A.N: bleh bleh = )
Struggling and scolding my dead legs, I forced myself up wiping my bangs away from my eyes.
Ijaou san, my mind cried, go help him! Take revenge!
¡°Come on Takagi run!¡± my head screamed at my disobedient wobbly legs.
I took a deep breath and focused my ki, must run.
And I ran.
When I heard those words from her lips- I had to fight this last battle. My shoulder lay limply by my side from the explosion, but I felt no pain. I had to fight. This one fight for Takeru and for Tokio¡¦
I had to.
The smoke was invading the air in my lungs, the heat pressing onto my shirt.
Refusing defeat from fire, I started to run- got to find that bastard. My hands tightened on my sword.
¡°Ijaou san!¡± Tokio¡¯s voice called
I could sense the fear in her voice.
I had to focus.
I knew that stubborn girl would refuse to retreat from trouble. But at least I would save her pure hands from the dirtiness of killing.
¡°Huh?¡± I squinted despite the blazing fire; a dark figure sauntered towards me.
As man walked, I noted he had a taste for black clothing. Evil. Radiating from his dark strong face down to his black outfit. ¡°Are you the murderer of the Takagi?¡± I screamed at him.
Lazily the man drew out his sword, not answering my question.
For honor
For revenge
Takeru, friend, this is all I could do.
¡°Where is the last Takagi heir?¡± the man spoke at last
¡°You think I¡¯m gonna tell you-bastard¡± outraged I shook, ¡°You¡¯re not going through me¡±
¡°So be it¡± he smiled
I blinked, I could¡¯ve sworn that he was right in front of me. But all I could see was flames and no more. Damned bastard, disappeared-
A jolt of pain exploded my wounded shoulder, ¡°Shit¡±
Whirling I clashed blades with the man hidden in the shadows, the impact was so tremendous that it caused me to fall back a few feet.
¡°Not a bad swordsman¡± the cold voice cut through the wind
Concentrate.
My desperate pants for air slowly remained in control; I looked up to meet his stare.
Ignoring the burn on my shoulder, I straightened and resumed my position.
A cold chuckle came from the stranger, ¡°It would be a shame to have you disposed¡±
I ignored the chill up my spine and focused on anger.
Killed Takeru, he¡¯s gonna kill Tokio-
¡°HYAAAA¡± the howl erupted my mouth as I rushed up to him, sword raised high above¡¦ I was going to kill him- I was-
I was in flames, the sword I held so tightly was gone- its blade shattered and his blade made its way through my stomach.
The heated steal through my abdomen burned, my energy drained, my body limp, I could feel blood flowing from my mouth and guts. God, the pain numbed my vision and hearing.
I couldn¡¯t feel the intruding sword releasing my stomach, nor could I feel my body hit the soil.
Pain.
It was cold.
Takeru- I guess I¡¯ll be joining you¡¦
Shit¡¦I thought I¡¯d never say this but¡¦the Shimsengumi are our only hope Tokio.
Tokio¡¦I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t be there.
My heart¡¯s filled with despair and anguish.
Tokio¡¦I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t protect you¡¦
I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t be with you to see the new era.
I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t-
¡°Ijaou you moron!¡± I yelled unable to see through smoke and rubble.
I was gonna kill him.
Stupid idiot for making me feel helpless.
A sudden fear seized my heart. Oh God, please Ijaou be alive! Don¡¯t bring anymore weeping to my house.
¡°TOKIO SAN!¡±
¡°Ijaou!-¡° I whirled expectantly, but my heart fell to see the Shinsengumi, Souji.
¡°You must evacuate this area Tokio san-¡± Souji held my shoulders, his eyes burning, his cheeks dark from ash.
¡°Souji-san¡¦¡± I desperately held onto him, ¡°I need to find Ijaou! I can¡¯t find him-please¡±
Souji¡¯s boyish face darkened, ¡°Please you must¡±
No
He wasn¡¯t going to help.
Souji coughed violently and with a small smile apologized.
Noticing the mad look in my eyes Souji called out, ¡°Ameno! Get this girl out of here!¡±
A bulky man wearing a Shinsengumi uniform ran to us and grabbed my arm, ¡°Come¡±
My eyes narrowed, I quickly pried his fingers off, and stepped back-quickly drawing my sword, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me¡±
Tearing my eyes from their confused looks, I fled, Ijaou san¡¦I¡¯m coming.
An assassin working for an unknown person, going by the name Choruke.
He was responsible for this mess, and there would be an unavoidable consequence. He would be executed of course preferable by me. I glanced at the fire consuming a building, paying no heed to cries of help and anguish.
I was no doctor.
Just a wolf out in hunt for blood that needed to be spilled.
A small smiled played on my lips.
¡°Captain Saitou¡±
Without turning I waved my hand, ¡°Where¡¯s Okita?¡±
¡°His whereabouts are unknown but a stabbed body has been found.¡±
Interesting.
¡°What was the body¡¯s identification?¡±
¡°Unclear sir but Captain Souji is on the assassin-¡±
Okita, always a step ahead of me. Although he had got here first.
¡°Say no more- clear this mess, help the wounded. We can not risk anymore deaths.¡± I held on the recruit¡¯s gaze. ¡°There¡¯s only one man we are hunting¡¦I think we do not need help anymore help¡±
¡°Yes sir¡±
¡°Oh and one more thing- Where was this corpse?¡±
¡°East of the markets sir¡±
I grinned thinly amused.
Just another game of cat and mouse.
I fell at the point of exhaustion. Thankfully most of the fire had gone out and the chaos slightly gone.
My eyes watered. If Ijaou san died- I¡¯d never forgive myself¡¦.never.
I quickly dried my eyes with the back of my sleeve.
Instinctively I spun around feeling a pair of eyes on me.
What the-
A man stood before me, much taller than myself- an aura of darkness surrounded this man- could he be-?
¡°Choruke from Tokyo is it?¡± a voice called out.
I was momentarily confused. How could the man be speaking without opening his mouth unless-?
I caught a flash of a blue haori. A Shinsengumi? My astonishment turned into a scowl. How could I have NOT notice that Souji had been following me this whole time?
I glared at Souji who dared not look at me. However I noted a rare seriousness in his expression, which stopped me from throwing a sandal at him.
I gasped back in surprise as Souji ran towards the man name Choruke, his movements were graceful and perfect, drawing out and attacking with his sword. The attack from Souji was easily parried by Choruke¡¯s blade.
A counter attack was made, with a spin and a backflip, Souji¡¯s blade catching Choruke¡¯s leg.
As I watched with awe, Choruke howled with anger, his eyes darted and caught my gaze.
¡°GRRRRAA¡± I blinked and choked in horror as Choruke raised for an attack.
Aimed at me.
I rolled quickly dodging missing Choruke¡¯s blow by an inch. I quickly slashed at him, which he easily jumped away from.
Out of nowhere a blinding blur of Souji¡¯s feet slammed against Choruke¡¯s chest, sending him crashing hard on the floor.
Gasping for breath, I refused to be exhausted.
Not now.
¡°Souji-stop- Let me¡± I panted
Souji stopped briefly and turned to me, ¡°What is it Tokio-san?¡±
¡°I have to fight this man¡± my eyes flickered to Choruke who stood up, recovered on that blow. ¡°Me only¡±
Doubt fogged Souji¡¯s eyes, but I ignored it.
A loud chuckle came from Choruke who cautiously walked towards us, ¡°Let her fight- it seems she wishes to die like her boyfriend before her¡±
¡°What are you saying you son of a-¡± suddenly I felt my mouth go slack and my eyes widen. Ijaou san?
Dead?
I gritted my teeth, ignoring the pain that stabbed my heart. Ijaou san¡¦
I slowly raised my katana in front of me, my face expressionless, and my voice dull, ¡°You are responsible for the death of my whole family- who do you work for- the Ishinshishi?¡±
Choruke barked a laugh.
¡°Silence!¡± I rushed up to him. Ijaou san! This is for you!
I delivered my blow and found my blade in the air.
Damn- I have missed!
Concentrate, fool!
Like the Wind
Like Water
I whirled around to block his assault. ¡°DIE TAKAGI!¡±
I barely managed to parry off his angry attacks.
Too Fast.
Pain in my shoulder and leg.
Backflipping to dodge his final blow, I fell heavily before Choruke¡¦.at his mercy.
Tears of anger and pain formed in my eyes, I cursed.
¡°Tokio san!¡± Souji cried out, I scowled, ¡°Don¡¯t Souji san! I¡¯ll rather fight and have death, than be saved by a Shimsengumi and live¡±
Concentrate.
Do not use the sword.
Let your hands be with the sword.
I slashed fiercely at Choruke aiming for his legs. I have missed only by a few millimeters but I was satisfied by his surprised expression.
Again!
I slashed reversed, from bottom up and managed to cut his chest.
I only scratched him.
¡°What-¡± my eyes widened, never have I seen such speed. Choruke was¡¦.everywhere, his images all over, all smiling,¡¦taunting¡¦
¡°It seems that I have to use my full strength to surpass you Takagi¡± Choruke grinned.
A sudden cut appeared on my arm.
Disbelief.
He was too fast. I couldn¡¯t even read his attack.
¡°Enough¡± a different voice called out. This voice was different. More deep and strong. A voice of a protector¡¦?, ¡°It would be a shame to say that this would be your full strength¡±
Takagi you loser! I inwardly smacked myself.
It wasn¡¯t the voice of Choruke or Souji, I wearily wondered who. I was frustrated for I couldn¡¯t see anything but Choruke.
A strong iron hand touched my shoulder, the flaring pain of it made my vision falter.
Who¡¦?
I was fading, I could not fight the darkness that blinded me. I was fainting?
Shit no! I couldn¡¯t!
I was falling.
No get up Takagi
Get up
Get up
Get up
Get up
Get-