Shadow Princess

The shadow princess' attack was activated. Mikoto felt her soul being teleported to into her shadow plane where she was subjected to the memories she had hidden as a child. She kept reliving a memory of when she was locked in a dark, tightly enclosed cupboard by the other kids at her former orphanage. Meanwhile outside, Rina easily dodged Kazuo's disorganized attacks before she hit him on his face. The heavy sphere connected on his cheek and one of his teeth was sent flying out from his mouth. Just like his missing tooth, Kazuo was also sent flying before landing on the ground with his face.

Mikoto's mouth was now frothing and her eyes rolled backwards with her body convulsing uncontrollably. Rina then dematerialized her weapon and focused all of her energy on finishing off the lightning kunoichi. She used her prana to split and transfer a part of her psyche into Mikoto's shadow plane. Once inside Rina conjured up a new memory and was personified as the mother who had abandoned her few months old daughter at an orphanage.

I didn't want to have you! You were a burden to me! That's why I left you!

Rina kept tormenting Mikoto's psyche with harsh words that sent her further deep into the abyss of despair. She got shocked to realize when Kazuo rushed towards her with a dark blue aura surrounding him.

Raijin: Kanden!

Kazuo charged with a side cut. Rina veered off to the side to avoid the chokutō tip from slicing her in two. As she jumped, she dragged Mikoto with her chain. When the lightning blade touched the black chain, a current streamed through the shadow object. Rina and Mikoto simultaneously received a jolt of electricity and both began shaking spasmodically. The lightning sword cut through the long shadow chain and the two kunoichi dropped to the ground on either side with Kazuo in the middle.

The shadow chain evanesced and Rina woke up a few moments later to see Kazuo trying to resuscitate his friend. Her body trembled from the electric shock. She also noticed a small blood stained cut on her left palm and then tore a piece of her clothing to cover the wound.

"Stay with me Miko!"

Kazuo made chest compressions before giving her rescue breaths. After she had brought him back to life several months ago, he asked her to teach him how it's done. And the day he finally put all the learned theory into practice had finally come.

"You're one crazy fuck!" Rina chuckled as she got up on her feet, "You realized that the only way to save her was to shock the both of us. But even if she comes back from this, her mind has already been broken."

Rina walked at a slow pace towards the two ninjas. Now to carry out the mission.

Before Kazuo could give Mikoto another rescue breath he saw Rina walking towards him from the corner of his eye. Kuso!

"Now it's your turn… Inazuma Kazuo." Rina stretched out her hands. Sokubaku!

Dark chains appeared and twirled around the shadow princess' arms. They flew towards Kazuo in a flash and bound to his wrists. Rina parted her hands and her captive followed suit. She then raised the Lightning ninja slightly above the lush green grass before escorting him a short distance from Mikoto. Her captured prey fidgeted throughout the whole ordeal in an attempt to break free.

"First let's see what you've hidden in your shadow plane…yume no fūkei!"

Rina and Kazuo were instantaneously transported to the latter's subconscious. She witnessed Kazuo's shadow draw a katana to defend itself.

"Ah, you've personified it as well? I wonder what sort of darkness you're hiding."

The battle started. Rina used her chains to attack Kazuo's. Three hours had elapsed in the shadow plane, Kazuo's shadow had slowed down a great deal. Rina switched sides and left her shadow to finish off Kazuo's whilst she pinned the real body to the ground. When she got outside only three minutes had passed. She brought down the Lightning ninja who kept fidgeting and knocked him out after a few punches to the face.

Back in the shadow plane, Rina's shadow had bound Kazuo's. Finally.

Kazuo's inner self sensed Rina's hand touch his forehead and his hidden thoughts were projected out for them to view. A conjured memory of him unable to save his mother kept repeating in a cycle without end. To him it felt as though he had been there and could not do a thing. He could also visualize Kagero's wicked grin as he violated Natsuhi.

"No! Please make it stop!" Kazuo said out loud.

Rina also saw the memories and they made her want to vomit. She knew her father murdered people, but this new side of him, she had never conceived to be possible. When Kazuo begged her to stop, she could feel his pain. It felt as though the trauma of both him and Natsuhi projected itself onto her mind as well. She undid her projection and stopped the images.

I get what your aniki did but raping this boy's mother was too far even for you papa.

Rina got back outside, her captive had stopped fidgeting. She thought deeply about what her sensei and mother had said. One had informed her what she needed to do to become queen and the other had questioned if it was worth all the trouble. Her shadow self obviously sided with Kagami whilst a small part of her conscious self was on the side of her mother.

If I go through with it, I'm no different from papa or those rumors about mama. And if I don't, I stand to lose my crown. Why didn't Kagami-sama just let me get my revenge and kill him? That would've spared me the trouble from all this! Is this surely the only way I can become queen? I shouldn't do this. I shouldn–

After a lengthy battle within her mind, Rina finally made a choice. She lowered a barely conscious Kazuo's trousers and got on top of him. A few minutes later, she had collected his seed and left him lying still on the grass.

Saki was the first to awaken some minutes after Rina had departed. She saw the two lightning shinobi lying unconscious and a few feet apart. I wasn't paid enough for any of this, she thought before she too fled the scene.

☯

Kazuo woke up in a wooden cabin a few hours later to see a tall woman in a black sari tending to his and Mikoto's wounds. Why do I feel weird? Wait– "W–who are y–you?" he asked, noticing how much the woman looked like Rina.

"The name is Rani, dear boy." She rummaged through her wooden shelves full of potions. "And is that how you greet someone who just save both your lives?"

"Y–you're the G–grass Witch." I thought she'd look way older. He tried to move but his body refused. "Y–You didn't do anything to us, right? We've heard about you!"

So Kagami convinced my daughter to take this boy's seed. What a sick bastard! And what does he want with Inazuma blood? Rani thought. "Ah, it seems my reputation precedes me, though I prefer the term sorcerer. In all honesty, I could've just left you two to die there." Then again, Kagami would kill me. She glared at him for a while and smiled. He resembles Lord Kazuro so much.

"So, what are you gonna do to us?" Kazuo furrowed his brows.

"Nothing for now… you're more useful to me alive."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Let's just say I don't want you dead... yet."

☯

Two days later…

"Welcome back, your highness." Daisuke greeted Rina with a smile.

"It's your majesty, now." Rina looked at Daisuke and Kagami in turn, her response and facial expressions cold. She walked past the two men without saying anything further.

"All hail the Shadow Queen," said Kagami, bowing slightly as she passed him. He had his small and sinister grin. The look on her face had assured him that all was going according to his plan.