Kabata Katsuki

Oga pulled the straps of the horses. The horses neighed as they started to slow down. Suddenly, I looked at the slender figure of Itsuki climbing up on the roof of the carriage from its back. He had his arms and his chest up as he tried to pull his body up. He then straightened his arm, moving his chest up, and then moved his right foot on the brink of the roof, pushed his body in, and then dragged his left foot in too. He then started to move his body up, trying to stand on the roof. With his hands now in midair, he slowly moved his body up as he started to balance his body. The carriage had slowed down, though it was still in speed. With his left foot in front of his right, his body trembling a little as he tried to balance on top, he moved his right hand to the left of his waist, held the handle of his sword, and then pulled out the sword from his scabbard. He then pointed the sword at the two of us.

“Is he… dumb or something?” I thought as I looked at him preparing to attack. Just as he was moving his sword up his right shoulder, I turned to Renji and ordered, “Renji, take up this girl. We’re taking her up. I’m fucking sure that the hero is trying to run away from us right now, so if we fail to catch him right now, we should have something as backup to show to Ishida-sama.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Meanwhile, Imma take care of the hero.”

Renji turned back and started to walk back to Ichika.

***

Isekai’d

Written by Dhruv Pabreja

***

Takemura Itsuki

Just as Katsuki saw Renji’s back walking away, he turned back to Kurayami. Kurayami, all beaten up, too turned his narrowed eyes to Katsuki. Katsuki then turned back and started to walk at him.

BANP. BANP. BANP. BANP.

Kurayami continued to glare at Katsuki approaching him.

BANP. BANP. BANP.

Katsuki stood right in front of Kurayami. He then said in a lower voice, “If ya wanna leave, ya can. But, this girl stays with me in return for your life. Whaddya say?”

“You wanna kill this girl?”

“No. Imma use them to trade them for the hero in front of the public. You’ll be safe too, and I can save my ass in front of the king too.”

Kurayami, with his narrowed eyes, continued to glare at his determined streamlined eyes and grinning face for a couple of seconds silently. He then commented, “I can’t interfere. Do anything you want to.”

Katsuki grinned and turned back. He then started to walk toward the carriage running toward him, his eyes fixed on me. My eyes were fixed on Renji as I swung my sword down at him. It released kazi wave, charging straight at Renji. Renji soon turned his head to his right, looking at the kazi wave approaching, and in just a second, he took out his sword and slashed it down. The wave exploded right in front of them, forming a cloud of white smoke rising up. I then turned my head to the front and noticed the kazi wave charging straight at the carriage. I too then swung it down again in the front.

KABOOM!

The waves exploded just some steps in the front of the carriage. The carriage then entered the cloud of smoke which had emerged, and came out speedily on the other side. I then sent another kazi wave at Katsuki as the carriage jerked to our left, because Katsuki blocked the way at the front. I continued to send regular kazi attacks one after another each second as our carriage approached Katsuki on the right side of the path of the carriage, some steps away. He continued to block them off by gliding his sword at the front and facing regular explosions in front of him. His whole figure was covered with clouds of smoke rising up as I continued to wave my sword at him. We soon went past his figure and I turned to my back, still swinging my sword and throwing out kazi waves at him. I didn’t know if he was even defending them or not due to the clouds of smoke. We then stopped our carriage right in front of Kurayami. He limped toward the carriage which stood about a step away from him, and with the help of Irimi and Airi holding his hands and pushing him up, he loaded up, walked beside the body of Oga and Yumiko lying in the middle, and then sat inside. In the meantime, I continued to send kazi waves at him from the top. “Hey! Yamazaki-san! How do we get Ichika?!”

“… You take the lead!” Kurayami’s faint voice reached me from down the stationary carriage.

“Whaddya mean?!”

Tadashi, sitting at the left front corner of the carriage, turned to Kurayami seated at the right back corner of the carriage, and then turned his head to the top. “Takemura-kun, what if we both fight them?! We might win!”

“Good idea, you shitty newbie!” I commented. “Come out, then!” I then turned my head to my back at Koma, who was sitting at the front of the carriage, driving it. “Koma! Park the carriage some steps away!” I then turned my head to the front. “Airi! Stand in front of the carriage. If any kazi wave comes this way, slash it off!”

“Aye!” Both Airi and Koma said with their determined eyes. I then swung my sword from up my right shoulder to straight down for the last time, and then stood silently on top of the carriage.

BANP. BANP. BANP. My boots walked on top of the carriage. I then jumped and landed straight on the street. Behind me, Tadashi too moved his legs to his right out of the carriage and stood straight up on the street.

“Only God knows how much longer this night is gonna go…” Tadashi commented.

Both of us had our eyes fixed on the cloud of smoke as the horses behind our backs neighed once and the carriage started to move away slowly. The cloud started to become more and more transparent as a dark evil figure standing inside revealed itself. The silhouette, in its evil and coarse voice, said, “Ya wanna die tonight, hero?”

“I was gonna fight him for the third time in my life, and… I knew this one was not gonna be as easy as the last two times.”