Chaos and Order - A Multiverse Fanfic

As Kai caught his breath, he processed and analyzed his gains and losses on this mission.

The most important was none other than the Breathing Style.

Hmm… I can maintain it for half an hour, Kai reflected. Any more than that and my breathing fluctuates too much for it to be called an advantage.

The Breathing Style boosts my base Strength, Stamina, Agility, and Perception, but it's exhilarating to maintain this state for over 30 minutes.

Base Attributes were those that didn't have any extra points added or subtracted from them because of an Item, Title, or Skill.

Not to mention, 30 minutes were more than enough to decide the fate of a battle at Kai's level right now.

However, if he were to take the Total Concentration Constant into account, these 30 minutes looked too pitiful.

The Hashiras could maintain their Breathing Style day and night, and even their sleep.

He was too far from that level, Kai knew.

Nonetheless, after the creation of First Transformation, the endless training he had been going through with a Hashira had brought his Elementary Selfless Breathing's Proficiency to a whopping 50%.

Kai knew this 50% proficiency only looked better at a glance.

Because, first, it had birthed from a combination of two Advance Abilities and one Master Ability.

Second, the rate of increase in Proficiency in the Elementary stage couldn't even be regarded in the same breath as that of the Advance.

Now that the thought of Proficiency had pervaded Kai's mind, he couldn't help but shake his head as he thought of his swords.

From his resurrection to now, Murasame's Quality had dropped to 85% from 95%.

Afro's Tachi had fared no better, its Quality dropping to 60% from 74%. But the worst among them was still One half of the Power Sword.

This sword/armor had taken almost all the otherworldly beating for Kai from his ridiculously strong opponents.

First, it was Yautja and the Queen Xenomorph, and recently the Flame Hashira and the Upper Rank Three demon had beaten the shit out of him, forcing the armor to regain its original shape.

As a result, this Item's Quality dropped to 55% from 87%.

It pained Kai's heart.

…

"Given up already?" Shinobu's playful voice rang around Kai like several musical notes. "Only 30 minutes… This won't do, Arlen."

Kai pushed back his thoughts and stood up, the morning's chill finally finding him, making him shiver by the faintest amount.

Shinobu threw his swords at him, and they came to hover by his side.

"You wound me, Shinobu," Kai jested, smiling. "You know better than anyone that I can last for over 30 minutes. And I have yet to break my fast this morning."

Kai's smile had a gentle but playful nature mixed in it.

His white hair rippled in the morning breeze, and over the snow, his tall figure looked like a blue deity, not a blue-skinned demon.

Or this was how Shinobu perceived him, at least.

When she heard his words and understood the hidden meanings, her face fumed with a rosy blush, her ears becoming red and hot. Then she giggled.

"Ara!" she put a hand over her mouth and exclaimed. "First catch me, Arlen. Then you can do anything you want."

The fastest Hashira became snow and wood as her figure shook, leaving behind an afterimage.

Kai sighed, and then clenched his teeth, a hissing sound reverberating around him like the crackling of an intense fire.

In the next moment, he too became a speckle of blood before disappearing, trying to catch a hint of the puzzle whose name was Shinobu.

For long the two trained, their laughter echoing up and down the mountain like a lost poem.

At last, Kai caught Shinobu's haori by its corner; the barest touch.

Or she let him purposefully catch her.

Who knew?

It remained an ancient mystery of this snowy mountain for ages to come.

*

*

The silly morning heralded a silent and heavy afternoon.

Kai and Shinobu walked side by side, the snowy mountain becoming a silhouette behind them.

Nezuko was on Kai's back, her face resting on his shoulder.

It was too quiet.

Their feet left deep impressions on the snow, their breath misting and mingling with each other.

The smile on Shinobu's face never vanished, but her pupils kept trembling now and then, knowing she was as helpless against time as her man's resolve.

It had already been known to them that Kai would have to leave this evening, going back to hiding.

Yet, as the time of separation approached, the dreamy imagination became reality little by little.

The pain of the morning's embrace still lingered between Shinobu's thighs, but when Kai held her hand now, the smile on her face couldn't help but widen.

Perhaps this was the only pain she didn't mind experiencing again and again, she thought.

It was then Kai stopped, and her heart skipped a beat. Any more ahead, and they would risk someone noticing Kai.

Kai looked down at her, and Shinobu looked up.

Her eyes were neither moist nor tired, only pained.

Once again, Kai commended the brilliance of the Insect Hashira inwardly. She truly was a strong woman. No doubt.

Kai could feel her boiling love and loyalty for him in her heart, and yet, Shinobu said not one word to stop him.

The smile on her face seemed eternal and immemorial.

Kai sighed in his heart.

He had no animosity towards Shinobu. If her death had brought him strength, then she would have died already.

Also, if it wasn't for Heart Rhythm, and her mere presence bringing him closer to the Peak of Absolute Power, then he wouldn't have bothered with her at all.

Kai liked older women, but it didn't mean he disliked having sex with Shinobu. Nor did it mean he hated her.

But to think that Kai could truly feel the same emotions as her, and enjoy the same feelings, would be the biggest lie.

Gone were the days when he could trust someone; love someone.

Now only one thing remained — Absolute Power.

This was his Demonic Path, and only he could tread it.

There was no place for Shinobu, Cersei, or anyone on it. The very essence of this demonic path wouldn't tolerate anything less than the Will to Defy that Kai had.

And he knew it.

Yet Kai couldn't deny that he didn't hate this person. Not as she was now.

Kai leaned forward and kissed Shinobu's forehead and then hugged her, their warm bodies trying to leave something more than a feeling within each other.

When they separated, time seemed to run a hundred times faster than before.

"I will be back," Kai promised, his smile gentler than Shinobu's false one. "And I will find you wherever you will be."

It wasn't the moment to think that he would never let his pawns roam free for long without having a grasp over their situations.

"I know you will." The Insect Hashira nodded.

She put Kai's palm over her cheek and then pushed herself on her toes to kiss him.

The world around them quietened down, their hearts knocking on their chests with an inexplicable rhythm.

Kai said nothing after that. He carefully handed over Nezuko to her, patting the little girl's head.

"Go now," he told Shinobu. "Remember not to go too overboard."

"Umu," the Insect Hashira nodded once more, her eyes never leaving Kai's hazel pupils, their colors dancing in the vanishing sunlight with heart-warming hues.

Shinobu turned around and walked off, her steps slower, her spine straight and determined.

Kai's face was ice; emotionless and cold.

Suddenly, he felt a stirring on his forehead, and his eyes widened.

The blood-colored mind jewel that had troubled Kai since the last month now fell off like a broken petal.

The humongous headache pounding Kai's head vanished instantly, and when he smiled this time, it was the most genuine one.

But what to do with it? There was no point in firing a punch at heaven. Nor could he just teleport to the king of demons to test this Skill's true might.

So what? Just let it dissolve within him?

A thought passed through his mind, and Kai shouted, "Shinobu!"

The Insect Hashira spun so fast as though she had been waiting for his call.

Kai lifted the jewel high, its surface glinting like a red-gold diamond under the might of the approaching twilight.

"Told you my research will bear fruit," his voice echoed far and wide, reaching her ears, as Kai pointed at his forehead. "Goodbye!"

Then, Kai threw the mind-jewel in the air.

…

Shinobu's head followed the jewel's trail, and when her eyes left Kai, he snapped his fingers. Red sparks exploded in the sky like fireworks as if the mind-jewel itself had exploded.

When the Insect Hashira looked down, her eyes misty and trembling, Kai had already vanished.

***************

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