ficcage meme thingie
I noticed that ickaimp and ysabet did this, so I thought 'Whee bandwagon!' and jumped on. ^_^; Yes, I know it's late. Yes, I also know I'm slow and any one of these projects is way behind. I fail at life right now; school prep is making me nuts.
If you happen to be working on some creative writing project, fanfiction or what have you, post exactly one sentence (or more) from each of your current work(s) in progress in your journal. It should probably be your favorite or most intriguing sentence so far, but what you choose is entirely your discretion. Mention the title (and genre) if you like, but don't mention anything else -- this is merely to whet the general appetite for your forthcoming work(s).
So...here's some stuff I manage to poke at when I'm not running around like decapitated poultry. Doesn't include many mentions of my Regular Works which I also poke at; apologies. Some of you may have seen bits of this before. @_@ Like I said, I fail right now.
The List:
Series: DNAngel
Title: none yet
"I know you don't like the shirt's color, but actually, it looks okay." Growing serious after their bout of teasing, Daisuke stepped in beside him, so that the two of them became four in the department store mirror. "It's just different."
"Not used to wearing lighter colors," Dark muttered, straightening his shirtfront. "Feels like I'm shouting 'Shoot Me, Baka!'"
Daisuke almost giggled. "We're not going to work in these clothes. You just need something that doesn't scream 'Kaitou Dark Here!'"
"Che..."
"Even with the changes, if you go walking around in black leather and buckles in broad daylight, someone's bound to recognize you. Or at least get suspicious."
"I know that, kid," Dark sighed, watching their images, all humor lost for a moment. The person in the mirror was not exactly the handsome, mysterious, magical Phantom Thief Dark; it was still him, still Dark, but...not. The "mysterious" and "Phantom Thief" parts were all missing--not that the remainder wasn't still handsome, he assured himself with a tilt of his head. But it was taking him longer than he liked to get over the missing pieces, considering how adaptive he saw himself to be--a little alteration here and there wasn't the end of the world. He'd lived too long to get hung up on stuff like that.
So he grinned and leaned an elbow on Daisuke's shoulder--ignoring the twinge that remembered he was no longer tall enough to lean on the younger boy's head. "But that doesn't mean I have to dress up like you! I'm putting my foot down at stuffy Sunday shirts."
"But--"
"And no matter what Emiko-san says--no bowties, either!" Chuckling, Dark dragged the protesting Daisuke into a headlock and noogied the spiky red hair.
"Ack! Oi, leggo! Okay, okay, I get it! Ow, I'm sorry!" The shorter boy tried ineffectively to extricate his cranium from Dark's grip, but despite his complaints, he was laughing. "No ties, I swear--!"
"Yo, Daisuke!"
The familiar voice made them both freeze like the guilty thieves they were, Daisuke nearly falling over as Dark suddenly released him. "S-S-Sa-Saehara!" he stammered with a brief flail of terror, unsure of what the newcomers had heard. "I-I-I, um--b-b-but--ah--w-what are you--?"
"Baka..." Dark sighed. Always the quicker of the two on his mental feet, he smacked his younger partner in the back of the head, effectively ending his bout of mindless stuttering.
"Um..." Saehara was accompanied by a couple of school buddies, all of whom were regarding the pair with crooked eyebrows and vague confusion. "I'm just here to get shoes," he said, indicating the box under his arm. "Kaasan insisted. What are you here for?"
"Um, me? Uh, nothing. Er, clothes." Daisuke attempted an innocent grin, which came off as a rather nervous grimace. He glanced at Dark, who watched the younger boys coolly. "Yeah. Clothes."
"Ah." Saehara grinned--as usual--and nodded understandingly. "Your mom kicked you out the door too, huh? New stuff for school before the break ends! Yup, I gotta go get film, too..." He paused, as if realizing something, and glanced at the taller, silent youth standing beside his schoolmate. "Uh, Daisuke, who's he?"
_______________________________________________________
Series: One Piece
Title: none yet
He'd never really expected to regain consciousness; perhaps that was why he found himself vaguely surprised when he did.
He was also in considerably more pain this time, eliciting a sardonic grumble from his subconscious that freezing to death was a pretty damn nice way to go, all cozy and numb. Warming up made nerves work, and his were currently informing him that he felt like hell.
It was no consolation that the pain in his heart was considerably worse than any of his wounds. He had nearly lost everything--no, he had lost everything...part of his everything, a piece of his soul...
Perhaps it was his groan that alerted the others in the room; perhaps it was the hissing rattle of his indrawn breath. Either way, he heard footsteps--heavy bootsteps, that reminded him far too much of--
"Oi. You awake?"
A voice. His friend's voice. He began to crack his eyes open, dim firelight making his temples throb. He saw a blurry man-shape above him, leaning over him, and struggled to focus. It was painfully difficult, slow and gradual.
"Ben...?"
The dark-haired form above let out a sigh of relief. "Damn. Thought we'd lost you there for a while--was pretty close..."
He blinked again, his eyes feeling gummy and swollen, his voice no more than a rasp of paper. "How...how are...?"
"They're okay. The tadpole's sleeping, and--"
"Papa?" A new voice made itself known, small and shaky, from somewhere near bed-level.
Somehow he found the strength to smile--he couldn't help it--and turn his head a little, seeing the dark-eyed, solemn little face peering at him, small hands gripping the blanket. "Hey..." he whispered. "There you are..." He wished he could move more, even just his arm, his hand, just to reach out and touch the child.
But even so, the little boy smiled a bit. "Papa's awake," he quavered, childish relief and comfort coming through the fear and the hazy barrier of shell-shock that had befallen him before.
"Yeah, he's awake," Ben told the child gently. "But your papa's still pretty tired, okay kiddo? Here, you go keep an eye on your little brother for me. Right? Make sure he stays warm."
The little freckled face turned up to the dark-haired man's for a moment, then nodded and reluctantly toddled back toward the stove, where the smallest member of their company lay asleep in a makeshift baby-bedroll of thick wool blankets and warm towels.
He sighed again when the child was gone, closing his eyes, though he could still feel Ben watching him. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to shut out the world--shut out everything, to stop the pain--but his best friend was still watching him, serious and concerned.
"Oi, Shanks...what the hell happened up there?"
_______________________________________________________
Series: Peacemaker Kurogane / Rurouni Kenshin
Title: none yet
"Even if I dislike the Shinsengumi," the other boy began, little more than a whisper. "I don't agree with everything Choshu does...especially the hitokiri. No more..."
Startled, Tetsu glanced at the taller youth.
"Killing a man...in front of his family...merely for speaking another tongue..." The redhead's fist tightened. "I want to put an end to that sort of thing. The killing...the using of people...the Shinsengumi are not blameless in this either. If I met such a man, even among Choshu..."
The air was cold again, and Tetsu turned a nervous glance to his unknown companion, somewhat unnerved. "Um...he's dead now, anyway. Shinsengumi killed him during the Ikedaya thing..."
The fleeting glance of suspicious surprise tightened the other redhead's mouth, almost a frown. "How would you know that?"
"Oh! Uh..." Ye gods, anything to get that terrible look out of the stranger's eyes! "I-I know some guys...you know?"
"Sou ka." The other youth relaxed, but the suspicion behind his eyes did not fade, leaving Tetsu feeling chilled and almost afraid once again. "Naruhodo. You have friends in the Shinsengumi."
"Uh...aa...maa..." Tetsu shrugged again, nervous. "They're not...bad guys, really. A lot of them are nice, even if they're sometimes strange. I mean...sure, they're against the Choshu, but they're not evil. My brother's in the Shinsengumi, just a bookkeeper, though, so..."
Unnerved by the near-luminescence that had returned to the other's eyes, Tetsu glanced down. "I'm sorry..."
"For what?" the taller youth asked, surprisingly gentle. "They're your friends. There's nothing to be ashamed of." Surprised, Tetsu looked up at him, confused by the mixture of wariness and concern in the stranger's gaze. "This may come as a surprise, but I do have respect for some of the Shinsengumi. I may disagree with some of their philosophies, but many of them are honorable warriors."
Tetsu stared at him, surprised and somehow glad. Gradually, his smile returned. "Well, that's good! At least I know you won't kill me, since I'm also--"
Realizing what he was about to admit, Tetsu cut himself off with a squeak--especially when that horrible suspicion returned to the redhead's amber eyes. "I-I--um--I didn't mean to--I'm not really that much--"
"You're Shinsengumi?"
Kami-sama, he was a different person! The stranger's voice had gone from a soft, gentle murmur to a harsh, stark snarl--and he was on his feet in a single blink, hand gone white-knuckled on the grip of his sword. Those chilling eyes seemed to glow like gold coins in the dappled shade, and in those tense, breathless moments he seemed more like an oni than Okita-san could ever be, with those eyes of yellow flame and hair like dripping blood.
And all Tetsu could do was scuttle backwards on his rear, stammering and suddenly terrified. "No! No--I-I'm not l-like that!" was all he could manage; some part of his brain was outraged and mortified at the sheer terror and how it rendered him helpless. "Don't--don't--please--!"
Those horrible eyes fixed on him, freezing him to the ground; he couldn't have gotten up if he'd wanted to. It was terrifying and this man wasn't Okita-san--and Okita-san was not here to save him, and if he so much as breathed the stranger would kill him--
Then, suddenly, the fearsome stranger relaxed once more, and the sense of death faded like a breeze. Tetsu found himself gasping for air after a breath he hadn't realized he'd held, staring at the taller youth in something like disbelief and dismay.
"You aren't like the Shinsengumi," the other boy whispered, his eyes still harsh but no longer murderous. "What are you doing with them? You're not a killer. You've never slain anyone..."
How does he know that? Tetsu gulped, his voice hoarse and raspy and more fearful than he'd wanted to admit. "Who are you?"
Once again, an eyebrow quirked at him, as if to say, You're Shinsengumi and you don't know? The stranger gave a short snort, releasing his sword. "No one of importance."
_______________________________________________________
Series: Rurouni Kenshin
Title: The Reason
"Battousai--yamero!"
Snarling, the hitokiri oriented on that shout, whirling blindingly fast to attack the man who had attracted his attention--the man who held Kenji against him like a shield, the sharp edge of his blade pressed against the child's pale throat--
--both of them in the path of his own sword--
--the scent of white plum and red blood, crimson stain seeping into pure snow--
--stop stop stop stop stop STOP!!!
His entire body locked up, muscles screaming with the effort of staying the attack he had already started--his own strength waging war against the power of Hiten Mitsurugi to bring his sword to a halt. Eyes jolting wide, he barely managed to slow the blade, trying to alter its trajectory somehow; adrenaline and terror blasted through him like a crashing wave as he desperately attempted to avert disaster.
He would not--could not harm that precious being held hostage in the soldier's arms, no matter what the cost; never again, never ever, not even if he had to cut off his own leg--
The blade of his katana slammed into the packed dirt at the Shinsengumi's feet with enough force to embed the tip of the sword six inches into the street.
Everyone--even the three surviving Shinsengumi--was still. Kenshin's breath went out in a rush of panicky relief, so rattled that he shook, staring at the soldier in front of him in equal parts horror and rage. The burly Shinsengumi held Kenji's tiny form to his chest, one thick arm surrounding the child and preventing movement--the other holding the sword that just touched the little boy's vulnerable throat, poised to slice through his jugular.
_______________________________________________________
Series: DBZ / Naruto
Title: none yet; or, The Obligatory Stupid Crossover
Not ten minutes into the disarray, the three young members of Genin Team Ten had just barely heard word of some sort of escapee being pursued when the person in question came around the corner at high speed and ran right into them.
Or, more specifically, he ran into Chouji.
Both boys let out a startled "Oof!" as the stranger stumbled back a couple of steps to blink at them. Immediately realizing the short boy was an unknown--and therefore probably the escaped problem--Shikamaru snapped out with his Kage Mane no Jutsu and stopped the stranger cold in mid-step, before he could run off again.
Ino and Chouji were already surrounding the short boy as he stood frozen in the shadow-snatch, snarling audibly at them, having gone from confused to angry in the moment his movements were restricted.
"Got him!" Shikamaru grunted, holding himself still. "Ino, call somebody over here to take him off my hands..."
Ino nodded and ran for the corner, to see if she could whistle up any of the boy's pursuers.
"Oi, leggo!" the strange boy shouted, body rigid with effort. Behind him, a furry brown tail lashed freely, bristled like a bottlebrush; it was the only part of him that was free, since Shikamaru himself didn't have a tail to hold it still.
"Keep an eye on him, Chouji," the lazy genius warned, sweat trickling down his temple. "I'll hold him 'til the dumb adults finally get here."
"Let go!" the short, orange-clad boy snarled again, the muscles of his arms standing out sharply as he fought the restraint. And that was when the Shadow Jutsu user realized he had a problem.
"Shit!" Shikamaru hissed, his own limbs begining to tremble with the force of backflow coming from the stranger. "He's strong--I can't hold him for long--!"
No sooner were the words out of his mouth, when the four Jounin pursuers all but appeared surrounding them--as well as Genin Team Eight, coming from the other direction, and most surprising of all, Uzumaki Naruto out of the alley across the street.
"We'll take it from here," announced one of the Jounin enforcers. "You may release your jutsu."
In retrospect, maybe that was a rather stupid idea.
As soon as Shikamaru let go, the small boy exploded into motion, abrupt and vicious. There was a harsh thud of flesh-on-flesh and a sickening gurgle as one of the Jounin collapsed, the boy's knee buried in his stomach.
There was a heartbeat of utter, shocked silence. The Genin students gaped, the three other Jounin tensed for battle, and the only sensei present--Kurenai--cursed herself for ten different kinds of a fool.
He doesn't just know some moves, she realized with a sick feeling. He knows how to fight.
Then time started up again and Goku was in blurred hand-to-hand with the three Jounin and Shikamaru tried to get a hold on him again. Everyone went on the attack; suddenly there were about fifteen of Naruto, and Chouji tried to bodily grab the small boy, and even Shino had his bugs in play. Goku was struck, battered, drained, stabbed at, slammed down, but somehow he was still in motion, still fighting and it was a huge mess of blurring forms and arms and legs and nobody could tell which flying orange body belonged to the stranger boy and which was one of the Narutos.
Hyuuga Hinata was trained in the Jyuuken technique, had posession of the Byakugan, and knew more than a dozen ways to knock someone out in one strike. She wanted to put the young boy out gently, but she could no longer get close--and even as she used her Byakugan to stare into him she was only more defeated. Son Goku was all wrong inside, his Chakra flowing in and around him like a whirlpool but the points and channels were all mixed up, laid out in different ways; like his wires were scrambled or something, but there were so many more wires--too many, and she didn't know where to strike.
Everyone was moving at once, but it was Naruto, eight seconds into the fight, who got the first lucky break.
He'd seen the tail on the stranger boy and his innate curiosity allowed him no other course; he dropped beneath the legs of one of the Jounin and in behind the flailing figure, grabbed hold of the flexing appendage, and gave a firm tug to ascertain if it was real.
It was real all right; warm and furry and spasming in his tight grip. The shriek he got in response shocked him, right before the fighting boy's elbow smashed into his face with a wet crunch, pulverizing cranial bones--
--that dematerialized in a puff of wispy smoke; one of the clones died instantly, but Naruto had already seen all he needed to see.
"The tail!" he yelled triumphantly over the din. "Go for the tail!"
_______________________________________________________
Well, that's some stuff. Obviously it doesn't include any DC; just some other junk which might vaguely be interesting. I'll get around to everything someday...
Egh, my brain is so fried... x_x
If you happen to be working on some creative writing project, fanfiction or what have you, post exactly one sentence (or more) from each of your current work(s) in progress in your journal. It should probably be your favorite or most intriguing sentence so far, but what you choose is entirely your discretion. Mention the title (and genre) if you like, but don't mention anything else -- this is merely to whet the general appetite for your forthcoming work(s).
So...here's some stuff I manage to poke at when I'm not running around like decapitated poultry. Doesn't include many mentions of my Regular Works which I also poke at; apologies. Some of you may have seen bits of this before. @_@ Like I said, I fail right now.
The List:
Series: DNAngel
Title: none yet
"I know you don't like the shirt's color, but actually, it looks okay." Growing serious after their bout of teasing, Daisuke stepped in beside him, so that the two of them became four in the department store mirror. "It's just different."
"Not used to wearing lighter colors," Dark muttered, straightening his shirtfront. "Feels like I'm shouting 'Shoot Me, Baka!'"
Daisuke almost giggled. "We're not going to work in these clothes. You just need something that doesn't scream 'Kaitou Dark Here!'"
"Che..."
"Even with the changes, if you go walking around in black leather and buckles in broad daylight, someone's bound to recognize you. Or at least get suspicious."
"I know that, kid," Dark sighed, watching their images, all humor lost for a moment. The person in the mirror was not exactly the handsome, mysterious, magical Phantom Thief Dark; it was still him, still Dark, but...not. The "mysterious" and "Phantom Thief" parts were all missing--not that the remainder wasn't still handsome, he assured himself with a tilt of his head. But it was taking him longer than he liked to get over the missing pieces, considering how adaptive he saw himself to be--a little alteration here and there wasn't the end of the world. He'd lived too long to get hung up on stuff like that.
So he grinned and leaned an elbow on Daisuke's shoulder--ignoring the twinge that remembered he was no longer tall enough to lean on the younger boy's head. "But that doesn't mean I have to dress up like you! I'm putting my foot down at stuffy Sunday shirts."
"But--"
"And no matter what Emiko-san says--no bowties, either!" Chuckling, Dark dragged the protesting Daisuke into a headlock and noogied the spiky red hair.
"Ack! Oi, leggo! Okay, okay, I get it! Ow, I'm sorry!" The shorter boy tried ineffectively to extricate his cranium from Dark's grip, but despite his complaints, he was laughing. "No ties, I swear--!"
"Yo, Daisuke!"
The familiar voice made them both freeze like the guilty thieves they were, Daisuke nearly falling over as Dark suddenly released him. "S-S-Sa-Saehara!" he stammered with a brief flail of terror, unsure of what the newcomers had heard. "I-I-I, um--b-b-but--ah--w-what are you--?"
"Baka..." Dark sighed. Always the quicker of the two on his mental feet, he smacked his younger partner in the back of the head, effectively ending his bout of mindless stuttering.
"Um..." Saehara was accompanied by a couple of school buddies, all of whom were regarding the pair with crooked eyebrows and vague confusion. "I'm just here to get shoes," he said, indicating the box under his arm. "Kaasan insisted. What are you here for?"
"Um, me? Uh, nothing. Er, clothes." Daisuke attempted an innocent grin, which came off as a rather nervous grimace. He glanced at Dark, who watched the younger boys coolly. "Yeah. Clothes."
"Ah." Saehara grinned--as usual--and nodded understandingly. "Your mom kicked you out the door too, huh? New stuff for school before the break ends! Yup, I gotta go get film, too..." He paused, as if realizing something, and glanced at the taller, silent youth standing beside his schoolmate. "Uh, Daisuke, who's he?"
_______________________________________________________
Series: One Piece
Title: none yet
He'd never really expected to regain consciousness; perhaps that was why he found himself vaguely surprised when he did.
He was also in considerably more pain this time, eliciting a sardonic grumble from his subconscious that freezing to death was a pretty damn nice way to go, all cozy and numb. Warming up made nerves work, and his were currently informing him that he felt like hell.
It was no consolation that the pain in his heart was considerably worse than any of his wounds. He had nearly lost everything--no, he had lost everything...part of his everything, a piece of his soul...
Perhaps it was his groan that alerted the others in the room; perhaps it was the hissing rattle of his indrawn breath. Either way, he heard footsteps--heavy bootsteps, that reminded him far too much of--
"Oi. You awake?"
A voice. His friend's voice. He began to crack his eyes open, dim firelight making his temples throb. He saw a blurry man-shape above him, leaning over him, and struggled to focus. It was painfully difficult, slow and gradual.
"Ben...?"
The dark-haired form above let out a sigh of relief. "Damn. Thought we'd lost you there for a while--was pretty close..."
He blinked again, his eyes feeling gummy and swollen, his voice no more than a rasp of paper. "How...how are...?"
"They're okay. The tadpole's sleeping, and--"
"Papa?" A new voice made itself known, small and shaky, from somewhere near bed-level.
Somehow he found the strength to smile--he couldn't help it--and turn his head a little, seeing the dark-eyed, solemn little face peering at him, small hands gripping the blanket. "Hey..." he whispered. "There you are..." He wished he could move more, even just his arm, his hand, just to reach out and touch the child.
But even so, the little boy smiled a bit. "Papa's awake," he quavered, childish relief and comfort coming through the fear and the hazy barrier of shell-shock that had befallen him before.
"Yeah, he's awake," Ben told the child gently. "But your papa's still pretty tired, okay kiddo? Here, you go keep an eye on your little brother for me. Right? Make sure he stays warm."
The little freckled face turned up to the dark-haired man's for a moment, then nodded and reluctantly toddled back toward the stove, where the smallest member of their company lay asleep in a makeshift baby-bedroll of thick wool blankets and warm towels.
He sighed again when the child was gone, closing his eyes, though he could still feel Ben watching him. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to shut out the world--shut out everything, to stop the pain--but his best friend was still watching him, serious and concerned.
"Oi, Shanks...what the hell happened up there?"
_______________________________________________________
Series: Peacemaker Kurogane / Rurouni Kenshin
Title: none yet
"Even if I dislike the Shinsengumi," the other boy began, little more than a whisper. "I don't agree with everything Choshu does...especially the hitokiri. No more..."
Startled, Tetsu glanced at the taller youth.
"Killing a man...in front of his family...merely for speaking another tongue..." The redhead's fist tightened. "I want to put an end to that sort of thing. The killing...the using of people...the Shinsengumi are not blameless in this either. If I met such a man, even among Choshu..."
The air was cold again, and Tetsu turned a nervous glance to his unknown companion, somewhat unnerved. "Um...he's dead now, anyway. Shinsengumi killed him during the Ikedaya thing..."
The fleeting glance of suspicious surprise tightened the other redhead's mouth, almost a frown. "How would you know that?"
"Oh! Uh..." Ye gods, anything to get that terrible look out of the stranger's eyes! "I-I know some guys...you know?"
"Sou ka." The other youth relaxed, but the suspicion behind his eyes did not fade, leaving Tetsu feeling chilled and almost afraid once again. "Naruhodo. You have friends in the Shinsengumi."
"Uh...aa...maa..." Tetsu shrugged again, nervous. "They're not...bad guys, really. A lot of them are nice, even if they're sometimes strange. I mean...sure, they're against the Choshu, but they're not evil. My brother's in the Shinsengumi, just a bookkeeper, though, so..."
Unnerved by the near-luminescence that had returned to the other's eyes, Tetsu glanced down. "I'm sorry..."
"For what?" the taller youth asked, surprisingly gentle. "They're your friends. There's nothing to be ashamed of." Surprised, Tetsu looked up at him, confused by the mixture of wariness and concern in the stranger's gaze. "This may come as a surprise, but I do have respect for some of the Shinsengumi. I may disagree with some of their philosophies, but many of them are honorable warriors."
Tetsu stared at him, surprised and somehow glad. Gradually, his smile returned. "Well, that's good! At least I know you won't kill me, since I'm also--"
Realizing what he was about to admit, Tetsu cut himself off with a squeak--especially when that horrible suspicion returned to the redhead's amber eyes. "I-I--um--I didn't mean to--I'm not really that much--"
"You're Shinsengumi?"
Kami-sama, he was a different person! The stranger's voice had gone from a soft, gentle murmur to a harsh, stark snarl--and he was on his feet in a single blink, hand gone white-knuckled on the grip of his sword. Those chilling eyes seemed to glow like gold coins in the dappled shade, and in those tense, breathless moments he seemed more like an oni than Okita-san could ever be, with those eyes of yellow flame and hair like dripping blood.
And all Tetsu could do was scuttle backwards on his rear, stammering and suddenly terrified. "No! No--I-I'm not l-like that!" was all he could manage; some part of his brain was outraged and mortified at the sheer terror and how it rendered him helpless. "Don't--don't--please--!"
Those horrible eyes fixed on him, freezing him to the ground; he couldn't have gotten up if he'd wanted to. It was terrifying and this man wasn't Okita-san--and Okita-san was not here to save him, and if he so much as breathed the stranger would kill him--
Then, suddenly, the fearsome stranger relaxed once more, and the sense of death faded like a breeze. Tetsu found himself gasping for air after a breath he hadn't realized he'd held, staring at the taller youth in something like disbelief and dismay.
"You aren't like the Shinsengumi," the other boy whispered, his eyes still harsh but no longer murderous. "What are you doing with them? You're not a killer. You've never slain anyone..."
How does he know that? Tetsu gulped, his voice hoarse and raspy and more fearful than he'd wanted to admit. "Who are you?"
Once again, an eyebrow quirked at him, as if to say, You're Shinsengumi and you don't know? The stranger gave a short snort, releasing his sword. "No one of importance."
_______________________________________________________
Series: Rurouni Kenshin
Title: The Reason
"Battousai--yamero!"
Snarling, the hitokiri oriented on that shout, whirling blindingly fast to attack the man who had attracted his attention--the man who held Kenji against him like a shield, the sharp edge of his blade pressed against the child's pale throat--
--both of them in the path of his own sword--
--the scent of white plum and red blood, crimson stain seeping into pure snow--
--stop stop stop stop stop STOP!!!
His entire body locked up, muscles screaming with the effort of staying the attack he had already started--his own strength waging war against the power of Hiten Mitsurugi to bring his sword to a halt. Eyes jolting wide, he barely managed to slow the blade, trying to alter its trajectory somehow; adrenaline and terror blasted through him like a crashing wave as he desperately attempted to avert disaster.
He would not--could not harm that precious being held hostage in the soldier's arms, no matter what the cost; never again, never ever, not even if he had to cut off his own leg--
The blade of his katana slammed into the packed dirt at the Shinsengumi's feet with enough force to embed the tip of the sword six inches into the street.
Everyone--even the three surviving Shinsengumi--was still. Kenshin's breath went out in a rush of panicky relief, so rattled that he shook, staring at the soldier in front of him in equal parts horror and rage. The burly Shinsengumi held Kenji's tiny form to his chest, one thick arm surrounding the child and preventing movement--the other holding the sword that just touched the little boy's vulnerable throat, poised to slice through his jugular.
_______________________________________________________
Series: DBZ / Naruto
Title: none yet; or, The Obligatory Stupid Crossover
Not ten minutes into the disarray, the three young members of Genin Team Ten had just barely heard word of some sort of escapee being pursued when the person in question came around the corner at high speed and ran right into them.
Or, more specifically, he ran into Chouji.
Both boys let out a startled "Oof!" as the stranger stumbled back a couple of steps to blink at them. Immediately realizing the short boy was an unknown--and therefore probably the escaped problem--Shikamaru snapped out with his Kage Mane no Jutsu and stopped the stranger cold in mid-step, before he could run off again.
Ino and Chouji were already surrounding the short boy as he stood frozen in the shadow-snatch, snarling audibly at them, having gone from confused to angry in the moment his movements were restricted.
"Got him!" Shikamaru grunted, holding himself still. "Ino, call somebody over here to take him off my hands..."
Ino nodded and ran for the corner, to see if she could whistle up any of the boy's pursuers.
"Oi, leggo!" the strange boy shouted, body rigid with effort. Behind him, a furry brown tail lashed freely, bristled like a bottlebrush; it was the only part of him that was free, since Shikamaru himself didn't have a tail to hold it still.
"Keep an eye on him, Chouji," the lazy genius warned, sweat trickling down his temple. "I'll hold him 'til the dumb adults finally get here."
"Let go!" the short, orange-clad boy snarled again, the muscles of his arms standing out sharply as he fought the restraint. And that was when the Shadow Jutsu user realized he had a problem.
"Shit!" Shikamaru hissed, his own limbs begining to tremble with the force of backflow coming from the stranger. "He's strong--I can't hold him for long--!"
No sooner were the words out of his mouth, when the four Jounin pursuers all but appeared surrounding them--as well as Genin Team Eight, coming from the other direction, and most surprising of all, Uzumaki Naruto out of the alley across the street.
"We'll take it from here," announced one of the Jounin enforcers. "You may release your jutsu."
In retrospect, maybe that was a rather stupid idea.
As soon as Shikamaru let go, the small boy exploded into motion, abrupt and vicious. There was a harsh thud of flesh-on-flesh and a sickening gurgle as one of the Jounin collapsed, the boy's knee buried in his stomach.
There was a heartbeat of utter, shocked silence. The Genin students gaped, the three other Jounin tensed for battle, and the only sensei present--Kurenai--cursed herself for ten different kinds of a fool.
He doesn't just know some moves, she realized with a sick feeling. He knows how to fight.
Then time started up again and Goku was in blurred hand-to-hand with the three Jounin and Shikamaru tried to get a hold on him again. Everyone went on the attack; suddenly there were about fifteen of Naruto, and Chouji tried to bodily grab the small boy, and even Shino had his bugs in play. Goku was struck, battered, drained, stabbed at, slammed down, but somehow he was still in motion, still fighting and it was a huge mess of blurring forms and arms and legs and nobody could tell which flying orange body belonged to the stranger boy and which was one of the Narutos.
Hyuuga Hinata was trained in the Jyuuken technique, had posession of the Byakugan, and knew more than a dozen ways to knock someone out in one strike. She wanted to put the young boy out gently, but she could no longer get close--and even as she used her Byakugan to stare into him she was only more defeated. Son Goku was all wrong inside, his Chakra flowing in and around him like a whirlpool but the points and channels were all mixed up, laid out in different ways; like his wires were scrambled or something, but there were so many more wires--too many, and she didn't know where to strike.
Everyone was moving at once, but it was Naruto, eight seconds into the fight, who got the first lucky break.
He'd seen the tail on the stranger boy and his innate curiosity allowed him no other course; he dropped beneath the legs of one of the Jounin and in behind the flailing figure, grabbed hold of the flexing appendage, and gave a firm tug to ascertain if it was real.
It was real all right; warm and furry and spasming in his tight grip. The shriek he got in response shocked him, right before the fighting boy's elbow smashed into his face with a wet crunch, pulverizing cranial bones--
--that dematerialized in a puff of wispy smoke; one of the clones died instantly, but Naruto had already seen all he needed to see.
"The tail!" he yelled triumphantly over the din. "Go for the tail!"
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Well, that's some stuff. Obviously it doesn't include any DC; just some other junk which might vaguely be interesting. I'll get around to everything someday...
Egh, my brain is so fried... x_x