by Ash Masters
*
Junichi and Radar ran, bodies ravaged by countless attacks by the Nightmares that hunted them. Radar stumbled in front of Junichi as they headed out onto a narrow road. It had been so long since Junichi had been surrounded by the Shibuya he had grown up in and not the black imitation above that he was lost.
Junichi stopped, wheeled around and then swiped upwards, slicing the head of a Nightmare as it jumped to attack them. Now with enough room he took out his own sword from the sheath on his back, parrying clawed strikes and counter-attacking with his own lethal blows.
Legs shaking, radar didn’t know what to do but hope shone in his eyes when he picked up the presence of Kioshi. ‘Kioshi!’ No sooner did he say this did Kioshi appear, rounding a corner but was still quite far away.
‘Kioshi?’ Junichi repeated foolishly, distracted and leaving himself open for a a large paw to tear across his chest and reduce him to his knees, kneeling before his executioner.
Out of a Xero Xone Kioshi appeared, jumping out to slice the head of the Nightmare that nearly claimed his father’s life with his Xero Xone longsword. ‘Radar, take my father and get him to the pharmacy. It’s around the corner I came from – just go down the road from there and take a left.’
But Radar was to frightened to move.
A Nightmare clawed Kioshi hard in the back, its claws lodged in place for a few seconds before it ripped it out. The air left his lungs and his eyes were wide with a mix of emotions that he was too dazed to make sense of. If it hadn’t been for his sword he would have collapsed completely but instead knelt, using his weapon to support himself. With tears blighting his face Kioshi begged, ‘RADAR! Get my father out of here!’
It took concentration to keep the Xero Xone active in his body and with the strong attack he had felt, his body wasn’t working the way it should have. His vision shifted between blindness and full fidelity as if he was rapidly opening and closing his eyes while pain in his stomach and back grew more real. ‘My body... Can’t take much more...’ Kioshi closed his eyes.
Knocked out of his petrification, Radar hauled a moaning Junichi onto his feet and into the direction of the pharmacy.
