Volume 2 Chapter 31: Path's Cross Once More
Eastern Mistral, Near the Tora Kuni mountain of Raikōzan: 2 Years Ago
Storm clouds of blackened ebony rolled across the sky, bringing wind and thunder in their wake. The trees rustled and shook as the wind tugged at their branches, as if testing them. Azura sat in a sodden meadow, legs crossed and eyes closed, as he withstood the worst of its thunderous gales. The air smelt of rain coming, his nose twitching at the threat of what it would bring. Yet under all of this, he heard something. A rhythmic noise that beat against the wind. Like the sound of…wings.
'We're too close to the castle for any flying Grimm. Which leaves… no. It can't be.' Azura thought before forcibly breaking his meditation.
"Still doing all that meditation crap from Yūri? I would have thought you'd moved on from that. Meditation doesn't make you stronger." A male voice said from the treetops.
Azura sighed as he stood up and turned to face the source of the voice, seeing a bat-winged silhouette in the treetops during the middle of the stormy dim of the night. "True strength comes from more than the physical body. It comes from knowing oneself. I would've thought you'd have remembered that lesson… Brother." He told the figure with tired disappointment.
Soon the figure leapt from inside the treetops, landing gracefully upon the grassy floor. Pale skin clashed with black unkempt hair, before a set of blood-red eyes looked at him. He stood up, matching Azura in height, yet with a slimmer build. Large bat wings soon folded onto his back as the boy cracked his neck. He wore a tattered black shirt and equally belated jeans, with muddy boots covering his feet. On his belt, he let his hand touch a long straight samurai sword in a simple oaken sheath, with a tassel fluttering in the wind. A single symbol lay upon the sheath, a black wing stretched bat, with a slate grey outline contrasting against the wood.
"So, they gave you a city, huh? After everyone you and your idiot brother got killed, they trust you with the lives of civilians?" The boy said, venom soaking his words as Azura saw his sharp canines through his lips.
"We do not have to fight, Brother. There's still time. You can still turn away from this path." Azura told him, a sad look in his eyes.
The boy's lips curled into a snarl. "You call me Brother because of the Bond of Blood-Folded Steel, and yet you will not say my name? Your old man's let you get soft." The boy said, before beginning to circle Azura.
Azura's gaze turned sharp at that. "You will not disrespect my father like that, Drake." He coldly replied.
"And how can I do that more than you already have? Or do I need to remind you of what you did to Hyōjū?" Drake asked, continuing to circle him.
Azura glared at Drake, circling him in the opposite direction as his hand rested on the hilt of one of his three blades. "The choices Hyōjū made were his and his alone. That was not my fault." He replied in that same arctic tone.
"That's not what you tell yourself. That's not what you tell yourself about all of it." Drake countered, his own voice getting frigid in tone. "That's what holds you back. It's what makes you weak. The fact you still have retainers after what you did is proof there is no justice in this world."
"It seems as though you won't change your mind. If so, then you leave me with no choice. To save your soul, as per the sacred laws of the Bond, I must cut you down myself." Azura told him, beginning to draw his katana and wakizashi.
Drake's lips bent up into a wicked smile. "I'll tell you again now, like I told you then. I will make you get stronger, or you will be sent to your ancestors a disgrace." He replied he began drawing his own blade, a samurai sword with no guard called a chokutō. "And I've gotten stronger to make sure one of those will happen."
"Then the time for words has passed. Now… is the time to fight." Azura told Drake, dropping into his stance.
Azura moved his left foot slightly forward; his heel raised a finger's breadth off the ground. His left foot remained flat and grounded as he angled his toes outward slightly for better stability. He bent his knees just enough to lower his center of gravity before leaning back a bit to distribute more weight on the rear of his body. His hips angled diagonally towards Drake as he straightened his back out while keeping it from being too stiff; his shoulders relaxed and slightly rounded forward. He drew his right hand, the hand with his katana in it, down behind his right hip with his wakizashi down near his left hip as the tips of his blades pointed near Drake's heart.
"Breath of Thunder Stance, Gedan-no-Kamae variant. So, Byakurai kept you on, even after all that? Or did that old bastard Ensō finally take you up?" Drake asked before entering the same stance.
"Does it really matter to you? Neither of them liked you anyway." Azura replied, his eyes locked on Drake.
"Maybe after I'm done with you, I should pay them all a visit." Drake said, his eyes darkening as he said that.
Azura scowled, tensing up at that. "You will do no such thing, Brother." He said, his muscles twitching as they readied for action.
Drake smiled as wide as he could at that. "There's the beast I bonded my soul with. Oh, how I have missed you." He said in a tone that was… happy.
They then took a deep breath, inhaling through the nose as their shoulders rose ever so slightly and settled. Different colored auras of electricity then sparked off them as they exhaled sharply through their mouths, like the hiss of breaking thunderclouds. Azura's was a royal azure blue outlined in white while Drake's was an ebony black outlined in blood red. Then, in a burst of speed and a crash of the groundbreaking beneath their feet, they moved. In an instant, they appeared before each other, their blades mid-swing. Their blades clashed as two distinct colors of lightning sparked and flashed off their blades. The boom of a thunderclap echoing outwards as they clashed as a flash of lightning illuminated the darkness, casting them in a brief spark of light.
Taking off at high speed, the two dashed through the forest, disappearing with a crash breaking the ground beneath their feet only to reappear and cross their blades as sparks of lightning danced off them. The two pushed off and disappeared again, rebounding off trees whose trunks were cratered and singed on impact as they dashed in and collided in midair. Trees snapped in half and burned where they snapped as the two dashed through the forest, metallic clangs and electric chirping heard like the sound of birds in the night as their blades clashed. Trees were split and cut down as the two dashed through the forest up towards the base of the nearby mountain.
Azura appeared in a burst of azure and white lightning as Drake appeared in a burst of black and blood red sparks of his own. The two then disappeared again as the clang of their blades clashed and rang out into the night repeatedly. All that would have been seen by the normal naked eye from a distance was two different colored streaks of lightning racing through the forest; trees toppling and burning in their wakes as they clashed in midair while flying through the woods. As if two beasts of thunder were dueling in the forest in the stormy dead of night.
As the two humanoid beasts clashed, in the distance two figures watched. One was a towering, hulking man with rough scaly skin, while the other was a fit, yet slightly petite woman with vermillion bird feathers poking out of her hair. They watched as the clashes lit the night sky and broke the wind's icy gales.
"They're still holding back. Typical. The boss failed to get him to cut loose. Again." The man growled disappointed.
"Relax, Okurma. They're merely warming up with Shinsoku-level speed right now. The real fight will begin shortly." The woman told him; her arms folded over her modest but not undersized chest.
"It still makes me worry, Chakora." Okurma said with a deep sigh.
"Don't worry. Unless Lord Azura has grown dramatically since last time, Drake will not lose. Besides, can't you feel it in their Auras? How happy they are, despite their sadness, that they can finally be crossing blades again? Let them have their fun." Chakora replied, a small smile stretching across her face.
"And after everything we have done. Even selling our damn souls. You still don't get what worries me." Okurma said sternly.
Chakora raised an eyebrow. "This again? You know the truth as well as I do, Okurma…" She replied with a sigh.
"Despite everything we have been through. Everything the boss has done. Is it all gonna be for not?" Okurma said mournfully.
"If Drake loses, then it will not. If he wins, then it has. That is all there is to it." Chakora told him grimly.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Okurma replies cryptically.
Finally, the two streaks of lightning broke through the edge of the forest into a large clearing at the base of the mountain. The two streaks darted around the clearing, clashing with metallic clangs and electric chirping as they slammed into each other. Finally, with one mighty crash, the two streaks of lightning slammed into each other before the force of the clash pushed them back, causing Azura and Drake to reappear. The two panted slightly with twin grim, sad smiles on their faces as they stopped for a moment to catch their breath.
"Your God Speed is keeping up with mine this time. Good. Though I was expecting more." Drake said with a panting smirk.
Azura panted a bit as well with a smirk of his own on his face. "Then let us finish the warmups and turn it up to Raijinsoku now so we can get serious. What do you say, Brother?" He replied as the two finally caught their breaths.
Reaching behind his back, Drake drew a long sword from a sheath in his other hand. Then, despite the moisture in the air and the wind, his blades soon lit ablaze. The blades radiating a blood red flame tapering at their ends in black.
Drake smiled as he readied his stance. "You want Thunder God Speed? Then you shall have it, Brother!" He cackled joyfully.
Azura's eyes widened in disbelief. 'Wh… what is that? Those aren't Fire Dust flames. His Semblance isn't fire-based; it's Siphon. And I know for a fact that his Aura isn't that color. So, what are those flames…!?' He thought in confusion before shaking his head.
The two then dropped back into their Breath of Thunder Stances as the sparks of lightning coming off them increased in intensity. Taking off, the two took off even faster than before. Two clashed at high speed, multiple streaks of lightning in two distinct color patterns clashing in midair. However, the black and blood red streak was pushing back the azure and white streak slowly and gradually. The ground cracked and broke where the two streaks landed as the speeds they moved at continued to increase. Finally, the two reappeared as Drake pointed his knightly long sword at Azura, a ball of blood red and black flames forming at the tip of the blade.
"DIE!" Drake roared out as a blast of fire erupted from the blade like an explosion.
Gripping his katana, Azura coated it in azure and white lightning before swinging with full force. "RAIKŌGA!!" He screamed out as a fang-shaped blade of lightning erupted from his blade and lashed into the storm of flames.
The two burning-hot energy attacks clashed in midair as they fought for dominance. Soon, in a flash of lightning and crimson flames, the attacks exploded where they collided. The blast lit up the night sky as the shockwave could nearly be felt from where Okurma and Chakora stood. Drake cackled with joy as he hefted his blades, black smoke billowing up from where the clashing blasts exploded.
"Oh, you never change, do you Azu!? That was a wonderful Thunder Tiger Fang! Much stronger than before!" Drake roared. "But… that's NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!"
Pointing his blade at Azura again, a massive ball of crimson red flames tipped in black formed at the tip of his western longsword. Azura stared in surprise as he realized something. "The Raikōga will not be enough to block that! I will need to kick things up another notch!" He called in disbelief.
"A notch! Oh, please! You're gonna need to add the whole belt just to beat me, Azura!!" Drake roared as he charged up his own attack.
Sheathing his wakizashi, Azura tightly gripped his katana with both hands. As he did, he charged a massive amount of lightning as he prepared to swing. "TENRETSU RAIKŌGA!!!!" He roared out as he swung his sword, a much larger and faster fang-shaped blade of lightning cutting across the battlefield.
"Oh, so you've gotten that one down! Then let's see how it matches my flames!!!" Drake roared, before firing a blast of hellish fire at him.
The two blasts collided in the center of the battlefield. The two attacks struggling for dominance as the blast of flames slowly began to overpower the fang of lightning. However, as Drake began to frown in disappointment, he heard something ringing out over the roar of his flames and the howl of thunder from Azura's attack.
"TENRETSU RAIKŌGA!!!" Azura roared out again as a second; larger fang of lightning slammed behind the first one.
The two fangs of lightning merged into a much larger one as it cut clean through Drake's fire blast. Raising his swords covered in flames and lightning, Drake clashed his swords against the fang of lightning. He strained under the force of it as it slowly began to push him back. However, planting his feet deep into the ground, Drake braced himself and swung his blades upwards. The fang of lightning arced up into the sky as it slashed into the clouds; the clouds slightly split before lighting up full of lightning. Soon the clouds, unable to contain the power, let out a deluge of lightning, causing a cascade of thunder to ripple through the land.
Drake panted heavily but soon stood up. "I am growing disappointed in you, Azura. You are not strong enough to kill me." He said firmly, the playfulness in his voice was gone. "STOP HOLDING BACK!!!"
Azura, panting heavily as well, gripped his katana tightly. 'What the fuck was that strength? He deflected my Tenretsu Raikōga up into the sky like it was nothing. And those flames… what sort of power is this…?' He thought in shocked disbelief.
Drake gritted his teeth and bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood. Then, as the blood dripped onto his sword blades, it ignited with his flames, making them even more vibrant in their unnatural hue. Tightly gripping them, his blades blazing like torches in the night, his body tensed up as his black and crimson lightning illuminated his body.
"If you won't stop holding back, then you never deserved to be strong!!" Drake roared defiantly, before charging towards him at blinding speed.
Azura's eyes widened in shock. 'Is that… but the flames are different…' He thought before shifting his stance to pull his katana back for a thrust, a massive amount of his own-colored lightning illuminating his body and blade.
"FIRE THUNDER!!!" Drake roared out as he rushed in trying to slash Azura with his flaming blades in an x-shaped cross.
"RAIJINSOKU: CHIDORITSUKI!!!" Azura roared out as he began thrusting and stabbing as fast as he could.
As Drake rushed in with his x-shaped cross slash, a barrage of lightning bolt-like swords shot forward at him. Not ten, not even a hundred. It looked like a thousand blades of lightning charging him in rapid succession. The blades of lightning collided with his fire and lightning lit cross slash as the thrusts pelted his blades.
Bracing against the ground, Drake tried to push back against the onslaught but found himself unable to. His guard finally broke as his blades were finally knocked from his hands. His blades went flying, each one planting himself into the ground behind him as the one thousand blades of lightning slammed into his chest. The barrage pushed him back and knocked the breath from his lungs as Azura advanced bit by bit. Finally, the barrage ended as Azura sheathed his blade and pulled it back, gripping the hilt in his right hand. Slowly, the blade drew from its sheath, alight with lightning as Azura prepared to rush in to attack.
"Raijinsoku… RAIKIRI!!!" Azura roared out before rushing in at high speed while Drake tried to catch his breath.
With a flash of lightning, Azura appeared before Drake with his lightning-covered katana drawn. The blade cut into Drake's chest as he tried to brace for impact. Slowly, bit by bit, the force began to overwhelm him as his feet began to dig through the ground beneath him.
"RRRRRRAAAAAARGH!!!!!" Azura roared as finally pushed Drake back, the force of the swing sending him flying as the bat Faunus' Aura cracked and shimmered.
As soon as Drake hit the ground, he gasped in pain and panted, coughing as he tried to catch his breath from the impact. Azura's own Aura shimmered before breaking, causing him to collapse to his knees with the blade of his katana planted into the ground. He panted heavily and coughed violently, gasping for breath as his body was drenched in sweat.
'Four… that's four Thunder God Speed level attacks in a row. He cannot be able to just get up from that… I've got nothing left unless I draw on that…' Azura thought, trying desperately to catch his breath.
Yet as the rain finally came, showering the land in its life bearing vitae, Azura watched in horror as Drake slowly began to stand back up. It was tortuous, labored, and painful for him, but he slowly stood to a stooped stance. Panting heavily, sweat mixing with the rain, and heat radiating him like a furnace, Drake slowly began to walk forward, not a sword in either hand.
'N… no… fucking… way…' Azura thought in sheer disbelief.
"Why… Why won't you end this!? Why can't you kill me!?!?!" Drake roared, letting out far more from his lungs than any man should.
"I… I do not… want… to kill you… Not if… I do not… have to…" Azura panted out, sweat and rain running down him like a flowing river.
Veins popped across Drake's head as his eyes widened, before letting out a bestial roar. One pierced with inhuman power, his eyes looking at the sky.
"That is not enough, Azura!! The Lightning Cutter, the One Thousand Bird Thrust! That isn't going to do it! Not with… not with this curse…" Drake roared, before all the energy being sucked out his voice, replaced at the end with melancholy.
Azura's eyes widened in shock at this. "I… I don't understand, Drake…" Azura panted out, weakly trying and failing to get to his feet.
"I did this for you. I did all of this for you. I sold my soul to this curse. The essence of the Dark Aspects of Fire itself. All of this… was for nothing." Drake said as he looked down at his trembling hands. "You've grown strong… and yet you're still so soft…"
Azura finally got back to his feet and sheathed his katana. "This power… it's destroying you, isn't it…?" He asked his Blood-Bound Brother in concern.
Drake slowly nodded his head; his face froze in horror as his hands trembled. "I feel it. Every day it burns away at my soul and mind. Like a fire burning through a log. A slow erosion. I did this… I did it for you." Drake said, his voice began to crack as tears filled his eyes. "To make you strong so that you can lead properly."
Azura slowly took his three blades off his belt and placed them on the ground. Taking his bow and arrows off his back, he gently set them down. "Drake… being a leader is about more than power. To truly lead well… you need to have the strength to be kind. The courage to be gentle. The humility to know when to order… and when to listen…" He told Drake as he began to walk over to him.
"Then listen to me. Have the strength to cut me down and end me. Use my treason if you must. Just… just…" Drake pleaded, his tears masked by the rain coming down as he dropped to his knees.
Drake then, to his shock, felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Azura looking down at him. Not in rage, hatred, or even disgust. No… in understanding and empathy.
"You have been tormenting yourself just as much as I have, haven't you? Over what happened that day. You have not been doing this because you blame me… you have been doing this because you blame yourself…" Azura told him, slowly getting down to one knee.
"I… hear their screams. Every night. They haunt me like ghosts." Drake weakly said; his throat clenched up as he spoke.
"They do for me too, Drake. But they would not want you to do this to yourself. You can still take a different path. Make a different choice. A better choice…" Azura told him, tears in his eyes.
"I've made too many bad ones, Azu. I can't change from this path…" Drake muttered weakly, barely able to speak through his throat.
To his shock, Azura pulled him into a hug. "It is never too late to change. Please, let me help you… Brother…" He told him, trying to comfort Drake.
Closing his eyes, Drake cried into the hug. "Someday. But not today… Brother…" He wept mournfully.
Azura broke the hug as the two slowly stood back up. Their clothes were soaked to the bone; their aura barely flickered as they both deactivated it. Drake then carefully walked over and sheathed both of his blades. The two then looked at each other one final time, not another word between them. With a nod, Drake turned around and walked away. Rapidly, he melted away and disappeared into the darkening night. As the storm raged and howled, pelting Azura with its biting cold. Yet soon, he felt it all softening, as the clouds began to part where Drake had caused him to cut them, revealing the starry night sky. Azura smiled a bit before dropping to a knee in exhaustion. Despite what happened… it was the most alive he had felt in five long years.