Sequence 4

Shuji took a small step towards him. And then another. His opponent being paralyzed in fear gave Shuji the time to figure out how to walk again. With this aura enveloping him, he was forcibly moving his body through spiritual will. Each step got a little easier. Byakko seemed scared enough as he writhed about in agony.

This boost in power from Haishutsu Megami amplified every aspect of his ability. The range and intensity of Deafen were both amplified to the point that Shuji couldn’t throttle them if he tried. As such, he was glad to have his team members out of the way. Moving his arms was a little easier than taking a step. Shuji figured that much out when he pointed his blade at Byakko.

“You die here.”

Byakko couldn’t manage a response beyond plugging his ears and screaming. That was just no good. Shuji wanted to relish this. Show the opponent that had once been so cocky that he was completely outclassed.

“You die here,” he repeated.

He took another step towards Byakko and aimed a long slash down. It connected, and the Evolved staggered back. “You die here.” Shuji stepped towards him and aimed another slash down. Byakko didn’t take this one so easily.

The Evolved blocked with one set of claws. His catlike face pulled back to hiss. “YOU FIRST,” the Evolved quickly brought up a kick to Shuji’s midsection. Shuji blocked with his free hand but it sent him skidding back.

“I’m tired of playing your game,” Byakko hissed. With a claw on either hand, he plunged them into his catlike ears. Blood quickly flew out of them. Shuji watched this self-mutilation in a respecting horror. If Byakko ruptured his ear canal, Deafen’s ability couldn’t work on him. Recognizing this as a problem, Shuji turned it off.

“Fight me now!” Byakko yelled. Without waiting for an answer he wouldn’t hear, Byakko charged at him. Shuji bit his lip as he began the labor of moving his body.

They clashed in passing. Shuji deflected attack after attack from each set of claws. Luckily, Byakko wasn’t smart enough to attack from two directions at once. Perhaps he wasn’t smart enough to see Shuji’s limited mobility. Even then, he certainly wasn’t smart enough to take advantage of it.

Byakko leaped at him with the intent of taking him to the ground. Damn it. Shuji couldn’t move that fast... not when he was puppeteering his body like this. Regardless, he bent his back to try to evade but ended up having to push him off, anyway. Moving hands he caught the feline bastard at his hips and pushed to flip him off. Shuji had already been pinned on the ground once. He was not having that again.

“You’re slow,” Byakko mocked. He was speaking a little louder than he had before. Perhaps he really couldn’t hear anything now.

“You’re slow if you’re just now catching on,” Shuji mumbled. It was fine. There was no way that Byakko could hear him with ruptured ear canals. Gods, he couldn’t keep managing that. If Byakko started playing to his mobility, there was no easy counter for Shuji. Unless he played to Byakko’s newfound weakness.

As a catlike being, Shuji assumed that Byakko had a decent sense of smell, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was using it. With his hearing essentially gone if Shuji stayed out of sight he could get the drop on him. But staying out of someone’s sight in this small a space wasn’t easy. The best he could try to do is get behind his back, but that would require a lot of work.

Or would it? If he used Shriek that might down the both of him. Shuji trusted his ability to recover faster than the opponent. He was a bit more used to the effects than Byakko. So, if he got the chance to use Shriek he could look for the end. Another stab to the neck like the one before should finish him off. Byakko couldn’t evolve again to heal his injuries.

But, Shuji didn’t have the time to plan his opening. He’d have to take it as it came. Byakko was preparing for another charge and that was much more important than planning. The Evolved once again charged but did not pounce. Instead, he aimed his claws at Shuji’s chest in a stabbing motion. Knowing he couldn’t evade, Shuji held his ground and prepared for a counterattack. He switched his blade into his right hand and turned sideways to minimize collateral.

When Byakko stabbed at him, Shuji met it with a downward swing. It caught the small divide between claws. He wasn’t finished there though. As deftly as possible, Shuji slid the blade beneath the claws and cut up along Byakko’s forearm. If he severed the tendons, he wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked from two sides again. The small ripping sounds were a testament to his success. It wasn’t without loss though.

To make that cut, Shuji had to take all three of Byakko’s claws deep into his right arm. The trio landed in the crook of his elbow. Strange, they’d both gone to take an arm out of commission. Shuji would’ve liked to relish in the irony and reflect on their similarities as fighters, but the shooting pain in his right arm prevented any feeling but pain in his body. But, Shuji could keep moving his right arm with The Puppeteer; he came out ahead.

He hopped back from the confrontation and gripped his wound. Only blood came as he squeezed it. The aural field around him had prevented the arm from being run through, but still couldn’t stop the blow entirely. It wasn’t strong enough for that kind of intervention. The pain rang in his arm. This... this was a battle. It wasn’t a battle like he’d faced before. Even his other battle with an Evolved hadn’t been this grueling. He was almost at his limit.

With his good arm, he took his blade from his injured hand. It would take much more effort to move this arm now. It hurt. Dammit. It hurt all over. He bit his tongue to prevent screaming. He had to endure this... if only a while longer. Shuji looked up to see Byakko was also grimacing about his injuries. At least Shuji wasn’t the only one going through a melodramatic internal monologue.

Without waiting to give Byakko another moment to think about his own strategy, Shuji pulled his body forward at a speed he couldn’t have managed by normal means. Without letting his body slow its momentum, he willed his foot leg to raise. This wasn’t meant to do any real damage. But, Shuji had his plan and he wouldn’t let Byakko formulate his own.

It was obvious who was at the disadvantage here. Shuji had a shattered sternum and an arm mostly out of commission. Byakko was just down the arm. If he could even the odds by tearing up Byakko’s torso he could have a chance. The only way to do that was Shriek. However, to use it he needed an opening... and damn did he need a good one.

To force that opening, he had to keep attacking.

“Did you waste all you had left for that pitiful kick?” Byakko hissed as he leaped to counterattack. Shuji simply swung his leg again to smack Byakko’s claws to the side so the two simply collided. Without another free limb, Shuji pulled his head back and slammed it into Byakko’s. The Oni pulled away and howled. Shuji pointed his switchblade at his opponent. This was his chance.

But his vision was fuzzy. What the hell was happening? His eyes wandered down and saw blood from his left side. Byakko’s claws had cut into his leg deeply. Damn. This was just bad to worse in a hurry. His hand was shaking. Damn it all. He was losing too much blood. He probably couldn’t afford to miss Shriek. It would put him on the ground and probably knock him unconscious. He couldn’t attempt it at this distance.

“ARE YOU TRYING TO THREATEN ME YOU PATHETIC WELP?” Byakko screamed.

Shuji couldn’t answer. He was too busy biting his lip to maintain focus. If he lost this to do something as stupid as taunt his opponent he’d pay for it. Not answering seemed to anger Byakko much more than anything Shuji could say, anyway.

With what must have been most of his remaining energy, Byakko again rushed at him. Shuji waited. He was maybe seven meters away. Shuji waited. His opponent was four meters away and Shuji waited. He could not afford to miss this shot. Two meters.

“Shriek.”

The next thing Shuji felt was his back slamming into the edge of the border. It hurt. It hurt almost as much as getting his sternum stomped into nothing. But, it probably hurt like this because of his almost destroyed chest cavity. All he could hear was the screaming. He couldn’t tell if it was his own or not. He couldn’t tell a lot of things.

Shriek with this much energy pumped into it would do a large amount of damage; he doubted there was anything left of Byakko now. Unfortunately, Shriek was a technique which tolled its user. And damn. Damn did he feel tolled. The surrounding aura began to flicker as the sound of screaming stopped.

“Thank you,” he whispered. Content with this, the aura dissipated, taking his switchblade along with it. It took all he had to keep standing. He needed to dissipate the barrier and call for help. He needed medical attention, and he needed it NOW. He was losing too much blood to waste time. Shuji knew that first, he should call Kin to get her to bide him over. He was sure that his veins are sliced to hell. He might not make it if he waited for an ambulance.

Shuji was just about to lower the barrier when a soft sound told him he shouldn’t. Before him stood Byakko. Well...before him stood what was left of Byakko. But regardless, it stood. A large portion of Byakko’s chest was just gone. The entire right side of his torso had been ripped out by the force. As much Oni’s blood as he’d seen, Shuji wanted to vomit. He probably would’ve if he hadn’t already voided everything in his stomach.

What was left of Byakko’s mouth twitched in what looked like a snarl. Even now on the verge death, this Oni was trying to snarl at him. But perhaps he wasn’t as close to death as he looked. His mangled body took a slow step towards Shuji. And another.

As bad as he looked, Byakko probably wasn’t much worse than Shuji. Shuji’s contract had essentially timed out and he couldn’t use his weapon of choice. But, his last resort clanked beneath his jacket. He could use that. He figured he’d have to.

He didn’t even really have to make the movement quickly. Byakko’s ragged body was limping towards him so slowly. Threatening to fall at any moment. Shuji reached behind his back and grabbed onto the heavy metallic object he’d been packing for the entirety of this fight. In a slow, labored motion he undid the strap that held it to his body. Breathing heavily and leaning against the barrier, Shuji slowly drew the Blunderbuss.

It shook in his hand as he pointed it at his opponent. He had the energy left for this... but every time he used it he was worried. This wasn’t like using Shriek which could at the worst knock him out. If he misjudged how much energy he was using, firing the Blunderbuss could kill him. But it wasn’t like he was in the condition to fight with his fists and Haishutsu Megami had already retired. A deep breath steadied his left arm as Byakko moved himself to centimeters away from the end of the barrel.

Byakko didn’t seem to realize this. Hell, Byakko didn’t seem to realize anything. The Oni was much more beast than man. Instinctively trying to harm its opponent. It was...unbefitting. Unbefitting of the opponent that had pushed him this far and made him use a technique like The Puppeteer. That’s not how Shuji would remember this fight. That’s not how he wanted to remember this fight.

He pulled the trigger and saw white.