“Shirogane!”
She sighs.
“Si? Glad you guys could make it up.” Looking concerned, she glances up the stairwell.
“The eighth floor is just up ahead, I still haven’t gotten word from Kino’s group yet. Even that boy who supposedly took the person on this floor out.” Her ear piece fizzes out trying to make contact.
“But for a second, I sensed an insane amount of Tamaryoku. Just for a moment. We should hurry on up, I don’t know if Kino’s group is still fighting up there.”
Amaiaruheitō, along with Kobayashi and Si’s group, simply understood making quick talk as they ascended to the eighth floor.
The group scales the large stairwell, some even leaping from wall to wall to make pace.
Skrr
Opening the dented and damaged door, they bear witness to the charred and destroyed structures around the main room.
“Hey! Look, is that Kino?!” Ryu points out.
Rushing over the group finds out in horror of what happened to the squad, one splattered on the floor.
One who was massacred with no legs remaining, the other still remains to be found.
Walking over to Kino laying out on the floor, Si checks up on him.
“Kino?! Are you still alive, can you respond?!” He hurriedly shouts.
He opens his eyes slowly, managing something of a smile.
“Hey, haha, I was just taking a nap. Ah, I’m banged up pretty bad aren’t I?”
Si simply shakes his head.
“Save your energy for later. But would you mind telling me what happened? Who on this floor could have massacred you and your entire squad?”
With a weak cough in his voice Kino struggles to speak up.
“Hey take it easy, go slowly…” Si assures Kino they’ll get out of here after it’s all done.
“Well it’s our main guy after all who did this, tch. He had a pretty insane fight….”
Si eyes widen.
“So it was Hyuganatsu after all….Alright, I’ll have Ryu apply medical attention to you. Tch, RYU! Get your ass over here!”
“Yes sir!” Ryu rushes in.
Si still couldn’t believe this, how could someone like that be able to take out Kino’s group.
Even after knowing Kino for eight years, still couldn’t believe he managed to be taken out this bad despite their experience.
“Hey Si!” Ryu weakly speaks up while coughing up blood.
“That boy Yanagidate… is in trouble. I think they’re on the roof from what I can sense.”
Si clicks his teeth and he has to get up there, it’s just two floors above.
“Alright Shirogane! Secure the next two floors above this, from what I can sense people are still up there!”
Moving quickly they assessed the situation and ascended to the next floor.
“U-um excuse me” A voice rings out in the middle of movement.
“Who’s there?!” Amaiaruheitō shouts.
Revealing herself Okemia appears out of the guest rooms hiding from all the chaos.
“Who are you guys? Uh… you definitely know about my brother from what I heard right?!”
Amaiaruheitō sparks up.
“Wait, your Hyuganatsu Okemia, right?! Kid, what are you doing here?”
Rushing over, she checks up on Okemia.
“Are you okay? It seems like the back of your cardigan has been burnt. Oh! Even you–”
“I’m fine! I promise! But… I think my brother is still fighting. I can’t believe I am saying this, but somehow Yanagidate is in this.”
“Wait, do you know why he’s here?” Okemia questions.
Amaiaruheitō simply pats her head.
“It’s alright kid, he’s with us. Absurd as that sounds, he is with us.”
Okemia sighs.
“That just confuses me more… But my dad is still on the 10th floor securing whatever deals he has with a bigger company, is he in trouble too?”
“Well… Your dad is not the main concern of ours, but we are looking for your brother. He is our main person of interest right now.”
“A-ah, ok. Please go up safely. I think he’s on the roof, I went out earlier and saw the hole in the ceiling.” Okemia stutters for a bit, the situation is quite stressful.
Shirogane walks over to Okemia.
“Hey sweetie! Do you know if the roof is open right now?”
Okemia digs in her pockets.
“I have a spare key! I went on the roof like an hour ago to escape the tension going on.”
“Alright, that’s good, do you mind coming with us for a moment! Just stay behind us okay?”
Okemia simply nods.
Amaiaruheitō looks at Shirogane.
Both of them rush back to the stairwell catching up with Si as he pushes towards Masashi and Hyuganatsu.
“GRK!”
Masashi’s blade gets deflected by the roots sprouting from the trees surrounding the building, and Hyuganatsu hasn’t moved from his spout.
“Come on! You have to have more resolve than that?” Hyuganatsu controls the trees with his finger.
SLISSHING!
Automatically reacting Masashi shreds the incoming roots that have sprouted out, he wonders why he couldn’t do the same for Hyuganatsu.
Maybe the gap is too wide between them.
“NRGH!” Rushing in to attack Hyuganatsu, water spouts out from beneath the floor.
Shooting out like a geyser.
“Tch, now he can control water too?!”
Working his fingers, he shoots the water into his trees.
They grow even jagged and abundant, the large branches consume the roof’s sky view, blocking mostly any moon light from coming in.
Smirking a bit, Hyuganatsu simply walks towards Masashi.
“Are you surprised my abilities aren’t anything that relates to dominance?”
“I mean in a sense I have been utterly dominating you, but it is kind of interesting how I never developed the ability to control gravity.”
Appearing in front of Masashi he aims for a gut punch.
But it is blocked by Masashi’s blade.
CREAK!
His blade begins to crack.
“Oh? Your weapon’s giving out? How sad.” Delivering a horrifying kick Masashi is sent to the ground once more.
Walking towards Masashi, he breaks a sharp branch off.
“Boy… tell me this? Why is it do you think people kill other people?”
Getting up on his two feet Masashi simply scoffs it off.
“Tch, stop talking. I don’t really have time to hear blabbering.”
Closing his eyes, Hyuganatsu smiles.
“Ever the foolish. Some people kill to satisfy their desires, some people kill to protect.”
“SOME people even kill because they are told to! All of this to say it’s a natural desire of ours!”
“What are you getting at?”
“If you killed someone for no reason? What was your purpose for that? If you kill with clear intent and understand the weight of your actions, can you justify it?”
Standing up fully Masashi takes a battle stance once more.
“I guess some people kill because of protecting themselves or others…. Maybe even make a change in something.”
Hyuganatsu simply shakes his head.
“Tsk tsk tsk, I’m not talking about simple things like reasoning or will, or even a job. There is only one thing that drives people to take such actions.”
He aims the branch towards Masashi.
“And that one thing is.”
His face twists in a wicked grin, as Tamaryoku begins surging rapidly.
“IT’S INSTINCTS!”
SWOOSH!
Appearing in front of Masashi, he simply taps his shoulder causing him to stumble backwards.
“Watch your step!” Grabbing Masashi’s Wakizashi, he raises his leg up before delivering a thunderous axe kick towards his stomach.
“TAH!” Grinning his teeth, Masashi can’t seem to get a break when it comes to being slammed onto the floor by this guy.
SLISICH!
As the blade is thrusted towards his head, he catches it with his own two hands.
Blood drips from Masashi’s hands as Hyuganatsu pushes the blade down further.
“Giving up yet? It’s clear that whatever you came here for is not worth your life? Did you think, just by getting to a point where you could withstand my pressure.”
“Heck even the immense aura of others, would get you anywhere?” He sighs.
“I’m disappointed, but that is to be expected of a child with no experience.”
Thrusting the blade further down he grins freakishly, before the decisive blow can be delivered.
VWISSH!
Masashi vanishes at last, even his blade disappears with him.
Hyuganatsu is bewildered.
“So he can go invisible?”
Walking back Masashi stumbles and falls onto the group, he breathes heavily.
Being clouded by determination and a bit of revenge he hadn’t thought about using Subete mo Kakusarete.
Feeling his surroundings he can sense others coming up from the preceding floors, he smiles for a bit.
Glad to see he won’t be fighting this monster alone.
Looking around Hyuganatsu tries to find Masashi.
“Where did you go?! Do you think by waiting out you can look for a moment to strike me?”
“If your invisibility is what I think it is, I’ll burn you to a crisp like a smoked chameleon.”
BVWROOSH!
A huge torrent of flames spit out in all directions, threatening to burn anything and everything in sight.
“I don’t smell anything?! So where are you, boy?” He shouts.
The flames simply just pass by or through Masashi, like they’re not even in the same space.
It’s clear to Masashi, this is not just normal invisibility.
After all, he can phase through walls.
Masashi takes a good breather as the torrent continues on.
BRANGK!
A door leading out of the roof opens up.
“Fuji!” A voice shouts.
Turning his head, he sees Okemia, which manages to make him stop with all the flames.
Walking towards her his face is stuck in one position.
“What are you doing up here? Didn’t I tell you to stay away from this bout? Tch, you won’t listen won’t you? This is why you keep getting in trouble!”
“Just… Come here.” His voice, ever demanding.
SLISICH!
Appearing in front of Okemia, Masashi runs his blade through Hyuganatsu’s hand, fully shoving his blade into it.
He managed to catch him off guard, finally.
With an enraged expression on his face Masashi looks up smiling.
“HA! Heh, I’ve managed to deal some damage, instead of just slashing at you.”
Masashi begins laughing, he knows just that won’t amount to anything.
He is just glad he can at least strike him in a meaningful way.
Okemia looks confused.
“Yanagidate?! First of all… I am still very confused ab–”
Before she can speak, her brother’s eye invokes a sight of intense fear.
“Tch!”
He slightly winches at the pain.
“You certainly are a clever little shit, I’m not even mad at this. I guess I’ll just kill you where you stand.”
Massive amounts of tree branches rush towards Masashi whose blade is still stuck in Hyuganatsu’s arm.
“BRA–”
SWOOSH!
A blade jets past Hyuganatsu’s face grazing it, just barely he managed to evade it in the moment.
Leaping back he looks onward towards the two incoming presences.
“So the rest of the squad came up? I assume?”
Quickly appearing in front of Masashi and Okemia, both Amaiaruheitō and Si show up with an unmistakable presence.
They both intend to end this once and for all.
Looking up with genuine gleam in his eyes Masashi is happy to see Amaiaruheitō.
“Y-your here?! Oh my goodness, Amaiaruheitō…”
Holding up the weakened Masashi, she just laughs.
“Hey Masashi, how are you holding up?”
Laughing as well, he just looks at the ground.
“I want to sleep, that’s all I know…”
“Me and Si will take it from here. Don’t stress yourself getting into this battle anymore.”
Placing Masashi against the wall, she walks back up to Si.
“Hey, ready to get this over with?”
Si sideyes her.
“Yeah” , turning his attention towards Hyuganatsu shouting.
“Hyuganatsu Fuji! We have tasked you with taking you out, I’m sure you won’t come in easily even if you wanted to do that.”
“But that just makes our jobs easier, I get to take out the bastard that destroyed Kino’s group.”
Hyuganatsu gets up and puts his hand on his waist.
“And what? You come for revenge too, please you people came here unannounced. After I knew you were coming, All thanks to a little birdy. But I’ll say if you plan on taking me down, don’t count on it.”
“Little birdie huh?” Si smirks.
“I guess I’ll keep that in mind.”
Turning his head to Amaiaruheitō he simply nods.
Both of them release an intense amount of pressure as they intend to finish this fight off. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
WHISSH
“Oh?” Appearing behind Hyuganatsu with striking speed and her katana she threw already in hand, Amaiaruheitō moves in with blazing precision.
Just as fast and as instant Si is already moving his blade in position to lob his head off.
Directing a root at Amaiaruheitō he sways her away for a moment.
“So, why do you intend to fight me two against one? Si was it? Hopefully you don’t end up lik–”
SLISICH!
Slashing through the roots with relative ease, Amaiaruheitō manages to slice Hyuganatsu on his back via slashing her blood projectiles at him.
Si comes in for his neck but his strike is blocked with a full hand.
“Pay attention!” Si shouts.
Turning around Amaiaruheitō attempts to slice his arm clean off, but the assault is swatted away by the flames of Hyuganatsu.
With his other hand he commands metal spears to rise from the ground aiming to Impale Si.
“What’s wrong agent, scared on your feet?”
Si flips above Hyuganatsu throwing miniature knives at his head.
Appearing above Si, Hyuganatsu ignites his feet with flames before kicking him to the floor.
Moving in Amaiaruheitō swiftly slices at Hyuganatsu, but he blocks the slash with his arm.
Falling to ground she rushes at him, getting in close combat, striking with precision.
TWHUMPTT!
Smiling with a grin she counters, blocks and even styles a bit on him.
“Ha, you can fight! But can you keep up with me?” As he strikes, he kicks her away.
Before she can attempt to get back into the action, a root pierces through her stomach.
Looking down on the root she grabs it.
“Tsk, shit!”
Moving in front of Amaiaruheitō he grabs her shoulder, crushing it in hand.
“The big and bad put down by a tree root, how sad!”
Driving herself forward through the root as it goes into her, she just grins wickedly.
“Then let’s see how big and bad you can get?”
The blood that is dripping from her impaled stomach and even around her body form into sharp spikes that manage to graze and even pierce Hyuganatsu’s body.
“What a crazy woman!” Hyuganatsu laughs.
“What a wild woman you are.”
Amaiaruheitō pulls herself back from the tree root, blood doesn’t pour out as much as it should as she leaps back.
Putting his arms up in a suggestive way he wonders how she’s still standing with that hole.
“You’re durable I’ll give you that, but if you intend to rely on your abilities like that!”
Gesturing his arms as the large amount of trees already covering the sky move towards Amaiaruheitō, they crack and open revealing holes before a torrent of water spits out.
Lifting both her hands up she solidifies the water, not freezing them but leaving them in a suspended state.
Hyuganatsu looks over in shock.
“Huh, so your ability is not to control blood? Interesting?”
SLISICH!
Slicing at his back, Si kicks him off his balance.
“Did you forget about me? Or were you so caught up in your ego it didn’t matter?”
Turning around he looks on with a smile.
“I would rather focus on one target instead.”
Quickly moving towards Amaiaruheitō’s side he sees the hole in her stomach.
“You can still fight with a hole like that in your body? You are something alright.”
She smirks at him.
“Well that is the amazing ability of being experimented on.” She focuses her gaze onto Hyuganatsu.
“Besides, if I didn’t have the ability to control my blood like I did. I wouldn’t be taking these risky moves.”
“Are you two done talking? You seem to be deciding your next moves, are you?”
Si shouts.
“You don’t seem to be faring well, you’ve been sliced in the back not once but twice and that wound I assumed Masashi gave you in your hand. Is slowing you down.”
“if anything! You should count your next move.”
“Argonace, I see.” He simply mutters.
WHISSH!
Electrifying the field Si moves in, one of his blades aims towards Hyuganatsu’s neck.
Not even hearing him coming from a frontal attack, Hyuganatsu lifts his hand up as metal spikes from below slam into Si’s arms.
With his other free arm Si slashes at his chest, managing to leave a mark on his chest.
Holding his chest Hyuganatsu stumbles back.
“Shit, he managed to cut me…”
Looking up from his wound, Amaiaruheitō is at his feet, her sword readying to take his head off.
Gritting his teeth he catches the blade with both his arms but she pushes him as he holds onto the blade.
“You really are a cockroach.”
Grinning back but in a wide smile she stares with intensity.
“What’s wrong, you didn’t bring your bug repellent? Or are you just a bug yourself!”
Pushing him further the blade sinks its sharp edges into his hands.
“And you think this is enough?!” He shouts with an enraged tone in his voice.
Grabbing onto the blade he exerts his Tamaryoku to great lengths, crushing it in his hand he breaks the blade.
Pointing his fingers toward Amaiaruheitō, Roots are sent flying towards her.
Impaling her, sending her to the other side of the roof.
Attempting to finish him, she pulls out her service pistol.
But the roots knock it out of her hand.
“Tch damn, this guy had more strength left in him.” She says as she tries to cut the roots surrounding her.
Spitting on the floor he readies to ignite the place on fire.
“KAKOMU!” is shouted far away from Hyuganatsu, it’s Masashi who is somewhat recovered being supported up by Okemia.
The wound he had received earlier when Masashi drove his blade into his arm gets chained to the floor.
His whole body comes down as he tries to break this chain.
“Shit, how can I forget these weak chains?” Attempting to break free he lifts his other free arm and lifts it igniting a large spark of fire.
SLISICH!
Coming in quickly Si cuts his arm off.
“Like I said, pay attention, fool.”
Screaming in pain, he struggles to get the chain off.
“TCH! You wretch! Once I get free from here I will engulf everyone here into these trees, sending you ALL! Back to the earth.”
Walking out on the battlefield, Okemia picks up Amaiaruheitō’s service pistol.
Shakily holding it in her hand.
Turning around Hyuganatsu sees his sister point a gun at him with shaking confidence.
“Haha, and what do you plan to do, OKEMIA?”