By Kochan
Chapter 3: Prima Mensa
The air was stagnant, thicker than before, reminding Hayate of marshes and swamps he'd trekked through in the past. His clothing was soaked with perspiration, clinging to his body as though in fear. Death cried out to him from the passages beneath in impatience as he took a deep breath of the fouled air, expelling it slower than he would have liked to. Then he felt it; the cold rush gripping him from afar.
'Kasumi...'
He raised his mask, readying the first arrow, the second held by its tail shaft at his little finger. That same rumbling growl returned, shaking the walls and ceiling as though the cave itself was coming alive, screaming in grief. The ledge on which he stood threatened to collapse upon itself as it shook, the Shinobi crouching lower to stabilise his stance. But then the rumbling ceased, replaced by an unsettling trundle.
The passage beneath him emitted a purple glow and he watched as Kasumi burst from the opening. The Kunoichi sprinted towards the centre of the room, her ponytail and gi trailing behind her, light stick in hand.
His stomach contracted as she stumbled, falling forward with a yelp to sprawl upon the ground just before the two rocks in the room's centre. The light stick skittered from her grasp into the far corner, shadowing her in darkness. But all of this he knew was intentional.
The series of solid thuds that followed jolted his heart, shaking his very soul. Then there it was: An immense myriad of menacing shadows, shifting, undulating their way from the passage towards his sister's still form.
"Prepare yourself, Kasumi." He mumbled, drawing the arrow back to his chest. His consciousness expanded to envelop his target, the dim shape of the stalagmite overhead growing more vivid by the moment. The growl that echoed through the cave from the beast was but a hum in his ears. From the corner of his eye, he saw the mass of shadows contract, then surge forwards as the creature pounced.
The arrow left his fingers, streaking through the darkness as he averted his eyes. Kasumi herself would have leapt away at the last moment, leaving nothing less than a timed flash grenade where she once lay.
They'd timed it to perfection: Hayate's RDX arrow detonating against the side of the rock above in a superheated orange blossom, warming his face, the explosion deafening, small portions of the rock whisking overhead as the concussive shock wave threatened to throw him backwards.
His sister's flash charge illuminated the cave with harsh, burning light, blinding the demon, an irate roar filling the cave as the creature was driven back into the position he'd hoped for.
Looking back the Mugen Tenshin Leader hissed in triumph to see the stalagmite broken into several tonnes of crushing limestone, hurtling down to smash upon the creature's back. The room shook once more with the impact of the rocks, the demon's bellows of pain.
Hayate wasted no time, his second arrow already drawn, bowstring taut as he took aim to the side of the stunned beast, "Your show, Ryu." he thought aloud as the primed flare took flight. He shielded his eyes as the flare struck home, the blinding white light incapacitating the creature further.
Placing his Yumi (bow) aside, he looked back and saw it now: Black death the size of a bus, scales where fur should have been, bloodied stumps that were once wings, a tail curled like a scorpion's, spiked and bulbous at the end. The undead remains of what had once been a noble and beautiful creature.
From the rocks to the side came Ryu's shadow as the flare burned on, closing twenty paces in little more than the blink of an eye. Hayate watched his Hayabusa counterpart leap up several feet, flipping in mid air before bringing his blade down upon the beast's neck.
The clash of steel against armour rang out through the cave, followed by an aggravated growl. Hayate hopped to a closer ledge, observing as Ryu ducked beneath the swipe of a massive paw as high as himself, closing in with his sword held in defence. The creature opened its massive jaws to crush him but Hayate knew the Hayabusa Shinobi had anticipated this, dive rolling forward beneath the beast. The demon reared up with a roar, a wash of dark fluid spraying from its throat as Ryu did his work. Then just as sudden as he'd struck, the Shinobi vanished into the shadows of the surrounding rocks once more. "Underside's weaker! But there's a crack at the top!" came Ryu's call.
His turn, though he had no intention of repeating Ryu's tactic.
Hayate steeled himself as he locked his gaze on his target, finding the point he'd been searching for. He sprung forth from the ledge, sword ringing out in anticipation as he drew it from it's sheath whilst descending. His aim was true, the sharpened point of the steel blade lancing between two plates of armour at the creature's neck. One hundred and sixty five pounds of his mass drove it deeper within the leathery flesh, striking between vertebrae...but not penetrating through to the spinal cord as he'd hoped. Steam vented from the wound, evidence that the blade's magical soul was burning the creature from within.
The beast let out another roar, this one far louder. It bucked hard several times, causing Hayate to lose his footing. He hung on with one arm, seeing Ryu give chase as the demon charged towards the darker side of the cave. His grip tightened about his sword handle as his free hand reached into his sash for a concussion grenade. But before he was able to prime the cylinder, the creature rushed sidelong to crash into a large pile of rocks. Hayate felt the sword tear through demon flesh and muscle upon impact, and then he was sailing through the darkness, the dense cave air breezing past.
His breath exploded from his lungs in a loud grunt as he struck the limestone wall back first with crushing force that would have killed a lesser man. His senses were blinded as he was left lying upon his back, every nerve in his paralysed body flooded with pain. But with practiced concentration he forced it away, adrenaline taking over to numb the sensations. Hearing swept back into his consciousness as the high pitched voice that was his sister's reached him from afar, filled with panic, jolting him back to life."Onii-san!"
Hayate turned over, feeling as though he was moving in slow motion, just able to crawl to a crouching position, one knee bent as he leaned onto his sword for support.
Vibrations, tremors, it was getting closer.
He looked up to see the beast rushing at him, a maddened unholy rhinoceros bent on his destruction. The Shinobi panted hard, still winded from the impact, disorientated as his mind screamed for the oxygen that the air here had so little of. Tensing his legs, he prepared for an evasive leap at the last moment, for the worst if he was unsuccessful.
Then he caught sight of the metallic glint from a facing ledge, the object flying through the air to pierce deep within the demon's eye. The ground quaked as the beast toppled upon it's side scattering rocks and pebbles alike, thrashing, roaring in agony. Turning, he found Kasumi's shadow descending to the cave floor from the ledge she'd launched the Shaken. Hayate couldn't help but wonder how she'd managed such a difficult shot under the circumstances. Nevertheless, praise came later. For now there was yet a lump of concern growing in his throat.
"Stay the hell away, Kasumi!" he ordered with a wave of his hand, coughing from the pain in his lungs, tense with fear for his sister. Her silence was once again her acknowledgment and she remained kneeling, observing from her position. He lit the area with another flare, the scene devoid of colours, black and white like a nostalgic Fifty's film. He raised his sword to head level, advancing towards the fallen beast with cautious steps as Ryu emerged from the shadows, doing the same.
"How is it." asked his friend when they were within earshot of each other.
"Back massage from a rock." Hayate coughed again, feeling his breathing beginning to weez. "I'll be fine."
'...provided we get out of here soon.' He thought to himself.
They came silent as the demon rose with a growl, lashing out at Ryu with its claws. Hayate watched, impressed as his friend deflected the blow with ease, moving in with a hard cross slash that drew a new spray of darkened blood and a chilling howl from the creature. It shrunk back against the wall, nursing an almost severed paw, its life essence spilling out onto the dry ground, clotting in an instant.
"Armour's weakened. Shouldn't be a problem now." stated Ryu without a trace of emotion in his voice.
Hayate nodded, not taking his eyes from the wounded creature. It cowered against the stone wall despite its size, the remaining eye darting left and right, a sure sign of nervousness. He could smell the curse begging to be freed from the creature, each breath it expelled speaking of the decay and rot that ran rampant within its body. But not for much longer, he thought, raising his sword for the final blow that would put the demon out of its misery, Ryu doing likewise.
But the demon's eye stilled, neither at Ryu, nor at he, but dead ahead. Hayate felt the void in his stomach enlarge as he came to realise just what it had seen. The young Kunoichi in her hiding place at the far end of the cave, the one that had cost it an eye. A chance...for retribution.
"Now Ryu!" he called, having no doubt of the creature's intentions. The demon burst forth, leaping into the air with unexpected speed as he jumped up to meet it, swinging his blade with all his concentration. Armour, flesh and bone succumbed to the magical potency of his sword as it left a grievous wound upon the underside that would do its work soon, but not soon enough.
"Kasumi! Abunai! (Danger!)" Hayate shouted out as the beast landed some distance behind Ryu and himself, stumbling in pain, then dashing on towards Kasumi, mortally wounded, with no sense of self preservation.
The situation couldn't have been worse.
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Author's Notes
RDX - Royal Demolitions Explosive.
A.K.A Cyclonite short for Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (Say that 5 times in a row really quickly *grin*) Stable but extremely powerful explosive. Commonly mixed with plastics (known as C-4) such that it can be molded for demolitions use and shaped charges by most Military and Terrorist groups around the world. Hayate makes his own arrows and the Mugen Tenshin clan have easy access to most weapons.
Hayate's Sword - Yup, tis magic. More on this another time.
Replies:
Novaguyver: Well here you go! sorry it took 2 months though :P
Preacher: Saint!!!? Not anymore - it's been 8 weeks I think. But I did post another story - just that it got deleted. Anyhows, here's a fix for now. check my author profile if you'd like to take a look at the one that got scrapped...hmm wait...can't remember if you did. Oh well, no matter - you've got the info *^^*
Unknown: Thanks...keep reading.
Einhardenoff: Thanks dude! I try to match the chapters according to what's happening though. Don't want to end up boring people yeah? Usually, it's about 1500 to 2000 words for me per chapter, anymore than that - I'd have to start putting a few more scene breaks in, which would prob mean another chapter (smile) Thanks for the suggestion though. As for ayane and Kasumi having Ki projectiles/Fireballs - I think that's just Ayane, Kasumi doesn't have those abilities...yet...*^^*
TigerEyes: (smile) (Waves) Thanks for the review - means a million *^^* As for the laughter - well, we all want the girl to be happy no? Till next!!!
Well thanks for reading! As you can guess, the battle isn't quite over yet. I decided to split one VERY long chapter into two as well...it was just too long. I wasn't happy with a little of the second part either. Don't worry - this won't extend out to a DBZ Saiyan level 6 powerup on each side 24 episode type battle. And seeing as the final draft for the 2nd half is already complete, yous shouldn't be waiting more than a week for it. Tiger eyes - hold me to that yeah? (smile) Till Next! Ko-Chan *^^*