Alright, so now that they're all broken up into groups, I've decided to do each of their fights as separate chapters, so they might be shorter than usual. Please bear with me guys. This story should be heading to a close soon :') I've loved it though, and I hope you all have too!
"So, this is the man who has taken Yukino? Then, let us reclaim our comrade!" Rufus exclaimed, a smirk of confidence shadowed by his hat. Cana chuckled, taking one last swig of her borrowed sake before throwing the empty container down and holding out a combination of cards in a fan like motion.
"The only way to get her back is to pull her from his flesh. If we kill him, she could die as well." Sango explained, Kirara growling slightly at an excited Mukotsu.
The mages scowled in displeasure.
"Then what are we standing here for? Let's go!" Cana jumped up, releasing three cards from her hand straight at an unamused Naraku. "Thunderbolt's Fate!"
Arms of lightning immediately sprouted from her cards, streaking toward Mukotsu and Naraku.
Tentacles of flesh erupted from Naraku's body, converging in front of him as a shield. The lightning clashed, sending chunks of singed flesh into an explosion. An unharmed Naraku was left in the aftermath, his red eyes glowing through the dust and dirt.
Mikotsu used his weapon to unleash a cloud of gaseous poison, the lightning exploding as if in reaction to the gas.
"Yes, that's right!" Mukotsu exclaimed in triumph, dancing around in victory.
"Hmph, Hiraikotsu!" Sango's muffled voice was heard inside the threatening cloud, her boomerang dispersing it as if a fan. She appeared on a large, enflamed Kirara, a filter mask over the bottom half of her face.
"Memory Make: Shrine of the Turbulent Fang!" Rufus followed with his own attack, swiping his arm to the side to produce multiple tornadoes that quickly honed in on his targets.
"Sun's Strength!" Cana threw more cards, each gradually being engulfed in flames as they neared individual tornadoes. Upon impact, the cards exploded, creating tornadoes alit in searing fire, the monstrous entities promising victory.
"Magnificence memorized. Quick thinking on your part, my lady." Rufus grinned, giving Cana a debonair glance to which the mage turned away from to hide her reddening cheeks.
"Pft, yea, thank the booze." She huffed, crossing her arms and waiting for the many, earthshaking explosions to cease. Thinking their job done, the three fighters let their guard drop, looking at one another with smiles and high fives.
"You guys sure are amazing, huh, Kirara?" Sango commented, catching her feline friend as he downsized into his smaller form.
"Ah, whatever. We're just simple mages. I could say the same for you, though. That cat sure is somethin'! Him and Natsu would definitely get along!" Cana chuckled, picturing Natsu riding like an idiot on a fearsome Kirara. The cat let out a cute squeal, obviously agreeing which caused the three to laugh in amusement.
All of a sudden, a tentacle shot out of the clouding dirt, wrapping around Cana's bare waist and snatching her into the opaque cloud of dust.
"Cana!"
"Damn that Naraku!"
On the other side, as Rufus and Sango battled Naraku, Mukotsu imprisoned a struggling Cana in a bone cage, laughing quite eerily.
"Hehe, you'll be my wife then." He mumbled, fixing the cage's ropes.
"Eh?! What the hell?!" Cana exclaimed as she tugged at the unrelenting bars of bones. The strap on her purse had broken, the bag lying just out of her reach. How was she to fight without her cards? She wasn't drunk enough for hand to hand combat, even if her opponent was a little bug.
"What? You disagree?! It's my appearance, isn't it?!" Mukotsu's aura suddenly became dark, his round, beady eyes narrowing if possible.
Cana, having already been thinking of a strategy, immediately shook her head nervously.
"N-no, you're-erm-quite h-handsome." She smiled sheepishly, sweat dripping from her brow as she listened to her fighting comrades yelling her name frantically.
"Oh, is that so?! You think so?!" Mukotsu beamed, dropping his weapon. Taking notice of this, Cana kept playing coy.
"Absolutely."
"You must know what's good. All those other women were too stupid to recognize my beauty. Let's commence the wedding!" He exclaimed, rummaging in his bag to reveal a sheer, white cloth to drape over Cana's head. She immediately sweat dropped. Did he just randomly carry that around everywhere?
"U-um, before that, will you hand me my purse? I-it's-uh- got my-uh- vows in it?" She breathed raggedly, cursing herself internally.
"You mean, you've been planning this all along?!" He fantasized, his cheeks flushing. Cana gulped audibly.
"Hah, y-yea. Ever since I saw you walk up with the rest of the Band of Seven, you've been t-the one." Her mouth twitched in disgust, her mind wondering just what the hell she was saying.
"Oh, how lovely!" He jumped in pleasure, retrieving her bag in a haste and handing it over.
Idiot, the woman thought as she retrieved her infamous Sexy Lady Card.
Oh, Lucy, you should be here right now, Cana thought amusedly as she activated the card, women in bikinis immediately crowding around a confused Mukotsu who didn't know what to think. Cana quickly used her explosive cards to escape her cage, removing the veil in disgust.
"Alright, Naraku, you're next!" She fist pumped, forming strategies on how to take the demon by surprise as she watched him battle Rufus and Sango.
"Hmm, I thought you'd never ask." A menacing laugh erupted behind the woman, causing her to swivel around fear. Two Naraku? She thought. How?
She glanced back over at the Naraku battling her friends, then back at the one behind her.
"H-how?" She breathed, her body frozen and rigid to the spot. He chuckled.
"It's not hard to split my body, dear. What you see here are merely puppets. But," he sneered, "that doesn't mean I can't absorb you." He gritted his teeth, shooting a tentacle toward the mage. She willed her feet to move, but they wouldn't budge. She was utterly shocked.
"Cana! Move!" Rufus, who's appearance had taken a drastic turn- his hat missing, his blonde hair unravelled, his cravat and mask gone, and his clothes torn- jumped around the other Naraku, running desperately toward an endangered Cana with a horrified Sango in tow.
Who would make it there first? Naraku or Rufus?
Two hands reached for the other, fingers mere inches apart as a final attempt for salvation, only to slip at the last moment.
