A Chance Encounter [Requies Artog]

[Deleted]

The tranquil peace that hung in the mountains was a nice change of pace for Earth’s most unlikely defender. He had been trapped in the city for the better part of a month although the term trapped was being very generous. Geurin had pretty much allowed Kazama to do as he pleased despite Zach’s hatred of the idea. For a while he was hesitant to go outside of the Presidential Manor that he managed to swindle out of Geurin due to the fact that the last several times he had on Earth it resulted in several mini riots with him being chased out of town. But he discovered during the night he was able to slip out of the city without incident. At first he would just wander the city but soon the busy sounds became too much for the Majin and he started wandering into the mountains. Hours soon became days as the Majin enjoyed the cool crisp air of the mountains.

The dark star lit sky hung over Kazama’s head as his feet tread on the soft recently rain covered dirt. Each step seemed to calm him to a point he had not experienced since Sohko had tricked him into going with him to that hellish ice ball of a planet to be left for dead. No. He refused to let the vile piece of shit of a Saiyan ruin his stroll through the quiet of the nature.

Eventually a glistening surreal lake appeared before Kazama. Fire flies danced over the surface of the lake in a silent choreographed beautiful dance with one another. It reminded the Majin of a ballroom full of humans doing the waltz at one of the balls Geurin had thrown in the Presidential Manor. Kazama at the time found the dance to be strange at first but slowly it grew on him. The soft tenderness of the male ‘protecting’ the female from the rest of the dance floor while the female gracefully floated in his arms. It was such a nice moment that it made the memories of spending time with Shinrai back into his head which only put him in a foul mood. Geurin had lost several busts of himself that night.

Kazama gently lifted off the ground and began to float across the completely still lake surface causing a small wake and ripple to follow him. The fire flies began to dance around him like they were small balls of ki before blinking out into the dark alongside their respective partners leaving Kazama to travel by his lonesome self. It was then in the dark that he picked up the sight of movement from across the lake on the far bank. From the energy signature it was a human but one that was far more powerful than a normal one. The human was still far below his own power which he suppressed to his greatest ability to appear as nothing more than half of his power. The human was in for a sight as Kazama drifted across the lake top silently towards him.

[Requies Artog]

Requies had been wandering around the island for a bit a day after his sparring match with Jorlaxl. He hadn't found anything to suggest the materials being brought to the island, so he decided to settle down at a lake and relax a little bit. The weather had finally started to warm up with the approach of spring. However, it wasn't warm enough outside to allow him to just lie down and rest at the lake. So, he decided to undergo a small amount of exercise, to warm his body up and keep his mind off the cold. Since he was a student at the crane school now, he'd have to work to get faster and better prepare himself for the next time he spars master Jorlaxl.

He punched forward a few times, following up with a couple of swift round house kicks and jumping axle kick. He sped forward after coming back to the ground and unleashing an uppercut. He held the position for a moment, catching his breath a little. After all, he did just explore much of the island on foot.

Requies then continued on, turning to attack his shadow partner... That is, until he noticed a red human-like thing approaching. The ex-soldier couldn't help but shout, "What the hell?!"

The red human had looked like a demon out of someone's twisted story! A strange antennae stuck out of the creature's head. The creature had a predominately human body, even wearing pants and armbands like one too. The creature several holes in its chest and on its forehead, though. It also had ears that looked like suckers from an octopus's tentacle. The most troubling look about this thing was that the eyes had black corneas and red irises.

The creature was floating over to him, making it appear just as monstrous than it probably appeared. Requies shouted, as he charged up a ki blast in his right hand, "Hold right there, devil! Don't make me use this!"

[Deleted]

The man clearly was frightened. Almost anyone who had ever met Kazama for the first time had been off put by him in some way or another. The man was no different and soon he would have to deal with him up close. The human was in his mid thirties and had the look like he was in the military. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. What truly mattered at the moment was that he was fool enough to charge up a ball of ki ready to attack with.

Kazama chuckled to himself at the sight and only sped up his crossing of the lake. Within a few moments of being seen the Majin was floating over the edge of the water just inches away from the man. He lightly touched down on the soft sandy beached that the water quietly lapped at edge. Kazama was markedly shorter than the man; his brown shaggy hair was far too long for the Majin’s taste. It would prove to be liability in a fight as it would provide the perfect hand hold to grab and rip your opponent about like a rag doll. Surely the fighter had learned to compensate for this in his fighting style.

“Do not make me laugh boy. Extinguish the energy you will only end up hurting yourself by doing so.” Kazama stated coldly as he turned his back on the human. He reached down and grabbed a handful of sand. The Majin let the soft course material slowly fall from his hand creating a small mountain out of it.

“Tell me boy. You practice fighting. You play at being a warrior. But why do you do it?” Kazama’s question was intended to be innocent but the tone in which the statements leading up to it only made the Majin sound like he was mocking him. Perhaps he was on some level. After all what was the human going to do to him that no other creature in the universe had managed to do before it. Especially he could kill him without the man even realizing what had happened. But in the meantime he continued to suppress his power well below that of the man’s own.

“I mean, we fight to prove something. To someone. To something. To some higher power. To make up for something. To exact something. To achieve something.” The Majin rambled off in an almost incoherent tangent that would be near impossible to comprehend if someone did not know him.

“So back to my original question, why do you fight?” Kazama stated as he turned to face the man once again. He finished by cocking his head slightly to the side only further accentuating the craziness that now flooded Kazama’s head.

(Requies, check my profile for an updated appearance of Kaz. The picture is outdated)

[Requies Artog]

The creature laughed at the display Requies had been using, to try and back him off. It sped across the lake at a rapid pace, landing in front of Requies without him realizing it until a second later. He hopped back, thinking to himself, "This thing's fast! Almost... No, faster than what master Jorlaxl showed me in our sparring match!"

The creature must have recognized the fear Requies had and tried to sound more soft sounding, but the venom that seemed to crack its very figure remained. It questioned why Requies was a warrior and what he was trying to prove in his fighting. It was weird... The creature had been chatting with him, rather than attacking him when it clearly had the chance. The ex-soldier lowered the amount of power he was generating to form the ki ball, but not to the point when it would be extinguished completely. The creature turned from him, rambling off in a kind of mad diatribe.

"You're... Very talkative, to start..."

He paused, when the creature turned back to him, looking at him in a twisted gleam in its eyes as it asked its question again. Requies extinguished his ki ball, standing straight with a look that restrained his surprise. He stated, "There are many things I could say, to describe why I choose to fight. Originally, it was to become well known and be respected. But that changed after years of fighting as a younger man in his 20s... How, I won't say just yet. Let's first introduce ourselves, as you seem to be very intelligent. I am Requies Artog. To whom may I be talking to, red creature?"

[Deleted]

His name? Nah, Kazama didn’t feel like surrendering his name to the human quite yet. No he was going to have a little bit more fun with him. Plus he never answered his question correctly. Or is it completely? In either case he was not going to answer him until he finished answering the Majin.

“Requies Artog? Not a bad name. But mine is better…(EasterEgg)” Kazama said as he began to circle around the human. He snatched up a rock from the ground and began to toss it in his hand as he circled him. “Though you never answered my question fully. You told me why you fought as a young man, to find pride and fame. But you are clearly not a young man anymore. Your prime is slowly slipping away from you meaning that you are slowly getting wiser with age. So with that wisdom what do you fight for now? Friends? Family? Country? Honor?” Kazama asked as he stopped in front of the human. He tossed the rock several times in his hand and then threw it at Requies. After he had done so Kazama slowly began to rotate in the air until he was hanging upside down. It was just a little bit of flavor to mess with the human.

“So tell me. I do so thoroughly await your answer my boy. Why do you train? Why do you fight?” Kazama began to ask and then he thought on the area that he was in and with a sly look asked, “Who do you train under?”


(Sorry for the short post)

[Requies Artog]

This thing was starting to annoy him a little. Maybe it was one of those things that were meant to annoy or disturb the crap out of you. It asked its question again, providing the ideas of honor, family, friends, and country into the picture. Requies crossed his arms, as the creature turned upside down, asking him yet again.

"Why I fight I believe isn't ready to be given. Why not spar me first? It may give me reason to tell you why I fight in what I believe in," Requies stated, gesturing at the man. The creature then asked who he trained under. The answer to that question, Requies would give.

"There are several people I've trained under. My most recent master, though, is a man who owns a school on this island. He goes by the name of Jorlaxl, the master of the Crane."

He readied himself, gesturing to the creature to come at him. "Shall we have our sparring match now, sir," Requies asked.

[Deleted]

When Requies mentioned Jorlaxl name the Majin could not help but laugh. The man had proven to be a decent teacher but there was thing that he had always failed to do. Train in order to make sure that he actually stayed stronger than his students. It did not take long for Kazama to pass his master and after which point Jorlaxl could only provide techniques for him to continue growing in power. It was one of the reasons that Kazama had came to his decision of leaving the Crane School all those years ago. Now the man who never trained faced his toughest challenge against Zach inside of the Super Dome. It would be interesting to see how he reacted as such to it.

But the more interesting quandary now was what Jorlaxl considered his students to be now. The man was hardly imposing and his power level was pathetic compared to the Majin’s own. It was time to put to the test this new student. After all while Jorlaxl was weak himself he did have some wisdom to pass along to new students. Perhaps this person would be able to fight against the impending threat.

Kazama dropped out of the air landing on his fingertips before flipping backwards to land on his feet. With his back now to Requies Kazama began to laugh. It was almost amusing how he could no longer control himself in a dignified fashion, amusing to himself and absolute insanity to those around him. “I was once trained by Jorlaxl. He taught me some very important lessons, a couple of handy techniques but…” Kazama trailed off. His head snapped behind him, “I soon passed him in power and have never looked back.”

He let the idea soak in Requies’ mind. The fact that Jorlaxl once trained the Majin would more than likely prove to be more than enough to through the man off his game. One moment that was all he needed. One seed of doubt. One little glimmer of fear. It would be within that creation that Kazama would win the battle before it began. It was a teaching that Jorlaxl had taught but Masu’s essence twisted into the creation that it now saw before him.

“Tell you what. I will fight you as you wish. But I challenge you to actually hit me. If you are unable to do so then I will get to extract as much information out of you as I want. Meaning you will answer any questions I have for you.” Kazama laughed as he strutted in a circle with his hands behind his head. When he circled back he stopped with his body square to Requies. The human was of greater stature but it matter little if he wanted a fight he would get one. “If you do…I will tell you my name.” Kazama stated coldly as the smile melted away from his face.

[Requies Artog]

(Bleh! Sorry about these short posts!)

The creature laughed at Requies yet again, its laughter uncontrolled. It told Requies that it once was a student to Jorlaxl as well, but it surpassed him and left the Crane school. This surprised Requies, but not greatly. Jorlaxl hadn't been fully human, but didn't actually show how exactly different he was to Requies. In honesty, something about the man had seemed off in the first place, but the ex-soldier couldn't exactly put his finger on it. The thought of this creature being an ex-student to the master didn't set him off.

The creature set some conditions for the both of them. If Requies could land a hit on it, it'd tell him its name. However, if Requies were defeated, which was a more likely case, Requies would answer all its questions. After having said this and walking in a circle around him, the crazed smile went away, with a cold, stern one. It seemed it was ready to fight with him now. Requies bowed to the creature, telling it, "Agreed. Lets begin..."

He hopped back, hurling a ki blast at the creature's torso. Requies dashed over to the side and then towards the creature, testing its boundaries so he would get a bit of an idea on how its perception was. Requies came to a quick stop right next to the creature, using the momentum from running to send his left fist into its torso. With his right hand, he charged up another ki blast to slam into the creature's stomach.

[Deleted]

The man was quick to act once Kazama accepted his challenge. Perhaps he was going to entertain him more than he had originally thought. Two ki blasts roared towards the Majin. He judged whether or not he would just take the shots to the chest and then counter. It was in this moment however that he realized that he would end up losing his little challenge. Instead he chose to leap into the air out of way of the blasts. He legs were like springs and he moved quicker than the man had likely ever seen. The Majin landed lightly on his feet as his eyes tracked the human circled around to his flank.

Requies proved to be more resourceful than he had originally thought. This fight was definitely going to be mildly entertaining. He launched forward before stopping just short of Kazama and threw a heavy left hand towards his mid section. Kazama dropped his left elbow on top of his fist with the intent of possibly breaking it. Before he was able to fire the blast from his right hand Kazama would slam his right foot into his chest sending him tumbling backwards.

At which point he would go on the offensive chasing Requies with a quick step. He would throw several punches to the mid section just out of the range Requies’ arms. No doubt this would confuse him by the limb extension but it wouldn’t matter. Kazama would pepper his opponent with countless blows but throwing a left uppercut designed to take Requies off of his feet. After which Kazama would drop back into a fighting stance. He would bounce lightly between his two throwing his arms playfully as he took several steps backwards.

“That is not bad to start. But you will have to do much better than that if you intend to learn my name Requies. So why don’t you try to fight for real now?” Kazama played with a semi mocking voice. It was designed to infuriate the man. An angry fighter was a fighter at half of his strength. He no longer thought before moving and attacking making him no better than an animal.

[Requies Artog]

The creature proceeded to evade Requies's attacks in a very spring-like manner. When Requies came into strike into melee, it proceeded to bat away Requies's heavy punch by smacking it away... Something that Requies saw Jorlaxl do himself, too. Requies quickly sent energy into his left hand, to prevent it from being heavily damaged. The blow made him begin to spin, but did help provide enough back up force to try and land the actual attack he was aiming to land. However, the creature caught sight of it and kicked Requies away, sending him back a few feet.

The energy was dismissed and he held his chest, breathing a bit heavily as he fell to his knee. This creature was even stronger than Requies had anticipated! He caught his breath and looked up, to see the creature attacking him with a barrage of... stretching fists?!

"What the-" was all Requies could get out, before getting hit by the first two and going on the defensive. The creatures punches were rapid as well, forcing Requies to put up his guard and batting away some of strikes every now and again. A brief instance allowed Requies to catch his breath and dodge an easy strike that was meant to sweep him off his feet. The ex-soldier did a backwards cartwheel to evade the blow.

He took up his stance, as he listened to what the creature had to say. It wanted him to fight for real, but the ex-soldier wouldn't do so yet. From the way the creature was fighting Requies, and how it was acting, it had an obvious mental break down at one point in its life, causing it to break into this insane personality Requies was seeing now. It also showed that, in the middle of a fight, it'll quickly try to disarm its opponent with ingenuity and take advantage of its unique form. However, it didn't seem to actually be going for the kill... At least, not yet from what Requies could tell.

He smirked, responding, "Well, I could probably say the same about you... You're a very playful type, aside from the fact that you seem to be insane... SEEM TO BE, that is, but that's for later on. Lets continue to round 2-"

Requies's aura flared up, as he increased his power a little more. His speed was notably greater than before, as he dashed right into the playful creature's face and sent a ki blast out... Towards the sand. Requies was intending to figure out what else it'd figure out about what this creature was like. He'd never come across a being such as this before and, in fair honesty, it was proving to be a very good sparring partner!

In the middle of the dust, Requies hopped back a couple of feet and poured his energy into his right palm. He roared out, as he slammed his palm forward and unleashed a Bulwark Destruction blast at his opponent! The creature would probably move out of the way, since it requires Requies to literally bellow out, to unleash the large, coned attack. However, if it didn't evade, then Requies would win this bet that was made!

[Deleted]

Playful would be a great way to describe what Kazama was acting. He danced around everything Requies had thrown at him. Yet Kazama’s true power, which remained suppressed, even with his weights on was no match for the human. He was in far over his head he just didn’t know it yet. Requies seemed to power up as an aura appeared around him causing to dirt to spiral away from his feet. It was more than enough to beat down anything that he was used to but it was nothing more than a speck to Kazama. With a glint of his smile he waited for the human to make his move.

He launched himself forward and spiked ki blast into the sand causing a cloud to shoot up obscuring Kazama’s view. He laughed to himself. It was a clever tactic and the logic there was sound. The only problem was that his mind was not the quietest thing in the world despite moving on muscle memory and thus at this close of a distance the Majin could hear him. He used it as an echo location type effect and despite not being able to see him he could still locate him. He even had the audacity to charge up a rather large attack and launch it at Kazama with a roar. The only problem with that was the fact that Kazama was more than ready.

The Majin shifted his feet slightly and then his eyes began to glow a bright blue. He mind searched the ground for a rock deep beneath the sand. When he found one he motioned with his arm of pulling something up. As he did so the boulder ripped upwards out of the ground just in time to act like a shield. The blast slammed into the rock causing it to explode but with the added force of the Majin’s telekinesis he avoided any damage from the attack. Instead only chunks of rock debris bounced off of his flesh.

“Not bad kid. But if that is round two then you better move onto round four because only then will you be able to compete against me. Actually I don’t even think that would work,” Kazama mocked still trying to throw him off of his game. The Majin would not wait for his response instead launching his counter attack. It was a rather simple counter attack but it could possibly end this little sparring match right then and there. He began to fire ki blast after ki blast at the human. Kazama was not even aiming where they went. They no doubt would end up at his feet, off to the side of him, over his head and even far behind him. The attack was still just Kazama playing with the human as this was clearly not any challenge.

[Requies Artog]

It missed?! That was all Requies could think of at the moment! His Bulwark Destruction attack not only didn't land on the creature, but it didn't even come out with a scratch on him! Somehow, a giant boulder came out of the sand beneath and blocked the attack! It shattered into hundreds of pebbles, as it left Requies awestruck and trying to figure out what happened. The rock, at the very least, should have sent debris towards the creature and at least hit it, but from what Requies could tell, not a single pebble came remotely close to it!

It then proceeded to tell him that Requies would have to pick up the pace if the ex-soldier to win the bet... Or at least, get close enough to winning it. It proceeded to fire ki blasts haphazardly at Requies, some of the blasts not actually coming to hit him. However, the ex-soldier was still being bombarded by the attacks. They collided into him, pelting him like snow balls... Very painful snow balls, like the ones that had water added to them or ice hidden inside.

Requies then roared out in pain, his aura flaring up greatly in a dark blue hue! He then batted the ki blasts away and rushed his current opponent. He was now desperate, having come to an understanding that this opponent was very powerful and it'd require a lot more out of him to land a blow on this enemy. He sent of a flurry of punches at the creature aimed all over its torso and at its head. At the end of it, he sent a sweeping left kick at the creature, but this wasn't the end of his desperate assault! He spun in a complete circle, after quickly pouring energy into his left palm for another Bulwark Destruction blast! The ex-soldier was hoping that, if he couldn't land the attack at a wide length, to end this match quickly, then he'd have to try at close range!

"HOW'S THIS FOR ROUND FOUR," Requies bellowed out, sending the blast out immediately at the right side of the creature. The ex-soldier was done after this attack, though... He never developed the stamina to maintain this level of focus. The blast billowed out in a brilliant orange plume of destructive energy, kicking up the sand and water as it flew out.

(Requies is... Or rather, was in desperate focus, so you know.)

[Deleted]

His power surged around his body as it pushed itself to the utmost of its power and yet it was still only a fourth of Kazama’s power with his weights on. At the sight of it Kazama began to chuckle to himself. Humans were some of the most arrogant beings he had run into in the universe. They never gave up and always believed that they had a way out of fights. Not this time. No this time the human was far out matched and was now just being toyed with. As he charged forward power surged from his hand and was launched forward in the most powerful attack he had thrown at the Majin yet.

Kazama quickly pointed his hand at the ground and launched an attack that ended up leaving a sizeable hole in the ground. The Majin dropped into as the blast soared over his head. From there he began to tunnel through the sandy earth as he kept an ever present gauge on what power level Requies was at. Unfortunately just as quickly as the power appeared it disappeared. The human still had a long way to go before he could fully maintain that type of power on any level.

"HOW'S THIS FOR ROUND FOUR?!” Requies bellowed as he launched another attack at nothing more than empty space. As he finished his statement Kazama shot out of the ground behind Requies.

“Not bad. But it still needs some work.” Kazama stated. He would then wrap his arms around Requies’ waist and throw the human backwards with a great deal of force in a German suplex. The sand would no doubt take the edge off of the attack but with the amount of force it would no doubt end up severely hurt him still. Without letting go he would roll back to his feet and toss the human into the air. At this point Kazama began to let his power level noticeably rise. Requies would finally be able to get an idea of what he was truly fighting.

After tossing him into the air Kazama would launch a small beam of ki at his chest. If he blocked it he would be sent flying through the air with badly damaged arms. However if he could not do so he would end up having his chest badly damaged leaving him in a position that would make fighting extremely difficult.

“Why don’t I start trying a little now? I mean you ought to know what you are dealing with.” Kazama laughed as he launched the blast.

[Requies Artog]

Requies collapsed on the ground, kneeling and heavily gasping for air. His attack had missed completely and now he was going to pay for it. Requies was caught in a German suplex, being slammed down into the soft sand surprisingly hard. The ex-soldier went into this unsure of how strong his opponent was and now... He really was figuring that out!

The ex-soldier was sent flying into the air, his body spinning vertically as he went higher! By the time he was able to see where the creature was, a ki beam was flying at him, aimed at his chest. Requies's head was a little rattled still, but he recovered enough to think fast enough to do something! He fired a strong enough beam to move him out of the way, using the connection between the blasts as a means to do so. The ki blasts blew up and sent out a explosion, propelling him away from his original path. He now was heading into the lake!

Requies collided into the water, back first and going deep into it. His body was tired and aching in pain, but Requies could still move. He rose up out of the water, gasping for air and waving to the creature. He shouted, spitting water out with every other word, "Alright! You win! I give up!"

He rose up out of the water and floated above the lake, rubbing his head as he leaned over and gasped. Whatever this creature was, it was strong and seemed to have toyed with Requies this whole time. It was probably doing what Requies was doing: trying figure Requies out as well. The ex-soldier floated over to the creature, telling it, "Alright. I'll answer your questions now. First... Let me answer your original question. The reason I fight..."

He paused for a moment, to land on the sand and collapse on the ground as he caught his breath. Requies continued on, stating, "The reason I originally became a fighter was to become well known and be respected... I sought to become popular in the military, feeling that would be the best way to do so. However, I was restricted from ascending the ranks, despite being a good soldier. I left in search of a different manner of doing so and heard about the martial arts tournament we have here on Earth. Wanting to get respect and admiration, I went searching for places to learn at that I heard of while in the military. Most of the places were very basic and had students that were arrogant and didn't have respect. However, I finally came across a place that I could manage at Satan City. The master of the school was a very laid back man usually, but when he was teaching us, it proved to be a different story..."

He paused again, to catch his breath and sit up.

"When he taught, you could see how he truly was. Prideful, strong, demanding, and wise. After one of the lessons, he came up and told me to come with him to a private area of the school. I followed suit, thinking I was going to learn some new technique, and while that was true, it was also a personal lesson. He said to me, after beating the living hell out of me just like what you did, 'Seeking respect and admiration is a fool's quest, especially when it comes to fighting! You put your life on the line every time you enter a fight, along with your beliefs and pride. Seeking something is not what you do when you fight! It is to protect when you believe in and your pride! When you fight, you become the icon of what you are and what your beliefs are! Respect and admiration are minor rewards that come with fighting.'"

Requies took another deep breath, before continuing on, "That is what my previous master taught me. So, to break it down... I fight for myself and to be an example for others. At least, that's what I try to do. Now, what's your next question?"

[Deleted]

“Do I have any more questions for you?” Kazama asked with a whisper. The man had slowly trudged his way out of the lake and collapsed on the sandy beach. He was defeated and broken. He even conceded that he had lost. The Majin’s head cocked to the side and a confused expression adorned his face. “When did I tell you the fight was over?” The question was asked at the tiniest whisper. However despite the volume Requies would no doubt hear the words as the air seemed to hold still and the entire area around them fell deathly silent.

Kazama reached up and undid his vambraces which suppressed his power level down to only a fraction of its current limit. But as the two vambraces smashed into the ground Kazama let his power level spike up to his max power level around seven hundred thousand. Without a blink Kazama charged forward grabbing Requies Artog by the throat and slammed him down into the ground. The force behind the choke throw would cause a massive crater to form underneath the human’s broken body. He would not be surprised if he broke several of his bones. After that Kazama waited a moment for the human to fully comprehend what had fully happened to him. He lightly tapped Requies Artog on the side cheek playfully.

“That is my round two. You got a while to go before you catch me,” Kazama laughed with a kind smile. He hand reached out to the side and his weights returned to him which he put him back on again. His power was once again suppressed back down to where it was.

He jumped off the ground, spun in the air and landed on the edge of the crater. The Majin’s were the most graceful that he had made during the entire fight and barely caused any dust to move when he landed. He cocked his head to the side with a gentle smile. “I like you. That is a good reason to fight. You see I fight as well…well that is obvious, but what I meant was I fight to protect as well. It is truly a noble cause but the true test of a warrior is whether or not he is committed to the cause.” Kazama held out his index and middle finger together and began to gather energy at the tips of them. The energy seemed harmless but at the difference in power a single shot from it at this close of a range would kill Requies.

“Are you willing to die in order to protect not only the people you hold dear or protect the places you love but also the masses that you have never met or the places you have never set foot? Are you willing to throw away everything to provide even the smallest shard of help to the weak?” Kazama said never losing the gentle smile. “What if I told you that you had to make an impossible choice right now, that I will destroy Jorlaxl’s school and everyone in it, the next city over unless you try and stop me now? Would you attack me and try and stop me even in your current condition knowing that if you did so it would surely mean your death? Well would you? Throw it all away effortlessly or allowing thousands to die?” Kazama berated. Each question slowly became more stern and colder with each question.

Kazama waited for his reaction because it would fully determine the Majin’s next move. He had known a long time ago that in order to truly protect everyone you had to make some difficult choices even if they were not in your own best interest. He had agreed to fight alongside Sohko, to make sure his ‘friend’ was safe from harm; he wanted to protect someone that was close to him. Though it turned out that Sohko had sold him out in order to save his own skin this was one of the prices of protecting everyone. Another was the fact that you had to accept that you would fail occasionally and when you did it was going to be the most gut wrenching pain you had ever felt. Images of Kazama holding a pale beautiful woman in his arms began to flash through his head. Her eyes were clouded and blood seeped out of her mouth and smalls tear droplets began to accent her face.

“What is it going to be, you or them?” Kazama asked as he fought back the sadness and pain that resided in him.