Chapter 5: Blue Sparks
They were supposed to talk.
That was all.
The world had gone quiet for once—no growls, no sirens, no distant screams. Just broken concrete, dim emergency lights, and the sound of their own breathing.
Nezuko hugged her arms, exhaling shakily.
"I thought… I thought I was going to die back there."
Red stood beside her, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the shadows more out of habit than fear.
"You didn't," he said. "That's what matters."
She glanced at him.
"You say things like that so casually."
He shrugged.
"Habit."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then—
Something passed between them.
Not wind.
Not sound.
A presence.
Red's instincts screamed.
He turned—
Too late.
A fist came at him from the side, fast enough to distort the air.
Red didn't think.
His right hand snapped sideways, palm half-open, elbow tucked close to his ribs.
A zero-inch punch.
The impact landed before the sound did.
BOOM.
The attacker was blasted clean through the wall behind them, concrete erupting outward as smoke and dust swallowed the hallway.
The shockwave rolled past Nezuko.
"Red—!"
He turned instantly.
"Are you okay?"
No answer.
The dust thickened.
Then—
"AAAAH!"
Her scream cut through the smoke.
Red spun.
"Nezuko?!"
She was gone.
No footsteps. No blood. No trace.
Just empty space where she had been standing.
Red's jaw tightened.
Kidnapped? Displaced? Or—
The rubble shifted.
A figure stepped out of the broken wall.
Still standing.
Red's eyes narrowed.
"…That's new."
The man brushed dust from his shoulder like it was nothing. He wore a blue hoodie, torn now, the fabric scorched at the edges. When he lifted his head, his eyes glowed faintly—
Blue.
Red stared.
No one had ever taken that punch and stayed upright.
"…Who the hell are you?" Red asked.
The man pulled his hood down fully, meeting Red's gaze.
"That's supposed to be my line."
They moved at the same time.
The blue-eyed man vanished—
And reappeared in front of Red, fist already swinging.
Red blocked—
—or tried to.
The punch still sent him skidding back half a step.
Red blinked.
"…Huh?"
Before he could react, a knee shot upward toward his face.
Red bent low on instinct, barely dodging it, and grabbed the man's wrist to fling him—
Nothing.
The grip closed on air.
A split second later—
Impact.
A foot slammed into Red's torso, sparks of electricity crackling on contact. Red flew backward, boots tearing lines into the floor before he caught himself.
He looked down at his chest.
"…Electricity?" he muttered. "Am I imagining things?"
The man landed smoothly, blue sparks dancing around his fingers.
"Well," he said, smirking faintly. "You're not bad."
Red straightened, brushing dust from his sleeve.
"You should see me when I'm trying."
The man lunged again.
This time—
Red vanished.
The blue-eyed man felt it a heartbeat later.
Something struck his jaw.
BOOM.
He rocketed upward, blasting straight through the school's roof, concrete exploding around him as the night sky swallowed his vision.
The last thing he saw before blacking out—
Red's red hair passing by him.
Then darkness.
Wind.
Cold.
His eyes snapped open.
…I'm falling.
He twisted midair and landed barely on his feet, knees cracking the asphalt. Blood dripped from his mouth as he looked up.
Red stood above, calm as ever.
"You're different," the man said, breathing hard. "Aren't you?"
Red tilted his head.
"Oh? People say that a lot."
Inside, though, Red was thinking:
Why is he still standing?
Blue light flared again.
Stronger.
The man wiped his mouth and straightened, electricity crawling across his arms.
"I'm done holding back."
Red's eyes sharpened.
An ability user.
Like me.
"…That's impossible," Red thought. "There weren't supposed to be any survivors."
The man blitzed forward, knee smashing into Red's face—
—or it should have.
Red blocked.
The impact echoed like thunder.
The man froze.
Red hadn't moved an inch.
No scratches. No damage.
"…What the hell?" the man muttered.
Red stepped forward.
"I get it," he said calmly. "You're strong. But I think it's time to stop."
He threw a punch.
The man dodged by pure luck.
The air behind him detonated.
Debris flew. The ground cratered.
A strand of the man's hair fluttered down, sliced clean off.
His eyes widened.
Red wasn't smiling anymore.
He took a relaxed stance.
In control.
The man growled, electricity surging wildly now.
"Fine," he snapped. "Then answer me this—what do you want with Nezuko?"
Red's gaze hardened.
"That's my question."
They charged.
Both vanished.
They reappeared inches apart, fists already flying—
CLASH—
A third hand caught both their punches mid-strike.
The shockwave rippled outward.
A new figure stood between them.
Calm.
Unmoving.
"…Enough," the stranger said quietly.