> "You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free."
- Clarence Darrow
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"Who are you?"ruke asked again, se stared at the drax behind who held a metal pole, he seemed to be weaker than the drax in front who had a knuckle dusters on.
"Don't spoil the fun doushin....I know you're also getting that urge to fight me"he replied letting out an uneasy grin, ruke only watched without responding, he was unequipped and had left his katana inside while he rushed out.
"I'm only going to ask one...last....time, and if I do, it'd be to a corpse"ruke said his gaze still fixed on the drax in front of him, death!....death!! They called out.
"Such a kill joy...., ok I don't mind playing along"the drax who had a knuckle duster on charged towards ruke.
Barely avoiding getting cut by its claws ruke took some steps back, "what's that teleportation?"ruke thought, he hadn't seen the drax in front approach him but he felt a strong presence behind him and had ducked accordingly thereby avoiding a slash from the claws on the duster
"Sharp as should a doushin...,maybe you can keep me interested a while"he laughed this time suddenly appearing beside ruke, slashing sideways hoping ruke gets cut midway but ruke flipped also avoiding another slash. The drax didn't stop there he continued his attack slashing one after another and this time sending punches as well, ruke wasn't worried at all, the drax in front of him was fast, but seemed to lack some close combat techniques.
"Are you a douhin or not!!....why the hell do you keep running?!"the drax yelled annoyed, he knew ruke wasn't taking the fight seriously
"I see....you need some motivation to fight ey?"he asked slashing upwards ruke ducked stepping aside and letting the claw flank past him, just as soon as he asked they heard a voice from hehind them.
"What's all the commotion about?"she asked, hearing this ruke knew instantly that it was anila, why was she out?, she was supposed to be in lying down, this was going to turn out bad he knew for sure avoiding another slash.
"I see...., I guess we've found out motivation haven't we?"the drax out disappearing and reappearing behind anila, his duster claws pointed on her neck ready to pierce through her throat.
"Now I get what technique you use"ruke said softly with an annoying expression, it was so obvious but he hadn't seen it until he switched targets. "You don't teleport.....you only accelerate..."ruke said again this time turning around to stare at the drax
"He figured out my secret technique...?...., who the hell is that guy"he asked not seeing ruke anymore then hearing a deep scary voice which he knew too well behind him.
"Now I'm interested, a dual was it?"ruke asked grabbing his arm, hands placed close to the drax's wrist and in one swift move he broke it using nothing but his strength. While the drax screamed anila stared at the cold being in front of her who she once saw as kind....he was far from being that she thought gasping for air as she had puked seeing ruke break the doushin arm.
"I didn't see him move...I also couldn't sence any presence around me..., this guy, this guy really is the doushin"the drax in the floor thought finally acknowledging ruke as superior over him.
"If that hurt, then I think we're only getting started now ain't we?"ruke asked again taking steps closer to the drax he had just injured when a loud voice requested that the duel end.
"STOP!"
It was the drax who had come alongside the injured one."That's enough, we only came here to meet the doushin....., and now we've seen it's you and no one else, we'd like a chat"he said stareing at ruke who had yet to utter a word.
"I'm kirish...aka boulder, the guy on the floor is lan....aka swift..."kirish introduced stepping in past the gates which he stood at from the very start of the duel
"A chat?...with me?"ruke thought diverting his gaze towards the guy on the floor "go on, heal yourself, I know you can see the healing technique"ruke said walking into the building.
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"We recieved words from the grandmasters to personally escort you to the gathering tomorrow"kirish explained
"And the duel?"ruke asked
"That's was lan's way of testing out your abilities...., hope that wasn't anything near inconvenient"kirish responded almost instantly stareing at the so called doushin sitting in front of him.
"He's so young....yet so strong, he defeated lan that also means he's fast....., he figured lan's technique in a jiffy, and also used technique unheard of before..., this kid really is a doushin like no other, no I know why the grandmasters were all interested in him...., he exhibits potentials"kirish thought admiring.
"Why do I need to be guarded on my way to the gathering?"ruke thought.., this felt and seemed strange but there was nothing he could do, letting that feeling slide away ruke noticed a figure standing just outside his room..., it was anila without a doubt. He stood getting out f the room and closing the door behind him.
"What do you think you're doing?"ruke asked, she hadn't known he had noticed her and had been caught off guard by him as she never expected her him to just walk out to confront her.
"What....eha was that earlier?...you broke an arm like it was nothing...., I heard you two fighting but I couldn't keep up, who are you ruke....what are you?"anila asked, ruke knew this was going to happen eventually, he was glad it happened now as he could explain and just let it go.
"I never broke his arm, you saw the arm was ok afterwards right?....that earlier wasn't a fight but us practicing, if you couldn't see...then that's all you. But I assure you there's nothing going on here that isn't totally normal"ruke responded stareing at her, her expression told him everything she wanted to say, she had doubts loads of it but not one thing she said made any sense even to her.
"Ok then.....I'm sorry for intruding..., I'll be heading back to my room now"anila apologized staggering slowly towards her room, watching her head back ruke felt relieved, She hadn't heard a thing, not about the gathering and also not about the grandmasters.
Cicadas could be heard chirping around making the streets in azula more lively than it usually was. It was a new day and ruke was heading for the gathering accompanied by the two men from earlier.
It was a long walk but finally they had arrived.
The gathering was being held at an abandoned warehouse which got shutdown after a fire suddenly engulfed the building killing several workers, out of fear for their safety tenants who had lived around left turning the streets the warehouse was into ghost street, a place no one could be seen or heard.
"It's about time you showed up"a lady said watching the warehouse huge door roll open, without a doubt she was sure they were here.
"Forget them, I sence a powerful aura behind them....must be the doushin right?"a guy beside her said hurriedly stepping in between ruke and the drax who has escorted him there.
"You're the doushin, ain't you, I can sense it...the ki..., it's so uninviting, I would kill to get my hands soaked them"he said smiling afterwards like a psyco
"Stop it horror,his isn't time to make such jokes...., we came here to get aquainted with the doushin and get a briefing with the grandmasters" another doushin yelled from the top a remake to be exact
"Move"ruke warned stareing at the doushin called horror in the eye.
"Move?...why should I?" Horror asked giving ruke an intense stare as well.
"Stop it this instant, if you continue this, we got no choice but to have you sent out of here"a drax with a white mask threatened as soon as he did horror backed off. This drax looked different from the rest, even his ki felt different from the rest ruke could feel it. To have made horror step back like that this drax wasn't someone to be taken likely.
"Sure I'll leave him he....,all I'm saying is that this guy feels absolutely normal..., not sure the grandmasters did a good job making him the doushin.., I bet I could beat him if we brawled"horror whined walking slowly towards the other end of the warehouse.
"Ok then, let's brawl..."ruke proposed, he had his red mask on, all the drax in the warehouse had one on as without the mask they were deemed indignified.
"Really now....then what do you propose, there has to be rules right....., let's say I can go all out and if I win I become the new doushin and you become my subordinate"horror smiled tracing his tongue through his lips
"What the hell is he saying??...., the grandmaster words are absolute..., is he insane?"the drax's present asked, this was bogus, horror had no right to say such a thing or do such a thing but it looked to them that the doushin had no problem with the rules and stakes he had placed.
"Ok then....., I took have something to say"ruke said slowly and without thinking much of it horror instantly replied "sure....go on"
"I won't move from this spot, and when I win...you take off your mask, I believe you know what the means"ruke proposed. At this horror was furious, he knew rukes rules were at a disadvantage to himself, and his own rule also gave him and advantage against ruke, then again he had to take off his mask if he failed but confident he would win with the fight being so advantageous to him horror accepted his stake and rule. Others watched curious as to how the match was about to go. The white masked doushin stared down at the two drax's about to face off, with a smile he turned away knowing how this match was going to play off and who was going to win this brawl.