Bon Voyage
Stunning light shines in all directions, air warping and bending in the heat. White flames licked and swirled around his blade as he held it outstretched, pointed at my face. I cock my head to the side.
"The fuck are you gonna do with that shit?" If I remember correctly, white is the lowest tier of Tamajutsu. Did he expect to defeat me with that-
Straight ahead-
Every nerve in my body goes off, my eyes dilate. Veins flare. This wasn't an attack I could dodge. Pain like I had never felt before surges through my body, blood spraying every which way. Though my vision is blurry, I can make out what lies ahead. Standing before me is Jigoku, blade extended forth- piercing straight through my neck.
His face contorts into disgust as he gazes at my limp body. My glazed eyes just stare back. My entire body is in panic mode, rushing to figure out a solution. Desperate to run. But my brain is shot. It isn't receiving any of those commands. He grinds his teeth.
"Pathetic."
Arching his blade horizontally, he spins in a 360, before swinging me off of Hellcutter, sending me barreling in the other direction. Crashing through wall after wall- building after building, my mind grows duller.
Where even was I...
I fierce shock snaps me back to reality as something crashes into my body. Couching on my stomach while still midair, Jigoku held Hellcutter high. I hadn't even sensed him coming- and then darkness. As he brings the blade stabbing through my chest.
----
A spark. Glistening blue. Suppressed by an ever-falling cold.
How amusing.
It was almost as if I could touch it.
I extend an arm. Spectral. Invisible to the knowing eye.
My fingers curl around the spark. Cradling it. Feeling its warmth.
I clench my fist shut around it.
Before my eyes, in a dazzling display of color, the spark blazes to life.
---
Jigoku screams in rage, pushing down harder and harder, hands shaking. But he still had yet to penetrate. A blazing bonfire of flames had erupted from my chest, curling and immolating- stopping Hellcutter narrowly.
Huh?
I hadn't died?
No. I couldn't stop to think. I had to take advantage of this second chance. Swiftly, I shoot my hand upward, grabbing Jigoku by the face. He shakes his head ferociously, biting at it, repositioning Hellcutter to slice himself free. Summoning what little strength I have in this position, I clench my hand tighter, before throwing him to the side.
Immediately, I hop to my feet, and dash in the opposite direction. I know how fast he is. If I drop my guard for even a zeptosecond, he'll be right there. Skidding to a stop, I briefly take in my surroundings. We had moved since I blacked out. We were on the shore now. It was still the dead of night- the sky dotted with dazzling stars. The coast is dotted with palm trees, waves ebbing in and out, and glowing creatures of various origins shining beneath the tide.
I feel my neck, checking for any abnormalities- and it seems as if it's completely healed. I exhale a breath of relief. I should feel lucky. I don't know what just happened, but it was HIGHLY beneficial for me, so I guess I'll just roll with it.
Without haste, aa blade comes sweeping through the air, geared to slice my head clean in half. I lean backward, dodging- the residual force sending a riptide through the shore.
But he didn't run like usual.
Up.
I dodge to the right, his blade coming arcing down beside me.
Left.
I jump into the air.
Right.
I didn't have anywhere to dodge-
His blade gorges into my side.
Left.
Up.
Down.
Right.
Slash after slash boring into me, blood spraying into the air. The force of each strike drives me closer and closer to the shore. Unable to stand, but unable to fall.
Finally, with one resounding horizontal slash, I'm sent flying out to sea. My regeneration had barely kept me alive- and if I had remembered how to part my soul like I had before, I wouldn't be able to do it fast enough...
Wait.
His attacks were cutting me. Doing physical damage. They were no longer targeting the soul like they had before. Outstretching twin wings of energy, I catch myself midair and shoot upwards toward the midnight sky.
He can probably still target my soul via Tamajutsu- which he is using currently- but it at least means I can be a bit more lenient-
"Homura: World-Shattering Pull!!"
Nothing. Before chaos. The air around me swirls and whips about with strength I couldn't hope to match, spiraling like a faucet down and down. My body is pulled like a speck of dirt in a vacuum down toward Jigoku, his arm extended casually. The city and ocean that made up our battlefield had also begun to absorb itself toward Jigoku's vortex, heaps of metal and droves of water.
The screams of civilians fill the air, their bodies mangled and torn, hurling haphazardly about. I close my eyes, clasping my hands together- before ripping them apart, revealing a swirling ball of Calamitous Soul.
I snap my fingers. "Soul Thunderclap: Hurricane."
-----
Soul Thunderclap. This move is one of many that have attempted to mesh Tamajutsu and Twitches. Of course, Okoramo has combined these forces before (Imperfectly) quite casually, this specific maneuver requires a more intensive and focused process before use, thus the reason that he finds it impractical in most situations. However, in this situation, its ferocious magnetic force can be put to use. Normally, this force is barely enough to move your average tree. However, when compacted in on itself, compressing its own energy, when released, it has a much more volatile reaction.
Thus, Soul Thunderclap: Hurricane.
-----
An exploding pain shoots through my ears, the wet trickle of blood running down my cheek. An eruption of gravitational force bursts forth in an invisible sphere, shoving away all in its path. Reducing stone to dust.
Jigoku's face twitches in the distance, his arm exerting this force obviously fatigued. The two gravitational forces push and shove against each other, MY arms beginning to numb from fatigue as well...
He's gone.
Up above-
His heel slams square into my skull, a sharp crack resonating in my head. Flipping in midair, he grabs me by the hair, before throwing me back down, tumbling toward the sea.
Damnit.
Why had I even tried.
I can't win.
It's hopeless.
--------
A cell. An unkempt one at that. Various kinds of mold and moss grew at abnormalities in its structure, giving it a foul stench. The bodies of the others still lie unmoving, strewn about the room without care. But one man was awake, however.
His suit was in tatters, hair unruly and frazzled. Katana at his side. It was Siken. He lets out an exasperated sigh. He had woken up not ten minutes ago. The last thing he remembered...well- it was all sort of blurry. The last thing he could say with certainty that he remembered, was that man. Byakusen as Hiruka had called him. There were several things wrong that he simply didn't have the answer to. Like the absence of Shinimaru and Okoramo. What little was visible from their barred cells wasn't much to take in. Just countless rows of cells. He wouldn't even bother trying to talk to them, though.
He had found immediately that his blade couldn't make so much as a dent in the bars, so he had long given up.
Footsteps.
He rightened himself. He didn't wish to look conspicuous.
Coming to a halt in front of him, a rather unremarkable man stood. His deep brown hair was set in waves, and he was adorned in a black suit under a large trench coat. He simply stood there for a moment. Eyes locked on Siken's who just didn't feel like saying anything. Finally, as if he had resolved some inner dilemma, the man sighed, exhaling a puff of cigarette smoke, and walked off.
Siken sighed. That was sure off-putting.