***
Kiara laughed as she smashed apart several lances that came at her. Water sprayed all around her before evaporating from her intense aura.
She didn’t know how long she’d been fighting. It could have been seconds, or it could have been hours. She didn't care. All that mattered was that she was having fun.
“Water Art: Fire Hydrant.”
Large quantities of water gathered in front of the kitsune, rotating like a whirlpool. The water then barreled toward Kiara, who inhaled a lungful of air and then expelled it in a ferocious roar. Hurricane-like winds crashed into the water with the fury of a storm. The water was unable to withstand the wind’s destructive power and exploded.
The wind continued on.
Christian leapt out of the way as the storm-like winds tore apart the ground. When he landed, Kiara was there to greet him with a powerful hook. The four-tailed kitsune barely avoided having his head crushed by reinforcing his left arm and bringing it up in a guard.
“Kk!”
Christian grunted as the strike made his feet slide along the floor. Kiara followed, keeping up a relentless pace, her fist blurring as she lashed out at him. Jabs and straights were mixed in with hooks and power punches. Despite Kiara only having one arm, the kitsune was barely able to keep up with her.
Kiara grinned when Christian avoided her latest blow by redirecting her fist over his head. This didn’t deter her, and she followed up with a powerful low kick aimed at taking out one of his knees. Christian hopped backwards, thereby dodging the blow—or so he’d thought.
“U-ugh!”
Christian grunted as red youki extended from Kiara’s foot and connected with his leg, which gave out and made him drop to a knee. Kiara rushed up and kicked him in the head.
The sound of clapping thunder was preceded by Christian being thrown backwards. He plowed into several booths, breaking through multiple tables, and sending posters and various paraphernalia flying in all directions. Kiara watched with immense satisfaction as the kitsune’s body dug a trench in the carpet. He did not get back up, though she could see him trying.
She walked up to the kitsune struggling to rise, stopping in front of the man who, upon noticing her presence, glared up at her.
“You’re nearly out of youki, aren’t you? That’s why you were forced to take my last few attacks instead of using an illusion.” Kiara paused, then chuckled. “Well, that, and your illusions don’t work on me anymore, as you’ve no doubt realized.”
“H-how…?”
“How did I defeat your illusions?” Kiara quirked her lips. “I just had to constantly circulate youki throughout my body. Your youki is nowhere near as potent as my own, so when it enters my body, my own youki destroys it, thereby breaking your illusions before they have time to take hold.”
It was almost amusing, the jaw dropping gape on Christian’s face. Kiara chuckled at the expression.
“Are you going to kill me now?”
“Naw.” Kiara shook her head. “I don’t kill people who can’t defend themselves.”
“I could recover and try to kill you again.”
“You could try, though you wouldn’t succeed. Don’t get me wrong, you’re pretty crafty, but you’re not strong enough to dance with me.” Kiara’s fangs glinted in the light as she grinned. “However, if you want to wait another hundred years to gain your fifth tail and try again, I certainly won’t stop you.”
“You…” Christian’s face contorted, as if he was trying to decide whether he was angry or resigned. “You never took our battle seriously, did you?”
“Not until you proved to be better than I expected,” Kiara admitted. “Even then, I’ll admit to holding back a lot. I’ve only met a few yōkai who can fight me on even footing, much less beat me.”
Christian sighed. “I see…”
“Anyway, you just stay put for now. If you have the strength, you might want to think about putting up an illusion for some extra protection.”
The kitsune didn’t answer. Kiara was not bothered by this.
“Well, maybe I’ll see ya around some time.”
Tossing a wave over her shoulder, Kiara left Christian to his silent contemplation.
“Now, then,” she muttered to herself, “I should probably look for the others. I wonder where they all went?”
***
“Water Art: Water Combustion.”
Kotohime narrowed her eyes as a surge of water exploded in front of her. She slid her feet apart, lowering her center of gravity. While her left hand held her sheath, the right went to the hilt of her katana.
The water closed in.
Moving quicker than the act of thought, Kotohime unsheathed her blade, slicing it across the surging wave of water. The liquid split down the middle. Salty droplets hit her face as the two waves splashed against the wall behind her, which crumbled as it was struck.
“Water Art: Water Spikes.”
Several dozen spikes of water shot up from the ground where Kotohime stood.
“Transient Counterforce.”
The spikes dissolved before they could touch her, the water splashing harmlessly to the ground, as Kotohime counteracted his technique by breaking it apart with youki.
“Water Art: Whirlpool.”
The water on the floor coalesced into one large puddle and began to spin. Faster and faster it moved, until it had reached maximum velocity. A cyclone of water then shot off the ground before enclosing around Kotohime, threatening to rip her flesh from her bones.
“Ikken Hissatsu.”
Spinning around in a counterclockwise circle, Kotohime tore through the whirlpool with her blade. A ripple spread along the water seconds before it exploded in all directions, creating numerous puddles. Kotohime looked at all of the saltwater that now surrounded her.
“With a disadvantage like this, it would appear that I’m going to need to take you a little more seriously, especially since I do not want to be here when your matriarch shows up.”
“It doesn’t matter how seriously you take me,” Kaine said. “You’re not leaving until Mistress Luna gets here.”
“We’ll see about that.”
With her katana held in her right hand, Kotohime reached behind her with her left hand. She felt the cloth of her wakizashi’s handle. Wrapping her fingers around it, she unsheathed the short sword and set herself into a new stance, feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent, her katana held near her face, and her wakizashi held in a reverse grip in front of her.
Kaine tensed at the sight of this new stance, and he recoiled when his eyes landed on the wakizashi. Kotohime understood. Something repulsive wafted off of the blade. It was fear made tangible, terror manifested on the physical plain. Chikiri no Ken. The Blood Mist Sword, which had killed so many that the steel itself exuded the stench of blood.
“I’ll finish you off in one blow.”
Kotohime’s stance lowered further. Then she disappeared.
“What?!”
“Ikken Hissatsu.”
Kaine’s eyes widened. That voice had come from behind him!
“Eien Ni.”
Kaine screamed as he was wounded by an indeterminate number of sword slashes and stabs. His body jerked back and forth like a marionette controlled by a spastic puppet master. Holes and slash marks appeared all over his flesh and blood arced from his body, staining the carpet crimson.
The assault ended, and Kaine turned his head, one half-lidded eye peering behind him, where Kotohime stood. “I… never stood a chance, did I?”
“No, you did not,” Kotohime agreed. “But you did better than most people have, if that’s any consolation.”
“Heh… I guess… it’ll have to do…”
Kaine’s eyes glazed over as he fell onto his knees and then pitched forward. His head hit the carpet, and he lay unmoving in an expanding pool of blood.
Kotohime did not spare the corpse a second glance as she turned around. She needed to find the others and leave before Luna sh
owed up.
***
After Heather finished explaining everything to a stunned Alex and Andrew, they made their way across the street.
Christine noticed the wide eyes of her friends, the way their arms shook, how their knees jittered. She didn’t blame them for being afraid. They were humans—civilians. They had no experience with the yōkai world. Even Eric and Lindsay knew nothing about this world, despite having been aware of the existence of yōkai for months now.
Fortunately, Heather was experienced in these matters. She led the group to the bus, dual wielding a pair of Glocks that she’d taken from a dead soldier. No one contested them, however, leading Christine to believe that everyone who might have been a threat was inside the convention center.
The barrier was gone, so they were able to reach the parking lot and enter the bus. Christine sat with Lindsay. The tomboyish girl was shaking. Knowing that this situation wasn’t something her friend had experience with, she wrapped an arm around Lindsay’s shoulder. The other girl did not hesitate to lean into her.
…
…
“A-are you rubbing against me?” Christine asked.
“No,” Lindsay said innocently, her cheeks turning a faint red. “I’m just trying to get comfortable.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, you’re making me uncomfortable. Stop it.”
Lindsay flinched at her tone. She also stopped rubbing herself against Christine, who sighed in relief.
I guess she’s just afraid. Lindsay was probably trying to use her as a makeshift teddy bear, something that she could hold onto for comfort. The thought annoyed her, but since they were friends, she guessed it was okay.
“Hold on tight, everyone!” Heather called back as she started up the engine. “We’re going back to pick up the others. Then we’re getting out of here!”
The squealing of tires preluded the bus tearing out of the parking lot. Christine grimaced as everyone shouted in terror. Her grimace turned into a wince when Lindsay’s arms tightened around her until she thought she heard her ribs snap.
If we get out of this alive, I am never getting in a vehicle that Heather’s driving again, she promised herself.
***
Like a man who’d been dying of oxygen deprivation, Kevin gasped as he jerked awake.
His eyes snapped wide open, and he looked around, startled and frightened. The world appeared blurry, but it quickly snapped into focus. He noticed that he was propped against a wall. The gaping hole in his stomach no longer hurt, and Kirihime was kneeling in front of him.
She was covered in blood.
“K-Kirihime.” He gaped at the woman. “A-are you…?”
“Hmm?” Kirihime tilted her head quizzically before noticing what had caught his attention. “Ah, don’t worry, Lord Kevin,” she tried to reassure him. “Since the air here is very salty, I had to use blood for my techniques. Please do not be startled by my appearance.”
Her words were not reassuring.
“S-so I see.” Kevin’s mind took a while to reboot. He was having trouble comprehending his situation, which he sought to rectify by questioning Kirihime. “W-what happened?”
“I am not quite sure, to be honest,” Kirihime said. “But from what I can infer, it seems that you got into a fight with an Ocean Kitsune—the two-tailed one over there, if I’m not mistaken.”
Kevin blinked. He turned his gaze toward the kitsune in question, and he was startled to see Ken dragging himself up the stairs, a smearing trail of blood on the floor behind him.
“Would you like me to kill him for you, Lord Kevin?”
“Ah, um, n-no, that’s fine. Let him go.”
Kevin was not comfortable with the idea of killing people, and he didn’t want Kirihime killing anyone either, though judging from the blood staining her outfit, he guessed it was a little late for that.
“Very well.” Kevin couldn’t be sure, but Kirihime seemed depressed by his request. He shuddered. “Still, I must commend you on your martial prowess. For a human to match a kitsune in combat, it is most impressive.”
“I didn’t match him,” Kevin muttered bitterly. “I was destroyed. Ken beat me with simple illusions and a few kitsune techniques.”
It was almost startling, how easily he’d lost. Their first battle had ended in his complete and utter victory. Kevin had been so sure that it meant he was getting stronger, that he could match a yōkai in combat. This battle had proven him wrong.
It was a humbling experience, this defeat. With Ken’s mind unclouded by rage, the two-tails had been able to fight exactly as a kitsune should, using illusions and misdirection to mask his true attacks. Kevin had been thrashed—beaten before the battle began. All of that training, all of the effort that he’d put into becoming stronger, was it all worthless? Maybe it really was impossible for a human like him to match the powers of a yōkai.
Really, what had I been thinking?
“I believe you are giving yourself too little credit, Lord Kevin,” Kirihime said, giving the boy a comforting smile—or at least, a smile that would have been comforting were she not covered in copious amounts of blood. “It is true that you received a life-threatening injury that would’ve killed you—”
“Thanks for making my point for me.”
“However, it is just as true that you injured him far more than a single human should have been able to,” Kirihime continued as if he’d not interrupted her. “One of the things that you must understand is that we yōkai are beyond humans. We possess powers and abilities that you cannot begin to fathom. Only your vast technological advancements have kept us from revealing ourselves to the world at large.”
She nodded towards where Ken had been. The two-tails had already disappeared.
“Even that two-tails has more power than you do,” she continued, “powers beyond anything that any human will ever have. Despite that, you, a teenage boy whose only gone through several months of martial arts training, managed to gravely injure him—a feat that normally takes four or five humans. That in and of itself can be taken as your victory.”
“Is it?” Kevin asked in a whisper. “Then how come I don’t feel very victorious?”
Kirihime shook her head. “I cannot answer that. However, I believe that you are being too hard on yourself. You cannot expect a human to be capable of defeating yōkai after only several months of training. That you have managed to defeat one and tie with another is nothing short of astounding.”
There was truth to Kirihime’s words, but in that moment, all Kevin felt was disappointment—in himself, in his powerlessness, in his lack of ability. He’d promised Lilian that he wouldn’t lose, but he hadn’t been able to keep it.
I really am worthless.
“Now, let us be off, Lord Kevin.” Kirihime slung his left arm over her shoulder and helped him stand. “We must find the others. I defeated the person who created the barrier, so we should be able to make our escape now.”
Understanding that their situation was still dire, Kevin shoved his depression to the back of his mind. “All right. Let’s go.”
As they slowly waddled down the hall, Kevin felt befuddled as something that Kirihime had said hit him.
“Wait. What’s this about a barrier?”
***
Lilian watched as the dark flames of the Void consumed everything in front of her. She shivered but didn’t look away. Standing beside her, Iris gritted her teeth, sweat beading down her forehead, as she forced the flames to disperse.
“Do you think that got her?” Lilian asked.
“I… I imagine so…” Her breathing labored, Iris straightened. “I hit her… head on. The only person who could survive an attack like that is someone with better control over the Void than me.”
“Or someone who dodged before it hit her,” a voice said above them.
“Right.” Iris nodded. “Or someone who—what the hell?!”
Lilian and Iris’s heads snapped up to look at the ceiling. Their enemy hung there, her bod
y crouched down like a cat. Her claws were embedded into the ceiling’s surface and kept her anchored in place.
“That was an awfully dirty trick you two played, nya,” she said. “If that had hit me, I might’ve actually died.”
“That was kind of the point,” Iris groused.
“How did you survive that?” Lilian asked. “I saw you get consumed by the flames! There’s no way you could have dodged that in time.”
“And I didn’t, nya.” she admitted.
“Then how—?”
“Hellfire clone.”
“Eh?” Lilian blinked. So did Iris.
“You were never fighting the real me, just a clone I made from Hellfire, nya,” the nekomata explained. “My original plan was to trick you two into attacking it at the same time and making it explode in your faces, but you always kept it at a distance, nya.”
“Ugh.” Iris grimaced. “So, you’re telling me we’ve been fighting a clone this whole time?”
“That doesn’t do much for my self-confidence,” Lilian mumbled.
Their opponent’s claws retracted and fell back to the ground, flipping around so that she would land on her feet. She stood up from her couch and gave them a grin. “That’s what happens when you try to fight the amazing Cassy Belladonna, nya.”
“Belladonna? Seriously?” Iris looked disgusted. “What an awful name.”
“Nya!” Cassy hissed like a cat being threatened with water. “Take that back, nya! My name isn’t awful!”
“It’s hideous,” Iris countered. “Though I suppose we should just be grateful your name’s not something really stupid like McFluffin. Still, Belladonna is a pretty dumb name.”
Cassy hissed some more, but Lilian spoke before the nekomata could retort to her sister’s insult. “Why are you after me?”
“Nya?” Her anger dissipating, Cassy tilted her head. “I thought I made that obvious already. It’s nothing personal, just business.”
“It is not just business,” Lilian said, glaring. “You’ve been attacking me like I’ve committed some great sin against you, and you mentioned Kevin last time. What does he have to do with this?”
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