Kiri La Kill - Chapter 15

The conclusion of the first arc of this particular series… the next ones should shorter, but a lot more cozier… we have finally reached the characters we so desperately want to interact with.

Enjoy, everyone.

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Berserk rage is often treated as the graceless last resort of a thoughtless brute.

And that is largely true, for the world certainly did not lack for people who sought to make up for lack of mental fortitude with physical aptitude, and in no way is this something to be disparaged for those that have no choice but to do that.

But in the rare cases that one had both available to them, a body which had long since trained itself to become a weapon could turn the concept of berserk rage into a terrifying concept, that would allow them to reach heights that could make them equals to the best of them.

In the context of Gamagoori Ira, who had been left incensed at the perceived insult at his purpose and that of the person he had dedicated himself to, his incandescent rage might have been enough to make him reach the domain of the gods.

For beside his considerable strength, his body was honed with the use of a Goku Uniform, which as battered as it was, was still usable. Tendrils flying about like a typhoon, whether they make to attack Kiri, or to flagellate himself to increase its power… ballooning out occasionally whenever possible for an especially powerful blow.

It was all Kirishima Eijiro do to endure all of the blows sent his way, made all the more difficult by the way that the powerful slashes proved to be a weak point of his Quirk. The jagged crags that had formed in his body now flowing with blood in a display that he drew a certain macabre thought from.

It wasn’t often that his body was painted with his own blood.

But still, if one thought that this was his final battle, they were mistaken.

Because no matter how angry Gamagoori was, no matter how much it fueled his considerable willpower… It was an undeniable fact that neither his body nor his Uniform would not allow him to keep his current pace up forever.

For he was still bleeding profusely from his wounds, and the fact that he inflicted more on himself every second did not help. And his cracked armor had only grown more so with the strain he was putting it through.

Eventually, it would be too much.

And Gamagoori Ira would kill himself in the attempt to bring down his opponent.

Kiri knew this, but also knew that he could not do anything about it, no matter how desperately he tried to go against the tide… doing so would only mean that Gamagoori would succeed in dragging Kiri down with him.

He was lucky, in that someone else agreed with him about preventing Gamagoori’s fate.

“That is enough, Gamagoori.”

The ceaseless blows ceased.

“L-Lady Satsuki.” Gamagoori wheezed, keeping his head up, as his body shook even now from his life-giving rage leaving him… as he whirled around to face the only person whose words could claw him back from the depths of his rage.

It seemed Kiryuin Satsuki finally decided to come down to the battlefield.

“You have done well… I permit you to rest on your back.” She gestured to her side, where a veritable horde of medics trembled with fear at being so close to two monsters. “I will handle the rest.”

Gamagoori Ira blinked, before nodding.

Before suddenly, the ground shook as he finally fell on his back.

Kiryuin Satsuki walked past her most loyal subordinate, and placed herself before Kiri, who had watched it

“So…” Kiri said, taking in much needed breaths in heaving gulps, his body feeling like it was being weighed down like lead. “You’re Kiryuin Satsuki.” He was exhausted, only adrenaline keeping him up after suffering through Gamagoori’s last resort… the fact that he was even on his feet right now was a feat no lesser than his opponent’s survival despite his wounds.

And now, he faced someone stronger than even he.

“Kirishima Eijirou… we finally meet.” Far from the grand and bombastic figure he’d figured she was, from all of the interviews that he had seen, the person across from him spoke rather calmly. “You’ve made a mess of my school.”

“You don’t have to worry about that for long.” He hissed, his exhaustion lessening as adrenaline flooded his body in preparation of his real target.

Kiryuin Satsuki was not moved.

She was here for far more different reasons.

“I thought it strange, how someone like you could take a stance against me out of nowhere.” She said, “You don’t exist as a person, you have made no note of your ideals beyond vague generalities any ‘good’ person would think on their own… the only difference between you and my endless detractors, is that you have the strength to come this far.”

“Would you have cared, I wonder, if you were approached peacefully?” She asked. “Would you care if all that you’d seen of the slums below were from the window of a first class ride on an air-conditioned plane, that brought you to a cordial conversation with me?”

The answer was instinctual.

“Of course I would!”

But Kiri realized with a sinking feeling that it was not true.

Simply because the trace of a lingering guilt from within his own memories suddenly making itself known… Something that clashed against Kiri’s current experiences, and that experienced by the self locked away behind a seal.

That self who had a goal that he himself viewed as inherently selfish.

“You had conviction, it has burned itself into your very being.” The girl said, her sword hissing as it was retrieved from its sheathe. “So much so that even a shadow of it can carry you this far. Gamagoori, the Elite 4 and…” A pause. “...Even myself, would not have been a match for you, had you faced us at your best.”

“The current you has been puppeted by the old you, a hold which has now been shaken.” She said in the end, and for a moment her voice was laced with great pity. “Which means that this will not be a fight, but a slaughter… stand down!”

“You’re full of yourself.” Kiri hissed, his confusion suddenly turning to anger as he focused on the one thing he knew himself to be capable of… her words had admittedly shook something within the boy.

In the end, Kiryuin Satsuki was right.

Kiri charged forward with a roar, calling on his Quirk to wrap around himself as much as it could, moving on instinct yet again so as to call on his strongest maneuver.

For a second, he blinked.

In that split second, Kiryuin Satsuki had disappeared.

“Useless.” She said from behind him, as she placed her sword back on its sheath.

A Kirishima Eijiro who did not have his own conviction, who could be shaken by mere words alone, could not become Unbreakable.

And so, Satsuki’s sword carved a chunk on the center of his Hardened Skin with ease, and the rush of trying to regenerate that wound proved to be Kiri’s undoing. His body finally gave out, as he fell once to his knees, and then on his back.

The beast that had terrorized Honnouji was brought low by their beloved Kiryuin Satsuki.

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“It would be best, if we were to dispose of him now.”

“Rejected.”

“But Lady Kiryuin… his very existence is a threat to the order of things in our school!”

“Are you questioning my decision?”

“W-well, no. But you cannot deny that the school will be on edge! The Clubs were all decimated one by one, we lost so many uniforms, and even the invincible image of the Elite Four was tarnished… If we do not give a clear sign of our victory, all that you have built will be lost!”

“All will be well when my plan comes to fruition. Inform me when he wakes, I will be the first to see him.”

“You cannot mean to say that you intend to tame the beast!”

“...”

“Lady Kiryuin!”

“...Hmph. Apt metaphor. A beast like him is indeed needed, if he can be rid of the shackles of his old self and be given true conviction once more… our victory will be assured.”

“I admit, I do not fully understand the logic. But having that on our side would indeed be a boon.”

“We will have need of that beast, you can be certain of that.”