A Ronin clash inside the sacred temple
I don't own any copyrighted material, except my own OC's: anyone else's OC's will be acknowledged in their introduction chapter
After dinner the two Ronin went their separate ways, agreeing to fight inside the main temple the next day. Ruby sighed as she followed Cao to their room. To her this whole thing seemed childish to the extreme and unproductive. Cao was the one complaining about getting to their destination asap, but now he complained to her about wanting to get moving asap. She shook her head at the irony as she laid on the bed in a slump.
"If we are late, its all your fault. Don't come crying to me." Ruby said dejected
"Samurai don't cry. And we will not be late." Cao replied curtly as he got changed
"How exactly do you expect to beat him?" Ruby asked
"His semblance is impressive, but it will have its limits. No samurai is invincible. All have flaws that can be exploited in a duel." Cao explained as he finished changing into his night wear
"I think your still a bit to confident. How is the winner determined?" Ruby asked
"Usually these duels go to the death." Cao replied
"To the death!? You're seriously going to jeopardize your mission and our journey in this way!?" Ruby yelled in surprise and panic
"You need to relax Ruby." Cao answered calmly
"Relax? Relax!? What am I supposed to do if you die you moron!?" Ruby yelled with a bit of anger
"I told you. Everything will be fine." Cao said calmly, though in his head he wasn't so sure himself
Cao then laid next to Ruby on the bed, and soon they pulled to covers up to go to sleep. However, it wasn't an easy night sleep for the two of them. The air grew cold cause of the tension, nearly as bad as when their journey started. The doubts in Cao's head kept gnawing at him throughout the night as well. Was putting his pride into this really going to cost him his life? Were Ruby right and he making a mistake?
The next day he woke up groggy, but after some food and a hot bath he was fully awake. Ruby and Cao walked down to the main hall of the tavern to get breakfast. Upon sitting down Cao noticed Tetsuo sitting in a far corner eating breakfast alone. The two's eyes locked for but a moment, before mutually nodding slightly and went about their business. The news of this challenge by now had spread, and the locals were whispering rumors and placing bets.
"How can people put money on who is going to survive a fight? That's disgusting." Ruby said after sipping some sake
"Human nature Ruby. Deep down we all have the same instincts to try and survive by any means necessary. The key is how we control and divert these instincts to more useful and productive pursuits. Only then can we truly become more than the base animals we really are." Cao said in a surprising burst of wisdom
"Where did you read that one, a fortune cookie?" Ruby asked snarkly
"A wise old scales member told me that. He taught me everything I know in the mercantile trades. To truly be good at business, you must satisfy these needs or speak to them. You must have what they want or get them to want it. Sating ones needs only will get you so far." Cao replied calmly
"Who are you and what have you done with Cao?" Ruby asked blankly, trying to read the Ronin
"I am merely trying to keep a balanced head Ruby. A true samurai cannot let his emotions get the better of him. I admit I failed in that before, and it led me to this mess. But now I will work towards redemption." Cao said with a thoughtful sigh
"Just don't get yourself killed please." Ruby said sadly as she looked at him
"I will do everything in my power to prevent that fate. But this day only the kami and the spirits of my ancestors know the true outcome of this. I have said my prayers to both this morning many times. Now all I can hope is they will be answered." Cao said with equal sadness as their food arrived
Though the air was not chilled like before, tension was rife in the air from both parties. Samurai duels were no laughing matter to be brushed aside. Both knew full well that this very likely was their last day on this earth. After breakfast the two men stood up at the same time and solemnly walked out the door, soon in perfect lock step with each other. Many people followed them, making sure to keep their distance. Mutterings of the kami and fate were passed freely throughout the crowd, but the Ronin before then walked up the long winding line of steps towards the temple.
The priests and shrine girls moved off the main floor as the two Ronin moved to opposite sides of the center. Soon the crowd moved off to the sides where the temple occupants were, and everyone watched in tense anticipation. Bets ran wild and evenly split as the two challengers took off their heavier garments. In perfect and synchronized unison, they grip their katana's. Neither one even considered their wakizashi or any other weapon. This was going to be a by the book duel, and nothing else.
"This is bad. Cao you idiot." Ruby muttered to herself before putting her face into her hands
"Is something wrong miss?" Velvet asked as she moved up from the back of the crowd
"Yes. A lot in fact." Ruby groaned as she looked up from her hands
"Do you know one of the samurai?" Velvet asked in a confused manner
"I'm with that one." Ruby said as she pointed to Cao
"Do you know much about the other one?" Velvet asked Ruby
"Not much admittedly." Ruby sighed
"I'm sorry for the questions, but he's been hanging around the temple lately, and I've seen him a lot. He looks at me a lot, but every time I try to talk to him he disappears." Velvet replied
"That sounds kind of creepy if you ask me." Ruby answered back
"I don't know. I think he is just socially awkward and doesn't know what to do." Velvet said
"Mine's just a prideful moron." Ruby bluntly and tactlessly said in response
"Hey, you two, it looks like their done sizing each other up." A man behind them said and indeed he was right
The two stepped forward and in unison performed an iajutsu strike, their blades locking tightly. The two put their weight behind their blades, testing their strength. After this they backed off and exchanged a flurry of blows, blocking or dodging the strikes as the blade moved so fast they were blurs. Murmur's from the crowd about their skill moved across the room, but the combatants moved and fought like no one was there. This was their fight, and theirs alone.
After about 5 minutes of testing and probing, Tetsuo made the first real attempt of the fight. Lunging forward he began striking fast and hard inside Cao's reach, trying to end the fight quick and efficiently. Without armor, the two combatants would be easy prey for a katana's bite. Cao however dodged and weaved with surprising speed and skill. Tetsuo gritted his teeth slightly as he kept striking. However, despite his best efforts to provoke the merchant Ronin, Cao refused to fight back. Instead he focused on dodging and parrying.
"Come on Cao fight back! You can't win on defense!" Ruby yelled in frustration
"Maybe he has a plan?" Velvet asked
"If its part of his plan, then it can't be a very good one." Ruby answered with a huff, confused at what her traveling partner was doing in such an important moment
Cao heard her and smirked at that. Tetsuo however didn't hear what Ruby said as he swung at him, so to him it looked like Cao was taunting him. This insulted and enraged the samurai and he swung harder and faster. Many peasants were confused on why Tetsuo didn't activate his semblance. Cao knew why, however. His semblance was defensive, increasing his reaction speeds to superhuman levels. If there was an offensive component to it then he didn't see it in the bandit battle. Still Cao hoped his strategy would work.
Slowly but surely Tetsuo lost his composure and discipline as the fight dragged on. Cao continued to weave and parry his strikes in very simple and elegant motions. Tetsuo however began exerting more and more energy with each strike, trying to swing harder, faster, and at different angles. Anything to hit his opponent just once. It was at this Ruby finally realized what Cao's plan was.
"That magnificent son of a bitch…" Ruby muttered
"Is something wrong?" Velvet asked confused
"I know what Cao is doing. I can't believe I didn't see it." Ruby answered in amazement
"All I see him doing is dodging and parrying. He's been on the defensive after they stopped testing each other." Velvet said with a confused tone
"Cao must realize that he's outmatched if he attempts to go on the attack cause of Tetsuo's semblance. If he does then Tetsuo would wear him down and counterattack." Ruby explained
"I don't understand how that helps him." Velvet said, still very confused
"Just watch." Ruby said with a slight smile
Cao's smirk turned to a smile at Ruby figuring out his strategy. However, when he looked into Tetsuo's eyes he could tell that he didn't listen to his companion. By this point the battle had gone on for half a hour and his temper was flaring. If it was possible steam would be pouring out of his ears. All sense of discipline, tact and order in his fighting and behavior had been lost. Cao's smile grew as he let his blade get closer to him just to egg him on.
This egging on worked a bit too well and Cao received a mild cut on his arm as he let himself get too close. After this, he redoubled his focus and dodged to firmly avoid the strikes or parry them. He knew he could not afford to take more blows like that or take a deeper one. He got lucky, but he didn't want to press his luck at such a crucial moment. Spurned on by the hit, Tetsuo pour everything he had into trying to strike him.
"Fight back!" Tetsuo roared as his strikes slowly began to lose their punch
"Give me a reason to and I will." Cao said, fulling knowing what it would do
"Then I will make you!" Tetsuo roared and with one final effort picked up his pace again
Despite the sudden burst of energy, it was only temporary. Tetsuo's strikes slowed, the frightening power being sucked away, and his kimono was drenched in sweat. Streams of the stuff was pouring down his head and neck, and part of the kimono adhering to his skin from the sweat and motion. Cao panted and sweated greatly as well, though not quite to the degree as his opponent. Though the parrying and dodging was less energy intensive, the sheer amount of it he had to do didn't make his part in this dance much easier.
After a particularly wide strike Cao finally made his move. Gripping his katana firmly he swung his tip into the guard of Tetsuo's katana, knocking it out of his hand. After that he swung the katana over his head and around, bringing the blade to his neck. Tetsuo looked in confusion as the blade stopped at his skin, not penetrating, but instead merely resting upon it.
"What are you waiting for? End this!" Tetsuo yelled in anger and confusion
"I have no intention of ending your life. I never have." Cao bluntly said, surprising all
"Why would you spare me? It's clear you won. I could not best you." Tetsuo said in pure confusion
"The only reason is because I didn't allow you to use your semblance. If you had then I would stand no chance. However, your temper was your downfall. If you kept your cool then you would have beaten me for sure. Only by losing to your anger and fury did you fail." Cao said before sheathing his blade, and tiredly walking out of the temple
Everyone was stunned at what happened. Many peasants who bet against Cao quickly became angry at losing money in such a fashion. Ruby however was relieved that Cao survived and that no one had to die. Velvet and Tetsuo however were left stunned and confused. The rabbit Faunus then walked up to Tetsuo, who was to tired to try to move away from her.
"Are you okay Ronin-san?" Velvet asked
"I'm fine Ms. Velvet. I simply have a lot to think about." Tetsuo replied, his face showing he means it
"You need rest. You can stay at the temple and we can care for you." Velvet said, and while it looked like he wanted to refuse, he relented and was led away
It took a full day for Cao to recover to the state where they could begin traveling again. This was a slight setback, but one that they couldn't make up for in the end. The Crane were also not so unreasonable as to not understand minor delays in travel. Especially considering that the Crane lands were along the coast and subject to quite heavy annual rainfall. Cao was working on the horses when Tetsuo and Velvet walked up to him and Ruby.
"Greetings Cao-san." Tetsuo said, though with a tone that failed to hide his exhaustion from the bout
"Greetings Tetsuo-san. What brings you here?" Cao politely asked
"I wish to apologize for my behavior and ask something of you." Tetsuo said with a hint of trepidation, though Velvet got a bit closer to keep him going
"And what is this?" Cao asked after raising a eyebrow
"That you allow me and Velvet to join you and Ruby in your journey. I need to seek penance and learn to control my temper. Serving as your guard on this journey would be a productive way of doing that. Velvet would be there to keep me in check." Tetsuo said, clearly not liking having to admit these things
"I…" Cao said, but was quickly cut off by Ruby
"Of course, you can come along. If you could help me load supplies that would be great." Ruby said cheerfully
"Ruby!" Cao snapped
"Don't start with me Cao! You helped cause this mess, so take your lumps and let them help us! We need all the help we can get!" Ruby yelled, and Cao decided to not press the issue
"It would be an honor." The two replied to ruby and began loading supplies
"This all better be worth it in the end. I don't know just how much more I can take…" Cao muttered with a sigh, and putting his right hand's fingers on a furrowed brow
And another chapter comes to an end. Hope everyone is having as good of a time as I am. With new companions, how will Cao be driven nuts and in what ways? Well you will see in chapter 15, because we go back to Azura and Yang as they try to make up for lost time, and in the process decide to take another questionable shortcut. See you all then and have a wonderful day.