"RUMBLEEEE..." The low hum shook everyone’s feet. The lightning so bright, that Fuko had shut her eyes. From aside she watched as the waves of thunder rippled through the falling rain, forcing it away.
The sound cracked and tore the earth beneath, ahead of the Thundering Blade’s feet. The echo hurled the Rainstorm Slasher with a loud roar. "THUD! Thud, Thump, Thud..." His body rag-dolled.
A dod silence around them... till the drizzle continued its rhythm against the ground. Each bead of rain now had access to trickle down her blonde strands, going past the dried up crimson across her maid and slashed face.
Steam arose from the surrounding wall that dissipated with each second. The cold humid breath Jotou took into her lungs with each pant, lingered with the scent of petrichor.
She glanced back behind her, giving a sigh of relief to the brunette. Fuko gave a wide-eyed stare back before she appeared in shadow right before her, "Jotou! Your face," her brows scrunched.
"I, ow... Can feel it," she opted to speak from the left side of her mouth. Her eye twitched, her shoulder leaned to one side... Yet she gave a half-cocked smile, "You did it," she mumbled.
Fuko took no pleasure in the praise, instead looking to the disappearing ring of water. She took Jotou by the injured wrist, "Co on, Hotaru should be over there."
"...slush..." They both barely caught so sound. Jotou and Fuko turned to see an armoured arm moving; he was not quite dead.
His right arm was hanging on by torn shoulder muscles, twisted all the way around his back. With his left arm still intact, he dragged his body forward like a slug—face down against the ground.
Jotou’s eyes narrowed. Her job was not yet done. She lightly tugged away from Fuko’s grasp and limped to her sword. ’My back... UGH... sothing isn’t right there.’
By her rain-covered hilt, two of the flowers previously in her hair were stuck in a little crack in the earth with a tiny stream flowing past. Fearing bending or crouching in her state, she-
"I can do it you know," Fuko blinked forward and took Jotou’s sword.
"..." Jotou stared with her right hand out. "Let ."
Fuko looked to the armite blade, not a trace of blood on it as water glided off the tal.
"Detective."
"...Yeah, yeah," she handed the hilt over. Jotou took the sword and took a deep breath, facing in the direction of Rain. "You didn’t have to take this fight alone."
"I’m aware," she side-eyed Fuko with perhaps a smirk, "And I didn’t." The pillars stood no longer after all. She took steps towards Rain, "He challenged . He took the people I cared about and put them up on pedestals with knives to their throats.
He asked to be careful of the next steps I took. He said I’d have a slim chance of success," she got closer and closer, the wall disappearing into nothing. "Allow to do the honours."
The brunette rely exhaled and pouted. Around them all the soldiers had aid and awaited orders from their superiors to advance.
What they all witnessed was a heavily injured blonde, hair getting soaked by the second and a sword she held so stiff. She walked towards a body in the aftermath, attempting to get back up.
She had won, but not one cheer ca from their mouths. The ordeal was over and they had no say in the business of the elite soldiers at this point.
"Jotou!!" the redhead’s voice running in she ignored.
"Hey, you did it!" the voice of her best friend right behind. Jotou only walked towards Rain as he pushed his hand down and attempted to get up.
Hearing her footsteps, Rain slowly pivoted his head. Above him stood the Thundering Blade with a background of darkened clouds and fleeting rain—a sword in her grip.
A vertical crack had split his helt open, two sides barely hanging off his head, revealing tufts of brown hair. Parts of his armour had broken and chipped off, showing the black garnts he wore underneath to prevent chafing.
Other parts of his armour had lted into his clothes and skin from the heat of the lightning. His feet never moved, only his knees and that’s not what legs should look like...
She glared, "You should’ve tried to kill . Capture this, capture that; when is it gonna get through your thick skulls that you will never, take alive?
Death is a price I will pay, but even then you will not be its collector."
"Thud." The right side of his helt fell off, revealing the fluffy brown hair and dark blue eyes. Bruises and blood across his tanned skin, so of his teeth were cracked as he breathed. To have that armour was fortunate to say the least.
He gazed up, drizzle hitting his face and the torn limb hanging on his back, each drop washing away the gushing blood. He did not scream nor say a word; he simply gazed. "Fzz, tss, tss, tss..." Jotou sparked her blade and lowered it to his head.
"Oh, you haven’t finished him off," Daiyu had made her way over. She watched whilst Jotou had her blade just held there. ’Daiyu...’
"J- Oh, your face, your face, Jotou-"
"Shut it will ya?" Daiyu whispered with an arm out and scowled to the panicked redhead. Hotaru’s hands already glowed blue.
Arabella, Feyan and Asobi made it to them, now observing the sa scene. Arabella noticed Fuko with crossed arms in the near distance watching it unfold.
"Jotou? What are you...?" Asobi had no wand to hold.
All the soldiers watched. All her friends watched. Her sword was one swing a way; it didn’t even have to be a strong one. She could even simply leave him be; death was coming for him anyhow in his state.
’I’ve won. Killing him takes a piece off the board. He may have useful intel, but I doubt he will speak after his pride’s been wounded like this.
He’s an enemy of war. Terrorized and my friends. No doubt has killed hundreds if not more. Even so this week maybe, slashing through our allies. No one would bla . Logically, he has no use living.
...
...
He’s just a person, like the rest of us. Our allies might actually be in disdain if I don’t kill him. He killed our comrades, but he gets to live? Whatever. It’s my choice.’ Jotou drew her blade back, the sparks disappearing.
"Aru, Feyan, can you heal him?" Jotou blankly stared at Rain.
Hotaru furrowed her brows, "You need healing first-"
"There’s two of you, pick one. He isn’t gonna last a couple more minutes, maybe less," Jotou interrupted.
"I..." Feyan sighed, staring to the enemy that kidnapped his friends... "I shall do it, but give Ms Jotou your full attention, please," he faced Hotaru.
"Of course," Hotaru rushed up next to Jotou. Fuko blinked into the group and the soldiers all looked to each other, corralling inwards to where the seven stood.
Jotou looked to her right; to Daiyu. Daiyu stared back, no scowl, no smile. The princess rely gave a shrug and shook her head.
Hotaru had her hand to Jotou’s cut ear, the drops of rain glowing blue with her heal spell as it washed over the injury. "...egh..." Jotou winced.
Feyan exhaled, surveying the torn off limb... "Could, soone please assist in repositioning this...?" he looked to his friends. However, the incoming soldiers wasted no ti to aid him.
Rain kept staring at the blonde till Jotou t his gaze back. "I don’t know how much useful information he’ll give; interrogate him if you want.
We’ll need a quick supply run or at least contact the Ordinate using Fuko to send us an affinity-lock. Till that arrives, Feyan or Hotaru keep siphoning him every day to make sure he doesn’t have enough magic or strength.
We keep him secured; we keep him close. Once the affinity-lock is here, he goes straight to Cravolta City Penitentiary where he’ll spend the rest of his life." Jotou looked back up to everyone whilst her cheek was being healed. "Is that fair?" she cocked a brow.
No one truly opposed. As long as he was no longer a threat, it was fine everyone supposed. Soldiers muttered to each other, so nodded. Many still had their firearms aid at the enemy amidst of being healed.
"I assure you Thundering Blade, that will be done," the Division General stepped up. His short black hair greying at the sides and in uniform. He glared to the enemy...
"Company Four reported a flood a few minutes ago. Their equipnt has been recovered and repaired enough, but I believe several soldiers have drowned.
The company’s been forced to move back significantly due to destruction to the terrain as well. This was your doing I assu?" the Division General faced.
Rain turned, his eye winced whilst his arm was reconnected and coated in shadows. "Yes. That was much earlier in the day," he still had a frown. The light drizzle had halted, leaving one or two drops left.
Everyone around glared, saddened and even clenched their fists... "You should not be talking in your condition," Feyan firmly ordered.
Rain glanced back to Jotou. Jotou’s eyes had never left him. "I assu there’s a ’why’ you want to ask," Jotou spoke, much to the discontent of the one healing her.
"An offensive caster is soone already on the path of destruction you said. Well," the blonde gave a light smirk, "Proved you wrong, no?"
Daiyu rolled her eyes and walked into Rain’s view, "Death’s an easy out. You deserve to suffer the consequences of your choices by living," the princess condemned.
"Yeah, that was running through my head too, but you know~"
"Tch, stop smiling," Hotaru scolded, patting her cheek.
"Get her out of here already," Fuko tightened her lips.
"Has anybody seen my wand? It’s a magician’s wand, it’s black and has a white tip, it looks like this," Asobi shouted over the soldiers, making an illusion of her wand in a big image above her.
Rain closed his eyes... The pain he felt... The fact he was captured instead of killed... Parts of his armour that was fused into his skin making it all the more uncomfortable.
He could feel his bones rattle... One image stuck in his mind... Bloodied and battered, giggling into the air like she hadn’t been injured at all...
That laugh... An elegant voice; it made it all the more mocking... So, vexing... Oh that laugh... He was going to be haunted by that laugh for a long ti...
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