DJ: Seta and Jubei

A hundred miles away.

Seta stepped back. A chilling and wild sensation ran through his body as his foot felt the nothingness of empty space. In a moment that seemed like ferever his body reeled back, his chaotic senses raging in the unfamiliarity of dead space and yest his mind was calm. Sean embraced his fate.

"Its all over. Megumi, Taki, Sauna, Okeke...."

An endless stream flashed before his eyes. How shall he be remmbered.

"I fought well today. Nothing dishonourable about that."

What had he done wrong he thought.

They had stood there on the bridge.A stand off one or he other could not avoid. Seta was the same built as Jubei and strenght could not decide this bout. Only speed could decide the one who lived.

This was not going to be a raging struggle. It would be decided in one strike.

A struggle of the mind. The one who could strike fastest and avoid the other's blow. Both men knew this.

Seta had stared coldly into the expressionless eyes of Jubei. Any show of emotion could give his move away.

They stood there.

They stood there in fixed stances waiting for the strike. The sun was setting behind Jubei. Seta wanted to wait until the sun was low enough to cause a glare in Jubei eyes and then he would strike then. He waited.

"Stand down, your cause is dead."

"My casue is an idea, ideas do not die."

"True, but ideas without men are just ideas"

"I will defend my cause, it is a just cause. People should be free to decide thier lives"

"A just cause, people have always needed someone to control them, by themslves they are like lost sheep wondering aimlessly, wasting resources"

"You use that to justify tryranny. I will not allow it."

"As you said your cause is just, only the weak speak of such things. But I know only too well that ideas cannot be brought down. Only those who carry them"

"Yes, and there comes a time in a mans life when he has to fight for what he believes in"

"Even die?"

"Even die"

The sun glistened at Seta across Jubei ears.

"Here I come," in a low shout and Jubei charged.

Seta breathed and drew his sheathed katana from his left side. He had charged one step with his left foot whilst drawing with his right hand.

Jubei stepped forward with his katana raised above him. Seta swung his body to his left and rotated on his left foot whilst swinging his sword outwards. Seta landed with his right leg bent forward and his katana still swing for the back of Jubei's neck.

"Perfect," Seta thought.

The sun shone in Seta's eyes for a flicker and his eyes opened. His katana did not imbed. He raised his head sharply and Jubei had crouched just before his full rotation. Seta's katana flung fiercely above jubei's crounced body and crushed into the metal ground.

Seta gasped.

Jubei rose and Seta could see a grin carve at the edge of his mouth.

He leaned outward on his left and swung his katana across to his right.

The katana struck Seta's unguarded chest.

The feeling of metal biting into flesh and slicing through it. Seta stepped back to cushion the blow.

Calamity.

"A fair fight. I lost"

The shameless one. The honourable one.

The one who could not look death in the face. A fool?

"No!"

Seta's hand instictively reached out and clasped in defiance.

A violent jerk. A tighter squeeze. Blood oozes down his hand and face.

Colateral damage.

Die another day.

...............................
3 fortnights and 5 days Seta. stood in the dim lamp shade at an obscure kiosk. His face was half lit in the october night. A man's hand passed him a an envelope and uttered two words.

It did not man anything to Seta what the man said, it was lost to the wind. What made his being stir were the contents of the envelope. A red envelope. One quick glance at it an he thrust it into his pocket and his figure disappeared in the murky night.

............................

Mark looked out of the window, the sun shone sharply as its rays glinted off the metal of the car. he squinted his eyes as the car came to a stop. He saw a huge truck in from of a desicated shop.

"Eh lad, this is it" Salvado said in an excited voice, as he jumped out ofthe car

A truck in the middle of nowhere, Mak had quizzical look but he followed.

"You always said that you wanted things to change, well now here is your chance to do it boy"

Salvado walked over to the men by the truck who seemed to recognise him. He walked over to the back and pulled back the flap.

Mark took a step back, what is the meaning of this he thought. The colour drained from his face.

"Our boy here looks shocked." the other men chuckled amoungst themselves.

Mark turned as the sound of engines suddenly gripped the air. dst rose from the all directions behind the trees. Five cars rolled up from three different dirt roads and more than 20 people came out.

Mark, looked a little closer. Their faces. they were hard and lacked the familiarity he had become used to, black white, some were asian. These men were soldiers, no these mn were mecenaries, and they looked ready to fight.

In a bemused and satisfied voice Ssalvado boasted "This my lad, is how wars are started"