8/1/01
Disclaimer: the characters such as Long, Kenji, etc. belong to Hudson Soft
Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-IV and giving me a really good reason to write this story, and my readers, especially PokeDigi, LazzyQ, Alica Tylon, Deoku, VGuyver, StarryPeach, AKA, Brad Crawford, Arashi, Flyby, and Niteflite.
Bloody Roar II: Looking Into A Mirror
By Tiger5913
He was staring at a reflection of himself.
The figure was younger, and, he could spot a sliver of innocence lingering in the light brown irises through half-closed lids. Spots of dried blood stained the skin-tight yellow outfit that clothed the youth, who was lying on the ground, a grimace on his expression. Whatever emotions he had at the moment were well blocked by the tangy dark blue strands that covered his eyes, hiding the passage into his inner self. The tall Asian man peered down at him, feeling a twinge of pity for the teenager, but found himself turning away, his long black ponytail bumping into his forearm as he did so.
"Master…" a voice behind him asked softly. "Are we just gonna… leave him here…?"
"Your techniques seem familiar."
"You, I know not."
Had he once been that eager to attack bystanders whom he never even set gaze upon before? Mere strangers that could have walked alongside him on the streets, normal people that he saw everyday, and never gave a second thought to, until he sought out to attack them?
While he was brooding over that in their battle, his opponent had taken it to his advantage and struck him when he was momentarily distracted, taunting in the process, "The weak cling to the past…"
Gritting his teeth, the older fighter knew that he couldn't allow himself to be defeated by a reincarnation of who he was so many years ago. "An assassin, eh? Tylon's dogs all have the same stench."
Given his immense battling experience over the adolescent's own level, he was able to beat him by himself, although with some protest from his disciple, who wanted to participate in the battle also. Now his foe, claiming to be an assassin, lied upon the cold hard floor unconscious, his motions still, and his posture seeming so lifeless that he almost appeared dead… But no, he glanced back, and saw that his chest was rising slightly, so he knew that the downed figure could still breathe, however with some difficulty.
"Um… Master…?"
…He is just like I was a few years ago… the protagonist realized with a startling jolt. …An assassin, too young, given up his family, flung away the possibility of a future, all for what…?
His face set in a stony expression; he stepped toward the youth, glaring at him with stormy, pain-filled brown eyes. He'd defeated a reincarnation of himself, but had it done any good, would it make the juvenile realize that he should live his life differently, that he should take another path? Also, he felt a strange connection with him, even though that teenager was really just a nameless person in the crowd, one that he wouldn't recognize upon sight.
So what was this connection…? A fiery spirit to fight had been detected in his light-colored pupils while the two were combating, but what could he make of that? There had been a sparkle that he spied, a figment that reminded him of his past, of the eagerness that flooded his senses as he dominated his opponents in battle. Striking the killing blow always was the most exhilarating part of the hunt, holding the power of someone's existence in the palm of his hand. Knowing that a person was in his mercy… it fed him with a hunger that could never be satisfied, only strove to seek more victims.
"…Tend to him, Uriko. When he regains consciousness, and is able to venture off by himself, then we shall take our leave and continue our own task." He commanded her in his usual, gentle but forceful sounding tone of voice. …I feel like I should know this young boy from somewhere…
"O-okay…" Uriko Nonomura replied quietly, looking nervous as the fourteen-year-old slowly knelt down by the boy, peering over him quickly, compassion filling her chocolate brown irises. Her hand shook slightly as her hand hesitantly reached toward him, her palm grazing against his forehead when her fingers stroked through the thin blue strands of his bangs.
I-I don't know what to do… she thought nervously. Sister's the nurse, not me-! I don't know how to wake this boy up…!
As if on cue, his eyes shot open all of a sudden, and an arm lurched out to elbow her in the stomach harshly. A cry of pain escaped her as she fell a few feet away from him, her back hitting the metal surface of a streetlight pole that was nearby. Shooting her with a cold, unyielding look, an arrogant smirk that could almost have been mistaken for a smile, crept onto his lips. Spotting the situation, her martial arts master strode over to the duo, but before he could take even three steps, the male teenager arose to his feet.
With hasty reflexes, he gave the Kenpo student a smug wink before leaping up, ascending and landing on the top of a two-story building that was sitting behind Uriko. Blinking rapidly, her head lifted in the direction that he had disappeared off to, feeling confused by the way her heart was pounding so briskly. Pink blush fanned her cheeks, and she stood from her position, glancing at her master, noticing that he too, had his eyes trained skyward. She followed his gaze, and discovered that the young assassin was still poised on the tall structure, looking down at them motionlessly.
To her surprise, Long Shin spoke just then, calling out to his former opponent in a persuasive, advising way, "You are too young for a job that can only lead to your own death. Turn away from the evil before it's too late… too late for you."
…Pathetic, inferior creatures, the youth sneered as he watched the two on the ground walk off. That man doesn't know what he's talking about, merely uttering foolish babble, who does he think he is to try and tell me what to do?
But somehow, he felt that when he set his sights upon the man, he was looking into a mirror…
A flash of brown caught his attention just then, breaking that pervious chain of thought; the wave of the girl's long braided hair before it vanished into the shadows. His eyes crinkled in interest, narrowing as he mused, I will be seeing more of her soon… next time, without the interference of that man… Remembering her caresses earlier, he almost smiled, but wiped that thought away quickly, turning it into a scowl.
Turning away, he sought to blend into the shadows once again, in pursuit of his next targets, while silently promising, …You're mine, girl…
The End
Author's Note: Whew… kinda intense, huh…? This fic is in my own separate timeline, and occurs in the part where Kenji and Long fight each other in their BRII stories. Again, the Keniko implications are subtle, but they are there, rest assured Keniko lovers. =) Man I haven't had time to write much lately, so I'm really glad that I could finish this, but don't worry, my Bloody Roar III sequel is still my main concern. Chapter 4 is coming along considerably fine, despite the fact that I can probably only work on it a couple hours a day. . Well, I'll still try my best! Hope that you readers enjoyed this fic, and please leave feedback/a review!
With love for my fans,
Tiger5913