Author's Notes: Well, Here's another chapter. This one's gonna be Toramaru's fight(that's right, I'm givin all the characters a shot in the spot... light, that is). Let's get started...

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Chapter 31: A Trap; Part 7...

~/Toramaru\~

:;"You should not have come." a voice says, "Nor, Should you have allowed your friends to do so, either.";:

The opposing ninja says nothing else, as he lowers his head and closes his eyes. He brings his hands up, his right hand gripped around his extended left index finger and his right thumb pressed to the left index finger's tip. Toramaru nods and mimics the posture, except his hands... the bottoms of his hands are against one another, left palm open and all right fingers, except index and middle, curled into his hand.

'Why are you here, Ryuumaru?' asks Toramaru, mentally.

'I have my reasons.' Ryuumaru replies 'More important, though, I must inform you of one who seeks the death of Hariel, as well as the senshi...'

'!?' Toramaru responds, shocked as he hears the one's name, 'I must warn Rei and the others!'

'You cannot leave, yet.' Ryuumaru says 'Not before you and I have faced in battle, Toramaru.'

Toramaru breathes out puff of air, '... very well.' he responds.

Both ninja raise their heads, open their eyes and lower their hands. "I have long wondered which of us is stronger." Toramaru says, after pulling down his mask. He grips the handle of his shinobigatana.

"As have I." Ryuumaru agrees, reverse-gripping the handle of his own shinobigatana, "Now, I suppose, We shall discover the answer. Let us begin."

Both bring their left hand up infront of themself and ninja-dash toward one another. They draw and swing their swords simultaneously. There's a bright silvery flash and, when the light fades, the two ninja are standing several feet from each other, backs toward one another. Ryuumaru drops to his right knee, as Toramaru sheathes his sword.

Ryuumaru glances back over his shoulder, "I suppose, I must have chosen the wrong path." he says.

"No, Ryuumaru." Toramaru responds, bowing his head, "There is no such thing as a wrong path. Nor, Is there a wrong choice." "This is because, Our choices are all that we truly own." he adds, "We must believe in the choices we make."

"Wise words..." Ryuumaru says, looking down at the floor, "You have, indeed, gained a great deal of knowledge."

"Perhaps..." Toramaru responds, closing his eyes, "However, 'He who increases knowledge, increases sorrow'."

"Indeed." Ryuumaru says, "Very well then. All that is left then..." he places his left knee on the floor next his right. He then sits back and places his hands on his knees after using the right one to move his hair to one side, revealing his neck, "Finish it," he says, bowing his head and closing his eyes, "and restore my honor."

Toramaru nods and once again draws his shinobigatana, then holds it up to the left side of Ryuumaru's neck.

"Remember, Toramaru." Ryuumaru says, "Stay true to your chosen path."

Toramaru nods again and slowly spins his sword above his head, gripping the handle with his left hand in the process, "Farewell... my brother." he says, as he slices diagonal down right-to-left. Ryuumaru's body falls forward onto the floor and Toramaru sheathes his sword again.

Afterward, An aura floats up out of Ryuumaru's body and flies into Toramaru's left arm, causing him to grip it near the shoulder with his right hand and drop to one knee. When he moves his hand, part of his sleeve is missing and there's a dragon tattoo near his shoulder. Flames then surround both his arms and burn away the sleeves, revealing three more tattoo's... a snake & tortoise on his left forearm, a phoenix on his right forearm, and a tiger on his right arm near the shoulder. All four take a turn to come alive and roar in this order: snake & tortoise, phoenix, dragon, tiger. Toramaru then draws his shinobigatana and retrieves Ryuumaru's shinobigatana from the floor, then holds them up. He releases the swords and they begin spinning faster than the eye can see. He then materializes the Ka'en and swings it with both hands in an overhead swing into the cyclone created by the other two... thus, combining them into Chaos' legendary sword, the Zanmato. The sword detranforms to fit into Toramaru's scabbard on his back. He then continues through the door which opens for him...

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To Be Continued...

Ramblings: Well, Tune in for the next chapter and I hope you're not mad over this chapter. Hope you all do tune in next time. And, in case you're wondering... Toramaru means Tiger Zero(or, first tiger) and Ryuumaru means Dragon Zero(or, first dragon)... get it? And, 'Zanmato' means Cutting Demon Sword. Also, The four tattoo's(symbols) represent the Four Gods(balance).