Pirates of the Skies

Chapter 16

To Challenge the Wind

Riku was running through the forest trees, following the silver glowing light that was Hazumi. Hazumi made sure to weave through trees as not to surprise Riku, who, unlike him, could not phase through them. They heard the sound of engine powered turbines coming to life. Both knew instantly that Kazu was coming closer to escaping.

"He's about to leave." Hazumi said. "Maybe we should…" Hazumi looked back and saw that his brother was no longer following him. He looked ahead to see that Riku had decided to follow his ear instead of his glowing chest. Sighing to himself he flew after his fast moving older brother.

/

Yuki and Branson stood facing each other. Yuki looked at the man with disdain in her face. "To think, I'm wasting my time with an insignificant person like you! Air Torpedo!"

An air shaped like an arrow came from Yuki's outstretched hand and sped towards Branson. Branson swung his axe to intercept the attack but was still pushed back to a considerable distance by the dissipating attack. Yuki repeated the attack and Branson tried to block it again, only to have himself knocked on his butt.

He got up smiling. "That is quite an attack you have there. Too bad it won't be enough to beat me." Branson said as he turned up a dial on the left part of his strength vest. The dial went from 20 to 50. The hum coming from him, or more specifically from his strength vest increased. Branson then charged for Yuki, wielding his fireman axe. Yuki let out a barrage of air torpedoes but Branson knocked them into nothingness as he got ever closer to her.

Yuki realising the danger she was in and skipped back multiple times while throwing more air torpedoes which were countered easily by Branson who was still advancing at an alarming rate. Branson smiled, realising that he had the advantage.

"Power Axe Throw!" Branson yelled before throwing his axe at her.

The axe whirled speedily towards her with the air around it rippling outward. "Double Air Torpedo!" Yuki shouted as she released to air torpedoes. The whirling axe went through both air torpedoes easily enough but because of the encounter, they had lost much of their momentum. Yuki thrust her hands out and air engulfed the axe, placing it under her control. "Return to Sender!" She spun on her heels, followed by the axe which swerved around her before it was thrown at Branson with air aided power.

The axe was whirling around even faster at Branson who had not stopped his charge at Yuki. He held out his hand and, to Yuki's shock, caught the powerful axe throw and dissipating the whirling air around it. Branson leapt up and angled his fist towards her. Yuki used her powers to aid her in jumping back and, by sheer luck, dodged his fist by inches but was unable to avoid the flying debris and shockwave caused when it collided with the earth. She was flung away and landed on her back as dust flew everywhere.

"Mom!" Kai screamed from the Dream Glider which was floating above. Mary could see from her vantage point that Yuki was okay but if that punch had connected with her, she'd be dead. Yuki grimaced as she got up, her ginger hair falling on her face.

Branson was smiling as he got back to his feet, his fist having made a small crater and displacing the ground beneath. "You survived that, huh?"

"I could never be killed by a mud peasant!" Yuki angrily spat before she moved her shoulder length hair out of her face. "Triple Air Torpedo!"

"Heh, this again?" Branson remarked as he used his spear to dissipate the first two torpedoes but was not fast enough to stop the third one, which collided with his chest and blasted him back. His feet slid on the earth, making track marks as Yuki released three more. Again, Branson blocked the first two but the third blasted him back and this time he was forced on his feet to avoid falling onto his back.

Yuki began running forward, seizing the advantage. She began to whirl her arms above her head and a vortex of air began appearing around Branson. With each whirl of her arms, the air around Branson became stronger, eventually lifting him of the ground.

"She's got him!" Shinji said, looking on with excitement. "Now he's in trouble!"

Yuki stopped in front of the strengthening vortex. She was close to completing the technique when Branson dialled up the dial on his chest from 50 to 75. He flexed his muscles, dissipating the gathered air. Yuki placed her hands in front of her to protect her eyes from the dissipating air which fluttered her hair behind her.

Shinji cursed loudly.

"What happened?" Omoi asked.

"That strength vest is making it difficult for Yuki to fight him. He's simply dialing his strength up to match whatever she can throw."

/

Riku arrived at the air skiff just as Kazu was about to take off. Kazu looked to his side as the ship gained altitude and saw Riku standing on the ground below. "Hey, I know you," Kazu said, smiling at Riku like they were good friends, "you're the one who tried to break me out. Thank you for your effort but as you can see I don't need your help in escaping anymore! Bye!"

Riku ran forward and scaled a tree with a few jumps and began jumping branch to branch getting higher and closer to the skiff. Kazu noticed this and frowned. He pushed a lever, making the skiff rise faster and move further away. Riku made a desperate last minute leap for it and disappeared under the skiff. Kazu laughed before pushing the skiff's thrusters forward with the push of a lever. Had he bothered to look more carefully, he would have seen that Riku had actually made it and was holding on to the bottom of the ship where he was currently unseen by Kazu.

He was able to climb along the side of the skiff and get to the railing, where he tried to climb on board. He withdrew his sword from his back and stabbed the turbine beside him, jamming the fan. Riku tried to use the sword as additional support to lift himself up. Kazu saw him and pressed a button which unfolded the orange wing gliders from the side of the skiff. The expanding gliders hit Riku in the abdomen during their expansion and pushed him back. He desperately held on the edge of the glider, trying not to fall off.

"I usually love people who don't want to die but you are annoying me!" Kazu said as he jumped onto the glider with his thin-bladed sword appearing from his sleeve. Riku swung his legs to kick at the bottom of the glider wing which was also where Kazu was standing under. This sent Kazu off to the glider edge where he caught the edge of the orange glider with one hand before he could fall to the fast moving ground below.

They both faced each other, hanging on to the glider for dear life. Because Riku's sword was still embedded in the turbine, the skiff began slowly overturn to one side and headed for the trees on the ground. Kazu swung his sword but found that it could not reach Riku. He gritted his teeth in anger as Riku attempted to climb on the glider wing while ignoring Kazu's out of range attacks. Kazu smilled brilliantly before he cut the glider wing before him. The cloth tore off and therefore, the piece of glider wing Riku was holding onto began to tear off from the glider. The piece went rip and without a proper hold, Riku was sent flying off the wing. He was able to grab the back of the skiff before he completely passed it.

At this point, the skiff was on its side and the turbine with Riku's sword in it began to spark and smoke as the skiff headed down. Both men knew tat something had to be done or else the skiff would crash with them on it.

Kazu used the opportunity to get back on the skiff and turn the other wing to straighten the it and allow it to fly at the same altitude. However he knew it would not last if he could not get the other turbine working again. He grabbed Riku's sword and pulled it from the turbine un-jamming it while Riku was able to climb back on to the deck to face Kazu.

Kazu smiled at him. "Oh, is… this yours?" Kazu said holding up the sword, before throwing it overboard. Riku helplessly watched as his sword fell to the ground below with its blade glinting on the way as if to say goodbye to its owner. He had no time to mourn it as Kazu rushed him with his own sword in hand. Kazu thrust his sword for Riku's head but the former simply moved to the side and caught Kazu's wrist as he tried to swipe at his neck. Grunting in frustration, Kazu attempted to punch Riku in stomach but was again foiled when Riku grabbed his wrist and held his fist at bay. To Riku's surprise another sword shot from Kazu's wrist and stopped short of piercing his stomach because of the hold he had on the armed man's wrist. Riku's eyes widened as he saw the blade aiming for his stomach suddenly inch closer before stopping only to inch closer again a while later.

Riku looked up from the sword that was getting dangerously close to piercing his stomach at Kazu, who smirked at his opponent's bewildered expression. The sword once again, shifted a few more inches closer to Riku's stomach while he tried to keep the other one aiming at his neck at bay...

/

Three torpedoes collided with Branson but he did not even bat an eye at them. Yuki used her powers to distance herself from him and when she was at a safe distance she tried more of her attacks. "Go down damn it!" Yuki shouted when she noted that her attacks were having no effect on Branson whose strength vest was working at a 75% capacity.

"Power Axe Throw!" Branson shouted before throwing his axe. The axe was moving quick and it trailed a path of dirt behind it and made a tail trailing air as it cut through the atmosphere.

"Triple Air Torpedo!" The arrows of air did nothing to the axe when they collided with it, as it continued on its path towards Yuki. She jumped up, using air to make her leap gain higher altitudes. The axe made contact with where she was standing and there was a giant explosion of rock and debris which sent her tumbling away. When the dust cleared, she was struggling to get up and was covered in dirt and bruises from the last attack.

"Yuki," Shinji whispered to himself as his grip got tighter in the railing.

"Dad, should we help her?" Kai asked worriedly.

"Not yet. She hasn't played all her cards yet." Shinji said looking hopefully at his wife below.

"Still alive?" Branson said, disappointed at seeing her get to her feet as the dust fully cleared up. He withdrew a medieval double sided axe from his back before he walked towards her.

Yuki gritted her teeth as she watched Branson swagger closer to her. Mary suddenly stepped in front of her wielding a throwing knife. She threw it at Branson who blocked it by lifting his strength vest covered forearm, making the knife clank harmlessly against it.

"What are you doing?" Yuki asked Mary.

Mary looked back at her. "Uh… helping?" Mary said before she returned her sight back to Branson. "We need to leave before he gets closer. I have a few smoke bombs in myAAAAAHH!" Mary was blown away by a powerful wind when Yuki swept her hand across. Mary landed painfully, face first in the ground with the rest of her body sticking up in the air, like an ostrich with its head to the ground.

"If I wanted help, I'd ask for it." She said as she stood straighter. She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe before looking at Branson with a more determined look in her hazel eyes. "Tenzin's Structure!" Yuki said before raising her arms and causing air to gather around her.

"Now he's in trouble." Shinji said, smiling.

"What-What is that?" Kai asked.

"Oh yeah, you have never seen anyone push your mother this far." Shinji said. "This is one of her strongest air techniques, Tenzin's Structure!"

The air gathering below Yuki began taking a grey-ish white colour, like fast moving clouds. The moving air, which orbited Yuki as if she was the eye of the storm, grew to be knee deep. Branson charged at her. "Pillar of Air!" From the air around her legs a tornado quickly emerged and when Yuki thrust her palm forward the tornado obeyed and launched away, heading for Branson. Branson brought his axe down in the middle of the furiously swirling air, dissipating the tornado but being driven back by the resultant collision and dissipation of wind.

"It's stronger but still not enough." Branson said.

"DualPillar of Air!" Yuki shouted before two tornadoes came out of the swirling air and headed for Branson at the gesture of her hand. "Pillar Compression!" One of the tornadoes wandered to the side and compressed itself by growing short but increasing the power of its moving air. The ground beneath it was dug out by the air and the earth was launched at Branson like a crashing wave. While the dust blinded Branson, the other tornado moved over him, engulfing him in its windy body. "Pillar Compression!" The tornado with Branson in its midst got shorter and stronger. The air vortex bent like a slinky and slammed Branson along the ground, displacing the soil and grass, on its way to a tree where it planned to slam Branson against.

However, before the vortex could reach the tree, it suddenly stopped to reveal Branson standing his ground and holding the wind back with his raised arms. Electricity sparked out all over his vest. "Strength Vest at a 100% Capacity!" Branson shouted before he forced part of the tornado to dissipate, forcing it to straighten up again. "Your technique allows you to create tornadoes faster and gives you greater control over them," he observed. "It's an impressive technique but it still won't be enough when my strength vest is at full power. This was what allowed me to stop your ship and it will allow me to stop you!"

Branson charged again. Yuki maneuvered both tornadoes in his path and compressed them but he ran through them, forcing them to dissipate. He was now just outside the knee high vortex of white air surrounding Yuki. "Air Waves!" Multiple waves made of white air flowed forward from the wind around Yuki's legs, crashing like waves on the beach on a charging Branson. The waves caused him to slightly slow down but not stop. "Pillar of Air!" Yuki shouted just before a tornado came out from beneath him and engulfing him in spinning air on top of the air waves pushing him back. He was still steadily advancing though. "I… will not… be beaten by the likes… of you!" Yuki said before gritting her teeth and thrusting her hands out, causing a stream of air to come out of her hands and hit Branson who was still in a tornado, being buffeted by waves of air and still coming towards Yuki . This slowed him down considerably and his advance was now struggling to move forward but it moved forward nonetheless. Yuki gritted her teeth in intense focus but she was shocked at seeing Branson still advance, with his strength vest sparking white and blue lightning from the tornado around him.

"Wow! Mom is using 3 attacks at once!" Kai exclaimed looking below in awe. "There's no way she can lose!"

Shinji kept silent as he did not want to worry the boy. He noticed that even though Yuki was using 3 attacks, Branson was still coming and to make matters worse, because she was so focused on keeping him at bay, her Tenzin's Structure was slowly dissipating. And if it went, she would definitely lose.

Closer and closer Branson was getting until he was close enough to lift his axe over his head for a downward chop on Yuki's head. Yuki decided to calm down and closed her eyes before she began humming a familiar tune to herself. In her mind, everything around her went black, there was no Branson who was about to kill her, there was no air techniques taking all of her concentration, there was no fight, there was no family flying overhead in the sky ship, there was no world. There was just her and the humming that vibrated throughout her whole body and being. She began slowly adding elements of the world back into her own reality. She began with the green forest and then her family in the sky ship followed by Branson, then the Air Waves, before the Pillar of Air around Branson and her stream of air. She slowly opened her eyes before whispering, "Pillar Compression."

The tornado around Branson compressed, becoming stronger and lifting Branson off the ground. Branson was now blasted back by the combined attacks. "Pillar of Air!" Yuki shouted before Tenzin's Structure fully disappeared. With two tornadoes at her beck and call she controlled them so they were at each side of Branson who was still getting up. "Pillar Fusion!" Yuki shouted before the two structures of spinning air began spinning around Branson at great speed before seemingly fusing into a giant whirlwind with air orbiting around Branson. The new bigger tornado bent over and hit the ground, causing a deep gorge in the ground before slamming and drilling Branson into a tree. Branson stuck on the splintered tree before falling to the ground.

"Mom! Won, yay!" Kai said as he and his father began celebrating excessively, which included dancing with each other or jumping up and down like fan girls. Omoi could not help but smile when she looked down on the ground where Yuki was approaching the battered Branson.

Branson got to his feet. His strength vest had taken a lot of damage from the last attack and was no longer operational. "You're making a mistake by… protecting Kazu Ita from us." Branson said before coughing blood. "The man is a monster. Do you know how many people he killed in our town? Do you know the sick things he did to the women he kidnapped before slowly killing them? My people need to have justice, they deserve it. You should understand since you're a woman."

"Really?" Yuki asked stopping in front of him but ensuring there was distance between them. "Girl Power is what you're attempting to use to sway me?" Yuki flicked her hair back. "I don't care about your people's justice. My son wants that man in his custody so we're taking him and as your pathetic attempt to stop me has proven, there's nothing you can do to stop us." Yuki leaned back, drawing in air. This action made her generous bust grow bigger as she forced more air into her chest. A few of her red blouse buttons popped open, revealing more of her cleavage. "Blowjob!" Yuki said before leaning forward and blowing out all the air she collected out of her mouth. Branson was hit by the spear-like stream of air coming from her between her lips and was pushed into and through the tree he had crashed into earlier. Now that he was caught in her techniques air stream, Yuki angled her head up and caused Branson to be blown up, crashing through some branches in the process, and away into the sky in the horizon.

"Yeah, no one can blow 'em like me wifie!" Shinji said from up high in the Dream Glider.

/

Riku was still struggling to keep Kazu's blades at bay. He looked up at him and saw that he still had a psychotic smirk on his face. From behind Kazu's shoulder he saw something coming fast towards the boat. The flying object crashed into the undamaged turbine of the skiff and thereby breaking it before continuing on its path.

Was that Branson? Riku thought to himself in disbelief. The skiff began rocking unsteadily now that both of its turbines were damaged. To Riku's surprise his sword fell out of the sky and landed on the deck of the skiff, just behind him. He looked back confused before he heard a stern and angry voice.

"Let my brother go!" Hazumi said as he phased in between them, his body existing around their arms. "Partial Coperal Mode: Fist!" Hazumi shouted before punching Kazu in the face and away from Riku, who fell back and withdrew his sword from the deck.

They both now faced each other, each with their blades in hand or in Kazu's case, hands. Riku pointed his katana at Kazu, "Give up Kazu. Your style is disadvantaged without the freedom to move…" because of the damaged turbines and torn wing, the skiff began angling nose first downward, causing Riku, who stood near the back, to rise and Kazu, who stood near the nose, to drop. "and I have the higher ground." Riku completed.

"Do not underestimate me!" Kazu angrily said before a crazy smile plastered itself on his face. "Makashi s***h!" Kazu rushed forward.

"12 Noble Samurai Form:…" Riku said as he allowed his body to slide forward to meet the advancing Kazu Ita while holding his sword above his head, parallel to the ground. "Hexagonal Defense!" They met in the middle and there were quick flashes and glints of silver as multiple slashes and blocks were traded before Riku slashed Kazu across the shoulder after seeing an opening.

Kazu fell back, losing consciousness and his swords fell onto the deck. Riku sheathed his sword behind his back and grabbed Kazu by the collar of his jacket before running up the skiff and leaping off the back and into the air. The skiff crashed on the ground below, explosively breaking apart and sending dust and flaming debris all around it. Riku headed up into the air until gravity remembered that he should not be able to fly and pulled him down towards where the skiff crashed.

Riku looked down on the approaching ground, knowing that he would not be able to survive a fall from the height he was at especially with the added weight of an unconscious Kazu. Corporal Mode! Hazumi said before appearing in his silvery moonlight humanoid form. He grabbed both Riku and Kazu. Riku looked up to see Hazumi's silver face, something he never thought he would ever get a chance to see. He involuntarily smiled before Hazumi looked down at him with a smile of his own, "Hey Big Bro." Hazumi said as he struggled to fly off to the Dream Glider with the burden of two people.

/

"So you guys want to deliver Kazu to a contact of yours?" Yuki confirmed, speaking to Riku and Mary. Hours had passed since Yuki defeated Branson and Riku placed Kazu into a cage in the storage room in the ship.

"Yes… and since we don't have any transport of our own, we would appreciate the ride." Mary said.

"Of course we'd give a ride to my son!" Yuki said hugging Riku, who looked uncomfortable with the amount of affection. "We're glad to have you back, even if you came bearing rags." Yuki said the last part glancing at Mary.

"No problem, we'll help you deliver Kazu and then go to Balsc City to drop off Omoi to her brother." Shinji said as Lassie landed beside him and chirped/barked in agreement.

Omoi nodded thankfully but was uncomfortable sharing a boat with a killer like Kazu, even if he was caged.

"Looks like the family is coming back together." Hazumi said floating next to Kai.

"Meh… I liked it better when there were fewer of us brothers." Kai said.

"Strange," Yuki said tapping her lip.

"What?" Shinji asked.

"I feel like we forgot something but I just can't remember." Yuki said.

Shinji rubbed his head before saying, "uhm… where's Shuji?"

"Nooooooo! We forgot our son… again!"

Shuji was still at the docks, frantically waving his still good arm, which held his newly acquired rifle. at the sky ship getting further away in the horizon, coloured by an orange setting sun. "Guys, what about me?!" He shouted after the ship that could not possibly hear him from that distance. He sighed to himself before sitting on a rock and singing, "Nobody knows, the trouble I've seen…"