Author's Note: Ok, here's Chap 6 (7 counting Prologue). I think it moves way too fast, but as I said, most chapters before Ch. 12 will be short and after will be long. This chapter contains the first plot twist, though it's not much of one. Forgive my egotistical nature, but I just realized that a lot of the fics in this section that have less chapters, and are shorter overall, with less content therein, have a lot more reviews than this. Big thanks out to my reviewers already, and a swift magnetic force applied to those who haven't reviewed yet. I need that feedback, people, criticism or what have you.
YF: Thankfully, I won't, and can't lose the internet, because I have a 'back-up computer' with everything on it too, so I can upload Chapters there. With the old ones, the loss only contributed because I found myself losing interest in all of those stories and his plot holes. In this one, that won't happen, because I'm way to eager to get to certain chapters, so I write up a storm to get there. This one's goin' for the big one, as they say. First ten chapters will be a little bland, but after that; epic battles, one-on-one megafights, the works...
Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own SC2. Namco does. Me =/= them
Chapter VI – Like Clockwork
"GONE?" Seung Mina howled, eyes blazing, at her father, "How could he be gone? Why did he leave?" she roared, with less of a feminine air than her father cared for, though he didn't judge her based on that. "Peace, my child." Master Seung raised a calming hand and another, each with flattened palms that gripped those of his daughter gently. His fate is not here, whether you want it to be or not." He tried to whisper gently, but she seemed overly agitated. "What are you insinuating?...You don't think that-"
"No, of course not," Seung hid a throaty chuckle as he continued speaking to his alarmed child, "but, as I said, his fate is not here. There is no seeking after him, for as gone for a purpose he must see to. It was inevitable; you and I both knew he needed to do this." Mina scowled both openly and visibly. If ancient Seung didn't know better, he would've assumed she was pouting. "Needed to? He's just gone off somewhere to pout!" she protested. The two of them, father and daughter, were in Yunsung's room, having recently found the extremely curt note he left. The news had not spread, but it soon became obvious that Yunsung was gone. Mina was the first to take the initiative and investigate, finding the contents of young Hong's room. Now, her father had joined her within as she rooted haplessly through his belongings. She did not care deeply that he'd left, but when she was told by her parent that Yunsung had taken that sword, things changed.
"You know that's not true, Mina." Scolded Seung, sitting his daughter on Yunsung's bed as he crumpled up the miniscule piece of parchment with some Korean chicken scratch scribbled hurriedly upon it and laying on a bedside table. "Yes, I know, but there doesn't seem to be any other reason." grumbled Mina, getting up and pushing her father's arms from her shoulders as she paced across the room, contemplating her rash cohort's idiotic actions. "He wants to prove himself, just as he always has." Mina looked insatiable as she picked up her tirade before the jist of Seung's words sank in. "But, the sword. What about the sword he-" Seung interrupted before she went off on another melodramatic tirade, "I didn't expect him to take it, but it is no great loss."
"So, you're just going to have us forget that he's gone?" she queried angrily. "No," replied Seung, turning from Mina an examining some of the cobweb-collecting volumes that lay unread on that table, "I'm just going to have us remember him and hope he finds what he's looking for."
"I think we have other things to worry about."
Both father and daughter turned abruptly as the small door to the cozy, cramped room swung open. In walked, or rather stood on the threshold, Hwang Sung Kyung, the new master of the Seung Dojo, still dressed in more regal, ceremonial garb, which he didn't particularly like. The man had had these clothes carefully trimmed so that he could still fight well in them, even though their starchy build restricted his prowess. He bore a foreboding look on his paled face as he inched conservatively into the room towards Seung and his child. "Master Hwang, what an honor." Seung bowed, but Hwang promptly stood his master back up. "Save the pleasantries, master," he said somberly, "I hear Yunsung is gone." Seung turned, looking only barely downcast in his gait."Yes, he is indeed gone to seek his fortune." replied Seung, nodding apologetically to both Hwang and Mina.
"Well, he can no longer be our concern." Shot back Hwang, taking the other two by surprise. "Read this." He extracted a perfectly square piece of scented, soft parchment from a pocket in his outfit and held it out to Seung. It was in a smooth envelope with the imperial seal, broken in twain, upon it. Gently, Seung peeled open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside, unfurling and examining the finely inscribed cursive lettering. "To the teachers and students of the Seung Dojo." He read diligently, "Word has come of the first attacks by the Japanese upon our borders. Ships have returned to our shores without their sister vessels, claiming they were attacked by the beginnings of a Japanese armada that has formed. The time has come to take a greater hand in fighting back. This same message has been sent to Korean dojos far and wide, requesting volunteers for the Imperial coastguard. You of the Seung Dojo boast many of this country's greatest warriors, and all people of this land would greatly appreciate the help of any."
"It is signed with the imperial seal, master Seung." said Hwang, stating the obvious. Seung nodded. "We must see which students will go, then. I will address them today." Hwang cut him off, though, as he turned from his student, "No, that is not necessary. This dojo must remain thriving. Let the students stay, I will go." The two of them, Hwang and Seung, instinctively knew what was coming next.
"WHAT?" Mina was unable to contain herself after remaining silent for so long. "But, you are the new master of this dojo! You have to stay here and teach! You can't go off and join the coastguard when you are needed by your students." Hwang looked to her, trying to give comfort in his solemn eyes. "Master Seung, your father, has taught here longer than I. He can handle another year or so. If I go, the coastguard will need no more of Seung's students. I will suffice, and the war will surely be one within the season, Mina." Mina new he was right, at least about him going to war. She could only hope Hwang was right about this not-yet-started war being over in less than a full season. "By rights, I should go as well," interjected Seung, "but I shall not. Mina, fear not for Hwang, he will be alright, as usual." Hwang nodded, his air of confidence flooding back in with the season's warm tone. "I do not doubt it, master. I shall leave for the coast tomorrow." Suddenly, Seung took his hand as he turned. "And the support of the Sung Dojo shall go with you."
…
It was night, cold and disregarding of comfort, as Seung Mina observed. She walked, clutching her zanbatou weakly, through the Phoenix Court, eyeing its spiraled floor that laced outward as yin and yang beneath her booted feet. She sighed tiredly, almost limping along as she contemplated. The court was beautiful at night, as it was during the day, the moon's serene beams glistening down past the multicolored tapestries that dangled, blowing calmly in the night wind, from the dojo roof and squared columns that held up the overhanging roof out front. Looking around, her tranquil, sedated eyes half-closed; she'd been tearing the dojo apart all day, and yet she still didn't feel like she could go and rest herself.
'What a horrible day,' she thought, 'First Yun gets away with the sword, then Hwang needs to leave, what next?'
After a number, possibly countless attempts to escape this dojo, Seung Mina had tried to settle down. Knowing that he could not keep her at home if she would hate it, Seung Mina's father had finally refused the marriage offer from that son of Kim, directed at Mina. This had eased Mina back into life in the dojo, where she studied and sometimes taught. She was one of the only people in the place who had fought in the outside world, actually risking life and limb in mortal combat, so she was somewhat looked up to by some of the younger students and respected by the older ones. Even though hwang himself would often relate tales of his exploits, the very young students preferred Mina's stories about her adventures. She relished telling people those tales, as humble as they were, and would tell them in excruciating detail, sometimes acting out the fights for teaching purposes. But now, everything was falling apart again. Even without marriage proposals and misogynists everywhere, there were new hardships. The war had begun, Mina's compatriot, Yunsung, who become more of a friend to her recently, had gone off on some foolhardy venture. Hwang, the person Mina felt most for other than her father, would head southeast on the morrow. Life wasn't as good as it seemed.
Quietly exiting the Phoenix Court, Seung Mina proceeded through the rest of the dojo's smaller rooms as night set in fully, twinkling stars peeking through a thin cloud layer and gently projecting their added light onto Korea. The girl within walked, ambling and slow, past the amply cushioned training rooms, rooms for exercise and for finding inner peace for meditation, though Seung Mina herself rarely practiced that method. She found herself winding through narrow, wood-decked halls until she reach the last room in the corridor that stemmed off from the court. It was the armory, a larger but less modest cube of walls that boasted a supply of bristling weapons, many untouched in ages. She looked around solemnly and pulled her zambatou up. There was no one here to watch or hear her, so she could vent her stress. She pulled up her zanbatou nimbly, clutching it firmly as it began to spin like a propeller in her hand. Calmly, finding her center, she began to move back and forth slowly, exercising her unaccustomed limbs as she began to speed through the room, stabbing and jabbing blindly at the air, her eyes firmly closed. She practiced lithely upon invisible, nonexistent opponents, gradually growing faster and faster until…
"Practicing, are we?" muttered a voice, calm and nonchalant, directly behind her. Seung Mina, nearly dropping her zanbatou but holding on barely, spun to face the apparent new presence in the room, shock and anger tainting her face with flushed red from the surprise and the strenuousness of the solitary training exercise. Blinking rapidly, she turned her full attention to the newcomer. She got a chance to overview him before she spoke, her eyes widening as she saw his garb. His outfit was so garish, so flashy and easy-to-spot in a crowd that it was practically appalling. A number of dramatic quirks in his form caught her eye. Firstly, his arm was thin, narrow, emaciated in its slenderness, too much less than his other, fuller arm. It bore what looked like sprung gears cranking away as the arm fell, curved over the man's waist, and its fingers laced around a blade hilt at his other side. Secondly, his outfit itself, which was not only outrageous, but far too reminiscent of the garb Mina had seen on tapestries which depicted the samurai warriors of Japan. He bore the same fluttering flag on his back and katana at his side. Lastly, as her eyes flitted swiftly above him, she saw the armory window hanging open, swinging back and forth as night wind blew in. The man…or thing was just about everything that Seung Mina didn't want to deal with right now. He was Japanese, armed, and not entirely human. Some sort of clockwork samurai.
"Wha- Who are you? What are you doing here?" she yelled at him, frustrated, gripping her zanbatou. "Ah, ah, so many questions, so few answers. You're quite the inquisitive one, child." murmured the man, in a particularly eccentric tone. He stepped forward on sandaled feet, removing his non-human arm from his dangling blade hilt. "I'm NOT a child!" she snapped back, fingers clenching further as she looked at the masked face. "Oh, I see. Forgive me, my name is Yoshimitsu." Yoshimitsu put his hand across his chest and executed a delicate bow, nodding in acknowledgement "Now, you'll kindly leave me to my work." With that, the man stepped forward and walked right past Mina, heading towards a weapons rack.
"Wait, you're a thief!" exclaimed Mina, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him to face her, "You've come to steal our weapons!" She couldn't see his expression beneath the face-shrouding mask, but the gutteral noise therien lead her to believe that he was eaither laughing or crying, probably the former. "Well, not exactly, miss," nodded Yoshimitsu astutely, "but you have the right idea." She looked at him, scrutinizing him deftly."AND you're Japanese!" she cried, her anger and annoyance growing at this man's subtle attitude.
"Well, you have me there, madam, but this is getting tedious. Please step aside." He shoved her hand off his shoulder and turned. "If you want anything from this dojo, you'll have to go through me." Seung Mina yelled back at him, her voice stabilizing as she spread her legs and assumed a well-balanced battle stance, laying her zanbatou on his shoulder again as he turned away. Probably grinning beneath his face mask, Yoshimitsu turned very slowly, his hand inching towards his katana, as he spoke in a solemn, less irksome tone of voice.
"Hmm…I didn't really want to make this difficult, but…"
His katana shot out in a magnificent flash, pushing Mina's zanbatou aside as he plunged toward her. She swung her zanbatou around nimbly, swirling almost in mid-air, and watched with an arrogant smile as Yoshimitsu's blade impacted the zanbatou rod and fell back. But, as she landed and recovered her composure, a flurry of attacks berated her mercilessly. She blocked each with the rod and propelled the blade downward. Instead of parrying, the waltzing figure danced aside, spun, and brought the flat of his blade into Mina's left arm. She staggered, and instantly received a second bash from the metal hilt on her shoulder, causing her left hand to loosen its grip on her weapon. But, even with one hand, she twirled the rod and blade right back against her foe, the blunt tip of the rod catching him in the chest. He too staggered, and Mina rushed forward, zanbatou raised. She leapt up and came down, but Yoshimitsu's katana was up and shooting forward. It collided with the rod and knocked it from Seung Mina's hands. The weapon shot behind her and rolled beneath the weapon racks as Mina hit the ground with a thud, rolling aside before she met the business end of a blade.
Hurriedly, she scrambled backward and turned, crawling towards the rack. Her arm darted under it, but she could reach her zanbatou. She had to roll aside again as Yoshimitsu's blade crashed through the rack, sending weapons across the room. Suddenly it hit Mina, 'This room is filled with weapons! I don't need my zanbatou! How could I have been so foolish?' Taking barely an instant to scold herself for being absent-minded and grabbed one of the hwaorang swords, curved and gracefully fitting like Hwang's, and jumped up with it. Yoshimitsu, taken aback, didn't have time to react as she drove the blade into his right arm and out through the other side in a second. She panted, still grinning as she left the blade in. Suddenly, Yoshimitsu's head turned to her, tilting to one side curiously. In a moment, his hand was on hers and yanked both blade and hand away. The blade, no longer lodged in the man's wooden arm, clattered to the floor. The clockwork opponent pulled Mina's arm, spinning her around until her back was to him, and twisted the in front of Mina, holding it still. A second later, his katana was pressed against her jugular vein, the ice-cold metal almost searing her flesh there. Mina's free hand grabbed the offending arm, holding it at bay.
"Well, well, well. It seems we are at a bit of an impasse, hmm?" he muttered, chuckling silently.
"Bastard!" roared Mina, trying in vain to free herself. "Oh," murmured the thief, feigning sadness, "I'm hurt. Now that was uncalled for, miss…miss…I don't believe I got your name." he laughed conservatively as Seung Mina aimed her foot delicately while the thief didn't notice. "It's Seung Mina, and it'll be the last thing you ever hear!"
Seung Mina's foot, navigating backward, found its way into Yoshimitsu's stomach. The thief released and stumbled, but both warriors were interrupted when the armory door swung open and students poured in, engulfing the room in chaos. Mina's eyes went to them as they streamed in around her, but when she turned back to Yoshimitsu, he was gone…and the open window was neatly closed.
"Mina, what happened?" cried one student named Jung, assuming a stance and scanning the room carefully. "We heard fighting!" yelled another, namely Kwan, grabbing the dropped hwaorang sword from the tiled floor. "There was a thief," muttered Mina, looking away from the students, "I couldn't tell what he wanted to steal."
"So, you defeated him?" Kwan posed the question reluctantly. "Well, yes and no." replied Mina, turning now to face them. She didn't really know whether she'd won or lost. She seemed to have the advantage, but Yoshimitsu had left because of the students, not because of her. He might've won if the fight had gone on longer. "He took nothing, then?" inquired Jung as the students began to gather the fallen weapons. "No…I don't think he found what he was looking for." Mina looked back at the window, scanning it for some sign of the thief's return. Suddenly, her eyes plated and fixed upon a small oozing puddle on the floor. It was black, not blood…oil, and there was a trail of it leading to the window.