Editing City Series:Volume4b Chapter 8 (section)

===Part 8===

'''Same Time

Shoui saw her.

That was enough for him to understand it all.

His mind fully awoke.

His body rebooted.

He gathered strength in both fists.

He remembered what he needed to do.

He had made a promise with her three years before.

…''I promised to protect her from herself.

She must have seen that as promising him the same thing.

And so she had taken on the Killing Holder title.

“!”

His eyes looked to Yuuki rather than the much closer slash.

He would protect her just as he had promised.

So he would not use the Flame High.

He would not win to protect her.

…''Would you say I’ll be protecting her to protect her?

He realized there was something more powerful than Words inside him.

It was a great power.

He recalled when he had first met Yuuki.

When she had rescued him from below the collapsed house, she had first told him her name.

…''Yuuki.

It had been crudely pronounced and that had been everything.

He only thought for a split second.

His movements were also instantaneous.

As the slash moved toward him, he spread his legs on the beach, raised his right arm, and opened his mouth.

And he gave a yell.

“———!”

He tried to force her name from his throat.

But he failed at that.

A different voice escaped him.

It was a lot like the very first voice anyone made in their life.

It was like a baby’s cry.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Immediately, Souichirou’s sword swung down with Kusanagi’s power wrapped around it.

But…

“!?”

Shoui raised his right hand with no Rhythm around it and without using a single Tech.

And the instant his hand touched the slash, Kusanagi vanished.

It changed.

The Device became nothing more than a blade.

But its momentum was not lost.

The blade split Shoui’s right palm.

The silver line sliced off his thumb and its base.

But that diverted it away from his head.

As soon as the blade dug into his flesh, Shoui had swung his arm outwards.

The slight shift to the sword’s path led it into his right shoulder, down into his collar bone, and even lower.

Souichirou’s attack fell straight down and split Shoui’s shoulder and right chest.

With a great noise, the sword pressure whipped up the sand and Shoui’s right arm flew through the air.

Needless to say, this did not stop Shoui.

He swung up his left fist.

He squeezed the golden ring hidden inside.

He turned it toward Souichirou who had just swung the sword down.

–''Shoui – Gym/Savate/Boxing Tech – Multi-Take – Straight Fist – Hit!

–''Souichirou – Dodge Tech – Counter-Take – Dodge – Miss!!

Shoui’s fist dug into Souichirou’s side.

The sound if impact was followed by three light sounds much like a branch breaking underfoot.

At the same time, Souichirou’s body floated up a little.

His head drooped down and he fell to his knees.

Meanwhile, Shoui took a step back and sighed.

An approaching wave washed at his feet while he looked to his right shoulder.

There was no arm attached.

He could see his shoulder’s skin and the bone jutted out past the flesh.

“…”

He sighed again.

It was a breath of relief.

With that relaxing breath, the flesh swelled out, hiding the protruding bone.

And allowing the blood to gush out.

“!”

He was hit by the recoil of the blood spurting out with the force of his pulse.

He felt great exhaustion and the shock of blood loss.

He realized his vision was tilting and the ocean was gradually growing vertical.

…''Oh, I’m falling over.

Once he realized that, the sand filled the left side of his vision.

He felt exhausted and the right half of his body was soaked with something warm.

Even as he succumbed to the desire for sleep, he tried to hold his right shoulder with his left hand but then stopped.

His left fist held Takada’s ring.

He could not get it dirty.

“I can’t believe this.”

Shoui spoke for the first time in several days and shut his eyes.

His mind quickly fell into the darkness.

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