Okay, we finally get to the fight scene! Yey! ^_^
Pardon me if I like violence.
Anyway, I’ll just say standard disclaimers apply,
coz I’m pretty sure everyone knows what that means already.
If some stuff don’t make sense, feel free to e-mail me, okay minna?
And please, give me a few feedbacks, in the process. Thanks!
SOMETIMES WHEN WE TOUCH
Romance and all the strategy
Leaves me battling with my pride
But through the insecurity
Some tenderness survives
Hiei
K’so.
Bastard.
I tasted the bitter tinge of blood in my mouth.
I spat it out. I’ve forgotten how fast this damn youkai was.
And he seems even faster since I last fought with him.
How long has it been? One year? Two?
Either way, it doesn’t matter at the moment.
The raven-haired, laughing son of a bitch is now striding towards me.
I take my stance, placing my hand on the hilt of my katana.
I am not going to lose to this bastard for a second time.
He stops and I ready myself for his attack.
He vanishes from my sight and reappears behind me.
I swing my sword out in a circular motion to cut his abdomen but he easily evades it.
He jumps up and delivers a turning kick to the right side of my face.
His heel connects with my jaw and I feel myself falling to the ground.
However, I don’t touch the dirt.
He bombards me with energy blasts, sending me flying to a mountain in the distance.
I crash into solid rock and I feel pain searing through my body.
Before I could even contemplate on my injuries, he appears at my side in a flash.
He pulls me by my hair from the mountain,
throws me down and fires a ki-blast at my back,
propelling me several hundred feet before hitting the ground.
I lie motionless.
I could hear his laughter ringing through my ears.
“Oi, fire demon!” He called.
“Why’d ya get kicked out from your village anyway?
From the way you fight, they could have easily mistaken you for a girl!”
Dammit. I could have killed him then and there.
However, I didn’t even have enough energy left to stand up.
What was the use anyway? Why was I even fighting?
I’ve got no reason left to fight. Except to satisfy my pride.
But if I think about it, the truth is...that I’ve got nothing left to do.
That means... that there’s no more reason for me to keep on living.
Was I still even breathing? I could no longer feel anything.
Numbness was creeping its way into my limbs. I felt tired.
Exhausted. Sleep was coming.
I wanted to give in to it, to the darkness that was slowly blurring my vision.
And I knew that if I closed my eyes, I would never open them again.
The world began to fade away...the noises seemed hazy and distant...
I felt my eyelids begin to flutter...
Maybe I could finally have the peace I’ve always
searched for in my entire life.
I knew that if I had accomplished everything I had set forth to accomplish,
I could welcome death with open arms...
But...why do I feel empty?
Why does it feel like something is missing?
Like I’ve failed to accomplish something?
I can’t remember...I have to remember...My mind feels hazy...
All my thoughts are a blur...But whatever it is...I can’t go yet.
I can’t go yet.
I refuse to go.
I opened my eyes.
My senses were still hazy but the numbness wasn’t there anymore.
I felt my right hand. I was still holding my katana.
Its tip was broken but it was sufficient.
I willed myself to stand up.
I winced. Pain was throbbing throughout my whole body.
I could feel my ribs broken in several places.
I could taste blood in my mouth. I looked up at the bastard.
He had a smug grin on his face.
I’m going to wipe that smile and the youkai wearing it off the face of this world.
“You want more, fire demon?” He jeered.
“You know what they say. Be careful what you wish for.”
His grin turned evil. “You just might get it!”
He was speeding down towards me.
I stood still, clutching my broken sword.
He was faster than me and cunning as well.
He had easily evaded my attacks.
I had to strike him not only when he least expects it,
but also in a way he would never think of.
He was fast approaching.
When he was only inches away from me, he disappeared once again.
But I knew where he would attack.
Within a split-second, he was behind me.
I released my youki into my katana, setting it ablaze with black flames.
I knew he expected me to turn like I did before, but, no.
It would take too much time, giving him a chance to evade me once again.
I knew that my next move was suicide.
It would damage me more than it would harm him.
I could die but he would still have a chance of surviving.
What the heck.
I thrust my burning katana into my abdomen.
I never realized how much pain my flames could inflict
but I continued pushing my katana.
I felt my sword pass through my insides and burst out at the other side of my body.
Then it went through another one.
I heard the youkai utter a sharp cry of pain and surprise as my katana went through him.
My sword was now lodged through me and my adversary.
The pain was agonizing but it wasn’t finished yet.
I broke off my sword’s handle and pushed the remaining blade
into me whilst pulling it through the other side.
My hands were scorched and bleeding.
After freeing myself , I turned around to look at the bastard.
He had fallen on his knees and my black flames were engulfing him.
He couldn’t pull the blade out for it was still ablaze with dark fire.
His once smug face was twisted in agony and disbelief.
I already felt drained of all my strength but it wasn’t over yet.
The bastard was still alive.
I still had to deliver the final blow.
The bandages on my right arm had already been burned
and black smoke was coming out from the dragon tattooed on my arm.
I concentrated all my energy on my final attack.
This was the last I’ve got.
If the son of the bitch didn’t die, I’d swear he was immortal.
I felt the power growing in my right arm. It was time...
JAOU-EN-SATSU-KOKU-RYU-HAAA!!!
I released my energy and the black dragon
spiraled from my arm speeding towards my adversary.
REI-KAZE-KEN!!!
What the hell?!
A crimson wave countered my kokuryuha.
It couldn’t be possible.
He couldn’t possibly have power left to counter my attack.
But he did. His energy was now battling against my own.
Red against black.
Scarlet and ebony sparks flew around the two of us,
setting our battlefield into flames. I could feel my youki going crazy.
I knew that I was being pushed to the limit.
I felt my energy decreasing rapidly.
The dragon was beginning to go out of control.
But I had to hold on. I fell to my knees, my left hand clutching my right arm.
My arm was shaking terribly.
In fact, my whole body was trembling.
Too much power was being released with a speed too fast for me to handle.
What’s worse, the bastard seemed to be having less trouble keeping up than I was.
I had sustained worse injuries than he had.
But I knew that my previous attack had weakened him.
There was still a chance of victory.
The chance for survival however...
I shook my head to clear the thought away.
If this kept up, I would surely be defeated.
There was only two ways to end all of this.
Either I give up and get it over it...
Or I give everything I’ve got left into another Kokuryuhaa
to boost the one I had released earlier.
Everything meant... including my life force...
I let out a bitter chuckle.
Either way, it was going to be suicide.
But the first was definitely not one of my options.
If I’m going to hell...
I’m going to take that bastard along with me.
My body was still trembling as I slowly stood up.
Looking up, I met the bastard’s eyes.
I was taken aback by what I saw in them. Amusement?
The son of a bitch was actually enjoying this.
“I know what you’re thinking fire demon.” He called.
“Sacrifices won’t do you any good.
Even if I die, you die with me.”
His lip curved into smile. “That means I still win.”
The realization hit me like a wave.
I would only have helped him finish me off.
And I wasn’t about to give him that satisfaction.
But what else is there for me to do? How could I defeat this monster?
I could feel my desperation building up within me.
There is no other way! I screamed mentally.
Or is there? Perhaps I didn’t have to die.
Perhaps I didn’t need to give my life force.
But where else could I get energy?
“Give it up Jaganshi!” He jeered. “I’ll see you in hell.”
A smile crossed my features.
“Not this time, you bastard.”
My jagan glowed purple.
“You’re going alone.”
JAOU-EN-SATSU-KOKU-RYU-HAAA!!!
A purple wave of energy left my arm tinged with ebony markings.
It coiled around the dragon I had released before and then bonded with it.
The purple and black entity writhed uncontrollably
in the sky and freed itself from my grasp.
It took the form of a dragon similar to my Kokuryuhaa.
But this time, it had scales tinged with purple.
Its claws, horns and wings were tinted with the same shade
and on its head, a jagan like my own glowed with intense power.
It was the union of my own energy and the Jagan’s unique power.
I had substituted it in the place of my own life force.
The bastard himself gave me the idea.
I fell to my knees once again and looked up at the black and purple sky.
My dragon had coiled itself around my adversary’s wave of energy.
Black, purple and crimson sparks flew everywhere
as the scarlet wave struggled with my dragon.
Please. Please. Let it be enough.
I prayed desperately.
As if in answer, my dragon let out a powerful cry which seemed
to echo throughout the entire region.
Purple lightning flashed through the skies.
Then my dragon engulfed the scarlet wave of energy,
turning its power into its own.
It stayed in flight for a few moments, then sped downwards
setting everything in its path ablaze with black and purple flames.
I turned towards the direction where it was headed just in time to witness
the shock and fear in the bastard’s face just before he was engulfed in flames.
His cries of agony sounded like music to my ears.
There’s no way you’re going to survive this one. I thought grimly.
He managed to utter one last cry.
“DAMN YOU FIRE DEMON!!!”
I smirked.
“Go to hell.”
Then the flames wrapped around him, hiding him from my sight.
And his wails slowly faded away.
Purple and black tendrils of smoke remained.
A few flames still snaked along the ground.
I looked around me. The land was a mass of destruction.
The remaining trees in the distance were still in flames.
The mountains were crumbling. The ground was scorched.
Our battlefield had turned into a wasteland.
Dark...barren...empty. Exactly like the way I feel now.
My victory had satisfied my pride. But it had left me emptier than before.
I gave in to my exhaustion and fell forward towards the ground.
I heard thunder rumble in the distance.
Large drops of rain followed. I turned my head to savor the cool wetness.
Each drop of rain brought calmness and comfort to my being.
My pride had been satisfied, restored.
What else was I longing for?
I closed my eyes and contemplated on what had given me
the determination to rise up after that fall from the mountain.
I remember recalling something that I had failed to accomplish.
What was it? What was so darn important that had made me refuse to die?
I knitted my brows in concentration.
And a dim memory slowly began to form in my consciousness.
A night in the past.
I had been badly injured like I was at the moment.
My weariness was making it difficult to remember.
It all seemed hazy but from the swirling clouds of memories,
an image began to form.
Emerald eyes.
Long, scarlet tresses.
Kurama...
A wave of guilt suddenly washed over me.
I remember now. That night, Kurama had cared for me,
treated my injuries and...and...he had confessed that he loved me.
And I recall how I had responded to his affection.
I had rejected him. I had hurt his feelings.
I had hurt my ally, my best friend and I had refused to acknowledge
this guilt from the night I left his bedroom, the night I left the Ningenkai.
Two years has passed since that night and I had kept my guilt hidden, confined.
I had set my mind on one solitary goal.
To defeat the youkai who had injured me so badly and had crushed my pride immensely.
Yes, I had been arrogant and selfish.
But now, I know why I couldn’t die in peace. I had to see him once more.
Even just for a moment. Just to ask for his forgiveness.
However, it seems that my wish won’t be fulfilled.
I could feel my blood gushing out from the open wound
I had inflicted on myself earlier.
I knew that I did not have any youki left to heal myself.
I felt cold. Sleep was inviting me.
The images around me began to grow hazy and dim.
The sound of the pouring rain began to grow faint and distant.
Kurama...
Forgive me...
To be continued...
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