Chapter 72
Tomo leapt backwards through the air, cleanly removing the head of one of Botan's puppets. Though the leap had been good enough she landed awkwardly, almost falling over. She quickly composed herself and grumbled slightly. She looked across at the blond man who had yet to move from the foot of the stairs as another puppet made its way towards the girl.
"I thought I was meant to be fighting you!" said Tomo in an annoyed tone. She didn't have time to mess around with this arrogant guys playthings. She had to rescue Sakaki and Takino. She had to get back to Kaorin and Fuka. She had to get out of this place, as she just found it creepy.
"In good time Tomo!" came Botan's reply. "First I have to see if you can survive this. I don't want to waste my time on a weakling."
"But I'll be worn out from this and you'll be fine! It won't be fair!" grumbled Tomo as she took the legs out from beneath the shambling puppet and kicked its head away like a football. By now she no longer saw them as once human, instead she just saw them as an annoyance in her way. She still found it icky though, and had made a mental note to get rid of her shoes as soon as possible.
"Oh I don't know about that Tomo, I have had a few glasses of wine today," said Botan.
"I don't think that compares to this!" said Tomo before letting out a faint eek as she accidentally pulled off another creatures arm. She stood looking at it before dropping it to the floor. "Why do you do this?"
"Because I can Tomo," replied Botan with a faint shrug. She was beginning to get sick of him referring to her by her name…there was something about the way he said it that irked her. With a brief spinning kick that impressed even Tomo the last creature fell.
"Very well I think it is now time to fight. I had been getting rather bored of this tedious affair," stated Botan. Tomo was certain the man let out a yawn as he stepped forwards to fight her. Tomo backed away slightly, glancing down at her blade and then back at the unarmed man.
"Don't worry Tomo you can use a weapon if you want. It may help you."
"Maybe I will," replied an annoyed Tomo. "But I still don't think it'll be very fair."
Tomo was suddenly flying backwards as Botan placed his foot back down on the floor. "Tomo I don't have much time for fair. I just have time to be the best. And that is what I plan to be."
Tomo groaned to herself as she pushed herself back to her feet.
"That wasn't very fair! I think I will keep the knife now!"
"Go ahead Tomo I don't really care," said Botan as he checked his fingernails in a bored manner. He lowered his hand and faced the girl again.
The man charged forwards, moving out of the way of a half hearted knife slash and punching Tomo in the stomach. The girl wheezed in surprise and stepped backwards as Botan smirked. Tomo narrowly moved out of the way of Botan's second attack and struck against his arm which felt surprisingly solid. She backed away as Botan slowly moved backwards.
"You need more then that Tomo! You have a weapon! You need to strike to kill girl, don't go into this half hearted or you'll annoy me."
"You're annoying me as well now," said Tomo.
"Well fight properly then Tomo," said Botan with a wry smile.
"I have been fighting properly," moaned Tomo. "I beat up a bunch of your things didn't I?"
"I'd hardly call that a proper fight," said Botan as he struck outwards with a gloved fist, Tomo jumping back just in time to avoid the strike.
"Hey that was a proper fight!" grumbled Tomo as she struck out with the knife again. This time she had more certainly in the attack, only missing the man as he jumped out of the way. From this angle she could make out the shape of Sakaki who needed to be rescued- Tomo wanted to end this soon.
"Ah much better Tomo!" said Botan. "This time I could actually tell you wanted to hurt me. Very good Tomo, now we'll see what you can do…come on girl ninja show me what you can do."
"Maybe I will," said Tomo. "But when you least suspect it!"
"Are you a dull girl?" asked Botan.
"I dunno, I think I can be pretty exciting to be around," replied Tomo as she leapt out of the way of another attack from Botan. She didn't quite get fully out of the way, the punch striking along her stomach. As she landed she gasped out loud, feeling a sharp pain across her stomach.
"Oh I think that's going to bruise," groaned Tomo to herself.
"A bruise should be the last of your worries when fighting me girl!" said Botan.
"I should say the same thing to you," said Tomo rubbing her side as she stood back up tall. "You should know I can be quite powerful when I want to," added the girl in a boastful manner.
"Yes and that is what intrigues me girl…please show me what power you possess."
"Fine then," said Tomo with another quick glance at Sakaki. She jumped out of the way of another attack and even as she landed she was focusing on the next move. She closed her eyes and drew her arms in close to her sides, mouth turning upwards as she focused entirely within, waiting for the power to come…
The power didn't.
"What the heck?" asked Tomo a second before taking a punch to the face and flying half way across the hall. She grumbled to herself, noticing a faintly feral sound to her voice as she stood up and wiped blood away.
"Haha that's it!" said Botan with a faint applause. "I guess you do have some form of power, but you have so little control over it you can only summon it when you get overly emotional. Just like a girl I suppose."
"Hey that's a stereotype!" said Tomo before her left leg gave slightly, Tomo falling to her left knee. Botan slowly stepped forward as Tomo licked her lips to get rid of the blood. As she half sat there she suddenly realized she found the metallic taste of blood surprisingly tasty at that moment. Botan came to a stop directly in line with Tomo, a short distance from the girl. Slowly he rose his arms up in the air.
"Here I am! Completely defenceless! Show me what you have girl" said Botan with a faint smirk as he looked back down at the girl.
Tomo grumbled to herself, muttering an obscenity or two under her breath as she tried to stand up. But again the leg gave way beneath her. The smirk vanished from Botan's face and a genuinely disappointed look appeared.
"Is that it? Is this what I was asked to test?" asked Botan. His arms came back down to his sides as he walked away from Tomo, turning his back to the bleeding girl.
"There is a sure fire way to ensure the girl fights to her full capabilities," echoed a voice across the vast cavern.
"You!" snarled Botan turning around to face a higher level of the cavern where a figure stood in the shadows of the rocky roof above. "Kline what gives you the right to be here during my fight?"
"I am only here to offer a suggestion to help you get what you want," said Kline politely.
"And what would that be?" asked Botan deflecting a weakly thrown shuriken from Tomo.
"Take the life of the tall girl and I guarantee you will get a good fight from Tomo," said Kline.
His expression didn't change from within the shadows as Botan marched towards Sakaki.