The Carnelian Sparrow

Chapter 18

Once more, the sky threatened the prospect of rain over Mitakihara’s nightlife. Yet aside the low rumble of thunder, the threat was, as always, completely empty. Just a dull gray blanket, littered by neon advertisements. Signs leading to places where none would admit visiting, yet often did, to alleviate the stress of nonstop office work for Mitakihara’s innumerable technology corporations.

Yet in the middle of this luminescent jungle, a single oddity stood out. At the dead center of Mitakihara City, an Opera House stood. No lights shone upon it, not anymore, and any windows that could be seen from the street had long since been boarded up. Caution tape and warning signs usually did the job of keeping people away from the abandoned building, and the police raids were enough to keep squatters from lingering for more than a night or two.

The sign over the front doors was covered in dust, worn by weather and the elements, and most importantly, by time. Yet the letters were still clear as day, despite it all. “Il Teatro.” None remained who knew the meaning behind the name, yet somehow, the city hadn’t yet seen fit to either rebuild it into a more active club, or demolish it completely.

Tonight, however, there were no police raids, no homeless people seeking shelter, and no one to disrupt the lone figure making a beeline to the remains of this building.

Two dilapidated doors swung open, revealing an empty, decayed foyer. Tattered carpet, peeling wallpaper and a hole in the ceiling right over what remained of a front desk. What wood remained of the desk had rotted, and several insects scattered at the squeaking of rusted hinges swinging open. The path to the auditorium wasn’t any better. The carpet had been torn in places, and what few lights remained on flickered and sparked from years of neglect.

Another set of double doors pushed open, leading to a once-carpeted concrete aisle, angled down along sunken rows of seats coated in dust and cobwebs, and at the end, a raised stage, somehow appearing in immaculate condition. On the stage, staring at the open door, Esther Rinju stood, holding her glowing Soul Gem up towards the ceiling. “…Somehow, I knew you would find me here.”

“It wasn’t hard, once I knew what questions to ask.” Yui, hands in her pockets, began walking down the concrete ramp towards the stage. “I’d tell ya to cut out these theatrics, but that’d be too ironic for even me to say in a place like this. But uh, you can drop this one-woman army shit any time you like, Esther.”

Esther merely shook her head, lowering her arm. “It’s too late for that. It was too late when you robbed me of my one chance to get out of this cleanly.”

“C’mon, man… use your head here for once. You abandoned this plan before ‘cause it was stupid and reckless, right? That’s what that bird told me, anyway.”

“You want to apply logic to a situation like this, Yui?” Esther gripped her Soul Gem tightly, a white glow forming in her palm. “Our world does not abide by logic or meaning. You knew that when you made your wish, Yui. Or, at least, I hope you did.”

Yui maintained a simple, expressionless gaze, a violet glow in her pocket. “So nothin’ I say’s gonna get through to you now, then?”

“…I will do -anything- to keep my baby sister safe. Even if it means I must burn the rest of the goddamn world to ash in order to do it.” The light enveloped Esther’s body, and once it faded, she stood before Yui in her Magical Girl attire.

With a sigh, Yui transformed in a flash of violet light, a golden staff appearing in her right hand, held upward. “Run that by Alice sometime, Esther. See what she says about livin’ in a world of ash, because her older sister would do -anything- to help her. Anything aside openin’ her ears, anyway.”

Esther sputtered, struggling for a retort. When none came, she simply launched herself off the stage. Yui anticipated this, rolling off to the side to avoid the punch, and kicked backwards, both knocking Esther off balance and pushing herself away. As she rolled to her feet, Yui bounded up to the stage, looking down at Esther as she corrected herself.

Once back on her own feet, Esther ran at Yui, jumping onto the stage and beginning her attack in earnest. A flurry of fists, sweeping kicks and shoulder tackles came at Yui, who blocked and dodged what she could. As always, however, Esther had the overwhelming advantage in terms of power and experience. Yui felt herself knocked off balance, falling onto her back.

A fist came down towards Yui’s head, but Yui had enough sense to roll away, causing Esther to punch straight through the wooden stage, cracking through the wood as if it were made of paper. Yui knew she couldn’t waste any time, and kicked up to her feet. She swung her staff down towards Esther’s back, and this attack connected. Esther groaned out in pain from the strike, but swung her legs to knock Yui off balance once more.

This time, Esther brought her fist down against Yui’s stomach, and her eyes widened as she felt the familiar burning sensation on her skin. Yui rolled away again, eventually spinning up to a vertical base, though she fell to a knee, clutching her stomach.

Esther didn’t pursue, simply staring with a calm, cold satisfaction this time. Confident, even. “You know why Kyubey pursues Alice. That damned curse. But let me tell you something, Yui. I’m Tomozaku Rinju’s firstborn child. Did you think I escaped the curse unscathed?” White flames engulfed her fists completely now, and she assumed a fighter’s stance. “This, Yui, is why my flames linger, and why those burns don’t fade.”

“Magical Girls can recover naturally, of course. But if I were to hit a normal human? They would never recover, Yui. That is what this curse can do, and Alice carries it far more strongly than I do. If Alice makes a contract with Kyubey, there won’t be a world of ash for her to reside in. And god forbid the Wi—”

Her words were cut off as a violet bolt of lightning struck through the unstable ceiling, causing broken pieces of wood to fall around where it hit. The bolt missed Esther by an inch, who had flinched back a second or two after the strike. Yui rose to shaky feet, staring into Esther’s eyes. “Shut the fuck up, you goddamn Saturday morning anime villain. I don’t need the fuckin’ monologue.”

Yui lunged forward again, ducking under a swinging punch from Esther and driving her fist upwards into Esther’s chin. The impact caused Esther to stagger back, but she remained on her feet. Seeing her chance, Yui followed up with another heavy punch, this time just below Esther’s collarbone. Esther fell back, though she used the momentum to gain distance from Yui.

A look of pure rage lit Esther’s face as she brought herself back to her feet. She punched the air in front of her, but Yui knew enough to tilt her head to the side, feeling the familiar, cursed burning air as a ball of white flame surged inches from her cheek. “That’s what we’re doin’ now, huh?” Yui pointed her staff in Esther’s direction, a violet bolt landing from the sky down through the open hole in the ceiling, this time striking the outstretched gold. From the tip, sparks would form, and a secondary bolt headed straight for Esther.

Esther rolled to the side, Yui’s attack grazing her side. She saw Yui step back from the recoil, dropping her staff onto the stage from the force of the attack. “A foolish gambit.” Esther jumped forward again with a primal yell, swinging flaming fists at Yui. Yui did the best she could to protect herself, ducking and weaving under some of Esther’s attack, blocking others with another summoned staff. Eventually, Yui was overwhelmed, and two strikes to her face knocked her onto her back. “You can’t beat me, Yui. You never could. What made you think you could beat me in a battle to the death? You knew what would happen, surely.”

Yui coughed, shimmying back a little before looking up at Esther, embers still blazing on her cheeks. “Heh… I sure know what’s gonna happen to Alice when she figures out ya killed me. But what’s another blow to her from her big sis, eh?” A smug grin spread like wildfire across Yui’s lips, despite the agony she felt.

Eyes widening once more, the color drained from Esther’s face. “Wh… what did you just say?!”

“Not my problem anyway.” Another coughing fit for a moment, and Yui slowly sat up. “You got no intention of lettin’ me walk out alive, right? Well, I can only hope you’re really one-woman army enough to handle Alice after she makes her contract with Kyubey. I tried, babe… I really did.”

An agonized, frenzied scream came from Esther as she jumped up, fist aimed right between Yui’s eyes. Yui, however, anticipated this. She threw herself from the stage, the sound of Esther’s attack not unlike a gunshot, echoing through the empty auditorium. Yui had bought herself just enough time to bring herself to her feet, but when she looked onto the stage, Esther was struggling to pull her fist free from the aged, decaying wood, and fire was beginning to spread from the impact site.

The embers would continue to spread, catching the frayed edges of the curtains on the far end of the stage, and soon crept upwards. The fire, Esther’s cursed flames threatened to bring down the whole Opera House if something wasn’t done, and fast. But before Esther could think of something to do, she was knocked forward and onto her face from a blow to the back of her head.

Yui’s staff clanged to the floor as she crawled back onto the now burning stage. Another in her hand, she made her way over to Esther. It was time to finally exploit Esther’s weakness, and Yui recalled the words Kotori had left for her in the envelope she obtained at their meeting.

“Esther Rinju has a twofold weakness. She is a calculating young woman. She schemes better than most do, especially among Magical Girls. She thinks several moves ahead, and looks far to the future to achieve her ends. However, this leaves her rather blind to the present. When confronted thus, she does not know what to do. If the foundation to her foresight crumbles, Esther cannot recover easily.”

“Furthermore, anything that involves her sister Alice causes her to act irrationally. She has a deep love for her sister, but she is often misguided in the defense of her family. Yui, I do not think I need to spell this out for you. Surely, upon seeing these words, you will already have devised a strategy to combat this weakness and come out on top, just this once.”

“I can give this assessment with absolute confidence, because you live in the moment. This is your biggest weakness, but in a situation like this, it is your greatest asset. If the time ever came where Yui Arashi and Esther Rinju could work as a team, there is nothing that could stop them. But to do so, you both must suffer wounds to your pride. Wounds that would scar. Can you do this, Yui? Can you endure such a wound, and see Esther survive her own? I will watch over this, as I do all things in my sphere of influence. Good luck, Yui. You will not have another opportunity to stop Esther, at least as she is right now.”

Yui had read the letter multiple times before coming here, and she knew that the only way to win against Esther would be to wound her pride. Using Alice’s pain as a weapon left a sour taste in her mouth, but since her life was on the line, she felt she had no choice.

Esther had shakily brought herself to her feet, turning and swinging at Yui once more, in pure desperation. These attacks were far more wild, nothing like the calculated strikes Esther had usually delivered in her fights. Yui was able to read these, dodging under and around each, jabbing in at Esther from time to time in the gaps between attacks.

Her voice was growing more and more desperate, as Esther realized nothing was working. The flames had engulfed the curtains completely now, and pieces of wood and cloth burned away from the structure, falling around the brawling girls. Either they were not aware of their predicament, or neither of them cared as the Opera House burned around them.

Sensing the end of the fight, feeling Esther’s attacks grow more frenzied, yet noticing them slowing down, Yui began to put her final plan into motion. She summoned another staff, this time swinging at Esther’s stomach, causing her to collapse onto a knee in a coughing fit.

Dashing around the fallen Magical Girl, Yui would summon more staves, leaving them upright around Esther before jumping back. More golden staves would fall from the sky, stacking on top of the previous, and eventually, they would collapse inward, forming a makeshift cage.

Esther regained her composure, only to notice Yui’s final attack. Instead of trying to break out, she merely turned to face her, still clutching her stomach. “Y-You…”

“Soul Cage!” Yui held our her right hand toward the sky, and one last bolt of violet lightning struck the makeshift structure, and sparks would connect the poles, forming the final ‘bars’ of the cage surrounding Esther. Yui then closed her hand into a fist, pulling it back toward herself, and the staves began to circle and close in around Esther.

Closing her eyes, Esther seemed resigned to her fate, waiting for the cage to close around her completely. When it didn’t after a full minute, she opened her eyes, staring at Yui, though she noticed that she could no longer safely move within Yui’s attack. “…What are you waiting for, Yui? You won. Finish this, already…”

“Heh… heheh! Hahaha! Oh man, this is rich!” Yui was practically out of breath as she fell to her knees, once more clutching her own stomach. “I won. I won, and you admitted it! I beat you! I WON!” Yui’s weary laughter echoed through the auditorium, only silenced as a large plank of wood fell between the two. “Now hurry up and drop your form and make these flames disappear already.”

“What…?” Esther coughed violently, shaking a bit as she stared over at Yui. “I don’t… didn’t you come here to kill me?”

Yui shook her head, though pointed a staff in Esther’s direction as she slowly rose to her feet. “I can’t handle Alice if she goes to the genie cat. I don’t wanna hurt her like that. Now drop your form, yeah? Neither of us wanna die in a burning theater.”

After a moment of hesitation, Esther sighed, reverting from her Magical Girl form. The flames on the stage and along the back wall of the auditorium faded, followed by the embers on Yui’s cheek and stomach.

Yui sighed, dropping her form as well, falling back onto her bottom. “God damn, that was close. If I didn’t get ya then, I’d be dead… whew! But fuck, man! That was the fight of my -life-! Hahaha… not a chance I can top this one. If I didn’t hurt so fuckin’ bad, I’d be baskin’ in this moment! Esther Rinju admitted defeat… hahahaha!”

“Could you try to enjoy this a little less, Yui?” Esther glared over at the manic girl across the stage from her. “If you didn’t come here to end me, why -did- you come here and fight me? It wasn’t to win.”

“Did I give ya a concussion or somethin’? I didn’t think we could get those anymore…” Yui slowly rose to her feet, stepping shakily over to her fallen opponent and offering her hand. “I didn’t come here to put you down. I came here to stop you from doin’ whatever it was you were about to do. Your dealer told me everything.”

“Everything…” Esther sighed, taking Yui’s hand and pulling herself to her feet. “…But what could I do, Yui? I have to end this curse. At any and all costs.”

“Would you knock that off already? Alice already told you what the right thing to do is. You were just deaf to reason ‘cause you gotta be in control all the time.” Yui kept hold of Esther’s hand, gripping it tightly. “-We- can figure out how to break your family’s curse. Together. You, me, -and- Alice. And together, we keep her out of this messed up world of ours.”

Esther sighed once more, averting her eyes from Yui’s powerful gaze. “…What a fool I’ve been, eh? But how are you able to forgive me so easily? How will Alice…?”

“We gotta teach ya how to listen. Look, for me? You gave me a hell of a fight. I’m satisfied. Neither of us’re dead, an’ I finally got some logic in that thick skull of yours. Alice’s gonna rip ya a new place to sit. Me too, probably. But she loves you, dumbass. She’s not a baby, you know. Now can ya do me a favor and trust her? Keep me at arm’s length, that’s fine. But let your sister actually become an adult, yeah? She’s far stronger than we are combined, y’know.”

“…For a punk, you sure have an optimistic outlook.” Esther looked up at the hole in the ceiling, then around to the burnt curtains and wood of the stage. “…Fine. Better to get this over with now, than later. While we’re walking home, you can tell me exactly how that lightning of yours works. It still hurts…”

Yui chuckled, throwing Esther’s arm over her shoulders, helping her down from the stage, starting to walk towards the exit. “I dunno, myself. I just figured it was powerful. Hey, while we’re trading trade secrets, what -were- you doing here, exactly? Followin’ that old lead, yeah, but like how does that even work?”

“Ah… well… it’s a long story.”

As the two left the auditorium, two red, beady eyes peered from behind the last bastion of hanging purple cloth. “Well now. This is hardly the outcome we wanted. Those two together will be quite the obstacle to overcome. Oh well. It’s hardly the first time we’ve had girls band together in the end. I have to wonder, however. Did -she- see this coming? Esther was so close to making contact with her, after all. If so, I suspect things are going to get very interesting in Mitakihara before long!” Kyubey turned, disappearing into the rubble, tail swishing behind it.