Ali's eyes were filled with frustration, his patience had broken. The cuts on his body stung as the chilly wind spiralled around them. An uncommon feeling of hate and anger pulsed in Ali's heart, all the emotion burst in his veins, accumulating into his fist, his entire body flexed as his arm swung at Eira, if the punch connected it was sure to break her jaw. The moon cast down its bright moonlight at the literal and figurative trainwreck. The shadows were prominent.
Eira closed her eyes and braced for impact. She could sense the slow still grey silent as ever, in contrast, Kaze's purple burst with emotion and intensity. In the background, Akaza and Rengoku's auras danced and clashed around each other, every time they met a boiling spark would erupt, it sent chills down Eira's spine every time, she wasn't at her best shape, she couldn't focus on anything with the two powerful figures fighting in the background posing as a distraction. Eira's mind was distracted from the distraction by another distraction. Two unfamiliar auras clashed. Two auras she would've never pictured together. Purple and grey merged and fought each other.
Eira's eyes opened quickly, and a loud booming sound filled the already congested air. Kaze stood in front of Eira, sturdy and strong like a shield. Her eyes widened, Kaze had blocked Ali's lethal punch, both Kaze's arms up like a solid barrier. The area where Ali had punched already throbbed red, if it was a cartoon there would've been steam rising from the area of impact to emphasise how much power Ali had just blown onto Kaze's strong defence. Kaze's eyes glared sternly at Ali, without a second of interval, Kaze's whole body twisted to the right, Kaze's right elbow slammed into Ali's jaw, followed by a quick spin to implant his left shin onto Ali's side. The flurry of attacks left Ali with no opening to attack, Kaze finished his combination with a solid kick right to Ali's stomach which blasted him backwards. Kaze needed to ensure that Ali stayed at a distance, not because he was a threat, it was for his safety, Eira looked completely keen on slicing Ali and Kaze didn't want to risk Ali being harmed.
Ali's eyes glowed with burning irritation, every point that Kaze had attacked burned and stung. Ali's lungs expanded as he stared right at Kaze, he had to acknowledge the impressive skill that Kaze just demonstrated, a formidable fighter.
"I told you, I mean no harm… I've never seen a combo like that you know? You're impressive as hell" Ali was rational enough to set aside his pent-up irritation which sprouted from Eira's impulsive attacks, instead, he spoke his mind, which was Kaze's outstanding martial art skills. Kaze still stood in front of Eira, his expression remained stern.
"Yes, I know. I had no choice, I didn't want you to harm Eira." Kaze made his motivations clear, he was much more soft-spoken and formal in a certain sense than Ali. Ali's eyes narrowed and he slowly exhaled.
"Don't worry, I won't hold a grudge just because you bashed the soul out of me." Ali laughed, and Kaze got a certain chill up his spine. He hadn't ever seen a demon so… human. It was problematic, a demon who acted human sprouted a paradox that made Kaze let his guard down, being comfortable around a demon wasn't exactly the ideal situation.
Ali's punch throbbed at Kaze's forearms, it was as if the impact got worse every second. Kaze glanced down at the redness of his arms and back to Ali, his power was no joke, he was quick to notice the 'Lower Moon Two' in Ali's eyes. They had just defeated Lower Moon One, which meant if they attacked currently they would make light work of Ali right? Kaze didn't want to imagine the scenario, it wasn't in his hopes to harm or kill Ali, it would feel as if he killed a human, after all the noble stories and positive spotlights put on Ali in Eira's stories, how could he feel any sort of spite? This brought even more confusion into Kaze's mind, he had only heard of Ali from stories and that was enough to neutralise him, Eira was Ali's close friend, how could she attack Ali as if he was just another demon?
"Eira…" Kaze looked back and met her eyes, she had a certain emotionless stare which quickly turned into a stare of curiosity as she turned to recover her sword.
Eira didn't reply to Kaze, instead, she went and picked up her sword, she brushed off the dirt and held it tightly.
"Kaze, move." Eira's voice was an unfamiliar tone, a tone that was as cold as her breathing style.
Kaze's jaw clenched as he guessed her next moves. She wanted to attack Ali again.
"Eira, are you serious? It's Ali, the Ali in your stories." Kaze stood firm as Eira walked towards him, his heart thumped loudly as he spoke, he was nervous. Kaze was determined not to let Eira pass him, she obviously wasn't in the right mind right now.
"You good Eira?" Ali's voice was cautious, for the most part, he had calmed down now, the frustration had disappeared and the most prominent emotion was worry for his old friend. Despite that, his body was ready to evade, his fists ready to strike and his legs ready to move. Eira's eyes were fixated on Ali.
"Ali… Ali died the day you turned into a demon. You aren't Ali." Eira's voice choked a bit as she said this. Her self-manipulation was her one and only motivation to kill Ali, Ali was her biggest source of guilt, the nightmares hadn't made it any easier for her either. If Ali was gone, her guilt would disappear, that's how it worked right? It's how it worked in all the fantasy stories she read as a kid. The hero would kill the dragon, and then everything would be happy, everyone would be happy. She was the heroine and Ali was the Dragon.
Ali took a step back as Eira spoke. He was hurt to hear a friend say such a vile thing.
"Eira." Kaze's voice was soft, he took a single step towards Eira, in hopes that he would be able to change her mind. Eira's mind felt Kaze's aura ready to reach for her. For this split second, she was extremely thankful for her ability to read movements, she didn't want Kaze to interfere anymore.
Ice Breathing. First Form. Frostwave.
Eira dashed forward, unfortunately, Eira's ability and Kaze's reflex triggered in unison. Kaze jumped towards Eira mid-dash and he slammed his body into hers in order to immobilise her. Eira's first form was a swing that started from the point of launch to the end.
Eira's body felt the weight of Kaze on top of her, a certain annoyance grew in her eyes. The negative emotion was immediately lost when Eira's nose picked up a familiar scent.
Blood.
As Kaze let go of Eira and rolled onto the ground, she saw where that scene was coming from. Mid-dash when she was tackled by Kaze, her sword had sliced through his clothing and dealt a deep cut onto his left shoulder. Blood poured out of the wound. Eira's mind seemed to completely forget about her goal of killing Ali, instead, she dropped her sword and concern grew in her eyes as Kaze held his shoulder. Eira stood up and kneeled beside Kaze and covered her mouth.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm…" Eira was lost for words as she stared at Kaze's state of agony. He twisted on the floor and grunted with every movement. Eira's heart filled with remorse for her actions.
Ali quickly launched himself towards the dire situation, he looked down at Kaze and the scent of blood filled his nose. Ali's whole body shivered and he perked up at the scent. His pupils dilated and his mouth started salivating. This was Ali's first interaction with human blood, for six months his body hadn't known the smell and effect of human blood, even though it craved the substance so badly. A demon's body was naturally attracted to the smell, just like a human's reaction to their favourite food being presented in front of them. However, a demon's reaction was ten times worse and empowered them with the uncontrollable urge to feast on the meal, Ali's body fought the urge to maul Kaze like a beast. His head filled with the thought consuming flesh and blood.
Eira's attention turned to Ali, she immediately felt a shiver as she saw his eyes wide and his mouth drooling, his entire body shook. She noticed a crucial thing, his grey aura had darkened a bit and it was fluctuating like a candlelight.
Ali's jaw clenched as his hands tightened, he turned away and staggered towards the train. His mind was filled with the scent, the desire was so overpowering his eyes blurred and his mind pounded. Human blood. The demon body of Ali screamed for it, while the human mind went against it. Ali's hands touched the cold steel of the train that had flipped on its side. He couldn't, he shouldn't, he wouldn't. He won't. Ali's head turned back to the strong scent of Kaze's blood, Ali's internal turmoil only increased further. His hands grabbed at his shoulders, his nails dug into his own flesh and he slowly tore at them. Blood poured out his arms as he tightened his eyes shut. His fists then started to pound on the steel of the train, and a deafening sound similar to a bell rang and echoed through the forest. Ali's strikes were so powerful that after three slams his entire arm broke through the thick steel. Eira watched in shock and a slight sense of fear as Ali visibly fought his urges. Eira's eyes darted towards her sword, only a few metres away, she could utilise this moment of vulnerability and finish Ali. Her heart pounded.
Before she could even act, her mind was set into anxiety as she felt a large, powerful show of power. Rengoku's aura burst into an inferno of bright orange passion.
"Fire Breathing. Ninth Form. Rengoku!" His shout was loud and proud. The fight was in sight. Rengoku's powerful form brightened the whole forest, his flames spiralled around himself as he swung his sword at Akaza in the form of a large dragon. Eira's eyes widened at the spectacle.
There was a brief moment of silence, the dust fell and reality hit Eira, Akaza's fist was right through Rengoku's stomach.
Eira couldn't help the urge to scream, the wind joined in unison with vicious gusts. Ali stared at the sight of the Flame Hashira in a fatal position. Akaza and Rengoku continued to shout, Akaza offered his notorious offer one final time. Rengoku refused and continued his pursuit. Ali's heart dropped as he saw the bold red blade stab into Akaza's neck. Ali's heart dropped even further when he saw the sky slowly brighten, the sun was going to rise soon. Ali's eyes darted at the sun and back at Akaza.
"Eira!" Ali shouted. Eira's body crawled with goosebumps as Ali's voice boomed. Her eyes looked at Ali with worry, was he going to attack?
"Tell Asumi I'm ok…" Ali had a look of vulnerability in his eyes as he clutched his pocket, the box that held Amare Flos still rested. Eira didn't reply in the slightest, she was too shocked. Akaza tugged his arm so hard out of Rengoku's stomach that it ripped apart, he jumped off the ground and sprinted into the forest.
"Ali!" Akaza screamed as he disappeared into the dense cover of trees. Ali looked at Eira one last time and followed Akaza, both the demons disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Eira's eyes glanced at Rengoku. Her eyes welled up with tears as her heart pounded with guilt, she looked down at Kaze.
"Kaze..?" Eira looked down at Kaze. His eyes were closed.