A lone form strode through the streets of Death City, it was completely noiseless apart from the echoing sound of leather combat boots smacking mutedly against the sidewalk. The only light came from the manic-looking moon, casting long, eerie shadows across the pavement. It was almost midnight, and the long-haired individual could make out the raised structure of the Death Weapon Meister Academy; also called the DWMA for short. Everything always appeared more daunting in the dark, and the unidentified girl shuddered, appearing slightly unnerved by how seemingly isolated this city was at nighttime. As she turned the corner, she looked through the windows of all the closed stores lining either side of the street. The girl made a game out of it after a while, counting up the kinds of stores she saw. She spotted a couple different small clothing shops, a bookstore, and even a nice-looking diner. Eventually, she grew bored of her game, turning her attention briefly to the academy building that she was gradually becoming closer to. She sighed, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jeans. Suddenly she saw a dark flash from the corner of her eye. Pausing mid-stride, the spiky-haired female looked over her shoulder, her deep amber eyes glowing slightly as she examined her dark surroundings. When no further movement occurred, she began walking forward once more, shaking her head.
As pathetic as it was, the darkness had always made her edgy. A glance to the side revealed a shop full of mirrors, and this time she came to a complete stop. Mirrors of every shape and size, circular, square, and even octagonal faced out toward the sidewalk and she suddenly found a familiar girl staring straight back at her from every single one of those mirrors. Dull blonde hair fell down to frame this girl's face, her spiky bangs making her appear five years younger than she actually was. Her orange eyes were so dark that they were on the brink of appearing red, giving her an intimidating stare. A beat-up royal blue sweatshirt was the first half of her attire, the other half was a pair of beat up blue jeans that ninety percent of the population owned, and finally, her trusty black combat boots that halted halfway up her knee. It was her reflection, something she had always avoided looking at. Her clenched fists trembled, whenever she looked in a mirror, all she could think about was her, the woman whom she resembled far too closely. The woman who-
…These thoughts were cut off as soon as the girl heard quiet footsteps approaching from behind her, the simple sound appeared to shatter the silence of the nighttime. The blonde girl whirled around, painfully aware of the darkness once more. A woman stood before her. Well, that's what this creature must have been at one point in time… Now, it only vaguely resembled a female. Atop her head was deep green hair (if you could even call it that) with several areas of brown growing within the tangled locks. With a shock, the girl realized it was all rot. Also on her head was an out of place silk veil. Splatters of crimson and ugly rips decorated the once-beautiful headpiece. This 'woman' was very tall and willowy, her legs and arms so inhumanly skinny that she could make out the decaying bone beneath what remained of the wrinkled flesh. She slapped a hand over her mouth, tears forming in her eyes as she pushed back the urge to retch. The smell was horrid… far too foul to even begin to be described. There was a loose dress that hung from the creature's bony shoulders, and upon further inspection, she realized it was a wedding gown. Of course, now it was torn and bloodied, and instead of a blinding white, it was a sickly yellow. Oh god, even the clothing was rotten. And lastly, those eyes… they were completely black. Complete darkness.
It only took mere seconds for all of this to register in her mind, because as soon as the two beings made eye contact, the rot-haired creature gave a bloodcurdling screech that shattered all of the glass, including the mirrors, in the shop beside her. She rolled away just in time, only gaining a few minor scrapes from the pavement below. Leaping to her feet, she faced the beast, no longer trembling as she had been before. "I know what you are!" She snarled, her eyes burning like fire. A Kishin was a creature that fed on souls of the innocent. Cowards, all of them! Beings like this were a disgrace; they would kill anything that got in their way. Hatred burned in her veins, and she ducked away just as the Kishin swiped extremely long, pointed nails that clawed the air she'd been standing in a half-second before. If she'd moved even a moment slower, that blow surely would have killed her. If not for the adrenaline pumping through her, she would have felt the flutters of fear at the thought. But for now, she felt only determination. She knew that acting without fear made her reckless, but that didn't matter!
She slid over to the ground that was littered with varying sizes of glass, her fiery gaze raking over the ground as quickly as it could, and she immediately dived for the biggest shard she saw. Just as she turned around, the claws of the Kishin bride knocked her off her feet. She slammed to the ground, feeling various splinters of glass pierce her spine. Shouting in pain and surprise, she realized that the bride was rearing her arm backwards to slash at her again, and she barely managed to roll to the side, pain lancing through her back. She still gripped the largest shard in her hand though; when the Kishin had knocked her over, she'd only held on tighter, causing the jagged edges of the broken glass to bite into her soft flesh. Blood dripped from the wound, but she refused to release the glass. It was the only chance she had against this thing. She bit her lip at the searing pain, her eyes narrowing as she suddenly sprinted forward, the makeshift weapon held high over her head. There was no chance she could defeat this Kishin, and if she was going out, then she was going out fighting. Any other death would be unacceptable. She deflected the slashing claws with the jagged glass, darting smoothly to the side and roughly executing a spin so she could bring her improvised weapon's serrated blade down on the Kishin's decaying wrist. In one smooth hack, the limb fell limply to the pavement. The Kishin bride screeched in agony, turning its enraged face toward her again. The blonde girl panted heavily, the creature was coming at her in a blinding flurry of swipes from its remaining limb. Her steps became sluggish as she continuously tried to evade the attacks. Sweat and grime dripped down her neck, her breaths coming in heavy pants. She couldn't last much longer, there was no way… The serrated glass burrowed into the palm of her left hand was becoming unbearable, and her back ached from where she had slivers of the same material embedded into her flesh.
The Kishin landed a blow, then another, and another. Slash after slash after slash. Her right side was taking a lot of damage. A particularly heavy blow to her abdomen made the girl crumple to the pavement, unable to continue standing any longer. The glass, the only weapon currently at her disposal, slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground somewhere nearby. She couldn't really describe what happened after that, all she could clearly recall was the blinding pain of the lacerations she was receiving on her already-injured spine. What she knew for a fact was that she had been screaming; maybe she even cried a bit, too. She was in too much agony to tell. Then, suddenly, everything stopped…The pain, the agonized screams from her raw throat, and then her vision spiraled to the darkness… the exact pinnacle of her fear, as a matter of fact.