Disclaimer: As if I'm ANYWHERE good enough to produce W.I.T.C.H or Rurouni Kenshin.
AN: I'm sorry that this update is so late, I'm afraid the muse has been awkward about this fic.
Will opened her eyes. Her head was busy floating mid-air (well, technically it wasn't, but that's how it felt.) The whole world seemed to have taken a slightly ethereal, dream-like quality that made it hard to focus.
As her head started to clear, she looked around. She was in a dojo of some kind. Not one she recognised, but definitely a dojo. There were a few bokken on the walls and the and on the floor was her sakabato, but otherwise the room was completely empty.
"Hello?" Will called out. "Is there anybody here?"
"I'm not quiet sure what you mean by anyone." A voice told her from behind. Recognising the voice instantly, Will spun herself around and came face to face with Susan Vandom. As Will scrabbled for her sword, Susan sighed.
"I'm not a fetch, or creature of dark magic Will." Susan said gently, with her hands held up and open to show she wasn't armed. Will pulled her sword up to her waist, when suddenly something caught her attention. Going through her midriff was a massive hole. A large, sword shaped hole.
"Oh damn. I'm dead, aren't I?" Will asked and Susan smiled in amusement.
"Not exactly dead. More like…in-between." Susan said gently. Susan stepped forward and hugged Will. "I've missed you, little one."
"I'm not so little any more." Will replied through her tears. She was hugging Susan back as hard as she could and would have been prepared to be a child once more just to stay with Susan.
"I couldn't resist sweetie." Susan let Will go, placed her hands on Will's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "But I'm not the one who you're here to talk to."
"What do you mean Sensei?" Will asked in a puzzled voice. Susan began to fade away.
"You need to talk to him." Susan said as she faded away.
"Who's him?" Will asked. "Sensei, wait, please!"
"I believe your sensei was talking about this one." Came a mans voice from behind her. Will turned around and came face to face with a redheaded man with a cross-shaped scar on his cheek. His eyes were probably his most striking feature. Playful and teasing, there was also a deepness to them that hinted at deeply hidden darkness, in spite of their light-blue colouring.
"You're Himura Kenshin!" Will exclaimed as she realised precisely who she was looking at.
"That is correct, Miss Watsuki." Himura replied playfully. His face then turned serious. "Nerissa has embraced the heart of the assassin Jin-E. To face her on equal terms, you must embrace the heart of your discipline."
"How do I do that?" Will asked curiously. She'd never even heard of the idea of embracing the heart of her discipline. It sounded far too much like magic and not in keeping with the ethos of swordsmanship.
"You have to take this sword." Himura replied, raising the sword in his hand. Will opened her hand for him to hand it over. Himura shook his head. "No, you have to take it off of me with your sword."
"But…"
"This one has to know that you're worthy of this power. That you can be trusted." Himura paused and looked Will in the eye. "That you are capable to wielding this power."
Will raised her sword. "How will you know that I can wield this power? That I can be trusted?"
Himura smiled. "In battle, a true master of Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu can read a persons soul."
Will smiled back and leapt into an attack. Leaping into the air, she swung her sword down with as much force as she could muster. Despite the fact that her sword was moving so fast that it was little more than a blur, it didn't connect. As Will landed on the dojo floor, she spun and desperately parried Himura's sword as it swung towards her. Himura used the power of her block to smack the hilt of his sword into her liver.
"You have a good soul Swordmistress Watsuki, I can see that. And you have proved to be capable. But you must defeat me to take my sword." Himura said firmly. Will raised her blade once more and swung upwards. At the last minute, she switched direction with her sword so that it came in sideways instead. Himura parried the blow and spun his sword so fast that Will barely had time to avoid the blade smashing into her nose.
Himura stepped back and gave her a deep look. It felt like he was examining the very depths of her soul. Finally, after what felt like an age, he spoke.
"You have talent and considerable skill, but you are not ready yet." He said as he slowly faded away.
"How will I become ready?" Will yelled in frustration.
"By learning from your friends." Himura's voice replied and the dojo dissolved away.
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Irma groaned as she opened her eyes. She felt like she was having a hangover, without actually having been drunk. The sound of the tide, normally so soothing, only added to Irma's headache and the sand she was laying in made her feel uncomfortable.
"Yeah, it does tend to have that effect on people." A mans voice said and Irma snapped to her feet.
"Who the hell are you?" She blurted out, snapping to her feet and spreading sand everywhere. A puzzled look crossed Irma's face as she looked around at the beach environment around her. "And where the hell am I?"
A tall, pale-skinned man with light-blonde hair walked across her field of view and looked her in the eye. Then he smiled.
"I see that water discipline swordmasters are as eloquent as ever." The man said with a chuckle. As Irma opened her mouth once more, he continued. "In answer to your first question, I am Ralph Soresson."
"He's been dead for nearly a hundred years!" Irma blurted out and the man grinned.
"And you are in the realm between life and death." Ralph finished. Irma snapped to her feet and pulled out her rapier. It was then that she noticed the gaping hole in her chest caused by Tridart's Sai sword. With a look of disbelief, Irma fell down on to her backside.
"I have a message to tell you. Nerissa has embraced the heart of her discipline." Ralph paused. "There is a person who has the potential to defeat Nerissa, but she needs your help."
"Mine?" Irma asked, with a puzzled expression.
"Yes. You know the person. In fact, you've already met her." Ralph told her cryptically. Irma rolled her eyes.
"Do you mind telling me who it is then?" Irma drawled sarcastically. Ralph smiled.
"Haven't you guessed? She's your travelling companion, Will Watsuki."
"Will has already defeated Nerissa once." Irma pointed out.
"Would you be here if Will was able to defeat her now?" Ralph countered. "Nerissa has embraced the Heart of her discipline and given her soul over to Jin-E. That is why Nerissa is so powerful now, that is why you NEED to teach Will."
Ralph leaned over and whispered in Irma's ear and Irma knew what she had to do.
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Flames danced across Taranee's vision, aggravating her already painful headache. Even with her eyes closed, Taranee could still see the flames and it irritated her. Opening her eyes, Taranee gave a gasp of surprise.
Dancing around on an oil-slicked floor, flames surrounded her. The heat was intense and Taranee felt herself sweat. As the flames continued to dance, Taranee observed that despite the fact that the flames were burning intensely, they didn't come any closer.
"Very curious." Taranee murmured to herself. "I wonder how they keep their distance?"
"They keep their distance because they obey me." A quiet voice mentioned from behind. Taranee spun round and saw a woman with white-blond hair and a round face looking at her. Seeing Taranee's puzzled look, the woman decided to continue.
"I am Halinor, founder of the fire discipline swordsmanship." Halinor put her hand up to interrupt Taranee before she could interrupt. "I have been dead for almost one hundred years, but we are not in the land of the living any more Miss Cook."
"I'm dead, aren't I?" Taranee asked. Taranee's intellect was telling her that she shouldn't take everything at face value, but Taranee's gut instinct trusted this woman for some reason that she couldn't place.
"Not exactly. You are in, for want of a better term, at the place between life and death." Halinor said firmly. "Your friend Will Watsuki is the one who has the potential to defeat Nerissa. But as Nerissa is now, Will would not win a confrontation, as your presence demonstrates." Halinor paused and looked Taranee in the eye. "You must teach her this." And Halinor placed her head beside Taranee's ear and whispered and Taranee knew what she had to do.
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Cornelia stood up and shook the mud out of her hair. It was going to take her WEEKS to get it out. (Cornelia was studiously ignoring the two huge slashes down her chest.)
"Urgh. You'd think that in the afterlife, you wouldn't have to worry about cleaning yourself up." She moaned. Add the fact that she had a splitting headache and Cornelia was feeling exceptionally grumpy with the world.
"Are all Earth Swordmasters this fussy, or is it just you?" A young man asked as he stepped out of the forest around them. Cornelia looked him in the eye.
"If you looked after your appearance half as well as I did, YOU'D be annoyed as well!" Cornelia snapped back, looking at the mans messy black-brown hair and open white jacket, which was edged with black. The piece of straw hanging out of his mouth simply meant that he gave off a slightly idiotic air. The man laughed.
"You're not dead yet, Swordmistress Hale." The man said, his brown eyes sparkling. "My name is Sagara Sanosuke and you need to listen to what I say."
"How can I be not dead? I have two huge sword slashes down my chest, leading right through my lungs!" Cornelia pointed out, gesturing at her chest.
"Hey, medical magic's are not my area of expertise." Sanosuke said with a shrug. "I'm here to tell you what you need to be doing while you wait."
"So I'm not stuck here forever. That's a relief." Cornelia countered. Sanosuke chuckled once more.
"No. There is someone who has the potential to defeat Nerissa. But she needs your help." Sanosuke continued, before pausing.
"Who?" Cornelia asked, her curiosity aroused. Sanosuke's grin threatened to split his face in two.
"You already know her. She is Swordmaster Will Watsuki."
"Will is physically strong and mentally weak. Nerissa has far too much history with Will for Will to ever defeat her with Hiten-Mitsurugi ryu." Cornelia snorted contemptuously.
"It is because of Will's history with Nerissa, that makes her the right person for the job." Sanosuke hissed quietly. Cornelia turned pale and for once, she was speechless. Taking advantage, Sanosuke decided to press his point.
"You need to teach her." He said firmly. Cornelia shook her head.
"Her style is incompatible with mine. She uses a Sakabato and I use a Zanbato. They require entirely different styles to use."
Sanosuke leaned over and whispered in Cornelia's ear. Cornelia gasped in shock.
"Surely she'll never master that!" Cornelia protested. "And what use would it be if she could?"
Sanosuke just smiled at her and faded away.
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"This is so cool!" Hay Lin exclaimed as she jumped around her surroundings. "It's like walking on clouds!"
"Clouds is as good a description as any." A young woman said from behind her. Spinning on her heel, Hay Lin faced the owner of the voice. A young woman, little more than a girl really, stood there. Dressed identically to Hay Lin, the diminutive girl had bright blue eyes that sparkled with life and her long black hair was tied into a ponytail that went down her back.
"Hi, I'm Swordmistress Hay Lin! Who are you?" Hay Lin asked brightly, while slowly reaching for her swords in case the girl was hostile.
"I'm Makimachi Misao." The girl answered brightly. "You don't need to reach for your swords, I'm not hostile."
"Really?" Hay Lin in a puzzled voice. "But you've been dead for…"
"Just under one hundred years. Yes, I know. But I'd look at myself if I were you."
Hay Lin looked down and let out a gasp of surprise. Her guts had been sliced open and they were literally hanging out of her body.
"You are not dead yet, little one." Misao continued and Hay Lin stifled a laugh. To be called little one by someone who was about the same height as her sounded like a bad joke. "Rather, you are at the place between life and death."
Hay Lin nodded thoughtfully. Her Grandmother had taught her about this place, stories and legends. Swallowing hard, Hay Lin asked the obvious question.
"What am I here to do?"
Misao smiled. "You seem a little presumptuous." She replied in a purring voice. "Why would you be here for a reason?"
"Because otherwise I would be dead." Hay Lin countered and Misao smiled again.
"So you have been paying attention to what your Grandmother told you. Very good." Misao paused briefly. "Yes, you have an important role to play indeed. Come closer, it is not something to be spoken out loud."
Hay Lin leaned over and Misao whispered in Hay Lin's ear. Hay Lin let out a small gasp of surprise at what Misao whispered.
"But ho-" Hay Lin began, but Misao cut her off mid-word.
"You will know how when the time comes." Misao stated as she faded away.
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Nerissa surveyed the XV-Dragon in front of her. Nodding to her companions, she stepped forward towards the captain.
"Nice ship you have here." She commented dryly. The captain turned and faced her.
"The fastest ship in the world madam." The captain said proudly. Nerissa smiled.
"Good. We'll take it."
"I'm sorry, but this ship is already bo-" The captains words were cut off mid-sentence as Nerissa's sword swept out of its scabbard and through his neck. As the captains head flew through the air, Peter Cook, who had been talking to the captain before he'd turned to face Nerissa protested.
"Hey what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Nerissa grabbed Peter and rammed the sword through his guts. Then, ripping the sword out, she swung it through his neck.
"Does anyone else have any objections?" she asked sweetly. "No? Then lets get a move on."
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Will looked at the white slash in the air in front of her. Swallowing hard, Will stepped into the slash and came face to face with her first teacher.