Chapter 15: Sunset Beach

As Gengetsu's desperate project comes to a rapid artistic close, a new avenue has just opened up for Shogo. But will Shogo be able to manage this new variable in his already perilous journey as he nears the final stretch?

Shogo POV

*...Plop…*

*...Plop….*

I have smelled blood plenty of times in the past and it still manages to make me nauseous. Numerous scratches and open wounds, along with the fact that I used to gut my own fish dinners, should have made me used to the suffocating rusty metal like smell.

However, here I am at this moment.

My head is beginning to spin, and my stomach is starting to do flips. All the moisture has left my mouth and my lips feel as fragile as glass. Huge beads of sweat begin to form on my forehead and on my neck even though I didn't feel warm at all.

Actually, I felt cold.

Wetness begins to rapidly build up at my chest so much so that it startles me more than anything else at the moment. I put my hand on the wet spot to confirm that I wasn't imagining it and my sweat had indeed already started to soak my clothes.

I pull my hand away and look down at it.

My right hand is glistening with warm red liquid,

I feel like I can't breathe correctly anymore. Like I'm only working with a single lung at the moment. My legs feel like noodles as I grasp at my chest to find that I now sport a thin long gash that nearly goes from shoulder to shoulder along my collar bone.

'WHAT THE FUCKKKKK!?!?!?!?!'

"Hmmm... That was meant to take your head off… Maybe my skills are duller than I previously thought or you're not just any two-bit thief? Either way you have still made your last dumb decision. Come out into the light so I can at least remember the face of the first man who evaded a killing blow from me in the last decade or two!"

The sudden raspy voice that booms out from directly in front of me dissipates my internal panic. I take in the full appearance of my assailant while doing my best to protect my weak side only to wince at the sudden movement. My assailant is an old geezer who looks old enough to be Lady Hanagetsuya's father. He is cloaked in an all-black robe that contrasts greatly with his ridiculously long shaggy gray hair and beard. The man's most striking feature must be the giant scar that starts from the center of his forehead straight through a slightly discolored left eye with the end covered by the man's exuberant amount of facial hair.

Though the man is rather small in stature as he is barely taller than even me, I am thoroughly intimidated as I couldn't spot any weapon on the old man of which he would have used to wound me so grievously. There is no doubt in my mind that this man must be the single shinobi that is supposedly stationed at the palace during the day.

*Tch*

"Come now young warrior! I do not have all day! Do you not wish to at least be remembered by the man who ends your life?! Be quick for I am not known for my patience…"

The man continues to goad me out into the garden closer to him but honestly, I'd rather bleed out here in the doorway than carry along with whatever the fuck this geezer has planned for me. It is just then that I realize I'm not a step into the garden like I should be but instead a couple of steps backwards into the hallway. I must've subconsciously dodged the initial attack that still partially sliced me open.

As I go to take a step back the geezer lurches forward and grabs the front of my kimono with one hand before tossing me over his head clear into the garden. It happens so fast that I barely have time to adjust myself in the air, so I don't land directly on my open wound. I land roughly on the stone tile of the garden rolling across the floor no doubt getting blood splatters all over their intricate designs. As I come to a stop, I grasp my chest as my wound absolutely explodes in pain but the clack of wooden sandals across the floor coming towards me slowly makes me sober up fast.

The old man menacingly stalks toward me with his hands out of sight behind his back. His teeth were barred showing off two rows of gnarly yellow teeth each filed down to a point.

'OF FUCKING COURSE HE'S ONE OF THOSE CRAZY SHARK PEOPLE!!!'

My chances of surviving this encounter are looking slimmer by the second or should I say step by this grandfather shark freak.

"C'mon now! Can you not even stand in the face of your death boy?! Where is your pride as a warrior?! To die fighting on both feet, not submitting on your belly like a dog!"

The shark geezer continues accost me for not adhering to his bizarre honor code bullshit. All the while I can feel what little strength I have slowly fade away. I look up and the geezer is hovering directly above me. The disgust in his gaze causes something in me to snap.

Before I know it, I'm catapulting through the air with my left foot primed to cave in the chest of this damned old bastard.

*Thwack!*

"HRrmphh!"

My kick is slapped to the side then a quick palm strike lands flush to my abdomen taking all the air out of my lungs. I fall to my knees and grab my stomach hoping to keep myself from vomiting.

"Pathetic showing for one that has dared to challenge me and steal from my ward. Begon- Oh!"

The man suddenly lifts me up from the back of my tattered robe and spins me around.

"This is the clan symbol of that greasy blonde brat! Why in all that is sacred do you possess this garb?!"

The geezer turns me around and we are now eye to eye, his face stern as he expects my answer. I'll give him his damn answer alright as I swirl around a concoction of blood and saliva in my mouth.

*Phewt*

The glob of bloody spit plops on to the man's left cheek, unfortunate since I was aiming for this fucking turd's good eye. Even so I can't help but give a toothy grin as the spit drifts down his face and onto the ground below with slow dramatic effect.

My disrespectful rebuttal seemingly doesn't faze the man, as his tight expression doesn't change in the slightest but then I see the fire and brimstone in his eyes. The unspoken promise of horrible pain in my future makes a shiver go down my spine. What would be the first of my limbs he would chop off? My arms or legs? Maybe just my hands or feet? Or even-

I immediately bring up both of my hands from my sides to protect my junk.

'Hopefully he's not that much of a sicko!'

Either way I'm going to try and claw/bite/or yank out this cyclops bastard's last eyeball out before I croak. He'll definitely remember me for more than my fucking face since it'll be the last one he sees!   

Right before I can muster up the energy for one more lunge, I am unceremoniously dropped on to my ass. The cyclops stares down at me with a reproachful look then turns his back to me and starts to walk toward the palace.

"Tell your master I want to speak with him tomorrow at sundown! I hope that bottle of sake was worth risking your life over…"

With that the raggedy gray cyclops disappears from the garden and into the dark hallway of the royal palace.

'The sake! Where is it?!'

Shock went through my system as I had totally neglected to take care of my main objective while I was trying to ward off death. I can't find the bottle anywhere on my person or in my general vicinity. My frantic search ends when I find the plain sake bottle with the purple symbol lying in a patch of flowers to the side of the back entrance. It must've slipped out of my grasp when I got thrown across the garden.

Getting up from the ground proved to be an arduous task but with every step I take toward the bottle my breathing becomes more and more labored. Finally, I step in front of the brush of flowers and slowly crouch down to pick up the small bottle. At that moment it all hits me at once.

I really came within a hair's breadth of dying just for a single bottle of sake that I won't drink a drop of. I stuff the sake in my robe and start walking toward the hallway. Almost the entire upper right side of my robe is drenched in blood. I'm amazed to still be conscious however I can feel the adrenaline rapidly wearing off.

If I do somehow make it to a doctor and get out of here with just a gigantic scar, then I swear I'll never drink a drop of alcohol for as long as I live. I mean how good could it honestly be heh heh…

*THUNK!*

Fours hours later…

The familiar sounds of horses and the wheels of a moving carriage greet me in the darkness. I groggily open my eyes and flinch from the soreness I felt radiating all over my body. My arm is in a sling and my entire collar bone region is tightly wrapped in bandages. Fighting through the pain I sit up and look out the back of the carriage to see that it is the very same one I had arrived at the palace in.

"Hey! You finally awake in there!"

The sudden but familiar voice startles me as I move the curtain to see who the driver of the carriage is. To my surprise it is that old fuck up of a fisherman, I guess he managed to fool the daimyo since his head is still attached. He looks back at my shocked expression and responds with jovial laughter.

"I did what you said, chibi ninja-san! Act confident and stick with what you know! And before I knew it, I had been given a 20 million yen grant to build my hotel/casino. It was on my way out that a servant ran in the hall and said my bodyguard had fought off an assassin meant for the daimyo…"

As soon as the words left his mouth, I knew it was a cover up orchestrated by that one eyed old goat. Why the hell would he go as far as to lie in order to get me out of trouble? It can't just be because of the message that he wants me to deliver to the greasy git. No, if push came to shove, he would just confront Gengetsu on his own. So why go through all the trouble of lying to the most powerful man in the country?

"...me with a plot of land on the northeastern coast and another 3 million yen!"

"What?"

"Yeah, he gave me a plot of land and-"

"No no no, I mean why the fuck did he give it to you?!"

A sheepish look appeared on the wannabe architect's face.

"So I guess he thought since you're my "employee", I should be awarded for your work. And I wasn't about to correct him so-"

"Give me the 3 million!"

"I was actually hoping we could split-"

"I nearly got split in half today! If you don't give me every fucking cent right fucking now! I'll make that empty skull of yours my new goddamn soup bowl!"

"F-fine but I can't really give it to you right now though…"

"WHY?!?!"

"Do you even know just how many coins and paper 3 million yen would be?..."

The question halts my rage instantly,

"Uh… No?"

40 mins later…

The sun is beginning to set on this horrific day. The cool sand beneath my feet has never been more annoying. I'm barely able to lift my feet each time they sink into the beach as I walk towards my final destination on this forced exhibition.

The chilling ocean breeze causes my already tight muscles to lock up a bit more as well as making all the bumps and scratches I have sustained over the past couple of days burn due to the salt in the air.

I thank my lucky stars that whoever wrapped this huge bandage around my chest made it airtight because the salty burn from an open wound this big would definitely make me pass out. I want to stop my long trek so bad and lay down on the sand, but I doubt I would ever get up again. My momentum is the only thing keeping me going like a huge boulder rolling down a hill. All I can think about is moving forward as I watch my feet dig into the wet sand.

Squelch...

Squelch...

Squelch...

*clap...clap...clap*

"Well..well..well! Look who is finally showed up! What the fuck took you so long?!"

Gengetsu's booming voice grates on my eardrums and I look up to see him standing in the shadow of some huge atrocity. I look a bit closer, and my jaw touches the damn floor.

I could only stare in slight fascination and disgust as a frazzled Gengetsu stands next to an extremely intricate semi naked sand sculpture of a very familiar woman.

Gengetsu is in a blue ornate robe standing on a hastily stitched up blanket of Yuki silk with a spit roast of cooking meat next to the blanket. For a moment I feel a pang of curiosity, but the feeling is brutally murdered by a powerful bout of exhausted apathy.

"You look uglier than usual, but do you have my-"

"The cyclops geezer wants to speak with you tomorrow at sundown."

I throw the jewelry at his feet and I roll the wine bottle towards him then start walking away from whatever disaster is about to happen. I think I saw someone walking slowly along the shoreline behind Gengetsu with a sword in hand and his apparent panic made me think sticking around any longer than necessary would be a very non-Shogo idea.

"HEY! What did I tell you about interrupting me!? Where the fuck do you think you're going while I'm talking to you, you little-"

"OH SHIT!!"

I guess his date has arrived.

".....hey babe~ That's a cool sword you got there…"

Yep, turns out my Shogo-intuition was correct again. I got a long trek back to Lady Hana's place and whatever lover's quarrel that those two have going on behind me is not about to make this walk even harder for me.

I'm still light headed from all the blood I lost and I need to have my arm looked at immediately since I definitely tore a tendon or something trying to throw that rock…..

No one can find out how I fucked up my arm…

With a shake of my head, I continue limping toward the haven that is Lady Hana's home.

Gengetsu POV

"Babe! Don't you look…. Stunning …"

"..."

I find myself at a loss for words at Tamari's appearance. You see I knew she would be pretty mad at me, but I couldn't have foreseen this level of crazy coming. I mean this is a couple of steps past 'Behemoth' mode.

Where did all the blood on her come from?! I severely doubt any of it is her own, but it looks like she fought an army by herself. How did a routine search and destroy mission turn into what I assume was a one-sided slaughter?! The way she holds her head down makes it impossible to see her eyes, and her mouth is set in a soft frown. Her usually neat short brown hair is messy and is caked with dried blood. The iron grip on the hilt of the bloody katana she is carrying in her right hand is very troubling too.

I'll have to tread lighter than I ever have before.

"Happy Anniversary! My darling, I have prepared for us to have an exquisite romantic picnic on the beach with the main course being your favorite beef from the Terumi clan cows."

I make a grand gesture to the slab of cooking beef to the right of the silk blanket.

Step…

*ssshhhnnnkkkkk!*

The slab along with the beef is cut in half and crashes into the sand, ruining any of my hopes she would be appeased by the expensive meal.

Tamari continues to step toward me slowly with the katana in her hand slightly raised in the air. She stomps over the silk blanket that I had my clones hastily stitch together. I subconsciously start to take a couple of steps back hopefully to prolong any time I had before the point of no return.

I step past the sand sculpture and quickly try to woe her,

"Look! A sand sculpture that I built as a tribute to your otherworldly beauty!"

I see her stop briefly and take a glance at the front of the statue. I get a brief glimpse of her emerald eyes through her messy locks and they are straight up reptilian in intensity. As she scans the statue I see her shoulders relax just a smidge and her sword arm lowers a few inches. I fight the smirk on my face as I mentally give myself a round of applause.

But then I hear her tightening grip on the hilt of the katana, and I look closer to see that her eyes are focused on one area of the sculpture.

The chest.

My heart drops into my stomach. I look at the front of the statue only to cringe in despair.

That dumbass junkie artist had made the sculpture very well endowed. My tall girlfriend Tamari is not so blessed with such sizable mammaries. I see the shift in her shoulder level before I feel her killing intent explode.

"Wait babe! There was a mis-"

*Swwsshhh!!*

I narrowly stepped out of the way of her first swipe.

"IT was an accid-"

*Swwwsshhh!*

I leapt above the second swipe.

*CLINK*

'OW! What the fuck did I just step on- oh wait!'

The jewelry by Lady Momochi! How could I forget my ace in the hole!

As I'm retreating from another slash that would have cut me in half, I quickly scoop up the necklace and the braclet in the sand below me. I shake off the sand and present it to my manic GF. The glint of Tamari's blade shines with the light of the sunset as it swings through the air toward my neck but I kneel in the dirt with the gift in both my hands letting the blade glide over my head.

"I got you that necklace and bracelet pearl set you alwa-"

*GASP*

The jewelry is snatched out of my hand and the katana drops into the sand as my girlfriend's murderous demeanor vanishes instantly as her usually warm and shiny emerald eyes return. Her pupils enlarge as she stares at the purplish pearls glistening in the light.

"You do care! Thank you! Thank you! Thank y-"

It takes all my willpower not to escape Tamari's embrace as she bounces up and down with her arms wrapped around my torso like a small child being gifted a new toy. She doesn't smell the best given all the gore on her. Also, I don't want my expensive kimono to get ruined with the blood.

"Of course, babe! You know I'd do anything to make you happy. So now that we're all good. How bout we get you all cleaned up and into some fresh clothes so we can continue the night in style? What do you say to that?"

"Hmmmm~! Nah! We can just get to the good part right now on this blanket~"

Tamari starts to pull at my kimono exposing my chest to the cold ocean breeze, but I gently grab her hands hoping to deter her.

"Huh?! B-but babe we're outside and you're so… ripe from work."

"Whatttt~ Since when have you been so shy Gen-baby we do it all the time after we train together… Also, all the mess will wash away during~…"

"W-wait wash… what do you-"

Tamari grabs a hold of the sash holding my kimono together.

"Did you forget that your body is made of 85% water babe? I'm still pretty pissed at you so I'm gonna use you as a semi bath~"

With that horrifying revelation she yanks my obi and I'm sent spinning as my clothes unravel to my somewhat pleasurable doom.

 

A/N: More Updates!!!

I usually never check the stats on my story, but I can't believe so many people took a chance on something I wrote. Special thank you to all yall who are sticking around to see me finish this story!

 Just some updates on what's going on wit ur boy. I graduated college a week ago and my new work from home job starts up in mid-June. NO MORE SCHOOL!!! So you know what that means…

More frequent updates!!! 

I'm gonna shrink the chapters and start a daily writing quota again. It's gonna be sick lol. Let's see if I can get back to uploading every 3-5 days like last summer. XD