Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½,nor claim to.
Chapter Thirty Three: Disaster Befalls:
"Isn't it strange that the man standing in front of me doesn't have a clue why he's waiting, or what he's waiting for? Maybe it's me, but I'm sick of wasting energy. Maybe if I look in my heart, I could find a backdoor." Incubus: Privilege
Aki glared at anything and everything in front of her as she marched to school, alone. This was totally unfair! It was all right that Pai was allowed to stay home; after all, she was sick. She had no problem with that. But her brother Chii got to stay home for his training today, and she didn't? That was horribly unfair, no matter how complex his training was. She should have gotten the day off too, even if she wasn't what her brother was. And, since her mother was going to be out with other Amazons during the day, Tenchuu got to stay home to help with the renovation in the restaurant!
Where was her break? Why did she still have to go to school on the last day before this strange "Christmas/Winter" vacation?
She muttered several Chinese curse words about her brothers before she continued on into the school, early as she was, ignoring the students loitering outside.
> > >
"Where are you going, Tenchuu?" Chii asked, looking up from the last bits of his breakfast. "You said you weren't going to school today. Did you change your mind?"
Tenchuu shook his head. "I need to remind someone of our duel today."
Chii paused, watching his brother go to the door. "Is it Sauske?"
"Who else would it be?" the older brother asked, his hand sliding out of the long robes to open the doorway.
"Be careful." Chii warned, causing his brother to stop in the opening instead of simply walking outside. "If Aki finds out, she will obliterate you. You know that, right?"
"She won't find out." Tenchuu replied, before disappearing out the door and down the street towards the school the same way Aki had ten minutes ago.
> > >
"Hurry, Sauske! We don't want to be late!" Sakura shouted, sprinting along the road, dodging between people. She really hated the school uniform skirts today; she would be running along the empty fence if it wasn't for that one little thing.
Sauske was running along the fence today, though, but he too had to push himself to even keep up with his sister, let alone pass her. "I know! But you should have packed you bag last night! We wouldn't have this problem if you did!"
"Shut up!"
Sauske jumped down, running about a meter behind his sister across the street to the other side. "There's the school!" he shouted as he came up onto the other sidewalk.
SHIWSH! CHINK! "WHAAAAH!" WHAM! KSSSSSssssshhh!
". . . ow."
Sakura snapped to a stop, turning her head around when she heard her brother's shout, her raven blue ponytail whipping around her head as she looked back. "Sauske, what is it!"
The boy, laying face down on the pavement, having slid a little way along it face down. "I don't know. I tripped on something." he muttered as he leaned up, rolling onto his back and into a sitting position. There, attached to the base of a lamp post, was a small metal dart tied to a rope at ankle level.
"Hello, Sauske." A voice said as the dart was yanked from the post with a loud CHANK!
Sauske glanced to the side, before seeing the person there, rolling the rope into his sleeves. The boy jumped up. "T-Tenchuu! What are you doing here?"
"Why you think I here?"
> > >
"Plenty of time!" Keira thought as she ran down the road. It was another few minutes before school started, and she was only a few blocks away as she sprinted along the fence at full speed.
Then, she saw something which brought her run to a slow jog. Sauske and Sakura were ahead of her, which was odd. They were usually at school already when she finally left the house, but . . . there they were, standing in the road. A tall boy near them flicked his wrist as Sakura ran by. And then, Sauske tripped and crashed onto the ground.
"What the?" Keira thought, before she recognized him. "Wait, that's Tenchuu, Aki's older brother!"
There was a short interchange between the two teens that she couldn't hear as she jumped down from the fence, dashed secretly across the street, and ducked in behind a parked car a few meters from the back of the Amazon. From there, she thought she would be able to hear the conversation without being part of it. She was right.
"I don't know why. Can you just tell me? We're going to be late for school." Sauske-kun. For certain.
"Then it good I came." That was Tenchuu.
"What?"
"Today, we fight after school."
There was a pause. "Right, that."
"Sauske?" That was Sakura.
"I'm all right, Sakura."
"Is that what Uncle said? You know you shouldn't be fighting until you healed."
"I'm fine, Sakura. I . . ."
Tenchuu interrupted. "Did you eat food Aki brought?"
"What? Oh, you mean those lunches?"
"Yes. They had special herb to help healing. I asked her to make them. If eaten, you recover from wounds faster, and you be fine today."
"What?"
"I see you at three behind school. Don't be late." Tenchuu walked off, passing by Keira, still hiding behind the car. He paused suddenly, turning back, but didn't notice the girl crouching by the bumper. "Do not tell Aki either. This between you and me only." He turned away again, walking off without ever turning back.
"Don't tell Aki?" Sauske-kun again.
"Sauske, do you believe him?" Sakura.
"Believe what?"
"About the herbs?"
". . . Yeah. Aki told me the same thing . . . I didn't know it was planned like that, though."
"What are you going to do?"
Another pause. "I don't know yet." A third pause. "Come on, let's go. School's going to start soon."
"Right."
Keira clenched her hands as she listened to the two of them running off. She wouldn't be able to help him, not without any chakra left. She hated knowing that . . . . There was something she didn't like about this whole situation. Tenchuu had planned this out for a little while . . . what was the point? Why did he want to fight Sauske so badly?
> > >
Sauske watched Aki walk back to her friends. They were all outside on this oddly warm, sunny day. They thought they would finally have to eat inside for the winter, but then the weather just warmed up suddenly. It was nice to see, but a sixty-five degree day in late December?
"Are you going to be there too, Mayu?" Ganko asked, turning to her friend while she ate.
Mayu nodded. "Of course I'm going to be there. Why would I miss the Saotome Christmas party?"
Hojo shook his head. "You did last year."
"Well, last year was a mistake. I'm not going to miss it again. It's fun!"
He smirked. "You're just going because Chii's going to be there, aren't you?"
Mayu's eyes widened, then she shook her head and blushed. "No, that's not it at all! I-I-I just wanted to go this year."
"Of course you do, Mayu." Ganko replied, taking another bite.
Hojo nodded. "It's good that he's not here today so you could prove he's not the reason you're going. After all, if he was, you'd have been staring at him the whole time."
Mayu blushed more. "Shut up." she mumbled, before pausing. Then, her face and voice calmed, before she sat up straight and turned to Sauske. "Oh, Sauske. Can you tell your parents that my mom won't be there again? She's not in very good shape right now."
Sauske didn't look up from the bento box, having been staring at it as soon as Aki had sat down. Instead of replying, he simply nodded his head.
"Another one of those calls?" Ganko asked quietly.
Mayu nodded, brushing back her blond hair. "Yeah, some weirdo calling about Hanshou Kasei and Hanshou Hinoko. It's been bothering her a lot lately."
"What did your father say?"
"Same thing he always says. 'It's not something you should be worrying about, so don't ask, blah blah blah.' "
Hojo leaned in. "Are you sure it's not someone from her family?"
"It's still no, Hojo." Mayu replied, leveling an angry glare at the boy. "She's still always been an orphan, no family, and just because her name is Hinoko doesn't mean it has anything to do with whoever they want. Besides, her name was Enzeru Hinoko."
"I was just asking." Hojo muttered back meekly.
"Well, don't ask it over and over again. Besides, it's none of your business."
"Sheesh, calm down, Mayu. Besides, you brought it up." Hojo said, before immediately turning his attention back to his food to end the conversation before it got any worse.
Sauske continued to stare at the bento box Aki had given him, still placed on his lap, unopened.
Ganko sat quiet for a moment, before speaking up. "Will she be all right?"
Mayu grimaced, before nodding. "Yeah, it's just a passing thing. When those annoying morons stop calling, it'll be all right."
"So, are you going to unplug the phone again?"
She smiled. "Yeah, why not? The only thing I missed last time I did was Hojo calling me twenty three times because he forgot what the homework was."
Ganko and Mayu laughed as Hojo steamed. He cleared his throat. "Mayu, it was only twenty one times."
The girls started laughing again. After a few moments, Ganko looked up, before she stifled her giggles. "Sauske, are you okay?"
"Huh?" the boy asked, finally looking up.
"You've been staring at that box the whole time." the girl asked, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm okay."
"Are you sure?"
Sauske paused, before grabbing the top and pulling the box open. "Yeah, Ganko, I'm okay."
> > >
"AAAGH!" he shouted, dropping down onto the ground, rolling over several times. The heat died out quite quickly, but he still swung up his hands, patting his head.
He screwed up. Badly. It was like that old saying: play with fire, and you get burned. He shouldn't have messed around like this, but he needed to experiment a little to make sure he could still use those. If only he hadn't screwed up with them! . . . Well, he was out of practice. He'd have to build back up to where he used to be. That was all.
> > >
"Keira, what's wrong?" Kagome asked.
The girl sighed, scratching the bandage on her arm through her shirt. "Plenty of things."
Chidori sighed as well. "I know what you mean." she mumbled, brushing her face, feeling the band-aids and patches taped there. Her face wasn't as bad as yesterday, and her body was stronger, but she still felt like crap.
Kagome sighed. "Is it anything beyond . . ."
"I'm going to beat her, that's all." Keira snapped, before turning back to her food. She wasn't in the mood for talking right now. Too much was on her mind.
First, that crazed girl Kuno Kukri had beaten her and both her dopplegangers singlehandedly. And she had no idea what she could do to change it. The only plan she had would involve some serious training, and there wouldn't be many places around here where she could do the kind she needed in the time. And even if she found somewhere near Tokyo, it would be an all day work, and there was no way she would have enough strength to finish it all in vacation. She would only be able to work every other day, and she'd be constantly exhausted!
Second, she didn't want to talk about her injuries. Chidori was hurt badly, and would be for a while. Keira, on the other hand, by using all her chakra she had left from yesterday and today, was already mostly healed. By tomorrow morning, she would be back to normal. The day after, in perfect fighting form. She didn't want to end up telling Chidori that, since it would drag her mood further down.
And third, there was Tenchuu to worry about.
Whatever that meant she would have to do.
> > >
Him. The second he saw him, he knew that he would be the one he needed. There was no question. The white robes, the glasses, the very focused eyes not paying attention to anything in sight . . . . Not that whatever he was focused on mattered. Now all he needed was his . . . help.
> > >
Tenchuu walked solemnly along the road. He had about fifteen minutes until his challenge, but he would take his time walking there to arrive just on time. There was no question that Sauske would be there; everything he had been told by friends and his sister proved that was a certain truth. Their fight would happen. And he was quite certain he would not tell Aki. She might find out through other means, but there was nothing he could do about that. Besides, this was important. This aura stunned him, and he wanted to see exactly how Sauske could control it. If he actually could.
He placed each hand in the sleeves of the other, walking down the road in a monk-like fashion, his eyes steeled as he traveled.
"Hey!"
Tenchuu ignored the shout. He didn't recognize the voice, it sounded urgent, and he really didn't have time. It was for someone else to deal with.
"Hey, you! In the white robe and the glasses!"
Damn. Whoever was shouting was talking to him. And it didn't sound like he could just keep walking. There was the sound of long striding footsteps approaching in front of him. The Amazon lifted his eyes, staring ahead, to see a definitely unknown someone running towards him.
And his eyes went wide when he saw the man stop in front of him.
Standing only a meter away, the man hunched forward, resting his hands on his knees and breathing heavily. A thick red trenchcoat, dusty and ragged from use, hung down over his body, with a black shirt and pants underneath, from what the Amazon could tell. He had sandrock tan hair, gelled and spiked up to make a column straight up his head.
The face turned up. It was dusty as well, free of sweat and a little relieved to see the Amazon looking at him. A pair of orange-lenses were set into sunglasses sitting on his nose, with bent, crooked wire frames. His eyes sat behind the translucent crystal, staring kindly up at Tenchuu. His nose was prominent and quite pointed, and his ears, seen easily since none of his hair was down, each showed a single ring pierced in along the top of each one. The scruffy stubble of an unshaven face was apparent along his jaw line and chin. He didn't appear to be very old; in fact, he might be only a year older than the Amazon. But he looked like an adult, that slight contrast in his eyes of a man who has dealt with things children don't see. A man who had seen more than he should for his young age. A man, indeed.
What had spooked Tenchuu was his height. He was almost one and three quarter meters tall, at least! Slowly, and with what appeared to be an exhausted rise, the man reared himself back to full height. Tenchuu was tall, but even he was short compared to this man, the very top of his head reaching the man's eyes.
"You . . . you look like you can fight. You can, can't you!" he asked in a frantic and cheerful voice.
The Chinese teen stepped back a little, surprised. "Yes." was his only answer.
"I need your help! Please!"
"Help with what?"
"There's a field not far from here. Someone is going to get hurt if I can't find someone to break up the fight going on!"
"I very busy now, so I must go." Tenchuu was nervous, but he did everything he could to not show it as he began walking forward and stepping past him.
Suddenly, the red and black clothing shot in front of him. "Please! It won't take long! I need your help! My . . . my sister is in trouble, and if you don't help, I won't be able to get her back! Please!"
Tenchuu snorted, a curse word flinging through his mind, as he grudgingly stopped. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do, and what he would do. He never would shirk from protecting his siblings, and whomever this person was, he was trying to too.
"All right. What way?"
The man nodded, smiling, before saying, "Follow me!" as he turned and began running down the sidewalk Tenchuu followed without hesitation.
Fortunately, it was in the same direction as the school. At least this put him in the right path, even if a little off of it.
> > >
The bell rang loudly, and Sakura was on her way out in seconds. She was worried about everything. Even with vacation upcoming, and even though Sauske said he felt fine, and even though he said that Tenchuu had been telling the truth of the healing herbs, she was still really worried about him. It was ten minutes until Sauske's fight, so she had a little time, but not much.
Although, she still was hesitant about saying what she would need to to Kuno-sama. In her heart, though, she knew Sauske was more important than Kendo practice today.
Slowly, she turned and began walking towards the gym, her bokken still tucked in her belt and interfering with the flowing of her skirt. She hadn't bothered with it since she first started wearing the sword, and she didn't now. But there it was, being the only thing she could find to distract her attention from the upcoming conversation. She didn't want to let the team down; practice was important. Every one! That's what everybody knew. She knew it all too well. Martial artists don't get better by just willing it. They have to work at it. Even the auras were like that.
. . . Would he use it? Sakura gulped at that. Sauske would never knowingly use his aura, especially with all the bad memories tied to it, those close calls, the injuries. But, Tenchuu might do something to push him that way. She had no idea if he would or not; the girl had almost no knowledge of what the Amazon was like, even with the few weeks they had spent together in the same class. And, with the proper motivation, Sauske wasn't too difficult to push over the edge. It had to be the perfect motivator, to be sure, but if it was done right, her brother would probably lose his control without knowing it until he was already drawing the flame out.
Placing her hand on the door, she opened it and entered the gym. There were few members in there right now, since most were still changing in the locker rooms, and Kagura wasn't there either, thankfully. Yanagi and the coach were off talking in one corner, . . . and there was Kuno-sama, still working his way across the room to the lockers. He was the closest of the three.
"Kuno-sama!" she shouted, before dashing across the room to meet with him. He stopped, turning to face the girl as she ran to him, his eyes staring at her curiously. "Kuno-sama! I need to talk to you!"
It took a few more seconds for the girl to reach him, and he spoke as she began to slow down. "Oh, Sakura-san, I just remembered. My family and I would gladly go to your Christmas celebration!"
Sakura paused, blinking, before realizing what he was talking about. "Oh, right, that's good." She had convinced her parents to allow her to invite him and the Kunos. She didn't really understand why they were so adamant against it for the longest time; yes, she knew the stories, but they couldn't be that bad. "But, Kuno-sama, that wasn't . . . I need to talk to you about something else."
"Huh? What about?" He asked, beginning to walk, and motioning for her to do the same.
Sakura did, slowly moving along through the gym with him. "I . . . my brother . . . he was hurt last week . . . you see, and, um . . . he's got a fight today . . . so, I wanted to ask . . ."
"Sakura-san." The boy looked into her eyes calmly. "What do you need? I'll help however I can, but you need to tell me."
The girl nodded, a faint rosy color on her cheeks. "I'm worried about my brother, and I wanted to ask . . . if I can skip practice today?"
"What? That's all?" Tabakatsu said with a laugh. "Ha, don't worry about that, Sakura-san!"
"Huh? You mean, it's okay?"
"Of course! He's your brother! We all need to look after our family, Sakura-san! Think nothing of it. I'll tell the coach for you, all right?"
Sakura was stunned for a moment, before she bowed deeply, flicking her ponytail over her head with some serious force. "Thank you, Kuno-sama!"
The boy nodded, smiling at her. "Do not worry about it, Sakura-san." He patted her on the shoulder, walking towards the locker room. "Keep an eye on your brother. He is more important than KendoOAAAH!"
WHAM!
"Kuno-sama!" Sakura shouted, running forward as the small towel flew through the air and landed softly on the floor. Tabakatsu, having stepped on it, slipped and crashed onto the ground.
"I'm okaay, Saakuraa-saan." he muttered goofily. "It's just aa heaad injuuury."
> > >
"Here?" Tenchuu asked, standing in the middle of the empty lot. There was a chain link fence surrounding it. In fact, it looked like the place Aki and Sauske their battle. Or, at least, it did from what he had been told. Right along the path he took from the school to his home, set in a slightly depressed grass lot.
"Yes, here." the man said softly, standing a short distance away, his back to the Amazon.
Tenchuu scanned the landscape. It was empty except for brown, dead grass. No people, no footprints, no sign of a battle. "Where is fight?" he asked, starting to walk towards the man.
"They'll be here soon."
"When?"
He smiled, hearing the Amazon stop close to him. "Around . . . now!"
> > >
Keira ran quickly, dashing along the fence. She didn't care about her skirt; she ran too fast for anyone to get a peek. Besides, she had other things to worry about right now. There was the restaurant, coming into view.
Fighting was out of the question. She had used all her chakra today to heal, which is why she was sweating all along her body right now. She didn't have the energy for even this run. Maybe she could manage a short burst of strength for a few seconds, but that was questionable. All she really had going for her was focus. That wouldn't help! But she couldn't stand by and watch her best friend fight without her. Keira may not be fighting, but she'd be there to watch over him.
> > >
CRACK!
"RAAAHH!" Tenchuu shouted, his body twisting as it fell. WHAM! He bounced on the ground, before his limbs shot down and caught him before he crashed a second time. His eyes snapped up, before they turned angry, staring through the cracks. His glasses had been crushed, although not shattered.
The man stared back with a detached concern. "What? Is something wrong?"
"What you doing attacking me!"
He blinked, before sarcastically thinking over the last few moments and nodding his head. "Oh, right, the kick to the face . . . Well, you see, I would have just asked you, but you just seemed so busy. And I figured, if I already stared crushing you, you wouldn't think about just running."
Tenchuu steamed, before his hand swung up and pulled away his glasses, another pair coming out of his right sleeve, which he placed over his eyes as he stood. He needed them to see, like his father, but both of them had always known to carry extra pairs. He ignored the painful shoe print on his face, concentrating on the battle. "You wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"I crush you." he muttered furiously, before his right hand came out again, ten razor sharp darts in between his fingers. "You're going to regret this!"
The man turned, raising his hands into a basic, nondescript fighting stance, his legs spaced enough to keep mobile but not precarious. "Bring it on."
SCWHING! WHIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP! The darts, each with a thin rope tied to them, were flung without pause, imbedding themselves in a line in the direction of the man. His reaction was blatant disregard as he dropped his arms, content to watch the teen's attack, instead of dodge it.
Tenchuu disregarded his opponent's calm attitude. He began running forward, the rope ends still inside his sleeves. "You are finished now!" He flung his right hand around, releasing the ends. "Chains of Fate!"
There was a second dart at the end of each and every long rope, and with the release being along Tenchuu's front, and the other darts firmly imbedded into the ground, they swirled around, reaching the ropes limits. So, they began to track in a circle. One which included the man.
The ropes spun wildly, wrapping around him, tightly at the legs, while slowly riding up and around his torso. The lines each tightened along his body, clenching his legs together and locking his hands at his sides. Once they were up to his elbows, the ends spun off into the ground. WHIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP-PIP! Every pin on the other end imbedded itself into the ground, locking in just as tightly as the first set. The ropes held the man firm, enclosing him inside his red trenchcoat. He didn't fall, instead standing still in that spot.
"It's time to end this!" Tenchuu shouted, swinging both his arms out to the side, which made eight metal swords, four on each hand, slide out of his sleeves, all held parallel to each other like animal talons. "Claws of the Lion!" The Amazon continued his charge, running forward with the swords trailing behind, prepared to shred the man as soon as he was close.
Being surprisingly calm at the moment, the redcoat man let his head face the ground. "Fate, huh? Is that what's holding me like this?" He shook his head once, before sighing. "Well, just so you know . . ."
Tenchuu let his body crouch, focusing on his target point in the middle of the rope chains tied around him from the knees to the elbows.
" . . . I don't believe in fate!" he shouted, his face rising angrily, before every muscle in the bound area clenched.
RR-RIP! SNAP! SNAP-SNAP! Tenchuu's eyes widened as the ropes began breaking apart near his hips, his legs spreading with all the force they could pull out. The lines started slipping on one another, the gentle cackling of strained fibers filling his last moments of approach.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
> > >
"Please hold on, Sauske!" Keira said loudly to herself as she ran back. Wearing her ninja gear, the long sleeved, dark-blue top and bottoms of the suit on in a disheveled fashion, her kunai still in the cloth pouch they were stored in. She had her sword in her other hand, the bracer held there as well by a single finger.
The ninja paid no attention to the people along the ground. "Don't let Tenchuu hurt you!"
Maybe that was why she didn't notice the girl walking along the sidewalk. That girl heard the final sentence, before turning back to look at the speedy form of the Kuonji. She paused, watching Sauske's friend run towards the school. "Tenchuu?"
There was a moment's pause as the girl contemplated the information, the speedy run of the ninja, and the events of the day. After that single moment, it was all sensible. Her eyes narrowed, teeth clenched, fingers working to snap the handle of the bag in her hand.
"Tenchuu!" she muttered angrily to herself again, before Aki began bolting to the school after Keira.
> > >
KADADADADACHING!
Tenchuu dropped the swords from his fingers, hoping to raise his arms in time to defend himself. Without the weight of them slowing his block down, the Amazon thought he might be able to protect himself from the incoming metal before it was too late.
He was wrong.
The metal darts that first imbedded snapped out of the ground, the tension on the ropes drawing them back into their original arc around the man. And into the Amazon.
SHING! "NNNGH!" Tenchuu gritted his teeth, trying not to scream out as the ten metal darts sliced through the front of his white robe, and the skin underneath. None of the cuts were deep, but it was ten even lines across his unprotected chest by his own weapons, which then went swinging off and around the man again.
In a circle.
This time, Tenchuu was able to raise his arms in time to protect himself, which meant the darts didn't hit him where he didn't want them too. But the wider arc meant they were cutting deeper into him. The only fortunate bit was the tension was slacking, slowing the ropes down a little bit, making the metal daggers return trip a little less potent. But still, they were closer.
They dug deep with their second strike, though, cutting far into each of his arms. Several metal objects inside his sleeves deflected a few darts, but each of his arms, crossed over himself in an X pattern, was cut three or four times.
And then came the foot.
"AARGHH!" Tenchuu shouted out, the hard sole of a boot crushing his crossed arms back into his face. His whole body was smashed backwards, the blow more powerful than the first kick, and accentuated by the lacerations on his body. He felt his feet lift off the ground as he fell back, approaching the ground.
> > >
WHAM!
Aki groaned on the ground, before placing her hands on the pavement. She lifted her head and upper body off the sidewalk, before brushing the pebbles from her face. Her eyes turned back to see that she had carelessly tripped on the sidewalk edge. And there was a red glow emanating from herself.
Taking a breath, she worked to calm herself down. She would always get clumsy when she lost control of her emotion. She lost her balance, then everything fell apart. That's how Sauske beat her, using her angry mind set against her.
Sauske! She cursed herself under her breath as she slid her knees forward and stood up, straightening herself as she began jogging forward. After the third pace, she began to push up her speed, racing off to the school.
She didn't contemplate why she was going to stop Tenchuu from attacking Sauske. She kept telling herself how she had promised to not bring out Sauske's aura again. Aki had assigned herself to stop her brothers from doing the same. And it was obvious what Tenchuu wanted.
That was why she was doing it. She believed in it totally.
That, she continually repeated in her mind like a fervent pilgrim, was the only reason she was running.
> > >
Tenchuu really wanted him to pay now. Somehow, this man had pulled himself loose from the binding ropes, which should be strong enough to hold back a horse. But that kick showed more than he expected. Tenchuu leaned up to look at his opponent while seated on the ground. There was a lot of force in this man. But it didn't appear to be in his arms, since the only damaged ropes were around his legs.
"Still don't get it?" The man asked, lowering his hands a little bit to get under the bottom rope, before grabbing it and pulling it up and over his head, tossing it off towards the other set of imbedded darts. "I did say I would crush you."
Tenchuu ignored the burning sensations in his arms and chest, leaning forward and putting his feet back under himself. Balancing on the balls of his feet, he began to rise, brushing the dirt and grass off of his back. "You wrong still."
"Oh? Want to tell me how?"
"I no lose to you! You kick strong, but I, Tenchuu, son of Shampoo and Mousse, no can lose!" His arms swung forward, two razor sharp scythes dropping out of the sleeves along his hands. He held his arms out straight, the blades curving back behind himself, edges to the inside. "This is your end!"
"Shampoo and Mousse?" The man muttered. Then, something strange happened. He began chuckling. Loudly, and for several long, still seconds. The laughs filled the empty lot with an eerie noise as it pulsed through the air. Tenchuu ignored it as the man spoke out again, a little louder. "Ha! Do you think that matters to me! You're a blind fool, Amazon! I escaped your 'Fate Chains,' made you drop your 'Lion Claws,' and that grim reaper deal you've got going right now really isn't scaring me. I'm stronger, taller, and better than you are, so don't get cocky, or the pain will be worse."
Tenchuu clenched his teeth, twisting himself about the waist to allow a better spin, his eyes locked on his opponent.
"Nope, doesn't scare me at all." The man raised his hands up, his jacket hanging loosely on his shoulders and moving gently in the breeze. "So, are you going to try some more?"
> > >
Aki glanced around. Not out front. Turning, she raced towards the edge of the building, around it in a counter–clockwise direction. Her feet pushed across the ground, stiff despite the warm weather but not slippery at all. She had to find Sauske or Tenchuu, since one would lead her to the other, and . . . there!
It was Sauske!
She bolted forward faster, running out into the field.
"TENCHUU!"
Next Chapter: The tall fighter seems to know something, but beating him in a fight and exacting revenge takes precedence over understanding his reasons.
All right! A chapter on time! That is the end of chapter thirty three. It's the start of a lot, but, if you all will keep reading, I'll keep writing until everything is finished. So, please, keep reading. Oh, and review too. That's always good to get. As for the chapter, I had a bit of trouble with the fight scenes, the lunches, and it isn't as great a start for this day as I hoped, but it sets up the events for the next few chapters. Seems it turned out okay.
Anyway, on with the reviews.
Shinjiku: To be totally, brutally honest, at that moment, yes, Aki meant what she said. But feelings do change over time for some people (coughAkaneandRanmacough), and that will happen in many cases to many characters. Who it will be, . . . well, that's in the future. All I can really say is that they have gotten along pretty well so far, compared to how they acted around each other in the beginning. And that the possibility is there for all sorts of relationships for many characters, with Sauske and Aki definitely being one of them. And I hope this chapter was a bit better than the last one.
Sleepingbear: Don't worry if you like Kukri over Keira from last chapter. I agree with what you're saying. Keira was being overzealous, stubborn, and vengeful against a person that, really, didn't do anything wrong. I'm glad you, and many other people who reviewed, picked up on that. Keira's just acting as she is. It's her nature. She plans well, but she doesn't change the plans when she needs to sometimes. As for overdeveloped sense of vengeance, I don't know if it's that or just . . . angry for a really long time, since her friend did get the crap beaten out of her the day before. Most people trust their friends over strangers; that's human nature, even if it's not always right. But, Keira will continue to grow and mature, as will many other characters, like Aki and Ganko have. And Kukri's part I the story will be returning sooner than you think, as you might be able to infer from this chapter. As for the final scene . . . yes, I did raise a lot of questions. In fact, there's more that haven't appeared yet. But that's what using to drive the story; the unknown. So don't worry, I'll answer them all. It will just . . . take some time. I think, however, it will be a fun trip getting there. And if you watch carefully, you might start to pick up some information about them before it's explicitly told. Like all the characters in the story.
nonengle Hey, don't give up on Keira! Failure can be better than success for a person. It gives them a drive to improve and try again. I'm glad you enjoyed the fight anyway, though. Maybe this one lived up to expectations.
Paige C: Again, I understand exactly what you are saying. What Keira did was beyond what she should have done. But that's Keira. If Ranma was in the same situation, I believe he would fight until he was pummeled into the ground just like Keira. He's just usually good enough to win and seem incredibly great by succeeding in the jaws of defeat. But, Keira should have dropped out. The more I look at it, though, I realize that Keira is a tiny bit in the right. Kukri doesn't attack someone if they tell her to stop, as far as we've seen. She is always willing to stop if they want to. But if nobody tells her to, she doesn't. It's not a good thing or a bad thing, she does what her opponents will let her do. If they want to keep fighting, she will. That might make her a bit heartless, or opportunistic . . . or any number of things. She's not cruel, but not merciful either. I'm glad so many people are taking her side over Keira's (although that might be because they don't like Keira or something). In the end, though, it comes down to just stubbornness that Keira couldn't live up to. As for Sauske being angry, of course he was, including being angry at Keira for going too far and Kukri for continuing her constant barrage despite Keira obviously being defeated. All he did differently was hold himself back, instead of challenging Kukri again.
BTW, I emailed you a little bit after I posted the last chapter and before your review, and, after finding out you apparently hadn't gotten it, resent it a little bit before posting this one. If you still haven't gotten it, let me know. And, anyone else who wants extra stuff for drawing the characters . . . tell me now, while I'm already working on it.