« You became a fake » said Kazama with contempt « Don't you have any pride ? Don't you have any honor ? »
His voice sounded disappointed as if he had a kind of esteem for me before that had completely vanished now that my eyes were red and my hair white.
« I don't expect you to understand my sense of honor. » I replied calmly.
A quick look at Haruhi informed me that Chizuru was already kneeling next to her to have a look at her chest. I hoped I didn't hurt her too bad... It was the first time I was actually fighting as a Rasetsu and I wasn't expecting to have that much more speed or strength.
« You were an insect before, you're nothing more than an abomination now. » said Kazama with disdain « I'm not going to kill a warrior, I'm going to put down a mad dog. »
You can try.
I leaped forward with tremendous speed and Kazama clearly wasn't expecting me to be that rapid. The swords hit each other, each blow more powerful than the one before. The velocity of our movement was increasing to the point that a normal eye couldn't follow. I was feeling more powerful than I ever was. My strength was inhuman, maybe even above the demon's. I could win thanks to my Rasetsu form. There was a kind of exhilaration, a kind of intoxication in it. So much power...
Yet, Kazama was dodging all my attacks and counter-attacking efficiently, fast as a bullet from a gun. He blocked my strikes calmly, our blades rattling against one another. In the blink of an eye, he leapt forward and whipped his sword in a quick slash, aiming at my right shoulder. The blood splattered and I grunted but didn't back off.
I'll heal... I just have to cope with it for a few minutes...
Katana high above my head, I kept attacking my opponent, the hatred guiding me. I was not totally one hundred percent efficient, the sun still up burning me, but the hatred was helping me ignore the pain. If I were to fail now, today, Kazama would kill me, kill Haruhi, take Chizuru and force her into a marriage she would suffer her entire life. Not on my watch.
He aimed at my shoulder again and I leapt backward but not fast enough. His blow entered my flesh at the same spot his previous one did, cutting deeper. I wasn't healing.
Why am I not healing ?! I am a Rasetsu !
Taking advantage of my moment of surprise, Kazama striked again and traced a red line across my chest, blood dripping and splattering on the floor.
I'm not healing...
« You noticed it now, didn't you ? » asked Kazama with a cruel, arrogant grin spread across his face « your helplessness, your inability to heal. »
« How ? » I grunted in pain.
Was it because of the sun ? I never saw Rasetsu fight in daylight, maybe that was the cause... I should have been more careful instead of relying on my healing abilities. Kazama smirked, figuring his victory was a foregone conclusion.
« My sword is Doujigiri Yasutsuna. » he explained, caressing the bloodstained metal « No demon, no Oni, no Yokai can heal from it. »
Shit...
If this was the truth then the battle was one that I probably couldn't win. Kazama would close his wounds, if I could make him bleed, and I wouldn't, getting weaker and weaker with each of his successful strikes.
« Chizuru » I ordered « take Haruhi and go »
« You don't move, Yukimura » commanded Kazama, not smiling anymore « I'm tired of running after you all the time. You take one step and I cut his head off. I'll salt it and allow you to keep it if you like it that much. »
« Hajime » she said, ignoring Kazama « Haruhi will have trouble fleeing. She has three cracked ribs. »
I kicked too hard when I got her out of the way...
I nodded and took back an aggressive fighting stance. Now wasn't the time for defense anymore. I had to end it the fastest way I could and stop giving away openings to him. When I was human, I never allowed an enemy to cut that deep in my flesh. Rasetsu me was less cautious, more driven by hatred and relying on its healing abilities. I just had to calm myself, focus and fight like a human, someone who could die at any moment.
I emptied my head of my hatred, my emotions, my thoughts. One thing mattered, evading Kazama's sword and striking at the right moment.
Focus.
I leapt forward and Kazama sensed the change in me. I was more precise, more calculating. I evaded his blows with more ease. His stupid grin quitted his face, replaced by gritting teeth.
« You put your mask back on... Do you really think it can save you ? Save her ? » he goaded.
Focus.
I ignored him and pushed him back, aiming at any part, vital or not, that was left unattended. For the first time, Kazama bled. His blood smelled like Chizuru's, Sen or Kaoru... A refined delicacy that I was craving to taste. But now wasn't the time to let my bloodlust take control over me.
« This is useless ! » he laughed « my wounds are closing faster than you can land your katana ! »
Focus.
« You're just going to exhaust yourself. » he kept laughing « You'll turn to beast, not able to resist the stench of blood. And then, you'll make mistakes and I'll kill you. The outcome has already been decided. »
Focus.
My katana was landing mercilessly on Kazama's limbs but not enough to make real damage. I needed to cut his head off or go for the heart. Even his stomach could heal faster than I could truly injure it.
« I'm going to kill you and then, I'll kill the child, slowly. She will get a replica of every cut you dared make on my body. And your head on a pike will watch her with lifeless eyes as she will call your name and implore you to save her. »
The hatred came back like a wild horse and I swallowed it with difficulty. He was provoking me to make me fail. I wouldn't fail. I was the captain of the third division of the Shinsengumi. A warrior. A samurai. Words didn't have any effect on me, they slided, like water on a rock. My mask stayed in place, impassive, as I put even more violence in my blows, keeping all my precision intact.
Now !
An opening, too good to be true. I took a quick step back to evade Kazama's blade and with both hands on the pommel of my katana, I dug my sword into the demon's rib cage, so deep that only the hilt was visible. I missed the heart but Kazama's lung was pierced from part to part and his eyes widened as he started coughing blood over my shoulder. Our chests were thrown against one another and the scent of his blood was maddening.
« Ho...How... » I heard him whisper near my ear just before he fell on his knees.
I let go of my katana and he looked at it buried in his chest with desperation, coming to the harsh conclusion that he lost. Slowly, I unsheathed my wakizashi and he lifted his gaze on me, still coughing blood.
« You're nothing but a fake... » he said with gritted teeth.
« And I beat a pure blood Oni. Remember that, Kazama Chikage, and bring your shame with you to hell. » I answered in my toneless voice, lifting my wakizashi above my head as I positioned myself behind him for his execution.
« Hajime ! » called Chizuru « please don't kill him ! He has an entire clan to look after... Let's take him prisoner and give him back to Amagiri... He will make sure he won't hurt us anymore... »
I looked at my wife. How could she protect him with everything he did to us ? She always had a heart too big for her, having mercy and caring for friends or foes alike. Maybe that was the reason why she was such a talented doctor. I always loved her compassion, her heart and her candor and I would have offered her the world if she asked me to, but today, I couldn't bring myself to give her what she wanted. There had been way too much suffering.
« I'm sorry, Chizuru. » I told her before turning my gaze back to Kazama, my wakizashi still high above his head « Kazama Chikage, for abducting Saito Chizuru, my wife, keeping her captive and getting in the way of the Shinsengumi, I, Saito Hajime, captain of the third division of the Shinsengumi, sentence you to die. »
« Go to hell ! » he yelled, blood dripping from his mouth, panting.
I landed my wakizashi on his neck in a clean, deep cut. His head rolled on the forest floor. Kazama Chikage, pure blood Oni of the west, was gone.