Shadows covered the sidewalk. The light of the moon shone down on the city. The dark store windows seemed to be open mouths, ready to swallow whoever dared to go through them. Occasionally there would be a siren, the sad sound of what was wrong in the world. People tried to get through this part of town quickly.
Why am I out here? Kaorin glanced from left to right, there were shadows all over. She was lost. The dark alleys next to her seemed to have predators waiting inside of them. The girl quickened her pace. She heard a noise behind her.
Her forehead slammed against the pavement. Her arms were pulled back. Her head was pulled up violently. Another teenager stood in front of her.
"Looks like we've found something fun to do. She looks like a cutie too," said the man, "I just have one quick question for ya."
Kaorin looked up at his face. His eyes were cruel. He was a dog, and she was a rat. It was almost as if the dog were starving, foaming at the mouth in the anticipation of blood.
He gave her an evil smile. "Have you ever been penetrated?"
A foot slammed into his face. The teen's head slammed into the concrete. Kaorin turned her head around.
The two men who had held her arms both lay on the ground. Blood dripped form their noses, teeth lay on the ground. One of them groaned.
A fourth individual reached inside of his coat. A foot lashed into his throat.
"Gah!"
The man fell to ground, hands on his Adam's apple. He rolled around in agony. Another body landed on top of him.
In the moonlight a shadowy figure stood, blood dripped from its hands. Kaorin didn't know who it was. She was simply glad that the person showed up.
One of the would be rapists charged towards the shape, knife in hand.
CRACK
The man fell onto the pavement. His right arm bent unnaturally. He screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Here's the thing."
Kaorin was completely shocked. She knew this person. But she had never known that she was so dangerous.
The girl's voice spoke again. The man lifted his head up to see her brown hair. "If you or your buddies over there ever lay a hand on one of my friends again," what seemed to be a large kitchen knife slammed down next to him. He felt a warm sensation on his skin. He saw blood drip off his face.
"If you or your buddies over there ever lay a hand on one of my friends again, I'll kill you. So get the fuck out of my sight."
The men ran off as fast as they could.
"When we get our buddies together you two are both dead!"
Kaorin watched as they went off into the distance. Her body shook a little in the chilly night air. What had almost happened to her, it was quite a shock. She had always felt safe wherever she went. Now she had almost been assaulted by men on some godforsaken street.
"Come on, I'll walk you home."
"Okay," said Kaorin.
"What were you doing out here anyways?"
"Someone stood me up, you see…."
"Bummer, at least you'll be safe if we walk together."
"Kagura?"
"Yeah?"
"How did you do that?"
"It was pretty easy," said the girl, "All pretty basic stuff, none of it too advanced."
"You just took down five people, in like, ten seconds!" screamed Kaorin, "How did you do that?"
"Does it matter?" asked Kagura, "The point is you're still a virgin."
"You don't know that—"
"Oh trust me," said Kagura, "I know."
"…Wha?"
"Well I just assumed, since I'm a virgin."
"Oh, okay." Kaorin looked at her friend. That was really awkward for a second there. Hey wait a minute! "What happened to that thing you were holding?"
"What thing?" asked Kagura.
"That giant knife thing! You know, the one you used to cut that guy's face?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" yelled Kaorin.
Thud
Kaorin felt a chill. Kagura's features seemed to harden. That was when she saw the demon. Its face was white as bone. The huge body took up the entire width of the street. The creature was like a giant lizard. Its huge yellow eyes looked like moons. The monster had a giant black hole in its chest. It let out an unholy roar. Kaorin felt as if she was being standing in front of the gates of Hell with imps about to rip her flesh from its bones.
"Stay back!" yelled Kagura.
"Hey wait a minute, what are you—"
Kagura erupted into a blue light. Her body fell onto the pavement. A black robed figure ran towards the monster. It dragged the same kitchen knife like weapon behind. The black cleaver sparked as it contacted the road.
The reptilian beast opened its mouth. A giant black tongue lashed out. A flash of light, half of tongue fell onto the road. Blood sprayed out of the other end.
The black robed figure slashed through the demon's head. Kaorin watched the creature dissolve away. A final roar escaped its mask. The robed figure held its weapon out. White cloth leaped over it wrapping it up like a mummy.
"You okay?"
"But…aren't you over here?" asked Kaorin.
"That's just my body," said Kagura, "I fight monsters like that all the time."
"But if you're so strong and fast," said Kaorin, "Why do you lose to Miss Sakaki?"
"I've only started doing this recently," said Kagura, "Besides my enhanced speed and strength is only possible when I'm like this."
The air above Kagura turned black. She glanced upwards, the cloth wrapped around her sword fell down. Another white masked demon came through the rift. Its black tentacles lashed out at Kagura. She slashed them away before slicing its face in half.
CLANK
A blade swiped through the black space. Kagura's sword blocked it. A head emerged. The long raven hair hung around the steel blade in her hand. Her face had an evil smile. She slashed at Kagura again.
CLANG
"What the Hell?"
Kaorin looked on as another white masked monster emerged from the hole. The sword wielding girl stood on top of its head. She pointed her sword at Kagura and the monster lunged. Sakaki, why?
Kagura's weapon slid through the creature's face. The demon roared with pain. It fell into two halves with began to dissolve away. Sakaki smiled at Kagura.
"What are you doing?"
Sakaki lunged at the girl. Her sword slammed against the weapon in Kagura's hand. Kagura felt her feet slide against the asphalt. She looked behind herself as a brick building came up.
POOM
Sakaki emerged from the dust holding the sword in her hand. Kaorin didn't know where Kagura had disappeared to. More dark spots appeared in the sky. White faces poured out of them. Winged bats, creeping spiders, and dark beaked octopi shoved their way out of the blackness.
Kaorin watched as the monsters turned towards her. They let out a collective scream. The white masks rushed towards her, jaws open, ready to consume her soul.
A blue light pierced the darkness. The monsters screamed as they were disintegrated. Kagura stood in front of Kaorin, her weapon in hand.
"You okay Kaorin?"
"Yeah…."
"You might want to get out of here," said Kagura, "This is gonna get ugly."
"You're much tougher than you look soul reaper," said Sakaki, "I'll give you that much."
"What are you doing?" Kagura yelled.
"Proving that I'm better than you," Sakaki replied.
The raven haired beauty slashed. Kagura barely blocked it. The tomboy swung her sword at the girl's head. Sakaki ducked and sliced into the brown haired girl's chest. Blood splattered onto the asphalt, making it reflect the moonlight.
Kaorin watched as two of her best friends fought each other. It was clear that Sakaki held the advantage. Kaorin couldn't understand what was going on. All she could do was stand there while the two of them traded blows.
"What's the matter Kagura?" Sakaki asked, "I thought you always wanted to challenge me? Were you bluffing all this time?"
Damn it, Kagura thought to herself. She's so strong, and so fast. I'm not sure if I can keep up with her much longer.
"I guess you can only fight as well as you look," said Sakaki.
"Thanks," Kagura replied.
"No, you can't even fight that well."
Sakaki stabbed into Kagura's left shoulder. Her blade was now covered in blood. Kagura was scared. This Sakaki was a lot stronger than the one she knew. Each blow she made with her sword was faster and stronger than any counterblow Kagura could make. This fight was completely one sided. Kagura realized that she might die. Like Hell! I'm not gonna lose to her!
"Why are you doing this Sakaki?" Kagura yelled, "I'm your friend!"
The girl just smiled at her. "You don't know who I am, do you? You poor fool. I'm not really Sakaki."
Kagura didn't believe her for a second. "How full of crap are you?" yelled Kagura, "There's no way for you not to be Sakaki."
"I'll tell you who I really am."
Sakaki's sword split in two. She pushed her twin swords against Kagura's, pinning it to her bleeding chest. She smiled as she watched blood flow from her opponents wounds.
"I'm the strong part of Sakaki, but I'm not her. I was forced to live deep inside of that wretched girl. She called on my strength, and I had no choice but to give it to her. Essentially I was her sidekick, but I wanted to be the main attraction.
"One day she was sitting on a curb. While she sat there she began to concentrate, eventually spirit ribbons appeared around her. She didn't know what these ribbons were of course. But that didn't matter. She saw so many of them, only one was special, and it was me. I summoned all of my strength forcing her arm to grab the red fabric. At that moment I was in control, and she was my slave."
"I don't believe you," Kagura said, her sword still pinned to her chest by Sakaki's great strength. "That story doesn't make sense!" She wriggled her left arm, trying to get free.
"Oh it does and you know it. Sakaki's never been confident, she's never been violent, she's never been talkative, and she's never been proactive. I am all of these things. So what better explanation is there? When I was in control I had so much fun. I summoned monsters and watched them kill people to devour their souls. It was wonderful to see the weaklings running for their lives from those creatures. It made me smile so."
Is it true? Could Sakaki really have such an evil inside of her? It was hard to believe. Kagura didn't really know her that well. Images formed in her mind. Kagura and Sakaki at the beach, enjoying the sunshine. Kagura scaring away cats, Sakaki in tears behind her. The two of them listening to a boring class by Yukari. She had always been obsessed with cute animals and toys. She had always tried to help young Chiyo during their class activities. Sakaki had never spoken up much, but she had never been like this. No, thought Kagura, Sakaki isn't evil, this thing is.
"Do you know why animals attack Sakaki?" her evil side asked. "It's because I dwell inside of her. The animals can sense my hatred of the living, this is what spurs them to fight or flee. Except for one, some stupid dog owned by a little brat. He's the only one that isn't afraid of me. He sees through the evil aura that surrounds Sakaki, he sees the goodness in her heart. No matter how much hatred I pour out he just lays there. For that, I hate him, and now that I have complete control over Sakaki's body…I'll kill him. That's what I love doing the most, killing. When I'm done with you soul reaper, I'll kill everything in this world."
"Not if I kill you first!"
"Face it soul reaper," said Sakaki, "You're hopelessly outmatched."
"Only because I haven't found the will to kill you yet," said Kagura, "But I think I've found it now!"
Her left fist slammed into Sakaki's face. An explosion of blue energy appeared. Kaorin saw Kagura leaning against her sword, panting heavily. Sakaki's body lay on the ground, a sword in her hand.
"What the hell did you do to me soul reaper?" screamed someone.
"You look just like Sakaki," said Kagura, "I don't like that."
She slashed the look-alike in the side. Blood sprayed out of the wound. The evil spirit screamed with rage.
"You'll pay for that soul reaper."
"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?"
Kagura slashed at the evil being again. The spirit disappeared. Where did she go?
"GAH!"
Kagura looked down to see a sword poking out of her chest. Blood sprayed out of her right arm. She felt cool steel move up her left side. Her cheek sprayed blood onto her nose.
Kagura fell backwards. She watched as the blood slowly arced in the moonlight. The dark red liquid glistened. Kagura felt at peace as her body slammed against the hard asphalt. The moon overhead seemed so much closer. Her own moon lay next to her side.
Damn it body, move! Her right arm feebly shook. I have to move! The evil spirit stood over Kagura. Why can't I move?
"It's too bad that the fight is over already," said the spirit, "I was just beginning to enjoy it. When I run this blade through your spine, it'll be all over."
I have to move, thought Kagura.
"Then you will," said a voice in her head.
I don't need you, thought Kagura.
"I disagree," said the voice, "Besides you're too weak to say anything about it now."
NO! Kagura's eyes closed. The spirit stood over her about to administer the killing blow. The zanpakutō plunged towards Kagura's still body.
"I don't think so."
The evil spirit watched as her opponent grabbed the sword with her bare hand. White formed around the left side of Kagura's face. It looked like the face of one of the monsters. Her irises had turned yellow, the rest of her eyes were jet black.
"You foolish Kagura," said the tomboy, "you should have called on me from the start. Now look at you. You've been cut to pieces by an inexperienced show boater. How the mighty have fallen."
"How did you stop my sword?" asked the evil spirit.
"It's quite simple really," said Kagura, though there was something strange about her. The voice that spoke wasn't Kagura's, it was more maniacal, like the laugh of a hyena. "When two opponents fight with zanpakutō they can only hurt each other if they're strong enough. An enemy can be so much weaker than their opponent that their sword won't even be able to cut into his foe's flesh."
The white faced Kagura let out an evil laugh. It slashed at the spirit, blood sprayed into the air. The evil Sakaki tried to counter its blows, to no avail.
"It's too bad that you were so weak," said Kagura, "I love killing just as much as you do. There's only one difference between us," said the maniacal voice, "I'm unstoppable, you're just a pest."
The white faced Kagura continued to slash and tear into her opponent. The crazed being laughed each time it drew blood. Kaorin watched as she continued to laugh, her face formed an evil grin. She was acting just like the Sakaki look-alike had acted before. What happened to her? She didn't understand what was going on.
It had seemed as if Kagura was on the verge of death earlier. Kaorin had seen her bleeding body lie on the ground. This person was different though. Her laugh was evil, everything about her face gave Kaorin chills.
The white faced Kagura stood with her sword pointed at the evil spirit. The dark being watched as the white faced girl walked towards her. Her own bloodlust was nothing compared to this girl's.
"It looks like you're all done now."
The girl was very close now. There was no chance for escape. How can I be so weak? The evil spirit looked at the yellow eyes of her enemy. They were the same eyes of the monsters she had summoned into the world. Images of men and women being torn apart by those same ravenous eyes filled her brain. When that happened before, the spirit had relished in it.
"Too bad." The girl raised her sword above the spirit's head. "I have to thank you though. If you hadn't shown up, I never would have been able to take control of her body. So thanks," the grip on the sword tightened, "For making me queen!"
The blade plunged towards the evil one. The spirit watched as it came down. The tip neared her heart, ready to cut it out. Kagura smiled as she saw went for the kill.
Stop.
The smile vanished from her face. "No."
It's time for you to go back where you belong.
"Never!"
I'm still the ruler of my body, thought Kagura, and you are mine to control!
"Idiot!" screamed Kagura, "I'm about to kill her! At least let me do that first."
This is my fight, stay out of it.
Kagura let out a scream as the white mask disappeared from her face.
"I'll be back, the moment you weaken for even a second, I'll slice off your head and wear it as a crown."
Fuck you.
The evil spirit watched as the girl raised her head. Brown eyes looked at her. The being watched as the girl end of the cloth on the girl's sword rapped around her. Blood no longer fell from her wounds. The girl grabbed the spirit by the throat.
"Stay where you belong," she whispered. Her eyes were filled with tears. "Stay where you belong, with me." Kagura looked into the demon's eyes. She pressed her zanpakutō against the monster's abdomen. "In Hell!"
The slicing moon passed cleanly through her body. Kagura watched as the evil spirit's eyes became blank. She watched the lower portion of the spirit fall onto the ground. She threw the upper half away. Turning towards Kaorin she fell.
Kaorin rushed towards the body of her dying friend. Kagura looked at the girl with her kind brown eyes. She gave her a smile.
"Is Sakaki awake?"
"I don't think so."
"Well wake her up then," Kagura coughed up blood, "It's rude to be asleep when someone wants to say goodbye."
Four Weeks Later…
Sakaki sadly walked down the sidewalk. Ever since that fateful day she had become even quieter. She missed walking around with Kagura scaring away all the cats that came nearby. Sure it had been annoying but now it felt strange not to have her around.
No one had believed the tale Kaorin had told. Her tale about a monster in a white mask killed by Kagura caused their friends to run off. All of their other friends believed that Kagura had probably just moved away without telling anyone. They figured that they would see her again somewhere. Sakaki had pretended to agree. Kagura had definitely moved away, but now she would never be seen again.
Sakaki continued to move down the sidewalk. No cats ever seemed to be in this alleyway anymore. This meant that Sakaki still didn't know if what Kagura had told her was true.
A small bush shivered. Sakaki watched as a brown cat walked out of it. The cat was small, it had brown fur, it had small ears. Slowly, Sakaki stretched her hand out towards the furry creature. The creature sniffed at her hand, and then the cat rubbed its head against it. Sakaki was shocked. It almost seemed as if everything was alright again. But she couldn't be sure.
