The moment Kanae realized what she was facing, she knew she had made a mistake. Not because she had entered the alley. Not because she had followed the scent of blood...
But because she had allowed herself to believe that the demon in front of her was merely another demon.
He wasn't.
The demon smiled.
Kanae's eyes narrowed as she noticed the blood still staining his lips.
"You've killed humans," she said quietly.
Doma tilted his head.
"Of course"
There was no hesitation in his voice. No shame. No fear. He said it as casually as someone discussing what they had eaten for dinner.
Kanae's expression hardened.
"Then I suppose I should kill you"
Doma's smile widened.
"My, my~" He opened his arms slightly. "What a frightening young lady"
Kanae disappeared.
Her body shot forward like a flower carried by the wind, her movements so swift that her figure seemed to blur beneath the moonlight. By the time Doma reacted, she was already in front of him, her katana swinging toward his neck, the tip of the blade flashing beneath the pale moonlight.
Doma's eyes widened slightly, but there was no panic on his face. Only amusement.
"Oh?"
He twisted his body aside.
The blade passed within a hair's breadth of his neck.
Kanae immediately changed direction, smoothly redirecting her momentum as her sword curved upward. Doma leaned backward, narrowly avoiding the blade as it swept across his throat.
A thin line of blood appeared.
Doma touched his neck with two fingers.
He looked at the blood staining his fingertips.
Then...
He smiled.
"You're fast"
Kanae didn't answer.
She was already moving again, her feet barely making a sound against the ground.
She attacked from the left.
Then the right.
Then above.
Her movements were graceful, almost like a butterfly dancing between flowers. Every step was precise, every movement controlled, and every strike aimed at a vital point.
Doma blocked the first strike with his iron fan.
*CLANG!*
The impact rang through the narrow alley.
Kanae immediately rotated her wrist and redirected the blade, changing the angle of her attack in a single fluid motion.
Doma raised his other fan.
*CLANG!*
Another strike.
Another block.
Kanae didn't stop.
Her body flowed from one movement into the next, her blade repeatedly searching for an opening in Doma's defense.
Then, on her next strike...
Kanae's sword slipped past his defense.
Doma moved his head.
The blade sliced through several strands of his hair.
He immediately jumped backward.
Kanae pursued. She couldn't give him time to counterattack. Every movement she made was calculated... every step was precise.
Her breathing remained controlled.
Her eyes never left him.
Doma's smile slowly disappeared.
Then...
His fan opened.
A wave of freezing air exploded outward.
*WOOSH!*
Kanae's eyes widened. She immediately jumped backward.
The ground beneath her feet froze, and a thin layer of ice rapidly spread across the stones, creeping outward from where the freezing air had passed.
Her breath caught.
Cold.
Not ordinary cold.
This was something else.
It was as if the air itself had teeth, biting into her lungs with every breath.
Doma raised his fan.
"Blood Demon Art..."
The temperature dropped again.
"Lotus Vines"
Ice bloomed across the ground.
From beneath Kanae's feet, countless frozen vines erupted upward, twisting through the air like enormous lotus stems. Their crystalline surfaces gleamed beautifully beneath the moonlight, each vine splitting into sharp, petal-like branches as they lunged toward her.
Kanae's eyes widened.
She twisted sideways as one vine snapped past her waist, its frozen petals slicing through the air with a shriek.
Another curled around from behind.
She ducked beneath it, only for a third vine to burst from the ground directly in front of her.
Kanae barely avoided it.
The edge of a crystalline petal grazed her cheek, leaving behind a thin line of blood.
Another vine lashed across her shoulder, tearing through her haori.
Kanae landed lightly on one foot.
Before the frozen vines could surround her completely, she immediately dashed forward.
Doma's eyes followed her.
"...Frozen Lotus"
Doma gently swung his fan.
A burst of freezing air swept toward Kanae.
She immediately ducked.
The icy wave passed over her head, and wherever it touched, crystalline lotus flowers bloomed across the walls and ground. Frost rapidly spread from their petals, coating everything in a layer of shimmering ice.
Kanae spun beneath the attack.
Using the opening, she stepped forward and thrust her sword straight toward Doma's chest.
The blade pierced him.
Doma looked down.
Kanae's eyes widened slightly.
She had gotten him.
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
For a brief moment, silence filled the alley.
Then...
Doma laughed.
"That hurts"
Kanae's expression changed.
The wound in his chest began closing almost immediately, the flesh knitting itself back together as the blade was slowly pushed out of his body.
Seeing this, Kanae immediately retreated.
His regeneration was absurd.
She already knew demons could regenerate, but this was on another level.
Doma looked at her with genuine curiosity.
"You really are quite skilled"
Kanae's grip tightened around her katana.
"So this is the strength of an Upper Rank"
Doma smiled.
"Oh." He lifted his hand slightly. "Why? Afraid?"
Kanae said nothing.
She didn't need to say it out loud, and Doma didn't need to hear her response to know.
Because deep inside her... Kanae felt genuine fear.
It wasn't enough to make her run.
But it was enough for her to understand the difference between them.
She was fighting something that stood near the very top of the Twelve Kizuki.
And she was alone.
Doma raised his fan.
Kanae tightened her grip.
Then both moved.
---
The battle continued through the night.
Kanae attacked relentlessly. She used every technique she had learned, every movement of her sword precise, every thrust aimed at Doma's neck.
But...
Doma continued to avoid her attacks.
And whenever she managed to wound him...
He regenerated.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Kanae's breathing became heavier.
A cut appeared across her arm.
Another across her thigh.
Blood soaked into her uniform, but she ignored it. She couldn't afford to think about the pain when every second counted.
She watched Doma carefully, searching for something.
An opening.
Just one.
Doma moved again.
He swung both fans, and a massive wave of frost swept toward her.
Kanae jumped.
The ice struck the wall behind her.
*CRACK!*
The entire wall froze.
Kanae landed.
Her legs trembled, but she immediately pushed herself forward.
Doma's smile returned.
"Still coming?"
Kanae's eyes hardened.
"Of course"
She disappeared again.
Doma blocked.
Kanae changed direction.
He blocked again.
She attacked from below.
He dodged.
Kanae spun.
Her blade struck his shoulder.
Blood sprayed.
Doma looked at the wound.
Then...
He smiled.
"You really are persistent"
Kanae's breathing became ragged.
"And you're..." She swallowed. "...annoying"
Doma laughed.
"What a lovely insult"
Doma's fan snapped open.
In an instant, frost raced across the entire alley.
The ground, walls, and even the scattered debris were swallowed by a layer of crystalline ice. White mist spilled through the narrow street as countless frozen lotus blossoms began blooming across the surfaces.
Kanae's eyes widened.
She immediately tried to retreat.
Too late.
The ice beneath her feet suddenly ruptured.
A jagged tendril of frozen lotus vines shot upward and pierced straight through her calf.
"Ah-!"
Kanae gasped as her leg gave out.
Her balance broke.
Before she could recover, Doma was suddenly standing directly in front of her.
His fan swung toward her side.
*BOOM!*
The impact sent Kanae crashing through the frozen wall of the alley.
She hit the ground hard.
Pain exploded through her body. Her vision blurred, but Kanae still tried to stand.
Her arm shook.
Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.
Doma walked toward her.
"You're strong"
Kanae slowly raised her sword.
"But you're tired"
She forced herself upright.
Doma sighed.
"That's unfortunate"
He raised his fan.
Kanae knew this was the end.
She couldn't move fast enough.
She couldn't even breathe properly anymore.
Her legs were barely responding.
She had nothing left.
At that moment, Kanae still kept her eyes open, but what she saw was no longer the demon standing in front of her.
Instead, she saw the faces of the people she loved the most.
She smiled.
Doma stepped forward.
"Don't worry." His smile was gentle. "You won't feel anything for very long"
Doma lifted his fan.
Then-
*BOOM!*
A cloud of smoke exploded between them.
Doma's attack stopped.
His eyes widened.
"What?"
Kanae stared.
The smoke spread across the alley.
Thick.
Dark.
Almost alive.
Then a familiar scent reached her.
Her eyes widened.
"...Kagerou?"
A figure stepped through the smoke.
Slowly.
Calmly.
A kiseru rested between his fingers. His haori moved gently in the night breeze, while in his other hand, his colorless Nichirin blade was already drawn.
Kagerou stopped between Kanae and Doma.
But he didn't look at Doma.
His eyes remained on Kanae.
He saw the blood.
The wounds.
The trembling in her legs.
There was no anger visible in his expression.
Only relief.
But it wasn't long before...
His expression became completely empty.
"Kanae"
She tried to smile.
"Kagerou..."
His grip around his sword tightened.
He finally turned his eyes toward Doma.
The atmosphere changed.
Doma's smile faded slightly.
Kagerou stared at him.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Kagerou slowly exhaled.
A thin stream of smoke escaped his lips.
"You..."
Doma tilted his head.
"Me?"
Kagerou's eyes narrowed.
"You're the reason she's bleeding"
Doma smiled.
"Ah~" He looked at Kanae, then back at Kagerou. "And who are you?"
Silence.
Kagerou took one step forward.
His blade lowered slightly.
"I..." Kagerou's eyes became colder. "I'm the man who's going to kill you"
Doma's smile returned.
"Oh~" He opened both fans. "Then this should be fun"
Kagerou vanished.
*BOOM!*
Doma barely raised his fan in time.
Steel collided with metal.
The shockwave shattered the remaining windows around them.
Doma's feet slid backward across the frozen ground.
His eyes widened.
Kagerou's sword pressed against his fan.
For the first time that night...
Doma wasn't smiling.
Kagerou pushed harder.
Smoke poured from around his blade, rapidly spreading through the alley.
"Smoke Breathing..." His eyes sharpened. "Third Form: Shrouded Shadow"
The alley disappeared beneath a sea of smoke, swallowing both Kagerou and Doma from sight.
Doma's smile slowly returned at the sight.
"Interesting-"
He didn't have time to finish.
Kagerou suddenly appeared in front of him.
His blade flashed.
Doma blocked.
But before he could counterattack, another Kagerou appeared behind him.
Doma twisted around.
A third Kagerou struck from above.
He jumped backward.
Kagerou followed.
Their weapons collided again.
And again.
And again.
The battle had begun anew.
--------
#A/N: Sorry for the delay, I had to find out what Doma's Blood Demon Art could do and how it happened, next Doma vs Kagerou!! lets go!!"