Chapter 48

** Late Evening, 2 days later, the “Black Widow” nightclub, Central Barcelona, **

As same as every Friday night, every major gambler and his brother in law have gathered around the hottest nightclub in Barcelona, once favorite battling grounds for the infamous Vega Lorenzo and still one of the fondly chosen fighting arenas for his younger sibling, the ever-entertaining Alexis Lorenzo AKA Vibora.

Men and women sit packed at dozens of round tables that form a ring around a large platform. The lifted piece of ground being a large arena with wooden metallic floor, large bars erected from it, and sealed by another layer of bars that form a large steel cage, the metal gleaming in the colorful array of lights.

A man with a microphone is standing in the center of an arena, a spotlight illuminating him. The man lifts a hand and begins greeting the people in the crowd. Meanwhile down on a chair right below the ring, Jason sits, hands tapping on the table lightly, his concealed eyes showing slight irritation, this was taking too long, and he wasn’t patient when blood was to spill, especially the one of the most annoying b*tch he had ever met, the young lady known as Ibuki Hasigawa.

He had given her the proof of life in the backroom; she had looked at the tape and envelope and put it in her bag, putting it in her locker before telling him she’d supply him the chip later. He wasn’t glad of it, but knew Ibuki wasn’t stupid enough to mess with him while her mother was in their possession.

He takes a sip of a drink, his tongue lingering on the taste, though a majority of his body was turned mechanic by the cybernetic augmentation project, most of his internal organs were one of the same with any other human’s, though some additions improved their performance and thus gave him great advantages over the common Joe. Now however, he felt like a 3-year old, anticipating his Christmas gift, the sheer adrenaline and excitement intoxicating, how he reveled on the fact the Shinobi girl was on course of a world or pain and suffering.

“And now, my dear ladies and gentlemen, a special battle for your blood spilling entertainment. A rare pleasure is bestowed upon you all tonight…Our combatants all oriental legends in the fighting circle, some of the best of the new blood of street fighting.” He says, the crowd whispering in anticipation, the gamblers looking intrigued at the prospect.

“Coming from the great isle of Japan; these two are known and feared among the underground, former leaders in the extinct Black Dragon, the recent hottest street fighting thrill in Asia. Let’s give a round of applause for our contenders, Mei and Hwang Hasigawa!” he says in the Spanish tongue, turning, the spotlight moving to point upon a door at the other side of the club.

The two sibling step out, both wearing body suits of raven color, their faces calm, with only faint smiles they share and a quick look that signal good luck as they pace down a small catwalk toward the arena.

Both of them have their ninja to blades strapped to their waist, identical arm guards of hard wooden protecting their forearms, leggings doing the same for their legs from knee and down. Their ensemble sealed by a large emblem stitched in a red lining over the back, twin Chinese dragons creating a circle sewn on the back, the Japanese kanji of their respected names on each of their backs.

“And now, a true feast for our action hungering hearts; The graceful, devious, powerful lady ninja from the great city of Tokyo, semi finalist of the recent Street fighting tournament, let’s give a warm welcome to Ibuki Hasigawa!” he says and turns to the other side of the club. He motions with his hand at the wall before him; the spotlight shows a door similar to the one Hwang and Mei came from only moments earlier.

She steps out of the door, adorning a whole new look that is quite a surprise to the crowd, she is wearing a pair of long black pants, the thin ,skin tight, material sticking to her skin, reaching up to little over her knee.

Her upper torso covered with a crimson colored sleeveless top, the very tight material clinging to her body, stressing her femininity while her forearms are protected by her armguards, the wooden material that had followed her throughout her whole fighting career. The left one being painted dark crimson with many kanji in Japanese written over it in black, the right one being similar except it has the opposite color choice.

A leather scabbard holds her katana behind her waist, holding her blade in place, it moving a bit with her movements, her eyes concealed by a pair of dark, oval sunglasses and a trench coat of black on her shoulder, flailing behind her back.

Her hair is now much shorter, the smooth strands reaching up to her shoulder level, lined in a quite stylish cut, her bangs still slightly covering her eyes, the hair flailing lightly with her movements as well.

She walks until pausing next to Jason, glaring at him and pushing forth, placing her jacket, previously pushing her glasses into a pocket within it, in the hands of a man near the ring for safekeeping before hopping into the ring, facing her opponents.

** Meanwhile, Mi6 research facility, small secluded on the shores of Northern Scotland, the deepest and most secure level of the complex, Research room #9 **

In a dark room, a single figure sits next to a large square table, an odd contraption placed upon it. The room is entirely shroud in shadows, only a soft white light escaping the contraption, illuminating something of green color. Several large mechanical devices are placed around the contraption, the entire table covered in them, monitors beeping and writing running over them.

A man sits beside the table, tending to the contraption and the mechanical devices with grace and speed of a true master, the man’s hands weaving over the keys and buttons like a pianist over his beloved musical instrument, the man deeply engrossed in the work.

The room is mediocre in size, the walls deep bluish-chrome colored, the floor metallic as well, the soft light bouncing off them subtly, but not enough to pierce the blanket of darkness enveloping the room. A man is sitting beside the table,

“Incredible!” The man exclaims as he reads some diagnostics on the microchip he had received to research earlier, his dark green eyes, shining with excitement behind a pair of rectangular glasses. He hmms and reviews the data once more, to make sure he’s not imagining the statistic reading, wiping some sweat off his forehead.

He is around the age of 60, his face wrinkled, a long oval face and short, sharp looking nose and old dry lips building up his facial appearance, a mane of silver hair covering his skull except a bald spot at the crown of his head. He is wearing a long white lab coat, over a simple white shirt of cotton, the ensemble sealed with some long dark brown jeans.

“This One chip, conjoined with this motherboard piece we’ve salvaged from the old warehouse in China is able to process over 100 thousand Terabytes of data per second…this chip alone is more powerful than almost all the supercomputers in the planet…” he says, in awe, his eyes a bit wide, as his mind process the absurd sounding information.

He pushes some keys on a console before him, a small robotic limb, holding a lens on its end; a small ray of light escapes the lens and scans over the chipset, the entire thing encased in a large glass sphere. The man moves his eyes to gaze at a different screen, one that is building a 3-d diagram of the structure of the chip. “Now to print this, and show it to the bosses, I can’t wait to show them”

“I mean, look at this! This style…it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before…the cooling system and alloy, seem so conjoined, almost created to be part of one another, the mechanism is almost…organic,” he muses, tilting his eyes sideways, before his eyes widen a bit.

“Wait just one d*mn minute...” he whispers and his eyes widen more “That’s not possible, bio-organic technology is still in its diapers...this…this cannot be! This thing is…is a biological piece of computer hardware, a plastic chipset fused with some sort of organic structure inside, moving the data through what seems like nerve cells with a metal coating. “He says, his voice contemplative and his eyebrows furrowing, everything beginning to make sense.

Moreover, the system…I see now! It’s cooled through small slits in the plastic that release the heat and having an internal water recycling device by oxygen consummation and the water being spilling in and out of the organic area through small nano sized tubes…” he says in a hushed tone to himself.

He claps his hands, “Now THIS! Is a discovery, the truth behind the venom blade research…god above, what power is invested in such a technology…well, I have to report to high command…and now…” he says, his eyes getting determined as he commands the machine beside him to begin printing his findings, just as soon as he prints them.

He fails to see a pair of eyes carefully watching through the small window placed on the door, someone was watching, and waiting. As soon as the doctor arranges his report and files it into a briefcase, working with rush and impatience, the door slides open silently.

“This is unbelievable, Bio organic science is still in its diapers now, this seems so imaginative…it’s impossible” he whispers quietly putting down the file and wiping his forehead, so engrossed in his inner musing he fails to hear or sense someone approach him.

“Correction, It is quite possible doctor, and Bio organic technology is quite advanced…widely used in many circles, though rarely the ones upon the surface, don’t be so naive” a voice cuts in.

** Back in the Arena **

“I’ve heard about you two…the children of Shingari…” Ibuki says quietly, tilting her head sideways, looking a bit curiously while entering her stance while eyeing her cousins for the first time in her life, regarding them as strangers, though a pang of something undetermined bugs her, perhaps it is longing, for any kind of family, she pushes the thought aside, knowing it is impossible.

The resemblances between her and Mei noticeable, their nose and chin structure being remotely similar though her mother’s blood seems to bring in the faint differences. They also seem to be similar in attitude as well as Mei opens her mouth to speak “You are the heir of Geki, you are the future of the Shinobi, in order for our father’s death to be avenged, you must die…filthy Shinobi scum…” the venomous words oozing out with an angry and maliciously tone.

Hwang regards Ibuki calmly, as he and his sister enter their stances, eyeing Ibuki with cold hatred and rage in their eyes, solely dropping the enormity of the loss of a father on her shoulders, tossing the blame and anger at her. “How surprising, maybe I should be nominated for world’s most hated femme…this is getting old and tiring…gosh, here we go…” She thinks as the cage is locked from both side and a techno beat begins playing in the background, the lights beginning to shift between various colors.

Mei strikes, stepping forward and throwing a kick at Ibuki’s face, Ibuki blocks high, her vision blocked by her forearms, Hwang quickly leaping forth with a jump kick, emerging from behind his sister. Ibuki could not see him, but she feel him, tossing Mei’s leg down and quickly bending her body backward, planting her hands on the metallic ground and flipping back, the kick missing it’s target.

”This is gonna be a pain…” Hwang thinks as she lands on his feet, eyeing Ibuki coldly, ”My cousin is good as the tales speak, but me and Mei can handle it, I’ve got confidence in that…we know counter Shinobi tactics…” he thinks and sneers lightly at Ibuki as he steps back.

Then they both strike at once, Ibuki blocks Hwang’s kick, crossing her arms across her body, pushed back. She tries to turn to block Mei’s attack, but fails to read it due to her haste, and kick slams into her ribcage, causing her to grunt and exhale through grit teeth.

The crowd cheers at the action, wanting more. Jason remains calm, patient, knowing from Ibuki’s record, she was just getting warmed up, her smirks and rubs his chin, intrigued at the two young Ninjas, admiring their talents for possible future reference.

She shakes her head and backs away, being cornered by the two, Hwang then approaches her, and he throws a punch to her face with his right fist, quickly adding punch to her left lower ribcage. Ibuki swats the first off course with a flick of her wrist, quickly shifting sideways to dodge the second blow.

As she turns, she sees Mei leap toward her, aiming to kick her head straight off he shoulders and continues the spinning motion and leaps, being able to protect her head, but instead she is kicked solidly out of the air and landing painfully on her side, quickly rolling sideways and climbing to her feet.

She groans quietly, in quite a bit of pain, “D*mnit…” she mutters and leaps over the two and turns in midair landing with her face to their backs, trying to think of a way to be able to not be overwhelmed, her body and face now aching at the force of the blows

She then resume her stance, her eyes traveling between the two siblings who resort to circle around her, this wasn’t going to work, if she would play the game at their pace, she would be overwhelmed in no time, their skill while lower than hers, was conjoined quite more dangerous than she could deal with, their teamwork capabilities legendary.

She steps forward, dropping her defensive, shifting her strategy approaching Mei and throwing a punch, it’s blocked soundly, her punch thrown off course by the younger woman, who quickly grabs onto her wrist and attempts to pull her forward. Ibuki uses that trick often, and it would be a cold day in h*ll when she falls for it, she lets herself be pulled, lifting her leg, blocking the knee thrust and then head butting the younger woman.

Mei reels back, though her hands don’t leave Ibuki as she continues the motion of the descent and places her foot against Ibuki’s abdomen, falling to the ground and kicking Ibuki back, throwing her backwards. Ibuki lands on her hands and resumes her stance quickly, grunting as Hwang kicks her side before she can refocus herself.

”She’s got skill, I’ll give her that, but she can’t keep up with two of us forever, eventually we’ll have the upper hand…” She thinks and crawls back to her feet quickly, licking her lower lip and preparing herself for more combat.

Hwang throws a punch into the fray, the fist connecting with her cheek, knuckles brushing against flesh and bone, her head snapping sideways. Ibuki spits some saliva and remembers a trick she saw Gen use, getting an idea, she decides to try a bit of Kung fu, knowing that is something the twins aren’t expecting.

She blocks his next punch, her armguard colliding with his, the woods emitting a tapping sound. He then kicks at her head to which she reacts by quickly ducking under his blow and quickly rising to her feet. She sense Mei approach and lets her chi flow, the life force fueling her body and the familiar blue hue surrounding her hands.

Hwang’s face turns to be alarmed, eyes narrowing in suspicion, then into a knowing and smug look preparing for a Raida or Yoroi Doushi quickly moves to punch her and cause her to waste her life force and lose her concentration.

However, Ibuki with immense speed dodges with a wide sidestep, then quickly grabbing his wrist and pulling him down with immense strength, with his movement he is unable to resist due to his momentum, being yanked downward right into a blow of the back of Ibuki’s hand.

“What the h*ll?!” Hwang thinks before his thought process cut by sharp pain, the blow fused with the awesome force of her developed chi, the wisps of blue life force strengthening its power. There is also more additional damage coming from an intense heat that licks against his body and the final small explosion of contact causing a small gust of power to push Hwang backward, one that sends him flying backwards with a gasp of surprise and pain as he rams hard into the cage freeing Ibuki's concentration once more.

** Elsewhere, Psycho drive control room, Shadow law main complex, Mountains of Thailand **

He hovers over the ground; his body suspended an inch or two over the floor, his psionic powers of telekinesis enabling him to defy gravity among things, the simplest of feats in his awesome scope of power, his completely white eyes scanning a screen.

An odd band is encircling his head, bound over his temples, the chrome colored metallic object lined with tiny circuitry, small sparks of energy glowing in the small lines across it, two odd armbands locked around his wrists, glowing in soft blue, pulsing gently with his life force, a gentle hue bathing his arms.

His eyes are crossed across his chest, his muscular arms hugging his sleek and well built form, the muscles beneath his military muscles bulging slightly against the fabric, his violet hair shadows his face, bangs concealing his eyes slightly as he is almost completely immobile, his concentration incredible, unbending as he begins to summon his life-force.

His eyes begin glowing softly, swirling wisps of violet energy dancing within them, before he shuts them, the bands glowing brighter, their color shifting to raging violet before the energy suddenly roars to life shooting out and encircling his body.

He remains completely still, the room now illuminated by the furious power, the energy begins dancing around him, large tendrils of energy licking against his body, the bracelet suddenly being hit two small twin beam, a huge Shadowlaw emblem on the wall their source.

The energy around him suddenly fades into his body, all the energy melding into his body, the bands and bracelet losing their empowered state, only the twin red beams hitting the bracelet. He remains immobile for several moments before his eyes snap open, glowing furiously, fire seeming to burn within them.

Then the eyes of the skull die down, and Xavier lowers himself to the ground, he lifts his hand to his head, removing the band from his head and unlocking the bracelets from around his wrists. He then turns toward the corner of the room pacing toward it, placing them on top of a small black table, a small dome of energy then erected around them.

He then lifts his hand, a gentle bluish hue surrounding his fingers and the ground a foot or two before him, suddenly lowers, he then waves his hand across his body, and it rises once more, a large chair of metal rising from the bowels of the floor.

He sits down upon it, leaning back against it and sighing lightly, “I’m so close…phase one is almost completed…” he says and wipes a beading droplet of sweat from his temple, soon running a hand through his hair and smiling lightly.

“It’s ironic, father worked so hard, and all the answers were under his nose, he held the venom blade secret right in his own possession, the diary of the inventors of the venom blade technology. Bison had acquired it by chance and mistook it for foolish dreams of morons with no grasp of reality, Xavier however was far more observant, perhaps for he had the liability of not having his father’s dual personality and traumas.

Now, he was close to building the most powerful supercomputer in the world, based on biological computer components with processing powers unfathomable to the mortal mind, all he was missing were a few pieces.,

He was still in need of two more chips and the memory processing unit that held them, he was so close, with his adaptations and uses of the technology, he would soon have the capability to bring the world to its knees.

Each chip he acquired had a difference purpose, one had the purpose of supervising the data transfer, the other conducting the energy pulses, another to translate it into binary language, the last he needed was the processing unit and the chipset that was to supervise the maintenance of the biological parts imprinted inside the processing unit.

He chuckles lightly, it sounded very cliché and cartoon like, but unlike in the childish series, he had wouldn’t have mercy on anyone in his path, and he knew exactly what to do. He had been studying the world and its heroes, and its ways of life for many a year, now he was ready, ready to grasp his destiny, foretold by his father for his mother, rewritten by Xavier to apply on himself, due to his father’s misconception of the psycho power.

But he had recently found out its location, and had sent his spies to investigate, once he had more information he could begin planning means of taking It for himself, and then beginning the construction of the mainframe system, that would be stage one of his plan, the well choreographed means to fulfill his father’s legacy and conquer the world.

** Back in the Arena **

Ibuki then turns sharply to Mei who kicks her face, the heel of her bare foot hitting her forehead hard. Ibuki’s head whips back, alongside her body. She takes a step back while turning her body and pulling her fist to her side doing a quick turn and lashing back at Mei before she can think twice.

She had learned that move painfully from the times she had crossed in Balrog’s path, the large boxer was a formidable foe, his bulk and strength allowing him to suffer much damage and still come back for more. Ibuki finds it ironic the foe who had given her so much trouble would in time give her help in her battles; she allows herself a small inward chuckle at the thought.

Mei reels back as the blow hits her abdomen, the air forced painfully out of her lungs, pain filling her upper body as she coughs lightly, the blow sinking lightly against her diaphragm and causing her to choke on the air in her lungs.

She then grunts painfully as Ibuki quickly plants a punch into her face, continuing the motion, a hook punch sinking into her abdomen before she steps back and tries to build some distance however failing miserably, Ibuki lunges forth, her chi building in rapid pace, her eyes flashing in bright blue as she rams a palm strike into Mei’s abdomen.

Mei grunts hard, the blow very painful, the point of collision burning slightly, but the recoil doesn’t throw her away, as Ibuki’s finger curl around her garment and yank her forward, in an opposite direction of her momentum, leaving her unable to react.

Ibuki’s hand then roars then glows in furious blue, slamming into her chin, the chi exploding, Mei cries out involuntarily, the heat intense, if momentary, and the pain unbelievable as she’s catapulted away, landing on the metallic floor with a clang and thud and lying on her side, spitting blood and shaking her head, rising to a kneeling position.

Ibuki then glances at Hwang from the corner of her eyes, seeing him reaching for his belt, she immediately grabs the hilt of her Katana and unsheathes it, slashing it in a wide arc. Sparks are unleashes as the blade swats a Shuriken off course.

“Not bad. For a Shinobi…” Hwang says and glares at her coldly, venom coating his words. Mei only pants a bit, glaring at her angrily, her eyes speaking enough, she wanted blood, Ibuki’s blood.

Ibuki levels the Katana, “You two are a good team, but you are lacking in individual talent, Shingari was sloppy in your training I see…not very surprising considering his lack of preordained thinking…” she muses quietly, knowing this might be the tip that changes the outcome of the war. Both Mei and Hwang pause at her remark, the fury in their eyes rising to dangerous levels.

The controlled anger bubbling inside, indignation and loathing making them dizzy, a thick haze of red blocking their view, the insolence unbelievable, it would not be forgotten or forgiven, she would die, this they decided, both looking at each other and nodding.

They both unsheathe their blades, each having a pair of the blades, swishing them before her, now their eyes full of silent rage, the most dangerous kind, but also the most unexpected, if she could reach the point in which they exhaust themselves, she would win, if she failed to withstand their preliminary attack, she would die.

Then both of them lunge at once, and Ibuki’s breathing hitches, licking her lower lip, sweat beading down her forehead, the two had received very painful blows, they would strain to battle her now with all they got, but the risk was high, the gamble of life or death, sink or swim.

Hwang swings both at her in different angles, Ibuki takes a turn sideways and his blades hit the cage, clanging audibly, Ibuki kicks his ribcage quickly. Pushing him sideways and causing him to reel painfully she then leaps and grabs the cage with one hand, Mei’s quickly blows narrowly missing, she then kicks down, hitting her head and sending her backwards.

** back in the laboratory **

The voice surprises the old man, causing him to blink and turn around sharply in surprise, accidentally hitting the scanning contraption with the movement of his arms, it crashing to the floor and the chip inside it sliding to the corner of the room as the sphere it was inside shatters.

The old scientist looks at the figure who now joins him in the dark room, “How did you…?” he inquires in a shocked tone, fear reaching his features, a choked gasp escaping his lips as he falls back, someone approaching him, crawling back on the floor.

“Wh...who…how’d you get in here? Security! Security!” he says in a demanding tone mixed with anxiety. He receives no answer in words, only the gentle tapping of leather Shoes against the metallic floor as the figure approaches.

“They can’t hear you old man, I’m afraid they’re taking a nap, a mighty long one mind you, it was hard for them, meeting my knuckles and then the floor, but they’ll recover eventually,” the voice echoes in the dark room, another amused chuckle escaping the man’s vocal cords.

He continues backing away, “I’m warning you! I won’t give you what you want, whatever it is!” he says in a brave and determined manner, that is, before he finds himself pinned to the wall, looking up at the man who looms over him.

His resolve dissolves into nothingness, gazing upward like a dear drowning in the white lights of an upcoming truck, the dumb folded confusion, and fearful naivety simply too much for the man to contend with.

The man almost collapses with sheer amusement, a deep, rumbling laughter escaping the bowels of his throat, his chest heaving, his hand rising to cover his abdomen, running over some sleek black cloth of silk and cotton that is the base of his skin tight shut, covering over rippling muscles.

“My my, I expected much more, from the famous Dr. Arthur Chamberlain, this is simply pathetic…to think I have to waste my time on you, what a waste of frequent flier mileage,” he muses silently. “Bah! You’re not even worth a bullet,” he muses, cocking a silenced pistol, before scowling and tucking it into a pocket in his long black pants.

The man gulps, sweating more, sweat drizzling down his face, steam covering his glasses, his vision turning blurry due to this. He shivers inwardly at the sound of cracking knuckles, not to mention the mocking and amusement coating the figure’s words, though he’s knows it is but honey lacing over venom as he closes the gap between them.

The man then crawls quickly toward the corner of the room, willing to grab the chip, guessing that is the man’s goal in this, wanting to gain it and have an advantage over the hulking figure. Just as he is about to reach it, a shoe stomps on his hand, cracking sounds follow, sickening as bones shatter audibly.

The old man gasps audibly in pain, grunting and recoiling, holding his tortured hand, gulps and then looks up at the man, after he kneels and lifts the chipset, his fingers closing around it gently, before the man returns his dreadful gaze onto the old scientist.

“Now now, that was very irrational old men, I’ve flown a long way to get this thing, and you were planning on trying to blackmail me, that’s a big no no, therefore I must take drastic measures…” he muses, an aqua glow illuminating the darkness shrouding the man’s face.

An surprising sight of impossible mixture of colors gracing the old man, silver hair, almost white, glowing aqua eyes and a deep brown complexion, his face is handsome, hawkish and noble looking, pearly white teeth gleaming from between dark lips that sneer at him, all bathed in a soft aqua hue.

“Thank you for the diagnostic report btw, It’ll come in handy once we harness this chipset, good bye doctor Chamberlain” he muses with a grin, approaching the man quickly in a quick dash, stopping a foot or two before him and pulling his foot backward.

The old man gasps and his eyes widen before they shut, the foot glowing in soft blue before it sails forward with immense speed and force. The foot rams into the old man’s body, the heel ramming into the area over the ribcage with inhuman force. The joint power of the momentum of the blow and the counter force of the wall that constrains the doctor against it makes the blow ever more deadly.

The doctor screams in pain before the death blow lands, then his screaming turns into choked pants, his lungs unable to supply oxygen as the man’s blow had torn one apart, blood oozes from the old man’s mouth as he falls, coughing blood and convulsing lightly.

A deep chuckle fills the room as the man grabs the sheet of paper on the table before walking out of the room, shutting the door behind him. His footsteps fill the empty hall as he walks away, the only sound in the whole complex, slowly fading away as he begins leaving the depths of the underground laboratory.

** Back at the arena, **

“D*mnit…will you just…lie down…and DIE!” Hwang says, his control slipping, impatience and frustration showing in his eyes, rage uncontrollable as he motions his sister, whispering something, she nods.

Both twins then locks blade and fuse their life forces, their chi raging as Mei slashes to the right and Hwang to the left, a huge energy ripple flying forth and approaching Ibuki with great speed. Ibuki’s eyes widen a bit, not expecting them to be able to pool chi energy and a look of alarm reaches her face as she suddenly exhales very sharply pulling out on her chi, the energy raging and cracking around her blade, the area around her illuminated slightly by the energy.

She then blocks the blow, releasing the chi a moment before collision to protect the blade, the two energies clash furiously, a huge flash and explosive boom ensue, a ripple causing a shockwave to throw Ibuki hard into the cage.

She grits her teeth and groans, her vision blurry from the flash, her body in quite a bit of pain now, she hears her cousins rise to their feet as well, sense them prepare, more chi being build up and quickly forces herself up to her feet, standing a bit shakily on her feet.

“D*mn…this is exhausting…” she thinks and squints her eyes lightly as she lunges forth, swinging her blade at the spent twins, a battle cry escaping her throat. She swings at Hwang aiming at his abdomen, keeping a distance to be out of the range of his blade, he lifts one blade to defend himself, the metals clanging audibly before Ibuki surprises him by stepping forward and kicking his wrist, one of his swords flying out of his hand.

She then kicks at his head with all her remaining strength, the crescent kick slamming very hard into his face, sending him to the floor, hard, his face leaning against it, his other blade falling as he tries to get up painfully, panting hard.

She then finishes him off with a axe kick to the back of the head, his forehead hitting the floor, and his consciousness slipping. Mei roars angrily “BROTHER!” she shouts angrily and attacks with renewed vigor, slashing wildly at Ibuki. Ibuki grunts under the strain, her arms getting a bit heavy, the extrusion and pain beginning to show, her panting hard, her face reddish and her lips dry.

Mei doesn’t look much better, but she had suffered more damage, and was obviously keeping conscious on will power alone, all Ibuki needs is something to take them out now. She could kill them now, in cold blood, like Shinobi treat all black dragon, but she decides, these two are so alike her, they’re only acting by their emotions, they were younger than her, and had much to learn, a nagging feeling in her mind forces her to resort to less deadly tactics.

“This isn’t going to get you anywhere Mei; I don’t want to resort to killing you, we are of the same blood,” Ibuki says in a tired tone.

Mei growls “I deny sharing blood with a filthy Shinobi swine! You will die for blemishing my father’s memory,” she says and her eyes flash with anger and hatred.

“I’m no longer Shinobi, I have been expelled, and you know I’m right, that your father was out of focus with his power struggles at his finals years” she says in a solemn tone. Exhaustion and reluctance written all over her as she tells the secret, but somehow she feels it’s the right thing to do, call it woman’s intuition, she feels these two will be better off alive.

Mei’s eyes show confusion, “You…I…but…You mean…you…you’re not Geki’s heir? But…” she asks, in a confused tone, her adrenaline breaking, her rage subsiding slightly, her exhaustion taking place.

“How doesn’t matter, the facts remain intact, I am Shinobi no more…My death will give you nothing, as yours will give me nothing but blood on my hands that I don’t relish on. I you want to fight me, let us do it hand to hand, like true warriors…if not, I shall show you no mercy, and you will risk spoiling your vengeance…” Ibuki says in a reasoning tone.

we are both not ninjas, only people now” Ibuki says and sheathes her blade, the crowd boos and looks impatient, not wanting the exciting bout to end in this manner.

Jason blinks “Well well well…looks like the master’s original plan is going to take place, and I was hoping to see more blood, bah, oh well, soon, the rope with tighten and we’ll remove her from our way…” he says to himself his voice swallowed up in the techno music as he grins.

Mei drops her blade, entering a hand-to-hand stance, the crowd cheers and chants them to fight. Ibuki bows her head once; Mei repeats the gesture and lunges at Ibuki.

Though Ibuki has made peace with her cousin it seems, it was regrettable she’d have to hurt her so now. Mei approaches Ibuki in a quick sprint, the latter cups her hands one over the other before her body. Her chi roars to life, swirling in her hands, burning angrily in lust for release. Her hands shake a bit under the strain of controlling the furious power.

”I really hope it works this time…and I don’t burn m’clothes off again, that could be embarrassing, Awww crap, I hope this works…” Ibuki thinks and prays silently as she preps herself for initiation of her desperation maneuver.

Mei gambles, thinking she can hit Ibuki before the chi is unleashed and defeat her, leaping and approaching Ibuki in a descending kick, her chi surrounding her, her foot aiming to crush Ibuki upon contact.

However, her older cousin was anticipating that exact choice of action, having made the same mistake against one Guy over a year ago, one that cost her a math.

She then throws her hands forward and the chi explodes and expands in a mushroom like way just as Mei is in range.

The energy roared angrily in immense force for a few moments, engulfing Mei, but then waning all at once, Ibuki being unable to contain the high levels or power for so long, or control her chi in this manner, her training in the technique minimal and quite painful, this being one of her more successful tries.

Mei gasps in surprise then covers her face as the life force hits her, her leg hitting Ibuki, but not before the chi engulfs her, and alights her with pure agonizing pain, waves of unbearable heat and energetic pulses hitting her and causing her body to be unable to cope with the carnage. Her consciousness slipping all at once by the pain, removed by her brain’s command, meant to defend the body as she falls to the ground in a heap.

Ibuki lands heavily on her back, panting tiredly, hearing the crowd cheer wildly; she had copied what was known as Chunli’s Kikoshou, though the force was not even remotely as powerful for she didn’t know the exact manner of manipulating it into a dome like wave like the Chinese warrior.

She crawls to her feet slowly, limping toward the door that’s opened for her, medics meanwhile going to tend to Mei and Hwang; she collapses into the chair before Jason, who is clapping lightly “Very Very impressive, I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me,” he says cheerfully.

Ibuki growls lightly and pants weakly, the man from before giving her the jacket, she pulls out the chip from a small hidden pocket in its sleeve and puts it on the table. “Here, take it and leave me alone you revamped dishwasher…” she says quietly, with an edge of bitterness and rage in her tone.

He nods “As always a pleasure to do business with you Ms. Hasigawa…” he says and chuckles, walking away, leaving Ibuki to glare daggers at his back before getting up shakily and heading for the showers, needing one horribly.