Alright then ladies and gentlemen of Kagatsuchi, I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long but here is the next chapter of Tao and the Art of Love. This took me a while, not only because I have moved back to school but also because of my recent birthday celebrations and some difficulty finding time to sit down and write this story. Since school has started recently as well I think updates might be a bit further in-between than before but I promise that this story will be finished. I would never leave Taokaka hanging like this! I promise as a hero of Kagatsuchi!

Please read, review, and most of all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 6: Poison

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~REBEL 6: START~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thanks booby lady! Tao feels awesome!"

"Just remember to take it easy the next couple of days alright Tao?"

"Tao will try booby lady!"

A bright gleaming grin was the last Litchi saw of Tao, the energetic Kaka launching out of Litchi's front door with the same characteristic electricity everyone had come to know from her. Tao would admit that the past few days she had been less than herself, fretting and somewhat worried over Kagimaru and the current status of their relationship. Were they friends or...were they perhaps something more? Despite her constant thoughts, a rarity for one who lives so deeply in the moment, she found a little bit of solace in the afternoon...after all she got to see Heart Guy again and that was always a treat. She also had the opportunity to ask Litchi's advice on the matter between herself and Kagimaru, a question which seemed to bring the doctor a small smile of amusement before offering all the advice she could give.

Had she been given the opportunity she would have thought about Kagimaru's wound a bit more or perhaps thought about what Litchi's advice was. Granted this thought process would be very short lived and overall forgotten with a short amount of time but the opportunity itself never came. Instead of peaceful darkened street a pair of hands slid over Tao's eyes, an amused voice speaking up, "Guess who?" Tao giggled slightly and turned in the arms, bright crimson eyes shimmering as they fell on the face of a grinning Kagimaru, "Hey Heart Guy!" Suddenly, as her mind remembered the previous events, Tao's eyes narrowed and she softly swatted Kagimaru over the head, "Don't think Tao just forgot all about Heart Guy lying to Tao! Tao forgets a lot of things but she won't forget that!" Kagimaru chuckled softly and rubbed his head, "I'm sorry Tao, I didn't know you cared so much but..." Kagimaru's eyes closed from his unusually bright grin, "how about I make it up to you?" "Nya?" Tao questioned, her head slightly tilted to the side, "make it up to Tao?" Kagimaru nodded, "Yep, dinner and it's my treat." "Nya!" Tao's eyes seemed to shine, "Tao will forgive anything for that Heart guy! Let's go!" As Tao pulled him along, following her delicate nose, Kagimaru reminded himself to thank Litchi the next time he saw the fair doctor.

In no time at all, and with only minimal damage to Kagimaru's abused shoulder, the pair arrived at Orient Town's most popular eating establishment, Tao simply drooling at the scents as Kagimaru felt his wallet scream in terror for the bill to come. After grabbing their seats and ordering their meals they began to talk, or more accurately Tao began to enthusiastically describe each and every delicious smell that crossed her nose while Kagimaru simply listened, a small grin on his lips as Tao commented endlessly. In due time the food arrived and Tao dug in, causing plate after plate to vanish in the blink of an eye. Kagimaru, while at a much slower pace, still ate his fair share and was comfortably full around the same time Tao leaned back in her chair, purring in happiness from her filled belly.

"Nya," Tao sighed, "Tao is so full...she doesn't know if she can eat anymore." Kagimaru chuckled; he knew that in a few moments time Tao could easily be stuffing her face once again. As he looked at Tao he could almost envision the please smile on her mouth, her cheeks rosy with satisfaction as her tongue licked her lips, trying to savor any remaining flavor from her meal. As he stared Tao began to notice Kagimaru's silence, her eyes opening and giving the inattentive Kagimaru a confused stare.

"Heart Guy?" Tao asked, snapping Kagimaru out of his confusion, "is there something on Tao's face?" Kagimaru smirked in response, "No there isn't, I was just thinking how happy Tao looks." Tao felt her cheeks heat up slightly, her smile coming out soft and reserved as she spoke, "oh...um...thanks Heart Guy." Despite her small grin Kagimaru noticed something in Tao's gaze, a certain spark in her crimson stare. Leaning a bit closer to the relaxed Kaka, his question came smoothly and with a gentle air, "Is something bothering you Tao?"

Judging by the shock of Tao's jump Kagimaru was willing to guess he had hit the proverbial nail on the head. His stare became more inquisitive as Tao's paws began to clasp together, protecting her as she fiddled with them. "Well...um..." Tao began, her eyes not quite meeting Kagimaru's as she spoke, "Tao...was just thinking...a bit you know...and, um..." Kagimaru's paws fidgeted just a bit more, her tone becoming quiet and almost inaudible as Kagimaru asked, "Yes Tao?"

"N-nyothing!" Tao said with a sudden burst of energy, her infectious smile bursting from the shadows of her hood while a paw slammed down on the table with a reverberating thud. Kagimaru gave Tao a surprised and suspicious look, curiosity echoing in his gaze as he began to speak, "Tao, what were you going to sa-" With a soft puff Tao's paw playfully slapped Kagimaru across the face, Kagimaru's instinctive jerking back using more force than the actual hit itself. Kagimaru's expression changed from confusion to shock as Tao stuck her tongue out at him, leaping from her seat and racing from the restaurant in a peal of playful laughter. Kagimaru was quick to throw the money onto the table, racing after the excitable Kaka with his own amused grin and capturing goal.

Kagimaru would admit, for Tao's less than spectacular mental abilities her physical stature was more than incredible. While he could keep up with her admirable speed he would never be able to acquire the energy or leg strength for her spectacular jumps and flips through the air. She bounded from one wall to another so frequently Kagimaru began to think Tao had installed rubber on the bottom of her angled boots. With one particularly long jump Tao spun in midair, her feline flexibility showing remarkable use as provoked Kagimaru with a show of her bright red tongue. Tao's challenge hung in the air as she gracefully spun, righting herself in her flight before bounding off into another remarkable leap.

Kagimaru grinned at the challenge, upping his own speed and gradually catching up with the Kaka quicksilver. For quite some time Kagimaru hung back from Tao, matching her speed but waiting for a critical moment to strike. All along the way Tao continued to taunt and tease Kagimaru, her paws pulling her face into ridiculous expressions in an attempt to arise Kagimaru's ire. Despite these efforts Kagimaru remained calm, an amused grin touching his lips as he followed. It seemed that his chance would never come right up until the moment when Tao landed in the puddle of water.

For the briefest of seconds Tao's footing faltered, her step slowing just enough for Kagimaru to catch on. With a burst of speed Kagimaru was right on top of Tao, his arms spread out wide like a pouncing predator upon his prey. Noticing her imminent capture was but a hairs breadth away Tao attempted to leap away, aiming for the small gap between the plates of Kagatsuchi and perhaps a chance at escape. As Tao jumped for escape Kagimaru's hands clamped down, one missing Tao completely but the other managing to grasp the edge of Tao's coat. With his victory assured Kagimaru gave a bright smile which just as quickly transformed into an expression of pure surprise and to a point terror. With her acceleration at insane speeds Tao easily pulled Kagimaru along with her, his strong grip working against him and leading him into a wild free fall with Tao between the plates of Kagatsuchi.

Just as Tao thought she had assured her escape Kagimaru retained his grip, holding on tightly and pulling Tao closer to him. With one final tug Tao was wrapped up tightly in Kagimaru's arms, their bodies in a complete free fall as Kagimaru grinned with victory, "I caught you Tao." Despite their situation, hurtling through the air at untold speeds, Tao couldn't help the blush that hit her face. A bright scarlet burnt across her cheeks as she tried to hide the flush with a downturned hood, "Nya...Heart Guy was just lucky!" Kagimaru smirked, "Luck has nothing to do with it."

Tao opened her mouth to argue back but at that instant both energetic warriors noticed something very important, the ground was catching up on them and fast. With a twist of her spine and incredible balance Tao righted herself, watching as Kagimaru performed a similar maneuver with a bit less grace and skill. In seconds the pair impacted the ground in tandem, their combined weight reverberating along the strong iron plate. For a moment both appeared ready to sprint off again, their game of cat and mouse far from over. Yet, just as they took another step the floor beneath them began to give, the ancient metal beneath their soles giving one last groan of protest before collapsing into hundreds of rusted bits. As the world seemed to rise around her Tao had the oddest sensation of déjà vu.

To Tao and Kagimaru the world quickly became a blur, their freefall causing the world to become a pure swath of uncoordinated coloration. Tao would have marveled at the beauty had Kagimaru not roughly pushed her, the force driving her far away from his own falling body. Just as Tao turned to yell at Kagimaru she found herself nose to metal with a massive chunk of the plate, the massive blade like debris falling directly in the spot Tao had once been. As the chunk of metal passed the pair Tao saw Kagimaru, his eyes turned upward and to the hole in the floor they had created, keeping track of any and all deadly objects as they plummeted into the unknown.

It was seconds before the two reached the ground, solid concrete and metal meeting their crashing feet as they were accompanied by wave upon wave of metal and scrap. A small mountain began to form from the debris, chunks of rusted and sharp metal sticking out from every possible angle. Kagimaru stood up from his crouch on the ground, his sore legs stretching and relaxing from their tremendous fall. Giving himself a once over Kagimaru grinned brightly and turned his head to check on Tao...

"Tao?"

Kagimaru stared at the metal mountain that sat before him, the great wall of twisted iron rising higher than he though possible. The wall stretched a fair length in either direction and with its jagged spikes and spines; there was no way to safely climb over the treacherous terrain. As Kagimaru looked over the iron hill his heart began to speed, had Tao been trapped beneath the rubble? Had she fallen beneath the foot of this twisted metal giant? A cold sweat broke out along Kagimaru's brow, ice water running through his veins as he screamed out, "TAO!"

"...guy?"

It was faint, a soft call from far away but Kagimaru heard it loud and clear in his frantic state, "TAO! I'M ON MY WAY!" There was silence for a bit before the voice responded, "...k!" With all of his speed placed into his frantic feet Kagimaru rushed for one side of the pile, running with all of his speed and strength in hopes of finding Tao unhurt.

Despite his hopes and prayers Tao was less than safe; in fact not many things could have been much worse. With Tao's incredible grace and speed Tao was able to land without a problem, easily tucking into a roll the moment she hit the ground and coming to rest far from the center of the junk heap. However, despite this lucky break Tao was far from out of the danger zone as a piece of shrapnel flew from the pile, a horrible crunch sounding as it broke from a larger piece of scrap and embedded itself in a meaty chunk of Tao's thigh. Tao bit back a scream as she fell to one knee, reaching back and feeling the small spire of steel jutting from the back of her leg. With a slow hiss she grabbed hold of the smooth fragment and jerked it from her flesh, a pained yowl just barely crossing her lips. Tossing the spire away she slowly made it to her feet, favoring her uninjured foot as she hobbled towards the pile.

"...oa!"

Tao's sensitive ears perked up instantly, the sharp triangles listening closely as she called out with all of her might, "HEART GUY?" Tao waited for a moment, listening carefully as she just barely heard the reply, "...ao...I...on...way..." Tao smiled softly, relief slowly flowing through her as she called back, "Okay Heart Guy!" Shaking her head Tao knew she should have been able to call louder, her voice didn't sound nearly as loud as it should have. Thinking a bit Tao realized she suddenly felt very sluggish, sleepy too now that she thought about it. Turning away from the metal pile she went to find somewhere to nap, her bloody leg slowly leaking greater and greater amounts of crimson liquid. Tao didn't notice that her leg seemed to ooze the liquid, her wound spilling enough to leave a solid trail from her landing point to the mountain. Tao only made it a few more steps before she slowly fell to her knees, lying down on her paws, and drifting into a peaceful unconsciousness...

"Wh...her...a...kaka...er?" a muddled voice spoke, it's broken speech sounding akin to a scratched record than a human voice box. With the grace of a slithering snake a shape broke from the shadows, its simple raven black body crawling across the ground with unnatural speed and grace. With radical maneuvers and turns the shape seemed to twist around scattered bits of rubble, bending beyond the limits of imagination as its pointed feet skittered across the ground. Resting at the bow of the slithering form was a simple white mask, a pearly white oval with three circular holes. The creature that approached the sleeping Kaka was none other than Arakune, the black demon from beneath the plates of Kagatsuchi. Arakune arrived at Tao's body with remarkable speed, the multitude of legs that lined its side aiding in its speedy recovery. As the beast neared Tao it's speech became even more shattered, the hissing voice rising as Arakune's body seemed to swell with anticipation, "way...own...ook...licuious. I must...vour...ength...find...azure!"

Kagimaru ran quickly around the mountain, his feet a blur as he raced for Tao's side. Some time ago he had ceased hearing Tao's voice, her returned howls dyeing down as he dashed with all of his strength. Needless to say Kagimaru was worried, it wasn't like Tao to be quiet for any reason other than to eat and even then she was typically scarfing her face loud enough for everyone to hear her. "Tao! TAO!" Kagimaru screamed; his voice hoarse from overuse and with nothing to return his screams they were getting increasingly desperate. However, relief seemed to be on the horizon because with a burst of adrenaline Kagimaru burst from the corner of the pile, leaping from a ledge and gaining a full range view of where he had guessed Tao was. For a moment he smiled brightly, the tan color of Tao's jacket easily coming into view...second before his expression dropped into the pits of despair.

Kagimaru had indeed seen the tan coloration of Tao's jacket but what he hadn't expected to see was the black blob, Arakune, slowly sucking in the last bit of Tao's body in its gorging feast. Kagimaru watched as Tao's limp arm was slowly absorbed into Arakune's body, her gentle paw vanishing into the pitch black form. Kagimaru instantly felt rage course throughout his system, his hand immediately gripping his two blades and darting for Arakune, "YOU BASTARD!" As Kagimaru pulled back his arm to strike Arakune seemed to blink out of existence; a small portal pulling the monster through to another dimension. Kagimaru followed through with his strike, rage pulsing through his veins as his knife was buried into the solid ground. A gargantuan explosion sounded from the thrust, dust and debris shooting from the once stable earth while the ground caved to form a narrow three foot deep crater.

Kagimaru was instantly standing, his knife forgotten as he grabbed another one from his sash, "Come out you fucking monster!" Kagimaru saw a sliver of black from the corner of his vision, his instincts instantly slashing at the approaching object only to find a massive armored leech, split from tip to tail by his furious blade. Kagimaru nearly growled as he heard another approaching sound, the ticking a hundreds of pointed feet racing for his direction. Kagimaru turned with another slash of his deadly edge, the monolithic centipede which had been coming for him now lying in a pile of mincemeat.

Kagimaru's anger was quickly on the rise, his heart pumping with the speed of a racing locomotive as he fended off wave after wave of mutated insect. With each cowardly attack Kagimaru could only defend and provoke, calling for the raven monstrosity to come out and fight in the flesh and blood. What Kagimaru failed to notice in the haze of his rush was the burning in his back, the slow simmering bubbling that had begun to erupt along the full length of his wound. From the shallow open wound there was a soft green glow, a sickly jade hue that seemed to bubble and foam along the deepest pits of the scar. Slowly the emerald foam began to grow, rising up to touch the bandages that were wrapped around his body. The moment the luminescent bubbling touched the bandages the tightly wound cloth disintegrated, his bandages and even his clothing seeming to evaporate in a hissing sizzle.

In a matter of minutes the frothy ivy energy had burst from his clothing, the green luminescence seeming to spill from his wound in a rabid craze. As Kagimaru made a swift slash of his blades some of the fizzing power was shaken off, floating to the ground in a violent hiss. All the while Kagimaru ignored the froth, the sizzle and burn falling upon deaf ears as he focused all of his rage and strength on finding Arakune. Every second was a haze of insects, of biting, of stinging, and it was beginning to wear on his nerves. Without knowing it Kagimaru's hair slowly began to stand up even further on end while his eyes squinted nearly shut, his normally azure hued iris' being invaded by cracks of glowing chartreuse.

Suddenly, beyond the mass of insects and attacks Kagimaru felt he could make something out...something black and blob shaped. Before his mind could configure a plan his body was already moving, a wild lunge and strike in the direction of the shapeless object. With a swift slice of his blade he heard an echoing scream, a pained howl that shattered the silence of the twilight underground. Kagimaru's mouth opened in a wicked grin and he turned his gaze up towards the very cause of his rage, Arakune. The beast shivered and attempted to back away from Kagimaru, its shattered voice speaking, "How...find...hidden...green...poison!" Arakune lurched further into the darkness of its home, its body of knowledge forming a teleportation portal just large enough for it to squeeze through.

Before the beast could flee Kagimaru was in its face, his speed reaching new heights as he cocked a fist, "You're not escaping again!" With a wicked thrust Kagimaru planted his fist right in the center of Arakune's mask, his icy blue gaze being taken over by even more by the eerie golden cracks. Arakune flew like a ragdoll, its body flailing hopelessly before slamming into a solid steel support. With a stressed groan of fatigue the support bent and snapped like a dry autumn twig. This buckling caused Arakune to continue his flight, hitting two more beams with similar reactions for each destructive impact. Eventually Arakune slammed against one final barrier, a monolithic plate of metal which held fast and allowed Arakune to slink down to the cold hard ground.

Yet, the torture was far from over for Arakune because just as it began its decent to the soil, Kagimaru was once again in the monsters cracked face, his grin as terrifying as the glowing emerald froth continued to seep from his back. His insane Cheshire smile still in place, Kagimaru pierced two chunks of Arakune's ether-like flesh, his knives easily sinking into the beast and the solid steel wall behind it. Even though the creature screamed out in pain Kagimaru refused to cease, his hands a blur as he planted ten more of his jagged knives on the circumference of the beast. All the while Kagimaru's grin grew wider and wider, his two toned eyes completely feral as his hair tinged slightly green.

With Arakune firmly fastened to the wall, Kagimaru forcibly planted his feet on either side of the beast, his hand pulled back with his fingers spread wide and twitching slightly, "UNLOCK: DESTRUCTION DISSONENCE!" With a hideous thrust Kagimaru slammed his palm into the center of Arakune's mask, Kagimaru's grasping fingers bubbling with the same emerald energy that spewed from his wound. Slowly, Arakune seemed to vibrate...gradually at first its entire body began to shiver and quake. However, as time went on the quaking became worse, the vibrations even more horrendous, before suddenly Arakune screamed out in raw pain. In a flash of emerald light Arakune seemed to explode, his black globule body exploding like a balloon and spraying across the wall in a raven colored splatter.

In Arakune's place was a body, a lithe and trimmed form held up by the edges of tattered cloth trapped beneath sharp blades. In the center of Arakune's eruption was Taokaka, her clothing a mess and her body pale and slightly burnt. However, aside from these misfortunes her breath came in slow, skipping gasps. With the speed of the wind Kagimaru instantly retrieved all of the knives, letting Tao's body fall into his arms. The loud groan of metal accompanied his disconnection with the wall only to be followed by silence as Kagimaru rushed for the mountain of metal, a brilliant smile on his face as his deep blue eyes burned with joy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~END~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And here we are, mysteries deepen as the world comes to a mysterious emerald hue. I hope you enjoyed and please review. Thank you and have a good one now!