Authors Note:
"" = Speech
<(B)> = Techniques
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I heard nothing but panting as we trudged up the rocky and forested slope. "Hey Darius," I yelled out, "Is that clearing up ahead a good spot to take a break for the night?"
"Yeah, sure," he hollered back.
As the evening chill descended upon us, we put down our things and began to assemble our campsite. I asked him to fetch some firewood, then found myself immersed in my own reflections. Back there, why was I seemingly unable to control my body? Where had that fear-inducing voice come from? Yukito and Keiko? The Iron Shogun would probably kill me if he found me. What did these Emperor people have planned for me when they put a bounty on my head?
"Hikaru!" Darius shouted from afar, "I've got some wood for the fire!"
Breaking away from my musings, I gazed towards the sound of his voice, and a thought began to form in my mind: would I be able to protect him?
...
The flames crackled as chunks of rabbit meat sizzled above it. In the distance, hues of orange and red were blending together with strips of blue in the sky.
"Hikaru?" Darius murmured while gazing at the beautiful sight before us.
"Yes?" I replied softly.
"Why do you fight so hard?"
"To protect," I paused before continuing, "to find answers."
"What do you mean by finding answers?" He asked curiously.
I sighed, "To figure out why I'm being followed, and why I have difficulties managing my energy pathways."
"I see," he said thoughtfully, "That sounds like a serious problem if it's related to your energy pathways."
"Yes, it is," I muttered before exclaiming excitedly, "Hey, the rabbit's ready!"
"Oh!" Darius replied in confusion before his eyes landed on the cooked rabbit. "Thank you," he added gratefully.
We placed our food on plates and then sat on logs near the
warm campfire to eat. After we finished eating I suggested that Darius meditate; it would help him better access his natural energy reserves. Then, while Darius meditated, I decided to hone my demon mode abilities. Currently they only gave me around an extra 10% increase in all my strength categories - which wasn't bad - but I knew I'd need more for upcoming challenges.
...
"HIKARU! HIKARU!" screamed a frightened voice.
Still tired from my brief nap, I blinked awake and mumbled sleepily, "What?"
"There are people wandering through the lower part of the forest!" he exclaimed fearfully.
I got up to look around and noticed a bunch of bright lights in the distance similar to small fireflies shining on the forest landscape. Quickly putting out the embers of our campfire, we packed all our belongings into the back bag baskets and then Darius hopped onto my back as I shifted into <Demon Mode>.
As my innate energy swirled around us, I muttered <(Sword Demon Dance 7th form, Lunar Rabbit Hop's)>.
After my 20th leap, my energy reserves drained to 32%. We landed in a small clearing where I deactivated my <Demon mode>. Looking up, I realized we were close to home. But as I looked down, I could see the torches of a large group of people. They must have been alerted by the purple flashes from my jumps.
I cursed myself for being so careless and turned to Darius. "Are you okay?"
Darius replied, though his voice trembled. "I was just finishing meditating when I heard the cheers. Are those them? The people chasing you down?"
"Most likely," I said through gritted teeth. "We'll head back to our house first, then I'll leave you there. You're not ready to face off against that many trained warriors."
"But—" Darius began to object.
"No," I interrupted firmly. "It's better if you hide and observe until you can control your powers with weapons."
He nodded reluctantly. "Alright, I'll hide and watch from the sidelines."
"Good," I agreed, looking up at the remaining journey ahead.
...
As we climbed up the mountain path, everything was silent except for an occasional glance from Darius and a quick check on the advancing troops below us. Once we arrived back at our shelter, I instructed Darius to stow away any baskets of seeds, food, or utensils while I sat down to meditate and regain my composure before getting some much-needed rest.
From a distance, the chants and cries of an army echoed up the mountain as the moon rose over the horizon and filled the sky with light. Not wanting to delay whatever was coming next, I used <Demon Mode>, which was only 14% charged but enough for what I had in mind. I jumped up using <(Sword Demon Dance 5th Form: Lunar Lambaste)>, causing those below to shriek and land on the rocky ground, taking with them souls of samurai warriors.
As the dust settled, I could see a blue metallic aura coming from someone leading the charge.
"Come down here you scoundrel! It'll only end what is soon to happen anyway!" he shouted in a booming voice.
I took a moment to appreciate Nature's beauty before jumping towards the small army awaiting me below. Drawing my sword, I began free-falling, encasing it in purple energy smoke that left a trail behind me.
Closer to the enemy now, I waved my sword and unleashed "<(Sword Demon Dance 6th Form: Lunar Beam)>," sending out a wide reach of translucent beam that razed any screaming samurai in its wake. Spotting one survivor nearby, I quickly executed a <(Sword Dance 2nd Form: Counter Crescent)>, hacking away at his body without mercy or hesitation. Meeting eyes with the one who had screamed at me to come down earlier, I noticed he was wearing silver colored armor and carrying a glaive.
He slid off his horse and motioned for the 39 remaining samurai out of the dead 135 to approach me with their swords raised. I donned my oni mask fastened to my robe, and employed a form of combat I had not yet used in battle: "<(Sword Dance 3rd Form, Quarter Continuous Cuts)>". In the blink of an eye, the strong samurai who had been willing to serve their leader were all dead. As I strode through the deserted terrain, the only living soul left was the commander.
"Hello there young fighter who has caused me so many problems," he said arrogantly. "My name is Kabuto Fujita, second in command of the Iron Shogun."
"I see," I replied nonchalantly.
"Don't you want to introduce yourself?" he asked slyly.
"I won't waste my time talking to someone who is going to die soon," I responded coldly. "It doesn't feel right. I understand if you don't understand what I'm talking about, after all, you haven't yet had blood on your hands"
His face contorted in fury. "How dare you!" he bellowed. "Do you know how many people I have killed? More than you can count, boy!"
Something inside me kept pushing me onwards. "Show me then," I jeered mockingly.
At that moment, a loud boom filled the air as the second in command released his energy. Taking my stance, I let out my own power to clash against his aura. He charged at me first, and I followed the trajectory of his glaive as he swung it toward me. His movements were fast and unpredictable—each spin of his weapon more powerful than the last. His glaive almost grazed my hair as I effortlessly dodged its attack pattern then countered with my own <(Sword Dance 2nd Form, Counter Crescent)>.
This thrust him back several meters, as he quickly grumbled out "<(Titanium Blade 3rd Form, Terra Tear)>".
In an instant, sharp spikes of earth shot up from the ground aiming for me. As I continued to evade and destroy them one by one, I noticed something strange about my opponent's face: behind those eyes seemed to be hiding a sinister laughter. It felt like something much darker was lurking within him and any moment it would emerge.
