Entering the Asylum
"You better have kept that aimed at my forehead if you think I'd let you for one minute shoot Senketsu while I was still alive!" Ryuko sneered. The gun was re-aimed at her forehead like it was intended to be that way.
"I'm okay with that," Kinagase's words were used in a vicious hiss that eased out. The gun's edge was aimed firmly as Ryuko's forehead her arms still flared out to completely cover the shape of her Kamui.
Senketsu watched in absolute shock. Ryuko was there protecting him without a hint of hesitation, or really anything beside the righteous anger. It almost was capable of bringing a tear to one's eye.
"I kinda guessed we'd end up settlin' things," Ryuko said keeping her frame completely in front of the Kamui. Shew knew that his protection from earlier was nothing more than an order so there was still uncontested agression between them.
Kinagase smiled smuggly like he was really her superior." Do you, a half-naked high schooler, honestly think that I would lose to you? You don't even have your Kamui on not that it would be too much of a help," he continued to talk smuggly. To up the ante he brough the second sewing gun up its edges gleaming in the lights like the first.
"You act like those kind of threats faze me. News flash they don't," Ryuko said keeping her straight face and razor edged resolve. The guns though were still there aimed at her without hesitation." I'll go full-on naked to fight you if I have to," her voice was stone solid a lot like Satsuki's when the dictator would anger.
Then came the unthinkable. A rounded face sprung forth between the guns and Ryuko's own face, a barrier made of one hundred percent pure Mako Makanshoku." No! Stop! You can't!" she said in the bubbly voice that showed she cared but for all the wrong reasons.
"Ryuko! You can't be naked in front of him!" Mako began her entire eratic routine while Ryuko and Kinagase continued their staredown. Through the spotlight she kept acting out a weird set of movements." When a maiden reveals herself in front of someone it is because they love that person! Do you love Mister Mowhawk?" Mako pushed her bol cut brunette hair into the air.
Ryuko glared at her with a weird face. Their exchange of violence was definitely being stalled by the strange moment that was being acted out between them." See! That is why Senketsu is your partner you love wearing him!" more actions including one that actually removed the Kamui from the chair behind the teenager.
Upon the end of the action Senketsu straightened up against the back of the chair he had been returned to. Behind him a dazed and confused Shinko pulled himself up to a vertical base.
"Uh, Ryuko I dunno too much of what's happened these past few minutes but you probably need to get clothes on. You'll catch a cold without it," he smiled scratching the back of his head with his right hand. Little did he know that Senketsu was litterally on the same wavelength.
'I thank you for the anger on my behest. But if you would please put me on,' the Kamui said firmly. Though only Ryuko could hear it everyone took notice of the sudden slack in her rigid frame, though it was still not enough to maneuver around.
"Really?" Ryuko looked back at the powerful garment curious as to why he took so long to speak up. Senketsu remained firm on the chair though staring intently at his wearer." No, you don't have to fight if you do want to," she responded quickly in the most effective way possible. She knew that the Kamui was doing this for her own sake rather than his own.
'I am okay with all the fighting Ryuko,' the Kamui responded genuinely. It was clear that Senketsu was doing the opposite of what she initially thought the Kamui was definitely a friend.
'If you don't put me on you'll catch a cold,' sharing the same sentiment with Shinko the Kamui explained. Ryuko's eyes got to the size of platters as she looked down in shock at the Life Fiber entity.
"That is what you are worried about? I swear Senketsu!"" she growled as Kinagase's iron-like grip on the weapon slacked slightly. She kept screaming with the Kamui in an exchange of words that only she could hear.
'It appears that Senketsu is willing to fight after all,' Sentokitsu spoke to his slightly dazed wearer. The Kamui was very interested in what was going on especially since it involved their two most powerful allies.
"Yeah, that's always good. We would be in a lot of trouble if we had to wing it alone," Shinko laughed parting a loose lock of black hair over to the right side. His body was still beaten up from the fight with Sanageyama but this definitely made him feel good. Even if the moment had not it was clear that they were the only two warrior with Nudist Beach that would be able to fight Satsuki.
"Humph, talking with clothing like they were friends," Kinagase sighed putting both gun down at his sides. With a shake of the head he sighed again watching Ryuko put on Senketsu." I don't feel like shooting them anymore," the twin holsters were opened and filled with there guns. He nodded and exited a few seconds later.
A few minutes passed and Mister Mikisugi hopped down from the stage with a smile on his face." You can have the rest of the night to do what you want but from what I heard Satsuki is announcing something big soon," he patted Ryuko over the shoulder while looking at Shinko.
"Gotcha," Shinko pointed before exiting out of the room allowing Ryuko and Mako their own personal time.
In the ravaged Osaka above...
Shinko stood on a large piece of concrete that had been a sturdy office building. His hands were gripped at his sides as he took in the smell of the ashen ground around him.
His blue eyes opened slowly reflecting the orangish glow of several smoldering pieces of concrete and other debris around him.' This is the power of Life Fibers,' his Kamui started. The landscape had been reduced to a field of rubble and shattered dreams.' And our own,' Sentokitsu said soberly both green eyes darting over the land.
'And that is the scary part. If I were to lose control of our power things would disappear, ' he said to himself knowing that his own discipline was what kept them in check." Yeah, you and I though know how to use this power for the right cause. That's why dad made you only for me," Shinko reminded placing a hand over the stud that ignited the transformation.
'What are we doing up here Shinko?' the Kamui asked still taking in the carnage their earlier battles had caused. His wearer's muscles tensed, making certain points in the fabric do it as well.
"We are training there is not much left to break so letting loose may be a good thing," Shinko responded pushing the small silver stud in. The needle's edge that was pointed on the end boring through the skin atop his right hand and into the vein there.
The crimson fluid shot up the small needle and into the glove. A glow filled every Life Fiber as the bio-energy for the transformation shot through out the frame. The grid-like formation and weaves of the fabric all lit up with the flowing blood. The Kamui began to glow as his wearer stood there firmly pressing the button in to maximize the gain.
Cloaked in a faint veil of light Shinko was nude only briefly as a giant beast made of crimson flames with glowing green eyes reared up behind him. It snapped down over his body like a whip a spiral cord binding it tight. The eyes bulged for a few seconds before exploding out in a wake of flames.
"Life Fiber: Fusion! Kamui Sentokitsu!" their fused voice rose to the sky as the stars of the transformation died down. Shinko stood now on the craterized ledge feet planted firmly apart.
Long black gloves raced up to the middle of his biceps, the long exposure on the rest of the ensemble. His torso was covered by a red frame with twin eyes of green staring out from roughly over the center of his chest. The red continued down his legs to the center of his calves where twin black boots reached out their buckled over the outside. Twin swords draped in a cross over the teenager's back.
'Don't push yourself you haven't eaten anything since our last transformation you'll be low on healthy blood,' the Kamui warned. Shinko smiled before gripping both hands to assure that they were still there.
"We're only taking a few quick laps around. It is not like I'm going to fight Sanageyama again," the crumbled piece of debris crumbled even more when he jumped for it both feet landing before it on the ground. He gripped the hilt of the Murasama's sleek katana form before readying to charge.
'That is still missing the point,' the Kamui reminded as Shinko took off in the full blown sprint. The black haired teenager was running up a storm possibly faster than he had before now that there was nothing in the way.
"I don't think I am," Shinko remarked back sliding past a steel beam that was about knee high and jumping over another one a few feet away. It was like being a kid on the playground again except that this was a dangerous city-scape that had been torn apart in a single day battle." You think I'm being reckless but this is how I'll stay straight-minded. We've been through a lot of trouble recently so letting loose is the best way to stay sane!" he commented kicking a large piece of debris out of the way.
'Shinko if this is you winding down fine. But I would find it better training to think over Sanageyama's fight than run through the wreckage,' Sentokitsu stated his firm opinion. The wearer smiled swinging the sword through a pile that was in their path and blowing said pile into the air.
Shinko stressed before placing a foot against a crumbled piece of the nearest structure to stop himself. It budged a few inches as his momentum slowed. With a sigh his blue eyes looked to the sky, it still smelled of the ash and destruction from hours prior.
"His movements are pretty simple. They are just typical kendo moves," Shinko said holding the katana out before him with legs slightly spread apart. His practice as a kendo fighter in the time between following Ryuko had shown him how most of it was meant to go.
"The first move he does is an overhead strike. He say 'MEN' before bringing it down," the green edged sword was slung down a slice appearing in the rubble in front of him from the movement.
"The second part of his combination is 'DOU' which is either a sideways strike from the left or right," a flowing movement across the air tore a stream through the sky. It banged through Osaka's air before crashing against a large piece of concrete several meters away.
"The third and final is his uppercut or downward depending on how long the series has gone on. The 'KOTE' is arguably the most important part of him that was why he reacted the way he did when I blocked it," Shinko remarked moving the blade upwards and then down tearing through the rubble before him and shattering it.
'You had known all along what he was doing and you did not counter?' the Kamui was impressed and somewhat shocked at the nonchalance his usually serious wearer had shown in the fight. He felt Shinko's heart rate increase as if he had been caught in a lie.
"It would not have matter he is too fast to be countered easily. I only learned how to fight him because I fought someone like that in the last school before Honnoji. Funny all I can remember though is that the school was in North Kanto," Shinko mused placing the sword back into its sheath the silence of the broken city the only thing to accompany him. He looked down at his Kamui for a moment knowing that there were bound to be more questions.
Sentokitsu remained quiet for a moment. His analysis of the techniques took so long but Shinko deciphered everything based on past experience it was clear that his wearer was more strategic than he gave credit for.
"The Sky Tower was supposed to be pretty this time of night," Shinko looked over at the massive hunk of iron laying there on its side through the center of the port city.' Then we ruined it. Our power goes beyond what should be humanly possible and yet here we are able to lay ruin to a city,' he glared out at what must have been a beautiful place at night to find rubble piles and debris fields.
'Getting down on yourself won't fix it. Shinko you wanted to train not mope,' Sentokitsu reminded his wearer as to why they were out there. Shinko straightened up and climbed atop the shattered pile which he had used as a momentum stop.' Focus and we could stop anything bad from happening,' the Life Fiber entity reminded.
"And beat Satsuki!" the teenager took a breath in before smiling. His hands were clenched firmly at either side and his teeth were grit, the pain it had caused him earlier was still fresh in his mind but he had to step on it.
"Let's give Bushido one more go. Satsuki will probably send everything at us if we head back to Honno Town," Shinko said the faint glow caused by his Kamui growing. It was time to test their limits again this time, his limits not the Kamui's.' I was the reason we dropped out of it so quickly. I couldn't handle the stress. This is my task to overcome not Sento's,' he spoke to himself before looking at the sky.
'Are you sure? Your body is already drained anymore and you may just pass out,' his Kamui seemed uneasy about it. Shinko gave a smile down to it before glaring at the many stars over them in the sky.
"Sentokitsu. Trust me," he spoke seriously keeping the smile on his face.
'Very well,' the Kamui nodded.
From a distance all one could see was a large build-up of energy in the form of small light stars.
Next Morning...
Shinko rolled off of the beach chair he had slept in. His body burned in several places but he had to tolerate it, the troubles of pushing oneself too far in a recreational setting for sure. He pushed off of the sand and straightened up with a slick stream of saliva rolling from his face to the tawny surface below. The black haired teenager cleared his throat a few times before stretching his neck.
'One hell of a night that was,' he mumbled to himself before taking a few steps across the sandy floor. His Kamui remained silent as they walked towards the actual base portion.
"Hey Sento? How long did we stay in the Bushido form last night?" Shinko questioned noticing how wobbly his legs were and how hard it was to see straight. Every muscles was stressed but also somewhat stronger from it, certain areas had no pain at all aside from when he moved them.
'One hour, I am impressed that you made it back here,' the Kamui remarked. It was clear the stress and fatigue had interfered with his wearer's memories of the events that transpired.
"Really one whole hour. I know that we aren't as in sync as Ryuko and Senketsu but that was a long time to be transformed wasn't it?" he asked dumbly. With a swift push they entered the room where they had been briefed yesterday on the history of Life Fibers.
'Very much so. Your body though is holding up surprisingly well,' Sentokitsu analyzed his wearer for any major damage instead he found only a few minor muscle strains. It was a burning sensation at the worst along the abdomen because of the stress but that was it.
"We Fuse remember. Two minds, one being, so you had to be healing me while I took on all of the stress. Thanks buddy," he patted the Kamui before seeing everyone crammed around a small receiver screen.
'The only thing is that you took all of the stress. I did not heal you whatsoever,' the Kamui remarked to himself unwilling to bust his friend's mood. Shinko strolled over and knelt around the monitor as well, it was a feed from the previous night.
"What is all of this?" Shinko mumbled as they all stared at the small green-tinted monitor. Trucks were buzzing in and out of Honno Town at crazy speeds all of them bearing the REVOCs logo on a large patch on the side.
"A massive shipment of Life Fibers was brought into Honnoji Academy last night. That something Satsuki is planning is really big," Mikisugi answered changing the antennae atop the screen to a different length. It was clear that he had rigged the cameras himself and as such he had to use the television to pick up on the feed.
"Why? Why for?" he asked again wedging his head in under Kinagase's right arm to get a clear view of the footage. It was tinted green but he could see Satsuki overlooking the thousands of Honnoji Academy students.
"An announcement. A big one," Kinagase answered swiftly and concise. Satsuki was talking but the microphone had been too far away to pick up on what she was saying. All they saw was the school transform into a large scale stadium enough to fit the entirety of Honno Town and then some.
"Ragyo Kiryuin is going to be at Honnoji Academy. This is obviously the beginning of her plan to make the world nothing more than a big ball of Life Fibers," the feed switched to some footage of Ragyo Kiryuin at a REVOCs event.
"Even more pompous than her daughter. Like daughter skank like mother skank," Ryuko spat angrily. She wanted to finish this all too fast, it was time to put the nail in the coffin before it could even be opened.
"She's also the one directly responsible for killing my mother. He wrote about her a lot in his journals," the young man sighed looking away from the monitor for a moment hands clenched. His body was shaking with rage but he kept it mostly in check knowing that their time would come to do battle with the monster and win." But aside from that I really don't like her. Its like Satsuki turned to an eleven," he hissed at the head of Honnoji's expense.
"Understandable. But still the ceremony is due to start at eight thirty tomorrow morning. We'll need to be there," Aikuro commented backed away from the monitor as other footage started to roll namely other pieces of Honnoji Academy and the city in whole.
"Fine by me," Shinko remarked looking down at his Kamui. Sentokitsu's green eyes looked at his wearer with a serious expression, this was the time that they had been waiting for.
A short chapter this week but the next one I promise will be worth it mostly because it will involve some of my favorite moments from the entire series.
Until then though thanks for reading,
~Herodan