Story 1 Martial Glory, Chapter 19

I was awoken by all-consuming heat. 

My eyes blurrily opened and as I shivered as it felt like my very blood was boiling, I heard Appachai make his signature noise. "Apa! Are you alright little Jake?" He asked almost childishly but there was no hiding the power in his hands as he gently lifted my arm up to seemingly take my pulse.

My lips popped as I opened them and even to my blurry vision it seemed like steam escaped my mouth as I said grogillly. "It burns... I feel-" I swallowed and after a moment continued. "Like I am boiling on the inside." I finished and even just saying that one sentence had mentally exhausted me.

'What the fuck happened to me?' I thought trying to figure out what the hell happened, and what did got dosed with. As past the quick drive back to Ryouzonpaku, everything else was a damned blur.

Apachai poked a nerve in my arm and my body stiffened and I hissed as a lance of pain shot through my body. "Apachai has never seen such a virus before... Though Apachai has heard of weird stuff in the old parts of Europe, this is messing with your lifeforce!" Apachai spoke and my lips twitched as I made the mental connection.

'I got dosed with some weaponized damned virus probably made by the Umbrella fucking corporation... Hell, with how skeevy Kengan, and and DOA tournaments are. Who says they aren't also dabbling in demonic biological experimentation as well!' I thought and then Apachai poked the side with a stiff finger and unbidden I choked and from my mouth came a black clump of filth that Apachai caught with a tiny fish tank net of all things.

Seeing the obvious confusion in my eyes Apachai explained quickly. "The virus is burning all your fat stores to change your body to fit as a better host and it's leaving big nasty debris I have to move out of your body before it causes damage Apa!" 

I couldn't respond as the strain of the projectile vomiting whatever crap he pushed out of my body via his martial arts nonsense was too tiring and my vision went white and the last thought I had in my head was. 'I hope Shigure cuts that woman's wrists and heels so I can get my own revenge.' 

-

Across the city, Shigure's cold face was mirrored as she faced Kafka the Black Widow and renowned assassin. "You attempted to kill my disciple." Shigure stated coldly.

Kafka sighed and responded with a wry smile. "Not so much... I had fully belief that he would survive the same virus that my beloved own disciple managed to conquer." 

A flash of arc light swung out and Kafka's hands lanced up as razor wires screamed with strain as they clashed with Shigure's katana that she pulled out from between her breasts in a single smooth motion that belied belief.

"Get out of here Steele!" Kafka said with strain as she expertly sent a web of razor wire to slam Shigure through the wall of her hotel room allowing her disciple who knew she was way out of her league to sprint out of the room.

But even with her own disciple out of the way, Kafka wore a grimace as Shigure with masterful precision cut herself out of the razor wire and ruined her wire array so she couldn't use it anymore.

"I don't suppose you would be willing to let bygones be bygones?" Kafka asked wryly as she took out her own preferred weapon besides wires in two master-quality stiletto daggers from her side.

In response, Shigure flicked a senbon needle at her that Kafka barely knocked away with a chuckle with the thin blades of her stiletto.

Their blades clashed as Shigure charged into direct combat to suppress the assassin from using the many tricks she had hidden up her sleeves. As there was no way for Kafka to reach for different tools of murder if Shigure kept her entire body busy at the threat of her hands and legs being threatened to be cut off.

Shigure heavy deliberate slashes filled with her ki was overwhelmed Kafka who was eventually smashed through the window of their hotel room and even as they fell from the hotel their blades clashed several times before the two beautiful women crushed a car's hood under their feet with no stopping their precise blade dance.

Clanging noises cut through the street of screaming people as their blades met endlessly in a dance of death.

Until Shigure seeing the potential of the assassin taking hostages now, kicked Kafka's legs out from under her using one of the tricks she learned from the other masters at Ryouzonpaku. And even as Kafka fell in the middle of the air she spun with the leg sweep into a roundhouse kick that slammed into Kafka's chest. So hard that the woman rocketed off the car they were fighting on and slammed into another car's door with such force that the femme fatale's form cratered it enough for her to sit stunned for a moment in the broken door.

As Shigure walked over to Kafka with her sword held ready to disable her from ever preforming martial arts again, a loud cough rang out and her head whipped to the side and she snarled. "Kure... What do you mean?" 

The old yet malovent eyes of the Kure clan patriarch of assassins looked directly into Shigure's eyes as three men of the Kure clan all trained martial artists stepped forward that Shigure had to give some respect to with their inhuman training and physiques due to their specialized breeding and eugenics over the last millennia plus of breeding. "Shigure, Kafka is the master of my granddaughter... Let me take her away and I swear no Kure clan member will take the bounty on your own disciple's life to retrieve samples from his blood." 

Shigure tensed and a hint... A hint of true killing intent entered her blade and in response, the ground cratered under the Kure clan patriarch's feet as he cackled loudly. "Come little girl, I am ninety years old with dozens of grandkids I am ready to die Haha!" The battle-mad patriarch howled with his eyes turning pure black with his Kure bloodline as he activated the Release State that covered his body with engorged veins.

"But are you willing to fight me then?" A deep voice growled like a dragon snorting and the Kure patriarch went stiff and slowly looked behind and upwards to see the glowing eyes of the Hayato Furuji looming over his head with his arms crossed over his large chest.