A Flower That Can Bite

Shino

Branches rose around me and got cut down before I could even react. Under the kind moonlight, images of Chigira and Tyrant flashed everywhere, telling me I was out of my mind to think I could compete with that monster.

Despite how I had been thinking of her as disposable, I owed my life to Chigira now. Yet, the thought still crossed my mind—the thought that I should take advantage of the fact he was targetting her. All I had to do was find an opening, only one, and I could complete my mission.

On the other hand, the way Tyrant used his cursed strength was beyond anything I could have imagined. It made it seem as if he was using light to travel, and I could only guess that the power of his hits was to match. After all, he was simply erasing trees from existence. I was convinced that if he had time to focus, he could simply disintegrate something as long as he could see it.

I looked for an opening, but the trees that kept rising and falling at insane speeds gave me a hard time.

Why are they growing around me in the first place? I wondered. If anything, those trees were the most dangerous thing for me.

I had to do something, or at least force myself to try. 

I felt powerless. The power of one of the curses had left me, and it was that power that my adversary was using. In other words, it was the power I needed the most.

"Or do I?"

Pondering for a second, I decided to try something else. I closed my eyes and focused on the sounds around me.

"You can't beat the master at his own game..."

I remembered those words being spoken to me back at the orphanage. It was right after I had failed my first mission. I was almost killed by a mimono, and it was thanks to Mother that I got to live another day, never losing a fight since.

If it stood true then, there was no reason for things to be different now. To become able to beat mimonos, I had to train until I was stronger than them with the curse of Mizaru, but I also had another way of fighting.

"It's been so long I've forgotten all about it."

An assassin has to adapt. As a child, I adapted by using the other curses to beat monsters stronger than me. Many years had passed since I had to face someone above my level, but this old trick shouldn't have gone out of style.

"You'll regret giving me access to the others!"

I took a deep breath and gave up on my ability to see. At least for the time being, I had to get used to being blind. Only by doing so could I focus on the other courses.

I could feel my hearing getting sharper, and with it, I started building a mental image of what was around me. As irony would have it, the curse to hear no evil was helping me hear the one most evil in their world as he fought the kindest person there was.

It was then that I understood something else. Now that I was somewhat able to keep up with them, the answer to my previous unspoken question hit me like a truck.

The trees sprouting and disappearing all around me weren't there due to Chigira's clumsiness. What's more, Chigira wasn't even Tyrant's main target. Even if she was, he was planning to get her by using me.

The trees were not growing randomly. They were growing to protect me. I was being kept safe by the girl always asking me to keep her safe.

I should have felt ashamed, but I had no time to do so. With my hearing enhanced, I could hear loud screams from far into the city, and they were getting closer.

"Mimono..." I whispered to myself. "Chigira! He's brought back pup!

I shouted at the girl, but she gave me no answer. Of course she didn't. She was doing her best trying to protect me. I could hear her heavy breathing. I was in the way.

I stood there, blind and helpless. Hearing wasn't enough for me to get out, and switching to the powers to speak no evil would have me unable to keep track of the battle.

"If only he was real..." I told myself. "But that would sound weird..."

I had joked many times about calling on Sezaru while going through some nasty battles. But the truth was that he wasn't real. That was all my ability, not some unknown curse.

The monsters were getting closer, and Chigira would soon be overwhelmed. I was not only failing the mission. I was the one to drag it down.

It was then that it struck me.

"If I wasn't here, Chigira could..."

With no other choice left, I decided to do what was best for the mission. Without me, Chigira could beat that man and complete the mission for me. That's all that mattered.

"As long as she lives—no... what am I saying? As long as Tyrant dies..."

Getting my thoughts back on track, I put one leg in front of the other and started running, breaking out of the zone the girl was protecting.

"Shino! No!" Chigira shouted, and that moment was enough for her to get smashed into the ground. That was fine. Now Tyrant could focus on me for one second, and after I was done with, Chigira could complete the mission... and then get out safely.

Blind to what was going on around me, I also ceased to use the powers of Kikazaru. I had nothing, because deep down, I didn't want to see my end coming.

One second, two seconds, three seconds had passed, and I was still running. Finally, curiosity got the better of me, and I opened my eyes to something I couldn't explain to myself.

Without the power of any curse, I was running faster than any motorbike, smashing through hordes of mimono and simple monos.

It took a second to register, but I soon understood that I had once again been mistaken.

"As weird as it sounds, it's always been there, huh?" I spoke to the sky.

It was him. It was Sezaru, lending me a fake curse to keep myself alive.

My body itself was enhanced to do evil now, and that evil was going to be done to the white monsters around. With no need for my dagger, I punched, kicked, and headbutted everything around me.

At the same time, high above me, I saw those afterimages again. This time, the trees growing all around town weren't meant for my protection but to strike at Tyrant. Branches and leaves flew around, all going for the man whose afterimages didn't change that scared expression.

I closed my eyes again. I wanted to track that battle, so I called to Kikazaru. I could hear the monsters around screaming before I silenced them. Soon enough, none were left to distract me, and I felt confident enough to look up. No, I was confident to listen to what was happening above me.

They seemed evenly matched. Maybe Chigira actually had an advantage, but I wasn't going to wait and hear how it all unfolds. I bent my knees and jumped between them without too much effort. My only worry was that I had no way to stay in the air, but Chigira had that covered.

A vine soon stretched under my feet, connecting towers far beyond the horizon. At that moment, I came to understand the scale of the battle and how far the power of those two reached. I was still nothing next to them.

No, this time, I'm only small, like a blind fly.

I felt like a fly, so I decided to do what a fly was best at.

I ran along the vine until I was right next to Tyrant. When I reached him, I parted with Kikazaru and called on another power.

"IWAZARU!" I shouted, for lack of a better word, but what I said mattered little. That shout was all I could do. It was my all or nothing.

Before Tyrant could teleport away, my shout reached his ears and made him mid-air.

Flying towards me, Chigira placed herself behind, our backs touching. I felt threads of hair tickling me from behind, but I knew I wasn't their target.

I dared to open my eyes, trusting my job was done. As expected, I saw Tyrant all tangled up. The next moment, Chigira whipped her hair lasso, pulled Tyrand over my head, and smashed him into the ground. 

The fight was over.

The stage was ready for the dirty part. I jumped down, smashing my fist into the dust created by his fall.

My strike created a small crater, yet it didn't hit what I wanted it to, and the reason was simple.

"Gone..." I whispered to myself.

Tyrant wasn't in that crater.