Chapter 13: TH13RTEEN
The day was never the same onboard Mayship again. Ever since May was sent off from the ship by the act of Johnny, everything felt very different. The loss of the most beloved pirate was so punishing that April, her best friend, locked herself inside her room as to object the decision Johnny had made following May's defeat to the British pirate Bonne Jennet. Not only that, Johnny's reputation as the Lord Of The Jellyfish was put under a critical question: why would he punish May in the worst way ever, when everybody knows that May is his best crew?
Then what about Jennet? The Brit chick did reach her objective of becoming Johnny's assistant, and learnt that trying to win the American iaijitsu warrior's trust proved to be difficult. She had tried to impress Johnny from all aspects and matters, yet the pirate master paid no attention on her. She got furious, thinking that he was not appreciating all her efforts during the battle.
"Johnny shouldn't do such thing to May," January spoke as all the crews (except April) gathered at the hangar.
"I agree with Jan," February remarked. "Even if May had lost, he should let her stay here."
"But didn't May agree to leave if she loses to Miss Jennet?" June asked.
"I don't agree!" August exclaimed. "Expelled or not, May is still the Jellyfish pirate! We shouldn't ever let our colleague to me mistreated!"
"Then what are we going to do? We can't just sit and do nothing. We must act immediately," July spoke. All the crews were silent. None had the suitable idea or plan to avenge May's defeat.
"I agree with the suggestion this young lady spoke." All eyes simultaneously focused at the appearance of a fire portal at the cargo door, where a man walked out from the portal. The girls were shocked when they saw the newcomer.
"You're the invader!" January cried in fear. "You're here to cause trouble to us again? GIRLS!" All of the crews stood and defensively faced the uninvited guest. "We Jellyfish Pirates shall stand our way against all enemies! You Kusanagi must leave this ship at once!"
Kusanagi #102796 cracked in laugher and ran a hand through his black hair. "Please, girls. I'm not like the clone warriors who had attacked your ships a while ago. I'm not very flattered to be related to them," he spoke.
"Then what do you want from us?" August demanded.
Kusanagi #102796 (for the time being, I'll give him the nickname "Sana" to differ him from his NESTS counterpart and the original Kusanagi Kyo. Wait, doesn't the nickname sound too girlish?) stopped his laughter and stared at the crews, much to their dismay. "Well, then, I would like to see your leader."
"On what reason will it be?" February questioned.
Sana demonically grinned. "A challenge."
Silence. The Jellyfish Pirates stared at him in fury. Sana knew that the girls would never let strangers, let alone enemies, to lay a finger on their lord. He merely grinned at their feeble loyalty. "I bet that each and everyone of you is angry at Johnny because you had lost the most beloved friend. Isn't that right?" All of them frowned. Neither one of them could agree or deny it. What had Sana said was true; they were infuriated by Johnny's action, yet they feared the risk of being expelled from Mayship. The NESTS warrior just sighed and corrected his Crimson Amplifier gloves. "Or perhaps, I can promise you to bring May back to you." All the girls gasped in surprise and looked at Sana in expectation, giving out the 'REALLY?' eye gazes. Sana couldn't help but to laugh at their naiveté.
"This is going to be easier than I thought."
x-x-x-x-x
"My… evil blood… must resist it…
ARGH!"
Hikki abruptly woke up. Sweats covered all over his face. Panting breathlessly, he looked around and found himself back at his room, lying on the bed. "How did I… get here?" he whispered and held his head. "What happened to me? The last thing I remembered…"
"Hikki, you woke up. Thank goodness." He looked at the door and saw Yuu standing there. Then he frowned and grumbled silently, while Yuu approached him and sat beside him. "Are you alright, Hikki? Please let me know if there's anything wrong."
"I have no idea," Hikki spoke. "The last thing I remembered was, I met this Omega man and… I got back here. What had really happened to me?"
"Someone named Zero found you at the hill and he took you here." Yuu uttered. "I was surprised to see you unconscious that time and I asked him what happened to you. He said…"
To quote Zero: "I saw him and another person engaged in the battle, and he lost to the newcomer. I tried to chase after the other person, but he fled."
Hikki looked at Yuu in bafflement. "I was engaged in a battle?" Yuu just nodded. He frowned again and shook his head. "But I don't remember anything at all… not even the battle…"
Outside the room.
Silence. All eyes focused on the Hunter in Legend, in disbelief and surprise and curiosity and concern. His arrival at Magnolia Village (while carrying the fainted Hikki) caused and surprise among villagers and alike. The GVS2 daredevils: Lone Wolf SIX, Takane Hibiki, Cassandra, Elde Talonn, Millia Rage, and Robo Ky/Sumomo duo quickly gathered at Hikki's house as soon as the news of Zero arrival reached them. The rumor of Hikki defeated by Omega Rugal also concerned them; however it was the battle between Hikki and Omega Rugal that intrigued Lone Wolf SIX the most.
"And do you care if you could tell us what has brought you into our universe?" Lone Wolf SIX asked while all the fighters were having evening tea earlier served by Yuu.
"I'm investigating a potential threat," Zero answered and took a sip of the tea. "Ciel has informed me of the appearance of an unknown force, and I'm concerned of the consequences it might bring to this world."
"You're an investigator?" Hibiki asked.
"You can call me an investigator," Zero continued and put down the cup, "but I'm a member of the Maverick Hunters." All of them wowed in amazement. Zero could guess that there are people who never hear the stories of Maverick Hunters. "Ahem. I'd like to have a quick introduction with all of you. My name is Zero."
"Takane Hibiki desu," Hibiki started the conversation. "Pleased to meet you, Zero-san."
Cassandra was next. "I'm Cassandra, and I'm proud to be Wolfie's girlfriend." Hibiki overheard the confession and angrily glared at the Greek warrior. "What's wrong? Feeling jealous at his girlfriend again? Aww, our Hibiki is mad at us. Boo-hoo-hoo." she teased.
"Millia Rage," Millia pronounced and patted Sammy. "And this is Sammy."
"The name is Elde Talonn, and I'm Takane-sensei's best student," Elde spoke and bowed before Zero. Zero looked at each of them and nodded.
Then Zero looked at Robo Ky. "Hmm… you are of unfamiliar design. Are you created by someone?"
"I AM CREATED BY NO ONE! I AM THE ONE AND ONLY ROBO KY," Robo Ky proudly announced.
"The one and only Robo Ky, huh," Zero uttered.
"AIIII!! Sumomo desu! AIIII!" Sumomo exclaimed and danced on the PWAB knight's head. Zero just grinned and threw his sight at Lone Wolf SIX.
"Lone Wolf SIX," the author spoke. "Lone Wolf-san, as called by Hibiki; Wolfie, by Cassandra; Lone Wolf, by everyone else. I seldom meet my packs of Lone Wolves ONE to FIVE, but they're my far relatives, for your knowledge."
Hibiki looked at Lone Wolf SIX in intrigue. "You have relatives?" curiously she asked.
"Actually, Blackheart ZERO introduced them to me a while ago," Lone Wolf SIX spoke. "Well, mister Zero, I think our introduction should be enough for now."
Zero nodded and coughed again. "I'm honored to meet all of you here," Zero spoke. "But I'm concerned about the man I had saved on the hill, and the stranger I met after the battle."
"You're referring to Hikki and Omega Rugal, aren't you?" Lone Wolf SIX asked. "Same with me. I'm concerned of them, especially Omega Rugal. What is he up to this time?"
x-x-x-x-x
Inside his office, Johnny was inspecting documents and minutes while Jennet carried loads of files to be put on the cabinet. Everyday for the pirate lord was unchanged ever since, though the May-Jennet battle had given some effects on his pride. Yet he didn't take care of it. A job is a job; a Jellyfish Pirate will forever be Jellyfish Pirate. And…
"Need some hands, my friend?"
Both Johnny and Jennet looked at the door and saw the asking stranger. "Surprised to see me?" mockingly Sana asked while leaning against the steel wall.
"You!" Johnny exclaimed and withdrew his wakazashi. "You had invaded this ship before! Why are you here again?"
Sana grinned and entered the office. "It's obvious. A true warrior always seeks for strong opponent to fight with. That's the reason I'm here."
"You don't sound like a warrior to me," Johnny spoke and opened his battle stance. "Leave this ship before I call the girls to handle you."
Sana laughed sarcastically. "Would they?" he spoke and stepped aside, showing Johnny all the Mayship crews who were frowning. Johnny was surprised to see all his crews acting as if they were charged of being guilty.
"Girls, what happened to you?" he asked in his sympathetic tone.
"We… we're very sorry, Johnny," the girls answered, "to let Mister Kusanagi fight you. We're very sorry."
"Besides," August spoke, "he had promised us to bring May back to us. In return, he wanted us to let him fight you."
"He what?" Johnny demanded and looked back at the Kyo clone bearing the registration number 102796. "You can't make promises to my crews by yourself!"
"Why can't I?" Sana asked and generated flames from his amplifying gloves. "Well, Mister Mist Finer, shall we begin our battle?" he spoke and immediately fired a Dark Sweeper at Johnny. The Jellyfish Lord Divine Leaped over the projectile and counterattacked with an Ensenga, and it was cancelled easily by Sana's variation of his 101 Shiki: Oboroguruma - the Style 101 Turbulence Thrust.
"IKUZE!" Sana shouted and rushed toward Johnny. The pirate was ready with his level 2 Mist Finer reversal attack, however he found himself facing the cheesy cheap autoguard-enhanced Demon Scorcher uppercut and was sent flying to the ceiling. Sana, then, chased the pirate and both fighters landed on the deck.
"Curse! This demon is tougher than those invaders," Johnny thought and air-recovered. He waited as Sana jumped toward him, his hand ready to pull a kamae.
Then… "UNCHOU NO IAI!"
Sana was caught by the airborne overdrive and unable to move, as Johnny double-slashed the NESTS warrior with his wakazashi in midair and landed, leaving him stunned. "Never mess with the Jellyfish pirate," Johnny declared, and the X-slash exploded.
"You think so?" Johnny quickly turned around and was shocked. The overdrive did hit Sana, but he was (insert the usual suspense pause) unscathed. "Well, too bad that you can't do anything for now." With that, Sana charged toward Johnny and gave out his modified Style 75 kick and launched him to the air. Then, he lifted his palm and ignited flame from the glove.
"Argh… YAGARE!"
The unmistakable cry of the Great Serpent Cutter echoed through the evening sky, as Sana hurled the flame wall onto the falling Johnny. The NESTS warrior laughed demonically, as Johnny was burnt and incinerated airborne. However, before he could land a Moon Harp Positive, Johnny already escaped death with his Psych Burst Counter, tossing Sana to the other side of the deck. He was burnt all over his trench coat yet he survived certain death. Glowering angrily at Sana who corrected his gloves, Johnny wiped a trace of blood trickling down his mouth and cursed.
"Is this all our pirate lord has got to show?" Sana asked in mocking tone.
"I've told you not to mess with the Jellyfish Pirate," Johnny demanded and, again, went into his Mist Finer stance. "I shall exterminates the likes of you from my ship."
"Your ship, eh?" Sana replied. He grinned and corrected his hair. "Very well. I shall give you chance to attack me in thirteen seconds."
Johnny's eyebrow arched. "Thirteen?"
"Yes, the number 13. The cursed. The taboo. The feared. The unlucky. The number of misfortune. The number of evil. The digit everyone loves to hate," Sana spoke. Johnny just glared at Sana in disbelief, much to his dismay. He sighed and lowered his defense, opening his arms wide. "Come. Show me what have you got."
ONE.
Johnny dashed in and cancelled his Mist Finer stance into a forward hard slash. It hit.
TWO.
Johnny tossed a Glitter Is Gold projectile at Sana. It also hit.
THREE.
Johnny executed a normal lv2 Mist Finer, and sent Sana flying off the floor.
.
The girls, as well as Jennet, were watching as Johnny raced against time to beat Kusanagi #102796 the hell of it. The tense was rising, as each and everyone watched each and every of Johnny's moves executed against Sana. Strangely, the NESTS warrior didn't fight back; he merely let Johnny punished him with everything he got.
.
FOUR.
Johnny dashed in, and threw another gold coin.
FIVE.
It hit, and quickly linked with another lv2 Mist Finer.
SIX.
Johnny landed a 6K onto Sana before he landed on the deck, sending him to the air again.
SEVEN.
Sana crashed on the deck. Johnny retracted his wakazashi and released a Baccuss Sigh.
EIGHT.
The mist now covered the immobile Sana.
NINE.
Again, Johnny tossed Glitter Is Gold.
TEN.
And another 6H/Mist Finer combo.
ELEVEN.
Sana was now floating over him, and Johnny put his hand on his wakazashi. He withdrew its blade, and…
TWELVE.
Tension spark flashed, and the overdrive landed on Sana in lightning speed.
THIRTEEN.
"Johnny: that's the name of my overdrive."
The exclusive overdrive exploded and damaged the NESTS warrior. Johnny, then, retreated his weapon and, after correcting his trench coat, turned to the girls and glowered at all of them. All but Jennet were struck in total fear and stepped backwards, as their lord approached them with enraged eyes.
"Nice, but not enough."
Johnny halted. The voice! It can't be! He slowly turned to his back and saw the worst: Kusanagi #102796, standing almost totally unharmed, correcting and sweeping himself off dust. A moment of fear struck his heart; is he facing an evil?
"Time's up," Sana spoke and grinned. "You've done a great job. However, I'm a little disappointed with you."
"You what?" Johnny voiced.
"Let me tell you three important things," Sana replied. "One: after the crucial 13 seconds, I realized that your iaijitsu skill is nothing, compared to this amplifier I own and the Kusanagi-ryuu copied into my database."
"Two," he continued, "I also realized that the real Johnny would never mistreat any of his crews just because of one woman." He, then, glared at Jennet, by now badly irritated by the statement. "Of course, some women aren't pleased to be called the one with one hand holding cradle and one hand shaking the world."
"And three," Sana said and braced himself, unleashing faint red aura from his body. "I'm going to win this battle, also in thirteen counts. But this time…"
To everyone's surprise, Sana teleported toward Johnny via the illusive Ashura Senkuu thought to be exclusive only to the founder of the Shotokan School Akuma. The strongest and the most feared of all Kyo clones the NESTS had ever created and developed was now standing in front of Johnny, with his scarlet red aura glowing brightly. Before Johnny could react, a pair of palms grappled his shoulder and immediately he was brought into a grab position.
"I'm going to finish you," Sana deviously declared, "for good. GAME OVER!"
ONE!
An immense explosion blasted onboard Mayship, trapping both Johnny and Sana inside.
TWO!
Sana released his grapple and hit Johnny with a modified 114 Shiki Aragami…
THREE!
A follow-up 128 Shiki Konokizu was done…
FOUR!
Immediately, Sana pulled back and gave out a modified 115 Shiki Dokukami…
FIVE!
Followed by a 427 Shiki Hikigane…
SIX!
And a modified Style 75, sending Johnny to the open air…
.
"JOHNNY!" all the girls cried in horror upon seeing their master in distress. They tried to enter the battlefield as to interfere. However an invisible wall was blocking them. Frustrated, they could do nothing but to stay and pray for their lord's safety.
.
SEVEN!
…And another Style 75…
EIGHT!
…Followed by his Style 101: Turbulence Thrust…
NINE!
Sana cancelled the knockdown move and landed on the deck.
TEN!
He waited, watching as his opponent was plunging toward him.
ELEVEN!
A heavy version of Demon Scorcher was executed, sending the now helpless Johnny to the open air.
TWELVE!
Sana halted midair. He dived toward the deck and slammed his fists on the stainless steel plate.
THIRTEEN!
The identical Final Battle Secret pillar hurled upward and engulfed Johnny, incinerating and burning every part of his weakened body. The explosion intensified, and before long the entire sky was burnt by the crimson flame of the Kusanagi clan, amplified by the Crimson Amplifier gloves.
x-x-x-x-x
Zofeah looked at the sky, which seemed to be burned. Curiosity aroused inside of him, as he saw a crimson pillar blasting through the clear heaven, followed by a serpent-like figure streaming and encircling the pillar. "That serpent…"
x-x-x-x-x
Iori was startled. The very same feeling of hatred enraged inside his heart, but it was caused by different reason. He looked around him and saw the crimson pillar plunging upward to the open space. He clenched his hand on his half-cut coat and grumbled. "I know this feeling very well… I know it."
x-x-x-x-x
Kusanagi #102796 stood, correcting his Crimson Amplifier gloves and running a hand through his hair. Then he cracked and popped each and every joint on his body before turned around. The Lord of The Jellyfish was now seen laying on the floor, whilst the Mayship crews rushed toward him in distress. He grinned in devious victory. He had won the duel, and it was helped by the variation of Kyo's Style 524: God Dust hidden super desperation move, now his trademark Instant Kill – Style 666: Demon Dust.
"My job is done here," Sana spoke and walked away from the pirates. "Don't worry about your so-called master, girls. This amplifier allows me to use only 10% of my power; otherwise, he and this ship would have been burned to crisps. Now, will you all excuse me?"
"What's going on here?" All eyes looked at the entrance door. April was standing at the passage, her eyes shrouded in total confusion and shock. Sana cackled and approached the crew and stared down at her.
"How not observant I am," the NESTS warrior uttered, "to ignore this girl. Heh, I really doubt that you want to know the real situation in here. Or, you might not be able to know."
April looked at Sana in bafflement. "Who… who are you?" Sana did not answer; instead, he put a hand on her head and grinned. "What… what are you going to do?" she gasped and tried to get off from his grab.
"It's a pity for not finishing the excitement I was having," Sana spoke. "However, I must leave. There are still tasks I must accomplish before the grand event arrives." With that, he stunned April with a jolt of electricity. April fainted and was caught in his arms before she fell onto the floor. He looked at the girl and nodded before continued his paces.
"Let go off April!" January demanded. Sana looked at the crew and sighed.
"I almost forgot the promise," he uttered. "Sorry, girls. I can't help you this time."
"But you said you'd promised to find May!" January replied.
Sana grinned and laughed. "Yes, I was. But promises are meant to be broken."
January gasped. He had broken the promise, and now he was taking April away. "Sukebe! Sukebe! You traitor! How could you do this to us! How could you!"
"How could I?" Sana replied. "How should I know? After all, you all are no worthy to question me. And you will never be."
Kusanagi #102796 jumped off the Mayship with April in his arms, descending toward a destination only the NESTS warrior knew. January, and the rests of the crews including Jennet, were left in a state of anger. An anger lusting inside of them so much that they vowed to avenge Johnny's defeat and hunt Sana down, no matter the risks they would have to take.