Author: Crystal Arie
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Hanamichi Sakuragi and Kaede Rukawa
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Takehiko Inoue.
The Tensai's Devil
Part Twenty-Six
"Hana?!" Rukawa gasped out as he struggled to stand up, but when he tried, the wound on his leg protested, making him grimace in pain as he fell back down on the ground, clutching his leg as the wound in his back bled even more due to his position. Hanamichi cursed and came forward, noting the wound on the raven haired man's back. When he raised both hands over Rukawa's back, Rukawa looked up into Hanamichi's eyes and whispered slowly, "What...are you...doing...Hana?"
Hanamichi answered impatiently. "What does it look like, baka?! You're bleeding like nuts here! I have to heal you!" As he was saying that, a light green glow appeared on his hands as he passed on his energy to Rukawa. Slowly, the blood stopped flowing and the wound started healing itself. When Hanamichi was done, seeing the marred wound gone, he stood back and smiled at his work. "There! All better."
Rukawa grasped Hanamichi's hand fast and pulled the redhead's face close to his. "What are you doing here?!" Then, he noticed something as he stared into Hanamichi's eyes. "Wait...why aren't you suffering when you look at me?"
Hanamichi shrugged and helped Rukawa to his feet. "Dunno. One minute, I lost my memory, the next, these wings popped out of my back and everything came back to me." Hanamichi smiled at Rukawa's stunned face. "Hehe. Ain't it cool? I have wings!"
"No, it isn't cool." Rukawa muttered angrily as he managed to stand up straight without Hanamichi's help.
Hanamichi raised his eyebrow in question. "Why not?"
Rukawa pointed his finger to the figure hovering a few feet away from them. "Because he's gonna kill you."
Hanamichi turned his head slightly to the side, spotted Death holding his scythe close to his chest, and smirked diabolically. "Heh...?" Hanamichi turned fully, bringing his own scythe in front of him as he nodded his head in greeting to Death. "Yo, Death. Miss me?"
Rukawa stared at Hanamichi incredulously, but Death laughed back. "You have no idea how much I wanted to see you, Sakuragi-san. And I see you really are the chosen bride for Kaede-sama, plus, you have the power." Death said this all in a cool manner, but inside, he was shaking with uncertainty. He didn't sense the power from Hanamichi when he was on his way towards them. Usually, he could sense anything as far as 100 miles away, but even when Hanamichi came and blocked his final blow, he hadn't sensed him. As Death observed Hanamichi now, standing astride with his wings folded slightly and scythe held up, Death felt a chill ran down his spine. The aura from Hanamichi was...overwhelming. It looked so big, and yet, it didn't seem so dark. It looked like it was mixed with light and dark. Death has never seen anything like that, and he didn't know how much power the young man had.
Hanamichi smiled at Death, then his face turned serious. "You know, you hurt my lover and my friends while I was gone. Do you know what I want to do with you right now because of that? Hmmm?"
Death shook his doubts away from his head and sneered back at the redhead. "What, Sakuragi-kun?"
Hanamichi lifted his body off the ground and into the sky as he shouted, "Kill you!" As he said that, he spread his arms and a black orb appeared in front of him, crackling with the electricity inside. He sent it down towards Death, and at the same time, followed close. Death managed to destroy the orb as it collided with his scythe, but he wasn't able to block Hanamichi's attack. The scythe cut off his left arm, making him drop to his feet in pain.
Hanamichi landed on the ground, tucking his wings in as he watched Death clutch his side. Just then, Sendoh and Koshino ran in, looking breathless and pale, but when the saw Hanamichi, they breathed out a sigh of relief. Sendoh stepped forward angrily and pointed his finger at Hanamichi, who was standing over Death's body. "Kora! Hanamichi!!! Why didn't you wait for us?!!!"
Hanamichi shrugged. "Coz you guys were too slow."
Sendoh shook his head, then bowed down to Rukawa, who was slowly regaining his strength. "Sorry about not keeping him in the house. One minute, he's crying on my shoulder when you left, the next, those wings sprouted from his back and he regained his memory. Then, he threatened me and Koshino-"
Rukawa shook his head at that. "Wait, wait, hold on. Threatened?"
Sendoh nodded. "Yeah. Something about wanting to learn a spell that can help you fight against Death, and a healing spell. Well, we taught him the orb attack and how to heal, and he took off."
Rukawa looked back at Hanamichi's face. I see...That's how he healed me and got the orb out in the first place... Then, he saw a movement on the ground and shouted, "HANA! STEP BACK!"
"Eh?" Hanamichi did as he was told, not sure why he had to do it, but when he looked down at Death, his eyes widened in disbelief. "No...way..." Death's arm was reforming itself. Some cells attached themselves on the cut arm and started rebuilding it. Hanamichi watched as Death stood up in a graceful manner, his arm back to normal, his scythe in front of him. Hanamichi cursed and flew up again. "No way..." He formed another orb in front of his body and threw it towards Death fast, his eyes shaking with fear and disbelief. "DIE!!!!"
When his orb was about to hit Death right on the head, Death looked up at the orb and stopped it with his eyes. The orb stood still and silent as Death smiled up at Hanamichi, showing the redhead that he was in charge.
Hanamichi swallowed hard, his eyes wide. "Sou na..."
But before anything else, Death made a small movement with his finger, and the orb flew back towards Hanamichi at a fast rate. Hanamichi had no time to fly away, and seeing that he had no other option, he tried to block it with his scythe. The orb connected with his weapon and he pushed hard against it, but when Death made another movement with his hand, Hanamichi cried out as the wind from the orb cut through his skin, creating various wound everywhere. Hanamichi felt a particularly large wound form on his right hand, which caused him to jerk back, thus, making his body accept the full impact of the orb. Hanamichi cried out in pain as his body received a hot and harsh beating, and as the finale, it exploded on his chest. He choked back the blood that threatened to come out of his mouth as he clutched his stomach, falling head first towards the ground.
"HANA!!!!!" Rukawa called out, hoping that Hanamichi would regain consciousness and spread his wings. It didn't happen. Rukawa cursed and spread his wings, wincing a bit because it was newly healed, and also because he was too forceful. He dove straight towards Hanamichi and caught the redhead before his head could touch the ground. He cradled Hanamichi in his arms as he rose higher and higher, touching Hanamichi's cheek softly as he did so. "Hana...Hana..."
Hanamichi opened his eyes, and he smiled up at Rukawa weakly. "Hey..."
Rukawa closed his eyes in relief and murmured, "This will hurt for a while, but you'll feel better afterwards." With that, Rukawa enclosed both their bodies in a light green ball. When he did that, all of their wounds and cuts were healed. Hanamichi did cringe and gasp every once in a while, but when it was over, he regained his energy. Rukawa sighed and kissed Hanamichi on the forehead, too happy to speak.
Hanamichi spread his wings and extracted himself from Rukawa's hold as he touched Rukawa's face. "You okay?"
Rukawa nodded. "Yeah. That was just a small part of my power, so no problem."
Hanamichi nodded back and stared at Death, who was grinning up at them. Hanamichi's voice shook. "What do we do? He's really powerful."
"He's Death. What more can you expect?" Rukawa replied, holding Hanamichi close to him.
Death levitated himself up to where Hanamichi and Rukawa were and smiled at them. "My orders were only to kill the angel and you, Sakuragi-san. I haven't released my true power yet, but I can assure you that no one can stop me once I do."
Hanamichi thought that over and smiled to himself. "I think you better take those words back, Death." With that, he formed a small black orb and threw it towards Death, at the same, time, he grabbed Rukawa's wrist and dragged him towards the opposite direction. When he saw that Death was enclosed in the smoke created by the impact of his orb, he whispered anxiously, "Kitsune, do you know about the combining our powers thing so that any wish that I ask will come true?"
Rukawa nodded. "Of course I do."
Hanamichi looked up and saw Death come out of the smoke, aiming a very large orb towards him. He managed to duck at the right time as he continued talking to Rukawa, who at the moment threw his own black orb towards Death. "Well, would you please tell me how to bring that power out of me so we can end this? I don't want anyone to die, you know."
Rukawa jumped up before the orb he sent came back towards him, then, he said, "Sendoh or Mitsui. They know." With that, Hanamichi flew off towards the entrance of the field where everyone was as Rukawa faced Death.
Death laughed under his breath when he noticed Hanamichi land beside Sendoh and say something urgently. Death shifted his attention towards Rukawa and drew out his scythe. "Well, it seems that I have to make you unconscious again so that you won't interfere with me when I kill your lover over there."
Rukawa held his own scythe at arms length and muttered furiously, "I won't let you touch him."
"Hmph. Irresponsible promises." With that, Death lunged forward and started battling with Rukawa.
Rukawa managed to block every hit that was meant to knock him out, but when he saw Death's grin under that cloak, he knew that Death wasn't serious at all. He was simply playing with him, making it seem like all his efforts didn't go to waste when in fact it was like seeing an adult and a child playing together. Rukawa was furious and he hastened his blows, aiming for the face of Death. Instead of him hitting though, Death managed to swing his scythe around expertly and the tip entered Rukawa's thigh, making Rukawa scream out in pain.
Death smiled at him and pushed the blade even deeper. "What's wrong, Kaede-sama? Want to give up and let me kill you beloved Hana?"
Rukawa shouted out in frustration and knocked Death's scythe away from his thigh with his own scythe. "Never call him that!"
Death shrugged and before Rukawa knew it, an orb hit him straight on the chest. His body was pushed back against the wall hard, making him lose his breath because of the impact. Rukawa's held on to the rocks around him as he glared at Death, who was nearing in with a very large orb, the energy crackling like lighting. He shrunk back unconsciously, wanting to fight back, but his scythe dropped to the ground when the first orb made contact with his chest.
Rukawa clenched his teeth, knowing that he was helpless at the moment, his vision slightly blurry because of the impact. "Kuso..."
Death grinned at him, then aimed the orb towards Rukawa. "It's time to go to sleep for now." He released the orb straight at Rukawa's head, laughing madly as he did so. But then, instead of the orb hitting Rukawa, it turned around and hit Death, sending him falling to the ground hard.
Rukawa looked up at who was in front of him and smiled. "Thanks again."
Hanamichi smiled back. "Anytime." Then, he groaned when he lifted his hand over Rukawa's injured leg and started healing him again. "Man! This healing thing sure is a pain in the butt, huh?" Rukawa only smiled in response. When he was done, he helped Rukawa from the wall and healed the back of the raven haired man's head where a nasty cut made itself known.
Death lifted his body off the ground and glared angrily at Hanamichi. "This is the second time you have interrupted me, mortal."
Hanamichi turned his attention towards Death and smiled arrogantly. "Yeah, well, this was the second time you tried to hit Kaede with that orb of yours when he couldn't do anything, so I think it's pretty fair."
Death rose up from the ground and glared at Hanamichi. He levitated himself off the ground and into the air, his entire form crackling with electricity, the clouds darkening slightly, and the wind becoming cold. Death raised his arms up and made a gigantic orb above his head, the lightning from the clouds and the wind from above combining themselves with the orb, making it look bigger and more powerful. Angrily, he said, "It seems that I have to hit you with a very hard orb since you're so hardheaded, Sakuragi-kun."
Rukawa looked at the orb for a while, then whispered to Hanamichi, "That's one of his most powerful attacks, Hana. Are you ready for our final attack?"
Hanamichi licked his lips. "Yeah...I'm ready."
Rukawa nodded back then closed his eyes. Hanamichi did the same and they started mumbling a very old incantation under their breaths, both their bodies glowing bright yellow, an unseen wind blowing gently against their faces. They both lifted their scythes in front of them when they got to the middle part of the incantation, a silver blue essence flowing around them as they continued speaking silently.
Death snorted under his breath and threw the gigantic orb towards the duo. "NOW YOU DIE!!!!!!!!!!!"
At the exact same time he orb was released, both Rukawa and Hanamichi's eyes opened, showing the color of light yellow and blue mixed together as they both flew straight towards the center of the orb, their scythes encased in wind as they molded into one. When the wind disappeared, they were holding a grand scythe that looked magnificent and majestic. They hit the center of the orb, made it explode, and continued forward until finally, they hit Death's chest, shouting as they did so. Then, they were engulfed in light.
The strange, white light exploded everywhere, making everything disappear and every sound vanish. Hanamichi closed his eyes, feeling his body fall down towards the ground, expecting to crash against the hard, dead earth. But when his body didn't hit anything, he opened his eyes cautiously, and saw that he was in a different dimension that somewhat resembled the sea from below. He saw the sun's rays shining down from the surface of the ocean, and he felt the calm touch of the water caress his exposed skin. He closed his eyes, feeling peaceful and free. Then, that's when he heard a small voice whisper to him.
"Hanamichi..."
Hanamichi didn't open his eyes, feeling drained from using most of his powers to fight off the orb that Death sent towards him. Instead, he answered the voice back by thinking it. Who are you?
The voice chuckled softly. "Let's just say that I'm your fairy god-mother." The voice paused for a while then asked silently, "What do you wish for? And you may only have one wish."
Hanamichi felt drowsy and so tired, but he saw the face of Rukawa pass before his eyes, followed by Kogure's smiling face, Mitsui's shocked expression, Sendoh sitting beside him, and Koshino staring at him form a distance. When he was about to open his mouth, the voice interrupted him again.
"Before you answer, you must know the consequences that may occur because of your wish, or the changes that will take place around the world, will be because of your decision. Think wisely."
Hanamichi calmed his heart, knowing that the perfect wish was somewhere in him, but he just didn't know how to put it in words. He wanted everyone to be happy and safe. He wanted Rukawa beside him, he wanted Kogure to be healed and to stay with Mitsui, he wanted Sendoh and Koshino to be okay even after doing all kinds of things to get him and Rukawa together...he wanted the world to be the same. He thought it over and over in his head, when it finally hit him. He smiled and whispered, "I know what to wish for."
The voice came close to him, the presence comforting. "What is it, Hanamichi?"
Hanamichi smiled then felt the light consume his vision. He felt his body fall slowly from where he was floating to a place that felt soft as his mind shut down. But before everything turned black, he managed to whisper one sentence.
"I wish...that everything would be right."
TBC
Camry: Hah! I thought I lost the last 3 chapters when it didn't appear in ff.net! What's worse, I deleted it from my file already WAH!!! But hey, it was saved by a friend of mine who owns this website: animefrenzy.topcities.com. Please visit it! Anyway, what do you think? REVIEW!!!