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It doesn’t matter where you are, or what hour it is.
Dawn or dark, death doesn’t wait to grab whoever's nearest. Fate determines where you meet your end.
“Do you still believe you have the upper hand? Little mouse.” The World-hater sneered, shaking their leg.
“Agh, hey!”
Ichi dangled from the World-hater's ankle like a branch he’d caught mid-fall. Floating above roofs and buildings, fixed right above the coastal city of Natali. Unarmed, his knife fell out of his sheath earlier, landing where approximately 3 million people play out their days below. Some onlookers recognize something off and are staring, curious.. A small crowd of both women and men has formed beneath them, unsure of whether to be concerned or not. Watching but not intervening.
“The situation can always shift.” Ichi retorts, trying to maintain his waning grip as Uroro has been notably silent. The World-hater cocks its head as if analyzing an unusual bug, suddenly butting Ichi’s skull with the bottom of its staff. Ichi winces as he gets forcibly pressed down.
“There it is again, that stubbornness. Your..” It wallops Ichis forehead a few times— “ pig-headed mindset. It will do nothing to benefit you here.”
“This ends now.”
The World-hater reaches down to grab him, but Ichi dodges, tilting his head back as far away as it could go. They tsk in annoyance, aiming to grab him again, but Ichi swiftly yanks his head in the opposite direction.
"You're stalling.”
“And you talk a lot.”
It narrows its eyes, pupils slit. The look reminded Ichi of a predator's gaze and he felt a shiver—his body remembered this look before his mind did. It postures up while its shoulders stay relaxed, not seeing Ichi as any threat to their current being.
Condescending;
“I’d like you to realize the situation you’re in. You can’t use Uroro or that.. fish, unless you're ready to risk harming the civilians below. Surrender while you can. It'll be easier for both of us.”
Yes, Ichi was already aware of the fact he couldn't use Uroro. Maybe Uroro knows too, waiting for him to freefall to his death so it could slip away.
And he didn’t want to admit the majik was right, he was counting for somebody. He knew he couldn't fight the World-hater by himself. Counting for someone— Desscaras, Togeice, Gokuraku, to hurry, and fast. Someone to come aid him before things get out of hand.
In the meantime, he chooses a thing to focus on: Guiding the World-Hater farther from the capital so he could use Uroro. At this range, use of ice or thunder could potentially lead to people getting injured. Something like that would go against his moral code (Death for Death,) ..and probably get him in trouble.
I’ll finish this, I’ll find a way. Ichi clutches onto the World Haters robe, his hand clawing an inch higher. Ichi glances at his hand, then up at the World-haters opaque, hard stare.
A dangerous stare that he once looked down on, now looks down on him.
…! It dawned on him, an idea. Ichi blinked. .. Wait.. that's it!
It could work for a while, get in the majiks blind spot, but there's always uncertainty in a hunt. You can never be sure you caught something until you see the animal and release it from the trap. The World Hater’s brow twitches and its eyes flash when Ichi rakes his other hand up on their other leg, starting the scale up the World-hater, like a tree.
“...What are you doing? ..Hey,” At first, the majik keeps motionless like an actual tree, but then starts to nonchalantly shuffle around, becoming more urgent as Ichi climbs up higher to its waist, trying to latch onto its back. “Stop that-”
—
Ichi remembers when he was a kid, some time after he was thrown into the forest, he had walked upon a brown bear's territory in the wild. He was picking blueberries from a bush when it hid, approached him slowly and charged all at once.
Of course, he was much too weak to face the huge bear, practically powerless. Prior, he had truly been surviving on a stroke of luck, killing that wolf. He ate nuts, berries, insects, and caught fish with his bare hands from an ice-cold river in the vicinity. When it attacked, he had attempted to stab the bear with his knife at first, but a few seconds after doing so, it let out a large roar, only coaxing it on.
It had chased him for what felt like forever as his breath grew heavier, his stride weaker, the throbbing in his chest faster then his running. As the bear closed in, he glanced behind—just to trip over a tree root, tumbling unceremoniously to the ground. The bear, sensing its chance, charged towards him once again.
Ichi remembers vividly how his palms stung as he sat himself up, survival instinct leading his actions as he scaled up the tree he had tripped on with renewed urgency.
He waited patiently for the bear to leave. It was relentless until sundown, hitting and clawing at bark attempting to climb, roaring out of irritation..
But the bear got tired. Eventually, it gave up and walked elsewhere. The overwhelming feeling of relief that came with it stuck with him, along with a lingering dissatisfaction.
One day, Ichi, older than before, found a bear with a scar healed over.. It had a deep puncture wound on its side, hidden beneath its fur.
The only reason he realized it was there was because he was taking time in skinning that day's hunt. He created a nice pelt from its remaining hide to put in his shelter.
—
Currently, the crowd has grown much larger, their chatter hard to ignore.
"Get off me!" The World-hater commands, stunned and getting continuously more agitated when Ichi successfully clings onto their back, hugging their chest. It tries to twist and grab and push Ichi away, an accompanied heavy gravitational pull struggling to tear him off. In the process, its staff slipped from its grip, but before the object could plummet, it froze midair beside them.
That's when Uroro finally chooses to materialize on Ichi's shoulder, getting swung left to right as Ichi gets thrashed around.
"You snot-brained buffoon! I was hoping you'd splat but.. Are you trying to pick a fight? At this point, this psycho's gonna snap! Snap with me in the process!" Uroro bites his claws. "Just use me! Who cares about those guys below?"
"The civilians aren't a part of this!" Ichi has to make clear by shouting, straight by the World-Hater's ear. It grunts, elbowing Ichi square in the stomach. He coughs out, getting dizzy.
"Rather than a pesky rat, you're a draining leech? I admoni—" The World-Hater's breath hitches. It gets interrupted mid-sentence when Ichi yanks its scarf backward, making them look up at him.
"You majiks really do talk a lot," Ichi grits in its ear while lurching forward, still recovering from the World-haters elbow. "I can't concentrate. I've never been on a hunt with an opponent louder than me."
The World-hater goes stiff, a shiver running down its spine.
"Farcical." The World-hater tersely replies, turning its head back. "To listen to such an instigator— ugh..!" The World-hater is abruptly silenced, voice cracking as a boot presses hard into its back, forcing it to arch. Ichi notices he's angered it so badly, its ears have become a bright shade of red.
"Say you'll take this elsewhere, or leave the city." Luckily, due to how this has played out, nobody except himself has been harmed yet. He wants it to stay that way.
"..."
A fresh wave of bloodlust emanates from its form and Ichi kicks its back reflexively. It glares at nothing, into the endless sky. A hand of theirs clenches.
"So you think you can bargain with me."
There's an immediate clang on the side of Ichi's head and a harsh ringing in his ears, greatly dizzier and his grip loosening when he sees the stark figure of that staff to his right. Before Ichi can recognize what's happening, he collides with a shingle roof, causing tiles and debris to launch everywhere. Gasps and a shout of 'Are you okay?' register, the panicked footsteps, the running of people dissipating.
"This matter isn't something I will negotiate." The muffled voice of the World-Hater grows clearer as he sees it stretch a bit, summoning its staff back in its grasp.
Ichi groans, wanting to ask; 'why do you wanna do this?' and thinking where is Desscaras, standing back up on his feet as his hearing wanes.
"Aughhh, look what you've done. It's over. We're all dead because of this brats misguided confidence.." He hears from an annoyed Uroro who pulls his face as Ichi rubs the side of his head, feeling blood mat up and dirty his hair.
Ichi staggers on the new material of the slanted roof, losing his balance and toppling. He picks himself up only to uncharacteristically slip on a tile again, Uroro shaking his head in pure disappointment and exasperation. The World-hater stares at Ichi, piercing.
When he successfully regains balance.. then staggers again, Ichi sees a smirk in the distance.
The World-haters expression schools back to neutral when Ichi meets its gaze. "You put up an.. interesting fight." It flicks its staff. Uroro responds for a disoriented Ichi by shooting their eyebrows up. "I could eradicate this city at any moment. This is no win for you, mouse. I will be back."
..
"Wait, just like that?" Uroro proclaims, mouth agape when the World Hater summons its portal, abruptly warping away. "Well, seems you survived this one.."
A few beats pass with no response.
"Did you get brain damage? I thought you were hard-headed."
"..Eh? I am..? Not," Ichi replies with a voice too slurred to be sober.
"HEY!"
5 minutes later in the distance, he hears the clack of high heels, pausing and resuming louder than before. The sounding flutter of ribbons in the wind, Ichi sees the shadow of a large hat. He feels a tender glove on his cheek, then a resounding slap, achieving the opposite effect Desscaras intended. Ichis' eyes flutter shut.
She's really mad. "ICHI? Where the hell were you, Ichi? You feral idiot—you're bleeding everywhere! Where's th..—ajik?" Desscara's lips are pursed in a thin line. She fights to remain calm, an obvious unease leaking through her words.
"Right on time... Could you show up any later?"
"Ugh, shut up, you lump of tar!..—came here as fast as possible! We got caught—...."
"Oh.. You should've—.. v—entertaining."
"..Okay... I need to get back, he's gonna pass—"
Ichi fights to stay awake, but to no avail. The voices of his familiars fade away, and his vision goes black.