Kouken

Chapter 9- Kurome vs. 3

"Hey Brock you sure this is the place?" A squirmy kid's voice asks.

"Yes Sid! I told you plenty of times, can you chill out already!" A deep and loud voice answers.

"Alright you two, you know what you have to do, stick with it, I will be on standby back there." A female's voice interrupts the other two.

"Yeah yeah yeah, just hurry up Manako, unlike Brock here I have been waiting for this moment for a long time."

                Brock the giant and his huge sword, Manako a beautiful female with a slender body, black long hair tied into a ponytail and a black bow in her left hand, and Sid a small boy which is the only one with no weapon; these are the three standing outside Hina's apartment building.

"Hmm I thought I sensed you two out here." Kurome says as he opens the front door of the building.

"He he you finally came out Kurome!" Sid replies with the biggest grin you can ever imagine.

"Kid, I see you haven't fixed that ugly smile of yours," Kurome says with his usual unemotional expression, "but what brings you two here?"

                While Sid jumps in place and stretches, Brock answers Kurome's question, "You know perfectly well why we are here, also we are not the only ones, your stalker is here t..." An arrow coming from the direction of the top of a nearby building staggers the floor in front of Brock halting him from completing his sentence. Brock smiles and laughs, "she is a feisty one."

"Manako," Kurome thinks to himself while looking around him, "Always thinking ahead, she was able to hide her presence from me, most likely she is too far to sense."

                While Kurome looks around trying to see where Manako is, Brock and Sid take advantage and dash towards Kurome. Before he knows it they are already in the air 2 inches away from him about to attack. Brock swings his sword downwards and Sid front flips and kicks. Kurome notices in the last second and quickly kneels down moving his hand to his back. By the time he completely kneeled, his scythe had appeared on his hand blocking both Brock and Sid causing air and dust to explode from the collision. Sid then kicks the scythe jumping back quite a distance; Brock lifts his sword and covers his head with the side of his sword. Realizing their actions, Kurome quickly looks up and spots a rain of arrows coming down towards him. "Tsk." Kurome frowns, grips his scythe, swings and twirls it around while swaying his body left and right, dodging and deflecting the arrows. The deflected arrows are shot out towards Sid and Brock. Sid is able to briskly kick and avoid the arrows, but Brock is left wide open because of his large body. "Crap!" Brock exclaims covering his face with his arm. Other arrows are then shot fending off the ones about to hit Brock.

"Agility, strength, and a keen eye. Not a bad team you guys make." Kurome says after the barrage of arrows. "But..." Kurome blocks a kick coming from Sid.

"Sorry but we didn't come to talk," Sid interrupts with the same big smile he's had this whole time.

                Kurome grabs Sid's feet, twist and bends his own body down facing the sky dodging an unexpected sword attack from Brock. Sid now is left open to Brock's sword and can't move because of Kurome's grip, he kicks the giant sword with the sole of his shoes and frees himself. The sword swings back the opposite direction. Brock uses the momentum and turn that same direction for a second strike. Kurome rolls on the floor barely missing the sword's impact, looks up and rapidly rolls three more times avoiding three arrows that stab the floor. Kurome jumps back up on his feet.

"I guess you guys are serious but you know..." Kurome says laying his scythe on his shoulder. "There is a limit here, I cannot let you harm her."

"A limit?" Brock repeats. "I see, then it is for your own good that we subdue you."

"Hm, then come get me," Kurome says instantly darting to the side of a nearby building.

                Brock and Sid chase after him. "What is he trying to do? It is not like him to run around like that." Brock thinks to himself and jumps high into the sky. Sid's speed allows him to run right besides Kurome jumping and kicking him. Kurome keeps running while blocking every one of Sid's kicks with his scythe. Kurome reaches the wall of the building, stops and fends off Sid's ongoing kicks. "Don't forget about me!" Brock yells out from the sky running on the side of a building, punching the wall he clings on to it right on top of Kurome and swings his sword at him. Kurome places his scythe right side up with the bottom of its hilt on the floor letting Brock's sword smash on the scythes blade. The pressure causes the cement on the ground to crack but nothing happens to the scythe. Sid thinks fast while Kurome can't use his weapon and dashes to a nearby light post, jumps on to the side of it, bends his knees and shoots out towards Kurome. Kurome jumps up kicks Brock back up into the sky and lands on his scythe missing Sid's kick. Sid does not stop and lands on the side of the building wall, bends his knees ounce again and shoots out towards Kurome. This time Sid lands a hit and throws Kurome across the street, but Kurome managed to snatch his scythe before being launched. While flying in the air he noticed arrows coming from the sky. Thinking fast he pierces his scythe's blade in the ground, pulls and changes his trajectory away from the arrows. Now Kurome is besides another building, he looks around and sees Sid sprinting right at him, Kurome waits for him to reach him then escapes to another direction. Kurome knows Sid is fast and can catch up quickly so he stretches his right arm wielding his scythe to his left, twirls the scythe around clockwise and keeps running. Suddenly, Sid appears out of thin air in front of him but before he can do anything Kurome smashes his head with the back of the scythe's blades, launches him off and keeps running. Brock is now also in front of Kurome and charges his sword at him. Kurome jumps back letting the sword smash the ground, runs up the sword, jumps upwards and over Brock towards a building wall. Upon landing on the wall he starts to run up the building. "Found you Manako!" He yells. Arrows are now showering down towards him but he easily deflects them away with his scythe and reaches the top.

"That is it Manako, you three know better than to go against me," Kurome says pointing his scythe at her.

"So that's what you were doing running around," Manako says while putting down her bow, "you used the buildings to pinpoint my location without aura premonition. Every time I didn't attack meant a building was in my way and when I did you made sure to keep track." Manako pauses to hear Kurome's response, but he doesn't say anything. "Ugh, you might be sharp but your are still a jerk when it comes to me." She walks over to the edge of the building and walks off. She then lands where Sid is and picks him up. "Come on kid get up."

"Like I said earlier, there is a limit and I can't let you harm her," Kurome says as he lands from jumping off the building.

"Yeah I know," Manako replies staring towards the building where Hina lives.

"Good, then I will be leaving." Kurome walks into the apartment and shuts the door.

"Dam you!" Sid shouts as he wakes up. "Bastard is brief and cold as always."

"Yeah I know, come on. You know what we have to do now."

"It's going to be difficult." Brock says catching up to the other two.

"It is, so we need to rest, let's go."

                The three then start to walk away. Brock is now caring Sid on his back to let him rest and Manako's bow is slowly dispersing into dark smoke. After walking a few blocks they stop and look at each other.

"Well that was a great show." A voice coming from behind them catches them of guard. They turn around to see who is behind them, and Manako stops her bow from disappearing.

"Damn, Kiritsu!" Manako cries startled. "What are you here for?"

"Man this is no good, Kiritsu is a Grand Kouken." Brock puts down Sid and takes hold of his sword.

Kiritsu stares at them for a second. "You three disappoint me," he pauses. "What am I here for? Well for order, of course."