Her only singular hope was that he was a friendly. But judging by how he suddenly stopped her, those thoughts hopeful were fleeting. So she stood quietly and waited until the man attested his intentions.
And the man did not let her wait any longer. Turning around with heavy breaths, the man looked at Shuri with eyes as dark as blackholes.
His eyes were glazed with drool escaping his lips.
"I finally found you…Shuri-neeeeee!"
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|DxD|
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Fear and more-so confusion, were clouding Shuri's mind at the moment. That is because this bulking behemoth of a man was flexing in front of her. It didn't make sense to her why he was doing such a thing. He had thrown his coat to reveal an absolutely chiselled and muscular upper body. He was flexing everything from his biceps to his pecks, striking various poses to highlight each and every one of his muscles.
Masaru puffed out his chest, a winning grin on his face.
"What do you think, nee-chan? I'm strong now, right? I've worked all these years to get strong just for you nee-chan. I've trained from morning until night for you nee-chan. I've never even missed a day nee-chan. Everyday I've been thinking about your words nee-chan. You said you wanted someone strong, nee-chan. Remember? You said those words to me when I was eight, nee-chan. You remember, right?"
Masaru was breathing heavily. He had waited so long for this day, to show the woman of his dreams how hard he had worked to prove himself to her. He could remember the moment that started it all like it was yesterday.
He had suffered a burn wound on his calf that would've left him horribly scarred for life. It was caused by improperly controlling the element of fire which went out of control when he tried to wield it. It remained vivid in his head how Shuri who was in her late teens at the time, rushed forward to heal him when everyone else was either laughing, or remained rooted on the spot like bystanders.
He could still remember that feeling of warmth which spread through his leg, that warm smile on her face that made the pain go away. It was love at first sight for Masaru and within a week, he declared his love for her.
Yet although her answer broke his heart, it also gave him hope.
'Ara? Even though you're cute, I only like big and strong men, you know? If you grow up to be big and strong, onee-chan will think about it, okay? Good boy~.'
And so aiming to fulfil her requirements, he became big. He became strong. Even when he heard of her getting bewitched by Baraquiel, it only served to motivate him more. While lights out was at eight for everyone, he stayed up and trained until midnight. When everyone was still groggy after waking up at seven in the morning, he had been up three hours earlier, fueled by the desire to become the perfect man for his 'nee-chan'.
Yet, he could see the look of confusion in Shuri's eyes which caused him to start hyperventilating. He could see that she could neither recognise him nor that fateful day that changed everything. He didn't want to acknowledge this. He didn't want to accept that the one he held dear in his heart for over a decade couldn't even recognise him. That fact alone would cut deeper than any wound he endured, hurt deeper than any muscle he tore.
So he could only hope, plead that Shuri would remember him.
"Shuri-neeee! You remember, right?! RIGHT?!?!?! Tell me you remember that day!!!!"
The panic in his voice was audible. The look of further confusion on Shuri's face made him die a little. He couldn't accept it. His mind refused to process this. He gripped his hair frantically, his widened eyes staring at Shuri with lines of red in them.
He was about to burst forward, yet Shuri's flinch made him step back. He lowered his head, his voice coming out more sorrowful than before.
"You…did you forget me, nee-chan? It's me? It's me, Masaru!"
"..."
Upon seeing her not show any signs of recognition, he lost it.
"How could you forget your Masaru?! Even if you forget my face, you can't forget my name! I still remember the day you healed my burnt leg! So how could you forget that fateful day when it made me who I am today?!?!? HOW NEE-CHAN?!!! Tell me it's a lie! TELLLLL MEEEEE!!!!"
Shuri remained rooted on the spot from fear, caution, and apprehension. She was completely on guard against him, the man's mental state not giving her any leeway for peace.
Masaru's booming voice also managed to awake Akeno who was asleep. The little fallen, completely drunk from sleep, assumed the loud voice was the television.
So in her drunken stupor, she tossed and turned in Shuri's arms.
"Mmmm…mama? The tv is loud."
Yet Shuri paid no attention to her daughter. That was because Masaru was staring murderously at Akeno, his intent unhidden. His gaze was hollow yet filled with hatred. His demeanor became more menacing, his body suddenly towering over Shuri by a good margin when the man finally stood up straight.
This frightened Shuri to no end, especially when Masaru said his next words.
"I see, I see. The reason why my Shuri-nee doesn't remember is because of this pest. Maybe Shuri-nee will remember if I remove this pest-"
Shuri froze for a split-second, her mind calculating numerous plans in a single moment. She had only moments to act in order to save her daughter's life.
She could still feel how dark and horrifying his words were. They were said without any emotion, almost as if everything had been left to instinct. Masaru was so hurt that his emotions repressed themselves, leaving only desire…the desire to kill the 'thing' preventing Shuri from remembering him.
In response to this, Shuri gripped Akeno with her hands and immediately tossed her in the air as fast as she could.
In the next moment, she charged towards Masaru in a burst of speed.
"I won't let you hurt my daughter!!!"
Shuri jumped on top of Masaru and wrapped her legs around his neck while her hands began frantically striking forehead. She did her best to apply pressure to his neck in hopes of somehow temporarily paralysing him.
Fwop! Fwop!
Like she calculated, Akeno instinctively released her wings upon being tossed into the air. The little fallen was wide awake at this point, her violet eyes taking in everything with a gaze filled with horror, confusion, and shock. Akeno's brain was going into overdrive trying to process what was happening, but Shuri had no time for that.
Desperately hammering Masaru, she turned to Akeno and yelled with all her heart.
"Akeno!!!! RUUUUNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Shuri had no tactics she knew of that would work on Masaru. She had no clue if Masaru was not moving based on her techniques having an impact or if he was just standing there like a juggernaut. But judging from how his knees remained firm as ever, her hope on her strikes working faded.
It was why she was so frantic. She had no clue what stunned him and she had no assurance how long this would last. It was why she wanted Akeno to get away from here immediately.
Unfortunately…
"..."
Akeno stood levitating on the spot, tears bubbling through her eyes as the situation finally became apparent.
"M-m-mama-"
"RUN!!!-"
Shuri was suddenly smothered by Masaru who caught her in his arms. The towering man buried his head between her legs, his heavy sniffs audible.
The man was so lost in hugging Shuri that he didn't notice her form a flame in her hand.
"G-get away!"
BOOM
While Masaru was sent skidding back, Shuri back-flipped before landing on all fours. She then got up and turned towards her daughter aimlessly floating next to the trees.
She mustered all the air in her lungs and all her emotions into her plea.
"LEAVE AKENO!!! PLEASE!!!!"
That was the last straw that finally caused Akeno to fly away.
As for Masaru, he watched as Akeno flew away without even trying to stop her. In fact, he appeared to be in euphoria and his head just conveniently tilted towards Akeno. His eyes were open yet his gaze was blank.
Then, he suddenly covered his nose, his mutterings audible.
"Nee-chan's scent. Nee-chan's scent. Haaaaaa…nee-chan's smell is so-"
Shuri wasn't going to wait for Masaru to finish. Spotting a chance, she bolted to the sides. She made haste to close the few dozen metres between her and the edge of the barrier. She used far more than her usual speed, her urge to escape that powerful.
But just like before, Masaru instantly appeared in front of her and blocked her path of escape.
"Finally. We finally have some time to ourselves, Shuri-nee~."
From the start, Masaru never cared about Akeno. All that mattered to him was that he got Shuri. Now that the both of them were alone, it was more than enough for him. He could resolve the problem of her not remembering him later.
As for Shuri, she glared at Masaru with the calmest expression she could muster.
"I hate-"
Swoosh!
Shuri's next words were cut off when Masaru instantly appeared in front of her and grabbed her waist with his hands. The man had a maniacal smile on his face, his eyes betraying the lust hidden within them.
"Don't say that, Shuri-nee. It'll break my fragile heart. You don't want my heart to break now, do you? Because if it does, the pest might not make it out of the forest alive~."
"?!"
Shuri had never felt such hatred for anyone in her life like she did now. She hated them. She hated the one before her. She hated the hunters. She hated the Himejima. She hated the world that forbid her love.
But most of all, she hated herself.
[If only…]
She was helpless in Masaru's grip. The man was just too strong for her measly capabilities to overwhelm. Her hands were restrained, and her kicks wouldn't work against him. Masaru was just too powerful for her. The gap between a high class who had never seen combat in years against a god class who's last exercise was a few minutes ago was astounding. Shuri was gradually losing hope. Instead of fighting, her mind was veering more towards seducing Masaru in order to buy time for Akeno to escape.
But before she could resolve herself to say some flattering , she spotted a weakness. Masaru's neck was exposed. All she had to do was lunge forward and snap it with her teeth. If she enhanced her jawline with mana, she was confident she could pierce one of his major arteries with her teeth.
Yet, her will was wavering. As talented as Shuri was, she had never taken a life. She was no stranger to witnessing the death of people. Having been part of squads filled with killers, she personally witnessed her own partners kill people. But that was vastly different to directly taking a life. It was why even with the opportunity presented to her, there was hesitation.
It was also in that moment that the conversation she had with Igor from three years ago replayed in her head.
'If Akeno were to be in danger, would you not kill for her?'
'I…would.'
'That's very admirable, aunty. But what if the person who's targeting Akeno is powerful? What if me or the old man aren't there?'
'Dimori-kun. You're going too far.'
'Aunty. The enemy won't care about whether they're going too far or not. What's important here is what if someone as strong as the current me comes and wants to kill Akeno? What will you do?'
'...'
The exact situation that Igor described was happening now. Neither he or her husband were here. Her daughter was facing danger at every turn and she couldn't afford to die here. As much as she revolted the idea of taking a life, her daughter was far more important than her ideals.
At the time, she didn't have an answer for Igor's words.
But now, she did.
[If neither of you are there, I will take the matter into my hands!]
Craning her neck forward, she decisively bit down right on Masaru's neck.
*Crunch*
"AAAAAAAAH!!!!!"
*CRACK*
Her ribs were immediately crushed by a panicked Masaru, yet Shuri held on tightly with her teeth. Tears of pain were streaming down her face, yet she did not let go.
In fact, she bit even harder.
"AAAAH! Let go!!! Let go, Shuri-neeee!!!!"
But no matter what, Shuri would not relent. Even as the pain spread through her body like lightning, her resolve remained strong. She would do whatever it took to give her daughter the best chance of escape. If she could kill Masaru right here, then Akeno's chances of living to see another day would increase exponentially, especially since she could fly.
As humans, they were disadvantaged when it came to flying since the magical energy required to fly would be much higher than other supernatural entities. Akeno had a higher chance of escaping from the other hunters since they couldn't fly for long due to their lower energy capacities.
But if Masaru chased her…she feared to think what would happen. It was why under no circumstances will she allow Masaru to leave here alive…
*Crack!*
…even if every single bone in her body was broken. The pain was threatening to drive her mad, yet she endured.
As the tears silently streamed down her face, she only had one request to any god listening to the pleas of her heart.
[Please…as long as my daughter lives.]
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AN
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I could not upload on Thursday and Friday due to having exams on those two days and this affected the amount of time I had to write. Fortunately, it is Sunday and for this entire week, my schedule is clear.