 |
|
 | >>> Click
here to download Final Fantasy Ringtones |
 |
#49  Oooh! I thought Akio was teaching a bunch of kids, like 10 year olds - 16 years old, or something along those lines. It really seemed that way, maybe I overlooked something, but I'll have to see again. Well, it was a good chapter, apparently those kids have a lot to learn ... I feel sorry for them! xD |
08-15-2007, 02:42 AM
|  
|
| |
 | Sorry about the long wait guys, but I'm surprised I even managed to get this done. This is probably going to be my toughest year of high school  Anyway, it didn't help that this Chapter was incredibly hard to write. But with that said I'm incredibly please with the result. So I take great pride in posting chapter 6!  Chapter 6 Akio stood calmly in the center of the small battle dome, loosely gripping a short sword he had disarmed from one of his students. He took a large deep breath, filling his nostrils with the smell of dirt and cut grass, from the battle that had raged so far. The battle dome crew where perfect to the point, this place even smelled properly. Only four students remain, Hirle, Jaaj, Josh, and Veruo; just as he had suspected. All of them stared him; deciding whether or one of them would make his or her move, or wait for someone else to lose patience. “Hirle will wait, she has the strongest Mana flow out of all four of them by far… Developing such a flow as her’s would require a great amount of fortitude. Now, as for the other three, I have no idea what order they’ll attack,” he thought, trying to foresee how the oncoming encounter would play out. The rest of the students who had already been eliminated where lined up by the exit. Boldly he closed his eyes, and took another deep breath, this time through his mouth, tasting everything he had smelt before. This waiting game had lasted for ten minutes, and now, he heard the four students whispering to each other; compromising, and negotiating the order of attack. “Open your eyes,” a female voice had said. “I think I’ll give her a little scare, maybe make her flinch so I can launch an attack,” Akio thought plotting a trick. “Jaaj, I can see you just fine. Really, I have no need to open my eyes,” he said, then, waited and listened. But, there was no gasp, no feeling of shock in the room, Akio’s plan proved to be a dud. “Come on teacher, do you really think I’d fall for something like that?” Jaaj jabbed, “You can’t see me, but you have my voice memorized. It’s a simple trick, really. I could probably do the same to you.” “Not bad, time for you to put your money where your mouth is then,” Akio replied, and opened his eyes. He looked at Jaaj for a moment. His dark blue eyes met her yellow ones. She was extremely tanned so that her skin was even darker then Akio’s, despite his odd permanent tan. Jaaj was the youngest of any of his students, in fact, she was the youngest person to ever make it this far; she was only twelve. She looked it too, she was short, her voice very high pitched; clearly prepubescent. She was wearing light brown leather armor, and wasn’t holding a single weapon. “Do you intend to fight me without a weapon?” “Oh don’t worry about that, I have a weapon,” she said, and formed a handsign. Jaaj formed two fists and smacked them together, “Horse!” she yelled. Then, instead of completing the spell, she formed a second hand sign. Twisting her closed hands and opening them at the same time until they her thumbs touched, and the other fingers pointed outward, “Bird! Way of weapon making!” she yelled, and formed yet another handsign. This time she outstretched only pointer and middle fingers of both her hands and touched them to the shoulder opposite of the arm. “Fire and Wind Combination, mixing of the Elements: Fire and Wind Swords!” she yelled, and made the final movement of her spell, flinging her arms so they pointed left and right so that finger tip to finger tip created a straight line. Then she made two fists once again. The air around her right fist began to swirl, faster and faster, until the force reached right by her face, blowing her short brown hair in as many directions possible for such short hair. Then the air around her other hand ignited to flames, but wind quickly surrounded the raging flame, keeping it in a controlled elongated oval. “A Triple handsign Technique?!? How did Jaaj manage to learn this? I only went into advanced spells for 2 classes… She must’ve read, and practiced from all of the advanced books I recommended to the class,” Akio thought in shock. He formed a smile, “It seems things are about to get very interesting,” Akio said, and dropped the sword from his hand. “Swords are useless against wind and flame, looks like I’ll just have to dodge all of your attacks,” he thought aloud. The comment made Jaaj light up with laughter, “I guess you will,” she joked, and made her move at Akio. She ran in quickly and swung the elemental blades at him. Akio ducked to the left, dodging both attacks but barely, he came so close to being hit that the heat from the Fire Sword baked on his face. Quickly, Jaaj shifted her weight and stopped her foreword momentum swinging her hand with the flames toward him. Akio saw his opening, he grabbed the wrist of the hand that Jaaj was attacking with, and twisted. It caused her hand to tilt to the right and the blade of flame was pushed into the hand with the swirling wind. The wind blade broke the barrier of wind around the flame sword that was keeping the fire in place. The fire was pulled into the wind sword, and began to follow the air’s current, dragging it down to Jaaj’s right hand, frying it. Jaaj screamed her hand covered in burns and clasped her burnt hand. She tried to fight back tears but, the pain was far too much. Akio rose to his feet out of the ducking stance he was in. He put his hand on Jaaj’s shoulder, and looked down into her eyes. “That was an excellent technique, I’m proud. Next time, think about the elements you combine, that’s all. Now let’s see your hand,” Akio whispered, soothingly, aware that he had gone a bit far but, it really was the only thing he could think of to disarm her. Jaaj complied and raised her hand to his face. “Ah, nothing some medical mana couldn’t heal, you’ll be back to casting spells in a day,” he assured her. “Kyle! Would you mind taking Jaaj to the medical wing? I assume you know where it is?” Kyle perked up, and quickly ran to them. Kyle was at least 3 times Jaaj’s size so he easily scooped her up to carry her, and said, “Dun worry kiddo, it’ll be fine.” Akio recognized that tone; he had heard it once before. He thought back to the time he visited Kyto. Kyto’s son had gotten a large cut, and Kyto said almost the exact same thing. “Kyle must have a kid himself…” Akio thought. He watched Kyle and Jaaj leave out the door. Suddenly Akio snapped back to his senses, and remembered that 3 students still remained, he lunged for the sword he had dropped before and looked back toward the students that remained. “Hirle, Josh… Veruo is gone!” Akio realized, and scouted the room, but didn’t see Veruo anywhere. “Gone?!? How can he be gone?” Akio thought, “Alright, calm down Akio, you almost went into a panic there. Its obvious Veruo is using an Invisibility technique. But, if he’s using a technique then I should be able to sense were mana is being focused…” Akio coached himself, calming down and refocusing. Akio closed his eyes and focused on trying to tap out to Veruo’s aura. He felt a large presence of mana focusing behind, in front, to the left, and to the right of him. “Duplication and Invisibility. Irreplaceable skills of the assassin. I didn’t think that would be your fighting style Veruo, but nevertheless if that’s how you want to fight…” Akio thought aloud dissecting Veruo’s technique. Suddenly Akio sensed a small tremor, coming from the left of him, Akio’s eyes widen, fire shot out from thin air in all directions. Akio flung himself between incoming blasts of fire onto the floor, and jerked a small kunai knife out of his weapons pouch. Quickly rising to his feet he fired the Kunai in the direction he felt the tremor, and it smashed straight into the wall. A small slit of blood hovered next to the Kunai. “I clipped your left ear, you can come now in a real battle that would’ve smacked your face.” Slowly a figure appeared, near the Kunai. First just the silhouette of a person, but slowly color filled itself in. Veruo’s light blond hair appeared, his coal grey eyes followed, and the rest of him followed suit. “How did you-” Veruo started to question. “Right before you attack your true copy’s aura tremors, effectively giving anyone with an aptitude for aura a complete imprint of your body,” Akio gladly explained. “Now go with the other students, I believe I still have 2 more opponents to face.” Defeated Veruo went to the other overcome students. Meanwhile, Josh took approached Akio. “Its about time I got to test you, teacher,” Josh joked, and brushed his messy hair. He reached for his sword; Akio responded and quickly grabbed one from the floor. “Do you intend to beat me at my own game?” Akio taunted. With that Josh threw himself at Akio, slashing left and right. Every blow was parried easily, and Akio went to the offensive, slashing at Josh. Left, right, left, right. Up down, up down, small slashes, strong jabs, it appeared Josh could keep up with Akio in a pure slash fest. Undaunted, Akio continued his offensive, but stepped up his skill level. He moved away from the left to right, straight line fencing fight, and began to move more erratically moving in three dimensions, and throwing many more strikes in at once. Akio decided to make his move, he jumped back dropped his sword, and reached both hands into his pockets into is weapons pouch and blasted 10 Kunai at Josh. An opening! Akio blended picking his sword back up, and lunging at Josh in a single movement, and used his pointer and middle finger to dislodge his sword and shot it into the ceiling, almost textbook. “You lose…” “Take another look,” Josh corrected him. Akio looked around, and noticed, his sword was missing! Josh had copied the first Sword Ejection Technique Akio had done, to use Akio’s concentration against him! “What was the first thing you taught us in Tactical Warfare? If your plans are going perfectly, you're walking into a trap. I knew you’d aim to disarm me, so I watched and found the pattern in your movements and struck you once you made your move, now, what did you just say…? Ah yes… Do you intend to beat me at my own game?” Josh said. Akio laughed, “Now this is the type of battle I was hoping for…” he grinned. “Now that we’re using our hands, I think we had better change the rules.” “First hit to the face?” Josh proposed. “That seems reasonable enough to me,” Akio agreed, and pushed himself away from Josh. Josh took a typical fighting stance, arms in front of his face so that his hands where up to his forehead. Akio did the same: keeping his face guarded with the current rules seemed only logical. Akio continued his offensive; he moved in and threw some stray punches toward Josh. Josh dodged jumped, kicking at Akio with his right leg. Akio blocked the kick with his left, and, trying to take advantage of the situation, threw a punch at Josh with his right - but before he could make contact, Josh spun in the opposite direction of his kick, and whilst in midair used its momentum to kick Akio in the ribs. The kick lifted Akio right off his feet and flew him to the right! Akio quickly stumbled to his feet, gasping for breath. I got lucky - I can’t believe he didn’t just break my ribs! Akio thought, catching his breath. Josh ran up to him, throwing more jabs and hooks, trying to deny Akio the time to catch his breath. Akio blocked the oncoming onslaught with his forearms: his arms could take the punishment better then his body. Josh prepared one of his lethal kicks again. Now! Thought Akio, and he slipped his hand into his bag to throw a Kunai. Josh, a bit surprised, threw himself to the left in order to get out of the way. Akio ran forward, right beside Josh, and, bending his knees, transferred his Aura to his legs to use it to make a jump for the ceiling. “He’s going for his Sword!” Josh exclaimed, sprawling to his feet to jump after Akio the same way. Using all of his power Josh leapt at him. Akio reached the sword, grabbed on to it. It was lodged in the ceiling tightly, supporting all of his weight. I’ll have to line this up just right. Akio thought. He paused still clinging to the sword for just a moment, then vaulted off the sword, jerking his body, so that he turned around, chest diagonal to the sword he hand just vaulted off, with his foot pointed right at Josh’s face. Josh was too close to dodge his foot, and his face was barreling straight toward it. Desperately Josh tried to pull his arms from his side, and block the kick, but he couldn’t move them! The wind resistance from his speed was too great, and his arms where literally pinned to him. There was nothing he could do, Akio’s foot hit its mark. Crushed Josh just let himself fall down. All that mattered to him was he lost. Akio reached back out and grabbed the sword once again. “You don’t know your own limits! All you cared about was catching up to me; you forgot to think about air resistance. I counted on that, all I had to do was line up my foot, and time when to let go so gravity wouldn’t move me too much! Fighting isn’t all brawns!” Akio yelled down to Josh. Josh laid motionless in frustration on the ground below. “You had your fun, now get out of the way so I can have mine,” Hirle hissed at Josh, preparing to nab the last fight of the day. Josh rolled onto his chest and stood up. He hobbled out of the way. Meanwhile Akio tugged on his sword and it came loose from the wall, and was unable to hold him. Akio braced himself, and landed on the ground on his two feet; the stage was set for the last fight of the day. Hirle reached behind her neck and pulled a handle, revealing a large whip. The whip had small blades covering it; a direct hit could clearly be deadly. Hirle made the first move, she cracked the whip at him. Akio parried the strike sending the end flying in a different direction, but Hirle snapped her wrist, and the motion reverberated through the whip snapping the whip back toward him. Akio barely managed to get his sword in-between him and the oncoming whip. Again and again, she snapped her wrist sending the whip flying back at him. “I need to get on the offensive!” Akio thought. He waited for the right time, and as the whip came down toward him, he dodged to the right, smacking the whip down with his sword at the same time. He twirled his sword a bit, entangling the whip. He reached into his pouch, took out his last Kunai, outstretched his arm with the sword in it, straightening out the whip. He thrusted the Kunai in between two of the blades, the weakest point of the whip, breaking a section off, and causing Hirle to accidentally pull her end of the whip behind her. Taking advantage of the entangled section, Akio spun his sword, loosing the whip, and with a solid swing of his sword sent it flying toward Hirle. Hirle ducked out, “Now!” Akio thought, and rushed in toward her. “Fish!” Hirle said, and formed a handsign, in her right hand a closed fist, still clutching the whip, the left completely open over the knuckles of her right. “Water wall!” she exclaimed, and a large wall of gushing water two feet thick rocketed toward the ceiling and stood between the charging Akio and his target. Undaunted, Akio braced himself, and pushed himself right through the wall. Hirle was ready for this, by the time he was through wall, she had regained her footing, and was able to make a few strikes at him with her whip. Her strikes where much slower though, her whip was primarily a long-ranged weapon, and it was clearly more difficult for her to try and attack him with it accurately, from such a distance. Akio used this to his advantage he made a charge at her between one of her attacks, catching her off guard. He got close to her quickly, and was tried to deliver what would’ve been an eliminating blow, when she tapped the handle of her whip on the armband on her left arm. The armband shot out a small, hidden blade which she used to deflect Akio’s attack. Hirle jumped back, preparing another spell, “Fish!’ she exclaimed, and formed the handsign again. “Water jet!” she pointed her finger at Akio and a jet of focused water blasted out at Akio. Akio shielded himself with his sword, but even then the initial blast forced the flat part of the blade against Akio’s shoulder and pushed him back four feet. Eventually Akio got a good footing, and the water no longer pushed him back, continuing the attack would’ve merely been a waste of Hirle’s Aura, so she let up on the spell. “Ice!” Hirle yelled continuing to make good use of her advantage of spells. She formed the proper handsign throwing her whip handle into the air and bring her left hand to the right. She clapped her hands, then outstretched her right hand and caught her Whip. “Way of sculpting!” she yelled, and ice grew off her whip, forming itself like the broken section. She attacked with the new whip, just as she did before, and her previous attack put enough distance between them that it was incredibly effective. Akio blocked the onslaught of attacks, waiting for the right time to try and break the ice with his sword. Akio saw one of the slashes take slightly longer, and took advantage, he reared back and smashed the ice to bits, but almost immediately after new ice had reformed on the end of the whip! “There goes that plan! Nevertheless, I still have to get closer.” Akio thought. Akio pressed forward despite the whip’s constant assault. ________________________________________ ____________________ “What? Give me a break! How is he doing this?!” Hirle panicked. She gave up on the whip assault, and tried a different technique. “Ice!” she started and clapped her hands, this time, she smacked her hands against the soil. “Glacial ground!” Glaciers flew from the ground under Akio, he dove, left and right trying to get out of the way, weaving between icicles that appeared at random. Hirle knew that now was her only chance, her Aura was stretched thin, she couldn’t cast many more spells. She waited watching Akio dodge between icicles. Eventually he had jumped out of the way of one, but it had pinned him in-between three, leaving him very little escape from a new attack. “Ice!” she bellowed, clapped her hands together, then extended her left arm forward, her palm facing Akio. “Icicle Barrage!” She reared back, getting ready to strike with her whip too, “If you dodge this, then nothing can hit you…” She thought, and let go her final strike. ________________________________________ ___________________ Akio found himself caught between 3 glaciers and saw Hirle form a spell. He clutched his sword, aware that she must be near her limits. Hundreds of icicles spawned and flew toward him. There were so many, that it completely obscured his sight of Hirle. He readied himself, he started blocking the first few icicles that flew faster then the others. The bulk of the icicles had reached him and he began blocking some of them him when he caught sight of a glimmer out of the corner of his eye… Hirle’s whip. Akio was too late, he hadn’t caught on to the trap soon enough, he had no escape routes, and had already committed himself to blocking the ice, there was no way he could block the whip too. His body reacted, he had to block this, even if it meant breaking the rules. “Horse!” he yelled then smacked his fists together. “Rapid destruction!” he yelled. ________________________________________ ____________________ The students watched in amazement. Hirle was clearly far ahead of the rest of them. Each of them tried to see what was going on in the ice, but all they saw was glaciers, and ice breaking, no sign of Akio. They saw Hirle attack with her whip. Suddenly they heard a muffled scream, and a huge explosion from where Akio was. Fire spread in every direction, instantly melting all of Hirle’s ice, the glaciers, the stampeding ice, even her whip’s enchantment. They heard Hirle yelp, and saw her drop her whip, the fire heated the metal so it burned her hand. This spell was on a totally different level then everything else they had seen today. The light became blinding, and the students shielded their eyes… and when they where able to look again, all they saw was Akio, they’re teacher, standing among burning grass, laughing. ________________________________________ __________________ Not even Akio knew what he was laughing about. He just stood there, chuckling. Akio dropped his sword, and ran his hand across his face, regaining composure. “It seems I lose. I had to cast a spell to block that last attack.” Akio started walking toward the students to leave through the exit. The students parted, as he walked through, eyes fixed on him, as if he was making some big speech. “Oh right. Almost forgot, class… dismissed.” He said, and opened the door, leaving his class. |
|
02-24-2008, 09:18 PM
|
|
 | I didn't know you were still working on this. Clearly, Akio went insane in that last battle. *cough* grammar mistakes Not only in your chapter, but also in those sentences  This year's not your hardest. It's definitely going next year. |
|
02-26-2008, 01:38 AM
|
|
| | LIES! Next year I'm going to have 2-3 opens to work on homework. This year when I find out I forgot something and its due the next day I can't work on it until I get home. Next year I'll be able to finish homework in school  |
|
02-26-2008, 01:44 AM
|
|
 | Okay, indivudually the chapters are quite good. However you don't seem to flow well from chapter to chapter. It's almost like reading something entirely different during this chapter. Your biggest issue seems to be said flow from chapter to chapter. That, and "Sword Ejection Technique"? WTF? |
|
02-29-2008, 04:28 AM
|
|
