---- Chapter 39: Shinrai's Power Brought Out. Beginning of the Succession Final Test ----
Shinrai readied himself, bracing his hands to his sides.
"Now," began Yusuke, "you must concentrate and compress your Reiki. Just at the exact point where it transforms into Youki, push it to the maximum and release your hold on your Ki. That will bring out all of your latent demon powers, if successful. If you have a pure motive for attaining your power - like becoming a greater fighter than even I.... or Ki-Chigaii for that matter.... - then your powers will be granted to you by God. If not, though, your Ki will explode and kill you. This is part of my Succession Test.... so begin when you're ready."
"Hya.... !!!!"
Steadying himself, Shinrai's muscles bulged to their maximum limit, his aura flaring wildly. Finally, when the last of his energy was drawn out, he gasped, and stared at his hands in awe.
I.... I did it! I'm as powerful as Yusuke now!
"Not quite."
Shinrai was shaken out of his thoughts suddenly by those words. Staring at Yusuke quizically, he wondered aloud, "Wh-What?"
"Your skill still won't be quite up to snuff. Let me train you up a little."
In a flash, Yusuke had vanished, when suddenly Shinrai felt a rough blow to the back of his head that smashed him to the ground. Shinrai flipped to his feet, throwing a Reikou Shou at Yusuke's face. The attack hit, and sent Yusuke skidding backwards, but he was otherwise unharmed.
With a grin, Yusuke remarked, "Not bad. Your technique is very much like the Reikou Dan, except focused in the fist. With attacks like that, you may prevail. Try and counter this...."
Yusuke began to glow softly, his aura subsiding. With godlike speed, he charged forward, and hit with a fierce punch that sent Shinrai crashing to the ground. Wiping the blood from his face, Shinrai rose to his feet, and gave a small smile.
"I know exactly how to counter," he said confidentally. Yusuke snorted, "Oh? A bluff? Try it again."
Again he glowed softly, and charged forward. This time, Shinrai blocked the punch with his palm, and began to shine brightly.
"Reikou Kagami...."
His aura burst into flames.
"Ishiki!!"
Still holding Yusuke's fist in one hand, Shinrai turned and delivered a swift backhand to Yusuke's face that caused him to spit up blood violently, and hurled him backwards into the ground. Yusuke began to laugh, musing, "Excellent. Transferring the massive impulse of my attack into one of your own.... Brilliant maneuver. Reminds me of one of Genkai's techniques. But now it ends.... Time for the REAL succession test."
"Hyo.... !!!!!"
Yusuke's muscles bulged outwards, his aura crackling with such energy that the air flickered with dimensional distortions. The ground shook violently, and Shinrai nearly collapsed at the crushing weight of the power.
"Hah.... Hah...." Yusuke panted, letting loose a grin. "This is my full power.... Show me yours, Shinrai Seijitsu.... show me the power I've only been priveleged to see once before!"
Shinrai nodded, and began to charged up. His muscles tensed rapidly, his aura flaring. Smaller dimensional distortions crackled around in the air, and the ground once more shook.
"Yeah.... so you fought the 'great' Ki-Chigaii before, eh? This'll be interesting.... To have defeated my superior...."
The martial arts master chuckled. "Yes, he was quite a difficult opponent. But his demon blood wasn't quite awakened yet, so that gave me an edge in skill. Even with about 75% of his power, I won. Still.... do you intend to avenge his loss?"
Spitting, Shinrai replied, "I don't see him anymore. What happened in the past means nothing to me...." He took a stance, his arms at his sides. "Now you'll be priveleged to see the demonic powers of the highest breed of demons once more!!"
The wind whipped violently, and in an instant, they were off. Yusuke threw a quick jab, which Shinrai evaded and countered with a kick of his own - which also failed to connect. Again Yusuke tried an attack, a quick knee jab, which was caught by Shinrai's palm. Turning, Shinrai threw a quick backhand to Yusuke's neck, but it was caught as well. They were still both testing each other at this point.
Both fighters disengaged, staring each other down intently. Again they darted forward, Shinrai launching a quick kick to Yusuke's chest. Yusuke caught it with both arms, though, and turned several times before releasing him into a tree. The tree shattered upon impact, but Shinrai was mostly unhurt. He picked himself up, and wiped the blood from his mouth. With a smirk, he raised his right hand and placed it in a gun shape. As the sphere of energy at his fingertip grew, Yusuke copied Shinrai's actions.
And, at exactly the same instant, they both fired.
The blast burst forth in a huge explosion, blowing away all the nearby trees. Neither fighter was hurt, and they continued staring each other down.
"So," mused Yusuke, "Our pistols are exactly equal.... Let's try our shotguns."
Each warrior clutched one hand to their side, and thrust it forward, releasing huge Shotgun blasts. Shinrai's attack overcame Yusuke's, and hit him with a slight blow that knocked him back a bit.
"It looks like you've come farther with the Shotgun than I have, Shinrai-kun. But this is where it ends...."
Yusuke made several swift hand motions, and thrust his hands to both sides of himself. He began to faintly glow, and the ground quaked. Shinrai's response was to clutch one hand to his side, as he also began to shine.
"Reikou...."
"Reikou...."
Suddenly, Yusuke leapt forward.
"Dan!"
As he threw a punch, Shinrai smirked cockily.
"ShoU!!"
The attacks collided, sending both warriors flying backwards and drilling them into the ground. They both jumped up, and flipped gracefully back onto the ground.
Shinrai smiled warmly. "You're as good as they say.... your realities far outstrip your legends. Even Ki-Chigaii was no match for you.... But I will be. I've trained under Kuwabara-sensei and even Genkai-sama. I won't lose.... For their memories, I can't lose."
Shinrai readied himself, bracing his hands to his sides.
"Now," began Yusuke, "you must concentrate and compress your Reiki. Just at the exact point where it transforms into Youki, push it to the maximum and release your hold on your Ki. That will bring out all of your latent demon powers, if successful. If you have a pure motive for attaining your power - like becoming a greater fighter than even I.... or Ki-Chigaii for that matter.... - then your powers will be granted to you by God. If not, though, your Ki will explode and kill you. This is part of my Succession Test.... so begin when you're ready."
"Hya.... !!!!"
Steadying himself, Shinrai's muscles bulged to their maximum limit, his aura flaring wildly. Finally, when the last of his energy was drawn out, he gasped, and stared at his hands in awe.
I.... I did it! I'm as powerful as Yusuke now!
"Not quite."
Shinrai was shaken out of his thoughts suddenly by those words. Staring at Yusuke quizically, he wondered aloud, "Wh-What?"
"Your skill still won't be quite up to snuff. Let me train you up a little."
In a flash, Yusuke had vanished, when suddenly Shinrai felt a rough blow to the back of his head that smashed him to the ground. Shinrai flipped to his feet, throwing a Reikou Shou at Yusuke's face. The attack hit, and sent Yusuke skidding backwards, but he was otherwise unharmed.
With a grin, Yusuke remarked, "Not bad. Your technique is very much like the Reikou Dan, except focused in the fist. With attacks like that, you may prevail. Try and counter this...."
Yusuke began to glow softly, his aura subsiding. With godlike speed, he charged forward, and hit with a fierce punch that sent Shinrai crashing to the ground. Wiping the blood from his face, Shinrai rose to his feet, and gave a small smile.
"I know exactly how to counter," he said confidentally. Yusuke snorted, "Oh? A bluff? Try it again."
Again he glowed softly, and charged forward. This time, Shinrai blocked the punch with his palm, and began to shine brightly.
"Reikou Kagami...."
His aura burst into flames.
"Ishiki!!"
Still holding Yusuke's fist in one hand, Shinrai turned and delivered a swift backhand to Yusuke's face that caused him to spit up blood violently, and hurled him backwards into the ground. Yusuke began to laugh, musing, "Excellent. Transferring the massive impulse of my attack into one of your own.... Brilliant maneuver. Reminds me of one of Genkai's techniques. But now it ends.... Time for the REAL succession test."
"Hyo.... !!!!!"
Yusuke's muscles bulged outwards, his aura crackling with such energy that the air flickered with dimensional distortions. The ground shook violently, and Shinrai nearly collapsed at the crushing weight of the power.
"Hah.... Hah...." Yusuke panted, letting loose a grin. "This is my full power.... Show me yours, Shinrai Seijitsu.... show me the power I've only been priveleged to see once before!"
Shinrai nodded, and began to charged up. His muscles tensed rapidly, his aura flaring. Smaller dimensional distortions crackled around in the air, and the ground once more shook.
"Yeah.... so you fought the 'great' Ki-Chigaii before, eh? This'll be interesting.... To have defeated my superior...."
The martial arts master chuckled. "Yes, he was quite a difficult opponent. But his demon blood wasn't quite awakened yet, so that gave me an edge in skill. Even with about 75% of his power, I won. Still.... do you intend to avenge his loss?"
Spitting, Shinrai replied, "I don't see him anymore. What happened in the past means nothing to me...." He took a stance, his arms at his sides. "Now you'll be priveleged to see the demonic powers of the highest breed of demons once more!!"
The wind whipped violently, and in an instant, they were off. Yusuke threw a quick jab, which Shinrai evaded and countered with a kick of his own - which also failed to connect. Again Yusuke tried an attack, a quick knee jab, which was caught by Shinrai's palm. Turning, Shinrai threw a quick backhand to Yusuke's neck, but it was caught as well. They were still both testing each other at this point.
Both fighters disengaged, staring each other down intently. Again they darted forward, Shinrai launching a quick kick to Yusuke's chest. Yusuke caught it with both arms, though, and turned several times before releasing him into a tree. The tree shattered upon impact, but Shinrai was mostly unhurt. He picked himself up, and wiped the blood from his mouth. With a smirk, he raised his right hand and placed it in a gun shape. As the sphere of energy at his fingertip grew, Yusuke copied Shinrai's actions.
And, at exactly the same instant, they both fired.
The blast burst forth in a huge explosion, blowing away all the nearby trees. Neither fighter was hurt, and they continued staring each other down.
"So," mused Yusuke, "Our pistols are exactly equal.... Let's try our shotguns."
Each warrior clutched one hand to their side, and thrust it forward, releasing huge Shotgun blasts. Shinrai's attack overcame Yusuke's, and hit him with a slight blow that knocked him back a bit.
"It looks like you've come farther with the Shotgun than I have, Shinrai-kun. But this is where it ends...."
Yusuke made several swift hand motions, and thrust his hands to both sides of himself. He began to faintly glow, and the ground quaked. Shinrai's response was to clutch one hand to his side, as he also began to shine.
"Reikou...."
"Reikou...."
Suddenly, Yusuke leapt forward.
"Dan!"
As he threw a punch, Shinrai smirked cockily.
"ShoU!!"
The attacks collided, sending both warriors flying backwards and drilling them into the ground. They both jumped up, and flipped gracefully back onto the ground.
Shinrai smiled warmly. "You're as good as they say.... your realities far outstrip your legends. Even Ki-Chigaii was no match for you.... But I will be. I've trained under Kuwabara-sensei and even Genkai-sama. I won't lose.... For their memories, I can't lose."