The Final Confrontation

Jiyuu sat on the couch in the living room watching the television, half-interested in the bizarre antics of the actors on the screen. He lazily sipped at a cup of iced tea with one hand and took bites from a ham and cheese sandwich. He thought about the next months to follow. He had just been accepted as a security guard at the nearby Ohtori Academy, and from the looks of it he seemed to have it made. He could live on campus for free, so he could finally move out of his father's mansion. Not that it wasn't bad living in a place that had servants left and right, it's just that he wanted to finally do something on his own. He finished the sandwich, licked the crumbs from his fingers, and got up to get some more tea from the kitchen. He stepped into the spacious kitchen and handed his glass to the servant waiting with a pitcher, who refilled the glass and graciously handed it back. Jiyuu bowed slightly in thanks and walked out to the gardens.

Out in the gardens is where Jiyuu felt at home. Something about the trees seemed to absorb all the worries out the air, making it pleasant to walk underneath the green canopy. He smiled as he took off his shoes and walked on the grass. He threw off his loose T-shirt, leaving nothing but a pair of jeans on his body. He ran between the trees, ducking left and right, dodging branches while laughing all the while. He then jumped up and climbed up one of the trees with a dexterity that would leave most people in the dust. He picked a sturdy branch and pulled himself up to sit and listen to the birds. He leaned against the trunk and fell asleep with a small smile on his face.

He awoke about an hour later, as the sun was nearing the horizon. He grabbed his shirt and shoes and carried them inside. He walked towards his bedroom only to be stopped by his father's private assistant.

"Your father wishes to see you, young Master."

"Lead the way."

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. He's downstairs."

Jiyuu was amazed. The basement was off-limits. The door to the stairwell was always locked, and he was under instruction to never go down there. He tried once a long time ago to pry his way in, but his father caught him and confined him to his room. The look on his father's face scared Jiyuu to the bone that day. The mixture of sadness and anger that fought behind the patriarch's eyes was enough to scare Jiyuu away from that door for good. And now he was being invited down there.

He grabbed the dusty handle to the stairwell and paused there a moment. What would he see? Old boxes of stuff that was older than God? Gold and jewels beyond imagination? His mind reeled as he imagined hundreds of different possibilities. Setting his jaw, he turned the doorknob and opened the door. What he saw was nothing like what he had imagined.

The stairwell wasn't wooden like the stairs in the rest of the house, but was smooth granite. A closer look revealed that the whole path down was one whole block of granite, and the stairwell was carved through the middle of this massive monolith. Jiyuu cautiously walked down the stairs as they led further down. The light from above faded to blackness for a moment, then light from whatever was below guided his feet down the path.

He entered a room at the bottom of the stairs that was clearly amazing. The polished stone that made up the walls shone like glass from the flickering kerosene lamps that were scattered about. The floor was covered in tatami mats except for a person wide track around the edge that was made of rough hewn stone. At the far end of the house-sized room was a small table with something on it, but the tall form of Jiyuu's father blocked his view.

"You're here. Good. We have something to talk about, my son."

Jiyuu's father walked across the room and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Jiyuu cut an impressive figure at 6'4", but that was nothing compared to his father. Standing at nearly 6'7", he looked like he could have been a basketball player in the prime of his life. The sleeveless shirt that he wore revealed muscled arms that hinted at power and grace at the same time. If one looked at Jiyuu and his father at the same time, they would see the similarities much faster than the differences. They both had the muscle build of powerful martial artists, but Jiyuu was stockier, much more muscular. Their faces had the same thin nose and heavy jawline, but Jiyuu's father was pale and he had a thin scar running from his nose under the eye to the base of his right ear. Jiyuu, on the other hand, had a deep tan from years of playing in the sun, and no scars marred him anywhere. Jiyuu's bright blond hair was tightly pulled back into a ponytail that reached slightly beyond his shoulder, while his father was bald. Jiyuu's father seemed to smile a little as he looked at his son.

"You've become a fine young man, Jiyuu. I have taught you many things. How to enjoy life, to appreciate the fine details of nature. I've raised you the best I could to have a gentle soul and a strong spirit. And yet I have not taught you everything. Do you remember your mother?"

"Very vaguely. I only remember her face now."

"She was a gentle person, as sweet as they come. I couldn't have done any better." Jiyuu's father sat on the floor, and Jiyuu sat facing him. His father sighed and continued. "She left us not because she wanted to, but because she had to. All males in our family are cursed, Jiyuu. We have a dark side, a hidden personality. It manifests as a voice at first, one that will whisper to you. What do you remember of Eimin, my brother and your uncle?"

"Scary. I didn't want to be near him at all."

"He didn't believe your grandfather when he told us this same story. Namely because we never saw him angry or in any way upset. But I believed him, and he gave me the method to controlling the darkness. Unfortunately, Eimin never found his own control, and became consumed by his other self. His other self lived to injure and maim. He delighted in the pain of others, physical or mental. My dark side has always been under control, and when you are ready, I shall instruct you in the methods of control. Now, while you stay at Ohtori, keep watch of your thoughts. When you feel another voice suggesting things you normally wouldn't do, come back immediately and we will begin training. Do not hesitate, for if you do, then you are lost. Until then, good luck my son."

"Yes, father. I will not forget"

The next day, Jiyuu packed his gear in the saddlebags on Whistler, his forest green Honda Valkyrie motorcycle. He climbed aboard and listened to the massive engine roar in anticipation of the trip ahead. He put his helmet on, made sure his ponytail was positioned right in the slot that he had cut for it, and took off down the road. As he coasted along the highway, the words of his father rang in his ears.

"A hidden personality... Delighted in the pain of others... If you do, then you are lost."

He felt the words swim to the back of his head and sit there, waiting. He no longer thought about it since that moment.

"Any progress, Genjirou-san?" The guard jumped out of his chair and stood at attention.

"N-n-no sir, Mouki-sama. The delinquents continue to evade us."

Jiyuu laughed. "Just because I just got promoted to Chief of Security doesn't mean you have to call me sir, Genjirou. I'm two years younger than you."

Genjirou nodded and scratched his head. "I'm sorry, Jiyuu. It's just that I'm used to the old chief. He was a bit of a hard ass, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. He tried to ban me from riding Whistler on campus, even."

"How'd you get around that?"

"By proving that the car he was driving was even more of a public nuisance than I could ever be, of course."

"He did scare off the animals every time that hunk backfired, didn't he?"

"Yeah, it almost was funny. hold on." Jiyuu leaned over to look at a screen. "Genjirou, I think we got them!" He pointed at a couple of first-year students that were standing at a wall, spray cans in hand.

"Let's get them, Jiyuu. How about we use Capture Technique 3 this time?"

"Sure. I'll go get the gear."

The youth shook up the spray can and laughed to his friend, "Let's hurry this up, we don't want to get caught."

His cohort chuckled right back. "We're not going to get caught. We haven't been caught yet, have we?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But let's hurry this up." He grabbed his spray can and sprayed a yellow streak on the wall.

"Looks good," said a voice behind the two.

"Wait until we're do..CRAP!" The two ran down the alley as Genjirou chased both of them. They almost made it to the end of the alley when a roar echoed down the alley. Jiyuu slid around the corner on Whistler, a net slung over his shoulder.

The first youth stumbled as he turned to try to run the other way and was entangled in the net as Jiyuu tossed it over him. Genjirou tried to catch the other one, but failed as the kid jumped over a short wall and ducked around another building.

Genjirou walked back to Jiyuu as he was handcuffing the other kid's hands.

"I'm sorry Jiyuu. He got away."

"That's alright, we got one of them. I think he'll talk, won't you?"

"Screw you, dude. I don't rat on my friends."

Jiyuu grabbed the guy by the neck of his shirt. "Are you sure? We could give you a break if you tell us." The delinquent spit in Jiyuu's face. Jiyuu sneered and shook the boy. "Do you think you're funny? I have half a mind to." Jiyuu paused as if he was listening to something and then tossed the boy to the floor. "Genjirou, could you handle this? I've got a feeling I need to go somewhere." Genjirou nodded and started to lead the boy off as Jiyuu got on his bike and rode off as fast as he could go. Jiyuu frowned as he started thinking in the back of his head.

What was that? You had the chance to make that kid pay for pissing you off! a voice whispered in the back of his head. It sounded like his own, but not quite. A little deeper, a little. darker. You were raised to be powerful. That power is meant for defeating your enemies! Don't be a coward and run! Listen to me! Jiyuu tried to ignore it, but it got louder and louder as he rode towards the mansion he left two years ago. He ran in the house, down the stone stairs, into the underground chamber to see his father standing there, sword in hand.

"I knew you'd be here tonight. You hear the voice, do you not?" A nod from Jiyuu. "Very well. Then we must fight." He tossed a sword to Jiyuu, who caught it deftly with one hand. Jiyuu was amazed. He had never even held a sword before, and somehow this felt so comfortable, holding the blade. He turned it from side to side, looking at the folded steel that made up the four and a half foot katana. He looked at the leather and cloth bound handle and how tightly woven the strips were. He looked up at his father.

"Why? Why must I fight you?" The darker voice asked another question: Why haven't you destroyed him yet? He's an enemy.

"Because this is the only way. I know of none other." His father strode forward with a speed that Jiyuu had never seen before. A flash of metal, and the two were locked in battle. Jiyuu had slid his off hand to a point about a foot from the tip of the sword and was using the handle as a pivot point, making his strikes very controlled, but very powerful. His father used powerful overhand strikes with the shorter sword of his own, which Jiyuu deflected with difficulty. A leg swipe from his father, and Jiyuu hit the wall roughly. The voice whispered and yelled at the same time. You idiot. Don't you know how to use a sword? Looks like I'll have to do this.

Jiyuu's father sat in wait as Jiyuu twitched and convulsed in a heap by the wall. He stood up as Jiyuu rose, and slid back into a ready stance. Jiyuu turned to face his father, a grin crossing his face as he looked more like a predator than a human. Jiyuu spoke in a slower, darker voice.

"You just had to do it, didn't you, Daddy. You pushed me, and pushed me, and I'm through with it. Tonight you pay for everything you've ever done." He grasped the sword with both hands at the handle and lunged at his target. His strikes were now faster, more deadly. Jiyuu's father could only deflect and block the blows as they rained upon him. "You're slow old man. Time to finish this." A swift twist and thrust, and Jiyuu's sword pierced his father's shoulder, causing the other sword to fall from his hand. Jiyuu stopped as his father hit the floor, then he blinked twice, the grin fell from his face and he started screaming.

"Father! No!" He fell to his knees and pulled the sword out of the wound. His father smiled weakly. "I'll be alright. And so will you. Take me upstairs." Jiyuu nodded and picked up his father and took him to his room and called for the family doctor.

The next day Jiyuu and his father sat in the garden looking over the koi pond.

"Do you understand now the dark side of yourself? What it is and what it wants?"

"Yes I do, Father. You mentioned a cure. What is it?"

"It's not a cure, my son, but a control for it. Tell me, what is your favorite place to be?"

"In the woods, among the trees."

"Why is that?"

Jiyuu thought about that for a moment. "I don't really know. It's as if the trees suck out the bad vibes I have during the day."

"Exactly. My father led me into the woods after I found my dark side. He explained how the family curse seems to be repelled by trees and their kin. Come downstairs with me, I have something to give you." Jiyuu followed him down into the room once more. He stood as his father pulled something out of a drawer in the table and held it in his hand.

"You do not know this yet, but Ohtori has a purpose. It is the site of the Duels."

"The Duels?"

"For generations, the duelists have fought for the Rose Bride. The one who wins the Rose Bride and becomes the Champion of the duels, will gain the power to revolutionize the world. The Champion has not been named, and I have been told the duels have begun anew."

"By who? And where? And why?"

"All in due time. I cannot tell you who told me about the current duels, but Eimin and myself fought in the duels when we were students at the academy. There we received the rose signet ring that all duelists must possess. The one who told me that the duels have begun anew also has told me of the newest duelist. You, Jiyuu, are destined to duel."

"What? Am I to fight over a girl? Fight students? I'm supposed to be guarding the campus, not trying to kill students!"

"The duels are not to kill. Never to kill, or even to strike the other person with your weapon. Your uncle forgot that, and almost... Never mind that. The purpose is to remove the rose from your opponent's uniform."

"I can live with that. But why me?"

"I can't tell you that. I can't even tell you why I was chosen, because I do not know. But you are a duelist now, Jiyuu, and being so, I give you my ring." He opened his hand to reveal a silver ring with a pink rose insignia. Jiyuu picked it up and held it in his hand. As he viewed the ring in his hand, it turned from dull silver to a white platinum, and the rose darkened to the deepest black. His father looked on as well.

"Hmmm. It appears that you've got a different destiny in store for you. But that path is for you alone. I can give you no more information. But I can bestow upon you another gift. But you must be ready to receive it. For this will be the last thing I will give you. It is the seal upon the curse. Do you still remember the discipline of the bonsai?" A nod. "Good. Very good. As long as no harm comes to this bonsai, you will be safe." He gestured to a small, very well taken care of bonsai that sat on the table. "It must never die, or be removed from the ownership of the family. If it ever comes to harm, your dark side will surface and you will not be able to control it. The smallest injury to it will bring out a rage that will take you over. Granted, the smaller the injury, the less time your dark side will have control, but that is still too much time. If it dies, or leaves your ownership, then you will no longer exist as yourself, but as a fragment, watching as your dark side takes over for the rest of your natural life."

"Leaves my ownership? Doesn't that mean when you give it to me."

"Yes. You will see exactly what happens, as my dark side will emerge and try to kill you. There is no other way. As I did long ago when my father gave the tree to me, you will have to kill me, or never know peace."

"K-k-kill you? I can never do something like that! You're my father!"

"Quiet, son! Can't you hear your dark side calling out for release? Can't you feel the other reaching for you? There can be only one with the curse! Your uncle is proof of that! I can't live with the idea of being controlled by my darker self! I can't even think of watching you tear yourself apart as the curse takes hold! Kill me, for I have lived my life and served my purpose."

Jiyuu nodded silently. He had no words, no answer for the questions that roamed through his head. The voice raged behind the questions, pushing against the barrier which was weakening at that very moment. It almost seemed that the voice was protesting against everything Jiyuu's father said.

Jiyuu's father sighed and nodded back. "I am at peace. I have lived a full life. I am ready to die. Take up your sword, Jiyuu. And be prepared, and do not fail me. I beg you. Let me die with a clear conscious and a pure spirit."

"Yes, father. I understand." Jiyuu's father reached out and pulled a stray hair from Jiyuu's head. He stood over the bonsai.

"I, Kaimin Mouki of the Mouki clan, now do as my ancestors have done before me, and pass this seal on to the next vessel. With this strand, I bind the spirit of the seal to the spirit of my son. May it protect him for as long as he will need it." He tied the yellow hair around the trunk of the tree, where it vanished in a small flash of fire and light.

Jiyuu stood at the ready as his father fell to the ground and then quickly got to his feet. Kaimin grabbed his sword off the wall. He looked at Jiyuu, his face now a visage of pain and ecstasy at the same time.

"Are you ready to die, boy? Are you prepared for the pain that I and I alone can bring upon you?" Kaimin lunged at Jiyuu, his sword flowing smoother than water, faster than wind. Jiyuu could only block as the force of his father's blade forced him to the wall. He didn't know what to do, as his father definitely was more powerful than he was at the moment. He ducked out of the way and sidestepped blow after blow. Flashes of light and steel, the scream of metal on metal, and the smell of sweat and blood filled the room. The duel lasted for hours, with Jiyuu finding energy from depths where he never reached before in his exercises. As the duel progressed, Jiyuu became more in tune with the sword. He knew its limits, he knew its power, it became as one with him as a toe or a hand would be. He started returning strikes from his father with ones of his own, destroying Kaimin's destructive onslaught. Jiyuu grew faster and faster, as his father slowed down more and more. It was as if Jiyuu was pulling energy directly from his father for the battle. A sidestep and a lunge, and Jiyuu cut into the wrist holding onto his father's sword. The sword fell, and his father fell to the floor, kneeling, grasping his cut wrist to stem the crimson flow that was oozing out of his fingers. Jiyuu stood before his father, sword still at the ready, looking upon the blood that fell to the floor. He looked then at his sword, his ring, the tree, and then back at his father.

"I know not what I have become, but I will never forget what I have learned, who I was, and I will never forget you. Kaimin Mouki of the Mouki clan, my father, my teacher, and my guardian. I send you now on to heaven."

Kaimin looked angrily at his son. "Do you think that you can kill me, you bastard? I am your father! I am above you! I am a force of nature! No! I am a god!" He let go of his wrist and lunged at his son, arms open to grasp an arm, a throat, something to gain purchase on. Jiyuu blurred, and Kaimin stopped inches from his son's throat. He looked down to see the steel blade penetrating his heart. Jiyuu looked his father in the face as Kaimin returned his gaze. The anger and pain passed from Kaimin's face. He smiled serenely.

"Th-thank you, my son. Forgive me. I tried my best." He fell to the ground, sliding off of Jiyuu's sword. Jiyuu knelt by his father's side in prayer for a time, and then stood up, lifted the bonsai off the table and carried the sword and the tree up the cold stone stairs. He turned around at the top of the stairs and looked down the stone passage. The stone cracked and crumbled as the cave collapsed, burying the Mouki patriarch for the rest of time. Jiyuu then solemnly placed the tree gingerly in the saddlebag on the side of his bike and fastened the sword to his back, and rode back to Ohtori, looking at the night sky.

After reaching his place at Ohtori, he climbed the stairs to the roof, where he placed a single tatami mat on the concrete, then brought up a table from his room as well. He then placed the bonsai on the table, along with the sword, and sat down in front of it. For the rest of that night, he never left the tree, always keeping his eyes on it, thinking about his father's words. He finally stood up when the sun rose and turned to leave. He glanced back at the tree, smiled and said to no one in particular.

"And so it begins."