Chapter Text
“Papi, Papi! Omurice! Tonkatsu! Parfait!”
“Fine, fine, but get off now, will ya? And I told you to stop calling me that.”
Diners were gazing at them weirdly as he stood outside the busy family restaurant with a kid wriggling over his shoulders drooling longingly at the served lunch behind the transparent glass windows.
Just when his shoulders finally got a break from the weight of the mini-gorilla during the ride, they were once again put back into work the moment they stepped out of the car.
He’d rather not be seen giving shoulder rides in public, but any attempt of wrenching her apart from him only endangered his own life with her petite legs strangling his neck with the tenacity of a dog tick.
Leave it to Yorozuya to infect him with their bad luck. After their encounter earlier, those irresponsible fuckers eventually gave up dragging her home and decided she was no longer their problem. Left to deal with the scamp alone, he resorted to bribing her with snacks, only for her to one-up him somehow and snatch them without leaving her special seat on his shoulders.
And here’s now. Still no sign of escape from her clutches.
What kind of four-year-old has the monstrous leg strength to keep a grown man in an iron grip? The only one who would fit the bill would be China, and he was starting to doubt his judgment about the girl not being her. It’s certainly possible for that China girl to be putting up this act just to harass him (she already has a record of doing it before), but he highly doubts she’d be able to pull off this performance without him seeing through her.
But if this wasn’t her, where did this dead-ringer of her spring up from?
Just yesterday he’d encountered an imposter of his own and now there’s China’s. It wouldn’t be a stretch to speculate that this could be some Amanto phenomenon that generates doppelgangers out of thin air.
Whatever it was, it’ll have to wait. He could look into the matter later, but for now, he’d first have to finish the job he’s been meaning to get done.
“You’ll find a small house right directly behind this family restaurant. Finding it shouldn’t be too difficult.” The old man in a grubby lab coat briefed him, and Sougo couldn’t help a slight wince at the irony of his last sentence.
His two-week search for the unknown family members has been anything but. With so little information to work with, Sougo hadn’t expected it to be an easy undertaking. Still, it shouldn’t have taken so long for him to track them down if they were settled down somewhere in Bushu, his hometown, where the deceased man allegedly got acquainted with his sister. But a week of searching only led him to a deserted ramshackle house where an apothecary shop used to stand.
According to his investigation, the house and shop were devastated by the Altana outburst in that decisive battle three years ago, robbing them of their home and livelihood at the same time. But instead of rebuilding it from the ground up, they packed up and left for another place without leaving a trace behind. That was where he hit the dead-end until he’s now told that they’d been living quietly two districts away this entire time.
He hasn’t completely erased the possibility of this being a trap; this man knew far too much about a case that hadn’t been disclosed in public, which didn’t add up unless he was part of it himself. He could be a leftover from the gang they wiped out seeking revenge or something along those lines, but if he turns out to be an ally of that old man like he claims he was, then he didn’t have a second to waste on doubting him.
“Well then, this is where we part.”
Sougo frowned.
“You’re not coming?”
“I believe it’ll cause some confusion if I do. On that note, it’d be best if you considered our meeting as something that never happened.”
“The reason?”
“...The Terminator might come and get me.”
Oh, right. This guy’s a nutjob.
“Well, before you leave-” He drew out a card from his inner pocket- “This is the mortuary where that guy’s body is being kept. Go if you will.”
The man stared at the card for a hot minute upon accepting, and then without warning, subsequently dropped half of his body into a deep bow that probably looked so out of pocket in the middle of a sidewalk. The action warranted more curious gazes from the few onlookers.
Even though he fairly enjoyed public humiliation play as a sadist, having the same old man taking the liberty to bow at him for the second time wasn’t up to his taste.
“...What are you doing?” Sougo asked, puzzled.
“I’m thanking you.” The older man answered without lifting his head.
He blinked twice, double-taking, before finally letting out a sardonic snort. “Funny, I haven’t done anything but decapitate some old geezer you’re related to.”
“And I’m truly grateful for that. Among other things.” He said, full of certainty, as he finally eased his back to face him with a clear smile that saw through his scathing tongue.
“That thing he entrusted to you. Please deliver it to them, no matter what.” He continued as if to wrap up his last remarks. “Then, I’ll see you soon, mister cop.”
“Bye, oji-san!” The forgotten child on his back waved at him goodbye.
After the cryptic farewell, Sougo's eyes lingered on the uncanny old man's back as he walked off in the opposite direction until he was out of sight. In the end, he couldn’t figure out what that old guy’s deal was. Strange people had been popping up since yesterday, yet that man took the cake for being the strangest one—and that says a lot considering the other contenders were literal copies of himself and his rival.
“What’d you do to that old folk for him to bow that low for you? Hard to imagine you doing anything deserving of that degree of gratitude.” A gruff voice came up to him only to say something as unnecessary as his whole existence.
Unfortunately, Yamazaki couldn’t follow through with the plan after their uselessly resilient cockroach of a Vice Chief tore the body bag open with his sword from the inside.
“You’re right, Hijikata-san. Though it’s even harder to imagine how you survived being swaddled in a body bag inside a car trunk for almost twenty-four hours.” Without looking, Sougo knew his retort had thrown the mayo freak into a fit.
“You fucking-!” Hijikata quelled his rage as if turning off a stove before he could erupt like boiling water in a kettle. “Mark my words. When we get back, it’s seppuku for you and that punk Yamazaki.”
At this, it was Sougo’s turn to lean into a deep bow with Kanna still hanging onto his back.
“Oh? Now you’re begging for your life?”
“Please just die already, Hijikata. I’m begging.”
“Die, Jijikata!” Kanna joined in with glee.
“FORGET SEPPUKU, I’LL JUST KILL YOU MYSELF RIGHT HERE AND NOW,” He declared in umbrage before taking full notice of the little girl who just told him to die. “And what’s with that cheeky brat sticking on you for a while now, huh?!”
“It’s not ‘cheeky brat’! It’s Kanna!” She huffed, unhappy that no one seemed to address her correctly.
To no one’s surprise, the mayo-obsessed bastard had the same reaction as everyone else who took one look at her. “Isn’t this the China girl from Yorozuya? How’d she shrink herself into this midget?”
Sougo was starting to get tired of repeating himself. “All that mayonnaise must be dulling your head, Hijikata. If this was China, I’d be free of this torment.”
“Whose head are you calling dull, huh? Fine. Seppuku with a dull sword, it is.”
Ignoring the Demon Vice Chief’s empty threat, he attempted to give another shot at coaxing the mini-gorilla girl who’s been using his head as a stool.
“Oi, you really need to get off of me now.” He felt her shake her head over him as a sign of refusal. It seemed she had no intention of backing down, but neither was he. “Look, how about you try that V-shaped bangs uncle over here? Though you’d have to bear with the mayo smell, the view is probably better from up there.”
“What are you, a real estate agent?” Hijikata commented.
“Don’t wanna. That uncle stinks.” The little girl scrunched up her nose for effect. Sougo only took a single whiff of the unclean man to agree with what she said.
“She’s right, Hijikata-san. You always reek of cigarettes and mayo, but this time you smell like rotten deep-fried spoiled milk left too long in an old stinking car. Tsk. Why’d you choose today to be a slob of all days?”
“Whose fault do you think it is?!”
Obviously not his. Though he’d been the one who blew him up, Hijikata being shoved in a body bag only to be forgotten in the car trunk was not his doing. Indeliberate as it may be, Yamazaki really did a number on the nicotine addict.
“Listen, ojou-chan -”
“Kanna.”
“-Kanna. If you go with that uncle, he’ll treat you to everything you want. But if you stay with me, your tummy will grumble for the next hour before I can get you anything to eat.”
Hijikata couldn’t believe his ears. “...Did you just say tummy?”
Kanna seemingly started to consider the option seriously. “Jijikata will buy me omurice, tonkatsu, and parfait?”
“Yup. All that. So, what do you say?”
“Lunch!”
Finally.
Though, being traded for early lunch at nine in the morning was more dismaying on his part than he thought.
“Then, I’ll leave this one to you, Hijikata.”
“Oi, when did I agree to this? And where are you going?”
Putting the little girl down, he replied, “Just around the corner to tie up some loose ends.”
“Oh? So you found them?” Hijikata raised his brows, taking just a few seconds to catch on what he was referring to. “Good work. It’s about time you wrapped up that case.”
“Papi!” The girl grabbed an arm to make him hunch over and planted a kiss on his cheek, then beamed at him with the brightest smile that could beat the sun’s daylight. “See you later!”
He blinked, dumbfounded at the sudden affectionate gesture that almost had him forgetting his identity—a sadist, a manslayer, a twisted bastard too entangled with danger to ever hold anyone close to his heart—and yet...
How was it possible that this small creature could look at him with such pure unconditional fondness as if he was her champion, her protector, her everything?
Unimaginable as it may be, this girl loves him. She looks like China and she loves him. The thought gave him heartburn.
Caving in, Sougo patted her head, his face softening without his notice. “Mhm. I’m off.”
The exchange reasonably gave Hijikata inexplicable shivers. “Lolicon.”
“Die, Hijikata.” His expression switched back to spiteful at the drop of the hat.
Kanna practically ran her way inside the restaurant, while the unwilling Vice-Chief-turned-babysitter followed after her, grumbling under his breath.
He was about to walk away as well when the older man called his name in a tone that made him halt. “Sougo.”
He turned his head slightly to meet him in the eye, wordlessly questioning the holdup. It took a moment of hesitation before Hijikata drew a breath and finally released the words caught in his tongue.
“Try not to make them hate you too much.” With that, he went inside before Sougo could follow up with a final word of insult.
He clicked his tongue, indescribably annoyed for whatever reason that made the most hateful man in his life say something so pointless.
“Die. Hijikata.”
His irritation only fueled his walking speed as he went on his way to break the news to the family of the man he made headless. They sure were going to love him for that. Unless they were as odd as the old guy that thanked him earlier.
Truthfully, he’d rather be getting their wrath than be bowed down like that again (where was the fun in seeing people beg and bow for you if it wasn’t forced upon them?). He had more experience dealing with curses and vendettas than receiving any form of gratitude.
Besides, obtaining one or two more people's seething hatred wouldn’t make much of a difference to him. Whether it be the most vicious of criminals or some random kids in the neighborhood, he’s probably on pretty much everyone’s hit list that no one would be surprised if he were to be randomly ambushed in broad daylight.
He scoffed. ‘Try not to be hated?’ As if that had ever mattered before.
A woman’s shriek rolled off the walls as he approached the street corner, the sound waning his footsteps before quickening his pace as realization hit him—
Someone was dying. Ill and dying. Out there was a frail body all curled up and violently coughing and there would be red, red staining everywhere-the floors, the sheets, and he has to hurry to her side —
He was running before he knew it, making a sharp turn to the right when an unnatural gust of wind alerted his senses of an unprecedented attack aimed at him from above.
Instinct spurred him to block with his sheathed sword. The force of the kick landing on it made a devastating crack in his scabbard, teeth gritting as the sheer weight almost knocked him over in the process.
Sougo cursed under his breath. Maybe he should consider taking the damn advice from now on.
An ambush was the last fucking thing he needed at this very fucking moment.
By the time Hijikata had entered the restaurant’s premises scanning for the redheaded child’s face, she’d already sat on the cushioned seat, pointing at him to the waitress who nodded with an affirmative smile and left after a bow, having seemingly taken her order.
The young child was swinging her legs back and forth, an innocent smile plastered on her face as he approached the table, yet something about it gave him a chill down his spine.
He joined her on the table, seated opposite to her, gulping.
If her appetite was anything near as identical as her looks with the Yorozuya girl, then he'd be as good as broke.
They sat in silence for a minute. Then two. She was staring and he was instinctively shying from it. He fiddled around his pockets in search of a pack of cigarettes to keep himself busy. He found one, only for it to be empty but it hadn't mattered either way when he belatedly spotted a ‘no smoking’ sign on the wall, chastising him.
This is awkward. What should I say?
There were plenty of questions to ask, but he wouldn't want to scare her off with an interrogation. He’s always been told he had mean eyes that made babies cry.
"Jijikita." The little girl was the first to start the conversation. She was cupping her face with her palms, elbows propped up on the table.
"It's Hijikata."
"Do you like to sleep for a long, loooong time?"
Confusion knitted his brows. "Uh, what?"
"Because you sleep a lot! Just like Papi!"
"Don't group me with that slacker! And just why do you call Sougo- Oi, where are you going?!"
The girl had suddenly jumped up from her seat and scuttled away.
"Toilet!"
Her pigtails swayed as she romped down the aisle, collecting adoring gazes at every person she passed while Hijikata was left completely thrown off by her pace.
No matter where he looked, this kid was definitely an exact miniature replica of the Yorozuya girl. Could this be a secret child of hers? She’s far too young but things like that do happen…
Wait. If that kid is the Yorozuya girl’s child and she’s calling Sougo 'that', then…
Hijikata paled.
No no no no.
He slammed his head to the hard surface of the table with a thud, surprising the nearby diners.
He shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions like that. Right, it could be a close relative for all he knew. Those two would never… yeah... it would never happen. Not between those two. It shouldn’t… but what if…?
Disconcerted, he barely noticed that he’d been saying his thoughts aloud, garnering disturbed glances that made him straighten up in shame. He should just ask the brat directly when she comes back.
Speaking of which, shouldn’t she be back by now?
He tapped his fingers, itching with worry. Was the toilet seat too high for her or something?
A minute passed. Then two.
Finally, he stood up, stopping a waitress passing by, who blushed at the sudden strong grip on her arm.
"Uh, sorry, but can you do me a favor? The kid I was with has been in the restroom for quite a while now, and, well, she's a girl, so can you check up on her for me?"
Her blush faded when he came close, lifting her free hand to cover her nose from the smell she picked up from him.
"Sure, right away sir."
Hijikata sank back down to his seat, relieved at the compliance, then mortified by her reaction. Did he really stink that much?
Curse his decision to drop himself off at this place instead of just heading straight to the compound or the bathhouse. No matter how starving he was, he should’ve prioritized cleanliness first. Then he wouldn’t be stuck here on babysitting duty of some unknown brat who may or may not be a hellspawn of two known beasts.
He lifted his head at the sound of dish platters served in front of him, eyes widening at the quantity.
Ten plates of an assortment of meals crowded the table.
"The rest will be ready in five minutes."
“The REST? Y-You’re joking, right?” The waitress maintained her business smile, her silence answering his question, then left.
His jaw dropped. Sweating profusely, he copped his pockets to fetch out his wallet, trying to recall how much he had left. His panic rose as he tried for another pocket, in his jacket and pants, yet found nothing but his mayonnaise and mayonnaise lighter and extra mayonnaise bottles.
Shit. How was he supposed to pay for this now?!
Hijikata paled, his whole face now as white as his favorite condiment.
And where was that damn brat he was supposed to be feeding this to?!
He waited a bit longer before he finally left the table to head to the restroom to check on the girl himself and met the waitress he asked for the favor earlier on the way, looking apologetic and worried.
"I'm sorry, sir, there was no one in the restroom. I tried searching other places she might’ve wandered in but-"
He proceeded on his way and opened the restroom door to find an empty washroom and toilet cubicles all unoccupied.
"Sir!"
He took notice of the string of mist spreading inside the room, seemingly coming from a small open window above the cubicles. It was quite high up, probably for ventilation, and he doubts a four-year-old could climb for it, but he considered the possibility anyway.
“W… What is all this smoke? Is there a fire outside?” The waitress behind him exclaimed.
He stepped inside to look around further, pondering. If it was fire then they should’ve smelled something burning… This scent was different.
It was from a smoke grenade.
Then it was most likely his subordinate had something to do with it.
Hijikata excused himself and headed outside to inspect the situation when the other waitress who took and served their order blocked him, her smile still attached but the menace visible on her face.
"Dear customer, where do you think you're going?"
"Look, I don't have time for this-"
A loud crash coming from the backside of the building interrupted him. Shrieks followed, alarming every single person on the premises. Cursing, Hijikata hurried straight to the source of the chaos.
"I-It's Shinsengumi!" One of the panicked staff yelled as soon as they burst out of the demolished kitchen.
For the love of mayonnaise.
"Would you like to separate those damages from your pending bill, sir officer?"
He sighed, desperately needing a smoke.
"Yes, please."
“Isn’t it about time you tell me what you’re in this for?” Sougo said in between dodging one blow after another-which, as fatal as they could be, can be easily read from miles away.
No answer.
At the very least, the ambush did not seem planned as he initially thought-or if it is, then it was a bad plan. He considered for a moment that the old guy who gave him the location was in cahoots with this attack, but if that was the case, then they picked a terrible place for it.
And if not that, it was Sougo’s gut feeling that told him that man, or at least the desperation in his eyes, was as sincere as it could possibly get.
It would also seem that he wasn’t lying about the place-the shrill shriek from earlier could very well come from the woman he was after. The wooden gate of the house was even left open like it had been forgotten in haste.
Tsk. He had no time for this.
The fight had been dragging on for a while now, though he could barely call this farce a ‘fight.’
His opponent was fighting barehanded, weaponizing sheer strength alone that rivals that of a Yato, yet instead of an umbrella with ammunition, an undrawn sword dangled on the side of his hip, waiting for use. Just as his attacker refused to draw his sword, he refused to speak a single word; refused to give away his identity, his whole head concealed with a long tape of bandages wrapped around exposed skin under the worn sanguine-red haori, light brownish hair haphazardly sticking out and gleaming eyes of the color in between vivid blue and green.
This guy was strong. Crazy strong. Yet as strong as he was, his bloodlust was just as weak.
Not a single attack was aimed to kill. On the contrary, it was starting to feel as if he was even careful not to kill him, but he perished the thought.
One thing was for sure: this man was underestimating him, and Sougo had to make him regret that.
Speeding up, he began his counterattack aimed to pierce through the thin white cloth hiding the man’s face, who had swiftly raised his arms for cover, his blade effectively making a slit down the arms used to shield himself. The bandage around those arms became undone. The cut should’ve been deep enough to bleed but it doesn’t—
Sougo’s eyes widened, daring not to blink as the injury healed by itself in an instant, as if it were never there.
“You-”
His attacker left him no time to react to the abnormality, whirling swiftly to lunge at him full force, and Sougo was left too caught off guard to evade it on time, leaving him to block with his bare sword once again.
Bad move.
He cringed at the sound of his own blade shattering as it contacted the man’s fist, blowing him away at a distance.
With Sougo weaponless, the scales were now tipping in the enemy’s favor—an unknown enemy, who might just be the same entity as that crow. He still hasn’t got a word out of him, and time was running out.
Yet here he was, grinning, his blood thrumming with excitement at the prospect of battling such a formidable foe. This might just be the proxy rematch he's been itching for that had become impossible upon that immortal crow's demise on Danna's hand.
His exhilaration was short-lived, however, when a small red figure emerged in his vision.
It was the child—her small back towering over him as he remained lying down on the barren street, her arms outstretched like she was shielding him from a predator.
“Don’t be mean to Papi! You bully!”
He couldn’t see her face, but he could tell from her trembling voice that she was holding back her tears if they hadn’t fallen already. It made his stomach lurch.
“You- What are you-” He blurted, pushing himself off the ground when the bandaged rogue let out a rasped voice filled with incredulity.
“... Kanna?”
They all stopped.
A moment of silence passed, tension hanging as they froze in their position. Sougo made use of the time to recover.
Now up on his feet, he placed a hand on the child’s head. “Oi, brat. You know this creep?”
Kanna shook her head aggressively under his palm.
He realized the question amounted to nothing seeing that man was in wear that made him hardly recognizable.
“Well, I don’t know who or what you are, but glad to know that you can fucking talk.”
He stepped forward, sneakily moving the little girl behind him.
“...Hand her over.”
Sougo raised a brow.
“Sure, I shall hand over a kid to some suspicious mummified bastard who attacked me five seconds ago and—oh, right, look what you did to my sword and scabbard. Fuck. I just had these refurbished with a gum holder too. How are you going to pay for this, you son of a bitch?”
The man fell back into silence.
He expected as much, but it infuriates him still.
Sighing, he threw an unpinned smoke grenade at his attacker’s feet. “Guess I have no choice.”
The surrounding area became obscured with fog in a matter of seconds. Using it as a cover, Sougo swiftly carried Kanna to the nearest hiding place he could find—behind the fence of the opened gate.
He put her down and ushered her to move farther inside, yet her stubbornness began to act up again.
“Stay here.” He told her firmly.
“Pa-”
“I’ll be back.”
He only had less than a minute before his smokescreen cleared up. Going back to action, he expertly navigated through the thick fog slowly thinning out. Sougo was found through it first, the other man emerging from the blurring gas with a speed that matched his. He ducked, smirking as the opening had presented itself much earlier than anticipated.
He evaded the man’s continuous attacks, throwing his chipped sword in between as a feint, and by the time the man caught it and crushed it with his bare fist, Sougo already had a whole new katana in hand and a wide grin on his face as he attacked him from behind.
His opponent faltered at the sight of Sougo’s sword seemingly restored, realizing a little too late that it had been his own.
“This’ll do for the payment.” He said as he pinned the man down to the ground, blade digging into the shoulder blade and grinding his foot on the wrapped head, feeding him dirt.
“What the hell is happening out here?”
The subdued man twitched under his feet, and so did he. Sougo turned around, squinting through the foggy mist to see a figure emerging from the open gate beside them.
When the smoke finally dispersed enough to see through, he found a face he was least expecting.
“You… What are you doing here?” He asked, puzzled at his unexpected appearance. But more than that, he was wondering why he’d wandered out of the house Sougo was supposed to drop in.
His doppelganger blinked at him.
“I could ask you the same.”
Before he could open his mouth to respond, a hand grabbed his ankle and slammed him down to the ground. Sougo had to lean just in time so his head would not hit the concrete and had his whole back take the impact. Still, it didn’t prevent his opponent from locking him down, reversing their positions in that instant.
But it did not stay like that for too long. Souichiro steals the fight without warning, launching a straight swing at the bandaged man who had to move away from Sougo to evade his attacks.
His doppelganger’s strikes were fatal and relentless—all aimed to mutilate and capture.
But again, just like earlier with Sougo, his opponent did not match his ferocity.
The moment it looked like Souichiro had the man cornered, he’d retaliate full-force like a rabid dog, ready to eat him whole.
Souichiro doubled over when he received a direct hit on the stomach, and Sougo stepped in to rejoin the fray before his double got knocked down by a second one.
“Keep out of this. I can handle this guy myself.” Sougo said when he saw him get up on his feet, back in a stance.
“Says the lame-ass who can’t even hold down a mummy.” He mocked.
In an instant, they engaged back into battle, every movement increasing in speed and intensity by the second, and Sougo was noticing bit by bit how his opponent’s defense was slipping with the way he no longer even tries to dodge their attacks because every cut inflicted was instantly un-inflicted by the damn self-regenerating cheat.
Fuck those superhuman healing abilities.
Suddenly, his double’s movement grew more hasty, risking a close head-on battle with the mysterious foe. It didn’t take a second for Sougo to realize what he was up to.
It was an obvious, straightforward strategy that anyone could predict in a two-on-one battle, and he almost wanted to say aloud that it would never work—not on this guy— but it was just the perfect opportunity he needed.
The moment he saw the promised opening, he stabbed through his shoulder-the same spot he punctured earlier, then twisted it before pulling it out. Blood gushed out of the wound. The man let out a grunt before recoiling, his hand covering the gaping hole to stop the bleeding and removing it after a few seconds to show his skin now clear of the wound.
Sougo’s eyes narrowed. Souichiro was the opposite.
Upon recovery, the man whirled at them with a kick that sent them flying ten paces from where they stood.
“What the fuck?” Souichiro coughed. “Did his wound… just… vanish?”
Sougo was first to get up on his feet in a hurry, patting off the dirt because he landed on a pile of garbage of all places.
“Took you long enough. That guy’s practically Deadp*ol.”
Souichiro gaped at him and his nonchalance.
“By the way, is that my uniform you’re wearing?”
“FORGET ABOUT THAT! YOU’RE SAYING HE’S IMMORTAL?! THEN HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BEAT THAT MUMMIFIED BASTARD?!” Sougo flinched at his loudness. He heard someone yelling from the house earlier-now he knew who that was.
“Just follow my lead.”
Closing the distance, they sprung up for another bout, toe in toe, the bloodlust they lacked now bursting in every strike, and every reason to fight was slipping through his fingers as Sougo relished the spike in his adrenaline in combat.
One moment, his head was being crushed under his opponent’s foot and the next, Souichiro had taken a kick on his back in his attempt to retaliate. In that instant, Sougo took the chance to stab through the man’s kneecap, releasing himself from the hold, and then went on piercing new multiple holes in the self-healing body without missing a beat—in the right abdomen, throat, lungs, thigh—all of which mending in a few counts under his observation that led him to a conclusion:
This guy was killable.
All that’s left was to put it to the test.
Finally, the bandaged man stopped his double’s sword with his hand with the intent to crush it just as he did with Sougo’s. But the moment it cracked, Sougo had already managed to make one swift upward swing to the man’s extended arm as he slid in the space between them, cleanly slicing through the defenseless limb.
The severed arm flung through the air before flopping on the ground, staining the path red.
Now one arm short, his opponent drew back as he let out a pained groan, while Sougo inspected the limb he just dismembered.
“I had a fair share of experience fighting an immortal self-destructive crow, you see, and chopping them off nicely never works.” He picked up the chopped arm by the bandaged hand’s middle finger and flailed it around while blood still dripped heavily from its open wound, “But that’s not the case with you, isn’t it?”
They watched as the cleaved remnant of the man’s upper arm was starting to heal slowly-yet not regrowing or regenerating like an immortal would. Just as he suspected, the healing ability the man possessed was limited—limited to his blood, it seems.
“If that was my head, I’d be dead.” He calmly admitted.
Sougo mused, mentally crossing out his speculation that he was a survivor of Naraku. The last of them had perished along with Utsuro during the final decisive battle in the terminal, yet it was the best explanation he could come up with earlier.
Dropping the arm, Sougo lifted the bloodied blade to the man’s bandage-wrapped neck.
“But you still can’t kill me.”
Without warning, the man threw an object up in the air. His eyes automatically followed, squinting to see it against the sun’s brightness—it was something vividly green and small and familiar that was supposed to be in his pocket—when did he-?
Shit. How could he be so dumb? This guy had been after it from the start.
His momentary shock became an opening. He was spared no time to react as a strong shove sent him crashing into a concrete wall, breaking it down with the impact.
Screams rang into his ear, his vision blurry and a sharp pain spiking every side of his head. He willed to blink it away and refocus.
He knew that guy had been holding back the whole time, but to think the gap would be this much…
Souichiro was about to head for him when he was stopped in his tracks by a quick hand on his shoulder. The bandaged man leaned into his ear to whisper something that had him petrified. Sougo shook a boulder off his feet, pushing himself to get up but before he could, his doppelganger had already been knocked down, sprawled on the ground, seemingly lifeless.
But the worst had just begun when a child’s voice cried out to him.
“PAPI!”
His heart quickened, alarmed.
No, if she comes out now-
“There you are.”
His attacker didn’t wait for him to recover as he forced himself to stand on his feet, his whole body still aching as he watched the man leave with the little girl secured over his left shoulder, already unconscious.
In the corner of his eye, he found the green pouch that contained the medicine lying on the ground, the thought of its contents all spilled and wasted gave him a headache on top of his injury. He’ll have to pick it up and check, but he did not have a moment to waste as the man responsible for it all was getting away, abducting an innocent child in the process.
Sougo ran after them in haste, anger taking over his senses that he almost failed to notice a vehicle crossing mid-street honking and pulling the brakes before him. He jumped back before it could hit him, and in that short instant, he inevitably lost sight of the girl and her abductor.
He gritted his teeth, taking out his frustration by smashing the nearest object with his fist-the car’s hood, which further earned the driver’s fury.
“Geh, I thought there was a festival somewhere with all that ruckus, but this-”
Sougo turned around, surprised to hear the familiar accented voice he was sure to recognize anywhere.
And he was right.
There she was in the middle of the road, shaded under her purple parasol, gaping at the sight of his doppelganger completely passed out on the other side of the street, motionless.
“...China?”
Their eyes met.
“Sadist?”
Kagura stared at him, head to foot, taking in his whole disastrous appearance then back to the unconscious man in front of her. It was only then that Sougo felt the blood trickling down his head and the potential concussion that came with it.
“Looks like a fun festival did happen out here without me, uhuh.”