Above you, is a music that'll be playing called Bloom Nobly, Ink-Black Cherry Blossom ~ Border of Life. This is just for an experiment, so I'm not going to leave this here for so long. Please do listen to the music while reading to get some vibe feeling inside of you. If you don't get that feel, then please do request me to remove the video as soon as possible. Furthermore, enjoy the story of this chapter.
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Flying through the skies, Kotaro saw a gate ahead of them. He wondered what was past it. "It's really warm," Melissa commented. Both Noel and Melissa entered through the gate. As they entered, their flying abilities were disabled. They descended to the ground, unable to fly anymore. Kotaro looked around the place. There were pink cherry blossom trees all over the area. Ahead of them were stairs, just like at the Shrine of the Gods. Together, they climbed the stairs. Noel and Melissa grew exhausted from constantly climbing.
The only one who was able to climb the stairs without being exhausted was Kotaro. Melissa decided to have Kotaro carry her while going upstairs. Kotaro carried Melissa, and even that wasn't enough to exhaust him. Noel was impressed he was still able to keep moving. It was like he wasn't even human anymore. Nowhere near close to the stairs, Noel was near dead from exhaustion. Her breathing became restless, unable to keep up with Kotaro.
Finally, they reached the top of the stairs. Melissa climbed off Kotaro's back. Despite her heavy weight, Kotaro had enough stamina to continue moving, but sweat drenched him. Noel, on the other hand, had been dead from the start. Unable to keep up with the former track member, her legs grew sore, and her body nearly gave up on her. Glad to reach the top, Noel rested upon the stone road.
On the top, a lone apparition was formed into a human shape. The person wore green and white clothing, and his height, including his faintly ghostly hair, was small. The person spotted Kotaro. He disappeared, and then he reappeared in front of Kotaro.
He had two swords that were attached behind him. One of them was a katana while the other was a wakizashi: a small katana. Kotaro didn't fret but stepped forward. "You must be Kotaro Nishiki, am I wrong?"
"That's me," Kotaro responded. He didn't tell the ghost his name. "How did you know my name?"
"Please, you may call me Gouki. Gouki Mato is my name," he said. He seemed kind and polite to Kotaro. Kotaro didn't receive his answer though. "Lord Yuuki told me an unusual human would come over here. He ordered me to wait for your arrival and test that sword of yours!"
Kotaro's Runeblade appeared in his hand. He finally understood what was going on. "Oh, I see now!"
Gouki took a few steps back from Kotaro. "Shall we start?"
"Oh, this is going to be interesting! I guess I can wait a little longer!" Melissa commented. Not wanting to interrupt the pointless fight, they watched for entertainment. Judging by this fight, Gouki had the upper hand: he was dead already, and both Noel and Melissa had experienced fighting this apparition before - he was one formidable foe.
The only chance of Kotaro ever winning was if he unleashed Noel's power, which resided inside of him. Though Noel wasn't sure how much the impact would do, there was nothing else she could think of for Kotaro to win.
The match started with their sharp steel clashing into each other. Gouki fought so swiftly, swinging his blade from left and right, giving Kotaro a hard time to react. The katana on his right was used for swinging while the wakizashi on his left was used for stabbing, with a few swings from time to time.
Gouki left no room for Kotaro to counter. It was time to take a risk. Kotaro hoped something happened on one swing with his new sword. Unfortunately, Gouki evaded such a predictable attack. He placed his katana on top of Kotaro's Runeblade to keep him still, and with his wakizashi, Gouki aimed for Kotaro's neck to finish the fight. This was the end, as both Noel and Melissa had expected from the start.
Noel immediately reacted, trying to defend Kotaro. But, she stopped after witnessing Kotaro grabbing onto Gouki's wrist: the one equipping the wakizashi. The short sword was near Kotaro's neck, but he fought hard to push it away.
Unable to think of anything, Kotaro used his leg and tripped the specter. Linking another attack at the same time, he headbutted Gouki. The opposing foe dropped both his weapons. Kotaro used the time to recover and moved a few steps from Gouki.
Gouki recovered. "Dirty move to pull off!" He picked up his weapons, and began standing up straight, and chanted the following phrase, "Whatever these blades cannot cut, are from now on false!" His right leg was stretched forward, his right hand holding the katana at a ninety-degree angle in the air, while the left was at thirty-degrees.
Whatever he was doing, Kotaro stayed cautious of it. This was indeed a formidable foe, just like NEW. With a flash, Gouki vanished in thin air. Kotaro lost his focus.
A swift cut slashed Kotaro from behind. Crimson liquid splattered from his back, slowly dripping onto the ground. Noel gasped, knowing he was repeating his same mistakes.
The swift apparition was gone again. Kotaro took a deep breath. His eyes shut. Noel could feel it again. Her own power leaked, reacting all of a sudden. My power? What's it doing this time? Noel thought.
A red surge of energy formed near Kotaro's feet. It twisted and twirled like a tornado. The Runeblade reacted by shining in scarlet. Gouki came by with another upcoming slash. Kotaro's eyes opened and he was able to see a brief image of Gouki. He instantly countered.
Moving to the side, Kotaro swung his sword from above. A direct blow from Kotaro had canceled Gouki's attack, causing him to fall to the ground. "How did I do that?" Kotaro wondered, unaware of it.
The wound from the ghost instantly healed, and Gouki immediately knocked Kotaro into the ground with a leg sweep. Unable to fight back, Gouki rushed in with his wakizashi. But before Gouki reached Kotaro, a magical beam fired upon Gouki's back. The impact blew him away, hitting him against the cherry blossom trees.
"Fight's over, you tough boys can stop now!" Announced Melissa. Her right hand had smoke billowing from it, responsible for firing the explosive magic. She tipped her witch hat. "Fight was cool, but I grew bored. Okay, let's go now!"
Kotaro recovered, standing from the ground. "Hey, I almost had it!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Melissa replied, "Come on, let's get Maya's Yin-Yang Orb back!"
"Wait, before we do-" Kotaro rushed to the injured Gouki. Out of the ordinary, Kotaro shook Gouki's hand. Gouki was confused. He had never seen a human ever shake their opponent's hand or praise them for a good fight. "Hey, that was a good fight! Let's have another one someday, okay?"
Gouki nodded his head, unsure how to respond to Kotaro. Somehow, Gouki felt a special bond with Kotaro. He smiled and chuckled with the boy.
"Thank you!" Gouki said, rising from the ground. Gouki bent his lower back for a while. "Thanks for fighting me! Please tell me your name!"
"My name is Kotaro Nishiki. Let's be friends!" Kotaro answered.
"Kotaro Nishiki. Okay, I got it! Thank you so much, Nishiki!" Gouki said.
"No, just call me Kotaro, not Nishiki," Kotaro insisted. Gouki understood. Though, he didn't understand why Kotaro would let Gouki call him by his first name.
Melissa tapped Kotaro's shoulder. "Come on, let's go." They continued on foot to the entrance. Cherry blossom petals blew about. Up ahead, more long stairs awaited them.
Noel noticed Kotaro's powers were growing, slowly. Her own powers combined with his own, and they were merging into one. She bet the magician sensed it as well. Who are you? Noel thought, staring at Kotaro.
Two enormous gates awaited them ahead. Opening them, their eyes saw a playground composed of rock arrangements, a river streaming down the place, and a bridge. To their left was a building, and a woman awaited, dressed in a pink floral kimono, along with a hat. Her hair was wavy and pink, the same went for her eyes. Her skin was pale as a ghost.
"Welcome to Yomi! It's been so long since I last saw you guys here!" The woman said. Yomi, the homeland of the dead, Miharu was the owner of this place. Wandering spirits roamed around Yomi, and Kotaro was able to catch them in his vision. She stood up strong, waving the fan that she held. There was an unfamiliar face she had not seen before. "Hmm? Noel? Melissa? Who is this person?"
Kotaro stepped forward. "I'm Kotaro Nishiki," he said.
"Kotaro Nishiki, where have I heard that name before..."
It clicked in Kotaro's mind once more. This woman must've known his past. So he asked, "You know of it?"
She nodded and smiled, "The great ninja!"
Kotaro tilted his head, responding, "Huh?"
"That's Kotaro Fuma, wrong guy!" Noel noted.
"Oh, you're right!" the woman said, "I don't really know a Kotaro Nishiki." Kotaro sighed, hoping he'll find his past somehow. "Oh my, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself, I am Miharu Inazaki, one of the Legends of Densetsu. Princess of the Dead."
Another Legend like Yuuki? Kotaro was surprised to learn there were more Legends who had created Densetsu. Before Kotaro could speak, Miharu had already knew the reason they were here. The Yin-Yang Orb hovered over Miharu's hand. "Here you go!"
"Thanks!"
FACT OF THE CHAPTER: Gouki's katana and wakizashi have a name. The katana is called Savage, and the wakizashi is called Joy. Combine them both, they're called Savage & Joy.
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I hope you've truly enjoyed my ninth chapter! Please note if there are any mistakes throughout my writing. I want to make this story as enjoyable for you amazing readers who has been keeping to the story. Because of you, you readers make this story grow.