Legend of the Kagayaku ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Inside the Diet Building Sheets of watering frost slid of the walls and ceiling of that door-less, window-less room, crashing into the floor beneath. The air was wracked with the sensation of mixture between warmth and chill. Fire and Ice. That enormous build-up of frost created from the Kogoeta Kankyou technique was now melting away like nothing at all. Seeping into the nothingness from which it had been conjured. The clash between the mighty superpowers of Kogoeta Kankyou and the Monosugoi Uma Hitoiki had decided the fight... but Shiki was far too consumed with what she was seeing now to be concerned with the outcome of the battle. Or the condition of the room around her. She looked down with those flabbergasted emerald eyes of hers and stared disbelievingly at the young shinobi whom she had been fighting against. The so-called ‘Cat Mask'. But once that mask had been knocked from his face... it revealed the truth to Shiki. Revealing all the startling realities that Shiki had so carelessly been ignoring. ...The Ice Shinobi was Uchida Hibuki. Older Brother of Uchida Haruko and a final year senior at Kimagure Gakuen. The same man whom had won a stuffed animal for Hazumaru Yui at Kushinami Arcade. All this time he was a member of the Six Orochi. It explained why someone so lazy-looking could have scored thirty baskets in a row. And why Shiki had gotten such an icy chill when she had first met the boy. He was working for Hirotsugu. Shiki couldn't believe it. "H-Hibuki-san... But... why? Why would you...?" Hibuki looked up at the young kunoichi, his body laid out for the kill, his stomach impaled by her sharp shuriken. He was as confused as she was. "...You know my birth name? Who... are you...?" It was now that Shiki began to see that Hibuki still didn't know who she really was. Even if that didn't apply in the reverse. The girl said nothing. What could she say? She had believed Hibuki to be her friend. She was strengthening her resolve to stop Hirotsugu because of her will to protect this boy; as well as his sister. Was it all a lie? Had she really risked her life for this man who was trying to kill her? Hibuki looked up at the girl. He probed her. Looking deep at her with all the ninja observational skills he could muster. Hibuki looked up into her softening and frightened green eyes. Those eyes... he had seen before. And it all came flooding back to him. Those same innocent jade orbs... the same as... Hibuki blinked... "Yui-san." "...I don't believe this..." Shiki looked down at her friend's brother, "All this time you've been a member of Hirotsugu-yarou's little Orochi hit squad!? You even killed Sakamoto-san last night! That was where you were! You lied to your own sister! You're a liar!" Hibuki smiled solemnly whilst closing his eyes. "What did you expect me to do? Tell her what I've been doing at night? Did really you expect me to drag my little sister into any of this? What do you think I've been fighting for? Haruko-chan is the only reason I'm involved in the machinations of the Honshu Koga." "...What's that supposed to mean...?" Shiki asked. "You haven't got time for this," Hibuki told her, "I know why you're here. Probably to pump information about Hirotsugu-san from Fujiwara-sama. Well I won't stop you anymore than I have, Yui-san. Come on. Finish it. Perform that which every shinobi must upon victory. The finishing blow." Shiki froze. She could hardly move. Hibuki was actually expecting her to kill him. And her fist trembled. From the idea of it and from the weird humidity caused by the surrounding mixture of flame and ice. Her shaking hand trembled as it reached back for the hilt of Miyuki. A swift stroke to an unguarded neck with it would chop off a head in seconds. It would be so simple. And for the first time... Shiki felt a violent clash between her two conjoined personas. The side of her that was the innocent youth; Hazumaru Yui, was begging for Hibuki's life to be spared. And the darker side of her that was Shiki... was demanding Hibuki's blood to be spilt. To watch his lifeless carcass burn in the flames of her Ninjutsu. She was so torn... SAVE HIM ...What choice could she make? KILL HIM ...What was the right thing to do? SAVE HIM ...What was the smart thing to do? KILL HIM ...What should she do...? Hibuki intently watched Shiki's eyes as they shook with the frustration of that tremendous battle she was fighting inside herself. Then watched as the kunoichi of flame rose up. And she didn't lay a finger on her sword. But looked down at Hibuki with a vivid, disparaging glance. Hibuki gave her a curious expression. "You would break the shinobi code?" He asked, "We are bound by blood to kill our enemies. To show no mercy regardless of personal feelings. Would you really spare me?" Shiki looked away. "...Yes." "Why?" "...Because it would break Haruko-san's heart..." Shiki replied, a cold sadness welling up in those beautiful and intense green eyes of hers, "...And I care about her too much to do that." Hibuki's surprised expression turned into a knowing smile. "...You're fond of my sister, aren't you?" Shiki said nothing. It was true... but there was no way she could admit that now. Uchida Haruko had grown to be far more important to Shiki than anyone could of imagined in such a short space of time. Hibuki took the silence as a screaming 'yes'. Now he knew that this outsider kunoichi had something to protect. There could have been no better candidate... "So... Genryukai-sama was right after all. You really are worthy... to be the first to read the Scroll of Mizuryu..." "...What on earth are you talking about...?" Shiki questioned. The blonde boy eased up a bit, ignoring the pain of the shuriken lodged in his stomach to speak those intended words of his. "I think it's time I explained myself to you. About why I work for Hirotsugu-san. And what his plans really are..." Before either Hibuki or Shiki could say anything more, a third voice rang in that particular room of the National Diet Building. "...What a surprise. You failed to kill the girl, Hibuki-san?" Both of them looked behind. Where the voice was coming from. A speedy blur zipped into the vision of both shinobi. It settled into another figure. One more strident and powerful than anyone Shiki had seen before. A tall, muscular yet lithe young man. Topless from the baggy multi-coloured dragon-print slacks and the red belt around his waist. Revealing a perfectly honed chest. Toned and muscled. His spiky brown hair shot up and backwards in an animalist style; while the bulk of his hair hand been braided into an elongated ponytail that swayed against his ankles. Within his blood red eyes existed a kind of controlled insanity that could strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest warriors. His soul possessed a kind of power that took generations to gain. And took even longer to control. In his hand was a sort of crescent moon-bladed glaive named Mikazuki Satsujinki (Crescent Butcher). It was razor-sharp and brutally deadly. Armed with such a weapon; Shiki felt humbled just looking at this shinobi. But remained fixed in her position; now getting defensive. A blind man in the dark could see that this newcomer ninja was out for blood. Duty or not. Hibuki knew who he was. Quite well, in fact. "...Yagami-san." "Who?!" Shiki asked, keeping her gaze on the newly arrived young man. "Yagami-san," The Uchida Brother said, "The Fifth of the Six Orochi. He is probably the most powerful of us all. He is Hirotsugu's right hand man and has been watching over Fujiwara-sama like a hawk for some time now." Soon Yagami joined in on the talk. "Exchanging my secrets with the girl from Morioka? Heh. It must have been a trade for your life. No matter. You still failed us, Hibuki-san. Failure is not tolerated by the Orochi nor Hirotsugu-sama. It is time I amended all your mistakes. And once I am finished with this miserable country girl... you will be disciplined for your failure. With the punishment of death. Just like Zanmaru-san and Ryoko-san." Shiki blinked. "Ryoko-san is dead?" A dark chuckle escaped Yagami's lips. "I sliced her open myself." "Well, pal..." Shiki didn't much care for Ryoko anyways... "I really couldn't give a damn about what you do to your team-mates. But I've come here to speak with Fujiwara-sama. If you get in the way... then you'll go down like the rest of your Orochi buddies have so far." Again, Yagami merely chuckled. "Save your posing for victory. If you can achieve it. Those who assume a win before the fight has begun... are usually the ones to fall. Your arrogance has annoyed Hirotsugu-sama for far too long. So you will fight me now. My Glaive demands that I redeem the proud name of the Six Orochi. Behold our true power first hand." Shiki grinned at him; unaware of that worried look in Hibuki's eyes. "Cocky bastard. I've got nothing to fear from some boisterous little pretty-boy who gets off on slaughtering those he calls his comrades. Once I have you beaten... Hirotsugu-yarou will be next." But that was something Yagami did not respond to. It would be better to start the fight. And to see which of them would fulfil their objectives here. To be honest; Shiki wanted this over and done with. The Six Orochi had stood in her way for far too long. If she could take down their top dog; taking care of Hirotsugu would be a snap. So the flaming kunoichi narrowed her eyes and charged ahead. Her sandaled feet pushed her straight towards the distant and still Yagami, whom remained with Mikazuki Satsujinki strapped to his back. Unmoving. Once they were close enough to each other for a full-body attack, Shiki artistically leapt upwards; holding her fists against her sides. Then she branched out her lissom leg in a thunderous flying kick. Yagami stayed as still as ever, then swiftly brought up his right hand. So fast and so quick that Shiki could barely see the action. His meaty but swift hand rotated outwardly at the same point at which Shiki's leg attacked. The girl gasped as the back of Yagami's wrist knocked against her ankle; batting her out of the flying kick effortlessly. Shiki stumbled on the ground while Yagami retained his cool disposition; not even using the opportunity to attack his momentarily unguarded opponent. Hibuki looked worried. He couldn't make much of a move from his laid out position. Shiki's shuriken had hit him in an awkward place in his stomach. It made even standing up a chore. There was little he could do now but watch. Shiki stood upright and swung her body around, vaulting backwards. Yagami was physically stronger than her. Which was no great surprise; considering the bulk of lithe muscle he was carrying around with him. Shiki scowled and reached back around her waist and gripped the hilt of her faithful bamboo sword (Miyuki). Time to up the ante a little. The woman then gave a powerful glare from those expressive emerald eyes and launched herself towards the taller, stronger Yagami. Mid-run she withdrew Miyuki and slashed right at Yagami's chest. It hit dead centre and went straight through his upper body. But that image of Yagami then faded away like a hologram before Shiki's eyes. He had vanished? Shiki looked for him. Then felt someone lightly tap her shoulder. "Hey. Behind you." It was him! Shiki jumped forwards to escape any impending attack and then turned around to see the boy. But like lightning he had vanished again. Shiki stopped herself. With Miyuki in a defensive pose she looked again for him. Yagami was incredibly fast. A great deal faster than Hibuki. What if she couldn't keep up with him? She continued to look around for the older youth; but found nothing. Fortunately (or unfortunately as the case may be) Yagami found her first. Shiki gave a powerful and heart-rending cry of agony as the taller shinobi ruthlessly thrust his foot into the centre of her back in one devastatingly abrupt kick. The girl was hurled off her feet instantly and sent sailing. Her body writhed in the air and her torso soon slapped against the smooth floor of this room. By now the ice on the ground had yet to begin to melt. So it was even harder to walk or stop herself; due to the lack of traction. Shiki gave an ‘oof' sound from her parted lips from the shock of her sudden grounding. Then took a moment to compose herself. She opened her eyes again and rolled over to one side. To see Yagami standing there. Silently. Shiki seethed, "Bastard," then heaved herself upwards. This Yagami character was really was different from his Orochi friends. Not only was he very strong, but his speed was amazing. In fact; Shiki could hardly keep up with his movements. There were few who could dodge such a close strike from Miyuki. But Yagami could. Something that Shiki really hadn't expected. Aside from the exception of Hibuki; most of the Six Orochi seemed to be all talk. But not this man. What Yagami lacked in charisma he made up for in relentless power. Well Shiki couldn't allow herself to be beaten after coming this far. The nimble young woman reached downwards into the one of the side pockets of her slacks. Using her left hand. She hooked three of her fingers into the ring holes of three of her shuriken. She was not expecting any trouble when she came to the Diet Building but she still came prepared. The girl pulled free three of her sharp-edge shuriken and held them in hand, before her face. With the other hand she made the now standard two-finger sign of the shinobi. A few seconds passed and then those three shuriken reacted to the action. A small but healthy flame burst over each of them. Though they did not burn Shiki's hand. Her Burning Spirit could withstand all forms of fire. Her green eyes returned to their glare on Yagami. "...San Shuri-Hou..." She spoke... ...Then performed. Shiki yelled a feminine cry then swung her arm around her body and hurled the three flaming shuriken at the target. Yagami. The San Shuri-Hou (Three Shuri Flame) sliced through the humid air towards the Fifth Orochi with great speed. But Yagami did not shrink at this either. His hand reached behind for the shaft his crescent moon glaive. There was a dark scowl on his face. It seemed that he expected more. But he was unaware that Shiki was making that two-fingered sign once more. Yagami simply pulled out the Mikazuki Satsujinki with lightning speed and acted. His double-armed strokes were both powerful and fast. His hands worked like magic as they worked the crescent-moon glaive to deflect each of the fire-infused shuriken individually. Each of the three were batted away before they even reached within a metre of Yagami. ...Yet Shiki simply smiled... "Shunhenkou!" A surprised glare both hit Yagami and the downed Hibuki. A puff of mystic smoke enfolded both Shiki and one of the shuriken that Yagami had deflected seconds ago. When the smoke faded they were switched with each other. Which positioned Shiki right above Yagami. He realized this all too late. The girl swiftly drew Miyuki and then slashed downwards at the cranium of the spiky-haired shinobi. Yagami's senses kicked into overdrive as he launched himself backwards away from the stroke. But not enough to avoid damage. Shiki grit her teeth and Yagami screamed. The Miyuki short sword cut straight through the build up of flesh and muscle around his shoulder blade. A geyser of blood was hurled into the air like wine when the sword cut right through to the right armpit; hacking Yagami's arm off. Hibuki gave a surprised expression as Shiki jumped backwards and Yagami skidded back in pain. The chopped limb was hurled into the air along with the blood and scraps of flesh that had been cut loose. It fell to the ground with a slap. Its fingers were still twitching. Hibuki spoke to himself as he glared at all this. "She used Shunhenkou to switch places with one of the shuriken... just like she did with me... what a skillful and sudden technique." Yagami stopped himself in a crouched position, gripping the bloody hump where his right arm had once been, blood leaking from both his mouth and his wound. Shiki landed in a similar position... but with a bright and devious smile on her face. She kept Miyuki drawn but let her guard down a little. One of Yagami's limbs had been dismembered. There was no way he could fight now. "So..." She uttered, "...Not quite as powerful as you made yourself out to be, are you? Well that's just too bad, you conceited son of a bitch. The Six Orochi are over. Zanmaru-san and Ryoko-san are dead. Hibuki-san is beaten. You're beaten. And soon the same will happen to Setsuki-san and the remaining Sixth Orochi. Face it. It's over. Your life and that of Hirotsugu-yarou." "...You may indeed be more powerful than the other Orochi..." Yagami's furious, animalistic red eyes looked up at her. They were filled with glorious hate and an insatiable rage, "...But you could not hope to grasp the depths of my power... kunoichi of Morioka. You are already losing." Shiki spat. "I say you're full of it! You're done! It's all over! Admit defeat and surrender! You couldn't hope to kill me now. Not with just one arm to your name." After hearing that; Yagami stood upright. With a fresh smile on his face, darkened in look by the blood that dripped from the right corner of his lips. "...Do you really believe that I need more than one arm to defeat the likes of you? You have underestimated the Six Orochi for the last time, girl. Time to learn just how precious the properties of my blood are." With his remaining arm; Yagami made the two-fingered sign of the shinobi again. He steeled himself and kept his dark red eyes on the Burning Kunoichi, Shiki. His expression remained calm and in control. But both Shiki and Hibuki could feel that a great generation of Chi that was throbbing inside of him now. Shiki scowled as she felt his Chi. It was naturally quiet. But in some ways it felt primal and rabid. Almost... beastly in nature. A smoky brown aura of spirit fire began to surround the one-armed man as he closed his eyes and focused that Chi of his. It was enormous. Hibuki felt a chill pass down his spine from feeling that spiritual power for himself. He had heard from Setsuki and Hirotsugu that he was extraordinarily powerful... but he never knew that Yagami was in possession of such frenzied Chi energy. To master such control over that power... no wonder Yagami was a blood descendant of that amazing family of old... Now Yagami was surrounded totally by his smouldering russet Chi Force. His eyes reopened. But rather than the previous tint of red they had... the colour had collapsed into purest white. So vacant and still. But so many ways... very threatening. Yagami aborted the two-finger sign and reached around to his back with his one remaining arm. It gripped the thin shaft of his glaive. Then his whole body began to lull backwards. Like he was falling. Shiki's bright green eyes widened with alarm as she watched Yagami fall backwards toward the ground beneath him. But rather than fall over, his firm muscled torso was swallowed into the image of his shadow on the ground. The animal shinobi had actually fallen into his own shadow... vanishing from sight. Shiki blinked furiously. She looked around for him. Above, to the left and to the right. Even behind. She couldn't see him... anywhere. What on earth was this? Some form of teleportation? Had Yagami ran away? Hibuki was asking himself the same question. Until he saw something unusual about Shiki's shadow. All was normal at first but then it began to grow in size. Larger than normal. Completely out of proportion with Shiki's body. And then spiky brown hair began to rise up from Shiki's shadow. Followed by the whole head. Yagami's head. He knew that technique. It was Kagetoho (Shadow Walk). The sacred ability to move through shadows. One of those fabled skills invented by that legendary family... and now Shiki was in danger because of it! Hibuki called to her urgently. "Yui-san! Behind you!" The girl heard the call and the quickly sensed the danger. She turned around slightly to see one-armed Yagami rising up from her own shadow to attack her with Mikazuki Satsujinki. He thrust it forcefully at her and Shiki scrabbled to avoid it. The curved moon edge then cut straight at her. Through the fabric of the clothing at her waist. Blood spurted from the gash when Shiki jumped backwards to get away. She landed with a slide, while Yagami shot up from her large shadow (which had remained in place even though Shiki was nowhere near it) with a mighty, blurred jump. Yagami's swift body bounded through the air like a gale wind, and twirled the glaive around him with one hand, swooping down at startled Shiki. "Kagayaku Mangetsu Zan!" (Kagayaku Full Moon Slash!) The attack came so fast that Shiki couldn't have dodged it. No matter how much she would have wanted to. Yagami blew by her like an eagle. And a bright burst of light filled that icy room from the strike. One swift hit slashed open the clothing over her shoulder blade. And cut so deep that it hacked into her bone tissue. Shiki screamed painfully and grabbed hold of her shoulder, collapsing to her knees. Her gripping hand was soon soiled with her own red blood; while her body felt the weight of the pain. Yagami landed from his swooping attack on two stable feet. Retaining his cool glance and his body still burning with his dusty gold spirit fire. But he didn't stop to admire his work. He attached Mikazuki Satsujinki to his back. Then went into his side pocket and pulled out a kunai knife. He then looked over at his right. There was a slab of ice that had become disjointed with the rest of the melting frost. It was casting a shadow on the ground beneath it. Yagami swiftly threw the kunai at the shadow. And the speedy weapon passed through it like a stone through water. Hibuki didn't know what that meant until he heard Shiki scream again. He looked over and saw the girl's face twist with pain. And also saw a bloody patch at the small of her back. A kunai was lodged inside it. The same one that Yagami had thrown through the shadow. He had attacked her through her own shadow again. Shiki dropped her sword and reached back with a trembling hand. It gripped the kunai that was impaling her. Then she winced as she ripped it out of her back. The girl then looked over at the silent Yagami. He was... amazing. She hadn't even seen him throw that kunai. But this awe was far out shadowed by her worry. Not only could she not keep up with the guy... but he was stronger and apparently more skilled that she was. Even with only one arm on him. Shiki was now struggling to speak from the pain. "Who... are you...?" Hibuki could answer that. Even though that was not his intention. "So it is true. What Setsuki-san and Genryukai-sama said about you is true after all, Yagami-san. You truly are a blood descendant of the legendary Kagayaku Family. I didn't want to believe it... but your mastery of Kagetoho, the foremost skill of the Kuro-houhou-jutsu (Art of the Black Way) proves it..." Shiki was uninformed about all this. "W-What are you... talking about...?" "...The Kagayaku Family," Though it was a great struggle, Hibuki managed to stand up. He grit his teeth and then pulled out the shuriken that Shiki had thrown into his stomach. It was painful but he kept his reaction under control enough to speak, "...An ancient family that had once been one of the leading members of the Tengu Kokomaru. Which was a union of only the most powerful ninja clans; who wanted greatly to usurp power over any Shogun who happened to be ruling Japan at their time. The Tengu Kokomaru never succeeded in this aim. And after hundreds of years as a unit... their apparently unbreakable unanimity began to fade. A period of internal fighting set into the Tengu Kokomaru. It all reached a bloody head when the Kagayaku Family invented a brutal Ninjutsu art for the purpose of defending themselves from rival families. It was a style that tapped into the forbidden black arts. Kuro-houhou-jutsu. And that form of Ninjutsu gave the Kagayaku a power that made even the Shogun tremble. But the strength of those skills gave rise to deep waves of fear, envy and hatred amongst both shinobi low-class and shinobi elite. The remaining clans of the Tengu Kokomaru turned their fang on the Kagayaku..." Yagami took the time to speak. "...And we were slaughtered. Men, women and children. All of my ancestors were butchered like pigs. All to stamp out our great power from the face of existence. The Tengu Kokomaru ostensibly wiped my people from the face of the earth. But there were some who survived. To pass their skills on through the ages. Until those skills became engraved into our very DNA. I am a modern-day descendant of the Kagayaku." Shiki was thrown from all this. She had never even heard of it all before. Kagayaku? Tengu Kokomaru? There were so many shinobi legends active in this world. Ones that she was in the dark about. Was this the factor that gave Yagami his great power? If he really was... so strong... did Shiki even stand a chance? Both Shiki and Hibuki remained silent. But gasped in utter shock when they saw what Yagami did next. The young man walked over to the left slowly. Towards his dismembered arm. He stopped, crouched down, and the picked up the chopped off arm with his remaining one. Then held the sliced arm against its former socket. He pressed the two together. Skin, bone, muscle and nerves began to regenerate and link up to the dead arm. Until it had been completely reattached. Yagami then released his right arm and clenched the hand of it into a fist. Good as new. Shiki's eyes were wide with shock. She was so shocked that she didn't notice that Hibuki was standing next to her. "...Did he just... reattach his arm...?" The Ice Shinobi, Uchida Hibuki, sighed. "...The great power I was warned of. Yagami-san truly is a descendant of the Kagayaku. We cannot defeat him. Not even if we attacked him together." Yagami looked over at the two. "...Hibuki-san. I never did trust you. Hirotsugu-sama suspected that you might be still be working with Genryukai-san... but he put those concerns aside for the good of the Six Orochi. We should have known better than to think you would be loyal." Hibuki made the two-finger sign and crouched down, pressing his weakening hand into Shiki's back. "...If you really believed that I would side with a power-hungry maniac like your master then you're as much of a lunatic as he is. We might not be a match for you now, Yagami-san... but we'll be back for you and Hirotsugu-yarou. You can tell him that from me." A cold wind suddenly blew into that room. Even though there were no doors. Ice and wind surrounded both Hibuki and Shiki. One that surrounded them so fully that it obscured them from vision. That cold wind then whirled upwards like a tornado and burst open in a flash. But Hibuki and Shiki were gone. Yagami shook his head slowly. They had gotten away. But they were no match for him. ...No one person could stand against the power of the Kagayaku.
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