Running through the city's streets, I kept my focus on the ongoing battle in the distance. Granted, I couldn't get a good view from where I was. It wouldn't take me long at all. . . What amazed me was that Schwarzweiß was doing all of this. I ran across the city at completely inhuman speeds, even for an Anima. The vintage buildings, the road I sprinted, and even the fight in the distance to an extent, everything seemed like blurs in my view.
"I'll be there." I said to myself, I was confident in my abilities now, Schwarzweiß's abilities. I performed a Micare, greatly enhancing the already ludicrous speed I had. I quickly zipped from one section of Ōgenkawa to the next at blinding speeds, passing by numerous Kechī that seemed to be partially staggered at the wind blowing past my body.
What I arrived at was Kageki and Shimi fighting against several Kechī, even outnumbered, it proved no problem for the two. Kageki's Hyōmei was a long, sleek black katana sheathed in a similarly colored saya, decorated with several red scribbles and lines. Shimi's Hyōmei being an axe that completely towered over her, mechanical in design which completely contrasted Kageki's Hyōmei's more regal and ancient design. Through seamless cleaves and brutal smashes and smacks, numerous Kechī had been both bisected into several different parts and burnt beyond measure, quickly dissolving into dust.
"Oh, Kurose's here!" Kageki said with some enthusiasm, smiling just slightly. We walked up to each other and gave each other a nod.
"Black and white, huh?" Shimi snorted with a smirk that wore sarcasm with pride, a playful joke on her end.
"Eh?" Both I and Kageki went in unison, looking at Shimi. My ears perked to the sides of my head, but quickly straightened themselves and remained lopped back.
"Oh, nothing - just that he has black hair and you have white, Kurose." She pointed her thumb at Kageki initially before using her index finger to point at me. I understood the joke, but mayhaps it was a compliment.
"Well, anyways—" I spoke, drawing my gaze away. I quickly activated my Fragment and scanned over the area, observing the souls in Ōgenkawa. I was surprised to find hundreds of thousands of sources of Enogu of varying degrees all piled up in one area but I noticed several sinister sources, but one had stuck out like a black sheep. Much larger than the rest, and the source was coated in a deep red hue of Enogu. "I've spotted our target. It could be the one." They knew exactly who I referred to; the Kechī who killed Akarui. My urge to kill it had slightly wavered, especially after what Schwarzweiß said. I quickly deactivated my Fragment once the Kechī was spotted.
"Right." Shimi nodded, staring in the direction my gaze headed in. Her large Hyōmei rested on her shoulder as she prepared to dash off. Not until—
'BLAST!'
"-?!" I looked behind me as Kageki and Shimi both leapt away from a sudden surge of Enogu. Three larger Kechī, all with lanky proportions, disjointed hands with rusty blades for nails, and a head splitted between a greatsword. I had prepared to fight along with them until Kageki shouted out.
"Kurose, just go! We can handle them by ourselves!" He claimed, drawing his Hyōmei forth as four sparks of Black Enogu ignite on four segments across his blade. Shimi held hers with both hands, manifesting flames around the blade of her axe.
I simply nodded, turning around and dashed off at radical speeds. I sprinted towards the target, the source of Enogu that I knew was the Kechī who had killed Akarui.
Now! Now was my chance for a comeback against this damned beast!
It took about under a minute to reach the location, but. . .
"-?!" I stopped almost instantly, bearing witness to the scene laid before me, my hands almost letting go of Schwarzweiß's hilt.
"?" One of the hooded figures turned towards me, wielding two identical daggers with curved designs. The blades resembled a ruby plating with the hammons of the blades being a deeper red. Their cloak swayed with the wind as the rain drippled around us. One of their daggers had completely pierced through the Kechī's head, the one who had killed Akarui. The carcass laid next to him, pouring a black liquid.
"Shirō?" They said weakly, the head their dagger stabbed through had slowly begun dissolving into dust. I could make out their face partially. From what was able to be seen, it was a boy with white hair.
Awfully similar to. . .
"Ah! 'Atta boy!" A voice rang out, praising the boy's brutal killing. The source soon appeared, through the use of what could be seen as a Micare, next to the hooded boy.
They both wore the same type of cloak, dark grey and red at its edges, hiding both their faces. The praiser, a man by the deep, raspy sound of his voice, threw down the hood and revealed his face. He donned black locks with a pair of golden eyes, ones that could light up the night.
"It seems your most desired target decided to run up to us, eh?" He spoke awfully whimsically, as if this were a game and he was the one who enjoyed each aspect of it the most.
"Yes." The hooded boy answered with a slight delay, yet, a tint of sadness. The voice began to ring a familiar bell to me: he knew my name, the voice was soft. . . No, it couldn't be-
"I'm sure this'll be a most heartfelt and joyous reunion, boys." He proclaimed, grabbing the boy's hood to which the hand was lightly smacked away. I'm surprised that the man's hand was even pushed away at all.
"We agreed on no touching." He said more sternly, the boy's voice almost breaking.
"Riiight, oopsies!" The man shrugged, walking away.
The boy raised his hands up, slightly opening them so his daggers wouldn't fall out from his hands and began to grab his hood, slowly dragging it down. White strands of unkept hair, whiter than even mine falling back, a pair of wolf ears perking forward, and two golden eyes dimmer than the man's but not the eyes of a boy who wanted to explore every crevice of Terra, but the eyes of a broken kid who yearned for salvation.
My heart stopped beating, almost dropping Schwarzweiβ as my head simply whispered-
Akarui?
"No." I whispered, slightly deafened out by the rain pouring which only grew worse.
"You're. . ." I paused for a moment, unable to fully, coherently talk. I held back my tears as best as I could. The light in my darkness, the one who was able to kill the worst in my soul. He shouldn't be here, no, he can't.
"You're dead. . .! I saw you die!" I screamed out, clenching tightly onto my Hyōmei as I swung my hand forward.
"Ah, I assume you don't know one key detail on how the wolfie's here—" The man carelessly said, raising his arms up higher as he kept shrugging. "Your Enogu."
"Huh?" I straightened slightly, my ears began to perk to the sides as I stepped forward. "What do you mean our Enogu?"
"Visually, it's white. Normally one'd assume it's White Enogu but that's not the case. In actuality, It's colorless. You wolves both lack any actual Enogu Color, thus you are both seen as blank." He kept it simple and straightforward.
"Think of it like this: You two are both in a state of existence and non-existence. You are able to exist in our universe, but the very confines of that "existence" are null. Does it make sense?" He asked with a smile that grew from ear-to-ear.
"No, it's entirely contradictory." I answered, raising my voice. My eyes tracked towards his as I activated my Fragment and tried to identify his Enogu.
Truth was. . .
I didn't see anything.
". . .?!" My eyes widened. That's not normal, did he have any or. . .
"Exactly." The man responded to my answer to his question. Smirking, as if he knew I couldn't use my Fragment to see his Enogu, if he had any to begin with but then that begs the question: where would his soul be?
"You two are anomalies. All souls with Colorless Enogu are, that is simply the truth of our world. You shouldn't exist and here you boys are, standing in-front of each other."
"So, because we technically don't exist. . . The Kechī couldn't erase him?!" I asked.
"Precisely, wolfie!" He snapped his fingers while swinging his hand in my direction. "The same goes for you too."
"Wow." I said in awe, so. . . Never once was I in danger? Well, I could still die from injury but they can't erase me or Rui. "Rui, this is amazing. . . Please, let's go back to Mom and—"
"I don't want to go home." He cuts me off, cold and stern. Looking at the wet concrete we stood on. "And, I certainly don't want a brother who abandons me."
"Rui, no!" I shouted, running towards him. I even dematerialized my Hyōmei and tried to hug him. "That's not what—"
"Stay away!" He shouted but what I foresaw stung my heart: he immediately cutted my head off in the vision thanks to my Fragment. I kicked off the floor to leap away from him, landing back on the concrete as I stood back up. I turned off my Fragment afterwards.
"Rui, that's not what happened. I thought you died that day and for the last four years I cursed myself for not saving you." I divulged to him. I wanted to cry. Just. . . let everything out all at once, tell him how his death affected me and Mom.
"Ah, you bear Avalon's eye." The man abruptly spoke, completely off-topic from me and Rui.
"What? Avalon?"
"The Kechī you slew, the original owner of that power in your right eye." He taps his own right eye to visualize it for me. "You even bear his cross as your Fragment's marking. It's an amazing power, truly, the ability to not only see the very souls in your vision but to see the future itself." He spoke in such a tone that sounded as if he knew every little detail, not just about a Kechī but. . . me.
"You're creeping me out. You act weird with my brother and now you know all of this crap about Kechī and my Fragment." I let him know, clenching my fists as I stared back at Akarui.
"I know many things, pup. However, your dear little brother did come here for a reason." He walked away and leaned on an empty building's exterior wall.
"Right." Akarui said, raising one dagger towards my direction. "I came here for you, brother. To kill you." He spoke with an even colder tone, his gaze chilling.
"What. . .?" I couldn't help but ask. Why? Why does, why would he ever want to kill me?
"You heard me. I wish to kill you, I just want this to end." He said bluntly, clenching his daggers tightly as his voice held more pain than any other's I have heard, ever.
"Want what to end, Rui?"
". . ." He fell silent, lowering the dagger as his eyes were on the verge of breaking just like a knocked off vase. "It won't matter, no, it doesn't matter. At least, once you're finally gone."
"Don't do this, Rui." I said, but I prepared to defend myself. This couldn't be Rui, no matter how similar he looked to mine. I withdrew into denial that this could ever be him.
"I'm not your Rui. He's the one that died." He said, finishing all other forms of talk as we both prepared for combat.
. . .
This is happening, huh?
All of what happened led to this.
Brother against Brother.
Please, Schwarzweiβ, lend me your strength. I won't save Akarui. We will.
The rain only seemed to intensify as Colorless Enogu surged around the both of us, black around me and red around him. We both performed Micare towards one another and clashed blades. A large ignition of Enogu scattered across the floor, our strikes carrying equal force and strength. I attempted to sway back and swing Schwarzweiβ at his flank, however, he immediately swarmed my sides with Enogu-constructed blades.
"Hmh!" As I leapt back, I swung my Hyōmei at the extra blades to deflect them away. Akarui had immediately performed another Micare to swerve past and rise into the air with me.
'Clink!' 'Clank!!'
Large sparks and bursts of Enogu emit from our blade clashes, moving faster than even the eye can perceive. Akarui quickly shoved his under heel deep into my solar plexus, knocking me into a building nearby, taking the battle there.
"Tch. . ." I stood back up as Akarui instantaneously crashed with me, causing glass to shatter and fall all around us.
Schwarzweiβ!
. . .!
[ Phasma L.I.N.C = 34%! ]
I witnessed a network of Enogu lines, our Phasma L.I.N.C, slowly trail across my arm; a complex network of white lines with a fading black drawline. I grit my teeth as my body surged with both our Enogu, lunging forward as I swung Schwarzweiβ against his left dagger which he had quickly swung towards me, initiating another clash. Right after, another clash, and another, and another. We both had moved at irregular speeds for any being, clashing blades repeatedly in no less than a mere second as even before the debris could touch the floor, it had been completely torn and sliced apart into utter nothingness from me and Rui's clashes.
Something was clear, however. Akarui had much more skill than I did with his Hyōmei, and from what I could deter from the fight thus far, more experienced and used to his weapons. I still had really no less than a week with Schwarzweiß but Rui felt like a seasoned warrior who had fought hundreds of wars. He immediately kicked my solar plexus, causing me to stumble back as I grit my teeth.
"Gck!!" I held my chest, keeping locked on to Akarui as he used the flatside of his right dagger to send a chunk of falling debris towards me. I completely reacted on instinct, cleanly carving apart the debris in half but once I got a view, Akarui vanished.
Silently, he slashed across my back and kicked my liver, knocking my senses asunder as the gash across my backside caused blood to splatter across the destroyed flooring and soon pavement we battled on. I braked myself by stabbing my Hyōmei deep into the floor, panting as he barely missed my spinal cord. I just needed more. . . Please, Schwarzweiß! As Akarui began running towards me, I quickly conjured three cross-shaped blades from my Enogu to guard.
"Hyaah!!" I yelled out, swinging my arm forward as the blades spin forward, knocking Akarui back towards the building we were in prior. I wouldn't stop there, I began shooting all three blades, piercing through the external Enogu and air. Rui would still effortlessly dodge, performing a backflip to avoid the third and in a wild turn of events. . .
'BREAK!!'
Akarui kicked the entire building upwards with his tail, launching it high into the sky as he prepared to launch it directly at me with his blades.
"Dammit. . ." I sighed while coughing some blood. Not only did the boy I once cherished, my little brother, seem mentally broken but also completely crazy! My Phasma L.I.N.C between me and Schwarzweiß continued to strengthen, feeling both our powers course not just through our bodies, but our very souls.
[ Phasma L.I.N.C = 56%! ]
The surge coursing through me and Schwarzweiß spiked. I immediately swung her up from the ground and prepared myself for the absolute worst. I watched my bloodlusted yet solemn brother use his small daggers to launch the building right at me. I responded by swinging Schwarzweiß's flatside against it, redirecting it back to Rui. I quickly activated the Eye of Avalon to still view Rui through the mayhem, studying how he spun around and with all of his force, smacked his daggers back at the building to launch it towards me again.
"Tch!" I grit my teeth as I leapt at the advancing structure, crafted out of just bricks, wood, and some glass. I chambered my foot in the air and kicked the building back down at Rui, spiking it with all the strength my leg could muster.
"Hmph!" Akarui closed his eyes and placed both of his daggers together, shifting the structure of their blades and reformed his weapon into a claymore, woven of strings and stripes of Enogu.
"What the hell?. . ." I mutter to myself. His Hyōmei
In a clean motion, he slashed through the air and bisected not just the building but even my shoulder apart in my vision through the Eye of Avalon. I quickly Micare'd in the air to avoid the invisible slash, quickly landing back down as I landed down on one of the currently sliding halves that was once a popular store in Ōgenkawa, Akarui following suit and jumping right in-front of me.
[ Phasma L.I.N.C = 71%! ]
I felt the Phasma L.I.N.C slowly further in connection, now feeling as if my hand and Schwarzweiß became one whole limb. I studied Akarui's movements, using the Eye of Avalon to foresee his brutal onslaught of slashes. I quickly parried the initial slash but at that moment-
'SLICE!'
Seamless carves and slices had covered both my hand and Schwarzweiß. My hand had immediately split open as the very blood splatter had a delayed reaction. I grit my teeth as I nearly dropped my Hyōmei as I fell off the side of the sliding building.
Me and Schwarzweiß had fallen down onto the sidewalk, she was fine but I was battered and bleeding out from my gored hand. I could barely lift myself up, laying down as the heavy rain poured all over me. I knew Akarui was approaching me, ready to finish this fight- well, this was already over before it began. I couldn't fight him, at least not like this. He's driven by bloodlust and resentment for me, for what he believes was abandonment.
I wanted to cry.
'Shirō! Shirō!!'
"Hmh. . ." I grunt softly, turning my head around to look at Schwarzweiß, her spirit fully materialized and clinging onto one part of my bisected forearm.
'Please, this isn't over yet!' She assured, her open hand clinging onto her own chest as if to try and mend her own pain and regret for not being able to do more. She didn't need to regret anything, in-fact, I should.
"Like hell it isn't-" I said initially, weak with my voice oozing off the unbearable pain in my tone. "-he's way more skilled than I am, and I need to rely on my Fragment to even be able to remotely perceive an attack from him."
She fell silent for a moment. Honestly, I didn't mean dying here. I was never a good person, instead I was a wretched person. Someone who had disregarded those around me and only took this job to kill the being who killed Akarui. But now, he's already about to kill me, my own little brother.
'Don't fear death.'
". . .?" My ears perked to their sides weakly. What was she on about?
'This is a deathmatch, and he's driven by the constant desire to kill you.' She whispered, but then asked one thing. 'And, what is your desire? Is it to win? To survive? Or to save him?'
"I—" I could barely talk as the blood quickly left my body, my vision beginning to blur out as I grit my teeth, shouting towards her with all my remaining strength.
"I WANT TO LIVE!!" My voice resonated with my very will, the confines of my existence. I saw our Phasma L.I.N.C networks scattering across the area as Schwarzweiß placed her hands on my face. We illuminated the vicinity in a white light as my gored arm quickly began to heal.
'Your wish is my command, Shirō' She said with a smile, and just like that. . .
We accepted each other and fused our minds into one.
[ Phasma L.I.N.C = 100%! ]
[ Phasma RESONANCE - Activated!! ]
I stood up and looked at Akarui, who remained silent with no real reaction. I clenched my fists tightly as I reached out to the side, where Schwarzweiß floated near me in her full manifestation. Our Enogu oozed and floated around the area. I could hear her thoughts. . . Schwarzweiß's thoughts.
"I'm taking you back home, Rui." Stripes of black and white erupted around my vicinity as I had fully regenerated most of my wounds, at least the ones that were more severe. I was amazed at this- I don't think I could even just call this a mere amplification. If just a simple Phasma L.I.N.C connection made me feel like a superhero, then this made me feel otherworldly.
"Hm. . ." He hummed with an agitated tone. He splits his claymore apart back into his daggers, his face resonating more hate and resentment. Schwarzweiß placed her hand in my right hand, rematerializing into a Hyōmei, curling my fingers around the hilt. Akarui performed a Micare directly towards me, swinging one of his daggers towards my flank. I instantly swung my sword around and spun my blade against his in an attempt to parry which surprisingly succeeded. I leapt back as Akarui jumped onto one of the signs of the evacuated buildings and dived down, swinging his daggers in a cross-pattern. I guarded, grunting and gritting my teeth from the impact. I retaliated with a kick aimed at his shin but that met an immediate parry from his own foot.
"Tch." I sucked my teeth as we both performed Micare rapidly, clashing repeatedly in no less than a second. However, even with this otherworldly boost. It still felt like Akarui was above me in some way.
I backflipped away from Akarui while emanating pools of Enogu around my blade, black and white flame-like essences wrapping around Schwarzweiß. I gritted my teeth as I fully swung down, creating tremors across the pavement as large eruptions of Enogu violently crash across the ground towards Akarui. He immediately side-flipped onto one side of a nearby building, I followed suit and swung my Hyōmei at his shin. Akarui leapt off and launched a series of Enogu-constructed blades at me and my vicinity.
"Damn!" I cursed to myself, leaping off the building's side and twisted around the flying swords. I wrapped my fingers around Schwarzweiß tighter and shouted at Akarui.
"Come back to me and Mom, Rui!!" My voice shook the air as Akarui was still recovering from the fall. I swung the blade down but at that split moment.
"That's enough of you, pup." The golden-eyed man had used Micare to get in-between me and Akarui, effortlessly grabbing and halting my blade.
"You!" I growled, my rage boiling so intensely I could feel my body heat up. My hands grasped my sword's hilt so tightly that they began to bleed. This man was the reason Akarui is who he is now. It wasn't that Kechī who took him away from me, but instead this very man.
"I wonder what would've happened if I had taken both of you." The man pondered, his smirk widening as he continued. "But if I did, I don't think you'd end up as successful as Akarui." He teased, sliding his fingers up the blade without even getting cut.
"Huh?" I said with some curiosity.
"Well, your blade is quite dull." He commented, releasing his fingers as a mere flicker of Black and, what seemed like Gold Enogu rush through the blade. Instantly, it shattered in its entirety, taking the boost in strength I acquired earlier with it.
"Tch!" I was blown back from the intense shockwave. But, how?! As my back crashed against the pavement while I slid back, I pondered on how he could've broken my Hyōmei so easily? Was his Enogu that potent, and why couldn't I actually see it until now? Nonetheless, I picked myself back up as the man stood there idly while Akarui fully stood up.
"It seems your friends are still busy with our little 'pets'." He observed, his eyes scanning the faraway battle. Even Motatsū was in that fight, so I really had no support right now.
"Wait, the Kechī are yours?!" I asked, rage oozing from my voice.
"Well, some are in a loose way~" He divulged, shrugging. "But, you won't need to worry about them any longer." He said, turning around towards Akarui and patting his shoulder whilst turning his face to look at me.
"Why?" I asked, clenching my fists as I walked forward. But, something stopped my advance.
Akarui.
He performed a Micare to intercept me and plunged his dagger straight through my chest. I felt the blade go through my heart in an instant, my vision quickly began to blur as I saw Akarui standing before me with a sorrowful face. I wanted to hug him, but before I could drag my arms to try so, he immediately wrapped his other arm around me. A soft embrace as I heard light sobs come from him.
"R-Rui." I said weakly as my blood filled my lungs. I coughed and wheezed as I felt the oxygen slowly leave my body.
"I'm sorry, brother." He sobbed and weeped, pushing his face into my shirt and cried gently. With the last of my strength, I wrapped my arms around him as I bled out. "I just want this to end. All of it." He struggled to even hold his dagger despite the fact it had yet to leave my chest. "I didn't want to kill you. I never wanted to. All I wanted was for me, you, and Mom to be a happy family again." He took his face away from my shirt and looked up at me. "What's so wrong with that? Why is it wrong to live peacefully?"
I stood silent, trying to hug Akarui tighter. I began crying at the sight of my brother's own tears, pondering about the wrongfulness of peace. There shouldn't be anything wrong with living happily, that's simply nature. If this was how I was going to die, I don't mind. I at least knew Rui was alive.
"Shirō." Rui muttered, grabbing his dagger. "I love you." He ripped out the dagger from my chest, blood splattering over our bodies. My arms slowly unwrap from him as I fell down.
"I love you too, Akarui. Please. . . Just-" With the last of my strength, I weakfully say, "-make sure Mom is safe." I fell down, letting my wounds get the best of me. I saw that man and Akarui leave as the rain poured over me. Such a cliché sad moment, I thought to myself. Rain, crying, it all felt so redundant but in reality, felt like the world was also embracing me via the rain. I lay down in a puddle of my own blood as I saw the blurry images of Kageki, Shimi, Kaguro, Ketsueki, and Motatsū run over to me. At least, that was the last thing I saw before I passed out.
I deserved this, every second of it.
Death is what I've been needing for so long.