What if chapter 11

by Kabaneri

My try at making a Sword Gai "What if...?" story. Basically, it's a side story, almost unconnected from any events of the anime. Please read and review! What if.. ch 12 is UP!

A Legend from Centuries Ago

DISCLAIMER! I don't own a thing, except my OC, I guess...So! Everything is made-up and not true! Please review!

Long time ago...in Japan lived a legendary blacksmith. His swords were famed to be the best of his time and he was hailed as legendary blacksmith. His name was Sango Muramasa. His swords were great...but at some time things went bad.

Many of his swords became cursed ones. Filled with hate and insatiable bloodlust, either by muramasa himself or by people using them to commit inhumane things.

Kago-tsurube...

A man driven by madness used the Muramasa to slay his fmily and then, driven by the sword's desire for blood continued to kill every human being in his path...untill he was stopped. The shogun at that time had heard about the 'Man possesed by a demon' and sent a whole squadron to kill him, in hopes to stopping the ravaging man that continued to slaughter his people. When the squadron reached the supposed place he was last, they didn't see the fearsome man. Instead they saw a horiffic picture...The leader, Hogane Yamasada, would say the same thing every time he was asked about that time:

"It was horrible...Over 40 of the shogunate's best swordsmen, me included, all threw up at the sight before us. It was like Yama himself had come and punished the man. Even now I feel chills in my bones."

In front of them was red, everything was covered by blood. The wanted man's limmbs, head and torso were cut cleanly and smoothly, as if a fine katana had cut through a sheet pf rice paper. The limbs laid scattered on the mountain road, the man's head looking up, eyes bloodshot, mouth agape in shock and fear as clear as day on his face. Who could have killed him? Surely no human could. This was something no human could do, a god maybe...or a demon?

The cursed Muramasa was then taken as proof to the shogun. Due to the sword's evil nature, he ordered for it to be sent away and kept in a temple. The temple's name was long forgotten but the legend remained...till nowdays.

===Timeskip, 5th March 1990===

In a lavishly decorated lobby a lot of richly dressed men and wemen were gathered. They were drinking, listening to live music and occasionally taking a bite of the gourmet food on the long tables. They were gathered for one reason, to show off their wealth by bidding and buying expensive items. They could give all these money for charity or for the sick but no! They bough ancient and rare items for their collections, showing off their wealth even more. A tall and handsome man with golden hair stood out from the crowd. Not only because of his hair but because of how tall and buff he was, his name is Seiya Ichijo, the wielder of the Chakram. He was dressed in a black suit, his hair combed and styled to fit the setting. He was currently eating and was not paying the snobbish talk at all. He was sent there with a mission. No matter what, no matter the price, he had to take the cursed muramasa. A short man with slicked back hair came on the stage and everyone quiered down.

"Hello, dear guests! The organisators of this year's event would like to thank you for attending our humble event." - he said on the microphone.

'Humble? Psh! Right, imagine what an extravagant one will look if this is humble!' - Seya thought sarcastically.

"Now, if you would follow Jameson, he'll lead you to the back room there all our items are waiting. Look around, enjoy it, all of them will be part of this bid. Who knows, maybe you'll have one you would really like." - he pointed at a ginger man standing by the door to his left.

Seya and the other snobs followed. As he entered the room, he looked around. A lot of bodyguards were guarding the place but he wasn't going to steal anything. After all the organisation was friggin rich! Suddenly he stopped and looked to his right. A few feet away, just by the wall was a long glass case with a katana inside. Seya got closer, his eyes never leaving it. He stopped and could literally see the evil radiating from the sword.

A black smoke-like aura dotted bith dark red, mad eyes full of bloodlust and a laugh of insanity. Seya hated the fact he was one of those few ones that could see the blade's true nature, otherwise no one would even come in 200 metre radius of the thing, if he wasn't crazy that is.

He was snapped by the voice of an older-looking man. The man was around 50 or so years, black hair and eyes, a bit to the short side but by his face and stubby chin you could tell he was a nice chap. He was Japanese and looked out-of-place in a tux.

"Excuse me youn man, but are you maybe interested in Kago-tsurube?" - he asked in english, his accent heavy.

"Yes, it looked interesting. And you sir?" - Seya asked.

"Ya see...I want to take it back to Japan, where it should be, study it too, if possible."

"Study?"

"I'm a blacksmith, ya see. I represent my boss here, he couldn't come. If I'm lucky, I may have a chance."

Seya just nodded and exited the room. He had confirmed the sword was real, all he had to do was take it, hopeing nothing goes out of hand. And THAT just jinxed the whole thing up!

The bid continued like every other, snobs trying to buy whatever they want and ridiculous prices being flung like used tissues.

"Now, time four our main event! These 4 items are this auction's best products! First is the Kago-tsurube, a sword made by Muramasa himself! It's in excellent condition and it's sharpness is top-notch! It was mentioned in many legends and is an important relic! The bidding price starts at 50 000-!"

BAAAAAAAANG!

The host was stopped by a gunshot. By the east wall a man stood, panting with a gun in his hand.

"Kyaa!" - a woman in black dress screamed.

The man was looking at her, gun ready to shoot her.

"You BITCH! How dare you leave me for that rich c*nt?! I'll kill ya! I'll kill ya all!"

The bodyguards finally sprung in action and chased the man. They fired their guns and the guests scattered away for cover. Seya turned over the table and hid behind it. It was a thick and solid table, able to take any stray shot. He knew from personal experience. He saw the old man from earlier and pulled him down behind it.

Bangbangbang!

"Gah!"

The man had been on the podium when he was shot in the leg. He dropped his gun and fell forward. He pushed the glass cover of the Muramasa. It slid off and shattered on the floor. The bodyguards were already gaining on the fallen man. He panicked, his hands searched for any sort of weapon. Suddenly his left arm brushes against the katana's blade. A small cut and a drob of blood were enough for it to awaken it's powers. The man heard the blade's call and gripped the handle firmly.

BOOM!

A strong gust of air blew the bodyguards a few steps back. Everything was still for a moment, untill their heads fell and blood sprayed like a geyser.

"GYAAAH!" - many people screamed in horror.

"Hahahahaha!" - the man laughed ans licked the bloody blade with his tongue.

"Damn it! Why does this have to be so hard?!" - Seya cursed.

"I'm freeeeeee! Blood, blood! Give me moooar!" - he roared, clearly overtaken by the cursed katana.

The man at first went towards the woman he tried to kill at first. Seya was going to activate the Chakram but the man suddenly stopped in his tracks. His head whipped towards one of the windows.

"It's near...It's NEARRR!" - he shouted and jumped out of the window.

The cold Marchen air of Canada blew inside, chilling the room along with the people's hearts. Seya bolted up and ran for the exit. The moment he reached the door, he started taking off the top layer of his suit. A black van of sorts was waiting for him. It was put in a strategic place, well hidden by the trees. He almost wrenched the doors open.

"The bastard ran away!" (Seya)

"What?! How did he? Weren't you there?" - the driver, a man in his 40s shouted.

"He bolted even before I could activate the Chakram! Just drive! He went towards the city. He said somethin'like 'It's near'!"

"Hold on then! I'll get you there in 10 minutes!" - the man turned the engine on and pressed on the gas.

The car rushed towards the town, Edmonton, meanwhile Seya was trying to change into more comfortable clothes for battle. He was mostly successful. Soon they arrived at the town. There were screams, destroyed buildings, blood and chaos. The police had started to evacuate the civilians.

"How the heck could a single Busoma do so much dammage?!" - the driver asked as they passed the baricade.

They were stopped but after showing the policemen their organisation's cards they were allowed to pass.

"It wasn't one..." - Seya said as he put a coat on.

"Wait! You mean there are two?!"

"Yes, I think it sensed the other Busoma."

Boom!

"And there they are! Stop here and go to a safer place!" - Seya jumped off the van and headed towards the sounds of battle.

When he arrived, he saw the park busted. The two Busoma fighting eachother. One was a dark-green and red one with a katana, meaning it was probably the man. The other one was almost complerely silver, except a few blue lines and looked like a knight with an armour, it's weapon was a western sword.

"You would never beat me Kago-tsurube. Just give in and accept your fate! I'm the stonger one!" - it said in a deep voice.

"Neverrr!" the green one hissed back "I'll paint this place with your blood!"

It charged recklessly. The knight one instead took a stance. It was clear who the winner would be. The katana was only recently awakened, reckless, mad even, and probably hadn't had much time to adjust to it's new host's body. It was as if time slowed down.

One- the knight Busoma swing it's blade at the elbow joint of it's enemy's outstretched hand.

Two- the hand holding the katana flew up, high in the air.

Three- the knight stabbed the other Busoma in the heart.

"Gukh!" - the green one said as its blood sprayed.

The 'armour' dissolved, leaving the body of the man.

'Huh. That's rare. Usually by the time they go full Busoma, they'd fused with the body completely. Oh, SHIT!' - Seya thought.

Just then he remembered the dismembered hand still flying through the air. He watched where it was about to fall and saw a bench with a heap of papers on it. No, there was actually a person underneath the papers.

"Hey! Watch out! Wake uuup!" - he shouted at the person there.

Now, the remaining Busoma's attention was also drawn to the bench! They both watched as the papers moved as the person sat up.

Plosk! clang.

The hand fell in the lap of the person, the sword clattered and as if fate decided to fuck with Seya, it fell in the person's open palm.

'How the fuck is this even possible?!' - Seya shouter in his head.

"Interesting...I look forward to fighting two opponents. Now, get up and face me!" - the knight Busoma said, sword at ready.

The figure stayed silent and stood up from the bench. Seya ched' and activated the Chakram. For a moment he tensed. He could see the hand holding the katana tremble, the person also looked to be struggling.

'Maybe it could be a new Crysalis...'

"Raaaaah!" - the figure shouted.

Seya just realized it was a woman. Before either he or the silver Busome could even realise what was happening, the katana was thrown and lodged itself firmly in the silver Busoma's cranium.

"Wha..." (Seya)

"Keep that wretchy thing away from me! I'm never touching it, NEVER!"

The silver Busoma fell, it's body starting to dissipate.

"Sshe...killed it...?"

Seya heard the sound of running and turned around. He saw the girl's coat as she disappeared behind a corner. He grimaced and deactivated the Chakram. He took a few papers and wrapped the two blades. He decided it was better to take them with him rather than leaving them as he tried to catch the girl.

He tried to follow her but after a few more twists and turns he lost her. Which was surprising, considering there was no one else. In the end he sighed in defeat and decided to return to the van.

...At HQ...

Seya had returned and given his report. The two swords were stored safely and he was now telling them about the girl.

[So, she killed the Busoma? And was fine?] - mask on left asked.

"Yes, she didn't appear to be affected by the katana at all." - he said.

[Interesting...She may be a new Crysalis. I say we search for her.] - mask on right suggested.

[Sounds good. Can you describe her?] - centre mask asks.

"Welp...I can't say much. It was early March, in Canada. She was young, by the voice and face, around 18-20 years, I guess? Her hair... I think I saw a few black strands from under the beanie. Shorter than me. Not fat, not too thin? Something in the middle? her face was quite red from the cold but I think she had asian features?"

"Is that all? Can't you tell us anything else?!" - the supervisor saked.

"Nope. You try to remember a person you've seen for only a few seconds! But boy, was she even real! Two Busoma were fighting and she didn't wake up! Who does that?!" - he joked as he exited the room.

He was quickly prepared for the sleep. As he was lowered, his eyes started to close and he thought:'Hehe...he got one-shoted by a teenager! I wonder if they'll find her...I want to congratulate her.'

===Tieskip to nowdays===

Seya was leading his current charge towards HQ. He had stopped the car to fill it's tank with some fuel. It had been battered quite a bit more during their short drive. On their left was a 4x4 jeep covered with different anime characters and themes. It was massive! Normally, the car was associated with 'tough men', now it looked plainly weird. He and Gai entered the shop as their car was filled.

"Welcome!" - The cashier said.

They looked around and Seya decided to buy something to eat. For some reason his eyes wandered and spotted a smaller figure, it wore a red and white hoodie, sneakers and sweatpants. It was looking at the manga corner of the station. After a while it picked two of the mangas and went to check out.

"Thanks for the purchace! have a nice day!"

It was a girl. She went out, got in the jeep and drove away.

"What are you looking at?" - Gai asks him.

"Nothing. Just that girl there looked familiar...Maybe I've seen her somewhere?"

"What girl?"

"The one that drove the jeep. It was quite funny. She was roughly your size but has this huge car! Now, let's check out and pay for the gas."

Soon they were on the road again but Seya's mind was somewhere elas.

'She looked way too familiar...is it possible...Nah! The organisation's been searching for her for over 20 years before giving up! It's just not possible.'

The tires screeched as he took a sharp turn.

===Yozona shrine (made-up place, don't gudge!)===

A sall shrine with a long stone path leading to it stood in front of a group of tourists. They had stopped and were waiting for the head priest to open the gates for them. As they wait a colorfull jeep stops in the parking lot, at the right side of their bus. From it a girl jumps out and locks it. It was the same girl with the red and white hoodie. She pulled her hood off and her black hair fluffed up. It was shiny, wavy and looked soft and smooth. Her eyes were almost the same black as any japanese person, hers were a bit lighter and looked more dark gray. She was a round 1,60 and had a tomboyish look, you could easyly mistake her for a boy.

She stood in the back of the group and silently waited. Soon the head priest arrived and led them in, explaining the history of the shrine. He was bald and wore the standard monk attire and beads, his face was old and wrinkled but still had a youthfull look to it.

"This shrine was first built around year 1615. It's not clear what the exact date is because the Sengoku era's end was also quite chaotic, fixing the damage the war has caused to the area. Back when Oda Nobunaga..." - the head priest rattled on.

"Man, this is boring." - a boy with a baseball cap whined quietly.

He was walking in the back and noticed the girl with the hoodie.

"Hey, nee-san. Why are you coming here? Isn't it boring?" - he saks her.

She looks at him strangely but stayed silent. He however wasn't giving up so easily.

"My name's Jinta. What's tours?"

She stared at him for a bit and sighed.

"It's Miho."

'Not like I'll tell you my full real name.' - she thought after answering.

"Cool!..."

"Shush! Jinta, keep quiet, the priest is talking!" - his mother shushed him.

"...And this is our main chamber. Here priests pray every week and offer gifts to the guardian sword on festivals and big holidays." - he gestured at a glass cover.

It was put on a decorated altair, five red pillows put in a semi-circle around it. There were two jars for incense sticks and a small table for offerings. Inside the glass cover was another pillow with the hilt of a broken sword. One of the tourists lifted his hand.

"Yes, do you have a question?" (priest)

"Yes, you said a sword but it's just a hilt. Also why does it look in such a bad condition?"

"Ah, yes. The reason lies with the legend the sword was involved in. I'll tell it to you when we reach the next room. And the reason it looks like this is simply because it couldn't be restaurated."

"What do you mean?" (another tourist)

"Years ago, when I was still a young man, the government gave money to every historically important place, for restoration and modernisation. We fixed up the shrine, made a parking lot, got new furniture, new path and of course tried to restaurate the sword. We gave it to a professional but no matter what he did, he just couldn't make any blade stay. It would either not fit, fall off or start to rust. A real mystery. Now, if you would follow me, I'll show yoy our library and read you the legend from the scroll itself." - he headed for a door to his right.

The whole group went there, the boy dragged by his mother. Only Miho stayed behind. She kneeled on the pillow right in front of the hilt. She smiled softly and looked at it with longing eyes.

"Hi, It's me Tetsu." she spoke to the hilt "I know it's been quite a while since I came here, it's been almost a decade after all...Me? I've been doing quite fine these years. I got enough money and bought a nice house, a car, I even started a small online buisness of my own." a tear slid down her cheek "I'm living freely, as I like to, just how you asked me to. But...sniff...I still miss you. I know it's been so long and all...I just can't forget you." she whispered "I remember as if it was yesterday, your hilt comfortably in my hand, your shiny blade, the soft hum you made as we fought together on the battlefield...Especially I remember the day I found you. An incomplete piece of metal, barely two palms long. You were thrown on the street when I found you. I knew it was fate. I learned how to make weapons only to be able to fix you. In the end you were splendid, perfect...I know it's not possible but I still wish that you could hear me, respond to me..." she stood up "I will keep my promise 'One sword, one man.' . You may be gone but I won't use another one, I refuse to use another katana! If only you would at least respond, let me know at least a spark is left in you, I would readyly take you with me and never look back." - she stayed in silence like that.

===Meanwhile with the group===

Everyone sat in a chair and waited as the head priest took out a scroll. He opened it on a long table in a way that the tourists could see the pictures.

"This is a newer copy of the original scipt, which is kept safely somewhere else. Now...Ahem! "The Legend of the Ronin and the Dragon":

Long, long ago there was a peacefull village. The people were happy and the land was lush. One day, however, the ground shook and cracked, the plants started to wither and burst in flames. From the growing cracks ash and smoke rose to the sky, hiding the sun. The villagers were terrified. Suddenly the earth opened and a giant red dragon fose up. Without any reason it started to spew flames at everything. Houses, animals, people, everything was covered by a sea of flames. The few survivors cowered in a cmall cave they had foun shelter in. The wemen wailed, the men screamed in horror. They waited for rescue but no one came. The few people to come near the area were killed by the dragon. The shogun was too busy to send the army, so they prayed to the gods. They prayed day and night, without stopping. It was their only option. Just as they though all hope was lost, someone came. It was a young ronin, a samurai that had choosen not to use his sword against the people, but for the people. He faced the fearsome dragon, allowing the survivors to escape to safety. He fought the beast for ten whole days and nights. The battle was fierce and didn't look like it would end but...just before the sunrise of the 11th day, the ronin managed to slay the beast in one last attack. It's said that the light was so intence, it looked like a second sunrise. After the flames died, the villagers came to check what had happened. The ronin had killed the dragon, but all that was left after their battle was a tooth from the dragon and the hilt of the ronin's katana. After that the shogun wanted to take them but all the survivors, plus the villagers that lived near the place fought back. In the end the hilt was named a holy relic and a temple was built where the battle took place. The people believed the hilt still had some mystical power and that it would protect them from any dander.

The end."

The tourists clapped. One of them lifted a hand.

"Yes." - the priest turned towards him.

"What happened to the tooth?"

"No one knows. It's speculated the shogun took it but it wasn't proven."

"So, if the hilt disappears, what would happen?" (another tourist)

"Well, according to legend, either a great disaster would befall the land in the near future or it would mean the ronin had returned to take his katana back."

"Psh! This is stupid! There are no such things as magic or dragons, or gost samurai. I bet nothing would happen. Impending doom my ass!"- a blond punk teen said in endlish.

"Steven! Don't talk like that!" his mother scolded him in english "I'm very sorry for his behaviour." - she said in japanese with heavy accent.

"No offence taken madam. It's just how modern youth is these days." - the priest bowed his head slightly.

"How long ago did it happen?" (another tourist)

"From the historic evidences, it's believed to have happened around 300 something, almost 400 years ago."

"Wow!" - the group exclaimed.

===Back with Miho===

She stood up slowly, her eyes never leaving the blackened, broken hilt of her katana. Of her partner for life.

"You know...I met that blond guy I told you about. The one that was going to fight one of the Onikishi. Yeah, it really was a surprise! He looked almost the same as back in the 90s! Do you think he may be like me?"

...Flashbacks...

A younger Miho was running through the dirty streets of a mediveal japanese city.

She had been trying to scavenge for food when she hear a scream. She was used to it by now, being on the streets for as long as she could remember. Usually some bandits may come and kill some unfortunate chap for money, but that also meant a chance for her to get some leftovers, like food ot clothing, maybe a coin or two if she was very lucky. She crept towards the place she heard the sound come from. Just as she peered from behind a building, expecting a bunch of dirty bandits, she saw something else. Chills ran down her spine as she looked at what could only be described as a demonic knight, Onikishi for short.

She had almost screamed. She had bit her cheek and ran as far away as possible. Her gut was telling her to get away, fast!

...

She had already gotten used to the hectic world around her. Living for a few centuries did that to you. She was currently wandering the cold streets of yet another city. She had decided to travel around the world and had eventually reached this country named Canada. She had no money to spend, hence no place to sleep, so she gathered a TON of old papers and made a mkeshift bed on a bench in the nearby park. She had snoozed off almost instantly. She was very shocked when she woke up the next day. She had heard some loud noises, so she had sat up, just then a severed arm and a cursed katana fall in her arms. She had acted completely on instinct and killed the Onikishi. She then noticed the blonde guy and did the next sensible thing, she ran away as fast as she could, whish was about 60+ km/h. During the years she had heard about this secret organisation, Sushidai?, Shushudan?...Meh, whatever! She knew that they fought the Onikishi and were good. That was all she kew. The reason was because back in 1924 he had seen some other guy fight one and then retrieved the Onikishi's cursed weapon for safekeeping in some place.

...end...

"He was with some kid. Do you think there are more people like me? Should I go look for them?" no responce came "I hope you are good in here...I too am...I think. Hehe...peace is really boring sometimes."

She turned around and was about to leave when a slight jolt passed through her spine. She sharply turned back and looked back at Tetsu.

Hummm...

An almoust unnoticeable humm resonated through the broken katana. Tears started streaming down her cheeks. This was the sign she waited for. Ever since Tetsu broke, she would visit and try to hear anything from the blade. Untill now there was nothing but suddenly he made a sound.

"Tetsu...?"

Again, the sword hummed quietly. It was the familiar warm humm it would always make. It wanted neither blood nor desired battle. it only wanted to protect and keep her safe. She noticed how Tetsu was struggling to comunicate with her. Without thinking she moved quickly, swiping her hand in the air. The glass lid fell to pieces and she took her sword.

"Shhh...I'm here. I will fix you, I promise. After that we'll talk...sniff... I'm just glad you are still here. Although weak, your spark is still here...I missed you Tetsu..." - she hugged the hilt.

The sword responded with one final, weak humm before it calmed down. With a whoosh she was gone, as if she was never there.

When the priest returned to the room and saw the empty altair, he called for help. The police searched but found nothing. It was as if some invisible forse had taken the hilt and left.

The wheels of fate are spinning. The battle between good and evil is still going on and escalating. Soon the decisive battle for the fate of humanity will begin. Who would win? No one knows, yet, but it's clear that the ancient scroll was right. The disappearance of the hilt would mean a disaster befalling the land in near future, just not in the scale the people expected back then...

Mihako, the legendary ronin, and Tetsu, her trusted katana made to protect, were together again after almost 400 years.

So...this is the end of this story. Yep! If you want a continuation, just to be clear, it will probably not come. I write just for fun and my ideas come and go faster than a paycheck. However, I'm not pure evil. If someone really loves this story, by some chance, he/she's free to continue, use characters, remake or rewrite it! Reasonable criticism is also welcome, as long as it's for a reason. You only can review once, so make it count! I'm looking to improve myself, like any writer, even if it's for a hobby. Although it's mostly hit or miss with my stories...What? You wondering what's up with this long, long author note and me rambling on and on, even though i've said almost nothing during my 2 or 3 years in Fanfiction? The truth is I'm trying to make this 4 939 word story into the 5 000 class, so more people could see it! Thanks for reading!