Koshi slowly stands up while not breaking eye contact with the Bandit Infernal. Judging by how it kept still, it might only be focused on her which is a good thing. This means that it's not focused on the townspeople.
For now, at the moment.
'I need to lead it out of town,' Koshi thinks. 'That way, nobody will get hurt-'
The Bandit Infernal looked away from Koshi.
Koshi immediately picked up a stone the size of a baseball and threw it with speed and power, making the Infernal flinch upon the stone's impact and lose its balance for a second. Luckily, its attention went back to Koshi and its flames grew in agitation.
"That's right, come on you son of a bitch," Koshi said as she turns around to run. "I'm the one you really want!"
And right she was because the Infernal began chasing after her. It didn't pay attention to its surroundings as they began to set on fire whenever he passed the buildings. Luckily, Koshi was smart enough to know that some people weren't able to entirely get to safety so she decided to take a route with no people present. If she didn't she would turn in a different direction.
She didn't know where Benimaru or Konro went, nor Hikage and Hinata. But knowing the four of them in a short amount of time, she knows that they are alright and probably helping their people.
Something crashed into the ground in front of Koshi, her eyes widened as she was able to barely dodge the item. The Infernal on the other hand crashed through the item with no problem as it fell to the ground.
"What the fuck!?" Koshi exclaimed. "I told you they asked me to help!"
"You also said that it doesn't matter who puts him to rest at this point," Benimaru replies from above while flying on a Matoi flag. "Besides..."
His eyes glowed as he controls an array of Matoi flags to lunge toward the Infernal and Koshi. "Putting an Infernal to rest is my job, not yours!"
'THIS PETTY-' Koshi thought as she quickly dodges the flags and explosions while running from the Bandit Infernal and making sure he doesn't catch up to her. "THEN DO ME A FAVOR AND AIM AT THE INFERNAL! NOT ME!!"
"No more handouts!" Benimaru refused and aimed another flag at the Infernal as it flew toward it.
Just as it was going to strike the Infernal from behind, it moved its head away without looking and caught the flag in its hand, and proceeds to quickly turn around and throw the flag back at Benimaru. Benimaru dodged it but, the flag ended up hitting one of the other flags behind him causing the four flags to be destroyed. Including the one that he was riding on, making him fall from the sky and plummet into one of the buildings.
Koshi did not hold in her laugh as she continues running away from the Bandit Infernal that went back to chasing her. "HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAH- That's what you get! Petty ass- OH!"
Koshi got cut off as she ended up tripping on one of the broken pieces of the matoi. When she fell to the ground, she was fast on her feet. As the Infernal was about to lunge at her, Koshi placed her hands flat on the ground and lift her body to kick upward against the Infernal's chin causing it to be stunned for a few seconds, giving her enough time to grab the broken Matoi pole and get back on her feet to swing the pole towards the Infernal's neck.
It successfully made contact and was stuck in the Bandit Infernal's neck making it stagger in shock. Koshi's eyes glow and the matoi pole was soon covered in intricate infinity symbols where she grabbed it as it proceeded to glow and explode. The Infernal fell backward, but after a couple of seconds, it stood up straight glaring at Koshi with a visible open hole on the side of its neck. Since the Infernal was no longer human, no blood escaped from the open wound.
Koshi knows that it wasn't going to kill the Infernal. She was still going to lead it out of Asakusa, the town has been damaged enough.
The broken infinity symbol on the Infernal’s chest begins to glow and Koshi’s eyes slightly widen upon noticing the hole in its neck closing. It was healing itself, and by the time its neck was healed, it looked as if a small amount of the infinity symbol was chipped away. It looked back at Koshi.
*Thunk*
A flying matoi directly struck the Infernal from its back and was soon swept away as it was being taken to a different part of town, followed by a few more flags and Benimaru heading back towards the Infernal. “Leave Asakusa, Koshi Solaris! You’ll be a dead woman if you don’t. THIS IS MY FINAL WARNING.”
“Captain!” Koshi tries to call out to him. “Don’t—“
But it was too late as Benimaru already vanished.
“Dammit!” Koshi didn’t care if Benimaru told her to leave, she didn’t care that she will die if she stays there any longer. What she cares about are the innocent lives staying in this town. If she leaves now, then the entire town might die, especially if Benimaru is unaware of this Infernal’s capabilities. With her ignition ability in use, her hair once again was curtained in golden flames and her infinity tattoo glowed on her back. She lifts from the ground and begins flying to Benimaru’s destination.
𖣔 𖣔 𖣔
To say that Benimaru is crossed.
First, a group of outsiders invaded Asakusa, then two infernals appear on the same day, and now he discovers that another Infinite remains after that day ten years ago. He remembers how Konro was able to catch two of them trying to escape and try to apprehend them only for one of them to wound him badly ultimately giving them time to escape. If anything, he can’t help but think that maybe Koshi reunited with those two if she survived the fall of Siezuno.
Could they also be in Asakusa hiding in the shadows? Watching and waiting for the right time to attack? They have to, Hibachi and Company 7 destroyed their home and killed their people so what other reason could Koshi and them possibly have to be here aside from wanting vengeance?
Koshi most definitely has every right to feel that way since her mother was killed.
Benimaru snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing the Infernal roar in agitation, so he guides his flags to throw the Infernal to the ground as his flames engulfed a good part of Asakusa. He hops off the matoi flag he was riding on. “You were told to leave, but you came back…”
The Infernal staggered to its feet.
“Now you will face my wrath.” Benimaru quickly appeared before the infernal as he punched through its abdomen and his flames dispelled from his fist.
The Infernal stood frozen as the sound of flames was the only thing to be heard. And soon the Infernal fell limp, Benimaru begins to retract his arm—
*SMACK*
Benimaru’s eyes widened as the Infernal's hand clamped over the lower half of his face. The Infernal lifted its head as it looks at Benimaru with a dark grin on its face. It almost reminded him of a certain Infernal that Konro fought last year. Suddenly, the arm that he used to attack the Infernal began to burn as he couldn’t retrieve his arm from the punctured wound he had given to the fiery enemy. So he began to use his flames to burn and control any near objects surrounding them and hurl them at the Infernal as he struggles and fights to get out of its grasp to no avail.
“Wow…”
Benimaru looked at the Infernal. It was talking to him.
“This is the 'wrath' of the mighty Shinmon Benimaru?”
This is bad.
Just as the Infernal was about to engulf Benimaru in its flames, Koshi appears behind the Infernal with a matoi flag in her hands glowing yellow and quickly swipes it across as it makes contact with the Infernal’s neck and cuts off its head with one clean sweep. Its head fell to the ground with a loud *thump* as Koshi grabs the Infernal's shoulders from behind.
"Waka!" Konro appears as he holds onto Benimaru’s shoulder and his arm lodged into the headless Infernal.
"Pull!" Koshi says as she and Konro pull Benimaru and the Infernal away from each other. Benimaru was freed from the Infernal’s grasp as Koshi tosses its body to the ground. Konro and Benimaru landed on the ground as Koshi rushes over to them. "Konro, hold him down. I need to look at his arm-"
Koshi reaches for Benimaru’s injured arm when he smacks her hand away.
"Don't touch me," he told her as he gives her a death glare.
Koshi immediately responds by slapping his injured arm hard enough for him to tense up and freeze in pain. "Don't smack me again."
She grabs his arm to check the burns. "Okay... this is fine. Hold still."
"I don't want your help," Benimaru said.
"I don't care about what you want right now," Koshi says. "I'm more focused on what you need and that is for these burns to go away. I don't want Asakusa to lose another good Fire Force soldier to fatal burn injuries."
Konro looked up at Koshi. "How did you..."
"Even Infinites can suffer from Tephrosis," Koshi answers. "Luckily, your Captain's gonna be okay... if he could cooperate with me."
"I told you... I do not want your help," Benimaru tells Koshi sternly. "As far as I know, you just might kill me too. Just like her."
"I'm not my mother." Koshi glares at Benimaru. "I most definitely never killed a child before. So do me a favor and don't compare me to her just because we look alike."
Benimaru says nothing as Koshi sighs.
"Now hold still," she says as she gently places the palm of her right hand on his nearly burned arm and began to gently rub the wound. In doing so the burns slowly vanished almost as if the Infernal never burned him at all.
"If you think you can convince me that you're different from them, then you're wrong."
"Well, joke's on you, Captain Shinmon," Koshi calmly says. "I'm not here to convince anybody of anything. As much as I want everyone to know that Infinites are good people, I cannot change their minds. The only person who can change their minds is themselves."
Koshi finishes healing Benimaru’s hand. "There. Good as new."
Koshi then stands up and so did Benimaru and Konro. "I need to take this Infernal outside of town. I came here to tell you that-"
A beam of flames flew past Koshi as it directly hits Konro, sending him back a fair distance. Koshi immediately turns around and freezes. The Infernal's hand was close to grabbing her face. But just as its palm was about to make contact, Koshi stepped back upon reflex while the Infernal's hand immediately retracted as its body reared back and it struggles to free itself from Benimaru's hold as he presses the matoi pole against its windpipe while restraining it from behind. The Infernal let out an ominous cry as it struggles free from Benimaru's hold while Koshi watches while sitting on the ground in shock.
"Koshi!" Benimaru shouted. "What the hell are you sitting around for? Get out of here, now!"
Koshi was silent as she watched the two, Benimaru called out to her again. "Oi, Koshi!"
𖣔
"𝑲𝑶𝑺𝑯𝑰!!! 𝑲𝑶𝑺𝑯𝑰, 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑵𝑬𝑬𝑫 𝑻𝑶 𝑮𝑶! 𝑹𝑼𝑵!"
Koshi looks on as her mother restrains Hibachi while in her Infinite form and pleads for Koshi to run.
"𝑲𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚, 𝑷𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑺𝑬! 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝑵𝑶𝑾! 𝑲𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊!!!"
𖣔
Koshi closes her eyes and takes a deep breath and stands up as she blocks out all the noise and calamity of her surroundings. "...no more running."
After a long moment of silence, the infinity symbol on Koshi's back glowed brightly as it burned through the back of her clothes, revealing it to the human eye. Her hair also began to glow again, but so did the fingernails on her right hand.
The Infernal freed itself from Benimaru’s grip as it lunges toward Koshi with its charred hand reaching out toward her. Koshi moved it aside as she placed her index and middle finger on the disoriented infinity symbol on its chest.
"Crucify."
A white flame bursts through the Infernal's chest, leaving nothing but an open hole where its heart is... or was. The Infernal stood there frozen in its tracks immobilized like a statue.
"...tired."
Koshi looks to the Infernal as it speaks.
"...so tired," the Infernal continues as it slowly disintegrates into ash. "Thank you... now I can rest."
Koshi says nothing as the Infernal has now completely vanished. She then takes a deep breath. "...I didn't do it for you."
𖣔 𖣔 𖣔
Far off in the distance a figure stood as it watched the entire scene unfold and end with Koshi putting the Infernal to rest. "Tch..."
He turns around and walks away as his white cloak faintly flows in the wind.
"...so she is stronger than I thought."