Surata vs Majuro

In Surata’s home, the silhouette with orange-colored eyes sits on top of the couch, twiddling a sickle with a straight, sharp edge. Its shape resembles the shape of a boomerang.

“Hey, been waiting for ya’. I was going to think you would never show...”

They look over at Surata and stop twiddling. “Oh my. You’re not the person I’m looking for. Sorry for trespassing.” Majuro’s fiery orange softens as he glances at Surata. His eyes, filled with excitement, now hold a hint of sincerity as he deactivates his Noye.

“Who is this guy? I’ve never seen this man before.” Surata quickly gets alerted, taking a stance. Surata can feel their strong, demonic aura surrounding them. “Hold on, wait a minute. This presence. Those orange eyes. Is this…? What are you doing in my house?”

“Like I said, Looking. For. Someone.”

Surata picks up a kendo stick- that he uses for training- leaning on the wall, aiming it toward the intruder. “Leave this house now, or I’ll force you!”

“Woah, this is how you treat guests? Guess I’ll have to show you some hospitality,” Majuro chuckles, exposing his twisted smile.

…

At the front door, Koroki remains at a standstill as he converses with Yorui.

With his back facing her, he calmly asks, “What’s that supposed to mean, Yorui? I’m not allowed to enter my own house. Since when did you become a police officer? To be honest, it doesn’t suit you.”

“...”

Koroki turns his head and glances at Yorui. Trying to de-escalate the situation, Yorui remains unfazed. Her half-lidded eyes are still focused on Koroki, showing a sense of determination and sadness. Realizing his jokes won’t help, he gives in, holding his hands up in the air where she can see them. “Ok, you win. I won’t go in the house. You can turn off your Noye, Yorui.”

Seeing Koroki take his hand off the door, her glowing eyes revert to normal, feeling a sense of relief. She graciously falls to her floor, her exhaustion catching up to her. With her adrenaline disappearing, all the pain she ignored catches up to her. She quickly tucks on her back, grunting from the sharp, burning sensation.

“So, what exactly is happening, Yorui?” Koroki wonders, keeping his monotone, disinterested tone. He lowers his arm to clasp them behind his neck.

Despite his tone, his concern is genuine. From standing her ground a few seconds ago to collapsing right after can confuse anyone. He knew she wasn’t okay from the moment he looked into her eyes, but this wasn’t what he had in mind.

“I… I just… I don’t know anymore.” Her voice shakes in grief, sounding defeated.

“What do you mean?”

Yorui contemplates her options as she doesn’t know what to do. “I’m sorry, Koroki. You’re a good person… and I didn’t want you to… get involved.”

“You mean how your father is Majuro the manslayer?” Koroki’s words hang heavily in the air, his tone calm and probing.

Yorui’s eyes widen. “Huh!?” Disbelief outlines her face as if time has stopped. Her voice trembles as she manages to stutter out, “How… how did you know?”

A subtle sigh escapes from Koroki’s lips, his gaze as if lost in memory. “It made sense. The description fits. The slayer is a man who has an orange Noye. That scrawny guy I met earlier when I hung out with you had the presence and eyes of a killer. And the assistant just happened to be a green-haired girl.”

Yorui’s mouth quivers, looking down to cover her face. She desperately shouts, “Then you should know why I can’t be around you anymore! It’s because…”

“You don’t want me to die? Is that it? Is that why you don’t want me to go in there? Thanks for your concern, but I’m not as weak as you think.”

“That’s not it.” She comes to a realization. She is unable to do anything in her current condition. She can’t stop her dad. She can’t protect Koroki. Her thoughts scatter. Yorui remains silent for a moment, her eyes fixed downward as she struggles to find the right words. 

“My dad saw us hanging out earlier and wanted me to use you.” Yorui chuckles, trying to make herself feel better. Her thoughts become clear as she finds the courage to confess.

“To be honest, I was never a fan of what I did… but my dad would force me. I would meet up with these men and start dating them, even if they weren’t my type. Then I would drag them somewhere where my dad would finish them off. That’s how we have been surviving this entire time.” She chews her lip, holding in her frustration.

“Betraying and taking advantage of people was the last thing I ever wanted to do. But, if I refused, he would punish me. I kept doing that until I met you.”

“You were my first male friend ever, so I didn’t know how to act. I finally found someone I liked to be around with for the first time. Since I refused to use you, this is what happened.”

Koroki's gaze softens as he looks at her, his eyes focused on her suffering. “That explains her injuries,” he muses softly, conveying a sense of understanding.

Eventually, she continues. “Since he thinks I basically betrayed him, he wants to eliminate the reason for my betrayal.

Koroki quickly connects the pieces together, saving her the trouble of using more energy. “So basically… he’s after me.”

“Ever since he killed my mother, I’ve always hated my dad. His stupid ways of using people make me sick. But he’s still my dad! I just wish I had my old family back.”

“...” Koroki’s eyes soften for a moment, going unnoticed.

In a state of being vulnerable, Yorui says, her forehead puckering, showing her concern. “I know I can’t physically stop you, but I just want you to be careful.”

“Thanks, Yorui.” Koroki casually turns his back to Yorui, lowering his arms. “You’re a very kind person, but you shouldn’t be worried about me.”

“Huh?”

Koroki glares at the front door with his jaw clenched, almost unleashing bloodlust. “There’s someone else you should be worried about.”

…

Back in the living room, the fight initiates. Surata lunges at Majuro at full speed. His wooden weapon swiftly slashes through the air where Majuro had stood… but misses his target. His kendo stick swishes through nothingness as Majuro vanishes from his sight.

“Why does everyone love to attack me? Do they forget why they call me a manslayer?” twistedly chuckles Majuro.

Majuro appears behind Surata. Before Surata can react…

BOOM!

Majuro’s foot collides with Surata’s stomach. The impact rumbles through his body like a crashing collision. Surata is sent flying through the outside doors, knocking down the furniture in the living room.

Majuro menacingly steps out to the backyard. The enormous yard is comparable in size to a soccer penalty box. The house has a slight elevation, having a patio outlining the house. Surrounding the back is a wooden fence, tall enough to prevent animals from jumping over. The greenery of the trees and bushes in the back covering the fence complements the natural body of water in front of it.

Surata rolls across the backyard, attempting to recover from the heavy strike. He grabs his stomach as he coughs up stomach acid building up from the impact. Surata struggles to get up. Majuro dashes towards Surata, his sickle in a swinging position.

“He’s fast!” Surata realizes that he can’t fully dodge the attack. Without any time to think, he instantly moves his body out of the way based on pure instinct. However, his opponent is quicker than him and manages to land a cut on his leg. Surata doesn’t have time to think about the sharp pain as Majuro releases multiple attacks at him. 

With each attack, Majuro’s movements become unreadable to Surata. He is so quick that it seems like he disappears from existence itself, only existing when he strikes. The only thing that Surata can hear is the whooshing of Majuro cutting through the air. 

Slash after slash. Cut after cut. Majuro continues releasing his repetitive attacks. Surata takes his stance, limping while having multiple cuts on his body.

“You’re still standing? Hehe,” Majuro twistedly laughs. “Good. Don’t die so soon, I want to keep playing with you.”

Unable to strike back, Surata notices that he is at a disadvantage. How can he attack someone he can’t see? “He’s repeating the same attacks. Wait, if I can’t see his attacks, maybe I can predict them.”

Surata closes his eyes, utilizing his other senses. His ears cancel out almost everything, from the sound of the water splashing to his breathing. He solely focuses on the wind and experience in this fight. Sweat drips from his pure concentration.

Majuro notices Surata’s eyes close. Maybe Surata gives up and admits defeat?

With that in mind, He decides to appear from the air and throw the decisive strike.

Surata instinctively feels Majuro's presence again. He quickly opens his eyes with strong determination, turns around, and swings his sword.

WHACK! The edge of the kendo stick forcefully whacks Majuro’s chest. The point of the impact imprints a red bruise on his heart.

Majuro takes a step back. Startled by Surata, Majuro angrily continues swinging. Surata retakes his stance. One by one, Surata predicts his next attack and counters with a blow of his own, slowly understanding Majuro’s movement. Surata’s wooden weapon isn’t sharp enough to cut Majuro, but his strikes feel like his opponents have been sliced open.

When Majuro charges towards Surata, Surata strikes Majuro in the arm, dropping his weapon. Bruises form throughout Majuro’s body like he’s infected by a disease. Majuro stares at his weapon, dazed, speechless. “Ugh… How is this happening? Tch. I underestimated him. This twerp is stronger than he looks.”

Surata regains his confidence. “I got him. I’m getting used to his attacks. I actually might be at an advantage now.”

Realizing he was going easy on Surata, Majuro’s tone stops twitching. “Alright, maybe it’s time to stop fooling around.”

His orange-colored eyes and weapon beam brighter. Majuro activates his Noye again. The aura of his Noye is so overwhelming that it paralyzes Surata. The pressure of his energy is too heavy for Surata to be around.

“Let’s have some fun, kid. Hehe.”

Majuro sprints towards the paralyzed Surata, laughing menacingly.

SLASH! Majuro slashes a deep cut to Surata’s arm. It feels like his arm has been cut off his body. Surata excruciates in pain, firmly gripping his arm.

“C'mon, kid. Hehe. What’re you doing just standing there? Make this fun for me,” encourages Majuro, with a sense of cockiness in his voice.

To convey his dominance, Majuro violently kicks Surata on the floor.

A helpless Surata coughs up blood, covering the grass in red. “This is crazy. Ugh…He just turned on his Noye, yet it feels like the difference in strength is massive. It’s almost impossible to fight someone using Noye without using your own power. Damn it!”

Majuro stops his attack, gazing at Surata. Surata can’t manage to cluster any energy to fight back. His thoughts are clouded in pain. Surata has… lost.

Majuro smacks his lips, aggravated. “You’re done? Tch. You’re no fun.”

Declaring his victory, Majuro lifts his sickle high in the air. Putting Surata out of his misery would be the best for him. Majuro rapidly swings his sickle, with murderous intent toward Surata.

As he takes his swing, footprints echo in the house. “Didn’t your mom tell you not to play with your food?”

Majuro’s ear become alerted. The outside floorboard creaks toward Majuro.

He stops his swing in motion, slowly looking towards the house. He spots two figures standing in the back doorway. In front, a pink-haired boy stares intensively at him, releasing his bloodlust. Next to him is an injured green-haired girl, resting her arm around the boy’s neck as support. She stands there, limping, grunting in pain, seeing the unfolding events.

“This presence?” Majuro cackles in excitement with a twisted grin. “Hehe. There’s the main entrée. Hope it was worth the wait.”

___