Sisters

"Foolishness." The instant she reappears, Red's blade is already waiting for her. She draws a line across her stomach, killing the beast instantly. Iko's berserk rage instantaneously evaporates from her body. She clenches her teeth as she stumbles backwards, somehow unhurt.

"How strange. I definitely killed something. And yet, here you are, still breathing." Red approaches, sword extended out to her side. She places the mask back on her face, her hair turning back to its red sheen. "Oh, I see." She points at Iko's forehead. The mark that was there earlier has completely disappeared. "I killed the seal binding that spirit to you."

Iko backs away slowly. This is decidedly not good. Now she has to take on two juggernauts by her lonesome. She curses under her breath. "It can't be helped." She holds her hand out, a party popper slips from her sleeve and falls into her hand. This is just what has to happen.

Red puts her mask back on before entering a dueling stance. "I will make your execution swift."

Wordlessly, Iko levels the party popper at Red and Red levels her sword at Iko. With bated breath, their fateful clash begins. The silver-haired magical girl raises the party popper to her mouth and pulls the cord with her teeth. A blast erupts from its mouth, uprooting grass and digging a crater into the ground. Though that is merely the force of the explosion, the payload it delivers is much more powerful. A single fist-sized ball of pure titanium barrels straight towards Red. Something of that caliber would be enough to completely annihilate a house. But to Red, something only capable of destroying a house might as well be the breath of an ant. She raises her sword and swats the shot to the side. She does not even bother cutting it.

"Kh–!" Iko summons two more party poppers, one for each hand, before pulling both cords with her teeth. Second verse, same as the first, the blast annihilates the surrounding bamboo shoots but the bullets are deflected with a refined motion. It's as though Red is moving her sword through water, cutting whatever it passes through.

Iko summons fourteen party poppers, one heptagon of seven party poppers for each hand. She fires them all in rapid sequence. But it's no use. Every shot just gets deflected as easily as the first one was.

Iko reaches out to summon more but there's no use. Kasai's already too close. There's nothing to do but make her peace. Iko lets the metallic party poppers drop to the ground with a resounding clang. "To think I would be bested by a mindless drone."

"You can tell what we are?" If nothing else, Iko can at least say that she made Red hesitate.

"I'm a devout Christian. I can sense the absence of God."

"Very impressive. But it will not save you." Red places her sword at Iko's neck. "I do not mind if you pray."

"Make it swift. That is all I ask." Iko closes her eyes.

"Very well." Red raises her sword before bringing it down. But not onto Iko's head. Instead, it clashes with another blade.

"That's my sister, you bitch!" A familiar blade, bobbed silver hair and golden eyes appears in between Iko and Red. A sight for sore eyes. Sparks fly as Jet's and Red's swords clash.

"Jet?" Iko opens her eyes. Her tone is a mix of thankful and indignant because she's being thankful to her.

"Sorry I'm late!" Jet smirks. "It's nice to see you again though, Kasai."

"A pleasure." Red swats Jet's blade aside before stabbing again at blinding speeds. But even that blitzed strike is deflected by careful shortsword placement. All she has to do is rotate her wrist and her shortsword deflects the blow, creating an opening in the process.

Jet slashes with her longsword at just shy the speed of sound, her arm a blur. Kasai matches her speed and surpasses it, little by little, she deflects more and more with each microadjustment until she's able to counterattack with a thousand cuts of her own.

"My own Jutsu against me?" Jet breaks a sweat. "Very impressive. I see that my subordinates have taught you what I taught them." The corner of Jet's mouth lifts. "Unfortunately for you, I didn't teach them everything."

"「Iaijutsu - Million Cuts.」" Instantly, the tides of battle shift. Kasai is forced onto her back foot as the number of stabs she has to deflect multiplies a thousandfold. It doesn't appear as if Jet is slashing, rather there's merely a persisting criss-cross of sword slashes constantly pushing Kasai backwards. But it's not enough. Even with that much firepower, Kasai is still left standing. And if she's still left standing, it's only a matter of time before Jet runs out of blood and she is promptly cut down. She knows this. Kasai knows this. Iko knows this.

Jet hates resorting to her last someone else's technique but she's going to have to put aside her reservations just for a chance at surviving. A resonant clang emanates from within Jet's very core. In an instant, she understands that to use two swords as one, she must use three weapons: One longsword, one shortsword, and her very existence. All three must all be used as a single weapon. The volume of her attacks increases exponentially. No longer does she use the shortsword to defend herself, instead relying on preternatural instinct to evade Kasai's attack before she even swings her blade. As for the shortsword, using it as another way to punish Kasai when she overextends is enough. As she is, Jet has absolutely no weaknesses. At least, as far as a one-on-one situation is considered.

"One hopes she hasn't been forgotten about." Yuki jumps down from the top of the bamboo tree before poising her rapier to strike at Jet's flank.

"I was about to say the same!" Iko steps between Jet and her assailant, party popper raised. A devastating explosion rips through the air. Yuki is forced to abandon her attack and dodge to the side, which is precisely what Iko anticipated she would do. She whirls around in a roundhouse kick, her leg brutally collides with Yuki's torso, flinging her to the side. The blue-haired girl skids against the ground until her back slams against the wall of bamboo shoots.

"Jet!"

"Right!"

Jet's and Kasai's blades suddenly freeze, their swords clashing. Jet quickly pushes her enemy backwards, breaking her block, and allowing Iko to follow up by firing a party popper at Kasai. She barely manages to dodge out of the way but even then, her left hand is still caught by the explosion. Her index and thumb are blown clean off. She stumbles backwards a few steps. There's a lull in the battlefield. Yuki is silent as she shambles back onto her feet, her body damaged but not broken.

It's two-on-two. Sisters against sisters. Iko and Jet have their backs turned towards each other, their eyes fixed onto their respective opponents. They're all pale from all the blood they've burnt during the fight.

Iko readies two party poppers in both her hands. "I'll take the blue one, you deal with the red one."

"Will you be okay?" Jet rolls her eyes at Iko's comment.

"Worry about yourself first."

Kasai sheathes her sword and reaches for her mask. "It seems that our baseline skills no longer suffice."

"You're going to use it?"

"I have no choice."

"No… I suppose we don't." An aura of almost visible magical miasma begins to emanate from Yuki. Then, as if it were made of gas, the air around her ignites in a cascade of blue fire. Floating black chains wreathed in the flame begin to manifest all around her. The atmosphere suddenly turns frigid. Warm breath turns into fog as it leaves Iko's and Jet's mouths.

「Yuki Ryusei」- Sister of Reversed Cinders

"Am I pretty?" Kasai directs the question at Jet. Those words are like the tolls of a church bell, heralding the arrival of swift death.

"Decently. I guess." Jet raises her swords. "But sorry, sweetheart. I don't date people half my age."

"Careful." Iko warns. "Have you ever heard of the slit-mouthed woman?"

"No, why?"

"If I had to guess, she's been imbued with her spirit. She asks you if she's pretty twice. The first time when she has her mask on and the second time with her mask off. If you say 'no' either time, she kills you."

"Please." She scoffs. "Don't go thinking I'll die from such an easily countered technique."

"This is serious!"

"Listen to your older sister once in a while." Jet claps Iko on the shoulder. "I got this. Trust me."

"Don't be so confident." Kasai removes her mask, revealing her slit-mouth. "How about now?"

"Gross."

Kasai grins as she closes the gap between her and Jet. "Die." She cackles silently as she draws a line across Jet's stomach. A moment passes. No wound appears. Then another. But still, no wound appears.

"What–?!"

"Psych!" Jet promptly turns the tables on Kasai, thrusting her blade directly at her face. The red-haired girl only just barely manages to raise her sword to guard herself in time. "Scars are a turn-on for me, bitch!"

"I'm flattered." Kasai takes what solace she can as she's slowly beaten back by Jet's cuts. "Yuki."

"On it." Silently, Yuki begins her implacable march towards her sister, burning chains hovering around her. The only thing standing between her and her goal is Iko. Yuki cracks her knuckles. "I'll give you one last chance to surrender. I will also warn you that it is the optimal move."

"Yeah." Iko slowly puts her dukes up, her eyes never once leaving Yuki's. "Maybe."

"I applaud your steadfastness. But I'm afraid I must now punish it."

"Come and try–!"

Like whips, Yuki's chains suddenly arc backwards before rushing forwards to sink their teeth into Iko.

An explosive aura like a star being born erupts from around Iko. In response, the silver-haired girl sends out lightning quick jabs to counteract the kinetic force behind the lashes. One by one, the chains fall to the ground, limp. Yuki reels them back slowly, purposefully.

"Hmph." The blue-haired girl appraises Iko in a new light. Iko wipes her thumb across her chin.

"Don't think I'll be bested by something as simple as a trump card." Yuki frowns ever so slightly. "「Tokijutsu - Revers–」"

Iko quickdraws a party popper she hid up her sleeve and fires a spread of shots at Yuki before she can finish the incantation. Yuki has to break her concentration to direct the chains into a loose cocoon protecting her body. Sharp clangs ring out as the grapeshot slams into the shield.

"Time manipulation. It's a cute gimmick. But it's only useful if you can cast it in the first place."

"Tsk." She considers trying to reverse time again but quickly drives the thought from her mind. Wasting any more blood could spell death for her. "Fine, if you want a fair fight, I'll give you a fair fight." She raises her rapier in front of her face before pointing it at Iko.

"I don't see how this is fair in any way," Iko says, staring down the burning chains with her bare hands. "But fair enough."

From the rapier's tip, chains wreathed with blue flame burst out before zig-zagging towards Iko. They rush at her in rapid consecutive stabs. The first one Iko manages to sidestep. She doesn't waste any time beginning her counterattack, rushing directly at her enemy. The second and third chains 'ricochet' and come down from above, blocking the way between her and Yuki. A swift kick from the side makes short work of the flimsy barrier. Though, an icy pain begins to spread through her shin followed by absolute numbness. Iko isn't sure but she thinks it might be frostbitten. Her suspicions are confirmed when she tries to take another step and her leg crumbles under her weight. It doesn't break. It shatters. Frozen blood crystals and bits of flesh crumble from the wound. There is no pain, but it's still excruciating.

Iko grits her teeth, lets herself fall forwards, braces herself against the ground with her arms as if taking a push-up, and continues rushing at Yuki as though she were a three-legged wolf.

"Impressive," Yuki muses to herself before sending out even more chains to assail Iko. One by one, she conjures wave after wave of party poppers to bring them down. They seize up like snakes shredded by arrows before falling to the ground, lifeless. Yuki just barely manages to raise her rapier in time to deflect Iko's punch. She shoves her away, giving herself an inch of breathing room. Yuki lashes out with another chain, this time cracking it like a whip. There's no time for Iko to create another party popper. She raises her hands in a cross in front of her. Her forearms are simultaneously frozen then shattered. As if in response, the burning in Iko's eyes glows even brighter. Pouring all her remaining strength into her sole remaining leg, she puts everything she has into one last reckless charge. Air is visibly displaced as Iko disappears from view and reappears in front of Yuki.

There's a sickening crunch. Blood drips onto the ground between the two. Iko slowly lifts up the skewered Yuki, a hole punched straight through her solar plexus, missing her heart by only a few deliberate inches.

The reddish glow in Kasai's eyes wanes slightly at the horrific sight. "Yuki!" It doesn't feel like she's speaking. The words were in her stomach and she simply vomited them out. That tiny loss of focus is enough for Jet to end the fight. A flash of steel. Blood sprays out from Kasai's neck. She stumbles backwards, her strength rapidly leaving her body. She drops her sword and falls to her knees, clutching her throat. Jet tilts her head at the third generation Iaijutsu specialist. It's a shame, she was expecting more of a challenge from one of her supposed successors.

"That wasn't so hard. Matter of fact, I'm surprised you were struggling so much, Iko."

"..." Iko stares at Yuki's almost-corpse, avoiding Jet's gaze.

"Hey… listen…" Jet stares at the ground, avoiding Iko's gaze. "I've been thinking… about what I did. To mom and dad, I mean. I think that… what I did… was wrong. Probably."

"'Probably?'" Iko scoffs before muttering something in Russian. "My sister is really something."

"My intentions were… correct. I won't back down on that. But what I did, what it led to, that was wrong." Jet scratches the back of her head.

"Your intentions? Don't make me laugh. You just wanted me to become you. You just wanted validation for the things you did."

"I won't deny that. But at the same time, I also wanted you to be free. Free in this vast world. The idea that you had to betray who you truly were for the sake of some vague notion of family… I couldn't bring myself to accept that."

"I made my own choices."

"Yes. I see that now. I was wrong to interfere. I know that I can't bring them back. But at the very least, I don't want you to be burdened with hatred. That's why I give this to you." Jet unhooks her sheathed sword and throws it at Iko's feet. "Everything I am, everything I was, everything I will be. All that is Calamity Jet, I place at your feet. I took away everything from you. It's only right that I give you my everything in turn."

Iko stares at the sword for a moment before placing her foot on top of it. Such a precious thing. Entirely at her mercy. She almost feels a heartbeat rippling through the sword. The idea of crushing it crosses her mind for a moment. Then she thinks better of it. She picks up the blade and straps it over her shoulder. "All that you are. All that you were. All that you will be. I will wear it in your place." A sheen flashes over Iko's eyes as she transforms into the living legend, Calamity Jet.

"It suits you more than it ever suited me, Jet." Valeriya allows herself the smallest of smiles. It's not a grateful or joyful smile. It's a smile filled with the madness of knowing that everything she loved had not just been taken away, but made better by her absence. The pain of knowing that no one will remember her when she disappears from this world. "What will you do now?"

"I'm going to finish this fight. Then… I don't really know. I guess this freedom is all I have now, might as well do something with it." The new Jet has a look of grim determination. "And you?"

Valeriya shrugs. "Maybe grab a bite to eat? I'm starving." She takes one last look at Calamity Jet before walking away, disappearing into the bamboo forest. "See you around, Iko."

As that fragile thing called 'blood' is severed between the two girls, the skies begin to weep a drizzle of rain.