XVII. Blood and Tea

The former Samurai stepped forth inside the peculiar tea hut and knew what he had to do.

Inside the chashitsu, or tea room, Jack saw the quiet, yet peaceful space was brightly lit enough to know what lay in wait for him in this room. The tatami mats, the walls lined with fusoma paneling, the enticing, sweet aroma of matcha, and including to the far side of the room, the simple tokonoma which consisted of a scroll that hung on a wall, bore the crossed diamond mark of his people with a purple vase of white peonies on the floor to its right.

The room was sized to fit four and a half of these bright, wooden mats, arranged around the half mat that housed the veteran's final task and trial. He knew the ceremony well. Normally, preparation would take weeks, with invitations sent out to appointed guests. But for today, it was only he and the Buddhist monk were present. The wise, old man took his place, as per custom, on the host's mat on the left from the entry. Across from him on the central half-mat was everything Jack required for this task.

The terracotta pots and cups, the bamboo utensils, even the red fukosa, folded off to the side, all served a purpose for this occasion, and all must be approached and handled with the utmost care and exact obedience to the custom. The form must be followed to the letter, never to be improvised in any way.

However, there were mere exceptions to how this ceremony will be played out. The former Samurai warrior himself was obviously underdressed for this role. Kimono were traditionally worn, but all he had was his ragged leggings reduced to a greyed loincloth. There was no cha-kaiseki, or meal served, as per the tea function, but there didn't need to be for this time.

Being mindful of his steps beforehand, Jack reverently stepped inside, caring to keep himself in harmony with the peaceful atmosphere of this sanctuary. He knew the monk to be the host and judge, and so every movement had to be calculated and graceful. Kneeling down at the central hearth mat before the pots, cups, and tools, he readied himself to partake in a ceremony to cleanse his soul.

But little mindful was he of the danger that his ally, Ashi, faced…

- - - … - - -

The last Daughter of Aku alone faced off against the Orc Legionnaire and did what she does best.

With no Samurai to mentor her, she had granted herself permission to murder and to maim. With none of her departed siblings to comfort her, she brought forth suffering and barbarity. With only thousands of heavily armed, green lizard men bringing their guts, glory, and vehemence to manifest, Ashi clenched her fists and fought them to their last.

But she wanted it darker.

Following her rapid descent from her leap from the cliff above, she landed right in the midst of them, and all her years being raised into every possible combat posture and strike flashed out with the force of lightning. The Orcs being tightly grouped together, were now subject to her full power.

… Kick, punch, chop, jab, cross, counter, parry…

Her initial assault was performed, just as she had practiced since she was able to walk. But something else pushed her forward in her blindingly fast flurry of deadly motions. Something within herself that demanded more blood. Something… infinitely more devious than her former self…

But the legions of lizard-men were far from through yet. A great wall of flesh and metal cleared all around the last of the Seven while the surviving majority stood in both shock and rage. With a slobbering grunt, one ordered the rest to form a great and wide wall with their spears and pikes. They prepared to charge in a blaze of glory against the slayer of their own. As they stormed forward, their bravado dropped into disbelief as Ashi made a brazen counterattack of her own.

Unfazed by their advantage over her, she too plowed her own way in. The massive army couldn't believe their eyes. Her lithe body seemed to twist and contort unnaturally around the tight formation of gleaming, pointed blades. Her movements were almost serpent-like as she still pressed on like a mad lion after a gazelle.

Three spear points gashed across her sides, arm, and leg, but she winced not at the pain. Red crimson spilled out from her wounds, enshrouding her, anointing her. Her pure hatred for these Orcs bubbled over any instinct to care. But as awed the army was of her performance, a balled fist was raised, aimed at their faces.

The huntress' strike impacted the face of one with such force, that it caved in his helmet and skull, killing him instantly as his body flung several feet away, and the endless slaughter continued. Wounded and bloodied, any other man should be dead or dying, but not Ashi. Uncaring of her sudden surge of strength, she used it to her advantage. One kick sent handfuls flying in the air as a backhand shattered dozens of spears, leaving shortened stumps of wood in their hands.

The sheer brutality and bloodlust in her eyes pulsed and beat with more intensity as the brawl intensified in ways unimaginable.

Another group of them thrust their pikes at her, but with lightning reflexes, she bundled them together under her arm, and broke them off with a punch from her free hand, retaining two of the spearheads for her use as makeshift fighting sticks.

Far behind the frontline, those who struggled to press forward behind their comrades saw over the head of others quite the grisly sight. Their own men tossed far above their rank and file, all in various states of dismemberment and gore. Screams and shouts echoed through the desert in front of them. Whether they were rallying cries or pained terror, they knew not, until she came barreling towards them all.

Utilizing the severed spearheads as makeshift daggers, Ashi carved her way past her numerous enemies. Driving both of them into the chest cavity of one, she relished in the sounds of steel grinding against armored flesh and snarled as a feral beast on a fresh kill. But she soon noticed a sudden counterattack bearing down on her. Using the body of one Orc as a shield, she withstood the heavy blow of another bipedal lizard's sword cutting into his comrade's back.

The weight of these two hulking men would've crushed a lesser man, but Ashi thrust her arms forward, sending both flying away from her into the faces of a dozen more. Leaping high in the air, she twirled, giving her next attack with her blades that extra momentum to strike deep and hard.

One unfortunate soldier was pinned flat to the ground, his weapon knocked out of his grip. He growled and snarled, writhing under her, slobbering his spit, and struggling to break free before she grievously sank both her spearheads into each eye socket. A death's gurgle, followed by motionlessness followed. As another life ebbed and bled away at under herself, the feral blackness called itself to her once more.

Sweetheart… something with an aged, scratchy voice called to her from inside her mind.

… What?! Ashi almost yelped out loud. Who… who is that?!

… you have to bring out… your BEST… if you hope to defeat them… it pressed her enticingly.

No… no… she almost cried as she twisted her severed blades further into the skull of the deceased under her.

… and your best part… and her blood called into a yelling temptation, "I-S… M-E-E-E-!-!-!"

The last chord in her heart snapped, as she both willingly and reluctantly gave in to the phantom pain inside. Pulling out both her weapons out of the dead with a sickening lurch, she began her next frightening flurry of attacks.

The last Daughter of Aku screamed a mighty roar into the heavens as the Orc Legionnaire stood all amazed around her. Her scream was more beastlike than human, and now, in this very desert plain this hour, her resolve came back and she now sought to redefine to these lizard men what it means to fight like a girl.

- - - … - - -

… Inner peace… inner peace… inner peace…

Jack's repeated chant within his mind and soul was kept as he performed the ceremony as he remembered best. The short, yet mysterious monk took his place sitting down on one of the tatami mats off to one side of the room.

The former Samurai wondered as to who the identity of this strange man is, but his purpose was made clear enough; to personally oversee Jack's final Trial. Though this task was bafflingly simple compared to scaling a pyramid in scorching heat or facing an army of the undead in the blistering cold, he knew he had to do this one right.

Believing himself to be spiritually prepared for the dauntingly simple task ahead, the former rogue moved forward.

Keeping his steps short and in accordance to custom, he reverently approached the tea making tools, supplies, and utensils in the center of the room. Whilst in the quiet and serenity of this room, he sat down on his knees, adopting a meditative posture.

First, he began by observing the layout of the pots, cups, and utensils before him. Their position was key to the ceremony. He foremost started by holding up the water ladle perfectly level and parallel with his body before turning the tool ninety degrees, cup facing away, before settling it down gently next to its proper position next to what will be the tea cup.

And then, he, after bowing down before his final test and out of respect, set aside both the tea scooper and whisk which were up on the cup down to one side. Then, Jack started folding the red cloth known as the fukusa. The way he handled the cloth is a process known as fukusa sabaki, a very specific method of folding. Starting by taking up the square foot fabric, Jack folded the large cloth and reduced it down to a triangle fold, then down to a rectangular shape, and eventually to a size that is just small enough to clean the tools and implements before him, barely the size of his palm.

Next, Jack cleaned the tea container and the tea scoop. He remembered one always starts off with the tea container, dusting off the top with one stroke using the fukusa, symbolic of a way to dust off your mind. Then, he folded it around the tea scoop and swept upwards once, a representation of cleansing your physical self. The meditative warrior set it down perfectly along the middle on top of another cup. With the necessary instruments cleaned, as per custom, he now proceeded to make the tea.

Jack knew that tea in itself is pretty easy to make; all it takes its to simply boil some water, mix in leaves and herbs with hot water, and a delicious cup of tea results. However, he knew better. The point behind all of this cleaning is to slow the mind down and be mindful always.

Next, Jack held up the ladle near his forehead and then opened the pot of boiling hot water with the fukusa and placed the lid on the corresponding bowl, to prevent any scalding or wet spots onto the bamboo floor. He then ladled hot water, careful to not let a single drop stain the floor, into the tea cup and left the ladle perfectly down on top of the hot kettle. Bringing forth the whisk he set aside earlier, he slowly stirred the hot water into the cup. This step was mostly to clean out the cup, preheat it up, and therefore letting the second pour of water stay hot, rather than cooling the moment it hits the bowl. He swished the whisk a bit to soften up the bamboo tines so none of them break off into the tea.

Succeeding that, Jack emptied out the warmed up and cleaned out cup into another and puts in two scoops of powdered matcha tea into the prepared container with the cleansed wooden scoop. He then proceeded to give a few taps to the side of the bowl to loosen any tea that's stuck to the tool.

Subsequently, he picked up again the water ladle that lay on top of the kettle and committed the second pouring of water into the now cleaned and warmed bowl of tea herbs and spices. Taking out the whisk he used earlier, he stirred carefully and slowly. Clear water mixed with the herbs and spices turning the mixed contents into a vibrant grassy color. The tea was finally taking shape, much to Jack's own hopes.

Finally, and when the tea was thoroughly and completely mixed together, it was time. Leaving the whisk behind, Jack picked up, very carefully, the thoughtfully and thoroughly composed cup of tea, inspecting it for any imperfection. He saw no flaw in its creation. Proudly leaving the cup before the mysterious and silent host, Jack could now only hope for the best as the monk partook of the cup and sipped.

The first genuine smile to mark the former Samurai's face ever since The Trials started ever so slightly arced its way up his lips in anticipation…

- - - … - - -

"R-A-A-A-U-G-H-!-!-!"

Punches sent men flying high. Kicks delivered troops through their own ranks. Twists tore limbs free as screams echoed through the desert plains and mountains. She did not discriminate. From their rangers to the knights, from the officers to the recruits, from the strong-willed to the weaklings, Ashi tore them all down, one by one.

Her black-hearted hatred fueled her focus and her strength beyond even what the Daughters of Aku had ever taught her. Each blow made her anticipate the next with that ever so increasing desire to do it again. Each strike caused pain and agony to both attacker and attacked. Each attack brought her ever the edge more and more.

Their numbers now dwindled to under a thousand bloodthirsty fighters.

Jumping up into the air, Ashi changed her position in the battlefront, more than ready to face her foes. Landing with a flying kick in the face that caved in the head of one of the Orcs, she retrieved his iron mace when she landed and struck harder with her new weapon. Her swings pummeled dozens upon dozens in their brazen counterattack. Sword, pike, fist, and all manner of weapon were raised against her, but she withstood them all.

Throwing her weapon at the head of another Orc armed with a blade aimed for her, his head smashed as the mace returned back into the daughter of Aku's hands. Another charged for her, but she swung down with such force to crater his skull deep into the ground beneath them. With her mace broken into from the impact, she resorted once more to using her bare hands to do the dirty work.

Swinging, parring and disarming her foes with great intensity, the end of her greatest fight to date nearly came to a close. But now her enemies noticed her strength began to wane. Her hair was matted with the blood of her enemies and from her own injuries which would've killed a lesser man. They too, got lucky hits on her, causing great pain, eliciting pained cries out of her mouth. Obtaining the pike from beneath a beaten, armored body, her strategy was now to keep them away from her as she now struggled to persist.

With a rallying cry from the hundreds of survivors, the Legionnaire of the Orcs made their final push.

Ashi was not finished yet. She cut down heaps more until the ground beneath her was nothing but heaps of bodies and iron caked in blood. No matter what she suffered at the mercy of these warriors, her madness carried herself on. She skewered and slashed many as the Orcs even wound up killing their own men in their haste to hit the woman in red and green. She was still quick and agile, despite the odds of victory. As the army's numbers dwindled to the tens and so on so forth, the Shinobi herself made her last strikes.

Closing her eyes and letting her rage and instinct take care of the rest, she pummeled her way through the last of the Orcs. Bone-breaking and wails of terror were all that she heard. Punch by punch, kick by kick, her deathly blows echoed as blood drop and dew or sweat dripped down her body and clothes. It was not long for the inevitable to finally come to pass. With a final, blood curling scream from out of her mouth, the battlefield lay silent forever.

The Orc Legionnaire was finished.

Under an hour of pure hell, of the vilest blood and gore unleashed in history, of the slaughter of ten thousand battle-hardened warriors, and the end of one of the world's deadliest clans the known world has ever known, Ashi stood tall above the endless fields of the dead. She had sustained many injuries whilst doing so.

Her face sustained a bruise along her cheek from a stray punch from one of the Orcs. Her arms and sides were slashed and scraped from their pikes, swords, and claws. Her legs and feet ached, pushed beyond their human limitations in the longest battle of her life yet. But there the lone warrior stood, covered in the blood of her own self and that of her enemies, she stood tall above them all.

Even she couldn't believe it.

"… What… what… have I… done?" Ashi finally spoke.

Looking upon her own hands, the weight of her hour of carnage set in. she breathed heavily as the last soul standing in the desert plains of Mongolia. Horror set in as a wide-eyed shock set in of her most gruesome actions became a realization. The sun was setting over the horizon behind her and the mysterious mountain, eclipsing her in a tall, dark shadow.

But something in that shadow moved.

She hastily looked behind, snapping her focus away from her self-awe. She sensed something back on the pointed mount, a presence that she had long not felt, but it felt so eerily familiar. She investigated the spiral path upwards, investigating every rock and crevice for the source of her odd feelings. In a split second, she saw something draped in black run around a corner two-thirds of the way up before disappearing from view.

"… Oh no…" Ashi rasped. "… Mako…"

Though she still ached and bled from her foolhardy assault on the Orcs, she needed to act fast. But even as she ran at best possible speed, she knew she won't be fast enough to catch up to the lone survivor before it had its way with her beloved Samurai friend. She needed help fast. Looking upwards into the clouds, she held up her hands close to her mouth and repeated the same series of whistles and tweets Olivia the Raver taught her and Jack long ago.

It was not long before her large, white feathered friend complied with a hoot and descended from the skies and swept up Ashi by the arms with its massive talons. The great bird arced upward in its flight up to the peak of the mount as Ashi frantically searched for the unknown assailant and her Samurai. The rectangular stone monoliths came into view as did Jack, to her relief, but no sign of the attacker… until a red arrow notched into a black bow came into view.

Ashi gasped as the assailant intended to use her own archery kit, a gift from the Alastalidohi marksmen from Odalv, against Jack. She could not tell the identity of the archer, for whoever it be, was wise enough to use the stone monoliths as a cover and resting point for a more accurate shot. But suddenly, the figure took aim elsewhere. The arrow was not pointed at Jack anymore, but at Ashi herself!

As much as the young woman in leaves and blood tried to whistle her avian friend away, it was too late. The arrow was quickly launched as Ashi tried to brace her arms in front of her head in defense. A loud squawk and shriek followed by a sudden jerking in flight caused Ashi to look up only to find her carrier struck in the heart all the way up to the red fletching. No Orc possessed the competence for such a well-aimed shot on a fast-moving target. His head dipped down and melon-sized eyes closed in death as he began to crash land away from the mountain. The archer readied another arrow for Jack this time.

Prying herself away from another deceased animal companion, she fought back a tear as she launched herself back towards the peak. The new arrow was now aligned with its target and was drawn back once again with a steady hand. Bracing herself for the landing, Ashi was willing to even stand in the path of the projectile to save her friend. The crimson bolt was released. The last Daughter of Aku tumbled onto the ground just feet away from Jack as the killing blow drew nearer to her.

On reflex, Ashi caught the arrow just mere centimeters away from Jack's spine and heart. The tall, slender shadow of the marksman shifted from its firing position as Ashi stood tall and ready for revenge. Following that failed assassination, a rapid volley launch of the remaining eighteen arrows from the quiver streamed high above the stone tablets, perfectly aimed for both Ronin and Shinobi. The latter had to act quick.

Despite Jack's farewell stating otherwise, she knew it wouldn't be right to pull him away from his meditations now in her time of need. She swatted away as many of her own arrows as she could with the one she caught, but needed to give them both cover and quick. A brief glance at the ground revealed a broken off section of one of the monolithic slabs from Jack's disastrous fight here decades ago. Hefting it up with a grunt and all her strength, she strained notwithstanding her injuries but the slab held under her newest fight in the shade. Whoever this new attacker is, was no Orc Legionnaire.

When the pelting of razor-sharp projectiles subsided, Ashi threw away the slab to nearby ground, breaking it into pieces, then parting her legs and raising her hands into a combative posture. Displeased this assault failed, the lone, dark archer approached, and it was none other than who Ashi hoped to never run into again. Long, ankle-length silken black gown, athletic and toned female build, standing a foot and a half taller than she, and a dreaded pink mask with seven horns after the manner of the deity she worshipped. The figure threw away Ashi's bow and approached in silence.

Ashi beheld her own mother, Tsukiko Saitō, now known as High Priestess Azula of the Daughters of Aku.

"M-Mother?!" Ashi stuttered at the revelation.

"I knew you would fail us," she spoke at last, whilst angrily walking towards her daughter, but stopping just short of each other's striking distance. "You were the strongest, but the most unfocused, always distracted, questioning everything…"

While Azula lamented on of Ashi's own failures, the latter finally interjected.

"No, mother!" she shouted back, sweeping her hand away in a dismissive gesture. "I know I'm not the only one!"

The High Priestess, silenced, impatiently and reluctantly waited for her own daughter to finish her rant.

"The other Priestesses and Maidens? Samurai Makoto and I saved them, from you!" she pointed at her mother. "And my sisters? We abhorred your mistreatment of us! They are free, and now so am I!"

Azula had every reason to strike down her own flesh and blood right where she stood. Ashi was nothing more than a disposable piece of rubbish at this point in her eyes. But, the High Priestess knew that her predecessor would want her to do otherwise. Drawing her ceremonial ebony dagger from its sheath, she made her final case.

"… But all that can change," she calmly said, thinly veiling the disappointment in her voice. "You can still honor our Lord Father, Aku! You are so close to His promised blessings and you do not even realize it!" Stretching forth her free hand upon the sky, she taught, "All of this is His creation, have you forgotten that?! And all of it can be yours to command, as his rightful heir..."

Ashi took a step back, nearly hyperventilating from hearing one of her earliest and most repeated lessons being brought up again in "loving" detail.

The High Priestess concluded her sermon and handed Ashi her blade, an ancient artifact passed from one generation of the Children of Aku to the next and commanded, "… Destroy the Samurai, my beloved daughter…"

The younger woman's hand almost flinched towards the dreadful knife, as though on command. She had known and believed the teachings of her parent cult longer than her exposure to the world she witnessed for a meager past few months. But in what she learned from the world and the peoples within it stood was the unaltered truth. Of the goodness and light of the Samurai compared to the evil and dark of Aku. Her worried eyes now held confidence and her hands returned back to her sides.

"No," Ashi refused with a scowl. "You were wrong about everything! Not only my friend, but the world has shown me the truth!"

Scrunching her face into an angry grimace from behind pink porcelain, Azula spoke at last, "Then you too, will die…"

The elder attacked first, slashing her dagger away at Ashi at the speed of darkness itself, but the younger was quicker, backing away and raising her leg for a counter. Before Azula could raise her dagger again on her own child, she was violently kicked several feet away. The mother's body tumbled into the rock and dust stained with the Samurai's last mistake here. Nonchalantly arising as though not even hurt at all, the High Priestess calmly prepared herself for this fight.

Undoing the leather buckles that held her gown in place by her shoulder and waist, she disrobed herself and dropped the garment down onto the ground, exposing her blackened skin underneath. Ashi looked on in disgust, for she too was subjected to a perverse ritual and how her mother still followed it. The mother raised her dagger again and took a defensive stance. The daughter too knew she needed a weapon to counter, but chose not to disturb Arya's katana, left by Jack's side, just in case he awakens with no sword. Spotting the nearby skeleton of one of the rams the former Samurai murdered, she grasped a rather sizable chunk of its curved, but sharp horn, tearing it off to use in a similar fashion to a karambit.

Mother and daughter fought in the deadliest family feud of all time, blade clashing against bone, over a man who meditated over the only tool to save the Universe. Their skills were nearly matched as each attempted stab, slash, and strike were met with parry after block followed by counter. Their fierce, yet skilled fighting was so fast, that it was nearly undiscernible to the naked eye. But even then, Azula had the advantage in both experience and herself being not as grievously wounded as her daughter is.

Ashi's makeshift knife came close for a throat slash, but Azula evaded just in time, losing only half the branches on her crown. Seeing as though her eldest daughter would be so foolhardy to leave herself unprotected, she retaliated with a kick up her chin and a slash across her abdomen. Ashi grunted in pain, but that didn't stop her from pressing the assault. Sweeping her leg from right underneath the High Priestess, she dropped to the earth, open for attack.

Before Ashi could land a single strike, Azula cartwheeled away. The elder's leaps were as graceful as they were agile, and in a single bound she scaled clear over a standing stone tablet etched with the face of the monks that used to reside here. Both women took cover on opposite sides, anticipating from which direction their opponent will emerge. Though Ashi's wounds stung, she had to keep her focus. Then suddenly…

Chang! Chang! Chang!

Her mother drove her ceremonial blade through the stone a number of times in vain attempts to get to Ashi. She too, repeated the moves likewise, despite the growing strain onto her makeshift dagger, much to the High Priestess' anticipation. While Ashi was preoccupied guessing where her villainous matriarch, Azula took forth the opportunity. Rolling over beyond her cover, she readied her ebony weapon. With a mere flick of her wrist, she threw her knife at Jack, leaving Ashi a brief moment to react. She straightway disarmed herself, sending her goat horn flying at best possible speed. Both arms miraculously collided, flying clear over the cliff's edge away from a still meditating Jack.

Growling at another failed assassination attempt on the Samurai's life, Azula focused all her attention and efforts onto her own daughter. "How could you betray your own family?!" the High Priestess shouted, engaging Ashi in close quarters. "He killed your sisters… and you let him live! Raaaagh!"

"No! You killed them!" the prodigal retorted whilst blocking her mother's next flurry. "You raised us as weapons as for only fighting your enemies! Our fates were sealed the day we were born!"

Amidst the chaos of their fighting Ashi took in a stray kick upside her head, causing her to fall onto her back with her limbs splayed out over the ground. Opening her weary eyes with a moan, her mother's fist came incoming for her head. Evading to the side just in time, the punch only cratered the ground literally an inch from her ear. Responding with a kick with moth legs to Azula's abdomen, a new surprise revealed itself.

Her mask and crown separated from her, both items clattering to pieces on the ground. Her body went flying and landed some distance away. Both women arose as Ashi beheld her mother's uncovered face for the first time in forever. Her hair was grown out of control, was cut sloppily in several places and locks, and extended beyond her shoulders. When the wind blew her way, Ashi saw her own face mirrored onto her mother's, or rather the other way around.

"Surprised, daughter?" Azula devilishly crossed her arms and grinned.

Ashi took up an attacker's stance with her hands raised up, but said not a word despite her bewilderment.

"Would you like to know who… your father is?" And she smiled, baring teeth like razors.

"No… No!" Ashi shook her head. "I am not his daughter!"

The pair circled around each other, Azula remaining calm and collected, and yet Ashi struggling in her posture and in the truth.

"One cannot bring life into this world alone," the mother spoke in a condescending tone, before raising two fingers in plain view. "It takes… two to tango…"

"I don't even know what that means!" the daughter shouted, almost into a squeal.

"Ha! Of course you don't," she mocked. "Have you never truly wondered where your powers come from?! How many more you have yet to achieve?!"

Ashi said nothing back as the duo continued to encircle one another.

"Do you really think that you were just spawned by parlor tricks and dark magics alone? You… your failures of sisters…" as the High Priestess said this, Ashi's hands clasped into fists tightly, as the former asserted, "… and I were gifted from the Shogun of Sorrows himself. Oh, still believe me not?"

Breaking their stride, Azula headed over to the cliff's edge, gesturing for Ashi to watch her own handiwork.

"How else did you defeat an army of ten thousand bloodthirsty brutes in all-out combat on your own?" she inquired with a proud, yet smug sneer.

"You brought them…" Ashi scowled, her fingernails shy of digging through her skin. Ashi backed up slowly until…

… Clank…

Turning her head to the source of the noise, but keeping her eyes on her mother, she spotted the black, etched hilt of her sword, which meant the oblivious Samurai is behind her, still unfazed in his otherworldly meditations. Here and now was her chance.

Chuckling at her eldest offspring's observation, she leaned forward and challenged, "And what are you going to do about it, failure?"

The Shinobi's foot flicked upwards, the blade of her sister carried up in the air with it. Her hands grasped the hilt and the names of her fallen with it. The sword was now over her head as her legs carried her forward. She swept her blade down launching the scabbard towards her adversary. Her march turned into a sprint in an instant, the blade gleamed. Roaring and charging with the might of a lioness, the last daughter made her strike. One final effort is all it would take.

But the High Priestess was more than ready. Tilting her head to the side at a speed that would snap anyone else's neck, she dodged the sheath that was flung at her, as it only shot past her hair and over the mountain peak's edge. Her smile dropped down to a half grin, as she wondered for a moment what would be the best retaliating act to do to her own blood next.

And then she decided.

She stood her ground in confidence of her plan, her arms rested by her sides, and she let Ashi fall for her trap. The younger woman let out one more yell finishing her bold move with a single stab with her sword forward.

Tip pierced flesh.

Blade pushed through.

Azula rasped as the sword slipped through rib and lung alike.

And finally, it exited out her back, soaked in a deep, dark red. The woman in green and red shoved her katana until the blade's collar was firmly pressed against her target's lower chest area, below the breast. Satisfied with her work, Ashi began to pull out, but a snag hitched. She couldn't retrieve her sword beyond a few inches before it stopped entirely. She looked up only to behold a monstrous and frightening scene.

Though her head was hunched forward and her messy hair covered her face, Ashi could make out a faint chuckle, then an all-out villainous laugh like none other escape Azula's still smiling face. With one hand, she gripped around her daughter's hands tightly and pulled the sword back inside her. Ashi struggled to break her hands free, but her mother was far too strong. Balling up her fist, the High Priestess began her counterattack.

Azula threw her head back to clear up the hair that tussled over her face, leaving Ashi only witnessing how far her mother's madness has come. The High Priestess punched her firstborn in the face, making her bruise from her prior fight with the Orcs worsen. Following up with another punch, but this time into her gut, Ashi was sent flying a few feet away, disconnected from her grip with her weapon. Landing on her face and skidding some distance further, Ashi could only look up and behold true horror.

With one hand cupping beneath the wound and the other pulling the sword out agonizingly slowly, dark wisps of shadowy energy sealed the wound leaving no scar. High Priestess Azula rebuked with a laugh, "Your sword can't still my heart…"

"Oh no…" Ashi recoiled at her mother's true strength as the fight between mother and daughter just got a whole lot more complicated.

"The Samurai is our mortal enemy!" Shouted the High Priestess as she began her counterattack with Ashi's katana. "He must die at any cost!"

Azula threw her blade right at Ashi, but she managed to cartwheel away in time, as the sword flew clear over the cliff, lost in the midst of the battlefield of deceased Orcs. Drawing her attention back to her demonic mother, she found that she had another, more devious means of fighting with her. Daughter saw mother extend her fingers and nails into foot long claws and blades, their sharpness above even the strongest blades.

"And you…" she monstrously rose her summoned weapons. "You let him live!"

Ashi found her bow and a few arrows left over on the ground from when Azula turned them against her. Swiftly picking up both, she took aim, but she wasn't fast enough. The Priestess was upon her instantly and her claws cut Ashi's bow to pieces as another swipe came for her head. She ducked down in time, but the slash shaved off a few hairs off her scalp.

Now terrified beyond belief at what she saw, the last sibling ran from her paternal figure as she began beastlike leaps and strikes. The maze-like structure of the monoliths in this mountain monastery did little to delay Azula's attacks who easily sliced through carved stone and cobbled rock alike as a hot knife through soft butter would.

Ultimately cornered up against another rectangular stone monolith, Ashi made her last stand. Azula hacked away at the stone wall Ashi was pressed against while she attempted to evade. Slash after swipe, claw by nail, shout over scream, Azula would have her revenge. But even this rush of attacks was a ruse as the structural integrity of the pillar Ashi was pressed against groaned and weakened.

Rolling out of the way, Ashi found her self buried alive under the collapse of the slab. Brushing her hair aside, Azula smiled knowing that her daughter did survive the fall and was watching. This was now her time to strike.

Making a beeline for the Samurai without another word, Ashi hefted hundreds of pounds of old stone off her back, her worst fears were coming true. Her mother sprinted across the field to where Jack unknowingly sat and Ashi herself had no means left to stop her. Fighting with all her will that she had left, the last daughter arose from the rubble and made chase after her mother. Azula made a leap like a cougar after prey, bound for the unsuspecting Samurai Jack.

Ashi was out of time.

But Ashi found a few red arrows strewn about the level field next to what remained of her bow, and she only needed one arrow. Grabbing a single one, she took ready, aimed, and released in a single swift motion. The sharp dart flew true to its target, even as the mad mother smiled wide in anticipation of her greatest kill in history. But Fate dictated otherwise.

Arrowhead pierced flesh.

Shaft pushed through.

She let out an inhuman scream that echoed through the desert plains of Mongolia and beyond. Through her heart this time the arrow penetrated, and out with a bone-breaking snap and spray of blood it exited her sternum and chest as the crimson from the arrow was indiscernible from her own. She was finished.

Having overshot her target, she tumbled forward over the still meditating Samurai Jack and saw her last moments this day. Not even a single drop of her blood touched him. Looking on behind him she sneered one final time at her daughter. Though beaten, she managed to stop her from fulfilling her life mission. As the pair disappeared from view, she fell and fell and fell as her eyes closed to darkness at once.

The exact moment Azula was struck, Azhi felt it too, but not as unpleasantly as her mother had experienced. Relief struck through her heart as a massive weight was lifted from herself. Ashi fainted onto the ground, her adrenaline high finally subsiding and her injuries catching up to her. Before she passed out for sure, she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle and smile as she knew for a surety:

Tsukiko Saitō, the last of the High Priestesses of the Daughters of Aku, has fallen. And way down she goes…

- - - … - - -

"This is terrible."

Jack could almost feel his own heart sink at the monk's own revelatory response to all his hard work. From just a small sip, the heaviest of judgements was passed upon him.

"… Really?" Jack sighed in disappointment.

"Yes… yes…" he nodded with each word. "Quite terrible. This tea has all the necessary ingredients, but it lacks the most important:"

The monk's pause did not help Jack's wide-eyed anticipation.

"Balance," he finally replied. "I'm sorry, but I cannot give you The Sword."

"What?!" Jack's eyes began to quiver and his heartbeat swelled. "No… I… I… need it…"

But as Jack internally began breaking down and losing control of himself. His psyche and spirit separated, as he found himself at the mercy of another being that haunted his journey these tragic couple of decades.

"THAT'S FORTUNE COOKIE NONSENSE! HE HAS THE SWORD!" A dark, red Mad Jack emerged from the darkness and tempted the true Samurai. "HE'S HIDING IT!"

Unafraid of the self-manifestation Jack unwittingly released, the Monk calmly but sternly replied, "You will never possess the sword."

In a fit of mad rage, the raging shade towered above the monk and snarled, angrily raising his hands, before shouting. "THAT SWORD IS OURS! WHO ARE YOU TO KEEP IT FROM US?!"

"Please…" the true Jack pleaded, struggling to remain calm and seated despite what his dark side wanted.

"NOW, OLD MAN!" the manifestation insulted, exposing his maws of sharp teeth.

But the monk remained stoic, opening his eyes and replying, "No…"

This triggered in turn a most violent response from Mad Jack. Balling his hands into fists, he then backhanded the Monk several feet away into the walls and paneling of this tea house. His body fell limp, underneath white satin and bamboo. Rage was taking over now.

"No! Please! What are you doing?!" The Real Jack was startled by what he did. Arising from his meditative seating, he confronted his self face to face.

Standing above the Monk's body and the debris, Mad Jack slobbered, "NO-ONE IS GOING TO KEEP THE SWORD FROM US!"

When the madness tried to place a reassuring palm onto Jack's shoulder, he rejected it, pleading, "Stop. I've let you consume me for far too long."

"W-W-W-H-A-A-A-T-?-!-!" Then the evil within reasoned, "I'VE KEPT YOU ALIVE! WE'VE SUFFERED THROUGH THIS LIFE… AS AKU BURNED THE WORLD! ALL THE DEATH… ALL THE PAIN…"

Jack kept his eyes shut in the face of his own ramblings. It was here and now he realized what his true enemy was after all these years. It was stronger than any weapon, deadlier than any army, its ways more devious than anything even he had faced fighting the Shogun of Sorrows for so long. Jack realized it now. He had become his own worst enemy and it was now or never he should repent for that.

Now opening his eyes that had been shut for so long he calmly said at last, "But that's all in the past… The past may be written, but the future is not. And now... I see no future for you…"

In that moment, Jack stood confident and then he brightly shone above the light of the sun as his spirit was now cleansed in a bright beam of light. So great was the whiteness of the spiritual energy that followed, that Mad Jack was now made no more.

"And now, you are balanced," The Monk arose unharmed, to Jack's surprise.

The tea room transitioned. Walls and panels peeled away revealing celestial glory as Jack stood in outer space surrounded by countless scores of stars, bright nebulae, and now the beings responsible for Jack's trials under fire. Two of them stood in all their glory, but the third, the Monk behind Jack's last trial, disrobed himself, revealing his true identity. There stood taller than skyscrapers the Gods Ra, Odin, and Vishnu. Jack knew this place and these beings from a tale from his father from when the birth of evil spread across the lands, and now was his turn to witness firsthand.

The first to speak was Ra himself, as he and his brethren opened their hands, revealing creation and the past. A ray of light sprung forth as the Three reminded Jack of the beginning. The images that sprouted told the tale that Jack always knew, but needed to know again.

"Long ago, amongst the vastness of the stars," Ra began. "There appeared a formless void of ultimate evil."

"We strode forth and did battle," Odin displayed their fight like none ever will be in time and space. "Us three alone seeking to purge it from all existence."

But came along Vishnu, who showed, "Though defeated, a sliver of the void managed to escape, tumbling alone through the cosmos…"

"… Until it found its way to Earth," Odin finished somberly.

"In time," Ra continued. "The corruption would rise again and a warrior of great spiritual strength would confront it."

And Jack saw the calling of his father, Emperor Reo Iwamatsu, from a defeated and disgraced origin, uplifted to be worthy to wield the blade. Jack saw his father don a Samurai's armor suit forged of pure light and righteousness as the then flew by a cloud to confront Aku's first assault on Kyoto. The same fight that was supposed to seal the malevolent demon away forever, and the same that Jack will have to do once and for all.

"With our blessing, he carried a weapon that could cut through the darkness," Vishnu finished, and all their hands released their light and paid full attention on Samurai Jack.

"And now… like your father, you have been chosen…" Odin announced, his voice like thunder.

"… to stop a force of Ultimate Evil…" Ra continued in serenity.

"You… are… worthy!" The deity Vishnu smiled upon Jack.

All of their eyes on Jack, they blasted him with divine energy that shot forth. A restoration of things as they should be occurred. His hair returned to its signature cut and topknot. His beard was shaven off. Scars and deformities from warfare healed as his body was made whole again. A fresh white gi after the manner of what he wore was granted with a matching pair of geta slipped onto his feet. He was now ready.

And shining forth before his grateful eyes was the signature katana that he had long sought after, now made with the purity of his own heart. Accepting it, he drew it up into the sky now ready to vanquish Aku for all time and eternity.

In the blink of an eye, Jack was returned to his present place and time, as he suddenly found himself back in reality. There he stood at the cliff's edge, godly forged blade in his hand as he held it carefully in his hand, admiring with stoic confidence his reflection upon the legendary steel. Returning it to his scabbard, he relished in it for a moment that all too familiar sound of the sword scraping against the sheath, before it finally clicked in place. Taking in a deep breath, his trial was over, and his journey begun again.

Turning around to rally Ashi and eventually many others to his cause, he beheld a terrible sight.

Blood spatters. Crumbled stone. Red Arrows.

The stench of corpses decaying in the hot sunlight filled his nose shortly afterwards while he frantically searched for his companion. His eyes fell upon a woman in leaves, cut, bloodied, and beaten, laying amongst the rubble. Making haste, he ran up to her and held the woman in his arms. She was still warm, and her injuries showed signs of extensive healing. But she did not wake.

"… Ashi…" he called her by name and held her closely, brushing her ebony hair aside from her face.

But life fluttered with her eyes. Though still closed, she held up two fingers with her hand and jokingly said, "That's… two… you owe me now…"

Smiling in response, he replied back, "I did save you at that Monastery fight at the end, though."

"Heh heh…" she chuckled despite her sides still hurting. "Who's really keeping count, here?"

Her eyes opened at last, and she very much liked what she saw, and so much so, that she giddily arose in a heartbeat.

"Oh Mako! You got your sword!" she couldn't contain her amazement as she then pointed out, "And a shave and a haircut!"

Grinning as he grasped his chin, he voiced his agreement too, before saying, "And you… You have been very… busy…" he looked upon the battlefield and carnage of her work, before bowing his thanks.

"So what's next?" she crossed her arms and anticipated.

Jack knew what to do. Though the sun set over the horizon, a new day shall dawn. Now was the time for the beginning of the end. Now was the time to rally allies to their cause. And now was the time for the Zintaris Resistance Movement the Warrior King they deserved to lead them in this new day. Looking upon the sunset with the world famous scowl written across his face, he only had one word to set his plans in motion.

"… Aku…"

…

Author's Notes:

Yeah… this chapter took inexcusably long to update. But rest assured, as I have stressed since the beginning of my little fanfiction project, I seek to see this through to the end. Samurai Jack may be over for good, but I am not.

This has been a series of chapters I have been looking forward to writing for so long, for the episode leaves so much to the imagination. That is why I added in various scenes including Jack's explanation of his blade, their near-kiss together, Ashi's reunion with her sisters, and an expansion of the fight between Mother and Daughter of Aku with what I established thus far in this fan-made work (the High Priestess' upbringing, Ashi's expanded experiences, the rescue of the cultists, etcetera). Achieving balance was the real hurdle when writing this though.

Below are the reddit, rivertea, and Wikipedia links I used when trying to figure out the tea ceremony.

r/samuraijack/comments/68mgw6/genndy_you_nailed_the_tea_ceremony/

blog/the-japanese-tea-ceremony-in-6-steps/

wiki/Japanese_tea_ceremony

More importantly, I have done some digging through my Blu-Ray box set of Samurai Jack and have also come across original storyboards director Genndy Tartakovsky left behind as a preview of what he intended for each chapter of his story. The alterations to Ashi's fight against the Orcs and the High Priestess (Ashi getting injured and making use of their weapons) and up until the take on Jack's tea scene (alternate dialogue and events such as the monk getting hit by Mad Jack) is all taken directly from these narrated storyboards, albeit with a few twists from my own as well.

The only references I find worth noting is in regards to Jack's premonition… uhh… I mean nightmare from 2 chapters prior. To those that understood, I made use of that Season 5 promotional poster that depicted a bloodied and torn bearded Jack in the rain with grey fog. The opening paragraphs of that scene are a nod towards the Toonami marathon trailer that aired after the series finale. The brief dialogue between Jack and Aku is of course, lines from Episode XIII: Aku's Fairy Tales. The fight that ensued is partially based upon the IDW Comics, particularly one of the alternative covers of Issue #15 and several panels from others.

The fight scenes that I wrote here are also worth noting.

I based Jack's fight against the undead mainly around IDW Comic Issue #14 and Episode XXX: Jack and the Zombies. Also worth noting is how I based his fight moves around how in Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Ezio Auditore fought Byzantine Templars in the cinematic intro trailer by Digic Productions to the game. Also spot the other obvious reference to the series, if it has not been clear enough… ;)

If nothing else, as some of you longet time readers have known, I planned for the longest time for the next chapter to be labeled as "Burgeoning Relationship" in reference to the leaked plot synopsis and as a lead in for my take on the infamous Episode XCIX, but inspiration struck me and now, as an advancement into the next stage of Jack and Ashi's close relationship, I am renaming Chapter 18 to be "Samurai and Onna-Bugeisha." Where I set them up to be "Ronin and Shinobi" back in Chapter 8, consider this renaming to be the next level up for both of them.

Until next time, ladies and gentlemen!

;)