Final Confrontation

[FlySkyHigh]

Tenchi smiled that fateful day, his angelic robes flowing gently around him in the summer breeze. Before him stood a giant clearing in the woods that he had made himself some days previous. He had been preparing it since then for this very event. The day that he had been awaiting for as long as he could remember. Since the beginning of his training, Shaken had never allowed Tenchi to so much as Spar with Hioni, much to his annoyance. And until this moment... He hadn't even had time to.

But now, he had spent nearly a week preparing for this day, and years in training for it. He had always been second to Hioni, and no matter how kind he had been, he had always held a mild resentment towards him for always being better. Today that would change.

He continued to smile, the light glinting off Nitelm in his hand as he closed his eyes.

Hioni should be getting the message any moment now... I have only to wait....

Suddenly, in Hioni's room, before Hioni appeared a small glowing orb of light. "Mr. Nokosu, before you a challenge has been laid, Mr. Hikari wishes to challenge you to a fight in the clearing in the woods, he said you would be able to find it without directions." The orb slowly vanished. "The Match is to begin in half an hour..."

OOC: Well, just have your characters milling about, and possibly where wondering where Tenchi went, he hasnt been there for a week...

[Sean Connery]

David was gone for nearly a month so nobody cared,cause they thought he secluded himself to his room. Altough if you looked you would see his stuff, but not him. On that afternoon if you went into his room you would be, well startled if you came in at the exact moment. David'd closet door snapped open and David tumbled out which he then quickly turned around and closed the door just in time to keep a roaring beast from getting out. He had a very realistic and scary looking werewolf mask on.

David: Uh-oh I hope I still have time to get to the halloween party.

(checks watch)

David: Damn 1 month late!

[Torturous Flame]

A loud scream echoes through the campus, most of the students look around in alarm.

"DAMMIT SILVIO KILL IT!"

"We dont need to kill it, just scoot it out the-"

"DAMMIT! SILVIO YOU KILL THAT SPIDER RIGHT NOW OR I'LL KICK YOUR F^CKING ASS ALL THE WAY TO TIMBUCKTO!

The student return their attention to whatever they had been doing laughing silently. Gale's aracniphobia was often very amusing

"Cant you kick the spider's butt all the way to timbuckto?"

"NOW!"

There was a crashing noise.

"THERES NO NEED TO HIT IT WITH A LAMP! THAT ALMOST HIT ME!"

"WELL IF YOU'D JUST HAVE KILLED IT LIKE I TOLD YOU TO!"

"WELL ITS DEAD YA HAPPY!"

"YEAH!"

"YEAH?"

"YEAH!"

"WEll fine then!"

"FINE!"


"FINE!"

There was silence

"Wanna get some coffie?"

"Sure."

[McCloud]

Hioni had listened to the message with some interest, holding Celipa in his arms. She pushed against her father and Hioni set her on the floor of his room, where she took off at once, running around on the open floor.

Hioni: Hey, Celipa? Hold still for a second.

She wasn't listening, but continued running around the room until she decided to climb onto Hioni's bed.

Celipa: Bed. Bed is for sleep. Daddy's bed.

Hioni: Yes, Celipa, that's my bed. Now will you listen to me for a second?

Celipa flopped onto Hioni's bed, her shoulder-length brown hair spread in every direction. She looked at Hioni with deep hazel colored eyes.

Hioni: I have to go and see a friend of mine for a while, okay?

Celipa: Yeah. Teshi.

Hioni: Tenchi. Anyway, you can either stay here in my room, or we can go and find Jenny and you can play with her.

Celipa: Jenny!

Hioni smirked and lifted his daughter into his arms. He kissed her forehead and the two of them set off to find Jenny.

[The Unwanted]

Cloud was standing in the hall, milling about wondering where Tenchi had gone.

Cloud: Well it's been a week now... he could be anywhere I guess...

He then silently laughed at Gale's aracnaphobia.

Cloud: And to think, she try's to torture students and all they have to do is have a spider.

[Torturous Flame]

"You DONT have to rub it in." He turns and Gale is behind him, a large cappichino in her hand. Silvio was behind her with regualr coffie, no cream, no nothing just black. (ooc: no I am NOT a coffie racist)

[Nollid]

Jordan walked up to Gale, munching on a quesadilla. He swallowed the food in his mouth and cocked his head.

"Have you seen Pheonix? I've been looking for her everywhere?"

Chelsea ran up behind Jordan, with an angry look on her face. She stole the quesadilla out of Jordan's hand before he could react.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO STEAL MY QUESADILLA!"

Jordan sighed, and closed his eyes, concentrating intently. He held out his hand and suddenly another quesadilla appeared in his hand.

"Wha...?" Chelsea stared.

"Matsuo's been teaching me basic transportation. It's actually quite fun." Jordan started munching on the quesadilla.

[Bulzeeb]

Chao was in the shadows of a tree trying to think about how he contorl his wolf demon powers when Leiow possesses him. Mali was near Rex cleaning him with mud.
Mali: Why I am I doing this for?
Rex: Because Master Chao doesn't have soft hands like you do.
Mali: Ok but that doesn't mean he can't clean you!!!
Chao: Mali can you please shut your mouth I'm trying to think here.

[FlySkyHigh]

OOC: I'll continue when Hioni arrives...

[The Unwanted]

ooc: Do you mean when Hioni reaches the battle area... because if not look at the fith post above yours FSH... do you want a sig? I made one a while ago and if you want it just say so.

PS. I have the second highest amount of posts in this thread, whoooo!

[FlySkyHigh]

OOC: Sure... And yes I meant when Hioni arrived at the battleground ^^;

[Torturous Flame]

ooc: No you dont. Mine's higher than yours and FH has more (I think)

Gale sighed adn sat down at a table, a freshman walked up to her grinning. "What?" The freshman dumps a fake spider on her adn runs. Gale suddenly dissapears adn his howls of pain echo through the grounds.

[Zen/Sin]

Uriel woke with a fright as he heard the screams of pain. He sprinted as fast as he could to the source of the noise. He saw a poor freshman with his pants set ablaze. Uriel glanced around and saw Gale laughig close by.
Uriel put outh the fire, and put his hand on the student's chest. the student's screams subsided as Uriel took the pain from him dutifully.

Uriel cast a stern glance at Gale

Gale: What? He had a SPIDER!!!!

Uriel's stern look took a humorous tone as he quietly laughed.

OOC: Torturous Flame, if this is not of your approval, or if you want a different torture method, i'll gladly change this post.

[Torturous Flame]

ooc: dont care, I couldn't of thought of a better way myself...:) Funny. I would have probobly have him hanging by his legs from Silvio's mouth, and to answer the question forming in your mind. Yes, I am vicious.

"AND he's been getting on my nerves for the past week." Gale smiled and Silvio became human (he had supplied the fire becasue Gale cant conjure it herself, she can only use magic to control it.) "Dropping a large fake spider on me is no way to get on my good side."

[Zen/Sin]

Uriel cringed as the last of the pain resided in his mind. He stood up suddenly, walked past gale, and almost too quietly to hear said "there are worse things to fear than spiders.... Try fearing life."
With that he continued to walk down the halls, down to the school grounds

[Torturous Flame]

Gale nodded sadly. He should try fearing himself for once, THEN see how he looks at life. She sighs walks back into the cafitera to recovor her cappichino, Silvio follows her adn quickly buys another coffie.

[FlySkyHigh]

"And torturing every freshman you don't like is hardly a way to make friends." The Girl (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/FlySkyHigh/Roleplaying/Al3f.jpg) said. She frowned darkly and motioned for the freshman to run, which he did, gratefully. "Honestly, people like you thinking they are so great. So above everyone." She sneered at Gale. "If you weren't part elf, I'd have to challenge you" With that, the girl turned on her heel and strode away calmly

[Torturous Flame]

Gale rasied an eyebrow, she sighed and took a sip of her cappichino. She didnt really touture freshmen.....most of them just choose exactly the wrong moment. Right when she was in a bad mood and really didnt have the self control to keep herself back..they go and try to lift up her shirt or drop a spider on her head. She sighs again and tosses the empty cup in a trashcan.

[The Unwanted]

ooc: I said second highest TF, I know yours is higher, and I said in this thread... FH isn't in this thread!!!!! ... FSH i'm sorry to say that half my hard drive was deleted and most of my photoshop things were basically killed... sorry again.

Cloud then walked up at that moment and looked at Gale strangley.

Cloud: You know you seem different... have you done something with your hair?

She look's up to see a smpider drop from her haid.

Cloud: Umm... your hair is moving now...

[Torturous Flame]

Gale sighs and the spider teleports onto a nearby aracniphobic freshmen. She screams adn runs as Gale laughs to herself. "She's been getting on my nerves to."

[Zen/Sin]

Uriel reluctantly sat down at a table. A freshman thought he looked lonely and tried to sit down next to him, but Uriel drew his wings around the table as a protective barrier.
He stood up slowly. He walked up and ordered a coffee, eager to know what it tasted like. He took a sip and spat it out, throwing it away.

Uriel: Just like people, ruining coffee to get a quick fix of caffiene, spring water please.

He sipped the cold water as he contemplated where Tenchi was.
He had liked Tenchi since he first got here, even though Tenchi had just as much pain as all the others, he seemed kind.

[Torturous Flame]

"You may wanna put some cream in that." Uriel turned and saw Silvio smiling at him. No pain eminated from him besides a light echo that came from his connection with Gale who had a papercut. "I've been told that coffie's better with cream, I dont put cream in it though." He sat acrossed the table from Uriel. Then winced slightly as Gale (who had just gotten up) hit her knee on the table. "The Dragon-rider connecton can often be annoying, Gale's clumsy when not in battle."

[McCloud]

Hioni had been walking around the school for a good fifteen minutes, Celipa waiting patiently in his arms. He stopped walking to check the time, poking his head into an empty classroom to see if he still had time. He sighed and held his daughter out at arms length.

Hioni: Sorry, Cel. I can't find Jenny right now. I guess you can come with me for now... but...

He saw the look in Celipa's eyes when she thought about the alternative: being left alone in Hioni's room with nothing to do.

Celipa: No! I'm goin' with you!

Hioni: Fine... your call, kid.

He began walking again, pulling Celipa to his chest once more.

Hioni: Just... I dunno... stay behind a rock or something. I don't want you to get hurt.

[FlySkyHigh]

Tenchi smiled, his white eyes continuing to gaze up into the sky as he sensed Hioni coming ever closer. "Now Now Hioni, no need to dawdle, I'm sure you're as eager as I am to get this over with" He said, his voice drifting all the way to Hioni. "And I KNOW you can go faster than that..."

[McCloud]

I'm gonna try writing differently for a while and see where it gets me... I mean, I'm a writer after all...

~*~*~

"Hey Tenchi," Hioni said, finally reaching his destination at the chosen battleground. "I was almost late, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, you were," replied Tenchi, sighing with a mixture of annoyance and relief. Then he spotted the little girl in Hioni's arms. "What is that?"

"This is my daughter," Hioni said, somewhat irked at the question. "I couldn't find Jenny, so I figured that I would have her hide behind a rock or something. I mean, is that a problem?"

"It shouldn't be," Tenchi said, calmy choosing his words. "Except that you can't possibly expect a rock to defend her from the fight that's about to take place."

"I know," Hioni sighed, setting down Celipa so she could run around on her own. "I just... maybe we could give her a barrier or something. I can't leave her alone, y'know. She's only a year and nine months."

~*~*~

Figure out a solution yourself! I have one, but only if you can't come up with something.

[FlySkyHigh]

Tenchi smiled and raised his head. "I know a way..." He closed his eyes and the light around him shone brighter for a moment. Suddenly from the ground a pointy-haired silver face appeared. "You called?" The face swivelled and saw Hioni. "Oh! Hello boy." Shaken smiled and rose from the ground, until his entire body was up. He chuckled. "I believe that I was called, but what for I am as of yet unsure."

"We need your help" Tenchi said. "Could you take care of Hioni's daughter wh ile he and I have ourselves a little duel?" Shaken blinked in surprise. "He has a daughter" Tenchi waved his hand in annoyance. "Yes..." Shaken shrugged. "Honestly, children these days, won't even tell their own teachers events of significance." Shaken walked over and gently took Celipa into his massive hands, smiling. "Hello little girl, ready to watch your daddy and Tenchi fight?"

Tenchi smiled and turned. "That's taken care of." He stretched a little. "Where is the Muramasa? Won't you need it?"

[McCloud]

"Well," Hioni let the word hang in the air for a moment. "I couldn't find Tej either... and he has my sword... so I guess I'll just improvise for now."

He smirked and Tenchi knew that something was up. Hioni adopted his most basic Shinsoku stance, the kind that is taught first to beginners. His body was bent over almost double, with his back parallel to the ground. His left arm held out behind him as if there were a weapon ready in his hand, and the right was set to draw the invisible blade. The chain that was wrapped around his body circled around his right arm until the bladed tip was in the palm of his hand.

"Improvise," Hioni repeated. "Something I should know how to do if I'm gonna be a teacher."

[FlySkyHigh]

Tenchi smiled. "Very well" He said, leaving Nitelm in its sheath and bringing his hand away. He smiled and assumed the exact same stance, except he altered it slightly. He bent a little further down, and the hand that was meant to be holding the blade, was laying against his chest.

"Are you ready my friend?" Tenchi asked, Hioni nodded in response. And with that, they both launched towards each other. They vanished from sight, and the air hummed with the sounds of their movement. Shaken's expert eyes easily kept up, but he knew that soon even he would have trouble following.

A large explosion emitted from the center of the clearing, making Shaken stagger and step back, beginning to move away. There in the center of the circle stood Hioni and Tenchi, face to face. Hioni had lashed out with his chain, only to have it blocked by a solid sword make completely of light. Hioni blinked at this. Tenchi smirked. "I finally managed to master light control" He chuckled and vanished, Hioni following suit.

[The Unwanted]

Cloud was allready at the scene of the battle.

Cloud: Hioni, if you want a blade you can use mine... but if you use it be careull, it's hard to control and it can be heavy to people not trained to use it!

Cloud awaited Hioni's answer.

[FlySkyHigh]

OOC: How exactly are you already there considering the only people who knew wehre it was were Hioni and Tenchi hm?

[Torturous Flame]

ooc: hehehe...

Gale appears next to Cloud. "How in the seven relms of hell did you beat me here?? I had to search everyone in this school's mind until I came acrossed a chipmunk by accident!" before Cloud can answer she simply dissapears with a roll of her eyes. Appearing behind a barrier in one of the surrounding tree's.

[The Unwanted]

ooc: I... umm... he... "It's just one of natures things, like why the lines on the road are yellow, and why tree's are green... just one of natures things..." That should answer your question FSH and if it didn't... read it again!

[McCloud]

Hioni would have answered Cloud, if he had heard the question in the first place. Tenchi and Hioni were moving at such speeds that time around them seemed to slow down. By the time Cloud had finished his question, Hioni had lashed out at least four hundred and twenty-six times with his chain, only to have it blocked every single time by Tenchi. When the two reappeared to take a brief second to breathe freely, the rest of the battle caught up with them. Shockwaves and clashes were heard and felt all over the enclosed area, sending everyone unprotected by Shaken off their feet.

"The hell was that," Cloud yelled, staggering to his feet.

"That was Shinsoku at its finest," Shaken said, glancing at Cloud. "I suggest you and the lady stay near my side, if you enjoy your bodies in the shape they are."

Without another word, Cloud and Gale stood on either side of Shaken. Celipa, however, was staring fixededly at the light-made sword in Tenchi's hand. She watched it move up and down in Tenchi's grip, and blinked several times when it vanished, as if coming out of a trance.

Hioni had sped out of sight as well, meeting Tenchi in mid-lunge. He had swung down on Hioni's head, only for Hioni to wrap the chain around the entire length of Tenchi's light blade. He jerked it out of Tenchi's grip and aimed a well-placed kick to Tenchi's stomach. However, Tenchi caught the foot as it rushed for his middle and managed to block the destructive force behind it. He braced himself and dug in deep to the ground, being puched in at least a foot by the force of the blow. He reached out for his sword and made it dissapate, Hioni's chain closed in on the air and it snaked around his arm. The chain began growing longer and longer until it was wrapped entirely around Hioni's arms, crossing behind his back. He drew back a metal-covered fist and drove it into a new blade that Tenchi had formed, quite literally, at light-speed. However, this didn't stop Hioni's assault. He began beating against Tenchi's blade as hard as he could, still moving at the speed Shinsoku had granted him. Tenchi was forced further and further into the ground, but he continued to hold strong against the ferocity of Hioni's attack.

"Why did you call this fight," Hioni asked in his mind, hoping that Tenchi would hear it. Verbal words were useless at this point, their voices unable to keep up with their ears.

[FlySkyHigh]

"It's quite simple really" Tenchi responded in time. "I was sick of being in your shadow." With that, Tenchi stopped mid-stride, catching Hioni off guard and forcing him to brake hard. Tenchi then spun to the side, lashing out with his right arm, only to have it blocked by a chain-clad fist. Then, to Hioni's surprise, he spun in the opposite direction and lashed out with his left, which had a newly materialized blade in it. This attack caught him hard in the side and sent him flying off into the woods, Tenchi quickly following.

They began weaving in and out of the trees faster than even Shaken's eyes could follow now, explosions and shockwaves following in their wake. Everywhere they fought, flashes of light and sound could be heard, but nothing was able to be seen of the actual combatants.

At one point, Hioni sent out the chain and it caught Tenchi by the foot, pulling him off of his feet. Tenchi lanced down with his blades, holding him mid air. He pulled one blade out as Hioni advanced, and tapped it against the ground, using his power to extend it and launch him away like a pole-vault. Hioni followed, leaping among the branches with nimbleness and grace. Tenchi landed neatly on his left foot and suddenly began spinning at Shinsoku speed, his blades lashing out on all sides, cutting down many a tree as he created a vortex. Hioni was sucked in and was assaulted by the trees, but he managed to fend them off with his fists.

The vortex calmed and Hioni landed, but Tenchi was nowhere to be seen. Hioni opened his Shingan to find where he was hiding, only to find him nowhere in sight. Hioni glanced up just in time to see Tenchi come crashing down on him with both fists, driving him into the ground up to his chest. Tenchi panted lightly. "Damn..."

[FlySkyHigh]

((Sorry guys, dunno where McCloud is...))

[McCloud]

((Oh, he died. I assure you.))

Tenchi jumped back after smashing Hioni into the ground just in time. A blast of fire shot out from Hioni's body that surrounded him for several seconds. Hioni was able to climb out of the hole he was forced into and return to his fighting stance. Tenchi landed gracefully and immediately dropped into his own pose, identical to Hioni's.

Time around the two seemed to catch up to the combatants, and the effects of the fight had made themselves known all at once. There was a massive resounding shockwave and the arena was all but decimated. However, this didn't seem to matter since the place was repairing itself. The ground was no longer charred and the trees were back in place. Gouge marks that were originally placed throughout the area were filling back up. It wasn't long before the whole place was as it had been before the fight.

"Event cancellation," Hioni whispered, impressed as he looked around. "You clever bastard. How did you manage to get a place like this?"

[FlySkyHigh]

Tenchi smirked as he braced himself for the next rounds of attacks. "Simple, I pulled some strings higher up and called in a favor or two." Tenchi called up another two swords. "I figured it would be best so that way we wouldn't cause too much damage..." Tenchi chuckled as once more they blurred into oblivion.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a second Tenchi appeared, and Hioni assumed this was the afterimage technique, and lunged at the original. Tenchi smiled as Hioni was struck from behind by a very real light blade. Hioni turned to look at the second Tenchi, and watched it grin and vanish. "Ziret Katen" Tenchi said, making a sign.

"That was another of my spells, which you have as of yet to fully comprehend." Tenchi continued to stride ahead, leading Hioni on a merry chase. "Shorak" Tenchi said, and vanished. Hioni stopped short and looked around, and once more opened his Shingan, easily locating him and lashing out with his chain.

Tenchi smiled as he reached out his hand, and clasped the chain. "Onaki" Tenchi said, and water poured forth from his hand, stretching out across the chain and heading directly for Hioni, wrapping around his arm and crushing down on it with immense force.

[McCloud]

Hioni looked at the water from Tenchi's hand and blinked a few times. He was stunned for a moment, then he lowered his head and smirked.

"Water should work," he said quietly. "Water is supposed to be my biggest weakness. But..."

He started growling softly, trying to accumulate energy and focus. The water stopped trying to crush him and simply spilled off his arm and into the ground. Hioni looked up at Tenchi, his evil grin in full force. It seemed like he was sweating a little, too.

"It isn't a problem," he said. "Now what?"

[FlySkyHigh]

"Now it's time we stopped playing around..." Tenchi said, holding out a hand. "Ziret." He muttered, and in his hand appeared the Muramasa. "Here" He said, tossing it to Hioni with a flick of his wrist. "It's time we stop playing with toys and get down to the real fighting." Tenchi's eyes narrowed with intensity and drew Nitelm with a flourish, the light glinting off the blade as it buzzed through the air. He spun Nitelm in a slight twirl, ending with the blade pointing directly at Hioni's chest. "You know as well as I that neither of us have been taking this fight to the maximum level, we've simply been toying around with our weaker abilities and weapons." Tenchi's aura flared as he let some of his power out. "It's time we stop holding back, now fight me!" Tenchi roared, lunging forward and slashing down double-handed.

Hioni stepped back neatly, turning in-place and drawing Muramasa, Tenchi blocking to the side with Nitelm and then kicking off. Using Muramasa as a balance point, He spun up nad over to the other side, knowing it was hard for Hioni to slash outward with his right hand. He slashed in at Hioni's neck, only to find Hioni had ducked low and was coming up fast. Hioni landed a swift series of Shinsoku Punches, sending Tenchi hurtling through the air. Tenchi came to his senses mid-flight and flipped, neatly stopping himself on a branch and flying back towards Hioni. Instead of unleashing his normal shockwave, he grabbed his sheath and double-wielded them, slashing out with both and sending out shockwaves of energy at Hioni, Hioni having to block and dodge quite quickly in order to keep up.

Tenchi smiled as he landed, vanishing once more into a flurry of Shinsoku strikes using both his sheath and sword. "Shinsoku 7th!" He said as they came to a standstill, Tenchi holding Hioni's blade between his sheath and sword. "Shielded for the Insane!" He broke away as Hioni mimicked his stance, making them both fight with 7th. They launched forward again, blade on sheath, sheath on sheath, blade on blade, the clashes were loud and violent, but none watching but Shaken could even begin to comprehend the speed and power that was going into these attacks. Gale, Cloud and Celipa were all still being shielded by Shaken, although even he was having to use significant amounts of energy to keep up a proper barrier.

Every couple of seconds, the forces that had been colliding during the Shinsoku attacks would suddenly explode outwards as time tried to catch up to the two combatants. It would probably have better luck winning the lotto. Tenchi and Hioni kept on fighting, both not changing their blades to the next level, continuing to fight merely with plain power. After 20 minutes of consecutive Shinsoku attacks, Tenchi and Hioni came to a sudden halt. Both were panting with exhaustion, the speed of the battle finally catching up to their bodies and reminding them how much energy they were using. Tenchi closed his eyes and a light blue aura surrounded him, a similar effect happening to Hioni, but the light was red. They both stood taller after a few moments of this, seeming greatly refreshed. "Time to take it to the next level" Tenchi said, holding Nitelm up. "Nitelm... Flash!" He roared, the blade coming to life with a shockwave of energy. Hioni nimbly blocked it with Muramasa, the blade remaining the same. Tenchi pointed the now live Nitelm at Hioni. "Choose it's next form!"

[McCloud]

"Don't yell," Hioni said calmly, twirling the hilt of his blade around. "It's been months since I held this sword. Just a moment..."

Tenchi nodded and Hioni closed his eyes briefly. The world around Hioni seemed to fade away, dissolving as if dust in the wind. All that was left were two people standing in the black void of the Muramasa's blade. Hioni and the swordsmith Muramasa were standing across from each other, unblinking.

"Nokosu," Muramasa acknowledged, nodding his head and crossing his arms.

"Muramasa," Hioni replied. "How've you been?"

"With that idiot Flameheart," Muramasa asked. "He hasn't used this sword all that much."

"Pity," Hioni said with a sigh. "How does teaming back up with me sound, at least once more?"

"I'd be more than happy to," Muramasa smirked, holding out his hand. Hioni took it in his own and opened his eyes. The scene reappeared before him and Hioni smirked at Tenchi, who looked like he was waiting for a while. Shinsoku would do that to you. Hioni moved his free hand to the base of the Muramasa's blade and stood ready to charge, the tip pointed at Tenchi's chest.

"Reforge, Muramasa," he yelled, running his fingers along the blade. "Become Mugenjin!"

There was a flash of light that emanated from the blade. It faded and Hioni swung the sword around, smiling at the sound of the blade cutting through the air. Then he slashed the tip of the blade against the ground, and the spot he struck burst into flame.

"Be ready for me," Hioni said, adopting one of Shinsoku's defensive stances. "I'm ready for you."

~*~*~

I hope you know what this sword does, FlySkyHigh. *evilgrin*

[FlySkyHigh]

OOC: Oh, i know well the abilities of that blade.
~~~

Tenchi smiled. "Oh, Mugenjin eh? Interesting choice." Tenchi chuckled and held out one open hand. "Onaki." He muttered. Moisture poured forth from his hand, wrapping it in a layer of water. "This should help me counter it." He said with a smirk. "Now, let us begin." Tenchi said, lunging forward with Nitelm. As the swords clashed, flames erupted from Mugenjin, Tenchi throwing forth a shield of water to block the blade. "It's a powerful sword, but you forgot I have multiple talents." Tenchi leaned forward and gripped Mugenjin with his water-covered hand, the water sliding down the blade and covering it entirely.

"Let's see how you fare without it's abilities..." He said, laughing as they went into Shinsoku movements once more. Hioni continually tried to bring out the flames of Mugenjin, only to have the water surge and put them out. Eventually, Hioni got sick of it and lashed out with his chain, catching Nitelm and holding Tenchi in place, giving him a moment to concentrate. He finally managed to focus enough, the water falling away from the blade.

"Homura Dama!" Hioni said, the blade igniting as he slashed at Tenchi, Tenchi narrowly avoiding the flames, but wincing in pain as the blade came down across his chest, leaving a gaping wound. "Damn" Tenchi said softly, pain etched across his features. "Payback time." He said, vanishing from even Hioni's sight. "Heavenly Flash, Nitelm!" Hioni heard, turning just in time to dodge a strike from Nitelm's second form. Tenchi frowned and threw his shield out, the shield spinning around and wrapping Hioni up in it's chain. Tenchi lunged forward once more, running Hioni through with his bastard sword. Hioni looked down in shock as the blade pierced his chest, going completely through and coming out the other side of him.

Tenchi withdrew the blade, pulling the shield away and stepping back with a smirk. Hioni held up his hands to the grievous wound. "You.... you..." "Stabbed you?" Tenchi replied. Hioni nodded numbly. Even as they spoke, something strange was happening. The wound Tenchi had inflicted was filling with flame. Tenchi hadn't noticed, however, he was too busy basking in his own glory. Hioni looked up, his eyes alight with flames. "Now you've done it..." He said, the flames spreading slowly across his chest and stretching down to his waist. The orange-red flames burned with intensity as they consumed his demonic shell. The flames burned down his arms and legs, reaching the very tips of his fingers and toes, until every centimeter of his being was wreathed in flames.

Suddenly, with extreme force, his outer shell blew away, leaving there his Celestial form.

~~~
OOC: I'll leave it to you to describe it.

[McCloud]

Hioni stood straight and tall, his Celestial body emanating heat and fire like never before. Something was different about this time. He had managed to transform just before that fatal blow took effect, and the brush with death seemed to have given the fire new life.

"That was close," he muttered. "Another second and I would have died. I'm not quite ready for that yet."

He glanced at Tenchi, then at his weapon. He ran two fingers along the blade and it changed back into the Muramasa it once was. Then, without bothering to look up, Hioni vanished. Tenchi smirked and thought he knew what was coming, and decided to speed up. However, it seemed like Hioni was moving at an even faster pace than before. Tenchi took his own speed up one more notch and finally caught up with Hioni.

'What caused him to speed up so much,' Tenchi wondered as he watched Hioni, neither one moving. Suddenly, Tenchi's eyes widened and he pulled Nitelm up just in time to block a shockwave that was launched by Hioni. He had fired Shinsoku's Second at the demon to counter the attack that was flying at him. However, the remaining force pushed Tenchi backward nonetheless. Without giving Tenchi time to think, Hioni darted foward and jumped into the air. Tenchi followe him carefully, but suddenly found himself flying backward again, this time hitting the trunk of a tree hard enough to shatter it. Tenchi swore at his own screw-up and got to his feet.

'Too fast to put up a guard,' he thought. 'That attack of his put a dent in my aura... I think that if it had gone through...'

Suddenly, Tenchi's legs gave out from under him and he collapsed, coughing up blood. His body slowed down to regular time, and Hioni followed suit. Hioni cracked his knuckles and waited for Tenchi to get up.

"The... the Eighth," Tenchi gasped, trying to focus his energy to mending the spot that had been hit. "You shattered my energy just long enough to let a second punch in..."

"Being able to break through the resistance is easy for us," Hioni nodded. "That wouldn't have worked if we were fighting at this speed. I learned about it from Takumi."

Tenchi looked at ap the sound of the name. Motosai Takumi, the first master of Shinsoku, and its creator.

"She told me about how energy pouring from the body makes a kind of invisible suit of armor, even while we're unconcious," he explained. "When one learns how to keep up with Shinsoku, the armor naturally speeds up as well. However, the Eighth has the ability to attack once, breaking the armor, and a second time in the brief period before it rejuvenates. If I attacked you now, you would only feel a regular punch which, coming from me, would still hurt."

By now, Tenchi was back on his feet. He pointed Nitelm at Hioni's forehead.

"You talk too much," he said before lunging.

[FlySkyHigh]

He lunged forward, only to be soundly thrashed and thrown down once more. "Great..." He said, wiping the blood from his lips and getting to his knees. He smirked. "Seems I've underestimated your Celestial form..." Even as he said this, his body began to quiver and glow with extreme force. The light spread out from him, shooting out in many different directions, revealing hundreds of chains stretching in all directions. "Amatsu Seichuu Kusari" He said, motioning to the chains. "Heavenly Restriction Chains." He smiled, standing up. "I had these placed upon me so I wouldn't destroy everything around me..."

He reached forward and grasped the chain attached to the center of his chest. "Release!" He yelled, snapping the chain in his grip. As he did this, all the other chains attached to him snapped and dissolved, his locked power exploding outward, destroying many trees around him. He stood up, his body glowing vibrantly. "Now, for the first time... I can go all out..." He said, stretching slightly. With that, he vanished. Hioni followed, to find Tenchi was easily moving as fast as he was.

Tenchi turned with a smile and slashed out, clashing with Hioni at speeds completely unreal to everyone around them.

Everyone, that is, but the recent arrival. "We have a problem..." A distinctly feminine voice said from behind Shaken. He blinked and turned around slightly. "Takumi?" Motosai chuckled. "Yeah big boy it's me... Listen, we need to clear this place out and fast." "Why?" Takumi's eyes darkened. "If they continue at this rate, this entire area will be destroyed." Shaken's eyes widened in shock. "You don't think..." "Yes, I DO think..." She said, her eyes glimmering. "You know what this will turn into." Shaken nodded and grabbed the students and Celipa, moving far away with them.

Tenchi and Hioni continued to speed up until the very fabric of time seemed to slow to a stop around them.

[McCloud]

The two combatants, each nearing the peak of their power, had attained such a speed that even Takumi and Shaken couldn't keep up with them anymore. As they were fleeing the arena, Celipa tried to get a view of her foster father.

"Where'd daddy go," she asked quietly.

"Daddy will be right back, little girl," Takumi replied, trying to console the toddler. "He's just having a... a talk with a friend of his."

Meanwhile, Hioni had begun the assault on Tenchi, leaping foward with his blade held behind him. He started with a left jab, which was followed through with his chain. Tenchi avoided the punch with ease and brought Nitelm up in front of him to stop the point of the chain. The chain wrapped around Nitelm as a snake would and Hioni pulled. But the blade simply phased through the chain as if it weren't there. Hioni, caught off guard by this, was put off balance by the sudden pull and staggered backward.

"Got you," Tenchi said as he took advantage of the opportunity. He lashed out at Hioni's midsection with his own sword, only to have it blocked by Hioni's katana. The Celestial took the force from Tenchi's attack and flew off to one side. He skidded to a halt and regained his composure in time to find his friend already on the assault. He brought Nitelm crashing down above him and Hioni pulled Muramasa up in time to defend. At the moment of contact, Hioni spun his blade around so it was on top of Tenchi's and smashed it into the ground. Tenchi was jerked foward by the maneuver and found Hioni's firey leg had hit home in Tenchi's stomach. The force of the kick knocked the wind out of Tenchi, and knocked the Tenchi into the air. He coughed once, giving Hioni a split second to crouch down and spring into the air. He tried to hit Tenchi in the same spot again with the hilt of his blade, but Tenchi curved in the air and Hioni's strike hit nothing but the air.

"Open," Tenchi said with a smirk as Hioni, defenseless, flew past him. He used Nitelm to fire off Shinsoku's Second at point-blank range. The attack sliced Hioni cleanly in two. The halves fell to the ground, disappearing as they slowed down. Hoever, Tenchi thought something was off. It took him a second too long to realize that Hioni was behind him and launching the first Shinsoku strike. Tenchi leapt to the side, a sudden burst of speed granted to him by using a bolt of light as propulsion, and only the bottom of his foot was caught in the vaccum of air. Tenchi whirled around and stood ready, his breathing slightly erratic. He had just had his own brush with death, and from one of his best friends.

"Is he trying to kill me," was all that he could think about as Hioni lunged again.

[FlySkyHigh]

Tenchi grinned to himself. "Good, about time he took this seriously" He thought, and lunged forwards once more. Hioni came in towards him, slashing out with both chain and Muramasa, only to have the chain countered deftly by Tenchi's shield. Tenchi threw his shield forward, the shield spinning in a vortex movement and trapping the chain in it's own chain. Tenchi countered the strike of Muramasa with a light blade he had materialized in mid-air, then stabbed forward with Nitelm.

Hioni swerved off to the side just enough to get out of the way of the strike, only to have Tenchi turn the blade and heave, sending Hioni hurtling through the air and crashing into the ground with a giant crash. Tenchi lunged after him, hoping to get him while he was down, only to find no Hioni around. Tenchi glanced back and forth nervously, then glanced up in time to see Hioni attempting to do what Tenchi had done earlier. "Nice try." Tenchi said with a grin, holding up his shield. Hioni hit the shield hard with both feet in a devastating kick, pressing Tenchi into the ground up to his knees. Tenchi laughed and heaved, throwing Hioni into the air and off-guard.

Tenchi lunged up, throwing lances of light with his mind and slashing out with Nitelm. Flames blazed forth from Hioni, warding off the spears of light and lashing back with his chain to defend hiself from Nitelm. They both landed, slowing down momentarily. "You realize what this battle will end with, don't you?" Tenchi said with a chuckle. "You'll have to use the Katana no Hurricane sometime..." Hioni shook his head. "You know how I feel about that move." "Then I'll just have to beat you until you have no other choice!" Tenchi roared, starting the battle anew.

Tenchi threw his shield out, the razor edges forcing Hioni to block furiously as it spun at him. While he was distracted by this, Tenchi was calling water out of the air and forming lances of light, covering them with the water he had created. He smiled, and threw forth the hundred water-lances he had formed at Hioni, following closely with a double-handed strike from Nitelm.

Hioni's flames burned furiously, turning the water to steam before it ever came near him, and his chain and blade swinging speedily to deflect the light. Hioni, however, was far too distracted by all the weapons coming at him to notice the oncoming attack from Tenchi. Tenchi swung hard with all his might, cleaving into Hioni's shoulder, and both of them hurtling down to the Earth, creating a large crater upon Impact.

Tenchi smiled and removed the blade from his shoulder with a sickening crack. "Now Hioni, what will you do!" He said, raising his sword for the finishing blow to Hioni's skull.

[McCloud]

"This."

There was an unbearable clanging noise as the Muramasa and Nitelm met. Tenchi stared in shock as Hioni simply batted away Nitelm with the Muramasa held in one hand. The sword was almost wrenched from Tenchi's grasp, but he managed to hold on. The angel darted back in time to avoid a deadly blow to the chest. He saw that Hioni, in his Celestial form, was pushing Tenchi back using his left arm. His right arm was pretty much useless after Tenchi slashed through his shoulder.

"How in the hell," Tenchi started to ask, but he was cut off by a sudden assault. Hioni had launched foward and used Shinsoku's Third with only one hand. For some reason, however, the move seemed to have a greater speed to it and much more massive amount of force behind each strike. Tenchi managed to dodge most of the slashes by just a paper's width, although he kept getting pulled back by the vaccum of air that was created each time Hioni swung his sword. Just as Hioni was ending his move with one last blow, he vanished into the air once more and immediately reappeared behind Tenchi, delivering a powerful slash to his open back. Tenchi fell to his knees and the time around the two combatants sped back up to the norm. Hioni stood in front of Tenchi, patching the wound on his shoulder.

"How," he said, gasping for breath. "Where did... that speed... style... how...?"

"The Muramasa has a second function," Hioni said, twirling the blade around, getting Tenchi's blood off of it. "Over the vast many years that this blade has been in use, it has changed hands several times. And each person has left an imprint on the blade. What I did was ask Muramasa if I could use the imprints, and it let me. This sword gave me the strength and experience of everyone who ever layed hands on it, although that won't last much longer. Now get up, Tenchi."

Hioni flexed his right arm and rotated the shoulder that had been slashed. He had sewn the wound up with fire, and sealed it over. Then he placed the Muramasa back in his right hand and stood ready to continue, his blade pointed at the ground.

"You're stronger than that," he said as he sped up once more. "Now get up and fight."

[FlySkyHigh]

You wimp.

Tenchi's eyes snapped open.

Get up and fight, you worthless child.

Tenchi's eyes narrowed. "Where do you get off calling me worthless?" He shot back at Nitelm. Easy, because you're LOSING to the man YOU challenged. Tenchi huffed. "He's stronger than me, and that sword..." Stop making excuses! If you think the sword is the problem, let me give you my strength.

Tenchi's body began vibrating, almost humming as the light around him grew brighter, and brighter, until Hioni was forced to cover his eyes. "Nitelm... Thank you..." Tenchi stood, turning and holding Nitelm up, the shield withering away as all of Nitelm's energy was focused into the blade. "Now Hioni. It's time for this to end."

Suddenly, Tenchi's energy began whirling around the blade at an alarming speed, until the energy itself was compressed into the blade like a vacuum. The blade glowed brightly. "Looks relatively silly no?" Tenchi said chuckling. "But you know well what I just did..." Tenchi swung Nitelm lightly. "Now use it!"

~~~
OOC: Note: Italics = Nitelm talking, Italics inside quotes = Tenchi talking to Nitelm.

[McCloud]

Hioni saw the massive increase of energy as if Tenchi himself had grown in size. He took a step back and watched in a mix of awe and suprise as Tenchi's aura continued to skyrocket. He let out a soft sigh and calmed down somewhat.

"That's incredible," Hioni said as his blue eyes started to flicker. The color changed from blue to a jet black. The darkness began to spread from his eyes to encompass his face, then his neck and shoulders. The black flames mingled with his red until it covered his entire body. Hioni's own aura shot up as well, although it wasn't quite as huge as Tenchi's.

"One more step then," Hioni said quietly as Tenchi waited. The shadow of a person made its appearence known to Hioni. It was the figure of a man who carried a huge hammer at his side.

"You sure about this," the man asked. "The sword won't break, but you might."

"I'll be fine, Muramasa," Hioni replied, placing his free hand at the base of the sword. Slowly, painfully, the demon ran his hand down the length of the blade, leaving behind a trail of blood and black fire. The blood faded into the blade and the fires swirled around like a cyclone, drawing in the black fire from Hioni's body. When all the black fire had moved from Hioni's body to the blade, there was a resounding boom and a sudden rush of wind that forced Tenchi to take several steps back to maintain balance.

"What the," Tenchi was astonished at the huge outpouring of energy that was brought forth from Hioni's weapon. "What in the world did you do?"

"This is my Katana no Hurricane," Hioni responded simply. "It combines the soul of the blade with my own soul, represented by the Namida no Hurricane. You asked me to up the ante, and I did."

[FlySkyHigh]

OOC: FInishing Post.
~~~

Tenchi smiled, his image the quintessence of the holiest of men. "Very well, then let me match your ante." He said, driving His sword into the ground, but withholding the energy. He pulled one hand up and bit his thumb, blood beading from the small cut he had made. He pressed the blood against the base of his hilt, smiling. "Anyerakinosho." He said. Nitelm began to glow an angry red as the blood he had placed on the hilt began to multiply, and pour out over the blade like a fountain of blood.

"The final spell." He said simply, pulling up his sword, the blade tinged a dark red from the blood. "It will take my energy and increase the force a hundred fold, but for one strike only." Tenchi grinned as he raised his sword to ready it. "You know what that means." Hioni nodded, the black flames flickering sinisterly. "Of course, that this is the finishing of the fight."

Both Tenchi and Hioni vanished into Shinsoku steps, the ground beneath them lighting aflame from the sheer friction. Both circled and circled, neither making a move to advance, until they began climbing the very trees, still circling. They reached the top and came to a sudden stop on facing off branches. "Are you ready to finish this?" Tenchi said, his voice cold and flat. " I will not hold back, even if it means killing you." Hioni did not bother to respond, merely nodding.

"Good." Tenchi said drawing his blade up and leaping high into the air, Hioni following close behind. They soared high up into the sky until they blotted out the very sun. Motosai looked up into the sky, her eyes widening with horror as she realized what was about to happen. "Oh no!" She roared, grabbing Shaken and vanishing as she took him and their wards far away from the area as fast as she possibly could go.

As Tenchi and Hioni came towards each other for the final clash, it seemed that time had slowed down to a stop, and that it would take an eternity for the final blow to finally arrive. However, it would not happen, and the blades crashed into each other with the force of several tactical nukes being detonated at the same time.

Hioni and Tenchi's life forces vanished from all forms of possible sense or radar, as the shockwave raced out from the clash, decimating the forest and a good section of the school. Student all over the school were scrambling for cover as it seemed the very world was coming apart around them. Trees, boulders, large amounts of water, all were falling from the sky and causing mass devastation.

Very slowly, calm began to be restored over the next few days, yet no one seemed to think about Tenchi or Hioni, until some students began to note that they were missing. Hikoru noted it with alarm, as he realized he couldn't detect their mental signatures anywhere nearby. He took a squad of concerned students out into the woods to began looking, and several hours later stumbled onto something very alarming.

In the middle of what had once been a clearing, was an immense crater. In the middle of the crater, lay two forms. Hikoru plunged down into the crater, being closely followed by Shaken and Motosai who had just shown up moments before. There lay Tenchi and Hioni, around thirty feet apart. They got to Hioni first, Motosai and Shaken's expert eyes quickly noting signs of life. He was breathing, but lightly, and he was heavily wounded. He had reverted to his demonic form, but it was easy to tell that he had at least 50 broken bones, and wounds that would take months to heal. Even with magical healing abilities, these wounds seemed to resist magic for some reason.

After strapping Hioni to a litter, and having some of the stronger students move him back to the school to be taken care of, Shaken, Hikoru and Motosai moved on to take a look at Tenchi. Tenchi, however, had not gotten off so easily. By Motosai's count, approximately 100 bones in his body were completely shattered beyond any hope of repair. Not only that, but his vital signs revealed that he was not long for this world. Gashes and wounds all across his body had let blood pour forth, staining the earth around him red.

Tenchi's eyes flickered open unsteadily. "Hello?" Tenchi whispered, his voice raspy and his eyes cloudy. "Hey man... Hold on..." Hikoru said, tears appearing in his eyes. Shadow stood at the edge of the crater, tears streaming down her face at the sight of her love. "Tenchi!" She called, running towards him, only to be stopped by Shaken before she could reach him. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! LET ME GO!" She screamed, fighting against him. He shook his head slowly. "He is already in bad enough condition. If you go there now you may just break him accidentally."

Shadow's eyes widened in shock. "You mean..." "Yes Shadow... he's dying..." Shadow suddenly went limp in his arms, and Shaken realized with mild annoyance that she had fainted. Tenchi smiled weakly, watching the whole encounter. "It is better this way." He said softly, beckoning Shaken to him. "This way, she won't be awake when I go." "Don't say that Tenchi." Shaken said, reaching forward to pat his head but pulling away. "You'll live through this." "Bull." Tenchi replied with a laugh, his laugh receeding into pained coughing, blood freckling his lips. "You know as well as I that I couldn't even hope to be moved now, it's only a matter of time."

Shaken nodded slowly, tears beginning to form before sliding down his cheeks. "Tenchi..." "I know..." Tenchi said, attempting to nod but wincing at the pain the effort caused him. His eyes began to cloud over even further. "Just tell my son... I love him." "Your son?" Shaken said, blinking. Tenchi laughed one final time. "You'll understand." He said, closing his eyes slowly as the last of his vital signs faded to nothing.

~~~
OOC: Alas, the loss of Courageous Tenchi.

[McCloud]

"Hey, old man," Hioni was laying flat on his back in a place with no light. His eyes were closed, although he knew that the soul of his blade was there. "What happened to me?"

"You're out cold," replied Muramasa with a sigh. "But you're still alive. Which I suppose is a good thing. I'm kinda fond of ya, kid."

"Thanks," Hioni chuckled at the comment. "I guess. But... what do you mean by 'alive?' Did something happen to Tenchi?"

The old man in the sword didn't say anything. He just looked down at the demon who continued to lay there motionless.

"He's still alive too," Hioni asked, his eyes still closed. "Right?"

Still Muramasa didn't say a word. Then the truth came crashing down on Hioni. He opened his eyes and the world around him came into focus. He was laying in a bed of the school's infirmary, about eighty-five percent of his body covered in bandages. He couldn't move so much as a finger on his hand due to how drained he was. He rolled his eyes left and right, trying to see if Tenchi was next to his bed.

"Ten... chi...," Hioni managed to call out in no more than a whisper. "See... ya."

[Torturous Flame]

ooc: To bad....aww man *shakes bowl* popcorns gone...


Gale stood on a nearby tower were she had watched the battle after it had become to dangerous to watch up close. Her sheild slwoly faded as she looked down over the site of the battle. THe relaxed smile that had taken residence on her face a few months ago was gone, it was cold and expressionless. Her eyes were the same but were oddly glassy, as if she was about to cry. "See ya around Tenchi, I....I'll miss you......" she whispered. Gale turned.

"May good fortune rule your afterlife

May peace live within your soul

And may your passing bring your spirit into paradise

I say this for nobody loved you more than we

We will miss you Hikari Tenchi"

Gales voice whispered this into the wind as she teleported away adn her body faded into the abyss before being redirected to her destination.

[FlameHeart]

Death: Well, he aint goin' to hell. That's for sure.

Death rose from the ground near Tenchi. He got on one knee and surveyed the fallen angel.

Death: He died with a smile on his face... He was a true warrior. You know... even though he was a useless angel... I always viewed him as an equal. I guess now we'll never know.

Tej and Jenny slowly stroll into the crater. Jenny's face was hidden in Tej's shirt as tears flowed from the shirt to the cold, dead ground. Tej's eyes were shaded from his hair.

Tej: You were a fierce one Tenchi. I wanted to beat the crap outta ya before this happened.

Jenny managed to chock back her tears for a few seconds.

Jenny: I'll miss you Tenchi...

She then broke back into tears. Tej patted her back as he bid his final farewell.

Tej: See you in a thousand years buddy.

[FlySkyHigh]

Shadow lay in Shaken's arms, still deep in sweet unconciousness. "It is indeed better this way." A cool voice said from Shaken's elbow. He turned his head to see Cedric, Gust and Hikoru all standing there. Cedric lowered his gaze to look at Tenchi's smiling face. "He was a strong one, fierce and true, and may he be accepted with open arms and trumpets of pride when he arrives home at Heaven's gates." Gust and Hikoru nodded numbly, Hikoru's eyes dull, and Gust's eyes looking rather wet, as if he was ready to cry.

Many of the students who had collected could hear the wails of Fira and Frost as they cried their hearts out nearby for the loss of their beloved friend. "Tenchi!!!" Fira cried. "Don't leave us!" Frost added, tears streaming down her face and falling to the ground as shining beads of ice.

Tsuchi walked down into the crater, his footsteps soft and silent as he padded across the earth. He sat down cross-legged by Tenchi's body, his hands fluttering into a series of signs. He lay his hands on the ground, and the earth around Tenchi began to rise, forming a solid block of stone around him. Tsuchi poured more chakra into it, and the earth condensed until it seemed to be made of silver. He reached out his energy to spread across the crater, condensing the ground into solid silver. Another block raised up in front of Tenchi's grave. Words began to become etched into the Silver.

The brightest of stars,
fallen here for all to see.
May he rest in eternal peace.

Tsuchi nodded in satisfaction, standing and bowing to the grave, his mask hiding the tears streaming down his face.

From the edge of the clearing, two voices raised high in pure song of sorrow. Some students looked across to see Cross and Crucifix, hands clasped before them as they raised their voices in the angelic song of goodbye. Their clear voices stretched across the length of the forest, reaching even out of the forest, around the school, and in several miles all directions. For twenty minutes their voices moved hearts to tears, until they ceased singing as they came to the end. Cross broke into tears, Crucifix remaining stolid, crossing himself. "Goodbye... brother."

Thunder sat before the grave, his forehead pressed against the ground. "Tenchi, you taught me to live on, regardless of my appearance or my freakish arm." Thunder's tears slide across the silver. "I will remember you until I join you, Sensei."

Then, as if by magic, a bright light shone from a spot on the grave, blinding the people close-by. When they could see again, Nitelm sat atop the grave. And it was not the blade, but the form only Tenchi could see. His hair was long and golden, his face pure and bright. His eyes were the clearest blue, and his body was slim, yet gave off the impression of immeasurable strength. The clear eyes looked at those assembled. "I, am Nitelm." Many students blinked in confusion, and those that understood reeled in alarm. "I am here, to lay down before you, the final prayers of Hikari Tenchi, Warrior of Light."

Many students listened intently. "Tenchi gave me his final words before passing on to where he belongs." Suddenly, his voice changed, taking on the exact sound of Tenchi's voice. "To those that would grieve for me here today, be merry, and PARTY in my honor." They could hear the mirth, yet deep sadness in those words. "I care about all of you, and would not for the world see you hurt. One day, we will meet again, I know this in my heart."

The voice faded, and Nitelm glanced around once more before receeding into the blade which sat atop the grave in it's sheath. Shaken took a few steps forward, picking up the blade and strapping it to his belt. "This will belong to his son someday..." He said softly, looking down at the prone form of Shadow in his arms. He smiled. "Goodbye Tenchi, We'll miss you."

~~~
OOC: AAAAANNNNDDD End