Izuku's POV:
"I should be nearing Giran's location..." I muttered to myself, looking around through the darkness of the night, illuminated by street lamps and moonlight.
Of course I had... stopped by a certain somewhere to collect the money Giran had asked for. Coincidentally, it was relatively close to the coordinates he had sent me, so I didn't have to travel too far to get the money before meeting up with him.
The streets were not busy at this time of night, and not many people were out walking down the streets. Those who were, were likely coming back from a long work shift. The only people who truly thrived at this time of night were criminals, vigilantes, and underground heroes.
"Over there," I thought to myself, eyes landing on a familiar figure in the middle of a dark alleyway. Creepy and suspicious in most circumstances, however, this is just how it's done in the underground society. Especially with Giran.
I leapt off the rooftop, traveling a good distance as I landed right outside of the alleyway in question.
"Giran."
The landing had already gotten the man's attention, that smug, toothy grin responding to my arrival with glee.
"Emerald! How are ya' today?" Giran was always one to attempt to steer a conversation into another direction before it even starts, however, this was too important to waste time on. Demons have been spotted near the infamous Hokkaido underground, and while not all of the members are demons, a few of them are, which could put the nearby residents in danger.
Unfortunately, no one really knows the location, nor do people know much about those who participate in fights with the fighting arena. In a sense, Giran is practically my only way of completing my mission.
I'm usually not dismissive of other's questions and talking to people like Giran does make me nervous at times, however, this situation was different, and I could not afford to waste time. I have already wasted valuable time just waiting for Giran to finally find some worthwhile information.
"Please, let's cut to the chase," I said in a relatively quiet tone of voice. I tossed Giran a black bag full of Japanese yen. 100,000 yen to be more precise. The bag came to an abrupt stop by Giran's feet.
If I hadn't seen Giran's big grins prior to today, I wouldn't have thought it physically possible for him to be grinning as wide as he did. He pulled out a cigar, carefully lighting it as he blew a puff of smoke into the air, bending down to pick the bag up.
"Perfect. You never cease to surprise me, kid. You make this line of work worthwhile," Giran said, reaching into a bag of his own, tossing a large folder towards me, a few papers failing to stay stable inside, peaking out of the folder's edges.
"That folder contains the location of the Hokkaido underground, as well as it's most well-known members," Giran said. "I don't know what you are trying to do here, kid, but be careful, alright? I don't feel like losing one of my best clients."
And with that, Giran turned away from me, walked out of the alleyway with nothing more to say, leaving a large puff of smoke behind as he removed the cigar from his mouth.
My eyes flipped from the disappearing Giran to the large folder on the floor, quickly sitting down next to it to properly search through all of the information Giran had gathered for me.
I carefully opened the folder, a flood of papers and pictures spewing out of it.
My eyes narrowed at the first picture they landed on. A medium-sized building with a similar appearance to a bar. Well... that was likely because it is a bar. A very faint silhouette of a bartender was just barely visible to me within the building in the picture. The outer walls were pitch black in color, with very little windows, only a few at the front entrance of the bar.
"This must be the place..." I thought to myself. I've been on missions similar to this in the past. The Hokkaido underground arena was likely underneath this bar, the bar being used as a disguise as to not draw suspicion from the authorities or the pros. A smart move.
Giran was even so kind to give me the relative coordinates of the "bar", with was jotted down right at the bottom of the image. I lifted my mask up to the top of my head, to make it easier for me to inspect the remaining papers and photos.
Most of the papers were of the regulars. The regularly seen fighters in the Hokkaido underground, and their skillset. Including quirks and combat prowess. Most of them relied on a combination of both combat and quirk usage, something that the heroes can definitely learn from.
Some images showcased members that I immediately knew were demons. Their slit pupils, the sharp fangs, the razor sharp claws. It's a wonder how they haven't been figured out yet, until now.
However, one photo in particular really got my attention, my heart racing slightly as my brain pieced together what exactly I was looking at. Suddenly, what Yushiro had told me a few days ago started replaying itself within my mind, eyes glued onto the photo.
"He seems to have permanent dragon-like scales protruding out of his limbs, as well as long, sharp claws, more powerful than any normal demon. He may have black hair as well, however, I am unsure of this fact."
"This... this is 'Dragon', isn't it?" I thought to myself. The person's appearance in the photo was a perfect match for the description that Yushiro gave me. He even had the weird white mask to boot.
"This has to be the guy. This has to be the demon responsible for burning down that orphanage... right?"
And once again, the familiar feeling that I felt while in this man's lingering flames came back. Just looking at this demon through the photo told my body and mind that he was familiar in some way. Like I had experienced him before.
I couldn't shake this feeling from my head. It was perpetual and relentless. Perhaps Endeavor?
I swiftly shook my head. No.
I had already had this thought previously, and it can't be the case. Endeavor is almost always seen during the day. If he were a demon, he'd burn up when trying to do his job. But who then? who could this be?
"Maybe someone related to Endeavor? Like one of his children?" I pondered aloud, sifting through the remaining papers and photos. However, I didn't care enough to look through the rest properly. Not after seeing someone who perfectly matched the description of the infamous "Dragon".
Just by the way this demon held himself in the photo, I could tell that it was either powerful or overly confident. Maybe a little bit of both. It may be a pain to attempt to fight this demon on my own, especially when surrounded by several other demons and other powerful fighters within the Hokkaido underground.
I couldn't risk going in alone. This one was definitely one of the Demon King's strongest. There was no denying that. I needed someone else to come along with me. Someone around the same rank as me. Definitely not a Hashira, though. That would likely be considered wasting their time.
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This is the first time I had ever been to Hokkaido. So naturally, I seemed like a lost puppy to those I walked past on the streets. It had taken a while to get permission for someone to join me on this mission, but I did eventually succeed.
Unfortunately, I am not entirely sure as to who this demon slayer is. All I know is that it's one of the demon slayers who passed Final Selection along with me. So it was between 3 people. I don't entirely remember them, as that was over 3 years ago, however, which ever one it is, they must be pretty powerful.
Well, most demon slayers are powerful. It takes the strongest heroes to actually have a chance in capturing us. That's the reason why heroes have never captured one of us in the past. However, against more powerful demons, we usually need several demon slayers to deal with it.
Apparently, the demon slayer will meet with me at the actual location.
After reading through all of the information Giran had given me last night, I learned that "Dragon" is considered the Hokkaido champion. No one has every made him go serious.
Oh sure, people have tried. But all fights always end in death.
I'm guessing he eats his opponents. Likely in secluded areas though... a demon wouldn't risk devouring a human while being watched.
The streets weren't very busy as it was just past midnight. Plus, citizens of Hokkaido generally have more to worry about in terms of villains and gang fights than citizens in other parts of Japan do.
Most heroes stick to the more popular and populated areas of Japan, such as Tokyo. In the country side, people are more susceptible to criminal activity.
Crash
Crash
Welp, this must be the place...
I stopped in front of a building identical to the one from the photo, one of the windows shattering upon impact with a chair. The people inside must be... energetic.
I gulped, staring the building down. "What is it with all of these bars I have to go to?" I thought. I hate the atmosphere in them. Reminds me too much of dad. It's frustratingly inconvenient for me to be around bars, since I can easily get distracted.
Before stepping in, I took off my hoodie, placing my green kitsune mask on to cover my facial features. I looked around as I approached the entrance, attempting to spot the demon slayer who was sent to assist me on this mission. No one.
I groaned in slight annoyance. "Either they're late or they're already inside..."
Pushing the doors open, I noticed the striking similarity to the bar I had been in last time. Maybe they're owned by the same person? It's a likely possibility as this is a bar associated with the underground society.
Many eyes fell on me quite quickly, some filled with fear and others filled with disgust. The bar that was once full of life and energy was reduced to a deafening silence full of silent judging stares.
I suppose I can't blame them. They likely weren't expecting for the infamous Emerald to walk into this bar.
I could sense a certain level of shock as their eyes were glued to me. Either because Emerald just walked into this bar unannounced or because I was likely shorter and more scrawny than they had imagined.
It was likely a little bit of both, as these were looks I've already seen many times before when people put the puzzle pieces together that I was likely incredibly young.
"You-"
Holding up a hand in interruption, I dismissed the person who attempted to point out who I was. Walking up to the stunned bartender, I glared through my mask into the man's eyes.
"I-is their anything y-y-you n-need... s-sir?" The bartender questioned, stuttering more than I usually do.
I was slightly upset that the bartender was visibly afraid of me. That is never my intention, however, I have to admit that it is useful for getting what you want.
"The Hokkaido underground. Take me to it," I demanded, my young, high tone of voice practically echoing within the unnatural silence of the bar.
The man brought me behind the bar counter, leading me to a locked door off near the corner, next to a shelf filled with countless forms of liquor.
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??? POV:
"He strikes!"
"And he is knocked out of the ring!"
The announcer yelled at the top of his lungs, narrating an abysmal fight that went on for far too long. The crowd foolishly cheered for something that wasn't worthwhile.
"How pathetic..." I muttered to myself. "Performances should be entertaining and captivating. This was a horrendous excuse for one..."
The loud and crowded area was a little difficult to navigate. One couldn't navigate this place without bumping into dozens of people, which could in turn start a confrontation. What a boring place... I suppose the thrill of getting into a confrontation could be an interesting feeling. However, overall, this was incredibly boring.
I needed for one of the demonic participants to show themselves. That way, we could have quite the interesting chat. Perhaps he'd be interested in listening to my jokes. Time is being wasted. I'm not the best at search and reconnaissance. These missions don't feed into my strengths! My time is wasted here.
If only that demon slayer I'm paired up with could hurry up and get here.
Well... I suppose I am early... No matter! I can quite easily take care of this myself.
Once I do, I'll be one step closer to meeting the requirements of a Hashira... and I'll finally be relevant!
I abruptly stood to my feet, pushing through the sea of spectators in the stands, garnering annoyed looks and comments. "Such vulgar language."
For the past hour or so, I have been sifting through the crowd, as well as watching the arena fights, in order to determine who is a demon and who isn't. Unsurprisingly, most of the people here are, in fact, humans. I haven't seen a single person who explicitly gave me demonic vibes.
Perhaps I'll have to look through the backstage rooms and hallways...
I leapt up and over the rest of the crowd, landing into a roll to break my fall.
I reached a hand back, grasping at my weapon connected to the back of my clothing. It is considered quite the unusual choice of weapon for a demon slayer to use, especially since most wield katanas. But just like my choice of weapon, I too can be considered an unusual soul.
A glaive.
I unsheathed my nichirin glaive, twirling it in between my fingers as I carefully made my way over to one of the entranceways the contestants had come out of to get to the fighting arena, walking down the hallway, away from the arena.
No one had noticed me, far too focused on the new battle that began to break out mere moments before the last one ended.
"If there are to be any demons hiding within this building, it'd likely be here," I thought to myself. I may not be good at search and reconnaissance, but I am unmatched in stealth and evasion. Once I spot the demon, it will die a swift death. It won't see me coming.
I dashed forward at high speeds, yet was as quiet as humanly possible. Not many contestants were back here, which was genuinely surprising, as this is where they stay before the start of their next match.
"Perhaps they aren't--
I was snapped out of my thoughts by a loud screech that sounded like a grown man's voice.
I pressed my feet forward in front of me, sliding to a halt as I listened carefully to figure out just where the scream had come from.
---------------------------------------------------
Izuku's POV:
"Water Breathing: First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
The decapitated head of the demon slammed against the wall and fell to the ground, a loud angered screech escaping its mouth. Yet another demon sent a blast of crackling electricity straight for my torso.
"Light Breathing: First Form: Enlightenment!"
I perfectly performed the posture, slashing at the sparks of electricity several consecutive times in order to properly block each lightning thread.
"Light Breathing: Sixth Form: Unseeable!"
The demon was surprisingly able to evade my blade, but just barely. My katana still cut through his neck, but not fully. The demon's head was practically hanging on by a thread of skin.
"Damn you!" the demon screeched, emitting powerful threads of lightning discharging from every inch of his body as its head snapped back into place, reconnecting with the neck.
That bartender had reluctantly allowed me in, but I suppose I should've been a bit more on guard. Fear truly drives a person to stupidity. I should've sensed his malice... perhaps a quirk was concealing his intentions? He had led me to a room full of demons, more demons than we originally theorized may have been here.
This lightning demon is the final one. He isn't comparable to me. Not in the slightest. However, this electricity is problematic. I can't get in close.
"Duck!"
I flinched at the new and sudden voice, however, I instantly knew to obey. I ducked my head down, what seemed to be a glaive just barely flying over my head, nearly cutting my hood. The glaive continued on, metal attracting the electricity towards it as it embedded itself into the demon's head.
The electricity subsided, the glaive piercing the wall, with the demon's body pressed up against it, unable to remove the glaive from it's head.
I saw an opportunity.
I dashed forward, swiftly decapitating the demon just as it started to pull the glaive out of its head.
The head fell to the ground, rapidly disintegrating with the glaive still embedded in it.
I looked behind me, to the owner of the glaive as he walked past me and towards the decapitated head. He pressed his foot up against the demon's head and yanked the glaive out of its skull with incredible force, causing blood and brain matter to violently spew out from the injury.
The man twirled the glaive between his fingers, blood flying off of his weapon, splattering everywhere.
Now that I got a better look of the man, he did seem familiar. He really was one of the 3 demon slayers that past Final Selection along with me. It was the strange looking man. The one that had been and still is dressed in a black jester costume, face covered by a mask you'd expect a jester to wear.
That weapon he used is quite unique. I haven't seen any other demon slayer using a glaive. The confidence and precision needed for this guy to have thrown his glaive at the demon's head was in itself a demonstration of his skill level. Plus, his glaive attracted the electricity to it as it flew through the air. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but if it was, it demonstrated his whit and cleverness. I could practically sense that this guy was just as skilled, if not more skilled than me. Although, I'd have to see more of him to solidify that suspicion.
"You m-must be my partner," I said. I really need to get rid of that stutter. Eh, I'm working on it.
The jester turned to me, an unreadable body expression, as I couldn't see his face. He couldn't see mine either.
"Ah yes! I remember you. You were the green-haired boy from 3 years ago. I hadn't known you survived all these years. To think that you became 'Emerald'," the jester said, practically twirling his body to face me.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I pondered in my head.
"You may call me Genki!" the jester announced proudly.
"Izuku Midoriya," I responded with my own name. "He's got... an interesting personality..."
The jester man just nodded in response and walked away without another world.
"Wh-where are you going?" I asked.
"To find this 'Dragon', character," Genki replied.
I swiftly ran up next to the man who was barely paying me any mind. Well, he wasn't really a man he sounded young as well... well... younger than a grown adult. He's likely around 18. Many of the demon slayers are really young, although Kagaya-Sama has told me that I am the youngest demon slayer in history.
But as far as I know, no current demon slayer is over 30.
"Shouldn't we be a bit more cautious?" I asked
"Not unless this demon is of lower moon caliber, which I truly doubt," he replied.
I narrowed my eyes at the jester. "I guess he isn't technically wrong, however, he seems a bit too confident. It could get him killed," I thought.
"I don't sense another demon nearby---
The lights began to flicker all around us, prompting both Genki and I to stop in our tracks. Practically immediately after I said that, a new presence made itself known. We both readied our weapons, Genki seeming unbothered while I was pretty nervous.
A sharp pain shot through my arm. I fully flinched to the left, causing Genki to frantically look in my direction as if shocked that something had already hit me. I looked down at my arm, noticing a large gash running through it, blood oozing from it.
Footsteps practically echoed throughout the hallway, a figure slowly and dramatically stepping out of the darkness. I utilized my slow-mo vision to better take a look at this person while also perceiving them in a slow world.
It was him.
The one Yushiro described and the one I saw in one of those photos Giran had given me.
Dragon.
Incredibly dark green scales protruded out of his clothing, resembling a dragon. A blank white mask with two holes near his eyes. Black hair. Tall and built figure. No doubt. Once again, I felt a familiar aura to him. First to his flames from the orphanage, then from the photo, and now seeing him in person... it was strange.
"So this is dragon, huh?" Genki asked to no one in particular.
"Demon slayers... I'm guessing you fools are here to 'slay' me?" Dragon questioned.
That voice... it sounded so familiar. But I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was like I subconsciously knew who this demon was, but I couldn't quite put the puzzle pieces together. But that doesn't matter. We have to focus on killing Dragon, not figuring out his identity.
Dragon seemed to hold himself in high regard. "The bartender informed me of you two's presence. I haven't consumed the flesh of a demon slayer in months. Maybe you two will give me somewhat of a challenge," Dragon said.
I looked over at Genki who had began walking towards Dragon. He seemed calm on the outside, but thanks to my enhanced hearing, the volume of his beating heart was loud and clear. "A tough and calm exterior, huh?" I thought to myself.
Genki dashed towards Dragon, aiming his glaive at the demon's neck, only to practically dance around him to deliver a blow to Dragon's back. I was barely able to see his rapid movements. My analytical mind attempted to understand what I had just barely seen.
"Genki while aiming for the neck began to twirl his glaive all around both his and Dragon's body, faster than I could see, in an attempt to confuse Dragon as to where he would strike," I thought to myself.
While clever, it is incredibly risky. It may be presumptuous of me to think I have this guy's fighting style figured out already, but between that stunt and him throwing his glaive earlier, it's clear that he opts for wit-based and unpredictable strikes. However, his antics seem just as dangerous to perform as they are to be hit by.
This style of fighting isn't similar to any breathing style that I know of. Genki may have made his very own breathing technique!
I suppose I could attempt to utilize a new breathing style that I've learned within the past few days.
"Wind Breathing: Sixth Form: Gale, Sudden Gusts!"
I dashed forward and then leapt into the air while swinging my blade, which generated gale-force winds in an attempt to shred Dragon to pieces. However, the scales on his body caused my katana to practically bounce off. I leapt back as Dragon attempted to kick me away while delivering a devastating blow to Genki's chest, which surprsingly didn't punch straight through him.
"Genki must be quite durable," I thought to myself. "I guess he kind of has to be if he's going to use such dangerous and risky attacks.
As Genki began flying back, I watched as he thrusted his glaive upwards at Dragon's chin, slightly chipping the bottom of his mask as Genki rolled away from the demon.
"Flame Breathing: First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
While Dragon was distracted, I attempted a single powerful horizontal slash aimed at the demon's neck, however Dragon easily ducked underneath it and landed a powerful kick to my stomach while also blocking a series of slashes from Genki's glaive.
"Dragon is pretty skilled in combat. Handling two demon slayers without a BDA... he has to be part of the Twelve Kizuki. Maybe Lower 6?" I pondered in my head.
I can't read his eyes as a mask is covering his face, so I have no idea if there is kanji written in his irises.
"Thunder Breathing: First Form: Thunderclap and Flash: Sixfold!"
I managed to chip a single scale off of Dragon's arm, part of my own katana getting nicked in the process. "Damnit... just how durable are these scales? My katana can't already be nicked, the battle's just started!"
"Jester Breathing: First Form: Slight of Hand!"
I was right. I had never heard of Jester Breathing before. This must be Genki's self-taught technique.
Genki ran up to Dragon, getting his attention and twirled his glaive up to the demon's neck, only to grab the dangerously spinning glaive with his other hand. Only then, did Genki finally strike Dragon in the shoulder with his left hand instead of his right.
That was amazing, and certainly impressive, but incredibly risky and dangerous. He was swinging his glaive uncontrollably. He could of easily cut his own hand off. He must have a lot of confidence in his abilities.
Dragon audibly grunted, showcasing his annoyance at the fact that Genki tricked him three times.
"Blood Demon Art: Storm of Scales!"
What Dragon said was not an exaggeration. What came next could only truly be described as a storm of scales. Many scales flew from his body, slicing both Genki and I up, cutting up the walls, floor, and ceiling as well. Several scales embedded themselves into my flesh, some of them even reaching bone.
It was uncomfortably painful, but nothing I couldn't handle. Genki was in a similar situation, but he had less scales stuck in him, as he rapidly swung his glaive around every inch of his own body, blocking a good amount of the scales from hitting him. Despite this, he had lots of blood staining his costume and the same went for me.
Just one blood demon art technique did so much damage to the both of us. This fight was not going to be easy. Not in the slightest.
After a bit, the storm of scales finally subsided, Dragon already in front of my injured body. My eyes went wide as I braced for impact with a punch from him, not having enough time to dodge, even with my slow-mo vision. However, that punch never came.
Instead, a storm of playing cards surrounded my body, swirling around me at high speeds. "Wh-what is this?" I questioned.
The cards eventually subsided, and I found myself behind Dragon.
"Now!" Genki ordered.
Without hesitation, I aimed for Dragon's neck, only for him to dodge just in time. I felt my body get thrown back off of my feet as Dragon punched me in the gut, sending me skidding to a halt directly next to Genki.
While I was in pain, I was more confused as to what just happened. I looked over at Genki incredulously. "Was that your quirk?" I questioned.
"No time," Genki reminded me.
He dashed off towards Dragon, and I followed closely behind, both of us steadying our breathing and readying our techniques.
"Flower Breathing: Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!"
"Jester Breathing: Third Form: Awestruck Act!"
Both Genki and I twirled around Dragon in some way. I spun around him, shifting my body weight into a powerful slice at his side, while Genki flipped over him, twirling in the air to deliver a fatal blow to Dragon's back. Two large gashes were left on Dragon's body, one into his hip and one into his back, blood spewing from each before regenerating in a few seconds.
We actually landed pretty impressive blows on what is likely a lower moon!
I quickly twisted my body around, katana outstretched, aimed for Dragon's neck, Genki following my lead. We were so close! However. It was a bit too good to be true.
Dragon easily caught our weapons mid-swing, pulled both of us in close by our weapons and slammed us into each other. The impact of both of our heads crashing into each other shot blinding pains throughout my body. Genki likely felt similar. A slight ringing made its way into my ears.
"That may have given me a concussion..." I thought to myself.
Crack
Part of my mask fell apart, only enough to reveal the bottom left corner of my face. My freckles were probably barely visible, so I didn't have to worry about my identity being revealed.
Genki recklessly swung his glaive around, causing Dragon to loosen his grip as he began worrying about avoiding these strikes. I struggled in tearing my head from his grasp, but I succeeded, along with Genki, who went for a quick jab aimed for Dragon's neck, to which Dragon narrowly dodged.
"Blood Demon Art: Scaled Armor!"
A multitude of dragon-like scales appeared, forming themselves into a shield that blocked my next strike, nearly snapping my katana on contact.
"You two are pretty entertaining. Quite talented as well. Talent wasted on those useless human bodies of yours," Dragon said.
I rolled my eyes at the demon's words.
However, I could feel a sharp pain shoot out through my head, my vision blurring a bit.
"I think the blood loss is starting to get to me..." I thought.
I looked over to Genki who was hiding pain better than I was. I could see part of his face very slightly through the tear in his mask. He looked to have gray eyes, but that was all that I could see.
"Light Breathing: Thirteenth Form: Gleaming Sunburst!"
I dashed forward at imperceptible speeds, cutting halfway through Dragon's scale shield, however, my katana became nicked even more. The more I attack this guy, the more my katana gets damaged. This isn't looking too good for Genki and I.
I felt my body being yanked back towards Dragon as I realized he had grabbed me by the haori as I struck him, meaning that he likely had the reaction time to dodge my attack if he really wanted to.
I was thrown into the air, crashing through the ceiling, then through the next one, and then the next one. I continued until I flew upwards, crashing through the final ceiling of the building, rubble falling down through the large hole my body had made.
I shook my head, attempting to come back to my sense before I pass out, only to see Dragon in front of me once again. This time, those playing cards didn't come to save me and I was violently struck in the chest.
Crack
"I think my ribcage is broken..." I thought to myself.
"Its fine... it should be sunrise soon. Genki and I just have to last until then," I thought.
As I thought this, Genki leapt out of the building after us, blasting up even more rubble as he readied his glaive to pierce Dragon in the back, however Dragon evaded, glaive continuing on and nearly piercing me in the chest. But Genki stopped the glaive an inch away from piercing me, spinning it between his fingers to abruptly slash to the left in an attempt to cut Dragon.
All three of us fell to the ground, Genki and I falling into a roll to minimize injury and Dragon easily landing on his feet, no damage taken. We were all outside. Outside of the Hokkaido underground and outside of the bar hiding it.
People frantically ran out of the bar, after all we had just crashed out of it. Most of them ran far away from the ensuing battle.
Genki leapt forward, glaive outstretched.
"Jester Breathing: Sixth Form: Balancing Act!"
Instead of striking Dragon, he pierced his glaive into the ground in front of him, and balanced himself on top of it, causing Dragon to miss his prepared counter attack. Genki pulled out several kunai and shuriken, tossing them with immense strength at Dragon at immense speeds.
They were most used for a distraction however, as Genki struck Dragon on the head despite the kunai and shuriken only bouncing off of his scales.
"Insect Breathing: Butterfly Dance: Caprice!"
I dashed forward, jabbing Dragon with my katana. I may have lacked the poison, but the thrust attacks were enough to just barely break through a layer of scales.
Glaive now pulled out of the ground, Genki pulled back his weapon, readying a well-aimed piercing attack. Genki pierced the exact same spot I had before the scales could regenerate, breaking through yet another layer of scales.
Despite our unrelenting attacks, Dragon never once seemed fazed, as if he...
I was snapped out of my thoughts as a backhanded fist made its way over to my face, to which I narrowly ducked under, while Genki attempted to slice the hand off, which was futile.
If Dragon's body was this durable, then his neck must be almost impossible for a demon slayer who wasn't a Hashira to cut through.
"This performance has been rather abysmal," Genki said.
To this I raised an eyebrow at him, confused at his words.
He didn't look back, but just by his aura, I could practically sense what it was he wanted to do. "Perfectly combined attacks, huh?" I thought to myself.
"Blood Demon Art: Storm of Scales!"
Yet again, the same technique from earlier was activated, hundreds of scales flying all around us, leaving large, severe gashes on our bodies.
"Water Breathing: Eleventh Form: Dead Calm."
I began to cease all body movement, entering a state of tranquility.
"Jester Breathing: Thirteenth Form: All In, Going For Broke!"
I could sense Genki's shift in personality and aura. A wave of bloodlust struck me, nearly making me lose focus. I didn't know what this technique was all about, however, I could tell that it was likely a gamble to use.
I took a purely defensive stance, while Genki took a purely offensive stance, leading me to believe that his technique may be derived from Wind Breathing.
All scales around us was blocked by me with kunai, my katana, or throwing daggers. This technique wasn't amazingly effective as the scales were extremely fast and numerous, but it was effective nonetheless. My blockade allowed for Genki to perform his technique without being greatly impeded by the scales.
Genki ruthlessly dashed forward, easily dodging the scales that I wasn't able to deflect for him. Compared to before, his overall stats increased like crazy. His speed, was off the charts, fast enough to rival me when using Light Breathing. Once Genki reached Dragon, he managed to dodge each and every attack thrown at him flawlessly, while perfectly landing strikes of his on at vital points of Dragon's body, however, was unable to slice Dragon's head off.
I focused in on Dragon's body language. This was the first time that Dragon seemed shocked and confused. But... he didn't seem worried. In fact, despite Genki's amazing technique, it felt like Dragon was allowing for a few of those hits to make contact with his body. Almost as if he was looking for a way to stop Genki in his tracks.
My focused eyes shot wide open out of shock and fear as I realized what was happening. Many of the scales around me started to dissipate, but not because I was destroying them like I had previously thought.
"Genki! Get out of there!" I screamed, but it was no use. Genki was in a blood-lusted state right now. He likely didn't even hear me.
All of the scales from the BDA came flying back towards Dragon, surrounding both him and Genki, leaving absolutely no option for Genki to evade to. It was no use. Genki might as well had just stood there and let it happen.
Hundreds of scales flew towards them at high speeds, puncturing Genki at all angles while simply bouncing off of Dragon. Genki's movements came to a halt, as he staggered forward a bit, body covered in scales.
Each and every scale that was embedded into his body, violently tore from him, causing blood to spew out everywhere. He dropped his glaive, head hung down to the ground as he fell to his knees, then soon after falling onto his stomach.
I could feel my heart racing. I stepped back a couple of times, head whipping back and forth between Genki's downed body and Dragon's unscathed body. "You two should never have come here. Although I do admit, you both had some skills, you were both futile against me," Dragon stated, slowly making his way towards me.
I listened closely for a heartbeat from Genki's body, but... there was none. None at all.
I looked back towards Dragon who was suddenly a few inches away from me.
My legs began to tremble as I fell down onto the ground, accidentally dodging a swiping strike from Dragon. The demon towered over me, presence overwhelming as I felt the true aura this creature had to offer. It was intense.
Memories went by, memories of times where I was looked down on by those stronger. I never thought that I would have this feeling again, but I was. It was overwhelming. This reminded me of the demon that attacked mom and I. Reminded me of the bone demon from Final Selection. Reminded me of dad. Reminded me so much of dad and what he'd do to me and mom.
Dragon wasted no time, lifting his foot up and bringing it down towards my chest in an attempt to stomp straight through it. I braced for impact, hoping that I built up enough body toughness and durability to minimize the damage, but the strike never came. Dragon's leg disappeared into a puff of playing cards.
My eyes widened as I looked past the confused Dragon, over to where Genki's body was supposed to be. Only, it wasn't there. An arm landed right next to me. Dragon's arm. Dragon leapt back several feet as a slightly bright light made itself known to us. Genki, rapidly bleeding out, crouched down by my side, as the light from the rising sun crept past some buildings that were partially blocking it.
Dragon screamed slightly. His clothes were likely made from his flesh as well, so they likely would do nothing to protect him from the sunlight.
'Our performance will not end here!" Genki announced, playing cards surrounding us both as Dragon ran full speed away from us, seeking suitable shelter from the rising sun.
Playing cards rapidly spun around us, eventually disappearing into thin air. I looked around. The environment had completely changed. This was familiar... I looked to my left.
"The Butterfly Mansion?!" I yelled. I instantly regretted it as I winced in immense pain, adrenaline fading away.
Thump
I looked back over to Genki who had fallen back onto his stomach, likely actually unconscious this time. He'd be dead soon. I don't think even the doctor could heal those injuries. I carefully but quickly picked Genki up, and propped him up onto my back, a world of pain shooting throughout my entire body in consecutive waves.
I tried my best to shake it off, even as I made my way over to the back entrance of the Butterfly Mansion. I pushed through the gate, brushing past the training demon slayers who gasped and looked concerned and attentive towards our situation. I ignored them, even though they were likely just trying to help when running up to us.
I didn't need so many people surrounding me. I had to get Genki inside. Doctor needs to heal him. He saved my life, so I'll do my part in saving his.
I practically kicked open the door, legs buckling afterwards as I fell to my knees, still steadily keeping Genki on my back.
"I-zuku?!"
"Doctor?" I responded to the voice.
I think this is the first time I actually heard her call me by name. Usually its brat. "P-please... hel--"
But I couldn't finish my sentence. I had finally began fading into unconsciousness. I fell onto my stomach, Genki still dying on top of me. Black. Black was all that I could see before I lost all senses of my surroundings.
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Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Sorry for leaving for a week, I have mostly been focusing on planning out the entirety of the story as well as considering other projects as well. I also had tryouts for school, so I had to focus on that a bit as well. I worked really hard on this chapter, mostly on that long fight between Deku and Genki against Dragon.
I hope you enjoyed that fight scene, there are definitely plenty more to come. Also, we were introduced to a new character, Genki. One of the people who passed Final Selection along with Deku. I thought about what I wanted from this new character and I finally decided on this. I hope you are interested in this new OC. I sure hope you are.
Thank you for getting my story to where it is now. Over 1700 reads is just crazy to me. I think this story had a couple hundred less reads last time I posted. I truly am grateful for this story's fast growth and I can only hope that it continues to get more attention and recognition from the Wattpad community.
P.S. Who could Dragon be?