CHAPTER 9: Traitors
"We wondered who killed Bussho, and figured from the barbed wire that it was that Shinsengumi *******," the man who came out of the tunnel said. More men spilled out of the tunnel.
"I thought you said they didn't know where this place was," Saito muttered to Gimmei. She nodded.
"They didn't," was her reply. The first man stepped forward, obviously the leader.
"We followed the trail of blood," he said. "It was easy." Saito scowled. STUPID!
"Taikan, why are you doing this?" Gimmei asked. "You are supposed to be loyal to our group!"
"To our group, but never to you, you little *****!" Taikan said.
"What a vocabulary! Talking to a thirteen-year old FEMALE that way," Saito smirked, instinctively getting into a Gatotsu stance. "I should rip your tongue out for that one." Taikan narrowed his eyes. Gimmei watched Saito.
"I'll kill you first! Men, take care of the brat!" Taikan said. The other ninjas nodded and headed for Gimmei. She backed away.
"I don't understand!" Gimmei gasped, clutching the sword harder. Taikan laughed.
"We hate you," one of the ninjas said. "Women shouldn't be leading us!" Gimmei backed away.
"I was just continuing what my brother wanted for the group!" Gimmei protested, then felt an arm slide roughly around her waist. She was lifted up and a knife was held to her throat.
"And once you're gone, we'll become even stronger than the yakuza!" the one holding her said. Gimmei didn't dare to move.
"What should we do with her, Taikan?" a ninja said. Taikan and Saito were still glaring poison at each other.
"Take her back to the base and tie her up. We can have a little fun before killing her!" Taikan said. Saito glared at him.
"Have fun? You won't live to see her again," he said. Taikan let out a laugh.
"You shouldn't spend all your time dealing with me or her!" Taikan said. "Your wife could be dying right now! And you know it, don't you?" Taikan sneered. Saito snorted.
"She can handle your puny friends!" Saito said. "And she could probably take care of you as well." But even though he said these things, he couldn't help but worry.
"Then take as long as you want on me!" Taikan yelled and ran forward, sword raised. Saito attacked with a Gatotsu, seeing the other men haul a squirming Gimmei into the tunnel, then slam the door. The swords met with a screech. Saito quickly flipped the sword in his palm and slashed to the side, slashing the saber in two and the knocking the handle out of Taikan's hand. Taikan gave a surprised look.
"Your life ends here," Saito said. He grabbed the sword with both hands and swung toward Taikan's neck to take his head off. But instead of the expected sound of tearing flesh, there was a loud clang. Saito jumped back, staring at the place the sword had made contact. Taikan gave a sneer, tearing away the already cut collar of his gi. There was a metal plate, not unlike Shishio's, guarding his neck.
"I knew you'd try to cut my head off, Saito," Taikan said. "So, I prepared myself. Looks like you underestimated me." He pulled out another saber, a golden one with a silver handle and lots of Japanese writing on it. A bright red stone was embedded in the handle.
"Fancy weapon," Saito said. "I'm sorry to break it." He charged with yet another Gatotsu.
"You can't break this one!" Taikan yelled also running forward. "It's dipped in gold!" Saito smirked as he thrust his sword forward and felt the two weapons meet. A small piece of the gold plating was chipped off and thrown across the room. It hit the wall with a quiet 'tink' sound. Taikan made a face and took the blade between his two fingers, examining the damage.
"It'll break next time," Saito said. "Sabers are brittle and will shatter easily. Katanas like this one, however, are completely reliable." Taikan gave Saito a menacing look and flicked the saber.
"I don't see how you did that, but it won't happen again," he said. He held the saber upside-down, that is, the blade was facing toward his back. Saito wondered what his new strategy was, but just shrugged and stood in another Gatotsu stance (A/N: Okay, I'm sure the Gatotsu is really boring you now...). He rushed forward, pushing the sword out in front of him. Taikan countered his blow by swinging his arm in a parry across the line of Saito's sword. The saber, which was guarding his arm from being sliced off, clashed with the Gatotsu and pushed it away. Then, Taikan raised his other hand and struck Saito's jaw. He spun and delivered a hard kick to Saito's already injured ribs. Saito jumped back, wiping blood from his lip.
"That was an interesting attack..." Saito said, wincing at the pain in his ribs. "Very interesting." Taikan laughed evilly, holding the saber tighter. Saito studied him, then decided to take a different approach. He straightened up and jumped into the air, ready to perform the second Gatotsu stance.
"What is that!?" Taikan growled, jumping up and swinging his arm at the same time. His sword collided with Saito's and both were thrown in opposite directions. Taikan felt Saito's fist connect with his face, so to counter, he attacked with a kick to the gut. They both were thrown backward, Taikan to the floor, Saito into the hot spring. Saito came up out of the water coughing. He searched for his sword and found that it was lodged into the wall of the room, as was Taikan's. He was about to climb out of the water when Taikan ran over and shoved his head back under the water. Saito struggled to pull away, but Taikan's grip on his hair was tighter than Saito had expected. Saito reached up and started to fight with his hands, scratching at Taikan's fingers until they bled. He wasn't able to hold his breath much longer.
"HA HA HA!" Taikan cackled, ignoring the burning in his fingers. "Drowning the wolf! Who ever would've thought of that?" Saito was trying to surface, but Taikan forced his foot into Saito's stomach. Saito let out a large bubble of air, which floated casually to the top of the water. Feeling almost desperate, Saito grabbed onto Taikan's hand and pulled hard, bringing him splashing into the water as well. He wrenched his hair free from Taikan's hand and burst up, gasping for air. Taikan burst up as well and grabbed Saito around the neck, taking a deep breath and pulling him underwater. And the fight continued... both fighters unwilling to give up.
A/N: REALLY REALLY short. I'm sorry, but I can't promise that the next one will be any longer. Actually, it'll be even shorter. It'll only take up... about one computer screen. Terrible, huh? Oh well. It'll get better, I promise!!
REVIEW RESPONSES:
Kairi7: You really think I'd kill the coolest character? NO WAY! Thanks for reading!! I'll try to update ASAP!
Nannon: Yes, I'm evil. You'll hate me for the next chapter, tho. ^__^;;
Shiro: You'll have to see if I kill Tokio off... Bad reviews... I wouldn't want that. Hey, why do you like Tokio so much? Just wondering...
MissBehavin: Okay... all of your questions will SOON be answered. SOON means in the next... two to three chapters. Maybe four. Heh heh... yeah... it'll take a while.
"We wondered who killed Bussho, and figured from the barbed wire that it was that Shinsengumi *******," the man who came out of the tunnel said. More men spilled out of the tunnel.
"I thought you said they didn't know where this place was," Saito muttered to Gimmei. She nodded.
"They didn't," was her reply. The first man stepped forward, obviously the leader.
"We followed the trail of blood," he said. "It was easy." Saito scowled. STUPID!
"Taikan, why are you doing this?" Gimmei asked. "You are supposed to be loyal to our group!"
"To our group, but never to you, you little *****!" Taikan said.
"What a vocabulary! Talking to a thirteen-year old FEMALE that way," Saito smirked, instinctively getting into a Gatotsu stance. "I should rip your tongue out for that one." Taikan narrowed his eyes. Gimmei watched Saito.
"I'll kill you first! Men, take care of the brat!" Taikan said. The other ninjas nodded and headed for Gimmei. She backed away.
"I don't understand!" Gimmei gasped, clutching the sword harder. Taikan laughed.
"We hate you," one of the ninjas said. "Women shouldn't be leading us!" Gimmei backed away.
"I was just continuing what my brother wanted for the group!" Gimmei protested, then felt an arm slide roughly around her waist. She was lifted up and a knife was held to her throat.
"And once you're gone, we'll become even stronger than the yakuza!" the one holding her said. Gimmei didn't dare to move.
"What should we do with her, Taikan?" a ninja said. Taikan and Saito were still glaring poison at each other.
"Take her back to the base and tie her up. We can have a little fun before killing her!" Taikan said. Saito glared at him.
"Have fun? You won't live to see her again," he said. Taikan let out a laugh.
"You shouldn't spend all your time dealing with me or her!" Taikan said. "Your wife could be dying right now! And you know it, don't you?" Taikan sneered. Saito snorted.
"She can handle your puny friends!" Saito said. "And she could probably take care of you as well." But even though he said these things, he couldn't help but worry.
"Then take as long as you want on me!" Taikan yelled and ran forward, sword raised. Saito attacked with a Gatotsu, seeing the other men haul a squirming Gimmei into the tunnel, then slam the door. The swords met with a screech. Saito quickly flipped the sword in his palm and slashed to the side, slashing the saber in two and the knocking the handle out of Taikan's hand. Taikan gave a surprised look.
"Your life ends here," Saito said. He grabbed the sword with both hands and swung toward Taikan's neck to take his head off. But instead of the expected sound of tearing flesh, there was a loud clang. Saito jumped back, staring at the place the sword had made contact. Taikan gave a sneer, tearing away the already cut collar of his gi. There was a metal plate, not unlike Shishio's, guarding his neck.
"I knew you'd try to cut my head off, Saito," Taikan said. "So, I prepared myself. Looks like you underestimated me." He pulled out another saber, a golden one with a silver handle and lots of Japanese writing on it. A bright red stone was embedded in the handle.
"Fancy weapon," Saito said. "I'm sorry to break it." He charged with yet another Gatotsu.
"You can't break this one!" Taikan yelled also running forward. "It's dipped in gold!" Saito smirked as he thrust his sword forward and felt the two weapons meet. A small piece of the gold plating was chipped off and thrown across the room. It hit the wall with a quiet 'tink' sound. Taikan made a face and took the blade between his two fingers, examining the damage.
"It'll break next time," Saito said. "Sabers are brittle and will shatter easily. Katanas like this one, however, are completely reliable." Taikan gave Saito a menacing look and flicked the saber.
"I don't see how you did that, but it won't happen again," he said. He held the saber upside-down, that is, the blade was facing toward his back. Saito wondered what his new strategy was, but just shrugged and stood in another Gatotsu stance (A/N: Okay, I'm sure the Gatotsu is really boring you now...). He rushed forward, pushing the sword out in front of him. Taikan countered his blow by swinging his arm in a parry across the line of Saito's sword. The saber, which was guarding his arm from being sliced off, clashed with the Gatotsu and pushed it away. Then, Taikan raised his other hand and struck Saito's jaw. He spun and delivered a hard kick to Saito's already injured ribs. Saito jumped back, wiping blood from his lip.
"That was an interesting attack..." Saito said, wincing at the pain in his ribs. "Very interesting." Taikan laughed evilly, holding the saber tighter. Saito studied him, then decided to take a different approach. He straightened up and jumped into the air, ready to perform the second Gatotsu stance.
"What is that!?" Taikan growled, jumping up and swinging his arm at the same time. His sword collided with Saito's and both were thrown in opposite directions. Taikan felt Saito's fist connect with his face, so to counter, he attacked with a kick to the gut. They both were thrown backward, Taikan to the floor, Saito into the hot spring. Saito came up out of the water coughing. He searched for his sword and found that it was lodged into the wall of the room, as was Taikan's. He was about to climb out of the water when Taikan ran over and shoved his head back under the water. Saito struggled to pull away, but Taikan's grip on his hair was tighter than Saito had expected. Saito reached up and started to fight with his hands, scratching at Taikan's fingers until they bled. He wasn't able to hold his breath much longer.
"HA HA HA!" Taikan cackled, ignoring the burning in his fingers. "Drowning the wolf! Who ever would've thought of that?" Saito was trying to surface, but Taikan forced his foot into Saito's stomach. Saito let out a large bubble of air, which floated casually to the top of the water. Feeling almost desperate, Saito grabbed onto Taikan's hand and pulled hard, bringing him splashing into the water as well. He wrenched his hair free from Taikan's hand and burst up, gasping for air. Taikan burst up as well and grabbed Saito around the neck, taking a deep breath and pulling him underwater. And the fight continued... both fighters unwilling to give up.
A/N: REALLY REALLY short. I'm sorry, but I can't promise that the next one will be any longer. Actually, it'll be even shorter. It'll only take up... about one computer screen. Terrible, huh? Oh well. It'll get better, I promise!!
REVIEW RESPONSES:
Kairi7: You really think I'd kill the coolest character? NO WAY! Thanks for reading!! I'll try to update ASAP!
Nannon: Yes, I'm evil. You'll hate me for the next chapter, tho. ^__^;;
Shiro: You'll have to see if I kill Tokio off... Bad reviews... I wouldn't want that. Hey, why do you like Tokio so much? Just wondering...
MissBehavin: Okay... all of your questions will SOON be answered. SOON means in the next... two to three chapters. Maybe four. Heh heh... yeah... it'll take a while.