His Strongest Opponent
A strong man will be surrounded by strong people too, they say.
A strong man will be surrounded by fascinating people.
A charismatic, strong, man, is beyond-belief.
A charismatic, strong, handsome man is another problem. No matter what they do their faithful followers will always be with them.
A strong man is respected by his friends, feared by his enemies. Well, sometimes both. Respected by friends, respected by foes. Feared by friends, feared by foes…
And so does Oni Me no Kyo, a man who took a thousand lives.
Now look at them, who on earth dare to come near them? That is Oni Me no Kyo in his black kimono as always, accompanied by his long katana, Tenro. He is not alone. There goes the heir to Sanada Clan, Yukimura, with his strongest Ten Sanada Braves, Sasuke. The kagebunshin man called as Benitora is tagging along Demon-Eyed Kyo, now he stands beside the Shiseitens. The deadliest group ever, consists of four skillful samurai on earth. The guy with a stoic look and dress in orange known as an ex Goyousei member. The master of fire is known as Hotaru now. Nobody will ever forget the heir to the throne of Date Clan, Masamune. The strong-willed young man, also the master of ice, Akira. The fascinating pink-haired shaman, Akari. Call her a 'she' to be safe or you will be sorry later.
Oni Me no Kyo is a true Mibu also.
Oh, wow! I can hear you gasping…
There goes the question. Who is his strongest opponent?
Hotaru's half brother Shinrei? Well, he is strong. And beautiful. His water dragons are really something. He is fast. Being physically strong, it is quite a surprise seeing how smooth his attacks are, just like the flows of the water.
Masamune? Oops, it is Bontenmaru. A man with unbelievable strength and stamina, full of energy.
Akari of Shiseiten. Taste his… well, her, airwhamp and prepare to be turned into a mummy.
Hotaru of Shiseiten. Oh my God, he is genius, really. He doesn't have any exact fighting style which makes him a deadly opponent. Various moves and special attack.
Sanada Yukimura, a man with magnificent tactics and intelligence, he is also a deadly warrior, in case you are mistaken by his slender body and long hair—thus making him looks feminine.
Oda Nobunaga. Well, I don't despise him, really, but to think that he lost to Kyo in Honnoji… and seeing the fact that Kyo is still a kid at that time… trash him out.
No, no, we won't count Aka no Ou in. Sorry for making you disappointed, we won't put Kyoshiro Mibu on the list either.
So… who is his strongest opponent?
That will be hard to answer.
****
"Kyooooo, this time I will win!!" the pink-haired shaman swings her (I told you! Call her a 'she'!) staff. The owner of the name simply move step aside, calmly, and the poor shaman misses her target.
"I would never let my guard down," Kyo answered. His eyes glowing, feeling superior to be able to win… without even using Tenro.
"Dammit!! Aarrrggghhh! Ok, enough for today—tomorrow, the day after, whenever, I will win and you will marry me!!" the pink-haired Shaman growls.
Kyo chuckles. As always. Akari loses another round.
****
Benitora stands still. His arms shivers. Kyo smirks, sheathebs his sword back. "Hmm… I like you, fool. Come, be my second servant!"
The desperate Benitora looks down the ground, thinking Kyo has already beaten him easily. Kayo isn't serious in fighting him while he, on the contrary, is dead serious about this. "I'm lost," he says weakly.
****
"Nah, we are even," Yukimura snaps, "the one and only man who defeat Kyo is me!"
"You forget to put 'will'," Kyo smirks. Again. "Everyone can dream."
"No, it is me…" Hotaru joins the conversation, almost startling everyone near him because of his ghost-like tone.
"Keikoku, you bastard! Look at you, do you know not your place, shame on you, Kyo beats you and…"
"And so are you," Hotaru's answer is successfully silenced his brother.
The proud Akira simply chuckles, "oh boy. If you are going to defeat Kyo, grow up first."
"The hell, Akira! Have you looked at the mirror?!"
"Weaklings. Come anytime and try me!" Kyo's voice, followed with his demonic glare, smiles everyone up. And then…
"Uh-hi, everyone," this soft, feminine voice comes from no one but the bounty hunter Shiina Yuya. "How's your wound? I'm making you some tea. Oh, and we have some cakes over here, isn't it a good idea for a nice recovery."
"This is exactly as we need, Yuya-san, thanks," Yukimura answers.
"You are really kind," Akira compliments her politely.
"Yuyaaaa, I love you!" Benitora shouts hysterically. "That's really a woman needed by a crown prince, you are the perfect candidate for the House of Tokugawa—"
"Pardon?" Yuya gives him that puzzled look.
"Oh, no, nothing, nothing! Aaahahahaaaa!" Benitora is doing the same mistake again.
Yuya smiles as everyone greedily grabs the cake—except Shinrei and Akira, of course. Shinrei is busy lecturing Hotaru about behaving in front of a lady. About table manners… well, he loves to lecture his half brother anything, right. Akira is blabbering some gratitude; Benitora yells how he loves her so much that making her blush. She likes them all, and she feels happy seeing the boys like her cakes…
But him.
Kyo takes another sip of sake, not even look at her. Suddenly she feels her heart breaks. "Kyo… what is the matter?"
Kyo says nothing.
"Umm… could it be the cake?"
Still, not any answer.
"Too much sake is not good for your health!" she snaps.
"Damn it, Dogface, your voice awakens the dead!!" he growled. She pauses. She takes the empty plates and tray back. Sans sound.
"Kyo, it's so awful seeing the way you treat her," Benitora tell him. "The cakes are good. And you don't need to growl at her like that."
"My, my. Kyo, you will lose her," Yukimura chuckles. "Can't you see, she's not only beautiful but also very kind at heart? Such good girl is hard to find."
"Isn't she your woman… no?" Hotaru quickly adds the negative statement because Kyo's red eyes pierce his eyes.
"My parents taught me manners," Shinrei adds sarcastically.
"You, bloody silver head—" Kyo is going to hit Shinrei when Yuya returns with the tea, as if nothing happens before. She pays no attention to Kyo when the demon-eyed shouts, "what the hell is this? I can't drink this."
Everyone pause. They see it very well—Kyo likes Yuya, he loves to tease her. He never say something nice to her… ah, how childish. But Yuya is still a girl afterall, no matter how she used to his rudeness.
"Then tell me…"
Yuya just said something, everyone think in horror.
"Does Sakuya's tea tastes good?"
Silent. Today is different…
Yuya stands in front of the thousand man slayer, waiting for his answer. The others watch both of them carefully.
Oh c'mon, bastard, be a good boy for once, will you, Yukimura thinks.
"Yes," that's Kyo's answer, straight and cruel. "Got a problem with that, Woman?"
"Well, I'm sorry for being such an amateur," she replies.
"You have to know your place," Kyo smiles devilishly.
"… I'm sorry, I can't be like her!!" she tells him that in a high-pitched volume, almost screaming. Everyone realizes how hurt she is. And thanks to the devil Oni Me no Kyo!
"Go after her!"
"Why should I, weakling?"
"Kyo, you can't be serious!!"
"I am."
"Kyo…"
Yuya hear them—indeed she does. She feels blessed for having such nice friends, but…
Forget it, she tell herself so, I'm nothing to him. Dogface. Woman…
That forces her tears to fall down her cheeks…
"Hey."
"Wh—what?" she gasps in surprise. "Kyo…"
"Are you crying, Dogface?"
"N… no."
"Then, were you crying?"
"No!! Get the hell out of it!" she snaps. There's no way she let Kyo see her this weak. Kyo must never know how his presence weakens her, that his touch makes her demand him, that she ever dream of him, that…
She loves him.
"… Sakuya's tea is good."
"Again?!" what's the point of telling her twice? She already knew that he loves Sakuya dearly. How cruel!
"… But yours is…"
What? What did he say? Did he want mean that...
"… forget it. Give me the second shot, after that I will be able to appraise."
"Do you mean—"
"Are you that stupid, Dogface?! Pour me the tea—" he looks at her face, her frightened expression, her widened, teary, emerald eyes, her shivering lips… "… Yuya, I want to drink your tea."
The fuck? I am not suppose to say nice things, yo? And why…
Shit.
"Yuya, I don't mean it—well, shit, just give me the tea!"
"You butthead…" slowly Yuya gives him another sip. When he takes the glass he can't believe his eyes—she's smiling sweetly. The wind dances with her long, silky blond hair and he can tell how much the joy she feels throughout those sparkling emerald eyes.
Kyo empties her glass then answer, "this is edible."
"I presume it is good?" Yuya giggles.
"Another sip and we will come into conclusion for sure."
In the end, nobody knows that the pretty bounty hunter is this demonic warrior's strongest opponent. Shiina Yuya never realizes that she already won Oni Me no Kyo since the day they met.
A/N: Kudos to readers!~ I'm sorry if Kyo seems to OOC, I'm sorry for the typos, grammatical errors or terrible English.