Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword
A Yuyu Hakusho/Rurouni Kenshin fic
by Chester Castañeda
Original concept by Chad Yang
I would just like to briefly note that you, the reader, are about to witness the results of the Shisejyu's intense training. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho the anime, the manga and its many video game incarnations are the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, Namco, Sega/Treasure and St. Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki and Sony. Street Fighter 3 is the property of Capcom. Last Blade and Samurai Sbodown are the property of SNK Playmore. Don't sue me please. I'm very poor.
Chapter 6: Heart of Sword (Part 6)
A deafening explosion of luminosity and power burned across the whole length of the dojo, completely disintegrating columns and walls like they were made out of cheap cardboard and brittle clay.
"But of course. This is your most powerful technique: the Rei-Gan."
The comet-like inferno of scorched through Rando's vision as it streaked through the air. Debris from falling plaster and wood shards danced around in a vortex-like fashion, the tempestuous Rei-Gan sucking everything in a fiery spiral of death.
"But it's hardly the most powerful technique of all time." Rando then chanted, "Kyuuketsuki Kakutou Ryu: INNER BLOOD TURMOIL!" Immediately, a crimson energy field quickly surrounded him and, as the Rei-Gan made contact with him, the projectile instantly dissipated.
Yusuke palmed his face. "Shit, not that technique again."
"I have more where that came from. I've learned my lesson from our last battle. I will now show you all ninety-nine... no, a hundred and one of my tricks!" Rando boasted, correcting himself at the last minute as he remembered his recently acquisitioned Jigen Tou and the technique he adopted from Yusuke, the You-Gan.
Yusuke bared his teeth, seething openly at Rando, but no words escaped his mouth as he fumed in pain and anger.
"Before, I could only use one or two of my techniques at a time. But now, because of the power donated to my by the Chojin, I can finally make use of all my techniques!" Rando spectacularly avowed as he summoned his Jigen Tou, ready to face Yusuke in closed-quarter combat as well as a projectile war. "You seem uncharacteristically silent, Urameshi. You should be shooting your mouth off by this time. What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
At last, Yusuke spoke. "So you think you're all that? The special attack Yomi used in the Makai Tournament knocked the wind out of me. Your attack just ruined my clothes! Don't you get it? You're a pathetic loser! The only reason you're still alive is because I have a fucking shoulder wound and you don't! So stop bullshitting and give me everything that you've got already!"
Rando sputtered a bit before raising his Jigen Tou over his head and replying, "Damn you, Urameshi! I'll show you..."
Before long, the demon realized that he was talking to thin air.
Half of a second later, Yusuke took hold of Rando's Dimensional Sword, broke it in half, and stabbed the demon with the stolen weapon in one breath.
Genkai gripped her shoulder tightly in an effort to stop its profuse bleeding. Byakko really surprised her with his last attack. "That's quite a high-level technique you've got there. I didn't expect that you had it in you to do such a thing."
Byakko bared his teeth in response. "So you only consider me as a C-level demon, old hag?"
Genkai chuckled as she shook her head. "Not unless you could give me a decent fight with that iron arm of yours." She afterwards gave her opponent a 'come hither' gesture with her hand.
Byakko snorted as he executed his second attack, the Byakko Shu, and stampeded forward with a titanium-hard shoulder tackle. Genkai easily evaded the powerful charging technique with a quick and easy handspring. 'Charging forward like that with an attack that one can see a mile away? How disappointing. Perhaps this Shisejyu is really nothing more than a Class-C creature.'
Genkai was subsequently blindsided by Byakko's follow-up midair kick, the Byakko Shu Tsuika, and was unable to turn in time. The old woman flew a good few meters away from her opponent as parts of her garments were ripped and torn apart by the dirt-laden ground. Half a second later, she crashed into one of Seiryu's scattered ice blocks with tremendous force.
It took Genkai quite a bit before she regained her senses. She drew ragged breaths as she contemplated the situation. 'I didn't expect that maneuver at all. Even his kick hits like a hammer. I thought that his only advantage was that iron arm of his. I was wrong. He was able to use the momentum of his tackle to add leverage to that kick of his. He's no amateur. He's really proving himself to be a formidable foe.'
Above Genkai and Byakko, the Harbinger of Death star twinkled and shone right below the Big Dipper constellation, waiting ever so patiently to claim yet another victim.
'Is tonight a good night to die? Is this beast truly going to be my death?' Genkai pondered as she shook her head to clear it. 'I have seen the Harbinger of Death only twice in my life. The first time, I was able to escape its clutches, but the people of Nagasaki didn't. The second time, Toguro was able to finish me off. What will happen now? One thing is for sure, though; someone's going to die.'
"Stand up," Byakko grunted. "Don't let it end like this. Stand up and take your punishment in full."
"Amazing. Your iron arm technique is in another level altogether, but your own body is doing its best to compensate and keep up with such power. Where'd you learn such a technique?" Genkai inquired curiously.
Byakko growled as he began his assault anew, stabbing his Kaiwan outward. An overwhelming blast of pure energy soon erupted from his open palm. This was the explosive Retsu Hoko.
'His body is releasing large amounts of jaki,' Genkai surmised as she struggled to protect herself from the explosive waves of erratic power. 'I cannot counter this with the Rei-Kou-Kyou-Han-Shyo. Byakko will just absorb the energy and counterattack with a Mei-Ko-Shou-Kai-Ha.' The elderly martial artist's eyes brightened up as she smirked. 'Let's try a different tactic, then.'
Ignoring the shooting pain from her shoulder, Genkai hurtled herself with a shoulder tackle similar to the Shisejyu's Byakko Shu. The attack hit home with a sickening wet crunch.
'Foolish woman. She's attacking in a manner that adds more injury to herself,' Byakko reflected, snorting in disdain as he extricated his fingers from Genkai's bleeding and shattered shoulder, only to discover that the blood that was splattered on Genkai was his own. The Shisejyu yowled in agony as he tried desperately to mend his dislocated fingers.
"HIRYU KYAKU!"
Moments later, the Sacred Beast's gaping mouth was slammed shut care of a powerful Flying Dragon Kick on his chin. Several of his molars and fangs shattered upon impact.
"Even though your arm muscles are now as hard as steel, your joints and bones aren't. Keep that in mind in your next attack," Genkai taunted. "Did you enjoy that kick? My Supine Kick Kougeki isn't my only effective physical attack. I have more where that came from."
"Irritating," Byakko spat as he spewed out blood and bits of tooth on the ground. He again stabbed his bloody hand forward.
'Using a technique twice, even though I've already devised a countermeasure against it? Strange,' Genkai thought as she dashed forward with another shoulder tackle.
The aged martial artist's eyes went wide in shock.
'It's a different technique!' Genkai thought as she struggled to halt her momentum. 'No good. I can't stop!'
Byakko snatched and lifted Genkai in midair, his large and bloody fingers choking the Spirit Light Wave Master. Then, with a mighty roar, the Shisejyu slammed the old woman on the ground with full force. Thus was the power of the Zetsu Hoko.
Unfortunately for the holy beast, Genkai avoided bodily harm by landing feet-first just as she was hurled on the ground. She then extricated the feline monster's bleeding fingers from her neck, causing further injury to him.
Frustration. The old, imp-like human was beginning to grate on Byakko's nerves. Why wouldn't she die? Even with the gifts that the Chojin had given to him, he still couldn't defeat the old, decrepit bitch.
Anger. It wasn't fair. He was supposed to be far stronger than he was before. More powerful, even. Was he going to be beaten by a weak human again? Was he going to show his wretchedness and weakness once more?
Hatred. Hatred soon consumed the dark heart of Byakko; destructive, vicious hatred that threatened to overwhelm him, making him numb of all pain and of everything. His hatred was all that mattered. He quickly became a devastating, mindless behemoth that would go to great lengths just to sate the hate burning inside of him.
'This jaki I'm feeling; it's incredible!' Genkai reflected in near panic. 'This Byakko is producing ridiculous amounts of jaki! I was right about my assessment before. He's practically a negative energy magnet. But how? How could he produce so much evil energy by himself?'
Byakko grappled Genkai with both hands this time, the Sacred Beast's eyes feral and lacking of pupils. He didn't even bother to grunt or growl as he began executing one of the most powerful maneuvers of the Byakko's Claw: the diamond-smashing Kongo Sai.
Genkai was again heedlessly flung to the ground. This time, because she had no leverage, she crashed helplessly onto the earth, bits of debris and stone pelting all around her. The old woman coughed and choked amidst the settling dust.
Afterwards, before Genkai could react, she was yet again lifted and slammed on ground. This was Byakko's follow-up move, the first Kai. The elderly fighter felt several of her bones crack and snap against the pressure.
Byakko once more lifted up the half-unconscious Genkai as he stomped his foot on the ground, making it buckle and crack into a mass of spikes. A nasty, maniacal grin appeared on the Shisejyu's face briefly as he started to execute the final Kai.
Finally, the duo of Goro Fujita and Kazuma Kuwabara arrived at the foot of the seemingly serene mountain, the stairs leading to Genkai's temple well in sight.
"Well, it looks like we've finally made it, Officer Fujita," Kuwabara respectfully noted as he eyed his strange companion warily; as guardedly as one would watch a dangerous viper. "Shall we...?"
"Yes," Fujita answered as he took a drag from his cigarette.
Both occupants of the well-traveled black Honda Accord suddenly stopped and paused in mild surprise and shock as they both felt a dark and sinister presence emanate in their psyche.
Fujita smirked darkly as Kuwabara shivered reflexively. "Did you feel that?"
Kuwabara nodded slowly. "What the hell was that?"
Fujita chuckled ominously. "Jaki."
"N-Negative energy?" Kuwabara hesitantly reiterated. "Why would there be jaki here? Dammit, that's the same kind of power the Meikai bastards used!" The carrot-topped boy paused again as he looked at Fujita suspiciously. He sighed. "Ah, what the hell am I thinking? You certainly don't look like an agent of the Meikai." He reconsidered what he said as he scratched his chin contemplatively. "On the other hand..."
Fujita merely raised an eyebrow as he got out of the automobile. "Get rid of such silly thoughts. There's no need to concern ourselves with nonsense." Afterwards, he sinisterly grinned as he made his way to the car's trunk.
"Hey, what have you got back there?" Kuwabara curiously inquired as he followed Fujita, only to yelp, "WHOAH! What the hell are you doing with a katana!? Where the hell is your gun, for Enma's sake?" moments later.
"I assure you, this isn't standard issue," Fujita creepily joked as he slipped the sheathed weapon into his belt. "But, as you know, when dealing with ghouls and bogeymen, a Human World gun is next to useless. The only weapon you could really rely on during such encounters is a good old-fashioned katana. It's especially efficient with decapitations."
"Heh. You're quite the joker, Officer Fujita."
"Who said that I was joking?"
"..."
Kuwabara gulped as he unconsciously gripped his throat. True, the young man had done his own share of 'decapitations', but the way Officer Fujita described it...
The younger Kuwabara shivered yet again. The lean-looking policeman was undoubtedly one of the most disturbing people he had ever met.
Fujita merely smirked, cigarette in hand as he motioned Kuwabara to follow him towards the long staircase. "C'mon. It's a long way up."
Genkai fought against the darkness that threatened to engulf her as Byakko lifted her high up in the air. 'This grappling technique of his; part of its deadliness comes from the fact that attacks can be chained with it!' She heard the ground buckle and break underneath Byakko's feet. The sound filled her with uncertainty and dread.
The former champion of the Ankoku Bujutsukai quickly focused all of her concentration on her blurry vision. She struggled to make out and decipher the protruding, hazy shapes she saw on the ground; soon, comprehension dawned on her.
With a mighty roar, Byakko threw the old woman onto the spiky ground as the saint demon carried out the final Kai.
Pure desperation was what forced Genkai to do the "REI-KOU-DAN!" just as she was about to get impaled by the rocky, stony spikes. The move instantaneously incinerated the barbed stones. The subsequent explosion was strong enough for Byakko to relinquish his hold on the aged martial artist.
Genkai painfully rolled away from Byakko as parts of her skin and a tuft of her hair went missing after her forceful extrication from the white tiger's grip. As she stood up, she realized something was amiss. 'Oh no.'
The Kiyodai Ka technique easily absorbed the reiki that surrounded Byakko. Pinpoints of electric energy entered Byakko's fanged maw in a manner reminiscent to how Yusuke charges up his Rei-Gan. The lively reiki was soon changed and distorted into potent youki that mixed with the intoxicating jaki inside the sacred beast's body. It was a chaotic cocktail of hatred and death.
"MEI-KO-SHOU-KAI-HA!" Byakko shouted as a raging blast the size of a house disintegrated the entire mountain landscape.
Seiryu felt it; the incredible amount of jaki that his beastly Shisejyu companion had released. 'It seems that Byakko's fight with the old woman has risen an ante or two.'
The dragon-like sacred beast scowled. 'Deluded fools. Byakko, most especially. He's just a passionate idiot who happened to have an affinity for negative energy. A wonderful gift wasted on such a simplistic buffoon. What a pity. Personally, I think this 'jaki' thing is overrated.'
He smirked as he stroked the black hair of his newest victim. 'On the other hand, jaki did manage to rescue us Shisejyu from the lowest depths of Hell. Also, the amount of strength that the Chojin gained from negative energy is astounding, to say the least. I want the same sort of strength, and I shall have it. After all, the only thing I need to acquire such force is to find a focal point for it; an avatar, if you will.'
Seiryu gazed deeply into Keiko Yukimura's bottomless, black eyes as he chuckled maliciously.
Byakko admired his handiwork with glee. Most of the mountain's peak had been leveled thanks to his last, incredible attack. 'That was one of the largest and most powerful Mei-Ko-Shou-Kai-Ha I had ever used.' The white tiger smirked. 'I even had to use a portion of my jaki to increase the destructive force of the blast. That old imp really gave me a hard time. I almost enjoyed that fight.'
The Shisejyu gave a mock salute at the place where Genkai had stood. "That was a good fight. You were a great warrior. Rest in peace, you old bitch."
"Who are you calling an old bitch?"
Byakko sneered as he swung his head wildly toward the origin of the voice, only to stare in dumbstruck awe at the apparition before him.
A young girl who didn't look to be any older than fourteen now stood amidst the dirt, dust, and debris. "I'm nobody's bitch," she daringly stated. Most of what she wore was ripped and torn, but her outfit was still unmistakably the same as Genkai's.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Byakko straightforwardly asked, eyeing his surroundings warily lest Genkai suddenly came back from the dead and snuck behind him while he was distracted by the girl. Was she one of the old crone's disciples? He wasn't quite sure. "Run away, child. This is no place for the likes of you."
Instead of doing what was she was told, the girl walked towards the imposing beast.
Byakko looked at the girl in mild confusion and annoyance. He thoughtlessly swatted the child, but to his surprise, she merely somersaulted away from the assault.
"Still don't recognize me? Perhaps this will refresh your memory," the girl said as she reversed her momentum and did a familiar move on the large youkai.
Just like a pig that suddenly found itself airborne, Byakko gawked in shock and disbelief as he flew up into the sky despite his enormous girth. The Supine Kick Kougeki was a force to be reckoned with indeed.
"You...!" Byakko raged once he finally landed from his unceremonious flight.
The young girl smirked. "You're not the only one with an energy absorption technique. You've released so much ki from your little technique that it literally rejuvenated me. It's rare that for me to use this revivification technique nowadays, but you've proven yourself to be quite the fighter worthy enough for it. Now, come at me with everything that you've got."
The White Tiger Shisejyu merely grunted as he charged at the younger and livelier Genkai.
"Hey... HEY! DON'T YOU DARE TURN YOUR BACK ON ME! Y-You... didn't even finish me off, you coward! Take me seriously, dammit! I AM NOT THE WEAKEST OF THE SHISEJYU!" Genbu shouted pathetically, his mask of bravado slipping as his voice cracked and choked. Unfortunately, his appeals fell on deaf ears.
Kenshin shut his eyes as he started to walk away from Genbu, feeling deep remorse over what had happened. 'I didn't mean to humiliate you so, Genbu-dono, but what needs to be done has to be done. This lowly one does hope that someday you'll find your own path to glory and greatness. But for now, this fight is over.'
Genbu gritted his teeth as an image of a whip-wielding, crimson-uniformed redhead superimposed itself against Kenshin's form.
"IGNORE ME, WILL YOU?! Well, I will soon teach you to fear the name of GENBU! Ushiro-Bakuretsu-Ganshou-Dan: TETSUZAN KOU!"
Kenshin eyes went wide as he felt youki well up anew in his Shisejyu opponent's shattered body. 'That technique is the one that he used on Yusuke-dono earlier! At the time, it caused bits and pieces of the ground to reform into one gigantic mound. Could it be that...?' He turned towards his enemy's direction and confirmed his suspicions.
Almost immediately, the bits and pieces of Genbu's shattered body reformed and reconstituted themselves. After a moment, his body was whole again. Genbu gave the former hitokiri his characteristic sneer.
Kenshin drew the Youto Shinnoken from its sheath once more. "I already warned you. I don't have time to play with you, Genbu-dono. I still have to find and rescue Keiko-dono and Botan..."
"SHUT UP!" Genbu spat. Satisfied that that worked, the tortoise-like saint demon continued, "I'm sick and tired of your over-politeness and unassuming behavior. It sickens me to the very pits of my soul. For being such a complete and total wimp, I'm going to punish you tenfold, samurai!"
Kenshin watched in fascination as Genbu's outer shell acquired a gray sheen to it. The swordsman narrowed his eyes; sure enough, he was able to make out glistening metallic particles that surrounded the large youkai, which coated its stony body with...
"...Iron!" Kenshin couldn't help but exclaim.
Genbu's broken teeth morphed into a sinister grin as he melded with the ground and charged at the erstwhile rurouni.
Byakko let out a prodigious howl as he performed the Byakko Sou, slashing quickly with his Kaiwan. Genkai, on her part, didn't even flinch as her enemy's iron arm descended upon her person. Then, with a half-angelic, half-devilish smirk, she announced:
"ABARE-HIRYU!"
Several repetitious clangs resounded from Byakko's Kaiwan as Genkai's flurry of blows kept his metallic arm at bay. Then, she aimed her fists at the ground, causing it to buckle and break under her offensive. A column of dust temporarily blinded the saint demon, which gave the young lady an opportunity to throw in a flying kick at his head. From there, she flipped over the youkai, landing several feet behind him.
Byakko snarled as he whirled around and stuck his hand forward, letting out a fearsome blast from his Retsu Hoko attack.
'Like before, it's too dangerous to use the Rei-Kou-Kyou-Han-Shyo against Byakko's blast of energy,' Genkai contemplated as the surge of power literally ripped apart the landscape. She grinned. 'I'm becoming too precautious in my old age. I should be more adventurous. If I die today, then I today. Whatever.'
"REI-KOU-KYOU-HAN-SHYO!" the teenaged Genkai shouted excitedly as the Spirit Light Mirror Counterstrike deflected the incredible amount of youki emanating from Byakko's Retsu Hoko.
The White Tiger Sacred Beast's Kiyodai Ka maneuver automatically absorbed the repelled demonic energy. Soon, Byakko's mouth was again brimming with fiery vigor.
Before the large, feline youkai could even utter a word or open his mouth, the young Genkai was already upon him, her own finger overflowing with reiki. She then aimed it at his mouth and smiled. "Want more? Here. Open wide. REI-GAN!"
The resulting explosion almost blasted the Shisejyu's head off.
"GRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!"
Almost.
Byakko screamed in agony as he deftly grabbed the cosmetically young martial artist's injured shoulder, nearly crushing it with his tight grip. His face, particularly his mouth, had several second-to-third-degree burns that bled profusely. While the pain worsened as he came to, his clutch on his opponent tightened.
Genkai bit her lip amidst the pain, but her carefree smile was instantly recognizable.
"What are you smiling about?" Byakko snarled as he wiped the blood on his charred face with his free hand.
"Nothing," Genkai teased before laughingly sharing, "It's because of that last attack I did. I must have been out of mind! I could have lost a finger or my whole arm with that attack. Only the likes of Yusuke could have the guts... and the stupidity... to do that." The rejuvenated woman chuckled. "It was a refreshing change of pace for someone as old as I am."
"You don't say," Byakko snorted in disdain. "That's right, little girl. You're too old. It's time for you to go."
Genkai smirked. "Is that so? The fight isn't quite over yet. I can still beat you."
"No. It's over, all right," a different, more sinister voice declared.
Both combatants felt it; the cold. The numbing, unfeeling, and unforgiving cold.
"Hey, Officer Fujita! You're going the wrong way! Genkai-baasan's shrine is this way!" Kuwabara shouted to his unlikely companion as he pointed at the seemingly never-ending stairs. 'How can he possibly get lost with a setup as simple as this? All you have to do is follow the fucking stairs up, right? He must be suffering from menopause or something.' "Hey, OFFICER FUJITA!"
"I heard you the first time, aho," Fujita patently stated as he made his way through the dense thickets of the forest on the left side of the stairs.
"A-ho?" Kuwabara repeated, not sure if he should be insulted or not. That was the first time anybody has called him... that... and he wasn't quite sure how to react. "Hey, I thought you wanted to find directions on how get to granny's house! WAIT UP, OFFICER!"
Seiryu stood in the middle of the devastation that resulted from Genkai and Byakko's fierce battle. "This fight has been drawn out long enough. You and your numerous parlor tricks are just child's play if you cannot use them to finish off each other instantly. All of your techniques are next to worthless. All it really takes is just one effective and all-powerful attack to rule them all. Let me demonstrate."
Byakko grunted at Seiryu as he held the teenaged Genkai in front of him. "This is my prey. Leave me be with my prey. Let me feed, Seiryu."
The self-declared 'second most powerful' of the Shisejyu smirked as he shook his head in derision, ignoring his supposed ally's demands.
A violent and bitter wind began to gather around the reptilian Shisejyu. The temperature of the area immediately dropped as a strange, dark energy began to surround the Blue Dragon Holy Beast's clawed hand.
"Behold. The perfect technique that surpassed and succeeded my Ma-Tou-Tou-Ryu-Ken. Kyomei Jisatsu Jin... Fu no Senrei." Seiryu's face became a stony, unmoving mask as he performed his evolved attack.
'Legend of Hades Onslaught...?' Genkai started as she repeated in her head the elaborate name of Seiryu's technique.
'The Trial of Negation!' Byakku thought, for the first time showing traces of dread in his features.
It started as a torrent. Gray clouds appeared from out of the blue and unleashed a surge of ice and water, draping the area with sludge that was several feet deep. The flood ceased as rapidly as it had begun; the deceptive tranquility before bedlam.
Then it came. Roused from innumerable millennia of slumber, ascending from freezing liquid that was simultaneously finite and infinite, a snake-like being formed and floated in midair, an implacable luminosity shimmering off each shiny scale. It shrieked a horrible cry reminiscent of the hair-raising screams of the innocent.
However, it proved to be more than just a reptilian sea serpent. As the icy waters took a more elaborate shape and form, what it really was soon became readily apparent.
It was the true form of the blue dragon: Seiryu, the God of Dragons. It was more or less a hundred feet in body length, and was seemingly composed of transparent azure water. Its gleaming scarlet eyes sparkled in anger.
With an earsplitting scream, the draconic creature ascended into the nimbus sky until it was floating high above the awestruck Byakko and Genkai.
'The Trial of Negation isn't a youki attack! It's used to summon an ancient spirit reminiscent to Hiei's Kokuryuha!' Genkai assessed as she struggled to free herself from Byakko's grip.
The serpentine dragon started to circle in a tight spiral, its velocity rising as a flat mass of darkness began to take shape within its flight path. The God of Dragons quickly swooped into the middle of its encirclement, thundering down onto the luckless duo like an unstoppable avalanche of ice and snow drawn from the very depths of the Demon World, in the Land of the Koorime.
The gigantic dragon unerringly homed in on Genkai's ki-signature as it headed right towards her direction. The mountain's hard precipice crumbled like brittle chalk as the charging reptilian passed through. It crashed unto its intended target moments later...
"GUAAAAA!"
Taking Byakko's Kaiwan with it.
Byakko roared in agony as his hardened, iron-like arm literally exploded from the snake-like Seiryu's assault, sending bits and pieces of frozen guts, bones, muscles, and fat across the landscape.
Genkai, on the other hand, didn't fare any better as she struggled against what seemed to be a veritable force of nature. She was thrown around helplessly by the fierce, icy winds, tumbling inside the spiral the monstrous snake had made.
The errant martial artist plummeted powerlessly into the abyss of the gigantic dragon's serpentine hurricane as she awaited oblivion. But she didn't want to wait for her oblivion, the Harbinger of Death be damned.
Using the last remaining vestiges of strength she had after the arduous experience the godly manifestation of Seiryu put her through, Genkai halted her momentous drop by means of a well-aimed...
"REI-KOU-DAN!"
Her trajectory changed instantly, sending her flying in the sky again. Then, with some gymnastics-level somersaults, she landed safely on the ground moments later. Unfortunately, she eventually collapsed in fatigue after her legs buckled in exhaustion. Her youthful appearance soon faded to that of her true age.
"Performing the highest form of Rei-Kou-Hadou-Ken can sometimes rejuvenate its user's body back to the time when he or she was most active. In your teenage body, you're more agile and nimble. Impressive, but its effects are only temporary," the Shisejyu Seiryu surmised while the God of Dragons Seiryu hovered behind him. "Even the highest form of Rei-Kou-Hadou-Ken is no match against my Fu no Senrei."
"For someone who has to rely on the power of the Blue Dragon God to do his dirty work, you're quite arrogant," Genkai rejoined as she struggled to get up on her feet. "You probably came up with the great idea of summoning the true Seiryu after watching Hiei perform the Kokuryuha back in the Human World while you were burning in the pits of hell."
Seiryu smirked as he answered, "Don't you dare compare my Fu no Senrei with that fire demon's pathetic technique. The true mettle of the Trial of Negation will be tested once it completely overwhelms the dark flames of the Black Dragon Wave."
"Humph. So it was based on the Kokuryuha." Genkai disdainfully snorted. 'But where did Seiryu get all this jaki I'm feeling? It certainly isn't emanating from him. His lust for revenge is strong, but not strong enough to summon the Lord of the Dragons himself. How...?'
There was a maniacal scream in the background; the desperate howl of a wounded animal.
"SEIRYU! How dare you take my prey away from me! I'LL KILL YOU!" Byakko yowled hysterically as he stampeded towards his original Shisejyu murderer.
Three figures remained hidden in a nearby cliff overlooking the devastated backdrop that was Byakko, Seiryu and Genkai's battleground.
"We're in over our heads, big brother!" Iehog said in demonic fright and panic as he looked dumbfounded at the humongous creature that hung over Seiryu.
"Nonsense! We have just what we need here! We just have to... confirm something!" Iehik hissed from behind Iehog, not wanting to even look at the gigantic... something, lest his courage failed him right then and there.
"Shut up and move over! I'm trying to see what's going on!" Botan demanded as she primly pushed the two youkai brothers aside with her wooden oar. 'Something's not right there. Call it a gut feeling, but it's as if something bad has happened,' the ferry girl thought in an uncharacteristically contemplative manner. 'And I'm not talking about that stupid, copycat Kokuryuha.'
"Confirm something? But big brother, what are we going to confirm? The old lady's death or our own death once either Byakko-sama or Seiryu-sama spots us?" Iehog whined pathetically.
"Well, if you stop whining, then we won't be spotted!" Iehik admonished. To himself, he reflected, 'Actually, I have heard that running away is the better part of valor or some such Human World nonsense. But still, here we remain. It's as if something has beckoned us to this spot, that something being...'
"Well, I still want to know what the hell are we going to 'confirm', big..."
"Our destiny."
"Whuwhuzzat?" Iehog asked in puzzlement and confusion. His big brother was acting very weird again.
"Nothing. Now be still or I'll brainwash you into thinking that you're a little girl again!" Iehik hastily yet nonchalantly threatened.
"WA-AH! No more! The last time you did that, the demon horde we were with at the time laughed at me behind my back for a whole week! I was the butt of all their jokes! Though, in retrospect, it's a good thing most of them are all dead now."
"I SAID QUIET, IEHOG!"
"B-But you're the one who's screaming loudly, big brother!"
"Oh no."
Both brothers looked at Botan in askance as she stared in fear and dread, shaking her head while muttering, "No," over and over like it was some sort of mantra.
"W-What's wrong, woman?" Iehik queried the blue-haired girl uncertainly, not sure what to make of the situation.
Subsequently, Botan screamed her head off... or she would have had the brothers not covered her mouth with their clawed hands.
"SEIRYU! How dare you take my prey away from me! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Seiryu chuckled as he beckoned his namesake dragon familiar with a wave of his hand. "You? Kill me? You don't know your own limits. Fu no Senrei."
Using the immense anger incased inside of him, Byakko countered Seiryu's Fu no Senrei with his own, "MEI-KO-SHOU-KAI-HA!"
The God of Dragons soon descended from its perch high up the nimbus clouds, but not upon Byakko, to the White Tiger Saint Beast's surprise. Instead, it swooped into its "master's" body and possessed the Blue Dragon Shisejyu just before the raging Mei-Ko-Shou-Kai-Ha hit its intended target.
Seiryu's image soon changed as his features became more reptilian than human. His teeth sharpened into fangs and his hands morphed into claws. The new, more powerful Seiryu swatted away Byakko's attack like it was a mere paper weight. The ki-blast exploded elsewhere moments later.
'It's just like Hiei's possession technique using the Kokuryuha!' Genkai assessed as she saw Seiryu's transformation. 'It would seem that Seiryu really did his research on the Jaou-En-Satsu.'
But Byakko was not yet finished with Seiryu just yet. He charged with a hearty shoulder tackle, even though it was now without the assistance of the Kaiwan.
"What a waste."
Seiryu literally punched a hole through his fellow Sacred Beast's stomach with absolutely no hesitation. "The only reason you have that much jaki in your system is because of your overflowing rage and humiliation for having been defeated by a mere human. You're nothing but a whipped dog."
Byakko could only groan as he fell down face-first, clawing the ground in agony.
"For someone who has a mediocre amount of jaki in his system, you seem quite confident," Genkai retorted. "You're too emotionless and detached to produce and harness jaki on your own. A bit jealous of your comrade?"
"Close, but no cigar, old woman," Seiryu assented in a decisively non-acquiescent manner. "But my methods of jaki-extraction more than makes up for that triviality. What Byakko could get through humiliation and self-condemnation I could get through..."
The Blue Dragon Saint Demon raised a clawed hand over his cohort's fallen form, extricating the jaki the white tiger exuded.
"...The suffering of others," Genkai finished for Seiryu as she glared at her newest opponent. "You're a sadistic coward who doesn't want to get hurt himself. Victimizing others to suit your own purposes and to make up for your own inadequacies; you're the pathetic one, not Byakko."
Seiryu shrugged. "I couldn't care less about that, really. If you have problems with my methods of extraction, then come and attack me. But I can see that you haven't, have you? Perhaps the word 'coward' applies more to you than it does to me."
Genkai's face remained impassive, but neither did she rise to Seiryu's challenge.
"Just as I've suspected." Seiryu chuckled. He scowled. "This will not do." He kicked away Byakko's fallen form, frowning. 'The suffering of a warrior... even a pathetic one like Byakko... produces only negligible amounts of jaki. Only the pure torment of an innocent can truly quench my thirst for power.'
Genkai felt it; the negative feeling and emotions that flowed within the emotionless Seiryu. 'That evil aura inside of Seiryu; he's siphoning it from somewhere, or someone, nearby. There! Behind the mist and shadows that surround him!' "REI-GAN!"
Seiryu looked on in mild irritation as the Rei-Kou-Hadou-Ken master's spirit ball dissipated the white blanket that hid his secret weapon. "Oh well. It's not that you could do anything for her now."
Genkai plopped down on her legs as she shook her head in disbelief. "You bastard."
Keiko's inky-black eyes stared at Genkai impassively, her snowy complexion a stark contrast to the darkness of her surroundings.
"Come and meet my avatar."
"Are you out of your mind, woman? They'll hear us!" Iehik shrieked as softly as he could as his clawed hand remained firmly clamped on Botan's mouth. "Once they find out where we are, they'll send us straight to where they've been the last few years or so: HELL!"
"I told you that woman was trouble, big brother!" Iehog nagged.
Both brothers went silent once they heard sobbing and sniffling sounds from Botan. "M-Miss...? Are you all right?" Iehik awkwardly asked in bewilderment.
Through the muffled sobs, all the two youkai could make out from Botan's blubbering was the name, "Keiko-chan".
"The suffering of the weak and the innocent; their cries give me power. Their tears give me strength. Their screams give me the precious jaki I need to become invincible." Seiryu went behind Keiko and held the young girl's shoulders as if to flaunt his newfound source of power. "Would you believe that this little girl enabled me to execute my powerful Fu no Senrei? Pretty impressive, I say. All that jaki was produced from such a weak little human's torment! Can you imagine?"
Keiko could only look on with the blank stare of a lifeless mannequin.
Genkai gave her Blue Dragon opponent a sickened look. She was at a loss for words.
Seiryu continued, "Don't worry yourself so much. Even though on the inside she's going through intense turmoil and pain, at least on the outside, she's as calm and collected as I am."
"Be silent."
"I'm only telling it as it is."
"You're making her scream on the inside. Her screams are silent, BUT SHE'S STILL SUFFERING THROUGH HER SILENT SCREAMS!" Genkai's visage, for a split-second, returned to that of her of younger self as she finally lost her temper.
"Humph. Anger. How quaint. You're more like Byakko that way," Seiryu noted in mild distaste. "I thought you would be much more civilized concerning this jaki business, old woman. Nonetheless, it's entertaining to see your emotions go awry once in the while. But I don't want your anger; I want your pain."
Genkai didn't even seem to bother listening to Seiryu's latest rant as she fell into the basic Rei-Kou-Hadou-Ken stance.
As tension filled the air, a subtle yet strange silence settled over the entire area.
"Oh shit! Not again!" By this time, Kuwbara was beginning to hate those unsettling moments of quiet because shocking and unnatural things usually ended up happening afterwards. There was no telling what would happen this time around. 'Dammit. I must be feeling that 'jaki' shit again.'
A cold, biting wind started to blow and what little light was there began to fade. 'Wait. This isn't the same. I'm feeling a different kind of power. It's still dreadful and cruel, but not 'negative' or 'evil'. I wonder what it is?'
"Officer Fujita! Have you also been feeling the weird vibes I've been getting lately? HEY! OFFICER! Where the hell are you?" The youth approached the exit of the forest. "Finally, I'm out of that stupid... WHAT THE...?"
Kuwabara's eyes then went as wide as saucers at what he saw next.
Seiryu, Keiko and Genkai froze and stared at the ether as they all felt a disconcerting, nearly extraterrestrial presence manifest itself all around them. The hidden Botan, Iehik, and Iehog sensed it as well. Even the semi-conscious Byakko took a glimpse of what was going on over his shoulder.
At first the two groups could perceive nothing except flashes of web-like lightning that crackled at the distance before everything was blanketed in total darkness. From there, two golden globes of flame shone in the mantle of unnatural black.
They then saw it: a dense cloud of hazy blue vapor that progressively crawled down the ground towards them. As the fog came near and nearer, something started to stir inside of it. To be more specific, it was a slender, four-footed figure of something lurking forward on clawed paws.
The smaller puffs of smoke started to merge together, coalescing into a solitary shape that threatened to dwarf even Seiryu's God of Dragons. Those golden lights from before burned right into the consciousnesses of everyone present, staring at them like cruel, merciless...
'Eyes?' Genkai considered in quiet confusion.
Botan stifled a gasp as the azure haze undulated and warped, pulling itself together and then tearing itself apart over and over again until it formed into fine, long wisps of threadlike streamers that evoked images of wavy feathers... or fur. Her youkai companions, for lack of a better descriptive phrase, were scared shitless.
Seiryu watched the shadowy mass so rapidly approaching in mild interest. Nevertheless, he still readied another Fu no Senrei attack, just in case.
At last, it emerged; the murky yet distinctive silhouette of a massive wolf, its golden eyes glowing in the congregating shadows. Out of the black fog, right under the immense creature's rictus jaws, stepped forth Goro Fujita, his lips twisting with the exact same untamed grin as his shining eyes gleamed with menacing anticipation.
Kuwabara shuddered reflexively at the current turn of events.
'Hell, I'm imagining things. I must be going out of my mind!' His eyes narrowed as the second and third biggest shock of the day stood just a good few yards away from him.
"Seiryu? Byakko? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Kazuma Kuwabara demanded, shocked beyond words. He then saw Keiko Yukimura's current state. His face darkened as rage filled his veins. "You bastard. What have you done to her?"
"Oh, it's you," Seiryu noted in slight disgust, as if he had just spotted a large bug. "The human who defeated Byakko."
"Fuck that. What I did to Byakko is nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you!" Kuwabara yelled as he attempted to move into striking distance.
"Stay put from where you are, boy. Don't be a fool. You don't have any spiritual power left," Goro Fujita straightforwardly admonished as the feral materialization from behind him growled.
Kuwabara gave Fujita a lurid look, thinking, 'Seiryu didn't know that! Why'd you have to tell him?!' Nonetheless, he still advanced towards Seiryu, not at all minding the fact that he had a less-than-zero chance for survival. "Let Keiko go now, Sei..."
The carrot-topped boy was shocked into silence upon seeing Genkai aim a Rei-Gan at his direction. "What the hell are you aiming that at me for, you old crone?"
"I want Keiko to be safe too, but not at the cost of a needless loss," Genkai reproved. "Stand down right this instant, Kuwabara."
"Do as she says if you still want to live," Fujita 'helpfully' interjected.
"Saito Hajime, the captain of the third unit of the Shinsengumi. You were able to slip through the jaws of death at Ikedaya, Boshin, and Seinan. Apparently, you even slipped through the Reikai's grasp as well. The only one of the Shinsengumi they called immortal," Seiryu stated in a nonchalant manner as he eyed the lean-looking policeman. "But of course you'd be here. Welcome back to the world of the living. Enjoy your stay while it lasts."
"Such big talk from small fry," Fujita declared as the lycanthropic manifestation from behind him dissipated into the dark skies. "You speak to me with such familiarity, yet you do not know a thing about me. Who the hell do you think you are?"
"I should ask you the same thing, Fujita!" Kuwabara screamed from atop his perch overlooking the devastated battlegrounds below. "What's this 'Saito Hajime' nonsense I hear? What are you talking about, Seiryu?"
'Saito Hajime. Shinsengumi,' Genkai thought as she listened intently to the dialogue between Seiryu and the newcomer. 'That name sounds familiar.' The elderly martial artist remembered what Kenshin Himura... the Hitokiri Battousai... said a while back inside her dojo. 'He's that Saito Hajime; the enemy of the Ishin Shishi patriot, Battousai! Himura-san's foremost rival when he was still alive! What happened to him?'
"Hey! ANSWER ME!" Kuwabara screeched some more.
"Quiet, aho," Fujita reprimanded, pointedly ignoring the teenager afterwards. "So Seiryu is your name. Coincidentally, I've already fought with a namesake of yours. I do hope you prove to be more of a challenge to me than he did."
"Such arrogance, even coming from a Miburo like yourself," Seiryu assessed, referring to his opponent to the title of 'Wolf of Mibu'. "But the very idea of a ghost of a human trying to compare himself to a Sacred Beast? You really are a fool." Seiryu beckoned the Fu no Senrei again, which stirred the all-powerful God of Dragons to circle around them. "It doesn't matter if you were the captain of a Human World extermination squad. You're in my turf now, Saito Hajime."
"Again with that name. I'm tired of hearing that," Fujita stated as he drew and raised his sword perpendicular to his shoulders. "It's as if by knowing that name, you think you instantly know everything about me. You're the fool."
'That stance! Could this be...?' Seiryu contemplated as he analyzed Fujita's battle posture. He let out an annoyed grunt upon realizing that it wasn't the Gatotsu the Chojin had described to him. He remarked, "Are you mocking me? I want to see the Gatotsu I've heard so much about."
"The Gatotsu? I don't need it right now. This is the Hiratsuki. Prepare yourself," Fujita declared as he slowly began to charge.
"Such foolishness will cost you your life. Fu no Senrei," Seiryu said as he counterattacked, unleashing the Lord of Dragons upon his next victim.
'H-He's going to fight!' Kuwabara thought incredulously. 'Just like that! And then there was that crazy wolf thing from behind him... and... and... GA-AH! Who the fuck is that crazy policeman?'
"So he's going to hold back?" Genkai considered as she moved away from the two opponents. "Could it be arrogance or a misjudgment of Seiryu's abilities on his part, or is he really sure that he can defeat Seiryu's Fu no Senrei with a subpar tactic?"
"He's the only other person the Chojin specifically warned us about, besides the Battousai within the Demon Sword," Byakko muttered from his crouching position as he covered with his remaining arm the bleeding hole Seiryu gave him. Through his raspy panting and sickly coughing, he managed to add, "The Chojin mentioned that Saito Hajime is one fighter you can count on to never hold back."
The large, serpentine dragon flew across the landscape so quickly that it looked like an azure river of raging rapids. It bared its fangs as it faced the charging Fujita.
"They're both doing a head-on attack!" Kuwabara remarked as he prepared himself for the subsequent impact.
'Foolish indeed. His puny sword will break against the Fu no Senrei's scales, just as his half-hearted charge will break against the Fu no Senrei's claws,' Seiryu noted smugly.
Just as the dragon was about to bite Fujita in half, the policeman let out a flurry of stabs at the Fu no Senrei beast's gigantic maw, shattering bits and pieces of its double row of sharp teeth. The Lord of Dragons shrieked in agony, but it still continued its attack undeterred. Then, in a blink of an eye, it swerved over Fujita's blind side just as the officer missed a quick stab. It now had an opportunity to attack from the rear, where its prey was defenseless.
The law enforcement officer could only chuckle in mild amusement as he flipped his blade and slashed sideways right through the dragon's neck as its long, gargantuan body twisted around him. It painfully recoiled from Fujita's strike.
"An avoided thrust can become an attack from the side in an instant. The Hiratsuki, as devised by the tactics genius Hijikata Toshizo, the second-in-command of the Shinsengumi, has no weak points. And my Gatotsu is even more so."
"A dragon," Kuwabara managed to whisper as he plopped down to the ground. "He was able to face a dragon."
"Humph," was the only reply that came out of the Shisejyu Seiryu's mouth. "Showing off, aren't we?"
Fujita smirked. "Not at all."
The Sacred Beast Blue Dragon snorted, summoning his injured familiar into combat once again. "That was a mere scratch. Don't celebrate each and every minor victory."
"A mere scratch? You mean like that graze you have on your neck right now? Oh, and wipe your mouth. Blood is trickling down your chin," Fujita retorted.
A look of slight annoyance allayed Seiryu's previously self-assured expression.
Fujita chuckled at Seiryu's reaction. "No wonder you named your little pet after you. That overgrown lizard is you; or rather, a direct manifestation of your soul. Once it gets hurt, so will you. It's a pity, then. After I kill it, you will die as well."
"Action speaks louder than mere words, Miburo. The Chojin didn't describe you to be this talkative. I only have three words for you: Fu no Senrei," Seiryu declared as his namesake beast attacked Fujita again.
"And these are my three words in response: Aku Soku Zan. You will die, and so will the Chojin. It's inevitable," Fujita avowed as he fell into Hiratsuki stance and hurtled towards his quarry.
"'Kill Evil Instantly?'" Kuwabara repeated, incredulous. "What is this, n old samurai drama? That guy's a complete loon!" He silently appended to himself, "A motherfucking badass bastard, but still a loon."
The dragon soon moved into a spiral; a movement reminiscent of its attack on Genkai a while ago. Fierce, biting-cold winds accompanied the assault, threatening to loosen Fujita's footing.
"It's still a head-on attack, but what's with the spiral?" Kuwabara commented as he struggled to get a better view of the lavish spectacle of death. From there, he grit his teeth as he felt coldness beyond mere cold. It was as if death itself had embraced him. Through his chattering teeth, he was able to stutter, "W-What is this?"
In no time at all, the dragon... Seiryu... and the wolf... Fujita... were again upon each other. Fujita was able to fight through the storm-like winds to gain sufficient momentum to execute his attack with only the slightest delay.
However, this slight delay was all the God of Dragons needed. With unbelievable velocity that contradicted its mass, the dragon avoided Fujita's unhesitant thrust.
To be Continued...
Next: Aku Soku Zan.
Wow. I'm really enjoying the collection of fights these last two chapters had. Why? Well, for one thing, I've been gleefully referencing a lot of techniques from various sources. Just check out the disclaimer to see where they came from.
Ja!
Abdiel