"Shin No Ippo 5" by Brandon ´Red´ Christ

Shin No Ippo V

            Well, here it is, my fifth addition. I just want to tell you guys, this one is going to be short, so don’t expect a long, intricate chapter. Actually, this one will make the story very intricate…

            Lyn looked up into the dark sky, watching the stars. Jay was awake as well, sitting on a rock poking above the stream. The shore was only about ten feet from the path to the water, but it was plenty of room to sleep. The trees offered cover as well, but they were thin in this area. Owens was sprawled across the sand, mouth open wide, drooling, and snoring slightly. Mai was just sleeping normally. However, Zordos beat all of them by floating above the sand as he slept. Jay jumped silently from the rock to the sand, lying down in his own little patch. The fire had died, leaving only glowing coals. Jay stared into it, thinking, I wonder what Stefan has planned to fight against me. He’ll probably have something half-decent, but what else could there be?

            “Jay,” Lyn whispered, “You should go to bed. It’s getting late.”

            “You’re right,” Jay replied, smiling, “I’m going to need my strength for tomorrow.” And with that, Jay curled up into the cool sand and was fast asleep.

            Jay woke up early, and saw that no one had risen before him. He began to move quietly over the sand when he heard a low rumble. He looked off into the distance, but saw no dark clouds. He then realized his stomach was growling, so he slipped into the cool waters, hoping to find a fish to eat. Surprisingly, he found none, so he began to look for a shrub or tree of fruit. He found a bush of raspberries, so he began to pick them and ate half of them, carrying the rest back in his Gi. By the time he got back, Mai and Lyn had found similar berries. Jay picked up a smooth, clean rock and began to crush the berries into a fine pulp, which he poured into a bottle. He filled it with half of his load, so he capped the bottle and rolled up the berries in the outer robe of his Gi. He still had on the top inner robe, which was white. When he managed to rouse Owens by kicking him, they continued.

            “Where are we heading, Jay?” Zordos asked, tightening the bindings on his hands.

            “To Xian,” Jay replied, taking a drink out of the bottle and handing it to Owens.

            “That dusty old farm town? Why?” Owens asked, tossing the bottle at Lyn, who caught it.

            “Do you know anything, Owens? Stefan Angeles was born in Xian,” Mai began, “Ever since Stefan has been in power, he has held the Summer Festival in Xian to honor the fields.”

            “ And every Summer Festival is opened by Stefan. If we manage to get Stefan alone, then we can fight him!” Lyn exclaimed, smiling as she handed the bottle to Mai, “Good thinking, Jay!”

            “Heh, it was nothing. I’ve been to the festival a few times myself,” Jay replied, smiling, “Stefan immediately leaves the festival and heads back to the castle through the Great Plains. We can get him then, since he only takes ten guards and a wagon.”           

            “Jay,” Zordos said, taking the bottle from Mai.

            “Yes?” Jay replied.

            “Who’s Joshiro?” Zordos asked.

            Jay went silent for a moment. “If you don’t want to tell us, that’s fine, Jay. We don’t need to know,” Zordos said, unfolding his arms.

            “No,” Jay replied, closing his eyes,” I should tell you.”

            “It was a long time ago…”

            “Jay, I have to go with you!!! You’re not the only one who lost family to whoever attacked!!!” Joshiro yelled, slamming his hand on the table. His white hair hung to his shoulders back then, when he was younger.

            Jay, still young, responded, “ I’m not going to allow you to come, Joshiro!!! It’s too dangerous! And besides, that sword’s the counterpart to mine!! Who knows what’ll happen if you join me with the enemy of my own blade? Who knows what kind of catastrophe could happen? You have to stay here!!!”

            “Fine then!!! I’ll kill Stefan myself and you’ll look like a fool!!!” Joshiro yelled as he ran out of the door towards the docks.

            “Ghaa…” Jay exhaled as he looked at Lyn, “That went beautifully, didn’t it?”

            “… And since then we’ve clashed our swords, but never really talked. We only fought in the beginning, since we were angry at each other. The hatred dimmed down, though, and with it our fights. What I really don’t get is why he joined Stefan…”

            “Hmm… Joshiro, does he have white hair and dark brown eyes?” Rayne asked, taking the bottle and drinking the last bit down.

            Jay stared at her, wide eyed for as moment, and then replied, “Yes. What do you know?”

            “Not to much, actually,” Rayne began, kicking a rock into the woods, “ We talked once, but all I learned are a few of your weaknesses and something that Stefan is having made. Some kind of weird sword that will allow him to use some type of special strike. I think he was making it out to be more than it actually is, though. I think it’s called the Francesca…”

            “ It doesn’t matter. We’ll beat the crap out of Stefan, special sword or not! Isn’t that right, Jay?” Lyn exclaimed, smiling.

            “Heh. Yeah we will,” Jay replied, making a fake smile while he thought, special sword? This could get bad really quickly…

            It was two days later, and Jay and his companions had reached Xian. Many tents and stands had been set up in preparation of the Festival. Most of the fields had crops growing, but a huge one in the center of the town would host the games and parties. Jay and his friends had decided to enjoy the time they had before Stefan left, which included eating, competing, and partying. Soon, Stefan had disappeared from the fields, so Jay gathered his allies and they began to leave.

            The fields were as wide as the eye can see and longer than the oceans. The tall grass was waist high everywhere, and seemed to stop at that height. Trees were scarce, but those that were there were huge, almost as big as houses. Jay followed the path their wagon made, waiting for them to stop. He soon saw them in the distance, so they picked up their speed.

            “Jay, do you plan to challenge him head on or just strike him down?” Owens said, running beside him.

            “Head on, buddy. I want to make this something my parents be proud of” Jay replied, slowing down as the wagon slowly circled around. Jay drew his sword, and he waited for his destiny.

            Stefan was wearing thick, bulky armor. It was a burgundy color, and shone slightly in the sun. He held a huge sword, which was wrapped in leather so you couldn’t see the shape of the blade. He flipped his hand up, ordering the soldiers to step back. He began to slowly, methodically unbind the sword, smiling under his helmet.

            Jay slowed to a stop about thirty feet away from Stefan. His eyes burned with the rage of seven years and the lives of hundreds of people, all taken away from him. His hands began to shake with hatred. He yelled, “ STEFAN!!!”

            Stefan stepped forward, finally nearing the end of the bindings. He responded, “I was wondering when you’d try to attack me again, Jay. It looks like you’ve made some allies.”

            “Again?” Lyn whispered, wide eyed as she covered her mouth.

            “ I will kill you this time, you son of a…” but Jay was interrupted by Stefan, who said, “Jay, can’t we leave the vulgarity for the fools? And besides, you failed last time.”

            “I was weak before. I was young, and a fool,” Jay replied, staring at the grass, “ I’ve changed since then. This time, I have to make sure I beat you. It’s not a choice, it’s what I have to do…” Jay raised his head, his eyes burning with rage, “ AND I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH SLICING YOU INTO TINY LITTLE PIECES AND WATCHING YOU BURN IN HELL!!!”

            Stefan began to laugh. He laughed louder as he began to unbind the last bit of leather from the sword. Jay was amazed for a moment, but just gripped his sword tighter.

            The sword was made of gold and silver. The gold gilding was on the flat of the blade and the hilt as well. The metal was like silver, but, strangely, didn’t shine in the sun. The blade was the odd part of the weapon. Small sections were missing from the blade, each one about one inch wide. They were at a symmetrical pattern, which made the sword highly defensive.

            “Great to see your wealth isn’t going to the people,” Jay said, shifting his feet around.

            “I didn’t make this blade just to have it hand on a shelf,” Stefan replied, laughing evilly, “Besides, it’ll make me stronger in the end.”

            “Don’t waste my time,” Jay said, leaping forward. And with that, the battle began.

Jay quickly circled around, ripping up the grass up to hide his movements. Stefan held still, waiting to notice movement. Stefan lifted the sword high, and swung down, making the speedy samurai reappear. Jay let the blade skip off of his, and struck, but to no effect. Jay hopped back, thinking, What kind of armor can hold back this sword…? It’s obviously ceremonial, so what’s going on? Jay continued striking and deflecting the blade with simple blocks. He obviously wasn’t making an impact, and jumped back, quickly studying the armor.

“Can’t find a weak spot, can you, Jay?” Stefan asked, chuckling. “How about you try right here? I won’t even move,” he said, tapping the top of his helmet.

“Jay! Don’t run into a trap!” Lyn exclaimed, “This might go from bad to worse really fast!”

“…” Jay thought, sheathing his blade, “ …I’ll strike where I want to… but for now, I’ll take your wager.”

Jay laid his hands on the sword, one on the sheath, one on the hilt. He unbound the blade and held it out a bit. His back was facing Stefan, but he had turned his head to see him. His feet were spaced wide apart, and he held his blade horizontally. He clicked the sheath on the hilt, and he wheeled around, slamming the blade into the helmet.

When Jay’s sword made contact, it cracked.

Jay held still for a moment, then stepped back, in utter disbelief. It was true that his blade occasionally was beat by blessed armor, and he couldn’t break it, but his sword never broke, or even chipped. It’s a god sword, he thought, shaking, It’s not supposed to break. It can’t break! Everyone was in disbelief, even the soldiers, except for Stefan. He laughed a long time, dropping his sword. When he was done, he threw off his gauntlet, showing a ring. It had eight gems set into it, each one matching a color of the rainbow. Two of them were white and black, as well.

“Ghaa…no…no…” Jay said, staring at the blade. He didn’t even notice that Stefan’s ring was glowing. Jay’s friends ran over to him, surrounding him.

“Jay,” Stefan said, smiling maniacally, “ I have something to show you.” The ring was glowing brightly now, the colors flashing by so fast they blended together.

Jay raised his head, staring into the light. His face was emotionless. No hate, no sorrow, no curiosity, nothing. He stood up and walked forward, sheathing his blade. He flipped his hand up, stopping his friends from following him. Stefan placed the ring to Jay’s forehead, and smiled.

A giant beam shot from the ring.

Jay looked about, surrounded in white. And then, he felt hell.

He felt the Hottest Fire

He felt The Coldest Ice

He felt the Sharpest Wind

He felt the Hardest Earth

He felt the Strongest Lightning

He felt the Strongest Water

He saw the Brightest Light

He saw the Darkest Darkness

It all happened in an instant, but it seemed like an eternity. And then, everything went black.