Samurai Champloo Fan Fiction ❯ Dancing Cherry Blossoms ❯ Spiked Weights ( Chapter 10 )

Dancing Cherry Blossoms

 

Chapter 10: Spiked Weights

 

 

 

 

“SUISEN!” A voice yelled behind the short girl; the Daffodil Assassin. Suisen had the shortest hair out of all the girls, but the front was long. It always covered one half of her face. Suisen turned around as she was walking over the bridge leading to Sugiyama. Ayame was walking up to her. Sighing, Suisen turned to face her completely. When Ayame reached her, she immediately knew that she was about to get told off.

 

“You know better than to scream my name aloud like that, Ayame. Have you lost your fucking mind?” Suisen asked. Ayame sighed and crossed her arms.

 

“That's not what I came over here to tell you, Suisen,” she said.

 

“Then what is it? I have a job to do and I want to get it done in a timely fashion,” Suisen sounded very irritated. She was not one to dawdle. She did not like being told what to do, except if it came from Hoshi.

 

“Well, on Hoshi-sama's orders, your target has changed. You no longer have that task,” Ayame said. Suisen raised an eyebrow.

 

“So, who is my target now? This better be a worthy opponent. The first target was definitely worthy one from what I hear,” Suisen uncrossed her arms and Ayame beckoned her forward.

 

“Oh, I'm sure this target is a VERY worthy opponent; especially for your skills,” Ayame said. Suisen stepped closer to her. Ayame whispered one word in her ear. When Suisen stepped back from Ayame, her eyes were wide open in shock.

 

“Are you sure you didn't misunderstand Hoshi-sama's orders? Plus, I don't even know what the broad looks like.”

 

“Very, Suisen. Believe me; I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of okusama's wrath. The woman is a beast. Hoshi said she will take full responsibility. About knowing who she is, go into the tea house. Now, get going,” Ayame pushed her. Suisen nodded, still looking a little numb from the change in plans. She hurried along to Sugiyama.

 

Since the party two days before, Sakura and Mugen had not so much has breathed the same air in a room together. Mugen was long gone before Sakura got up and Sakura was asleep by the time he got home. The silence between them was unnerving to Kyoko and Fuu. Sayuri waved it off, saying to let them work it out. Eventually, one of them would cave in.

 

The lack of contact with Mugen was beginning to take its toll on Sakura. She was going through what Jin said was “Asshole Withdrawal.” Both Sakura and Mugen were too stubborn to show weakness in front of the other. The day Suisen arrived to complete her assignment, both Mugen and Sakura were about to crack.

 

“You know, it's getting pretty pathetic watching those two ignore each other,” Fuu said. Kyoko nodded. They were staring out at the customers. Sakura was sitting on one side of the room while Mugen was in the corner of the other. Both were brooding.

 

“Sayuri, come here!” Midori's voice yelled from the back. Sayuri stumbled past Kyoko and Fuu into the back room. As she disappeared into the room, Kyoko walked forward as a short girl walked in. She wore an outfit that resembled Sakura's except that it was a very bright yellow. It also looked very expensive. Her face was rather chubby and she looked no older than fifteen.

 

“How may I help you?” Kyoko asked. The girl did not seem to be paying attention to her. Kyoko raised an eyebrow.

 

Suisen saw Sakura sitting in the back. All of a sudden, the young assassin stormed out of the house into the rain right past Suisen. Suisen let out a long sigh of release that Sakura did not notice who she was. Right after Sakura cleared the doorway, a young man with unkempt hair followed her out in the same huff. Suisen looked directly in front of her at the taller waitress. She was shaking her head. She looked back down at Suisen.

 

“How can I help you?” She repeated. Suisen stepped up closer to her.

 

“Sayuri,” she said quietly. Kyoko raised an eyebrow at the short girl's request. Why had she asked for Sayuri?

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Sayuri,” the girl repeated.

 

“Who are you and what do you want with Sayuri?” Kyoko asked, looking very anxiously at the girl. The girl stared up at her for a moment. Before Kyoko knew what had happened, the small girl had pulled a chain out. The chain had two spiked weights on either end. She wrapped it around Kyoko's small neck with relative quickness.

 

Fuu looked up as everyone in the room had suddenly hushed. She saw Kyoko struggling to breathe under the chain. The small girl dragged her to the center of the room. Fuu watched in horror.

 

“Listen up, people...” Suisen began.

 

“Where did she go?” Mugen asked looking around. It was amazing how quickly the girl could disappear, even if the streets were relatively clear because of the rain. Mugen frowned deeply. He started in the direction she'd most likely go. He was going to put an end to the little jig of ignorance they were dancing.

 

He found her standing in a clearing behind their house. He stopped about five feet away from her. She was soaking wet. Her clothes stuck to her body. She stood unbraiding her hair. Once the braids were gone, she held her head up into the rain. Mugen watched as the black thickness she called hair became sleek and flat. Mugen did not know how long she stood like that before she lowered her head. She did it and exhaled slowly. She held her head straight forward.

 

“How long are you going to stand there before you say something to me?” Sakura said. Mugen flinched as he heard her speak. Her voice was cold like the rain. It portrayed no emotion whatsoever. She continued to stand with her back to him. Mugen took off his sandals and walked over to her.

 

“You aren't going to look at me?” He asked, stopping two feet behind her. Sakura lowered her head again. She turned around slowly, pulling her hair over one shoulder.

 

“What do you want?” She asked.

 

“Why do you keep avoiding me?” Mugen asked. Sakura smirked.

 

“I thought the answer would've been obvious by now,” she said quietly. Mugen raised an eyebrow.

 

“I don't quite follow what you mean,” he said. Sakura took a step forward.

 

“...I'm looking for a girl named Sayuri. I don't quite know what she looks like. I have half a mind to snap this one's neck unless you tell me where she is,” Suisen said. Fuu just watched Suisen, praying that Sayuri would not come out. Suisen nodded. “I see that no one will step up.”

 

Fuu's prayers were not answered as Sayuri walked out from the kitchen. She saw Kyoko struggling for breath by Suisen's hands. She sat the tray she held down. She stepped up closer.

 

“Who the hell are you and why are you holding Kyoko like that?” She asked. Suisen looked at her.

 

“What's your name?” Suisen asked. Fuu was about to say something when Jin entered the tea house. Suisen heard someone behind her. She turned quickly, drawing her katana on Jin. At the same time, he drew his. Suisen held her katana with one hand and the chain with the other. Kyoko was running out of time.

 

“What's going on here?” Jin asked, never taking his eyes off of Suisen.

 

“I'm looking for a girl named Sayuri,” Suisen replied. Sayuri stepped closer.

 

“I am Sayuri. What is your business with me?” Sayuri asked. Suisen smiled and released her hold on the chain. Kyoko pulled it from around her neck, gasping for breath. Suisen picked the chain up and wrapped it around her waist securely.

 

“I am Suisen,” she said. Sayuri's eyes widened. So this was the Daffodil Assassin? “I was sent here to kill you.”

 

“I think you're off your rocker, lady. What have I done to deserve death?”

 

“What do I care? I am merely following orders. Are you going to fight or am I just going to slit your throat right where you stand?” Suisen asked. Sayuri frowned and narrowed her eyes. She looked at Jin.

 

“Jin, let me have your sword,” she requested. Jin looked at her. Suisen also looked at Jin.

 

“My business is not with you. I do not like having casualties,” Suisen said. Jin nodded. He walked over to Sayuri and handed his sword to her. Sayuri looked back at Suisen.

 

“Everyone else stay out of this. Suisen, let's take this outside,” Sayuri said. Suisen nodded.

 

“Wherever.”

 

Sakura and Mugen continued to stare at each other in silence. Mugen saw her shiver slightly.

 

“You'll get sick if you stay out here for long,” he warned her. Sakura shrugged and continued to look at him.

 

“Why do you say things you don't mean?” She asked. Mugen blinked in confusion.

 

“I don't know. I didn't mean what I said about you being just some chick I fuck for fun. You know that, don't you?” Mugen asked. Sakura nodded.

 

“Now I do,” she mumbled, stepping closer to him. Her feet sank into the muddy ground. She felt the mud between her toes and laughed a bit. Looking down, she realized that she was stuck. “I'm a little stuck here,” she said. Mugen smirked and grabbed her hand. He pulled her forward towards him. Sakura's foot came out of the mud and she flew into him. He fell back into the mud.

 

“Shit,” Mugen cursed. Sakura took her head out of his chest.

 

“I'm sorry,” she whispered. Mugen fought the urge to laugh at the sorrowful look in her eyes. For a moment, she looked like she was about to cry. Her face flooded with a ton of different emotions while she was on top of him. Mugen did not understand it. They just gazed at each other in silence once more.

 

Sayuri and Suisen faced off. The rain was still falling steadily. Sayuri had only heard stories of Suisen. She had never actually seen her. She was always on an assignment. She was a relatively new assassin even though she was about five years older than Sayuri.

 

“No one interfere. I mean it,” Sayuri said, still staring at Suisen.

 

“Are you ready to die?” Suisen asked. Sayuri inhaled slowly.

 

“I am not completely sure why one of us has to die, but it will not be me who does,” Sayuri said as she held the katana out to Suisen. Suisen nodded and got into her fighting stance as well. She was the first to move.

 

Sayuri, not anticipating Suisen to move so fast, jumped back while blocking a strike. She pushed the offending assassin off of her. Suisen was just grinning. She lunged forward again. Sayuri spun around her, blocking Suisen's vision with her long sleeves. Suisen, knowing this trick from fighting with Hoshi, ducked under Sayuri. Sayuri leaned back as Suisen's katana went straight up. Suisen kicked Sayuri in the stomach, sending her to the ground.

 

“Well, well, it looks like you're not as good as you assumed yourself to be,” she said spitefully. Sayuri stood up. She stared at Suisen with contempt in her eyes. Even if she lost this battle, she knew that Sakura would not let it go unpunished. Yes, either way it went, Suisen would die. It was all a question of who would be the one to kill her.

 

“Perhaps you will allow a weapon change. If you are so confident that you can beat me, why don't you let me fight you at my best?” Sayuri asked, staring Suisen right in the eye. Suisen, a very egotistical person, nodded slowly.

 

“If you think it will better your chances at living, by all means do so,” she said. Sayuri nodded.

 

“Fuu, go and get my weapon,” she said. Fuu jumped at the sound of her name. She nodded and turned back inside the tea house. Sayuri never went anywhere without her zanbatou, but Midori had requested she keep it hidden from the customers. So, the weapon was hidden in the kitchen. Fuu returned quickly to make the trade. Sayuri took the weapon and gave Fuu Jin's katana. Fuu cleared off quickly.

 

“Are you ready, Sayuri?”

 

“Anytime you are, Suisen,” Sayuri said. She held the bladed end out to Suisen. Suisen nodded slightly and ran forward. Sayuri relaxed and blocked Suisen's strikes. She was remarkably quick with the long weapon. Suisen had to mind the bladed end.

 

From a distance, Ayame watched this fight. It was hard to tell who had the upper hand in the battle. Sayuri was holding her own surprisingly well. A little cheating might be in order if Suisen couldn't finish it quick enough.

 

“Finish it, Suisen,” Ayame whispered through clenched teeth.

 

Suisen jumped back as the blade of Sayuri's zanbatou scratched her chest. The thin cloth covering her was ripped. Sayuri's arms had blood and water running down them in a mix. It was hard to tell where the minor cuts were. Sayuri watched as Suisen came charging at her again. Sayuri dug the end of her weapon into the mud. She held onto it and kicked Suisen in the chest with both feet. In a quick movement, she pulled the weapon out of the mud and swung it at Suisen. Suisen dodged gracefully but in turn she lost her katana. She faced Sayuri once again.

 

“It looks like I have beaten you, Suisen,” Sakura said, holding the tip of her zanbatou to Suisen's neck. Suisen nodded.

 

“Perhaps you have...” Suisen removed the chain from around her waist. Before Sayuri could react, one of the weights on the chain had wrapped around her staff. Suisen pulled it right out of her hands. Sayuri stood up straight with her mouth hanging open.

 

Fuu started to step forward to help. Jin grabbed her arm. Fuu turned and looked at him with a crazed look in her eyes.

 

“Are you just going to watch her die?” She asked in a hushed voice.

 

“She asked us not to interfere,” Jin replied.

 

“But, she's going to die i...”

 

“Obviously, that was for a reason, Fuu. Assassins do not distinguish between the one they are after and the one who gets in their way. Remember Sasami?” Jin said calmly. Fuu nodded and squeezed her fists together. Where were Mugen and Sakura? She looked back at Suisen.

 

“What kind of weapon is that? I've never seen one like it?” Kyoko asked.

 

“It's called a manriki-gusari. It's a chain with a weight at either end of it. It's a very intricate weapon to use. Hers has a few modifications, though,” Jin answered her.

 

Sakura looked up at the sound of thunder. In Sakura's experience, the only time she had ever heard thunder was when Sayuri was doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing or when she was in trouble. It had always been a bad omen for both of them. Something was wrong. She got up off of Mugen. Mugen stood up after her. He noticed the worried look in Sakura's face.

 

“What's wrong?” He asked. Sakura looked at him. The thunder sounded again. Sakura looked around in the mud for her sword.

 

“Shit! Where is it?” She ran her hands through the mud. She finally found it, half-buried. She tied it on her and started to walk off. Mugen followed her.

 

“Sakura, what is going o...”

 

“Sayuri,” was all Sakura said. Mugen raised an eyebrow as the thunder came again. Sakura's walking sped up.

 

“...and perhaps you haven't,” Suisen said as she swung the spiked weight above her head. Sayuri did a great job of dodging the swings. She had no weapon and she had to rely on her instincts now.

 

`How the hell am I going to get that fucking chain away from her?' Sayuri thought. From this angle, it seemed like a lost cause. Sayuri ducked to dodge the weight again. The moment she stood up to dodge the other weight; the previous weight hit her in the head. Sayuri stopped moving. She blinked twice before falling to the ground.

 

Fuu turned into Jin's shoulder. Kyoko turned around completely as Suisen walked over to Sayuri's lifeless body. Suisen kneeled and pulled the spiked weight out of Sayuri's head. Kyoko gasped, startling Suisen. Suisen turned around.

 

Sakura had stopped walking completely. Mugen stood next to her. Both looked like they didn't want to believe the scene before them. For Sakura, it was because it was Sayuri. For Mugen, it was because he was afraid of what Sakura might do in a fit of rage.

 

Sakura just looked at the lifeless body of her best friend since childhood. Sayuri's eyes were still open. Blood was mixing with the mud and water that fell on the ground. Fuu and Jin realized what Kyoko was staring at. Sakura tore her eyes away from her dead best friend. She looked up at her murderer.

 

“Who...are...you?” She choked out.

 

From her safe distance, Ayame was smiling. Sakura had watched her friend die. It was like Ayame's dreams were coming true. Now, all she had to do was sit back and watch Suisen die and then her job would be completed.

 

“I am Suisen. Bye,” Suisen ran off. Mugen watched her go, but did not follow her. Sakura took one last look at Sayuri. Then she turned her head in the direction that Suisen had run. Before Mugen or Jin could say anything, Sakura had taken off.

 

“Go after her,” Kyoko said, walking over to Sayuri's body. Jin and Mugen nodded and went after the short girl.

 

Sakura noticed that the rain had gotten fiercer. It was starting to hinder her vision. She searched in the rain for Suisen. She saw the other woman standing not too far from Sakura. Her back was to her. Sakura crept towards her almost silently. As she got closer, she thought about how she was going to slay this woman.

 

Suisen felt another presence behind her. As she turned, she pulled her sword. She realized that she was standing in front of Sakura. Like Sakura, Suisen had also heard stories of Sakura. She knew the child had a hell of a temper and she was an excellent assassin. She also knew she was as deadly as she was beautiful.

 

“You...killed...Sayuri,” Sakura said. Suisen began backing away. Sakura continued to advance on her. Suisen held her sword out steadily. Sakura did not even seem to notice it was there in her face. Instead, her eyes were trained on Suisen's frightened ones.

 

“Get back. My orders were not to harm you,” Suisen said. Sakura did not even hear her. All she was seeing was read. Everything just sounded like static. Suisen realized that she was not going to get through to Sakura. She sighed and closed her eyes. She swung at the young girl. Sakura dropped to the ground. She spun on one foot, tripping Suisen up. Suisen fell on her back. Her katana went sliding across the mud. Sakura sat on top of her.

 

Mugen and Jin turned the corner to see Sakura drive her sword right into Suisen's chest. The ground must have been pretty soft because the sword went in a good ways. Sakura stared down at Suisen. She was starting to choke on her own blood. Sakura removed the sword. Suisen's eyes drooped and her chest did one final heave. Sakura continued to stare at her. She raised the sword above her head again.

 

“YOU BITCH! YOU FUCKING CUNT! YOU STUPID, STUPID BITCH!!” Sakura yelled, punctuating each syllable with a stab to Suisen's chest. Blood was getting all over her white kimono and her face. The tears began to come as she continued to stab.

 

Mugen couldn't watch her anymore. He walked over to her and grabbed her arms. He sat down in the mud behind her. He squeezed her hands to get her to release the sword. Eventually, Sakura's hands with lax in his. He helped her stand up. It didn't matter to him that she was covered in another person's blood. Sakura stood with her head to the ground, sobbing.

 

Ayame watched from the trees, grinning. Sayuri had died gruesomely, but so had Suisen. Now, all that was left for Ayame to do was to get rid of Sakura...