Scarlet Justice - ep. 90
"Envoy of Heaven"
[Fleeting Dreams, Part 5]

The storm slowly starts to approach us.

Fubuki remains very still, even as the snow continues to fall around us. Her fingers move lightly along the grip of her sword, smoky white air streaming from beneath her mask. I can feel my blood running hot, my mind working towards a strategy of some kind in the background. This moment is slow and quiet, the danger present but far from the only thing I'm considering. I charge Mobius in both hands at half power, and focus on the seal etched into my left arm. Several poisonous snakes wind their way down my pant legs and burrow themselves into the snow. They'll be of use later, and should be hard to detect in this atmosphere.

She's still not moving, so I will start this dance in earnest.

I keep my distance and fire two attacks in quick succession; she deflects the first and then the second just barely, letting it graze her left shoulder. She moves forward at last and I skip backwards in response, not wanting her to get too close. But she accelerates and swings outwards with her sword, causing a narrow miss.

"...!"

Or I would have hoped. The air starts to ripple and I use a body flicker to move backwards again at the very last moment. I escape with a small cut on my cheek.

Chakra flow on her sword. Expected. Bothersome all the same.

"You're definitely an insufferable bitch," I mutter. Fubuki is already advancing again, her blade coming for me. I step to the side to avoid her next attack, but she cuts her swing short and positions herself so that she can slash at me again, forcing me to drop to my knees and lean backwards to avoid her swing. She quickly drives forward with her knee, and I roll through the snow to dodge, only to have her gain balance again and raise the sword above her head. It's coming in too fast and I have no time to counter, so I flicker to my left and avoid her strike, just as it splits open the ground below.

I jump backwards and throw a set of kunai at her, which she slices apart with one clean swing. Twirling with her momentum, she slashes outwards and sends a blade of energy through the air towards me. I hurdle over it and throw shuriken this time as she gives chase, deflecting the weapons while on the run. My hand rises to fire Mobius again, but she's gotten wise and ducks behind a tree on reflex.

"A little too savvy for our own good, aren't we." I try to use my senses to figure out where she is. Not moving, as usual. Perfectly fine with letting me run myself ragged. We'll see how well that goes.

There's an odd sound and I look upwards instinctively. A tree has started to fall towards me, and I move without another thought to avoid it as it comes down. I charge and fire Mobius through the wood, hearing a loud metallic sound as I thought I would. I jump over the log as it lands, going through the veil of snow thrown up from its crashing. My arm tenses and I fire two more bursts in sequence, but Fubuki escapes both of them and moves to hide in the trees once more. She really is quick...if not for my training, I would have been done for within the first ten seconds. There's no way that anyone else on our side could have held their own. All this from a girl who was trained solely by her brother. She would have made a fantastic shinobi.

But going back to the matter at hand...it seems she's trying to execute guerrilla tactics at the moment. Fubuki is extremely dangerous up close, and I did well to try and keep out of her range as much as I could. But along with her skill with a blade, her physical strength is outrageous as well - there's no doubt that knee from earlier would have ruined me if it landed. I am not built for those sorts of confrontations, and I refuse to pose as someone who is. It will most certainly get me killed. Her perception and taijutsu overall is very good. Mobius...it barely has a chance of getting through as long as she holds that sword in her hands. I might be able to overwhelm her with some effort, but that's a rather large gamble to take in this sort of fight.

I'm also at a disadvantage when it comes to this type of terrain. Fubuki was born and raised in this forest, so she would know it well enough. That has a significant impact on my stamina, as I would be trying to move in and out of positions that she can take advantage of. And I need every bit of energy to compete with her, because she has more of it than I do.

"This might be a problem...but..."

I know what it is I have to do. Everything put together means that my only option is to end this fight decisively. I have to create an opening and then tear through it. Still, even that is dangerous...my edge in speed is small. I can see her attacks coming and dodge them effectively, but if she manages to catch up for a moment, I'm as good as dead.

Fubuki is moving around the trees as the snow falls harder. The wind picks up, dropping my visibility even further. These conditions are not ideal, but they're also not a large detriment to me yet. My fellows from earlier have been following through the snow, and remain available for use. I just have to decide on what to do next.

She walks closer to my location, stepping lightly across the snow with her sword out in front of her.

"It would be just like a serpent to hide away and catch their breath."

"Are you lonely?" I call back. "You have no need to be anxious, my sweet. I will be joining you again soon."

"How lovely. Please show yourself post-haste...your severed head would make the most wonderful holiday gift for my dear, sweet brother."

"A garish sort of present, no?"

"Hm. How interesting that you would say such a thing about yourself."

"Some self-depreciating humour makes for good medicine. In trying times like these, especially."

"Ah. How unfortunate. I'm beginning to grow a tiny bit fond of you, Scarlet Viper."

"I note that I have that affect on people. Something that I might say I am proud of. But alas, all good things must come to an end."

"All things of good and of evil become marked for oblivion, as the ancients have foretold. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

"..."

I suppose there is nothing else left to do but move forward. There are those who will meet death, and have their bodies return to the earth in due time. But I have much to do. Things of great importance. I have been given the strength to reach those places that mere mortals could not dream of. And so, I will keep my promises to my loved ones. I will return home. I claim this victory.

"It's come to this. Let us begin our dance once more, Fubuki." I focus and push chakra through my body, feeling that familiar burst of energy as it spreads through me. The electricity bursts outward, red and flowing around me like hungry flames, heightening every one of my senses and dazing me for a moment as the snow storm intensifies.

I flicker to one side as Fubuki swings through the tree I was standing behind a moment earlier. She charges through the snow like a locomotive, both hands on her sword grip as she swings faster than she has before. I focus and watch as it slows down in my sight. My hand balls into a fist and I drive it into her stomach before she can react, feeling resistance as her muscles tighten in response. Her grip remains tight on the sword, and she resumes her swing, forcing me to hop backwards. I move in close again, pinpointing the same spot I struck earlier and driving a knee into it. She hisses air through her teeth and spins to lash out with her elbow as I run out of her range.

"You're...even faster now? That shouldn't be..."

She shakes her head and regains her bearings. Her body tenses as she moves at full speed to chase me down, through the driving snow. I can track her easily as I am, and I match her pace exactly as I run backwards. She starts to prepare a swing and I take a sudden sharp turn left before she can register it, charging Mobius quickly and firing at her right side.

"Ugh...!"

The searing beams of lightning chakra hit her dead on, leaving smoking holes in her dress and bloodstains as confirmation. She staggers for a moment before quickly recovering, lashing out with another chakra blade that I quickly evade while charging Mobius. She sends out two more in succession and I weave through them, raising my hand and forcing her guard up on reflex. I aim just underneath it and fire, hitting her and sending up a spray of snow as the attack explodes against her torso. She stubbornly recovers again, stomping her foot into the snow and gaining her balance.

"Really...so you're this powerful, then. I should have figured that you had something up your sleeve, serpent girl."

"It's not often that I'm pushed this far," I reply.

"I see...then...I will reply in kind. I still have more..." She takes her stance again, holding her breathing steady. "O great gods that watch over this land, hear my cry. Feed the true power of this sacred blade into my body. This lowly woman has lived for no other than the clan and its leaders...please take hold of this pure vessel, and make it an instrument of your power."

"..." Somehow her chakra has grown in strength and intensity. This doesn't look too pleasant on my end, I think.

Fubuki holds the blade straight up in front of her as it glows with white light. "Divine Instrument: Ookami! With this, my fervent prayer...release!"

She sweeps the area in front of her as the white glow flows into her body. I watch as her mask splits into two pieces cleanly and falls to the snow, revealing her face to me at last. Her eyes are a hazy grey. In the softness of her face, a jagged scar runs underneath her left eye, going across her cheek.

"You just had to be a beauty, didn't you. What a bother," I say with a wry smile.

"You're not too distracted, are you? Consider yourself worthy of seeing my face. None of my past opponents have ever done so. It means that you have proven yourself worthy of experiencing this divine strength."

"Well, it's certainly a treat."

"Such cheek." Patterns of red appear on her exposed skin, and red markings are now decorating her face. She radiates intensity as she holds the glowing nodachi in front of her. "I know that you still have more power inside of you, Scarlet Viper. I can feel it. If you truly count yourself among the envoys of God, then you will show me that strength."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then it becomes a simple matter. I will slice you into pieces so thin that your remains will float away in the cold wind."

"What a cute little threat." Time to see what she has in store after this transformation.

I advance and go on the offensive, zipping back and forth before firing Mobius at an off angle. She primes herself to take the hit, but something else happens as she focuses in. Time...starts to distort itself, slowing within some sort of anomaly and allowing her to react with little effort. She blocks the attack cleanly and acts as if nothing special has happened.

That is...a space-time technique, then? It has to be something like that, it's the only thing that makes sense. She slowed down the attack with some sort of barrier, and then moved within that frozen time to react.

"..."

I start moving again, using body flickers while in the chakra mode's third stage to try and catch her off guard. With one hand I whip kunai at her from behind, and with the other I fire Mobius again from a distance at her side. Again, I can see the strange shift, and she speeds up in my sight to slice through the shuriken and then block Mobius once more with ease. At those angles, it wouldn't be possible...she definitely didn't get faster. Time is really and truly slowing at her command. And it's covering her at multiple angles.

"Scary..." I shut off the chakra mode to conserve energy. "I don't know how I'm supposed to penetrate that as I am. If I get too close, and she disturbs the flow of time, I really will lose my head in an instant. And her stamina is so high still..."

"You seem frustrated, serpent girl. If that is the case, I will move first this time as a courtesy to you. An offensive attack...here." Fubuki places a hand on the flat of her blade, then twirls towards the ground with energy building around her. I sense danger, but it's possible that she's vulnerable...

"Let's try it. Now is as good a time as any..."

"Hm?"

The snakes from earlier surge towards her, driving through the snow and attacking from as many angles as possible. I prime Mobius just in case luck turns my way, and focus with my tracking art to see what's really going on. Her chakra...from what I can sense, it's spread out in a wide sphere, interacting with the energy of everything else in the area. It must allow her to feel out any abnormalities by using the forest to help her sense anything that doesn't seem to belong. It's similar to contact-type sensing, another impressive thing that she seems to have discovered on her own while in the forest. Anything that passes through the chakra sphere is detected, and she can easily strike from her first reaction since her other senses are incredibly sharp.

The colour of her chakra...I can see the mixing of wind and water, meaning it's an ice element technique that she means to launch. But that's been interrupted because of the snakes coming in. And as she reacts, I can see how her special technique works in detail. A sphere of a different colour forms around her body at her command, and the snakes all run into it at different times. Time starts to distort again, and she moves to swing her sword through each one of them quickly before the sphere disappears, and the world returns to normal. Several puffs of smoke rise into the air as she finishes her motions, then pushes the ice chakra back into her blade.

She's about to release that attack from earlier...

"Ice Release: Frozen Tide!"

Fubuki's arm moves in a flash as she swings in my direction, sending a wave of ice sweeping through the forest. Trees are instantly frozen solid as I quickly dash out of the attack's widening path and to one side. I feel the horrific chill assault my senses for a moment before I steady myself, and she's pulling chakra into her sword to try the same technique again. Her reserves are still absurdly high, even with the use of her pseudo-sensing, space-time barrier, and heaven knows whatever other techniques she has aside from this. At this rate, she could very well flash freeze the entire forest and everything in it, myself included. That, to say the least, would not be any fun at all.

Despite all this, a nervous smirk finds its way onto my face.

"O~i. It's always the gorgeous ones that dish out the most trouble. But then, I would be one to launch such complaints...what will we do with you, Fubuki?"

I've analyzed her technique...suffice it to say that she can activate it any time she wants, and trying to run her reserves low is a fool's errand at this point. With my usual arsenal, it will be hard to overwhelm her. I will have to think of something quite clever if I want to make it out alive.

Fubuki swings again and I activate the chakra mode's first stage to dodge safely. At this point, she's stalking me. Fully aware that I don't have anything in mind to stop her or her attacks. Rather ironically, it means I have space to breathe. And that might be all I need at this juncture.

"We'll start our routines. Lili...you have the floor. Come up with something splendid, won't you?"

My estimations. The circle she uses for detection is about three sword lengths, or lengths of her nodachi in this case. Three meters, approximately. It doesn't sound like much, but it's practically marathon distance considering her strength and reflexes in this fight. So I need to overwhelm her within that space, if possible. Her jutsu. She can't use other jutsu at the same time as that space-time technique, and there's some sort of wind up and cool down attached to it. I guess at this because of her prudence when using it against the snakes earlier, and before that with the combination of the shuriken and Mobius. What she can do is switch between them quickly by channelling one art into her blade and activating the other with her body.

There's one thing that I can and must do. Attack the gap that she leaves.

I can feel the storm starting to wash over us, and visibility is starting to drop sharply. As the storm gets worse, Fubuki will be able to seize control of the battlefield. I can't rely exclusively on my other senses when her blade work is so stellar. I have to take a risk here. I need to meet her in her domain and crush her completely.

"..."

With the chakra mode's third stage, I could not only keep up, but put her on her back foot. Aside from the new technique, she hasn't picked up any more speed. I...can make this work.

"World Serpent! Will you stand before me, or bury yourself within the snowdrifts?" Fubuki yells.

I step into her sight and grit my teeth.

"Do not despair, o luminous canine. We will come together once more for this final dance. The heavens will it, and so shall it be done."

"I will show you the reaches of oblivion."

"You can try it. I'll put everything into what's coming next...get ready." The storm howls through the forest, and I can feel her chakra building quickly. She means to end this too, in her own way.

I flicker forward and build up chakra in my right hand, going straight at her. Fubuki doesn't move or attack, instead waiting for me to close distance. I stop violently and slam my hand into the snow, releasing a burst of lightning chakra that rushes through the ground in a straight line.

"Mobius Type 5...Zeta!"

"...!" Her eyes shift downwards. "I see your plan! You will not succeed, serpent!"

She uses her barrier to shift herself, blocking the surprise attack as it bursts upwards from below.

The time has to be now.

I plant my feet and focus my energy as quickly as possible. My body groans in pain, but I push forward, surging chakra through the nodes around my heart and having them burst outwards with fresh power. The chakra crackles outwards, glowing a bright white and pushing the snow away from me.

"Twin Drive...activate!"

"No!" Fubuki swings outwards and a wave of ice shoots through the forest towards me. I dodge quickly and fire Mobius, then slam my foot into the earth and send Zeta forward again towards her. This time...she foregoes the barrier completely, letting the attack clip her side.

She's set on challenging me.

There is a completely different chakra in her blade now. Heavy and dark, something that will erase me completely if it makes contact. She's been preparing it, and it's for that reason that she isn't using any other attacks. This is the opening that I've been fighting for. My body tenses and I pull together the chakra for my own technique, the only one fast enough and strong enough to tear through her in time. Her sword is drawn back at her side, pulsing with that dark energy.

Time, for both of us now, slows to an agonizing crawl.

"Luminous Glow...forbidden Ninth Style..."

"Sage Technique..."

And then, our eyes meet. In one violent flash, we move.

"Akumetsu!"

"Jakyou Messenga!"

For a moment...I felt myself soaring again. Reminiscing about running through the sky, as I did once before.

The glowing white feathers float away swiftly. Not...just in my mind's eye.

The storm is cleared away from that violent impact. That magnificent dance of God's precious envoys.

I stop behind Fubuki, the white glow and shell of chakra disappearing from my body. I spit blood from my mouth and fall to one knee, exhausted from the strain of moments ago. The tattered remains of my jacket fall from my back and to the snow.

"God's envoy...that was it. You really did see the field of heaven with your own eyes. What a...magnificent opponent..."

I force my shaking form to rise, watching as a single white feather fades into dots of light. Fubuki's sword drops from her bloodied hand.

The forest ahead of her is obliterated. There is nothing but scorched and blackened earth for as far as I can see. Blood drips down from her wounds, and quietly, she falls onto her back. I can feel her chakra fading, bit by bit.

"It seems that this body...doesn't want me to move on quite yet. There are still tasks to complete. Lilith Kobayashi...wasn't it?"

"Yes. If you would like...Lili is fine, too." I walk towards her, and kneel beside her still form as she bleeds.

"A heavenly blossom."

"Yes."

"I thank you for accepting my challenge. My brother is...a man of honour. Where I would despair, he rises ever upwards. He will keep to his word...I promise you this on my very soul."

"I understand."

"World Serpent...please know this. Whether you desire it or not, you will become 'Bushin'. A goddess of war and of battle, from here until the end of eternity."

I smile. "What a troublesome title."

She smiles herself, looking up into the grey skies. Snow has started to fall again, lightly. "Indeed. I said as much myself."

"Fubuki...you are a brilliant soul. Rest in peace. May heaven receive you with the glory that you deserve."

"Thank you for your blessing. Live long. May you forever be wrapped in glory, Lili Kobayashi."

"Yes...thank you."

"Ah...I..."

"I make this promise to you, o mother wolf." My hand grasps hers. "I will return to this forest, where you rose and fell, and see to it that the future children you gave rise to will enter this world safely. I will tell them, with these lips, the tale of the Luminous Black Wolf. I will sing of her glory, of her beauty and strength. And I will tell them the story of when she challenged the one who danced in heaven...and fought until she could fight no longer."

"That kindness...it is more than I deserve," she says with tears in her eyes. "Blessed envoy, sweet flower of heaven...thank you. Thank you..."

I smile and recite words that I remembered from so long ago.

"For as much as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our dear sister...we therefore commit her body to this sacred ground from which she came. Earth to earth...ashes to ashes...dust to dust. Praise be."

"Praise be..."

"Goodbye, Fubuki Inugami."

She closes her eyes slowly, and breathes her last breath. The forest is quiet.

"..."

I find the strength to leave her side. First I walk over to her sword, then to the sheath that is lying in the snow. With the greatest reverence, I slide the blade over the edge of the sheath before slowly sliding it into place.

It's...finally over.

"That's it, then." Yamato approaches with the others and removes his mask. His face reminds me of Fubuki's. It's soft like hers, and handsome looking. He has the same grey eyes as she did.

"Yes," I say to him. "We fought until the very end. Someone as strong as her...I'm not sure how much longer I could last on my own. She was that formidable."

"Heh. So I take it that you're not interested in round two with me?"

I frown. "Even as I am now, I could definitely take your head."

He laughs softly. "Of course, of course. It's no wonder she wanted to fight you so badly. You really are a troublemaker."

"Hmph."

"I'll, uh...just need a minute with her."

"Only a minute? You can take longer than that."

"No, no. We both told each other what we wanted in case the worst happened. And...I know you gave her a good enough send off. There's not much I have to say...I'll be back soon."

"Take your time," I scold. He waves lazily and kneels at Fubuki's side. I sigh and turn to Ittan as she approaches.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't preserve her life, but she wanted nothing less than this."

"I understand. You did what you had to."

"Do you...really want to do this? Give up your life to become a mother of the forest?"

"Yes. I know it might be difficult. But...I want this. For her, and for myself. I want to save this clan and this sacred place. Something in my heart is driving me to do this. I can't...won't ignore it any longer."

I nod with understanding. "Then I will come to see you again after this mission. Please send word of when the arrival of your children nears."

"Lili..."

"I have a promise to keep, you see."

She smiles. "Yeah, of course. We might have one of those small and plain ceremonies, too. Would you come to one of those?"

"Easily done. I already have one to go to as is..."

"Ah, yeah. Me too. My uncle Zen is getting married himself."

I blink. "Zen? Don't tell me...he's bald and he's marrying his long time assistant?"

Her eyes widen. "Huh? How did you know all that?"

"He was our very first client. Hmhm, what a small world we live in."

"That's true," she says with a smile. "Well, I guess I'll see you soon enough, then? He's got a shop in the Hot Springs and all, so we're not too far away."

"Yes. We can certainly talk then."

"For now...I'll have to make some arrangements to move out here. Yamato says that it's nothing too serious, there's still electricity and running water, stuff from when his parents were still around. There are also roads into various towns that we can access in the Frost, so...we won't be complete hermits. That's pretty cool."

Yamato claps three times before rising to his feet, piling dirt and leaves onto Fubuki's body. He looks at her quietly before breathing out a stream of flames, burning everything in front of him to ashes.

"..."

"Lili? Are you alright?" Hina asks. I rub her back gently.

"I'm okay now. Sorry for worrying you."

"I know that you didn't mean it. She...wasn't a bad person, was she?"

"No. She was very devoted to everything that she did, and the people who she cared about. Her death won't be in vain. This I can promise."

"I'm glad to hear that. But you need rest."

"I might. Has Kurenai returned?"

"Not yet."

"Then I'm still in charge for now. Still things to do, of course." I hand Yamato his sister's sword as he returns, and he takes it gratefully.

"Thanks. So what's your decision? I said that you could do whatever you wanted with us if you won. And you did. I'm ready for whatever happens next."

"..."

The primary mission is to make sure that the device gets to its destination. Everything else is just an accessory to that fact. It means that I can, in essence, do whatever I want. Especially now that I've been handed this opening.

But it's as I said before. I have many promises that I intend to keep.

"You have returned your beloved sister to the forest she loved. I could easily make you join her," I say to Yamato.

"..."

"But there's a woman over there who wants to give herself to your cause. I won't get in the way of that desire. My demand of you is that you live a long life, and give her as many children as she asks for."

"I will. I promise."

"Good. Then with that settled, we will return to our camp and rest. There still should be time before we absolutely have to move, and hopefully Kurenai is doing well. Best to give her some time to return to us. Aside from that, I am incredibly tired. Not tired enough to let you kill me," I say with a look, "but tired nonetheless."

"You don't have to worry about something like that," Yamato says. "We have no quarrel. You've saved my home and my family, so...I'm in your debt, Scarlet Viper."

"Ufufu...I see. It's always nice to make new friends."

We all start on our way back to the campsite. Yamato had brought over meat in case the battle went on for too much longer, and the legion of wolves has disappeared. Hana starts to cook a meal, but I have no interest in eating. I yawn and lie on my side near the fire pit before falling asleep.

It's been an extremely long day.