Heart of a Traitor

by Aaron Lee Yeager

  I suppose we’ll find out, won’t we?

  Sword at her side, Nariko walked into the center of the combat arena. She kicked aside the crumpled remains of a combat-robot and bowed lightly to Misato. Nariko knew she would only have one chance at this, but she knew exactly what she must do. She cleared her mind and made her will concrete within her, casting off her doubts as if they were a garment.

  “Nariko-san, I do not see your entry,” Misato commented, which was typical for her. She always spoke directly without implying or assuming anything in her speech.

  “The arena of Batou-no-dojo is the most ancient tradition bound to Shogatsu. Its regulations cannot simply be altered. If you must have an entry, however, then I enter myself.”

  Nariko removed her sword from its sheathe and tapped the hilt three times on the arena floor. The sound seemed to echo throughout the hall and the crowd fell silent.

  “Fukamora Taisa Inami of the Seventh Division, you have disgraced the old ways and have thus brought disgrace upon us all. You are unfit to lead. I challenge you for command of the Seventh Division,” Nariko solemnly stated.

  Nariko again tapped the hilt three times on the arena floor. A large crowd was quickly gathering and the whispered murmurings carried both fear and excitement.

  “I do not believe this challenge is permitted,” Misato commented, finally breaking the silence.

  “It is my privilege to do so as a child of the Amano family. The Fukamora family is of inferior rank, therefore she may not refuse, nor appoint a champion in her stead,” Nariko stated slyly.

  The tension in the room quickly escalated and several people scoffed in offense.

  Inami tapped one of the men on the head and they set down her palanquin. She stepped off and rose to her feet, slightly off balance, her green hair bobbing up and down.

  “I guess I’m supposed to point out to you that you are no longer a Shosa, nor are you a Juni,” Ianmi said for all to hear. “As a mere Gunsho, you may not challenge me directly unless you do so on behalf of a Chusa.”

  Inami was correct, of course and Nariko knew it. Among those in the military, rank of office was to be used instead of rank of family. Nariko’s refusal to acknowledge Inami’s military rank was a deliberate insult and the effect was not lost on those who heard it.

  Nariko tapped the hilt of her sword twice on the area floor.

  “It is the obligation of a Chusa to defend our traditions. Because she refuses to do so, I challenge Chusa Mai Takaya, so that I may then challenge Inami Fukamora on her behalf,” Nariko stated firmly, tapping two more times.

  As Mai was brought over from her command station, the crowd around the area swelled filling the amphitheater beyond capacity. Those in the back began pulling over tables and chairs to stand on so that they could view as well and many of the vendors left their booths to attend. A few people moved to take bets on the outcome, but Nariko silenced them with a sharp glance.

  A Bautou-no-dojo challenge ended when one participant submitted. Traditionally, this occurred when first blood was drawn, but this was not always the case and it was not unheard of for a duel to end with the death of one participant.

  Mai walked onto the area holding her weapon, which was based on a traditional naginata. A long metal staff, traced with delicate crystal lines and patterns, which glowed energetically. At the end of the staff sat a curved blade that hummed deeply and gave off a blue light.

  Mai bowed deeply to Nariko, but Nariko did not bow in return. Another wave of insult rippled through the crowd.

  There was a quick burst of speaker static and Ami’s voice came over the speaker system. “Representing the command staff in Batou-no-dojo, Chusa Mai Takaya. She’s really cool; I want to be like her someday.”

  Who in their right mind would choose Ami to take over the announcements?

  “And representing Shiro squad, Gunsho Nariko Amano. In Shiro squad we call her Oppa-mon, it’s short for oppai monsutā.”

  There was a moment of silence, then a roar of laughter from the crowd. Above all the other voices, Nariko could make one out distinctly.

  “Her nickname is ‘boob monster!?’” Reika shouted, grabbing her sides. Reika’s laugh was deep and pounding. She laughed so hard that tears streamed down her face and she fell backwards out of her seat. Nariko could feel her face flushing with anger.

  Control yourself.

  Back at their table, the members of Shiro squad looked at each other in confusion.

  “Have we ever called her that?” Keiko wondered.

  “Are you kidding?” Sorano snorted, “I’m never calling her anything else.”

  Mai readied herself and took the Reichi Stance, her body turned to the side, with the staff held high at her chest, the blade pointed at her opponent’s heart. Mai’s long naginata would give her a significant advantage in reach and range. Nariko would have to get through her defenses before she could attack.

  Nariko had hoped briefly that she would have a slight psychological advantage over Mai, who would have less resolve than her, because the true challenge was to Inami, but she could see that this would not be the case.

  Mai is a professional. I can feel her will and aggression. Her breathing and stance are perfect.

  Nariko took the Ingiri Stance, her body turned to the side, with the blade held low, pointed at a spot on the ground about a meter in front of her body, her control hand on the pommel. Ingiri was a difficult stance to use, but it offered up the largest number of possibilities to someone who was fast enough. Nariko activated her weapon and the blade came to life, delicate patterns of electrical charge raced along its surface, igniting a black balefire.

  With tremendous speed, Mai took two steps forward and spun her weapon above her, slashing down at Nariko’s head. The hum of the blade increased in pitch and the air shrieked as it was cut. Even though they were still two meters from each other, the length of Mai’s weapon allowed her to strike. Nariko swept up with her blade, blocking the blow. The two weapons roared as their energies fought one another, sparks of dark and light energies discharging into the air and Nariko felt the jar of the blow vibrate down through her body and into the floor. Without retreating, Mai pulled back the blade and performed a single-handed thrust forward. Nariko blocked by knocking the thrust down and to one side and took a step back, shifting her weight to her back leg.

  With absolute fluidity, Mai allowed the force of the block to bring her blade low to the floor and pulled back sharply, hooking the back of Nariko’s leg with the back of her blade.

  Without thinking, Nariko pulled up her front leg and leapt back, barely saving her leg from being severed. Even though the back of Mai’s blade was not sharpened like the front, the power field surrounding it had the ability to disrupt matter, so that even a dull surface could cut when sufficient force was applied.

  That was too close.

  The hook had scraped the back of the pant leg and boot from Nariko’s uniform and Mai spun her weapon around in a figure eight to shake off the ruined material.

  Mai prefers an offensive style. I can block her with the Ingiri Stance well enough, but I can never win so long as she can attack me from outside my reach.

  Gracefully, Mai took two steps forward and thrust her weapon with both hands at Nariko’s chest. Fast as thought, Nariko stepped forward into the thrust and swept Mai’s blade so that it passed alongside her body. Now inside Mai’s defenses, Nariko thrust her blade over in an arc, aiming the tip at Mai’s collarbone.

  The blow should have landed, but Mai stepped back, much faster than she had moved before and Nariko was forced to block another blow as Mai attempted to scrape her blade along Nariko’s head as she backed up.

  She moved much faster that time, is she actually holding back on me?

  Nariko changed her posture to the Hurin Stance, her body turned to the side, with her hands above her head and the blade pointed sharply downward. This stance was only used by someone who was very inexperience, or very reckless, because it was
very weak against several kinds of attacks.

  I’ll give her a weakness to exploit that will make her attack predictable.

  Mai expertly rushed at Nariko and sent a single-handed thrust, aimed just behind Nariko’s back, designed to force Nariko to overextend herself and put her off balance as she blocked. Nariko waited until the last possible second to block and did so clumsily, letting her blade extend back somewhat out of control.

  Mai planted her feet and pulled back quickly for another quick thrust, this one aimed at Nariko’s abdomen. Mai had maneuvered Nariko’s blade too far back to block, even with her great speed, but Nariko allowed her legs to fold underneath her, the thrust missing her torso by only inches as she allowed her body to fall down to the floor.

  Undaunted, Mai spun her staff around and swept the blade down at Nariko’s body. Nariko brought up her sword with both hands and caught the blow as she lay on her back, but there was so much power behind it that Nariko’s arms were pushed back almost to her chest as she caught it. The two blades roared again and the falling sparks singed Nariko’s hair and face.

  Gotcha!

  Mai only noticed it a second before it happened. Nariko had positioned her legs for a side kick as she blocked Mai’s slash. Mai used all of her speed to back up, but the powerful kick connected viciously on the side of her lead knee. The knee joint strained under the blow as it bent to the side and a sickly crack could be heard by those nearby.

  Mai stumbled back in pain as Nariko used the momentum of the kick to roll herself upright again. The knee had not broken cleanly, but was severely fractured. Mai reversed her stance to favor her good knee.

  Nariko could feel the muscles in her arm tensing up.

  She’s a lot stronger than she looks. If I keep blocking her blows like this, my arms are going to give out before too long. I need to end this quickly.

  Mai spun her staff around her in a wide arc, a slight tremble in her injured leg.

  That only worked because she doesn’t know me. Hurin is one of my strongest stances. She won’t underestimate me again.

  Nariko breathed deeply. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, the thrill moving through her veins. Her vision was sharper and her hearing so much more crisp. She felt truly alive.

  I must stay calm.

  Despite her injured knee Mai rushed at Nariko again, this time with incredible speed, closing the distance between them before Nariko could even blink. A two handed thrust was normally a very slow attack compared to others, but Mai’s thrust came at Nariko like a bolt of lightning. With a scream Nariko blocked Mai’s powerful thrust, this time in front of her body instead of behind, but it was still not enough. The blade edge missed her abdomen by only a hair’s breadth and tore away the front of her uniform as it slashed past her.

  Mai is inhumanly fast!

  With Mai’s blade in front of her, Nariko rushed forward inside Mai’s defenses to attack, but Mai had already begun moving again. With Nariko so close, she couldn’t hit her with the blade, so Mai rocked the staff across her chest and struck Nariko’s shoulder with the base of it, crushing the soft tissue and tendons of the joint.

  Nariko ignored the pain and slashed her sword down at Mai’s shoulder with all of her strength. Just before the blade connected however, Mai’s blade seemed to appear out of nowhere and caught the blow, just centimeters from her body.

  Their weapons caught together in a hilt-lock, the two warriors rooted themselves into the ground and struggled against one another, their blades pointed at each other’s throats. Nariko could feel Mai’s strength overpowering her and sweat trailed down her face as her blade was pushed closer and closer to her body.

  The pain from her shoulder made Nariko wince.

  I was trying to get Mai to underestimate me, but I was underestimating her.

  Nariko was forced to take a step backwards. Mai’s strength was frightening.

  If something doesn’t change, I’m going to lose.

  It was if in that moment Nariko could see every one of her failures pass before her, a nearly endless vista. The shame and pain was so sharp, so deep, that Nariko was overwhelmed by it.

  No, I can’t lose. Not again.

  In that moment, Nariko’s composure gave way and she screamed in anger. A ripple passed through her katana and the blade reshaped itself, rapidly stretching out to twice its normal length. The extending blade entered the side of Mai’s neck and burst out the back. Mai’s face turned into shock as Nariko mercilessly twisted the blade, a chunk of Mai’s flesh tearing free and falling to the floor. Mai’s strength waned and Nariko shoved her backwards.

  Mai stumbled back, her hand involuntarily grasping her ruined neck. Thick streams of dark blood flowed down her neck and shoulder, staining her white uniform and powerful pulses of blood squirted out of severed arteries out onto the floor. She tried to scream, but the sound only came out as disgusting gurgling noises.

  What just happened? Nariko watched in fascination as her blade slowly flowed back into its normal shape, Mai’s blood boiling off the silvery surface in a fine red mist.

  Nariko could already feel her shoulder growing stiff from Mai’s blow and she knew that her shoulder blade had most likely been fractured.

  The duel was over, but she did not want it to end. She wanted more. It wasn’t enough for Mai simply to be defeated. She had to be taught a lesson. She had to regret ever having crossed blades against her in the first place.

  Oh...oh no.

  Nariko grabbed her chest. Her heart wouldn’t stop beating. It thrummed faster and faster inside of her. She felt the hunger growing, threatening to swallow her whole.

  I can feel myself changing. Stop it. Calm down.

  Misato held out a small dagger and held it parallel with the ground.

  “First blood has been drawn. Does the loser submit?” she asked steadily.

  Mai said nothing, but she pulled her hand away from her throat and shook the thick blood off of it. Already her black blood had sealed the wound with a thick black scab.

  Whispers of distress and thrill moved through the crowd. If a combatant didn’t submit when first blood was drawn they probably would not submit when second blood was drawn either, which meant that this duel would probably go to the death. Several people petitioned Inami to halt the duel, but she would hear none of it.

  Misato returned the dagger to her scabbard and the duel continued. Mai turned a section on her staff and the blade burst into fire, burning with an unnatural green flame and trailing a green mist around it.

  Nariko could see the rage in Mai’s eyes and the aura of bloodlust she was giving off. Nariko found it absolutely intoxicating. Nariko smiled and licked her lips hungrily.

  No, control yourself. Don’t become her.

  In a blur of motion, Mai rushed in toward Nariko, the blade of her staff leaving a trail of pale green mist as she ran.

  Planting her feet firmly, Mai began attacking Nariko with a flurry of lightning-fast, double handed thrusts. The speed and ferocity of the attacks caught Nariko off guard and it took every ounce of her speed and strength to sweep the attacks to one side of her as they came one after another.

  What is she trying to accomplish? She’s attacking me over and over again in the exact same way. Has she lost control, or is she just trying to wear me out? If that was the case, then she was doing a good job. Nariko found it more and more difficult to parry the thrusts with each repetition and the stiffness in her shoulder was causing her to lose some of her range of motion.

  Mai’s weapon left trail after trail of the green mist in the air as she attacked, leaving a kind of after-image of the duel hanging in the air.

  Suddenly Mai changed her tactic and spun her weapon over her head, swinging the blade sideways in a chopping motion aimed at Nariko’s midsection. Nariko turned to block the blow and took half a step back into the mist that had gathered heavily at her side.

  Blue and black fire arced from the point where the two weapons met and let off a thunde
rous noise. The flash of light reflected off of the expectant faces of everyone in the hall.

  Nariko had blocked Mai’s blow, but suddenly found herself screaming in pain. Her back and shoulders were burning, sending red-hot shards of pain into her brain. The green mist she had stepped into was corrosive. Nariko involuntarily doubled over, her body convulsing in pain as large slabs of bubbling skin and clothes fell from her back and onto the floor, the pain and smell ravaging her senses.

  Her vision blurred and became narrow. She was blacking out. Nariko clenched her jaw tight and forced herself to remain conscious.

  If I let myself get too worked up, if I let myself get too angry...

  Though her peripheral vision was dark, she could sense Mai’s blade being thrust toward her heart as she fell to her knees. Mai was going for the kill. Nariko slammed her blade down as hard as she could, intending to drive Mai’s weapon into the ground, but Mai was too fast and too strong and the blade was instead deflected into Nariko’s thigh where it plunged deeply into the meat of Nariko’s leg, glancing off the bone and coming out the other side of her leg. The green fire and mist caused the flesh of Nariko’s leg to boil and sizzle and it fell off in large clumps, sticking to disintegrating pieces of her ruined uniform.

  ...I will become her. She will awaken.

  Nariko felt her body give out. Her nervous system was shutting down. Her heartbeats slowed and her body began to cool as it instinctively followed the steps to enter a dormant state in the hopes of preserving its own life functions. Sound and light became fuzzy and distorted. The images swirled and contorted, forming into an image. Nariko’s mind strained to make sense of the image it was seeing. It was the image of Inami laughing. Laughing at Nariko’s failure. Nariko could not excel as a Senshi so she was banished to the Seventh, the bottom feeders of the order. Now, she had failed to excel in the Seventh itself. She had become the bottom feeder of the bottom feeders. Now Inami would lead the Seventh Division to ruin and destruction and it was all Nariko’s fault, because she was too weak to stop her.