I stopped right outside the abandoned bodega, finally lifting my head to look at it. Lightning was still flashing madly, and the rain was worse than ever. Which was a pretty good thing. It matched exactly how I felt then.
I placed my hand on the wooden doors, pausing, deciding whether or not I should go on inside.
After breaking up with Fuuko, I had tried not to look back and did what I could to get her off my mind. I had believed it to be for the best, but now I wasn't too sure. Because it was hard to accept the fact that Fuuko wasn't my koibito anymore.
I shook my head. Forget about your so-called relationship, I commanded myself. You've chosen not to look back, so why hesitate now? You've gone this far, and you've got nothing left to do but to go further.
Besides, you've got no one to come back to anymore, so you might as well...
I sighed and pushed the doors open.
Everything was pitch-black except for the flashes of lightning illuminating a small part of the bodega through the only window. Yet there was something glistening at the far end of the large, empty space...
It was a chain...a fairly long and heavy chain...wrapped around someone's wrists...someone vaguely familiar...
A flash of lightning told me everything I needed to know. From her long brown locks to her slender body, I knew it was she.
Mifuyu.
My sister.
She was alive.
I stood there, frozen with shock, staring at her, still unable to take in the fact that she was right there, breathing. She was right there. She was right there...
Slowly, she raised her weary head and spotted me. At the sight of her face, an uncontrollable tear fell from my eye. Her once bright eyes had become darker, and her once pink, healthy cheeks were now thinning. She had become older, but she still Mifuyu. She was still my beloved sister whom I had known all my life...My beloved sister whom I had been yearning to see again so badly...
"Oneesan..." I whispered. I took the handle of the Ensui and pointed it at the doors. Pretty soon, water from the puddles outside gathered to form its blade.
"Tokiya...?"
"Oneesan...!" I ran to her side and slashed the chains that were binding her to the wall. She fell forward and sat on the ground.
"Tokiya..." she smiled at me, as tears came pouring down her cheeks.
"Oneesan..." I knelt down, finding it hard to believe that I was actually talking to her...
"Oh...Tokiya..." she flung her arms around my neck and gave me a hug. "I'm so glad you're doing well...after all these years..."
I slowly wrapped my arms around her as well, closing my eyes, never more thankful to have her with me again.
"You've grown up so well..." she sobbed, letting go. "And your hair...!" she chuckled softly.
There was nothing I could do but smile at her like I hadn't done so in years. I stayed there, speechless, as she continued to scan me up and down.
"Oh, Tokiya...I thought I'd never..." her lips began to tremble again, but she forced a smile. "Look at how handsome you've become...I bet every girl in school is dying to go on a date with you!" she grinned happily, slightly tilting her head.
But...her neck...
My smile faltered. There was something about her neck...
Her hand reached out to touch my cheek. "And I could tell you've been really healthy! Is someone taking care of you now...? Is there a special someone...?" She was still smiling.
I couldn't get any words out. There was something different about the way she talked...
She placed her arms around my neck and stopped smiling. "You've grown up to be a handsome young man, Tokiya...a cute guy..." she trailed off, and all of a sudden she was---
Kissing me...?
My eyes widened and I immediately pushed her away, standing up and pointing my Ensui at her.
"Who...the heck...are you...?!?" I panted, glaring down at her.
Her shoulders began to shake; her head began to move. She was chuckling, laughing. And it got louder every second, until she was laughing her head off.
"What the--" My brows furrowed, as I kept pointing the Ensui at her. Has she gone mad...?
"Oh, you are such a fool, Tokiya," she looked slyly at me, still laughing.
I kept my position.
"And they call you the smartest of Hanabishi's team," she finally stopped cackling and began to stand up. "Why, you can't even tell what's an illusion and what's real!" Something at her neck began to shine.
A Psychic Device.
It was a pendant.
Iie...My eyes widened as realization dawned on me.
She caught my surprised look and started to laugh like crazy again. "That's right, Tokiya, that's right..."
Suddenly everything around me was spinning. Everything was blurring away. My hand flew to my forehead, as I shut my eyes and shook my head. The world seemed to be turning upside-down...mixing her laughter with everything else...
And then it all stopped. I opened my eyes to find a woman, whose arms were wrapped in chains, smirking at me.
A woman with long crimson hair.
A woman by the name of Hinageshi Akira.
I stared at her. "Nani..."
"Surprise," she gushed, batting her eyelashes at me.
"What are you---"
"I," she grinned, "am a master of illusions, in case you haven't noticed. I can dive into the mind of anyone I've spent enough time with and create all sorts of illusions on them. I can even create dreams for them!" she chortled.
"Masaka..."
She rolled her eyes. "Everything was a set up, duh," she said.
"Every single thing about my sister..." I tightened my grip on the Ensui. "...was all a lie...?"
She nodded triumphantly. "Uh-huh, every single thing."
My grip tightened even more and I started to clench my teeth. "It was all a damn lie...?!?"
She grinned at me. "Worked well, didn't it?"
All the nightmares...that time at the school pond...all the trouble I went through...giving Fuuko so much pain...Fuuko..."Damn you, you witch!"
"Now, now, let's watch our language, shall we?"
I glared furiously at her. "What the heck did you run me around like damn pawn for?!?"
She shrugged. "I just wanted to kill you," she began to frown at me. "The same way you killed my brother."
"What!!!"
"I also swore to avenge his death, Tokiya, dear. Just like you did." She raised her arms and the chains released them on their own, wrapping only their ends around her wrists so that she had a grip of them. She smiled. "Payback..." she sang out, and pointed her fingers at me. All at once the chains stretched out towards my direction.
"!!!" I jumped aside to avoid the front attack, but the chains turned and came from behind, knocking me off guard and down the floor.
I straightened up and rubbed the blood off my lips, staring blazingly at her.
She withdrew the chains and smiled. "Didn't expect me to be carrying two Psychic Devices, oh Wise One?" Her pendant shone. She pointed at it. "From my mom." She raised her arm and the chains jingled. "From my dad." She grinned slyly. "I killed them both." She caressed her Psychic Devices pleasantly. "Nice prices, ne?"
"You're an unmistakable freak of nature."
She cocked her brow and chuckled. "Right. Do you want me to elaborate on that, dear?"
"Hn," I smirked at her. "Save your breath, Akira. You'll need it so you won't dry up in hell!!!" I jumped forward and plunged my blade right into her heart, but then everything started to spin again and the next thing I knew I was thrown back down on the ground. She had been right behind me.
She laughed loudly again. "You still can't see through an illusion? I guess now you're not as tough as you were when you killed my brother!"
I groaned as I stood up, staggering slightly at the chains' heavy blows. "Just what the heck did I have to do with your brother?!?"
All of a sudden the chains began to wrap around my neck, slowly cutting off my supply of air. I winced, grasping the chains and pulling them off with all my might. And then she pulled the chains towards her, making me dangle in mid-air right in front of her.
"...what..." I tried to speak, but she glared at me and tightened the chains, causing blood to pour out of my mouth.
"It was all because of your wretched existence, Mikagami Tokiya. The so-called potential you had in your damned Ensui," she was scowling, and at each word she said, she tightened the chains around my neck. "If you hadn't existed, my brother could've been taught the Hyomon Ken techniques without any trouble at all!!!"
I coughed out some more blood, desperately struggling for air. Her brother...Hyomon Ken techniques...?
"My brother could've been Master! He wouldn't have been thrown around as a replacement! He wouldn't have joined that blasted Uruja just to see you!!!" She was fuming.
Uruja...replacement...no...it can't be...it can't be him...
"Then he wouldn't have died!!! He could've lived a happy life with me...!"
"..." My body was shaking, and I was running on empty...I had to do it...
Here we go...
"It was all because of you!!! Damn it!!!" She tightened the chains with everything she had, just in time for me to use the same trick I had used on Koganei a long time ago...
Her chains squeezed noting but water and I hurriedly appeared behind her. I raised my sword to attack but she had turned around and blocked it with her chains, throwing me off across the room.
She's too damn fast...I managed to reach the floor standing up, panting.
She turned to glare at me furiously, and sent her chains to attack me again from every direction.
"That stupid technique won't work on me, you fool! I've watched your match with Kai-neesan long enough to learn your techniques!" She persisted, thrusting her chains at me.
"I didn't kill your brother! He chose to die himself!" I panted, jumping off in every direction just to block her attacks.
"He wanted to die because of you!!! He couldn't live knowing there was a better Hyomon Ken master than him!!!" she shrieked, her every attack growing stronger. "You ruined everything!!! Every single thing!!! You ruined my one chance of living peacefully with him!!! You ruined that single hope in my life to live happily for once!!! And I'll kill you for that! Aaaahh!!!" She pointed both her arms in my direction and all the chains came charging at once.
I jumped up and stepped on a chain, using it to get within a closer range of her.
"Icicle Flow!" I plunged the Ensui on one of her chains, attempting to freeze it.
"Nandatou?!?" The icicles dispersed...?
"That won't work as long as I'm aware of it!" Akira laughed and flung the other chain at me again, but this time, I had managed to dodge it and land back down on the ground.
"Too bad your so-called strategy didn't work!" she chuckled madly.
I held up my Ensui. "Mizu Hebi!!!"
"Ja ne!" She held up two fingers at me and disappeared.
Just as the doors flew open.
Revealing a panting Fuuko at the doorway--
--with the water snake coming right at her!
"Fuuko!!!"
Her eyes widened and she jumped aside. The snake wrecked the huge doors and brought down a tree outside.
Fuuko turned to look at me.
I frowned. "What are you--"
"Forgot about me?" Akira had reappeared behind me and she caught my neck again, successfully throwing me across the room and hitting me against the wall with a loud smack. "Ugh..." The tie around my hair went loose, and more blood made its way out of my mouth as I slowly slid down to the ground.
"Tokiya!!!" Fuuko gasped, then turned to look at Akira, confused.
Akira's sly smile widened. "Irasshaimase, Fuuko-chan," she purred. "Glad you could make it to Tokiya-kun's deathday party."
Fuuko frowned. "I don't understand why you're doing this, Hinageshi, but I'm going to make you pay for that..." She raised her arm and focused it on Akira. "Fuujin!!!"
Blasts of wind came soaring towards Akira, but she merely avoided them all, stepping closer and closer to Fuuko with each wind blade she dodged, until she was face to face with her.
Akira beamed.
She was up to something; I knew it...
"Fuuko..." I struggled to stand up, but the impact of hitting the wall somehow broke my leg.
"Fuuko!" I repeated, " Get out of the way!"
"Wha--" Fuuko's eyes widened as she tried to move away, but she was a second too late. Akira had wrapped her chains around both of Fuuko's arms, wringing the Fuujin out of her wrist. But
Fuuko summoned another one of those whirlwinds she had created before when Kagerou first gave the madougu to her, and wrapped the whirlwind around them both, trying to cut off Akira's air.
And hers as well.
"Fuuko!!! What the heck do you think you're doing?!?" I fumed, staring hard at the cyclone of wind.
Akira was screaming, and in her anger, began to squeeze Fuuko's neck with her chain, too. But Fuuko merely smiled at me. "This...is...your chance...Mi...chan..."
"Fuuko! Stop this cyclone! Now!" I forced myself to stand up. Ugh, I winced and glared down at my own broken leg. It was bleeding because I was balancing myself with it. Blasted leg...
I limped towards the wind. "Listen to me, Fuuko! This is not your fight!"
She smiled again, and her eyes began to shut close.
Damn! I looked up at the top of the whirlwind. There was no way I could go up and jump in from the center; it was way too high. I'd need Domon to push me up to be able to do that.
So...
I closed my eyes and struck the Ensui on the floor. "Tsurara Mai!!!"
All at once the icicles I summoned came rising from the ground and falling from the roof, moving in different directions. And just as I had planned, some of them came from under the cyclone and helped Akira's chain remove the Fuujin from Fuuko's arm, causing the whirlwind to cease.
Akira's other chain let go of Fuuko's neck, and she knocked off all the icicles with it, while Fuuko fell limply on the ground.
I ceased the icicles and painfully ran towards her, lifting her head to face me. "Fuuko!" I tried to give her a little shake. "Fuuko!"
She remained unconscious.
I took her wrist and felt her pulse. It was barely beating.
I leaned her against the wall and placed the Fuujin back on her wrist.
"Gomen nasai, Fuuko-chan..." I whispered, "Gomen nasai..."
I turned around at Akira, clenching my fist and gripping my Ensui tightly, a new feeling arising inside of me. I wasn't going to fight her just to defend myself anymore. Right now I was darn right pissed off.
Akira smiled evilly. "Getting all hot now, aren't we?"
My eyes were burning. "Damn you..."
"Good, good! I should've known you needed motivation. Just like you did when your sister died, ne? D'you think maybe I should kill Fuuko, too?"
"Shut the hell up!!!" I charged at her, trying to thrust my sword at her heart with every chance I got.
"Excellent!" she beamed, dodging my every attempt to kill her.
"Shii-ne!!!" I plunged the Ensui straight at her, but only managing to scratch her arm.
She scowled. "You die!" She whipped the Ensui and made me hit the wall again, letting the Ensui slip off my hand. It plunged right into the floor.
"Uh..." I flinched, clutching my left arm. It had hit the wall and was now bleeding.
"Pay for my brother's death!" Akira shouted, hitting me again and again with her chains, as I sat floppily against the wall. "Pay for it, Tokiya!"
She had hit me from the left.
"The price is your damn life!"
From the right.
"Die!!!"
Left...
"Die right now!!!"
Right...
Slash!
Left...
Slash!
Right...
Slash!
Left...
Slash!
Right...
It was the same thing...
Over and over again...
My eyes felt heavy, and my whole body felt numb. By now I couldn't even feel my heartbeat, not even the pain of my broken limbs.
Am I going to...die...?
My eyelids were slowly sliding down...It was so tempting to just shut them close and end all the futility of struggling to survive...
My eyes caught sight of the girl sitting half-dead against the wall right across from me.
And then...
*FLASH*
"I don't believe this," a girl with purplish hair scowled, tying a piece of cloth around the arm of her friend.
The guy merely raised his eyebrow and looked at her, letting her put the temporary bandage on his bleeding arm. The girl looked up at him. "That's not fair!" she frowned and pointed a blaming finger at him. "You just don't want to end up battling with a girl, so you faked about this small injury and gave the match to Hanabishi!"
The guy cocked his head and his eyes widened at her words, searching for something harsh to snap back. But something about the way the girl looked at him made him decide to keep his mouth shut.
After all, the guy thought, she's just a girl.
*FLASH*
"Aw, sheesh, Mi-chan! Are you out of your mind?!? What was with the "chan" thing?" the purple-haired girl frowned at the boy questioningly.
"Hn, not that you should know," the boy looked away from her.
"Alright, alright! Don't get all grouchy on me, too," the girl looked up at the boy with the best puppy-dog-look she could muster.
The boy glared more coldly back at her, then sighed after about a minute.
"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry, alright?!? There, I said the 's' word! You happy now, Fuuko?!?"
"Ha! Apology accepted!" she said smugly. "Works every time."
"Don't get too cocky."
"Well, it's true, isn't it? I, Kirisawa Fuuko, made the touchy Mikagami Tokiya apologize!!!" she laughed like crazy.
"Shut up," the boy grumbled.
The girl named Fuuko piped down and performed her eye trick again.
"That's it!!! You're worse than the girls from the shop!!! I'm going back in there," the boy named Tokiya turned to go back inside.
"Wait, Freezer Boy!" she grasped his shoulder.
"Darn it!!! It hurts, don't you get it?!? Have you been taking lessons from Ken or something?!? And what's with the repulsive 'freezer boy' thing?!? Has it ever crossed your microscopic mind that I have a name, too???" he pulled his shoulder away, getting more and more irritated by the minute.
She stifled a giggle. "Gomen nasai…"
He folded his arms across his chest. All of a sudden the girl saw the cut on his shoulder, and started worrying about it.
"M-Mi-chan…what…what happened to that?" she pointed to it.
He looked away from her. "None of your damned business."
"But…Tokiya…it's a really big cut, and---"
"What the heck do you want to talk about, anyway?!?" he snapped, annoyed all the more.
Finally, the girl's features turned serious. "It's about your job here in the shop."
"Well, what about it?!?" he prompted. "It's just my first day here, okay? So if you think I made any mista---"
"No, no, it's not that," she looked at the sidewalk. "It's just that, I've heard about these guys you work with. They're…they're assassins, if you don't know, and---"
"You know they're assassins? How did you find out?" he asked, surprised.
"I've heard about that, okay? But that's not my point," she said, still not looking at him.
"Well, what is?!?" The boy began to lose his patience.
"Tokiya…" she said, this time facing him. "Just answer me this one question."
"Spill it, Fuuko. I don't have all day."
She didn't tear her eyes away. "Why did you want to leave Hokage?"
The boy hesitated.
"Hn, that's not your concern. Besides, it doesn't really matter anyway," he responded.
"Tokiya, it is my concern and it does matter!"
The boy frowned. "Don't you notice how many times Hanabishi and I fight nowadays? It never stops! Hanabishi is just a pure, damn jerk. And to him, I'm a jerk, too. Well, I'm cool with that. But just think about how it will be. Every time we need to defeat someone, he would get in my way and I'd get in his way. We won't get along. You said it yourself yesterday. We'd just lose just like how we almost did with Neon back in the tournament. So I guess I figured it was for the best for---"
"No, it's not for the best! That must be how you are with Hanabishi, but how about with Domon? With Koganei? With Yanagi? With…with me?" she reasoned softly.
The boy stood there, looking at her, taken aback. He couldn't bring himself to reply.
*FLASH*
The boy's eyes widened, stunned at the unexpected gesture. The girl was kissing him, and he hadn't even known it.
At first the boy was swearing silently to himself, cursing his so-called friend for doing this.
And then all of sudden, he realized that he was enjoying this. He was enjoying every single second of it. It came over him that kissing her just felt so right...
And, surprising even himself, he unknowingly pulled her closer and responded to the kiss. The girl didn't seem to mind.
But it ended soon enough.
They both sat there, staring at each other, unable to find the right words to say.
Until the boy found his voice.
"Fuuko, sumimasen, I didn't mean--"
The girl placed her finger over his lips, telling him to stop.
"I… like you a lot, Tokiya. I always have. A lot of people don't see me as the kind of girl who would ever fall for anyone…and believe me, I thought that's how I am, too, but then…it's you…" she locked her gaze on his, though difficult it may be for her. "I never did get around to telling you all of this. I thought that if I did you wouldn't speak to me like you'd use to or something, because…I never thought you'd feel the same way I feel about you," she said softly. "You've always been different from Hanabishi and the others. They were really outgoing and wild. You were always too quiet, too distant, and I have to admit that at first I didn't think I'd be able to get along well with you. At least that's what everyone thought. But the more we went on with our matches, the more I felt attached to you, and…when I discovered the other side of your personality…the sweet and sensible side…I knew…you weren't whom everyone thought you were. You're not just some silent loner who never wants to socialize with other people. You're not like that at all. There's a reason behind your sadness, and I understood that. I understood that once you get past the cold outer personality, there's something different inside. You're a wonderful person, Tokiya. You're always concerned about your friends although you might not show it. Another guy is behind all your loneliness. There's someone behind your frown, behind your wistful eyes, your sharp words…You have a good heart. You might not show it, but I know you do. That's what I like about you so much…" she whispered.
The boy stared back at her, wordless at her revelation.
She looked away, her face burning, and began to straighten up. "Gomen, Tokiya. You should just get some rest. Sorry for involving you in this," she started to hop out of the bed, her voice quivering in embarrassment.
"Fuuko, w-wait," the boy grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her back. She looked back at him, puzzled.
The boy looked into her eyes, hesitating for a moment. And then he pulled her close and gave her another kiss.
It was what he had always wanted after all.
*FLASH*
"I'm sorry I haven't been the best guy a girl could ever have," the boy looked wistfully at her through the pouring rain. "So I'm asking you to please forget about me."
The girl looked sadly away.
"Please, Fuuko. I can't be the right guy for you because you deserve someone better. Someone who would always be there for you whenever you need him. Someone who has more time for you. Someone who doesn't have a past to get in the way. And I know I can't be that person because I can't live up to those expectations."
She began to close her eyes, desperately trying to bear the pain of having to let him go.
"So I'm just wishing you the best in your life." He gave her one last smile. "Sayonara, Fuuko-chan."
And with this, he removed his hand from her cheek and began to walk away, without saying any more.
All of a sudden the girl stopped crying. She stood there on the sidewalk, drenched, as she watched him walk away from her, leaving her alone in the dark.
He was gone.
*FLASH*
"Fuuko! What the heck do you think you're doing?!?" The boy winced as he tried to stand on his broken leg.
She smiled at him. "This...is...your chance...Tokiya..."
"Fuuko!!! Stop this cyclone! Now!" he looked worriedly at her, enraged that she was a fool enough to risk her own life just for him.
But she merely smiled, until her eyes began to shut close.
The boy cursed inwardly, desperately looking for a way to get her out of danger.
He struck his sword into the ground and shouted, "Tsurara Mai!!!"
Hundreds of icicles came dancing back and forth, wringing the madougu out of the girl's wrist and making the whirlwind vanish.
He forcefully ran towards her. "Fuuko!"
But she lay flaccidly on the floor, barely alive.
"Fuuko!!!"
*FLASH*
Everything seemed to go back into focus, and the sound of the heavy chains slashing me again and again came back into earshot.
Sou da…Fuuko...I had been a fool enough to get you into all of this...and now...
All of a sudden I could feel the pain of Akira's chains knocking me out again. Even the pain of my broken arm and leg came back, and so did the lightheaded feeling of having wasted much blood.
I focused at the Ensui pierced right through the floor.
Gather from all the places of great icicle...
Absolute Zero...!
Layers of ice slowly began to spread across the floor, gathering around where Akira was standing.
She laughed villainously. "Pathetic! You're too helpless to even move!"
I slowly raised my head at her, and gave her a smirk.
Her eyes widened in anger. "What the heck are you smirking for?!?"
I kept my expression. "I'll ...make sure...you freeze...to absolute zero...degrees..."
"What!!!" She shrieked as she realized that her boots were slowly being frozen. She gasped and tried to make her chains avoid contact with the floor. She had managed to make the first chain wrap around her arm again, but pulled up the second one a little too late. It crumbled into tiny icicles just as she pulled it up, and panicked when she felt that her boots were completely frozen now. Her leg would be next...
She gasped and forcibly jumped up, releasing her feet from her frozen boots and managing to avoid being frozen herself. She landed on the other side of the room, panting at the close call.
I gathered everything I had and forced myself to stand up again, ignoring the excruciating pain in my leg and the burning sensation all over my body.
I gave Akira an angry smile. "When I tried to use the Icicle Flow on your chain a while back, you told me that it wouldn't work on you as long as you were aware of it. So since you were too intent on hitting me to death, you didn't even realize what I was doing," I groaned, walking over to where my Ensui was and pulling it out of the ground. "Thanks for not destroying my madougu first before you tried to kill me."
She scowled heatedly at me. "This time, I'll make sure I do!!!" She jumped towards me and stretched out her chain, and only when I dodged it did I see the orb that was controlling it. It was located on her other wrist, where the other now-broken chain was supposedly covering it.
If I could only destroy it...
Her chain was gaining on me again. I tried to jump away, but my broken leg made me land on the wrong place at the wrong time. And her chain picked that time to smack me right in the face.
I slammed against the wall for the millionth time, cringing.
"Ha! That broken leg of yours is slowing you down, Tokiya! And you've only got one functioning arm!" she grinned in satisfaction. "But don't worry dear, I'll do you the favor of breaking your remaining limbs!" She stretched her chain out to me again.
I ducked and rolled across the floor; the wall behind me breaking where she'd targeted her chain.
A cold drop of water on my hand gave me a little jerk. I glanced at my Ensui; the water was beginning to melt.
Kuso...
I winced as I stood up and tried to run towards her. I raised my madougu and hoped that my Ensui's last blow would actually make a critical hit on her.
"Tsurara Hebi!!!"
I watched as the icicle snake made its way towards her, but then everything started to spin and haze away; she was gone. Again!
I whirled around just in time to fall back down again, for her chain had grabbed the ankle of my broken leg. She lifted me upside-down and let me go forcefully after a whirl around.
The moment I slid onto the floor, a flow of what seemed like electricity rushed through my whole body and I couldn't help but cry out a small scream of pain. The Ensui slipped from my hand as its blade melted away into water, the handle dropping on the floor with a clunk. I reached down at my leg, keeping my eyes shut tight and gritting my teeth. The pain was too strong; she'd broken the very same leg twice!
I straightened up and groaned out loud, as I stumbled back down. I tried to balance on my other leg, but another course of excruciating pain ran up my spine, and I groaned even louder. It was no good; I couldn't even stand up.
By now Akira was laughing in tears.
I moaned again and looked up at her, puffing. And then there it was again. That damn surge.
I grimaced, trying my best to ignore the pain. But I couldn't.
Akira was glowing.
I continued to stare at her breathlessly, thinking of a way on how I could destroy her Psychic Device.
"Well! It's my day to shine!" She turned to take a glimpse of the unconscious Fuuko on the floor, then looked back at me. "Too bad she can't watch it," she shrugged. "Oh well..." she smiled hungrily at me. "My glory awaits."
She held out her fingers at me. "I'll be keeping your head though, I wouldn't want that incredibly kawaii face go to waste now, would I?" She batted her eyelashes at me. "Sayo nara, itoshii..." and her chain came charging forward.
But it went right through a river of blood, which spluttered against the walls.
"Nani?!? The Water Puppet again?!?" She gaped at the empty space in front of her.
"Mizu Hebi!"
She shrieked in pain as she clutched her arm where the red snake had hit her. The orb on her wrist, with an ear piercing sound, shattered into pieces.
"Noooo!!!" she screamed as she watched it break.
I collapsed onto the floor, panting even harder. "Now...we're even..."
She fumed wrathfully at me. "No, we're not!!! If you want it that way, then I'll use my chain even without the madougu's power!!!" She made a position to attack me, but then she stopped.
"Wait..." she turned back to Fuuko. "She can't even watch the show, so what's she even doing here?" she laughed again. "She might as well..." she smiled at me, "...die, right?"
Iie...
"Right...?" she repeated melodiously.
"You damn witch, leave her out of this!!!" I growled.
"Oooooohh, Toki-chan's getting all defensive! Kinda makes me all psyched about it even more..." She aimed her fingers at Fuuko now.
"Iie...! Yamero!!!" I shouted.
Her smile widened. "Here we go!!!" And she threw the chain forcefully at her.
Regardless of my broken leg, I stood up with all my might and tried to run as fast as I could to where Fuuko was, praying that I could actually bear the pain and make it in time---
Ugh…damn it, I cursed, keeping my eyes tightly shut and pretending Akira's blow didn't hurt me at all. Damn it, damn it, damn it...
I was miraculously standing in front of Fuuko's body, with my back to Akira and my hands pressed against the wall, trying to act as a shield. I was swearing silently with Akira's every blow, which was enough to make me go crazy, but I was doing everything I could to take the impact just so Fuuko was alright.
The heavy chain was giving my back the worst it ever had.
Damn it...
I tried to ignore the fact that blood was pouring out of my leg.
Damn...
I was starting to get dizzy...I knew I was losing too much blood, and considering I had used my blood to create my Ensui's blade and summon a snake, I wouldn't be surprised if I completely ran out of blood at the moment.
Kuso...
More blood was dripping from my broken arm, too.
I groaned as Akira continuously kept hitting me. But since the orb of her madougu was gone, her chain wasn't moving on its own anymore and she was hitting me manually, which made her take a long time to let the chain reach me. I was actually considering it an advantage.
All of a sudden Fuuko's hand began to twitch, and her eyes began to open.
Just when my knees finally gave way and I slipped onto the floor.