30 Days A Revenant, Final

[April 30th]

The white wedding was only a few blocks away from the robbery. A line of businesses flanked her as she rushed down the sidewalk, restaurant a hundred feet ahead and left -

- and the front doors burst open in a shower of glass as a man burst out, whose name was Krashee, pink fists and a purple pompadour. His hands swept behind -

- and the shards of glass flew back in to the door, repairing the entrance.

"Urasaria - surrender or die, vermin!" shouted Matoi, and without waiting for a response -

- an explosive barrage erupted out of her shoulders and blast the sidewalk ahead, concrete shards flying towards the man. His fists reached forward -

- and the concrete flew back repaired to their former position; he crouched, tapping the shattered missiles below -

- and they were launched with the speed of light back at Matoi, suddenly repaired, keen ends smashing her wrists and cracking her bones; she grunted as she staggered back, missiles flying away behind.

Her tablet vibrated, and she took it quick, glancing at the location and cursing her good luck. Ahead, the man charged at her, fifty feet separating them and fists outstretched -

- Matoi swept back and away, street corner behind and terror in her eyes -

" - I need backup, yes - very weakened - but I've seen his face!" she shouted in to her tablet; with no time to waste, she ran back along the sidewalk and to the street corner, veering right to another sidewalk. She saw another robbery at the corner store ahead&across the road, Krashee in pursuit behind -

- and she leaped across the street in a single bound, landing on the sidewalk and cracking pavement in her landing, stifling her grin as she heard Krashee follow her seconds after, keeping her run up the sidewalk. The corner store was ahead, and as she ran past the entrance -

- two more rushed out of the doors, a muscular man and busty woman; the man's palms swept forward, pillars of flame erupting outward towards Matoi -

- and the sudden attack forced her to take the brunt of the flames head on, teeth grit as Wedding's armor burnt and charred, stumbling around the corner and to another sidewalk, the three unlikely allies stomping in pursuit behind.

"Guess - you guys are killing this bitch too, yeah?" grunted Krashee.

"Close enough." preened the woman, whose name was Mono.

"Bun! Use it!" grunted the third man, whose name was Endiver; Matoi turned to them -

- and she couldn't stifle her grin as she saw a fourth man rush out and huddle at their backs, thin & stooped. His hands raised -

- and a fear of showing her back claimed her, a blue frog suddenly clinging to her back -

- and she knew if anyone saw her back, the frog would rip her spine out - but she was fired to reach her ambition.

'Four versus one. All I need.'

A dozen missiles burst out of her shoulders and blast the ground behind, cloud of smoke shrouding her as she stepped back and through; Krashee and Endiver rushing to her with arms outstretched -

- and a second barrage of missiles blast the ground ahead of the men; but as he had before, Krashee crouched, touching the broken shells -

- the pieces reformed again, ripping with the speed of light back to her -

- and a sweep of Wedding's lasers chopped the volley to bits, broken carpet of missiles at her feet falling rigid - but she couldn't rest for a moment.

The sidewalk rumbled at her feet -

- and she swept forward just in time to avoid a pillar of fire at her back; behind, her cloud of smoke dissipated, and as she felt new eyes threaten her back -

" - Wedding - Blinding Light!" she shouted; a barrage burst out of her shoulders and flew behind -

- and Wedding's lasers curved to meet the metal with a blinding flash, shutting temporarily every civilian eye around, if not the four vermin.

"Just - get her to fucking turn!" shouted Bun -

- and at Matoi's back, chaotic pillars of fire began erupting, forcing her to dodge blindly back, feeling but not seeing the incessant heat. Inch by inch, the pressure forced her further back, and as she stumbled back over a curb -

- a missile flew forward and detonated mid-air, smoke and shockwaves stumbling the four back for a moment -

- and as he had before, Krashee tapped the broken shards -

- and a dozen missiles blast through his back and out his chest, previously shrouded by the smoke and having curved from the initial barrage; he fell rigid.

'One down. Three left.'

Another volley erupted and flew towards Endiver -

- and was just as quickly charred by a volley of flaming pillars, dulling her barrage as easily as Krashee had.

With no hope for a similar counter, she threw herself back and around the street corner, second blinding flash enveloping the next line of businesses; ahead, she blast another cloud of smoke and started her rush down the sidewalk. She saw a restaurant ahead & left, coming up to it quick -

- and through the front doors she swept, blinding flash enveloping the inside as she rushed across the room, setting her back against the back wall; and seeing the next instant scene.

Ten fiery pillars erupted at the restaurant's front doors, setting the building alight; the blaze claimed the front walls and spread through the entire building -

- and the roof rend inward, burst and shattered open; the rain of rubble smashed the back of her skull and forced her down -

- and the entire building collapsed on her, leaving nothing but a mountain of smoke and rubble, the three vermin left still outside, laughing pleased.

"See if she gets out of that." laughed Bun, drawing near the back of the three, stepping back on to the road.

"Should hurry up." murmured Mono, twiddling her black hair. "Who knows if she's called for backup already?"

"Not with confidence like that." muttered Endiver, the rubble settling now, no Matoi to be seen. "If she's stupid enough to take on four -"

- the road underneath Bun began to rumble, and in the next instant -

- a barrage of missiles split the ground from underneath, forming a fissure and threatening to swallow the three alive; Endiver&Mono swept away -

- and out of the fissure leaped Matoi, gripping Bun's neck on the way up -

- and ripping his skull out with spine attached, discarding it to the side as she landed outside of the fissure, three combatants on an empty street now. The frog and fear of showing her back disappeared.

'Two down. Two to go.'

"Are you fucking -"

" - kidding me?!" said Mono.

Sword outstretched, Matoi started her charge, and as the imminent heat grew from Wedding's eyes -

- a mirror formed in Mono's hands; sweeping it forward, the lasers hit the reflector -

- and a shriek of agony left Matoi as her own lasers carved through her chest -

- and a pillar of flame claimed her body, burning Wedding's veil off; the pain staggered her back over the road, and on to the sidewalk, soaked in blood and panting weak, back at another restaurant like the previous.

"B-Bit off more than you can chew, huh?" laughed Mono, stepping like a reaper alongside Endiver.

Only thirty feet separated them now, and as Matoi raised her sword -

- a second fiery pillar burnt her blade to ash, missiles and lasers useless against her dual foes. With truly no option left, she stumbled back and in to the restaurant, smoke shrouding her as she slammed the door shut behind.

Endiver and Mono stepped to the entrance. Mono gestured for a second fiery demolition, having no vision inside the building.

"No. She'll repeat the same burrowing trick - we'll deal with her inside." grunted Endiver, and shoved the doors open -

- and as the two stepped inside, a sure victory met their glare, Matoi stumbling against the back wall. With the last of her strength, a single titanic laser burst from Wedding's eyes -

- and as Mono had before, a sweep of her mirror reflected the projectile -

- but as Matoi swept to the side, revealing what was behind, they were doomed and they knew it - would be vaporized and they knew it.

The second they saw the mirror formed of missiles Matoi had planted, previously shrouded, the reflected laser hitting a true reflector, refracting a true and enormous laser back -

- and the enormous beam claimed their bodies from the neck down, vaporizing them, the front doors, the sidewalk, the road, the opposite sidewalk, and the rubble of the previous building, only their heads and ashes left.

That was all.

Matoi took her tablet out, and laughed as she saw the time. She felt like she had done this before, as if her memory were a carousel, so as she turned to the corner, she knew Kirihara would be there and angered to see her cradling their heads.

"I- what the fuck did you do?" grunted Kirihara, stepping up to her.

Matoi laughed. "I always find it amusing when idiots ask questions they already know the answer to. It's as if your mind works at half the pace of a normal brain."

"Who the fuck are you calling an idiot?"

Kirihara's fist clenched. Wedding's eyes were still fizzing smoke. Still, Matoi noticed Kirihara had not yet summoned Carve: this would not do for making it look like self-defense.

Matoi sneered. "What an impotent shit you are. No wonder Jeanne told me what she did about you."

"What the fuck did she say?"

Matoi smirked. "As I-" -she saw Mia & Marisa landing around the corner, seemed annoyed they had shown up, then quickly reset her expression as Kirihara backed away. Marisa rushed up to her and Matoi showed her her wounds, nodding as she let Marisa fill them with pieces of Boudoir.

Matoi glanced over to Kirihara. "What a surprising result. For the entire year, I was in the lead, and I won."

"Don't you dare fucking think you can look at me like that."

Matoi leaned against the wall, letting Marisa place bits of Boudoir in her wounds. "Let me make something clear to you, Kirihara. Have you ever heard the expression of how people play with the hand life deals them? Now, I obviously don't believe in fate or destiny - I've never let something pesky like my mind limit what I can accomplish, and it's precisely why I became president and you will not."

"What the fuck are you talking about? What's that supposed to mean? I swear to fucking God, I don't know what you did to trick your tablet like that, but I'll find out. One minute you're four kills behind me, and the next? Bull-fucking-shit."

Matoi laughed. "But for several reasons, there's many people who have no choice but to play the cards they were dealt. Others create their own deck."

Whether Mia noticed that Matoi, upon uttering that last sentence, had glanced over at her, is a matter for your interpretation. What is not is that Kirihara stood there for a good ten to twelve seconds, then angrily turned her way back towards Urasaria.

[END OF ARC 12: 30 DAYS A REVENANT]