5 On the loose: The Dark Rainaga

Chapter 5

On the loose:

The Dark Rainaga

"Yuka…"

Maigashi leans his head against the backboard of his bed at the hotel. Holding the black crystal in his hands as the night passed.

Somewhere on the other side of town…

"Another round! Make it hard!"

Yuka is wasted away at some bar. Glass shots are piled on the side of the counter as she tries hard to hold her feelings in. Finally, she slams her glass hard on the counter when the bartender gave a discerning look.

"That's your eighth one! Are you going to pay?"

She tosses her glass at the bartender, who then cowers in fear.

"Security!"

A couple of bouncers attempt to restrain her, but bullets quickly rained across the room. Everyone else in the room is left dead except Yuka. Then, Murasuma emerged out from the shadows.

"You wasted enough time with that boy. Now get yourself together!"

Tears continue to pour out from Yuka.

"But it hurts so much…."

Captain Steffbird casually enters the scene avoiding the dead bodies across the floor.

"Did I miss something? Hoo! Some rum sounds nice!"

The Captain makes his way behind the counter to take a gander at the selection of liquor left intact while Murasuma continues to lecture her.

"You believed he loved you? A foolish dream if you think you had a chance, to begin with. It's all a false premise! An illusion! Humans only use one another to further their needs."

"I know, but….he was so nice to me."

She merely rolled her eyes to the side.

"As I suspected, you've grown too emotionally attached to that boy. Have you forgotten our mission in the first place? You have failed to participate in any of our attacks. Perhaps I'll have to dispose of this distraction."

Yuka wiped the last of her tears.

"No! Let me destroy him! I'll do it! Just give me some time!" She pouted.

Murasuma had a keen look in his eyes.

"Hmm, very well. Rare has commissioned us to wipe out everything on this island. The deadline is in 3 days. This is your last chance!"

"Yes, I'll have a plan that will be ready." She muttered.

A nervous look was on Yuka as she agreed. Then, as she turned her back, Murasuma gave a cold stare.

"I'll believe you for now, but if I suspect something is off…."

Yuka's eyes widened for a brief moment.

"I won't hesitate to shoot you."

The Captain leaves away with Murasuma as Yuka returned to her private quarters.

The following day…

"So Yuka was really with the enemy this whole time. I see…." Nephena noted.

Maigashi explains the whole situation to the team at the castle.

"How can I be so blind?"

"What's with the crystal in your hand?" Alistor wondered.

He placed it on the table for the others to see. Professor Ding and Lance take a closer look at the object.

"Hmm, I've seen something like this somewhere before," Ding mentioned. "But sadly, I can't seem to recall."

"Well, then I suggest you look into this."

He and Alistor take their leave through the halls.

"This sucks! You'll eventually have to fight her. You both sure looked like a nice couple, to be honest."

"Yeah…but I don't know if she can be trusted. I wouldn't worry about the fight, though. She couldn't even hurt a fly if she even tried."

An unexpected reminder quickly crossed Alistor's mind. It sends a chill behind him.

"Hush! Don't say that!"

Bamboo's life advice is brought up in a flashback.

"If you ever come across a woman. In battle…Simply just surrender."

"It's more of a moral code thing." Bamboo mumbled. "If you ever settle down or meet a woman in life, simply listen and say yes and do whatever she says. They can be far deadly than your average monster if provoked enough."

The flashback ends from there.

"What? You can't be serious?"

"I don't know if it's true. But when I was with Rena, some of this made sense."

Maigashi laughs off as he leaves Alistor behind.

"Ha! I'll take my chances! You probably weren't man enough, to begin with anyway. Knowing you for all these years. No offense… Ahem!"

Meanwhile, somewhere in another hotel…Yuka finished mourning over her chance for love.

"It's the time!"

She stood with a determined look on her face. A ritual begins as the light goes out. Her eyes shifted from blue to black as negative energy flows into her.

"Let the hatred flow in me."

Memories of her time with Maigashi begin erasing from her mind. The ritual comes to an end as the light returns. Dark lightning flickered across her body as a program on a television screen quickly catches her attention.

"And now! We return to All My Hearts!"

A soap opera shows two couples embracing one another on-screen. Anger quickly sparks in Yuka's eyes as the T.V exploded without her touching it.

"Matchmaker! Get in here."

She calls her monster to the room. A female insect demon with a southern accent makes an entrance through the window. A large stinger covers her backside. She flicks her red curly hair.

"Howdy, Yukes!!

"I got a job for you. And it's a big one."

The monster quickly gets all giddy on her toes.

"Girl! Mah stinguur will work its magic. Just the word ayn' ale giternone, ayn' ah means ANYONE, a-fallin' in LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURV!!!"

The following afternoon downtown…

"What the hell is going on here?"

Maigashi gets disoriented at the sight of the public. People are seen making love to various inanimate objects.

"This is creeping me out."

He casually walks past the crowd down the block, a man being caressing with a microwave. At the same time, another girl kisses her juice blender among them. Maigashi makes a run-off as Matchmaker is seen snickering behind the corner.

"Works like, say a charm!"

Returning to the castle…The party makes a sudden discovery as Maigashi arrives back.

"Back so soon?" Ding pestered. "The good news is I know what this black crystal Yuka left means."

"Well, spit it out then."

The professor pulls out an old book showcasing the details about the object as he lectures.

"What Yuka left behind is an Affection Shard."

"A what?"

Ding continues with the details.

"An object formed by only a specific group back in the days. Yuka belonged to the Yamata clan. A peaceful group that once thrived. The crystal forms only when the individual reached a certain level of intimacy. It's known to produce warm fluorescent colors."

"Aw, this sounds like the classic case of true love," Nephena muttered.

"Indeed!" Ding Nodded.

Maigashi begins to have second thoughts about her.

"She really meant it all along…."

"How did you guys break up anyway?" Alistor wondered.

A guilty look was on his face.

"After she confessed, I sort of just brushed her off back at the reef." He admits. "She went off crying after."

Nephena whacks him slightly over the head.

"Idiot! Then you need to win her back! And I have just the plan!"

Professor Ding gives his final words of advice to the team.

"Oh, and be warry. The black color depicts emptiness. Yuka's memories of you will cease to exist once the energy dies out. She'll be nothing but a soulless monster for the rest of her days."

The party quickly leaves off.

Maigashi is dragged to some fancy clothing store.

"Ok? So what's the plan?" He wondered.

"If you want to win her back. You have to dress the part." Nephena stated. "Now go and try these on."

She hands a new suit over to him as he heads into the dressing room. In a matter of minutes, he steps right out. Alistor is seen holding a pile of clothes while Nephena critiques.

"Nah, this one is not working for you. Now go and try this one."

She hands him another pair of clothes to try out.

Meanwhile, somewhere on the other side of town…Murasuma oversees Yuka's plan on the other screen.

"See? Matchmaker is more efficient at controlling the mass compared to Mura Cop." Yuka pointed. "Why control only cops when you could manipulate anyone's love."

People are seen in the background worshiping various machinery, from vending machines to lamp poles.

"Hmm…not bad... Keep up the work." Mura muttered.

Matchmaker chases her latest victim down an alley. A young man is cornered and backed against the wall.

"Tired a-bein' single hon? Ay cans fix ya right up, yup that thur ay cans."

"No… You're not my type. Insect girls give me the creeps."

He stumbles on the floor.

"Youse sultan MAH purdy face? I'll give ya summin' ta talk smacks about!"

The monster turns to her backside, shaking her butt vigorously. A stinger fires out, hitting the man as she bends right over to pull out a heart-shaped mirror. It reflects a dirty old fridge.

"That fridge will be your life. Make it his wife!"

The young man begins to hug and kiss the fridge. The monster runs off feeling all giddy.

"Woo, boy, howdy! Ta tha next victim!

The party exits from the clothing store with bags full of clothing. Maigashi has a sad look on his face.

"Can't believe I spent that much….sigh."

"You can't put a price on love," Nephena muttered.

The team hears the sound of some people panicking down the block. Nephena quickly grabs a bouquet from the stand.

"Yuka must be down there. Now take these and go!"

Maigashi leaves off as the others stayed behind. He quickly encounters Yuka in the middle of the shopping district, firing out bolts of dark lightning at the crowd. He hollers out to get her attention.

"YUKA!"

She turns in his direction. He's all suited up with the bouquet in his hands.

"Who are you?"

"It's me! Don't you remember?"

The moment he took a step forward, she fired back at the ground.

"Keep away!"

"Yuka! I know you're in there somewhere. You have to snap out of this."

He refused to back down.

"Matchmaker! Get over here!"

"Yes, sugar?"

Maigashi hesitates, dropping the flowers at the sight of her monster.

"Whip him up for me! I got other things to do."

Yuka walks off as Matchmaker steps forward to battle; Maigashi readies his weapon as she makes the first move. The monster fires some sticky strings from her arms, catching him by surprise.

"Ya lookin' awful busy, like a cat on a hot tin roof. What's the hurry?"

The strings quickly stain his new suit as she tosses him across violently.

Alistor and Nephena arrive on the scene with their weapons ready.

"We got your back!"

"Hold yer horses! I'll be with y'all in a sec."

Matchmaker reels Maigashi in her direction.

"Yee-Haw!"

She lands a flying kick to his face, knocking him to the other side. Alistor charges in with his blade, readying for an attack.

"Star Breaker!"

The monster takes flight to avoid his move, spitting out a glob of nectar from her mouth, trapping him on the floor.

"Now be a good ol' boy and sit tight ya hear."

Nephena retaliates with a psychic wave attack, but Matchmaker counters back with a barrage of honeycombs.

"Shucks, ah reckon ya could hava lil' sweet ayn soft lovin' hon."

The monster bends over to fire her stinger, catching Nephena by surprise as there was nothing she could do. Her mirror reflects a glass case filled with cakes and sweets.

"Now go and pig out on those luscious sweets."

Matchmaker booty slaps her as she went to the sweets across the street. Smothering herself in the pile of pastry with no regard.

"Aw... It's prettier than a glob of butter melting on a stack of pancakes."

The monster turns her attention towards Alistor.

"Now it's your turn, hon."

Water from a hose immediately sprays over her face. Then, finally, Axe and his crew arrive on the scene.

"Ah, heck naw! Mah purdy hairs! This will takes all dang night ta dry. You'll pay for doin' this later."

Matchmaker runs off from the scene as Lance turns off the hose. Axe and the rest help Alistor and Maigashi up.

"You dudes alright?"

Later that following night…

The party crashes with Axe and his band at some late-night café. Maigashi has an ice pack over his head while Alistor tries to scrub the nectar off himself.

"Today didn't go as well as planned. Man, I need a way to get through to Yuka somehow. I'm running out of time."

"I hear ya, bro! Love can sting sometimes." Axe nodded.

Nephena is seen still smothering herself with the piles of pastries in the corner.

"Yeah…you shouldn't listen to big sis for advice," Lance added. "She can get a little carried away when it comes to dating."

"You guys have any ideas then?"

Maigashi turned his attention towards Blade and Bow, but they merely shrugged back. Axe quickly came up with something.

"Hey! Maybe you could show some things she liked to jog up some memories."

"So like some cucumber kimchi. Or wait! One of your slow songs brought us close."

The idea quickly caught on with everyone.

"Yeah, dude!"

"Let's go then!"

The following morning…Sunrise came as the party patiently await by the shoreline. Finally, Axe arrives with the last item hidden in a small briefcase. He hands it over to Maigashi as the rest rooted for him.

"And one last thing! The best advice I can give, dude. Is to be yourself."

"We got your back all the way," Lance assured.

The team arrives downtown surrounded. Matchmaker has the entire city nearly brainwashed under her control while Yuka was nowhere to be seen.

"Time for paybacks varmints! Ruining mah purdy hairs? I'll mess you right up."

The party follows the plan as Maigashi steps forward. Axe and his crew set up their equipment in the back. Matchmaker fires off some honeycombs to begin the battle. He destroys them with his lightning as she backs away.

"Time for round two!"

The monster lunged her body forward to prepare her strings. But, Maigashi, instead, fires a cutting blast, forcing her to dodge in midair.

"I had enough of your games!" Maigashi shouted.

She receives a small cut on her face. Matchmaker immediately takes a look at herself in the mirror. Some blood slips down as she quickly freaks.

"AHHH! MAH PRETTY FACE! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"

"Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?" He pestered.

"What I always do best!" She snapped.

The monster begins shaking her front chest provocatively before turning around. Then, she bends over to fire her stinger at his heart.

"Now, you will love that brick wall over there."

The scene goes dark as he stood frozen in place. The thought of Yuka only crossed his mind at the moment. After that, her image slowly dissipates from his memory.

"Sorry to break it to you…But I got someone in my heart already."

Determination was on his face as Matchmaker backed away.

"Impossible! Mah love sting had no effect?"

Alistor quickly swoops in, taking a swing at her mirror with his blade. But, unfortunately, Matchmaker gets caught off guard as her heart mirror shatters.

"Aw, Noooo!!!"

The monster is on her knees now, depressed. Her spell on the city immediately wears off, causing Nephena to return to her senses in the background.

"The plan worked like a charm."

Maigashi removes Yuka's stuffed kitten from his chest.

"You tricked me?"

"Yep…" He nodded.

Anger quickly sparked in her. She desperately attempts to put the pieces of her mirror back together.

"I should make ya fall in love with a skunk or, better yet, a dead whale."

Nephena emerged from behind Matchmaker, overshadowing her in a cartoonish manner.

"Psychic Fire!!!"

Matchmaker attempts to make a run, but Nephena's attack overwhelms her. Her body slowly shatters like glass.

"I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THAT MODELING JOB AT HYSTERIA'S."

The demon was vanquished within seconds. However, Murasuma was displeased on the other side of the screen.

"What a worthless monster…."

Back down, Yuka steps into the fray as Maigashi confronts her in the middle of downtown.

"This one's all mine."

Nephena and the rest backed away to watch from the sidelines.

"Come on, snap out of it. You're better than this, Yuka."

"I don't even know you."

She fires a blast of dark lightning, nearly hitting him from the shoulder.

"Ok, here goes…."

Maigashi pulls out his briefcase to search for some quick items. The first thing he grabbed was the map of Korola.

"When we first met. You were beating Alistor to a pulp that day in the summer heat. I was just some guy on vacation…."

Yuka stood confused for the moment as he pressed on. Alistor felt ashamed in the background.

"I jumped in and pressed you against the walls just like this."

He attempts to recreate the scene pressing his hand against her breast, but Yuka punched him back.

"Ok…I deserved that."

He pulls out Steffbird's flag.

"When we were up on Mt. Korola for that sweepstake, I couldn't have defeated that monster without your help."

Yuka begins recalling some scenes. First, hanging on for dear life on the edge of the cliff with him. Then, getting her pants slipped, and her blouse ripped off to defeat Renzer.

"You pervert!"

Maigashi gets kneed to the stomach.

"Ok, maybe that too…."

He next pulls out a bowl of food for her.

"Cucumber Kimchi! This was your favorite dish, remember?"

Yuka starts to have a slight headache. Black sparks popped around as she retaliated with a wave of blasts.

"This is not working!"

Nephena calls Axe and his crew to the stand.

"You guys are up."

The Steel Specters perform one of their slow songs. Yuka's head started hurting more as black sparks shot around. She attempts to back away from Maigashi approaching close to her.

"Our first dance together. How you wished time stood still for us. And back at the hotel, you wanted to start a new leaf."

"You….hurt me….."

As the music got louder, Yuka didn't hesitate to fire away at Axe and his crew. His bandmates all stumbled back as the lightning destroys their equipment. Then, Yuka begins going all out at Maigashi, forcing him on the defense.

"I HATE YOU!!!"

The black sparks from her punches quickly send a painful shock through his system. Then, he gets sent flying back across the pavement.

"What kind of attack is that?"

Murasuma's voice echoes through her ears as he watched from the other screen back at base with Steffbird.

"Yes! Let the hatred fuel you. The time is right! Unlock your hidden power and unleash the Rainaga!"

Back below, a dark force quickly builds around Yuka. Everyone else retreats further for cover as Maigashi stood his ground.

"What the hell is going on?"

Yuka had a diabolical look on her face.

"I" 'LL KILL YOU WITH THIS!!!"

The tainted lightning increases in size, forming eight large serpent heads. It towers over a few small buildings as Maigashi was at a loss of words.

"Such power…Yuka, this is not you."

His words don't get through as she unleashed her attack.

"RAINAGA!"

The serpents dispersed across the city, damaging any buildings on sight. Yuka slowly loses her grasp on the technique.

Back above, Murasuma witnesses the destruction on screen.

"Hoo! That is quite an attack. What a gander!" The Captain comments.

"Yes…" Mura nodded. "An ancient technique only passed through the blood of the Yamata clan."

They watch Yuka struggle to control the Rainaga. Then, Maigashi gets impacted by one of the heads, the black lightning damaging him. Alistor stood on the sidelines with Axe and his crew.

"Dude…this might be the best time for us to bail, bro."

"Nephena, what do we do now?" Alistor asked.

Nephena was at a loss for words.

"I don't know anymore…." She nodded. "Nothing can break the spell. He can't get through to her."

The Rainaga brings Maigashi to his knees. Blood slipped from his lips as he experienced pain unlike ever before. Yet, the determination was still in him.

"The spell….OF COURSE!"

The first head from her attack dispersed as he barely got up. Seven serpent heads continue to wreck the city.

"What are you doing?" Nephena wondered.

"What I should have done in the first place."

Against the odds, Maigashi rushed towards Yuka. Two heads dive at him, but he jumps over, dodging. A scene replays back to the moment Yuka confessed behind the shower. He recalls his words to her.

"So don't worry about it. Cause no matter what, you have to hide. I won't think differently about you."

Another head approached his path, but he continued. He focused on what's left of his power in one attack.

"Surging Thunder!"

His lightning barely redirects the serpent's path. As he got close, Yuka slowly took a few steps back.

"What are you doing? You got nothing left. Your energy is depleted." She pointed.

She pulls up an electrical barrier hoping to slow him down, but Maigashi continued the advance.

"Cross my heart and hope to die, may lightning strike if I'm telling a lie."

Without second thoughts, he embraced Yuka for one final kiss. Two lips pressed against one another as her eyes widened for a moment. The darkness in her eyes quickly shifted back to normal.

"Oh no…what have I done."

The Rainaga heads quickly vanished from the scene. Maigashi stood by her side all bloody.

"I've never loved anyone more than you."

He collapsed to the floor as Yuka goes to embrace him. She pulls out the stuffed kitten from his pocket. Opening the backside, the Shard was pure again. Murasuma's voice echoed through her mind.

"Finish him!"

Yuka hesitates, shaking her head furiously from Murasuma's orders.

"NO! Get out of my head."

Back above…

"Inconceivable!!! That disobedient, worthless brat!"

"Argh! Well, this is going smoothly. Do we have more popcorn?"

Murasuma fired a shot at the screen.

"Captain! It is time we commence the invasion. She has wasted enough precious time."

"Aye! I'll round up the Doovers!"

Back at what's left downtown…

"I want to start all over. I want more cucumber kimchi. And most importantly, to be with you. Forever…"

Maigashi rests under her arms, chuckling.

"Heh, don't worry. When we get back, you can have all the cucumber kimchi you want."

The heartwarming scene abruptly ends with a gunshot. An energy attack hits Yuka from behind as she collapsed over. Her body was dead cold on the pavement floor as Maigashi got up.

"YUKA!!!!"

Murasuma emerged from behind the corner, laughing evilly.

"Heh, Fool….."

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