CHAPTER 11 : Did you miss me
Kai slowly pulled himself up, coughing, blood at the edge of his lips. His body trembled as he looked at the figure standing calmly in front of him.
"You're the guy... from that house, right?" he asked, eyes narrowing as he tried to recall the memory.
Takuya didn't reply. His expression was unreadable, his stance firm, blade in hand.
Kai's palms lit up with a faint spark—but then nothing. His flames didn't come. He tried again, panic rising. Still nothing.
"What... what did you do to me?" he asked, stepping back slightly, afraid.
"It's a melee-based disruption," Takuya said flatly, "One strike to the core—your power channels are temporarily locked. No flames for now."
He then lifted his blade and stabbed it into the ground with a deep metallic clang, like he didn't even need it.
"But even with my powers, I wouldn't last fighting you . So why take em?" Kai asked, his voice shaking, but his stance holding.
Takuya finally looked him in the eyes.
"Because I just want to hit something... hard and i don't want it to move ."
Without warning, his fist launched forward with explosive force, connecting square with Kai's face. The impact sent Kai flying across the street, smashing through the front of a closed store. Glass shattered everywhere as his body rolled into the racks inside.
Across the way, Halley stood silently, her eyes flicking from Takuya to the wreckage of Kai. She opened her mouth like she wanted to speak, but shut it. This wasn't the time.
She turned just as Echo emerged from a nearby alley, walking out like he'd just finished grocery shopping. Calm. Cold.
"So... we waiting for those two to finish their dance, or heading back?" Echo asked, casually slinging his sniper over his shoulder.
Halley's eyes stayed sharp. Her hair caught in the wind as she scanned the area.
"Still no sign of the girl." Her gaze drifted toward the cracked sidewalk where Kai had landed. "Maybe watching her friends get torn apart will force her out..."
The twins zipped through the blood-stained streets on their hoverboards like shadows dancing with the wind. Their black and white suits gleamed under the broken city lights, each holding a pair of razor-sharp sais—small but deadly.
Sultan stood his ground, gripping both of his katana blades, the air around him heavy with anticipation. His golden energy pulsed faintly from the hilts, matching the fierce glare in his eyes.
CLANG!
A blur of movement. One of the twins—the one with white hair—came down from above with a mid-air flip, striking with both sais. Sultan blocked it cleanly with a crossed X of steel.
"Nice reflexes," she smirked, flipping back midair and twisting the board to zip past him.
"Now let's test your stamina." said the black-haired twin, zooming in with a low swoop, dragging her sais against the ground as sparks flew, then lunging upward toward Sultan's side.
Sultan twisted, parrying with one katana and countering with the other. The clash rang out like thunder.
Their fight was a dance—blades on blades, steel screeching, energy bursting. The twins attacked in perfect sync, diving from opposite angles, trying to overwhelm him with speed and style.
But Sultan? He was holding his own.
"Come on," he growled, sweat on his brow, "Two against one isn't fair—get off those damn boards and fight me for real."
"But that's the point," said the black-haired twin with a smirk, "We don't play fair."
The white-haired one swung low while her sister jabbed high—Sultan crossed his blades, spun in place, and narrowly avoided both hits. But they kept coming. Like wasps.
Sparks. Screeches. Fast moves. Close calls.
The wind howled around them, picking up dust and blood and broken glass.
The battlefield was alive with chaos.
Sultan gritted his teeth, his katanas clashing with the twins' synchronized assault. The white-haired twin flipped above him again, spinning midair before hurling one of her sais directly at his chest.
He deflected it with a spark-heavy swing, only for the black-haired twin to zoom in from behind, her sais slashing in a rapid combo—left, right, low, high.
"You're slowing down, katana-boy," she teased, darting past him again.
Sultan growled and slammed one blade into the ground, using the recoil to spring forward. Steel screamed against steel, and for a brief moment, the three of them were nothing but blurs of motion and fury.
"Hah!" he roared, knocking both twins back with a sweeping, flaming arc from his blades—his power beginning to surge—
But then—a glint.
A flick.
A sting.
He barely saw it.
One of the sais—small, almost delicate—scratched his side.
Just a graze.
He didn't even flinch.
Until his vision started to blur.
"What...?"
The twins landed beside each other, slowing their hoverboards. Their faces weren't smug anymore. They were calm. Professional.
"That should do it," said the black-haired one.
"We don't just fight with style," added the white-haired twin, twirling her remaining sai. "We fight smart."
Sultan staggered back, his grip loosening.
"You..." he said, blinking fast as his katana tips dipped toward the ground. His heartbeat echoed in his ears. "Poison?"
His pupils dilated. His irises flickered red.
"Just a little—custom blend," one of them said softly.
His body tensed. Muscles locked.
He exhaled slowly—then dropped to his knees.
And fell, face-first, his blades clattering beside him.
Silence.
Only the wind moved.
The twins stood over his unconscious body. No gloating. No words. Just quiet victory.
"Might wanna end your bullying, Takuya—" Halley shouted sharply, her voice laced with frustration.
But before she could finish, a small, shadowy ripple twisted open in the air just inches from Takuya's chest—a portal swirling like smoke and ink. And from it, something launched out like a missile—
A body.
Rin.
She slammed into Takuya with bone-crushing force, knocking both of them off their feet and into the shattered remains of a storefront behind them. The impact cracked the concrete wall behind him.
"What the hell was that?!" Takuya barked, groaning as he rose, blood trailing from the corner of his lip.
But then... he froze.
His eyes narrowed, and a chill ran through his spine. As Rin slowly pushed herself up, dark mist curling at her feet, he felt it—a warning, primal and ancient. A sensation that clawed at his instincts.
If I go near her... I'll die.
He straightened, body tense. "Everyone—fall back."
"What's the problem, Takuya?" Halley asked, stepping forward, ignoring the weight in his voice. "That's the girl. Take her out. Tranquilize her. It's up to—"
"I said FALL BACK!" Takuya roared with such force it shook the broken windows around them.
Silence.
Even Rin—whose body now glowed faintly, her shadow pulsing like a heartbeat—stood still, head tilted, dark eyes unreadable.
"Hmm, Halley..." Echo said, his sniper now on his back as he surveyed the chaos. "I think we should listen. You know Takuya's the strongest among all of us. If he's scared... there's a reason."
The twins, their hoverboards whirring, exchanged quick glances and kicked upward into the sky, vanishing through the smoke toward the chopper.
"I'm not going anywhere," Halley said firmly, facing Takuya. Her voice shook slightly. "You don't get to make that call for all of us—"
But she didn't see Echo's look.
The silent signal from Takuya.
Echo's eyes narrowed. His suit surged to life, nano-metal sweeping over his limbs. His boots ignited with a low hum—like Ironman with attitude.
"He wasn't asking."
And with that, Echo grabbed Halley in one smooth motion, launching into the air before she could react.
"Echo—STOP!" she screamed, thrashing mid-air. "You know I can help! Put me down!"
"I'm trying to save your life, Halley!" Echo grunted, flying them upward at breakneck speed toward the chopper.
But then—
She stopped struggling.
Went silent.
Then, in one swift movement, she slipped free from his grip, dropping backwards into a glide with her suit's wing extensions flaring out like a hawk.
Echo's eyes widened. "Halley!"
She was falling—**gliding—**from 200 feet above.
Straight back down to the ground.
Straight back to Rin.
And whatever the hell she had become.