Bloodstained Rose

Chapter 10

The third explosive needed to be planted across another walkway. Tetsu found himself starting to become weary after continuously tapping into the Deep. He safely perched himself beneath another ledge, clenching the pack tight as he wrestled for his breath. The earpiece had been silent for the past few minutes, which did not help with his stress. Once the word that Megumi was down hit the air wavs, it became unbearable.

He took in one more deep breath—again trying to reach that state of mind to tap into the Deep. There was always this sense of loneliness and emptiness that he had to find a way to channel the transformation. It had been one of the few techniques he learned, and one that was useful enough to get his attention. The metal ledge over him let out a thud, quickly causing him to retract. As he established his connection with the Deep, he heard familiar voice boomed out from above him.

“What have you planned, Nojuro?” Susumu asked with his low and aged voice.

The sound of Susumu’s voice froze Tetsu in place. He remained calm and seized the moment to try and make his way further down the walkway and towards a clearing.

“You know I can sense you,” Susumu spoke up again, this time taking notice of a small silhouette starting to trail across the metal walkway. He started to walk towards it, continuing, “Did you ever finish your job for me? You know better than to test me.”

Susumu disappeared from sight once he went for his attack. The moment he reappeared, his foot came down in front of the shadowy mass, smashing into the platform. The shockwave collided with Tetsu, instantly causing his body to revert from the transformation.

“I couldn’t do it, they’re too strong.” Tetsu said calmly. Being separated from the Deep so abruptly had been just as jarring as being woken from a dream. Susumu towered over him, taking notice of the pack in his arms.

“You can still get out of this if you go back.”

“I can’t.”

Susumu let out a quick hum, followed by a grunt as he swiped his arm forward. Tetsu pressed his foot off the ground, trying everything he could to make an evasive move. After getting out of the way of Susumu’s attack, he started to repeat all of Rei’s lessons in his head.

“I have heard of the rumors,” Susumu said again, almost mumbling as he started to walk towards him. “I do not believe the entire Hideo-Jin Dynasty has been wiped out.”

“They’re gone,” Tetsu returned. The others were depending on him to finish this job, and he knew there was no way through Susumu. However, the conviction of Susumu’s gaze caused the gear in his head to turn. He then said, “Burnt to the ground, to ashes.”

He slowly dropped his weight, preparing for another attack at any moment. His words had very little effect on Susumu—instead feeling a sharp cut from Susumu’s cold gaze.

“You fail me and then choose to attack our town, bold move, Nojuro, very bold move.” Susumu declared as he started to clench his fists—keeping them to his side.

“I didn’t want to do this, but they’ve caused so much destruction. I’m going to destroy this place,” Tetsu puffed his chest, this time raising the from his good arm as he began to speak. “I’m not going to let anything get in my way.”

“Not on my watch, kid.” He returned; this time his hair began to flow as a warmth began to greet the air around them. Tetsu had not been versed enough with his abilities or the Deep enough to be able to detect others, but the sudden surge from Susumu had been alarming.

As Tetsu braced himself, he called out, “I didn’t think you would team up with them. We could all team up and stop them.”

“It’s more than that,” Susumu started to brush his hands across his overcoat as he spoke. “The Eurasians are connected to my ancestors, and with their might, we will finally unite the many dynasties.”

“Like the Tokugawa Dynasty,” Tetsu found an opening. The quick remark brought a smirk to Susumu’s face. “Did they count?”

Susumu’s advance came to a halt. With his powers, he was one that took whatever he wanted and rarely answered to anyone. Everything about him working with the G.E.I. was out of the ordinary.

Once the thought began to swirl in Tetsu’s head, he asked, “What did they do to you to make you work for them?”

“We have a bond by blood. While they have helped our people with their advancements, you come to bring destruction. I know what you’re trying to do.”

“You don’t care about them. You told me what you want, money and power. You have that. Nobody has the courage or strength to stand up to you, and I think you may need to be knocked down a peg, before you do something terrible.”

“What are you doing here then?”

“I am doing this because they are planning something horrible with this reactor. I don’t trust Liberation or this World Order,” Tetsu started to raise his voice. “I know that the G.E.I. is much worse than them all. You’re in their ranks now, but the moment you wrong them or cross over, they’ll kill you.”

“More incentive to stay on this side of this fence.”

Tetsu had felt another chill as Susumu wound up his hand for a quick strike. Instead of closing in, he had taken an almost overexaggerated swipe in front of him. A powerful gale swept through the facility, ripping Tetsu off his feet and sending him flying against the railing. However, instead of leaving a thud, his body seemed to blow away like sand, leaving a black cloud of dust in place.

Susumu was a step ahead, detecting the sudden changes in the Deep before the attack. He made a sharp turn to his right, spotting Tetsu charging towards him with his fist cocked back. Just as before, Susumu waved his hand, sending another blast of wind towards him. What appeared to be a dead-on collision with his center frame only happened to be another projection, leading a black cloud of dust in Tetsu’s place.

Susumu finally called out, “Interesting trick, Nojuro, impressive. You have learned much since we have last met.”

He could faintly sense something starting to tap into the Deep close by. The sound of water crashing rang inside his head, entrancing him as he started to continue down the walkway. Just below, Tetsu remained locked in place, trying everything he could to tap back in. After the last few minutes, he found connecting to the Deep becoming even more difficult as his stamina and focus stretched thin. Trying to travel in his shadow-form and create projections were barely doable in his situation.

His earpiece started to light up with chatter between the others followed with gunfire. Deeper in town, he could already hear a series of gunshots starting to faintly ring out in the distance—a very low collection of thuds. The third point is in reach by now. He continued forward, only to be cut off by Susumu again, this time swinging under the railing and intercepting as Tetsu began to remove his pack.

“I don’t know what you planned here,” Susumu chirped as he grabbed hold of the Kevlar straps of the combat pack, ripping it from Tetsu’s hands. “You can get out of this, tell me what you’re doing.”

“I,” Tetsu started to mumble, losing focus for a moment before glancing over towards the tree line in the corner of his eye. After recalling several hours of teasing from Megumi, he quickly smirked before saying, “I’m buying time, dickhead.”

Susumu felt another presence nearby tapping into the Deep and moving towards the two. The speed of the target had been alarming enough for him to take an evasive sidestep. A quick gust of wind ripped through as a mass of black barreled past Susumu. Tetsu pulled his arm up over his eyes to shield himself as a small piece of debris whipped towards him.

Rei finally arrived on the scene to attack. Her robe and hair shimmered black while she went in for a quick series of attacks. However, Susumu was quick to retaliate, doing a single precise stomp that connected with the side of her blade. The force from his attack sent the blade down into the concrete paneling beneath, lodging the weapon in place.

“Get moving already,” Rei said to Tetsu, not taking her eyes off Susumu as he towered over her. A smirk graced his face, silently provoking her while he dangled the combat pack in front of them. “I’ll handle him.”

The concrete beneath her exploded into a cloud of dust as she ripped her sword free and began her assault. Susumu lifted the pack in front of him, causing the yellow stuffing side to scatter while Rei’s blade sliced through. Tetsu immediately lunged towards the pack as it slammed into the surface, catching it but in return tumbling over the edge of the building. Rei had taken advantage of the moment, going in for another series of attacks as Susumu was caught off guard.

As Susumu began to tap into his rapid instincts to evade, Tetsu found himself plummeting towards the ground with the explosives tight. Keep your stance, find your center, Rei’s words had started to repeat in his head.

“Keep your balance.” He repeated, finally embracing the abyss as the endless river flowed through him. The thin, but puffy black rags of his ninja yoroi flopped around violently before finally starting to settle. His eyes turned white as his mind had drifted out of sync with time. Then, his rapid descent came to a halt, leaving him to float like a feather towards the ground below.

He snapped back to consciousness, finally landing as a violent gust of wind shot out from under his feet. Ecstatic, he let out a gasp as tears began to bead in his eyes. Over the sound of clashing metal, there was a loud shrill from the sirens posted all over the facility. The screeching from the alarms cut the small victory short, forcing him to get moving. He tried everything to channel whatever he could to get moving towards the last two points.

Meanwhile, Rei found herself constantly on the assault. However, instead of her normal ferocity, every attack seemed to be over-exaggerated. They did not have a purpose; each was being broadcast to give Susumu enough time to avoid. The slight gesture had thrown him off at first, but he continued to move around the attacks while making his way over to the deck. Rei had been formidable enough to keep him on his toes, but after a few more unsuccessful volleys, he raised his hand to her.

“You, what is your name?” he asked.

“Rei.” She muttered before getting into another defensive stance, keeping her sword held in front.

“Your abilities are formidable, but you are holding back, why?”

“We’re not here to fight you,” she slowly began to lower her defenses. “I don’t want to kill you; you can still walk away.”

“Are you trying to buy more time?”

Rei had noticed a few of the G.E.I. troops starting to emerge from the inside of the facility. Each of the troops were dressed in black, fully body suits with riot helmets and rifles aimed at Rei. As she turned to them, Susumu started to make a getaway before the bullets could fly. The sirens of the facility had been drowned out by the sounds of the gunfire. Once the first few rounds had been fired, Rei’s onboard AI started feeding her commands, instantly causing her to retaliate.

There was a flash of blue as her robe and hair took on an emerald-like color. Her movement began to accelerate, allowing her to move around the bullets. Three troops had barely been able to get a few rounds off before feeling a gust of air blast them backwards. All at once, all three of their rifles flew apart after multiple swipes of Rei’s sword. Just before they could even take notice that she had already moved past him, preparing the rear-attack.

“Hey,” Rei called out from behind them. The robe began to shift back to black as the men turned back. She lifted her weapon towards the closest soldier, gently placing the blade against his neck before continuing, “If you want to live, this is your chance to run.”

All three stared hesitantly, not sure what direction to go. Being face to face with somebody who had managed to disarm them so quickly and effortlessly left them stunned.

“And there it went.” Susumu’s voice boomed from over them.

He landed on the roof of the entrance behind them, getting their attention as he swiped his hand at the air. Another hurricane force gust of wind blasted the four, immediately causing the three troops to be catapulted far past the balcony and several hundred yards from the facility. Rei thrusted her weapon into the surface below her, stabbing through to give her leverage against the powerful winds. Once the gusts settled, she could clearly hear the sirens blaring around them while Susumu and her faced off again.

“You just killed your own men!” she shouted, hands shaking as she pulled the sword free from the metal and concrete below. A blast of sparks had ignited from her weapon, letting out a loud metallic ring. Susumu remained undaunted by the display, keeping his hands to his side.

“If you had taken me seriously, you may have been able to save them,” he replied. He stepped forwards and off the ledge above her, letting out a thud as he landed on the metal beneath. “You are from these lands, are you not?”

“I am.”

“Then you must know who I am.”

“I’ve heard of you,” Rei said before quickly spitting to her right. “I hail from the Hideo-Jin dynasty.”

“I thought so. There is something about you,” Susumu finally lifted his hand, raising his open palm to the sky as he continued, “I suspected there was something different about you.”

“They’ve killed everyone but me,” she lowered her head for a moment, barely keeping her eyes on Susumu while she started to speak. “I have been holding back, because I don’t want to kill you. I have somebody I’m looking for, and right now you’re standing in my way!”

“Oh?” his eyes perked up at the sight of her raising her weapon again.

“I’m going to start getting serious now, this is the last time I will extend my mercy to you.”

“Very well then,” he muttered while reaching to loosen the knot keeping his overcoat in place. The breakpoint flew open, revealing his athletic physique beneath a series of scars and tattoos. “Show me the mighty dying breath of the Hideo-Jin Dynasty, Rei.”

She went on the attack, each strike immediately followed with just as fast and devastating as the last. Susumu’s initial movements had almost seemed like they were being broadcast to her. Within a few seconds of her assault, he had already found a hole in her offense and delivered a straight kick to her chest. Rei’s vision blurred for just a second while her body had been pushed back further towards the edge of the platform.

Susumu stood tall again, gently brushing his thumb across his nose before saying, “Is this everything you have to offer me?”

“Not quite.” She replied after wiping her mouth clean from a mixture of saliva and blood.

“It’s unfortunate the Hideo-Jin Dynasty has crumbled to this, did no warriors survive?”

Rei had slightly been tilted but had been in situations before where her rage had taken over. Susumu was much older, much more experienced as a fighter, and certainly much more proficient with the Deep. So far, he seemed to be able to react to her attacks almost seemingly before she could make them.

Susumu spoke again, “Try again, you’re too slow.”

His next movements had come so fast that the onboard AI of her robe was unable to formulate a response. A series of punches rattled across her back with enough momentum to send her over the edge and towards the grass below. She was not given much time to try and channel the Deep to stop her momentum. A chill from the abyss started to flow through her, only decelerating her enough to keep her impact from being fatal.

She struck back first against the grass and bounced several feet before getting enough control to roll to her feet. The grass beneath her had been completely uprooted as she slid through—barely keeping her from tumbling again. Susumu closed in just as she gained her footing, this time on the assault with another round precise kicks. Each strike took a piece of her stamina with it, adding the pressure to the situation.

He leapt upward, tightening up his leg for another strike to her face. Just before the impact, Rei lifted her arm to parry his attack. Her robe quickly flashed green, causing a flash of white to push the two apart. The short distance she managed to gain was just enough for her to try and tap into the onboard AI.

“I’m not going to lose like this.” She whispered.

An aura of blue surged from inside of her, causing her hair and robe to follow suit. Susumu remained unfazed, instead just smiling as the air began to distort around her. His eyes soon began to fill with intrigue, his teeth shined while his face continued to crack. Rei then rushed forward, this time moving at blinding speeds.

Everything around her seemed to freeze in place while her opponent stared on. Even with the speed boost, Susumu dodged out of the way of her attacks while managing to lead her back away from the facility. In mere fractions of a second, the two continued towards a small foothill further away from town. Rei closed in for another strike, but unlike several times before, Susumu instead had gained another speed boost. He had disappeared before finally materializing in front of her and striking her across the face with the back of his hand.

Rei’s robe and hair had instantly been reverted to its regular shade as her body crashed back into the ground. Her sword had been knocked far from reach; her stamina had been zapped. Despite leaving her grounded, Susumu did not bother to go for a finishing attack. His twisted smile remained while he began to cackle.