The Meaning of Our Will (108)

Akasan was beginning to doze off when Anzu burst through the door with a bulging cotton sack slung over her shoulder. "I've got food!"

Akasan sat up. He opened the bag to see a plethora of fruits, meats, and covered bowls of rice and vegetables. His eyes sparkled at the feast. He immediately dug in. "Thank you!! I haven't ate in ages!!" he said with his mouth full.

Anzu sat down and watched him eat until he finished.

Akasan let out a satisfied burp and drank some water.

Anzu looked at the food. "You didn't finish it... I brought a lot so you could be full."

Akasan stood up. "No, I'm fine." He looked at Sara. "You guys can have the rest of it. Save some for the other guys too."

Sara stared at him. "Are you sure?"

Akasan nodded. "Eat."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked down. She could only nod.

Anzu hopped up. "So you're ready now right?!"

Akasan headed for the door. "Yeah, let's go."

Anzu happily walked behind him.

Akira and the others watched in confusion as Anzu cheerily marched behind Akasan on their way out of town.

The two came to an open rocky field.

Anzu started stretching her legs.

Akasan stretched too. "Anzu, right?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Why do you want to fight me so bad?"

Anzu jumped twice. "Because I love to fight! Besides, I've never met someone stronger than me. I've only ever been equal or stronger. It's not possible for me to be weaker than anyone else."

Akasan wasn't sure how to approach that statement. His Kamigen turned on as his bright blue aura burst out.

Anzu put her hands on the ground, in runner's position. "Okay! Ready, set..."

She disappeared, leaving dust behind her.

Anzu suddenly was in front of Akasan, preparing a punch with a wicked smile on her face. "...Go."

boom!!

Red rock came out of the ground several feet into the air from her punch.

Akasan quickly jumped back to avoid taking damage. He darted towards her in a blue streak of light, ready to kick.

Anzu smiled as she caught his leg. The second she touched him, pink energy erupted from her body, turning her hair and eyes bright pink. She pushed off his leg and sent a kick of her own at Akasan's head.

The kick moved in a blur. Akasan could easily see it with his Kamigen sight. He also caught it with one hand.

The force crushed the ground beneath them.

Akasan was blown away from pure wind pressure. His feet dragged against the ground until he came to a stop.

''"Her power level just went up like crazy..." ''Akasan thought.

Anzu looked at her hands and flexed them. "You're pretty strong. I haven't gone this far in a while."

Akasan flew at her.

Anzu quickly reacted as the two of them traded multiple blows back and forth. Wind pressure burst out after each punch and kick.

Anzu was laughing in the middle of their fight. They traded blows and jumped away from each other.

Anzu was breathing hard. "Yes!! Just like that!! This is fun!!"

Akasan caught his own breath. ''"We're equal in everything... even power and speed... what's going on here?" ''

Anzu was instantly on Akasan's left, crouched down. It was too fast for him to see. He didn't even notice her move, unlike last time.

Anzu came up with an uppercut to his side. "Caliber Cannon!!"

A pink shockwave blew Akasan way high up into the sky. He was in the clouds. He saw the pink trail rushing towards him.

Akasan clapped his hands together. "Try this on for size..." He whipped his arm out to the side. It started glowing bright orange and red like a star. A hole split open in the clouds, showing only pure night sky. "Fusion Flash!!"

When Anzu got close enough, Akasan knocked her over the top of her head. A burst of fire emitted, and Anzu was shot back to the earth nearly at the speed of sound.

Akasan flew back down.

Anzu stood up out of the crater chuckling. She was blushing with a wild look in her eye. Black energy coated her arms and back as both of her wings grew out.

A rush of black power burst out.

The spiritual pressure she gave off sunk Akasan's feet into the ground by an inch. She was taking heavy breaths that let out steam through her mouth.

Akasan's energy swelled. "Soul Drive!"

woosh!!

Akasan's energy reserves shot up. His hair turned bright blue. The energy around him became plasma, like the same condensed energy that formed his Sirius Star attack.

The ground rumbled from the combination of Akasan and Anzu's pressure.

Rocks from the earth started floating around them and then were broken down into particles as they rose.

Anzu immediately rushed him. She pushed Akasan into the ground and dragged him by his head. It tore up as she flew.

Akasan kicked his foot up to break her off of him. He punched the air about twenty times in an instant. "Creation Art: Wind Cascade!!"

Several dents could be seen where the wind hit Anzu. She was blown away. Then she broke her fall with her wings and remained mid-air.

Akasan quickly charged back in.

The two exchanged blows for several seconds before both of Anzu's arms grew in size. Her fists became the size of boulders. She hit Akasan's entire body in one shot, pushing him off.

Akasan flipped in the air once before stopping himself with a blue circle made of Sirius energy. He launched himself off of it. He zipped past Anzu and stopped himself again with another circle, then launched off of that one. He repeated this cycle until his speed was faster than light itself, darting back in forth in all directions around Anzu. "Sirius Stream!!"

Anzu's eyes darted back and forth. She swiped at the blue streaks of light, but missed.

Then Akasan caught her off guard. He palmed her face with his hand as he pushed her into the ground with such force that the surrounding area sunk with him.

Akasan was breathing hard.

Anzu was laughing hysterically from under his hand. She licked the underside of his palm.

Akasan quickly lifted it up in disgust. Her crazy expression made it seem like she was enjoying it. "What's wrong?! Hit me harder next time!!" She let out a moan that created a shockwave of pink energy.

Akasan was shot out of the ground and into the air.

Anzu bolted out of the ground and hit Akasan with a barrage of punches and kicks. She ended the combo with a direct kick to the stomach.

Akasan coughed up some blood. Before he could be blown away Anzu grabbed him by the ankle and threw him back to the ground.

thoom!!

A blue light intercepted the dust cloud.

Akasan held up a monster-sized Sirius Star. It had a twenty foot diameter. Akasan struggled to hold it up because of its gravity, so his arm was bent at a ninety degree angle.

Anzu grinned as she held up a finger. A massive pink ball of energy formed in an instant. "Rose Broyeur!!" She let out a scream of pleasure as she threw it down.

Akasan pushed his attack into it. The veins in his arm pulsed from the strain on his muscles.

The gravity of the two combined attacks was insane. His eyes flashed purple for a moment, giving him the final boost he needed. He yelled out as he was able to push the attack Anzu's way.

Anzu held out two hands to push on the ball of energy coming her way. She struggled to hold it off, but she was enjoying her experience nonetheless. "Seriously, I love you!!"

Another scream from Anzu created a black charged shockwave that pushed the attack away.

It burst into a violet explosion of energy that spread for eight miles, severely burning everything around it.

--

Back in the town, Fumiko saw the explosion coming their way. Akira and Koji tensed.

"What is that?!!" Koji exclaimed.

"It's probably recoil from Anzu and Akasan!!!" Akira yelled.

They could barely hear each other over the sound of the explosion ripping up the ground and superheating the air.

Fumiko quickly flew in its direction. She traced a line around the southern outskirts of the town. It glowed orange.

When the explosion reached the line a wall of fire burst into the air that was fifty feet tall. It held off the explosion for a few seconds. The wall eventually gave in and large plumes of smoke rushed into the town with great speed. It reached all the way into the ocean and dispersed.

Akira coughed from the smoke. "Fumiko, what are you doing?!!" He kicked his three swords into the air to fan off the remaining smoke.

Fumiko crouched on the ground and smiled up at him. "If it wasn't for me this town would've got flattened."

Koi had his arms crossed, calm the entire time. "She's right. It was the correct course of action."

Akira looked out into the distance. "Do you think he has a chance?"

Fumiko chuckled. "I don't know, after all it's not possible to be stronger than Anzu. Her ability makes her stronger as the fight drags on."

--

At the same time, Hanami was still fighting Don Viper.

She had her hands together. "Tree Form: Man Eating Forest!!"

Vines, large roots, and branches with leaves all burst out of the ground with great speed everywhere.

Viper looked around. His surroundings became an entangled forest before his eyes. The vines latched onto him and squeezed. He broke out of them.

An eyebrow raised as he watched them grow back ten times faster. He looked ahead. "So this is your strategy?"

Viper took a deep breath inward, then spat out a high-density ball of lava. It burned through the forest in Hanami's direction and exploded, causing the surrounding area to light on fire. He watched as the dead plants were overtaken by new ones, and not only that, but the smoke caused from the previous attack was being absorbed into the plants rather quickly.

Viper groaned. "This could be bothersome..."

Hanami called out to Viper. "These plants are different. They feed off of the contents of their environment. No matter the substance. Your smoke is useless now!"

Don Viper reached into the inner pocket of his suit and pulled out a new cigar. He lit it and took a drag. He blew out a cloud of smoke and watched it quickly disappear. He smiled. "You really are a smart one, but an idiot at the same time." He pounded his fists together. Smoke exploded from his body, covering the entire forest. There was enough so that the plants wouldn't get rid of it so quickly.

Hanami frowned. "What is he planning on doing? The plants will just eat it all up anyway!"

Viper grinned. His entire body turned into lava all of a sudden. He splashed through the entire forest and returned to his normal body just a foot away from Hanami in about two seconds.

Hanami's eyes widened as she fell back on the ground. She watched as her forest erupted in a massive explosion.

Don took out his cigar and blew out smoke. "Lava Art: Exploding Plume."

Hanami crawled back on the ground. She stood up and made some distance between her and Viper. She extended one hand and shot out a bright yellow beam of energy. "Sunflower Beam!!"

Don extended his hand. "Yang: Black Palm."

He negated the attack. "Are you satisfied yet?" he asked Hanami. "Brats like you all could never kill me. Give it up already. You already cost me a fortune in damages, which is only gonna make Dabi angrier with you. You've found yourselves and those around you in a bad position."

Hanami backed up as Don walked her way.

Don frowned. "All twelve of you will be punished together as a result of your own actions. Do you understand how severe your punishment will be because of this? This is treason against the country. You should've known better than to defy me."

Tears welled up in Hanami's eyes. "I don't want to be a part of this anymore!!" she screamed. She fell to her knees, crying into her hands. "I'm sick of it all, I hate it here!! We're forced to kill innocent people while we try our hardest to keep everyone else alive, and they still see us as the villains!! I hate it!! I don't care what Dabi does to me, but I'm done being an assassin, I'd rather die!!"

Viper burst into laughter. "You're done being an assassin? What a load of crap!" He knocked her in the face with the bottom of his foot. "This country owns you all. Dabi owns you all. I'm free. I can do whatever I want. And you dogs of the king make me truckloads of money! And guess what?" He picked Hanami up by her hair. "You little runts owe me now. I'll work you along with these other two to the bone. What do you know, after my building is re-built, maybe you'll be an entertaining dancer!" He threw her to the ground. "Don't forget who I am! I'm Don Viper, one of the world's most powerful men! I use kids like you as rat food."

Hanami struggled to get up.

woosh!

Smoke came out of Viper's body. He watched as a scythe swung through the air and went back to Hikaru's hand.

Hikaru was breathing hard. "Don't treat Hanami like that. She's very precious to us. I'd gladly put my life on the line for her."

Tears ran down Hanami's face. "Hikaru..."

A blue flame explosion came from the rubble left from Don Viper's building.

Kosuke jumped out of the debris and landed on the ground. "That's right... we stick together. It doesn't matter what Hanami chose. Whatever her decision is, I'm going with it."

Hanami covered her mouth. "You guys... I didn't mean for it to get like this..."

Hikaru stood up and spun his weapon around. A red mist of energy slowly exerted from his body. His eyes became matted black with a red tint.

Viper turned to face them. "So that's Hikaru's famous Killer Instinct... you plan to kill me?"

Hikaru didn't say a word.

Black wings burst out of Kosuke's back. His teeth sharpened and his eyes took on a cat-like appearance. He pointed his sword. "Hikaru, I'll back you up!"

Hikaru said nothing. He was dead focused on Viper.

Viper smirked. "I thought you two would have learned your lesson already. Very well, but don't blame me if you die!!"

--

Anzu and Akasan were still standing on the scorching hot ground. Smoke rose from the crevices.

Anzu had her head hanging down, still laughing with her tongue hanging out. She looked up at Akasan. "I'll tell you my ability. It's called Lust."

Akasan's eyebrows lowered. "Lust?"

Anzu attempted to regain her composure. "Yes... the more I fight, the stronger I get. But it makes me slowly fall in love with the person I'm fighting. The more I touch that person, the stronger that feeling gets.  But the more love I feel, the stronger I am.  If that love grows too strong, then I might get permanently attracted to that person.  Also, every time I touch someone in battle, my power level grows as far as it needs to match my opponent, however Lust will not activate if my opponent is weaker than me. It's the power of a superficial love."

Akasan nervously smiled. "That's a weird ability."

Anzu reverted to her normal form. "As such, I must stop our battle here, or else it'll get worse than it already is."

Akasan relaxed as well, going back to his normal form. "Well, whatever. I hope you know that this is my win."

Anzu stomped her foot. "Is not! It's a draw until further notice!"

Akasan shrugged. "If you say so."

Anzu flew into the air. "Come on, you wanted to see Don Viper didn't you? I'll show you the way."

Akasan flew up with her. "Yeah, thanks."

Anzu closed her eyes. "Stop talking! My Lust effects haven't wore off!"

Akasan laughed nervously. "Yeah, your ability really is weird!"

"I said shut up!!"

"Fine, fine, I will."