You'll understand the title as you read the chapter. More fighting in this one, too.
Enjoy!
Chapter 17- Huang Day Ching
"IMPOSSIBLE! YOU CANNOT BE ALIVE!" Kenshin shouted, horrified at who he was seeing in front of him.
"You may think that it is impossible, but I assure you that I am alive. You may have tried to kill me, but you didn't succeed." Yugi said.
Heba couldn't believe it. 'He's alive. I can't believe it!' Heba thought. He was growing excited because his brother was alive and well.
"How?! The assassin assured me that you were dead!" Kenshin screamed.
"Ah! Yes. The assassin. Well, you see, the thing is that the assassin you hired had no desire to kill me. In fact, he was working for me." Yugi said.
"You hired him to kill me! That's treason!" Kenshin shouted.
"Oh? And hiring him to kill me wasn't?" Yugi asked.
Kenshin glared at his son.
"I was working for Prince Yugi." Rafael said as he walked up behind Yugi.
"You?! You told me he was dead!" Kenshin growled.
Rafael smirked. "I also told you I would kill him, and that I was completely loyal to you." Rafael said.
"How?" Kenshin demanded.
"Simple. Rafael had been a part of the rebellion long before you approached him about trying to kill me. In fact, Rafael and I were working together against you by then. When you made the offer, Rafael merely said he would think about to tell me. I told him to tell you that he would do it. You see, we used it to our advantage. You thought that I was dead, so you dropped your guard. You thought that since I was dead, the rebellion would fail. What you didn't know was that I was alive. We faked everything. All the rebellion attacks I helped organize. You never even let the thought cross your mind that I could be alive." Yugi said.
"It doesn't matter! I'll do it myself this time!" Kenshin said.
"What in the name of Ra is going on? Who is that, and why does he look exactly like Heba?" Aknankanon asked, starring at the newcomer.
"It's Yugi." Atemu said.
All eyes turned to Atemu.
"Who's Yugi?" Aknaudin asked.
"Yugi? As in Heba's twin brother who was supposedly dead Yugi?" Seto asked.
"Yeah. Heba once showed me a picture of his brother. Yugi looks exactly like Heba. The only difference in them is that Yugi's skin tone was pale whereas Heba's is tanned." Atemu said.
"But, didn't Kenshin tell Heba that Yugi was dead?" Yami asked.
"From what we heard, I would say that Yugi fakes his death in order to make his father believe he was dead. Possible so that Yugi would be able to aid the rebellion without the chance of his father stopping him. Kenshin told Heba that Yugi was dead because he himself believed that as well." Isis said.
"Then we might stand a chance at winning." Atemu said.
"One man can't make that big of difference." Shada said.
"I think he can. When Heba was training me, he told me that he was the third strongest person in the Millennial Kingdom. Kenshin was the second strongest. Heba said that his brother was the most powerful person in the Millennial Kingdom. He is stronger than Kenshin." Atemu said.
All of the Egyptians looked back to where the battlefield was.
"If you think that you have won, then you are sadly mistaken. I can take you all on." Kenshin said.
It was then that many of Kenshin's followers entered the courtyard.
"I am not intimidated by you, Father." Yugi said as he drew his sword and held it by his side.
Rafael, Valon, and Alister, the latter two having joined them, also joined their allies. More members of the rebellion were behind them.
Timaeous, Critias, and Hermos got to their feet and were ready to help if needed.
Heba, Joey, Ryou, and Malik got to their feet and were willing to go to Yugi's aid if he needed it.
"What is going on?" Kenshin said, seeing that his forces were not nearly as large as they should be.
"You once said that I was a very good strategist, Father. That still holds true." Yugi said.
"What are you talking about?" Kenshin snarled angrily, hating being mocked by someone he considered inferior, even if it was his son.
"Simple. Most of your allies are fighting other members of the rebellion as we speak. The few that are here is all the help that you will have." Yugi said.
"It does not matter. Once my army has won, they will join us." Kenshin said confidently.
Yugi smirked. "I wouldn't count on that." Yugi said.
"What are you talking about?!" Kenshin shouted, getting pissed at Yugi's arrogance.
"If you must know, over half of your army is a part of the rebellion. They were insiders." Yugi said.
"WHAT?!" Kenshin shouted.
"Exactly. We had many spies within the palace. You had your share of supporters, but you didn't count on one thing. The people grew tired of your tyranny, and they were not willing to subject themselves to your cruelty any longer. When the common people banded together, they have much more power than you thought. You only cared about the support of the nobles and the wealthy. Yu should have been more concerned with the common people as they are the majority of the population. There are even some nobles who chose to side with the rebellion." Yugi said.
Kenshin gritted his teeth angrily. Yugi was making him out to be a fool, and it was pissing him off. He hated to be outthought, and Yugi was doing that. Kenshin had never considered the possibility of the common people being able to outmatch him. He hadn't thought it would be possible.
Heba, Joey, Ryou, and Malik were watching this with seriousness and joy. They loved seeing Kenshin out in his place.
"Finally. I thought that no one would ever put him in his place." Joey said.
"Don't get too excited yet, Joey. We haven't won yet." Heba reminded him.
"Come on, Heba. We all know that Yugi is stronger than Kenshin. There's not a chance that we can lose." Malik said.
"There's always the chance that we could lose. We all know that, and we need to remember that. We can't just assume that we'll win." Ryou said.
"Besides, my father does have people who are on his side. We can't forget that, either." Heba said. He scanned the area and then his eyes widened. "Oh, damn it!" Heba said.
"What?" Joey asked.
"Atemu and the others are over there." Heba said.
The other three saw where they were.
"I thought that we told them to get out of here, not stay and watch." Malik growled.
"As long as Kenshin doesn't see them, they are going to be fine." Joey said.
"Just keep an eye on them in case he does happen to see them." Heba told them.
Joey, Ryou, and Malik nodded their agreement as they turned their attention back to the battlefield.
Yugi hadn't offered to make a move against Kenshin. He was going to let Kenshin make the first move.
Kenshin wasn't going to stand for this, and he wasn't going to do it alone. He had some of his men there, and it would be enough to bring these people down. "ATTACK!" Kenshin ordered.
The men that followed Kenshin that were there made their attack.
Yugi ducked as s sword was brought at him before he kicked the back. He turned and slashed right through the air, knocking three men with the force behind the attack. Yugi jumped up and flipped in the air so that he landed in the center of four men. Yugi blocked a kick with his arm before he grabbed the man by the ankle and threw him into another man. Yugi then turned and ducked as a sword went at him. He kicked out and tripped another man before he jumped up and kicked a man hard in the throat. Yugi was grabbed from behind, but he rammed is elbow into the man's stomach before he grabbed the man by the shoulder and ducked as he brought the man over his shoulder, slamming the man hard into the ground.
Heba moved backwards to avoid a strike with the sword before he charged forward and struck up with his sword, knocking the man's sword out of his hand. He then rammed his fist into the man's face, throwing the man backwards. Heba ducked as the sword came at him from behind, and Heba kicked back, hitting the man so hard in the stomach that the man was thrown back into the wall. Heba jumped up so that the blade of the sword went under his feet before he kicked the man in the face. Heba landed on his feet and whirled around, kicking the man at him in the chest and throwing him back into the wall.
Joey ran forward and jumped up to avoid a sword before he did a flip over two men and landed behind them. He then rammed backwards into one of them and threw the man forward. The other man tried to grab Joey, but Joey moved back out of his grasp before he struck out with his sword, striking the man in his throat and causing the man to bleed out. Joey ducked to avoid a sword before he turned and kicked the man in the chest. Another man aimed a laser gun at Joey, but Joey jumped up as he fired and did a flip so that he kicked the man in the face, throwing the man back into the wall.
Ryou ran forward and struck out with his sword, striking a man in the chest. He then turned and kicked a man in the chest before he ducked and rammed himself into the man, knocking the man off balance. Ryou turned and kicked the man in the chest and threw the man back into several other men, causing a domino effect. A man grabbed Ryou from behind, easily trapping Ryou's arms. Ryou slammed his head back into the man's head, causing the man to lose his grip Ryou. Ryou then rammed his elbow into the men before he turned and kicked the man in the stomach.
Malik ran forward and struck out with his sword, striking down several of the men as well. Malik turned and kicked another man in the stomach before he grabbed the man by the shoulder and threw him into another man, knocking them both down. A man grabbed Malik by the arm, but Malik rammed his knee into the man's groin, causing the man to double over in pain. Malik then rammed his elbow down into the man's back, knocking the man flat on the ground.
Kenshin, seeing that his men were being taken down, turned and started to leave.
"I have never seen anything like this." Mahado said.
"Millennials are far more powerful fighters than anyone on Earth." Aknankanon said.
"If Kenshin had gotten his war, we would have lost." Yami said.
"Yes, we would have." Aknaudin agreed.
"I believe that we are fortunate to have Prince Heba and the others on our side. We would have been brought down much faster without their help." Atemu said.
"Needless to say, they are our allies." Karim said.
Atemu was looking over the battle, watching as his husband fought. 'Heba is a great fighter. If he had fought me with all his strength, I wouldn't have lasted a minute with him.' Atemu thought. He saw something out of the corner of his eyes. He turned to look, and his eyes widened. "Oh no!" Atemu exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Aknankanon asked.
"That!" Atemu said, pointing.
Everyone saw Kenshin trying to flee.
"He's running!" Shada exclaimed.
"He must fear that he is going to lose and wants to escape." Isis said.
"We have to do something." Bakura said.
"Like what? Any of us would be killed by him." Mahado said.
The Egyptians weren't able to do anything, but watch as Kenshin made his escape.
Valon saw Kenshin starting to leave. "Yugi!" Valon shouted.
Yugi turned to look at him.
Valon pointed.
Yugi looked and saw what had caught Valon's attention. Yugi jumped up and landed on one of the men's back before he propelled himself forward.
Kenshin wasn't sticking around. He saw the strength that they had together and knew that his chances were not good. He didn't want to lose, so he would leave to fight another day.
Suddenly, Yugi landed in front of him. "Where are you going, Father?" Yugi asked.
"Shut up! That's not your concern!" Kenshin snapped.
"As I recall, you called the rebellion cowards because they would not fight you face-to-face. Now, they are fighting you as you wanted, but you are the one running." Yugi said.
"I'll kill you if I have to!" Kenshin snarled.
"Try." Yugi said.
Kenshin started forward, but Yugi ducked as Kenshin's sword went at him before Yugi kicked Kenshin in the chest, throwing him into the middle of the courtyard.
Yugi then walked forward and made a decision. "Emperor, Kenshin, I challenge you to a Huang Day Ching!" Yugi said in a strong voice.
Immediately, all fighting in the courtyard stopped as everyone turned their attention to where Yugi and Kenshin were standing face-to-face.
"You are a fool." Kenshin said.
"I'll be the judge of that." Yugi replied.
No one in the courtyard could believe what they had just heard.
"Everyone back!" Heba ordered.
All members of the rebellion moved back out of the way since they knew what was coming now.
The Egyptians, however, were rather confused.
Heba, Joey, Ryou, and Malik headed over to where the Egyptians were.
"I thought that we told you to get out of here." Heba said.
"We were going to, but we got lost." Atemu explained.
"What is going on?" Yami asked, watching as Kenshin's men moved away as well.
Heba turned back to the battlefield. "Yugi has challenged my father to the Huang Day Ching." Heba said.
"That, we understand. What is it?" Marik asked.
"In Millennial society, a blood member of the Royal family can challenge the Emperor to the Huang Day Ching, which is essentially a battle between the two. The winner will be the new emperor." Heba said.
"So, if your brother wins, he will become the new emperor." Aknankanon said.
"Yes." Heba answered.
"If Kenshin loses, how do you know he will turn over power to him that easily?" Seto asked.
"He doesn't have a choice. The Huang Day Ching is a fight to the death. The loser dies." Heba said.
The Egyptians grew silent.
"Then, there's a chance-" Isis started.
Heba turned to look back at where Yugi and Kenshin were. "Yes. There is a chance that my brother will die." Heba said.
"Challenging me is the worst thing that you could have done, Yugi." Kenshin said.
"Perhaps you believe that, but I don't. We have a battle to fight." Yugi said as he took a defensive position.
"Fine. And I will keep my crown, and you can be certain that these people will suffer even more." Kenshin said, also taking up a defensive position.
The Huang Day Ching had begun.
Kenshin charged at Yugi.
Yugi blocked the sword before he forced Kenshin's sword up and kicked at Kenshin. Kenshin jumped backwards out of the way. Kenshin then jumped up and brought his word down at Yugi. Yugi held his sword horizontally to stop Kenshin's blade. The force of the blow rattled Yugi slightly. Kenshin then rammed his knee into Yugi's stomach. Yugi doubled over in pain. Yugi managed to roll out of the way before Kenshin brought his sword down at Yugi. Yugi kicked back with his foot and hit Kenshin right in the stomach, throwing Kenshin backwards into a tree. Yugi jumped up and charged at Kenshin. Kenshin also charged back at Yugi. Their swords collided. The two struck out with their swords several times, filling the air with a metallic sound. The two then jumped backwards before they charged at each other again. They hit at each other at the same time, throwing them both back.
Yugi managed to stay on his feet as he held his sword with both hands so that it was diagonal in front of him.
Kenshin looked up at his son, getting angry. 'I didn't realize that he had gotten this strong.' Kenshin thought.
"I admit that you've gotten better, Father." Yugi said.
"Is that admitting defeat?" Kenshin asked.
"Not a chance." Yugi answered. He then charged forward.
Kenshin did the same.
Yugi struck out with his sword, but Kenshin blocked it. Kenshin forced Yugi's sword up and kicked Yugi in the chest. Yugi stumbled before he ducked to avoid being hit by Kenshin's sword. Yugi struck out with his sword and knocked Kenshin off of his feet. Kenshin fell backwards, but his hand hit the ground, and he pushed himself up with his hand so that he was back on his feet. Kenshin went back at Yugi. Their sword collided again. Kenshin then struck out with his sword, and Yugi moved back out of the way to avoid the sword.
Kenshin reached back into his cape and then pulled out a dagger, bringing it at Yugi. Yugi moved to the side out of the way, but the tip of the dagger hit Yugi in the face. A trickle of blood started to fall down Yugi's cheek.
'He always did use dirty tricks.' Yugi thought.
"That was a dirty trick!" Marik growled.
"Yeah. He had that weapon hidden." Bakura agreed.
"Unfortunately, in the Huang Day Ching, there are no rules. The only restriction is that neither opponent can have help. If anyone helps, the one that was helped will automatically lose." Heba said.
"Meaning that if you help him, your brother would automatically lose." Yami said.
"Yes. The same goes for my father. If any of his men try to help him, he automatically loses." Heba said.
"How does hat work if there is interference? I mean, who kills the one who was helped?" Isis asked.
"No one. By voicing the challenge, both opponents magic is immediately in tuned. If the magic senses help, it automatically kills the one who cheated." Ryou said.
"It seems kind of harsh, though." Mahado said.
"Maybe, but this practice has been in effect for several thousand years. It's always been done. Besides, it's an easy way to get a tyrant off of the throne." Malik said.
"Do you think he'll win?" Amara asked.
"We'll see." Heba said, not wanting to say Yugi would win and then Yugi lose.
"Something wrong, son?" Kenshin asked snidely.
"Not at all, Father." Yugi replied.
Yugi then charged forward at the same time that Kenshin charged at him. Their swords clashed once again. The two started to strike out at each other with their swords, and each time, the other was able to block his opponent's attack. Yugi struck forward with such force that Kenshin lost his footing. Yugi then turned and kicked Kenshin in the chest. Kenshin was sent crashing into the ground. Yugi brought hiss word down at Kenshin, but Kenshin rolled out of the way and kicked back with his foot, hitting Yugi in his stomach, causing Yugi to stumble backwards. Kenshin jumped up and charged at Yugi, ramming his shoulder into Yugi, throwing Yugi back to the ground on his back.
"I will make you regret challenging me!" Kenshin growled as he raised his sword over his head and brought the sword down at Yugi.
Yugi held up his sword and blocked the blade with his own. "I won't regret fighting for what I believe in. I won't regret fighting for the sake of my people!" Yugi retorted as he kicked up with his foot.
Kenshin was hit in the chest and was forced to stumble back. He held a hand at his chest as the kick had been a lot harder than he had anticipated. "Why do you care about the common people so much?" Kenshin demanded.
"They are as human as you and I are. They are no less important. Besides, without the common people, there would be no one to rule over. You would have a kingdom of nothing without them. You seemed to have forgotten that if you ever knew that." Yugi said.
Kenshin growled. He then charged at Yugi.
Yugi was ready for him.
Solomon and Dartz were watching the battle from the screen in the control room of the hideout for the rebellion.
"Hmm. Prince Yugi is doing rather well against him." Dartz said.
"Yugi has been stronger than Kenshin for quite some time." Solomon said. He sighed. "I don't know where I went wrong with Kenshin. I thought that I had raised him right. I thought that I raised him to be a good person." Solomon said sadly.
Dartz placed a hand on Solomon's shoulder. "Do not blame yourself, old friend. You did what was best as you raised Kenshin. You are not to blame for him being as he is. Children just sometimes turn out wrong. In Kenshin's case, he turned into a cold, heartless, and cruel man." Dartz said.
"Yes, but he is my son, and I do feel some responsibility for what Kenshin has done to these people." Solomon said.
"Solomon, you had to raise Yugi, Heba, Ryou, Malik, and Joey as well, and they all turned out as great young men. You could do nothing different." Dartz said.
"Yes. I pray that Yugi wins so that the people here can have a good ruler." Solomon said.
"We all hope that." Dartz said as they returned their attention to the battle.
Yugi blocked Kenshin's sword before he forced Kenshin back and jumped up, kicking Kenshin in the chest. Kenshin stumbled back before he charged forward again. He brought his sword down hard at Yugi. Yugi was thrown back from the force of the attack, but he stayed on his feet. Kenshin brought his sword across, but Yugi blocked the attack before he rammed himself forward into Kenshin, knocking Kenshin off balance. Yugi turned and kicked Kenshin in the face, throwing Kenshin back into a tree. Yugi charged at him, but Kenshin moved out of the way and kicked Yugi in the side, throwing Yugi into a statue. Yugi immediately got up and had to duck to avoid the sword. Kenshin brought the dagger at Yugi and hit Yugi in the side. Yugi winced at the pain before he moved himself backwards and then charged forward, ramming right into Kenshin. Kenshin was thrown to the ground.
Kenshin got up and said, "You won't win now that you're injured."
"We'll see about that." Yugi said.
"Yes, we will." Kenshin agreed.
Kenshin brought out his wings before eh took to the air.
Yugi also brought out his wings and took to the air as well.
Kenshin flew at Yugi and struck at him with the sword, but Yugi blocked the attack with his own sword. Yugi kicked out and hit Kenshin's hand, causing Kenshin to lose the dagger. Kenshin struck at Yugi, but missed Yugi as he moved out of the way. Yugi then flew forward at Kenshin, and he rammed himself into the Kenshin.
Kenshin growled. 'I won't lose to my inferior son. No! He is no longer my son!' Kenshin thought angrily.
In a fit of rage, Kenshin flew at Yugi and struck him so hard that Yugi was set crashing down into the ground, causing a hole to form.
"Oh no!" Amara gasped.
"This is bad." Joey said.
"Damn it! There's nothing that we can do!" Malik growled, clenching his fists tightly.
"We are so screwed." Bakura said.
"Don't be so sure." Heba said.
"Why not?" Marik demanded.
"Prince Yugi has come back form the brink of defeat to win a battle before." Timaeous said.
""How do you know?" Karim asked.
"We have all witnessed it through the battles Prince Yugi has led the rebellion through." Rafael said.
"Prince Yugi's not done yet. The only way this will be over will be if he dies." Alister said.
'I know not to underestimate Yugi. I know that he can come back and win this. I just hope that he does. If he loses, everyone looses because Father will continue with his plan and take over all of Earth, and those people will be treated just as poorly as ours have been through the years.' Heba thought.
Yugi groaned as he tried to sit up. Seeing a shadow looming over him, Yugi looked up to glare at his father with a defiant glare.
"It would seem that I have won this battle, Yugi." Kenshin said.
Yugi said nothing.
"I see that you're not so confident when you are the one who loses." Kenshin said as he raised his sword.
"YUGI!"
Yugi's eyes suddenly narrowed. "There is something that you seemed to have forgotten." Yugi said.
"And what is that?" Kenshin asked with no intention of stopping.
Yugi suddenly pulled out a Sai real quick that he quickly thrust right into Kenshin's throat.
Kenshin froze, gagging as blood seeped from his throat.
"That you should never underestimate me, and that I enjoy battling with my Sais." Yugi answered.
Kenshin didn't answer.
Yugi then pulled the Sai from Kenshin's throat before he pushed Kenshin backwards to the ground,
Kenshin fell onto his back on the ground, dead.
Yugi had won the Huang Day Ching.
Hope you liked it.
Note: The Huang Day Ching is just something that I made up. I don't know that words acutally mean anything. I just thought up some words and put them together to call that challenge something.
Next: The aftermath of everything.
R&R.