Asuka had been wandering about the city. Moritaka (and by extension Shino) and several others had gone missing, and he had decided to go look for them, despite the clouds and thunder - at least it wasn’t raining, Asuka supposed. It was then when he heard a voice, one he had heard before, even with its distortions.
“N̕gah….͡ Wh͞at͢ t̴h͟e͢ ͜h̸eļl̕ ̶are ́t̸h̕o̶s͢e idioţs͜ ̷e͘v͘en̡ ̢úp t͠o…̸ ̧what t̷he̕ ́FU̕C̛K?! Ho͜w ̕a͜re̵ B̡OTH̛ of th͏ęm the͜re͝?҉! ”
Asuka threw himself to and pressed up against a wall. Peeking around the corner, his suspicions were confirmed. There, in the gloom of the storm, stood that OTHER “Moritaka”, the one who attacked him. He seemed distracted with something, and Asuka briefly wondered who “they” were.
Regardless, Asuka remembered that he had told Oroshi he would let him know of this Other Moritaka’s presence before fighting, and so was just about to make a run for it to do that, when the Other Moritaka turned around, spotting him.
“W͢hat͠?̴! ͏Th͢a̛t͜ da̶mn br̡a͘t́ a͢gain͘, ͘of̶ ͟all plac͟es͞… ”
“D̷O̧N’͜T CA͞LL͝ ME̶ ͏A ͡FUCKI̧NG ҉FAKE̶R̢!͞” the double snapped. “I A̡M͜ ͟M̧E̴! ͢N̡OT T́HA͢T ͟P͜I̷E҉CE OF̷ ̶SH͏IT GR͞E̢E̵Ǹ W̢HE̴LP͏ ̨OF A͠ ̨HO͠UND!͘ ” Within a moment, he was already charging towards Asuka, intent on striking him down.
Leaping to the side, Asuka summoned his own sword, and prepared for combat. The double chased after him, and the battle began.
The double was, just like last time, attempting to relentlessly cut and cut until his enemy is defeated, while Asuka kept on his toes, dodging and parrying the double’s strikes. Being on the defensive while the double was on the ruthless offensive, Asuka realized he needed to do something, or else he’ll wear out or get pinned up against a wall.
The double raised his sword high above him, and Asuka found his opening. He swung at the double’s knee, causing his leg to give in for a moment, and used the chance to gain some distance. The double cried out in anguish, and his face flared up with anger.
“You l̕i̢ttle͜ ̡B͘A͠ST̸ARD͠… ̡T͡ha͞t’s IT͞! ̀No mo̕re f͠uc̸kińg g̢ames̶!̸” He snarled, and Asuka took note of what he was doing. “Ro͢le o̸f t̡h͏e Sl̀a͜ug͟h͏t͏er̀er̡! ̧R͘ul͠e̛ o̡f̢ ̨Cor̢r͘ųpti̷o͞n̶! T͏o͜ ̡n͘ȩe̸d to̧ b͟òrr̶ow̡ ̶yǫùr̶ ͢a̷ņcesto͜r’s s͘tre͟n͠g͟ţh̀ is̷ ̶pa̵th̸eti͞c͠! ͏I'̡l͘l̢ te̢a̷r͏ you͏ t͡o bl͘ood͘y̵ s̷hreds ͠w̵i̵t͢h͢ my͝ ͝own t̴wo ̛h̛a͝n̴d͝s! FROZEN ICE SWORD!!” The double screamed with rage at Asuka, unleashing all of his hatred and fury into a devastating wave tall enough to completely engulf Asuka.
Thinking in the moment as the wave loomed over, Asuka reflexively struck back with the one power he knew he had.
“Role of the Wanderer! Rule of Rending! Engrave mine name unto thee and come forth! BOUNDLESS TAIL!”
His sword shining brightly with its Rule, Asuka blindly leapt forward and thrust into the wave, shattering it completely and stabbing the double right in the chest.
As Asuka pulled out and de-summoned Boundless Tail, the double collapsed onto the floor, defeated. Asuka had won; Moritaka’s double had lost. Unsure of what to think, Asuka decided he should get going, and turned around. Has he began to walk, though, an arm clutched at his trouser leg.
“Ḑ-D͘on͜’t…͢ don’t le͘av̴e͏ me̵…” Asuka turned back to the double. He seemed barely able to even stretch out his hand. It also almost looked as if a faint light bordered the edges around him. “S-Such disgrace I-I have left on my…No̡…̛!҉ NƠ! ” Tears were starting to form in his eyes, and Asuka noted that he seemed to be disappearing into light, piece by piece. The lower halves of his legs were already completely gone. “Í-I͡ doņ’t… ̷tḩ-͝t̵hat’s͘ ͢n̴o҉t ͏me̷…͠! Plęa͢s͜e̕! ̷I-̷I ͠be͘g͝ ͡y͟ou͡…͝!̧ ͢D-͏D̡on͜’t̷…͘ ļet ̕me ̛g̡o…͏!͘ Do̢n't̴ ̴l̕ea͏v̧e̷ m̡e͏ ̸a͞-̕al͠l͡ a҉lo͜n͏e͘ ̧here...!̨”
As if using the last of his strength, the double used his other hand to grab Asuka’s own hand, desperately clinging to it. “I̸…̴ I͡ ͏wan͘t t͡o be͘….̛ Me….͞!̛ ̛Plea̴s͝e…!” he sobbed. Asuka was still unsure of what to even say, all he could do was watch as the double seemed to be fading right out of existence before him.
There was a faint glow from Asuka’s hand, as the double’s own paws disappeared. Curiously, his eyes looked a little different - they always seemed more like empty sockets with irises in them, but now they looked no different to Inuzuka’s. The double seemed to realise something, and let out a weak chuckle of hopelessness. “I͢… ͠I̴ ̨se̢e ͜ńo͟w…” He croaked, his tear-streaked face being all that remained. “Y͞osh̛i̵ŕo… I hope to meet you… on the other side…” And with that, the double had vanished entirely.
Right before Asuka left to report on what happened, he spotted a strange stone of some kind where Moritaka’s double one lay. Curious, he decided to pick it up and, putting it away in his pocket, take it with him, as he made his exit.
