The Ryoga/Ukyo Chronicles
By Jeremy Sumerlin (aka the Girthman)
Disclaimer:
Ryoga, Hiroshi, Daisuke, and Ukyo are not my creations and are all
copyright of Rumiko Takahashi. I’d like to thank Takahashi-sensei for her
great series. I once again claim no credit for their creation, however, some
of the characters are my creations (aka The Four Seasons Masters and Ryu )
and I do claim them, so there!
Chapter Seven: Shurkashuuton Tengoku
*****************************************************************************
"Get the hell away from me, you crazy freak!" someone shouted in the
darkness. The loud, deep voice pierced the idle blackness of the midnight
countryside like a shotgun blast.
Hiroshi groaned and peered out of his sleeping bag. From his
position, the area of sight was mostly blocked by the firepit, but he knew
the voice. Angry and groggy, he rolled over and tried harder to forget where
he was. His mind drifted back to that mysterious girl in the hospital, and
the very unusual way she’d so deeply affected him. It was like she was
almost...well, money. Nothing else could have affected him in such a manner.
Well, he could think of one certain girl, but then again he had to remind
himself he was miles from Nerima. Miles away from her and her sisters. And
her schemes. And her eyes, and... Hell, he was out in the middle of nowhere
with a group of freaks, psychopaths, and everything else in between.
Re-examining his status, Hiroshi wasn't surprised to discover he was, by his
own admission, the only sane person for miles. His thoughts were cut short
as something heavy stomped into his gut, knocking the wind from him. His
eyes tearing with pain, he began to shout something, but went wide-eyed when
he heard the sounds of metal slicing through the air behind him. Hiroshi
rolled sloppily out of the way just as Ryu’s katana swished by. He was
chasing Ryoga. Again.
"Come back right here!" Ryu shouted angrily. "I am to cut your hair, and you
is getting it done now, okay?"
"I don’t want my hair cut NOW, you psycho!" Ryoga shouted. "Why don’t you do
this during the DAYTIME!?"
Naturally, Ryu didn’t answer.
Ryoga snarled at him through gritted fangs. He leapt to his own
sleeping bag, which was neatly cut near the pillow, and grasped his umbrella
firmly by the heavy stock handle. He brought the thing up to block another
sword blow, and Hiroshi watched in both amazement and terror as the
shimmering blade sliced it clean in half. The recently detached end clunked
to the ground with a sickening thud. Hiroshi remembered that umbrella, too.
The thing must’ve weighed a freakin’ ton. Ryoga shared his same stunned
face. Without allowing him to utter another word, Ryu held his blade high
into the air with one hand.
"No mere umbrella is standing in way of this!" he declared triumphantly. "Is
ancient samurai sword of the hairdresser! Folded 1000 times by master smith
of dragons!"
Hiroshi ignored this outrageous claim, having himself noted with much
concern that Ukyo was now stirring from sleep. Her sleeping bag being right
next to Ryoga’s, she was getting an earful of the Chinese hairdresser’s
boasts. Nearby himself sat Daisuke, cross-legged on top of his own sleeping
bag, apparently eager to watch the fireworks that were sure to come. Hiroshi
shrugged. Some people jumped out of planes, too. Maybe Daisuke just liked
tossing himself into danger. Or at least, his physical body. Hey, that was
his deal. Hiroshi rolled back over and went to sleep just as Hurricane Ukyo
came to.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?" a shrill, somewhat feminine voice
shattered the night sky. Ryoga and Ryu both turned in that direction.
Daisuke sat back and watched the show. The wilderness seemed to die, as
silent as it had become in that instant. Although, distantly, Ryoga thought
he could hear a wolf bay at the moon. An ill omen, to be sure. Ryoga bet Ryu
was thinking the same thing.
"Oh...Ucchan..."Ryoga said nervously. "I...um...well,...I..."
She stood, staring at him impatiently in her long white T-shirt with
that unusual bird on it and the words "Piyo Piyo!" written cryptically above
it. Ryoga blushed at the sight of her. His eyes unconciously traced a path
up one of her silky, bare legs. Her hands were balled in fists on her
slender waist. Ryoga, sweating profusely, pointed an accusatory finger at
the emotionless samurai beside him.
"It was him, Ucchan!" he shouted, panic and mock sincerity both apparent in
his words. "He’s a maniac! He tried to kill me!"
Ukyo exchanged her hateful, tired glare from Ryoga to the
garishly-clad samurai. Ryu’s face was, as standard, emotionless.
"Ryu... " she said in a suddenly sweetly demeanor. "Did you attack Ryoga?"
Ryu shook his head defiantly. It was an obvious 'no'. Ukyo frowned,
but tried to remain calm. After all, she was the most ordinary, organized
person in the group. It wouldn't be too well for any of them if she went
into a frenzy now. Idly, she wished Kasumi was here. Or a near replica, at
any rate.
"Lying psychopath!" Ryoga shouted, pointing at his sleeping bag. "Look what
you did to my pillow! Involuntary sepukku!"
Ryu snorted derisively. "I was attempting to cut the hairs while you was
sleeping. It not my fault if pillow do not possess sufficient skills to
dodge strike."
"Sufficient skills to..." Ryoga said, stunned. He held the limp bedtime
accouterment in front of Ryu’s emotionless eyes. "It’s a PILLOW! It’s not
alive, Ryu! It has sufficient skills to do NOTHING! It has the reflexes of a
TABLECLOTH!"
Ryu’s expression didn’t change. Ryoga sighed and looked over at Ukyo. She
shrugged. He groaned and threw his hands into the air, admitting defeat. He
tossed the pillow aside, the wounded object bleeding feathers onto the
grassy field under their feet. There was silence for a moment.
"Honestly." Ukyo said in a huffy voice, turning back to her own sleeping bag
and slipping under the cover. "I don’t know how I put up with either of
you."
"Neither do I." Daisuke said smoothly as Ukyo rolled over on her side and
found herself face-to-face with the dark-haired boy. Before she could say
anything, he continued in his best cassanova-esque voice.
"What do you say we ditch these children and go someplace of our own, hmm?"
Ukyo smiled her best 'cute girl' smile. Daisuke’s heart began to
visibly patter with anticipation. She glanced around her to see everyone’s
reaction. Hiroshi was snoring loudly by this time. Ryu was now locked in
some deep meditative trance. She grinned slightly when she saw Ryoga. He was
bright red, and his fists were clenched in silent fury. His teeth were
gnashed together tightly. She congratulated herself, but at the same time
noted to herself that she felt happy that she could evoke such a reaction in
him with a simple smile. It made her kind of...powerful. She’d have to
remember that. As for now, she refocused on Daisuke with the same sweet
look.
"Daisuke, sugar," she said sweetly. Daisuke leaned closer, sweat beading on
his brow.
"Get a life!" she shouted, and Daisuke winced against the ringing in his
ears. He shied away, scampering back to his own sleeping bag, muttering
something. Ukyo giggled. Behind her, she thought she actually heard Ryoga
breath a sigh of relief. That made her giggle even harder. This feminine
charm stuff had never been her strong suit, but she was beginning to see
that it had its moments.
After a few minutes, Ryoga curled back up into his own sleeping back,
cursing his luck bitterly. She thought she may have even heard "Accursed
Saotome" once or twice. Well, she supposed, old habits never really die.
After a few moments, she inched closer to Ryoga, cuddling up against him,
pretending to be asleep as best she could. As far as she could tell, he
didn’t seem to mind. Satisfied, she allowed herself to be swept off into the
wonderful land of blissful slumber once more.
****************************************************************************
Ryoga frowned as his eyes hardened into slits, trying to pierce the
veils of heavy fog that seemed to line the area around Ukyo’s valley. Behind
him, Ryu was looking around, emotionless expression, his arms crossed, hands
tucked neatly into the sleeves of his garish kimono. Hiroshi, wearing
another black school uniform, stood beside him, along with a similarly clad
Daisuke. Ryoga noted with mild annoyance the lovely okonomiyaki chef tugging
his arm, her state of emotion obviously excited.
"Come on, you big idiot!" she said, tugging his arm. "I know where I’m going!
I’m telling you, it’s this way!"
Ryoga sighed. "I know, but still. It’s a big valley, and you said yourself
that you haven’t been here in a long time."
"Ryo-chan," she said impatiently, but there was an ironic tone in her words
that Ryoga detected. "Are you questioning my sense of direction?"
"No, not at all!" Ryoga said nervously. He just had a feeling. Call it
apprehension, call it nervousness, call it what you will. There was just
something that wasn’t right about this place. He couldn’t place it, exactly,
but whatever it was he didn’t like it. Nevertheless, Ukyo seemed so happy to
be home. He had no intentions whatsoever to ruin that for her. Gathering his
resolve, he extended his hand.
"Lead the way, madam." He said in his most gentlemanly tone. Grinning widely,
Ukyo took his hand and began to practically drag him towards the heavy
mists. He had to run to keep up with her. Hiroshi shrugged and glanced at
Daisuke, who had a similar reaction. Then, the two of them sprinted off to
catch up, with Ryu not far behind them. The mists slowly parted, and soon
enough the group found themselves standing in a lovely field of wild
flowers. Sporadic trees grew around them. Distantly, birds were chirping.
The air was temperate, with a slightly warm breeze dancing through the clear
blue sky. Ukyo frowned at this spectacle. Ryoga noted her confused look with
some dismay.
"Um, Ukyo," he said nervously. "Are you okay?"
Ukyo looked around, as if desperately searching for something. An
unrecognizable look crisscrossed her lovely face. This did nothing more than
to further impact Ryoga’s own confusion.
"This isn’t my valley!" she shouted, causing everyone to flinch. Well, every
one save Ryu. He simply took the shout as if it were normal conversation.
"What do you mean, this isn’t your valley!?" Hiroshi shouted. "It has to be!
You lead us to it!"
"Calm down, moron." Ryoga said angrily. Hiroshi saw the anger in him, and
fell silent. Wisely, Daisuke said nothing. Ryoga turned back to Ukyo and
looked her dead into the eyes. They were shimmering with that emotion that
he so loathed to see, especially in...her. Sadness.
"Ukyo, are you sure?" he said sternly. "It has been a long time, after all."
Ukyo was silent for a moment, then turned back and looked out into
the sprawling, almost springtime landscape. She sighed with slight remorse
and another warm breeze tossed her long hair lazily to the side. Maybe Ryoga
was right, she thought. Maybe she wasn’t as good at recognizing her home as
she’d thought. It had been a long time, after all. Plus, she did want to see
her father so desperately. She could only imagine how lonely he must be,
especially without her mother there anymore. Ukyo sniffed back a tear at the
thought of her deceased mother and turned back to the four men.
"Well, I suppose a look around couldn’t hurt too much." She said. Ryoga
smiled. She took his hand and began to stroll through the lazy green fields,
adorned with various patches of lovely flowers of all make and type.
"Well, I certainly hope you live here." Daisuke said as they walked. "This
place is beautiful." Ryu looked over at him with a face that slightly
deviated from emotionless. It was slightly stunned. For Ryu, it was a major
change.
"Daisuke-san, I was having no idea." He said. "I is assuming you was a mostly
shallow man."
Daisuke chuckled. He prided himself on his ability to enjoy the finer
things in life. Things like beauty, for instance. Particularly, beautiful
women. He found it to be quite a pity (and an annoyance) that very few
beautiful women shared his...unique outlook. He watched a nearby butterfly,
bright yellow like the sun, flutter past him. He turned to Ryu and smirked.
"Better watch it, hairdresser." He said smugly. "You’re showing a dangerous
amount of emotion. Is the anti-humanity generator on the fritz?"
Ryu grumbled something about "dishonorable" and resumed his normal
state. Daisuke smiled inwardly. He liked to know he still had the knack for
putting people in their place. He may not be much of a martial artist, but
his mind was as keen as any sword’s blade. Well, except when women were
involved. Of course, being that he used to hang around Ranma so much, that
was usually the case.
The four of them decided to stop at a small, picturesque stream in a
cherry blossom grove. Ukyo set up the okonomiyaki grill and began to prepare
lunch. She looked at her companions ("the boys" as she sometimes jokingly
referred to them as) and wondered if they ever got tired of okonomiyaki day
after day. Hiroshi didn’t complain, but she secretly suspected he was
getting sick of it. Daisuke didn’t say anything, either. Then again, besides
hitting on her or making a rude comment, he never said much anyway. Ryoga
seemed thrilled that someone was cooking for him at all. Strangely, this
seemed to made her feel somewhat pleased, but she couldn’t quite get at why.
And Ryu...well, he was just Ryu. There was really no other explanation
necessary in her mind. She began to hum idly as she flipped the sizzling
okonomiyaki.
Ryu stared out across the horizon, deep in meditation. There was
definantly something amiss in this valley. It was not Ukyo’s homeland; The
simple fact that they’d been traveling all day and not come across a single
dwelling or living thing justified that for him. Then, the question posed
itself for debate. Where were they? If memory of this area of Japan served
him properly (and naturally it would), there were no other valleys between
the place Ukyo called home and Nerima. Well, there was Yomogi valley, but
this was definantly not the valley of Moxibustion. The absence of burning
hot boulders indicated that fact to him as well. As the most obviously
level-headed member of the group, he decided, he must uncover this secret.
Turning his gaze from the spectacle of the horizon, he began to walk towards
Ryoga, who seemed to be speaking with that girlfriend of his. Their little
chat would have to wait. Ryu had important business.
Moments before, Ryoga rolled onto his side, looking from the lovely
tops of the cherry blossom trees above him to the lovely girl humming
nearby. He listened to her for a few moments, blissfully ignorant of
everything else around him. She always hummed when she cooked, and he always
listened to her, whether or not she realized it. When she hummed, it had a
weird effect on him. It was kind of like a spell or something that enticed
him. Her voice was melodic, soothing. It was beautiful. Suddenly, the sound
he so loved to hear ceased. Frowning, he opened his eyes. Ukyo was looking
at him, smiling slightly. He vied desperately for something to say.
"So, that’s what you were listening to." She said, looking him over. Ryoga’s
mind cursed bitterly as he felt himself go crimson. He placed an ear to the
ground and chuckled nervously. He couldn’t let her know...What if she
didn’t...He racked his mind for an excuse.
"Um, no..." he said, his throat cracking. "I, uh...I was...I...was..."
She eyed him with a "go-ahead-and-say-it-stupid" expression. She
seemed slightly amused by his pathetic cover-up attempt.
"...I was checking for...geothermal...instabilities..." he said half-
heartedly. "Yeah, that’s it. Heh heh heh..."
Ukyo frowned. Her expression shifted to the all popular "How-stupid-
do-you-think-I-am" look. Nevertheless, Ryoga persevered. He patted the
ground reassuringly, grinning.
"Well, checks out fine." He said confidently. "We won’t be expecting any
natural disasters during lunch."
"Oh." She said, and he could see she was trying not to laugh. "Well, that’s
always good."
"Yep." Ryoga said. "Sure is."
Thankfully, it was at that time Ryu walked up to them. He bowed
respectfully to Ukyo before kneeling beside the still laying Ryoga.
"We must have conference at once, Hibiki-san." He said gravely. Ryoga looked
around and then back.
"Well, go on." He said. "We all have a right to hear it."
Ryu was about to begin when suddenly Daisuke pointed up into a nearby
cherry blossom tree. The group all simultaneously looked up.
Laying casually on one of the upper branches, his back pressed
against the trunk, was a man of about seventeen or eighteen. He wore a black
tuxedo, complete with bowtie and red cumberbun. In his right hand, gripped
between his thumb and forefinger, was a delicate red rose. He looked down at
the five of them with an almost imperialistic attitude. His hair was short
and blonde, neatly combed, and he was handsome by any supermodel’s
standards. To any other girl, he was absolutely gorgeous. Well, to almost
any girl.
"Who the hell are you?" Ukyo demanded, wondering how long he’d been watching
them. More disturbing, however, was the fact that no one had noticed him
until now. The boy chuckled, and Ukyo noticed his voice was very light,
almost feathery. Somewhat feminine, she noted with dry humor. Inside, she
had the distinct feeling he wasn’t a comedian.
"Gashi, shingaisha.*" The man said snobbishly. "Welcome to the valley of
Shurkashuuton Tengoku. I am Nobara Gekidoku, the master of Spring, this
region of the valley."
Ryu’s face paled to a deathly pallor when Nobara spoke the valley’s
name. Hiroshi, always observant, whispered fiercely to him.
"You know something about this, don’t you?" he whispered fiercely. "What’s
wrong?" Ryu said nothing. He could only watch and hope that the inevitable
wouldn’t happen.
"Well, Gekidoku-san, what is it we can help you with ?" Ukyo said, trying her
best to act polite. However, there was something sinister about him. It was
a feeling that put cold shocks into her spine. He looked down at her with
his imperious, Kuno-like glare. It brought back bad memories to her.
"Ah, but it is I that can help you, my dear woman." He said, hopping down
from the tree and landing tidily in the clearing. He still clutched the rose
in his right hand.
"Oh really?" Ryoga snapped, stepping up to stand next to Ukyo. She thought it
kind of odd. It was almost like he was trying to...protect her. "And why
would we need help?"
"Did you not hear me the first time, impudent shingaisha?" Nobara sneered.
Ryoga felt his normally paper-thin patience stretching to the breaking
point. The only thing that held him back from the edge was the reassuring
feminine hand that was suddenly on his shoulder. , he
thought. She was like a tether line. She could always bring him back from
the edge.
Nobara continued on, eyeing them all. "This is the valley of
Shurkashuuton Tengoku. All of you are trespassing. Outsiders are strictly
forbidden. To walk on our soil is to insult our honor."
"Our?" Daisuke suddenly chimed in. "Sorry, flower man, but I only count one
of you."
"We four are as one." Nobara sneered cryptically. Daisuke felt a cold chill
run down his back. That wasn’t an answer he normally liked to hear.
"Then legend is true." Ryu said under his breath. "Shurkashuuton Tengoku,
Valley of the Four Seasons..."
Hiroshi glared at him, scowling.
"Hah!" he shouted triumphantly. "I knew it! Come on, spill it, freakshow!"
Ryu ignored him, glaring up at Nobara with eyes of ice cold seriousness.
"Ah, perhaps there is one among you who is not a complete fool." Nobara said
imperially. He straightened the cuffs of his tuxedo jacket, appearing bored.
"We’re sorry." Ukyo said, trying desperately to salvage a peaceful
resolution. Her touch could calm Ryoga somewhat (why, she didn’t know), but
she could feel him tensing up. He was preparing to strike.
"We’ll leave. We didn’t mean to trespass on anything." She offered her best
smile.
Nobara gave her a look of such distaste she was afraid he was going to spit
on her. "It’s not that simple, my dear."
Ryu’s eyes widened. Hiroshi and Daisuke exchanged worried glances.
Ryoga’s brow furrowed in a vain attempt to understand. Ukyo frowned and
wrinkled her nose.
"I...I don’t understand what you mean." She stammered, readying herself for
the fight she felt was coming on. "We already apologized. Isn’t that
enough?"
Chuckling, Nobara raised the flower to his face. "No." He whispered. "It is
not." With that, he raised the rose to his mouth and blew. A flash of
blinding powder shot forth from it, seemingly out of nowhere. It engulfed
"the boys", who began to choke and gag. Ukyo watched as Ryu, Hiroshi,
Daisuke, then finally Ryoga succumbed to it, each collapsing in a heap on
the beautiful spring grass. Nobara chuckled and grasped her arm roughly.
"Come along, my dear." He said softly. "You belong to us now."
Ukyo struggled to wrench free of him, but his grasp was surprisingly
strong. He held her fast, but not without sufficient exertion on his part.
"No need to be difficult..." Nobara said as he struggled with her. "It’s the
law of the valley..."
Ukyo scowled hatefully at him and reached back for the spatula
holstered on her back. "And what kind of ridiculous law is that!?" she
shouted. She grasped the handle and prepared to bring her weapon to bear,
when suddenly Nobara whipped the delicate rose at it. To her amazement, the
stem stretched, wrapping around her weapon like a whip. With a slight tug,
Nobara wrenched it free and tossed the spatula aside. The rose returned to
its normal, deceptively fragile form. Nobara had yet to release her. Without
her weapon, all she could do was struggle in vain. She could see that he was
becoming... annoyed.
Just then, a groan stopped them both. Ryoga had struggled to his
feet, and was now glaring at the tuxedo clad boy with hate seething through
every pore of his body. Ukyo breathed a sigh of relief. Nobara appeared both
shocked and impressed.
"Hmm, this is unusual." He said arrogantly. "That was supposed to keep you
unconscious for three hours. You’re tougher than you look."
"Let...her...go..." Ryoga said, the anger raging in his tone. Ukyo had never
heard him this angry. It frightened her. Nobara still held on, apparently
unimpressed.
"Afraid not, boy." He said, chuckling evilly. Ryoga noticed him look into the
trees and smile widely. Suddenly, something very light fell on his shoulder.
He reached up and took it, glancing at it. The texture was dry, cracking,
pretty much dead. It was a nice light shade of brown, as most things of its
kind would be if they were in its position.
It was a leaf.
Another fell nearby, slowly floating earthward from in the tree
directly above him. And another. And another. Slowly, Ryoga looked up and
his expression shifted from rage to despair...and rage. Standing in the tree
were three other figures.
The first was a man of about Ryoga’s height and build, wearing a
white collared shirt like many people wore back at Furinkan high. This
individual, however, wore a bright red vest over it, and it was unbuttoned.
He had black slacks and polished brown shoes on, and his light brown hair
was short and combed back neatly. He snarled, looking as full of anger as
Ryoga himself, if that were possible.
The second was a woman in a flimsy gauze-like outfit. Her skin was
pale and her hair was long and flowing. It was a shimmering silver color,
and her eyes were icy blue. The air around her was colder, for some reason.
Ryoga couldn’t understand why (and didn’t really want to), but it did.
The third one was the one that Ryoga focused on. He had short black
hair and wore a deep blue cloak that covered his entire body. Brown, dried
leaves, like those that littered the forest floor in autumn, seemed to fall
about him from the middle of the sky, because Ryoga saw no other place they
could have come from. They certainly added to the dramatic effect, if
nothing else. The three jumped down to stand next to Nobara, the cloaked boy
standing slightly ahead of the rest. Desperately, Ukyo struggled harder as
the angry boy in the vest took her roughly by the arm. His grip was
monstrously strong. With a flick of his wrist, she surmised, he could tear
her arm out of its socket. Actually, he could probably tear her torso from
her legs. Well, whichever one gave first. Nevertheless, she fought. She
struggled. She...failed.
"Oh, and who’s this?" Ryoga chuckled, eyeing them over. "Kind of unfair, but
if you don’t mind fighting at a disadvantage, I think I can oblige you."
"Hear me, intruder!" the man in the cloak said in a strong, demanding tone.
"I am Prince Ito Akikaze, master of Autumn and ruler of this valley. We are
taking this girl as reparations for your insulting intrusion. It is our law,
and I will not see you blatantly disregard it."
Ryoga felt the raw fury rip into his psyche like an explosion. He
curled his fist and shouted at them, his voice fire.
"Never!" he shouted with fury unlike any Ukyo had ever seen. "I won’t let you
take her from me!"
"Ryoga..." Ukyo said breathlessly. The rest of the group seemed unimpressed.
"I believe myself a fair man." Ito said calmly. "You and your other
companions will be allowed to leave. But she must stay. The laws are
absolute. If you try and stop us, I will destroy you." After a few moments,
he added, "She is mine, now."
That did it. Ryoga charged at them, hatred and anger raging
uncontrollably with in him, tearing at his mind like a wild animal set free.
Ito raised his arm into the air, apparently annoyed.
"Such heroic nonsense." He said, and his eyes began to glow white with a
surging of inner energy. Ukyo knew from her years as a martial artist what
that meant, though she lacked both the skill and dedication to ever utilize
it: A chi-based attack. She called out to Ryoga, desperately wanting to warn
him. To protect him. But, he couldn’t hear her. He was beserked...a madman.
She could only watch, helpless, as the leaves that had gathered in a pile at
Ito’s feet began to glow as well, swirling around him in a column. She
watched in amazement as the spiraling sculpture twisted and moved, almost
serpent like. In fact, it even resembled a dragon.
"Feel the wrath of the ultimate skill of Four Seasons martial arts, the
Dragon Column Technique...." Ito said sinisterly.
The swirling mass, which was now a brown dragon-like column of dead
leaves, suddenly lashed out at the charging Ryoga as he leapt at Ito, inches
from his throat. The leaves smashed into him, each striking like a saw.
Ryoga fought the urge to scream in agony as thousands of tiny razor-thin
cuts opened on his body, while the force of the strike smashed him against
the trunk of a tree, where he slumped, head spinning and on the brink of
passing out. He tried in vain to stand, to fight, but his legs lacked the
strength of his will. He reached a now sliced and bleeding hand out, trying
to grasp her image, to protect her, to save her.
"Ukyo..." he whispered, and slumped into dark, silent unconsciousness. Ukyo
began to struggle, tears welling in her eyes. She had to get away. Ryoga was
hurt. Badly. It was as bad as when Hidari had nearly killed him so long ago.
She had to be by his side again, to comfort him. If not her, then no one
else would. She turned to Ito with absolute hatred in her hard blue eyes.
"Let me go. Now." She demanded. Ito said nothing. His expression reminded her
somewhat of the now unconscious Ryu. Disdainingly, she noticed the samurai
was drooling. Of course.
"Take her back to the tower." Ito said to the man in the white shirt and
vest. "I will arrive shortly."
"Of course, Lord." The vested boy said, grabbing her other arm and dragging
her off. Nobara and the ice woman followed. Ito watched the struggling girl
with distaste. He had often wondered what the founders of Shurkashuuton
Tengoku were thinking with all of their ridiculous laws. But, they were the
laws. Unbreakable. Undeniable. He was obligated by duty and honor to uphold
them. He glanced down at the bleeding and broken body before him.
Surprisingly, the bandannaed boy had lived.
It was admirable.
"Take my advice." Ito said, knowing his words wouldn’t register. "Leave now,
before you force me to do something I don’t want to."
With that, he left the four bodies where they were, leaving a trail
of dead leaves in his wake as he strolled away. Distantly, a songbird
chirped in the cherry blossom trees.
*****************************************************************************
End of Chapter Seven.
Comments and Criticisms welcome!
* Author's Note about Nobara:
To further emhasize the fact that Nobara is an arrogant, imperalistic
bastard, Whenever he speaks, I use a lot of untranslated Japanese. So, if
you were wondering what he said when he first saw the group, it roughly
means "Greetings, intruders." Thanks for your time. -JS
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