I flew at Yatsimoto with all of my might.
Without my spear nearby, I grabbed the only one that I could get my hands on.
My fathers.
Yatsimoto was as calm as could be; he backed away from me at a steady pace, blocking attack after attack as I grew more and more impatient.
The spear was incredible.
Light with maneuverability, and the strength of an elephant!
It seemed to connect with my soul, for it moved in my hands eloquently and without a flaw.
"Good...good."
Yatsimoto said between breaths, as if he were judging my skill.
"You're just as good as your father once was."
He said in a mocking tone.
He was egging me on.
But why?
"You didn't know my father! And now, thanks to you, he is dead!"
My hands danced from left to right and up and down the shaft of the spear as it took control of my body, seemingly using me in place of me, it!
The aura emitting from it was so strong that my own seemed close to just a faint tremor in the air.
The fight went on, but try as I might, I couldn't land a single strike on him, and that frustrated the hell out of me.
Suddenly, I heard the one thing I never expected to hear.
"Uungh...Bas...Bastion! I'm here!"
I stopped what I was doing just briefly enough to get a quick glance at Himora's battered-looking body, and instantly Yatsimoto took advantage of my slight distraction. As quickly as I had looked away, I felt the pain from his blow rock my world and send it spiraling out of control.
"BASTION!"
Himora screams as I land in his arms in more of a collision than a catch.
"You...YOU COWARD! YOU KILL INNOCENTS AND FIGHT CHILDREN! YOU ARE NOTHING!"
Yatsimoto takes a step toward the two of us and points his massive, armored finger at me.
"As long as you live, I will be there to torment your every move! There is no escaping!
Those who dare oppose me die a cruel death!...HA! If you would have just given up like the fools you are, you wouldn't be here about to die...YOU'D BE DEAD ALREADY!"
Just as I took to my feet, and before either of us could react, Yatsimoto launched himself at us with all of his might.
It seemed like the world around us froze in place, and only we moved as fear and desperation shot through my childish mind.
"NOOOO!"
SWOOOSH!
CRASH!
My desperation must have been too much for my little body to take, for just as the massive, armored monster of a man was about to collide with us (ultimately taking our lives), a giant, rolling column of stone shot out of the very earth in front of me, and knocked him back with astounding force, sending him through the air and crashing to the ground.
In a flash, I was in motion and gliding through the air. I landed, rolled once, and slid to a halt.
For a moment, Yatsimoto just lay there, stunned and saying nothing at all, and then:
"Wha...what was that? Imp...impossible!"
I now stood but feet from my fallen foe.
I wanted to destroy him then and there, but I couldn't...
I needed answers.
"Why!?..."
I yelled to him, my father's spear in my hand, and its deadly point to his neck.
"My home!...My father!...My life! You destroyed it all! AND FOR WHAT!?"
I was a hair away from going berserk again as the aura of my earthly element flowed within me.
My hands shook with anger, and hundreds of tiny pebbles bounced and tumbled at my feet, shaken as they were by my very elemental power.
"Child...know not why I did these things, and you never will! It was for me and your father to know, and not a runt like you to ever get involved in, or find out! You are not worthy of having your father's last name! You're nothing but rubble, and you always will be!"
His words were like swords, cutting away at my heart slowly.
My hands blistered as my grip tightened on the weapon that held his life within its grasp.
I made my move.
In the blink of an eye, my muscles tightened up, my mind raced, and my spear's tip leaped forward, striking with full and lethal force...and I missed.
All of the labor.
All of the loss.
It had all come down to this one moment, and my accuracy didn't meet the requirements it was supposed to...
Yatsimoto leaped to his feet and kicked the spear from my hands.
It wasn't that I had missed, or that I was too slow, or even that my accuracy sucked, it was that he was simply to fast.
He had dodged my attack in that split second.
He stood before me now, bent at the waist so that we were face-to-face.
His booming voice blew into my face.
"Like I said...worthless. Once you learn to fight...like a man...come find me."
My heart pounded aloud.
I wasn't afraid or hesitant to fight him, but something about the way he looked at me made my bones lock in place, and no matter what I did, I couldn't move.
I was like a statue, and just as vulnerable...
I was stuck that way until he turned his back on me.
"Aaaaagh!"
I gasped aloud.
"Wha...what the hell!"
I fell to my knees, suddenly weak from the potent stationary spell, but luckily, Himora was still alive, and he ran to my side. He was fine now. In the past few minutes, his wounds had almost completely healed.
"Was that a spe-"
I cut him off.
"A spell...yeah."
Himora reached out his hand and helped me to my feet. By that time, Yatsimoto had walked to the wall about 10 yards away and leaped over.
"We have to go after him!"
Himora said, drawing his sword.
"Yeah... let's go."
We both readied ourselves for the coming battle and headed for the wall. We planned on scaling it, and that's what we did. I climbed to the top and helped Himora up. As we sat atop the wall, I could see the amount of damage done to the village and its graceful warriors.
Men, women, and children lay on the roads and the fields...
Blood, like a river, ran from one side of the village to the other, but not all of the bodies belonged to the Leafaria. Soldiers and fighters from the Shicato army were also scattered about here and there. In some places small fights were still going on, and in others, men from both sides were piling up their dead. All in all, it was a horrible site...one that I would never forget.
I couldn't say a word.
Millions of thoughts raced through my head, and hundreds of faces appeared and faded as I recalled all of the people and how dead they now were...
"Come on, Bastion..."
Himora's voice came into my ears.
"If we sit here, he will get away...we can't let that happen."
I swallow once.
"Good point."
I say as we make out way down the opposite side of the wall. This was much easier than the climb had been, as the inside was quite smooth and well-cut, the outside was tough and rigid, not to mention, several large logs and cannonballs were still lodged in it's beautify side.
"The wall worked...kinda."
I think to myself as we make our way to the ground.
"Let's go."
Himora and I brace our weapons and sprint towards the giant, thick forest that walled off one side of our village.
"This is the only place he could have went."
Himora points out as we approach its edge.
The fields around Leafaria were in the worst condition that they had ever been in.
Me were everywhere.
Some dead, some alive, and some still at war.
On the inside it was over, but in the outside it was if time hadn't advanced as fast as it had within.
Hundreds of Shicato men were still on line, trying to make their way into the village, but for some reason their advance seemed to me more of a stand-still.