Hey everyone, so sorry for the delay..*dodges flying fruit* eeeek! Thank
you guys for the reviews..and saying such nice stuff..*sniff* , cough,, Ok
ok, that's enough of that. Just a note to say that ideas are always
welcome, a couple of you do anyway.which is kewl, since I don't want this
turning into a crappy story...but you guys won't let me right?!!
Lol!........................................................................
....................................................................Oh,
could someone just clear something up for me? : I know that Japanese names
are often said the opposite way to us.family name first then the first
name. So: MAGATSU TAITO..which is his first name, and which is the family
name???...thanx
guy!........................................................................
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The teen had always pictured her death to be an honourable one, she would be there in her mind's eye, standing tall and proud with her head held high waiting for the final blow with no regrets. She would close her eyes and think of her parents for the last time before it all faded, and then things, stupid things like revenge and justice wouldn't matter any more, just to be with the people that loved her, it seemed almost too good to be real, and it was.
Rin definitely had, not exactly regrets, more like quite a lot of unfinished business.ok, a hell of alotta unfinished business, if avenging her parent's brutal murder was enough to qualify..it wasn't even as if it had really been about her father, that was what angered her more than anything. This selfish Anotsu guy, sparing no one, sent his band of the cruel, the insane, and the just plain blood thirsty after her and probably other defenceless kids that had been recently and traumatically orphaned. She had made a promise to herself a while ago, when she and Manji had first set out, that should any of her enemies that had children of their own would be spared. By no means was she just going to let them get out of it that easily, but killing was not an option. For although she hated them more than anything she had seen or would ever see again in the future, she knew what it was to lose what you love the most, and nothing, even what had happened to her that night, would induce her to inflict that kind of misery and suffering on anyone else.
She felt anything but tall and proud, on her ass in the mud. It wasn't even as if there had been a battle, where she had fought valiantly but lost to the stronger opponent. She hadn't, in point of fact actually hit him, hit anything yet..save the tree, and crashing into it didn't count. IT had almost and might as well have teleported a dagger into her body. It had cut and been withdrawn in a fraction of the time it takes to blink, leaving only the pain and the tell- tale trail of red fluid to prove that the weapon had ever come near her, and this was followed by many more, until the wounds didn't hurt individually any more, but caused a dull ache to spread throughout her, and she knew that when the adrenaline wore off it would be agony.
The heir was quite new to the whole dying experience, but being minced by this scumbag was certainly..not honourable! The mere thought of him coming within a mile of her made her skin crawl. She shuddered at the painful memories of her parent's death. In some crazy, warrior-man type way, she could almost make out the reason for them coming for her father, as master of the household and the honoured Asano -dojo leader, it very nearly made sense that they would kill him, judging by the past unpleasantness between Anotsu Saburo and her own Grandfather Takayuki. But what had her mother ever done to deserve anything like what she had seen that night? What they had done made her physically sick. She tried to put it out of her mind.
Maybe it was just her naiveté, but she still couldn't understand why things had to be like that. Rin imagined that even during her time with Manji since they had first set out, which really wasn't that long given a human's lifetime, that she must be coming something of an expert of all the pain, the loss, heartbreak and general all about chaos that seems to follow dangerous men like Anotsu like a bad smell. On reflection, it probably literally was a bad smell, ..blood was a good bet!
Rin, as she went through her subconscious like an inventory list, wondered if her attitude really had changed or whether it was just her imagination. Since the beginning of the quest all she had wanted, what she thought about all day long and dreamed about at night was Anotsu's battered and bloody head on a stick! What she wouldn't give to see that day, how much would she pay for it to be her. Be her that fought him, her that dealt the final blow and her that knelt beside her family's grave and tell that they could once and for all rest in peace. She could make out the scene in her mind down to the tiniest detail. She had often caught herself daydreaming about it, much to the annoyance of Manji. She knew which flowers she was going to lay there and everything.
To her he wasn't a man. He had stopped being a part of the human race the moment he had ordered the attack on her home, and beloved family. Now he was just a demon, a parasite that needed to be squished before he spread the terror of the Itto-ryu further, like a rat with the plague! Truth be known many people felt that way about Anotsu, but this was different, it was personal. But then on second thought, it was always personal! Every time someone vowed revenge against him for killing a loved one, it was most definitely personal! Rin was pretty taken back at this realisation, there sure wasn't enough of him to settle every score, ...maybe she could cut him into a million tiny pieces and spread them about like birthday cake!
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Itto-ryu soldier take a step forward. She suddenly felt angry. She had always thought that aside from bringing Anotsu down, getting his men would be a sheer bonus. But now it seemed that she would have to take on this particular follower to ensure her survival. 'Only one problem though' she thought, panic hovering like a black cloud in the pit of her stomach. 'This guy was a lot better than any of the others Manji had taken out.
The question of why he was moving heaven and earth to kill her rose like a bubble in her immediate thoughts. Anotsu. There was no doubt about it. 'I wonder how many more have been ordered after me' Now there was a thought to keep her awake. She hated the taste of fear. It wasn't supposed to be like this at all, in fact she should be killing him, and he should be apologising for everything, and returning the Chinese weapon that was rightfully hers with his last ounce of strength, and then she'd say something like, .rest in peace or something better than that, like.. ah, she'd probably be inspired when the moment came. She was startled by the rough voice, bringing her back down to earth. The young Kenshi raised the sword meaningfully.
"Rin Asano, it all ends now"! He growled.
'It ends now??? What kind of corny line was that?' Her thoughts raged 'He's had all night to think about it, and that's the best he can do? For Christ's sake, if I'm going to die, I was at least expecting something more elaborate, maybe a poem or a.it ends now????! NO to hell with this, it's not my time'
Rin suddenly pushed off from the dirt and sprang through the air as he lunged, aiming for her heart. Well not exactly 'sprang'. Halfway through, her legs gave out and she executed a wonderful jerky stumble and fell into the leaves by his feet. But obviously he hadn't expected this, as the sword buried itself in the tree behind her previous position decorated with a piece of sleeve. Although not the greatest evasion in the world, strangely enough it had got her out of harms away, as the blade missed the much needed organ, and ripped through her shoulder instead sending a searing white hot pain streaking down her arm. She let forth a bitten off cry as she tried to leap up and run at the same time, sending her once again onto the damp earth, bloody earth! Her Chinese companion slammed downward on her left as she rolled, and swiped through the air in anticipation of her getting to her feet. But Rin continued to roll, dipping a muddy hand into her Kimono, searching.
The blade swung in an arc inches from her face, she wrinkled her nose at the smell of her own blood. Rin continued to dig around in her clothing for anything to use! But the spiky haired death promise was swift, silent, and definitely not leaving any openings, in fact she barely had enough time to dodge before the next attack was upon her.
'Ah HAH!'
As she rolled again to avoid the constant downward slashing, her fingers closed around a rather sharp rock. As the engraved patterns enclosed in an iron grip came down to meet her, she jerked to the side, as expected he followed her and stabbed down at her as she brought the rock upward at speed, the other hand closing around the metallic handle of her distraction. He hissed in pain, as the jagged stone tore through the tanned skin and flesh of his hand and wrist but he didn't drop the sword or hesitate, his eyes as sharp as his blade were on her again and the weapon was following but her tiny dagger was already airborne and on it's way toward his face glinting as moonlight soared across the deadly surface. His brows raised and a small sound of surprise escaped him, but it was child's play. He deflected it easily. The whole process happened in but a second, but in that time Rin was on her feet and racing through the trees. She allowed herself half a moment to glance at her shoulder, there wasn't much to see, except her blood soaked clothing. Her arm burned, her forehead stung and her delicate body ached. The surroundings blurred a little.
'How much of that red stuff did she lose?' 'A hell of a lot less than him, keep running!' The inner Asano screamed. It wasn't as if she could do anything else. Shutting out the pain, and fear, the sheer urgency to get away, she concentrated on nothing save putting as much distance between her and Anotsu's second as humanly possible. She could feel her legs, her whole body begging, no, demanding she stop, but she ran, being driven on by nothing but will power and desperation. Each little stretch caused her more distress, and dizziness. Suddenly her whole world lurched to the left, and swirled violently. Rin blinked madly, trying in vain to refocus her sight, but the horrible cloudy patterns all around her would not fade.
It wasn't as if she even heard him coming after her. No footsteps, no disturbance of the air behind her, no. In a blur of movement he dropped down in front of her, whilst delivering a nasty mid-air swipe, curving slightly upward. Rin dug her heels into the ground for traction but could not stop in time, and more or less skidded into the most agonising pain she'd ever felt in her entire life!
He must have been in trees! 'Why didn't I see' she mentally cursed.
Staring into the liquid obsidian of his gaze, slowly, she crumbled, bending double, clutching at her stomach, and sank heavily into a heap. He just watched, never moving, expression never changing.
She stared up at him, almost in disbelief, then down her blood stained hands. A very distant part of her had almost expected pity, even though she knew that would never happen, it was almost as if she had never expected him to finish it. They were after all both young and hopefully had their whole lives ahead of them. Rin was surprised to realise that she had hoped that her situation, i.e. the merciless way that her parents had been taken from her would somehow appeal to the side of him that was still young and still believed in hope. But it was clear to her now that his compassion had died a long time ago, along with hope and true happiness.
His eyes never left her. The dark eyes may as well have been merely mirrors, reflecting light and her own image back to her, but clearly containing nothing. Whoever had said that the eyes were the windows into the soul had obviously never met this guy!
Rin's face screwed up in the constant effort of keeping the pain at bay, which was a joke, because it didn't! Not for even a second. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced. The only way she could describe it would be that her flesh had been injected with poison and molten metal. There was no nerve that wasn't on fire, no muscle that didn't burn until her silent tears ran down her reddening cheeks.
He showed no signs of weariness or discomfort, not even heavy breathing, and certainly didn't appear to be feeling bad about what he had done, whilst Rin was completely finished. There was no chance she could ever get up again, not now. She gazed miserably at the shadow he cast behind him. She felt so completely heart broken. Her head had told her there was no chance, and logic said that she would not make it alive, but somehow her heart had never accepted that she might not ever live to see another day, it wasn't possible, she could not imagine the beautiful colours of the world sinking into an eternity of just .black! Never feel the wind on her face and make her hair dance, or the warmth of another human being's affection. She would find some way, no matter what or how long it took, she was a survivor, but the dark figure above her argued otherwise.
'Doesn't he know what it is to live?'
The flash of reflected light caught her eye, but she did not look up, gazing miserably at the ground, tears threatening to appear. 'So this was my life' Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, after all her parents were waiting for her, and if heaven existed maybe it was like earth only without the evil. She felt his stare boring into her. She glanced up angrily. He was just standing there showing no emotion, or anything even vaguely recognisable as human. 'Like a damn robot'
Suddenly she heard the rustling of the bushes to her right. A high pitched scream erupted, dragging on an on, never stopping, and it was becoming louder. Her would be killer looked up startled, dark brows knitting together in confusion.
Footfalls became heavier as something hurtled toward the two, recklessly fast like he or she had nothing in the world to lose. As if their anger possessed their soul, and drove them through the woods like the deadliest predator. Definitely the noisiest. The sound was beginning to become unbearably loud, not to mention terrifying.
"Magatsu"! Something bellowed. Rin watched his expressionless face, as his relaxed posture shifted into a fighting stance, his sandaled feet pushing into the dirt for grip, his whole body taking on the look of a coiled spring. Sword hand twitching eagerly, as the other unsheathed his second weapon. He completely ignored her now, looking in all directions anxiously trying to locate the ever nearing voice.
'Manji is that you? She wondered. 'Could it be him'? He never usually made such a scene, stepping out from behind somewhere and confronting was generally more his style. The immortal always did like to have a bit of a pre-fight tease.
The guy called Magatsu turned his eyes skyward abruptly. Rin barely had a chance to follow his gaze, before someone dropped on her attacker, kicking and cutting with duel swords before he had even landed. The spiky haired Kenshi stumbled back awkwardly as he struggled with all his might to deflect the oncoming attack. It was obvious to Rin that he had expected the opponent to charge him on the ground, not literally leap at him.
Rin's mouth dropped open as she stared in disbelief as the predator became the prey, and was without a doubt up against something that would require a hell of a lot more skill to beat than she.
The man, well she thought it was a man had long matted and filthy, hair that was split and ripped and covering most of his face when he moved a certain way, and he was sure doing a lot of that, the other man was having a hard time trying to hit back as the ragged warrior moved so fast that even her previous attacker's speed now paled in comparison.
His rags barely covered what they needed to; his skin was almost black, as if he had been covered in coal dust. His hands were worn and haggard, giving the impression that he was much older than he was. Jagged yellow fingernails protrude from his long scarred fingers. "By the gods" Rin whispered. She couldn't do anything but watch as the battle raged on.
"You scum-sucking vermin" He suddenly screamed, making Rin jump. Magatsu had no time to show off any of his training. It was all he could do to keep the other's blades out of his flesh. The older warrior fought like a maniac, making Magatsu in comparison look like he was practising ballet. He was fast, but was more than speed was the sheer recklessness, the fearless way he was constantly striking at the younger man. He left himself open many a time, but was never hit. Even when Magatsu managed to catch him, he did not slow or flinch. He just kept going as if his life didn't matter anymore, as if he would happily die, as long as he took the other with him. Rin was sure she saw nervousness in the Itto-ryu's dark features as if he had just had the same thought. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He hollered as he swiped, cut, stabbed and kicked out, but hardly ever blocked.
"Who..the hell.are you"? Magatsu yelled angrily, between moves. The Madman tried to bury a sword in his heart, whilst swinging the other at his neck. He just managed to block them but not without the relentless blade slicing skin, from his ear to the start of his shoulder, he hissed in pain.
"You , and them, all of you alike.AHHHH! YOU'RE ALL THE SAME!! You killed my boy! Ahhhhh! You MURDERED MY SON, just cos he was different!!"
Rin began to drag herself backwards away from the fight. She shuddered at the madman's eerie high pitched, almost animal like screams. There was no way, she wanted to be near either of them, but the new arrival didn't appear to be able to keep track of his own mind, let alone actions. She had seen a person go insane with grief only once before, only they were amongst an entire town of people, he couldn't tell the difference between family friends and enemies and took out 13 innocents before he was put out of his misery. She had been very young, but she remembered the horrifying scene clearly. Her mother had told her a bedtime story that night about how the man, was forgiven for his crimes, and was reunited with his family in the next life, and that all the people that he had killed had come back as beautiful butterflies. It had made her feel better at the time, but now she was older, she knew better.
"I don't know what you're talking about, you, crazy bastard!" the young kenshi yelled. But this only served to fuel the other's anger. "AHHHHHH I'M GONNA RIP YOU TO SHREDS! YOU ******* MURDERER!"
He suddenly flew at the Kenshi swords aimed at his head, screaming wildly. Sweat ran down Magatsu's forehead as he fought for his life, each second coming close to his last. His footwork began to become uneven, then non-existent, being replaced by stumbling, and staggering backwards. His blocks becoming sloppy as his superior agility was useless, against this man who was heavier and stronger, he struck with incredible force, and bulky muscles, slamming down on the young Kenshi's slender form with all his weight.
The young Asano heir watched in fascination. The man she hated coming closer and closer to his death, she wouldn't think that he would last much longer. He relied on his speed but his strikes were too weak against the towering giant nutcase. All he same, she imagined that she wouldn't be safe here whoever won! Rin agonisingly tried to stand up, succeeding in a wobbly crouch as she rose from her very own blood puddle. She was certain she had just heard movement, further into the woods.
The bloody sword tore through his arm, then across his chest, but he refused to yell out, even though the pain was unbearable. He ducked as the blade shot through the air near his face, tearing away the concealing cloth. The lunatic laughed psychotically. "Now everyone can see you, WE ALL SEE YOU! MURDERER! COWARDLY SCRAWNY LIL MURDERER!"
In desperation the kenshi lunged at the man with all his last reserves. The psycho sidestepped with ease and also poured all his strength into a powerful punch to the head, sending Magatsu flying.
Rin looked up, when the sound of metal clashing ceased, to see Anotsu's second sprawled out on the dirt, not moving. The madman walked over to him casually with glee, and looked down at the kenshi, saying something quietly that she couldn't hear. She saw Magatsu glaring in hatred, then swiping his sword at the nut's legs, but the other had been expecting this and dodged whilst sliding his sword across Magatsu's throat. Rin put her slender hand to her mouth as she gasped. Sure he had tried to kill her, but to die by the hands of a weirdo like that, just didn't seem right. She turned away hurriedly from the gory scene, as the young man's eyes widened and he made a strange choking sound before slumping to the ground. Asano's feelings once again surprised her as two surfaced simultaneously. One was the obvious relief and satisfaction that another of Anotsu's assassins could never threaten her again. The other was only tiny compared to the first, but it was a slight regret. After all it had been a dishonourable death and to some extent a waste of talent. That was her father's training doing the thinking.
The teen had always pictured her death to be an honourable one, she would be there in her mind's eye, standing tall and proud with her head held high waiting for the final blow with no regrets. She would close her eyes and think of her parents for the last time before it all faded, and then things, stupid things like revenge and justice wouldn't matter any more, just to be with the people that loved her, it seemed almost too good to be real, and it was.
Rin definitely had, not exactly regrets, more like quite a lot of unfinished business.ok, a hell of alotta unfinished business, if avenging her parent's brutal murder was enough to qualify..it wasn't even as if it had really been about her father, that was what angered her more than anything. This selfish Anotsu guy, sparing no one, sent his band of the cruel, the insane, and the just plain blood thirsty after her and probably other defenceless kids that had been recently and traumatically orphaned. She had made a promise to herself a while ago, when she and Manji had first set out, that should any of her enemies that had children of their own would be spared. By no means was she just going to let them get out of it that easily, but killing was not an option. For although she hated them more than anything she had seen or would ever see again in the future, she knew what it was to lose what you love the most, and nothing, even what had happened to her that night, would induce her to inflict that kind of misery and suffering on anyone else.
She felt anything but tall and proud, on her ass in the mud. It wasn't even as if there had been a battle, where she had fought valiantly but lost to the stronger opponent. She hadn't, in point of fact actually hit him, hit anything yet..save the tree, and crashing into it didn't count. IT had almost and might as well have teleported a dagger into her body. It had cut and been withdrawn in a fraction of the time it takes to blink, leaving only the pain and the tell- tale trail of red fluid to prove that the weapon had ever come near her, and this was followed by many more, until the wounds didn't hurt individually any more, but caused a dull ache to spread throughout her, and she knew that when the adrenaline wore off it would be agony.
The heir was quite new to the whole dying experience, but being minced by this scumbag was certainly..not honourable! The mere thought of him coming within a mile of her made her skin crawl. She shuddered at the painful memories of her parent's death. In some crazy, warrior-man type way, she could almost make out the reason for them coming for her father, as master of the household and the honoured Asano -dojo leader, it very nearly made sense that they would kill him, judging by the past unpleasantness between Anotsu Saburo and her own Grandfather Takayuki. But what had her mother ever done to deserve anything like what she had seen that night? What they had done made her physically sick. She tried to put it out of her mind.
Maybe it was just her naiveté, but she still couldn't understand why things had to be like that. Rin imagined that even during her time with Manji since they had first set out, which really wasn't that long given a human's lifetime, that she must be coming something of an expert of all the pain, the loss, heartbreak and general all about chaos that seems to follow dangerous men like Anotsu like a bad smell. On reflection, it probably literally was a bad smell, ..blood was a good bet!
Rin, as she went through her subconscious like an inventory list, wondered if her attitude really had changed or whether it was just her imagination. Since the beginning of the quest all she had wanted, what she thought about all day long and dreamed about at night was Anotsu's battered and bloody head on a stick! What she wouldn't give to see that day, how much would she pay for it to be her. Be her that fought him, her that dealt the final blow and her that knelt beside her family's grave and tell that they could once and for all rest in peace. She could make out the scene in her mind down to the tiniest detail. She had often caught herself daydreaming about it, much to the annoyance of Manji. She knew which flowers she was going to lay there and everything.
To her he wasn't a man. He had stopped being a part of the human race the moment he had ordered the attack on her home, and beloved family. Now he was just a demon, a parasite that needed to be squished before he spread the terror of the Itto-ryu further, like a rat with the plague! Truth be known many people felt that way about Anotsu, but this was different, it was personal. But then on second thought, it was always personal! Every time someone vowed revenge against him for killing a loved one, it was most definitely personal! Rin was pretty taken back at this realisation, there sure wasn't enough of him to settle every score, ...maybe she could cut him into a million tiny pieces and spread them about like birthday cake!
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Itto-ryu soldier take a step forward. She suddenly felt angry. She had always thought that aside from bringing Anotsu down, getting his men would be a sheer bonus. But now it seemed that she would have to take on this particular follower to ensure her survival. 'Only one problem though' she thought, panic hovering like a black cloud in the pit of her stomach. 'This guy was a lot better than any of the others Manji had taken out.
The question of why he was moving heaven and earth to kill her rose like a bubble in her immediate thoughts. Anotsu. There was no doubt about it. 'I wonder how many more have been ordered after me' Now there was a thought to keep her awake. She hated the taste of fear. It wasn't supposed to be like this at all, in fact she should be killing him, and he should be apologising for everything, and returning the Chinese weapon that was rightfully hers with his last ounce of strength, and then she'd say something like, .rest in peace or something better than that, like.. ah, she'd probably be inspired when the moment came. She was startled by the rough voice, bringing her back down to earth. The young Kenshi raised the sword meaningfully.
"Rin Asano, it all ends now"! He growled.
'It ends now??? What kind of corny line was that?' Her thoughts raged 'He's had all night to think about it, and that's the best he can do? For Christ's sake, if I'm going to die, I was at least expecting something more elaborate, maybe a poem or a.it ends now????! NO to hell with this, it's not my time'
Rin suddenly pushed off from the dirt and sprang through the air as he lunged, aiming for her heart. Well not exactly 'sprang'. Halfway through, her legs gave out and she executed a wonderful jerky stumble and fell into the leaves by his feet. But obviously he hadn't expected this, as the sword buried itself in the tree behind her previous position decorated with a piece of sleeve. Although not the greatest evasion in the world, strangely enough it had got her out of harms away, as the blade missed the much needed organ, and ripped through her shoulder instead sending a searing white hot pain streaking down her arm. She let forth a bitten off cry as she tried to leap up and run at the same time, sending her once again onto the damp earth, bloody earth! Her Chinese companion slammed downward on her left as she rolled, and swiped through the air in anticipation of her getting to her feet. But Rin continued to roll, dipping a muddy hand into her Kimono, searching.
The blade swung in an arc inches from her face, she wrinkled her nose at the smell of her own blood. Rin continued to dig around in her clothing for anything to use! But the spiky haired death promise was swift, silent, and definitely not leaving any openings, in fact she barely had enough time to dodge before the next attack was upon her.
'Ah HAH!'
As she rolled again to avoid the constant downward slashing, her fingers closed around a rather sharp rock. As the engraved patterns enclosed in an iron grip came down to meet her, she jerked to the side, as expected he followed her and stabbed down at her as she brought the rock upward at speed, the other hand closing around the metallic handle of her distraction. He hissed in pain, as the jagged stone tore through the tanned skin and flesh of his hand and wrist but he didn't drop the sword or hesitate, his eyes as sharp as his blade were on her again and the weapon was following but her tiny dagger was already airborne and on it's way toward his face glinting as moonlight soared across the deadly surface. His brows raised and a small sound of surprise escaped him, but it was child's play. He deflected it easily. The whole process happened in but a second, but in that time Rin was on her feet and racing through the trees. She allowed herself half a moment to glance at her shoulder, there wasn't much to see, except her blood soaked clothing. Her arm burned, her forehead stung and her delicate body ached. The surroundings blurred a little.
'How much of that red stuff did she lose?' 'A hell of a lot less than him, keep running!' The inner Asano screamed. It wasn't as if she could do anything else. Shutting out the pain, and fear, the sheer urgency to get away, she concentrated on nothing save putting as much distance between her and Anotsu's second as humanly possible. She could feel her legs, her whole body begging, no, demanding she stop, but she ran, being driven on by nothing but will power and desperation. Each little stretch caused her more distress, and dizziness. Suddenly her whole world lurched to the left, and swirled violently. Rin blinked madly, trying in vain to refocus her sight, but the horrible cloudy patterns all around her would not fade.
It wasn't as if she even heard him coming after her. No footsteps, no disturbance of the air behind her, no. In a blur of movement he dropped down in front of her, whilst delivering a nasty mid-air swipe, curving slightly upward. Rin dug her heels into the ground for traction but could not stop in time, and more or less skidded into the most agonising pain she'd ever felt in her entire life!
He must have been in trees! 'Why didn't I see' she mentally cursed.
Staring into the liquid obsidian of his gaze, slowly, she crumbled, bending double, clutching at her stomach, and sank heavily into a heap. He just watched, never moving, expression never changing.
She stared up at him, almost in disbelief, then down her blood stained hands. A very distant part of her had almost expected pity, even though she knew that would never happen, it was almost as if she had never expected him to finish it. They were after all both young and hopefully had their whole lives ahead of them. Rin was surprised to realise that she had hoped that her situation, i.e. the merciless way that her parents had been taken from her would somehow appeal to the side of him that was still young and still believed in hope. But it was clear to her now that his compassion had died a long time ago, along with hope and true happiness.
His eyes never left her. The dark eyes may as well have been merely mirrors, reflecting light and her own image back to her, but clearly containing nothing. Whoever had said that the eyes were the windows into the soul had obviously never met this guy!
Rin's face screwed up in the constant effort of keeping the pain at bay, which was a joke, because it didn't! Not for even a second. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced. The only way she could describe it would be that her flesh had been injected with poison and molten metal. There was no nerve that wasn't on fire, no muscle that didn't burn until her silent tears ran down her reddening cheeks.
He showed no signs of weariness or discomfort, not even heavy breathing, and certainly didn't appear to be feeling bad about what he had done, whilst Rin was completely finished. There was no chance she could ever get up again, not now. She gazed miserably at the shadow he cast behind him. She felt so completely heart broken. Her head had told her there was no chance, and logic said that she would not make it alive, but somehow her heart had never accepted that she might not ever live to see another day, it wasn't possible, she could not imagine the beautiful colours of the world sinking into an eternity of just .black! Never feel the wind on her face and make her hair dance, or the warmth of another human being's affection. She would find some way, no matter what or how long it took, she was a survivor, but the dark figure above her argued otherwise.
'Doesn't he know what it is to live?'
The flash of reflected light caught her eye, but she did not look up, gazing miserably at the ground, tears threatening to appear. 'So this was my life' Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, after all her parents were waiting for her, and if heaven existed maybe it was like earth only without the evil. She felt his stare boring into her. She glanced up angrily. He was just standing there showing no emotion, or anything even vaguely recognisable as human. 'Like a damn robot'
Suddenly she heard the rustling of the bushes to her right. A high pitched scream erupted, dragging on an on, never stopping, and it was becoming louder. Her would be killer looked up startled, dark brows knitting together in confusion.
Footfalls became heavier as something hurtled toward the two, recklessly fast like he or she had nothing in the world to lose. As if their anger possessed their soul, and drove them through the woods like the deadliest predator. Definitely the noisiest. The sound was beginning to become unbearably loud, not to mention terrifying.
"Magatsu"! Something bellowed. Rin watched his expressionless face, as his relaxed posture shifted into a fighting stance, his sandaled feet pushing into the dirt for grip, his whole body taking on the look of a coiled spring. Sword hand twitching eagerly, as the other unsheathed his second weapon. He completely ignored her now, looking in all directions anxiously trying to locate the ever nearing voice.
'Manji is that you? She wondered. 'Could it be him'? He never usually made such a scene, stepping out from behind somewhere and confronting was generally more his style. The immortal always did like to have a bit of a pre-fight tease.
The guy called Magatsu turned his eyes skyward abruptly. Rin barely had a chance to follow his gaze, before someone dropped on her attacker, kicking and cutting with duel swords before he had even landed. The spiky haired Kenshi stumbled back awkwardly as he struggled with all his might to deflect the oncoming attack. It was obvious to Rin that he had expected the opponent to charge him on the ground, not literally leap at him.
Rin's mouth dropped open as she stared in disbelief as the predator became the prey, and was without a doubt up against something that would require a hell of a lot more skill to beat than she.
The man, well she thought it was a man had long matted and filthy, hair that was split and ripped and covering most of his face when he moved a certain way, and he was sure doing a lot of that, the other man was having a hard time trying to hit back as the ragged warrior moved so fast that even her previous attacker's speed now paled in comparison.
His rags barely covered what they needed to; his skin was almost black, as if he had been covered in coal dust. His hands were worn and haggard, giving the impression that he was much older than he was. Jagged yellow fingernails protrude from his long scarred fingers. "By the gods" Rin whispered. She couldn't do anything but watch as the battle raged on.
"You scum-sucking vermin" He suddenly screamed, making Rin jump. Magatsu had no time to show off any of his training. It was all he could do to keep the other's blades out of his flesh. The older warrior fought like a maniac, making Magatsu in comparison look like he was practising ballet. He was fast, but was more than speed was the sheer recklessness, the fearless way he was constantly striking at the younger man. He left himself open many a time, but was never hit. Even when Magatsu managed to catch him, he did not slow or flinch. He just kept going as if his life didn't matter anymore, as if he would happily die, as long as he took the other with him. Rin was sure she saw nervousness in the Itto-ryu's dark features as if he had just had the same thought. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He hollered as he swiped, cut, stabbed and kicked out, but hardly ever blocked.
"Who..the hell.are you"? Magatsu yelled angrily, between moves. The Madman tried to bury a sword in his heart, whilst swinging the other at his neck. He just managed to block them but not without the relentless blade slicing skin, from his ear to the start of his shoulder, he hissed in pain.
"You , and them, all of you alike.AHHHH! YOU'RE ALL THE SAME!! You killed my boy! Ahhhhh! You MURDERED MY SON, just cos he was different!!"
Rin began to drag herself backwards away from the fight. She shuddered at the madman's eerie high pitched, almost animal like screams. There was no way, she wanted to be near either of them, but the new arrival didn't appear to be able to keep track of his own mind, let alone actions. She had seen a person go insane with grief only once before, only they were amongst an entire town of people, he couldn't tell the difference between family friends and enemies and took out 13 innocents before he was put out of his misery. She had been very young, but she remembered the horrifying scene clearly. Her mother had told her a bedtime story that night about how the man, was forgiven for his crimes, and was reunited with his family in the next life, and that all the people that he had killed had come back as beautiful butterflies. It had made her feel better at the time, but now she was older, she knew better.
"I don't know what you're talking about, you, crazy bastard!" the young kenshi yelled. But this only served to fuel the other's anger. "AHHHHHH I'M GONNA RIP YOU TO SHREDS! YOU ******* MURDERER!"
He suddenly flew at the Kenshi swords aimed at his head, screaming wildly. Sweat ran down Magatsu's forehead as he fought for his life, each second coming close to his last. His footwork began to become uneven, then non-existent, being replaced by stumbling, and staggering backwards. His blocks becoming sloppy as his superior agility was useless, against this man who was heavier and stronger, he struck with incredible force, and bulky muscles, slamming down on the young Kenshi's slender form with all his weight.
The young Asano heir watched in fascination. The man she hated coming closer and closer to his death, she wouldn't think that he would last much longer. He relied on his speed but his strikes were too weak against the towering giant nutcase. All he same, she imagined that she wouldn't be safe here whoever won! Rin agonisingly tried to stand up, succeeding in a wobbly crouch as she rose from her very own blood puddle. She was certain she had just heard movement, further into the woods.
The bloody sword tore through his arm, then across his chest, but he refused to yell out, even though the pain was unbearable. He ducked as the blade shot through the air near his face, tearing away the concealing cloth. The lunatic laughed psychotically. "Now everyone can see you, WE ALL SEE YOU! MURDERER! COWARDLY SCRAWNY LIL MURDERER!"
In desperation the kenshi lunged at the man with all his last reserves. The psycho sidestepped with ease and also poured all his strength into a powerful punch to the head, sending Magatsu flying.
Rin looked up, when the sound of metal clashing ceased, to see Anotsu's second sprawled out on the dirt, not moving. The madman walked over to him casually with glee, and looked down at the kenshi, saying something quietly that she couldn't hear. She saw Magatsu glaring in hatred, then swiping his sword at the nut's legs, but the other had been expecting this and dodged whilst sliding his sword across Magatsu's throat. Rin put her slender hand to her mouth as she gasped. Sure he had tried to kill her, but to die by the hands of a weirdo like that, just didn't seem right. She turned away hurriedly from the gory scene, as the young man's eyes widened and he made a strange choking sound before slumping to the ground. Asano's feelings once again surprised her as two surfaced simultaneously. One was the obvious relief and satisfaction that another of Anotsu's assassins could never threaten her again. The other was only tiny compared to the first, but it was a slight regret. After all it had been a dishonourable death and to some extent a waste of talent. That was her father's training doing the thinking.