26. Thicker than the Sword
NEXT DAY.
"Sunrise Kiss!!"
Sakura S. blocked Ellis's dagger uppercut, which was sparkling with blue energy, then as Ellis got off the ground, she performed a flip kick, also covered in energy. Sakura also blocked that and the following attack, which had Ellis dive down with her daggers, landing her right in Sakura's face. She then reered back. and just as she delivered her final attack, Sakura Ashura Warped behind her.
{That's HORRIBLE recovery time, Ellis!} Sakura thought as she charged up a blue ball of electrical energy.
"Shinku HADOUKEN!!" she roared as she unleashed her blast at point blank range on Ellis's back. She cried out as she was thrown to the ground by Sakura's Hadouken. By the time Ellis hit the ground, she was instantly K.O.'ed. Sakura Satsu got out of her firing pose and observed her black short-sleeved shirt and pants, which were torn up by Ellis's dirks. She had scratches all on her arms from blocking Ellis's attacks.
{I never had to fight anyone like her. Her speed was good, too, but I got her out within 5 minutes.}
"Ellis is out of commission, everyone!" the female announcer called. "Round 1 goes to Sakura Satsu!"
{Looks as if they don't count anymore is it isn't necessary.}
As she got back into position for the next fighter, Sakura K. and Hinata, as well as a portion of the crowd, were cheering her on. Darrell, on the other hand, had something else on his mind.
{This is the third match for us. Next is Morrigan's team. which is really just her and her sister. I want to fight her. This one's personal.}
He looked up to the current fighter on both teams and saw Sakura S. taking on Kayin Amoh. He was like the Scottish-Japanese version of Ken. He had on a black undershirt which was covered with a gray jacket and blonde hair. He also had gray pants and black boots. and in his right hand was a long sword that he named Excalibur. The announcer already started the match and Sakura went offensive with a jump kick to Kayin's head.
"Deadly Raise!!" Kayin yelled while jumping in a 45 degree angle while spinning, his sword aimed upwards. He nailed Sakura in the leg, sending her straight to the ground in pain. She immediately looked at her pants, which had a long slash through them now. and was bleeding. She looked up to see Kayin wave his finger at her, as if she did something naughty. and she basically did.
"You shouldn't think that I'd let you do that without countering," he tipped off. "I'll always pick you off."
{Okay. I should have known better than that. Let's go to this, then.}
Sakura charged up, a small blue energy ball in her hands.
"Hadouken!"
"Sonic Slash!"
As Sakura S. fired, Kayin slashed his sword downwards, creating a yellow cloud of energy that canceled the Hadouken out in a small explosion. Sakura used the diversion to sidestep.
"Shouoken!!" she yelled as she hit Kayin several times before going into the air. or really, Kayin's sword. Kayin blocked the whole move, and countered her as she came down with an overhead arc slit kick, smacking her on her back on the canvas.
"That's my Shoulder Crush," Kayin announced. "I hope you liked that."
Sakura growled a bit as she got back up, ready to start up again. She dashed in to Kayin, but he was waiting. He ducked down, his sword in front of him.
"Deadly Raise!!"
Sakura screeched to a halt as Kayin dashed in and blocked his sword attack which ended with the uppercut move he used on her before.
"Gotcha! Hadouken!"
Sakura blasted Kayin out of the air with her blue blast of energy. Kayin fell to the ground and rolled to the side to avoid Sakura's follow-up attack. He got up and came with a hard slash to Sakura's shoulder. She yelped as she jumped back to avoid it and countered with a roundhouse kick. Kayin barely guarded it then dashed back in and grabbed Sakura by the collar. He flipped backwards, taking Sakura with him, and used his foot to launch her into the air. He then got to his feet and followed in pursuit, meeting his opponent in the air and using a powerful flip kick that was covered with yellow energy. Sakura flew to the ground and waited a few seconds to try to get back up. By that time, Kayin was right above her and took advantage by bringing his sword straight down to nail her in the stomach.
"Whoa!" Sakura yelled out as she reacted by using her hands to grab the blade of his sword and pushed it aside while simultaneously getting up. Kayin was thrown off balance, leaving himself open to Sakura's twin jab combo, then a hard punch to the head, then a Shouoken. Kayin went airborne then fell on his back. Sakura kept her distance as he rolled backwards to his feet, gathering himself.
"Okay. you're good, kid," Kayin praised while getting ready. "But let's see how you handle this."
Sakura went defensive as she saw Kayin's body light up with yellow sparkles.
{His energy is going up. He must be going for a super move. I'd better be careful. That's sword could really hurt.}
Just as Sakura S. ended her thought, Kayin rushed forward, yelling the name of the move he was using.
"Hell's Gate!!!"
Sakura guarded his initial upward slash, causing Kayin to go up into the air solo. He immediately ended his super, no longer glowing, but Sakura was glowing..
"Shinku. HADOUKEN!!"
Sakura was charging up her blast the whole time and nailed Kayin on his descent, blowing him back a few feet to the ground. Sakura S. put her hands down and nursed the slashes that he gave her on her arm and leg as the announcer started her count.
"Sakura's going pretty well without tapping into her dark moves," Darrell thought to himself. "But Kayin's up. and he looks like he has something big for her."
Darrell was right. Kayin was glowing yellow again at 6, his blonde hair covering his face a bit in a devilish way. Sakura looked on as she saw him charge up for another Hell's Gate, and was about to go defensive, but she had a better idea. She charged up, a large, blue ball of energy coming her hands.
"Shinku."
"Hell's."
Sakura was done charging before Kayin and launched.
"HADOUKEN!!"
She saw her huge blast travel to where Kayin was, expecting her move to finish him off. but something was wrong. Kayin didn't cancel his move.
"INFERNO!!!"
"What!?"
Kayin blasted right through Sakura's Shinku Hadouken with a dashing Deadly Raise startup. Sakura couldn't block as Kayin made contact. then, instead of doing the uppercut, he gave her a knee, then a punch with the handle of sword, then a roundhouse kick, then a slash across the chest, then a downward slash, a kick to the head, another roundhouse, another hard slash across the crest, then a strong Shoulder Crush, and finally the end of the Deadly Raise, covered in yellow stars.. Sakura was launched back FAR, landing on the other side of the ring with a thunderous crash.
The Satsu Sakura was butchered by Kayin's super move; four huge slashes were left across her torso, blood all over her. Of course, her breathing was labored. and her clothes were shredded. which wasn't a good thing to have happen with a stadium full in capacity. Kayin walked over to her with a smile on his face.
"That's should do it," he announced. "I highly doubt you'll be able to get back up after that. You better rest up for your next match, because you'll only farther hurt yourself if you get back up."
"That's. just sickening." Hinata mumbled while looking at the mess Sakura Satsu was.
"Come on, sis." Sakura K. encouraged in a whisper. "You can get back up after that. I know you can."
"7. 8. 9." The announcer was almost done but Sakura's body moved to flip itself over so that she was on her hands and knees.
"Damn." she mumbled before coughing a few times as she looked at the floor that was stained with her blood. and she was having trouble even seeing that. She was losing consciousness. very slowly.
{I. got to keep going. His desperation move. was way too damaging. I'll beat him, though.}
Kayin looked on with awe at the teenage girl as she stood up, holding her chest with her left arm, letting her right arm hang at her side. He could see the mixture of determination and weakness in her eyes, and shook his head.
"I see. You want to go on until either of us is defeated. Well, if that's the case, then I'll end this fast."
Sakura's vision was fading, but she managed to see Kayin's body glow again.
{He's got to be using that Hell's Inferno move again. I got to think of something. Wait, I got it!}
Sakura got into a familiar stance as Kayin charged up, but he was faster on the charge.
"Hell's Gate!!!"
{Wait, it's the other one. That's even better.}
She waited for Kayin to get close. then used the Ashura Warp as soon as he went up. She finished right behind his landing spot and charged up.
"Midare. ZAKURA!!"
Kayin was welcomed to earth by Sakura's huge combo, ending with the Shouoken, which basically did it for him. As Sakura landed, she kneeled in pain, her stomach wound becoming severe.
"She can't keep going like this," Darrell yelled out. "If Kayin survived that move, she's got to let one of us fight. It isn't that serious!"
"I know. but it's up to her if she wants to exit the match or not." her sister commented.
Darrell twitched at that comment. "But she has the decency to know when to get medical attention, right?"
"Just watch. She just won the round, and next is Eiji Shinjo. We saw him fight Ryu a few days ago."
"Shinjo.?"
Darrell looked up to see Sakura S. in position once again. As Sakura K. predicted, Eiji, the Japanese swordsman, was her next, and last opponent, and he looked just as skilled as Kayin. He had on a white headband very much like both Sakura's with a red, white, and black shirt with black jeans. He had wild, brown hair and just like Kayin, had a long sword in his right hand.
"Round 3 has Sakura Satsu vs. Eiji Shinjo. Ready?"
{That's the same last name as that guy named Sho.} Darrell thought.
"Wait."
Both the announcer and Eiji looked at the Satsu schoolgirl, who was kneeling, trying to support her wound.
"I. can't continue like this," she said while looking up to the announcer. "I'll have to forfeit this round and get something for this gash. in my stomach."
The announcer started to question Sakura's decision, but then again, everyone has a limit. She nodded then made the announcement.
"Okay, then. Sakura Satsu forfeits the third round, leaving Eiji to win by default."
Sakura looked up to the Japanese swordsman and gave a feeble smile.
"Sorry. I wish I could fight you. but I guess I can't."
Eiji nodded. "I understand."
"Then again. maybe I will fight you."
"Excuse me?"
Sakura just widened her smile while going out of the ring and walked over to her twin sis.
"You okay?" she asked her darker twin. "I'm surprised you actually won with that messed up stomach."
"I'll be fine. Listen, why don't you go next while I get treated? I. sort of made a promise to Eiji that I'd fight him. You're me, so."
At first, Sakura Kasugano stared at Sakura Satsu, trying to get the message. After a few seconds, she nodded in agreement and answered
"I get it. Okay, I'll fight Eiji. Hinata won way too many matches for us, anyway."
"Don't make me laugh, Sakura," Hinata's voice rang out from their right.
The lighter twin ignored her friend's comment and turned her attention back to her Satsu twin.
"You need help getting to the medics?"
"Don't worry. I'll go with her."
Both Sakuras looked to see Darrell stand up and walk over to them.
"You really don't need to." Sakura S. started before Darrell cut her off.
"Trust me. You won't need me for this match. I want the next fight, however. to myself."
"What?" both said simultaneously.
"You heard me. The next battle. It's all mine."
Sakura K. shook her head. "Just why would you want to."
She stopped when Darrell gave her an icy glare.
"It's personal, Sakura. If you knew who we were facing next tomorrow. then you'll understand."
Sakura K. stared blankly at her boyfriend for a second before nodding.
"Okay. Listen, I got to get in this ring. Make sure my sis is okay."
"You got it," Darrell responded.
The light Sakura got into the ring as Darrell and Sakura S. went off to see the medics. After about 5 seconds, however, Darrell stopped and smacked himself on the forehead.
"Duh! How could I forget that!?"
"Forget what?" the darker Sakura asked.
"The healing move I got. I could use it on you and save you the trouble of going all the way to the paramedics. It won't fix your clothes, but it's better than those slashes."
Sakura S. immediately smiled.
"That sounds good. Now, let's see what you got."
"Yeah, just hold on a second. I got to get ready."
Darrell sighed heavily then raised his right fist out in front him. It lit up into flames and before Sakura could question it, he rammed it into his stomach.
"What the?!" she yelped as Darrell kneeled from the pain of his own attack. His fist already stopped flaming as Sakura decided to ask what happened.
"Okay. what was that for?"
Darrell stood up and replied with, "I told you I had to get ready, Sakura."
He raised an outstretched arm out aimed at Sakura S.'s slash wounds at her stomach. His aura appeared. but, to Sakura S.'s surprise, it was the golden type. It jumped off around her body. and after 10 seconds, her body was back to normal. for the exception of the clothes. Darrell sighed as he put his arm back down and let his aura fade.
"Darrell. how did. you."
"Hold on, Sakura. I bet your wondering how I can control the aura, huh?"
Sakura nodded.
"Well, let me tell you."
----- -----
"Rekkuzan!!"
"Hadouken!!"
Both energy attacks canceled the other out. Sakura K. and Eiji had been battling for a good minute and a half, testing the other's skills. Sakura was making sure she didn't do anything foolish, since she knew how devastating Eiji's sword could be. She jumped back from a hard slash and countered with a roundhouse kick to Eiji's right arm. It connected, almost making Eiji loose his grip on his sword, but he recovered and bent down to attack.
"Hisshouzan!!" he roared as he dashed towards Sakura, his sword out in front of him.
{It's like Kayin's Deadly Raise.}
Sakura dodged, letting Eiji jump into the air with his uppercut and countered with a Shouoken to his back. He landed on the ground, but stayed down, triggering the announcer's count.
{His moves. they're just like Kayin's,} Sakura thought while watching Eiji get up. {This shouldn't be much of a problem if I wait for him to use a move and counter it.}
{She's expecting my moves.} Eiji pondered as he got up. {This won't be easy. but I got to try it.}
Eiji got up at the count of 7 and Sakura got into a defensive stance. He used his sword to go into another Hisshouzan, something that Sakura immediately telegraphed and dodged again. As Eiji went up, Sakura charged up her energy.
"Shinku.... HADOUKEN!!!"
"NOW!!" Eiji yelled to himself as he made himself land as quickly as possible to avoid getting hit. He landed and automatically dashed towards Sakura, who was trying to recover.
"Here I go! Muy. sou. KEN!!!"
Eiji used his sword to nail Sakura into the air. He followed and landed 12 huge slashes along her body, the last sending her falling like a waited rock to the ground. A rock. that left a huge trail of blood on the canvas as it crashed on its back.
"SAKURA!!!" Hinata called out. "Come on! Give this one up. He's too powerful with that sword for you to beat him."
{No, Hinata. that's where you're wrong. His sword. is. his downfall.}
Hinata watched big-eyed at Sakura K. slowly stood up, not bothering to cover up her wounds. Her clothes, like her sister's, were shredded, showing a lot more flesh and. other things. than it needed to, but she didn't notice. Eiji saw her determination and silently decided to end the match quickly.
"This will finish it." he said quietly as red sparkles covered his body. He then yelled out his finishing move.
"Hyakkumousuken!!!"
He dashed straight as his target, who was barely looking at him and started to land his move to win the match. but Sakura dodged. at the very last moment.
"WHAT!?" Eiji let out as he felt Sakura's sneaker spin him around, his body still propelling forwards. and he didn't stop until he hit the ring ropes. Correction. Until he was tangled in the ropes.
Sakura gathered herself and slowly walked over to Eiji, who was defenseless. She got right next to him. stared at him. then said, "I hope you can forgive me if I do this wrong. This is the first time I ever used this move without having someone to hold you up. but this ring sure seemed to do the trick. Haru."
Then the entire vicinity turned white, flashing back at times to see Sakura beat the crap out of the swordsman. Thirteen hits later, the Harugokusatsu ended with Sakura leaning over Eiji, who was now unconscious and just as battered as she was.
"And. that's the end of that tale." she mumbled as she turned her attention to the ring announcer who was about to tell the crowd what just happened. Sakura cut her off.
"Excuse me. but could you PLEASE end this match?? I got to get out of here."
At first the ring announcer was slightly puzzled, but when she saw Sakura in her condition, she didn't turn her down.
"Folks, Eiji is unable to continue fighting. Sakura Kasugano wins the match and C-8 goes up to 3-0. This rookie team is putting on quite a show!"
"Hey, Sakura!!"
Sakura K. turned around to see teammates come up to her. She smiled weakly as Darrell spoke up.
"It looks like you need medical attention."
"Whatever, Darrell." she mumbled. "Let's just go. I bet. there's a lot of perverts looking. at me right now."
"What?" Darrell asked, dropping his gaze from Sakura's head to her butchered body. then he blushed. Of all the cuts through her clothes, the biggest one was showing her. panties.
"Oh." he moaned before looking at her dark side. "Hey, Sakura S. Could you.?"
The Satsu girl nodded quickly. "Yeah. Everyone hold on to one another. We're out of here!"
As soon as everyone was in position, Sakura S. used her Ashura Warp to head right into their hotel room. There, Darrell healed Sakura K. and helped her change clothes. It was. weird, considering that Darrell never did that before or saw Sakura in her underwear without accidentally walking in, but she insisted. At the end of the day, Darrell couldn't shake the feeling that he experienced something more than he though he needed to.
End of Chapter 26
NEXT DAY.
"Sunrise Kiss!!"
Sakura S. blocked Ellis's dagger uppercut, which was sparkling with blue energy, then as Ellis got off the ground, she performed a flip kick, also covered in energy. Sakura also blocked that and the following attack, which had Ellis dive down with her daggers, landing her right in Sakura's face. She then reered back. and just as she delivered her final attack, Sakura Ashura Warped behind her.
{That's HORRIBLE recovery time, Ellis!} Sakura thought as she charged up a blue ball of electrical energy.
"Shinku HADOUKEN!!" she roared as she unleashed her blast at point blank range on Ellis's back. She cried out as she was thrown to the ground by Sakura's Hadouken. By the time Ellis hit the ground, she was instantly K.O.'ed. Sakura Satsu got out of her firing pose and observed her black short-sleeved shirt and pants, which were torn up by Ellis's dirks. She had scratches all on her arms from blocking Ellis's attacks.
{I never had to fight anyone like her. Her speed was good, too, but I got her out within 5 minutes.}
"Ellis is out of commission, everyone!" the female announcer called. "Round 1 goes to Sakura Satsu!"
{Looks as if they don't count anymore is it isn't necessary.}
As she got back into position for the next fighter, Sakura K. and Hinata, as well as a portion of the crowd, were cheering her on. Darrell, on the other hand, had something else on his mind.
{This is the third match for us. Next is Morrigan's team. which is really just her and her sister. I want to fight her. This one's personal.}
He looked up to the current fighter on both teams and saw Sakura S. taking on Kayin Amoh. He was like the Scottish-Japanese version of Ken. He had on a black undershirt which was covered with a gray jacket and blonde hair. He also had gray pants and black boots. and in his right hand was a long sword that he named Excalibur. The announcer already started the match and Sakura went offensive with a jump kick to Kayin's head.
"Deadly Raise!!" Kayin yelled while jumping in a 45 degree angle while spinning, his sword aimed upwards. He nailed Sakura in the leg, sending her straight to the ground in pain. She immediately looked at her pants, which had a long slash through them now. and was bleeding. She looked up to see Kayin wave his finger at her, as if she did something naughty. and she basically did.
"You shouldn't think that I'd let you do that without countering," he tipped off. "I'll always pick you off."
{Okay. I should have known better than that. Let's go to this, then.}
Sakura charged up, a small blue energy ball in her hands.
"Hadouken!"
"Sonic Slash!"
As Sakura S. fired, Kayin slashed his sword downwards, creating a yellow cloud of energy that canceled the Hadouken out in a small explosion. Sakura used the diversion to sidestep.
"Shouoken!!" she yelled as she hit Kayin several times before going into the air. or really, Kayin's sword. Kayin blocked the whole move, and countered her as she came down with an overhead arc slit kick, smacking her on her back on the canvas.
"That's my Shoulder Crush," Kayin announced. "I hope you liked that."
Sakura growled a bit as she got back up, ready to start up again. She dashed in to Kayin, but he was waiting. He ducked down, his sword in front of him.
"Deadly Raise!!"
Sakura screeched to a halt as Kayin dashed in and blocked his sword attack which ended with the uppercut move he used on her before.
"Gotcha! Hadouken!"
Sakura blasted Kayin out of the air with her blue blast of energy. Kayin fell to the ground and rolled to the side to avoid Sakura's follow-up attack. He got up and came with a hard slash to Sakura's shoulder. She yelped as she jumped back to avoid it and countered with a roundhouse kick. Kayin barely guarded it then dashed back in and grabbed Sakura by the collar. He flipped backwards, taking Sakura with him, and used his foot to launch her into the air. He then got to his feet and followed in pursuit, meeting his opponent in the air and using a powerful flip kick that was covered with yellow energy. Sakura flew to the ground and waited a few seconds to try to get back up. By that time, Kayin was right above her and took advantage by bringing his sword straight down to nail her in the stomach.
"Whoa!" Sakura yelled out as she reacted by using her hands to grab the blade of his sword and pushed it aside while simultaneously getting up. Kayin was thrown off balance, leaving himself open to Sakura's twin jab combo, then a hard punch to the head, then a Shouoken. Kayin went airborne then fell on his back. Sakura kept her distance as he rolled backwards to his feet, gathering himself.
"Okay. you're good, kid," Kayin praised while getting ready. "But let's see how you handle this."
Sakura went defensive as she saw Kayin's body light up with yellow sparkles.
{His energy is going up. He must be going for a super move. I'd better be careful. That's sword could really hurt.}
Just as Sakura S. ended her thought, Kayin rushed forward, yelling the name of the move he was using.
"Hell's Gate!!!"
Sakura guarded his initial upward slash, causing Kayin to go up into the air solo. He immediately ended his super, no longer glowing, but Sakura was glowing..
"Shinku. HADOUKEN!!"
Sakura was charging up her blast the whole time and nailed Kayin on his descent, blowing him back a few feet to the ground. Sakura S. put her hands down and nursed the slashes that he gave her on her arm and leg as the announcer started her count.
"Sakura's going pretty well without tapping into her dark moves," Darrell thought to himself. "But Kayin's up. and he looks like he has something big for her."
Darrell was right. Kayin was glowing yellow again at 6, his blonde hair covering his face a bit in a devilish way. Sakura looked on as she saw him charge up for another Hell's Gate, and was about to go defensive, but she had a better idea. She charged up, a large, blue ball of energy coming her hands.
"Shinku."
"Hell's."
Sakura was done charging before Kayin and launched.
"HADOUKEN!!"
She saw her huge blast travel to where Kayin was, expecting her move to finish him off. but something was wrong. Kayin didn't cancel his move.
"INFERNO!!!"
"What!?"
Kayin blasted right through Sakura's Shinku Hadouken with a dashing Deadly Raise startup. Sakura couldn't block as Kayin made contact. then, instead of doing the uppercut, he gave her a knee, then a punch with the handle of sword, then a roundhouse kick, then a slash across the chest, then a downward slash, a kick to the head, another roundhouse, another hard slash across the crest, then a strong Shoulder Crush, and finally the end of the Deadly Raise, covered in yellow stars.. Sakura was launched back FAR, landing on the other side of the ring with a thunderous crash.
The Satsu Sakura was butchered by Kayin's super move; four huge slashes were left across her torso, blood all over her. Of course, her breathing was labored. and her clothes were shredded. which wasn't a good thing to have happen with a stadium full in capacity. Kayin walked over to her with a smile on his face.
"That's should do it," he announced. "I highly doubt you'll be able to get back up after that. You better rest up for your next match, because you'll only farther hurt yourself if you get back up."
"That's. just sickening." Hinata mumbled while looking at the mess Sakura Satsu was.
"Come on, sis." Sakura K. encouraged in a whisper. "You can get back up after that. I know you can."
"7. 8. 9." The announcer was almost done but Sakura's body moved to flip itself over so that she was on her hands and knees.
"Damn." she mumbled before coughing a few times as she looked at the floor that was stained with her blood. and she was having trouble even seeing that. She was losing consciousness. very slowly.
{I. got to keep going. His desperation move. was way too damaging. I'll beat him, though.}
Kayin looked on with awe at the teenage girl as she stood up, holding her chest with her left arm, letting her right arm hang at her side. He could see the mixture of determination and weakness in her eyes, and shook his head.
"I see. You want to go on until either of us is defeated. Well, if that's the case, then I'll end this fast."
Sakura's vision was fading, but she managed to see Kayin's body glow again.
{He's got to be using that Hell's Inferno move again. I got to think of something. Wait, I got it!}
Sakura got into a familiar stance as Kayin charged up, but he was faster on the charge.
"Hell's Gate!!!"
{Wait, it's the other one. That's even better.}
She waited for Kayin to get close. then used the Ashura Warp as soon as he went up. She finished right behind his landing spot and charged up.
"Midare. ZAKURA!!"
Kayin was welcomed to earth by Sakura's huge combo, ending with the Shouoken, which basically did it for him. As Sakura landed, she kneeled in pain, her stomach wound becoming severe.
"She can't keep going like this," Darrell yelled out. "If Kayin survived that move, she's got to let one of us fight. It isn't that serious!"
"I know. but it's up to her if she wants to exit the match or not." her sister commented.
Darrell twitched at that comment. "But she has the decency to know when to get medical attention, right?"
"Just watch. She just won the round, and next is Eiji Shinjo. We saw him fight Ryu a few days ago."
"Shinjo.?"
Darrell looked up to see Sakura S. in position once again. As Sakura K. predicted, Eiji, the Japanese swordsman, was her next, and last opponent, and he looked just as skilled as Kayin. He had on a white headband very much like both Sakura's with a red, white, and black shirt with black jeans. He had wild, brown hair and just like Kayin, had a long sword in his right hand.
"Round 3 has Sakura Satsu vs. Eiji Shinjo. Ready?"
{That's the same last name as that guy named Sho.} Darrell thought.
"Wait."
Both the announcer and Eiji looked at the Satsu schoolgirl, who was kneeling, trying to support her wound.
"I. can't continue like this," she said while looking up to the announcer. "I'll have to forfeit this round and get something for this gash. in my stomach."
The announcer started to question Sakura's decision, but then again, everyone has a limit. She nodded then made the announcement.
"Okay, then. Sakura Satsu forfeits the third round, leaving Eiji to win by default."
Sakura looked up to the Japanese swordsman and gave a feeble smile.
"Sorry. I wish I could fight you. but I guess I can't."
Eiji nodded. "I understand."
"Then again. maybe I will fight you."
"Excuse me?"
Sakura just widened her smile while going out of the ring and walked over to her twin sis.
"You okay?" she asked her darker twin. "I'm surprised you actually won with that messed up stomach."
"I'll be fine. Listen, why don't you go next while I get treated? I. sort of made a promise to Eiji that I'd fight him. You're me, so."
At first, Sakura Kasugano stared at Sakura Satsu, trying to get the message. After a few seconds, she nodded in agreement and answered
"I get it. Okay, I'll fight Eiji. Hinata won way too many matches for us, anyway."
"Don't make me laugh, Sakura," Hinata's voice rang out from their right.
The lighter twin ignored her friend's comment and turned her attention back to her Satsu twin.
"You need help getting to the medics?"
"Don't worry. I'll go with her."
Both Sakuras looked to see Darrell stand up and walk over to them.
"You really don't need to." Sakura S. started before Darrell cut her off.
"Trust me. You won't need me for this match. I want the next fight, however. to myself."
"What?" both said simultaneously.
"You heard me. The next battle. It's all mine."
Sakura K. shook her head. "Just why would you want to."
She stopped when Darrell gave her an icy glare.
"It's personal, Sakura. If you knew who we were facing next tomorrow. then you'll understand."
Sakura K. stared blankly at her boyfriend for a second before nodding.
"Okay. Listen, I got to get in this ring. Make sure my sis is okay."
"You got it," Darrell responded.
The light Sakura got into the ring as Darrell and Sakura S. went off to see the medics. After about 5 seconds, however, Darrell stopped and smacked himself on the forehead.
"Duh! How could I forget that!?"
"Forget what?" the darker Sakura asked.
"The healing move I got. I could use it on you and save you the trouble of going all the way to the paramedics. It won't fix your clothes, but it's better than those slashes."
Sakura S. immediately smiled.
"That sounds good. Now, let's see what you got."
"Yeah, just hold on a second. I got to get ready."
Darrell sighed heavily then raised his right fist out in front him. It lit up into flames and before Sakura could question it, he rammed it into his stomach.
"What the?!" she yelped as Darrell kneeled from the pain of his own attack. His fist already stopped flaming as Sakura decided to ask what happened.
"Okay. what was that for?"
Darrell stood up and replied with, "I told you I had to get ready, Sakura."
He raised an outstretched arm out aimed at Sakura S.'s slash wounds at her stomach. His aura appeared. but, to Sakura S.'s surprise, it was the golden type. It jumped off around her body. and after 10 seconds, her body was back to normal. for the exception of the clothes. Darrell sighed as he put his arm back down and let his aura fade.
"Darrell. how did. you."
"Hold on, Sakura. I bet your wondering how I can control the aura, huh?"
Sakura nodded.
"Well, let me tell you."
----- -----
"Rekkuzan!!"
"Hadouken!!"
Both energy attacks canceled the other out. Sakura K. and Eiji had been battling for a good minute and a half, testing the other's skills. Sakura was making sure she didn't do anything foolish, since she knew how devastating Eiji's sword could be. She jumped back from a hard slash and countered with a roundhouse kick to Eiji's right arm. It connected, almost making Eiji loose his grip on his sword, but he recovered and bent down to attack.
"Hisshouzan!!" he roared as he dashed towards Sakura, his sword out in front of him.
{It's like Kayin's Deadly Raise.}
Sakura dodged, letting Eiji jump into the air with his uppercut and countered with a Shouoken to his back. He landed on the ground, but stayed down, triggering the announcer's count.
{His moves. they're just like Kayin's,} Sakura thought while watching Eiji get up. {This shouldn't be much of a problem if I wait for him to use a move and counter it.}
{She's expecting my moves.} Eiji pondered as he got up. {This won't be easy. but I got to try it.}
Eiji got up at the count of 7 and Sakura got into a defensive stance. He used his sword to go into another Hisshouzan, something that Sakura immediately telegraphed and dodged again. As Eiji went up, Sakura charged up her energy.
"Shinku.... HADOUKEN!!!"
"NOW!!" Eiji yelled to himself as he made himself land as quickly as possible to avoid getting hit. He landed and automatically dashed towards Sakura, who was trying to recover.
"Here I go! Muy. sou. KEN!!!"
Eiji used his sword to nail Sakura into the air. He followed and landed 12 huge slashes along her body, the last sending her falling like a waited rock to the ground. A rock. that left a huge trail of blood on the canvas as it crashed on its back.
"SAKURA!!!" Hinata called out. "Come on! Give this one up. He's too powerful with that sword for you to beat him."
{No, Hinata. that's where you're wrong. His sword. is. his downfall.}
Hinata watched big-eyed at Sakura K. slowly stood up, not bothering to cover up her wounds. Her clothes, like her sister's, were shredded, showing a lot more flesh and. other things. than it needed to, but she didn't notice. Eiji saw her determination and silently decided to end the match quickly.
"This will finish it." he said quietly as red sparkles covered his body. He then yelled out his finishing move.
"Hyakkumousuken!!!"
He dashed straight as his target, who was barely looking at him and started to land his move to win the match. but Sakura dodged. at the very last moment.
"WHAT!?" Eiji let out as he felt Sakura's sneaker spin him around, his body still propelling forwards. and he didn't stop until he hit the ring ropes. Correction. Until he was tangled in the ropes.
Sakura gathered herself and slowly walked over to Eiji, who was defenseless. She got right next to him. stared at him. then said, "I hope you can forgive me if I do this wrong. This is the first time I ever used this move without having someone to hold you up. but this ring sure seemed to do the trick. Haru."
Then the entire vicinity turned white, flashing back at times to see Sakura beat the crap out of the swordsman. Thirteen hits later, the Harugokusatsu ended with Sakura leaning over Eiji, who was now unconscious and just as battered as she was.
"And. that's the end of that tale." she mumbled as she turned her attention to the ring announcer who was about to tell the crowd what just happened. Sakura cut her off.
"Excuse me. but could you PLEASE end this match?? I got to get out of here."
At first the ring announcer was slightly puzzled, but when she saw Sakura in her condition, she didn't turn her down.
"Folks, Eiji is unable to continue fighting. Sakura Kasugano wins the match and C-8 goes up to 3-0. This rookie team is putting on quite a show!"
"Hey, Sakura!!"
Sakura K. turned around to see teammates come up to her. She smiled weakly as Darrell spoke up.
"It looks like you need medical attention."
"Whatever, Darrell." she mumbled. "Let's just go. I bet. there's a lot of perverts looking. at me right now."
"What?" Darrell asked, dropping his gaze from Sakura's head to her butchered body. then he blushed. Of all the cuts through her clothes, the biggest one was showing her. panties.
"Oh." he moaned before looking at her dark side. "Hey, Sakura S. Could you.?"
The Satsu girl nodded quickly. "Yeah. Everyone hold on to one another. We're out of here!"
As soon as everyone was in position, Sakura S. used her Ashura Warp to head right into their hotel room. There, Darrell healed Sakura K. and helped her change clothes. It was. weird, considering that Darrell never did that before or saw Sakura in her underwear without accidentally walking in, but she insisted. At the end of the day, Darrell couldn't shake the feeling that he experienced something more than he though he needed to.
End of Chapter 26