Okay, sorry about the delay, folks. Deciding on how to handle things between Garrick and Yakage took me a while because, let's stop and think about this for a second: Yakage is a Master Swordsman (and a Master Swordsmith, too!) while Garrick is, despite his capability to learn fast, very much a novice. How do you keep a fight like that interesting whithout making it seem like the master is just toying with the boy?
Also, work's been kicking my ass. I haven't had a real day off in a while because I keep getting called in. I've had four consecutive weeks where I've made overtime, and not a small amount of it, either.
Anyhow, something to note. I found out the Kajishima-sensei has given us a delightfully sweet little tale telling of the lives of the daughters of Ayeka and Ryoko... and the son of Kiriko. http://tenchiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1149 Oh, and WoG is that this will be that basis of the next Tenchi animation.
Getting all my info from here: http://tenchi.astronerdboy.com/ Wonderful resource!
And now for more Adventure Time with Garrick Grimm and the Haremites.
“Do you think I'm ready for this?” I asked Yosho as he fussed
with the armor I had been fitted with. While Jyuraian battle armor
pretty much took care of all the complex and fiddly details of
fitting itself to you all on its own, it was best to have an
experienced veteran check it over regardless.
“As an instructor, no,” said the seemingly old man. “But I
think you should be fine. Especially if you put that delightfully
odd way of thinking of yours to work.”
I grinned back at Yosho. “I'll see what I can manage. Little
Sister, are you almost done?”
“Just about, Dear Brother,” Ayeka replied as she wrapped my hair
in a binding. It had been growing like a weed over the winter. The
colder it gets, the faster my hair grows, and in the mountain
highlands I had grown a whopping four inches to an already impressive
queue, bringing my hair to a proper waist-length.
Poor Ayeka was torn up over it. “This hair of yours is amazing.
It's thick and heavy like ours, but it's so soft and silky – not
stiff at all! Is there any chance that Lord Tenchi's hair will be
like this if he were to grow it out as well?”
“I'm sorry, Sister,” I said with honest regret. “Japanese hair
tends to be a little more like yours. Mine is from my Native
American heritage.”
Ayeka sighed. “Pity. Maybe we can convince him to undertake a
gene mod... to signify his acceptance of you as his brother, I mean!”
I smiled. “So it would have nothing to do with fantasies about
running your hands through thick, silky hair that happens to be
growing off of Tenchi's head?”
Ayeka gave my queue a sharp tug.
“OW!” I cried out, laughing. “Okay, okay, I deserved that,
I'll savor it.”
“Gar-nii-san!” called out Sasami. “I have a present for you!”
I looked down and saw that Sasami was offering me a small wooden
blade.
“A shoto!” I said in wide-eyed surprise as I took the proffered
weapon – a wooden wakizashi – from Sasami.
“Unh!” she replied enthusiastically. “Washu-chan said that
Yakage prefers to use a double-bladed sword, so I found a fragment of
Ryu-Oh and carved it up for you!”
“You carved this?” Sasami nodded happily and I laughed
softly. “And here I didn't get anything for you!”
“Just make sure you don't get hurt. That will be your present to
me.”
“How does he get off so easily?” Ayeka whispered to Sasami, for
it was a well known fact that Sasami, despite her adorable looks, was
an absolute mercenary when she wanted to get something out of you.
“Because he's my precious Gar-nii-san.” And that was all Sasami
needed to say on the matter. I swear you'd almost think I was
replacing Tenchi's place in her heart.
“Whoah! Look at you!” came Ryoko's voice. “Damn, Garrick!
You shine up prettier than a brand new coin. Minagi better not see
you like that or else she'll ruin all that hard work we've done.”
“Too late,” said Washu, pointing at the second-floor railing.
There, Minagi stood with a wide-eyed slack-jawed expression.
And she was drooling.
“Uh-oh,” I said succinctly.
There were a pair of loud pops in rapid succession and suddenly Ryoko
was holding Minagi bare inches from me.
“Oh, c'mon Ryoko!” raved Minagi as she and Ryoko struggled
against each other – Minagi desperately pawing for me while trying
to push Ryoko off of her, and Ryoko making all kinds of hilarious
expressions as she did her damnedest to keep Minagi in check. “Just
five minutes! I won't mess him up too badly! You can even watch!”
“WHOAH!” I cried out at that last little bit.
Ryoko's eyes bulged, everyone else face-vaulted and, I swear in the
name of all that's holy, Sasami-chan had a freaking nose bleed.
She just covered it up so effectively that I was the only one that
saw it. Noboyuki, I decided then and there, should really keep
better tabs on his doujinshi collection.
“Whoooaaa there, Missy!” Ryoko replied once she regathered her
wits. “I can admire your spirit, but Garrick's gotta fight for
your honor now.”
Minagi sighed heavily as she slumped against Ryoko. “ohhh
alright,” she said weakly as she picked herself back up. Suddenly,
she went ramrod-straight as she then announced, “BUT AFTER YAKAGI
IS DONE WITH HIM GARRICK IS ALL MINE! DO YOU HEAR ME?”
“That's nice, dear,” I said as I leaned over and pecked her on
the cheek, causing her to blush. I laughed – I couldn't help
myself. Seriously, now you blush? After that outburst about
letting others watch!? I was starting to like Minagi more and more –
not that I'm an exhibitionist, but she was definitely my kind of
crazy. You know, the sort where you let yourself get carried just a
little too far away. Freddy Mercury was well known amongst his
friends for this.
I then turned and looked at everyone. They all stood there, smiling
back at me.
My family.
Sasami, my loving, kind, mercenary little sister.
Ayeka, my bold yet refined sister – courageous in ways that few
women are.
Ryoko, my close friend who had more love in her heart than she knew
what to do with.
Washu, my kindred spirit – out of them all, she knew my heartbreak
the best.
Mihoshi. Sweet, bumbling, loving Mihoshi. She will always turn up
at exactly the right moment.
Yosho, my teacher. He held my respect and gratitude for propping me
up when I needed it.
And Tenchi... The young man that looked up to me, if for no other
reason than that I never really gave up. His only fault in this
convoluted situation was being afraid of change.
Aren't we all in some way or another?
And then there was, of course, Minagi. Ryoko's sister. Bold like
she is, but without the bravado and tempered with a generous helping
of sweetness like Sasami's. Like everyone else here, she was
courageous and would never shrink back from a threat to her loved
ones.
I wondered oddly if she was the one. What would it be like to have
her as my life companion – to raise a family with her as my
partner?
I had to set that aside for now, though. As sorely as I craved
having children of my own and a wife to help me raise them, it would
still have to wait.
There were more immediate things to tend to.
“Thank you. All of you,” I said as I lowered my head to them.
“You've all given me back the things I thought I'd lost... for
that, I'll love you all forever.” I then turned to face the patio,
tucking the shoto Sasami gave me into my belt next to the bokuto
Yosho gave me. “Okay, let's see if I got this Big Damn Hero thing
down pat.”
“Well, you showed up,” said Yakage dryly. “At least you're not
a coward. Aren't you a bit overdressed, though?”
“I'm no fool, Yakage,” I said levelly. “I don't walk into a
fight like this unprepared.”
“Good,” Yakage replied with a grim smile. “You have some sense
in that head of yours. So now the question is how much more sense do
I need to beat into you, child?”
I raised an eyebrow. “This isn't about Minagi then?”
Yakage glared at me. “Oh, don't worry about that. I intend to get
my pound of flesh where that is concerned. Though I must admit,
Minagi has never shown any romantic interest in anyone until she met
you. And I have to wonder now... how much is it really her lack of
memory... and how much of it is your devilish charm?”
“Hah,” I scoffed, much to Yakage's displeasure. “Nice verbal
judo there. In one way I'm taking advantage of her and in another
you paint me as man-whore. I suppose it's just as well – Ayeka can
tell her parents that you legitimately besmirched my honor as a man,
thus the need for this duel.”
Yakage laughed slowly. “Young fool. This is no duel. This... is
a crucible. And I will use it to divine what you are really made of,
child.”
“Then I hope you brought enough fuel for the fire, because it's
gonna take a lot more than you think to melt me down.”
“Enough talk then! Draw you're weapon, Garrick Grim!”
I drew the shoto with my left hand and the bokuto in my right,
turning to my dominant side so as to present the bokuto to face
Yakage. The shoto I held in a low-guard position – with luck it
would block the other end of Yakage's double-blade and allow me a
chance to counter-attack.
“So, I see you brought two blades,” said Yakage with a smirk.
“Someone has been whispering in your ear. At least this means I
don't have to hold back!” With that, he brought out both of his
massive blade emitters, joined their handles, and ignited them.
Crap. To think he would have gone with just one, at least for a
little bit, if I had left the shoto in my belt. Ah well. I planned
on this from the get-go anyhow.
And then came the moment I liked the least – the stand off.
That moment of tension between when we take our stances and when we
charge at each other. Where you wait until the feeling is just
perfect. I don't really mind the fact that we have to wait for this
moment, but the waiting itself just kills me.
“I wonder what would have happened if, instead of Tenchi, Garrick
had to fight Seiryou,” I heard Ayeka's voice somewhere behind me
ask.
“Are you kidding?” I heard Ryoko reply. “Garrick would have
killed the man.”
“Shush you two,” hissed Washu. “This is important!”
Yakage gave me a look of consternation from across the deck. I could
only shrug in return – it was a bit awkward with the two blades in
hand, but I'm pretty sure I managed to convey my feelings on the
matter.
The silence settled in once more and we waited.
And then... NOW!
There were no sudden shouts, no challenges, just sudden movement as
we both charged at each other like two freight trains on a single
siding hellbent for leather. I kept my eyes on Yakage's movements.
I wanted to know which way his blade would go. I was pretty sure
that I would avoid it with what I had in mind, but it still helped to
know.
Finally, when we were at what I judged to be just the right distance
between us, I shifted my weight backwards and planted my feet. And
then I fell to my side and began a foot-first base-runner's slide.
For Yakage, it simply did not compute. After all, in all his
centuries of experience, who would throw themselves to the ground and
make themselves so vulnerable to attack?
His blade came for me, carving a smoking furrow in the wooden deck
but I parried the blow with the shoto... and counter-attacked with
the bokuto, aiming for his legs. Yakage tried to adjust his footing,
but I still managed to catch his left ankle with the full force of
the blow.
Yakage snarled as he stumbled. I rolled and picked myself back up
again, assuming a defensive posture.
But a second attack was not forthcoming. Instead, Yakage looked at
me in unmitigated shock.
“What in the Great Tree's name are you thinking?”
I smiled back at him. “That's the question, isn't it?” I
answered. “What is Garrick Grimm thinking? How about something
along the lines of 'I better pull out all the stops if he thinks he's
gonna test me. Besides, better him than me!'” Yakage stared at me
in disbelief for a moment longer, and then burst out laughing
uproariously.
“Now I get it!” he crowed. “I see now why The Professor likes
you so much, boy! Like her, you don't follow the rules, at least
when it suits you not to. Oh, you'll follow them often enough, just
to keep up appearances. But the moment you see you're not going to
benefit from them...” Yakage then leveled an evil smile at me.
“You set the rule book on fire and throw it out the window.”
Yakage laughed again, this time the tone taking on a slightly
maddened pitch. “Oh, how I wish I could have gotten you sooner! I
would have given you the GP Body Modification to extend your life and
taught you everything I could. I would have made you into a monster
that rivaled Kagato. You might have even surpassed him with your
vicious practicality and killed him before Tenchi even mattered to
anyone.”
No joke there. While I may not be the type to kill a fly with a
sledgehammer (as amusing as it might be to try), I am the type where,
if I honestly wanted to make sure a certain man dies, I would use
bullets filled with polonium.
The only reason why I think I never pulled any knives on anyone like
my younger brothers did as children was because of my Grandfather.
The old man had put the fear of himself into me, and no surprise,
either, considering he was an old World War II veteran from the
Pacific Theater. That stoutly built little Creole man was a terror
to behold at times.
Small wonder I have anger issues – his blood runs in my veins.
“I think I'd like to keep as much of my humanity as possible, thank
you very much,” I replied levelly to Yakage.
“And how long do you think that will last, boy?” Yakage growled
back at me. “How long until something happens and there's no way
to bring you back? And even if you do manage to beat the odds, how
long until you die of old age? Minagi will still have her youth long
after you've turned to dust. What do you think that will do to my
daughter's heart?”
“We'll work it out one way or another. It's too early to tell
anyhow.”
“What? You mean this is just some sort of dalliance?”
“Pretty much. We're two consenting adults that find each other
attractive. The rest isn't fit for public dissemination.”
“You... YOU ANIMAL!”
Whoah! Plan B! RUN!
“Come back here and fight me like a man, coward!”
“Shut up! I'm taking this where I can fight on my own terms!”
And boy, was I ever.
Thing is, ever since Washu-chan had reinforced my body I had taken my
free-running to a whole new level. I was doing things to myself that
would have destroyed an ordinary man's body.
Basically, I had been free running through the trees, making the
canopies into my own personal little kingdom. For certain, there was
a lot of trial an error. I've had a lot of falls that would have
killed me before. Now I just get up, dust myself off, walk it off,
and go again until I get it right.
I had only been half-joking when I told Yosho that I would take our
practice into the tree tops.
Quickly I sheathed my wooden swords, shimmied up the first tree I got
to and perched myself on a sturdy limb to look down at Yakage's
gobsmacked expression.
“Well, you coming or not?” I called down tauntingly. Yakage
snarled wordlessly and I saw him coil in on himself for a tremendous
bound. I didn't wait – I gave off a whoop as I jumped for the next
branch.
Up, over, under, twisting, swinging, flipping, loping, skipping,
bouncing, ricocheting. I had gone hyper-active and was gleefully
leading Yakage on a chase through the branches, all while Yakage
cursed me, my parentage, my seed, and anything else he could think of
while slashing at me with his double-sword, always missing me by
inches as I kept bouncing and swinging from one limb to another.
Despite how all this seemed random, it was actually a calculated move
on my part. Yakage, I knew, was dying. He really didn't have his
old strength anymore... or at least if he was able to summon it, then
it wasn't for extended periods of time. Me, on the other hand, a
youthful thirty-something with boundless energy and a body toughened
up by Washu-chan...
That, and I had gotten him pissed.
Suddenly, Yakage broke into a coughing fit. Blood spattered the
trunk as he leaned to it for support.
“You clever bastard,” Yakage swore softly. “I can't believe I
let you get to me like this. You really are a devious little child,
aren't you? You knew you couldn't fight me directly... so you
changed the game.”
I swung my way over to his limb and sighed as I straightened up. “I
do what I must to get by,” I replied in an equally hushed tone.
“If that means I play up a man's weakness against him to keep him
from beating the shit out of me, then that's exactly what I'll do...
unless he expects that, then I gotta change up my game.”
Yakage laughed ruefully as he wiped his bloody hand against the
trunk.
“You're very wise for your age, child. I always wondered what King
Azuma saw in that woman when he made her his wife. Now I think I'm
starting to understand. After all... this is the first time I have
ever gone up against an Earth Man.
“The GP are right to make this a protected territory. Your kind
are highly competitive... and even worse, you tend to incite
conflict. If your people ever got off this planet in mass, the
entire galaxy would be set ablaze.”
I bowed to Yakage for the rather back-handed compliment. “Thank
you. So, what now?”
Yakage stared at me for a brief moment. “Yosho has spoken highly
of your capability. Thus far you've managed to outpace Tenchi in
learning the way of the sword.”
“Ooo, I think I see where this is going,” I said nervously.
Apparently this wasn't over yet.
Yakage laughed. “You're right to be cautious, but this isn't what
you think. I merely wish to see your skill with a sword.”
“Right here?” I asked.
“No better place,” said Yakage with a smile. “You are stuck on
this branch with me... nowhere to go at all.”
“Shit,” I cursed. He was right. This was one of the few
branches around here that, while I could get to it, getting off of
it presented an issue – the only way off being a twenty-foot drop.
Yakage reignited his blade, this time only one half. I drew out my
bokuto and settled into a ready stance once more.
Our eyes locked, we charged, and then struck.
There was a moment of blinding pain followed by sudden
weightlessness, and everything went dark.
Also, work's been kicking my ass. I haven't had a real day off in a while because I keep getting called in. I've had four consecutive weeks where I've made overtime, and not a small amount of it, either.
Anyhow, something to note. I found out the Kajishima-sensei has given us a delightfully sweet little tale telling of the lives of the daughters of Ayeka and Ryoko... and the son of Kiriko. http://tenchiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1149 Oh, and WoG is that this will be that basis of the next Tenchi animation.
Getting all my info from here: http://tenchi.astronerdboy.com/ Wonderful resource!
And now for more Adventure Time with Garrick Grimm and the Haremites.
“Do you think I'm ready for this?” I asked Yosho as he fussed
with the armor I had been fitted with. While Jyuraian battle armor
pretty much took care of all the complex and fiddly details of
fitting itself to you all on its own, it was best to have an
experienced veteran check it over regardless.
“As an instructor, no,” said the seemingly old man. “But I
think you should be fine. Especially if you put that delightfully
odd way of thinking of yours to work.”
I grinned back at Yosho. “I'll see what I can manage. Little
Sister, are you almost done?”
“Just about, Dear Brother,” Ayeka replied as she wrapped my hair
in a binding. It had been growing like a weed over the winter. The
colder it gets, the faster my hair grows, and in the mountain
highlands I had grown a whopping four inches to an already impressive
queue, bringing my hair to a proper waist-length.
Poor Ayeka was torn up over it. “This hair of yours is amazing.
It's thick and heavy like ours, but it's so soft and silky – not
stiff at all! Is there any chance that Lord Tenchi's hair will be
like this if he were to grow it out as well?”
“I'm sorry, Sister,” I said with honest regret. “Japanese hair
tends to be a little more like yours. Mine is from my Native
American heritage.”
Ayeka sighed. “Pity. Maybe we can convince him to undertake a
gene mod... to signify his acceptance of you as his brother, I mean!”
I smiled. “So it would have nothing to do with fantasies about
running your hands through thick, silky hair that happens to be
growing off of Tenchi's head?”
Ayeka gave my queue a sharp tug.
“OW!” I cried out, laughing. “Okay, okay, I deserved that,
I'll savor it.”
“Gar-nii-san!” called out Sasami. “I have a present for you!”
I looked down and saw that Sasami was offering me a small wooden
blade.
“A shoto!” I said in wide-eyed surprise as I took the proffered
weapon – a wooden wakizashi – from Sasami.
“Unh!” she replied enthusiastically. “Washu-chan said that
Yakage prefers to use a double-bladed sword, so I found a fragment of
Ryu-Oh and carved it up for you!”
“You carved this?” Sasami nodded happily and I laughed
softly. “And here I didn't get anything for you!”
“Just make sure you don't get hurt. That will be your present to
me.”
“How does he get off so easily?” Ayeka whispered to Sasami, for
it was a well known fact that Sasami, despite her adorable looks, was
an absolute mercenary when she wanted to get something out of you.
“Because he's my precious Gar-nii-san.” And that was all Sasami
needed to say on the matter. I swear you'd almost think I was
replacing Tenchi's place in her heart.
“Whoah! Look at you!” came Ryoko's voice. “Damn, Garrick!
You shine up prettier than a brand new coin. Minagi better not see
you like that or else she'll ruin all that hard work we've done.”
“Too late,” said Washu, pointing at the second-floor railing.
There, Minagi stood with a wide-eyed slack-jawed expression.
And she was drooling.
“Uh-oh,” I said succinctly.
There were a pair of loud pops in rapid succession and suddenly Ryoko
was holding Minagi bare inches from me.
“Oh, c'mon Ryoko!” raved Minagi as she and Ryoko struggled
against each other – Minagi desperately pawing for me while trying
to push Ryoko off of her, and Ryoko making all kinds of hilarious
expressions as she did her damnedest to keep Minagi in check. “Just
five minutes! I won't mess him up too badly! You can even watch!”
“WHOAH!” I cried out at that last little bit.
Ryoko's eyes bulged, everyone else face-vaulted and, I swear in the
name of all that's holy, Sasami-chan had a freaking nose bleed.
She just covered it up so effectively that I was the only one that
saw it. Noboyuki, I decided then and there, should really keep
better tabs on his doujinshi collection.
“Whoooaaa there, Missy!” Ryoko replied once she regathered her
wits. “I can admire your spirit, but Garrick's gotta fight for
your honor now.”
Minagi sighed heavily as she slumped against Ryoko. “ohhh
alright,” she said weakly as she picked herself back up. Suddenly,
she went ramrod-straight as she then announced, “BUT AFTER YAKAGI
IS DONE WITH HIM GARRICK IS ALL MINE! DO YOU HEAR ME?”
“That's nice, dear,” I said as I leaned over and pecked her on
the cheek, causing her to blush. I laughed – I couldn't help
myself. Seriously, now you blush? After that outburst about
letting others watch!? I was starting to like Minagi more and more –
not that I'm an exhibitionist, but she was definitely my kind of
crazy. You know, the sort where you let yourself get carried just a
little too far away. Freddy Mercury was well known amongst his
friends for this.
I then turned and looked at everyone. They all stood there, smiling
back at me.
My family.
Sasami, my loving, kind, mercenary little sister.
Ayeka, my bold yet refined sister – courageous in ways that few
women are.
Ryoko, my close friend who had more love in her heart than she knew
what to do with.
Washu, my kindred spirit – out of them all, she knew my heartbreak
the best.
Mihoshi. Sweet, bumbling, loving Mihoshi. She will always turn up
at exactly the right moment.
Yosho, my teacher. He held my respect and gratitude for propping me
up when I needed it.
And Tenchi... The young man that looked up to me, if for no other
reason than that I never really gave up. His only fault in this
convoluted situation was being afraid of change.
Aren't we all in some way or another?
And then there was, of course, Minagi. Ryoko's sister. Bold like
she is, but without the bravado and tempered with a generous helping
of sweetness like Sasami's. Like everyone else here, she was
courageous and would never shrink back from a threat to her loved
ones.
I wondered oddly if she was the one. What would it be like to have
her as my life companion – to raise a family with her as my
partner?
I had to set that aside for now, though. As sorely as I craved
having children of my own and a wife to help me raise them, it would
still have to wait.
There were more immediate things to tend to.
“Thank you. All of you,” I said as I lowered my head to them.
“You've all given me back the things I thought I'd lost... for
that, I'll love you all forever.” I then turned to face the patio,
tucking the shoto Sasami gave me into my belt next to the bokuto
Yosho gave me. “Okay, let's see if I got this Big Damn Hero thing
down pat.”
“Well, you showed up,” said Yakage dryly. “At least you're not
a coward. Aren't you a bit overdressed, though?”
“I'm no fool, Yakage,” I said levelly. “I don't walk into a
fight like this unprepared.”
“Good,” Yakage replied with a grim smile. “You have some sense
in that head of yours. So now the question is how much more sense do
I need to beat into you, child?”
I raised an eyebrow. “This isn't about Minagi then?”
Yakage glared at me. “Oh, don't worry about that. I intend to get
my pound of flesh where that is concerned. Though I must admit,
Minagi has never shown any romantic interest in anyone until she met
you. And I have to wonder now... how much is it really her lack of
memory... and how much of it is your devilish charm?”
“Hah,” I scoffed, much to Yakage's displeasure. “Nice verbal
judo there. In one way I'm taking advantage of her and in another
you paint me as man-whore. I suppose it's just as well – Ayeka can
tell her parents that you legitimately besmirched my honor as a man,
thus the need for this duel.”
Yakage laughed slowly. “Young fool. This is no duel. This... is
a crucible. And I will use it to divine what you are really made of,
child.”
“Then I hope you brought enough fuel for the fire, because it's
gonna take a lot more than you think to melt me down.”
“Enough talk then! Draw you're weapon, Garrick Grim!”
I drew the shoto with my left hand and the bokuto in my right,
turning to my dominant side so as to present the bokuto to face
Yakage. The shoto I held in a low-guard position – with luck it
would block the other end of Yakage's double-blade and allow me a
chance to counter-attack.
“So, I see you brought two blades,” said Yakage with a smirk.
“Someone has been whispering in your ear. At least this means I
don't have to hold back!” With that, he brought out both of his
massive blade emitters, joined their handles, and ignited them.
Crap. To think he would have gone with just one, at least for a
little bit, if I had left the shoto in my belt. Ah well. I planned
on this from the get-go anyhow.
And then came the moment I liked the least – the stand off.
That moment of tension between when we take our stances and when we
charge at each other. Where you wait until the feeling is just
perfect. I don't really mind the fact that we have to wait for this
moment, but the waiting itself just kills me.
“I wonder what would have happened if, instead of Tenchi, Garrick
had to fight Seiryou,” I heard Ayeka's voice somewhere behind me
ask.
“Are you kidding?” I heard Ryoko reply. “Garrick would have
killed the man.”
“Shush you two,” hissed Washu. “This is important!”
Yakage gave me a look of consternation from across the deck. I could
only shrug in return – it was a bit awkward with the two blades in
hand, but I'm pretty sure I managed to convey my feelings on the
matter.
The silence settled in once more and we waited.
And then... NOW!
There were no sudden shouts, no challenges, just sudden movement as
we both charged at each other like two freight trains on a single
siding hellbent for leather. I kept my eyes on Yakage's movements.
I wanted to know which way his blade would go. I was pretty sure
that I would avoid it with what I had in mind, but it still helped to
know.
Finally, when we were at what I judged to be just the right distance
between us, I shifted my weight backwards and planted my feet. And
then I fell to my side and began a foot-first base-runner's slide.
For Yakage, it simply did not compute. After all, in all his
centuries of experience, who would throw themselves to the ground and
make themselves so vulnerable to attack?
His blade came for me, carving a smoking furrow in the wooden deck
but I parried the blow with the shoto... and counter-attacked with
the bokuto, aiming for his legs. Yakage tried to adjust his footing,
but I still managed to catch his left ankle with the full force of
the blow.
Yakage snarled as he stumbled. I rolled and picked myself back up
again, assuming a defensive posture.
But a second attack was not forthcoming. Instead, Yakage looked at
me in unmitigated shock.
“What in the Great Tree's name are you thinking?”
I smiled back at him. “That's the question, isn't it?” I
answered. “What is Garrick Grimm thinking? How about something
along the lines of 'I better pull out all the stops if he thinks he's
gonna test me. Besides, better him than me!'” Yakage stared at me
in disbelief for a moment longer, and then burst out laughing
uproariously.
“Now I get it!” he crowed. “I see now why The Professor likes
you so much, boy! Like her, you don't follow the rules, at least
when it suits you not to. Oh, you'll follow them often enough, just
to keep up appearances. But the moment you see you're not going to
benefit from them...” Yakage then leveled an evil smile at me.
“You set the rule book on fire and throw it out the window.”
Yakage laughed again, this time the tone taking on a slightly
maddened pitch. “Oh, how I wish I could have gotten you sooner! I
would have given you the GP Body Modification to extend your life and
taught you everything I could. I would have made you into a monster
that rivaled Kagato. You might have even surpassed him with your
vicious practicality and killed him before Tenchi even mattered to
anyone.”
No joke there. While I may not be the type to kill a fly with a
sledgehammer (as amusing as it might be to try), I am the type where,
if I honestly wanted to make sure a certain man dies, I would use
bullets filled with polonium.
The only reason why I think I never pulled any knives on anyone like
my younger brothers did as children was because of my Grandfather.
The old man had put the fear of himself into me, and no surprise,
either, considering he was an old World War II veteran from the
Pacific Theater. That stoutly built little Creole man was a terror
to behold at times.
Small wonder I have anger issues – his blood runs in my veins.
“I think I'd like to keep as much of my humanity as possible, thank
you very much,” I replied levelly to Yakage.
“And how long do you think that will last, boy?” Yakage growled
back at me. “How long until something happens and there's no way
to bring you back? And even if you do manage to beat the odds, how
long until you die of old age? Minagi will still have her youth long
after you've turned to dust. What do you think that will do to my
daughter's heart?”
“We'll work it out one way or another. It's too early to tell
anyhow.”
“What? You mean this is just some sort of dalliance?”
“Pretty much. We're two consenting adults that find each other
attractive. The rest isn't fit for public dissemination.”
“You... YOU ANIMAL!”
Whoah! Plan B! RUN!
“Come back here and fight me like a man, coward!”
“Shut up! I'm taking this where I can fight on my own terms!”
And boy, was I ever.
Thing is, ever since Washu-chan had reinforced my body I had taken my
free-running to a whole new level. I was doing things to myself that
would have destroyed an ordinary man's body.
Basically, I had been free running through the trees, making the
canopies into my own personal little kingdom. For certain, there was
a lot of trial an error. I've had a lot of falls that would have
killed me before. Now I just get up, dust myself off, walk it off,
and go again until I get it right.
I had only been half-joking when I told Yosho that I would take our
practice into the tree tops.
Quickly I sheathed my wooden swords, shimmied up the first tree I got
to and perched myself on a sturdy limb to look down at Yakage's
gobsmacked expression.
“Well, you coming or not?” I called down tauntingly. Yakage
snarled wordlessly and I saw him coil in on himself for a tremendous
bound. I didn't wait – I gave off a whoop as I jumped for the next
branch.
Up, over, under, twisting, swinging, flipping, loping, skipping,
bouncing, ricocheting. I had gone hyper-active and was gleefully
leading Yakage on a chase through the branches, all while Yakage
cursed me, my parentage, my seed, and anything else he could think of
while slashing at me with his double-sword, always missing me by
inches as I kept bouncing and swinging from one limb to another.
Despite how all this seemed random, it was actually a calculated move
on my part. Yakage, I knew, was dying. He really didn't have his
old strength anymore... or at least if he was able to summon it, then
it wasn't for extended periods of time. Me, on the other hand, a
youthful thirty-something with boundless energy and a body toughened
up by Washu-chan...
That, and I had gotten him pissed.
Suddenly, Yakage broke into a coughing fit. Blood spattered the
trunk as he leaned to it for support.
“You clever bastard,” Yakage swore softly. “I can't believe I
let you get to me like this. You really are a devious little child,
aren't you? You knew you couldn't fight me directly... so you
changed the game.”
I swung my way over to his limb and sighed as I straightened up. “I
do what I must to get by,” I replied in an equally hushed tone.
“If that means I play up a man's weakness against him to keep him
from beating the shit out of me, then that's exactly what I'll do...
unless he expects that, then I gotta change up my game.”
Yakage laughed ruefully as he wiped his bloody hand against the
trunk.
“You're very wise for your age, child. I always wondered what King
Azuma saw in that woman when he made her his wife. Now I think I'm
starting to understand. After all... this is the first time I have
ever gone up against an Earth Man.
“The GP are right to make this a protected territory. Your kind
are highly competitive... and even worse, you tend to incite
conflict. If your people ever got off this planet in mass, the
entire galaxy would be set ablaze.”
I bowed to Yakage for the rather back-handed compliment. “Thank
you. So, what now?”
Yakage stared at me for a brief moment. “Yosho has spoken highly
of your capability. Thus far you've managed to outpace Tenchi in
learning the way of the sword.”
“Ooo, I think I see where this is going,” I said nervously.
Apparently this wasn't over yet.
Yakage laughed. “You're right to be cautious, but this isn't what
you think. I merely wish to see your skill with a sword.”
“Right here?” I asked.
“No better place,” said Yakage with a smile. “You are stuck on
this branch with me... nowhere to go at all.”
“Shit,” I cursed. He was right. This was one of the few
branches around here that, while I could get to it, getting off of
it presented an issue – the only way off being a twenty-foot drop.
Yakage reignited his blade, this time only one half. I drew out my
bokuto and settled into a ready stance once more.
Our eyes locked, we charged, and then struck.
There was a moment of blinding pain followed by sudden
weightlessness, and everything went dark.