K -R:B-

Chapter 9

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K R:B by Azano Kouhei

9 (pages 237-248)

The clansmen started to back away from the center of the intersection. Partly because it was the kings’ wish, but mostly because they were quite simply pushed away by the energy the kings released. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the presence of the kings with sanctuaries now activated was creating physically tangible pressure. The area had become a zone of prohibited entry.

The two kings stepped towards each other, facing one another at the center of the wide intersection.

Suoh, clad in blazing flames. Munakata carrying a sharp blade in hand.

Suoh grinned, “Whatcha gonna do if the thing falls?”
“I will not let that happen, not to my sword, nor to yours,” Munakata spat out icily.
“So you’re gonna take care of mine, too, huh?”
“I simply need to swiftly incapacitate you enough to impede your ability to fight. Well, cutting off a limb or two should suffice, I imagine.”
“What spirit! I’m aching.”
“Yes, you certainly are sick. Beyond help at that.”

Red flames and blue crystals seemed to have filled the entire s.p.a.ce. The flaming glare and the icy gaze crossed and entangled, sending showers of sparks flying.

Their respective powers antagonized - and burst unleashed.

Suoh’s blow and Munakata’s slash were timed in perfect synch. The shockwaves of their collision spread like a tsunami, the surface of the road swelling up and crumbling.

A few clansmen got blown off by the turbulent currents of the devastating powers. But by that time, the two kings’ field of vision had already narrowed down to no one but each other. All of their nerves engaged, they were trying to read the opponent’s movements, decipher his intentions.

The point of Munakata’s sword drew a backward arc. Suoh struck up with his elbow, then threw a left hook. Munakata lowered his head, never lowering his gaze.

A downward slash. A kick. A horizontal slice. A punch. The burning flame fluttered bright red, the freezing barrier sparkled vivid blue.

“Why?!” Munakata didn’t even realize he shouted this question out until after he had. “You were chosen to be a king, so why aren’t you fulfilling your mission as one?!”
“Because f.u.c.k it!” Suoh roared. “I ain’t letting some stupid as f.u.c.k mission decide anything for me!”
“Power comes with the responsibility to use it in the right way!”
“Ha! And what’s that responsibility for?! Show me the f.u.c.ker who wants me to take it!”
“All those being crushed by the wretchedness of the world! The good people burdened with unfair hardships!”
“And you’re playing their representative, eh?! Don’t make me laugh!”
“Suoh! Your arrogance is the arrogance of the strong!”
“It’s up to oneself to decide if he’s strong or weak! It ain’t something strangers can b.u.t.t in!”
“You are not making any sense. Talking to you is a waste of breath, after all!”
“Keep talking! The b.a.s.t.a.r.d who can only judge others by himself is a certified idiot, no matter how much of a clever d.i.c.k he is, Munakata!”

The two clashed with a resounding bang, their hard glares piercing each other.

Suoh raised his power’s output. Munakaya countered. Suoh’s output climbed even higher. Munakata stood his ground. Suoh turned it up another notch, and in the next attack, the tremendous violent torrent of power welling up inside Suoh that would make anyone question just where it came from, was unleashed. But Munakata still didn’t budge an inch. Not resorting to tricks anymore, he took the attack head on, this time trying to shut Suoh down himself. The two standing in the middle of the violent power tempest didn’t so much as blink.

The two clashing powers ma.s.sed, compressed, condensed and exploded.

The power, freed from the yoke, laid waste and chaos all around. While the hurricane torrents from the blast were busy break dancing, Suoh and Munakata were already vying for the position for the next attack.

The saber flashed with unbelievable swiftness. It grazed Suoh’s chest as he dodged, immediately launching a new attack of his own.

A fastball made of flames burnt Munakata’s neck. The blue barrier pushed the Red King away.

Before Suoh knew it, he was howling with laughter.

It was a sense of liberation that made his head swim. Made his heart light. Made his soul dance.

His whole body was burning with white hotness to his heart’s content, as the “power” inside him roared out a war cry. The formless aggravation that was always bothering and tormenting him so much, vanished without a trace. All of his nerves were numb with fury - with exhilaration so intense that it left him paralyzed.

And Munakata, too, rose up to the challenge again.

He had never experienced that strong the resistance before.

Every single cell of his being gathered its whole might and tried to tear down the first real challenge he faced in his life gleefully and with mad energy. Half letting go of his control, he rushed in the direction he himself designated as the one leading to his ideals. His truth was taking shape with vigor he could have never imagined.

The blade that was being brought down in a diagonal slash was stopped by the seething flames. A kicking foot raising a roaring wind on its approach from the ground was met with the flashing blade that dissipated the energy with a swish, rendering the attack futile.

Suoh crossed his arms and, coiling his flames around them, charged at Munakata. Munakata got thrown back, coattails of his uniform sweeping along the concrete, cutting through the intersection and crashing into a building.
Inside the cloud of raised dust, the steely silver light transformed into an ice pillar and tore through the flames. The b.l.o.o.d.y spray it drew was instantly evaporated by the scorching heat.

Hit. Contact. Heat right after. Flesh cut.

Counter. Crash. Endure. Another counter.

Pain. Impact. Flash.

Asphalt cracked, buildings crumbled. The flame danced, the crystals burst open. Heat and light crossed, red and blue clashed in a wild dance. Obstinacy and conviction collided, fury and delight spilling.

The azure sky was half dyed in vermillion, half absorbing deep indigo.

The two swords in the sky didn’t yield to one another, their points, as always, each aimed at their respective owner.

“You’re not half-bad, huh.”
“You, either.”
“But it’s still not enough!”
“Same sentiments!”

Clash.

The blade and the fist, the “power” and the “power” collided head-on. Not unraveling upon the contact, they kept pressuring each other, engaged in deadly tug of war.

Yet another round of the “power” struggle. The waves of power leaking outside the battlefield thrashed about violently like injured dragons. Raging and laughing, they tore the surroundings to shreds.

Not paying any mind to what was happening around them, the kings gritted their teeth and pressed onward.

The second clash far exceeded the first. With the kings at the core, vast amounts of the dreadful powers were acc.u.mulating.

Despite that, the two kept pushing, pressing one another, neither yielding an inch. It was only to be expected. If either of them were to ease up just the tiniest bit, all the acc.u.mulated power would flood into that c.h.i.n.k. It was like poker. Each dead set on crushing the opponent, the stakes were raised again and again. Disregarding the possibility of their own defeat completely, they were occupied with the sole task - to destroy the opposing party. The power of the two, who were trying to overwhelm the other with all of their might, clashed, ironically matched evenly to a t.

Animal growls escaped their throats. The arm trusting the fist trembled, the hand holding the sword became numb.

They hit the limit at the same time. At the last moment, as if by prearranged common consent, they both stepped forward.

An explosion occurred.

The turbulent torrents of power rampaged as if intent on reducing all creation to ash. The kings, having thrown their everything at the opponent, were swallowed by the violent torrents, at their mercy, without the time to put up defense.

Suoh scattering sparks, Munakata shedding crystals, the two swirled through the sky, falling, and crashed into the wrecked ground with a loud thud.

But, despite that, it wasn’t over yet.

“…Khe.” Suoh stood up.
“..Phew.” Munakata got up to his feet as well.

The damage they both took wasn’t something they could hide, but two pairs of eyes still gleamed with inexhaustible fighting spirit, the power they radiated turned into an aura that painted their whole bodies their respective color.

The sharp expressions on the two’s faces were not losing out to the clash of the first and the sword. Suoh’s mouth was drawn in ferocious grin, and a brisk smile played on Munakata’s lips, both equally bold and daring. Thrill that almost exceeded wrath was showing through.

“You p.i.s.s me off so much, seriously.”
“Ditto.”
“I"mma go nuts.”
“Aren’t you already? Is that supposed to be a joke?”

Suoh clenched his fists again, and Munakata swung his saber sharply. Naked fighting spirit bended their brows, the determination not to yield flaring up vehemently.

“Hey, Munakata. I can’t stand ya.”
“What a coincidence, Suoh. I feel the same way about you.”
“I"mma squish you like a bug.”
“I shall cut you limb from limb.”
“Can’t wait to see your weeping mug.”
“I am looking forward to seeing you grovel before me.”

The two were throwing biting words back and forth cheerfully. The flames and crystals, blown around, created a storm of falling red and blue blossoms.

Suoh held out his left hand, bending his right arm and drawing it behind his back. Munakata held up his sword vertically in parallel with his body.

“Here I go.”
“Have at me.”

The two kings made a mad dash, shaking the earth’s very axis.

The two souls leaped, casting off the shackles.

That’s when…

“—At the end of the battle, will the opposites unite?—”

The gentle words flowed easily across the two kings’ battlefield. Behind their tranquility, however, was hidden power. The power that was strong enough to rival that of raging flames and crystals.

Both Suoh and Munakata were moments from clashing again but gave a start and stopped dead in their tracks instead. For the first time since the beginning of their battle, they took their eyes off each other, turning their heads sharply to the source of the voice.

At the intersection that was transformed into the battleground, a single person stood. He was a graceful man, wearing traditional j.a.panese clothes and felt hat; a j.a.panese sword he had with him was stuck into the ground like a staff. His appearance, with a faint smile tagging at his lips, was reminiscent of a sage frisking in the fairyland.

The man, however, was not a sage but a king. High above their heads another giant crystalline object was floating, concealing wast power just like the red and the blue ones.

The transparent Sword of Damocles devoid of color - the symbol of the last of the Seven Kings, the Colorless King.

“Pleased to meet you, Red King Suoh Mikoto, Blue King Munakata Reishi. I am the king without a color, Miwa Ichigen, the arbiter of the Seven Kings. Upon the request from the Gold King, Kokujouji Daikaku, I came to visit you, belated though my appearance may be,” the man - Miwa - said. “I will not insist that you talk out your differences. Nor will I ask you to understand each other. However, I do demand you lay down arms. This is it for today. Enough.”

As if all the rage and madness around him bothered him none, his voice was all-encompa.s.sing, rich and unfathomably deep. There was calm and subdued maturity about it, as if its owner watched over the two young kings with a smile.

Suoh and Munakata, previously flabbergasted, finally snapped out of their daze and narrowed their eyes at him.
“What the heck?! b.u.t.t outta th—”
“Excuse me, but please step asi—”

Tap.

In contrast to the two kings’ raised voices, Miwa only tapped the tip of his sheathed long sword on the road lightly.

The all-seeing gaze trained itself on Suoh and Munakata from behind the fringes of his quirky black hair that reached his shoulders.

“Everything between the two of you will be settled. But not here, and not now.”

Suoh and Munakata found it difficult to trust their minds in that moment, but it was a hard fact that they both sensed that the man’s words were, indeed, “true”.

Then, as if on the heels of that realization, “knowledge” made its way up to the surface from the depths of their heads.

The Seventh and the Colorless King, Miwa Ichigen. The right-hand man of the Gold King, with his power laying in prophecising: the supernatural ability to see the future.

Miwa’s power was by no means suited for combat. Neither to Suoh nor to Munakata, he was a king that could be considered a threat.

Yet, at the same time, for some inexplicable reason, neither of them could ignore him. Like Suoh, Munakata, and Kokujouji, he also had a sort of mysterious presence about him that was, however, very different from theirs. His arguments, not backed up with superior power, nonetheless smoothly penetrated into the midst of the kings who took their stands based on power, without arousing resistance and alert.

The arbiter of the seven kings.

Now they understood how fitting that introduction was.

“Excuse me but—” Miwa smiled with a smile of a Bodhisattva sealing up Ashura. In that smile “absolution” of the many long years of life he had on Suoh and Munakata dwelt.

The Colorless King was also known as “The Jester King”.

Who if not a jester could take the others’ stubborn convictions, look at them objectively, present them in a detached manner, and resolve disputes over them with a smile.

“—spare me of the repeat of Kagutsu. For today, this is enough. Do I have your understanding?”

And—

That was where the curtain abruptly fell.

And that also was the beginning of the ambiguous “bond of fate” tying Suoh and Munakata, the Red King and the Blue King.

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