Chapter 20: A Sudden Turn of Events
Yuki slowly dug himself out of the dirt grave he was hit into. Once he reached the 'outside world' he gasped for air while spitting out dirt that had gotten into his mouth while he was climbing out.
"That hit was a lot harder than his previous hits; just how much has he been training!?" Yuki asked surprised by the impact he felt from the kick. "Since he stopped holding back I guess I have no choice either!" He stated putting his hands together.
Further away from Yuki, Kurayami was getting up from under the thirty foot tree that had collapsed onto of him. He shook his head and looked around to regain his senses and noticed Yuki putting his hands together.
"I wonder what he's trying." Kurayami thought looking over at Yuki while looking around for Taki but he wasn't in sight.
"Ice Golem Summoning!" Yuki thought making the hand seals: Boar, Dog, Monkey, Bird, Sheep, Serpent, Ox, and Dragon when a ball of snow about the size of Yuki formed next to him and suddenly Koori no Senshi stepped out of it.
"What is it now, Master Yuki?" Koori no Senshi asked looking over at Yuki and noticing he was covered in dirt.
"We've got a little problem with someone losing their head." Yuki said motioning for Koori no Senshi to look towards Taki, whom was now looking at Yuki.
"That doesn't look like the one he summoned before… I wonder if this is a weaker summons." Kurayami said walking within shouting distance. "What's the idea of having such a weak summoned ice creature?" He asked looking over at Yuki while keeping an eye on Taki as well.
"Weak – me!? How dare you insult me you pathetic human!" Koori no Senshi shouted insulted by Kurayami.
"Why not attack him and see how weak he is?" Yuki asked with a grin while Taki seemed to be doing something as his body started to turn a deeper red.
"I will and then I'll kill you!" Kurayami shouted charging forward at Koori no Senshi with newly formed claymores in each hand.
"Didn't I tell you that you were pathetic?" Koori no Senshi asked appearing beside Kurayami with its left knee coming up to hit his chest.
"You're fast but not that fast!" Kurayami shouted lifting the claymore in his left hand in the way taking the full force of the attack. "Not even enough to…! What is this!?" He shouted when he noticed the claymore starting to freeze.
"Choose how you want to die, human!" Koori no Senshi stated as Kurayami let go of the claymore as it turned into a solid piece of ice.
"Tough luck there buddy, I don't plan on dying so easily!" Kurayami stated swinging his remaining claymore around at Koori no Senshi's neck but it lifted its left hand and grabbed the blade like it was nothing making it start to freeze. "So it's not only on the legs huh?" He asked noticing a little problem.
"What, did you want me to stop with freezing your little toys?" Koori no Senshi asked in a mocking manner.
"How dare you mock me?! But it would be much appreciated." Kurayami said starting off sounding angry but then mellowing out by the last word.
"Fine but be careful what you wish for." Koori no Senshi said with a grin when suddenly there was a small gust of wind from Koori no Senshi.
"What was that…?" Kurayami thought a little confused when two claymores formed in his hands.
"What's this? I thought you had to do those hand seals before making more of those things." Yuki said watching the fight.
"Not anymore, that was in the old days, Yuki. I only made it look that way earlier so I could trick you but it looks like your little ice dog is forcing me to reveal it." Kurayami said a little annoyed when suddenly there was a large shockwave coming from where Taki had been.
"What was that…!?" Kurayami and Yuki stated turning to see Taki had vanished.
"Here!" Taki stated standing behind Kurayami, his arms and legs appeared to be a little more bulky than before and some of his veins were bulging out on his arms and face showing his body is obviously being strained.
"Wha…!?" Kurayami started the shout as he turned around but before he was able to Taki quickly punched him with his left fist and the ground under him exploded creating a hole at least twice as large as the one before as Kurayami was sent flying through the air.
"He's really perfected that state!" Yuki thought surprised by the strength when there was a sudden breeze by him and to his right was Taki with his eyes turned completely red even the white section.
"I got him, step back Master Yuki!" Koori no Senshi stated standing between the two nearly instantly.
"If you want to give him a go, be my guest." Yuki said taking a step back.
"You…in…way!" Taki muttered in a crazed tone.
"You're right; I am in your way, what of it?" Koori no Senshi asked in a cocky tone when Taki swung his left fist at full strength at Koori no Senshi tearing a large piece of the earth along with the swing.
There was suddenly a large explosion where Koori no Senshi was sending dust flying into the air because of the high impact. There was no sign of Koori no Senshi anywhere in view until the dust started to clear and in the center of the impact was a small island of land with the surrounding area destroyed leaving a large hole. Koori no Senshi was standing there with both hands held outwards blocking Taki's left fist.
"Damn that hurt!" Kurayami shouted holding what appeared to be two Macana swords in each hand dug into the ground to slow himself down before hitting anything. "Those Macana were perfectly bulky enough to slow me down." He said with a grin as they turned to dust. "Now, back to the… battle?" He asked confused and surprised when he noticed Koori no Senshi blocking Taki's punch.
"I knew Koori no Senshi would be able to handle that power." Yuki said boasting while standing across from Kurayami.
"What was that?" Kurayami asked trying to get some information about the new summons from Yuki.
"Fine, I'll give you guys a little information since this should give my little brother something to worry about. Not only did I learn our families summoning jutsu and make a contract but I was also able to learn how to summon the second strongest summons – Koori no Senshi. He's a real big pain to fight but he's a great ally." Yuki said with a grin while looking over at Kurayami to gauge his reaction.
"So that's the strength of the second strongest summons of the Shimousa clan? Not bad but it looks like we don't have anything to do now." Kurayami said glancing over at Yuki.
"Yeah, I know what you're saying. It was going to happen sooner or later, right?" Yuki asked looking over at Kurayami now ready for a fight.
"Hey, what's with you taking all the fun, Lord Seiwa? I thought I said I wanted in on the fun as well." A voice said coming from some trees behind to two of them.
"Raito, what are you doing here? I thought you were wondering around the village still." Kurayami said sounding a little annoyed.
"If you guys were just a little quieter then maybe I wouldn't have found you but it's a good thing that you guys are so noisy." Raito said with a slight chuckle.
"So we'll be having a two on one situation, huh? Fine with me, bring it on." Yuki said turning toward Kurayami and Raito, who just stepped out from behind the trees and was walking towards Kurayami.
"Raito, don't get involved, this is my fight." Kurayami said glancing over at Raito.
"I can't…!" Raito started to say when someone moving through the trees in their direction distracted him.
"Who could it be?" Kurayami thought glancing over towards the figure coming towards them.
"Another member of the Tasogare…?" Yuki thought also glancing towards the figure.
Out of the woods came the figure sliding across the ground directly in front of the three of them with a grin on their face.
"Kazuki Sakai has arrived! Sensei, Masakatsu said you might need a little help so I've come to assist." Kazuki said standing there with his ninjaken in his right hand and his clothes still shredded.
"Are you sure you want to fight in that condition…?" Raito asked raising an eyebrow a little confused.
"Really, you look like you were destroyed not long ago, are you sure you want to die that badly?" Kurayami asked also a little puzzled by Kazuki's appearance.
"Kazuki, couldn't you at least change clothes before coming here? I mean I want to ask why you came here after I told you not to but those clothes are the main issue here…" Yuki said shaking his head.
"What's with enemies agreeing besides, you're the one that ruined my clothes!" Kazuki stated pointing at Yuki.
"Okay, okay, then you get that guy while I settle things with Kurayami." Yuki said pointing over at Raito.
"Hey! I'm not 'that guy', I'm Raito Hōjō!" Raito shouted sounding offended.
"Hey 'that guy', would you take that kid elsewhere? The adults are about to start playing." Kurayami said turning his focus on Yuki.
"Not you too Lord Seiwa! Fine, kid get over here." Raito said walking away from Kurayami and Yuki.
"As much as I want to complain, I'll let it be and just take it out on you in the fight." Kazuki said sounding more confident than usual even though he wasn't currently being possessed.
"I'll be sure to call you a brat then. Either way, there's no way you'll last five seconds against me." Raito said as they stopped over near the area he had appeared at.
"We'll see about that." Kazuki said raising his ninjaken.
"Let's see you dodge this!" Raito stated appearing to Kazuki's right lifting his knee up at his side unexpectedly hitting something solid. "What was that…?" He thought surprised when he looked to see Kazuki holding the ninjaken to his side.
"You're slower than I had thought you would be." Kazuki said with a grin.
"Don't cocky because you blocked one attack, kid!" Raito stated a little annoyed when he vanished coming down from above with Kazuki holding the ninjaken above him blocking the next attack as well.
"'That guy', are you sure that you're a member of the Tasogare…?" Kazuki asked skeptical of Raito's strength.
"You've done it now kid – you've gone and pissed me off!" Raito stated jumping back a few feet in front of Kazuki. "Earth Style – Rock Fist Jutsu!" He thought making the hand seals: Ox, Ram, Dragon, and Tiger.
"What jutsu did he just use?" Kazuki thought being cautious while keeping his eye on Raito.
"Now the real fight starts, I'll shatter that ice sword of yours in one swing!" Raito stated pointing at Kazuki's ninjaken. "But why is it not melting in this heat…?" He thought puzzled looking at the ninjaken while not showing it on his face.
"If you think you can, then come and try it!" Kazuki stated when Raito vanished appearing before Kazuki in an instant swinging his fist forward at him but just like before, Kazuki was ready with his ninjaken. "His movements are still visible; does that mean he can't go any faster?" He thought when the ninjaken met with Raito's fist.
Instead of blocking the attack like before, Kazuki was sent flying a few feet back sliding on the ground. His hands were a little red from absorbing the impact while still holding on to the grip.
"What the hell was that!?" Kazuki thought surprised by the sheer force behind the single punch. "That must be part of his jutsu - I better make sure not to be hit with a single punch again." He thought noticing how much of an effect on his hands.
"I'm surprised you were able to block it but now you can understand why you won't block it again, don't you?" Raito asked with a grin looking over at Kazuki.
"You use Earth jutsu, don't you? As for the punch, my ninjaken won't lose to that attack!" Kazuki stated holding his stance trying to find an opening to attack.
"I wasn't talking about that ice breaking but your hands. I doubt they can take another two hits like that without breaking a bone or two." Raito said before vanishing again and appearing to Kazuki's right side.
Instead of trying to block the attack, Kazuki leaned back just getting missed by his right hand and countered with the ninjaken striking Raito on the wrist. Expecting the hand to go flying off, Kazuki quickly turned and aimed the ninjaken directly at Raito's throat figuring he would be at least stunned long enough for him to get a finishing blow in.
"No way...!" Kazuki thought in shock when he noticed Raito holding the ninjaken with two fingers on his left hand.
"You see, this jutsu doesn't just make my attacks more powerful, it also strengthens my hands giving it traits that of a rock." Raito said slightly chuckling as his swung his right fist at Kazuki.
"Damn, if I'm directly struck with that attack I'm done for!" Kazuki thought when he quickly let go of the ninjaken and dropped to the ground with his legs spread just as Raito's fist went over his head.
Raito's face turned to shock as he noticed Kazuki duck his attack and he too released the ninjaken just as Kazuki thrust his right fist forward as hard as he could directly into Raito's abdomen forcing him to slide back a few inches. Raito stumbled back a few more feet holding his gut and spitting just as Kazuki got up from the ground picking his ninjaken out of the dirt next to him.
"Damn, remind me to never do that again... that hurt like hell!" Kazuki thought hiding his inner pain from splitting his legs while keeping a serious face. "I see. So your fists are the only things that were hardened, huh? This battle won't be as hard as I thought." He said confidently.
"Don't think I'll leave you with another opening like that again, kid. It's time to stop all games because you've gone and pissed me off." Raito said sounding annoyed.
"I better become serious too. This is my first real fight of this caliber and there's no way I'm going to lose!" Kazuki thought when suddenly he felt a pulse through the ninjaken.
"You want power, don't you? I'll lend you some power if you submit to me." Dark Kazuki's voice was heard in his head.
"Idiot, quit trying to take over his body! We've already defeated you so I don't want to hear any lip from you!" Yuki-onna's voice was heard in his head. "Kazuki, you should have enough power to defeat this guy on your own – you're strong, stronger than you think you are. Don't rely on anyone's power but your own."
"That's why I didn't respond, now could you both let me get back to the fight?" Kazuki thought sounding a little annoyed with the conversation.
"You better not slip up even once at containing me or I will take what is rightfully mine!" Dark Kazuki stated before the voices quietly vanished.
"Quit spacing out, kid!" Raito stated appearing directly in front of Kazuki swinging his left fist at his face.
"Damn, I was too caught up in that conversation!" Kazuki thought lifting the ninjaken up and just blocking the attack in time but just like before, he was pushed back about a foot. "My hands won't be able to take another without injury." He thought a little worried.
"They're down to their final hit, aren't they? Your hands I mean." Raito said looking down at Kazuki's hands, which were starting to bleed.
"It only looks that way, I'm perfectly fine!" Kazuki stated flat out lying when he quickly swung his knee forward into Raito's ribs.
"Damn, the kid was still able to move that well even after his hands were that injured?" Raito asked surprised while jumping back holding his ribs slightly.
"He's still underestimating me - I can use this against him." Kazuki thought throwing his ninjaken in the air.
"What is this fool doing? Is he thinking too lightly of me?" Raito thought looking up at the ninjaken.
"Now!" Kazuki thought putting his hands together just when Raito looked away. "Secret Art – Wind Cutter!" He thought making the hand seals: Bird, Ox, Dragon, one-handed Dog, Monkey, and Ram just when he caught the ninjaken back in his hands.
"Was that supposed to distract me from a move you were going to pull? Too bad you got too scared last second and decided not to attack but it was a wise choice." Raito said about to charge at Kazuki when he suddenly noticed a grin appear on his face. "Wait, something isn't right." He thought stopping in his tracks before doing anything.
"Now the real fight begins, 'that guy'!" Kazuki stated pointing at Raito.
"Damn it, I'm not 'that guy'! My name is Raito!" Raito shouted angered by Kazuki's words.
Koori no Senshi stood there looking at Taki directly in the eyes while holding his left fist back with both hands. They appeared to be evenly matched. Taki jumped back on solid land away from the small island they created from the last impact followed by Koori no Senshi on the opposite side.
"Not bad but not enough to make me flinch!" Koori no Senshi stated while Taki just glared at him.
"In way! Move!" Taki shouted still sounding enraged as he charged forward with his right knee in Koori no Senshi's face – Koori no Senshi also had its right leg on Taki's left ribs.
Koori no Senshi flew backwards through the air landing on his feet while rubbing his chin. Taki slid on his feet to his right before coming to a stop as if he wasn't even harmed.
"That's right; he's in berserker mode so he wouldn't feel the pain. I better disable him through other means if I want to win this fight." Koori no Senshi thought looking at Taki when they both suddenly charged at one another.
Koori no Senshi and Taki exchanged punches and knees while deflecting each one with only one or two hitting every so often. Each hit that landed sent the other back a few feet before they charged at the other again.
"If we continue at this rate I won't be able to last long against him with that kind of defense." Koori no Senshi thought a little concerned as he moved back away from Taki.
"Stop running! Just die!" Taki shouted putting his hands together. "Water Style – Rain Needles!" He thought making the hand seals: Bird, Dog, Boar, Dragon, and Tiger that launched water-like water droplets at Koori no Senshi.
"Bad choice." Koori no Senshi said putting his hand forward turning the droplets into icicles and forcing them to the ground. "That attack was weaker than I expected by why…?" He thought a little puzzled.
"Not real attack!" Taki stated standing behind Koori no Senshi.
"What!?" Koori no Senshi shouted surprised that he had been outsmarted by him. "Ice Mist!" He thought making the hand seals: Bird, Dog, Ram, and Serpent creating a small mist behind him as Taki was swinging his right fist forward.
Taki's right fist went into the mist and started to freeze but instead of pulling back his hand; Taki continued his attack and punched Koori no Senshi with his frozen hand sending ice fragments everywhere and freeing his right hand.
"How is that possible!? You would have to be some kind of monster to do something like that and be able to withstand the pain!" Koori no Senshi thought as he flew backwards through the air with ice fragments of his back were chipped off and he descended to the ground creating a good sized crater.
"Next target!" Taki shouted looking around when he spotted Yuki and Kurayami fighting not too far away from the area. "I've found you!" He stated charging forward when suddenly he met a knee full force in his abdomen that forced him to spit out of his mouth. "Urgh!" He uttered in slight pain while flying up into the air.
"I thought so, no matter how much of a monster you are – a full force knee to the gut will always do some damage!" Koori no Senshi stated with a grin with its right knee dug deep into Taki's abdomen. "Now it's your turn to taste the dirt!" It shouted turning around and kicking Taki in the face with its left foot sending Taki towards the ground head first.
Taki smashed into the ground full force leaving a large crater in the ground with a large blanket of dirt. Koori no Senshi landed on the ground standing between Taki's crater and Yuki's fight with Kurayami.
"That couldn't be it, this man is a monster and a simple hit like that couldn't have finished him off." Koori no Senshi said looking around cautiously when suddenly it felt a tug on its feet.
"Out of my way! Get out of my way you pest!" Taki shouted fully enraged once again dragging Koori no Senshi underground.
"There is no way this thing could be considered human!" Koori no Senshi thought as he slid through the ground slowly starting to feel the pressure starting to crush him the further down he went.
Suddenly Taki released Koori no Senshi and his presence quickly vanished. He had left him down in the ground stranded, with no way of returning to the surface unless he was a fast climber.
On the surface a large body of dust exploded from the ground covering the entire area. It appeared to be a mixture of dirt, rocks, and roots from the trees in the area. Out of the center of the explosion stood Toki – he was completely covered in dust and scanning the area when he suddenly shook himself off clearing all of the dust off of him.
"Yuki...Yuki!" Taki shouted looking around when he suddenly spotted him near Kurayami fighting one another. "I've found the both of you!" He shouted charging towards
Yuki and Kurayami were breathing somewhat hard as they had been fighting for the entire time not letting up at all. Nearly instantly, the two turned and noticed Taki charging at them.
"Looks like the fight is on hold for now." Yuki said a little annoyed with their situation since he was having a little fun with Kurayami before Taki returned.
"Wasn't your summons supposed to keep that monster busy?!" Kurayami shouted also annoyed with their fight being interrupted.
"Looks like Taki's become an even bigger monster than I had expected." Yuki said when directly in front of them an ice fist shot out of the ground striking Taki in the jaw just before he reached the two of them. "Wasn't that a little close?" He asked as Taki went flying back into the air landing on his back.
"Sorry Master Yuki, I didn't expect him to be this strong or should I say monstrous? Anyone, please continue your fight and I will hold him off longer." Koori no Senshi said dusting himself off while getting ready for another round with Taki.
"I get the feeling we're not going to be able to continue this fight for much longer as it stands. I guess fate just isn't as understanding as we would like her to." Kurayami said sounding disappointed.
"I think you're right and just when we were having fun too. Why does this guy always have to take all the fun out of things? Even when we were a squad he would always be the one that would always kill all the fun." Yuki said sounding just as disappointed.
"Then we've got a temporary truce?" Kurayami asked hesitantly while glancing over at Yuki.
"As much as I don't want to admit it as well – yes, we have a temporary truce. You got that Kazuki?" Yuki asked keeping his eye on Taki.
"Same goes for you, Raito!" Kurayami shouted when Kazuki and Raito suddenly stopped in their tracks.
"Huh?" Raito and Kazuki asked looking over at Kurayami and Yuki with blank and confused stares.
Kazuki had Raito by his cloak with his left hand while his right hand was off to Raito's side with a near miss by the ninjaken but his right knee was coming up and inches away from his abdomen. Raito had Kazuki by the throat with his right hand and his left hand slapping away Kazuki's right hand with the ninjaken. He also had his right leg swinging towards Kazuki's left side. Both were frozen in place like that exactly when the truce was enacted. The two of them were covered in bruises and a few cuts here and there – Raito's cloak was the thing the most cut up of the both of them and Kazuki was still wearing his shredded clothes from previous fights.
"Well, it was a fun fight, kid, but it looks like this is where it ends." Raito said letting go of Kazuki's throat and moving away from him and behind Kurayami.
"Too bad, we were just getting into the fun part of it." Kazuki said walking over to Yuki's side.
"Kazuki... we really need to do something about your clothes but now is not the time to worry about that." Yuki said noticing Kazuki's pants slightly torn up as well.
"Same goes for you Raito. The cloak is cut up, just what were you doing with that kid anyway?" Kurayami asked keeping his eye on Taki.
"I'm sorry, Lord Seiwa. I will repair it once we get the chance. The kid was a lot stronger than expected so it was unavoidable." Raito explained the situation when Taki suddenly started getting up.
"Master Yuki, what is the plan?" Koori no Senshi asked getting in a fighting pose.
"We're going to all hit him with everything we've got – all five of us at once!" Yuki stated sure of his plan while the other four just looked over at him unsure of what he was thinking.
"Are you really sure that's a good idea? I mean it's not really a good idea to charge head first at an enemy that has higher attack and defense abilities than your own." Kurayami said a little surprised by what he was saying.
"Let's see if he can take my hardened hands then, I'll lead the charge." Raito said sure his attack would do enough of an impact to him.
"I'll slice you a path then." Kazuki said holding his ninjaken in hand. "I'm really tempted to slice him though..." He thought looking at Raito's back.
"Don't you even think of missing the attack or I will break that truce!" Raito shouted before he started charging at Taki.
"I'll go next, then Kurayami, then Kazuki, and we'll end it with Koori no Senshi. Put everything you've got into all your hits, especially you, Koori no Senshi!" Yuki stated running a few feet behind Raito.
"Got it!" Kazuki stated slashing the air creating slash marks in the ground heading directly to the sides of Taki preventing him from moving to the sides.
"Not only do I have to work with him but he's even issuing orders to us!? Damn it, if they were the wrong course, I would be saying something but I'll give it a shot!" Kurayami thought even more annoyed.
Taki noticed Raito heading straight at him and was about to jump to his right to dodge when Kazuki's wind slashed directly in front of him forcing him to move back and turn the other direction when he noticed it was on that side as well. It was too late to decide where else to dodge to when Raito was directly in front of him hitting him full force in the abdomen with both hands and rushing off to the left directly after the final part of Kazuki's gust rushed by. Taki opened his mouth spitting out a little blood when Yuki came up and gave him an uppercut directly to the jaw knocking his head up to look at the sky as he moved to the right of Taki, opposite of Raito. Behind Yuki came Kurayami with his two claymores – Kurayami shoved with all his might, the two claymores into Taki's abdomen forcing them to shatter as he moved to Taki's left. Taki was sent flying backwards with that last attack until Koori no Senshi appeared behind him and rushed at him at full force smashing his entire body, fists first, into Taki's back sending. Taki was then sent flying back towards the final person, Kazuki. Koori no Senshi soon vanished in a puff of smoke directly after the attack leaving it all in Kazuki's hands with that last hit. Kazuki had his ninjaken at his side and charged forward with a large gust of wind swirling around the blade like a drill.
"Finish it, Kazuki!" Yuki shouted when Kazuki nodded and charged ninjaken first at the fast approaching Taki.
"It is over!" Kazuki shouted when the ninjaken met with Taki's body but instead of the body being punctured – the body exploded with tremendous power throwing all four of them in opposite directions.
Rocks and dust filled the air and battered the four of them as they flew through the air and skidded across the ground until finally coming to a stop. Yuki slowly got up looking towards the center of the impact site before shaking his head and heading towards Kazuki.
"Kazuki, can you move?" Yuki asked with some blood running down his head as he was standing over Kazuki covered in dirt.
"Just a little – what happened, Sensei?" Kazuki asked slowly getting to his feet covered in small scratches with a little bit of blood coming out of some.
'We were only fighting an Earth Clone that he created and was set up to explode before it was killed." Yuki said leading Kazuki towards the others instead of sticking around.
"You mean that wasn't his full strength?" Kazuki asked just following Yuki instinctively.
"No – what's more is that he must likely had more than one clone running around so I would say that was only a fraction of his true strength." Yuki said coldly as the shock of how strong the real Taki was came over Kazuki. "Taki has really become really strong since the last time I met with him – that last fight must've really motivated him to train hard but he's still insane. I just hope we don't end up running into him until my mission is complete." He thought starting to pick up his speed.
"I wonder just how strong that guy was if he was able to keep up with Sensei and that other guy?" Kazuki thought when he noticed they were heading away from the battle finally. "Sensei, are we returning?"
"Yes, that little explosion should've provided us with enough cover to leave those two behind but we also must hurry to leave the area because by now Taki should be aware of where we are and none of us are even near ready to face him – especially in our current states. Now, let's hurry!" Yuki stated as the two of the picked up the pace and jumped up into the trees and started rushing away from the area.
Back at ground zero of Taki's Earth Clone's explosion, Kurayami and Raito were thrown back. Raito was slightly dug into a tree and had just fallen forward face first after the explosion cleared.
"You know… that really hurt a lot but I can't decide what hurt more – the part about being thrown backwards into a tree trunk or falling face first into the ground." Raito said slowly getting up and rubbing his face as he looked around and spotted Kurayami to his left. "You know, Lord Seiwa, do you really have to relax there? I mean I know that you're among the strongest in the Tasogare but is it really okay to flaunt that?" He asked as Kurayami was sitting down dug into a hole making it look like he was sitting there comfortably.
"I'm not flaunting anything! I'm in just as much pain as you are you moron! I was launched backwards into the ground and that damn dirt is all inside my clothes! Now would you stop making those remarks and help me out of this damn hole!?" Kurayami shouted annoyed with being stuck in the pit.
"Yeah, yeah, I was only joking. You don't have to blow a nerve just because of that little thing – by the way, Lord Seiwa; we seem to have lost Yuki and that kid – not to mention that monster." Raito said looking around noticing no one was around after the dust had cleared.
While Raito walked over to help Kurayami out of the hole, the two of them noticed he large crater left by Taki's Earth Clone. It was at least the size of a small house and looked as though a meteor had crashed down there.
"Wow, he really blew himself up good." Raito said after helping Kurayami up.
"He didn't blow himself up – he was never here to begin with. That monster, Taki, only had some kind of clone here. He must've had a few of them running around looking for Yuki." Kurayami said analyzing the situation.
"Are you kidding? You know how much chakra you would need to channel that many clones while still having that much power in them?" Raito asked blowing it off.
"No, this guy is a whole lot stronger than that clone we fight. At best, it's a good idea to assume that we were only fighting a fraction of his strength. His chakra must be very high as well and not to the extent of a human but near that of a jinchūriki." Kurayami said sounding slightly horrified by the revelation.
"You don't say… Sounds like there'll be an exciting fight soon enough – maybe we'll be allowed to fight without these restraints then." Raito said rolling up his sleeve to reveal what appeared to be a kind of Persian indigo colored bracelet on his right forearm.
"Yeah, luckily I didn't have to use that technique today either. It would've been bad if the enemy had found out about it and survived to tell." Kurayami said looking down at his left ankle, where his bracelet was. "Then shall we go free our precious little doctor for Toyotomi's next plan? Even though we didn't catch Yuki, we could at least complete our real objective."
"Right, we came here to pick him up from Mangetsu Village, didn't we? Why was that again…? I thought he was removed since he failed before." Raito said scratching his head as they started heading towards the village.
"Because we have use of his abilities in mechanics – now quit walking slow and let's get moving!" Kurayami stated as he vanished.
"Right behind you my Lord!" Raito stated vanishing as well.
Yuki and Kazuki finally spotted Masakatsu and the rest of the group slowly moving through the woods and dropped down from the trees just behind them to find the group looking their direction.
"Yuki, you look like hell." Masakatsu said noticing his appearance.
"Heh, at least it's not as bad as Kazuki here." Yuki said pointing over at Kazuki.
"I'm really going to need a long rest in the next town – I'm completely exhausted." Kazuki said drooping forward completely tired.
"Yuki-sensei, what happened? We heard a large explosion a little while ago in your direction." Ayaka said looking surprised at their appearance.
"This crazy guy that's been looking for me suddenly appeared along with Kurayami and Raito. Things got complicated and the crazy guy blew his clone up on us." Yuki said quickly explaining the situation.
"Taki..." Masakatsu said looking over at Yuki and he nodded.
"Taki…?" Ayaka thought a little confused.
"Looks like you took a good beating." Takeo said making fun of Kazuki's state as Kazuki walked over to him and Kosuke.
"Don't lecture me about being in a bad state – at least I didn't get stabbed, all my wounds were from that damn explosion at the end." Kazuki said walking ahead of the group with Takeo and Kosuke.
"You know… you really need a new change of clothes. Once we get to the next town I'll pick some out for you!" Kosuke stated as energetically as usual.
"No… I don't think that would be a good idea." Kazuki said hesitantly.
"Ha! Let's do it, Kosuke! We'll get him some great clothes!" Takeo stated as he laughed.
"I can only imagine what you two are thinking…" Kazuki said sighing.
"He's become a lot stronger than before and is not someone we want to run into anytime soon; even more so in our current condition. But in lighter news, Kazuki was able to go head to head with Raito." Yuki said walking back with Masakatsu and Ayaka on his back.
"Looks like the kid has really gotten better then but was it him or the ninjaken?" Masakatsu asked looking over at Yuki.
"No, it was all him. He must've been learning at a fast pace while he was in that dream state. I'm nearly sure why my grandfather selected him to wield that ninjaken now – it suits his personality." Yuki said looking ahead at the other three ahead of them talking and laughing. "If only this kind of peace would've lasted – what would I be doing right now if that incident didn't happen?" He thought looking up at the sky.
"Putting Kazuki's growth aside, about how strong is Taki now? I know he isn't going to hold back now that he's found you and I doubt these kids will be able to put up much of a fight against him." Masakatsu said looking at Yuki seriously.
"Did they forget I'm here… or did they not care if I heard this?" Ayaka wondered still being carried by Masakatsu.
"His strength has multiplied by at least ten since the last time I faced him but that's only estimation considering I do not know how many clones he had. What I know for sure is that his chakra is still as large as it was before and he seems to have learned how to control it a whole lot better." Yuki said looking as if he was in deep thought.
"Then it's worst case scenario. What's the plan?" Masakatsu asked figuring Yuki had some kind of plan.
"He's learned of who knows where Toyotomi is so his priority will be with them first since he hates him more than me. Given that those two idiots are still around the area, I would assume we have enough time to get away from him for now but sooner or later we're bound to run into him again. So I was thinking of really stepping up their training and we'll be training as well once we're all patched up while we also continue moving towards home." Yuki said still trying to get the details worked out.
"That's right, we still need find out the strongest summoned being. Speaking of which, how did Koori no Senshi fair?" Masakatsu asked figuring he would try summoning it.
"He was on par with Taki's berserker mode but what was really interesting was Kurayami." Yuki said when Masakatsu looked at him confused.
"He's perfected his sword creation jutsu. I cannot allow him to beat me so I'll be stepping up my training with that jutsu as well." Yuki said annoyed with Kurayami's progress.
"Is that right? That guy was working on that thing for what seemed like forever but why were the two of them still near the town?" Masakatsu asked looking over at Yuki a little concerned.
"That's one thing that has me a little worried. They should've moved on by now but they still lingered around." Yuki said as they started walking faster and caught up to the other three.
In an unknown cave a dark figure is sitting on a rock laughing. It slowly got up and started walking towards the exit and coming into the light. It was Taki, the real Taki.
"Both Yuki and Toyotomi have been found, huh? These clones are as useful as I had thought and now I shall pay this Mangetsu Village a visit." Taki said with an evil grin on his face as he left the cave laughing crazily.
Author's Note:
I became busy with work but the next chapter is out now! I'll try to get out the next chapter a whole lot faster than this one.
-Steve Masters