I'm starting to regret this whole arc. It feels almost like Bleach, like I've interrupted the main story to throw you into some 30-episode side bullshit. I know what you're thinking. "JUST GET BACK TO AIZEN ALREADY! BEAT THE DAMN ARRANCARS!"
I know. I'm sorry to drag this out so long. I hope you're all enjoying it, for what it's worth. Next chapter will be the conclusion.
Leona's instinctive reaction to seeing her two closest comrades get dropped, was to lunge at Genjuro with wrathful intent... but the samurai was prepared, as their close proximity allowed him to quickdraw into her stomach, the weapon only coming out partially, but folding her over with a brutal body hit.
He re-sheathed the weapon and undid the knots, freeing his scabbard; at the precise moment Ramon rushed him, he used the scabbard to spin Ramon around and send him stumbling at his 6 o clock, turning around just in time to swing and crack Vanessa's temple with the handle, opening a cut that began bleeding down the side of her face.
Still sheathed, he timed Seth's arrival and jammed it handle-first into his stomach, doubling him over, and he tipped it upwards, cracking him in the chin, finally knocking him across the face with the concealed weapon.
"We don't get paid until that guy goes down!" Big was literally shoving his men forward against their will. "Get out there and bum rush the bastard!"
Choi came flying at Genjuro, and the samurai slightly dipped his head, causing the screaming Korean to sail past. Mickey tried to clock him with a straight right, but Genjuro timed the arrival of his punch and smacked his hand downwards with the handle of the sheathed weapon, the redirection causing Mickey to drop to a knee, and Genjuro jammed the handle into his already-broken nose, reducing the tree-like man to pained whimpers.
Hwa Jai fired a curving elbow strike, and Genjuro brought his scabbard up in defense, metal hitting bone. Hwa Jai yelped in discomfort, and Genjuro smacked him across the face with the tip-end. In an unparalleled feat of mastery, Genjuro flung his scabbard forward, and the weapon stood perfectly vertical; even MORE impressive, he leaped atop the katana handle and stood with perfect balance, before using hit as a stepping stone to vault into Jack Turner's face with a flying kick.
His feet touched the ground again, and he kicked the scabbard into the air... at the precise moment it turned horizontal, he kicked the scabbard into John Crawley's face, dropping him, and the weapon bounced back into Genjuro's hands.
Just when they thought Genjuro couldn't have been more of a nightmare... the samurai flicked his thumb against the handle, exposing inches of the blade to the moonlight... and with one expert motion... he finally drew the blade, in its entirety, free of the scabbard, which he now held, empty, in his other hand.
Things took a turn for the worst, FAST. He spun around, swinging the empty sheath, smashing into Hwa Jai's knee and felling the Thai fighter. He hovered over Jai's body, raised the tip of his sword, and began to bring it down...
...But he sensed Raiden trying to plow into him from behind, and he quickly switched his attack, swinging the empty scabbard and clipping Raiden's ankles out. The fat man took a massive splash, landing facefirst.
Genjuro spun around, and he let the scabbard fly, spiraling into Nakoruru... but the girl held her blade up in defense, and it bounced off her steel. Two hands now on his katana, he turned back around, and focused on the people in front of him: John Crawley and Jack Turner...
SLASH! SLASH!
Genjuro's chi manifested in the most peculiar way: in the shape of large, rectangular cards, adorned with oriental artwork... though his blade sailed through them, reducing them to perfect halves, and the cards faded to oblivion...
...But Jack and John were also recipients of the blade, and they fell to the ground, screaming and spurting fresh blood: John from his shoulder, Jack from the side of his huge belly.
"JESUS HOLY MOTHER...!" Big cursed aloud.
His shimmer now darkened with red, Genjuro's eyes widened with pleasurable madness; his tool of death sailed through the air with a sickening crimson contrail...
SLASH!
Another card appeared, and was severed from top to bottom... it vanished, revealing Vanessa behind it, her white top cut down the middle, and red pooling to the surface...
"VANESSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Seth cried out in furious vengeance.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Ramon flew at Genjuro with a dropkick, striking only metal, as he did a rebounding backflip. He tried to press forward, swinging a forearm, a spinning elbow, a low kick, a sobat... but Genjuro was too fast, able to parry his onslaught of strikes.
Ramon missed with a huge lariat, and their bodies crossed; Genjuro turned his weapon and cracked Ramon in the back of the head with the handle, causing the luchador to stumble away... but not without a parting gift...
SLASH!
He felt the bite of steel across his back, opening up his shirt, and the flesh behind it... he felt the warmth of blood, and his feet leave him...
Seth struck back with the wrath of a leader and a friend. He threw several menacing hooks in Genjuro's direction... but Genjuro swayed his head at each and every one, as the two of them backed up...
...Until Genjuro's foot brushed against his discarded scabbard. With a smile, he dipped his foot under it, and flung it upwards, clocking Seth in the face, and disorienting him just long enough..
SLASH SLASH SLASH SLASH!
Vertical, horizontal, diagonal, diagonal... the card that appeared was cut into eight pieces, fluttering into nothingness... and Seth's body, behind it, was now riddled with fresh cuts, his once-white top now drenched from collar to waist in a fresh coat.
"Urrgh...agghhhh... he groaned weakly as he was the next to collapse.
"LET ME GO!" Mary screeched with angry tears, as she tried her hardest to fight against the grip of Heidern. "YOU BASTARD! LET ME GO! LET ME GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"I can't let you!" Heidern fought her every step. "You'll die!"
"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T F***ING CARE! LET ME GO OR I SWEAR I'LL-"
"Mary... forgive me."
Heidern silenced her with a chop to the neck.
The battle was only getting worse and worse. Choi tried to leap atop Genjuro's head and sink his claws into his neck; Genjuro picked up the little man, slammed him into the concrete, and delivered a stomp to his ribs that was the equivalent of breaking eggshells. Choi immediately coughed up blood and was forced to roll over on his stomach, lest he choke on his own crimson life force.
"HOLD ON LITTLE BUDDY! I GOT HIM!"
Genjuro looked up; Chang's iron ball was sailing at him, at full speed!
With a swing of his sword, Genjuro's superior steel was more than a match, as he knocked the iron ball off-track, causing it to lose its speed and power, and crash into the ground at his feet.
Chang was now soiling himself, as there was no defense between him, and the samurai now charging at him, full speed, his sword aimed above his shoulder, tip-first...!
...Before Chang could utter a single curse word, he felt himself run through. He looked down, and saw nothing but the handle of Genjuro's sword, sank into his chest... and a pool of red seeping through his white attire...
Ssssquelch! Genjuro jerked the sword free of Chang's chest, taking a blood spatter with him, and a single kick finished the job.
His violent gaze fell upon Mickey, Hwa Jai, and Raiden: the last three standing. He rushed them, and the thugs were overcome with a fear so paralyzing, their feet couldn't even recieve the command to turn tail and run!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Three pristine, flawless motions, without a single wasted move... three more of those mystical cards appeared, and were subsequently severed in symmetrical halves... as soon as they faded away, a fountain of blood replaced them.
THUD. THUD. THUD. All three of their bodies hit the floor, Mickey with a deep gash in his thigh, Hwa Jai gushing from his lower calf, and Raiden with a huge diagonal cut across his torso.
At this point, Mr. Big wasn't shitting bricks... he was shitting concrete slabs. The bald kingpin was a flustered mess, fumbling around, bouncing between standing still and turning tail and running. He wanted his money badly... but he sure didn't want to die here.
"No, this can't... you... this can't be... this is not... ARRRRRGH! RYUJI, WILL YOU GET YOUR DICK OUT OF YOUR HAND AND DO SOMETHING?! KILL THIS PRICK!"
Despite all the bloodshed falling around him, Yamazaki still looked as bored as one would waiting in a line. His eyes cut to Big, then to Genjuro, back to Big, to Genjuro, then to the moaning bodies laying all around...
...With a weary sigh, Yamazaki's hand flew from his pocket, fast as a flash, and his knife went sailing with perfect accuracy, aimed directly between Genjuro's eyes...
...Genjuro extended his hand, and caught the blade of the knife, mere inches from his face. He shot a mocking look at Yamazaki, before raising his hand and discarding the knife against the ground.
"...Well, I did something." Yamazaki shrugged.
Rose, at this point, was predictably freaking out. She was cowering behind Hein, all but trying to hide her entire being to his rear. "This is terrible! This is TERRIBLE! C-Commander Heidern sir, what do we do?! None of our fighters stand a chance against that guy!"
With a stressed-out sigh, Heidern measured the remainder of his assets. It was hard to remain a tactician at a time like this, and not let his personal feelings get in the way... but he sucked it up and tried to make a battle plan.
"AI, TO THE SKY! YUKI, LONG-RANGE ATTACK! NAKORURU, IROHA, LEONA, SURROUND HIM! YOU TOO, BIG!"
The bald kingpin, having just witnessed every last one of his men cut down, had a quick and logical answer. "NOPE! Nuh uh! Not on your life, sport!"
Heidern growled. "Don't you even think about turning tail on me, you coward!"
"This isn't worth my life!" Big fired back. "You're on your own! Me and Ryuji are getting the hell out of Dodge!"
"GET BACK HERE...!"
...But it was too late. Big and Yamazaki were rounding up their men, encouraging the ones who could walk, and scooping up the ones who couldn't. Even in the most daring of times... the bald kingpin could be counted on to show his true colors.
"Damned cowardly piece of..." Heidern was now seriously struggling to compose himself. "Lin, can you get in close and poison him? It might be our only chance!"
Despite some head trauma from Lien's knockout shot, Lin resolved himself. "I'll do my best."
Heidern breathed a fatigued sigh, massaging his stressed temple a few times. "Then that's our plan. It's not much but... it's all I got. It's up to you six to take this bastard down... and put an end to this."
With their mission in mind, Leona, Yuki, Ai, Nakoruru, Iroha, and Lin faced down their impossible foe, with the resolve not just to strike down one opponent...but to save the world from cataclysm.
SALVATORGARAGE
Adelheid was fully aware he was in an ambush; he saw at least three bodies present as he looked around the dark room, only illuminated by concentrated beams of light in the center, and the moonlight teasing through outside. But even now, he held no fear; he knew he was more than capable to handle anything at this point. Vendettas, evil ambitions, doomsday cultists... it was all so beneath him now. With his father's inheritance, and his own strength and will... he was the ultimate warrior.
"We haven't had the pleasure of an official introduction." Shion greeted, as he removed his spear from his back and thrust it into the ground beside him. "My name is Shion. I'm the leader of what remains of Those From The Past, an organization of time-travelling immortals, whose singular goal is the resurrection of the One True God."
"Am I supposed to care?" Adelheid shot down his intro. "To me, you're just a petty threat that needs to be squashed."
Shion grinned wide. "I do believe you're intimately familiar with one of our group... Botan."
Upon hearing that name, his eyes intensified. "You're with her?!"
The exposition continued. "Some years back, we were on the verge of a breakthrough; we had almost gathered the necessary materials, and the temperament of humanity was at its most ripe, for the resurrection ceremony to take place. To ensure our success, we used the most popular commercial format in the world- the King of Fighters tournament - to see our goals complete. Saiki ordered us to take control of the proceedings: to manipulate the tournament, thus controlling the masses, to see our end achieved. That's what led to your sister becoming our pawn-"
"STOP RIGHT THERE." Adel cut him off.
Shion knew he was getting under Adel's skin, and he loved it. "Hahahahahaha! You can't pretend like it didn't happen, boy! From what I hear, we got incredibly close to victory... I wasn't there to see it, nor was I there to see Saiki's downfall, and the rest of our group. I'm just here to pick up the pieces; to lead on, where they left off. There are ways to tip the scales of nature and humanity, to complete the process: it all starts with you dying here."
"So where's Botan hiding?" Adelheid interrogated.
Shion's face twisted. "D-did you hear anything I just said?!"
"Yeah, and I don't care." Adelheid shut it down. "I don't care about your evil plots, or your organization, or any of that CRAP! All I care about is my sister... so if I were you, I'd bring out Botan and let me give her a solid thrashing, and then you guys be on your way!"
"You... you petulant little bastard! I'll slash you and your freak sister to pieces!" Shion snarled back. "You forget... I beat you in Round 1!"
Adelheid gave the slightest of smirks as he took his fighting stance. "Hah... I'm not nearly the same guy you fought days ago. You're out of your league here."
"I HOPE YOUR AFFAIRS ARE IN ORDER! SHROOM! RIMELO!"
Adelheid's head darted; he forgot he wasn't the only one in the room!
Before he had a chance to locate them, a pair of weapons soared through the air; Shion caught them in his hands and stood at the ready with them: a pair of kama, modified farming sickles, re-purposed for combat.
"No spear?" Adel smirked.
Shion frowned. "I've mastered every weapon on this miserable planet... I'll find the suitable one to end you with! NOW COME ON!"
ODEONSPLATZ
Back on the blood-stained asphalt of the square... their bodies continued to lay, all of them too wounded to move, and definitely unable to fight. A sense of frustration and helplessness engulfed them all, as they were forced to watch on as the brave few held the line.
Though a curious question remained...
"Urrrgh..." Seth winced, as he tried desperately to extend even a single hand. He had received a plethora of cuts, none lethal, but enough to incapacitate him and crush the notion of mounting an offense. All this fallen leader could do was try to round up his squad, and check their well-being.
"V...Vanessa...!" Seth gave up trying to reach out for her, and just called her name. "Vanessa speak to me!"
Her closed eyes shot open with newfound life, and she tried to stir... but she quickly realized moving was a painful endeavor, as an excrutiating rush flared up in the fresh vertical gash on her torso.
"Ahhh son of a bitch!" Vanessa cried out. "This is the worst f***ing pain I've ever felt...!"
Ralf and Clark, who were nearby, attempting to put pressure on their side wounds, slowly crawled their way over to the others, to regroup.
"I don't get it." Ralf grunted between wincing expressions. "Why are we still alive? He could have easily ended all of us. He..."
"He's mocking us."
Seth provided the answer to this inquiry. "He's saying our lives aren't worthy of his steel. I have a feeling, if this guy's anything like Haohmaru... he's got his own romantic ideals when it comes to swinging his sword. I doubt he's here for money."
"He's here to cut down a worthy opponent." Clark pieced together the conclusion. "I guess none of us fit the bill..."
Their analysis of the situation was abruptly cut short, as a name cried out that all of them had momentarily forgotten.
"Oh shit, RAMON!" Vanessa called out. "I don't see him anywhere. Do you?"
Seth shook his head. "I saw him go down, but I passed out for a hot minute. He couldn't have moved... not with that wound."
"He's... he just vanished!" Ralf reinforced the supernatural theory.
"If he's missing, then he's still alive." Seth assured. "He wouldn't have ran away, even if he could. We'll find him later... somehow... urrrgh..."
Despite being outnumbered, Genjuro held his own perfectly. He lunged forward, both hands on his katana, and let loose a deep vertical slash; Leona dipped left to dodge it, and Genjuro spun around with a wide horizontal slash behind it. She just barely managed to roll under it, and she was forced to scramble on the ground to dodge the third overhead slash. Before she could properly get to her feet, however, Genjuro sent her on her way with a punt to the stomach.
He looked to the distance... a blue flash!
BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM! Yuki fired his blue wrist guns, peppering Genjuro with a flurry of his ballistic projectile. He fired at a fast, steady rate...
...But he saw only sparks, as the impacts pinged off of Genjuro's blade. The samurai parried each and every shot with impeccable reflexes.
Genjuro finally swung his sword upwards, sending out another of those cards that manifested his chi: this time as a projectile, as the bright pink card soared towards Yuki and the agent was forced to cease fire to avoid it.
But that wasn't the end of the long-range assault; Genjuro was aware he had an aerial opponent, and she was dropping some interesting ordinance, in the shape of colorful tetrominos.
A straight red one. A squiggly green one. A blue cube-shaped one. The shapes fell from the heavens and crashed with a big impact, but Genjuro's footwork allowed him to avoid the abnormal rain...and he put his sword to use, cutting NEW shapes.
Finally, a purple L-shaped one tried to come down on him from above; Genjuro rolled at the opportune moment, drew his scabbard, and flung it into the sky.
"Owww!" Ai was struck in the forehead by it, and she lost control of her balloon, as it sailed into the nearest building and was disintegrated. The gamer girl had to slide along the building a bit to soften her fall before she tumbled back to the ground.
Genjuro raised his weapon, as he anticipated the next opponents: two girls that he had some history with.
"Genjuro-san, please don't do this!" Nakoruru pleaded with him, as she readied her short blade.
Iroha also tried to break through. "What do you hope to accomplish by this, Genjuro-san? Is it worth the price that will be paid?"
Surprisingly, for the first time since the beginning of his path of destruction... Genjuro ceased. He even went as far as to lower his weapon, to address the girls properly.
He spoke for the first time.
"You two... shouldn't be here." his voice only teased the faintest hint of compassion. "Leave now, or your blood will be next to stain the ground."
"We're not going!" Iroha countered.
"We're trying to protect the world!" Nakoruru appealed. "You should be too! You don't know what's going to happen-"
"I don't care." Genjuro's voice grew fiercer. "If the lord God or Buddha stands before me... they will be cut. My purpose is to fight... to kill. To quench the thirst of my blade with the blood of a worthy opponent. None of you fit that description. Especially you, Nakoruru... I have no desire to cut you down, among anybody. But to stand here, in my way, is the epitome of foolishness."
'"You're just here to sate your bloodlust!" Nakoruru admonished. "Why here? Why us?"
"I've killed 399 people with this sword." Genjuro presented his stained weapon, glistening in the spots that were still silver. "I don't know how I ended up here in this time period... but I take it as a sign of fate. I was meant to be put here, meant to seek out opponent #400 and test the limits of my skill in a fight to the death. Pah... but I see you all here, and none of you have aroused my hunger by a speck. Only the black one, with pale skin... he would have been a fine opponent."
"I knew it." Ai chimed in, from her grounded position, held in Yuki's arms. "Genjuro and Haohmaru are two sides of the same coin. Hopeless romantics, the both of them!"
Leona returned to her feet, stepping in between the two other girls. "If a worthy opponent is all you want... why not go after Haohmaru?"
Genjuro smirked. "Heh. Haohmaru can wait. I'll always, ALWAYS be training, preparing myself, to strike him down. Maybe he'll be the 500th. The 600th. The 1000th. To kill Haohmaru will be my greatest accomplishment, and my ultimate pleasure... so I'm content to savor it longer."
"Th-then you're stuck with us in the meantime!" Iroha brandished her swords.
Genjuro's face hardened. "So bet it."
Nakoruru rolled at his feet to throw him off, attempting to slash his leg, but Genjuro dipped his sword low at the right moment to block it. He used his strength to shove her back, and spun around just in time to dodge a swing from Iroha. The crane maid spun around with a second hit, and Genjuro easily parried it with one hand, before rolling his wrist and sending her off-balance. A kick to her chest sent her away, and Genjuro turned his attention to Yuki, who fired off three more shots from his wrist guns. Genjuro deflected the shots, and took a huge swing at Yuki, but the agent rolled under his sword and the samurai whiffed wide.
...This was his chance! Lin lunged in, fist drawn back, fist coursing with his venomous chi...
..But Genjuro was wise to it, and the hand only made it inches from his face, before Genjuro seized his wrist in a crushing grip.
"I'm wise to your cowardly tricks!" Genjuro mocked, before turning his arm downwards and flinging Lin to the ground. He brought his foot down on the back of Lin's head... silencing him.
"Dammit...!" Heidern cursed.
"Nothing's working!" Rose wailed. "NOTHING'S WORKIIING! Oh god we're gonna die. We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die! Brother! Somebody! H-hey you, why are you just standing there? DO SOMETHING!"
Rose pointed to the now-conscious Kukri, who was standing a couple feet away. The hooded man casually shrugged.
"Hey, don't look at me. I was just here looking for poon tang."
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Yuki jettisoned himself towards Genjuro and landed a punch, square on his jaw, the first hit connected against the menacing samurai. Genjuro stumbled back, using his sword as a crutch to stop himself from falling.
Ai came in with her baseball bat, attempting to follow up on their success. "BATTTER UUU...ahh?!"
She swung; Genjuro's sword was there to stop it, and the samurai spun around with a swift slash, chopping the weapon down to the nub.
"Oh... crap."
Genjuro double-handed his weapon and lunged, unleashing a picture perfect, tree-severing diagonal slash... the only thing that saved Ai was her forcefield, as it stopped the brunt of the power, but still was destroyed by the attack. She was left unharmed, but stumbled back and fell on her butt out of shock.
Yuki tried to soar at him again... but he walked right into a brutal knee to the body, sapping him of his momentum, and Genjuro decked him in the face with the handle, laying him out.
Iroha tried a double-overhead swing, but Genjuro held his weapon horizontal and stopped both blades at once. He shoved back hard, sending Iroha into a stumble... and a spinning kick to her face dropped her as well.
Nakoruru leaped at him with a thrust; Genjuro juked left, and her body passed by him. She spun around with a backhanded slash, but again struck his much more impressive steel. Genjuro rolled his wrist and dipped low, clipping out the much smaller girl's legs with a swing of his arm.
Genjuro raised the sword, and prepared to bring it down on her...
"STOP!"
The blade never reached Nakoruru, as Genjuro halted his attack to see who had called him out. He turned his attention away from her completely; his gaze instead rested on the face of the blue-haired soldier, who still remained, after everyone else had fallen.
Leona's face withheld none of her fury, as her eyes alone could tell of her tenacity. "I'M SICK OF ALL THIS! You want to face a worthy opponent? THEN FACE ME! ONE ON ONE!"
Heidern's heart skipped more than a few beats when he heard that. "Leona, no...!"
Genjuro removed himself from the recent fallen opponents, eyeing her up and down. "Hah... you think you're worthy to be my 400th? I will admit, there's something in you that... intrigues me... but you don't look like much."
Leona's expression grew fiercer. "I have more power than you can possible imagine. You haven't seen anything yet!"
Upon hearing that, Heidern knew what she was implying, and he stepped in with haste. "LEONA, NO! YOU CAN'T! I... I ORDER YOU TO STAND DOWN!"
Leona spun around with defiance. "I know what I'm doing, fa... H-Heidern!"
Heidern swung his arm. "No, you don't! You remember what happened last year?! I won't allow it!"
"I'm ready this time!" Leona argued back. "I've been training myself to control it... to retain my discipline, and command it at will! I've learned so much in one year... I know I can do this!"
"It's too dangerous!" Heidern fired back. "Too unpredictable! I won't allow it! I'm giving you a direct order-"
"I'm sorry sir..." she cut him off. "Throw me in the stockade if you see fit... but I must defy your orders."
Heidern took a step back, his face... lost. A mixture of confusion, anger at the whole situation, but most of all... fear. The same fear that gripped his heart last year, when she tore into that Rugal clone.
"Leona... you damn crazy fool..." Heidern's voice had no more fight. "Please be careful."
SALVATORGARAGE
Shion was sent skidding back by a well-placed side kick, struggling to get into range with his short weapons. He persisted, twirling his hands in a dizzying motion to try and throw Adel off; the Bernstein man fired another side kick, but Shion dodged it and tried to come across his throat with the first slash. Adel swayed his head, then was forced to jump back to avoid the second slash towards his torso. Shion doubled his motions, swinging right-left in succession, mixing it up mid to high. Adelheid was only in danger of the second hit, and he juked to avoid it, firing back with a counter roundhouse that didn't generate enough power to do damage.
Shion was still on him. He dipped low, swiping across Adel's ankles, and the Bernstein man leaped back and was put on his back foot, as Shion spun around and swiped with both sickles successively, going reverse with the right and forward with the left. The right just barely whizzed past Adel's stomach, and the Bernstein boy was forced to catch Shion's wrist to stop the left. In a contest of strength, Adel easily prevailed, and he slung Shion into the nearest parked vehicle.
"Ungh!" Shion grunted as his back hit the door hard, enough to knock off the side mirror. He recovered... but his eyes widened with horror as a silver streak came soaring at him, and he just barely dived out of the way.
"HaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Adel's leg cut a terrifying swath with his G Cross... and the car that was sitting there now resided in nearly two halves, as his leg cleaved through almost the entirety of the vehicle.
Shion retreated. Looking down at his weapons, he realized kama weren't doing the trick. With a disgusted grunt, he tossed them aside and held his arm in the air. "GUAN DAO!"
As if his voice command automated the process, a light polearm weapon sailed through the darkness, and landed in his hands perfectly. Adel barely had time to dodge the first strike, as Shion came charging at him with the wide, sickle-like tip aimed forward. Their bodies crossed perpendicular, and Shion spun around quickly with a low swipe; Adel jumped with both fet to dodge, and Shion spun around again, attempting a mid slash... but Adel extended his foot and stopped the weapon mid-swing, slamming the brakes on the attack, and Shion was forced to spin the opposite direction to continue, attempting to come across his torso. Adelheid backflipped to dodge it, and Shion spun around once more, twirling the weapon, and swung with a horizontal slash that could slice his throat open...!
...But Adel's instincts proved too quick again, and he rolled forward, underneath the attack, emerging behind Shion. A kick to his vertebrae sent Shion into an uncontrollable forward stumble, and the Chinese warrior used his guan dao as a crutch to stop himself.
Shion turned to face Adel again, and charged; using the weapon as a pole vault, Shion launched himself in the air, for one tremendous attack, coming down on Adel with a huge overhead slash!
CLANG! Adel sidestepped just in time, and the guan dao struck concrete. With a growl, Adel raised his foot...
...and he brought it down on the weapon, snapping the tip off like a pencil.
"Hngh?!" Shion, astonished, smacked him in the forearm with the pole and backed away. Looking at his weapon, his face curled, and he tossed it away as well.
Adelheid attempted to strike him with a lunging front kick; this proved a slight error, as Shion dodged the telegraphed attack, just in time to extend his hand and catch his next weapon: a traditional Chinese broadsword. Before Adelheid had time to notice, Shion had already spun around... and Adel felt his first blood of the fight drawn, as a gash opened up across his bicep.
"Ngh...!"
Shion twirled the sword expertly with one wrist, and sent two swipes towards Adel's face; they were dodged, and Shion spun around and went airborne with a huge vertical slash, that left his base nearly to the ground. Adelheid had to backpedal HARD to dodge this one. As he retreated, his hand unconsciously shot to his arm, to grip the trickling wound that was flaring up...
Shion came forward in a ready stance, his sword waist level, the blade aimed upward, his other hand open to balance his weight. Swinging the broadsword so tremendously required expert balance...
...But he was a pro for a reason. Shion leaped through the air, doing a twirl, and he came down on Adel with another vertical slash. The young man dodged it and tried to counter with a kick, but Shion rolled under it and tried to spin around with a wide horizontal stroke. Adel backpedaled just in time, but Shion spun around, twirling his weapon, and he swung low at Adel's leg.
"Agghhh...!" Adel winced as he felt his flesh open up once more; the wounds from earlier in the week had been healing well, but this proved to re-exacerbate those gruesome injuries. Before long, Adel felt a steady stream of warmth, flowing down his thigh, coating his leg slick. He felt his stance start to slightly waver... but he remembered what was at stake, and steeled himself.
Shion stared down at his leg... and his lips curled with glee.
"Hehehehehe..."
With a deranged smile, Shion casually extended his free hand into the distance... to Adel's surprise, another sword came out of nowhere, landing in his grip!
Adelheid silently cursed; no doubt, there was some mysterious weapon supplier, hiding in the room, tossing him instruments at will. Could it be Botan?! He had to survive long enough to find out...
...And that meant squashing this cretin.
With two identical broadswords in hand, Shion got much bolder with his theatrics, twirling the swords in his hands, crossing them, spinning around and leaping, with a stylistic finish. He was clearly showing off. He finally settled into a combat stance, with one sword aimed outwards, tip-first, and the other standing ready above his head.
"I've been preparing for this rematch all week." Shion expressed his resolve. "I'm going to torture you slowly and painfully, with a thousand cuts... until you finally beg me to deliver the final blow."
Adelheid felt his leg slightly wobble; he straightened it back out. His arm was nagging him with a nipping pain; he aired it out a few times, rotating to get the proper blood flow. He returned to his combat stance, no further deterred than when he started.
"You can come at me with a thousand weapons," he threatened. "I'll break them all like wooden trinkets."
So, for the record... obviously I've fabricated Genjuro's backstory here. I'm not sure what his motivation is beyond killing Haoh, or how many people he's even killed. Maybe he's killed more than 399, I dunno. I'm just trying to tell a cool story. Kumite has never been close to canon-consistent xD
NEXT CHAPTER: Leona is the last one to stand against the fearsome Genjuro. Will she succeed in her biggest gamble yet? Or will she take things too far? Will Adelheid be able to stand up to a rejuvenated Shion, who has mastered every weapon style and has plenty to spare? FIND OUT NEXT TIME, IN THE CONCLUSION TO THE SQUARE WAR! : D
But first... a little BONUS SCENE for your troubles! Folks, you don't wanna miss this one. Be ready with a "Welcome Back" cake!
BONUS SCENE
He couldn't feel his feet; that last attack must have paralyzed him. Great, he was going to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. No more missions. No more adventures. No more feeling the touch of a woma-
...Wait. This wasn't right. He was in tremendous pain. He felt like he was being bounced around the back of a pickup truck. He wasn't paralyzed!
He opened his good eye; he wasn't even on the ground. He saw the asphalt going by in a blur, as well as his arms hanging down, with no control of his own.
He heard the rhythmic clacking of footsteps.
He was... being carried. By a pair of black... boots...?!
He knew immediately who those boots belonged to. Someone strong enough to carry him on her back.
"Ugh...urrgh... Angel...! Is that... you?!"
A female voice answered back, and laid his doubts to rest.
"What the hell's going on here, Ramon? I leave you alone for one minute, and you let yourself get punked by some cabrón."
He wanted to smile. Obviously, he was in too much pain to do that, or much of anything, so he replied the best he could.
"Chaos... in the city... the usual shit... urgh.. w-we... we gotta go back...!"
"Out of the question."
"N-no! My friends... they're in danger! W-we gotta...!"
"I'm not going to let you die, Ramon. You can hate me, curse me, call me a selfish bitch if that makes you feel better... but I've made peace with who I am now. So you can just shut up and accept it."
He wanted to raise a more vocal protest... but he felt fatigue wash over him, and his words left him. He closed his eye, and found himself fading back into sleep.