DM: Digital Mutants: Series 02: Part 13
[A/N: Well, well. I'm on my last chapter, with the epilogue to go. Am I stopping the series? Nope. Enjoy.]
[Disclaimer: I own what I create, but not what I borrow.]
Kusanagi stood over his sister, grinning insanely, her blood flecked over his face. A gaping wound, one that didn't appear to be healing, was in her stomach, leaving her panting for breath and cringing in incredible pain.
"In all these years, you should have realized that I would come for you." he chuckled, "You've been a thorn in my side ever since you were born. Now, I finally get to kill you. Then that annoying partner of yours will die, and without someone to lead, the rest of your pitiful friends will die."
"Someone…will…fight." Shinji groaned, blood coming from her mouth, "No one…will stand…for this…"
Kusanagi stamped on her stomach, causing her to scream against gritted teeth, and he laughed.
"Sorry, my dearest sister." he sighed, "But I have a world to conquer. Now if you'll be a good girl and die, this will go much faster."
The demon raised his gun, pointing it straight at her head. With the bullets he had been using, one shot to her head would mean she wouldn't have a head afterwards.
"Goodbye." he smiled, his finger tightening on the trigger.
Suddenly, the gun had been knocked out of his hand and clattered away on the stone ground. It was shattered, unusable. The two siblings looked up to see who had entered their fight.
"Cody?" Shinji was the first to speak.
The young man standing in the room nodded, chestnut-brown hair flowing over his shoulders and down his back. His clothes were simple, the same Cody wore most every day.
"Cody, how…" Shinji tried to ask, but couldn't finish from the pain. Cody walked over to his teacher and knelt beside her.
"You always said I was the one who could do anything he wanted." the young man said, his emerald eyes glimmering, "I just made myself age a little to handle my sword. Now you need to go. Everyone does. Go."
He lifted a hand, and Shinji was shifted out of the room. Every person in the strange place Kusanagi had brought them was moved back to the Real World, Davis and Ken unconscious.
Cody stood now, his lengthened brown hair elegant as it fell in his eyes. He lifted his hand over his head, and the two men were suddenly moved from the stone castle to a field, the sun shining brightly on them.
"You little fool." Kusanagi chuckled, "Do you think you can defeat a true demon?"
"I think you are deluded." Cody replied, "It's very unfortunate that your lust for power has severed your ties with your family."
Kusanagi scowled at Cody as the brown-haired man turned to look at the glory of the place he had brought them. The sun was beautiful, the temperature perfectly warm.
"My family," Kusanagi spat the word in disgust, "means nothing to me. My sister is an idealistic fool with a stupid vampire as a boyfriend, and my parents were no more than bothersome fools."
Cody remained silent, looking out at the terrain with tranquility in his eyes.
"Answer me, boy." Kusanagi growled, "What makes a family so special?"
"Look at nature." Cody didn't seem to answer Kusanagi's question, "No matter how many faults you can seem to find in it, it's perfect. Like a family, everything in nature is perfect unless you think there is something wrong with it."
Kusanagi tensed in rage, and rushed forwards, a blade of energy clutched in one hand.
"Family is nothing!" he yelled, "It has no purpose except to hinder you and everything you do!"
He slashed mightily at Cody, but in a flash, he flew backwards, the back of his hand bleeding. Cody held a golden-hilted sword in one hand, looking at the demon with peace still in his eyes.
"Brat!" Kusanagi shouted, "You dare attack me?!" He held his hand, waiting for it to heal, but the skin did not seal, and the blood continued to flow.
"This blade is infamous for its ability to cut through anything, and it will not be able to heal through a special ability." Cody smiled a bit at the long sword, "In other words, any wound I inflict on you will stay unless you take the proper time and precautions to let it heal."
"You little bastard!" Kusanagi roared, "I'll kill you, and damn your ideals of family!"
He rushed forwards again, energy blade clutched firmly in his hands, and swiped at Cody. The young man countered the attack smoothly, holding his own with surprising ease.
He forced the demon back, and the two stood ready to battle. Kusanagi leapt in the air, bringing his blade down in a hard swing. Cody stood ready, bringing his sword up to block, not budging an inch.
"Family is nothing!" Kusanagi shouted, bringing another strike in a horizontal slash towards Cody's head, "I've never needed any type of family to help me!"
Cody allowed Kusanagi to continue on with this banter, blocking each attack as it came. Occasionally he made a move to attack, cutting through Kusanagi as if he was merely battling air.
"Family has no importance in the real world!" Kusanagi continued on his rant, "Even you must have realized it, with no family of your own!"
Cody felt a surge of anger, and was finally able to do something about it. He stepped back lightly, sword raising up, and then slashed.
Kusanagi let his head roll back as the sword ripped from his right thigh up to his left shoulder. He didn't scream, didn't show any remorse, but knew the wound was the last.
Cody put one foot on Kusanagi's chest, holding the tip of the sword at the demon's throat. Kusanagi looked up at him, blood slipping out from behind his lips, sweat beaded on his brow.
"Family is everything." Cody hissed, "You may have destroyed the family I had before, but your sister and her friends are my new family. They've taught me, and loved me even though I'm not related. They act just like a family. They are a family. Never say that family is worthless!"
Kusanagi remained silent, his red eyes narrowed as he stared up at Cody.
"Now you die." Cody murmured, "For the peace of every world."
He raised the sword, and began to bring it down. A hand suddenly clasped around the one he had around the hilt and he froze, looking around. His teacher stood there, looking more tired than ever and rather weak, but there.
"The battle is over, Cody." she murmured, "You won. Now go on home."
"But, Shinji!" Cody protested, "He's not dead yet!"
"He'll die." Shinji murmured with a tone of sadness in her voice, "There's nothing more you can do now. Besides, he needs to die with family. Go home."
Cody glared at Kusanagi for a long moment, his hand tight around the sword. Finally, he clenched his eyes shut, turned away, and left to the Real World.
Shinji looked down at Kusanagi, and he looked back.
"So, is there anything you want to say?" Shinji crouched down next to her brother, looking at him with pained eyes, "I'll listen now, if you just want to tell me something. We're family, and I guess this is the time when both of us need to listen."
Kusanagi looked at her, the blood red of his eyes slowly draining away to something a bit darker, to something more infinite... To the same midnight blue as his sister's eyes. He smiled, very weakly.
"Family, huh?" he groaned, "Sorry I didn't see it sooner."
Very soon after, Kusanagi Shazaki died.