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-- File: BLADEO~1.TXT
Long time, no see!
Just so you know, Blade of the Immortal is about a guy who
can't die unless he kills a thousand bad guys. Well, that's
the breakdown of it. Its an incredible series, one I
shouldn't even try to mangle with my writing. Buy the manga
if you want more.
Disclaimer:
Characters, story, AND plot are the property of Hiroaki
Samura, I just added a few more words and cut out the
pictures. Used without permission, or talent, so Samura-sama
won't have to worry about me making money. Please don't sue.
In writing this, I used VERY rough language. In fact, the
story uses every f--king word (minus the -) besides 'bitch'.
Oh. oops. Well, warned ya.
and now...
-written by Raf-
Momento Mori
Damn nuns have a vicious sense of humour.
Yeah, that's right, they do. You can trust me on this.
Name's Manji, former vassal of Lord Horii Shigenobu, and a
damn good killer. Hell, that little brat over there addressed
me as Mister One Hundred. That's how many cops I killed, by
the way. Oh yeah, I'm also immortal, thanks in large part to
a particular lady of god.
Goddamn nuns.
Its cold when you're standing in the middle of a field in
the dead of night. I never realized that before. Then again,
I'm usually worried about saving my own ass when I'm facing
down a couple of dozen ronin gang members. Right now though,
I'm more concerned about Machi, my little sister. She's only
got that thin kimono of hers on, she could catch a cold when
this is over.
"I'm hungry!"
Heh. Yeah, that's her, she's twenty-three by the way, even
though she acts like a seven year old. Fucking ronin, I
really don't need this shit right now. I do the standard
line, 'If you haven't touched her I'll let you live, or
leave', whatever works, but I know what they want. Fuck, the
damn kid called me mister one hundred in his challenge
letter, its pretty obvious what he wants. Machi looks fine,
thank goodness.
Yep, damn skinheads give me the idiot response, sarcastic
laugh and all that. Bunch of dumb fuck kidnappers. Ah god,
apparently I did the leader's brother in, a while back. Shit,
I really don't have time for -this- kinda family bullshit. I
definitely don't like it when he puts a blade that close to
Machi though. What the hell is his name anyway? He told me,
didn't really give a shit at the time...
"You don't show no stinkin' respect! Maybe I ought to do
this slut of yours to teach ya a lesson, huh? Yeah... she
looks pretty hot for a retard, hey? Watcha think?" And I
definitely don't like it when he talks about -my- little
sister that way. Oh yeah, I'm gonna make sure he dies with
every fucking limb of his looking like it went through an
insane asylum. I'm gonna fucking murder this piece of slime
for Machi...
"Yoo-hoo, Big Brother! I'm over here!"
Heh. Finally noticed me, eh? I'll treat you to a nice, hot
miso soup when this is over, all right Machi? Well, just as
soon as I make sure you're warm. Ah crap, little brat's
talking again.
"Here's the deal, you fight all of us, one on one,
starting with me! You beat all of us, we set her free, all
charges dropped!"
"All ri-" I almost say it, I mean, hell, I could probably
kill them all, even without the one on one thing. But then I
realize that Machi's there, watching me. I killed her
husband, you know? Right in front of her. He was my
one-hundreth cop. It wasn't really all my fault, its just the
guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he was
pretty much looking to kill me too, well, I didn't realize...
I got one eye all fucked up because of that encounter. The
guy wasn't even good or nothing, just I was distracted. Your
little sister looking at you in surprise while her husband's
trying to kill you, well like I said, distracting. I guess
she didn't know what to do afterwards, whether to hate me
or not, so she made it so she didn't have to. She just kinda
forgot about the whole thing, oh yeah, and apparently fifteen
or so years decided to go with it.
How could I do that to her, again? These guys weren't her
husbands or anything, but well, she's caught inbetween again
and I can't cause her that much pain...
I wish she really had forgotten about those memories. But
they never leave you, not ever. Trust me, I sleep right next
to her to remind myself of that, and at least once in the
night... She always has this dream, I think, of whether she
picks me or her husband.
Some nights she says my name, and then she curls up and
cries. Some nights, its Tatsumasa, and she just lies there,
saying his name over and over. Some nights, some nights she
wets her futon, and whimpers like a baby. Like I said, caught
inbetween you know? Its the worse thing for her, and right
now, its almost exactly the same thing happening.
Except this time, she's caught between -two- murdering,
fucked up pieces of slime.
Yeah, I guess I gotta take that nun's 'If you really want
to be free, then first give up your sword!' bullshit. So I
tell the kid right off, 'I change my mind, lets be friends
and do a friendly fight instead.' Well, something to that
effect. He laughs at me, thinks I'm fucking joking, and in a
way, I guess I am.
"..you don't wanna play? That's cool, we'll just have some
fun with your cute, little sister instead..."
Of course, I ain't fucking joking about that. "Shut your
face! She's not part of this, let her go -now- you cheap
punk!" I'm not sure I can I do this crap anymore, not when
the little fuck's shitting around with my little sister. The
last straw comes when he fondles her.
"You bastard! Get your filthy hands-"
"Enough with the bullshit man! You're a Samurai! What the
hell is all this, I'll fight you barehanded crap I'm hearing?
I got twenty guys all lined up ready to fight you! Where's
this mister 'twelve blades' crap I've been hearing about, or
mister 'one hundred corpses'?"
Dumb piece of fuck.
"Well, you look like good little boys, why don't you run
off and play tag?" I taunt, getting angrier by the second.
I'm ready to take this guy up on his offer, holding my
sister like that. Shit, if she's gonna be caught between two
pieces of slime, might as well pick the one that ain't a
complete idiot. There's something wrong when the little brat
smiles, and tells his men to let her go.
Its a weird feeling, when you know someone is gonna die,
and there's nothing you can do about it. There's an instance
of numbness, where you can't feel anything, and all you see
is your little sister, smiling. And then her mouth moves
slowly, but you can hear the entire thing, and its like it
echoes in your mind.
"Manji!"
Machi.
I don't think I even reached for my blades when I knew.
But I can see, in the background, the little brat drawing
-his- blades. He's two handed, just like me. They glint in
the moonlight, deadly, and I can trace their arc, and know
perfectly well how to block and execute a counterattack that
would leave him gutless. Machi doesn't though, and she can't
even see it, running towards me like a fucking puppy. She's
smiling, reaching out to her big brother.
I'm so sorry Machi, I wanted get you some hot miso soup
when this is over.
"Heaven above, hell below!"
Stupid kid, what a dumb name for a move. His swords cut
into her cleanly, one cutting her completely from the arm
down, and the other from her midsection.
Machi.
Didn't even see the kid leap towards me, I just kinda saw
Machi, poor Machi, land in front of me, and I had to reach
down and...
You know, I never realized how much I loved my little
sister. She had been afraid of storms once, and I had to stay
beside her, comforting her. "Don't worry imouto-chan, your
big brother's here, everything's gonna be okay," I'd say
every time she was afraid, and she would smile, and the
lightning wouldn't be so loud anymore.
I'm so sorry, Machi.
She had even been afraid to swim, poor girl, and I had to
hold her hand before she tried. Don't worry imouto-chan, your
big brother's here, everything's gonna be okay. She would
smile, and the water wouldn't be so deep anymore.
Imouto-chan.
That's not to say she didn't take care of me. It wouldn't
surprise you that I was a voracious little brat, always
getting into trouble and stuff, but she was always there,
ready to help. When I sprained my ankle training, when the
bigger boys would beat me, always there. She would even give
me a glass of water when I was too sore to get up.
I'm so sorry, imouto-chan.
The little fuck's blades slice into me, and I push up
against them, using my ribs as a barrier. I can't let more of
the cold steel touch my imouto. I'm her big brother after
all. A tear wells up in my good eye, but I hold it back,
after all, I'm also a samurai, and samurai don't cry, they
take revenge. The pain is immense, but it clears up my mind,
and I know now what I have to do. The blades in my chest
glint a horrible red.
"...its all your fault man!"
Huh? Oh right, the little shit is talking to me again.
Doesn't he know when to shut up? I get up, and look at him,
and give him my best buddy smile. He says something, not
quite sure, there's blood in my ears, my head, my hands, my
blades, but I thank him. I never realized how I was caught in
the middle with Machi and my blades. And now, in one swoop,
and two swishes of -his- blade, he's set me free. Yep, free.
Oh, look-y here, my body's all nice and healed up.
The dumb fuck smiles.
"Cool! So does that mean you're gonna do it, one on one?"
Heh. One on one? Yeah right, now that wouldn't be fair
would it?
"Naw kid, how about if show you if I can still do a
hundred? Now, see if you can count the blades, okay?"
Its my turn to smile stupidly. The metal slinks out of my
sleeves, and the part of my robe, grating against each other.
The chained blade hits the ground with a faint tinkle,
signalling my cue. There is a whirl of metal as I cut into
the kid, the blades flowing through my hands like water. I
think he's a little fascinated that there are so many,
slashing, piercing into him, like a deadly parade. Yeah, what
a funny kid. I owe him one, though. Yep.
"I-I couldn't cou-"
Heh, he still manages to talk. He falls down, a lacerated
mass of pulp and blood, and I get up and look down at my
imouto-chan. She's still smiling. Big brother's gonna make
everything all right, okay?
"Manji..."
She's still alive. Even cut into five pieces, she still
calls my name. Yeah, I love you too imouto-chan. I look
towards the gang of twenty, did the little shit say twenty? I
can't remember anymore. They're screaming something, I can't
hear them, only silence- and Machi, calling my name softly.
She's still alive.
"Manji..." its so soft, and its a little gurgly, but I
won't look back. Nope, I won't, not at the fact that you can
see her lungs, filled with blood, slowly deflating as she
calls out my name, or the fact that her arms are half a meter
or so away from the upper part of her body, lying side by
side to her midsection, and trailed by her legs. So much
pain, and she still calls out to me. She's still alive.
I'm so sorry, Imouto-chan.
My blades cut into them, and even with my one eye they
still haven't scored a hit on me. Feh, pathetic. I spin,
cutting two or three with the double blades, and bring the
second one down on the head of another, splitting his skull
open. Fascinating, to see one die without a sound, not even
the crack and gurgle of blood as his brains spill out.
"Manji..." so soft, too soft. Its her last breath. A tear
wells up in my eye, blinding me. Damn it! Samurai don't cry,
they take revenge.
But what about big brothers?
A sword slips past my defenses, cutting my leg at the
knee. The tear falls down, lost in a sea of blood, and I
double my speed, killing all around me. Minus a leg, I'm
still more deadly than they are. No-one is left by the time I
am done.
I crawl over to Machi, letting what remains of my leg
bleed for all its worth, and slide up to her. She's
beautiful, I have a lovely imouto. I cradle her head in my
arms, and look down at her lifeless eyes, looking up at me.
She's still smiling, the silly girl. I bend down, and murmur
into her ear, embracing her tightly. Her blood stains even
redder my clothes, but I don't really notice. They're
practically dyed with blood with it anyway.
"Don't worry imouto-chan, big brother's here, everything's
gonna be okay." Yeah, he's here, finally. I smile, and let
that part of me go. He's needed to protect Machi after all.
A single teardrop falls on her cheek, slowly running down,
and I feel ashamed for not being able to provide her with
half the tears she deserves.
"Big brother's here, he'll always be here."
Afterwards, I gather up the pieces of my little sister,
getting them as far away from the slaughter as possible and
look for a safe place to place them. Can't move very far with
one leg, and it takes me all night, but I manage to bury her
in shallow ground so the wolves won't get her.
I need to die. I need to see imouto-chan again. I know
what I have to do then, as I bury her. The nun will agree, if
she won't, well, I'll make her agree.
I crawl back to the battle, and look over at the multitude
of bodies and sticky blood covering the grass. My leg is
there, somewhere.
Shit.
* * * * *
I did find my leg you know. I'm carrying it in my arms
right now, and as I look down at the little troll of a lady
who gave me life forever after, I smile. My sword serves as a
good crutch for me, never thought about that before. Heh.
I think about my proposition a little, mulling it over. I
get to kill a thousand of the bad guys in exchange for seeing
imouto-chan smile at me again. Oh yeah, and penance for
killing a hundred of the good guys, Tatsumasa included. Its
gonna be an interesting life.
"Hey old lady...I gotta proposition for ya."
Big brother's a samurai, little imouto.
She looks up at me. "Ho ho... and you've never looked
handsomer, young man."
Heh.
Like I told you, those damn nuns have a vicious sense of
humour.
Fin
* * * * *
Merry Christmas!
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
If you're confused, I'm either a REALLY bad writer,
or you haven't read Blade of the Immortal.
(Shame on you!)
If you have Blade of the Immortal, read the section this
pertains to again. I cut and pasted the dialogue (95% is
directly from the manga) If you're still confused...
that's not good at all for this fic...
Send flames, assorted bombs, death threats, and Blade of the
Immortal stuff to:
Pinoyeva00@aol.com (Brother to the author)
or Manotomo@aol.com (Rafael Soria)
*comments on story also accepted.
P.S. if you think you can do better, (you probably can...)
make sure you don't let your little sisters near the
computer. Mine wanted to kill me when she thought I wrote her
in as well, you know... ^_^;;;
Oh yeah, anybody wanna preread for a fic I wrote a while
back, 'Shadows of the Moon' and some other ones (one
completely Miyu, a Tenchi one, and another completely of
Ranma) that I'm working on? Private replies if you're just
responding to this question please.