The two Chimera paced around, Oki's body laid behind Kanesaki, Akio's behind 344. They both showed clear signs of hatred towards each other; one who hated the other for their freedom, one who hated the other for their lack of it.
Kanesaki charged in first. Even missing an arm, his will was unbroken, and he wielded his blade with brutal precision, targeting 344's weak points with every strike. But each blow was met by the heavy clang of the axe, 344 grunting with effort as he deflected them. With a sudden roar, 344 swung the axe down in a vicious arc toward Kanesaki's head - only for Kanesaki to slip away at the last second.
Breathing hard, Kanesaki leapt back to reset - but 344 wasn't slowing down.
In a blur, 344 hurled his axe like a spear. It missed Kanesaki, embedding itself in the ground with a violent thud, but the move was a feint. While Kanesaki's eyes tracked the weapon, 344 sprinted forward, vaulted over the embedded axe, and slid down its hilt with one hand, twisting his body midair to whip a kick at Kanesaki's side.
Kanesaki ducked under the first kick - only to be caught by 344's second move. The heel of 344's boot hooked Kanesaki, yanking him into a brutal spinning kick that smashed straight into his face.
The impact sent Kanesaki sprawling backward, blood streaming from his split forehead and broken nose as he hit the ground hard.
'Get up, 287.'
Opening his eyes instinctively, Kanesaki rolled out the way to avoid the axe hitting the ground. He picked himself up and recovered his blade, facing the opposing Chimera with killing intent. They clashed again, still no victor. Cracks began to appear in the corners of Kanesaki's eyes. 344 took note and backed away.
'You're becoming stronger, deadlier... You have to be killed here or you'll threaten the humans!'
Looking down at his blade and body, drowned in blood both dry and fresh, Kanesaki thought of his objective, and why he even kept on living. He looked up, his eyes appeared like cracked glass, one tap away from shattering. 'Maybe I should use it to kill you, 344... Or whatever your name is...'
He lunged forward, faster than before - too fast for 344 to react. Kanesaki unleashed a relentless storm of strikes, twisting, flipping, attacking from every angle. He stabbed, slammed his limbs into the Chimera, hammered him without giving even a breath of space. It was a brutal, dizzying beatdown - 344 couldn't keep up.
Within moments, the Chimera was a mess of wounds and bruises, blood dribbling from his mouth as he staggered, desperately trying to track Kanesaki's movements.
But Kanesaki was already gone - vanished from sight.
Until -
A flash of red.
The coat blurred into view right in front of 344. He barely had time to blink before the blade drove deep into his skull with a sickening crunch. His body crumpled backward, the axe slipping from his failing grip.
Through the haze of pain, 344's bloodshot eyes found Kanesaki, standing over him. Calm. Merciless.
Kanesaki ripped the blade free with a wet, tearing sound, blood dripping steadily down to soak the Chimera's ruined shirt.
His chest heaving, Kanesaki leveled the blade again - this time aiming directly above 344's faltering heart. His hand shook slightly, hesitation creeping in for just a moment.
Sensing it, 344's broken mouth twisted, struggling to form words as his shattered skull tried in vain to heal.
'Go on... Kill me...'
'Why? There's no point.'
'I'm just a broken weapon... No use is left for me... I couldn't even fulfill my master's dying wishes...'
Looking down into the Chimera's dying eyes, Kanesaki calmed down, his eyes losing their broken appearance, returning to how they were originally, before any of this.
'Why do you think that you're just a weapon? You've awoken, yet still serve as a tool.'
'Did you not obey when they told you your name growing up... Did you not obey when they ordered you to fight for them... Of course you did... It's our purpose... It's why we exist... Who cares if we understand ourselves or become free-thinking... It's our whole reason for being alive...'
Kanesaki stayed quiet as the Chimera grew angrier.
'If you turn on humanity then you're nothing but a worthless tool to be thrown away... Destroyed and repurposed for some other tool... That's why we live... That's why I stay loyal to these people... It's my purpose... It's my life...'
Silence.
Kanesaki thought for a moment of what to say next. The wind blew past his hair, the sun was slowly rising on the horizon behind him. He looked to the clouds above and gazed at them whilst he thought.
'If you had a name... What would it be?'
There was silence from 344. Kanesaki was still looking to the clouds but could hear his breathing. 344 knew he'd die shortly, he sighed slightly.
'I would've liked "Ningen"... I heard it's Japanese for "human"...'
Kanesaki smiled at the response, closing his eyes as he inhaled the air of the new day.
'It's a good choice... Ningen...'
The breathing had stopped, the blade had gone through his heart.
Kanesaki recovered his arm and stuck it back to the wound and they healed together before he picked up Akio's body and turned back to Ningen's. He sighed and went back over to it.
After a few minutes, he had dug a hole by the edge of the ridge facing the horizon. He placed the Chimera's body carefully into it before covering it. He thought to himself, They would just use you for an experiment.
He recovered Akio's body and made his way to the point where the ship was to pick them up. As it landed, two second-class officers ran out and helped Kanesaki with the body. Lieutenant Wachisaka stepped down too, staring at Kanesaki, then at the body.
'The Yatzul killed him, lieutenant. Officer Tadashi was killed deep within the facility and Nin-... Chimera 344 also died in the facility but was ripped apart by Yatzul; both bodies couldn't be recovered.'
He faced the ground as he spoke, dry blood and his messed up hair covered his eyes from the lieutenant. He nodded slowly and stepped aside to let the bloody Chimera past. The ship doors closed and it took off.
Kanesaki sat in silence, his mind was filled with emotions. Fear, sadness, anger, hatred, abandonment, anxiety, guilt. Each emotion clouded his brain as he held his head with his hands before letting out a deafening scream from his chair. The two officers shook at the sound of it and the lieutenant closed his eyes and simply sat in silence. It was obvious that Kanesaki had awakened, he chose not to say anything to spare the boy.
Takemoto mining facility mission details:
Officers-
First-class Oki Tadashi
First-class Akio Matsunaga
Chimera-
CL7-344
CL7-287
Deceased-
Both officers and CL7-344 (or, as dubbed by 287, "Ningen")
Chapter 10- end