Feudal Honor by Chibi Washuu Chapter 5 ______________________________________________________________________________ A Ronin Warriors/Yoroiden Samurai Troopers Story Here it is! The long awaited battle! Ryo vs. Seiji, Round 2! Place your bets now! (LOL, j/k) Anyway, here it is! *rings the bell* Let the battle begin! *** Seiji sneaked out of bed as quietly as possible. He had stayed too long. Writing a quick note of thanks and hoping the elderly man could read, he slipped out of the house and into the street. The samurai guards bowed as he passed, but he ignored them. "Guard the town and the castle while I'm gone. You four specifically are in charge." "Allow us to accompany you, Seiji-sama." "Please, Seiji-sama." "Iyé!" The samurai pressed their foreheads to the dirt in a low bow, prepared to loose their heads for their impertinence. Seiji sighed. "I must go alone. I shall return, and if I don’t, it’s karma, ne?" "Hai, Seiji-sama. It is as you say." Seiji nodded and turned to leave. "Seiji-sama." The young lord looked back and faced an older samurai who had been his tutor and a good friend of his grandfather’s. "Be careful, Seiji-sama." Seiji bowed to the older man. "I will. I promise." * * * Ryo was perched on a low branch of a tree, watching over inventory check. Touma sat cross-legged on the ground nearby, dipping some of his arrowheads in poison then marking the feathers so he could tell them from the others. "Ryo-sama!" Ryo sighed and sneered at the boy running toward them. His short brown hair was cropped short and his blue eyes were wide with curiosity. Curiosity that had nearly gotten him killed on several occasions. The boy was a curse, and Ryo wondered what he had done in a past life to deserve to be put with this boy. He was not related by blood, he had been the son of a widow that had married into his family. The girl had been somewhat lovely, but not strong enough for their lifestyle. She had died two years earlier while giving birth. The baby had been stillborn. Now the boy stopped under the tree, seeing Ryo’s loathsome glare. "There’s there’s a traveler heading down the path, Ryo-sama." Ryo nodded and waved a hand toward the boy dismissing him. The boy swallowed before speaking again. "May I..." "Iyé." Startled by Ryo’s sudden response, the boy ran off. "A traveler. Might be fun, Ryo-kun," one of the ninja taking inventory said. Ryo grinned. "Yes indeed. A simple job." * * * Seiji felt he’d been walking for an eternity. The forest was beautiful and the day was pleasantly warm, so he really didn’t mind so much. "Going somewhere?" Seiji stopped, hearing a sword being drawn. He knew that voice from somewhere. A figure appeared from behind a tree. He was samurai by appearance, but no samurai would draw on another. And why was he so familiar? Ryo watched the traveler. He had seen him before, but he wasn’t sure where. Realization dawned on the two almost simultaneously. "You!" "You." The two began to circle each other. Seiji remembered clearly now. The black-haired, blue-eyed ninja was the same he had fought the night his grandfather and his mother were killed. Now was the time for revenge. The blonde, gray-eyed samurai was the same one from Sendai. "I thought you were dead." "I’m not so easily bested." The samurai smirked. "Or maybe you’re insignificant in that respect; you can kill women and old men, but not other warriors." Ryo’s eyes flashed in anger. With a yell of rage, he threw himself at the samurai and viciously attacked him. It was all Seiji could do to block all the ninja’s attacks. He could feel the eyes of the rest of the clan on him, watching this battle. He pushed the ninja away and they circled again. Ryo could tell the samurai was growing tired; his wounds had not healed completely. He was holding his own, though, so he wasn’t completely vulnerable. "You’ve done well, samurai-sama. I won’t be so kind in the future." "I don’t need your kindness. I will have my revenge." Seiji swung at the ninja, who blocked and countered. The ring of metal on metal echoed through the still air of the forest. Ryo watched his opponent closely, waiting for an opening. "This is taking too long," he thought. Then he grinned. "No more Mr. Nice Guy." "Good, let’s get started." Ryo laughed outright at the samurai’s confidence. "You’re going to regret those words, samurai." "What, no more ‘samurai-sama’?" "Iyé. I don’t think you deserve it. Besides, you’ll be dead soon so why flatter you with titles?" Seiji leapt forward and the two locked blades. "I am Date Seiji, the last of my family and clan. The only person who’s going to die here is you." "Date?" Ryo could hear the whispers of his clansmen behind him. 'Date?' 'How could he be a Date?' 'Ryo-sama killed all of the Date, didn't he?' "Damn it!" "How...how can you be a Date?" Seiji smirked. "You mean you didn't know? I am the heir and only son of Lady Date." Suddenly getting an idea, Ryo also grinned. "Your mother was Lady Date, hmm?" he asked, circling around the samurai. "Well, I'll share a secret with you." Seiji watched him, never dropping his guard. "She was a very good pillowing partner." Seiji whirled on the ninja and swung his sword toward the assassin's head, only to have the blow countered. "You dared rape my mother?" he fumed. "No. She begged me to do it. I was only granting the lady her final wish." "Damn you!" Seiji broke the stalemate and began attacking with new vigor. Ryo dodged and blocked and waited for an opening. Suddenly, he flicked his sword down, making a clean slice on the back of Seiji's hand. The samurai dropped his sword in surprise, and Ryo's own blade went to his opponent's neck. But he couldn't kill him. The two stared at each other for several moments, Seiji daring Ryo to kill him. "So why can't I do it? What's wrong with me? I have him. All I have to do is cut off his head and it'll be all over. So why can't I? Damn it!" He shook his head and pulled back the blade to deliver the final blow. Seiji, moving quickly, dropped to one knee, retrieved his sword, and shoved it into the ninja's stomach. He stopped, a look of utter shock on his face. The game was over, and Seiji had been the winner. Touma, who was perched on a nearby tree branch heard the actions of the Sanada clan below him. "Ryo's been disgraced. He didn't fulfill his contract. For that alone he's a dead man. But he failed twice. It's time he joined his ancestors." Touma, not wanting to loose the only friend he'd ever had, jumped down to the path. Seiji had removed his sword from Ryo's stomach and now faced him. "Who are you?" Touma ignored him and draped Ryo's arm over his shoulders so he could support him. "Never mind who I am, but unless you wanted to be attacked on all sides by fifty ninja or more, I would suggest following me." With that, he bolted off, leaving Seiji to his decision. Seiji looked from one side of the path to the other. If what the strange blue-haired boy had said was true, then...he wasn't sure he wanted to be present for the outcome. Sheathing his sword, he took off after the archer, with the battle cry of the ninja clan ringing in his ears.
Oops. Bad move, Ryo. Don't worry, all those Ryo fans reading this...I wouldn't kill my baby! <G> He's my main chara. He can't die. Anyway, please R/R!!
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