OH MY GOD!
I DID IT!
I have nothing more to say. Enjoy!
Notice: I don't own Fairy Tail and all that stuff. Ya.
Chapter 14: It Has Been Cut
Kagura was feeling an immense sense of reverse déjà vu.
It wasn't so long ago that she and Yukino had been mortal enemies in the arena, competitors in the Grand Magic Games. The two had fought as if their lives were at stake, and in fact they had been- Yukino had suggested they wager their lives prior to the duel. Kagura could still remember the words she spoke to Yukino when after defeating her:
"You made a cheap bet. You… Your life belongs to me now… Understand?"
Kagura never could've imagined that Yukino, the girl who bet her life on a "friendly" competition, would turn out to be such a sweet girl. Nor could she have ever predicted standing back to back with her, fighting off a common enemy.
Squaring off against Kagura was Zao, the crimson samurai. Clad in that red armor, his dark purple cape fluttering like a zephyr in the wind, and ancient and powerful-looking sword in hand, he would've looked formidable if it weren't for the theatrical combat poses he kept assuming, along with a little "hiyah" with each new pose.
Meanwhile, facing off against Yukino was the cackling crazy chemist, Nezbitt. He kept pulling various vials out of his infinite-seeming stained lab coat, examining them, and then tossing them to the ground with a vigorous shake of the head. The sand where the vials fell quickly dissolved into pools of multicolored sludge. Nezbitt held up a certain vial with one hand while adjusting his glasses with the other. "Hooheehiheehooheehooha… this should do nicely. There's a ninety-six point two seven percent chance you won't survive!"
"Hiyah! Let us go, comrade Nezbitt! Hiyah! We shall sally forth and defeat these two women for the sake of honor! Hiyah!"
"What a couple of weirdoes…" Kagura muttered under her breath.
Yukino nodded nervously. "They're strong, though," she whispered back.
Kagura nodded in return. "Okay, here's the-"
"Hiyah!"
"Oh, will you-"
"Hiyah! On guard! Assume your battle stance! I refuse to fight a woman who does not show the proper respect prior to the duel! Hiyah!"
"On second thought, let's just kick their asses."
Kagura turned and stared down Zao with such an intense gaze that he forgot to say "hiyah" when he switched to his next battle position. Kagura turned her sword upside down and held it out in front of her at arm's length. "By this blade, I swear I will defeat you and save Rogue."
Yukino smiled and put a key to her lips.
And so their battle had begun.
When Sting's Holy Meteor Wrath landed, an enormous shockwave spread across the entire beach. People on the populated end of the beach had started to realize something was wrong, and were fleeing in the opposite direction of the dangerous wizards exploding things. Unfortunately, some of those said wizards were unable to run themselves.
Yukino had been knocked off her feet by the blast. Is Sting-sama alright? Unfortunately, the sand had been knocked up, swirling around in a cloud, and Yukino couldn't see anything around her. She could definitely hear things, however- Nezbitt's cackles echoed around her in the dust, and try as she might, Yukino couldn't discern where the cackles originated.
Nezbitt had turned out to be much more powerful than he let on. The chemicals in his vials consumed everything they touched, and although Yukino had been lucky to escape them thus far, she could still feel burns from where the steam touched her skin. Yukino's eyes were swollen and filled with tears from said steam, and her nose was plugged with an overpowering stench of sulfur. But of course she could hear Nezbitt's cackles all too well:
"Hmmm! Sounds like they're having fun over there, aren't they? I'm sure Fang's crushing that weakling into the dirt, hooheehiheehooheehooha! Now then, which one shall I melt you with next? Perhaps a dose of diacetyl peroxide? No, how bout a pint of paracetic acid? No, no, no, that won't do at all! Socrapocrates' eighty-seventh postulate, when applied to Bartolomeus' third law of magical science with regards to chemicals, strongly suggests that a chick with this level of hotness should be melted with-"
"Open! Gate of the Fish! Pisces!"
The cloud of dust swept away from the force of the twin fish spiraling into the sky. The black and white fish grinned madly, circling each other, before spinning down and priming themselves to attack the crazed chemist.
Said chemist was for once speechless. But like most scientists he was a quick thinker, and he quickly cleared his throat and regained his composure. "You sure about that, girly? I almost melted that pink bear and the emo guy you already sent out. Now do you like your fish smoked? Grilled? Fried? Filleted? Evaporated? Eeheeheehee!"
Yukino wasn't paying any attention to his words. Sorano… and Kagura. I know I might always be stuck in the role of little sister, and you might always end up having to look out for me. That's why… Just this once… Yukino raised a black key to her lips. Watch me go!
Kagura did not have the luxury of watching Yukino go.
Despite the fact that he telegraphed every strike with a "Hiyah!" and a theatrical pose, Zao was a formidable opponent. His strikes seemed to come at Kagura with unnatural speed and accuracy, suggesting some kind of magic bolstered his swordsmanship. Not only that, but Kagura could feel a certain magical force exuding off of the sword itself. Now that Kagura was up close, she could get a good look. It was an ancient blade, long and thin, carved with ornate designs along the blade, and a silver hilt in the shape of a dragon.
"Hiyah! Your skills are impressive, but- Hiyah! My Honor rides on my victory! I cannot lose! Hiyah!" Zao leaped at Kagura, but tripped and fell on his face. At the last possible second, he stumbled up and instead threw a well-aimed swipe at Kagura's waist, catching Kagura off-guard. Kagura barely stepped back to block it in time.
He's making such unorthodox movements, thought Kagura. It's almost like he tripped on purpose. Perhaps his fighting style is similar to that of Bacchus?
Zao pressed her back, assaulting her from all sides. Kagura did her best to block each blow, but the frequency and intensity of Zao's attacks was rapidly increasing. It was almost as if he'd been just playing around this whole time.
"I'm sorry, miss, but Honor's code does not permit me to lose to a woman. Hiyah! Hiyah! Hiyah! Hiyah! Hiyah!"
Kagura felt her guard slowly slipping- first a strike barely missed inside her guard, and then another sliced off a small lock of her hair. After that, every strike started leaving a small cut on the body, even the ones she blocked. Zao's assault was perpetual, never-ending- every strike was perfectly timed, with flawless technique, strength and accuracy. Gone were the spontaneous poses, and even the "Hiyah's" were starting to disappear, blurred out by the whir of Zao's blade.
Kagura began to count her heartbeats.
At three, Archenemy fell out of Kagura's hand and clattered to the ground.
At four, Kagura felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. Her vision blurred.
What's wrong with me?
At five, Kagura felt herself being lifted into the air, accompanied by a terrible pain tugging at her scalp.
At six, Kagura felt a whoosing noise above her head. She tumbled to the ground, barely keeping up on her knees.
My… hair?
Kagura lost track of her heartbeats.
"Your hair is beautiful." That's what he had said.
"Wha- Why would you say that out of the blue?"
"It's- it's just so long and smooth. And it's still purple, even in the dark. Everything else just looks black. My hair always looks black. But yours- still purple."
Who said that again? It was still so hard to remember.
It's dark all around me. Kagura started scruffling around in the sand. Can I still see it? …Is my hair still purple…?
Everything looks black…
There was his face- and yet it wasn't there. It was one of those moments where the brain recalls the emotions someone brings up without actually recalling the person's existence. All Kagura could see was a black circle- with a thin imprint of a smile.
Zao stood over Kagura, chuckling. "Hmmm… I wonder what she's scruffling around for. Poor dear. She should be grateful to me. It's extremely disHonorable for a woman to die in battle with long hair." With his left hand, Zao grabbed Kagura by what was left of her hair and hoisted her up to eye level. "And now, the Honorable finishing blow- bleeding out through the stomach!"
Anyone who's read this story can probably guess where the author decided to have Zao conveniently stab Kagura.
It is said that on that day, a woman's scream had the power to turn the sea red.
So... I sort of wrote a thing. That's cool. Uhhh... I forgot what I usually say here. Review, favorite, follow... yeeeeah.
Oh! I may or may not be writing a story based on my own failed manga attempt that should still be totally awesome in text, so I may be linking you guys up to deviant art in the future. Or not. That's entirely possible too.
So, uh... More chapters will come out eventually, although I can't say how fast. I have been writing constantly, though- I'm just getting in a little bit each day. So yeah! Get rekt, life!
I'm sorry.
Have a great day! Thanks for reading!