FIRST ROUND: Unwanted Return

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.”

The song played in the stillness of the observation room of the Tokyo Tower, echoing throughout the whole space.  On a dark, rainy night like this, somehow the old Beatles song seemed appropriate.  Hundreds of meters below, the streets of Akanebashi-cho were lit like a string of glittering jewels, their lights giving of a bit of comfortable radiance in the dreary, rainy evening.

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.”

It was a quiet Tuesday night, one where not many really bothered to brave the rain.  However, two women, damp and cold from the water, stood in the desolate emptiness of the room, accompanied only by a half-asleep person at the snack bar and a stray pigeon that had managed to get into the building.  The vending kiosks on the first floor had shut down early for the night, writing off the lack of visitors as a loss; there was no one on the second observation tower, as it was undergoing repairs.

“Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.”

One of the women, a classic beauty with long wheat-blonde hair and alluring hazel eyes, sat at one of the benches in the room, not really wishing to stand.  She was wearing a simple pair of slacks and a jersey, all covered by a slightly damp raincoat.  At her side was her purse, glistening from the wet sheen the rain had provided.  However, Hououji Kuu didn’t take any of these little facts of life into account.  Her attention was elsewhere, cast on the other woman, who she’d accompanied.

“Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.”

The second woman appeared to be a teenager, though her actual age was 20.  Unlike the other woman, who had the appearance of elegance, this woman was cute and cuddly, though that was more in her nature than any outright attempt to be so.  However, the smile that seemed so much the essence of the young woman with fiery red hair and warm sienna eyes was gone, replaced by a mournful cast that echoed the darkness and rain, becoming one with it.  By no means, in any situation could it be construed that Shidou Hikaru was happy.

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.”

The song ended, to be replaced by some local singer that was easily forgotten.  As though dismissing the music, Kuu spoke softly to Hikaru, her voice carrying over the emptiness of the room: “Hikaru, you’ve come here for the past three years, as though you’ve wanted to go back.  You’re torturing yourself.”

Hikaru nodded, then replied, her voice a shadow of the joy it normally was, “I know.  I don’t even need to come here to go back anymore, but this place is still special to me.  It reminds me of Fuu, and…and….”  As if in emphasis, Hikaru turned and stared down at a certain spot in the tiles that were on the floor.  Though those four black and white checkered tiles seemed a little warped and woofed, no one had bothered to replace them, not even during last year’s renovation.  It was as though they belonged there, as though there was something special about them.

The fact that those four tiles were spell-warded might have something to do with it.  “And Umi,” she finished, a harsh note in her voice.

Hououji Kuu looked at the girl, two years her junior, who was like a little sister to her.  The best friend of her younger sister, Hikaru and Kuu had grown very close over the past couple years, almost as close as Hikaru was Fuu and Umi…or at least Umi, before her betrayal.  Three years later, Kuu could hardly believe the reason for the terminal rift that had grown between the two.  Circumstances notwithstanding, it just seemed out of character for the azure-haired girl.  “Hikaru-chan, I know it’s hard to talk about Umi, but—”

Hikaru uncharacteristically cut off Kuu.  “Don’t bring her up.  I never want to hear that name again.”  Sighing in sorrow, she amended, “Gomen ne, Kuu-chan.  That was incredibly rude of me.  I didn’t mean to be so harsh.”

“I know, Hikaru.  I know.  But that was years ago.  Don’t you think it’s time to move on by now?”

The redhead almost nodded, but instead sighed.  “Kuu, she took the man I loved from me.  And she wasn’t really sorry about it, either!”  As she stood there, her heart of hearts shattering into a million shards, the tinkle of each broken piece was a memory from that day right here, three years gone:

“We…we slept together that night, Hikaru.  I know I shouldn’t have done it.  I wanted Ascot, and I was drunk that night, out of despair that he would never really notice me.  Lantis was the only one who was willing to help me back to my room.  I didn’t know he was drunk, too.  I didn’t know that he was trying to find a way to express his love for you.”  Umi took a drag from her cigarette and sighed.  “I don’t know how it just happened.  One moment he was carrying me in, the next we were on my bed and remov….”  Umi trailed off, realizing that details would not be a good idea….

The words continued in Hikaru’s mind, unbidden and unwanted, but she couldn’t shut them out.  She hadn’t been able to for the past few years.

"There’s more I have to tell you, and it’s not easy for me to say this.”  The azurehair paused for a second, gathering not only her thoughts, but also the courage to say something that she really feared to admit.  “I…I’m…I’m pregnant.  I'm carrying his child, Hikaru.  I'm sorry.  I didn't mean for it to happen.  I never meant…we never meant to hurt you, never ever."  The Water Knight looked as though she’d rather face off Zagato and Impala single-handedly and armed only with a toothpick than to sit here and break the heart of her Knight Commander, the goddess of Cephiro, but more importantly, her best friend.  “Hikaru, I love you like a sister, and if I could take this back I would, I really would….”

She could almost see Umi’s face once more, hurting and dejected, though there was something in the girl’s aqua eyes that seemed to tell a far different story:

“Hikaru, I don’t want this.  I’m only 18, and by no means ready for motherhood.  Especially with a man I don’t love, someone who was meant for you.  I’m going to go back to Cephiro to ask if he’ll accept me getting an abortion.  He’s been to Autozam dozens of times, so he should have some idea what one is.  And if that isn’t the case,” Umi paused again, as though she were getting ready to lower the boom, “then I’ll be staying in Cephiro to marry him.  If I end up having this baby, I at least want an honorable life for it, Hika—”  Nothing more was said as a tearing, shivering Hikaru made a fist and came nigh close to slapping Umi.  Instead, she turned and ran, hearing Umi’s frantic pleas for Hikaru to stop, to come back and forgive her.  The last thing Hikaru would feel was the tingling of magic as Umi opened the gateway to Cephiro

Tears welled in the redhead’s eyes, and unintentionally, she hugged the pay telescope for comfort.  “She had her choice of men, two of them who would have done anything for her.  Ascot wanted her.  Clef wanted her.  And instead of returning the love of either of them, she chose to steal my boyfriend from me.”

Kuu got up from her seat to go over and comfort the young woman.  Sliding her arms around Hikaru, she said, “It’s okay, Hikaru, it’s okay.”

Sobbing, Hikaru said, “No, it’s not!  It’s not fair!”  Looking up at Kuu, she cried, “Umi had everything!  She had two guys to choose from, and that wasn’t enough for her, not by a damn long shot!  She had to take…she had to take…Oh, Lantis….”  And then, as happened on this anniversary, Hikaru broke down in tears, crying for the love that she’d lost; the only man she’d ever really loved.

As Kuu held her, she idly remembered something that her younger sister Fuu (now the Queen of Cephiro as well as the Wind Knight) had told her about a romantic triangle between Hikaru, Lantis, and a Prince from another world named Eagle.  Fuu had never been totally clear on what happened to Eagle, as there were conflicting reports of it at the time (some said he’d died from an incurable disease; some said that Hikaru had killed him after he’d gone power-mad when offered the mantle of the Pillar).  What she did know was that the world of Autozam was apparently now a sterile mudball, with the remainder of its people living in scattered colonies on Cephiro; as for Eagle himself, Hikaru never said anything about him, as though she put him out of her mind.  But now was not the time to bring that up. Right now, Hikaru needed help, and Kuu would never turn her friend away.

Once Hikaru had recovered, she turned back to staring at the rain outside the window, whispering a heartfelt, “Thank you, Kuu-chan.  I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Kuu smiled. “I know it hurts, Hikaru, but I promise that someday everything will be fine.  Just you watch.”  Looking to change the subject and cheer up the redhead, she said, “Ano, it’s still pretty early.  Let’s go to dinner and do something.  I know this nice restaurant on Ariake Island, and after that we can go to Joypolis, ne?”

That did the trick – as Kuu knew, anything regarding roller coasters tended to do the trick.  Her eyes brightening, the smaller girl uttered a happy “Un!” as she shook her head vigorously.  “Let’s get going then!  I want to catch the Shimbashi monorail as soon as possible.  I just love riding it!”  Nothing further to be said, the pair left the empty and dreary observation room, headed back for the streets and a brighter evening.

“Ariake Island Station.  Ariake Island Station,” the canned female recording on the Tokyo Teleport train said as the cars pulled up to the line.  Dozens of people filed out into the moon- and lamplit night, gazing at the beauty of the light dancing off the dark waters of Tokyo Bay and the festive glow of the Tokyo Friendship Bridge.  The grounds still shimmered from the wetness of the recent rain, as the moon began to move out beyond the confines of the clouds.  It was a moment of pure beauty, one that caught and held fast the attention of the people debarking.

One passenger, however, really didn’t care much about that.  She had a much darker purpose for being here.

Standing on the pavement over by the exit to the train station that that she’d just left, Fuitamu Keiei took a breath of the fresh air that welcomed her into the Tokyo night.  It was her first night back in town since her disastrous failure in Nerima four months ago, and she’d spent the time since training in various locations on the southern island of Kyushu.  Now she was back, and with her return, it wouldn’t be that much longer until that redhead bitch Tendo Ranko fell to Keiei’s superior skills, paving the way for the arrival of Saotome Ranma to her loving care.  Of course, that would mean the death of Ranma’s current wife – what was her name?  Ah, Nabiki; that was it – but at least it would leave Keiei with a loving husband and a child for them to raise…and later down the line, giving that child a brother or sister.  But as the old Western saying went, to make an omelet, one must inevitably break a few eggs.

And once that detail was accomplished, Keiei could start on the next phase of her struggle, the one that would redeem her above everything: the death of Shidou Hikaru.  Though the loss to the redheaded bitch had been about seven years ago, Keiei still felt the mark of shame keenly.  Had she not lost, she would have still remained the proud scion of her family’s arts, and would have been worthy to marry Ranma years back.  Oh, yes, when she was done with her initial mission, Shidou Hikaru would feel the black, fatal sting of revenge that came from the edge of Keiei’s ebon blade.

As she walked towards the pedestrian overpass that led to her hotel, she took a second to take stock of her life.  Not that there was much to take stock of.  She was a failure, a black mark on her family’s name.  Even her parents no longer wanted her at home, as they gave her a healthy allowance on the basis that she continue her training wherever it would take her…in short, a bribe to never darken the family doorstep again.  The only thing that she could claim to be a shred of honor left to her was her black-hued blade, Murasame, named after the legendary blades of yore, though this weapon was far more advanced than anything the old weaponsmith had ever created.  It was all, really, that she had left in this world, and it would be a key element to getting what she deserved.

Silent as the shadows that dotted the evening landscape of the man-made island, Keiei continued to move along towards her hotel, located at the far end of DECKS shopping mall.

Hikaru and Kuu sat at a patio table at Celestial, a nice little café overlooking the sandy shore of Ariake Island.  Having a nice dinner at the European-styled eatery, they watched as lovers strolled up and down the boardwalk adjoining the DECKS shopping center/amusement park/hotel complex.  Over by the shore, a couple of girls, not much younger than Hikaru, were practicing their drum majorette skills, twirling batons and giggling as they did so.  A few feet away from them, a couple of guys, watched, rapt in their bouncing brea…thless activity.

“Men,” Kuu snorted sardonically as she grimaced with distaste at the sad display of male chauvinism.  “No, I take that back; they’re nothing but boys, as a true man would be content with the woman he loved.”  The blonde sighed and commented rhetorically, “Wonder if I’ll ever meet someone?”

“Well you’re a beautiful woman, Kuu-chan,” Hikaru pointed out.  “I’m surprised that you haven’t met anyone already.”  Thinking about it for a second, she hinted, “Well, I do know someone that I could fix you up with….”

Kuu grinned.  “Hikaru-chan, aren’t your brothers already dating?”

“Satoru isn’t at the moment.  Kakeru’s in the Japanese Air Military Academy right now, so there’s not much dating he can do.  And I think Masaru’s serious about seeing Chidara; I wouldn’t be surprised if he proposed to her any day now.”  Hikaru took a bite of her chicken cordon bleu before continuing, “But I think Satoru would be a good match for you, Kuu-chan.  He’s nice, sweet, and very caring; you two would make a great couple.  And he’s only a couple of years older than you, so it’s not like I’d be fixing you up with someone as stale as a Christmas Cake at New Year’s.”

Kuu laughed.  “I’m not that hard up for a date, Hikaru-chan. Granted, I really like Satoru, and he is sweet, not to mention attractive, but I think his mind is on trying to reconcile not having to be a pseudo-parent anymore.  Maybe later on, but not now.  Besides,” she countered merrily, “we still have to find you someone, Hikaru.”  To hide her amusement at Hikaru’s look of embarrassment, she took a sip from her coffee.

Hikaru stopped in mid-bite, trying to reconcile with the comment that came right out of left field.  “Wha-what do you mean?”

“I’ll bet that love is waiting for you right around the corner, and that someday you’ll find him.  In fact, you’ll probably find him before I find anyone for myself.”

“Oh really?” Hikaru said, finding the topic a bit bittersweet and ironic in lieu of what had passed in the Tower an hour or so ago.  “You really think so?”

“Knowing you, he’ll probably be some athletic but sensitive hunk, like a swordsman or something.”

“Nope, no more swordsmen for me,” she said, a bit flustered.  “I don’t think…that I could ever date anyone who was that type.”

“Okay, what about a martial artist?” Kuu diverted, mentally chastising herself for the slip of the tongue.  “Definitely the athletic type, for sure.”

Hikaru wrinkled her nose in mock-distaste.  “Me?  Marry a martial artist?  Not in a million years, Kuu.”

“Betcha 1000 yen you will.”  She stuck her hand out.  “I’m so confident of it, in fact, that I bet you’ll be wearing a wedding kimono before you’re 25.”

Hikaru took that hand and shook it vigorously.  “It’s a bet.  And one I know you’re going to lose.”

“And how are you so sure that I’m going to lose?” Kuu said, teasing her friend.

Hikaru was planning to answer that, and would have, had the table not picked that precise moment to explode into a blossom of wood chips, dust and the remnants of dinner, as a voice screamed, “Time to pay for your interference, Tendo!”

Passing down the boardwalk on the way to her hotel, located just past the Sega Joypolis, Keiei felt sort of antsy, as though a sixth sense in her had been awakened to her immediate location.  Stopping, she looked around at the people near her, searching for whatever had triggered the feeling.  Other than a few lovers, some teenaged cheerleaders and a few guys ogling them, there was nothing really to trigger her sens—

Wait. Turning her head in the other direction, she began to look at the various restaurants and store facades, continuing her…There!  On one of the patios, seated at a wooden table with what must be a friend, was her.

Tendo Ranko.  The only true obstacle preventing the death of Saotome Nabiki.  With her unguarded now, and combined with the new skills that Keiei had acquired during her training, there would be no way that the woman would be able to withstand an attack.  Yes, Keiei decided as she spun and launched one of her Taifuu Shuu attacks, sending the whirlwind straight for the redhead as Keiei roared in all her glory, “Time to pay for your interference, Tendo!”

Scrambling back to her feet, the first thing Hikaru did was to check on Kuu’s condition.  The blonde had been leaning on the table at the point of the attack, and had been violently tossed into the next table over, which had thankfully been empty.  Though bleeding from a cut on the cheek and currently unconscious, Kuu was otherwise unharmed that Hikaru could tell.  She couldn’t really use her powers as the goddess of Cephiro here; they just didn’t work that well on this side of the dimensional barrier when it came to using it on others.  Thank the kami (well, the ones of this world, at any rate) that Kuu was okay, not needing more than the cursory first aid assistance.  Hikaru gave a sigh of relief.

The second thing she noticed was the scrambling of people as they turned to head away from this whole location.  Rather than check on the pair that had been attacked, people ran this way and that in a sad display of “every man for himself”; one pathetic man grabbed his wife and muttered as they left, “This place is as bad as Nerima!”, a comment Hikaru didn’t understand but wasn’t worried about at the moment.  Within just a couple of minutes, only Hikaru and Kuu remained in the immediate vicinity of the attack point.

The final thing that had Hikaru’s attention was the woman that stood before them, battle aura glowing a deep shade of blue.  Standing in a martial artist’s pose that Hikaru couldn’t easily identify, she said, “Are you ready to die, Ranko?”

“I think you’ve got a case of mistaken identity, miss,” Hikaru cried as moved to cover Kuu.

“I think not!” she snarled, leaping into the air and coming down in a flying kick.  Hikaru had just enough seconds to move Kuu to relative safety before bounding out to the open space of the boardwalk and shouted, “Why are you doing this?”  The woman instead failed to answer but however rushed towards Hikaru, throwing a rapid-punch attack that the redhead dodged by sheer luck.  Still in the arc of attack, the woman spun and loosed a roundhouse slice kick that slammed Hikaru across the ribcage, sending her flying into the sand, bowling over the two cheerleaders and scattering more people away from the immediate vicinity.

Hikaru tried to stand up, ignoring the supernova of pain that was raging through her midsection.  Looking at the stranger, she shouted, “Why are you attacking me?”

The stranger stood over Hikaru, her eyes full of rage.  “Have you forgotten already, Ranko?  Apparently so, because your martial arts skills have fallen off.  And once I defeat you,” she said, holding up a fist haloed with her angry, dark ki, “I will kill your cousin and take what is mine!”

“You have the wrong person,” Hikaru snarled.  “My name is Shidou Hikaru, and I don’t know this Ranko person of yours.”  At Hikaru’s words, the woman froze, looking at her with a gaze that couldn’t be described.  Suddenly, Hikaru wasn’t sure if that was for the best.

Keiei dimly heard the woman’s words, with only her name ringing in her mind: “…Shidou Hikaru…”  Looking at the woman before her, she superimposed the face of Tendo Ranko over it, and found that though the two were very similar, there were differences.  Tendo had a far shorter braid, and the color of this woman’s sienna eyes were nowhere near that of Tendo’s deep blue orbs.

Not to mention that Tendo was pretty good at combat, Keiei had to admit.  This woman, on the other hand, had dodged three times – and unsuccessfully the last – but had not counterattacked.  What little Keiei had seen said this woman had some training in a martial skill, but that karate was not likely to be it.  Additionally, the fighting spirit in this woman was not as ferocious in this girl as it had been in the other – in fact, it was apparently pretty much nonexistent.

“Shidou Hikaru?” Keiei whispered, unable to believe her good luck.

“Yes, that’s who I said I was,” Hikaru commented, hoping that this was all a horrific misunderstanding.

It wasn’t.

With a speed nearly as fast as her fists, Keiei pulled out her black katana and thrust it at Hikaru, screaming, “DIE!”  Fortunately this time, the redhead was prepared and despite the pain, rolled out of the way.  There was a sizable spray of sand as the blade bit fiercely into the beachhead, Keiei snarling with anger at Hikaru’s lucky maneuver.  Raising her blade, she turned to swipe at the redhead.

Hikaru, frantically looking for some way to defend herself, was tempted to will up her sword, but declined to, as this was neither the time nor place for a provocation.  Pulling out a sword could make an already bad situation worse, and using her pyromancy could do more damage than good right now.  There had to be a way out of this…There!  Instinctively, Hikaru grabbed it and swung in a parrying motion.

Keiei’s second attempt at taking down Hikaru was thwarted when the redhead brought up one of the abandoned majorette batons and parried Keiei’s blow.  Although there wouldn’t be a second chance to do so as the instrument snapped in two from the blow, it did stop the blade and gave Hikaru the chance she needed to get away.

Hikaru scrambled back, leaping towards a small scarp and trying to find some way to defuse the situation.  “Why are you doing this?  Who are you?”

The woman with the nightshade sword narrowed her eyes in anger.  “You don’t remember?  You don’t remember how you plunged my world into hell seven years ago?!?!”  The woman shook with anger and vitriol so pure, the redhead gazed in wonder, as though it were something truly alien and incomprehensible to behold.  “Seven years ago, you beat me in a duel, and made my life hell, damn you!”

The years peeled back in Hikaru’s mind.  “Ano…seven years?  You mean the Meguro-ku Kendo Championship?”  Hikaru unintentionally grinned at that; the victory had been her first competition in the Art, and a personal victory for her, since she’d switched from gymnastics to kendo only the year prior.  Initially, she’d been reluctant to follow in the family footsteps, especially since her brothers had been kendo talents themselves, but now it seemed even more natural than her gymnastics, and even a godsend in light of her adventures in Cephiro.  But the thing that she remembered most was that she defeated a girl who had been widely expected to win the tournament, a girl named…  “Keiei?  Fuitamu Keiei?”  Hikaru gave a second smile, and said, “It’s been a long time.”

The smile and recall of her name, unfortunately, did not engender goodwill in Keiei.  Raising her blade to strike, she uttered an inhuman growl of rage and hatred.

Hikaru, coming back to the present, looked at her attacker with confusion.  “But that was seven years ago!  We were just kids then!  Why harbor a little loss for so long, if you’ve clearly improved?”  The irony of the whole situation was not wholly lost on the redhead kendo artist as she said that.

“YOU RUINED MY LIFE!” the armed woman shrieked.  “BECAUSE OF YOU, I LOST MY HONOR!  I LOST MY FIANCÉ!  I LOST EVERYTHING!!!!!”  Keiei swung the blade down and sheared the rock in half, with Hikaru leaping out of the way.  “I WON’T REGAIN MY HONOR AGAIN, UNTIL THE LAST DROP OF YOUR LIFE’S BLOOD DRIPS OUT OF YOUR BODY!”

Hikaru, realizing that a fight was no longer avoidable, pirouetted in mid-air and landed in a ready pose, preparing to call up her fire magic and summon her sword.  Idly, she noted that she’d have to be careful, as there were still some people around, and the police had not arrived yet to put an end to this.  Looking at her now-enemy, she said in a sorrowful voice, “Well, if there is no more alternative….  Let’s have at it then.”

Keiei looked around at all the innocents that were beginning to watch the beginning struggle between her and the redhead harridan.  Though she wanted Hikaru dead, killing others wasn’t going to help restore her honor.  Yet, there was a way to deal with Hikaru, but she’d have to time it exactly right.

Sliding the sword back, she focused, charging up her ki and making her aura shine with a dark, sinister light.  Staring at Hikaru with the darkest look that she could, she snarled, “I wish only to kill you, wench.  I would like to leave the innocents be.”

Hikaru let out a small sigh of relief at that, saying, “and for that, I’m glad.”

“Furthermore, as you have no weapon at the moment, to kill you would be….”  Keiei, through her rage, sought the best word, then gave up.  “Though it would be a true pleasure to kill you—”

“So I gathered,” Hikaru interjected, a note of sorrow in her voice.

“SILENCE!” Keiei thundered.  “As I was saying, it wouldn’t be as satisfying as if I didn’t defeat you and then spit you on my blade.”  The raven-maned woman gave a small smile that might once have been cute, but had long since been banished by the cold loathing that was flickering in her eyes.  “So, if you’re brave enough, meet me at the Kenkaku-gaijo in Gotemba.”

Hikaru tried once more for reason.  “Fuitamu-san, there’s no reason to do this….”

Keiei said, “Oh, I assure you there’s every reason to do this.”  Rage building within her, she roared, “AND IF YOU CAN’T FIND ONE, I’LL PROVIDE YOU WITH IT!!!”  Sweeping the blade forward and towards the ground, she screamed, “FUITAMU SUPER ATTACK, SUNARASHI TSUNAMI!”

The earth rippled once, then exploded in a massive column of sand reaching towards the sky, carried up by a dark spiral of bioenergy until it blotted out an already cloudy sky.  As it reached its zenith, it started to come down, threatening to bury a huge portion of the immediate area.  People began to turn and run, fearful for their lives, but strangely, Keiei watched as Shidou Hikaru watched the sand wave’s descent with a disaffected, almost detached air.

The onslaught of grit, gravel and shells blasted to the ground, burying a sizable portion of the boardwalk and shopping center.  Storefronts and restaurant patios were trashed by the crest of natural destruction, spraying debris and damage all over the locale.  Those few unlucky souls who had decided not to move were swept up by it and flung around like toys, crashing painfully into objects.  Missile damage was everywhere as items broke free and were sent flinging out of control.  Within minutes, a large portion of the elegant and posh shopping center had been turned into a disheveled, sandblasted ruin.

There was an eerie, unnatural quiet, punctuated only at sporadic seconds by the crash of the waves against the shore, the occasional soft beep of the harbor’s buoys, and the settling of the destruction.  Suddenly, one portion of the sand began to heat with a temperature at first equivalent to a few hours before increasing to that of a summer afternoon.  And still the temperature accelerated, heating to that of the Sahara desert and continuing on to incredible temperatures, the sand beginning to glow with a red hue.  The glow continued as the area began to shimmer with heat waves, changing to an angry red and eventually settling into the superheat of white.  Finally, there was an explosion of scorched black glass as the transformed sand gave way to a column of raging flame like a fiery mole burrowing out of a new hole.

At the last, a sand-smothered, gasping Hikaru climbed from the whole, gulping deep breaths of air into her lungs, ignoring the intense heat that she had immunity from, anyway.  Battered from the unexpected sand attack and still trying to regain her breath, Hikaru collapsed on the scorched glass, though she looked around, ready to fight Keiei.  She was not in her optimum condition to fight the other woman, but that was no longer an issue.  There would be a fight, and there would be a fight now.

“Well, it appears that you’ve improved.  You might almost be even a challenge, Shidou.”

Sienna eyes darted skyward to the top of the overpass, near where the Shimbashi monorail’s station was.  Standing on the top of the train was Keiei, with a frighteningly familiar shape at her feet.

“KUU!” Hikaru screamed in panic.  Bad enough that Hikaru had forgotten her in the midst of what had been occurring, but now her friend was in Keiei’s hands.  “Let her go!  I’m the one you want, Fuitamu-san!”

“I seem to have gotten your attention, Shidou.  Don’t worry, your friend will be safe.  It is you I want to kill, not her.”  Keiei smiled grimly and added, “As long as you meet me at the location in two days, she’ll stay safe.”

To her credit, the redhead forced herself to her feet and looked up at her enemy with eyes that bordered somewhere between anger and sorrow.  “Let Kuu-chan go!”

“I think not,” Keiei said, pointing her blade at the redhead.  The ravenhair gave a self-satisfied smirk and whispered, “Kamisori no Tokugawa.”  A dark blast of energy ripped away from the blade, lancing towards Hikaru at an incredible speed.  The redhead, still trying to recover, had no defense whatsoever.  The shot slammed into her forehead, whipping it back and sending her sprawling to an unconscious clump on the ground.

As the monorail began to pull away from the station, Keiei allowed herself a faint smile of accomplishment.  After all this time, she would regain her honor by spilling Shidou’s blood.  She would have to make plans to attend to this woman at her feet, and when that was done, her next stop would be Nerima.  A quick dispatch of Tendo Ranko and Saotome Nabiki, and then she would show her newfound family her regained glory as she eviscerated Shidou Hikaru, completely and utterly.

SECOND ROUND: The Day of the Long Blades

Hikaru felt terrible.

It wasn’t so much the pain that was aching through every iota of her body – though that didn’t help much either – but rather the fact that Kuu had been kidnapped by that woman, and she was in danger…all because of Hikaru.

All because of me, the redhead thought, her musings dark and painful.

Though the police had been quick to assist, apparently they were writing off the whole thing as “yet another Nerima-style martial arts incident,” whatever that meant.  She’d heard a couple of names mentioned – Sao-something or other, Hibi-wazzis, but to be honest, they were so unimportant to the situation, she really didn’t care.  They merely took her statement, promised they’d try to find Kuu (though they were sure that she’d pop up on her own, soon enough) and called it that.

That was two days ago.

Since the incident, Satoru had taken a fiercely protective stance of his sister, pretty much all but letting her out of the house.  Masaru, living nearby, made sure that he or his girlfriend Chidara were available for assistance at all times.  Kakeru, too busy with his studies at the JASDF Academy, couldn’t break away to come home and say hi, but he’d thoughtfully spent a couple of hours on the phone with his little sister, making sure she was alright.

But the fact was, no she wasn’t.  She wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination.  She was being hunted, by an opponent that wanted her dead.  She’d never, in her life, ever had to deal with that before.  Granted, she’d been through a lot: people trying to stop her to the point that killing her was a possibility, people wanting and desiring her, being in a torrid love triangle, and even ascending to the Godhood of a world, but being hunted was a new experience, and one that she was sure that she didn’t like.

So far the only good news was that she hadn’t taken serious injuries during her initial conflict with Keiei, but considering, she would have preferred that she’d been seriously injured if it had meant that Kuu was safe.  However, that wasn’t turning out to be the case, so Hikaru would have to find some way of dealing with what was now transpiring, and to save Kuu, deal with Keiei and walk away from this alive. 

“Hello, Hikaru?”  Masaru waved his hand in front of his sister repeatedly.  “Hey, you okay?”

The redhead blinked.  “Um…yeah.  Sorry, Masaru-nisama.  I’m….”

“I know,” her brother replied.  The two were sitting at the table, having a breakfast wonderfully prepared by Chidara.  Satoru was away for the next few days; he had a scheduled tournament that he couldn’t cancel, so he reluctantly went, as the two younger Shidous assured him that Hikaru would be safe in Masaru’s care.

“Oh please cheer up, Hi-chan,” Chidara said in a cutesy squeaky voice that made the redhead want to scream.  Granted, she was a wonderful person and would make a wonderful wife for Masaru, but she tended to grate on Hikaru’s nerves.  A girl about Hikaru’s age with mint-green hair and soft hazel eyes, Chidara embodied cuteness even more than Hikaru did…and that was saying quite a bit.  Whatever overdosing on cuteness anyone had ever accused the youngest Shidou of, Chidara literally was.  Besides, Hikaru hated being called “Hi-chan”.

“It wasn’t your fault, Hikaru,” Masaru commented, reaching out for his sister’s hand.  “You couldn’t have known that winning that tournament when you were a kid was going to lead to this.  There was no way you could have known.”  Taking it in his, he said, “Kuu will be okay, Hikaru-chan.  I’m sure of it.”  Behind him, Chidara gave her a cheerful, benevolent grin that made Hikaru internally fight to keep herself from throttling her future sister-in-law.

“I wish there was something more I could do,” she moaned, depressed.

“Hmmm…maybe my older brother could help….” Chidara mused out loud.

The redhead caught that and grappled on to it like a lifeline.  “What did you say?”

“Well,” Chidara commented, her face screwed in concentration that just looked completely adorable, “my brother’s a police officer in Nerima ward.  From what Chimaru tells me, the section where he works is known for strangeness, so he’s usually tied up in taking care of that.  But he might be able to give us some sort of help.”

For the first time in a couple of days, Hikaru actually smiled.  “That’d be great, Chidara-chan.”

Masaru smiled.  “Well, it’s a plan then, ladies.  After breakfast, we can all go, since I don’t have to work today.”  For that pronouncement, he got a big hug from his sister, feeling that the end of this might not be that far off, and that Kuu would be safely returned to their custody.

Tendo Nabiki read the events of the other day, embedded on the front page of the paper and knew instantly what it meant.  She was back, which meant that she was coming for Ranma.  Which also meant over Nabiki’s own corpse.  Great – as if I don’t already have enough problems.

Her father, unable to take the strain of his wife and then his youngest daughter dying, had simply given up the will to live and was getting sicker and sicker every day.  Nothing that the remaining two Tendo sisters could do to cheer him up was helping any.  The look in Kasumi’s eyes was changing from one of cheerfulness to one that reflected a truth that Nabiki refused to accept: their father didn’t have (or want) much longer to live, and would soon leave them alone on this Earth.

Another problem was that somewhere in the past four months, she’d become a mother.  Not literally, of course; she wasn’t dating anyone and hadn’t even considered such things, but the fact was that she was practically single-handedly raising her nephew.  Additionally, she’d taken him a couple of times to college, and whenever she went somewhere, chances were she would take him.  But he was becoming such an effect on her “extracurricular” activities that her old partners had slowly begun to take over, phasing her out of their operations and pushing her by the wayside.  Which was, Nabiki admitted to herself, probably for the best – although only a baby, she didn’t want to expose Akama to that sort of thing.  Besides, from what she’d seen Ayame and Kumi getting into lately, it was only a matter of time before they crossed the line into crime…and that was not a line Nabiki had ever been willing to cross.

Lastly, there was the matter of Ranma.  She was doing all she could to keep her brother-in-law’s spirits up.  On the bright side, the incident months ago had brought him back to the living, and though he wasn’t his old self again, he was functioning a little more like a human being.  While it didn’t help Akama’s cause, there was the hope that Ranma would be soon coming back to a semblance of coherency that he’d give Nabiki a break.  To speed that process, Nabiki had begun to do whatever it took to cheer the martial artist up.  And, she found it was worth it: little by little, the shell was cracking, and Nabiki was determined to break that shell and see him happy once more.

However, even that seemed problematic: her father, during the few times he came out of his room, had seen that and was beginning to hint at a pairing between Ranma and Nabiki.  No one else in the house had seemed to notice it as of yet nor would think of such a thing, but it was only a matter of time, she expected, before Tendo Soun was to take his son-in-law and youngest surviving daughter and engage them, something that she did not want, and she was sure that Ranma didn’t, either.  Did she love Ranma?  Yes – but not in that way.  He was like a brother to her now, very much a part of the family and even if she felt romantically attracted to him (which was by no means the case), it was clear that he thought of her as a relative.  Besides, anyone who wanted her way into the heart of Saotome Ranma had to first get past Saotome Akane, and though dead, the memory of her was still an overpowering force in his life.

“Nabiki?” someone commented to her.  “You okay?” 

“Um, yeah, Ukyo.”  Nabiki gave a wan smile while looking at one of Ranma’s two best friends…and slowly becoming hers, as well.  The okonomiyaki chef knew that knew that being romantically linked to Ranma was going to be impossible as of late, so she comfortably settled into the usual role of his best friend.  In doing so, she’d become a close friend of Akane’s, and eventually that of the entire Tendo and Saotome families as well.  It was now unthinkable to not have her around, and she’d been very helpful and a total asset during the crisis the family was having over the course of the past few months.

“You’re thinking about that Fuitamu woman, aren’t you?” Ukyo asked, unconsciously feeling the slight scar that had come about when she’d taken on the woman in Akane’s stead.  She’d been lucky to survive that due to Keiei’s warped sense of honor, but the scar remained as a reminder of how determined that woman had been to win Ranma’s heart in the worst way possible.

“That obvious?” Nabiki asked.  “I mean, she only wants me dead because she thinks I’m Ranma’s wife.   I’ve only just started retraining in the Art, and only that because Daddy and Ranma want me to be able to protect myself, which right now won’t do a damn bit of good against her skill.”

“Don’t remind me,” Ukyo muttered.  “She dropped me like nothing.”

Nabiki nodded in understanding.  “She won’t stop until she takes that sword of hers and cuts off my….”  Nabiki trailed off, falling into a nervous silence before mouthing, “Oh no….” and pointing at the window.

Walking down the street, though fortunately not looking into the window, was Keiei, headed in the direction of the dojo and with a look of expectant triumph and murderous intent etched on her features.  She had her blade at her side, and from the looks of things, anyone who was willing to counter her would meet with a swift and painful end.

Ukyo saw her as well.  “Nabiki, get behind the counter.  I want you protected in case she sees you.”  Nabiki didn’t have to be told twice.  Ukyo herself went for her battle spatula as a precaution, but found herself prevented by Konatsu.  His eyes were glittering with a fierce light, something very rare and dangerous to behold on the shinobi.

In a cold voice, he asked, “Ukyo-sama, Nabiki-san, is that the woman who attacked you?”  When both women nodded in the affirmative, Konatsu looked out the window at her receding back and said, “I will deal with this.”

Walking down the streets of Nerima, searching for her brother’s police konban, Chidara led the two Shidous through Tokyo’s purportedly most violent and chaotic ward.  For reasons unknown to Hikaru, Masaru had chosen to bring a bokken along, though he’d covered it in a cloth wrap.  Was there some sort of trouble he was expecting that she didn’t?  It was possible, Hikaru had to admit, but still she didn’t want to bring a weapon, as that could not only show that she was afraid of Keiei, but might also flare up a confrontation should the two run into each other, not to mention the fact that the police might take things the wrong way.

Holding onto her beloved’s hand, Chidara said, “It should be just a few more blocks to go.”  Dragging the pair around the corner, they moved straight into…

…complete chaos.

Keiei stood stock still, only a few blocks from the front gate of the Tendo-Saotome dojo.  Pulling out her blade, she checked the hone of the blade, ensuring that the weapon was ready for combat. In less than a few seconds, she would kill her obstacles and be rewarded with a loving fiancé and a child to call hers.  Admittedly, the baby would not be of her own blood, but she would love it all the same – it wasn’t the child’s fault that it was born to a fiancé-thief like Saotome Nabiki.

“Turn around, Fuitamu.”  The voice was cold, threatening, and someone who she’d never heard before.  It didn’t matter.  She was going to teach the person a lesson, anyway.  Turning ever so slightly, she noted a young woman standing in front of her.  A kunoichi, the girl carried two wakuzashi and was already in an offensive position.  “You are a menace,” the kunoichi declared in tones slightly below that of abject hatred.  “You will be dealt with, miss.”

“Not by the likes of you,” Keiei yawned in a clear lack of interest.  Turning to face her foe, she said, “It appears that Saotome’s wife is such a coward that she must have others do her fighting for her.  A pity.”

Konatsu didn’t know the whole story about why Nabiki was being hunted by this woman, but he knew that insulting Ranma’s deceased wife wasn’t going to earn this woman any points with him.  “A pity you do not respect the bonds of matrimony!” he snarled as he rushed in, both blades ready to strike.

Keiei moved easily out of the attack by leaping over him and while spinning, executed a fierce slash that intended to disarm him – with the force behind it strong enough to literally cut the appendage off.  However, the kunoichi ducked under the blow, rolled forward, then spun and leapt towards her in an attack, which she countered.  Blades clashed in a harsh spark, and backing off, more rapid exchanges were thrown.  Konatsu varied the motion of his blades as he attacked, while Keiei moved her single katana around with a speed fast enough to make up for Kontasu’s weapons advantage.

Seeing that he would have to go up against her with a bit more power, the ninja struck forward a few more times, then vaulted back and sheathed both wakuzashi, then reached into his tunic and pulled out a wad of ensorcelled sheets of paper.  Punching forward, he called out, “Fujin Seikyu Sho!”  The windblade sheets glowed with mystic energies as they rocketed out towards Keiei.  Finally, they impacted against something solid, and acting like grenades, they detonated, causing a vibrant amethyst-and-emerald pyrotechnic display and obliterating what they’d hit…

…which was not the swordswoman, as evidenced by the burning, slagged remains of the neighborhood mailbox.  “I can’t believe you thought I was going to fall for something that inane!”  Expecting the move, Keiei laughed and moved with a panther’s grace, easily outmaneuvering Konatsu’s wind slash by bolting around him at the last second, path cleared as the fireworks had begun.  Twisting, she made a beeline for him and arced her blade upwards, dealing a blow to his back with the edge of the sword.  Realizing that the plan had failed and that she’d pounced on him like a cat attacking a rodent, he’d fortunately dodged quickly enough, or else the match would have been over before it began.  As it was, there was a price: the blade still struck true, through the fabric of his tunic and drawing blood as it etched a new diagonal scar on his backside.  He dodged two more rapid strikes in quick succession, not being given enough time to withdraw his blades.  Hoping to buy enough time, Konatsu slid to a halt, turned and loosed a small storm of shuriken at his opponent, the triangle-shaped throwing stars racing towards the young woman.

Keiei saw them and countered it easily.  “Kaminari Enkodate!”  Spinning her blade until it began to shimmer with a sort of electrical force, the improvised shield easily deflected the projectiles.  Still swinging the blade around her at a centrifugal-plus speeds, she shouted, “I can play that game!  Enkodan!”  She swung the blade in front of her, and loosed an energy chakram, the hoop launching towards the ninja, who had to move clear of the explosion.  Although he managed to escape the blast as it blew away somebody’s Toyota, his unprepared dive caused him to skid on his belly for a few before slamming into the nearest wall.  Seeing his tunic was in tatters, the kunoichi ripped it off and revealed that he wasn’t exactly a kunoichi, per se.

Keiei was a bit stunned by the revelation.  “You’re-you’re a guy?”

Konatsu kippuped back to his feet, redrawing his twin shortswords.  “Never said I wasn’t.”  Seizing the advantage of her surprise, he dashed forward and moved his lift blade with the swiftness of a gale.  Unprepared to counter it, Konatsu’s blade bit deeply into Keiei’s side, drawing blood in a crimson gout as the swordswoman bit off a scream.  Dashing out of her reach, Konatsu turned to face his foe.  “As much as I have the advantage, I would like to end this.  Do you yield?”

Keiei’s eyes radiated anger.  “Yield to you!  Hah!  Never!”  Raising her blade and ignoring the spreading stain on her shirt, she snarled, “You are good, and for that you will be spared, though you will know pain!”  Concentration and pain etching itself on her face, she grunted as her dark aura exploded into life, the deep midnight color swirling and dancing around her like a nightmare mist enveloping Kali in her dance of death.

“Akanegumo Chizu!”  She roared in an inhuman tone as her back seemed to erupt with an eerie, arcane force.  Reaching out of her back came eight tendrils of energy, each tendril joint and having the disheartening appearance of spider’s legs.

“Masaka….” Konatsu said, his eyes widening in total disbelief.  “That’s a forbidden art of the ninja!  No one’s supposed to know that!”

“You’d be surprised,” she said, flashing him a dark grin.  Pointing her blade at him, the legs elongated and raced towards Konatsu with the speed of a pack of ravenous wolves.  The shinobi, knowing what the spell would do, leapt to his right in a desperate attempt to move out of the path of the blasts.  Six of them impacted solidly against the wall behind him, shattering the wall like building blocks and leaving the telltale scars of acid in what was left.  The remaining two, however, slammed into Konatsu with a fury.  He howled in pain as the energy splattered against him, bursting in all directions and enveloping him in a cocoon of dark strands, to the point where nothing could be seen of him.  Within seconds, a glowing, dark blue cocoon about the size of a human being lay on the ground, moving around as though something was trying to break free of it, and muffled screams of agonized pain.

Without delay, Keiei bolted forward, holding her blade raised over her head, and roared, “And now this ends!”  Reaching the cocoon, she swung her blade in a downward arc, the edge slashing through the cocoon and drawing blood and a blue, noxious fluid.  As the strands evaporated, Konatsu lay in a pool of blood with a vicious gash running down the center of his chest and countless azure-hued acid burns all over his body. In his hands lay the remains of his weapons, the blades melted and slagged away to uselessness.

He reached towards her, whispering, “D-damn you….” but collapsed back, too weak to do much more.

Taking some gauze, she took it and wrapped it around her tightly, making sure he wouldn’t move.  Pulling a cel phone out of her back pocket, she began to dial for emergency, saying, “Don’t worry.  You’ll live.  The variation of the attack I learned isn’t fatal, but I daresay you’ll be paralyzed for a few weeks.”  About to dial for emergency services, something caught her attention and she leapt away, bringing her blade back to the ready position as a katana sheared off the top of her phone.

Keiei faced her opponent, a man in his twenties wearing a polo shirt and slacks and holding his blade with the measure of a true expert.  “I believe round two begins now, miss,” his said calmly, the anger shining in his eyes.

Keiei sighed as though she had better things to do.  “And you are?” she asked in a bored tone.

“Shidou Masaru,” he answered in tight tones.  “And I’m here to address what you’ve done, woman.”  With the pleasantries dispensed, his blade sung out as he began a high-speed rapid thrust that roared with all the anger that was building within him.

It took all of Chidara’s willpower not to scream in terror.  A rather unworldly girl, she had never been exposed to violence before, and now here she was, seeing enough to make anyone squeamish.

Hikaru stared at Keiei, locked in a battle with what appeared to be a ninja.  Though he was fast and certainly skilled, he was no match for Keiei, as she brought him down with a ki-attack that she’d never seen before, one that looked eerily like a spider ensnaring its prey.  She watched as the combat ensured and the ninja went down in a net of ki energy.  Keiei slashed the net and brought her opponent low.

“Keiei….” Hikaru whispered, her voice sounding so oddly distant that the redhead wasn’t sure if she’d said the name or not.

“Is that her, Hikaru?” Masaru asked in a tight voice, to which Hikaru nodded.  “I thought so.  Stay here and protect Chidara-chan.  I’ll deal with this.”  Removing the case that held his bokken…or rather, what Hikaru had thought was his bokken.  In truth, it was his katana, the one that he’d been given when he’d been pronounced a grand master of kendo.  Each member of the Shidou family had one, and each was well attuned to his or her specifications.  The silvery blade glittered as he drew it out of the green scabbard, the green and gold of the hilt and handle glistening as though it knew it was being drawn for a noble purpose.

Before either girl could stop him, Masaru jetted into the fray, ready to deal with his foe.  It was all Hikaru could do to hold Chidara as she began to shiver in fear, and for the redhead to quell her own worry.  Taking Chidara in her arms, Hikaru whispered, “Let’s get to somewhere out of the line of fire, Chidara.  I don’t think we’ll be safe here.”

I may never be safe again, the redhead mentally added.

Keiei pushed herself to move out of the way of the rapid thrust attack.  Hikaru’s brother was fast, and had a very different style than his sister did, from what she remembered of Hikaru’s style.  However, he wasn’t much of a challenge to be honest, as his moves were somewhat predictable, making him very much the proverbial one-trick pony.  Although she wouldn’t kill him just as she had not done with the ninja, she knew that if she seriously wounded him, the redhead would soon follow.  And so she made her plans, and those plans would work to her advantage.

Finishing up his strike, Masaru leapt back as Keiei began her counteroffensive; initiating her assault the second that he’d completed his.  Moving even faster than he had, he moved furiously to block every move that she did, but to no avail: on what he expected to be a rightward slash, she changed direction and stabbed forward through the hole in his defenses, ripping into his shoulder and scoring.

Masaru yelped in pain as the blade sank in, but he moved back and brought his own blade down, knocking hers away but forcing the blade out of his body, causing more damage.  Feeling the electric tingle of trauma running through every nerve in that immediate area, he stepped back, resizing his opponent.  She was good, no doubt about that, and she knew how to use her inner ki to attack.  He hadn’t learned that much yet, but he was fast and agile and had defeated many a ki-empowered opponent before, so the situation couldn’t be as dire as it seemed.  Although she wanted to kill his sister and probably him by extension, he has no such compunction.  His was only to protect his sister, rescue her friend and make sure this Keiei woman saw plenty of time in a Japanese correctional institution.

A whisper came from the ground: “Be careful.  She is deadly.”  It was the downed ninja, lying helpless in his own blood and looking up at Masaru with a bleak gaze.  “She will destroy you if you are not careful.”  Without looking down, Masaru nodded; he didn’t want to take his eyes off Keiei, but he felt that he needed to acknowledge the downed ninja.

Then it dawned on him.  Really dawned on him.  The person lying on the floor was a shinobi, one of the legendary shadow warriors of Japan.  They were heavily trained with a seriousness that rivaled – and probably outdid – that of his own kendo training.  These guys had to be good, and doubtless even the worst could be a challenge.  The fact that this one was lying on the sidewalk in serious condition meant that he’d been beaten handily, and that this woman was dangerous.  This also meant that Masaru was over his head.  Way over his head, indeed.

As if she was finished toying with him, she slammed her blade into the floor, shouting out, “Tsugaru Wave!”  Spreading her arms out, the sunken point of the blade and the palms of her hands caused a triangle of force, from which a torrent of dark energy unleashed from it.  The blast of power was too wide for Masaru to block with the blade, and if he escaped, it would mean certain death for the ninja, and a waste of a life like that was something he was not willing to abide.  So as the blast of ki came into range, he did the only thing he could: he moved his blade into a double-handed blocking position, moving in front of the downed man in order to take the brunt of the hit.

And hit it did.  It slammed into both men with enough force to toss them like matchsticks in a gale.  Both were blasted through the wall, into the yard of the household that the wall had belonged to, and several feet onto the property.  Through the smoking hole in the wall, she could see the residents of the house scattering and running away; that was for the best, as they wouldn’t be injured in the struggle.  She also saw Shidou slowly getting back to his feet and raising his blade; the ninja she could tell was unconscious, but still breathing.  Masaru had managed to take the brunt of the blow and still get up for more.

Masaru looked at the woman with murderous eyes as he wiped a line of blood from his forehead.  Every bone in his body was screaming in pain, and he was pretty damn sure that things were not exactly in correct alignment in his rib area.  But if it was the last straw, he was going to take this woman down, or she would take on Hikaru and kill her.  Satoru was probably better at this but he wasn’t here; and Kakeru wasn’t nearby to call on for help.  It would have to be him and him only.  Raising his blade, he dashed in towards Keiei.

Keiei simply stood there, blade still stuck in the ground as her opponent came towards her.  She didn’t move to pull her blade out of the concrete.  She didn’t need to.  As Masaru raced in towards her, she simply gave a soft, beguiling smile that at some other time might have been construed as alluring.  She made no indicator that she was going to move at all.

As Masaru came within striking range, he swung.

She blew him a kiss.

Passing her, he stumbled a meter or so before falling to the ground a pool of blood beneath him.  Behind him, standing in a defensive pose, was Keiei, holding a tanto in her hands, the blade sticky and wet with the sudden drawing of blood, namely his.  As he felt himself going numb, she bent down beside him and said, “You knew I was better, and you fought anyway.  Such strength is to be commended.  It’s a shame I’m already spoken for and that I have to kill your sister, otherwise I would be interested in you.”  Lifting his head gently, she kissed him on the forehead and said, “The wound wasn’t serious, and it’ll heal in a few weeks.  Take care of yourself.”  Pulling some white sheets out of her pants pocket, she wiped her blades clean, sheathed them, and walked down a different street, away from the Tendo Dojo. 

Keiei was convinced: Shidou Hikaru was a problem that wasn’t going to go away easily, possibly even more of a problem than Saotome Nabiki and her protector were.  Besides, with all the commotion, it was likely Nabiki had heard anyway and had plenty of time to hide.  The answer was clear: Hikaru would have to be dispatched before she could take on Ranko.  Otherwise, she might have to deal with them both, and while she might be able to do it, the fact that more and more people were entering the fray was indicative that both Shidou and Saotome were not interested in fairness or honor, and would do anything to stop her.  It was turning out to be stop them or be stopped herself, for good.  There was no choice now: she had to end it.

I can’t deal with this anymore, Hikaru said to herself, hours later.  She’d just come back from the hospital, where her brother had been admitted.  The wounds he’d received from the battle were serious enough to warrant an overnight stay, but he’d be back on his feet in the next couple of days or so, the wound Keiei gave him not having been grievous.  The odd thing about it, though, was that he’d revealed what Keiei had said to him, and Hikaru found that somewhat disturbing that Keiei had even entertained such ideas.  But mainly though she was worried about her brother, she was proud of him for stepping into the battle on her behalf, as well as probably having saved the life of the ninja.

As for that shinobi, Hikaru found it just as bad that Keiei had other enemies as well: she was apparently creating them left and right, it seemed, and the redhead wondered what the woman had done to anger a clan of shadow dancers.  As for the ninja’s condition himself, she didn’t know what happened to him; as soon as the ambulance arrived, he managed to get himself to his feet and retreated, leaving the area.  She hoped he’d be alright, because he looked to have fared much worse than Masaru had.

People are being caught in a crossfire, and it’s her fault.  She doesn’t care what’s going on, only that she wants to kill me.  Now, Hikaru stood here in her family dojo, in the center of the room, deciding the action to be taken.  Should she fight, or try once more for reason?  To reason with a woman who’d already proven that such a method was a completely and utterly non-existent concept.  Hikaru was setting herself up for failure if she did that, and she’d already had more than enough failures in her life.

Fuitamu, why are you doing this?  What do you stand to benefit from this?  Is killing me for some insignificant thing that happened so long ago so important to you that you’re willing to kill everyone and everything in your path?  And even if you kill me, who’s next?  How many bodies do you have under the leaves, Fuitamu?  How many innocent people are you hunting?

No.  In the end, you can’t be allowed to run all over the place, doing as you wish.  You have to be stopped.  And I guess since I’m the one currently under your blade, I’ll have to be the one to repel it.   Without even realizing she’d done it, there had been a flash of flame, and her fire sword appeared in her hand.  At first she was surprised to see it, but then remembered that she no longer needed a crutch like the escudo gem to store her equipment; the Fire Knight gauntlet was nothing more than an ornament, nowadays.  But that of course, wasn’t the point.  Twirling and moving the broadsword in her hand with a methodical ease, she knew that she was destined to fight Fuitamu Keiei once more.  Self-preservation demanded it.  Honor demanded it.  Love for her brother and her best friend demanded it.  Justice and all the basic elements of all that demanded it.  And such a cry could not be denied.

But it’s not in the job description here.  Mournfully, Hikaru banished the sword back to wherever it went.  The fire sword was not some toy, not some pigsticker to wave around on this world at will, but a symbol of what she was as the Knight Commander of Cephiro.  Even more so, as the Pillar of Cephiro, the goddess of that world, she could not afford to sully her own image and honor by such an act.  Maybe she was adding too much of a mystic layer to the whole thing, but when push came to shove, she was on the other side of the dimensional barrier.  Earth was where Shidou Hikaru, everyday college student and part-time kendo instructor lived; not Shidou Hikaru, Goddess of the Realm, Fire Knight of Cephiro, Knight Commander of Cephiro, She Whose Trips to the Toire Didn’t Stink, and whatever million other titles they’d tacked on to her name since the last time she visited.  She might not feel that she was a deity, but apparently she was one whether she liked it or not, so certain rules applied.

But this problem was for Shidou Hikaru the girl, not the goddess, not the knight, and she would have to deal with it in such a manner.  It might even be the best way out of this whole mess.  Maybe someday, she realized, I might feel different about that.  But not here and not now.

Walking over to the wall rack where the family katanas were held, she retrieved a scarlet-sheathed one, enhanced by a fiery, sun-bright gold.  Gently tugging it out of its home, she drew forth her katana, a weapon she was familiar with long before she’d ever heard of Magic Knights or mystical planets or Holy Spirits that came in the form of marshmallow-shaped bunnies.  Holding the blade aloft, she whispered to the room, “Tonight, Fuitamu-san, you’ve made a critical mistake.  You’ve made an enemy out of me, just as you wanted.  I don’t know why or how you started this, but I sure as hell am going to finish it!”

Resheathing the blade, Hikaru left the dojo, heading for her room.  She had to pack and take care of a few things before she would head of to Gotemba and the destiny that awaited there.

THIRD ROUND: All Our Times are Done, Here But Now They’re Gone

The Odakyu train rumbled along the track as it sped through the forest on the way to its ultimate stop in Kyoto.  Passing through the relatively unpopulated section of Japan’s forest, it left a reminder of man’s intrusion into the forest world that had been here for longer than anyone had ever been.  Somewhere in the life of the world, that was how things worked.  Nature came, and the Japanese rejoiced, and somewhere along the line, they invited technology along for the ride, and slowly but surely nature was succumbing to urban creep.  Not as fast as in other nations, but still too fast for the forests’ animals to ever understand.

From her seat on the train, Hikaru could almost understand the primal anger that nature seemed to have when it came to retaliating against man.  She’d read in an article in a magazine that some quack at Hiroshima University believed that typhoons were becoming more commonplace, because the kami were mad at the advance of civilization over the rocks and trees that were the homes of the spirits.  Logically, that was a load of shit, but at the same time it seemed to make so much sense.  Hey, if Hikaru even went on as thin a limb as that crackpot had, it explained a bit about Fuitamu.  She seemed to be all “venom and hatred,” as the saying went, and to some degree, she was very uncontrollable.

As Hikaru debarked the train in Gotemba station, she headed directly for the ryokan where she’d be spending the weekend.  Under normal circumstances, she’d probably take her time getting there, stopping for a coffee at a local café, or going shopping for miyage with Kuu.  But the sword she had wrapped in cloth on her back reminded her that she wasn’t here for sightseeing, the backpack she carried with her including a first aid kit giving her the foreboding that one way or another, it was not going to be a pleasant weekend holiday – and that was assuming she succeeded in rescuing Kuu and defeating Fuitamu.

As Hikaru arrived at the ryokan, she made the set up for two rather quickly, informing them that her friend would be arriving later in the day and to please ensure that everything would be set up.  As soon as the room was complete, Hikaru wasted no time in going back out, heading over to the train station, but heading on a different track, one that would take her to the dueling arena.  There, walking amongst the families and lovers, people going about their normal lives, was a woman who was about to do something out of the norm of the life she had on this world.  She was on a rescue mission, a trip to save a friend.

As she waited for the train to pull up, her mind once again wandered towards the whole Byzantine situation that had arisen, and how to deal with it.  For a second or two, Hikaru had an impulse to contact Fuu or Clef and ask their advice; she also thought waiting for Satoru to get back and ask him for an opinion.  Immediately, however, she clamped both ideas down.  Satoru already had to forfeit the tournament as he raced home to the family emergency; talking to him would likely exacerbate an already horrific situation.  As for the nobility of Cephiro, they would have called it a Knight’s Quest, for the Fire Knight Commander was heading out to do battle against a dark foe to rescue the Duchess – I still can’t believe they gave her a title! – Kuu; somewhere along the line the people of Cephiro would find out and it would turn into the Pillar’s Holy War, entered into whatever Holy Books or Scrolls or whatever got passed around on the planet, and made the stuff of legend, something she didn’t want.

Then she got on the train, and there was really no more to discuss as it rolled off towards her destination and her destiny – a battle she would either win and save her friend; or one she would lose, and with that loss, lose her life as well.

To the casual observer, the Fighting Grounds in Gotemba forest, well away from the central part of the city, was a beautiful clearing in the forest, deep enough not to be bothered by the hikers, nature lovers and fishers; but close enough to be accessible to town and thus not requiring a long journey to get there.  Despite the fact that it was not used as much as it was in older times, it still saw occasional use, and thus was kept in maintenance by a local temple that saw it as more of a treasured symbol of Japan’s past than the killing grounds that they actually were.  If it were not for its main intent, the grounds would have made for a nice picnic and camping area.

The arena itself was a manicured ground that could have doubled as a grass-style tennis court if it had not been for the fact that it was as round as a Sumo ring.  The grass itself was lush and green; only those studied in the past knew the reason behind it was because of the amount of blood spilled there like Russia’s equally lush Steppes plains, and not due to nature’s intent.  Marking the circumference for most of the circle was a ring of stones, simple and unadorned in their beauty, while the remainder was marked off by a two-meter drop that led to the local river that flowed eventually to the sea.  When standing in the center of the ring and facing northeast, the topmost part of the shine could be seen, and likely the priests who maintained both locations could see what went on as well.

However, none of this was really explained to Kuu as she lay there, bound and gagged, trying not to move because she was still afraid that her kidnapper would harm her, despite the woman’s promises not to.  Fuitamu Keiei had told Kuu why she had been abducted, as well as the events of her encounter with Shidou Masaru and the results of that.  Kuu was both relieved that Masaru had survived, considering that Kuu had watched this woman train and had seen exactly what this woman was capable of.

Sitting on one of the rocks, sharpening her nightshaded blade, Keiei gazed back at Kuu with a lack of interest and said, “Relax, Hououji-san.  You’ll be released soon enough – after all, I’m expecting that you’ll have to carry back Hikaru’s corpse back to town.  I might even be inclined enough to notify the local authorities for assistance.”  There was almost a placid calm in her voice as she brought the blade to a razor’s sharpness.  “Do you know, Hououji-san, that after today I’m finally on the way to having a normal life again?  I’ll have my honor back, and after one more unpleasant issue to deal with—”

“You must mean one more person to kill,” Kuu said, anger and worry for Hikaru in her voice.

“Point,” Keiei admitted.  “In any event, I’ll be free to wed my fiancée and raise my child the right way, the honorable way.  Perhaps maybe even after that, we can be friends.”

“Not on your life, Fuitamu-san.  I couldn’t be a friend to a murderess like you!”

Keiei was about to respond to that when she was interrupted by a simple, “Fuitamu.”

Without even bothering to turn around, Keiei responded in murderous tones, “So you’re here.  Good.  Time for you to die.” Keiei turned around to face her opponent, a look of cool rage on her face, and her hand on her sword, though she hadn’t drawn it from its scabbard just yet.

“I don’t agree with you,” Hikaru answered, determination set on her own, and embers burning in her eyes.

Both opponents stared at each other, and were it not for the tension, the two would have seen the irony in how they were dressed.  Keiei, already sensing victory, was dressed in archetypical Saotome clothing, with white, the color of death, as her tang’s color.  Hikaru, prepared for a fight, chose jeans and a black tube top, her clothing looking normal as to what Keiei typically wore.  Had the situation been different, it would have been amusing, almost comical.  But it couldn’t be that way, as the swords strapped to the side of either woman clearly demonstrated.

Some silent signal went off, and within the span of a second, the two combatants dashed towards each other, to meet in the center of the ring.  There was the slithering sound of blades being withdrawn from their scabbards, followed by the metallic clang of said blades clashing against each other.  Black metal and silver steel danced and collided in an awestriking martial ballet, their fates controlled by the two women who maneuvered those fatal slivers of death.

Hikaru fought with sword styles never before seen on this world, each parry, stroke and thrust developed by generations upon generations of Cephiran swordsmasters.  While Keiei was obviously not even remotely familiar with them, her speed allowed her to keep up with the Fire Knight.  The two women continued to hammer at each other, each using various styles and moves, but neither gaining the upper hand.  Even in the few occasions when one was able to break through the other’s defenses, there was nothing there to hit.  Hikaru’s gymnastics skills and Keiei’s knowledge of martial arts counters prevented either from taking hits.  The end result of all of this was the pair clashing the swords against each other, wearing each other thin to the bone.

After ten straight minutes of slashing and counter-slashing, the pair broke off and leapt away to relative safety for the moment.  Hikaru, leaping back and landing over by Kuu, gulped harshly for air for a few minutes.  She was hot and covered in sweat, and the battle had only just begun, to be honest.  This woman, Hikaru had to admit, was good – too good.  Like the old saying went, this woman was definitely born to the sword, and she would have been possibly one of the best swordsmasters in all of Cephiro had she been there.  Either that, or if Zagato or Debonair had enlisted her, life would have been hell for all of us – Nova would’ve been a cakewalk in comparison.  Immediately Hikaru shut that line of thought down – the least thing she needed to dwell on was that whole beyond-bizarre Nova sequence of her life.

After a couple of seconds, Hikaru finally became aware of someone speaking to her.  “Hikaru, get out of here!” Kuu, still bound, was screaming at her.  “She’s insane!  She’s going to kill you!”  Although Hikaru didn’t look at her friend (she didn’t want to waste the strength turning her head, or risk taking her eyes of Keiei), she could easily make out the fear in Kuu’s voice.  “Please, Hikaru!  We can find some other way around this!”

“No, Kuu-chan, there’s no other way.  She nearly killed my brother.  She wants to kill me.  After me, there might be others.  I can’t allow her to do whatever she wants.  Someone has to stop her, and it has to be me.”  Hikaru brought her blade up, and noticed that Keiei was in similar shape.  Forcing herself into a charge, Hikaru raced forward, then within seconds altering course and headed for Keiei’s unprotected flank…

…and right into Keiei’s hands.  Seeing her target dashing towards her, Keiei decided to end this in the most painful way possible.    Leaping out of Hikaru’s strike, she landed on the far end of the circle from her, calling out, “Nice try, Shidou, but it won’t save you from the grave!” 

Slamming her blade into the ground, she unleashed her Tsugaru Wave attack, clearly knowing that if Shidou’s brother couldn’t block the attack, there was no way that Hikaru could.

So it was to her surprise that Hikaru, with a move that totally surprised Keiei, countered by leaping into the air and calling out, “Ryusei Kenbu!”  Torrents of steel homed in on Keiei as Hikaru went into her Shooting Star Sword Dance, and for a second or two, it seemed that the redhead was throwing thousands of swords against her opponent.

The end result of it was the onslaught of high-speed metal against a powerful wave of ki.  The pair clashed in the center of the dueling ring, and the resulting explosion and thunder of power was overwhelming to all senses.  However, that was not the only effect, as the release of force was enough to shatter their section of the dueling arena, sending both women tumbling to the river below, amongst a landslide of earth, dirt, and stones.  With both women caught off guard, there was no way to recover, and possibly no way to survive.

The last thing Hikaru heard before the blackness claimed her was Kuu’s terrified scream of “HIKARU!!!!!!!!!!!”

When she came to, she was lying in a river eddy, the streams gently washing over her.  By some miracle of fate, she hadn’t been drowned in the pull of the river, and had managed to end up washed ashore on some soft riverbank by a bed of rocks.  Moving her tired head as much as she could, she couldn’t identify the place.  She could be dozens of kilometers down from where she’d been originally, or maybe just a few hundred meters.

In any case, she was here, and tired.  So, so, tired.  Her body ached in every spot possible, as well as new ones heretofore unfelt.  She found that other than moving her head and looking around (which took a lot of her strength), she wasn’t capable of that much movement.  Was she paralyzed?  Was she easy bait for the hunter coming after her?  There was no way to know, and little time to react.

Without an explanation, the redhead felt herself being lifted out of the water.  Unable to really move, she did the only thing she could: she looked up, expecting to see Keiei’s face and to hear a comment of, “I didn’t want to get wet while I killed you.”  Instead, she got quite a different visual answer.  For a split second, all Hikaru saw was the face of a ghost.  She was exceedingly beautiful, with fair skin, and eyes and hair a soft, pale gray; she was reminiscent to some degrees of pictures of the Yuki-onna that Hikaru had seen from time to time.  Additionally, the face was framed by a soft orange light that seemed reminiscent of the sun’s first rays at dawn.

Hikaru found herself set down by a bunch of weathered rocks.  On a red-stained rock, there was a small stone shrine, with several dozen dried flowers near it.  The area around it seemed well tended and manicured, which meant this place was frequented regularly.  Additionally, it didn’t take much for the exhausted Hikaru to figure out what the stain was on the rock.  Someone had died here; why else would a small remembrance shrine be out here?  Maybe even someone like the person – the ghost? – who had just saved her life.

Before she could comment further, she felt the sudden need to rest.  Unable to explain why she felt as though she was sliding into a peaceful, dreamy slumber, Hikaru slipped into the arms of Morpheus before her conscious mind could sense that she might have stepped into a trap…or worse.

I feel safe now, and I don’t know why.  Hikaru pondered this as her eyes closed, slipping back into darkness.

Grrrr…dammit, where the hell is Shidou? Keiei mentally barked, walking through the woods with her black blade at the ready.  Whatever Shidou had initially appeared, it had turned out to be a totally different story.  She was no wallflower, Keiei realized; she did have some fighting ability after all.  However, she was a total cheat, blowing out the ground from under them and hoping that it would overwhelm the brunette.  Well, Keiei was made of sterner stuff, and it was going to take quite a bit to floor her.  Besides, such a desperation move meant that either Shidou thought with little originality, or was a completely craven loser.  It didn’t matter, anyway; she was going to die.

A kilometer from where they’d started the fight, she came across Hikaru’s sword.  Keiei had to force herself from laughing.  What an idiot!  Does she really think I’m going to fall for that?  It was obvious that she abandoned it to make herself appear unarmed, which was a total sham.  After all, if Shidou were any sort of real kendo artist, she would at least carry a wakazashi or spare weapon on her; Keiei wasn’t so stupid to believe that the woman lost it during their fall into the riverbank.  Ergo, it had to be a distracting tactic, and a very lame one at that.

Keiei stared into the sky.  It was well past noon, and in fact, the sun was beginning its lazy decent towards the horizon.  She grinned.  It would be a day to remember.  It would be a day that would see the end of Shidou Hikaru, and soon after that, Saotome Nabiki.  And with that, a new day would dawn for Fuitamu Keiei.

A few more meters downstream, she came upon her quarry, currently having the temerity to insult her.  There was Shidou, taking a nap right next to a stone shrine.  The nerve of her!  Did she think this was some sort of joke?  That Keiei was playing some sort of bizarre game? Well, if that was the case, she was going to deliver to Hikaru a killer punch line.

Racing in for the kill, Keiei raised her blade up over her head.  It was going to be one slash, one kill--she intended to cut down Shidou in half, the true mark of skill.  Leaping into the air, she mentally counted the centimeters as they shrank in distance.  There was no way the redhead could escape.

“SHIDOU HIKARU, PREPARE TO MEET YOUR FATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

At the sound of the scream, Hikaru came back to consciousness in a flash.  Looking up, she saw Keiei bearing down on her, blade at the ready, and closing the gap exponentially per second.  Hikaru realized that without a weapon, she would have no way to defend herself, and even should she manage to find some way to dodge Keiei’s initial attack, that would put her at a decided disadvantage.  Still there was no other choice that Hikaru could see, none at all.

So be it.

As Keiei swung down, there was a pulsing flare of flame, and the ring of metal against metal as Keiei’s katana slammed straight into the fiery metal that was the Sword of the Fire Knight.  Parrying with lightning quick speed, Hikaru shoved Keiei back violently.

“I knew it,” Keiei snarled.  “Did you think me so stupid that I would fall for your lost sword trick?”  As Keiei moved into a more comfortable stance, she looked at Shidou, noticing something different.  For starters, the redhead had switched postures, and was now in a stance completely unfamiliar to her – it looked unlike any Japanese practice that she’d ever seen, and from what she knew of European and American styles, it didn’t seem to fit that, either.  The second thing she noticed was the unusual sword that Shidou now carried.  If Keiei didn’t know better, it seemed as though Hikaru had summoned it in a ball of flame, and that the sword seemed to have a igneous, heated feel about it.  Additionally, it seemed to change sizes, from two-handed to bastard to one-handed, depending on what the girl needed at the time.  Obviously such a concept was impossible, but it was possible that Shidou was playing tricks once more.

Well, if she wants a trick, I think I can provide one.  Jamming her blade into the earth before her, she began to glow with the unholy light of her battle aura, as she prepared to loose pure killing force against the redhead.

On her side, Hikaru stood, holding her Fire Sword in a classic Cephiran defense.  All along, she hadn’t wanted to do this.  But in the end, who was she kidding?  Keiei had to be stopped, and Hikaru had the means to do so.  What good was Hikaru’s abilities going to do if she wasn’t going to use them?  More importantly, what point was there going to be in being a knight and a goddess if she wasn’t going to live up to her own code of honor?

Even if I win here and now, will that really deter you, Keiei, or will you just come back when I don’t expect it?  You may be still somewhat honorable now, but how much more until you descend into complete and utter madness?  Should I expect a knife in my back years from now?  How many people will you kill in that meantime, Keiei?  Hikaru looked into the dark, hatred-filled eyes of her opponent, searching for the child that she must have been once upon a time, searching for whatever happiness was still left within the creature of anger and darkness.  Sadly, Hikaru could see nothing; whatever joy there had been in Keiei once was now buried under a heavy patina of rage and animosity, assuming there had ever been peace in her world to begin with.

I made a vow to stop you, Keiei, Hikaru’s mind echoed, but I can’t help feeling sorry for you. You’ve never known happiness, and it’s only bought you a cycle of pain and suffering.  Nonetheless, I’ll do what I have to do to end your reign of hatred.  I might not be the same naïve person that I was years ago, but I have to put an end to this, or else you’ll only end up hurting more people.  Copying Keiei’s move, she brought up her flame aura, beginning to charge up for an equally powerful attack.  “That I will not allow!” Hikaru found herself saying aloud, her own righteousness coming to the fore.

Both women were glowing with extreme power; Keiei darkening the area around her with her indigo, nearly black ki, while Hikaru’s flame aura, if it were not magic but natural flame, probably would have started a major forest fire. Some distant part of Keiei’s mind noticed Hikaru’s power and tried to send a warning to the active consciousness, but unfortunately it was translated as: Attack First.

“PREPARE TO DIE, SHIDOU HIKARU!!!!!!!!!!  TSUGARU WAVE!!!!!!!!!!”

“YOU’LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT, KEIEI!!!!!  AKAI INAZUMA!!!!”

At the same time, Keiei unleashed a surge of ki, as Hikaru cut loose with her massive spell of plasma, both forces of power racing at each other, tearing up the ground between them as both attacks headed for point-blank impact. Upon collision, there was enough force to shake the trees, the brunt of the shock neutralized.  However, the mid-afternoon sun had been overwhelmed by the incandescence of the blast, and it appeared as though the sun had decided to open up an annex in the center of the forest.

As the impromptu lightshow ended, Hikaru took action.  Grabbing her sword, she went into an offensive position, determination building within her.

As Keiei did the same, she commented, “I’m impressed.  Maybe you’ll be worth the kill, Shidou.”

“I don’t think so,” Hikaru replied, in sorrowful tones, making one final plea for sanity.  “You may want to kill me, but I don’t want to kill you.  Walk away from this, Keiei-san.  Please.  Whatever happened to you, we can talk about it…resolve it without bloodshed.”

“You know, if there were any other way, maybe I would, Shidou.”  Keiei slowly turned around, eventually facing Hikaru.  “Maybe there might have been a time when we could have been friends.  But the time for that is far too much past, and my only hope is to kill you now.”

“Please, Keiei.  This is your last chance.  Give up, because I won’t give any quarter.”

Keiei’s answer was to raise her sword into an attack stance.  “Are you ready to die?” she asked, her voice dripping with challenge.

“Hajime,” Hikaru snarled between clenched teeth.

They began to size up each other, readying for the final fight between the two, one that only one would walk away from.  The two began to circle each other, searching for weaknesses and strengths, looking for openings in each other’s defenses.  Despite the injuries and exhaustions of both, no quarter would be given or taken.  This was the end of the road, and destiny had to play itself out.

Signaled by a round’s bell that only they could here, Keiei lunged in, her mouth open in a silent scream of rage.  Swinging Murasame with enough force to cause it to whistle as it cleaved the air, she slammed the blade home with such force that it rang against the metal of the Fire Sword, a high crescendo that could be heard echoing throughout the entire forest. 

However, Hikaru had expected that move and parried, then slashed forward, stepping well into Keiei’s defense and striking for the other woman’s shoulder.  However, Keiei took advantage of the attack and sidestepped before racing in, stabbing as she went.  Hikaru moved by luck, and the black blade missed her side by inches.  With the other so close, the redhead made a counterattack, initiating a rapid sword thrust that moved with the speed of lightning. 

To counter, Keiei leapt free of the area then threw a single-hand ki attack, sending a blast of energy towards Hikaru.  Hikaru leapt to the side, however, and executed a wide slash that sent a wave of flame towards the sorceress.  The stream of flame slammed Keiei and flung her into the water of the river, scorching her arms.  As Hikaru raised her sword for a downward slash, Keiei raced forward and threw several high-speed punches to Hikaru’s torso before leaping back to recover her katana.  The 50-or-so high-speed punches nailed Hikaru squarely in the chest, flinging her back a couple of meters, causing her to scream in pain as she coughed up a glob of blood. 

“That was just the beginning, Shidou.  You’re going to beg for your death by the time I’m done!”

“I-pikki, I-pikki, I-pikki.  All talk, no action!  This isn’t over yet!”

With that split-second past, the pair leapt at each other again.  This time, the redhead executed a rising slash in mid-air while Keiei followed suit.  The two attacks countered each other, and the force of the blows threw the two apart like rag dolls; the ravenhair was plowed into a tree, while it was Hikaru’s turn to sink back into the river, her head impacting against a sharp rock.

Forcing herself back to her feet, Hikaru ignored the rave party that was going on in her brain cells, the body parts that were begging for mercy, and the part of her conscience that was basically screaming “Run and Hide.  NOW.”  Her left arm was heavily abraded, and she was bleeding from a nasty little gash on her right temple.  She mentally moaned, suppressing a wave of nerve-pinching pain that threatened to buckle her and put her down for good.  Raising her blade once more, she knew it was crunch time, and that not only was her life at stake, but also that of all the countless others that were Fuitamu’s hit list.  Under no circumstances could Hikaru tolerate the suffering of innocents, which meant she had to stop Keiei here and now, no matter the cost.  Dashing towards her enemy, sword down low and ready for another special attack, and aura blazing, she screamed an incoherent curse of fury, as righteous rage built in her soul.

Keiei clambered back to an upright position, feeling lucky that Shidou had been unable to seize advantage of the situation.  She ignored the ringing headache and the nasty scorches on her arm, instead using the support of the dented tree to stabilize herself. 

She’s much better than I thought she’d be, Keiei admitted.  Still, she has to die, or I’ll never have a normal life.  That’s all I want.  Just my Ranma and my child, being the best in the world, and no person is going to stand in the way of that, if I have to kill anything in my path to get it!  

Reconciling her strength once more, she saw as the redhead began to get back to her feet.  Something at the sight of her nemesis assuming the offensive position caused whatever last bond of sanity left in Keiei’s mind to snap, and Keiei became filled with a dark, murderous rage that changed her objective: she was going to win Ranma and her baby, if she had to kill a god to do it!  Nothing would ever stand in her way, never again.

Whatever was left of Keiei’s humanity shed a single, solemn tear as the Mistress of the Black Blade completed her transformation to ill-starred martial artist to cold-hearted killer.  Dashing forward, the tear was lost in the air, and to the folds of time.

The pair engaged once more on the muddy banks of the river, Hikaru putting her strength behind a power strike while Keiei angled for killing, debilitating blows – whatever it would take to annihilate the redhead.  Hikaru feinted to her left and struck in, gashing Keiei’s leg, but this allowed Keiei to strike Hikaru’s arm and loose a charged ki blast down the length of her blade.  The energy tore into Hikaru’s already injured arm, causing an explosion of power, flesh and blood, but it also left Keiei open again.  Hikaru lashed out with a kick and nailed Keiei in the gut, but unfortunately jarred her ankle on landing and bit off a scream.  Keiei, unexpectedly feeling the force of the blow, snapped to rapidly enough that she caught the redhead off-guard, landing a vicious slice to Hikaru’s side.  Hikaru screamed as she leapt back, preventing what would have been a fatal blow.  

Hikaru sprung back, barely able to last much longer.  Keiei was stronger and faster, and was going to win if Hikaru didn’t think of something fast.  She realized that right now, she was not in the best of shape; in fact that was the main thing on her mind this second.  Her strength was flagging, and she was bleeding profusely via a ton of lacerations, a black eye, burns on a couple parts of her body, and enough sweat and blood to make the wounds sting like a regiment of knives being stabbed into her as she took every painful step.  Her clothing was bloodstained, ripped, or burnt in various places, and she didn’t quite look the kawaii redhead that everyone was used to. 

Keiei moved into a defiant pause as she laughed, her voice breaking into madness where it would be forever.  “You’ll die, and I’ll get my baby Nabiki’ll die, and I’ll get my husband.  Die, die DIE, DIE DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  Without being aware of it, Keiei raced forward for her appointment with destiny. 

Hikaru wasn’t sure how long she stood there.  She tensed once more her aura beginning to encircle her as her clothing exploded away from her, transforming into the armor of the Fire Knight.  Every part of her was on instinct now, and it was going to be the only way to deal with this.  Her aura became more powerful and brighter, as her armor glittered with its power shining through.

Focusing on one last strike, she rushed to meet her enemy.  Channeling all of her power into the blade, she raced around the madwoman several times, the flames encircling her growing higher and higher.  Something opened in her mind, a gateway to another reality, and something from beyond swept in, like a Dragon Ascending to the Heavens.

There was an explosion of flame as Hikaru did an uppercut of sorts with the Fire Sword, slashing Keiei in the chest just before the black blade would have slammed through Hikaru’s face.  There was an explosion of fire and heat, and Hikaru’s aura became a raging dragon-shaped hurricane of energy, throwing a screaming, burning Keiei into the far distance, over the horizon.  The shrieks of Keiei became entwined with the scream of Hikaru’s rage, and the howl of a magical firestorm, and the whole situation met an endgame.  Eventually, the pyroclasm dissipated, and Fuitamu Keiei was gone.  Hikaru had won the day, somewhat worse for wear, but alive.

There was only one way to celebrate the occasion.

Shidou Hikaru sank to her knees and wept.

FINAL ROUND: Moving Closer Towards Destiny

“Are you sure you weren’t imagining the whole thing, Hikaru?” Kuu asked the following morning. 

After Hikaru’s victory, she’d passed out for a few hours.  When she came to, the moon was out, and strangely she’d been healed, though she couldn’t explain why.  Hurrying back to the dueling grounds, she came upon a terrified Kuu, who was more than thrilled to see Hikaru.  The relieved women held on to each other for whatever seemed like an eternity, before Hikaru summoned a second set of clothing and led the way to the ryokan.  Both women had stayed up all night talking about the events of the past few days, and were now heading back home.  Hikaru had already called her brothers and told of them of the news; needless to say, all three were angry with her for risking her life to fight Keiei, but were proud that she defeated the other and rescued Kuu. 

But before they were to return to Tokyo, Hikaru had one final thing to do.  So here they were, back in the forest, down by the stone shrine where Hikaru had said she was rescued from drowning.  But she never found the mystery woman.  Could it have been a ghost or a kami of some sort?  Hikaru wasn’t sure, but somehow she suspected that the small shrine on the rusty-red stone had something to do with it.  Maybe Hikaru had imagined everything in regards to the woman, but still, she felt she had to show some gratitude.  As a result, she was making an offering of flowers to the tiny shrine, as a token of thanks to whom- or whatever was the one who had helped.  It was a decidedly Western sort of offering, but considering the circumstances, somehow it felt appropriate to the redhead, though she couldn’t decipher why.

Kneeling by the small shrine, she replied to Kuu, “Maybe I was, Kuu.  But I look at it this way: if it meant getting rid of Fuitamu and saving you, I think I can put up with the delusion.  If it wasn’t one, then I’m obligated to pay my respects, ne?”

“Professional courtesy of a sort,” Kuu answered in a sort of agreement.  Not having much more to say, she watched as Hikaru reverently placed the dozen carnations in front of the small structure, paying homage.  When the task was completed, Hikaru got back to her feet and picked up her bag.  “Well, that’s that.”  Both women began the trek back to the remains of the dueling ground, which would likely never see use again, as most of it had been obliterated in the battle.  Once there, they’d head back up the trail to the street.

“A happy ending to yet another bizarre episode in the life of Shidou Hikaru,” Kuu commented, a tinge of humor in her voice.  “Next time, please make sure I’m left out of your private grudge matches, okay?”

“I’ll be sure to skip the ‘rescuing you while risking my life’ part,” Hikaru said, giggling.

“Touché,” Kuu admitted.  “So, we’ve got all day until the train until Tokyo leaves.  What do we do now?”

“Well, I hear there’s an outdoor museum park in town, in the Chukoku no Mori ward.  Maybe we can go and spend a nice afternoon there, then come back to the main station in time for our train?”

“That sounds wonderful.  It’s a deal, then.”  Kuu gave her diminutive best friend a grin to complete the deal.  However, as the two reached the dueling grounds, the blonde felt compelled to ask, “So, what happened to Keiei?”

“Well, she’s alive, but she’s not going to be able to menace anyone for quite some time.  I hit her with a pretty potent attack, one that I’ve never done before.  It’s not like I could pinpoint the trajectory, but I think I may have put her on the other side of Japan.”

“You what?” Kuu sputtered, astonished.

“It would take a long time to explain, Kuu-chan, it really would.  But I know that I couldn’t kill someone as misguided as her.  She might be a bit on the homicidal part, but I think her life has made her that way, and I’ve taken more lives than I’ll ever feel comfortable with – she wasn’t worth it.”  The redhead looked down, then around at the forest.  “This forest has seen ages upon ages of killing and duels, and for a minute, I thought I would be another statistic – either the killer or the killed.”

“Never, Hikaru.  You’ve killed before, I know, but there was always a just cause.  You’re a heroine, Hikaru-chan, not a murderer.”

“Thanks, Kuu.”  Hikaru wiped a tear from her eye that had just begun to well.  “You have no idea what that means to me.”

“Hikaru, for the past three years, you’ve been like my little sister, and my best friend.  You might be a cute girl, but at your core, you’re a warrior as much as your brothers.  But a warrior always has heart…especially when one is a goddess of another world.”  Kuu would have added something else when a thought suddenly hit her: “Hey, do you think she’ll leave you alone now?  That Fuitamu woman, I mean.”

“I hope so.  I’d hate to think that I could do anything else that would merit her coming after me again.”

The world is conspiring to keep my husband and my baby from me.

This was the main thing that was going though Keiei’s mind…or whatever was left of it.  Seated in the center of an abandoned, ruined Buddhist temple in central China, Keiei had found a crumpled home to match her crumpled mind.  This, in a sense, was the perfect place for her; a location where she truly belonged for the moment.  An empty,