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Chapter 89: The Cleanup
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
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“’Tis a sin tah suffer such a numbskull as ye live,” Captain Fang said, “but it appears we be a perfectly even match. Ye know as well as I do ’tis futile tah resort tah our mother element.” The pirate could barely stand in his exhaustion and was leaning on his sabre. Sasha was also down to his last reserves of energy. He was poised low on the ground, ever ready to strike with his shinobuken held horizontally in front of him, his left hand behind. “Were we in a trainin’ dojo where ye’ve been raised,” the captain said, “no one would claim victory… BUT HITHER IS NOT A DOJO!” Captain Fang thrust his amputated right arm and released the harpoon on the end of it. As a matter of fact, Sasha had earlier grabbed a handful of salt when he tumbled forward across a drying pan. Now he swung his left hand from behind him and flung the salt to the captain’s eyes like a sumo wrestler purifying the ring. Sasha felt a certain amount of pleasure when he heard the captain utter a pained squeal. In a s
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Dragon-kissed Chapter 1: An Intruder in the Palace
Sunlight filtered in through the shoji paper of the windows. It was a beautiful day outside. Aki could hear birds singing, children laughing. She imagined kites gliding on the breeze. And here she was indoors practicing calligraphy. Seventeen-year-old Aki sighed in boredom. She didn’t even realize it until the sigh had escaped her nostrils. By then it was too late and the calligraphy sensei, an old man who looked like the mythical tortoise Genbu, which had been around since the creation of the world, glared at her from above the thick frame of his rivet spectacles.The glasses were basically magnifying lenses riveted together (hence the name) and were better-suited for scrutinizing the faint underwriting on the pages of dusty tomes in the Imperial Library. Supposedly they made the wearer over-dependent and as helpless as a mole without them, but the eyes of the sensei still looked like those of a hawk and felt like they could probe right into Aki’s sinful soul and then banish her to
Dragon-kissed Chapter 2: A Civilized Conversation
Aki decided the best course of action. She decided to surprise the intruder by giving them a taste of their own medicine and communicating with them on the psychic plane. This was Ishin-denshin no Jutsu. The Mind Transmission Technique. Maybe she could distract them until an opening to somersault to the weapons presented itself.{Who are you?}The red Slayer gasped. They whipped out a throwing star from the inner pocket of their jacket. When the throwing star fanned out like a hand of cards, it was revealed that the figure actually held six of the wicked shurikens instead of just one. More than enough to seriously injure an unarmed princess in such close quarters. But then the red Slayer regained their composure and tried, rather belatedly, to demonstrate either innocence or decorum. With a slight hesitation, they slipped their throwing stars back inside their jacket.{My name is Temujin, of the Clan of Vulcanus,} he spoke in a masculine voice that he might’ve deepened on purpose.H
Dragon-kissed Chapter 3: Some Late-night Sneaking
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Temujin’s voice was soft, barely above a whisper.“What do you mean?” Aki asked. “They had to extinguish all sources of light within a hundred yards of me or else I’ll be able to manipulate them.”It dawned on Aki that that was indeed the reason the usual sputtering torches had all disappeared, swathing most of the prison in darkness.“I see,” she said. “My apologies.” “Why? Why do you apologize? It’s not your doing, is it?”“It’s common courtesy,” she reasoned matter-of-factly, “to express sympathy for another person’s discomfort.” “Well, I think you apologize too much.”She ignored that, fearing another outburst from him.“Can’t you generate fire from within you?” she asked. “With your ki?”“Fire can never be created by man. It can only be borrowed. We, of the Vulcanus Clan, are direct descendants of the god Homusubi, who gave the gift of fire to all mankind.”“I know that story. My mom used to tell it to me when I was a child.”“Well, I’m sure your mom forgot to mention how I
Dragon-kissed Chapter 5: How a Princess Should Act
Aki cried her eyes out in her room. It was almost daylight but she hadn’t slept a wink. She couldn’t understand all the mixed emotions she was feeling. Mostly it was indignation about Temujin’s innocence and her clan’s unfair treatment of him. But it was other bigger issues as well; older issues. Temujin just stirred up all the frustrations she had long been denying. On the strict regimen of a princess and under the watchful eye of the Emperor and his extensions, she felt like a bird in a cage. It was golden, but a cage nonetheless. There were also many things they wouldn’t tell her; about her father, that day ten years ago when he perished before her very eyes. It was strange but all the knowledge she had of him was the little she could glean from History books and from that sole, hazy memory of her childhood. They had always treated her like a child, incapable of making her own decisions or surviving on her own. And every mistake she made was magnified in the eyes of her tutors and
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Aki had reached the Armory. If her guess was right, here she would find all the red Slayer stuff that had been confiscated from Temujin. She figured the best way to tell if Temujin was lying was by checking if every part of his story fitted. She could do that by studying his possessions. Detective work, forensic science, and logical reasoning were all fundamental skills of a Slayer. She rummaged through shelves of close-range weapons – the shorter shinobuken and the longer wakizashi swords – then long-range ones – grenades, throwing stars, knives, blowguns – till her eyes settled on a box that was clearly set apart from the rest. She knew at once they were Temujin’s belongings. First, there was the familiar bright red color of his obi. For some reason, his jailers thought it best not to let him keep his belt sash. Next, there was a pair of tiger claws. Individually, those consisted of two iron bands conjoined by a leather strip; the upper one slipped around the palm and had spikes
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“’Tis a sin tah suffer such a numbskull as ye live,” Captain Fang said, “but it appears we be a perfectly even match. Ye know as well as I do ’tis futile tah resort tah our mother element.” The pirate could barely stand in his exhaustion and was leaning on his sabre. Sasha was also down to his last reserves of energy. He was poised low on the ground, ever ready to strike with his shinobuken held horizontally in front of him, his left hand behind. “Were we in a trainin’ dojo where ye’ve been raised,” the captain said, “no one would claim victory… BUT HITHER IS NOT A DOJO!” Captain Fang thrust his amputated right arm and released the harpoon on the end of it. As a matter of fact, Sasha had earlier grabbed a handful of salt when he tumbled forward across a drying pan. Now he swung his left hand from behind him and flung the salt to the captain’s eyes like a sumo wrestler purifying the ring. Sasha felt a certain amount of pleasure when he heard the captain utter a pained squeal. In a s
Dragon-kissed Chapter 89: The Cleanup
Yuriko poked her head inside the hole in the roof. The building was a temple. Its ceiling was high above the floor and the whole place, although spacious, was empty. There were plenty of Everlite crystals to keep the temple well-lit. She regretted that she didn’t bring a grappling hook. She made the hand seal of Pyō the Great Thunderbolt to execute a Kyūbanjutsu (Suction Pad). It was one trick she inherited from her clan and had been useful during her stint as a cat burglar, till she scaled the hull of Captain Fang’s ship and became a stowaway. She channeled her ki to the soles of her feet and created partial vacuums on them so they would stick to any flat surface. The suction was enough to let her stand completely upside-down on the temple’s ceiling, her braided hair hanging down from her scalp. “Thanks for dropping in.” Yuriko gasped. Aki was across from her and also upside down. With the better lighting, she looked formidable in her white Slayer suit, at ease and back in her ele
Dragon-kissed Chapter 88: Rooftop Fisticuffs
Aki leapt from roof to roof. Her tabi boots touched the tiles lightly before pushing off. She was harnessing Karamijutsu (Body-lightening). Without warning, a tile she was stepping on broke and she slid straight down to the edge of the roof, only managing to grab the gutter in the nick of time. She was dangling there when Yuriko appeared on the incline, just a few feet away, crouching and fanning out a set of throwing knives. Apparently, she had launched a projectile that broke Aki’s foothold. “Fancy a prince tah rescue ye, princess?” “I’m not a princess,” Aki replied through gritted teeth. “I’m a SLAYER princess!” With a back flip, Aki brought herself upside-down with her legs spinning in a wheel kick. Yuriko held her forearms up in an X shape and the casings of her katars blocked the kicks. Aki landed right in front of her. They were soon locked in hand-to-hand combat; something rare for Stork Slayers who emphasized defense over offense, evasion over brute strength. Yuriko projec
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“What took you?” Koumori-shishou asked. The old man remained seated on the driftwood, his back still turned and exposed to the newcomers though all three of his students had sprung to their feet. “Cor blimey! Whar be our manners?” Captain Fang said sarcastically, drawing a water-saber that he instantaneously generated out of an empty, solid scabbard. “Apologies fer keepin’ ye waitin’.” The saber was made possible by the Undina Clan’s Mizu Funsha no Jutsu (Water Stream), which produced a very high-pressure jet of water that was as strong and sharp as regular katana. “Well,” Koumori-shishou said, “we would not be very good Slayers if we threw away fifteen minutes of head start, would we?” “Maybe you’re just stupid,” Ganzorig said. “It was precisely the light in your pipe that led us here.” “Death on a hook is food in the eyes of a fish.” “Be ye sayin’ ye lured us out here, ye treacherous cur?” Captain Fang roared. “This shall nah end well fer ye.” “As I be a soul,” Kosano said, “
Dragon-kissed Chapter 86: First Class
They sat around Koumori-shishou on the moonlit beach. Like real students, Aki thought excitedly. Sasha had returned to his human form and was still half-naked. Apparently, shrinking back down was relatively easier than blowing up to the fearsome scale of Dragonkist Ryūjin. The master sat on a large piece of driftwood. He took off the tunic-like uniform of the Dark Emperor and revealed his usual attire underneath: the saffron robe and pom-pommed surplice of the hermit monks, the Yamabushis. From inside his sleeve, he drew out his shakujō staff with the six rings. Like Aki’s bō staff, it could be retracted and extended. Next, from his slightly hunched back, he produced his straw conical hat and placed it on top of his head. Finally, he unclipped his one-toothed geta sandals from his belt and put them on. He was completely transformed. Aki clapped and Sasha muttered, “Wow.” Koumori-shishou bowed with a flourish. “You’re a true master of disguise, shishou,” Aki complimented. The monk
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From the strong rocking movements, Aki could tell they were on a small boat. Her captors were using oars. All at once, the bag was pulled from over her head and the wind coating was removed from her mouth. “Get your stinking hands off me or I swear you’ll lose them!” Aki blinked to adjust her eyes. It was still night. Have they arrived in Dragon’s Horn already? “Spoken like a true warrior-princess,” said a familiar voice. Aki couldn’t believe it. She strained her eyes in the dark. “Temujin?” she blurted out. “That’s right. It’s me.” “But I thought…” “I had some help,” he said, gesturing to a second figure behind him. Aki let out a frightened gasp. In the pale moonlight, she could make out the Dark Emperor! “Oh, don’t be alarmed!” Temujin said. “It’s just my master, Koumori-shishou.” To Aki’s great consternation, the Dark Emperor swept back his hood and took off his iron dragon mask. An old man with slanted eyes and a long wispy beard like a mountain goat’s was beaming at her
Dragon-kissed Chapter 84: Hard Truths
“What do you think they’re going to do to us?” Aki asked Sasha. They had eventually given up hope that Temujin would return. As much as it pained Aki to admit it, she knew he would succumb to brainwashing. Most Slayers did, sooner or later. “Well, at first they were pointed south like us but then they made a U-turn, which explains why we didn’t see them coming. My guess is they’re now taking us to Dragon’s Horn. It’s a big and busy trading port, for all things legal and illegal.” “They’re gonna sell us as slaves?” Aki said in horror. “No, we’re much too old to be submissive. But they know you’re the heiress apparent so they’ll demand a princess’s ransom.” “A princess’s ransom? How much is that?” “Let’s just say they’re gonna try and bleed your empire dry.” “My grandfather would never allow that. I’m sure he’ll have imperial soldiers waiting for us when we reach port. I’ll have these pirates arrested before they even—” “They probably wouldn’t tell anyone about you just yet. The
Dragon-kissed Chapter 83: Torture
In the afternoon, after their cheerless and tasteless brunch, the captain came down to the brig to grace them with his presence. Aki was right, the four most important people on the ship were: Captain Fang, the Dark Emperor, Kosano and Yuriko; in that order. But because they were pirates, it was easy to imagine incessant politicking among the last three. The entire crew was of course curious about the young Slayers who had kicked their butts, but they were under strict orders to stay on their posts and perform their duties. Nevertheless, Aki recognized Zaterra and Ganzorig; the first was endlessly cutting his nails with a dagger. Temujin also noticed his cork backpack slung on Zaterra’s shoulder. “Hey, that’s mine!” Temujin shouted, gripping the dragon-bone bars of his cage. “Finders keepers,” Zaterra replied and stuck out his tongue. “Give it back to him!” Aki demanded. “Be yer companions knowin’ yer secrets in this here bag?” asked Kosano. Temujin fell quiet. “Cat got yer ton
Dragon-kissed Chapter 82: Prisoners
They were held in separate cells down the ship’s brig. Aki’s and Sasha’s were adjoining while Temujin’s was across from theirs. Each cell had an additional feature. For instance, Aki’s had a water barometer to monitor the slightest change in atmospheric pressure if she attempted to form winds inside the ship. Sasha’s had a quicksilver thermometer to keep the room temperature in check. Last, apart from confiscating his flint and steel, the pirates put Temujin in a cell with the fire-proof bones of a red dragon for bars. In case the prisoners showed any signs of defiance by using their powers, the pirates also had a weird-looking contraption like an electrically charged spear. Sasha figured it was a weaponized version of the Leyden jar. If it touched their prisons (the conductor), it would discharge tens of thousands of volts. This last piece of technology suggested a link between the pirates and Tamerlane’s research on the fifth element, but all of them pointed to the fact that the cap
