A guttural growl worked its way up from the depths of Naru's throat as she pressed her hand down just above the gash on her leg. The limb burned as if caught on fire, the severed nerves shrieking for her to rub at the wound, and it took all of her self-control to not comply. She inhaled sharply through her nose as she watched the bloodstain spread on her pants, and she ground her teeth together as she decided to not let her opponent see anymore of her weakness.
She exhaled sharply and straightened up, wobbling a bit as she put a bit too much weight on her injured leg. "Impressive technique," she said and forced her lips apart in a toothy grin as she turned her eyes back to Kurama. "Your speed's really..."
Though her smile had been intended as taunting, it faltered slightly when she noticed the swordsman had finally decided to part his eyelids and properly return her glance. Blood red irises stared back at her from beneath heavy lids and long, white lashes. His eyes were narrow and sharp from spending so much time closed, and the corner of his right eye twitched slightly as if the sunlight was making them sting.
Caught in a daze, Naru staggered a few steps to the side, and she hissed as her leg burned in protest, her fangs pressing against her old scars as she clenched her jaw as hard as she could. The pain instantly brought back her caution in full effect, and she assumed a defensive stance before picking up their conversation again. "Is that why you keep your eyes closed all the time?" she asked and nodded towards Kurama.
The swordsman chuckled and turned his face down towards the ground so his bangs fell over his eyes, and when he looked up again, his eyelids had fluttered close once more. "Gotta say I'm surprised ya ain't doin' the same, sweetheart," he said and brought his free hand up to absentmindedly rub at the soft skin underneath his left eye. "Colors like yers an' mine tend ta make people believe untrue things 'bout ya."
Despite the situations seriousness, Naru couldn't help but chortle at Kurama's words. "Lolon Village's elder did say everybody was hiding from me because of the color of my eyes," she said, wobbling slightly as she tried to balance on her right leg. "They thought I was you."
Another eerie cackling bubbled past the swordsman's lips. "'S that so?" he jingled, his voice dripping with glee. "Ain't that an insult, eh?"
"An insult towards you or me?" Naru snapped, the constant throbbing pain making her mood flare, and her irritation grew tenfold when Kurama remained silent, but his smirk widened and he tilted his head to the side in an almost playful manner. "Bastard..!"
She took a few tentative steps forward, pushing the pain away from her thoughts as she braced herself to once more engage in combat with her opponent. She inhaled deeply as she urged forth more of her ability, covering her entire body with strands of orange and rough fur. Some of the pain subsided at the sudden shift in her musculature, and she released her grip on her leg to raise both arms, and as soon as her claws had grown out as far as physically possible, she broke off the snow and charged at Kurama once more.
Though he'd been casually waiting for Naru to attack, when Kurama raised his katana to parry her claws, he was as prepared as if they'd never paused their battle. His smirk grew stiff as Naru's increased strength forced him to hold his sword with both hands, and when he found it still wasn't enough to push her back, he tilted the blade to the side and pushed it to the side, effectively causing Naru's hands so slide away from the katana, and she stumbled as the motion caused her to lose her balance.
"Yer wide open," Kurama sang, and without giving her seconds enough to straighten up, he raised his right leg, grinning at her mortified expression before smashing his heel directly over Naru's wound.
Pain burst like electricity throughout her lower body, and she barely managed to turn the pained exclaim that wanted to escape her lips into a feral growl. She could almost feel the blood gushing out her wound, but she refused to let herself submit to the pain. Instead, she spun around in the snow to push Kurama away from her, and she braced her right arm the second the swordsman appeared in her line of sight again.
"Claw Gun!" she snarled and struck his katana, and the sheer strength of the blow made the blade quiver uncontrollably, the sound making Naru's ears curl back in discomfort. Kurama's toothless smile faltered by barely a millimeter as the momentum forced him to lower his sword, leaving his guard wide open for Naru to smash her elbow into his chest.
A barely audible hiss passed through the swordsman's lips as he felt the small puncture wounds over his ribs protesting, but he changed that hiss into an amused chuckle and took a few steps backwards, allowing himself two seconds to inhale deeply before lunging at Naru again, sword raised and ready.
Their battle quickly grew more and more vicious, with new cuts and bruises appearing on their bodies with each passing second. Neither one of them had even the slightest hesitation about whether or not to go all out, and every strike dealt was meant to be fatal. Small drops of their blood colored the snow around them red, the contrast strikingly similar to shaved ice with raspberry topping.
I need to finish this quickly, Naru thought as she twisted her body to the side to avoid getting Kurama's katana buried into her abdomen. The jerky move made her leg shriek in protest, and she ground her teeth together to not let escape any sounds. This is only going downhill now.
She growled when she was forced to perform a ridiculous pirouette to dodge a swing of the enemy blade, and when she once again felt pain in her leg, an idea popped into her mind. Alright, let's hope this works! She exclaimed and dropped to her knees, her right hand going to cover the cut, where they had started hardening in the cold.
"I think the match's mine, sweetheart." The tiniest of smiles graced her lips when she heard Kurama's triumphant voice from right behind her, and from the corner of her eye, Naru saw the katana's blade flying towards her neck.
The subtle smile turned into a full-blown grin as she twisted her upper body around to greet the sword with her mouth, but instead of using her teeth to parry the blade, she caught it between her teeth. She winced slightly as the sharp edge just barely pressed against the corners of her mouth, but she pushed away the new form of pain and sent Kurama a smoldering glare before clenching her jaw and biting straight through the steel.
The katana shattered, sending countless small splinters flying in every direction. Time seemed to slow down as Naru stood up and spat out several fragments of the blade, her eyes raking over the swordsman's face and taking in his expression. Gone was his smile, his eyes open wide as he lowered his gaze to stare down at the hilt in his hands, the only part that remained of his once trusted weapon. For only the second time, Naru felt like she saw a part of Kurama's real emotions as he seemed too surprised to speak, and she almost felt bad for him.
Almost.
She took a step forward and grabbed him by the throat, a feral snarl rolling through her teeth as she pushed him off his feet and slammed him into the snow. She retracted her claws enough so they wouldn't pierce his skin, and she was pleased to find Kurama's pulse beating quite rapidly underneath her fingers. The silence that followed was disturbed only by the labored breathing of the both of them, and it took several seconds before the adrenaline in Naru's veins had settled enough for her to relax.
"Well." She exhaled sharply and sat down in the snow next to Kurama, her grip still secure around his neck. "I think the match is mine, sweetheart," she said, her voice trembling with the aftermath of their battle.
The corners of Kurama's lips curled upwards and he chuckled at the repeat of his own words. "So it seems, no?" He spoke in a completely different tone now; his voice was still dripping with spite and glee, but gone was the previous coldness. "Yer the first one in a good while ta knock me off my feet," he jingled. "'M impressed, sweetheart."
"You know, flattery's not gonna get you far if you use a tone like that," Naru snorted. "Lose the spite, then you'll get better results."
"I ain't flatterin'," Kurama hummed. A few seconds of silence passed before he raised his right arm so he could poke at the hand still closed around his throat. "Mind lettin' me sit up, sweetheart?"
Naru offered him a warning glare before complying and releasing her grip. The swordsman slowly heaved his upper body off the ground and sat up straight, sucking in a deep breath of the icy air before sighing. "So I suppose yer gonna drag me ta Grand Line now, cap'n?" he asked and shook his head at the mere thought.
"You get the honor of being my first mate," Naru said, her grin running from ear to ear. "First mate of the future Pirate King, you should consider yourself lucky!"
"I'll agree with that once ya become king, sweetheart."
A bark of laughter bubbled past Naru's lips, and she huffed as she rose to her feet. "C'mon, let's go to the village," she said and offered Kurama a hand. "We need to treat our wounds before we get frostbite." She sighed when the swordsman completely ignored her gesture of kindness and stood up on his own. "There's a cargo ship arriving at the docks here in a few days," she added. "Since you destroyed all the rest of the ships, that's what we're riding to West Blue."
"Arite," Kurama said and dusted some snow off his kimono's soaked hems. When he straightened up, he turned his head in the direction he knew Lolon Village was located. "Ya sure they won't try ta hang me or somethin'?" I am a demon, ya know?"
"I think I can handle them," Naru said, groaning as she took a few steps over the snow. "You didn't have to cut me in the leg, bastard."
Kurama released another hyena-like laughter and strode right past her, the idea of helping her walk not even crossing his mind. "Ah, by the way," he said and glanced at her from over his shoulder, his smirk widening to inhuman proportions. "Ya owe me a new katana, sweetheart."