Dealing with Loose Ends: Kori Legacy

This article, , is one of four one-shots featuring the individual battles of Kentaro, Akiye, Hawke and David against Shinji Mitsuhide, Zatoichi, Suitai Shiba and Kojima Taira. This particular chapter involves the battle between Hawke, David and Shinji, and is the last of the four battles to take place, acting as a sequel.

“My father's been looking for you for years.” Hawke revealed, side-stepping, before rapidly countering.

“He didn't look very hard.” Shinji replied before tossing Hawke over his shoulder.

Hawke recovered well and landed lightly enough that he returned quickly to his feet in-time to swiftly parry Shinji's quick jabs. He countered with a kick to the inside of his foes leg but Shinji leapt back easily. The two closed, their Zanpakuto forgotten, using nothing but their bodies. Hawke favoured a direct and offensive-focused approach with a strong foundation. Shinji adopted a looser stance and focused instead on redirecting the strength of Hawke's blows. As such his strikes where pinpoint and delicate yet whenever a blow connected Hawke felt pain blossom in the struck area.

“Neijing...!” Hawke exclaimed.

Shinji diverted Hawke's subsequent strike, ducked beneath his second, and proceeded to land a devastating strike on Hawke's chest! A ring of spiritual power emanated out from the strike zone and Hawke's entire body crumpled as he was sent flying backwards. He coughed up a large degree of blood the moment his back collided with a nearby rock formation – which he also shattered – and the moment he came to a rest he was struggling to get back to his feet.

“A warrior can train their body up to resist pain. They cannot however train their insides.”

“Son of a bitch...” Hawke whispered.

He coughed again and another mouthful of blood landed on the floor between his feet. A single blow and Hawke was already staggering. He was no medic; that was Kentaro's field. But he knew that at least one of his lungs was damaged and possibly his heart as well. The pain in his chest was unbearable! Nothing had ever happened to him before that he could compare it too but it was clear: one more strike would finish him.

“Farewell, son of Kusaka.”

Hawke staggered forward when Shinji began his attack but instead of attempting to defend himself he released his Zanpakuto without a word and hurled it to the side; a feat which caused him no small degree of discomfort. He then teleported himself to the location of his sword and used the momentum of that movement to catch and hurl it towards Shinji. Each time Shinji dodged Hawke repeated the process until, at last, he succumbed to his injuries and fell to his knees in a coughing fit!

“As I said,” Shinji whispered, “one cannot train their insides to resist direct damage. You are at your limit.”

“Licht Regen!!”

A storm of arrows descended on Shinji and David, on a pair of black wings, swooped in and retrieved his adoptive brother before turning in mid-air. He released another storm of arrows using nothing but one arm. He then shattered a silver tube on the ground before them before laying his brother to rest on the floor gently.

“Where does it hurt?” David asked.

“... Neijing...” Hawke whiskered, grasping his brother's forearm.

David performed a reishi-based technique developed by his now deceased uncle and jabbed Hawke in the chest! He thrashed on the ground and released a long and sustained groan but when he finished he was capable of standing again, and the pain was gone completely.

“Cheers for that. Don't let him hit you.”

“I wasn't planning to. It's time to end this bastard.”

“Agreed. Bankai, Jitsunogetsu Ryūki!”

Hawke's own wings burst through the side of David's barrier and he immediately closed the distance. He knocked aside Shinji's delicate parry with sheer strength and landed a devestating spinning kick sheathed with the power of the Reissen! The moment Shinji's body collided with the ground David unleashed yet another enhanced Licht Regen.

“I see.” Shinji said. “I don't place enough trust in Oda to give my life for his petty ideals.”

With that announcement Shinji flicked the air and departed through the resulting gateway without so much as a backwards glance. He left a dumbfounded Hawke and David behind with puzzled expressions, though the two weren't going to complain with the outcome. Not at all. They where both alive though the downside was that Shinji, an outcast of the Kori clan, had escaped.

“We'll get him next time.” David assured.

“You bet your hairy arse we will.” Hawke replied.

“What now?”

Hawke wasn't sure. Kenji had given them leave to come and aid Itazura but now that Itazura's original attackers where either dead or fled they had no more reason to remain. Besides they had to return to Horiwari and treat their wounds before Kenji and Kusaka moved against Oda in earnest. Maybe it was time to trust to Itazura's strength and resolve and make themselves scarce?

“Where's Kentaro and Akiye?” David asked at last.

“Ain't it obvious?” Hawke replied as he casually nodded his head towards some bushes.

“Have they no decorum?”

Hawke laughed out loud!

“If May dragged you into the bushes I don't think you'd complain.”

“... Well, when you put it like that...” David whispered, fidgeting.

“Come on; time to go.” Hawke exclaimed. "Oi, love birds! Time to go!"