Ayuka supported Tim, who recovered soon after. "Damn, what the hell's happening to Tomomi?" Ayuka helped him stand up after he thanked her. "You two share pain, right? I wouldn't expect it to affect so much."
"We do, but soul linking doesn't work the way you expect. If I'm injured, it won't affect her, but if she's the one getting hurt, then I feel the pain. She's like the core while I'm only the vessel." He explained while he took a deep breath.
"Can you move?" she asked, waiting for them to agree. "Don't worry. I'm fine. The pain was only temporary. We need to hurry back to the ship. Something bad happened to Tomomi, and I can't allow it to worsen."
Once Ayuka agreed, both of them hurried onward.
Yumiko was close in the vicinity and to the ship. She exited the district and came in view of a massive surrounding of agents. Soon, a chill down her spine reached her, and she couldn't ignore it. "What's going on?" she questioned. She knew that the event unfolding before her wasn't an accident; it felt like a proper plan.
She rushed outside the alleyway and into the opening, then shouted out loud, "Hey!" and gained others' attention. Yules became guarded by his soldiers, some armed with blades, others with guns.
"What's happening here?" Yumiko asked. Yules walked ahead, "Oh?" he asked and showed that Chiaki had been chained, held together by the soldiers.
"Tomomi! Damn you! What are you doing to her?! Let her go!" Yules declined Yumiko's shout and then slurped with his mouth. "You're all so ignorant. I am only taking this girl captive. Worry not. I tend not to wound her. I'm just trying to keep this world a better place."
Yumiko gasped the noise of frustration and yelled. "I'm telling you to leave her alone!" she rushed forward, only to hear Yules snap with his fingers, ordering the soldiers to attack Yumiko directly.
Yumiko halted in her stance and understood that a fight was awaiting her. "Fine..." The soldier stepped forward and slashed. She ducked beneath the swing, knocked his arm to the side, and disarmed him.
She slipped the soldier onto his front, who dropped the sword, only to be caught by Yumiko. The second and third soldiers slashed from both sides in sync, while Yumiko guarded her head by pressing the blade into theirs, driving them out of the way.
The fourth attacked from behind. She ducked under the slash and retaliated by cutting the soldier into his stomach. The fifth soldier slashed over his head at her, but she immediately pointed the tip of the blade behind and stabbed the soldier, rendering him immobile.
She was attacked by the sixth and seventh, only to pick up the second dropped sword, and slashed both in a circular motion, creating a vortex of wind that spread out and hurled the screaming soldiers around.
Then the guns shot out bullets at Yumiko, which she immediately deflected by slashing the sword's metal through, for the bullets to shoot the soldiers instead.
She hurriedly sprinted through a row of soldiers and slashed her way through until she suddenly came to a cross with Nika and Yules.
"I'm impressed. You're not a pushover, huh? A true-spirited swordswoman. You must've been put through heavy training to be able to cut your way through all of my soldiers." Yumiko dropped the swords in front of her as the blades broke and then looked at him seriously.
"You're out of luck. Your "impressive" soldiers all fell. Now hurry up and let go of Tomomi! I'm warning you!" but instead of being startled, Yules chuckled and then pushed Tomomi's body on the floor, instantly stepping on her back.
"You want her?" he began to plant his foot rougher and rougher into her back, mocking Tomomi's unconscious body. "You're a disappointment. You've been traveling with this girl, and you don't know her properly. I feel so sad for you."
"Damn you-" she got interrupted as Yules raised one finger. "Ah-Ah, now, now, not one step closer, missy. You don't want your lovely friend to be squeezed to death, yes? Then, I'd recommend you to stay back."
He could see Yumiko's frustration as one of the fallen soldiers recovered and slashed at her back. Her eyes shivered, and out of instinct, she spun around, disarming the soldier, pushing him back, and cutting him in the stomach.
"No doubt. You used to be part of the "Sun Soldiers," and now you and your friends are on a cruise, huh? I must admit, your captain's crew seemed very peculiar the last time I saw him. He must have made progress since then, I suppose." Yumiko became confused. "You've met him before?" she finished.
"Why, yes. I did. But he was a nobody when I last saw him. Look at him, a real pirate with a $100,000 bounty, which, in my opinion, is a hefty bonus." Yumiko could tell that Yules wasn't mocking her. Instead, he was praising his name for the bounty increase.
"That's not important right now! If you don't let go of Tomomi this instant, I'll make you do it by the usage of force!" however, her threatening words didn't phase him one bit. "What? You're trying to fool around with a member of the world government? How absurd, I must be losing my sanity. Trust me, you don't want to get on the world government's bad side, especially now that you still don't have a bounty.
"Well, I don't care! I'll just get that bounty once I'm done cutting you!" she slashed forward until another blade collided with hers. She looked, noticing that Nika held the sword sideways, guarding Yules.
"You shouldn't approach commander Yules with your sword drawn, in my estimation. Retreat for your own safety so that we don't have to capture you as well for threatening the members of the world government." Nika stated, only for Yumiko to grow tired of their words.
"Get your butt out of this! I'm not here to deal with you!" Yumiko shouted and pushed the sword stronger. Both girls exchanged views as Yumiko struggled to break through Nika's defenses.
Suddenly, Nika added more pressure to Yumiko's weak sword and became overtaken with her whole body getting knocked back to a safe distance, "Damn it." She claimed, watching Nika looking at her stoically.
"You're really getting on my nerves here!" Nika spun her sword between the joints as her long pink hair waved behind. "We've warned you, yet you didn't want to back off. The usage of force is required."
Yumiko looked at her confidently. "If going through you is what I need to do to get to Tomomi, then I shan't back off!" Yumiko leaned forward and dashed ahead while it took Nika two steps before she was ready.
Yumiko rose from the squat and dragged her sword behind her, slashing it ahead of herself. With one hand holding the sword, Nika defended as both blades collided, catching the metal ring in the wind.
Yumiko stepped back and tipped the sword behind her, past her left hip, and slashed it forward obliquely as it took no more than a single flick of a sword for Nika to defend.
The collision caused a swirl of wind to gust around them.
Yumiko pounded her sword ahead multiple times, but each slash was defended by Nika without losing a sweat. Yumiko finally released a blue aura from the sword and felt Nika's arm tremble.
Nika held tightly, holding the handle with both hands, then pushed onward to hopefully overcome Yumiko's battle spirit. "Guess you can't tank heavier hits such as these, huh?" Yumiko roared out the battle noise and plunged the sword harder, pushing Nika's body back.
Nika twisted the handle and deflected the blue energy for it to launch itself into the air over their heads. It exploded into a ray of blue lights, giving Yumiko the chance to dash forward and slashed vertically at her shoulder height.
Nika copied her slash for both of the swords to clash from a different angle. "Good try!" Yumiko plunged her torso forward while pulling her sword down Nika's blade and then crouched her left leg and circled the sword behind her body.
With a circular cut from back to front, she aimed for Nika's stomach but failed due to Nika's sudden reaction. She slashed, turning her sword's point at the floor, and then sidestepped.
"Your confidence is what will get you killed," Nika claimed, only for Yumiko to smile at her. "I wouldn't be so sure so early. You don't know what I have in store."
Both girls were in a rivalry. They wouldn't back off until one had lost the duel. Who would prevail is still questionable.
To be continued...