Chapter 2: The tournament Pt. 1
Previously:
The woman collapsed on top of the children, bleeding and moving her lips soundlessly in shock. Jareth stood over her, as though listening to her words. And then he picked up Sarah's body, which was now lifeless. He also lifted up the children, who were now covered in their mother's blood and disappeared from Kimiko's sight.
Curiously Kimiko pulled her shirt aside and stared at the scar, was she that infant? That wound had nearly killed her, and why would Jareth injure some woman like that. A sudden realization came to Kimiko as the scene disappeared- that woman was her mother.
Jareth, why did you do it? Kimiko thought, why did you kill her?
Now:
Kimiko sat up quickly, her chest moved quickly as she gasped for breath, "You bastard!" She shouted into the wind, shakily pulling herself to her feet.
Who was the man that had shown her the vision? Could he be trusted, or was he just messing with her? Quickly Kimiko crouched down, and then leapt up onto the wall of the labyrinth. Her eyes roamed the area about her, and she noticed that the castle appeared to be far away, a distant shadow against the horizon, hardly appearing bigger than her thumb. 'How did I get so far away from the castle?' She wondered before leaping to the next wall, 'No matter, I will get home and confront Jareth on the matter, certainly he wouldn't lie to me.'
She continued her movements for some time, leaping from wall to wall, determination apparent on her face. The castle didn't seem to get any larger, instead it stayed small, as though she were many miles away from it. After hours of leaping from wall to wall, Kimiko could feel the exhaustion seeping into her muscles. It became difficult to leap the distance she needed to go, at times she would have to grasp at the wall madly because she had come short of the wall. At last the castle appeared to be getting steadily larger, and Kimiko felt relief seep into her body.
She quickened her pace, as it grew steadily larger. Darkness settled about Kimiko as night fell, and it became difficult to see anything in front of her. Tiredly she made one last, hopeful leap, and fell onto something soft and cushiony, the grass that grew in Jareth's garden was the softest grass in the whole of the Underground, tiredly she smiled and curled up as the air grew chill, slipping into a comforting black oblivion.
Bright sunlight and the sound of rushing footsteps awoke Kimiko the next morning. She looked up in time to see a very angry looking Jareth, and a rather worried looking Midori rushing towards her. "Sister!" Midori sighed in relief, she was kept from saying anything else when Jareth cut her off.
"Just where have you been this week, Kimiko? 6 days have passed." Jareth clenched his fists and knelt by her side, impatiently awaiting her excuse.
"6 days?" Kimiko's eyes widened in shock, "How could it have been so long? I thought that it had only been the night, but that wasn't my fault!"
"Then what happened?" Midori asked, anger flaring up in her eyes, "you had everyone worried, the goblins combed the Labyrinth for miles around and found nary (I don't know if it's spelled right... but this word is due to some old-time books that I've read... anyway, back to the story!) a sight of you!"
"I dunno..." Kimiko racked her brain for any sort of explanation as to why she had been gone for so long, "I went into the labyrinth, only meaning to get some air... the next thing I know somebody spoke to me and then... wham! All I see is a pair of gloved hands rushing at my face." Kimiko stood shakily, "The next thing I know, I wake up far away from the castle, in some ancient part of the labyrinth. I traveled all day and far into the night."
"Get up." Jareth said, standing and waiting for her to climb to her feet as well, "The tournament is tomorrow, you have hardly any time to train for it."
"Jareth-" Kimiko started, and then shook her head as she climbed to her feet, "Never mind."
Jareth glanced sideways at her before leading the two girls up into the castle, "pack your things, and be ready to leave by nightfall." He ordered.
Kimiko ran ahead of the other two, bent on bathing before she did anything. Quickly she bound up several flights of stairs and tore into her room, pulling out a black tank top with pictures of thorny roses all over it (as you can see, she has an obsession with thorny roses...), and a black leather skirt, a chain hung around half of the pants, it jingled with every step that she took. Next she grabbed a pair of knee high black boots, and rushed into her bathroom.
She ran water into her bathtub for a few minutes, occasionally adding some lavender scented bubble bath. As soon as the tub had filled, she slid into the heated water, sighing contentedly as she closed her eyes. It was only then that she realized how much her muscles ached. Somebody pounded on her door, "What?" She called angrily, glaring at the door.
"Miss Kimiko," Her nurse, Saruwatari called, "Lord Jareth has asked me to look you over and make sure that you are healthy."
Kimiko could hear the elderly woman twisting something nervously in her hands, "Come in." she sighed in defeat.
The door opened and Kimiko's eyes fell on the kind, wrinkled face of Saruwatari. "Miss, you must step out of the water for a few minutes."
Sighing heavily, Kimiko stepped out onto a towel that she had laid on the icy stone floor. She stood shivering as the woman pressed on muscles. she felt a shattering pain course through her body as the woman gently brushed against her lower back, "Miss Kimiko..." her voice faltered, "Your backside looks as though it were sliced to ribbons, maybe you shouldn't go to the tournament."
"No!" Kimiko gasped through clenched teeth, "look... promise that you won't tell Jareth? I have to go, understand that I've received criticism from many of the beings in the underground for only being half immortal... I have to show them that I am powerful and can't let a little scratch get in the way of redemption for my sister and I."
Saruwatari wrinkled her nose, "but what if-"
"No!" Kimiko cut her off, "just promise that you won't take this away from me! I'll be fine, I swear."
Saruwatari lowered her eyes in defeat, "Yes, miss Kimiko."
"Thank you." Kimiko climbed back into the tub and hurriedly scrubbed away the dirt and grime that had accumulated on her body.
Afterwards she crawled out of the water and dressed in the outfit that she had chosen before hurriedly running back into her room, swiping random outfits off of hangers and grabbing undergarments from her drawers before stuffing them into a bag made from the mane of a unicorn. The purity of the bag calmed her slightly, allowing her to go to the dining hall as though everything were normal.
The smell of yams reached her nose, and instantly Kimiko felt her stomach growl fiercely at the thought of the delicious sweet potatoes (mmm... sweet potatoes are so yummy...) hurriedly she opened the large doors and rushed in, to find that she was alone. Hurriedly she sat down in her chair and began to pile the feast on her plate. There was ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, peas, rolls, sweet potatoes, and gravy that she poured over the top before digging hungrily into her plate.
Twenty minutes later she was reaching for her 3rd helping when Midori sauntered in, taking her own seat and grabbing tiny bits of only a few things, a piece of turkey a spoonful of peas, and a roll. Unlike Kimiko, she tried to eat rather ladylike, and didn't much care about the possibility that she'd lose her figure if she ate the way that Kimiko did.
After eating, Kimiko strolled around the castle until she heard Jareth shout that it was time to go. She made her way to the front of the castle and climbed into the carriage that awaited them. Soon she drifted off, excited that the tournament had arrived.
At the tournament
Kimiko pressed her face against the carriage window as they moved through the village that had been built specifically to house those that would be fighting. Early morning sunlight glinted on the dewy grass. Kimiko leapt out of the carriage moments later, and moved swiftly towards the sign-ups. She moved to the counter and grabbed a pen, quickly scribbling her name as well as Midori's before rushing to the practice fields where hundreds of beings trained for the upcoming tournament.
Around mid-afternoon, Kimiko had already seen over 30 battles. Shortly a voice was heard, announcing the next battle, "Would Kimiko Kobayashi and Yamada Makoto please report to the ring! I repeat, Kimiko Kobayashi and Yamada Makoto!"
Kimiko leapt out of her seat and landed gracefully on the battlefield, watching as her opponent made his way towards her. She eyed him over, noting the delicate features of his face, his grey-green eyes that shone brightly, a nose that was neither too large or too small, and soft lips that seemed to be stuck in a permanent pout. He was well built, and carried a sword that was nearly as large as himself. Long, blue hair fell to the middle of his back, tied in a loose braid.
Kimiko tightened her grip on her own sword, and gritted her teeth, preparing herself for what seemed to be a long battle. The man smirked, showing off his own perfect teeth, and stopped, several feet away from her. For several minutes they stood, trying to find the other's weakness before a high-pitched voice called out, "Fight!"
She almost didn't have time to block his first attack as he swung in at her from above, there was a loud crack as the swords came together, sparks flew from the metal as the two moved at impossible speeds, swinging violently at each other. Kimiko was suddenly aware of the ground rushing towards her, "Blade of the seven hells!" She cried out, feeling the power rise in her veins.
She looked towards Yamada and willed herself forward. Her blade caught fire, and was soon moving so quickly that it appeared that she was using 7 blades instead of one. She watched triumphantly as Yamada was thrown to the ground, 7 gaping holes followed as her blade sliced into the earth. Kimiko stood above him, waiting to see if he would still fight, and was surprised when the ground broke beneath her, pitching her into an ominous blackness.
A pair of glowing crimson eyes peered into her face, and Kimiko was suddenly aware of a nose pressed against her throat, taking in her scent. She slid away, attempting to get away from him as a horrible fear clutched at her heart. She felt a hand grasp at her thigh, tugging viciously at the skirt she wore, "you have so much power." The other breathed softly, "so beautiful, I will have you."
Kimiko cried out furiously and swung at him with her sword, he backed away, surprised as she stumbled to her feet and tried to dodge her indefatigable (which pretty much means they didn't slow or cease by the way) blows. From somewhere in the darkness she could see the glinting of his sword before the hilt crashed down into the crown of her skull before she slipped soundlessly to the ground.
Kimiko opened her eyes to find that she was still beneath the earth's surface, it had not been a dream. Her head ached horribly, and Kimiko could feel the blood dripping into her eyes from the wound on her head. Unsteadily she rose to her feet and looked around- sure enough Yamada leaned against the wall, looking her over hungrily. Waves of pain washed over her as she glared at him, "You bastard!" She croaked raising her sword in anger, "Blade of Eternal suffering!" She shouted, pouring all of her hatred for the man into her attack.
Long whip like beams of energy left her sword and thrust themselves into the man's body, sending him crashing through the surface, back into the battlefield. Kimiko quickly followed and stood, staring at his limp form coldly as medics rushed onto the field, pulling him onto a stretcher. Midori was at her side suddenly, "Kimiko, what happened? You two were down there for an awfully long time..."
Kimiko brushed her sister aside and strode back into the stands, taking her seat as the next battle pairing was called, "Would Midori Kobayashi and Hara Michiyo report to the battle field, I repeat Midori Kobayashi and Hara Michiyo!"
Kimiko turned away from them, deciding that she didn't want to watch the battle, she turned her tired looking eyes towards a small hut that housed herself and her sister. She lay inside and clutched at her pillow, only then realizing that she had Yamada's blood smeared all over her body. In disgust she stripped her clothes off and changed into a pair of black, silky pajamas.
A/N Well... I took out a few things and added some others, enjoy the chapter and review for me guys
Sorry it is taking me so long to get this out and done, but there has been very little inspiration for some of my writing as of late...