Chapter Seven
~*~
Kishuku took a brief second to wipe the sweat off his
forehead before it dripped into his eyes and caused a problem. There was no way two ordinary men could
defeat this monster. Hell, he wasn't
sure the entire Japanese police force would be able to get rid of it. Kishuku knew there was no way to win, but he
wouldn't leave Hahm-sensei who he knew would fight for his dojo to the
death. Sparing a quick glance at his
teacher, Kishuku knew he wasn't doing as well as his younger student. While Hahm Lanva might have been the
greatest martial artist when he was younger, age had caught up with the man and
Kishuku could tell he was tiring.
Unless a miracle happened, they were both going to die. For Hahm-sensei would not leave his dojo and
Kishuku would not leave Hahm-sensei.
Dodging another strike for the serpent, Kishuku wondered how much longer
they could last.
~*~
Miaka panted as she came to rest in the alley besides the
dojo and another building. It had been
hard work crossing the rubble-strewn street in a dress, but Miaka was facing
bigger problems. There was just no way
she could get to Kishuku without getting one or both of them killed. To call out would make both men lose their
concentration, something the serpent would not hesitate in taking advantage
of. Running out into the open would
also distract the men; there was just no way to reach them. 'What I need is a miracle,' Miaka thought
and grabbed the feather pendant for help.
But the feather offered no inspiration and Miaka bit her bottom lip
knowing she was going to have to do this alone.
Luckily,
fate seemed to smile down upon the Suzaku no Miko for the serpent seemed to
gain a moment of insight and swept its tail down at Kishuku who had jump over
it. While still in the air, the serpent
swept his tail back over Kishuku's head and then back at him hitting Kishuku in
the side. Miaka winced; it wasn't quite
how she pictured getting a chance to talk to him, but…who could be picky? Running out onto the sidewalk, Miaka put her
arms around Kishuku's body and started pulling him back into the alley.
Hahm
watched as a girl in a red Chinese dress started to pull Kishuku into an
alley. Looking over at him the girl
smiled weakly; suddenly, her eyes went wide and she shouted
"Abunai!" Leaping back just
in time, Hahm missed the brunt of the attack and was thrown into the wall. Getting up with a wince, Hahm looked through
narrowed eyes at the serpent. For some
reason, he knew that strange girl would not harm Kishuku. He had to concentrate on this serpent. With only one target, the monster would be
more focused. The stakes had been
raised and Hahm didn't intend to lose.
~*~
Miaka
dropped Kishuku unceremoniously on the ground with a grunt. He was heavy! Looking down Miaka winced. A small bit of blood stained his shirt
from were the tail hit, maybe she should have put him down more gently…
~*~
Kishuku
winced as the world came back into view.
With a groan his hand slowly made its way up to touch the spot on his
chest were the pain seemed to emanate from.
He was shocked to see it come away slightly bloodied.
"Are
you okay?" a concerned voice asked
from above. Kishuku shot the familiar
girl a withering glare. With a sheepish
grin she muttered an "oops?" when she realized how inappropriate the
question was. "What I meant,"
she continued, "was are you willing to fight Seiryuu's serpent
again?" Through the haze of pain
Kishuku managed to connect this "Seiryuu serpent" with the creature
he had just fought with Hahm-sensei.
Hahm-sensei! Kishuku was jolted
back to reality.
"Hahm-sensei,"
he croaked out, his voice full of pain.
"Hahm-sensei?"
she repeated, "The other man? He's
still out there from the sound of the battle." Becoming more aware, Kishuku realized that he could here the fighting-and
it sounded like a one-sided battle to him.
"I
have to help him," he labored painfully as he got up. It seems a cut does not have to pour a river
of blood to hurt.
"Like
that?" the girl questioned eyeing
him. Kishuku winced, he knew the odds
were against his survival, but he would not abandon Hahm-sensei! "Gomen nasai," the girl spoke
again, "demo as you are one of the Suzaku Shichi Seishi, I cannot allow to
just go and die." The sound of
breaking glass reached their ears.
"Hahm-sensei!"
Kishuku's eyes widened. He quickly
started to make his way out of the alley when he was tackled from the behind by
the strange girl. "Let me
go," he yelled, "I have to go help Hahm-sensei!"
"How
much good are you going to do like that?" she questioned, "You hold
the power of the constellation Tamahome.
If I awaken your powers you'll stand a chance!"
"I
don't care. I'm not some superhero out
to help the world; I just want to save Hahm-sensei. So let me go. Go give
your magic to someone else."
"I
can't," she bit out through clenched teeth. Even wounded, Kishuku was hard to hold back. "You were born with this power. I can
awaken it, I can't just give it out like candy!" The thought of food sent her into a momentary daydream giving
Kishuku enough time to slip out of her grip.
"I'm
going to save Hahm-sensei, I don't care about constellations or these Suzaku
seishi." And with that he turned
to leave.
"Yamete,"
she called out to him stretching her hand towards him in a helpless gesture,
"please allow me to awaken your powers become a Suzaku seishi. Only they can stop Seiryuu's minions and
you're the only one I've found so far.
If you go out there and die, Tokyo and the world will fall." "And," she added,
"Hahm-sensei will die for sure."
It was a low blow and they both knew it. Against his will, Kishuku's feet led him back into the alley where
his traitorous arms helped this peculiar girl up.
"So,"
he said looking her in the eye, "how long does this awakening ceremony
take? We haven't got much time."
Miaka
smiled softly, "It's already done."
There was a burst of heat on Kishuku's forehead. The symbol of Tamahome came to life and
Kishuku felt energy spread through his body giving him new strength.
He smiled
crookedly at Miaka; "I guess this makes me a superhero now right? Where's my outfit?" Looking down there was a flash of purple and
Kishuku's hair had grown and he was newly clothed. (another
picture)
"Nani?"
Miaka looked confuse. "That isn't suppose to happen," she said
quietly. Kishuku had caught her voice
but not her words.
Looking up
he questioned her, "Who are you anyways?" Miaka looked relatively surprised.
'Well,' she
thought retrospectively, 'I did meet him just today.'
"I,"
she said with a sweeping bow, "am the Suzaku no Miko. When you are no longer in use of your
powers, simply pull them back inside off you." Kishuku nodded.
Suddenly, the dojo roof crashed
down into the alley that they were standing in. Kishuku grabbed Miaka and dashed out onto the sidewalk. The serpent, it seems, had decided that
Hahm-sensei wasn't getting up after he was knocked through the window frame for
the third time and wanted to go after him in the dojo. No one without powers had ever opposed it so
long; this would be one meal it enjoyed very much. Bending down and savoring the moment, the serpent didn't notice
the figure jumping towards him until the kick connected and he was flying into
the next building, which promptly crashed on top of him. Landing on his feet, Kishuku looked in awe
at the damage one kick had done. When
he saw a figure slumped on the floor, he awe turned to worry. Rushing across the room he kneeled down
besides Hahm-sensei and was relieved to find a pulse. Gently setting the older man against a protective wall, Kishuku
heard a crash and was amazed to find the serpent standing back up-hatred in
it's eyes. Kishuku moved away from the
dojo and onto the street to draw the fight away from his teacher.
~*~
Miaka watched the fight with a growing sense that she had
forgotten to tell Kishuku something.
When the serpent stretched its neck, Miaka's eyes opened in realization:
she had forgotten to tell Kishuku the serpent's weak spot. Seiryuu was so arrogant he had burned a black
dragon onto the weak spot of all of his minions, boasting that no one could
even get close enough to make use of this tidbit of news. Kishuku could fight forever, but he could
never win unless he attacked the weak spot.
Miaka didn't know how to tell him this information though.
"Kishuku,
Kishuku," Miaka called out trying to get his attention, "the
serpent's weak spot is the dragon burn!
Attack the dragon burn!"
Miaka wasn't sure if Kishuku heard her or not, but just as she was about
to yell again a flash of blue and the back of a Chinese dress caught her
attention as it came into view for a short second before turning the corner. A Chinese dress, the color blue, it could
only mean one thing…
"The Seiryuu no miko,"
she whispered in disbelief. If she
could catch the miko and confront her…maybe Miaka could end this war before it
begun. Without a second though Miaka
turned around and ran in the direction the figure had taken. Miaka followed her, sometimes guessing,
sometimes following a flash of blue just before it rounded a corner and went
out of sight. The chase was on.