Dislcaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, nor claim to.
Chapter Thirty Six: Frightful Presence:
"Adrenaline keeps me in the game. Adrenaline, you don't even feel the pain. Wilder than your wildest dreams. When you're going to extremes, it takes adrenaline." Gavin Rossdale: Adrenaline
The door opened and shut quickly, without a voice or greeting from the hall. So, she called out instead. "Hello?"
There was a pause, before a quiet, cold, "Hello," replied.
Nabiki rose to her feet immediately, walking across the room and around the corner to step into the hallway. "So, you're home."
"Yes." Joseph replied, sliding out of his shoes and walking up into the house. He moved to escape down one of the halls, but his mother stepped in the way. "What?"
"Why did you have to stay at school?"
"Because the teacher told me to."
"Which one?"
He paused, not looking up at her. "Takenaka-sensei."
"Are you going to say why, or do I have to come out and ask directly?"
"He got mad at me when I called Shota a 'rich-bitch' again."
Nabiki choked once. "What?"
"You heard me."
"Joseph, you know you aren't allowed to use language like that."
"Oh? I'm not allowed to tell people what they are?"
"That's not what . . ."
"Really? Him flaunting his money everywhere like he rules the world? That sounds like a rich-bitch to me. He's a spoiled brat, and nothing more. If he's going to throw his weight around, I'll call it like I see it. Nobody can act like he's better than anyone else just because he's rich, especially around Amy and Auska."
"That doesn't excuse you from what you did."
"Whatever." he muttered, pushing past her and walking down the hall.
"Joseph. If you want to coal for Christmas, keep this up. If you want to have anything to enjoy during it, I suggest you clean up your act."
He paused, standing in the hall. "What, are you going to return 'Santa's' presents?"
"If I have to, I will."
Joseph didn't move. "Heh, I bet you want to already." he mumbled, too quiet to be heard.
"What?"
"Nothing." He continued walking again.
"Joseph!"
He didn't look back, turning and disappearing around the corner of the house. "I've got work to do."
Nabiki scowled, before sighing and shaking her head.
"Nabiki? Is something wrong?" Akane asked, looking to her sister as she stepped into the doorway between the living room and the hall.
The woman turned back, before shaking her head. "It's . . . it's nothing. Forget about it."
> > >
"RAAAGH!" Sauske screamed, punching straight forward again.
Kakekomi smirked, before he attacked again. "TOO LATE!" he screamed. And, with one deft move, his right arm swung in, uppercutting the boy in the chin.
VWOOOOSH!
BOOM!
A column of fiery red air twisted and spun, raging high up into the sky, ripping Sauske from the ground and dragging him up into it. The aura whirled and spun, forming the funnel cloud and battering the child caught in its grip. Sauske cried out in anguish, but nothing could be done.
At the base, Kakekomi stared up, breathing out in relaxation. The winds spun and tugged at his jacket, but he stood firmly in the bottom center, safe from the whirling torrent. His eyes watched the aura surrounding the boy grow for a moment, before shattering and falling away with his outcry. The very thin green tint shrunk and bent as the winds tore at Sauske's body, while the golden sphere of his mind fluctuated in this bombardment.
Kakekomi stood, his arm still in position, helping direct the winds. "Wow, what a light show. Biggest one I've ever seen." His voice grew louder, as if trying to reach the boy tumbling through the sky. "This just shows you how strong your aura is, Sauske!"
The winds began to seep apart, before the whole column began to split, breaking down. Sauske, high into the air, lost the force holding him up. And so, he fell.
Kakekomi lowered his arm. "Well, you probably can't hear me now."
WHAM!
Sauske crashed into the ground, back down, his body rebounding a little, but not much. And he held still, about thirty meters from where he was launched.
Kakekomi glanced over, noting the shrunken gold aura. "Nope, you can't."
> > >
"Sauske-kun!" Keira shouted, before the three of them (Kite, Sakrua, and Keira) raced over to their fallen friend. The ninja was there first, grabbing the boy by the shoulders and sitting him up.
His head rolled a bit, before flopping forward.
"Sauske-kun!" she shouted, grabbing and lifting up his head to a more natural angle. "Sauske-kun! Say something!"
Sakura and Kite came around on the sides, leaving a little room for air.
"Sauske-kun!"
At first, she thought the worse, before noticing faint rising and falling in his chest. She sat silently for a moment, hearing the quiet, rapid breathing. He was alive! Sauske was still alive!
"Sauske-kun!" she cried out again, clasping the boy to herself, a few fearful tears making their way down her face. The boy may be alive, but he was out cold. And it was impossible to believe that the fall hadn't hurt him. "Damn!" she thought to herself. "If I wasn't so weak, I could have helped, . . . or I could at least take out that creep for him! . . . No. That doesn't matter."
Slowly, almost mechanically, she lowered the boy back down onto his spine to the spot where he landed, although gentler than his crash. "What the hell was that!" Naruto shouted as he ran up to the three of them.
Sakura turned to the new kid, a bit shocked at his sudden arrival, before replying. "The Hiryu Shoten Ha."
Kite and Naruto both gasped slightly. Kite turned back to the man, still standing in the center of the field, watching them with a calm grin on his face. "That's the Hiryu Shoten Ha?"
"No way." Naruto said with unusual softness. "What's that again?"
Keira began twisting the wire on her sword behind her.
Kite turned to his brother. "You idiot! That's the technique that uses someone's aura against them like a big storm! Saotome-san knows it!"
"Oh, right!"
Keira slowly stood up. "It doesn't matter." she thought calmly. "I won't let him get away."
SHING!
"K-Keira!" Kite muttered, the blade barely missing him. "Watch it with that!"
The girl ignored him, stepping over her best friend, and beginning to walk towards the man who had done this. "Keira!" Naruto shouted. "What are you doing!"
"The same thing I am." Sakura replied faster than she expected, pulling her own wooden sword out and walking along with the Kuonji. Keira glared at her for a moment. "Hey, he's my brother. Besides, you said you were tired from your fight with Kukri. It's better to fight with someone else." The bright blue field of the Saotome girl's aura began to flesh out, as she raised her free hand, a small ball of Ki already formed inside.
Kite started walking after them. "Me too!"
"No!"
"What? Why?"
The two girls turned to him. "You have clean up." Keira replied. "There are three people lying on the ground, and three boys to carry them to Doctor Tofu's. You better get started."
Kite stood for a minute, but neither Sakura or Keira noticed, marching towards the man again. Keira reached her left hand into the back pouch, pulling out two stars. "Are you ready, Sakura?"
"I was ten seconds ago, and I still am now."
"Good. Then . . ."
"STOP!"
> > >
Chii stood, staring off across the field at Sakura and Keira. "Don't go any further!"
The girls, and Kakekomi, turned to look at the Amazon. His arms hung down at his sides, hands clenched, eyes biting with the same fiery determination apparent in the other fighters. Sakura and Keira did stop, the Ki ball vaporizing into nothingness, and the swords lowered to the point where the tips touched the ground.
The boy advanced on Kakekomi, his eyes still locked on the two Japanese girls. "This fight is mine!" His voice crackled with fury and drive, revealing only a tiny snippet of the raw forces driving the child. His uniform, dirty from the run and the ground and the blood on his brother, moved smoothly with his plodding feet.
Kakekomi, interested, started up a brisk pace for what appeared to be his new opponent. He moved much quicker, since his legs were longer, but the emotional part of battle already was on Chii's side. "Well, another one actually wants to try on his own?" He smiled at his thoughts, the adrenaline still in his veins. "This'll be the last one. Leave with another one crushed, and it'll be a good start to get my name spread. That's going to be what it takes to find him; being the best of the best. Too bad for this kid, though. I'm not restrained anymore, thanks to that last one."
Chii stopped suddenly, ten meters away, before moving his arms and legs into the proper stance. Left leg out straight, balancing on the heel as far in front as it would go, the right one supporting his weight and the knee turned out. His left arm was extended fully as well, hand up and palm out, while his right was bent and set at his ear, palm down. "This is the end."
"Oh?" Kakekomi replied, raising his fisted hands up, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet to stay loose. He felt bad about what he was going to do now; this kid was going to be seriously hurt. He couldn't let the facade fall, though. Not now. "You know the secret to that move, I assume?"
"The Hiryu Shoten Ha is one of the Amazon's most sacred techniques!" Chii shouted, fury continuing to show in his voice. "You will never get away with using that again! And don't think some other trick you have hidden will stop me. I'm quite observant."
"Hm, you're a real Amazon too?" The man replied, before his arms dropped, and he stood still. Suddenly, he clapped his hands together, chuckling. "You're observant? Really? Well, I say you're as blind as a bat if you think that. Just like the other two Amazons were. You couldn't see the mountains even if they were floating in the sky!"
Chii snarled, his mind counting off seconds, before realizing he was long past the number he needed. "We'll see!"
"We certainly will."
Chii began to move forward, his right leg pushing him up tall, before falling forward. His left leg bent, but he didn't push forward. He tilted more, on the verge of falling, ready to collapse on his face. Then he pushed off.
WHOOSH!
The boy shot forward five meters, his legs pumping to keep up with his own body, the dirt moving underneath him faster than his own steps. His left arm bent back to strike. And, just as the man raised his hands back up, Chii was already on top of him.
WHAM!
His left palm snapped forward with the same lighting speed that had propelled him to his opponent, and the sound of it crushing into the mystery fighter's abdomen was audible more than a few meters away. The man coughed, the shock surging through him as fast as the boy had moved. Chii pulled back his hand, readying himself to attack immediately, before a fist impaled itself into his cheek.
Hey, Kakekomi was hit, not paralyzed.
Chii spiraled a bit, stumbling along, before he righted himself.
WHAM! And a heavy boot smashed into his face. "Nice hit!" Kakekomi bellowed, a thin strain in his voice. Chii stumbled away more. WHACK! The man twisted and brought a roundhouse to the boy's side, knocking him away. "Can you do it again!"
"AAAH!" Chii shouted as he crashed down, landing hard on his shoulder. He flopped onto his back, before acting quickly to stand back up on his feet. But not fast enough.
SMACK!
"WAAGH!" Chii shouted again, feeling the boots crush into him, blowing him off his feet and back onto the ground a short distance away.
> > >
"So, he's not taking any chances this time?" he mused in the branches. "That hit must have hurt him more than it seemed. Or, he wants this fight over and done with." There was a pause. "Or both."
> > >
Chii cried out as he was kicked along the dirt, his uniform getting dirtier. He was an idiot. He was never as good a fighter as Aki or Tenchuu in a straight battle. But, when he saw that technique, when he saw this man use the sacred Hiryu Shoten Ha, to use something he wasn't supposed to know . . . . It just made his blood boil to find out this man was using his culture's own attacks to destroy his sister and brother.
The Amazon rose again, standing shakily on his tired legs. His training had already drained his endurance, and those two explosive bits of speed had used most of what was left. There was nothing he could do without breaking the promise.
"RAAGH!" Kakekomi roared, driving his knee into the boy's gut, knocking the Amazon into the air a short distance. Chii choked, falling back to the earth on his stomach, his arms sprawled around.
He wheezed a bit, taking several speedy breaths, his body growing more exhausted. He had been a fool, for everything he had done in his life. So much of this was his fault. But he couldn't stop now.
"You surprised me with that first blow." The man replied, calmly standing over the boy. "But, it looks like that was a one time thing. And, it wasn't enough." Ruthlessness.
CRUNCH! "GAAAH!" Chii shouted, his left hand crushed into the dirt by a boot, and held there.
Chii wouldn't stop for anything now. His mind began to focus.
> > >
Sakura was shocked. That man, he . . . he was so fast! He had doubled in speed, she guessed, over what he had when he first began to fight Sauske. And, looking at the man, he seemed hurt, not tired. Maybe not even working hard. Could this even be possible? Her father might not even be faster than him without an aura!
"Chii!" Sakura shouted, and took off into the battle anyway, her sword raised.
The man turned to look at the girl running after him. She was right behind him, and a thick blue began to grow, but the distance was quite far. He didn't move his feet.
"Sakura!" Chii shouted, his face pulling off the dirt. "Stop!" The girl slowed to a trot, and then stopped completely, as told. "This is my fight! Don't get in the way!"
The girl stood, watching them, before the sword slid and touched the ground.
> > >
Keira had slid her weapons back into their respective pockets already. The momentary pulse of power, right after Sauske had fallen, had fled. She felt her own limits again. That's why Sakura went ahead alone. But what Chii was doing . . . it was ludicrous. He was down for the count, pinned and within easy reach of his opponent. But he wouldn't let Sakura help him?
Why had he even chosen to fight anyway? He was wasn't nearly as strong as Sauske! She had seen that when Chii and Sauske squared off earlier in the week; if Sauske had been healthy at the time, it would have been as quick as his battles with Naruto. He had no aura, no strength, and no more than one or two bursts of speed. And yet he kept his perpetual determination?
Why?
> > >
The man, seeing Sakura stop, turned to the boy pinned under his shoe. "You don't want help?"
"I . . . don't need it." Chii muttered. He was counting seconds again. But the count needed to be much higher. His arms were flopped around. It would take longer for the flow.
"Ah, the immutable confidence of the Amazons."
"You seem to know . . . a whole lot about us."
"I do. For one, I know that I just crushed two of you, and a third boy who has nothing to do with your people. Then, there's the Hiryu Shoten Ha. And, of course, there's you, pinned and stuck under my boot. Oh, and did I mention I crushed you?"
Chii dropped his head back to the ground. "I haven't lost." The voice was too soft to be heard.
"You don't have the same confidence anymore. Did the hits I laid on you break you already?"
Chii spoke louder. "I haven't lost."
"Another mantra bearer, huh? Well, if you don't want to admit defeat, I guess I better give you an incentive."
Chii said nothing, simply waiting.
"If you give up right now, I'll walk away. No more hits, no more pain, no more troubles. You can go home without another bruise."
"Why?"
"Ah, it's getting boring beating on you people. I want to take a break. It seemed like you would have a chance, and then you went and blew it."
"And if I don't want to?"
Kakekomi paused, smirking down at the back of the boy's head. "Let's just say that there are still plenty of places I can make hurt."
Chii waited. He was almost there. Just a few more seconds. "What do you want?"
"Want? Nothing, really. I'm done here . . . but, I never leave my work unfinished, either."
"How is it unfinished?"
"Technically, I haven't won. Everyone knows I have, but I prefer to keep things official." The man leaned down, letting his red coat trail around, obscuring them from the rest of the group, still quite far off, and not approaching.
Chii curled in his pinky on his right hand, extending his thumb out as far as he could. "Should I just guess, or are you going to give me choices?"
The man nudged his sunglasses further up his face, shaking his head. "You want options? Fine." He rolled his right foot over Chii's left hand, drawing a groan from the boy. "I can wail on you some more." He rolled his foot over the hand again, pressing down with extra force. "Or you can give up now, and save us both the wasted pain."
Chii rolled in his middle and ring finger, his face still in the dirt. He waited a moment, before lifting his head off the ground. His voice was defeated and sorrowful. "Well, I guess the only good choice you gave me . . . is to give up."
Kakekomi nodded. "Good plan." Chii looked up, however, and that made him balk. He saw his eyes. They were burning with hatred; he wasn't broken like his voice suggested. Then, the Amazon spoke again, and the voice was quiet the opposite of before.
Chii extended his index finger as far as it could go.
"Or, I could just shoot you."
He raised his right hand up and pointed at Kakekomi's chest in an instant.
> > >
BOOM!
"What the . . !" Sakura shouted, staring at the two fighters when the small explosion rang out. Kakekomi crumpled forward as he flew backwards as if he had been hit by a tremendous force concentrated in a single spot. She thought she saw a bright light for a moment between them, but she wasn't certain. It couldn't be a technique, could it? It must have been something else . . . although, Chii had his right arm strangely raised . . .
Kite, standing next to his brother a ways away, neither having left when Sakura told them to, shouted out for all to hear. "What the hell just happened!"
> > >
Chii dropped his arm to the ground, placing both his palms onto the dirt and pushing his torso off of the earth. Painfully, he raised himself into a crouch, before pushing through it to bring himself to his feet. His legs buckled a bit under the weight of his own body, and he could feel sweat dripping down his face and chest, yet he stood firm.
He reached into his left pants' pocket, grasping several small metal objects there which he had always carried with him. A tiny clink could have been barely heard only if the listener was in the exact spot Chii was in, but the boy sensed it perfectly, grabbing an unknown number of the things. There was no time to waste, and no time to start doubting anything.
> > >
Kakekomi grunted several minor curse words as he rolled backwards along the ground, both from the pain of his fall and the pain in his chest. His shoulder and arms tried to adjust his falling path along the dirt, but it was impossible through the burning pain in his body. The blast had been incredible; he didn't doubt that it could have easily broken something. He wasn't sure what, but something might have. Or, if he hadn't, he probably would before he stopped.
He slammed hard on his cheek and ended up sprawled along the ground, flat on his front. His clothes settled on the grass, but the man did not. He groaned, grumbled, before moving his arms under his shoulders, groggily pushing his face up off the ground.
> > >
Chii glanced at his left hand, counting the rings. Seven. Far too many. He pushed four of them out of his palm and onto the ground. He wouldn't need them in this fight, so he could afford to be a bit messier than normal. Besides, the man was already sitting up, and he wouldn't get another chance like the one in front of him. Once only three remained, he clamped his hand around them, before rotating them into a clean line with well-trained fingers.
> > >
Kakekomi coughed once, before looking up. "All right, one lucky . . . what the?" he muttered, seeing Chii lean back, before striking out with his left hand.
For a moment, he couldn't tell what he was doing. They weren't exactly close together, so what could he be doing? Then, three little gold rings, big enough to go around a finger but thinner than a leaf, began flying towards him. They were lined up in a row, and all the openings were set on him.
Chii pulled his arm back a little, bending it only at the elbow, but keeping his hand, with all his fingers bent in a claw strike, facing the rings. A clear pull appeared on the rings as they slowed in their throw.
Then, the feeling began.
Kakekomi would best describe it as a grappling hook inside his chest trying to pull his skeleton out. His back arched, his face turning up to the sky. Every fiber felt tugged towards the rings, but he did not move towards them. The man desperately wanted to cry out, but his voice was caught inside himself, and so he only gurgled and gaped.
The first ring in the line, closest to Kakekomi, instantly had its center filled with a loose, flowing field of white energy. It danced and arced in its own little world, remaining contained within the center of the ring.
Chii pulled his arm back a little more, jerking it quickly and stopping it only a centimeter behind where it had been.
The man arched more, his back bent to a point of pain. The pressure itself was painless, but he could almost feel his own soul being sucked away, which was far less comforting than simple pain.
The color in the first ring jumped, moving from the first to the second, although a bit brighter. The first ring spun and fell to the ground, no longer needed, but undamaged as well.
Chii jerked his arm again; the energy jumped in tune with it, the second ring crashed to the ground, and the man's gurgling grew more audible.
With a snap, the boy ripped his arm back. The third ring fell to join the others, while Chii curled in to protect his left arm. Kakekomi dropped forward onto his hands and knees, sweat growing on his face. He coughed several times, his mouth messed by the taste of bile. That odd feeling washed away immediately, but was replaced by exhaustion. It seemed like he would collapse and doze off immediately, his arms dropping to the ground like lead weights, but the draining made his injuries, especially Sauske's punch and Chii's blast to his chest, grow sharper as well, and kept him awake.
The man was able to raise a single mutter out over the shouts of Sakura, Keira, Kite, and Naruto, all of which were blocked out by the two fighters. "What . . . what did you do to me?"
Chii, while unable to hear him from the distance they were at, almost ten meters again, simply raised his left hand and slid his feet into a wider stance to keep his balance. If he wasn't so determined to win the fight, the Amazon would probably have laughed at the shocked expression he was given.
Kakekomi paled at the glow in the boy's hand. "It can't be." he whispered to himself.
In the center of Chii's palm sat a large sphere, almost ten centimeters wide, of pure, snow-white energy. It rested in his hand, ripping and brightening the boy's stained clothes. The winds could be seen flowing to and away from it, as if this small sphere was the source of them all. Kakekomi never thought he would see it like this. There were rumors of techniques which could drain it from another person, but he had just been on the receiving end of it. That's what the feeling was. That was his own power, drained right from his body. The most potent of all human energy.
Chakra.
Chii held the sphere like it was normal to be carrying the deadly mixture of mind, body, and spirit from another person. Normally, he wouldn't be using it as a weapon. He would take it inside himself. But redrawing that energy would waste some of it, and the shock value of being hit with the same energy ripped from their body was too much to let go right now.
"I see you understand." Chii murmured, smirking evilly, even though his body was starting to buckle too. Sweat was continuing to roll down his face, drip by drip by drip.
Kakekomi coughed loudly, ending it finally with several long wheezes. "Who . . . are you?"
"My name is Chii." The man's face shot up, staring at the boy. "And I'm an Amazon, just like my brother and sister. And this," the boy hefted the ball of light a bit, "is the end of the fight."
"Chii . . ." the man replied wistfully, as if remembering an old time past. "It is you . . . isn't it?"
The boy blinked.
Looking the Amazon up and down from the distance away, he noticed his dirty clothes, his tired body, his crushed green aura, and those same cloth wrappings over his arms. "I didn't believe it when . . . when they told me . . . about them."
Chii balked a bit. "About what? Who!"
"Those wrappings . . ." he mumbled.
The Amazon's eyes widened in shock. Kakekomi knew! Impossible!
"You're a natural one, they said . . ." he coughed, dropping forward a bit, still on his hands and knees on the earth.
"Shut up." Chii murmured, his head lowering. "Don't say it."
"They said you could become one . . ."
"They can't know."
The man seemed to honor the request, in a way. "You did it, Chii, didn't you? That's your true power. And you didn't use it?"
"Don't say it!"
Kakekomi, no longer with any real threatening air about him, simply staring in awe at the boy, didn't stop talking. "You did. You've taken that power upon yourself. You've become a . . ."
"SHUT UP!" Chii suddenly screamed, his face pale as he stepped forward, swinging his hand back. His fingers widened more, and four streams of color flowed into the sphere: red, blue, green, and yellow. The ball grew, increasing another half over in size, before the streaks began to swirl around. "SHUT UP YOU DUMB F---!"
Chii drove forward, flinging the ball forward like a baseball. "RRAAAAAHHH!" The orb shot out straight for the man, unable to move on the ground.
> > >
Keira eeked back at the screams from Chii, before the ball of energy was hurled forward. "Tehre it goes!" Kite shouted from behind them.
"Get down!" Sakura shouted, running back from where she was before, too close to the man for comfort. Keira was standing in front of her, so she grabbed the girl and dragged her to the ground with her, covering her head with her arms.
> > >
Kakekomi watched the sphere come. Pure chakra. Chii pumped in his own just before the end, and there was nothing he could do about it. He could call for him to come to his aid immediately, but that would be a waste. There was no need to reveal his strengths yet. Besides, this wouldn't kill him.
ZHOOOM! The sphere continued to fly at him, rippling through the winds and starting torrents and eddies of its own.
He hoped he would be awake in time to see Christmas morning, though. His mother loved that day.
> > >
The man sighed. "Kakekomi" would be out for a while after this hit. Well, at least there wouldn't be anything after this to deal with.
He leaned forward from the trunk of the tree, watching the final act come to an end.
> > >
ZHOOOOOOMM!
BOOOOOOM!
A ear-shattering explosion filed the area, heavy wind whipping at their backs. Keira clutched onto Sakura for safety, who was covering part of Keira with her own body.
Behind them, where the man had been, the sphere burst, expanding to almost twenty times its original size. The dirt and stones around were flung away like bullets, ripping through the air as the energy bored into the ground. Waves and flashed of that same snow-white energy raced along the earth, leaving deep grooves in the grass. And just when the whole thing seemed ready to explode again . . . it did.
BOOOM!
Although not as great, the noise and size were still far beyond the norm. The bright white flash, however, blocked out what was occurring. When the light faded, when the sound settled, when the air lost its heated torrent, silence took over.
whump!
Sakura cautiously lifted up her head, listening for more, and when there was none, she turned and looked over her shoulder. "Is it over?" she murmured, sliding over to allow Keira to sit up.
There was the man, lying flat on his back, crushed into the center of a dark brown crater, his jacket shredded and his clothes underneath torn as well. He wasn't moving as far as she could tell, but something inside told her that he wasn't dead, either. Turning to Chii . . .
"Chii!" She shouted, standing up and running off towards the boy. The remaining fighters who hadn't fought, Kite, Naruto, and Keira, were quickly on their feet and soon behind her.
The boy was laying face down on the ground. Sakura lifted him up, setting him up on his knees, holding him by the shoulders. Her palms were soaked immediately. Not by her sweat, but his. He was dripping; his shirt was already soaked through, his pants were mostly, and the smell was nauseating, especially for her, but she ignored it. "Chii. Chii! Are you all right?"
The boy moaned, before his eyes opened. His voice was almost too quiet to hear, but it was there. "Sa . . . Sakura? Is . . . it over?"
Sakura turned and glanced over her shoulder. The man was still there, although now obscured by Kite, Naruto, and Keira all standing behind them. She turned back, smiling a bit. "Yeah, he's . . ." She was cut off.
"It . . . over." A labored voice interjected. The four of them looked up in shock, ready to attack, before relaxing.
Chii didn't look. He knew who it was, and it made his shoulder slump. "Brother. I'm sorry." the boy squeaked, and then was silent.
Tenchuu, balancing on uncertain legs, barely able to stay conscious with his younger brother, who sat on the verge as well, simply shook his head slowly, before sitting down quite unceremoniously. "I am not upset. You did what you needed to. But, it would be best if you told her that too."
Chii simply nodded.
> > >
Keira stood at the back of the group, all her kunai in her bracer and her sword sheathed, but not wired shut, and she sighed loudly. It was over.
It was all finally over.
Her ears pricked up, and her head froze. "What was that!" she thought. " . . . no, it must have been my imagination. Right?" Something moved behind them. It couldn't be. It couldn't be him! That blast should have finished this! Even Sauske as angry as he was . . . that day . . . wouldn't be enough to take a hit like that.
Nobody else seemed to notice it. Kite was pulling Tenchuu back up and Sakura were helping Chii to his feet. Naruto stood, watching them. Maybe she was imagining it. Yeah, that had to be it.
Her ears perked again. It was there, whatever it was. It was there, behind her, a ways off. About the same distance as that crater. She reached over and placed her hand on the front kunai, but did not draw it. Her head slowly turned around, looking behind herself.
At first, she was shocked. He was up! Then, she realized it wasn't the man standing. No, there was someone there standing beside him. She turned around, straining to see him. Her eyes widened immediately.
A black bodysuit, covering him from neck to wrist to toe. Metal, layered plates of armor over his thighs. Moccasin shoes. A belt covered with small bags all around. A smooth metal bracer along his left forearm, nine kunai hanging from it. Crossing along his back, from the right shoulder to the left hip was a long ninja-to. A full length one, another third-meter longer than Keira's. Black gloves covered his hands, and scanning both his left and right biceps, there were no bandannas. Over his hair was a black cloth, tied down to hide it completely, while a red scarf wrapped around his face, leaving only his eyes visible.
A red scarf wrapped around his face.
> > >
"Oh, really?" Nabiki muttered over the phone.
The voice on the other side grunted in agreement. "I heard him say it, but I just made him stand in the hall. I guess I was getting used to it." Takenaka-sensei sighed. "Is that all you wanted to know?"
"Yes." Nabiki replied. "Thank you very much, sensei. I'm sorry for bothering you like this."
"It's all right. Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Nabiki responded, before hearing the click of the receiver on the other end. Slowly, she reached up and placed the phone on her end down. Joseph had lied.
He hadn't stayed at the school today when classes ended.
> > >
"All right, Chii, let's get you to the Doc's." Kite said, having taken over holding him up for Sakura when Tenchuu was back on his feet. The boy nodded, but Kite looked to his brother. "Get over here, squirt, and help him. You're short enough."
"Don't call me that!" Naruto shouted but walked over anyway.
Sakura lifted the Amazon's arm up and helped Naruto grab hold of him. "All right, let's go grab . . . Keira?" Everyone turned to her. Keira didn't move or respond. "Keira, what's wrong!"
The ninja stood, her mouth hanging open, eyes staring off, hand still gripping the first kunai. The color had drained from her face, and slowly, her head shook. Her mouth moved without sound, but the expression on her face that matched it seemed to suggest that she was almost screaming without words from her view.
"Keira!" Sakura shouted, trying to snap her out of it. She did, in a way.
"Dammit, no!" the girl screamed, grabbing the ring at the front of the bracer, and yanking it. All seven kunai were released, falling towards the ground. Swooping her hand across the grab them all together in her hand, she stepped forward and flung them all out at once.
> > >
The ninja stood looking over the fallen man. His hand snaked up his chest, before coming to rest on his right shoulder. One of those teens was watching him. They weren't much younger than him, so he wasn't about to doubt their abilities. That would be folly, something he could not allow. Too much was at stake for him to ever let his strength lax. And he had to be sure none would come after "Kakekomi".
"Dammit, no!"
His hand snapped up grabbing the handle of his blade. His eyes narrowed, knees bent to arm, and every muscle in his body tensed reflexively. His ears twitched, tracing the direction of the voice, listening for an anomaly. A thin, solid, and deflected metal snap. It didn't take him an instant to figure out the cause; it was something he knew all too well. A kunai bracer had just been released.
Pulling the sword from the sheath without a sound, he turned around in a crouch, his eyes locked on something he couldn't see yet. A girl threw a handful of knives. At first, he was sure they were a filled pentagon form, but they split and spread quite quickly, with only about four coming at him properly. His mind lost a little of the tenseness and the ninja-to in his hand snapped out to his side. At least she wasn't a Tekkō. It wasn't her, then.
SHING!
> > >
Keira drew her sword as the man drew his, running after her knives. She wouldn't let him hurt her friends!
SHING!
The girl gasped as the only kunai heading in the right direction were knocked away by a single sword swing, the rest flying by unhindered as they missed completely. That swing, though, was impossible. They were all over he place, one high, one low and to the side, on centered on the other side, and one dead in the middle and a little behind the others. It had come up that way from the throw, so how could his blurry swing possibly do that? And then the answer hit her. It wasn't one sword swing.
It was four.
"Dammitall!" She screamed, clutching her sword tighter as she ran on anyway. She ignored Naruto shouting to her as bolted, pushing herself faster than just a moment before. She was the only one who could stop him. The others didn't stand a chance. Well . . . if Chii could do that crazy thing he did again, maybe he might stand a chance. But she didn't think he could do that again right now, and it wouldn't have been a good chance anyway. Not that hers was much better.
She couldn't run away, though!
A blue aura trailed out of her, pushing her faster and stronger, despite the exhaustion in her body. Adrenaline flowed through her veins, blocking out the feeling of drained, burning muscles and not enough air.
CHANG!
The world was still for a moment, the sound of metal on metal the only thing that could be heard, and even that slowly faded away into silence.
Keira grunted a bit, pressing down with her sword. Sweat dripped from her face, flowing over her eyes and falling between her arms from her nose. Her brown eyes were flares, staring with true intensity, and the blue figure of herself hadn't faded. With a soft moan, she began pressing further down on the sword.
"An aura." The ninja replied, crouched beneath her. He appeared to be a little shorter than Sakura, but his weight was perfectly balanced along his widely spread legs, and a single arm held his sword up. Even as she pressed him more, he was as still as a stone, as if there was only a gnat on the weapon which opposed him. "Unusual for a ninja to have one." His voice was cold, serious, and empty.
"Shut up!" Keira shouted, her body starting to shake as she continued to press down.
"I am afraid this is the end of our meeting."
Keira gasped, worrying about what he meant before she stumbled back. No, was shoved back, her arms swinging up as her sword was pushed up and away. Her face dropped down to see him, though, and she wasted no time attacking. The man rose to his feet, and as soon as she was on her feet firmly again, her sword dropped to her right side and she stepped forward, slashing across.
CHING!
He parried her slash easily, his feet still on the earth. Keira slid her foot around and in, before slashing back the opposite way. CHING! Another parry. She cursed under her breath, before turning the point directly towards the ninja and ramming it in. CHINK! He dropped and raised his sword, knocking hers over his head without any real effort.
WHAM!
He then punched her in the stomach. She gasped for air, stumbling back several long steps, her eyes widened and aura fading to nothing. The adrenaline high wore off, only stable that short few seconds, and what seemed to be the remaining of her strength began to fade.
KSSCH! Her right foot dug into the dirt, before she gripped tighter than ever, even as sweat rolled down her cheeks like rain. "NO!" She cried out in anger, slashing down and to the left. The ninja did not let this one get parried so simply. He struck back at the sword.
CHANK! "EEEEYAH!" Keira screeched as the sword in her hands snapped. The blade broke back, flashing past her face and cutting through her cheek. It wasn't deep, but the pain was enough to cause her to reflex back, grasping the injury with her left hand, the red liquid slipping between her fingers. She reeled away, before her mind regained control, and she returned to face her opponent, the top half of her sword laying in the grass behind her, red with blood.
But he was backed up, his sword sheathed, carrying the man who seemed far too large for him over his shoulders. The weight was obviously a lot, as the ninja was crouched under it a little, but he seemed unperturbed by it. Well, his eyes at least, since his face was covered by that red scarf.
His right hand, still free, sipped into the pouch on his belt, grasping something, before pulling it and hurling the object into the ground. WHOOSH! "EEE!" Keira squeaked as smoke burst out, filling the area, but her eyes caught that man's face, the shadowed eyes, the black hair-cover, the red scarf, before they were swallowed by the white mist. "NO!" She shouted again, before hurling the sword into the emptiness. There was a dull thunk as it hit dirt, but the girl didn't notice that either as she bolted into the cloud, trying to find a way to follow her enemy.
At first, it was simply a perfect cloud, when a pocket of air appeared, extending up and away. She smirked, jumping up through it.
> > >
The ninja landed silently on the branch, still holding "Kakekomi" over his shoulder. If only he wasn't so big, this wouldn't be as difficult. But that girl had some skill. A ninja with an aura . . . he shook his head. She probably knew some technique he didn't too, to make up for that blessed curse. Most family ninjas had some special technique.
CHUNK CHUNK! The ninja had already jumped back and up to another branch when the stars imbedded themselves into the tree branch he had been on. A moment later, a ragged, sweaty Keira jumped up. Her brown hair had gone frizzy, the ends sticking to her face, soaked, while her clothes were water stained everywhere. And her face was still dripping. "Don't . . . try a trick like that . . . on me!" the girl wheezed.
"All she has left is her will to fight. And yet, she continues. She is much more skilled than I thought. And much more of a ninja than most." he thought, his eyes expressionless, yet transfixed on Keira. He said nothing.
"This is the end." Keira muttered, raising her shaky arms, and pulling her hands together forcefully into a sign.
POOF! POOF!
Two plumes of smoke appeared on either side of her, and blew away, revealing nothing there.
The girl's eyes were glazing over, and she began to sway on the branch. She seemed to keep herself from falling, but nothing more.
"Dopplegangers? She can create dopplegangers?" the ninja thought to himself. It was obvious to him what she was trying to do, and the fact that she was starting to fall proved it. The creation of one, let alone two, draws tremendous energy, and the girl had clearly been running on empty for the entire fight. "It would be best to not stay any longer."
Keira watching the ninja, still swaying. The man stood still as her vision began to blur a bit. She shook her head, drawing it back to clarity. Then, something else began to blur. At first, she thought it was her eyes, but then the man, and Kakekomi hanging over his shoulder, both blurred and winked out as if they were never there.
"After image." Those were the last two words she thought before falling. She didn't lose consciousness, but the fear that idea brought up let her ignore the fact that she dropped through one branch and crashed onto the compact soil below. "He's . . . he's fast enough to use an after image."
She was scared now.
A unknown ninja was in town, one with obviously denotative equipment, even if it was both contradictory and unproven by his lack of armbands. And who knew what his connection with that mystery fighter was. Why were they here?
It had taken four of them to defeat Kakekomi. She didn't even seem to bother that ninja, and even if she had all her chakra, she doubted if she would have done any better. Lasted longer, maybe, but not done any more damage to him. He didn't even seem to try with her, as if even toying with the girl would have been too simple. Could they ever stand a chance against someone like this?
He had broken her sword as well, and the warm trickle continued down her cheek, staining the green grass. The red and green blades, painted for the holidays, swayed in the gentle wind. Times were changing. They had mistakenly believed that the last week had been important. Ha. It was nothing compared to now.
She thought she could hear someone coming towards her, but her ears were dulling as her eyes began to slide shut. Part of her wondered if they would open again. They probably would, but after all the energy she forced herself to use beyond her limit, . . . well, there was always that chance.
She hoped they opened again. There was too much to come. Something big was happening in Nerima. Despite the disgrace handed to her by Kukri, despite Chidori's injuries, despite anything and everything people could name, nothing had been important relative to this. This was their future, their whole reason for existing now. This battle would determine everything. She didn't care about the reasons. She was scared of the outcome more than anything she had been before.
A man . . . a ninja . . . with a red scarf . . . had come to Tokyo.
Next Chapter: Eyes are opened, fears are alleviated, and promises are made for the future as the children rise back to their feet and walk forward once more.
Well, that's chapter thirty six! Sorry it was late again, but I didn't get any time to write the week before, so I'm still writing without another chapter already written in reserve. I'll probably keep doing this until at least the Christmas episode, since I really am tired of waiting for that to happen, but I hope to catch up before then so I don't have to miss another week.
And if you didn't notice, this day is the one-year anniversary of Youth of the Nation! HOORAY! I hope this chapter was a good one for the one year mark, and was worth the wait (It's the longest chapter to date). Well, here's hoping for a second year with far less missed chapters!
Anyway, on with the reviews:
Shinjiku: Yes, relationships and kissing will be in the Christmas chapter. But I'll never tell who-oo! . . . Until a chapter or two, when we hit that point. Sorry, you're just going to have to wait.
The Liz: Well, I'm glad the story has been good overall for the last couple chapters. As for Sauske's aura, I didn't like the way it went over last chapter either. It had to be done though. And I get what you mean by the Yu Yu Hakusho reference. It does sound like he's using it that way, but hopefully it'll come out better done next time.
Paige C: Yep, it is the Dragon's Heaven Blast. It was a lot more obvious thanI thought it would be, but oh well. I'm glad the fight was good, butI hope this one was better, to be honest. And I don't know if it was that evil of a cliffhanger. It was nicer than the time where Keira had a bomb explode in her face.
Conna McCanna: Nope, not a variant, but the real thing. The Hiryu Shoten Ha. I'm glad you like the chapter but there are two things: One, it's Kakekomi (You're not the only one to mispell it, though). And two, what do you mean by Sauske having a weapon against it? His aura just makes it more powerful.
nonengle: Yep, your first impression was right. Good old Amazon techniques. And yes, you were close with your last review. You made a slight misstep this time about Kakekomi, but most of it was pretty close still, and you aremoving towards the truth. As for your Happosai part, I am impressed. Seriously. You really spelled it out with some quality logic, and really examined the characters, if only from what you remembered. I won't say what you have right or wrong about these two things, but you are close in a lot of ways. I am really happy with the work you did, and thankful you are trying to do this. I would be ecstatic if more people tried to logic out the story like you do, as it shows me readers are both paying attention and trying to understand the characters. It also gives me a guide to see if my plot is making sense with all the holes in it, and if things like little tricks I am putting in can confuse some of you.
Thanks so much for your everyone's reviews over this past year!