Sequence 3

Kojima moved opposite of Byakko. There was no way the Evolved could dodge both of them if they coordinated their attacks.

Shuji aimed a straight kick towards the torso while Kojima threw a wild right hook. Byakko caught the kick, but the hook rattled him and he stumbled to the side. “D-damn you to hell,” he breathed.

“See you there, Oni.” Shuji walked forward slowly. He could finish off Byakko alone from here. A small wave showed his team that he no longer needed their aid. The Evolved was on its fours now, gasping and grumbling around in disorientation. Kojima’s punch must’ve been quite forceful.

Shuji brought another kick to the side of the downed Byakko. This brought it writhing around on the ground like a kicked dog. Which didn’t really fit its cat-like name. Oh well. There was no helping that. A couple more steps brought him next to the Evolved once again. Shuji dug into his pocket for his switchblade while he pulled up Byakko by the collar.

“You lose, Oni,” he said as he opened the blade and pumped energy into his knife. Deafen’s effect was immediate; Byakko’s face squirmed at the noise. However, it seemed this beast wasn’t finished yet. Byakko swung a kick his way, forcing Shuji to drop back. As he dodged, Shuji swung his arms wide to dissuade Byakko from closing in on him.

It worked well enough. Shuji dashed in and aimed a couple of vertical slashes at Byakko’s torso. With a strong sense of self-preservation, Byakko blocked and took the cuts on the backs of his arms. “Too slow to dodge, Oni?” Shuji questioned rhetorically. He aimed a strong kick at its midsection. Byakko caught it. That was unexpected, but not a problem. The beast was so weak. It wouldn’t take much for Shuji to end this.

He brought his caught leg down...hard. Byakko’s torso got dragged down with it before it could let go. While slightly bent, Shuji aimed a hard hook at his face. There was little room to dodge, and Byakko’s exhausted body didn’t have the speed to, anyway.

It connected and put the Oni on his ass. Shuji was fine to stand and laud himself over the Oni, but the bastard had other plans. Quicker than Shuji thought possible, Byakko was on his feet. But it wasn’t Shuji he was after, the Evolved made a labored dash towards Umeki and Sasaki.

“Kojima!” Shuji yelled in vain. It was impossible for Kojima to reach them in time. Dammit. Shuji chased after him... he just had to get a little closer. With each step he dug a bit deeper for speed; Shuji couldn’t make it all on human means. He needed a little help. “Please,” he whispered.

Shuji had to make it. If Byakko made it to Umeki or Sasaki. No... if Byakko made it to any of them, everything would be for naught. All of his work. Damn it. Damn it all. He had to use his pocket ace. This fight was ending now.

“NOT A HAIR YOU BASTARD,” he screamed. Shuji pumped soul energy into another thread of trap wire. This time the weaving had covered most of Byakko’s midsection, pinning his arms to his sides. It spiraled down to about the Evolved’s knees.

Every attack and dodge was laying the groundwork for this binding. Every move had been intentional since the first usage of trap wire to set the stage to bind him entirely. Once Shuji knew that Byakko wasn’t strong enough to sever it quickly he was sure this plan would play out in his favor.

“This trick again? Damn you. DAMN YOU TO HELL.”

This was checkmate. And unfortunately, it couldn’t come any later. Shuji would’ve loved to test himself against this opponent or maybe bring him back alive. But, that wasn’t an option. A few seconds later and he’d be dealing with more than broken legs for this mission. Shuji’s widened eyes narrowed as he shifted his attention from Kin to Byakko. That bastard had aimed at a medic. His medic.

He quickly cleared the distance between the two of them. “This trick seems to work well enough. You didn’t learn from it the first time. That’s your failing. I don’t think Oni pray to a god. But if you do, pray to them for forgiveness as you’ll see none from me.”

In a quick motion, he buried the blade of his switchblade into Byakko’s neck. If the bastard had a comment, it’d be lost in the familiar gurgle of blood. He’d be dissipating any second now and this mission would be over. Yes. Any second now the entirety of this Lancer-killing bastard would disappear from Earth and Hell. Shuji thought that; Shuji thought that right up until he felt something grip his arm.

His eyes widened but his body didn’t react. That sluggishness was a mistake that could get him killed. In an instant, he was on his back. He had to get up. If he didn’t, all four of them were dead.

Shuji’s eyes darted around in a moment of disorientation. He knew exactly what happened, but that didn’t mean he knew what to do now. One thought filled his mind. He had to get the other three out of here. He could handle this fight on his own...maybe. But if not, there was no reason for a medic, Rear Guard, and Lance Corporal to follow him to the grave.

After a precious second wasted of looking for Byakko, Shuji’s eyes found him. At least... they found what used to be Byakko. I was wondering when you’d pull out that trick, Shuji wanted to tease. He wanted to mock and goad his opponent into waiting this long to use his trump card. But the words didn’t come.

Shuji was terrified.

He’d seen an Evolved do this once before. And it had been through a pure stroke of luck that he’d limped out alive. This time would be different. He had people to protect now. Shuji... Yotogi Shuji... didn’t know if he could. Because Byakko had once resembled a slightly lanky human body, now resembled that of an upright beast.

Byakko’s once human-looking hands were replaced with long claws that compared to that of a normal Oni. His once pale skin now adorned with fur. His jagged teeth now replaced by a set of fangs. Byakko’s unassuming eyes had transformed into a predator’s, terrifying Shuji the most.

The transformation into this upright prehistoric cat had completely disrupted all the soul energy pulsing through the trap wire. All of his work had been for naught. It was unlikely he’d get the chance to bind him again. No. Worrying about the past wouldn’t help him now. He needed to finish this quickly... while it was possible that he could. Byakko hadn’t gone for the weak ones yet. If he had, they’d already be dead.

Shuji tried to get to his feet before a knee to the chest brought him back down. He wanted to roll, but a foot stamped down on his sternum to prevent him from moving. If one listened close enough... they’d have heard it break. “Now... where were we?” Byakko asked. His voice grew deep and hellish. “Oh... I remember... not a hair.” The beast mocked him with his own words before proceeding to add injury to insult with a series of stomps.

Shuji writhed when he could. Shit, this hurt. His sternum was already beyond broken and this was just pounding into his heart and lungs. Much more of this and his whole chest cavity might give in. His eyes caught glimpses of his team as his head bounced off the sidewalk again... and again... and again.

The trio watched on in horror as their team’s leader was becoming a cat’s plaything. Damn this position was far from flattering. He needed to get space between them. He needed room to breathe in pain and time to plan a counter attack, but he was getting none of those. And Kojima, his only other offensive weapon, was standing there watching. He was either smart enough to know Byakko would demolish him, or scared enough that he couldn’t move. This was all just fantastic.

Without thought, Shuji buried his switchblade into Byakko’s calf as he’d pulled up from a stomp. This caused the blade to slice and tear down the muscle from the motion. His right hand slipped trap wire around the bastard’s ankle, maybe that could help down the line. Shuji was able to get a half-roll in before taking a kick to the back that sent him scooting several feet. On the roll over, he’d stopped Distort’s ability. He’d have to get his ribs checked out as well.

But this put him closer to his team, which was what he needed in the first place. He needed them gone. He couldn’t focus on them and the battle. “Umeki. Undo the barrier and evacuate. Please leave. Let me handle this,” he said hurriedly. Byakko was still screaming about how he was going to tear out Shuji’s bones or that nonsense.

“But Yotogi-san,” Umeki began.

“Umeki shut the hell up and listen. Leave now before you all die. I won’t take no for an answer. That’s a goddamn order,” he screamed in a false tone of authority and power. There wasn’t an ounce of authority or power left in his body. Hell, he was still on the ground because he didn’t want them to see him try to stand up.

The sound of hard footsteps told him he’d have to soon. Shuji half-turned his head to see Byakko slowly approaching with a broad grin. Damn this bastard. Acting smug in a battle was Shuji’s territory. “GO NOW!” he called to the trio as he activated the trap wire to cause Byakko to stumble ever so slightly. It was all he could do.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shuji saw two things. He wished he could’ve taken better note of them but he was digging in his pockets for a cube. Kojima was pushing the girls towards the edge of the barrier. Umeki was closing the barrier as quickly as she could. Shuji should’ve kept his eyes on Byakko, but he needed to ensure their safety.

The barrier was down. Byakko could’ve escaped if Shuji hadn’t been the one he wanted to torment. But Shuji counted on that. Almost as soon as the barrier went down, Shuji put up one of his own.

“What good will that do? It’ll go away when I kill you won’t it?” Byakko mocked as he walked towards Shuji unmoving body.

“It will. But, it gives them time to leave,” Shuji replied without an ounce of sarcasm. He truly hoped they’d get away quickly. That way they didn’t have to see what happened to him.

“You honestly think that I won’t hunt them down?” Byakko asked as he towered over Shuji’s broken figure.

“No...I don’t want them to have to see what I do to you when I don’t have to worry about them,” Shuji smirked. He’d begged Haishutsu Megami under his breath since the barrier went down. He hoped she’d help him back up this arrogance.

“You put a good fight, for a mouse,” Byakko laughed as he raised his foot over Shuji’s ribs. As he brought it down though, something stopped his foot. A pale gray light had enveloped Shuji’s outline, and the energy was rolling off of him.

“I’m tired of being stepped on,” Shuji spoke in a calm tone. His free hand went to Byakko’s foot and pushed the larger body off and away from him. His body slowly rose from the ground as if it were a puppet being pulled up by a string. Finally, Shuji’s feet shakily found the ground and his legs threatened to buckle. It looked like he was going to have to use willpower to keep standing.

“Deafen,” he whispered. The ringing in the dome was audible. Deafen’s effects set in with immense strength. The ringing was soon drowned out by Byakko’s screams.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” Byakko screamed with his hands over his ears.

“Winning,” he replied with a smirk.