[Inari Standoff]: Heavy Metal

(This...this really sucks...)

"Mortal!" Inari called out, signaling Osamu to look into her eyes. Inari possessed Osamu, reuniting their strength just before Heavy Metal's attack.

Heavy Metal sprinted towards the possessed Osamu, the might of his very steps shaking the floor. Osamu raised his one, remaining arm to block Heavy Metal's punch. That single punch hit Osamu like a bullet train, sending shockwaves of pain from his arms to his back and propelling him across the hallway. He was sent flying through a bookstore window, rolling into a magazine stand as his arms pulsated with pain.

"I heard he was strong, but that's insane! I don't think I'll be able to defend against many more of those hits!" Inari cried.

"If you had to put a number on it, how many more can you take?" Osamu asked.

"I don't know, maybe five more, six if I'm really exerting our strength!"

"Got it, that leaves us plenty of chances. Listen, Inari, he's got power but his speed suffers because of it. We have to find a way to use that to our advantage."

Osamu payed close attention to how fast Heavy Metal recovered his stance from that punch. He watched his breathing, the alignment of his back, and how quickly he could go from moving to attacking. It was just as he thought. It took Heavy Metal time to return to a neutral stance after delivering that punch. He had to put all of his weight and energy into his attacks, shifting his center of gravity to do so.

"See that, Inari? He's like a tank. He's got a weakness!"

"You're right. How to use it, though..."

"I can't believe you actually survived that hit!" Heavy Metal shouted. "I gotta admit, kid! That's pretty stylish!"

Osamu smiled. "Thanks for the compliment, big guy."

"Here he comes!" Inari warned.

Heavy Metal sprinted towards them again for another punch, his extremely muscular figure was illuminated by the lightning that flashed through the windows as he ran. Though he was still stunned from the last punch, Osamu was able to dodge the next one, letting it blow a hole through the wall as he jumped onto Heavy Metal's back and delivered a punch of his own right to the back of his spine.

The attack didn't do much, and Heavy Metal quickly grabbed Osamu by his leg and threw him through the store window, over the escalators, and down to the floor below. Osamu landed perfectly on his feet, his fist aching. It was like Heavy Metal's spine was made of just that.

"Looks like brute force won't work on the guy..." Inari said.

"Yeah, guess not..." Osamu agreed.

"Ah! I forgot! Now that I've eaten Saint's heart, I bet some of my powers came back! I don't know what using them is going to do to your body though." Inari said.

"That's fine. Same strategy we used for Saint! I'll be the bait for you."

Inari leaped out of Osamu's body. "Got it! Be careful, don't do anything rash!"

Osamu chuckled. "No promises."

Inari hid herself in the darkness of the vast airport as Heavy Metal jumped down from the floor above, following Osamu into the baggage reclaim area. He found him standing there in the dark among the baggage carousels, waiting for him with a fiery glare in his eyes.

"You know kid, I like you. It's a shame you're siding with Inari." Heavy Metal said. "How on earth do you reconcile siding with someone who's killed as many people as she has? Well, I guess it's no surprise, seeing that you did the same thing with Tsukiakari Senkumo."

"Mind if I ask you something, Heavy Metal?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"What exactly is Inari wanted for?"

Heavy Metal broke out into laughter. "Are you kidding? Don't tell me you think all of this is about the exorcists she's offed, or whatever grudge she had with Amaterasu centuries ago."

"What? What the hell is it about, then?!"

"Inari's got powers that even the gods can only dream of, kid. That blood magic shit, for instance."

"Blood magic?"

"Basically allows you a whole host of blood-based abilities. The most interesting one? She can control people. And I'm not talking about how she hops inside of your brain like she did earlier. She can control people without even possessing them herself. One flick of the finger, and you can lose control of your flesh and sinew. A terrifying thought, isn't it, that someone out there has the power to control us like puppets."

(Is that really true? If that's the case, why hasn't she used it during any of the fights? Did she lose that power or something?)

"What, it didn't ever feel that way to you, dude?" Heavy Metal asked. "Aside from the whole jumping into your head thing, it never felt like you had a little voice in your head telling you what to do? It never felt like your body was moving against your will?"

(When I first woke up in the bathroom...I heard Inari's voice calling out to me...)

"This is all so much bigger than just Inari." Heavy Metal said. "If anything, we're trying to save the world. You're the one who's getting in our god damned way."

"Isn't there a way for you to get that power without killing her?" Osamu asked.

"If only it were so simple." Heavy Metal scoffed.

Heavy Metal flexed his muscles as tightly as he could, heat waves flowing from his body like an opened oven. Osamu slowly backed away as his heart thumped in anticipation.

"What...what are you doing!?" Osamu recoiled.

"It looks like you rely on melee attacks for the most part. Even though that first hit didn't have much of an effect, I can't afford for you two to get lucky, right?"

Heavy Metal's body suddenly combusted and was completely engulfed in flames. He had become a walking torch, the flames enwreathing him from head to toe. His fiery body illuminated the baggage reclaim area, elongating Osamu's shadow across the floor. Just when Osamu thought he couldn't get any more difficult to fight, he now had to figure out a way to fight an opponent who was completely covered in flames.

(He can do that?!)

"God damn it!" Osamu shouted, making a run for it.

Heavy Metal's wild laughter echoed behind Osamu, the exorcist chasing him through the baggage reclaim area. Heavy Metal grabbed a suitcase from one of the carousels as he ran, his flaming body setting it ablaze. He extended the handle and spun around, gaining momentum before he threw it at Osamu.

Osamu ducked his head and rolled on the ground, quickly getting back on his feet. "You really want me dead that badly, huh?"

Heavy Metal lunged right at him. Osamu barely managed to roll out of the way as Heavy Metal's foot stomped through the white, tiled floor, cracking it and leaving a black, sooty footprint. Osamu scurried backwards on all fours before standing up again, his eyes fixated on the wild flames consuming his foe.

(Think, Osamu. There's got to be something we can use to counteract those flames.)

Heavy Metal stepped forward and reeled his arm back. Knowing a punch was coming, Osamu put his arm in front of his face. Heavy Metal's punch hit even harder than it did the last time, knocking Osamu out of the baggage reclaim area and into a wide, open space in the airport with white floors and wavy, parametric ceiling filled with skylights above him. Parametric, cone-shaped support pillars extended down from the ceiling, each cone surrounded by red, leather seats.

Osamu stood up from the blow, his arm stinging and the skin bubbling from the heat of Heavy Metal's attack. Heavy Metal came charging in like a bull towards Osamu. Osamu rolled out of the way, letting Heavy Metal smash through one of the support cones. The leather seats and debris all caught fire, their odorous, black smoke rising up to the ceiling.

It was then that Osamu noticed these strange, red boxes all built into the ceiling. They were spaced out across the entire ceiling, spanning across the whole waiting area.

(That's it!)

Osamu hatched an idea, and much in the style of Taeko, it was a huge gamble. "You missed me, dickhead! Get your aim together!

"Oh?" Heavy Metal snickered. "Feeling confident now, are we? Then let's see how you do with this!"

Heavy Metal clapped his hands together and then extended his palm, shooting a searing fireball from his hand. The shot just barely missed Osamu, burning off a few strands of his hair before striking the support cone behind him and turning the leather seats into a hissing conflagration.

(His aim is getting better! I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!)

Osamu glanced at the ceiling as Heavy Metal marched towards him. If his plan was going to work, everything had to be perfect. He had to line Heavy Metal up right where needed to be. Most of all, he needed to his the utmost faith in Inari.

"I think you're the first who's ever survived this long against me in this form." Heavy Metal complimented, applauding Osamu's effort. "You've made this fun for me up until now, but it's over, kid. You should've just stayed out of all of this."

Osamu closed his eyes and exhaled, knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge the next blow. This was it, the moment his gamble may or may not pay off. "Inari, it's now or never."

The ear-piercing shriek of a fire alarm suddenly blared from every direction. Flashing lights went off like camera flashes all around them. It was exactly what Osamu hoped for. The red boxes on the ceiling opened up, pouring flame-retardant foam all over the area. Heavy Metal happened to be standing right beneath one of them.

The foam doused Heavy Metal's flames and disoriented him, making him stagger and trip over himself as he wiped the foam from his face and eyes.

"I'll take it from here, mortal!" Inari roared, lunging out of the darkness towards Heavy Metal.

Inari slashed Heavy Metal across his chest with her razor-sharp claws, then dashed in again, cutting him across his stomach. The foam coating his body turned red as his intestines peeked out from the gash in his stomach, bringing him to his knees. Inari rushed towards Osamu, locking eyes with him and possessing his body. It was time to deliver one final blow.

"I knew you'd come through, Inari!" Osamu said.

"Yeah! Let's finish this!" Inari cheered.

"You bastards were separated the whole time?!" Heavy Metal cried.

Osamu leaped in the air, reeling his fist back as he lunged towards Heavy Metal. Using all of his strength, Osamu brought his fist down upon Heavy Metal's face like a hammer, smashing his jaw and propelling multiple teeth out of his mouth. Heavy Metal grabbed Osamu's fist, squeezing on it until he cracked Osamu's fingers and wrist. Osamu screamed in pain, feeling like his hand was going to pop under Heavy Metal's vice grip. Osamu then bit down on Heavy Metal's wrist and pulled at the flesh with all of his might.

Heavy Metal cried in agony as Osamu ripped away Heavy Metal's hand from the rest of his arm, spitting it out on the floor. Heavy Metal reached for his throat with his other hand, but Osamu hooked his wrist with his wounded arm. He then pushed Heavy Metal's elbow inwards with his remaining hand until his two forearm bones snapped and his bicep muscle split apart beneath the skin.

With one hand decapitated and his arm broken, Heavy Metal was all but powerless. Inari leaped out of Osamu's body, the two of them watching Heavy Metal writhe and scream on the floor, his blood spraying across the foam-coated tiles.

"You okay, mortal?" Inari asked. "I didn't push you too hard, did I?"

Osamu shook his head. "Nothing a little blood won't fix."

"You damned fox demon! I'll kill you! I swear it!" Heavy Metal roared. "You and your partner are already dead! There's more of us! Plenty more to keep this going! They'll avenge our deaths! Every one of us you kill just digs you deeper in your own grave!"

"Funny." Inari said. "White Saint said something similar in his last moments too."

"If you think you can just waltz around, killing our comrades with that power of yours, you're mistaken!" Heavy Metal growled. "You're a living, breathing threat, not just to this country, but to the concept of free will! We'll stop at nothing to kill you! We'll save this world before you or anyone else even has a chance to plunge it into darkness!"

Inari stomped her foot on Heavy Metal's throat. "You bastards are the reason I gained this power, and now you're blaming me for it? I would've never had to use it, never would've gotten it in the first place if your queen had just left everything alone!"

"Do it! End it! You'll never come back from this!" Heavy Metal hissed.

Inari glared into his eyes, seeing the fires of defiance burning deep within his green irises. She knew he was right, that the standoff between her and the exorcists would only intensify with every member she killed. Inari understood what powers like hers meant for the world. She understood why the exorcists were so driven to kill her, despite none of them knowing why this conflict between them even started in the first place.

Eras change, and so does the justifications for conflict. It keeps happening, each generation finding a new reason to justify their thirst for blood and conquest. What started out as Amaterasu's quest to tie up loose ends and squash a potential usurper turned into an urgent matter of national security, a mission to seize a power that could spell the end for free will and individuation as mankind knew it.

All of it was unfair. Inari never asked to become a threat to Amaterasu. She never asked for the powers of blood magic. It all just happened to her. There she was, her foot on Heavy Metal's throat, paying the price for circumstances not of her own making.

"Osamu, you should walk away." Inari warned. "I'm going to take his heart, too. After I'm done, I'll heal your arm, okay?"

Osamu nodded. "Okay..."

"You're just as guilty, boy! You'll die here alongside her!" Heavy Metal mocked as Osamu walked away.

"I'm fine with that!" Osamu shouted, much to Inari's surprise. "Even if it's us against the whole world, I'll stand with her until the end. Nothing will ever stop you guys from seeing us as evil. Nothing will stop us from seeing you in the same light. Everyone here was pushed into something they only barely understand. You, me, Inari, all of us. The only thing any of us can do is fight. Guilt, history, and politics be damned. It's just like White Saint said. All that matters to the guys in the field, to you and me, is that we all have something to protect. You just use history to justify your own death wish, and I..."

Osamu turned his head, walking further into the darkness. "I'll be waiting in the bakery, Inari."

Inari watched as he walked away, her eyes sinking in sadness. The entire situation was unfair to him as well. She was sure he had friends and family, people who loved him on the outside. Instead of going back home to them, he found himself trapped in a brutal standoff, unable to go home.

"He's right. I thought it was hopeless, but I guess I have something I want to protect as well. I see that now." Inari said. "It's time to end this, Heavy Metal."

Heavy Metal's screams echoed through the airport as Inari ended his life. She dug her claws into his chest and tore it open with her bare hands, exposing his ribcage and his beating heart inside of it. In the end, Heavy Metal shared the same fate as White Saint. Inari didn't detect any other incoming exorcists. It seemed she and Osamu survived yet another day, though there was no telling what threats awaited them still.