Demon Eyes

Chapter 7: Takuan's Strength

Noreyu sits on the grass by Doku-San's body. He's exhausted in the aftermath of the battle, but his Demon Eye's energy levels have recovered already. The same goes for Fumito, who stands next to him.

"Is she breathing?" Fumito asks, looking at the body. Doku-San's torso is cut open from Noreyu's final attack, and what remains is burned.
"No way," Noreyu responds. "Even if she was, it'd only be a matter of time."
"Yeah, with these injuries, there's no way she'll survive," Fumito sighs. "It's only fair though, right?"

"She tried to kill you," Noreyu says coldly. "I don't regret it."
"I kinda do..." Fumito responds, looking away. "I mean, for a warrior, it's a high honor to die in battle. But it still feels wrong."

Noreyu gets up and walks a few steps past Fumito. With his back turned to him, he says, "I killed her, not you."
Fumito looks down at the body, the charred flesh just as striking a sight as the aftermath of the cuts.
"No, that's wrong. We both killed her."

Noreyu looks down too, at the grass below his feet. Both of them are silent for a bit. A small sting in his arm reminds Noreyu of a feeling he tried to ignore. His hand hurts.

"C'mon," Noreyu breaks the silence, gesturing for Fumito to follow as he walks away. "We have to hurry."
"Huh?" Fumito turns away from Doku-San and to Noreyu, confused. "Where are we going?"
"To Hirisu," Noreyu responds. "You're not the only one who was attacked."
"Huh?!" Fumito calls out even louder. "You mean Hirisu's in danger too? Did you see them today?"
"They're fine," Noreyu assuredly states. "Unlike you, Hirisu knows when to retreat."

Noreyu leaps down the hill and slides the steep slope towards the city. Fumito follows close behind, descending more sloppily until Noreyu steadies his movement with a gentle current. Right before a row of trees, Noreyu grabs Fumito's hand and leaps up, dashing into the central town.

Using Noreyu's Wind dashes, they leap from roof to roof until arriving in the modern district north of the center. It doesn't take long for the aftermath of Hirisu's battle to become visible, as the glass shards from the building Rai-Ni attacked line the streets. Police are already locking down the area.

"It's me," Noreyu gestures to one of the officers, who nods and makes way for the two boys to enter the scene.
"There are two people at the center of the destruction," the officer relays to Noreyu. "We haven't approached them yet."
"Got it," Noreyu responds. "I'll take care of the situation."

With Fumito close behind him, Noreyu makes his way through the streets. As he already suspected, the two surrounded by destruction are Hirisu and their assassin. A pungent smell of ozone hangs in the air.
"Fumito, over there!" Noreyu says as he turns into the street where Hirisu fought. "Hirisu!" he shouts out. "Are you alright?"

"N- Noreyu!" Hirisu shouts back. "You're here!"
Noreyu comes to a halt next to Hirisu, who stands a few meters away from Rai-Ni's half-conscious body. "Sure am. So, you beat your guy already? That's good."
"Yeah, but..."

"The kid's too much of a coward," Rai-Ni says with a wicked grin. His pink hair covers half of his face, though his bleeding injuries are clearly visible. Noreyu ignores the comment.

"You don't want to kill him, right?" Fumito asks. "Then just leave him here, I guess."
"If I do that, he'll... he'll just come after us again, right?" Hirisu responds, their voice trembling.
"I'll kill your mom and dad first!" Rai-Ni chimes in again, to which Noreyu kicks him in the face. He winces in pain and shuts up.

"There's a third option," Noreyu says. "We can just knock him out."
"Knock him out?" Hirisu repeats, confused. "But how can we make sure he doesn't wake up?"

Without answering, Noreyu kneels down next to Rai-Ni. The assassin looks at him in confusion, but doesn't dare speak up. That is, until Noreyu's Demon Eye opens and a single ball of Shredding Wind forms on his index finger.