The pain in her arms sharpened her attention. It reminded her that she had someone to protect. ‘Hitomi…Yuki… I’m sorry, Hiroshi.’ Saki felt her leg muscles tighten on her preparing for her to spring forward, already warmed up from the sprinting that she had to get back to the warehouse. A burst from her feet sprung her into the combat that Ayumi was already engaged with the man of vines.

Chapter 20 – My Brother’s Keeper

“Saki!” Yuki tried to move his body, but it wouldn’t budge for him as though it seemed to know something that he did not. He couldn’t stand seeing Saki out there getting hurt because of him. Yet there was nothing that he had been able to do to change it. It was like this for him all the time. ‘Why can’t I move? She can’t fight this sort of person. He’s not normal. Move legs! Saki’s going to get killed out there!’

Ayumi pulled her focus back on the assassin after the sudden arrival of Saki to protect Yuki. She cut away the vines that got in her way. An annoyed expression came over her as she dealt with the vines like they were beneath her. The sword tightened in her hands glowing off the light behind her as she readied her assault.

Saki didn’t wait for any word from Ayumi as she charged straight for the man without any consideration for her safety. She put up her arms to take a couple vines. Blood sprayed into the air as she pushed on to her target. Nothing stopped her as vines attempted to take hold of her, but missed getting a hold.

The speed of a sprinter gave her an advantage that the assassin was not expecting from Saki. Closer to the man, more vines came up to stop her slicing at her clothes trying to put up a wall to stop her. Single minded focus drove her deeper.

Ayumi extended her snow up, freezing the vines in place. This gave Saki a hurdle to jump over. Lifting off from the frozen platform, she used all her momentum to throw herself into the air. Recklessly, she flew in feet first to her target.

All the vines grasped at the air as she sailed through landing her feet directly in the chest of the man. The impact knocked him back, kicking the air out of him. Stunned for the moment, Ayumi took her opening and followed up as Saki came to a rough landing in the snow. The sword in Ayumi’s hands hung down against the snow as she charged forward drawing it up in an arc. A flash of the blade against the assassin ripped through staggering the man backwards.

Saki returned to her feet, ignoring the tears to her school uniform, staring down the assassin. She couldn’t tell if they ended the fight. She waited.

Ayumi leapt back after finishing her attack. The vines had broken free from her ice and threatened to attack if she pressed a kill. ‘Not dead yet… And his vines seem to have a mind of their own. Explains a few things.’ The moment to breathe was coldly welcomed by Ayumi as she turned to Saki next to her. “What do you think you’re doing and attacking so recklessly too?”

Heavy breathing from Saki had held back her words as she caught herself and brought her body’s rhythm back under control. “Can we debate this after we defeat him?” Saki pulled her hands up sliding herself into an offensive stance ready to strike at the slightest movement. All of her training at the dojo was going to be put to the test.

“What do you mean ‘we’? This one’s mine. You don’t stand a chance against someone like this. You’ll only get in my way.”

“I just kicked the guy. I’m not defenseless here. And last I checked, you don’t have any martial training.”

“I’m not who… No, that wasn’t enough to kill him.”

“We don’t really have the time to debate this. From my perspective I just helped you. So until that stops being the case, I’m staying.”

Ayumi caught the change in demeanor from Saki seeing the serious look in her eyes. ‘There’s no convincing her.’ A sigh came out of Ayumi’s mouth as she looked down at the ground. Around the snow laid the remaining vines still focused on by the man.

She lowered her off hand to her side as the snow pushed aside revealing a narrow length of ice. The ice rose up until it came into contact with her hand. Her hand grasped the end of the ice breaking it free from the ground and whipped it sharply through the air. In a blur it cleanly morphed into a basic straight sword.

“If you’re going to fight, take this. It’s lighter than a metal one, but about as strong and sharp. It shouldn’t slow down your movements.” Ayumi tossed the ice sword over to Saki, being caught quickly. “Just don’t leave the snow or it’ll disappear.”

Questions that should have been asked went silent. In the heat of battle acceptance won over. Saki gave Ayumi a short smile and nod in understanding. She looked down at the sword, seeing partly through the semi-opaque blade. It was cool, but not freezing to her hand nor did it even melt. She had never felt ice like this before. “Right! A little different from what I’m used to.”

They drew towards the shade where the man began to move again with the vines surrounding him putting up a net like barrier. Out of the darkness came a smooth, nearly sweet and kind voice that seemed amused. “You’ve come back for your revenge? This should be interesting.”

The man stepped forward bringing the plants with him reaching the edge of the light. A green light suddenly burst from him altering all of the ground around him into a green field of grass and vines with flowers interspersed throughout. The Field collided with Ayumi’s snow melting and shifting fighting over dominance.

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The barrier around him dropped away with the vines returning into the ground whispering in wait. The man revealed himself to be surprisingly handsome behind the vines taking the two back a step. He had a fair face and soft light blue eyes that matched with his voice that made him appear younger than he truly was. Medium brown hair finished off his young appearance kept short and close to his face accenting his shape.

His white uniform was replaced by loose green pants that tied at the ankles with red tape. A matching green short trench coat cut off just a little after the thighs. Cuts in the cloth at four sections covered around him except for the middle section in front of him. The coat buttoned half way up with a long strip of material wrapping around from the right side of the coat over and behind snapping into place at his back. Underneath his coat was a red tank top kept neatly in place. A red sash tied in around his coat at the waist keeping all of the excess from being free. Along his right sleeve there were several red strips wrapped matching in color for the bordering that went around the coat.

“Getting serious now?” Ayumi narrowed her eyes, not certain how much of a change this would be now that he had pulled out his full power.

“Indeed. It seems that I must, now that it is two on one,” he said with a pleasant smile on his face. He grabbed a vine that was slithering along his shoulder and ripped in two taking the length of it. The two girls moved slightly, adjusting their stances defensively, uncertain by the act. “So cautious.”

In his hand the vine appeared to wither and die turning brown thinning out. It slowly turned leathery in texture until it became a whip that he coiled up in his hand. “Shall we?” He turned himself a little adjusting his stance with the whip staying further away.

‘He’s enjoying this…’ Saki shifted her defense to adjust for the change. Out of the corner of her eye she monitored Ayumi’s movements planning to time her actions in step. The intensity in the air increased with Saki feeling the lethality. She planted herself firmly, she wouldn't turn away.

The man’s vines lunged forward out of the ground at the both of them with his hands giving orders to increase their reaction time. Ayumi and Saki leapt out of the way to evade only to be immediately countered with more plants changing direction almost instantly. Arcs of blades danced through the air. The two landed on the ground a moment after with the drop of the pieces of plants in the snow.

Saki used her leg strength to get into striking distance while Ayumi worked to slow the progress of the plants with her ice. The man brought up the whip in his hand that suddenly gleamed like a razor slashing at the ice sword in Saki’s hand. The blade snapped off without challenge as the whip followed through slicing through the cloth on her shoulder and skin as well throwing blood up.

Saki rolled out of the way quickly, seeing that her attack failed. Once stopped, she stared questioningly at the sword. The blade suddenly restored its lost shape, growing out to return to its normal length. She turned her head over her shoulder catching Ayumi's gaze. More questions filled the back of her mind.

“That sword will never do you any good at this distance.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

Ayumi pushed closer, breaking the vines away held frozen in ice. She cut away a strike of vines trying to make ground towards the man. New vines surfaced to block her way. Some flowers suddenly grew with the vines making her cautious. Buds popped up on the vines as well opening into small flowers of red and orange. It was only moments before needles launched from the opened buds. Ayumi reacted by raising up snow to take the hits.

Yuki watched from the back with his fingers biting into his palms frustrated with his inability to help. From his view he could see Saki getting hurt because of him repeatedly. He knew that she was losing blood and had to be losing her strength, but there was nothing that he could do. ‘Why can’t I help her at a time like this? Aren’t I supposed to gain strength from seeing her hurt? Aren’t I supposed to find my power and save her? Why?’

He dropped to the ground pounding his fists against the cement ignoring the pain. ‘I want to help! Saki needs me! I need to do something!’ Yuki coughed, feeling a pain stabbing at him from the wounded sounds of Saki echoing through him. She was visible to him even if he did not look at her. It was clear to him what was happening and every injury she took cut deeper in him. ‘Saki! Please… Saki…’

Saki tried to evade the swing of the whip, but her legs were slowing down. She held up the sword hoping that it would take some of the impact away from the whip before it sliced into her. The amount of small cuts she had taken started to add up draining away her life through the blood that dripped and soaked into her clothes.

The sword held against the whip this time as it spun around the blade catching both of them a little off guard. However, while Saki tried to understand, the man seemed to know almost immediately. “Focusing on this sword now too, Ayumi? Divide your attention too much...”

Ayumi dropped to the ground throwing her fists into the snow producing a shockwave in the snow. The nearby snow altered its state into ice daggers. A moment later, they flew out in front of her ripping through the plants. They came to a halt at a second layer of vines acting as a barrier to the man. “You talk too much. Start fighting and stop with these games.”

“Did I wound your pride?” The barrier lowered, spinning quickly around him. They changed their state, sounding almost like a saw blade as the edges became narrow and razor in form. “Very well. If you wish for me to be serious it is your funeral.”

The whip in his hand changed again. Still wrapped around Saki’s sword, barbs of metal grew out of the leather. It pulled on her sword threatening to break her stance until the weapon disappeared from her hands. Only for an instance, but long enough for the whip to drop and the sword re-materialize.

Saki tried to step back, but felt the kicked up gusts from vines spinning behind her. She didn’t realize she had become caught in his trap. ‘So many of these things are beyond me, but I’ve got to focus on what I know and can do. However, Ayumi keeps baiting him into being serious. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.’

She clinched her hands around the hilt of the sword tightly using its stability for her own to give a foundation as she stared down the foreigner. Blood continued to slowly pour down her arms, wetting her hands and the green ground underneath.

Out of the spinning vines came hundreds of needles that Ayumi blocked with her ice wall. However, the attack was not over as dozens of vines launched at her shattering the wall. The destroyed ice wall and array of needles knocked her back. ‘The strikes are faster and sharper than before… My usual tricks aren’t going to stop him anymore. Will I have to…’ Ayumi bit through the pain as needles dug into her skin and thick vines ripped through her clothes drawing blood.

Saki suddenly felt the sword melt in her warm hands as though the state of the water had just changed. However, she did not have a chance to question it as the barbed whip came at her shattering the blade into dust.

A quick follow up, hit her across her chest and back as it wrapped her around. The metal barbs dug into her skin forcing her to grind her teeth together just to bear with the pain. Her pain did not cease as the man sadistically pulled the whip back. As it returned, it tore through her flesh and clothes, ripping her skin open. Blood sprayed over the ivy under her as she collapsed screaming.

The pendulum of battle swung back.