Ali was completely misdirected by grief, wrath, and manipulation. Although Kaze's innocence was inexplicably clear as a summer's blue sky, Ali's judgement was completely clouded. From the second the sun had set, his heart solidified his desire for revenge, and his silent stalking of Kaze began. He searched the entire city, scaling buildings, peering into windows, and examining the alleys of the dim and wide empty streets.
Then, the time came. He witnessed Kaze leaving for the train station. The dark clothing, the two swords, and most importantly, the familiar face. Once Ali caught a glance of Kaze's face, the superficial puzzle that Eira had so masterfully created clicked into place.
Kaze's connection to Eira only angered Ali further. Instead of questioning whether, Kaze, the man who stood beside Asumi and protected Ali was the true culprit, Ali shamelessly associated Eira's whole 'all demons are bad' with Kaze. He assumed Kaze shared a simple ideology now. His blood boiled with fury as he watched Kaze's tearful goodbye with his family, his markings silently transformed and began to illuminate the dust-ridden corners of the alleyway he hid in.
He still had enough sense to not murder a man in front of his family, so he waited til Kaze entered the train and then blasted his way in.
"Ali…" Kaze's eyes widened at the unexpected and sudden appearance. His eyes were saturated with information that only increased his confusion. Most prominently, Ali's eyes.
Upper Moon Three? That only led to one conclusion. Eira had really defeated Akaza. Kaze hadn't received any news from his crow since the start of his 'break'. Even assuming Eira killed Akaza, the entire situation still had a glaring split in the story. Why and how did Ali find him?
What Kaze had in confusion, Ali had doubled in wrath. Ali's hunger for revenge was finally close to completion, he half-crouched down preparing to launch forward, his eyes glued onto Kaze's confused face.
"I hope you said your goodbyes well," The wooden floorboards under Ali's feet strained and bent as he launched off towards Kaze.
The Shadow's eyes focused on the blitzing figure that rocketed towards him and braced for impact. He held his sword firmly in front of him, even in the imminent danger it didn't feel right. Kaze's hesitance was his biggest flaw in this moment. A vicious breeze travelled down alongside Ali and pushed Kaze backwards. Amidst the backwards stumble, Ali's hands roughly gripped at Kaze's collar. The entire train rumbled as Ali manhandled Kaze and slammed him onto the floor.
A paralysing jolt rippled through Kaze's body, he grunted and struggled as he met the vengeance-driven Ali face-to-face. Kaze exhaled in exertion as he twisted his fist, aligning his sword's tip to Ali's arms.
He thrust his arm and stabbed into Ali's wrists. He once again twisted his sword and further cut more nerves in his wrist. Ali's face soured as he felt his hands lose feeling and strength. He raised his fist, his injuries healing almost immediately. Kaze roughly struggled, he pulled his blade out and stabbed Ali again at the side. Kaze twisted on the ground and sent Ali flying towards the seats next to him. Kaze jumped to his feet and sprinted to the end of the carriage to make distance. He repositioned his sword, preparing to unleash a technique. Yet, hesitance to strike Ali plagued his mind again.
"Why are you here?" Kaze watched Ali stand up in between the seats. His eyes still narrowed in hatred. Ali slammed his fists into the surrounding seats, reducing them to broken pieces. Kaze swiftly studied the area, his eyes darted to the cloaked figure he had seen earlier, who was just to his right.
It was an old man, who was asleep. If this was a cartoon, perhaps he'd have a snot bubble inflating and deflating. As underwhelming as the reveal was, at least Ali was Kaze's only worry.
"Why am I here? You're asking me that?" Ali's hands formed a spherical grip, his fingers flexed and strained, and veins bulged out of the back of his hand. He bent down and sent fragments of the seats carried by strong breezes towards Kaze. Kaze effortlessly blocked each and every projectile with precise sword movements.
"I know how you must feel… Losing Akaza," Kaze spoke from an area of compassion and empathy. Yet, his tone drowned out as it bounced through the carriage and mixed with the blaring wind that rushed from the hole in the ceiling. To Ali's knowledge, Kaze was the Demon Slayer that had left Akaza reduced to an immobile and inhumane state, so it sounded like a cruel mocking of Akaza's death.
Ali inhaled deeply. He further fell deeper in the pit of malice and anger.
The train continued to speed through the country. The train tracks stretched far beyond human sight. As the large locomotive continued to rattle and travel down the tracks, a single albino crow glided high in the sky following the train. Eira's crow.
Kaze's life was supposed to progress with joy, growth and success. Yet, his destiny had been altered by Eira's decision to frame him for her own selfish growth. She stabbed the river of events with a large stick, puncturing the flow of the river. To her benefit, everything was going to plan. Ali wasn't able to think straight, Kaze was soon to die and Asumi was oblivious to reality. Soon, Kaze would die, and Eira would blame Ali with support from her crow. Then Eira would execute Ali just as she had with Akaza. And maybe finally, she'd feel content with her life.
Ali's hands trembled with impatience and disbelief.
For a brief moment under the soft rattling of the train and the wind's hum, Kaze thought he had reached Ali.
Blood Demon Art. Turbulence: Typhoon Needles.
Ali pushed his palm forward and a vicious wind pulsed forward ripping seats off the floor in a rampant charge. Row by row, the seats were ripped apart and came like a tsunami towards Kaze. His eyes widened and he leapt to his left, he quickly grabbed the old man and covered him. He faced the incoming assault of seats.
Shadow Breathing. First Form: Blunt Darkness.
Kaze's blade swung viciously in a diagonal line, the air was torn apart by the blade and a dark glowing slash sliced forward. It rushed towards and clashed with Ali's winds. The slash diverted the incoming winds into two, but only a segment of the rubble wave was diverted. The rest still came crashing down onto Kaze and the old man, who was now wide awake.
The rubble wasn't too severe and Kaze was able to shield himself with minimal injury. The old man stared up at Kaze with admiration and shock.
"What the hell is going on?!" The old man shouted in fear, his aged eyes full with confusion.
Kaze's focus broke away from Ali for a second to reassure the poor bystander. A crucial and fatal mistake. The second he looked at the old man on the floor, he felt Ali's hand grip the back of his head. Before he could take any action to retaliate, Ali brutally launched Kaze towards the wall of the carriage, right towards the window.
The window and the surrounding frame broke completely, the shattering of glass pierced Kaze's eardrums. Kaze felt a sharp pain on the top of his head, yet it was minuscule for the agony that was to come. The wind violently rushed against the airborne Kaze, Ali had thrown him at an alarming speed, fortunately, the impact with the window had slowed him somewhat. It didn't mean he wouldn't sustain injury, he had very little time to attempt to minimize injury.
His body slammed and skidded across the ground, he rag-dolled across the dire and empty landscape. He tried to stop himself by stabbing the ground with his sword, yet it was unsuccessful and his sword flew out of his hand. Every impact sent a pulsing wave of agony, forming new bruises and cuts. Rocks and shrubs tore through his clothing as he scraped to a halt. A trail of clouding dirt and dust was left in Kaze's wake.
He slammed and skidded across the ground, his body rag-dolled across the dire and empty landscape, rocks and shrubs stabbing through his clothing as he felt his entire body pulse with every bounce off the floor. A trail of dirt clouded in the sky as Kaze finally scraped to a halt. A buzz of numbness tingled in every limb and part of his body, he felt blood from his nose and scalp leak and coat his face like red paint.
After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Kaze pushed himself up and stood up again. He sighed deeply, his hands were empty. The glint of his sword was in the middle of a patch of grass not too far from him. He could feel his heart pumping blood throughout his entire body.
The train's whistle blew as it got further and further. The distant lights, the only sense of comfort or way of escape that Kaze had were now gone. He grunted in pain as he turned his head. He began to walk towards his sword.
The breeze picked up ever so slightly. Kaze's eyes widened and he twisted his body around quickly. The breeze became more powerful.
Ali landed in the scene. A loud crash accompanied by the ground tremor of fear alerted the surroundings of Ali's presence. The dust that floated in the air was quickly dissipated by the gusts of wind he summoned.
Kaze's eyes ever so slightly glanced at his sword that lay still in the patch of grass. It was too far, he knew he wouldn't make it. What other choice did he have?
His hand began to reach for the sword he kept on his back. Ironic, that he would have to fight Ali with Ali's very own sword. His hand hesitated as he felt a pain in his shoulder. He clenched his jaw and stared at Ali. Ali simply stood there with a grin on his face, he knew victory was guaranteed.
Kaze huffed and stretched a little before he put his fists in front of him. He spread his feet out and solidified his stance. Ali observed Kaze's stance. He laughed.
"You want to fight hand-to-hand with me?" Ali laughed with arrogance. Something that didn't look good on him. As the moon watched upon her two favoured sons, the bright moon seemed to dim in disappointment at Ali's confused state. The wrath and misjudgment that Ali seethed was nothing like him.
"After all I've heard of you, it's a shame that I have to fight you at all," Kaze tightened his fists and prepared for the clash.