Oyaji
Chapter 8
Forbidden Techniques
Max had never been paid so much in one day. As he sat across from Josef's desk in his sleek, old-style office, he smiled to himself.
He and Carlos had just helped lead an operation by the Russian mafia to wipe out the rest of the mainland triads. A few assaults and air strikes later, it was over. Their opium fields were burned, their weapon and supply caches looted, and the rest of their buildings leveled. Max had stolen a few antique weapons for himself, and Carlos had grabbed some things as well. Just after they had finished, though, Avi had arrived in China, and paid them a good sum for the idol. And more money was just about to be put in the bank.
"My deepest thanks, Mr. Saotome," Josef said in his usual low voice, his right hand man standing next to him as he sat. "I'm sorry Sergei could not be here to thank you himself, but he's off working on business of his own at the moment."
"No problem," Max responded. "I honestly like working with you more, anyway."
Josef smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Perhaps, one day, I will be in charge, and we can take our partnership to the next level."
"We can only hope," Max said.
"Anyway, thanks for your help. If you need anything, whether it be hardware or manpower, let me or my associate know."
"Will do," Max replied, standing up to shake the man's hand.
Later, the two were in a market district of a nearby village, getting a bite to eat.
"So, what exactly is our business gonna do?" Carlos asked.
"Not sure," Max replied. "There are quite a few options. We could keep doing contracts for Josef, but I'd rather do something closer to home. Plus, it's good to broaden our horizons."
"Why did we do that thing for the Russians, anyway? We already had plenty of money."
"Because we did them a favor. Josef owes us now. Whenever we need to call on him for help, he'll be there. Plus, you can never have too much green."
"You're definitely right about that."
"Either way," Max continued, "we won't be able to do this on our own. We need more help from the right people."
"Tony?"
"He'll know some people in the mafia underworld, and he'll be a good negotiator and contact. But that still leaves plenty of room. We need someone with real military and combat experience; someone who can turn a team of fighters into an elite unit."
"And the problem is, we don't know anybody."
"That's right."
Max walked alone down the dirt road of the market district. Carlos had gone to do some shopping in a another part of the market, and Max had gone on, planning to meet up with his friend later.
He had stopped to look at some antique blades, and was inspecting a set of throwing knives. Behind him, a tall, bald man in a Chinese arts outfit stepped out of the crowd of shoppers and vendors, turned his head, and eyed Max. He began walking towards him, his hand reaching into his outfit.
Holding the knife up in front of his face, Max was able to see the reflection of the man approaching him. Whipping around quickly, he hurled the knife at the hand drawing the weapon. The pistol the man had been drawing discharged, and fell to the ground as the knife dug into his wrist. The gunshot scared off the crowd, and the vendor dove behind his cart. However, despite the fact that there was a knife in his wrist, the man showed no signs of pain. Instead, he yanked it out, resulting in a spark bursting from the supposed wound.
"Bionic, eh?" Max said, raising the other knives. "Let's see how bionic."
He was only able to throw one more knife before the thing charged, landing one square in its' right eye. Again, it showed no signs of having felt the blow. Max leapt out of the way as it crashed into the booth, then kicked it further back into the blacksmith's hut, where it crashed against an anvil, and its arm landed in a small vat of molten steel. It raised its arm out, revealing a metal contraption where the skin had melted off.
Max ran up and delivered a chestnut fist to the things' upper torso. However, it felt nothing, and delivered a right hook to Max. Falling on his back, Max saw where his knife had struck the eye, and saw a tiny red glow. "Not bionic," he said. "A cyborg."
Yanking him up, the machine came forward with what looked like a punch, but, instead, drove its' hot, exposed metal fingers directly into Max's chest, burning through his clothes. Max screamed in pain as the fingers burned into his chest, then were painfully yanked out, only to have two fingers dig into him again, only lower on the torso.
Dropping him to the ground, the cyborg prepared to stomp a hole through Max's chest, when a sudden blast sent the machine flying back several feet. Temporarily forgetting the pain in his torso, Max rose to his knee, and turned to see the shooter step out of the shadows.
It was a girl, no older than sixteen, with long, dark blue hair and slightly tanned skin, wearing a black bodysuit and holding a smoking shotgun. The girl locked her eyes on Max quickly before speaking again. "Stay down if you wanna live."
Turning back to where the cyborg had been shot, Max saw that it was back on its' feet, ready to charge again. Ducking, he saw the thing get pounded with successive 12-guage rounds before finally crashing through the back wall. Throwing her empty firearm aside, the girl sped towards the machine, and launched into a full jump kick, landing it square in the cyborg's chest, knocking it down again. The thing swiped at her continuously, missing each time as she darted around it, hitting it with more strikes, moving too fast for it to keep up.
Finally, it managed to grab a hold of her by the scruff of her suit, and hook her in the face. In response, the girl grabbed hold of the knife in the machine's eye, and twisted it, sending sparks flying. The cyborg dropped her, and she immediately delivered another kick, a right hook, and finally an uppercut, sending it back into the shed, where it landed at head level with the tiny vat of molten steel. She walked up to it, and kicked it over, where the intensely hot metal engulfed the cyborg's head, melting it on the spot. The rest of the body did not move.
Standing up, Max could only stare at the girl, struck speechless. He finally broke the silence as she kneeled down, looking at her victim. "I guess I should say thanks."
The girl stood up, and turned to face him. "Feel free to. But I get enough fun from this, anyway."
"Those were some sweet moves. I'm guessing you've been training for a while?"
"Since I was three. I had to, in the environment I grew up in."
"Just who are you, anyway?"
The girl held out her hand. "Kusanagi; Fumiko Kusanagi, at your service."
Max shook, but let go when she suddenly pulled her hand back, her eyes on his chest.
"Oh, my! Just look at that peculiar wound! Are you sure you're all right?"
Confused, Max looked down at his chest: there were seven marks on his chest, from each of the hot metal fingers of the cyborg. The four on his chest plate formed a warped square shape, while the other three formed a trail down to his lower torso. After a second, Max noticed it resembled the Big Dipper.
"Holy shit…" he said.
"Well, I think you're just fine. Those marks aren't too bad, although they're probably permanent. Marks left by that kind of steel don't heal from known medicines."
"What do you mean?" Max said, looking up at her. "Just where did that thing come from?"
The girl took a deep breath. "I'm not sure. I'm just a hunter of these things."
"You hunt cyborgs for a living?"
"Yep!" she quipped, smiling. "And other killer machines. I don't know who sent this one, but it means someone's targeting you. You'd better be careful in the future." She handed him what looked like a business card, and leapt out of the shed, onto another shop. "That's my contact info. If you ever see any more of these things, or if you need any help, just give me a call. Ja ne!"
Max watched as she leapt away, hopping from shop to shop. Sighing to himself, he looked over her card. "Things just got more interesting," he said to himself.
"Ranma! Just you wait! I'm going to send you to hell for the hell you've put me through!" yelled Ryoga Hibiki to no one in particular as he trekked through a vast desert.
"This doesn't look like the way to Tokyo…" he said, looking around. "But I'm sure I was headed the right way earlier!" He could have sworn he was in China days earlier.
Looking far out to his right, he finally spotted a paved road. "All right! Finally, a road! I'll be there in no time!" He immediately began sprinting down the road. "Ha ha ha! Only a matter of time, Saotome!" he laughed, passing a road sign that proclaimed Welcome to Nevada.
"A cyborg?" Carlos asked. He was staring at the marks on Max's chest.
"Yeah. I have no idea, either." They were both sitting on a hill overlooking the springs of Jusenkyo.
"Interesting mark it left you," he said, sitting back up. "Is it what I think it is?"
"Who knows?" max replied. "I hope it doesn't mean the Apocalypse is around the corner, though. I wanna have a little fun, first."
"Hear, hear."
After a few moments of silence, Max turned to his friend. "You ever thought about getting a curse? They're pretty useful at times."
"Nah, that's not for me. Soun never had one, and I think I'm fine sticking with that part of the story."
"I can see that. Still, none of this changes the fact that we still don't have any connection to military intelligence. We're gonna have to work at it before we can find someone." He threw a tiny glance, out of the corner of his eye, at a nearby tree. "But, luckily, we've got other things to worry about."
"Like what?" Carlos asked.
Picking up a fist-sized rock, Max hurled it towards the tree. "Like this!"
The rock struck something inside the foliage, and out fell a purple-haired figure. She landed on her feet, clutching a long sword in one hand, and a bonbori in the other.
"Hey, Shampoo," Max said, waving to her.
"Aiyaah! Is Killer Panda-man! Where Ranma?" the girl demanded, running up to them.
"Why? What do you want with him- er, her?"
"I find girl, and kill!" she answered.
"Heh. Good luck," Max replied.
"Other women in village angry that husband has run away also," she said, brandishing her sword at him.
"I already told you, I'm spoken for," Max said, indicating the ring on his left hand. "I don't recognize your backwards, idiotic laws. So, you and your whole village can stuff it."
"You shouldn't speak to a woman that way," said another voice. "I won't forgive those who break the laws of the Amazons."
Max turned, and saw someone else leap down from another tree. A handsome-looking, long-haired Chinese boy wearing robes and a pair of glasses. "Hey, it's Mousse."
The boy looked up. "You know my name?"
"I know a lot of things," Max responded. "Including the cold, hard fact that your law doesn't apply to any of us. I ain't going back to your village if I can help it, and it'd be better if you two didn't bother us right now. There are bigger forces at work."
"I ask again; where Ranma?" the girl said, moving her sword closer.
"Find out for yourself," Max said, getting to his feet.
"Die!" he heard Mousse yell as a metal claw on a long rope whizzed by him. He ducked to avoid it on its' way back, and leapt into the springs, landing on one of the poles. Carlos followed him. "You take duck-boy! I'll handle the chick!"
"All right!" he replied.
Max hopped from pole to pole, avoiding swings of blade and bonbori by the Chinese girl. He continued to dodge her for the next few seconds, prompting her to swing harder in anger.
"Stupid panda-man! You turn and fight already!"
"Why? I'm having fun right now. Besides, if I beat you, I'll have you chasing me because of that stupid law," he said, stopping above a particular spring.
"You no defeat me!" she said.
"Please, I defeated your entire village," he replied.
The girl yelled, and leapt after him. Max smirked, and leapt just above her, knocking her down into the spring below with a kick. A splash later, he noticed a small cat swimming onto the bank.
"No! Shampoo!" he heard Mousse yell a few springs away, just long enough for Carlos to knock him into the spring below the both of them.
Max noticed Shampoo-neko long enough for her to hiss at him from the ground, then take off away from the springs, heading back to the village. Letting her go, he leapt down to where Carlos stood, just beside the spring where Mousse had fallen. "I guess he was fated to be a duck."
"What do we do with him?" Carlos asked.
"I guess we just leave once we know he's okay."
There was a splash, and both of them looked toward the source, both expecting a duck. Instead, what looked like a grey falcon emerged, flapping wildly in the water.
"Oops. Wrong spring," Carlos quipped.
Max laughed. "Who cares? He should be happier now. C'mon, get him outta' there."
After they dragged the falcon out of the spring with a long stick, the bird shook itself off, then looked at the two men in apparent confusion. It then looked around at the surrounding springs before squawking.
"Hey…do you think…" Carlos said, looking back at Max.
Max sighed. "Only one way to find out." He reached into his coat, and pulled out a thermos that held hot water. Dousing the bird, they found themselves looking at the naked from of Mousse, who looked at the both of them, then balked.
"Shit!" he said, putting his hands in front of his eyes. "What's wrong? I could see better as the falcon!"
"Mousse?" Max asked. "Are you alright?"
"Mousse?" he said, looking down at himself. He then looked back at the spring once again. "Holy shit…so that's where I am."
Max went right to the questions. "What's your name, pal?"
The man in Mousse's body looked back at them, narrowing his eyes. "And just who are you two?"
"We're like you," Carlos answered. Turning to Max, he said, "I guess we should explain in full."
"And that's it," Max said. "We figured we might as well make the most of it."
"I can understand that," answered Mousse's new inhabitant, now wearing some Chinese clothes they had bought him.
"Your turn," Carlos said.
"All right," he said, clearing his throat. "The name's Schneider; Mordecai Schneider. And I'm from Haifa, Israel."
"Interesting," Max said. "Whatever force that's behind this really likes to go international."
"What were you doing just before you got here?" Carlos asked.
"Why do you ask?" he said.
"There's apparently a certain way one is dragged into this," Max answered. "For either of us, it involved electronics and a screen."
"Oh, yeah. I was on my computer, working on a simulation program. That's when everything went haywire, and, next thing I know, I'm drowning while in the body of a falcon."
"What kind of simulation program?" Carlos asked.
"Weapons training, return-fire, that sort."
"What do you know about that kind of stuff?" Max asked.
"Quite a bit. I spent eight years in the military. I'm a weapons and demolitions expert."
Max's eyes were wide. It was as though his half-hearted prayers had been answered. "You make these programs for the military?" he asked.
"No, I left them last year. I'm currently working for the Mossad."
Max's eyes went even wider, than narrowed. "Prove it," he said.
"We don't keep IDs, if that's what you mean," he replied. "Not real ones, anyway. But I do have the connections to prove it."
"Okay, I believe you," Max said. "This whole revelation must be the only reason you'd be willing to let us in on this."
"Of course. We're obviously going to be stuck like this for a while, and you guys are the only ones I can really trust. And I need people to work with."
"So, you're in?" Carlos asked.
"Absolutely," Mordecai replied. "I've been waiting for something to happen. There hasn't been any excitement recently. I've spent most of my time reading manga back and forth between assignments. But this changes everything. Just let me get my hands on some better clothes; and a gun or two. I'm honestly feeling naked without my arsenal."
"I'm liking you more already," Max said. "Still, what're you gonna do about the Amazons? They'll be looking for Mousse."
"Well, they aren't gonna find him. I'm severing all ties with that damn tribe as of this moment. I'll leave 'em a little memento, though, for their sake."
As Max and Carlos chatted with their new friend, a lone, dark figure watched them from a nearby tree. It was a woman; tall, dressed in a Chinese battle outfit, with her hair in buns. Unlike the young Amazon girl she had just seen become cursed, she knew how to properly hide her presence. She'd been watching the one with scars on his chest ever since he'd passed by the place where she was meditating, and was now completely focused on him.
"So," she said, curling her lips, "it seems you're still alive. I never expected you to last this long, not with your lifestyle." She cracked her knuckles, and laughed lightly. "No matter. Now, I can finally finish you off."
Max sat down near a small waterfall not far from the nearby town. Carlos had taken Mordecai into town to buy himself a few weapons from the Russian Black Market warehouse. He'd decided to wait for them, thinking about his newly-received scars.
I wonder if this really is a sign, he thought. If the style really exists, I'd be all but unstoppable. Problem is, how the hell am I supposed to find out who knows it?
"I never thought you were one for nature," a gruff female voice said.
Looking up at a nearby tree, Max saw the woman standing on a large branch. She was eyeing him, a nasty smirk on her face. "It's been a long time. I thought you'd be dead by now."
"Who the hell are you?" Max asked.
"Feigning ignorance, I see." She leapt down from the tree. "Or, perhaps you merely no longer have a good memory. Fine, then." She moved closer. "I am Yura-Lan, an Amazon warrior, and master of Nanto Seiken!" She began to glow with a reddish aura. "And now, Du Shen, I'm going to finally kill you!" She leapt at him, her fist pulled back.
Max quickly dove out of the way, where the woman left a giant hole in the ground with her fist. He got back up, reaching behind his back to pull a weapon. "Dammit! I don't know you! Leave me alone! I've never done anything to you!"
"You really don't remember?" she asked, the nasty smile still present on her face. She raised a hand with two fingers pointing. "Perhaps this will jog your memory!"
She blew another hole in the ground after Max leapt away again. She moved after him, swinging more strikes, which Max barely dodged. The woman was faster and stronger than any opponent he'd faced before, far stronger than the Amazons from before.
After a few more missed swings, Max took a bad step, and Yura connected a backfist slam to his jaw, sending him flying back. He got up as quickly as he could, feeling the pain as he did so.
"You've let yourself become soft, haven't you, Du Shen?" she said, jumping in front of him. "You're nowhere near as fast as you used to be! Why aren't you using your Hokuto Shinken?"
"I'm who? My what?" Max asked, confused.
Squeezing an angry fist, the woman sent a kick to his gut. "I'm growing angry with this ignorance ploy, Shen!" she said, before lifting him in the air, and throwing him into a nearby tree trunk. "You were bad enough five hundred years ago, but now you're just acting pathetic!"
Max straightened up, laying against the trunk, feeling for broken bones. "Five hundred years? What the hell are you talking about? And my name isn't Du Shen, or whatever! I've never seen you before in my life!" He reached inside his coat, pulling handgun. However, Yura ran up, and quickly kicked it away.
"I figured you'd go for lousy modern weapons," she said. "But I never thought you'd forget everything, including your fighting style!" She grabbed him by the scruff of his coat, and held him against the tree. "Besides, if you're not Du Shen, how come you have the seven scars on your chest?"
Max looked down at the scars, then back up at her. "I just got those from an accident! It had nothing to do with you."
She scoffed. "Pathetic. You know, Shen, it's a shame. No matter how troublesome, how annoying, how much of an outright pain in my neck you used to be, at least then, you had some pride! You really don't remember when I gave you those scars, Shen? Like this?"
Using two fingers, she drove her hand into his upper arm, tearing open flesh and muscle. Max let out a scream, feeling even worse pain when she yanked her fingers back out.
"I'll be glad to finish you off with my Nanto Seiken. Then, there won't be many fighters of Hokuto Shinken left for me to kill!"
Max's eyes went wide. "What do you mean, 'Hokuto Shinken'?"
"Forget it, Shen, you're not squirming your way out of this one. I've been waiting to do this for over five hundred years!" She raised her hand, and pointed two fingers at his eye level. The hand began to glow with her aura. "There can be only one!"
A sudden, enormous blast of chi slammed into her, forcing her to let Max go, and sending her flying into the pond below the waterfall. Max looked in the other direction, and saw an old man standing a few feet away. He was bald, had a white beard, and was wearing orange robes, with a necklace of dark blue prayer beads. His hand was outstretched, and he was glaring at Yura. "That will be enough, Yura."
The woman growled in anger, and leapt out of the water, onto a nearby rock. "Ryuken! Damn you, you worthless old geezer!"
"Naturally, Yura, I can't let you attempt to kill off all my students; or other innocent people, for that matter. Give it up; there's no way you can stand against me."
A large grimace crossed her face, but she seemed to accept his words. She turned away, looking towards Max. "Another time, Du Shen!" she yelled, then leapt over the waterfall, out of sight.
Ryuken turned to her would-be victim, who was now passed out against the tree. Sighing, he glided over to lift the man up.
Max woke up on tiny bed of cloth, inside a small hut. He was shirtless, had a bandage on his right arm where the woman had left a wound, and could smell some food boiling over a nearby fire, where the old man who'd rescued him was tending to it.
"I wouldn't be too quick to move around if I were you," the old man said, not looking up from his work. "She left you a nasty cut; it will take some time to heal."
"Who are you?" Max said upon seeing the man. "Where am I?" Max asked again, looking around the hut.
"My name is Ryuken," he answered, still tending to the food, "and this is my place. We're about a mile from the waterfall where you had your little fight. I must say, you're lucky to be alive."
"Who was she?" Max asked. "And why was she calling me…what was it, 'Du Shen'?
"That woman," he said, pouring some gruel into a couple of bowls, "was no ordinary woman. That, my friend, was a youkai. Here you go," he said, handing Max his bowl and a pair of chopsticks.
Max took the bowl. "Youkai? You mean a demon?"
"Yes, a female, humanoid youkai. One that was also a member of the school of Nanto Seiken," he answered, digging into his own food slowly.
Pausing for a moment, Max took a bite. "She said she was waiting for me for over five hundred years."
"Well, demons live quite a long time."
"I guess so," Max said. "Then, what did she want with me? Why was she calling me by that name?"
Ryuken swallowed another small mouthful of rice gruel, and sighed. "That, I'm not sure about. Though, I do have an idea."
"And what's that?" Max asked, more attentive.
"Well, first of all, it has something to do with the mark on your chest; the seven of them, actually. The name she was calling you by was the name of another demon she knew all those years ago."
"Who? This 'Du Shen' guy, or whatever?"
"Yes. Du Shen was a demon; or half-demon, rather. And he had the exact mark that you have, my friend. Plus, he looked a bit like you, although he never looked as old as you do now. I must say it's an amazing coincidence."
Max looked down at the seven scars that made the shape of Hokuto. "So that's what she meant when she said she gave them to me."
"Exactly. She gave them to him in a fit of anger, hundreds of years ago."
"She must have really hated that guy, whoever he was."
"Well, I remember the stories. He was apparently a bit of a troublemaker in some people's eyes, and he had many feuds. But, from what I've been told, he was quite an amazing fellow."
"How do you know so much about him?" Max asked. "You aren't that old, are you?"
"No, of course not," the man chuckled. "I know of him, because he was our school's Grand Master five hundred years ago."
Max looked up from his rice. "Your school?"
"Yes," the old man said. "I'm the sixty-third Grand Master of the fighting style of Hokuto Shinken."
Max was surprised. He had known who Ryuken was, and what his school was, but this other character was news to him. "A hanyou knew Hokuto Shinken?"
"Yes, he did. And he was probably the most intriguing Grand Master in many generations. Hokuto Shinken has been around for almost 2,000 years. In that whole time, Du Shen was the only Grand Master with demon blood flowing through his veins. Thus, he turned it into an art that could be attributed to youkai as well, whereas before, it had merely been an art of assassination dangerous to other humans. Du Shen changed all that. Thanks to him, those who use the art can destroy evil youkai as well."
Max listened intently. "Sounds like a good enough guy."
"He was, friend. He was part human, and learned the art in order to defend humans."
"Then why did that crazy broad hate him so much?"
The old man seemed to chuckle at this as well. "I really don't know. I can only assume they didn't get along." He took another slurp from his gruel. "Anyway," he said, "I forgot to ask you about your story. What is your name, friend?"
Max sighed, and held out his hand. "Saotome," he said, "Genma Saotome."
Ryuken took his hand, and shook lightly. "It's my pleasure," he said. "I don't know how you got those marks, friend, but it makes no difference to Yura. She's mistaken you for Du Shen, and she'll be back to finish you."
Max let his head drop at this. "She was really strong and fast," he said. "Too much for me to handle. I'm gonna have to start carrying heavier weapons around."
"That won't do you much good, friend," Ryuken cut in. "She's changed with the times as well, and knows how to defend herself against modern weapons."
Max looked at the old man, looking distraught. "What the hell am I supposed to do, then?"
Ryuken rested his chin in his hand, thinking deeply. "It's against our school's rules to teach the art to multiple people," he said. "There can never be more than one person who knows the art at a time. However," he said, "in your case, I'll be willing to make a small exception."
Max looked at the man in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"It wasn't your fault this happened. And you'll need to know a style that can defeat her."
"Are you saying you're willing to teach me your art?" Max asked.
"Not all of it, no," he answered. "But enough for you to protect yourself while you train to become stronger. If you're willing to stay with me for a while, I can train you."
Max sat up, moving closer to the man. "Of course! I'll work as hard as I can!"
The old man smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."
It had been three days since the ambush by Yura. Max had let Carlos and Mordecai know that he had plans for training, and they decided to find something to do for the next week or so. Ryuken had been training with him in and out, more than ten hours a day, teaching Max techniques involving pressure points on the human body. Max had to study ancient scrolls about the techniques and the build of the human form in his free time, and only slept six hours a night, rising early each day to meditate with Ryuken. The old man made him climb mountains, swim through rivers, and train in many brutal ways. He also had to due several chores for the man as well. Still, Max held strong, never arguing once. He wanted to learn those techniques.
On the fourth day, Max was busy meditating after their afternoon workout. A sudden presence behind him snapped him out of his meditative state, and he turned his head around, finding two young boys standing behind him.
"Who are you?" the older one asked. He was at least thirteen from his looks, and was wearing a cheap Chinese dogi. The shorter boy standing next to him looked no older than five, and was wearing a similar, albeit smaller outfit. "I haven't seen you before."
"And I haven't seen you before, either," Max replied. "I'm training here, if that matters to you. What do you want?"
"We're here to find our master," the boy said. "He trains here as well, but he's late for our session."
Before Max could speak again, he heard Ryuken coming up the small hill. "Saotome, it's time for you to start-"
He stopped in his tracks when he saw the two boys. "Raoh, Kenshiro; what are you two doing up here? I told you to wait back at the hut."
Max became attentive at these names, and turned to the boys. "We've been waiting for you for the past few minutes," Raoh replied. "We just wanted to know what is the matter."
"That's no excuse to abandon your session," the old man said.
"Master, tell us: who is this man?" Raoh said, gesturing to Max.
"Someone I am training with. You don't need to know more than that. Now, return to the hut. I'll be there soon enough. Until I return, practice last week's lesson."
Raoh did not seem satisfied, but nodded, and turned to leave, taking Kenshiro with him. Ryuken sat down in front of Max. "Sorry about them. Those are two of my students. I adopted them a few years ago after their village was destroyed."
"And you're teaching them the art?" Max asked.
"Yes; one of them, or one of the other two of my sons, will be the next Grand Master of Hokuto Shinken, after me."
"I see," Max said.
"Shall we continue with the lesson?" Ryuken said, pulling a scroll out of his robes.
Later that evening, Ryuken had taken Max to a secluded area in the woods outside his home. This was an open area, surrounded by the thick forest, and sheltered from any light above by the thick canopy. They were both dressed in black, ninjistu-style outfits for the occasion, at the request of Ryuken.
"I've had you study the human body, and all of its' strong and weak points," Ryuken said, sitting across from Max. "I've shown you how to keep the body as one, and how to completely take it apart. However, this doesn't do much for your situation with Yura." He cleared his throat.
"Du Shen passed on his technique to future students, but, unfortunately, no one else has ever been able to match his skill against youkai. However, we believe it might have to do with the flow of chi through the body. If this is true, he learned how to feel an enemy's aura so well, he was able find the different locations for the pressure points just by feeling their chi flow. Though, there aren't many demons left, so few of us have had any practice with them. Still, I'm doing what I can for you. Now, I've noticed you've found out how to harness your chi."
"Well, yeah," Max answered, rubbing the back of his head. "I can summon chi by building up my emotions, but I haven't been able to mold it into an effective weapon. I guess I haven't been working at it enough."
"Can you sense the auras of those around you?"
"To an extent."
"Good. You've been studying the important parts, then. Here, your ability to sense auras will be put to the absolute test. If you can tell one aura from another, and learn to find a particular one amongst many, you can find the pressure points amongst all other parts in the human, or any creature's, body. In other words, in order to learn this art, you must learn to master your surroundings."
He clapped his hands twice. A second later, Max could briefly hear the sound of several footsteps approaching them from several different directions in the forest surrounding them; though, he was probably only able to sense them because of his latest training efforts; otherwise, they were nearly silent. Soon, there were two dozen men dressed like Max, only with their hoods donned. "And who are these people?" Max asked.
"Now, I wouldn't be a Grand Master if I told you everything, now, would I?" He stood up slowly, donned his hood, and disappeared behind the ninjas, who boxed themselves around Max. Max donned his own hood, and prepared himself.
"A true warrior can conceal their chi to the point of near-invisibility," he heard Ryuken's voice whisper softly. Max saw he was right, as the chi from the other men, while low itself, was muddling Ryuken's presence. "Even when striking a deadly blow!"
It happened just fast enough for Max to notice only too late. A black figure zipped by him, striking a pressure point on his lower back, causing him to temporarily lose feeling in his legs. Missing with his own strike, he struggled to keep on his feet as the men around him changed positions.
"You must learn to tell one aura from another…before you can find your true target!" Another strike, this time on his back, caused him to collapse to the ground. The men changed their positions as he struggled to get the feeling in his legs back. He'd been able to sense Ryuken's aura during the attacks; otherwise, he was hiding it well. Max then realized he hadn't made the same attempt to hide his aura along with the men. Getting another idea, he poked at a point on the upper shoulder of one of the men surrounding him, and immediately stood right behind him, calming his arua.
The man twitched lightly, as though he was in pain, but remained fairly still. Max felt the man's aura flare up just enough, as well as another one next to him. The man to his side moved closer, and grabbed him around the neck. "Letting your aura act up while trying to hide yourself…you still need work!" Ryuken said. The old man than felt another hand touch his back, all five fingers on vital points. "Not quite," he heard Max's voice say. Ryuken turned to see his student holding his hand on his back.
"Very impressive. I see you really are ready for this."
By the seventh day, Max had learned a suitable amount of techniques, and had practiced his new technique on forest beasts, attempting to read their chi flow to find their vital points. He'd been fairly successful, and hoped he could apply the same technique to the youkai woman. And even though Ryuken didn't plan on teaching him everything the art had to offer, Max didn't plan on stopping. Once he'd gotten rid of Yura, he planned to keep developing the technique as far as it could go.
Max had just gone to clean some clothes in the river, and was returning to the hut. Walking through the door, he dropped the rags in surprise. The inside of the hut was a mess, with several artifacts broken on the floor, scrolls and other papers scattered across the room. And, near the back wall, Ryuken was crouched over himself in a semi-fetal position, clearly in pain.
Max rushed up to him. "Hey, Sifu, what's wrong? What happened here?" he said, looking around once more.
Ryuken struggled to speak. "It…it was Raoh. He attacked me with Jagi…one of my other students…and wounded me. I drove him off…but I still sustained this."
Max helped him up. "Why the hell would he attack you?"
"Ever since he first saw you, he's grown distrustful. He seemed to think I was training you to be the successor to Hokuto Shinken. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he wouldn't listen. Jagi was easily swayed by Raoh's claim, he's always been deceptive and impure in the heart…but I held them off. They ran off, and I think Toki went with them."
Max feigned ignorance. "Toki?"
"Toki is Raoh's brother. He's a good, helpful boy, but he loves his brother all the same. I think Raoh may have deceived him. But…they left Kenshiro behind. I guess Raoh didn't believe he would be suitable for where they were going."
Max sighed. "Does that mean…?"
"Kenshiro will be the successor; if only I can live long enough." He sat up, seemingly in less pain than before. "But I would still like to have you around, to help me train him. This unfortunate event has brought about setbacks, and I'll need some help if I'm to continue training Kenshiro…"
Max sighed lightly. "Look," he said. "I understand the situation, and I'll be willing to stay help as long as I can-"
A strong wind developed outside the hut, sending a gust of wind through the door and into the room, scattering the mess even more. An even stronger blast of wind broke the roof of the hut right off, sending it flying into the distance. One of the walls fell, revealing the culprit.
"Yura!" Ryuken yelled, eyeing her.
"How touching," the female youkai said, the evil smirk returning to her face. "The master and student, sharing their last moments together. Enjoy it while you can!" She raised her hands up again, and sent another chi blast at them. Max picked up the old man, and leapt out of the hut with him just before it was shattered to splinters. He landed, and set him down, letting him stand.
"Okay," Max said, cracking his knuckles. "Time for some payback, lady."
"Hold it," Ryuken said, holding his hand out. "You're not ready yet. Leave this to me."
"But you're already injured!" Max replied.
"Don't worry about that. Just let me handle her; you come in when I tell you to!" He leapt into the fray, launching an array of strikes at the youkai. She parried them with equally fast hands, having no trouble against the weakened Ryuken.
"Your strikes are weak, Ryuken," she growled. "I hope someone didn't injure you before I got a chance to…"
"What are you babbling about-" A thought suddenly came to him, causing his attention to be averted for less than a second. That was all Yura needed, though; her hand glowing with chi in a chopping motion, she sliced Ryuken clear across the chest, then sent him flying back with heavy right hook. He skidded along the ground, making a long trench in the dirt.
"Ryuken!" Max yelled, running to jump into the fray. He stopped when Yura turned to him, a glowing ball of chi forming in her hand. "As you can see, Shen, I've learned some new techniques in my time with the Amazons! I hope you like them!" she laughed, hurling the ball at him, leaving barely any time for Max to avoid it. She was quicker, though, and he couldn't avoid the next one. The blast sent him flying back several feet, forming his own ditch in the ground from the impact.
"Wait your turn," she said, turning back to Ryuken, who was attempting to stop the blood flow from the wounds on his chest and arms.
"It…it was you," he said weakly, coughing up some blood. "You turned Raoh against me!"
The youkai smiled evilly. "Very good," she said. "He was easy enough to convince, with you training Shen. You weren't giving them the attention they wanted, so I told him you were planning to replace them. And he managed to weaken you enough for me to finish you off. My plan worked perfectly!" she said, laughing.
Ryuken tried to stand up, but fell to his knees. "Damn…you, Yura…"
She yanked him up by his robes. "Forget it, old man. End of the line!" She prepared her two fingers, pointing them at his face. When Ryuken attempted to form a last-ditch chi ball in his hands, she grabbed hold of his fist, and crushed it with a sickening crunch. Ryuken screamed in pain as Yura jabbed her fingers in his face again. "There can be only one!" she yelled, driving her fingers into his eyes, causing him to scream even more painfully.
A sudden blast of force to her back sent them both tumbling to the ground. Getting up from the dust, she looked behind her, spotting Max with a shotgun in his hands. She growled, baring her teeth.
"I thought I told you to wait your turn!" she yelled, getting to her feet.
Max pulled back on the slide, pumping out the used cartridge. "I don't wait on filth," he said. "I find it, and I trash it."
She smiled her nasty smirk at him again. "You should know a weapon like that won't kill me."
"Who says I need to kill you with it?" he replied, firing another round, this time at her face. She fell back from the power of the blast. "I only need to beat the shit out of you with it."
When she sat up, Max could see the new scars on her face left by the shot pellets. She screamed in rage, sending another chi blast at him. Max was hurled to the ground, his weapon bent and melted from the blast. Getting to his feet, he stood across from her, staring her down.
"You think you can beat me?" she said. "I've been training for this day for centuries! In that time, you've forgotten everything! What makes you think you have a chance against me?"
Might as well give it a try, he thought. "This!" Max said, readying his fists for an attack. Applying his chestnut fist speed to the technique, he launched into a Hokuto Hykuretsu, striking all would-be pressure points with over a hundred strikes in succession. While Yura was driven back, and clearly felt pain from the strikes, the attack did not have the desired effect.
"Fool!" Yura said, getting to her feet. "Why did you use the technique meant for humans? You should know that that technique won't work on me, even in my human form! It looks like you really have forgotten all your demon-based techniques!" Her hand began to glow again. "You know what? I don't even need my Nanto Seiken…I'll finish you off with my own demon powers!" A ball of light formed in her palm. "Feel my venomous sting!" She flung her hand, sending dozens of needle-shaped blasts at him. A few managed to strike him, and he felt the resulting pain.
Max suddenly had a thought. "Sting?" he said to himself. "Does that mean…"
Yura smirked. "That's right," she said with her evil grin. "Time to remind you just how frightening I can become!" She dropped to a crabwalk position, and slowly began to convulse. After a few seconds, her eyes began to morph into large purple globs, and a huge wasp stinger and abdomen reputed from her nether regions. Her whole body changed shape, and she grew wings. Soon, Max was face-to-face with a giant wasp demon.
"Starting to remember, huh, Shen?" she cackled in a murky voice, spitting a purple fluid at him. He dove away, and cringed when he saw a large whole melted in the ground where he had been. The second he looked up, though, he was knocked ten feet by a clawed leg.
"This is for all the hell you've raised in my life!" She roared. "For all my teachings you disrupted…and the students you defiled!" She sent another wave of venomous stings at him, which he dodged.
"Oh, C'mon!" Max said suddenly. "From what I remember, they enjoyed the hell out of it!"
He stopped suddenly, surprised at his words. Unfortunately, it was just enough for Yura to knock him with another blow. Staggering to his feet, thoughts ran through his head. This is going nowhere! I have to find out where her vital points are! But I can't read her chi well enough! He continued to fight, using every chi-based attack he had learned. Still, none of it did any more than slow her down. He just couldn't read her aura that well with the experience he had. Dammit! Where are her vital points?
There! A voice in his head spoke all of a sudden. For less than an instant, Max wondered where the thought had come from, but immediately afterwards was flooded by sudden knowledge. He knew her vital points now.
Cracking his knuckles, he stared down the wasp youkai in front of him, who appeared to be planning a final strike. "Confident all of a sudden, are we" Yura laughed. "Fine! Give me your best shot!"
"With pleasure," Max replied, a large blue aura glowing around him as he readied his attack. "Hokuto Hykuretsu Ken!" he shouted, delivering the hundred blows to different parts of her body. After he was done, he stepped back, smirked, and turned around.
Yura finally spoke up. "Ha! You think you've beaten me, fool?"
"You're already dead," Max replied.
"Oh, really?" she said, readying another attack. "Well, then let's see how you like…huh?" she sputtered, feeling something new. Her body began to shake and convulse. "This cannot be!" She yelled, as lumps began to grow from her head and thorax. "He's never been able to read my chi flow before! How is this possible?" Her abdomen, as well as her legs, exploded in a mass of gooey puss, and, following a final piercing scream, so did her head.
Max looked back at the nasty remains of the finally dead wasp youkai. Though he was happy and relieved, he could not figure out how the answer had come to him all of a sudden, or his remark during the fight. Then, his mind flew back to another matter.
"Sifu!" he yelled, running over to where Ryuken had fallen, and seeing that Kenshiro, the young boy from earlier, was already there by his side.
The boy was looking down at his teacher, tears filling his eyes. "Sifu! Please don't die! I…I don't know what I would do…"
Ryuken, whose eyes had been gouged, reached a hand up to his youngest student's face. "Ken, my boy…you must be brave. You knew this time would come…eventually." He coughed up blood as he finished. He reached a hand out for Max to take, already aware of his presence. "Saotome," he said weakly. "Is she gone?"
"Yes, Sifu," Max replied.
He continued, pausing every few seconds to catch his breath. "You were never meant to be Hokuto Shinken's next Grand Master. And, in a way, you aren't. However…I need you to keep training in the art…specifically so that…you can complete my teachings, and make Kenshiro the next Grand Master. I am enlisting this task to you. I know you can do it."
Max nodded silently. Ken kneeled closer to his Sifu, and cried out. "But Sifu! You can't die now! And I don't know this man!"
Ryuken turned his blind face towards Ken. "Ken…listen to me. You must go with this man. He may be an outsider, but he's a worthy sensei. Learn from him, and become the next Grand Master of our art. This is my last wish."
Ken cried some more before nodding his head. "I understand Sifu."
Ryuken smiled, and relaxed. A few minutes later, he was gone.
Max watched, with Kenshiro by his side, as the hut, where Ryuken and his students had lived, went up in flames. Ryuken's body went with it as well. Max had gathered up all the scrolls from the place necessary to continue the art, and then set it afire.
Clapping his hands together for a final prayer, Max watched Ken do the same.
"Time to go, Ken," he said. The boy nodded, not taking his eyes off the burning house.
A few hours later, they met up with Carlos and Mordecai at the nearest airport, and took the next flight back to Tokyo.
On a different time plane…
Kikyou's eyes snapped open all of a sudden as she held her fingers together in meditation in front of a small flame. She had just felt a presence she had not felt for years, one that she had no desire to ever feel again. Something was amiss.
Things were bad enough as it was. Her resurrection had been utter hell to endure, as had the recent revelations concerning her old flame, including the new girl he was with. And now, she was trying to focus all of her energy on collecting enough souls to stay alive long enough to defeat Naraku, the one ho had truly deceived her.
However, this force she had felt seemed even worse than the devilish hanyou. Although she could swear she'd felt it before, she could not put her finger on it. While it didn't necessarily spell out evil, it certainly felt like it was meant to bring chaos and unrest. Which meant it might as well have been evil. There was only one problem: she didn't know how to find it. It could be anywhere, or on any time plane.
She groaned, and thanked the gods that she'd discovered how to use the Bone-Eater's Well for time travel, as well as the fact that, in the future, you could pay to have people listen to your problems. She didn't know what she would do without the psychiatry sessions she was receiving in Kagome's time. Not all problems could be solved in the Sengoku Jidai.
It was time for her to head back to the Well; her next appointment was coming.
Next time: Amazons!
Sorry for all the lost time. I've had a lot to deal with recently. Anyway, I couldn't tell which way the story was going at the mid-point of this chapter, so I threw in Fist of the North Star and Inuyasha almost randomly. I felt it would only help to make the story wackier. Happy trails.