Subj:	 [ffml] [HD] Kupo-ken, The secret art of moogle fist
Date:	01-01-17 09:06:32 EST
From:	hiryuu@ffml-irc.org (Hiryuu)
Reply-to:	ffml@egroups.com
To:	hilliondynasty@egroups.com (hilliondynasty), ffml@egroups.com

Hiryuu was chopping wood. There is nothing strange about that, other
than he was using his hand as the axe. Night was quickly falling and he
ached to rest his muscles if only until tomorrow. He had set himself
with a grueling training regiment consisting of hundreds of push ups,
sit ups, chin ups, and even worse ups. Hiryuu began to do a kata* to
unwind, one of the hundreds locked away in his memory. He had forgotten
what martial art it even came from. There was plenty of wood available,
he thought to use some of the surrounding trees as primitive makiwara**
but they were a weak species and easily toppled under his blows.

A slight rustling caught his sensitive ears and sent him on alert. He
continued the kata and pretended to not notice, waiting to see if the
intruder would make a move. His sense of a fighting spirit was overcome
by a screaming sense of danger. Vaulting up in a rear somersault he saw
a white blur move beneath him. The white creature stopped and turned,
and was revealed to be a.. moogle? Hiryuu did a double take. No moogle
could move that fast, not even when he was one. The moogle then began to
speak.

"You trespass on the lands of the Akuzo moogle tribe. Leave or be
punished."

Hiryuu scrutinized the creature. Akuzo moogles? His mind caught on the
threat issued. "Wait a minute.. you're going to punish.. me?" Hiryuu
began to laugh uncontrollably.

The moogle was surrounded with an eerie glow and took a strange one
legged stance. "Fine, if thats how you want it.."

Hiryuu sensed the same strange power as before. "What the hell is that
supposed to -OOF" His instincts threw up a cross armed block to ward the
blow he never saw coming, the force knocking him back a few steps. The
moogle landed and prepared another strike, this time Hiryuu dodged to
the side and kicked the creature solidly into a tree. "Thats some trick,
but it won't work on me twice." When Hiryuu looked again the moogle was
gone and seemed to appear directly before him delivering a uppercut to
his torso. The moogle lept to a low hanging branch as Hiryuu got back to
his feet.

"Not bad for a human." The moogle said as it picked pieces of bark from
its fur. "Its a shame I have to kill you for seeing the kupo-ken in
use."

Kupo ken? Hiryuu thought. These Azuko must be fighting moogles to
possess such incredible martial arts. If he purposely prolonged the
battle, he could force the moogle to use more of its techniques and
learn them himself. It wouldn't be the first time he had to steal an art
from a master reluctant to teach. He punched the tree and it collapsed,
unfortunately on his small campsite. "Shit."

The moogle lept to the earth and vaulted towards Hiryuu in a glowing
kick similar to his own meteor attack. Hiryuu barely deflected it to the
side as he threw up his own aura. "So much for that plan.. guess I have
to get serious." Unnoticed, the fallen tree had caught aflame from
Hiryuu's meager fire and was quickly being enveloped.

The moogle and human exchanged blows in the quickly escilating inferno,
neither gaining much of an advantage. The moogle seemed to possess
abilities beyond what was physically possible.
Smoke choked Hiryuu's lungs and he was sweating intensely in the heat.
The moogle was almost in a trance, and wasn't tiring at all. Flaming
branches now fell heavily to the ground making the place a death trap.

***

Akuryuu looked at the burning forest from his mountain camp. "No fair
Hiryuu, you're not allowed to die until I kill you." He turned his
attention back to the technique he was perfecting. He crossed his arms
in front of himself and began to draw incredible power..

***

Hiryuu didn't notice the blinding flash of light from the nearby
mountain as he weaved through the fire and attacks from the possessed
moogle. "Dragon's fury UNLEASH!" The attack ripped through the foilage
sending sparks flying everywhere. As he sped through the newly created
path, he tripped on an exposed root. The small canteen at his side spilt
open, splashing him with its contents.

The moogle was following after the human's path of retreat, when it came
upon an unconscious moogle lying on the ground. "It must have been a
slave of that filthy human." he decided while checking for injury, it
was dressed similarly. Seeing no sign of the human, he decided it would
be best to bring the moogle home with him. Gathering its dead weight, he
lept through the treetops towards his village.

FUN GLOSSARY
* kata - a set of techniques arranged in order, like a dance routine
** makiwara - a wooden post circled with rope, for strengthening punches

- Hiryuu


Subj:	 [HillionDynasty] [HD] Crouching Moogle, Hidden Dragon
Date:	01-01-22 17:09:04 EST
From:	hiryuu@ffml-irc.org (Hiryuu)
Reply-to:	HillionDynasty@egroups.com
To:	hilliondynasty@egroups.com (hilliondynasty), ffml@egroups.com

    Hiryuu awoke in a dank, musty chamber. He judged from the
architecture it to be a cave, carved out of soft earth, not the kind
that drips with stalactites everywhere. He could feel he was resting on
a bed of straw, it smelled fresh and made him itch. Getting up he saw he
was in moogle form, he vaguely remembered yesterdays battle which ended
with him stumbling on something and being knocked out. His canteen must
have spilt when he landed, and the moogle brought him to its underground
village when it discovered his cursed form. He was thankful he was a
moogle at the time, if he played his cards right he should be able to
leave here without conflict.
    The wooden door swung open, bathing the room in light. Hiryuu
squinted against the sudden intrusion and saw the worm of.. a woman? She
was dressed in little more than soiled rags. Her long brown hair was
tied behind her head in a loose ponytail. She set down a tray of what
Hiryuu assumed was his meal, before flashing her green eyes at Hiryuu.
He guessed her to be about his age.

    "You woke up. I'm glad. They told me to give you a bath, now you can
do it yourself."

    Hiryuu certainly didn't want to be bathed like a weakling. Then
further implications of the hot water the bath would involve dawned on
him.
    "Y-yes, I'm perfectly fine." He stuttered. "Can you tell me where
this is?"

    "The Akuzo moogle tribe." she spat. She seemed filled with contempt.

    Hiryuu sat down to eat the small meal she had brought. Kupo nut
stew, with kupo nut bread, and kupo nut milk. He hated kupo nuts. "So
who are you?" he asked.

    Her features softened some. "You are an outsider moogle, and I
should not hold you to the same regard as these brutes.
    "I am Nera, a slave to the Akuzo." Hiryuu guessed as much. "I was
kidnapped 5 years ago when a detachment of moogles found me taking a
walk through a forest close to my home."

    Hiryuu nodded. "It must've been terrible."

    She shook her head. "Other humans have much worse fates. I am lucky
to be only a servant girl."

    Hiryuu finished eating in the akward silence. He wasn't much good in
consoling people, or any other social situation. Nera took the empty
tray and beckoned him.

    "Master Kepo wishes to see you when you are fit. Follow me to the
bath."

    Hiryuu shrugged and got up. "I'm Hiryuu, by the way."

    "Hiryuu.. what a strange name for a moogle."

    "I think the same thing."

    Hiryuu emerged from the room into a wide cavern. Torches hung from
the walls to provide illumination. Stationed in some areas were humans,
who were digging with primitive tools.
    "Who are those people?" He asked Nera.

    "Workers, captured like I was. They're mining for mithril, to be
made into weapons for the Akuzo."

    Hiryuu saw they were exhausted. One man who was falling behind the
others was being whipped by a slave driver moogle.

    "This is.." Hiryuu couldn't comprehend. "Dishonorable."

    Nera smiled. "Yes, I suppose it is."

    Hiryuu was led through several similar caverns until he came to what
he supposed was the bath.

    Nera stood next to the door. "I'll wait here and deliver you to
Master Kepo when you're finished."

    Hiryuu hesitated. "Is it.. hot water?"

    "Of course! I heated it myself." Nera said.

    Hiryuu needed an excuse. He couldn't let anyone find out he was
really human. He would spend his life in chains, slaving in those mines.
That meant he would miss the duel with Akuryuu! He considered the girl
in front of him.
    "Can I trust you?"

    Nera blinked. The question had thrown her off guard. "What?"

    "I have a little secret. Something about me I don't want people, or
moogles, knowing."

    Nera crouched down to be eye-to-eye with his shorter, moogle form.
"What is it?"

    Hiryuu sighed and led her into the furo. "Turn around for a second."

    Nera heard a splash and some rustling. "OK you can look now." This
was a different voice than Hiryuu's. She turned to see not a moogle, but
a young man with brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a glittering blue
vest.
    "Who.. are you?" Nera asked.

    "Hiryuu of the heavenly dragon school of martial arts, at your
service." Hiryuu punctuated with a bow.

    "You mean you're really that moogle from before?"

    "No, I'm really me." Hiryuu corrected. "The moogle is a curse I
recieved at a place called Jusenkyo. Cold water triggers it, hot water
cures it temporarily."

    "So if I do this.." Nera picked up a nearby bucket and threw the
contents at Hiryuu. A wet moogle emerged from the clothing and shook
itself off.
    "This is amazing! wait until I show.. oh right, secret." Nera made
the zipping lips motion.

    Hiryuu towled off. "I guess this is a good enough clean up for now.
So who's this master Kepo?"

    "The leader of the Akuzo. He teaches the moogles those attacks that
make them invincible." Nera said. "He's also rallying them against
humans."

    "Sounds like quite a guy. Which way?"

    Nera gestured. "Come on, follow me."

    Hiryuu and Nera went through more caverns and came before a great
castle. "What's this place?" Hiryuu asked.

    Nera shrugged. "A very ancient castle.. It's supposedly been here
long before the moogles."

    Hiryuu could see indeed the bricks were very worn and the foundation
crumbling. Several towers and outer walls laid in ruin. The place was
surrounded by some sort of underground lake. After recieving clearance
from the moogles stationed outside, they entered the large double doors.
    Hiryuu was awed by the large, magestic room that spread before him.
At the end were two thrones, an old moogle occupied one of them. He
carried a large, gold staff.
    Hiryuu stepped forward. "I am Hiryuu, of the heavenly dragon school
of martial arts."

    The old moogle gestured, and Nera left. He rose off the throne. "I
am Kepo, Leader of the Akuzo. We welcome you as a guest."

    Hiryuu bowed. "I thank you for your hospitality, but I really must
be leaving."

    Kepo stroked the tuft of hair that moogles possess that resembles a
beard. "Please, reconsider. Kapan tells me you were a slave of a human,
until he liberated you. He also said that human possessed fighting skill
beyond any he had ever seen."
    A moogle stepped forward. Hiryuu recognized it as the one he fought
the night before.

    "You say you also study martial arts?" Kepo asked.

    Hiryuu groaned. How could he have let that slip? "Yeah, I guess. I
mean, I watched the human practice when I was, you know, chained up."
Hiryuu winced.

    Kepo shook his head. "You poor moogle. I owe it to mooglekind to
help you avoid ever being enslaved by a human again."

    Hiryuu stared blankly. "And hows that?"

    "You will learn the kupo-ken."

    The assembled guard began whispering to themselves. Kapan spoke up.
"But Master Kepo, no outsider has learned the kupo-ken before!"

    Kepo held up his staff. "Silence! Would you turn your back on a
moogle in need? You disgust me!"

    Kapan hung his head. "No master."

    Kepo walked towards Hiryuu until he stood almost directly in front
of him. He struck the floor with his staff, and a passage appeared to
Hiryuu's right. Kepo started towards it and beckoned Hiryuu to follow.
    "Come. I will show you the true power of moogles."

 -Hiryuu


Subj:	 [ffml] [HD] True Terror of the Kupo-ken
Date:	01-01-24 15:36:49 EST
From:	hiryuu@ffml-irc.org (Hiryuu)
Reply-to:	ffml@egroups.com
To:	hilliondynasty@egroups.com (hilliondynasty), ffml@egroups.com

    "Do you know of the war of the magi?"

    Hiryuu was in a large room stacked with books. They were ancient,
and looked liable to crumble into dust if he touched them. What
captivated him the most was the statue of a beautiful woman, it was the
most detailed art he had ever seen. Master Kepo awaited his answer.
    "Not really.. I didn't have much in the way of education."

    This was an overstatement, his live was devoted to martial arts as
soon as he could stand on two feet.

    "Untold millenia ago there was a great war between humans. Their
technology was far greater than anything we have now. They created
Espers; beings made of pure magic, bred for battle, for example. Also
recorded in these books are accounts of more living weapons, such as
Phunbaba, Doom Gaze, and the terrible Atma Weapon. In the end, the power
unleashed was so great, humanity was nearly wiped out." Kepo looked into
Hiryuu's eyes.

    "Moogles are also a product of that war."

    Hiryuu was confused. "What do you mean? Moogles don't have anything
close to that kind of power."

    "It is true that the power has become very diluted over time, but
every moogle still has the potential to control it." Kepo picked up a
whithered tome. "This is the journal of a scientist, who was involved in
the creation of the moogle race. He explains that moogles, or the
'mogri' were designed to be ground fighting troops, while espers
provided the magic firepower behind the lines. After the war the magic
weapons were sealed, but the moogles were creatures of the flesh and
thus lived on, secluding themselves underground. Their power either
faded or was forgotten, until now."

    Kepo slammed the book on a table. "I have discovered how to reawaken
our lost abilities, so we may fight the human plague that created us as
its tool, and claim our rightful place in the world, as humanity's
superiors."

    Hiryuu thought him mad. "Don't blame humans for millenia old
mistakes of their ancestors. Weren't the moogle wars enough bloodshed?"


    Kepo set his staff against a wall and turned towards Hiryuu. "This
will be different. This is the true power of moogles." He thumped his
chest. "Here! Now come at me, and experience it."
    Kepo began glowing like the moogle from Hiryuu's last encounter. It
was over before Hiryuu could even put up a block, the speed was
overwhelming. Hiryuu was layed out slightly smoking, and in a great deal
of pain.

    "That is technique is incredible. What is it's secret?" Hiryuu
asked.

    "The true moogle, that is kept hidden deep in our unfeeling, earthly
shells. It is the moogle within the moogle." Kepo said. He helped Hiryuu
to his feet and handed him a scroll. "These are the secrets of the kupo
ken that is seeded in every moogle. It's up to you to make them grow.
    "You can stay here as long as you like, I hope you consider joining
us and our cause." Kepo said before leaving.

    Hiryuu nodded and began reading the scroll.

    ***

    Hiryuu's meditations were interrupted by the glorious smell of food.
He opened his eyes to see Nera presenting his dinner.

    "I got you some real human food, this time." She said. "Any luck
with the moogle thing?"

    "Thanks and no." Hiryuu replied. He had been practicing the kupo ken
for several days, but with no visible progress. "I'm starting to think
the hidden moogle power didn't carry over in the curse." It was a real
possibility.

    "Why are you so obsessed with this anyway?" Nera asked.

    Hiryuu set down the scroll and began eating. "Fighting is my life.
It's been like that ever since I could remember. I've always felt it was
my destiny to become the strongest, my life is a constant struggle to
better myself. This is my only source of pride."

    "If you took that away, I would have nothing."

    ***

    Hiryuu was attempting to perform one of the kupo ken techniques, but
kept stumbling through them. He threw away the scroll in disgust. "Why?
What's wrong!?" He voiced his frustration. It never took more than a few
days for him to learn even the most complex technique. His gaze fell on
the statue of the woman.
    He stood before it and traced the contours of its flawless face with
his hand. Her perfectly crafted features resisted aging, unlike the
stone walls around her. "Do you know, maiden of stone?" he asked.
    He then recalled Kepo's words. "It is the moogle within the moogle."
    "Of course. Just as you are a woman within stone, I am a man within
moogle. The outside is irrelivant. It is what lies within that I must
master."

    Reaching a greater understanding, Hiryuu turned for the stairway. "I
now know what it is I must do."

    A single tear rolled down the statues cheek, and fell to the floor.

 - Hiryuu


Subj:	 [ffml] [HD] For the sake of the art
Date:	01-01-26 16:02:13 EST
From:	hiryuu@ffml-irc.org (Hiryuu)
Reply-to:	ffml@yahoogroups.com
To:	ffml@yahoogroups.com, HillionDynasty@yahoogroups.com

    Hiryuu stormed into the throne room of the ancient castle and stood
before Kepo. "I challenge you." His moogle face was blank.

    Kepo stood confidently. "So you think you are ready to face a master
of the kepo ken? hah! I like your attitude, boy." His guard formed a
protective circle around the two combatants, to prevent interferance.

    Hiryuu didn't blink as tendrils of energy swirled around his arms
and solidified over his fists. Kepo was intrigued. "You have advanced
much in the last few days, but you are a long way from defeating me."

    Hiryuu's face was highlighted in the green glow. "If I win this
battle, you will release all the humans held here as slaves, and cease
your war against them."

    Kepo began to glow himself, this time from anger. "Thats absurd!
We've worked hard to come this far. I'm not stupid enough to chance that
on a single battle, even if there is no way you could win."

    Hiryuu held up his fist and the light it shone intensified, blinding
the cave-dwelling moogles. "This isn't the kupo ken at all. Its the
power of humans."

    Kepo shouted under the glare. "Lies! Humans are not capable of using
that kind of power."

    Hiryuu extinguished his glowing limb. "Nera, the thermos."

    Nera stepped out from behind a pillar and tossed Hiryuu a silver
thermos. He removed the lid and doused himself with its contents, giving
him full human form.

    Kepo was astonished. "A human?! What is the meaning of this?!" The
other moogles were in similar distress.

    "The kupoken was not designed to augment a moogles latent abilities,
but it brings out the power of the spirit, which anyone can use. The
kupoken was made for the spirit of a moogle, which I do not possess."

    "But humans created us, and imbued us with power!" Kepo said.

    "No. it was the goddesses who engineered that war, rest your blame
on them. Humans were as much the victims as moogles, or espers. Its all
here, in the same scientists report." Hiryuu held up a black book. "They
put the moogles through the same magitek process as their own mage
knights, you misinterpet that as creation. I doubt there is any trace of
the magic moogles left at all. While your 'kupoken' was great for
releasing the energy of the spirit, a true magic moogles power lies in
this." Hiryuu handed Kepo a battered scroll.

    Kepo unfurled it and began reading. "This... this is.."

    "Dance steps." Hiryuu provided.

    "This is ridiculous, you expect me to believe the latent power of
these magic infused moogles is dancing?!" Kepo signaled for the other
moogles to stand behind him. "Your games are over, human. It's time we
showed you the true power of the kupoken."

    "All of you against me? how... dishonorable." Hiryuu took the dragon
stance. "I suppose in turn I'll show you the true power of the spirit."
His aura returned in full force and the air around him seemed to ripple.

    Several moogles sprung forwards in aerial attacks. Hiryuu could
almost feel time slowing around him, see could see the trajectory of the
attacks and effortlessly weaved around them. He landed glancing blows
and spinning kicks as the moogles flew past, sending them off balance
and flying into walls. He turned and caught Kepo's extended fist in his
hand and held it.

    "No.. The kupoken is invincible!" Kepo screamed.

    The air rippling around Hiryuu began to swell and stretch. Time
seemed to slow even further, and his fists increased in speed. "This
is... the battle dance, Bum Rush!" Moogles jumped into the glow only to
be violently blown back. their unconcious forms began to pile on the
floor.

    When no more attackers came, Hiryuu came out of the battle dance and
stared at his fists in awe. Master Kepo forced his pummeled form to an
upright position. "You win, human. The Akuzo is dead. We have no hope
against humanity if they possess such power." Kepo crawled over to the
throne and struggled to seat himself in it. He struck his staff against
the floor. "Now go, and let us die with honor, as moogles." A rumbling
spread throught the floor and started shaking the bricks loose, raining
them down on the area. Hiryuu grabbed Neras hand and they started
running for the exit, pillars falling behind them. He spotted the
scientists journal on the floor and scooped it up as he ran past. The
walls collapsed inwardly just as they cleared the exit.

    Nera surveyed the pile of rubble. "They were all still in there..
What do we do now?"
The rest of the human slaves appeared out of the caves to see what was
going on.

    Hiryuu turned to them. "The Akuzo are dead. You are all free. Go
home, and live your lives in peace."

    A cheer erupted through the crowd. The younger ones remained silent,
this life was all they had known.

    Nera spoke this time. "You're all free to come with me to my
homeland. It's a glorious country to the north, called Norland." Several
people thanked her and agreed they would go with her and start new
lives. Nera turned to Hiryuu. "Will you come with us?"

    "No. I have a matter here I need to take care of. Then I have some
unfinished buisness in Nikeah."

    She looked hurt. "Oh. I understand. so this is good bye?"

    "I suppose. Good bye, then." He started walking towards the exit of
the cave.

    Nera started to speak, but he was already gone.

***

    Hiryuu emerged from the cave and breathed in the fresh air. He
looked at the sun. "It looks like I'll make it." He headed down the path
that would lead back to the village.

    When Hiryuu arrived there was no person in sight. Shops were
abandoned. Buildings were still in various stages of repair from his
last fight here. Akuryuu waited in the town square.

    "Whats wrong, scare everyone off with your stench?" Hiryuu asked.

    Akuryuu growled. "You're late."

    "Alright, lets just get this over with so I can win already." Hiryuu
said.

    Akuryuu held out a shiny metal cylinder. "Put this on."

    Hiryuu took it and scrutinized it. "What is it?"

    Akuryuu held up his right arm to show he was wearing a similar
object around his forearm. "These are the prism bracers. They will link
us so I'll always know where you are if you decide to run away again."

    Hiryuu started to object. "Run away again, what the hell-" Akuryuu
cut him off. "They also have another feature. When you put one on, it
will memorize all of your skill and technique. If someone else were to
then wear it, they would inherit all your power."

    "Interesting. So then when you have to teach me your techniques, I
can just put on this bracer and recieve it all at once."

    "Don't always be so damn cocky." Akuryuu snorted. Now put it on.

    Hiryuu snapped it around his right wrist and it sealed with a snap.
"What the.. how do I get it off?"

    "Oh did I forget to mention that? It can only be removed upon your
death."

    "What the hell, are you crazy?! .. Ahhh!" Hiryuu was shocked to see
a tattoo of a monstrous coiled white dragon appear up his arm above the
bracer, its head resting on his shoulder with its vicious jaws agape.

    "Heh, how fitting. A white dragon for the heavenly school." Akuryuu
showed his right arm, which had a similar dragon, only it was a deep
ebony black. "Mine is cooler."

    "You're taking this too far, Akuryuu."

    "I thought we would go to any length for the art. What happened to
those days, Hiryuu? You've gotten soft."

    Hiryuu reluctantly stepped sideways and tightened his arms into the
dragon stance. "Fine. lets die for the sake of the art." It was obvious
he didn't mean it.

    Akuryuu took the same stance, only his leading arm was extended
downward instead of upward. "Now that's more like the Hiryuu I know.
This will be our final battle."

    The dragons on their arms twitched. They thirsted for blood.

--
Hiryuu oft times Akuryuu


Subj:	 [ffml] [HD] People seized with life
Date:	01-01-29 14:45:16 EST
From:	hiryuu@ffml-irc.org (Hiryuu)
Reply-to:	ffml@yahoogroups.com
To:	HillionDynasty@yahoogroups.com, ffml@yahoogroups.com

    Dark thunderheads sat heavily over the twilight horizon,
occasionally pricking the earth with lighting. A gust of wind carried
the distant rumblings to where two young men were about to carry out
their fate. This was what they lived, and would die for.
    Hiryuu wasted no time and charged forward, using the kupoken to
gather energy in his fists. His blows exploded in flashes of energy on
contact. Akuryuu was warding them with his bracer, which appeared to be
indestructable. Hiryuu overextended, and Akuryuu sensed the opening,
snap kicking him in the ribs.
    Hiryuu flew solidly through a building, laying unmoving. Getting to
his feet, he realized he must have broke a few ribs. He held his hand
over his side and used a chakra technique to re-knit the bone. Sensing
danger, Hiryuu ran out of the building as a large energy blast impacted
with the side of it, reducing it to rubble.
    "Stop hiding, damn you!" Akuryuu fired more huge bolts
indiscriminately, taking out several more houses that lay in their path.
Hiryuu lept around them and solidly connected his foot with Akuryuu's
face. Instead of falling back, Akuryuu grabbed the foot and used it to
hurl Hiryuu into a scaffold being used to repair a previously damaged
building. It collapsed, making a large cloud of plaster. Akuryuu wasted
no time gathering a large amount of power and firing it into the
wreckage. It exploded sending wood, stone, and dust high into the air.
Akuryuu glowed in his reddish tint as destruction rained around him.
    Small beams of light shone out of the pile of stone and it exploded
outward, revealing Hiryuu with his fist extended upwards. Akuryuu held
his arms in front of his face to block the bright light and rock chips
that embedded into his flesh. Hiryuu brought forth the kupoken fully,
energy snapped and crackled around his limbs. He lept towards a wall and
rebounded off of it, leaving a trail of light and making sonic booms and
he breached the sound barrier. He could see Akuryuu still looking at
where he was standing before, his eyes were caught in mid-blink. Hiryuu
spun around Akuryuu in a blur, his fists and feet striking repeatidly
hundreds of times. He wound down to a stop and Akuryuu stood still for a
few moments, before collapsing on his knees.
    "The Bum Rush.. how did you.." Akuryuu smiled at the thought of
learning the technique after he beat Hiryuu. He would hold nothing back,
now. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, and bent over slightly.
Pure black energy with a purplish hue was pulled out of everything in
the vicinity and gathered around Akuryuu.
    Hiryuu sensed the immense power being gathered and decided he didn't
want to be around to experience it. He retreated back several steps and
waited to see what would happen.
    Akuryuu was now floating slightly admist the highly concentrated
energy surrounding him. He flung his arms and legs back, releasing it.
"SHI SHI HOKODAN!" A beam of energy shot upward from his form, expanding
in width until it was an awesome pillar. The ground shook under the
tremendous power. Large pieces of earth were ripped free and flew
towards the heavens, making a large crater around Akuryuu. All loose
material was caught in the vaccume and sent into the sky as well. The
pillar began to shrink until it was once again a small point, then
dissapeared, leaving a few wisps that dispersed in the air. Akuryuu fell
to the bottom of the crater, completely spent.
    Hiryuu approached the massive hole and peered inside. "So thats it?"
    Akuryuu shook his head. He pointed to the sky.
    Hiryuu looked up to see all the energy that was released was now
descending rapidly towards the earth. "Holy shit." He turned and ran as
fast as he could, calling on the kupoken for every bit of extra speed.
The energy collided violently with the center of the crater, creating a
quickly expanding dome of destruction. Hiryuu was taken off his feet by
the shockwave and helplessly rode on the edge of it, until he collided
with a building, which was quickly consumed along with him.
    Akuryuu stood in the center of the now immense smoking crater. The
secret of not being consumed by your own ShiShi Hokodan was being
completely 'willess' when it struck, a lesson he had learned the hard
way. He stumbled forward a few steps, crunching charcol under his boots.
"Come out, Hiryuu. Lets end this." The storm clouds overhead rumbled and
began to spit rain. The small shower escelated into a torrent quickly,
and Akuryuu could feel the effects of his transformation. Countless
tentacle limbs shot out of his back, turning him into a rolling ball of
appendages. He spotted a glowing light approaching him. It was Hiryuu,
but still human?
    Raindrops hissed as they came into contact with the superheated
surface of Hiryuu's aura and created a trail of steam behind him. He
threw up this shield when he thought the shishi hokodan would consume
him, he found it worked just as well for waterproofing. The mended ribs
were broken, along with a few new ones, but they didn't concern him. He
lept at Akuryuu with a meteor kick, and the fight was begun anew.
    The sound of rainfall was accompinied with the hard blows being
landed by both parties, with the occasional earth rattling crack of
thunder. Hiryuu looked to have the advantage, weaving through the
lumbersome tentacle attacks and striking the exposed body. Finally, a
tentacle wrapped itself around Hiryuu, snuffing his projected flame,
effectivley moogleizing him. He was squeezed and thrown against the
earth hard, painfully driving his snapped ribs into his sides. He
coughed blood and weakly stood before the monster.
    "No. I'm not going to die for this." He jumped aside a tentacle
intended to finish him, and sprung at the center of the writhing mass.
"Bum rush revised.. Arc Impulse!" Hiryuu drove meteo kicks at several
angles with kupoken speed through Akuryuu, so fast they appear to almost
happen simultaneously. The monster groaned and toppled over with a huge
crash.
    The rain had cleared and the last vestiges of sunlight cast a large
shadow in the deep crater that was formerly a town. Akuryuu was flat on
his back, having transformed back to human form without intervention.
Hiryuu stumbled next to him and collapsed to his knees.
    "You won, Hiryuu. Your style was superior after all." Akuryuu said
with a touch of remorse. "My curse has fled my body, and I don't think
its because I found the cure." He coughed.
    Hiryuu understood the meaning, and nodded.
    Akuryuu's breathing was growing laboured. "Now, as a fellow martial
artist, hear my last requests."
    "No. I'll hear them as your friend."
    Akuryuu nodded weakly. "First, take my techniques and unite them
with your school, as agreed before the battle. I know you'll use them
for accomplishing great deeds.
    "Second, I seal the ShiShi Hokodan. It is far too destructive a
technique. Knowing its sealed, I'll leave that to your discretion.
    "And lastly, I ask you to return to my home country someday, and
inform them of my warriors death."
    Hiryuu nodded. "It will be done. You will be remembered with honor."

***

    Hiryuu placed a final stone on the pile marking where his friend was
buried, in the center of the immense crater. He took the bracer that had
unlatched and fallen off Akuryuu's arm during his last moments, and
snapped it around his left wrist. A fearsome black dragon writhed up and
around his arm, mirroring the white one on his right. His aura was
unbalanced and flared a bright yellow before he calmed it down and
forced it back within. Scaling the side of the crater, he headed north.

    Nera was hiking a mountain path she remembered from youth,
determined to reach home in three days. Her thoughts were interrupted
when a large red bird seemingly walked up the cliff and onto the path in
front of her. She looked at the rider and recognized him. "Hiryuu? I
thought you were going to Nikeah?"
    Hiryuu trotted the chocobo to her side. "Change of plans. You said
you were going to Norland?" Nera nodded. "That's also my destination.
Come on, with this red chocobo we'll make it in no time."
    Nera hoisted herself up behind Hiryuu, hugging his waist. He set the
bird in a trot up the path.

Title of post stole from Chrono Cross OST
Bum Rush stole from FF3
ShiShi Hokodan stole from Ranma 1/2
Arc Impulse stole from Chrono Trigger

--
Hiryuu oft times Akuryuu
hiryuu@ffml-irc.org
http://www.ffml-irc.org/
ICQ: 16479634
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But for a certainty back then, we loved so many, yet hated so much.
We hurt others, and were hurt ourselves.
Yet even then, we ran like the wind during those warm summer days,
Whilst our laughter echoed under cerulean skies..
 - Chrono Cross
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