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Izayuki gave a sigh as she finished her little icy meal before falling down to her knees, sinking in despair. She had won this fight, but at what cost? Seeing herself like this again... the emotional darkness was coming on strong. She remembered almost every time she had been beaten or tortured during her training, and also recalled the bitterness and hate when taken advantage of, defiled, and deflowered. Tears burned at the ice slayer's eyes as she let out a loud cry... she was truly back. There was no more hiding... and currently, she was unable to return back to her other human form while in her despairing and hopeless state.

The voice of reason was unable to reach her- to gently extend a warm hand and help her up, like last time. All that remained was her hate, her need for vengeance, her bitterness, her grief, her loss, her greed, her envy, and her lust... even pride was now gone as she sulked there alone, red eyes now fading into amber-brown again, flickering a softer red, and repeating...


But something else was stirring. The omniscient and omnipresent, the divine, could hear the few words released as a prayer. It was a direct message that hit like a bullet, and now realizing something, how could it be refused? Pale lips grew to a smirk as the ice goddess listened and gazed at an ice mirror- watching the scene play out... perhaps it was finally time...

Chuckling a bit, Yukionna stood up from her ice throne and closed her eyes. Instantly, the goddess directed herself to reappear in a giant blizzard that abruptly formed out of nowhere, there in Motor City. The entire block would be covered in a light snow, but the graceful and elegant figure herself appeared in front of the crying and sobbing brown-haired girl. It was easy to find them- she was connected to the one who had been defeated, so this had been made easier than last time, and really, easier than ever. "I hear you, my child.... Suzuran...."


..........
That voice. It seemed so gentle and soft, but spiking from behind it was that ominous clarity and sharpness. Izayuki had yet to even look up- but her body began to tremble again, only like never before. Brown eyes wide and pupils dilated and spooked, as if she had seen the most terrifying of ghosts, the girl gazed up at the tall, slender figure and cold face. "..."
She tried to release words, but was simply unable to... what was there to even say? She was dead already at this rate... Yukionna was here. Yukionna had found her. Yukionna was going to kill her.

"My little Hyoujin... it is indeed nice to see you again. Why don't you stand up? Here, allow me to assist," the ice goddess said in a sickening sweet voice, a happy cruelty in her violet eyes. Yukionna extended her hand, and Izayuki reached her own up to take it- not out of her own will. At this point, she no longer had free will. In a way, she was no longer Izayuki. Her entire being belonged to the goddess- as simple as that. But at the same time, her wits were coming back to her... this was her rival and sworn enemy... somehow or other, she HAD to kill Yukionna! But did she even have enough power?
As the girl hesitantly rose to her feet, still shaking, Yukionna took a few steps back, her sickening smile now growing to a bitter and cold line. "Tell me, Hyoujin, why you think performing such a spell like Hiatsu in that manner is appropriate... allow me to demonstrate the proper way to use it..."

Yukionna trailed off as she lifted her right hand and stretched out her fingers toward Izayuki.

"Iza, run!"
That voice of reason broke through, which seemed to snap the yokai out of her trance... Yukionna was mesmerizing. She was Skadi, after all, one of the most beautiful and enchanting gods, and that alongside the darkness and despair inside Izayuki was enough to make her soul and mind freeze up. But that voice... that voice...
"Get away! Shift back! Now!

Izayuki began to back away in fear of the goddess slowly, summoning the strength to change her form back to her light pink-haired and pink-eyed human form, which did not feel the emotions that came along with tainted memories as easily. She still had her tanuki ears and tail out, but perhaps she could get away and escape... perhaps...
"Hiatsu."

An air-splitting scream followed the words- emitted by Izayuki. She recognized the spell all right; it was Ice Pressure, the exact attack that she had used on Suzuran. However, even in the past, Yukionna had never used it on her. Now this? It was far stronger than her personal use about it, and the pain was intense. It was as if every fiber of her physical mass was expanding and would simply snap and tear at any moment... let it! Let it! At least then, it would be over. But no- Yukionna kept her magical grasp on her student, devilishly grinning as Izayuki cried out in pain, finding the screams painful as well, seeing as the molecules in her lungs were taking up almost all breathing ability... the agony was indescribable. But it did not end there, as Yukionna began advancing again, even though by now the Glacier God Slayer was securely on the ground- unable to stand anymore from the pain. And to add to the cruelty, the goddess froze the part of the mind, brain, and nervous system that would allow her student to faint. No, she would discover just what she had done to Suzuran, and just what Yukionna had in store for her.

"You have something that belongs to me," Yukionna said icily, using what appeared to be an ice version of telekinesis to throw and pin her apprentice against a brick wall, and freeze her arms and legs in place there. Once the ice goddess slowly and royally advanced, she touched two fingers to the top of the panting human-formed yokai's chest. As soon as the god's chilly fingertips touched her, more pain ensured- but this one was draining. It seemed to sap almost all bits of energy from her very core and being. Again, Izayuki cried out, but even her screams and voice had weakened after overuse. Backing away, Yukionna revealed a bright white orb of light that seemed to have a chilly, lavender aura coming from it. The goddess seemed to exhale a frosty breath onto it, and gentle toss it to the ground. From there, Suzuran would be remade and reborn, as good as new. Right now, Izayuki's nightmare was only just beginning.

As much of the fight had transpired before the necklace was broken, it was fair that the guildmaster would not understand the reasoning behind it. Suzuran had told Izayuki her reason for joining Black Rose- a selfish, disgusting reason at that, and at the same time, had tried to kill the Glacier God Slayer. Naturally, that would start any fight, and Izayuki was simply not one to back down. But here she was- frozen up against a brick wall, and utterly helpless. That was when Kakuma randomly appeared between her and the ice goddess.

As soon as she had been revived and reformed, the ice elemental took off- paying no heed to anything else going on. Yukionna could care less- she did not come here for gratitude. She came to repair a tool. A tool does not thank you once it has been remade- it simply is there to be used again whenever. Her student, on the other hand, was a different story. But right now, there was yet another goddess in the way. Kakuma was a bit weaker, but this was slowly becoming more trouble than it needed to be. "I believe you are mistaken. That mark means nothing... it is temporarily. I could freeze it off, just as easily as you put it on. Up until now it has been me allowing Suzuran and Hyoujin to stay in your guild. In the end, they both belong to me," the goddess explained, with a cold, emotionless expression.

Izayuki stayed where she was- unable to move, but mildly surprised to see Kakuma. Would the guildmaster really try to stop Yukionna? Or was that wishful thinking? Heck, was she even strong enough? The glare of her red eyes shot even more dread through the tanuki yokai, but by now, she was used to such fear... she would take anything to get out of this free and alive. Was that hope she was feeling, despite her despair and helplessness? Maybe. Maybe. At the same time, she did feel guilty for getting the guildmaster involved this far... Yukionna was unpredictable. The wise thing to do would be to back down, and to tell Kakuma to do that; but at this point, she was too scared to say that... because what if there was a chance? Even the smallest chance still gave hope. "Kakuma..."

As the scene went on, Yukionna only stood back, gazing at the goddess of death and the Glacier God Slayer with almost no expression, except that coldness in her violet eyes. A sort of bond like that- it definitely was interesting. Still, it mattered not to her. She had her ways, yes. She had given Izayuki her powers, and thus, the god slayer would always belong to the goddess of ice. Still, she was slightly pleased as Suzuran rejected Kakuma, and could not help but give a light smirk as she watched the ice elemental make a decision for herself for once. What a handy tool.

As Kakuma asked her question, Izayuki's pink eyes opened wide. Serve a goddess of death, as in, be her student? Or simply one subject to her will? With her love of freedom, she failed to completely understand. But as the guildmaster leaned in to kiss her, the Glacier God Slayer instantly felt the ice pinning her to the wall begin to melt, and a surge of power fill her. What was this? She could not understand, but something felt warm, and her physical pain began to ebb away. The yokai was unable to resist the request, between her fear and terror of the ice goddess, and the magic of the death goddess. "I-I will..."

At first, there was the sudden impulse to cringe as Kakuma's claws struck through to her soul. But after realizing no pain, Izayuki just stared dumbfounded at the wolf goddess. What had just happened? She had almost missed the very act of the guildmaster leaving something within her soul, but she was unable to quite tell just what had taken place. It was taking her all of her energy to remain standing, the two still being in the presence of the powerful ice goddess.

Watching the scene unfold, Yukionna's cold and emotionless expression changed to a look holding a sly smirk. She chuckled slightly under her breath before taking a few steps forward. "No- I don't need to remove anything," the cold deity stated, pausing as she came within a meter of Kakuma. Instantly, the wind began to pick up again, and snowflakes and blasts of flurry would fill the air. In the blink of an eye in that blinding flurry, Yukionna and Izayuki would teleport in a swirl of snow and ice and cold wind. She had no need to even touch her target to whisk them away- just being in the vicinity was enough. From there, the ice goddess would freeze whatever had been put inside of her former apprentice, along with her soul. It would be a temporary freeze, but would render it unable to do anything or be used for tracking for at least a while. The two would reappear in Yukionna's Realm of Ice, in a frozen palace of sorts that Izayuki would remember all too well. From there, divine punishment would be dealt to the one who had sinned against the goddess of the cold.