Chapter 11: Koko de Funsō wo Owarimashō! Hikari no Ninja tai Yami no Samurai
(We'll End Our Dispute Here! Ninja of Light against Samurai of Darkness)
At some distance from Atsuhi, Dan, and Ruji's location, Van and Eric faced-off against each other inside a house that has started to catch flames from the nearby military stations' burning weapons warehouse.
"Van-san, you have always been a thorn to our side!" Eric said to Van as he drew his katana. "But you're going to die now." he added.
"Hoshikagami, Ageo, Kumagaya, Urawa, and Kuyuka have suffered under your masters! I won't let him to continue persecuting the people of those towns, especially Atsushi-sama's family and my dad and mom!" the ninja master responded to Prozen's general.
"Just like your father, you still don't know how to fear even when death stares you in the face. Seeing that you have a mostly identical appearance and attitude to your father agitates me." Prozen's henchman taunted to Van.
"No matter how potent a snake's venom is, he will not be able to use that when his head is crushed by the talons of an eagle flying from the direction of the sun's blinding light." Van has replied.
"But even a tiger or a wolf can be killed with a single bite from a viper, just as what is about to happen to your friend there." Eric had taunted to Atsushi's servant.
Provoked, Van then hurled some shurikens at Eric to try to distract his attention.
"Hmmp, that won't work here!" the samurai said as he blocked the projectiles that came to him.
"Yet you also didn't notice my approach, horse-face!" the young ninja master responded as he slashed his sword at Eric's belly.
Eric narrowly avoided being cut by Van's surprise assault as the armor there prevented any injury but it was split in half as the result.
"Bastard ninja, don't make a fool out of me!" the samurai said to him as his vision darkened. "I'll now show you my most horrifying technique, a dance that will torture and kill your body without you shedding a single drop of blood until the killing blow." he added.
"What does that mean? In any case, I must take him seriously!" Van though as he readied himself for any attack that Eric might do.
Eric then set a barrage of slashes and stabs to Van, which the latter promptly block. However, one stab managed to evade his blockade and cut him in his left forearm.
"Nani?" the Byakutaka master had thought as he looked at his wound.
"Surprised? I told you, my technique inflicts wounds to my targets without making them bleed at first. That way, they won't even see that their body is already in pain." Prozen's lackey mocked to Van. "I refer to this as the Yamigiba no Mae since one cannot feel a viper biting him, especially in the dark." the samurai added.
"Dance of the Dark Fang? Jii-san once mentioned that samurai technique to me. It was forbidden among the samurai here to use it since it causes immense pain to the target as all the wounds inflicted will bleed simultaneously on the fiftieth successful hit." Fiona's partner had thought.
Meanwhile, Dan and Atsushi were still in the location where Van had left them. The two of them tended to Ruji's shot in order to save his life.
"Dan-dono, let me go there. Your son might need my help." the Aoiroh master told to his elder as he tried to combat the pain of the arrow shot.
"No, you must stay here so that your shot wound will be properly tended. You would not survive if you continue to fight in your condition." the older ninja master has replied to him.
"Shikashi…" Ruji answered to him.
"Ruji-kun, just before my son left, he looked at my eyes in the way that tells me we should let him fight Eric alone. He is telling me that he wants to personally make his sworn adversary accountable for all his atrocities." Dan had responded to him.
A few moments later, Isami, Fiona, and Karen arrived at where Dan, Atsuhi, and Ruji had been.
"Ruji-kun, who did that to you?" Fiona asked her partner's friend as the latter struggled in pain.
"That demon samurai Eric, isn't it?" Karen has interjected.
"No doubt. I saw him myself as he tried to shoot Van-kun, but Ruji-kun placed himself in the path of the arrow and took the hit instead." Atsushi has mentioned in response.
Fiona then worried about the situation of her future husband as she and Karen helped in taking care of the Aoiroh ninja's wounds.
"God, please let Van-kun return alive and well to us. I haven't yet been able to serve him in return for taking care of me." the princess prayed silently.
Isami then noticed the very worried look in her youngest daughter's face and embraced her.
"Fiona, I know that you're praying for Van's safe return, but you should also have confidence in yourself that he will come back to you alive." Isami told the young lady.
"Hmph, I'm not so sure about that. Eric-san has prepared something to kill that rebel!" Prozen then said to agitate the ninjas and the feudal family.
"Urusai, aho ga!" Dan yelled in response as he punched the dictator in the head.
"Who do you think is the stupid one? Me, or your son facing Eric inside that burning house?" the silver-haired man continued to taunt to them.
Atsushi then thrust the ninja-ken that had the tyrant's hand stabbed to the ground while Dan delivered an even more powerful punch on his head again.
"This is what happens if you keep raising your hubris and stupidity before us." the older Byakutaka master muttered to Iteza clan's leader.
Van and Eric then continued their clash of swords. The two combatants appear to be of equal strength. Neither of them were willing to let the other gain an advantage. But their motives are worlds apart. One is fighting for the liberty of his masters' people, the other is fighting to prop his pride. Van was able to slash some more of Eric's armor in half while some of the latter's slashes managed to pierce the side of the former's right and left shanks, as well as his left upper arm.
"Mazui!* Horse-face is trying to prevent me from moving to another spot by using deep slashes to pierce my shanks and my arms!" the Byakutaka master had reflected as he took a momentary look at the injuries he had sustained at that point. Clearly, his situation looked no good.
The flame in the house burned even more vigorously. Both combatants knew that it would only be a matter of minutes before the complete immolation of the house where they were fighting.
"I must finish this fight now! I must win for the sake of all the people here!" Van murmured to himself as he ignored the pain that his body felt from the cuts he had received.
"Senko, you would have been better off if you haven't helped this town's commoners in their rebellion against Prozen-sama. But spending your strength in fighting for this town's people agaist the Iteza clan before facing the samurai you loathe the most guarantees your death in that samurai's hands!" Eric told him as he swung his katana to the young ninja master.
Van then tried to block the attack, but the force of the samurai's swing was too great for him to successfully resist that his nodachi came flying away from his hand and his sword's blade got stuck to a wall.
"You are no good now, Senko. In the end, the viper's venom snuffed the overpowering tiger!" Eric declared as he lifted his arm to strike his opponent down.
The Byakutaka leader then evaded the attack. Eric then promptly followed with a fury of swings and stabs as Van tried to evade each and every strike. However, his injuries hampered him from moving very fast in order for him to retrieve his sword.
Van sustained some more cuts in the arms as Eric's katana managed to hit him.
"Three more hits and it would be instant death for you!" the samurai told Van as the ninja was getting very exhausted from the additional injuries he had sustained.
"Do they hurt? I certainly hope so, Flash Tiger!" Eric asked in an insulting manner.
"No matter how much my wounds hurt, as long as the people here are fighting for their freedom, neither will I lose!" the young ninja master riposted as he hurled a light bomb to his opponent.
"Using the light to hide yourself? That's an old trick!" the samurai whispered as he shielded his eyes from the blinding light.
"Aho ga!** Don't take your eyes away from your opponent." Fiona's ninja responded as he punched Eric's face with his right fist.
Van's counterattack has taken the samurai by surprise. His fist hit Eric's face with a force that broke the latter's nose bridge and made the samurai lose his sense of balance. While Eric was still trying to recover from the punch he received, the Byakutaka master then took the chance to retrieve his chokuto from the nearby wall.
Some burning embers were already falling in one corner of the house they were in.
"Unforgivable!" Eric shouted as he tried to stab Van while he was busy drawing his sword from the wooden wall.
Van then managed to pull out his sword just in time to block the samurai's attack.
"I worked hard to become a samurai worthy of service for the Lynette family, but ever since you came in their service Atsushi, Isami, Hotaro, and most of all Fiona had never taken notice of me! More insulting is when I learned that Atsushi had already given Fiona to your father to become your wife. You, your parents, and Fiona's parents have only caused me disgrace! So now you'll pay for their mistakes with your life." Eric said to his opponent as they continued to clash swords.
"You don't know anything about the friendship of Atsushi-sama and my dad! My dad has always served him as a faithful ninja ever since their childhood. And for all the prowess he possesses, he never thought of raising his pride nor demanded that a member of the Lynette family to be given us his children to marry. No wonder if Atsushi-sama and Isami-sama themselves made the move to have Fiona hime-sama and me be married together." Van has retorted to Eric as he countered his moves.
"Don't talk shit! You clans of mercenaries are nothing more than a scum to the lands and people of this country. The samurai class should be the rightful armies of the daimyos ruling in different states." Eric said begrudgingly to his opponent as another strike injured Van, this time in his lower right arm.
"Of all the samurai I have encountered, you are the most abominable one! Not all ninjas are assassins for hire like the ones you used against us. Our allies remain completely loyal to the clans of the daimyos whom we have vowed to protect!" the young ninja master had countered as he managed to inflict a cut at Eric's eye.
The samurai then immediately placed one of his hands to his cut in order to try to stop the bleeding. As his attention was drawn to his wound, Van then took the chance and repeatedly hit him with his bare fists.
"These fists are for Fiona-hime, Atsushi-sama, Isami-sama, Kanta-sama, Ruji-san, for Kotona-san's sister whom you have raped, and all the people in the towns that have suffered under you and Prozen!" the ninja said as he relentlessly punched the samurai in various parts of the latter's body, especially in the face and belly.
An enraged Van continued to rain punches on Eric until the samurai could no longer continue to fight due to exhaustion and pain. Fiona's partner was breathing heavily as he was recovering his stamina after he beat Prozen's general.
"Damn…." Eric murmured as he tried to crawl towards the ninja.
"Atsushi-sama and his people are victorious. You lost!" Van mentioned as he pointed his sword to his adversary.
"What are you waiting for? Finish me now, Senko!" the samurai demanded to the shinobi.
The Byakutaka master then raised his sword and placed it back inside its scabbard.
"Why don't you kill me yet?" Eric demanded to him.
"I realized just a while ago that if I did as you say, it would make me a murderer just like you and Prozen. It would be better to let the citizen's of this town to decide your fate." the shinobi had retorted to him.
"Do you want to trample on the tradition that we samurai follow when we lose?" Prozen's man asked him as he breathed laboriously.
"No. Desiring to end your life after a defeat is cowardice. It means you don't want to answer for the atrocities that your master and you have committed to Atsushi-sama's family, people, and the citizens of other estates Prozen has conquered." Fiona's partner had retorted to him. "We ninjas are different. Even if we are defeated, we never waiver in our resolve to faithfully protect our masters. What is important is that we continue to serve and protect our masters' lives no matter what the results of our battles are." Van added.
"How short-sighted!" the samurai answered in defiance.
"Your eyes have been blinded by the darkness of envy for such a long time you no longer want the light of truth to restore your vision! " the jonin has riposted. "I too was once blinded by darkness of revenge when I first thought you had my parents killed, but after learning that they are still alive, my vision has been cleared by the light-that I'm fighting for the lives and freedom of the people of Hoshikagami, my friends, and my loved ones. Colectively, our power is strong enough to overthrow Prozen's dictatorship." he continued.
Eric then managed to grip his katana with the final ounce of strength remaining in him.
"Hmmp, I concede that you won here. But if I'm going to die in hell, I won't let you savor your victory for long!" the samurai shouted as he deeply slashed Van just above his left knee before stabbing himself in the heart.
The attack had taken Atsushi's servant by surprise as he did not expect his enemy to still have enough strength for one final attack. Van then fell on his right knee in pain as he looked at his wound.
"Now, none of us will have Fiona-san!" Eric murmured as he breathed his last.
"Just die in hell alone, cursed junk!" Van muttered as he placed his hands on his last wound to try to stop the bleeding.
He then tore some strips of cloth from his sleeves and used them to cover of his final slash. However, as soon as Van had stopped the bleeding, he heard a crackling sound from above him. Looking up, the second floor of the burning house was starting to cave in upon him and the now life-less corpse of Eric.
"Sumanai, hime. I guess I can't return to you alive." the lad thought as he closed his eyes and prepared himself for death.
Just as Van was about to be hit by the burning logs, another shinobi came into the burning house and chopped the falling material, shielding the young ninja master from being crushed.
"As long as I have not yet defeated you permanently, you still cannot die." Raven said to him as he placed Van's arm on his shoulder and helped him get back on his feet.
"Arigato, Raven-san. If it wasn't for you, both Eric and me would have been dead by this moment." the Byakutaka leader mentioned in response as the two of them walked out of the burning edifice.
From the safe distance, Dan, Karen, and the Lynette family looked on the direction of Van and Eric's final battle. For thirty minutes, they have waited anxiously for the outcome of the battle. Finally, Fiona saw the victorious shadow of her fiancé being partially supported by his rival's shoulder.
"Van-kun, you're alive!" Fiona called out as she rushed towards Van and embraced him.
"Thank God for granting your wishes to Him by having Raven as my rival!" her ninja has replied as he wiped her tears from her eyes.
"And a good ninja doesn't need to be persuaded by God to save a good rival from death so that they may continue to make each other stronger." the Benitora leader have riposted.
"Have you defeated Eric?" Hotaro asked his future borther-in-law.
"Hai, but he committed seppuku after he conceded defeat in an attempt to escape the judgement of your citizens." the jonin has replied.
"Well done, son. You surely have surpassed me by taking leadership of our tribe in our absence while you were still a chuunin and for returning the freedom of Hashikagami and the other towns conquered by Prozen by crushing the Iteza army! Your mother and me are truly proud of you!" Dan mentioned to his son as he was still embracing his soon to be wife.
"Van, thank you for taking care of my youngest imohto. You are more than worthy to be her husband." Hotaro greeted to the lad.
"Just as my wife and I have always believed, you have always remained faithful to our people and even when all the odds are against you, your persistence never wavered. You are a true Tokagure ninja." Atsushi congratulated to his best friend's son.
"Arigato, minna! Thanks for lending me your strength. I wouldn't be able to overthrow the dictator without the help of everyone here, commoners, ninjas, doctors, and samurai alike." Van then responded to his comrades when he suddenly remembered Ruji's condition.
"How is Ruji-san doing now?" the lad asked them.
"Fiona and I have taken care of Ruji's chest shot. He would be able to survive as long as the wound would be properly taken care of." Karen retorted to him.
"How is Rhys nee-san?" Fiona then asked suddenly.
"She is having a slight fever, so I've left her in the head village of Benitora." Raven answered to the young lady.
Van then let go of Fiona and bowed down before her parents and her older brother.
"Atsushi-sama, Isami-sama, Hotaro-sama, sorry for ordering a few of our men to burn down some of the important edifices here such as the military stations and weapons storage houses. It was the only way we thought that could ensure Prozen's numerically superior army will be seriously disadvantaged in this rebellion." the young ninja master apologized to his masters.
"Van-kun, you should not apologize for that. Military stations and weapons storage houses could easily be rebuilt and restocked. People's lives, however, may take years before they could return to normal." Isami have responded to him.
"By the way, you and Fiona are about to turn eighteen in towards the end of the coming winter. That means it would not be long before we will have you marry our daughter." Atsushi interjected as his daughter blushed at her father's suggestion.
Prozen then tried to remove the sword that was keeping his hand firmly stabbed to the ground in a final desperate attempt to attack Atsushi but Hotaro noticed him and kicked Prozen in his face.
"After five years, I finally get to return what you had done to me!" the young man provoked to him. "Nevertheless, our people will be the ones who will decide the appropriate punishment for your five years of tyranny." he added.
Atsushi then placed his hand on Van's shoulders and gazed at the lad's eyes.
"Van, I'm sure that you will become a great daimyo of Hoshikagami. I want you to become my successor." the daimyo said to him.
"My father is right. You certainly have all the traits of an effective leader." Hotaro mentioned in support of his father's decision.
"Arigato, Atsushi-sama, Hotaro-sama, but I cannot accept your offer. You have already rewarded me by having Fiona-hime engaged to be my wife. What's more, I'm needed by my tribe as its head master." Van has answered honestly in a polite manner. "Hotaro-sama, you are much more deserving to be the next daimyo of Hoshikagami, so please, take the honor that is rightfully yours." he continued as he faced Fiona and Rhys' aniki.
"If you insist your wish, so be it. My son will succeed me as the next daimyo." Atsushi has responded in turn.
XOXOXOXOXO
Note:
* means "not good"
** means "stupid, moron, crazy, fool; synonymous with the term "baka"(in the Kansai region of central Japan, "aho" is usually construed as a joke expression while "baka" has a rather offensive intention. But for people around Tokyo area, it is "aho" which has the offensive connotation. Nearly every character here mostly use the Tokyo dialect).