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TATAKAI
Prelude
“The Chosen
Arrive”
By Chibichocobo & Still2twisted
The Tatakai is an event that happens once every millennium to determine which of the Celestial Triumvirate will hold sway over the Multiverse. Chaos, Neutrality or Order. The greatest warriors from all through out Time and Space are chosen and brought to the Nexus of Realities to do battle. The victor wins the right to face the former Tatakai champion and usurp their alignment with his own. Once the Tatakai ends, the winners and losers are return to their rightful places throughout the Multiverse and are cleansed of their memories of the event. Only the Tatakai Champion retains any of the memories, but even they seem only like a half realized dream to him…or her.
oOo
Somewhere in the deep trenches of the Multiverse, a swirling cataclysm of chaos spun around with a horrid laziness like somebody hanging over an abyss. Everything around it distorted as though somebody tapped their finger in a bowl of water, shimmering with a nauseating effect. It pulsed in the Nexus of the Universes, breathing with a life of its own. Unaware of it, the chosen warriors lifted their heads up to the sky at the same time, as though hearing a faraway cry before they were swallowed up – torn relentlessly from their true places in Time and Space.
Nestled within the confines of their known Universes, they each carried on with their daily proceedings as the whirling mass had yawned open like a gigantic mouth. It stretched to an impossible mass, yet it still kept on expanding. Those chosen of each Universe were sucked in by the irresistible force and yanked into a place that was bound by neither Time nor Space. A place that sat in the center of Everything yet bordered Nothing and Beyond. A place that would fulfill the adjoined purpose of both a point of gathering and a prison.
Satisfied with their meals, the holes that spanned the Multiverse in search those Chosen closed their cavernous maws and disappeared into the unknown depths of the All That Was in a pulsing flash of light. It signaled only one thing.
The Millennium had ended.
And Tatakai had begun anew.
oOo
They have arrived. The Chosen are here.
The great ball of purest and whitest light floating within the eternal ebon of the Void pulsed in tune with those voiceless words.
YeS, sO iT wOuLd SeEm. ThE cHaMpIoNs FrOm AcRoSs ThE mUlTiVeRsE hAvE aT lAsT aRrIvEd. ThE sTaGe Is NoW sEt ThE bAtTlE tO bEgIn. SoOn, ThE mUlTiVeRsE sHaLl Be FoRcEd To ReShApE iTsElF tO tHe WhIm Of OnE.
Pressed deeper in the Void, it’s dark and contorted form constantly in a state of flux and change, a shapeless mass of grayish energy twitched and heaved violently as the discordant, noiseless words echoed throughout the surrounding blackness.
“Yes,” a cold and emotionless voice called out from a shining orb of brilliant, rainbow-hued colors that had just snapped into existence. “Those who have been chosen to represent we of Order, Chaos and Neutrality; those who have been chosen to battle in our names await an explanation of why and where they are. These various creatures that hail from all corners of the Multiverse are a truly fickle lot. They shall not compete unless given a reason to.”
Out of the swirling, vibrant display of illumination stepped a white-cloaked man with a hood that obscured his features.
And so, the Avatar of our absent Celestial Brother makes his appearance.
The hooded figure raised its covered head and turned it toward the ball of pulsing white light.
“Yes, Lord of All Order,” the cloaked figure stated impassively as the brilliant light behind him receded slowly, then disappeared entirely. “I am again here on my Master’s behalf.”
The amorphous mass of colorless radiance twisted violently as it’s cacophonous words rumbled across the endless murk of the Void.
WhAt ReAsOn DoEs He GiVe ThIs TiMe FoR hIs AbSeNsE? wHaT sTaYs HiM fRoM cOmInG hErE? wHy DoEs He SeNd HiS lAcKeY iNsTeAd Of AtTeNdInG uS wItH hIs PeRsOn?
The white-cloaked man never turned his head from the orb of resplendent light as he answered in that cold, inexpressive tone.
“You know as well I, O’ Lord of All Chaos, that my Master’s reasons are his own. Do not presume to ask me questions of things I know nothing about. Whatever stays him from attending his brethren within the Celestial Triumvirate is of no knowledge to me. Therefore, I could not answer question even if I were inclined to do so.”
The shapeless gray standing out against the stark black of the Void knotted and warped maliciously.
YoU dArE sPeAk To Me In ThIs MaNnEr? WhO iS iT yOu BeLiEvE yOuRsElF tO bE tHaT wOuLd AlLoW yOu To TaLk To OnE oF tHe CeLeStIaL tRiUmViRaTe In SuCh IgNoBlE aRrOgAnCe?
Reaching up, the man wrapped his long and graceful fingers around the outer edge of the snowy hood that covered his head and pulled it back. A thin and handsome face, smooth of age and worry, turned to face the Essence of Chaos. Those ice-blue eyes were brutal and cold, completely free of any and all emotion. His thin lips parted into a knowing smile as he regarded the shapelessness floating before him. And much like the rest of his face, it was devoid of warmth or feeling.
“I am the Avatar of Neutrality and victor of the Tatakai. I am Aavin Suthos. I am the God-Slayer. And I shall be as Death to those who dare to face me.”
oOo
Aia’s fingers tangled themselves in Yumi’s sweat-soaked hair harshly.
“It’s not our job to butcher children,” she retorted heatedly. “It’s not our job to slaughter those who haven’t even had a chance to live yet. Dammit Yumi, they were fucking children. They deserved to live a full life in this world!”
The open barrel of the gun against her temple dug in deeper, as did the one in her side.
“You’re an fucking idiot, Ai,” Yumi yelled out angrily. “Do you really think that those two little bitches lying there on the ground were fucking innocent?! They were living with a goddamn child molester who raped your precious Iiwa-chan when she was young and probably didn’t give two shit’s about it afterward! Do you think that someone like that wouldn’t think twice about slipping a little dick to his two girls?! I saved them, Ai! I saved them from a world of pain and suffering! I saved them from becoming like us! Don’t you fucking understand! I saved them from becoming like us!!!”
The rage that had been building in Aia since she had entered the study and laid eyes on the unforgivable scene of remorseless murder finally reached it’s boiling point.
“Do you think that justifies what you’ve done,” she hollered. Yanking back Yumi’s head, she readied herself to spill insane girl’s blood. “You murdered those kids in cold, fucking blood and you didn’t do for any kind of goddamn, noble purpose! You did it because you could, you did it because you love to kill…just like that bitch Shuguri Mai-sensei! But I’m gonna stop you here and now! I’m not gonna let you hurt anyone else!!!”
Yumi’s fingers tensed on the triggers of her .45s, her dark eyes alight with the glazed over look of someone not in their right mind.
“Then do it, you little slut! Slit my fucking throat and bleed me ‘til I’m dead! At least I won’t have to hear you moaning like a bitch in heat while that tramp Iiwa-san eats you out!! So do it already!! KILL ME!!!” Yumi grinned madly as she cocked back the hammers on her guns. “DO IT!!! YOU WANT TO SAVE AKAGI, RIGHT?! C’MON YOU GUTLESS COWARD, KILL ME!!!!”
The cold edge of the wakazashi pressed unforgivingly into Yumi’s throat.
“Then let’s end this, once and for all,” Aia whispered almost to herself as she closed her eyes.
The curved blade tensed and two shots rang out into the night.
-O-
Oyugi Aia’s eyes snapped open. Where was she? Why was she still alive? She had just killed her former friend and fellow assassin Hyyakazi Yumi. Hadn’t she? Why was it so hard for her to remember anything? Everything was a jumble in her head. Yumi had just killed…killed… Who had the insane girl just killed? Aia couldn’t remember. But whoever it had been, they were apparently really important to her. Otherwise, why would she try to kill Yumi? That was forbidden by…by… Who had forbidden her from killing Yumi? Why was it so hard to remember?
Lifting herself from the ground, Aia brushed herself off and looked around. She was standing near the middle of a huge circular platform that seemed to be fashioned from some form of rocklike substance. It had to be at least mile across in any direction and had the outer edges of it ringed by massive stone columns that rose high into…
Aia’s eyes widened frightfully. There was no sky! There were no stars! There was nothing but a strange, multihued gaseous film that rested where the sky should have been. Where in the world was she?!
-O-
Her fingers flexed, anxious to pull the triggers of her twin .45s. Aia. AIA! The little bitch! Didn’t she understand anything?! Didn’t she understand that no one was innocent?! True innocence didn’t exist in the world. How could it?
Slowly, awareness came to her. And with it, realization dawned. Her eyes fluttered open in a hurry and a hand quickly worked it’s way up to her neck. She should be dead! Ai had slit her throat with that damnable wakazashi of hers. But not before she had left the little whore with a nice parting gift – two Teflon-tipped slugs lodged in her head and her kidney. At that, Yumi smiled broadly. She must have killed Aia before she had a chance to finish her cut. She had killed Aia! The girl was dead!
Yumi laughed out in spite of the sadness that crept along in her heart. She had killed her former best friend! Murdered her over two…two… What had they been fighting over? Why couldn’t she recall the reason? Why was it so hard for her to remember?
Realizing that she was flat on her stomach and face-first on a rough and cold surface, Yumi pushed herself up with weary arms and rose to her knees. She looked up towards the ceiling of Oda Komoji’s study and…
Her screams echoed loudly over the multicolored expanse that was the sky.
oOo
Well I was taken no matter what I said. Kenta and I jumped from tree to tree back to the Sakura Grove. When we arrived there, my eyes widened in shock as I saw dead zombies littering the ground. Well they were already dead but who cares! They didn’t move! I looked around for Aoi-sama and found him half buried and unconscious on the ground. I went to jump but Kenta grabbed the sleeve of my kimono.
“There could be more,” he replied and jumped down himself. There were no signs of any more zombies and he waved for me. I jumped down from the tree and hurried over to Aoi-sama.
I pulled with all the strength I had and managed to pull him out from the ground. My eyes widened as I ran them down his leg. They were scratched all to hell, the kimono torn up from the knee down. Tears sprang to my eyes. I didn’t know if he was dead or alive.
A hand grabbed at my own leg, scratching it. I screamed in pain just as Kenta brought down his own sword, the hand twitching a little ceased its movement. It was hard for me to get up and pick up Aoi-sama at the same time. Kenta helped Aoi-sama up and started to walk toward the village. I decided that my graduation was the least important topic to discuss and kept my mouth shut as we walked on. Looking up, I noticed the crescent moon was shining down on us, casting it’s light of the night upon us. I heard that tradition had it…that could be good luck…or bad luck…
-O-
The sound of a girl’s scream brought my eyes open lazily. Wha…? The only thing that greeted them was some crazy, freaked out alien sky, filled with gassy, vapor-like clouds. Where am I? What happened to the Sakura Grove? What about the crescent moon that I’d been staring at? What about… What about… What the hell…? Was I…was I…traveling with someone? Damn, why does my head feel so freaking muddled? What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I remember anything. Had I been traveling with…others?
I slowly place a hand on the cold, rocky surface beneath me, pushing over onto my side and hefting myself to my knees. Where in the hell am I? Am I even…even on Earth anymore? Am I…dead? Now why does that seem so…stupid for me to think? I bet that big dumb cat of mine would laugh his ass off if…wait, I have a cat? Why in the hell is it so hard for me to remember anything? And why does my heart feel such a…a sense of strong and recent loss? Has someone…important to me…died? Was I in…love? Oh jeez, how stupid is that for me to think? Me…in love…? Yeah, right…
Well one thing’s for certain, I’m not gonna find any answers sitting here on my knees. Shouldn’t my leg be…hurting? Now, why would I think something like that? Taking a deep breath, I rise from the ground and onto my feet. I remember hearing a girl screaming earlier. That’s what woke me up afterall. And I guess that’s as good a place as any to start looking for answers.
oOo
Jorhan was a flushed, angry red by the time Master Vrail arrived at the scene. "Master Jorhan," came the gentle greeting, floating from the shadows between the soft pools of light from the ever-burning torches that adorned the walls.
It was as though the disinherited boy had just realized where he was. He turned his head slowly to meet the gaze of his superior, once more the confused enigma of raging emotions, thrust unceremoniously into the spotlight he so desperately craved, hated, and feared at the same time. His hands dropped to his sides limply as he acknowledged the older man's presence. "Master Vrail . . . "
The elderly man gave the Staffbearer a nod of greeting. "I apologize if my pupil has disturbed you, young Nikkel." Jorhan bristled in self-defense, but knew better than to say anything.
"As for you, Jorhan Kriyan -- "
"Forgive me, Master Vrail, but I believe the fault is mine." The pleasant tone of his uncle floated from behind Jorhan's back. His shoulders seemed to slump of their own accord as he relaxed -- he had always clung to his uncle rather than his father even as a child…perhaps because of Varharra's distance, or the mystery of his mother, the Queen, who Jorhan had never seen -- not even when he'd arrived at the castle from the Royal Academy upon news of Yayan's birth.
Arrah dan' Barashe's soft steps seemed to reverberate around the cramped hallway the same way as his nephew's induced blunderings. Master Vrail gave the slightest inclination of his head, as stiff as Jorhan had been under Arrah's control. Assuming that the elder Barashe's arrival could mean only his departure, the old man took a series of shuffling steps away from them, shoulders hunched with the slightest of resentments as his hands wound behind his back.
Following his superior's example, Nikkel eased himself back into his room with a casual nod to Arrah and a mere flicker of his eyes to the fuming Jorhan.
"It's late, my boy," Arrah repeated, clapping his angered nephew on the back hearteningly, struggling to dissuade him from the irritation and arguments he knew plagued Jorhan so much. "You should go to sleep, get some rest. Aurabenne know you need it.”
-O-
Jorhan remembered…something. It had been formless, fluid like water – shimmering in a cold darkness that devoured all light. Had he been…dreaming? It seemed very hard for him to remember anything. His…his uncle…? Was that right? He did have an uncle? So hard to recall where he had been and who he had been talking to. But something pulsed in the back of his head; a nagging feeling of being…angry? Why had he been so mad? And at who? His uncle…perhaps…?
Placing both arms beneath his newly awakened form, Jorhan push himself up from the coarse surface of the ground he had been lying against. Taking a moment to gather himself, he gazed around cautiously afterward. For some odd reason, he could not remember anything before waking up here. Most of it – if not all of his thoughts and memories – were nothing more than a jumble of perplexing and disjointed images that made very little sense to him. What was going on? What was happening to him? Shaking his head slightly, Jorhan raised his eyes to take in his surroundings. Looking around, they widened when he saw the strange sky that hovered overhead. What the…? Where in the hell was he?!
It was then that he heard a scream. It was a girl’s scream.
oOo
When they introduced him to another small, cramped room, he saw five other people lounging around in a bored manner. A girl with flowing dark brown hair seemed to be the only happy one, and everyone else around her seemed to be calmed by her presence. She probably was the only thing there that made them hold onto their sanity. The scientists shoved him in, and locked the door behind him. Turning back to look at the group of people, he noticed that all of them were teenagers. Just like him.
The dark haired girl smiled and made her way towards him. She bowed her head in a respectful manner.
"I'm Hina. Nice to meet you."
Junshin nodded.
"How long have you been here?"
"I've been here for about a year. Can't complain. Sasuke here tries to escape every now and then, but the bad thing is that there's nobody to take care of you out there."
Sasuke, a wiry boy with dark brown hair put up into a ponytail glared up at Junshin.
"It's a prison in here."
-O-
A prison? Not anymore! He was free! He had escaped! From where, he could not recall. Not that it mattered to him in the least. He was never going back to that hell again! Besides, any place had to be better than the one he left!
Sasuke Kawasaki pushed himself away from the stone pillar he had been lying against, rising smoothly to his feet with little effort. A dark-haired girl beside him moaned slightly when he did. Who was she? And why was there such a strong…feeling in his heart whenever he gazed upon her smooth face. Something about her tickled at his memory, something that needed to be remembered. But he disregarded it. He was free and that was all that mattered to him. Raising his arms and stretching them above his head, Sasuke took in his surroundings.
A scream in the distance echoed his own thoughts very closely.
oOo
"We're going to die!" howled Yoko, clinging to Myora, on the back of his jet-black vespa. "Slow the hell down!"
"No worries, my lady friend," Myora laughed, "I'm a real safe driver." The vespa was going around 90 mph, narrowly dodging cars. As Myora sped through a red light, a truck ran in front the vespa. Yoko screamed, as Myora turned the vespa on its side, skidding under the truck.
"I'll kill you!" Yoko screamed in his ear, "If you kill us, I'll kill you!"
"If I kill us, be my guest," Myora said, still laughing, "That your school up ahead?"
"Yeah, now slow down!" Yoko yelled, "We're going to crash!"
"Fine, fine," Myora grumbled. A slowed the vespa to a stop, and parked his vespa in the school parking lot. He looked up, and gazed at Kurasama High. It resembled a castle, its stone walls covered with moss. Myora whistled. "Nice place."
"Yeah, its got a certain charm to it," Yoko said, climbing of the bike, her voice shaking. "Now, you should go back. I think people are staring at us." Yoko pointed to a line of students outside the front gate, waiting for the school to open. Quite a few of them were staring at Myora and Yoko.
"Sure, I'll head home,” said Myora slyly. "Have a nice day."
"Yeah," Yoko said suspiciously, "Thanks." She turned around, and joined the other students, just as the gates were opening. Myora waited until the last of the students disappeared inside the building. Then, Myora approached the gate.
-O-
Oh what the…? Where in the hell was his vespa?! And why was he lying face down on some cold, stone floor? Had he…wrecked or something? He…remembered somebody saying that he was…he was…going to…fast? Why was it so difficult to remember anything? A girl screaming shook him from his confused thoughts rather abruptly.
‘If you kill us, I’ll kill you!’
Now why had that echoed out in his mind when he heard the girl screaming? This was all getting way to weird for him. And that was something considering…considering… Considering what? Why in the hell couldn’t he remember anything other than his name, a stupid vespa and someone pissing and moaning about going to fast? Just what in the hell was going on around here anyway?!
Pushing himself up slowly to his feet, Myora lifted his head to the bright blue sky overhead and… What the…?
Well, he thought blankly, looking up into a sky so odd it made his own life seem normal. There’s something you don’t see everyday…
oOo
“Have you heard of this...woman...named Izumi?” He smiled.
I smirked.
“Come here,” I signaled him to lean in closer.
I leaned forward until my mouth was next to his ear.
“I’m going to tell you a secret...just so when they kill you for coming this far and not getting accepted...you’re at least have your last wish granted.”
His eyes froze in terror.
“Killed?” He broke off.
I smirked... “What did you expect, you come all the way here, you ask personally to see the Kumi, and you managed to even have Souji accept you... what did you expect from not being accepted.”
The sweat poured down his forehead and he gulped.
I leaned in again.
“I...am...Izumi...” I whispered slowly.
I then stood up to view for one last time the man who’s life would soon end. His face pale as though he had seen a ghost.
“Now you saw your ‘her’.”
I closed my eyes walking out of the room.
-O-
Who am I? Someone…important? So hard to recall…so hard to…remember… What am I? A person of high standing and status? A person to be respected and revered? A person…a person to be…feared? Am I one? Or am I…am I all three? Memories are so fragmented. Thoughts are so skewed. Am I the mistress…the mistress of the House of Kumi. Am I the daughter of Shun and Michiyo Kumi. What is my duty? What is my…purpose?
Vacantly, I lift my head from off of the cool stone beneath me. I can taste a…strangeness in the air. Something is not…right. Is this the reason that I cannot remember who I am? I press my hands against the hardness under my body and push myself upward, eventually coming to rest in a crouch on the balls and toes of my feet. Why do I feel so…disoriented? What has happened to me? Reaching up to my face with a lone hand, I gracefully brush away a few wandering strands of hair and then look up toward the ceiling of my home.
I can feel my eyes grow wider as a sickening sense of realization dawns in my mind. The ceiling to my home was gone. Left in it’s stead was a torn sky, seemingly ripped from the imaginations of oni and akuma. Where was I? How had I arrived in such a…foul-seeming place? And…
…Who was I and what was my purpose here?
oOo
Mazu's knees
suddenly shook and she fell to the ground unconscious.
"Mazu!"
Everybody ran up to Mazu as Akira's mom came out. Before she even did anything the man hit her.
"You bitch! You hit my mom!"
"So what?"
"So this."
Everybody looked at the table and saw a girl with long black hair with reddish highlights sitting on the table cross-legged.
"Hello, bitch."
"Mazu?" Everybody said in disbelief.
"No way, that girl is way hotter then Mazu!" Li exclaimed.
"Li, shut your mouth."
"So, why don't you just leave, hmn?"
"Feh, you should know why. It's all over San Francisco."
"No, I don't, but I'll kick your ass anyway." She kicked him in the face and he lied down there unconscious.
"If any of you say a word about this, I'll send assassins to kill you...or else I'll just kill you myself," Everybody nodded as she pointed to Mazu, "She was the one who beat him, got that?"
Everybody nodded as she disappeared.
They brought Mazu to another room and Li stayed. Souhi and Akari were being dragged away by Akira, Tyrone, and Sebastion.
"Mazu...' he whispered to the body lying on the sofa.
She suddenly yawned got up, and said, "Why am I stuck with an ugly boy? Ah well." She walked away but he caught her wrist.
"Eh? Let go!"
"No...I won't."
She glared at him and just kept walking but he pulled her towards him.
"Please Mazu, just listen."
"No, you listen. I have a boyfriend and ---"
She was cut off by his kiss, for a moment, she was lost in it…
-O-
…What had she been lost in? Why were her lips…puckered? And why did she have such a…a sick feeling in her gut? What in the world was going on? Had she just…passed out? Is that why she felt so sick? But if that was the case, why were her lips puckered out like she had been…had been kissing somebody.
Pulling herself away from the massive stone column that she had been resting against, Mazu rose tiredly from the ground. Using the column as support, she rubbed at her eyes with the back of her other hand and then took a look around. Fear clenched at her heart.
Oh Gods, she thought shakily. Where was the school?
oOo
Vanten said with anticipation.
"Yes, will you speak now that you hear the shrieks and cries of your brother? Or will you perhaps speak to end this pain?"
"Stop it please! KASARU!"
"Will you talk?!?!?" yelled Vanten.
"Kasara, please stay silent!" gasped Kasaru.
"No, brother…please! Kasaru!" cried Kasara.
Vanten finally shouted.
"Fine, if you won't talk…"
And he put his hand back inside his robes.
There was a thunderous crack as the child's bones gave way to the giant slab.
Kasaru Oni has died.
"No. Brother? Please wake up! Kasaru. Kasaru! KASARU!" cried Kasara hoping beyond hope that her brother might still be alive.
Anset said to Vanten, "My lord, what shall we do about the girl?"
Vanten scoffed and returned, "It seems as if she really doesn't know anything. But still, I think she's hiding something. Keep her in the coal mines."
"Kasaru,” sobbed Kasara. She turned to Vanten and with a rage of fury, she ran to the monster that killed her brother and family.
With a battle cry, she jumped to aim a punch to his stomach.
And she was frozen in mid-air.
"Fool." Vanten uttered before sending her into the wall. She knew no more.
-O-
His memories may have been shattered, but Vanten knew an opportunity to gain more power when it presented itself. There was…somebody about to arrive. Someone who possessed a power unlike anything he had ever encountered. One that if gained would make him all but invincible. It nearly made his body shiver, what he felt.
Who was this person about to appear before him and all of this other…rabble? Who were these other people? And why could he not expunge them with his powers? And yet, what did it matter? An opportunity to achieve more power than he had now had presented itself to him.
Who was he to turn it down?
oOo
She took off her helmet, shaking her long, 4-toned black-orange-blonde-brown hair from her helmet. She combed out her brown, triangular bangs with her fingers as she sat her helmet on top of her motorcycle.
"What- no crowd?" Hitomi asked.
"What would you need a crowd for in order to fight me?"
He had a deep dark voice, with a hint of a rural accent that was actually quite intriguing.
"No reason," she replied. Obviously he just wanted to get down to it.
Hitomi proceeded forward.
The challenger smiled as he ran forward, completely on his toes. She evaded him with a butterfly kick over him and attacked with a mid kick, swinging her cord around him and trying to stab. He blocked, sending her weapon flying. She attempted to quickly run and get it, but he held her back, locking one of his feet with one of hers. She sweep kicked him with her free leg, then managed to hit him in the stomach with her second and dove for her sword. He ran toward her quickly. She jumped above him and attempted to strike him in the back. He grabbed her hand, twisted back and pulled, pushing her feet and feet backwards.
"Kurokitsunedo," Hitomi said, naming the technique, sticking her fall and holding on to her arm.
"You're-"
She didn't finish, and he didn't reply. Not verbally at least, but he gave a slight grin.
She tried to run. He ran after her. She back kicked him, then threw her sword at him by kicking the cord at him. He ducked, then grabbed the sword and the cord and twirled her in it, then held the sword at her throat. Hitomi froze in fear as they stood on the bamboo tops, She shoot leaves falling to the ground. She closed her eyes, letting go of her anger as the man she fought flew away holding her.
-O-
She was no longer…flying? How could she had been flying? She didn’t have any wings. Did she? Maybe she had fallen. Yeah, that had to be it. She had fallen down from someplace…high? But, why would she have been that high in the first place? And why was she feeling no kind of pain from falling that far?
Hitomi hefted herself from the ground, testing her muscles for any injuries or pain. She found none. But how that be? It did not make any sense for her to be perfectly healthy after such a long fall. Did it? Lifting her head to the sky, she searched for the place she had fallen from. The site that greeted her sent icy shivers up and down her spine.
She had not survived the fall! She had died on impact and was now in Hell…
oOo
With a flash of brilliant light, Aavin Suthos appeared amongst the disarray and confusion of the Chosen. What a pitiful lot they were! Such displays of emotions and feeling! He was glad that he had abandoned those long ago. They were not a help afterall. They were a hindrance.
These were the best that they could find to compete in the Tatakai against me? Has the Multiverse truly descended so much since my ascension as the Hand of Neutrality? Has heroism and fighting spirit died in the time since my passing from the mortal realms? How sad the Multiverse has become, how sad that the weak have supplanted the strong. Perhaps this Tatakai will be of no more interest to me than the last. Such is truly a pity. For I sense true potential amongst some of these…especially with those two. Could they be the one’s my Master has ordered me to seek out? Now, it seems, would be the proper time to find out.
Shaking his head once, Aavin gestured an open palm toward the varying people. This chaos must come to an end, he thought emotionlessly. It is time that they are made aware of their reasons for being here. It is time for them to become whole once more.
A bright glow of blinding light formed in his outstretched hand, blazing brighter and brighter until everything seemed to be drowned out by its brilliance. All knowledge of the past and present of the Tatakai and what it represented had to be shared if they were to compete without question and utilize their full abilities. There could be no holding back, for the prize was far to great a thing to be left in the hands of incompetent warriors. The Celestial Triumvirate would expect nothing but the best from those that they had chosen, and those who didn’t give their all would face a dire fate indeed.
Aavin lowered his hand, the task complete. Memories had been mended and the chaos had ceased, but the questioning looks on everyone’s faces still remained. But that did not matter to the God-Slayer. He had granted them the knowledge that they would need to battle to their fullest extent. He had given them Awareness and it would guide them along the path that the Celestial Triumvirate had laid out. It had been like this for thousands of years and it would remain as such for that and more.
“You have been chosen for a great honor,” Aavin said impassively, addressing the crowd around him. “Do not dishonor those who have placed their faith in your fighting skills. Battle with all of your heart, all of strength and all of your spirit. Do so not because you have to, but because you want to. Those are my words to you. Advice from the man you will face at the end of the Tatakai. Take it with you as you do battle against your peers. Now, let the Great Tatakai begin anew!”
Choosing two people at random, Aavin gestured toward them with his hand. In a flash of radiant white, they vanished from his presence. Whisked away to some other place. There they would fight until only one remained standing. Such was the will of the Celestial Triumvirate. Such was the will of their current Champion. The Chosen would have to prove themselves worthy enough to move on. Who would make it to the next round of competition? The Qualifying Rounds of the Great Tatakai had begun…
The only other thing that I can say is I hope that you enjoy this. We put a lot of hard work into it. We’re not expecting stellar reviews, but a few comments would be nice. Heh! But only if you want to leave them!!!
And now in the immortal words of Shang Tsung…
“It has begun…”
Thank you for your time,
Terryll Preston, still2twisted of FictionPress fame…
