Chapter 34:Crows In The Wind
A crow was staring at me with its lavender eyes. It shedded a feather that landed right on my lap.I cleaned it off and looked at the crow.There were more.2 crows now.
Stupid Kraven.Those crows are going to report back to him.
He thought we wouldn't notice the increase of crows ever since Aizakku died…
That crow that dropped me the letter to go to the hospital. It was bait from him. He tried to trap us and because of Lenny we narrowly evaded the attack. At least we have Toru now.I'll need to hear back from my letters. We'll need extra help for Kraven,Red and the ILO.
I remember when Aizakku said the new emperor had to be someone to win in a duel. It was me and Maku. We had already scheduled it the day after Aizakku died.I originally waited for him outside the arena but he didn't come.After an hour,he arrived.The crowd left 20 minutes into waiting.
"No pressure."He shouted.
"No pressure."I replied.There was no pressure.Although the Genshi were here to support.
I opened my hand and summoned a ball of light energy. My hands twisted and turned.I waited for the right moment and…
BAM!He got hit and grabbed his aching shoulder.I jumped into the air,gliding like a goose.I shot light bullets at him but he dodged them all. He was being defensive for a reason. He was going to become offensive in a second.I kept my guard up and forged a defensive bubble.
SWISH!
SLASH!
Air spikes were thrown at me but my instinctive thinking came in handy. He placed his hands together,closing his eyes.
A transparent gas emerged out of thin air.
"IM NOT THAT DUMB!I KNOW ITS DEADLY GAS."
He grunted,gnawed his teeth and jumped back.A few bystanders stared in the distance.
"Looks like we're building a crowd again Irai!"
All of the sudden,that pressure struck through me as if…as if MAKU HAD THROWN A TORNADO AT ME!!
Swirling around,I got dizzy. My vision became blurry.I felt as if I was in a distorted state.Blood ran down my arms. My ears were bleeding due to the sound.A ringing sound.
I was going crazy!My muscles tightened. It was like my body was giving up on me.I wasn't going to lose to a damn tornado.
My muscles loosened again.I rested for a little bit knowing I couldn't escape the tornado yet.I would need to get the source. So Maku would either have to cancel the tornado out or come into the tornado.Either way would work for me because I'd save energy.
BAM!A sudden thud onto the ground.
"Good,you chose to cancel it out."
He said nothing and bolted towards me.
"CALM DOWN YOU DAMN RABBIT!"His elbow clashed with mine.I threw divine chains at his ankles,in a circular motion he spun and flew into the sky.
"Look Mommy,there's a shadow in the sun!"A nearby child called.
"No sweetheart that's not just a shadow that's a..a…"She leaned in closer to see but she couldn't quite capture it.
"A what Mommy?"
"A FLYING MAN!!WATCH OUT!"She dived out of the way.Maku landed face first into the floor sending a loud impact.
He had ruptured the ground and my eardrums.
I blitzed him in his ribs. He coughed blood onto my face.I tried to wipe it off desperately but he had placed me in a choke hold before I could. So I was blinded and losing my breath,
"Your face,it's purple Irai."I held onto his arms trying to get out of the chokehold but every movement just made the situation worse. It was basically quick sand.Struggling more and more would make the situation worse.
The crowd developed and grew stronger in quantity.
The pressure built stronger and stronger. It was going to erupt like a volcano.I couldn't take it anymore. My stomach began to hurt randomly…this stress.
I felt it many times before.I didn't want to be watched and get beat down by my friend in front of an emerging crowd.I sent light wielding attacks towards Maku. He sent air wielding attacks back. We were throwing hands back and forth like a flying tennis ball.
Not one of us gave up.Not one of us got tired. We both got cuts and bruises but kept going.The role of Emperor was what kept us going and one of us had to achieve it. In a few hours from now,one of us while be given the crown of Japan.
KEEP PUSHING.YOU AREN'T DONE YET IRAI!
My brain triggered determination and my energy increased.But even that wasn't enough to stop Maku. He knocked me to the ground.I really and I mean I REALLY couldn't get up. My body just couldn't co-operate. My muscles were strained from fighting. It had given up completely.I laid there,helpless.Accepting my fate.For the first time in years,I gave up.Maku body slammed me into the ground.
I couldn't even SPEAK!He disrupted my vocal chords for a brief moment.I let out a quiet wheeze.
"THE WINNER IS MAKU!"4 words.Changed my life.Nobody in the crowd cheered.They found his violence a bit disgusting especially when there were children around.
"I'm sorry for that Irai."He took his hand out.I grabbed it and got up from the ground,brushing off the dust from the fight.
"You two need to get cleaned up…"Yanagi approached.She grabbed the two of us and we all got onto our horses.
On the way back,Kimiko looked angry.
"What?"I looked at her.
"Don't be so aggressive next time,you guys had me nervous from the first punch to the last punch."
"I'm sorry Kimiko-"
"Sorry doesn't mean anything!Actions are more important than words."
"Fair point Kimiko"Maku stated.
"I mean,you two were brutal in there.Genuinely I wanted to stop the fight."
"And it's good you didn't because you would have wasted a year of your life on something so stupid.Irai and I had everything under control,right Irai?"
"Yeah we did!I get it,you're worried.Try…relax.Please. We weren't going to kill each other-ouch!"My shoulder ached.
"Yeah,I bet you are both totally fine.Yanagi don't bother cleaning them,they're energetic enough to bluff."
"IM NOT BLUFFING I AM STRONG. MY BODY REACHED ITS LIMIT IN THAT MOMENT."
"Your body wasn't strong enough in those circumstances!Simple as that. If you had everything under control then your shoulder wouldn't be sore now would it?"
"Shut up."
"What?"
"You heard me loud and clear.I said,shut up."
"You really wanna do this right here right now?While we're on the horses?"
"You couldn't beat me any day of the week."
"Challenge accepted."
"What?"
"I'm going to train my time manipulation so that I can use it more often and so that I'm not as limited!"
"So you want to defy the laws of ability manipulation?Got it
"I'm not defying the laws!I'm going to find an easier but safer solution.When we get back to the Genshi Palace,I'll be having the ancient book to study more about the strengths and weaknesses of my wielding technique."
"You may try."Maku and I burst out into laughter at the same time.
"Y'know something Irai?"
"What is it?"
"We should be friends not rivals.I'm sorry if I seemed negative or grumpy around you. My anger took over!I couldn't help myself for some reason."
"That's not a very good excuse Maku-"
"No really!We should restart Irai."
"You guys are always arguing no matter how many times you are nice to each other."Complaining Yanagi was the worst.Same with Kimiko.
Girls complaining in general was just annoying.And it's not sexist,I'd say the same thing about men.
"And we are always friends again no matter how many times we argue!"
"Good point Maku."
10 minutes went by. We filed in the data for the battle and said that Maku was the victor of the duel. He was probably being friendly because he had beat me,I was sure of it.
We both bathed and cleaned ourselves up.Everybody entered the dining hall at this point.All types of food around the world was donated.I could name at least 20 dishes and 20 countries on that table.
"AMAZING!"I drooled mindlessly but Kimiko slapped me on the back of my head.She reminded us about her training.
"It's good to see you grow sister."
"Thanks,but don't drool like that it's weird!"
"That's what an average person does when they admire REAL FOOD KIMIKO."
"HEY MY COOKING ISN'T THAT BAD!"
"You two stop arguing,Maku is about to receive his crown."An elderly Genshi scolded me.
He looked like Old Man Anthony.But that didn't matter.I was acting like a child and this was a big moment. He was going to have a crown on his head and sit in the same seat Aizakku used to sit in.
This was it,this was the big moment.Everybody took a glass of water and raised in the air.
"A TOAST FOR MAKU."I joined in a bit late on the crowd but Kimiko tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to the throne.
Maku,looking more humble than ever.The throne felt fresh and intact.Light illuminated through the slight cracks of the celing.This was the start of a new era.A man slowly but carefully placed a shiny crown onto Maku's head.
"LONG LIVE EMPEROR MAKUUUUU!"The room exploded with joy.Fragments of tears ascended down Maku's face.
"I finally did it…after all that work,I DID IT!"It was satisfying for him to achieve something so big even though I dreamt of being Emperor aswell.But I didn't care.I was happy for him.
"NO WORK FOR THE REST OF THIS DAY.WHOEVER PASSES ON THIS MESSAGE TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY WILL HAVE A GREAT REWARD."Hundreds of men and women ran out of the Genshi Gate like little lambs crying out loud.The room had 4 people.Maku.Irai.Kimiko.Yanagi who hesitated if she could go with the crowd.
"Don't bother going Yanagi,you'll have a reward to."A bright smile shone upon us. He lifted a cup of water and drank it with pride.A new emperor was born.A new legacy.Maybe greater than Aizakku himself.That sounded wrong to say but with a mindset like this,Maku has greater potential than my dead Uncle.
We rested,we ate,we laughed.