Under a blood-soaked moon, tension crackled in the cold air as Hikari's chains clashed against Ishida's blade.
For a moment, it was just the two of them—Hikari's chest heaving, the chains trembling along his arms, and Ishida's dark eyes glinting under the torchlight.
"You look scared, boy," Ishida said, voice low and almost amused as he rolled his shoulders, blade steady in his grip. "Thinking these chains will save you?"
Hikari's grip tightened, the iron biting into his skin. "I don't need them to save me."
Ishida tilted his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "Then why are you shaking?"
Hikari swallowed, feeling the weight of the chains dragging at his arms, heavy and alive, resisting each small adjustment he made. His mind raced, scanning the mud, the scattered ash around them, and every shadow beyond the torchlight.
"I'm not shaking," Hikari said, lifting his gaze, forcing a thin, defiant smile. "I'm waiting."
"For what?" Ishida advanced a step, boots sinking into the mud with a soft squelch, blade coming up.
"For you to shut up," Hikari snapped, forcing the words out to cover the fear twisting in his gut.
Ishida's smirk widened, amused at the defiance, and he lunged forward, blade flashing. Hikari's chains shot up to meet the strike, sparks bursting as steel scraped steel, the force nearly ripping the chains from his control. Pain shot up his arms, but he held on.
"Cute," Ishida murmured, twisting his blade, forcing Hikari back. "You're weaker than I thought."
"Yeah?" Hikari's breathing was ragged, eyes darting to the dirt at their feet. "Then why are you still talking?"
Ishida's brows twitched, annoyance cracking his calm for a split second.
That was enough.
Hikari's hand darted down, scooping up a fistful of wet dirt and ash, the chains jerking to distract Ishida's blade for a heartbeat.
"What—?"
Hikari tossed the ash into Ishida's face, the black grit clinging to his eyes, choking him in a cloud of smoke and mud.
"Damn you—!"
Hikari didn't wait.
The chains whipped out, striking the ground around them, stirring the ash into a thicker cloud, choking the air with smoke and grit as Hikari turned and ran.
"Get back here!" Ishida's roar tore through the smoke as Hikari sprinted, chains rattling like restless spirits behind him, scraping the mud, the weight nearly dragging him down.
His vision blurred as the wind tore at his face. Pain burnt through his arms and sides where Ishida's blade had grazed him in the clash, warmth seeping down his side in thin, stinging streams.
The chaos of the camp fell away behind him, replaced by the cold darkness of the forest beyond the fences.
Hikari stumbled, nearly falling as the mud swallowed his boots. His breath came in ragged gasps, and blood dripped steadily from a cut along his ribs, warm against the cold air.
Just a little further—
The world tilted.
His knees hit the ground, mud splashing against his face as the chains dragged beside him. His vision swam, the world going black at the edges as the cold crept in.
Hikari's last thought was of the chains, still moving faintly, rattling softly in the dark.
And then, everything went black.