Love and Bamboo Sword

Sentoki sat on the lone chair in the waiting hall. She was alone in the large room that once housed hundreds of fighters but only she remained. She heaved and puffed breaths of exhaustion, yet it seemed she could go on forever.

Droplets of sweat ran down to the ground, giving the air a salty taste. Her eyes stayed glued to the ground. Yes, she was the only one left; left alone to fight for herself.

The reality of the thin loneliness around her finally set in and she began having doubts. Her heart thumped loudly. What if she couldn't finish what she had started? What if she couldn't go on again? What if..... Just what would happen...…

"What if I fail?"

The sound of the crowd roaring broke her out of her thoughts. Sentoki heard her name being called from the arena. Now wasn't the time to think about her fears. She had to continue pushing and break down all the walls she had built.

She stood up and stretched her body. She felt the band aid on her cheek. Remembering the one person that believed in her, she just had to keep going.

Sentoki readied herself to burst out as she always did. She ignored the chains and with that, she took off.

She didn't look back and charged towards the bright lights that cascaded the atmosphere. She kept going, moving a step faster than the hands that tried to pull her back. As she tore through the veil, she had just one wish.

"Watch me Shinai"

"AND SHE BURSTS IN WITH AN EXPLOSION!!!!!!!"

The arena was electrified as the final fight was about to begin. Everyone was ecstatic and brimming with excitement. Sentoki was a definite fan favourite especially of a certain odd bunch of people with blonde and pink hair.

Shinai shouted along with Chisai, allowing himself to go with the flow. He was loud, loud enough to pull off the roof of the arena. "YEAH!!!!!!!!" he screamed, his voice reverberating through the tiny girl beside him.

Chisai stood with him, hand in hand, feeling the excitement of the moment. Nothing could beat it. Absolutely nothing. She looked at Shinai's face and saw pure joy. "Yeah. Nothing can beat this" she thought as she watched the childish happiness of Shinai.

Sentoki let the flashing lights dispel the doubts in her. She stood before her opponent; a girl of about her age. She looked strangely similar to her. As she stared her down, the air suddenly became cold. Excitement turned to nervous anticipation. Hell had indeed frozen over.

No one spoke a word. A sound of a loud signified the beginning of the bout. It was the last thing anyone heard for a long time. The girls just stared at each other, completely still.

Sentoki just couldn't move. Her body didn't respond to her. Suddenly, a massive foot travelled to her face. In that moment, her body answered and responded with a strike of its own.

The impact sent ripples through the complex. The ground shook as they clashed, threatening to give way. Sentoki tried to quickly strike again but her body could only defend.

Each time her opponent fought, she responded with a similar attack. Kick for kick. Punch for punch. Grab for grab. It was as though she was fighting against herself.

Shinai could not believe his eyes. Sentoki stayed glued to the spot. She hadn't moved since the fight began. However, each time her opponent hit her, she could only block. What was happening to her? He wanted to charge down and stop the fight but Chisai held him back.

"I need to go" he said with fearful eyes. "Shinai, if you go, she's out" Chisai begged as she tried to stop him. "But she needs me" he continued. "Just trust her" she said, gripping his large hands tightly.

Sentoki was tired. It was as though she had been fighting for hours. Everyone around her kept staring with dead eyes. There was no sign of life in them. She was so fixated on this that she didn't notice the swing that was thrown at her.

The force rooted her from the spot and sent her flying. Blood dribbled down her lips and she winced in pain. As she looked at the person that she fought, she noticed one thing.

She had been fighting herself

"What the hell are you doing?" her opponent asked. Sentoki could not answer. She stayed still on the ground, unable to move. "Quit the fucking power girl act. Who the hell do you think you are?" she asked again.

A mighty impact tore through her face again. Sentoki tasted dirt as her head landed violently on the ground. Her opponent picked her up by the hair and gently caressed her face.

"Don't you think this is too pretty for a pig like you?" it asked. "Do you really have an inkling of the kind of trash you are? Why then are you having a pretty face?" it continued with a condescending tone.

Through the blood that veiled her eyes, Sentoki saw that it had no eyes. Just a deep sunken hole. Ah... it could not see. It could not see all the great things around it. It couldn't see the love that Shinai gave to Sentoki. All it could view was the past; the horrible past that Sentoki wanted to let go of.

Cold fingers ran through her face and touched the band aid. "I think I should rip this off. You don't deserve it" it said with a twisted smile on its dark face.

"What did you say?"

At that moment, Sentoki snapped into a maddened rage. The crowd watched her face contort with anger, sending shivers throughout the arena. She started towards the person in front of her. Was it herself she fought or her opponent from the tournament? Sentoki didn't know.

Shinai watched her send a mighty force through her competitor's face. The girl flew backwards and blood burst from her mouth. He felt the fight in Sentoki's heart and instinctively knew something had gone completely wrong.

Sentoki's eyes were a haze. She saw nothing but darkness before her. As she wearily trudged forward, chains held her back. The fear was starting to take over her. She could feel her will getting weaker. The light before her grew fainter but she still tried to reach for it.

"You see, you keep failing. Just give up" it said to her. Sentoki looked at her replica standing before her and tried to hit it. Her hit landed on its face without making an impact. "I won't give up" she whispered, clinging onto the thin thread of dedication in her.

"Then I'll make you"

In a swift motion, Sentoki felt warmth instantly disappear from her. A burning pain followed with the metallic smell of blood hitting her nose. She lifted her fingers to her cheek and felt nothing but sore skin. The band aid was torn off her.

Her knees touched the ground. Her breathing started to speed up. She heaved as her own heart struggled to keep up with her lungs. Sweat poured like buckets from her. She felt the lights burning her skin.

"What was I doing? Why did I come outside?" she thought as the stares of people tore through her flesh. The air felt like a million needles pricking her very bone. She fell to the ground completely, gasping for breath.

Shinai could not take it any longer. If Sentoki stayed there any longer, she would die. In an instant, he disappeared from Chisai's eyes. His body grew almost feral as pure protection instinct took over his body.

A dark shadow appeared above the heads of the audience. They looked up and saw a teenager fly in the skies. Shinai crashed into the ring with a loud explosion. He landed directly by Sentoki and saw the disheartening condition she was in.

His heart shattered as he saw his sister being turned into mere mush. His anger grew at himself for not protecting her. He saw the terrified girl that she punched to the side and went towards her.

As he went forward, fear surged through the girl and she tried to run away but he caught her and smashed her face into the ground. He kicked her chest to the far end of the ring. As he watched her go unconscious, he heard a sound behind him.

Several medical workers surrounded Sentoki as they tried to stabilize her. In a flash, Shinai burst towards them and shouted

"GET YOUR HANDS OF MY SISTER!!!!!!"

His hands caught a doctor and he smashed the bones into tiny pieces. Screams started to resound through the arena as Shinai stood on all fours, his fang protruding out of his mouth.

A monster protecting his princess.