|
|
~Continuation of Book 1 Chapter 6~
Part 6b: Attack and Conquest 2
by Virgo-chan
He found Hanako and Tasuki fighting side by side: she trying to get Suzaku's guardian who keeps burning them to cinders by an arrow, and he trying the fry a pit of air that's Genbu's guardian. The monk teleported between the two and dragged them both back through his kasa.
"Okay, I have a plan that might get rid of Seiryuu's guardian, but this has to go off with perfect timing, no da!" He feverishly whispered his plan to the two. "Wakaru?"
"Un!" The three hastily went to their places. Tasuki silently moving to one side of the guardian and Hanako positioning herself behind Ryo, informing him of the plan. She made a mental image of where to position her bow, where the arrows would strike and when the best time would be to set the arrows aflame. Chichiri went back to Kouji, dragging him closer to Suzaku's guardian.
"Are you ready, Kouji-kun no da?"
"Hai..." < As ready as I'll ever be. > He thought wearily.
"Good." Then the monk, in a surprise move, began making faces at the flaming guardian.
"Chi-Chichiri-san! What the hell you doin'?" But the monk kept going on with the faces and the guardian didn't like them at all. He reared back his head and spat out a steady stream of white-hot flames.
Just as Chichiri had predicted. He held up his hand, the ring funneled in all the magic, causing the red jewel to glow even brighter than before. He grabbed Kouji's hand and the two vanished within the straw hat.
It only took one second for Kouji to remember what he was supposed to be doing and getting over his initial shock. Amiboshi turned to the two; surprise written on his face as he hastily brought the flute back up to his lips. However, earmuffs or not, the dark skinned bandit jerked the flute away with one hand and slapped the other hand over the Seishi's mouth.
"Now!" Chichiri cried, letting a more intensified version of Suzaku's flames at the dragon guardian before the three teleported away via kasa. He could hear Tasuki's familiar cry of 'Lekka Shien' from behind the guardian. When Hanako let the hail of arrows loose with a musical twang, they burst into flames within a few feet of Seiryuu's guardian, embedded themselves deeply into the scaly chest.
With a last, ear-splitting roar, Seiryuu's guardian fell into a pile of ashes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kogatana was sprawled on the couch, absently flipping through the channels, impatiently waiting for sports news to come on. Suddenly, the door his sister's room slammed open. He shot straight up, blinking. < Funny, she wasn't in there five minutes ago... >
Slowly, he stood up and walked towards the dark room. He gently rapped his knuckles against the wooden slab as he peeked in. Then, something flared in the shadows, causing him to shield his eyes. When it disappeared, he blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to get the dances spots out of his face.
< Jesus Christ, what the hell was that? It looked like some kind of book. But what kind would glow green? Maybe it's radioactive... Nah... > He cast one last search around the room before turning to leave. A soft moan emanated out of the darkness, followed by a slight ruffle of movement. Cautiously, Kogatana crept to the sound, craning his neck to see to the other side of the bed.
On the floor lay Umiiro, her head halloed by her long hair, her lips parted and dry trails of tears on her cheeks.
"Umi-chan!" He quickly knelt by her still form, cradling her torso in his arms. "Umi-chan, daijoubo? Umi-chan!"
Her eyes slowly opened and he stopped shaking her. With a small sound, she looked up at him. "Oniichan?"
Kogatana nearly cried with relief. "Thank God! Are you alright?"
Like a small baby, she weakly grabbed his shirt in her fist. "It hurts, Oniichan... it hurts so much..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Okay, so they got rid of one, but it didn't help as much as they had hoped it would. Now it was Genbu's guardian that was giving them problems. At the moment they all were hiding behind Chichiri's shield while the blow-hard made like the big bad wolf with six little pigs.
"C'mon people!" Tasuki shouted above the din. "We gotta think of something!"
"Oh, really?" His onee-chan retorted. "I was enjoying be threatened to be blown away to!"
Ryo raised his head, glaring at the siblings. "Cut it out! We need to find a way to get out of this and arguing isn't going to help!"
A heavier breeze began filtering into the protective bubble. The five looked up to see Chichiri fall to his knees, the reddish hue of the shield faded slightly.
"Minna... I don't think I can keep this up much longer no da..." As if he knew what the monk had said, Genbu's guardian began blowing harder. When he paused to take in another giant breath, the land around the heroes was bare. The trees were blown clear across the forest, or what once was. Now it was a meadow clear of roots, grass, plants, anything. The only green spot was in a crater of dirt where the shield was placed.
The guardian lowered his head, ready to let out another steady stream of wind while Suzaku's would strike at it with his sharp talons and beak, occasionally spewing fire while Byakko's repeatedly pounded on the weakening shield. At that point, Chichiri honestly thought that he would have failed them when Amiboshi stood up, placing his flute to his lips. A heart-soaring melody filled the air as the shield once again reached its greatest strength.
Ryo snapped his fingers. "I have an idea! Chichiri-san, can you form a shield around an object?"
"I think so, no da!"
"Alright, move the shield to encase that guardian, hypothetically if you make the shield shrink, you might be able to squash him like a bug!"
"Yeah? What about hot shot and the Incredible Hulk over there?" Kouji shouted.
"Well, the rest of us could keep them busy while Chichiri-san and Amiboshi move the shield!"
"Sounds like a plan!"
Hanako cast a sidelong glance at Tasuki. "Good Lord, he still got that Osaka complex?"
"Unfortunately, yes, he does."
The other bandit rolled his eyes at the two. "Okay people, let's go!"
When the guardian paused for another breath, the group was on the move. The second that shield came down, Tasuki and Kouji were all over Byakko's guardian back with powerful slashes of their weapons while Hanako and Ryo drove back Suzaku's.
He hissed between the sharp boned teeth before he let loose another breath, surprised to feel the wind blowing back at him from all sides. His mouth opened wider, a strong gust filled the bubble with a fierce howl. His great shoulders brushed the walls by the time Chichiri and Amiboshi's combined power started to weaken. Try as the two might, they just failed to make the shield any smaller. As the three continued with their stalemate, the others were having the same amount of trouble.
Despite what they had thought, Byakko's guardian was almost as quick as they were. If it weren't for Kouji's natural dexterity and Tasuki's Seishi-enhanced agility, they both would have been pounded in to the ground and beyond. The other two were having it as bad, if not worse. It seemed as if the birdman wasn't really interested in them, but would rather be attacking Chichiri and Amiboshi. The worst part was, they had no way to hurt, it was hard to even attempt to attack it since it was flying and near impossible for them to deter him from his two targets.
Genbu's guardian inhaled deeply, and exhaled just as hard, the shield began fluctuating wildly. The two Seishi focused all their power; sweat trickled down their faces and necks. One of the notes turned sour and Amiboshi winced openly, concentration broken.
At that moment, the shield broke, letting loose a literal whirlwind in the clearing. The two bandits managed to get off with feeling a heavy wind while Ryo and Hanako were knocked off their feet. The two Seishi, however, fared the worst. Their cries were lost in the wind as it picked them up and threw them at least eight meters back. Neither got up, neither moved as the guardians all raised their voices in triumph.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~