"Stop your whining." The voice commanded, shadow looming over his crumpled body. Blood spilling out of him to begin forming a rapidly expanding pool of ichor, lifeblood draining out of him at an alarming rate. It should've concerned Ikuse, but in that moment, all he could feel was the chill of death creeping deeper within his bones. Was he screaming? Whining? Crying? He didn't know and honestly, in that state of mind, even caring took far more energy than it was worth. "That's barely a flesh wound, rub some dirt in it and it'll be fine."
Another shadow, this one streaked with crimson launched out from beneath him. Massive in form, four paws stood over him blocking this rude bastard from interrupting his nap. The dirt felt nice against his skin, warm blades of grass lapping against him like a freshly washed blanket.
'Get the hell away from him!'
A familiar voice barked, probably baring fangs akin to six inch knives. Searing hot fury filled the tone, an undercurrent of protectiveness too. But again, caring was becoming harder and harder as time went on. Couldn't they take this elsewhere? They made it impossible to catch up on sleep.
Hearing no response, the mercenary could feel his eyes grow heavier. Childlike relief filling him as the beat of silence allowed him to sink deeper into that comforting embrace of slumber. When was the last sleep called to him so heavily? That had to be a good sign, right? He'd read plenty of studies saying that getting enough sleep would be beneficial for his health, so why should he continue to fight it.
Just as one too many blinks went on for more than a second, something piercing and agonizing stabbed into his stump. Multiple somethings to, millions of tiny ant appendages lodged itself through skin, muscle and bone. Letting out a soar cry not really of pain but more surprise than anything else. Slowly, over the course of what was probably hours or days to him, something healthy was carefully stitched back into place. Veins reconnected, bones forced back into place, muscles rewired and skin sewn together.
Taking moments, reason began to pierce through the veil of confusion and shock. Nothing strong enough to break completely through but enough to force his body into over gear. Letting out a raspy groan, his one responsive arm reached back and pulled out a lone glass vial. Barely the size of a thumbnail, it's crimson coloring nearly sparkled in the overhead light. Like glittering stars in the night sky, it's mere presence spoke of something majestic and profound.
Shakily, he rose it up to lips, biting into the stopper with the ferocity of a wild beat and guzzled down the elixir without a second thought. The taste of copper met him first, before heat flushed through his very veins. Scorching from the inside out as sweat dripped and soaked through the remains of his clothing. The sound of blood rushing through his ears nearly drowned out the sounds of combat not too far away from him.
Looking up, the sight before him sent a shiver of deep seated dread to bloom. Two blurs of movement could be seen. A massive canine made of fury, inky black fur and flashing teeth, was lunging and clawing at an old man who seemed to dance out of the way. Taking but a single step each time as he flowed between the storm of blows swinging in from every direction.
From the nearby shadows, black blades swung and zeroed in on the pair. Sliding right through Jin's body as if it was made of water before coming out at odd angles and places to just naturally flow into every strike. From his torso, to claws, to joint, to head, none of it mattered as they just tried to work together to try and restrict the movement of an elderly man that moved far too swiftly than his appearance entails.
If parts of the man's mask hadn't fallen away earlier, this showing of agility would've been the final nail in the coffin to tell anyone that this 'old' man was anything but.
It would've been an impressive sight to be sure, something that would've been prime inspiration for some mythical tale of a hero fighting one final battle against an apocalyptic beast...But despite how awe inspiring the display might been, Ikuse couldn't help but feel a strange feeling welling up within his chest. It didn't quite look like a fight to him, but more of a dog and their owner hoarse playing around.
Especially if that small, derogatory smile on the monster's face was anything to go by.
And by the near frothing mess Jin was, he too could feel that energy. The Longinus was a proud being. A king in his past life. He was no dog. Something he made everyone know the moment they met. He would not be petted, nor would he play fetch. He was to be respected and he would to return that respect in kind.
But that wasn't what was happening here.
And it turned the usually analytical Jin to turn into nothing more than a frothing beast hellbent on ripping out the throat of the source of this affront. But no matter how hard he tried, The Heavenly Demon just didn't treat him as a suitable threat. Purposefully withholding blows when the hound overreached, not punishing open guards or taking advantage of lulls to go into his own attack but instead, simply continued dancing through the storm. Like a leaf.
'-ple should've died with the rest of them!'
'Arrogant bastard!'
Only catching the tail end of the insults Jin was throwing out, Ikuse shook off the mental fog and tried to prop himself up only to have his arm buckle. Pain lanced through the newly attached arm and looking down, he had to resist the urge to wince. Having your arm ripped off with nothing more than brute strength and forced back together through millions of tiny blackened strands, really didn't leave behind a pretty sight. Sloppy and uneven flesh forced together, blood lightly seeping through the wound, he just knew some serious healing was going to be needed.
'About sixty percent.' Clenching his fist, it felt far weaker than he would've liked. But it would have to do. Besides, if what he needed to do to end this once and for-all, some recovery time was going to be required.
"Jin!" Ikuse called out softly to his partner, stumbling to stand shakily on the outskirts of the 'fight'. Despite him calling out, all he got was a mental snarl through their shared link. It seemed he was far too gone, no matter. Mentally gripping on that bond, he called out again. This time louder, reverberating through that cord and the air itself. "Jin!"
The ball of fur, fangs and claws froze momentarily in place. Massive paw enlarged to the size of a human adult and stopping a hair before crashing into the 'frail' body of the old monster. Crimson eyes glared out into the world, a quip on his snout as he prepared to continue forward only to pause as he probably felt 'that' resolve travel down their bond. Barely snapping jaw in warning to the still Heavenly Demon before blurring into a long tendril of shadows and slinking across the ground in a blink.
Appearing before the mercenary, the hound formed back through a black mist. Red orbs, silent but somber as he looked down at the human. Ikuse felt bad, he truly did. They both knew the price this would take from him but given how severely outmatched they were, there really wasn't another way.
'No.' That was a lie. He could just leave. This Yamato Iori didn't seemed like he would chase them down if they decided to withdraw. These weren't his people, nor was this his fight. He even knew Suzaku wouldn't blame him for turning tail and running. It would hurt his image but was that really so bad? Especially if it meant he would actually live to enjoy another five years more with his loved ones? But even just that dash of cowardice was far too bitter of a pill to swallow. He'd put his life on the line plenty of times before, when the deck was stacked against him, when he was completely outmatched and he'd come out on top then. 'So where would I be if I just kept running whenever things got impossible?'
If he hadn't fought against impossible odds, Lavina wouldn't be out there free today. He wouldn't be able to see her smile, nor hear her let out those small quiet giggles she always did when she though he was too far away. She wouldn't be here today if he hadn't been willing to step through the fire.
So why couldn't he do the same for Suzaku? As much as she sometimes annoyed him, running now would forever severe that bond. Not due to her not understanding but due to the Himajima Clan using this incident as an excuse to force her to cut all ties with him.
They would make sure to spread his retreat all around, dragging his name through the mud to make sure he would never have another chance to rise. Maybe even getting spread like poison to the Grigori, whispers of him being coward making him a larger pariah than ever before. Those closest to him would surely stand by him...they would understand that he couldn't fight such a creature. But he would know differently, anxiety eating away at his few remaining relationships as the world left him bitter and alone.
What was an extra five years if they were alone?
"I like the look in your eye." The Heavenly Demon smiled, something flickering in and out of reality just out of the corner of his vision. "Maybe you have the heart of a cultivator after all. Let me just deal with the bugs."
Ikuse didn't even flinch as the man blurred out of existence before the sound of crunching bones and wet splatters filled the clearing. Cries of pain and surprise, of life being snuffed out so suddenly, echoed from all around. That's when he knew the truth, there would be no reinforcements coming anytime soon.
Barely a second later, the old man stood across from him. Not a speck of dust atop his crisp kimono, the scent of iron heavy in the air.
"Go on," Yamato Iori motioned him forward. "We will not be interrupted further."
Gulping, he shared one last solemn look with Jin before he sighed and like flipping a switch, words both foreign and familiar began to slip through his lips.
"Behowlest the slaying of one thousand mortals…"