Night 42: Rooftop - Residential area between Germaine St and Bohr St

[hajike_tobiume]

[from here]Momo landed on the rooftop of one of the houses across the street from the bookstore. Fingertips digging into the shingles to stop her momentum as she slid out of the flash step, Momo's vision swam and she coughed harshly, spitting blood out of her mouth. She stayed kneeling once she came to a stop, leaning against the stone of the

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[hajike_tobiume]

Momo coughed, blood bubbling from her mouth, but she forced herself to move. She needed to finish this now, while her bind still held and the knight was immobile. Her hand moved to the hilt of Laevatein and grasped it. The sword's heat seared her palm, burned her hand, and Momo could not hold back the cry of pain.

Don't let go now, shinigami, she told herself. Remember it's just fire. Only fire. Burned hands like this was something she had suffered while learning her shikai with Tobiume. It was probably something she'd continue to suffer once she got her beloved zanpakutou back and tried to master her bankai. It was just fire; she could handle fire.

Stepping in, Momo tightened her agonizing grip on the sword and twisted it against the knight's grip, toward her thumb where it was the weakest, just as they'd all been taught int he Academy when it came to disarming an opponent while unarmed. Knowing the knight's grip was probably strong even in paralysis, Momo braced her foot against the metal of the weather vane still sticking out of Signum's leg as she attempted to pull the sword from the undead knight's hand. If she managed, she could follow through and sever the fiery creature's head.

She needed to end this.

[blazing_general]

So at the very end she'd run dry, hadn't the last bit of magic she needed to disarm the knight cleanly. Fighting for the sword like this was no good... a knight of Belka would not easily relinquish her weapon, and in death, all pain subsumed by the inferno, it was all the more impossible.

It was unfortunate that she could not overcome this on her own, but then she was not an appropriate test for young Hinamori just yet. The girl could not give her the kind of death she had given... what had his name been? He had also lived beyond death like this, she remembered. She had delivered her message, but for the message to live she was going to have to tarnish her pride a bit.

It was well enough. She'd always been holding herself back with the others; one last time for this purpose wasn't so bad...

She let go of the sword, and raised her fist to strike. Also like him... if she had to die empty-handed, she would at least die striking out.

[hajike_tobiume]

It was the shunpou, Momo realized, that was the root of why she was failing to pull the sword from Signum. Had she not used it, knowing now that it had probably not been necessary, she could have had just enough left to destroy the knight's hand. Still, she did not give up but struggled and endured the superheated metal. She almost lost her grip when it got hard to breath as more blood slipped from her mouth, but she brought her other hand up against the back of the blade to help her grip.

The bind was starting to fade, and she'd not disarmed the knight. Eyes narrowed in painful determination, her mind raced to try and find a way in her state to finish this. Suddenly, she felt the weight of Laevatein in her hand, fire racing down and around her hands, and her eyes snapped up to the knight. She didn't understand why Signum had relinquished her sword, but Momo was not going to waste time figuring it out. This was the moment.

With a battle cry to push herself through the knowledge that it was Signum, she swung the sword with all her strength to take the knight's head. A wave of heat and pain shot through her as Signum's inflamed fist struck home, Momo incapable of tracking it completely, but the shinigami did not allow it to stop her follow-through. Once the blade was clear, she turned back to the undead knight.

"Signum..."

The name caught in Momo's throat as the knight's head hit the roof top and the body toppled. Drawing in a labored breath, Momo reversed the blade and brought it straight down to impale the zombie's head just to be certain. Standing up, she pulled Laevatein out and looked from what had once been Signum out across Doyleton.

As the sword cooled in her hand, tears and blood dripped off of her. It was done. Rest, dear knight. I remember.