Ark 14 Episode 19: Rising From the Ashes

Part I: A Strange Dream
(( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqZXoRdQsGY )) Gunshots rang out from nearly all directions. Countless fiery explosions thundered throughout the area. Debris and numerous bodies lanced and sailed through the air as if the gates of the apocalypse had suddenly opened upon the beach outside of the Iron Grip Dojo. Horrified citizens scurried here and about like a herd of deer fleeing the hunters. Shira could hear her heart pounding in her chest as she ran as fast as she could through the frantic crowd of innocent people. Her arms swinging back and forth on either side of her as her scarlet red hair bustled in the howling wind. High-pitched screams and bursts of fire and debris exploding all around her threatened to permanently deafen her. Several shoulders bumped and slammed into hers, at one point a man large enough to swallow another man whole rammed nearly all of his weight into her and continued to run as Shira took a hard tumble to the ground. She was back on her feet within only a matter of seconds, sand kicking up behind her bare feet as she continued to race through the sand. A tiny figure stood alone in the distance, his head hanging low as unruly locks of blue hair hung down over his shadowed eyes. “Daisuke!” Shira shouted at the vivid imagery of her son. “Don't wait on me, Daisuke! RUN!” But the child didn't budge. And that was when the impossible happened. The loud popping of a nearby assault rifle rang loudly in Shira's ear, only a split second before a single bullet struck Daisuke in the shoulder. Shira's eyes widened in absolute horror as her son's cry of pain split through the commotion, his body flying back into the inky blackness behind him. “DAISUKE NO!! DAISUKEEEEEEE!!” She heard her own voice echo before sudden darkness surrounded her and her son vanished from her sight. She planted the heels of her feet hard into the ground, causing her to come to a skidding halt before her head snapped left and right, whipping her scarlet locks across her face. All she could see was pure blackness. As if death had suddenly fallen upon her. “Daisuke? Daisuke, my son, where are you?!” She cried out, tears beginning to well in her eyes now. She balled her hands into tight fists which shook with her growing anger and rage. “Why...?” Her voice came out in an echoing whisper, resonating throughout the darkness although her lips hadn't even moved. “Why am I so weak...? I can't...I can't even protect my own son.” From seemingly nowhere, a warm breeze sweltered through the darkness from an unknown source. With literally nothing in sight except darkness, Shira could not help but wonder where such a wind had come from nor could she ignore just how warm if felt against her exposed skin. All of a sudden, as if on perfect cue with her thoughts, “Is it power that you seek?” The voice sounded like a roll of thunder, rumbling through the darkness whilst its background resembled that of a howling wind. At the exact same time, a streak of red and gold flashed beside her from somewhere behind, an enormous ball of fire swirling together in front of her before forming into the shape of a vicious dragon. Shira screamed as her hand rose up in front of her. The dragon was made up entirely of flames, its brightness shining like a beacon through the darkness which caused Shira's eyes to squint tightly. A harsh gust of wind swirled from the dragon's presence and like a spirit or ghost of some kind, the daunting creature hovered several feet above the ground directly in front of her, its long neck curling above her as flaming eyes peered down into her very soul. “What are you!? What have you done with my son?!” Shira shouted. Her urge to cry had vanished just like that and she forced herself to put on a facade of bravery despite her heart dropping into her stomach in fear of the massive, flaming creature before her. “You may call me...the one who has come to save your soul.” The howling wind grew stronger with each time the dragon-like spirit spoke, blowing Shira's hair back away from her face. “I don't believe in cults, you bastard. Now tell me where my son is...or I'll have no choice but to--” “What?” The creature cut her off, a deep, demonic chuckle resonating throughout the darkness afterwards. “Are you going to kill me, Shira Hanako?” At the sound of her name, Shira's brows lifted almost to her hair line. Her arms fell by her sides as she took several steps back. “How...how do you know my name? Who the fuck ARE YOU?!” The dragon once again chuckled, his powerful voice damn near shaking the ground beneath Shira's feet. “I have known you for quite a long time, Shira. And from what I have been observing, I know that there is something you desire more than a good life for that child of yours.” Shira frowned. “You...you've been watching me?! I don't understa--” “Hear this, Shira Hanako. You ARE weak. You have overcome many feats in the past, of which a few might have seemed like great accomplishments at the time. But you now live in a time where past accomplishments no longer matter. An era of darkness and destruction is quickly approaching...and you have gained absolutely NOTHING in preparation for what is to come.” Shira could hardly find words to say in response to this bold and harsh creature, her hands once again tightening into fists and beginning to tremble with her rage. “Just look at you, a woman who once believed that beauty should not be something to rely on as a weapon, but strength and power alone. That is what you crave...that is what you desire more than anything. Isn't it, Shira?” The dragon paused to chuckle again. “You are a FOOL if you think the man who gave you that child will always come to your rescue.” At that, Shira was compelled to take a step forward. “I DON'T NEED DAMIAN!” She shouted at the top of her lungs. “And that will only be true...if you allow me to show you the path to true power. Allow my purity to guide you...and you will never have to worry about the safety of your son ever again. Others will fear you...fall at your feet in repentance for mercy. Your son will grow up to be a king someday. I will make you a queen of your domain, if you accept my guidance, Shira Hanako. Think of the darkness and despair this world is coming to. Think of your son...” Shira's gaze lowered to the ground beneath her feet and she could hardly believe it herself, but she was actually considering this...creature's offer. For some reason, it didn't even occur to her that she wasn't being spoken to by a living, breathing person, but an enormous, spirit-like being that would have scared anyone else into a fucking heart attack, for crying out loud. She stood like that for a silent moment, the wind sweeping about her figure while her hair blew steadily across her pensive expression. After a while or so, her sapphire blue eyes lifted to gaze upon the fiery creature once again, narrowing maliciously as her lip curled into a dangerous snarl. “YOU are the fool.” She returned in a defiant growl. “To think that I need YOU to gain the strength to protect my son. I will NOT accept your offer. I can get stronger on my OWN. And that is my final answer.” Shira eyed the fiery dragon dangerously as it hovered in silence before her. Suddenly, the flames that made up its massive body burned even brighter as an angry growl split the silence, causing the velocity of the wind to pick up dramatically. “Oh...how unwise.” The creature growled loudly. And without a moment's notice, the dragon rushed at her.





Part II: In Need of An Escape
Shira's eyes burst open as her body snapped upward out of bed, her violet comforter falling away from her to reveal the beads of sweat clinging to her exposed flesh. Her chest moved up and down as she tried to catch her breath, her sapphire blue eyes darting left and right frantically. To her relief, she no longer saw the pitch blackness that had once surrounded her, but the dimly lit space of her bedroom. “Oh, my God...” She released a deep breath as she lowered her forehead into her palm, staring down at her legs. “It was...just a dream.” According to her alarm clock, it was exactly 5:00 a.m. It seemed that someone else had beaten the device to making the most noise in the house in the morning. Because hardly a second after she had awakened, Daisuke's shrill cry filled the entire apartment. “Daisuke?” Shira called, flinging the covers off of her as she bolted out of bed. She had worn a bunchy white tank top and a pair of gray running shorts to bed, which was a helpful fit for how fast she was now running through the hallway. She all but broke down the door to Daisuke's bedroom, the bluish glow of his nightlight streaming out into the hallway behind her as she rushed inside. Daisuke was hanging onto the bars of his crib as he cried loudly. Spotting his mother coming toward him, he began to cry even louder. “Oh, Daisuke.” Shira scooped the precious, baby boy into her arms, holding him tightly to her chest. “Did you have a bad dream too, my little one?” Now snuggled within his mother's arms, Daisuke began to quiet down, tucking his tiny thumb into his mouth as if it were his substitution of a pacifier. Shira gently bounced him up and down to further calm him. “There there...you're alright. Mommy's got you now.” As she said those words, she could not help but think back to the dream she had had only a moment ago. The safety and protection of her son was the most important thing to her, especially while the city was falling apart within the hands of chaos like it was these days. But at times, she had to ask herself, 'Am I actually fit to protect him? What if...that THING was right?' Referring to the fiery dragon-like spirit in her dream. Her eyes lowered shut as she continued to rock her son. It wasn't long before the sun had risen in Kasaihana, lighting up the tall towers and metropolitan scenery that made up District 2. Daisuke was sitting in his high chair, violently splashing his spoon into his bowl of cereal while Shira washed dishes at the kitchen sink. She tilted her head back with a sigh as she heard the bowl of cereal eventually crash to the kitchen floor, sending milk and tiny little cheerios spilling everywhere. “Damnit, Daisuke why are you always making such a mess?!” She whirled around, storming toward Daisuke's high chair. Those big, blue eyes of his spotted the anger on Shira's face, his amused laughter silencing almost immediately before his bottom lip poked out apologetically. The innocence twinkling across his face was enough to make Shira melt right into them. “Ugh,” She picked up the bowl and set it down on the kitchen table. “Sorry I yelled at you, Daisuke. It's just that...mommy gets a little upset when you misbehave, but its not your fault. You're just a toddler. My sweet little prince.” She giggled as she nuzzled her nose into Daisuke's chubby cheek, making him giggle with her. “Your son will grow up to become a king someday.” That fiery creature's words echoed in her mind yet again, but she pushed it out of her thoughts as she scooped Daisuke into her arms. “Guess where we're going today, Daisuke?” She smiled cheerily, kissing him on the cheek. “We're gonna go pay a visit to your uncle. I'm sure he's been missing his little nephew these past few days.”

About an hour later, Shira had dressed herself in a pair of tight denim jeans, a black leather jacket and matching black boots, pulling her long, red hair up into a messy bun at the top of her head. She'd picked out Daisuke's favorite super hero shirt and toddler-sized shorts and sneakers as his outfit for the day, which seemed fitting for the sunny, yet cool weather. Soon after leaving home, she and Daisuke had arrived at Duke's condominium in District 3, which had been a rather long drive thanks to morning traffic. Shira couldn't even get a single knock on the door before it suddenly swung open, revealing Duke's mischievous eyes and sideways grin. “Well, well, well. Looks like my favorite little stinker's decided to visit old Dukey today.” He greeted. “Huh? I changed Daisuke's pamper before we left, Duke.” Shira replied, stepping past him and into the condo. Duke's eyes lowered to her skin tight jeans, before lifting again to see his nephew giggling while reaching out to him with both of his tiny little arms. “I wasn't talking about Daisuke.” He chuckled, stealing the blue-haired baby from Shira. She stuck her tongue out at him. “So what brings ya to the Gray Residence today? Ya couldn't even shoot me a phone call or anything. Just stroll on in like you own the place, why don't ya?” “You're the one who opened the door all fast like you were expecting me or something, DOUCHE-calion.” Shira smiled at him, resting her hands on her hips. “Stop acting like you're not excited to see me. For one thing, Daisuke misses his uncle. I'm sure he gets tired of his mother smothering him like a stuffed animal and would like some male company for a change. On a second note, I wanted to know if you've seen Damian. You know...after the incident at Keyth's funeral.” When he heard the mentioning of his brother's name, Duke's smile slowly faded. “Damian's doing Damian as he usually does.” He replied. “I don't know whether to beat the living shit out of the guy for convincing me that he was dead or give him a proper welcome back to the city, but whatever the case may be, I'm sure you won't have to worry about him vanishing like that again.” Shira folded her arms across her chest, looking off to the side. “Pfft, I feel the exact same way.” She said quietly. “Surprisingly, even though he hurt me like no one else could, a big part of me still loves him and wants to forgive him. I want nothing more than for Daisuke to have both his mother and father in his life...raising him together...like one big happy family. That was one privilege I never got growing up. And I feel like that opportunity is still there. Damian knows that he has a son now and I know he'll try his hardest to be around for him. At least...I hope he will.” She glanced up as she felt Duke's large hand gently touch her shoulder. He still wore the grin of a douche bag, but this grin held reassurance at well. “If the both of you try hard enough, everything'll work out just fine in the end. Now stop worrying before my hand accidentally slips upside that overthinking head of yours.” He said. “You know what? I think you need a vacation. Something to help you relax and take your mind off of everything.” Shira arched a brow. “Do I LOOK like I have time for vacation? I'm way too busy trying to pay my bills and take care of Daisuke. Not to mention I'm trying to get into law school now. I have way too much on my hands to just suddenly...pause.” Deucalion's head tilted sideways as his eyes rolled in annoyance, a deep sigh escaping his large chest. “Look, Shira, you wouldn't have to worry about a damn thing. Check this out,” He walked into his kitchen and picked up a brochure that had been laying on the counter, holding it up for Shira to see. “What's that supposed to be, Duke?” She frowned. “I got this in the mail a few days ago. Says I've won a free vacation cruise to some island called Eupharia. According to the pamphlet, it ain't too far from here and the trip only lasts three days. That's enough time for you to relax your goddamn tits for a change.” Duke told her. Shira scrunched up her face in response, snatching the brochure from him to get a better look at it. She read a little info about the trip before glancing up at Duke, back down at the brochure, then up at Duke again. “Well...the pictures look promising.” She said with a slight hint of doubt in her tone. “Doesn't look like there's any tricky catch to it like most of these damn things people get.” “Soooo....whaddaya say?” Duke asked, Daisuke kicking his legs and pulling at his lengthy, black hair as he waited on Shira's response. “See there? Daisuke's trying to tell you to get your ass home, pack your bags, and enjoy three days on the beaches of Eupharia. You wouldn't say no to your son, now would you?” Shira looked back down at the brochure before releasing a deep sigh. “Fiiiiine.” She gave in, dragging out the word in a kiddish manner. “I guess a small vacation couldn't hurt. “ Duke laughed victoriously. “You hear that, Daisuke?” He turned his head to look at his nephew. “You get to hang out with the coolest uncle on the planet and we don't have to see Shira's ugly mug for three whole days!” Daisuke exploded into childish laughter at that, waving his tiny arms in the air as his giggling voice echoed across the kitchen. Shira rolled her eyes. “Just know that if anything happens to my son while I'm gone...your ass is grass. We clear, Douche-calion?” Duke laughed, turning her around by her shoulders and shooing her toward the door of his condo. “Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a bunch, old lady. Long as Daisuke's with Uncle Duke, you ain't got a damn thing to worry about. Now get outta here and get to packin' before I have to toss you out a window.” As they reached the front door, Shira turned around to face him, a friendly smile brightening her features. “Thanks for everything, Duke. I'll take your advice and try to relax while I'm on this cruise. Take good care of my son, you hear?” Duke smiled at her with a single nod, then waved her off toward her car.

Part III: Meeting Abel
The sea looked absolutely beautiful beneath the shimmering sun. It had been exactly three days since Deucalion had given Shira the free vacation package deal and now, as the horn blared atop the S.S. Atlantica, Shira couldn't help but bubble with excitement knowing that this vacation aboard the cruise ship would actually pay off. She waved to Duke and Daisuke who stood on the docks to say goodbye, Duke looking a lot like a father figure as he held Daisuke atop his massive shoulders. “I'll tell you boys all about the trip when I get back!” Shira shouted above the engine of the ship as she continued to wave, beaming with anticipation. “Don't miss me too much while I'm gone, okay?” After saying their final goodbyes, Duke turned to leave the docking area with Daisuke while Shira climbed up a flight of steps into the cruise ship, got her identity checked and proceeded to search for her suite. As she explored the beautiful ship, she decided to head all the way to the top deck and take a look at the beautiful weather outside from the balcony. “Wow.” She said, the beautiful blue waters and the soothing coolness of the wind playing through her hair and caressing her skin leaving her almost breathless in wonder. “It's so beautiful up here. Boy am I glad I took up Duke's offer for this trip.” The Atlantica set sail an hour after everyone was on board, and right on schedule for the predicted tour. The first day of the trip was mostly sailing across the sea while everyone unpacked their bags, settled into their rooms, and got a feel of what the large boat was like. Shira was relaxing in a hot tub with a mango-flavored daiquiri several hours after the trip had begun. Dressed in a rather revealing black bikini and a wide-brimmed straw sun hat, she relaxed against the wall of the hot tub and released a satisfied sigh. “This is amazing.” She said to herself. “I haven't felt this relaxed since...well, damnit, I don't think I've EVER felt this relaxed.” She laughed softly at her self before sinking lower into the warm, bubbling water, lifting her eyes to watch a few sea gulls fly above the ship as she took another sip of her daiquiri. “Um, pardon me, miss.” A timid male voice gave her a bit of a start. She glanced sideways in time to see a man approaching the hot tub, holding his own beverage to his smiling lips while dressed in only a pair of blue swim trunks. “Um...hi?” Shira arched a brow at him. “Can I help you with something?” The man laughed nervously as he lifted his free hand up to scratch the back of his head. “Actually, I was just wondering if I could possibly join you. I came on this ship by myself and I wouldn't want to go three whole days without making any new friends. The name is Abel, by the way.” He held out his hand to shake and after looking him up and down cautiously, Shira reluctantly returned the favor. “Call me Shira.” She introduced herself. “And I guess it couldn't hurt to get acquainted. Come on in.” Abel beamed with excitement as he climbed into the hot tub, placing enough distance between himself and Shira as not to make her feel uncomfortable. He seemed like a nice guy, around her age and pretty shy for someone who had decided to take a vacation alone. “So, why'd you decide to come here by yourself? Didn't have a friend or family member to bring along with you?” Shira asked. “Well, I got a pamphlet in the mail saying that I won a free cruise only a few days ago. There wasn't really much time to let anyone else know, plus my friends are usually quite busy with their lives. Is it weird that I'm here by myself?” Abel replied. “No. I'm by myself, too. A friend of mine told me I needed to take it easy and...get my mind off of a few things. So,” Shira shrugged. “I decided to take his advice.”



Pirates?!
It only took two days for Shira and Abel to grow comfortable with each other. So much so that they would spend several hours out of the day exploring the ship and other excursions together. Abel would ask Shira to join him for the ship's scheduled meals and in return, he would join her in other festivities such as partying in the various night clubs featured on board or betting almost all their cash at the casinos. It seemed that it hadn't taken much time for the two to move up the ladder from acquaintances to friends. Abel would later on open up to Shira about his life in Kasaihana, growing up on the poor side of District 1 where he attended a run-down college for pre-law. After learning that it was Shira's dream to take up politics and subjects related to law, Abel encouraged her to pursue her dream and never let anyone try to hold her back. One thing that he had shared was that his late fiancee' would tell him that becoming a lawyer in the city just wouldn't be enough to provide for the family. That was several months before she and their son were killed in an awful car accident. On the second night of the cruise, Shira and Abel were sprawled out beside each other atop comfortable, white lawn chairs, watching the thin, gray clouds roll slowly across the starry night sky. The temperature was a perfect mixture of warmth and a soothing cool breeze and Shira couldn't help but sigh as she took in the relaxing atmosphere. “Well, Abel, tomorrow marks the day we arrive at Eupharia. I have to say I'm pretty damn excited. How about you?” She spoke with a smile. When Abel didn't answer for a moment, she turned her head to look at him. He was staring up at the stars with hardly a readable expression on his face, almost like he was lost in thought or something. “Abel?” She frowned slightly at him. “I'm sorry.” He soon replied. “I was just thinking. This whole time that we've been on this cruise...have you ever stopped to wonder if...if Eupharia is really where we're going?” Shira rolled over onto her side to look at him, her brows furrowing in curiosity. “What do you mean, Abel? The pamphlet said that's where we're going so that would be within my expectations.” Abel sat up, drawing his knees to his chest as he rested his arms on top of them. “I have to be honest with you about something, Shira.” He began, lowering his voice so that only she could hear him. “About everything, actually. I didn't attend this cruise by myself because I couldn't find anyone to go with me. I am here alone because I am on an important investigation. I was sent by a secret agency who's name is classified as long as I'm aboard this ship regarding recent activity that's been taking place within these very waters. Not many knows about this because it has yet to be broadcast across news channels, but there have been several reported disappearances of cruise ships within this particular part of the sea and no one is sure why. For some reason, no one has been able to trace any sort of activity back to a particular course. There is a chance that our cruise might wind up in the same predicament and that is why I am here. To figure out just why these ships have been disappearing as soon as they reach a certain area within the sea. You are the only one who I am telling this to. Why? Because, for some reason, I feel as though I can trust you with this information and you alone. That is, you are not to go around speaking about this with anyone else aboard this ship. Do you understand?” “Wait, wait, whoa. Hold the fucking phone.” Shira shook her head in confusion as she sat up on her backside. “What the hell are you talking about, Abel? Do you have any idea how much you just gave me to swallow?” Abel nodded once. “I understand that. Which is why we are keeping this between you and me. No one else is allowed to hear a word of this...but...the ship that we have boarded and everyone on it...may very well be in grave danger.” While the two were wrapped up in their current conversation, neither of them had realized that the ship was now drifting into an area swarmed with dense fog. Not until a moment later when Shira glanced past Abel's head and realized that she could no longer see the ocean beyond the railing of the ship. “Abel...” She whispered, a strange feeling suddenly coming over her. Looking around now, Abel slowly rose from his chair, his eyes growing stern and observant as he scanned his surroundings. The fog was thick and held an odd color between gray and green. Down below within the central control hub of the ship, the captain reached for an intercom device and brought it to his whiskered lips. “Hey, Larry.” He spoke into the device. Larry was the meteorologist that had been brought aboard for weather predicting purposes. “Yes, captain.” Came his somewhat weary response. “You never told me we would be running into dense fog along this trip. You'd better find us a better route because I literally can't see worth a good gat damn.” “We're working on it, captain. Nothing on our radar told us that we would be running into this, otherwise we would have chosen a different route a day ago. It's almost as if the fog was just completely undetectab--” ''BOOM! ''Larry was suddenly interrupted by the booming of a loud explosion and screams echoed across every deck as the ship gave a harsh sideways lurch. “Gah!” Abel shouted as he was nearly knocked off balance by the sudden explosion and rocking of the ship, having to spread his legs to keep from dropping to the wooden floor of the top deck. “What the hell was that?!” Shira jumped to her feet, standing in a stance as if she were preparing for war as she looked around frantically. “It felt like something hit us!” Abel announced, running toward the side of the ship. Peering overboard, his eyes widened when he saw an enormous, smoking hole in the side of the ship where some sort of explosive had been launched. “Oh, no...” He said, gripping the railing tightly as his teeth gnashed together in anger. “It has begun.” He whirled around just as Shira was coming up behind him, seizing her unexpectedly by the wrist and taking off across the deck with her. “Where are we going?!” Shira had to shout as now several alarms were going off all across the ship and hundreds upon thousands of people were running around screaming like a flock of frightened hens. “I've gotta get you off this ship!” Abel shouted back. They were just about to run down a flight of steps when another explosion rocked the other side of the ship, its impact throwing them both off balance and sending them rolling down the steps. Shira crashed hard to her stomach at the bottom of the steps while Abel landed on his side next to her, lifting her head slowly in time to see hundreds of scurrying feet thudding across the wooden floor. She could see the black smoke rising from where the ship had been hit on both sides, but beyond that, she could just barely make out something rather large and dark floating right next to them. It was hard to tell what it could have been through the thick fog that engulfed the entire area, but it struck both fear and curiosity into her. “Come on, let's go!” Abel jumped to his feet while pulling Shira up with him. “They've got an emergency evacuation hub somewhere on this deck. If we can just get there--” Before he could finish, a loud, damn near ear-piercing shriek split the air. Both Shira and Abel skidded to an abrupt halt as their heads snapped in the direction of the scream, eyes widening when they saw where it had come from. Atop the lookout deck that they had just come down from, stood a frightened woman, but standing behind her was what really created the air of terror. It was a tall figure dressed in an ominous red and gold armor resembling samurai armor from the ancient Japanese era. The figure's identity was hidden beneath a helmet that matched the armor and had five prongs jutting upward from around the eye area where two, hollow black eyes peered down at the now ogling crowd below. As the sea breeze howled, the thin sheet of fog shrouding both figures shifted to the side of them and within that moment, a glare struck something shiny within the gauntleted hand of the armored figure. Shira sucked in a gasp once she realized that it was a blade, one carved to match the pattern of a dancing flame, knowing in that instant what would happen next. “NO!” She shrieked and at the exact same time, the armored man ripped the blade outward across the woman's throat. Screams echoed as blood rained down from the lookout deck and the woman's body curled backwards for a few seconds of pain before collapsing to the floor. Shira's mouth hung open in absolute shock while Abel moved sideways to stand in front of her, holding his arm to the side as if he knew Shira well enough to know that she would try to attack this armored man if it meant protecting the rest of the ship. He would not allow her to do such a thing, for he knew it was his duty. If anything, he would protect her if he couldn't protect anyone else aboard the Atlantica. More of the fog began to clear away from the lookout deck and as it did, all eyes watching would be astonished to see that there was not only ONE man in red, black, and gold armor, but an entire group of them were now being revealed once the fog slid farther and farther off to the side. The armored men stood side by side, still as statues until a deep voice shouted, “SLAY THEM ALL!”





Part IV: Attack on the Atlantica
((  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fta7kNIMEew )) Hundreds of people aboard the Atlantica began to flee in absolute terror the moment those words echoed across the pool deck. With so many horrified people scattering here and about, it was hard for the crew to gather some sort of order about the company. Several people were knocked to the ground where they were viciously stomped and even had their heads crushed like grapes beneath scurrying feet while others were pushed into the nearby pools and drowned. All in all, three fatal words had caused the entire ship to break out into complete and utter chaos on a scale that no one had been expecting when they submitted their tickets two days ago. “Shira, let's go! NOW!” Abel shouted above the anarchy as he reached back and grabbed Shira's arm, taking off in the direction where he thought the evacuation hub was located. The armored men charged once they saw that the entire crew had gone frantic, taking this as their opportunity to reign unstoppable blood shed upon the Atlantica. They moved swiftly and silently as they began to leap off of the lookout deck performing practiced flips and spins through the air only to land feet first on the pool deck where hundreds of people screamed and ran for their lives. One by one, they each began to draw large, slightly curved blades similar to scimitars of medieval design, chose their victim and attacked. The sound of metal slicing through flesh sang in harmony with the cries of innocent people dropping dead like flies as several gushes of blood spurted through the air along with severed limbs. Shira glanced behind her, her mouth hanging open in absolute shock as she peered at the murderous scene through her scarlet red tresses. “Abel, stop!” She shouted. Her feet dug hard into the wooden floor of the deck, causing Abel's hand to break away from hers. The moment she was lose, Abel didn't even have to guess what she would do. “Shira?” He called. “SHIRA, NO!” But the red-haired woman was already gone before Abel could stop her. Pushing through the fleeing crowd, Shira's sapphire blue eyes narrowed as she spotted her first armored target. The man had just did a full 360 spin slicing the heads off of about four people all in one fluid motion when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. His head snapped around in time to see the redhead charging at him with her right fist pulled all the way back and whirled around to face her. FWOOSH! Shira dropped backwards to the floor, using her momentum to slide feet first under the man's attempt to slice at her throat. As she did, she held her right arm out and swept it beneath his feet which knocked him hard onto his back. The second he landed, his scimitar was released into the air. Shira rolled upward into a crouch, caught sight of the bladed weapon and dove for it, catching it with one hand before rolling behind the fallen warrior. She landed with one knee on the ground, the other bent in a 90 degree angle in front of her while she held the scimitar diagonally in front of her face. The warrior catapulted himself to his feet before turning to face his new challenger, his hollow black eyes peering deeply into hers from behind his eerie red helmet. “I'll make a deal with you punks.” Shira spoke in a low, threatening voice. “You and your dogs turn tail and make your way off of this ship as quickly as possible without killing anyone else, and I won't take home any of your heads for souvenirs.” At that, the man's head slowly tilted sideways, almost demented like before slamming his fist twice into his chest and with a loud shout, he charged at Shira like an angry bull. “So be it.” Shira's eyes narrowed as she watched the warrior come at her, launching herself into a backflip as he flipped forward through the air with an attempt to leg drop her through the floor. The attack was strong enough to crater the wood making up the floor of the deck, but that wasn't enough to intimidate Shira. She wasn't too familiar with sword fighting but her adopted mother was quite skilled and she had taught her a few things. Landing feet first a few feet away, Shira bent her body backwards as the warrior leaped into the air several feet high and spun to the right, the back of his right leg flying at her head with enough force to take it clean off her shoulders. She backflipped out of the way of another flying spinkick, this time charging forward faster than the warrior could recover from the swift move. She heard a grunt as she rammed all of her weight into the warrior's midsection while at the same time, using her momentum to plunge her sword through his armor where it was slightly weakened. Seeing his comrade take such a blow, another warrior charged at Shira from behind. Shira could detect his movements with her ability of seismic sense and when he was close enough, she ripped the blade from the first warrior and whirled around in time to block the second warrior's first downward swing. The two blades clashed hard, sending tiny red sparks shooting in all directions. The second warrior was a bit stronger than the first, but nothing Shira couldn't handle. Her sapphire blue eyes narrowed on his before she shoved her blade forward which caused the warrior to stagger backwards a bit, leaving her opportunity to make an horizontal slash at his midsection, followed by a downward diagonal slash going to the right, lastly ending the onslaught with an upward vertical slash toward the chin. The warrior had managed to block all attacks but wasn't paying much attention to the fact that with each hit, he was backing up further and further toward the railing of the ship. Once he was close enough, Shira dropkicked him hard in the chest, sending him flying overboard like useless cargo. “Two down.” Shira muttered under her breath. Meanwhile, Abel was a distance away shifting his body into a kick boxing stance as three armored warriors surrounded him in a triangular formation. What Shira did not know about this man was that he was apart of the secret agency known as the Black Glove Society and one of the many martial arts styles learned within the agency was kick boxing. Kaori knew it, as well, however her skills in shinkendo are mostly used rather than other arts. Brows furrowing deeply, Abel allowed his gaze to shift side to side between the warriors surrounding him. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his head as he tensed all of his muscles, preparing himself for the oncoming battle. “Alright boys, hit me with your best shot.” The three warriors charged at him at the same time as soon as the words left his lips, the first warrior which came at him from the front swinging his scimitar downward toward the top of his head, while the other two aimed at his sides. Abel's eyes flickered between all three men once more before he suddenly launched himself into the air. As all three blades passed through the spot where he would have been and clashed with one another, he flipped himself upside down and turned sideways so that he could cartwheel over the warrior who had come at him from the front angle. Landing directly behind him on one knee, Abel thrusted his arm upward between his legs hard enough to elicit a loud, painful crunch, then swept his arm to the left which knocked the warrior's leg out from under him as well as dislocating his knee. The second the first warrior went down, Warrior number 2 and 3 both swung their swords at Abel's head, only to see him roll forward between them just in time before he was nearly decapitated. Rolling up to his feet, he turned and sent a hard punch at the warrior to his right, his knuckles crackling hard against the guarded ribcage of the warrior. Somehow, he still felt the impact through his armor and as he staggered backwards in pain, the second warrior was also knocked back with a hard elbow to the jaw. After which, Abel dropped to both hands and lifted both legs into the air above him, splitting them open as far as they would go as he spun in a full 360 motion, his heels colliding hard with the side of each warriors heads and knocking them unconscious. Abel flipped back onto his feet with his knees bent and his hands lifted into his previous fighting stance. “Abel!” He heard a female voice as Shira ran toward him. With his back turned, he had had no idea that another warrior had been running in his direction. Shira swung her blade at Abel's head but it was not his head that she was aiming for. Just as Abel ducked beneath the singing blade, the warrior who had approached from behind froze as the very tip of the blade slashed its way across his throat. Abel looked back in time to see the warrior fall backwards, dead. Then turned his attention to Shira. “Thanks.” He panted, his eyes then lowering to the blade in her hand, instantly noticing the crimson substance staining it. Their eyes met. “Obviously, I misread you from the beginning, huh?” He said. “There's way too many of these men on board the ship for the two of us to take on by ourselves. What we're going to need is some sort of levera--” Another explosion rocked the ship before she could finish her thought, causing her to fall forward into Abel's arms. “Are you alright?” He asked after steadying her. She opened her mouth to answer, but stopped when she looked past him and saw something that caused her entire body to freeze like a block of ice. “Abel...” She said softly, her face going blank with surprise. Abel slowly turned despite a feeling telling him that he did not want to see what Shira was seeing and his mouth slowly dropped open when he saw it. Another ship had emerged from the fog directly in front of the Atlantica, slowly pushing forward through the deep water as the loud rumbling of its approach rumbled through the air. This ship was damn near twice the size of the Atlantica, which in itself covered well over 1,000 square feet. And witnesses could see by its ominous shape and colors that it was not a rescue boat. In fact, once Shira spotted its black and gold prow, she knew that the situation was about to get a whole lot worse. “GET DOWN!” Abel shouted, but before either one of them could move, the much larger ship crashed right into the back of the Atlantica, causing the entire vessel to shake so hard it could've topped an earth quake in Old California. Shira screamed as she, Abel, and everyone else on deck were thrown to the floor. All except the armored men who continued their onslaught of the innocent crew. Somehow their balance was damn near perfect. “Who the fuck are these guys?!” Shira shouted. As if in response to her question, hundreds more men began to jump from the much larger ship onto the Atlantica, filling up almost the entire deck and surrounding everyone who had remained alive. Abel grabbed Shira by her shoulders and hauled her to her feet, jumping in front of her protectively as he looked around at all the men in red, black, and gold armor surrounding the deck. “This doesn't look good.” He said. “This doesn't look good at all.” Even though it was evident that they were greatly outnumbered, the most stubborn part of Shira's character refused to back down. Her grip tightened around her acquired scimitar as she began sizing up each warrior, her teeth gnashing together hard behind her snarled lips. The tension and animosity building within her was so thick that even Abel could feel it from where he stood and when he looked at her, he could see the fire blazing in her eyes. “Shira.” He spoke her name in a stern tone. “Don't do it. We're greatly outnumbered here. If you try anything brash, you will die.” As he spoke, he could tell by the angered expression on her face that his words had gone into one ear and right out of the other. “All I wanted...” She growled between her gnashed teeth. “Was to get away from the shit I have to deal with back home. To relax and enjoy some peace and quiet on the sea...for once in life.” Her anger was beginning to strengthen her and she could feel the way her body began to swell with building kinetic energy, especially in her legs. “The hundreds of people who have died aboard this ship probably wanted nothing more than a relaxing vacation just like I did.” Her sword fell to the floor with a loud, metal clanking noise. “And you freakshows...have done a damn good job of ruining everything.” Her hands balled into tight fists as more and more kinetic energy built up within her legs. “IS THAT NOT HOW IT ALWAYS GOES AROUND HERE??!” In that instant, she launched herself into the air with such force that everyone standing nearby was knocked down by an unexpected wave. Abel's eyes widened as he watched Shira ascend into the air like a rocket and as she cleared over 80 feet of altitude, she already had enough kinetic energy stored within her right arm to perform her next attack which she thought would surely teach the red warriors not to fuck with her vacation time ever again. The wind blew her hair back from her face and up above her head like fire as she pulled that right fist all the way back beside her head. Her body dropped from the sky like a missile as she screamed at the top of her lungs, “YOU WILL PAY!!!!!!!” And as soon as she touched the ground...BOOM! Her fist struck the wooden deck so hard that an instant shockwave erupted from the point of collision. Both innocent people and the armored warriors were knocked several feet backwards some flying completely overboard as the force of the blow had been just that powerful. Abel had to grab hold of the railing to keep from falling into the sea below himself, unable to take his eyes away from the destruction. The floor of the deck now sat in a crater riddled with grotesque cracks and several uprooted boards. While the Concussive Force Punch had been enough to clear out almost the entire area, Shira was able to hold back some of the kinetic energy in order to keep from collapsing the entire floor. A thick cloud of sawdust sweltered throughout the deck as a result of the harsh blow and as Shira remained in her crouched position, she could hardly see past the wall of dust before her eyes, yet she could hear the sound of steady clapping. “Well done, my dear. Very well done.” A deep voice resonated throughout the dust-filled area. Shira's eyes darted left and right as she remained still, but she could not tell where the voice was coming from. Nor could she feel anyone moving toward her with her ability of Seismic Sense. “I must say, you have proven yourself to be much stronger than any of us had initially anticipated.” A deep chuckle followed that, causing Shira to jump to her feet. “Are you gonna keep talking trash or come out and fight me?!” She shouted. “I had something else in mind, actually.” Shira suddenly felt something jab hard into the spot where the back of her neck met her spine and almost instantly, her entire body went completely numb. She stiffened with a gasp before collapsing to the floor, unable to figure out just what had happened to her. “What...what's happening?” She grunted. “I...I can't even move!” “Precisely.” The voice spoke again and when Shira's eyes lifted, she could just barely make out a tall, dark figure standing above her. “Unfortunately, your defiance has forced me to use such a thing against you. Now, Shira Hanako, you will be coming with me.”





Part V: Welcome To Paradise
Shira could hardly believe the turn of events that had taken place. It was Duke's idea to set her up with a vacation deal so that she could relax and enjoy an escape for once in her hectic life and she had gone along with it feeling as though it would be the best thing for her to do with everything that she had been going through. However, she was not expecting the entire vacation to go from damn near perfect to a complete shit show. She grunted loudly as she was forcibly thrown to the deck of the ship that had attacked the Atlantica. No longer armed and dangerous, her arms and legs were now shackled together by chained cuffs that she could not break free of with even her remarkably brute strength. The warriors had returned back to their own ship as well and were now surrounding the red-haired woman. With Abel being nowhere in sight, she was sure that he had been seriously injured by her aggressive attack or worse. “Welcome aboard, Shira Hanako. We have been expecting you.” At the far end of the deck stood what appeared to be a dais and atop the dais was a throne built of gold and onyx, its border and crown carved into the shape of a large, golden serpent. An older man with long, graying hair and a beard that hung down to his rotund belly was seated in the throne, his wrinkled hands clasped together as his elbows rested atop the arms of the chair. Shira yelped as a warrior approached her from behind, grabbed a handful of her hair, and forced her onto her knees, her eyes blazing with fury as she looked upon the old man. “Who the fuck are you and what do you want with me?” She growled in a defiant tone. The man rose from his seat and clasped his arms behind his back as he descended the dais and began steadily in her direction. He was dressed in a long robe which had the same red, black and gold colors as the armor the warriors wore, only the robe looked a lot more regal in fashion. Ancient even. “I do apologize for my rude behavior, Miss Hanako. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the man responsible for your delivery and if you do not comply, I am allowed to exert the brutality and force necessary into making you do so.” The man spoke. “To put things simply, you may call me Master Kabal of the Odoru Ryu Order.” Shira frowned. “The odorous what?” Master Kabal chuckled. “I'd be careful with that mouth if I were you, Miss Hanako. My leader gave me very lenient limits as to what I could do to you while we are aboard my ship. Now--” “Your leader, huh?” Shira cut him off. “And just who the hell are you working for? You gonna tell me these guys are your lackies, too? Pfft, what a show.” At that, Master Kabal snarled, backhanding Shira across the face. “You incompetent fool!” He growled. “You will speak when it is your turn to speak, or else I will shut that mouth of yours permanently. Are we understood?” Shira's head turned as she spat blood onto the floor, then looked up at Master Kabal with a glare of pure hatred. “As I was saying,” The old man continued as he returned his clasped hands behind his back and began pacing in slow circles around his red-haired captive. “For many years since your childhood, the eyes of the Odoru Ryu have been upon you. Watching your every move from the time that your home was burned to the ground and your family was killed to about a year ago when you gave birth to your first born son. We have evaluated your every strength and weakness and even your intelligence and have come to the conclusion that you are, indeed, the one we have been searching for.” Shira replied, “Oh yeah? And what makes me so special compared to everyone else in Kasaihana? Why me?” Master Kabal chuckled. “You were not going to find this out in any other way, Shira Hanako, but the blood of the Odoru Ryu flows through your very veins. Yes, a member of your family was once a part of the Order, one of the most respected and revered of our brethren, yet he turned out to be a complete coward. He fled to the city of Kasaihana upon finding out the true purpose of the Order and decided that he would take his life into his own hands instead of serving his role as an Odoru Ryu. Therefore, he suffered the consequences of turning his back on us and in return, we decided to take what would have been most precious to him and turn her into the true goddess that she was born to be. That man, Shira Hanako, was your father.” Shira was only 3-years-old when the apartment she and her parents had lived in burned to the ground and as Master Kabal exposed who her father truly was, that memory was all she could see. “That fire. You were the bastards responsible?” She said through clenched teeth. “Why I oughta--” She was just about to jump to her feet with the attempt to lunge at the old man when all of a sudden, the metal cuffs fastened around her wrists and ankles began to burn hot as fire into her skin. “AGHHHHHH!” She cried out in pain, collapsing back to the deck floor. Master Kabal remained calm as he halted in front of Shira, his cold eyes peering down at her as she breathed heavily in response to the searing pain. “Everything that was done in the past was done with purpose. The Odoru Ryu are skilled with manipulating the reality of one's life until THEIR true purpose has been discovered and you, my dear, are about to learn exactly what I mean by that.” Shira grunted in pain as she slowly got to her feet. The paralysis technique Kabal had performed on her still left her limbs feeling quite numb, but she refused to let that keep her down. Instead of burning her again, Kabal simply watched her struggle to stand, his eyes meeting her own sapphire blue which held an icy coldness to them now as she glared right through him. “Where...the fuck...are you taking me, you bastard?” She panted. “Why do you seem so upset, Shira Hanako?” A cruel smirk lifted the corner of Master Kabal's lips. “We are taking you to the fulfillment of your dreams.” “Oh, really?” Shira tilted her head. “And what of the survivors of your senseless attack? How are they going to get to Eupharia now? Or back to their families for that matter?” At that, Master Kabal turned his back on her. “They're not.” Six cut-out doors on either side of the ship opened up to reveal twelve large canons. Shaped like the mouths of serpents, each canon was aimed at what remained of the S.S. Atlantica, firing instantaneously. Shira's head snapped in the direction of the Atlantica as it was practically blown to pieces before her eyes. She could hear the screams and cries of the last remaining survivors as explosion after explosion rocked the cruise ship until it began to sink into the waving blue waters. Shira's eyes widened in horror as her brows furrowed deeply above them. “NO!” She shouted. Knowing that Abel was aboard that ship, she could only imagine that he was about as good as dead now. As black smoke began to float upward into the air, Shira's head lowered slowly, her red tresses cascading down the front of her face, hiding the sorrow and anger in her eyes. “Pay no mind to the weak, Shira Hanako. You will not share the same fate as them.” The Horned Serpent set sail through the foggy waters a moment after the Atlantica had gone under, vanished completely from existence along with everyone who had been on board. Several guards surrounded Shira's shackled body throughout the entire trip until, hours later, the Serpent docked on an island that Shira had never seen before. The sailors on board the Horned Serpent dropped the anchors and tied the ship to a set of tall, wooden posts so that it was completely still for disembarking. Not uttering a word, Shira allowed the armored men to take her by the arms and lead her off of the boat and onto the unknown terrain. Master Kabal walked with steady strides before the caravan, his hands clasped behind his back as usual and his hairy chin raised with the utmost confidence.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">Shira's icy blue eyes flickered left and right as she observed the unknown island the Odoru had brought her to. To her surprise, the mountainous landscape with its beds of green grass, tall trees and remarkably built structures was actually quite beautiful. It looked nothing like the metropolis called Kasaihana, but more so like a work of ancient Chinese art. “Hey, pudge, you mind telling me where the fuck we are?” Shira demanded after observing the tall buildings they were now passing by, spotting several open areas surrounded by four walls where men dressed in Shaolin monk robes were performing several martial arts routines in simultaneous numbers. “Oh, let me guess. We're not in Kansas anymore, are we?” Master Kabal chuckled at the young woman's remark. “You are on the island of Azulon, homeland of the Odoru Ryu Order.” Shira frowned. “Azulon?” She had never heard of such a place, nor had she ever seen it on a map. “Our lands are uncharted.” Master Kabal explained as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. “No one knows of this place except for the monks residing here. You are privileged to be able to even step foot on this territory, however, I cannot promise you that your time spent here will be the peachy vacation you were initially expecting.” At that, Shira snorted. “Yeah, I can kinda see that, Pudge. What the hell am I even doing here in the first place? You gonna turn me into a monk or something?” As the group continued to walk through the village known as Azulon, they soon approached a large temple which sat upon a hill. A tall set of stone steps led up to the majestic structure where several men in armor stood guard on either side of the starting point of the staircase as well as two more which stood on either side of the door atop the staircase. Shira's eyes squinted slightly against the rays of sunlight peering over the pointed rooftops of the large temple, spotting several figures making their way across the porch of the building. Among them was a girl who looked to be about her age, dressed in garments similar to that of the red, black and gold armor but with more of a feminine twist. Her long, black hair was pulled up into a high bun, held in place by a fancy, golden hair clip, as her curious brown eyes lowered to watch Shira and the others make their way up their staircase. Shira lifted her eyes in time to see the girl slowly fold her arms across her chest and as soon as their eyes met, something flashed across the girl's gaze as her chestnut brown hues narrowed observantly. After staring at Shira for a moment longer, the girl muttered something under her breath and spun on her heels to storm inside the temple, causing Shira to frown slightly. Master Kabal was the first of the group to step through the doors of the temple, followed by Shira and the armored men surrounding her in a full circle. Shira could not help but notice the intense heat within the temple, already feeling her skin beginning to moisten with tiny beads of sweat. It did not take her long to see where the heat was coming from however, when she looked past Master Kabal's shoulder and spotted what was taking place within the very center of the temple. Not only was it strange to see over fifty-something monks seated in a perfect rectangle as still as bronze statues, but there were two of them battling it out with each other in the center of the gathering. Their fighting style was like nothing Shira had ever seen before. Each movement and technique was performed with perfect fluidity and instinct, as if the two men had been practicing them since they were in their mother's wombs. But it wasn't the style alone that sucked in Shira's attention and wouldn't let go. To her astonishment, these men were literally kicking, punching and flinging fire at each other. She could hear the roaring of each flaming attack as it soared through the air from one opponent to the other. Master Kabal glanced over his shoulder and grinned once he caught a glimpse of Shira's evident fascination. “Incredible, isn't it?” He said in an amused tone. Shira was just about to respond when a loud cry echoed throughout the enormous room. All eyes turned toward the fight in the center of the room as one of the monks was suddenly hit by a massive leg drop which knocked him straight to the floor with enough force to crater the bronze tile. His opponent, the dominant fighter, landed on his feet above his fallen, breathing heavily and soaked in sweat from what was perhaps a very gruesome battle. “He...he's not moving...” Shira stated quietly, referring to the man who now lay in a crater on the floor. “Yes. He has been defeated. Clearly the inferior fighter in this instance.” Kabal added. Shira looked around the room and noticed that several of the other monks had worried looks on their faces, exchanging glances with one another as if knowing that something was about to happen as a result of the ending of this spar. “So...he's going to get some medical attention, right?” She asked quietly. “Unfortunately, that is not the way things work here. According to our Lord, he must be brutally punished for his loss.” Master Kabal answered. At that, Shira frowned. The black-haired girl whom she had noticed before was now marching toward the two sparring partners with a rather vicious look on her face. “Well, don't just stand there, you disgusting, worthless maggots! You know what to do! This man has been defeated and is in need of punishment! Guards!” Two armored men came running in response to the young woman's call, grabbing the defeated monk by both of his arms and lifting him up onto his feet. He could barely stand on his own and somewhat dangled between the two men, his head hanging low as sweat dripped from his brow, knowing exactly what was coming to him. The black-haired woman approached the monk who had won the battle, slamming a shinning object into his hand that was curled up like a snake. Shira's eyes widened when she realized that it was a bladed whip, one of the many scary-looking weapons she had found in Kaori's inventory years ago. “Take this,” The woman spoke. “And teach this buffoon why we do not accept weakness and defeat here on Azulon. Show him!” Shira noted that the young woman harbored plenty of anger and was probably a complete psychopath at times. After sizing the girl up a bit, she redirected her attention to the monk who was now holding the bladed whip. She could tell by the look on his face that he did not want to do what he had been told, but apparently he had no other choice. Walking behind the defeated monk who hung by his arms in the grasp of two armored guards, the monk raised the bladed whip back over his shoulder and was just about to swing at his defeated opponent with full force when suddenly – “STOP!” A deep voice thundered throughout the temple with authority, causing nearly everyone standing inside to freeze with a start. Shira's eyes narrowed slightly, when she heard the voice. It sounded somewhat familiar to her ears, like she had heard it not too long ago, but she could not recall where. “Is this the kind of show we put on before our guest?” The voice echoed again, but it was unknown as to where it was coming from. “Brutally punishing a man because he has shown evident weakness and inferiority?! How pathetic.” On that last word, a plume of scorching hot flames erupted from the floor in the center of the temple quite close to where the monk and the others stood, causing several witnesses to jump from the loud noise it had created and squint against the brightness of the unexpected flames. Shira flinched although the sudden burst of fire had occurred a distance away from her. Witnessing such a phenomena was enough to frighten her down to her very bones. When she moved her hands back down from her face, she was surprised to see that a man was now standing where the flames had erupted from the floor. And judging by his appearance alone, she could already tell he had to have been someone of importance. He wore a long, sweeping robe which hung down to the floor around his feet. It bore the same red and black colors that seemed to be the uniformed thing for the people of Azulon, bordered with golden trim and bearing a more regal design. Half of his long black hair was pulled up into a neat bun held into place by an interesting, golden clip while the rest hung past his broad shoulders like a thick, black veil. His long, dragging sleeves hiding his arms and most of his hands, but Shira could see that they were balled, as if in anger. He looked to be about in his late thirties, the features of his face sharp and intimidating with both anger, sternness, and something sinister as well. His ember eyes were hollow and cold as the eyes of death itself and as they moved slowly around the room, everyone else could not help but look away in fear of their fiery power. The black-haired girl quickly made her way before the man and dropped to one knee before him. “Father,” She spoke in a respectful tone. “I am only doing as you have asked of me. And that is to inflict punishment upon the weak. Is that not what you want, Father?” The man's deep-set, dark eyes stared down at his daughter before gently touching her shoulder. “You have done well, Yuri.” He spoke in a low voice and a second later, the poor girl was quite literally hurled across the room like a baseball. “But not well enough.” As Yuri went crashing into a nearby gong, the man known as her father strode toward the defeated monk who's eyes were downcast in fear. He could see that this man was practically trembling and that caused a tiny snarl to raise his upper lip. With unexpected speed, the man's hand lashed out at the monk's throat, gripping so tightly that it caused the man's head to snap back in pain. The sound of his windpipe fracturing within the skin of his neck could be heard among the deathly silence as the man began to apply immense pressure with his grip. “For long, nearly endless years, I have worked and toiled as hard as my old body would allow to instill one single message within the hearts and minds of these men, my followers. One belief that no man shall fear another for fear makes you weak and vulnerable. Fear makes you inferior. And if there is one thing that I will not tolerate, especially within the walls of my temple, it is the sight of a man's inferiority to another!” He applied more pressure which caused the monk's eyes to bulge almost out of their sockets. Shira could see that the man was turning beat red from head to toe, unsure of what was happening besides being strangled by the most intimidating man in the room. What she could not see what that the man strangling the monk possessed a rare ability called Body Temperature manipulation, in which he was now heating the monk's body temperature so high that it felt as if the man's blood had turned into molten lava. With more concentration, the man in the sweeping robe was able to heat the monk's temperature to almost the melting point of adamantium and continued to do so until the unexpected happened. With a loud, gut-wrenching wet popping noise, the man's head burst like a balloon that someone had jabbed at with a sowing needle, blood and gore splattering in all directions, coating both guards who had been holding his arms. Only a single drop of blood landed on the robed man's cheek, close enough to the corner of his mouth for his tongue to slither out from between his thin lips and have a taste. Shira grimaced at the sight of it, her mouth hanging open in shock as she stared at the man with slightly widened eyes. “Once a man...or woman...has learned these key principals...and has vowed to apply them to every situation they may come across in their miserable lives, then and only THEN will they find true power within themselves.” The man continued to speak as the body of the headless monk then collapsed to the floor. Slowly bringing his hands up behind his back to clasp together, he turned around to face the group of Master Kabal, Shira, and the guards surrounding her. His dark, ember eyes were able to see right past his second in command, straight into Shira's sapphire blue gaze where it seemed that he was looking into her very soul. “And until YOU, Shira Hanako, can embrace that fearlessness, superiority, and true power...you WILL be a slave within these lands. A filthy, worthless SLAVE.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

Part VI: The First Test
<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“How do you know my name?” The first words Shira Hanako had the guts to speak to the very man who had the power to make a human head spontaneously burst like a balloon. Her shaky voice echoed throughout what appeared to be a large arena where the stench of sweat, bloodshed and brutal death still lingered heavily in the air. Shira was standing in the very center of the arena, her arms and legs chained to two boulders which weighed a total of 2,000lbs each pounds and were filled with ores of mithruanium. Not only was she practically bound like a common slave once again, but she could only imagine what sorts of horrific death matches had taken place within this arena, judging by the blood stains which stained the walls and several spots of the floor. “I have known you since the day you were born, Shira Hanako.” The man paced in slow circles around her and she could feel the intense heat radiating off of his body like rays of sunlight. “It was only a matter of time before you and I met and I leave my mark on your miserable existence. Pardon my brunt tongue, but I am the entity who visited you in your dream.” At that, Shira's eyes widened and all she could see flashing within her mind was a live image of that flaming dragon she had dreamed about several nights ago. The one who had promised her the strength and power she desired in order to protect both herself and her son from the evil forces reeking havoc within Kasaihana City. She couldn't help but stare at the man pacing around her, wondering just what sort of man she was dealing with who had the power to appear in one's subconscious. “I go by many names, the first being Fuzen Kasai. The Lord of Fire. The Serpent of Illumination. And the True God of Azulon. For now, however, you may refer to me as 'Sensei'.” Shira kept her eyes on him as he continued to pace in slow circles around her, giving her an uneasy feeling in her bones. “So, I'm assuming you're the one responsible for...strengthening me.” She replied quietly. At that, Fuzen Kasai paused, the getas he wore beneath his robe making one last clip-clop on the arena floor as he came to a halt in front of her. “I am the man responsible for showing you the way. For enlightening you in many fine arts that you will need in order to unlock your true potential. For many years, my eyes have been on you, Shira Hanako. Watching your every move from start to finish. Even on this day, I see the rage that boils within your blood toward the only man you've ever loved...who ended up breaking your heart after all you did was dedicated your heart to him. I see that lust for vengeance in your eyes, but not only against him. Against any and everyone who has ever done anything to hurt you. Keyth Tasanagi. He was quite the challenging opponent, was he not?” Shira's brows furrowed deeply as her teeth gnashed together. “I have NOTHING against him!” She raised her voice. “Perhaps not, but I know you still think about that eventful day, playing it over and over again in your mind, wondering why you were not the victor of that battle. It still haunts your very soul, doesn't it? You must feel inferior to him.” “Inferior my ASS, you son of a bit--” She was cut off by a hard slap to the face which caused her head to snap sideways. “First thing is first...you must learn to harden your emotions. They must not show unless you are channeling them into your body to deal stronger damage to your opponents. Or into your mind to think of greater strategy. Your anger must empower you. Not blindly control you.” Shira's head slowly turned, but her eyes did not lift to look at Fuzen. A man had never raised his hand to her like that and she knew for a fact that if Duke or Damian had seen it, they would have tried to rip Fuzen apart. Then again, she did not know the true power of this man, but had a feeling that he would be a very powerful adversary. Even for them. She felt both angered and humbled, but had heard Fuzen's words regarding her emotional stability. “Your purpose for being on this island is not to have others worry about you due to your absence, but to make them tremble in your presence once you have returned. You will become a goddess within these lands, Shira Hanako. But first, you must prove that you are worthy of my counsel. I have arranged for you to endure a test. A test of will, a test of strength, and a test of endurance.” In a sudden burst of flames, Fuzen was no longer standing before Shira but had reappeared all the way on the other side of the arena within a mere second. Next to him stood a tall pole from which a large mutton chop hung by a string like a tether ball. “The shackles that were placed around your wrists and ankles while you were aboard the Horned Serpent are now chained to two boulders that weigh nearly a ton each. I am aware that you have not had a proper meal for several long hours and it will be that way for several days unless you are able to make your way across this arena and grab this mutton chop. You will have exactly seven days to reach this mutton chop or else I will release a pack of wolves into this arena which will devour your meal and will then proceed to tear you apart.” Shira's eyes narrowed on Fuzen as he explained what her first test would be. This man was evidently a lot more sick in the head than she thought, but it was something she knew she would have to get used to if she planned on getting any stronger while on Azulon Island. The task before her would prove to be one of the most difficult trials she would ever have to face, but with her head strong personality and will to achieve greatness, she knew she would not quit until she passed the test. Not to mention she was so damn hungry she could eat an entire horse! “Prove to me that you have the gall, Shira. I will return to check on your progress much later.” And with that, Fuzen strode out through the doors of the arena, leaving Shira alone to figure out just how in the hell she was supposed to drag two-ton boulders across a hundred yard distance. She stared at the mutton chop straight ahead of her along with the distance that separated her from it. 'This is impossible. How am I supposed to do this? I'm going to die here.' She thought to herself, her heart already sinking with a sense of failure. She felt her bottom lip begin to tremble with frustration as she clenched her fists tightly, the chains securing her wrists to the two boulders rattling gently. As she heard the sound, her head lowered until her hair was covering her face. “No...” She said to herself. “I can't give up now. There is no exception for failure. I have to do this. For the sake of getting stronger. For the sake of protecting my beloved son.” Wrapping each chain twice around her hands, she got a good grip around the thick, twisted metal before lifted her head to once again stare at the mutton chop across the arena, her sapphire blue eyes narrowing with determination. “I must do this for Daisuke.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">For the remaining hours of that day, Shira's shouting voice could be heard echoing throughout the entire arena as she pulled and pulled against the large mithruanium-filled stones with all of her might. However, she did not budge a single inch by the time the night fell. She rested for that night and the next morning, she was at it again. Veins had begun to bulge from the side of her neck as she pulled and tugged and tried her hardest to move the boulders at least a few feet across. It wasn't until the approaching of sunset that she realized that she had managed to move the boulders approximately 10 feet away from their original placements. It was quite the disappointment and she began to feel weakened from having to put forth so much effort, but regardless of how badly her body wanted to give up all hope of making it, she refused to quit. She chanted to herself over and over again that she could achieve the impossible task that Fuzen had given her and on the third day, she pulled and tugged and pulled some more, shouting and grunting with the strain it placed on her body until she had managed to clear a total of 20 feet. Meanwhile, several miles away from the arena, the temple had been cleared out completely, leaving Fuzen seated alone in the center of the large room to meditate. The smell of burning incense floated through the air, mixing with the heat of the room. And all Fuzen could hear within the temple was complete silence, which was exactly the way he liked it. Just as he had drawn in a deep breath, the doors of the temple suddenly burst open, the sound of thudding feet storming toward him following suit. Fuzen didn't have to use his Aura Reading ability to know that it was his daughter approaching, his brow twitching slightly in anger of the sudden disturbance. “Yuri.” His voice rang out with authority. “Did I not tell you that if you ever disturb my meditation again, I will have you sent to the dungeons to be flogged for several hours?” At that, Yuri's fists tightened as she fought not to show her fear toward her father. “Yes, but this matter is urgent, Father.” She answered. Fuzen's eyes remained closed as he took a deep breath. “What is it?” He asked. “I want to know why you are dedicating your time to this...weakling...rather than giving me the special training I want. What makes her so special that she gets one-on-one training with the True God of Azulon?” At that, Fuzen's eyes slowly slid open, flickering quickly in his daughter's direction. Yuri could tell by the hardness of her father's features that she had angered him, the coldness lurking in his gaze. “You DARE question the one you call the True God of Azulon? The one who brought you into this world and the one who can take you right back out of it in ways you couldn't possibly imagine?” Yuri's eyes lowered. “Your time will come, Child.” Fuzen slightly lowered his voice, his eyes falling shut once again. “Just like hers already has.” Yuri bit down on her bottom lip in evident anger and Fuzen could feel the heat of her Body Temperature rising slightly. Without another word, she whirled on her heel and stormed out of the temple, shoving an innocent guard to the ground out of her anger and frustration.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">The seventh day of the first test had finally arrived and after countless hours of struggle, Shira had managed to pull the mithruanium ore stones closer to the other end of the arena than she had imagined she could do. She could feel every muscle in her body throbbing from the incredible strain, her limbs weak and feeling as though they would soon collapse from her body. She was hardly able to stand as her legs wobbled like noodles beneath her and her shoulders hunched forward with her struggle to catch her breath. Drenched in sweat from head to toe, she felt as though at any moment, she would literally fall face flat on the arena floor and die. However, when she looked straight ahead of her, she saw that the pole dangling her mutton chop was only exactly ten feet away. It is said that when a person's will to continue toward a goal begins to vanish when they are closest to achieving that goal. And that was how Shira began to feel. Like her will and strength was slipping away from her. Even while her stomach rumbled and growled and begged for sustenance, all she wanted to do was lay down and give up, but after a few minutes, she heard the sound of a fire burst. Fuzen now stood beside the pole, his dark eyes slowly lowering toward the untouched mutton chop before lifting to look at Shira. Her head hung low so that her hair blocked her exhausted features, yet she could feel Fuzen's deathly glare upon her. “Failure.” His voice came out in a low growl. “Is not an option in my territory. I'm afraid, you are not the warrior I once thought you were, Shira Hanako. And for that, you shall pay the ultimate price of a failure.” The sound of something cranking filled the arena and Shira's head slowly lifted to see two caged doors raising open directly behind Fuzen. The spaces behind each door were completely dark and the only things visible were the multiple pairs of blood red eyes peering into the arena from the pitch blackness. She could soon hear growling noises, knowing exactly what was about to happen. One by one, the wolves emerged from the darkness. Large, vicious wolves that were covered in black fur and had eyes the color of rubies. Fuzen had vanished by then as the wolves began to pace around the mutton chop, more and more emerging from the darkness until there were about eight of them in all. “That price, Shira Hanako,” His booming voice echoed throughout the arena although he was nowhere to be seen. “Is DEATH.” Two wolves spotted the mutton chop and immediately pounced on it, both wild animals tearing into the large piece of meat while at the same time, fighting each other over who would get the biggest piece. A third wolf jumped into the fight, which left the remaining five gawking at another piece of meat chained between two nine-foot boulders. Shira's eyes were too fixated on her lost meal to notice the five wolves making their way toward her right away. It took a loud bark to draw her attention away. Her sapphire blue orbs watched the wolves pace around her, sizing her up with their deadly blood red eyes as they growled all sorts of promised death threats at her. Fuzen had reappeared in the stands high above the approaching execution, his hands clasped behind his back as he watched with a face blank of all emotions. This would not be his first time witnessing a human being torn apart by vicious animals. Nor would it be his last. To his surprise however, Shira was not cowering away from the wolves or showing any sign of fear. Instead, she was completely still. “I....am NOT....a failure.” Her voice was barely audible above the wolves' constant growling and barking. “And I'll be DAMNED if Daisuke loses his mother ON THIS ISLAND!” Her shouting voice echoed so loudly throughout the arena that at first, it startled the wolves. Shira felt the will power slamming back into her but it was nothing compared to the power her own anger was now giving her. Placing one foot forward, Shira spread both of her arms out on either side of her and with one loud shout, ripped them both forward as hard as she possibly could. Both nine-foot boulders practically burst into much smaller pieces as the chains that had been wrapped around them sliced right through them, lancing forward in front of her like deadly whips. Two wolves were smacked hard by the mithruanium chains and sent flying through the air as a result, Shira immediately springing high into the air. While both of her ankles were chained to the boulders, she had been forced to use her leg strength to pull them across the arena as well. Therefore, now that they were both freed, she could feel that her strength had greatly increased throughout her legs. Instead of jumping her usual limit of 50 feet in the air, she was able to reach an altitude of 75. All eight wolves were now staring up at her, watching as she flicked both chains upward until both arms were practically curved backwards over her shoulders. “AGHHHHHHHHH!” Her body came slamming back down to the stone floor of the arena along with the chains which smashed so hard into the ground that the impact sent several chunks jutting upward out of place. Several wolves were thrown into the air by the resulting shockwave, but were immediately on their feet and in attack mode. From her crouched position, Shira lunged forward at the first wolf attempting to attack her, whipping the chain in her right hand toward its throat and yanking it toward her. As it sailed directly at her, she rammed her shoulder hard into its jaw, causing it to yelp out in pain as she then skidded to a halt and flung it sideways, the chain unraveling from around its neck as it crashed into another wolf. Another wolf tried to pounce from behind, but Shira could feel the vibrations of its fast paws through her Seismic Sense ability and whirled around just as it leaped into the air toward her. Pivoting out of its path, she whipped both chains toward it at the same time as it went flying right past her, one chain wrapping around its neck while the other wrapped around its hindlegs and tripped it to the ground. Flinging both chains upward into the air, she turned and made it arch all the way above her before slamming it to the ground. Then, flinging the chains upward again, she released a shout as she pulled her arms apart which forced both chains to quite literally rip the wolf in two. Fuzen's head only tilted slowly as he watched the massacre down below. While he had not been expecting Shira to retaliate in such a manner, part of him was actually impressed. His face remained hardened as he watched her rip apart wolf after wolf, literally using the objects that had once bound her like a slave as a weapon of utter destruction and blood shed. After a moment or so, fury body parts littered almost the entire arena where the remnants of the wolves now lay in pools of their own blood. Shoulders hunched as she panted heavily in both exhaustion and anger, Shira slowly bent down to retrieve a single wolf leg and Fuzen looked on in surprise as she turned to face him, digging her teeth into the meat of the leg and beginning to eat it. A satisfied smirk slowly crept across his features as his chin lifted slightly, his eyes remaining locked on her as he said, “You are ready.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

Part VI: The Truth Behind the Power
<span style="color:rgb(255,255,255);">For the next month or so, Shira spent countless hours of the day learning the art of Shaolin Kung Fu. The Shaolin fighting style of kung fu is the most prominent traditional northern style of Chinese martial arts. The northern styles of kung fu generally emphasize long range techniques, quick advances and retreats, wide stances, kicking and leaping techniques, whirling circular blocks, quickness, agility, and aggressive attacks. The students learn the basics by practicing the routines until the movements in routines can be executed naturally based on instinct. Then, two or multiple man sets are practiced to train responses and applications of techniques learned from the sets. The practice sets/routines are not only practical in applications but are also graceful and artistic in nature. The fluidness of the movements combined with acrobatic techniques are trademarks of the Northern Shaolin sets. Shira also learned the importance of meditation along with this sacred martial art. For the first few days of each week, Fuzen would teach Shira a new set of techniques and would spend time teaching her how to execute each movement and action fluidly and with strength. He discovered that her ability to expel powerful kinetic forces with her attacks made her a much more dangerous fighter than some of his highly skilled monks throughout Azulon. He saw potential in her that he had not seen in any student of his for many years including his only daughter. After learning the basic Shaolin Kung fu techniques, Fuzen made Shira practice them with arm and leg weights made of granite to increase her strength and speed. And within several weeks of practicing with weights, Shira found that she was able to move nearly ten times faster than what her body was accustomed to.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“She has been improving greatly, Lord Kasai.” Master Kabal said one night after Shira and Fuzen had completed their training session for the day. Kabal and the True God of Azulon were walking side by side through the village. A few monks continued their practice within the dojos or outside where they could feel the breeze against their moist skin. The sounds of bo staffs and blades clashing echoed from several locations while many of them sparred with brandished weapons and such. Fuzen's ember eyes lifted to look at the moon hanging above the mountains of Azulon as he listened to Master Kabal speak. “Indeed.” He answered simply. “And tonight is the night we give her the true power she longs for.” At that, Master Kabal's head slowly turned to look at Fuzen. “Do you mean...?” He started to ask but his voice trailed off, Fuzen giving him a single nod in response. “Send the guards to her quarters. We must begin the procedure as soon as possible.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">Shira was sound asleep in a room Fuzen had provided for her within the temple when two guards walked in silently, awakening her as they suddenly grabbed her by her arms and dragged her out of the room. “Hey, what the fuck are you doing!?” Shira shouted, her vision blurred with sleep as she fought and squirmed against the guards. “Let go of me!” The guards hauled her squirming body down a hallway and into the main room of the temple. In the back of the main room was a large golden sculpture, carved into the shape of two enormous, winged serpents wrestling one another whilst blowing golden flames from their mouths. Shira continued to protest as the two guards dragged her toward the sculpture, only to go still in astonishment when the sculpture began to move sideways with a loud, rumbling noise. “What...the hell? Where are you taking me? Let me fucking go!” She yelled angrily once she saw the large opening in the wall where the sculpture once stood. She would have never guessed that this entire time, that sculpture had been hiding a secret room within the temple. As soon as they were inside, the sculpture slowly slid back to its original place over the entrance, a loud thudding signaling that they were now locked within the room. It was dark and damp inside with barely any lighting except for a single ceiling light hanging in the center of the room. Shira looked around frantically, stunned to see that the room was actually filled with all kinds of electrically powered machinery and equipment like a laboratory of sorts. Various chemical scents wafted into her nostrils, growing stronger and stronger the farther the guards dragged her into the room until she was forcefully thrown face down into an elevated bed similar to one seen in an emergency room. Rolling her onto her back, the guards strapped down Shira's arms and legs so that her body was positioned at attention similar to that of a soldier as well as placing a strap across her forehead to keep her head firmly locked to the padding of the bed. Shira's chest moved up and down with heavy breaths as her eyes darted left and right, trying to figure out just what in the world she was doing in this predicament. “One of you better tell me what the fuck is going on here, or so help me, I'll--” A sudden burst of flames interrupted her as well as slightly frightening her. Fuzen now stood on the right side of her with his hands clasped behind his back as usual. “Leave.” He ordered the two guards who bowed once, then vanished into two puffs of black smoke. Shira's eyes darted angrily toward Fuzen who returned her gaze with a rather calm one, though his expression was just as hard and stern as it usually was. “What is this?” She hissed angrily at him, her fists clenching as she tried to pull against the straps holding her down. “I suggest your calm yourself down, Shira.” Fuzen spoke in a calm tone. “Those straps may look breakable but they were specifically designed to restrain even the strongest of humans such as yourself. You won't be going anywhere any time soon. Not until I am done with you, that is.” Fuzen made an about face, his footsteps moving with glided motions toward a table covered in an array of vials, needles, trays, surgical tools and syringes. Shira tried to see what he was doing, but with her head strapped straight back against the bed, her eyes could only reach but so far. “And what exactly do you plan on doing with me, Fuzen?” She growled. In that instant, Fuzen appeared right next to her, his hand wrapping around her face and squeezing her jaws until she felt pain shooting through them. His nails practically dug into her flesh as he elevated her chin, his eyes glaring fire down into hers. “Never...are you EVER to call me by that name, you defiant little dog!” He hissed at her through clenched teeth, causing her to wince as he squeezed her face even tighter. “You will call me Lord Kasai and nothing else. Do you understand?” He released her and heard a soft grunt before turning his back on her yet again. “Now, I have brought you here because it is time that you know the truth behind the things you have witnessed so far here on Azulon Island. The true reason we are able to generate and manipulate fire as gods do. Long ago, a group of people created an invention that would forever change our world as we know it. An invention that would awaken a new era of discovery as to what a human being could become capable of. That invention...was the Nanomachine.” Shira frowned. “Nano-what?” She asked. “Nanomachines are capable of giving a human being many things, but in our case, they have granted us the power of fire. The power to generate and manipulate flames hot enough to reach the melting point of adamantium. And with such powerful technology in the palm of my hand, I am damn near unlimited as to what I can do. You have only seen a fraction of my power, some of which I plan on granting you on this very night.” At that, Shira could only stare at him with eyes of uncertainty. She could see his broad shoulders moving up and down with his devious chuckling, wondering just what other sorts of twisted ideas he had in mind that he wasn't saying out loud. “You want to give me...the power to manipulate fire so that I can be like you?” She asked, a hint of slight fear in her voice. “Nonsense. You will not become as powerful as myself. Not any time soon, at least. But you will become a lot stronger than you are now. A lot more...feared and respected.” As he said that, he raised a large syringe up in front of his face and slowly turned to face Shira, a sickening grip spreading across his features. The moment Shira saw the flaming, reddish liquid on the inside of the syringe tube, her eyes widened slightly and her heart began to race in her chest. “Wait.” She said. “What if this isn't what I wa--” Fuzen jabbed the needle into her right arm before she could finish her question, her words cut off with a loud cry of pain as her back slightly arched beneath her restraints. Her screaming and shouting soon filled the room as the liquid began to empty itself into her bloodstream, releasing the nanomachines that Fuzen had been describing. The tiny, microscopic devices swam and nestled themselves amongst her blood cells, already beginning to take effect within her as suddenly, a painful burning sensation began to spread throughout her entire body. It was as if he had injected molten lava into her and now her internal organs were being boiled under merciless temperatures. Beads of sweat began to sprout all along her skin almost instantly as if her body knew that it was reaching dangerous temperatures at a rapid speed. With Fuzen's ability to read the heat signatures of any life form, he could see that Shira's body temperature was quickly escalating to about 211 degrees fahrenhait which should have left her practically unconscious, but somehow she was still kicking and screaming. He emptied more of the fluid into her, aware that millions upon millions of little nanites were quickly taking over her body. “STOP IT, PLEASE!! I CAN'T! I CAN'T DO THIS!” She shouted in excruciating pain. Though her eyes were shut tight to the point where she thought the lids would go right through each other, all she could imagine was that her entire body was perhaps engulfed in flames from the inside out. Fortunately, it wasn't. However, the intense burning sensation was coming from the effects of the nanomachines activating within her system. Millions were now traveling into her brain and she could feel the burning crawling quickly into her face, eyes and even her tongue. She continued to scream and wail at the top of her lungs as Fuzen emptied the last remnants of the fluid into her arm, her body now beginning to shake and tremble hard against the restraints. The Lord of Fire simply watched her agony as if it were absolutely nothing, returning his hands behind his back as the long sleeves of his robe completely hid them from sight, including the syringe tube he still held onto. His eyes were completely void of all sympathy and care as he saw Shira's struggle to fight against the effects of the nanomachines. He knew he had been taking a huge risk when he injected the needle into her arm. Several others had been killed almost instantly by the effects of the nanomachines and the ones who survived were greatly changed. However, Shira seemed to be more of a fighter than he expected. If she was to die that night, he would simply...find another to take her place as his pupil. After a few more minutes of excruciating pain, Shira's body temperature escalated so high that steam literally began to rise from her skin. The veins beneath her creamy complexion had taken on an eerie reddish-gold glow but was now beginning to fade back to normal. She passed out suddenly, her body going completely still as it shut down. “Is she going to be alright?” Another male voice echoed from somewhere within the room and soon, Master Kabal emerged from the shadows with a slightly worried look on his aged features. “She will awaken and feel like a completely different Shira.” Fuzen replied without looking at him. “Strengthened. Alive with power. As for now, this procedure must continue whether she remains unconscious or not.” Master Kabal cleared his throat. “And what, pray tell, do you plan on doing with her?” Fuzen's devious gaze flickered toward him as a sinister grin crept across his lips. “Well that is quite easy to predict, my friend. She will become...my greatest experiment.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">

Part VII: The Art of Kaijutsu
<p style="margin-bottom:0in;"><span style="font-size:medium;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;color:rgb(255,255,255);">It took a little over a week for Fuzen to complete his experimental procedure with Shira. The task had proven itself to be quite complicated but seeing as though he had grown up to become an obsessive scientist and had fallen in love with nano-technology, he was able to complete his goal in molding Shira into his perfect little weapon with ease. The various operations were very painful and at times left Shira hanging onto life by a thread, but her inner strength held her together throughout the entire process. Fuzen had encoded specific programming within the nanomachines so that things would not get out of hand in the future, particularly setting the nanomachines to a voice activation sequence so that only his voice and her voice alone could activate the power of the nanomachines. Shira was still unconscious again by the end of the process, but all it took was for Fuzen to take a step back away from the table and say with a voice of authority, “Activate Nanomachines. Power level 67 percent.” (( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lva3Oe-cxg&list=PLiH4LYDfpuhnLnJGIDP3ftu0Rr_BZ1S7d<span style="font-size:medium;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;color:rgb(255,255,255);"> ))The Nanomachines instantly began to activate by the millions within Shira's body, sending a surge of power throughout nearly every inch of her being until suddenly, her eyes snapped open. No longer did they shimmer with their once beautiful sapphire blue hue, but were now taken over by a crimson red color that glowed like the eyes of a mechanical creature. Similar to the eyes of the wolves she had fought in the arena. They were filled with the same malice as well, her brows furrowing above them slowly to form what was quickly becoming a viciously angry expression. Fuzen knew full well what types of effects the nanomachines would have on a person. The main one being that it begins to change them mentally and psychologically. In Shira's case, “How do you feel?” Fuzen asked. At first, Shira did not respond, but Fuzen could hear the crackling of her hands slowly balling into fists and a low growl rumbling from between her teeth which began to gnash together hard. She began to feel as though tongues of fire were swelling throughout her entire body, but that was not the only thing. Her muscles felt as though they were swelling with strength, as well. Strength that she had never felt before. Gritting her teeth harder, she began to lift her body off of the table, feeling the restraints pulling on her in response. Her eyes narrowed as she pushed harder against them, feeling her muscles flexing and contracting with this euphoric strength. The sound of the material beginning to tear fueled her to keep pushing and pushing...and pushing until-- “AGHHHHH!” Every restraint snapped like a rubber band, the table itself went sailing across the room, and the next thing Fuzen knew, Shira was high in the air, having reached close to the ceiling at such a blinding speed that he could only have detected it by reading the heat signatures she left in the air after her. The strength she carried prior to the procedures would not have been able to break the restraints like that. Fuzen grinned with pride as her feet thudded hard into the floor, so hard that the stones cracked beneath her heels. Her flashing scarlet red eyes stared straight ahead at practically nothing seeing as though Fuzen was standing to the side of her. From where he stood, he could see her chest and shoulders moving up and down with slow breaths, tiny trails of steam rising up from her frame as she slowly rose to her full height. Her legs were spread to about the width of her shoulders and her arms hung by her sides, fists balled tightly at the end of each. “Go ahead, Shira.” Fuzen spoke in a low, tempting voice. “I know you can feel the power flowing through your veins. Do not be afraid to release it. The fire is not within you. You ARE the fire.” The once still air of the laboratory began to swirl around Shira like a harsh gust of wind, travelling upward to sweep her hair up above her head until it waved about like a tongue of flames. She slid her right foot outward further than shoulder-width as she brought her fists up to her waist bending her knees slightly. With focus and concentration, she was able to feel herself tapping into the pyrokinetic power of the nanomachines and all it took was a slight rush and the flames burst from her body like a time bomb. Scarlet red flames swirled around her form like a flaming whirlwind, reaching temperatures so hot that the metal scalpels and other surgical tools Fuzen kept around the room began to melt into the surfaces they rested on. The wind swirling about her body along with the fire spread out to cover a broader radius, causing Fuzen's long, black hair to billow behind his head. His smirk grew as he could read that Shira's power was at a pretty high level. “I will ask you again. How do you feel?” Another moment of silence passed before Shira answered, “Like a Phoenix.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">(( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibAD_RC_uJ4 ))Now that Shira was beginning to get accustomed to her newly awakened power, it was in Fuzen's best interest to teach her how to manipulate and control the fire just like he and his monks were capable of doing. Those outside of the island of Azulon had given such an ability the name Pyrokinesis, while the monks of Azulon called it Kasaijutsu. Kasaijutsu is the art of combining the manipulation and generation of fire with ones martial arts skills and combat techniques. It is one of the greatest combat enhancements known to man. She already had the basic techniques of Shaolin Kung Fu down-packed, so now it was only a matter of applying Kasaijutsu with what she had learned. “You must be swift. Agile. Like the flames themselves.” Fuzen's voice echoed throughout the village arena and into Shira's ears. A total of fifty individual bamboo poles that stood as high as 80 feet had been set up in select spots throughout the large arena. Atop the poles, Shira's petite form could be seen springing back and forth from pole peak to pole peak as five of Fuzen's monks surrounded her, throwing various attacks at her one by one. With her nanomachines activated to about 50 percent, she was able to send orbs of fire flying in the direction of her opponents with each punch and kick. From Fuzen's training, she had learned to apply her agility and flexibility with various attacks and techniques. At one point, two monks had lunged at her from both the left and the right angles. In which, she was forced to flip backwards onto her palms and perform an upside cyclone kick, which sent fire flying from her heels and directly into her opponent's chests. Another opponent front flipped onto a bamboo pole directly behind her. It was somewhat difficult to pull the vibrations of his movements up from the ground and into the bamboo poles, yet she managed to do so in time enough to dodge a high kick to the back of her head, dropping down as she swept her leg beneath the monk's feet and whirling around to send a high flying kick toward his jaw as he toppled over. The remaining four fell back, landing on their individual poles a distance away but still surrounding Shira. She fell into her practiced Shaolin stance, as well, which seemed just a tad bit off balance compared to the others, but that was the purpose of training on top of bamboo poles. It was to further train her balance and agility and to teach her to be swift and graceful with her movements no matter what surface she fought on. She had assumed the Shaolin Tiger stance which would have her legs spread a lot father than a normal fighting stance would and was almost doing a full split with her back knee bent and her other foot pointed all the way forward a pole away. Her back hand had been brought back directly behind her cheek, while her other hand was extended all the way out in front of her, both palms facing forward while her fingers were curled similar to the claws of a tiger. She looked into the eyes of the first monk located directly in front of her, narrowing them to focused slits as she prepared for a strike. He lunged at her, springing into the and twisting his body around horizontally with a literal flaming leg drop. Shira's eyesight zoomed into his fire-engulfed foot making its way down toward the top of her head before bringing her hands up for a cross block. The fire dispersed and she could feel its heat against her face before pushing upward with her legs, directing her momentum toward the ceiling as she pushed the monk into the air. The muscles of her legs flexed as she propelled herself into the air after him, meeting him with a cartwheel kick to the chin and sending him flying even higher into the air. The kick would have forced her to flip backwards, landing with one foot on top of a bamboo pole while the knee of her other leg was lifted high into her chest. She raised one hand high above her head while extending the other all the way out beside her, bending both wrists downward to assume the Praying Mantis stance. “You must learn to command the fire. Making it your disciple of ultimate dominance and destruction.” Fuzen spoke from where he watched the spar. “Do not be afraid when you see it headed your way, but learn how you can use that same element against your opponent.” As the Lord of Fire spoke, the third monk lowered his body deeper into his stance before jumping into a high front flip. As he landed closer to Shira, he pulled both of his fists back toward his body before launching them outward in her direction, sending two large blasts of fire shooting at her. Since the fire the monk had used had been launched at a greater power level than what she had activated, she was able to cross block it with her forearms but was thrown backwards in response. “Shit!” She muttered under her breath as she curled her body into a backflip and landed on two separate poles a distance away. The monk spun forward toward her, launching a drunken uppercut at her lower jaw. Shira weaved sideways out of the way of the uppercut but lost a bit of balance as a result. She continued to weave out of the way of several more Drunken Fist punches that were launched at her face, throat, shoulders and chest, all delivered at near blinding speeds. A normal fighter would have been struck multiple times and thrown from the tops of the bamboo poles, but with Shira's newly enhanced speed thanks to the Nanomachines, her vision was able to read each strike that was thrown at her as if they had been done at normal human speeds. At last catching the monk's lower punch to her midsection, she used that moment to pull him forward and lowered into her stance as she thrusted the palm of her free hand forward into his chin. Having pulled the man forward directly into the attack, the upper arm used to deliver the palm strike would have been applied with enough force to literally snap the monk's neck backwards off of his spine. Fuzen's eyes lit up with a sick amusement as he watched the monk collapse to the arena floor with a loud thump, the other monks now exchanging glances with one another. Perhaps second guessing going up against their leader's newest star pupil. “End them!” Fuzen shouted furiously. Shira responded almost immediately as she straightened her body into an erect stance, closing her hands into tight fists as they lowered by her sides. “Activate Nanomachines, power level 75 percent.” Fire erupted all around her as she could feel her physical strength increasing along with it. The last two monks ignited their own bodies and lunged to attack at the same time, not knowing that something was happening to Shira now that she had tapped into a deeper compartment of her Nanomachines' power. Hearing that she had now activated 75 percent of her power, Fuzen's eyes narrowed slightly. He knew that the girl was brave to push her limits, however, he was also aware of the effects that it would have on her.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“''There is a reason why we place a cap on our subjects' access of power, limiting them to only 70 percent of power.” Master Kabal spoke as he stood on one side of the hidden laboratory while Fuzen stood on the other. “It is because we do not want too many of them to end up with the same mental effects that you have personally suffered. As a result of accessing more than 70 percent of the nanomachines power, even if it is simply 1 percent over, that subject changes psychologically. Going from a normal innocent-minded being to something that cannot be controlled except by extreme means. They lose their ability to control their aggression and become lost in the urge to physically destroy anyone standing in their way. They become ruthless killers who are practically blinded to their past sanity and will stop at nothing to maim or completely eradicate their opponent from existence.” Fuzen stared at him with clearly uncaring eyes, his hair sweeping across his shoulders as he tilted his head at the older man across the room. “And your point is?” He asked in a tone of both sarcasm and annoyance. Master Kabal sighed. “Giving this sort of power to the girl with no limitations is very dangerous. That is my point. You are the only being who can access the full 100 percent of the Nanomachine's power and perhaps levels beyond that. However, we all know what happens to you when you do so.” Fuzen lowered his eyes to the table in the center of the lab, a deep breath escaping his lips. “Yes, I am fully aware that my ability to exceed normal limitations have resulted in the destruction of entire civilizations. However, throughout the years that I have been able to utilize this power, I have also learned to control it. If Shira Hanako can gain control over the ruthless side of her that will be awakened once she activates over 70 percent of the Nanomachines' power, then she will be one step closer to becoming as powerful and myself. At the same time, she will not pose the greatest threat to her home in Kasaihana. If not, then....we will just have to call her our little Jekyll and Hyde.”''

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">As the flashback vanished from Fuzen's mind, he felt that the air began to stir and swelter throughout the arena as a result of the multiple nanomachine activations occuring above. A grin crept across his features, knowing that Shira was the only one out of the three fighting atop the bamboo poles capable of accessing power levels higher than 70 percent. “It is simple, Shira Hanako.” He spoke above the howling winds and the roaring flames. “Once you convince yourself that you are the dominant fighter, there will be no limits as to what you are capable of. Prove to the weak why inferiority is unacceptable on Azulon. Prove that you ARE the alpha.” Shira heard Fuzen's words and took them to heart as the two monks neared closer and closer to her. “Nanomachines...” She spoke softly. “Activate...power level 80 percent.” More power began to charge throughout her entire body as the heat and expansion of the crimson flames increased, spreading outward as the winds sweltering throughout the arena picked up in velocity. “ Be careful, child.” Fuzen growled warningly. “If you access too much power...you can physically weaken yourself. Thus weakening your defenses in return.” The two monks at last clashed with Shira's flaming aura, creating an explosion of flames that were multiple shades of red, orange and gold. All three battle opponents began to go back and forth exchanging blows, grapples, sweeps and hooks among one another in rapid, yet fluid succession. Shira jumped back as she waved her arms side to side directly in front of her in the shape of an infinity symbol, the flames that surrounded her body now moving to take the form of two thick, fiery whips as she then caused them both to swirl around in the air above her like two angry dragons. The two monks fell back again before taking off so fast toward her that they left shockwave bursts in the air behind them. Shira watched them with concentrated eyes and the Nanomachines latched onto her brain cells took action in terms of speeding up her registry and reflexes. The moment the two monks approached, she leaped high into the air above them, her body erect at first as it turned diagonally and began to spin like a top. While spinning, she was able to spot the locations of the two monks in small gaps which she used to target her next attack. Whipping her hands outward so that her elbows would bend and straight over and over again, she flung her tendrils of fire in the direction of each monk. They were able to cross block the attack, but with her power level turned up higher than there's, it began to knock them back a bit. She continued to spin in the air, whipping the fiery tendrils at them with increased speed now so all onlookers could see were bright streaks of fire lancing and arching through the air, slapping against the monks harder and harder until flames began to burst with each impact. At last, Shira plummeted from the air and landed directly between each monk. First landing on the palms of her hands, she dropped flat onto her back and spun around with a double leg sweep which knocked both monks off of their feet, then pushed herself back up onto her hands. Her legs unfurled outward above her as the tendrils of fire did the same, whipping outward in a rotating motion and striking each monk with such explosive force that they were sent flying from their bamboo pole perches as a result, crashing hard to the arena floor. Shira pushed back off of her hands and landed on her feet on two separate poles, rising to her full height as she peered down at the monks she had defeated. Fuzen narrowed his eyes at her when he noticed the mischievous grin that had broken out across her lips, a dangerous bloodlust gleaming from her fiery red eyes. In her current state, she was unaware of what was happening to her, but she had developed an insatiable lust for violence and combat as expected of someone who was able to access 80 percent of the nanomachines power. “IS THERE NO ONE ELSE?!?!?” She shouted at the top of her lungs. “Nanomachines deactivate. Now.” Fuzen said quietly. Shira hadn't heard him, but the nanomachines were able to pick up his voice command almost instantly. A confused look appeared on her face as the flames vanished from around her and the stirring winds began to slow down. Her hair collapsed back around her face as her eyes returned to their normal sapphire color. She sucked in a gasp as the 'normal Shira' returned and a sudden feeling of exhaustion swept over her, causing her to fall to the arena floor. Fuzen appeared from a burst of flames right above her, grabbing her by the collar of her gee and pulling her to her feet. “After accessing such a level of power, it is only normal for you to feel faint and slightly fatigued. I suggest you stay within normal boundaries until you have grown accustomed to your new abilities. Understood?” Panting heavily, Shira nodded in response to his order, but in the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder why it felt as though someone else had awakened inside her while she was fighting the five monks.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">“And just what in the hell was that nonsense?” A familiar voice entered the arena, filled with both anger and annoyance. Shira's head lifted to see Yuri Kasai standing in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest, a harsh scowl written across her features as she practically burned a hole through Shira's head with her fiery glare. “You think this little trial was a sure test of strength?!” Fuzen turned to his hot-headed daughter, clasping his hands behind his back as he usually did while eying her with a hardened, yet collective expression. “If you REALLY want to see whether or not she's learned a damn thing from you, why not fight her yourself. We all know you're capable of picking the meat off the bones of every single person on this island without dropping a single sweat, so why don't you show her that?” It didn't take much thought for Fuzen to see what his daughter was trying to get at here. He was well aware of her jealousy from the first day Shira had arrived on the island. However, he was not going to act based on her suggestion. Instead, “You don't seem to believe that she's learned anything from my training.” He stated calmly. “Despite the amount of strength she has displayed throughout the months she has been here. Despite the skill she has displayed only a moment ago.” Shira looked back and forth between the two, her eyes glazing over with anger though she didn't dare jump into the conversation unwelcome. “She is a novice.” Yuri growled. “And should be treated as such.” Shira could no longer take Yuri's words and turned to face her herself, taking one step toward her as she blurted out, “If you think I'm such a goddamn novice then why don't YOU fight me, Yuri?!” Yuri looked stunned and for a moment, the entire arena had gone completely silent. After a while, a devious smirk lifted the corners of Yuri's lips as she peered into Shira's hardened eyes. “Actually, that was exactly what I've been wanting. And so it shall be. We will meet back here tomorrow night for our battle and you will show me your supposed strength.” Yuri said. “Fine with me.” Shira growled. “But I must let you in on a little something. I have been constructing a new weapon for my personal use. One that it sure to have devastating effects to my opponents. I call it the Dancing Lily. What a beautiful name for such a destructive weapon.” She chuckled before turning to leave. “We shall meet at midnight to have our match. That way, your death will look like fireworks to our audience.” Shira's eyebrows raised slightly when she heard those words, glancing at Fuzen as Yuri walked out of the arena. “A death match, eh?” The man's voice rumbled with inquisition. “Very well, then.” Shira stared at him. “You're going to allow your daughter to fight a death match against me?” She asked. “And if one of us dies, what does that leave you with?” Fuzen's gaze slowly slid toward her. “I suppose we will just have to find out, Shira.” And with that, a sick grin slowly morphed the once straight line of his thin lips into something so sinister it caused Shira's skin to crawl.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

The Final Test
<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">It had only been a few months since Shira had begun her training on Azulon Island, but for some reason, it felt like she had been here forever. Without the company of her son, and even Duke and Damian, she felt...alone. She had been having anxiety attacks for several nights straight, strange dreams of both Daisuke and Damian that would leave her waking up soaked in sweat and hardly able to catch her breath. The longer she remained on the island, the stronger her urge grew to dive headfirst into the sea and swim back to Kasaihana herself. Were it not for the dangerous creatures swimming about in the deepest parts of the sea, she would have done so by now. The day had come that she would have to face the daughter of Fuzen Kasai. During her time on the island, she had been able to witness quite a bit of the young woman's skill and she was most definitely a force to be reckoned with. Shira had even heard that Yuri was almost as strong as her father and could manipulate fire in ways that were both startling and devastating. It amazed her that Fuzen would allow this match to even take place, knowing that there was a definite risk that either his only daughter or his star pupil would die that night. Perhaps, he had some sort of plan to stop the fight before either of them died. Yes, that had to be his idea. Otherwise, she was unable to tell what sort of heartless prick would allow something like that to take place. The sun was setting beyond the mountains if Azulon as Shira decided to take a stroll through the village. The other trained monks used silent rooms and criss-cross apple sauce formation to meditate, but Shira found that a leisurely walk through the cool climate was enough to help her meditate like they did. She nodded politely to the villagers and monks passing by her, unaware that a young boy was watching her from within an alley. The boy casually slipped a smoking pipe into his mouth as he watched Shira from the distance, waiting until she got close enough to say out loud, “Hey, tutz, why the long face?” Shira was just about to whirl around with a lightnight speed punch when suddenly something rushed past and around her much quicker than she could capture. All she could see was a blur of colors before she suddenly felt as if someone were jabbing their knuckles up her right side and along the inner region of her right arm. Her arm suddenly went completely numb and collapsed to her side, causing her to lean sideways slightly. “What!? What the fuck did you just do to me, you fucking prick!?” She demanded angrily. The boy walked around to stand in front of her, his arms folded across his chest as he grinned casually at her. “Hey, you're that new chick Fuzen's been busy training, ain't ya?” The boy asked, leaning forward into her face as he massaged his chin thoughtfully. “I've heard lots about ya. Including the new juicy gossip that you got a match against that bratty daughter of his.” He chuckled. “Yeah, so what?” Shira said in a sharp tone. “That doesn't answer my goddamn question. What the fuck did you just do to my goddamn arm! Tell me or I'll rip YOURS out of their SOCKETS.” “Ooooh, I see why Fuzen chose ya. He likes 'em feisty, ya know. The ones with a little bit of...fire in their eyes.” CLACK! The boy's head snapped around as Shira's hand suddenly crackled hard against his face, his head remaining that way as his grin grew a little. “Alright, alright fine.” He said, not even bothering to rub his sore cheek which was now burning red from the hard slap it took. “You and I got something in common, Shira. Just like you, I was fooled into thinking that I'd won a 3-day vacation some paradise island. Thinking I'd found an escape from the hell I used to call home. And just like you, I watched hundreds of innocent people die, only to have my sorry ass dragged to this rock called Azulon. Not that I'm complainin' or anything.” The boy shrugged. “I was just some orphan street punk back home. Didn't really have much to live for except the thrill of beating up random people and stealin' their wallets. Every now and then I'd have to make a quick getaway from the KPD, but hey. That's a story for another ti--” “Will you just get to the goddamn point!” Shira yelled. “I can't move my fucking arm here!” The boy laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Sure, sure. My bad. So like I was saying, just like Fuzen took you under his wing, Master Kabal took me under his. I'm sure you've had a few run ins with the old man. He may be Fuzen's second in command of this island, but he actually ain't all bad. He's been lookin' out for my sorry ass since the first day I arrived here and, of course, that came with its perks. The old geezer taught me how to fight like him and the others. He uses special attacks like nothing anyone's ever seen before. Pressure points and shit. Weirdest goddamn thing I've ever seen, but when he taught it to me, I couldn't help but fall in love.” Shira narrowed her eyes at him. “So that's what the fuck you did to my arm? Hit a couple of pressure points and now I can't FUCKING MOVE IT??!” She was practically blowing steam out of her ears and nostrils at this point, getting in the boy's face as if she would do more than just slap him across the face now. “Pretty much.” The boy shrugged casually. “Master Kabal and I are the strongest on the island when it comes to pressure point attacks. However, I gotta let you in on this little secret of ours.” He looked left and right before returning his attention back to Shira. “The reason why Master Kabal set me up to find Azulon was because he did not want to be alone on this big rock.” He told her. Shira frowned. “What the hell do you mean?” She wondered. “He keeps it a secret, I guess for security purposes, but Master Kabal is what we like to call a Chi user.” An eyebrow arched above Shira's left eye. “And that is?” She asked. “It's a special type of energy certain people can use during combat and other situations. The more you train it, the more powerful it becomes, which makes Chi users some of the most dangerous fighters you'll ever encounter. You're from Kasaihana right? Living in a city like that, you've probably run into quite a few of them? Not that you would know first hand, but anyone capable of highly dangerous fighting techniques that may seem impossible for a human being to accomplish...is more than likely a Chi user.” Shira's eyes lowered to the ground as she thought about the past fights and spars she had been in. “Chi users are also capable of detecting other chi users and that's how Master Kabal found me when I was just a kid.” Shira lifted her eyes to look back at him. “So you're a Chi user, too?” She inquired. “Yep.” The boy nodded. “Me and Master Kabal are the only two on the island who can use the stuff. That's why I'm his star pupil, just like you're Lord Kasai's. Through careful study of the chi element, Master Kabal was able to locate points within the body that direct and channel Chi throughout the limbs and the brain of a Chi user. With his mastery of pressure points, he was able to discover exactly how he could strike a Chi-using opponent in one of these particular points to shut down the flow of Chi through certain areas of the body. That isn't exactly what I did to you, though. What I did to you was a set of pressure points that cause paralysis...obviously. I just learned it so, hey, I HAD to test it out on someone and when I saw you walking by I just couldn't resist.” Shira growled angrily, a large vein twitching on the side of her forehead as she glared fire and daggers at the boy. “Why, you little--” ''BOOM! ''Several villagers were startled as the boy's body suddenly went crashing through a booth filled with watermelons. He was laying in the wreckage of wooden shards and watermelons when Shira appeared above him, grabbing him by the color and pulling him up to look her in the eyes. However, his eyes were literally dizzied swirls and there was a small line of blood and snot dribbling from his nostril. “You gonna tell me how I can UN-paralyze my arm or am I gonna have to rips yours off and beat the living shit out of you with them.” She growled at him. “How about this,” The boy finally spoke, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs and dust bunnies out of his skull. “Instead of you beating the living hell out of me like you really want to right now, I can teach you all about the pressure point system. I can give ya a small hint....it might be very useful during your match tonight against Yuri Kasai.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;"><span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;color:rgb(255,255,255);">(( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGW7I4W9Etc<span style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;color:rgb(255,255,255);"> )) The stroke of midnight had finally arrived and nearly every life form on Azulon Island had gathered within the stands of the arena to watch the highly anticipated match. Just about everyone had placed their bets on Yuri Kasai for the win, simply because she was the God of Azulon's daughter, she was filled with the anger of an adolescent, and it was known throughout the island that she was nearly as strong as the old man herself. While walking through the village, Shira would even hear murmurs and frequent conversation about how badly she would lose this match and wind up dead before Fuzen could send her on her way. It was greatly discouraging to hear that just about the entire island was underestimating her, but she would not let their words bring her down or make her quit before she even began. As she made her way toward the large, oval-shaped building that made up the exterior of the arena, she thought of her son back in Kasaihana. Her little Daisuke, under the good care of Deucalion and Kaori but also wondering where his mother had gone. She could only imagine how many endless nights he would spend crying out of his anxiety rather than sleeping like little babies should, missing the warmth and comforting embrace of his mother. 'I'll be home soon, Daisuke.' Her inner voice spoke as she watched the large building grow closer and closer. 'I'm doing this...for you.' As soon as she walked in, Yuri was already standing in the center of the large arena, her arms folded across her chest as a cruel smirk lifted the corner of her lips. All around her, the monks and villagers filling the stands shouted and cheered while jumping up and down like jelly beans. It was as if they had gone from completely controlled warriors of the Odoru Ryu order to a bunch of ancient Greek bastards watching a bloody gladiator brawl. As Shira took her place across from where Yuri stood, she couldn't help but notice the large object shimmering from her back, her eyes narrowing as she observed the object. It was clearly made of metal judging by its silver color and had an all around sharp surface like some type of blade. It was its ringed shape that really drew her attention as she began to wonder exactly what it was. “I see you've noticed my prized possession.” Yuri spoke in an arrogant tone. “I call her the Dancing Lily, a Giant Chakram crafted by my own hand from the Mithruanium of the Azulon mountains. I'm sure by now you are well aware of the devastating wounds one can suffer by a blade made of Mithruanium.” Shira forced herself to look completely unfazed by the weapon, her eyes staring coldly into Yuri's. “So, you're going to use a weapon against me during this fight? Ha! I thought you were stronger than that. As you can see, I'm bare-handed. This is a fight of strength, is it not?” She replied in a smug tone. Yuri's grin faded when she heard that retort, scowling as she reached behind her and removed the blade from its harness on her back. Shira's eyes followed the movement of the blade as the light from inside the arena glinted off of its silver surface. “I did not bring it here to fight you with it.” She stated matter-of-factly. “But as more of a preview of my skill in smithing. Y'see, Shira, if you just so happen to win this match against me tonight, here in this very arena, I will give this weapon to you to keep as your own. But if I win, this same blade within my hands will be responsible for severing your head from your body as punishment for your failure to defeat me.” In the distance, Fuzen Kasai was seated in his personal box with Master Kabal seated next to him, his arms resting on the arms of his high-backed chair as his ember eyes watched both women in the center of the arena down below. “Are you sure you want these two to carry on with this?” Master Kabal turned his head to look at him, his aged eyes filled with concern. “A lot is at stake here. The possible loss of your daughter included. These people are here to watch Shira Hanako perish, but I have seen her strength. We are looking at an unpredictable outcome for this fight, Fuzen.” The old man was the only one who could call Lord Kasai by that name without suffering imminent death. However, Fuzen seemed completely unfazed by his words. It was true that he would possibly lose the very thing he had put forth plenty of effort to build, but the thought did not seem to bother him. NOTHING seemed to bother him. He looked more like a cold vessel built of fire and stone rather than an actual human being at the moment, because there was no care or concern in his dark, ember eyes toward anything that was happening before him. Master Kabal had known him for many, many years now, and knew that there was hardly a damn thing Fuzen gave half a shit about besides increasing his power and dominance. But this? This was absolutely absurd!

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">With a flick of her wrist, Yuri sent her Giant Chakram sailing through the air, lodging it into the brick wall of the arena several yards away. “Now, Shira Hanako.” She smirked. “Let us BEGIN!” Before Shira could even get into a proper fighting stance, Yuri lunged at her at such a high speed that all she could see was a flash of red, black and gold coming at her like a bullet and the next thing she knew, several dozen palm strikes were being thrown at her almost as fast as the speed of light. Shira's body weaved side to side and back and forth in order to dodge the onslaught of attacks coming her way, ducking beneath the last before pushing back on her legs in order to back flip away from Yuri. While her legs were in midair, Yuri managed to grab onto her ankle and turn her body in the opposite direction, planting her feet down firmly as she slammed Shira's body into the stone floor of the arena. The harsh impact caused Shira to roll several feet away, grunting in pain as she then rolled right into a crouched stance. 'She's fast...and insanely strong.' She thought to herself as she eyed her opponent. 'If I can't outdo her in strength and speed...I'm going to have to use it against her.' Pushing off on her back foot, Shira charged forward while remaining low to the ground, rotating her hips in order to swing her legs out from behind her to the front of her. It was a motion similar to break dancing and with her legs sweeping directly under Yuri's feet, the movement was sure to knock the girl off balance. However, Yuri was able to retaliate almost instantly, cartwheeling sideways out of the path of the technique. Swinging her legs back around behind her, Shira landed in a frog-like crouch before rising to her feet to glare at her opponent. Yuri still wore that smug grin on her face, which would give any opponent the impression that she had something up her sleeve for this match. But Shira knew better than to fall for a pretty poker face. Releasing a shout, Shira jumped high enough into the air to spin at a rapid 360 motion and deliver a shattering spin kick to the side of Yuri's head. Her right arm snapped upward just in time, bent at a 90 degree angle so that the side of Shira's foot came in contact with the bone of her forearm in stead of the side of her head, sending pain throughout the limb but not severely injuring her. Not even a second after this happened, Yuri flung that same arm outward which caused Shira's leg to push out in the same direction, causing her to spin around in midair before splattering to the floor at Yuri's feet. “Is this the girl you chose to become your star pupil, Father?!” Her voice echoed loudly throughout the arena with evil glee as she planted her boot heel between Shira's shoulder blades, pushing her down into the hardpacked floor with harsh force. “Just look at her! All she is is an insignificant worm who deserves nothing more than to be crushed under my boot!” Yuri lifted the same foot upward and was just about to plunge her heel into Shira's spine when Shira detected the movement and rolled out from under her as quickly as possible. Rolling into a crouch and charging at Yuri's side, she skidded to a halt beside her, her upper body turning to deliver a powerful clothesline to Yuri's exposed chest. Yuri's eyes widened as she felt the impact of the clothesline, but also the concussive force that had been applied behind it. It seemed that she froze with her legs slowly lifting off of the floor and into the air in front of her before she suddenly blasted off across the arena. Almost all eyes watching widened as her body went tumbling and rolling like a tumbleweed across the arena floor, soon slamming so hard into the stone wall that several cracks traveled through its surface as well as creating a slight tremor. A cloud of dust loomed where Yuri's body had crashed into the wall but only for a while. Once it began to clear, Shira spotted the young woman slowly rising from the small crater she had created within the stone, something fierce flashing across her eyes as she rose to her full height of almost six feet. Her hands which were hanging by her sides began to curl into fists as she said, “So, you think you're ready to kick things up a notch, Shira Hanako? Feeling a little tough over there, girl?” Shira's annoyance with Yuri's constant trash talk made her inwardly growl as she too balled her hands into fists, tensing her muscles in preparation for her next attack. “Why don't you just shut the hell up and fight me already!” On the last word, Shira broke forward into a full speed dash toward her opponent, Yuri immediately mimicking the motion. Both women pulled their hands back beside them and it appeared that they were both about to deliver one hell of a punch to each other. At last getting close to each other, both women swung their fists at the exact same time. Shira, having channeled enough kinetic energy into the readied arm that she thought she would have had the upper hand, was met with quite a shock when, as soon as both fists collided, an explosion of energy resulted on impact. Both women were blasted off into two opposite directions as the shock wave of kinetic energy expanded almost throughout the entire fighting area. It had been so powerful that they were alarmed when their bodies went crashing through opposite walls of the arena and soon found themselves outside lying on the hardpacked earth. Shira groaned in response to the pain shooting through her entire body, slowly lifting herself into a sitting position after laying on the ground for a few seconds. She was now covered in grayish-white dust from crashing through several tons of granite, having to wipe the back of her hand across her face to keep it from falling down from her hair into her eyes. “Tell me, Shira!” A familiar voice sounded from above and when Shira looked up, she saw Yuri standing on the ceiling of the arena, looking down at her like a domineering goddess about to strike her down. “Do you feel powerful because you are my Father's newest PET?!” At that, Shira pulled her legs toward her body and kicked them upward into an arched direction, catapulting herself to her feet. “Given the amount of time that you have been here, my Father was able to teach you only a few things. He knew that when you challenged me, you would lose this fight. Why? Because he has taught me so much more. He has taught me things that you could never even imagine.” Shira slid her feet apart as her arms bent at the elbows, readying herself for anything Yuri planned to throw at her. “Oh yeah? Why don't you shut the fuck up and prove it, bitch!” She shouted back, while in the back of her mind, she knew that she would soon regret that statement. “Very well.” Yuri's lips curled into a vicious grin as she raised both of her hands upward beside her and with a loud shout, thrusting them back downward as her head snapped back. In that instant, flames burst all around her, but to Shira's surprise, the flames did not possess a normal gold or reddish color. Instead, they were blue. An odd crystal blue. Her eyes slightly widened as she took a step back, her teeth gnashing together as she thought to herself. 'What the fuck is this? She didn't even have to voice activate her power!' When Yuri's head lowered to peer back down at Shira, her eyes were no longer their normal hazel hue, but a glowing solid white. That gaze combined with the evil grin on her lips was enough to send a shiver up Shira's spine but she refused to be shaken by fear. No matter what this crazy little girl threw at her, she was still going to fight with everything she had. “My Father cares NOTHING about your existence!” With a forward thrusting motion of both of her fists, blue flames came exploding from Yuri's knuckles, headed for Shira faster than she could register. However, instead of slamming right into her body, the flames struck the ground just an inch in front of her feet, creating an explosion that sent the redhead flipping backwards through the air. Shira screamed as her body did several backflips and cartwheels, managing to clear a distance of 30 feet before crashing through the wall of a nearby village home. Furniture was destroyed as a result of her rolling through what appeared to be an empty dining room and for a moment, all she could do was lay facedown in the wreckage. 'I must not give up....I must keep fighting. For the sake of proving my strength...' Her inner voice echoed in her mind. “Nanomachines!” She pushed herself to her feet slowly and with slightly staggered motions. Having completed so many flips and cartwheels, her head was still spinning like a carousel at an amusement park. “Activate! Energy level 60 percent!” The wind made a harsh crackling noise as it suddenly began to swirl around her like a funnel, whipping her hair up above her head like a tongue of fire. Several pieces of broken and upturned furniture flew across the dining room in response to the harsh gust of wind, and several more were thrown through the air as Shira suddenly charged forward with enhanced speed. Her body broke through the air so forcefully that it created a harsh shock wave that crackled throughout the entire room. With her Nanomachines now activated, her speed was enhanced by nearly sevenfold, which now granted her the ability to move faster than the average human could. This speed applied with enhanced strength allowed her to bull-doze through the wall of the house and hardly a second after she had done so, the house exploded into a plume of blue flames. She gasped as the force of the explosion slammed hard into her back, sending her flying forward. This time instead of hitting the ground and rolling around like a tumbleweed, she flipped herself forward while at the same time twisting her body which converted the motion into a back flip. Plunging her fingers into the ground, she used them to slow down her momentum. Because of her now enhanced durability, her fingers did not break as a result but skin had most definitely been broken. Her eyes which now glowed red with the Nano-energy pumping through her veins watched the village house crumble to the ground, narrowing when they saw Yuri march out of the wreckage and blue fire. Eyes suddenly flashing a brighter white, Yuri reached her left hand back behind her, the blue fire which engulfed the remains of the house beginning to swirl toward her palm, forming what looked like an enormous, whirling sphere of fire. The sphere grew so large that it could have engulfed both of them at the same time. “My Father actually pities you, Shira Hanako. He knows you are weak. He knows you are NOTHING!” At the same time that she shouted the last word, she flung the giant sphere of blue flames forward with such speed and force that Shira only had mere seconds to retaliate. Shira's eyes narrowed as the enhanced speed factor within her brain was able to send signals to her enhanced eyes which slowed down the approaching of the attack according to her vision. Within that time frame, she was able to calculate what her next move would be and immediately went to execute it. Sucking in a deep breath, she pulled both of her hands back toward either side of her chest, at the same time rocking backwards onto her back foot. “You...are WRONG!” She thrusted both open palms forward as hard as she could and a trail of crimson red flames immediately shot out toward the very center of the sphere. The red flames ripped right through the sphere but did not disperse it, creating a pocket within the fiery attack large enough to fit the size of a man. Shira bolted forward once this door of opportunity had opened, and Yuri's eyes widened when she saw the red head pop out of the other side of the sphere with both of her hands now pulled back into her left side. “He chose me for a reason!” She shouted as she stopped directly in front of Yuri and swung both hands upward in an upper cut motion as if she was pushing something straight up into the air. Instead of slamming her palms directly into Yuri's chin, a wall of flames erupted from the ground beneath her, catapulting her exactly fifty feet into the air. With her legs already bent, Shira channeled enough potential energy into her legs to launch herself upward, reaching the same altitude that Yuri had within seconds. As Yuri flipped over to face her, Shira swung a powerful high straight lead at her opponent's nasal area, her palm slamming hard against her face and sending her blasting backwards through the air. A normal human being's face would have shattered as a result of such a blow, but Yuri Kasai was clearly far from normal. The white-eyed woman curled her body into a graceful back flip several feet away as Shira landed on her feet in the distance. A sick grin once again crept across her features, causing Shira's eyes to narrow as she wondered just what the little brat was planning. It was as if her previous attacks had left little to no effects on her. “And what reason is that?” She said to Shira in a rather taunting voice as her head tilted slowly to the side. “Is it because he thinks you're pretty. Oh, surely you must know you are well<span style="font-size:medium;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;color:rgb(255,255,255);"> out of his league.” She began to chuckle after that, causing Shira's brows to furrow deeper. For some reason, th <span style="font-size:medium;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;color:rgb(255,255,255);">at statement made her almost immediately think of Damian, the Father of her first and only son. If he had heard something like that, his over protective nature would have taken over instantly and his aura of anger alone would ha <span style="font-size:medium;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;color:rgb(255,255,255);">ve been enough to send Yuri and her little monk buddies packing. “Unfortunately for him...” She growled angrily. “I've already got a man back home.” Yuri cocked her chin up at that. “Hmm, I wonder what he's like. Is he big and strong like the man every woman dreams of? Oh, I wonder if I were to meet him, who would he choose between you and me?” Those words instantly triggered a level of anger that Shira hadn't felt for quite a while, seeing as though for the longest, she had gotten a pretty good grip on her emotions. She felt that grip slip off, her right eye twitching slightly as she glared fire and daggers at Yuri Kasai. “Oh, yes. I'm sure that man of yours wouldn't be able to resist beautifully tanned skin, flowing dark hair...and curves to die for-” “THAT'S ENOUGH!!!!” Shira shouted at the top of her lungs as her anger rippled from her body in a burst of red flames, rippin



<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">g the very dust of the ground outward around her. “NANOMACHINES ACTIVATE! ENERGY LEVEL 75 PERCENT!” The winds began to stir furiously around the area as the Nanomachines within her body did exactly as they had been commanded, the intensity of the newly awakened power flowing so rapidly throughout her body that it began to heat the layers of her skin. Yuri aimed her right hand forward. At the same time, the blue flames surrounding her body began to swirl about the extended arm, forming a large barrier around it. As Shira watched the shifting, bending, and twisting motions of the flames around Yuri's arm, she was surprised to discover that it was taking the shape of an enormous...cannon??? The cannon extended to nearly ten feet in length and was wide enough to have engulfed her entire body if she had wanted it to do so. A strange, anxious feeling swept over Shira but before she could slow herself down--- ''BOOM! ''An enormous ball of blue fire spewed out from the flaming cannon, traveling in Shira's direction at mach speeds. Even with the red flames surrounding her, she was unable to block such a powerful attack at the distance that she had put between Yuri and herself and was met with a start as the blue flame cannon ball slammed directly into her with a startling explosion. She crashed hard into the ground on her back after clearing several yards, rolling onto her side just in time to see another flaming blue cannon ball headed her way. Using quick reflexes to react, it was almost automatic for her throw herself out of the path of the second blast. Several seconds later, another loud booming sound was heard as the cannon struck the wall of the arena a distance away, creating an explosion which echoed throughout almost the entire village. The building itself was not destroyed entirely, but the entire wall that had been struck collapsed along with the stands that were built along the interior of that particular wall. Dozens of startled monks could be heard shouting and screaming as their bodies plummeted several feet to the ground and were soon buried beneath several tons of granite. Fuzen simply stared with uncaring eyes as half of his arena had been destroyed right in front of him, yet not even the sight of several hundred men dying could faze him as he remained unharmed and unscathed where he sat next to Master Kabal. “The seriousness of this match has certainly escalated, hasn't it, Fuzen?” Master Kabal couldn't help but comment, unable to pry his wide eyes away from the now non-existent wall of the arena. “They will soon destroy the entire village if one of them does not die by the hands of the other.” Fuzen stated calmly, his eyes lowering shut as he released a careless sigh. “In which case I will probably have to invest in slaves to rebuild what remains...”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">Shira was now racing through the village faster than the human eyes could register, leaving only a trail of red fire behind her. She was only able to achieve such a speed while 75 percent of her Nano-energy was active, which she noticed was beginning to create a strain on her body. Her arms and legs moved back and forth at rapid speeds as she zig-zagged out of the way of the enormous cannon balls of blue fire being launched at her from behind. Yuri followed closely behind her and it was evident that the only goal in her mind was to cause ultimate destruction and chaos as, all around the village, houses and other buildings burst into blue flames after being struck by her wrath-filled attacks. A cannon ball just barely grazed past Shira's arm and exploded against the ground beside her, just as she had planted her right foot into the ground and pushed her body sideways, using the enhanced strength in her legs to jump onto a nearby roof top. Clay panels slid downward beneath her feet as she ran along the roof of what appeared to be a sushi shop. “Do you think you can run for long, weakling?!” Yuri bellowed after her, skidding on her feet while pivoting sideways to face the sushi shop. Aiming her fire cannon at the ceiling, she released a shout as she blasted away at her red-haired target. Shira gasped when she saw the ball of blue flames headed her way and had just taken a step back to dodge when a roof panel slipped out from under her left foot, causing her to fall onto her back. She could feel the intensity of the heat the cannon ball gave off as it just barely grazed over the skin of her face, causing a few strands of her hair to sizzle. She growled. “That was an expensive fucking dye job you just ruined, bitch.” She catapulted herself to her feet, her eyes locking onto her opponent below. Just as Yuri was about to fire another flaming cannon ball her way, Shira turned her body sideways then snapped the foot that was facing Yuri outward in her direction. A roof panel shot out from under her foot as fast as a bullet. Yuri only had a split second to react before a large chunk of red clay smashed into her face, causing her to cry out in pain. Seeing that the idea had been successful, Shira continued to pivot left and right across the roof, kicking more panels at Yuri until the woman was literally being pelted over and over again. At last, Shira took a few steps back, ran toward the edge of the roof and jumped. Yuri was still flailing about when Shira sailed through the air directly above her. Waiting until her opponent was just beneath her, she pulled her hands back until she was reaching almost behind her waist line, then with a powerful shout, thrusted them forward while at the same time closing them into tight fists. Fire exploded from her knuckles in a violent rush, roaring loudly as it plummeted down toward Yuri at mach speed. Any other opponent probably would not have been able to dodge such a speedy and powerful attack, but with Yuri's many years of intense training, she had gotten quite used to such attacks. Feeling the approaching heat of the attack, she dove forward out of the path of the flames, whirling her body around in midair so that her back was facing the ground while she lifted her fully active fire cannon toward Shira. ''BOOM! ''The maneuver had happened so quickly that Shira was still in mid air when the flaming cannon ball slammed into her, the powerful explosion bouncing her clean over her designated landing spot which was the roof of another building. Crashing hard into a pile of stacked crates and barrels, she rolled out onto the dusty ground along with several pounds of foul-smelling trout that had been inside them. The stench of dead fish and salty sea water wafted into her nostrils, causing her to gag as she staggered to her feet. Suddenly, Yuri's feet slid across the dust as she appeared from around the side of the building. Shira turned and bolted in the opposite direction just as another cannon ball had been fired at her. She flinched with her arms in front of her face as she ran by the home that had been hit, an explosion of bright blue flames threatening to blind her as she was now racing through the village.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">Seeing that their fight had taken a rather destructive turn upon the village itself, Shira pivoted on her heel and made an abrupt turn onto a trail that she knew would lead away from civilization. She moved like a bullet up the winding trail, soon plunging into the wilderness outside of the village that was mostly dominated by trees and wild life. Having been on the island for quit a gaining a sense of direction within it, she knew that this trail would soon lead them up into the mountains. The terrain would be dangerous but at least no more homes and businesses within the village would suffer destruction. If one were to be watching from the distance, all they would see is two figures racing up into the mountainous region of the island leaving one red streak and one blue streak of fire. It was quite clear that Yuri cared nothing about Mother Nature and the condition of the forest as she fired several more cannon balls Shira's way. As Shira managed to tuck and roll side to side out of the way of each blast, several areas of the forest almost instantly became engulfed in flames. Yuri continued to fire away at her, eventually landing a cannon blast on the ground just inches away from her heels. The resulting explosion sent Shira flying forward through the air, crashing through several large trees which were instantly ignited in flames, before breaking out of the woodsy area and into what appeared to be a clearing. She smashed hard into the ground, rolling and rolling and rolling some more until suddenly, she could no longer feel the ground beneath her. Her heart skipped a beat as she instinctively reached her hand out in front of her. She had no idea what she was grabbing for but she knew that judging by the sudden pull of gravity on her body, she had to reach for SOMETHING. Her fingers felt the grip of a rocky ledge hardly a second before the front of her body slammed hard into the under face of a cliff. She glanced back over her shoulder with wide eyes. Several hundred feet down below her was the ocean surrounding the island, but the rushing water crashing into the bottom of the cliff did not startle her more than the jagged rocks waiting for her at the very bottom. Had she not reached out upon feeling the ground missing from under her, she would have been skewed atop one or more of those rocks. “Well would you look at that.” Yuri chuckled as she slowed her running down to a taunting strut, her sadistic white eyes peering down at Shira as she dangled from the cliff edge. “Looks like Daddy's favorite little student has....reached the end of the line. Just face the facts here, Shira Hanako. My father made a big mistake when he chose you to become his star pupil. You are just as weak as the rest of those scum bags running around Kasaihana City and you've done nothing but proved that to be true throughout this entire fight. You cannot defeat me. You should have known this before you even decided to challenge me. Ha! Foolish girl. It's such a pity that you'll never be able to go back home to that...big strong man of yours.” Slowly raising her arm that was still engulfed inside the flaming cannon, she tilted her head to the side and said in a low, devious tone. “Perhaps he can use a woman like me to take your place, anyway.” Shira's expression went blank as she stared at the nozzle of the cannon hovering just an inch or two above her face. She knew that there would only be one outcome of this. She would be blasted at such a close range that it would probably obliterate her like those village houses and her body would be cast into the ocean, never to be seen again. Daisuke would grow up in the dangerous city of Kasaihana without a loving mother by his side and if Yuri actually had the balls to travel all the way out there just to hunt down Damian...well...she couldn't even imagine what would happen after the fact. The very thought filled her with such anger, such rage that her very essence of rational thought had begun to fade out of her mind, igniting her with only one urge: To destroy the very likes of Yuri Kasai. Even if that meant ending her own life in return. The only thing that she could think to do at that moment, was push herself beyond her given limitations. Fuzen had warned her of the risks of doing such a thing, but in her current state of mind, she didn't give a damn. “Nanomachines,” She said in a grunting voice. “Activate...95 percent power....” Almost instantly after hearing this, Yuri's eyes widened to the size of golf balls. “WHAT?!” Was all she could say before-- BOOM! Her body was hurled through the air by a burst of flames that expanded so far out that it caused the side of the mountain to tremble. Shira burst through the air like a red rocket after her, slamming a flaming right hook so hard into her jaw line that, within seconds, Yuri's body sailed backwards like a bullet and burrowed into the side of the mountain like a missile. Yuri was completely caught off guard by Shira's ability to reach 95 percent of Nano-energy and it was evident in the way that she stared at her with wide, frightened eyes. “That is impossible!” She shouted as her back was stuck with the enormous crater they had created in the side of the mountain. “NO ONE CAN REACH SUCH A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF POWER EXCEPT FOR MY FATHER!” She lifted her fire cannon to aim it at Shira as the vicious, red-haired monster rocketed toward her, hoping to put some leverage between the two. However, after having accessed such a high energy level, her speed was damn near unmatched. At the exact same time that Yuri fired, Shira twisted sideways out of the way as if knowing exactly what was going to happen and when. The next thing Yuri knew, she was directly in front of her, but was unable to fire again when she suddenly felt Shira's knuckles jab hard along the side of her body. Yuri's arm had been raised to accommodate the fire cannon which left Shira opportunity to perform a technique that she had learned from a complete stranger. Starting from Yuri's hip, she jabbed her knuckles into several points located along her ribs and up the inner region of her arm, which sent a numbing sensation all throughout that side of Yuri's body. Her eyes widened as her fire cannon shut down immediately, unable to figure out what had just happened to her. “What?! YOU BITCH!! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DO---!” Shira's hand quickly gripped Yuri's throat and squeezed with such pressure that her ability to breathe was instantly cut off. Her eyes bulged as oxygen could no longer reach her lungs and with Shira's physical strength now reaching a level that neither of the two had been expecting, she found it to be damn near impossible to pry her hand off of her throat. “What's that? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't seem to catch a damn word you were saying while it seems that I am too busy squeezing the life out of you!”  Her voice sounded different. It leaked with venom and something that sounded almost...evil. Her glowing red eyes were bulging psychotically out of her face as her lips pulled back into a sickeningly sadistic grin beneath them, nearly all of her pearly whites showing between her crooked lips. Her vision was blood red now, meaning she did not see a simple opponent that she would honorably defeat and go about her merry way. No. She now saw a target. An object of complete worthlessness that deserved nothing more than to be beaten into unrecognizable mutilation and suffer the most gruesome death that Shira could possibly deliver. This was exactly what Fuzen and Master Kabal had been discussing when Fuzen had spoken the idea of injecting the Nanomachines into Shira's blood stream with no limitations as to what power level she could access. Now, that very thing that Master Kabal feared had just come to life within the young red-haired woman. And if someone did not stop her, not only would she end Yuri, but she would then proceed to obliterate the entire island as well. The Jekyll & Hyde Factor had completely taken over. “Can't talk all that shit now CAN YOU?!” Still tightly clutching Yuri's throat, Shira began to throw her fist into the woman's face over and over and over again, her fist moving back and forth at such a high speed that it was only a blur. With each hit, blood spurted from Yuri's face, soon soaking both of their clothing as it splashed in all directions. “Not feeling so powerful are you...PRINCESS!” Roaring out the last word, Shira took a step back and delivered an uppercut so powerful to Yuri's chin that it sent her body rocketing upward through the side of the mountain, sending chunks of rock falling below her. Shira propelled herself into the air after her, grabbing Yuri by the collar of her sparring gear, turning and flinging her several dozen feet to the ground below. As soon as she landed on her back, Shira's body plummeted straight down on top of hers, dozens of devastating punches raining down on the poor girl's face with enough force to shake the side of the mountain as more and more of it began to collapse. “Can't you see, Yuri? YOU are the weak one! YOU are the one to be pitied! That is why your father chose ME! Because he saw the potential in me! The same potential that you clearly LACK!!!” Standing up, she grabbed Yuri by the throat once again and turned her body sideways, spreading her legs so that she could place her full body's effort into pitching Yuri through the air. She sailed above the woods that were now on fire at mach speed and Shira was right on her trail, going to work on her as she punched, kicked, spun and jabbed at Yuri's helpless body. Both women had cleared such a great distance and in such a little amount of time that they didn't realize that they were now hovering directly above the village. “You are a failure! You have always been a failure in the eyes of your almighty father! And now you shall pay the price of a failure! Now....YOU SHALL DIE!!!” Shira had linked both of her hands together, raised them high above her head and was just about them slam them straight down into Yuri's body which would have sent her plummeting straight down several hundred feet into the earth, when Fuzen's deep, authoritative voice boomed suddenly throughout the area. “Nanomachines...DEACTIVATE!” Shira froze with her hands still raised, her eyes widening as a sudden stiff feeling took over her body. The Nanomachines instantly began to slow down, no longer pumping searing hot Nano-energy through her veins. The psychotic expression began to melt off of Shira's face as the reddish glow of her eyes slowly faded, sapphire blue hues now looking up into the sky above. Her arms began to lower as she felt consciousness slip away from her. Soon she and Yuri were falling from the sky. The monks who had evacuated the arena were now standing in a congregation directly outside of it, all of them watching as both women hit the ground hard in the midst of them. Shira landed on her side, her body curled inward and her eyes shut, looking as though she had fallen asleep right in the red dust. Yuri fell face-up onto her back, leaving her bloodied and mutilated face exposed for the surrounding crowd to see. Her clothing was soaked in her own blood, some of which leaked from her mouth and nose thanks to the internal bleeding she suffered from Shira's powerful body attacks.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">Fuzen stood above the bodies of both women, his deepset ember eyes peering down at them both with evident indifference. Beside him, Master Kabal forced himself to take a deep breath, fighting to keep the same level of composure as his superior. “Your daughter has been defeated, Lord Kasai.” He stated, at last calling him by his preferred name. “Are you going to go through with the traditions of this island?” Fuzen elevated his gaze so that he was now looking off into the distance. “No. Shira is in no condition to take a life, as you can see.” He replied. Master Kabal was alarmed to hear that that was the only reason why he would keep his daughter alive. Time and time again did this man only prove himself to be much colder and more heartless than what everyone initially thought of him. “But there is greater punishment than death. And that is suffering with your failure. Yuri will live, but will forever be haunted by this battle. She will never be able to forget this very defeat...and it will eat away at her mind and soul until the rest of her being rots with regret. That will be her end. Now, if you will be so kind as to retrieve that gods-forsaken weapon of hers. A prize has been promised for the victor of this fight.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<span id="cke_bm_169S" style="display:none;">  Part VIII: Is It Really Over?<span id="cke_bm_169E" style="display:none;">
<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">Shira groaned softly as her eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing two sapphire blue orbs that were glazed over with evident fatigue. She could feel the softness of a cot beneath her back as her vision quickly began to adjust, looking around to discover that she was no longer in a heated battle with Yuri Kasai, but was instead in the peaceful confines of the bedroom Fuzen had provided her within the temple. A couple of Fuzen's servants were busy cleaning and bandaging the wounds she had received from the fight, the oldest looking of the group of women putting on a friendly smile when she saw that Shira had awakened. “Did you have a good rest, young one?” The woman asked. Shira blinked once after turning her head to look at her. “I...I guess so.” She tried to move, but her muscles felt weakened and cramped. “Where...where is Yuri? Is she alright?” She remembered that during the last few moments of the fight, something had taken over her completely. Something that made her feel...like a savage, blood-thirsty monster. She could hardly remember exactly what she had done to Yuri in the end, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that it was quite gruesome. Hearing the question, the older woman looked away slightly as if suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “Yuri is....in intensive care at the moment.” She answered quietly. “Our physicians were very surprised to discover that she has suffered physical damages that may...take quite some time to repair. She might be subjected to bed rest for a long time...but other than that, she is still breathing.” Shira could only stare at the woman when she heard those words. “Were you watching? Can you tell me what I did to her? For some reason...I can't remember.” “That is because you were not you.” A deep voice suddenly entered the room as Fuzen's domineering presence stepped through the doorway. Hands clasped behind his back and hidden within his dragging sleeves as they usually were, he turned to face the bed Shira lay upon, his dark, ember gaze looking over her covered body. “Leave us.” He said to the servants. Obediently, the servants left the room, except for the older woman who reverently approached Fuzen with her head bowed. “My lord, if I may make a suggestion, the young woman will not be fully healed for several days it would be safer to keep her on the island for a while longer instead of sending her ho--” She was cut off when Fuzen's hand lifted. “Leave or your disobedience will result in cruel and intolerable torture in the dungeons.” She nodded and left without another word, leaving the heartless ruler of Azulon and Shira alone inside the room. Returning his hand to its original place, he looked down at Shira and stated, “It appears you are the victor of the match between yourself and my daughter.” Shira winced in pain as she forced herself to sit upright. “I'm really sorry, Lord Kasai. I didn't mean to do what I did. It's just...it was like something took over me out there. It felt like I became something else toward the end of the fight.” She explained to him. Fuzen hummed in thought before calmly explaining to her the Jekyll & Hyde Factor that she had been subjected to when she activated such a high level of Nano-energy. Hearing such a thing caused her eyes to widen with fear...of herself. “You would have killed her.” Fuzen stated. However, his tone held no sort of care or compassion toward the fact that he could have lost his only daughter in that fight. “And as you know, the laws and traditions of this island state that the victor of a battle must slay his defeated opponent as punishment for his lack of strength. However, I know that the thought of losing to you will be torture enough for my daughter and is a punishment far worse than death on her part. You should feel...refreshed.” Shira hardly knew what to say as she listened to Fuzen's words, her eyes lowering when she thought back to the elder nurse's words. “So...will I really have to stay on this island longer?” She asked, feeling dismayed on the inside. After all she'd been through, all she wanted to do was go back home to her son and her friends. The home sickness had long begun to eat away at her. “No.” Fuzen replied. “You have already endured your final trial here on this island.” At that, Shira's head perked up. “I anticipated that my daughter's jealousy and rage would soon consume her and she would challenge you to fight her. However, I did not expect you to be the one to issue the challenge. For that, I must say...I am proud of what I have created. I will be sending you back to Kasaihana City. But keep in mind that your training is far from over. There is still much to be taught and much to learn.” Shira nodded. “I understand. I just...I just want to see my son again...” Fuzen was not moved by that, but instead walked around to the side of the bed, getting close to her. Shira watched his right arm lift and grip her by the shoulder and the next thing she felt was a painful pinch shoot through her shoulder. Blackness consumed her vision a split second later, her body flopping back onto the bed instantly.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">“Yes, Shira Hanako.” Fuzen then made his way out of the room. “Your training has only just begun...”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;">