As I kept running down the path Motatsū took, more Kechī keep appearing. It was already hard to see to begin with, the Kechī that slashed my cheek also got a good part of my eye. I struggled to even keep it fully closed as I slash my way through, The Canvas radiated a huge amount of Enogu as I swung it around my vicinity to cut down some Kechī. 'Slice!', 'Slice!', 'Slice!', extra slashes entirely composed of Enogu cut some of the Kechī into ribbons! Although some resisted. One immediately grabs me by the leg, picking me up.
"Ack!" I yelped in pain. I was repeatedly slammed down on my back before being tossed away, struggling to get back up.
"Hands off of him! You bunch of meanies!" A girl yelled out, the voice was familiar. It was Airashī. Thank All-Father, I thought.
Airashī immediately conjured her Hyōmei—which shocked me because of its form. A large broadsword—no, I can't even call it a sword, a large slab of hot pink steel, fashioned with ribbons connected to each other via drawstrings, but the blade was a massive chainsaw.
"What the-" I gazed at the Hyōmei's form as Airashī immediately mows through the Kechī. Running the blade through an arm belonging to one, dashing forward as the ribbons around her Hyōmei tangle around the Kechī.
"Split, Crowntaker." She mutters the name of her Hyōmei, at least that's what I assumed. The ribbons themselves would emit small blades of Enogu, cutting and slicing the Kechī apart. She walks back towards me through the floating remains of the bodies left behind, becoming dust.
"Heya Shirō!!" She waves at me, holding the behemoth of a Hyōmei on her shoulders casually.
"H-Hey–" I say a little bewildered, still gazing at the gigantic weapon she carried.
"Oh! You've never seen my Hyōmei before!" She says, shaking her open hand before abruptly making it disappear in a burst of particles. "Also, what's with the cross tattoo on your face?"
"The—huh?" I asked. Cross tattoo? What was she on about?
"Look at the glass." She says, gesturing her head to the glass.
I stare at my image in the glass, and well. Beneath my left eye, exactly where I was scratched. Somehow, it was magically healed.
"H-Huh?" I slowly traced my hand around the marking, it was a cross that had a line stabbed across, trailing down my neck.
"Forget it, let's find Motatsū!" She suggests. "I sorta lost track of Hikaru."
"Alright." I nod, looking away from the glass window. I tried to not think about it.
Airashī and I run down a hollow street, devoid of any civilians. We're definitely knee-deep in dust. The civilians were the dust.
"It seems the target and its friends have already cleared out this section. Matter of time before they reach that store." Airashī assumes, but I figured she was correct considering the dust in the area, and the fact this portion of the district we're in—the Southern District is devoid of any Enogu.
"It should be a matter of time before we get into the Northern District, Shirō." Airashī notified me. The dust piles begin to lower in size and become more obscure from view as the city environment begins to slightly change to a more old times town, but still had the lightened up billboards with Enogu flowing out and the bright lights, it was beginning to get dark out too.
As we trench through the Northern District of Kugōnki City, we meet up with Motatsū and Hikaru fighting off a Kechī, to which they're struggling a bit. Suddenly, I saw Hikaru getting grabbed and then swung towards Motatsū, being knocked through two stores—then it just suddenly flashes back to what I was seeing before, their fight before Hikaru was grabbed. What the hell is happening?
"H-Huh?"
"What's the matter, Shirō?"
"I just saw—"
Immediately, Hikaru was thrown towards me, causing us to crash into the road, sliding back.
"Ugh!" I yelped, carrying Hikaru off of me. We both quickly get up as Airashī and I summon our Hyōmei.
"Sh-Shirō, what's with the eye?"
"My eye?" I looked back at Hikaru as suddenly, I could see the Kechī lunging at us and swinging one of its hands down onto me, crushing my body—a vision. As it ended, my sight flashed back to reality, looking at the Kechī, it was huge, donning two legs and two arms but hands had scythe blades connected to the knuckles. I quickly swung The Canvas towards its hand, grunting as the shockwave of its strike nearly made me kneel. Deciding I need to gain distance, I leapt from the hand, conjuring those black and white Enogu-composed flames around the blade as suddenly half my vision vanished.
"Tch!" I held my head, falling down as The Canvas vanished from my hand, the Enogu dispersing away into particles that wither away shortly after. My head hurts like hell, grunting as I hold it in pain.
"D-Damn. . .!" I grunted, struggling to even speak.
"Shit! Shirō!" Motatsū called out for me.
"Hikaru, grab him and enter one of the stores for cover!"
"Got it!" Hikaru said, immediately holding her hand out for mine, I quickly grabbed onto her as we sprint towards an empty building. With vision I did have, I saw Motatsū, with his Hyōmei, a pair of revolvers, fire a blast of Enogu at the Kechī with Airashī swinging the large Kechī into a nearby building with her Crownspliter.
"Shirō, are you okay?!" Hikaru holds onto my hand tightly, lowering it down as she makes her Hyōmei vanish away.
"I-I dunno. My h-h-head hurts like—" I struggled to speak even further, laying my head down on my lap, feeling my right eyelid leak out blood.
"Don't talk." She shushed me. "Just wait for Motatsū and Airashī to finish with the Kechī."
"F-Fine. . ." I mutter.
I try to rest, grunting and moaning in pain as I can hear Motatsū and Airashī fight that huge Kechī outside. Soon after, I heard a loud groan in agony, that Kechī died. Motatsū and Airashī quickly enter the store that I and Hikaru were in. I lift myself up from Hikaru's lap and stare at the two.
"Are you alright, Shirō?" Motatsū asked.
"I-I think. . . My eye, its-"
"Let me see it." Motatsū demanded.
I followed his command, lowering my hand from my face and opening the eye that was initially in pain. What was weird was that I saw a bright red aura emanating inside Motatsū, and not just him too, Airashī as well, her's was pink.
"Ah, you have a Fragment."
"A— fragment?" I paused between words, I was curious at what a 'fragment' was.
"Think of it as a Kechī imprinting itself onto you. In a way, you're somewhat part-Kechī." He says.
I wish he was lying. I wish this was a dream. I quickly put the eye shut as I just lay back down, sighing. I can't be "Part-Kechī", I can't be even remotely similar to the things that killed my brother.
"Fragments can only be wielded by Anima and Eclipsed. They can be wielded by a Human but the negative Enogu entering their unprotected bodies will make them develop a terminal disease." He says quietly. "They can grant extraordinary abilities to the user at the cost of the limb or organ they inhabit. Your's, from what I assume, makes you go blind and gives you a migraine after use." He continued.
"It was about fifteen seconds after I activated it. I don't know how to turn it off." I admit, my voice was rigid. I began to get back up, my head felt better. Opening the eye and stared at the window to get a good look at it. My sclera in it was pitch black, with the iris being a dark red, the pupil was a gothic looking cross, having sharp curves going up and down before reaching each tip. In the middle, there's two other extra spikes pointing down to right and left with a white center. It even glows a little, I could see about hundreds of different signs of Enogu in my view. I quickly shut my eye, suppressing its ability.
"We're done here, at the very least. We've taken down the Kechī." Motatsū said, looking down at the floor with his voice almost solemn-like. "I recommend keeping the eye closed until we reach the apartment." He finished.
I held onto Hikaru's wrist again, as the three performed a Micare to flash forward. Heading back to the apartment in Rōjin, the home city we're all from.
This eye is proof my life will be a nightmare from here on out.