Diclaimer: Yeah, we all know the drill by now.
Author's Notes: Well this is the second half of the divided chapter, sorry it took so long but I had to find the floppy disc I saved it on. Well enjoy the show!
It was a reasonably uncomfortable moment for the Emperor of Sairou, the Byakko Territories. He sat at his most regal position near the stage and looked around himself, rather desperately trying to find someone else to send up on the stage and avoid going up in person. The crowd watched in silence, none wanting particularly to be sent up nor be chosen as the volunteer. The silence was so perfect and still that one could hear the crackling of the torches being carried by the dancers in the back and the wind shuffling their garments.
"Surely one of my guests would enjoy being a part of the show!" In a last distressed attempt to steer clear of the dangerous task.
Kira smiled as her plan unfolded exactly as she had suspected. People were infamous for loving dangerous shows, but only when they aren't the ones in danger. There was a long nervous pause and the audience remained hushed as they waited for the Emperor to step up as the volunteer. Kira watched the emperor and waited slyly for him to step down and to his downfall, but not everything quite went to par.
"Well, I suppose I'll go up.no da." Chichiri leaned forward towards Tasuki and stood up. Kira watched the expression of relief as it washed over the Emperor's face, she cocked an eyebrow and noticed that one of the audience members had stood up and volunteered. Mentally she cursed, the plan was already delayed, she didn't expect any of the audience to actually volunteer especially after her show with inviting the emperor. She expected even less to see that blasted Monk step up as the volunteer.
"It seems we have a volunteer!" Kira announced in a voice dripping with a feigned merry attitude. She smiled at the crowd and everyone in the stands cheered for the brave Chichiri. "Well, just a moment and we'll begin the show!" Kira announced and clapped her hands in the air showily.
The crowd fell silent as they watched a pair of costumed dancers come out from behind the wall of fabric at the far end of the circular stage. The pair of dancers were wheeling out a large wooden board that had knife gouges on its surface and a set of four shackles attached to the corners. The emperor choked as he stared at the prop and the audience fell into silent awe. Suddenly Chichiri regretted getting up and volunteering.
"And now the first show of the evening!" Kira announced and the pair of dancers moved the board into position. They quickly jogged back behind the fabric wall and brought out a basket of light throwing daggers. Kira smiled behind her semi-transparent veil and the audience hushed even more.
"The Dance of the Daggers! Ladies, please escort our volunteer to his place." Kira motioned her hand back to the frightening board and the two stagehands costumed as dancers took Chichiri by the arms.
"Don't worry, its perfectly safe." One of the women leading Chichiri whispered to him without moving her head up towards him.
"Really?" Chichiri asked quietly.
"Yeah, from what we've seen she had great aim." The second woman remarked and they both let go of him. "Just stand up there, we have to 'strap you down.'" She said in an unexcited tone.
"From what you've seen?" Chichiri asked, curiosity getting the better of common sense.
"Yes, her aim is much better than the last guy." The first woman commented to Chichiri. "But she's never done it with a real person. and she's only been practicing with this board for two days." The woman trailed off and thought about the situation as she locked Chichiri's right foot and hand into their separate shackles.
"Oh, did you hear? She just sharpened all those- she hasn't even practiced with them yet." The second woman said and Chichiri was getting increasingly worried.
"Oh I hadn't heard! But I hope she can cope with this range." The first woman whispered back to the second, who was locking Chichiri's hand into the shackle. "Honey, just try not to move." The woman said to Chichiri and they both moved away from the board and to a safe distance.
"I'm beginning to regret volunteering." Chichiri trailed off and looked over at the woman with the daggers. He looked at her for a moment and came to the realization that she was the same woman that had helped him escape the encampment of wagons earlier. She still seemed so familiar.
While Chichiri pondered the familiarity of Kira, she was quite busy recalculating the plan in her mind.
'All right, the first part of the plan is shot. I can't throw the daggers and pin down the emperor to the board like I thought I could.' She though and pretended to be warming up while the crowd was distracted by the dancing torch girls. 'And now an even bigger problem. Well I could just kill him and be done with it. Wait! What am I thinking!? I can't kill anyone! I won't! Ever!'
The dancing girls finished just as Kira came to her moral decision and swore to herself that she'd never kill anyone, no matter how much they deserved it or messed up her plans. Drumming and gypsy-ish music began to play behind the fabric wall and the dancing girls dimmed the torches. Kira's costume definitely fit the mood; the strange sheer pink fabric nearly glowed in the torchlight.
The drumming got louder and Chichiri began to really regret his choice of actions. Kira took a step back, and spun around in some dancing motion similar to a pirouette. At the end of her spin, she threw the dagger with astonishing aim at the board. The snapping sound of the metal blade embedding in the wood only a centimeter from Chichiri's head echoed through the deathly silent arena.
The drumming stopped and there was a long pause before a guitar and violin struck up music behind the fabric wall.
'Astounding skill!' Chichiri remarked in his head along with the rest of the audience.
'I was aiming for the yellow circle by his stomach.' Kira blinked and tried to ignore her own thoughts.
Kira threw the remaining five daggers while completing ever more impressive accompanying dance moves. She barely missed Chichiri with each dagger that contacted the board (lets just ignore the fact that she was aiming at the other end of him). There was a long pause after the final dagger contacted the board and in the blink of an eye the audience exploded, everyone jumped to their feet and clapped, cheered, yelled, whistled, and just about anything else (tasteful) that they could think of to show their amazement.
"She's amazing sire." One of the guards sitting around the emperor remarked.
"Quite." The emperor agreed and yet again felt relieved that he wasn't the one to go up.
The pair of stagehands/dancers moved to the board in order to unlock Chichiri. After they unlocked him they retrieved the daggers and the board. The carried them both back behind the fabric, and even though it took quite a good deal of time for them to accomplish those tasks the crowd was still applauding and cheering.
"Hey, I think you should take a bow." One of the torch carrying dancers said quietly to Kira who was simply watching the crowd.
"Oh right!" Kira was so caught up in the moment that she totally forgot about the plan and let her actor roots take over. She bowed once rather deeply and stood up. Then she froze, though the audience didn't notice at all.
"Oh no." Kira said aloud as she spotted the falcon, Isu, at the top of the stands perched on a decorative flagpole. She waved her arms and tried to communicate with the bird but it was too late. The bird took off as it was supposed to when Kira gave the signal and bowed.
There was a shrill call as the falcon alerted the others to move in, but the situation was not as they quite expected it to be. Originally the emperor was supposed to be pinned to the board, and then when the others arrived they would be able to make off with him easily. But Chichiri had gone up instead and the plan was shot.
The audience fell silent as they heard the falcon cry, and they grew worried as they saw Kira wave her arms to halt the bird. The crowd began to murmur and all fell silent again as the bleachers began to shake and a sound like thunder could be heard approaching them. The people at the highest of seats could see over the city wall and they began scrambling out in a panic yelling about demons.
"Damn it all!" Kira yelled and drew her sword. The crowd hardly noticed her draw her sword as they poured down from the stands in a wave of panic. "Get out of my way!" She navigated against the flood of people and tried desperately to get near the emperor.
"That sword!" Chichiri was being moved along with the panicked masses, being shoved this way and that. But above it all he noticed the Samshir shining in the light of the torches. He struggled against the crowd but despite his pushing he couldn't see the person holding the weapon.
Kira couldn't manage to push through the crowd to get to the emperor but she did manage to reach one of the wide-based torches. She took hold of the pole and stepped up above the crowd on the base. She searched for a way to get into the palace easily from her position but came up with nothing. That's when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh no." She gasped and turned to the crowd. "Everyone! Quickly take cover!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and leapt off of the torch's base with every intention of tumbling when she hit the ground.
Most of the crowd did as she said, many of them kept running, but as she leapt into the air an explosion turned a good portion of the outer city walls into debris, gravel, and the rest into a cloud of smoke and dust. Kira hit the ground and rolled until she was stopped by the wheel of a wagon. She opened her eyes and squinted through the dust.
"Nana?" Tatara called into the dust and Kira gasped as she saw a silhouette of his small form walking through the cloud. She had told him earlier not to call her prince and in its place he'd chosen to call her 'Nana.'
"Tatara get out of here!" Kira yelled and sprung to her feet. She ran towards Tatara when she heard the sound of horse's hooves approaching at an excessively rapid pace. The shadow of a horse and its rider burst through the cloud of dust and came far too close to Tatara. Luckily though, Tatara was snatched up by someone who carried him into the crowd and away from the danger.
"Emperor Sanji!" The figure called from its horse and rode through the dust cloud into the reasonably empty stage area.
"Who are you?" The emperor asked the masked rider and his guards surrounded him to defend against attack.
"I am Kurare! The Desert Wind!" The rider announced and drew an old katana from a newly polished scabbard. "You have committed grievous crimes against the desert!" The rider pointed the katana at the emperor and the horse reared up to an impressive height.
"Set down your weapon!" Chichiri commanded from his place high on the bleachers. "I will not allow you to injure the emperor of this land!"
The figure seated on the horse dismounted rather strangely and faced Chichiri. The emperor took the opportunity to flee back into the palace, and Kira followed close behind. Chichiri jumped off the bleachers and in an impressive display of balance landed flawlessly on the stage facing the false Kurare. He held his staff back behind him and took a fighting stance standard of his style.
"You wish to challenge me?" The false Kurare spoke up and pointed the katana at Chichiri. "Very well! Hya!" The false Kurare sprung forward and slashed at Chichiri with the katana. Chichiri lifted his staff and blocked easily, he prepared to strike when the false Kurare hit him first in a move that could only be filed under dirty fighting. The false Kurare elbowed him in the stomach and stepped on the end of his staff.
"Who are you?" Chichiri stared up at the pair of eyes that saw through the facemask; this was not the same fighter he'd met before. The eyes, the style, the weapon, the person was different.
"You have heard my name." The Kurare answered indignantly.
"I've not! You are a liar!" Chichiri said loudly and using some of his own chi pushed the impostor off his staff and prepared to fight with his power if necessary.
"Seishuku!" The impostor yelled and held the sword out to defend. Chichiri slashed his staff through the air; a great gust of wind welled up and blew back the false Kurare. The impostor's mask fell as they did and revealed the false Kurare to be an Egyptian woman.
"Damn you." Tokaki cursed at Chichiri for revealing her identity and spoiling part of the plan. She whistled and through the gaping hole in the wall came a group of riders and her bandits. Tokaki turned and fled from the battle, she ran into the palace after Kira and the Emperor. Chichiri followed after her, but met with some resistance and was driven back by the loyal riders under Tokaki.
All the while as Tokaki battled Chichiri, Kira had followed the Emperor into the very heart of the palace. She had him cornered now, in the central hall. He lay on the ground; having tripped backwards over a table and currently had the tip of Kira's Samshir pressed to his throat.
"What do you want from me? I can give you anything you please just do not harm me!" The Emperor pleaded with the statuesque Kira.
"You have tormented the people of this country all while you live in this palace, far from the majority of your towns in the lap of luxury. Even the people who live in this city fear to come to near to the palace walls- Why?" Kira stated his crimes and demanded an answer.
"Because he's not the emperor." A voice came from the back of the room. A man and woman clad in servants uniforms stepped into the hall and glared at the emperor.
"Really, what else have you found?" Kira asked the two and they replied.
"While Yuki searched the records of the family and discovered who this snake is, I found the true empress of Sairou locked away in the depths of the dungeon." Kage replied and removed the servant's coat that covered his black ninja attire.
"As it turns out, he was the royal treasurer. He leached off the royal family for years, every day becoming more corrupt and then finally he killed the true Emperor and imprisoned the Princess to use as a hostage." Yuki told the second half of the story and glared down at the pitiful man Sanji.
"Why did you do it?" Kira demanded he give her an answer and he gulped.
"They said I could be the Emperor, they said-" His response was cut short as Tokaki burst into the room and slammed the doors shut.
"Today simply isn't going as planned!" Tokaki yelled and stalked into the center of the room. "Why haven't you killed him yet!" She demanded to know and she towered ominously above Kira. "Fine! I'll do it for you." She gave Kira no time to move out of the way, merely shoving the actor to the side. Tokaki lifted her sword in the air and the Emperor held his hands up to cover his head.
Tokaki swung down and her sword made the cracking noise that metal on metal tends to produce. Tokaki growled and looked at what was blocking her way.
"Why do you stop me, he deserves to die." Tokaki pressed down with her katana and hissed.
"I won't let you kill him, even if he deserves it." Kira pressed up with her Samshir and shoved Tokaki back. She'd jumped in front of Tokaki's sword to defend the emperor. She had sworn she would never kill anyone or let anyone be killed while she was around.
Kira's good faith was betrayed, however, when Sanji drew a dagger from his robe and sliced it across Kira's back. He was not a skilled fighter and the blow did little then to sting and cut Kira's clothing. He shoved her forward and scrambled to his feet, he ran to the nearest window and leapt out of it to escape.
"No!" Tokaki ran up to the window and looked desperately for the snake Sanji, but he'd gotten away. "Fool! You let him escape!"
"It doesn't matter, he has no more power." The doors at the end of the hall creaked open again and Umiyame and her partner Toroki walked in. Everyone drew his or her weapons, save Umiyame and Toroki.
"You." Umiyame said in a cold voice and walked up to Kira. She stared her straight in the eyes for a moment and smiled. "Have saved this country, and you have saved my Empress. I thank you." She said and knelt down on one knee.
"Don't mention it." Kira said and sheathed her sword. "Now lets go release the Empress!" She said loudly and everyone but the angered Tokaki cheered.
Author's Notes (Part 2): Well, next chapter is plot. The first of the four holy weapons will be revealed, and perhaps the identity of 'They.' Mahahahaha! *author laughs maniacally, gags, chokes, wheezes and decides never to pull an evil laugh when sick*
Read & Review- Do I really have to keep reminding yall?
Author's Notes: Well this is the second half of the divided chapter, sorry it took so long but I had to find the floppy disc I saved it on. Well enjoy the show!
It was a reasonably uncomfortable moment for the Emperor of Sairou, the Byakko Territories. He sat at his most regal position near the stage and looked around himself, rather desperately trying to find someone else to send up on the stage and avoid going up in person. The crowd watched in silence, none wanting particularly to be sent up nor be chosen as the volunteer. The silence was so perfect and still that one could hear the crackling of the torches being carried by the dancers in the back and the wind shuffling their garments.
"Surely one of my guests would enjoy being a part of the show!" In a last distressed attempt to steer clear of the dangerous task.
Kira smiled as her plan unfolded exactly as she had suspected. People were infamous for loving dangerous shows, but only when they aren't the ones in danger. There was a long nervous pause and the audience remained hushed as they waited for the Emperor to step up as the volunteer. Kira watched the emperor and waited slyly for him to step down and to his downfall, but not everything quite went to par.
"Well, I suppose I'll go up.no da." Chichiri leaned forward towards Tasuki and stood up. Kira watched the expression of relief as it washed over the Emperor's face, she cocked an eyebrow and noticed that one of the audience members had stood up and volunteered. Mentally she cursed, the plan was already delayed, she didn't expect any of the audience to actually volunteer especially after her show with inviting the emperor. She expected even less to see that blasted Monk step up as the volunteer.
"It seems we have a volunteer!" Kira announced in a voice dripping with a feigned merry attitude. She smiled at the crowd and everyone in the stands cheered for the brave Chichiri. "Well, just a moment and we'll begin the show!" Kira announced and clapped her hands in the air showily.
The crowd fell silent as they watched a pair of costumed dancers come out from behind the wall of fabric at the far end of the circular stage. The pair of dancers were wheeling out a large wooden board that had knife gouges on its surface and a set of four shackles attached to the corners. The emperor choked as he stared at the prop and the audience fell into silent awe. Suddenly Chichiri regretted getting up and volunteering.
"And now the first show of the evening!" Kira announced and the pair of dancers moved the board into position. They quickly jogged back behind the fabric wall and brought out a basket of light throwing daggers. Kira smiled behind her semi-transparent veil and the audience hushed even more.
"The Dance of the Daggers! Ladies, please escort our volunteer to his place." Kira motioned her hand back to the frightening board and the two stagehands costumed as dancers took Chichiri by the arms.
"Don't worry, its perfectly safe." One of the women leading Chichiri whispered to him without moving her head up towards him.
"Really?" Chichiri asked quietly.
"Yeah, from what we've seen she had great aim." The second woman remarked and they both let go of him. "Just stand up there, we have to 'strap you down.'" She said in an unexcited tone.
"From what you've seen?" Chichiri asked, curiosity getting the better of common sense.
"Yes, her aim is much better than the last guy." The first woman commented to Chichiri. "But she's never done it with a real person. and she's only been practicing with this board for two days." The woman trailed off and thought about the situation as she locked Chichiri's right foot and hand into their separate shackles.
"Oh, did you hear? She just sharpened all those- she hasn't even practiced with them yet." The second woman said and Chichiri was getting increasingly worried.
"Oh I hadn't heard! But I hope she can cope with this range." The first woman whispered back to the second, who was locking Chichiri's hand into the shackle. "Honey, just try not to move." The woman said to Chichiri and they both moved away from the board and to a safe distance.
"I'm beginning to regret volunteering." Chichiri trailed off and looked over at the woman with the daggers. He looked at her for a moment and came to the realization that she was the same woman that had helped him escape the encampment of wagons earlier. She still seemed so familiar.
While Chichiri pondered the familiarity of Kira, she was quite busy recalculating the plan in her mind.
'All right, the first part of the plan is shot. I can't throw the daggers and pin down the emperor to the board like I thought I could.' She though and pretended to be warming up while the crowd was distracted by the dancing torch girls. 'And now an even bigger problem. Well I could just kill him and be done with it. Wait! What am I thinking!? I can't kill anyone! I won't! Ever!'
The dancing girls finished just as Kira came to her moral decision and swore to herself that she'd never kill anyone, no matter how much they deserved it or messed up her plans. Drumming and gypsy-ish music began to play behind the fabric wall and the dancing girls dimmed the torches. Kira's costume definitely fit the mood; the strange sheer pink fabric nearly glowed in the torchlight.
The drumming got louder and Chichiri began to really regret his choice of actions. Kira took a step back, and spun around in some dancing motion similar to a pirouette. At the end of her spin, she threw the dagger with astonishing aim at the board. The snapping sound of the metal blade embedding in the wood only a centimeter from Chichiri's head echoed through the deathly silent arena.
The drumming stopped and there was a long pause before a guitar and violin struck up music behind the fabric wall.
'Astounding skill!' Chichiri remarked in his head along with the rest of the audience.
'I was aiming for the yellow circle by his stomach.' Kira blinked and tried to ignore her own thoughts.
Kira threw the remaining five daggers while completing ever more impressive accompanying dance moves. She barely missed Chichiri with each dagger that contacted the board (lets just ignore the fact that she was aiming at the other end of him). There was a long pause after the final dagger contacted the board and in the blink of an eye the audience exploded, everyone jumped to their feet and clapped, cheered, yelled, whistled, and just about anything else (tasteful) that they could think of to show their amazement.
"She's amazing sire." One of the guards sitting around the emperor remarked.
"Quite." The emperor agreed and yet again felt relieved that he wasn't the one to go up.
The pair of stagehands/dancers moved to the board in order to unlock Chichiri. After they unlocked him they retrieved the daggers and the board. The carried them both back behind the fabric, and even though it took quite a good deal of time for them to accomplish those tasks the crowd was still applauding and cheering.
"Hey, I think you should take a bow." One of the torch carrying dancers said quietly to Kira who was simply watching the crowd.
"Oh right!" Kira was so caught up in the moment that she totally forgot about the plan and let her actor roots take over. She bowed once rather deeply and stood up. Then she froze, though the audience didn't notice at all.
"Oh no." Kira said aloud as she spotted the falcon, Isu, at the top of the stands perched on a decorative flagpole. She waved her arms and tried to communicate with the bird but it was too late. The bird took off as it was supposed to when Kira gave the signal and bowed.
There was a shrill call as the falcon alerted the others to move in, but the situation was not as they quite expected it to be. Originally the emperor was supposed to be pinned to the board, and then when the others arrived they would be able to make off with him easily. But Chichiri had gone up instead and the plan was shot.
The audience fell silent as they heard the falcon cry, and they grew worried as they saw Kira wave her arms to halt the bird. The crowd began to murmur and all fell silent again as the bleachers began to shake and a sound like thunder could be heard approaching them. The people at the highest of seats could see over the city wall and they began scrambling out in a panic yelling about demons.
"Damn it all!" Kira yelled and drew her sword. The crowd hardly noticed her draw her sword as they poured down from the stands in a wave of panic. "Get out of my way!" She navigated against the flood of people and tried desperately to get near the emperor.
"That sword!" Chichiri was being moved along with the panicked masses, being shoved this way and that. But above it all he noticed the Samshir shining in the light of the torches. He struggled against the crowd but despite his pushing he couldn't see the person holding the weapon.
Kira couldn't manage to push through the crowd to get to the emperor but she did manage to reach one of the wide-based torches. She took hold of the pole and stepped up above the crowd on the base. She searched for a way to get into the palace easily from her position but came up with nothing. That's when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh no." She gasped and turned to the crowd. "Everyone! Quickly take cover!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and leapt off of the torch's base with every intention of tumbling when she hit the ground.
Most of the crowd did as she said, many of them kept running, but as she leapt into the air an explosion turned a good portion of the outer city walls into debris, gravel, and the rest into a cloud of smoke and dust. Kira hit the ground and rolled until she was stopped by the wheel of a wagon. She opened her eyes and squinted through the dust.
"Nana?" Tatara called into the dust and Kira gasped as she saw a silhouette of his small form walking through the cloud. She had told him earlier not to call her prince and in its place he'd chosen to call her 'Nana.'
"Tatara get out of here!" Kira yelled and sprung to her feet. She ran towards Tatara when she heard the sound of horse's hooves approaching at an excessively rapid pace. The shadow of a horse and its rider burst through the cloud of dust and came far too close to Tatara. Luckily though, Tatara was snatched up by someone who carried him into the crowd and away from the danger.
"Emperor Sanji!" The figure called from its horse and rode through the dust cloud into the reasonably empty stage area.
"Who are you?" The emperor asked the masked rider and his guards surrounded him to defend against attack.
"I am Kurare! The Desert Wind!" The rider announced and drew an old katana from a newly polished scabbard. "You have committed grievous crimes against the desert!" The rider pointed the katana at the emperor and the horse reared up to an impressive height.
"Set down your weapon!" Chichiri commanded from his place high on the bleachers. "I will not allow you to injure the emperor of this land!"
The figure seated on the horse dismounted rather strangely and faced Chichiri. The emperor took the opportunity to flee back into the palace, and Kira followed close behind. Chichiri jumped off the bleachers and in an impressive display of balance landed flawlessly on the stage facing the false Kurare. He held his staff back behind him and took a fighting stance standard of his style.
"You wish to challenge me?" The false Kurare spoke up and pointed the katana at Chichiri. "Very well! Hya!" The false Kurare sprung forward and slashed at Chichiri with the katana. Chichiri lifted his staff and blocked easily, he prepared to strike when the false Kurare hit him first in a move that could only be filed under dirty fighting. The false Kurare elbowed him in the stomach and stepped on the end of his staff.
"Who are you?" Chichiri stared up at the pair of eyes that saw through the facemask; this was not the same fighter he'd met before. The eyes, the style, the weapon, the person was different.
"You have heard my name." The Kurare answered indignantly.
"I've not! You are a liar!" Chichiri said loudly and using some of his own chi pushed the impostor off his staff and prepared to fight with his power if necessary.
"Seishuku!" The impostor yelled and held the sword out to defend. Chichiri slashed his staff through the air; a great gust of wind welled up and blew back the false Kurare. The impostor's mask fell as they did and revealed the false Kurare to be an Egyptian woman.
"Damn you." Tokaki cursed at Chichiri for revealing her identity and spoiling part of the plan. She whistled and through the gaping hole in the wall came a group of riders and her bandits. Tokaki turned and fled from the battle, she ran into the palace after Kira and the Emperor. Chichiri followed after her, but met with some resistance and was driven back by the loyal riders under Tokaki.
All the while as Tokaki battled Chichiri, Kira had followed the Emperor into the very heart of the palace. She had him cornered now, in the central hall. He lay on the ground; having tripped backwards over a table and currently had the tip of Kira's Samshir pressed to his throat.
"What do you want from me? I can give you anything you please just do not harm me!" The Emperor pleaded with the statuesque Kira.
"You have tormented the people of this country all while you live in this palace, far from the majority of your towns in the lap of luxury. Even the people who live in this city fear to come to near to the palace walls- Why?" Kira stated his crimes and demanded an answer.
"Because he's not the emperor." A voice came from the back of the room. A man and woman clad in servants uniforms stepped into the hall and glared at the emperor.
"Really, what else have you found?" Kira asked the two and they replied.
"While Yuki searched the records of the family and discovered who this snake is, I found the true empress of Sairou locked away in the depths of the dungeon." Kage replied and removed the servant's coat that covered his black ninja attire.
"As it turns out, he was the royal treasurer. He leached off the royal family for years, every day becoming more corrupt and then finally he killed the true Emperor and imprisoned the Princess to use as a hostage." Yuki told the second half of the story and glared down at the pitiful man Sanji.
"Why did you do it?" Kira demanded he give her an answer and he gulped.
"They said I could be the Emperor, they said-" His response was cut short as Tokaki burst into the room and slammed the doors shut.
"Today simply isn't going as planned!" Tokaki yelled and stalked into the center of the room. "Why haven't you killed him yet!" She demanded to know and she towered ominously above Kira. "Fine! I'll do it for you." She gave Kira no time to move out of the way, merely shoving the actor to the side. Tokaki lifted her sword in the air and the Emperor held his hands up to cover his head.
Tokaki swung down and her sword made the cracking noise that metal on metal tends to produce. Tokaki growled and looked at what was blocking her way.
"Why do you stop me, he deserves to die." Tokaki pressed down with her katana and hissed.
"I won't let you kill him, even if he deserves it." Kira pressed up with her Samshir and shoved Tokaki back. She'd jumped in front of Tokaki's sword to defend the emperor. She had sworn she would never kill anyone or let anyone be killed while she was around.
Kira's good faith was betrayed, however, when Sanji drew a dagger from his robe and sliced it across Kira's back. He was not a skilled fighter and the blow did little then to sting and cut Kira's clothing. He shoved her forward and scrambled to his feet, he ran to the nearest window and leapt out of it to escape.
"No!" Tokaki ran up to the window and looked desperately for the snake Sanji, but he'd gotten away. "Fool! You let him escape!"
"It doesn't matter, he has no more power." The doors at the end of the hall creaked open again and Umiyame and her partner Toroki walked in. Everyone drew his or her weapons, save Umiyame and Toroki.
"You." Umiyame said in a cold voice and walked up to Kira. She stared her straight in the eyes for a moment and smiled. "Have saved this country, and you have saved my Empress. I thank you." She said and knelt down on one knee.
"Don't mention it." Kira said and sheathed her sword. "Now lets go release the Empress!" She said loudly and everyone but the angered Tokaki cheered.
Author's Notes (Part 2): Well, next chapter is plot. The first of the four holy weapons will be revealed, and perhaps the identity of 'They.' Mahahahaha! *author laughs maniacally, gags, chokes, wheezes and decides never to pull an evil laugh when sick*
Read & Review- Do I really have to keep reminding yall?