NaNoWriMo10

The sky was gray. The forecast for the day had been mostly sunny, with a slight chance of rain. It looked like that chance wasn’t as slight as they had believed.

But Kiyomi didn’t care about rain. She was far too angry. Kurogane Masahiro was using familiars to… watch people. The creature she had killed, the creature Miko had killed, the thing watching Chie… they were all Kurogane Masahiro’s familiars. That bastard was watching them with his damn familiars. That son of a bitch was going to be stopped, now.

Kiyomi didn’t even bother knocking on Miko’s door. She threw it open, and stepped inside.

“Miko!” she cried.

“Kiyo-chan… you don’t have to be so loud,” said Miko, peering out from around a corner. “My parents wouldn’t have approved, though they’re out right now…”

“We’re finding Kurogane Masahiro, and we’re stopping him.”

“Eh?”

“Those familiars? They’re his. They’ve been watching Chie,” Kiyomi said, her tone harsh with anger. “I don’t care what happens, but we’re tracking him down and finding him tonight. There’s no question of it.”

“… Watching… Chie?” Miko asked, shocked to hear such a thing.

“I don’t know why, but he needs to be stopped. Now,” replied Kiyomi. “And we’re going to find him.”
She turned, and rushed out the door, walking down the street. After a few moments, Miko followed. Her katana, sheathed, was held in her left hand. “Do you know where to find him?”

“No. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll find him anyway.”

There was the sound of a raindrop hitting the pavement.

Soon, it would grow into a roar.

~
Kurogane Masahiro stood. Ah… it was almost time. In only a few moments, the spell would begin. He would gain the power to bring down the gods, to pierce them where they lived and destroy each and every one of them. Today… today would be a glorious day.

He did not forget the sacrifices that wound be made. An entire city of people would die to fuel his spell, but there was no choice in the matter. It was the only way to slay the gods. He regretted it, but it had to be done.

All the deaths… the gods could’ve prevented them, couldn’t they? But they hadn’t. They never did. The gods were evil. This is the only way things could be like this, Kurogane Masahiro was sure of it.
He held out his arms, and sent a signal to all his familiars, everywhere.

They began to return to him.

Today… it would end.

~

Yuichi pulled on a coat. He didn’t want to leave his youngest sister, but… things would be dangerous. As an older brother, he couldn’t just let Kiyomi go like that. He was careful to lock the house, and place the strongest warding rune he could muster on it to protect Chie. It wasn’t much, but it was as much as he could muster up and it would be enough to protect from most intruders.

He dashed out the door and into the rain.

~

The rain was roaring down. Kiyomi didn’t care. It was cold, but her anger made her feel like it was a warm day. Miko trailed behind her, looking around in a bid to see anything that could indicate the presence of Kurogane Masahiro. So far, there was nothing. Nothing but people fleeing indoors, or opening umbrellas, or anything like that. But Kiyomi was determined. She would find something here, something had to be around that would indicate Kurogane Masahiro’s presence.

The rain was so heavy, it was hard to see ahead. Kiyomi was drenched down to her bones, and her clothing clung to her. Miko, following behind her, was in much the same state. But she wouldn’t leave her friend. It was just some rain, anyway, it wasn’t anything so bad…

Kiyomi trudged onward.

Her eyes scanned the streets, and still they found nothing.

Wait…

A black blur, leaping past and threw the streets.

“… There!”

Kiyomi broke into a run. She was sure that was one of Kurogane Masahiro’s familiars. It was running, maybe it would lead them to him! Miko, noticing her friend had put on a burst of speed, started to run after her.

“Kiyo-chan, did you see something?!”

“I saw one of his familiars, come on!”

They sprinted after the black thing as the rain came pouring down. Kiyomi could see it more clearing, now. Black, small, tendrils off of its back… it was unmistakable. The creature was Kurogane Masahiro’s familiar. It didn’t even appear to notice them following, though its speedy movements made it difficult to track. Kiyomi wasn’t going to give up. She wasn’t as much of a runner as Miko, but she would catch it!
Miko had already gotten ahead of her, but she still couldn’t get closer to the creature. Up ahead, a derelict apartment building stood. It was surely scheduled for demolition… but the familiar darted inside.

So did Miko. Kiyomi followed after her. And they followed it up. Up several dark, crumbling flights of stairs, up and up into the darkness… and to a door…

The familiar went right through the door. In a flash, Miko unsheathed Seinshinhocho and swung the gleaming blade upwards. The door fell apart, and to the ground.

She stepped in, followed shortly after by Kiyomi, who began to raise her arm.

The room was small, and dimly lit. The familiars, for there wasn’t just one, were all flowing towards a single figure in the center…

“I was hoping to avoid such resistance, especially at such a late hour. It seems I have failed. Nakamura Kiyomi and Hououji Miko, was it?” said Kurogane Masahiro. He was a tall, dark man, black-haired with a long, black jacket. It was open to reveal a white shirt. He wore black pants, and boats, and even his eyes were black.

His right hand was heavily bandaged, and the bandages seemed to continue into his sleeve and up his arm.
“… Kurogane Masahiro… you’re the bastard who’s been watching us… watching my little sister with your familiars!” Kiyomi snapped, keeping her arm trained on the figure in the room.

“Why? Why would you be doing this?” Miko asked, raising her katana.

“It was a necessity,” replied Kurogane Masahiro. His voice was deep, and while there was little tone to it at the moment there was something about it that seemed threatening. “With what I have been planning, I had to be aware of any elements that could disturb my spell. I had heard that this city has several powerful magi and onmyouji dwelling within it, and had to take measures to prepare. I would’ve chosen another, but this city proved to be the most ideal. Along with the power provided by the population, there is a great deal of ambient mana…”

“Power provided by the population?” snapped Kiyomi, “What are you talking about?!”

“To kill the gods. It is impossible for a spell cast by any person to destroy a god,” explained Kurogane Masahiro, “But a spell using the lives of the entire population of a city and all the mana in the area could pierce their plane of existence and collapse it. It would remove such a blight on existence, and while it is a horrible sacrifice it is one I must make for this world. Of course, creating a copy of this city is necessary in order to contain the energy that will be released by the first stage of the spell…”

“Y-you’re…” Miko stared in shock.

“… You’d kill everyone in this city for your mad goal?!” Kiyomi took a step forward, the magic circle appearing in her hand. It flared brightly. This son of a bitch was going to kill everyone in a city so he could kill the gods?! This bastard would do something like that to complete his goal?!

“BASTARD!”

The blazing light erupted from her hand.

She didn’t hear what Kurogane Masahiro had said, but suddenly the man had propelled himself backwards and smashed out the wall behind him, falling backwards to the ground. Kiyomi ran to the hole as her attack dissipated. But it was too far to jump down… she had to get down somehow, before he could get away!

“Kiyo-chan, hold still!”

“Eh?”

Glancing over her shoulder, Kiyomi saw Miko standing behind her, facing away. In a flash, she sliced through the floor around them, then kicked off the rest of the floor. The chunk of floor fell out of the house and slide down, with both Kiyomi and Miko on it. When they neared the ground, the both leapt off. Kiyomi landed on both feet, and stumbled slightly from the shock of hitting the ground. Miko hit the ground and rolled to absorb the impact.

Kurogane Masahiro turned.

“You followed me?”

Kiyomi straightened, and raised her arm to aim at him again. Miko stood beside her, katana at the ready.

“We’re going to stop you! We can’t let you do such a thing!” she cried. She would stop him, he would be defeated, there was no question of it…

“Stop me? But the spell has already begun.”

“What?!”

“Soon, the fake world will overlay itself to contain the first portion of this spell… and then, everyone in the city will give their lives to a greater purpose,” explained Kurogane Masahiro, calmly. Kiyomi and Miko’s eyes widened. That meant that they had to move even faster…

Kiyomi lunged forward. “That doesn’t matter! We’ll stop you before then!”

The magic circle appeared in the palm of her hand, and the blast of light erupted from it. Kurogane Masahiro had moved around it in a flash, and suddenly sprinted forward with shocking speed. He flung his bandaged arm forward, towards Kiyomi’s chest. Eyes widening, Kiyomi raised her hand to cover her chest protectively, and suddenly found herself hurtling backwards. She hit the ground, hard, and felt pain shoot up her back.

Miko swung Seishinhocho up and swung it down towards the bandaged arm. Kurogane Masahiro moved backwards and lashed out again, grabbing for Miko’s neck. Miko swiftly outpaced him and swung her katana to the side, grazing the bandages. Kiyomi shot to her feet, raised her arm, and fired a blast almost instantly. It hit Kurogane Masahiro in the chest and knocked him off his feet, sending him tumbling to the ground. However, it took only a moment for him to regain his footing.

“I suppose this is not enough…” he said. He reached to his right arm with his left, and tore off the right sleeve of his jacket. Then, he seized the bandages, and tore them away, tossing them to the side. Beneath…

Kiyomi stared. “What… the hell…?”

The bandaged arm was a pure, unnatural black. Blacker then night, blacker then anything Kiyomi had ever seen before. It radiated this unnatural feeling, like it was something that did not belong in this world.

“My black arm… the crystallization of 108 deaths that the gods could have prevented…” Kurogane Masahiro raised his arm. “They could have stopped them at any time, but they did not. Such things are proof of their evil, proof that they must be destroyed!”

Suddenly it lashed forward, flowing like liquid into the form of a blade. Kiyomi, shocked, leapt out of the way, while Miko aimed a slash at it. The arm retracted, and reformed into an arm once more. Miko rushed forward as Kiyomi raised her arm. But she couldn’t fire, Miko was too close…

Miko would cut through that arm, and then Kurogane Masahiro’s consciousness. She had done it before, she could do it again…

Suddenly, Kurogane Masahiro’s fingers stretched and sharpened, becoming bladed, lashing tendrils. Miko tried to slash through them, but they stretched out of her ranged and then behind her. It happened so fast, Miko couldn’t even turn quickly enough to keep up with it…

The rain poured down. The tendrils, having wound themselves into a single point, shot into Miko’s lower back.

The black tip poked out through her stomach, as blood began to run down her body. For a moment, Kiyomi was frozen. She saw the tendrils withdraw from Miko and reform into a hand… and rushed forward as Miko began to fall. No, no, it couldn’t be, it couldn’t have happened, no no no no no no no…

Kiyomi caught Miko as she fell, and went to her knees, supporting her. Miko… Miko was still breathing, but… there was so much blood… it was on her hands… it was everywhere… No… Miko… she couldn’t’ die… Kiyomi clutched Miko tightly to herself. She didn’t know how to heal. Her healing spells were weak, Miko… the black spike had driven itself completely threw her body.

“I am sorry, but it was necessary to ensure my success,” said Kurogane Masahiro, looking over the both of them.

Tears began to roll down Kiyomi’s face. No… no no no no no…

Holding Miko’s body close to her, Kiyomi looked up. Tears flowed freely down her face, and she clenched her teeth. “’I’ll never forgive you.”

“Hm?”

“I’ll never forgive you.”

Kiyomi’s grip tightened on Miko’s body. “I’ll never forgive you… I’ll never forgive you… I’ll never forgive you, I’ll never forgive you I’ll never forgive you I’ll never forgive you I’ll never forgive you I’LLNEVERFORGIVEYOU!”

Kiyomi’s right hand shot up, a magic circle blazing in the palm of her hand. She took aim and let loose a huge blaze of mana from her palm, tearing towards Kurogane Masahiro.

But… he was gone…

Kiyomi trembled, lowering her hand. With a choked sob, she held Miko close to her. She could feel her the breathing of her closest friend growing shallower by the second… she’d lost consciousness, she was going to die…. And there was nothing Kiyomi could do… that bastard… he’d hurt her… he’d hurt her…

“Miko-chan…”

Kiyomi didn’t even notice the sound of footsteps on the rain-soaked pavement.

“Kiyomi, what hap-Oh… no…”

It was her brother. Yuichi… Yuichi… he wasn’t a powerful mage, but… he could heal. He knew healing magic… it… it could be enough to keep Miko alive and mend her, even if it couldn’t do so very quickly…

“… Yuichi… T-take Miko-chan,” Kiyomi said, choking back another sob, “H-heal her. Take her to a hospital.”

She had to stop him. For everyone. For Miko-chan.

Yuichi knelt down beside her, and gently took Miko from her. He muttered something under his breath, and held a hand over her injury. His hand glowed brightly.

“Kiyomi, are… how did…”

Kiyomi stood, slowly.

“That bastard… h-he hurt her… He… he’s going to kill everyone if he’s not stopped…” Kiyomi took a step forwards.

“… I’ll keep Miko alive, Kiyomi… you… you can go.”

Kiyomi was off and running.

~

The rain… it had stopped.

The expanding sphere overlaid itself over what was already present. It was a second reality, constructed for the purpose of fulfilling Kurogane Masahiro’s final goal. So that was it. The energy being released in the first stage of the spell would destroy the entire city, and everyone in it. But Kurogane Masahiro needed them alive until the end. This copy world was a buffer between the spell and the real world, preserving the source of mana until the end. Kiyomi understood, now. The second reality expanded until it had overlaid itself over the entire city. The same buildings and skyscrapers, the very same city, but a copy. A fake, bereft of life, a container for the energy that the spell would release.

But… no.

Kiyomi clenched her fists. Wherever Kurogane Masahiro was, she would stop him. She would end this, all of it. For Miko. She could only hope that she had reached the hospital in time, even with her brother’s healing magic, it wasn’t enough to fully mend such a wound without help.

Raising an arm to her face, Kiyomi used her sleeve to wipe away the tears. She had to find that bastard. She had to end this before the spell could be completed. She would end this before it could be completed. Taking a deep breath, Kiyomi took off into a sprint.

The colors of this city… they were muted, unlike the true city. Everything seemed dimmer, grayer, then the real world. It was a shell, without any of the history or the people of the real city. Kiyomi ran onwards. She had to find him as soon as possible, she had to… there.

Coming to a halt, she saw the man down the street. Kurogane Masahiro. The dark coat, the pitch black right arm… there was no mistaking him for anyone else. He was facing Kiyomi, motionless and staring at her with a piercing gaze.

“Nakamura Kiyomi…” he began, “You will never understand why I have done this. Hououji Miko would have broken my plan. I had no choice but to deal a critical injury. And now, you have confronted me. I regret this, but it seems I must do the same to you.”

“Regret?!” Kiyomi snapped, “You hurt her… you… you bastard, you hurt her! You’re planning on killing everyone in this city, you son of a bitch! How the hell can you regret anything?!”

Kiyomi took a step forward, fists clenching tighter. She was furious, completely enraged. This man… this terrible man… he filled her with nothing but anger.

“I did not expect you to understand,” Kurogane Masahiro responded, inclining his head and raising his black arm. Immediately, Kiyomi raised her right arm, the magic circle already beginning to form. “Goodbye, Nakamura Kiyomi.”

Kiyomi’s eyes widened as her feet sunk into the asphalt. “What?!”

The asphalt surged up around her legs, like a liquid. Kiyomi struggled, trying to pull free, but it held fast. The stark feeling of panic took hold as she struggled, but the asphalt continued to rise up and encase her body. She could feel the unnaturalness of it, the normally-solid material sliding against her skin as it made its way up her body. Soon, it had encased her arms, and she felt it sliding up her neck and too her chin. Struggling, she felt it slide up her face, covering her mouth, and then darkness took her vision.

~

Kurogane Masahiro surveyed his handiwork for only a moment. A perfect orb of asphalt, encasing the mage known as the White Cannon of Japan. Within, all would conspire to kill her. She would surely be killed.
Rising off the ground, he ascended into the air. He needed a good vantage point, and atop the skyscraper far ahead was the best he could attain…

~

Darkness. There was nothing but darkness within. Kiyomi couldn’t feel, she couldn’t hear, she couldn’t smell, all of her senses had been turned off. And then, it hit her. A slow, throbbing pain, welling up in her stomach. She couldn’t speak, either; all she could do was feel this pain. She tried to move, but her limbs were held in place, and felt too heavy. Would she die in here?

Your sister, your parents, your brother, Miko-chan… they’re counting on you, and all you’ve done is fail.

Kiyomi’s eyes widened. It was a voice, but she couldn’t hear… the voice was speaking inside her head. She couldn’t identify the sound of the voice, it wasn’t anything she had heard before… but it was speaking to her.

You let Miko-chan get hurt… she could already be dead, and you let it happen.

No… no, that wasn’t true… she had… it had happened so fast… the throbbing pain grew more intense, and Kiyomi shut her unseeing eyes in pain.

And soon, everyone in this city will be dead. Friends, family… Your little sister, I wonder what she’ll look like as the life is drained from her body? Agony? Will she understand what’s happening? You won’t even be there to try and console her. Because you have failed. Why are you still alive? Resistance… it’s a pointless endeavor. Everyone you know will be dead, and it will be your fault.

No… no… it… it wasn’t true…

The pain increased, spreading through her body. It was all she could feel, and the intensity… It was horrible. And… Kiyomi hadn’t saved Miko… she really could be a failure. She hadn’t even escaped this prison, she was just lying there, unable to move or even speak. She couldn’t get out…

You’ve failed. You should die. You haven’t saved anyone. Failure. Failure. Die die die die die die die die die die die die.

… She hadn’t saved anyone…

Pain seeped throughout her entire body.

They would all die, and she hadn’t stopped it. She hadn’t saved anyone at all…

… Yet.

What the hell was this?! Trying to grind down on her confidence and determination, make her want to die?!
The pain stabbed through her, but Kiyomi didn’t care.

It was wrong. It was wrong, and Kiyomi would show it just how wrong it was! She couldn’t speak, but she didn’t need to speak to cast her spells. Her defensive spell… this wasn’t some kind of impenetrable barrier. Kiyomi had dealt with those before. Surely it was tough, but it was the pain and the mental assault that was designed to keep her inside.

Kiyomi remembered who she was doing this for. Friends, family… Miko-chan…

A coil of mana ran up around her body and tore through the asphalt. As then another. And another. And another…

Cracks ran throughout the asphalt prison. Pain assaulted every nerve ending in her body, but she ignored it. She had a job to do.

Kiyomi was going to stop Kurogane Masahiro.

~

Hairline cracks ran up the orb of asphalt. Light pierced them, shining through the cracks, which grew… and grew… and grew…

The orb exploded.

Kiyomi stood in the center. Ahead of her, the vastness of the fake city opened up. The streets, cars sitting without drivers… Ahead of her was a skyscraper, some huge office building she had never bothered to identify beyond its size. Her gaze looked up it… there. There he was. On top of the building. All she had to do was get to him! Kiyomi poised herself to break into a run.

She heard Kurogane Masahiro’s voice from atop the skyscraper.

“Even if you have escaped, you attempt the impossible. The first stage of the spell nears completion, it is impossible to reach me in time,” he said, his low voice somehow carrying throughout the city.

Kiyomi froze for a moment. She had to get to him, she had to reach him… but how…?

Kiyomi looked down at her hands. Realization dawned on her. If she couldn’t get to him on foot… then she’d have to bring him down to herself.

Kiyomi narrowed her eyes, raising her right hand. She wasn’t called the White Cannon of Japan for nothing. Her unlimited mana flared up to power this spell, her strongest spell, her most powerful offensive weapon. She took aim at the base of the skyscraper, as her magic circle opened in her palm, and grew. It grew until it was larger than her hand, and still it grew. It grew and grew until it was bigger than her entire body.

“Kurogane…”

Mana spiraled inwards from the edge of the circle. The individual strands of white light twisted inwards and met in the center, forming a small ball of light… which expanded…

“MASAHIROOOOOOOOOOO!”

All at once, a blast exploded from the magic circle. A surging beam of raw mana, as large as the magic circle itself, tore down the street. The White Cannon, the spell that earned Kiyomi her title, rushed towards the base of the skyscraper. It struck, and tore through concrete. Windows shattered, chunks of twisted metal and concrete were scattered, as the beam tore in one side and out the other. Kiyomi dragged the beam sideways, tearing through the supports.

Atop the building, Kurogane Masahiro’s eyes widened. What was she doing…?

The White Cannon dissipated. Kiyomi lowered her arm.

The skyscraper began to lean, listing forward, towards Kiyomi. There was the tremendous sound of concrete and metal grating and grinding against itself, as windows shattered all the way up the skyscraper. Kurogane Masahiro struggled to keep his footing, and as the building continued to lean forward, he failed. He leaped forward as the building fell, crashing to the ground and crushing the streets below, throwing up an enormous cloud of dust. He landed just ahead of the roof, jolted by hitting the ground.
Kiyomi ran for him. A small magic circle appeared in the palm of her hand, and right as she was in front of him, she fired a beam of mana.

Almost immediately, Kurogane Masahiro raised his black arm. It flattened into a shield, and blocked the blast entirely, but the force of the shot caused him to skid back along the ground.

“BASTARD!”

Kiyomi brought her left hand up and shot again. Kurogane Masahiro blocked once more, his black arm expanding to cover his entire body. His damned arm… how the hell did she get through it?!

Leaping back, Kiyomi raised her hand again, only to spot Kurogane Masahiro splitting his black arm into multiple piercing tendrils.

“For the good of humanity, the gods must be destroyed!” he cried as the tendrils shot forward. Kiyomi cast her defensive spell. But black arm was invulnerable; she would have to move…

The mana coil hissed, and struck the tendrils.

To Kiyomi’s surprise, each tendril shattered. Shocked, Kurogane Masahiro withdrew the remainder of the tendrils and reformed them back into an arm, gritting his teeth. That… wasn’t possible. Kiyomi had struck the black arm with powerful offensive spells and it hadn’t even scratched it, let alone shattered it…
… When it was in the form of the shield… of course. A shield wouldn’t be any good if what it was designed to block could shatter it easily, but a weapon needed only to be strong enough to pierce its target! The arm was an unbreakable defense as a shield, but as a weapon…

Kurogane Masahiro raised his black arm. “It is foolish to try and stop me. This task must be completed!”
His black arm shifted, and formed an immense black spike. The spell recited itself in Kiyomi’s mind…
Kurogane Masahiro surged forward. Far too fast for Kiyomi to even contemplate dodging, there was no way to avoid it…

Kiyomi thrust her left arm forward. The magic circle in the palm of her hand ignited, and Kiyomi shoved her hand directly into the path of the black spike. Just as the spike had nearly touched her palm…

The light erupted from Kiyomi’s magic circle.

It pierced the black arm from within. Cracks ran up it, and it exploded from within with light. Kurogane Masahiro reeled back.

“Kuh… how…?”

“I said I would stop you,” Kiyomi lowered her arm, looking up to look Kurogane Masahiro in the eye, “And I’ve stopped you. I’ve shattered your tool entirely. You won’t be able to hurt anyone.”

Miko-chan… he’d never be able to do anything like that again.

The false city crumbled. The sky itself fell in, leaving a blank whiteness behind as the fabric of the false reality dissolved, the source of the mana that had kept it stable gone. Kiyomi stood before Kurogane Masahiro. “Hurting people for your damned plan… for the good of humanity, you said? You hurt Miko-chan, you were going to kill everyone in this city… how is that for the good of humanity?!”

Kurogane Masahiro stumbled, coughing. “… I still… have mana… for this.”

He raised his remaining arm. The false world shimmered, and the crumbling slowed, as a darkness built up in his hand…

He was trying to attack her.

Kiyomi narrowed her eyes and swiftly raised her arm.

The magic circle formed.

The White Cannon fired.

It hit Kurogane Masahiro like a truck. He was slammed into the roof of the skyscraper behind him, and as the White Cannon dissipated he fell limply to the ground.

Kiyomi lowered her arm, as the world crumbled around her.

It dissolved into nothing, and in a few moments they were surrounded by a void of nothingness.
“Kuh…”

Kurogane Masahiro coughed, and pushed himself off the ground. Blood was running from his mouth. Kiyomi froze. As much as she hated him… he… that couldn’t have…

“… A false world takes so much mana to maintain…” he said, mostly to himself, “I can feel it eating me up inside… Why… why did you defend the gods…?”

Kiyomi stared down at the dying man. He had sealed his own fate. Without his black arm, he had burnt himself out trying to maintain the copy world. He had so little mana, and he had destroyed himself trying to maintain the second reality and cast an offensive spell at the same time. “It wasn’t for the gods. It was for the thousands of people in this city that you would’ve killed to destroy them. It was for my friends. My family. Miko-chan…”

Kurogane Masahiro regarded Kiyomi for a moment, as if unable to understand why she would do such a thing. “… How… strange…”

Blood dripped from his mouth, onto the incorporeal surface they stood upon.

The city faded back into view. There was a bustle of people around them, as there always was.

Kurogane Masahiro fell dead in a pool of his own blood.