Kozuna
"So, this is what they dragged me outta my cell for."
As the smoke from the explosion cleared, I pushed my fingertips against the road and rose from a kneel. I locked my glare on the hulking creature of pure darkness hunched ahead of me. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and it was starting to become difficult to tell. Was it excitement or fear?
If Anari and Shin are here, then… this must be Nikai's transformation. Why else would they be stuck battling?
"Kozuna?" Anari hurried to my side. "How are you here right now? Weren't you in prison?"
"Soldiers snatched me up talkin' about reports of a curse wielder running wild." I raised my arm in front of Anari, kinda pushing her backward. "You should stay back, Anari. Leave this to me."
"Leave it to you? He's got shadow powers, now! You don't even know what Nikai's capable of!"
By that point, Nikai had recovered from the initial buzz of being struck by his own power. He was already amassing more energy to hurl our way.
It'd be nice if I still had my earpiece so we could communicate remotely.
"Doesn't matter- we don't have time to talk. I'll figure something out."
Shin hastily grabbed Anari by the wrist and started dragging her away. "You got it, Kozuna! We'll stay outta your way!"
Thanks, Shin.
Anari pretty much growled and fought for Shin to let go, while I scoffed quietly. I shot forward into a sort of front flip and kicked another incoming, bursting ball of energy right back into Nikai's claws. The recoil knocked me backward, and Nikai, dazed, shook his head.
The veil of shadows encasing him thickened.
"Been wondering what your power was like, Nikai," I muttered under my breath. "Finally get to see for myself."
And it looks like his curse relies a lot more on energy itself, like Nazun. Hurts like hell to send his attacks flying back at him, though.
My gaze twisted toward Nikai's blood-red, gassy eyes, bursting a sudden, stinging throb in the center of my chest. My eyes widened for a second before narrowing a lot more in a blurred daze. I stumbled and fell flat to the sand, unable to move a muscle.
What the- why can't I move?
"You can't look him in the eyes!" Anari yelped, flailing herself free of Shin. "It causes paralysis!"
No kidding!
Virtually hovering over me, Nikai manifested more bubbling energy. He enlarged it with a quickness that shocked me, and the only thing that stopped him from slamming it through my spine was Anari.
Against her better judgment, Anari intercepted. She slashed Nikai's claw away, just barely redirecting the energy blast elsewhere before I could be obliterated. Instead, the bursting ball of energy eradicated some nearby buildings. My eyes twitched at the destruction.
Could've easily been me!
"Thanks, Anari, but you've gotta get away!"
Anari stomped ahead, performing a series of sword maneuvers that faintly mimicked Kaiten's dancing-blade style. She had two hands on one blade, but the fact that she managed to bat away Nikai's swipes not once, but three times in a row was still impressive. Her cuts appeared more effective at opening Nikai's energy shroud than his own explosions.
"Not a chance, Kozuna! At least I know what he's capable of!"
Anari stepped back and dug in. She pointed the sword ahead and let out a battle cry as she went for a direct thrust. But despite her display, Nikai roared aggressively. Instead of attacking, Nikai threw his palm up, allowing himself to be stabbed. And then, his energy clenched the blade in place. Anari couldn't pull it free.
And she was defenseless.
Nikai grabbed her by the throat, digging his claws in and drawing blood. He lifted Anari off the ground with one hand, squeezing her skinny neck with clear intention to choke her life away. In only a few short moments, Anari was left helplessly kicking her little legs and gasping for air. Her face quickly reddened, and her eyes weren't far from bloodshot. She even tried prying Nikai's claws away, but it did nothing to help.
"Anari!"
Shin rushed in with nothing but a shield. "Let her go, Nikai!"
I kept trying to force my body to move, but nothing was changing! It felt like every muscle in my body had gone completely dormant! Was I really about to watch one childhood friend kill another?
Gotta break this hold! I can't let Anari be killed!
While actively killing Anari, Nikai aimed his other palm at Shin. A floating ball of energy rapidly cultivated and expanded there, whipping the winds every which way until they nearly blew me away. My near-immobile gaze constantly bounced between Nikai, Anari, and Shin, but everything slowed down. My gaze instinctively traced down to the seal on my hand. Energy built and bolted around within the shifty black borders. It wasn't orange anymore, no- the deep glow had become blue.
Instead of raw energy, electricity crackled out of the marking. Miniscule sparks that came to life.
Another facet of my curse?
All my hopes were placed into whatever was preparing to come out of my seal. I was the only one Nikai wasn't focusing on. And with that in mind, I breathed slowly, concentrating every ounce of energy I could into the electricity circling my hand.
I might not be able to move my body much, but the energy flowing through me? Totally different story!
My eyelids shut one last time. Finally, the imagery of energy flowing like liquid permeated my consciousness. Like the activation switch had just flipped in my brain.
I think I get it now!
From downtown, a thunderous blast of electricity erupted from my hand, engulfing the surrounding area in a vibrant blue. Nikai's energy ball fizzled away before it could be fired, and he dropped Anari to the ground. Both were dazed; I couldn't help frying Anari a little, too. But it wasn't nearly enough to kill her, which meant Nikai would regain awareness fast.
But it was enough to free her. And to weaken the grip Nikai's paralysis had on me.
Anari groaned and shook her head. "Ohhh my godd," she coughed out.
I pushed myself to my feet and then dragged Anari away with my right. Electricity enveloped my left in a veil without any input of my own. I followed suit with what Nikai had been doing and aimed my open palm at him. My eyes brightened to a radiant blue as I felt the energy release, rocketing a fucking thunderbolt directly into Nikai's chest.
If only I had this against Nazun!
"Shin! Take Anari and get to safety! NOW!"
For real, this time. No more fumbles from either of us.
Shin didn't argue. He took Anari in his arms and got moving. On the other hand, Nikai's energy more than replenished. He grew larger and huskier. The spikes coming from his spine began curving over his shoulders and meeting at his chest. Natural armor.
I lowered myself into a running stance, searing a burn mark into the pavement as electricity bolted around my left side.
"Alright, Nikai. Let's dance."
***
Nikai howled under the full moon. He didn't sound anything like himself anymore. I guarded my face with my left just as he pounced at me, claws wide and ready to tear me open.
Lightning whipped out as I swung my arm away. Another thunderbolt blew loose, but it wasn't enough to stop Nikai. If anything, all I did was create a smokescreen. And the smoke whirled as the hulking shadowy monstrosity appeared through it, swiping at my eyes.
I had no time to think; instinctively, I protected myself with my bare arms. A horrible mistake.I winced when it happened.The sheer burning force left me skidding across the pavement, bloodsoaked from the fresh, bone-chipping claw marks in my forearms. My heart pumped faster and faster.
Agh, damn it! Can't resort to blocking! If that was my chest, he would've sliced my heart open!
I started bounding backward in hopes of gaining some distance, but Nikai wasn't keen on letting me escape! He shot from one shadow to another, easily keeping pace!
How is he even transformed right now? Come to think of it, how did my curse activate earlier!? A reaction to Nikai?
Another orb of nearly-camouflaged, bursting energy hurtled toward me. I bared my teeth and sprang higher into the sky, watching that energy ball devastate some small house. I could only hope no one was home.
Did he just cover his energy in shadows!?
When I landed, Nikai practically teleported right in front of me, claws aimed for my already weakened arms. I was forced into ducking and dodging- there wasn't time to do much else!
But time was limited; I couldn't stay defensive. I shot low and zipped behind Nikai with a twisting kick, electricity trailing beneath my boots. I hit him again with another guided thunderbolt, but to his skull that time. If there was one thing I had on him, it was speed.
Can't afford to hold back!
Nikai stumbled forward, but I stepped back. My eyes trailed upward as Nikai's shadow form continued to grow until it reached the size of, maybe, a two-story home. Nowhere near as large as Nazun, but still threatening compared to my average human size.
Gotta be kidding me.
It was clear I needed to work harder.
Nikai turned with a heaving, hulking arm sweeping through a building on the path to me. I sprang high with an uppercut-kick to the shadow chin, letting loose all the explosive force I could in a single blow. And it was enough to force his black blob of a neck to snap back for a second. It was an opportunity I couldn't miss.
Before gravity could take over, electricity boomed from my left for a point-blank, all-consuming electrocution. Enough to overtake Nikai's entire transformation in a jagged burst of blue. However, the force of my own attack blew me backward, and I landed on the road with a burning slide. Not to mention, the other burning sensation taking root in my bloody arms. Despite the adrenaline pumping through me like crazy, I was short on time.
A large portion of the shadows had melted away from the transformation's face. Within that opening, I saw Nikai's physical body floating, suspended inside the skull. And despite Nikai being motionless, his transformation's arm started pooling its remainingenergy around its claws and hurling out attacks wildly.
My brow twisted in. A path opened up in my mind as I shot from one place to another, avoiding energy blasts. Each one left reddish-purple flames in anything they destroyed, and smoke surrounded us.
Transformation's got a mind of its own- it's scared! But it was faster before it got bigger! This is my chance! Break it down before it heals!
I went low and pressed my fingertips against the pavement, firing electricity from the entire left side of my body without a thought. In a flash, I leaped toward Nikai, slamming a powerful kick and smacking the shadowy face of his transformation aside. Several bolts of lightning zapped directly into the shadow shroud and melted more of it away.
He's got wide-scaling destruction, but I've got precision power!
I didn't waste the chance. The moment I landed on the transformation's shoulder, I boosted higher into the air, using gravity to my advantage. And when I speed-plummeted back down, I whammed the transformation's skull down with two consecutive kicks, lightning-wrapped kicks.
It was enough to finally force Nikai's transformation into collapsing. The whole thing fell to the ground and stopped moving, and I pretty much did the same thing. With all the blood loss and my heart throbbing, I hit the ground and couldn't stay standing. I fell to one knee and gripped the asphalt.
Thankfully, Nikai's shadows began to shrink and recede back into his curse seal. He was flat on his stomach, groaning like hell and barely able to move a muscle, while I fluttered my eyes, failing to stave off the blurriness. My electricity faded out all the same. Using a new facet of my power was draining if nothing else.
At least… he's back.
***
"K-Ko…zuna?"
Nikai's voice was weak and thready.
"Nikai… are you? You?"
"Yeah. Thanks for stopping me. Couldn't control myself. I dunno how you do it."
"Anytime." I tried to start putting pressure on my wounds. "You're not in this alone, y'know-"
"I can't keep doing this, Kozuna."
"What? Doing what?"
"Senseless killing. When I first transformed back at the lab, I slaughtered damn near everyone in the building. Whole time, all I could do was watch. Felt like something else was piloting my body. And this time, I almost killed Anari."
My words failed me. What could I possibly say to comfort him? "At least you're not in jail?" He might as well have been.
"There's something else, too. Somethin' I've been thinking about these past few days."
"What? What is it?"
Nikai breathed deeply, as if in preparation. "There's only one path forward, now. If I'm ever gonna learn to control my curse, I need to join the Hanakai. And you'd be wise to do the same. If you really wanna protect the Ozukashi, it'd be best if we both just left. The Hanakai wouldn't keep attacking. They don't give a shit about the Ozukashi Clan in particular- they just want us. We're the cursed ones here."
I perked up indignantly. "Have you lost your mind, Nikai? We join the Hanakai? They're just a gang of murderers and terrorists! You think they won't attack the Ozukashi again? Let's say they don't- they'll still butcher other clans! I'm not fond of killing people, or putting others with curses through the same hell we're facing now!"
Nikai found the strength to painstakingly shake his head in frustration. "Agh, as smart as you are, and you don't understand! Stop trying to get praise for being a hero! Do what's right! If you really wanted to protect everyone, you wouldn't care what these dumbasses think of you. The only people I care for are my friends and my little brother! The clans can rot for all I care-" Nikai paused for a while, coughing up blood. "E-even- even if you don't come with me, I've made my choice. These fucking Ozukashi- they set this shit up! Pitted us against each other! At least if we willingly join, the Hanakai will welcome us with open arms. Before I transformed, I got a glimpse of someone watching me from a rooftop. They used some sort of device to force-activate my curse."
So I'm not the only one who found this weird? Regardless, I still can't agree with his methods.
"I felt the same thing when I left Sand Tower. But leaving won't put an end to this! There's more going on, and we're the only ones who can stop it! We both have to stay! We don't even know what the Hanakai want with us! What if they treat us worse?"
Nikai scoffed, gradually struggling back to his feet. "Yeah, whatever. If you wanna confine yourself to this damn hellhole, that's on you. But don't tell me what I should be doing. Every day I'm forced to spend cooped up, the less I care for this shitty excuse for a clan. I want what's best for me, and the little bit of family I've got left. You've always been like a brother to me, Kozuna. That's why I'm telling you this first. I'm walkin' outta here and joinin' the Hanakai, whether you like it or not. But I want you with me."
"Doesn't matter whether or not he likes it."
Was that?
I turned my head as much as I could. Shin was there, standing a short distance away. Anari was nowhere in sight.
"Shin?"
"Sorry to do this, fellas. But I'm on orders from the High Council to bring you two in. You'll be joining Anari soon enough."
Nikai and I exchanged glances.
"You work for the council?" Did he have something to do with all of this? "Weren't you Zara's assistant? Where's Anari!?"
Shin maintained a stoic, unreadable expression. He aimed a small gun at Nikai first. "You should really worry about yourselves."
One click was all it took to make Nikai's body plop straight back into the ground. Shin had a tranquilizer gun handy. He didn't hesitate to point that thing at me next.
Damn it, I want answers!
"Let me ask you one thing, Shin!"
"Speak, Kozuna."
"Just what does the council want with us, anyway?"
Shin shook his head, looking down on me with a weary gaze. "Your circumstances are more unfortunate than mine."
The moment Shin pulled that trigger, a dart pricked my neck. In seconds, everything went black.