𝕃𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕊𝕖𝕒 (FEM! Reader X Arataki Itto)

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ⁸⁴

The sound of metal scraping loudly against metal tore Y/n's attention from the opponent in front of her.

"Ah! H-Help! Anyone?!" Teppei was on one knee, losing in the stalemate against one of the Shogun's soldiers. "Hold on!" Y/n bashed her bow against the nose of her opponent, effectively knocking him away from her and possibly giving him a broken nose.

She aimed and fired an arrow into the shoulder of Teppei's assailant, giving him enough leverage to turn the tide and managed to take out the soldier.

"Thanks!" He thanked her but she was already preoccupied with another enemy.

Y/n barely had enough time to take out her sword to block the oncoming flurry of attacks from all sides. Sparks flew and the scraping sound made a comeback. She gritted her teeth as she evaded attack after attack, unable to find an opening. She was being overwhelmed, and it didn't help that she constantly had to check on Teppei.

"Duck!" Recognizing the voice, she did so without hesitation and suddenly the enemies surrounding her was flung out of sight by the swing of a club.

"TAKE THAT! You okay?" The half oni held his hand out for Y/n to take. Hoisting her up, he made sure she wasn't injured in any way.

"Heh. We still make an awesome team." He grinned and she was about to reply when she saw the glint of a blade in her peripheral.

"Watch out!" She held her hand out and an ice blade erected from her palm and deflected the blade's attack on Itto.
   "Woah! Too close!" He quickly recovered and went back to fighting off the soldiers around them, one by one.

  All around them, sounds of battle ensued. Blades clashing and cries of battles easily blocked out any other sound that managed to slip into the air.

"Y'know, I never thought I'd ever—" Itto swung his club and it slammed against one guy which was launched into another, "—fight in a battle like this! One against the Vision Hunt Decree, too. Who woulda thought!"

Y/n kicked one away from her and swung her sword towards another. She barely had any experience so most of her movements were botched and thought up on the fly. It was honestly a battle that relied on luck from her side. She'd been fortunate enough to not run into someone like Kujou Sara.

  "From roasting lavender melons with your gang, to fighting in a war against the Shogun's army... Yeah, that's a BIG change of pace!" Y/n answered while she slammed the pommel of her blade against the back of a disorientated soldier who fell flat onto his stomach.

  "Stealth has never really been my thing." He mentioned while looking around them at the unconscious bodies of both parties. "Yeah, so much for a surprise attack." Y/n agreed and fired another arrow at an enemy that got too close.

"Hey, you're getting pretty good with that." Itto praised while pointing at the bow in her hand. "You think so? Gorou's been showing me a few tricks and pointers. Glad it's paying off."
  "Sure is! (Sigh) Well, as much as I'd love to stay here and chat all day, that Teppei guy is about to get shot — see ya later!" Itto waved back at Y/n before joining the fray once again. He was too chipper for someone who was in the middle of a battle. But that's Itto for you.

The battle dragged on for another hour, neither sides giving way. In the heat of battle, Arataki fell back to catch his breath, looking around the battlefield to assess the situation briefly.

It really was a situation he never thought he'd find himself in. It was surreal. And pretty awesome.

His eyes landed on the girl as she used her Cryo Vision to make arrows made of pure ice and firing them at enemies.

She took out another with a look of pure concentration on her face. Her brows were furrowed and glared sharply at her opponents before taking them out. One by one, in quick succession. She was clearly getting the hang of things.

Teppei just took one out himself before he noticed the oni who stood still in the middle of a battle. He stared wide-eyed at something, hands loosely holding his club.

He was starstruck by whatever had him staring. Teppei followed his gaze to see Y/n fighting off some soldiers.
    "Um Arataki, was it? There's kinda a battle going on right now, so...." Teppei told him but only received a dreamy sigh from the latter.

"What a woman..."

Teppei irked, only now realizing why he had been staring. "Snap out of it, Romeo." Regardless, Teppei still laughed to himself.

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