The Fushiguro Residence
"Dad!"
Toji Fushiguro reached out and ruffled Tsumiki's hair with a rare, calloused gentleness.
"Stay inside. Don't worry, nothing's going to happen to me," he said, his voice a steady rasp. "Your old man is a lot tougher than he looks."
Tsumiki rubbed her nose, her eyes wide with a concern she couldn't quite hide. "Then, Dad... you have to come back safe. Promise?"
Toji nodded, his expression unreadable, and stepped out into the night. Once the door clicked shut, he let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Jogo... a Special Grade Disaster Curse..." he muttered to himself, leaning against the railing. "Honestly? Not a whole lot of confidence in this one. Dammit. For a mission this heavy, that bastard Souma really should've negotiated a pay raise."
He began walking, complaining under his breath as he adjusted the strap of his weapon bag. Suddenly, he slowed to a halt.
A figure was standing by the roadside, a massive blade strapped to her back. Her silhouette against the streetlights was sharp and valiant. Maki Zenin stood with her arms crossed, watching him.
"Need a hand, Master?"
Toji waved her off dismissively. "You should probably stick to calling me 'Cousin.'"
Maki rolled her eyes. "Megumi and I are only a year apart. We're practically schoolmates. Calling you 'Cousin' makes the family tree feel even weirder than it already is."
Toji gave a rough chuckle. "Well, blame your dead old man for having you so late, then."
"Tch." Maki turned her head away in annoyance. "That irritating personality of yours is as consistent as ever."
"I try." Toji stretched his limbs, his muscles coiling like steel springs. "Go help the others at the High School. I can handle Jogo by myself."
Maki's brow furrowed. "You think I'll be a drag?"
"I've fully awakened my Heavenly Restriction," she said, her voice dropping an octave. "There isn't a single drop of cursed energy left in my body. I'm strong now, Toji. Really strong."
Toji turned his head slightly, his gaze sharp enough to cut. "Still not enough."
"What—?"
Zing!
Before Maki could even register the movement, Toji had drawn the Soul Splitter Katana. With a savage grin, he lunged!
His speed was terrifying. Maki's pupils shrank to pinpricks; she barely had time to draw her own blade, the Steel Roar, to parry the strike.
CLANG!!!
The impact was deafening. As the Soul Splitter slammed into her blade, Maki felt a force so immense it defied logic. She was sent hurtling backward like a ragdoll.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Her body smashed through a succession of buildings, leaving a trail of shattered concrete. Before she could even stabilize herself, Toji was already there, hovering over her with that same predatory grin.
Zing—!
Another heavy blow. Maki managed to block it with Steel Roar, but the vibration traveled up her arms, leaving them numb and trembling. But this time, she didn't fly back. She twisted her body mid-air, redirecting the momentum into the ground.
She swung Steel Roar in a wide arc, the vibrating blade emitting a low, beast-like growl.
Toji's eyes lit up with interest. He caught the blow on the flat of his blade.
CLANG!!!
Another collision, but this time, Toji didn't budge an inch. He held the strike effortlessly, shaking his head. "The power is there. But you're still missing something."
"Missing what?" Maki gasped, her lungs burning.
"The eyes that see everything."
Toji spoke in riddles, and before she could ask for clarification, he vanished.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
The air around her began to boom. It was the sound of Toji moving at such high speeds that the atmosphere itself couldn't get out of his way.
"So... so fast!"
Maki was stunned. Even with her complete Heavenly Restriction, she couldn't touch this level of speed. Toji had become a series of blurred afterimages, a ghost in the machine of reality.
She dropped into a defensive stance, her heart racing. Where is he coming from? What's the angle? How fast? How much power? A thousand calculations flooded her brain. Sweat rolled down her forehead.
Missing something? The eyes that see everything? We have the same body, the same curse... what is the difference between us? What am I still failing to perceive?
Toji's voice suddenly drifted past her ear, ghost-like.
"Life, in the end, is composed of things outside your circle."
Maki spun around, slashing at the air, but Toji was gone.
"If you can't step outside your own circle, you'll never understand your own life," his voice came from the opposite side. "Why can't you focus?"
BOOM!!!
The attack came from above. Maki was slammed into the pavement, unable to react in time. She tried to adjust, to find her footing, but the next strike was already there.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
In Toji's hands, Maki was little more than a ball being bounced against a wall. She had no way to fight back.
"Try to transmit everything of your life to the other person in that moment of violent collision," Toji's voice echoed in her mind.
"It's like smelling the sunlight with your nose. Like seeing sound with your eyes. Use everything you are to taste everything they are."
"Once you do that, the opponent, the flesh, the victory or defeat... they all become meaningless."
"That is the answer you want. That is what you haven't seen through. That is the gap between us."
"That is... 'Freedom'!"
In a flash, Toji unleashed a final, blinding strike. The Soul Splitter Katana moved like a bolt of frozen lightning, aiming directly for Maki's weapon.
CLANK!!!
Steel Roar was torn from her grip, spinning away into the darkness. Maki was sent tumbling across the ground, rolling several times before coming to a dead stop.
Toji stood over her, his expression flat. "You're still a long way off."
He turned his back on her and began to walk away, waving a hand over his shoulder. "Go help the others at the school. And keep an eye on my useless son while you're at it."
Maki lay on her back, staring up at the smoke-filled sky.
Slowly, her chaotic thoughts began to settle. The world began to shift. Her body felt light, as if she were made of feathers; her mind became as transparent and free as a mountain breeze.
Smell. Taste. Sight. Hearing. Touch.
It was as if the resolution of the world had suddenly jumped from grainy film to high-definition. Everything became impossibly clear.
"Wait."
Toji stopped. He turned around, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.
Maki was standing up. She reached down, picking up Steel Roar with a calm, effortless grace. She was smiling.
"Oh?" Toji murmured.
Maki vanished.
The next instant, she was standing directly in front of him.
CLANG!!!
Steel Roar slammed into the Soul Splitter Katana.
A shockwave erupted from the point of contact, shattering the pavement beneath their feet and sending a gale of wind screaming through the alleyway.
Toji held the blade, but he looked down. His feet had plowed two deep furrows into the earth from the force of her blow.
He couldn't help it. He burst into a loud, genuine laugh.
"Hahahaha...!"
He looked at Maki. She was a different person. Her stance, her breathing, the way she inhabited the space around her—it was perfect.
At that moment, a second "Heavenly Senseless One" had been born. Maki Zenin, the Demon God of Combat, had finally arrived.
Maki looked up, resting the Steel Roar casually on her shoulder.
"So, Senior?" she asked, her eyes bright with newfound clarity. "Can I come with you now?"
Toji smirked, turning back toward the mountain. "Then you'd better keep up. Don't go dragging me down."
"Tch." Maki sprinted to his side, matching his effortless stride. "That irritating personality of yours is still as consistent as ever."
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