Bushes clapped Yuna in the face as she rushed after Yukiko. The oni could run very damn fast, but she would catch her, and then it would be over for good. She had to kill her or she would never have some peace. And then she had to fix things with Hikari. If she explained it to her in every aspects, she should, no, she must have to understand.
Suddenly Yukiko stopped and whirled around. She struck with her ice claw and aimed at the huntress. Yuna just dropped and slipped under the blow. She came back up as fast as possible, but Yukiko already kicked her in the back. She stumbled a few steps before she regained her balance.
"Sachiko will understand this if I kill you in self-defense, Masuda," the ice oni hissed.
"What?" Yuna dodged another blow.
"Shut up and fight!" Another blow followed, which the huntress blocked with her forearms. She kicked her opponent in the stomach, whereupon she slid to a distance. "Oh man. I can't wait to kill you."
"You can't hurt me. You don't stand a chance."
"And you have no weapons." Yukiko fired a beam of ice, which the huntress escaped with a jump to the side. "Just hold still, then I'll make it quick and painful."
Yuna sought cover behind a wide tree. Her gaze wandered over the ground and the trees around her. In her frenzy she pursued Yukiko without thinking and now she didn't know where she was. There were trees everywhere and occasionally she could see light.
A forest. A forest near the school.
As she pondered, she heard wood splintering. She was caught at the arm and whirled a few feet through the air before she hit the ground on her stomach. Yuna raised her eyes, whereupon she recognized her adversary, who charged at her with raised claws. She pushed away and rolled across the earth, getting up again.
Yukiko's claws missed, but she reached out once more.
Yuna threw herself at her and rammed the elbow into her face with full force. She stumbled on and rolled off again. The ice oni was just shaking off her drowsiness, so Yuna relented and kicked her in the back.
Her opponent crashed into a tree. The claws fell to the ground and she created an ice lance in her hand. "I have to admit, that you can fight." She whirled her weapon in her hands.
"Likewise. You know what you're doing."
Yukiko winked and said, "I've got a couple of decades of experience." She lunged at Yuna, who gritted her teeth, blocked the attack and slammed her fist in Yukiko's face. An ice spike broke out of Yukiko's chest and shoved the huntress back one arm before she could tear herself away. The opponents went again at each other. Yuna took several blows that didn't bother her, but made clear that she couldn't achieve anything in that way. She turned away and sprinted off.
"Coward!" Yukiko bellowed behind her and threw her lance, which ricocheted off the huntress and shattered on the ground. With both hands the ice oni collected energy and fired a beam of ice that covered everything nearby with ice. Yuna glanced briefly over her shoulder, then she hit a hook and accelerated again. More ice blasts missed her and froze everything they hit. She was hit on the leg and stumbled. Several times she overturned.
"You are really annoying," cursed the ice oni and quickly closed in. Yuna dug her fingers into the dry earth of the ground and threw a load of dirt into her enemy's face. "Bitch!"
The huntress jumped up, got a run and pushed off the ground. With full force she rammed her knee in the face of Yukiko. Blood spurted through the air and they both went down. Breathing heavily Yuna paid attention to every little movement of her opponent.
A bloody grin graced the oni's face as she sat up. "Okay. You can really fight back. I won't hold myself back anymore, little one." Ice crystals spread across her skin, forming a thick shell. Her eyes sparkled with aggression in the dark. "I'll crack your armor and then I'll take off your skin."
Yuna couldn't resist a mocking smile. "You almost sound like Tirr. Let's see if I can wrestle you down as fast."
"NO! I have nothing in common with him!" yelled Yukiko and plunged back into the fight.
With clenched teeth, the Masuda girl backed away. The truth was that right now she was just risking a big mouth. She had not the slightest idea how to end this fight. With all the ice on her body, Yukiko moved a little slower, but that was all. Every hit of her affected everything around them. Wood splinters whirled through the air, leaves were torn from their branches and all vegetable life was crushed under their bodies.
I need a weapon.
She fought off a few more blows, trying to search as much of her surroundings as possible. A thick branch or something would be enough. In combination with her power, she would have something to keep Yukiko at bay. She actually discovered a broken branch that could fulfill this function. Yuna rammed her opponent and pushed her back as she struck her. She threw Yukiko on her back and then sprinted to the piece of wood on the floor.
Relief came over her as her hand wrapped around the branch. She yanked it up and pointed the tip at the oni who was straightening up. "Are you serious? You want to fight me with a stick?"
Yuna grinned crookedly. "Unfortunately I ran out of swords and knives."
"You are quite disturbed." A new lance appeared in Yukiko's hand. "Show me your stick swinging skills."
"With pleasure." The huntress rushed forward with the raised branch and struck. The wood skidded over the ice lance, with countless bits of ice splintering and sailing to the ground. At the next blow, Yuna grabbed the lance with her free hand and pushed the tip of her branch into Yukiko's abdomen, which forced her back.
"Pah. Without your power you'd be nothing."
Yuna's eyes narrowed. "The same goes for you."
With a scream of rage Yukiko unleashed another cold blast, which let the branch freeze. The changed weight brought Yuna off balance and she stumbled forward. This opportunity, the ice oni used to flung her opponent with a powerful chin hook in the air. Yuna whirled through the thicket, losing her branch, and hit hard on the ground. A cloud of earth whirled away from her mouth as the air was squeezed out of her lungs. She came to her knees, but her opponent already struck with another blow and hurled Yuna through another group of bushes. The back of her head hit the ground. The huntress once allowed herself to snort in frustration before her hands pushed her up from the ground. Above her, she spotted a tree house from which a rope ladder hung.
Tree house... Forest at school...
She opened her eyes and looked around frantically. The leaves of the bushes in front of her rustled. Quickly, she squatted and pushed off with all her strength. Her fingers snaked around one of the rungs, whereupon she climbed up before Yukiko stepped out of the bushes.
"Ma~su~da," she sang. Yuna looked down.
School uniform. At night.
When she tried to orient herself, her eyes glanced over the trees in front of the entrance. There was a pond somewhere near here. All the components of the vision were fulfilled. Maybe she could wait here until the ice oni moved on. While she stood motionless and listened for her opponent's footsteps, the whirring of the cicadas became unbearably loud. On the other hand, this might also disturb Yukiko. "Where are you hiding, you coward?" shouted the walking ice cube. The huntress dared not even to breathe.
Go away. Go away. Please go away.
Yuna imagined what would happen if her opponent discovered the tree house and had the idea to look here. Before she had finished the thought, the wooden construction shook and creaked loudly. At one end it rose and swayed. "I smell you, Masuda!" A branch broke with a deafening crack, causing the tree house to fall and crash on the ground. Yuna was shaken, squeezed and then buried by fragments. She crawled out of the rubble as fast as she could. Her fist clenched around the next piece, which she threw at Yukiko, but it bounced off and whirled to an ice pillar that had thrown the tree house off balance.
"You really have to be desperate." With a big grin, the oni stomped closer.
"Let's talk about this," Yuna gasped as she backed away. "I'm sorry. I lost my composure."
Yukiko stopped and cocked her head. "What's wrong with you? You seem to be really scared." Her grin widened. "Did you finally realize that you will lose?"
The huntress looked down and nodded. "Yes."
"Well. Then you will not fight back while I'll kill you." Her ice claws reappeared. Yuna turned on the spot and ran.
Where is the damn pond?!
The Masuda girl jumped over roots and stones. She had to get out of this forest if she wanted to survive. "Man, are you slow." From behind Yukiko threw herself on her and they went to the ground. They rolled over several times, with Yuna trying to push her opponent away as she clawed at her. "I'm a bit disappointed," moaned the oni. They lay down, but Yukiko got on Yuna, lifted her claws and smashed them down. The huntress grabbed her wrists. They wrestled for a few seconds, until Yukiko rolled her aside, whereupon Yuna was up.
"Let's just stop, okay? Please!"
"This only ends when one of us dies, Masuda!" An ice sting threw the huntress down. She landed on her back. Her right hand got wet. She jerked briefly and twisted her neck. The pond was right in front of her.
No!
Yuna turned her gaze back to Yukiko, who was about to jump on her. The girl rolled to one side, so the ice claws dug into the ground. She scrambled to her feet and sprinted away from the pond. The claws got stuck, the oni raised her hand and fired a beam of ice at Yuna's foot. She stuck to the floor and slammed her face. With several violent kicks she was able to break the ice, but Yukiko lunged at her and wrapped her arm around Yuna's neck. "Now I understand. That's why you're scared shitless." She dragged the huntress to the pond. Screams of rage escaped the girl as she fought back with all her might. Her feet dug into the earth. With her elbows she beat repeatedly at her opponent, who protected herself with another ice armor. The closer they got to the water, the more desperate Yuna fought. Small cracks appeared in the ice shell and splinters fell to the ground. "Don't worry," Yukiko gasped. "It will be over very fast."
"No!" The huntress could bring her opponent to stumble, but now they were again right on the shore. Her fingers dug into the earth as she moved across the floor. Yukiko grabbed her by the hair and hit her head several times on the floor, then tossed Yuna to the pond, where she plunged in and straightened up hastily. Thank God, it was not that deep.
"It's not that bad," said the oni and then laughed dirty. "Unless, of course, I am now drowning you in this miserable pool." She also stepped into the water and waded towards Yuna. She took a deep breath and tried to control her panic. It would be of no help to her if she freaked out now.
"Just be careful that it doesn't come the other way around."
"Oh. I'm actually very confident." The water around Yukiko's legs was slowly frozen. She jumped at her opponent and yanked her into the water. Both went under. Yuna gave her a hearty slap in the face. She felt ice forming on her skin. The whole pond cooled rapidly. She had to get out of here right away. When she appeared at the surface, the huntress took a deep breath. She rubbed her eyes and saw Yukiko standing on the water surface. "You have to stay down!" A heavy kick shove Yuna under water again. She pushed herself up from the muddy ground with her arms to get her head over the water, but her face bounced off something. She immediately stretched her arms up. A layer of ice. She opened her eyes and pounded the ice with her fists. A stifled outcry escaped her and the precious air in her lungs too. Her feet dug deeper into the mud as she frantically hit the ice. Above her, she could still see the red-glowing eyes of Yukiko.
No! No!
Ice splintered from the violence of her blows. Fine cracks formed in the ice crust. As long as possible, she held her breath and fought on. She became weaker with each blow.
I'm sorry, Wata. Yui. Hikari.
The dirty water poured into her lungs. The huntress shook herself and her fingernails scratched the ice as she struck at it from cramps. One last time she looked up at the red dots.
I have failed.
She stopped struggling. A few twitches still shook her body, then she slowly sank to the ground, pulling her two pigtails slowly with her.