by Ash Masters
The man pounced; jumping unnaturally high with the intention seeming to crash into Kioshi but, instead he front-flipped, extending a leg in an attempt to land a hard, flying kick.
Kioshi played along with his instincts; throwing his hands forward but looking away nervously. As the figure descended a black hole appeared an inch from Kioshi’s palms, swallowing the man who had no way of stopping himself, closing when the figure had disappeared completely. Kioshi opened his eyes to see his foe gone and better yet he had defeated him without having to fight.
Just like that he had won.
Around him car horns blared, condemning Kioshi for disrupting their mundane routine, but but before he could step down from the crumpled car the choice was made for him as a hard kick threw him onto the roof of the car in front of him.
Kioshi spent a fraction of a second laying down before he flipped himself onto his feet with an agility he didn’t know he possessed, jumping off the car to kick the man who had returned and was standing where Kioshi had moments ago. The costumed man caught the kick and Kioshi did he best to keep his body ridged so that he wouldn’t hang upside down and be at his mercy.
The next thing he knew, Kioshi was flying through a store window, tumbling backwards but quickly managed to stop himself by using the motion to flip onto his feet, sliding to a stop on his fingers and toes. He found himself in the middle of a clothing store; rows of drab-looking clothing hung on racks on either side of him and creating a clustered arena to fight in. There has to be some way of escaping! I can’t die here!
The man calmly entered the store and still in a runner’s pose Kioshi pushed against the floor, flying once again at him but this time with a fist that was stopped easily. That was part of Kioshi’s plan however as he threw all of his weight behind his knee, smashing it into the man’s stomach.
He didn’t flinch however.
Kioshi wiped the surprise from his face quickly, snatching his wrist out of his opponent’s grasp, doubling back then jumping forward to deliver a volley of underarm jabs to the torso, not intending to quit until the man at least took a step back; You’ve wounded the body now just keep working it until he drops!
However, seemingly impervious to pain, the figure didn’t react to Kioshi’s attacks and Kioshi soon realised that his efforts weren’t working and so backed off, lowering his arms, uncertainty clear on his face. ‘Damn it...’ While the figure waited for him, Kioshi decided to eye his opponent to find a weak spot.
His opponent was dressed in matte-grey armour over black fabric. The only fabric visible fabric were a hood and an open waist-cloth falling just above his knees. Unlike his upper body however, his legs was less armoured, instead wearing tough-looking, textured, black trousers though his knees and legs past that point was covered by the same strong armour that covered his upper body and arms. Kioshi eyed the complex, grey, mechanical helmet that made him look like he had a robot’s head.
Looking at how hard the armour was, Kioshi was surprised that he didn’t feel any pain on his hands from his attacks. But his legs legs seem vulnerable so I should aim there.
‘I’ve been watching you.’ The man announced in a rough voice, bringing Kioshi out of his thoughts.
‘Oh yeah?’ Kioshi responded, remaining cautious.
‘You have disturbed the order set here with your actions and so I must kill you for that order to remain.
‘The order here need to be disturbed. You can’t see the evil at work here.’
‘It is a necessary evil – something that you fail to see. You fight for change before taking the time to understand that which you want to change. Now, give up your plans or I’ll have to put you down.’ The figure was in front of Kioshi before he could even blink, head-butting him to the ground. Kioshi sprung onto his feet as he landed, placing a hand on his bleeding forehead and shaking his head so that the world would steady itself. It was in the midst of his pain did he notice that his nose was still broken from his encounter inside his own head and he was missing a few teeth along the left side of his mouth.
The man spun round and kicked Kioshi on the side of the head, sending him spinning in a full circle, followed by a powerful jab to the stomach that not only winded him but sent blood splattering onto the face of the silver helmet. With his enhanced strength the man raised Kioshi into the air, fist still planted in his stomach, flipping him over his head to slam him on the ground.
Kioshi was fast to spring onto his feet but was struck in the stomach by his opponent’s knee even faster. However, placing his hands on the man’s still raised leg, Kioshi swung over to kick him on the side of the head. Much to his dismay, the force wasn’t even enough to sway the seemingly invincible man who went to punch Kioshi but missed as he cartwheeled off his leg.
Kioshi was huffing and he dared not to touch his stomach, fearing that major damaged had been done to his organs. Blood drooling from both corners of him mouth proved him right. ‘I can’t die here!’ He raised a hand, opening a black hole that this time deflected the man’s attacking hand rather than swallowing it, then brought it to his head, deflecting another punch, and the punch after that which was so hard that Kioshi slid backwards, tripping over the counter.
When the man peered over, Kioshi had vanished.
Out of a black hole, Kioshi jumped out above the man, stitching his hands together to make a ball that fell onto the back of the helmeted skull, slamming into the wooden counter to crack it. Kioshi landed on the man’s back but jumped off when he straightened and swiped in the same motion.
Instead of hitting ground Kioshi sank into another black hole that quickly closed itself, jumping out beside the man with an extended fist that when landing on the side of the man’s head knocked him off his feet.
The man rolled on his shoulder, landing in a crouched position then produced a pistol from under his waist cloth, firing shots at Kioshi who deflected all of them with his black holes. Shouting out with determination, Kioshi threw the hole like a shuriken, curving to slice the pistol at the barrel.
From his back the man withdrew a shortsword pouncing once again.
‘This is getting ridiculous!’ Kioshi exclaimed, meeting the man halfway with his longsword, made from the same substance as his black holes. He held his weapon so that the blade ran down the length of his arm as opposed to normally.
The man’s superior strength was weighing Kioshi down but he managed to retreat by doubling back only to spring forward, using his momentum to get an advantage which ultimately had no effect. The two clashed again, raising their swords simultaneously only to clash once again.
Kioshi was losing, the man’s strength was too much for him to bare and it was only a matter of time before he was being forced towards the ground. Within moments he was now hanging backwards almost parallel to the floor, a foot propped firmly behind him to keep his balance but even this was proving to give little aid as he could feel his knees shake as his legs grew close to folding under him.
A third weapon entered the battle, resting on top of the man’s own
Both Kioshi and the man turned to see a robed figure with its hood up and shadowing his or her features and staring at the man. ‘Don’t worry Kioshi, I’ve got your back.’ She said, quickly lowering her sheathed sword, spinning on the spot to smash it into the man’s face, knocking him off his feet.
With the weight gone, Kioshi fell backwards, exhausted, sitting in awe and shock, wondering who the mysterious woman was and how she had managed to so easily hurt the same person who gave him so much trouble.
The man was on his feet in seconds, swiping at the woman’s head. She ducked and unsheathed her shortsword, meeting the man’s own. However, her attack was a distraction as she flipped over to kick the man on the side of the head, hooking her foot around his neck to bring him down hard onto the ground.
Even with his helmet cracked, the man was persistent in continuing the fight. But the woman jumped back, holding out a hand then screaming. ‘OPEN YOUR EYES!’<
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The man froze instantly as he attempted to throw a punch, hand level to his face.
‘Look into my eyes,’ she continued softly. ‘Remember who you are. You’re not someone’s puppet, you are a person with his own mind, his own desires and dreams.’
Her words had an immediate effect as the man shook his head groggily while he began to lose his balance. ‘What was I doing?’ He said tiredly, holding his head. As if remembering, the man looked at Kioshi who was still sat on the ground. ‘Tamashii, Kioshi...’
‘Yamamoto Akira sent you,’ Kioshi arose, ‘didn’t he?’
The man sighed, still holding her head forgetting who he was. ‘Yes... He did. I would never willingly try to hurt you though.’
‘Oh yeah?’ Kioshi gently held his stomach. ‘Why’s that?’
‘Because, I know your father.’
