Running Away.
A technique of self-protection, being performed since ancient times. This is an instinctive response to harm and threat ingrained in every sentient life form.
Since the dawn of life on Earth, this instinct has been passed on from one generation to the next.
Perhaps the most interesting and underrated fact about this technique was that it didn't need any superpowers to perform.
Yes… anyone could do it.
And so, I ran.
With everything I had, I turned around and ran.
No shame in that, I have no one to answer for my act of cowardice. No one saw, and I doubt anyone will believe a curse anyway.
So why put my life on the line when I have the option to just flee?
I didn't have that when I fought those curse spirits in the station, at least I tried though.
I couldn't run from Dagon's domain.
I couldn't run away from Jogo, if I had done that then Maki and others would have died.
And it's foolish to even think there was an option to run against someone like Mahoraga.
But now… now was the perfect time to give this underrated technique a chance, right!
"I now have a strong reason to suspect that I'm cursed." I cursed internally and picked up speed, sensing movement behind me.
Mahito, aka patch face, was hot on my heels after me. Over my shoulder, I looked and saw Mahito keeping up while his legs transformed into those of an animal, speed nearly doubling.
F*ck..!
I turned a corner sharply, nearly slipping on loose debris as I forced myself into a narrow alleyway, hoping to break line of sight. My breathing was going all over the place, each inhale burning my lungs as I pushed them past their limit.
When it comes to CE control, I was really getting good there, but my body! It was at its best shape. I gotta hit the gym if I survive this hellhole, I promise.
"Oi, wait up for me, this is no fun if you keep running away you know." Mahito's voice rang, too close to my liking.
Suddenly, the curse spirit's limbs stretched mid-sprint and they shot out like spikes right at me.
I almost got hit in the back if not for the last-minute turn at the end of the alley.
I kicked off the wall to my side, using the momentum to vault over a collapsed section of concrete blocking the alley. My landing was rough, my legs almost giving out beneath me at the absurd parkouring I had to perform without any prior experience, I forced them to keep moving.
Why god?
What have I done wrong to you that you're hell-bent on making my life miserable? There are several other sorcerers running around Shibuya today, isn't there, so tell me, why every god damn curse is after my ass?
I didn't wish to, but tears of injustice threatened to spill out of my eyes once again.
As for Mahito, I wasn't certain but going by the anime, his appearance, those stitches around his face, and that disfigured human whose face he turned into a toy, there was no doubt that that was the soul-sucking freak from the anime.
Just as midway down the alley, knocking off anything on the way to slow Mahito down, suddenly I heard the footsteps behind me fade away.
I looked over my shoulder and surprisingly, he wasn't following anymore.
???
Did he lose interest or something?
I slowed down slightly, taking long deep breaths, but still on the move. Not spotting his figure anywhere, a little kindling hope ignited that I lost him.
Quickly covering half of the alley, I intended to get out of this place when at the turning a hand shot out for me out of nowhere.
"Found you..."
My heart almost gave out the way that hand came to my face, I by instinct, put all my weight back and almost fell backwards until I used my hands to support my falling body midway.
That hand barely missed me, I quickly in adrenaline, sent a hard kick at Mahito's stomach and, kicking the freak away and at the same time used that boost to redirect myself the other way.
'F*ck... that was close. I almost died there...' My heart could give a race car's engine a run for its money right now. Any more and I don't need curses, I'll be gone by cardiac arrest.
I bolted the other way with everything I got, putting extra, extra long leaps to make distance from that lunatic.
I couldn't let him touch me.
No matter what, can't let him touch me or f*ck RTC, f*ck curse energy reinforcement, I was a dead man.
Even worse, I might become one of those disfigured humans of his.
A chill ran down my spine at what kind of threat Mahito was and he was exactly behind me. That alone gave me a slight speed boost.
The biggest problem with this one was that I really can't fight him. Normal attacks do nothing to him. Only attacks which could harm souls would work on him, and I had nothing like that on hand.
"Oh come on, stop running away, let's have fun together," Mahito called out from behind.
Like hell I'll believe you. Over my dead body.
I cut through another street, weaving between abandoned vehicles and shattered storefronts, trying to create distance, trying to stay unpredictable. My movements were sloppy, far from a professional escape artist, but I didn't have the luxury of precision anymore.
There was no bigger motivation than running for your life after all.
Mahito who was chasing just a few meters behind, grinned seeing the human constantly darting left and right to lose himself. Somehow, this was fun.
"Come on stop, look, I promise not to do anything to you, pinky promise," Mahito shouted.
My brow twitched with irritation, like as if.
"F*CK YOU."
I screamed and bolted faster.
If anything this made him grin even wider.
Suddenly, his hands once again started to transform and turned into long whips and shot out at me from behind.
The attack came so suddenly that the first hit landed exactly at my leg and made me go tumbling down the path, straight into a trash bin.
The world seemed to spin around me only for a second before my body was up again, dodging another whip.
I poured curse energy into my legs and jumped with everything I had in me, stepping between the walls surrounding us to escape vertically instead of horizontally this time.
And quickly was on the rooftop. Seeing him following through, I just cursed and once again bolted from rooftop to rooftop.
This could have been a great cinematic chase scene for a movie or so if not for the very real threat to my life. I hurriedly crossed the building and parkoured into another, Mahito already doing the same on the buildings on the other side.
"Damn it, I need to lose him somehow."
While parkouring away, I saw an intersection and quickly looked behind. Mahito was still behind. I happened to see that place before, while running away.
Turns out we were running in circles. Good lord.
But I remembered there was a big board on the right there.
A plan instantly formed inside my mind, and I intentionally jumped down from the roof of a single-story building, heading right at the intersection.
Looking back, I saw Mahito was still there. I had a feeling that he wasn't directly chasing me like someone trying to catch their prey as quickly as possible. He was following, observing, letting me exhaust myself while he closed the gap at his own pace.
Almost playing around with me. That was even worse.
I pushed myself again, a last-ditch effort to speed up and give me just enough time to pull off the stunt I had in mind.
Ignoring the way my body protested, I ran, and at the intersection, took a hard right turn. However, instead of turning exactly, I rammed into the pillar holding a balcony on the first floor of the building before me.
Without losing speed, I kicked the pillar mid-motion and with that kick, I took a hard right turn.
The pillar gave way, I poured my CE into that kick, the entire structure came crashing down, directly on Mahito, who was exactly behind me.
Mahito saw the balcony falling on top of him, but couldn't react in time, not that it would hurt him, so why bother?
He didn't feel a thing; he twisted his soul under the wreckage, and his body followed. Like a snake, he pulled himself out of the rubble without any trouble.
However, when Mahito was out, he seemed to have lost his target. A frown appeared on his face, now he had to go find him again.
He looked around, he wasn't trapped inside the wreckage long enough for that human to completely disappear. He must be here. His eyes wandered around, sure the human was here, and he tried to sense his curse energy.
But then a sharp noise of something hitting something rang out just a little ahead and his frown turned upside down.
"Found you." He grinned and rushed ahead at top speed.
And as he vanished further ahead, I who was watching all this behind a huge board on the second floor of the building, sighed in relief. Heart hammering against my chest like it was about to burst out any second.
I sighed, finally taking a deep breath in, happy that the plan worked. However, my lips pursed a bit, thinking what that sound was, which wasn't part of the plan.
I thought of hiding, yes, but beyond that I had no idea. If not for whoever caused that sound, Mahito might still be here.
Perhaps luck decided to show a little mercy on me. Yeah... let's leave it at that.
I can't stay here for long, I have to move before Mahito finds nothing there and comes searching for me here again.
So I pushed my body up and climbed to the rooftop again, searching where I was.
Good news, I was very close to Shibuya station, and Mahito just went the other way, meaning the entire route was clear. Sighing, I was already on my way there.
This time I didn't dally, straight toward the station.
On the other side, Mahito rushed toward the sound. He heard the sound first and thought it was a feint to lure him in, but he clearly sensed curse energy there. So he went.
And just as he took two more turns, right in front of him was the human.
He came to a halt, mouth going a bit into an 'O' shape since this wasn't the human he was chasing earlier.
This one was a girl.
"Ah well, I'm into girls anyway."
And somewhere else entirely, Maki had just retrieved her spare weapon from Panda, which took longer than usual since locating Panda was no easy task, he was with Kusakabe and very far away.
Now she was marching towards the centre of the city to find either Megumi or that boy. Or perhaps those curse spirits.
Whichever she could spot first.
Just as she passed multiple alleys, she came to an abrupt halt. She blinked behind her glasses, pondering over what she just saw.
She quickly backpedalled to find the very person she was looking for, at least one of them.
Lying there in his entire glory, one half-naked Fushiguro Megumi, all knocked out, behind a trash bin.
"You kidding me?" Maki's eyes twitched with irritation. Recalling the strong man with zero curse energy who killed Dagon going after Megumi, Maki was worried sick.
She looked back at Megumi, all his clothes gone and wondered, "What kind of fight was it?"
She hurriedly went to check on him, he looked fine to her. Just unconscious.
And now came the problem of what to do next. She can't just leave him here like this. Naked and defenceless.
She looked ahead, where that boy or the curse spirit might be and then back to Megumi...
An internal conflict broke out inside her. And ultimately, she could only curse.
"Damn it, Megumi."
xXx
A/N : Ah, you know there are often those chase scenes in movies, this was inspired by that. Hope you like it. Never done something like this before. Tell me how you like it or I should leave movie stuff to movies... haha...
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