Chapter 11 - Liu Katoru???I gotta say, watching these gooey little shits burn away atom by atom was satisfying as fuck.

  The more I witnessed each and every single one fme down into ashy, wispy smoke, the more I felt something shift inside me, like someone was watching every action I was making.

  And they were loving it.

  At some point, the temperature had skyrocketed and a few of my ‘allies’ had left my line of sight. Way in the distance I saw Reaper, and for a second I was convinced they were enjoying this even more than I was.

  It was like this whole thing was just another Tuesday for ‘em – their scythe moved with enough precision and power, quite literally making the shadows half the horrors they once were, I’d have believed you if you told me that was the actual Grim fucking Reaper.

  You know what really set my hairs on edge, though?

  It could just be me, but I swear, they were getting stronger, faster, and even more accurate with every group of the little shits they cut down. Were they even getting tired?

  “Look sharp,” The prick that had been tailing me called. What a way to ruin my whole mood. With a sigh, I flung my arm out to my four o’clock, my gloved hands finding something squishy and viscous.

  “I don’t need your help.” I warned Rusuban. His shit eating grin – like he’d actually saved my life or something – started to piss me off.

  I decided to take my anger out on the poor fucker who’d been dumb enough to try and sneak one in on me.

  My right hand gripped tightly as I pummelled the pissant repeatedly with my left.

  With each blow nding with a satisfying thud, I gained increasingly more strength until, without my noticing, the creature’s head(?) was caving inwards.

  Satisfied, I sent a surge of power through to my gloves, the garbage bursting in the ensuing bck fme.

  Before long, my hands became empty.

  “My my!” Excimed Rusuban. “D-Did you need to go that hard on the poor thing?”

  “My bad,” I replied, turning to him. “Next time I’ll pound you in his pce.”

  He smiled in his standard shit-gobbling style.

  “I’m afraid I don’t swing that way, but I am fttered.” He winked, as if I was another lovestruck girl in his endless fucking fan club.

  I could never stand this asshat, and with these sick new abilities, I supposed I could…

  Well, let’s just say he’s lucky I have other ways of venting my stress in this pce.

  “Where’d your sidekick run off to?” I changed the subject, noticing the area had gotten a lot quieter all of a sudden.

  Off to the distance I saw a few of the others, sitting down on the ground. The poor boys and girls looked exhausted! I hope they didn’t get a boo-boo!

  “I assume you speak of Kurogane?” He inquired, though the way his eyes lost their golden boy gleam, along with their interactions with each other here, suggested the two weren’t as tight as I thought. “I know not where he has disappeared to. You know him – always dancing to the beat of his own drum.”

  “I don’t actually, and have no intention to.” I informed him. “Same goes for you, Prez. Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you two did the other day.”

  My voice took on an intimidating edge, though either it didn’t register with the jackass, or he didn’t see it as one.

  “This again? If you truly were innocent of that whole smoking debacle, then I apologize, though even you must admit the cards were not stacked in your favour. Smoking aside, skipping css by hiding in the bathroom stalls is not-“

  “I wasn’t hiding, damnit!” I managed to not yell, but my volume had seen an increase regardless.

  “It was…I was…”

  “It was what, Katoru?” He demanded. No. No, he did not get to do this. I was the innocent one here. Fuck him. He wasn’t going to turn this around on me.

  I was about to tell him as much when his gaze suddenly shifted to our right, where the others had been on vacation.

  “Wait…what is he doing?” He muttered. I questioned whether this was an act, before realizing he didn’t really have a reason to trick me here.

  That, and I heard screaming.

  Following his eyeline, I turned my head left to see the vice-rep looking down the Vice President, Shiro-something, maliciously, holding a glowing white orb in his hand. She, alongside the others, were staring him down almost equally as vitriolically.

  “Looks like there’s trouble in paradise, “ I mused, before deciding to check out the scene for myself.

  “Looks like there’s trouble in paradise!” I repeated, since I thought it was a good enough line to take to a live audience. “Everything alright here, or do I need to call daddy Juno to sort this out?”

  If they found that funny they certainly didn’t show it. Tough crowd.

  Upon hearing my voice, the edge-lord in particur had backed away, his eyes slightly distressed as if I’d caught him wacking off to…well, you can finish that sentence however you like.

  “Stay back.” The scarecrow enthusiast demanded, eyes an unnatural shade of red. “I won’t let you get in my way.”

  This entire situation felt so cringe I thought I was watching some kind of gothic soap-opera they’d broadcast at 2AM on weekdays.

  So, I figured I’d put an end to it.

  “Ew,” I remarked, hands up in surrender, though he clearly wasn’t a fan of the way I’d begun strolling closer. “Alright, Darth Vader, keep your super-secret pns. You won’t mind me taking a look at that shiny looking thing you got there, though?”

  “I said STAY BACK!” He repeated, louder, though when it became clear I wasn’t buying it, he turned to run.

  I began to accelerate into a sprint myself, eager to give chase, until the dork went and tripped, sending him straight to the ground, with the orb flying out of his hands, nding with a roll a bit further away from him.

  “Miiiine!” I cheered, loving the speed this pce gave me for absolutely no reason.

  I wasn’t entirely sure when Rusuban had materialized to my left, or how exactly he was keeping pace with me, but there was no way in hell this dude was going to beat me, regardless of whatever it was that shiny orb was.

  As the two of us raced to grab it, no time to figure out what the other’s intentions were, or why we were even competing like this over something we (presumably) knew nothing about, the white gleaming of the object, just a few paces away, was swallowed up as Kurogane had dived over it.

  I heard a distinct shatter, like a vase plummeting to the floor.

  And then everything became white.

  When my eyes were finally granted respite, I was still standing upright. I felt a shuffle next to me, though I was too pre-occupied with the sight before me to pay it any real mind.

  At first, Kurogane’s appearance was unchanged. It seemed even he was disappointed by the results.

  Suddenly, something must’ve clicked, because he really did start ughing like he was a some kind of shounen anime vilin, before turning to meet my eyes.

  Or rather, the eyes of the person to my left.

  Without warning, Rusuban’s smug and entitled fa?ade had shifted into one of anxiety, panic, and worry. As if he had been blinded, he fell to the floor, clutching and cwing the ground beneath him for orientation.

  “H-Hey!” I managed. “What the fuck, dude? What’s –“

  I was caught off guard by his hands grabbing on my forearms for dear life. I’ll never forget the pure despair that engulfed his eyes in that moment.

  “D-don’t leave me!” He cried, desperate. “P-please! I can change! I’ll change! I’ll become whatever you need, just don’t –“

  I managed to wiggle one hand free. I opened up my palm before swinging it in an arc in front of me.

  The connection made between my gloved hand and his cheek resounded throughout the space so well, shit, E.T himself probably heard it.

  “Snap out of it! Get a fucking hold of yourself!” I screamed.

  It seemed to work. For a while he was just there, stunned, before he took a silent breath and shook his head.

  “…”

  Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he got up slowly, before throwing his associate a look so venomous I felt threatened just bearing witness to it.

  “You mongrel.” He spoke in ghastly whispers. “How…dare…you?”

  I had never seen the President like this. As much as I hate to admit it, the shit was scaring me.

  I held an arm in front of him.

  “I’ll handle this one,” I spoke in spite of myself. In reality, I wanted nothing to do with this shit. I wanted nothing to do with what I knew was about to go down.

  Though, deciding that I’d rather not witness a murder tonight, I figured it would be best if I took the helm here.

  I couldn’t tell if this convinced Rusuban’s newfound confrontational side, though he didn’t brush past me in the end. That would have to do.

  “What the fuck are you doing, dude? I don’t remember friendly fire being turned on. That was you, wasn’t it?” I asked whilst approaching the new Public Enemy Number One. I was curious just as much as I was trying to buy time to figure out a pn.

  “Shut up.” He responded eloquently. Fair enough. “Now step away before I give you a taste of it too.”

  Oh, now he’d started to annoy me. He sends one person into a frenzy and then thinks he’s hot shit? Guess I’d have to knock him down a peg.

  I knew one thing already – whatever that shit was that he could do, it was safe to say he probably needed eye contact to activate it. Otherwise…

  Well, otherwise I was screwed.

  “Let’s see what you got, tough guy.” I called, before lunging at him.

  I made it a point to look at his torso downwards as I approached. I got a bit nervous when he didn’t make any effort to move, but hey, I liked easy wins as much as the nex-

  Swoosh.

  I felt a searing pain in my right shoulder that forced me out of my momentum. I gnced to my right, sighting a brand new slice on my right deltoid, trails of red liquid flowing down my arm.

  When I looked back at the dickhead, he was suddenly brandishing a weapon I’d seen in video games – kusarigama, or a chain sickle to the un-initiated.

  “Avoiding my eyes, are you? As if that’ll help.” He mocked, before inspecting his weapon.

  “I’ve never actually held one of these before,” He began to expin, casually. “But it’s like everything just feels natural. I’m sure that’s how the others felt too, huh…?”

  So, he cuts my arm and then starts talking at me like we’re old friends.

  That’ll do it.

  I felt it again – that anger, that restlessness – begin to rise up in my chest.

  I took a deep breath, channelling the power as concentration. I would need it.

  Sucking up the pain, I continued my progression toward him, albeit at a slower pace than previous.

  He smiled.

  “Oh, you’re approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming right to me?"

  "I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer." I admitted through gritted teeth.

  He chuckled, before readying his bde once more.

  “Then come as close as you like.”

  I did as instructed, my pace beginning to crescendo. He smirked menacingly, before sending the bded edge of the sickle straight for me.

  This was going to hurt.

  “Argh!” I winced. As quickly as his bde swung across my chest, gifting me with even greater pain and another fresh slice, the bde retracted.

  I crouched down on one knee, struggling to find my breath.

  With each slice the damned things gave me, I felt some of my energy leaving me with it. I couldn’t afford to take much more.

  Luckily, he fell for it hook, line, and sinker, and I’m not exactly known for my forgiving nature.

  “Take a look at your bde’s edge.” I revealed.

  At this, his smug grin turned into a confused grimace, before reverting back into shit-eating mode.

  “All I see…” He informed, “…is your blood spread across it.”

  I paused, stifling a chuckle.

  “I wonder...” I began, drinking in the moment of victory. “I wonder – when was the st time your blood socked you in the face?”

  By the time he noticed the ‘blood’ on his bde going from a deep crimson to a pitch-bck darkness, it was far too te.

  Emerging from the liquid, my anger, my disdain – my hatred – was given form, messy white hair resembling mine, lifeless eyes the same shade of white, wrapped in a dark cloak that flowed with the wind.

  With consecutive mighty swings of its thick arms, it struck the poor bastard repeatedly with a barrage of blows.

  “DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!!“ It cried repeatedly, pummelling the idiot as I slowly approached the scene.

  “Don’t tell me you thought you were the only one hiding your ability?” I jeered.

  Satisfied, I gave the command, and my spirit – ‘The Tainted’ as I’d dubbed it – sent the loser flying into a storefront window with one st strike, shattering the gss, and causing his limp legs to hang outside the frame embarrassingly for all to see.

  “Take a seat, bitch.” I decred, grinning.

  The atmosphere fell silent for a few beats, eventually broken by the raging of the Tainted.

  I’d ordered it to punch with non-lethal force, and to stay put where it was, but it was absolutely livid, throwing punches in the air and practically frothing at the mouth. I couldn’t communicate with it normally while it was like this.

  I knew the feelings well – they belonged to me, after all – but I forced it to stay in pce and wait.

  I didn’t have time to look behind me to gauge reactions, even though I would’ve loved to see the looks on their faces. I needed to make sure this jackass was out cold, or else I was in trouble.

  “Yooo!” I shouted into the dark shop. It was pitch bck inside, I couldn’t see anything outside of the idiot’s legs hanging outside the window frame. “Anybody home?”

  Silence.

  I inched closer.

  “If you come out now, I promise I won’t beat the snot out of you again, okay?” I offered.

  Closer still, and no sign of movement.

  At my order, Tainted appeared by my side, just as a precaution in case Kurogane tried anything funny.

  As if in response, his legs suddenly pulsed with activity again, as though he’d come to, and retracted back into the darkness.

  I got close enough until I was practically engaging in the shittiest window-shopping known to man.

  Hearing a shuffle, two bright red circles suddenly illuminated before me.

  Instinctively, I looked to the side, and was greeted with another pair of vermillion eyes.

  This time, I didn’t get the chance to look away.

  Everything became plunged in red, and my heart began pounding rapidly in fear. Is this what happened to Rusuban?

  I began to see illusions of things I hated, and on some level, feared – snakes, eldritch abominations, and that one clown from that haunted house in Osaka all terrorized me in unison.

  I shut my eyes.

  “This is just an illusion,” I reminded myself. “It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not re-“

  I was cut off by the sound of her voice. She was calling me that nickname I always hated.

  “Loo-Loo,” I heard her sing. “Hey, open your eyes, sleepyhead. Else you’ll run into a pole again.”

  What I wouldn’t give to see her face again – to hear her call me that dumb name one more time.

  But she was gone.

  Whatever this was – whatever was going to greet me once I opened my eyes – would just be a piss poor imitation of the only person in this world I ever truly loved.

  “You bastard…” I spoke through the Tainted, using it as an extension of my own body.

  It was a surreal experience, seeing yourself rocking and cradled in fear like a crazy person, but damn, that’s exactly what I saw.

  The bastard was climbing out of the storefront, holding two red ser pointers in his bloodied mouth.

  Of course – this was a freaking department store in the real world.

  Clever, but not enough to save him.

  He ignored the Tainted and made a beeline straight toward me, or rather, my body, and I was suddenly feeling very lucky I had created some distance after I got plunged into that world of horrors.

  I was scared that the Tainted’s debut earlier had drained the st of my energy, but this dickhead pissed me off. I felt one more pounding left in me.

  I was giving the command through to the Tainted when Kurogane screamed in pain, his eyes wide with shock.

  Weird.

  I hadn’t even done anything yet. Did the pissant pull a muscle or something?

  Though I had to cover my mouth, or rather the Tainted’s, once I noticed something bck, with red eyes and a wolf-like snout had bit into his left trapezius.

  In the distance, Rusuban was watching.