Fated Meeting
"That'll teach you not to be evil, you evil-doer!"
Kaguya stood triumphantly over the shifty shapeshifter, one diminutive foot in between his shoulder blades, pinning the ape-headed criminal to the asphalt. Another victory added to her resume!
This particular criminal had thought himself stronger than he really was. Somehow this miscreant had gotten a hold of a Polymerized Power Pill. These concoctions, churned out by some criminal alchemist in the underbelly of the city, were incredibly potent narcotics, numbing the imbiber to any pain while providing an immense high. At the same time, it gave whoever took them a massive power spike. It burned through their body like wildfire, but the down-and-outs hardly cared about that. They were poor, they were desperate, they were willing to do anything to get some cash.
Their suffering was not the purview of the Overseers though, only their crimes. Poverty was no excuse for breaking the law. Kaguya had no real difficulty fighting him; the number of people with even a single G1 was maybe 20%. Anyone with more than a couple of Gs was even rarer, with each additional level getting exponentially scarcer than the last. This miscreant was a G1 Core and a bit of experience with Body Enhancement, but by popping that mixed pill, he was able to go toe-to-toe with Overseers with actual training.
But no amount of drugs would be able to take a street rat - or ape in this case - and make them a match for Kaguya! G3 Affinities made you a legend, even in this age of legends, especially if one had some powerful techniques to back them up! Even when she was in her sealed state, she could still beat up any number of these dummies!
"Now stay here and wait to be picked up!" Kaguya smirked, as she slapped a pair of cuffs onto the smoking arms of the drooling ape-shifter. Standard gear of the Overseers: enchanted cuffs that, once locked on, kept the perpetrator pinned in place. Very useful for making sure that criminals couldn't run away, as well as ensuring that even the most scatter-brained of Overseer - one who would simply walk off and leave a cuffed criminal - could have a good arrest rate.
Kaguya strolled down the street, leaving her former quarry to wait. A crowd had formed, rubberneckers gormlessly staring at a dangerous scene, but as she walked, the crowd parted. All but one. A tall and well-dressed woman, wearing clearly expensive garments as well as a large jingasa that covered her face, stood still and waited for Kaguya to approach her. As she got close, the woman bent down to speak to the youthful Overseer.
"Excuse me, miss, but I just wanted to say I was watching you battle, and wished to ask; would you sign my sword?"
Kaguya should have found the request strange. Who would ask for a sword to be signed? But she was young, not exactly bright, and most of all, flattered. She was being asked for an autograph!
"Eh? Of course! I'd be happy to-"
The woman drew her sword. As she did, the blade at Kaguya's side started thrumming, screaming, at her! In slow motion, Kaguya saw the blade be revealed. A blade as red as blood, a handle as dark as the wielder's soul. A name was forced into her mind, straight from her own weapon.
Muramasa!
She had a fraction of a millisecond to react, leaping backwards to escape, acting purely on instinct. Her instincts were correct, as in the space she had been in, the red blade of the evil mirror of Masamune cleaved the air. A crack! snapped through the air, scattering the crowd and sending them screaming, as the swing broke the sound barrier! The shockwave ripped out, continuing its devastating path. Kaguya didn't have time to think; jumping upward to dodge the pressurized air before it bisected her. She was even closer to death this time; so close was she that the tips of her shoes were cleaved off. One thousandth of a millisecond later and she would have been down a foot and doomed! Behind her, the shockwave tore into a building, shredding into the structure, leaving a large gash where there had been concrete and steel.
Drawing Masamune in the air, she landed back down on the ground, taking stock of what just happened. She hyperventilated as she desperately got her mind working, forcing herself to accept what was happening. She looked up and stared at her attacker. The swordswoman was still, her face still covered by her hat. Muramasa was in her hand, its metallic surface gleaming with malice. She brought the sword up, but rather than launching another attack, she simply placed it on her shoulder.
"I'm glad to see that Masamune has not ended up in the hands of a complete cretin! Even if it is in the hands of a child, at least you didn't die from me simply unsheathing Muramasa."
She reached up and removed the hat. As soon as she did, the magic of the Disguising Jingasa dissipated, and Kaguya instantly recognized her opponent.
Kuiara Tamenai.
A recent arrival in The City Between, but by all accounts, one of the most wicked. The Overseers had little concrete to go on, but when a scryer attempted to perceive her karma, they had tried to claw their eyes out.
And now she was standing in front of Kaguya, looking to kill her. Well, she wasn't going down without a fight!
Kaguya gathered herself. Taking a deep breath, she focused her available technique, while preparing the seal upon the rest of her power to be released. Seeing such an evil soul before her, it was proceeding faster than she had ever felt before. Above them, the sky opened in anticipation of the battle, as raindrops began to fall.
"Kuiara Tamenai! Your crimes are without number and your villainy without end! Surrender to Justice here, or face it in the next world!"
Kuiara smirked. "Shall I take this to mean that you are ready? In that case, let's GO!"
The instant the last word reached Kaguya, Kuiara was on top of her, Muramasa aimed straight at her throat. Thankfully, Kaguya was still devoting aura to Time-Slipping Saber, allowing her a degree of precognition to compensate for her faster foe. In a flash, Masamune was there, blocking the assault.
As soon as she felt the impact of the attack, Kaguya knew that this wasn't a battle she could win with might alone. The force behind the swing was unfathomable! With a contemptible flick, Kuiara sent the young Overseer careening backwards. Kaguya had to catch herself in mid-air, twisting to land on her feet. No sooner had she landed, than Kuiara was attacking again, but now Kaguya was ready. Masamune thrummed in her grip, as the special bond they shared was about to be displayed.
The two sped towards each other at such speed that the rain in the air seemed to float in mid-air. Both were Phase G3's, both were legendary swordswomen, but even with a Heavenly connection to Masamune, Kaguya was still sealed, while Kuiara was channeling a legendary technique with legendary skill.
But Kaguya was an Overseer, an upholder of Justice! She wasn't going to just lay down and die!
Her resolve hardened, her seals loosened further, and her speed increased as her Hidden Mirage technique turned up the heat. Kuiara was still on the attack, but Kaguya was defending successfully, biding her time. Muramasa and Masamune clashed, their spirits screaming at each other, as their users battled through the streets. Even the simplest swings from Kuiara were devastating; the power of Muramasa being multiplied by her horrific strength and generational evil. Whatever was in the vicinity of each attack was destroyed, tearing away the road, the buildings, and the people.
There were screams coming from everywhere. Human, Yokai, Shapeshifters, and even the already deceased. Whenever these blades clashed, devastation followed, and now was no different. Kaguya had no idea how many were dying around her; she couldn’t stop to think about it. She had to focus only on the fight. Her power was still sealed, putting her at a massive disadvantage, but she was able to defend herself while retreating back. But there was only so far that she could back up.
Her space ran out, her back pushed against a building, but at their speed, gravity was a slow suggestion. Kaguya jumped over Kuiara's incoming swing, the shockwave devastating the structure as well as the surrounding ground, but that was fine. She didn't intend to go back on the floor anyway.
Planting a foot against the wall, Kaguya jumped! She had no Flow, or external Aura at all owing to her Pure Body, but thanks to the physical boon she received from it, she was easily able to kick footholds into the concrete. Repeating this, Kaguya scaled the skyscraper, keeping her opponent in sight as she did.
Kuiara laughed as she saw the midget law-enforcer scurry upwards. "What are you, a cockroach! You're certainly the same size!"
Kuiara made a strange handsign and chanted.
“The subtle hand brings swiftness – Oscillating Motion!”
With the Ritual Phrase said, her speed and agility exploded to greater heights! Blasting off the ruined concrete and leaving a crater in her wake, she leapt after her fleeing prey. With Consummate Self-Incarnation held in sublime balance, she rocketed above Kaguya. She wasn’t done. She spun in the air, drawing Muramasa close and running a finger along its peerless edge, igniting it with pure Aura. Kuiara grinned manically down as she slashed, not at Kaguya, but at the building itself. The Aura shot off with all the power that it was afforded. The concrete, the support pillars, the rebar, all of it was sliced through like a hot knife through butter, creating a plane of black flame that bisected the structure. Kaguya felt the heat as the flames of Aura shot up and down, through the wrecked real estate, and ignited! Where once stood a building, there was now just a flaming pillar, raining boulder of debris across the area.
These pebbles can’t hurt me, but what of you, little user of Masamune? How will you survive? Show me!
In her subconsciousness, Kaguya saw the strands of fate dancing, revealing the countless ways this encounter could go. A foot to the right, and she would have been smashed by that burning wreckage. Two inches to the left, and that rebar would have pierced her skull. Time-Slipping Saber was guiding her to that moment, saving her from those futures. Until she got her shot, she was safe, so long as her focus was total.
A massive piece of what had been the elevator shaft was baring down on her. Hidden Mirage played its role, giving her the speed needed. At the perfect moment, she planted her foot on it, and kicked off!
It was her turn to spin through the air. Controlling her fall, she landed upon the nearest roof, skidding backwards to a halt. The moment was here.
Time slowed beyond a crawl. Kaguya looked up, seeing the monster she was facing already baring down upon her, having pushed off of her own aura. The moment was here.
As Kuiara descended on Kaguya, Time-Slipping Saber’s active effect guided Masamune’s arc. Kaguya’s technique had altered the flow of causality, guiding events to this moment, the moment where she would have a guaranteed hit!
Time seemed to slow to a crawl for both swordswomen. Kuiara’s eyes widened, seeing the attack coming, but nothing she did could stop it connecting. Kaguya gritted her teeth and put all her strength behind it.
A moment before impact, lightning illuminated the rooftop. Thunder roared as the blade found its mark.
Kaguya’s breath left her in shock. Her eyes went wide. Masamune had struck Kuiara’s neck, but far from a decapitation or even an injury to buy an opening, it was stuck! Lodged in the muscle, unable to cut through the flesh, Masamune was wedged in place. Wisps of black flame seeped around the blade as Kuiara grabbed the crossguard. Kaguya tried to pull her weapon back, but it was no use. Kuiara was worlds stronger than her.
“Guaranteed to hit, not guaranteed to hurt.”
With that, she brought Muramasa slashing upwards.
Kaguya could hear screaming. She was confused. Who was screaming? When had she fallen onto her back? And why was there so much red?
Slowly, she looked down at her hand. It wasn’t there. She looked back at Kuiara. Masamune was still in her neck, and gripping its grip, was her hand. Realization, then the pain, hit her.
Kuiara smiled with pure sadistic satisfaction. She pulled Masamune out of her neck, the gash closing up within moments, and dropped it to the ground.
"Weak. Very weak. I am back to being disappointed, but I should have known better. A child could never use that blade properly. "
She stood above the severed limb. "Do you think I didn't know what you were doing? I can't sense your aura, which means that you have a Pure Body. As each of your attacks became faster and stronger, I could tell that you also have a Sealed Power. Your defensive style of fighting led to the obvious conclusion that you were trying to unseal your true power.”
Kaguya stared daggers up at Kuiara, clutching her stump, as she started walking towards her like a predator toward its kill.
"While each unsealing ritual is unique, I've yet to meet one that didn't require both arms, or at least had to be modified to accommodate dismemberment. I'm guessing you don't know how to adjust it in the moment?"
Her smile turned into a sneer as she raised Muramasa, readying a killing blow.
“Well, it seems this dance is at its end. You can die knowing you failed any sense of duty.”
This can’t be how it ends!
The thought screamed through Kaguya’s mind. Her life flashed before her eyes. Being chosen by Masamune. Joining the Overseers. Training with her superior, Officer Mori-
As she thought of her Master, she was shocked out of her stupor by the sudden explosion in front of her! The roof of the building that they were on exploded outward, as none other than Mika Mori herself appeared in a burst of rubble! Kuiara jumped backward out of range, while Masamune span in the air, hand still clutched in a deathgrip. With casual ease, Mori caught it by the blade, and threw it to Kaguya’s feet.
“S-Sensei!”
“Go, Kaguya! Take Masamune, get out of here, and get to base! I’ll take things from here.”
Mika Mori did not look back as she spoke, knowing that Kaguya would obey her Sensei. With her good hand, Kaguya grabbed Masamune, and turned to escape.
“And Kaguya? Well done.”
“…Thank you, Sensei.”
With that, Kaguya took off running, her speed unaffected by her injury. Kuiara chuckled as she watched her former opponent flee. Didn’t matter, the bond between Muramasa and Masamune would bring them into conflict again, and she had a new toy to play with!
“So, you’re here to lend a hand to your kouhai? I suppose that she does need one.”
“Silence.”
Mika Mori took up a fighting stance. Kuiara did the same. Round Two was about to begin.