Outworld, Shang Tsung's Soul Tombs.
It had been some time since Shao Khan had sent Tanya through the portal leading to Earthrealm as it was centuries ago, and like many of the other warriors he sent she had been slain. He hesitated to send more as he was losing some of his most elite fighters to the warriors of the old Earthrealm who were more dangerous than the warriors of the current generation. The losses began to take a toll and Shao Khan despite wanting the power of the rumored Soul Edge for himself, began to think that the best thing to do was destroy the portal.
His shadow priests told him the magic Shang Tsung used to open the portal had become unstable and they could no longer control it. Two of the emperor's priests were killed as they tried to subdue the out of control magic as if the portal itself attacked them. As the portal grew more and more unstable the images within changed showing multiple locations, warriors and battles as if it was showing Earthrealm as a whole and his shadow priests feared the portal's instability would soon make it visible to both worlds.
It was then the emperor felt a tremor, a shockwave caused by the unstable magic of the portal. The towering warrior held his balance as the ground beneath him shook and he watched as a portal opened in front of him, he saw a small group of humans fighting a familiar warrior clad in yellow. However, just as quick as it appeared the portal closed. The emperor soon received reports of portals opening around his realm and his shadow priests began to suspect the portals may even be opening on other realms as well.
16th century Earthrealm, Bizen, Japan.
Two warriors stood opposite each other, each armed with a katana. One wounded and out of breath, the other steady and unharmed. The wounded samurai was on one knee as he tried to catch his breath his eyes locked with those of his fierce opponent who retained his stance and his sword held at the ready. He knew his opponent's name, his reputation and yet he thought he could win.
"You fought with honor" the unmarked samurai said to his beaten opponent, "Take pride in that."
The wounded samurai refused to admit defeat, his knuckles turned white as he gripped the hilt of his blade and he charged forward the last of his breath turned into a battle cry as he swung his blade upward. He watched his opponent hold his ground and raise his sword knowing this would be the last blow one of them struck. The sound of steel clashing with steel echoed around them, the two samurai now standing with their backs to each other both of them frozen for a second as if time needed to catch up with their duel. The wounded samurai dropped his sword and fell to his knees and then collapsing on the ground dead, meanwhile his opponent flicked his sword outward slinging the blood from its blade before sliding it back into his sheath.
Heishiro Mitsurugi was his name, a rōnin of unmatched skill. A wandering samurai that had no lord or master. Mitsurugi had only one goal in his life, to seek out the strongest opponents and defeat them, he wanted to be the best in the world. He was born as the fourth son of a farmer in Bizen during a time of war and as he grew and heard of the land being ravaged by war he decided that one day he would become a samurai. That day would come sooner than he had planed, while he was fourteen his parents were killed and Heishiro took a sword and cast away his given name now only referring to himself by his family name as he wandered in search of a sensei to teach him.
He found his teacher in the form of a warlord of the Murakami clan and eventually Mitsurugi became an unyielding force on the battlefield. Rumors of him spread through ally and foe alike, a warrior that would cut through his enemies as if they were nothing more than a field of wheat. Throughout the war Mitsurugi received many commendations and was even given the rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces, but as time went on he realized his only desire, the only thing he wanted was a worthy opponent.
He left the Murakami clan and began wondering the country on his own in search of anyone skilled enough to test him. He continued to fight as a mercenary as each new war occurred and each battle ended the same, with him victorious and no adversaries worthy of his skill. One day he heard of a new weapon that would change the art of war forever, the rifle.
Mitsurugi dismissed the idea of this weapon until he learned that this weapon caused the utter defeat of the Takeda cavalry at what would be known as the Battle of Nagashino. He began to realize that this weapon becoming commonplace in warfare would soon put him out of work and he would need a weapon even stronger to combat them. He remembered the rumors, the stories of an enchanted sword capable of defeating any enemy, Soul Edge. Mitsurugi then set off with what money he had in search of this sword of legend, he would make it his own and cement his place in history.
It had been several years since he first set off in his quest for this Soul Edge and Mitsurugi had come close to obtaining it, only to have a female ninja stand in his way just long enough for him to lose the blade. It would not be the first time he met this woman, though she was not a samurai she was skilled, skilled enough to push him, to challenge him. She would become his rival and another object of his quest for Soul Edge, the chance to fight her again in addition to finding the legendary sword kept him motivated. One day after dispatching a group of bandits that had the impression he would be an easy target Mitsurugi witnessed something he would never have believed possible.
A circle of fire appeared before him and inside this circle was a shifting image. Images of warriors fighting in epic duels, some had strange power and others the appearance of demons and oni, but the way they moved, the way they fought, he had never seen anything like them. He watched the images continue to shift, he saw a warrior clad in blue armor who froze another into ice, he saw another warrior summon lightning to fight for him he even saw a demon with sword extending from his forearms.
Demons and magic, surely these would be foes worthy of his skill, but there was no telling where this circle would lead him if he stepped through, or if he would be able to return, if he became stranded wherever it took him then he would never have the chance to obtain Soul Edge. The image within the circle changed again and Mitsurugi nearly leapt forward when he saw it, Soul Edge. The weapon he had sought was there as well, in this other world, he remembered the warrior known as Nightmare, he recognized the weapon it wielded.
There was no more hesitation once he saw it, Mitsurugi gripped the sheath of his sword and stepped forward into the circle of flames, rippling like water as he walked into it and vanished from his world heading to a new one.
Current century Earthrealm, somewhere in Eurasia.
A lone man sits on his knees at the back of the central room in a temple, a sword lying on the floor in front of him as he meditates. He wore a white karate gi with a black belt across his waist, a small satchel hanging from the side. On a display mannequin in the corner was a black body suit with red accents, a sash depicting a dragon was draped over the shoulders along with a red bandana.
The lone male stood and backed away from the sword at his feet, raising his arms he held them out to his side and slowly brought them inward each circling in opposite directions before meeting an inch from each other in front of his chest. A slow, deep inhale preceded his next movement as he slid a foot back and jabbed with one of his arms, stepping forward and throwing a high kick before turning and chopping at the air behind him. His chop arched upward after hitting his imaginary foe and came down again for a follow-up before chaining into a low kick and then a palm-thrust.
He spun back around and reached for his sword on the ground, drawing it and casting the sheath aside as he slashed at his invisible foe with at a downward angle. Turning the blade around he swung again at a low upward arch before stepping forward to swing again. His practice ended and he returned his sword to its sheath before gently setting it back on the floor and turning to the display mannequin holding his armor.
His name was Kenshi Takahashi. A natural born fighter, Kenshi spent his younger years as a wanderer searching for worthy competition just to boost his own ego, buy one day he was approached by a man who called himself Song. This man told Kenshi he had the potential to be a great warrior and any great warrior needs a great weapon. A sword the man spoke of, one that would certainly befit Kenshi. In his youthful pride Kenshi agreed to such an ideal and allowed the man to lead him to the location of this powerful blade.
Song led Kenshi to a well within a tomb and told him only one worthy of the blade could unseal the well and claim the blade. Kenshi did unseal the well, but there was no sword to be seen, instead he was overwhelmed by hundreds of souls that rushed from the well, somehow causing him to go blind. He heard Song laughing as the souls were unleashed, the old man revealed himself to the prone warrior to in fact be Shang Tsung a sorcerer.
Shang Tsung absorbed the souls that Kenshi had unleashed and left the foolish warrior to die within the tomb, but as Kenshi crawled around unable to see he heard something call to him. Following the sound of what was calling to him he found that the sword the sorcerer told him about was real and as he took hold of it he learned of his origin. He was descendant from a line of warrior kings, great swordsman and the well he unsealed was their sacred resting place.
As the spirits within the sword led Kenshi out of the tomb he cast aside his arrogance and swore to track down the man who tricked him into defiling the resting place of his ancestors and kill him. Kenshi spent the next decade retraining his senses to overcome his blindness and soon discovered that he had telekinetic abilities. Continuing to train himself as he searched for the sorcerer that tricked him he crossed paths with two members of the U.S. Special Forces, Jax Briggs and Sonya Blade.
Sonya and Jax were in search of people with special talents to lead into Outworld to fight against Shao Khan and his forces and upon learning that the one he was searching for would be there as well Kenshi jumped at the chance to join them. His determination and skill allowed him to pass every test thrown at him and he was accepted into the Outer World Investigation Agency. His first mission was to go to Outworld and find another agent named Cyrax who had gotten lost.
Kenshi was scheduled to be sent off tomorrow and decided to spend the day preparing. The armor he now wore was made by the Special Forces unit he joined giving him extra protection against a variety of weapons and even minor protection against magic, something he would have laughed at years ago. As he covered his eyes with his bandana and tied the knot he sensed something outside, an unfamiliar sound, but a feeling he had felt before.
Grabbing his sword Kenshi stepped outside the temple and though he could not physically see the portal before him he could feel the magic coming from it. He stood there, prepared to draw his sword as a man stepped out from the portal. Judging from the sound of his footsteps Kenshi determined the man was a bit under six feet tall and around sixty to seventy-five kilograms, but the sound made when the man moved indicated he was wearing armor, shin guards and an arm sleeve by the sound of it and he was armed with a sword.
"Who are you?" Kenshi demanded.
The armed stranger that appeared stared at Kenshi, he was well-built wearing black trousers with red shin-guards and sandals leaving his torso bare save for the arm sleeve with a pair of gauntlets and a single shoulder guard on his sleeved arm. His long black hair was tied at the top end of his skull leaving the rest to dangle freely behind his head. The stranger merely set his eyes on Kenshi silently taking in his appearance and stance.
"I won't ask you again" Kenshi said drawing his sword, "Who are you?"
The armed stranger grunted as he smiled, "Name's Mitsurugi and I'm looking for Soul Edge."
"Never heard of it" Kenshi said readying himself for combat, "But I know the magic you used to get here, you're from Outworld, you will die here."
Mitsurugi slid his foot back and he held his sword in front of him, "Fine, I accept your challenge."
The two swordsmen waited studying each other's stance and waiting to see who would strike first, when it became apparent that his opponent wasn't going to move first Kenshi took the opening strike. He lunged forward swinging his sword from behind him at an upward angle, only to feel the blade meet with that of his opponent's. The screeching cry of steel grinding against steel echoed as Kenshi's blade was blocked and dragged along the end of his opponent's as it slid harmlessly through the air.
With his block successful Mitsurugi raised his foot and kicked his opponent in the gut before stepping forward and swinging with his sword, an overhead slash that would have split his opponent in two if he had not blocked. Kenshi raised his sword horizontally over him blocking the strike using his free hand to hold the end of the blade for better leverage before lowering his free hand allowing Mitsurugi's blade to slide down his and opening the samurai up for a counter attack. Kenshi swung his hand back, the hilt of his sword nailing Mitsurugi in his jaw making him stumble back.
Stepping forward Kenshi swung with his blade again, but Mitsurugi regained his balance and stepped back as the tip of the blade grazed by his chest. The samurai looked at his chest seeing a line of blood running from the shallow cut and he grinned. Setting himself back in his stance with his feet separated at shoulder length and his sword held in both hands Mitsurugi attacked with a downward angle slash before turning his blade around and bringing it back up at a similar angle before turning the weapon again and bringing it straight down in an overhead slash.
Kenshi blocked the first strike, but his guard was broken by the strength of the attack, his opponent clearly held a strength advantage. Kenshi felt the following attack hit him, but thankfully his armor protected him and he managed to jump back before the downward slash came. Kenshi quickly realized his opponent was a skilled swordsman to be taken seriously; he sidestepped as Mitsurugi stepped forward with a thrusting attack and before Mitsurugi could change his momentum and swing his blade Kenshi struck.
A swing of his own blade and Kenshi felt the sword strike against his enemy's armor before glancing off confirming that the armor was plated, meant for defense against slashing weapons. It was with that block that Mitsurugi lunged forward again driving his plated shoulder guard into Kenshi's jaw making him stumble back and leaving him open for a follow up attack. Stepping forward Mitsurugi grabbed his opponent by the shoulder and turned him around striking with his sword as he swiftly stepped by the force of his swing causing Kenshi to spin around again as Mitsurugi rounded on his feel and slashed at Kenshi once more, this time his sword cutting through Kenshi's armor.
Feeling the blade slice into his armor Kenshi turned around and threw his hand out using his telekinetic power to force Mitsurugi back and give him a chance to right himself. Mitsurugi stared at his opponent as the invisible force pushed him back, what magic was this. He watched Kenshi ball his hand into a fist before punching at him from over a meter away and yet his punch connected.
Mitsurugi felt the punch even though he was far outside his opponent's reach he next felt an open palm strike the bottom of his jaw before felling a foot plant itself against his gut. Coughing Mitsurugi set his fierce eyes back on his blind opponent, magic; this would definitely be a test of his skill. Mitsurugi gripped his sword and charged forward meeting his opponent halfway, their swords clashed again deflecting each other before swinging back around to meet once more.
Steel clashed against steel again and again, each of their strikes blocking the other as they traded blows. Kenshi sensed an opening in his opponent's attack and stabbed forward with his sword, the tip of the blade grazed Mitsurugi's flank as he turned to avoid it. Grabbing his blind opponent's arm Mitsurugi pulled Kenshi forward and then pushed him back as he used the flat of his blade to trip him. Standing over his prone opponent Mitsurugi aimed his sword and stabbed down.
Using his telekinesis Kenshi pushed the sword away from his chest avoiding what would have been a killing blow, but while the blade missed his chest it did impale his arm. Kenshi screamed for a second before choking back his pain and punching Mitsurugi before using his telekinesis to throw him off. As his opponent was thrown off him Kenshi felt the sword being pulled from his arm indicating that the samurai kept his grip on the weapon and was still armed. Getting back to his feet Kenshi switched his sword out of his injured arm and into his good one and charged his opponent again.
Mitsurugi stood and raised his sword blocking Kenshi's thrust as it missed his head by mere inches. Swinging his blade around Mitsurugi turned Kenshi's blade away from him as he arched the blades up over them and then brought his sword down slashing his opponent across his abdomen. Kenshi feeling the change in momentum knew what his opponent was planning and leaned back to avoid the sword hitting his unprotected head, but once again felt the sword cut through his armor as it came down from his shoulder to his hip.
Stumbling back Kenshi raised his hand in time to block a follow-up strike, his telekinesis stopping Mitsurugi's blade from slicing across his throat, but the samurai was pushing against the magic trying to overcome it. Kenshi pushed the blade away and swung his sword catching Mitsurugi across his bare torso leaving another cut. Spinning on his heel Kenshi kicked Mitsurugi in the stomach before bringing his sword upward and slashing downward only to have the samurai block the strike with one of his gauntlets.
Pushing the attack away Mitsurugi lunged forward once again driving his shoulder-guard into Kenshi's jaw and his the blind swordsman turned away from the hit Mitsurugi kicked at the back of his knee and raised his sword. The blade came down across Kenshi's back this time fully slicing through his armor and into the skin underneath. Kenshi fell to all fours after the impact, but managed to roll away before a second swing could be made.
Stopping on one knee, Kenshi got back up and raised his hand lifting Mitsurugi with his telekinetic power and slamming him back down on his back. His opponent was stunned, Kenshi jumped forward, his sword raised and stabbed his down, but only succeeded in impaling the earth as the samurai rolled away and got up to one knee. Holding his sword behind him Mitsurugi lunged forward his blade slicing across Kenshi's back once again cutting through the weakened armor, he pivoted and slashed again catching Kenshi against his injured arm before leaping forward and kicking him in the chest to knock him down.
Kenshi shot up from the ground and pushed Mitsurugi back with his telekinesis and pushed him a second time as he got back to his feet. Reclaiming his sword Kenshi charged forward meeting Mitsurugi in a clash, their blades locking as they pushed against one another, Kenshi had the height advantage, but Mitsurugi was stronger and Kenshi's injured arm began giving way under his opponent's strength. Mitsurugi pushed until Kenshi was down on one knee again, but Kenshi switched his strategy.
Allowing himself to be pushed down Kenshi slipped under his own weight kicking Mitsurugi in his shin-guard, the weight of his kick causing Mitsurugi to fall forward. As Mitsurugi fell Kenshi pushed him straight up with his telekinesis and rolled away as he came back down, the impact knocking the wind out of the samurai. Slowly Mitsurugi pushed himself back up and turned to face Kenshi as he raised his sword again.
Kenshi ran toward his opponent his sword raised and brought it down only for his attack to be blocked as Mitsurugi brought his own blade up and pushed the attack away, using the momentum to swing his own blade back and once again cut through Kenshi's armor. As the katana came down across his armor Kenshi jabbed with his injured arm catching Mitsurugi in the throat causing his stance to falter long enough for Kenshi to bring his sword back up in an uppercut cutting his opponent once again. Using his injured arm Kenshi pushed Mitsurugi away, but Mitsurugi grabbed his arm as the magic hit him, pulling Kenshi with him as he stumbled back.
Pulling Kenshi into him Mitsurugi wrapping his arm around the blind swordsman's head and grabbed the collar of his armor before pulling back using Kenshi's weight to right himself as he spun his opponent away. Pushing his weight off his back foot Mitsurugi lunged forward driving his sword into Kenshi's midsection. Kenshi coughed up blood as the sword was pulled out of him, Mitsurugi stepped back preparing to strike the final blow as Kenshi fell to his knees, but his blind opponent wasn't beaten yet.
As Mitsurugi swung his sword, Kenshi used his telekinesis to launch himself forward ramming into Mitsurugi and punching him in his jaw followed by a kick to the gut and then an uppercut launching him into the air. Before his opponent could fall Kenshi seized him with his power and slammed him into the ground two times before reeling him in and spinning to land another kick in his stomach knocking him back. As the samurai stumbled back Kenshi unleashed a flurry of telekinetic strikes, two punches, an open palm strike followed by a right hook and then a kick to the head before lifting him up again and slamming him down once more.
Kenshi fell to his knees again, out of breath and the blood loss weakening him. Mitsurugi slowly returned to his feet, the cuts across his torso had stretch from his exertion in their fight and began bleeding more than they were. Sensing his opponent was back up Kenshi struggled to stand as well summoning his sword back to his hand and defending as Mitsurugi charged him.
The samurai swung and Kenshi blocked his guard unable to hold up against his opponent's superior strength. He raised his sword again and once more Mitsurugi broke through it and Kenshi stumbled back, he was too wounded, too fatigued to do anything, but defend he could barely focus enough to make use of his telekinesis. Mitsurugi pressed his attack finally aiming low and slashing at Kenshi's foot causing the blind swordsman to lose his balance and falter opening him to a knee to the stomach. The samurai's knee hit him in the same spot where he was stabbed and Kenshi double over and in a desperate attempt to fight back raised his arm to force Mitsurugi back, but the samurai quickly slashed at his arm stopping the telekinetic attack.
Sliding his foot back Mitsurugi held his blade up, "Try this!"
Stepping forward Mitsurugi swung his sword down, turned it and swung again before making a third and fourth swing. He angled his blade, sliding it back into its sheath as Kenshi's body fell to the ground blood began staining the grass beneath him as he took his last breath.
Mitsurugi stood over him, "You fought well" he told him, "You are the strongest opponent I've ever faced, go with honor."
Turning away from his defeated opponent Mitsurugi picked a direction and began walking, he had finally found a worthy opponent in this strange world that so far looked similar to his own, but he did not forget that Soul Edge was here as well and he would have it.
A/N. This was a tough battle to call. While Mitsurugi held clear advantages in terms of strength, endurance, speed and experience, he had never faced someone with Kenshi's abilities allowing the blind swordsman a chance to fight back in ways Mitsurugi had never fought against before. And though Kenshi was skilled enough to land multiple blows on his opponent both with sword and his telekinetic powers, his lack of true combat experience was a greater disadvantage than the edge his abilities gave him.
And although Mitsurugi had never fought against magic or similar powers before, he had faced and defeated far more skilled and dangerous opponents than Kenshi once again proving that the best weapon any warrior can bring to a fight is experience. The winner is Mitsurugi.
And now with the portal magic becoming unstable, causing portals to open all over Outworld and both 16th century and present day Earthrealm who will be the next pair to meet in battle?
Have a bout you'd like to see, let me know in the reviews or a private message, even if its outside the Mortal Kombat and Soul Calibur worlds.