Himeka's disdain for Akaya grew every second the fire demon possessed her body. It was appalling how the girl's presence sent Himeka into a frenzy of pure rage and horrific depression. There was something totally off putting about her daughter that Himeka couldn't quite explain, but an entitlement to control the narrative consumed her thoughts and actions. Konoha belonged to her now. No one was going to take that away from her.

Not even her own daughter.

The rage kept building as Himeka blasted fire at Akira completely surrounding the dog-like figure from every direction. Akira had always been cautious when it came to battles, and as it whimpered in pain from the extensive burns, Himeka saw how truly weak the demon had become. Love and compassion had made it stupid, similar to what it had done to her in her past life.

Himeka spoke authoritatively, "You should join me, Akaya. You know that you can't defeat me in your current state. And Akira can't save you from me."

Akaya spewed disgust at Himeka as she responded, "After all of this build up to how powerful you've become, you really think I'm not going to fight you?"

Akaya smirked, trying her best to mirror what Shin would look like. She had to embody what he represented. "I mean, you did teach me not to make alliances with people I can't trust."

Himeka snarled as she let the demon control her vocal chords, creating a raspy mix between the demon voice and her own, "Oh that too rich! I'm sure that the all-mighty Shin Ryu reiterated that to you during your training with him. Where do you think I got most of your lessons, silly girl."

The overwhelming anguish that Himeka expressed unknowingly pressured Akaya to try to talk Himeka out of this battle and to try to soothe her tattered soul. But the flames were taking over more than Himeka's body; the fire demon was consuming every shred of her mortality. Akaya was far too late to change the outcome. And yet, as Akaya examined Himeka with her eye ability, the aura around her mother stayed bright blue. How could anyone be so calm while also being completely enraged?

In that moment, Akaya came to the painful realization that Himeka was no longer there, and a monster stood in her place. Himeka was not going to feel remorse about killing her own daughter so Akaya had to react in the same capacity and with the same merciless mindset. After all, it was a part of a Shinobi's life to put feelings aside when it came to missions.

A whirling line of fire pushed Akaya to react defensively. She whipped out her windmill shriken quickly to absorb the fire, and it spun majestically out to the edges. Although the heat reflected fiercely off the metal, Akaya stay focused. She was familiar to the burning sensation on her knuckles, and as she let the flames float around her, she noticed someone lurking in the shadows behind her near the cages where Himeka had kept the villagers contained.

With her eyes activated, Akaya saw a yellow aura surrounding the figure and decided not to act against them so hastily. The hidden person was obviously terrified, and their attacks would be easy to spot, if any actually came at all. Himeka stopped her constant barrage of fire at Akaya, and as Akaya put her weapon down to her side to get a look at her opposition, Himeka had fallen to her knees completely hazed and feeble.

When the fire demon parted bodies with Himeka, Akaya stood speechless as she marveled at its magnificently frightening presence. Its dragon-like form reminded her of her seasoned ability, and her gut told her to run; however, her pride made her stand and face her new opponent. Even with every advantage that Akaya once had, she knew now that she had no shot at convincing the demon to change his ways.

Its words were tainted with poison as it laughed at her sinisterly, "You are a persistent little thing, aren't you?"

Akaya kept a firm grip on her weapon as she mustered up the courage to speak. She imagined that if she had enough confidence in her voice, her actions would directly correlate to it, "You haven't seen anything yet."

As the fire demon charged at Akaya effortlessly through the air, she put the windmill shuriken in a defensive position and let it block the Honomoro's chest rush. However, she couldn't break off any of its fire into the shuriken, and the demon was quickly twisting into the metal. That meant that the demon had found the weapon's weakness. It was no longer using chakra as its attack; it was the attack.

With all of her strength, Akaya hurled her shuriken to her left, but as its body moved with the weapon, the Honomoro's tail gripped her ankle forcefully. It burnt off her shadowed tie to Akira and solidified her bond with fire instead. The flames scorched her skin as it painfully slid into her chakra stream. Suddenly, Akaya felt herself be overwhelmed with rage and tormented by her sensationalized feelings. No amount of fighting would change the fact that she was being controlled by the abrasive fire demon. She started to hear its belligerent whispers in her head.

"You were just so cocky, much like your father. But didn't you know not to underestimate you opponent?"

Akaya knew it was right. That was Shin's first lesson, and as she fought its advances into her body, she started to form a plan of how to kill herself if need be. After all, that was his final lesson: to save others, sometimes you have to sacrifice it all.

At the intersection they had taken to get to the Hokage's building, Tajek saw Shin waiting, tapping his foot nervously. As he got closer, Tajek noted that Shin wore a bewildered look on his face. Tajek had already read the chakra indexes when he had entered the sewers, and that had made him even more apprehensive than when he had rushed down here. Akaya's signature was faint and dissolving quickly.

Tajek spoke assertively, "I'm guessing you know that it's begun taking over Akaya, but do you have any idea how to stop it without killing her?"

Shin shook his head dismissively, "It won't kill her. It needs her duality to thrive and maintain on its power."

As much as Shin hated his nervous habit, he tapped his foot. It was the only way to focus on finding a solution that didn't exist. "So logically, why do you think Akaya's chakra signature is so weak if the demon needs her chakra line to survive?"

Tajek's eyes widened. He knew that Akaya wouldn't hesitate to implore suicide if it meant saving Konoha. Self-preservation had never been important to her; successfully completing missions was all that mattered to her in the heat of a battle. That was both a blessing and a curse.

He pleaded desperately to his companion, "We have to stop her. But how Shin?"

Shin pointed at the Montair sword that Tajek still possessed. He sighed before continuing, "Realistically, out only hope is that the ultimate attack doesn't kill her as it works to potentially separate them from the intertwining chakra streams."

Dumbfounded, Tajek asked, "What exactly does its ultimate attack do?"

It amazed Shin that Danter never spoke with his son about the sword's powers, but in the end, it didn't surprise him. Danter was meticulous in his plans, so there had to have been a reason in doing so. However, Tajek didn't have time to experience such a steep learning curve, so Shin was going to spoil Danter's plans. Just like old times, it was one of Shin's favorite things to do. Even in death, he was still messing with his human friend. "In layman's terms, it tears apart its opponents' chakra lines and sends its opposition into some sort of time lapse. Can't say for sure what else it is capable of, seeing as only the wielder will know its capabilities in battle."

Tajek squeezed the sword tightly. "All righty then. Guess we don't have any other options but to try it out."

When Tajek raced off without a second thought, Shin trailed behind the eager Montair. As much as he realized Akaya was in trouble, he could only focus on how Himeka's chakra signature was subtly throbbing as it held onto life. He had originally rushed into the sewers with every intention of saving them both. He knew coming into Konoha that he might have to choose between the two of them, but when confronted, he wasn't sure if he could make the correct decision. He would let Tajek choose for him.

As much as Akaya loved fire, her veins and skin did not have the same feelings toward it. The Honomoro was even more callously powerful than she expected. Even with her unrelenting resistance, the fire demon was effectively taking control of her movements. But she refused to give into its demands so easily.

It wanted her to yelp in pain. It wanted her to bow to it. It wanted to take her freedom away. It wanted her to submit.

But it didn't know what she was still capable of.