(A new BLACK and the unfolding of a battle that must be witnessed in order for the people involved to move on...)
Bold = English Conversations
Bold + Italics =Japanese Conversations
BLACK 51
Previously from BLACK Rebellion
Sora Minakaze and Shen Lin Fang, former squadron mates who worked for the same organization. One betrayed the organization and chased after his sister's dream of education. The other was founded near dead by the organization and swears by the cause they are trying to achieve. Now on separate ends of each other, They begin a life and death fight that started the moment a singular chess match was played.
Right in the middle of all of this is Makoto Nanaya who at this point, is the closest person who can understand the plight these two former comrades have... where one must survive to fulfill their goals in the end... Being the sole witness to their resolve, She swears to see through to the very end this fight between two former comrades now enemies with her own two eyes. And seeing... she will do.
And now the continuation of BLACK Rebellion
There was a silence present in the area that Sora and Makoto was in at that moment... both of them very aware of their surroundings in the process. The roof of the hospital they were standing on is very spacious yet at the same time felt so restricting as Sora was busy checking on his equipment. "Right... at least most of the weapons that I have at the moment are still in usable condition." Sora noted as he sheathed away his arm blades as he proceeded to check up on Kizuna, noting if there had been significant damage caused on it.
"Looks like Kizuna is alright too.. though you might want to redo the grips on the handle, they are starting to look like they are wearing out." Makoto said as Sora noted what she said and checked the grips. "Thanks Makoto. The grips are starting to get a bit too loose for my liking, I need to do a bit of material shopping if I make it out of this alive" Sora replied as he took a deep breath, trying to stay calm at this very moment.
"Is...Is there anything I can check for you? Like any other gear you have brought out to use?" Makoto questioned as he looked at the other pieces of equipment that he had brought out for this very moment. "Sure... I have to check out the condition of the coat I am going to use as well as the boots so if you can let me know what kind of condition they are in that would be useful." Sora said as Makoto nodded and picked up the coat in front of her. As she did so, Sora paid attention to what she was doing as he noted the way she was observing said clothes.
The way she lifted the coat from the shoulders, using that to check the coat for any possible tears that were on said coat by shaking it. As she did so, she heard the rustling of the metal bucklers and paid attention to them, grabbing each buckle and making sure that they still held onto their straps tightly. The way she was checking that coat felt eerily similar to the way he would have checked it, as if he was looking at a perfect carbon copy of himself weren't it not for her personality.
"The jacket's all good Sora. Though knowing you, this jacket will need to see some sort of repair soon. Especially with the buckles since I hear them getting looser at the moment." Makoto said as Sora nodded his head, understanding what Makoto said as he looked at Makoto look at some of the other equipment, seeing her pick up his precious dagger. Pulling it out of the sheath, he saw her look at the blade as a sad look came into her face. "Saeko..." Makoto muttered as Sora's ears heard that.
"So... you saw Saeko huh..." As soon as Sora said that, Makoto smiled as she simply nodded. "She was so young... and the Black Lotus just killed her so willingly... I just don't get the purpose of it no matter how much I try to make sense of everything." Makoto answered as she spun the knife in her hands, shining the knife on the blade as she scratched her forehead with the handle. "You have such a rough life Sora... It totally sucks to be you to be honest."
"Yeah...tell me about it..." Sora said as his focus wasn't on the knife but Makoto as his attention on her was more than normal. "You know... you have grown a little since the last time I saw you..." As soon as Sora said that, Makoto couldn't help but chuckle a little bit as she stared at the knife once more. "Grown huh?.. It feels like I was forced to mature a lot faster than I had to.. Don't get me wrong, being hated by people just because you're a certain race is one thing... but being forced to murder without any care is another. Nothing in life ever prepares you for anything and being you taught me that."
As she said that, she couldn't help but continue twisting and spinning the knife in her hand. "But even that seems irrelevant when your life is on the line... when you are riding on the edge between life and death... not even the thoughts of prejudice matter... hehehe... Sorry if I sound like an edgy..." Before she could say any further, Sora had grabbed her hand, specifically the one that was holding the knife in the first place.
"Motherfucker... I can't help but wonder about everything that has happened to me at this time and moment... am I right?" As soon as Sora said that sentence, Makoto couldn't help but hold her mouth in shock before using her free hand to bonk him on the head. "Don't go finishing my sentences like that without some sort of warning you!" Makoto said as Sora scratched his head before clearing his throat. "But that sounds like something that I would say and I just thought it would be alright to finish the sentence... that's all."
"That still doesn't mean you should...finish...my...sentence...ba...ka.." Sora tilted his head as he noticed that he was still holding onto Makoto's hand when she went on her rant, making him release it as he noticed a blush begin to form on her face. 'That blush... that's something...Ally would have done...' Sora thought, thinking back to the time he spent teasing Allison...no wait Hunter as a girl as he couldn't help himself. "If I am a baka... then you're just as much of a baka you baka." Sora said as Makoto turned a bright crimson red
Makoto: W-W-WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BAKA YOU BAKA BAKA!
Sora's Thoughts: Oh...wow...she sure is a blushing mess right now... for some reason... she looks so... she's making my heart...
Sora: Oi... Stop repeating baka you baka. You are just making yourself even more of a baka doing that you know.
Makoto: I can't help it you know! Your constant teasing and calling me Baka has made me become so triggered you know!
Sora: Hehehe... there's the Makoto I know... but I am surprised to see you making such a girly face right now...
Makoto: Hey! I can be girly you know!
Sora: I know... I was just teasing, I cannot help myself but to tease such an admirable person like you.
MAKOTO POV
The moment I heard Sora say I was admirable... I couldn't help but my heart skip a few beats per minute. Did... Did Sora... just try his way with flirting? "Sorry... I just happen to have a bit too much free time here in this hospital. So besides training up here when I can, I have been trying to continue expanding the knowledge I have to gain." Sora explained as I couldn't help but feel the honesty that he was giving me right now. "I even tried Karaoke... but people tell me that I shouldn't sing... Guess I still need to work on that."
"Eh!? There's something you cannot do naturally!?" I must be going crazy... Hearing Sora admit that he's not good at something at all... this is just insane! "To be honest... I pretended to not really care about it... but I really want to get better." Sora said as I saw him blush greatly as I held my chest. "But why tell me all of this Sora?.. Surely if it's embarrassing then you would want to keep it a secret huh." I said as Sora looked away from me.
"It's...It's because... It's because you are someone really close to me... AH MOU! We can't waste any more time! We got to get going and meet Shen now!" Sora said as he began to gather all of the equipment near the ground and put it on. I have to admit... Hanging out with me must have rubbed on Sora in some way... because when I think back a few months ago, I would never picture Sora Minakaze, the supposed cool and mysterious student of the school, would actually be that of a considerate and sometimes childish fellow.
"Hai hai... you man-child." I joked as Sora looked at me with his own big red face. "OI! I AM NOT A MANCHILD MAKOTO!" He shouted as we looked at each other intensely in the eyes, both our faces blushing red as I felt a twitch on my face. Soon... we couldn't contain it anymore as we both broke out in pure laughter, all tensions escaping out of our bodies at that moment as tears came out of our eyes from said laughter, something that we both needed...
Because we are going to head into... one of the toughest battles that we can possible experience at this very moment...
After we spent enough time getting all of the equipment Sora would need for the fight ahead, We went to where Shen was, the forest within the confines of the Hospital as a fire had been started because of how long we had taken. "You sure took your sweet time huh... wasting so many hours and dragging this to the evening huh." Shen noted as Sora sighed and shrugged. "I'm sorry... I never knew that fights need to start on a certain time to be appropriate." Sora said as Shen laughed.
"What a funny joke Sora... but because you wasted so much time, I am going to have to hurry and finish you off otherwise Monika would start worrying about me." Shen said as Sora looked to the side and noted the seriousness of his voice. "Tell me... How is Monika doing with her injuries right now?" Sora asked as Shen sighed and looked at Masamune. "Monika... Monika's... Doing fine right now." Shen said as it was clear that he was lying at the very moment, the concern in his voice and the amount of pausing he did telling us that.
"I see... then we don't have much time to waste huh... you not going to make dinner for yourself before we start?" Sora questioned as he saw the food that he had placed on the side, mainly food rations. "I was going to...before you showed up... well, I guess I will just have to eat later then." Shen said as he stood up and looked at Sora in the eyes. "I hope you are prepared...Sora...Makoto..." Shen said as he placed Masamune on his waist.
"Sora... are you ready for this?.." I questioned as I noted the sweat present on the palm of his hands. He remained quiet for a bit as I was tempted to ask him the same question again but I decided that was unnecessary. Instead I decided to simply just hold his hand close to my chest as he looked at me with a seriousness in his eyes. "Makoto... don't interfere with the match in any way... but more importantly, please watch me carefully." Those...were the final words he said as I released his hand.
"I promise... in exchange, live up to your promise alright." I said as Sora simply smiled and faced his back towards me. "I always intend to keep the promises I make Makoto... after all, a man is not a man if he doesn't keep his promises... especially to the female friends he makes." Sora said as he looked cool when he said that, the cool and mysterious side that was coming out from him at that moment making me smile and laugh as I decided to not even say a word and just let Sora fight.
As soon as Sora turned his back towards me, he simply gave me a thumbs up to ensure me that he intends to fulfill his promise. Soon, Sora and Shen were looking at each other... face to face. I could feel the tension in the air immediately intensified as I held onto my crutches as tightly as I could. I cannot help but feel the nervousness increase as I was expecting Sora and Shen to exchange a few words to each other before they battle. But they weren't even doing that at the moment... and that was exerting even more pressure than normal.
Just what is going to happen right now? Who is going to strike first?.. Before I could think of something else like what is going to be the first move of this life and death battle, Sora immediately stopped Shen from drawing his blade as they began to push pressure on each other almost immediately. Shen didn't relent the pressure to Sora however as he kicked Sora off him, trying to draw his blade to cut him down.
But before he could draw his blade, once again, Sora stops him from doing so, staring Shen down as they began to walk sideways, looking at each other. I soon had to begin giving chase on my own as they began to sprint away from the forest and into the hospital itself. Wait... is Sora trying to prevent Shen from drawing his blade? If that's the case, then this is probably the best chance he has at the moment. Forcing Shen into a much more populated area would limit how many chances that he would be able to draw Masamune and use it against Sora.
If that's Sora's plan... that's putting a huge amount of risk on the fact that Shen is not willing to get some civilian casualties if he can get one clean kill on Sora as he ran right past a wheelchair bound patient as Shen jumped right over said person high into the air with both hands on what I could clearly see at this point was a bokken. As soon as he did so, Sora went right in between a couple as Shen was quickly forced to stop his attack and roll forwards, gritting his teeth as he began to form an ars magus circle.
As soon as he did that, he began to charge himself with electrical energy and blasted himself forward, getting in front of Sora and within drawing distance for his sword. Leaving Sora no choice but to quickly use his cross tonfa's to counter said attack as Shen was unable to get a full draw on his sword, limiting the power that he was able to put out in the process, resulting in him only being able to give Sora a shallow cut on his shoulder while his attack stopped dead on.
But as if he knew that would happen, I was stunned to see Shen drop his sword and immediately go for a throw, grabbing Sora's collar and twisting himself quickly to press his back on Sora's chest to launch him right over his shoulder and aimed to directly smash Sora's own shoulders to the ground. As soon as he realized what Shen was trying to do however, Sora immediately used the motion of the throw to break out of it at the very last minute and rolled to reduce the amount of damage his shoulder would have recieved as Shen did not relent from just that.
Instead of going back on his sword, Shen instead decided to stick it out with fists. Throwing some rather vicious lightning strikes as I noticed his fingers were actually pointed out when he did so. He was using the exact same technique that Sora uses regularly with his pressure point fighting as Sora was pushing the attacks left and right, not letting him strike a singular pressure point as he kicked Shen off him before unleashing a series of pressure point attacks himself.
It soon turned into a simple brawl with fists as Sora got in Shen's way to prevent him from picking up his blade. Shen however looked as calm as ever, in fact he looked even more calm than the chess match he had earlier with Sora as he kicked Sora's chest, allowing him to grab Masamune and resheathing on it's blade once more. At this point of the battle, I would have figured for some sort of conversation happen at this moment but much to my surprise, they aren't saying a single word to each other.
When I think about it logically... This shouldn't really be all to surprising to realize that there is no words coming out from those two. They really want to fight against each other and the silence is their way of not only respecting each other but also to keep their nerves in check. A single mutter or exchange of words not only would break their concentration, but give their opponent the slight millisecond chance of attacking. I have to admit... seeing battles does make me feel excited... but a life and death battle like this simply just suffocates all feelings of that, making me feel worried in the process.
'Don't lose Sora... please.' I thought as I held my hands as tightly as I could only hold my breath and not say a single word. As I did so, I saw Sora go for his blood dagger and adopt a reverse grip on it. This is the first time I actual see him use the knife not as a last desperate resort but as an actual weapon as he grabbed Shen, trying to stab him in the shoulder as Shen stopped the attack while making him lose his grip on the ground as hospital staff soon emerge from the hospital and began taking their patients into the hospital because logic dictates that if you see two armed men attacking in the middle of the courtyard, you should evacuate your patients.
This looks like Something Sora did not want as he began to shift his positioning so that he's positioned right in between the running patients and Shen as he charged forward. Oh shit! Is he going to just slice right through both Sora and the patients!? Before I could think any further, I see Shen draw his sword and to my surprise he swapped to the reverse edge of his blade to strike Sora at his shin, the force would have broken any other leg in the process.
The pain that was present in Sora's face was simply unimaginable as he bit down on his lips so hard till they bled. He simply chose to retaliate by using his knife and doing a quick swipe at his cheeks, cutting them slightly in the process as Shen quickly resheathed his blade and slammed Sora in the stomach by the hilt of his blade. Sora recoiled hard but he didn't allow the attack to stop him from fighting back as he used the hilt of the dagger to stop another hilt smash from Shen as he quickly switched his grip to successfully slice at Shen's chin, giving him a cut in the process.
Soon, the two stared each other off, steeling their resolves and staying put in their positions to not move. As they did so, I couldn't help but look around, wondering if anybody else is going to intervene at that moment. More importantly, I wondered if Sora or Shen were going to say anything to each other. I decided to stop questioning that as I focused on their facial expressions and that told me everything that I needed to know.
On Shen's side, his eyes were narrow while having a small scowl on his face, probably because of the fact that he is unable to use the full cutting power of Masamune without causing major damage in the process which would alert the whole city about something being not right. Sora's own face told a different story as they looked rather stoic but his eyes were that of small worry, as he was probably wondering how he was going to defeat Shen in the first place as he didn't allow doubt to capture his heart.
Then, As soon as Shen made the attempt to open his mouth, Sora leapt at the chance, crashing himself right into the man and pushing him along the ground with force. There was so much force that Shen was swept off his feet, the friction building on his heels as he quickly formed another ars magus seal and in a blink of an eye, bolted himself towards the sky so fast that not even my own beastkin senses could keep up at that moment.
It was at that moment I saw a blue flash as Sora immediately take a frontal roll, his feet barely avoiding getting cut of by Masamune in the process as Shen quickly resheathed his blade and positioned himself for yet another attack. Soon Sora was dodging a series of attacks but by the skin of his teeth as Shen was slowly becoming faster and faster with each and every attack he performs. As he does so, the ground that Sora was on slowly giving away, more and more cuts forming which necessitated Sora to get away at that moment before it was too late.
So to do this, Sora quickly sliced his right hand and used the blood to quickly blind Shen, forcing Shen back to the ground in order to wipe off said blood as Sora charged in for a stabbing. Shen retaliated by smacking the hilt of the dagger, forcing it off Sora's hand as Shen tried to end it there with a super quick draw of the blade. But before he could even draw said blade, Sora had come prepared as he used his arm blades to stop the attack by deploying them right at the handle itself, keeping Shen from fully being able to draw it.
Shen simply grinned at this act of cunning as he retaliated with a backhand slap right at Sora's face to try and disorient him in the process, but Sora at that moment managed to bite down on said backhand, making Shen jump back as he was not expecting Sora to do that at all. The surprise maneuver bought Sora enough time to give Shen a strike to the knee that took out some of his air before smashing his elbow right at Shen's back, delivering some important damage that he had yet to deliver at that point.
As soon as he did that, I notice Sora's head looking around, scanning quickly as I knew he was looking for his knife at that moment. Before he could find it though, Shen had managed to fling him off the ground by using the lightning ars magus from before but this time, charging it into a palm and slamming him with said palm. As soon as he did that, Sora held on to the char mark that was on his lower stomach as I noticed some blood coming out of it. Did that strike manage to open up an old wound briefly?
Whatever the case was, Sora did not look so good after that attack because he jumped a few steps back as Shen looked like he had enough of trying to play with Sora's way as He began to draw out fully Masamune and held it with his own two hands. His focus is something I had never seen before as he held it firmly on his hands, not flinching a single inch on his viewpoint of Sora as he simply stood up and took a couple of deep breaths, knowing what he had to do next as Shen tightened the grip on his katana and charged.
It was at this moment that I should have known that the tide of battle was slowly changing as both Sora and Shen charged right for each other at mach speed without stopping. What was originally a slow paced match soon became a quick bout of wits and speed as each time they clashed, they were trying to cut each other down without hesitation. While Shen tried to do so with his blade, Sora would stop him with his cross tonfas and retaliate with a powerful punch that Shen stopped with the use of Ars magus.
Soon Shen began to integrate more and more ars magus into his attacks, forcing Sora who doesn't know any kind of ars magus at all to slowly get more and more pushed back, losing the momentum that he had worked hard to get in the process. All I could do was simply hold onto my crutches tighter to the point I could hear the metal in the crutches nearly snapped into two. As much as I want to say that this is unfair, this is simply real life and in real life, it's always unfair.
I want to help Sora at this point, but I have to respect the fact that Sora wishes to face against Shen all on his own. Despite that... I can't simply stand by here and let him just get pounded on like the way he is right now. At that moment I thought about it, Sora immediately countered back by using his arm blades to redirect the lightning towards Shen, in the process frying the blades and breaking them in the process. Sora could only make a singular sound of disappointment, making the first sound of battle in the process that isn't blades clashing or ars magus lightning bolts firing.
He then spun his cross tonfas as he got ready to attack Shen once more, throwing everything he got at this point as Shen finally had enough distance and was far enough from crowds that he was able to use Masamune to it's full power, sending massive waves of pure cutting power that fell trees with every single swing of his blade. Sora decided to try and stop the attacks by tossing the broken arm blades right at his way, Shen easily slicing through the handles of said blades as he continued to attack with pure ferocity.
The look of desperation on Sora's face was something I could not stop looking at. His will to keep on fighting was there as Shen attacked Sora with even more speed, Sora barely dodging his attacks in the process. One small slip up on his part and he was going to be killed, guaranteed. But as he was dodging, I noticed that he was still looking around for something, looking at the ground while dodging the barrage of attacks that came right for him. That was when it clicked in my mind, what Sora needed and how I could help him.
I held onto my crutches as I looked around left and right and even up and down. I knew that he was looking for the blood dagger, something that he can use to block said attacks in the process. Only I can help Sora in this way as I took my focus away from the match at that point, searching the ground for the item in question as the sounds of blades swinging and clashing ringed in my ears. The way the knife was tossed from Sora's hand, it tells me that it had to be somewhere on the dirt ground, embedded right into the ground.
The search for said knife took a long while as I had not only checked the ground itself, I also checked the roots of the trees, a pile of leaves, the trees themselves. Where ever this knife is, it's hidden somewhere that I have no clue where it is. My senses then took over as I looked at my left and saw Shen right in front of me, blade above his head and about to slice me in half. No.. shit, I know what he's trying to do! And it's going to work!
And as soon as Shen did that, Sora appeared right in between me and Shen. He was already in his drive state, as he managed to stop the attack by grabbing the wrists of the attack, stopping it right in the middle of the attack as Shen kneed Sora back and tossed him towards a tree, smashing him through said tree as Shen fired another lightning bolt ars magus once more. The attack collided with so much force that Sora took multiple steps back as he panted hard.
This is not good, Sora must have been trapped at that hospital for quite some time for clearly injuries that was still healing to reel their ugly heads at this point. I need to get that dagger and fast! As I doubled on my efforts to search for the dagger, Shen cleared his throat as I wondered if he was going to say anything to Sora at this point. "This...This is your greatest strength and weakness Sora." He said as I was just as shocked that he finally spoke for the first time since ever in this entire match to Sora let alone reference me in the first place.
I got ready to listen more of what Shen was going to say but much to my surprise, Shen said absolutely nothing, keeping quiet once more as I heard the sounds of buckles rustling as Sora stood up once more. Ready to fight once more as he ready himself for another fight using the cross tonfas that were forged with the remaining broken pieces of Reiko's shield. Despite what Shen had said, Sora did not look like he was going to say anything else to Shen at that moment, remaining silent while looking at me before nodding his head.
It was at that moment I felt the amount of trust he had placed on me, the faith that we would fulfill the promise that we intend to keep. He was going to fight to stay alive while I was going to stay alive for his own sake. We aren't going to let the words of what people say just dictate what we are going to do next as I finally felt on the ground something slightly sharp prick the palm of my left hand. I immediately used the pain that I felt tell me what I had just felt as I dusted the ground as much as I can, revealing the blood knife that Sora had been looking for.
Great, I found the weapon in question. Now how do I give this knife back to Sora?! Toss it to him? But would that simply serve to distract him in the end?! Then that's not good at all. Charge at Shen with the knife in hand? But that would simply let Shen use me as a human shield and shove me in the way of Sora's attacks. I know that in the end risks have to be taken in the end, but which risk will be the one that not only win the day, but also result in less risk.
As I thought about this, I decided to look back and see the battle that was happening only to gasp when I saw the damage that Shen had already done to Sora without me knowing. Old wounds were opening up and his breathing was starting to become a bit erratic in the process. His drive as well was starting to destabilize from the amount of damage he was suffering in the process. If I want to do something... I have to do it now!
"Please watch me carefully..." The words that Sora said to me ringed in my head as I remembered the promise that I had made. I gritted my teeth as I remembered to not interfere with his match in any way. But with the state that he's in right now... I just don't know how much longer I can actually keep standing by the side anymore. The indecision I felt continued to pile up as Shen continued to deliver a rapid barrage of attacks that either open up another old scar on Sora's body or destroy a part of the scenery.
I bit down on my lips as I finally decided on what I should do at that moment. I tossed the knife right into the air as I took a deep breath. "HEY! SHEN!" I shouted as for that moment, Shen looked at me in the eyes as Sora himself looked right at me confused as to what was going on. As he did so, I saw Shen charge right for me, his blade drawn as I had to believe... I am sorry Sora for breaking my promise but if it will guarantee your victory, then I don't care what is going to happen to me.
"I am going to protect you too!"
SORA POV
WHAT IS MAKOTO DOING!? WHY IS SHE TOSSING HERSELF INTO HARM'S WAY!? DAMMIT, I thought I told her not to interfere! Shit this is my own fault for getting way too injured in the first place... But what am I going to do right now? I can't just stand here and do nothing, letting Makoto get killed in the process. But I can feel the drive fading away from me. If I don't do something fast... NO! I won't think like that! I am not going to let my thoughts cloud me right now! I will not let my own doubt cloud my path!
Then something gleamed at the top of my eye as I looked up to see Saeko's knife flying in the air. Since when did it get into the air? Was it ripped off the ground? That doesn't matter, If I can use that somehow, I can save Makoto! But even with my drive, I can't reach to Shen in time... Just what do I do at this point! 'Power... I... I need even more power!' But is more power what I want at this point? What use is power if I can't even be fast enough to save the people that I want to save.
Dammit...Dammit Dammit Dammit! GOD DAMMIT! I...I WANT TO SAVE MAKOTO DAMMIT! 'Then stop saying you want to save Makoto and actually save her.' a familiar voice boomed as I looked around my surroundings, seeing that time had grinded to a near crawl. 'Save the person you care deeply the most. Not by screaming how you want to... but by doing so. You have to do it for it to be true.' The voice continued as I felt my right eye ache a little.
'If you want to do so... then focus on the future you want...and grab it with your own hands.' The voice finished as I saw the future prediction ability I had gained act up once again. Normally, it would be used to tell me what I can do and allow me to bend my body in ways to follow that... but this is different. This time, I was seeing myself getting right in the way of Shen's attack only to get hit by it.
It doesn't matter at this point, I just need to save Makoto and... "In exchange, Live up to your promise alright." The words that Makoto said made me stop, I stop to look at the future image once more and realize that injury would just simply leave me bleeding out by the end... and truth be told, I don't want to force Makoto to see me suffer once more. I've got to save her... I've got to stop getting so injured in the process... I will save her without getting anymore injured in this fight!
Then...it was brief, but I felt it. Something within me changed as I focused my whole attention on just getting Makoto out of the way right now. A few seconds later, I tackled Makoto to the ground as I heard the sound of metal clanging on the ground as Shen fell yet another tree. I looked at Makoto as our eyes locked for a brief moment. I couldn't bring myself to get angry at her for breaking her promise because to be frank, I would have done the same as well.
"Just stay here...and thanks." Were the only words I could say to her as I stood up and look at Shen once more, feeling time slow down to a crawl once more as my right eye ached once more as now I am focusing on Saeko's dagger, now embedded into the stone ground. It was not a conscious effort by my part as the visions were coming right my way at that moment. As soon as I did so, I felt my hand gesture for it as I soon appeared, grabbing said knife by my left hand as Shen and Makoto looked confused when I did so.
I shook my head as I did not want confusion to build within me as well. I charged right for Shen and forced Shen to block the attack as I felt his blade send my knife right into the air. As soon as he did that, I began to slowly focus my eyes on the knife, watching it fly into the air so fast it can slice through butter as I felt my very bones strain to the point of breaking, my muscles slowly tearing themselves apart as I flew so high into the air that I managed to grab the dagger but it felt almost instantaneously when I did so.
As soon as I did so, I began to pull all of my strength into my left arm. Tossing it with so much force that it penetrated it's way through Shen's shoulder as I quickly swapped to Kizuna and aimed it right for Shen's direction. I only have one more shot as I knew if I screw up on this one... I'm dead for sure. Taking aim right for Shen I began to charge my attack as I closed my right eye and focused, feeling the possibilities come to me once more.
Then...it became clear what I was doing, the thought of combining both my drive and this future far sight never crossed my mind before. But it must be for a good reason as I felt the strain nearly cripple my whole body as I could feel the flow of my own blood for the first time as I blasted myself right in front of Shen, fist fully charged of power. I felt that if I didn't shout out something right now, the energy I had built up within me would simply implode within me.
"Sei!" Was the first thing I could shout as I punched right into his stomach where Kizuna's sharp pointed end embedded itself right into his chest "So!" As I did so I felt the drive energy I had built up surround my fist as me and Shen could see the spiraling energy build around my arm. Shen didn't want to give up however as I see him reach for Masamune, planning to use the range we were at to deliver a fatal final blow as I raised my free arm at that moment, something that I am only able to do because of the fact that I am chaining this with own possibilities, defying all expectations at that point.
"Ken!" As soon as I shouted that, I blasted my free fist right into Shen's throat with my fingers pointed right into a pressure point. The moment I did that, I felt all of the energy I had gathered rush right out of me as everything in my body literally exploded as a result, making me crumble to the ground hard as I felt the pain course throughout my body. Even breathing felt way too painful for me to do at that moment as a pair of hands caught me as I felt something soft press on my back as I blew everything I had for that one attack.
"Sora?!... Sora!" A voice shouted as even my hearing was fading as the only thing that was clear to me at that moment was my own eyes. Seeing is believing... and by seeing the two holes that I had caused right onto Shen's body told me that this was it... this was clearly the end for Shen Lin fang... Something must have told him that as well because he slowly reached for one of his pockets with his blood smeared hands and pulled out from it what looked like a letter.
We didn't need to exchange words at that point, we had exchanged every single one of them in the hospital room. I didn't know what kind of emotion I should feel at that moment, unsure whether or not happiness was appropriate in this situation or sadness or even pity. I was not sure what emotion is the most appropriate emotion I should display towards Shen in my tired worn out form. So I just simply decided to look at him with a stoic silence at the end.
As soon as he pulled out the letter, he also grabbed the sheath of his blade and placed it onto my chest. I grabbed it as he simply smiled as I saw the purple fade slowly from his eyes, signifying that the hold that the Boss had on him was slowly disappearing from him. I continued to hold onto his hand the entire time, not letting it go as I simply watched the life of his eyes fade away, that soft and understanding smile he had the entire time.
As I burned into my mind...the memory of a comrade that I will never fight alongside with ever again... now and forever.
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION! HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING AND IF YOU GUYS ARE SEEING THIS SO LATE, THIS IS THE LATEST THAT I HAVE EVER RELEASED OF ANY CHAPTER! WHY AM I SHOUTING LIKE THIS!? THIS IS SORTA A BIG DEAL FOR ME BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER RELEASED A CHAPTER THIS LATE BEFORE! But I should honestly stop shouting at this point.
Anyways, I cut the chapter really close this time around and I should better manage my time next time, But I have to admit that it could have become a lot more worse. But it's because of you guys that I keep on writing and especially manage my schedule for you guys. It will still remain at twice per month and I intend to keep it that way until I state I need to make changes to my schedule to accommodate for real life etc.
NOW WHAT IS NEXT FOR SORA MINAKAZE!? HOW WILL HE DEVELOP HIS NEW ABILITY!? WHAT IS IN THE FINAL LETTER FROM SHEN TO SORA!? WHAT COULD BE THE WORDS THAT SHEN WANTED TO SAY TO SORA THAT HE COULDN'T SAY IN PERSON!? AND FINALLY HOW IS MAKOTO GOING TO PROCESS ALL OF WHAT SHE WITNESSED!? Well... read on to find out.
Seisoken = Stratosphere
