"Shin No Ippo 6 Pt II" by Brandon ´Red´ Christ

Right now, the sixth chapter is split into three parts. You can read only one part total and continure, but go ahead, read them all! Ps: This chapter contains a secret, and you may be a little surprised.

Mai stirred, numb from head to toe. She looked about with weak eyes, seeing only red earth and green grass. She sat up, finaqlly, and looked about. She was surrounded by red mountains, grass, and groves of trees dottin g the mountains. She noticed a fire crackling, and turned around, to see Rayne poking at a fire with a stick.

"…Where are we…?’ Mai asked, unsure of her surroundings. She hadn’t ever seen this place before, but it seemed oddly familiar.

"Aringosa Mountain Range. It seperates the great plains from the lower cities, such as Kinomori and your own hometown. Only one path runs through it, so you either go around or through. You may have seen it before," Rayne replied, lifting a dried piece of meat out of the fire, "Jerky? I carry food around in thin strips, just in case."

"Thanks," Mai said, chewing on the dry meat, "But…where are the others?"

"If we managed to get knocked this far, I’m betting that Lyn and Jay went much farther south. They were in front of us, and Owens and Zordos were to the right, so they probably went west, near that port city we met at. I can get us out of here in a few days. I know these mountaisn like the back of my hand, despite all of the cliffs."

"Hm?" Mai leaned over the fire, intent on finding out what the assassin was talking about.

"I…was raised around here," Rayne replied, pointing around in a circle, "I can’t tell you exactly where, due to the ninja code, but My village is hidden within the mountains and forests. You can’t even see the mountain it’s on unless you take the right path."

"Ah,", Mai said, finishing the piece of dried meat, "But how are we going to get back together?’

"I’m thinking that we should head to that coastal town. For now, we should rest. It’s going to be a long walk tomorrow," Rayne thought aloud, laying back, setting her backpack aside. It was really just a bag she kept her Katars and shinobi outfit inside, which she slung over her shoulder on a drawstring, but it served it’s job. She doused the fire with a handful of sand, and motioned for Mai to follow. Rayne walked about fifty feet into a grove, and Mai was surprised that they had found a small cabin.

"Safehouse. They’re hidden all over the mountain. Hopefully someone’s there," Rayne said, rapping her knuckles on the door in a strange pattern.

The door opened, and a feralped out. The only real difference was that she had cat-like ears poking out of her long hair.

"Rayne..? Is that you!?" The girl asked, hugging her old friend. She had amber eyes and red hair.

"I happened to be back in the area, and I need a bed," Rayne said, motioning to Mai, "She’s one of the people I’m traveling with. Her name is Mai."

"Hello Mai," The feral girl turned, smiling, "So where are the others?"

"It’s a long story," Rayne replied, sitting down in a chair and telling their story.

"…Well, it all adds up," The feral girl, named Moegi, concluded, leaning back in the wood chair, "So what’s the plan?"

"Do you have any seekers here?" Rayne asked, looking at Moegi.

"Well, of course, but what…" She trailed off, smiling, "…I get it. You’re going to send off seekers. How Many do you need?"

"A dozen will do, and then I’ll have extras," Rayne replied.

"What are seekers, exactly?" Mai asked, confused.

"Special needles that carry messages. They fly through the air until they find who they’re looking for, and then keep close until the message attached is read," Rayne said, beginning to write four messages.

"I get it! We’ll send the seekers so they can set up a meeting place!" Mai exclaimed, smiling, "Wow, Rayne, what other kind of technologies do you’re people have!?"

"That’s for another time," Rayne said, tying the first note to a needle. It stirred to life and floated in the air. They finished the other three and opened the window, watching the needles split into pairs and fly out the window, bright flashes of steel against the setting sun.

"So, you’ll be heading south tomorrow?" Moegi asked, unfolding beds from the walls.

"Most likely. We can’t stay here long," Mai replied, lying down.

"Send a message to the chief next time you’re up the mountains, would you, Moegi? I’ve written it down," Rayne said, placing a piece of paper in a small crevice between the planks in the floor.

Anything for a friend, Rayne," Moego replied, and with that, the three went to sleep.

The three woke up and ate breakfast, talking about whatever came to mind. After Mai and Rayne were pakced, they said goodbye to Moegi and began their trek southward, back to the coastal town where Rayne had met the five.

"So how far do we have to go?" Mai asked, glancing over at Rayne.

"Hmm…It’s about three miles to get out of the mountains, and then fifty to get to the city," Rayne replied counting on her fingers, " About one week, easy walking"

"A week!? No way!" Mai exclaimed.

"Well, I don’t want to swin through the Jago river, and the ferryman shows up at our stop every Thursday, so we’ll have to wait four days, minus this one, get on the ferry, which will take one day, and then the last day to finish walking."

"Oh. Now it makes sense," Mai replied, remembering a story about there being dangerous rocks in the Jago, and how only one man could navigate the sharp rocks and boulders.

"Mai, hold on," Raynes said, stopping, "Shh. Do you hear that?" she wispered.

Mai stood, in tune with her surroundings, and heard a the faint clink-clink of metal, "Yeah. What is it?"

"I don’t know. I’m going into the woods to change into my shinobi outfit. You wait here," Rayne replied, vanishing into the dark patch of woods. Mai moved to the side of thw road and began to ‘make camp.’ She sat on a log, watching the bend in the road. A shadow loomed, fourty feet away, behind the steep cliff, and Mai watched, anxiously.

The woman rounded the bend, rubbing her horse’s neck. She wore a suit of armor, not unlike Magvel’s, colored with white and red accents. It was also adorned with intricate carvings. The woman wore no helmet, and let her blond hair hang loose. Her Brown eyes watched the road, seeing a traveler, about fourty feet down. She took the reins in her left hand and hefted the large spear in the other. The spearhead was a foot wide and two feet long, with a five foot handle. It was a simple edge, not adorned in any perticular way. However, there was red cloth wrapped around the hilt, about two feet long, near the blade, blowing in the wind. The Paladin’s white horse wore red and white plate-mail and white chain mail, as well, armored very well. The paladin brought her horse to a stop, ten feet away from the girl on the side of the road.

A traveler?…hmm…More like bait for bandits…But, suddenly, The Woman’s eyes grew wide, as she looked over the girl.

Mai watched the paladin, noticing the strong platemail. She saw the Paladin stop, and looked over her, and suddenly, she was shocked.

"Kaoru!?" Mai yelled, shocked out of her mind. She stood up, throwing the pike on her back.

"Mai…" the woman replied, not moving.

"Kaoru! It’s been so long! What happened!?" Mai exclaimed, but was interrupted by a flash of steel and a grating sound.

Rayne appeared on the other side of the road, Katars in hand, while Kaoru set her horse back on four legs, for it had reared up in fear when the Katar has scraped across it’s faceplate. She was wearing her shinobi suit now, save the hood.

"Mai, run, now!" Rayne yelled, "That’s Selena Flourspar, one of the Four Grand Generals!!!"

"Wh…what…?" Mai asked, "Kaoru…what’s she talking about…?"

"Kaoru? Her name is Selena Flourspar!" Rayne exclaimed, ‘What the hell are you talking about!?"

"Kaoru…what’s going on…?" Mai asked, confused, sad, and slightly angry, "Tell me what’s going on!"

The two-named woman sat on her horse, eyes closed, frowning, "…I was hoping…this day would never come…"

"Kaoru, Tell me!! NOW!!" Mai yelled, tears welling up.

"Mai, my new name is Selena Flourspar. I am one of the Five Grand Generals. I am…no longer your sister…" Selena said, sad as well, "I have been charged with finding and killing Crazy Jay and his accomplices. It is my duty. I hoped I wopuld find you without him… so I could talk some sense into you."

"Sense!? Are you insane!? Blind!?" Mai screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. Rayne, who was normally so composed, felt a lump in her throat, seeing her friend in so much pain, "How could you do this!? You leave me behind, never even bother to try and contact me, and you say Jay is insane!? He saved my LIFE!!!" She drew her pike, "And now you’re with them!? Why!? You know about the ‘Great Otoko Fire!’ Stefan did it! To surpress rebellion because of the assault on that Island, off the coast of Kitohasu! How could you!? Our parents died in that fire, and I’ve had to hide that fact all these years! Why, Kaoru, why!?"

"Mai…" Selena said, a thin tear running down her cheek, "…You wouldn’t understand…"

"That’s it!?" Mai yelled, still crying, "Kaoru, Tell me! I Have to make you see the light!"

"Mai…I have no choice…I have to take you in," Selena said quietly, hefting the spear.

"Mai! Run! Don’t Stop!" Rayne yelled. Mai nodded, the last tear falling, and ran down the road. Rayne stepped between Selena and Mai, and held her Katars in from of her.

"I wont let you past," Rayne said quietly, eyes burning, "I won’t let you hurt my friend any more than you have. You don’t love your sister anymore. I’m either going to kill you now, watch you surrender, or fight until I die."

"…"Selena sat, quiet, then said, " I’ll fight you. If you can hold me off for five minutes, I’ll leave, and I won’t follow you. I swear on my life."

"Let’s go," Rayne jumped, high in the air, and came swooping down.

Mai continued running, letting her legs carry her along. I wouldnn’t understand…what’s happened to Kaoru…? Mai continued to run, then stopped. She turned, eyes burning, mouth angry, and turned around. She began to run back, her fury increasing every step.

Rayne crouched on the ground, several cuts on her body, bleeding and relatively deep. She breathed heavily, watching The Paladin wheel around. Lightning fast, and with that spear, she can hold anyone at a distance…I don’t have a chance… I’ll just have to hope for that five-minute mark.

"Hm. Three minutes," selena stated, looking at a silver pocketwatch, an expensive rarity in those days, "You…may have a chance, if I don’t start fighting."

Rayne, agast, thought she hasn’t fought me full on!?… but wait, that means….she want’s Mai to escape!? But…that doesn’t make sense…what’s going on!?

"SELENA!!!" Mai yelled, angry, as she twirled her pike. Selena felt a pain in her heart, but it was gone in an instant.

"Mai! Get out of here!" Rayne yelled, standing in front of Mai, breathing heavily.

Mai stepped in front of Rayne, saying, "I’m not running anymore. I have to figure out what happened to my sister, and to do it, I need to face her."

"In one and a half minutes, I will leave," Selena said, closing the pocketwatch and putting it away. Mai, uncaring, dashed forward, spinning the pike to her right.

Mai swung at her sister, who nimbly dodged the attack by jumping off of the horse, which galloped to the side of the road, trained to do such things. The two swung at each other, lightning fast, clangs echoing through the mountains. Rayne watched Mai counterstrike every one of Selena’s moves, and vice versa, and realized their styles were exactly the same. Their father was a swordsman…maybethey both learned from him? That would explain why they both know each other’s styles so well…

The lightning fast strikes echoed, faster and faster,and then, the two jumped away from each other, breathing heavily. Selena stood, fro a moment, and then reached for her pocketwatch.

"Hmm…It’s been five minutes. I’m leaving now, Mai," Selena said, climbing atop the horse.

"Oh no you won’t! Not until I know why you’ve joined…" Mai began but was interupted but Selena, who turned to her and said, "It’s hidden under the floorboard with a knot in it, near the southeast wall." And with that, she rode off.

Mai walked over to Rayne, saying, "we need to get you patched up. I have some gauze."

"Mai…are you…ok?" Rayne asked.

"Y…Yeah, I’m alright…" Mai said, and soon after, the two left that road, walking down it to the riverbank and waited for the ferryman. He soon appeared, and they rode down the river. He dropped them off, and they continued in silence. Soon, they found themselves back on a familiar road, to a familiar place, and the cold silence melted, as they learned not about each other, but who each other were.