Chapter11
Bletcherous
Author's Note: I'm sorry, but I kind of felt that this chapter had to be mostly battle. I know I'm not very good at battles right now, but if anyone out there has any suggestions, I'd appreciate some advice on how to make my battle scenes more interesting. Thanks !
-JubJub
Haru's attack style, like Eri's, seemed familiar to Lisa. However they were each completely different and styles that she herself had never encountered before, so she could only assume they were martial arts that she'd been told about but never fought against.
Lisa was in the middle of her transference from Kenichi Shirahama's fighting style to Rimi Kokorone's, so she was virtually formless. That meant she was nearly impossible to predict and had the advantage.
They launched their individual attacks, each immediately showing which ki type they had.
Haru had a dou ki, and her eyes, two flashing spotlights, were ablaze as she lunged at her opponent.
Lisa, calm and collected, quickly and effortlessly formed her seikuken and deflected Haru's first few attacks.
Lisa flapped her hand in surprise. Haru's blow was more powerful than she'd anticipated.
In a stunning display of speed, Haru leapt over her opponent and attempted a high angle, which Lisa quickly avoided. The 1st year representative then decided to try a technique. To prepare for it, she went in for a strike.
Lisa spun away to avoid it, and that is when Haru attacked.
"Northern Tornado Spin!"
Using the momentum from Lisa's avoiding spin, she executed a throw that sent Lisa tumbling to the ground!
Lisa popped up immediately. What a surprising attack! She closed her eyes. It was time to counter with one of her own.
Let's try one of Rimi-sensei's techniques, Lisa thought.
"Phantom Night of the Swallow!"
Using the speed she'd developed during months of lone conditioning, she moved around Haru till she seemingly disappeared.
Haru at first tried to follow Lisa with her eyes, but she soon discovered that such an approach was unwise. She closed her eyes and tried to sense the girl's ki. It was easier to feel it than to see her, and she timed a strike as Lisa passed by.
Wha-? Haru thought. Lisa was not there! But I timed the attack perfectly!
"Woodpecker Ripping Kick!"
Lisa had predicted Haru's attack and countered with a kick that came out of nowhere and pushed Haru back with a yelp.
She kicked the girl again, in the same spot. Then again, and so on until the technique (which involves repeated striking) was completed.
Haru and Lisa breathed heavily, but only paused for a second to catch their breath and went back in to attack.
If there was one thing Ma Kenichi enjoyed beyond a shadow of doubt, it was eating ramen.
It was his pride and joy, and between training sessions with his grandfather and study outings with Tsubasa, his time was almost entirely occupied by the noodles. Thus it was no surprise that one of the only times to find the young Ma heir alone was in a noodle shop.
Ma Kenichi grinned at the bowl before him and snapped the chopsticks to begin his much-awaited meal. He scooped up a chopstick-full and had just shoved it in his mouth when he became acutely aware of an ominous, powerful ki nearby.
He looked up, and right beside him sat the President of the student council.
"Arbh!" he exclaimed through a full mouth.
"Hello to you, too," The red-haired President allowed. His eyes were blank and showed no humor, but they were not cold either. It was almost as if there was nothing there at all. In his mind, Ma Kenichi pictured the President as a statue on the park and created an imaginary pigeon to poop on his face.
He snickered.
"Is there something on my face?" the president inquired.
"Not yet," Ma Kenichi replied jovially. "So, then! Is there a reason you've found me again?"
"To tell you the absolute proof, I was a little put off by the fact that you don't remember me," he shrugged. "I thought I'd come back to jog some memories. Or maybe you were joking with me. I miss funny jokes sometimes."
"Uh... I really don't remember you," Ma Kenichi said curiously. Something about this guy's manner of speaking was strange. Familiar, no doubt, but it was peculiarly stiff and dry.
"Are you sure?" the president leaned in closely to the boy. "Maybe it's the hair. I have dyed it since we last met."
They stared at each other for a few seconds.
Ma Kenichi squinted as he strained his memory, the large blue eyes he was looking into now painting a picture of a boy he once knew. Who was that kid? What did he look like fully? Where did Ma Kenichi know him from? He could remember none of those things, but he knew the answers were just in reach when-
"You know," the President broke the spell and turned back to the ramen counter. "I'm going to see how long it takes you to figure it out. If by the time you first see me fight you haven't guessed correctly, I'll tell you. But until then, you'll have to discover who I was without even knowing my name."
"That's impossible!" Ma Kenichi whined, tugging the president's sleeve. "Tell me your name at least! Ple-e-e-ease!"
"Well, I guess I will."
"Really?"
"No," The president stood and turned to walk away. Before he was out the door, he seemed to remember something and glanced behind at Ma Kenichi. "By the way; the no-martial-arts rule in school is a tool to choose fools from jewels, Kenichi. Those passionate enough about martial arts to break the rule are respected; however, in your case I suspect you will be punished harshly with no leniency."
"What? Why?!" Ma Kenichi demanded with concern.
"You have not kept it a secret that your master is Natsu Tanimoto," the president pointed out. "He was eventually known to be a member of Ragnarok, and any martial arts action on his disciple's part will be seen as attempts to rekindle the age of martial arts gangs."
"That's no fair!"
"What? It seems fair to me," the president turned back around. "After all, you were the one who didn't think to keep your Satsujinken master a surreptitious matter."
"But I-"
"Kenichi," the president sighed. "I've been trying to leave for a while now, but your questions interrupt me. Would you mind letting me be dramatic?"
"Huh?" Ma Kenichi blinked in confusion. "Dramatic?"
"Whatever. I'm leaving," the president pushed the door open and trotted out, muttering about how anti-climactic the end of their meeting had been.
Ma Kenichi chortled. What a funny guy!
He grinned and turned back to his bowl of ramen.
The president, from the ramen shop, went to visit a friend of his.
He climbed in the window of Ryuto Asamiya's private dojo, as was the custom of martial artists. They seem to be opposed to the use of doors.
"Look who it is," Ryuto smiled slightly, pushing up his glasses. "I'm glad to see you're doing alright. Haven't seen you in town for about a week."
"I've been around," he said curtly. "I've been talking to Kenichi."
"Shirahama?"
"No, the other one," the president said. "The Ma heir."
"Oh! How has that been going?"
"Not bad. He doesn't remember, but that's okay," he said. "He's just like my old master; never using his brain."
"That's not a very nice thing for a disciple to say," Ryuto wagged his finger. "Although we both know that you won't be a disciple for long."
"No, I dare say not," The President shrugged. "Maybe afterward I'll visit my ex-sensei, just to show him what a great martial artist I've become."
"He might not appreciate that," Ryuto pushed up his glasses. "Especially since you achieved your level on your own, without his help."
"Yes, I suppose my situation is unique in that way," he looked at his fist. "I'm probably one of the only martial artists that trained themselves successfully. That Lisa Kugenin girl wasn't even able to do it, and she is a genius."
"By the way, I sent Haru to challenge her already," Ryuto said when he remembered.
"Who's that?"
"She's the 1st year representative of the student council and your comrade in Yoakeko," the white-haired master chuckled. "You should at least know your own teammates."
"I have no teammates, Asamiya-san," the President turned to leave. "I only have myself." He leapt onto the window sill once more to depart.
"You seem pretty keen on Lisa, though," Ryuto said offhandedly, glancing at the boy to gauge his reaction. The president froze in place as if he were a criminal caught red-handed. He turned back to the master, his face red but with a flat expression.
"Goodbye, Asamiya," he saluted him and turned back again to leave once more.
Lisa and Haru were both heaving each breath as if it were a huge burden, sweat tumbling down their faces and their faces bright red from exhaustion.
"You're... pretty... good," Lisa noted, inhaling sharply after each word.
"Right... back... at you," Haru responded.
As if in sync, they both launched themselves towards each other.
"Nirvana No Canon!" Lisa called the name of one of her father's attacks.
She performed a pirouette on one foot with her hands positioned outwards by her side, just as her father wood have, and spun quickly towards her opponent. Her rotations strengthened the punch she dealt to the girl.
Haru fell backwards, struck by the sheer force of Lisa's attack. She was slightly disoriented and had to shake away her dizziness. The petite girl quickly and elegantly climbed to her feet and prepared for her next attack.
She ran directly towards Lisa and appeared to be attempting an arm lock, but instead she slid between Lisa's legs and popped back up behind her.
Wha-?
"Circle of the Shinigami!" Haru called the name of the attack.
She leaped up and wrapped her arms around Lisa's throat and to choke! To apply more pressure to the choke, Haru pressed her legs to her opponent's back to make it harder to break from.
Before she could be extremely affected by the attack, Lisa used a basic jujitsu move that Kenichi Shirahama had originally taught her.
She lifted Haru off the ground and threw her over the shoulder onto the ground in front of her, just as Kenichi had practiced so many times in front of that stone statue under Akisame Koetsuji's tutelage.
"Oogoshi!" Lisa called once Haru's choking hands were no longer obstructing her air passages. Now, at least for a moment, Lisa was facing Haru's back and had the prime opportunity to use another of her father's attacks.
"Waltz of Hades!" Lisa grabbed the girl from behind and drove her knees into her side.
Haru cried out in pain and used a defensive maneuver to escape the crushing blow much too late. She grunted with each breath, her ki growing and growing in power.
"It's time I got serious," Haru mumbled to herself.
"What?" Lisa asked.
"Forward March of Death!" Haru yelled at the top of her lungs, her dou ki exploding from her small body as she propelled herself forward in a lashing, ruthless rampage with seemingly no concern for her life.
Lisa, of course, could not sense the girl's ki and instead reacted calmly to each attack that came her way.
"Woodpecker Ripping Kick!" Lisa decided to use the attack again, judging from how effective it had been in her first time using it. She launched the first kick in the set, but was not met with the same success that had resulted from the first time.
Instead, Haru took the kick easily, and instead of cringing from the pain continued on her attack.
Lisa flew back several feet, her forehead bleeding slightly from the crash. As she lay on the floor, Haru continued to shower her with attacks, which Lisa tried to protect herself from mostly successfully.
"Ogata Style Wall Walk!" Lisa sputtered out, using her hyper speed to quickly escape from the barrage of punches to run up the nearby wall then back down onto the other side of Haru.
Haru, without missing a beat, turned on Lisa ferociously and ran at her again to attack rashly.
"Chai Kick!" Lisa called, using the Muay Thai roundhouse kick that Kenichi had taught her. Haru caught it and pushed it away, substituting it with a punch to Lisa's side. The silver-haired martial artist cringed.
Just then, Lisa realized that Haru was fighting without regard for her life or safety. The 1st year representative had purged all self-preservation reflexes and was fighting purely with offensive techniques. Thus, Lisa decided to use another technique that Kenichi had taught her, this time a karate move.
"Yamazuki!"
She gave a dual punch, once towards Haru's head and one towards her stomach. Haru was only able to block one of them, and the second went through. The blow was powerful enough to push Haru back.
"Haigeki!"
Lisa followed it up with a Chinese Kenpo Technique that was similar to a high speed tackle attack. Using highly pressurized speed and leg strength, she propelled her shoulder upwards into Haru's jaw. The girl fell backwards again.
"Requiem Buster!"
Lisa then used another of her father's techniques, lifting Haru up and jumping into the air only to slam her back into the ground with gravity on her side.
Haru coughed blood onto the floor, one of her pigtails undone, scratches and slits in her skin bleeding onto the floor. She struggled to her feet and took up her fighting stance again.
"Hey, before we go on," Lisa interrupted their fight. "What is you're fighting style? I feel like I've heard of it before."
"It is called Command SAMBO," Haru sputtered. "My master is Boris Ivanov." A light of recognition went off in Lisa's mind.
"No wonder," Lisa mumbled. "That man was one of my ex-master's rivals in Yami."
"Lisa," Haru said darkly. "Giving me time to rest was a big mistake. I hope you know that."
"I'll defeat you anyways," Lisa shrugged nonchalantly.
"We'll see about that."
Haru launched before Lisa was entirely prepared for what she was goiing to do, and when the small brown-haired girl launched herself at her Lisa fell backwards from surprise and flipped up to return with an attack.
"Nirvana no Canon, Vertical!" Lisa called, using a variation of an attack she'd used earlier. She leaped up and cart-wheeled in the air, using the momentum from the performance to smack Haru as well.
"Dammit," Haru muttered. She knew she was losing. She had one hope left that might buy her some time to muster her energy for her trump card.
Lisa didn't say anything. She was, in fact, imagining what her rival Eri would do in this situation. She had no doubt that Eri was a sadistic girl when riled up, but Lisa couldn't imagine wanting to hurt Haru for pleasure. She just really didn't care.
What a hassle, Lisa thought. Her mother would be tremendously disappointed if she knew everything she'd done in the past month or so. She even killed people. Lisa didn't want to handle Freya's reaction, but she knew that it would have to happen eventually.
The silver-haired disciple shrugged. This was not the time to think about this. She might as well finish this fight and ponder it later.
Lisa threw a karate-style punch at her opponent. Haru grinned.
"Sickle and Hammer!" Haru called the name of her counter attack. She snapped a kick at Lisa's punch, knocking it out of the way and leaped into the air to use the other leg as an offensive technique.
Before Lisa could throw another punch, the brown-haired girl went offensive.
"Crescent Moon!" Haru announced.
She threw a high-pressure punch at Lisa's stomach, at the same time pulling back her other arm to do the same on the other side. Like a gattling gun, Haru pummeled the silver-haired disciple with punches. Lisa cringed, resisting futilely against the attack.
"Northern Tornado Spin!" Haru repeated an earlier attack, which landed Lisa with yet another wound.
I have to do something, Lisa thought. Haru's attacks were powerful for someone her size, and the teaching abilities of Boris Ivanov were astounding. If she didn't take a defensive position, she would lose the battle.
Lisa then decided to concentrate her energy on blocking all of Haru's attack. The thought of attacking didn't even cross her mind; she deflected each blow with grace and didn't expend her energy on fruitless attacks, while Haru relentlessly showered her with punches and kicks, as well as other various attacks that would have been lethal on a less able opponent.
Lisa endured through it all until it was finally the perfect point to strike.
"Now that you're tired again, it is my time," Lisa said smoothly. Haru flinched when she felt Lisa's ki, which Lisa herself couldn't sense or control, welling up like a tsunami.
"So this is your power," Haru smiled. "I give my approval."
"All Sides Woodpecker Ripping Kick," Lisa decided to finish the battle with one of Rimi's attacks.
She unleashed a wave of kicks over Haru, beating her into the ground so hard that the dirt was tossed into the air till it was thicker than mist.
Blood was spattered on Lisa's shins as she walked away from the dust cloud, and Haru was breathing raggedly, unconscious on the floor.
"I see you've been fighting," Sakaki accused.
"Why, yes I have," Lisa said simply, grabbing a wet rag and washing the blood off her hands and legs. "And I won, thank you very much."
"Good for you, but remember our deal," Sakaki snapped. "You have to tell everyone what you've been doing."
"And I said I would eventually," Lisa reminded him. "That doesn't mean I'm going to any time soon."
"Just do it," Sakaki mumbled. "Your mom called. She wanted to talk to you, but I covered your ass. Told her you were out with some friends in the student council."
"Which wasn't a total lie," Lisa pointed out.
"Whatever."
Kenichi Shirahama decided that enough was enough.
Lisa and he hadn't even spoken to each other in over a week. That was ridiculous of a master and disciple. It was high time he behaved like the man he was and offered a lesson to her.
"Lisa!" he called, bounding over.
"Hello, Ken-sensei," Lisa said calmly, forcing herself to address him as if he were her master once more.
"I haven't really been the best master lately, and I'm sorry," he said, blushing and rubbing his head. "I guess I just thought that you were busy with schoolwork and that your grades might suffer if I trained you too often."
"Not at all," Lisa answered respectfully. "I have actually had surprisingly little school work."
"Oh, well," Kenichi was embarrassed that he hadn't noticed the absence of school concentration. "I'm really, really sorry."
"I'm not mad at you, Ken-sensei," Lisa answered honestly. She really wasn't; she was more disappointed, and apathetic about the fact that Kenichi had never satisfied her energy when it came to training.
"So-o-o! I thought we might have a lesson today!" Kenichi said, rubbing his hands together in preparation for it.
"No, thank you," Lisa politely declined.
"Eh?"
"I'm afraid that at the moment I have an appointment with Eri and Katsuo," Lisa bowed to him. "Perhaps later would be a better time for both of us. Niijima-san has probably missed your company."
"Um, Lisa?" Kenichi tried to interrupt.
"I'm actually terribly late," Lisa glanced at the clock on the wall. "I think I had better get going. I'll see you later, Ken-sensei."
She turned and left Kenichi standing in confusion and concern. It wasn't like her to refuse a lesson. In fact, he'd never even considered the prospect that she wouldn't want to train. It was so bizarre that he was frozen in place for a good while until Ma Kensei waved his hand in front of his face to check if he was conscious.
He blinked. Something was up.
Kenichi was now suspicious of his disciple, and he didn't like it one bit.