Amare Flos (Demon Slayer)

The clouds idly watched, grey and dense with rain, about to break into chaos.

Ali felt the hair on his arms stand up, he immediately felt an overwhelming presence behind him, Eira's voice echoed throughout the forest. A loud boom sounded,

Ali leapt out of the way, unknowingly dodging a fatal blow that could probably take him out if it connected.

A shadowed figure stood in front of them all, a large shadow on the barren path. Ali stumbled backwards as he turned around to face the enemy. A loud sound of thunder rumbled, Ali's face went pale as he who saw who stood before them. A pale blue tint all over it's body. Stripes ranging from its face to its body. It wore a small piece of clothing, that jacketed barely any of it's body, and baggy pants. It's yellow eyes shone as a grin crept up its face. A hollow and empty laugh echoed in their ears, the demon's grin only getting wider. Ali trembled in his presence. They were all paralysed in fear.

"Upper 3…" Asumi's hands trembled as she went to clench at her sword, "Akaza." The lightning flashed as his name was spoken. A formidable opponent, the 3rd most powerful in the infamous Twelve Moons.

Akaza didn't move but instead looked at all three of them.

"Well... Not awfully strong. But I love an uplifting battle to raise my ego." Akaza held his fists out. Asumi dashed away, standing next to Eira. Ali stood up and held his sword, even if it seemed impossible. Asumi gulped, holding Eira's haori.

All of a sudden Eira moved forward at an unimaginable speed. The haori slipped out of Asumi's grip almost instantly. Eira's whole body was covered with goosebumps, even if the paralysing crimson-red aura of Akaza scared her out of her wits, she had to fight. It was nothing compared to the dark and malicious black she had faced. Eira swung her sword at Akaza, seemingly about to connect. A glint of hope sparked in all of them, Eira's sword only centimetres away from the tough neck of Akaza.

"No…" Asumi's eyes went wide with fear, Eira was fast. But compared to Akaza?

Asumi flinched and closed her eyes. Eira's body went still as Akaza's eyes locked with hers as if time had stopped, she was still in the air. In the blink of an eye, Eira felt the crimson surrounding her. She was in danger. Akaza's body turned and his elbow smashed into her chest, she spat out blood and her body smashed into the trunk of a tree. Her vision went blurry, she felt a small trickle of blood leak out her scalp onto her forehead. She put her hand out but it fell back onto the ground as all went dark.

"You… killed her." Ali's mind immediately went to the worst outcome.

"Please. I held back. I don't kill women." Akaza dusted off his elbow, he maintained eye contact with Ali. The strong gaze was hard to break off. Something about Ali stuck out to Akaza. Asumi's body was tensed up, her body trembling, she wanted to dash over to Eira. The atmosphere so thick it was hard to breathe. She clenched her sword and looked at Ali.

Akaza held out his hand.

"Come on then? Who's next? Boy? Girl?" Akaza smiled with amusement. Ali's body failed to move. His throat was tight, if he took a step he would stumble with how weak he felt. His heart throbbed, his eyes travelled to where Eira lay. His stomach sank as he saw Eira. He didn't want anyone to get more hurt. He looked back at Asumi, whose face was so pale she looked like a ghost. He couldn't bear to see both of them like this. He clenched his jaw and stared at Akaza, then an idea popped into his head. He unsheathed his sword, Akaza grinned in anticipation. Ali lifted the sword upwards and impaled it's blade into the ground, slightly cracking the area around it, only half of it's blade and the handle showing. Ali let go of the sword and put his fists up.

"You want to challenge a demon like me? An upper moon to a fistfight?!" He shouted out in hysterical laughter. He couldn't contain himself from laughing. Akaza stared at Ali, who didn't seem fazed by Akaza's talk. There was one person who was.

"Ali! Do you want to die?!" Asumi said, in fear for Ali. She knew, this for sure. There was no chance for Ali. He looked back and smiled, Asumi's eyes widened. It wasn't a smile reassuring her, it felt like a smile that was saying goodbye. Ali turned back to Akaza. With a deep breath.

"How about this? I land one hit on you. And you leave them both alone. Just one hit." Ali held up a finger. Akaza lost his smile and stared into Ali's eyes. The eyes were full of determination, a fire of immense willpower. Akaza grinned getting a good idea, he liked Ali, and felt like he was a perfect student.

"What a waste of a human. That determination. Belongs to someone who should be able to hone their skills for eternity. I have my own offer." Akaza said holding his hand out.

"Become a demon" Akaza stared into Ali's eyes, the offer stood like an object of pitch-black misfortune.

It was Ali's turn to laugh, laughing, almost as if it was a disrespect to Akaza. Ali shook his head and suddenly sprinted forward and swung at Akaza. Akaza stepped backwards, letting Ali's momentum fall into him. Crack! Akaza drove a knee into Ali's ribs. Ali felt a bone crack and stab into his flesh. Ali clenched his jaw in pain.

As Ali's body dropped onto the floor, Akaza's eyes met with Asumi, who had her sword winded back, mere inches away from Akaza, she swung the sword, unleashing a powerful form.

Unexpectedly, Akaza hooked his fist right into the sword.

Asumi's sword shattered as Akaza's fist hit the blade. Before she had time to react, Akaza put a hand on Asumi's stomach and blasted her backwards with a single push. Asumi skidded on the floor, her feet put in strain as she tried to stop the immense force she was pushed back in. She fell to the floor, her hands on the ground, her whole body aching. She looked up to see Ali back up. She had no hope, she wasn't like Ali, she couldn't just get back up. Her sword had broken, so had her spirit.

"This is it huh? Death. Why was it us?" Asumi gritted her teeth, the thought echoing in her head. She looked back at Eira and started to tear up. A spark of hope lit up when she looked back. Ali's left fist looked like it was about to hit Akaza's body.

Akaza grinned and jabbed at Ali's left fist. Ali immediately felt a bone crack. His knuckle dislocating and his whole hand looking disfigured. Ali's face dropped when he saw his hand, he knew no matter how many bandages, how much stinging medicine. This was something he wouldn't recover from.

"I know what you're thinking huh?" Akaza grabbed Ali's face around the jaw. He pulled Ali's face right into his knee, smashing his nose in. Ali let out a big shout of pain.

"You won't recover. Become a demon! A man of your calibre can't die now!" Akaza threw Ali backwards. Akaza gritted his teeth, he had never wanted someone as his student so badly. Ali's sheer determination led Akaza to admire him. Ali used his right fist to push himself up. He had one thought bouncing around in his mind.

"One. Hit." Ali couldn't stop thinking about it. If he couldn't save himself, he wanted to at least save Asumi and Eira.

Ali screamed out of the disparity of the fight. And sprinted forward with whatever little energy he had left. His left eye caked his blood, his recent wounds had opened up, his bones broken, his cuts bleeding. Purple bruises all over his arms, face and body. Ali caught a glimpse of Asumi trying to pull the sword that Ali had pierced the ground with. She struggled.

Ali's eyes widened. He thought that if he could get the sword out for her, they could corner Akaza together.

"Asu-" Ali shouted before his face was smashed in by Akaza.

Akaza's fist drove into Ali's body multiple times as Ali fell to the floor. Ali could barely breathe, it hurt every time he did. It was clear. Death was near. Akaza put all his force into the next punch. Smashing the ground next to Ali's head, it created a large crater. Akaza looked down at Ali and screamed out of pure frustration.

"Become a demon!" Akaza grabbed Ali's arm. Asumi's heart dropped when she heard a horrible sound. It was like someone wrung a soaked towel dry, but ten times louder. She went pale when she turned to her right. And saw that Akaza had completely ripped off Ali's arm. He was screaming about turning into a demon. Ali lay there. Asumi stumbled backwards.

Ali's eyes feel hazy, his heart felt like it was slowing. He hadn't got a single hit on Akaza, he hadn't even come close. He had to make sure Asumi and Eira were safe.

"If..." Ali's voice came out hoarse, tears fell from his eyes. His blood loss was severe. He knew he was going to die in the next 5 minutes.

"If I turn into a demon. Will you leave them... alone?" Ali croaked. Asumi screamed out in disapproval. She was saying something inaudible to Ali. Her voice didn't get to Ali. Neither did Akaza's. The last sight he saw was Akaza's face in joy. His eyes slowly dropped. He felt a hand go around his back. Then air rushed across his face. Then nothing. Pitch black. It felt like he was in a bubble, a bubble that drifted through nothingness for eternity.

Asumi stood there. Her mind had completely shut off, tears fell down her face like a waterfall. She didn't even make a sound.

The sun rose hours later, the shadow of Ali's grounded sword reached where she stood. As the sun hit Eira's eyes. She awoke.

"Ali!" She screamed out.