It choked and gasped and Akihime moved to smack it again with the hammer. It pulsed in Yukimura's grasp and tried to get away, kicking and thrashing with all it's might.
Yukimura took every hit it had for him, simply clenching his teeth and enduring it. He wasn’t going to let Akihime down, he wasn’t going to let it get away and waste their hard efforts.
"Last one!" The hammer burst with more energy before Akihime smashed it against the curse with all her weight. It pulsed hard before falling still; in a weird limbo of sleep and awake.
Yukimura was breathing heavily, body aching and gut heavy, slowly letting go of the curse. “Good job, Akihime.” He said, turning to look at her with a grin, blood dripping from his mouth. He stood there, the fist of the curse deep in his stomach.
Yukimura blinked and glanced down at what Akihime was so upset about, staring blankly at the fist in his gut. “Oh..” It was like he suddenly became aware that he was wounded, stumbling back and landing on his rear.
Yukimura sat on the ground, staring at the fist in his gut like it wasn’t going to kill him. He nodded and leaned forward to bite into the curse, wincing. “You might have to pull the fist out..” He said.
She nodded and gripped what little arm was left and tugged with all her might, her body aching with stress. She failed him, he was hurt because of her.
Yukimura let out a cry of agony as the arm was pulled out of his stomach, leaving a hole in his gut. He collapsed back on his hands, shaking in pain. “I-I think I’m ok..”
He managed to peel open an eye, nodding and fumbling for the curse before dragging himself to it. He swallowed hard before leaning down and biting into the curse. Right away he felt like liquid fire was pouring down his throat and into his belly, but rather than pain, he felt pure electric energy.
She held her breath, she had seen him devour curses before, but he almost died this time and she could only blame herself. She didn't want to cry but it was hard.
As the curse before them shrunk, the hole in Yukimura’s stomach did as well, slowly but surely the flesh pulled itself back into place over his gut. Yukimura sat back after a while, gingerly touching the newly healed flesh of his stomach.
Yukimura was confused, they had defeated the curse, one much stronger than they had anticipated. “Akihime? What’s wrong..? Are you hurt?” He shifted to try and sit up, but the pain from his wound remained still, and it hurt to move.
Yukimura blinked in confusion, Akihime had been battered around and beat up, Yukimura having failed to protect her, and she was crying over him? He didn’t quite understand girls much, but he did his best too. “A-Akihime, it’s ok, really..! The wound is almost gone..! See?” He pointed to his stomach, which looked like it had been badly scraped and bruised, but was no longer a hole.
Yukimura felt as astounded as he looked. “Akihime, that isn’t true at all!” He said firmly. “We’re a team, we’re both equally important! Don’t say such terrible things!”