Kiwami Arms

Chapter 58: Kiwami Arms

Rokusho tossed Roko against a wall once the tree's branches and roots seemed to stop chasing them, deep inside the castle's interior.

"Are you calm now, young man?" Rokusho sighed, "Blind rage is not going to help your situation any more."

"You're surprisingly spry for an old man." Roko growled as he pushed himself onto his feet, "If you could do all that superhuman stuff, why don't you help out?"

"At my age? Believe me, I was risking my back getting you out of there alone. Literally. My old bones are creaking like a broken down haunted house in the middle of a storm."

"So I guess that wasn't enhancement magic."

"I haven't cast a spell in ages." Rokusho chuckled, "Not since I put down my last magical weapon."

"Then I guess I'm doing this alone." Roko scowled.

"You're far from alone, young man." Rokusho shook his head, "You may have lost your friends but there are still more people you can call upon. The entirety of the Momokan nation would mobilize if we tell them their princess has been captured."

"How many people are you going to ask me to sacrifice here?" Roko snarled, "10? 20? 100? I need to know how many gravemarkers I'll need to build before I join the lucrative industry that is gravekeeping."

"There's no need for such biting snark. This has proven to be a situation beyond what a single group or even a single man can deal with." Rokusho said calmly, "Some things cannot be done alone and you cannot protect absolutely everybody."

"If they want to throw themselves at the tree until it keels over, then they can do it when I'm dead and don't have to watch." Roko scoffed, "Until then, I'm going to do what I can."

"Are you listening to me? Our best option is to retreat and regroup. You've seen how that tree fights. The more people supporting each other, the more we'll accomplish. There's no reason to rush into things alone like a damned fool."

"And what, you want me to pull resources away from the defending army?! The only resource we have preventing the spread of the tree and you want to risk endangering the civilians in an all out attempt to stop this alien plant?"

"And what can you possibly do by yourself?!" Rokusho barked sternly, "You could hardly cut the tree's bark, much less pull both Momo and Murasaki out from the trunk! If you calm down and think, the solution's obvious!"

"You're right, it is obvious." Roko replied, "What floor are we on?"

"Hm? This should be the third floor, if I recall correctly."

"Then we need to go up three floors."

"Three? Why do we need to go up?"

"Momo said there's an armory at the ground floor, sixth floor and top floor. We need to stock up on a ton of weapons if we...if I am going to have to save them."

"Are you seriously trying to go at this alone?" Rokusho shook his head, "How do you even plan on find-"

Rokusho stopped as he realized what Roko was going to say next, "I lodged my sword directly in front of where Momo and Murasaki were imprisoned. Assuming the tree hasn't removed or moved it, I know exactly where to concentrate my efforts."

"So that wasn't out of desperation?" Rokusho mused, intrigued, "You were trying to mark where you need to attack? Was retreat part of your plan all along?"

"Not a full on retreat as you were suggesting but I'm going to need a lot more tools if I'm going to free them."

"And you have an idea of how to do it using the armory?"

"Not in exact detail. That depends on what's in it."

"That's not much of a plan."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just start planning with things I don't know if I have then." Roko scowled, "I'll just find a chainsaw and start hacking away at the tree. Of course there's going to be fuel here, in this fantasy land. Maybe I can even find a bulldozer and dig up the tree instead."

"I don't know what any of those are."

"Then I guess we'll just have to use swords then." Roko scoffed, "Though standard swords would hardly be effective so we'll need different weapons. Large swords would be too bulky for me to wield but if I can use its weight to my advantage, I could cut through the tree more easily. But if I want to get to Momo and Murasaki as quick as possible, a piercing weapon like a lance would be more useful. I have to consider the weight as well. I can't move as well if I take too much equipment. At the same time, I need all the weapons I can get so if I can utilize my weight to my advantage..."

Roko walked off, still muttering to himself as he moved through the halls. Rokusho followed him, studying Roko curiously as he planned to himself.

"Interesting." Rokusho said to himself, "Normally people would be upset or angry if their friends were captured. I've seen many cool headed warriors become desperate when their friends become captured. But this one has the clear of mind to prepare for his return even as he retreats. If one were to hear this story, they might say he's emotionless but looking at his face..."

Rokusho glanced towards Roko, who was still muttering plans to himself, a look of shimmering anger boiling underneath his determined mischievousness.

"Well, all said he still needs to learn to not shoulder some burdens by himself." Rokusho chuckled.

Roko counted the seconds it took for him to reach the sixth floor. Not only was the longer he took, the longer Momo and Murasaki were captured and possibly subjected to the whims of the tree, but without Momo to assist him, he wasn't able to fight the roots and branches as well as they had been. Miraculously, Roko and Rokusho found the armory without any further combat. Given the omni directional spread of the roots and branches, Roko dared not believed that they were just lucky to get this far unnoticed. But his only explanation was that the tree was focusing its efforts elsewhere, on its new captives in all likelihood. That thought spurred Roko to move faster, having to consciously stop himself from barreling further into the armory.

"Well, we're here." Rokusho said as he joined Roko in the armory, not the least bit winded even after keeping pace with Roko's rush, "There seems to be plenty of weapons for you to choose from but I wonder how you're going to utilize even a fraction of them. You've only been trained in the sword."

"Can't be that hard to hit someone with the sharp pointy end of a stick." Roko said as he began rummaging around a crate of swords.

"No ambition and no respect either, I see." Rokusho shook his head, "I can't believe you would even dare say that in front of your martial arts teacher. If I didn't know you any better, I'd throw you out the window."

"Window?" Roko looked up and noticed the sizable window in the back of the armory. Recalling their exact location, Roko walked over to the window and found the branches of the alien tree reaching up past them.

"Lucky me." Roko said as he turned around and returned to scouring the weaponry, "That makes things much easier for me."

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." Rokusho sighed, "Now, will you tell me what this plan of yours is?"

"At this point, it's still forming." Roko said as he picked up a broadsword and tried to hold it up with great difficulty, "But I know I can utilize gravity."

"Gravity? Boy, are you actually thinking of jumping out that window? There's several dozen feet between you and the trunk of the tree. There is no getting to the tree without enhancement magic. Or are you planning on snagging yourself onto one of those branches? I don't think they'll be quite eager to catch your fall."

"That depends on whenever I can find some rope."

"...Can you at least tell me now if I have to help?"

"Probably."

"Kids these days."

"You seemed so eager before."

"That was before you decided to jump out the window yourself! How could I be happy sending you off on this half baked plan that will likely get you killed?!"

"There is no time to find another way into the garden. The balconies over the garden have been covered by roots already, up to the 10th floor. Only windows and vents like the one in the kitchen are left. Jumping out the window is my only option."

"Surely you can at least use the rope to rappel down the wall."

"Too slow. The tree knows I'm an enemy. The moment it sees me, I'm going to be targeted by roots and branches."

"You're going to get targeted by roots and branches either way." Rokusho sighed, "Well, whatever. I'm sure you're tired of his old man fretting over every detail of your incomplete plan."

"If I stick close to the trunk, I can mitigate the amount of roots coming at me." Roko replied, "Your pestering is actually helping me hammer out details of my plan. And if you keep asking about it, it means I won't have to waste time explaining the plan to you later."

"Is that so?"

"That being said, I need to finish Analyzing these weapons so a bit of quiet here and there will help."

"First you're hot and then you're cold."

"Okay." Roko said as he tightened the rope around the head of a spear, "I think I'm ready."

"There are still a lot of risks with this plan that I'm not sure have been addressed."

"All plans come with risks. The more desperate the situation the more risks you have to take."

"..."

"Are you ready?" Roko asked as he picked up the hefty spear and opened the window.

"All I have to do is tighten the rope and follow you afterward right?"

"It's your choice if you want to follow. You could take the stairs. I'm sure your old body will appreciate that."

"It certainly would." Rokusho muttered.

Roko pulled the spear back and threw it with all his might. Roko had never thrown a spear before. He took a few practice throws at the walls but that was virtually worthless in comparison to the distance he had to cover. Roko's held his breath as the spear soared through the air, through the branches and struck home into the trunk of the tree. The tree reacted, moving its branches curiously but made no attempt to remove what must have been like a small splinter to it. Roko immediately pulled out a handaxe and jumped onto the railings.

"I'll see you again eventually."

"What kind of good bye is that?" Rokusho muttered as he frantically pulled the rope taunt tied the end to the railings.

As soon as he was done, Roko jumped off and hooked the inner crook of the axe over the rope, sliding down the line and towards the tree. The tree reacted to Roko's approach and the branches moved to try and intercept him but Roko was speeding down the line too fast for it to attack him properly. Roko pushed his boots forward as he reached the end of the rope and slammed his feet into the trunk. Roko immediately dropped from the rope, falling down a short distance before he lodged his handaxe back into the side of the tree, stopping his fall once more. There was still a good distance between him and the ground but more importantly to Roko, he could not see the sword he lodged into the base of the tree, where Momo and Murasaki were being held. The branches were starting to readjust their angle of attack so Roko pulled his axe out and jumped to the side. As Roko fell around the tree, he lodged his axe into the trunk to regularly stop his fall before it could get out of hand. The tree seemed to shudder whenever the axe dug through its body, the branches seemingly to halt and jerk, stalling for a split second as Roko cut through its bark to slow his descent. A behavior that was clearly wasn't there before. The only difference between the tree now and before was Momo and Murasaki so Roko could only assume they were the cause. Whenever they were trying to do something to stall it from inside or if it was some sort of side effect of whatever the tree was experimenting on them with, Roko could only guess.

After a few dozen jumps, Roko could swear he had made at least a full quarter turn around the entire tree by now and the sword wasn't in sight and he was slowly running out of height to escape with. Roko began to consider what to do if it did in fact turn out that the tree had removed the sword until he spotted it sticking out from around the bend of the tree. Roko breathed a sigh of relief and began to consider how he would land safely. The brief respite that Roko unintentionally took was enough. A branch reached down and punched into the back of Roko. However it was unable to pierce the armor and weapons Roko had strapped to his back, though it managed to successfully separate Roko from his axe. Roko grunted as he was pushed away from the tree but consequently towards the sword he had marked. He gripped a pair of daggers on his hip and drew them, spinning around to cut the branch off him. With nothing left to hold him aloft, Roko began to fall again but he plunged his daggers into the side of the tree. Gravity pulled him a good bit down before he finally came to a stop again. Glancing down, Roko could see he was now directly above the sword. All he had to do now was get down safely and at this point, there was no time to waste thinking so Roko went with the first plan he thought of.

Detaching a larger double sided greataxe from his back, Roko slammed the edge against the trunk below him. The tree shuddered again and Roko took the instant to do some quick estimations.

"Four."

Roko let go of his remaining dagger and began to let himself fall. But he kept his feet against the trunk, pushing himself to fall, torso first. Using the axe as a pivot, Roko swung himself down the tree's length, switching the direction of his body again so he would land back on the tree feet first, now hanging from the axe which was now above him.

"One."

Roko gritted his teeth as he gripped the greataxe with both hands again and in a quick motion, swung the axe straight down, slamming it as hard as he could against the tree's body. The tree shuddered again but this time Roko couldn't tell if the tree itself was reacting again or if he was just vibrating from the recoil of his attack. But now the axe was back to being below him and he began to fall again.

"Two."

Roko continued to use the axe to pivot himself down the length of the tree, falling down the tree at the rate of twice the length the greataxe.

"Three."

Roko was too busy struggling to handle the heavy axe to make much note of his surroundings but he could swear he was now several feet away from the branches which had kept stopping in place with each swing he made into the tree.

"Four."

Roko made his last pivot before he was only a few feet away from the sword. He could make one last pivot but the pivot after that would make him fall right into the ground. Which he could use to land on his feet but that wouldn't give him an opening to react first. The tree wouldn't be recoiling from an attack by the time he could straighten himself again, meaning it would be able to attack first, and this time with its roots. So Roko had only one choice. Roko pulled the axe off the tree and this time, kept it close to his body as he let himself fall, feet first. Roko meticulously calculated his rate of fall as he twisted his body, swinging the axe around him. As soon as he felt he had fallen enough of a distance, Roko roared as he swing the axe again, swinging it around with the full force of his body to slam it, sideways against the tree. The tree shuddered and shrieked as Roko made his biggest strike yet and began to hang off the handle of the axe again. Roko looked down, now only a short, survivable fall from the ground. Making a quick and silent gracious prayer that he's made it this far, Roko dropped from the axe and landed on his blade. The roots reacted immediately, rising to try and defend the tree but Roko unstrapped the next weapon he had on his back. Hopping off the sword, Roko used the same full bodied technique to swing a large warhammer around, smashing the butt of the sword and plunging it fully into the body of the tree. A sharp piercing shriek echoed throughout the garden, shaking the back of Roko's head as the roots recoiled in pain.

Roko glanced into the hole that the sword had made for him. Inside the tree, Roko could see Momo and Murasaki. Both of them had been restrained by more roots and a soft blue light was seemingly being siphoned from them. In all likelihood, it was that same mana that was causing the tree to act strangely. As for how to retrieve his friends, the wall that the tree had made to cover up its prison was not all that thick though from some tugging, Roko suspected that it was sturdier than it was normally. Even with a sword and grinding it against the edges of this gap, the progress would be slow. If only he had a chainsaw, but there was no point in wishing for something he doesn't have. So Roko reached over his back and pulled out the last weapon he had managed to strap to his back, a scythe. Spinning the weapon in his hand for a bit to get used to its weight, Roko spun around and slashed apart the roots with ease. Turning back to the trunk in front of him, Roko had a small chuckle over the irony of a farming implement turned weapon now being used to once again cut down what was ostensibly a plant.

Roko slashed with the scythe, widening the gap but with it wasn't quite wide enough to reach both Momo and Murasaki inside. Roko spun the scythe, keeping the momentum in the weapon as he checked the roots behind him. Roko made one more slash, this time cutting the roots at their lowest point, giving him more time to focus on slashing open the tree again. Roko hacked away at the tree until a branch suddenly shot down from above him, knocking the axe out from above him which alerted Roko enough to look up and move just enough for the branch to impact his shoulder instead of his head, failing to penetrate his armor once again. Still, Roko felt his knees buckle under the force of the unexpected attack and the scythe spun out of his hands, skidding across the ground a few feet away from him. Roko shifted his shoulder out from under the branch, letting it smash into the ground as he rolled away. Rolling back onto his feet, Roko grabbed the nearest weapon, the fallen greataxe, and swung with all his might, beheading the branches and forcing them to retreat. Roko took a moment to steady himself again before trying to pick up the greataxe once more. He had considered using the greataxe to cut open the tree, its weight alone would have made it a much more effective breaker but that same weight meant that Roko would tire himself out very quickly swinging it. That alone was enough for Roko to reconsider using it, at least for those purposes. The scythe was much lighter and was less effective than the greataxe but Roko could wield it for longer and he figured it would be most effective at cutting away roots and branches, something that had proven to be true. But with the scythe a considerable distance away, Roko had no choice but to use heavy weaponry. Roko lifted the axe with strenuous effort...and spun around, slice away at the recovered roots, the sudden action almost throwing him off balance.

"Almost forgot about you." Roko gasped as the roots shrunk away again.

Checking his overhead one more time for branches, Roko lifted the axe once more and slammed it into the crevice, sending large splinters of what probably didn't qualify as wood and causing the tree to scream. Pulling the axe back, Roko could see the center of the crevice was taller, though still nowhere near close to letting him crawl through. Roko heaved the axe and struck again and again, widening the crack in a much more extreme fashion, almost creating enough space to reach both Momo and Murasaki at once. Burning what remaining strength he had left, he lifted the axe and began barraging the hole, using all his strength and ignoring the possibility of any roots and branches that could interrupt him. He swung blindly, almost like he was berserk, trying to finish his task as soon as possible with what little strength he had left. Roko roared over and over again as he strained his body again and again until finally the tree made a large cracking sound and the axe flew out of Roko's hands, unable to stop his momentum in time to keep the axe in his hands. Roko gasped for breath as he took what felt like too long a moment to catch his breath before looking at his progress.

The crevise had widened to the point where the axe could no longer make any further cuts, at least from where he was standing. If he wanted to cut it wider, he would have to get closer which was unnecessary. The hole was as wide as he could get it, all that was left was breaking it open. With a heavy sigh, Roko turned and picked up the warhammer. Another heavy weapon that he was not suited for but it was so close to accomplishing his task. Roko raised it and slammed it against the tree. The hammer tore through the wood, sending pieces of the tree flying away as the wall that the tree had built finally broke apart, leaving the imprisoned Momo and Murasaki open to their rescue. Roko collapsed to his knees as he did his best to recover quickly from his strain.

"You're right there."

"Shut up." Roko growled as Rokusho walked up next to him with a smile, "Did you do what I told you to do?"

"Yep." Rokusho held up a thin wire, "I had my own share of appendages attacking me. You should thank me for distracting them for you."

"So long as you did your job." Roko said as he stood up, "Now. Do it."

Rokusho pulled out a match and lit it. Touching the flame to the oiled wire, the flames traveled down the string and quickly began to wrap around the tree, spiraling upward around its body. The tree began to scream loud enough to pierce the body as the branches and roots began desperately to put out the flames.

"You spiraled around the tree from above?"

"I ran around the tree like you asked."

"Are you sure you're human?"

"Very."

"Whatever."

Roko dove into the open cavity, picking up the sword that he had slammed into the tree and begun cutting away at the roots binding Momo and Murasaki. At this point, the tree should have reacted, creating more roots to try and restrain him or trying to regenerate the outer bark in order to trap him but with the fire eating away at it, it was much too distracted to react to his rescue. As Roko had planned. With one more cut, he freed Momo and tossed her out of the tree before freeing Murasaki and jumping out with her over his back.

"Let's finally get out of here." Roko called as Rokusho hefted Momo onto his shoulder and nodded.