See No Evil

?

Have you ever carved your name in a tree?

I think it is beautiful how it bounds you to that tree, and that tree to you.

You become one, and get to grow together.

Maybe I want to try that too. My little selfish wish. 

*****

Shino

A warning or time to react—I was given neither of those.

"You..."

"Die."

With those words spoken, the man kicked up, aiming for my head. I ducked, but he had already read my next move. He lifted his other foot and kicked me with both feet from mid-air, launching me into the nearest tree. Luckily, that tree bent in a way that left me with minimal injuries. I had to thank Chigira for that later.

That's right... Chigira!

I remembered the reason I had turned my head—the reason I was still alive now. That man came between me and Chigira. She used her power to catch me, but what about her own safety?

When my vision steadied, I looked her way instantly.

"Annoying until the end," the man sighed, then he turned around to face her. Chigira tried to react, but before she could do anything, the man grabbed her by the nape and lifted her, making her drop the blunt sword.

"Let her go!" I shouted.

"Hm? Why would I?" my target asked. No, there was no doubt about it. The one I was talking with was Tyrant.

He posed a valid question. Another one would be, why should I risk my life for that girl? But that question didn't cross my mind. Instead, I ran towards them, using the power of Iwazaru to quicken my pace.

Just as I was about to reach them, they vanished from before my eyes. I looked around in a hurry and saw Tyrant still holding Chigira behind me.

"Teleportation?"

"I just go where I see fit."

With wordplay that almost made me gag, Tyrant pointed at his absurdly big eyes. That must have been the reason for reading my moves earlier too. He was using the powers of Mizaru to their full extent, and that made me question one thing.

"Why would you, the father of the curses, limit yourself to only one of them? And why would it affect your eyes like that?" I asked, trying to buy some time to think of an attack plan.

"Why would I... What?"

Surprisingly, my question made him pause for a second. That second was enough for Chigira to act, tying both of his legs together with her hair and pulling.

In no time, Tyrant's position turned horizontal, and I took advantage of that moment to lunge at him with Chigira's sword.

Yet once again, it was to no avail. He disappeared from before me and appeared again lying on the branch of a tree. Now, he held Chigira hanging, and it was obvious that she was in pain.

Her struggling face made me feel something inside. It was the exact opposite of what I felt the night before, or maybe it was the exact same thing but leveled up to 100. I had a hard time identifying a feeling I had long erased from my being, but I felt like I was burning inside.

"Stop that, Tyrant!"

The moment I shouted that, the man flinched. Even if he was far away from me, he flinched as if he was scared that I could somehow reach him. What was odd was that at the same time his bored face turned to a grin.

"Tyrant, you say? Now isn't that a fun way to call somebody?"

I had to find a solution to reach him, but something was weird with me too. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't activate my Mizaru curse, and I needed it to visualize the best way to reach that man.

"Why not take them all?" I asked, but I was only met with a "Pardon?"

"Why not take all of my curse powers? Why did you only take away Mizaru?"

My question made his grin turn wider. His unnatural smugness was getting to me, but I had to keep calm. I had to use my years of training to think of a solution.

What was more worrisome was that, without me noticing, Chigira's pained groans turned into a patient smile. By the time I looked at her again, she looked like a kid getting ready to play outside.

"I bet you didn't see this one coming! Green attack!" she shouted, and after giving her move the lamest name known to mankind, Chigira grew another branch from the one Tyrant stood on. At the same time, she used her hair to attack.

The king of the world reacted to the hair, but he had no way to see the branch and was sent into the air.

I regrouped with Chigira and handed her the sword, together with an "I just gave you this..."

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! ..."

Every time she repeated the word, she bowed her head. More than annoyed, I was surprised she wasn't getting tired. Still, I found it oddly entertaining to look at.

"She'll do that another eight times if you don't stop her. I would know. I've seen it," a voice resounded from nearby, reminding us that the man was far from losing this fight.

"And she would have probably continued had I not slashed her during the ninth," he said. He trembled with what I thought should have been excitement, but it somehow looked like fear.

Taunting us again, Tyrant got into his fighting stance. Chigira did the same, but I had no reason to tag along in their childish play. Instead, I lifted my knife, channeling as much power as I could from the other two paths.

My moves were now amplified by sound, and I could hear everything around, even things that were yet to occur. That's how I came to the realization that they were out of my league.

Before I could see any movement, a loud boom flooded my ears. I couldn't react to it even if I wanted to, for it came from all directions.

The next second, both Chigira and Mizaru disappeared, only their afterimages clashing all around me.