Swan Song Sung By A Faded Crow #5

From part I, "Neo-Saitama In Flames": "Swan Song Sung By A Faded Crow" #5

(All around Yamoto, the sakura-colored origami shapes start dancing once again. "Doomo, pleased to meet you. Me is Yamoto Koki." As she greets her new opponent, she keeps staring at him. "Doomo. Yamoto Koki=san. I am Silver Karasu." The dark-grey ninja returns the aisatsu. And then takes out his katana. "Why don't you show me? Your wazamae.")


Silver Karasu assumes a stance with his katana poised horizontally, and quietly, but emitting a very intimidating atmosphere, gradually closes the distance. The origami are folded into crane and eagle shapes one by one, dancing all around the girl. her eyes burn with the sakura-colored light.
The sword of Third Eye, whose ashes were just scattered on the winds, spins in the air, then lands near Yamoto. Yamoto takes it in her hands. The blade becomes tinged in sakura-colored light, as if it is a torch.
"...This Silver Karasu is a lowly ninja," Silver Karasu says as he keeps closing the distance. "I kill innocent civillians who don't even know how to fight, as if they were mere birds. It is not combat. It's tsujigiri. A mere killer with nothing to be proud of. I simply kill to earn my money. Useless money, you hear?" "..."
Whew, whew, occasionally, some origami that surround Yamoto leave the formation and jump towards Silver Karasu. As if swiping away some sparks, casually, with the katana or even with bare hands, Silver Karasu brings them down one by one. Not even getting any chance to explode, origami missiles simply crash down to the ground.
"While at work. As you go on, you stop feeling fear or guilt," Silver Karasu keeps speaking. "It's comforting. I don't know how many thousands I've killed so far. Most of them died because the security mechanisms were at fault. Efficiency is important." "..." Yamoto holds the ninja sword. "Come and get me. Girlie."
Matching Silver Karasu's footwork, Yamoto keeps the distance. Stay calm. Keep the peace of mind. The teachings of Kagi Tanaka. The tip of the enemy's sword, their trajectory. Read their nature. It's over when you lose your calm. That's what the enemy is waiting for. ...Silver Karasu charges in! "YEEART!" Hayai!
Yamoto dodges with a large leap. She is afraid. Tatsujin. This opponent is on an entirely different level from Third Eye. To prevent Silver Karasu from chasing after Yamoto, the origami missiles fly at him one after another, akin to pebbles. "Such meaningless attack," Silver Karasu mutters.
He moves his katana with such speed that it's impossible to even see the afterimage, knocking away all that is thrown at him. With his emotionless eyes set on Yamoto, he continues his approach. The sakura-colored light leaves the origami that still surrounds Yamoto as it all falls down. That is intentional. There's no way to use it. Right now, in this combat. "That's right. The katana," Silver Karasu says quietly.
"Move your katana." "YEEART!" Yamoto charges! Silver Karasu blocks Yamoto's ninja sword with his own sword's guard. The pressure! Yamoto is about to be pushed down. She opens her eyes wide. "YEEART!" As if to catch her breath, she spins around and escapes the pressure. She's now besides Silver Karasu!
"YEEART!" A single sideway swing. Silver Karasu dodges with a crouch. Yamoto was expecting that. As well as the slash at her shins. As she pulled back her sword, she was already preparing for her next move. She dodges Silver Karasu's sweeping katana with a cartwheel and attempts a diagonal cut as she lands. "YEEART!"
"YEEART!" Silver Karasu blocks it with his sword's guard and kicks. "YEEART!" Rather than jumping back, Yamoto reads the leg's movements and moves her body slightly out of its range. Silver Karasu smiles with his eyes. "YEEART!" Yamoto strikes at Silver Karasu's leg, trying to knock him down.
"YEEART!" Silver Karasu dodges it by jumping on the spot, lands on his hand and kicks Yamoto while upside-down. "NAAA!" Yamoto is caught by surprise, as the kick sends her rolling along the ground. As she tries to stand up, Silver Karasu is already right in front of her. The katana falls down in an overhead swing.
"YEEART!" Yamoto jumps right into Silver Karasu's chest. The deadly blade passes right beside her face. A few of her black hairs are cut off, as the sakura-colored light makes them float. She swings her ninja sword. Silver Karasu flips his katana upwards just as it was falling down, preventing that. "Why are you crying? You fool."
"YEEART!" Yamoto forcibly swings again. Silver Karasu blocks it with Ubasute's guard with ease. "YEEART!" Yamoto swings again, this time downwards. It really is the same, after all. He blocks with the guard. "YEEART!" She swings again and again. Naturally, he blocks it all with the guard. "It's going to break, you know," annoyed Silver Karasu says.
However, Yamoto doesn't stop her assault. "YEEART! YEEART! YEEART! YEEART!" Each time she brings her sword up and down, tears fly out of her eyes. Silver Karasu blocks it all. "Hey, stop it, this is the, last one, after all." He laughs quietly. Before too long, the ninja sword falls out of Yamoto's hands.
"I suppose the time has come." Silver Karasu shrugs and drops his katana. Yamoto hits him with her hand, free of katana. Hits again and again. Silver Karasu falls backwards, landing on his backside. Yamoto falls down along with Silver Karasu, again and again hitting him with a trembling hand. Before too long, she cries out loud, buried in his chest.
"The instructions won't be of any use if you find out who I am," Silver Karasu says. "If you don't even try to kill me." "There's no way me can do this. After all, me knows it's you, Kagi=san. That's obvious." Yamoto ekes out a voice while sobbing. "Me can't do this." "You can't?" "Me can't." "I see."
With his trembling hand, he rubs the back of sobbing Yamoto. "That was way too selfish of me. You're still just a kid, after all." Yamoto keeps crying. "In the end, I couldn't even get my last smoke. That's inga-oho for you." Silver Karasu says in a coarse voice. "Well, that's the only regret I have. All thanks to you. Now I can shut up and go to Jigoku."
...Who knows just how much time they've spent that way. There's no doubt they've talked some more with each other. However, that time didn't last for too long. Sooner or later, one of the two... Yamoto stands up. She wipes her tears. And, so no one follows her, quickly leaves the scene. There's nothing else she can do.

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A few days later, at the Akegane station, there is a girl with an acid-resistant jacket's hood over her eyes. Her name is Yamoto Koki. On the katana sheath that hangs from her waist (in the Mappou world, armed girls are rare, but not unusual), a word "Ubasute" is engraved. It used to be the favorite sword of a ninja called Silver Karasu.
In the backpack that she carries, in addition to the change of clothes, the uniform, and the daily necessities, lies a large-sum credit device. While she wasn't looking, Kagi Tanaka... Silver Karasu has put his money there. Her hair is now longer, cut right over her shoulders.
"The train is about to arrive, dosue. Be careful not to get run over and cause trouble for others." A noisy warning of the electronic maiko voice. Though Yamoto is idly waiting for the train, she notices something at the stairs that lead to the turnstiles. The three men with cyber-sunglasses and dark suits run upstairs in a hurry. They're a spitting image of each other, as if they were triplets.
The sakura-colored light dimly glows in Yamoto's eyes. A train is arriving on the opposite side of the station. "YEEART!" Without hesitation, Yamoto jumps on that train. About the same time as she lands, the train starts running again. As the three suits notice that, they take out chaka guns from their vests and start shooting.
"ZAKKENNAKORAAH!" Naturally, their bullets don't reach the target. In just a few seconds, the clone yakuzas disappear beyond the horizon. Yamoto sits down in a dent of the train roof and takes out a small box from her jacket. It's labeled "Sea of Twilight". She puts a cigarette in her mouth and, trying to block the wind with her back, lights it up with unfamiliar hand movements.
She tries to breathe it in, but what's impossible is impossible even for a ninja, and after she coughs violently, she puts the fire out. And she puts the cigarette box back in her pocket. A gust of wind blows the hood off her head, exposing her hair.

(From part I, "Neo-Saitama In Flames": "Swan Song Sung By A Faded Crow", The End)