Disclaimer: No, i am not the creator of Samurai Deeper Kyo. Surprise!
The demon had taken Hotaru's body, after all, and done something terrible with it. All demons warped the bodies they took around themselves, both to make a more comfortable fit and to suit their own twisted aesthetics. This one was no different.
Hotaru's skin had gone white, whiter than any human's could be. It had a grey tint like thick ice. His eyes had changed, too, going from light green to black and blank. His hair hung lank and limp and looked like dead grass.
Akira couldn't see the way his former ally's colors had changed. For him, the worst thing was the smell. Ordinarily, Hotaru smelled like wood smoke. It was a familiar smell, one he could rely on in battle. Hotaru's body still smelled like smoke, but now it was the smell of plague victims being burned because there weren't enough graves. It made Akira sick.
Those were only the surface changes. The demon had changed Hotaru's structure as well, to the point where he was barely recognizable anymore. Hotaru's face had gone flat, a polygon constructed by someone who only had the vaguest idea of what a face was meant to be. The demon had stretched out his body. Hotaru's stilt-like geta were gone, but his body was still taller than it had ever been, taller even than Kyo. The extra height had to come from somewhere, though, and his clothes were far too loose on his frame. His arms and legs were barely more than skin stretched over bone. His fingers and toes had lengthened, or maybe the skin of his hands and feet had just receded to give that illusion. The shape of his fingers had definitely changed, like bare twigs sharpened into lethal knives. The tips had gone dark red like old blood, or maybe they were just soaked in gore. There was certainly enough blood splattered over his clothes, some of it fresh and some that must have been there since they lost Hotaru. The stench hung in the air, a grisly complement to the death-stink of the demon.
Akira didn't dare wonder what had happened to Bon.
Kyo's eyes narrowed, the beginnings of a growl rumbling deep in his throat. The thing that had been their friend slowed, the flapping of its loose arms stopping. Its fixed face turned slowly towards them.
For a moment, even though he knew better, Akira wondered if there was still a little of Hotaru in there.
The illusion of hope shattered. Recognizing prey, the jerky motions of what had been Hotaru's legs sped up to an impossible speed, arms flying behind the creature. Already thin lips stretched back over teeth in anticipation of the kill.
Kyo was already charging to meet the demon, sword held low. Akira and Akari automatically split off, dashing to the sides to catch the demon in a triangular pincer movement.
The demon dropped as Kyo slashed upward, ducking a stroke that should have cleaved Hotaru's body in two to scuttle on all fours close enough to claw Kyo's leg. He skipped back before it could cut too deeply, but blood splattered onto the dirt.
Thunder rolled overhead. There was an unfamiliar pressure in Akira's throat. Akari swept the butt of her staff forward, catching the demon in the ribs and sending it rolling toward Akira. He stabbed down, hoping to pin it to the ground, but the demon caught itself with its hands and twisted Hotaru's lower body out of the way, running sideways over the ground. Akira's blade opened a rent in Hotaru's kimono, but no more.
Hotaru's body warped upwards, the legs rising and curling over his shoulders so that the feet could touch ground. Akira choked. Human bodies weren't supposed to be able to bend that way, but then, it wasn't a human body anymore, was it? Kyo was already moving to attack while it was vulnerable, but the demon's upper body sprang up the moment the soles of Hotaru's feet touched the ground. The movement put the demon well past Kyo's guard, too close for him to be able to use his sword effectively. The demon smashed its forehead into Kyo's to stop its momentum. The clawlike remnants of Hotaru's fingers sank into Kyo's fingers, stopping him from staggering backwards.
"No!" both Akira and Akari exclaimed, leaping in to defend their leader. Akira was closer; as the first fat drops of rain spattered down, he aimed the grip of his right sword to break Hotaru's wrist.
The demon hadn't appeared to notice him, but as he swung it ripped its left hand free of Kyo's shoulder and backhanded him across the face. Akira reeled backwards, followed by a spray of blood from his nose and Kyo's flesh.
Akari took advantage of the demon's distraction to bring down her staff, using the circular blade at the top this time, but the demon pulled its right hand out of Kyo's shoulder with a squelch and caught hold of the shaft. It spun, throwing her in a wide circle around it. When it released her staff, Akari stumbled a few more steps before falling to the mud created by the steadily increasing rain.
Perhaps it was intentional – Akira had no way of knowing – but as the demon whirled Akari around, its body bent double. Whether it had predicted Kyo's slash or just found it easier to swing Akari away that way, it was able to avoid Kyo's blade. It halted its spin by plunging one hand into the bottom of Kyo's ribs.
Akira's heart stopped for a moment longer than was safe in the middle of a battle.
"Kyo!" Akari screamed, lunging around the demon to get to him.
Akira's body moved forward without his even thinking about it. He took two fast steps closer to the creature and brought his two short swords sharply forward. They crossed in front of his chest, falling short of the demon. Luckily for him, he didn't need to actually cut it. Not with his swords, anyway.
A jag of ice formed between himself and the demon, shooting towards it. The demon twisted away, managing to avoid having its vital spot pierced by the sharp edge (Hotaru's vitals, anyway – what in a human body would be considered vital to a demon?), but he was able to entrap one leg.
Demons possessing human bodies weren't affected by cold the same way ordinary humans were. The muscles would no longer slow or stop from the cold. Frostbite wouldn't have any effect. Akira had to do real, physical damage, tear the tendons it needed to move, or at the very least catch it like he had done.
Unfortunately his movements were sloppy, panicked. He'd rushed. The ice was too thin. The demon twisted Hotaru's other leg at an angle that should have been impossible and shattered the barrier with a kick.
Akira followed it up with a slash through the demon's right arm, but it was too shallow again. He cut a deep line into the muscle on the demon's forearm across to its biceps, but he didn't manage to sever any tendons or gouge the bone.
The demon spun, still in freefall from breaking free of his ice, and slashed with the claws that should have been Hotaru's left hand. Akira caught them on his right sword's guard.
For a moment, they were caught in a horrible stalemate. The demon pressed down, trying to shove his sword out of the way. Akira's arm trembled with the effort of keeping it back. The stench was horrific. If he let himself gag now, it was all over.
The rain had thickened into sheets. Akira was lucky he didn't have to worry about it blocking his vision, but he didn't dare widen his awareness to Akari and Kyo. He brought up his left hand to grip his wrist alongside his free blade's hilt, bracing himself against the demon's unrelenting strength.
Kyo coughed behind him, and Akira couldn't help himself. His attention jerked toward Kyo for half a second, long enough for the demon to throw his arms to the side and gouge his stomach with the talons that had been Hotaru's toes.
Akira fell heavily to his knees. His awareness broadened again, showing him a trio of wounded warriors on the ground, in the rain, and a single standing demon they should have been an equal match for inside their friend. The demon raised Hotaru's foot again, high and higher, preparing to bring it down on Akira.
Kyo grabbed Akari's shoulder and lunged unsteadily to his feet, thrusting forward with his sword. It seared over Akira's shoulder, plunging deep into the demon's – Hotaru's – side. The demon staggered, but caught itself. A full foot of Kyo's blade protruded from its back. Akira dodged to the side, out of Kyo's way.
Hotaru's body was still nearly alive. Some black fluid oozed from the wound. If the body were still human, it wouldn't be able to keep fighting, but the demon grinned, baring teeth that were too long and too sharp, and grabbed the blade. More dark fluid smeared on the blade from where it cut into Hotaru's fingers, but the demon didn't notice. It pulled on the sword, impaling itself further and drawing Kyo towards it.
Kyo stumbled forward, stubbornly refusing to let go of his sword. Akira's breath caught, but Kyo was an experienced fighter. As he fell, he used his weight to pull the sword sideways, cutting it free from what had been Hotaru's flank.
The demon kept its feet again. As Kyo fell forward, it let the momentum of his sword spin it sideways and plunged its hand into Kyo's back. Kyo let out an animal howl and twisted, bringing his sword up abruptly to sever the demon's wrist. He hit the ground a moment later, the hand still buried in his back.
The demon went still, staring at the stump. Akira doubted it had the strength to form a new hand from Hotaru's bones and sinews. Even without the dismemberment, Kyo had dealt it enough damage.
Its hesitation was an advantage. Akari was already kneeling at Kyo's side to heal him. Akira took the chance to attack the demon again. He wouldn't call it Hotaru anymore. He'd already lost Hotaru, and surely Bon, but he wouldn't let it go any further.
This time he was methodical with his ice. He used the rain to his advantage, freezing both the demon's legs into immovable blocks. He sent long, strong, slender shards up into the stump of the demon's arm, piercing its veins and shredding its flesh. The massive tear Kyo had opened in its abdomen got the same treatment.
This wasn't Hotaru's body anymore. Hotaru was long dead now. What was important was to render the flesh unusable to the demon.
And if it was no longer remotely recognizable as Hotaru, so much the better.
The demon escaped the mangled corpse before he had the chance to destroy it. Most people saw the demon's true form as a dark cloud. Akira felt it as a queasy spot in the air, a hole where nothing felt quite right. And it was coming right for him.
Akira slammed up a wall of ice. It wasn't a perfect mirror, but it was enough to block the demon. The shadow swirled around to billow over Akari. She opened her mouth to cry out. Akira threw out a hand, still holding one sword, hoping to block it in time.
He was too late. His ice went up as the blight spilled into Akari's eyes, her nose, her mouth, her ears. Akira's ice, just a moment too slow, came close behind it, creating a mirror in the wrong direction. Akira chased the demon into Akari's body.
"No!" he cried. He and Akari may have had their differences, but nobody deserved this. Kyo coughed and gripped his sword. He made to rise to his feet one last time, but his arms gave out as he tried to push himself up. He collapsed back into the mud. The demon slammed the butt of Akari's staff down. Kyo's skull gave a sickening crunch.
Akira stood aghast. This wasn't right, he knew. Kyo didn't lose. He couldn't lose.
But Akira knew what it meant that the demon had moved on to Akari's body, instead of Kyo's. Even if it hadn't smashed his head in, it would have been too late.
There was no time to think about it. The demon was still coming. Akari's tendons stood out sharply on the backs of her hands.
No, he couldn't think of her as Akari anymore. She'd died the moment the demon entered her body, just like Hotaru. She was as dead as Kyo and Bon.
Akira was the only one left. And he had to keep it that way. He'd screwed up enough already. He blocked a downward swing of the demon's staff with one sword and lashed out with the other, a blade of ice extending his reach to cut its leg.
This demon could not be allowed to kill all of them. It had to be destroyed, and quickly. It raised its leg around and over his ice, but he was a step too far for it to kick him with Akari's rapidly sharpening toes. Akira turned his wrist and cut deep into the flesh of its ankle. Blood that was still blood spurted out, but this sword wasn't in Akira's dominant hand and he didn't have the strength to sever the bone. That didn't matter. It wasn't his goal.
He knew what his mistake had been. To destroy a demon, you had to kill it while it was in a physical body. He'd let the memory of his friend rattle him. While demons bound themselves to human flesh, human weak points didn't affect it. He had to find its core and destroy that. If he crippled the body it had taken before then, it would just escape again. The demon caught itself and lunged forward again, its desire for close-quarter combat overruling the advantage the staff gave it.
Akira slashed sideways, lopping off the bladed end off the staff, and scrambled back. He slipped in the mud, but caught himself. Then a thought came to him.
Hotaru's signature stilted geta were gone. It was just a theory, but maybe–
Akira sent a sheet of ice across the ground, freezing the mud. It had been churned up by the battle, so he added a smooth layer on top.
The demon skidded. Akari's geta were easier to walk in than Hotaru's, but they still required a knack. A knack the demon, it seemed, didn't have. Its feet went out from under it. Its fall onto its back was almost comical in its swiftness.
Akira didn't take time to laugh. He created another sheet of ice, freezing Akari's body to the ground. He put thick layers on all sides so there was no way the demon could escape.
Now that it was frozen in place, he could concentrate. Forcing his mind past the dead body the demon inhabited, he focused on the blight within. They had all honed the knack for sensing demons' essence, but he and Akari were the best at it. Akari because she was the only one who'd been formally trained, and Akira because he'd had to develop his senses far beyond those of sighted people in order to survive.
The demon was a wrongness under the flesh. If Akira could explain what a living soul felt like, a demon would be the opposite of that. To focus his attention on the true demon, rather than the body, made him sick far worse than its stink had. Akira fought down his stomach as best he could and shifted his awareness through Akari's corpse.
He found the part that made his eyes water just to feel it racing through Akari's body, trying to find an escape. Akira had been thorough, though, and there were no gaps in the reflective seal his ice made around Akari's body.
Akira took a deep breath, and sent shard of ice shooting into her body, impaling the demon hundreds of times from every direction. Let it escape that to destroy someone else.
A shrieking hiss was all that made it out. The demon was dead.
Akira fell heavily to his knees in the mud. Without the demon to fight, he let go of the vomit he'd been holding down. He puked his guts out and let his watering eyes turn to tears.
He wasn't sure how long he huddled there, alone in the mud with the bodies, but it was long enough for the rain to stop. Finally he sat back and wiped his eyes and mouth. He was the only one left. He had a certain responsibility to the others, and he couldn't afford to waste any more time. Akira rose to his feet and staggered over to where Kyo had fallen.
This was the hardest part of a battle. He'd never expected this to be a part of one of his battles, not when he fought with Kyo and the others. He had to render their bodies unusable to any other demons in the area.
Hotaru had occasionally offered to burn the others if they died, but Akira was sure he'd believed they were invincible as much as Akira had. How could Kyo lose? How could any of them lose?
Hotaru and Akari's bodies should be safe. He had completely butchered them in his attempts to destroy the demon. Kyo had taken much less damage, but demons preferred fresh bodies where they could get them. Akira really didn't want to do anything more to him.
He couldn't burn Kyo or the others. He didn't have the strength or time to bury them. He couldn't take the slightest chance he was leaving them, especially Kyo, to be misused.
Akira gritted his teeth, surrounded Kyo with ice, and skewered him through as many times as he could stomach. Just to be safe, Hotaru's shredded corpse got the same treatment.
He was leaving three bodies behind him, covered with ice inside and out, so ruined there was no chance they'd ever move again. There was another, Bon's, somewhere near where they'd lost Hotaru. By now there would be nothing left but blood and gristle.
Akira was alone. He hadn't been alone in a long time. He wasn't sure what he could do with himself without his comrades. It was near sunset. He would stay with them through the night, and leave in the morning.
He'd figure it out. He'd have to.
A/N: And here's my first entry into the Samurai Deeper Kyo archive! :D It was actually just written to practice fight scenes, but i find i quite like this setting.