The weather was absolutely beautiful. Luscious green grass swayed in the breeze. A cloudless sky shone above. Rolling hills overshadowed by the majesty of Mt. Gozaisho curved gracefully over the horizon. Despite the idyllic scenery, however, Ueda Takashi was having a bit of difficulty. After all, it wasn't any common event for an eight-year-old boy to find a pair of demons near his hometown.
"Hey," he greeted, extending his hand to the two raiju demons huddled against the tree on the edge of the woods. "Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you."
Unfortunately for the boy, he had taken the situation in backwards and was totally unprepared when the older of the two, a healthy male, lashed out at him with fangs bared.
The apprentice exploded from the grassy overhang at a breakneck pace, poising his hand for the proper movement to unleash the Fan of Uzume's secret power. He dared not slow down, since his survival instincts would grind him to a sudden halt if he relented even for a second. The ninja was a stark black target straight ahead, seemingly unaware of Fuji's presence until the apprentice shouted at the top of his lungs and prepared to strike. It was at that moment that Fuji's hand chose to lose it's grip on the fan.
The soft plop of the fan hitting the ground was like a gong in Fuji's head. Of all the times to screw things up! But there was no going back. The ninja seemed to freeze at the sight of the charging apprentice, and that was all Fuji needed. He threw himself forward, both arms extended to go for the neck of his opponent. Despite the mist of battle that clouded his eyes, Fuji suddenly noticed something that caused him to hesitate and drop his arms. The ninja was a girl?
"Look, would you hold still?"
Takashi attempted to comply with the male raiju's request, even though the wound his cheek stung every time the demon touched it with that strange leafy poultice.
"Trust me," the older raiju instructed. "This will make it heal a lot faster."
"Still hurts." Takashi mumbled.
The younger female raiju laughed. "He's so cute, Hideaki. Why'd you go and do that to him?"
Hideaki sighed heavily. "You can't just trust every human you come across, Yuki."
After letting the male finish his work, Takashi turned to the pair, his face looking comically inflated with the large bandage on its right side. "So, where do you two live?"
Yuki looked downward. "We don't really have a home."
"Quiet!" Hideaki cautioned. "It's not for us to accept charity from humans."
"Hey," Takashi interrupted. "I'm not trying to give you 'charity' or anything. I'm not even sure I know what that word means; I was just kind of wondering something."
"Hm?" Hideaki mused. "Like what?"
The apprentice forced his burning muscles to work again and he slowly regained his former pace running alongside Megumi. After a couple of revolutions around Noriko and Jeffy, who were apparently engaged in a conversation that Fuji found difficult to discern, he noticed something curious.
"Megumi-san?" he half-whispered just before the song began again in earnest.
"Up in the mornin' to the ri-sing sun!" Takashi shouted above their quiet chatter.
"What's up?" Megumi responded in a cheery, quick response.
"Up in the mornin' to the ri-sing sun!" the pair of trainees quickly responded.
Fuji gave her a disbelieving look. "You . . . you don't seem very . . . tired."
"Gonna run all day till the runnin's done!" the ronin shouted as his hand moved unnoticed toward the bokken at his side.
Megumi smiled almost ridiculously. "It's not really that hard for some reason."
"Gonna run all day till the runnin's done!"
The apprentice suddenly recalled what Noriko had said earlier. "It's probably because you've had ninja training, right?"
A disproportionately confused look crossed Megumi's face just before Takashi changed the beat.
"Well," Takashi began, scratching the back of his head nervously. "You guys don't have a home, but at least you've got each other, right?"
"Yep!" Yuki replied cheerily. "Big brother Hide takes care of me no matter what!"
"He's probably got parents, Yuki." Hideaki advised. "He knows what that's like."
"Hmm," Takashi thought aloud. "Well, I have Taroto-san, but he's not really like a parent." The boy's eyes lit up in preparation for his request. "Actually, I wanted to know something else . . ."
Fuji sighed. "Some people place more importance on the past than on the present. As for me, if I have to judge someone's character, it would only be on what I've seen of them and nothing more, understand?"
Fuji could feel Megumi nod vigorously, even though he obviously couldn't see her. "Yes, I think so."
A long silence followed. Fuji was just beginning to nod off when Megumi's voice came over the divider.
"Hey, Fuji?"
The apprentice rose slightly from a slump. "What?"
"You said that you trust me, right?"
"Of course." Fuji replied.
"I was just wondering . . ." Takashi continued.
"Do you think . . ." Megumi wondered aloud.
"Do you think we could be friends?"
Samurai Banzai RELOAD
Final Chapter
Birth
>>>Night - May 8, 1583
As the great fire that had consumed the ruins of the Shinto shrine began to die down at last, two incredible forces readied themselves for collision. Roiling flames once again enveloped Ueda Takashi as he poised himself for attack, the gigantic broadsword Kusanagi leveled perfectly at head height.
"Hideaki!"
The opposing raiju dove forward, snatching the fallen Kamikaze-ken from the ground and wielding it alongside the Ikazuchi. Lightning boiled in small funnels around Hideaki as the demon roared in his most feral voice.
"Taka-kun!"
With their respective auras flowing sky high, the ronin and the raiju launched forward simultaneously, flying across the ground and leaving trails of fire and lightning in their wake. Hideaki swung the massive chain at Takashi. The weapon struck the Kusanagi dead-on with such force that the blade literally split straight down the middle. However, it did not break from the hilt. The ronin spun like the wind, the first revolution shattering the Ikazuchi, the second revolution cutting Hideaki's chest wide open and cleaving the Kamikaze-ken's blade clean in half.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment as the auras of the magic blades began to wear off. Takashi stood just behind Hideaki, his blade bowed low and covered in the raiju's blue blood. Hideaki stood completely still, more blood pouring from his torso. After a few moments, the remains of the Ikazuchi and Kamikaze-ken clattered to the ground along with the body of the raiju, which hit the earth with a resounding thud.
Takashi reared the broken Kusanagi back over his head and slid the huge weapon into its scabbard, redoing the latches without a single word for his fallen opponent.
>>>
"Consider this my farewell, Yamamoto Fuji!" Megumi yelled. "From both me and my sister!"
The kunoichi raised her tanto high as Fuji brought his arms up in defense . . . and nothing happened. The apprentice lowered his arms to witness a strange sight. Megumi still stood poised to kill him, but she could only stare dumbfounded at the orange blade of her remaining tanto sticking straight out of her chest.
Even more interesting, however, was the culprit of this act. Behind the kunoichi stood a young girl just a few years older than Yuki had been in appearance. Her eyes were the same color as the ninja's weapons; her hair fell past her thighs in crimson locks that, thankfully for Fuji, covered most of her body. She thrust the tanto even harder into Megumi, causing the kunoichi to drop her weapon and arch backward in pain.
Tears dropped from Megumi's eyes as she addressed her attacker. "Who are you? What the hell are you doing?"
The girl stared at Megumi with hatred. "My name is Caitlyn Pilazzo, and I'm keeping your filthy hands off my brother!"
Caitlyn withdrew the blade from the ninja's torso, releasing a font of blood from the aperture. Megumi died wordlessly, slumping forward and hitting the forest floor with a near-silent crash. Upon seeing her deed's completion, Caitlyn dropped her tanto as well, suddenly kneeling as if exhausted.
Still wracked with surprise, Fuji took several moments to respond. He dashed over to the girl, quickly removing his gi and wrapping it around her shoulders.
"You-you're my sister?" the apprentice stammered.
Caitlyn smiled strangely. "Yeah, sorry that I couldn't tell you before. I didn't even remember it myself until I got this body back."
"Speaking of," Fuji began to question. "How did that happen? I only used a Truth Seal."
"That's why it happened." his sister responded. "I was changed into that form during the accident 16 years ago, and it caused me to lose my memory little by little. All that was needed to return me to my original body was your Truth Seal." This statement was followed by a heavy yawn. "Actually, I don't think this is all that good a time to talk about it; I'm feeling really . . . sleepy . . ."
As the girl quickly passed out in his arms, Fuji heard the telltale rhythmic rustle of crutches in the underbrush. "Jeffy-sensei?"
"Yo." the sword master greeted as he rounded the corner into the clearing. "Did I miss all the action?"
Fuji looked upward to see that the fire about had died down. "I think so. Noriko went up there to help Takashi and Yuki out."
"So," Jeffy stated. "Who's this young lady? You already making the moves on helpless victims?"
Fuji waved his hands dismissively. "Long story, Jeffy-sensei."
The Yaen Master raised an eyebrow. "Okay, well what about that thing Noriko needed your help for last night? What did she want, anyway?"
"Oh, that," Fuji recalled. "I don't think we really needed it, but I painted some o-fude charms on her skin to help out in the battle."
"Is that so?" Jeffy questioned. "How would those help her?"
The apprentice rose to his feet and fished inside his obi for a moment before presenting the Yaen Master with a scroll. "It should all be here. Something about a long-lost sword art."
Jeffy opened the scroll and scanned it quickly, his eyes coming to rest near the bottom. "Kenji-seijin?" His eyes suddenly widened to extreme proportions. "What the hell? Do you know what this is, Fuji?"
The apprentice was taken aback. "Um, I just assumed it to be what Noriko said. Why?"
Jeffy rewrapped the scroll, stuffing it into his travel sack and pointing toward Caitlyn. "Get the girl on your shoulders and get ready to run. We've got to get to the summit!"
Knowing better than to question his teacher, Fuji quickly began to pick up his sister's limp form.
Jeffy sighed heavily. "You'd better hope that the action really is over, Fuji. Otherwise, Noriko is as good as dead."
>>>
It was quiet when Noriko reached the entry to the shrine grounds, deathly quiet. Small fires burned here and there; most of the buildings had been completely leveled. The swordswoman walked cautiously through the rubble, noting various red and blue bloodstains and the charred bodies of two town guardsmen before sighting a deep shade of violet that could only belong to Takashi.
Noriko quickened her pace, but slowed considerably as the entire scene came into focus. The ronin before her was the absolute picture of grief, choking on sobs as he cradled the a limp and bloody form that reminded Noriko far too much of Yuki to be anyone else.
"Wake up, Yuki . . ." Takashi mumbled, causing Noriko to lean in closer so she could hear. "Please, wake up . . . Say something . . . "
When the ronin looked up, Noriko's heart skipped a beat. His face was gaunt, nearly dead in appearance. Tears had created deep furrows in his cheeks, with salt deposits nearly clouding his empty eyes. To be honest, the swordswoman had never seen anything like this.
"Noriko . . ." Takashi pleaded. "I can't get her to wake up . . . I can't get Yuki-chan back!"
The ronin completely broke down at this point, fresh sobs coursing their way through his body, unbidden by the chains that hold a person's feelings back from the world. Noriko couldn't think of anything to do other than put her arms around the grieving Takashi, allowing him to cry into her shoulder. She didn't say a word, not so much because she couldn't think of something to say, but because there was nothing she could say. Nothing would help more than her simply being there.
Despite that intent, however, the ronin and the swordswoman nearly flew apart when a lightning bolt arced out over their heads and struck a lone upright building, blowing the structure into splinters. They both turned to the source to see Hideaki's body rising unnaturally from the ground, the Ikazuchi sliding its way inside his chest through the opening made by the Kusanagi. The undead raiju's entire body glowed with bluish lightning, his eyes casting light in every direction and his dead voice booming out over the entire area.
"TAKA-KUN! TAKA-KUN! TASUKETE, TAKA-KUN!"
Takashi had just risen to his feet and drawn the remnants of the Kusanagi when a huge lightning bolt flew out of Hideaki's body and struck the ronin full in the chest. Takashi literally flew backwards, his body impacting on the residential quarters, causing the structure to completely collapse inward. The ronin was visible, but he had passed out of consciousness.
Noriko turned toward the lightning-imbued creature and silently drew the Amatsuotome, fear beating its way through her chest as Hideaki continued to scream for help.
"TASUKETE! TASUKETE!"
>>>
Raijin clutched his head and began shouting madly, causing Jiro to stop in his tracks. To both men's surprise, the bone mask simply split down the middle, the two halves falling to the ground with a hollow clatter. Shocked, but unwilling to let this chance go by, Jiro rushed forward, impaling the frozen Raijin on his polished katana. Even with the blade already inside him, the High Yaen Master attempted a counterattack, only to have Jiro remove that katana from his grasp and run him through with it as well. The raiju toppled forward onto Jiro, still attempting to speak.
"Jiro, Jiro you have to listen . . ."
Now that the man was dying, the sword master didn't see any point in ignoring him. "Go ahead."
Raijin gasped raggedly for breath. "You can't let this happen, Jiro! The dragon, it cannot awaken yet; it is too early! Someone must . . . stop . . .Hide . . .aki . . ."
When silence followed, Jiro allowed the old demon to fall completely, his lifeblood spilling all over the ground. Wiping his katana clean, Jiro sheathed it and stared at the body of his one-time sensei.
"What the . . ." the sword master mumbled mostly to himself.
Strapped to Raijin's right side was the very same sake jug that had been a part of their mutual promise so many years back. Jiro respectfully removed it and uncorked the top.
"Here's to you, old man," the sword master stated. "To the Raijin who used to be . . ."
>>>
Fuji and Jeffy arrived at the summit to see the lightning-infused Hideaki trudging slowly toward Noriko.
"Oh no," Jeffy commented just before noticing Takashi's limp form in the wreckage of a building to the left. Pointing in that direction, he called out to Fuji. "I'll take care of Takashi, you justget Noriko out of there, got me?"
Fuji nodded, lowering the exhausted Caitlyn to the ground and rushing to the swordswoman's location. He stopped for a moment to check Jeffy's progress with Takashi before putting a hand to Noriko's shoulder.
"Come on!" he summoned. "We've got to get out of here!"
The swordswoman did not even budge.
"Hey, Noriko!" Fuji shouted as Jeffy hauled the Takashi's limp form back toward the entrance. "Can you hear me? We've got to go!"
"You're not a tool." the girl remarked almost off-handedly.
"Huh?" the apprentice questioned.
Noriko turned her gaze toward Fuji, a weak smile on her face. "I'm not using you; you're not just a tool to me; none of you are."
"Hey, I know that." Fuji replied hurredly. "But listen, you can't-"
"I would cry," the swordswoman continued, ignoring Fuji's pleas. "I would cry if one of you died. That's why . . ." She turned back toward the raging Hideaki. "I have to do this."
Noriko placed both hands on the Amatsuotome's grip, bowing her head low in preparation for the coming incantation. The words left her mouth in a manner Fuji was not familiar with; it sounded like a totally different person saying them.
I send this plea to the kami of old
To the sun above and the earth below
For power unwanted since time began
Tragedy and loneliness hand in hand
The very ground began to tremble at Noriko's words. The o-fude symbols written on her skin glowed in a pale bluish light that became increasingly bright over time.
You who are cursed for your malignant deeds
Unlock this power in our time of need
Not for myself, but for another's life
I plead with the intent to end this strife
The symbols became so bright that they literally leapt from Noriko's body to hang in midair, continuing to glow with a transparent light as they circled the swordswoman's poised form in dizzying fashion. Quite simply, Fuji couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Knowing the danger and the risk entailed
Awarded this power, I shall not fail
Unlock the potential within us all
Hope beyond dreams that heeds the hero's call!
The glowing symbols converged on Noriko and . . . nothing happened. Hideaki threw a massive lightning bolt at the swordswoman in response to her incantation that most assuredly would have ended her life had Fuji been one second too late in making a diving tackle that just barely removed them both from the path of the beam.
"What the hell?" Noriko gasped as the apprentice on top of her gritted his teeth at the pain resulting from where the lightning had singed his backside. "Why didn't it work?"
"It can't." Fuji breathed, almost laughing at the irony of it all. "It's just like I thought; the break o-fude are one big pack of lies! I really wish Genji could see this!"
"What are you talking about!" Noriko shouted, regaining her voice. "Why didn't you tell me if you knew!"
"I didn't, at least, I wasn't totally sure until now." Fuji responded, his own speech gaining a certain level of calm. "Still, we don't have time to talk about it." The apprentice's eyes couldn't have been more serious. "Go, join the others."
Noriko was about to protest when Fuji calmly placed a finger over her lips. "Don't argue; go. I'll be right behind you."
Hesitating only for a second, the swordswoman bolted for Jeffy, Caitlyn, and Takashi's location at the shrine's entryway. Turning to check on Fuji, she cursed inwardly. She had allowed her shock to overcome what she knew about the foolhardy nature of men.
Fuji stood directly in the path of the advancing Hideaki, lightning flashing all about the apprentice as the demon stared straight through him.
"TASUKETE! TASUKETE!." Hideaki's dark voice echoed across the night sky.
To everyone's surprise, Fuji was actually smiling. "You know," the apprentice uttered shakily. "I really am afraid of you. After all, who wouldn't be?" Fuji continued to babble needlessly on, even as the distance between he and the undead raiju closed to a matter of only a few feet. "After all, what can a guy like me do if even Takashi and Noriko are no match for you? You'd probably destroy me without so much as a thought."
"TAKA-KUN!" the glowing Hideaki called out, heedless of the apprentice's hollow words. "TASUKETE!"
"What is he doing?" Noriko questioned with great apprehension. "Is he insane?"
"Perhaps he is trying to buy us time to escape," Jeffy theorized with more than a little doubt. "In that case, does he have any value for his own life?"
Unable to proceed any further with Fuji blocking his path, Hideaki fired yet another gargantuan bold of lightning at the apprentice.
"Fuji!" Noriko and Jeffy cried out simultaneously just before a blinding flash caused them to shield their eyes.
What the two warriors saw next was nothing short of miraculous. The lightning cast by Hideaki seemed to bend around Fuji, almost as if there were an invisible shield in its way. What the witnesses could not see, however, was that Fuji's right eye had shifted into its unusual red form, with triangles rotating on black circles all fixed directly on the surprised raiju in front of him.
Lightning bolts continued to issue forth from Hideaki's fists, but the raiju's expression became more and more lucid with each passing moment as he stared directly into Fuji's deformed eye. Soon enough, new words began to make their way past the lips that had once belonged to Hideaki.
"You . . . You are . . . me . . ."
"Funny," Fuji grinned. "I seem to know your name too, Ortus."
The ground just north of the raiju's location exploded upwards in a massive shower of earth and rock. The hand of a giant became visible in the debris, soon followed by its twin. Together, the arms hoisted a massive body above the ground that possessed the head of a dragon and the torso of a man. The entire beast was encased in gleaming metallic armor with black, vulcanized rubber filling in the joints. It arced its head skyward and howled with an artificial voice that echoed off its very insides before nearly busting the eardrums of everyone present for the unbelievable spectacle.
"Incredible!" a voice within Hideaki laughed, this one entirely different from any the raiju's vocal chords could have produced. "I don't believe it! Of all people, you're the Original!" Even as the mechanical beast whirled its glowing blue gaze on the undead raiju, the voice continued to laugh hysterically. "No wonder the Proto Insurgis is here! It all makes perfect sense!"
Hideaki made no attempt to dodge as the machine bent low with a grinding noise and snatched the raiju off his feet in its powerful grip. The beast closed both metallic hands around the maniac and pressed inward. As blood began to issue forth from the war machine's closed fists, the mysterious voice delivered one final message.
"It won't do you any good, though, so savor it while you can! Now that I have been awakened once again, there is no reversing the destiny of mankind! Their pitiful existence couldn't stop me before, and their infantile plans make little difference now-"
Any further exultation was cut off sharply when the mechanical beast literally broke Hideaki's body in half with a wet snap. The body of the raiju began to disintegrate slowly into myriad motes of light as the haunting voice faded away into the night sky. When the undead form had disappeared completely, the ground began to tremble with increasing ferocity. In another massive shower of earth, the beast summoned by Fuji's peril vanished, leaving only a massive crater in its wake. The apprentice himself was flat on his back amidst the debris, blood seeping out from beneath the closed lid of his right eye, salt-laced tears streaming from the other.
No more running away, Fuji thought as relentless stabs of searing pain drove his mind from consciousness. Not from anyone . . . not from anything . . .
I won't run away anymore.
(End Final Chapter)
