As the sun hung above the village at high noon, the cold breeze that had swept through that morning disappeared quietly, giving way to an intense heat.
Sweat ran down Izumi's forehead, but he quickly wiped it away with the bloodied sleeve of his robe.
He watched as Kenji slowly crept toward them, but this time he wasn't overcome by the gut-wrenching fear he had felt before. No—he felt a strange strength seeping from his battered body.
The pain of his wounds dulled slightly, and his breathing became more controlled as he turned his full focus to his foe.
Yuriko was no different. She too felt a powerful desire burning inside her. It was this force alone that kept her from giving in to the pain.
She dropped a clenched fist to her side, and Izumi met it, their knuckles knocking together in a low, grounding pulse.
With that, they charged at him, not giving him the chance to command the flow of the battle as he had before.
There were no words—only a reciprocated emotion born from the intensity of battle. It was no longer just a fight for survival, but for the fulfillment of a greater emotion beyond their understanding.
As they charged, Izumi dragged slightly behind while Yuriko leaped forward. He took a quick stance, blade pointing at Kenji, and muttered a phrase beneath his breath.
"Wind Style: Wallowing Scream!"
The air around him whistled as four high-density streams of wind shot at Kenji, each blast pushing Izumi further back.
He dodged the first, his focus slightly shaken by the crushing impact as it struck the ground and formed a crater. Despite this, he managed to evade the rest, dashing quickly to his left—but just as he dodged the last one, he noticed Yuriko closing in from his side, dragging the tip of her sword along the ground and sending more rocks into the air.
She moved to strike, and he jumped back, thinking he had avoided her attack—but mid-swing, she called out, "Earth Style: Lamenting Spire!"
From the ground she had carved with her sword, a single large chunk of earth shot up, colliding with him and sending him flying back.
With a bloody nose, he hurtled toward the ground, noticing Izumi moving to intercept him upon landing.
He lashed his whip at him, driving him back in defense, then landed on his feet and lashed again. This time the whip wrapped around Izumi before he used the force of the next pull to send him flying.
He had no time to react, though, because Yuriko closed in from above, forcing him to drop his whip and, in the process, her sword as well.
She didn't move to pick it up. Instead, she attacked him with her bare hands—and he met her blows in kind.
Their duel quickly became a full-on fistfight, each strike and dodge executed with intent. A particularly strong blow to Kenji's face staggered him, leaving him open to a knee to the gut.
He didn't stay down for long, retaliating with a kick that sent her flying through the air.
As she spun across the air, she saw Izumi in her path. But instead of catching her, he redirected her momentum and threw her back toward Kenji.
She quickly adjusted, planting her right leg and driving a kick into his chest, sending him flying back.
Coincidentally enough, he landed right next to the handle of his whip. The mixed reaction from him and the two was evident as he slowly picked it up and smirked at them.
Yuriko used that chance to retrieve her sword, and the two got back on guard.
"Awesome!" he yelled, ecstatic. "Just awesome! Show me more of what you can do!"
The whip of glowing energy pulsed strangely as its form twisted and split into several similar whips held together at the same handle. As if that wasn't enough, the whips also started emitting crimson flames.
"Now let's see how you react to this!" he yelled before lashing the cluster at them all at once.
Izumi stood in front of Yuriko and, swinging with all his strength, deflected a direct hit. The whips still scattered small crimson flames along the ground. He lashed them repeatedly until Izumi could no longer withstand the assault.
With one particularly powerful strike, Izumi was sent crashing into a nearby boulder, while Yuriko was pushed back only a few feet. She wanted to check on him, but Kenji struck again before she could.
This time, without Izumi to share the brunt of the attack, Yuriko began to fatigue; her breathing grew uneven. Even so, she held her ground and found an opening to charge, all while defending against strikes from every direction.
Izumi lay beneath the boulder, drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness. Even in that state, he recalled a conversation with Ichiro during training:
"You want to know about that technique?" Ichiro had asked on a sunny afternoon as they sat on the grass. "Why the sudden interest?"
"It's nothing. I was just curious," he replied.
"I can't blame you. It's an exceptionally rare and powerful technique."
"Can I learn it?" Izumi asked.
"I can't say," Ichiro replied after a moment. "Though it is powerful, throughout history it has been a passively inherited technique among the white-streaked swordsmen of the Yamada clan. Whether you can learn it is a complete mystery to me. Though it might be possible."
"How so?" Izumi asked, confused.
"I recall Tsushiro telling me about a phenomenon called blood bonding," Ichiro said, stroking his beard. "Though unproven, it's said that children among the djinn can gain traits from another person by taking in some of their blood and source energy. This allows them to inherit certain abilities passively as they grow, though the theory isn't confirmed."
"I'm sure you're aware by now that you're not ordinary humans," Ichiro continued. "Everything about you kids is inconceivable—from your source energy signatures to your appearances, which are completely human despite you not being human."
"So does that mean you know what we really are?" Izumi asked.
"Not necessarily," Ichiro replied. "I'm only speculating based on what you told me about Takae. But if Tsushiro's theory and my assumption are correct and he did it to you guys when you were younger, it might be possible for you to learn it—though exactly how is beyond my knowledge."
Silence followed as Izumi sat lost in thought. After a moment, he sat up straight.
"So this technique—does it have a name?" he asked.
"It does," Ichiro said. "It's a phrase in the old tongue that translates to 'full drive.' Its name is—"
A sudden jolt ran through Izumi's body, forcing him awake. He looked up to see Kenji approaching, Yuriko nowhere in sight. He forced himself up and faced him.
With a smirk, Kenji lashed his weapon at him, the various flaming whips closing in from every direction.
Izumi took a deep breath and raised his sword above him, preparing for a swing. The whips' momentum didn't waver as they drew closer, but he closed his eyes and entered a focus he had never felt before.
The surroundings faded. All that existed was a small glimmer in the distance.
When he opened his eyes again, his once-black eyes had turned a vicious red. He tightened his grip and, with a calm voice, called out a single phrase:
"Taksho Tenyin!"
What followed was a bright red flash of energy that swept from his sword as he swung it downwards, the force repelling the incoming attacks and sending a wave of red energy toward Kenji.
He had no time to react and was hit with the full brunt of the attack as an explosion ensued.
Smoke filled the air as Izumi stood in silent anticipation, but it seemed that luck had not in fact turned in his favor, as he watched Kenji spring forth from the smoke.
His robe was completely torn, exposing his bare chest, which was covered in a mix of burns and clots. His face was no different—its skin burned beyond recognition.
Still, this man breathed and approached him despite his grievous injuries.
"You brat," he mumbled, "I'm not finished! Not yet!"
As he panted, Izumi tried to take a step forward but fell face-first to the ground, his muscles spazzing.
"Damn it, why here," he thought aloud, "why now!"
Kenji raised his hand, ready to lash his whip at him once more, but this time he had nowhere to escape.
All he could do was grit his teeth as he lashed forth.
Moments later, blood poured to the ground in a large puddle.