Chapter 8: Kao, the Unstoppable Wolf
The moon light shines brightly on the abandon section of what use to be a town center for the wondrous Barter Town. Although the city begins to quiet down, more conflict begins to rise elsewhere. Surrounded by broken down cars and old, ruin buildings, the young pair, Kanji and Sho, stand against Yamagata. The duo was ready to repel his attacks, but Yamagata stands ready to bear down an unimaginable wrath. Sho was ready yet cautious. Kanji was nervous yet willing. They had gained much experience during their last fights, but old foe Yamagata smiles at the two with delight despite that he stands alone. With the conflict raging on, old wounds would be reopened and many more would be made.
Sho asks, "How did you know that we were different?"
Yamagata says, "During our fight at the Big Brawl, the small open wound on your arm revealed to me who you are. I just didn't catch on to who you were till after my gang lost so easily to you. I should have known you two were just like the last two spies that came here from Hoax Fortress. How else could you have bested me in battle, moved faster than Ken, and caused the mighty ice master Guan to exhaust his strength?"
Kanji protests, "Now hold on there, Yamagata. We are nothing like those that came here before us. We are merely escapees from that horrid place. Please, do not mistake us for being in league with them."
Yamagata laughs loudly and says, "I do not care if you are escapees or if you joined hands with the monsters of Hoax Fortress. That is not what matters to me."
They relax their guard, but Yamagata reveals more of his true intentions.
He continues, "Although you both are from the Hoax Fortress, Barter Town had its great battle with foes like you before. A few months ago, an army of men, or so we thought, came to Barter Town ready to make war on us. I, of course, was in charge of two large gangs at the moment of their arrival. First, they tried to make us submit by persuading us with fancy words. Our leaders easily turned away all offers of talk; in fact, we sent the severed head of their emissary back to their leader and looked down upon them. The enemy responds with war. That is where Barter Town's greatest fighters showed their skills, power, and strength to be more than enough for them. As we beat the enemy back, only a score of the enemy remain standing against our mighty three hundred veteran fighters. We easily sent more than enough people at them, but they took us by surprise. The enemy changed on us and soon, the battle went their way. Every single soldier of the enemy seemed to be able to take on fifty of our combatants. Dozen upon dozen of us were taken captive, and many more of our people lay dead in the sands. Even I, the amazing Yamagata, fell to hands of a powerful foe that proved he was a very tiger of battle. The loss for Barter Town against Hoax Fortress was more than any of us could bear. I can still see the dead bodies all over the ground. I can still hear the battle cry of the enemy. Even after we slowly begin to rebuild from our lost, we still got no rest from them. Later on, after we recovered from the great lost, two spies from Hoax Fortress tried to gain trust among the locals. Unfortunately, they didn't realize how easily I betrayed their trust by letting everyone know of their plan to overtake us. Once the people knew who they were, the mobs of Barter Town took great pleasure in killing them slowly and painfully. The mob even decided to hang the heads of the two spies on pikes at the center of our tallest building. To this day, those heads are there to remind our foes of Hoax Fortress that we will not bow a knee or submit to their want or rule."
The demise of the spies sent chills down the spine of Sho and Kanji. Fearing for their safety, they look to each other in agreement. Yamagata removes his cape.
"I may have lost a lot when I battled you Sho, but I will not suffer another defeat. I am more than powerful enough to handle you both. Once everyone knows what you are, you won't live to make it through tomorrow. But first, I believe pain must be repaid."
Kanji points to Yamagata, "I don't know if you got hit on your head too hard, but you don't have a chance against us, foolish man. Surrender now, if you want to not suffer another loss. You stand against two powerful opponents, and you barely made it against Sho. I seriously doubt your chances against both of us will be any better much less surviving."
Sho adds, "I would not mind finishing you off Yamagata, but I don't think you have what it takes since not only do I know all your moves, but the moves of your allies are well remembered by Kanji and me. But if you think you can stop us, show me what you got."
Yamagata pops the muscle in his neck. In an instance, he moves before the eyes of Sho and Kanji. With lighting fast moves, he appears behind the duo crushing his elbows in the back of them. The duo stumbles forward, but they quickly regain their balance. They could not believe their sights. Enraged by the sudden surprise attack, Sho and Kanji go on the offensive. As they charge at their foe, they move to the left and right to try and confuse him. Once they got close enough, they begin to assault Yamagata. Yamagata easily stops all their attacks with one arm for each of them. As hard as they fought, Kanji and Sho could not get the better of him. They both try to ambush him from behind, but Yamagata surprises them with a double kick to their face. They fall backwards a second time, but the young pair quickly follow up from the attack. Yamagata jumps high into the air after evading their back attack. Sho and Kanji try to use their signature element attack, but it slips their mind that they can't use any element force. Yamagata takes advantage of their forgetfulness. He aims his palms at each of them. The air begins to gather within his hands. After enough is collected, Yamagata fires two wind spheres at his foes. The duo dive for the side, and the wind spheres crush the ground. The impact is so strong it leaves the ground cracked. Yamagata lands on the ground. Kanji unleash a wave of insults at him.
Yamagata smirks at Kanji, saying, "What's the matter, Kanji? You can't stop me yourself? Here, I will make it easier just for you. I will leave only one hand behind my back."
Kanji's rage blinds him. The young hero could no longer contain his anger. In a frenzy, Kanji charges head on at Yamagata. Sho sees a small, deadly surprise glowing behind the back of Yamagata. He calls out to his friend, but he pays no attention to any warnings.
Kanji screams, "I will crush you! Your will fall today!"
Kanji leaps high into the air ready to come crashing down on him. As Yamagata waits, the tip of his right fingers glow brightly. Yamagata points his finger tips at his foe.
Yamagata shouts, "You want me? Well, accept this offer! Sonic Gun Blast!"
With his finger tips flashing, a set of light blue rings shoot out from Yamagata's fingers. Kanji sees the attack coming, but he could not defend against it in time. The blast slams against his entire left side. The explosion causes Sho to shield his eyes. Kanji falls from the sky. Sho looks over to see his partner lying motionless on the ground with smoke rising off of his body. Yamagata laughs proudly. Sho quickly turns to him. He ginds his teeth and hatred flashes in his eyes.
Sho says, "You damn, ungrateful dog!"
Yamagata replies, "If your enemy can easily be irritated, seek to further humiliate him. I didn't think Kanji could be that easy. I am quite surprised that he has a temper like you, but I never thought my Sonic Gun would easily kill him so quick. It was merely to stun him or wound him. Yet, he could not withstand such an attack. Now that he is no more."
The lost of his comrade filled Sho with determination to continue. As the two fighters stand ready to engage one another, an eerie sound cuts through the air. Yamagata and Sho see the ground tear to pieces near them and quickly jump away from the surprise. From the side of them, a sudden blast made of rock and stone slams into the ground. They both look in the direction from where the blast came from. Out from the alley, he strolls into the opening. The dark individual wears heavy shoes, strapped up pants, a black shirt, and a dark cape over his face. The mysterious person points to them.
Yamagata shouts, "Foolish person! Best stick to your own affairs and not those that are of mine!"
As Yamagata turns his attention away from the new person, he feels a tremendous pain on the left side of his face. The punch from the mystery person sends Yamagata stumbling backwards. Sho is amazed at what he sees, but he dare not approach the stranger. Yamagata caresses his face from the pain and looks to the stranger.
He says, "Ok, tough guy. Now it is mine turn to send you on your way."
Yamagata charges at his new foe and begins his assault. Although he fought feverishly, he could not lay a single hand on the caped fighter. Sho looks on eagerly to see if Yamagata would fall to the strange newcomer. After the sixth bout, Yamagata stops his attacks. Barely standing on both feet, he breathes heavily and waits for the next move to be made. In a display of quickness, the caped fighter moves against him with lighting fast moves. Yamagata tries his best to guard against the barrage, but he could not withstand each hit. The stranger throws Yamagata head first into the soil. The stranger waits patiently. Sho marvels at the amazing skills the stranger possesses, but it was not enough. Yamagata rises to his feet and turns about to face the mysterious person. With his face covered with dirt marks and a bloody cheek, Yamagata's anger reaches toward the heavens.
Yamagata stomps his foot in a rage. He says, "I don't care who you are, but this is where your life ends. I have suffered at the hands of one person and shall not suffer at the hands of a stranger in the same day."
Yamagata rips off his shirt like before. He let out a mighty roar. Sho looks on at him to see his body tremble under great strain. The area all around begins to shakes. The ground underneath him starts to break up. The stranger waits calmly and patiently. Sho steps back as far as he could to witness the spectacle. The sweat on Yamagata rolls down his body. He places his hands together. Within his hands, heat lines and small flakes of fire begin to draw to the center of the open space. The more the heat and fire gathered, the more Yamagata begins to sweat. The heat and fire flakes slowly begin to create a sphere of fire. Soon, the small sphere of fire has rings of fire circling around it and grows in size. Within moments, Yamagata holds a very large sphere of fire with drops of fire liquid falling to the earth and rings of fire circling about it. He aims the oversize sphere at the caped fighter. Yamagata's battle cry stretches across the area as he releases the oversize sphere at his opponent.
The sphere shoots at a high speed towards the opponent. The stranger does not move nor does he put up a guard against it. Once the large flaming sphere slams full blast onto the caped crusader, the entire area erupts from the impact. A few windows begin to crack and many more shatter from the aftershock. There is dust around the area. It was hard to see with the dust clearing. Sho and Yamagata look to see the remains. The only thing that is left in the area is a small piece of cloth now black and burnt. Sho is shocked by the damage Yamagata has caused.
He turns to him, "I can't believe that you know how to use that! That was the Magma Shot!"
Yamagata smiles with delight and says, "Ah, I see you know what the Mega Magma Shot is. Lots of people know how to use the blast but very few learn how to truly control it. There is not that many people left in the world that can have complete control over the most powerful fire blast in the world. I doubt even a runt like yourself could handle the strongest fire element. I am glad you had this chance to see it once, because now it will be used against you as well."
Yamagata uses the aggressive stance to ready his charge. Sho takes the defensive posture awaiting his assault. The wind blows softly across the open field. A piece of window glass falls to the floor in a nearby building. As Yamagata uses his quickness to rush upon Sho, a sudden impact crushes his back. Before another step is taken, Yamagata falls to the ground on bended knees. Sho could not believe what he sees as he looks at the attacker. The same caped stranger was Kao in disguise. Kao may have lost his hood to his cape, but his desire to live would not let him pass on. Yamagata tries to stand back to his feet, but Kao grabs his arm. In an amazing display of strength, Kao throws him far into a building. The mighty warrior crashes through the window. At the end of his surprise assault, Kao launches small earth spheres near the building. The earth spheres devastate the podiums of the building and cause it to come crumbling down on top of Yamagata. Sho looks on at the damage.
Sho looks to Kao and says, "Boy, I am glad to see you here. Thanks for helping me get out of that problem. How did you get here?"
As Sho tries to approach him, Kao speaks unhappy.
Kao says, "You left me to die. I will cause you great pain before I let you die."
Sho sees the seriousness in Kao stance. He looks over to Kanji and tries to move towards him; however, Kao roars loudly in Kanji's direction causing him to slide back away from the field. Sho turns his focus back to Kao.
He says, "What are you doing? You are free just like us. We can get out of here before anyone knows about us. Why are you doing this?"
Kao holds a tiny rock in his hand. He flicks it at the feet of Sho. Seeing the small hole near his feet, Sho tries to run in another direction. Kao shoots two earth spheres just ahead of Sho. The spheres fly right pass him smashing in two different areas. One sphere crashes in the ground just barely in front of Sho. The other hits the front door of a building. Realizing that running away and hiding can't help him much, Sho turns to face Kao once again.
Sho says, "I see that you won't let me leave here with Kanji. If I must fight you, then so be it."
Kao removes what is left of his cape from his back. He tightens his fists and gnashes his teeth with rage. Kao looks to the sky and screams loudly into the night. Sho looks on carefully to see him change. Kao begins to tremble. His body starts to increase in size. Next, light blue hair starts to extend out from the back of his arms and even rips through his pants legs at the back; in fact, the same colored hair changes atop out his head. The finger nails grow out into razor, sharp claws. Lastly, the eyes of Kao change from brown to light blue. After the transformation is complete, Kao raises his head back up to the sky once more and lets out an inhuman wolf howl that rings all across the area. Sho could not believe what he saw when Kao stood before him. Kao had become a wolf man-animal.
Sho says, "When did you learn this? Your body is different. You can transform into a man-animal?"
Kao points to Sho and says, "If I beat you, they will let me go."
Sho tries to back away, but he feels a crush on his stomach. The pain is so strong Sho stumbles backwards grabbing his gut. He tries to stand up, but a swift kick connects to his face. The valiant warrior falls to the dirt on his back. Sho quickly rolls out the way before Kao rams his knee into his head. Sho tries to leap away from the battle, but Kao grabs him by the ankle. With a little effort, Kao flings Sho to the ground. Kao howls proudly at his amazing display of power. Sho's eyes widen with rage. He jumps quickly to his feet and turns about to gaze at Kao.
He says, "If you came looking for a fight, then let's do this."
Sho takes the aggressive stance and readies his hands for combat. Kao anxiously waits with a smirk forming across his face. Sho sprints towards his Kao. He didn't think too much of his chances, but he was no longer running. Once they were close enough, Kao and Sho begin their bout. The battle went on for ten bouts. Neither of the fighters showed any sign of weakness nor fault. Every kick brushes pass their head; every punch collided against an elbow. The fight seemed to have no end between the two. Towards the thirteenth bout, Sho begins to lose the advantage. He is beaten down and beaten back with every powerful hit from Kao. Although Sho did manage a few comebacks, he could not withstand the onslaught Kao gave. After being thrown to the side, Sho quickly jumps back to his feet. Kao rushes at Sho. Before he could react, Sho is kicked in the side. The kick sends Sho flying through the air, but he quickly recovers from the hit. Sho jumps high into the air.
He thinks, "What else is there to use? He is just too strong."
As Sho continues to rise in the air, he feels a sudden ache in the back of his head. In quick reaction, he set his body into motion for his next attack. Sho turns his back to the sky with both of his hands placed together. He points the palms of his hands towards Kao as he slowly begins to draw heat in the center. Sho's hands gather small flakes of fire. The more of the heat that gathers, the hotter it becomes. A large burst of fire appears in the center of his hands. There are rings of fire circling around it and drops of fire liquid fall to the earth. Sho focuses his hands at Kao, shooting the very same Magma Sphere straight at him. Kao easily jumps to the side. The oversized sphere of fire curves away from the ground and continues to follow him. Sho does his best to hold the powerful magma blast in his hands as it gives chase to Kao. Kao runs on both his hands and feet to try and escape the blast. The fire keeps coming closer to him despite how fast Kao runs. Instantly, he stops running.
Kao turns about and screams, "No more running!"
In a reckless display of might, Kao holds his right hand forward grasping the wrist with his left hand. The magma shot slams hard into his palm. Although the blast is stopped by Kao's hand, the eruption sends a shockwave of heat all around shattering the rest of the remaining windows. Sho lands back on the ground exhausted after using his new found power. As the smoke clears away, Kao emerges from the smoke still standing strong; however, his shirt is gone with a few black spots and scars are on his body. The soil in front of Kao looks as if someone peeled away at the ground. Sho could not believe the amount of damage he caused against his foe yet he still did not go down.
Kao says, "You are very strong. But, you are not strong enough."
Kao uses the assault posture to ready his attack. Sho stands firm and on guard for whatever may come his way. After raising his hand high into the sky, a small group of rocks float above Kao's head. Kao throws his arm forward. The small rocks blow right at Sho. Kao smiles greatly at his feat, but Sho looks around and finds nothing wrong with him.
He says, "Is that the best you can do? A few rocks aren't strong enough to hurt…me?"
Sho looks down at his mid-section and sides to see small cuts on him. He clinches his wounds and looks back up to see another set of rocks come at him. The rocks hit Sho in the face causing small scratches to form. One set of rocks hit him in the leg, and he falls to the earth weaken.
Kao laughs greatly and says, "If you think that hurts so much, wait till I use the attack at full strength."
He takes his throwing stance. Kao raises his right hand and left hand to the sky. The area all around him becomes very shaky. From the ground behind his back, a massive rock sphere forms in Kao's hands. Kao reforms the huge rock into a group of razor, sharp arrow heads. Sho tries to use his new found blast a second time, but the wounds from the last attack affect him greatly. After a moment of wait, Kao smiles eagerly at his foe. Knowing what would fall on him, Sho tries to move away. The wound on his leg sends powerful pain surging through him. Sho falls back down to the ground, unable to even defend himself.
Kao shouts, "Now I am going send you back to Hoax Fortress broken and destroyed!"
A loud noise, traveling at a high rate of speed, moves across the area. Kao brings his arm forward, but a sudden blast crushes his back. A set of light blue rings slams into Kao. The impact of the attack is so strong that he throws the group of rock arrow heads to the far right. The rock arrow heads pass Sho and smashes into a building. The front structure cracks all around before it comes crashing down. Sho looks at the damage done to the building and gazes at Kao to see the young boy fall to the earth. Kao moans and groans from his back wound. He tries his best to stand back up, but he is unable to even sit up. After a short time, he passes out with his back looking a bloody mess. Kao changes back into his human form and shrinks back to his regular size. Sho looks in the direction of where the blast came from and sees an amazing sight. Kanji was back on his feet barely standing with his left hand pointing in the form of a gun.
Sho waves to Kanji saying, "I thought you were dead. How did you learn that attack and survive it?"
Kanji replies, "I don't know. I guess that after getting hit by the attack my body sort of went into an odd phase. I remembered what Yamagata hit me with. After I woke back up, I managed to use what I just had learned. Despite the painful experience, the attack Yamagata used on me is very good for a new technique to have."
Kanji walks over to the weaken Sho and helps him to his feet. They both look to Kao hearing him moan from the pain. Kanji was keen on leaving the boy, but Sho surprises him.
Sho says, "The least we can do is get him to the hospital. He may not make it without some form of treatment."
"Have you been sucking on that sap from the bar too much," ask Kanji. Then he continues. "He just tried to kill you; however, you want to help him. What will we profit from this? There is no sense in helping this vagabond, knowing he might try and kill us later."
Sho replies, "If you don't want to help me, then don't even bother. He may be an enemy but he is still a young boy. How can you look the world in the face and call yourself righteous?"
Sho wobbles over to the fallen boy and tries to help him up. He tries his best to pick up Kao, but his own bloody scars get the best of him. Even with a bloody leg, Sho struggles so hard to help Kao up. Soon, a familiar hand helps him bring Kao to his feet. Sho looks over at Kanji who throws one arm over his shoulder.
He says, "I can still look the world in the face and still be a heartless person. But, I shall not leave you in despair."
Sho chuckles at the weak speech Kanji makes, and they begin to haul Kao off with them. The journey from the abandon section of Barter Town is long and tiring. They stop a few times during the walk to rest up on their own wounds. After a full hour of walking, they arrive at the bar of where many locals help them. Kanji rushes into the bar to retrieve the prize money that he left with the owner. Sho is bandaged up by the locals with the available supplies they have. They even patch up Kao as best they could. Sho and Kanji place Kao in a cart bed just by the shop. The duo grabs a hold on the side bars and begins to shove the cart to the hospital. They could hear many people saying their farewells and goodnights to each other as they turn in for the night. As the pair push the cart, the journey leads them pass more of Barter Town's shops for food, clothes, armor, weapons, and accessories. Within minutes, they arrive at a long, one story building. The outward appearance is worn out with many hollow openings to provide air to those that need it. After pushing the cart near the building, a nearby assistant rushes out to see the problem. He quickly calls for more aid from within the hospital and more nurses, doctors, and assistants rush outside to help Kao, Kanji, and Sho. Upon entrance of the hospital, they see thin drapes hanging in the door way with two small waiting areas at the left and right side. As the three are moved into the next area, Sho notices the four desks where the clerks sit at. They keep names and records of those who need medicine and treatment. Lastly, Kanji notices the long area in front of his eyes. There are beds at the right and left side with the same colored drapes that hung over the overheads of the patients. Some had broken limps, and many more were marked critical due to deadly wounds. Moments later, Sho and Kanji are treated for their wounds, but they didn't require much. Kao receives the most aid from all that could help. From cotton balls to soak up the blood to bandages for wrapping up his bleeding scars, Kao is soon half-mummified. After a few minutes, Sho is sent to the waiting area with Kanji to await the results of how badly Kao is. Kanji gets up and walks to towards the entrance way and hears two people chatting outside. After peeking just around the edge of the opening, Kanji sees one hooded individual and tall person speak together.
The tall person says, "So, you are certain of what you heard? That we have two man-animals here again?"
The hooded individual replies, "Yes, I am certain of what I have been told. There is a possibility that there may be three instead of two. They may be trying to find a way to get the best of us. We had better go and tell the others least we should fall victim to their plans."
As Kanji looks at the two walk off, the hooded person walks with a limp. Kanji keeps his eyes sharp for any other locals who may know of their horrid secret. He turns his focus back to Sho. One of the doctors speaks to Sho regarding Kao and his wounds. Kanji joins them.
The female doctor says, "His wounds are great; however, he will recover. Whoever shot at his back just gave him a bunch of small, bloody scars. The ones on his legs and torso though are a bit more permanent than the ones on his back. He must have gone through a great deal to get those. He will have to stay overnight. In the morning, he can go."
Sho thanks the lady for the good news and heads outside. Kanji pays the hospital fee to cover Kao's treatment. On the outside of the hospital, Sho gazes at the sky to see the moon ready to be revealed. Kanji joins him by his side in a fury.
Sho says, "What is wrong with you?"
Kanji replies, "I can't believe it. I shot him in the back with the Sonic Gun, and he will be fine in the morning? What kind of human is Kao?"
Sho answers, "Well, at least he is going to be ok. Hopefully, he will not bother to look for us once we leave."
As Kanji still walks in circles over what has happen, Sho looks back to the sky. As the moon creeps out from behind the clouds, the land lights up. Every dark alley becomes visible to the naked eye. The horizon of the streets could truly be seen for its beauty. Sho gazes deeply into the moon. All else around him becomes nothing more than a silent grave. Suddenly, an awakening occurs within Sho. Kanji stops for a moment and gazes at Sho to see him standing still like a stoned person.
"Hey Sho, you ok?" asked Kanji.
With a surprising backhand, Sho knocks his friend to the ground and groans loudly. Kanji rubs his face and looks back at Sho to see him scream. Sho grabs his face and memories of his younger life begin to come back to him. He beats his hands against the ground in a rage like never before. The hospital staff comes outside to see all the commotion. Kanji steps back away from Sho as he slowly undergoes an odd change. His hair grows longer than ever. The same black hair grows out from the back of his arms and legs as it rips through his clothes. Sho claws at his shirt and even his feet break through his straw shoes. His body increases pass its normal form making him larger than ever. His feet change into a beast like form with his finger nails stretching out further than ever. Sho's teeth become razor sharp. The color of his eyes changes completely dark. Once the change is complete, Sho lifts his head up high into the sky and roars loudly into the night with an inhuman beastly cry. Kanji and the hospital staff are stunned by how Sho changes. The hospital staff all rush inside and shut off all lights within the facility. As everyone looks upon Sho, his new form strikes fear into the hearts of many. The long, black hair is big and thick. The size of Sho is incredible. Kanji calls to Sho, but he slowly moves to him with caution.
He says, "What in God's name caused you to change?"
Sho replies, "I don't know what has happened. I feel usually different."
"He has transcended to his man-animal form," said a voice from elsewhere.
Kanji and Sho turn about to see a mysterious woman come forward from a dark alley. She has emerald eyes, a fresh complexion, and bright face. In the moment of confusion, neither Sho nor Kanji knew what was going on; however, all would soon be made clear and would change the lives of Sho and Kanji forever.