Toushikyo slowly began to move. It started with his fingers, twitching in the cold he was so numb to. Then his knees lifted, his shoulders, and soon he had his hands upon his knees, and slowly but surely, the man began to stand. His eyes fell to the ice and his lips parted, but only air came out. His tongue twitched, teeth clenched for a fraction of a second, and his heart skipped a beat. It was as if all his joints shuddered at once, fueled by a ripple across every much, inciting every one of his limps to twitch greatly at least once.

He did not look like a man then. Rather, Toushikyo bore the appearance of a statue coming to life. A frozen machine dethawing.

The Memory looked upon Eld just then. There was something in Toushikyo's eyes-- in the way he leered at Eld, in the way his upper lip curled, and the way his eyes narrowed. Something discernible. Something pure.

Hate.

Eld was still looking around for Kageko when movement caught his eye. Toushikyo was beginning to move again; just what would it take to keep him down? Exhausted of Qi and without a weapon, there was a limit to what he could do to affect a more permanent solution.

There was something else about him, too...the way he looked at him was far from the impassive gaze he'd been seeing until now. It was much more like he'd looked during their previous encounters; funny that it was this time, when he had a legitimate reason to hate him, that he'd been so passive.

Perhaps that actually wasn't all that funny after all.

Heaving a sigh, Eld steeled himself as he once again walked towards the driving cold that seemed to surround Toushikyo. If possible, he wanted to reach him before he got up, and stop him from doing just that.

Unfortunately for Eld, he was never given the chance-- not to reach Toushikyo in time, at the very least. He thrust himself up, quickly regaining his footing through newfound vigor, roughly at the same time as Eld nearly threw himself at the Memory.

He reminded himself who Eldridge Tsukimono was. He was the boy that killed Gestahl, his father. He was the boy that killed Oboreru, his brother. And he was the boy responsible for the death of his sister, Akizetsumei. This was a man that needed to die. It mattered little to him now that he'd been told of Eld's importance in gaining some semblance of feeling, or the permanence of his race. All that mattered now was what Eld had done thus far . . .

Suffice it to say, it was no coincidence that Toushikyo rose with an uppercut to Eldridge Tsukimono's jaw.

The move caught him entirely off-guard; the way his opponent had been squirming on the ground, he didn't think it was possible for him to leap up so suddenly, and with an attack to boot. He was knocked clear off his feet, and slid a few yards away on the ice.

While he didn't stay down for long, he was slower to get up than Toushikyo, who seemed to find some new source of energy. His determination remained solid: regardless of what changes he'd undergone, the fact that he seemed just as willing to hurt people as look at them hadn't changed. As long as he was willing the blizzard into existence, he had to keep fighting to stop him.

So Eld leveled the same hard stare at him that he had ever since they'd arrived at the lake, readying himself for the next round of combat.

Like an animal, Toushikyo threw himself forward. On the ice, where Toushikyo could walk freely without the penalties of friction, it took him no time at all to reach Eld, whereupon he attempting to throw his right fist into the young man's face. He had his left hand pulled back all the while, however, ready to throw as a followup--during which he could draw back his right and swing again.

There was skill behind his blows, but it wavered now; his strikes were much less strong and much more wild, driven by the same purpose as before, yet fueled by something entirely different. Toushikyo had a new purpose. Not only was he to take the scythe from Tsukimono, but he was to harm Tsukimono--beat him to an inch of his life and ensure that he knew despair before death. The scythe was nearby, just two dozen feet to the left of them, sitting harmlessly upon the middle of the lake. Toushikyo could have paralyzed Eld and run for it.

But that wasn't going to happen. The latter task had quickly jumped in priority. Using a weapon would have simply killed Eld much too fast.

Eld may have had more strength left than Toushikyo, but that was nothing compared to the advantage the latter had on the terrain. He'd barely gotten back on his feet before his opponent came flying at him with another assault. He managed to block the first blow, but doing so made him lose his footing, and it left him open entirely to the second one.

The force of the blow sent him staggering,causing his already shaky balance to collapse entirely. He fell flat on his back again, blood flowing from his nose, the wind knocked out of him.

Something had changed; Toushikyo was different than before, and now he was having difficulty dealing with him. If he didn't get the upper hand back soon, with the elements still whittling away at his stamina, he might not be able to...

Eld was down. For good? Probably not. He was bound to get back up eventually. Toushikyo made it his personal goal to ensure that did not happen.

Without a moment's hesitation, Toushikyo marched ahead for Eld, where he quickly bent down to the young man. He was in no way gentle. He'd throw his elbow into Eld's gut quickly, fully intending on knocking the wind out of him entirely, before laying on him with a flurry of punches aimed for the whereabouts of his head--using only his right hand, however. His left was devoted to pushing down on Eld's shoulder, to ensure further difficulty in getting up. After each strike, he'd pull back his right hand again and quickly let another fall.

On this terrain, it would seem that Toushikyo most certainly had the upper hand. Unfortunately, Eld didn't stand much of a chance in getting him away from it. If Eld was going to fight Toushikyo and further try to put a stop to this blizzard, he had no choice but to fight on Toushikyo's terms.

The elbow ensured that Eld was breathless for a few precious seconds, seconds which would allow Toushikyo to freely pummel his face and disorient him. But even without powers, the Reaper was more resilient than he looked.

Forcing himself to concentrate through the pain and the blood now clouding his vision, kicked out at his opponent's leg, then immediately reached up using the side that he was holding down and pulled the back of his head down in an attempt to smash his face into the ice.

From there, he'd try and put some distance between them, so he could get up and regain his bearings.

Toushikyo's leg went out from under him, which would've knocked him down had he not been nearly sitting already. This afforded Eld a moment, a split second when Toushikyo fell to his knee. If he didn't take advantage of that precious moment, it would've been over. Toushikyo was knocked off balance for only so long; he'd have returned to pummeling Eld the very moment he regained his composure, and that would've been it. He had it in mind to wrap his hands around Eld's throat next, squeeze with all the power he could, and thrash about until Eldridge Tsukimono simply ceased living.

It was fortunate for Eld, then, that he took advantage of the opportunity he earned. Toushikyo was grasped by the skull, which was promptly brought down upon the ice as hard as Eldridge could manage. Again, the young man's head filled with a horrible static. He slumped over, propped still upon his knees, forehead still upon the ice, and hands weakly clinging to the ice just the same.

A memory edged its way into his mind . . .



. . . and with it . . .



. . . In the distance, at the other edge of the frozen lake, Eld would hear the sound of a thousand heart breaks, carried by one lone, indelible scream.

The scream was so startling that Eld paused in his search for Kageko to turn towards its source. Perhaps it was justified; he hadn't hit the man hard enough to warrant that kind of reaction, so something must have been off. The only question in his mind was whether this would be good for him, or bad.

He couldn't stop and stare for long, though. He desperately needed to find his scythe, as the chances of him beating Toushikyo at close range were slim if he had no weapon. With his opponent making the very air around him seem to freeze, plus the fact that he remained unaffected by the icy lake they stood on, the reach alone was invaluable.

And that was assuming whatever was going on with him now didn't add even more surprises into the mix...

Eld would find the scythe cast aside, left sitting upon the edge of the frozen lake. Retrieving it would be as simple as it appeared, too. It wasn't long after Eld had his weapon in his hands again that Toushikyo pulled himself to his feet. Even from across the lake, it was easy to tell that he was weak. The simple act of standing took more strength than he had left in him, yet he forced himself. There was a horrible pain in his skull, spread out through his entire body, that somehow webbed its way into the center of his chest. It felt like a knot. A weight. A batch of broken ice all compacted together until there was nothing but dust and emptiness.

"Why . . ." Toushikyo mouthed.

He forced his feet to move. Took a step forward. Forced another step. It felt like his limbs were freezing, somewhere deep inside his bones . . .

"Why . . . can't I kill you . . .?" he forced another step, took a deep breath, and shouted for a second time, "Is it . . . is it fate?! Were we supposed to die from the very start?! Is that why you took her life? All of their lives? Is that why you won't die?!"

With that, Eld would feel force pressing down upon him. There was something wrong with the air. Its properties were changing. Everything was becoming thicker. Colder.

At last he spotted it, and not a moment too soon, for his opponent had recovered.

By this point, Eld's memory was becoming as slippery as the ice beneath his feet. Flashes of images remained, leaving him foggy and uncertain; he could neither deny nor confirm the accusations with any certainty.

But there was one thing of which he was certain. "I didn't ask for this; how many times do I need to remind you? You're the ones who started this fight."

While his mind was failing him, his heart felt heavy in his chest as he picked up the scythe. One thing remained clear to him; he did not know why, and the memories that gave it context were fading fast. But if it kept him going, he would cling to it all the same.

"But I'll be the one to finish it."

He turned around to face Toushikyo once more. The air was growing even colder; hypothermia had already been a danger, and if the fight dragged on for much longer it would be a certainty. By all rights he should have collapsed long ago; sheer force of will was all that kept him going.

"I promised that much."

"A promise?" Toushikyo wrinkled his brow, "I've broken all my promises. And now, the only one . . ." he paused, took a deep breath, ". . . who'd ever forgive them is dead."

There was a noticeable change in Toushikyo. Eld, who had encountered this man on a number of occasions, knew him as cold and heartless. He never shouted or screamed, never showed sign of emotion beyond the smallest fragment of displeasure. But now he stood before Eld, speaking with a wavering voice, cracking in and out of tones Eld never heard leave the man's lips before now.

"I've no need to live in a world where . . . my . . . family," the words sounded so foreign on his tongue--the first time he'd ever uttered them, yet the felt natural all the same, ". . . is still no more."

And all Eld would have to do was get only a bit closer, enough to see Toushikyo's face, to notice the biggest change of all: the moisture in his eyes.

"I will be the end of you, Eldridge Tsukimono," Toushikyo whispered, his voice shaky and weak.

It was an impossible threat. They were too powerful for any of us together to destroy. And yet, by sacrificing her life, she killed what we all thought unkillable. What fate simply would not allow to die.

". . . even if I, too, must end."

Something had changed again; at first all Toushikyo had known was hate, and then he'd become completely emotionless. Why was this happening? It would have been so much easier to fight him if he'd remained completely cold.

That was not the only thing that made him uneasy, however. Something about what he said was familiar...it was important, he was sure. He needed some time to remember.

"Why?" he asked. "Why would you give your own life, just to kill?" It was not something he could understand; he could understand hate, and bloodlust, but to the extent of sacrificing his own life? That wasn't something he could comprehend.

Oboreru . . .

He bit his lip.

Akizetsumei . . .

He tightened his hands into fists, clenched, and released. He hadn't the strength to fight anymore.

"Call it justice . . ." he replied, his head held up only by a weak will to continue.

He felt a sting of moisture on his cheek. It wasn't snow. It was warm. Toushikyo raised his hand, set his finger to his cheek, felt the warmth of a tear draining, and pushed his fingers up to his eye. He wiped away all that remained.

And a sad smile slowly crossed his lips.

". . . for failing to protect them."

The man dropped his arms to his sides, sulked his head and shoulders and looked to the ice below his feet. There was nothing left that he could do. No manner of killing Eldridge Tsukimono without this. No manner of justifying his own existence through living. This was all that remained for him.

"Invoveo nox."