"...From the beginning"
Doma's eyes widened.
"What...?"
Kagerou coughed.
"Urghh..."
He covered his mouth as a small amount of blood stained his palm. He glanced at it, then calmly wiped it against his haori.
"You were too focused on my smoke"
Doma stared at him.
Kagerou slowly raised his eyes.
Their gazes met, then a small laugh escaped Kagerou's mouth, almost mocking.
"Every time you used your Blood Demon Art..." A faint trail of smoke curled around his feet. "...you spread more of my smoke across the battlefield"
Doma's expression changed.
His eyes shifted toward the shattered ice petals scattered across the ground, then toward the countless frozen fragments surrounding them.
His gaze hardened as Kagerou continued.
"You thought you were destroying my smoke." A faint smile appeared on Kagerou's face. "But you were actually spreading it"
Doma's pupils contracted.
Kagerou's voice became quieter.
"And when you created that enormous storm..." He glanced toward the remnants of the shattered Bodhisattva. "...you gave me everything I needed"
Doma stared at the ground.
Only now did he notice it. A faint gray haze. It wasn't thick. It wasn't visible enough to conceal anyone. It was simply... Everywhere.
"...The smoke"
Kagerou nodded.
"Exactly"
He slowly inhaled, then immediately winced. He knew it; his lungs were in terrible condition, but Kagerou forced himself to remain standing.
"Doku'en isn't about making the smoke poisonous." Doma's expression became serious while Kagerou's eyes narrowed as he continued. "It's about making the entire battlefield poisonous"
A faint trail of smoke curled around his body.
"It's not a strong poison. Very weak, in fact." Kagerou coughed quietly, then steadied himself. "But when someone who isn't used to it continuously inhales it..." His gaze locked onto Doma. "When it collects in the lungs..."
Kagerou's voice became colder.
"...it will eventually paralyze your insides"
Silence.
Doma suddenly understood; his eyes moved rapidly. The smoke wasn't simply around Kagerou... It had been surrounding him.
All this time.
Every breath.
Every attack.
Every time he spoke.
Every time he inhaled while fighting...
He had been taking it in.
Doma's hand slowly moved toward his chest.
"...You..." Kagerou's smile widened slightly. "You've been breathing it since the beginning, and as I said... You talk too much"
Doma's expression darkened.
Then...
He laughed.
Quietly at first.
"Heh..."
His shoulders shook.
Then louder.
"Hahaha..."
He slowly looked toward Kagerou, and his smile returned, but this time, there was something different behind it.
Not amusement.
Not curiosity.
Anger.
"You..." His fingers tightened around his fan. "You've been poisoning me this entire time?"
Kagerou's eyes remained cold.
"Yes"
Doma's smile twitched.
"How clever"
Then-
He suddenly disappeared.
*WHOOSH!*
Doma appeared directly in front of Kagerou.
His fan swung toward Kagerou's neck.
Kagerou's eyes sharpened.
His body moved on instinct.
*CLANG!*
The fan struck the sheathed ninjato; the force drove Kagerou backward, his feet dragging across the frozen ground.
But Doma followed immediately.
"Then I'll simply kill you before the poison can finish me"
Another strike.
*CLANG!*
Kagerou blocked.
Another.
*CLANG!*
His arms trembled.
Another.
*CLANG!*
His knees nearly buckled.
Doma's smile widened.
"You're exhausted"
Kagerou gritted his teeth.
Doma raised his fan.
"Your lungs are damaged"
He swung.
Kagerou barely avoided the blade.
"You can barely stand"
Another attack.
Kagerou ducked.
"And yet you still think you can defeat me?"
Kagerou's eyes narrowed.
Doma's fan came down.
*BOOM!*
Kagerou was blasted backward; he crashed against a frozen wall, blood spilling from his mouth.
Doma approached.
Slowly.
His regeneration was still functioning, but not normally; the wounds across his body began closing... Then reopened.
His flesh repeatedly attempted to regenerate, only for the process to falter as the poison interfered with it.
Doma touched the wound across his torso.
His fingers trembled slightly.
"...Interesting." He looked at the blood on his hand. "You really did prepare this carefully"
Kagerou slowly pushed himself upright.
Doma's eyes narrowed.
"How long?" He asked, but Kagerou said nothing. "How long have you been planning this?"
Kagerou simply shook his head.
Then he answered.
"I've always prepared..." Kagerou's eyes met Doma's. "...since I realized there might be a demon out there that I couldn't simply defeat with technique alone"
For a moment, Doma said nothing.
Then...
His smile returned.
A little wider this time.
"...Then let's see which one of us dies first"
*Snap*
He opened both fans; the crystalline edges gleamed beneath the pale moonlight, but Kagerou didn't move; he simply stood there with his ninjato still sheathed as blood continued to drip from the corner of his mouth.
*Drip*
*Drip*
Doma tilted his head.
"...You're not attacking?"
Kagerou remained silent.
Doma's golden eyes narrowed.
Then Kagerou finally spoke.
"...You're out of time, Demon"
Doma blinked.
"..."
"Defeating you was never my goal."
"What do you mea-"
Doma stopped; his eyes shifted, not toward Kagerou. Past him, beyond the ruined buildings, beyond the frozen battlefield, beyond the snow that continued to fall from the night sky. There... Something had changed.
A faint glow touched the horizon.
"..."
Kagerou watched him quietly.
The darkness of the night was beginning to fade.
The distant horizon...
Was turning pale.
Doma's expression slowly changed.
His smile vanished completely.
"No..."
A thin line of golden light appeared between the clouds.
The snowflakes caught it.
For the first time, the battlefield was illuminated by something other than moonlight.
Sunlight.
Doma's eyes widened.
"...The sun?"
Kagerou's lips curved into the faintest smile.
"Do you realize it now, Demon?" He tightened his grip on his sheathed ninjato. "You're running out of..."
A pause.
Kagerou's gray eyes sharpened.
"...time"
Doma stared at the horizon, then at Kagerou, then back toward the rising light; his expression remained frozen for several seconds. And then... His smile returned.
But this time...
There was nothing playful about it.
It was strained.
Forced.
"Ah..." Doma laughed softly; everything suddenly made sense. "So that's what you've been doing... You weren't trying to kill me"
Kagerou said nothing.
"...You were buying time." Doma's fingers tightened around his fans, his golden eyes sharpening. "You knew your poison wouldn't be enough to defeat me"
Kagerou's silence was answer enough.
"And you knew that if you kept fighting me directly..." Doma's gaze returned to the horizon. "...you'd eventually lose"
The golden light grew brighter.
Kagerou coughed.
*Khk!*
Blood spilled into his palm.
He wiped it away.
"I never said I could beat you"
Doma stared at him.
"I was the one who was going to kill you, and for that..." Kagerou's expression remained calm. "...I only needed to make sure you couldn't escape"
For several seconds...
Neither moved.
Then Doma's smile twitched.
"...How clever"
The first rays of sunlight began creeping across the horizon. Doma looked toward them, his eyes widened, and for the first time during their entire battle... Upper Rank Two looked genuinely afraid.
"...No"
His fans snapped shut.
The ice surrounding the battlefield began exploding outward.
*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
Doma suddenly moved, not toward Kagerou. Away from him, toward the darkness, toward the nearest shelter, toward anywhere the sunlight couldn't reach.
But...
Kagerou's voice followed him.
"Where are you going?"
Doma stopped.
Kagerou stood behind him, still holding his sheathed sword, still barely standing, sztill bleeding... But smiling.
"...You aren't running away, are you?" He said, and Doma slowly turned his head; his golden eyes met Kagerou's and that smile on Kagerou's face. "The battle isn't over yet"
The horizon brightened; the first ray of sunlight touched the battlefield, and seeing this, Doma's expression finally broke.
"...You bastard"
Kagerou exhaled softly.
"That's right"
His eyes narrowed.
"Now..."
He slowly drew his ninjato.
*Shing"
The blade caught the first ray of sunlight.
"...Let's see if you can survive until sunris-"
*Khhk!*
Kagerou suddenly doubled over.
"Cough!"
Blood burst from his mouth.
His legs gave out beneath him, and he dropped to one knee, using his ninjato to keep himself from collapsing completely.
His breathing became ragged.
Every breath felt like fire.
No.
Worse than fire.
It felt as though a thousand needles were being driven directly into his lungs with every inhale.
The ice particles... He had inhaled too many of them.
Despite holding his breath whenever he could, Doma's Freezing Clouds had already done its damage.
His lungs were barely functioning.
Even breathing was becoming a struggle.
*Khh...*
Kagerou clenched his teeth.
His vision blurred.
His fingers tightened around the hilt of his ninjato.
He couldn't fall.
Not yet.
Not when the sun was almost up.
But Doma saw it.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"You are a great threat, Slayer"
His voice was quiet, almost respectful, but there was a murderous edge beneath it.
Doma raised both fans.
His arms trembled, and his regeneration was severely weakened by the poison.
His body was already beginning to break down.
But he still had enough strength.
Enough for one final attack.
"Fortunately..." His golden eyes locked onto Kagerou. "...I still have enough strength left to kill you"
*Snap!*
Both fans opened.
The surrounding ice violently surged.
Doma swung them with everything he had left.
"DIE!"
"Blood Demon Art..." The frozen air erupted forward. "Barren Hanging Garden!"
*BOOM!*
Ten violent slashes of freezing air tore across the battlefield.
Kagerou's eyes widened.
His body refused to move.
"...!"
He tried to stand.
His legs wouldn't respond.
His lungs screamed.
His vision darkened.
Not yet...
One of the slashes was already upon him.
Then-
"Kagerou!"
A familiar voice rang across the battlefield.
Kagerou's eyes widened when he realized who the voice belonged to, then, a figure suddenly appeared between him and Doma.
*SHING!*
A Nichirin blade flashed.
The incoming ice was cut apart.
*CRACK!*
Frozen shards exploded through the air.
Doma's eyes widened.
"...What?"
The woman standing before Kagerou slowly lowered her blade, her long hair swayed gently in the freezing wind, her expression was calm. But her eyes... They were anything but gentle.
"...Kanae?"
She glanced over her shoulder.
The moment she saw the blood covering his mouth, her expression softened.
But only for a moment.
Then she turned back toward Doma and her eyes became cold.
"You're not touching him"
Doma's smile disappeared.
"...You"
Kanae raised her sword.
Her stance was flawless despite the exhaustion visible in her movements and the wounds covering her body.
Doma's eyes narrowed, he looked toward the horizon, the sky was becoming brighter. Much brighter.
Then he looked at Kagerou, then Kanae, then the poison spreading through his own body.
His regeneration was slowing; his body was beginning to crack, and the sun... Was almost here.
"Tch"
For the first time, genuine frustration appeared on Doma's face.
He had been so close, he could have killed Kagerou... He could have, if Kanae hadn't arrived.
Doma tightened his grip on his fans.
"...How irritating"
Kanae took one step forward.
"Stay away from him"
Doma stared at her.
Then laughed.
"Ahaha..."
His laughter was hollow.
"Of course"
He slowly stepped backward.
"I'd love to continue"
His eyes shifted toward the horizon.
"But unfortunately..." A faint golden glow illuminated the clouds. "...I have somewhere I need to be"
Doma's smile returned, but his eyes remained cold.
"This battle isn't over"
Kanae's grip tightened around her sword.
Doma suddenly turned.
*WHOOSH!*
He vanished into the darkness.
Kanae immediately started forward.
But Kagerou's weak voice stopped her.
"...Kanae"
She froze, then turned around, Kagerou was still on one knee, his body was trembling, and blood continued to drip from his lips.
Kanae's expression changed instantly.
"Kagerou!"
She rushed to him and caught him before he could collapse.
His head rested against her shoulder.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Kagerou let out a weak breath.
"...That's almost"
Kanae held him tighter.
She looked toward the direction Doma had fled.
"...It is"
Her voice trembled.
"But you survived"
She looked down at him.
"That's what matters to me"
Kagerou said nothing.
He simply closed his eyes as the first rays of sunlight finally spread across the horizon.
The long night was almost over.
But the battle...
Wasn't.
---
#A/N: Alright, with that, the battle between Kagerou and Doma is finally over, and Kanae survived! With that, in the next one or two chapters, we'll be entering the canon storyline. *Sigh*... Guess I need to watch the anime again.