Thanks and kudos to Andrew Glasco for his assistance on this chapter; without him, Kenji wouldn't be so badass in battle.
Chapter 29
The Struggle Continues
Two days following their sparring session, the Kenpo student was lying outside on the soft grass, in an area right next to the large rock that usually served as her seat, while her eyes were lazily fixated upon the afternoon sun, twin lids partially closed from feeling at ease. Resting on her stomach, she shifted just a little to comfortably lay her head against the junction between her joined arms, heaving a soft sigh as the action ensued, the air in her chest just a little tight from the position, but she could still breathe without trouble. Tired of dressing in such bulk from wanting to be modest around Kenji since the night of their heated encounter, she presently donned a white gym-type outfit, with a sleeveless top that even bared her midriff, while the matching shorts were snugly tight around her rear. The girl's hair was braided as usual, although this time, the long brown length had been wrapped up in a tight bun due to the warm summer weather; staying out there far outweighed her desire to be cooped up in the cabin, but she felt hot nevertheless, and thought of going to the lake sometime soon.
The young man that was presently far from her thoughts approached from behind after a short time, his light amber eyes trained forward intensely, evidence that his next purpose with his female captive was clear and cemented in mind. He had given Uriko sufficient time to heal, taken her under his wing to be trained as a better fighter, responded to her clumsiness with considerable patience, and so now was more than appropriate for the second – and what he intended to be their final – battle to begin. Not the least bit shy about his intentions, the concentrating ninja made no attempt to hide the sound of his footsteps, but rather made the noise quite deliberate, although as the teenage brunette came into closer view, he eyed her change in clothing with more than a casual interest… and subconsciously conjured up several memories of her, sexual in nature, of course. She had been dressing rather modestly around him lately, ever since the night he felt her supple body squirming underneath him, so this came as a slight surprise, but upon recalling his cause for seeking her, Kenji forced the enticing thoughts away as quickly as they had presented themselves.
"Ho-hum…" the aforementioned girl mused quietly, growing a bit bored, and so she closed her eyes completely, rather oblivious to the quiet footfalls behind her as a small sigh of content was elicited just then from enjoying the warm afternoon. She had ended her training for that day an hour earlier, and was now taking full advantage of the free hours, more than willing to have the sun warm her bared legs, the creamy smooth skin emitting a healthy glow, appearing unblemished and fairly absent of injuries. Meanwhile, in the midst of her leisure, she failed to realize that Kenji had stopped a few feet behind her, his arms folded loosely about his chest, the well-defined pectoral muscles visible as usual, due to the tight material of his present yellow ninja gi. His light-shaded eyes trailed up and down her body's length several times, freely and shamelessly interested in what was bared to his hungry gaze by the wishes of the owner… but finally, the young ninja cleared his throat to try and get her attention.
"Hmm…?" Her eyes slowly slid open at the noise, but she remained in her comfortable position, and when her ears perked up to detect further noises and heard none come, the girl shrugged casually, murmuring softly, "Huh, guess I'm just hearing things…" Relaxing her muscles, she reached one arm behind her back to brush away a leaf that had fallen on her leg and was tickling her sensitive skin, unintentionally hiking the bottom of her shirt up a bit in doing so with the innocent movement of her hand retracting.
Almost growing flustered with the unintentional provocative movements of her body, Kenji dropped his hands to his sides and spoke aloud, a hint of irritation in his voice as he wondered if she was truly so ignorant to not know of his presence, "Uriko, get up."
"Huh?" She instantly became aware when the other bystander made himself to be obviously known, and her eyes sprung open while her head lifted to glance back in the direction of the speaker, quickly discovering that naturally, it was the young assassin nearby. "…Oh, it's just you. Need something? I'm trying to relax here, ya know…"
"So I noticed… my awareness is quite keen, my dear cat, unlike that of other unfortunate amateurs," he muttered, his tone mildly annoyed, although he did feel a twinge of satisfaction when she shot him a glare, "But I am not here to exchange idle chatter. Arise from your position."
She rolled her eyes in exasperation, but obliged to his command nonetheless, slowly ascending until she was fully standing before him, her hands placed upon her bare hips in a display of disapproval, and tilted her upper body toward him in a sassy, aggressive gesture. Once up, the younger fighter fired at him, "Thanks for spoiling my free time… Okay, I did as you asked. Now, can you tell me what you're bothering me for, Kenji?"
His eyes remained trained hard upon her, there being another purpose to take careful note of each aspect of her form, aside from the slightly perverse reason of merely complying with his primitive desires of only wanting her in a sexual manner. "From what I can see, you look well… There is not a hint of lacerations on your skin, nor any undesired marks marring the surface of pristine porcelain. Does your body reflect such a feeling of preservation?"
She blushed just slightly at his strangely flattering compliment, though when she spoke, her words were derived from sarcasm, "Huh, thanks a lot, 'cause I care so much about your opinion and all, you know. …Well, about that, yeah, I'm doing all right, but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that since you're staring so bloody hard…" she openly frowned at the controlled killer, then scowled lowly under her breath as she turned her face away to escape his hungry gaze.
"…Then I suggest you defend yourself, kitten." He elicited quietly, a strange expression of unreadable emotion – or lack thereof – coming over his face even as the dark-haired ninja watched her intently and lowered his stance a bit, simultaneously raising both arms in a proper defense.
"…?" Her head returned to its original position so she could glance at him curiously, slight apprehension lingering in her pupils as the young brunette bent her knees a little and also adapted a better-prepared pose, anticipating his response even before she inquired, "You wanna fight? Right now? Are you serious?"
Pleased with the mild shock she was currently portraying, Kenji freely grinned in response, an amused glimmer alighting within his amber eyes as he taunted her anxiety, "That is correct… now is the time for our second battle to begin, and at stake: your freedom. If you truly wish to attain it, then I suggest you do not hold back the least bit, for should I win here, the possibility of a third fight is eliminated, and you will be mine… so bear that clearly in mind."
Her eyes narrowed in determination at his words, and then that fire flared up in her irises that he had admittedly come to admire after all the time that had passed. "I won't forget that, Kenji, trust me… I hear what you're saying. All right then, get ready 'cause here I come!"
She rushed forward without warning, making good use of her sheer agility, and managed to seize a secure hold of the ninja's arm, wrapping both of her hands around it firmly as she forcefully flipped him over, intending to have him fall to the ground on his back. Kenji was a bit surprised by her speed, but also knew to expect it from their time spent together, and he regained his bearings in the midst of her attack, whipping his legs forward with the momentum of her throw, managing to land a bit unsteadily on his feet. Not wasting a moment, he lashed behind him with an elbow meant to strike her in the face, and the intended girl quickly turned her head so that her cheek was hit rather than her nose getting bashed and causing more severe injury, but she still winced from the blow nonetheless. The determined younger fighter quickly shot out a foot to kick fiercely at the insteps in the back of his legs, hoping to make her opponent fall, and she did succeed in getting her target, causing him to rapidly descend, but just as his body touched the ground, he rolled up on his neck and vaulted his lower half into the air with his hands, the sharp tips of his tabi aiming for her chin.
Uriko openly grimaced from the pain and registered that she had bit her lip by the blood that was suddenly tasted on her tongue, but she stubbornly reached out with her hands and grabbed his flailing legs, forcefully and effectively flipping the ninja over on his face. She quickly raised a foot and brought it down fast, stomping him rather hard, partially on his back and mostly on his side, not wanting to deal harsh or fatal lacerations to his spine, though even that made audible groans of pain escape him, and he desperately rolled away. His rapid reaction allowed Kenji the opportunity to roll back up to his knees, and then leap away from the Kenpo student, and all the while, his face was one of bewilderment and pain – his mind could hardly rationalize that he had actually been bested by her in the first exchange. It was almost admirable that she had learned how to adapt so soon, and he would have taken pride in knowing he taught her if this were different circumstances, but of course, in this battle right now, the young assassin wanted, and concretely intended, to win.
An incredible surge of power soared through her veins from the fiery drive and determination to win, and so pumped up by it, the feline zoanthrope failed to notice the shocked look on the face of her opponent, for all that she could see in her eyes was an obstacle that stood in the way of her freedom. Though Uriko was a compassionate girl and had a kind heart like her sister, she refused to weakly submit to the evil ploys being administered, so the younger fighter reluctantly willed herself to view the ninja as a mere wall blocking her way. Duelers did better in battle if they were emotionless, but she actually had to try discarding all feelings – both positive and negative – toward Kenji, as she dropped to the ground and rolled over to where he stood before suddenly springing up with her fist outstretched to strike him. Since she had foolishly given him ample time to anticipate the technique, he was easily able to dodge the attack, inwardly smirking at the poor execution, and then instantly countered by agilely stepping in and thrusting an elbow towards her exposed abdomen.
"Argh-!" His strike winded her, and she gasped for air, trying to refocus hastily as she snatched his protruding elbow and pulled the ninja forward with blinding speed, her foot poised to kick him in his side, and when he fell that way, the blow landed, winning a grimace from the well-versed fighter. However, he was not deterred upon realizing that her hold had trapped herself as much as it did him, felt certain he could better use the bind to his advantage, and so with this in mind, he simply lashed out with a devastating punch aimed at her head. Unfortunately, because both of her hands were wrapped around his elbow, she could not deflect that hit, but once again turned her cheek, allowing that portion to receive the blunt of his attack, a fine bruise beginning to mar her delicate skin afterwards. This caused the girl moaned slightly in pain as she released her hold on Kenji, and thrust him back away from her as she clutched her aching wound, shooting forth a mean glare that expressed disbelief in how carelessly he had just treated her person.
Seeing his opportunity, the cobalt-haired teenager did not relent, and closed the small distance between the two swiftly and leapt, twirling around with furious momentum behind his kick aimed at her head, but thankfully for Uriko, she had already anticipated a fierce reprisal since his initial movement. She willingly dropped to the floor and somersaulted forward to put some distance between the young fighters, hastily rising when she had traveled a couple of yards and then whirled around to confront Kenji, a determined snarl dissolving upon her soft lips. And yet, she somehow managed to muster up enough provocatively to crook her fingers at him in a silent taunt, a rather coy gesture as she invited him to attack her, and he smirked, muttering a response under his breath that she did not catch. A second later, he hurriedly rushed toward her once again, but just as it seemed he might attack, the ninja leapt aside onto the trunk of a tree, and then bounded off at her with a fierce flying kick, noticeable great momentum behind his foot.
Surprised by the sudden change in direction, Uriko was not prepared enough to dodge the attack, but she still shot her arms up to bar them against her chest, a sturdy defense, although it did hurt her arms to receive such a harsh blow, even despite the balanced grounding. She slid back and stumbled over her own two feet, falling to the ground on her rear, and quickly yanked her hands up to cover her face in anticipation of his next target, learning by now that he had unfortunately liked to strike her in that area quite a bit. A smug partial grin on creasing his lips, Kenji leapt up just slightly and slammed the heel of his foot into her lower shin, but because she had scrunched her body up into a ball for better protection, he only caught the side of her leg, partially grazing her shin, but not enough to injure her as originally intended. With a new tactic in mind, the Kenpo student rolled backwards and sprung up into a standing position, then turned around and ran straight at a tree, jumping onto a branch and climbing higher to disappear above, leaving rustling noises as the sole indication of her retreating presence.
Thoroughly amused at this unexpected twist, the seventeen-year-old fighter laughed freely, and then elicited silkily, "Hmm, just what are you playing at now, little girl? Do recall that the previous time you attempted a similar tactic, you had to be rescued from the elevated position such as your current one… and unfortunately for you, I am unable to serve as your savior in this present instance, so you only have yourself to rely on."
Peering down at Kenji from her shrouded location, she gave him a mean scowl and picked up a branch, throwing it at the ground, hoping to distract the ninja so that she could launch a surprise attack, for if he looked, he would be facing the opposite direction and she could be behind him. Although his head did jerk toward the noise, that only made him partially turn, therefore proving that the young assassin did indeed practice what he preached – truthfully though, he had internally come to the conclusion that the lone sound was a mere ruse. She thought about tossing another one, but suddenly realized that if she made too much noise, he would eventually find out where she was; as if hearing her thoughts, he began to stroll around the area, his eyes visibly alert and his body on a hair-trigger reaction. Since there was little else she could do, the girl decided to follow through with her intended attack regardless of his position, and swiftly fell down, stopping rather short because she had her legs wrapped firmly around the branch, and she hung upside down nearby the ninja, grinning widely as she shot a fist toward his face.
Having long ago anticipated an attack and prepared for it, Kenji was able to dodge the punch altogether, though the space between was narrow, but soon after that, he wasted no time in delivering a rapid reprisal that came in the form of a vicious forearm. Luckily for her, his opponent had bent her elbow post the attack and retracting the length, and was able to barely deflect his blow, yet inside she felt rather indignant that he used evasion so well, wondering what she had in her capabilities to get him. Gritting her teeth in determination, the dangling fighter released the hold that her legs had on the tree branch and intentionally fell on top of the ninja, one arm shooting out to wrench around his neck, grasping him in a chokehold. Though she was not heavy enough to make him fall, the girl still wanted to keep him in her control as she trapped him by tightly encircling his waist and rode his back, while pressing the blade of her forearm firmly against his throat, "See…how…you…like…this…!"
"…!" Caught off-guard by the unexpected twist, the dark-haired teenager shut his eyes against her choke, but faintly grinned when his mind had quickly germinated an idea, so he grabbed her legs in his arms to hold her in place, and turned his back to the nearby tree she was recently it. Making sure she was unable to leave, he backed into the trunk with great force, sandwiching the slender girl in-between, which caused her to cry out, the noise cut short when the blow winded her a bit, but to his demise, her hold about his throat stayed. Behind him, her eyes had instinctively shut at the pressure but she did not relent, and her other hand quickly came around to his cheek to sink the nails firmly into his skin, and then she scratched him relentlessly, raking several fine lines, almost strong enough to draw blood. This time, Kenji openly released a loud groan of pain, inwardly cursing the young amateur for bringing him this form of agony, and stepped forward before slamming her back into the tree yet again, continuing to relentlessly thrash her against the hard bark.
Learning how to quickly adapt to new situations, Uriko tensed her muscles in anticipation of the repeated tactic, and when he stepped forward for the third time, she removed her legs from around his waist and shot them behind, intentionally slamming into the trunk. She could bound off of it from the force she executed and sent both her and the ninja flying forward, falling to the ground, but he reacted instantaneously and shot his hands out to prevent a hard landing, then pushed up to try to roll onto his back, his breath starting to grow short. The Kenpo student willingly rolled with him, for she knew that even if he had her crushed underneath his back, the weight of his lean body was still not heavy enough to suffocate her, and all the while doggedly maintained her grip against his throat. An internal prayer came that he would either fall unconscious from her hold eventually, or at least soon become weakened enough for the girl to get him in another predicament, and hopefully use her other dormant techniques to ensnare the elusive victory.
Growing somewhat desperate to escape at all costs, Kenji thrashed his head back to slam into her face, hoping to disorient her long enough to escape, and she submitted, stunned as her nose was smashed and releasing a small cry, her hold faltering slightly. That tiny opening was just enough for the ninja to take advantage of it, and he grabbed her arm, wrenching the length away from him with his vicious grip, then scrambled frantically to place distance between the two fighters quickly as he sucked in precious air, coughing a little. Rolling to her knees, Uriko quickly jumped back on her feet, and scanned the other bystander with her curious dark eyes, unable to hide the small smile of triumph on her face at viewing his weakened state – it sure was nice not being on the receiving end of pain for once. And although her cheek and back stung quite noticeably, while her nose felt badly bruised, but thankfully not broken, she managed to muster up enough cattiness to taunt him in a rare, uncharacteristic show of rudeness. "Oh gee, you look like you're a little short of breath there, Kenji…"
The aforementioned figure emitted a throaty growl in response, struck with a sudden urge to brandish his claws and lash her smile right off of her face… but he inhaled slowly, and calmed himself down for the time being, though he did ruefully raise a hand to nurse his visible, colored wound. Almost at the same time, Uriko also tenderly grazed the bruise on her cheek with her fingertips, and was instantly angered by the memory; she scowled viciously, losing her former playfulness, and then lunged at her opponent without warning. Her fists flew rapidly as she dealt multiple blows, trying to work out a combo that her body remembered better than her own mind, but because he had not yet recovered, Kenji chose to vanish from sight in a shrill puff of smoke, and reappeared many yards behind her. In his new position, he bent his knees slightly for balance, and proceeded to watch the Kenpo student carefully, his eyes narrowed from both agitation and concentration, meanwhile secretly brandishing a shuriken in one concealed hand, ready to use it if she again approached too quickly.
"That cheap little…!" She growled aloud in annoyance, but she only shook her head briefly before whirling around in a fast circle, hoping to catch sight of her opponent somewhere, knowing that he would not travel too far away, and when she did, flames flared up in her eyes. "Hey! You coward, come back here!" She ran toward him, stubbornly pursuing the ninja, unknowingly negating the shuriken since the distance made it difficult for her to realize its presence.
"Oh, a coward, am I…?" Kenji muttered bitterly under his breath, ire becoming a keen display on his expression with his growing irritation, and a split second later, he flung the dangerous weapon towards her right thigh, sending his fire and energy into the small projectile.
His shuriken zipped through the air, and the vast speed made her unable to dodge it, but she tried to anyway, jumping up so that she was struck in her lower leg instead, and even that made her land clumsily as a slight whimper spilled forth from her lips. Trying to seem undaunted, she hastily reached down to remove the pointed star, and held it in her hand with a death grip, her eyes narrowing quite dangerously for her character as she warned in a whispered tone, "I…I'll slash you again if I have to, Kenji…"
"Make such a foolish mistake like your previous instance, and I will flood your bloodstream with them." There was no hint of a bluff in his voice, but he did glare very fiercely at the weapon that she had inherited from him, almost as if he was testing her courage to defy his word.
The auburn-haired youth hesitated momentarily from his threat, uneasy since she truly had no idea how many shurikens were on him presently, but she took an interested note in his passiveness, surprised by the rarity, coming to a realization that it was there for a good reason. Perhaps Kenji's condition was still at a considerably weakened state, and if that happened to be the case, then she had to move quickly before he sought to recover… so bearing that in mind, she darted toward him and upon getting a little closer, shot the shuriken directly at his face. He easily fell victim to this distraction and whipped his head to the side to evade the weapon, thus giving Uriko the opportunity to dash in and turn around to slam her back into the ninja, but in her haste, she had unfortunately not even noticed that her angle was incorrect. His perception immediately noticing this, the older fighter merely sidestepped, feeling mildly irritated by the carelessness of her execution, so she only managed to graze him before hitting the floor forcefully, to which the assassin agilely fell with her, his knee aligned to slam into her gut upon landing.
"Augh!!" Tears blurred her vision as the wind was immediately knocked out of her, leaving the girl coughing and simultaneously struggling to breathe; she grasped at her chest with her hand as if trying to grab the problem out of her lungs, but of course, that was impossible. Her eyes immediately squeezed shut as her stomach lurched from the unwanted overbearing of pressure, and saliva quickly piled up in her throat with the desire to vomit, making the injured fighter turn her face to the side and spit out the fluid on the ground. Meanwhile, Kenji was leaning over his captive, a frown of disapproval marring his expression as he glanced down upon her, feeling a twinge of sympathy for her vulnerability, but after recalling the reason of their fight, he relentlessly launched a punch at her face. She elicited a loud shriek of pain upon being struck by the unexpected blow on her cheek, hitting the growing bruise, and the back of her head quickly kissed the earth, and evidence of her discomfort began to slide down her cheeks as wet drops, more from reflex rather than of will.
Whimpering weakly, the injured girl carefully rolled onto her side to escape whatever attack he had planned next, also wanting to stand as soon as possible, but she was only able to raise herself to her knees while continuing to desperately gasp for air. "U-ugh…"
Unfortunately for her, he had already gotten back on his feet in that time, having recovered faster, and immediately closed the distance between the two entities before aiming a snap kick, the tip of his tabi hitting her directly underneath the chin.
This caused her head to snap back from the blow, and she fell back down, but made sure to get up quicker this time, managing to sluggishly to rise to her feet, and she slowly edged away from Kenji as her tongue nursed the bitten lip, hating the taste of her own blood. "Y-you…"
"You wish to insult me once again? Save your breath… for I believe is it finally my turn to cough out the taunts now, little girl." He rasped out maliciously, a vicious bite in his tone as he then rushed her and teleported behind the Kenpo learner just as he neared, and snaked his arms about her waist as he hefted her back, bridging his body back to slam her on the neck.
Too burdened by the agony, Uriko screamed her pain aloud, not even caring that she was spewing forth weakness; the muscles in her neck were greatly stinging, making tears run freely down her cheeks from enduring the torturous move that he had just executed on her. The wounded girl slid back the ground and laid completely still, her muscles aching from his weight forcefully and insistently bearing down on her, but she did whimper slightly in fear while frantic thoughts soared through her mind, NO! I'm gonna lose again! Argh… I-I can't! Oh God, I can't lose this battle-!! I…I won't let Kenji own me, or my life!
The cobalt-haired ninja released his hold shortly after impact, and easily rose to his feet; sending the sixteen-year-old a cool glare, he stepped over to her crumpled form and disrespectfully kicked her square in the side… although even he could not ignore the pain and horror etched upon her attractive features.
"S-stop it…!" She cried out meekly, unable to hide the plea in her voice, and grit her teeth tightly as she weakly rolled onto her good side, and gradually got on her feet, her stance obviously shaky and frail despite the hard determination still burning in her eyes. The inner turmoil conflicted with the sliver of fear and defeat that lingered in her mahogany orbs, but nevertheless, the greatly injured Uriko bent her knees slightly, and tried to draw balance from the earth as she spat out his name disdainfully, "K-Kenji…" – pausing to inhale sharply, she finally yelled after an endless moment, "I-I… I'm not… I'm not… giving up… this time… Do you hear me…?! I'm not gonna let you win!"
