Re: Attn: Anne-Lise Feedback for... lots.

["buffythebushkangaroo" <buffythebushkangaroo@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> 1) What ever happened to the "Homeward Bound" series? 
> Last part I remember was 4. 

Homeward Bound, like many of my fanfics, was curtailed due to reader 
apathy. For instance, until you posted, no-one asked about it. If you 
liked it, then hell, I'm sure I could write you some more! :>

> 2) Same question, but the parody "Grimy Up North" series. 

Spik was getting upset with me, so I stopped teasing her. She's been 
working on part 10 for like a year now. (The final part.) I'm sure if 
people asked her nicely, she'd finish it up and post it.
(Then I could parody it. ;p)

> Fight scene! Then again, I don't ever recall 
> reading one you've done

>From Convergent Slayers, which no-one really liked, so I killed the 
sequel stillborn:

--

"Kyoko!" The young kenshin screamed out her name as he advanced 
across the dojo floor, a gleaming katana gripped threateningly in his 
right hand. "Because of you I've lost face before sensei! I challenge 
you to shiniai!"
The young woman, the only other occupant of the dojo, ended her kata 
prematurely with a graceful forward roll. Perspiration irritated her 
sensitive eyes, and she struggled to blink them clear.
"Shiniai, Ataru? Are you mad?" Shiniai, a ritual duel between 
martial artists could end in only one way: by victory through death.
"Hai! It's the only way I may save face now! You cheated me!"
"Never! I beat you fairly! Baka!" Although Kyoko had been taught in 
various complementary martial arts, like all the students of the 
Mugai-ryu, and though she'd experience fighting barehanded against a 
sword, she knew better than to underestimate Ataru's skill with a 
blade. She reached nonchalantly for the decorative wakizashi blade 
from its stand on the dojo wall, not even trying to keep eye contact 
with her opponent in a display of utter contempt for his skill.
Ataru sneered. "You presume to face my father's katana with that... 
that knife?" Barely able to contain his rage Ataru gripped his 
beloved katana blade tighter, knuckles whitening, eyes flashing 
dangerously. Like most kenshin, his father had entrusted his katana 
to him as he reached adulthood; just as his own father had been 
entrusted with his katana when he too came of age. It was a 
reverential possession, and to encounter someone who regarded it so 
lightly was a great insult to his family's honour. The challenge was 
sealed.
"Attend me, Kyoko, or I swear the next breath you take will be your 
last!" Ataru attacked her with rage-fuelled vigour, yet with a skill 
tempered by his vast anger and humiliation. Kyoko found herself 
easily able to defend against his blows so she let herself immerse 
into the lethal dance, letting her awareness withdraw from the fight. 
Her body, no longer controlled by conscious thought but disciplined 
instinct, countered the young swordsman's thrusts with skilful 
parries. Her lithe form, slim and supple from years of training 
performed flawlessly. Like moonlight in motion she slipped between 
Ataru's masterly defences, her chosen weapon singing in her hands, 
providing her with an almost sybaritic pleasure. Steel met steel and 
finally tasted blood. The sword she'd chosen was far more than a mere 
knife. It was a beautifully crafted blade containing nearly a 
thousand folds, designed to be the sacrificial seppuku knife of a 
bushido warrior. 
Although not her offensive weapon of choice, the wakizashi was 
equally deadly to Ataru's katana, and being much smaller, the blade 
was easier to control. Gathering her chi, she focused her strength 
into a vicious swing at Ataru's unprotected neck. Victory through 
death was her reward as Ataru's severed head fell at her feet, and 
she sank to her knees in emotional turmoil, lost somewhere between 
exultation and exhaustion.