A/N: Hey! Sorry about the lag between chapters. I had it all written
out, but couldn't motivate myself to type it up. My apologies! Oh, Anaii,
I love you. You are my driving motivation to get this story done. Thanks
for your support! Well, I got nothing else, so here's chapter four!
Disclaimer: I don't own RK, so please don't hunt my carcass down and sue me. Thanks!
Chapter Four: Fear
Misao darted off the crates, finding footholds in the stacks with a sureness only a ninja possessed. She hit the dusty floor of the factory with a muffled thud, pausing only for a brief second to get her bearings and locate her target: the stack of five crates and the loose boards.
Another, louder thud sounded behind her. "Go quickly!" Aoshi was right behind her, urging her on. The mob was so close, he could smell their horrible breath and feel the heat emanating from their bodies. It was time to do a little covering, as promised.
Hearing Misao scamper away, he turned to face his opponents. Five large, surly laborers were the first to advance on him. A soft "chink" was barely heard as two kodachis were drawn, and then mayhem ensued.
A wet splashing was heard as the first three men discovered their entrails steaming on the ground. The next two men had their tendons severed, throats slit, and were thrown into a stack of crates, to stay out of the way of the efficient killer.
The rest of the horde stared in awe and fear as Aoshi came to rest, perched on a nearby crate. His chest swelled as he breathed, causing rivulets of blood to course down his trademark trench coat. A small tensing in his muscled forearms caused his kodachis to vibrate, sending the blood adorning them into the greedy floor. He allowed a small smirk to grace his features. He had them where he wanted them. It showed in his predator's eyes, alight with the flame of bloodlust. With a cold glare, he dove into the hapless pinklings.
Misao heard screaming behind her. Those were the screams of a man in his death throes. They were quickly followed by more wails, all quickly silenced. It was enough to give a person horrendous nightmares for years to come. And she wasn't even in the hotbed of the action. 'Aoshi-sama told me to go, that he would cover me. He knows what he's doing. Trust him.' Misao pushed on, as fast as her slender legs could carry her. Panting, she had almost made it to the stack of five crates, when she was halted by an enormous wall of unyielding flesh.
"What the...?" Misao backed up a couple of paces, surveying the leering man in front of her. Just some lowlife that had crawled out of a gutter somewhere. Wonderful. It was a wonder she hadn't smelled him before this.
"You have five seconds to move, before I go right through you!" All traces of fear and doubt left her face as Weasel Girl gained her composure. She straightened up to her full height, and eyed the ruffian impatiently.
His response was to laugh in her face.
'This guy has some nasty teeth.' Misao thought to herself as she reached around behind her for some kunai; never taking her eyes off of her opponent.
The scumbag drew his weapon, a large, rusty katana, and started lumbering towards Misao, a wild gleam evident in his little piggy eyes. They were soon glazed over, as three kunai pierced his exposed throat. Blood bubbled over the blades as the man crashed to the ground, all life fleeing his body.
'There's a lot more of these creeps roaming around. I'll be needing these back.' Misao stooped, pulling the kunai free from their warm home, causing a fresh spurt of blood to spray out onto the floor. 'Always good to have extra kunai. Aha! There are the crates Aoshi-sama was talking about. Those boards must be close.' She started towards her destination, a cacophony of wails and screams covering her footfalls.
Ching!
The sound of swords crossing could be heard throughout the factory. Blood spattered the sides of crates, leaving glistening trails as it snaked its way into the ground. Aoshi fought like a man possessed. His ice blue eyes were alight with bloodlust, fueled by the carnage surrounding him. His enemies' screams did nothing but to spur him on. The humming of his kodachis in the air was like a heavenly music to his ears. This was what he had been created to do. To kill, maim, and destroy his enemies. Annihilate the threat, down to the last drop of hostile blood, and wallow in it.
A gurgling scream rent the air as a kodachi found its home in a man's jugular, followed by a howling as an arm was severed on another target. A well-placed kick snapped a man's neck, while a powerful offensive swordsman's spirit caused potential targets to flee for their lives. The collective moans, screams, and wails made the factory seem like the staging ground for the opera of the damned.
After a time, the wails and screams quieted, and eventually died out as the last of the cannon fodder fled or died. An eerie silence settled over the factory, punctuated only by the dripping of blood off crates and walls. The only people remaining were Misao, a frightening Aoshi, a panicking Naku, and Ishtou.
Ishtou turned, surveying Aoshi's handiwork. Eyes closed, he sniffed the air appreciatively, scenting blood and death. "Mm, very impressive." He quickly snapped open his dark blue eyes, and settled his gaze on Aoshi, who was in the center of the cavernous room. "You, sir, have made my day." A cruel smile appeared on his face as he continued to stare at Aoshi.
Aoshi, not uttering a word, turned to face Ishtou. A good forty feet separated the two, but that did not diminish their intensity. The two warriors bored into each other's eyes, testing, planning.
"What is that?" Misao abandoned her post at the loose boards. She had managed to get a few free using her kunai as levers, and now had a decent-sized hole. The sudden flux in energy in the room had caused her to stop. Her flesh was crawling, and the hairs on the nape of her neck were at full attention. She quickly registered the silence, and arrived at a conclusion. 'Oh no... those two energies... he can't...' she quickly turned and set back to work on her escape route, trying to make it fully functional.
"Ishtou, what are you doing?" Naku's eyes darted to and fro. His skin had taken on a sickly shade of green. Gore apparently didn't sit well with him, especially when it was splashed upon his merchandise. He glanced over at the ruined corpses of ten of his henchmen. Their lifeless eyes stared back at him. That turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back. "Urgh..." a chunky splash was heard as Naku lost his dinner all over the blood-soaked floor. Not even his vile retchings could cause Aoshi and Ishtou to break their gazes.
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Naku turned to Ishtou, and started murmuring to him. "Ishtou, just kill the guy already. He's costed me enough money." Silence. "What is the matter with you? Screams make you deaf? Can't you hear me?" No response. That's when it hit him. 'This guy's nuts. He just stands there, smiling, like he's at a picnic. There's no telling what he's going to do. I better save my bacon while I can, and let these two demons kill each other.' He started creeping, very slowly, towards the door.
"Leaving so soon, are you? You're going to miss the best part," Ishtou cooed. "Besides, you might come in handy yet. You can always spread reports of my prowess later, but right now, I might need some of your resources." He spoke clearly, without breaking his gaze on Aoshi. "Transportation, my friend, would be wonderful. So why don't you scuttle, and find us some? Oh, and if you don't return in thirty minutes, I'll hunt you down, rip out your liver, and eat it. Understand?" There was a merry little twinkle in his eyes as he continued to stare at the ninja in front of him.
"I.....I...... understand. Now, if you'll excuse me," Naku tripped over his own feet, and stumbled into the inky night, in search of his contacts to arrange a carriage.
Ishtou smiled at the man's haste. He cracked his knuckles, and leered down at Aoshi. It was his turn now.
Yay! Finally finished with four! This was a doozie! And once again, I apologize for the delay. But, five looks like it might take me awhile, since I have to think up exactly what's going to happen! And I want it to be good! So, give me some time, and it'll be worth the wait. Thanks for reading, and pretty please review!
MAFvet
Disclaimer: I don't own RK, so please don't hunt my carcass down and sue me. Thanks!
Chapter Four: Fear
Misao darted off the crates, finding footholds in the stacks with a sureness only a ninja possessed. She hit the dusty floor of the factory with a muffled thud, pausing only for a brief second to get her bearings and locate her target: the stack of five crates and the loose boards.
Another, louder thud sounded behind her. "Go quickly!" Aoshi was right behind her, urging her on. The mob was so close, he could smell their horrible breath and feel the heat emanating from their bodies. It was time to do a little covering, as promised.
Hearing Misao scamper away, he turned to face his opponents. Five large, surly laborers were the first to advance on him. A soft "chink" was barely heard as two kodachis were drawn, and then mayhem ensued.
A wet splashing was heard as the first three men discovered their entrails steaming on the ground. The next two men had their tendons severed, throats slit, and were thrown into a stack of crates, to stay out of the way of the efficient killer.
The rest of the horde stared in awe and fear as Aoshi came to rest, perched on a nearby crate. His chest swelled as he breathed, causing rivulets of blood to course down his trademark trench coat. A small tensing in his muscled forearms caused his kodachis to vibrate, sending the blood adorning them into the greedy floor. He allowed a small smirk to grace his features. He had them where he wanted them. It showed in his predator's eyes, alight with the flame of bloodlust. With a cold glare, he dove into the hapless pinklings.
Misao heard screaming behind her. Those were the screams of a man in his death throes. They were quickly followed by more wails, all quickly silenced. It was enough to give a person horrendous nightmares for years to come. And she wasn't even in the hotbed of the action. 'Aoshi-sama told me to go, that he would cover me. He knows what he's doing. Trust him.' Misao pushed on, as fast as her slender legs could carry her. Panting, she had almost made it to the stack of five crates, when she was halted by an enormous wall of unyielding flesh.
"What the...?" Misao backed up a couple of paces, surveying the leering man in front of her. Just some lowlife that had crawled out of a gutter somewhere. Wonderful. It was a wonder she hadn't smelled him before this.
"You have five seconds to move, before I go right through you!" All traces of fear and doubt left her face as Weasel Girl gained her composure. She straightened up to her full height, and eyed the ruffian impatiently.
His response was to laugh in her face.
'This guy has some nasty teeth.' Misao thought to herself as she reached around behind her for some kunai; never taking her eyes off of her opponent.
The scumbag drew his weapon, a large, rusty katana, and started lumbering towards Misao, a wild gleam evident in his little piggy eyes. They were soon glazed over, as three kunai pierced his exposed throat. Blood bubbled over the blades as the man crashed to the ground, all life fleeing his body.
'There's a lot more of these creeps roaming around. I'll be needing these back.' Misao stooped, pulling the kunai free from their warm home, causing a fresh spurt of blood to spray out onto the floor. 'Always good to have extra kunai. Aha! There are the crates Aoshi-sama was talking about. Those boards must be close.' She started towards her destination, a cacophony of wails and screams covering her footfalls.
Ching!
The sound of swords crossing could be heard throughout the factory. Blood spattered the sides of crates, leaving glistening trails as it snaked its way into the ground. Aoshi fought like a man possessed. His ice blue eyes were alight with bloodlust, fueled by the carnage surrounding him. His enemies' screams did nothing but to spur him on. The humming of his kodachis in the air was like a heavenly music to his ears. This was what he had been created to do. To kill, maim, and destroy his enemies. Annihilate the threat, down to the last drop of hostile blood, and wallow in it.
A gurgling scream rent the air as a kodachi found its home in a man's jugular, followed by a howling as an arm was severed on another target. A well-placed kick snapped a man's neck, while a powerful offensive swordsman's spirit caused potential targets to flee for their lives. The collective moans, screams, and wails made the factory seem like the staging ground for the opera of the damned.
After a time, the wails and screams quieted, and eventually died out as the last of the cannon fodder fled or died. An eerie silence settled over the factory, punctuated only by the dripping of blood off crates and walls. The only people remaining were Misao, a frightening Aoshi, a panicking Naku, and Ishtou.
Ishtou turned, surveying Aoshi's handiwork. Eyes closed, he sniffed the air appreciatively, scenting blood and death. "Mm, very impressive." He quickly snapped open his dark blue eyes, and settled his gaze on Aoshi, who was in the center of the cavernous room. "You, sir, have made my day." A cruel smile appeared on his face as he continued to stare at Aoshi.
Aoshi, not uttering a word, turned to face Ishtou. A good forty feet separated the two, but that did not diminish their intensity. The two warriors bored into each other's eyes, testing, planning.
"What is that?" Misao abandoned her post at the loose boards. She had managed to get a few free using her kunai as levers, and now had a decent-sized hole. The sudden flux in energy in the room had caused her to stop. Her flesh was crawling, and the hairs on the nape of her neck were at full attention. She quickly registered the silence, and arrived at a conclusion. 'Oh no... those two energies... he can't...' she quickly turned and set back to work on her escape route, trying to make it fully functional.
"Ishtou, what are you doing?" Naku's eyes darted to and fro. His skin had taken on a sickly shade of green. Gore apparently didn't sit well with him, especially when it was splashed upon his merchandise. He glanced over at the ruined corpses of ten of his henchmen. Their lifeless eyes stared back at him. That turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back. "Urgh..." a chunky splash was heard as Naku lost his dinner all over the blood-soaked floor. Not even his vile retchings could cause Aoshi and Ishtou to break their gazes.
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Naku turned to Ishtou, and started murmuring to him. "Ishtou, just kill the guy already. He's costed me enough money." Silence. "What is the matter with you? Screams make you deaf? Can't you hear me?" No response. That's when it hit him. 'This guy's nuts. He just stands there, smiling, like he's at a picnic. There's no telling what he's going to do. I better save my bacon while I can, and let these two demons kill each other.' He started creeping, very slowly, towards the door.
"Leaving so soon, are you? You're going to miss the best part," Ishtou cooed. "Besides, you might come in handy yet. You can always spread reports of my prowess later, but right now, I might need some of your resources." He spoke clearly, without breaking his gaze on Aoshi. "Transportation, my friend, would be wonderful. So why don't you scuttle, and find us some? Oh, and if you don't return in thirty minutes, I'll hunt you down, rip out your liver, and eat it. Understand?" There was a merry little twinkle in his eyes as he continued to stare at the ninja in front of him.
"I.....I...... understand. Now, if you'll excuse me," Naku tripped over his own feet, and stumbled into the inky night, in search of his contacts to arrange a carriage.
Ishtou smiled at the man's haste. He cracked his knuckles, and leered down at Aoshi. It was his turn now.
Yay! Finally finished with four! This was a doozie! And once again, I apologize for the delay. But, five looks like it might take me awhile, since I have to think up exactly what's going to happen! And I want it to be good! So, give me some time, and it'll be worth the wait. Thanks for reading, and pretty please review!
MAFvet