Chapter 5: Cooperation
Damn that Koganei…mind his own business… I thought, looking down at the tekkou on my arm. I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply. I…I have to protect Hime! My right hand raised and wrote the character for Nadare in the air. Immediately fireballs began forming around me, floating, suspended in midair. I grinned at them.
"I guess I should've tried Nadare first, right, Hime?" I turned slightly to look at her. She nodded, smiling, then blinked suddenly at something behind me.
"Recca-kun…behind you…" she said, eyes wide. I blinked quickly then started to turn back around. "Nadare…it's…" The fireballs started changing shape, flaring up into spirals of flame instead of round orbs. What the hell…?
"Nadare!" I shouted at the image of the dragon form of Nadare suspended in the air. "Calm down!" A sudden movement caught my attention. "No…no way…" The fireballs started slowly moving towards me. I whipped my head to Hime. "Get away!!"
"Recca-kun!!" she screamed, as Nadare's fireballs shot at me. I tumbled to the ground dodging a fireball, only dimly hearing my friends' shouts. No time…have to… A fireball appeared from nowhere and exploded against my chest, charring the cloth, blasting me backwards, towards the ledge. My eyes widened as I flew over the ledge, Hime's scream echoed in my ears.
There was nothing underneath me; I saw only bright blue sky and white clouds. So…this is what flying feels like… I felt suspended for a second; for an eternity.
Cold steel wound around my upper body, latching on tight, stopping my fall. I swung back against the ledge and looked down at the huge drop. "Ahhh!!! Fuck this is high up!!!!!!" I shouted, wriggling about.
"Shut the hell up and stop moving Recca!!!" a voice bellowed at me. I blinked and stopped wriggling, looking up to see the owner of the voice.
"Koganei…?" I said in an incredulous voice. He gritted his teeth and nodded, holding onto the other end of ryu. He didn't add -nichan? I smirked. It was kinda a dangerous situation though… I lowered my chin and looked across at the landscape, the country laid out before me. Only half paying attention, I heard Domon's arrival, and felt myself being swiftly pulled back up and over the ledge.
"Hanabishi, you idiot!!" Domon shouted, punching me. "What the hell were you doing??" I showed my fang as I jumped up, punching him back.
"Shut the hell up, gorilla!!" I bellowed back at him. Then I blinked and fell silent for a while, as Hime ran up to me, tears in her eyes. "Ah…Hime…"
"Recca-kun no baka!" She said, "You nearly fell off! You would've died!!" There was an uncomfortable lull in the conversation; I looked at my friends who were all staring at me. I grinned down at her, with my fang showing.
"Hime, I'm training, don't worry, I won't die!" I said to her, grinning. "I'm fighting to protect you, remember?" She nodded, wiping away her tears. She looked back at me and smiled. I smiled back at her then was knocked over by that stupid gorilla again.
"You didn't answer my question!!" He bellowed at me, angry chibi mode.
"What the hell was your question, gorilla!!!" I shouted back at him, also chibi.
"I'm not a gorilla!!"
"Gorilla!!!"
Mikagami sighed and shrugged his shoulders, walking off. "They're finally back to their true forms, the gorilla and the sea-monkey." I flinched and whirled around to face… Mikagami's back.
"Damn Mikagami! I'm not a sea-monkey!!" I shouted at him, his back. Koganei tried to stifle a laugh, very unsuccessfully. Koganei…I glared at him, which made the teen burst out in laughter.
A few minutes later, after everyone returned to their training, I finally sat down on the grass and sighed. What was with them…Saiha, Nadare…? I looked at the tekkou on my right arm and thought back…
Standing in the Urabutosatojin dome, I had faced off against Ku's Saicho in the first round of block A. After being wrapped up in his ki protected paper, I had only escaped by using saiha. Unlike nadare, who had listened to me, shooting fireballs at my adversary, saiha attacked me. The blade had been jagged, wild; it had attacked me with my own right arm.
I smirked as I remembered the fight then shook my head. What the hell am I doing?? I gotta see what's wrong…Saiha was acting like when I first used him in the Urabutosatojin… "Damn, I gotta fix this." Standing up, I walked more to the center of the ledge. At Hime's questioning glance, I grinned back at her. "Don't wanna fall off again." She nodded quickly then went inside the house to Kaa-chan and Ganko. Writing a character in the air, I braced my feet. "Flame Dragon third form, Homura!!"
The fire whip appeared, wrapping its way around my arm with a life of its own, until its full length was coiled around the tekkou. I inhaled sharply, waiting for something to happen, ready to block my arm if it decided to attack again. Someone's…watching me! I looked around swiftly for enemies, to meet the stares of my teammates. Ah…shit…
"What the hell's your problem?" I shouted at them. "Do your own training!!!" I pointed a finger at them. "You're makin' me nervous, idiots!" Domon gave me the finger then went back to training. Koganei stared at me a moment more, then turned around and changed kougon anki to an form. I forced myself to glare at Mikagami until he turned around also.
~WHAP!!~ Fuuko's hand slapped against my back, sending me stumbling forwards. "Calm down Recca, you're too tense with your training!" she said, smiling and turning chibi. I spun around to face her.
"Shut up! It's not my fault!" I shouted at her.
"C'mon, I'll fight you, Recca!" she said back, raising her right arm that held the Fuujin. I blinked and raised my right arm, where Homura's whip stayed wrapped around it, like a tame snake. Homura's…not going crazy like Nadare and Saiha? Maybe…it's because I used other ones before it…or is it that I can only use Homura so far…? I blinked again then a fanged grin appeared on my face. Fuuko glared at me for a moment before shooting a blast of wind at me. I stood still, unmoving, unseeing eyes looking at the ground, my mind on other things. "What the hell're you doing, Recca??" Fuuko screamed at me. I looked up at the wind blasting towards me, and something seemed to take over. I wrote a character in the air instinctively.
"Madoka!!" I shouted, as the dragon form appeared and a shield materialized around me. Fuuko gasped as the blast evaporated on the shield, then shook away her shock, putting in the onitsume in the main core of fuujin. Three wind claws came out.
"Kazetsume!" Fuuko rushed forwards with amazing speed and slashed at me with the claws. I let the shield disappear and dodged side to side easily, a smirk appearing on my face. I can do this... I can protect Hime and I beat up the bastard who wants to hurt her!! I wrote a character in the air and a fire blade appeared on my arm.
"Saiha!!" Fuuko yelped as she avoided the blade, tumbling backwards onto the ground. I grinned at her as she leaned back in the dust. "What's wrong Fuuko? Still can't beat me?" She grinned back at me and then jumped back up, slashing at me with kazetsume. I barely blocked the attack with saiha's blade. "Heh...that was a close one! Maybe you're actually getting...better?"
"Of course!" she said, rushing me again. "Maybe you've just gotten weaker, Recca!"
"So what if I've gotten weaker??" I shouted, summoning nadare. "Dan en!!" I shot the fireballs at Fuuko who jumped around to dodge it. "I'll just get stronger again!!" To protect Hime!
TBC
Thanks to Yami no tenshi for reminding me to continue this fic! Review please!