"She really let it all go to her head."
- Victoria Florescu, Pachinko Akumajo Dracula
The fastest way to dismantle a motorcycle was to separate the fuel injection system from the motor. The fastest way to kill a human was to separate their brain from the rest of their body.
Toru grabbed Natsuki by the arm and pulled her toward the closest support pillar in the waterway. He still had enough frame of mind to duck behind the structure for cover, but Natsuki stood in petrified shock with her back toward the fire.
Everyone was dead. Masaki and Kudou had been hacked to pieces before her eyes. The sound of Mami shooting herself over the communications channel was still ringing in her ears. If she could get to her bike, she would be the one rescuing Toru and getting both of them to safety. But her bike had been stored inside the team's VTOL, and now the VTOL was nothing but burning scrap metal.
"Natsuki, I'll cover you!" Toru said frantically. He was looking away from her and focused on loading another clip into his weapon.
Neither of them noticed when the spirit made herself visible again.
Yomi was standing just behind Natsuki. She quickly snatched the towel draped over Natsuki's shoulders and wrapped it over Natsuki's mouth with her palm.
Natsuki's eyes widened in horror. She would have screamed if she had the ability.
Natsuki was an elite agent of the Ministry of Defense's Paranormal Disaster unit, Fourth Division. Yomi was a Category A spirit. They were arch nemeses. Yomi had systematically wiped out Natsuki's entire squad, and now she was coming for her.
Yomi held Natsuki still with her left arm. With her right arm, she positioned her deadly katana so the edge hovered inside the collar of Natsuki's orange uniform, almost touching her throat.
"Easy, girl. Easy." The female spectre spoke into Natsuki's ear in a voice one could only hear if they were on the brink of death.
Yomi ended Natsuki's tragic human existence in a fraction of a second with a skillful flick of her wrist. The katana never made a sound as it cut smoothly through the width Natsuki's neck. When it was over, Yomi lifted her hand from Natsuki's mouth and turned invisible.
"I can buy you some time to esca-…" Toru's voiced suddenly trailed off. Without taking his eyes off his gun, he already sensed something was wrong.
Natsuki's fingers twitched limply at her sides. She collapsed to her knees, causing her head to slowly slip off of her shoulders with the towel still coiled around her chin. Her body slumped over beside Toru. Her head rolled out in front of him, coming to a stop when her wide, vacant eyes were staring straight up at him.
