Fighting the Puppet

It was clear that no matter what came next, they had to defeat the puppeted body of Hikari. It was hellbent on hunting them down. He readied his sword, his insides still stung from the last fight with the boss, so this wasn’t a good outcome, but he at least would fight.

Kill her, Mamoru. Don’t hold back for my sake.

Though Hikari was willing to say that, he felt some uneasiness in her voice. Though he couldn’t blame her, what could one say when having to fight themselves?

He readied the blade, holding it upward for an easy chest slash.

Puppet Hikari burst toward him. He slashed, but she dodged and the blow sent him rolling to the edge of the skyscraper. Sword pierced the rooftop as his feet stopped in a dangle off the edge. He managed to pull himself back and roll just as the puppet struck where he had laid. The side of the building crumbled and fell, taking the puppet down, but only long enough for Mamoru to get back onto his feet as she clambered back up the side.

The high school boy wheezed and spat out some blood. The last fight was starting to blur his vision; he really did need to end it or else everything would be for nothing.

“I’m sorry Hikari.”

Don’t apologize…. It’s okay.

Mamoru lifted the blade in the air as the puppet charged closer. The back edge erupted into a fiery jet once again, and he brought it down at his opponent’s head—she caught it between her palms.

Mamoru shouted as he tried to add his own strength to the downward thrust, and the opponent fell on her knees but still kept the blade with all the force just a couple hair widths away from her face. They kept at it for a solid minute, but he couldn’t get enough force to sever the puppet in half. Her face was right there, and he felt his grip weaken along with some resolve, even if it landed, could he live with seeing what such an attack did to her body?

She twisted her body and arms ever so slightly and before he realized the blade slashed the rooftop next to their opponent in half, but not the target. The puppet Hikari moved back and watched closely, possibly expecting another trick. It told Mamoru he had at least threatened the puppet, even if the attack hadn’t led to the end of the battle.

He readied his blade, and greeted his foe in another exchange, trying for simple slashes to see where he could get any kind of opening that he could use his big strike on. The puppet gave none that he could see, dodging each of his blows with ease as he struggled to dodge the return attacks.

At some point, the foe pulled out a hidden dagger and tried to slash Mamoru back, but he was able to manage that, opponents with weapons were easier to follow than when they started throwing fists everywhere.

They danced back and forth with their blades, neither able to land a single slash. Mamoru felt his breath growing heavy and body sweaty, he wasn’t sure how much longer he had if he couldn’t end it.

Then came an opening, her right shoulder was left wide open and he took a reckless slash to it. The puppet princess jumped out of the way, throwing aside any stance or position and rolled across the rooftop. It became clear to him that the puppet was deliberately dodging the blade, even at the cost to its own battle advantage. It was afraid of the sword.

Mamoru didn’t want to let the opportunity slip. He lunged forward and delivered repeated downward strikes to an opponent that could only barely parry with her dagger. He screamed, just wanting to end this, to get over having to cut down some part of Hikari.

In his frustration, he must have made a mistake. His opponent found an opening and kicked him across the roof. The floof of Mako’s tail kept him from going off the building. She shifted Mae’s pod from one shoulder to the other and grinned.

“Fight hard young master, thou can win this.”

“I don’t know if I can, she’s, she’s. I’m not sure.”

Mako pushed him forward with a flick of her tail. There wasn’t much more time to talk as the puppet came in for another round of strikes. If their previous exchange of blades could be called a dance, the second round was akin to a moshpit. Each participants blows grew more hurried and frenzied, barley managing to keep the other from landing a crucial blow.

Mamoru’s vision was gone on the edges, and his arms were beginning to feel numb. Hikari jumped in to report the opponent’s movements within his head to cover where he could no longer see.

From the left. Now the right.

He moved as quickly as reacting to the information could be done, but he was getting sloppier and weaker, and the opponent—perhaps noticing the weak point—began to focus on the outside attacks.

Outside attacks, which left her center more and more open. He just needed a thrust and he could run her through. Mamoru’s vision was clouded around the periphery so he could only see the face of the puppet Hikari. It was blank, scared, carrying with it none of the personality of the girl he had come to know, but it was still her face.

He expected he could boost his thrust like he did his slashes, but the possibility of seeing Hikari splattered across the rooftop like that was too much. Now that he could see the path, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Don’t. It’s not me anymore….

Mamoru couldn’t help but think about it. He had come all this way to save his sister, so couldn’t there be some way to recover Hikari’s body as well? He honed in on the spot where she in her defeated state had run herself through so long ago, and then it hit him. Did it work both ways?

It was a long shot, he knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up, but at least he now had an opening and a target.

Though Hikari warned him of the next strike on the left, he let the dagger pierce his side. His thrust ran the puppet through, and for a moment the blank face had wide eyes.