Here's round two!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters or Soul Calibur II or any of its characters.

Night Five

Taki couldn't sleep that night. The thought of finally retrieving the last piece of Soul Edge from Nightmare and destroying the demonic sword kept her up. She simply lay under the tree, her eyes open and watching the surrounding forests and the ashen village. From the ashes, two figures moved purposefully. Taki took a second glance; it was highly unlikely that someone was there. Yet it was true. From the looks of it, it was two girls. With the stealth that only a ninja could have, she crept over to the village ruins until she could see them clearly. It was none other than the Alexandra sisters, looking for that one piece of Soul Edge.

"You said it was here," Cassandra said with a bit of a whine as she stepped carefully over a few planks.

"I thought it was," Sophitia answered, "Or rather, this is where it's supposed to be…"

Cassandra stopped abruptly. "You mean to tell me that this was all a wild goose chase! Oh come on!" she interjected, kicking at a rock.

Sophitia swung around to face her sister. "You know I wouldn't do this on purpose! My children are dying!"

"I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart! The least you can do is get your facts straight!" They both glared and shifted their shields higher on their arms. Taki finally decided to intervene. "Nightmare got here before you," she said, removing herself from the shadows. Their heads turned. Cassandra's haughty level shot through the roof while Sophitia's curiosity got the better of her.

"Taki! Perfect, I've been itching for a fight all day!" Cassandra was about to rush Taki when Sophitia grabbed her by the collar. "Let me go!" Cassandra growled. Sophitia held her tighter. "How do you know that?" Sophitia asked.

Taki straightened up. "Soul Edge can sense itself." Cassandra finally freed herself and positioned herself right in front of Taki. "So you've got a couple of pieces, huh?" Taki had to control herself from laughing in the girl's face. A couple of pieces. Ha. "How about a little wager, then?" Cassandra continued. "All or nothing."

"What do you think I am, stupid? I know that neither of you have any pieces of Soul Edge."

Sophitia and Cassandra exchanged glances, then Sophitia spoke. "We can give you something of equal value. If you win, we'll stop looking for Soul Edge." Cassandra started, then nodded an affirmative. She was too cocky to think of the prospect of losing. "And if we win, we get every piece of Soul Edge you've got."

Taki assessed the situation. Cassandra wasn't exactly powerful but very quick like her. Sophitia gave new meaning to the words "looks are deceiving." In the end, she decided that both of them didn't stand a chance. "Fine. Let's go," she said, taking her fighter's stance.

Cassandra quickly started her attack. She struck with both sword and shield and a kick here and there, seemingly not giving herself enough time to think her moves through. But when Taki would try to go on the offense, Cassandra would block and counter just as quickly. Taki could efficiently defend herself, but she was steadily getting more annoyed because of how Cassandra would taunt her endlessly during the fight. It wasn't like it had never been done, even she did it, but when Cassandra did it, it was just annoying. Taki finally saw Cassandra hesitate and seized the opportunity. She roundhouse-kicked her right in her stomach. Cassandra flew a few yards and slid on the blackened ground. Without a moment's hesitation she took Rekki-Maru and lunged at Cassandra's throat. Cassandra threw her hands up and quickly yelled, "I give!" Taki froze; she was standing over her, Rekki-Maru just inches away from her neck. Cassandra had her eyes squeezed shut. Deciding that she didn't want to dirty her hands, she turned wordlessly to Sophitia and beckoned her.

Sophitia answered the call with a running drop kick. Taki bent over backwards to evade it, then got up and struck—with Mekki-Maru. Sophitia blocked with her shield, but upon seeing the condition of the dagger, shoved Taki off. Taki stumbled a bit, which apparently plucked one of Sophitia's many heartstrings. "Sorry!" she blurted out. Taki recovered and faced Sophitia. "Don't be," she answered, and hit her with an unexpected ninja cannon.

Taki brushed her clothes off and stood above Cassandra and Sophitia. Cassandra was sitting up, her face red with anger and her hands clawing at the dirt. She was covered in soot. Sophitia was still seeing stars. "I win," Taki said in a monotone voice, "But don't fret! When I finally destroy Soul Edge, you won't have to worry about your children anymore." She dropped another ninja cannon, and with a flash she was out of sight.

I really liked this chapter! The Alexandra sisters are easy to write about.

Review!