Ch. 11
As we walked back to the stadium, I could tell that it was going to be an interesting adjustment to have Naruto as a guardian ghost. From the past years working with Kumo, I had adjusted to his discipline as a warrior. Kumo was raised with a strict regime as a soldier and assassin. He would always berate me if I ever acted up or goofed off. So my guardian ghost was like my own drill instructor.
But Naruto was really unique. He had this unusual carefree personality. He laughed whenever I made a joke and would even try make some of his own. As we walked down the street, he would run to each store to look through the windows and sometimes would ask me what it was.
"That's an arcade, Naruto," I told the excited ghost. It was like dealing with a child instead of an adult. It was actually kind of funny.
"Wow, technology sure has advanced since my time," Naruto told me as he came back from the window. "I can't wait to see it all."
"By the way, what year do you come from anyway," I asked him was continued down the street. I saw his smile disappear and he looked solemn.
"I don't know. I'm beginning to have some recollection of where I came from, but it's all jumbled together. All I can see is flashes of fighting and war."
"That's weird, I had the same flashes," I told him. "Back when the Reaper stabbed me in the stomach. I saw memories of armies as well."
Naruto's eyebrows rose. "Really? Well, that itako did say that our spirits were similar. Maybe we exchanged memories because of that. I can see part of your memories, too."
"You can?"
"Yeah. You were raised in an orphanage since birth. Your first friend was a ghost named Hana. You discovered you were a shaman when you were 12 and were trained by an Asakura since then."
"Wow, I've never heard of this before," I said in awe. "We're beginning to bond already without even intergrating.". We could be discovering something completely new about spirt guardians.
"JAKE!!" yelled a voice that made both of us jump. I looked up to see that we had arrived at the stadium. Spectators were lined up at several entrances, awaiting their turn to find a seat. The voice came from Zach, who was waving frantically at a different entrance with Frank James floating in the air next to him.
"About time, dude," he said as I followed him into the entrance. "Our match is going to began in ten minutes. Just what were you doing, you idiot? Getting a manicure?"
"Hehe. Sorry about that," Naruto said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. It took me a moment to realize he was speaking English. "I saw a lot cool stuff on the way here and kept asking what everything was."
"You couldn't do that while Jake was unconscious?" Frank asked.
"Uh...it never came to mind."
Zach and Frank both rolled their eyes. "Well come on. Maria, Rowdy and Jesse are waiting for us in the stadium grounds."
"Kasai's late," Yoh said with a worried tone. "I hope he doesn't get disqualified."
"He'll be here," Anna said. "He wouldn't miss this for the world."
"So what's up with this guy, Yoh?" asked a blue-haired shaman who was sitting in the row of seats below Yoh and Anna. "I mean, I know you said this guy's family because of the King of Spirits, but can you really trust him enough for Anna to give him and his team new guardian ghosts? I haven't even met the guy!"
"I agree with the idiot," said Ren. He ignored the cries of protest from his fellow shaman. "For all we know, this guy could only be using you to gain power and join Hao's team. I think that this is all a big mistake."
"Big mis-steak!" said a dark-skinned shaman beside Ren. He was dressed up in a steak costume.
"ENOUGH OF YOUR JOKES, JOCO!" screamed Ren has he tried to stab Joco with his quan do. "I guarantee you're going to regret this, Asakura."
"Ren, Horohoro. Relax. I've talked to my dad about this and he agrees that we should trust him like family," Yoh said.
"I agree with Master Yoh, shorty-pants, said Ryu. "I can tell this team will help us out in our quest to beat Hao."
"Me, too," said Faust as he held his wife's hand. "He was very polite and courteous with us when we met in the mining town a week ago."
The cheering of the crowd broke their conversation as Hao's minions walked onto the field. Yoh knew who they were, thanks to Manta and his laptop. They were a powerful group, but didn't have the proper control for Giant Spirit Control. They consisted with a miners theme. All three of them were wearing mining helmets and a dirty pair of overalls. Their spirit mediums were a jackhammer, a lantern, and a pick.
"That's the team their facing?" Horohoro asked.
"Don't be fooled by their appearance," Anna snapped, causing Horohoro to cringe. "This is a test run for them. If they can win, Hao will let them join his shaman group."
"They must be good if Hao's letting them join," Manta said. "He doesn't mess around with anyone unless they have some talent."
"So where's your cousin at?" Ren asked.
There was a polite applause as Maria walked onto the field with her ghost slithering beside her. Another ghost, a cowboy, was walking/floating a few steps behind her.
"That's Maria, one of Kasai's teammates," said Manta.
Maria was wearing her long leather skirt with the sides slit to show glimpses of her thighs. She had on a long-sleeved pink shirt underneath a brown, buffalo-skin vest. Her long, brown hair was in a single braid down her back and was wearing a straw, cowgirl hat. Her whip was strapped to her skirt. Even from the stands, everyone could see her scowl from all of the catcalls.
"I'll say it again. Where's your cousin at?"
"Who cares?" Ryu yelled outloud. Everyone turned to Ryu to see that he had hearts in his eyes. "She's a beauty!"
"Wow! She's hot!" Horohoro yelled as well. "Your cousin's really lucky to have her on his team."
"I-I wouldn't know," Yoh said nervously with a glance at Anna.
"You better not," Anna growled.
"So the coward ran off," Ren muttered. "I always knew he was a weakling."
"Give Kasai a minute," Yoh said. "Besides, he beat you didn't he."
"Don't remind me!"
"There he is," Manta announced. The arena applauded once again as Kasai, his friend, another cowboy ghost, and a ghost with a blonde hair and a red jacket.
Zach was wearing a pair of black, wrangler jeans, a long-sleeved blue shirt underneath a dark, vest. Even though it was hot, he was wearing a black, leather trench coat that dropped to his His hair was tucked underneath his black stetson. On his hips were two, antique six-shooters.
Jake/Kasai was wearing a pair of combat boats and black cargo pants with shuriken and kunai holster on his thighs. He was also wearing a red, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of combat gloves. But what surprised everyone was the battle jacket he was wearing. It was similar to his ghost's, but it was black with red flames instead. There were also spider-web designs stretched all over the material and had an outline of spider on the back.
"They look more impressive than the mining team," said Faust.
"That's Kasai? The one with the cowboy hat?" Joco asked.
"No, he's the one with blonde hair and black jacket," Yoh told him. He forgot Joco hasn't met him yet.
"He's cute," said a quiet voice. Everyone turned in shock to a pink-haired girl sitting a few seats down from the group. Tamara turned red with embarrassment when realized she said that out loud.
"Whoa. I never knew Tamara's face could be brighter than her hair," Horohoro said.
"Master Hao! Look!" yelled Opacho. He and Hao were sitting on the edge of the stadium at the very top.
"Yes, I see. It looks like Kasai found a new guardian ghost."
"Doesn't matter," Opacho said smugly. "He'll burn like all the others."
Hao laughed. "Wow, Opacho. I never knew you could be so bloodthirsty."
"Nice of you two to show up," Maria hissed angrily at the boys. She was getting real ticked at all the catcalls aimed at her.
"Sorry about that," I apologized. "We got sidetracked by the sights."
"No matter, we're here now. Are you up to a fight?"
I laughed. "After a three-day nap, I'm ready to take on the world."
"I highly doubt it," Zach muttered. "While you've been knocked out, Maria and I have been training nonstop with our ghosts since we got them."
"So how are you two going to fight when you haven't even started on your Oversoul? Or human spirit unity?" asked Jesse with sneer.
"Um...well.." I started. I glanced at Naruto, who looked just as confused as me. "We have no clue."
"Then what's ya'lls plan?" Rowdy asked. "Charge forward without some sort of battle plan?"
Naruto and I looked at each other, then looked back at the snake. "Yes."
"Ugh. Hotheads," Maria mumbled. She then looked across the stadium at the opposing teams, who looked annoyed that they we weren't being intimidated. "So what do you think of those three?"
"Hard to tell by judging only from their spirit mediums," Zach said. "They're keeping their ghosts hidden until the last moment."
"Can they do that?" Naruto asked. I groaned inwardly. I kept forgetting he doesn't have experience in shaman fights.
"Don't worry," I said told him. "We can handle anything they can dish out. They won't be able to sneak it on us, despite them hiding their ghosts from us."
"Then I'll disappear, too," said Naruto. Before any of us could say anything, he shimmered and vanished.
"Uhh....there was actually no need for that, Naruto," I said, completely shocked..
"Well, he's certainly unusual," muttered Frank. "But he's got a good grasp on his spiritual powers after only being in the physical plane for a few days."
"Oh, by the way, I saw our team name on the bulletin board," said Maria with a grin. "When I asked Yoh to translate what it meant, I knew it was good choice."
"I thought it was ok," Zach muttered. "We could have done a lot worse."
"Hey!" came a shout from the other side of stadium. The group turned to see the miner in the middle, a six-foot, five-inch man with scar across his right eye. He was holding a pick axe. "When are you three going to shut up and get started?!"
"We're waiting for you to come to your senses and forget joining Hao's team!" Zach shouted back. "Maybe you should loosen your helmets to continue the circulation to your brains?"
"You little snot!" bellowed the guy on the left, who looked to be about eight feet tall and was built like a mountain. He was holding the lantern in his right hand. "You will not speak about our great leader like that!"
"Great leader?" asked Jesse. "Who is this guy? One of those freaky cult leaders?"
"I heard that!" yelled last member of the miner team. He was holding a jackhammer under his arm, despite being very small and wiry. "We're going to bury you in the ground!"
"Just try it!" I yelled back, taking a few steps forward.
"Whoa! Hold on, Asakura!" yelled a voice I knew too well. Their was a whirlwind of furyoku and Oxy appeared garbed in his Officiator robes. "You can't start until I say so, pal."
"What are you doing here?" I asked. Oxy was last person I expected to meet today.
Oxy smiled. "I have the honor of being your referee for this match."
"So you're here to keep from killing each other?" Maria asked.
"Nope. Killing is allowed, although it's discouraged. I'm just here to declare a winner when it's all over," he said with a grin.
I think everyone in the stadium sweatdropped at that announcement.
"Alright, ladies and gentleman, it's time for the official start of the second round of the Shaman Tournament. In honor of the first match, the Shaman Council has allowed the first match to be held here at the stadium for your viewing pleasure. After this match, all other shaman fights will take place in various areas around the village."
"Aren't we lucky?" I muttered. "This is a chance for everyone to learn our moves and skills."
"So if we win, we'll be the team with the biggest disadvantage," Zach said.
"Watcha mean 'if' we win," Rowdy hissed. "We're goin' to win this, no doubt abou' it."
Maria chuckled. "You better listen to him. In the short time we've been together, I've learned not to get on his bad side." She unfurled her whip and held it in her hand.
"Gotcha," Zach grinned as he unsnapped his holsters.
I smiled and pulled my kunai out of my holster.
"Now, let the first match between Team Underworld and Team Honoo...begin!!"
I reached forward with my mind and mana to call forth Naruto. I saw Rowdy, Jesse and Frank begin to switch to their hitodama forms. But before we even started integration, something interrupted us.
"Wait!" We looked forward to see the skinny picking up his jackhammer and walk forward. "There's no need for my team to dirty their hands with something like this. I'll take you all on at once!"
"Like you actually need to get any more dirt," Maria scoffed at the little guy. I could understand that, seeing the guy's face was smudged with mud and what looked like coal dust.
"I don't need to take that from some top-heavy cowgirl!" the guy shouted back.
I swear I felt the air get twenty degrees colder when he finished that sentence. Maria froze with a hard look in her eyes. Rowdy's rattle intensified as well. His eyes changed from round pupils to slits.
"Jim, spirit form!" the man shouted. The earth around us begin to shake. There was a crack in the dirt at the skinny guy's feet and what looked like a giant serpent rose from the ground. The guy jumped on it and rose into the air.
The creature had to be about 70-feet long and covered in slime. When it finally stopped rising from the ground, I got a good look at an......earthworm?
"Take the out, Rocky!" yelled the skinny guy's friends.
"Now, merge with the jackhammer," Rocky yelled, jamming the object into the creature's head. There was a bright flash of light. When it died down, the earthworm was covered in what looked like steel plates shaped like scales. Instead of a normal worm-head, there was only a giant mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. The worm was still the same size, but I could tell it was just a normal Oversoul form, not a Giant Oversoul.
"This is Jim, my spirit ally," Rocky bragged. "His skin is now covered with strongest form of steel that's combined with iron ore. His teeth are diamond tipped and unbreakable. You'll be lucky enough to scratch him, much less break my spirit control."
Maria was still trembling with fury. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. Let's rumble, Rowdy! Spirit form!"
"Right!" hissed the snake as his form shifted into his hitodama form in Maria's hand. The form was shaped like his head with his fangs bared and a pink aura surrounding him.
"Now, into the whip!" Maria merged Rowdy with her leather whip. I've watched Maria do this dozens of times, but what happen next shocked me.
The moment Rowdy touched the whip, a blinding, pink blaze of mana engulfed me and Zach. The light was so bright that I turned away from it with my eyes closed. Even then, it still hurt. After a few moments, the light began to die down and I felt it was safe to look.
And when I saw Maria's new Oversoul, I actually began to get a little scared.
Maria's whip went from being 12-feet long to nearly 50-feet long. It was still covered by her pink furyoku, but instead of leather, the whip was made up of long-steel chain. Five inch blades serrated every single link in the chain. The end of the whip ended with two, fang shaped blades nearly six-feet long. Finally, the mana surrounding her spirit medium was shaped like rough dragon scales, instead of the Rowdy's usual scales. And if I looked closely enough, I could almost see a pair of slit, pupils near the fangs.
What surprised me the most was the way Rowdy and Maria worked together. She had perfect control over her Oversoul, but Rowdy seemed to swim through the air on his own, like the wild animal he was.
"So, are you ready to fight?" Maria asked. Her Oversoul shifted and took a protective stance around her. It looked like a rattlesnake in a coiled position, ready to strike at anything that moved.
"Fine! Jim, attack!" yelled Rocky. The earthworm reared up and roared, it's voice echoing throughout the arena. It charged forward with its teeth bared. It was like a freight train barreling towards her.. Each tooth one was nearly a foot long and glistening with saliva.
However, Maria calmly stood her ground, even with the behemoth charging forward. When I looked closer, I saw that she had her eyes closed. I was about scream at her to open her eyes when Zach grabbed my shoulder.
"She knows what she is doing," he muttered.
I reluctantly nodded and turned back to the battle. At the last moment, Rocky gave a yell of triumph and Maria opened her eyes.
The two blades at the end of her Oversoul quickly sunk into the ground. The rest of the Oversoul snapped forward, propelling Maria straight into the air just a second before the worm's crashed into the spot Maria was just standing in. The worm burrowed into the ground to reappear seconds later in a different spot.
Maria flipped through the air before straightening out. She swung her Oversoul once around her head before whipping forward to Rocky. The last few feet wrapped around Jim's neck, the fangs acting as an anchor. With a quick jerk, Maria flew towards Jim at the speed of a bullet. She flipped forward and swung her leg into an ax kick. Her heel connected with Jim's head. Normally, I wouldn't think a 130-pound girl would be able to cause any damage to a 60-foot, 2 ton steel earthworm with a simple kick.
So you could imagine my surprise when the worm jerked from the kick and landed flat on the ground, creating a crater on impact. I think everyone's jaws fell to the ground.
"Whoa, where did she learn that?" I asked in awe.
Zach chuckled. "She actually taught that kick herself after watching you do it during your fights."
"Holy Crap," yelled Horohoro. "Where did she get that kind of strength?"
"Strong and beautiful," mumbled Ryu with hearts in his eyes. "I'm in love."
"How did she get so strong," Yoh whispered to Anna.
"It's the bond she has with her spirit," Anna stated. "When I searched for their spirits, I was looking for spirits that, as you say, complete them."
"Complete them?"
"You could say that," said a voice next to Yoh. He turned around to see his father, Mikihisa, standing behind him. "Anything that is alive has a soul. Humans, animals, trees. Anything that grows is alive and is filled with mana from the Great Spirit and the Earth. And when any sentient being dies, the mana that resides within that being is recycled back into the earth. Then, that same mana is used to create new life."
"So at one point in time, the furyoku that resided in those three spirits when they were alive is a match to Team Honoo?" asked Yoh.
His father nodded. "Exactly. And when they are used in sync, they can become more powerful than ever before."
"You wench!" Rocky yelled as Jim coiled back up. "Your going to pay for that!"
Jim coiled straighter and reared his head back.
"Diamond Needle!" roared Rocky. Jim snapped his head towards Maria. From its mouth came a spray of needles, each one the size of a dagger.
But Maria was already gone. She was in the air a second before the needles hit the ground, embedding themselves halfway into the dirt. Then, I felt my stomach drop when I realized danger Maria was in while she was in the air. Apparently, so did Rocky.
"I've got you know!" cackled Rocky. Jim's head raised to Maria and fired another spray.
However, Maria twirled her whip repeatedly in a circle in front of her. In a split second, Maria's Oversoul was blocking every needle as it swirled like a pink vortex.
When Jim's attack was over, she whipped her Oversoul behind her head and prepared for her attack.
"My turn," Maria smiled. She jerked her Oversoul forward, the fang's rushing towards the underside of Jim's metal body.
"Serpent's Bite!" she yelled. The two blades at the end of Maria's Oversoul screamed through the air. They struck the worm's belly, on the top half of the body. There was a long clang as the blades ricochet off the stomach and deflected back to Maria.
"Ha! I told you nothing could penetrate Jim's steel skin!" Rocky laughed.
"Just testing you theory. Your right," said Maria.
But judging by the smile I saw on her face said she wasn't worried at all. It didn't waver as she charged forward again.
Blow by blow, the two shaman competitors fought for dominance in the match. Jim fired several dozen needles, but Maria kept dodging them each time. And whenever she had a chance, she would whip her Oversoul's fangs onto Jim's neck. And every time, the blades would ricochet of the skin.
Eventually, both fighters began to show signs of fatigue after a few minutes. It became even more obvious when one of Jim's needles finally found its mark.
"Aahh!" Maria cried out. She grasped her left thigh with her free hand. One of the diamond daggers was grasped between her fingers.
"Bind her!" said Rocky. Jim shot forward and wrapped its body around Maria. He then began to raise its coils to his mouth.
"I've got you now," Rocky gloated. "Any last words before my guardian ghost has you for dinner?"
I was about to charge forward and end the guy's existence right there, but Zach held me back once again.
"Let me go!" I yelled. "She's going to get killed!"
"Calm down, dude. Maria's always got a plan. Don't you remember?" he told me. Then he chuckled. "Look, she's grinning."
I calmed down and looked at Maria. Indeed, there was a smile on her face.
"Yeah, take a look at your Oversoul's neck," Maria told Rocky.
Rocky glanced down. Then growled. I followed his gaze. There, on Jim's neck, were several cracked, steel plates.
Then I remember Maria's attacks. She struck repeatedly on the same spot for the last five minutes.
"So you cracked my Oversoul. Big deal. You still haven't broken my spirit control. And now, you can think about your mistake for all eternity."
"I don't think so," Maria stated. In a flash, Rowdy sprung from his position and began to wrap around Jim's neck.
"Coil Shredder!" Maria yelled. With a flick of her Oversoul, Rowdy began to pull away from Jim.
Nearly 40 feet of Rowdy's had wrapped around Jim's neck. So when he began to pull back, the serrated blades on the chain links began to grind and saw against Jim's steel skin, exactly where the cracks in steel where. The friction to two metals began to heat and glow at a rapid pace. When the chain length reached its limit, Maria's Oversoul pulled as fast as it could before returning to Maria.
The earthworm didn't move for a few seconds. The only signs of life was the glowing of red steel around Jim's neck. Then, when the wind shifted, Jim's head fell forward from its body. When it hit the ground, Jim's body exploded in a white cloud, causing Maria to flew through the air towards us. I leapt into the air and caught her.
"Thanks, Jake," she smiled as we landed.
"No problem," I told her.
Rocky, meanwhile, was fuming. When his spirit control broke, his jackhammer fell to the ground in pieces. Jim's spirit form looked fearful at his shaman's angry face and burrowed back into the ground.
"You're going to pay for this," he cursed at Maria. He then turned on his heel and went to join his teammates.
"What a sore loser," Zach said. "Oh, and you can put my sister down now."
"I'm good," Maria grinned and put my arms around my neck.
"Uuhhh..." I tried to say something, but all the blood rushing to face seemed to fry my brain.
Zach palmed his face on his hands. "Not in front a stadium full of people."
"All right! It's my turn!" yelled the huge man on miner's team. "I'll prove to Hao that I'm not a weakling like Rocky."
"Shut up, Slate!" yelled Rocky.
The fat guy, Slate, walked to the center of the stadium. He unlatched his weapon from his belt: a lantern. It was one of those old-fashioned candle lanterns, with reflective walls and a small, glass door.
"What are you going to do? Blind us?" Zach asked.
"I'll do more than that, you punks!" yelled Slate. He put his lantern on the ground and raised his arms above his head. "I summon my partner to the field!"
There was a flash of light that illuminated the field, then a green glowing orb was summoned in his hands. It shifted and writhed in the air before it began to take shape. Well, actually, all it did was stretch out from a orb into what looked like a ....
Gloworm?
"You guys are really into the bug thing, aren't ya?" Jesse asked.
"Well, they seem to be underground a lot. Maybe they don't get out and into the sun very much," suggested Frank.
"Shut up!" roared Slate. "Shimmer, into the lantern!" He put his hand on the worm before pushing down into the lantern. The integration shimmered with green furyoku and began to change shape. Slate picked up his medium as it green longer and longer. Before long, Slate's spirit medium changed from a lantern to a seven-foot long bazooka. The green furyoku surrounding it had ridges like a worm's body, ending with two yellow eyes near the sights.
Slate held the medium to his shoulder. "This is my Glow Cannon. It can fire furyoku rockets that can seek out my opponent's mana. Each rocket has enough force to blow through a steel-frame wall."
I set Maria on the ground and began to walk towards him, set on having my turn at the shaman fight. But before I took two steps, Zach grabbed my arm.
"Let me take care of this. Maria needs medical attention," said Zach. He turned back to Slate. "Besides, I want to fight spirit gun to spirit gun."
"Can you Cowboy Cannon handles his bazooka?" I asked.
Zach faced me again with a smile on his face. "Who says I'm using a cannon?"
My eyebrows rose. "What?"
Zach said nothing and begin to walk towards the center of the stadium. The James brothers walking on either side of him.
"Good! We finally get to throw down," Frank said with glee in his eyes.
"I can't wait," Jesse said with a maniacal grin on his face.
Zach stopped and pushed the sides of his jacket open, revealing his two six-shooters.
"Hey, where did you get a second gun?" I yelled.
"It's my back-up medium, just incase my first one broke," he yelled back. "Now, Frank, Jesse! Let's rumble! Spirit form!" He held both arms out with his palms up.
"Yee-haw!" the brothers shouted. Their bodies shifted to their hitodama forms and flew through the air into Zach's hands. Their forms were exactly identical to one another. They both had on cowboy hats and shimmered with blue fire.
"Now, into the pistols!" Zach pushed their spirits into the guns, their forms erupting in a brilliant flash of blue light. He pulled the pistols from their holsters as they grew in size.
At first, I was expecting his new Oversoul to be like his original form with Wyatt Earp. But when Zach's furyoku died down, I felt my jaw drop.
He was actually holding two Oversouls, one on each hand. Each gun was covered in Zach's sapphire mana. But the guns themselves have completely changed form. Instead of revolvers, they grew into what looked like giant 9mm's, but with a updated look. The handles were small enough to fit in his hands, but the barrels and the body had at least grew ten times in size. Each trigger guard had a blade that reached the end of the barrel. The barrel itself had to be at least four inches in diameter.
And if that wasn't enough, he even had braces attached to his arms. They ran from his forearms to the hammer. I'm guessing they helped support the recoil of his shots.
Zach crossed his arms, keeping his new guns on display. "Well, aren't we gonna get started?"
Slate growled and aimed his bazooka towards Zach. "Glow Blast!" A green shell of furyoku fired from the barrel. The shell was shaped like a glow worm and acted like a heat-seeking rocket. It zigzagged through the air before zooming straight at my friend.
But Zach just smiled and just shimmered out of sight. The rocket impacted the ground where Zach just stood.
"What the?!" yelled Slate in frustration.
"How did he get that fast," I asked Maria as I tried to watch the match and bandage her hip at the same time.
"I'm guessing that since Maria got strength, her brother gained speed," Yoh said.
"The twins gained attributes in the areas they needed the most," Mikihisa said. "The brother is a large teen, so being fast is hazard. The sister is smallest of the trio, so gaining strength and power is her newest talent."
"Are you saying girls are not strong?" Anna asked. She had a tick on her forehead and her left eye was twitching.
Mikihisa felt himself beginning to sweat. "Of course not."
For a few moments, the field was silent. There was nothing but small wind blowing through the stadium as Slate stood his ground, frantically glancing around for Zach. I was beginning think one of his powers was invisibility when he shimmered behind Slate, his guns aimed on his opponent.
"Desperado Blaster!" Zach called out. Instead of a cannonball, a stream of furyoku bullets fired from his pistols like a machine gun.(Yes, I know I'm ripping off a Digimon attack.)
Slate heard the attack and jumped out of the way just as the bullets scrapped the ground beside him. When he got cleared, he propped his spirit medium for another shot.
"Glow Blast," he called out. Another rocket fired towards Zach, who leapt into the air. The rocket followed right after him.
However, Zach aimed one his guns to the sky and fired a furyoku bullet. This one was bigger, but flew a lot slower through the air. I was wondering what Zach's plan was when I saw the rocket change course and follow the bullet instead. The two forces impacted and a small explosion caused a shockwave that echoed through the stadium.
Zach landed on the ground and laughed. "The problem with having a mana-seeking rocket is that its going to follow anything that has mana."
"But I aimed it right at you!" yelled Slate. "How can my rocket follow your bullet instead of you?"
Zach smiled. "I pushed a lot of furyoku into that one blast. When I fired it, I intended to be a flare instead of a bullet. This caused a lot of my furyoku to be expelled from that shot. Also, I minimized the amount of furyoku I pushed into my spirit mediums. It was pretty much the least amount I could without breaking spirit control. So basically, there was more mana in my flare than on my weapons."
"Whoa. That was...smart," Maria said in awe.
"Maybe your channeling some your brain power to him," I suggested.
"Well we are twins."
Slate roared and begin fire rocket after rocket towards Zach. Each rocket would either impact the dirt, where Zach would just use his speed to dodge or would fire another flare and the rocket would follow it instead. As many rockets as Slate fired, I began to wonder if the guy was huge because of how much furyoku he had.
Meanwhile, Zach would use his speed to try and fire several rounds at Slate. It was very different to see a change in his strategy. From his previous fights, we would always use his cannon to try and slow his opponents down. Each furyoku cannonball he fired would cause a shockwave that would knock his opponents off-balance, then would finish them off with his Cannonball Blast.
Seeing him use his new speed, he was basically trying to wear his opponent down using his rapid-fire.
The problem was Slate was very agile for a huge guy. It seem like he would dodge Zach's attacks at the last moment and then go right back to firing rockets.
It was like a gun fight that nobody could win.
Then, the two met at the center of the stadium, standing 100 feet apart.
"Glow Blast!"
"Desparado Blaster!"
The two attacks met in the center of the arena. The explosion kicked up a cloud of dust that engulfed the fans and stadium. For nearly a minute my vision was blocked by the cloud. Then the dust dispersed and the two fighters still stood in the center. Each one was trying to catch his breath.
"Not...bad....for...a kid," Slate huffed.
"You...too," Zach panted.
Slate took a deep breath. "But you've got to remember, this isn't a one-on-one tournament." He suddenly turned his bazooka towards me and Maria. "This is a team fight!" Then fired a rocket.
I grabbed Maria and pushed her behind me. I was about to call Naruto when a giant blast of sapphire furyoku blasted the green rocket. The blasts collided to together, but the instead of exploding, the blue bullet sent the rocket back into the sky, where it exploded safely away from Maria and me. Then, the air shimmered in front of me and Zach appeared.
And the killer intent radiating off my friend was enough to almost suffocate me.
"You're fight is with me," said Zach. The amount of venom and chill in voice was enough to scare everybody in the stadium. "What you just did was unforgivable."
He snapped his arms out away from his body. There was a 'shink' noise and my jaw dropped open in surprise at his latest addition.
The blades that were attached to the barrel and trigger guard just grew nearly two feet in length. He was now holding a pair two, small gun-swords in his hands.
"And now, think about your mistake," Zach muttered as he shimmered from my sight.
The second his disappeared, the wind began to pick up in the arena. Every second that passed, the wind would get stronger and faster. Then, what began to look like a dust devil began to circle Slate. Then it became a small tornado.
Slate began to panic. He tried to run a way, but the wind kept him trapped. He fired a rocket at the wind, but the rocket was deflected and zoomed to the top of the funnel. A few seconds later, his body was picked up and began to flail hopelessly around the funnel.
"GUN CUTTER CYCLONE!!" came Zach's voice from the tornado. Slate's body began bounce horribly back and forth in the cyclone. Everyone a few seconds, I would see a gleam of his sword's steel and the clang of metal meeting metal.
Then, just as it started, the cyclone disappeared. Slate's body and pieces of his lantern flew back to his teammates and impacted on the ground. His overalls were in tatters and there were several long cuts on his body. But from what I could tell, the injuries weren't life threatening.
Zach shimmered in the air before, still spinning on his feet. He stopped with his guns at his sides and smiled at us.
"Damn, I'm good," he chuckled. Frank and Jesse disengaged from their mediums and appeared beside him. They both had grins on their faces at their victory.
"Nice job, bro," I said and clapped my hand his shoulder.
"Thanks. And..uhh...thanks for protecting my sister."
I smiled. "Anytime."
The next moment, the entire stadium burst out in applause at Zach's win. It seemed like we had won the crowd to our side instead of Hao's.
But there was still one more person left to fight. And somehow, we all knew this guy was going to be the hardest.
Said guy was gazing at his fallen teammate with disgust on his face. He kicked his still body and began to walk towards us.
"Finish them off, Drake." Rocky told him.
"That's the plan," Drake smiled. He began to twirl his pick-axe in his hands like it was a baton. His scar just made him more demeaning and evil. Something about him was just making my skin crawl.
"This won't take long. I'll finish them off one by one," he said.
At this point, I was ready to fight. After watching my two teammates take on Team Underworld, I was eager to finish it off.
But I had to remember that I was at a disadvantage. While the twins had a few days experience with their guardian ghosts, I just woke up from a three-day coma. My body felt re-energized, but I had no idea how I was going to win this match when I didn't even know what my new Oversoul was going to feel like.
Nevertheless, I stepped forward and met him in the center of the stadium.
"So, where's your guardian ghost?" asked Drake.
"He's around. What about your ghost?" I retaliated.
"Right here."
In a flash of purple light, Drake's guardian ghost appeared behind him. I was expecting another bug-related ghost, but the day seemed to full of surprises because what appeared behind Drake was a giant bat.
But like Drake, this bat gave me the creeps as well. Its fur midnight-black and glimmered in the sunlight. As it hovered in the air, I saw that it had a had a wing span of nearly seven feet. Its ears were perfect triangles the size of beach balls. One weird feature was that it had a long tail with a spade behind.
But what got me nervous was the fangs and eyes. The bat's fangs were nearly seven inches long and hung below its jaw. They reminded me of Rowdy's fangs.
The eyes were blood-red and had no pupils. It was like there was a giant, glass marble was placed in its eyes. That freaked me out the most.
"This is Black Shadow. If you want to believe, he's a descendant Dracula himself. As a clan test, he was suppose to execute at least five people to obtain his power. But, he died when he was killed by a hunter after the village he attacked put a bounty on his head. Afterwards, he haunted several coal mines in the Colorado Rockies. I found him and asked him to be my guardian ghost."
A descendant of Dracula, huh? That's just great.
"Now let's get started. Black Shadow! Spirit form and into the pick!" Shadow shifted into a ball of purple light. Before I could even see his form, Drake pushed him into the pick. It erupted into an explosion of light and the pick began to change form. From a tool, it grew to be nearly six feet in length and nearly two feet wide. I couldn't tell what his weapon was, but when the light died down, I swallowed.
His pick had changed to a sword with the blade nearly six feet in length. The sword resembled a bat's wing and was black as night. He was holding onto a single-hand handle with bat head on the bottom.
"Let's get started," said Drake as he pointed sword in a blocking stance.
I took a deep breath, and called out, "Naruto."
The wind picked up and Naruto appeared beside me. His jacket swirled from his summoning and had his arms crossed in front of him. He stood tall and confident.
Yet, the fans didn't think so because as soon as he appeared, they all started laughing nonstop.
I glanced at Naruto and nearly face-faulted. He currently had a bubble coming from his nose and was snoring really loud.
"Naruto!" I yelled. The bubble popped and his head snapped back.
"Who, what, when, where, why!" he stammered out.
I palmed my face. "You fell asleep."
Naruto chuckled nervously and scratched his cheek. "Sorry about that, Kasai. Let's try this again."
Before I could say anything, Naruto disappeared. The crowd began to jeer at me and the Underworld team was chuckling like mad. I just rolled my eyes, silently laughing myself at the ridiculous position I was in.
"Let's go, Naruto," I said loudly, but not with much enthusiasm. Naruto shimmered beside me once again in the same position as before. This time with a determined look on his face. One that said that he meant business.
"I'm ready."
I nodded and held my hand above my head. "Alright then. Spirit form." Naruto's form shifted in ribbons of red energy into my palm. His form shifted into his hitodama form. It looked like his head with spiky hair and his headband.
"Now, integrate with the kunai!" I yelled and pushed Naruto into the my spirit medium.
After nearly a three years of integrating with Kumo, I expected there to be some resistance when I merged my ghost and weapon together. It was always like mixing oil and water together. They always repelled.
But that didn't happen this time. Naruto merged with the kunai like it was air. Like connecting magnets together. This had never happen to me before.
However, when I pushed Naruto into the spirit medium, he just got sucked inside of it like a vacuum. For a moment, nothing happened. I tried to push my furyoku into the kunai, but my Oversoul did not appear. I tried contacting Naruto through the medium but I couldn't feel anything. The jeering became louder as people began to throw things into the stadium at me.
Meanwhile, Drake just stared back at me with cold eyes.
"If you're not going to take this seriously, I'll just end you and your friends existence!" he yelled. He charged forward and swung his blade over his shoulder. I raised my kunai, hoping to block what I could with what I got.
Then, the explosion happened.
Yoh and his friends stood up from their seats to see what was going on. They saw what happened and wondered why Kasai's Oversoul didn't engage. When they saw Drake was about to attack, the were just about to protest when they were knocked back into their seats by an explosion.
Yoh tried to sit up, but he was pinned by the shockwave that was emitting from the battle. Every time he would try to move, shockwave after shockwave would pulse through the stadium. Not only that, but a blinding red light was emitting from where Kasai was just standing.
"What the hell is that?!" Horohoro yelled from his seat.
"Anna?" Yoh asked his fiancé.
"Kasai's unleashing his power," she said with a grimace.
"All of it?" Yoh gaped.
"No. It's barely even a half."
The amount of energy pouring from my body was like river flowing during a heavy rainstorm. Drake was thrown back to his teammates at the first shockwave. I could finally feel my connection to Naruto, but the both of us were having a hard time getting my furyoku under control. I must have pushed too much into the start my Oversoul that I overloaded it. It was so bright that I had to close my eyes to keep from blinding myself.
I thought I knew how much furyoku to use with my experience with Kumo. But the amount I used from memory was even too much to handle now. Even the slightest ounce of mana was an overload compared to what it used to be.
And not only that, it felt like something else was in my mana, traveling along with it. The energy traveling through my body was similar to my furyoku, but instead of the usual chilly feeling, it felt like there was fire traveling through my veins. This power felt very familiar for some reason. When I usually felt furyoku, I could tell it came from the energy around me. But somehow, this new energy felt like.....mine.
It took a few moments for the two of us to finally slow the amount of furyoku to a controllable, steady amount. When I opened my eyes, I got the biggest shock of my life. I was gazing at my new Oversoul.
My new blade was nearly twelve feet in length and nearly a foot in width. The blade was straight, instead of a curve like my old sword. The back of the sword unevenly serrated, like a set of teeth that ended with large fang on the tip. On the broadside of the blade, somehow, there was now kanji engraved in the metal. It read 'Sacrificed Shinobi'.
My new Oversoul was a Zanbato.
The sword had to weigh over 100 pounds, but I was holding on to it with one hand like it was a feather.
But the new them to my Oversoul was brand new. The handle I was hanging on to was nearly two feet long and wrapped with leather tape. On the bottom, however, were nine tails sprouting from the handle. Also, where the blade was inserted into the handle, there was a large canine-like head. It looked like a wolf or maybe even a fox judging by the long, square ears on the side. It looked pretty badass from the way it looked like it was swallowing the sword.
The mana surrounding me was still the dark, red color of the setting sun. It shimmered like a raging fire up and down from the tip of my sword to my shoulder. It didn't seem to want to stay still. But then, I realized that it didn't just stop at my shoulder. It seemed my whole body was shimmering with mana, most of it focused on my arm.
Finally, I saw what I believe was the second energy peaking through my furyoku. For just a moment, a flash of blue popped through the red aura. A second later, another flash of blue, then another. I didn't know what it was, but I would have to figure out later after the match.
Naruto....are you ok?
It took him a moment to answer. "I...I'm beginning to remember some things. I'm seeing flashes of my past. But....I can't decipher it."
Really?
"Not yet. But now, we should focus on our match."
"Right," I said out loud. I raised my sword in the ready position towards. "Now let's get started."
Drakeactually took a step back. The sneer on his face was gone, only to be replaced by determination and....fear?
"What the hell are you?!?!" he screamed at me. "Only Hao has that much power and evil!"
Evil?
"I think I know what he's talking about," said Naruto. "I'll tell you later. Keep your focus on Drake."
"I'll destroy you!" Drake yelled and charged forward. He held his sword forward like a spear.
I tensed up, prepared to block his attack. But when I did, Drake seemed to slow down from a sprint to a walk. He was still charging at me, but it was like time had slowed down.
Raising my sword, I jumped forward and blocked his attack. Drake then swung around and aimed his blade towards my head. But just like when he was running, his attack seemed to slow down.
I blocked his attack again with ease and then aimed a kick towards his chest. He tried to dodge, but was too slow. The force was enough to send him flying back several yards away. When he landed and took a breather, time kicked back to normal speed.
Drake took his time getting up and had to use his sword to help him up. However, he didn't take his eyes of me, which grew wider each second.
"Wha....wha...what is that?" he growled. I didn't know what he was talking about. But I was too focused to notice that he wasn't staring at me. He was staring at something above my head.
The mana surrounding Kasai's was moving at a rapid pace around his head. If anybody in the stands looked closely, they could see that swirling mana was made up of nine tails. And for the experienced shamans sitting in the stands, they could sense that there was something dark about those tails. However, Kasai didn't seem to notice.
Yoh and his friends did.
"Anna, exactly is that?" Yoh asked. "Those tails seem to be a part of his furyoku, but they're not being controlled by Kasai at all."
"I know. Those tails are part of the burden he carries."
"What are those, Master Hao?" asked Opacho. He turned to see his master with an expression of confusion on his face.
"I have no idea," he told his friend.
I can't be that scary, can I? I asked Naruto.
"I can't be sure. Maybe he's- watch out!" Naruto screamed.
I turned to see Drake swing his sword behind him. His eyes were wide with fear and determination as he swung his sword forward in a sideways arc.
"Dark Echo," he called. Racing towards me was a wave of purple furyoku, similar to my Spirit Wave.
I turned my sword sideways and grabbed the flat side of the blade. My intent was to block his attack with the side of my sword. But before the wave could reach me, my furyoku reached out from my sword and neutralized Drake's attack before it could even reach. The red mana pretty much just swallowed it up.
Naruto? Did you do that?
"I think so. I can't be sure"
I didn't dwell on it, though. I had to prepare for my counterattack.
"My turn," I said as I swung my blade behind me for my signature move. I powered what I believed would be a right amount and swung my blade forward.
"Seirei Shougekiha," I called out.
But when I released my furyoku, there was a surge of both my mana and that new energy I felt earlier. That power seemed to stretch the veins and burn like fire. The pain brought me to my knees before I could finish my attack. The wave of mana I unleashed was sent off-course and flew into the sky.
Judging by the size of it, I'm kinda of glad it was sent off-course. The new Spirit Wave was nearly three times as large as my old one and flew twice as fast. When it flew into the sky, it flew into the clouds and completely evaporated them.
No doubt that I completed the attack, I would have destroyed some of the stadium and many of its spectators.
I tried to stand up, but another surge of power kept me down. This time, I could see it. During a surge, parts of the mana that surrounded me would turn purple. And when that power extended beyond my mana, it changed to a bright blue.
What is that? Naruto, what's happening to me?
"I think....I think that when we merged, my presence unlocked your chakra gates."
My what?! What the hell is chakra?"
"Chakra is the energy from your body, not from the Great Spirit like your furyoku is. It's hurting you because your pathways are being re-opened and because of your inexperience.
Can you help?
"I can try. But you it may leave you vulnerable."
There was a moment of silence before I felt the pain begin to slowly fade away. But as it did, my sword shrank to be about nine-feet long. The mana around me began to slow down as well.
I sighed and stood up, holding my sword in a blocking stance. "Now, where were we?"
Drake seemed to gains some of his courage back as he charged forward with his sword raised. When I tensed, Drake began to slow down again. Not as slow as before though, but nevertheless, I charged forward to meet him and our blades clashed.
I blocked each one of his attacks. Drake was a trained swordsman, but he didn't have the same flexibility as me. Just when he thought he gain the upper hand with a strike, I would dodge at the last moment, just to anger him and make him lose his focus.
However, when I tried to gain the upper hand, a surge of chakra would disrupt my concentration and cause me to grow weak. Drake would try to retaliate, but I would dodge once again.
I knew Naruto was trying to stop the surges, but somehow, they would sneak right past him.
"Kasai, you might want to finish this up as soon as you can. The Oversoul was meant to channel your furyoku, not your chakra."
Right.
I blocked Drake's next assault with my Oversoul, pushed our weapons to the ground and gave him a sidekick to his head. Drake flew through the air, flipped several times, and landed on his back. He stayed there for a few seconds before using his sword to prop him back to his feet.
"All right. Time to finish this off," I said as I put my sword in front of me. I charged my Oversoul with as much furyoku as I could with losing control. The sword once again grew to be 12-feet long.
Then, I raised my sword over my head and brought it down in a vertical slice. Somehow, the idea of the attack just popped into my head.
"Kitsune's Fury!" I called out. A pillar of furyoku erupted from my Oversoul and sent it towards Drake. When the pillar got halfway to him, it broke off into nine separate energy waves shaped like tails.
Drake tried to hit each tail with a Dark Echo, but only managed to stop three before the others slammed into him. An explosion soon followed of red furyoku, his body was illuminated by the red light. He hovered in the air for a second before falling to the ground. He was motionless as his Oversoul disengaged beside him.
"And the winner is....Team Honoo!" Oxy said from the sidelines.
The stadium erupted in cheers for my team's victory. We've seem to have won them over to our side now.
Maria and Zach appeared at my sides. "That was awesome!" They both said.
I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head. "Thanks, guys." I turned to my Oversoul and disengaged Naruto. The Zanbato turned back into a kunai and Naruto appeared beside me. "Thanks for the help, Naruto."
Naruto grinned and gave me a thumbs-up. "No problem."
"After we get some rest, can you tell me what chakra is?" I asked.
"Sure. I'll even help you harness it."
I smiled and turned back to my friends. "Let's go get something to eat."
We turned to head out for the exit, waving at the crowd. But then we heard the crowed gasp.
"The match is over!" yelled Oxy. I turned around to see Team Underground, revived and on their feet, charging towards us. Slate and Rocky were running beside Drake. The two were pouring their furyoku into Drake's Oversoul, which grew to be nearly twenty-feet long and looked even deadlier than ever.
"Hao said as long as we killed you, we could join his posse!!" yelled Drake as kept getting nearer. "NOW DIE!!"
I turned back around, pushed my furyoku into my arms, and shoved the twins away. They flew through the air and landed safely on the other side of the stadium. I pulled my kunai back and prepared to integrate Naruto with it when Drake's sword slashed in front of my face. I could feel the sword cut through my chest. I could barely feel the pain that followed because I blacked out before it registered. I didn't even feel myself hit the ground.
Yoh was on his feet, running to the stadium ground, intent on avenging his friend and relative. He knew he should have stepped in earlier, but he though Kasai had it handled. But when he Drake strike, the blood that erupted from the slash, and the scream of horror from Maria, he knew it was too late.
Amidmaru appeared beside him, intent on helping his shaman with whatever he had planned. The way the team attacked was just un-honorable and he had ever intention of giving Team Underground a piece of his mind. Amidamaru could see the twins about to begin their counterattack as well, intent on avenging their fallen comrade.
Yoh was halfway through on the stadium steps when Anna's shikigami's blocked his way. He tried to get around them, but they kept him blocked. He turned around to see Anna following him down the steps.
"Anna, what are you doing?!"
"He will be fine, Yoh."
"Fine?! Did you see that blood? He's dead."
Anna shook her head, a small look of regret on her face. "He'll be okay. Because as of three days ago, your cousin has become immortal."
I opened my eyes, only to sees darkness with little flickers of light. There was a ceiling above me that seemed to be made of stone. I sat up and looked around. I was lying on a floor made of stone in a dark long tunnel. Every ten feet along the wall, there was a flaming torch to light the tunnel. And there were also a few rooms with iron bars.
It looked like I was in an old-fashioned dungeon in a medieval castle.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I called out, my voice echoing through the tunnel.
There was no response. But the strange thing was, I could swear that there was someone in there with me. I could feel it.
I struggled to get to my feet, my aching body protesting with each movement. When I stabilized, I walked down the tunnel while using the wall as support.
The further I got into the tunnel, the bigger the presence seemed to get. It felt huge and.....evil.
A few minutes later, the tunnel opened up into a cavern. It was about as wide as a football field and I couldn't even see the ceiling. And on the opposite side of cavern was another iron cage. But each bar was the size of a Sequoia tree.
On the center bar was a giant lock with a piece of paper with the kanji for 'seal' on it.
I walked to front of the bars, curious about what this was doing here.
"You are really weak, fleshling."
I jumped at the voice that echoed throughout the cavern. It took me a moment to recognize the voice as the one I heard a few hours ago.
"Who are you?" I asked, gazing at the darkness in the cage.
There was a moment of silence. Then, an eye opened up right in front of the cage, only a few feet away. I fell back in horror, staring at the eye. They eye was bigger than me, filled with bloodshot veins. The pupil was slitted and red.
"I'm a demon from the deepest circle of Hell," said the voice as a red aura began to seep through the cage and crawl towards me. "But right now, as much as it disgusts me, you need my help."
I was still frozen in fear as the aura began to surround me and crawl up my leg. The energy was the same color as my furyoku, but it didn't fell like mana at all. In fact, it felt similar to that chakra energy I felt earlier.
It stopped just below my waist. Then, I realized that my shirt was slashed down the middle, where Drake's attack landed. And on my stomach was something I had never seen before.
It looked like a sun with ray's extending from it. All drawn with black ink.
Before I could determine what it was, the red energy crawled right into the symbol. Then my world went black.
Tears blinded Maria as she charged forward with her Oversoul. When she saw Jake fall, anger and sadness filled her, overwhelming her. She charged forward with no regard to her safety along with her brother.
The two fired their attacks at Drake. He blocked each one of them with ease as the combined furyoku of his team moved forward to the twins.
"Serpent's Bite!"
"Desparado Blaster!"
Drake blocked the attack once again and kept moving forward. "What's the matter? Mad that I killed your boyfriend?"
Rage filled Maria like never before and she jumped at Drake with the intent of removing his head from his shoulders. But before she even got close, Rocky came from nowhere and punched her in the face. She fell to the ground at Drake's feet, who let go of his sword and picked Maria off the ground by her throat.
"You really want to see your boyfriend that bad, huh? Well, I'll be glad to send you to go meet him."
"Maria!" Zach yelled. He charged forward, but was knocked back thanks to Slate sneaking up on him.
"Now, let me enjoy this," Drake said as he raised his sword, ready to plunge into her chest. But before he could finish his thrust, something grabbed his arm from behind. Drake let go of Maria and swung his blade behind him, intent on destroying the person who stopped his fun, only for his blade to be caught.
Everyone in the arena gasped. There, holding the sharp side of Drake's sword in his hands, was Kasai.
"Leave my friends alone," he said calmly, but with much venom. The voice he spoke with didn't even sound like him.
He grabbed Drake's Oversoul with both hands and swung him over his shoulder. Drake flew through the air and landed hard on the ground halfway across the stadium. Slate and Rocky, after seeing their leader get thrown, ran towards Kasai with their fists raised. Kasai jumped into the air and did the splits, catching the duo in the face and sent them flying to opposite ends of the stadium, where the crashed into the stands. They didn't get back up.
Drake jumped to his feet and was about to kill his opponent when he froze in his tracks with fear. He was able to finally get a good look at Kasai.
There seemed to be a red aura surrounding him, kicking up dust and causing gusts of wind to blow around him. Everyone in the stadium believed it was an overload of furyoku. However, what scared everyone the most was his new appearance. His headband had fallen off and his hair was blowing wildly. His fingernails had become longer, like animal claws. His face was in a snarl and everyone could see two, elongated canines growing from his mouth. Three marks had appeared on each cheek, like whiskers or claw marks.
But what freaked everyone out the most was that the wound on his chest had begun to smoke and seal up. There was no way a wound could heal that fast unless they had help from a demon god. In a few seconds, the wound was gone. Not even a scar remained.
Finally, his eyes had changed. Instead of blue, his iris was red and instead of a round pupil, they had become slits.
"What happened to him?" Yoh asked. "He looks like he's being possessed."
"Pretty much," Anna said sadly.
Yoh turned to his fiancé. "Exactly what burden did the Shinigami say Kasai had to take?"
"The same burden Naruto had when he was born. Just hours after his birth, Naruto had a demon sealed inside him to save his village from destruction."
"A demon?" Yoh's eyes widened. "You mean the demon the once resided in Naruto is now in Kasai?"
"Yes. Kasai has become a Jinchuriki, which means 'power of human sacrifice'. Inside his body resides a demon called a Biju: a tailed beast. And Kasia has the strongest biju inside him that the world has ever seen."
"Kyuubi no Youki. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."
I could feel the power flowing through me. Like a wave a hot, energy. All of my muscles had stretched to their limits and beyond. I could feel the demon's chakra flow through my body and surround me, like a warm blanket.
The power was unbelievable.
I became aware of my surroundings like never before. I could feel the shifts of pressure in the air. I could hear the slightest footstep and even Drake's rapid heartbeat. I could smell every individual in the stadium, recognizing Zach and Maria's scents as the cautiously approached me from behind. I actually see the beads of sweat moving down every shaman's nervous face as they tried to figure out what I was.
To be honest, I didn't know myself. I looked at my claws, seeing the long nails as they grew. Somehow, I knew they were strong, almost indestructible. That they could shred through steel and even bone. I could feel the grooves in my cheeks, and how these new 'whiskers' were what gave me my incredible senses.
"What the hell are you?!?!" Drake screamed at me. I could hear his heartbeat speed up, smell his sweat, and see the fear. He was afraid of me.
And I had never felt so alive to feel his fear.
I chuckled and swung my head around my neck, feeling the cracks. I rolled my shoulders a few times, hearing the joints pop. Then, I flexed my hands and got into a fighting position that Kumo taught me.
"I'm your worst nightmare."
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I spent days trying to find the perfect way to coordinate this fight. If anybody has any questions, comments, or suggestions, I'll be happy to hear them.
And I'm sorry for the cliffhanger.
