BtF - Part IX

Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, February 15th, 2022

Sakura gets out of her bathtub and, after draining herself; she covers with a robe, as she gets out of the bath. She turns to the side and shocks…to see the Blue Ronin just there, staring to her leading on a wall.

“How did you get far from the entrance?”

He smiles.

“They are such a weak thing against my strong purpose.”

“You risk discovery…”

“No one saw me coming, and I would risk anything for you.”

“We cannot do this…”she shakes her head.”

“No.” He approaches while keeping his blue eyes on hers and places his hand on her cheek, still wet by the water. “We cannot…”

He got near, both of them close their eyes and begin a passionate kiss and remain like that for a long time. He grabs her back and passes her against the walls he took out his jacket and begins to kiss her neck. They move of a second time towards the bed and continue kissing, and as they fall she was against the bed and he was on top of her. They continue kissing each other as he then removes his shirt. Thy continue loving each other when he suddenly stops. She opens her eyes as he notices him begging stabbed in the neck as lots of blood came out of the wound. He could not breathe and just shake his body, looking to his wieldy opened eyes towards Sakura. She looks at his back, noticing Shun, staring at them with anger and hate on his face holding a katana with silver blade, which had pierced thought his best friend’s neck. He removes it, as he the almost lifeless body falls out of the bed.

Sakura looks at him with absolute fear.

“You fucking whore!”

He raises the blade, and she begins to scream out loud, he lowers the blade… ---

Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, February 15th, 2022

Sakura gets up in an instant, with her heart beating as fast as ever.

Someone knocked the door.

“Sakura are you alright? It is me Otome. You were screaming.”

“Yes thank you Otome. It was a…bad dream.”

“What was it?”

“I will tell you later. I have to get to the Dojo early today.”

“Alright!”

She places her had on her chest, as its rate slowly got slower. She got up and got dressed, trying to remove his thought from her head.

---

Kirei student form up on the Dojo. Shun, Tai and Izumi among them, getting ready for today, as it would be a hard and to be endured day.

The only out of this was the current champion of the Dojo, standing outside of the Dojo looking towards the garden and the Sakura blooms floating in the sky, and his thought loosen in a sea of confusion. His thinking is interrupting when Kirei steps into the Dojo, as the students formed, he did the same.

The sensei started speaking.

“Today is the day that many of you have been longing for. Today we start with the competition, which shall decide who truly stands champion of this class, and will end in tomorrow, with the final fight. We see who is worthy of the title of champion of this Dojo. We will see the skills and potential of each one of you. But only one, the best of the best, shall rise as the new champion and gain right to face my best student Yamato Ovan in proper contest. Form in battle position!”

Her looks to all his students, they form up on a square formation. Three lines making a form similar to a square, leaving the opened side for Kirei to see the battles. And briefly stays his sight on the one he had found out that was a gladiator.

“I wish you all good luck in these fights, and may the best win. Start!”

---

“Keisuke! Shun! Take position!”

Both of them briefly look at each other, as they both entered the center of the student square, and got ready, looking at each other with swords drawn. They face each other, and after both of them show signs of wanting to star, trying to fool the opponent, but finally Shun attacks, but his opponent parries the blade. He makes a second attack, but his rival fall back and ten advances, trying to make Shun go down by moving himself to the right and making his sword hit shin in the face, but the later bends his legs, as the blade passed inches from his head. He counters by moving his body 180º and trying to slash Keisuke, but le lowers his body and rolls on the ground and gets up. Upon this, Shun just jumps making a powerful downwards slash, and then for second time both of them were nearly parried by Keisuke, but at last he kicked him to the ground, near the edge, as the students forced him up to continue fighting making him fall to the ground near the end of the square, and is forced up by the students, to continue fighting.

Sakura walks of her part of the dojo, and looks to her boyfriend fighting, and keeps her sight on him, but he then looks at her, as they stare to each other or a brief moment, but she quickly parts and leaves. He turns his sight to the battle, while he is still confused. Keisuke attack, Shun parries placing the blade vertically in front of him and the makes a high attack, with Keisuke evades by lowering both of his knees, but Shun approaches him while he was about to make an attack, and makes a Kenjustsu grabbing technique, throwing him to the ground, and hitting it powerfully. He places the tip of the blade to his neck. “I concede!” Keisuke says

---

The Blue Ronin eludes a powerful thrust directly to his face, and then another more as this one just passed in front of his eyes and then he parried. Tai attacked him once more, but he managed to get the blade out of in front of him, and then fight back. Sakura Naoto and Sakura appeared on the Dojo, giving to Kirei an herbal tea, as Yamato Ovan, also steps into the dojo, looking to the battle of the current champion. Sakura briefly looked to the fight.

He managed to push him back hitting him with his shoulder and sending him directly to the ground, as he was glad to do this, he looked towards Kirei for a second, but his sight was distracted as he saw Sakura, looking at him, but she parts quickly as he remain looking at her.

Distraction. Bad mistake.

Tai get up and, when he had noticed, he made a powerful thrust with his sword, which he could nearly parry, and then Tai swings the swords upwards, making him bleed in the mouth, and the red liquid falls to his hakama, making it dirty as some more blood came out from his mouth.

Sakura, looked to other side upon sighing this.

Still, he did not fall back, and soon he countered the strikes Tai makes with more of his own, forcing him to fall back. They briefly look to one another, as his normal and calmed sight turned to one raged and ready to strike his friend. Tai finally attacks, with a heavy horizontal hit, but he rolls in the ground making the attack pass above of him as he rapidly got up when he was at his friends back. Tai tied to turn 180º, but he predicted this, catches the hand of his friend with his left hand, and then with his other arm makes its spin around his friends. He spins 360º, making the sword slip from his fingers. Tai tries to punch him, but he lowers his body once again and pushes him to the ground. He still continues his assault while he is still on the ground, attacking with several powerful downwards slashes, while Tai covered himself with his forearms. He continues attacking and attacking…

“ENOUGH!”

He stops and looks towards Kirei.

“You are the victor.”

He places his wooden blade on his armpit, and helps his friend up. Miya spits blood form his mouth the same his friend did on the battle.

“I almost had you…”

“Almost…”

Kirei: “Taichi, go to form up with the rest.”

Taichi nods his head and follows command.

“Shun step forward.”

Shun walks next to his best friend.

“Both of you have wont five battles. As result, you are to face each other tomorrow, to see which one of you shall face Yamato. Former champion versus current champion, and may the best man win.”

He looks impressed towards Shun, as he does the same. Sakura noticing this looks down and places her hand clenched to her chest.

“All of you can go.”

All of the students started going to grab their things and change up, but Kirei stopped his current champion.

“Tomorrow arrive earlier than the rest. I would speak to you alone and in private…” He nods his head.

---

Sakura waits for Shun, before going out to eat with him, placing her head on the glass-made door.

“I have felt your eyes lingering.” He walks and gets in front of her, looking his eyes at her.” But they always turn when I met them”

“As should yours…”

“Then I have to tear them out, if they have to do that.”

“You MUST stop this.”

“You think I have not tried?! I have promised that to myself a thousand times a day! To return to drink, and other girls to force you out of my mind. But then I would catch a glimpse of you…” He places his right hand on the glass wall the same as her, and they would be touching each other if it were not for the glass between. “…and my world ends…”

“I have never felt a greater love…than the one I have when I hold Shun in my arms…”

He hears someone coming as she did as well, they briefly look at each other before parting their hands.

She runs back up as he looks back and is surprised to hear a voice calling for his name.

He turns back to see Shun right there.

“What seized you? You distracted for a moment, allowing Taichi’s advantage.”

“I was out for a moment caught by a dream…”

“They you should wake from it. But for the moment, go and sleep. Tomorrow is our battle.” He just nods at him not looking to the eye and goes up to his room.

Sakura waits still for Shun.

“And did you break up with him?”

“That is not your concern.”

“Right…It should be yours…” he forces her against the wall and strongly and with violence grabs her right breast, as her face turn to be one of pain.”…or I may finish what Shinji started.

He approaches to steal a kiss from her, but just before they touch lips, Sakura slap him on the left cheek with all her strength, forcing him to release her. He places for a moment his hand on his cheek, but brings himself up quickly.

“Good hit…for a girl. You have until tomorrow, unless you want Shun to find out, or even something worse to happen.”

---

Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, February 16th, 2022

Shun, Miya, Taichi, Daisuke, Yamato, Ikuto, Takeru and Izumi appear on the Dojo. All of them just to see it. They see the current champion taking a drink from a jar of water, looking towards them, lost on his own thinking.

Kirei appears rapidly just in time, as the rest of the students formed up. Yamato Ovan and Sakura Naoto following him.

“Let us begin! And decide who the true champion of this Class is”

Both of them step forward into the square.

“Good luck brother. But I will give my best.”

“I will do the same.” As he closed both of his eyes trying to clear his mind They look to Kirei.

“Begin!”

They face each other and get ready on battle position.

Absolute silence on the dojo, as even the beatings of everybody’s hearts could be heard. It began.

Shun rushes to his friend as he starts his onslaught, rushing just to attack him, but he parries the first blade and then circles around his friend and answers his onslaught with one of his sword trying to speed up as fast as he could as Shun himself did the same. Both of them stand matching each other easily, and giving all they got on that battle.

Hour before…

“You may be asking yourself why I summoned you before the rest.”

“No I am not. The thing of the arena.”

“Yes. I would ask this once, and just once. Where you a Gladiator?”

Tired of lying, treachery and deceit, he confesses.

“I was.”

“You finally admit it. Why? Why you stepped into the sands, to assume that mantle?” “It is difficult to understand if you do not live it from the inside. But there is one thing I was once sure about: there is not greater thing, than standing victorious in the arena.” “What you thought?”

“I no longer agree with that.”

“But this is not the only thing I found about you. My fiend Shiba told me that you incapacitated Shinji Katou.”

“Shinji told him and told you, right?”

“Yes. Still, incapacitating is a nice way of putting it. Not only he but also other five of his friends were beaten up.”

“They got what they deserved! Has not Shiba told you that they sprained Shun’s ankle they tried to rape Sakura?!?!”

“So you did this for vengeance.”

“I did what was just.”

“Revenge. That is why.” He got up and walked across the small dojo where they were having conversation. “Revenge is a dangerous path. One can lose the way when you travel on a dark path…”

“Then so be it.”

---

He keeps on turning trying to find one of Shun’s weak points, as Shun does the same. They clash swords several times, changing each time who attacked and who blocked the blow. After for what was like ten strikes from both of them, he misses a blow, as shun managed to slip under the sword. He then tries to make the same move to the opposite side, but he quickly parries the blade, spins and hits him directly on the left side of forehead, forcing him to fall back for a moment.

Blood started to come out from the wound.

Never less, a now wounded and also enraged Blue Ronin restarts his assault, attacks directly with a diagonal slash, as shun parried and then countered thrusting the sword to his head to hit the wound for a second time, but his opponent manages to elude the move bending his legs, hits his right leg making him kneel by the strike. He then hits Shun on the face with his Shinai, making him spit blood and bleed in the process, but he does not back down, rolls in the ground and gets up facing him again.

---

“Why you sought no justice?!”

“There is no justice. Not in this world.”

“But for me there is. You cannot remain unpunished by the things you have done. I cannot approve you after this. You cannot go back to Tokyo.”

He nods his head, as if he did not care about that.

“But…for what you have done on more than one occasion just to protect your friends…I will give you a chance. You have but one way of releasing yourself of this. You must defeat Shun today and Yamato later. That way, and just that way, you can pass.”

He nods his head.

He gets up and walks towards the outside, but Kirei speaks to him before getting out. “You have no regrets? For this?”

“None.” He says looking back at him. “I get what I deserved.”

He steps outside, and notices Ovan training with a real katana, but he rapidly turns his sight, to his left and notices Sakura few meters from him, placing her had on her chest, without saying a word. They briefly looked at each other, but this time, he parted quicker, and left.

“She heard the conversation.” he thought.

---

Kirei speaks to Yamato as he keeps on watching the fight.

“Match for the ages.”

Yamato just looks at him and does not speak a word.

Kirei begins to cough.

“My tea!”

Sakura rapidly appears, and serves him some herbal tea, as she watches the fight in the meantime, directly to him.

He hits shun strongly, forcing him to the ground.

But when Shun does this, he notices Sakura right there, looking at him, but once again she parts before him. He remains still for moment thinking about that night, the festival the first kiss.

Shun gets up, and noticing him distracted, he sized his opportunity. He rushes at him, and at last second, he notices this, but it was too late, Shun hits him while sliding on the wood, making him go to the floor. The former champion quickly tries to defeat him on the ground, as he could elude the first moves by rolling his body thought the floor, and at last parry the blade and kick his friend back. He then moves his body, getting up, while kicking his adversary with both feet at the same time.

He gets distracted for a second time looking to Sakura. Shun rushes at him and they clash swords as he parries, then he fights back trying to pass to his back, succeeding in doing this, but Shun also turns as quick as him. He starts the assault, forcing Shun back for a moment, but after a thrust of his sword, Shun spins parrying the blade and getting to his opponents back, and hitting it with his empty left hand, as Shun looks for a moment to Sakura, Naoto, Kirei and Ovan.

He turns around to face Shun, but in that moment he crosses sights another time with Sakura, as he reminded still on his place, with placing his sword in front of him.

He thinks when they parted after their first kiss.

He thinks when they hands parted the day before this battle.

He looks down, and in that moment, he noticed what he had to do.

He lowers the blade from his front, leaving his body unprotected. Shun advances as fast as he can towards him. He just remains looking at her with his arms lowered, as she did the same, surprised for what he was doing.

Shun with the full momentum of his rush, hits his friend right on the pear, sending him thought the air as his Shinai fell off from his hand and his grasp as well. He falls with his full weight to the ground, with his arms opened, looking up, tired, and upset as well. Shun approaches him and places the Shinai to his neck. Unable to fight back, he briefly looks towards Sakura and then he speaks. “I…concede.”

The crowd applauded for the new champion, as Yamato closed both of his eyes and gets up leaving the place and Kirei smiles.

Shun breathes for a second but then helps his friend to get up.

“Why you dropped your guard?”

“You are champion now. That is all that matters.”

After nodding his head his to his friends, he walks out, as Shun and the rest remains on the Dojo.

Miya follows him.

“Are you alright?”

“I am. I need to be alone.”

Miya reluctantly nods his head, as he left walking towards the schools dormitories.

---

The former Blue Ronin just sat down with his back against the wall, on his bed, with his legs bent and both of his arms placed on his bent knees. His wounds were now better, and showed to be not much more than a simple cut. He had remained looking towards the wall of his room for the last hour, as it was already night. He was wondering about all what had happened, what was just after what he had done, and this punishment. But one thing was sure for him. He deserved it.

Knock at the door.

“Come in!” He says, with enough will for the one outside to hear.

Sakura enters the room, much for his surprise, but he remained still and sat on the bed.

Sakura sits on the chair in front of him, and unties the purple ribbon on her t-shit’s neck, letting her breath better at it was too tight on her neck.

“You did not confused rooms?”

“No. I came to share drink, with an old friend.”

“Is that all I am? Friend?”

She remains silent looking to him, as she served some sake in a glass she carried, and offered it to him, but he quickly refused.

“I do not want to drink anything, to forget what I have done.”

“Sometimes that would be a blessing.” She takes a drink from her glass, and breathes before speaking. “You are not coming back with us…”

He nods his head. “I knew you herd that conversation. If I felt to Shun.”

“You let him win! Why you did this???”

“Because I cannot stay near my friends, shun, and especially you. To look to you every day and be denied your touch. I have never turned from challenge, neither have I ever surrender. But now I notice I was without strength to face this one.”

He looks at him with teary eye.

“Then it is for the best…”

He nods his head looking down.

She approaches at him, sitting on the bed in front of him and then bending her body towards him.

“Because despite my words…”She places her head above his arms “…I stand as weak…” both of them approached and began passionately and loving kissing for a third time.

The door opened seconds later.

A wooden sword fell to the ground, and rebounded on it several times.

Both of them part, and look towards the door.

It was Shun...