The Sharpest Blade

The Sharpest Blade begins…..

Henan, China

Shaolin Monastery

In the cold, winter laden snow of China, a well known Monastery stood with its ever giving heat emanating off from the walls. Inside though, are what provided the heat that made any animal drawn to the Shaolin Monastery, although only located in a deeply orientated mountainous region. Despite the drawing towards it, the temple was also known for it's well earned glory in the arts of Shaolin Kung Fu. Inside, the warmth of hundreds of eager bodies that provided the walls to heat up. They all swelled with the idea of becoming the greatest fighters in the world, along with earning their right to protect and earn respect from others.

They all wanted to become the greatest known fighters in the world. Bruce Lee was what most had as their goal, and others were in the Monastery for different reasons. It was here, that Duvan roamed the halls self-confident of his skills. He had recently graduated, or more like passed the tests of the Shaolin Monks. Duvan had been given the right to keep his hair, as most knew he wasn't 'all human.' Yet, the Monks in the temple still considered him as one of their own, and he considered them great friends. So you could say that was the reason Duvan did their bidding, and why he was paying off his debt with this last mission.

Silently, Duvan walked, looking outside to see snowflakes slowly fall to the ground and meld with the inches of snow already there. He passed a few hopefuls, and nodded his respect upon they meeting him two feet away from where he was standing. They responded the same way; with an Asian smile that made their eyes slant so you couldn't see their pupils, and their smiles very much half circled. As they passed, Duvan glanced to see them go, and then looked back towards the hall they had come from. With immediate haste, he turned around in a one eighty, and then launched himself towards the adjacent wall from where he was previously standing.

At first, nothing happened. It was as if the wall was just any old wall. But, when Duvan hit it in a sequential order, the whole thing pushed back and opened to reveal a spiral-like staircase. Duvan walked into the new space, and collided down the steps with light footsteps. The wall behind him closed, revealing nothing of him actually ever being there. As he reached the bottom, Duvan took deep breathes and then as he rounded, glanced upon Master Qi Chon Viongo.

Duvan bowed low, then took off his Shaolin Monk shoes. He walked onto the sacred ground like he had over the past few months. Then, he sat, bowed again, and raised his body in a ninety degree angle, remaining silent as he did so. Duvan stayed in the position for some time, seemingly as Qi Chon ignored him; his back towards Duvan's face. After about three hours, Qi Chon began to speak. His voice was translated into Duvan's English.

“Duvan.. Your last mission for us is today. I understand that you do not require us to keep you any longer. Your time is important, but for this Monastery to continue, one man needs to be eliminated. The money we will receive or his death will provide us for tens of years, maybe even hundreds."

The Monk stopped, then smiled and laughed. “Maybe some… How do you say? Central Heating?"

Duvan smirked, lowered his gaze as he did so. Then he looked up." So... Who's this 'target?'

The Monk laughed. “This person is no normal target. He's like you. Long lived, too long lived. All we know is his name is Bushimi Natsumo. The only way to properly kill him, decapitation. You must also make sure to tear the rest of his limbs off too. If there is a chance he will survive, than we have lost all that we have worked for."

Duvan replied," Who's the employer?"

"Someone who deeply hates him."

"That is the only reason? I thought we have dignity?"

" Dignity no longer exists when you can provide for years because of one little job. I only want this place to last, and that is why I have not told the other Master's, and never will. You have been a good learner, but I want you to prevail and not be just a 'good learner.' You have a lot ahead of you, these old bones I have won't last long, and so you live as the legacy. Just do the job, go free, and remember who helped you along the way. After all... A good Master needs his burial to be rich, and you'll be rich with money. So I want gold on my coffin. Take mental notes."

Master Qi Chon Viongo laughed with Duvan chiming in. The old man had a lot of flare, but he was right. Soon he would die. Not everyone lives to ninety anyways. Duvan would pay his debt that way too; he would always do his best. Bushimi would not leave alive, anyone compromising the job would be killed too. No matter if they were directly or indirectly in the fight. Anyone in the area was a target.

New York City, Central Park

Dusk was setting, but as the Summer months were going, the sun was still up high in the sky. Despite the time being close to seven o'clock. Duvan had been wandering Central Park for a long time. He had remained all but a shadow, hiding in trees and near bushes. Not many people had been in the Park, but then again it was a Monday. Most people were returning from work to get some Monday sleep.  After all, returning to work always made people tired and distraught anyways. For Duvan, work wasn't an option.

Duvan also knew that the rule applied to Bushimi too. No Superhuman works, especially when they have lived 'too long.' Still, Duvan still couldn't figure out why he was to kill the man. He hadn't had any registered crimes, nothing to lead Duvan to think that he was remotely a troublemaker. That troubled him a little though. With someone living a long time, Bushimi should have at least a car ticket.

Instead, Duvan had to ponder on whether Bushimi had made all of his crimes all erased by corrupted cops and other Government officials. Now, Duvan had gathered information that Bushimi would be located in Central Park. He had got an anonymous tip, and Duvan had taken it. He only hoped that what he received was right, and that he had chosen the right lead. Hopefully, he would run into Bushimi in broad daylight, and then they could have a 'fair fight.'

It was nearing; Duvan knew the battle would begin. Anyone remotely close would be punished by death, and ultimately Bushimi would be dead too. Everyone but Duvan would die. This, because Duvan was Quality, not Quantity, he was Quality. Better than others, when he was set on something he got finished with it. Like he was about to now.  

So now.....are you free? Or are you with the other two, they look like they’re in a heated battle huh?"

Bushimi had quite the mouth Duvan had noted. Apparently, however, Bushimi didn't look that all surprised at seeing Duvan right behind him. Though this stunned Duvan a slight bit. Duvan had been following Bushimi since he had spotted the man entering through the North Entrance of Central Park. Since that moment, Duvan had remained a creeping and teetering figure among the trees and bushes. Despite this, he hadn't put all of his skills to the test, and had become sloppy a few times- in which he stepped on a twig, or climbed the wrong way up against a tree, or even cracking a branch as he danced over it on his tip toes.

However, Duvan knew ways of being deceptive. So, he had thrown branches on the other side of trees to simulate that someone was in the opposite direction. Once, he had even jumped in-between close trees in order to make is seem that a squirrel or some other animal had been chasing after the lone man. Yet, Duvan was still the sloppy, aloof man that had been born of metal and flesh as if some animal in the small testing areas of France. The Scientists there still boiled his mind with aggressive pain, and Duvan channeled that anger and sorrow into his movements, making him a decisive opponent.

"Why do your eyes tell me, you have been following me since I entered the states. As if hunting me?"

Now Bushimi’s words were starting to bore into Duvan. Had he actually shown emotion in the only eye left? And at that, had Bushimi looked close enough through the slits of his helmet, almost mask-like head covering? If this was true, Bushimi was going to be a hard man to take down. Still, Duvan didn't think he would actually break a serious sweat over him. All he had to do was decapitate his enemy. Now, the other two getting ready to fight were going to be pure nuisance to his cause. It seemed Duvan's one target had grown into three superhuman problems. With a heat seeking missile however, and with his fifteen machine gun bullets within his shoulder, Duvan considered himself to come out of this alright.

"Are you going to answer me or just continue to stare at me with that look of death."

Duvan was still silent, his deadly stare aiming towards Bushimi's head. He could see the quick movement of the Tachi becoming a serious problem later on. However, as the double helixed Bushimi had been trying to insult him, Duvan had pulled two dagger from within his left leg, and had been hiding them behind his black, long, leathered rain coat. In his left hand they remained, in his right hand, Duvan held a Katana also hidden from view. The dead, cool air was fumbling around now, as was the sun beginning to dip behind the horizon line. With a slim, sly smile, Duvan began to slightly push himself away from Bushimi.
'
" Well...  Yea... I'm going to look at you like some damned animal. So. How would you like your funeral? Buried with an open casket or a closed one?"

Duvan moved quickly, anticipating a reaction from Bushimi at any moment. Firstly be prompted up the two daggers within his left hand, and began to throw them towards Bushimi. As they flew from his hands with precision, Duvan unsheathed the Katana within his right hand, letting the sheath fly off into some bushes as he grabbed the weapon with both of his hands. Then he charged, jumping through the air and twirling over Bushimi as he attempted to slash the man's neck. When he landed behind Bushimi, Duvan glared and jumped away into some trees.

He was quick though, reappearing in front of Bushimi with the raised blade once more. He attempted a down strike before pulling a few steps back away from Bushimi. Duvan was ready, and as he began to breath, he sharpened his heart rate to a slightly slower rate. In his mind, everything was going slower. Outside his mind, things were beginning to become fast paced. With a smirk, Duvan waited for another smart allec remark from Bushimi.

" What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

  Bushimi's kick was worthless to Duvan's training. Being taught in Kung Fu by the Monks of China, all Duvan had to do was be as slick as the slippery snake he was trying to potray. It was like a bad excuse for a non-lethal blow, and yet Duvan had literally just ducked with his knees bent out in order to dodge the attack. Is this all an immortal can truly muster. It was weak, no matter if it showed true determination. Six years of training, six years of traveling, and some immortal thinks he can daze me with a little kick to the head. He is quite disturbing too... way to happy at that. Yes, that was true. It seemed that Bushimi was wickedly twisted with humor that was rare to find and equally bittersweet.

 "No....was just waiting for you to do something worth wild. Looks like you are fast, but that will not save you."

Before Duvan could respond, Bushimi was acting quick and sly with a new set of movements. It looked like he had been training for most of his life, and that life was probably spanning quite awhile- almost hundreds of years. First, a quick sheathing of blades before two guns appeared. Bullets rained across the air, and Duvan slowed his internal clock to match them. Whizzing slowly, he was able to pinpoint a few. As the mass amount of bullets came, Duvan caught a few that would hit him, using his metal hands and legs to block off the bullets.

It wasn't without the pain though, Duvan could feel his Adimantium consuming some of the impact, but the rest literally shaking the his non-metal body. He couldn't move at superspeed though, and some bullets grazed around Duvan's body, pulling off skin and leaving some to loosly fly around in the air. Duvan didn't have time to simply look at Bushimi though, but when he did, he saw the man do some crazy 'gun-ho' things.

However that could of been a distraction, Duvan still maintained a quick movement mind. Lucky for him, that was the right thing to do at the time. He reacted slowly though, and the two legs thrusting to his chest impacted with amazing strength.  He flew back, hitting a tree. With his weight, the tree snapped in half, the top most falling right ontop of Duvan as he landed. That wasn't enough to kill him though, and quickly, but hesitantly, Duvan pushed the 'piece' of wood right off of him.

Standing now, Duvan watched the sinful smile of Bushimi. The Tachi's were proving to be a problem, and Duvan had no way of stopping them either. Damn... he's fast and strong. Nothing I didn't expect nor be afraid of. Duvan stood still. Then, with a swift motion, he spun around with confusing speed. Then, as he did so, he reached in for the two remaining daggers. Now, without hesitation, he threw the daggers towards Bushimi's left arm, just for the point, and towards his neck to severe some of it.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, Duvan threw his Katana in the air. He jumped after it, and, in the middle of the air, grabbed two glock pistols from his leg. He fired off the rounds with precision. Aiming all of them towards Bushimi's neck. Still in midair, Duvan registered his glocks back into place, grabbed his Katana, and landed in a kneeling position. Then he was gone, bending towards his left side and jumping into the bushes.

In the coming darkness, Duvan appeared in front of the sun, making him a blinding sight. With his weapon raised, Duvan attempted to slash Bushimi's neck. He knew already, if this attack missed or performed poorly, his time would be running out to use the falling sun as a weapon. Landing in front of Bushimi, a few feet away, Duvan smirked. Then he was off, using his legs to launch him towards Bushimi.

Quickly he attempted a precise slice towards his enemies torso. As he landed behind Bushimi, Duvan lashed out with a vicious smileand blood seeping from the small grazes he recieved from Bushimi. "I guess that was something worth wild? You're fast yourself... but that won't save you either."