Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Children of Shadow ❯ Showdown ( Chapter 19 )

Me: My muses are dead. *dramatic silence* No, I kid. I just locked them away... inside a piñata. A yellow piñata shaped like a chicken. (Its name is Puu.) I'm mad at them right now. They deserted me. See, as long as I have somebody else to blame my procrastination-itis on, I don't have to wallow in self-loathing all the time. *cough* Anyhow... I don't own Yugioh. Read on!

 

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Fear is an inexplicable thing. It dulls your senses, makes you doubt yourself and hesitate. It causes your chest to tighten and your breath to catch in your throat and your stomach to plummet straight down through your abdomen. It's a sick, unpleasant feeling.

 

Cassie didn't like that feeling. She shifted her weight back and forth, never taking her focus off of Kuchiku, who was watching Cassie with a greedy glint in her golden eyes, waiting for an opportunity to disintegrate her opponent. Cassie tried to will her fear to vanish, but it stayed, stiffening her muscles involuntarily and numbing her mind.

 

Relax, girl. Get a grip. Gaze still locked on Kuchiku, Cassie tried to breathe as deeply as she could without being obvious. If the catwoman sensed her fear, Cassie would have certainly lost any chance of gaining the upper hand in this fight.

 

“Are you gonna make the first move, or what?” she asked loudly, balling her hands into battle-hardened fists. Kuchiku narrowed her eyes and took an experimental step forward. “If you're expecting me to run, it's not happening.”

 

“Ra, shut up,” she heard Bakura mutter from behind her, where he stood by the broken doorway along with the others. “You're not impressing anyone with the tough talk, you know.”

 

Cassie still didn't look away from her opponent. “Shut your damn mouth. I'm busy here, in case you hadn't noticed, and you're not exactly helping.”

 

Suddenly Kuchiku moved. Almost faster than Cassie could see, she darted forward, her open palm glowing gold and heading straight for the side of Cassie's neck in a knife-hand chop. Cassie's first instinct was to slap the hand away, but touching it would probably burn her own hand off. Milliseconds before the strike landed, she dropped low, executed a fast forward tumble across the rough floor, and popped back up, bracing herself for another attack. Kuchiku, however, had stopped in place, looking over her shoulder. The glow surrounding her hand faded. “Good reflexes,” she remarked. “Fast on your feet. But don't think it'll help you much.”

 

Without responding, Cassie launched her own offense. She drew her right elbow in to her side and leaped towards Kuchiku, fist flying out at the last instant to catch the woman squarely on the jaw. Cassie immediately jumped out of range after the blow landed.

 

Kuchiku's lower lip was split; blood dribbled down her chin, which was bruised red from the punch. She sighed, placed one finger to her lips, and murmured something under her breath. As Cassie watched, her lip melded itself back together. The red welt disappeared, and Kuchiku dismissively licked the blood from her chin.

 

“I told you it wouldn't help,” she said condescendingly. “You think crude physical force is going to be enough to stop an embodiment of Bastet herself?” She smirked mockingly. “You silly little girl.”

 

Cassie gritted her teeth. What the hell kind of powers did this bitch have? And what was she supposed to do to fight her? Jep had mentioned powers of her own, but Cassie had no way of knowing what they were or how to use them. How-

 

As if on cue, Jep rose a good thirteen feet into the air, wings fluttering anxiously. “Cassie!” he hissed.

 

“This better be advice!” Cassie replied tensely, watching for another strike from Kuchiku. However, the redhead had folded her arms across her abdomen and glanced over at the sprite.

 

“I agree,” Kuchiku said to Jep. “Give her some advice on how to really face me. It'll be awfully boring if I have to stand here and take her sorry punches because she's too thick to figure out her own power.”

 

Cassie knew that hitting Kuchiku again wouldn't make a bit of difference, but damn, it would feel good. That woman was getting seriously irritating. Jep hovered even higher, blinking tersely. “Do you remember how she shot that beam from her hand?” he asked.

 

“Yeah,” Cassie replied.

 

“Concentrate on doing that yourself,” Jep instructed her. “Focus your energy into your hand and aim it at Kuchiku.”

 

Cassie quirked an eyebrow at him, but she did as she was told. “This had better work,” she muttered between gritted teeth as she extended her arm towards Kuchiku, willing something to happen.

 

She could feel the base of her skull begin to tingle, then to buzz erratically. Her hand grew steadily warmer, and a faint silver glow danced along the tips of her fingers.

 

“Harder!” she heard Jep urge. “Don't be so tense. Relax and let the energy flow into your hand.”

 

Relax. Right. Cassie focused all of her willpower on her right hand. The buzzing in her head turned into fierce vibrations that sent jolts down her spine. She struggled to keep her hand steady. Then, without warning, she felt a rush of blood in her ears and a silver bolt erupted from her palm. It flew straight at Kuchiku and hit her directly in the stomach.

 

Kuchiku's eyes flashed dangerously, even as she was thrown backwards several feet. She landed nimbly on her toes, arms outstretched to keep her balance. Cassie lowered her hand, breathing hard. The silver sparks slowly faded from her fingers. Jep nodded, satisfied.

 

Good, Cassie heard him say privately to her. Are you tired at all? Have you got the hang of it now?

 

Cassie flexed her fingers. I'm fine, she thought, hoping that the sprite would hear her. Apparently he did, because he answered.

 

All right. This is what you need to do-

 

I go kick her ass now, right? Cassie prompted him. Her fighting blood was surging through her veins.

No! Jep said, sounding alarmed. You can't do that yet.

 

Why not? Cassie demanded, already raising her arm to fire another beam at Kuchiku.

 

You have to- Jep was suddenly cut off by a ray of gold light that sliced through the air and neatly pierced one of his inky black wings. There was a sizzling noise, and the imp landed with a thump on the factory floor.

 

“Jep!” Cassie yelled. Her eyes flicked over to Kuchiku, who was standing upright and gazing at Jep with an annoyed expression.

 

“You know, it's not very nice to have secret conversations in the middle of a death match,” she said offhandedly.

 

“Jep!” Yugi exclaimed, kneeling down beside the fallen sprite. “Are you okay?!”

 

Jep's face was slightly pale, and the hole Kuchiku had burned through his wing was smoking, but he nodded. Kuchiku kept talking, as if she was the only important one in the room. “Of course I couldn't hear what exactly you were discussing, but I thought it prudent to cut the conversation short. After all, the girl and I have some business to attend to, and I can't have you helping her out too much.”

 

“I'm not `the girl',” Cassie snapped at her. “I'm Cassie. Get it, straight.” Kuchiku turned to face her with a cool gaze.

 

“Don't think that because you've figured out how to attack me that you've won this fight,” the redhead stated matter-of-factly. “There's still a void of difference between us that you can't hope to breach.”

 

“Oh, yeah?” Cassie muttered. She dropped her weight and ran at Kuchiku, trying to concentrate her energy into both her fists at once. The effort brought sweat popping out on her forehead, but she managed it. Kuchiku dropped her right foot back into a defensive stance, her open hands shimmering golden. Cassie threw a punch at Kuchiku's face with her left fist, which was easily parried.

 

“You see?” Kuchiku sneered, watching Cassie's other fist carefully. “You're blatantly obvious.”

 

Cassie drew her right fist back, then whirled around and caught the woman square in the chest with an unexpected back side kick. There was no supernatural force behind it, but there didn't need to be. Kuchiku was sufficiently off guard, which gave Cassie all the opportunity she needed to lunge forward and strike her in the face with a solid right hook. Kuchiku fell to the ground. She recovered quickly, but the damage had been done, and her shock at the combination attack showed clearly on her face. Cassie smirked.

 

“How'd ya like them apples, bitch?” she asked tauntingly, flashing a defiant `V' sign at her opponent. Kuchiku hissed softly, her eyes narrowing into a predatory glare.

 

“Go Cass!” Honda shouted loudly from across the room.

 

“She's actually holding her own out there,” Otogi said admiringly. He looked down at Jep, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, watching the battle with a frown. “This is good, right?”

 

Jep bit his lip and sighed. “I wish I could say so,” he replied in an undertone, “but Kuchiku hasn't nearly gotten serious yet. Cassie can't beat her alone.”

 

Ryou glanced at him, alarmed. “Then what can she do?” he demanded in a hushed voice. His concern for his cousin was evident.

 

“There are two Protectors for a reason,” Jep said. “Cassie needs to free Chrissy from that spell Kuchiku placed on her. Their only chance of victory is if they fight together.”

 

“Cassie won't like that,” Mai remarked.

 

“No, she won't,” Jep agreed. “Plus Kuchiku knows that the two of them are stronger together. That's why she knocked Chrissy out in the first place- because she doesn't want to fight them both. She'll do anything she can to stop Cassie from freeing Chrissy.”

 

“Anything, huh?” Jou muttered. Suddenly an excited gleam came into his eyes. “Hey, Jep!” he whispered. “You're kinda magical or whatever, right? Could you break that spell on Chrissy?”

 

Jep looked up at him, puzzled. “If I tried hard enough, probably.”

 

“Is that a yes or a no?” Jou demanded.

 

“Yes...?”

 

“Awright!” Jou scanned the room, looked over at the stack of crates that Chrissy lay unconscious on, then looked back at the group. “I've got a plan!” he announced in a confidant whisper.

 

“Oh boy,” Mai muttered.

 

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Me: Damn, I feel good! I am sooooo incredibly sorry for how long it took me to update this. *grovels* Forgive meeeee! -_-0 And, as always, please review!