Pity me, for on Monday 18th, I Chris Santos (aka Duo The Dark Magician) waited for three hours in the blazing, Texas Sun to get my school schedule, completely ruining my plan to stay in at home until noon after the line went down. And now, I have little or no time for friends, family, games, and *gasp*... my fan fictions!But don't worry, for I will work on them every day when I have the least bit of spare time. Until Christmas break, here is what will probably be the last chapter of "Live, Love, and Die by the Sword." (But I honestly doubt it)
Sosukei parried his opponents every attack, but was unable to find an opening. The opponent, one Jigan Kunagi, was on the upmost offensive. Never letting his attacks ending, he left Sosukei only to defend, never giving him a chance to retaliate.
'This isn't getting me anywhere. There has to be a weakness, but where?' He looked at Jigan's every movement, every muscle his eye could capture. That's when it hit him. All his attacks where diagonal and horizontal. All he needed was a break from the constant clashing of the bokutos.
"HHYYYAAAA!!!" With all the strength he could muster inside his body, he sprang back till he was at the edge of the ring, though Jigan didn't stop the movement of his sword. "Give it up kid," he said, with a cocky tone. "There's no way you can break through my form. It's the perfect combination of attack and defense!" That gave him just enough time to give him a distraction. He lifted his sword and with a mighty blow, sent a strike into the ground, sending the force through under Jigan's feet. With an explosion of pure power, The ring looked like it had been demolished by explosives.
"HOLY COW!!! That was the Do-Ryu-Sen, the Ground Dragon Flash!" Keitaro studied Sosukei's every move, thinking of the story books that had pictures of Demons performing the attacks. "He performed it with such a perfect form, I could swear that he was the Batousai himself. And Ryu-Kan-Sen from the first match, that was really kick a-."
"WHO CARSES WHAT THE ATTACKS ARE CALLED!?!?!? ALL WE NEED TO KNOW IS IT HURTS! AND MOTOKO'S GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT HIM!!!" Naru was holding his head, bashing it like she would if she was at the movies.
As the dust began to settle, The first thing the audience saw was Jigan blowing away a clearing right for Sosukei. "That's not gonna work here!" Through the dust, he saw his shirt flapping with movement. "It's over, kid!" With a mighty slash, he shredded Sosukei's shirt into rags. However, His strike also blew away the rest of the dust, revealing Sosukei nowhere around where he originally was.
"Up here!" The voice came from above! In the air, Sosukei was flying down at his opponent like a divine dragon from the heavens. Jigan's eyes where wide with disbelief at the sight above him. So much, that he lost focus and stopped his continuous attack. "NOW!" He swiped Jigen's collar bone, almost breaking his sword with the amount of power he gave it. Sosukei tumbled to the ground and rolled on till he was touching the ring's edge. He kneeled down and held his shoulder. The landing was more painful than he though it would turn out to be. Jigan, on the other hand, was knocked out on his feet.
The referee simply tapped Jigan. "Sir? Sir, can you continue?" He simply nodded. And with that nod, he fell on his face with a thud. "AND THE WINNER OF THE SEMI-FINAL MATCH IS SOSUKEI HIMURA!!!"
The crowd was on their feet as the announcer claimed Sosukei the winner. Everyone, that is, except the Hinata girls. Kitsune look at her bid slips with a nasty smirk on her face. "Well, looks like Motoko's got one last fight before she's in the finals." She was praying hard for the victory, seeing how she blew all her rent on the last bar tab. Naru looked on with a most horrified look. "Oh my god! Look at her next opponent!"
Everyone's mouths drooped at the giant man stepping inside the ring. He was a brute. One that was oozing with pure strength. His eyes looked like that of a hardened criminal, and his grin was that of a beast with no remorse for any suffering he would cause to others.
0_o!?!?!?
"OH MY GOD!!!" The Hinata residents was beyond petrified at the mere sight of him. He looked up and right at Naru and Kitsune. He licked his lips and gave him a Sadistic look. Naru shivered and Kitsune as well. Keitaro saw this and tried to comfort her. "Hey, Naru. Don't be sca-"
"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!" She was so startled by his hand on her shoulder that she threw the hardest punch that would make sure he didn't try anything like that again. "Don't scare me like that, you idiot!!!"
Motoko walked down the steps where Naru and the others where seated, and in her hands, was her sister's gift to her. She walked down the steppes and finally to the front row of the lower balcony. She looked to the stage from where she was standing and immediately knew who her next opponent was. That man, that sicko with no trace of a soul, was looking right at her, waiting for her to step in the ring and begin. She didn't even give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him. She simply walked over to Naru and the others.
"Naru, can I as you of a favor?" She held up her prized sword with her hands. "Please, look after these for me." Naru was speechless. "Um... sure. But, this is you're sword, so why do you want me to hang on to it?" She simply sighed. "I'd feel a lot more at ease if you would hang on to it for me. Oh, and this one as well." She handed Naru another sword, still in it's sheath. "Um, where did you get this sword from?" She shook her head. "I'll fill you in later. I have a championship to win."
She turned and headed back down to the stage entrance. Keitatro was just now getting his act back together when Su took the second sword out and was ready for some fun. "Hey, Keitaro! I challenge you! HIIIIIIIYAAAA!!!" Before he knew it, She had slashed all the way down with all of her force down on his head.
"OH MY GOD, YOU KIILED HIM!!!" Shinobu was screaming and panicking everywhere. "Oopsie. I guess I went to far. Oh well!" Kitsune took a gulp of the big cups she bought and examined his limp corpse with the tip of her toe. "Well, since we no longer have a land lord..."
Su took more and more swings, but only made things worst. "Uh-oh... I think we made it mad." Su kept hacking away, trying to sever the head. "Stupid sword, it won't cut." With a closer look, though, it was soon realized just why. "Some stupid-head put the sharpy-part on the wrong side! Oh well, I'll just flip it!"
Before Su had the chance, however, Keitaro jumped back to life at Su's words. "WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!?" He grabbed the sword and looked at it with astonished eyes. "Holy cow! This is the Sakabato! Do you realize what this means?"
"Um, wasn't he was dead just a second ago?" Kitsune was thinking how the hell could he survive a strike to the temple, much less a dozen times over. "Well, we did forget to take his immortality in a count." Naru added. "I'M NOT IMMORTAL!!!" He went back to the sword, taking a closer look at it.
"Guys, do you know what this is?" They all shook their heads. "This is the Sakabato. It was the legendary sword that a Legendary swordsman with a high code of sparing human life. legend says that he saved all of Japan from another revolution that would have more than likely put Japan in an era of chaos... "AAAGGGHHH"
Naru, once again, bashed him straight to the top balcony. "IF YOU KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT FAIRY TAILS AND LEGENDS, THEN TRY TO REMEMBER WHAT YOU STUDIED, YOU MORON!!!"
"The next match will determine tomorrow's battle for the World Championship. Stepping into the ring, From Sendai, Japan, weighing in at 300 pounds, Kazuki Yatouji!" The crowd all jeered and booed him as he entered the ring, but he could give a damn what anyone though about him.
"And his opponent, weighing in at-"
"THAT'S NON OF YOU'RE BUSINESS!!!" Motoko cut him off right there as the announcer skipped the rest of her intro. She looked at him, and he shot it right back at her. "It's him... it has to be. The way he looked and the others... He is the Kendo Bandit." With the sound of the gong, the match was well under way.
They both leapt forward, Motoko lunging, and Kazuki came with a horizontal slash with his left hand. Motoko saw this and ducked her head, just enough to feel the wind actually cut the very tips of her hair. She put everything into that thrust to end this now.
"Miss. Aoyama! Above you!!!" That voice. She looked briefly to see Sosukei standing next to the ring, there to cheer her on. But it was too late. The massive elbow of Kazuki landed on her head, almost driving her into the ground. Her body's momentum kept her going, dragging herself against the floor, and to the very edge of the ring. She was barely able to move after that. The sheer force was almost that of a bus. It was a sickening bash and Motoko would not let it go without some kind of redemption. Using her sword to help herself to stand upright, she was back on her feet, ready to continue.
"Well, missy. I have to hand it to you. Most women I use that attack on usually stay down for looong time." Motoko spat at his feet, knowing once and for all that this man was the sick, twisted, and demented criminal at large. "You... you dare use the sword to abuse helpless women and commit act's of indecency? I will personally see you off to Hell!!!" She forced herself to leapt swiftly towards his legs, hoping to take out one his knees, leaving him helpless. She screamed with all her might.
"CUTTING AIR SPARK!!!" With the swing of an arm, however, The man's leg went flying off, right into the front row.
"Girls, DUCK!!!"
Everyone took cover, with the exception of Keitaro. The severed leg found it's mark square between the eyes, knocking him out. Shinobu looked down and saw her sempai lying still. She then noticed the piece of human frame right next to him.
"KYAAAAAAAA!!! GET IT AWAY!!!" Su picked it up and looked under the covering cloth. "Well what do ya know! It's made of wood!" Kitsune looked at the leg and took a gulp of her big mug. "Well, I'd say Motoko's got the upper hand now."
The fact of the matter that is, was Motoko was already too weary from the first blow at the beginning of the match. And after that futile attempt to cripple Kazuki, she ended up taking off a hunk of wood. He Hopped on one foot, keeping his balance with his sword, and looked at her with those cold, satanic eyes. "That's a rather desperate move for one of the students of The God's Cry School. I expected more from one such as you're self."
"No." She kept thinking that word ovr and over. "No. No. No. NO. NO! NO NO NO!!! I WON'T LOSE TO A PEICE OF GARBAGE LIKE YOU!!!" She was in a blind rage, fueled only by her emotions. "I WILL DEFEAT YOU AND I WILL BRING HONER TO MY SCHOOL!!!"
"Ms. Aoyama! Don't let you're rage blind you! You don't stand a chance the way you are now!!!" Sosukei kept his position on the side lines. He knew that she could win this, and he would be there to cheer her on till the end.
She, however, disregarded anything and anyone as of that moment, focusing only on Kazuki. "CUTTING AIR SPARK, SECOND FORM!!!" She tried desperately, looking for an opening, but he simply parried every single blow. "This is getting dull. I'll end this right here, right now.
...
At the moment when Kazuki lifted his trunk of an arm, something in Motoko snapped. She was no longer herself, as if she was possessed by a fighting demon. Her head was filled with one idea, one style of attack never performed at her school, nor any other style in she has encountered. With one synchronized attack, she delivered one of the most frightening and deadly attacks ever to be seen by modern day Japan.
At the same, exact moment, Kazuki was filled with pain all over his entire body. Every single key point had been struck effectively and with pin-point accuracy. She landed on her feet, panting, sweating, and regaining her self entirely. Sosukei saw this and knew that something happened to her. Something set her off and sent her off the edge. What he couldn't understand was how it was that she was able to perform such an attack has only been passed down his family blood line. As the crowd gazed into the ring, it was clear to everyone, if anyone, who had seen this, that Motoko Aoyama is the winner if this bout.
Motoko was still panting, sweating, and high on her adrenalin flow. She only remembered bits and pieces of what happened at the match, but for the most part, it was still a blur. She sipped on her water, making sure not to drink too much. In her mind, there was so many thoughts running in and out, back and forth, over and over again. What was the attack she used? Who, if anyone, had ever performed it? How did she do it? and more importantly...
"Would she be able to do it again?"
She turned sharply to see Sosukei standing in the doorway. His expression was completely serious. He was unlike his usual cheerful self. It sent a chill down her back.
"I know for a fact that the God's Cry school didn't teach you that technique, that I most certainly do." He took a seat right in front of her in a folding chair. He wanted an explanation. "That style of swordsmanship is only known by three people in all of Japan. My father, his father, and myself. It was a style that has been passed down for five generations. It never left our blood line and will eventually be forgotten."
He stared right into her eyes. His violet eyes, full of hope and dreams, didn't quiver at all. Her eyes where that of a confused and scared girl. She didn't know what had become of her. She could have killed that man if she didn't know what she was doing. But that was the most horrific part of it. She didn't know what she had done.
"None the less, we both made it into the finals. I pray that tomorrow's match will be an honorable one." His eyes seem to have lightened up a bit. He stood up and proceeded towards the door, knowing full well that they will both need their full strength in the morning.
To Be Continued...
Holy CRAP!!! I UPDATED!?!?!? I'm just as shocked as alot of you are. I thought I'd never pull this off. Bad news is, it WILL be awhile until you hear from anything new from this fiction. But good thing come to those who wait.
Until the next time we meet, I leave you with a quote of "wisdom."
"OH MY GOD!!! YOU'RE HUMPING A TURTLE!!!"~*~* Naru Narusagawa from Love Hina manga Vol. 14. (YES, I FINALY FINISHED THE MANGA!!! *sobs* I love happy endings...)