Keitaro doubled forward, blow after blow. His attacks hadn't connected with anything yet, besides her blocking forearms. However, he was forcing her on the defensive, and leaving her no room to attack. She pushed him back with dual palm thrust to his stomach, but he ignored the pain and focused more on attacking Masuka.
"You think you can stop what has already begun", Masuka asked. "You've already gone down the jagged path!"
"Are you gonna talk, or are you gonna fight", Keitaro said in a rage as more of the Demon Blood Seal consumed him.
Tackling her forward, Keitaro pinned her to the edge of a computer controller. He struck her over and over in the ribs before grabbing Masuka by the collar, and slammed her head repeatedly into the controller. As he blindly fought on, Masuka kneed him in the side before reversing the situation and shoving him into the controller. Keitaro shook off the impact before turning around to face her.
Outside on the battlefield, the rest of the crew took cover behind the rubble.
"Hey, I'm out of ammo", Haitani shouted.
Tokui threw him a spare cartridge for his hand gun. In doing so, he didn't notice the Cyber with an RPG. The second the sensor locked onto it's target, Motoko ran her sword through the chest casing of the Cyber before throwing it off of her weapon. Looking at the approaching Cybers and Racers, Motoko got a better assessment of the situation. The enemies were getting the best of them, and began to gather in larger numbers.
"C'mon Shinobu! We're dying out here", Shirai said pulling a shrapnel piece out of his knee.
Just a few hundred meters from where Keitaro fought, Naru coughed from the smoke of the broken machines, and nearby fires.
"Shinobu, Keitaro, where are you", Naru coughed.
"Naru, I'm over here", Shinobu shouted.
The little girl and brunette rushed to each other as Shinobu cradled Skinny in her arms.
"Naru, it's terrible", Yelled Shinobu. "Skinny is dying, and Keitaro has lost all control of himself!"
They ducked as a blast of energy erupted directly above their heads. Both Naru and Shinobu dove for cover as Keitaro fell through the ceiling trying to fend off a barrage of Cybers and Racers. Just as he threw them all of, Keitaro re-engaged Masuka.
"WHY MUST YOU DESTROY EVERYTHING", Keitaro yelled.
"FOR A NEW START", Masuka yelled back. "YOU CAN'T START SOMETHING NEW UNTIL YOU DESTROY EVERYTHING IN THE PAST!"
"NO THAT'S NOT TRUE", Keitaro said as he grabbed the arm of a broken Cyber.
Masuka struck Keitaro over and over as he defended himself the best he could with the arm.
"IS IT?! LOOK AT YOU! YOU LEFT HINATA SOU BECAUSE THOSE PEOPLE PUSHED YOU TO THE BRINK OF MADDNESS! YOU JOINED THE ERT LOOKING FOR A NEW START!"
Masuka grabbed a lead pipe before thrusting it deep into Keitaro's shoulder.
"YOU WON'T FIND A HAPPY ENDING, BECAUSE YOU STILL HOLD ONTO THOSE PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST!"
Keitaro felt the pain travel through the rest of his body. As Naru tried to run to his aid, Shinobu, grabbed her arm. Looking down at the little girl, Shinobu shook her head "NO!" They all watched as Masuka pinned him to the wall by piercing the pipe all the way through Keitaro's shoulder. Masuka covered her mouth as she watched Keitaro yell in agony.
"YOU SEE! YOU WILL NEVER BE STRONG ENOUGH TO MOVE, NOT WHILE YOU STILL HOLD ONTO THAT WOMAN NARU NARUSEGAWA, AND THE REST OF THOSE PEOPLE", Masuka shouted.
Keitaro let his head drop, and let his hair cover his eyes. Even with the sounds of battle happening just outside of the building, they could clearly hear Keitaro's shallow breaths
"It's true, I left Hinata Sou because I was close to going insane...They didn't respect me...They were cruel to me...They looked down on me...They didn't give me a chance...And that's why I left. I left to find a different path, and forget about them..."
Naru and Shinobu could practically feel their hearts breaking in their chest. Everything Keitaro was saying was true. These were his words, these were his emotions, and this was his choice to make.
"Even though I tried to forget them, I couldn't...No matter which path I took, no matter how much power I gained, no matter how many military tactics or martial arts I learned, I couldn't make them disappear from my mind...That's when I started to learn..."
"You started to learn", Masuka questioned.
"Yes", Keitaro grunted as he grasped the lead pipe with his arm. " I learned that we CAN'T leave behind all the people in our memories, or our past...Including ourselves...Because, THEY will help mold you into the person you were meant to be...They will lead you to the path you need to choose...Like me...The people who lead me down my path...It wasn't Avianna, it wasn't my Sensei, it wasn't my aunt, or my parents..."
The pipe in Keitaro's shoulder began to shake roughly. The shaking was from Keitaro trying to pull the pipe out, and from Masuka tying to force it forward.
"The people who lead me down my path, were two people...One, was a little boy who had a dream of making it into Tokyo University one day...The other, was a little girl he made a promise to a long time ago...The Promise Girl...And that Promise girl...
Naru and Masuka watched as Keitaro failed to pull the pipe out. Instead, he broke the pipe as he finished his sentence.
"...IS NARU NARUSEGAWAAAAAA!"
That was it, the secret, the mystery, the mind grabbing memory was out. Naru was caught in a complete paralyzing sense of awe. She had always hoped that the girl from his promise would be her, and in fact, it was.
"K-Keitaro", Naru managed to whisper.
He heard none of what Naru said, since he still had an opponent to defeat.
Still on their battlefield, Taka ducked down as gunfire happened overhead. Even with all of this going on, Taka could feel a dark presence coming from the entrance of the hole Han created. Tokui recognized it. It wasn't Masuka. No, it was Keitaro's Demon Blood Marking. It felt dense, and poisonous.
Taka knew better than anyone that if the Demon Blood Marking was pushed too far, it could very well destroy a person's body, and devour their soul. Like some insane wild man with tunnel vision, Taka took the chance of taking gunfire and dashed for the entrance.
"Taka, what are you doing", Kanako yelled.
Taka jumped over a Racer and slid between the legs of a Cyber before squeezing through the tiny hole Han created.
Naru protected Shinobu from the debris flying just over their heads. Shots were heard from various directions, most likely from the Cyber's weapons. As durable as Keitaro was, it wouldn't be very long before Keitaro's body gave out. Still hanging onto life by a thread, Skinny reached a tiny paw out and weakly tugged on her shirt collar. Shinobu stared back at the tiny martin.
"Shinobu...Naru", Skinny whispered. "You have to help the Boss."
"But, what can we do", Said Shinobu.
"Th-The virus...You have to implant the virus...To stop...The robot factory."
Shinobu had forgotten all about the virus mission. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the flash drive. Thank goodness it hadn't been damaged.
"Go Shinobu...The Boss is counting on you...And you too Naru...", Skinny told them.
"I can't Skinny", Naru said.
"Yes you can", Skinny said. "You have to...
"Skinny, there's nothing I can do for him", Naru interrupted Skinny as she cried. "Masuka was right! I pushed him too far! I pushed him into the military! I pushed him into taking the Demon Blood Seal! And I pushed him to fight things he shouldn't have to fight!...I put him through this! I only made things worse!"
Skinny and Shinobu waited a moment, trying to think of something to say.
"Maybe you did Naru", Skinny said. "But...You gifted him with a dream."
"A dream", Naru asked.
"Yes..You made that promise to him all those years ago...To get into that Tokyo University...And that's kept him going this whole time...And he did it not because you pushed him...But because you gifted him with it..."
"That's right", Shinobu added. "You gifted him with lots of things. Friendship, a goal, study sessions, and the promise you made him to regain his friendship again? Don't you still want to be his friend, Naru?"
Naru took another moment to think about all of this. She did want to be his friend again. No, she wanted to be more than just his friend. There were things she wanted to tell him for a long time, and it wasn't an apology. However, she couldn't just do that by standing around doing nothing. Naru Narusegawa stood up, ready to face both Masuka, and her own fears.
"You're right Shinobu. You're always right. Maybe that's why Keitaro kept in contact with you when he was gone. I did him wrong, I know that...But now, I have to make this right, once and for all", Naru strongly stated.
With a smile, Shinobu took the flashdrive and held on tightly to Skinny. Both Naru and Shinobu had their own missions, and there was no turning back.
Keitaro was now on his back, his Demon Blood Mark was starting to weaken his body, and now it began to consume a large portion of his face. He was no longer mobile as Masuka walked closer to him with two armed Cybers at her side. She panted from some exhaustion as she watched Keitaro struggle to even budge.
"You've become strong Keitaro. You've become so strong."
Masuka looked at her hand and wrist as the marking covered her hands with no sign of breaking down.
"That is why you were an essential piece to our plans of evolution jumping. I wanted you to be a part of this Keitaro. I really did. Now that I've passed on your Demon Blood Mark onto me, I have to do what is necessary."
As Masuka opened her palm for a close range purple energy blast, a tiny white glow emmitted from Keitaro's pocket. Right before the energy from Masuka's attack could hit him, the white glow erupted into a bubble shield like formation, and completely blocked Masuka's attack. The light destabalized and disappeared just as Masuka's attack was blocked. Both Masuka and Keitaro were surprised by the phenomenon that just occured.
"This power, it felt like...Angel's", Masuka thought.
The enemy regained her posture and spoke, "That was an interesting party trick. But I doubt it will happen again."
The moment she was about to attack him again, the Cyber to her left was roughly slammed into her body.
Masuka recovered from the ground and looked to find Naru standing there as she cracked her knuckles.
"You again?! You honstly want to die here don't you", Masuka stood back up.
"I'm not going to die here, neither is Keitaro", Naru said as she took a fighting pose.
"You're more insane than any person I've ever met", Masuka said. "You'd honestly challenge someone who's more experienced, more trained, and more powerful than you?! You don't have the tools to defeat me!"
"No, but I do", Said another voice.
Emerging from the smokey background, Taka stood as tall he could.
"You're very brave Naru, but I'll be taking the glory for this fight", Said Taka.
"Taka", Naru asked. "Don't worry, I can help Keitaro too."
"I know you can", Said Taka. "But this isn't the part where you help Keitaro. You need to get Keitaro to safety, and tell him everything. Tell him everything he wants to hear. I'll fight this woman."
"O-Okay Taka, I understand", Naru said as she ran to help move Keitaro.
"That outfit is cute and all, but you're not near as powerful as I am", Masuka boasted.
"Oh that's where you're wrong", Taka told her.
Once again, Taka charged himself with the Sage Ki Mark, ready for a new opponent. Once he was fully powered, the opponents rushed one another head on.
Shinobu snaked her way into what was left of the control panel in the factory base. Looking around, Shinobu could see the slot for the flash drive. However, as she tried to put the flash drive in, a round of shots narrowly missed hitting her. In her fright, she dropped both Skinny, and the virus somewhere in the dark. This was bad, not only was she scrambling for their last hope in a smokey, dark mess, but three Cybers quickly approached her.
She had no choice but to hide under the table for cover from the shots. Wile trying to keep safe, Skinny's tiny claw scratched at her ankle. In his poor state, Skinny shakily handed her the flash drive. It was covered in some of his blood, but that didn't matter to either of them. With only a small prayed in her mind, Shinobu closed her eyes and reached out from under the table to feel for the flash drive slot. She couldn't see where she was touching, because her eyes were closed, and she couldn't leave the safety of under the table.
By now the Cyber's were right above her. One knelt down and looked at her with soulless glowing eyes. Shinobu didn't open here eyes as she continued to feel for the slot. The cold steel hand reached out for her face, drawing closer and closer to her. At last, success was hers. The flash drive entered its rightful place, and the systems were immediately taken over by the virus.
The factory shut down, and no longer produced Cybers or Racers. Then, the signal controlling the Cybers ceased. The Cyber's systems wined before growing dark. Shinobu opened her eyes, and saw that the Cyber's hand was maybe about three centimeters from her eyelash.
"You, you did it Shinobu", Skinny said.
Shinobu gently hugged Skinny to her body as she sobbed into his fur. She was crying for two reasons. Shinobu sobbed for her success, and for surviving death as if she was right in its grasp. Yet somehow, she pulled through. Now, it was up to the rest of the ERT and her friends to pull through.
Just outside of the base, Motoko was pinned to the floor by a Racer. The only thing holding back its razor claws was her sword. Haitani fired the last of his mag in his handgun, but three other Cybers approached him. In desperation, Haitani threw the gun. The second his gun hit the forehead of the Cyber, the robot began to jolt uncontrollably. One after the other, all of the Cybers and Racers began to have what looked like robot versions of seizures.
Motoko pushed off the Racer and it collapsed in a shut down. One by one, the robots began to shut down and fall over. As these collapsed, the tubes showed no sign of deploying anymore Cybers of Racers.
"You guys, I don't mean to toot my own horn here...But I think that was me", Haitani referred to when his thrown gun hit the Cyber, all of them began to shut down.
Happy Labor Day to who and wherever you are! Gosh, it feel like I haven't updated this in forever, and I'm terribly sorry. School began on Monday, and I've been putting a lot of focus into my new Senran Kagura fic. But other than that, life has been keeping me pretty busy.
In this chapter, Keitaro's battle heats up big time! He's faced Masuka, been beaten to a bloody pulp, pushed his body through life threatening limits, and confessed to Naru! Man I'm cruel for putting him through all that! Despite how bad he's had it in this battle, the next chapter will actually be the turnover for the battle. With Shinobu shutting down the Cyber and Racer factory, their threat levels have gone down significantly.
However, this does not mean they're out of the woods yet. Masuka still has to be dealt with, Taka has to finish his fight, their comrades still have to survive, Keitaro has to maintain his body, and we still need a response from Naru. So there's something to look forward to.
When I wrote this, I was inspired by the songs, "Change" by "Miwa" (A.K.A Bleach opening 12), and "Guren no Yumiya/Crimson Bow and Arrow", by "Linked Horizon" (A.K.A. Attack on Titan Opening). But other than that, I hope you all read on as I write this, and my new Senran Kagura fic. Take care, and Happy Labor Day!