A tree's root grew vibrant, wild and expressive, as the Earth's nature has always been. Decades passed with the tree's root stretching further into the dirt, spreading its limbs.
One day, the root grew into an area far too dangerous. It protruded out of a cement footpath, forming a low ledge-like obstacle that people could easily trip over. Men, women, young, or old, dozens of people's feet accidentally kicked against the root as they strolled. For every ten people who walked over the root with no issue, there was one who stumbled forward.
In addition to water, the root began to absorb the thousands of curse words and insults that people spat down on it each day. It was blamed for pain, delays and embarrassment.
Complaint after complaint, the limb of the decades-old tree was issued for removal by the local council.
Metal whirring, splinters flying, and loud noise. Agonising incisions into the fragile wood, the root was forcefully pulled out of the ground. The path was evened, and suddenly, no one stumbled over the extension of the tree. Their problem had been fixed at the cost of the tree's pain.
Why was the root blamed, not the people who tripped?
Why was the root hated and not the aspect of ignorance?
Why was the root torn from the ground rather than people being advised to step over it?
Selfishness with the justification of "fixing" the problem. It was ok because the tree isn't human.
Why are humans deemed more important than other living creatures and beings if we all eat, live and die on the same planet? Does our curse of intelligence deem us privileged to destroy what we wish to?
The condensed Wisteria poison thoroughly coated itself along Ali's bloodstream, dispersing across his body rapidly. The fluid diffuses into every cell, weakening mitotic rate and hindering regenerative capability significantly.
His brain pulsed with agony, attempting to fight the foreign substance that invaded his internal environment. His eyes were heavy and low. He ignored the closing circle of Eira's squadron. The silver glint of syringes flickered like diamonds.
The previous bright glow of his markings dimmed back into their deep blue colour. His heart ached, emotions thrashing around.
His sole focus was on Arata's firm, yet consistently weakening, grasp on his forearm. A desperate reach for comfort as he felt the cold air guide him into another plane of existence. Agonised grunts and trembles interluded strained breaths. Just for now, if never again, Ali wanted to be that comfort for someone. He cared for nothing more than being there for Arata. Eira. The poison. Everyone that surrounded him. He closed his eyes, ignoring and plugging them out.
The forest filled with a silent intensity, the trees leaning in and out, branches wailing as their leaves swayed. The dark, shadowed backdrop harshly contrasted against Eira's pale features and light clothing. Even with morning light etching closer and closer, she remained an incompatible guest amongst the forest's life.
Her glare inextricable from her enemy, she allowed a silent interval for the poison to truly weaken Ali. The faint whispers of wind grazed upon her sword hand. A sick, convoluted emotion loaded the chambers of her heart. The moment she had been waiting for trickled closer to her, redemption after countless failures. As she stared at the utterly broken and destroyed Ali, glee and guilt conflicted in her chest.
No.
She consciously dragged any conflicting thoughts away from her mind. She took one last mental note of that cursed grey aura, for she could never see it again after today. She promised herself not to have an ounce of hesitance. Her fingers curled around the hilt of her sword tightly, her muscles activated with immense energy.
"Goodbye, Ali," Eira silently thought to herself, the slightest hint of reluctance deeply rooted within the message.
Yet, immediately after her concluding message, Eira quickly turned her head back. Staring at the darkness behind her, the forest hushed as if it were hiding something. A wisp of a familiar aura dropped into her brain like paint into water. A deep purple entered her perception radius. Kaze and Ayumu had finally caught up to Eira's squadron. After the torturous journey of headaches and fatigue, the pair had arrived at Mount Kurohoshi.
If 'The Shadow' had been a second later, Eira would've dashed forward and killed Ali. Yet, the universe had planned his arrival impeccably.
Eira's body rotated slowly as the familiar aura, accompanied by the dark red she remembered to be Ayumu, charged towards her. Kaze, who once brought her incomparable solace, added to her distress.
The two colours diverted paths, Kaze continued to steadily charge forward with no falter, and Ayumu leapt upwards, using the trees as leverage to move unpredictably.
"Eira! Stop all of this!" Kaze's commanding tone penetrated through the darkness, causing multiple nervous members to flinch. A glimmer of his sword emerged from the trees. The signature dark luminance of Kaze's blade revealed itself.
In hindsight, perhaps Eira should have decapitated Ali instantly, ignoring the sudden intrusion. Now that she was confronted by the dark, compassionate eyes of her friend, she felt forced to engage in conversation. Ayumu flew over Eira and landed right next to Ali. He thrusted his fist forward, twisting his blade in front of Ali to guard him.
"Stand down," He scanned amongst the petrified members. His eyes lit up as he saw Yukina, still on the ground, trembling. A glimpse of relief passed by his eyes, and the urge to help her up intensified in his heart. But he had to stand strong. The circular formation collapsed quickly. No one hesitated in withdrawing now that they were 'forced' to, they lowered their syringes.
"You don't understand, Kaze." Eira was apathetic to her squadron's withdrawal. She didn't even care to look back. Now that Ali had been injected with substantial poison, they had no purpose. Her blood-stained blade still dripped, almost as if it was salivating at the sight of a new victim.
Kaze stood strong, his feet firmly grounded, remaining cautious. Unlike Eira's katana, his sword lowered ever so slightly.
"Please… Listen to me, Eira," Kaze lowered his head but kept his eyes on Eira. For the first time, his compassion would have no effect, the kindness in his soul didn't sway Eira to any regret. The very presence of rebellion at her actions only solidified her stance, if she had been alone, perhaps she would've double-thought what she was exactly doing. But Kaze served as a reminder of what Ali had taken from her. Support from her friends.
"This is all…" Kaze's words drowned in the sea of Eira's turbulent mind. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the pitch black of her mind. The pleading purple in front of her, the stagnant dark red behind her and the countless other irrelevant people whom she perceived. They were blocking her focus on the sole colourless aura.
She opened her eyes, tilting her head as she stared at Kaze's moving mouth. Her mouth dropped into a slight scowl as a particular annoyance crept up her neck. Kaze and Asumi. Eira remembered their smiles. As warm as the shine of the sun on a wintry day.
She gazed at the sword Kaze carried on his back like a token. The black hilt and green accent of Ali's old sword. It was a shame Kaze had to betray her by supporting a demon. A demon she hated so deeply. The noise of the world began to bleed into her ears involuntarily.
"Ali hasn't done anything wrong," Kaze's voice, like all the other sounds of the forest she tried to plug out, assaulted her, " Asumi's on the way,"
That was the sole statement that triggered Eira to wince slightly. Her heart slowly sank into her body, picturing Asumi's horrified expression when she saw the corpses of Ali and Kaze. Her jaw tightened. She pointed the sword at Kaze, a drop of blood that was about to drip from the tip rolled back across the sharp metal.
"Asumi didn't have to know anything about this," Eira narrowly squinted at Kaze as she took a step forward, hoisting her sword forward.
Ayumu warily stared at the interaction between Kaze and Eira. A judicious, unnerving feeling developed in his stomach as he remembered the limited words they shared as they dashed towards the battlefield.
"I'll confront Eira," Kaze had told Ayumu, "Do not engage in combat with Eira if it comes down to it."
Kaze's statement came from an area of worry and concern. He knew if Eira was able to attack him, she wouldn't hesitate to kill Ayumu.
Hesitantly, Ayumu's head turned to Ali. Whose eyes were still tightly shut as he held what Ayumu could only assume was his friend in his arms. All the tales of Ali's power and intensity dissolved in the air as he witnessed this sorrowful sight. Yet, despite his stagnance, the air around Ali felt like it was vibrating intensely, like a resonant energy waiting to compile and explode. The other people around Ali could seemingly feel it as well, with the way they were all slowly retreating, forming a cluster on the side.
Eira's patience was running incredibly thin, her light eyes darkening with disappointment at Kaze's presence. Her legs tensed as she listened for Kaze's next words, whatever he said next would decide Eira's actions.
"I've already told her every-"
A horrible string of words to be put together. So terrible that Eira decided she didn't even want to hear the end of the sentence.
Kaze's blade shot up by sheer instinct, his senses felt the air charge with an icy chill. Eira had transfigured into a blur, her blade swung and sliced through the tension. A loud clash of metal echoed through the forest as Kaze blocked Eira's incoming strike. She doubled down on the swing, not retreating in the slightest. Although only using one hand, she pushed her blade roughly against Kaze's, initiating a competition of strength.
Kaze's legs strained against the unexpected force, he was forced to pivot slightly under Eira's immensely powerful force, rotating to the left.
Ayumu flinched at the sudden impact, his eyes locked, studying the struggle. He quickly glanced down at Ali, as if to ask, "Aren't you going to do something?"
Ali ignored whatever sound erupted from outside his bubble of grief. He could almost feel the wisps of Arata's soul brushing against his skin as it exited his body and floated upwards. The breaths became slower.
Ayumu boiled with frustration. Every speck of his soul wanted to launch into aid of Kaze, yet he could only watch with eager hope that Kaze had the strength to overpower the Ice Hashira. Many of the members shared the conflicted feeling of supporting the Shadow, rather than their own Ice Hashria.
Eira's glare was concentrated at the glimmering cross-guard of Ali's sword, the glints taunting her as Kaze struggled to match her strength. Annoyance only further fuelled her advance. She took a step forward, pressuring Kaze backwards. He felt the extra strain engage his entire body. The compiled fatigue of the long journey quickly resurfaced, and to his horror, he could feel an ache tightly wound around his head. The agonising pain washed over his entire body like a cold wave, numbing his nerves, all sensation concentrated on the severe pulse of pain.
A similar numbing surrounded Arata's muscles. His breaths slowed, and the hand loosely covering his neck now completely fell to the side. Tears leaked and flowed across the side of his face as he stared upwards.
Kaze's vision was blurred to the extent that he couldn't see the change in Eira's expression. She had picked up the nuanced change in Kaze's strength, the strained eyes and popping veins. She exploited his weak stance and kicked off the ground to retreat backwards a few metres.
A classic change of force to trick the opponent into falling forward. A jester's trick. Kaze fell forward. The sudden relief in Kaze's muscles was met by a warning in his brain, but the agonising pulses of his head delayed his response to the blatant danger.
Eira launched forward just as quickly as she had dashed backwards. The air rushed against her face, and slight amusement crept up as a smile when she witnessed Kaze fall face-first into the dirt. His arms moved to the side to attempt to push himself back up, but by the time he desperately pushed back up. Eira's foot was planted firmly on Kaze's back.
Ayumu shouted out and sprinted forward. Eira's arm shot downwards and grabbed the hilt of Ali's old sword. She slid the elderly blade out of its sheath, and without any hesitation...
She speared it downwards.
The sharp tip of the nichirin sword relentlessly pierced through cloth and flesh. She stabbed right through Kaze's back, missing any vital organs, but still spearing deep, right through his body. The blade dug into the dirt below Kaze's body, adding to his severe agony.
Time had frozen for the universe to observe the battle.
Shock washed over the bystanders' faces. Ayumu's mouth opened, roaring as he ran towards Eira. Kaze's hand tightly curled around itself in response to the intense pain.
Simultaneously with all these events, a far more peaceful conclusion had been reached. Death. In Ali's arms, Arata had taken his last breath just as Eira viciously stabbed Kaze. The essence of life, that clung on by a thread, completely dissipated.
Eira's glare shot upwards from Kaze and stared at the charging Ayumu. The slightest flicker of a grin was immediately lost. Not from seeing Ayumu charging at her. But behind him, Ali's eyes had opened. He stared at her with hatred imbued so deeply within them that she could feel each singular goosebump prickle on her skin.
A sea of intensely turbulent tides birthed from the depths of Ali's soul and enveloped the entire forest with its endless animosity. An explosion of terrifying darkness emerged in her brain's perception.
The same pitch black aura she failed to brave all those times in the past now surrounded her to an extent she had never seen before. She was signalled of attacks coming from every imaginable direction, her senses overloaded with danger.
Ali's markings lit up like a supernova. Ayumu took another step towards Eira. His advance was ignored by Eira, her heart instilled with fear for Ali's imminent dash. Eira braced herself as she stared right into her enemy's eyes.
The entire population of trees were deafened by the instantaneous explosion of blaring wind that Ali produced as he went airborne and launched right towards Eira, comparable to a bullet. Ayumu was blasted onto his side as Ali soared past him at a speed unperceivable to him.