Disclaimer:: Hmmmmmm, why do I have to write these things every time? Oh that's right. . .being sued is a bad thing. I digress, I don't own Soul Calibur 2 or any of its characters, they belong to Namco and stuff so yeah . . . A/N:: Well yeah, here's the next chapter. As you know, I'm focusing on X and T and their relationship, hell I should make it a Xiang x Ooc fic than anything else. =P why didn't I do that damnit? Oh, it's cause I wanted to do more than that. . .damn that's comin back to bite me in the arse, neh? Eh, sorry, I wanted to try to make this seem more in depth, but I've yet to include exact locations of each "party" and explain certain things that are currently happening. I'ma try harder to work on these little problems, because I want this to be an EPIC!!!!! Neh, I'm dreamin with that. . .anyways, enough author crap, plz R&R, I need the responses to complete this EPIC!!!!!
Chapter 10: Fateful Rivals
Something just didn't seem right. Xianghua looked back at her friend with an expression of concern etched on her face. For the past day, Takaishi seemed more distant and focused than usual. It was as if he felt he was being followed. Xianghua had tried to get him to talk, even argue, but Takaishi never responded. Xianghua had even hit him over the head with several things, each time he'd just rub his head and glance around. It was rather odd behavior for Takaishi . . . in fact, it was just rather odd behavior in general. They'd been walking along the highway for quite some time. The highway was recently traversed, since the lanterns along the side of the road were still lit and burning, the wax or oil replaced by each passerby. Xianghua and Takaishi took the liberty of replacing any near- burnt-out lanterns to help their fellow travelers. Takaishi's trudging suddenly stopped and Xianghua glanced back at him.
"Why'd you stop? We still got a lot of road to cover." She asked, turning around.
"Xiang, can you go on ahead? I'll catch up, I'm faster than you anyways." Xianghua scoffed at his comment and retorted, "Why do you want me to go on ahead? We've always gone as a team and you just want to bail out?"
Takaishi glared at her and she recoiled. Never had Takaishi glared at her that way. It was a cross between fear and anger. She merely nodded and turned around shakily.
"Xiang, theres a path to the left of us that will lead through the forest, take it, it's a shorter route than around the forest. I'll meet you at the town. "
"How do you know that?" She asked, "You've never been here. . .have you?"
Takaishi shook his head and pointed to a small little path leading off the highway into the forest. "Judging by that path, it'd probably head to the next town because the highway was pathed out to go around this forest according to the maps in the last village." He said. Xianghua only nodded and walked to the path, glancing back at Takaishi over her shoulder. He had tossed his bag off to the side and was stretching. He glared at her one last time before she took off down the forest path.
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The fierce battle continued to rage on. Cassandra lay unconscious on the ground and Sophitia was cut up badly but still fighting. Siegfried was holding his own rather nicely. He had felled at least five demons with the first swing, and killed three more on the next counter-slash. It would be like cutting the grass. . .If he didn't have to watch where he was swinging, since Sophitia was fighting so close to him. Despite her injuries and lack of good equipment, Sophitia was doing a wonderful job of defending her fallen sister, lashing out swiftly at a demon who rushed to close. A ring of dead demons surrounded her and Cass while Siegfried cut swathe after swathe of the unrelenting horde.
"I don't get it-" Sophitia started say, while cracking another skull with her blunted sword, "-How could these demon's multiply so fast?" Siegfried only grunted as he swung in another wide arc, beheading some demons and mutilating the rest unfortunate enough to move out of the path of Faust. This wasn't a challenge anymore, all he had to do was swing Faust back and forth in a general area, and he'd kill or maul at least five demons. The demons, in essence, were utterly mindless, only driven by the scent of human flesh. This was both an advantage and a shortcoming. The demons would just mindlessly rush to their deaths, but as long as there were living ones, they'd continue to rush. And that's what was happening. Siegfried stole a quick glance at Sophitia, worried that she might be overrun soon. He sword looked like it would break any moment, and her shield's handle strap had ripped off. Siegfried started to hack his way back, taking a few heads and arms with each swing. He was almost soaked from head to toe with demon blood, his armor dented, and Faust was as equally drenched in blood.
Sophitia hurled her shield as hard as possible and the closest demon while turning to bash the brains out of another that got too close to Cass. The resounding pang from the rebounding shield automatically made Sophitia raise her arm to catch it. Siegfried was hacking through some of the last demons, but there still was a large group circling her. To make matters worse, the lantern that Cass was carrying was starting to go out. If that lantern went out, Sophitia would be mobbed by the demons. The only thing that kept them from charging was the fear of the light. . .the lantern.
"Siegfried hurry up!" She yelled, at the same time smashing the dulling point of her gladius into the open maw of a werewolf like demon. Sophitia kicked the carcass off her blade quickly as she turned to face the next opponent. This time, the demon got the best of her and made a swipe that connected to her lower ribs. Sophitia grunted slightly in pain, but returned the clawing with several quick blows from her gladius and a finishing blow from her severely dented shield. All the while, the lantern's light was fading.
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The demon watched as the girl ran off into the forest. It was a nice unexpected twist for the Rheaol, as he didn't have to figure out some way to separate the two, since they did it on their own. His target was just stretching. . .more than that, he was waiting. The human turned slowly around and glared at Rheaol's position, unable to see the demon himself, but knew he was in the shadows somewhere. Rheaol confronted the man, face to face since there was no point in hiding after being seen. Usually, Rheaol did his deeds in the darkness, swiftly killing to get the job done, but something in the human was emanating. Rheaol's only interpretation of this "aura" was that it would be one hell of a fight. Both "men" stood, staring each other down, blades in both hands. Takaishi's grip on Masamune tightened as he waited, anticipating an attack directed for his neck with a low, rib slashing blow at the same time with the off-handed blade. He judged right. The black robed demon swiftly ran forward and lashed out for Takaishi's neck with a fore-arm swing, only to have it blocked by the Lotus blade carried in Takaishi's offhand. The second blow came swiftly after the first, hoping to catch him off-guard, but it was also blocked. Quickly thinking at the same moment, Takaishi drew out how he was going to counter. He swiftly side-stepped to the left, letting the demon's blade that was in a sword clench with the Muremasa slide off to the right. With so much power put into trying to break the sword clench and push forward with it's slash, the demon fell off guard a slight bit, leaving Takaishi open to slash at his forearm. Takaishi's slash missed though, as the demon jump to the side, avoiding an attack that would have removed it's arm. Rheaol resumed his offensive, fueled by anger of almost being de-armed by a human. The demon started swiftly striking with both hands, trying to avoid another sword clench that would put him in the previous position. Downward, diagonal, low, neck, upper . . . each slash came in rapid succession, and each one was blocked by Takaishi. Rheaol pressed his attacks before finally back flipping away, frustrated at being unable to break his opponent's defenses.
Seizing the opportunity, Takaishi dashed forward as Rheaol recovered from his offensive rush. Rather than returning the favor and assuming the offensive strike after strike, Takaishi dashed past Rheaol and leaped. Rheaol spun around quick enough to see Takaishi in mid-slash after rebounding off a tree. Instinctively, both blades rose up to meet their counterparts, deflecting Takaishi's bold attack but knocking both combatants off balance. Rheaol was the first to recover and struck like a snake in the dying lamp light. His left blade was deflected but a grunt of pain told him that his right one had found its target. Unfortunately, the demon had no time to gloat as both of Takaishi's blades lashed out in response, catching the demon in the shoulder and a small gash across the chest. Almost instantly Rheaol withdrew to the closest concentrated body of shadows. Not once had he ever been struck like that, no human had ever matched his speed. This was new . . . the rush he was getting fighting against this human. Rheaol liked it, the feeling of invincibility being replaced by the instinct to survive. Rheaol's torn robe was discarded as he stepped back into the lamp's light to face his opponent. The demonic blades hummed at the tension their master was feeling. The human, battered, but defiantly not broken, stood dauntingly. Blood flowed freely from his small wound on his side. Both combatants once again stood in their respective stances, ready to begin their deadly dance once more.
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Xianghua was lost, and getting more worried by the moment. Takaishi had told her to run ahead, which was one thing she didn't understand. He had always traveled with Xianghua, even when she told him to stay put, he'd defiantly follow her. It was a trait she enjoyed in him for some reason, that stubbornness that had caused more trouble than good. She stopped and put down her lantern. Something didn't feel right, and she had the sudden urge to run back the way she came, back towards Takaishi. . .unfortunately she didn't know where exactly she had ran. For some unknown reason, Xianghua started growing more worried. Finally, she just couldn't take it anymore and started head back down a semi-beaten path, hoping that it would lead back to the main highway, and Takaishi. An ominous feeling was growing inside of Xianghua, and as she ran, her grip on both the lantern handle and the Kritta-Yuga tightened so much that her knuckles turned white. It seemed like an eternity of running, looking as if she passed the same things over and over. Sounds of clashing metal started to reach her ears. One thing rolled through her mind as she ran towards the light at the end of the path that led back to the highway. She heard clashing of metal and the grunts of glancing blows being blocked. A battle was going on, and Takaishi was most likely part of it.
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The lantern was long dead. Siegfried sat cradling Sophitia, whose breathing was starting to become more labored. Cassandra was conscious again, but was sleeping silently across from the small campfire. The final moments of their battle were swift. The lantern had died out and it was that last thing holding the demons back. They literally had piled on hop of Sophitia, who had put herself over her sister to shield her from the claws and teeth. Siegfried had hacked away most of the demons in the pile but had to pry the rest off and kill them one by one, not wanting to risk chopping Sophie in half. None of the demons even bothered with Siegfried, all of them driven into a frenzy, tearing at Sophitia's back or at each other. Needless to say, all the demons where dad, now Siegfried's attention was drawn to the woman who had saved him from death, twice. He had patched up her back with what he could scrounge up, since only Cassandra carried a roll of bandages that were currently being used for the wounds on Sophitia's arms, legs, and forehead. He had covered Sophitia with his tunic, since her blouse didn't survive the fight and was currently employed as a makeshift bandage. Siegfried sighed and stared into the black sky, not a single star shone through the dense blanket of darkness. He looked back down at the woman . . . no, in his eyes, the angel, that he treasured. Not that he would admit that anyway. Cassandra started to stir, so Siegfried gently let Sophie lay down on the ground, cushioned by dying grass and leaves.
"Ugh . . . my head. . .Siegfried? Sophie?" Cassandra said out loud, sounding groggy as she clutched her head.
"I'm here Cassandra." He said in a monotone voice as he crossed his arms and stood up.
"Where's Sophie?" was her first question after regaining her bearings. She looked up at Siegfried. In the firelight, he looked both awe inspiring and frightening. His lower half was still in greaves, but his chest was bare because his tunic was on Sophitia. His eyes had a misty look in them, but still had a defiant glare in them. His hair was blown to the side a bit as he continued to look down upon Cassandra. Cass couldn't help but blush and look down at the ground for a bit. No wonder her sister had such an affection for this guy.
"Sophie was hurt during the fight. We're staying here so that she can rest. I did some work to set up a camp, but this is all I could do since I was still caring and tending to Sophie." Cass's eyes jumped to her sister, who was lying on a soft cushion. Her breathing was becoming more labored and she had a small pained expression on her face. There was a bandage around her forehead with a small dot of blood on it. Instinctively, Cass touched the back of her forehead and was returned with a painful sting from where she was struck and knocked out. Her concern went back to Sophie.
"How bad was she hurt?" She asked, looking at her sister, nearly wrapped up like a mummy.
"She got hurt a little bit while fighting, but she really got carved up while covering you while demons piled up." This statement made Cass feel guilty. She wished she could have stood by her sister and fought. Cass stole a quick glance of the equipment. Faust stood above all the other weapons; it barely looked scratched from the fight. The other stuff on the other hand, wasn't looking too good. Siegfried's dull blue breastplate was dented and scratched, both gladius were still blunt as ever, but Sophitia's looked like it would fall apart if it struck anything else. Sophitia's shield was equally as useless now; it was dented and bent to the point where it couldn't be used as a discus or a shield. They needed to find a smith, and fast. So far, Seigfried had only found one item. It was a small, compact shield with a spike in the center. It was tossed casually on the pile of equipment. Cass was going to ask what it was, but decided not to. She sat silently for a few moments before Siegfried spoke up again.
"We're staying here for a bit, I don't want to mover her until most of the wounds have closed." He said, prodding the fire with a stick.
"Is it safe?" Cass asked reflexively.
"As ever, we did kill most of the demonic infestation here, and most of our equipment has the smell of demon blood. Most of the demons should leave us alone if there are any alive, the only one's that would try an attack us would be the big ones, but I don't think there are any of those out here. Besides, I'll be watching the fire tonight, you go back to sleep, you'll need the rest."
"Siegfried, how do you know so much about demons?" Cass asked innocently.
"From Taki, and from the Soul Edge." He said simply, "Now go back to bed, you need your rest after taking a blow to the head." Cass scoffed but laid back down again.
"You aren't my father." She said sarcasticly before drifting off to sleep.
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At first, when Rheaol re-emerged from the shadows, he caught Takaishi off guard. The demon had thrown away his torn robe to reveal a lanky, but still threatening looking man. One could easily mistake Rheaol for a human if it weren't for his red glowing eyes and maliciously inhuman voice. The demon was clad in death black leather armor, light enough to not limit speed or movement, but strong enough to at least slow a blade or arrow. The demon had also cast away his hood, revealing the face of a rather striking young man. Defiantly something that Takaishi didn't expect, none the less, the demon-man was still his opponent. The dance had begun once again, Rheaol taking the lead by unleashing a flurry of slashes fueled by pure anger. Takaishi did his best to deflect the onslaught, waiting for an opening, but had to jump away due to the sheer power from each blow. As soon as Takaishi landed, Rheaol was onto him again, being merciless with his strikes, trying to break Takaishi's guard and strike a vital organ. During the exchange of blades, the lamp hanging from a post was cut, crashing to the ground and splashing oil along the dead grass. The side of the highway lit up, the dead grass and wooden railing fueling the wildfire. The fire did not hinder the combatants though, as they stood nearly face to face in a sword clench, both pushing as hard as possible, as if attempting to snap their blades. Rheaol's blades were howling, trying as hard as possible to taste human flesh again. Takaishi seized the opportunity of his opponent's serious concentration and head-butted Rheaol in the face. The demon staggered back, but still managed to jump to the side, avoiding a lethal thrust from the Muremasa. Meanwhile, the road was starting to flare up more and more.
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Xianghua stood horrified. One moment she saw Takaishi fighting a man clad in all black, the next moment, a wall of fire had flared up. She knew that if she distracted Takaishi during his fight, it would cost him his life, but she wanted desperately to see what was going on, so she had to find someway around the fire. Xianghua started running down the highway, hoping the wall would end. Unfortunately for her, grass had lined the entire highway, and it was acting as an igniter. She dug her blade into the ground in frustration and worry. All she could see were the small silluetes of Takaishi and the demon. Swiftly she ran back to the spot where the combat was. She stared in horror for a moment as she saw one man get slashed across the chest, but in the same instance, the other man drove his blade through his opponent's stomach. She prayed that Takaishi wasn't dead. Xianghua watched the silluettes more, seeing the impaled man draw out the blade and toss it to the ground, which equally horrified her. Apparently, the fight still wasn't over yet.
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Sophitia was finally awake, to the relief of both Cass and Siegfried. She had been up for several hours now, confined to her 'bed' while Siegfried tended to her. Cass had once again fallen asleep, so Sophitia just watched over her a bit before turning to Siegfried.
"Thanks." She uttered as he sat next to her.
"Don't thank me Sophitia, you've saved me as well, twice, I owe you a lot more than you owe me." He looked over at her and cracked a small smile. Sophitia couldn't help but smile back. What really caught Siegfried off guard was when she sat up and hugged him. Siegfried hesitated a bit, but returned the embrace, careful not to hurt her back wound too much. Sophitia just smile and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Not for saving me, for being here." She whispered and promptly fell asleep in Siegfried's arms.
"Sophitia?" he looked at her puzzled, but then realized what she had meant. Siegfried just got comfortable and continued to hold Sophitia until he too, succumbed to sleep.
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Rheaol's stab wound was gushing blood, but the demon didn't care. This was the first human ever to draw so much blood from him. He knew he was losing now, but the primal instinct to tear apart the human drove him into a rage.
Takaishi was equally as frustrated. He had rammed Sakura into the demon's gut, but it still gets up and tosses it away like he was never struck. Takaishi knew most demons had more endurance than human, but this demon was pouring out blood from two deep wounds, and it still fights with a zealous passion. He had heard of berserk demons before, but this one took it all. He was also without his offhand blade, since it now lay behind the demon where it was thrown. The slice down his chest didn't bother him much, it wasn't bleeding to bad and all it did was sting a little. Takaishi changed his stance for two-handed swings, since he would be unable to retrieve his offhanded blade. Surprisingly, the demon also threw away his secondary weapon and faced Takaishi with it's longer blade. The fight continued, only at a more slower pace. Rheaol's blows where more powerful than usual, each slash aimed for Takaishi's next in an attempt to behead him. Each slash was repelled by expert guarding, but it left a ringing blow along Takaishi's arms. It was a relentless attack with barely any opportunities to strike, and when there were oportunities, it was a big risk to drop guard. When another swing came for Takaishi's neck, he dropped low under the blade and brought his own diagonally upward, hoping to catch the demon under the arm. It partially worked, though not taking the arm off completely, Takaishi's blade bit deep into Rheaol's right arm, making it go limp and useless. Reflexively, Rheaol jumped back away from Takaishi. Rheaol was now unarmed and unable to strike back because his sword arm was now utterly useless, and his offhand weapon he threw away was dangerously close to Takaishi. Takaishi knew this as well and waited for the demon to try and make his move. Rheaol grinned, barring a set of razor sharp fangs.
"You win this time human, I'll give you that much credit, but I'll be back, I'll remember you." And with those final words, Rheaol threw a small vial of a concentrated chemical mix, causing a large cloud of black smoke to envelope Takaishi. With those few vital seconds, Rheaol had gathered his cloak and weapons before slinking away into the darkness. When the smoke had cleared, Takaishi glanced around. Both of the demon's weapons were missing, but for some reason this didn't alert Takaishi. For some reason, Takaishi actually trusted a demon's word. The flames along side the road were starting to die, the grass all burned out. He saw Xianghua out of the corner of his eye before plopping to the ground tired. Takaishi was so weakened he hadn't bothered to sheathe the Muremasa, and just shoved it point first into the dirt. Xianghua had run to his side and was almost instantly inspecting his wounds. Takaishi tried to get up and retrieve his other sword, but Xianghua forcefully pulled him back down.
"Stop moving, I need to bandage you!" she yelled, frustrated.
"It's just a scratch! Just let me get my sword!"
"Takaishi you're so stubborn! Just a scratch? Would a scratch hurt when hit like this. . ." Xianghua punched him in the side, where a previous wound was just starting to close, and caused it to start bleeding again.
"Ouch! Damn it Xiang, why'd you hit me?"
"Sorry! But you were being stubborn again, now hold still. . ." Placing the lantern on the ground, she covered up his wound with a cloth and filtered through her small shoulder bag for some herbs. She quietly applied fresh bandages onto Takaishi's cuts and then brought his sword back to him. Takaishi let out a long, drawn out sigh of both relief and frustration.
"What?" Xianghua asked as she took a seat next to him.
"Nothing, it's nothing." Takaishi sat back a bit, looking up at the thick black clouds enveloping the world. Something inside Takaishi burned like the fire that enveloped the side of the highway a few minutes ago. The vigor of battle perhaps, or fighting for one's life against a skilled opponent, Takaishi didn't know. That demon swore he'd be back . . . and Takaishi was looking forward to it. Takaishi continued to contemplate then next encounter with his demonic rival when he felt something warm against him. Looking down, Takaishi saw Xianghua leaning against him, her arms wrapped gently around his waist and her head resting on his arm. Her eyes were closed and her chest gently rose and fell in peaceful sleep. She had muttered something under her breath before falling asleep that no one but herself heard.
"I thought I'd lose you. . ."
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A/N:: Hope this chapter didn't suck too bad. I think I'll need to try harder with the "fighting scenes" and try to make it so the reader can visualize what is going on. Sorry if it seemed cheesy too, just tell me all the constructive critisisim in your reviews! THAT'S WHY I NEED THEM!!!!!!!! GAWAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!! MUST MAKE AN EEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!!!
Chapter 10: Fateful Rivals
Something just didn't seem right. Xianghua looked back at her friend with an expression of concern etched on her face. For the past day, Takaishi seemed more distant and focused than usual. It was as if he felt he was being followed. Xianghua had tried to get him to talk, even argue, but Takaishi never responded. Xianghua had even hit him over the head with several things, each time he'd just rub his head and glance around. It was rather odd behavior for Takaishi . . . in fact, it was just rather odd behavior in general. They'd been walking along the highway for quite some time. The highway was recently traversed, since the lanterns along the side of the road were still lit and burning, the wax or oil replaced by each passerby. Xianghua and Takaishi took the liberty of replacing any near- burnt-out lanterns to help their fellow travelers. Takaishi's trudging suddenly stopped and Xianghua glanced back at him.
"Why'd you stop? We still got a lot of road to cover." She asked, turning around.
"Xiang, can you go on ahead? I'll catch up, I'm faster than you anyways." Xianghua scoffed at his comment and retorted, "Why do you want me to go on ahead? We've always gone as a team and you just want to bail out?"
Takaishi glared at her and she recoiled. Never had Takaishi glared at her that way. It was a cross between fear and anger. She merely nodded and turned around shakily.
"Xiang, theres a path to the left of us that will lead through the forest, take it, it's a shorter route than around the forest. I'll meet you at the town. "
"How do you know that?" She asked, "You've never been here. . .have you?"
Takaishi shook his head and pointed to a small little path leading off the highway into the forest. "Judging by that path, it'd probably head to the next town because the highway was pathed out to go around this forest according to the maps in the last village." He said. Xianghua only nodded and walked to the path, glancing back at Takaishi over her shoulder. He had tossed his bag off to the side and was stretching. He glared at her one last time before she took off down the forest path.
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The fierce battle continued to rage on. Cassandra lay unconscious on the ground and Sophitia was cut up badly but still fighting. Siegfried was holding his own rather nicely. He had felled at least five demons with the first swing, and killed three more on the next counter-slash. It would be like cutting the grass. . .If he didn't have to watch where he was swinging, since Sophitia was fighting so close to him. Despite her injuries and lack of good equipment, Sophitia was doing a wonderful job of defending her fallen sister, lashing out swiftly at a demon who rushed to close. A ring of dead demons surrounded her and Cass while Siegfried cut swathe after swathe of the unrelenting horde.
"I don't get it-" Sophitia started say, while cracking another skull with her blunted sword, "-How could these demon's multiply so fast?" Siegfried only grunted as he swung in another wide arc, beheading some demons and mutilating the rest unfortunate enough to move out of the path of Faust. This wasn't a challenge anymore, all he had to do was swing Faust back and forth in a general area, and he'd kill or maul at least five demons. The demons, in essence, were utterly mindless, only driven by the scent of human flesh. This was both an advantage and a shortcoming. The demons would just mindlessly rush to their deaths, but as long as there were living ones, they'd continue to rush. And that's what was happening. Siegfried stole a quick glance at Sophitia, worried that she might be overrun soon. He sword looked like it would break any moment, and her shield's handle strap had ripped off. Siegfried started to hack his way back, taking a few heads and arms with each swing. He was almost soaked from head to toe with demon blood, his armor dented, and Faust was as equally drenched in blood.
Sophitia hurled her shield as hard as possible and the closest demon while turning to bash the brains out of another that got too close to Cass. The resounding pang from the rebounding shield automatically made Sophitia raise her arm to catch it. Siegfried was hacking through some of the last demons, but there still was a large group circling her. To make matters worse, the lantern that Cass was carrying was starting to go out. If that lantern went out, Sophitia would be mobbed by the demons. The only thing that kept them from charging was the fear of the light. . .the lantern.
"Siegfried hurry up!" She yelled, at the same time smashing the dulling point of her gladius into the open maw of a werewolf like demon. Sophitia kicked the carcass off her blade quickly as she turned to face the next opponent. This time, the demon got the best of her and made a swipe that connected to her lower ribs. Sophitia grunted slightly in pain, but returned the clawing with several quick blows from her gladius and a finishing blow from her severely dented shield. All the while, the lantern's light was fading.
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The demon watched as the girl ran off into the forest. It was a nice unexpected twist for the Rheaol, as he didn't have to figure out some way to separate the two, since they did it on their own. His target was just stretching. . .more than that, he was waiting. The human turned slowly around and glared at Rheaol's position, unable to see the demon himself, but knew he was in the shadows somewhere. Rheaol confronted the man, face to face since there was no point in hiding after being seen. Usually, Rheaol did his deeds in the darkness, swiftly killing to get the job done, but something in the human was emanating. Rheaol's only interpretation of this "aura" was that it would be one hell of a fight. Both "men" stood, staring each other down, blades in both hands. Takaishi's grip on Masamune tightened as he waited, anticipating an attack directed for his neck with a low, rib slashing blow at the same time with the off-handed blade. He judged right. The black robed demon swiftly ran forward and lashed out for Takaishi's neck with a fore-arm swing, only to have it blocked by the Lotus blade carried in Takaishi's offhand. The second blow came swiftly after the first, hoping to catch him off-guard, but it was also blocked. Quickly thinking at the same moment, Takaishi drew out how he was going to counter. He swiftly side-stepped to the left, letting the demon's blade that was in a sword clench with the Muremasa slide off to the right. With so much power put into trying to break the sword clench and push forward with it's slash, the demon fell off guard a slight bit, leaving Takaishi open to slash at his forearm. Takaishi's slash missed though, as the demon jump to the side, avoiding an attack that would have removed it's arm. Rheaol resumed his offensive, fueled by anger of almost being de-armed by a human. The demon started swiftly striking with both hands, trying to avoid another sword clench that would put him in the previous position. Downward, diagonal, low, neck, upper . . . each slash came in rapid succession, and each one was blocked by Takaishi. Rheaol pressed his attacks before finally back flipping away, frustrated at being unable to break his opponent's defenses.
Seizing the opportunity, Takaishi dashed forward as Rheaol recovered from his offensive rush. Rather than returning the favor and assuming the offensive strike after strike, Takaishi dashed past Rheaol and leaped. Rheaol spun around quick enough to see Takaishi in mid-slash after rebounding off a tree. Instinctively, both blades rose up to meet their counterparts, deflecting Takaishi's bold attack but knocking both combatants off balance. Rheaol was the first to recover and struck like a snake in the dying lamp light. His left blade was deflected but a grunt of pain told him that his right one had found its target. Unfortunately, the demon had no time to gloat as both of Takaishi's blades lashed out in response, catching the demon in the shoulder and a small gash across the chest. Almost instantly Rheaol withdrew to the closest concentrated body of shadows. Not once had he ever been struck like that, no human had ever matched his speed. This was new . . . the rush he was getting fighting against this human. Rheaol liked it, the feeling of invincibility being replaced by the instinct to survive. Rheaol's torn robe was discarded as he stepped back into the lamp's light to face his opponent. The demonic blades hummed at the tension their master was feeling. The human, battered, but defiantly not broken, stood dauntingly. Blood flowed freely from his small wound on his side. Both combatants once again stood in their respective stances, ready to begin their deadly dance once more.
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Xianghua was lost, and getting more worried by the moment. Takaishi had told her to run ahead, which was one thing she didn't understand. He had always traveled with Xianghua, even when she told him to stay put, he'd defiantly follow her. It was a trait she enjoyed in him for some reason, that stubbornness that had caused more trouble than good. She stopped and put down her lantern. Something didn't feel right, and she had the sudden urge to run back the way she came, back towards Takaishi. . .unfortunately she didn't know where exactly she had ran. For some unknown reason, Xianghua started growing more worried. Finally, she just couldn't take it anymore and started head back down a semi-beaten path, hoping that it would lead back to the main highway, and Takaishi. An ominous feeling was growing inside of Xianghua, and as she ran, her grip on both the lantern handle and the Kritta-Yuga tightened so much that her knuckles turned white. It seemed like an eternity of running, looking as if she passed the same things over and over. Sounds of clashing metal started to reach her ears. One thing rolled through her mind as she ran towards the light at the end of the path that led back to the highway. She heard clashing of metal and the grunts of glancing blows being blocked. A battle was going on, and Takaishi was most likely part of it.
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The lantern was long dead. Siegfried sat cradling Sophitia, whose breathing was starting to become more labored. Cassandra was conscious again, but was sleeping silently across from the small campfire. The final moments of their battle were swift. The lantern had died out and it was that last thing holding the demons back. They literally had piled on hop of Sophitia, who had put herself over her sister to shield her from the claws and teeth. Siegfried had hacked away most of the demons in the pile but had to pry the rest off and kill them one by one, not wanting to risk chopping Sophie in half. None of the demons even bothered with Siegfried, all of them driven into a frenzy, tearing at Sophitia's back or at each other. Needless to say, all the demons where dad, now Siegfried's attention was drawn to the woman who had saved him from death, twice. He had patched up her back with what he could scrounge up, since only Cassandra carried a roll of bandages that were currently being used for the wounds on Sophitia's arms, legs, and forehead. He had covered Sophitia with his tunic, since her blouse didn't survive the fight and was currently employed as a makeshift bandage. Siegfried sighed and stared into the black sky, not a single star shone through the dense blanket of darkness. He looked back down at the woman . . . no, in his eyes, the angel, that he treasured. Not that he would admit that anyway. Cassandra started to stir, so Siegfried gently let Sophie lay down on the ground, cushioned by dying grass and leaves.
"Ugh . . . my head. . .Siegfried? Sophie?" Cassandra said out loud, sounding groggy as she clutched her head.
"I'm here Cassandra." He said in a monotone voice as he crossed his arms and stood up.
"Where's Sophie?" was her first question after regaining her bearings. She looked up at Siegfried. In the firelight, he looked both awe inspiring and frightening. His lower half was still in greaves, but his chest was bare because his tunic was on Sophitia. His eyes had a misty look in them, but still had a defiant glare in them. His hair was blown to the side a bit as he continued to look down upon Cassandra. Cass couldn't help but blush and look down at the ground for a bit. No wonder her sister had such an affection for this guy.
"Sophie was hurt during the fight. We're staying here so that she can rest. I did some work to set up a camp, but this is all I could do since I was still caring and tending to Sophie." Cass's eyes jumped to her sister, who was lying on a soft cushion. Her breathing was becoming more labored and she had a small pained expression on her face. There was a bandage around her forehead with a small dot of blood on it. Instinctively, Cass touched the back of her forehead and was returned with a painful sting from where she was struck and knocked out. Her concern went back to Sophie.
"How bad was she hurt?" She asked, looking at her sister, nearly wrapped up like a mummy.
"She got hurt a little bit while fighting, but she really got carved up while covering you while demons piled up." This statement made Cass feel guilty. She wished she could have stood by her sister and fought. Cass stole a quick glance of the equipment. Faust stood above all the other weapons; it barely looked scratched from the fight. The other stuff on the other hand, wasn't looking too good. Siegfried's dull blue breastplate was dented and scratched, both gladius were still blunt as ever, but Sophitia's looked like it would fall apart if it struck anything else. Sophitia's shield was equally as useless now; it was dented and bent to the point where it couldn't be used as a discus or a shield. They needed to find a smith, and fast. So far, Seigfried had only found one item. It was a small, compact shield with a spike in the center. It was tossed casually on the pile of equipment. Cass was going to ask what it was, but decided not to. She sat silently for a few moments before Siegfried spoke up again.
"We're staying here for a bit, I don't want to mover her until most of the wounds have closed." He said, prodding the fire with a stick.
"Is it safe?" Cass asked reflexively.
"As ever, we did kill most of the demonic infestation here, and most of our equipment has the smell of demon blood. Most of the demons should leave us alone if there are any alive, the only one's that would try an attack us would be the big ones, but I don't think there are any of those out here. Besides, I'll be watching the fire tonight, you go back to sleep, you'll need the rest."
"Siegfried, how do you know so much about demons?" Cass asked innocently.
"From Taki, and from the Soul Edge." He said simply, "Now go back to bed, you need your rest after taking a blow to the head." Cass scoffed but laid back down again.
"You aren't my father." She said sarcasticly before drifting off to sleep.
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At first, when Rheaol re-emerged from the shadows, he caught Takaishi off guard. The demon had thrown away his torn robe to reveal a lanky, but still threatening looking man. One could easily mistake Rheaol for a human if it weren't for his red glowing eyes and maliciously inhuman voice. The demon was clad in death black leather armor, light enough to not limit speed or movement, but strong enough to at least slow a blade or arrow. The demon had also cast away his hood, revealing the face of a rather striking young man. Defiantly something that Takaishi didn't expect, none the less, the demon-man was still his opponent. The dance had begun once again, Rheaol taking the lead by unleashing a flurry of slashes fueled by pure anger. Takaishi did his best to deflect the onslaught, waiting for an opening, but had to jump away due to the sheer power from each blow. As soon as Takaishi landed, Rheaol was onto him again, being merciless with his strikes, trying to break Takaishi's guard and strike a vital organ. During the exchange of blades, the lamp hanging from a post was cut, crashing to the ground and splashing oil along the dead grass. The side of the highway lit up, the dead grass and wooden railing fueling the wildfire. The fire did not hinder the combatants though, as they stood nearly face to face in a sword clench, both pushing as hard as possible, as if attempting to snap their blades. Rheaol's blades were howling, trying as hard as possible to taste human flesh again. Takaishi seized the opportunity of his opponent's serious concentration and head-butted Rheaol in the face. The demon staggered back, but still managed to jump to the side, avoiding a lethal thrust from the Muremasa. Meanwhile, the road was starting to flare up more and more.
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Xianghua stood horrified. One moment she saw Takaishi fighting a man clad in all black, the next moment, a wall of fire had flared up. She knew that if she distracted Takaishi during his fight, it would cost him his life, but she wanted desperately to see what was going on, so she had to find someway around the fire. Xianghua started running down the highway, hoping the wall would end. Unfortunately for her, grass had lined the entire highway, and it was acting as an igniter. She dug her blade into the ground in frustration and worry. All she could see were the small silluetes of Takaishi and the demon. Swiftly she ran back to the spot where the combat was. She stared in horror for a moment as she saw one man get slashed across the chest, but in the same instance, the other man drove his blade through his opponent's stomach. She prayed that Takaishi wasn't dead. Xianghua watched the silluettes more, seeing the impaled man draw out the blade and toss it to the ground, which equally horrified her. Apparently, the fight still wasn't over yet.
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Sophitia was finally awake, to the relief of both Cass and Siegfried. She had been up for several hours now, confined to her 'bed' while Siegfried tended to her. Cass had once again fallen asleep, so Sophitia just watched over her a bit before turning to Siegfried.
"Thanks." She uttered as he sat next to her.
"Don't thank me Sophitia, you've saved me as well, twice, I owe you a lot more than you owe me." He looked over at her and cracked a small smile. Sophitia couldn't help but smile back. What really caught Siegfried off guard was when she sat up and hugged him. Siegfried hesitated a bit, but returned the embrace, careful not to hurt her back wound too much. Sophitia just smile and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Not for saving me, for being here." She whispered and promptly fell asleep in Siegfried's arms.
"Sophitia?" he looked at her puzzled, but then realized what she had meant. Siegfried just got comfortable and continued to hold Sophitia until he too, succumbed to sleep.
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Rheaol's stab wound was gushing blood, but the demon didn't care. This was the first human ever to draw so much blood from him. He knew he was losing now, but the primal instinct to tear apart the human drove him into a rage.
Takaishi was equally as frustrated. He had rammed Sakura into the demon's gut, but it still gets up and tosses it away like he was never struck. Takaishi knew most demons had more endurance than human, but this demon was pouring out blood from two deep wounds, and it still fights with a zealous passion. He had heard of berserk demons before, but this one took it all. He was also without his offhand blade, since it now lay behind the demon where it was thrown. The slice down his chest didn't bother him much, it wasn't bleeding to bad and all it did was sting a little. Takaishi changed his stance for two-handed swings, since he would be unable to retrieve his offhanded blade. Surprisingly, the demon also threw away his secondary weapon and faced Takaishi with it's longer blade. The fight continued, only at a more slower pace. Rheaol's blows where more powerful than usual, each slash aimed for Takaishi's next in an attempt to behead him. Each slash was repelled by expert guarding, but it left a ringing blow along Takaishi's arms. It was a relentless attack with barely any opportunities to strike, and when there were oportunities, it was a big risk to drop guard. When another swing came for Takaishi's neck, he dropped low under the blade and brought his own diagonally upward, hoping to catch the demon under the arm. It partially worked, though not taking the arm off completely, Takaishi's blade bit deep into Rheaol's right arm, making it go limp and useless. Reflexively, Rheaol jumped back away from Takaishi. Rheaol was now unarmed and unable to strike back because his sword arm was now utterly useless, and his offhand weapon he threw away was dangerously close to Takaishi. Takaishi knew this as well and waited for the demon to try and make his move. Rheaol grinned, barring a set of razor sharp fangs.
"You win this time human, I'll give you that much credit, but I'll be back, I'll remember you." And with those final words, Rheaol threw a small vial of a concentrated chemical mix, causing a large cloud of black smoke to envelope Takaishi. With those few vital seconds, Rheaol had gathered his cloak and weapons before slinking away into the darkness. When the smoke had cleared, Takaishi glanced around. Both of the demon's weapons were missing, but for some reason this didn't alert Takaishi. For some reason, Takaishi actually trusted a demon's word. The flames along side the road were starting to die, the grass all burned out. He saw Xianghua out of the corner of his eye before plopping to the ground tired. Takaishi was so weakened he hadn't bothered to sheathe the Muremasa, and just shoved it point first into the dirt. Xianghua had run to his side and was almost instantly inspecting his wounds. Takaishi tried to get up and retrieve his other sword, but Xianghua forcefully pulled him back down.
"Stop moving, I need to bandage you!" she yelled, frustrated.
"It's just a scratch! Just let me get my sword!"
"Takaishi you're so stubborn! Just a scratch? Would a scratch hurt when hit like this. . ." Xianghua punched him in the side, where a previous wound was just starting to close, and caused it to start bleeding again.
"Ouch! Damn it Xiang, why'd you hit me?"
"Sorry! But you were being stubborn again, now hold still. . ." Placing the lantern on the ground, she covered up his wound with a cloth and filtered through her small shoulder bag for some herbs. She quietly applied fresh bandages onto Takaishi's cuts and then brought his sword back to him. Takaishi let out a long, drawn out sigh of both relief and frustration.
"What?" Xianghua asked as she took a seat next to him.
"Nothing, it's nothing." Takaishi sat back a bit, looking up at the thick black clouds enveloping the world. Something inside Takaishi burned like the fire that enveloped the side of the highway a few minutes ago. The vigor of battle perhaps, or fighting for one's life against a skilled opponent, Takaishi didn't know. That demon swore he'd be back . . . and Takaishi was looking forward to it. Takaishi continued to contemplate then next encounter with his demonic rival when he felt something warm against him. Looking down, Takaishi saw Xianghua leaning against him, her arms wrapped gently around his waist and her head resting on his arm. Her eyes were closed and her chest gently rose and fell in peaceful sleep. She had muttered something under her breath before falling asleep that no one but herself heard.
"I thought I'd lose you. . ."
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A/N:: Hope this chapter didn't suck too bad. I think I'll need to try harder with the "fighting scenes" and try to make it so the reader can visualize what is going on. Sorry if it seemed cheesy too, just tell me all the constructive critisisim in your reviews! THAT'S WHY I NEED THEM!!!!!!!! GAWAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!! MUST MAKE AN EEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!!!