*And so it comes to this, the most important duel of my "career". They always feel a little awkward to write, simply because the real-life maneuvers happen so much faster than it takes to actually read them. I hope it was worth the wait.
Leonardo was quick to pursue Takashi, but he didn't need to be. The man deliberately waited for him by the exit to the staircase, as if he wanted to make sure that the turtle was following him. The moment they made eye contact again, Takashi bolted through the door.
Leonardo sprinted down the hallway after him. He couldn't see Takashi when he entered the stairwell, but he could hear the man's footsteps rapidly ascending. Adrenaline coursed through his veins anew as he chased the man up the stairs, casting away concern of a trap or his brothers getting into trouble. They'll take care of each other; they have to. I've got no option except to deal with Takashi myself.
Leonardo focused on the sounds of his quarry's persistent climbing. He could tell they were probably nearing the top of the building. Sure enough, when he'd run up the last flight of stairs, all he found was an empty walkway leading to another door.
He touched the knob as if it could be part of a trick, and swung the door open. Leonardo's hand quivered over the hilt of one of his katana as he stepped out onto the roof and looked around. Though he was deadly with a pair of blades, the irony existed that pinpointing his accuracy on one katana was more effective against a gifted opponent.
He spotted Takashi a couple of yards out from him, backing slowly away.
"We had an agreement, Leonardo," he said more mildly than the turtle would have expected.
"You had no intention of honoring it fairly," Leonardo said coolly. "Every action you've ever taken has proven otherwise. You leave me no choice."
"No choice for what, Leonardo? You could not finish me before. Do you intend to pick up where you left off?" The man sneered.
"I could have finished you," he said sharply. "Part of me wishes that I had. So many things would never have happened, and hundreds of people would still be alive."
"You care far too much for lives that don't concern you, Leonardo. It's going to be your death one of these days," Takashi said meaningfully.
"It might be," the turtle allowed. "But not tonight."
He chose not to advance yet as the warrior raised his katana, angling it over his head. Leonardo drew a blade without making a sound, executing the signal for the beginning of the fight. He watched Takashi closely as the man moved cautiously, and the turtle carefully advanced too. Every motion was deliberate, almost as if they were tiptoeing around one another.
He sensed the snap of action in Takashi's frame an instant before the man leapt, swiping his katana in the direction of Leonardo's chest. He caught the man's weapon on the flat edge of his blade, and exchanged two strikes with him before Takashi attempted to land a front kick.
Leonardo rotated his body out of reach, shifting his momentum effortlessly. As the man added a second kick to the combination Leo swerved again, bringing his arm parallel with Takashi's striking leg. The turtle's hand came down in a chopping motion to block his attack, and he managed to spin his opponent around so that his back was facing him.
Leonardo nearly had an arm around his throat before the man threw his head backwards and cracked him in the chin. Takashi whirled around as Leo corrected his stance, and their blades met in another powerful clash, then separated when the man withdrew.
Takashi's respite was short-lived. He lunged toward the turtle again, almost as quickly as he'd retreated. Leonardo stepped out of his striking range, forcing the man to pursue him. Takashi's blade picked up speed, slashing so accurately that Leonardo was forced to spin around him to avoid the maneuver.
Leonardo brought his blade into the position to parry as he made the blind turn, catching Takashi's katana at just the right moment. Their weapons locked with one another for a couple of seconds, and the blue-masked turtle stared into the face of his enemy. He sensed that he was stronger than Takashi, but the man's hellish determination was nothing to take for granted.
Leonardo preferred to stay locked until his opponent's arm gave out, but Takashi wasn't going to make it that easy. While he watched, the man pivoted on his leg and performed a one-handed side flip out of the turtle's reach, then resumed his ready stance.
Leonardo aggressively pursued him, arcing his blade toward Takashi's hand with the intention of disarming him. The man parried, and they exchanged another three katana strikes before their blades locked up to the side, so that they ended up running into each other.
Takashi dropped low to disengage his katana, and attempted an upward thrust on the turtle's neck. Leonardo blocked the blow and was mid-spin when Takashi's foot suddenly connected with his ankle, throwing off his compromised center of gravity. Leonardo went down on one knee, but still managed to parry the next strike that the man had intended for his throat.
Leonardo used his elbow as a lever against the ground as he flipped over backwards, lunging to his feet in a seamless transition he'd performed too many times to count. He gave the man a grim smile as he realized Takashi's even keel was faltering. Not feeling so calm now, are you?
He spun his blade as his enemy pressed forward with another attack, and once again found himself forced to rely more on instinct than on other senses. Takashi wasn't laying an obvious pattern that Leonardo could discern with his conscious mind, but his reflexes were capable of picking up the slack.
As Takashi's blade swung toward his mid-section, Leonardo dropped to the ground and used his arm like an anchor to maintain his balance as he swept a leg against the man's knees. As his opponent fell, Leonardo used both arms to propel himself out of the maneuver, nearly performing a handstand before landing back on his feet.
The man exploded from the roof as if he'd lost none of his energy, and his knee collided with Leonardo's gut with all the force of a sledgehammer. As the turtle stumbled backwards, Takashi's fist connected a direct blow between his eyes. Leonardo felt them tearing in a flash, and brought his blade up almost blindly to block the man's katana.
Leonardo squinted through blurry eyes to parry two more strikes, and managed to lock his katana with Takashi's once more. At the moment that the warrior's blade was contained, the turtle's palm shot out to hit the bridge of Takashi's nose.
The man's sword arm faltered as he staggered, and Leonardo took the opportunity to rub his watering eyes. Takashi recovered faster than he'd hoped he would, with some kind of supernatural power that had to be granted by the devil himself.
"You know that your friends were unsuccessful, don't you?" Takashi challenged scornfully. "I already received a call from my men at Indian Point. They have them contained. The plan will go forward. There is nothing you can do to stop it, or to help your loved ones. Except…"
"Except what?" Leo snapped. "You want me to surrender to you? You don't actually expect me to do that."
"No, I can see that your stubbornness transcends all reason. Of course, if you were to surrender, I could guarantee the lives of your friends. I may even be willing to throw your pathetic city into the deal."
The blue-masked turtle shook his head. "You lie, Takashi. You'll never stop. Even if I give in to you, there's nothing to prevent you from killing the others, or carrying out whatever attack you have planned using the Power Plant. I'm not going to bow to you, old man. You're just going to have to beat me the old-fashioned way."
Takashi's smile was dark, and Leonardo felt nowhere close to being as in control as he'd tried to sound. The thought of his friends in very real danger was like receiving another devastating blow to the gut, and it threatened to distract him. No, it's not over. He hasn't won. He isn't going to.
Leonardo lunged toward Takashi with a consuming desire to take him down, once and for all. Anger erupted in a white hot glare as he fought to get a katana through the man's defenses. Instinct fell to the side as passionate fury drove him to bring an end to the battle.
He didn't recognize Takashi's feint until he saw a katana arcing toward his neck, and by then there wasn't enough time to bring his own blade into parrying position. Leonardo jerked backwards and brought up his right leg to create distance between himself and the man.
His foot never made contact with Takashi. Instead he felt a burning pain in his thigh that could only indicate that the man's blade had impaled him. Leonardo switched the majority of his weight onto his left leg, faking in one direction and spinning in the other as he resumed a proper fighting stance.
He didn't feel any further pain from the injury; there wasn't time to deal with it yet. Instead he blocked the downward slash of Takashi's katana, and stepped out of another fist strike that laid a glancing blow to his jaw.
Leonardo took a deep breath to steady himself and focus on the art of the movement, rather than the hot anger that had nearly driven him mad. He bent his legs to even out his balance and waited with raised blade for Takashi to attack him again.
As the man made another move on the turtle's throat, Leonardo stopped his katana with a jarring block, and struck Takashi's wrist with the tip of his blade. In the split second that the man was distracted by the injury, Leonardo saw an opening in his enemy's stance and the vulnerability of his neck.
Without taking the time to question it Leonardo followed his instinct and his blade made contact with his assailant's neck. The turtle's eyes faltered to the rooftop as Takashi fell forward on his knees. His gaze barely lingered for more than a second on the man's mutilated frame, as emotion washed over him like an immense ocean tide.
It took Leonardo a moment to realize that he was heaving for breath from the exertion of the battle, and then to feel the intense relief that this fight, at least, was over. He cast one more look at Takashi's broken form before turning to leave.
As he swiveled on his heel, the pain in his thigh quickly occurred to him again. Shell, how could I forget…The thought trailed off as he looked down, and realized the amount of blood he was losing. Oh no. Oh crap. I have to get down from here, fast.
He sheathed his blade with a grimace, and hobbled for the exit door as quickly as he could. Pain didn't matter now. As he stumbled through the doorframe, he remembered that the electronic disruptor on his belt was still armed. He fumbled clumsily to turn off the device as he leaned his other arm against the stair railing.
Leonardo stopped on a landing to call Greg, and couldn't get through to the man. Please be all right. We'll get you out of there, but we need time to get to Indian Point. Got to catch up with the others first, then we can regroup and get back on the road. We've come too far to lose anybody now.
He forced himself to start descending again, and had made it two more flights before he felt like he was losing his grip on the railing. I have to catch my breath. I need a few seconds, or I'm going to collapse completely. Too dizzy.
Leonardo sank to one of the steps and leaned back unsteadily as darkness tugged at the back of his mind. His glance fell on his injured thigh once more, and in the haze that was invading he couldn't help wondering why he was bleeding so much.