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War Of Shadows	By : TurtleNinja Category: +S through Z > Samurai Jack Views: 3353 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai Jack, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 9
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Two days later, Chimitsu and I were once again on our way. I had spent the last two days in silence, the fate of my family weighing heavily on my mind and heart. She had made several attempts to cheer me up, but I was in no mood to be comforted. This had diminished her cheerful demeanor somewhat, but she was still far more cheerful than I thought of being at the moment.

We left the hotel and made our way through the labyrinth of streets to the north of the city, where it faded back into desert. For a moment, I thought that we had taken a wrong turn and ended up going back the way we came, but Chimitsu assured me that we had not, that the desert made something of an L shape around the city. The good thing was, this part of the desert was traveled more than the other side and there was a road to follow and an oasis or two along the way.

"Tell me, Chimitsu-san, why are we heading north?" I asked.

"We'll be able to reach my sister's temple in the mountains more easily this way than if we keep heading east. To the east of the city is some dangerous territory run by bounty hunters and kept in Aku's tightest control. If we want to get to my sister's temple, we cannot go that way."

"It would not be the first time I have gone through bounty hunter territory."

"No, I suppose not, but I would have thought that your little stunt with the Dome of Doom would have taught you to stay the hell away from there. Trust me when I say that there are worse places than the Dome in that part of this world."

"Worse? What could possibly be worse than enslaving people as your own personal gladiators?"

"You don't wanna know. Just trust me on this one. You don't want to pass through that part of the world. The Dome was on the edge of the nastiness and its former owner was only interested in gladatorial games. He only wanted a good fight, whether that was to the death or until one of the warriors had been defeated. Other slave owners do much, much worse to their slaves. Twisted games in which nobody comes out alive."

"Not yet."

"Don't get cocky, Minamoto-kun. You were lucky in saying that and then climbing Fatoum, but to entice them to come after you is suicide. Their games can kill anyone, Jack, even you. If you truly want to save this world, then behave yourself and don't get overconfident. You can't do a thing to help us if you're dead."

Without another word, she continued on her way down the dusty desert road and I hurried to catch up. Perhaps she was right. After all, I did get overconfident in my first encounter with Aku and it got me sent into the future. As much as it would do the slaves of the area good for me to pass through and shut down the operations, Chimitsu was right. I could not do a thing to help them when I was dead.

"Forgive me, Chimitsu-san. I only thought I could help them by shutting down the slave rings." I said when I caught up to her.

She stopped and turned to look at me, the compassion clear in her eyes.

"I know, Jack, but the thing is, it never helps. Trust me, I know, because I was once like you when Aku first started conquering the world. I spent more time in this mortal realm in those days than I do now and while I am here, my vows as the Wind Elemental bind me to help those in need. I went around just like you, trying to break up slave traders' rings and get the people out of things like prostitution and gladatorial games. Thing was, I learned the hard way that it didn't help."

"Why would it not help?"

"Because the ringleaders just regroup elsewhere and after a time, if you kill them or otherwise stop them, there's twenty more that pop up and the poor slaves don't have time to recover before it starts all over again. I lost a lot of souls to insanity in those days. They eventually began to fight me, Jack, calling me a witch, a demon, wanting me to leave them alone. You have no idea how much it hurt for me to hear that from the very people I was trying to help."

I could see the pain in her eyes, crystalline tears welling up in them.

"They just kept getting out of one insane situation and put into another and they couldn't take it anymore. They hated having their hopes repeatedly broken, so I learned to leave them be. Perhaps some of those slaves you rescused from the Dome made it out all right, but there's a good chance that they just ended up in another nasty situation. I know you mean well, Jack, but there's little you can do. It's better to get to the root of the problem first, then they'll be able to be free." she said.

"I see..."

She wiped at her eyes and I reached out, gently taking her hand and squeezing it. Immediately, I stopped feeling sorry for myself, angry that I had ever allowed it in the first place when this immortal had done exactly what I had been trying to do, only with disastrous results. If she said that the only way to her sister's temple and the path to Aku's destruction was to the north, then I would not question her again and follow.

"Let us go, Chimitsu-san. If you say that the best way to go is north, then let us head north. The sooner Aku meets his end, the sooner this world and its people will be free." I said softly.

Finally, her cheerful expression returned as she wiped the last of her tears away from her eyes. I was glad to see that bright smile for the first time in two days because she certainly did not seem like herself when she was even the least bit sad. She gently took my hand in both of hers and squeezed before grinning like a mischievious child.

"Race you to the oasis!" she cried.

"Race? Chimitsu, it is desert out here!"

"So? The oasis isn't far, perhaps a couple of miles. I promise I won't fly."

I laughed a bit, reaching up to trail a fingertip along the edge of her wing, feeling the muscle and delicate bone beneath the skin and feathers.

"It is not your flying that I am worried about."

"Don't worry. We'll have enough supplies to make it that far, at least as far as our water canteens are concerned, and we can refill there. Now are you gonna race me or not?"

I shook my head and she took off running down the sandy road. I hurried after her with my hat on my head to keep the sun off my face, feeling, if only for a moment, that we could actually fool around a bit like this. Feeling like Aku could not touch us out this far in this desolate place, where we were free to let our guard down a little and play a bit.

Chimitsu was a tease, though. Every time I managed to close the gap between us, she would let me race alongside her for a few moments before speeding up and gaining ground on me. Then she would let me catch her again before dashing away after a few moments. Even with the heavy wings, she was fast like the wind. Of course, I should have known not to race the wind, or at least the Wind Elemental.

Eventually she tired of this and dashed ahead, keeping within my sight until we reached the oasis, where she waited for me. I caught up to her, finding her drinking her water, eyes shining. I stopped to catch my breath before taking a drink from my own water supply, grinning back at her.

Odd how she could make me feel like I did in my childhood before Aku came. Like I was perfectly safe and nothing bad could ever touch us and the happiness we knew.

"You all right, samurai?" she asked.

"I will...be fine. You run like the wind, though, and I can never hope to catch you unless you allow it."

She laughed and tucked her canteen into the leather bag she carried.

"Did you expect anything less from the Wind Elemental?"

"No, I suppose I did not."

"Well, now that we're here, we can take a bit of a break, replenish our supplies, and then continue on our way. This section of the desert isn't as big as the western side, which means it shouldn't be too far to the grasslands. Another oasis or two in perhaps another day's journey and we'll be fine. Not a three to four day trip like the western side."

"Perfect."

"Why don't you wait here and catch your breath in the shade while I go and replenish our water supplies."

"A samurai never leaves a lady to fend for herself, Chimitsu."

She gave me a look of mock insult before swatting me gently with one of her wings.

"You nut! Really, Jack, you're too chivalrous for your own good sometimes. Have you forgotten that I'm an Elemental and immortal and am perfectly capable of handling myself?" she asked.

"Well, no, but..."

"No buts, dearie. I'll be fine. You're the one you should be worried about more than me. You're the mortal and mortals don't fare too well under the hot sun. As an immortal, I can't die from heat exhaustion, so, just behave yourself in the shade 'till I get back, ok?"

I shook my head and chuckled softly. As much as I hated to let a lady go off alone in this world, I had to say that she was right. She could take care of herself and I did have the disadvantage of having to worry about collapsing from the heat of the midday desert sun.

She grinned and gave me a wink before disappearing into the depths of the oasis, leaving me alone. I stretched a bit before finding a tree to sit beneath to wait, enjoying the coolness of the shade to stay in. As I sat there, I could not help but think that I was enjoying Chimitsu's company.

Ever since my arrival here and learning that there were few that I could trust, I kept to myself. Sure, the Scotsman had been great fun to travel with, but he had a wife to take care of and he could not go too far from his home in the Highlands, which meant that traveling with him was restricted to the area formerly known as Europe. I was alone, at least until I had met Chimitsu.

She made me laugh, made me feel like a child again, like everything really would be all right. She was almost a kindred spirit to me, the closest I could get to a fellow samurai in this world. Aku did not count. He knew the old ways as well as I did, but he was the enemy and I could never let that slip my mind for even a moment.

After some time, I began to hear what sounded like an engine running, a loud, steady roar coming along the road towards me. Slowly I rose, seeing dust in the distance, wondering if the bounty hunters had caught up with us so quickly. A part of me debated dashing into the oasis to look for Chimitsu, while the rest of me wanted to stay and fight if I had to.

The noise grew louder and louder until it was right in front of me, revealing something that I had never expected to see again while I was here in this hellish future.

"You!" I cried, seeing the driver of the lead motorcycle.

Indeed, the man identical to myself grinned nastily as he stopped his vehicle and dismounted, walking over to me until we were face to face. His appearance had changed somewhat since I had last seen him, finding that he chose to leave his hair down and wore what looked like leather from head to foot. Behind him, other motorcycles roared, being ridden by a ragtag bunch of bounty hunters.

"Heeeeeere's Mad Jackie!" he said with a grin.

"You cannot possibly be here. I destroyed you."

"Correction. You destroyed your emotions which enabled me to remain solid in this world. Without the emotions of anger and hatred, Aku's magic couldn't sustain me and I disappeared."

"Is Aku so desperate to destroy me that he is willing to try the same trick twice?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Or perhaps I never disappeared to begin with."

"It does not matter. I defeated you once, I can do it again."

"Is that a challenge I hear?"

"Take it as you will."

He laughed and removed the leather biker's jacket and tossed it behind him onto his bike, revealing a black t-shirt with the sleeves torn off beneath it, one arm sporting a tattoo reading "akuma." He still carried the double of my katana, which meant that he was just as dangerous as the last time. Simultaneously, we drew our blades, circling each other in the sand, waiting to see who would strike first.

He had not removed his sunglasses, which meant that I could not watch his eyes to see where he was going to strike. No matter. There were other ways to tell, but it made him just that much more dangerous. I spun my blade in my hand, waiting, hoping that Chimitsu would not reappear and that his companions had been told to stay out of the fight.

I could handle my double alone, but in no way could I handle both him and his biker friends or a hostage situation.

Indeed, he struck first, going for the side, forcing me to block. The moment our blades struck, sparks flew, flying off into the sand as I swung up with the hilt towards his jaw. He took a few steps back, shaking his head, but unlike last time, he did not immediately lose his temper.

Instead, he swung back, our blades striking over and over, the sand being stirred up beneath our feet. Just like the last time, I was unable to strike him easily, though I had improved and he had the same difficulty with me. For a long time, we fought beneath the hot sun, his gang of bikers shutting down their bikes to watch. Last time, I had managed to defeat him simply by calming myself and driving away my anger and hatred, which he personified.

Yet I had not been feeling any anger or hatred this time. Perhaps sadness and embarrassment at myself for being so foolish to let my guard down and be banished to time, sealing the fate of my family, but nothing that could have brought him around. I had lost my temper last time on a very bad day and since meeting Chimitsu, the days seemed nothing but good, even when we were on the run. How was it, then that he had been restored?

Something felt different this time, something out of place from the last time.

Once, twice, three times he struck, his blade slicing through my flesh across my shoulder, leg, and back. I fell to my knees, for a moment in the sand and he took a few steps back, waiting for me to recover. It was almost as if he was toying with me.

I forced myself up and swung, slicing across his chest before he countered, striking with blinding speed. I parried the best I could, but he struck more times than I wanted to admit to, feeling the hot blood trickle down my arms, chest, and legs. I was being worn down by the exertion under the sun, yet he was hardly breaking a sweat.

Sparks flew over and over again until our blades crossed between us, our faces just inches apart. I could not see past the dark sunglasses, but I was certain his eyes were shining with twisted excitement over this battle. I pushed down with all my weight, only to have him balance it out with his own, keeping us exactly equal.

Without warning, he lashed out, his elbow crashing into my jaw with such force that I fell back onto the sand hard, my head spinning. I had taken some wicked punches before from bounty hunters, but this one actually had me momentarily stunned. He had grown stronger and could bring me down anytime he wished, but that was not all that felt different about him.

I groaned and pulled myself up onto my knees, shaking my head a bit. Sweat stung my wounds along with the rough sand, yet I had only managed to land one or two blows on him. This was it. He was going to kill me and Aku was going to have his victory at the hands of my double.

He swung up with the steel-tipped toe of his boot, slamming it into my side and part of my chest, sending me flying across the sand. I gasped for air, finding it hard to believe that he had grown so strong since the last time we fought. Just like Chimitsu's double, it did not make any sense whatsoever, particularly since I knew that I had destroyed him last time. If I had failed in that, why wait so long to return?

"Okiro!"[1]

I pushed myself up, realizing that my katana lay in the sand some several feet from where I had landed. Breathing was difficult and coughing hurt even worse as I spat blood into the sand off to the side. How could he be so strong, so seemingly undefeatable?

Slowly I looked up, watching as he grinned and lunged towards me, his katana coming down in an overhead strike. With my katana so far away, I could not possibly block by blade and I had no time to roll away. There was but one thing I could do and it was a gamble. If I did this wrong, he would slice me in two and that would be the end of it.

As the shimmering blade came down, I braced myself in a lunge of my own, lowering my head and snapping my hands up in clapping motion. At the very last second, I caught the katana between my hands as the Imakandi had once done with me. Only the most precise of timing and skilled or desperate of warriors could ever pull this move off and I knew it.

"Impossible!" he cried.

I was not going to give him time to react and pushed him back before swinging up with my left leg in a side kick. My foot struck his wrist painfully and his own katana went flying off to the side, spinning away into the sands. While he was still recovering from the shock of my sudden burst of strength, I brought my knee up into his stomach, doubling him over. Finally, I brought my doubled fist up and slammed my elbows into his back, dropping him to the sand.

He lay there for a moment, not moving, and I debated as to whether or not I had killed him. He certainly felt solid, but still unlike the last time we had met. If only...

With a gasp, I realized that it was impossible for a mere human or any kind of mortal to be beneath such blazing heat and not sweat. Before she had gone off, I noticed that Chimitsu herself had not been sweating and that she had warned me to be careful because she could not die from heat exhaustion. My double apparently did not have that trouble either, which meant that he was an Elemental and no longer bound by Aku's magic fused with my emotions!

So that was what he meant by that he may not have disappeared altogether in the first place! Aku resurrected him with Elemental magic!

I did not realize that while I was figuring out what my double's game was that he was still alive and fully aware of his surroundings again. In an instant, a blast of sand was thrown in my face and I stumbled back, blinded. My eyes hurt painfully, watering and making any images I saw blurry. It was impossible to parry or fight back now.

Instantly, he was on his feet and he came towards me, relentless in his strikes. Punch after punch, kick after kick, he struck me, sending wave after wave of pain through me. Blindly, I tried to defend and counter, only to hear him laugh and taunt me before he struck again.

He was so strong and no wonder. If he was an Elemental, then he could easily have twice my strength and speed with my exact skills. He knew my moves, my thoughts, and all before I could think or execute them. Sand and sweat stung my wounds as I frantically tried to get the sand out of my eyes so I could see and fight back. Blindfighting required extreme concentration and accelerated hearing and I had neither. The pain of the sand in my eyes would break any concentration and I would not be able to hear him over the motorcycle engines that were starting up again.

Finally, a double-fisted blow caught me under the chin, shattering my jaw and snapping my head back, almost breaking my neck. I fell hard to my knees and elbows, coughing painfully, my head spinning as I coughed up more blood. My eyes watered even more as I coughed, spitting the blood onto the sand.

This was it. I was a dead man. Everything I had fought for, everything I believed in...gone....

"It's over, boys. Let's leave him for the vultures to have. He's too weak to go very far, much less get any medical help. He won't be bothering Lord Aku any longer." my double said, heading back towards his bike.

He was going to leave me here. Did that mean he knew of Chimitsu and had her killed already or did he foolishly not know of her? He had to know of her. With Aku as his master, he had to know, which meant that there was a chance that she was dead and that meant I could not allow myself to submit to defeat just yet.

I forced myself up onto my feet, my legs shaking with the effort as I found I could not speak with a broken jaw. There was an air of stunned silence as I heard him slip his leather jacket back on. I did not doubt that I would be able to see a smirk on his face if I could see at all.

"Still got some fight in you, eh? Do yourself and the rest of us a favor, Jack-chan...lay down and die. You're miles from anywhere that can help you and your Elemental friend is likely vulture fodder by now. Just die." he said cruelly.

"I....iie[2]...." I managed to choke out.

"What?"

A split second later, four sharp pains struck my arm, leg, and torso, then faded away into a throbbing ache, save for my leg. I could feel my thighbone shatter and instantly, I lost my balance, gasping as my body spun slightly towards the ground. A moment later, the heat of the desert and everything around me...faded away into nothingness.
--------------- [1]okiro= a sharp, commanding way of saying "Get up!"
[2]iie= No
-kun, -chan, -san, and -sama= in case my gentle readers haven't figured this out, there are several different honorifics the Japanese use with names.
-Sama, as I explained before, is for lords/ladies/royalty, and those who are your superiors.
-San is the polite honorific used with people you don't know or with elders you maybe do know. It's essentially the Japanese Mr. or Mrs. sorta thing.
-Kun and -chan are slightly different. These terms are used casually between friends, with -kun being the male term(NEVER used between women or to a woman unless she is practicing male behavior, which is rare) and -chan being the female term(NEVER used for men except in these instances: a male acting feminine, a very young child/toddler, or to a male lover as a term of endearment. Using -chan with a male at any other time is VERY insulting, hence Mad Jack's "Jack-chan" to our beloved samurai. He means it as an insult, whereas Chimitsu uses it as a term of endearment and Ekirei in future chapters uses it as a taunt or warping of the term of endearment her original uses). I believe the literal translation is "sweet" or "cute", but the connotation is something along the lines of "miss".
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War Of Shadows