Chapter 6

Had Kubo not warned him, Hajime would have met his end without even realizing it. He made a mental note to thank the guy for that later. Caught midair, having literally leaped into the fray, Hajime had limited options for escape. Yet, there was one path, and he shifted as swiftly as he could, grateful they hadn't strayed far from their original battleground.

– He crouched and darted forward like an arrow –

He allowed his legs to push him away from its newly found support, feeling the phantom sensation of his legs against his back. The translucent white clone under him broke apart after its use as a springboard came to an end. Hajime arched his back as much as he could, eyes trailing after the dark claws that cut the air only inches away from his face. They passed by so close that he could almost feel them slashing through his skin and bone.

He landed with a thud and no grace whatsoever. His back smacked against the cracked roof surface, pushing the air out of his lungs with a gasp. Something sharp dug painfully into his lower back, but the pain brought with it the realization that he just made it.

He was alive.

However, Hajime didn't have much time to feel relieved as the shadow of a hulking white leg covered his vision of the night sky.

The monster hunter hastily rolled out of the way from the stomping leg of the Giant. Cracks spread through the floor even further as a cloud of cement dust rose from the earth-shaking impact, impairing his vision.

Hajime's world was a swirl of sensations at that moment, heightened by the spike in adrenaline from his last dance with death. He felt the soot dig itself under his nails as he tried to stand hastily. A roar threatened to burst his eardrum as the monster raged due to its kill being denied. His eyes narrowed, feeling the annoying dust get into them. The taste of copper filled his mouth as he forced himself to swallow the blood from a wound he couldn't assess.

It was those heightened senses that warned Hajime he was still in danger. The boy aborted his efforts to stand up in favor of rolling once again. His hunch was proven right as the hulking white leg appeared once again, breaking through the cloud of dust. Little pieces of concrete underneath accompanied its arc as the previous stomp seemed to become an upward kick from the beast. The sharp claws – even thicker than the ones of its arms – only missed him by a hair.

Hajime was forced to cover his face and torso as the debris pelted him like a storm of shrapnel. The miniature debris dug painfully under his tucked arms and legs skin as he was dragged away by his momentum and the sheer displaced air from the powerful kick.

His back smacked against something yet again, but this time against the half wall next to the emergency stairs where he had been earlier. He let out a hiss as he felt whatever chunk of scrap had stabbed him earlier, digging even deeper into his back. The back of his head also hit the wall making him see stars for a moment. A high-pitched sound still rang in his ears.

He tried to push himself up with a pained groan, he clutched the back of his head. His eyes widened his eyes as his swimming vision caught a hulking white blur approaching him at high speeds, only a few meters away.

The previously thought hurt arm aimed in his direction ready to spear through him.

– Hajime approached the concrete half-walls and rested his hands against it to take a view of the city. –

The vision of the approaching white hand and ominous dark nails was briefly obscured by the familiar translucent white shine of his clones that covered his sight. It didn't last long, however, as the claws speared through like it was a wet tissue. However, the split second of resistance was enough for Hajime to crane his neck and head out of the way. Death missed him by millimeters for the third time in what felt like an equal amount of seconds.

A damaged and partially torn white arm pierced up to its elbow through the reinforced wall. The impact shattered both as the chaotic battle was filled with another shaking boom and the visceral sound of snapping bone and torn muscle. A spray of warm purple blood smeared the side of his face forcing him to close his eyes even as he scrambled to move away.

Even as he experienced the phantom unpleasant sensation of being torn in half by the giant, Hajime didn't stop moving. One of his hands reached for his lost knife as the other tried to scrub the sticky foul-smelling blood out of his face.

The Giant roared a feral sound of pain and frustration as it tried to pull its damaged arm from the wall. A silver lining in the whole disaster was that even though it could still move the limb, it seemed to be too weak and too damaged to pull itself out from the wall. Sharp tugs were accompanied by what sounded like whines of pain

It tried to use its other arm to help support itself better. However, before the monster could give it another try, a metallic screech spread through the roof.

Still blinking away dust and sand, Hajime chanced a glance towards the source, seeing something charging at them and… were those ventilation units?

True enough, his companion pushed two ventilation units that were at least twice as big as him, one with each armored hand. Hajime actually couldn't see him, his body hidden behind the units. He could hear a low growl coming from behind them as the things moved, however, and he could only imagine it was because of the effort. Even with as strong as Kubo was, they weren't what one could call rested and those things didn't look light either.

"Get out of the way!" his fellow survivor warned as the pieces of machinery stopped moving for a moment.

Hajime processed the call for only a second before his eyes widened and lounged himself out of the way. His body soared through the air as a booming explosion between machinery and the increasingly familiar ethereal gauntlet resounded. Metal twisted and deformed as the giant boxes sped toward him and the monster, closing the remaining distance at high speeds.

The Giant had only a moment to roar before trying to move out of the way. All the same, the pieces of machinery crashed into it, pinning its body against the wall fully in a spectacular crash.

A disheveled Kubo followed right after, crashing into the portion of the giant that was still free like a bull. Ethereal gauntlets flared to life and rained punch after punch on the creature's face. Ugly and feral features swung from side to side as more blood and bruises marred the white skin of the monster could do nothing other than take the hits. It tried to dislodge itself from its trapped position but due to its stuck arm and the heavy machine, it seemed to fail at finding the right leverage to use its superior strength.

It was after the tenth hit that the Giant realized it wouldn't be able to remove its pinned body. So, instead of continuing to struggle, it snapped its head forward like a snake. Its deformed jaw, filled with a row of jagged teeth, opened wide and tried to bite off the offending gauntlets. The shrill sound of sharp fang-like teeth scratching against the tough energy gauntlets filled the area as it clamped its mouth shut. Then, its head started snapping from side to side like a crocodile, in an effort to tear the appendage asunder.

Kubo was undeterred, even as the abused ethereal gauntlets started gaining small cracks in them as the teeth dug slightly inside the construct. Instead of removing his hand, he shoved it even deeper. With a groan, the man pulled with his whole body to the side, dragging the head of the Giant with him. His whole body tensed and his eyes clenched as he fought against the powerful neck muscles of the feral creature.

"Now!" his companion screamed, his veins and muscles bulging in an effort to keep the head in place, leaving their one weakness exposed for him to take advantage of.

Hajime didn't need to be told twice. He lunged forward. The rusted yet effective edge of his knife whistled through the air with the motion as he stabbed with his whole body. His aim was true as the tip of the sharp tip found itself piercing through the delicate membrane-like ear organ at the side of the creature which had been left exposed.

– stabbed with his whole body. –

– stabbed with his whole body. –

The white ethereal clones traced his movements behind him and their own wispy knives dug through the wounded ear along with his.

Purple blood poured from the deep wound like a fountain and the beast screeched, thrashing around as much as it could. Metal bent and screeched at the creature's strength, but it remained trapped, Kubo grunted as he continued keeping the head in place, the sharp teeth that dug into the armor now working against the monster's favor. Hajime simply continued to push as hard as could. His knife dug deeper and deeper into the monster's skull with all of his and his clones' weights added to it.

It was the sound of a wet squelch and the crack of a bone resonating even over the chaotic sound of the battle that warned them it would be wise to retreat.

Both of them jumped back at that moment. Kubo dispelled his gauntlet and removed his arm before the clamping mouth had time to rip his hand off. Not a second later the giant's hand pulled itself free from the then destroyed ventilation unit. Metal broke apart and hard plastic cracked into pieces, unable to withstand the titanic strength of the Giant anymore. Now that it gained an inch to leverage its strength, the monster threw the piece of broken machinery to the side as if it were a toy, a labored huff of hurt escaping its lipless mouth.

Its body stood on shaky legs while purple blood pooled under it. Its only free arm covering the wound to stop the bleeding as much as it could. It tried to stand, but its damaged arm was still stuck on the wall. It looked far worse than before. Bone had been completely separated and only a few strings of muscles kept the appendage attached to the Giant. Purple blood poured from the wound in droves equal to the wound they had inflicted on its ear. The arm was, now without any shadow of a doubt, completely unusable.

The creature seemed to agree with his assessment as it simply pulled its shoulder forward. That single tug was enough for the last few strands of muscle and shattered bone to break apart from the creature's body. The grotesque and bone-chilling sound of flesh being ripped apart filled the slight lull in the battle. The creature stumbled forward, leaving the arm up to the elbow still stuck on the wall.

There was a single long moment where everything was quiet. Only the sound of their harsh breathing could be heard, as both he and Kubo did their best to recover even the slightest bit of energy from their beyond-fatigued bodies. All the while they observed the monster's every movement, wary of any other tricks. Now that they knew it was smarter than what it looked, neither of them felt like getting cocky.

The creature's one remaining hand alternated between nursing its ear and grasping at the empty air where its severed arm used to be as if it couldn't understand what happened to it. Its breathing became more and more erratic by the second as the realization and pain settled on. Its powerful legs stumbled through the mostly destroyed and cracked roof under them.

Kubo and Hajime had a moment to prepare and cover their ears when the creature's head rose to the skies above. With the heave of a single breath, it wailed. A feral, enraged, and utterly terrifying scream escaped its mouth and impacted them with physical force.

Blind, hurt, and enraged, it stumbled around. What followed was a veritable storm of slashes, punches, kicks and stomps. The Giant seemed to throw all intelligence out of the window and devolved into a feral killing machine with the only objective of killing the two enemies that had hurt it so much. Enemies that had taken its senses and arms away.

It was a spectacle to Hajime's eyes and music to his ears. Despite the situation they were in, he felt a smirk grow. It was truly a pleasure to witness the creature that had terrified them so far in such a state.

"I-I have about, one more clone left," he admitted between rasped breaths.

'We could leave now,' Hajime's brain supplied for a moment before he crushed that idea.

The creature would die of blood loss eventually, but the problem was that he doubted they'd have the energy to make their way out of the disaster zone. There was no telling what kind of monsters awaited them on the next building or the one next over. Even a few of the weak ones would be able to kill them.

They needed to secure this roof and rest. Half an hour or even a handful of minutes, anything would help. They really needed to catch their breath and try to recover some energy.

He was about to collapse, the adrenaline in his body finally receding and the pain of his wounds becoming more apparent by the second. Even his stabbed arm, courtesy of that damn spider that he had all but forgotten, was starting to flare up once again.

"I don't…think I can keep the armor up for more than a few seconds," Kubo responded as he heaved.

Both of them watched, standing on swaying legs as the creature trashed and attacked invisible enemies. Hajime tried to think of a plan to approach the creature. As blind as it was now, he knew that flanking it would be child's play compared to before. However, he didn't have that kind of energy anymore, he was exhausted and slow, and the wild punches and swipes of the creature would kill him if a single one of them connected.

As he considered this, there was a sharp noise that joined the aimless monster and that was something smacking against the door to the roof. The broom they'd put on it stopped them, but the noise was clear. Just as clear was that the White Giant wasn't truly deaf, considering it turned towards the origin of the sound immediately.

"Crafty bastard," Hajime muttered through his teeth.

"We… We probably shouldn't let it open path," Kubo pointed out and he felt like cursing. He was right, and that sucked. Watching the White Giant move towards the door and the small structure around it filled him with dread. They definitely weren't in condition to fight more monsters on top of the evidently not deaf White Giant.

"What do we do though?" he asked, gulping and trying to come up with something. He drew a blank though. Approaching the thing as it was and as they were might as well be suicide. So…

"Hey," Kubo's call was raspy and labored as he stared at him. His eyes were half-lidded and his body was swaying. "How about a toss?" his fellow survivor asked.

Hajime understood immediately.

"I really hope you have good aim," Hajime snarked, moving and taking his position. Then, they'd just have to wait for the right time. "I don't want to get sent to the building next over."

"Don't worry," his new friend said between pants. It was odd to think they had only met a few hours ago. It felt like a much longer time than that. "I used to be the best pitcher back in school," the man boasted.

"Of course you were," he chuckled weakly before taking a painful breath in. "Well… let's get this over with… We should go for a beer after this is over." Hajime sighed.

"I'm underage and I'm pretty sure you are too," Kubo answered. "But you know what?… Deal. I don't think I care anymore after today," he added, earning a weak grin from Hajime.

They would end things right there.

With a big gulp of air, Kubo- no, Shigeo, drew his arm back. The broken pieces of cement shifted with the sound of moving gravel under his friend's weight as he positioned himself for stability. He took a moment to pray that his survival partner hadn't been lying through his teeth with his boasting.

They waited with bated breaths as the giant continued stomping its way forward, wildly clawing at empty air. They watched as it stumbled its way towards the door, its claws barely scraping against the concrete wall of the exit stairs. The creature roared, feeling resistance on the tip of its claws, and that moment of pause was what they'd been looking for.

That moment was all they needed.

He jumped, the gauntlet formed and his friend's arm shot like a whip. The world blurred as he sped forward like a bullet. His knife's edge whistled with the displaced air. His whole weight shifted mid-air so he placed as much of it as possible behind his strike. Half of his fickle remaining energy went into reinforcing himself as much as he possibly could.

Be it through a natural sixth sense or some remnants of functioning hearing, the beast turned at the last second. Hajime could have sworn its non-existent eyes opened widely. Its clawed hand tore itself from the wall and moved towards its body in a bidding effort to protect itself.

It wasn't enough.

Hajime's knife clashed against the monster's hand, the combination of Shigeo's power and the strange property of his knife to damage monsters was enough to bypass the hasty defense.

Steel-like muscles and bones turned into a bloodied pulp as he continued his path unimpeded. Hajime was pretty sure what he went through was similar to a highway car crash, even if he'd never been in one of those. His knife and body crashed against the creature's body with enough force to send it tumbling backward against the concrete wall. The creature fell, its legs giving in from under it.

Hajime's knife pinned down the ruined hand to its chest with his body.

The Giant screamed, but it wasn't enough to be a fatal hit. His knife wasn't long enough to reach the monster's heart even when it pierced its pinned hand and barrel-like chest. Hajime's strength was nowhere near Shigeo's and he couldn't hold for more than a few seconds.

The monster tried to stand on shaky legs and Hajime could do nothing to stop it. But that was fine, he only needed to hold it still and in position for a moment. He waited patiently as the monster pulled itself into its desired position.

–His knife edge whistled with the displaced air. –

All he could see was a blur of white light and a cloud of dust as a second collision resounded like an explosion above him. Web-like cracks spread through the wall under the weight of the monster and the second hit. A wet gurgle made itself known to his ear over the sound of cracking stone and displaced air.

Hajime dared to look up and let out a tired smile as he saw an ethereal version of his past self. Another gurgle came then, but the Giant wasn't able to mutter more than that due to the cloned knife piercing right through its head, the blade up to the hilt going all the way through its skull into the concrete wall.

The monster twitched. Its limbs tensed and extended chaotically as its brain found itself completely pierced. The heavy tension filled the roof for a moment as he waited for the outcome. Much to his relief, its powerful body slumped. Dark motes of strange dust scattered into the winds as the corpse slowly disintegrated.

The White Giant was dead.

Hajime let out a shaky breath and a weak laugh, twisting the knife one last time for good measure before pulling it out. The clone disappeared into white motes of light that fell like snowflakes, disappearing completely before reaching the floor.

He pulled away and tried to walk, but it came more as a drunken sway before his wobbly legs gave in. He felt the cold kiss of the roof surface when his arms failed to respond in time to stop his fall. An unintelligible curse left his lips as he looked in the direction of his companion.

Shigeo rested sprawled against another – intact – ventilation until. His breath came in deep gulps and his body was drenched in sweat and blood. Most of his clothes had been torn during the fight revealing a body that had more bruises and cuts than healthy skin.

In the distance, he could see Aimi rushing towards the man. She was saying something, but his ears were still ringing and his vision was swimming with black spots and irritated as he looked at her. He had to squint slightly as an annoying light that came from the horizon made itself known, illuminating the area.

'Oh. It's morning already,' Hajime realized, watching the first rays of the lark rise from the horizon.

He thought it was quite poetic that they had killed the big monster right as dawn came.

Had they really been fighting all night with almost no rest?

"-ime!"

Hajime tried to stand. They weren't in the clear just yet. He knew for a fact there were more monsters inside the building and there was no guarantee they wouldn't come for them. Moreover, there were those flying ones to consider. The bees had been there when they first entered the hotel. He hadn't seen them when they reached the rooftop, but that didn't mean they all were dead.

"-jime!"

Hajime's hands strained against the floor to get him up, but they couldn't gather the necessary strength. Only a weak push was all he managed before he fell to the floor once again. His legs felt numb too.

Was he really going to pass out here?

"Hajime!" he heard a voice calling for him.

The boy looked for the source. The ringing in his ears had subsided slightly. His eyes looked at Shigeo and Aimi who were looking in his direction in… horror?

"Watch out!" screamed Aimi pointing behind him.

A gurgled growl made itself clear to him as his tired eyes widened.

Hajime turned his head towards the noise and he cursed as he saw the dying monster twitch. Its legs were practically torn apart from all the damage. One of its arms was gone while the other was a mangled mess with only two fingers left. Half of its face was caved in while the other half held a hole big enough he could see its brain through it. Its jaw had been dislocated and its alabaster torso was a tattered mess of bruises and cuts. Parts of its body had already disappeared into motes of dust that flew into the wind.

It should be dead. It was dead.

Monsters might take a while to dissipate, especially those that were strong, but once the process started there was no other end to them. And yet, the White Giant moved. Its legs twitched but were unresponsive. Its long arm and two fingers clawed weakly at the tiled floor, dragging the heavy body behind it. A weak groan escaped its lipless, shattered fang-filled mouth.

Hajime tried to stand once again in a haste but his legs weren't responding. He tried to roll away, but his body was too exhausted. His arms extended as he pulled himself away as fast as he could.

It wasn't enough. The Giant, even as weak and slow as it was, slower than a walking person, was still faster than Hajime's snail's pace. Its pace was slow and sloppy but loomed over him with the promise of certain death.

He stared at Shigeo who seemed to manage to stand by himself and Aimi who had started running towards him to pull him away. They wouldn't make it in time. He knew that much.

A clawed hand crashed right next to his hip as the White Giant's large arm caught up with him in moments, only missing due to it being deaf. It knew Hajime was there, however. There was no mistaking that.

The limb pulled itself back, scraping against the cracked concrete and making a scratching sound. Weak streams of warm purple blood fell over Hajime's back as a looming white, broken appendage adjusted itself to loom over him, illuminated by the first rays of sunlight of the day. He tried to push himself desperately but he wouldn't make it in time.

After everything…

'I'm going to die,' he thought as he turned to see the clawed, mangled hand raised high above him.

An odd feeling came to him with that realization. Time seemed to stop and the drumming sound of his heartbeat took his hearing. His thoughts became a confusing mess of rapid images that seemed to pass too fast and too slow at the same time.

He thought about his family and the people in his home village. He hoped they were well even after he dipped on them.

He thought about the book he never got signed, a really good horror thriller. He could vaguely feel it in his pocket still. He had been saving reading the end of it until after getting it signed. It was a shame he wouldn't get to finish it.

He thought about Shigeo and Aimi. Two people he had only met tonight, yet he felt strangely close to them already. Then again, he had gone through hell and back with them. He hoped they'd make it back even without his help. He didn't manage to get them all out after all.

He thought about his trusty knife. The rusted thing was dull and ugly, but it had served him well. Hopefully, Aimi and Shigeo could recover it and use it for their escape.

He thought about that beer he promised right at the end. He wanted to try it. He felt quite parched at that moment.

Thousands of images blended together into a tapestry of colors, smells, and feelings.

It was his life. His story. A collection of bad moments that blended with the good ones. Sadness and happiness, both, mixed together like a movie only for his eyes to see and experience. He only wished he could have seen more before his death.

Alas, the end waited for no one.

Hajime wanted to close his eyes instead of staring at the descending hand that would take his life. Yet, a part of him forced them open, determined to catch even the last of his moments. At the very least, he would look death in the eye before it claimed him.

His death was a chaotic mess of noises, he decided. The sound of screams from his two companions mixed with the sound of wind being cut by the descending claws. His heart thumped in his ears together with the sound of saliva and blood passing through his throat.

And then, all of it was drowned by the ringing of a clap echoing through the building.

It happened in less than a blink.

Had Hajime not continued staring defiantly, he would have missed the moment the hulking body of the Giant suddenly disappeared into thin air.

A new figure cast its shadow upon him. Hajime squinted but it was hard to see due to it standing directly in front of the rising sunlight.

"Death's gentle veil has yet to fall upon you. For I stand as the keeper of your flame. Like the monks who chant by the pyre. Guiding the soul through samsara's embrace. I remain, a steadfast guardian. In this transient dance of life and death," a deep male voice recited.

The figure moved to the side and circled around him, allowing Hajime to see the person behind the voice.

It was a tall boy, around his age, if not a bit older. Olive's skin struggled to contain rippling muscles. His body was riddled with scars that told him that whoever this was, they had been in their fair share of fights. The most notable being the one around his eyes, which pulled and crinkled as the older boy smirked at him from above.

"To kill a semi-grade two with only the basics of Jujutsu, half-baked cursed techniques and the wit of your minds. I like you, guys," the man claimed as his gaze went from him to the side into Aimi's and Shigeo's direction.

Hajime felt the last dredges of adrenaline leave his body. His eyelids started closing against his will. A sigh of exhaustion and relief escaped his broken lips. All he could do was hear the last question from his would-be savior before darkness claimed him.

"Tell me, what kind of girls do you like?"

[} Chapter End {]

Arc: And with that, we reach the end of the trial period for JJS. This is the last chapter we have in the backlog of this story. Please let us know if you enjoyed this story and if you'd like to see more of it!

Adrian: Way to write the entire notes in a single paragraph, man. Anyway, this initial arc was a lot more action-ish than I like to write, what with six chapters of back-to-back… Well, action. My action scenes usually don't last this long. Not sure how well this works to introduce a story… Well, do let us know if this works or if you think something else would be better, yeah?

Random Adrian Question: Well, since this is the last we'll see of JJS for a while, what did you think about the story? Do you wanna see more of it, is there another Fable that you like more?

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