Duel
"Kenji!" Uriko cried out for the sake of her friend, and by instinct her arm shot out to grab a hold of him, but he was already far from her grasp.
"Oof!" With that exclamation, the young ninja was thrown back a little ways, and he flailed his arms to slow down the motion, and ended up landing on the floor forcefully. His head lifted to see any oncoming attacks, and he already spotted the other fighter running toward him, a glint of malice briefly shimmering in his eyes. The dark-haired youth sprang to his feet and launched himself into the air, aiming to strike his opponent in the back of his head as he descended. Cronos looked up at that second, and lurched to the side just before the blow could meet its target, retaliating by extending his leg to kick at Kenji's abdomen as he was coming down.
"Pathetic," he sneered as his hit succeeded.
"Shut up." The mole zoanthrope shot back without even grimacing from the attack, and proceeded to swiftly flip over his foe's head, kicking his jaw as he did so. The prince appeared unaffected as he seized the airborne foot in his grasp, and swinging both of his arms, he flung the younger boy into a nearby wall, sniggering to himself when he heard the loud thud. Kenji winced at the pain that bit into his back, but just snarled hatefully as his feet found the ground again, refusing to give off any impression that he was hurt even the slightest. The mocking laughter that emitted from his opponent made his fists clench in anger, and a deadly fire burn in the depths of his light brown eyes.
"Who - or what, I should say - has been teaching you how to fight?" Cronos taunted, a cruel smile tugging at his lips. "In actuality, it would be more appropriate to inquire if you even know how to battle, since you are doing nothing but merely prancing about the place. This is not playtime, you young fool, but a bout to be fought until death stops us from dueling any longer, or have you not yet grasped that concept?"
"This fight will stop," the ninja snapped in reply, "when I knock all senses, or what little you have of them, out of your head."
"Bold words for an acolyte." He calmly retorted, and ran at the younger teenager again, and this time, he was sure that Kenji was anticipating his movement and planning a counterattack, and he smirked knowingly. Cronos surprised him by stopping just before his face, and back flipping over the boy, stomping on his shoulders to get an extra sprint on his leap. His legs curled into a roll instinctively, and his heels kicked at the youth in the back of his head, stunning him briefly as the prince landed with confident ease. The cobalt-haired youth quickly recovered and threw down a Smoke Bomb, and when he appeared behind his adversary, he kicked at his knees and delivered a crisp and harsh elbow to Cronos' spine, making him sail a short distance away.
"Kenji! Be careful!" The feline shouted her support, inwardly cursing herself for being in such a helpless state, and she struggled to stand to her feet so she could assist her ally in the fight.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!" Kenji called back to her breathlessly, as his opponent had decreased the space between them, and he was busy dodging the multiple punches being fired at him in different areas of his upper body. One inflicting hit landed on his chest, over where his heart was, and with a dangerous scowl, he grabbed the assaulter's arm. He ruthlessly twisted it in a half-circle and jammed Cronos' elbow into his own back, then kneed him in his tailbone, getting a sick feeling of satisfaction when he heard the prince yelp in pain. The ninja sneered and shoved his rival forward, watching him as he fell face-first to the floor, and all the while leaping back to briefly jump around and cling to the walls.
"You have adequate skills," the older fighter allowed, grimacing as he arose to his feet and wiped a thin trickle of blood away from the dripping coming out of his nose. Answering his unspoken challenge, the sixteen-year-old let go of his hold, and came down from his elevated position and cautiously took a few steps toward his smirking foe. He betrayed no humble emotions when he turned to face the ninja with a mysterious grin on his face, and his hand tingled in anticipation as it lingered near the thin sheathes that rested on the wall near him. "However, I am curious to know, how is your swordsmanship?"
"???" The mole zoanthrope was about to ask what he meant, when all of a sudden; his opponent tucked his hand underneath one of the slim objects hanging, and tugged the weapon out. He grabbed it by the handle, slid off the sheath and immediately swung at Kenji's head, which he only avoided by ducking a split second before the thin blade could slice through his neck. Hollering in surprise, the ninja dropped to the floor purposely, and rolled out of danger's way as Cronos repeatedly stabbed at the spots that he had just managed to leave. The prince coupled his striking motions with stomping from his feet, and when he caught one arm of the younger boy under the sole of his shoe, he plunged down with the tip and viciously struck him in the side.
"No-!" Uriko managed to rise at knee level, but almost collapsed back down when she saw the dark liquid quickly soaking her friend's navy-colored school uniform.
"Arrugh!!" the ninja could not help hollering in pain as his hand instinctively went to clutch at the bleeding wound. But he knew that it was not the right time to be nurturing his injury, and he splayed both of his palms on the ground behind his ears and launched his legs upward, kicking Cronos in the face and making him stumble back. Kenji leaped to his feet with the slight delay irking him, and he quickly ran over to the wall where other swords hung, and snatched one in his grip just as his opponent rushed at him again. Throwing the sheath off, he held the weapon between his pair of hands for added support, and arced his elbows up to strike a defensive pose.
"I'm a fast learner." He smirked at the momentary flicker of hesitation that stilled his rival, and put his reactions on hair-trigger movement, a useful notion that was his constant ally back in his more-frequent fighting days.
"Let us see you still smiling when I slice those pasty-looking lips off your face." The prince countered with smooth confidence, and bent down to slide at the youth before springing back into a standing position, and swinging his body in a full-circle with the blade stuck out to hit all unfortunate obstacles in its path. Kenji leaped up out of the way, and there was only a small tear in his sleeve to show any signs of the sword coming into contact with him. His dark blue hair swayed wildly over his eyes as the young fighter started to descend and hastily slashed out at his opponent with his own weapon.
Cronos turned his face away, but not by will, as the sharp edge had sliced a thin line in his cheek, and he screeched loudly, his free hand coming up to carefully touch the wound marring his features. His jade yellow eyes gleamed with ire and hatred as he glared coldly at the mole zoanthrope, and his grip on his sword tightened until his knuckles turned white. Letting loose a shrill war cry, he charged at Kenji with blinding speed and ruthlessly attacked him, both of their blades making a clang noise as they met. The prince executed an onslaught of skilled slashes, and the wide-eyed youth was barely able to hold his ground, as he had very little experience fighting with weapons outside those from his body.
"You will pay for that." A hateful Cronos growled menacingly, thrusting his other fist into the ninja's open and vulnerable stomach, then while he was distracted, sliced at his chest with the thin and deadly blade. Smiling cruelly when the younger fighter winced and hesitated for just a split second, he used that to his advantage and struck a blow that knocked the weapon out of Kenji's hands. He showed no mercy and continued to swing his sword in various wide half-circles, and some of the attempts landed their hit, which made the mole zoanthrope bite his lip to prevent himself from emitting any cries of pain. He was forced to go on a defensive strategy, and focused all his attention on dodging the assaults, and that prevented him from noticing the foot that shot out toward his groin.
"Rrraugh!" Kenji hollered and his body curled up in reflex; the next thing he felt was sharp metal kissing his throat, and he lurched back to avoid literally losing his head, falling to the ground on his rear. His hand went to dab at his neck, and when he brought it out in front of his face, he saw thick blood staining his fingers, and winced at the sight. A distance away, the Kenpo student bit her lip in order not to cry out, and instead, she clenched her fists, and pressed it against her cleavage. Cronos guffawed at the friends' reactions, and then arched the blade in a position to deliver a devastating blow to his opponent's head. The ninja glanced up and saw the silver shining at his eyes; it was flying at him too quickly to dodge, and he caught a flicker of his horrified reflection looking back at him.
I'll miss you, Uriko, was the last thought he had as he brought up both hands to shield his face.
"Get-away-from-him!!" A female voice screamed vigorously as a slender body flew toward the prince with blinding speed and knocked him to the side, which caused him to drop the sword at Kenji's feet. At the noise, the mole zoanthrope immediately turned around to see what happened, and spied his friend lying on the ground within striking distance of his rival. When he noticed the older fighter reach his hand over to where the unmoving Uriko rested, an unbearable fury surged through his veins. After what she had sacrificed and risked saving his life, this insensitive, selfish cur was trying to undo her conscientious deed, and he was not about to stand for that.
Kenji arose to a standing position, the sword gripped tightly in his hand as he sped forward, heading for the two downed fighters. But Cronos reacted faster, and agilely snatched up the girl before standing back on his feet, with the straight edge of his hand lingering at her throat. The sixteen-year-old abruptly halted in his tracks, and his body froze, the only movement being his eyes that still scoured about the place, watching his opponent carefully. Uriko stirred and when she found out she was in the arms of her former boyfriend, she instantly began to struggle, jabbing at him with her elbows to try and escape.
"Restrain your movement!" Her captor demanded harshly, pressing his hand closer to her vulnerable area. "Do not make me do something you will not live to regret."
"Don't you dare touch her…"
A malicious smile graced his lips. "If I were in your position, peasant, I would drop the sword, and step back. You would not want my hand to twitch, and end up gagging your friend, now would you? My bride understands why I must threaten you like so."
"!!!" Stop calling her your bride! She's not going to marry you!! Kenji cursed in his mind, but wore a helpless expression as he obeyed the commands, and took miniscule steps away from his adversary. His clenched fists quivered at his side, and a dark urge rose within him, feeding his fury, making him intoxicated with the need to crush something in his grasp. The feline reflected her compassion and admiration for him in her brightly shining brown eyes, silently assuring him that she would be all right, telling him not to worry. He quickly nodded to imply that he trusted her, and also to show that he would find a way to get her out of the conniving fiend's hands.
But it was hard to believe her when the prince slunk his free arm over her front side, and grabbed a fistful of the white gown she donned on her body. With a lecherous grin, he applied enough force to rip the material away from her shoulder, which made the Kenpo student shriek in surprise and press her palms against her chest to prevent unwanted exposure. Cronos thrust his knee into the small of her back and her grip faltered; she lurched forward, revealing a portion of creamy skin before she clutched the torn clothing and covered herself once again. The dark-haired ninja could not restrain from running toward her, but had to stop when his rival latched glowering yellow eyes at him and shot a deadly glare.
"Take your hands off of her…"
"Why should I? I am only touching what is rightfully mine!" The prince slipped his hand inside the forcefully opened gown, and fondled the smooth flesh, reveling in the soft feeling grazing his fingers. A look of pure disgust formed over Uriko's expression, and she raised a leg to jam her heel against his shin, gaining a slight edge when he loosened his grip to pay more attention to the new pain that struck him. He snarled at her defiance, and pivoted to savagely strike her across the face before he yanked the girl back to hold her against his body once more. The mole zoanthrope wanted to grab his adversary by the hair and wrench each single strand from his head to inflict pain on his vanity.
"You are excited by this sight, aren't you." It was a statement rather than a question that Cronos proposed.
"I'm not, you sick, twisted pervert!" Kenji shot back indignantly, the anger heightening inside, boiling his emotions.
"Were you satisfied with your fill of my wife?" The prince asked with blunt coldness, a scowl forming over his expression at the concept.
The younger fighter jolted in shock, but hastily wiped that away to hide the truth from the point-blank inquirer, and replied with his own spat question, "W-What are you talking about?!"
"Have you noticed a certain receipt missing from your schoolbag, my brainless fellow student?"
Kenji seethed at the insult, yet showed no signs of agitation, just put on a confident, cool smirk. "You're bluffing. You probably don't even know what the hell you're talking about yourself."
"Oh? Then allow me to refresh your memory." Cronos sneered knowingly, and unleashed his knowledge, "On the night of prom, my date disappeared off to an unknown place during the time that I was engaged in a game of pool with my friends. Then, as midnight approached and passed, I searched all over the room for her, inquired of her location with her acquaintances, yet she was nowhere to be found. It was not until several weeks later that I discovered where she was that night…" his eyes flared up in anger. "With you! You sly, dishonorable lowly maggot. You took advantage of my bride, and stole her maidenhead, which was reserved on the moon of their wedding day, for the right of her husband, myself!"
N-no! That's impossible, how could he…? "Th-that's nothing but a lie you came up with just so you can place blame on Uriko for your own demented pleasure!" The ninja insisted vigorously, shaking his head in pity for emphasis.
"You impregnated her with the spawn of your seed!!" Cronos screeched angrily, his fist quivering to further express his emotion. "If it had not been for my quick genius thinking to annihilate your essence in her body, she would have given birth to your demon child nine months from now."
"M…my child…?" he blinked several times, and pinched his own arm to make sure he was not dreaming. "My child?? What the hell do you mean I have a child?!" Uriko flinched at his reaction, and shrank back from her friend, avoiding his eyes as she drooped her head to rest her gaze on the floor, a better alternative than confronting his shock.
"Have you not been listening to me?!" The prince hollered impatiently. "Had, had, had! You had a child, you fool! But I disposed of the worthless spawn before the treacherous life could be born to show your wicked deed of forcing yourself on my bride! I saved her from you! She doesn't need your bloody ghost to haunt her thoughts everytime she looks down into the face of the life she borne from her body!"
"…Uriko," the mole zoanthrope spoke up, ignoring the ranting words. "Is… what he said… is it true…?" Still staring at the floor, she nodded numbly, feeling her spirit dwindle and leave her alone in the empty case that was her own form, stripped of emotions as her ally heaved a ragged sigh. "That… one night… We would have… had a baby…?"
"Kenji…" she murmured hoarsely, tears welling up in her eyes when she saw his pain and realization of the innocent life that had been taken away from them.
"Aha! So you admit it!!" Cronos shrieked triumphantly. "I should have you beheaded for committing this act against my wife!!"
"You… you killed our unborn child…?" Kenji seethed, hot, fiery red anger filling his view. "You…murdered someone that never did anything to deserve… such a terrible fate…? Destroyed a life before it had the chance to show itself and experience the world…? You…you have a lot of nerve to go and play God like that, Cronos…"
"That is Prince Cronos to you, feeble-minded peasant!" The royal member spat.
"I don't care if you're the Prime Minister of Japan! You're going to pay for putting Uriko through all that shit just for your sadistic enjoyment, and your twisted view on what is considered to be justice!!" He swore, as a coating of brown fur began to etch across his arms, hidden by the covering of his school uniform's sleeves.
"Oh, are you going to morph now to try and destroy me?" Cronos smirked at the surprised look on his opponent's face, and was undisturbed by the fury that emitted from him. "I do wonder what beast you will transform into. A puny Chihuahua? A pathetic little anteater, perhaps? Or maybe the irony gods have granted you your true form, what you are inside, nothing but a lowly dirt worm to be stepped on by superiors!"
The mole zoanthrope did not reply, just kept losing more of his human self, and adopting the animal counterpart within him, eager to prove his rival's conjectures wrong. Hatred rose like bile in his throat, consuming his senses, stripping him of all reason and leaving him with nothing but the repeated urge to seize and destroy. He wanted to capture his victim, and inflict the harshest and cruelest of pain upon him, make him scream in submission, and watch the light of life disappear from his glassed eyes. Deadly ripping claws sprouted from his fingertips, as his hands grew larger, enhancing his strength while his newly formed talon-like feet burst out of his shoes.
"Urrrrrrrrrrr!!" Kenji screeched, too far from his human self to mutter coherent words. His face stretched out and elongated into the mole's lengthy nose, and whiskers sprang from the sides of his cheek to further display the foreign aspects of his new form. Little of his thick brown fur was exposed, as they all were tightly snug underneath his navy blue attire, but when his hair disappeared, the fuzzy coating was shown there. He released another shrill mole cry as he completed the transformation, and performed a back flip high in the air, coming back down with one claw stabbing the ground in his crouched position, and the other raised before his face as if to strike at any second.
"Fine, vile rodent." The jade-haired fighter sneered, and threw Uriko to the side; the girl cried out when she skidded across the floor on her hipbone, and crawled over to rest her back against the wall. "Let us play this game of yours, and see who comes out victorious."