The Prologue

 

It was said that whoever was able to obtain the Four Jewels of the Element they would be able to gain power beyond anything imaginable. Years ago a powerful demon came over from the continent looking for the jewels to enhance his power and rule all the lands with an iron fist and he nearly succeeded. His name was Aeroth.

Aeroth ruled the southern provinces with complete authority. His generals commanding his seemingly infinite army his reign was almost absolute until four warriors challenged him from the north who came to stop his reign of terror and to free the people.

Even with the four jewels in his possession Aeroth was defeated. His army was scattered and he along with his generals were sealed away in a special Pandora’s Box and hurled to the furthest reaches of Japan. The warriors lived out their lives and eventually surrendered their weapons and armour to a head monk at his temple to be given to those who would be their descendants should Aeroth ever return. The jewels were kept, safeguarded by the temple until further notice. Everyone though the times of war were over, they were wrong.

100 years later

“It has to be here something” a voice called out

“Here. Over here. I believe I found it,” another voice yelled out

The moon was beginning to peak through the clouds and the ground illuminated the way for the two men. Before them was a cave. The cave had to be no deeper than 100 feet deep and a faint light could be seen as the moon shone overhead.

“It has to be in there. Lord Aeroth’s box must be in that cave”

“It seems this place was the near perfect hideout for this box. Up here in these mountains far away from anybody and especially with demons lurking around each corner”

The other man laughed, “Well those demons will have a lot to fear once we released our Lord”

The two men began to move into the cave slowly. The rocks were damp yet still sharp enough to cut flesh if one fell. Carefully they made their way to the bottom and to their amazement were the box atop a pedestal with the moon shinning overtop through a makeshift skylight. “Ah it’s here” one man said, “We will be rewarded beyond our wildest dreams”

Both men cautiously walked up to the alter their hearts racing. They were about to come face to face with a demon that would bring their province back to order. The first man looked over the box; covering the surface was 10 sacred parchments and began to peal them off until he got to the last one. “This is it” he exclaimed. The man pulled the last seal off and the box opened up with such force it threw the men to the ground at the bottom of the alter. It shed a light throughout the cave and shadows began to expel from the box until Aeroth stood before them. Behind him were his big four generals but they were covered in darkness. The light subsided and the two men were looking at him frightened.

Aeroth was 25 in appearance. He stood 6’3” 200 pounds and fit. His skin was almost a pale white. His hair was a light shade of brown that was tied into a ponytail and dropped to the middle of his back. His eyes were blood red and his face was rugged yet calm in ways. Below his right eye were two red triangles facing downwards. He wore traditional samurai armour but minus the shoulder and leg pieces. The armour was black with red ties and was a unique armour blend that protected him from any arrow or sword. Along his left said was his sword, the Soruhasai. It was rumoured that his sword was forged from a large diamond encrusted meteor that fell to earth many years ago.

Aeroth let out a big sigh “Oh it is good to be out of that dreadful box” he said joyfully. He looked around the cave until he came across the two men trembling before him. He pointed at the two men “You two. How long have we’ve been sealed away?”

“It has been almost a hundred years my lord”

“A hundred years. Has it truly been that long? Then that would mean ha-ha those that sealed me away are long dead. In addition, the jewels? Where are they?”

“We do not know my lord. All we know from stories is that they were along with the weapons of those that imprisoned you were entrusted to a temple somewhere in the north” one man said

Aeroth looked down at his feet then back to the two men. He walked down the steps until he was then standing in front of the two men “Gentlemen, please stand up” he nicely asked “For your assistance in releasing myself as well as my generals you two will be greatly rewarded”. The two men stopped shaking almost immediately and big smiles grew across their faces.

“What kind of reward my lord?” they asked

“Heh funny you should ask” replied Aeroth who pulled his sword from his sheath and cut the two men across their stomachs. They stood there motionless looking down at their bodies then back at Aeroth. Soon though their torsos separated from their lower halves. Aeroth turned around and flicked the bloody off his sword and put it back into its sheath “Your reward gentlemen is eternity in the netherworld ha-ha-ha-ha. Now my generals there are four jewels our there that used to belong to me. Let’s go get them back”

With quick flash of light Aeroth and his generals disappeared from the cave and began their search for the jewels.

 

2: Chapter 1

Earth Jewel Saga

Chapter 1: Intro

The sun began to make its way over the horizon and though the city of Hamamatsu. It was six in the morning but you wouldn’t of known. Hamamatsu was a busy city that never really slept. People were always on the move no matter what time of day it was.

The sun made its way through the city centre hitting the tall skyscrapers along the way with its light. Eventually it made its way to Shukamura street and the Hikari household. The house itself wasn’t of normal Japanese building standards but of the western world. It was a two-story three level house with brown siding.

"Kai, time to wake up" a voice called followed by the door closing.

Kai awoke to the sound of the voice and the early morning rush hour traffic that was right outside his frost window. He got up and opened his blinds, the light shone into his room which was covered with clothes a few pro wrestling magazines and his Playstation 2 which was sitting on the floor right in front of his 20 inch television that he got for his birthday. The light shone onto his computer that his friend Matt fixed a few days earlier for connection problems. Kai was 5' 11" 13 years old with spiky silvery-blonde, blue eyes; Kai was a medium build with a slight tan to him. He is a very intelligent boy when he wants to be. He is the captain of the boy’s basketball and volleyball teams. As the light shone into the run Kai almost blinded by the light stumbled towards the door and emerged from his room and walked across the hardwood floor towards the bathroom. After a 10-minute shower Kai emerged from the bathroom and darted for his room to get changed since his mom would eventually call his name once again. Kai got changed into his school uniform, Kai hated wearing this uniform since is made him look a conformist. The uniform was a white dress shirt, over that was a blue coat which showed the schools insignia which was followed by formal dark navy colored pants with black shoes.

Kai walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen where his brother was sitting eating toast and eggs. Lan was 13 years old 5' 8" with short brown hair and hazel eyes and was wearing the same school uniform as Kai, like Kai, Lan wasn’t Mr. and Mrs. Hikari’s actually biological son. They were adopted when they were 2 months old. He is always looking for new things to do and see. He is also co-captain of the basketball and volleyball teams with Kai. Kai looked around the newly refurbished kitchen their father had completed with the boys help just last night. Kai went over to the counter and grabbed some bread and put it into the toaster and stood there waiting for it to pop out.

"Lan, whereas Christine" Kai asked looking around while drinking a glass of orange juice he grabbed from the fridge

"I'm in here" a voice called out from the living room. Kai looked into the living room and there was his older sister, Christine. Christine was 15 years old 5"7" with hazel eyes, she wore a skirt instead of pants and the same color uniform as Kai. She was in her senior year and one of the most popular seniors in the school. She was in the living room checking over her homework to make sure she didn’t get anything wrong. To Kai she was the brain of the family besides their dad.

"Checking over your homework again, come on Christine you know its right what more needs to be done except you getting extra credit" said Kai as his toast popped from the toast and his put in onto a plate and sat down at the table. Kai was never her favorite sibling after the hairdryer incident last year.

"Well unlike some people im actually gonna graduate and get into the proper high school" replied Christine sarcastically

"Hey, beside me being on the basketball team and volleyball team I don’t have time quadruple check my homework,” replied Kai eating his toast

"Whatever Kai, one day you'll be sorry"

"Yeah right"

"I don’t know Kai her marks are by far better than yours" snickered Lan

"So she has As across the board that doesn’t make her great. Look at your marks you have Bs and low As just like mine so shut up and eat your damn toast" Said Kai angrily

"Fine maybe I will"

"Good"

It was almost 7:45. The teens exited their house with Kai locking the door. They proceeded down the busy streets of Osaka walking by people that go to their school, and their parents work. The teens entered the subway, which would take them to there school. The teens loaded into the subway with fifty of sixty other people. Kai was sandwiched between a 2 people and the window while Christine and Lan had it easy sitting on the chairs. After what seemed like an eternity for Kai the train opened the doors and the three teens left the subway and walked up to the surface. They walked for another 5 minutes before the stood in front their school, Yamato High. Their school was the largest in Hamamatsu holding almost 2000 students with four levels. The three entered to schoolyard and split up their different ways.

"Yo, Kai and Lan over here" a voice shouted from the other side of the schoolyard

"Kenzan, Matt and Eichi how’s it going" said Kai has he greeted his friends

Kenzan Akabura was 13 years old 5' 8" with bronze short-styled hair and was a sports phenom besides Kai and Lan. He was an avid computer and console game player who would rather play online games with his friends than go outside and kick a soccer ball around. Next was Eichi he was taller and older than all the guys in their group. He had brown hair with bright green eyes, just like Kenzan he was heavily into sports and video games. The group dubbed him "Killer" after he demolished the other team on Call of Duty earlier in the month. And last was Matt Kozono, Matt was 13 years old with brown hair and green eyes. He was the first friend Kai and Lan had when they moved to Hamamatsu about 4 years ago. He is a machine when it comes to computer games it was almost like he didn’t sleep, he was also Kai and Lan's right hand man in Basketball and goalkeeper on their U14 soccer team.

"Twinsters how’s it going" asked Eichi

"Not bad, did you guys see that kill I got last night?” replied Kai with a smirk on his face

"The one were you shot the guy and then he fell off the tower and killed himself, that was amazing,” laughed Kenzan with Matt laughing as well

"I think that was the best kill I’ve had since probably scaring that one guy" said Kai as he dropped his backpack to the ground and sat on the table "I'm so tired I wanted to stay home"

"Don’t forget we have the test today"

"WHAT!!!!!" yelled Kai

"Eichi laughing "No dude that’s not till the end of the month

Kai hit Eichi up the head.” Do that again I will freaking kill you"

"Jeez...sorry I was just joking"

The bell started to ring and the gang grabbed all there stuff and proceeded inside the school. As the five enter they were almost trampled by the other students that went to this school. They proceeded up the closest stairway and walked up to the third floor for their first block class...Chemistry with Mr. Kobayashi. The group entered the classroom, there were thirty plus desks arranged in five rows of six with a TV and a whiteboard and sitting at his desk in the far right corner was Mr. Kobayashi. Mr.Kobayashi was 25 years old, 5' 7" with black hair and green eyes. The group moved to there desks. Kai sat in the fifth row and sixth seat, Lan sat right in front of him, Kenzan sat in the fourth row fourth seat, Eichi sat right behind Kenzan and Matt sat right behind Eichi.

The group pulled out there stuff and put plopped it onto each desk right when the bell rang a second time. Kai looked around the classroom and looked at his classmates until he came across Aya Shigamatsu. She a 13-year-old girl who is highly popular girl in the school. She is friends with Kai and is an easily scared but she is highly regarded. She is 5' 6" 100 lbs with brown eyes and light brown hair. He was athletic and pretty face that anyone could remember. She is captain of the girls basketball team and soccer teams. One of her friends gestured that Kai was looking at her. She looked over at Kai and blushed immediately and turned away.

"Kai are you staring at Aya again,” Lan whispered

"She likes me Lan I can see it when she looks at me"

"Kai, she maybe the captain of the girls basketball team and you being the captain of the boys basketball team but that doesn’t mean she has to like you"

"Maybe so but im gonna ask her out tonight"

"That’s what you said last time and if I recall correctly you whimped out” said Matt

"Shut up"

"Fine"

As the boys changed to a different subject, Mr.Kobayashi took the front of the class and wrote the assignment on the board. The students looked at the board took down the assignment, which was read chapter 4 and do questions 1-15,17,19.

"If anyone needs help feel free to ask,” said Mr.Kobayashi as he walked to his desk and sat down and worked on correcting the quiz his chem. 30 classes did yesterday

"This shouldn’t be hard,” said Kenzan sarcastically

"It shouldn’t Ken if you read the chapter and don’t skim through it you may to well on the homework check" said Matt who was already into his chem. book reading

50 minutes later

"Finished" said Kai who closed his book and stuffed it into his binder and through it into his backpack

"Done,” said Matt followed by Ken, Lan and Matt

"Oh Ken, what do we have right after this???" asked Lan

"Gym what else"

"Do you know what we are doing???"

"Uh I think soccer or track and field. I don’t know"

"You never know anything till the last possible second"

The bell rang which meant the end of class. The group gathered up there stuff and proceeded down to the second floor since that’s where their lockers were. The put there stuff in their lockers and grabbed the school gym clothes and moved to the change rooms to change. After a couple of minutes the group exited the room in a white t-shirt with the school insignia with blue shorts and went outside to the soccer field. There they saw their gym class, which was a mixture of boys and girls wearing the same gym clothes with a grand total of 31 students standing around Mr. MacIntyre. Mr. MacIntyre was a tall man about 6' 3" 170 lbs with brown hair and brown eyes. MacIntyre was an exchange teacher from somewhere in Canada.

"So what are we doing today?” somebody asked

"Today we are going to be playing game 3 of your soccer series" said Mr. Macintyre "So get into your teams and we will begin"

The group of students dispersed into their teams. Team 1 was Kai, Lan, Matt, Kenzan, Eichi, Aya and four others, which made the Yamato Revolution, and the other team was dubbed the Osaka FC. The teams went into their positions with Kai, Lan and Kenzan taking forward, Matt and Eichi took middle field and Aya took Goalkeeper. The Revolution took the ball with Kai leading the way with Kenzan up far right and Lan open on his left. Kai passed the ball to Lan who waited for Kenzan to get into position then sharply passed it to Kenzan for a One-Timer, Kenzan Made no mistake on this one shooting the ball right past the goalkeeper of Osaka FC to take a 1-0 lead in the 3rd minute. After about the 18th minute the other team notched the tying goal from Ray Atushi which made the score 1-1. Heading into the second half tied 1-1 the Revolution made a player changeup sending Aya Shigamatsu to the forwards while Denbe Endo took goal. The Revolution made quick work of this passing the ball among their forwards eventually sending it back to the Middlefield when Matt who took a couple steps and sniped the ball into the top left corner for a 2-1 lead in the 31st minute. The Revolution put the Osaka FC away in the 36 minute after a lobbed pass from Eichi which found Aya and with a bicycle kick kicked the ball and Kai deflect it into the net for a 3-1 final and a commanding 3-1 series lead.

"Awe dude that was sweet" said Lan boastfully "We totally killed them and now its just one more and we win"

"No doubt guys if it wasn’t for Aya hitting that bicycle kick and you tipping it home they could of came back" said Kenzan

The class went back into the school and into the change rooms. They all emerged and the bell rang. Lunch time. The school filled out as if a fire drill had started. Students lined up in the cafeteria and the rule was if you didn’t get a good spot in line you weren’t getting a lunch in a sense. Kai and Lan never dealt with that madness and always brought there own lunch from home. Kenzan and Eichi always buggered off during lunch since they went to hang out with other friends and when lunch was over they had completely different classes.

Kai, Lan and Matt made their way up to the rooftop of the school.  The school never banned anyone from the rooftop but they made periodic walk arounds to make sure nobody was skipping class. They made their way to the south end of the rooftop and sat down with their lunches overlooking the main grounds. Down below fellow students moved around like ants in a colony. The students ate their lunches and chatted about the day so far and what the next plan was. Suddenly The door to the rooftop opened and Lan looked behind him, a look of surprise filled his face, he nudged Kai and he turned around as well. It was Aya. “Bro, now’s your chance” whispered Lan.

Kai got up and walked over to Aya. He was a little surprised to see her up here. She usually was the school grounds with her massive group of friends. “umm Hi Aya, what are you doing up here?” asked Kai

“Can we talk in private? I have a question to ask you” she replied. Kai nodded and relayed the message to Lan and Matt and they went back to their lunches. They walked to the other side of the rooftop which overlooked the sports field. They both say down looking out at the skyline. “So, what is it that you want to ask me that is so private?” asked Kai staring down at the sports field. “Well It took me a long time to work up the courage and I bet you felt the same way but I was wondering if were busy…”

“You want to ask me out on a date, is that right?” sounding sure of himself as he looked over at Aya. She turned towards “Yes, how did you know?” she said a little surprised. “It wasn’t hard because you would of figured out the same thing if you were in my position right now”

“So…do you?” she asked

“Sure. Any sort of idea on what you want to do?” replied Kai

“Spur of the moment sort of thing”

“Well then, how about I pick you up right after school or something like that for maybe a movie or something”

“It’s a date” she giggled

Aya jumped up and walked back to the stairs with Kai beside her. When she got to the doorway she turned back and gave a little wave to Kai before disappearing down the stairway into the school. Kai turned back to his friends who in turn were facing him. “Going out tonight?” inquired Lan. Kai looked at him blank faced “Maybe” he said with a smirk

The lunch bell rang and they boys grabbed what was left of their food and made their way down the steps and back into the school. Kai, Lan and Matt had their third period class, history. They just had to make it through that and they were home free with the three of them having the last period as a spare meaning they got to go home early every second day. A nice change once in a while.

They entered their classroom and took their seats. The class wasn’t very big because lets fact it who wants to learn history anyways. The class was only 20 students or so. Their teacher was Mrs. Hashimoto, she was mid 40s or so with shoulder length black hair, green eyes with a medium build with the conclusion that she works out and a simple facial complexion. She was wearing what seemed to be a simple secretary outfit, black pencil skirt with a white blouse and black high heels.

“Alright class take your seats and open up to chapter 7. We are going to continue our lesson on the feudal Era of Japan: Topic - The 4 Jewels of Japan”

The students opened their books to the chapter and Mrs. Hashimoto began to read.

“In the early times of Japan great shoguns fought over who controlled the 4 jewels of Japan. The Air Jewel of North, The Water Jewel of the West, The Earth Jewel of the East and the Fire Jewel of the South. It was said that the 4 jewels contained magical properties and that whoever was able to gain all four who certainly be the most dominant. During this time only 1 man was able to hold all 4 jewels at once. Shogun Hiroshi Aeroth Soujiro used his military forces strategically in taking the 4 jewels from its respective Shoguns. But unfortunately with all the power he grew more insane and craved more power and eventually going on a rampage killing those he loved most. Aeroth and his army began its reign of terror among the lands”.

“Wow, one army was able to enslave half of Japan in a matter of days?” whispered Matt

“I guess anything is possible when you have power” said Kai

One male student put his hand up “How did his reign come to an end?”

“A Good question. It was said that with the lands in such fear 2 warriors each with particular skill rose up to challenge Lord Aeroth and defeated him banishing him and his army from the lands never to be heard from again. Many claim that his army was removed from Japan and landed either in the Korea‘s or somewhere in Russia” replied Mrs. Hashimoto

“And where are the jewels now?” asked one female student

“The jewels were lost centuries ago. Many claim that Imperial Family have possession of them while other historians believe that the jewels are lost forever but nobody can seem to come to a general conclusion“ said the teacher “Now I want you all to finish reading chapters 7 through to 9 and answer the questions provided and I expect it to be done for Monday”

The class worked through their in class homework. Kai and Lan never really did any work and just copied off Matt but did enough that they would pass without anyone noticing. Kai looked at the clock and the end of the day couldn’t come any faster. 2:59 pm. The clock slowly ticked away the seconds one by one. It was agonizing. 3:00 p.m.

The bell rang and everybody gathered up their school supplies. The classrooms exited in a seemingly orderly fashion. Kai and with Matt and Lan had made their way to the school courtyard and standing by the front gate was Aya.

Lan slapped his brothers back “There she is. Go get her Tiger. I’ll see you at home later” he said and he and Matt disappeared into the crowd never to be seen again.

Kai stood there looking around and staring at the ground a few times and took a deep breath. He shrugged and walked over to Aya. She was looking down the street and Kai tapped on her shoulder. She turned around and her face glowed with excitement.

“Oh Kai you’re here. So…you ready?” she said joyfully

“You bet” replied a smiling Kai

The two teens walked off down the street making lefts and rights pointing out places along the way and chatting about everything from people watching to items in store windows. It seemed like the idea of a movie was out of the question. They had worked their way along the local park and stopped and sat upon the tallest hill. The view was amazing. The river and the city skyline made for one heck of a moment.

“You know I never get tired of this view right here” said Aya “Whenever I’m having a bad day I just come here and the scenery and sounds of nature calm me right down”

“I bet. One of a kind”

Aya giggled “You know Kai Hikari you’re more fun than any other boy in our school you know that?”

“Ha I know that”

“No I’m serious. You’re not like any of them. I swear every last one of them if they actually had the chance all they would do is want to try and have their way with me. They don’t try unlike yourself and I actually like that”

Kai was blushing “ummm, heh, well I’m truly glad you feel that way about me. I’m kind of lost for words. Nobody has ever said anything like that to me”

Aya looked at him “Consider me the first”

Kai looked at her and they locked eyes. They had in the past but this was different. Neither one said anything as they began to move closer to one another. Their eyes closed their hearts racing. The first kiss was moments away.

“Oh excuse me” a voice said

Kai opened one eye and saw a man standing overtop them. A simple looking guy mid 30s black hair, brown eyes and he was wearing a blue button down shirt with jeans and black work boots.

“Dude we were in the middle of something” annoyingly said Kai

“I’m sorry that I’ve disturbed you and I know this is a bad time but I was wondering if you two fine children would be interested in helping with volunteering with a lot clean up tomorrow afternoon?” the man asked

Aya thought about it “Sure we’ll do it, right Kai?” she said

“Umm…sure?” he replied

“Oh wonderful it will mean so much. Heck bring more people if want. The more the merrier and it will get the lot cleaned up twice as fast”

The man handed them his card that read Tatsuya Ozawa and the address to the location. Kai looked at the address which was only half an hour or so north of the city which meant they would have to take the bus. “Before I go I just want to get your names“

“Aya Shigamatsu”

“Kai Hikari”

He wrote their names on a piece of note paper and put it in his pocket. “Now please try to be there for around 1 pm”

“Shouldn’t be a problem”

“Oh wonderful. I look forward to seeing you two tomorrow afternoon” Mr Ozawa said. He thanked them once more and began walking away. He disappeared from view and thus Aya turned back towards Kai.

“Won’t that be exciting Kai. There is nothing better than helping out you’re community with a little volunteering ever now and then” said Aya

“Oh yeah, its riveting” replied Kai sarcastically

“Oh don’t be such a downer. This will be fun. Now, its getting late, will you walk me home?” she said

The two teens left the park and headed towards the west suburbs of the city where Aya lived. It was a 20 minute walk or so but neither seemed to mind. Soon though Kai and Aya were at the front gate to her house. “Well thank you for this date Kai. Other than the guy bothering us it was quite enjoyable” she said sincerely. Before Kai had a chance to reply back she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked up to her front door. She turned around and waved before disappearing inside. Kai stood there holding his left cheek and just about fainted but was able to hold himself together.

“This is it I can feel it” he thought to himself as he began his walk back home. Walking through the city wasn’t anything new. Kai knew his way around, which was were heavily congested, ones that had no traffic and those that were dangerous. He arrived at home 8:00 pm on the dot and everyone were doing their own things. He took off his shoes and just wanted to go into his room and sleep but it wasn’t to be.

“So where were you?” his father asked as he fixed himself a glass of orange Juice. Mr. Richard Hiroshi Hikari his father. He was 35 years old medium build with brown eyes and light brown hair with glasses. He was wearing black pyjama pants with blue slippers and a white t shirt.

“Out with a friend…” said Kai as he shrugged his shoulders

“Oh come on Kai don’t play coy with me your old man I know when you’re lying. Come on who is she?” he questioned

“It was Aya dad” yelled Lan from the living room

“Was it now?” he said as he put the carton of orange juice away in the fridge. Kai didn’t respond. “ It is alright Kai I kind of figured that you’d get Aya someday”. Kai looked at his father with surprise “Wait you knew about, us, all along”. His father chuckled at his sons question.

“My boy you’ve had your eyes on her since first grade. I’m just surprised it took you this long”

Kai looked down at his feet and made his way to the stairs and up to his room. Opened and closed his door and fell back first atop his bed. ”Is it all the obvious that even my entire family knows about my ‘love’ for Aya” he thought to himself “And to top that off I got damn community service tomorrow. Isn’t that just fantastic?”

Kai worried about community service but  unbeknownst to him event were already in motion to have him save the world.

 

3: Chapter 2

Earth Jewel Saga

Chapter 2: The Time Warp of Years Past Part 1

 

Friday had come and gone and Saturday had now taken its place. A typical Saturday at the Hikari house was simple and very relaxed. It was at 8:30 a.m. Kai and Lan got up early to watch their favourite cartoons. Mom made breakfast while dad has to sleep in a couple more hours and Christine well she enjoyed her beauty sleep so much that she did not wake up until noon most Saturdays anyway. That never seemed to bother the family but it gave Kai and Lan great pleasure to bust into her room and wake her in the most annoying brotherly way possible.

“So boys what do you have planned for today?” their mother asked as she brought in two plates of scrambled eggs with bacon and toast. Catherine Hikari was 33 years old middle-aged working mom. She had long waist length brown hair with deep blue eyes. She had a simple face but one that was always smiling. She wore a light blue sweater with navy coloured pajamas with white socks.

“Nothing” said Lan as he looked blankly back at the television. Their mother turned to Kai. “And you mister do you have something going on perhaps with that lovely girl, Aya today?” she asked

Kai moaned “Oh come on Mom even you know?”

Mrs. Hikari giggled, “it’s a small house do you know. So anything?” she inquired

Kai took a bite of his toast, chewed it a couple of times then swallowed “If you must know mother I’m off to help her with a community service job just 15-20 minutes outside of town”

“Who are you guys helping?” she asked

“Mr. Ozawa? If that name sounds familiar”

“Oh yes. Tetsuya Ozawa. He is a well-known environmentalist who specializes in lot clean ups and turning them into parks or eventually affordable housing. He‘s been featured on the news a few times. I’m really surprised he asked you two”

Kai grinned, “Well you know me mom. I’m very approachable”

“When are you meeting Aya?” Mrs. Hikari asked politely

“I have to meet her around noon-ish at Tanahashi Bus Station”

There mom left and re-entered the living room and grabbed the plates while the boys continued to watch their cartoons. It was now 11:00 a.m. and Kai went upstairs and had himself a shower. He jumped from the bathroom to his room and searched through his drawers to find something that would be outdoor work acceptable. Eventually he came across some worn blue jeans with a couple small rips below the left knee and a red New Japan Pro Wrestling shirt that he wore once and a while. He looked at his watch 11:30 a.m. He had lots of time to make it to the bus station.

He made his way down the stairs, Lan had recently changed into better sweats and a red t-shirt while Kai was getting ready yet he was still in the living room in the same spot flipping channels “You off?” he asked. Kai began putting on his light grey sneakers “I am. Do you want to come along? You love exercise,” he said. Lan looked at him and just smiled “You know Bro I’ll take you up on your offer. Better to do something out there than to be in here doing nothing all day”

Kai smiled back “I’m glad you see it that way ha-ha. Say why not give Matt a call, Tetsuya said the more the merrier”. Lan nodded “Good Idea”. He walked over to the phone and dialled Matt’s number. A couple rings went by when someone answered on the other end.

“Hello. Hey Matt, you want to do something. I am going out with Kai and Aya to help with a lot cleanup and we are asking if you want to come along. You will, awesome. Tanahashi Bus station in 20 mins. See you soon”. Lan hung up the phone and gave Kai a thumb up.

Kai and Lan soon all packed left the house, turned down the street, and headed for the bus station. The brothers reassured themselves a few times that they had the money required to get from Tanahashi station and back. After a 20-minute walk, the two arrived at Tanahashi Bus Depot and began to search for Aya and Matt. The bus was going to arrive shortly after noon so it was best to find Aya and Matt right away or this whole thing was not going anywhere.

“Hey Kai over here” a voice shouted. Standing by one of the pillars near the departure buses was Aya and Matt. Aya was holding her backpack over her shoulder leaning up against the pillar. She had her hair tied in a ponytail and sunglasses on her forehead. She wore white/green sneakers with blue jeans and a thing long sleeve shirt with a navy blue vest. Matt was wearing a maroon coloured long sleeve shirt with an open black jacket. He wore blue jeans with blue/white sneakers.

“I’m glad you made it Kai and I see you brought Lan as well. That‘s good”

“Well and it seems that you found Matt as well. We decided to bring him along to make this more fun for all of us” Kai replied

The four chatted for a few minutes before their bus number and destinations were announced on the loudspeakers around the station. The teens boarded the bus, paid their fees and took to their seats near the back of the bus. The bus set off from the station and proceeded along the highway north at about 50 mph. Aya and Kai didn’t talk too much on the way their but rather took in the scenery as neither of them had been north of the city so this was a whole new experience. Lan and Matt couldn‘t stop talking about recent gaming news and didn‘t even once notice the scenery and wasn’t long until the city landscape turned into forest and some farmland

“Wow isn’t it beautiful,” said Aya as she peered out the left side of the moving bus “I never knew of such a place”

“It’s really cool. Never have I ever been out this way before?” said Kai as he laid his head back on the headrest

The bus made a few stops along the way with the passenger count almost at half capacity and traffic of course which made the trip ever longer but soon enough they reached their stop. They all thanked the driver who tipped his cap to the teens and proceeded to the next destination.

“So where is this place anyways Aya? “asked Kai. Aya opened her backpack and pulled out the card that Mr. Ozawa gave to them yesterday.  Aya panned around the road “It should be over there” she said as she pointed down the street.

They walked for a few minutes looking at the addresses along the road until they finally came to their address. “Is this it?” questioned Lan. Aya looked at the card then at the sign the back to the card “Yes that has to be it”. The address was shady at best. The sign itself was nothing more that a half rotting wooden sign with a road that lead up for about a mile or two. The group looked at each other shrugged their shoulders in unison and began hiking up the road. The further they went they began to hear voices and closer and closer the voices got louder. They could not quite make it out cause of the trees distorting the sound but as soon as they reached the exit, it all became clear.

The lot for this clean up was massive in size, nearly 25 acres. An elderly man previously owned the land and his wife for nearly 70 years until both passed away. After their passing, the land remained unused and was a dumping ground for city dwellers to dump off garbage, appliances or anything that would have resulted in going to the landfill itself. The house was still standing, barely; time was the only thing holding itself up. Around the lot were clean up crews, men and women with the occasional eighteen year old looking for a little extra cash for some hard work.

“Ah Kai, Aya you made it” Mr. Ozawa called out. Mr. Ozawa was dressed in steel-toed work boots, blue jeans and a maroon coloured t-shirt. “I trust you guys had no problems finding us?”

“Oh no, no problem Mr. Ozawa”

“Please call me Tatsuya. I do not need the mister to make this body feel older you know. Plus I see you brought extra help”

“Sorry Tetsuya” said Kai all apologetic “Yes this is my brother Lan Hikari and my best friend Matt Kozono”

“Pleasure to meet you” the boys said back

A smile exploded from Tetsuya’s face “Wonderful to meet you two. Well first things first I need the four of you to sign a waiver form just saying that you understand the risks and that anything dangerous or perhaps life-threatening that you two are somehow involved in I am not liable. That sort of thing. Gotta make sure I cover all the bases”

“I understand your position on that,” said Aya

“Great” replied Tetsuya. They walked over to the operation tent. Tetsuya pulled out four waiver forms and handed pens along with them. The teens read them over carefully. It was rock solid. Therefore, they signed them. “Wonderful, here are some steel toed boots, we have plenty so made sure you find ones that fit and when your ready I’ll have one of my co-workers assign you two and area”

“Awesome thank you” the teens said collectively

Tetsuya left the operations tent to help with some heavy appliance moving. The teens picked out their boot sizes and exited the tent. “Ah hello there, you must be Kai Hikari and Aya Shigamatsu and friends. My name his Hakushi it is a pleasure to meet you all”. Kai and Aya seemed surprised by this “Well Hakushi it is very nice to meet you”. Hakushi was a little older than Tetsuya. He wore black work boots, grey sweat pants with a white shirt. He was completely bald with dark green eyes. He could pass for a monk he wanted too.

“I don’t want to over work you two too much today so we’ll make this somewhat easy but nothing too difficult”

“Alright what do you have in mind?” asked Aya

“Well you see that pile over there to the right?”

“You mean the one with the wood and scrap metal?” asked Matt

“Yes that one. Remove those items there and put them in their required bins. Blue for wood and green for metal” replied Hakushi

“Green for metal, blue for wood. Got it” said Lan

The teens soon went to work. Since Kai, Lan and Matt were men would do all the heavy lifting, typical men/women logic… Time went by and the pile became smaller and smaller. They took their time as they were not really instructed to move at a fast pace unless Hakushi or Tetsuya asked them too. “Hey would you look at that?” exclaimed Lan as he removed a blue tarp. “What, did you find something?” asked Kai. Lan stood there looking it over “Yea a really old well”.

Aya came over “Oh cool. It completely made of wood this must be over a hundred years old or so”

“Probably older” said Matt

The group looked down the well but it was pitch black. Seeing, as there was nothing down there they all turned away until Lan spotted something gleaming at the bottom. “Hey, there’s something down there,” said Lan surprised. The others turned around and leaned over the edge “Where?” Lan pointed to the spot and the object gleamed again. “Huh there is something down there after all,” said Matt

Kai grabbed a rock, no bigger than a golf ball and proceeded to drop it down the well. The delay until it hit the bottom would determine how deep this well was. He dropped the rock and counted. “1...2”. Suddenly it hit the bottom. It seemed to have been a very short well for it to stop that quickly. “I wonder what it is down there. Hey, perhaps you guys could lower me into the well?” asked Aya

“Are you sure about this Aya?” questioned Kai as he looked around the lot. Everyone was still hard at work. “It’s not that far down. If you lower me in I can try and grab whatever it is”

“Hey it’s something better than this,” said Matt

Aya leaned over the edge of the well. Matt grabbed her ankles and slowly they began to move lower into the well this was followed by Lan and finally by Kai. The well was remarkably dry especially for the parts covered in total darkness. “A little more. I’m almost at it,” she yelled. Kai lowered her further until he was right at the wells edge. “Alright that’s good I think she can reach it” shouted Lan who could only see a outline of Aya‘s body. Aya stuck her hand out the gleaming object was inches away. She swiped her hand at it but could not feel anything. She tried again but could not touch it. “I…I can’t get it”. Kai adjusted his stances to accommodate the weight “What the hell do you mean you can’t get it?” he shouted back.

“I mean I’m looking right at it but it’s like my hand is going through air”

“Alright I’m bringing you guys up. Hold on a sec” Kai using all his strength was able to turn around and face away from the well while Lan’s feet dangled over his shoulders. Slowly Kai began to drag his back up. “Hurry up Kai I don’t want to be down here any longer”. Kai groaned “I’m working on it just keep your damn mouth shut alright” he shouted back.

Suddenly a wet and slimy like a tongue grabbed Aya’s wrist causing Kai to stop. “AAAAAHHHH WHAT THE HECK IS THIS” she screamed. Whatever it was began to pull on Aya bringing her closer and closer to the darkness. “Kai, Lan hurry up things are getting weird,” said Matt concerned. Kai was able to get Lan back to the top and they both began to put Aya and Matt up but something stopped them. They pulled harder and harder with no success. The machines around them deafened their cries for help until it was too late; they were pulled into the well. The darkness enveloped them both. Kai could hear his friends screaming but he couldn’t place them anywhere. He wasn’t sure if his eyes were open or closed as it was so dark until a flash of light emerged.

“My eyes” painfully said Kai as he rugged his eyes. He looked around as he was floating downwards. A white light above him and a white light beneath him and the space he was in was filled with a light blue film that sparkled when either the above or below light made contact. His vision was heavily blurred yet it was slowly coming into focus. He looked around and saw his friends and some creatures over top her.

They looked like a shadow of a gecko. The outline was completely black with its two red eyes hovering above its head. One had its mouth opened as its saliva dripped onto Aya. “Hey you ugly. Why don’t you pick on someone with a little more meat huh?” he shouted at the creature. The creature turned and looked at Kai and a sick smile crept across his face.  “Mmmm a male would be more filling that a mere girl” its voice creaked. “I’ll let my brothers’ deal with the rest”

“What…What are you?”

“What am I? I am Kage to Kage and I am a demon and you my little boy are my first meal in a very long time”

The creature lunged at Kai and he screamed before he blacked out.

Sometime Later

Sometime later Kai woke up to the sound of birds flying overhead. The sun glistened through the trees above him. “Oh my head” he said as he felt his forehead. He looked around him and then down at his feet. His boots and socks were missing. “Huh that’s weird. Where did my boots and socks go? Better question is: Where is Aya, Matt or even Lan?” he asked himself.

He parted his hair out of his face twice as he continued to survey the area around him. The well wasn’t around and neither Tetsuya nor any of the other workers. He then realized that his hair had become much longer “Whoa when did get hair extensions?” His hair had somehow grown nearly two and a half feet. It had more of a silver colour than his blonde-haired person did. His fingernails and toenails had turned black and his fingernails resembled those of claws. He scratched the back of his head and then suddenly stopped. With his right hand, he moved it along the top of his head and felt something that shouldn’t have been there something that wasn’t human in nature.

 

4: Chapter 3

Earth Jewel Saga

Chapter 3: The Time Warp Of Years Past Part 2

Kai sat motionless on the ground as his hand stopped from the top of his head. He slowly moved his hand overtop and they felt like dog-ears. He touched one and it twitched. “No this can’t be real,” said Kai trying to remain calm. He got up and still looked around. His ears twitched and he heard the sound of water, a stream perhaps. He began moving through the thick bush until he soon came to a small stream. He strolled down the stream until he found a small pool of calm water no bigger than a dinner plate. He positioned himself over and saw his reflection and his jaw dropped.

His hair was three times its original length with a silvery colour instead of his natural blonde hair colour and it went just past his waist. His eyes were now gold in colour from blue yet his vision was near 20/5, which was unheard of. It was as if he had gotten a high definition upgrade, everything was beyond clear. Atop his head though was a pair of silver furred dog-ears.

“What in the hell are these doing on my head?” he asked himself. He tried to pull them off but pain shot through his head like someone had punched him in the face. “Okay, let’s not try that again”. Kai continued to examine his new self-using the reflection of the water. He had changed too much, from what he was.

“AAAAAHHHH” a voice screamed echoing through the forest. Kai looked up and around turned towards the direction. His hearing was beyond what it used to be as it was like hearing a pin drop from a mile away. He began rumbling through the trees and bushes until he came to another stream and in front of him was a girl. She was on her knees with her hands covering her face. She seemed to be clearly upset and was crying uncontrollably. Her hair was a light brown colour with fox ears and a bushy foxtail. Kai kneeled before her.

“Umm Aya?” Kai asked

The girl stopped crying almost suddenly. She removed her hands from her face and look up at him. Her eyes were a beautiful golden yellow that shone as bright as the sun. She looked up at Kai and her face turned to horror. “No, No get away from me” she screamed. She ran up to a tree and positioned her back to the tree staring at Kai. “Don’t…don’t come any closer. I’m warning you” she replied frightened.

“Aya it’s me Kai. Don’t you recognize me?” he asked

“No you’re not Kai you’re some creature that looks like him,” she said as she closed her eyes “It’s not real. It can’t be real”

Kai stood up and took a deep breath “Aya Sukai Shigamatsu. It’s me Kai, don’t you recognize me?” he shouted

Aya snapped too “How does he know my middle name? Only a select few know my middle name,” she thought to herself. She opened her eyes and looked towards Kai “Kai, is that you?” she asked softly

“Of course it’s me stupid who else would it be” he exclaimed

Her face shed the looks of horror and happiness had taken its place. She jumped to Kai and she hugged him “Oh my god Kai. I did not know it was you. Please forgive me? What’s happened to us?”

They finished the hug and Kai looked at her “I don’t know what happened to us. But we first need to find Matt and Lan” Kai said as he looked around. Suddenly heard the bushes rustling and before them stepped out a boy. It was Lan.

“Lan thank god you are okay” cried out Kai. He came over and hugged his brother.

“Kai, Aya what happened to you guys you two look very different”

“I could say the same thing for you too Lan” said Aya

Lan had changed as well. His hair was longer than it once was, now down to his shoulders but still maintained the same colour. His fingernails as well resembled those of claws except his were white just like Aya’s. His ears had become more pointed almost elven but with a sense of canine to them. His eyes were a deep emerald green aside from Kai and Aya’s gold colour. His clothes were ripped in places but nothing too bad.

“Well if you guys are here then where is Matt?” asked Lan

“You’re right I hope nothing bad has happened to him I’d be crushed” Lan replied back

“Ha, you’d drop him in a second idiot” snickered Kai

The three teens continued to look around the small area not wanting to leave the stream as for they could get lost. “Oww, dammit, stupid tree” a voice rang out.  It was Matt. He stumbled through the thick bushes and collapsed on the ground. He quickly sat up and brushed himself off. “Matt, you’re alive!” joyfully said Kai. Matt looked at him oddly “Yeah why wouldn’t I be? Kai? Aya? Lan? What they hell happened to you guys?”

“Heh that’s a good question because none of us know” said Aya

“Well we all seem different but it seems Matt hasn’t changed at all unless I’m missing something” inquired Lan as he looked at his friend more closely “Aha I see it’s your eyes plus you have some weird scars on either side of your face” blurted out Lan.

The others joined in to have a look at Matt’s face. Lan was right. Underneath both ears from the jaw line going two inches inward were two light pink scars about 10 centimetres wide. His eyes had changed colour as well but they were a beautiful sky blue colour.

“My eye sight feels like someone put a thousand HD cameras behind my eyes. Everything is so vivid. I can even see the wind blowing right now”

“Wow so like eagle vision but upped by a thousand,” Aya said

“Yeah it kind of hurts a bit but it’ll just take time to adjust to it,” replied Matt who began rubbing his eyes.

Kai looked down at his toes and wiggled them “Hmm I wonder,” he thought. Kai braced and jumped into the air. He landed on the tallest branch of the tree above him with ease. “Whoa. How the hell did you do that?” asked Lan. Kai looked down at his friends “I think we have all been given powers like enhanced eyesight, reflexes, agility”

Aya and Lan looked at their hands “Like superpowers?” asked Lan

“I don’t think as extreme Lan but it does give us amazing power,” replied Aya

“Yes yes that’s all great but can you see where we are?” barked Matt

Kai looked around from the tree. He looked from his left and saw more forest. He stared beyond the tree to his right and notice farmland and a small village with no more than ten or fifteen small houses around miles of Riceland. “Hey guys there is a village over to the north,” shouted Kai as he pointed in the direction. “Excellent now come down and let’s figure out what’s happened to us and where we are” said Aya. Kai jumped down from the tree making hardly a sound as he landed softly on the ground.

The teens began to make their way to the village. They quickly stepped out of the forest and onto a dirt path. To their left and just over a few hills the village was in sight “Oh great it’s really close” said Matt. The teens continued their walk towards the village until they stopped abruptly in the middle of the path. In front of them was a young woman no older than 20 years old with her son by her side who could not have been any older than five. They stopped dead in her tracks and fear raced over their faces.

“Get away from us. Demon’s someone help us,” the woman screamed

“Wait we aren’t demons” replied Kai “Hey come back here”. Kai pursued them before his friends had a chance to react. After a short pursuit, they stopped “Hey wait I’m not a…demon?” He stopped his sentence suddenly as the woman and her child had now taken refuge behind a small squad of Samurai soldiers.

These soldiers were dressed in standard samurai attire but neither of them were wearing any head armour. The armour was a green and black combo while the commander’s armour was blacker all around. “Help please someone kill that demon,” the woman frightenly asked.

“Ah yes there. Look men a demon. Kill it and you shall be rewarded” the Commander announced.

Kai turned around in panic and proceeded back to his friends running for his life as the Samurai began to tail him. Aya, Matt and Lan were still on the path to the village when they notice Kai and he immediately sped past them “Huh it almost seemed like he was running from something,” Lan asked

“Hey up there. More demons look” one soldier hollered

“Demons? Us?”

Before they even had a chance to say anything one soldier pulled out his bow and fired an arrow in their direction. The arrow sailed past Aya and Lan but it grazed Matt in the left shoulder. He fell on his but holding his shoulder “Christ, what the hell? You shot at me” he scolded the samurai

“No time to play who is trying to kill who here. We must RRRRUUUNNNNNN” screech Aya.

Matt picked himself up and the three teens turned around and hurried down the path in which Kai sped past them just moments ago. It was not long until they caught up with Kai who was still running full out “What the hell is going on Kai?” question Aya. Kai looked back and then side to side like he was looking for a way out “Apparently the lady and those samurai guys think we are demons and they intend on trying to KILL US”

“Say what?” shouted Matt “Talk about overreacting”

“In there…” said Aya who pointed to the right. The teens dodged into the thick forest and continued to move away from the path. A few minutes went by and they came to a small clearing, no greater than 20 feet wide and stopped to catch their breathes. The soldiers were nearby but the foliage was slowing their pursuit. “Come on men they are in here somewhere” one man shouted.

“Dammit do these guys ever quit?” asked Lan panting, “I haven’t ran this fast in like forever”

“That’s because you haven’t had your life threatened,” replied Kai

The teens continued to listen as the soldiers were getting nearer. They didn’t have any sense of direction on where to go to next. It seemed like they would have to fight them off to survive. “Psst over here” a voice said.

“Did you here that?” asked Aya

“Over here my friends” the voice called out again

Behind hidden amongst the branches was a monk. His robes were yellow and light brown and were in extravagant condition for his appearance while on his head was a white straw hat… “Please come with me if you want to live,” he politely asked. Kai stepped forward before being barked by Aya “Wait you’re just going to go with him? Why?” Kai looked back at her “Because he’s the first person here who hasn’t tried to kill us”

“Huh he makes a good point”

“First please put these on,” the monk said. He threw four large pieces of cloth at them. They were light brown and looked very similar to ponchos but they included a hood to cover up their faces. “Please follow me and stay close,” he said

The teen puts on the cloaks and lined up behind the monk who soon began a steady walking pace out of the forest. A few minutes or so and they were back on the original path that put them deep into the woods. “This way” the monk politely asked. They turned right and began walking west on the trail. They continued to walk for a few minutes or so when the bushes in front of them rumbled and the monk stopped. In front of them, the same group of soldiers who hunted the teens earlier emerged from the woods.

“Stop Monk. I have some questions for you”

The monk looked up and batted a smile toward the soldiers “Questions? What kind of questions are you asking of me a monk?”

“Well then. There has been a recent sighting of four demons in the area. Have you seen them?” the commander asked

The monk looked around “Demons you say? I have not seen any. My students and I are on our journey back to our temple and the only thing we’ve seen has been birds and clouds” he replied

“Hmm alright. They must still be hiding in the forest somewhere. These demons are very dangerous so if you come across them you come get us”

“We will”

The monk tipped his hat to the soldiers and they continued on their way. The soldiers disappeared back into the woods in search for the teens. The teens let out a huge sigh of relief “Man, that was close” sighed Matt. “Your right. When those soldiers came out of the brush there, my heart was racing. I thought for sure we were dead,” replied Aya.

“Well my friends we should be out of danger. Stay close because I don’t want any of you to wonder off”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I doubt any of us are going to be wondering off in a strange place like this,” said Matt

The teens followed the monk’s course very closely until the forest had disappeared and they were left with the most wonderful sight. The scenery was magnificent. The trail began a steep decline to seemingly endless miles of farms and rice fields. Midway on the plain stood a village possibly no more than a couple hundred people and behind it, the ground rose up a plateau covered with trees and a huge temple that nearly encompassed the entire highland. “Wow” gasped the teens

“This place is gorgeous,” said Aya

“Indeed. This place has been untouched by civil war and demons alike for more than four decades” the monk replied “The place we are headed is the temple in the distance”

The group slowly made their way down the embankment and towards the village. The teens stayed in line and they entered the village. The village was bustling with life. The villagers, men, women and children were working and at playing throughout the streets of the village. Most of the villagers greeted the monk and the teens but they did not seem to pay much attention. Gradually they worked their way through the village.

“Oh no” a voice cried

A ball no bigger than a grapefruit rolled and hit Aya’s right foot. The group did not notice and kept moving but Aya stopped. She turned and looked down at the ball. A little girl wearing a blue and white kimono was standing feet away from Aya. Aya bent down, picked up the ball, and held it out for the little girl. Shyly she stepped forward, grasped the ball with her hand, and took it. She looked up at Aya and Aya gave her a smile, the sunlight gleaming off one of her fangs. Aya stood back up and rejoined her friends the girl hustled over to her mothers’ side. “Mommy did you see that she had fangs. It was so cool”. Aya heard the little girl and giggled internally.

It was only a fifteen-minute walk from the village to the temple but it felt like forever going up the plateau. The reached the temple gates eventually and stopped. The monk held up his left hand and the wooden gate opened up.

The inside of the temple was extravagant. The temple itself was completely and uniquely made of wood throughout. They stood in the temple square which was neatly covered with white stone. Directly in front of them was the main sanctuary. The largest building on the site two stories high. In addition, their left was the grand lecture hall, designed for studies and training.  Finally, too their right was the Belfry and living quarters for travelers and monks. “Please to the main sanctuary” said the monk

“Oh wow.  This place is huge,” said LAN in astonishment. The teens took off their cloaks and dropped them to the ground.

“Ah they have arrived” a voice, said. The teens looked around trying to find where the voice came from. Standing atop the steps and in front of the door was the head priest of the temple. He was wearing traditional monk clothes but unlike the monks of the temple, which were gold and brown his were white with red threading. He tilted his head up towards the teens “I’m glad you’ve made it safely”

The teen’s faces turned to shock. They could not believe their eyes. Standing before them was the man who they last saw in their own time. It was Tetsuya.

5: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Tetsuya

The teens stood frozen to place their jaws wide open. It had been as if they had seen a ghost. Standing in front of them atop the short flight of stairs leading to the main sanctuary was none other than Tetsuya, the man who had them work on the vacant lot or so they thought.

“This…this is impossible,” Said Kai “You can’t be here!”

Tetsuya began to walk down the steps slowly “Strangers, I do not know of what you speak of. It would appear that you have me mistaken for someone else”

“No way. You are Tetsuya are you not? You’re the same guy who we met in our time”

Tetsuya stopped in front of the teens and looked over them closely. “Aye I am Tetsuya and I am the head Priest of this temple. I want to welcome you to my temple. What are you names?”

Aya took charge “Umm I’m Aya. This is Kai, his brother Lan and our friend Matt”

Tetsuya bowed his head “Welcome Aya, Kai, Lan and Matt to my temple. Rejoice my friends as the prophecy has now been fulfilled”

The teens stared back in confusion “Prophecy, what prophecy?” asked Aya

“Isn’t that why you are here. To save us from the impending evil that threatens to destroy the world”

Kai stepped forward almost nose to nose with Tetsuya “Whoa you got us all wrong. We are not any saviours of the world. We are just four teenagers who just want to go home”

“Home you say. Well how would you explain the painting of the four of you inside my temple hall here?”

“Painting of us?” asked Matt “That can’t be right”

Tetsuya stepped and turned to the side and held his arm out in the direction of the temple “Please follow me and I will show you what I mean”

The teens were still a little confused and uneasy but seeing a somewhat familiar face calmed them down to some extent. They followed Tetsuya into the main sanctuary. Insight the temple was lit with torches hanging on the wall the interior was straightforward. The floors were a dark hardwood almost mahogany. The walls were a simple white with red structural posts every fifteen feet or so. They walked down a short hallway and entered the main prayer chamber. A red rug ran from the entrance to a giant statue of Buddha. Along the western facing wall was a tapestry it ran along the entire wall and it depicted outlines of people and events.

“This is what I mean,” said Tetsuya.

The pointed to the tapestry and the teens gazed at it. Their eyes widened. Before them was the tapestry of the four warriors. Each warrior was a spitting image of one another. It was somewhat surreal.

“Is that…us?” asked Kai’

“Not exactly unless you lived nearly a hundred years ago. You see I believe the four of you are the descendants of the legendary four warriors who defeated the great evil and sealed it away all those years ago”

“The resemblance is quite uncanny. You believe that we, four kids from Hamamatsu are the descendants of them. You can’t be serious?” replied Lan “You guys don’t believe him, do you?”

The other teens sighed. They did not know what to think. It was all so overwhelming that they could not process everything let alone make any sense of it.  “Well what you know of the ‘Four Elemental Jewels Of Supreme Conquest’?” asked Tetsuya

“The Four Elemental Jewels Of Supreme Conquest? Hmm I know about those,” said Matt exploding with his answer. The others looked at him dumfounded. “Guys we learned about this in history class. You remember right?”

“Sure Matt…why don’t you fill us in?” said Kai

Matt looked at his friend with a serious look “The 4 elements Earth, Air, Water and Fire right Tetsuya”

Tetsuya was impressed. Not many people knew about the jewels and their true purpose. “You’re right Matt.” Tetsuya began doing a short walk along the painting “You see many moons ago a terrible demon named Aeroth came across from the continent to expand his empire. With him, he carried the ‘Four Jewels of Supreme Conquest’. He went unrivalled and surmounted an empire that ruled the southern provinces as well as most of the western provinces. It was not long until many of the clan lords asked the help of four half-breeds as you see in the tapestry to aid them in destroying Aeroth. They defeated him and sealed his army and generals including him into a special seal box and sent it to the far reaches of Japan never to be seen again until your arrival”

“Hold on our arrival here causes this Aeroth to be released?”
“Oh no. Your arrival here means that he was released from his prison by some act of the gods. We are unsure as to where he is located,” said Tetsuya who stopped in from on the giant statue of Buddha “That’s why I believe you four are the key to saving the world from destruction”

“So he could be on his way here now?” asked Kai

Tetsuya took a deep breath “Not quite yet. You see his body will be weak having spent nearly a century in solitude. He will need time to rest”

Aya took in a big yawn. Lan looked over at her “How can you be tired Aya?”

Aya stared back coldly and Lan felt a chill up his spine “Well in case you forgot we had a lot happen to us today.  We were chased and shot at so I’m going to bed”

“Bed sounds like a good thing. It’s almost dark,” said Kai

“Your sleeping arrangements as well as new clothes should be all ready to go for you,” said Tetsuya.

The teens exited the main hall with Tetsuya right behind them. He took lead and escorted them to their sleeping quarters. The house if you wanted to call it that was no bigger than Kai and Lan’s main floor of their home. The floor was that of tatami, beige in colour. Three windows took up space on each wall. In the middle, a fire was going and around it were the sleeping mats with blankets and the new clothes. They were nothing fancy but regular kimonos.

“Huh cozy,” said Kai

“It’s not much but you’ll feel right at home,” said Tetsuya “Sleep well. We will sent forth back to where you came from first thing tomorrow morning”

Kai smiled “Thanks Tetsuya”

Tetsuya closed the door and left with the remaining monks to the main hall. The teens changed out of their torn and tattered closed and into the kimonos, that Tetsuya so graciously left for them to wear. Aya went behind the wooden divider in the corner and changed into her kimono. She used one of her claws to make a hole in the back so her tail could fit through and soon enough the teens went to bed but not much sleep was to be had.

The night pressed on slowly. The hours ticked away at a snails pace. Nobody got much sleep, just the mere thought of their families kept them all awake but neither of them said a word all night. The crackle of the fire and the crickets were all the noises heard throughout the extended night.

The Next Day

The sound of birds chirping and people moving about stirred the teens from their sleep. The teens all sat up and began rubbing their eyes. They were sore and exhausted but they had to shake it off. Kai gave one stretch and yawn, and now fully stood up the rest followed. “Oh god that had to of been the worst sleep I have ever had” said Kai.

“You can say that again,” replied a tired Matt who was stretching his back. “I haven’t felt this bad since we played capture the flag against the grade sixers”.

The teens exited the house and were immediately greeted by Tetsuya. “Ah good morning my friends. I hope you slept well?” he asked. The teens groaned at his question and Tetsuya smiled back. He understood. “Well you all must be hungry. We have food ready in the main hall if you want?”

“That actually sounds good. I’m starving,” said Aya

Tetsuya lead the teens into the main hall. They worked through the hallways and came to the dining area of the main hall. The room was not very wide but it sure was long. Five or six small tables no bigger than a few feet in circumference were placed in the room with a few monks to a table. At the back was large round table maybe ten feet wide and the group moved down there and sat down to eat. They talked about just about everything, shared some laughs until the obvious question came up.

“Are you sure you do not want to stay here?” asked Tetsuya

They all sighed. “Not to be disrespectful to you and the hospitality you and your fellow monks have showed us but we really must get back. We all miss our families”

Tetsuya sighed, “I understand. And where is home for you?”

The teens seemed puzzled “Umm that’s a little hard to explain. You see were are from here but not from….here” said Kai

Aya butted in “Umm what Kai is trying to say is we aren’t from this time”

Tetsuya looked at them a little confused “Not from this time you say. So what you’re saying is that you all are from the future or something?”

“YES!”

“We fell through a well and were brought to this time”

“Hmm a well”

“It must have been the ‘Well of the Forgotten’. It’s the only well around here,” a monk said

Everyone seemed a little surprised by what the monk had just said. “Tekagi you know of this so called well?” asked Tetsuya. Tekagi was the second highest-ranking monk at the temple. He was 28 years old with short black hair with a slight ponytail. He wore the traditional garments, yellow and orange combination. He was knowledgeable, friendly and always willing to lend a hand to those in need.  

“Umm yes Master. The villagers long ago used it for the disposal of dead demons. It is my understanding that the well created a portal of some kind between the worlds using the combine demonic auras of the disposed demons”

“I’m actually astounded Tekagi” said Tetsuya “And you know where this well is?”

“Of course Master, It’s only a few minutes from the village”

Lan stood up with excitement “Then you can take us there, right?”

The monk nodded “Of course I can it’s not to far from where we found you. I can take you there in no time”

“Ha then what are we waiting for. Let’s go,” said an excited Kai

It did not take long for the party to get ready. The teens waited for Tekagi ever so patiently yet so eager to get home. Tekagi exited the main hall carrying with him a Shakujo staff and a straw hat for the sun. “Shall we?” he said. The gates opened and the band moved out walking down the flight of steps towards the village below. Tetsuya walked to the top step and watched the party descend the plateau.

“Do you think they’ll come back Tetsuya?” a voice said

Tetsuya looked to his right and out of the shadow came a spectre. The spectre was 6’4” lengthy; its body was covered in a white cloak from head to toe and Its face covered by its hood. “I do believe they will come back Ryushke. Don’t count them out yet”

The spectre growled, “I hope you’re right. We need them”

Further, away the group made their way through the village. The villagers moved aside and kept calm. They were not used to seeing demons let alone half-breeds it was unsettling for many. Through the town, they entered the forest. The trees, brushes and shrubs seemed worse than yesterday but the pressed through until soon they came to a small clearing with the well right in the middle.

“Oh finally” exclaimed Matt

“Here we are as promised. The Well of the Forgotten”

The teens turned around and thanked Tekagi for leading them to the well. Soon enough they gathered by the well. “Hmm it seems deeper than before, doesn’t it?” said Lan. The sun was almost overhead at this point yet, the bottom still could not be seen but that was no different from when they looked at the same well back in their time.

“Well since I was the last one pulled in I should go first” elected Kai

“Sure…go for it” sarcastically replied Lan. Kai looked back at his brother with a serious glare.

Kai positioned himself and the edge of the well. He looked down at the abyss of the well and then back at his friends and then Tekagi. “Well, I’ll see you all on the other side”. Kai then pushed himself off the edge and down the well. A few seconds past and they heard and loud crash and bang from the bottom of the well.

“Kai? Are you okay?” shouted Matt

“Oww dammit what the hell happened?” Kai shouted back

“Are you okay?” Matt asked again

“Ha, other than I nearly broke both legs in the fall I’m fine” he said with sarcasm “Stand back I’m coming up” he shouted. Soon enough Kai soared out of the well and landed nearby. He shook off all the dust and cobwebs like a dog with water.

“So what happened down there?” asked Lan

“Heh that’s the thing, nothing happened,” replied a frustrated Kai “There’s nothing down there other than dust and spiders”

Tekagi stepped forward “Here let me see,” he said. He walked up to the well and peered inside. “This can’t be! The demonic aura that normally resides in this well has disappeared”

“Disappeared but how?” asked Aya

Tekagi turned around and leaned against the edge of the well “It could be any number of reasons. Like for instance the aura could have dispersed when the four of you came to these lands or that the aura disappeared to a greater source”

“Like Aeroth?” enquired Matt

“It is a possibility. I hate so say it but until the aura for the well is restored the four of you are stuck here”

Silence fell over the teens. They were confined to the feudal era with no way of getting home. What would they do now? What about their families? Their lives? It was back to the temple as it served as the only place for the teens to stay.

Back in the Modern Era

“Kai hurry up or you’ll be late for school” Mrs. Hikari called from the kitchen

Loud footsteps were heard upstairs and Kai came running down the steps. His uniform was a little messy as he tried to get his shirt tucked into his pants “I’m hurrying, you don’t have to get rid of me immediately”

Mrs. Hikari giggled, “Well Kai your brother is waiting and I don’t want you to be late for school. Now please go because I’m going to be late for work as well”

Kai smiled and gave his mother a goodbye kiss on the cheek and joined Lan outside the house. The two of them waved bye to their mom and proceeded to school.

 

6: Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Four Warriors

“Well what the hell are we going to do now?” said a frustrated Lan

“Calm down bro” replied Kai as he tried to relax his brother “For now we should go back to the temple”

Matt walked to the well and beside Tekagi “Tekagi you said that it was possible that a powerful demon could of stolen the demonic aura from the well?” he politely asked

“Correct. If the demon possesses tremendous power then it could be possible”

Matt shook his head in agreement. “So could this Aeroth character that we’ve been told so much about have the ability this?”

Tekagi thought quickly on this question “I believe so. This would correspond to your arrival here”

Aya overheard them. “Our arrival here. So it was our fault that we can’t go back”

Kai backed off from his brother and looked towards Matt, Aya and Tekagi. “Well if it was our fault then we should be the ones to fix it. If we truly are the supposed descendants of those legendary warriors then we must defeat this Aeroth and get back home”

Everyone nodded in accord with Kai’s statement. “Then we should head back to the temple right away” said Tekagi. Hastily they made their way back onto the trail on their way back towards the temple.  Soon enough they returned to the temple and there was Tetsuya waiting for them at the temple gates almost like he never left. “Back so soon?” he inquired.

“Heh lets just say we got a job to do and we must finish it before we can leave” said Kai

“Then you’ll accept my offer into undertaking the challenges of the four warriors”

The teens look confused “Challenges what challenges?” they all asked.

“Please follow me to the Pagoda”

Tetsuya lead the teens with Tekagi in tow out of the temple and northwest away from the temple on a wide dirt path. “You see. After the great evil was defeated the four warriors left their belongings with my then masters master in the pagoda just past the forest here and erected three challenges for those who were indeed the true lineage of themselves”

Within a five minute walk the teens came to a clearing and in front of them was the pagoda of the four warriors. The Pagoda was 5 stories high. It was completely made of wood with the wood being a dark brown colour. The roofing for each level was a lighter brown almost tan in colour. Surrounding it was a aqua coloured barrier

“So this is it?” asked Aya

“Indeed. The Pagoda of the four warriors. Now onto the challenges. The first is the barrier that surrounds the temple itself. It is designed to keep out human, demon even half-demon who carry with them any malicious intent”

“Huh sounds devious. But a question umm What happens if the barrier doesn’t allow us in?” asked Lan

“Well you’ll most likely die” Tetsuya solemnly replied back

“Oh  so no pressure or anything”

The four teens looked at one another and took up each others hands forming a human chain. They all took a deep breath and walked towards the barrier. It was over very quickly and next they were standing on the other side of the barrier. “Wow, I didn’t feel anything” said Kai. The others shook their heads. It was like walking through a thin fog. “Haha see it wasn’t all that bad” shouted Tetsuya from the other side of the barrier. “Now go in and proceed to the next challenge”

The teens walked up to the pagoda’s main doors. Across the handles was a rope with three sutras. Kai cracked his wrist and his claws extended “Hmm might as well try them out” he thought and cut the rope and sutras off. The doors swung open and a stale smells permeated out. The teens covered their noises as they were now more sensitive then ever. They entered the pagoda and suddenly the door closed behind them seemingly locking them inside. Matt went to the door and tried to open it.

“Great we’re trapped in here” he said

“Not necessarily. It must be part of the trails” replied Aya. She looked up and the upper levels were hollow. The tower was one big empty shell. “Well, we can’t go up”

“Not up but down perhaps” said Kai pointing to the stairs in the middle of the floor going deep into the earth. Above the entrance stood a stone archway with 4 more sutras situated around it in four sections. 2 on either end of the archway near the bottom and two the centre of the archway.. Kai felt confident “Heh so just like the door. These trials are too easy”

With his claws at the ready he took a swipe at the sutras in the middle but his hand stopped. A barrier formed and shocked Kai sending him soaring into the steps near the base of the front door.

“Kai, Oh my god are you okay?” asked Aya who rushed to his side. He was a little burnt but it wasn’t anything too serious.

Kai shook his head “Yeah I’m fine. Huh I guess it’s not like the front door” he said cracking his neck.

Matt walked up to the arch and looked it over “Maybe it’s like the barrier outside but with another security function”. Lan walked over by Matt and as well look it over. “He looked at the sutras which were different from those on the door before. “Hey the sutras are not the same as the ones outside. This one says Water, this one Air and I’m guessing those ones on each end are Earth and Fire”

Matt then came to a realization “Hey what if the sutras are meant for each of us. What if they are meant for each element”

“Hey yeah that kind of makes sense but which ones?” asked Lan “Cause I don’t want to end up like Kai”

“Oh yah laugh it up you idiot”

Matt gave a smile to his friends and their arguing and walked around the arch. “One element for each of us” he thought “But who represents which element?” he added. Matt continued to survey the archway thinking over. “Elements, elements. Which ones?” he carried on thinking.

“To hell with it guys” commanded Lan. He walked up to the archway and without even thinking he pulled off the sutra marked for Air. Even covered up expecting what happened to Kai to happen to Lan but they were incorrect. “Hey, nothing happened to me” Lan said joyfully

“Well we now know that you are the representative for Air Lan” said Kai

“Yay me” he said boastfully

“Well only three left. Who gets what?” asked Aya

Kai stood up still in a little pain but he could manage. He joined Matt and Lan at the archway. Only Earth, Water and Fire remained so it was only a 33% chance of success. “Alright Aya It’s your turn” Kai said

“Why is it my turn?” he scolded Kai
“I don’t know Aya just pick one”

“Fine” she said. Aya looked over the three elemental sutras carefully knowing full well what happens when you choose the wrong one. She put her hand out and picked the Water sutra and peeled it off.

“Two down. Two to go” said Kai “That just leaves you and me Matt. Earth or Fire. Your choice”

Matt looked at the two remaining sutras. One on either end near the bottom of the archway. “Hmm. Earth or Fire” he pondered. “Ill take my chance with Earth if that’s alright with you?” he asked. Kai shrugged his shoulders and went to the right side of the archway for the Fire sutra. The two looked at each other and nodded.

“One…Two…Three” they shouted together and pulled off the last two sutras. They looked at one another again and gave each other a high five. All of a sudden they began to hear cracking. The archway began to break apart at the top and the cracks began to splinter until the archway gave way and collapsed into dust particles.

“I guess that means we can go down” said Kai

“Lets go” replied Lan

The teens in a single filed order began to move slowly down the dark stairway into the dark abyss. The cave stretched on downward for what seemed like forever water dripped off the walls and onto the steps making them smooth. It was so dark that neither teen could actually . Kai lead the way with Aya, Lan and Matt in tow each with a hand on the other persons shoulder to make sure that everyone was secure but soon a faint light appeared near the bottom of the set of steps.

“Hey look a light” said Aya

“Your right”

The light became brighter and brighter until the teens made it to the bottom. The light was coming from four torches in a circular room. The floor was made of teal green tiles and the walls were carved to form a perfect dome shape.

“Wow this place is cool” said Lan who was admiring the details of the room. “It must of taken a long time to carve all this out”

“It’s quite impressive”

“What’s that?” said Aya pointing down the dark hallway, it was the only other entrance other than the stairway that lead them all down here. The hallway itself was pitch black but at the end single torch of light glowed at its end. “Something’s down there” pointed out Aya

“Maybe it’s the next challenge?” enquired Lan

“Could be. Guess we should find out then” replied Kai

The hallway was narrow yet only half an arms length on either side. Just above the floor was eerie as it floated just above their ankles but neither any of them felt a change in temperature. Before long they came to the end of the hallway and were now in a much larger chamber.

The chamber was massive nearly ten times the size of the first room. The floor was still the same teal green tiles all around. The room was lit with about 12 torches most of which were placed along the walls. In each corner stood a grey statue of a priest or priestess done too exquisite detail that they almost looked real enough.  From the entrance towards at the back the ground rose up with steps accompanying it. It plateau several times before ending. At the top an altar and a crescent moon table and atop them were four chests. Each one was a different colour that represented the four elements.

“Welcome to the chamber of the Four” a voice called out

“Who goes there?“ asked Kai

“Who goes there, really Kai?” said Lan. Kai looked back and shrugged his shoulders “What I’m trying to get with the times”

“Look up there guys” shouted Matt.

At the altar a figure in a black cloak appeared. The individual was 6’2” and weighed about close to 190 pounds but it was hard to get an proper reading. “Please step forward” the entity asked

“Who are you?” politely asked Aya

“I am the guardian of this underground temple and of the treasures it holds. My name is Tamatsu. Please step forward and we shall see if the four of you are truly worthy to accept these treasures of those from long past”

The teens stepped forward, cautiously at first taking each step gradually until they reached the altar and Tamatsu. In between Tamatsu and the teens were four chests. Each chest was a 3 feet in length by 1 foot width. Each box was a another colour. One was a navy blue, another forest green, another fire red and the other snow white. These boxes clearly embodied the four elements. “I’m surprised that you made it this far but those challenges before now were all too easy. You went through the temple’s barrier and chose the correct sutras but now will come your most difficult test. You see in front you, these chests, they contain the weapons, armour and clothing of the four warriors”

“So we can just open them up?” asked Lan

“Its not that simple. You see you may represent one of the four elements but it will take more than some mere representation to obtain these items. You must trust in yourselves if you want to attain these items”

“What must we do?” asked Kai

“In order to start I must have each of you take your place at your respective chest from which sutra you pulled from the archway” Tamatsu asked. Kai stood at the red chest, Aya at the blue chest , Lan at the white chest and finally Matt at the green chest. “Now I want you all to concentrate. Around each chest is a small yet very powerful barrier. This barrier is stronger than the one outside the pagoda and it is your last challenge. Should you be able to pass through the barrier the items will be your”

“And if the barrier doesn’t allow us to pass through it?” asked Matt

“Then you will die” replied Tamatsu

“Man all this possibility of dying is getting really too much” said Lan a little concerned

“Well then are you going to take the test and prove yourselves?” asked Tamatsu

“Hey, we have come this far and we aren’t leaving without these” said Kai

“He’s right” added Aya

“The place your hands over the chests”

The teens looked at one another each for a few seconds and then turned back to their individual chests. Matt went first. He closed his eyes and his hand laid atop the barrier. The barrier rippled like water for a moment or two before Matt push his hand through the barrier. The Barrier stopped rippling immediately and began to crack and break ahead of it vanishing. “Whoa, nice job Matt” said the others in congratulation.

“You see Matt. You are the representation of Earth. You embody that of responsibility, reliability and perseverance and that is why you have been chosen to be Warrior Of Earth”

Matt gained a big smile on his face. Never had he smiled that much in his whole “Warrior Of Earth, ha-ha, that has a nice ring to it” he said. “I could get used to it”

“Yeah cause we need your head to become bigger than this room right now” jokingly said Kai

“Oh ha-ha, laugh it up” replied Matt

“Now open it and see what lies in store for you Matt” Tamatsu asked. Matt overlooked the box. It was a unique of dark green almost emerald in colour while the edging and the lock were a lovely golden colour. All along the outside were illustrations of forests, mountains, people and castles. Matt flipped up the lock and opened it up. Inside were clothes, a ninjato sword and a black yumi bow with matching quiver an arrows and a scroll.

The clothing consisted of dark green jacket with white cords through the sleeves and open shoulders. White strings were attached to each lapel and tied in front to keep the garment closed. There were also a pair of dark green sagyou-hakamas along with it to match with a green obi belt. Next was the sword, a ninjato, the sheath was midnight black while the blade was no longer than 18 inches, silver with a black leathered handle. Eventually he came to the yumi bow. The bow was in perfect condition. The body was lacquered in black paint while the grip was clothed in yellow. The quiver was a pale brown and the arrows were white feathered.

“Wow these look amazing” exclaimed a thrilled Matt. “I will take very good care of these”. Matt emptied the chest throwing the quiver with arrows as well as bow over his shoulder and held the sword and clothes in his hands and took a step back.

“Now you” Tamatsu said pointing to Lan “Please step forward”

Lan stepped forward to his chest. The chest was snow white with sky blue for the edging while the lock was also gold in colour. Like Matt’s box portrayed on it were illustrations of birds and clouds. He held his hand out and laid it overtop the barrier. He slowly moved his hand towards the barrier. Little jolts of electricity could be seen impacting his hand as he approached the barrier. Soon though his hand penetrated the barrier and it broke. Lan opened up his chest to find what treasures laid inside.

Inside the chest was clothes, armour, a chest and shoulder plate as well as the sword with a scroll as well. The clothing was all black along with the obi belt. The clothing was smooth almost like silk. The armour was a dark grey and with silver edging and they chest plate and back plate resembled pecks and abs at slipped over the wearers head. The shoulder plate was detachable from the rest of the armour bur could only be attached to the left shoulder. The should armour was four plate that went almost to the elbow. That left the sword. The sheath for the sword was black as well with no marking on it anywhere. The sword was in the sheath unlike Matt’s ninjato. Lan smiled with gratitude and removed all the items and stepped back beside Matt.

Now it was Aya’s turn. She took her step forward and without any hesitation she forced her hand into the barrier and within seconds the barrier dissolved and broke apart. Tamatsu seemed impressed but the shadow of his hood covered his expression so you couldn’t really tell. Aya’s box was a beautiful ocean blue with white edging. Oddly though her chest didn’t have any illustrations or any artwork on it at all. She opened the chest up to find a set of clothes, armour and two wakizashi’s in their sheaths and a scroll

The wakizashi’s were 25 inches total length with the handles being made of a fine dark brown leather with gold colour caps. The armour was two pieces with it being black with gold trim. First was the armour that would fasten around her waste the two long pieces of plate armour ran along the sides of each leg while there was a smaller plate in the front to cover her pelvic area. The chest plate seemed like it would slip on over head with two shoulder straps holding it into place. Last was the clothing. The clothing consisted of a rose coloured jacket with no cords and open shoulders. White strings were attached to each lapel and tied in front to keep the garment closed. There was also a rose coloured hakama for the bottom, something similar to a long skirt. She retrieved the items and moved back towards Matt and Lan.

That just left Kai.

“You’re the last one. Would you please?”

Kai didn’t think about anything at this point. They were three quarters finished and just one box remained. Kai put his hand over the barrier. Little bolts of electrical energy shot up and contacted his hand more than what happened to Lan. Kai winced in pain for a few moments but eventually worked past the pain. He put his hand through the barrier and more shocks came from around the inside of the barrier. Each one more powerful than the last and each one leaving small burn marks on his hands. Kai concentrated ignoring the pain his left hand was experiencing until the barrier broke apart. He pulled his hand back rubbing it with his other hand. “Ow, that was more painful than I thought” he said

“It seems that your test was more excruciating than the others” said Tamatsu

“Yeah you could say that again”

Kai passed the pain off and used his right hand on the lock to open the box. The box was red like fire with white edging. On the top only were depictions of flames and a phoenix in the middle. Inside was a lesser amount than what the others had. Inside clothes and a sword. The clothes were a white shirt and navy blue jacket with open shoulders like the rest but no cords along the wrist area. The obi belt was navy blue as well as the sagyou-hakama pants. The sword was placed neatly in its sheath. The sheath was black with a white lightning tip. The handle of the sword was laced with a blue leather while a single strand of gold coloured leather game from the gold guard and weaved its way around the handle to the bottom and into the gold cap at the bottom. Kai looked them over puzzled.

“What is the matter Kai?” asked Tamatsu
“Why does mine have so little than the rest?” he asked

“Hmm you fail to understand the objects set in front of you” replied Tamatsu

“Understand. Understand what?” Kai replied a little frustrated

“Clothing you see in front of you isn’t any ordinary clothing. You see this garment here is made from the fur of a powerful demon from long ago. It has regenerative properties and can withstand the harshest environments that no average human can handle”

Kai seemed a little shocked at the information presented “I didn’t know”

“Never assume anything Kai. It is judgment like that, that will cause you get pain and suffering. Take that advice” Tamatsu said

Kai smiled “I will, thank you”. Kai grabbed the clothing and the sword and stepped back with his friends. Tamatsu stepped between two of the chests and stood before them “Congratulations all. You have passed all the trials set before you. I can now say that those warriors would be proud of what I see in front of me today. Now go, leave this chamber and fulfill your destinies.

The group turned around and headed back down the steps to the entrance. They made their way to the small room that was at the foot of the stairs that lead them down here. Matt looked back only for a moment and saw that the torches that brought light into the larger chamber had somehow gone out. The hallway was now just pitch black. “Hey guys look” Matt pointed out “The room. There’s nothing there”.  Lan turned and walked to the small entrance and peered down “Wow that is really dark. Lets get outta here guys this place is starting to weird me out”

“Starting too?” asked Kai

“Big baby” added Matt

Lan shrugged and started up the stairs with Aya behind him then Matt and finally Kai. A few minutes or so and they had reached the top of the stairs and were back inside the pagoda. The room was a little darker than when they were there previously.

“You think we should change into our new clothes and walk out and show everyone” asked Aya

“Hey ya, show everyone what we got from the temple” agreed Kai “Aya we’ll let you change first” he said funny

“What you pervert. I’m not stripping in front of you guys. That’s weird” she scolded him

“We’ll cover our eyes with our clothes so we can’t see and we’ll turn around to make sure that we can’t see you. Sound good” replied Kai

Aya blushed a bit “Yeah but if I find any of you peaking I’ll make sure you never leave this tower, got it”

“Yes ma’am” the boys said together

Each one put down all their items until Only the neatly folded clothes remain. Each one put them up to head covering their own eyes and they turned around. “Okay make it quick cause this looks stupid” said Lan. “I’m going as fast as I can” said Aya as she hurried. She slipped out of her kimono and moved it off to the side. She stood there in her pink bra and panties for only a short moment and she grabbed the hakama and pulled that on her tail wiggling through the already made hole in the back. She grabbed white undershirt and put it on and finally put on the jacket. She tucked everything and tied the obi belt around her waist for a seamless fit. She grabbed the chest plate and slipped it over her head she then quickly grabbed the lower guards and pulled them up from her feet and tied them accordingly. Lastly she took her two swords and slid each one through her obi belt to finish her attire. “Okay guys you can turn around now” she said with delight.

“Wow, you look hot” said Kai. Aya went red in the face “Thanks now it’s your guy’s turns”

Aya turned around and faced the doorway. The boys made quick changes out of their kimonos. Each put on the their undershirts and their jackets. Afterwards they all pulled on their pairs of sagyou-hakamas and tied them all together with their obi belts. Lan took his armour chest plate and geared up. He then took his shoulder plate and attached it to his left shoulder. Matt took his quiver and tossed it across his right side and slid his sword onto his left side. Kai and Lan each put their swords on their right sides respectively.

“So Aya, what do you think?” asked Kai. Aya turned around and looked at her friends and their new clothes, weapons and armour. “You guys look amazing” she complimented.

“Well now that we are done playing dress up why don’t we get out of here?” asked Matt who grabbed his scroll off the ground. The others nearly forgot about them as well and retrieved theirs as well.

“Yes. I’m sure Tetsuya and the others are worried to some degree” Lan said

The teens walked to the main entrance and pushed the door open. The sun was just past the tops of the trees and kneeling some 30 feet away praying was Tekagi and Tetsuya. Tetsuya opened an eye and then the other and gazed in astonishment at his friends new looks. “Well done my friends you passed the test and now you have what you need”

The teens smiled “It was sure different but I really want to try out my sword” said Lan

“Well how about after some dinner?” asked Tetsuya. The teens looked at him funny “Dinner what are you talking about. Its only the afternoon” said Kai.

“My friends you had been in their for nearly six hours”

 

7: Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Learning Is But Half The Battle

The teens had just gone through a series of tests to determine if they were the true descendants of the four renowned warriors who defeated the mighty Aeroth over a century ago. The teens had finished their dinner with Tekagi and Tetsuya and proceeded back out into the temple forest to have a look over of their weapons. But Kai seemingly slipped away from his friends unnoticed. “I’ll let them have their own fun” he thought to himself. Kai thought it would be best to look at the scroll and his sword without anyone around and have a little piece and quiet for a change.

“Shall I go first?” politely asked Aya

“Go for it”

Aya grabbed the handles of her two swords and pulled the two out of their sheaths. The two swords resembled wakizashi’s but with a slighter curve near the top. The grain of the blades were either a dark red or ocean blue. Normally swords don’t have coloured edges but then again they weren’t dealing with any normal weapons. “Wow such beautiful colours” said Aya admiring her blades.

Lan couldn’t wait for his. He grabbed his swords handle and pulled it out of it’s sheath. His sword was much different than either Matt’s or Aya’s. The blade was 4 inches wide and nearly 2 feet long with a slanted edge at the top. Near the bottom of the whole blade were two yellow coloured guards that would go overtop the scabbard when put in. It was a guard but yet it wasn’t.

“Hey were did Kai go?” asked Aya

“Huh, he was right behind us. Probably wanted some alone time with his new found sword” replied Lan in a joking fashion.

“We’ll see him soon enough I guess” added Matt. “While we are here lets have a look at our scrolls. I’m truly interested in what is in them”

“Hey yeah lets do that. I’ll go first” said an impatient Lan. Lan grabbed his scroll. All the scrolls were a single bound piece of paper carefully tied together with a single purple bow. Lan untied the bow and opened up the scroll. It read:

If you are reading this then you are my descendant the descendant of Air itself. Your Kind0Heartedness, optimism and powers of trust allowed you to acquire those items you now hold in your care. With this scroll is the armour of The Falling Sky. This armour that you will be wearing was forged from the fires of Mt. Fuji itself and is tougher and stronger than any known steel. Next is the clothing. The clothing you have in your possession is made from the fur of a Star Lynx. This clothing has regenerative properties and can protect its wearer from most dangers. Lastly the sword, The Unmei or Destiny Sword. It is said that the sword was made from a shooting star that fell from the heavens and fashioned into the blade. Along with the sword come the abilities of its Crosscut Strike, its most formidable move.

“Heh, Unmei is it now. A strange name for a sword” said Lan

“It fit” said Matt “Lets see what mine has to say” he included. Matt rolled open his scroll and it read:

For what your eyes seek is that of what lies within. Your traits of perseverance, reliability and responsibility has allow you my inheritor to gain the items that I had left for you all these years ago.  The clothing is that of the hair of a legendary Two-tailed Wyvern and is stronger than Iron yet light as a feather. The bow itself was crafted from a rare tree known as a Dryad.

“Huh this was a lot shorter than I would of thought” said Matt as he grabbed his bow and examined it more closely. “So this was created from a extinct tree?” he thought.

Aya didn’t even bother to ask as her friends were all too engaged in their items to notice. She opened her scroll and it read:

For what I seek, I can’t find but beneath this sea of blue. A torrid of fire and ice compel me to do what’s needed and to save those who wish to continue to live on this world. From what you see is a lot to handle but to handle it you must look within. Your compassion, understanding and your modesty have lead you to this point. The armour is made from adamant and cannot break no matter how hard anyone tries. The clothing was forged and designed from the Draugr, a beast that lived in the harshest conditions known to this world. Last but not least are the twin swords, Tsuinsodo. Forged from the fangs of a multi-element demon, these swords can create heat and snow seeming at will when used correctly.

“”Wow, and I thought these were just some hand-me-down clothes. And this armour is so light it feels like I’m wearing nothing but a t-shirt”

“These things are pretty cool. Can’t wait to start using my sword here” boasted Lan

“Now Lan, these aren’t toys or anything. We were entrusted with them. The last thing we want to do is to be using these weapons for say cutting up firewood” said Aya shamefully.

“I guess your right” replied Lan

Not Far Away

Kai sat cross-legged looking out at the open landscape around him. The view was magnificent. Farmland and forests as far as the eye could possibly see. Lying down in front of him were his sword and the scroll from the temple. He looked down at his two items and grabbed the scroll. He peeled over the ribbon and tossed it aside. He opened the scroll and it read:

I don’t have to say much as you already know what is going on. The clothing is that of the Leopard Phoenix. It has regenerative properties and can withstand the harshest environments that no average human can handle and more so than the others. Your sword forged from the fang a mighty dragon that ruled the open sky and commanded both Thunder and Lightning at its will, The Kaminari.

“Made from a fang of a dragon? must have been small dragon” thought Kai as he gazed upon his seemingly small sword.  He put the scroll off to his left and leaned forward and grabbed the sword and stood up with it. “Pfft How can this sword be from a dragon” he said in frustration and yanked the sword from its sheath and a bright light began to shine from the top of the scabbard. After the light subsided Kai looked at his blade and it had become larger. The blade was now 2.5 feet long and had a width of 4.5 inches. This blade, the Kaminari, was way more than what Kai had imagined.

“Wow, this sword is amazing” said an excited Kai who put his scabbard into his belt and began to swing the sword around. There was absolutely no weight to it as it felt like a feather in his own hands. He kept swinging it around scaring off the birds in nearby trees.

“Hey Kai awesome sword” called Lan. Kai looked over his shoulder and saw his friends walking towards him. “Hey guys”

“Why did you come out here by yourself. You don‘t like our company or something ha-ha?” asked Matt

“No no, I love your guys company but I figured that I wanted a little alone time you know”

“We understand. If you ever want space you can have it. We’re your friends” said Aya with a smile

“Pfft who cares. Lets see your sword. Can I hold it?” interrupted Lan. Kai held out his sword for Lan and he grabbed it. As soon as he took hold of it he collapsed to the ground. “Lan are you okay bro?” asked a concerned Kai. Lan looked up his brother in amazement. “How the hell are you able to lift this?” he scolded Kai. Kai grabbed the sword off the ground and put it back into the sheath. The sword transformed into its normal katana state as it entered the sheath until it clicked.

“Hmm maybe our weapons are designed to be only used by who they are entrusted too. I’m guess that I won’t be able to hold any of yours and none of you will be able to hold mine” said Matt.

“Well that’s a relief” said Lan as he dusted himself off but sat back on the ground looking at the scenery as the sun began to set behind the mountains. The others saw what Lan was doing and joined in. Everyone was super relaxed and calm. For the first time since they got to the feudal era they actually had the ability to sit down and unwind.

“This is nice…” said Kai

“Hmm. What do you mean by that?” asked Aya

“Look at it like this. Sure we may be nearly 500 years in the past in a different world than what we are used too but I’m with you guys right now and I wouldn’t change this for anything”

“Awwww”

What the group didn’t know is that they were being watched from the shadows. It wasn’t a person or a demon but a crow with deep red eyes from atop a tree. The crow flew off the tree branch and headed southward. Something was up and the heroes don’t even know it yet

Somewhere in the southern provinces

The sun and gone down and the night sky was beginning to take over as the crow made its way to seaside and to Aeroth. Aeroth was sitting on a boulder overlooking the ocean, eyes closed, listening to sound of the rushing waves as they crashed on shore. The crow landed in the tree behind Aeroth on one of the branches and belted out a loud caw and flying off again.

“Hmmm I see so that’s where the jewels are. The temple of the elements”

“My lord” a voice called. Aeroth looked over his right shoulder and four shadow beings appeared under the tree. They were all wearing black cloaks and the darkness covered their faces. “Let me go and I’ll retrieve the jewels for you” one of the shadows asked

Aeroth gave a sigh “Arco haven’t you learned anything? You never engage an enemy you know nothing about. I don’t believe you want to end up like elabasir”

“No my lord” apologized Arco “What do you have planned for this place?”

“Perhaps my lord you should send demons there way to test them” another shadow said

A sick smile creped over Aeroth’s face “That is a fantastic idea. Thank you for the idea now leave the rest up to me”

The four shadows disappeared from sight and that left Aeroth once again by himself. He was a master tactician and never rushed into battle he knew he couldn’t win. “Prepare yourselves. You’re about to be tested” he said to himself as he looked up and the glimmering night sky.

 

 

 

 

8: Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Kaminari and the Thunder Scar

The night came and went and soon it was morning again. The teens had somewhat gotten used to the sleeping arrangements that Tetsuya so graciously provided for them. Sure, it was not any of their beds or anything from a five-star hotel but they made it work. Everyone but Kai had gotten up and gone to the hot springs to bathe but left their weapons and armor in the room. Guess they did not need them

Kai awoke and sat up. It was early as he rubbed his eyes and moved his hair away from his face. He grabbed his sword, put it into his belt, and left the room. He opened the sliding door and nearly blinded by the sunlight. He let his eyes adjust to the sunlight and walked towards the hot springs to join his friends.

At the Hot Springs

The four hot springs were around the sizes of small hot tubs that were all connected from a stream the lead from somewhere on the plateau. The two larger pools were interconnected and separated by large boulders and rocks that provided a divider for men and women.  Aya was in one pool by herself and Matt and Lan were in the other.

“Oh god this feels amazing. Wonderful even” said thrilled Lan

“Ha-ha you can say that again. I’d forgotten what a bath was like,” replied Matt who was seated across from Lan

“I agree. Never felt anything like this ever” said Aya “It is wonderful”

Kai had made his way near the hot springs and hid in the bushes and saw Matt and Lan in the pool and almost immediately came up with a evil grin on his face “I know they’ll hate me but I’ll never get another chance like this” he thought. He looked around and made sure there was nobody around. He began to strip down until he was fully nude. He was now ready to make his move and within a second, he bolted from the bushes.

“Cannonball” he shouted

“What the?” said Matt as he and Lan had barely enough time to react as Kai performed a cannonball into the pool showering them with water instantaneously. Aya looked over her shoulder and was blasted with water from the other pool and pushed underwater for a moment. As Matt and Lan cleaned their eyes, they looked to see Kai sitting across from them with a big smile on his face.

“Morning guys” he said ginning from ear to ear

“Dude what the hell?” cursed Lan

Kai laughed at his brother and best friend “I thought you guys could use a power wash this morning” he said jokingly

“KAI HIKARI” Aya screamed. Matt and Lan turned around and fear set in across their faces. “Umm we’re gonna go. Hope you survive”. Matt and Lan fanatically left the pool and grabbed their items and darted off into the woods yet they stayed around to watch the impending massacre of their best friend because that is what friends do. Standing across from Kai her right hand balled up in a fist was Aya and she was not too pleased. She stood there, her lower half covered by the rocks and her hair draped over her breasts and parted away from her eyes and face. “What’s so funny…?” she asked.

“Ummm you look amazing”

“He’s dead,” sighed Matt. Lan shook his head “Stupid Kai, what an idiot”

Kai stared at the naked Aya. His eyes moved slowly from the rocks to his face and back down again. He was speechless. He had never seen a naked girl before and became a little embarrassed and quickly turned away “Umm Aya your showing” he quietly said. Aya looked down and her face turned beat red and she quickly sat back in the pool “You pervert” she shouted.

“It’s your fault. You should have been more careful,” said Kai. Aya did not say a word and Kai finished his bath and jumped out and retreated to the bushes and got dressed.  Matt and Lan stood nearby baffled by what happened. “I don’t get it. Kai should have been toast. I‘m totally upset now” said Lan frustrated.

Matt put on his pants and shirt “He lives to fight another day”

“Damn I was really looking forward to that. Oh well like you said,” replied Lan who threw on his clothes. The two teens headed back to the temple. Once back there they went into their room and grabbed their equipment. They stepped out only to see Kai walking towards them a little nervous. Lan pointed out to Matt “Hey look dead man walking. Careful bro you’re not safe,” Lan said jokingly as he and Matt walked off.

“Hey you’ve never seen the face of death before have you?”

Matt and Lan did not say anything and left Kai to deal with Aya on his own, both proceeded out of the temple, and down near the village to practice or do whatever they felt like. Kai retreated into the hut and decided to wait it out.

Outside the temple Matt and Lan progressed to a training area where targets were set up to aid archers. The targets were nothing more than bundles of hay wrapped neatly with paper. Lan stood off to the side to watch his friend take his first try with a bow. Matt stood nearly 75 yards from the bale, pulled out an arrow, and readied his bow. He pulled back on the string with his right hand and used his left index finger for a target point. He took a deep breath, his heart slowed down, his eyes began to glow brighter, and he could see it, the currents of winds all around him. “Wow, Lan do you see what I’m seeing right now?” Matt asked

Lan looked around but was a little puzzled by the question “See what? I don’t see anything,” he said.

“I can see the wind currents. It’s like a gentle fog or something along those lines” he replied. Matt then turned his body slightly away from the target, aiming to the left. He was going to miss the target but he had a feeling. He released the string, the arrow flew off at an incredible rate and within a fraction of a second the arrow-hit dead centre of the object, and Matt’s eyes ceased glowing.

“Impossible” said Lan

“How so?” asked Matt as he turned towards his friend with a little smirk.

“You weren’t even aiming at the target yet you hit it right in the middle”

“Well what can I say I’m pretty talented with a bow lets just say that”

Lan rolled his eyes and pulled out his sword. He marveled at the magnificence of his sword and began to swipe it around in a disciplined manner unlike a deranged killer. Matt fired off a few more arrows, each one were grouped in the middle, perfect aim. Soon though Matt turned around and Lan was still practicing. He took off his quiver and put it and his bow by the bale of hay. “Hey Lan. Wanna spar with me?” he asked as he pulled out his ninjato sword. Lan smiled and turned to face him.

Miles Away

Deep within the Forest Of The Lost a single orc demon had gathered in a grassy clearing to converse about that days kill which ranged from horses and fish to even three or four people. The orc had pale green skin, gnarly tusks and wore the fur from numerous large dead animals.

“A fine catch” the leader thought to himself

“My my what a fine catch you have there” a voice called out

The orcs turned around and standing besides a tree was Aeroth. “Who the hell are you?” the Orc shouted as he pointed his katana blade at Aeroth. “Who I am is not important but is important is that I have an offer for you” he said directing it towards the Orc.

“What kind of offer?” the Orc asked

Aeroth pushed off the tree and began walking toward the Orc a little smile crept on his face. “There is a village and a temple not too far from here that house the jewels of supreme conquest and I want you to get them for me” Aeroth said. The Orc laughed at the proposal “But what’s in it for me?” the Orc asked

“The jewels themselves. Retrieve them for me and I’ll let you keep one of the jewels”

“One, oh no we take half of them and we get to decide which ones” the Orc demanded

Aeroth shrugged his shoulders “Fine by me it doesn’t really matter which ones you take. But I want you to do this job for me”

“Heh those jewels will come in mighty handy. They will make me more powerful than ever. I figure I could go out for another round and you’ll have your precious jewels”

Aeroth smiled “Then we have an agreement. The temple is located northeast of here. Kill all who stand in your way”

The Orc grew a sadistic smile on his face and proceeded in the direction of the temple. He walked past Aeroth who turned and bowed his head as the massive being disappeared into the forest. Aeroth pulled his head back up and grinned, “Well that’s one attempt down”

“You really think that Orc demon is going to get those jewels master?” a voice called out. Aeroth turned around towards the Orcs catch and standing beside it was a figure in a black cloak with the hood covering his face. It was one of his big four generals Arco.

“Oh Arco I didn’t realize that my own motives for getting the jewels needed to be put into question” Aeroth said scolding Arco.

Arco dropped quickly to one knee “My apologies master but that Orc demon will get killed if he attempts to get the jewels” said Arco all apologetic

Aeroth turned away “Arco this plan of mine has no consequence for us, either way we benefit”

Back At the Temple

Matt and Lan were still going hard at training while Kai remained in the cabin awaiting Aya so he could apologize to her. He had lots of time to think about what he had done and was still very uneasy. In addition, suddenly the door swung open and standing there was Aya this time fully clothed. Kai looked over at the doorway and saw her and he felt embarrassed. Aya closed the door, walked over to her bed, and grabbed her armour and swords.

“Aya I’m sorry,” Kai said feeling guilty. Aya did not respond and Kai asked her once again but she let it pass. “Aya are you still made at me?” he asked

“No. I figured letting you torture yourself in here for a couple hours would do you some good. Now be a good boy Kai” she giggled and left the cabin. Kai sat there bewildered. Was Aya truly not mad or was she playing some sort of game with him like what his mother and father did from time to time. “Women, god they hurt my head” he thought and sighed anyways and grabbed Kaminari and headed out after her. “Hey Aya wait up!” he shouted.

Aya had quickly left the temple and was partway down the steps as Kai appeared from the temple gates. “Aya wait for me,” he said once again. Aya stopped and turned to wait for Kai “Come on Kai I want to try out these swords”. Kai caught up swiftly and hit the breaks standing by Aya. He smiled “Thanks for waiting” he said and the two now together finished the walk down the temple steps and towards the training area where Matt and Lan were still practicing.

“Hey Matt look if it isn’t the two lovebirds” said Lan all jokingly “And Kai is still alive…again. Dammit ha-ha”

“Oh shut up Lan,” said Aya

Matt and Kai snickered at Aya’s response and went about their own business. “Hey Kai wanna have a go?” asked Lan. Kai spun around to look at his brother and smirked and moved his hand to his handle of the Kaminari “You really want to do this bro?” he asked. Lan nodded and Kai pulled the Kaminari from his sheath. The sword gleamed out in the sun as Kai held the brilliant weapon towards Lan and Lan did the same with the Unmei. The two then leaped forward and their swords nearly collided when suddenly screams were heard. Kai and Lan stopped as everyone turned around and faced in the direction of the village.

“Did you guys hear that?” asked Aya

“Sounded like screaming. From the village perhaps?” inquired Lan

“Wherever it came from we should investigate,” said Kai

Matt gathered up his arrows from the hay bale and the group headed towards the village. From the training area, the village was only a fifteen-minute walk or so but as they got closer, they encountered frightened villagers running for the temple. They were all in a frantic panic running past the teens. Aya stopped one of the villagers, a man.

“Tell us what’s going on here?” she asked

The man was obviously frightened and out of breath. “A demon. A demon has attacked the village. Please you have to help us,” the man pleaded

Everyone’s eyes widened “A demon here? That’s impossible,” said Kai

“Please you have to save the other villagers,” the man pleaded with the teens. They all nodded and the man carried on with the other villagers to the temple for safety. The teens hurried towards the village. It was long until they entered the village itself. It was deserted say for a few stray chickens and cows. Many of the houses were crushed or barely hanging on. “Where the hell is this thing? It can’t be that hard to find,” said Lan

As they approached the centre of the village, the Kaminari on Kai’s waist began to shake and rattle. He stopped and starred at it “What the matter Kami?” he thought to himself. The others had stopped a little bit ahead and Lan noticed Kai further back gazing at his sword. “Hey Kai what’s the matter?” he asked. Matt and Aya heard Lan’s question and turned around to see as well. “The Kaminari is acting weird,” he said.

Suddenly they all heard a loud crash and bang from around them and a massive tree log came soaring towards them. Instinctly they all dodged the huge log as his careened into a nearby hut totally demolishing it. Standing before the teens was the demon, an orc demon. “So the Kaminari was reacting to the demon,” said Kai. The orc demon stood primed for a fight. His katana sword in his left hand and in his right hand, held at the ankles was a dead female villager. She had been cut deep along her torso and blood dripped down into a small pool underneath her. Her face was pale and her white were rolled in her head with her mouth wide open.

“Hmmm more victims” the orc demon snarled.

Even pulled out their weapons except Kai who was still trying to calm the Kaminari. The orc demon drooled at his competition and grinned “Mmmm you girl will be the first on the menu” he said in a cruel manner licking his lips. Aya seemed somewhat worried but held her composer.

Kai looked down back at his sword that was still shaking. He put his hand on the knob to stop the shaking but his hand took over “Do you want to take this demon on Kami?” he asked his sword and the sword stopped moving “But we have our friends here” he said. The sword began to shake again. It seemed that the Kaminari wanted to bear its fang to the demon on its own. Kai smiled “I see”

“So who will be first?” the orc demon demanded

“I will be” Kai shouted. The rest of the teens looked at Kai with such shock. “Kai are you crazy. This thing will surely kill you,” Aya said.

“Don’t worry about me Aya. I want you guys to get any other villagers here out of the area,” Kai asked. The other looked at each other and they were all a little puzzled. “Are you sure about this?” asked Matt.

“I am” replied a confident Kai. The others withdrew their weapons and headed off back around the perimeter of the villager in search of any survivors. Aya looked back for a brief moment “Be careful” she thought and darted off with Matt and Lan.

“You dare challenge me half-breed? You don‘t stand a chance” the orc laughed

Kai smirked a bit “Well this half-breed is going to teach you a serious lesson” he replied. He grabbed the handle of his sword and yanked it out of its sheath. The sword beamed a yellow light as it was removed from its sheath. The light dissipated revealing the sword and all its brilliance. “Behold my sword, The Kaminari” Kai shouted. The orc growled at the sword.

“You think you can beat me with that sword, you’re mistaken” the orc said

He dropped the woman he was holding onto as her lifeless body crashed to the ground. The orc charged towards Kai with his sword ready to strike. Kai had no formal training with the Kaminari let alone any sword so this was all new for him. The orc swung his sword and Kai pulled up the Kaminari to black it. The resulting impact sent Kai careening in a house in one side and out the other landing on the ground, skidding a few feet. Kai brought himself back up and shook off the dirt and dust from his body. “Dammit all that hurt” he thought.

Kai didn’t have long to recover as the orc leaped over the house landing in front of him only a few yards away sending dirt and dust into the air. He swung his sword horizontally at Kai but Kai ducked underneath it, surprising the orc. Kai stepped up and gave the orc a high knee straight to the chin. The impact staggered the orc for a few moments. Kai landed back on the ground and quickly moved away from the orc and readied his sword.

“You filthy half-breed, you’ll pay for that” the orc in disgust. He lead out a loud cry and charged at Kai again. Kai did the same and met the orc head on. Their swords clashed and a concussive force wave was created destroying some nearby standing houses. The orc snarled and growled at Kai, saliva expended from his mouth. Soon though the orc began to shove Kai back. His feet dug into the ground as he tried to gain some sort of footing. The orc grinned and chuckled at his opponents struggles “Worthless half-breed  once I’m done with you that fox girl will be next” he said until his momentum was suddenly halted. “What is this?” the orc questioned.

The orc looked down at Kai and noticed his eyes beginning to glow a bright yellow. “Stop calling me a half-breed” said Kai in anger. “Now get off me,” he shouted. Kai pushed forward and with all his might, he sent the orc flying into a dilapidated hut. The orc promptly stood up in the rumble in astonishment, “No half-breed is that strong” he said.

Kai’s irritation had come to a boiling point “Stop calling me a half-breed” he shouted in complete anger. His sword unexpectedly began to glow. Around the entire blade of the Kaminari, a yellow light emerged with small bolts of lightning coming off the blade. Kai looked over the strange light that had possessed his sword. Kai looked at the orc and grinned with excitement, “Now die,” he cried. Kai then swung the Kaminari in the orcs direction. The yellow beam encompassed the orc entirely killing it instantly.  Once the glow subsided, Kai surveyed the damage.

“Wow did I do that?” said Kai in total surprised. The ground was torn up from Kai to where the orc was. Three large scrapes were impaled onto the ground and stopped after hut.

“Hey Kai” called out Lan. Kai looked to his left and saw his friends and villagers coming towards him. “Wow did you do that?” asked Lan as he looked over the damaged area.

“I guess I did,” said Kai proudly

“Was it some sort of attack?” asked Matt

“Sure as hell looks that way, does it?” replied Kai

“Well what are you going to call it then?” asked Matt. Kai looked at him with a thoughtful look on his face yet he could not come up with a good name. “Well whatever you did you sure scarred the land”

“That’s it. I’ll cal it the Thunder Scar” Kai said

The teens had a big laugh at name as the villagers began to file back into what was left of their own village and with that the teens began to help rebuild the small village but be known to them the whole encounter was being observed from a distance by one of Aeroth’s dark ravens. The raven flew off a nearby tree and headed southwest, back to the forest of the lost where Aeroth was waiting.

Back in the forest of the lost

Aeroth was leaning up against a tree patiently waiting on what his raven had to report. Soon the raven came into sight. Aeroth pushed himself off the tree and held his arm out. Raven landed on his arm, out came a loud squawk, and flew off. Aeroth put his head down “I see” he said.
This was only a small step for Aeroth in learning about his opponents. More tests were on the rise for them and little did they know that each one after Kai would be tested as rigorously. Step 2 was just about to begin.

 

 

 

9: Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Use the Tsuinsodo

It was going to be sometime before the village was to be fully rebuilt. Spirits were high, as the villagers knew that they had those to protect them should any more dangers arise. The teens spent the better art of that day aiding the villagers rebuild and get their lives back in order. Many of them were still in shock of the recent events and were going to need some time soon though the teens had completed their work, for now and headed back to the temple for some much needed rest. First, they all stopped by the hot springs for a well-deserved bath.

“Oh god this feels so good” exclaimed Kai as he sank lower into the water until only head remained.

“Hey Kai you nee this more than any of us” said Aya in the other pool. “You were the one who killed the demon after all”. Kai laughed a little bit, “True but it were also you guys getting the remaining villagers out of the area. Who knows how many more people would have suffered”

“Whatever guys. All I know is that it was a job well done and everything is back to normal again” said Lan

“You can say that again”

Time came and went seeming without course and soon though it was time for some dinner. Dinner consisted of rice and fish, nothing over the top. Eventually the sun began to set and the teens headed back to the cabin. Soon though everyone had fallen asleep. All was quiet, something that was strange. Moon took over duties from the sun as it disappeared over the mountains and the sky was crammed with millions of stars, a clear night. The hours ticked by slowly as crickets and a few owls could be heard in the distance.

It was nearing midnight and all was well in the cabin besides Kai. Kai was on his back staring up at the ceiling, his eyes wide open. Everyone else was sound asleep. A lot had happen to Kai today so it was obvious as to why he could not sleep. Kai sat up and removed the blanket. He grabbed the Kaminari and quietly stepped out of the cabin, closing the door ever so softly as if to not make a sound. Kai put his sword through belt and took a short walk over to the bridge overtop the waterfall from the hot springs.

“Man that was a long day,” he thought to himself as he overlooked the land below him. His sword began shaking to his statement. It seemed that the sword had its own opinion and would shake if Kai asked himself or the sword a question and would stop when it seemingly answered yes. “You are such a strange sword you know that”. The sword shook at the supposed compliment.

Miles away atop a nearby mountain

Two cloaked figures stood atop the mountain looking down at the world around them in disgust. They were Arco and Zdonis, two of Aeroth’s big four generals. Arco was dressed in a dark blue cloak while Zdonis was dressed in a deep purple cloak. Both cloaks covered the heads and obscured their faces from one another.

“I understand our masters plan but too me it is a complete waste of time. We should attack the temple and retrieve the jewels by force,” growled Arco

“You don’t get it Arco. You were never one for thinking with a clear head you idiot, always running straight in with no plan of attack,” Zdonis hissed back.

“Now now children. No need to fight: a voice called out.

Arco and Zdonis turned around and materializing behind them was their leader and master, Aeroth. He step forth onto the ground his left hand resting on the dragon cap of his sword. He had a smile on his face and seemingly walked past both Arco and Zdonis standing on the cliffs edge, “Arco. If you so desire the jewels then perhaps you should go down their and get them for me”

“No my lord it’s just…it’s just”

“It’s just you don’t want those defending the temple to get stronger. Is that right?” Aeroth said. He turned around and walked over to Arco. His hand suddenly latched onto his neck and Aeroth held Arco off the ground. Arco’s hands tried to pry Aeroth’s one hand from his neck as his legs dangled from off the ground. “The next time you question my plans again I’ll make sure you never see the light of day ever again. Understand me?” Aeroth said in a quiet tone. Arco nodded faintly and Aeroth dropped him to the ground and turned back towards the cliff.

“Zdonis, I want you to use one of your shadow clones to test these temple defenders”

“It shall be done master,” replied Zdonis. Zdonis held out her right hand and a black orb began to form. She brought it closer to her face and blew on it gently and suddenly the orb wisped away down into the valley below.  “The orb my lord will take on the shadow appearance of the first person it sees”

“Excellent work Zdonis”

Back at the temple

An hour ticked by and Kai still could not sleep. He wondered the temple grounds as if he was on guard duty until something caught his eye. He quickly darted behind one of the adjacent cabins and peered around the corner. To his surprise he saw Aya with her swords and wearing her chest armour leaving the cabin, “What is ya doing up this late? Wait why I am still up?” he thought to himself. Aya though was headed towards the hot springs and the rest of the plateau. Something was up so Kai decided to follow her from the comforts of the shadows.

Aya began to move fast through the forest as Kai was having trouble keeping up. As Kai used the trees above as cover, Aya was zipping in and out of tree faster than a lion taking down a gazelle. “Where could she be going? This is really far out” Kai thought to himself. Soon though she came to a stop in a large open clearing. Kai came to a stop on a large branch and crouched overlooking the clearing from a distance.

Aya pulled out her swords and to Kai’s amazement, he witnessed Aya practicing. What was she doing all the way out here? Aya never seemed like the one to sneak out after hours so this was all new. Kai sat crouched watching Aya for a few minutes until he moved ever so slightly and broke a small branch. He stopped moving and hid behind the trunk, Aya stopped moving. She lowered her swords and turned her head a little, “Kai, are you going to hide in the trees all night and spy on me?” she asked. Kai peered around the trunk and jumped off the tree landing gently on the ground.

“How did you know I was here?” he asked

Aya giggled at his question, “Your scent Kai. I caught your scent the moment you started following me from the temple”

Kai let out a mellow sigh “Well I do know that I smell better than anyone in this time,” he said. Aya rolled her eyes at his statement, “You’re too funny Kai, and you know that?”

“I try. So do you want a partner for your practice?” he asked politely. Aya gave a generous nod and Kai pulled out the Kaminari. They stood opposite one another, each one waiting to see who would make the first move. Kai held is sword in the generic Katana pose while Aya held her left sword on its backhand and the right on its forehand. Soon though Kai made the move. He charged forward. He swung. His sword missed. Although only a few inches from Aya. She staggered a bit and held her swords in a defensive X position. Kai swung again. This time an overhead strike. Aya held up her swords and blocked the attack. The Kaminari with Kai’s strength behind it pushed Aya further down until she was but on one knee and clearly having difficulty.

“Having trouble Aya?” Kai asked in a sarcastic tone as he looked down at his friend. Aya held her head down looking at the ground.

Quickly though Aya looked up at Kai. There was something in her eyes at this point. It was similar to that of determination. Aya dug down deep and began to push Kai’s sword away. She went with her left sword in a foreswing and followed up with her right sword in a backswing. Kai dodged the first attack; the second shot sliced a two-inch cut on Kai’s robe. It did not nearly cut through the undershirt he was wearing though.

“Wow that was close”

Aya returned to her stance and as regained himself. She motioned with her left arm for Kai to continue. Kai grinned “Alright”.  Kai charge again at Aya and stopped all of a sudden. He began looking around. Something did not feel right as if they were being watched. “What’s the matter Kai?” Aya asked

“Something is watching us from the shadows”

“From where?” asked Aya as she began peering into the dark woods. Even with her enhanced eyesight, she could not see anything. She turned to face Kai, “I don’t think anything is here. Maybe you’re reacting to something else,” she said. Kai turned to face her, “I guess your right, but I could have sworn…” He stared at her for only a moment when he noticed something underneath a nearby tree. A small black orb, swirling shot out from the tree.

“Aya look out” he screamed

Aya, reactionary like turned around and the orb went inside her body chest first and out her back. She cried out and fell to the ground dropping her swords in the process. Kai swung his sword at the black sphere but missed.  He then rushed over to Aya who was clenching her chest, “are you alright?” he asked. Aya did not say anything besides moan in obvious pain.

“What are you? Show yourself,” he demanded.

A few feet away the black sphere sat floating in mid air. Suddenly the orb began to morph. Soon though the orb had changed into an apparition of Aya. It mimicked her stance and motioned to the teens. Kai stood up, gripped his sword tightly, and dashed towards the fake Aya. He sliced the impostor but fell through it landing on his stomach. “What the hell?” Kai got back to his feet and took a couple more swings at the entity. Each strike went through like water, having no effect. “My sword won’t cut it,” said angrily.

The being of shadow stood in Aya’s stance motionless staring at her. Aya knew what this thing wanted, her. She stood up still in some discomfort. She took her stance opposite the shadow being. The entity lunged forward at Aya. It’s moves were fast yet predictable. It came in with a foreswing with the right blade and Aya blocked it with her right blade. Back and froth the two went, equal in skill.

“It’s like she knows all my moves,” said Aya who continued to evade the shadows strikes. It also seemed that the being was only solid when the Tsuinsodo was being used and not Kaminari, that’s why Kai could do nothing but stand back and watch helplessly while is friend fought against a clone so to speak. Then an idea came to Kai.

“Aya. Switch up your stance. This, thing is copying everything about. Change it up” he shouted

“Change it up. What does he mean by that?” thought Aya.

Aya dodged a couple more attacks from the shadow clone but she was getting tired. The clone was wearing her down and she was beginning to become sluggish. The clone swung it’s left blade catching Aya in the right shoulder, drawing blood. Aya quickly gave the clone a kick to the chest with her right foot to give her some breathing room now down to one knee. “Change it up? I got,” she thought in sudden revelation. She stood back up and changed her grip handle on her blade. Both were now on the backhand. The clone didn’t change it’s stance and again stood stationary.

“I got this,” she said. Aya took a large stride and met the clone head on. Their blades clashing several times in mere moments. Aya was gaining the upper hand. The clone could not keep up. She was winning. The clone did its best at dodging her attacks but was nicked each time. It did not drip blood or drip anything, “What are you made of?” she said aloud.

Swing. Swing. Swing. The clone responded. The first two missed poorly, but the third, a backswing with the right sword, found Aya’s left shoulder this time. The shadow blade ate into her shoulder. She dropped to a knee. Struggling with her breath, she looked up at the entity. Its eyes were black, soulless vessels, emotionless. The shadow pulled the blade from her shoulder and prepared for the final blow. It’s sword came down…

“AYA!” Kai screamed.

The shadows attack had been stopped. Aya had quickly moved her right sword in the path of her attackers’ blade, stopping it dead in its tracks. The shadow could do nothing but staring at Aya with its blank eyes. She looked over at the being, her eyes were glowing gold, “I have had enough of you,” she said. She pushed the shadow off. Blood dripped from both her shoulder wound but Aya ignored the pain. Her eyes gleamed brightly as she stared at her double. She clutched her two swords tightly with a fearsome grip and the blade edges began to glow a bright orange. Aya didn’t notice and charged the clone. With both her swords on their backhands. She swiped both in her front. An orange light came off the blades seeming glowing arcs of flames.

“FLARE RAZOR” she shouted.

The attack engulfed the clone and soon though it had vanished, destroyed by the attack from Aya. The ground was scorched black and a few trees were a flame. Aya dropped down to both knees and Kai rushed over to her said his sword put away in its sheath.

“Aya, are you okay?” he asked

“Aya could hardly breathe. Her body was in so much pain that she couldn’t speak. The attack took the most out of her. Kai grabbed her swords and put them in their sheaths on Aya’s belt. He then grabbed her and with all his strength, he picked her up in a seemingly romantic carry lift. She was in not shape to walk and this seemed like the best way. Kai turned towards the temple and started walking. Aya remained silent for much of the journey back.

“Thank you Kai” she said in a whisper. Kai looked down and could only smile at her. She looked up at him their eyes met, only for moment. Kai blushed and angled his head back up, “Your welcome Aya. Now please try not too talk” he replied

“Okay” said Aya quietly

They continued on their path towards the temple and soon enough the temple came into view. It had been an eventful night, one for sure that Kai and Aya wouldn’t forget.

Back atop the nearby mountain

“Well it seems that you failed Zdonis,” told off Arco

“Not necessarily. This will be crucial in the later stages. Well done Zdonis” replied Aeroth who then snapped his fingers and vanished.

Zdonis turned around and walked past Arco. Even though he couldn’t see her entire face, he could see her mouth and it had a big smile on it as she walked by. She held her hand up and she vanished into crimson coloured rose petals. Arco looked back down at the valley in frustration, “Soon. Soon this will be nothing but a deserted wasteland when I’m through with it”