t they worried about normal people seeing this?” Yue asked as the group raced through the forest.

“This whole mountain is surrounded by a barrier,” Sunset explained, gauntlets out and lighting their path. “It’s not powerful enough to keep anyone out, but it keeps anyone outside of it from seeing anything that happens within, and keeps bystanders from just wandering in without any reason.”

“But then how were we able to get in, aru?” Ku Fei asked.

Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “We have a reason. Keep an eye out. I have no idea how fast Springfield and the others are moving. I don’t want to risk passing them.”

“Well I don’t see Springfield,” Mana said, looking over to their right, “but it seems Kakurazaka-san and Sakurazaki-san are occupied over there.”

The group halted and Sunset peered through the trees, barely able to catch glimpses of light and the faint echoes of combat. “How… how did you catch that?”

Mana simply smirked in reply. “They seem to be engaged against multiple enemies. A small army, in fact, and it seems to be a fairly even match.”

Sunset frowned. “Two against an army is never an even match. Sheer numbers will wear them down if nothing else.” She looked towards the distant light for a moment before nodding. “Mana. Ku Fei. Go back them up. They probably know better than us what we’re up against. See if you can free up Setsuna to catch up with us. Kaede. Yue. We’ll continue onward. Catch up with Springfield and figure things out from there.”

Mana nodded, patting the long, black case she had slung over one shoulder. “We’ll send both of them along if we can.” She and Ku Fei turned and darted off into the woods, Sunset frowning after them.

“Wait. How long has she had that with her?”

“She conceals it better than Sakurazaki-san conceals hers,” Kaede explained. “And almost as well as I conceal mine.”

Sunset turned to her, raising an eyebrow. “What do you-” Her eyes went wide as she saw the massive, man-sized throwing star in her hand. “Wh- what? How?”

Yue looked from the weapon to Sunset and shrugged. “Ninja.”

Sunset groaned and shook her head. “Help Konoka now,” she muttered. “Bang my head against a wall later.” She shook it off and nodded in the direction of the growing magical energy. “Come on. We’re getting close. Knowing Springfield, he’s already at the epicenter of that mess fighting for his life.”

*****

“If you use your full power and beat me, you might still be able to make it! Come on, Negi! You’re a man, aren’t you!?”

Sunset groaned, massaging her temples as she hid behind a nearby tree. “No. No he isn’t, Dog-breath. And as evidence of this, you just succeeded in goading him into a fight.”

They’d found Negi in a clearing after only another minute or two of travel, blocked in his path by Kotarou. The dog-boy had challenged and goaded Negi into a fight, one which Negi now seemed inclined to give him.

“To be fair,” Kaede said, standing in the branches above Sunset, “he is blocking Negi-bouzu’s way. I doubt he’ll let him through without someone to distract him, de gozaru.”

“Guess that’s our job,” Sunset groused. “Much as I’d rather just go and deal with Konoka’s kidnappers myself, Springfield knows the situation better. Better to take this kid down quickly so we can join him sooner rather than later.”

“Agreed, de gozaru.” Kaede hefted her ninja star and patted Sunset on the shoulder. “I’ll take the first strike, de gozaru.” She leapt high into the air, cocking her arm back to throw. Sunset looked from the girl in the air to the one still holding Yue in the tree before chalking it up to “ninja” and rushing into the clearing.

Kaede’s weapon flew true, sticking into the ground between Negi and Kotarou right as the two were about to engage. Kaede seemed to vanish, appearing right in front of Kotarou and delivering a powerful palm strike to his chest. The boy was sent flying to the edge of the clearing, where he slammed into a tree. By the time he’d recovered his senses, Kaede’s double had vanished.

“Hey Fido.” Kotarou turned, his eyes going wide right before a gauntleted fist connected with his gut, sending him through the tree and deep into the forest beyond. Sunset tossed her hair over her shoulder, glaring after him disdainfully. “Catch.”

“N-N-Nichibotsu-san!?” Negi gawked before looking up to the tree where Kaede was still standing. “Nagase-san!? Yue-san!?”

“Getting hotheaded and losing yourself at an important moment,” Kaede chided gently. “You’re still lacking in concentration de gozaru, Negi-bouzu.”

“B-b-but… what?!” Negi stammered, looking from Kaede to Sunset in stunned confusion. “H-how did you-”

“Yue called us,” Sunset replied, walking over. “Ku Fei and Mana are providing backup to Setsuna and Asuna now. At least one of them should be on their way to back you up soon.”

“You can leave things here to us,” Kaede reassured, leaping down and setting Yue on her feet.. “You’re in a hurry, right?”

“Get going, Springfield,” Sunset said, glaring back at where Kotarou was getting to his feet. “Konoka’s still in trouble, right? That’s the battle you need to concern yourself with. Leave the rest to us.”

“B-b-but-”

“You don’t need to worry about us,” Kaede said, patting Negi’s head. “Now’s the time to act, not to think.” She gave him a light shove, sending him tumbling in the direction of the building magical energy. “Go! Now!”

Negi hesitated a moment longer before turning and darting off into the forest.

“Hey! Wait, Negi!” Kotarou leapt from the woods, but was halted as several shuriken embedded themselves in the ground in front of him. He turned to glare at Kaede and Sunset. “Hey, you. The nee-chans over there. Don’t get in my way! I’m not interested in fighting women!”

“I’d call that chivalrous, Kotarou Inagumi” Sunset said, cracking her knuckles, “if it weren’t so chauvinistic.”

“Hmph. So your name is Kotarou, huh?” Kaede smirked. “Boy, you’ve got good taste, to recognize Negi-bouzu as your rival, de gozaru. But you can throw away your inhibitions, because right now, both of us are still stronger than Negi-bouzu.”

Sunset nodded, igniting her gauntlets and allowing the flames to cover her entire body. “Specialist Hikaru Nichibotsu, Mage 1st Class, reporting.”

“Kouga Chunin Nagase Kaede,” Kaede added, a dozen or so copies of her appearing around and behind her and speaking in unison, “has arrived.”

Kotarou stared in shock from one to the other. His shock slowly morphed into glee, a feral grin splitting his mouth as he slammed a hand to the ground, summoning a dozen hounds made of shadow. “All right! Let’s see what you’re made of then, onee-chans!”

“Equis equis alicornus,” Sunset chanted, stepping back a bit and thrusting her left fist forward as Kaede’s copies scattered. “Sagita magica, series ignis.” Seventeen arrows of fire shot from her fist and impacted the hounds, scattering them into motes of darkness. Sunset followed up with a single right punch, a larger bolt of fire shooting straight for Kotarou. The boy leapt into the air, summoning more hounds and sending them down towards Sunset.

Kaede leapt between them, throwing star in hand, and spun it quickly. The dogs were shredded, and several copies leapt into the air to engage with Kotarou.

Sunset darted around below, trying to track which was the real Kaede as she positioned herself below Kotarou. There! She cocked her fist back just as Kaede delivered a powerful palm-strike, sending him flying down to Sunset, who punched him in the back and sent him flying back up. Kotarou braced himself through another round of dog-boy volleyball before managing to break away, landing roughly on all fours.

He spat out a bit of blood before grinning up at Sunset and Kaede. “Heh, you surprised me, narrow-eyed nee-chan, fire nee-chan! To think that people like you would be living the carefree lives of middle-school students!”

“Hardly carefree,” Sunset said, extinguishing one fist and pulling out her wand. “You don’t get to be as good as us without serious training.”

“You’ve got some skills of your own, de gozaru,” Kaede noted. “But it looks like you’re still holding something back. Are you sure it’s okay not to get serious?”

“Heh.” Kotarou wiped the blood from his lip. “Get serious? Against a woman?” He launched himself forward, striking the ground where Kaede had stood a moment previously. “As if I would!”

“Sagita magica,” Sunset encanted, pointing her wand at Kotarou. “Air captorae!” Thirteen streams of wind shot from her wand, darting forward to try to wrap around the boy. Kotarou leapt back, striking out against some while he summoned more hounds to deal with the others. “Again with the ‘woman’ thing!” She shouted. “There’s being a gentleman, and then there’s being an idiot! Telum ignis! Lanceam glacies!” A spear of fire shot from her fist, another of ice from her wand. Kotarou barely dodged the first, punching the second aside.

“A man doesn’t fight girls!” Kotarou shouted back, summoning more hounds. “It isn’t-”

“OH GROW UP!” Sunset shoved her wand into her pocket and splayed her hands. “If you think the real world works according to such backward and petty ideals, then you’re in for a rude awakening when a girl shows up and takes off your head someday! Venatione dracones!” Two streams of fire shot from her palms, twisting around each other and forming into twin dragons that began chasing Kotarou around the clearing, the boy barely managing to stay ahead of them.

“Perhaps you’d best leave this to me,” one of the Kaede clones suggested, coming up and placing a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “I can handle Katarou-kun easily, and Negi-bouzu might need help. Besides, your attacks are likely to burn down the forest at this rate, de gozaru.”

“I have more control over my fire than that,” Sunset groused, but nodded and extinguished her flames. “But you have a good point. Springfield’s going to need all the help he can get, and it looks like this idiot’s determined not to fight us seriously; I doubt he stands a chance of doing more than entertaining you at this point.”

Kaede nodded, her other clones converging around Kotarou to distract him. “Go on ahead. Sakurazaki-san and Kakurazaka-san should be catching up about now as well, de gozaru.”

Sunset nodded, darting off into the woods. The magic in the distance was building to a crescendo, and Sunset was beginning to feel something beneath it. Something powerful and dark.

A summoning ritual? Sunset thought as she ran. No. If it were a ritual to summon a dark creature, the magic itself would have carried hints of darkness all along. Whatever it is, it was already there. Unsealing magic? Sunset paled and sped up, sprinting through the woods at top speed. What sort of creature takes that much magic to seal away?! Are they releasing an arch-fiend or something?

Several minutes at a dead sprint brought Sunset to the edge of a large lake, a wooden pier extending out to the middle. The pier was wreathed in mist, obscuring all but the most basic shapes moving through it. The magic that Sunset felt was centered on that pier. Springfield must already be over there. I’ve got to-

Sunset felt it before she saw it. A massive release of pressure, followed by an enormous column of light that rose from the center of the lake. Sunset stared in shock and horror as a giant humanoid creature rose slowly from the lake. Horns adorned its two-faced head and four muscular arms pulled the creature’s torso from the water. It glowed with an unearthly light as it glared down at the pier, a palpable aura of dark magic surrounding it.

Well… buck.

Comments

[Pinklestia]

That's quite a big fish, isn't it?

[JDunk1971]

“You’ve been around me for far too long if you’re snarking like that.” Sunset sighed.

I think that Yue was quite capable of snarking like that well before meeting Sunset.

If Sunset thinks that what's being unsealed is bad, just wait until she meets Eva-chan.

[Dorath]

“Help Konoka now,” she muttered. “Bang my head against a wall later.”

[Vutava]

Yue replied, her voice a little staticy through the phone.

static-y
(I'm not even sure about this one, but it's the only option I can think of that doesn't set off my spellcheck.)

“She conceals it better than Sakuarazaki-san conceals hers,”

Sakurazaki-san

[the other sans]

he is blocking Negi-bouzu’s way

1. Normally isn't it Bozu?

[ShadwSonic]

9773119
No, it's bouzu... rereading the manga recently, you see.

[Twilight_Shimmer]

I rather hope Kotaro after all is said and done and he shows up at Mahora looks up to Sunset as a big sister lol

[Aemon Targaryen]

Ku Fei glared into her eyes, unblinking. Searching. Whatever she found, she nodded. “Alright,” she said, stepping back. “I’ll do what you say, aru. But!” She smirked and held out her hand, “I can’t take a challenge like this lying down. Someday, you and me are going to fight and resolve our ‘petty issues,’ aru.”

i cannot wait to see sunset make her eat the ground and beat her so hard than she will call her "your highness" unironically.