The captives' eyes widened in shock as the shadow of the Cabonari personnel fell over the man, a profound blackness that seemed to suck the dim light from the bodega.
For the man himself, it wasn't fear so much as a cold, bitter fire of agitation, a familiar frustration that made his blood run cold. It was the uniform.
The single star-shaped badge on his left shoulder, the crest of a lion beneath it. The long black coat with a white, crossing design.
The tachi, a blade like a katana, held in one hand. The young man's gaze was fixed on the disgusting scene before him.
His eyes traced to the dead woman's corpse, and a wave of nausea, like the aftermath of a bad memory, twisted his insides.
He grunted, his brow furrowing in disgust.
"Shit!" He screeched, the sound high and strained, a pathetic animal cry.
He slammed his bloody hands on the floor, the tiles cracking under the force.
"Shit!"
"Shit!"
"Shit!"
"Shit!"
The captives shuffled back, their movements frantic, until their backs hit the counter. One of them lowered his head, a tired, relieved sigh escaping him.
The other's eyes were filled with hope, a fragile, pathetic thing he almost wanted to crush.
The Cabonari walked closer, drawing his tachi from its sheath. The steel glinted in the dim light as he raised it to a defensive stance. His eyes, cold and focused, were locked on the man still on all fours.
A closer look at his face revealed a kid, not a day over his adolescent years.
So the person who's going to do me in… is a kid?
The thought was like a kick to the teeth.
I don't think so. Not when I haven't seen her…
He gritted his teeth, but the world began to spin slowly, the metallic taste of blood a phantom on his tongue.
He felt as if his spine was trying to leap from his very back, and his skin was sweating bullets.
No…
"Please… You can just let me go." The man begged, his body trembling.
He bowed, his head hitting the grimy floor. The boy looked surprised, his wary gaze softening. He lowered his sword and relaxed his shoulders.
"I-It's not what it looks like." The man stuttered, the dizziness slowly fading.
"I had no choice." Tears resumed their journey down his face, mixing with the blood and grime and splattering onto the floor.
[Kill him.]
The voice was a whisper, but it sounded as if it were right next to his ear. The man's head snapped up.
He looked around wildly. "W-What… Did you say something?"
The boy remained silent, his expression unreadable.
[C'mon. Just kill him. You're a Beast Art User, for crying out loud. So do you think he's going to spare you?] The voice came again, and this time, it was eerily familiar.
It was from his own head.
Just what is all this… Why am I hearing voices now…
Ahh…
[You just killed someone… So there's no hope of him ever sparing you…]
[Finish what you started.]
[It's just a kid. You can take him. He's just one freaking kid.]
But he's Cabonari…
[And so? Beast Art Users and Cabonari fight all the time… That's how it is. It's fate, you fool.]
Yeah…
[And besides… Don't you want to taste and feel that wonderful sensation again? The power… The hunger… The exquisite warmth.]
[Now imagine how a Cabonari would taste… And how powerful you'll feel.]
Saliva began to drip from the man's mouth. His eyes, once full of tears, became soulless, his pupils contracting into small, predatory pinpricks.
Yeah… I do.
[Don't you want to survive and be able to meet her again?!]
[Show even that woman that it was her loss?!]
The voice intensified, a furious roar in his mind.
Yeah!
The man slowly rose to his feet, saliva drooling from his open mouth.
The boy, seeing the change, returned to his defensive stance, his sword raised.
"Please… Just let me be." A faint, guttural growl escaped the man's moist mouth.
"I c-couldn't help it… It's not my fault." He raised his head, his soulless eyes now filled with a predator's intent.
"I just need to eat… to survive." He readied his body to lunge at the boy.
There was silence in the rundown bodega for a few heart-stopping seconds, and then…
[NOW DEVOUR THEM ALL! TAKE YOUR HUNT!]
Hunt?
The man paused, the word a sudden spark of light in the fog of his mind.
Hunt…
Hunt!
He glanced back, searching for the captives, and realized they were directly behind him.
[TAKE YOUR HUNT SO YOU MAY GROW STRONG ENOUGH AND KILL THE CABONARI!]
The voice burst through every cell in his body, filling him with a burning, primal vigor.
Without warning, the man turned his back on the boy and faced the captives.
The boy's eyes widened. He gritted his teeth, his hand tightening on his sword's hilt.
"Bushi Arts Number Twenty-Nine (29)!" The boy's voice was a clear, ringing command, the perfect counterpoint to the savage scene.
"The blade that never bleeds!"
A faint, colorless energy shimmered around the boy's blade, then ignited into a brilliant white.
He slashed forward in a single, fluid motion, releasing a crescent-shaped wave of energy.
The slash sliced through the air, but the man's claws had already found their targets, slitting the throats of all four captives in one devastating strike.
He turned to face the boy.
And then…
SLICK!
The man's head was instantly severed from his body. It flew high up, a crimson fountain spraying behind it as it slammed against the ceiling and fell back down.
And at the same moment, his headless body crumpled to the ground.
The white slash continued, cutting through the bodega walls before finally dissipating into nothingness.
The boy put his tachi back in its sheath, his eyebrows furrowed in a grim line.
He ran to the now-deceased captives. Seeing their bodies, a sudden, jarring vision flickered to life.
—The End of Chapter 2—