Pain Freak
Ronin Setora
Part Four

* Recap *
Katsura stood behind his savior, mouth agape and eyes wide. Sweat poured from 
his brow and into his eyes, his breath was ragged and uneven. His behavior was 
much unlike the Samurai he was but as he blinked to clear his vision, both the 
children were gone into the air to begin a duel akin to the war of the Gods...

------------------------------

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with the drawn blades; the children 
focused with hatred on one another, both determined to walk away from the battle 
victorious. There could only be one victor, however.

Katsura blinked his eyes during a moment in which the sun fell upon his irises; as 
he opened them just after that instant, the swordsmen were upon each other in the 
air. The ultimate battle was begun.

Kyuumei narrowed his eyes, bent his knees; Himura did the same and without other 
warning, both leaped high into the air toward another and the first attack was 
thrown. As Chi's slash met Kenshin's own blade, they locked swords during their 
freefall to the ground. Moments before collision with the earth, Kyuumei kicked 
upwards and his body spun in backflip. He landed gracefully on his feet as Himura 
landed upon one knee, knocked off guard by the movement of his opponent.

Both children stood without motion, watching and feeling the other's spirit with 
every breath. Kyuumei rushed at Himura, his katana held low to his right side. As 
he reached the hitokiri, the katana switched sides and with his single right hand, 
he pulled the blade up along Himura's chest. Kenshin dodged barely but while his 
spirit was disoriented, his mind focused on the katana above his neck, Chi drew his 
shorter sword back-handed and spun entirely, the blade tearing through the wrinkles 
of Himura's gi, very near his chest.

Kyuumei flicked his hair from his eyes and stood, right arm wide and out, bearing 
the katana broadly, left arm near his obi, tucked carefully, bearing his wakizashi. 
His stance mimicked that of Miyamoto Musashi while Himura took his own katana two 
handed, posing to thrust. 

Both children dashed at once, feeling the other's resolved spirit and hoping to 
trouble it. Himura began to thrust at Kyuumei's throat and as the silver-haired boy 
spun left to avoid it, a strong kick was planted in his left side rousing a crack. 

"Damn," Kyuumei thought for a moment as he noticed his fractured rib, "This one's 
no pushover."

Chi raised his left arm and deeply bent his elbow, the tip of his wakizashi in line 
with his vision and his right arm extended forward entirely. He waved the katana 
blade a bit, debating his attack. Meanwhile, Himura assumed the same thrust stance, 
but turned the blade tip downward this time.

Kenshin dashed toward the unmoving Chi, threw forward his arms as if to strike and 
as Chi parried the blade downward, Kenshin dropped also, using his powerful legs to 
drive his shoulder into Chi's stomach. As Kyuumei stumbled backward, he dropped his 
katana; Kenshin rushed in at that moment, slashing toward Kyuumei's throat from the 
left side. Chi barely defended with his companion sword, but was thrown to the 
ground from the impact. 

Himura did not chase him, rather waited, took his breaths slowly to calm his racing 
heart. His firey red hair had begun to slip from its topknot; it framed his face 
and with the last of the setting sun behind him, it blazed blindingly along with 
his glowing amber eyes. A demon that had long rested within Himura Kenshin was 
awake; it also had an insatiable bloodlust which could be temporarily appeased with 
the blood of his foe. 

Kyuumei rose gradually to one knee, knowing well the advantage he believed he had 
before was none. His silver eyes were glazing with blood, his vision grew red at 
its edges. If he lost control now, he might not survive the battle and, as the one 
to issue the challenge, a loss was unacceptable. The silver in his eyes mixed with 
the blood flooding them and suddenly, his rapidly beating heart slowed to normal. 
Kyuumei stood in silence, eyes shut, mouth open. He began to mumble and grew slowly 
louder, 

"...not as weak as I believed you to be."
Chi looked up at his opponent, who appeared to burn in the sunset, 
"I will no longer play with you, Hitokiri Battousai. I will not relinquish my life 
to a hypocritical shadow demon as yourself!"

Kyuumei's eyes grew completely red, however, they shined in the light just as the 
Battousai's. Chi walked calmly over to his katana and retrieved it, at the same 
time tossing his wakizashi with great strength yet no effort- the blade landed only 
inches from Katsura's feet. The older man backed up a step but did nothing else; 
something was about to happen between the kids and he did not wish to miss it.

Kenshin, now fully possessed by the Battousai, dropped into a middle attitude, eyes 
focused on the swordsman before him.

Chi, mind filled with rage but heart with joy, fell from a middle attitude to a low 
right one, his body almost floating beneath him. His focus was entirely on the 
Battousai, no longer on pleasure, or the thrill of the battle, but solely on the 
warrior of legend. 

Katsura watched in awe at the boys before him, never had he, a boy born into the 
Samurai way, been so intense concerning a fight. Nor had he ever been enganged in a 
duel so critical to his own life- the intensity of power between the two children 
was simply amazing. His wonder at the children was broken by Battousai's cold 
voice, 

"We shall see. Come. Die."

Kyuumei lunged at Himura, threw all his weight into an upward slash followed by a 
downward one along the same path. Himura caught Kyuumei's blade upon his own during 
the downward strike and juggled the boy's weight along his sword. He finally 
slipped Kyuumei off the sword and spun around behind him, his sword coming down 
strong toward Kyuumei's neck. 

Chi took the stumble of his thrown weight, rolled forward and landed, right foot 
further back than the left. With it, he hurled himself toward the Battousai and 
found their blades met again. Kenshin was hunched low, shoulders strained holding 
his opponent above him. The two could almost taste each other's desperation; sweat 
poured from each's brow, cold, controlled anger brewed behind each pair of eyes. 
Himura's legs gave under the weight but in that instant he pulled his feet upward 
in to Kyuumei's chest as his own head hit the earth. 

Kenshin's backward roll sent Chi flying for a few feet; he twisted in the air, 
assumed a thrust position with blade up and rushed back at the fallen Kenshin. His 
thrust found only grass as Himura spun along the ground, rose, and drove his blade 
upon Kyuumei's. The strength behind the strike forced Kyuumei to drop his katana, 
however, he slammed his feet into the back of Himura's knees and both lay for a 
moment on the ground, searching for oxygen. 

The two rose gradually, small wounds having stacked up. Kenshin's lip bled from his 
fall and a thin line of blood had begun to flow down his chest. He wasn't sure when 
the cut got there but it opened more the longer the duel went on. Chi felt his ribs 
throbbing and sensed the danger of the unending fight. The bone would soon shatter 
and his movement would be hampered, it was enough that he was coughing up blood 
from the constant chest strikes. 

Kenshin gripped his katana and found his palms to be blistering from the impact of 
each connection of blades. He had raspy breaths as he rested on his hands and 
knees, hoping Kyuumei was as bad off as he that he would not attack.

Chi rolled onto his back, breathing shallow, a stream of blood out of the corner of 
his mouth. The red at the edge of his vision was clouding the world, it grew harder 
and harder to see the longer his fight went on. 

"Why," he thought to himself during the pain, "am I fighting...? What is so... 
important. . . ?" 
A cough of blood stopped him even from thinking; his body was beyond bruised, 
surely Himura would notice and take advantage of that? 

The battle had come to who could rise and finish first. Nothing else mattered to 
either boy as he pushed his body to its feet. Sweat dripped from Kenshin's nose, 
his hair plastered to his forehead. Blood ran over Chi's lips and down his throat, 
his gi growing sticky from sweat and life fluid. Both children finally stood, 
bearing their katana with the little strength either had left. 

An ominous storm cloud rested above them now, having appeared slowly during the 
battle. A crack of lighting, downpour of rain. The scene was set for a conclusion, 
all that remained was for the final strike. Thunder of the Gods echoed from above; 
another flash, followed by a deep roar. 

Kenshin took his sword in both hands and readied for a final attack. Kyuumei raised 
his katana above his head and took one last deep breath. 

"KYA!!" Chi rushed toward Kenshin and began to run his blade downward. A single 
second later, Himura's blade was smeared with blood, having found its mark through 
Kyuumei's throat. It was finally over. Kenshin dropped his sword to the ground with 
Chi upon it. The body fell, Kenshin fell atop it, unconcious.

Kyuumei felt himself walk with death as Himura's face caked with mud from the wet 
ground. In the River of Death, Kyuumei's shoulders sagged and his eyes lost their 
shine entirely; his death was inevitable from the broken rib his material body had, 
however, he had quested to have the pride of victory. He tread slowly down the 
Black River and was greeted by the many Shinsengumi he had slain.

Katsura breathed a sigh of relief and lifted Kenshin to his shoulders. 

"Good job. Himura."

 : Owari : 

// post-fic author notes 
Go on and review now, tell me what you thought... was the duel dramatic enough? 
Ronin Setora