Disclaimer: This fanfic contains scenes of violence and some strong language. Recommended for ages 13 and up. * * * * * Destructive Virtue Chapter 2 by Jam SBKidJamX@aol.com * * * * * The rays of sunlight coming through the top of the foliage of the forest were particularly bright today, Ash noted. He wondered if it had anything to do with his finding Misty, but he just shrugged that off. Misty kept up behind him, staying close, keeping a cautious eye out for any of the guild's "cleaning crew." "So, how'd you find me?" Ash asked, without turning around. "I saw your fight with the 3 lawmen back in town. I just followed you from there. The main reason I attacked you was that I wanted to see if I could take you down." Misty explained. "Well, you're obviously not talented enough." Ash smirked. "Hmph. Well, thank you for pointing out the obvious. I knew I shouldn't have tried." Misty mumbled. "Hey, don't feel bad. You attempted something hard, and you failed. You can't expect to win at everything you try." Ash said, trying to perk up her spirits. It worked, somewhat. Ash looked up at the road ahead of them. It seemed to stretch on forever. He wondered how long it'd take to get to the next city. "Let's take a break." Misty whined. She'd already sat down, leaning against a tree. Ash sighed, and took a seat next to her. He rummaged around in his pack and pulled out a map. He looked it over. "Looks like the next town is a place called Pewter City." Ash said. "And they've got a Gym!" he grinned, a look of excitedness crossing his face. "A Gym? So you're trying for clearance to the Pokémon League?" Misty inquired. Ash nodded. "Yeah, it's always been my dream, ever since I was a little kid." Ash explained. "Do you have any Badges yet?" Misty asked. Ash reached into his pack and pulled out a small blue case. He opened it and the gleam of 2 Badges shone from it. One resembled a heart, the other a fireball. "What are those?" she asked. Ash held up the heart. "This is the Soul Badge." He then held up the fireball. "And this is the Volcano Badge." Misty smiled. She wondered how much money she could get selling those Badges on the market. Most people got good money for fake Badges, but these were the real things! She chuckled to herself, as Ash put the Badges away. "Can we get going?" Ash asked. Misty nodded and they set out for Pewter City. * * * * * A few hours later, and the path still stretched on. Ash was getting discouraged. Maybe this is the wrong path to Pewter.... Suddenly, something flew right in front of Ash's face and hit the tree next to him. It was a shuriken. A man jumped down from the top of a tree, and faced Ash and Misty. He had an evil look on his face, and the long scar running across his right eye didn't help any. His lips turned upward in a cruel smile. "So, we finally found you." the man said. "Hanzo." Misty said, darkly. "I wondered if I'd ever run into you again. What do you want?" "I am upholding the honor of the guild by disposing of you." Hanzo said. "So I suggest you don't make my job hard, because I really don't like cleaning up bloody messes." With a snap of his fingers, he was joined by two more ninjas leaping from their hiding spots in the trees. "Come, my friends, let our business be finished so we may return to the guild and receive our payment." Hanzo said, commanding them to attack. They lept forward, one drawing out his katana, the other taking out a pair of short swords. "We'll need some help for this one. Pikachu, go!" Ash said, taking a PokéBall from his belt and throwing out his most trustworthy Pokémon. The tiny Electric-type appeared from the Ball, his red cheeks sparking. "Pikachu!" it shouted. "Misty, you go hide. Pikachu, with me!" Ash commanded. "No way! I'm helping!" Misty said grumpily, drawing out her dagger. Ash rushed at one ninja, drawing his dual swords and slashing at him. The ninja quickly countered, and slammed the hilt of his katana into Ash's gut. Ash stumbled backwards, and the ninja raised his katata, preparing to slash. Pikachu quickly gave him a shock, which knocked him off balance. This gave Ash enough time to kick him in the head, sending him flying into a tree. He was unconscious. Misty was countering blows from the other ninja, who kept swiping at her with the short swords. Misty tried to stab him, but to no avail. He was too fast and too skilled. Misty tried to stab again, but he countered and knocked the dagger from Misty's hand. He prepared to strike Misty with the edge of his blade... ...but was stopped by Ash, who slammed his shoulder into the ninja's back and sent him sprawling to the ground, unable to move. Misty retrieved her dagger. "I didn't need your help!" she said. "Sure you didn't." Ash smirked. Pikachu just shook his head. "Impressive." Hanzo said. "You're a skilled swordsman. Let us see how you fare against me." His weapon of choice was a large claw attached to his right hand. He also had a Pokémon to use. "Sandslash, go!" He threw his Pokéball, the spiny-backed Pokémon appearing from it. "Slash!" it yelled. "Pikachu, take that Sandslash!" Ash commanded. Hanzo lept at Ash, trying to slash him with the claw, but Ash blocked and swiped at him. Hanzo lept away, but not before Ash left a cut across his chest. Snarling, Hanzo fired the claw at Ash, who was so surprised by this attack that he almost forgot to dodge to the side. The claw slammed into a tree, and was pulled out by the chain attaching the claw to the main part on Hanzo's hand. Hanzo simply laughed and proceeded to fire the claw at Ash repeatedly. Pikachu and Sandslash were locked in a deadly battle. Pikachu kept shocking Sandslash but it had no effect on him. Sandslash curled into a ball and slammed into Pikachu, which caused him to skid backwards along the ground. Pikachu shook his head, trying to regain his senses, but Sandslash rolled into him again. Pikachu couldn't seem to get things straight. Right as Sandslash was rolling at him again, Pikachu quickly got his wits about him, and rolled to the side. Sandslash uncurled, curious as to why he'd missed Pikachu. From out of nowhere, Pikachu slammed into Sandslash's exposed gut. Sandslash doubled over, heaving for breath. Pikachu then spun around and Tail Whipped Sandslash in the head, sending him flying into a tree. Sandslash having been taken care of, Pikachu rushed over to assist Ash. Ash was having a hard time with Hanzo and his claw firing. He kept dodging, but there was no way to get in for an attack without getting himself killed. Ash got an idea. The claw fired, and hit a tree. Ash suddenly cut the chain, breaking it and rendering the claw-firing mechanism useless. A look of shock came over Hanzo's face. "Pikachu, we're ending this now! Lightning Cut!" Ash yelled. Pikachu charged his Electric power and lept in the air. Ash ran at Hanzo, who was so dumbfounded he couldn't move. Pikachu sent a bolt of lightning at Ash's swords, infusing them with lightning power. Ash swung his swords at Hanzo, cutting him across the middle. The top half of Hanzo's torso fell off the bottom half, blood spraying out of the wound. His legs stumbled around for a moment before finally falling to the ground, drenched in their own blood. "I...will...get...you...Misty..." Hanzo gasped, before his eyes rolled backwards in his head. The two ninjas had finally came to, and when they'd seen what Ash had done, they both looked at each other and darted off. "Whoa, Ash, I didn't know you and Pikachu had that kind of power." Misty said. Ash sheathed his swords. Pikachu landed on his shoulder. "There are times, Misty, when we hate having this power." Ash said. Pikachu nodded forlornly. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu said no more and walked onward towards Pewter City. To Be Continued...