Under The Umbrella

Through the means of Buff’s augmented eyes and arms, along with the highly accurate scope attached, he was able to deliver a blow that ended the fight.

Though Xiomazu was hesitant to approach the two scorched bodies, he needed to make sure they were both dead.

And if they weren’t, he would finish them off out of respect.

“Careful,” Sheru simply yelled to him as Xiomazu began to climb up Donburi’s prone giant.

He would take caution, even knowing it was unneeded.

For once he had arrived up, and stood before the two bodies, Xiomazu knew that battle was over.

Before him his mentor and protector, Akuma laid lifeless.

Her eyes were wide open, blinking weakly.

A gaping hole in her chest produced blood, as well as allowing everything else that had been previously stored inside to be seen on display.

Next to her, Shinobi was in nearly as much pain.

With Akuma having taken the brunt of the energy blast, this weakened it and redirectly it slightly as it had hit him.

A black and blue array of colors appeared on his stomach, now mostly exposed beneath the hole in his nearly destroyed and shredded cloak.

It was a sad sight to see the two in such a defeated and broken display.

“Akuma…” Shinobi weakly spoke from where he layed.

“Can…can you still hear me?”

She gave no response.

“I-I…” Shinobi began to cough hazardously.

If a sword couldn’t defeat Shinobi, it seemed the way to deal with his powers was through ranged weaponry.

A person themself didn’t inflict damage, but rather it was just a lucky shot.

Shinobi could not absorb Buff, or heal his own wounds.

He would die slowly from his internal injuries, unable to do anything.

Next to Shinobi was his gun that’d previously held.

Xiomazu stood over Shinobi, and after picking up the gun, he readied it to fire.

He’d never killed someone before, or shot a gun either.

“no…n-Ak-” Shinobi continued coughing as he spoke to her.

“We…we were… supposed to change the world…together…”

Shinobi watched the night sky.

The spotlight from a helicopter appeared overhead, blocking the blimp’s light, but now shined a new blinding one onto him.

The shine from the spotlight reflected off the raised gun.

Several mechanized suits began to repel down from ropes on the helicopter, each suit bearing a rice bowl emblem on their uniforms, signaling they were Kanto's armed forces.

Akuma also watched as the blades of the helicopter moved slower, echoing in her ears the further her eyes shut.

Her mouth barely moved, unable to make any noise.

“Ugh…” Donburi then said from down below, still suspended in the air inside his giant figure.

His giant’s figure suddenly phased out entirely, causing himself to fall, along with those that were previously on his back.

Xiomazu’s feet had no foundation to stand on, and so he fell downward.

No matter. He’d land on his feet, and shoot Shinobi once he touched the ground.

However, slowly, he came to the realization that in front of him, he was too late.

Just as soon as Donburi’s body had rumbled and phased away, Shinobi had made his final move, lurching over and rolling Akuma onto himself.

Xiomazu readied his shot.

Though calm and collective, an inexperienced shot while falling wasn’t exactly easy, but it would be impossible to miss a stationary target right in front of him.

He was sure of it.

Regardless of whatever Shinobi was doing, even if it was his mentor, he needed to shoot Akuma in the back.

The bullet came out quickly through the air with a pow, giving Xiomazu a sudden shock and goosebumps simultaneously.

It fell slowly through the air, milliseconds at a time until it connected with her back, and lodged itself inside.

She let out her last gasp of life.

Beneath her, Shinobi had taken her arms with his own.

With her hands, he forced her to stab his wounded stomach with her own fiery tanto dagger, clutching it tightly in her grasp solely with his own remaining strength.

His eyes widened as he accepted the pain, smiling.

“Sayonara…my dear…” Shinobi breathed out faintly.

Each body crashed hard against the ground.

Donburi was a little ways ahead, while Akuma was atop Shinobi, pushing the weapon further into his stomach’s flesh.

Just beside them was Xiomazu, who met the two with great force.

He tackled Akuma off Shinobi, launching her weak body several feet away.

Below him he lunged for the fiery tanto dagger in Shinobi’s chest, removing it with his hands even as the sizzling extreme heat charred his palms.

He took it, and chucked the dagger as far away as humanly possible.

“Together…we will become one…now…and forever…” Shinobi said softly.

Xiomazu watched with horror as Shinobi’s face mutated and bubbled.

The skin twisted, and the crackling bones inside realigned themselves with.

A combination of saliva and blood spat out of Shinobi’s mouth onto Xiomazu’s face.

Shinobi was no longer bearing the face of the once mysterious Kitsune.

No, what was once an acceptable result now was petrifying.

The putrid substance dripping from Xiomazu’s face wasn’t enough to hide the indisputable reality that Akuma’s unmasked face now was in place of Kitsune’s.

The old Akuma was dead. She had now become Shinobi.

In a tremendous blaze of heat, flames ignited out of her white eyes, completely concealing them.

The heat had become so dangerously leveled, that the tips of the trails of fire that came were violet and bluish hues, dancing wildly close to Xiomazu.

He was given no choice but to jump back, or be burned alive in her presence, as the sweat had already begun to trickle down his body.

Just as he moved, she grabbed his arms, keeping him hostage as the fire’s warmth skyrocketed in temperature.

“AKUMA!” Xiomazu shouted with all his might.

“BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRN!!!”

A monstrous voice called from her.

It was demonic, and frightening, piercing Xiomazu’s ears.

Sheru had run by, but Xiomazu motioned her to leave.

“GO!” he yelled, barely able to see her.

“SHE’LL KILL YOU IF YOU DON’T LEAVE!”

Sheru was determined to save Xiomazu, unwillingly to leave.

She swung down her sword, watching as it completely melted before it could reach her.

The fires from Akuma’s eyes had grown, sprouting around her head.

The truck that Buff stood upon arrived nearby.

While Kazue stayed inside it, Buff sprinted over to Xiomazu.

“AKUMA! LET HIM GO!!!” Buff howled, pulling at Xiomazu’s body.

The heat caused sparks and black smeres to scatter across his augmented arms, almost reminiscent of the sound of popcorn.

“DAMMIT ALL!!!” Buff howled again, relentlessly pulling until he was forced to give up.

“Just go! You all get to safety! She hasn’t burned me yet, so maybe I’m fine-AHHHHHHHH!!!”

Immediately Xiomazu started to scream in pain as his body combust into flames, alongside Akuma’s.

“YEEEEEEESSS!!! BUUUUUUUUURRRRNNN!!!” her distorted voice demanded with excitement.

“TOGETHER!!! WE SHALL FOREVER LIVE IN ETERNAL BLISS!!!”

“GO AHEAD AND TRY TO CUT ME DOWN!!!”

Suddenly two massive green arms grabbed around Akuma and Xiomazu, pulling them apart, though Akuma still held a firm grasp around her student.

Donburi had retained his giant form once more in an attempt to separate the two.

“COME ON XI-MAN!!!” Donburi shouted.

“I AIN’T GOT MUCH LEFT IN THE TANK!”

Donburi was struggling, as indicated by his constantly twitching body from within the giant.

He could only maintain this form for a few more seconds.

Even as the flames constantly roared around him, Xiomazu closed his eyes, and accepted the pain.

“Go ahead then, Yokai. Help me escape, and I’ll give myself to you.”

“Don’t harm anyone else, unless necessary. Maybe we’ll do this again sometime if we survive.”

An intricate soothing deep voice then called from the inner reaches of his mind.

“I’ll give you just a taste then. I presume you’ll remember to breathe…”

Xiomazu’s heartbeat abruptly stopped for a second, and he heaved in air.

To hear such a sound from his own mind was bewitching.

He opened his eyes, somehow content at the sight of his arms and legs coated in flames.

This suddenness allowed him to pull himself out of Akuma’s grip, as his limbs maintained a gas shape.

Donburi was now able to separate the two, holding Xiomazu in one hand, and Akuma in the other.

Xiomazu’s limbs had returned to normal form, and immediately he began to enjoy the soothing winter air once more on his skin, now distanced from Akuma’s wrath.

Soon he was gently set down, touched the ground, and passed out.

“STAY DOWN!!!” Donburi yelled one final time.

With a firm grip, his figure’s giant arm slammed Akuma down, creating a crater larger than any other he had made so far. He held his palm down.

Smog of dirt and debris concealed his hand momentarily, and it rained pieces of grass and turf.

“DJ!!” Tuff Buff cried out while he ran to his brother’s side.

Both of them met eyes, even at varying altitudes.

“Is it finished?” Buff asked him.

Donburi sighed.

“Nah bro. I can still feel her under my hand.”

Fire occasionally spat out beneath the pressure of his giant palm.

“Shit,” Buff said depressingly.

“Shitty situation,” Donburi coughed.

“I’m gonna die here, so you all should scram. I’ll hold ol’ girl.”

Buff’s face wrinkled.

“Is it cause you’re a big ass beast?”

“Yeah,” Donburi replied with exhaustion.

“Listen lil’ Sheru. Our blood is cancerous, and comes at a cost.”

“The years we were meant to have we halved the moment your blood is tainted.

“And bringing out your mega form halves it even further, and I just did it twice.”

“Which means…”

“NOO!!!” Sheru screamed.

“Times up…” Donburi said softly.

Buff punched his fist against Donburi’s giant form.

Donburi coughed again.

“In Chugoku, the Daimyo Obake lives in a hidden castle. Never been there as the entire region is blocked off by that big ass wall.”

“We said we’d break through it one day. Well, now you gotta do it for both of us Buff.”

“Go find her, and tell her we need help…” he coughed.

“Where am I gonna find this cowardly bitch?” Buff demanded.

“Hiroshima Castle,” Donburi coughed.

The two then nodded at each other.

Firstly, Buff picked up Xiomazu’s body over his shoulder.

He turned and ran to Sheru, picking her up over the other, and ran back to the truck where Kazue awaited them.

“Did we win!?” Kazue yelled.

“DRIVE!!!” Buff demanded, hopping into the back truck bed, and laying both down.

“LET’S GO BACK FOR HIM!!!” Sheru pleaded as Buff restrained her, even as she punched him.

“W-What about your brother? We’re just gonna leave him behind?!” Kazue hesitantly began the engine, and drove off.

But Buff gave no reply.

Xiomazu woke up, scrambling to his senses.

He watched from afar as the battle grew, witnessing Akuma’s dagger grow in size, and pierce through Donburi’s giant palm.

Akuma dug a hole through it, and lept out into the air, then proceeded to dash so quickly around Donburi’s giant that falling flame trails were left with each directional air sprint.

Each dash was deliberate, and cut away a portion of Donburi’s figure, proceeding to carve him up like a pumpkin, sending green diminishing squishy guts everywhere.

A whirlwind of aquamarine skin and vermillion fire.

A few minutes later, there Donburi was with his back to the ground.

Out of breath. Out of time.

Akuma stood over him, falling to her knees above his body, while the fiery trails from her eyes vanished.

She cried underneath the umbrella of darkness in the sky, and the trickling of freezing rain crashing around them.